With This Ring

By

Retta Michaels

Preface

Dear Reader,

In a lot of my writing, I've never felt the need to write a preface. With this story, I want you to know what to expect. For me, the story is a mixture of a whole lot of truth and a whole lot of fiction.

For me to explain it, I must sit and tell you what my conceptual plans were for the novel

IN LIFE, we are not given a set list of directions and plans how to complete it. Some people don't like the unknown, so they don't take any foreign steps into different territories. With others, they know no structure.

Rather than having a nameless character out there who could sue the fuck out of me for even inferring they're a member of the mafia, I chose to go personal and use my own name. It's a lot less messy and a lot more friendly for my lawyer.

I am not a member of the mafia. I will not say I do not know a lot of the family members from several cities, but I am not a member myself.

I will state at one time I was with a man named Gino who headed a crime family. He's since passed and this story has been released with permission and editing done by his son who is still a dear friend of mine. (Thanks Dave.)

The names I've used in the story besides my own are ficticious. The names have been changed to protect everyone. Where names weren't important, I have not used them.

I have given enough references to who the person is so if you can read between the lines, you can see who they are. With that said, I will not say more about the characters.

The story is made up. It is totally ficticious. None of the incidents happened, and nothing of the sort ever occurred. If you choose to believe it did happen, and if you choose to believe it's true, then that's on you. I will state now if I receive an email asking me if such and such part is true, I'll be polite and refer you to the Preface and leave it at that.

The reason I'm writing this preface is because I want people to know when I write, I write fiction with an air of the style of writing used by the National Enquirer or the Sun. There's an air of truth in there someplace, but it's actually fiction. If you choose to believe it's truth, then do so...I've got about twenty acres of swamp land I'll sell you and someplace on that land is a complimentary Iphone. If you can find it, it's yours.

With that said, I'll now state the characters of this story will probably be used time and time again. I think I've found a niche in this style of writing. I'll tell you now, it's done in the style of Mack Bolan “The Executioner”, James Bond, or Scarface.

“With This Ring” is the first book of the saga. It shows how someone can go from leading a normal life wanting to lead a normal life to being thrown into a complex cast of characters which require him to be more and more of what he doesn't want to be.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter 6:

We went into the office and Steve closed the door. He came up to me and kissed me. “Man I've missed that this afternoon.”

“I have too. I thought you were going to get JT?”

“We can do this without him. If we find anything interesting, we'll tell them. The first thing I want to do is go through the drawers and see if I find anything.”

“I'll look over here in this book shelf. He's got papers over here in things.”

“Probably a filing system of sorts.”

I pulled out a law journal. It was from the years of 1966 & 1967. I opened it and saw it was a diary of sorts. I began to read and started seeing what was done and who did it. Then I saw what the person paid in order to have the charges reduced. It stated who paid him what and whether he took the matter to the judge, or if he kept the money for himself. Off to the side was an extra line drawn in which looked like a ledger. At the bottom, was a total for the page.

I made a mental note to read more in depth the journal when I had a chance. It's information was such it could be useful. For the entire time he was in office, twenty two years, I saw all the ledgers and journals.

Steve said, “Babe, take a look at this.”

I went over and took a look. It was a checking account with the older style of receipts on the left and showed the checks torn out.”

“What am I looking at?”

“This is an account used for one thing....to pay the judge money he took in from people paying fines. What he took in was a whole lot more than what he actually paid toward their fine. The rest went into his bank account at the end of each week.”

“I found the journal over here for all the years he was in office. It states what the person did and what he took in to reduce the fine or the punishments. It's a vertiable who's who and the potential for blackmail would be enormous with those books.”

“Do you think now that he's gone, someone might come looking for them?”

“I don't know, but if I was paying him, I'd really want it lost. BUT, if I didn't know if he kept the journals, I might hope he hadn't. It's really iffy.”

“I think we need to put them away someplace where no one would be able to find them if they broke in.”

“My suggestion is to get a computer in here and scan them all onto a disk so you had the back up.”

“Would your laptop work?”

“Yeah, but I don't have a scanner.”

“Would Wal-Mart have one?”

“Yeah, but it's going to take forever to scan all those pages.”

“Let me go out and get one and bring it back.”

“Honey, why don't you get a computer there too. That way we have one for in here anyways.”

“I wouldn't even begin to know what to get in a computer.”

“My best advice would be to not get one from Wal-Mart, but at this time of night, I imagine there's not much else open.”

“What's wrong with a computer from there?”

“Well, there's the actual make made for other companies and then there's the Wal-Mart edition. Things made for them tend to be cheaply made.”

“How bad could they screw up a computer?”

“Oh, I could think of a lot of ways. A cheaper hard drive would fail sooner. Cheaper memory would burn up faster. The capacitors in the board would be made cheaper and it could burn out faster. The video card probably is less and so on and so forth.”

“Would you have space on your disk at your house?”

“Yeah, that's no problem, but without internet service here, it would be slow as could be to communicate back and forth. We'll have to see if they have DSL out here.”

“I don't think they do. Some people were complaining about it.”

“Well, they have satellite internet which is more costly, but is fast.”

“How much does that cost?”

“A lot, but if we're going to have internet and can't get any other that's fast, then we'll have to go with that.”

“Who does that?”

“It will have to be done through the phone company or a satellite provider like Dish Network.”

“We could have satellite for the television then too couldn't we?”

“Yeah, that's a must in order for you to see any sports. Is all you get out here is two channels?”

“We get four. There are a couple extras we pick up from Charleston.”

“Let me call the phone company and see what they offer. Hey, wait a second, someone around here has to have wireless because I can pick it up with my laptop. It'd have to be here because we're too isolated.”

“Then he's got one here someplace.”

“Take a look at the walls and see where the phone line comes in. If you can trace the phone line someplace, then you'll find the computer or the router.”

“You think he actually had that?”

“If you didn't, then it would have to be him, or JT.”

“Do you think JT has a computer if he's asked to use yours?”

“Then it's your daddy. Your mama doesn't know a thing about them.”

“Do you think Daddy would know about computers?”

“Honey, it doesn't take a lot to learn computers.”

We looked for the wire and soon Steve said, “I've got it. It's going into this cabinet over here.”

“It's locked, do you have his keys?”

“There's a bunch of them in this drawer.”

“Start trying.”

“What if it's protected by passwords?”

“I'll show you a few tricks you could use in your profession to get into other people's computers in case you're looking for child porn.”

“I've never done it. I don't think there's anyone here that's ever complained.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but if you ever have one, you'll know what to do.”

“How do you know so much?”

“A whole lot of bought used computers. Some of them have passwords protecting them and I needed to get in and reset them.”

“And it worked?”

“Honey, all you do is go in and take out the battery on the mainboard. It resets the system so all the passwords are reset. I'll probably need a small phillips screwdriver.”

“I've got a set downstairs. I'll be right back. Try those keys and see if you find one that works.”

I tried keys and knowing office furniture, I tried the smaller gold ones first. I did seperate out several safe deposit box keys from everything else so he could take them to see what was in them.”

The fourth key I tried worked. The door slid open and there sat a HP computer and the router. What made it nice was it was on a slide out so the computer sat at the users side. Behind the computer was a flat screen monitor. I set it up on top and then put the keyboard up.

I turned the computer on and it went right into the operating system without asking for a password. The files which came up upon the screen were interesting. I clicked on them and began seeing photos of all sorts of crime scenes and accident scenes. I backed out of the file and then went over to documents. In it was all sorts of files which when I opened them, had the ledgers and journals all on it with Quicken software. Why he didn't have a printer was beyond me. He could have used the computer to print the checks.

I took a look into the History files and began opening what he'd last viewed. There were all sorts of banking sites. What was interesting was when I clicked upon the site as user, it put me into the account automaticly. I viewed the site and took note of the account numbers and where the bank was located.

Each site I viewed put me into the account. It was apparent the man didn't know much about computers and tended to be lazy with user names and passwords. Each one clicked me in and I was allowed to use the site as if I were him.

Steve came back in and said, “You have it running!”

“Yeah, take a look here. You're going to need a chair, so pull that one around.”

“I wonder why he had a chair across from his desk when no one was allowed in here?”

“Maybe it was habit.”

Steve drug over the chair and I began showing him what I'd found. He was amazed at all the accounts and the amounts in them.

“Steve, you're going to have to go into those banks with a copy of the Will showing you're executor and a copy of his death certificate in order to be allowed to move the money and close the accounts.”

“Do you know how to do all that?”

“I'm familiar with it, but I'm not the executor. They'll want verification to prove you are who you say you are.”

“Ok, would you go with me?”

“Sure.”

“He had a lot of accounts.”

“He knew the banking industry only protected accounts up to one hundred thousand dollars. I imagine you'll find withdrawals bringing them down to that total each time they gave him interest on them. Someplace around here, you'll find tax records stating what he got from each bank annually.”

“So you're saying he didn't trust them?”

“Yeah, but he was fastidious about making sure they only had that much in them. Right now, we're at six different banks. There are eight more and I'm sure one of them is the one he used for household accounts.”

“That would be the local bank. These are either in Charleston, or Savannah.”

“Yes, but how many banks are there here locally?”

“Not many.”

“That's why he went there. I bet you'll find he has accounts there too. Check that checking account and you'll probably see it's local. If he used it for an account, I bet he had more accounts there.”

He got the name of the account and said, “Is there anything else on the computer besides accounts with Banks?”

“Not for his internet usage. He does have a lot of files. There's one of nothing but crime scenes and accident scenes. He had to get them off a site or from a disk he put in.”

I showed him the files and then showed him the ledgers.

“These ledgers were emailed to him from the judge. Those are the records he was getting from the judge for payments received and it shows the judge sent him money too.”

“Well, they were busy scratching each other's backs. He sure wasn't careful about encrypting them or using passwords which makes this really easy. In a moment, I'll do a search for hidden files and see if he had any.”

“How will you find them if they're hidden.”

“It's relatively easy if you've worked on a computer enough. What you do is go do a search for every document, text, or pdf file and then it searches through the hard drive for them all. When it shows the results, it will lead me to the files they're in.”

“How new is this computer.”

“One moment, I'll check.”

“How do you do that?”

“System restore. If he used it, it should tell me when it started. If he didn't, then I'll look and see under the system file and see when it was constructed. That will give us a year he got it.”

I opened the system restore and it had never been used. I then went into the system and it showed me the computer had been constructed in May of 2005.

“You sure know your way around a computer!”

“It's not really hard. There's a lot of trial and error in what I've done on one.”

“You're saying this is really amateur stuff. Yours are a lot more complex?”

“Oh yeah. What you'll find with mine is I've got all sorts of operating systems form Unix Linux and even some Sun operating system. I kept away from the Mac operating systems since a lot of things never worked for me when I used it. I use Windows, but for programming of the jumbos, I'm into a lot of Unix.”

“Is that harder?”

“Yes and no. Once you get used to it, it's a lot easier to program things than Windows.”

“You'll have to show me.”

“That'll be fine. We'll have to find space in here to put them, but in this room, there's a lot of wasted space. We'll have this place shaped up in no time.”

Rose came in and Steve gave her his chair.

“Tell mama what you found and I'll go get another chair.”

I explained everything to Rose and showed her the accounts. She was amazed at what I'd found.

One thing I did note was his Sheriff's pension was direct deposited. I told her in order to continue receiving payments, she'd have to contact them and verify his death with a death certificate. She was confused about it and I told her I'd help.

I said, “Rose, would you get one of those legal pads and start making a list?”

“Sure hon.”

“I need to have us “To do” lists so we don't forget something. We'll go do a bit of this on Tuesday. Has the funeral home told you when they want you to come prepare the funeral plans?”

“No. They'll probably call tomorrow.”

“They might wait until Tuesday to hold the funeral. If so, they'll have the visitation on Monday. Be prepared for all the state and local police agencies being out in force to give him a send off. They do that when one of their own dies.”

“I never thought of that, but you're right.”

“If they have the funeral on Tuesday, we'll take care of his pension on Monday and then run around to the banks. Since Steve was executor of his Will, he'll have to have a copy of the will and certified death certificates to close accounts and move funds.”

“His will doesn't state anything about these accounts.”

“If it doesn't, then Steve will have to take them all through probate which will be a bitch. They might make him wait up to a year for that to happen.”

“They wouldn't!”

“Yes, they would. And they'd have to put it in the newspaper to see if anyone wanted to stake claim to them. Steve might be able to get it put through the judge faster, but him doing so might require a favor as crooked as those guys seem to be.”

“If so, I'll tell him to wait.”

“No, if it's so, I'll have a friend of mine called and you'll be amazed at how an outsider can get things done.”

Steve came back in with the chair and sat down. I adjusted the screen so we could all see but with the small size of the screen it made it difficult. I adjusted it using the Ctrl + to make viewing larger and Steve said, “Man, you really know the commands!”

“I type up stories. In order to read them on the sites, I do that so the print isn't tiny. It blows it up so my monitor has it huge.”

“How big is your monitor?”

“My smallest is a 19”. I've got a 21 and a 42” plasma. What makes it nice with the plasma is I can blow it up and tile the pages I view so I can see multiple pages of a story at once.”

“We'll have to get one.”

“We'll have one once we get to Missouri. The advantage of this computer is I can get in and make it so I can access it with my laptop. Then I can save directly over. That way we have a copy of everything in case someone chooses to come in and take this one.”

I went over to the user section and made myself a user and then went in and made my laptop able to access the computer. “When we get the laptop back, we'll be able to access it.”

Steve asked, “Rhette, I'm not seeing the accounts from the trees or their household account on here. This looks like it's his accounts for the payoffs and the bribes.”

“Hon, think of it. Would I want to have these accounts out in the open so everyone could find them if they came into this office? Or, would I have them so I knew where they were online and leave that out of this room? He probably chose that route and used the check books we have here for those accounts.”

“Where are they at?”

“Have you looked in the file cabinet over there?”

“No.”

“Then look in the bottom drawer. That's where I keep mine.”

“Why?”

“I can lock the file cabinet and no one's going to be able to get in it.”

“It's locked alright.”

“Then use this key to open it.”

I handed him the key and it went right in.

“We need to take tape and label these keys.”

“Better yet, until you have a system to store them, either leave the key in the lock or leave the lock unlocked. It might not be safe, but it sure will make it so we don't have to keep sorting through these keys.”

“He sure never hid them well.”

“He was probably sure you guys wouldn't come in here, but the computer being locked away rather out in plain sight does say he didn't want anyone to know he had those accounts.”

“Do you think there are any more we don't know about?”

“One thing you'll have to check is this key here. I'll tell you now it's to a post office box someplace. If you use your Sheriff's credentials and call the post office and give them that number on it, they'll be able to tell you where it's located.”

“Ok”

I showed them the keys I was sure to office furniture. One of the sets on a little ring was to the desk itself. We still had four keys unaccounted for which I knew weren't to anything in the room.

Rose said, “Let me have them and let's go up to his bedroom. In his bedroom is a strong box under the bed. I do know that and I've not been into his closet, but there might be things in there.”

“Ok”

Steve said, “I'm going to stay down here and read some of these things.”

“We'll be back.”

Rose and I went upstairs to the bedroom and she pulled out the strong box. One of the keys fit and inside was a bunch of change. It looked like he emptied his pockets into the box. Why he never kept the key closer is beyond me, but at least we had one of the keys down.

In the closet, I found a Sentry safe. The key which said Sentry on it opened it. I looked through the files in the safe and then locked it and handed the key to Rose. “Here, take this and give it to Randy's mom. It's love letters written to him from her. Let her decide what she wants to do with them.”

She nodded and put the key in her pocket.

I looked up at at the top of the closet and found a metal box which said “Budget” upon the side.

“I wondered where that went. It's what I used to put the mail in so he'd be able to go through it when he had time.”

“Well we found it.”

I took one of the keys and it didn't work. I used the other and it fit. Inside, I found all sorts of cancelled checks to Randy's mama.

“Here's the cancelled checks for Randy's child support. There are grade cards in there and other things regarding him in it.”

“I'll give him this box and let him go through them. He might want some of the things.”

In behind that box, was another. I pulled it down. It was made of wood and painted a military battleship gray.

“That's his daddy's. I bet you'll find things of his daddy's in it.”

“Let's keep the key with it and then we can look at the things later.”

“Open it and make sure. I don't think he got rid of the things, but we better be sure.”

I opened the box and found a lot of certificates and awards. There were all sorts of military documents and all belonged to Steve's grandfather. There were also patches and stripes from a uniform. At the bottom was a birth certificate. I looked at it and asked, “When was James born?”

“1928, why?”

“His dad was fourteen when he was born?”

“I knew he was young. They were still kids when they got married.”

“Hold on a second, here's her birth certificate. She was older than him!”

“Yes, by two years I believe.”

“The little scamp!”

She giggled and said, “Well, he was a rounder. She probably wasn't his first. The stories he'd tell would have everyone blushing.”

“Sounds like JT earned it honestly.”

“When he told me about what he was feeling, I was floored. I'd seen him with so many girls, but to hear him tell it, he wasn't doing anything with them.”

“That's what he said, but there are going to be a lot of fragile egos shattered around here and a lot of guys are going to be wanting to start fights.”

“Why would they do that?!”

“It's two fold. He's beaten them out previously to go out with those girls, so they're going to be a bit upset and now that he's gay, they're going to assume he's weak and won't fight back. Guys still do it with me all the time. My problem is two-fold in that I'm little and they think I'm weak and won't fight back. Fortunately for me, I found strength in a man named Bryon Peterson in prison. He taught me to box.”

“And that helped?”

“Yeah, but the advantage of being taught something is using it, but mixing it with other things and being smarter than the opponent. Also, the element of surprise helps.”

“What? You attacked them!”

“No, watch this.”

I raised my arm in the air straight up. Her eyes naturally followed my arm. Then I reached out and touched her on the cheek.

“I never saw that coming!”

“Your natural instinct is to follow movement. I knew what I was going to do but you didn't. Therefore, I was prepared to go on the offensive. Instead of touching your cheek, I'd full up blast them in the nose. After that, they grab their nose because it's painful. Nothing's fair in a fight. I'm not going to stop and let them regroup. I'll be in there throwing everything I can at the person. By the time they're recovering from their nose being broken, I'm already inflicting all the other pain I can like hitting them in the balls and kicking their legs out from under them. Once they're down, I'm on them flailing away again at their nose because their instinct is to protect the damaged area. I'm beating the hell out of the backs of their hands, but by then they'll already know they've been beat.

In prison, the man on the ground has lost but the next man I fight will be expecting me to do that so I have to use different tactics like drawing a line on the ground and telling them to cross it. They'll look at the line to cross it and that's when I already have them sucker punched.”

She laughed and said, “How many times did you fight?”

“Fifty two. Of those, I went down on the ground once and beat the holy hell out of the man. The others, I got hit in the face three times, but won all the others. One of them was so funny the guard made the guy go back in and fight me because he ran away from me and I'd broken a nail. The guy didn't want to fight but the point had to be made...no one steals from me and gets by with it.”

“What'd he steal?”

“A piece of chicken. He made the deal to get a bar of soap from me for a piece of chicken. When chicken day came, he told me to go fuck myself and ate it in front of me. The laugh was on him because he thought because I was littler, I'd let it slide.”

“If you have boys, you'll have to teach them self defense.”

“Nowadays, I'll have to teach it to my girls too. Girls are more vicious than boys now. They'll use a girl's hair to hold onto so she can continually punch her. A guy think's it's sissy to fight pulling hair, but I've done it. I'm gay, the rules don't apply.”

She laughed and said, “Have you been in any fights since prison?”

“If you call what happened to my face a fight, four on one, then I got my ass kicked. The same goes for Kevin. When he hit me, I wasn't expecting it. He learned that afterwards he had hell in session an I was going to beat it out of him. Other than that, I went in a bar once with a friend and my friend got in a fight. Prison rules state one on one, but if two gank one guy, all's fair. He was fighting and getting his butt kicked, but I stood back. Then the man's friend wanted to attempt to pull a knife. I was standing behind him and as soon as I saw the knife, I broke his arm and beat the hell out of him. When his friend tried to step in to hit me, I used the knife and told him it was going to be used against him instead of my friend. He ran like a girl.

That's another reason I'll never go to a straight bar again. Those guys when they get drunk want to blame it on the booze they're coming onto a guy, but when the guy accepts the advance, they want to kick his ass. That's how Matthew Shepard got killed and I'll be damned if it happens on my watch.”

“Who's Matthew Shepard?”

“A kid that got beat to death out in Wyoming. Two guys came onto him and he went with them. They tied him to a fence out in the middle of nowhere and beat him. Then they left him for dead.”

“I think I heard about that.”

“It's still a sore point with gays. It's ok with we're taken out and tied to a fence. Let that happen to a girl and suddenly all hell breaks loose.”

“I'll have to study up on things.”

“I have a website for you to see. A guy over in some other country has it. It shows the number of gays who've died and their stories. It's just sad at what can happen.”

She stood up and said, “Honey, let's go back downstairs. This has gotten you sad.”

“Life's precious. You can be minding your own business and have it taken from you over hate. What I'm doing is telling you this so you know what JT will face. People will tend to not do a thing to Steve because he's Sheriff, but even if JT wore his uniform and badge, he'll face problems. It's the authority behind it that's protective.”

