Chapter 42 Who Messed up?
While Samuel lay unconscious, either sleeping or fighting off his demons, not far away in Spicebridge five men were meeting to discuss the events of the week.
Jeb Clarke had called the meeting supported by Clive Meek as soon as the zoning committee meeting had ended with the expressed aim of finding out what had happened that week and how they had lost out on all of their zoning applications that they were shepherding through the zoning approval process.
Since the zoning committee had ended some thirty hours earlier there had been accusations made and fingers pointed, the blame game had started in earnest. As a group Jeb Clark, Clive Meek, Benjamin Carouse, Aaron Gant, Kendrick Toup and Herbert Mouton had all lost out on a significant amount of money.
With all of their corrupt dealings and to make their offers seem so water tight and agreeable to their ‘customers’ they always agreed to a fifty, fifty percent split between payments made before and after the zoning decisions were made, their normal split was with the final fifty percent being paid upon successfully gaining zoning approvals. However that was with the exception of ‘easy money’ work where they would ask for twenty five, seventy five percent split of the money with only twenty five percent up front. Billy-Bob and Mary-Jo’s application was an ‘easy money ‘piece of works so Mr Gant’s co-conspirators thought they had lost out significantly. However Mr Gant had not told them that he had already collected all of the money from them. In light of their poor performance at the committee meeting Mr Gant chose to keep this fact secret and pocketed all the money himself.
As normal their meeting was held out of sight, they had all agreed to meet in the rear car lot of the Winn-Dixie store, it was an over flow car lot to the side of the store and not well lit, an ideal meeting place for their shady dealings to be discussed. Aaron Gant had been the last to arrive after having only just left another clandestine meeting with two of his ‘committee insiders’. Aaron had been trying to find out what had happened and why all of the zoning applications that they as a group had interests in had been refused. He left however with little news or information to tell his awaiting accomplices. All that he was told was that there was nothing that any of the ‘committee insiders’ could do to effect the required outcome this time. It was also pointed out to him that for year upon year they always came up trumps, it was just not their month this time, they could not alter the opinions of enough of the others. And as for Mr Ronson’s actions, usually the most quiet and compliant member of the committee, they remained completely dumbfounded. This meeting had ended rather sourly for Aaron as Mrs.Lavache’s tongue spat of a tirade of abuse at him.
“Auh aims to be leavin now misder Gant, don’t yuh go bad mouthin or talkin to ourne baws, ersoften things just goes to shit in a storm an that’s just it, shit in a storm misder Gant, shit in a storm….. An if yuh don’t like it then thad‘ll be it finished once an for all, yuh hear me?”
With these words ringing in his ears Mr. Gant had nodded sharply and headed quickly off towards Winn-Dixies, he was already ten minutes late so he drove fast. With a screech of tires worthy of any thirties black and white gangster movie his car squealed into the rear car lot of Winn-Dixie’s.
“An where the fuck have you bin, sittin round with your finger up your ass?”
Shouted Jeb Clarke as Aaron pulled up alongside his five coconspirators. He ignored Jeb’s taunt, parked neatly, got out of his car and walked around the rear of his car to join the others.
“Gentlemen.”
He said as he approached the other five.
“You really fucked up this time Gant.”
Spat Clive.
“Yeah not good.”
Added Benjamin.
“Gentlemen please.”
Aaron protested as the insults and accusations flew and atmosphere between the group grew tense. Polite as he was and outwardly a gentleman, Aaron possessed a razor sharp political awareness and immediately went on the attack. He first ridiculed Clive’s poor showing both on the visit to the site and at the committee meeting, he then went on to criticize the content of Jeb’s official zoning report and told him to his face that he had made elementary mistakes and it was obvious to even the casual observer that the majority of their applications were being presented with extremely questionable justifications and reasoning. None of them seemed to be in compliance with any sort of zoning policy and to cap it all when Jeb came under scrutiny by the committee he seemed to fold like a pack of cards.
“Admit it, you’re past it Clarke, your reports were poor and you stuttered and fumbled like a child in that committee.”
Aaron said in his usual calm, superior voice, Jeb exploded.
“I’ll, give you calm, you linen suited, nose in the air, fuck wit.”
He screamed as he lunged at Aaron, He managed to grab Aaron by his lapels before Herbert and Kendrick where able to wrestle him away.
“To close to the truth was I?”
Aaron asked as the two others held onto Jeb.
“I’ll give you the truth Gant you dick sucking Mcfagget…, you screwed us all …………, haven’t you, you bastard.”
Jeb continued as Aaron stood opposite shaking his head slowly from side to side.
