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As I walked out of the
cemetery, I was watching the other people. I had been
to the funeral of one of my closest friends. He had
been murdered by person or persons unknown. His name
was Don Hankins and we had been fishing partners for
years.
I watched as his three
ex-wives walked out together. There was Pam dressed
in a long black dress with a black hat and black
veil. The veil was so dark I couldn??™t see her face.
But every so often she would lift it long enough to
wipe the tears in her eyes with a black hankie.
Next to Pam was Louise.
She wore a black dress that stopped three inches above
her knees, black stockings and black high heel shoes.
She didn??™t have on a hat and she wasn??™t crying.
And then came the third
and last ex-wife. This one is kinda weird. Her name
is Jane and she wore a black western blouse, tight
black western jeans and black cowgirl boots. On her
head was a black, flat crown western hat. She had her
black hair pulled back in a pony tail. She wasn??™t
crying either.
Maybe Pam had a right to
cry. She was the only one drawing alimony. Come to
think about it, it wasn??™t alimony she was drawing, it
was child support. She and Don had four kids before
they divorced. She had been getting a check from Don
every month.
Then I saw two men
standing to one side like they didn??™t want to be
seen. I knew both of them and I was surprised to see
them at Don??™s funeral.
Don had been a foreman at
the General Motors plant and had fired both of the
guys. One was Ed Nolly and the other was Bubba
Bryant. I knew Nolly because of my job. I??™m a
homicide detective in the Arlington police department.
I had arrested Nolly four
years ago for attempting to kill a man. He had been
tried, convicted and sentenced to seven years in the
state pen. But with time off for good behavior he was
out on parole.
This Bryant character had
been arrested so many time for drunk and disorderly
everyone on the police force knew him. I wondered
what these two had in command and why they would
attend Don??™s funeral.
After every one had left
I started back to my car. That??™s when I saw Don??™s
pickup parked in front of my car. There was no one in
it so I turned back and went into the cemetery. Don??™s
oldest child had been living with him. That would be
Terry, who was 17 years old. I knew she had a
driver??™s license and it must be her that had driven
Don??™s pickup to the cemetery.
I had not seen her at the
grave side service but she must have been there
somewhere. As I approached Don??™s grave I could see
two men standing to one side leaning on shovels. As I
got closer I saw Terry sitting on the ground with her
head resting on Don??™s casket.
I walked up behind Terry
and laid my hand on her shoulder. ???I miss him to
Terry. But we have to go now. The men are waiting to
lower Don??™s casket into the ground.??? Terry got up and
we walked out of the cemetery together. I put my arm
around her shoulder as we walked and she rested her
head against my arm.
???Uncle Loren what am I
going to do now???? I??™m not really Terry??™s uncle but
that??™s what she has called me every since she, Don and
I went to Caddo fishing one time when she was 12 years
old.
???Terry it looks like your
going to have to go back and live with your mom.???
???No! I can??™t stand that
man she??™s living with. She won??™t even marry him
because if she did she would lose the child support
dad pays her. Well the jokes on her now. There won??™t
be anymore checks from dad.???
???In three months I??™ll be
18 and will be out of school. Then I can get a job
and take care of myself. There is enough money in
dad??™s checking account to pay the rent and live on
until I??™m out of school.??? Terry told me.
???Terry I know that you
are a co-signer on you dad??™s checking account but the
first thing the bank will do when they hear of your
dad??™s death is freeze his account until his will is
probated. You won??™t be able to write checks on the
account.???
With that we went our
separate ways - Terry in Don??™s pickup and me in my
car.
The next morning about
8;45, I dialed Terry??™s number. After the phone rang
ten times and Terry didn??™t answer I hung up. I didn??™t
think Terry would go to school today, but where could
she be?
Well I had work to do. I
was trying to solve Don??™s murder. I called Nolly??™s
parole officer and asked him where Nolly was working.
Then I called down to records and got Bryant??™s
address. Nolly was working at a big furniture
warehouse on the east side of town. I decided I would
drive over there and have a talk with his boss.
On my way to the
warehouse I pass right by Terry??™s apartment building,
so I stopped and knocked on her door. I got no
answer. So I knocked again this time even louder and
longer. You know, like wham wham wham. The kind of
knock when a law man comes to you door and is not
going to take no for an answer.