“You need to talk to him.”

“Sadly, he's going to have to learn a lot of this stuff on his own. No one can be taught how to be gay, they have to want to learn it.”

“Show him the sites. Then tell him to read. He has to know what he could face.”

“Ok”

We went downstairs. Steve was looking at the computer and said, “A lot of these guys were being blackmailed by daddy. Some of these payments went on for ten years after I got to be Sheriff. One of the guys had to die in order to stop the payments. I agree what he did probably would have had him in prison for the rest of his life, but to do that to someone is not upholding the law, it's breaking it for personal gain.”

“He did what he did honey. He's dead now. Erase the file. Let those that were abused know it's over.”

“Mama, I can't do that. There's a retired judge out there and a current judge out there that are in this too. I've got to turn this over to the proper authorities so their justice can be met, otherwise I'm just as guilty as them.”

She nodded and said, “Son, protect yourself. They're powerful men.”

I put my hand upon her arm and said, “He's got protection now. Whether he likes it or not, I'm going to get it for him. What I'm afraid of is the party attempting to tell him and the Attorney General to drop it in order to not give the party a black eye. We could probably use this politically as a way to switch parties because just as soon as Steve gets told to drop it, he could go public with it and have everyone tried in the press. It's his call, but I'm not going to see him off to work one day out at his car so our kids can see us get blown to bits. Those people need to know that not only do they have the law coming up against them, but they'll have outside forces coming up against them so whatever they think they can do will be thwarted and used against them.”

Steve said, “Rhette, let me handle it.”

“As much as I think you're a big boy, the answer has to be no. Firmly and resoundly, I'll stand on that answer. There's a man who has my heart behind that badge and if you feel the need to prosecute this, then I'll stand behind you with all I have and everything I can gather.”

“Rhette, this isn't the time.”

I stood up and said, “Excuse me. I'll go upstairs and go to bed now. My mind is made up. If you don't want to argue it, I'll go ahead and make that call anyways. Good night, and don't bother coming to my room. If you don't want me here, then I'll go home, but I'll still make that call.”

I patted Rose on the shoulder and went around and kissed Steve. “I love you and you need to know I know what's possible. Apparently, you don't. Losing your face isn't likely to happen over that. They'll do what they can to stop it no matter what.”

I went out and went upstairs. I clicked out my phone and dialed David. “Hello?”

“It's me Margaret.”

“And what do I owe the favor Tilly?”

“I need you and everything you can bring here to protect Steve.”

“What's going on?”

“His dad was Sheriff and was taking payoffs, bribes, and extortion moneys from a lot of people. The two judges were in on it too. Steve's dad is dead and we found all the files and journals of what was taken from the people. He wants to take it to the Attorney General and have the two judges brought down.”

“I'll have a crew of guys out tonight. Can they stay at your place in town until we can get them accomodations?”

“Tell them to come here to the house. We've got enough rooms.”

“Does Steve want the protection?”

“No”

“Then having them there won't be an option. We'll do it covertly and I'll have guys watching those two judges.”

“Ok, thanks.”

“Anything for you. All you had to do was ask.”

“Whatever I do, don't pull those guys off him.”

“What does that mean?”

“If I call you and tell you to pull them off, don't.”

“Ok, use the phrase poppyseed dressing when you actually want it pulled off. Once I hear that, I'll pull them back.”

“We might have the Attorney General involved in the cover up. He's a part of their party.”

“So you think this will be attempted via party lines.”

“Yes.”

“What I'll do is I'll have a man at the phone company listening to all his phone calls. The mere mention of anything party affiliated will cause the connection to be terminated.”

“Ok, do what you have to do, but don't let him get blown up.”

“It's not happening. I'll make some calls tonight and let the family out there know they're not to ever touch you guys.”

“Or his family.”

“Any of you guys.”

“Protect the shit out of us, but tell your guys they can't go into the woods around us. It's full of rattlesnakes.”

“Really?”

“They killed over a thousand of them in a house on the property because they let the grass grow up around it.”

“Man.”

“Yeah, so tell them not to go that direction, but someone with a long range scope out on a fishing boat would do good. Another thing is they're going to have a funeral. Get a man in the funeral home so that's not disrupted.”

“I'll have ten of them there. I want it to look like there's secret service all over you two.”

“Ok, but I don't think he'll start anything until after the funeral. I'll keep you updated with what I know.”

“Ok, I'll see you later.”

“You coming in?”

“Yeah, I'll let you know where you'll see me when you see me.”

“Dave, he has a step brother who has a wrecker service. We'll need protection for them too.”

“Ok, it'll be done. That might be the way you see me.”

“Tell Randy what's going on and he'll help.”

“I don't like doing that.”

“They're not real close but Randy and he want to be close. If Randy thinks it will help, he'll do anything he can. He knows how their dad was.”

“Ok, I'll think about it. Who knows, the man might need a new driver.”

“That's the spirit.”

“I'll be there and you can count on that.”

“Thanks.”

“You've got it, there's no sense in thanking me.”

“I'll go now.”

“By morning, you'll know you're protected.”

“Ok”

I went up to the third floor and went down the hall to the room I was thinking about using for my writing room. I went in and closed the door. I flipped open my phone and called home.

“Hello?”

“Hi mom.”

“How's it going?”

“All's well here. I need you to do me...well us a favor.”

“What's that?”

“Would you put word out in the family telling all the younger girls we need surrogates?”

“Why?”

“Because we're going to want to have kids. Tell them we'll pay them a million each and they can stay here so no one knows back there. Put word out to everyone because the way I think it will go is we'll probably have one who will take us up on the offer and once the others see how the money's changed the one's life, the others will be knocking your door down wanting more details.”

“You can't find anyone else to do it?”

“We could, but if I'm going to raise kids using his semen, I want my bloodline represented too with his. I might not be able to give it to him, but I sure can do some good for our family in the process.”

“I'll do it, but it could take a while.”

“No problem. As long as I know the effort's being made on our side, I'll know we're doing our part.”

“How are you doing?”

“It's been a busy day. A lot has happened and for a normal person, one of the things would be a major event that was once in a lifetime, but right off hand, there were four for me.”

“And you're still standing?”

“Yeah, you know me. I'm a weeble. I'll wobble but I won't fall down.”

“Kevin said he's coming out there.”

“When?”

“He's closing on the business on Monday and most likely will arrive Tuesday.”

“We'll probably have Steve's daddy's funeral on Tuesday.”

“He died?”

“Yeah”

“Oh Jesus, tell that poor woman I'm so so sorry.”

“I'll tell her. She's holding up well.”

“What your dad and I will do is wait until the weekend after next to come out.”

“That'll be fine. If you check, you should be able to find an airline that flies direct. Whenever you need to, use my bank card there.”

“Ok, but I doubt if we will.”

“Don't let lack of money ever stop you from coming to see me. I've got it and it was made to be spent.”

“Ok, but it's more the lack of time.”

“I know. It's not like you were coming into town to see me.”

“No. What else happened today?”

“Well, we did a lot to take their mind off of things. There's an old house on the estate that we were wanting to bring back to rights, but when Steve's mom and I went over there, it was a jungle of weeds. Rather than go in, we decided to go over and get the brush hog and take some shot guns out to kill any wigglies. What we found was enough to empty like fifteen boxes of shells.”

“Oh my lands!”

“Yeah, we called out the deputies and they all used them for target practice. They mowed all the way to the house and Steve said there was probably a thousand of them at least in the house. So they burned it. Which got the fire department guys there and us having to go to town to get enough from KFC to feed all of them.”

“That's a lot. It had to cost a fortune.”

“Yeah, but we packed more into the day than what I told you about.”

“You care to talk about it?”

“No, not really. It's a day in the life. You know how it is. Days like to day make me yearn for the days I'm bitching about nothing to do.”

“And on those days you're wanting days like today. I know how it is.”

“Yeah. Listen, you're going to be having a man call you to come deliver a car for you.”

“What kind!”

“One like mine but a hard top.”

“Honey, you shouldn't have done that.”

“No, you deserve it and if you think I'm spending too much money, don't look at the money. The reason I'm doing it is because the car is that good. It's made like they used to make cars before all the plastic and everything. Yes, it's a Rolls, but that car will probably last you the rest of your life since it's made so good.”

“The parts are probably expensive as hell.”

“Maybe, but if it ever needs repaired, you use that credit card I gave you. Know it's a gift from me and use that card for everything...parts, oil changes, tires, I mean everything.”

“I will because your dad will shit when he finds out how much you spent on it.”

“Well...you're worth it.”

“So are you, but you shouldn't have.”

“No, Steve and I had words over it as he thinks Brent and Ash will look at it that they can't give you anything like it. I told him if they had the money, they'd give it and were probably looking at me having the money and saying I wasn't buying you guys a thing, so they'll know I'm not being selfish with it. I'm also buying his mom one. She's driving a Pinto for chrissakes.”

“Does she like the one you got?”

“She drove it today and just went on and on about it. She said it's the nicest driving car she's driven and is heavy feeling like the Caddy they had back in the seventies.”

“Well if it's made that nice, it's probably made that heavy. Those cars were like tanks.”

“Yeah and that's why I want you guys to have it. If it affords you some protection and you can walk away from an accident, then the money was well spent.”

“Thanks hon.”

“Well, I'm going to go to bed. I love you guys.”

“We love you too. Give them our love and condolensces.”

“I will. Bye now.”

“Bye bye hon.”

I turned around and Steve was standing there. He enveloped me in his arms and said, “I just got the ass chewing of my life from my mama. She said to get my hind end up here and make up with you.”

“Honey, I'm not backing down on this one.”

“And you shouldn't have to. I don't really want you to call him because I think I can handle it, but if you must, then do it.”

“It's already done. We'll have protection starting tomorrow morning, but no one will know it. You might want to tell JT if he sees someone behind him, it's probably his protection so try not to outrun him.”

“No, because then I'll have to tell him why he's needing protection.”

“Steven! You tell him. If I withheld something like that from you, would you be pissed?”:

“Yeah.”

“Then tell him. Let him know why and what you're going to do it. He may not agree with it, but I think it will be best. Keep the money in those accounts and let them decide what they want to do with it. If it has to be given back, then do it, but if not, then don't. I imagine since you inherited it, they won't make you give it back, but who knows. Either way, you're following the law and that's what matters.”

He smiled and asked, “You want to come with me?”

“Yeah”

We went out and across the hall. He likes the solitude of the third floor. Interestingly, I knew exactly what room you were going to go to.”

“How'd you know?”

“This was her room.”

“Really!”

“Yeah.”

“I chose it because it faced the ocean and I want to see the fishing boat in the morning when I get up.”

“What fishing boat?”

“Since they can't go out into the woods, they're going to be out there with a scope.”

“You'll probably hear helicoptors flying overhead too.”

“This is going to cost a lot of money.”

“Honey, the President won't get as much protection as what we'll have. There are going to be about a hundred guys who are here by tomorrow. Everywhere you turn, you'll see someone and it'll be one of them.”

“How will I get any work done?”

“They'll stay back, but you'll be amazed how fast they'll be there when you need them.”

“Where are they going to stay?”

“I offered here, but he said they'd find someplace.”

“Tell him to have them come here. It's the least we can do.”

“Let's talk to JT first.”

We knocked on the door and JT yelled for us to come in. We went in and JT set my laptop off to the side.

“These chapters are long! I expected to buzz right through and get them all read tonight, I'll be lucky if I'm done in a month!”

Steve smiled and said, “Really?”

“Yeah, but with Jordan, I'm already captivated. It's an awesome story and I'm not even done with the first chapter.”

“We need to speak with you.”

“What about?”

“Let us sit down because this will be a talk we'll have to have sitting down.”

“Sure, grab up the bed and pull up a sit.”

I sat on one side and Steve sat on the same side as JT. “JT, we found a bunch of files in dad's office. Not only were there files, but he had journals and journals of everything he took for payoff's and bribes from people. Not only were there files from him, but correspondances from the judges who were sending dad money as his cut from things. There are also statements and a check book used to make payments to them.”

JT nodded his head and said, “So what I heard was true.”

“Yeah, now dad's dead, but those guys are alive. We can't arrest dad, but as Sheriff, I can't let this go on unnoticed. If I do, they'll probably attempt to suck me into the loop and I'll tell you now, that's not going to happen.”

“How much money are we talking about?”

“So far, there's over a million dollars. There are safe deposit boxes in banks and I imagine those contain quite a bit of something which aren't cash....like stocks, bonds, or whatever.”

“Is that why he kept the office so secret?”

“I don't know, but Rhette found the computer because we were talking about internet service. He said he was able to reach wireless internet from here in the house and since it only can be accessed form a close range, he knew it had to be here.”

“So we've had internet service all along and I've been holding off on buying a computer.”

“It looks like it. We found dad's computer in a locked cabinet. Rhette knows a lot about computers and was able to get in and look at the files. What he found was scary. I'm thinking the accident and crime scenes in the photos are used for extortion, but I'm not sure. Even after I was in office, he was still taking the payoffs from one. The only way the guy got out of paying was he had to die.”

“Ok, so what is it you want to do?”

“I want to take the information to the Attorney General and share it with him so we can get the two judges. There's easily enough information he can't ignore the violation of the law.”

“Do you think he'll arrest them?”

“If he doesn't, I'll most likely have to call in the FBI or take it public and try them in the press, but then I'll be including the Attorney General's correspondances in that and holding him accountable.”

“So if it's my permission you want, then go ahead. Is that what you're wanting?”

“No...well yes, but what I need to tell you is we now know and just as soon as they know we know, then I imagine they're going to want to try getting that information or putting a stop to me doing it.”

“So they'd kill you for this information?”

“Probably”

“Well then don't do it.”

“I can't do that. What Rhette has done is he's gotten us protection. Starting tomorrow, you'll have someone protecting you. Mom will. This house will, and Rhette will too.”

I interrupted. “Randy and his family will and also Kevin. He's going to come in next Tuesday. I just spoke with my mom and she told me.”

JT smiled and said, “Good.”

“Well, what we wanted you to know is you're going to have someone protecting you. They'll be near, but they're not going to impede your life. When you need them, you'll be amazed at how fast they'll be there. One way you'll know is there's going to be a fishing boat out there in the morning. Due to the snakes in the woods, we figure it's safer for our guys to be out there. Let their guys die trying to get through those woods, but our guys will stay safe. You'll probably hear a helicoptor buzzing overhead every now and again, but that will be them. When you go anywhere, you'll have one on you.”

“Man, this is going to suck.”

“No, it's going to be business as usual except the driving has to be kept normal. If you attempt to lose them, they'll be lost but then you're probably running right into the hands of the people you were to be protected from.”

“Ok, I'll keep with them, but we need to tell Randy.”

“Randy probably already knows. The way I was going to do it was having my guy contact Randy and tell him the truth. Then have Randy help him to protect you guys. At first, Steve wasn't for the idea, so I was going to do it whether he liked it or not.”

Steve said, “When Rhette left the room, mama jumped onto me like I've never been jumped before. She said I was as stupid as daddy ever was but only dumber. When she got through, I felt like I was smaller than a fleas balls. So I came up here and made up with him. That's when he told me he'd already ordered the protection.”

“What do we have to pay for the protection.”

I started to speak but Steve interrupted me. “JT, when we were down getting his car, he told me about a relationship he had with a mafia guy. Not just A mafia guy, but the head of a family over a whole city. The guy chose being in the family over Rhette, so he moved on, but Rhette stayed close to the guy's son. Now the son's over the family and he told Rhette on the phone with me hearing that Rhette was supposed to inherit everything. Instead, Rhette gave it all to him. Now the guy feels like he owes Rhette everything.”

“Why?”

“If Rhette had taken it, he could have viewed the guy as a threat and had him killed. He knows that and Rhette does too. Rhette wanted the guy and not the family. I think because Rhette views the guy as a brother of sorts, he gave it to him. Now the guy is giving him whatever he wants. This is one thing he asked for and it's given.”

“It still has to cost a lot. Aviation fuel is a lot in itself and having guys on a payroll costs a lot.”

“Well, that's what I think. Now, they're probably going to have to get motel rooms. I think we should offer them the use of these rooms as token or our appreciation. What do you think?”

“It will be a lot of work on mama.”

Steve looked at me and I said, “They're going to clean up after themselves. We'll arrange chore schedules and cooking schedules. We probably will have to buy some refrigerators and freezers, but we'll get them fed.”

“Well, invite them here and we'll house as many as we can.”

“Ok, with the bedrooms here, we'll probably have two to a room. Up in the attic is enough space to make a dorm which those guys can use one of the rooms for it's bathroom.”

“What I can do is I can give up my room here. I can move to your house so when Kevin comes I can be there. What we can do is house a lot of them there too. That way, the number we have in that attic is very few. It'll be getting hotter than hell up there and even with the breeze and the top hatch open, it's still stiffling.”

“Ok, let me call him and tell him to divert the guys this direction. What you will see is a whole shitload of cars out there. There will be every make and model the rental agencies will let them have. What you two need to know is the police agencies and the deputies are going to get suspicious. You need to alert them there's another agency in which is doing some investigating. You don't have to say who and you don't have to say who's being protected. I imagine they won't be blind and they'll think it's you two who is under investigation since you'll be the ones who are followed.”

“No, I'll tell my guys my life has been threatened and it could be that JT's is threatened too. That way, when this comes out, they'll see I was really in jeopardy. If my guys think I'm the one or JT's the one being investigated, then they'll do what they can to jack with those guys. There will probably be stop sticks and all sorts of things done to them. Rather than have that, I'd rather have them feeling like they're helping rather than hindering.”

“Ok, that's a good choice, but we don't know if they're on the take too.”

JT said, “I think Dan is. Since I'm a dispatcher, it's my job to give him messages and to pass along evidence. There have been a lot of envelopes which have been brought into him that could only contain cash and lots of it.”

“Ok, I'll tell Dave.”

“You don't know if he is or isn't.” Steve said with alarm.

“And you don't know if that man will blow your head off if paid to do so. Look at my face. Those people were paid to do the job. Don't ever underestimate the power of a dollar with some people.”

JT said, “Steve, let Rhette do his job and you do yours. Right now, it sounds like he's doing a better job of protecting you than you are. I think I know of two others who are, but I'm not sure. What I do know is I've seen Dan passing along envelopes to other guys.”

I asked Steve. “Just because your daddy got out of it and you're not in it, do you think it's stopped. It sounds to me like you chose not to get into the loop, therefore they drug Dan in. I bet right now, the party knows you're thinking about running for Governor and are planning on switching parties. What do you think they'll do? Do you think they won't set you up? If so, you need to think again. What I'd do is have Dave's guys go into your office and run a sweep for bugs and anything else in the room. Then, they can run video in and keep it under surveillance. One thing I'd do is switch locks. That way, no one gets in and no one gets in without being taped. It's damned hard to fight video of them being in there and once that happens, I'll tell you now your job will be to suspend them.”

Steve shook his head and said, “This is a mess.”

“Steve, war isn't pretty. Just because it's been going on without your involvement doesn't mean it's not happening. I'm thinking Dan will probably be switching parties in the next few months and running for Sheriff under the Republican banner. The only way he could be stopped is if JT stayed with the party and if he did, he'd be in under their thumb. Right now, we know we're dealing with snakes and my advice is to kill them or take them away so they can't inflict any more damage. Those guys made their beds, let them find themselves in the wet spot so they know they're fucked.”

JT giggled and Steve smiled. “I just hate the thought any of them could be dirty.”

“Well, think about it. As soon as your daddy died, Dan insisted on getting out here. To me, that seemed a bit strange, but I didn't know how you did things. Yes, he could've been showing you support, but now that I think about it, he might've brought in a bug and planted it so they know what we know. Was he near your daddy's office?”

“No”

“Good, then did you keep an eye on him all the time?”

“Not all the time. I thought I could trust him.”

“Ok, let me call Dave and get us someone in who can do a sweep of the house. They probably know about the gold and a lot of other things. I've pretty much told them my life story, so I'm sure that could be used against you.”

I flipped open my phone and dialed Dave.

“Hello?”

“Have them come to the house. Steve now knows and he's find with it. What we're going to need is a sweep of the house as well as his office. We've spoken with his brother and he said he thinks Steve's assistant is dirty and taking payoffs and possibly has two more who are in on it. That doesn't mean there aren't more, and it doesn't mean they are, but have your computer guy do checks on their accounts with the banks and find out. Also, the Judge uses the computer to send correspondances. Get into his computer and find out who all he's paying.”

“Ok, I'll divert them there.”

“JT will take what we can't house here to my place in town. It's got six available bedrooms plus the apartment above the garage.”

“Sounds good. How many can you house there?”

“If we put two to a bedroom, we can house fifty. They'll have to clean up after themselves and do their own laundry and help with the cooking, but we have a huge attic which will be able to house overflow. Me telling you the fifty is accounting for two of the rooms to be left open so those bathrooms can be used.”

“Sounds like a helluva plan. You sure you're not living in a hotel?”

“It's a big mansion.”

“Sounds like a helluva mansion. Mine's big, but I couldn't sleep fifteen much less fifty.”

“Well, we're going to be doing some work to the place in the future. It's got plumbing, but the electrical on the outer walls needs replaced.”

