Doing Time In Texas, Book 2

by James E Ferrell

  “Old man Domino lives a block over and I have a deal with him to fare people around Huntsville. Might take him a few minutes to get here but he’s always available. Want me to call him?” the ticket agent asked.

  “Yes, I will be at the diner having coffee. Have him pick me up there,” Willy said. He hated to take the time in town, but he wanted to be seen this morning. Passing the plate glass window of the candy store, Willy thumped on the glass and waved to O’Hara before making his way on down the street. He hoped the fake smile was not apparent to O’Hara. He had to get the glum look off his face before he entered the diner. He was the only customer in the diner as he sat drinking coffee. A few minutes later Cage entered the diner and apparently had not seen Willy. “I hear you are looking for me,” Willy said before Cage had seen him. Turning around, Cage was surprised. Walking over to the table he hung his hat on the chair next to Willy’s.

  “Mind if I join you?” Cage asked.

  “Have a seat…how is your investigation going?” Willy asked.

  “Getting closer all the time. As a matter of fact, you are the main suspect at the moment and if you’re guilty, I’m here to find a way to prove it,” Cage stated.

  Willy said, “I thought you were here courting my neighbor.” Both men grinned. Cage decided that it was hard not to like Willy.

  “Have you had any luck?” Willy asked

  “No, but things are beginning to look up,” Cage said.

  “I wasn’t talking about the case; I was talking about my neighbor,” Willy said grinning.

  “I was, too,” Cage said.

  Both men laughed, and Willy said, “Cage, you know I couldn’t have done the murders. I was here in town and checked in upstairs at the time that was happening. So, let’s get down to whatever it is that you really want.”

  “Okay,” Cage said. “You served prison time here and have a violent past.”

  “I did my time and now I’m clean,” Willy replied.

  “Are you carrying a gun?” Cage asked.

  “Of course not, I’m an ex-con. That would send me back to prison.” Willy pulled back his coat to show Cage he was not carrying.

  “You realize if you had been carrying a gun, I would have taken you in,” Cage stated.

  “You are looking for straws now, Ranger,” Willy said.

  “What are you doing in Huntsville?” Cage asked.

  “I like the area and decided to start ranching,” Willy stated.

  “Where were you yesterday?” Cage asked.

  “I was in Houston at a motel on Government Street. It’s very close to the bus terminal. I just arrived on the four am bus from Houston.” Pulling a bus ticket stub out of his pocket Willy showed it to Cage.

  “We knew you were in Houston. What were you doing there?” Willy asked.

  “This country is bursting wide open with commerce and I see the need to be able to move products from place to place. I intend to start a trucking business. It looks to be a growing industry here in the South. I was in Houston looking for contacts and checking out the possibilities,” Willy said.

  Opening his wallet, he pulled out a bill to pay for the coffee revealing a picture of Bonnie. He handed Cage a hotel ticket revealing the date and the location of the motel.

  Convinced, Cage asked, “Why were you in prison?”

  “You know the answer to that,” Willy said looking into Cage’s eyes.

  “Yes, but I want to know what caused you to pull a dumb stunt like that and get sent up. You are too smart to be so foolish,” Cage responded.

  “Everyone is foolish when they are young. Unfortunately, in youth we make choices that ruin or change our lives forever. I’m one of those people,” Willy said.

  “You know a gangster by the name of McDonald in Chicago?” Cage asked.

  “McDonald? McDonald? I can’t say that I do,” Willy said with a straight face.

  “There were rumors years ago that a mobster by that name was coming into Texas to start moving stolen goods and liquor. A ranger was looking into that when he was killed,” Cage said.

  “Texas is a big place and its borders are easy to get across. I have no desire to move anything that is illegal. It is too easy to make money legally,” Willy said.

  “If you plan to start a trucking business in this state, I will make sure that every truck you own will be inspected every time they roll,” Cage stated.

  “Thanks for the warning! Now I have a taxi sitting outside. Do you have anything else you want to talk about. If not, I have a beautiful wife at home!”

  “Make sure you stay there,” Cage said.

