“You want me to get you more rounds?” Carly asked.
Shelby nodded. “In the bedroom. Nightstand. Bottom drawer.”
She disappeared to get the ammo and Shelby smiled. Now there was a woman for a crisis.
“Now we know what happened to your barn,” Mack said. “He was trying to draw us outside. He still in those trees?”
Shelby edged the binoculars over the windowsill, expecting to get a bullet in the head at any moment. Nothing. He focused on the pines, trying to detect the slightest movement. Still nothing.
“I’m not seeing anything,” he said.
“Think we scared him off?”
“Maybe. One way to find out.”
“Go out and check.”
“Exactly.”
Carly appeared with the ammunition. Shelby reloaded. Then he headed for the door. Carly touched his arm.
“Shouldn’t we wait for a few minutes? See if he begins shooting again?”
“Wait how long? I’m through waiting. And I’m getting pretty tired of getting shot at on my own goddamn property.”
“I’ll go with you,” Mack said, coming in from his post in the kitchen.
“No, you stay. You can cover me if he starts shooting.”
“Don’t be a fool. If he starts firing again once you go out that door, you’re a dead man. But I guarantee he won’t get both of us.”
“You’re both idiots,” Carly said. “Wait him out. He’ll leave after dark.”
“After dark, we’d be at his mercy even more,” Shelby said.
He walked to the door, followed by Mack. Shelby eased open the door and looked out. He listened. Everything was quiet. He stepped onto the porch and tensed. He knew he was taking a terrible chance. He didn’t think the shooter was still stationed by the trees. During their volley of shots, he had likely been hit or forced to retreat. He took another step and then another, followed closely by Mack. Nothing happened. No ringing shot, no slam of a bullet into his chest. There was nothing.
“Come on.”
Shelby motioned to Mack and jogged toward where the shooter had been hiding. They reached it at the same time.
“This was where he was waiting, that’s for sure,” Mack said. “Tracks all over the place. No shells, though. He must’ve picked them up.”
Shelby examined the tracks and something jumped out at him: the footprints carried the same diagonal mark as the tracks that had followed Jenny’s the night she died and the first time someone tried to shoot him. It was all the work of the same man.
“What’s the matter?” Mack asked. “See something?”
“These tracks. I’ve seen them before.”
“You know who they belong to?”
“No. But when I find out, I’ll know who killed Jenny Ellis.”
“You think it’s the dealers?”
“I did. Now I’m not so sure. It doesn’t add up.”
“One thing’s for sure,” Mack said. “Whoever did the shooting isn’t here now. There’s some good space between these tracks. He was covering good ground when he headed out.”
“I’m surprised he made it. We sent up a good volley. You can see where some of our shots came through the pines.”
“He probably left just in time, the lucky bastard. You want to follow these tracks?”
“It wouldn’t do any good. They’re headed for the road. He certainly didn’t come back here without an escape plan. He’s probably already made it to his vehicle. Besides, I don’t feel good leaving Carly alone.”
“She almost bit it earlier.”
“And that’s really pissing me off.”
“You’re going to want to step carefully, Shel,” Mack said. “It isn’t only you they’re targeting now. It’s those close to you. Or perhaps those who get in the way when they’re trying to get to you.”
“Either way, whoever is doing the shooting has a level of crazy—or hate—I hadn’t fully appreciated before. And there’s only one way to stop it.”
“And that is?”
“Find them. And kill them.”
“There’s always the law, Shel.”
“Wilkes?”
“He couldn’t ignore evidence of murder and attempted murder.”
“I wouldn’t trust that guy with a bag of his own shit.”
“Don’t get yourself killed.”
“Maybe I will to spite you.”
“I’m not the one who cares. Gloria would never forgive me if something happened to you.”
“You married a classy woman, Mack.”
“There’s no accounting for taste.”
“Truer words. Come on. Let’s make sure Carly didn’t get so pissed off she went after the shooter on her own.”
20
Shelby took Mack out to the Ellis place the next day. When they pulled in, Mack looked around at the ramshackle compound and shook his head.
“You keep odd company, Shel. These people paid you ten thousand dollars?”
“They don’t spend their money on appearances, I’ll grant you.”
“What do they spend it on?”
“Armaments, probably. So don’t say anything stupid.”
Two guards armed with semi-automatic rifles monitored their approach and they both stepped forward before Shelby had pulled his vehicle within fifty yards of the main house.
“That’s far enough,” one guard called out. “You hold it up right there or we’ll commence to shootin.”
“It’s Alexander. I’m here to see Shepherd.”
“I know who ya are,” the guard said. “We got orders not to let anyone close to the house.”
“Why the added security?”
The guard ignored the question and instead spoke into a walkie.
“Yeah. It’s that Alexander fella. Says he’s here to see Shepherd.”
There was a pause and then a crackle on the radio.
“Send him up.”
The guard waved them forward. “You can go on up.”
“Thanks, we heard,” Shelby said, giving the Jeep the gas.
Shepherd Ellis came out the front door before they had come to a full stop. He did not look happy to see them.
Shelby stepped out of the Jeep and Mack followed suit.
“Ellis,” Shelby said, nodding a greeting.
