Swift Justice: The Southern Way

by R. P. Wolff

  He hiked quickly but carefully through the opening at mile-marker fifteen. As the SAC said, there was a chain spread out across two trees, blocking any car that would drive by. He stepped over the chain and jogged slowly. He didn’t want to leave his team alone for long. He just needed to get a glimpse of the setup, so they would know the best place to hide and observe.

  He jogged about thirty yards. There was a perfect path made for cars to drive. On each side of the path was shrubbery and trees. Then there was a massive opening. Clearly, a whole construction crew had spent a considerable amount of time and money constructing this outdoor facility.

  Perry was amazed.

  In the center, were about twenty rows of large tree logs that had padding stapled to the logs, apparently to make it tolerable to sit on the logs. There was a large center aisle and two side aisles. These seats were positioned at a decline. At the bottom was a stage platform. It was made of wood planks and was elevated about a foot off the ground, but it still was at a lower elevation than the log seats. So people could sit and face down to the stage.

  There was a huge cross in the back of the stage in the middle. It was probably about fifteen feet high. All along the sides of the stage and the seating area, were unlit torches. To the sides of the seats, were large empty fields. This must be where everyone parked. The woods surrounded all of this.

  It was truly amazing, Perry observed. These people were organized.

  He stopped to take a few photographs and ran back up the makeshift road. As he was heading back, he heard a vehicle over by the chain. Oh shit, Perry thought. People were starting to come. He darted to his right, into the shrubbery. He shut off his flashlight and hid.

  He saw a red pickup truck drive by with its headlights on. He didn’t recognize the vehicle. Why would he. He just got into town that day. Damn, he wished he brought his binoculars. Fortunately, the truck’s own headlights provided some ability to see. The truck turned right at the driveway, turned left at the large opening, and then headed to the stage area. The driver parked the truck, turned off the headlights, and got out.

  Perry struggled to see now that the headlights were off. The person pulled out a flashlight and shined it on the stage, but the flashlight was nothing compared to the headlights. Perry couldn’t see who was at the stage. After about a minute, the person walked back to the car and drove away with the headlights back on.

  Perry ducked back into the shrubbery. The truck sped past him and drove over the chain but stopped. The person got out to put the chain back on the hooks. Perry was about twenty yards away and peered over to see if he could see the person. The person was wearing a white hood covering their face. The person raced back into the truck and sped away. Perry tried his hardest to see if he could see the license plate, but all he could see was 23 at the end of the plate, or, at least, he though it looked like a two and a three.

  Perry hiked back over to his team. His team was outside the cars and hiding in the shrubbery. The men recognized Perry.

  “Did you see that truck?” asked Perry.

  “Yes,” said Hall.

  “Did you get the plates?” asked Perry.

  “No, we couldn’t see it,” replied Hall. “What did you see? Fill us in.”

  Perry squatted down, so no one could see him from the road. “Okay, I have a lot to tell you. First, that person in the truck had a hood on and drove to the stage. He was only there for about a minute, and then he left.”

  “What did he do?” asked Hall.

  “I don’t know. I couldn’t see. It was too far. But I did get a glimpse of some of the license plate. The last two numbers are two and three.”

  “Okay, that’s decent information,” said Hall. “We know it is a red pickup truck with license plates that end in a two and three.”

  “Yeah, and it was a Chevy truck.”

  “Okay, that narrows it down even further,” Hall said encouragingly. “What else did you find?”

  “Okay, their setup is amazing. They have a seating area that probably could seat well over a hundred people.” Perry continued to describe the facility that he just witnessed. “The way I see it; our best hiding spot is just before the driveways that lead to the parking areas. We can probably find a good spot where no one will notice us. I estimate that it’s only about fifty yards.”

  Hall spoke. “I think we should split up. Perry, you take Leon with you and watch the meeting. I’ll keep Mr. Goldstein and Deron. We’ll observe the people coming in and see if we get some license plates.”

  “Okay, sounds good,” said Perry.

  “Everyone, it is extremely important that you remain absolutely silent,” said Hall. “If they find out we’re here, who knows what they will do to us. In the darkness, they might not know that we are the FBI.”

  “Hey, don’t worry, Deron and I won’t make a peep,” said Leon. “Believe me; we know exactly what would happen to us if they found us here.”

  “What do you think the person was doing here so early and for such a short time?” asked Hall.

  “I don’t know. I really couldn’t see.”

  “Okay, we need to check for that red pickup truck again,” said Hall. “Let’s see if it returns.”

