doors the dogs watched with lolling tongues. “I asked him to come hunting. Didn’t I ask you, Marcus?”
“You did indeed.”
“See there? You can’t get any nicer than that, now, can you.”
Marcus said to the old man, “You’re looking good, Charlie.”
“I’m not either. I look like I sleep with death as a bedfellow. You’re just trying to suck up to me on account of not stopping by for so long.” Charlie Hayes brandished his cane in Marcus’ face. “Well, it won’t do you a bit of good. I’ve written you off and that’s final.”
Boomer slammed the tailgate shut. “That’s my pop. All sweetness and light.”
“Now that’s a shame,” Marcus said. “I came back from a trip last night to find I’d been invited to go fishing this morning. I just stopped by to see if you wanted to come along.”
“Then I might have to recollect on what I said,” Charlie replied instantly. “I’d pay cold hard cash to get off on some body of water and hold a pole in my hands again.”
Boomer murmured something that sounded vaguely like old folks’ home.
“I heard that. You ship me off to some perfumed death house and I’ll come back to haunt you.”
“He would, you know.” Boomer’s eye was caught by the Blazer’s mangled side panel. He marched down the drive, then shouted back up, “Dang, Marcus! Who did the number on your wheels?”
“Two redneck goons over at New Horizons.”
Boomer continued to circle the Blazer. “Looks like they put you through the grinder.”
Charlie moved down beside his son. “They come at you from both sides?”
“Yes.” He walked back to join them. The right and rear windows were quilts of plastic and duct tape. Marcus had used the tire iron to peel off what remained of the left rear fender. “Both sides.”
Charlie Hayes poked his cane at where the rear bumper was tied in place with a coat hanger. “What’d you do to rile them?”
“I said I was a lawyer representing union organizers.”
Boomer laughed, and in doing so he lived up to his name. “Shoot, you might as well have doused yourself with gasoline and asked them for a light!”
Marcus asked, “What do you know about them?”
“I know they’re a Carolina textile company. None of their lot takes kindly to unions. Even a transplanted Yankee like you ought to know that.”
Charlie corrected, “Marcus’ momma’s family is just as Carolina as they come.”
“Half-Yankee, then. To say lawyer and union in the same breath is like waving red shorts in front of an angry bull.” Boomer surveyed the damage. “You’re lucky they didn’t come after you with pick handles.”
“They did.” Then to Charlie, “You’ll have to slide over from my side, the passenger door won’t open.”
“Then you’re lucky to be alive.” Boomer pounded back up the drive in his size-thirteen boots, patting Marcus on the shoulder as he passed. “Good seeing you again, old son. Things have been awful dull around here.”
C HARLIE WAITED until they were halfway to Rocky Mount before saying, “You want to tell me why you went and did such a fool thing?”
“I was approached by a couple who are accusing New Horizons of kidnapping their daughter. I wanted to see if they were capable of rough tactics.”
Charlie fiddled with the cane, a gift from his son. The ivory top was carved in the shape of a ram’s head and dyed blue. “Why don’t they take something like that to the FBI?”
“They did, but the FBI can’t help much. The kidnapping allegedly took place in China.”
The fiddling halted. “As in the country way yonder over there, China?”
“The very same.”
The old man used both hands and the dash to swivel himself about. “All right. I’m listening.”
Telling what little he knew took them into Rocky Mount. Marcus threaded his way through empty Saturday streets, following Deacon’s carefully printed instructions to the fields and woodlands on the town’s south side. He concluded, “I read
“You did indeed.”
“See there? You can’t get any nicer than that, now, can you.”
Marcus said to the old man, “You’re looking good, Charlie.”
“I’m not either. I look like I sleep with death as a bedfellow. You’re just trying to suck up to me on account of not stopping by for so long.” Charlie Hayes brandished his cane in Marcus’ face. “Well, it won’t do you a bit of good. I’ve written you off and that’s final.”
Boomer slammed the tailgate shut. “That’s my pop. All sweetness and light.”
“Now that’s a shame,” Marcus said. “I came back from a trip last night to find I’d been invited to go fishing this morning. I just stopped by to see if you wanted to come along.”
“Then I might have to recollect on what I said,” Charlie replied instantly. “I’d pay cold hard cash to get off on some body of water and hold a pole in my hands again.”
Boomer murmured something that sounded vaguely like old folks’ home.
“I heard that. You ship me off to some perfumed death house and I’ll come back to haunt you.”
“He would, you know.” Boomer’s eye was caught by the Blazer’s mangled side panel. He marched down the drive, then shouted back up, “Dang, Marcus! Who did the number on your wheels?”
“Two redneck goons over at New Horizons.”
Boomer continued to circle the Blazer. “Looks like they put you through the grinder.”
Charlie moved down beside his son. “They come at you from both sides?”
“Yes.” He walked back to join them. The right and rear windows were quilts of plastic and duct tape. Marcus had used the tire iron to peel off what remained of the left rear fender. “Both sides.”
Charlie Hayes poked his cane at where the rear bumper was tied in place with a coat hanger. “What’d you do to rile them?”
“I said I was a lawyer representing union organizers.”
Boomer laughed, and in doing so he lived up to his name. “Shoot, you might as well have doused yourself with gasoline and asked them for a light!”
Marcus asked, “What do you know about them?”
“I know they’re a Carolina textile company. None of their lot takes kindly to unions. Even a transplanted Yankee like you ought to know that.”
Charlie corrected, “Marcus’ momma’s family is just as Carolina as they come.”
“Half-Yankee, then. To say lawyer and union in the same breath is like waving red shorts in front of an angry bull.” Boomer surveyed the damage. “You’re lucky they didn’t come after you with pick handles.”
“They did.” Then to Charlie, “You’ll have to slide over from my side, the passenger door won’t open.”
“Then you’re lucky to be alive.” Boomer pounded back up the drive in his size-thirteen boots, patting Marcus on the shoulder as he passed. “Good seeing you again, old son. Things have been awful dull around here.”
C HARLIE WAITED until they were halfway to Rocky Mount before saying, “You want to tell me why you went and did such a fool thing?”
“I was approached by a couple who are accusing New Horizons of kidnapping their daughter. I wanted to see if they were capable of rough tactics.”
Charlie fiddled with the cane, a gift from his son. The ivory top was carved in the shape of a ram’s head and dyed blue. “Why don’t they take something like that to the FBI?”
“They did, but the FBI can’t help much. The kidnapping allegedly took place in China.”
The fiddling halted. “As in the country way yonder over there, China?”
“The very same.”
The old man used both hands and the dash to swivel himself about. “All right. I’m listening.”
Telling what little he knew took them into Rocky Mount. Marcus threaded his way through empty Saturday streets, following Deacon’s carefully printed instructions to the fields and woodlands on the town’s south side. He concluded, “I read
Similar Books