Clive leaned forward right into Aarons face and growled
“Yeah you fucked us over Gant…, probably kept all the money an all, now we ain’t got shit apart from the split of the Johnsons twenty five percent an that ain’t much.”
Aaron took a step backwards, events were starting to spiral out of control.
Herbert released his hold on Jeb and stepped forward standing between Clive and Aaron.
“Hey c’mon guys fightin ain’t gonna get us nowhere…, let’s just cool off a bit and talk this through.”
He said looking appealingly at Jeb, Aaron and Clive. Jeb, smoothed out his ruffled shirt and straightened his tie before Clive asked.
“Anyone knows where Kendrick is at.”
”No I ain’t seen him since the zoning meeting.”
Replied Herbert with a shake of his head
“Nor me.”
Confirmed Jeb.
“I haven’t either.”
Said Aaron, Benjamin just shock his head from side to side confirming that he hadn’t either.
“What d’ya think, we wait or get on with it?”
Jeb asked of the other four.
“Yeah let’s get on with it, just hope he ain’t a rat?
Herbert replied with a sigh. Before continuing.
“Yeah guys, we’ve got a good thing going on here and I for one would like it to continue…., it’s in all of our own interest to discuss this calmly and try and figure out what went on so that we can ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
He paused for a second, giving his words a little time to sink in before continuing.
“Throwing accusations around without proof or reason is a fool’s game…, now we’ve lost out some on these applications that’s true but lets all work together…….If someone’s fucked up then they’ve fucked up and that’s that. No recriminations, no back stabbing, lets just get it all out in the open and learn.., we can talk with Kendrick tomorrow.”
“Yeah…… I’ll call him up first thing and give him a summary of whatever we discuss tonight… And ask him why he didn’t turn up tonight.”
Jeb said.
Heads nodded in agreement and a semi calm descended on the group, Clive however was still unhappy. He had lost out significantly on the Akendo project and that still seriously irked him, now he had lost out again and in his eyes Aaron Gant was the man at fault. In his twisted mind he surmised that it was probably Aaron who somehow instigated his replacement on the Akendo project. He had never liked Aaron; he found him aloof and hated theNew Englandaccent that he put on and the way he strutted around in his crumpled crème linen suit.
“I’d better not find out that it’s you Gant.”
Clive snapped before being hushed quiet by the other four. He stepped back a little from the group took out his cell phone and dialed Kendrick; it rang and rang without being answered. Clive closed his phone returned it to his pocket and rejoined the group.
“Just tried Kendrick no reply.”
Clive announced to the others.
“Funny that I been trying to get hold of him today and got no reply.”
Benjamin said.
“He better not be tryin to fuck us all over.”
Clive said as his paranoia switched from Aaron to Kendrick.
“Don’t be stupid for one if he were not turning up to meet with us that would be the stupidest thing ever as it would raise suspicions wouldn’t it.”
Herbert said in a calm voice
“Spose so.”
Clive replied like a scolded schoolboy.
“Yeah that’s right, probably out of town on some business, you know some big Latham Kellar and Bond deal, he’s right in with Kellar you know…, known each other since they were young.”
Jeb said matter of factly.
The atmosphere settled between the men and the five of them stood huddled for nearly two and a half hours discussing their individual contributions to the last zoning committee. The faint glow of sunset had now completely evaporated and the darkness was only interrupted by the glowing cigarettes that were lit, smoked and cast aside by the men as they talked. Tempers flared a couple of times more as they talked but overall their discussions were reasonably calm and respectful, Clive however managed to maintain a childlike scowl upon his face throughout the meeting.
Once they had laid all of their cards on the table it became apparent that there was not anyone really to blame. Yes it was true that they had all become a little sloppy and due to their years of successes took for granted their future successes. Why Mr. Ronson had suddenly become so vocal in the committee was a mystery to all, so Aaron was tasked with finding away to silence him or to get him on side. If he couldn’t be bought then at least the committee members that they had in their pockets could be directed to undermining him and rubbishing everything he said. One way or another they would come out on top.
The group of men parted on reasonable terms apart from Clive who was still scowling like a scolded child as one by one the cars drove out of the car lot. Clive followed Jeb a few blocks downtown pulling up alongside him outside a bar called Shooters. It was nothing special to look at but they served a wide range of beers and lagers, had a large pool hall, cheap bar, food, loud music and strippers twice a week. It was the ideal place to unwind and a place that Jeb would use at least once or twice a month and Clive probably twice a week.
The night air was hot, still and clammy as they walked together from their cars across the sidewalk and into the relative cool of the bar.