“Let me know what you want to do and I'll get people on it. We can use that as a cover for us being there. We can bring in construction trucks and have them around town.”

“Ok, but there's a lot more than that we need to have done.”

“You tell them what you want done and we'll get it done.”

“Dave.”

“Yes.”

“I appreciate this.”

Steve patted my leg and I said, “Steve said to let you know he and JT do too.”

“Ok, tell them the guys will be arriving in about three hours.”

“Ok That means I've got to get to Wal-Mart and get groceries to feed people.”

“Rhette, we're going to have a trailer with a mobile kitchen unit pulling up from Tampa. It should be there by morning. If need be, we'll turn that attic into a chow hall.”

“We have a breezeway under the house which is done up like a pool hall. There's plenty of room down there.”

“Ok, sounds like the place is huge.”

“Tell them we're going to be raising this place up about five feet.”

“What!”

“Yeah, it's at twelve feet and tidal surge in a hurricane is seventeen.”

“Then it sounds like you should make it twenty two. You're not taking into account the waves breaking against the pillars. Water soaking the wood is just as bad as it hitting the house directly.”

“Ok, I'll tell Steve.”

“I'll see you in about two hours.”

“How're you getting here sooner?”

“I'm flying in my jet. That man better know how to break the sound barrier with the engines I paid for!”

“Ok, we'll see you.”

“Bye now.”

I got off and said, “He'll be here in two hours. The work we're wanting to do to the house, the will do as a cover. They're bringing in a mobile kitchen unit from Tampa and it should be here in time for breakfast. I offered the use of the breezeway as a chow hall. Is that ok?”

“Sure”

“He said you need to think about raising the house ten feet instead of five.”

“Why?”

“Wave breaking against the pillars will soak the wood. He said it's just as bad as it hitting a house directly.”

“Ok, but that's really going to make the front porch look funny.”

“I've got an idea about that. Rather than having the steps come down straight as they do now, I think we could split it up and make it like the back porch steps do. We can landscape to cover for the height and put a raised front yard in where the house won't look so tall from the front. Along the sides, we can use trees to cover up that height.”

Steve nodded and said, “So they'll do the work?”

“Yeah, they'll do it as a cover for them being here.”

“Ok, what does he want us to do?”

“Live life normally.”

“That's going to be hard to do with about seventy five extra people living here.”

“Honey, for peace and quiet, we'll go over to Randy's. I bet by the time you've listened to four girls for an evening, you'll want to come home to seventy five guys.”

JT laughed and said, “I hear that!”

Steve smirked and said, “So you're telling me to buck it up because with us having kids, we'll be thankful for the peace and quiet we have now.”

“Yeah.”

We heard a yell from downstairs and went running. Rose was out in the hallway yelling about a boat shining it's lights at the house. I told Steve. “Get a flashlight and flash it back. Tell them this is the house.”

I turned to Rose and said, “That's a part of our protection. They won't be shining that light in the future. What they're doing is probably training the scope on their rifles to be sure we're protected no matter what.”

“Well, it scared the bejezus out of me!”

“I'm sorry. We should have told you what's happening. In about three hours, we'll have a lot of guys moving in. What this house can't hold, mine will. Altogether, we'll have a hundred guys protecting us.”

“They're all staying here!”

“No, just about seventy five.”

“How will we feed all of them?!”

“They're pulling up a trailer which is a mobile kitchen. They'll feed them and they'll clean up after themselves.”

She smiled and said, “You really go all out, don't you?”

“Nothing but the best.”

She smiled and said, “Did you put him back into line?”

“He knows where he needs to stay.”

“Good.”

“He said he's never been spoken to by you like that.”

“Well, he needed to know you're right and he was being a fool.”

Steve said, “When you two get done conspiring against me, remember I'm here.”

She smiled and I said, “Oh we will, and then your goose will really be cooked.”

He laughed and said, “He said he'd be in sooner?”

“Yeah, apparently he outfitted his jet with some really high power engines and he's going to see if they can break the sound barrier. I hope they do because for him to complain about money he spends means it was a lot.”

I turned to Rose and said, “You be thinking about what color you want rooms painted and all the things you'll want in a house because those guys will be building it soon.”

“Oh my!”

“Yeah, I figure if they need to be here and use construction as a cover, they're sure going to do some construction.”

She laughed and said, “I bet by the time they're gone, you'll have this place where you want it.”

“Yeah, providing I can plant trees in this soil that I want.”

“You can plant them. Most anything will grow in this soil. It's a bit brackish, but we've got a good mix of top soil.”

“By the time we're done, that road out there might look like a real peaceful country lane.”

Steve said, “Mama, they've shut off the light. You can go back to bed again.”

“No. Me knowing I've got company coming means I've got to get this place ready.”

“It's ready. Your job is to live life as you would normally. Just know you'll have someone out here who will be your bodyguard when you go anywhere.”

“How close will they be?”

“As close as you want them to be. Look at him being someone who will be the guy standing over in the corner or the guy who you now can turn to and ask to carry your groceries in.”

She smiled and said, “So I could get used to having him there.”

“Yeah, just know that his job is to protect you and do what he tells you to do in an emergency.”

“Ok”

Steve said, “Rhette, would you go with me so we could take a walk?”

“Sure, where do you want to go?”

“I'd like to talk with you.”

“Ok, then let's go out to the car so I can show you what I want to do.”

“That's what I want to speak with you about.”

“Ok”

We went outside and over to the car. It was still sitting where I had parked it earlier. We got in and I turned on the headlights.

“Ok, as you can see, we can see where that house was and this house. Over there in between is the barn and the shed. What I want to do is take those out and bulldoze in between.”

“Ok, I'm in agreement.”

“What we're going to do is put up that snake fence and have a huge yard. It'll probably go over to the point that we have twenty acres over there and down to the line where the barn and the stables will be built. Let's drive down there and I'll show you where I think they'll look good.”

I started the car and drove down. I stopped and said, “About here. I think if we face them so theres a round driveway over there in front of her house and one over here instead of that parking area, we can sort of do a half cloverleaf and have the barn in the stem here.”

“Ok, so what is it you want to do to the road?”

“Let's drive down and I'll show you.”

We drove and I drove slowly. “What I want is this to be asphalt. We'll have it wide enough there's a regular street here so two cars can pass. On each side, we'll have a ditch and then we'll have a birm of topsoil so the roots of the trees are in good soil.”

“What kind of trees?”

“Fruits and nuts. I spoke with your mama and we think if we have the fruits, berries, and nuts, then we'll be able to harvest them and Mabel's can cook the pies. We can freeze them and us them up, but one plus of it is we'll be able to give them away to people too.”

“Ok, so you're wanting it to be shaded for three miles?”

“Yeah. What you don't know is the horses will see that tree line and not go through it. We'll have a break so there's a horse crossing. They can go across there and we don't have to worry about hitting them anywhere else.”

“Makes sense.”

“Up towards the house and over in your mama's yard, we'll have gardens of flowers and vegetables. It can keep the houses full of flowers and we'll have plenty to eat. What we can do is all along this stretch, we can have the windmills and over towards the ocean, we can too.”

“Now my question which is on the back of my mind. Is this all a part of trying to get me into running for Governor?”

“What?”

“You bringing David in and having him here.”

“No. Obviously, you don't see the danger. When you told me you weren't going to pursue it, then my mind went another route of how we're going to live here peacefully and have this place be as self sufficient as it can possibly be. Whether you know it or not, there's a lot of things this land can do for itself so it can pay the property taxes instead of being a drain on your billfold. If we invest wisely, then not only does it make us debt free, bill free, but it also makes it so the property taxes take care of themselves. When we get kids, you're going to be thankful for every extra dollar we have.”

“Ok, I was suspicious. I mean having him here got cozy real fast.”

“No, there's not a conspiracy. Believe it or not, I know how to house a lot of guys really fast. I saw first hand how they did it in prison. If you'd payed attention to CNN back in the 90's, you would have saw that Missouri had inmates down in Texas and those inmates were being abused like hell. When they decided to bring them back, they had to find room for them real fast....like two weeks to put five thousand people in a fifteen thousand person prison system that was already full. What they did was they made single beds bunk beds and they took the gyms and made them dorms. What happened, was Missouri saw the feds weren't going to bitch about the overcrowding, so they decided to make their prison system a moneymaker. We started taking federal prisoners and then I believe word went out through the underground pipeline to Sheriff's and Judges to send everyone to prison they could. I'll tell you now, they went from fifteen thousand to twenty thousand to thirty seven thousand super fast.”

“Man!”

“Yeah, at first, we had desert storm roast beef which is canned roast beef like those big canned hams, but this is from Arbys and Hardee's. We loved it because before that it was horse meat. While we were eating the roast beef, life was good. Then, they had a recall on the ecoli hamburger and we got that for nearly five years. Then what happened was the prison system didn't have money to feed us because they apparently thought the gravy train would run forever. When it stopped, we started getting ground up bologna which they called ground beef. It was like eating rubber bands.”

“They actually fed you horse meat!”

“Yeah, they had their own butcher shops. What they'd do was whenever a cattle truck overturned, it got bought by the state and we got it. What happened was a man who was over the food prep system in Farmington decided he could sell that meat to a local butcher shop and make money from it. He, in turn, paid the man who drove the truck and his helper to divert it to the butcher shop. What they did was the butcher slaughtered horses and put them in the truck when they took out the beef. Then it would go on into the prison.

The inmates butchers were thinking they were getting some skinny cows. When it's hanging, it looks like an animal and that's it, but what happened was one of the horses had it's hooves left on and when it got to the prison, that inmate butcher knew the difference between a horse's and a cow's hoof. He smuggled them into the prison and then showed them to Kevin who filed the lawsuit.

The state has to either find the suit baseless, or with merit. When Kevin went to court, he told the judge we had the proof and it was in our cell. The judge ordered the bailiff to go get the hooves and when the guy arrived at our cell, I handed him the hooves. The man looked sick. Kevin won the suit and then an investigation got launched. By this time, they had a real mess because inmates were now refusing to eat the food. Meatloaf that was supposed to be brown, wouldn't brown. Anything they said was beef was being thrown away, so we got a lot of bologna until the government made a deal and sold Missouri all the desert storm roast beef.

What they did however was they put the guy running the place out the door with charges along with the other guys involved. Then they brought in a woman who knew how to cook a lot of food real good. She made a world of difference from the slop we were eating and suddenly guys were eating lots of it.”

“Man.”

“Yeah, Kevin got credit for that suit, but he also got credit for the Kool Aid lawsuit John Ashcroft demonstrated as frivolous. What Ashcroft fails to mention when he's snidely joking about the suit was he got his ass sued off over that suit.”

“How?”

“Ashcroft was a part of the system. He said he came in and checked the Kool Aid they were using and found it to be actual Kool Aid. What it was is jello mixed with a lot of water. Jello is a by product of horses. Muslims don't eat horses. The Muslims filed the suit through Kevin and then Ashcroft lied and denied the suit. Kevin refiled the suit and listed Ashcroft as an accessory to the cover up which put him in the hot seat. What Kevin did was subpoened Ashcroft's own secretary and appointment calender and showed in the three months Ashcroft said he supposedly went to the prison to verify personally, he never once left Jefferson City. The judge found Ashcroft in contempt and ruled in favor of the inmates.”

“Man, that's why you're up in arms over the food in a prison.”

“You feed a man good, he's happy. The old saying of “the way to a man's heart is through his stomach” is true when he's locked in a cage and you're feeding him. What you don't know is the amount of food that goes out the door to the trash bin in a prison. Each day we cooked fried chicken, we'd cook ten thousand leg quarters. We'd feed fifty seven hundred and throw away the rest.”

“Why?”

“Because there's always a chance some of it was undercooked. It's doubtful when you have twenty deep fryers in a row with all those guys standing over it and a cook standing over them with a stop watch, but it could happen. By the way, they cook french fries that way too and the french fries in prison are awesome. None of that baked crap like you got in grade school. But what I'm saying is they throw away forty three percent of what they cook because they know the state is going to send them another ten thousand the next time they ship it. They do that with hamburgers, pie, cake, and almost anything else imaginable. One thing you learn real fast is if you want to eat really good, then you get a job in the kitchen because those people will give you whatever there is left over.”

“So rather than waste it, you say just go ahead and feed the inmates the leftovers buffet style.”

“Yeah. Hell, if we have leftover Kentucky Fried Chicken, would you eat it if you knew it was leftover?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that chicken is better than KFC. I guarantee you if they have the option, they'll clean it up.”

“Better?”

“Oh yeah, as I said, this woman knew how to cook a lot of food and had recipes which would make you want to go to prison just to eat. Her chicken is better spiced than the colonel's recipe and somehow, it flavors the chicken with those spices as it cooks. A man will beg, barter, or trade to get that chicken. I whipped a man's ass over a piece of chicken he took from me, so you should know it was worth it. But, she also made spaghetti better than an Italian restaurant. What she found was the cooking time they cooked the spaghetti was really way over what it needed to be. What they did before was they half assed drained the spaghetti and then put the sauce to it. They'd then let it sit overnight and then would reheat the glop in the oven. With her, it was cooked in the morning and fed for lunch. The spaghetti was seperated from the sauce and we loved the lady for it. The meals eaten of spaghetti went from seventeen percent to nearly ninety five percent just because of the change.”

“Man. Where's she at?”

“Who needs her, you're not running for Governor!”

He smiled and said, “Rhette, you want to run for Governor, we'll run, but if you don't, then we won't.”

“Babe, it's you that's making that decision. You need to know what we're facing here with this corruption is most likely going on in every county. It's a bunch of little fiefdoms and we're going to have to kiss a lot of asses to get them to support us. You may not think so, but I'm telling you, that we will. If you're not up to doing that, then we'll stay at home and live a gentle life. What we will not do is ride a teeter totter and have you either doing it one moment or not doing it the next. It's not a fucking game of red light green light we played as kids.”

“Red light! Green light!”

“Yeah, so what I'll do is let you think about it and let me know. If it's something you want to do, then we're going to, but I'll tell you now, we'll need Dave's guys in there doing a lot of high profile drug busts. Arresting the big shots will only get you so far before not even Dave's help will protect us.”

“We'll talk about this at a later time. I'll think on it.”

“Babe, I'm going to discuss something else with you and then you can think on it.”

“What?”

“Your mama says the beach only goes out about a hundred feet before it starts falling away sharply. Why can't we use this area up here to be a part of the port?”

“Because I don't want the noise.”

“Are you aware of how quiet a port is now?”

“No, all I've heard is them on television.”

“Sometime, we're going to take you out to see the one in San Diego. When we go down there, you're going to hear the sound of nothingness. The way it is, is this...you have a ship pulling in. Yes, there's a bit of a throaty diesel engine noise, but it's way the fuck up in the air and not down to the ground. Then, you'll have about ten diesel trucks whose job it is to come in and get the container loaed onto them. They pull in and they pull out. When they're loading a train, it's a lot quieter. The train pulls up and then it gets loaded and then it pulls away. If we put the end of the thing down at the end of that pasture where your mama's yard is going to cut it in two, you'll not know there was a port near you. It's that quiet.”

“Are you sure?”

“Honey, I'm not lying to you! The sound of seagulls is louder than what you'd hear.”

“We'll have to go out there so I can hear for myself.”

“Good. I need to see La Don anyways so he can meet you, but when you see him, I want your word you won't get a woody.”

“Why?”

“He's that damned good looking. You'll see me stand next to him and you'll think 'my God, the Prince and the pauper.'.”

“No I won't.”

“Bull, Kevin even said the guy is overpowering my looks. You think I look good in clothes, he looks a million times better. He's got the tan and he's got the smokey grey eyes. His hair is so black it's blue and the charm is like a high power magnet.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, but I'll tell you what. The man has the looks, but he's not got the photogenic ability of me. It's rather funny because if you took a photo of us side by side, you'd see me looking as good as him in real life in that photograph and him looking like I do. It's like exact reversal.”

“I like you. I've got the one I want.”

“Good, you remember that because he's already got Lance.”

“Who's Lance.”

“Lance was a child star in the movies. La Don lived out there with his dad who was my uncle. Anyways, his dad gave him the penthouse apartment which is like two floors in a really nice building. The whole floor to ceiling and a lot of the ceiling is glass that rises up at a slant for two floors. It's awesome. You can sit and look out the windows and see fucking forever on past Coronado Island and all the ships out in the distance.”

“What's La Don do?”

“He works as Port manager for Dave. Lance is his assistant.”

“SO they make a lot of money?”

“Honey, they rake it in so fast they're like not able to spend it fast enough. You see La Don's dad owns the docks and the storage area where they park everything. If a imported car comes in off a ship, they get paid twenty five dollars a day for that car to be parked there. Now, you think of the number of cars coming in off a ship and you'll see like five thousand of the things coming in. It's ridiculous. What's amazing is the ship pulls in and they unload it and it pulls out, then they pull in another and do it all over again. As fast as these cars are parked, they're loaded on rail cars and they're loaded upon semis. You'd be amazed at the precision those guys who drive those cars drive with, but whether that car pulls onto his lot and gets loaded onto a train that day, or not, he still gets that twenty five dollars. Do that enough times and you see them making a ton of cash and it goes that way for the ocean cargo containers too except a semi trailer is charged seventy five dollars.”

“Is that why you called dibs on the storage lots?”

“Oh hell yeah, if we can get that, then believe me we'll never have to work a day in or lives again and neither will our kids or grandkids. What I do want is for your mom to get the area where they have the dock sales. She'll clean up there too.”

“What's that?”

“It's a flea market where they sell damaged goods from the containers. What happens is a forklift will go in and pull out a pallet of let's say big screen televisions. Then say he bumps up against the side wall or into the box with the fork and that box is damaged. Rather than loading it into a semi, they take it to the dock sale area and sell it for really low prices. They do that with clothes, electronics, and everything. You'll go out there and you'll just be sick with how cheap things are. But what you will see is a money making deal. Each one of those people that set up in tent city is paying twenty five a day to be there. When you see how many they put into the are, you're going to be amazed.”

“There a lot of them.”

“Honey, think of the three miles we have between us and the highway and then put tents wall to wall in that area with only enough room to move about three pickups side by side for the street out there, but in back is the back of the tent behind you. I bet there are probably twenty thousand tents down there.”

“And they get twenty five bucks a day!”

“Yeah, so your mama can have that one. She'll be amazed at what we gave her, but I'll tell you now, she'll be a tent person too.”

“Why?”

“OK, the best tents are up front at the entrance. You park and you walk in and you go into the tent. You'll see a pair of blue jeans brand new for five dollars. You'll think, 'damn, that's a deal. I gotta have them!” SO you buy them. What you don't know is way back in there is a guy whose selling those jeans three for ten and he's selling the hell out of them to the guy that's selling them for five. Both of them are happy and you're happy, so it's a real nice place to go get clothes. You'll find polo shirts for two dollars in there.”

“And this is legal?”

“Yeah, it's the law they got to sell it then and there because they can't tariff damaged goods. What they do is you go buy them because it's a duty free shopping district. That means no taxes to the state, or the feds.”

“Man, we'll have to go!”

“Yeah, but can you see why I want your mom to have it? We'll go clothes shopping for the kids and we'll get their school clothes really cheap, but what you also see there hon, is in that tent city, you've got twenty thousand tents. You've got twenty thousand people making a living at least. Do you see how the jobs stack up? But what you also see is people choosing to make that a destination to go clothes shopping for their kids from Georgia, North Florida, North Carolina, and the whole state. Can you see why I think it will be an easy one hundred thousand jobs?”

“I'm beginning to see.”

“What you don't see is those people coming in to buy the clothes that take them home and sell them in their own stores. I mean when you can get a high priced name brand sweat outfit for six dollars for both pieces, you're going to snap it up and go back and sell it for nineteen dollars. People around there who can't or won't drive to the coast will buy it because they know they'd normally have to pay eighty dollars for the same thing at Foot Locker.”

“Now I'm getting it. You're seeing the customers beginning to resell the items and that starts them into their own jobs too.”

“Yeah. Those jobs mean sales taxes and income taxes.”

“Oh man”

“IT's not just trucking companies or railroad jobs. It's a whole gamut of things from furniture places to electronics to clothing. Anything imported will be found there for sale.”

“Babe, let's do it.”

“Which part, the port? Or you running for Governor?”

“Both”

“You need to talk to David. He'll be coming up that driveway in about an hour.”

“You know I can really see it happening now. I can see the jobs and I can see why people would do it. I can even see people who are down there cooking and selling things because where all those people are, they'll want to eat so they don't have to leave the place.”

“It takes at least two days to go from place to place in tent city. The things you'll find you absolutely want to get will have you buying a wheel barrow or renting one just so you can carry your goods from shop to shop.”

“I'll rent the wheel barrows!” he laughed. “At least I called something good. I'll create a job because one of Randy's kids or ours will need a job and can collect the three dollars I'll charge for it a day.”

“Three dollars! You better charge eight!”

“They get eight for them?”

“Yeah, and if you're not there in the first two hours, you don't get one unless someone brings theirs back. The way that goes is you'll need this really really long forked tow motor. You go down throught the place and you put the wheelies as what they're called onto the forks upright. You can get about twenty wheelies on the forks before you have to take them back.”

“How many do they have to rent out?”

