Chapter 7

I wasn’t woken by the rooster this morning. When I got downstairs, eggs were already done and on plates, and Harry was busy at the sink with a knife, cutting something up.

“Thanks for cooking breakfast, Harry. I woke Beth up before coming down here, she’s tired this morning for some reason.”

He laughed. “Wonder why? Hell, I felt better this morning than I have in years, woke up early. Depending upon what time we get home tonight, we can have fried chicken for supper. Emily said she’s got a good recipe for it. We’ll have to see how many eggs the hens will lay without this bastard around. I kept him because I wanted some chicks to replace the hens. Now, we can do without this fowl beast.”

I chuckled. “That ... was bad, Harry.”

“Thank you. And he’s done, now to let him soak. You’re supposed to let them rest for at least a full day before you cook them, but I’ve a secret that I put into the water I let them soak in, helps tenderize the meat.”

Beth came downstairs a couple of minutes later, her hair still a bit of a mess. “The two of you are entirely too chipper this morning.”

“The world is still spinning, the weather isn’t that hot, and we’re going to go look for a house for you. What could be wrong with that?” Harry asked.

“It’s morning. I feel like sleeping in today.”

“You can rest in the truck, if you’re still sleepy then. I told you yesterday, you do a lot of physical work, you need to replace the calories your body uses.”

She thought about it a minute. “You know, you’re actually right. I’m used to helping around here, but it tends to be sporadic, and we use equipment most of the time. There were a lot of muscles exercised yesterday.”

I grinned at the expression on Harry’s face when she said that. “Don’t worry, Harry, it’s only going to get worse. Depending upon how things go, there’ll be three of them in the mornings, four if you count Emily.”

He shrugged. “Hell with it. You’re right.” Jethro started barking, we heard a car pulling up outside. I went to the door.

“You two stay in here. Apparently, there’s some unfinished business from yesterday.”

“Git away from me, you mutt!” Jethro was growling now. Larry from yesterday had gotten out of his car, and was kicking at Jethro.

“Jethro. Come on up here and sit, I’ll deal with the garbage.” Jethro listened to me, and came up to the porch, sitting and on guard. I stepped off the porch, took a couple of steps towards the car. “You got something to say to us, maybe an apology for your behavior, you can say it from right there.”

“Fuck you, queer boy. I don’t give two shits if Harry’s here or not. There’s no fucking way you’re going to be on MY football team.”

From inside, I heard Harry calling the police. Even though we were outside the city limits, as soon as he said someone was threatening Cal Lewis, they said two of the officers were on their way, along with an ambulance.

“Last time I looked, you weren’t on the team. Why don’t you get back into your car and go on home, before you do something that you’re going to regret?”

He reached into the car and pulled out a large, slightly curved, steel bar. “Oh, I’m not going to regret any of what I do, boy. I’m going to enjoy every fucking second of it.”

I sighed. “I doubt that.” I turned to the door. “Harry, stay inside. Tell Beth to go ahead and finish breakfast, then get ready for the drive, and to lay some clothes out for me. This won’t take that long.”

Apparently, that made Larry angrier. “Won’t take long? Ha! I’m going to break every fucking bone in your body, queer boy!” He started running for me.

I turned to Jethro, told him, “Stay!” Jethro sat. Larry got up to where I was, swung the bar right at me. I reached up and caught his wrist with my left hand, stopping him.

“Drop the bar and go home, Larry. The police and an ambulance are already on their way. You’re not going to hurt me, but I can and will massively hurt you if you do this ever again.” He was trying to move his arm, which I was holding completely still.

He tried to kick me, so I dodged out of his way, still holding onto his wrist. He tried to hit me with the other hand, so I deflected it out of the way, breaking his forearm in the process. That brought a scream from him.

“I tried to warn you, Larry whatever your last name is. You’re apparently a slow learner. That was one arm. You’ll heal from it. Would you care to try for a leg?” I could hear the sirens as the police got to the end of our driveway. I was still holding his arm in the air with the steel bar poised over my head.

His eyes were glistening now with anger. “I’ve played hurt worse than that, faggot!”. Larry tried to kick me again, which I knew the police officer saw as he skidded his car to a stop.

