Chapter 44 Kendrick Toup’s Dinner Date
Kendrick Toup’s day had not gone well at all, the zoning committee had been a complete disaster and an hour long late afternoon appointment with an important client at his office had been cancelled last minute. To the annoyance of Kendrick it had been rescheduled by one of his secretaries for a week later in Baton Rouge without his agreement, he hated having to travel anywhere and if possible conducted almost all of his business in his offices in Ville Platte. To cap it all an early evening appointment with a long time client of his had been put back by two hours to eight thirty, again it had been rescheduled by the same secretary without his agreement. She had explained that she had tried to call him but could not reach him on his cell phone because he was in the zoning meeting and it was turned off.
The office was quiet apart from the loud ticking of a grandfather clock that stood behind his desk.
‘Tick…tick…tick…tick…tick….tick….tick…..tick…..tick…….tick……….tick…………..tick.’
As he waited sitting absent mindedly at his desk twiddling with his pen time seemed to slow, every time he glance at his wrist watch hardly any time had passed since he had last looked. He hated waiting for people but this particular client was important and worth a huge amount of money to him personally so he didn’t try to reschedule again. He decided to work a little later on a new case that had just arrived, have the meeting and hopefully be out of the office by nine thirty at the latest. He closed the file in front of him, opened the top right draw on his desk, put the file in, closed the drawer and locked it. He then quickly typed out a note to himself on his personal calendar, saved that then typed a couple of sentences at the end of a Word document he was working on, saved and closed it. He then opened his internet search engine and spent twenty minutes surfing the net. He was just getting engrossed in a slightly fantastical story of a mass UFO siting in Peru followed by mysterious sightings of strange beings when the phone on his desk rang. He immediately picked it up.
“Good Evening Kendrick Toup speaking.”
“Hey Kendrick sorry about the change of time but sumpin had come up this afternoon.”
The voice said.
“Oh that’s not a problem at all.”
Kendrick lied.
“Well seeing as Auh’ve put you out an all an it’s getting late how’s about some dinner?”
“That seems like an excellent idea where and when shall I meet you?”
Kendrick asked.
“Auh’ll be at your office an pick you up in about ten minutes, is that ok?”
“That’ll be great, see you in ten.”
Kendrick replied with a smile before hanging up, he then continued reading the UFO story for a few more minutes then logged off of his computer, turned it off, picked up his briefcase and walked out of his office, closing and locking the door behind him. As he passed the reception desk on the way out of the building he picked up a copy of The Ville Platte Gazette that was laying there, tucked it firmly under his arm and walked out onto the sidewalk. The stifling heat of the evening surrounded Kendrick as he turned and locked the front door to the building, he then sauntered a few yards down the sidewalk and stopped under a streetlamp. He put his brief case on the ground, took the paper from under his arm, leaned back against the dark red brickwork and started to read.
A steady stream of cars passed Kendrick as he stood reading the paper as did small groups of people, not office workers, they had long since gone but groups of young people out on the town in search of fun.
A car horn sounded and Kendrick looked up as the headlights of a car flashed as it approached him, its right turn signal winked and it pulled up alongside where he stood. The passenger’s side window opened and as it did a voice shouted.
“Hey Kendrick jump in, its time to eat.”
Kendrick lowered his head to look into the car as it pulled to a stop.
“That was good timing, I’ve only been standing here a couple of minutes.”
He said as he picked up his briefcase, opened the car door and got in. He slammed the door shut and the left turn signal winked while the driver waited for a gap in the light traffic, Kendrick put his briefcase down by his feet.
“Good to see you my friend.”
He said.
“An youze too.”
The driver replied as they pulled away from the curb and drove off into the steamy night of Ville Platte.
“I was thinkin of that Fontaineblaeu joint just outta town, what d’yuh think?”
Kendrick was asked as he sat watching the world go past out of his passengers’ side window.
“Oh you mean Bistro Fontaineblaeu… That would be fantastic, it is a marvelous place to dine and the food is excellent.”
Kendrick replied with a smile, the thought of the delights that the Bistro Fontaineblaeu served which made his hungry stomach rumble and without knowing he licked his lips anticipating the flavors he would soon be savoring.
“Way-el Fontaineblaeu it is then.”
The driver replied as he moved into the left lane, took a left at the next set of lights and headed west out of town on the LA10 highway.