It was just gone ten when Jeb left the bar to drive home leaving Clive to continue drinking until he lurched out onto the sidewalk just after midnight. He stumbled into his car then spent a minute or so fumbling with his keys trying to get them into the ignition. Finally the ignition key was driven home into its hole and turned. The engine roared into life and Clive reversed away from the curb into the road. Flinging the shift into drive he pressed his foot hard down and squealed away from Shooters, weaving his way into the night.
As he pulled into his driveway and fell drunkenly out of his car two pairs of eyes studied him closely from behind the windshield of their car. Parked in the shadows Clive’s two observers watched as he staggered around the back of his car, across his front lawn and up the short path to his front door. After a short time he opened his front door and lurched inside slamming the door behind him.
Chapter 43 Drowning their Sorrows
Billy-Bob and Mary-Jo had continued their verbal onslaught against Aaron and Benjamin in the Town Hall car lot for a good couple minutes more before the Town Hall security arrived. It took the two security guards another couple of minutes to part the squabbling foursome, and usher Aaron and Benjamin back inside the meeting room and sternly order the very abusive Billy-Bob and Mary-Jo off of Town Hall property. It took the threat of calling the police to convince them to leave which they did in a cloud of burning rubber and another tirade of abuse. As Billy-Bob drove Mary-Jo tried calling Cuzn Luke on his cell phone but after five attempts, each time having the call go to voice mail she gave up.
“Best we gets over tuh see Cuzn Luke right now, if he ain’t in then we’ll just sit on his door step until he gets home.”
Billy-Bob said as Mary-Jo sat besides him sobbing.
“What has that man Gant gone an done ……, he said that he’d fixed everthing, now look Billy-Bob we ain’t got diddly squat….. I bet he just ripped us off fuh all ourne money. We paid him over ten thousan dollars….. , and that we borrowed.”
She shrieked in sheer frustration.
They arrived at Cuzn Luke’s to find nobody home so they sat and waited. After a couple of hours waiting in the heat and arguing between themselves over everything and nothing they drove to a store a mile or so away to get some cold beers. Once stocked up with refreshments they returned to Cuzn Luke’s and parked outside and waited. As each hour passed the heat and humidity built and the hotter it got the faster they drank. By late afternoon they had finished a six pack each so once again they drove to the local store to replenish their supplies before returning and parking outside Cuzn Luke’s for the third time that day. Mary-Jo continually tried Cuzn Luke’s cell phone leaving message after message but try as she did she couldn’t get in contact with him.
It was gone eight at night and pitch black as Billy-Bob sucked the remaining droplets of warm beer from his last can and tossed it out of his window into the darkness. By now the pair of them were drunk, Mary-Jo had long since fallen asleep and lay sprawled across three quarters of the bench seat with her head resting against the bottom of her side window pillar. Billy-Bob started the engine, wrenched the shift into reverse, span backwards in a cloud of dust then slamming the shift into drive fishtailed away from Cuzn Luke’s in a hot dusty vortex of dust and stones. In spite of Billy-Bobs erratic driving Mary-Jo slept all the way home to Malase and awoke with a start at the sound of Billy-Bob yelling in her ear.
“We is home, c’mon wake up Mary-Jo We is home!!”
They both staggered up their rickety old stairs across their porch and into the gloom of their shack. Ethan, Joshua and Zachary were all home and sitting around their kitchen table eating as their parents stumbled in. The three of them looked up expectantly as Ethan asked,
“Bin out celubratin Pa?”
“Celubratin, fuckin celubratin!”
Roared Billy-Bob.
“What the fuck we got to celubrate about?”
He continued as he reached for a bottle off of the top of the refrigerator, he then proceeded to uncork it with his mouth spit the cork out onto the floor and slump down onto a dirt stained armchair in the corner. He put the neck of the bottle up to his mouth and guzzled. Mary-Jo opened the refrigerator, pulled out a six pack of beers and slumped down on a chair with her boys at the table.
“We has gone an lost ourne applicashun an ain’t gonna get ourne ci-tifurcate.”
She slurred as she opened the can of beer that she held in her hand and just like Billy-Bob guzzled noisily.
“What happened Ma?”
Joshua asked.
“Auh’ll tell yuh what happened, that Misduh Gant gone an swindled us of all ourne money.”
Billy-Bob growled, he took another long bubbling guzzle on his bottle, the clear liquid running from the corners of his mouth as he drank. He lowered the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before continuing.
“It done differ to me what people says but we bin ripped off an Auh’s a mind tuh go an deliver a whole lot a whoop-ass on that Gant.”