“I don't know. That lot is really big. There's probably a thousand of the things in there. They use those kind that have two wheels that are made by GardenWay. You know the kind that have bicycle tires and are made of plywood.”

“Ok, so we'll have tire maintainance.”

“Yeah, but I'll tell you what they do. They put that one stuff in them which is expandible foam. It keeps the tires up and inflated and they don't go flat.”

“You know a lot about the place, don't you?”

“Yeah, I spent two months out there just going around and learning it all. Now you know what I did the summer after Tony killed himself.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.”

“No, I needed down time and I got it. I found me in that gloomy time and I found a couple who really loved each other and worshipped the ground each other walked upon.”

“How'd they meet?”

“Lance was renting an apartment down a few floors. It was in the area of the tower where the apartments are three to a floor. La Don's elevator goes directly to the penthouse but Lance didnt' know that. He came running up yelling “Hold the 'vator!' to La Don, so La Don thought he'd be cute and let Lance find out the hard way it was a one stop elevator. On the way up, La Don actually looked to see who it was and it was one of those instances where you see someone famous who you've drooled over his pictures in TigerBeat and Teen magazine and you're like, “Aren't you?” And he said, “No, I'm not. To keep the fan away. What happened though was Lance's voice is unmistakable and once he spoke, La Don knew it was him. When they got up to the Penthouse, La Don played it cool and said, “Well, since you're up here, you might as well get something to drink.” So they met and then one thing led to another and they decided to date. The dating led to them falling in love and then they moved Lance in.”

“And La Don called you and told you, right?”

“No. La Don's always been my favorite boy cousin. I mean, he's gorgeous and he's really sweet. So, I stayed close when he moved out there. Just as soon as I could, I trucked out there to see him. When I got there, Lance was gone for the afternoon and La Don had me pick out my suite and then we sat and talked. When Lance got home, the sofa was facing away from the doors, so I sat there knowing he'd come over and kiss him hello. He didn't. Instead, he'd been out running and went straight to the fridge to get something to drink. Then he came in all sweaty and hot looking and my mouth just fell open. He looked at La Don and started laughing saying, “I can tell you never told him a thing.” From then on out, we were best of friends.”

“Do you think they'll come out here?”

“I imagine. They came back a few times and saw Kevin and I. Kevin and La Don are the same age, so when he met Lance, he was a googoo eyed over the star he used to be. I never saw Lance in a magazine, nor did I ever see him in a movie. Until I saw him, I never knew he used to be famous, so it didn't affect me like it did Kevin.”

“You have me curious as to who he is now.”

“Whatever you do, don't treat him like a star. He hates that shit. The reason he got out of it was because he had a million little girls screaming for him and he hated it. He has home movies he took when they had him out promoting him and you'll see why he calls it, “Fucking the Octopus” because from his point of view, it looks like nothing but arms reaching out and screaming.”

“Does he still look at good as he did?”

“Age is creeping up on him, but he's still fine as can be. He's one of those that has a baby face that is like Mickey Rooney, he'll be eighty years old and you'll still recognize him from when he was eight.”

“Do you have photos of them?”

“Yeah on my laptop. Let's go in to the computer and I'll be able to access my server at home. I can pull up the photos there. I keep multiple copies of everything because La Don hates his childhood photos. He thinks if he deletes them, he's deleted them all. What he doesnt' know is I've got them on every computer I have as well as back up discs.”

“Why does he do that?”

“He thinks he looks geeky. Since he was through the geeky stage and was hitting about thirteen when I was about five, I just worshipped him. The good thing was he would carry me around and I was his little cousin who he took everywhere with him. It made us closer for it.”

“So I'm not supposed to act like they're good looking, rich, or famous?”

“No, treat them like normal people. They'll love you a lot more for it.”

We pulled up at the front gate and parked the car. When we went in, we went to the office. Rose was in reading the journals.

“He had five women on the side besides me so far and I'm only into the fourth year we were married. I'm so disgusted with him it's enough to have me tell the undertaker to put him in a trash can instead of a casket.”

“Mama, don't think about that. You were the one he came home to, so don't concentrate upon that.”

“It's hard not to. How would you feel?”

“Hopefully, I won't ever have to find that out. I think if Rhette was feeling something towards someone, he'd tell me and we'd work through it. Just a minute ago, he told me he was attracted to someone and he's going to show me the photo of the guy.”

I pulled up the computer and patched into my server at home using my password. When I got into my photo files, I opened it and then went down to La Don and opened it. When it came up, I clicked on the first photo and put it on slide show. “Here's La Don at three. We'll go up through the years and you'll see him grow through his geeky stage until he is in a photo with me.”

Rose came over and said, “Cute kid.”

“He's my cousin.”

“Is he gay?”

“Yes.”

“I didn't mean he looked gay from the photographs, but it was in the way you said it that told me.”

“That's ok, we'll go through the slide show and at the end will be photos of Lance that I could gather and then we'll go up through his ages until they go together and their photos together.”

“Lance is La Don's partner?”

“Yeah, he used to be famous. You might've remembered him being on television.”

“We'll see. I wasn't in awe of too many people who weren't the Beetles.”

The slide show played itself and at one particular one, I paused it and said, “I think this is the one that looks most like him in real life.”

I continued it and Rose said, “He's not very photogenic.”

“No, but in real life, he's an absolute babe.”

“I knew a guy like that once. When I was in high school, all the girls wanted to go out with him, but none wanted to go to the proms with him because he really looked bad in photographs. He asked me and we went. Fortunately, I met James because the guy turned out to be a wife beater. Steve's arrested him a few times over it.”

Steve shook his head and said, “Doesn't look a thing like his photograph with mom.”

When it got to La Don's graduation photos, I said, “The next coming up here shortly will be Lance when he was a kid in a commercial.”

As soon as the shot clicked over, Rose said, “I remember him! He's Lance!....Lance.....Oh what's his name?”

I whispered in her ear and she said, “He's gay!”

“Yeah, that's why he never went on to become a star. He couldn't get hired because he was public with it.”

“Poor kid.”

“Well, if it hadn't been for him being out of the limelight, he'd never met La Don, so I'm sure La Don's thankful for it. They've been together for twenty five years now.”

When it started clicking into the magazine covers, Steve said, “I don't remember him. Must've not been on any shows I watched.”

“He was a bit before your time dear. You were more of the eighties generation. He was in the seventies.”

The screen continued to flick and it showed a movie he was in with another famous child star. Steve said, “I remember her. She was on that one show. She had those eyes which was awesome. They look just like yours.”

Rose smiled and said, “Now we know the attraction.”

I chuckled and said, “My eyes and all the time I thought it was my personality.”

Steve said, “Babe, it's everything about you. It's that personality, your size, and your looks, but most of all, it's that attitude. You throw it and it can piss me off so bad, but I'm learning when you throw it, it's because I've screwed up really majorly.”

“It's not happening as often, so that's good.”

“Let's see, four times today.”

“For a bit, it was four times an hour, what are you talking about!”

Rose giggled and said, “Answer that hon....knee!”

Steve blushed and said, “We're still getting used to each other, but mama, I think I'm going to run for Governor. Before I decide, all of us need to go out to San Diego to look at their docks and port. He wants to show me what they have. He's already told me what they have, but for my mind to absorb it, I want to see it.”

“Like hell...you want to go shopping!” I said giggling.

He laughed and said, “They have this place called tent city down on the docks where things are really cheap.”

She smiled and said, “He wants to go shopping! Do you know how he hates shopping?”

“This place sounds different. He said we can get jeans three for ten dollars and polo shirts for two bucks each.”

“Really!”

“Yeah, that was about three years ago, so they might be cheaper.”

“We'll have to plan on going.”

“Ok, we'll ask Dave to use his jet. He'll probably want to go out to show us the docks from his side of it.”

Steve asked, “What is his side of it?”

“What Dave did was went in and started his own company. The dock workers were breaking the backs of companies and the companies were leaving in droves because it didn't cost as much to unload a ship up in Los Angeles or San Francisco. So, what they did was they notified the companies they were going to shut the docks for one day and not renew contracts. When it happened, the companies were told they'd reopen in a day and it would be business better than it had been before. La Don signed a lease agreement with Dave and he took over the crane operations. They built a bunch of new cranes which were the fastest in the world and the biggest in the world. Where it took about four days to unload, it now took less than a day and it was done twenty four seven wheras the old system only worked twelve and that was it. Everyone was happy because it put the ships in and out of port that much faster.”

“So Dave is cleaning up out there too.”

“Yeah, but since he took over, there's not been one strike and the guys are paid more.”

“Does his guys protect the docks like you?”

“They don't need to. You'd be amazed at what catching a few thieves will do to crime when you have some long metal pilings stuck in the ground and you've got the guys suspended from them hanging about forty feet in the air. For their feet to rest, they have to put them on a huge sign stating they were caught stealing and this is their punishment. If they don't like their punishment, they can detach themselves and jump.”

“That's not legal.”

“It's private property and who's going to do anything? The dock workers? The shipping companies? Everyone's salaries depend upon the companies making a profit, so it's the thieves' word against the administration running things out there. The thieves are carted off to jail and are prosecuted for everything from trespassing to grand larceny to peace disturbance. All the charges stick and they don't dare go back. Word gets out about that within their colony and no one wants to face that sort of punishment, so the deterant worked.”

Rose said, “If they had that here, I could see how many would be strung up in front of Wal-Mart for shoplifting, but I bet it'd go way down when they knew that was what was going to happen to them before the police were called.”

“It's still false imprisonment.”

“Steve, look at it this way. What did you do to those snakes. Did you catch and release? Or did you shoot the fuck out of them. Their crime was trespassing upon your property. I'm sure in this state, trespassing isn't a capital offense, so I'm sure you violated a law. Now, if you were dumb enough to say, “here little wiggly wiggly, come over here so I can cart you away, I don't think they would have listened. If they did, I'm sure the snake bite you would have received would have gotten them arrested for resisting arrest and striking a police officer.”

He laughed and said, “You know the law too damned good. Do you know what would have happened in that jail if I would have brought in all those rattlesnakes? It would have been pure pandemonium.”

“So you committed genocide on a species in order to uphold the law of a few.”

Rose laughed and said, “Steve, you're not going to win. I'm standing with him. I think if we would punish people harsher, we'd have more respect for the law. They'd certainly would know after the second time what to expect and it would definitely promote the security of the docks. He's not saying lock them up and throw away the key, he's saying throw a little public embarrassment and ridicule into it and let them take their punishment. You're all for the part of them going out and working a chain gang and that's the same thing. You're liking that one, but not liking the other. What's the difference? The dock owner if he hands them owner faces that guy coming back to steal stuff to pay a fine. He either makes the decision to do it the way he did, or he faces pandemonium.”

Steve nodded and said, “So we're to turn a blind eye and let the owner settle it his way before incarceration and judgement.”

“Steve, they're all convicted. Out there, you'll see hug long lights way up on poles. Up there is video out the ying yang. It's all caught on tape. It's not like they don't know it's there when there are signs in english and spanish. They run right on by them to get caught. Now, the way you're showing it is you'll be blaming the dock owner for having it there to lure the victims. It's there to give people jobs and to support an economy. Now as I see it, if it were really a trial of his peers, let's shut the docks down for a day and let those people stand in judgement of the guy. You do that enough days and the economy suffers. Instead, they drive by and honk. They wave and they yell curses. Now, I'd hate to be out there in an electrical storm, but they don't really have that much lightning coming in from the ocean.”

“Ok, I'll ignore it for the betterment of everybody, but it still sticks in my craw.”

Rose said, “Honey, look at it this way. It was fine for me to be told to ignore your daddy's philandering, but it's not ok for you to ignore faceless and nameless people. I'll tell you now that if I were Rhette, your daddy would probably be missing the equipment to go out and do the deed.”

Steve laughed and said, “I think he would too. What's funnier is I think if Rhette had known him long, he'd probably sat him down and told him what he thought of it in terms daddy would have came crawling to you for forgiveness.”

She nodded and said, “If things were different in today's times, I'd probably dumped him and went on with life. I didn't, so now I've gotten the sorrow of reading these and seeing how bad it really was. I will make note to find out who these women were and make it a point to see if they come to the funeral. If he meant so little to them they don't show up, then I'll know them all as throwaways. I think if he hadn't married me, I'd been one too.”

“Don't get down on yourself mama, it was he who was flawed, not you.”

She got up and the grace and manner which she usually carried herself was gone. In that one setting, she'd aged about twenty years. I hugged her and said, “Rose, I'll be up in a moment. Ok?”

“Yes dear.”

She left the room and I looked at Steve. His eyed showed sorrow. “If you ever think about it, you remember that sight there. I'm going to go up and share her pain with her.”

He came over and said, “Babe, you might be hard to deal with, but I'll never put you in that position.” He held onto me and we just stood there hugging.

I leaned back and said, “Steve, that man broke her with those books. You get them copied and then we're going to burn them or at least get them out of this house. I don't know him, so I can't make judgemnets, but right now I'll tell you I wouldn't have wanted to know him. No wonder no one wanted to come out here. Everyone knew and in a small town they were all looking at him and laughing and looking at her with pity. Those she considers a friend are her real friends and those who knew and didn't say anything weren't really friends. I have a feeling more knew than let on. It's going to be the gift that keeps on giving. She'll find out and feel betrayed all over again.”

“How many knew with Kevin?”

“I don't know. I sure know my mom didn't. He wouldn't have an ass left to walk with. He would have given that ass chewing so long and hard he'd not had one left.”

“I keep thinking a leopard doesn't change it's spots.”

“I think there's no alternative for him. Before he gets to do it again, he'll have to go through me.”

“What if he hits on you?”

“Steve....you don't understand something about me. He lost that right with me when he put me against a cabinet down on the floor. When I picked myself up, he knew it was over. When I started throwing knifes, pots and pans, and a kettle of boiling water, he knew it was over. When I found out about Jerry, it staggered me. I knew how your mom felt. I chose to carry on with him, but I'll give you a little history, that woman got accused of adultery once too. It ripped her guts out just like it did mine when Kevin accused me of doing things with Patrik. Fortunately, Patrik took the brunt of it while I left town and gave him the message to get gone. Your mama didn't have that luxury.”

“He accused her of screwing around on him!”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Before you were born. He accused her of doing things with one of the blacks on the plantation here. Until you were born, he told her if you came out black, he was going to kill you. THAT is why you were kept away from him and he was so distant from you...because she told him she'd kill him to save her baby. He wisely kept away, but he also was accusing when he was doing like Kevin. I empathize because I know what it's like to be faithful and to be accused. It killed our relationship, and yet she kept on.”

“There'd be no way I could ever have another with him after that.”

“Maybe it wasn't her choice. Now, he made his bed and I want those who played in it with him to know that it's by the grace of God I'm not the one making that decision.”

“That son of a bitch.” he said with seething anger.

“Yeah, now you know why you were kept so distant.”

“I'm not pissed about that. You just implied he raped her and she had to live with it. Am I wrong?”

“I can't say anything...so I won't.”

“Am I right?”

“Yes, now you know, but you never ever let her know I told you.”

“Rhette, you must be thinking our family is fucked up.”

“No, we all carry baggage honey. Your mama thought she got off at the station with very little only to find out he dumped a load on her. Now she's got to deal with it and for the life of me, I don't know what I can begin to say to her to make her feel better.”

“I feel so bad for her.”

“He played mind games on her to the point she got to deal with a lot. If I screwed around with a man here on the property and then made it so you had to drive past the man's house in order to get here, then you'd get what she got. Not only that, he never told her Randy existed. She got to see him and recognized the child with your daddy's eyes. Her strength at that point was amazing. If it had been me, I'll tell you now, you'd found a shotgun waiting for you when you got home. She didn't. Maybe it was the Will, or maybe it was something else, but there's no amount of love to keep me from seeking that form of retribution. Maybe I'm wrong, but anger for me is one which I get vengeance. That's the only way I know. It's hard for me to know another way of doing things.”

“I'll work with you on it. I think with you it's fight or flight. You love me, and there've been times when you have wanted to get out. I'm sorry you never found the uncomplicated life you desired, but it wasn't my intention to give you this.”

“I know that hon. Believe me, I know that. Now I care about her and I feel her pain. It's damned hard....damned damned hard.”

“Well, go up and see if you can do something. I know what I'm going to do. The best revenge I can take is getting to know Randy and spitting our close bonds back at my daddy's grave.”

“Good, but at the same time, you need to work on your relationship with JT. He doesn't know and don't let him find out what happened.”

“I won't babe.”

He patted me on my butt and then let loose of me. He sat down in the office chair and said, “When Dave gets here, all these are going to be given to him and he'll be told not to ever let them back on the property. If my daddy has to take the infamy of being known for what he was, he'll get off half as lucky as what I'm inclined to let be known.”

I turned and walked out the office. Dave was up at the front door. “Hey kiddo.”

I stopped and instantly went to the front door to let him in with a long hug. “Hey there! Look at you! You look better and better each time I see you!”

He smiled and said, “I've lost thirty pounds.”

“You look great! Come this way, the office is in here and we need you to get some books out of here for us. They've already inflicted too damned much pain and now we want them off the property.”

“What are they?”

“Journals and ledgers. The journals the man kept told of whom he had affairs with and in detail. She just read them and is now really broken hearted. Come on in and meet Steve and then I'll go up and be with her.”

“Ok love.”

I took him by the hand and went into the office. Steve looked up and then stood. “Steve, this is Dave and Dave, this is Steve.”

The shook hands and then I said, “Steve, would you help him carry them things out of here, so I will know they're gone.”

“Most certainly.” He looked at Dave and said, “You don't mind, do you?”

“No, not at all. Do you mind if I go through them?”

“No, whatever you do with them is what needs to be done. We can discuss it after you go through them.”

“Ok, I'll look at them, but what we'll need to do together is come up with a plan. I'm not going to do too much without your approval.”

I hugged him and said, “Thanks for coming. I'll be back down.”

“The guys will be here in about forty five minutes. They've landed, but we're getting the equipment readied to be picked up to use.”

“Ok. Steve can take you on the tour as he'll know what to show you better.”

“Ok”

I went out and took the steps up two at a time. I went over to Rose's room and knock. She took a few moments to answer and when she did, her eyes were puffy and red.

I hugged her and said, “Hon, I have no idea what to even begin telling you to make things better.”

“I know dear. It was a shock. I thought one thing and he showed me I was wrong. Damn him.” she said through clenched teeth.

“Let's go in here and sit. Dave's downstairs and he'll be taking possession of those ledgers and journals. The damage they've inflicted won't be returning to this house.”

“Rhette, it may sound bad, but I want to finish reading them. There's so much I didn't know and I want to know what that man really did while he was gone.”

“We'll work through it together and when the time is ready, we'll go through them together. How about that?”

“Rhette, one of the women was a good friend of mine. How I'll ever face her when she comes to the funeral home, I'll never know.”

“Face it with honesty and tell the woman you're glad you're no longer close friends. If she's got half a brain, she'll know that you now know.”

“I don't look at what she did as being her fault.”

“Well you should. It takes two to tango and she knew he was married. If your friendship meant so little she'd do that to you, then what's she done to enemies?”

“I understand what you mean, but I also know how he was.”

“Rose, how he was is what I've got to deal with as do you. Personally, if I'd met the man, I'd view him as one of those snakes out there. Without you knowing it, he's bitten repeatedly rather than the one time. Now his poison is trying to bring you down and I'll be damned if I let it happen. You're like a mother to me and I'd not let it happen with my mom, so I'm not going to let it happen with you.”

“Both Steve and JT need to be told.”

“The day after the funeral, let's take a trip to San Diego on a private jet and while we're traveling, you'll have a few hours to tell them things. It might not be fun to do, but when we get there, it'll be fun so it will make up for things.”

“I want to stay out there for a few days. Right now, this place seems as if the walls are closing in on me.”

“I understand. Now you know why I moved. The memories and all the things we built seemed fake. From experience, I can use it to help you, but the depth of betrayal is more with you.”

“Honey, when I read those words on the paper, I just felt like he was bragging. His ego was so full of himself, he proudly wrote those things down.”

“There comes a time when a person thinks they're not going to get caught because they've gotten by with things for so long. They think everyone else is stupid for not seeing it, and they're so clever for hiding it. We're at the point, we're going to be bringing those other guys down with their deeds. Unfortunately, we'll be blamed for hurting their families. What they don't know is those men are the ones that hurt them, we're doing what normal healthy people do...we're making things right. Hopefully, they'll find a way to work through their pain.”

“If they'll allow, I'll help them. My saving grace is I never wanted to be a part of the social circuit. Those women were and they'll now be ostracized by the people they thought were friends.”

“Rose, we need to talk about something so you're forwarned.”

“Not more women, I hope.”

“No, well, I can't promise that, but it's something I don't think you're seeing.”

“What's that hon?”

“You've got friends and it's possible you're going to find out those friends knew about these affairs. I can't tell you for certain, but it's possible.”

“Oh dear, I never thought of that.”

“That's why I want to bring it up. I'd rather have you knowing before hand than being taken by surprise.”

“Ok, well there aren't many, but I don't know how I'll deal with it.”

“Me neither. IF it were me, I'd feel violated. I know the way I am is if I knew a friend were being cheated on, I'd go to them and tell them. To me, that's my brand of freindship. I'd rather be denied their friendship through their denial of acceptance than for them to find out later and then know I wasn't a friend.”