“Drop the bar and get on the ground!” The officer was running up towards us, his gun out and pointed in our direction.

I pulled down on Larry’s arm, letting the bar swing just in front of me, and turned Larry around so that he was now pointed towards the police officer, with the bar now swinging towards the policeman. I dropped to the ground, because I knew what was going to happen next.

The second policeman pulled up in time to see Larry turn towards his partner, threaten him with a steel bar, and his partner shoot Larry three times in the chest.

From inside the house, I heard Harry yell out, “Elroy is on his way!”

Larry was lying face forward in the dirt. The officer moved forward, but his shots had been rather accurate. Larry was dead.

“What in the fuck was going on here?” the second officer said, running up. The ambulance was now coming up our driveway.

“I pulled up, it looked like the big guy was trying to hit the kid with that bar. I told him to drop it, he turned and swung at me, so I dropped him.”

From inside the house, Harry yelled out, “Can I come out now? It’s me, Harry Watson.”

“Come on out, Harry. This is becoming a little too regular for my taste.” I recognized the second policeman as the one who’d put the tube in Baker’s throat. “Cal, you can get up off the ground. Are you hurt?”

“No. While I ought to wait for legal representation, this is simple. I’d taken Beth and two of our friends to Skaets yesterday. He attempted to cause an incident there, that was witnessed by basically everyone in there. Francine, the waitress, and Andy Palatki, the owner, also saw it. He was threatening me, calling me a homosexual ... which I’m not, so I have no clue where that came from. As you’re aware, I’m on the football team, and two of my teammate’s fathers ... and no, I don’t know who they were, sorry ... stood up and told him to leave. He did.”

“This morning, we were just finishing up breakfast when he pulled up, threatening our dog. I had Jethro come up here, so he’d be safe, then tried to talk him into leaving. At the same time, that’s when Harry called you. He continued threatening me, saying I wouldn’t play on his team, then got out the steel bar from his car and tried to hit me with it. He missed, then swung at me with his other arm. As you’re no doubt aware, I’m rather strong, so I blocked it, which may have broken his left arm. You pulled up when he was swinging at me again, and I was just trying to keep him from hitting me. I let him go, he swung at you instead, and that’s when you defended yourself.”

Apparently rural ambulance crews were used to dealing with victims that were already deceased. They didn’t even try to treat him, simply confirmed that he was dead.

Two more cars pulled up in the driveway, one right after the other. I recognized Judge Bannister getting out of the first one. I recognized the second man from our poker game, but didn’t know who he was. Judge Bannister said, “Okay, Cal don’t say anything without clearing it with me first.”

The policeman said, “He’s fine, Judge. The deceased attempted to assault him, then swung on my partner here, who killed him. Apparently, the deceased had it in his mind that Mister Lewis is homosexual, even though he’s not, and he wouldn’t let Mister Lewis play on the football team, so he came out here to break some bones. That ... didn’t end well for him.”

“Officer, may I see your gun?” the other man asked. The police officer handed it over. “Thank you. Three shells fired, three holes in the body. I’ll confirm with the autopsy. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to keep the weapon until I finish my inquest. With the holiday weekend, that won’t be until Tuesday.” He looked at the ambulance crew. “Go ahead and transport the body to the morgue.” He then nodded at me and the Judge. “Elroy, see you Friday. Young man, good luck at the game.”

Judge Bannister said, “Thanks, Doc. See you later.” He turned to me. “Doc Morgan, he’s the county coroner. I don’t know that you were introduced properly.”

The ambulance pulled out, with Doc Morgan following them. The policeman called for a wrecker to come tow Larry’s car to the impound lot. Harry went back in and came out with a pot of coffee and several cups, while Detective Galloway showed up and took the same information.

After a half an hour, they let me go in, so I could get cleaned up. Five minutes later, a deputy sheriff pulled into the driveway. It was amusing, listening to the yelling from downstairs as he started yelling about jurisdiction and interference in official police business. The Judge let that go on for a good five minutes before he politely asked Harry if he could use our phone. Two minutes later, there was a call on the deputy’s radio, telling him to report to the jail. He tried to complain, but when the next voice he heard was the County Sheriff, ordering him in, that took care of that.