Still no answer. I
conclude that Terry??™s not here and I turn to go. Just
then Terry drives up. She jumps out of Don??™s ??¦ I
guess I better get use to calling it Terry??™s ??¦ pickup
and comes running up to me. ???Uncle Loren what do you
want? I thought you were working today.???
???I am on duty today. I
tried to call you earlier and didn??™t get an answer so
I thought I??™d stop by and see if you were alright.
Where have you been????
???Come on in uncle Loren
and I??™ll fix us a cup of coffee. Then I??™ll tell you
about my morning.???
When we went inside I sat
down at the kitchen table while Terry fixed two cups
of instant coffee. She brought the cups to the table
and sat down across from me.
???Uncle Loren I was
standing at the door of the bank at 9:00 when they
opened. I went to the first cashier and wrote a check
for all the money dad had in his account. I guess
they hadn??™t got the word to freeze his account yet
because they cashed the check. Then I went to another
bank and opened a checking account in my name.
Now I have $6,000 in a
checking account to live on until I get out of school
and find a job.
Just then the door bell
rang. It was Donny, Terry??™s brother and he was almost
in tears. ???What??™s wrong Donny???? Terry asked as she
sat him down at the table and made him a cup of
coffee.
???It??™s Roger, Mama??™s live
in boy friend. I had a fight with him this morning
and he threw me out of the house. Terry, can I come
live with you????
???You kids don??™t need me
here for this and I have work to do. I??™ll be on my
way. How about I stop by about six o??™clock and take
you two to El Chico??™s for supper????
When I got to the
warehouse I parked and went inside. There was a glass
enclosed office with a man sitting in it. When I went
in he asked me what I wanted. I told him I was a
police officer and wanted to ask him a few questions.
He wanted to know what about.
???Ed Nolly.??? I said. ???Was
he at work last Monday????
???Sure was. He hasn??™t
missed a day of work since I hired him. Say I already
told his parole officer that. Don??™t you people talk
to each other????
???Can you swear he was
here all day? You may have to in a court of law.???
???Look this warehouse has
three floors and Nolly works on all three of them.
When he??™s not helping to load furniture in a truck he
sweeps the floors and keeps the place clean. He could
be gone for hours and I??™d never know it. I see him
every morning when he punches in at seven o??™clock and
every evening when he punches out at six o??™clock.???
???Did you load any trucks
on Monday????
???Let me look at my
manifest sheets. Yes, we had one truck. We loaded
that sucker at four o??™clock.???
???Who loaded it????
???Nolly and a part time
employee we give a little work to. He??™s one of
Nolly??™s buddies. In fact Nolly recommended him to
us.???
???What would his name be????
???Bryant. If you??™ll wait
a minute I??™ll get his address and telephone number for
you.???
???Don??™t bother with that
just call Nolly down here so I can talk to him.??? I
can get Bubba??™s address from the station.
When Nolly walked into
the office the warehouse foreman left so we could have
some privacy. ???Sit down Nolly, I want to ask you a
few questions???
???Moore, you cops are all
alike. Once a guy makes a mistake you try to lay
every crime that happens in town on him. I served my
time without giving any trouble and got out on
parole. Now I??™m keeping my nose clean. I Don??™t want
to go back to Huntsville.???
???Nolly did you work last
Monday?
???Sure did. You can ask
my foreman.???
???Were you here in the
building all day???™
???I told you I was at work
all day. We loaded out a truck and the truck driver
and the other guy that loads, saw me. If you don??™t
believe me ask them.???
???I will. What??™s the name
of this guy who helps you load the trucks????
???Ah ??¦ well, everyone just
calls him bubba.
???Nolly, what time was
this that you and this bubba loaded the truck????
???I Don??™t remember. It
was sometime after lunch.???
I decided to leave things
at that for the time being and go visit bubba Bryant.
When I got back in the car I call in and asked for
Bryant??™s address. They gave it to me and I knew where
the place was. It was a flop house not five minutes
from the warehouse.
When I walked in, there
was a guy sitting behind a counter watching a little
black and white tv. I asked him if bubba Bryant was
in. He glanced at me and shrugged his shoulders and
went back to watching his TV. I walked around the
counter and unplugged his TV. ???Hey.??? He said. I held
out my badge for him to see.
