by Mark Goodwin
“We can cut through the Smith’s property to the road. Come on.” Kate clicked off her flashlight and stowed it in her pocket. She pulled the rifle off her shoulder and used the light affixed to the barrel to pick her way through the brush.
“I smell smoke.” Gavin stayed close behind her.
“It’s coming from Mrs. Dean’s house! I see the glow of the flames!” Kate rushed toward the old woman’s home. The muffled cries became clearer. The widow was indeed calling for help.
Kate and Gavin hurried to the site of the fire. Mrs. Dean’s attached garage was engulfed in a blazing inferno. Don Crisp was already there with Annie Cobb, Gene Tifton, Rainey Russo, and Harold Pritchard. Don emptied a fire extinguisher and tossed it aside. “The nearest hand pump is at the Cobb’s. Get containers and form a bucket line. We have to put this thing out before it reaches the house!”
More neighbors arrived to help. Soon a bucket brigade worked swiftly to convey water from the Cobb’s hand pump to the fire.
James Dean arrived on the scene. He snapped at Kate, “Where’s Don? Did you catch anyone?”
Kate took a bucket from Pritchard and passed it to Gavin. “Don is inside, putting out the fire in your grandmother’s house. What do you mean, did we catch anyone?”
“The arsonist who started the fire!”
“What makes you think it was arson?”
“We’re living in a post-apocalyptic world, Kate. Of course it was arson.” James Dean stomped off to find Don.
Minutes later, Gene Tifton called, “Hold the line! The fire is out!”
Kate put her bucket down and walked into the garage. Mrs. Dean stood crying and Kate put her arm around the old woman.
Don and James were in a disagreement. “This never should have happened, Don. It wouldn’t have happened on my watch.”
“Oh, I thought you were on watch. Which reminds me, who is covering for you at the observation post?”
“Pete is still there, he’s got it covered.”
“You’re sure this wasn’t a diversion to lead people off their posts so we could be attacked by a larger force.” Don’s eyes narrowed. “I understand this is where you live, but you need to have your position covered. Everyone in this community relies on all the others to fulfill their commitments.” Don picked up his radio and pushed the talk button. “Can someone send David McDowell up to the overwatch? The post is a man short right now.”
“I can run down there,” Kate offered.
“If you don’t mind.” Don looked perturbed by Dean.
“David is up here, at my house, Don.” Vicky’s voice came over the radio.
Kate pressed the talk key. “What’s he doing up there?” She had spoken with Vicky about having David in the house when she wasn’t there.
“He stopped by to see Sam.”
This subject was a battle for another time. “Can you send David and Sam down to cover the overwatch position?”
“Sure. Talk to you later.”
Pritchard came into the open garage and hugged the old woman. “Rita, I’m awful sorry about all this.”
“Thank you, Harold.” She opened the door to the house and stepped inside. “I think they stopped it before it got in the house. But it smells like a chimney sweep’s brush in here.” She led the way in and Pritchard followed.
Don surveyed the damage to the garage. “Kate, James believes foul play may be a factor. Would you and Gavin take a walk around the property and see if anything looks out of place?”
“We’ll check it out.” Kate turned and followed Gavin. She retrieved her flashlight from her pocket and scanned the yard. They walked across the front yard, then down the side of the house.
She let her beam bounce from side to side, then up the wall of the house. “Gavin, look. Someone has spray painted the back of Mrs. Dean’s house.”
“What did they spray?” He came over to her position and focused his light on the graffiti.
Kate read the words aloud scrawled on the wall in olive-drab spray paint. “Get out while you still can. LR.”
“LR? Who is that?”
“Reese, Russo, Ramsey.” Kate ticked off the last names in the neighborhood which began with the letter R. “I can’t think of anyone in those families whose first name begins with an L.”
“It has to be someone from the Badger Creek Gang. Do you think Scott McDowell would have kept any files on the members at his house?”
“I doubt it. But we can ask Kelly to be sure. Let’s start by seeing if the initials mean anything to Mrs. Dean.”