“Some friends wouldn't for sake of my feelings.”

“Ok, if you can forgive that, then maybe that's for the best. Maybe that's something I need to learn is forgiveness. I've admitted to Steve, I don't choose the best way of dealing with anger, but to me it's foreign.”

“I realize that dear. I also understand where you're coming from because you view forgiving someone as weak. It's hard, but it's a different way of dealing with pain. I think you've worked through things with Kevin to the point you're ready to forgive him.”

“No, because if he violates the trust with JT, all that will come bubbling back up and will be like a volcano that explodes at him.”

“Honey, have you ever done something wrong to someone and went back to work through them with it later telling them you still love them and support them?”

“Yes, with my friend Mike. We went through a tough period of time when we were really hurting each other a lot. What it took was for him to admit he wasn't the best friend but what it took for me was taking a look at the friendship and seeing all the positives and the negatives he gave to my life.

I'll tell you now the way I am. Each year at New Year's, I take stock of my life and friendships. Those friends who have really let me down and haven't enriched my life, I've dismissed at year's end. Those who have really been on the ropes, like Mike, I've chosen to give them another year. What happened was for a while there, we were on a year to year basis. The hurt and pain was enough to really make me evaluate it ans wonder if it was going to be the final year, but when it came to the year's end, I'd give him another year. Finally, we made it back to safe water and then back onto solid ground. Now, I treasure his friendship and know I made a lot of mistakes too.”

“What changed it?”

“Me realizing I had to try harder. Where he was lax, I found I had to put in the effort rather than being lazy. Mike is one that he'll tell you he'll call you back and then not call for four or five months. It used to really hurt my feelings. Now, I'll pick up the phone and make him make the time.”

“So that works for you.”

“Yes. It works although I've gotten thicker skinned about getting my feeling hurt when he never made the effort. One thing I've realized is he's not got an easy life. He's got kids and he's got a marriage and he's got a job who are all demanding pieces of his time. When you throw in friends, his cup is so full he's overflowing. One thing I've found is if I step in and make things easier on him, then it lightens up the load and he then has time.”

“That's what I don't understand about James. He had an easy life. Everyone else was always doing it for him. He had such an amount of free time, he went out and created more problems for himself.”

“What I think is that's the problem. If it were me, I'd throw him into civic organizations and clubs to the point his days were so full, he'd wonder what hit him. Yes, he could potentially cultivate new relationships with women, but when will he have the time to consumate them?”

“Apparently, for a while there, he was using his lunch break and his after work time to be with them. Then he'd come home and be with me.”

“I'm not blaming you, but in a relationship where communication is key, he would have told you he was finding women attractive and made it so you were paramount of importance. You had a car and if he was finding himself thinking about lunchtime trists, then he should have told you to bring his lunch to him and made it romantic for the two of you...not someone else.”

She nodded and said, “He never gave me the chance.”

“And that's because he had you bagged and tagged and put up here. For him, the joy of it was in the hunt and not in the maintaining of it. I'm surprised this farm looks as good as it does, but at the same time, just imagine what it'd be if he'd put more effort into things.”

She chuckled and said, “I'm now going to see with you. Steve's not really good at that either, but with you, he's lassoed a tornado and I think he's hanging on for dear life.”

I laughed and said, “Well, sometimes he sure acts like he's wondering what's next!”

“The look on his face when you told him to go take a shower and put on that robe tonight was priceless. I thought he was going to short circuit!”

“He was looking a little out of his element, wasn't he!”

“When's that man going to be here?”

“He's here. He's downstairs with Steve now.”

“You need to be down there, but I want to meet him since I've heard so much about him.”

“Ok, let's go down.”

We went out and went down the stairs with her hand upon my elbow. “You're ever the gentleman.”

“And you're ever the lady.”

We went into the office. Steve was packing the journals into boxes. “Steve, Dave, she would like to read those at some point. I've told her when she does, we'll do so together so we can work through things.”

Dave nodded and I said, “When you read them Dave, would you make me a sort of Cliff's notes on it so I'll know what they entail?”

“Yes dear, I'll be taking notes myself. You can have a copy of mine. Who's this wonderful lady?”

“Rose, this is Dave. Dave, Rose.”

Rose smiled and for a instant, I saw Dave looking enthralled with her. “Ma'am.”

Dave turned to me and said, “We've yet to take the tour. We've got about twenty minutes until they arrive.”

“Rose, would you give Dave the tour of the house including the breezeway and attic?”

“Sure hon, I'd be happy to. If you'll come this way, I'll show you what we've got here.”

They left the room and when I heard them over in the dining room, I said, “Steve, did you see that?”

“What darling?”

“Your mama and Dave.”

“What?”

“If you'd paid attention you would have seen the sparks jumping. He's not going to do anything because it's not proper, but I don't think I've ever seen him like that with a woman.”

“You mean he's not had a woman?”

“There've been women in out out of his life, but maybe it's me not ever seeing him meet one he's attracted to, but he's attracted.”

“And she is back?”

“Hon, she likes him. She's not doing the hair flip thing, but man.”

He smiled and said, “I like him. I thought he'd be a gangster, but when he walked in and was in a business suit and looked polished, it took me a bit away. Then as we talked, I knew he viewed things as a businessman. To him, it's running a company.”

“Yeah. Gino was much the same way, but Gino was different. Gino was more of an Italian Chef looking like Mr French from Family Affair, but you could tell there were rough edges to him. Dave's the polished version.”

“He says you're the one who has his respect in the business. You delegate authority to the point, you're totally hands off. He said he still views you as his boss.”

“He shouldn't. I don't want a thing to do with it.”

“You might want to tell him, but I think if you did that, he'd tell you that you'd hurt his feelings.”

“Maybe he does it that way because the boss they don't know is always looking over his shoulder. If that's so, they're going to meet me and wonder who the hell I am.”

“Just be yourself.”

“I will be, but he and I need to talk.”

“I think he was wanting to do that, but you just threw them together. Once again, you delegated the authority.”

I chuckled and said, “I was doing it so they could meet each other.”

He smiled and said, “Yes, but when they get back, you'll need to go speak with him.”

“I will. I'll go show him the car.”

“That's a good plan. He's impressed you bought yourself one. You never told me Gino had one.”

“That's because I never rode in it. We always rode in the limo. Gino bought that car so he could come visit me at college and then always found he never had the time.”

“You said that with enough hurt in your voice I'm now catching why it didn't work between you two.”

“He kept choosing the family over me. I went to college and looked toward those weekends. All I asked for was a weekend a month. Did I get it? Not one fucking time in eighteen months. Finally, I made the trip to Kansas City to see what the hell the hold up was and found it was him always being busy. He could have written himself off the schedule, but he micromanaged it to the point, he had to know details about details.”

“I bet he was stressed as all get out.”

“Yeah, but when he was stressed, he cooked Italian in that kitchen of his which I'd kill to have and he'd do his thinking.”

“Is that why you cook Italian when you're upset?”

“I think to a large part. My real dad was full Italian. The two of them were much the same. What my real dad wouldn't or couldn't do was love us kids. Gino would let himself go and love us.”

“So he loved Dave the same way?”

“No, if you ask Dave, his dad always had him out doing things. I know for certain Dave had time to go see Gino, but he didn't. Dave's sister, now if you want to ever meet a bitch, you've met one. She's a fucking princess wannabe if I've ever seen one. She looked at me as if I were the poor waif her daddy picked up as a stray and that's how I got treated. The one thing Gino did which I wouldn't have was he knew she didn't want a part of his business, so he gave her eight hundred million dollars so she could buy her respectability up in New Yawk.”

“Did she get it?”

“Who the fuck know? The one thing I do know is she broke Dave's heart because married some billionaire investment takeover artist up there who got told her family was dead and there wasn't anyone else but her. When he went up there, she shushed him back out of her life and he went running back home with his tail between his legs.”

“Dave said there were some things he and I needed to speak about. Do you know what they might be?”

“Probably about the bugging and the video taping of your office...either that, or the guys coming in and getting back your control of the streets. One thing he won't do is he won't work with other families working in around this area. It causes too many conflicts. If he's found out they're here, he'll want you to help him get them gone.”

“How do I do that?”

“It's probably drugs and it's probably Miami. The one thing you can get him is permission to go to them and tell them to reel them back in or lose their guys to being arrested.”

“So no turf wars.”

“Yeah, it's a turf war, but it's a different kind. It's the civil kind where each side fights the war of using the little people. I don't mean to make you think you're little, but to a family whose source of income is drugs, the sellers are the little people. They're expendable. What his job is, is he has to get your permission to go in and clean it up. Their job is to keep putting it out there and to keep growing tentacles and spinning the web if you know what I mean.”

“So what does he do?”

“Hon, you can't get rid of the spider. He's too well protected. But, you can sure as hell make it so the walls are put up so he can't get in and spin webs. He can have all the babies he wants but if one comes through, he's nabbed, put in jail, and his potential for harm is eliminated. I'll tell you now, this area isn't such a money maker it's not threatening his empire. His job is to respect and give way. If he doesn't, then each time he does, he'll have his hand slapped.”

“So no turf wars where it's a big thing.”

“Leave it to the gangster movies. You're thinking it's that way, but what you don't know is the mob is new and it's ever changing. You've got it here and you're thinking it's just a little drug dealer. Who the hell do you think he gets his stuff from? It's a bigger guy who gets it from a bigger guy who doesn't dare bring it into the country without permission.”

“So it's a Columbian crime family?”

“Columbian, Russian, Italian....sheesh, it's always someone else. That's the press for you. Yes, there are foreigners, but do you think they come here and just set up shop without pissing people off? Fuck no. They come in here and they do the hand off and then get the hell back where they belong. You've watched too many shows on television.”

“I guess I'm not understanding.”

“And with due cause. You know and I know the shows on television are propoganda. What they don't show is anything as it really is. Not one time in prison did I ever see a bar....not once, but your mental picture of a prison is what you see with Alcatraz. I bet your county jail looks more like prison than what you see on television is, isn't it?”

“You're right. I never thought about it, but we have glass walls and steel doors.”

“See, and how many bars?”

“Not one except in the drunk tank but that's because they puke on the windows and it's not good to get clean.”

“Well, an organized family is like that too. They're protective of their home area and they're not going to let in an unknown force that could take them out without a helluva fight. A lot of that is respect. If you go into an area, you ask permission. Without knowing it, you've allowed them in because you couldn't get control of it. However, you also hold the key to cleaning it up peacefully. Without you, the alternative is a war which isn't so peaceful.”

“So that's what he'll ask.”

“Remember when I told you about doing the take downs and them coming in and catching anything that move?”

“Yeah.”

“That's what it is. It's the turf war in action, except you'll see it's gotten a whole lot more high tech than you ever imagined. That helicoptor that's flying over up there has an infrared pod on it which shows them anyone in this house. It's also showing them anything warm blooded out in those woods and all around here. Those horses are probably fucking with them, but they're far enough away, they're not a real threat.”

“So it's like a modern day James Bond.”

“Yeah, but not that high tech, but they do use a lot of bugs and they do use a lot of video, and telephone surveillance.”

“What do you mean, telephone?”

“They listen in on telephone conversations. It's all put through a computer and the computer listens for key words. For example, if a computer hears Sheriff, that computer instantly records that conversation and it's listened to. It's used to protect and it's used to gather information.”

“Ok, so he'll ask to do that.”

“Yeah, because you're the one that's going to alert him to any FBI activity. If they're here, they'll let you know because otherwise, they'll be viewed as suspicious.”

“You're right. They do let us know. It's not often, but they do.”

“And when they show, I'll tell you now it wasn't the other side who called them. It'd look kind of stupid for them to say, “Hey, I've got some of my drug dealers up there getting hassled, would you go in and put a stop to it?”

Steve smiled and said, “Well, I doubt they'd do that either. What I don't want is anyone who is an innocent bystander hurt.”

“That's not likely to happen. When they go in and do take downs, those people have kids and they have other people who aren't guilty parties. What they'll do is they'll go in like you do and they'll take stock of everyone, do their search, find the stuff with some of the best drug dogs in the business, and then they'll pull the person out and have them ready for transport with the goods on their person. They'll video tape and they'll record that eye in the sky's readings and they'll hand it all to you on a nice little package you can take to prosecute.”

“We're not a rich county. The budget doesn't hold for a lot of prosecutions.”

“They know that too. If it's so clear cut that a blind man can see the man is guilty, then he doesn't have a chance. What they do ask is when they go to get rid of the people that the justice end of things doesn't let them go with probation. They want them gone because if they come back out, I'll tell you now it will go the other way.”

“We'll have to get ahold of the prosecutors and the judges.”

“Who are all crooked and will want a cut rather than a slam dunk. That's why I'm willing to bet he'll be reading those books and gathering information so they're neutralized and will do what they're told. Sometimes, it's better to keep a bad man in. If the man doesn't want to play, then he'll be taken out of there and prosecuted.”

“What if I don't want to get involved?”

“Then I imagine he'll work around that, but he'll also tell you he'll be working with handcuffs, leg cuffs, and an eye poked out. That's your decision, but you're not seeing it.”

“What am I not seeing?”

“Steve. Look at the situation. If I was a judge, who would I choose to go in and take you out? I'd take a guy who has the goods on him that knows if he doesn't do it, he'll go to prison for a long time. If he does do it, he'll be thinking he's going to face immunity to the charges I've got against him. What the dumb ass doesn't know is once I'm done using him, I'm going to want him away from me, so I'll let him fall for the murder and make sure I'm the one that sentences him. He can't throw it up at me because all the conversations were in my office. He's already been checked because he's in an orange jumpsuit. Your guys and those who are on the take with me, are covering my ass.

If those guys are eliminated Steve by you doing take downs and the judge is neutralized, then the shoe is on the other foot. We can get him to do what we want him to do and once it's over, then we can prosecute him. What's he going to do? Is he going to say, “Hey, I worked with organized crime to clean up a bunch of drug dealers and now they're turning me in for all this corrupt stuff I've done.”?”

“I doubt that.”

“Then you need to see how it works and know what's going to happen. The good thing is you're the one that is standing there looking like you're as clean as a whistle afterwards with your pin on saying vote you in for Governor.”

“If all these counties are corrupt, then how do we go in and get them to support us?”

“Well, what we do is we go in and have them listen and gather goods. I'll tell you now, if you have one guy go into a nursing home to visit a patient who is really gone with Alzheimers, there's going to be an old man or an old woman who is lonely who comes over and starts up a conversation. With careful leading, I could get them to talking about the Sheriff and what a corrupt man I think he is. That guy is going to tell me stuff I can use to begin an investigation. As I go around, I'll be able to do it again. Right here in your projects, I bet I could get someone to go in and find more dirt than those journals told you. IF you do that in enough counties, you get the goods on them and when you take it to them, they'll be all to happy to stand up with your poster above their head proudly supporting you because that's what they'll be told to do. The alternative to them is too scary because like you, your mom, and brother, those guy's families have been kept in the dark. They'll be afraid to let them find it out.”

Steve smiled and said, “You know, that's slick. I bet if a guy walked up to my daddy and said, “Hey, I'm doing a canvass of Sheriff's who are corrupt and your name routinely comes up. Would you like to talk about it? He'd tell them to get lost. BUT, if that man said, “Hey, I've got proof and here's what you've done, he'd really try to threaten him into silence.”

“And that guy if he's smart would say, “Look across the street dumb ass. There's a man over there with a pistol aimed at your head and if he misses, there's one at your house who won't miss.”

Steve looked at me and said, “I'm in that same situation. Have you set me up?”

“No...fuck no!”

“Good, but if that's what it takes, then what are we going to do when we get into office?”

“You're going to keep your promises to the citizens and you're either going to cultivate those corrupt officials into “suddenly seeing the light” of their ways and standing firmly behind you, or they'll be culled out and prosecuted. What's the deciding factor for you will be pointing at this county and saying, “Hey, I've done it before and those people fell. Do you want to be the next? Or, do you want to step back and let someone who's honest in?”

“It's going to hurt seeing Dan go down.”

“Yes, but Steve, if the man took a payment he made that decision just like your daddy. From then on, he's no better in my eyes than the drug dealer. He's bought and sold justice and in my eyes, he's worse because with them, they still faced the risk of being arrested. When he's the law, who's going to arrest him?”

“I really should have paid more attention to things.”

“You didn't. To me, you're like your mama, shit was happening and you were kept in the dark. Now the lights are on and the parties over. Do you let it continue, or do you pay the fiddler what he deserves.”

“Ok, but it's really causing me some problems knowing those guys know we know and we're not doing anything but using them for what we need until later. It poses too many threats.”

“That would be the way I'd see it if I knew Dave wasn't here. Look where I was back home and why I moved here. I got out of dodge because there were threats everywhere. Now, I'm taking action I should have taken a long time ago and I'm feeling good about it.”

“And I feel bad because in order to do it, I feel like I'm old mule having to be led with a carrot.”

“Honey, you're coming along and I'm glad for it. What would be really bad is if I'd jumped into bed with you and found out you were worse than what I'd left. I'll tell you now that house wouldn't mean a thing to me. I'd pull back and find a place where it wasn't so threatening.”

“Where would that be if they're all corrupt?”

“I'm sure there are places which are better than others. I'll tell you now, a place that has a diverse country government where they're not all one party is going to be less likely to be that way. I don't know, but it's mere speculation on my part, but what I do know is if we clean it up, it's not going to go back to the way it was. The people who are put into office are definitely not going to want to touch a dollar that shouldn't be touched for fear someone's looking over their shoulder.”

“You're probably right.”

He looked down and said, “This is their marriage license. He had it put away in a file with our birth certificates. I can't help but think if he'd been proud of it, he'd had it up on the wall like he has all these other certificates.”

“Probably. It's a shame we can't have one of those.”

“We can. What I'll do is photocopy this one and make us one.”

“Falsification of a public document is a misdemeanor punishable by a twenty five dollar fine and up to a year in the county jail.”

He smiled and said, “I'll change the wording of it so it's nullified, but it will still convey the meaning to us and everyone who views it.”

“Steve, do you think there will come a time when we could get you into a position where you could make that happen for real?”

“I don't know. This state isn't very progressive. Missouri is more progressive than us and you guys voted it out. It made national news.”

“Yeah, sad, but them good old boys were afraid we'd crawl out of the woodwork and molest them in their dreams. Just do me the favor and get us a civil union law and I'll be happy. There are studies which show people are more accepting of that. I don't care what it is as long as we're recognized.”

“It really means a lot to you.”

“It will you the more you get used to it. When you do your taxes, you'll see seperation and discrimination. God forbid one of us ever had to go to the hospital for an emergency because they only allow family in to see people there. I'll be left out or you will.”

“That's crap.”

“Yeah, but I've been there. It took Gino's men threatening to blow a nurse's head off to get me in to be with Tony and I was the one paying the bill!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he told her she'd let me in and she told him she'd call security. He hit that keyfob panic button of his and they came running in before she could dial the phone.”

“So we'll be that safe.”

“If you don't believe me, you hit that keyfob they give you or even pulle the chain out of the end of it and you'll see people moving like you wouldn't imagine. It was amazing to see and I was really out of it.”

“I imagine.”

Rose and Dave came in with her arm entwined in his. “We have two gentlemen!” She said smiling. I looked at Steve and his smiled told me he saw what I was seeing.

Dave said, “Five minutes. Rhette, I need to speak with you.”

“I heard. Let's go out so I can show you my new car. You're going to love it.”

I walked out of the room and went to the front door. He came running out of the room and said, “Rhette, if that woman hadn't just lost her husband, I'd be falling head over heels in love with her.”

“I can tell.”

“Is it that obvious?” he said looking alarmed.

“Let me just say Steve and I both see it. I put him onto it, but I'll tell you now, she's feeling the same way.”

“Do you think?”

“I think and I can see it. Can't you?”

“I thought, but I kept holding myself back.”

“Give it time. What we're going to do is we're going to use your jet to go to San Diego the day after the funeral. I want them to see what the port and the docks look like so they can hear how quiet they are.”

“Why?”

“Take a look over there. You've got a beach that goes out about a hundred feet and then hits deep water. They own the shore for most of the way to Beaufort with the exception of a state park. I told him I could get him a hundred thousand jobs for this state with one and he didn't believe me. Then, I told him about tent city and now he's turning onto the idea. He's now thinking it's possible. He's sitting on an asset here that he has no clue.”

“Will he let us use it?”

“He wants to hear how quiet the port is. He thinks it's like they show on the movies. Everything with him is how he thinks it is with the movies....even including the family.”

“Is he getting updated?”

“Yeah, but I want them to land that chopper down here so he can go up in it. I want him to be flown over the projects so he can see things from the air and all the people in their houses. What I want you to do is you tell them to find a couple making out so he can see that infrared and know it works. If he sees that, I think you'll get your sweeps.”

“Good. That's what I was going to speak with you about.”

“I'm already there and I'm already a step ahead. He's sold, all he needs is proof. With him, he needs shown things are the way we say they'll be.”

“You love him, don't you?”

“Yes, don't screw it up this time.”

“I didn't mean to screw it up last time.”

