“Is that the best you can do?” Ollie asked. “I was hoping for something a little more tricky comin’ from you.”
“We could get a known associate of Johnny Lee’s, maybe Ray-Ray Walker, to call him…but that would take hours to put together. Let’s just push the envelope ourselves…maybe use that old ruse where someone calls anonymously tellin’ ‘em a search warrant’s been issued.”
“Well, Ray-Ray is doing time so he’s not a candidate. Besides, I don’t think he’d go for it anyway. That punk would enjoy seeing us squirm. Let’s-”
Before Ollie could finish, the radio crackled to life, and they both spun to listen.
“Base to Unit One.”
“Go ahead, Miz Martha,” Ollie replied, hoping for some good news.
“Sheriff, I just gave two deputies from Hale County directions to your twenty. They’re coming through Livingston right now.”
“Redirect one to Larson’s location. Have him watch the trailer and report anything unusual. Larson can give him the details. I need Larson and Shug to be flexible for the search.”
“Ten-four.”
“Sheriff Marlow’s about five minutes behind ‘em.”
“Thank you,” Ollie replied.
Ollie pulled out the radiophone that R.C. had found in the pickup and stared at it. He hit the menu button and found the recently received calls. There was Johnny Lee Glover’s number. All I have to do is hit that button.
“OK. I’m goin’ to do it. I’m just gonna call him. Straight up,” he told R.C. confidently. “I’ve got to do something.”
R.C. nodded, and Ollie hit Send, heard it beep twice, and waited.
Just a few seconds before he heard beep-beep, Reese thought he glimpsed a flashlight beam for a split second across a clear-cut. He stopped, leaned his rifle against a tree at the edge of the cutover, and pulled his phone from his pocket. He looked at the screen. Tiny? His phone’s at his house, he thought. This is weird.
Reese hit Send, and the phone beeped twice. He didn’t say a word. Reese listened intently.
Ollie and R.C. had their fish on the line but didn’t know what to do next. Ollie took a deep breath and went for it.
Beep-beep. “Mr. Glover, this is Sheriff Landrum. I need to speak to you.”
What the hell!? How’d he… Reese thought, shocked. He stared at the phone, trying to make sense of what he heard. Shit! Do I respond? Ignore him? Reese decided to see what he could learn.
Beep-beep. “I’m kinda busy right now, Sheriff. Maybe tomorrow.”
Beep-beep. “No. I need to talk to you face-to-face. Right now. Where are you?”
Reese was scrambling to think this through. Maybe he went to Tiny’s house, searched it, and found the phone. Maybe Tiny left it in his truck at the gate and they found it there. If that’s the case, he’s on the property. But he thinks he is talking to Johnny Lee…so they haven’t found his truck yet.
“Shit!” Reese said out loud.
Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee, where are you? This is important.”
Beep-beep. “Where are you, Sheriff?”
Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee, we’re looking for a missing female. You know anything about it?”
Reese’s mind was swirling…Is he talkin’ about the woman I had Moon Pie kidnap? Maybe it’s the “female” I heard screaming with Tiny and Sweat?
Beep-beep. “Sheriff, I don’t know anything about that at all. How ‘bout I call you tomorrow sometime?”
“That’s not Johnny Lee!” R.C. said. Ollie looked at him like he was crazy.
Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee, no…I need some answers. Now!”
There was no response. Only silence.
Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee?”
Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee!”
Reese had no intention of talking to him anymore. He had to get Moon Pie. Reese hit End, then dialed Moon Pie’s number.
Beep-beep. “Moon?”
Beep-beep. “Yo.”
Beep-beep. “Get rid of the package and get the hell out of there. But I need you to hang around and wait for me to call you back. I’ll need you to pick me up on Highway Seventeen, ‘round the Noxubee River bridge at about daylight. Be close but not too close. Go hang out at the truck stop off Twenty…that’s maybe ten miles from me.”
Beep-beep. “Whadda I do with our girl? They’re gonna follow me.”
Reese thought for a minute. There were too many unanswered questions. He needed some time. He needed vengeance, but he decided to eliminate a liability first.
Beep-beep. “Blindfold her. Tie her hands, then push her into the woods behind the trailer…she could walk for days back in there. Has she seen ya?”
Beep-beep. “Shit, man, yeah. This is screwed up, dude.”
Beep-beep. “I really need you on this one, Moon. Get rid of her and hang tight.”
Beep-beep. “I’ll be there…you call; I’ll be there.”
Beep-beep. “Hey, Moon?”
Beep-beep. “Yeah.”
Beep-beep. “This shit’s serious, man…he killed Johnny Lee and Sweat. So whatever happens tonight, I need to know that you’ll help even the score…and then some.”
Beep-beep. “You got it, dude. Go get him. I’ll meet you at the bridge.”
Moon Pie slithered out of his Tahoe and crawled to where he could look at the cop’s car. The moonlight made it easy to see the lone deputy’s outline slouched behind the wheel.
He hurriedly went inside the trailer, straight to his victim. She jumped when he whipped opened the door. He could tell she had been trying to get free of the duct tape.