Kate knocked on the front door.
Pritchard stepped out. “What in the world are you doin’, foolin’ around out here?”
“We found some spray paint on the back wall of the house. I need to ask Mrs. Dean about it.”
“Don’t be pesterin’ her. She’s been through enough for one night.”
Gavin stepped past the old man as politely as possible. “We’ll be quick.”
Kate smiled at Pritchard, despite his soured expression at being overruled. “Two seconds, I promise.”
Mrs. Dean sat on the couch. Skeeter stood silently beside her. Rita Dean ran her finger along the coffee table. “Look at this place. Soot’s done got everywhere. This place ain’t fittin’ to live in.”
“We’ll help you get it cleaned up, Mrs. Dean.” Kate sat next to her and explained the graffiti on the wall. Don and James walked into the room as Kate was relaying the information.
“Oh, goodness! Who’d want to hurt me?” Mrs. Dean put her hand on her chest.
“Don’t you fret none, Rita.” Pritchard stood up. “We’ll put an end to these hijinks.”
“Those initials don’t mean anything to you?” Kate inquired.
She thought for a while. “There was a boy I went with back in school, Larry Rollins, I broke his heart, but I can’t imagine he’d want to do anything to me after all these years. I met some sailor who’d just come home from the war and Larry was just a boy, you see.”
“I’m sure it’s not Larry Rollins.” Don interrupted the recounting of Rita Dean’s younger years. “Anyone else you can think of? Anyone more recent?”
“What’s the name of that community over on the other side of the mountain?” Skeeter asked.
“Laurel Ridge.” Gavin ran his finger down the wall, leaving behind a faint line in yet more soot.
“It’s Laurel Ridge, LR.” Jimmy Dean snapped his fingers. “It’s a message to the entire community.”
Kate shook her head. “That makes no sense. Why would Laurel Ridge want us to leave? As it stands, they don’t have to worry about getting hit by gangs from the back side. At least not until we’re all dead.”
“I beg to differ,” James said. “They probably want to take our territory.”
“Why, pray tell, would they want to do such a thing?” Kate waited to hear the man’s convoluted reasoning.
“Resources. Forests, firewood, hunting ground, farmable land. If we were smart we would’ve been doing the same thing.” James sat on the other side of his grandmother and put his arm around her.
“Laurel Ridge is mostly high-end vacation homes. They’d never have the manpower to attempt such a move.” Don shook his head dismissively. “Besides that, it’s mostly democrats. They don’t exactly embrace the gun culture. I can’t see them starting a war with a working-class neighborhood. It doesn’t make sense.”
“You met all the people in Laurel Ridge?” James quizzed.
“No, but I’ve seen what they drive, and I’ve seen their bumper stickers.”
“I would imagine if they’re vacation homes it’s because they lived in a city and wanted a quiet place in the mountains. People with any sense would have left when things first started getting bad. Laurel Ridge might have a higher occupancy rate than you think,” James said.
“He’s probably right about that, Don.” Kate hated to side with Jimmy Dean, but it was a solid argument.
“Even so, that doesn’t make them aggres
sive warlords.” Don crossed his arms.
Kate hoped Don wasn’t being naive. James Dean’s analysis of the event made little sense to her, but it was the only explanation offered so far.
James stood up. “Well, whatever happened, it’s obvious that our security isn’t as tight as it needs to be.” He looked at Kate. “I don’t suppose you saw anyone on your patrol.”
“No. We were on the other side of the mountain from Laurel Ridge when the fire was started.”
“Other side of the mountain.” Dean nodded condescendingly.
“What are you implying, James?” Gavin sounded angry.
“Oh, nothing about you. One patrol can’t be all over the place at one time. But if it were me, I would have scheduled a minimum of two patrols, especially at night.”
Don shot back, “We don’t have that many people, James.”
“You wouldn’t need them if you’d have let us put up the booby traps.”