“I know, but jeez, you should have asked my opinion before you went in and asked Kevin.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Well, he's over it, but I think it really put a thorn in his shoe to taking the step for you to being friends.”

“I know.”

“Ok, what's on your mind?”

“We're going to really hammer hard in this area. What we've got is Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, and Charleston. Charleston is so out gunned in here, they told me everything and told me “Good Luck” when I talked to them about coming in. I need his permission to get things done.”

“You'll have it. Just prove to him what I've told him. Then, get in there and get those cops and the judge and the prosecutor pulled into doing it our way.”

“I'll get it done. Now, what you're going to have to do is you'll have to be my boss here. I'll probably call you 'boss'. They all think you're the power behind me and we're in doing you the favor.”

“Well aren't I?”

“You bitch!” he said laughing.

“I really wish you could have been here earlier. Your guys would have had a prime example of showing the deputies how the hell to go about things.”

“What do you mean?”

“Over there we had a house and a yard filled with rattlesnakes. We mowed the yard and had target practice for the deputies. From what I heard, the inside of the house was a nest of the things. It would have been great to have your guys go in and start throwing them out the windows and clearing it out.”

“Oh man, my guys would have had shit in their socks, but they would have done it.”

“Yeah, but it would have proven a point of loyalty and it would have shown the deputies they're not as loyal as your guys are.”

“Let me show you this new gizmo.”

“What is it?”

“This pill here. What they've got is sodium pentothal in a dose which can be administered orally for everyone. You put this into a drink and you get the truth and you get hypnotic qualities.”

“Keep it away from them, but everyone else is fair game.”

“I wasn't meaning that.”

“Ok, but just the same, if I lose him, I'm going to be pissed and I don't want anyone from the outside doing it. IF I fuck it up, it's me. Now, one thing I want you to do is you find Chad and you get him that pill. Then you get him to tell you he'll be here to go campaigning for us.”

“He'll do it. Have you ever gotten your rings back?”

“No, but get him to tell you where they are and if he's sold them, you find the name of the jeweler who bought them. I want those back.”

“I doubt if he's sold them. He's got to be sitting on them. He knows you'll come looking for them and to save his neck, he'll give them up.”

“He's told me several times he'll give them back, but he always forgets.”

“Yeah, the punk's afraid he'll not have any use to you if you get them.”

“He's probably right.”

“Rhette, let it go.”

“It's damned hard. I did eight and a half years for that.”

“Yeah, and you never asked for help, so who's the dumb ass.”

“There wasn't a way in hell to do it without me feeling like I owed your daddy anything. I was the one that ended it.”

“He loved you. He would have helped.”

“And then expected something.”

“Not with what you did for him, he wouldn't. Those sorts of favors not even his own men would have done.”

“Dave, you shouldn't have spied.”

“I didn't know you then.”

“Well, you sister never helped.”

“The bitch. Do you know she attempted to call me and wish me a Merry Christmas?”

“Well, maybe the ice thawed around her heart.”

“No, everything else was cold, so she figured it was Christmas...therefore she thought she could call.”

“Her husband has the goods on her, doesn't he?”

“With his money, he'd be dumb if he didn't, but I imagine she plays the part he wants her to play, so he sees through it.”

“Well, as long as she stays up there, we know the families will keep her in line.”

“They'd have to. She's end up running the place and then we'd all be in a world of shit.”

“Well, let's get onto happier topics. What do you think of the car.”

“Sweet. My guys are going to want to have a hand at it.”

“Tell them to talk with me and I'll see. Nothing goes on it that I don't approve.”

“They won't. Hell, they think you're the boss. With that place, they'll sure think you're in charge. Who in the hell would build a house with thirty bedrooms?”

“A Mormon?”

He laughed and said, “They're not. I checked.”

“What are they because I've got to sit through a funeral and so help me if I have to sit through a Mass with those stinking smudge pots.”

He laughed and said, “You're in luck, they're Methodists.”

“Good, every one of their preachers I've liked.”

“Couldn't tell you here. What I do know is from what I know, you've got a den of snakes thicker than that house in that court house.”

“Can you get in?”

“I'm already there. The guy in Charleston was happy to help me.”

“What's up with the area?”

“Not much. You've got a few unions in the fishing, but not many. A lot of private operators here. The military base over there keeps the bars happy, but for girls they go to Charleston. The projects have the drugs and there are a few imports coming in from back home, but those will be stopped. Other than that, it's not very organized. I think the lack of Italians is what's hurt them.” he said laughing.

“Well, I didn't come here to get this place into line.”

“You're forgiven.” he said grinning.

“Do you love him?”

“Yes.”

“Good. He's a nice guy. Now, what do you think if I worked on being your father in law?”

“You serious?”

“Rhette, I'm fifty six years old. I've never been married and my boss is gay. The guys probably think I'm turning into my dad.”

“Fuck you dude. That was a swipe and it pisses me off.”

“No, you know what I mean. They see me not settling and they're probably lining up to take my place.”

“Well, what they'll see is a fag that can get really tough on their asses if they've got a problem.”

“They won't, but I see what you mean about that house. It needs a lot of work.”

“Yeah, but I want a kitchen to rival your daddy's in there.”

“You paying for it or am I?”

“We'll see. If you're getting serious about her, then you pay for that house. It'll most likely cost you five million.”

“Is it that nice?”

“Hon, I don't buy shit. It's a house when you see it, you'll fall in love with instantly.”

“Nicer than yours in Kansas City”

“The one in OP?”

“No, the one you inherited from Dad.”

“I don't view that house as mine.”

“Well it is. I'm living in Me-maw's.”

“Oh, so we're busom buddies. No wonder they think you're gay.”

He smiled and said, “They know you're never there. The security staff gets word out. If you ever showed up there, security would be doubled and they'd be on high alert.”

“Fuck that. Tell them to treat me like I'm normal.”

“Can't do it. They've got to think you're a hard ass.”

Just then, we heard vehicles coming up the drive.

“Well, put on your game face because they're here.”

“Who's my security guy?”

“You get a whole detachment of them.”

“Put them on Steve.”

“He'll get his, but they're going to really think you're slick being in with the Sheriff.”

“That's not why I'm with him. Have you seen his ass?”

“I'm sorry, I didn't look, but hers.....man!”

“Don't tell me you scoped out my mother in law!”

“I couldn't help it. She's nice.”

“Well, you couldn't find a better person. What you get is a wonderful woman. I'm really lucky with her.”

“I can tell.”

We got out of the car when the first truck pulled up. We went over to the truck and I said, “You guys need to park them in a line over there. That boat out there's going to wonder what the fuck to shoot and all of these are going to be blocking the shots.”

The guy nodded real fast and spoke into his radio to park them backed in. He pulled it over and parked down the road towards the highway.

“Good looking out. They'll think you're all about the security.”

“Get me that chopper down so Steve can go up in it and I'll be happy.”

“I'll go get them down. Where do you want it?”

“Not out here in the road. That thing will blow rocks all over my car and it'll be ruined.”

“I'll have them put down over there by the beach.”

“Ok, I'll go get him so he can go up.”

I went into the house and saw Rose. “They're here.”

“Good. I need to speak with you in a moment.”

“Ok, I need Steve because he's going to get a treat here in a moment.”

“He's still in his office.”

“It'll be his when we get his things in there. He was really let down when he found your Marriage License.”

“Why?”

“He thought it should have been up on the wall and not in some file folder.”

“Well, he's right, but I would have had to be married to someone else because it sure wasn't in James to do that.”

I went into the office and said, “Steve, you got about an hour?”

“Why?”

“We're going to bring down the chopper and get you up in it so you can go out and see things.”

“Do I have to?”

“Why?”

“I've never been up in one.”

“It's not scary. You'll love it.”

“Ok, but they'll bring me down if I don't like it, won't they?”

“Yeah, but think of it as something that you'll like and don't think of it as scary.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Honey, you ever ridden on a motorcycle?”

“Yeah, we've got four wheelers.”

“Ok, think of it like that. Some people are afraid of them because they're dangerous. With a chopper, it's relatively safe if you keep it really maintained good. With this bunch, I'll tell you it's better than best with the maintenance of things.”

“Ok. Where are we going?”

“They want to take it up and show you all the tricks and the gizmos they've got . You'll see the infrared and you'll see the camera and you'll probably see more things than even I know they have.”

“Ok”

“Now, what I need to tell you is I'm supposed to be Dave's boss. That's what he's told everyone and they don't know different. If you see me being gruff with them, then don't think anything.”

“You're a bad man!”

“Nah, I'm a lover....I'll play the part because it helps him, but if I had my way, I wouldn't need to.”

“Ok. I still love you.”

“Good because they're going to think I'm slick for getting myself hooked up with a Sheriff. I'll tell you now, I'd think you're hot stuff in or out of that uniform.”

“I know that. I don't think it's the uniform. If it was, you would have gotten the short end of the stick because I'm only in it when I work.”

“Good because I'd like to see you in suits instead of that uniform anyways, but I understand why you have to wear it.”

He laughed and said, “You think my ass would look good in a suit?”

“Your ass and that package for sure, but we're going to put colors on you that pulls out those eyes just to get the women voters hot.”

He blushed and said, “Let's go out and meet the guys.”

“Before we go, I want to ask you a question.”

“Ok”

“If your mom allows it, do you mind if Dave gets sweet on her?”

“My daddy just died.”

“Yeah, and.....”

“AND! He just died!”

“Ok, I'll tell him to back off.”

“No, don't do that. IF she wants it, then tell him to go ahead, because I know she's thinking thoughts and I see a look on her face that sure wasn't there with him.”

“It probably was at one time, but he took it off when he came home smelling of another woman.”

“Probably. Thank goodness I got her brains because he sure lacked them.”

“Well, I'll tell you now that Dave's never really been serious about a woman like he's thinking here. He's already thinking she's settle down material.”

“Really!”

“Yeah, for Dave, that's awesome, but he's like you. He knows your dad just died and he wants things to be respectable.”

“Ok, tell him to keep things discreet and when we get up in the jet on the way to San Diego, we'll treat it as their personal getaway.”

“Good, that'll be nice.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, I really really do love you.”

“What brought that on?”

“Nothing. Dave asked me twice. He really didn't start off on a good foot with Kevin, so he's trying better here.”

“Ok, I'll try hard with him.”

“Good.”

We went outside and saw the chopper on the ground. “Man! That thing sure is quiet. I never even heard it.”

“Teflon coated blades. Probably the same as the military. If they fly it so it's not slapping wind, it will be quiet.” As we walked closer, I had to raise my voice to be heard.“Tell that man, I don't want a house full of dust when he lifts off and to take it out over that pasture so my Rolls doesn't get sandblasted.”

He nodded and the pilot put him into the front seat alongside him. I watched as they put a headset on him with a nightvision viewer. Once they were all strapped in, I turned and walked towards the house.

Dave had the guys lining up in formation as if they were military. He nodded towards me and I went over to stand beside him.

“Men, this here is Rhette. You've probably heard of me refer to him as my boss, but to you, he's boss of the bosses. He'll chew your ass out if you call him boss, so just call him Rhette and he'll be ok with it. Do you want to say anything Rhette?”

“Yeah. These people in this house and the one's you'll be watching over in town are my hearts. They're closer to me than you. You know I'd die for you, so you better know I'd die for them. Treat them with the respect you show towards me and I'll treat you in kind. If you don't, I'll give you a chance to run into those woods which are so full of rattlesnakes, you'll probably only make it twenty feet before you get bit.

One rule here is that beach is a weakness. We've got a boat out there and I want it watched. It only takes a second for that boat to go down, so if you're not watching, then our asses are in a world of hurt.

That road down there is our other weakness other than the air. It's far enough away that we'll be safe, but what I want is you guys to put your vehicles in three blockages so if anyone attempts to get through, they'll have to go through three to get here. You and I know it'd take a tank to get through you guys, so by that time, we'll have heard it and have us out of here to that boat.

If someone comes by air, they'll be dumber than hell. I don't underestimate them but with an Air Force base right over there, it's going to alert them and they'll have to outrun them. With what we have in the air, I think we'll be safe.

Your jobs here are to get this house into working order. What I want is it lifted so a hurricane won't damage it. As you can see, she's a big ole girl with a lot of ass putting her on the ground. We need to be sure her panties don't get wet. She gets wet, she's fucked and you and I know it.”

I heard a few giggles out in the ranks, so I knew I'd got a few with personalities.

“Underneath her, I want a bunker that will make Hitler proud. You've got chimneys so put the air shafts there. She'll stand but I don't want water in that bunk, do you understand?”

I heard a few “Yes Sirs” and said, “Hold the fuck up! My name is Rhette! He told you to call me that. I'm at home and I'm sure going to plan on staying here. So, when I'm at home, call me Rhette, so a nice, “Yes Rhette!” will do. You call me sir, or boss, it better be when a member of another family is in front of me. Those devious sons a bitches will walk away saying we have no LOYALTY and we had no RESPECT, so that's the only time I expect to hear it. Have them walking away thinking we're about business and I'll sure thank you. Other than that, treat me and mine like you and yours and I'll be satisfied.”

I stepped back and said, “Yours.”

Dave smiled and said, “See, I told you he's a nice guy. Don't cross him because he'll give you a running start into those woods. He told me today they burned a house down because it was full of rattlesnakes right over there not two hundred yards. He told me he was sorry to not have you guys here because you could have shown a bunch of Sheriff's deputies how loyal you were by going in and getting that house cleared of those damned things. They were so chicken, they burned the house down instead. What do you think of that! This man is so proud of you, he was sorry you weren't here. Well, we're here now, and we're going to go into this area and we're going to do sweeps. Yes, you'll be working undercover here, but on this estate, you're family, I'm family, and we'll all treat each other as such. You got me!”

“Yes Sir!”

“Good. Now, I need my bug sniffer up here because this house needs checked before we let anyone in it.”

A guy stepped forward and he said, “I'm your man.”

“Good, run checks because we've got some deputies who are bad and they've been in the house today.”

The man went to his truck and brought back a meter. He went into the house and I went up to the front porch with Rose. “They're checking for bugs.”

“I heard. I also heard you. Man, you sounded good out there.”

“Thanks. He wants me to play the part, so I'm doing it.”

“He's a sweet guy.”

“He likes you.”

“DO you think so?”

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“Honey, I need to speak with you.”

“Ok, let's go out to my car. It seems to be the safest area.”

We went out to the car and got in. I turned it on so the seats would be warmed.

“I'm feeling things toward him I shouldn't be feeling. James hasn't been dead a day and I'm already thinking those thoughts.”

“It's because you have someone who's sincere there. He spoke to me about what he feels and he's not wanting to disrespect James' memory. He was feeling bad about it. I told him I'd speak to you and Steve. I spoke to Steve and he said it's up to you. He's not going to stand in your way for you to be happy.”

“I shouldn't be feeling what I am, that's what's confusing.”

“How about if I tell him to take things slow and we wait until we go to San Diego. Then, when we're there, we can treat it as your's and his holiday. How about that?”

“It might be too soon.”

“I understand. It's entirely up to you.”

“He'll be discreet?”

“Yes. I'll tell you what I know. Ok?”

“Ok”

“I've known Dave for some seventeen years. In that time, I've not seen him with anyone for very long. It's something that I've wondered about, but I've not spoken to him about. I figured it was his business. Tonight, when we came out here, he said he thought you were the one for him. He was a bit disheartened that he'd found you and knew you'd just lost James.”

“Really!”

“Yes. That's what was surprising because he told me he'd work to be my father in law if he had the chance, but he was worried. I'll tell you now, I never thought I'd see the day, but he definitely knows it's you.”

“I'm surprised because as soon as I met him, I just felt drawn to him.”

“He's a nice guy. If you've heard what I said to the guys, you'll see it's a lot like the military with their loyalty, but in more aspects, it's a business. You'll probably talk to these guys and find out they come from all walks of life. They got called out and told they were needed. They didn't ask why, they just got themselves to the airport and they hopped that flight here. What you need to know is they'll kill someone gladly for me and Dave...well, for you and the boys too. We'll do it for them too. If someone were getting shot down by machine gun fire, I'd run out there and get them because I know Gino would have done it for them. You'll hear stories about what happened in Kansas City when I was younger, and you need to know it was a different day and time. A lot of what you'll hear is true.”

“Is it bad?”

“Damned bad. When we take people to our sorts of trial, you better believe we get the truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth. One thing you'll find out then is we'll have double the witness statements it take to convict. They'll get a chance to tell us the truth and if they don't then they'll have a hand hit with a sledgehammer. Yes, they'll be in pain, but they'll talk because they then know it's an axe next. If they still lie, then it's a their life. We don't put up with jails and we sure don't put up with anyone who is disloyal.”

“Honey, is that often?”

“No. What you've got here is loyalty. It's not loyalty through fear, but it's loyalty because they know we'll be there for them.

What you heard out there was a bit of showmanship on my part. They don't know that because they think I'm familiar with all the crime families. I'll tell you now, I'm familiar with one. That's it. I have seen Gino act and I know he made a reputation by being ruthless. I know about the trial situation because Gino had a situation where he had guys who were planning on splitting off and then taking over. He caught on to them and we held trial. It wasn't pretty and it was God awful long. We had members of other families in and they testified to what they'd discussed with the men. When it was over, we had three deaths and a lot of bloodshed. Gino got so tired from swinging a sledgehammer that I went over and did it for him. That is why I got given the organization. He knew I'd step up without being asked and no one else would dare fill his shoes.”

“You could have died.”

“Yes, and probably would deserve to, but I saw the man so tired I had to do something. He let me because he loved me, and how little I knew at the time is why I got given it. If you ask Dave, he'll tell you a lot of other things, but that was the moment I knew because all the men started treating me differently afterwards.”

She giggled and said, “I just can't see you doing that.”

“It's like prison. You do it and it changes you. When you're out, it's back to a normal life.”

“Do you think it'll change me?”

“Let's hope. I'm hoping you and he being together will fill your world with complete love as you should have known it all along. If he doesn't give you that, I'll definitely step off in it for letting you down.”

“Why me?”

“Why not you? You're nice looking. You've got a wonderful personality. And, you stole his heart in the first moment.”

“What else do you know about him?”

“I'll tell you what I don't know. I don't know him ever to talk bad about a woman and put what he's done with them out. I don't know him to take his business home because his daddy taught him better. When he's home, you'll see him being the utmost gracious gentleman you've ever met. As being a lover, I couldn't tell you a thing.... and that's a good thing because a lot of those guys play around and then keep it hush hush.”

“I've heard about that.”

“Well, it's not him. That's one thing you'll never have to worry about.”

The bug sniffer came out and I said, “I've got to go give the guy my thanks. It looks like he's got something.”

I got out of the car and walked over to Dave and the man. “What do you have?”

“This here is a phone bug. It only listens when the receiver is lifted and it was in the office. Other than that the house is clean.”

“Good. Does it look like FBI?”

“No, they don't listen in the houses anymore. They listen back at the office. This one here is programmed to have whomever is listening to get a phone ring so when that receiver is lifted, they get to listen. They'll never know it is gone.”

“Anything else in the house?”

“Yeah, caught a guy upstairs masturbating, but that's it.”

I chuckled, “JT!”

Dave laughed and said, “Well endowed?”

“Wouldn't know. I stepped back and shut the door before he realized I was there. Looked to me like he was watching something on a laptop and had his eyes shut.”

“He better not have gotten my keys sticky!”

“It's your laptop?!”

“Yeah, he's supposed to be up there reading my stories. I bet he's watching Kevin strip.”

“Kevin stripped!”

“I did a drag show and part of the routine was everyone watching me do Kylie on the mechanical bull and him stripping while watching me. He took it down to a tiny bikini and when they yelled for more, he took it on down to a mesh thong. He had it stroked up, so everyone got a good view of it.”

“Oh man. Did you look hot in what you were wearing?”

“I wore a leather g-string and bra. You'll have to watch it. I think I was good.”

Rose came over and said, “If you didn't know he was a boy, you'd thought he was hot. I'm wishing I had a figure like him.”

“I've seen him in drag. He was enough to make me wonder.”

She laughed and said, “I understand.”

He went over and said, “Ok, guys who are working here, line up”

The guys all came forwards and he said, “With the exception of these people's rooms, all of the others are yours. Have Rhette show you where you're to stay.”

I took them in to the grand staircase and said, “Ok, here's the deal. We need two to a room. How you sleep is your problem. You'll be working here and you'll all pull a watch shift at some time. We'll be holding a funeral so we'll most likely have a wake. When that happens, you'll be warned.”

I took the guys up the steps and said, “This is Rose's room. Guard this one on this floor with your lives. Who has the assignment of caring for her?”

“Four guys stood up and I said, “Good. You each take rooms on each side of her. In your room, you'll find a bathroom and linens. You take care of them and wash them. Treat the place like you would home. That means, if you leave toothpaste out, then leave it out. If you put it away, then put it away. Be mindful of the other guy because he might need to save your life.”

They went into the rooms and then I said, “Who has watch over JT?”

No one stood up and I said, “Well, they're probably with the other house. He's moving into town, so we'll have them with him. Now, who has watch over Steve?”

Six guys went forward. I said, “Ok, here's his room. I'll most likely be sleeping in here, or he'll be in mine. Those who have mine, I'm at the top back right towards the ocean. Go take those rooms. Leave your doors open for the next few minutes so everyone else can fill in. If you've not got enough beds, then we'll arrange something.”