???is bubba Bryant in his
room? If he is which room is his????
???Bryant is in room 2c and
he is in. Now can I go back to my soap opera????
I went up the stairs to
2c and opened the door and walked in. Bubba was
sitting in a chair reading the paper. There was an
open can of beer on the table beside him. When he
heard the door open he jumped up, over turning the can
of beer. He looked at me and said, ???what do you want
Moore. I ain??™t killed no one.???
???Sit down Bubba, we??™re
going to have a little talk.??? After I got all the
answers out of him about Nolly I wanted, I told him,
???If I were you i??™d find someone else to hang out
with. If Nolly is doing something illegal you might
be charged as an accessory.???
At six o??™clock that
evening I picked up Terry and Donny and we went to El
Chico??™s for supper. As we ate Terry told me that
Donny was going to live with her in the apartment.
???Terry, what does your mother think about this???? I
asked.
???We didn??™t tell her.??? She
answered. Donny said he didn??™t think it would make
any difference to her now that she couldn??™t get any
child support money for him from Don.
???Well Donny, I still
think you should call her and let her know where you
are.??? I told him. We left it at that and talked about
other things.
The next day, the
warehouse foreman called me and wanted to know what I
had told bubba. They had called him to come help load
a truck and he said no. He told them not to call him
anymore, he wouldn??™t be coming back now that he had
talked to you.
???I Don??™t have any idea
why bubba won??™t help you load your trucks. You??™ll
have to ask him.??? The foreman said he did and Bubba
just hung up the phone and wouldn??™t answer it again.
For once in his life time bubba may be doing something
smart.
A couple of days later I
decided to go by the warehouse and put some more
pressure on Nolly. When I got there, I told the
foreman I needed to talk to Nolly again. He told me
that Nolly didn??™t work there any more. At quitting
time yesterday he told me he wouldn??™t be back any
wanted his pay.
???Do you have an address
for him???? I wanted to know. Well, well the address
the foreman gave me for Nolly was the same flop house
where bubba lived. So I went back over there. When I
walked in the clerk looked up and saw it was me.
???Bubba??™s not here. In
fact he moved out. I don??™t know where he lives now.???
???I??™m not here to see
bubba. I??™m here to see Nolly.???
???Well you??™re to late to
see him too. He moved out at the same time that bubba
did.???
I went back to the
station and had an all points bulletin put out to pick
up Nolly and bubba. I figured it wouldn??™t be long
before bubba had to go on one of his drinking binges
and we would catch him then. Once we had bubba, he
would tell us where Nolly was.
Almost three months later
Nolly and Bubba had not been found. But I was a
patient man and knew all I had to do was wait.
I decided I would go by
Terry and Donny??™s apartment and take them out to super
at the ???out back steak house??? to celebrate Terry??™s
graduation from high school in four days. When I got
to their apartment, they weren??™t home from school yet
so I went across the street to the little park and sat
down on a bench looking back toward the apartments.
Before long I saw Pam??™s
car pull into the parking lot and roger and Pam got
out and knocked on Terry??™s door. Not getting an
answer, they drove over to the park where I was
sitting. I wasn??™t interested in talking to them so I
pulled my hat down over my eyes and slouched down on
the bench.
As they walked right in
front of me I could hear every word they were saying.
Roger was telling Pam that he didn??™t see any reason to
come see those two kids now that she wasn??™t drawing
any money for child support for them.
???Will you shut up Roger?
Now that you have spent all my savings you have really
become a bore. I??™m going to tell them I??™m broke and
want to borrow some money.???
???Just where are they
going to get any money to loan you, Pam????
Pam answered, ???Don must
have had some money put away somewhere for those two
kids to be able to live on their own for three
months. When I get my hands on it this time, you??™re
not getting any of it.???
???Don??™t be so sure about
that Pam. Remember I know it was you that shot Don.???
That??™s when I took my hat off and looked up. Pam had
a little 22 pistol in her hand and was pointing it at
roger. I threw my hat into her face, jumped up and
took the gun away from her.
Roger turned and started
to walk away. ???Hold it roger, come back here. I have
some questions I want to ask you. When he got to us,
I snapped one end of my handcuffs to Pam??™s left wrist
and the other end to Roger??™s right wrist.
*****
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