The lights of the town faded into the night behind them as they sped east, the air was thick and cloggy and the air-conditioning was working hard to keep the occupants of the car cool. Kendrick was just about to ask what they would be discussing over dinner when he felt something hard stick into his head just behind his left ear. A voice from the darkness behind his seat spoke.
“Now Toup we have a little bit of a situation here.”
Kendrick froze and the hairs on his neck started to stand on end as the soft, calm voice got nearer to his left ear and as it did he could feel the warm breath of the voice caress his left ear and the side of his face, the voice continued.
“You need to understand one thing Toup, I am just doing my job…. , you know like you do in your office……, so from my point of view this is nothing personal, just business.”
The voice waited a moment before continuing.
“You are probably sitting there thinking what is going on, or asking yourself what have I done? While trying to figure out how to escape…. Is that right?”
Kendrick was completely immobile, he opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out.
“Is that right?”
The voice asked for the second time, this request was followed by a painful jab with the metal object into the soft tissue directly behind his ear. Kendrick nodded in agreement, his mind performed somersaults as it tried to come to terms with the situation as it unfolded.
“Well I’ll provide you with some answers.”
The voice continued in the same steady, soft and calm tone. Kendrick was paralyzed with fear, he knew why he was there and he was sure he knew what was going to happen but could do nothing, the voice spoke again
“Firstly you are being abducted.., secondly you have managed to con Mr. Foreman here out of a significant amount of money…., that’s right Mr. Foreman isn’t it?”
“He sure has.”
The driver replied.
“And finally you cannot escape…, the doors are locked…, do you understand Toup….., do you understand?”
Kendrick looked across at the driver who was scowling at him before nodding his head slowly in agreement with the intimidating voice. Kendrick tried to speak but again nothing came out he was terrified, his mouth was bone dry and his lips quivered, he tried again.
“Mmm…., Mmmis.., ter ….,.mister Foreman…… I……… I am so….., sorry.”
Kendrick mumbled as tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.
“I’m sure you must be sorry Toup…., very sorry indeed, but unfortunately you have done a bad thing…., a very bad thing to Mr. Foreman and he is not a happy man, are you Mr. Foreman?”
The voice hissed, this time with an edge of menace to it.
“No Auh’m not a happy man.”
The driver confirmed. By now tears were rolling freely down Kendrick’s cheeks and his breathing was accelerating, his mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do, his brow was soaked in droplets of sweat and he was shaking uncontrollably. A sharp pinprick in the left tricep of Kendrick injected a dose of Morphine Sulphate into his arm, this was swiftly carried by his cardio vascular system to his brain where it took immediate effect. Within fifteen seconds of the injection Kendrick was unconscious, his head hung forward and his body noticeably slumped down in the seat as all of his muscles relaxed.
“That’ll be him out till we get there, then when we want him awake just a quick jab of this Naloxone and he’ll start to come around almost immediately.”
The voice said before it sat back into the darkness of the back seat.
“Good…………….., his blubbin was startin to annoy me some…., anyhow should be there in about fifteen minutes…unloaded in twenny.”
The driver said before reaching over and turning the radio on. Dim flashes on the distant horizon to the west announced an approaching, it also announced its presence as the odd crackle on the car radio which annoyed both men. Mr. Foreman enjoyed his music and he hummed and tapped his fingers along to the tune that was floating out of the speakers as they continued their journey west while his accomplice sat silently in the darkness of the back seat. After about ten minutes of driving Mr. Foreman slowed the car and turned right off of the highway onto a narrow dirt track. The car was scrapped and scratched on both sides as it forced its way through the overgrown entrance to the track. The two men drove along the narrow windy track for half a mile or so between short leaf pine trees that grew denser the further into the wood they drove before reaching a chained and locked gate. Mr. Foreman stopped the car and sounded the horn, in the darkness beyond a doorway could be seen opening, it cast its bright light into the night then closing again, then a flashlight beam bobbed its way towards them. A man appeared in their headlamp beam carrying the bobbing flashlight and walked up to the chained and locked gate, he fiddled with a large padlock for a moment before pulling the heavy metal chain back through the gate, then holding the top of the gate in his right hand he swung it wide open. Mr. Foreman selected drive and drove in through the gate, he held his hand up to acknowledge the gate man before stopping a few yards on to wait for the gate to be shut , chained and locked securely.