  “You have nothing on me, I will come and go as I need for my business plans. I will try and make myself available when you need me,” Willy said.

  Cage had gained nothing and was no closer to pinpointing anything, or solving the murders.

  C51 - A Time to Run

  “Binky, this is Mac. What is so important you been calling me all the way down here?” McDonald asked.

  The phone buzzed, and the voice of his sleepy accountant came on the other end of the line. His accountant’s voice took on a higher octave as he woke to a nightmare he had been dreading. “Mac, I don’t know how to tell you this. You remember the banker Baker sent me to. Well, he has been busted,” Binky stated.

  “You talking about Ralph Davis the banker? So, what does that mean?” McDonald asked.

  “According to my sources, Davis faked a bank robbery on his own bank. The feds caught him,” Binky replied.

  “What does that mean to me, Binky…spell it out!” McDonald shouted.

  Timidly Binky said, “Well, the feds found the money I had taken him in a cabinet in his office. He was arrested for laundering money. All the money…err your money was seized!”

  “My money? My money? How much money we talking, Binky? How much?” McDonald shouted even louder.

  “It was most of the money you have accrued that Willy talked you into investing,” Binky said nervously.

  “Ahhh……” Throwing the phone against the mirror McDonald sat staring at the wall. “Smitty, did you get any of that?” Mac asked.

  “I heard it all, Boss,” was all Smitty dared say. Picking up the phone he listened for a minute. Realizing the scared accountant was still on the line, Smitty said, “Binky, keep us posted if you hear anything.”

  A few minutes later the phone rang again as McDonald stepped from the restroom. McDonald put the receiver to his ear as the shrill voice of Hawkins related the story of the trucks. With blood shot eyes McDonald stood dumbfounded. “Hawkins, you lost my trucks. I’ll kill you for that!” Slamming the phone down he shouted, “Get up ,you bums…get up and get ready to go. The trucks have been stolen!” McDonald said between clinched teeth.

  Smitty stood leaning against the doorframe with shaving cream on his face. He had a much clearer head than the others in the room.

  “That idiot you hired has let two trucks get hijacked!” McDonald said.

  “How could that have happened?” Smitty asked.

  “I don’t know. Only one guy knew what was in those trucks!” McDonald said.

  “Willy set up all the truck deals here in Texas. He is the only one that would have known plus, he set up Binky with the banker,” Smitty said.

  McDonald pointed a finger at Smitty and said. “Get dressed! We are going to find those trucks. The first thing you do is take care of that mistake you hired and that old man.”

  “It’s hard to find good help these days,” Smitty said as he quickly finished his morning shave.

  After the sun came up, Fred found the distributer cap and got the car running. Standing by a phone booth Hawkins and Fred looked at one another. “Fred, McDonald said he was going to kill us. You reckon he means it?” Hawkins asked.

  “Hawkins, I don’t plan on being around when McDonald and Smitty show up. Yes, they will kill us for sure…I’m headed for a healthier climate,” Fred said.

  Bug-eyed and wringing his hands, Chubby H
awkins had lost his courage; he no longer wanted to be a gangster. He asked, “Do we want to go back to the shack to get our belongings?”

  “They are already on their way here. Going back will take us just that much longer to get away from here,” Fred said.

  “Which way are you going?” Hawkins asked.

  “The only way is north from here. You can drop me off in Houston. That’s where we split up. All you need to know is I’m changing climates. I’ve done enough time in Texas. I suggest you do the same, Hawkins,” Fred said with finality.

  Willy stepped from the taxi by the big barn and paid the driver. He said, “Domino, thanks for the ride. I have your number when I need a cab!” Standing in the road Willy watched the taillights retreat down the dirt road as he considered what he must do. Above him the tall pines swayed in an early morning breeze and whispered his secret through the forest. He had grown to love the whispering pines and each Sunday morning he eagerly waited to hear the hymns from the little church. Now the trees had turned against him. They carried the message of another dark secret lying hidden behind the church where God’s people came together to sing.

