Chapter 34

Saturday, July 3, 2010

The slice stopped only when the heel of the knife snagged on Jake’s shirt. Mrs. Cox wrenched it free and raised it to stab Jake in the back. Boris leaped over the top of the table, bringing his arm down on Mrs. Cox’s. The sound of her ulna and radius snapping resounded through the room. Jake managed to paralyze her just as he heard the bones break. She fell to the floor, her arm bent oddly a third of the way up from the wrist.

Tommy shrieked, fell onto his mother, shielding her from Boris. He started to cry.

Boris pulled up the back of Jake’s shirt. He examined the wound for a moment and then pushed Jake gently into a chair. Boris grabbed a kitchen towel lying on the counter and pressed it to the wound to slow the bleeding. The pressure made the wound sting, and Jake hissed at the pain.

Boris looked around and then focused on Annie.

“You, we need a sterile dressing for him and a splint for her. We need someone who can stitch a wound. Who do you have here?”

Annie looked at Boris and Jake and then at Tommy and Mrs. Cox.

“Tommy, why did memaw just attack that boy?”

Cox made no answer.

Jake drew Annie’s attention down to him.

“Annie, I can explain what’s happening in a minute or two. First, we need to see to the medical issues. Is there anyone at the ranch who can set Mrs. Cox’s arm and stitch me up?”

“No. When someone gets cut or banged up, we take them to the hospital in Tyler.”

“Jake, I can set the bones,” Boris said. He turned to Annie. “Do you have some kind of sterile dressing like cotton gauze?”

“I’d have to look. Why isn’t my grandmother moving?”

“She’s not hurt,” Jake said, “aside from the broken arm and her frustration that she didn’t manage to kill me. Let’s do this, Annie, go and check first aid kits or bathrooms or whatever you have. If you find a dressing bring it back here. If not bring a clean pillowcase. Do you understand me?”

She nodded.

“Good girl. Go now.”

She ran off.

“Boris, should we be worried about Mrs. Cox?”

“Let me look.”

Boris pulled Cox off of her.

“Go get me a broom,” he said to Cox.

While Cox was scrambling to find a broom, Boris laid Mrs. Cox on her back and straightened her limbs.

Cox came back with a straw broom.

“Now get me scissors,” Boris said to him.

Cox pulled scissors out of a kitchen drawer and handed them to Boris. Boris broke the handle off from the bristles and then broke the handle into halves.

“Now get me a pillowcase,” Boris said.

Cox left the kitchen. Boris used the scissors to cut the sleeve off Mrs. Cox’s broken arm.

“Jake, will she feel it when I set the bone?” Boris asked.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Annie came running in, carrying a pillowcase.

“This is the best I could find.”

“Fold it a few times,” Boris said, “and then press it against Jake’s knife wound. Hold it there until I tell you to stop.”

Then Boris began to apply traction to the broken arm. Jake looked away. The thought of bones moving around in Mrs. Cox’s arm made Jake feel a little nauseous until the pressure of Annie pushing the pillowcase against his wound took his entire attention.

Cox returned with another pillowcase.

“Cut it into strips about an inch wide,” Boris told him.

Tommy picked up the scissors and began cutting.

When Boris was content with the alignment of the bones, he put the broken pieces of the broomstick on either side of Mrs. Cox’s arm and began to tie them into place with strips of the pillowcase.

When he was finished, he came over to look at Jake. As Boris probed the wound, Jake cried out.

“Get me tape. Anything but cellophane tape,” Boris said to Cox, and then turned back to Jake. “She cut through the skin and some muscle but that’s all. Still, it’s going to hurt for a while, and it serves you right, too. Why the bloody hell didn’t you take control of that old witch?” Boris asked.

“I wanted to find out what I could about her attitudes before I changed them. I didn’t think I was in danger.”

“How could you not know she was going to attack you with a knife?”

“I knew she was planning it, but when I saw Annie I was distracted. You have to admit that she’s stunning.”

Annie looked shyly down at the floor.

Tommy came back and handed Boris a roll of masking tape.

“That’ll work,” he said, and wrapped it around Jake several times, securing the pillowcase to the wound.

“Jake, that was a young man’s mistake. You’re paying for it with some blood and a lot of pain, but if you learn your lesson, the price will have been cheap. The old woman is sharp. She knew exactly when to strike.”

“Gramma Rose is the smartest of us all,” Annie said. “Although sometimes she’s mean. But what’s going on here?”

“I came here to stop your uncle and grandmother from killing a friend of mine. Your grandmother didn’t like that.

“I could have told you that. Memaw doesn’t like being told what to do. I’ve been told since I was a little girl that we control Texas, and we tell everyone else what to do.”

“I’m afraid that has come to an end.”

“Why?”

“Because I won’t allow it. Not that I would have to do much anyway, not with Tommy’s recent unfortunate publicity. I’ll be taking Mrs. Cox and Tommy with me. I think the ranch needs to be shut down, too. If any Cox returns to public life, I’ll be keeping a close eye on him and I’ll expose him if he starts to do anything illegal.”

“Memaw won’t ever agree to leave the ranch. It’s the most important thing in the world to her.”

Jake took Mrs. Cox over and then unparalyzed her. She moaned.

“Mr. Cox, please help her to a chair.”

Once she was seated Jake said, “Mrs. Cox, we’ll be leaving in about fifteen minutes. Our trip will take about two hours. Please be ready.”

“Yes, sir.”

Annie’s mouth opened but no sounds came out for a few seconds.

“How did you do that?” she finally said. “She’s never spoken respectfully to anyone.”