The left rear door of the car was opened from outside and the gate man jumped in alongside the voice. Mr. Foreman introduced the gateman to the voice.
“This here is Ricky.”
The gateman held out his hand and said with a slight slur
“Pleezed to make yourne quaintance Ricky.”
The voice shook the gateman’s hand and replied.
“Pleased to meet you too.”
In his line of business Ricky was used to not knowing names or asking, if the gateman was a friend of Mr. Foreman’s then that was good enough for him and his name was not of any significance anyway. The gateman slammed the car door and Mr. Foreman drove towards where the gateman had come from. They drove across a large clearing in the woods and pulled up alongside an old dilapidated trailer, an assortment of outbuildings linked the trailer to a much larger building that had a large corrugated roll up door to its front with a much smaller door to the side of it.
The three men got out of the car together and the gateman walked over to the large building and through the small side door while Mr. Foreman and Ricky man handled the limp body of Kendrick out of the car and carried it towards the large building. The roll up door started to open and as it did it bathed the outside in bright fluorescent light, Mr. Foreman and Ricky carried the body of Kendrick inside and as soon as they were inside with their cargo the roll up door was immediately closed behind them.
Ricky looked around him as he carried the body to the center of the large room and helped Mr. Foreman seat the unconscious Kendrick on an old wooden chair that awaited him. He found himself to be in a large auto workshop with an old pickup to one side with its hood up, a bank of benches strewn with an assortment of tools to his right with a couple of windows set in the wall about ten feet above the benches. To his left was an old table and chairs, the table was littered with empty cans of beer a couple of glass bottles, an ash tray filled to overflowing and a pack of cards. Behind that was a small doorway with a dim corridor that disappeared off into the gloom somewhere. Directly above the chair that they had placed Kendrick on was a large block and tackle with long lengths of chain that hung down with a huge cast iron hook on its end. Slightly to the ear of the chair was a motor inspection pit with stairs at the far end that led down to the bottom and the smell of diesel, petrol and grease that was all mixed together gave the room a very distinctive smell , that of an auto workshop. While Mr. Foreman bound Kendrick securely to the chair with Duck tape Ricky took out a slim black plastic container and a large black rolled up piece of cloth from the side pocket of his combat trouser pocket.
“This is the Naloxone…, the antidote……., Just say when you want him awake and I’ll administer it.”
Ricky said to Mr. Foreman as he unrolled the black cloth, opened one end, placed it on the top of Kendrick’s head and pulled it roughly down. Kendrick was now sat firmly bound and gagged lolling forwards limply against his bindings with his head covered by a black hood. Ricky walked over to a corner of the workshop where a tall inspection lamp stood on its stand, he picked it up and carried it back to where Kendrick was seated placing it directly in front of him, he then plugged it into a wall socket above one of the work benches and turned it on illuminating Kendrick in its bright glare.
“Be back in a moment.”
He said before disappearing back outside and returning seconds later with a large black leather bag that he sent down a few feet from Kendrick.
“Tools of the trade, are we ready?.”
He asked with a smile.
“Lets get a drink first, Auh’m sure thirsty, what d’yuh think ?“
Mr. Foreman said glancing up to the gateman who stood just to the side silently watching proceedings.
“Souns like a good idea.”
He replied, he turned and walked past the table and chairs and disappeared off down the dim corridor, in not time at all he returned with a six pack of beer and a corked bottle of clear liquid.
“A beer Ricky? Or maybe some of ourne good o’l shine?”
He asked as he returned into the glare of the workshop.
“Thanks for the offer but I’m working……, d’ya have any coffee, a strong sweet black coffee would go down well thanks.”
Ricky replied as he crossed the workshop towards the table and chairs with Mr. Foreman.
The gate man looked a little non-plussed, a certain confusion muddled his thinking as he placed the beers and bottle of shine down on the table. He wasn’t used to men turning down a drink, especially not in those parts and especially when offered some of the finest shine for miles around. He looked to Mr. Foreman for support but none came.
“If the man says he’d like a cawfee then get him a cawfee.”
Mr. Foreman said as he sat down and pulled a can from the six-pack.
“One strong, sweed black cawfee coming up.”