All the police left once the wrecker showed up and towed the car away, but the Judge was still sitting in our living room, talking to Harry, when Emily pulled up. She came onto the porch and knocked on the door, the Judge telling her to come in.

By this time, Beth and I were dressed and I’d managed to calm Beth down, giving her a simple orgasm by masturbating her, to help relieve her stress. Both of us came down the stairs as Emily walked into the house.

“I thought we were going on a simple trip to go check out some houses. Why are you here, Uncle Elroy?”

“Seems Larry Allen got it into his damned fool head that Cal was gay, and he wasn’t going to let Cal play on HIS football team.”

She looked at me. “Ouch. He always was a bit off. He didn’t hurt you, Cal?”

Bannister snickered. “Not hardly. And he’s not going to hurt anyone, ever again. Harry and I were just sitting here, discussing whether or not we need to sue his estate. I think we’ll file it, but not put it through, as long as his widow takes her kids and moves away.”

“Widow?” Emily’s eyes opened wide.

“I didn’t do it. He was trying to attack me with a steel bar. The police showed up, and he went after them with the bar, instead. That ... didn’t end well for him.”

“A grown man, attacking a teenage boy, with a steel bar?”

“I know, Emily,” Bannister said. “We haven’t had anything like that in this county since the trouble with the niggers, between the wars.”

“Judge Bannister, I’d appreciate it if you’d watch that kind of language. I realize that some prejudices are learned behavior, such as how Harry feels about Iranians. But it’s things like that, people having issues with skin color or sexual preferences, that sent Mister Allen to the morgue this morning,” I said.

He looked at me for several long moments. “Damn, Son. I haven’t had anyone stand up to me like that in a LONG time. And the thing is, I deserved it. You’re right. I’ll work on improving myself.” He glanced at Beth, to avoid looking at me, then noticed the jewelry she was wearing. “Elizabeth, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you wearing any jewelry in the past.”

“No, Sir. Cal ... well, as you said, we’re really not that related, so this is a friendship ring. And he got necklaces for us yesterday, at Westphal’s.”

“Us?” the Judge asked, as she moved closer so he could see the necklace.

“Me, Eve, and Dora. We’ve all decided that we’re Cal’s girlfriends. He didn’t object.”

“Is that ... sorry, my eyesight’s not as good as it used to be. His initial on the outside, but why a B on the inside?”

“Cal calls me Beth. That’s his name for me, and doesn’t have any negative connotations that Elizabeth might. Dad still calls me Betty, anyway. He got these for all of us.”

He looked at me quizzically. “This is my home, Judge. God help someone that hurts anyone in my family, in my home. Harry, don’t you have something for Emily?”

Emily frowned. Harry smiled, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a bag. “Cal is rather thoughtful for all of us.” He put the bag into her hand. She opened it.

“Good lord. Harry, this ... we’ve only had one date, Harry.”

“He didn’t get it for you, I did. I already know how the two of you feel about each other. Take your time, get it figured out. In the meantime, you deserve it,” I said. I turned to the Judge. “All of the family, which includes Emily.” I smiled.

He put one hand up to his mouth in thought, while Beth helped Emily put the necklace on. He motioned to her to come closer, so he could see it. “Very nice. Harry, I know you’re on all of the accounts, because you’re an adult. Now, I...”

Before he could continue, Harry laughed. “Elroy, there’s family, and then there’s public. In public, I’m supposed to be the greedy person, taking advantage of my poor cousin’s child. In private ... he and I have already discussed this. In detail.”

“Son of a bitch. I thought I was devious ... well, I was, at the time. Damn, Son!”

“Of course. Oh, you know how we talked about credit lines and such? It’s up over $5 million, now, and is going to get larger.” I smiled again. “Now, we have to get going, if we’re going to make it to Garden City on time.”

Judge Bannister walked out to his car. Harry shut and locked the door behind us, as the four of us climbed into his pickup. We followed the Judge to the road, then headed for Garden City.

Emily was in the front passenger seat, I was right behind Harry, Beth had slid over so she was snuggled up next to me. Emily turned in her seat, so she could see all of us. “Okay, spill the beans. The three of you are simply WAY too calm to have had someone shot and killed in your front yard this morning. And you, young lady, you’re acting like Cal is ... I don’t know ... somehow or other, the most important thing in your whole world, and I know you’ve only known him for a week.”