I went up to JT's room and knocked on the door. He opened it and said, “Your stories are really good.”

“Thanks. What I need to know is if you're sleeping here tonight, or if you're going into town.”

“Why?”

“All of the people who will be guarding you are going to the house.”

“Oh, well, I guess I need to go to the house.”

“Would you do me a favor and tell the guard house the guys who are with you belong there and if they need me to approve them, to give me a call on my cell and I will.”

“Ok, I imagine they will.”

“You shouldn't because they know you'll be staying there, but the guards will need to know this is our security force.”

“They're going to be wondering what kind of rock star you are.”

“Probably.”

He went into his closet and said, “Tell the guys who are staying in this room, I'll have it all moved out tomorrow.”

“When you get to the house, take the Master bedroom. That way, when Kevin gets here, he'll see he's the guest and if you get together, he'll be moving in with you.”

“Is there any question”

“Yeah, but if he's in his right mind, there won't be. If he's not, then he can live someplace else.”

He chuckled and said, “He'll be fine. He and I really need to talk.”

“It's nearly eleven here, so it'll be nine back home. Why don't you give him a call?”

“I don't have his number.”

“It's programmed into the house phone there.”

“Ok”

We had four guys left. I told two to take JT's room and he'd have his things moved to town tomorrow. They nodded and the final two, I said, “You can have my writing room. I probably won't need it, but if I do, then I'll make accomodation elsewhere.”

“We can't do that. It'll be putting you out.”

“That's fine, I'll sleep with Steve. Go ahead and take my room. If things change, I'll let you know.”

When I went back downstairs, I went to Steve's room and opened the door. No one was there, thankfully, so I didn't have to bounce them out.

When I came back downstairs, Dave said, “The guys for the in town house are getting ready to go. They have GPS coordinates of it.”

“How'd they get that?”

“I stopped off there before I came here.”

“They let you into the gate?”

“Sorta not. I went in a different way.”

“So you're telling me it's not secure there.”

“Secure enough, but that marsh out back was wide open to an air boat.”

“I'll have to do something about that.”

“We'll work on it. I've got some ideas, but one of them is pool sensors which will tell me whenever a wave happens. It'll probably be set off by every bullfrog in the world, but at least we'll know what we'll have.”

“Ok, it's shocking. Did you get into the house?”

“The alarm system is tinker toy. A master alarm control will open everything up. As I said, We'll work on it.”

“Ok, that's disappointing, but tell the guys to treat the place like home and to give Kevin complete respect.”

“They'll give it.”

“By the way, the last owner has rights to use the house whenever he wants. He'll probably be surprised to find the security, but he'll understand.”

“Ok, I'll find accomodations for the men who use that room when he's there.”

“How many extras do we have?”

“About thirty, but they're going to be either staying in town or over near the other family we're watching.”

“They're moving in two weeks. Do you think the guys will help them move?”

“Sure. With all this help, it should be the fastest move in town.”

I chuckled and said, “It'll probably get the attention of everyone in town!”

“I doubt it.”

“I'll get you the address of the house they're moving to. What are your guys like for concrete work?”

“We can do it, why?”

“Randy is buying a gas station next to the one he has. It's the old cinder block style and it's got an entire parking lot with islands that needs to be taken apart. What we're going to do is put a new lot down and then fill it with a metal building so his towing company can have a new building. Then, we're going to take the other one down and put up a convenience store.”

“Do you think he'd tow for the trucks?”

“Yeah, and his new building will be ideal for them to be parked in. It's right on the main drag and can be a real blessing.”

“I'll have the guys install a fast opening and shutting roll up door. That way we can't be seen without too much notice.”

“Ok, you'll like him. He's a real nice guy.”

“It seems like everyone is. I had to crack up about the guy catching JT.”

“Me too. He's really attracted to Kevin. I hope the feeling's mutual.”

“I don't know. He seemed to only have eyes for you.”

“Well, there's been a few affairs since, so now I don't know.”

“You should have told me.”

“I should have done a lot of things, but I didn't. We all make mistakes. Aren't they going to be suspicious as to where I've been?”

“No, I've got everyone so confused as to where you were they never knew.”

“Well, these guys know now.”

“These guys are all single. I imagine when we break this apart, you'll be paying them to be your guard contingent at the state capital.”

“Let's hope.”

“Rhette, I'll get you there, just count on me.”

“What would I do without you?”

“Well, you grab one cheek with one hand and the other with the other and then you bend over and kiss your ass goodbye.”

I laughed and said, “Never was that flexible.”

“I don't know about that. Some of the moves I've seen you make.”

“Do any of these guys remember back that far?”

“One. He's your personal security man. He'll be stuck to you for life.”

“Where's he?”

“He's blended in. I don't want you knowing who he is because then you get attached and that's not good.”

“Ok, I'll figure him out tomorrow and then I'll make you eat your words.”

“If you do, I'll pull him.”

“If you do, I'll be upset. I'd rather him know all about me and protect me from near than afar, ok?”

“You and my Dad are alike in too many ways. What am I going to do with you?”

“Let's talk.”

“Ok”

“She's interested. She really likes you and she's feeling things which are conflicted with her. I think as long as you're discreet, you'll have her, but you better stick to her for life, because I'll be there on your ass if you're not.”

“Rhette, don't worry. I can't explain it, but she's not that much older than me and when she showed me all the family photos, I was really in over my head looking at her photos. That man was a complete idiot to treat her as he did.”

“Yes, but he's gone now and it's your job to fill her heart with good memories. Right over there will be where you'll be living. My house in town is going to be copied and built there.”

“It's a gorgeous house.”

“I thought so. I just wish the security system had been better.”

“Rhette, not many thieves know what I know. It probably would have stopped 99% of them.”

“It's that other one percent that has me worried. What do you know about the guys back home.”

“I've got guys in cells with everyone of them. Believe me, they'll be pumped for information like you wouldn't believe. That Sheriff there is a nice guy, I suppose. He sure shit all over himself when he thought he was talking to the FBI director. He's giving me everything I want.”

“Get me what I want and I'll be happy.”

“What's that?”

“Those guys put away for so long your head will spin and mine will feel safe, and then get the judge to give that police chief extra time beyond what the sentence dictates for his involvement.”

“You'll have it. I'm also going to clean up that town. It's a beautiful little town, but the system there has more holes in it than you'd believe. That city manager is a decent enough fella, but he was bought over the telephone. To me, that tells me he can be rebought by a higher bid. I doubled his salary on top of his salary and he's now talking my ear off.”

“If that's good, then I'm happy, but I didn't care for the way he treated me.”

“When your lawsuit hits them, that whole town will be begging your forgiveness.”

“I don't want it. They've had two years to come around on their own and they didn't. Now, all I want is the damages and my people there to have a good life in my absence.”

“I want to do something for you.”

“What's that?”

“As you know, I've got the casinos out in Vegas. We're building another, and it'll be going up here shortly. What I want is you to have a company jet at your disposal.”

“Ok, but I'll tell you what I want.”

“Ok”

“You get Patrik the best fucking contract on the planet to play with your endorsement and him a suite up on the top. Get him his Lotus and keep it renewed every year. When it gets traded, you give me the old one every year as our driver car for out there. I'd like a suit right across from him, so when we're in the city together, we can hang.”

“Anything for anyone else?”

“Nah, they can use mine. What I want is the air in that suite to smell like is the air out there in Hawaii at mom and dad's place. It's sweet ginger or something like that. I tell you, that smell is what makes me want to take that flight over there. If I can have it in Vegas, I don't think I need to go all that long to Hawaii.”

“You could have it closer up at the city.”

“No, I like Vegas.”

“Ok, now about your parents.”

“What about them?”

“Their guards are bored out of their skulls.”

“I imagine. I know I was when I lived there. Why do you think I ran like I did?”

“To get the hell away from it all. Their guards jokingly refer to it as isolation torture. They've got all those damned cows named.”

“I imagine. Tell them to go have a good time in the casino when they go there. That's what they do for fun.”

“Your brothers are a different story. That one is taste testing the whole town.”

“Yeah, do me a favor and put a girl in there that will milk him for what he wants in a girl and then find that girl. Use one of those pills if you've got to. The quicker he finds what he wants and settles down, the better. One of these days, he's going to wake up with Herpes and not be able to wash it off.”

“I'm surprised he hasn't already. With him, I think it's a matter of anything that moves, he'll do. He's all over the planet from women who are in their 40's to barely of age.”

“I think that could be helped along if we threw someone at him that looked way better than anyone else.”

“I don't know. There are some knock out girls there.”

“I wouldn't know. I do know there are some guys there that would give me whiplash.”

He chuckled and said, “You weren't looking, were you?”

“I can look, but for me to allow myself the luxury of thinking about it further isn't going to happen.”

“I admire that. Let me make a call. I need to find out where that chow hall is.”

He called and got told they were going through Gainesville now.

He rang off and said, “Ok, tell me what your master plan is for this place.”

“You see that fence over there?”

“Yeah.”

“Mark off a pasture of twenty acres and that's going to be that house's yard. Over here, I want a line that goes down to that bend. All along those borders, I want snake fence up. It's a type of fence...”

“I know what it is.”

“Ok, What I want is black wrought iron fencing put up with gates so my kids don't play out in that road. They probably will when they get bikes, but until then, I don't want them in the road. This house gets raised up and as I said, a bunker gets put under it. What you do over at that house, is your concern, but I want this one to be as hurricane proof as it can be and us to have a way to get to that bunker if it starts flying apart. The thought of me moving a hundred miles inland to dodge it is bullshit.”

“I understand, but there's always Vegas.”

“Not if he's Governor. If we did that, it'd lose their confidense.”

He nodded his head and said, “You're wanting a simple life like your parents.”

“No, because I want this place to be able to grow. All along that road, I want trees. If you can imagine the fruit or nut, then I want it with a double wide road asphalted and a ditch on each side and then those trees reall humped up with the dirt so it's good soil. Yes, in a hurricane, it'll be a river, but I want those trees to live and not get blown down.”

“Ok, that's simple.”

“Here's the fun part. About four different spots, I want those sorts of hydraulic stop poles embedded in that road. I want them to be able to stop a tank. What we'll do out there in those pastures is we'll leave them be, but up there at the entrance, I want a well disguised tank stop which will keep us safe. Most of the chances for invasion will come from that point and not from the port.”

“Ok, so tell me what's going to be over there.”

“Behind that yard of yours, I want a field thats' like a hundred and sixty acres that's fenced in with a barn for the horses. Behind it, I want trees that are thick so they kids won't see the port and the port won't be heard over here. Beyond that, I think we can put the port. What I want with the port is it to be long and narrow to run up along that coastline but everything to be taken down to that road that crosses It's a four lane and goes to that state park, from the interstate. On this side, we'll put in the container storage closest and then autos and then instead of tent city, we'll have a mall of buildings that can be used if the person has a pass key like a motel. If they don't have the key, the door doesn't open that day and they don't do business. I think some people screw you out of paying the rental out there in San Diego by paying to get in rather than paying the fees.”

“We find them real fast. When they're found, they don't ever sell there again.”

“This way, they're found that first day because that door doesn't open. We can program those keys for week long, month, and year rentals. All of the money for those rentals goes to Rose. Instead of those push carts, I want little three wheeled motorcycles with a bed on the rear. To me, it'd be a whole lot more funner to drive the things back than leave them all over the place.”

“What we're thinking about doing is having robotic put in out there where they all return themselves and follow the person around with the attachment to their wrist. We figure if we have everyone pay ten dollars and then they get half of it back, they'll not disable the things. Either way, a homing signal at the end of the day or when a gale blows up will bring them all in.”

“Ok”

“I need to tell you a bit of bad news and then you can deal with it.”

“What's that?”

“Lance has cancer. It's not supposed to be let out, but I figured you needed to know. IF they ask you who told, my name doesn't get mentioned.”

“Ok, I won't let them know I know until they tell me. How long?”

“Less than six months. He's been sick for a while and the fucking doctors kept treating him for different sorts of flus. Finally, one sent them to an oncologist to double check his thoughts as to what it was and it was, so now they know, but it's too late.”

“Oh sheesh, La Don's going to be lost without him.”

“Yeah, but we've all got to leave the world sometime.”

“I was just telling everyone about them today.”

“I know you and he are close.”

“Well, I feel close to Lance too. I think they're a perfect match.”

“La Don's really a trooper. I've got to give him that. He's trying to find that miracle cure.”

“I'll see what I can do. There's a company that makes a herbal mix that is supposed to do wonders.”

“I've already gotten them that. He's into the second week of it.”

“Good, hopefully it'll work.”

“He said it tastes like shit.”

“Tell him if it's worth living to do the whole thing. I've heard it does, but I also heard it works.”

“Well, great minds think alike and if it keeps him alive, they would be wise to use him as their spokesman.”

“Who did you hear about it from?”

“I can't give her name, but she's going to Germany to get it. She was another famous star who's got a husband that's not the six million dollar man.”

“I thought so. Do you still get on with her?”

“We'll always be friends. She's a great gal.”

“I thought she was so pretty in those movies she did.”

He laughed and said, “You don't remember her in that show, do you?”

“No, they had her replaced by the time I was little. I heard about it from our friend over the pond.”

“How's he doing?”

“I couldn't tell you. I talk to him so infrequently, it's pitiful. I can tell you he's happy now, but what I don't like is his lover is the best money can buy.”

“Do you think?”

“How's seven million a year grab you?”

“Holy Fuck!”

“Yeah, and that's for the first five. Then after that, it goes to ten for the next five and then twenty for the next ten. After that, the guy's signed onto his Will.”

“Oh man, I didn't know that.”

“Yeah, that's why we don't talk that much. When he and Billy were together, they had piano playing in common, but with this guy, I let my opinion be known and he's went distant on me.”

“I'll talk to him. He's going to be out in Vegas, so I'll speak to him and tell him you miss him.”

“I'd appreciate it.”

“Did you meet him through Dad?”

“Inadvertantly, yes. He was in the city, but it was for a Tina Turner concert. They all went to the Windjammer afterwards and I was there tending bar. Your Dad came in like he owned the place and he was hustling them drinks out of me. I had this fucking sequen dress on done up like Mae West. I don't know what the hell I was thinking, but I'd just came out of that Stevie Nicks phase I went through, so I was tending bar in this dress that was tighter than a fucking mermaid costume. The way I had to walk in it was terrible, but I did it because Gino smiled at me.”

“You loved him.”

“Hell yeah I did! But, the way it happened was it was Halloween and everyone was dressed up. Your Dad was a Pirate and when I went over to their table, I complimented her on looking a whole lot like Tina and then telling him he was a pathetic version of himself and for it to be good he needed bigger glasses and a few feather boas. He fell out of that chair he was laughing so hard, but I wasn't convinced it was him until later, I got handed a business card of his telling me to call him. As soon as I saw that card, I was lifting my jaw up off the bar.”

“I bet you were. Now I know what my Dad was laughing about when he told me to ask you about that sometime.”

“Your dad wasn't likely ever to let me forget it.”

“He loved you too.”

“I know he did, but it obviously wasn't meant to be.”

“Between you and I, I think it was the fact you were younger that his kids. I think he thought we'd ridicule him for it, but I didn't care. She might've but she was gone, what did he care?”

“I'll tell you what he cared. That first day we sat in the living room and talked after Me-maw went back to take her nap, he told me he always suspected she'd come back when he least expected. I remember the day because he really didn't have my attention. I was too busy looking at the antiques and wondering what castle they came from.”

“He would have told you. That dining table in the formal dining room came from France. It was some count's who was famous for something. Underneath it, you'll find the history of it stuck to it. He did that towards the end so you'd know where everything had come from.”

“I loved that bed.”

“Yeah, when he died, he said, “You be sure Rhette gets this bed and you get him new feathers!”

I laughed and said, “You know why he said that?”

“No”

“Because we were laying there one day and it crossed my mind you were probably born on those feathers. I mean he never changed anything from when your mom was alive, so I just knew they were the same.”

“Probably were.”

“Well, I told him when we finally did get together, I was getting new feathers. He about died laughing telling me it didn't matter if they were new or old, but what mattered was they still did their job. I see the point now, but it's funny he remembered that.”

“For the last three months he was alive, he wanted you there with him so bad.”

“I wish I could have been, but it would have torn me apart watching him die. I really wouldn't ever want to see that city then.”

“You've got to go back with us sometime.”

“I'll think about it. I think what I'll do is I'll make Kansas City my home for the fall. It depends what Steve wants to do.”

“I imagine he'll be curious, but once he sees that house, he'll be in love with it.”

“Do you think so?”

“Everyone loves it. Do you know how many offers I get for it a year?”

“No.”

“The last one was for seventy five million. Donald Trump wanted it.”

“What for?”

“He collects houses so he can resell the things I think. If he's willing to give that much, then I can certainly guess it'd be worth well more than that.”

“I won't sell it. What I'll probably do is give it to one of my daughters. I'll want her to know what he meant to me and then spend a fortune on the trust to upkeep the place.”

“It's got that already. It's in place to be sure all the buildings you inherited are maintained and the taxes are paid. I do know it has enough that you'll never have to worry about that in your lifetime.”

“Good. Check and see if it can be willed or deeded over to a child of mine.”

“I'll check. You're really going to have kids, aren't you?”

“Yeah. I'm anxious for it. If you'd asked me about five years ago, I would have told you that you were crazy for thinking it, but when I hit thirty, it hit me I was thirty and the amount of time it'd taken me to go from twenty to thirty seemed like nothing, so I needed to start thinking about the future. Now, I look at the past four years and think it's went just like that.” I said snapping my fingers. “And now, I'm hitting thirty five and I'm like, where the fuck did it go?”

“Hon, wait until you get to be my age and you wonder where it's went. There are times I sit down and just want to cry for wasting it all so foolishly. Now, I'm sitting here and wishing I could have met her all that much sooner so I could have made her happy and we could have had kids together and what kind of mess is that?”

“It's a mess that tells me you're thinking with your heart.”

“I always thought I would have the time and now, I'm looking at myself and saying I waited to long. In seven short years, I'll be retirement age and they'll want me to park my ass in a wheelchair in some retirement center. In my mind, I still feel like I'm in my twenties, but in the mirror, I sometimes catch myself asking, “Who the fuck is that?!”

“I do that all the time. This face I've got now isn't the one I'm used to when I glance in a mirror. Yeah, I'm getting used to it, but there are times when the scars are itching that I really hate it. I had to have lazer treatments on it because shaving it was a bitch.”

“You shouldn't be too hard on yourself over that. It wasn't your fault.”

“I know, but just the same, it's not what I'm used to. In a way, I don't blame Kevin because he probably has a mental picture of me as who I was versus who I look like now and the two are different.”

“He needs to think about it as something everyone does. We all get older, so if that's it, he should just see it for the change of you getting older.”

“I disagree. Imagine this. If you got together with Rose and you thought to yourself “I wonder what she'll look like at seventy or seventy five or even ninety, then you've got it in your mind. It might not be the same, but the little nuances are still going to be there. When you've got someone coming ot of the hospital with a nose that looks different and a ching that's not got the same little cleft in it but has this little scar here, and then the cheekbones which are all contoured in the plastic that replaced the bone underneath, it's not the same. The way I see it, I went in and had a major redo without wanting it. And the way the plastic surgeon talked, there wasn't a thing he could do about it except perform a miracle and hope like hell it worked.”

“Oh man, is that what he said.”

“The man came in after that first night and just cried. He had no clue what I looked like before, but when Kevin brought in the photographs, he took a look at them and bawled. About then, my mom came in and she told him to go home and say a prayer for his hands to get the best he could possibly do from them. When that man left the room, I felt more worse for him than I did myself. Then, he came back in the next day and he started showing me what he was going to have to do to get the results he wanted. What scared me was all the surgeries it would take. I was thinking, “My God, I'm going to be a fucking operation game the rest of my life.”

“Are they done now?”

“No, there's three more. They're oromaxophilio surgeries which they've got to do to get the inside of my cheek to attach to my gums.”

“All that got ripped off?”

“When I went in, my cheek was laying open and down. My ear was hanging off and my nose was gashed down and out. On the other side, I was kicked and it was crushed in to the point my eyeball was hanging out. That nerve still gives me migraines, but I imagine it will always. All I can say is thank God for Kenny Rogers, because that's the first person I thought of when I came to in the emergency room was 'Get me Kenny Roger's plastic surgeon'. And thankfully, the nurse understood.”

“So he came over and did the surgery?”

“Well, they flew me down to Columbia and he drove in from Kansas City.”

“And all you want is those guys to be put away the rest of their lives?”

“I would wish upon them what I had done to me, but the fuckers would probably end up looking better than what they do now. Why would I wish something better on them than that?”

“Let me see what I can do.”

“No, leave that be...just get me what I ask and if anything else, see they're painfully fucked the rest of their lives in there turning tricks for ramen noodle soups.”

“I'll arrange it.”

I smiled. “Sometimes I need to be careful what I wish for.”

He laughed and said, “Sometimes you need to ask a lot more often. Do you know what I went through over there knowing what happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“I got word a day later and really kicked myself hard for not having you protection. You said you didn't want it and you wanted to live a normal life, so I gave it to you. When you got it, I was happy you were happy, but when that happened, I was really kicking myself. What I wanted to do was go up and tell you then we'd find the person responsible, but even for me to say that to you would have been too little too late.”