The gateman said with a smile before once again disappearing off through the small doorway and down the dim corridor. Ricky sat down with Mr. Foreman at the table strewn with empty cans and bottles.
“Well Ricky how long d’yuh think this’ll take?”
“How long is a piece of string?”
He replied before continuing.
“You see it’s different for everyone, some may break in no time at all, just the threat of violence is sufficient, some in ten minutes, some hours, some days, and some are unbreakable, they die before talking.”
“What d’yuh think with him?”
Mr. Foreman said as he gestured backwards over his shoulder.
“Well he’s a professional man, a lawyer you told me, and from the way he was reacting in the car before I put him to sleep I wouldn’t think to long…, but you never know…., it just depends on what his levels of tolerance are and how much he wants to hold on to your money.”
Mr. Foreman nodded in agreement then took another large gulp of his cold beer.
The gateman returned with a large steaming pot of coffee, a bag of sugar and a mug and placed them down on the table in front of Ricky
“One jug’uh cawfee an sugar.”
The gateman said before picking up the bottle of shine, removing the cork with his teeth, placing the cork carefully on the table, then sitting down rather unsteadily at the head of the table. He put the bottle to his lips, tipped his head back and took a long swig on the clear liquid.
“Thanks.”
Ricky said as he watched the gateman guzzle.
“Oooooweee that sure is good shine my friends.”
The gateman announced wiping his mouth with the back of his right hand. The three men sat talking for about an hour, Ricky finished the whole pot of coffee while Mr. Foreman drank three of the cans of beer and the gateman drank steadily from his bottle. Ricky was quite amazed that the gateman seemed to have suffered no ill effect after an hour of drinking nearly three quarters of the bottle and seemed to be in the same if somewhat unsteady state that he had been in when they first met just over an hour ago.
“Well lets get things started.”
Mr. Foreman said as he put down his empty can and stood up from the table.
“Sounds good to me.”
Ricky said as he stood and joined him. The walked over to the limp body of Kendrick, the gateman followed bringing a chair and his bottle of shine with him, he put his chair down some ten feet back and sat down as if awaiting the start of a play. Mr. Foreman stood a few feet to one side and watched as Ricky went to work. First Ricky removed a syringe from the slim black plastic container, held it up in front of his eyes tapped it a couple of times, and squirted a tiny amount from the end of the needle before pushing the needle through the thin cotton of Kendrick’s shirt and pushing the plunger fully in.
“He should start coming around any second now.”
Ricky announced as the body of Kendrick twitched a couple of times, then after another ten seconds or so his head began to move and slowly raised itself up from where it had been hanging on his chest. A few seconds later Kendrick’s eyes flickered a couple of times under his hood before slowly opening. All was dark and he couldn’t move, he struggled briefly and let out a scream
Ricky leaned forward and removed the hood, Kendrick’s eyes blinked in the glare of the inspection lamp and he squinted trying to see past the lamp to where a couple of figures were just visible as dark outlines. Nobody spoke they just let Kendrick wake up properly, Kendrick screamed again.
“Help…, Help!”
Echoed around the height of the workshop.
“You can scream all you want Toup but we are miles from anywhere and there is no one to hear you.”
Ricky said in the same low calm voice that he has used earlier in the car. Kendrick strained to see past the glare of the inspection lamp who was talking to him.
“Who’s that?..What do you want of me?”
Kendrick called out to the two ghostly figures.”
Ricky stayed silent for a few moments just adding to the growing level of fear that welled up within Kendrick, Ricky spoke again.
“You know why you are here Toup and all we want is a resolution to a very unfortunate situation and you are the person who can provide that resolution….., now whether you choose to is entirely up to you.”
Kendrick’s mind was still foggy with the after effects of the anesthetic and he fought to understand what was happening to him. As he sat in silence blinking in the blinding light his memory suddenly produced a vivid image of him being inside a car alongside Mr. Foreman and a feeling of terror was entwined with this flash of memory.
“Are you there Mr. Foreman?”
Kendrick asked calling out past the light. Mr. Foreman looked to Ricky and Ricky signaled it was ok for him to answer.
“Sure am here Toup.”
Mr. Foreman replied with a chuckle. The fog within Kendrick’s mind had lifted just enough by now to allow it to start performing as a brain. In a flash, his synapses connected differing pieces of information resulting in the instant realization that Mr. Foreman knew that he had been ripping him off for years. That then triggered an almost uncontrollably shaking in his body as his fate became all to clear to him.