  Willy’s big frame drooped from the burden of guilt that weighed him down. He collected a shovel and pick for the gruesome job he had to do. Waiting down the road, a dead man lay hidden beneath brush. In the town of Huntsville, a grandmother would someday learn her grandson was dead. She had spent her life caring and praying for a boy that had been rejected by society. Setting his jaw, Willy was determined to bring this matter to a head. All wrong would come to light and maybe then the darkness would leave his soul. He looked back at the house knowing Bonnie would be sleeping soundly. Until she was ready to wake nothing would wake her. A few minutes later he walked past the church and looked to make sure no one was around before making his way to the rear of the cemetery. He was well secluded from sight and unless someone came to the cemetery this early, he could get the job done quickly. These days few people came around this graveyard. Superstitious tales were spread of dark shadows and spirits that inhabited the woods around. He removed the sod away in squares from the grave he was going to dig. For the next hour he worked feverishly to get the grave dug. The ground was sandy so the digging was easy. It would be a shallow grave. Leaning back against a big cedar tree he wished for a drink of water. Before dawn he slid the casket into the grave and quickly filled in the dirt. Next the sod squares were laid back in place. Standing back, he looked at his finished work. Remembering the stones, he set a stone at the head of Taylor’s grave and one next to it. Brushing dirt from the stones that read ‘RESERVED’ he collected his tools. Maybe Thomas’ grandmother would like to have a place by him if she chose to leave him here.

  Walking back towards the house, Willy crossed the creek where the kids loved to swim. Removing his clothing he stepped into the water and submerged himself. The vision of Thomas in death would not leave his mind. Thinking of the grandmother and knowing he had to tell her someday very soon made him ache inside. He hated to see her suffer for long, but the innocent always suffer with the guilty. At this point he had no doubt he must follow through with what he had started. With new resolve he slipped a towel from his traveling bag and pressed it against his wet face. Thomas’ words filtered through his mind. ‘I guess I will never know my mother and father,’ he had said.

  Walking across the field, it wasn’t long until he stepped up on the back porch. Through the screen door he could see Bonnie at the stove. Leaning against the door frame he watched her. Standing in her bare feet and in a simple cotton dress she was beautiful. He knew he could never stand being apart from her. Without turning from the stove, she brushed a string of hair from her vision and said, “How was your trip?”

  “All I can say is that I never want to be away from you for any length of time,” Willy replied.

  “Did I hear trucks out at the barn last night?” Bonnie asked.

  Avoiding the question, he asked, “Is that breakfast for me?”

  “Who else would it be for? I get up every morning and cook breakfast for you even if you don’t show up…you didn’t answer my question,” she said.

  “Bonnie stay away from the barn. In a few days, my business will be complete,” Willy stated.

  Opening the screen door, he stepped up behind her and put his arms around her waist. With tears in her eyes she turned around and looked up at him. Putting her hand on his chin she began, “Willy, for the first time in my life I am truly happy. I have peace and hope. Hope that we can have a life free of the past. I want a bunch of kids like Silas hauls around in the back of his old pickup truck. Kids that are not members of a gang; standing on street corners looking for trouble. Here we have a place where turf is grass the cows eat. Not where Italian kids guard the streets against the Irish or make deals over something stolen. I want our kids to spend their time rolling down the side of a hill in an old tire. Kids brown from the sun playing together at the swimming hole. I want a bunch of kids that look like you, who are creative and make their toys instead of breaking the glass of a store window to steal them.” Kissing him lightly she wiped her eyes on her apron and turned back to the stove. “I received a letter from mother yesterday. I have a brother I didn’t even know I had. My father has been out of work for a long time and they have fallen on hard times. I have a chance to do something good for them and hopefully make up for the heartache I have caused. Now tell me what I am bringing them into?”

  Sitting down in a chair, Willy pulled her into his lap. Looking up in her face, he asked, “When will they be coming?”

  Bonnie replied, “I don’t really know yet, but soon, I hope. Annie and I are fixing up the log cabin down in the meadow. My parents can move into this house. I want us to move back there while the baby is little, and you can build us a home on the hill overlooking the swimming hole. I want to watch my younger brother and my children swimming from my kitchen window.”