  “Yeah, something is definitely fishy there,” said Perry.

  ~~~~

  Junior arrived home at about 9:30 p.m. He kept the pickup truck in his driveway and went into his house. He sat down on a chair to collect his thoughts. He sighed heavily. The hard part was over. He couldn’t believe all that he accomplished in such a short time.

  He was able to kill his father, dump his body on the Negro side of town, dump the patrol car in the lake, and plant the bomb without anyone apparently seeing him other than Henderson, but Henderson thought he was the Sheriff. He set the bomb to go off at 10:45 p.m. He figured that was a perfect time. The meeting was supposed to start at 10:30 p.m., but it usually started late because people were always running late. He figured that the Judge, who would be in full Klan costume, would start his rant at about 10:45 p.m. Then, there would be a big explosion, and the whole town would decent on the Negro areas in a full fledge war. Of course, Junior would make sure that he was far away from the stage to avoid being injured from the explosion.

  Okay, but now he had to figure out his next move. He was exhausted and badly wanted to take a nap before the KOT meeting, but that was probably a bad idea. He needed to either clean out the garage to destroy further evidence or somehow establish an alibi. Again, he figured no one was going to be knocking on his door this evening to inspect his garage or tomorrow for that matter. He figured that he could postpone the cleaning activities.

  How could he establish an alibi, though? Well, he had to show his face. Should he call the police station to check in, or should he just show up? He liked the idea of just showing up. Maybe there would be some developments on his father’s death. Maybe someone discovered the body. Yes, he would immediately drive over to the police station to see if he could find out what was happening and to establish an alibi.

  ~~~~

  Junior walked into the police station. Finley was managing the desk.

  “What’s up Fins?” asked Junior.

  “Oh man, this is a crazy night, crazy times.”

  “Tell me about it,” replied Junior.

  Finley paused. “Hey, have you seen your dad around?”

  Perfect, thought Junior. It was great that Finley initiated the inquiry about his father potentially missing. “Ah … no, I haven’t … why?”

  “Well, um … we’ve been trying to get a hold of him. Henderson saw him speeding by him by the warehouse. He tried to radio him, but he hasn’t responded.”

  “Really?” Junior said trying to act surprised. “Well, I know he’s investigating these crimes. Maybe he’s just not in his car.”

  “Yeah, probably,” said Finley.

  “What else is going on?” asked Junior.

  “Well, we got a call a little while ago from the FBI.”

&n
bsp; “FBI?” asked Junior.

  “Yes. A train operator saw what he thought was a body on the nigger side of the tracks.”

  Junior felt the hair in the back of his neck raise up. Oh shit, the train operator may have saw him. No, Junior thought that he was too far away. He couldn’t have seen him or the car, but this worried him.

  “Oh really,” Junior said, trying not to sound panicky. “Has anyone checked it out yet?”

  “No, everyone’s kind of tied up getting ready for the KOT meeting tonight. Are you going to it?”

  “Of course, I’m going to it.”

  “Anyway, no one’s check it out yet. It’s probably some drunk nigger … you know … that drank too much … you know … probably just laying down.” Finely paused. “You want to check it out?”

  Junior definitely wanted to check it out. This way if he found some incriminating evidence that he missed, he could get rid of it. Plus, he could control the investigation. But, first, he had to put on an act that he didn’t even know where to look. “Well, where did they say it was at?”

  “It was the train operator that called the FBI, or I don’t know how the FBI got a hold of it. They said it was by the warehouse area. So it was by the tracks by the warehouse area. Are you going to check it out?”