“What are you going to do with me?”
Kendrick whimpered.
“Well that all depends upon you Toup.”
Ricky said as he walked into the clear view of Kendrick and placed his leather bag on the floor just in front of him. Kendrick watched as the man slowly opened the bag and started to take out some items. To his horror he watched as first a pair of pliers was taken out and placed carefully on the floor in front of him, then a portable blow torch, then an electric cable with a plug on one end and bare wires on the other then finally a small dark brown bottle, the sort you might find in a drug store with a pipette as part of its lid.
“Oh no…, oh please don’t…., please…, I’ll do anything you ask, anything.”
Kendrick spluttered as tears welled up in his eyes for the second time that night. Ricky stood back into the anonymous darkness beyond the inspection lamp and said nothing. In the distance a sudden clap of thunder crashed through the night sky rumbling across the land with menace.
“Please .., please ……., what do you want?……… Just……., tell me……., please….., don’t hurt me …………, please.”
Kendrick stuttered. Two bright flashes of purple white light were visible to the three onlookers which were followed after a few seconds by two more violent explosions of thunder which sent shockwaves through the atmosphere rattling the corrugated roof slightly as they passed by.
Kendrick sat whimpering with terror gnawing at his soul, Ricky spoke again.
“This is what we would like Toup, are you listening?”
He asked as he prodded Kendrick in the chest with a long baton that he held in his right hand. Kendrick jumped,
“Yes… yes I am listening.”
“It is very simple, Mr. Foreman wants the return of all of his money, that is all of it and then you can go free….., you see it’s very simple”
Kendrick gulped
“I…., I can’t….., you see it’s invested….. , you know tied up….., I could get some.”
He offered trying to plicate his captors.
“That’s not what I wanted to hear Toup.”
Ricky said as he advanced back into the view of Kendrick, knelt down and picked up the portable blow torch. He opened the valve and pressed a small switch which clicked sending a small electrical spark to arc across the blower opening. The flame ignited with a ‘whoomp’, sound and Ricky turned a knob on the side making the flame turn from a lazy yellow dance to a fierce intense jet of blue purple flame.
Kendrick screamed.
“No…., no…., please no.”
Ricky then picked up the pliers and proceeded to heat their jaws until they glowed red.
“Mr. Foreman if you could hold his right forearm still for me so that his hand won’t move then I can get good access to his fingernails.”
Ricky said in his low calm intimidating voice to Mr. Foreman who was standing behind him.
Before Mr. Foreman could answer Kendrick let out a blood curdling scream.
“Aaaaaaaghhhh….., no……, no I’ll do what you want.”
Ricky stopped in his tracks
“Are you sure?”
“Yes…, yes I am.”
Kendrick spluttered as all of his muscles tensed in anticipation of the threatened pain being delivered. Ricky turned off the blow torch and placed it and the glowing pliers back on the ground where they came from.
“That is a good decision Toup because we have done our homework on you…, we know your total worth……., what investments and properties you own, where you bank, and yes that includes all of your off shore and Swiss accounts and a very good approximation of the liquid cash assets in those banks.
Kendrick sat silently nodding in agreement as Ricky spoke to him.
“Now all we need is for you to transfer a set amount to an account that we wish it to be paid into…. , in total the amount is twenty million dollars and from what we know you will be able to pay it from four accounts, from an account in the Cayman islands, one in Jersey and two Swiss accounts….Is that correct?”
Kendrick nodded. Ricky then produced a laptop and satellite phone from his leather bag, he turned the phone on and then opened up the laptop and logged in. While Ricky did this Kendrick wondered if he could find a way out somehow, could he bluff these men or somehow alert the banks, ‘after all they would need his security passwords and numbers and he could pretend to have forgotten them’, he thought.