“I offered to let you modify the devices, to work as alarms with inert shells.”
“Right, you wanted me to waste ammunition by rendering it harmless. In case you haven’t noticed, Don. You can’t just go to the store and buy more shotgun shells. A live round is worth its weight in gold. I’ll have no part in turning them into worthless firecrackers.”
“Those booby traps are reckless. I won’t allow them.”
“You don’t have to answer to me,” James smirked. “I’m not the one who voted you into office.” He turned to his loyal lackey. “Skeeter, run and get our things together. We can’t sleep in this mess.”
Don offered, “Mrs. Dean, you’re welcome to stay at my house. James and Skeeter should find other accommodations. I don’t think they’d be very comfortable in my home.”
James took his grandmother’s hand. “She’ll stay with us.”
“Where are you going?” Kate inquired.
“We’ll stay at the Smith’s until we get this place cleaned up.”
“The Smith’s? You can’t just take any house you want,” Don protested.
Jimmy looked puzzled. “Why not? The Smith’s aren’t here—probably never be back. Your second-in-command re-appropriated the Cooper’s tool shed for his own personal comfort. You don’t have two sets of standards, do you? One set for your buddies, and another for your political opponents?
“I was hoping it was just a coincidence that all of your supporters were getting water pumps while your opponents have to go begging with hat in hand. If Grandma would’ve had a pump, maybe we could have put the fire out faster. But even if she is a 90-year-old widow, she doesn’t get a pump in her yard because she voted for me. It’s starting to sound more like Russia than the good ol’ US of A.”
Kate seethed at the implications. “Maybe it’s because the person putting in the pumps doesn’t trust that you won’t weaponize access to water–use it against your adversaries. And about the tool shed, it’s the new guard shack for the entire security team. It’s to protect us from the elements so we don’t die from exposure. It’s quite different from commandeering an entire house.”
James winked at Kate. “I hear you’ve done your share of scavenging, little missy. Do you want to talk about that?”
Kate froze in silence. She wondered if Sam had found out about the things she and Pritchard had taken from the Peterson’s. Had he talked to Dean about it? She most certainly did not want to discuss it.
“I thought not.” James helped his grandmother up from the couch. “But like you said, we’re protecting ourselves from the elements, so we don’t die.” He nodded to Don. “We’ll have a town hall meeting tomorrow after church, to talk about how we should respond.”
“You don’t get to make those calls.” Don seemed to be at the end of his rope with Jimmy Dean.
“Oh, of course not. You’re the big cheese. You can do whatever you want. But you can’t keep me from having a private meeting with my friends to discuss today’s events. I’m sure Pete won’t mind if we hang around for a half hour after church tomorrow. I just thought since many of my friends are your constituency, you’d want to be there—to defend your decisions. But please, don’t feel obligated. I was just trying to be friendly. Now, if you’ve done all the damage you can do, I’d appreciate it if you all leave. We have a lot to do.”
Red-faced, Don walked out the front door. Kate and Gavin followed him.
“You’re not going to stay for the meeting are you?” Kate asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out tomorrow.” Don sounded livid.
“Sure. I don’t mean to bug you about it, but if you go, you legitimize the meeting,” she added.
“I understand that, but if I don’t go, he’ll hammer the residents with his propaganda. And the meeting is legitimized by the voters hanging around, not me.”
Kate hated the fact that James had pushed Don into a corner once again. “Let me know if we can do anything.”
“Thanks, Kate. But the best thing you and Gavin can do now is to get back to your patrol.”
“Sure. We’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Kate watched the man walk furiously toward his house.
CHAPTER 17
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
Kate awoke, startled by her niece shaking her arm.
“Aunt Kate, church starts in fifteen minutes. You told me to wake you up.” Vicky held Kate’s hand.
Kate looked around the room to get her bearings. “Right, sure.” She looked at her niece and patted her hand. “Thank you.”
“You look tired.”
“I only got about two hours of sleep.”