“Alexander,” Shepherd said.
“You seem upset about something.”
“That’s because I am. I heard you went to see Wilkes.”
“I did.”
“What about?”
“Not you, if that’s what you think.”
“It sure seemed that way. The little weasel came sniffing around here and wanted to search the place. Of course we turned him away. He said you’d come in and given him reason to think we were moving more drugs.”
“That’s not what I said at all.”
“Well, that’s how he took it.”
“I can’t help how Wilkes sees the situation. I went to see him and wanted to talk about the possibility of another gang of dealers coming into the area.”
“And why would he take your word about anything?”
“I brought him evidence.”
“What sort of evidence?”
“A bag of meth.”
Shepherd’s eyes narrowed and he regarded Shelby thoughtfully. “Where’d you get the meth?”
“Not from you.”
“Yeah, I know that. I would have noticed. If we were running meth, that is. Which we ain’t.”
“I’m not here to debate that.”
“Why did you come?”
“To tell you Wilkes thinks you’re to blame for the new meth I showed him. That’s not the idea I pushed on him. He had his mind made up.”
Shepherd considered this and the distraction made him aware of Mack, who was standing next to the Jeep with his thumbs in his belt.
“Who’s this other?”
“McIntyre.”
“A cop?”
“Retired. How’d you know?”
“Mack is a good guy.”
“A friend of yours?”
“I’d trust him with my life. I have, in fact.”
Shepherd nodded curtly. Then, “Where’d you get the meth?”
“Can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?”
“If I did, there’d be a minor war in my backyard.”
“We’ll find out somehow. Better for you to be ready and be on the winning side.”
“Maybe. At least you’ll know what Wilkes knows.”
“You didn’t tell him where you found the bag?”
“No,” Shelby lied. “Although he did keep it.”
“For himself, probly.”
“And because I’m a private citizen.”
“So now you’re sticking up for him?”
Shelby lost patience and, against his better judgment, rolled his eyes and sighed. “I don’t have time for you to be stupid. You and I are agreed in our dislike and distrust of Wilkes. On that score, you have an ally. If we have to keep establishing that, we’re going to waste a lot of time.”
To Shelby’s surprise, Shepherd took the rebuke in stride.
“Fair enough,” he said. “And you can take the fact that you’re still standin as proof. I wouldn’t take what you said from many people. In fact, the only other people would be Harper and my pa. And they’re both dead.” He looked at Mack. “What does your friend think of Wilkes?”
“He’s a bastard,” Mack said.
Shepherd nodded approvingly. “Good to hear a lawman say it. Say, you two want a drink?”
“No thanks, Ellis. Some other time.”
Shepherd’s face clouded. “I don’t offer many visitors a drink. You might want to take me up on the hospitality while it lasts.”
Shelby glanced at Mack, who shrugged.
“All right,” Shelby said. “We’ll take a drink.”
With Shepherd leading the way, they moved into the house. Shelby looked around in disgust. The house was dark. It smelled of must and urine and body odor. It felt dirty. Shepherd motioned toward a table in the center of what must have been a dining area. The tabletop was almost completely concealed by various items: old newspapers, bottles, empty food packaging, ashtrays full of spent cigarettes. Gannon Ellis was already seated, an open beer to one side. He held a large knife in one hand and spun it, point down, on the tabletop.
“Go ahead and sit,” Shepherd said. “Clear a place on the table there.”
Shelby sat. He didn’t dare look at Mack, but could imagine the expression on his friend’s face. Mack had always been more of a germophobe than Shelby, and even Shelby was finding this place difficult to stomach.
Shepherd sat down and used his forearm to sweep a place for himself at the head of the table. Then he roared, “Lila! Get the hell in here. We want some beers.”
A moment later, a haggard, ageless woman appeared from the adjoining hallway and almost ran to the refrigerator, which was behind Gannon. She reached inside and pulled out three cans of beer, delivering one to each man.
“A single beer? Don’t be a cheap bitch, Lila. Give us each two. You’re servin real men here.”
Lila followed the order.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Shelby said, desperate to soften Shepherd’s verbal abuse. “I appreciate the beer.”
Lila nodded but did not smile or look up, instead keeping her eyes glued to the floor.
“Now go on, Lila,” Shepherd said. “Get on outta here. We got men things to talk over.”
Lila made a quick, dutiful exit.
Gannon popped open a beer and drained it. He looked at Shelby with a cold, calculating eye.
“You don’t gotta go makin us look like shit, Alexander,” he said. “That woman don’t deserve no respect. She’s a hard one.”
“I was being decent, that’s all,” Shelby said. “Maybe if you treated her better, she wouldn’t have to be so hard.”
Shepherd laughed. “Women. I tell ya. If they weren’t so much fun to screw, I don’t know that I’d put up with em.”
“Treat her a little rough, don’t you think?” Shelby said.
“You don’t know her. She’s given me a lot of trouble over the years. Took me a long time to make her mind.”