As Mary-Jo sat drinking her beer tears welled up in her eyes and ran down her cheeks dripping one by one onto the table in front of her, Zachary got up and went and put a comforting arm around his mother’s shoulders.
“Hey Ma please done cry it’ll be ok.”
He said as he gently held his mother tight.
“I bet that Gants so crooked he cud hide behind a corkscrew.”
Ethan said as he pushed his plate away from in front of him and got up and left the room, Joshua followed him out of the kitchen a minute or so later as did Zachary leaving their parents to drown their sorrows. The pair of them sat together in the dim light of the kitchen drinking themselves into a stupor. The storm that raged directly overhead during the night passed with rousing either of them from their intoxicated slumber. They both awoke to the noise of Zachary getting himself some breakfast before he headed off to school for the day. They lifted their heads off of the kitchen table and staggered about for twenty minutes or so like hung-over zombies before returning to their beloved alcohol. With her pounding head held in her hands Mary-Jo sat still at the table trying to clear her mind. She picked up her cell phone with a trembling right hand and with her left did her best to tap out Cuzn Luke’s number. She blinked and tried hard to focus on the screen as she tapped away with little initial success. On her fifth attempt she got the number right and Cuzn Luke phone rang, as happened all of the day before she was put through to his voice mail. Once again she left a message before placing her phone back on the table and picking up her second beer of the morning.
“Strange not bein able tuh get hold of Cuzn Luke.”
She said to Billy-Bob as he sat slouched in the corner taking the occasional swig from a bottle of whiskey that he cradled in his lap.
“Sure is strange Mary-Jo…., just keep tryin, we’ll get him sooner or later.”
He replied before closing his eyes and slipping back into unconsciousness. The day was a blur of drink, unanswered calls to Cuzn Luke, Jean visiting them to discuss something with them without success and their boys coming and going. For the second night in a row neither of them made it to bed. They spent their second evening trying to get through to Cuzn Luke without success, and with each unanswered call Billy-Bob got more and more uneasy.
In a fit of rage Billy-Bob staggered down off of his porch, ran to the ear of his shack and took something out of his chest freezer. He then ran back around to where his pickup was parked, threw the item into the back of his pickup, jumped in and span off out of Malase into the night. He drove hard fishtailing around corners, bouncing along in the dark until he came upon a fork in the track. He slew his pickup to the right and headed for the promontory where he had hoped to build his alligator farm. After a mile or so he shuddered to a stop in the clawing mud and jumped out. He reached into his tool box in the back of his pickup and grabbed his flashlight and the large sacked item. Turning the flashlight on, he shone its strong beam out in front of him towards the lake shore and headed off in the direction of Isaac’s pen. He tripped and fell a couple of times before finally reaching the pen, where Isaac’s eyes glowed red in the flashlight’s beam. The monster lay as still as a log as Billy-Bob clambered up on top of the metal bars of the large pen. He held the handle of the flashlight between his teeth, dragging the sack behind him as he carefully manoeuvred himself across the top to the far side where a metal gate was securely locked with a massive padlock.
He had tears in his eyes as he took a large key from around his neck and opened the padlock. With a loud clang he lifted up the huge latch and heaved the heavy gate open a little. He put his muddy boots against the gate and with all his might pushed so that it swung open. He then dragged the sack up along side him and took out a large frozen wild turkey.
“Hey Boi it’s time fuh yuh tuh leave my’ol friend.”
He said to the two red glowing eyes below him in the pen. An enormous tail thrashed from side to side as Isaac approached the open gate, he stopped right on the threshold and waited expecting food to be dropped into him but nothing came. Again the tail thrashed from side to side and Isaac’s massive jaws opened awaiting food, but again nothing came.
“C’mon my friend. Auh is lettin yuh free.”
Billy-Bob said as tears dripped down into the dark shallow water below.
“C’mon yuh just gotta go my friend its all over now.”
With those final words he launched the frozen turkey out into the darkness of the lake where it landed with a splash.
Isaac’s jaws slammed shut and his eyes looked beyond the open gate to the dark openness of the lake beyond. He submerged his head and with a couple of strong swipes of his tail was out through the open gate into the open lake beyond. In the darkness Billy-Bob heard him surface take the turkey in one large gulp and then he was gone, all was silent as Billy-Bob sat on top of the pen, alone in the darkness crying like a baby. He still had tears streaming down his cheeks when he pulled up outside his shack an hour or so later. He trudged back up the wooden stairs onto his porch and hurled the large key to the pen onto the floor. Mary-Jo knew instantly what he had done; seeing the distress he was in she chose to say nothing for the time being. She just got up went inside for a moment before returning with a full bottle of shine which she handed to Billy-Bob, she bent down and kissed him tenderly on his tear soaked cheek before sitting down besides him on their porch.