I met Harry’s eyes in the mirror. He nodded to me, to see what explanation I would give to Emily. “Well, it’s not like this is the first time someone tried to harm us. First day of school, the Vice-Principal went nuts and tried to shoot Beth and I. He’d just been fired because he was overstepping his boundaries, and felt like it was our fault. I hit him in the throat, collapsing his trachea. A policeman had an emergency kit, so he’s still alive.”

“The next day at lunch, one of my football teammates thought he could insult Beth and my other two girlfriends. He swung his fist at me. I dodged, he hit the concrete wall and shattered his fist. He’s been kicked out of school. You were there when the bank president hit your Uncle. Yesterday, I took the girls to Skaets for burgers. Allen tried to do something yesterday, there in public, calling me queer. I’ll note that his daughter was the first one to show me through the school, and she’s the one who informed me that the kids in school called Beth, ‘Lizzie the Lezzie’.”

“That’s terrible, but ... I can see why you’d hurt someone for doing that, but killing?”

“I didn’t do that. I simply had stopped him. When the police showed up, I let him go. He chose to attack the police officer, who shot him. I’d already broken his arm when he swung on me.”

“Jesus. So, you know self-defense. Are you a black belt in karate or something?”

“Unfortunately, Emily, right now you’re like family, but you’re not family, if that makes sense. So, there’s some things about my past that I really can’t share with you. I’m not saying that to make you mad. If, or perhaps I should say when, you end up marrying Harry, I should be able to share things with you.”

“Do ... um ... they know everything?”

“Of course. And as you can see, Beth completely trusts me. She’s already fallen asleep on my lap. She likes you. Harry likes you, and perhaps actually loves you, just as you feel about him similarly.” I looked out the window for a couple of minutes, watching the wheat fields. I turned back, to see Emily still looking at me.

“Yes, I’m only a kid. I’m also a genius, and incredibly physically fit. You can thank my parents for that, or you could if they weren’t dead. There was a lot of ... violence, when they died. I’m not a sociopath, it’s just ... everything I thought I knew when I was young has turned out to be of little use to me now. The world is a different place than what I thought it would be. Beth, Harry, Eve, Dora ... they’re my anchors. It’s possible that you can be one of them as well. It’s funny, when you think about it, but I completely understand your Uncle, perhaps better than he does himself.”

“What do you mean?”, she asked.

“This is his home. He’d do anything to keep it safe. To help it prosper. Harry’s dad and your Uncle weren’t just thick as thieves during the war, they WERE thieves. Not in the bad sense, they didn’t do anything to hurt the war effort. There were, literally, billions of dollars being spent, billions recovered as well. I don’t know specifically, but you know there was a LOT of scrap steel collected and used in the war. If this metal was worth, say fifteen cents per pound as scrap, but sold for sixteen cents, that penny didn’t hurt anyone. Two thousand pounds in a ton of scrap meant a whopping twenty bucks per ton.”

“You’re a banker. How much money, even if it was only five dollars per ton, do you have when you’re dealing with more than a million tons of scrap metal?”

“You’ve got five million dollars. You’re right, you are genius smart, a lot like my little sister. Is ... is that what happened?”

Harry nodded. “Effectively. In North Africa, after a battle, you might see more than a hundred destroyed tanks. Throw in trucks and other equipment, you’re looking at six thousand tons of steel that could be recovered, melted back down, and used again. I can’t even begin to guess how much, how big, the whole network was. Thing is, it was all on the up and up, because recovering the steel was vital to the war effort for both sides. Dad and Elroy were ... expediters. They both wore the uniform, made sure our troops had what they needed to fight and win. But if a general wanted a case of Scotch, they’d see that he got his case of Scotch. No charge, Sir, and while you’re enjoying that, would you please authorize this voucher for these destroyed vehicles that we’ve recovered?”

“Jesus!”

“Oh, it gets better. Keep in mind the war cost the US more than two hundred sixty BILLION. There was also more than thirty billion in machinery and other things that we demanded ... and got ... from Germany as reparations. I don’t know how much Elroy came home with, but I know Dad had almost two million squirreled away.”