His eyes feel upon the tools of terror laid out before him on the floor and all thoughts of subterfuge disappeared instantly. He would comply totally with his captors and hopefully by morning he would be dumped off somewhere shaken but on the whole ok to make his way home. A quick estimation in his mind concluded that as big a blow this was to him financially if he got out alive he would still have total assets worth over forty million dollars, eight of that being as cash assets in banks. When Ricky was ready he barked out orders to Kendrick, he stated account name, number, code and then asked for the appropriate security passwords and or numbers as was appropriate to each account. Using the fast payment transfer method Ricky was sure that once each account had been accessed and the desired amount transferred out and into the appropriate receiving account then the amount would appear as a credit in the required account in two hours. It only took twenty five minutes to conclude the accessing of accounts and transfer of twenty million dollars. During the course of that time Kendrick genuinely forgot one of his passwords and it was only on his third and final attempt that his stressed and confused mind delivered the required jumble of letters numbers and characters. With his breath held and eyes clenched tight he waited for the couple of seconds it took for his password to be verified. Those seconds seemed to last forever, but a simple, “That’s it.” from Ricky alerted him to the fact that they were in, he opened his eyes and let his breath out in a sigh of relief.
All they had to do now was wait the two hours needed to confirm a successful transfer and that would be it all over. Ricky stood up from where he had been squatting by his laptop and picked up the hood, he pulled it firmly down over Kendrick’s head.
“Well that’s it for now, any more coffee?”
He asked.
“Sure thing comin ride up.”
The gatekeeper replied. The three men spent the next two hours sat around the table playing cards, chatting and laughing as if they didn’t have a care in the world. The gatekeeper said that he was a little disappointed that Toup had given in so easily without them having any as he called it ‘fun’, but as Ricky said.
“Believe me it’s not fun and if they all complied as easily as this one it would make my job so much simpler.”
Ricky kept to his coffee despite attempts from the gatekeeper to get him to drink some shine, he did however accept the offer of a bottle to take away with him to the satisfaction of the gatekeeper. Mr. Foreman finished off the remaining three cans of beer and started on a second six pack that the gatekeeper had fetched and the gatekeeper himself finished his bottle of shine and had what he called a beer chaser. Just over two hours elapsed and the storm outside was raging almost directly overhead. Continuous thunder crashed outside as the torrential rain was driven against the corrugated iron roof by the gusting winds with such force that the sound was becoming deafening and the three men had had to raise their voices significantly to be heard. Ricky checked his watch.
“Well looks like time to check on the money.”
He said as he opened up his laptop, he sat there typing away for a few moments then waited, then typed away again then waited and for a third time did the same. With a grin on his face he looked up from the screen.
“All there every last dime Mr. Foreman…. Now we can conclude our evenings work.”
Mr. Foreman’s face lit up and he smiled broadly.
“Thanks Ricky, a job well done I’d say, wouldn’t youze?”
He asked of the gate keeper.
“Sure thing.”
The gatekeeper replied as the three of them got up from the table and walked back over to where Kendrick sat hooded and bound in silence. Ricky knelt down next to his leather bag and took out a large black plastic sack like object, pulled open a zipper like mechanism and lay it on the ground next to Kendrick. He then pulled the hood off of Kendrick’s head and pushed Kendrick and chair over to one side with his left boot, Kendrick fell with a thud and crinkle onto the large black plastic sack and let out a shout.
“Hey what’s going on?”
He asked of his captors but got no reply. Ricky reached inside his bomber jacket and produced a dark matt black pistol with a long fat barrel. Nonchalantly he held it out at arms length and with a quiet ‘phut’, fired a bullet into Kendrick’s temple. His head jumped up slightly as the opposite side of his head exploded against the hard floor in a spray of blood and bone splinters.
“All done.”
He Ricky said before leaning down and taking a knife from his belt, he cut the Duck tape bindings, he pulled the chair free and rolled Kendrick into the bag, he tucked his feet in at one end and his shattered head at the other, then zipped the bag up. Mr. Foreman and Ricky then picked up the body while the gatekeeper opened the roll up door and let the two men out into the fury of the storm outside. While they loaded the body into the trunk of the car outside the gatekeeper did as he was told and packed all of Ricky’s tools into his bag, removed any remnants of duck tape from the chair and returned it to the table with the others. He then doused the area of concrete floor where Kendrick had been shot with a little petrol and brushed it in hard with a stiff broom, he then lit it and watched as it flared up and died out in not more than a minute. If there had been any splatters of blood they were gone now. He then hurried over to the roll up door and closed it then back to pick up Ricky’s black bag and then out through the side door locking it behind him. By the time he had ran the few yards to the rear passenger door of the car and jumped in with Mr. Foreman and Ricky he was soaked to the skin.