Vicky sat on the edge of the bed. “Why don’t you sleep in today? You read your Bible every day. I’m sure God wouldn’t mind. In fact, He might want you to. He loves you, I’m sure He’d want you to take care of yourself.”
Kate stretched her legs and swung them toward the edge of the bed. “Normally, I’d concede to your very valid argument, but today it’s important that I be there. James Dean is going to hold a town hall meeting afterward. He’s going to use the fire to poison the minds of the residents against Don.”
Vicky’s mood deteriorated considerably upon hearing about the upcoming discussion. “I thought all that was over with. Why can’t people just move on?”
Kate stood and began getting ready for church. “I suppose it makes things harder for you and David, being on opposite sides of the debate.”
“Me and David are fine. He has his view and I have mine. We just avoid the subject altogether. It’s my hardheaded brother who won’t allow me to have my own opinion.”
Kate stepped into her boots and laced them up. “Sam is angry. I think he’ll lighten up once he’s able to move past his grief.”
“I’m still angry, too. I loved Mom and Dad as much as he did. I probably miss them even more.” Vicky followed her aunt down the stairs. “But I’m not going to let it cloud my reason.”
Kate rapped on Gavin’s door. “Time for church.”
“Hold on!” he replied.
Seconds later he opened the door. “I need some coffee.”
“Yeah, don’t we all, but we’re already late. Come on, we’ve got to go.” Kate opened the front door and the three of them sprinted down the driveway.
When they arrived at Pete Davis’ garage, Gavin opened the door for Kate and Vicky. “Take a look at this.”
Kate turned toward the direction Gavin had indicated. James Dean had the rangers dressed in all black. Their pants were bloused and most wore black hats. The rangers had a single red bar sewn on each of their shoulders. Sam sat at the end of the row.
“I guess they couldn’t find enough brown shirts and had to go with black.” Gavin led the way to the seats where they normally sat.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Vicky asked.
Kate hated the devious implication of the comment, but she co
uldn’t deny the uncanny resemblance. “Hitler’s youth and the Nazi party wore brown shirts during World War II.”
“Oh.” Vicky wrinkled her nose at the comparison.
To everyone’s relief and enjoyment, Martha Wilcox had taken the reigns of the music ministry. She led the congregation in song with her beautiful voice. Yet, to Pritchard’s chagrin, she occasionally mixed in a modern worship song amongst the classical hymns.
An hour later, Pritchard wrapped up his sermon with prayer, then lifted his head. “I reckon everyone has heard about the fire over at Rita’s last evenin’. The house wasn’t so much damaged, but all her things smell of smoke. If any of you women folk have any clothes or things that might make her more comfortable, you can drop them by the Smith’s place. That’s where she’s staying with Jimmy and Skeeter.
“Don Crisp has a few remarks about the incident. After that, Jimmy wants to speak his peace. If y’all want to hang about, Pete said it’d be alright. Otherwise, you’re dismissed, and I’ll see y’all next week.”
Pritchard came and sat at an empty stool next to Kate. She looked over at the black-clad militia sitting to her right. James looked incensed at having to speak second after Don as well as being publicly referred to as Jimmy.
Don Crisp came to the podium. “Thank you all for staying around. I do want to mention that last night’s fire is still being investigated by the security council and despite the opinions of some parties who may be swayed by their feelings, we have not yet determined who caused the fire. I realize that our present environment is an emotionally charged one, especially if it happens to be you who has lost a loved one or had your property damaged. But, staying calm and cool is always going to be our best course of action. We’re all free to have our own thoughts about these matters, but if you allow yourselves to get caught up in the fury, it can lead to poor decisions that will further jeopardize the safety of everyone living in Apple Blossom Acres. I’ll turn the platform over to Mr. Dean, but I will ask that you all remember that we are in this thing together, and we’re all on the same side.”
James walked to the podium. Like his minions, he wore all black. He was flanked on either side by Skeeter and Gene Tifton. “Thank you, Don. And I do hope we will remember that we’re all on the same side.”