“I do. Know how much he came home with, that is. I’m not sure if he considers me to be a kindred spirit or what, but he confided in me. I also know how much he’s worth now. And no, Emily, I won’t tell you. Harry doesn’t know, either,” I said. “That almost makes sense, you know, in an odd sort of way. We’re both dealing with scrap metal.”

Emily looked puzzled. “It’s just a chunk of metal, Emily. It’s worth quite a bit more, but in the end, it’s just a piece of metal.”

“You’ve put over nine hundred pounds of that metal into the vault at the bank, though. That’s a lot of money.”

“Nope. It’s a big pile of shiny metal. No more, no less. However, since other people think it’s valuable, that means they’re willing to pay for that shiny metal, which gives me something else, something that your Uncle is the only one that knows right now. And I’m going to keep it that way for a while.”

“I’m not an idiot, Cal. Uncle Elroy is the most powerful man in this part of Kansas. He’s got a piece of most businesses in town and in Wichita, some there he shares with the Koch brothers. The Governor of the State comes to his Friday night poker games because he wants what Uncle Elroy has. Power. In the grand scheme of the country, or the world, Uncle Elroy isn’t very big at all. But he’s done what he can for this area, for this town. And he’s the power of this area. You want something done, it’ll meet his approval or it won’t get done.”

She sighed. “Now I understand why I ... well, it’s not important.”

“Why you felt a certain attraction to me when I pulled out four hundred pounds of gold in the bank, not totally realizing what it was? It’s fine, you know. It’s also perfectly natural.” I nodded down at Beth. “She’s sleeping like a baby. She knows instinctively that she’s completely safe in my arms. You couldn’t help but react to me, because I’m ... well, to be blunt, strong like that. Harry had it for a while, a long while. You get a good woman behind you; you can do anything. I understand completely why he was crushed inside when Elspeth died. That’s why I had that necklace made for you. You can give him his power back, work together, keep Hutchinson strong and thriving in the future.”

Harry asked, “You’ve never talked that far in the future before, Cal. What will you be doing while we’re doing that?”

I looked back out the window, at more wheat fields, then at Harry. “Alexander was twenty. I’m in no hurry. I can wait until I’m twenty-five or thirty.”

“He died at thirty-two, though.”

“Of a fever, Emily. We have modern medicine.” I shook my head. “Enough of this, if you don’t mind. What do you think of a triple wide modular home?”

“Depends on how many are going to be living in it, and how it’s secured. A modular can be as strong, or stronger, than a stick-built home.”

We spent the rest of the trip discussing the various merits of modular homes, and what would be important to us in one. I shook Beth up when we pulled in at a gas station on the edge of Garden City, so we could all relieve our bladders and get something to drink before the meeting.

Darrell was waiting for us at his office when we got there. He’d already met Harry and knew Emily, so it was a bit of a shock for him to realize that the home was going to be for me. But he was also professional.

“So, Mister Lewis, what did you think of the plans that Harry brought for you?”

“Harry thought a bit too small. Let me tell you what I’m thinking, then you tell me if it can be done. Triple wide modular. Sixty by forty, so twenty four hundred square feet. Master bedroom large enough for a California King, maybe two of them, and it really doesn’t need to have any other furniture fit in it. Master bath with both a shower, large enough for two people to comfortably fit, Jacuzzi tub large enough for three. Two sinks, one toilet. Two other bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. Obviously, two hot water heaters. 200-amp breaker box.”

“Kitchen would ideally have an island with power, a second sink in it would be great, but not a necessity. Double door refrigerator / freezer. Electric stove, and built in microwave with vent. Dishwasher. Enough cabinet space for small appliances. I suspect that with this size, you’d be looking at least a four bedroom, anyway, so the fourth bedroom would be made into a pantry, so not an issue. No formal living room or dining room needed.”

“We’ve got the approximate site picked out, some of the basic dirt moving is done, as there was a hill that we wanted it to sit in. And I also will want an enclosed walkway going from the home to a secondary building that will be nearby. If you have someone who can bid and build a large reinforced steel garage, that would be good, we can get the construction all done at the same time.”

“I’ve an idea on the home. How large on the garage?”