  “Yeah, I’ll check it out, but I got to be at the KOT meeting a little before the start time, so I’ll check it out really quick.”

  ~~~~

  Junior couldn’t believe his luck. He was so glad that he decided to check into the police station. He now had a whole new plan. Originally, he was going to be at the KOT meeting while the explosion occurred but stay safely out of danger. But now he had a better plan.

  He left his pickup truck at the police station and took a patrol car. He would find his dad’s body and radio it in, but he would wait until about 10:20 p.m. to call it in. He checked his watch, and it was already five minutes past ten, so it was perfect timing for his cause. But all the key people would be at the KOT meeting, so he would instruct the police to interrupt the KOT meeting to inform them that the Sheriff was dead. Junior figured that it would take them about fifteen to twenty minutes to get there, so they would probably arrive shortly before the bomb was to explode.

  The combination of the shocking news of the Sheriff’s death followed by the explosion would create certain havoc. The best of it all was that Junior would not be there and would have a good reason for not being there. Junior was ecstatic with his new plan.

  He arrived at about 10:15 p.m. at the railroad tracks. He parked on the white side. He walked over the tracks and saw and few Negroes hovering over his father’s body. They looked up and saw him. Junior could see the surprised and worried look on their faces. Junior shined his flashlight on them, and they scattered away.

  “Hey!” Junior shouted. “Get back.”

  They were gone in a flash. Hopefully, they didn’t see Junior earlier when he dumped the body. Junior scurried down the side of the tracks to find his father laying on his back—dead.

  Junior peaked around to see if anyone else was around. He nudged his father’s body with his foot. “Come on, get up, motherfucker,” he said. “What’s the matter? Can’t get up? How does it feel motherfucker?”

  Okay, Junior realized that he needed to focus and get into acting mode. He ran back up the tracks and to the patrol car. Now, he would have to put on an act.

  “Junior to Base! Junior to Base. Come in Base.”

  After a few moments, “Go ahead, Junior. This is Base.”

  “Fins, we got a major problem … my father has been killed.” Junior said this while whimpering.

  “Oh my God! What happened?”

  Junior continued the whimpering, “Some nigger murdered my father.”

  “Oh my God! Where are you at?”

  “I’m at the spot you told me to go to. Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance!”

  Junior figured that they really needed to call the morgue, but he would let them figure that out.

  “Fins, you better let the Judge know right now,” suggested Junior. “I’m going to get my shotgun and kill some niggers tonight. I’m going to fuckin’ kill them all. I’m going to stop this madness. I’m coming by the station to get my pickup truck, right now.”

  “Junes, wait, don’t do anything on your own.”

  “I can’t wait any longer. They killed my dad.” Junior burst out into a fake cry while keeping his hand depressed on the walkie-talkie, so the dispatcher could hear his cries.

  Chapter 32

  Leon was shivering for two separate reasons: it was a chilly autumn night and he was absolutely terrified. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He heard about Klan meetings, and many people in his neighborhood speculated about them, but he was actually at one. They hid well in the shrubbery, but Leon wasn’t sure how long they would go undetected.

  He was amazed at the number of people and how organized they appeared to be. Starting at about 9:45 p.m., cars and mostly pickup trucks (many of them red Chevys), started arriving. It appeared to be all men. They would park their cars on the open areas to the side of the seating areas, get out and put on their evil garb. They each put on a full-length white garment that covered their whole body. Then they put on the white pointed hood that only revealed their eyes and mouth. Leon was amazed that hillbillies had such clean uniforms. It appeared that they were spotless.

  They marched to the seating areas and took their seats. There was a lot of chatter amongst the group. Leon could sense a lot of tension.

  Perry kept looking at Leon and would place his forefinger to his mouth to remind Leon not to make a sound.

  They lit numerous torches that lined up along the seating area and some on the stage. The place was now lit up, and Leon could see much better. But this meant that the Klan could see much better.

  Perry periodically took pictures, without a flash, and filmed some of the activities. Leon looked at his watch. It was about 10:40.

  “Okay, let’s say our pledge,” the speaker on the stage said. He was speaking into a microphone with a large speaker in front of the stage. Leon was again amazed at how organized they were. If they found him, he and his brother were dead even if the FBI was with them. The FBI wouldn’t be able to stop the madness. These crackers were pissed.

  Everyone stood up in unison and repeated the pledge together: “We are the Fraternity of Texas Klans. We believe in white Protestants. We hate niggers, Jews, spicks, Yankees, Communist, and Catholics. We fight to keep the power to the white people. We will crush anyone who tries to destroy our fraternity. God bless the Klan.”

  Great, Leon thought. What a wonderful pledge—such Southern hospitality. There were three people on the stage, but their uniforms were different. They had some kind of round symbol by their chests. Their hoods were a dark red. The leader had a black cross on the top of his hood.

  Everyone sat back down except the speaker on the stage. The other two people on the stage sat down on chairs on the stage to each side of the speaker.

  The leader shouted into the microphone, “Brothers, I’ve called this meeting because our town is in crisis, and I know that you are all mad, and y’all have a right to be mad. And I am mad too. All of us on this stage are mad. We’re not going to sit quietly. We’re going to destroy the person or the people who have killed our brothers, our friends, our families. We will kill them!”

  The crowd roared with approval.

  “But, y’all cannot take matters in your own hands. The FBI is in town; the media is in town. You cannot take matters in your own hands. You guys understand that if you take matters in your own hands, you will suffer the consequences. You will end up like the people who were killed.”

  Wow, Leon thought the leader was very blunt on what would happen to them if they started killing Negroes on their own.

  “So do not take matters in your own hands. Do you understand, brothers?”

  “Yes, Imperial Wizard,” they shouted back.

  Leon not
iced that Perry was filming the whole speech. He gave Leon the camera to take pictures of which Leon did as told.

  “Okay, we’re going to need some volunteers. We are not going to call in the Texas National Guard. We don’t need any outsiders. We can handle this ourselves. We’re going to arrange for some groups tonight to create havoc in the nigger areas. We’re going to burn down churches. We’re going to burn down schools. We’re going to burn down their whole downtown area.”

  “Yeah!” People cheered.

  The leader continued. “We’re going to let the niggers know that they can’t go around killing our people. We are going to let them know.” Then the leader shouted even louder. “We are going to let them know. Do you understand, brothers?”

  “Yeah!” They stood up, cheered, and clapped. There were punching their fists in the air.

  Leon noticed that they were ready to kill someone right then. If they found him, he would be dead in a flash.

  “Do you understand, brothers!” The leader shouted again.

  “Yes,” they shouted in a frenzy.

  ~~~~

  “Imperial Wizard! Imperial Wizard!” A person shouted from the back of the crowd.

  Leon saw a policeman standing at the back of the crowd. He was standing by his patrol car. He must have driven down the road while the crowd was cheering. Leon didn’t hear him drive up the makeshift road.

  The Imperial Wizard stopped speaking and gazed into the crowd. “What is it?” he said irritably.

  “We just got word. The Sheriff has been murdered!”

  The crowd fell into a silence.

  The Imperial Wizard also stood in silence. “What?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry to report this, Sir. Junior found his dad’s body by the railroad tracks on the nigger side.”

  “That’s it, Judge,” someone shouted. “We have to kill the niggers, right now!”

  “Yeah,” everyone shouted in unison and was starting to head for their cars.