Shelby drank the beer but felt guilty doing it. What he really wanted to do was stand up, walk over to the Ellis brothers, and bash their faces in, one by one. Shelby was often dismayed by what so often seemed to be an attack on the idea of masculinity, but behavior such as what he had witnessed made him embarrassed to own a dick. He knew what Shepherd and Gannon had done was nothing akin to manhood. It was its antithesis. Perhaps it was old-fashioned and not politically correct to want to defend Lila, but Shelby couldn’t help feeling a surge of chivalry deep in his gut.
“Drink up, fellas,” Shepherd said. “And while you’re doing it, Alexander, you can tell me where you found that bag of meth.”
“I can’t tell you that. It would be like setting a match to a powder keg.”
“You’ll tell me.”
Shepherd motioned to someone standing behind his guests. Shelby looked around and saw two, three…four men enter the room. They said nothing, but their guns spoke volumes.
“You’ll tell me where you found those drugs,” Shepherd said. “Or my men here will cut you two in half.”
“Look, Ellis. Let my friend go, why don’t you? He’s not even part of this.”
“Oh, I’m a part of it,” Mack said.
Shelby shot him a look. “I’m trying to save your life, moron. You have a wife waiting for you.”
“Well, now, that’s what I call a good friend,” Shepherd said. “I admire loyalty. I’ll feel sorry to see you go, Alexander, but you know I’ll do it. I’ll kill you and then I’ll kill your friend. And then I’ll kill that pretty little piece of ass you been screwin.”
“You’d kill an innocent woman?”
“I’d do anything to get my way, Alexander. You ought to know that.”
“I guess I kept thinking there was a shred of humanity left in you.”
“I’ve about had enough of your insults. Now you start talkin or I’m gonna give the order to fire. Once you tell me where you found the drugs, you’re free to leave.”
Shelby sat there and looked at Shepherd.
“You know, Ellis, I don’t think you would actually kill a woman.”
“You don’t know me very well, then. Now Harp, he wasn’t no pussy, but he had a soft spot for the ladies. Never would stand for any woman killin. Me, I believe in equality. That’s what we’re supposed to stand for these days, ain’t it? Equality? Well, then, I kill women as easily as I kill men. Don’t make no difference to me. And your friend here,” he pointed at Mack, “wouldn’t even make me blink.”
“Tell him, Shel,” Mack said. “You have to think of Carly.”
“Your friend’s the smart one, I see,” Shepherd said. “Listen to him. If you’re such a great protector of the weaker sex, then maybe you oughta make sure she don’t get killed.”
“Don’t worry, Ellis,” Shelby said. “I will.”
“So you’ll tell me where you got them drugs?”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you where I got them drugs. And after you take out those dealers, which I know you will, I’m going to take you down.”
“Oh, come on, Alexander. There ain’t no hard feelins. I’m doin what I have to. Sure you can understand that. It’s only business.”
“Yeah. I know. Business.” Shelby stood up. Shepherd’s men moved forward, but Shelby waved them away. “I found the drugs at a little cabin not far from Highway 22. It has a small barn or shed, probably being used for horses.”
Shepherd nodded slowly. “Yeah…I think I know the place. Old Shadrach used to live out there until his arthritis crippled him up so much he couldn’t walk. Then his fool kids sent him to a nursing home. Poor old fella. Killed him in a mon
th.”
“That’s the place.” Shelby walked for the door. A gunman stood in his way, but he shoved him aside. “Come on, Mack. We’re leaving.”
21
They didn’t talk until the Jeep was safely back on the main road. Then Mack emitted a nervous, relieved laugh.
“Holy Christ. I thought we were done for. That guy is all kinds of crazy.”
“Yeah, he’s a fun one. He has his own code of ethics but is too stupid to remember what it is from day to day. Makes it up as he goes along. That makes him incredibly dangerous, because it’s impossible to anticipate his next move.”
“But you think he’ll wipe out those dealers?”
“I can’t imagine him doing otherwise. I’m not sure his lizard brain would let him. On the other hand, you never know with an Ellis. He may get it into his head he can use them somehow.”
“You think he would have made good on his threats to kill us and Carly?”
“I told him, didn’t I? He might have been bluffing, but I couldn’t be sure enough to call it. He’s too crazy. A normal person would probably not ask for that kind of trouble. But Shepherd…well, he’s not a normal person.”
When they returned, they found Carly rummaging through the refrigerator. She had spent the night after Shelby suggested it was too dangerous to drive home alone. She had made fun of him, considering the shooting had all happened at his place, and accused him of wanting a sleepover. Mack had enjoyed this exchange immensely, which embarrassed Shelby to a degree he had not known since high school. In the end, Carly took pity on him and agreed to stay. And so they’d fixed the broken windows and stayed up late drinking and playing cards. With the curtains drawn, of course.
“You can be so disgusting, you know that?” she said to Shelby.
Mack seconded the motion by shouting “Hear hear!” and pounding on the counter.
“Seems a tad harsh,” Shelby said. “What brought that on?”
“Did you know you have bologna from last year in the back of your refrigerator?”
“I didn’t know bologna went bad.”
“You didn’t smell that? Every time I’ve been over, I’ve wondered what that funky odor was and this time I had an opportunity to check. So gross.”
[Shelby Alexander 01.0] Serenity Page 9