  Willy thought of the change in Bonnie and the latest developments that were outside his control. Her family would be arriving right in the middle of this unless he stepped up the pace. What had happened the last few days had put them on a collision course with McDonald.

  C52 - Beginning Again

  Billy stuffed the red rag into his back pocket and ran in the station to answer the phone. “Rrrrroute 45 Oasis, how can I help you?” he asked.

  “You sound like a pro, Billy! I see you made it here and you were right on time!” Willy said.

  “Wwwilly! Mr. Jackson is ttteaching mmmme all I need to knnnow about cccars and Alice is taking cccare of the cccash register. We are bbboth learning to drrrive…I have a lot to tell you,” Billy said excitedly.

  “Slow down Billy and talk to me slowly. You hardly stutter at all until you get excited,” Willy said.

  “Ok, Wwwilly. I’m slowing down…after you cccalled me, the police cccame …they were Detectives from the prrrecinct. One of them was Detective Hadley.”

  Willy thought for a minute, “I know Hadley. He is on the take to McDonald.”

  “Someone traced your cccall and they sent Hadley and another deeeetective to see why you called mmmme. We didn’t tell them anything! Did just as you said in your letter and herrrre we are,” Billy proudly said.

  “Billy, stay close to the phone for a few days. I might need your help,” Willy stated.

  “Just lllet us know what we cccan do,” said Billy.

  Willy hung up the phone and stood in the hall of the diner thinking of the latest development. ‘Damage control. He had to change his plans. McDonald knew where he was and would be coming after them with all his goons.’ Stepping back into the dining area, Willy ordered a cup of coffee. He had brought Bonnie into Huntsville to shop. Watching the activity through the plate glass window, he noticed Bart crossing the street heading for the diner. With no other people in the diner, Bart settled at the table next to Willy’s. “Good morning,” Bart grumbled.

  Willy gave him a cordial hello and continued to sip his coffee and
read the newspaper. When the waitress had served Bart a cup of coffee and pie she went to the back of the diner.

  “Real problem coming our way,” Willy said under his breath. “We have to move a truck out tonight. The mob knows where I am, and they are headed this way. Nothing we can do but move up our plans. Make some kind of excuse and be ready to leave this evening as soon as it gets dark. I will pick you up at the same place.” Willy left a tip on the table and left.

  Walking over to the table Judy scooped up the tip and said, “You local cowboys could learn a lot from that man. He is a gentleman and always leaves a tip.”

  Laughing, Bart got up and left the diner.

  Walking down the street looking in the store front windows, Willy found Bonnie collecting can goods in the local grocery. By now most everyone in town knew her and went out of their way to say hello. Pulling her to the side he said, “Doll Face, I have to go somewhere, so finish up your shopping and let’s go now.” Together they gathered up the packages she had on the counter and walked to the car. An hour later Willy pulled up to the old deserted farm where he found Bart waiting on the back porch. Bart got in the car throwing his bag in the rear.

  “Where did you get this car? It looks like a reject from the junk heap,” said Bart.

  “The engine and tires are sound, so Ed says. It will get us to Memphis and back……I hope. When we get to the barn, I will drive the big rig. You follow in this car,” Willy said.

  “What about the other truck?” Bart asked.

  “I will need it later; it's insurance,” Willy replied.

  “What did you do with Thomas’ body?” Bart inquired.

  Willy clenched his teeth and set his jaws. It was bad enough he couldn’t get Thomas’ hollow-eyed stare out of his mind but now Bart had to mention his name. “He’s in a place no one will find him so don’t ask me again,” Willy said flatly.

  The barn was located a far distance from the main house, but Bonnie heard the faint noise of the truck as it left the barn. Sitting in the living room with Susie at her side, she buried her face in her apron and wept. ‘Oh Willy, what is driving you? We could have a good life together.’ The four remaining pups sat on the porch looking through the screen door, their eyes shining against the light from the room.