They sat together in silence for a while, drinking gulp after gulp of the fearsome shine and before long they had returned to their, swearing, shouting and arguing. They continued drinking until finally they both succumbed to the alcohol and again missed the even bigger and more violent storm that raged over their heads that night. Billy-Bob never spoke of Isaac again and Mary-Jo chose never to raise the subject. She discretely told her boys and the other residents of Malase and that’s how it stayed.
Across the clearing from Billy-Bobs shack Jean, Therese, Papite, Madeline, Achile, Francine and Nitushi sat on Jean’s porch in the flickering glow of a couple of hurricane lamps, eating, drinking and generally having a good time.
Nitushi had been passing by Malase the night before as the storm approached and had taken shelter for the night in Jean’s wood store, something that he did every once in a while. He had woken in the morning and tapped on Jean’s front door to tell him he had stayed the night and to thank him, Jean had invited him to stay that coming night because he had heard on the weather forecast that another storm, probably larger and more violent than that of the previous night was expected to sweep across Evangeline that night. And as Jean said, it was good to see an old friend and they would love to have him as their guest and cook for him. Nitushi accepted his invitation and spent an enjoyable if sweltering day hunting and fishing with Jean Papite, Achile and Odeo.
On several occasions throughout the evening and night Papite, then Jean, then Achile had to go over to Billy-Bobs shack and ask him and Mary-Jo to quieten things down, stop the continual shouting, arguing and swearing and let them have some piece and quiet. This was finally achieved when both Billy-Bob and Mary-Jo slipped into an alcohol triggered unconsciousness leaving the happy group of friends to be serenaded by an army of frogs and crickets interspersed with the occasional screech of an owl.
As the night wore on the women folk excused themselves to clear away the empty bowls and dishes of food and left the men smoking, chatting and drinking, after half an hour or so the women folk returned and joined the men.
Nitushi spoke of a dream he had had where he was visited by Heloha and Melatha, the Choctaw Thunderbirds of legend who had warned him of the impending storms that would ravage the land. They also told him of a great storm that would strike fear into the minds of some of the white skinned people’s chiefs and elders because of the ways they had acted. In his dream they spoke of a darkness that had spread amongst the white skinned people’s patriarchs in the local community that was withering trust amongst the ordinary folk of the land. They told him that Hashtali, the sun god’s buzzards would flying in upon the currents of the storm and nibble and pick away at the putrid corpses of the wicked and corrupted white skinned elders.
The fires of the dry forests and plains had told Hashtali of these events because fire had always told the sun about everything it heard and saw on Earth, especially when it learned of wrong-doing.
Jean, Therese,Papite, Madeline, Achile and Francine sat spell bound as they listened to Nitushi speak. Nitushi went on to say that he could feel great storms approaching and a cockerel crowing in the afternoon a couple of days earlier had warned him of the change in the weather that was going to occur. He was so intone with his ancestors and the natural world around him that the swamps and forests spoke to him.
Francine asked Nitushi what his dream about the white skinned people and buzzards eating their putrid corpses meant, she understood how the natural world could warn of a change in the weather and she understood the meaning of the thunderbirds in his dream warning of great natural storms but she like the rest of them did not understand the meaning of the darkness amongst the white people’s patriarchs and their impending doom.
Nitushi shrugged his shoulders and smiled
“All will become clear, I have no idea of its meaning or why I was told…., maybe so that I could tell you all here tonight.. , but what it means I really have no idea, all I know is that both storms foretold are coming and both will blow through these lands in the coming days.”
He fell silent for a moment before continuing,
“The world of the white man is alien to me really and that is why I do not venture out of these local forests and swamps, I have my friends, all of you here and people like yourselves who are of the swamps as well…., but the white people of the towns and cities are truly alien to me.”
In the distance the first flashes of light on the horizon and faint rumbles of thunder announced the approach of the foretold storm.
Jean laughed out aloud and patted Nitushi on his shoulder.
“Nitushi mes ami, La tempête estarrive.”
Nitishu smiled a knowing smile and looked over his shoulder through a clearing in the canopy and watched the distant flashes illuminate the clouds miles to the west.
I hope you enjoy your reading. It is available on Kindle and a free copy can be borrowed for download at https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Blue-Heron-Howard-Moore-ebook/dp/B00KK6BWLK..
Howard Moore