They drove back across the open land to the gate, opened it, drove through then the gateman closed and locked it securely behind them before he jumped back into the car and off they drove into the howling storm. They turned left onto the highway at the end of the track and headed east, and continued on south west towards the north east shore of Lake Cavelier. As they drove along their windshield wipers were working overtime to clear the rain from the windshield while the thunder and lightning erupted from the clouds overhead continuously. They drove in silence for about twenty five minutes or so before Mr. Foreman Turned left off of the highway and down a severely waterlogged track. They drove across flat open country with the occasional tree silhouetted by the white blue flashes of lightning with the tall canopy of a dense bank of Cypress trees to their front until after a couple of miles Mr. Foreman stopped
“Give him a call.”
He said over his shoulder to the gateman,
“Sure thing.”
The gateman slurred in reply. They sat in silence while the gateman took out his cell phone, tapped in a number and waited for it to be answered
“Weeze he-ya.”
He slurred again into his phone before continuing.
“Uh-hu, uh-hu,….ok yep.., ok.”
He then snapped his phone shut and returned it to his pocket.
“Said he’ll meet us at the pens.”
He slurred again. Mr. Foreman selected drive and drove off along the track for another half a mile or so, it wound backwards and forwards before coming to an end in front of a large wooden barn with wooden post and rail fences that stretched off into the darkness on either side. He switched off the headlamps and the three of them sat in the dark silence waiting. A blinding blue purple flash of light from a jagged fork of lightning struck a tree only a few hundred yards in front of them and then an almost instantaneous detonation of thunder accompanied it as it seared through the sky heating and shocking the air around it. They three men jumped as one as the lightning illuminated the surrounding area and the thunder reverberated through their bodies.
“What the fuck!”
Shouted the gatekeeper in surprise.
“Little close for comfort that one.”
Mr. Foreman said with a hint of relief in his voice. Ricky remained silent, a couple more silent minutes passed after their near miss with the lightning before they were illuminated by the headlamps of a vehicle as it drew up behind them. Its driver jumped out into the storm and ran over to the barn door, he unlocked a padlock and opened the door beckoning the occupants of the car to follow him. Mr. Foreman, Ricky and the gatekeeper jumped out into the storm, the gatekeeper ran directly for the shelter of the barn through the driving rain and flashing thunder while Mr. Foreman and Ricky took Kendrick’s body from the trunk of their car and carried it between then into the dim light of the barn. The door was slammed shut behind them by the gatekeeper then a voice from somewhere further down in the dim light of the barn called to them.
“Over he-ya with yourne cargo.”
Mr. Foreman and Ricky followed the voice and carried Kendrick’s body to where a dark haired man was stood waiting. They dropped the body onto the floor, Mr. Foreman introduced Ricky to the dark haired man.
“Pleased tuh meet yuh Ricky.”
The dark haired man said holding out his hand and shaking Ricky’s hand firmly. He then backed up a little and turned around and opened up the upper half of a large stout wooden door then leaned his head out and called into the darkness
“Banjo, TC, Lightning, c’mon bois daddy’s got a surprise faw yuh.”
He banged his hand hard on the side of the wooden barn and continued calling.
“Oooowee, nacker, nacker, nacker, c’mon boys.”
He then turned to Mr. Foreman, Ricky and the gatekeeper and said.
“Ain’t bin fed faw nearly five days now an they’ll eat up almost anything you’d gived them….., just like that……., you’ll see they will.”
Over the crashing thunder and torrential rain Mr. Foreman, Ricky and the gatekeeper could hear a loud snuffling, snorting, grunting and squealing sound coming from just the other side of the half opened door.
“They’s he-ya an they gone an brought all them friends with them.”
The dark haired man shouted with a huge grin on his face.
“Rights lets do it Ricky announced.”
He calmly leaned down and unzipped the black bag. Mr. Foreman bent down alongside him and together they pulled the lifeless body of Kendrick out into the dim light of the barn. Quickly they stripped the body then carried him between them the short distance to the large half opened wooden door, then with one holding under his arm pits and the other holding his ankles they swung him backwards then forwards then backwards again before swinging him forwards and with all of their might heaved him out through the opening into the darkness. As the body fell with a thump in the darkness the sound changed to high pitched squeals and snorts of excitement followed by the sound of gnashing and chomping jaws and tearing flesh.