Beth said, “Sixty by eighty, fourteen foot walls, four single car garage doors on one end. One double car garage door on the other. Two personnel doors in the sides. Center wall at forty feet, extending to the ceiling. Full air conditioning and heating. Two half baths, plus its own meter and probably a 400-amp breaker box, with some 220 lines, so air compressors and other shop tools can run in it. Full cement slab, with French drains around and landscaping, as well as floor drains going to a sump pit for in the winter so the cars can have snow melt off and go away.”

He pulled out a pencil, made a quick sketch on a blank sheet of paper. “Something like this?” he said after about five minutes.

Beth nodded.

“Okay, based upon what you said, I’d go with this home, this is a four-bedroom house. If it’s not an issue that the other bedrooms are on the other end, then this will work. Take a look at this and tell me what you think, I’m going to make a call to Topeka.” He dialed the phone.

“Hey, Billy, it’s Darrell. No, I’m not in town. I’ve a question for you. I’ve a customer here that’s needing a large machine shop type building. Sixty by eighty by fourteen foot walls, four single car garage doors on one end, one double car garage door on the other. Two man doors on the sides. Full slab, full power all over, A/C and heat, some water, floor drains. Oh, and an enclosed walkway from the house to the shop. Hutchinson. Yeah, I know, I don’t care. Give me a ballpark. Okay, now give me a realistic ballpark. That’s better. We won’t hold you quite to it, but the final better not be more than 10% more. Just a second.”

“Harry, can we meet you at the job site on Tuesday at, say, noon, for measuring and making sure what we need?”

Harry agreed. Darrell said back into the phone, “It’ll be noon, in Hutch. Here’s the address. Be there, aloha!” He hung up.

“Okay, Billy will be there. For what you’re looking at doing, you’ve got a choice. You can skimp on things, or you can go with the best. Billy and his crew have been doing steel buildings in this state for a long time. Since you’re talking small airplane hangar size, especially with the wind load we can have here, you don’t want anything but the best. I’ll do the same thing for the modular. You can go slab, but I recommend actual footer and foundation, with supporting pillars and crawlspace, for something this size. You said you’ve done some site work?”

“Nothing major. There’s a hill on the property that it would look good near and provide wind cover from the west that we dug into. Anything that can provide a windbreak is obviously a good thing around here.”

“You’re quite correct. What about water and sewage?”

Harry said, “The existing house has its own well and septic system. We’ll have to drill another well for this one, and put in its own septic and finger system. Since you also seem to know buildings, who can do swimming pools?”

“Indoor or outdoor?”

I smiled. “Yes. Ideally, one that in the summer, we can have a movable roof so we’re outdoors, but still usable in the winter. So, it’ll be in ground, I presume.”

Beth gasped. “We forgot to check the best spot for the pool. Cal, I’m sorry.”

Darrell asked, “How big a pool?”

“Lap pool length. I think those are seventy-five to eighty feet long,”

“That’s easy, then. Other side of your building, away from the house. That way you can have the outside wall of the machine shop act as one wall, you can have all your pumps and other things just inside the machine shop, for easy access, and if you want a roof or walls that move, Billy can design that as well. I’m guessing something like curved Plexiglas that nests together,” Darrell said.

“The house is the first priority. We need that done as soon as possible. What’s the time frame on getting something like this done?”

“I’ll meet Harry out there Tuesday. You give me some money, I’ll file the permits that afternoon, and have a crew out there Wednesday starting foundation work. Frost line here is two feet, so I’d go thirty inches deep, just to make sure. The piers will get dug out by hand, because we want solid concrete under them as well. The nice thing is, the home builder has a series of plans to let us know exactly where and what to do.”

“Sounds good. So, what else do we need to do, other than give you some money?”

That was where Emily and Beth came into their own. I had no idea about picking out the color of cabinets, the grade of carpet, what specific color the sinks would need to be, or all the other minor details that to me didn’t matter, but were incredibly important to a woman. They were at it for a good two more hours.

When we finally had the list, I asked, “If you order that Tuesday morning, how quickly can we expect it?”

“Lot of factors involved with that, son. Permits, financing, getting the plans changed and authorized. This isn’t pouring a slab and put a mobile home on it, this is actually a lot like doing a stick-built house, except the building isn’t done on site. I don’t know if the factory has a backlog or not, but none of your changes are too extravagant.”