“I wish you had. It would have been nice because there were times the pain was so bad, I couldn't do anything but just lay there and cry, but there weren't any tear ducts in this one eye. They told me I couldn't cry because it would cause an infection, but then they wouldn't give me anything more than they were giving me for the pain because they needed me to be able to take the anesthesia. It was fucking barbaric.”

“Well, be thankful they had the technology to put you back together. A hundred years ago, they would have probably had to let you die.”

“Yeah, my Mom said the same thing. At the time though, you don't really want to hear that shit. Now, I can say yeah, but not then.”

“What do they do about your tear duct.”

“Several times a day, I have to put in artificial tears. I'm supposed to do it once an hour, but it really makes it look glassy. To look natural, I leave it be until I feel dry. Now, I carry all that on my so my pockets look like I'm packed down. The days of skin tight pants are no more unless I'm in drag and then I can carry a purse.”

“You old drag queen!”

“You know I don't do it often. With Kevin, I did it on Halloween and at New Years. With Steve, I'll probably do it, but I don't know. I think Rose gets off on the idea more than he does.”

“She's a riot. That one photo up there on that wall is an uncanny resemblence of what you used to look like.”

“That's Steves grandma. It's uncanny because I have a photograph of me doing drag that's identical. You'd think that one was the black and white version of the colored one I've got. I can say my looking like his grandma probably helped his dad accept me more.”

“So you did get to meet him before he died.”

“Yeah, we got here earlier and within an hour, he was dead.”

“Good thing you got here.”

“Yeah, but this day's been so long I'm ready for bed, but I'll wait for them to get back. One thing I can say is he obviously likes riding in a helicoptor.”

“Yeah, they've been gone for a while.”

“Steve was afraid of bieng up in one. Now, he'll probably get home and say he wants one.”

“If he does, we'll get him that one when we trade it off. It's about to be replaced, so it'll be fine.”

“Do you know how much that will cost to maintain?”

“Yeah, I do. I also know you've got enough money in Kansas City to easily do it from the interest, so don't complain. If it weren't for our toys, some of us guys would go nuts.”

“What are your toys?”

“My jet is one of them. I just had new engines put on the thing that are from a fighter. The thrust of it is enough to set me back in my seat, but I'm glad because when I got on the plane tonight, I told the pilot to get me there now and he certainly tried. I'll proobably hear from the FAA or the military because I think they probably thought at the speed we were flying we were some secret military flight, but he did good and got me here in an hour and fifteen minutes.”

“You flew that fast! It's a wonder you didn't peel the skin off the thing.”

“Well, I paid for it to go fast, and that's what it needed to do.”

“I can't say much, that last Corvette of mine before I went into prison was that scary.”

“I remember that one. Remember that day you had Barry Manilow turned up so damned loud.”

“Yeah, but I had to over the exhaust of that thing. It was like that with my BMW, but for a different reason. With it, I had that stereo system in it tweaked to the point I could feel the bass in my ass and it felt like I was in the club. I never realized how loud it was until I took it to Wal-Mart one day with Kevin in it. He decided to stay out in the car and I went in. When I came out, I heard this thump thumping and thought it was a kid in an Escalade or something, but as I got closer to it, I realized it was my car.”

“I never could understand why those kids like their thumping like that.”

“I'll tell you why. They like the bass like I like it. What they don't realize is there's those speakers you can put under your ass to make you feel it that way. With my Dakota, there's not much room for speakers, so I took the little back seat of it out and put in a speaker box.”

“Where's it at?”

“In Missouri. It'll come out here. I'll have to have the airbrush artist repaint the deck lid of it, but with a little luck, we'll have a sign shop out here. What I did was on the deck lid, I had a plasma installed and had it made so it, when it's tilted up, looks like one of our jumbotrons so I could advertise the sign sho at car shows. ”

“You want to go into that again?”

“Yeah, there's lots of money in it. I've gotte to the point I can do it in my sleep, so what I think I'll do is work it for half a day and then write for half. When the kids come, I'll have to cut back, but with nannies, I'll be able to do that and it will be like when I was little and being raised.”

“Don't. I remember the way it was with me and I used to hate it when Dad would leave and go to work and I hated it. Let your kids not know that feeling.”

“Hon, I could write half a day here. They'll know I'm here and maybe we could operate the sign shop from here so they could be there with me. It can't be worse than having Gypsy at work with me. She really stole the show and had everyone in there wanting her to do tricks.”

“Put their education foremost.”

“I will. They have that one program out in Indiana where they teach kids reading and math when they're babies in their car seats. By the time the kid is four, they're doing algebra and writing complex sentences. I figure if we do an advanced level course level for them in home schooling, they'll not know they're real advanced and think it's normal.”

“Why don't you let the kids be normal?”

“Because we're not normal. If Steve wasn't going to be running, I'd be fine with it, but for us to be going into government, I really think a normal kid would be viewed as dumb by a lot of people's standards. If they're advanced, then we can take the kids to the teachers and say, “Hey, here's what you can do if you give kids a chance to really excell in their academics. Instead of teaching them at their grade levels, why don't you show them it's possible to be the best in the country and get into those colleges over everyone else. By the time everyone else catches on, this states kids will be graduating with honors and pulling the eyes of the major institutions towards us.”

“Ok, I'm understanding it better. You're not just wanting it for your kids, but for everyone's.”

“Yeah, but take a look at Steve, he's more “Show Me” than I am and I'm from Missouri. So, if everyone's like that, I'll show them and be able to show the teachers of the state how it works.”

“Well, I hope it works, but just don't make it so much of a goal of yours that you forget there's a kid there who might not be able to keep up.”

“I won't, but look at it this way. For me, learning wasn't about sticking my head in a book and being taught something. I learned better by going out and learning it first hand. The one gift Tony did give me was he took me to the Civil war battlefields and taught me the history that way. When we had that, I was able to give first hand knowledge of being there at those sites. None of the other kids had it, so I made great grades. We did it for a lot of different things like science and for Geography. I'll tell you now that I've learned more Geography from my Railroad Tycoon game than I ever did in school. The reason is it never applied learning it. Now, I can see it in something I use. It's the same way with English. Until I started writing, I never thought I'd use the English I learned in school. Boy was I wrong and now, I wish I'd never used those classes for nap times.”

“I've not read your stories. I keep meaning to, but about the time I think of it, I get called away to something.”

“What do you do on plane rides across the country?”

“I usually sit in the co-pilot's seat.”

“Why don't you sit in the back and take a laptop and read my stories. That would give you something to do.”

He smiled and said, “You're going to get me to read those stories yet, aren't you?”

“If you don't want to read them, just tell me, “Rhette, the thought of reading gay stories inhibits my masculinity so much, I'm afraid I might catch it like the plague.”

“It's not that. I'm afraid of what I'd see.”

“What do you mean?”

“There's going to be a naked man laying around someplace and that to me isn't what I really want to be seen viewing.”

“No, the story sites are tasteful. With DeweyWriters, it's nothing but stories listed. With Nifty, there are a few pictures of men at the top, but not many and even those aren't bad. Usually, they advertise the front cover of someone's published books, but they have gay, bi, lesbian and transgender.”

“SO which do you publish under?”

“Well it's sure not lesbian! Seriously, I publish under gay. The thought of me even going onto the bi side would be too strange for me. With transgender, I don't do drag enough to even think about wanting to be a woman. To me, I'm a man who loves men, so I could understand about your not wanting to read gay stories. For me, I'd not want to read straight unless it's written from a woman's perspective and then it's really strange. I did use to like to read Xavier Hollander in Penthouse. And yes, I did read it for the stories.”

He laughed as did I.

“Rhette, what did you see in my dad that attracted you to him?”

“You've asked it once before, but I guess I didn't explain it enough. With your Dad, he was the ideal person for me at the right time. He was attracted to me, yes, but he told me he'd wait on me to get Tony out of my system. To be honest, when we first met, I thought he was a lawyer because I heard someone discussing legal problems with him. As soon as Tony did what he did and I got arrested, I got word to him to please help.”

“Why'd they arrest you?”

“Here's the way it went. I was over at Michele's house, you've met her, and he called. His voice sounded strange when we spoke with him, but he said a key phrase, “I need you” which for Tony, he never ever said he needed me before, so I hauled ass up the street to the house. Well, she thought he had overdosed, so she called 9-1-1 before she went up there too. By the time she came in, I'd found him and I was losing it. I was holding his head in my lap and I was trying to put his brains back in. In all of it, I was telling him I was sorry and I didn't mean to do it. A cop came in and he heard it. The next thing I know, he's got me up against the wall cuffing me and arresting me for his murder.”

“That's bullshit.”

“Yeah, they could see it was a suicide, but the man went off of what I said and arrested me. By the time I was taken down there, I was catatonic. I mean nothing was registering. I guess they fingerprinted me and everything they do and then they put me in a holding cell because I wasn't answering questions. It happened at about 11a.m., and by the time your dad finally got me out of there it was 1:30 a.m.. That's when I found out he was still alive and I needed to go to the hospital and get there.”

“What happened?”

“We convinced them to leave life support on for over 72 hours. In Missouri, if someone lives past 72 hours from attempting suicide, it's not suicide, it's death related to suicide attempt which insurance pays the beneficiary. Your dad came in and told them no matter what it cost, to leave him on until 72 hours. The whole time, Me-maw, your dad, and I sat there. Finally, when they shut off the ventilator, he died. By then, your dad already had the fear of God put into his dad and had already called a wildcat strike and walkout of their paper mill.”

“Oh man!”

“Yeah, it got more complex than that, but the end result was we went out to Worlds of Fun parking lot and we got what we wanted.”

“I never knew any of that went on. Then what happened?”

“Well, I thought I could handle going home. That was a big mistake. I mean the wall of the entry way had buckshot and blood spattered all over the dry wall and my dumb ass went in and tried to scrub it with a bucket and sponge. It turned into a gommey mess and I was mental having a breakdown and going back to catatonic. All I remember was Michele had come and she couldn't do anything with me and she called your dad who came in and picked me up and carried me out. I still had the sponge in my hand when I got to your dad's house.

When we got there, he laid me down on that bed and called the doctor and then he and Me-maw came in and got on both sides of me until the doctor got me there. I still have nightmares about not getting that wall clean.”

“Oh man”

“Well, what happened was I woke up and went down to the kitchen and sat at that counter. He was in cooking pasta and he poured me a glass of wine. In his brogue, he said, “Here, drink this. We'll get food in you and then you're going to work with me. So, I did. And for two days, I sat there and just stared off into oblivion. I can't tell you what I thought about. I remember seeing things that went on around me, but if someone had came up and said the place was on fire, I would have sat there.”

“What'd he do?”

“Nothing. That's what it took. When I came back around, he was sitting in a meeting with the guys from Seattle and he was telling them they were behind on payments to the tune that if he asked for stock, he'd own a third of the company. I remember him turning and asking me what I thought and I told him to take the stock. I think he was surprised I even spoke because he'd probably been talking to me for two days and nothing was getting answered. As it turned out, that was a good deal.”

“Helluva deal. Now they beg me to come to board meetings and I tell them I'm too busy.”

“If you can't get there, I will. You need to be there.”

“Man, you said that just like he would have!”

“You know. Sitting in that office with him was the best learning experience I could have ever had for business. He didn't show fear when they had him by the balls, and he sure let them know when he was right. I learned and I absorbed. As things progressed, he started taking me out on rides and enforcements and as things progressed, I began to be a little Gino, as they called me.”

“I remember that. I thought it was funny because he was so big and you were so little.”

“What I loved about him was feeling safe in his arms. What I loved was he never once treated me like I was too young until the end. He respected my opinion and he'd ask it. There were a lot of times he disagreed, but he'd say, I disagree, and then give his reasons. With others, he'd blow up if he disagreed with them and he'd be so loud and scary, I'd be nervous for them. That's why when we got to the night of the trial, he told me how it would go and how they'd be treated. Then when it began happening, I knew the reasons why and it didn't phase me one bit. It was business and it had to be done.”

“You realize when you went over there and you took that sledgehammer, everyone's breath caught because they fully expected him to turn and beat you with it.”

“I never expected that at all. I knew he was dead tired and I knew business had to be done. He stepped back and I remember thinking he needed to sit down and rest.”

“What was interesting was when you'd get done, you went over and stood by his shoulder and that's when everyone knew the power had been passed on. They viewed you as boss. He was still in the seat, but everyone started saying a new boss had been crowned.”

“You know that's not true because I've never went before the meeting of the families to be accepted. Have you?”

“No”

“Then he's still in power. To them, we're still working on his behalf.”

“Think again because I'm constantly asked by them where you are.”

“What do you tell them because that's an ultimate disrespect if I don't show.”

“I told them you were in prison.”

“And they've not asked since?”

“No, I told them I was working on your behalf. They accept it.”

“And they let you into the meetings?”

“Yeah, there's never a question.”

“We've got to change that.”

“Rhette, we're the richest and we're the most firmly established with the least bloodshed. To them, we've got our shit together and more ought to be like us.”

“What do they say when we're going into places like Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, or now here?”

“They see it as business. It's not like we're in taking over their city. We're in doing business and they leave it alone. They know our interests there and that's all which gets discussed.”

“Ok, what do those people say about it?”

“They don't say a thing. Well, in San Diego, they acknowledged they couldn't keep control of it because of all the other factions involved, but when we were given permission, they didn't dare say anything because if they'd had control of it, they wouldn't have had the problem.”

“Well I know Las Vegas isn't a problem.”

“No, with what everyone has there, it's not a problem. They view us in Seattle as our crap shoot which we won. Well, what you won and that story gets told like a legend at those meetings.”

“Don't they realize I really didn't know what the hell I was talking about?”

“No, they view it as one of the best business decisions of the century!”

“Oh Lord, I know if I went in there, I'd let the cat out of the bag.”

“No, all you have to do is tell that story and leave out the catatonic part and it makes you sound like you're a brain.”

“Well, what else are you involved in?”

“We've got a lot of investments in factories. It seems for a while there when we were working with my sister's husband, we were getting offers of going in and buying up all the little snippets of the stock which were left over. What I did was if it did well, I bought more and if it didn't, then I left it alone and eventually, it did well. To me, it's not about making money. My problem is about where to put it. If I take it out, then I've got to find a place not only to put it, but to put in all the rest which comes in while I'm trying to find a place for that, so my safest bet is to leave it alone.”

“You in General Motors?”

“No, I won't go near it. I love the cars, but I won't go near the stocks. We're in that car company because we bought that 9% as part of my sister's husband's deal.”

“Buy more of it and take it to thirty one percent if you can.”

“Why?”

“There's going to come a day when they'll finally release that 125 mpg car they were toting in the 80's and they'll use that diesel electric motor that transmission company developed. When it goes, I think it's wise to be in there holding all of it we can.”

“When that happens, what are we going to do with all the money coming in from it?”

“When that happens, we'll turn that investment into board seats for us and we'll invest in it heavily. Personally, I like what they're doing with it now. A lot of their cars are hot and those trucks are awesome. Them taking the sport ute from two doors to four made a whole lot of since. It looks a bit hokey, but not to a family man who wants one but has to think about getting his kids from school after work. It'd be wiser for them to put that high mileage engine in it, but we're not on the board.”

“So you want on the board so you can make decisions.”

“Yeah, if I was on that board, I'd be telling them to release those engines and fuck what the other guys are doing. Everyone believes the oil companies are telling them what to do. I'll tell you now, they're not. They're too busy worrying what the other guy's doing. They need to be the front runner and release those engines and then let everyone else try to play catch up. I'll tell you now, brand loyalty will do a huge about face when a pickup truck and a car is getting over a hundred miles a gallon.”

“So you think it's possible.”

“Honey, it's possible or they wouldn't have thrown it out there and said they had it. I do know Allison has that diesel electric which they've used on a lot of fleet vehicles which is pulling in some real good mileage numbers.”

“What is it?”

“They have a three cylinder little diesel engine from Suzuki which they mated to an electric generator. The generator powers the motors and drives the wheels. What's neat is they have that thing tuned so it's at idle and produces the power it needs. When you step on the accelerator, it speeds that engine up and it goes into hyper drive speeding up the wheels and instantly takes the excess and stores it into the batteries.”

“What fleets are using it?”

“I know UPS had a lot of electric trucks they tested for them on their semi fleet. My brother's a mechanic for them and he's the one that turned me onto it. What's neat about it is the entire engine/generator combination is like $900. When one wears out in a semi, you take it out and pop in another. The truck's back on the road in a day at the longest.”

“So it really works!”

“Yeah.”

“I'll get on it. I'll get you that board seat.”

“Don't tell me you'll get me it unless you've got it in your hip pocket already. There's too many things that could go wrong.”

“Spoken just like Dad.”

“Well, he'd tell people that who would tell him they'd have his money and then would suddenly be broke and unable to pay. What was interesting was that was a deciding factor for the investments into Las Vegas. He'd have them trailed to Las Vegas where they'd blow the money and lose their asses. He came in one day and said, “Rhette, I figure if I'm going to put my money into someone else's pocket out there and have to do business, I might as get rid of that man out there in Vegas and put the money back into my own pocket.”

“Well, when it came to investments in casinos out there, he sure didn't have a clue.”

“Yes he did.”

“Bullshit. They were all money losers.”

“And what about the land they were sitting on? Have you gone broke on it?”

“No, we've taken the land and we've rebuilt on it some really nice hotel/casinos.”

“Then think with your head what he was doing. He took a look at the growth pattern of the city and then he went out there and bought the largest he could find. It wasn't the hotels and casinos he was concerned about. He knew the days of having huge spread out complexes were done. I bet if you tried finding a large spot like that now, you'd be clear out to Henderson or past. He knew what he was doing and it wasn't to make money. He was investing in the future and positioning himself so that investmentt would turn into something more than what it was some day. He'd say, “Rhette, an elephant doesn't get to be full size over night. It takes plenty of peanuts to get it that way.” and then he'd laugh.”

“I never thought about that. For all this time, I thought he'd made some really shitty decisions.”

“No, those places were the biggest in that area where it was growing and he wanted to be there so when it got there he'd look like the one that had the vision.”

“Now that I look at it that way, he was smart.”

“Yeah. You should have talked to me sooner. I would have told you.”

“Anything else you want to be in?”

“Yeah, take a look at companies which have sent most of their production out of the US and then buy a company which is still here. If there aren't any in a certain segment, then buy one and get it back over here and advertise the hell out of it that it was brought back over to keep American jobs. I think with the economy going the way it is, people are going to find patriotism in their choices in where their dollar gets spent and they'll buy those products.”

“Wal-Mart probably won't let it happen.”

“Believe it or not, Wal-Mart isn't the only store in the country. Yes, it's the largest retailer, but for something which there's no competition, I think it's smart to bring it back home and I'll tell you why. When Steve gets in, we're going to do a blitz on buying only American made items. I'll tell you now when a state starts spending it's money on American televisions, computers, or even gasoline, you'll find others will catch onto the craze and it will fuel sales to our goods.”

“Ok, I'd like to be that optimistic, but I think people are used to getting the cheapest for their dollar and going to Wal-Mart to get it.”

“Well, when you tell me a Chinese apple is better than a Washington apple and that Chinese apple costs the same, I'll tell you the American grower got fucked. The same goes for a Mexican tomato and a Brazilian cow. It all cost the same when it gets to the consumer, so the only one making the profit is Wal-Mart.”

“Well, I'll look into it and let you know.”

“That was said like Wal-Mart's begging you to be on their board.”

“I didn't say that.”

“If you're invested heavily with them, take the profit and use that money to invest in a clothing company or something that's stateside. I had a job move to Mexico that made parts for Caterpilar diesel engines. The quality went into the basement and they brought them back home, but do you think Cat said they're sorry for putting substandard parts out there? No. They did it because they thought they were going to make a dollar and if you're invested in them, buy the company and get someone in there that knows what the hell they're doing because they should be in the corner with the dunce's cap on for the decision that company's made.”

“No, not invested with them, but their competition, I'm in real heavy.”

“Good”

We continued to sit and talk about the investments until I though I could have a grasp of the operations. When we were done, I went up to our bedroom and pulled down the covers.

“From My Keyboard To Your Heart”,

Retta

RettaMichaels@Gmail.com

Copyright Notice – Copyright 2008 by RettaMichaels

The Author, RettaMichaels copyrights this story and retains all rights. This work may not be edited, changed, or duplicated in any form, media [known or unknown], without the author's expressed permission. All applicable copyright laws apply.

Retta Michaels does NOT give editorial consent in order for this story to be published. If it is deemed unpublishable, in it's context, permission must be granted before publication or changed occur.

Trademark Notice – Trademarked 2008

“From My Keyboard To Your Heart”, “ 'Retta”, “RettaMichaels”, “Retta”, “Rhett”, “Rhette”, “Vonn Michaels”, “VonnMichaels”, and “Vonn Michael's Stud Service Night Club” are all trademarks of the RettaVonnMichaels L.L.C.. None of these trademarks may be used, or authorized without consent.

Disclaimer: All individuals depicted in this story are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, characters, locations, or incidents is purely coincidental.