“Won’t be a scrap left in there in fifteen minutes.”
“The dark haired man announced as he leaned over the closed bottom half of the door to watch.”
“We’ll be on ourne way.”
Mr. Foreman said to the dark haired man.
“An thanks.”
He continued holding out his hand, He shook the dark haired mans hand with his firm clasp before turning to leave. Ricky did the same as did the gatekeeper and all three men walked away from the loud gnashing, snorting and squealing sounds that rang in their ears. In silence they ran through the rain back to their car and jumped in.
“Never want to here them sounds again.”
Mr. Foreman said as he turned the ignition, switched on the headlamps and pulled the car around in a wide arc, driving off back down the track they had just driven along and into the night. They drove in silence with the radio playing quietly in the background, each lost in their own thoughts. When they arrived back at the gatekeeper’s home they all went in, the storm had moved off to the east but the flashes of lightning and loud rumbles of thunder were still relatively close by but mercifully the driving rain and howling winds had stopped. The three men sat back around the wooden table in the workshop while Mr. Foreman and Ricky conducted a little business between themselves. Using Ricky’s laptop they transferred Ricky’s fee which was one hundred thousand dollars out of Mr. Foreman’s main checking account and deposited it into one nominated by Ricky. With the business concluded Ricky shook Mr. Foreman’s hand.
“A pleasure doing business with you Mr. Foreman and Bootsie sends his regards.”
“Tell the old dog I’ll give him a call in a while.”
“Are we ready then?”
Ricky asked as he replaced his laptop into his bag and stood to leave, Mr. Foreman let out a long sigh and rubbed his whiskery chin with his right hand.
“Not really sure Ricky.”
He replied. Since heaving the body of Toup out of the barn and into the darkness to meet its demise in a cacophony of grunts, snorts and squeals he had started to feel uneasy, vivid memories that had been locked away deep within the depths of his being had surfaced and swirled around inside his mind. There they had remained out of his thoughts for nearly forty years but now they were as vivid to him as if the events had happened yesterday. He looked over towards the gatekeeper and asked.
“Fancy a good drink?… As Auh sure does.”
“Yep sure do, Auh’ll get us a bottle each an a few beers.”
With that the gatekeeper disappeared out through the small doorway behind the table and down the dim corridor.
“Auh’ll be stayin here a while Ricky if youze don’t mind?”
Mr. Foreman said. Ricky looked down at him and smiled; he held out his hand and shook Mr. Foreman’s hand firmly.
“Of course not, I’ll be on my way…. I’ve got this car to dump and burn out then head off home, maybe I could join you for a drink some other time…. You know under different circumstances.”
“Sounds Good.”
Mr. Foreman replied, Ricky turned and walked to the door of the workshop, just as he was walking out into the night the gatekeeper called out to him.
“Hey Ricky Auh god a bottle o’shine faw youze tuh take.”
Ricky turned and waited while the gatekeeper lurched his way over to him holding a bottle of the clear liquid.
“Now youze be cay-ful with that old shine as it’ll blow yourne brains tuh smithureens.”
The gatekeeper said as he handed the bottle to Ricky. Ricky took the bottle shook the gatekeepers hand, thanked him, turned on his heels and was gone out into the night. The two remaining men spent the rest of the night and early morning sitting drinking shine, talking, laughing, smoking and drinking some more until a cockerel somewhere outside announced the coming dawn, they got up from the table and went outside into the pale, dim morning light. The sun was just rising and casting its rays from the east across the country as they both sat on the wet earth and slumped back against the outside of the workshop.
“Always did like dawn.”
Mr. Foreman’s said.
The gate keeper nodded.
“As Auh also always did like Mary, Donna, Sheila, Kathleen……Cynthia……. Darlene.”
The two men fell about laughing before the gatekeeper noticed that his pants were wet.
“God darned Auh is soaked.”
He said as he jumped up from the ground and rubbed his wet ass. He helped Mr. Foreman to his feet and together they tottered back into the workshop. They took up positions on an old sofa and armchair that was sat in the far corner of the workshop and continued to drink, talk laugh and smoke. They fell asleep, woke up, drank some more and slept again. This continued right throughout the next day and then the next night until a horn blowing at the locked gate announced…
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