“It’s just something I can do. It’s useful when I’m trying to stop people from killing my friends. Or me, for that matter.”

“Are you going to do that to me?”

“How do you feel about your family using its power to hurt other people?”

“I hate that we are so cruel.”

“Then I’ll leave you alone, except for one thing. You won’t be able to tell anyone about me. Don’t fight what I’m doing with your family. If you do, then I’ll take control of you, too.”

“No, that’s fine with me. The family will be better off.”

“Are you as smart and as strong-willed as your grandmother?”

“God, no. No one is.”

“Maybe if you grow up to be as strong as her, you could build the family into something better.”

“No one would listen to me.”

“They listen to her. You just have to build up your stature within the family first.”

Jake stood up.

“Tommy, where have you buried the bodies?”

“There’s a clearing in the woods. We put them there.”

“How many?”

“I don’t know. I’m not responsible for most of them.”

“Mrs. Cox, how many bodies are buried in the woods.”

“I haven’t kept track. Over the years, there are probably over a hundred.”

“Mr. Cox, show Boris where the gravesite is. Boris, drive my car as close to the graves as you can. Use the GPS to get the latitude and longitude of the car and then estimate the direction and distance from the car to the graves themselves. We’ll leave when you get back.”

As Boris and Cox left, Jake sensed distress from Annie. She was white. Jake felt her nausea.

“Memaw, you didn’t kill over a hundred people, did you?”

Mrs. Cox looked at her unashamedly.

“We didn’t kill people just for the hell of it, girl. We killed people who threatened the family. You will learn eventually that it is a virtue to act decisively in the face of a threat.”

“Tommy says you tortured the pretty girls,” Jake said. “Why?”

“They were a particular kind of threat. They could use their wiles and their looks to make the men do what they wanted.”

“That doesn’t explain why you had to torture them. You eliminated the threat by killing them. Why did you have to hurt them as well?”

She dropped her face and refused to speak.

Jake compelled her to answer truthfully.

“I used to be beautiful. I was every bit as beautiful as Annie. I loved the power it gave me. But it’s long gone. I had to learn other ways to keep my hold on the family. Then those tarts would waltz in here and try to take control of the family from me. I showed every one of them that my power was greater than theirs.”

“But the torture was senseless,” Annie said, trying not to cry.

“No. It served a very good purpose. The men in the family learned early on that they had to control the women they brought home. If a gold digger tried to get her hooks into one of our men, there was a limit to her power. The men knew that they had to keep their women in check. It was a very effective way to keep women outside the family from trying to seize control for themselves.”

“Oh, memaw, I’m so ashamed to be part of this family.” The tears burst out and Annie ran from the room.

Jake heard her running down the hallway. As she ran, he inserted a control to prevent her from talking about him.

“I had hopes for her, but I can see now that she will never be strong enough to lead this family,” Mrs. Cox said.

“I think she might surprise you. She’s almost as bright as you and every bit as strong-willed. Who else in your family has the courage to condemn you to your face like that?” Jake stood with a wince. “Get yourself ready to go.”

“I need something for the pain.”

“No. And you’ll take nothing with you, either. Go to the bathroom or get a drink if you want but that’s all. Your life is going to be very different from now on.”

Jake walked carefully to the living room. He addressed everyone there.

“Mrs. Cox will be leaving with me. She will be gone for the foreseeable future. If anyone asks, say only that she is visiting the city and you don’t know when she will return. You are to continue your duties here faithfully. If you have any questions or problems call me. You will tell no one about me or my friend Boris.”

Jake sent the housekeeper to assemble a set of clothing for Mrs. Cox suitable for conducting business. She returned with a small suitcase. When Boris and Cox returned, Jake led Mrs. Cox to his car. Cox and his mother sat in the back.

Boris wouldn’t let Jake drive. He drove them out of the front gate and parked next to the other car. Boris got out. When Ellen saw Jake’s blood on his arms and shirt, she ran up to him frantically looking for the source, until she sensed Boris’s amusement. Then she read him and ran even more frantically to Jake. Cox was forced to squeeze in with Cal’s foursome for the drive home so that Jake could lay across Ellen’s legs in the back seat.

Jake instructed Cal to follow them closely. The last thing Jake wanted was for Cox to get arrested.

“What’s the problem with that?” Boris asked.

“The courts would be too easy on him. Besides, he’s been hiding his assets for the last week. I want to make sure that there is money for the O’Connors and for Nina. Plus I’m going to make sure that the Coxes take care of Caldwell’s family and Donna Glenn.”

“Should we stop in Tyler and get you stitched up?”

“No. I can hold out until we get back to the city. I want to go to Donna’s hospital. That way I’ll be able to see her after I get treated.”

On the drive back, Jake called Jerry Amos and told him about the day’s events. Jerry insisted that the deposition had to go forward.

“Why, Jerry?” Jake asked. “I promise you that Cox is ready to enter into an acceptable settlement.”

“No, this is best, Jake. There would be uncomfortable questions if we canceled it after all this trouble. Besides, once we have her on the record, Cox’s lawyers will understand why their client wants to settle. That’ll make it easier to finesse the settlements without Cox being present. I’ll see you Monday.”

Jake called Leanne and asked her to spread the word that the war was over and that Nina was safe. The servants were to be sent back home. Everyone else would stay in Chicago. Jake would meet them the next day, stay for the deposition, and bring everyone home after it was over. He called the brothel and left a message for Alice that he had completed his business and was fine.

When they reached the hospital, Cal and his crew were dismissed. Jake paralyzed Cox and his mother and asked Boris to take them to the farmhouse and get them settled in.