Chapter Five
Maudie came back in and said, “Bethy, why don’t you go catch a bath and get cleaned up. Then we can get you some food and a good night’s sleep will do wonders for a person.”
“What about Micah?” Bethy wanted to know.
Maudie grinned. “Been a while since we had a new little one round here, but I think we can handle him. Tannin can get him cleaned up and fed. I bet you been handling everything all alone. So take some me time. We ain’t gonna hurt him none.”
“I know that you would never hurt him, Ms. Maudie. It’s just hard to let someone else take care of him, you know?” Shaking her head she added, “My daddy was always threatening him and never wanted to see him, let alone take care of him.”
Maudie snorted. “Weh, dat alone says a lot ‘bout your daddy, don’t it?”
Bethy swallowed hard and looked down at her hands then back up at her. “Ms. Maudie, I need to tell you something and I don’t know how?”
Maudie paused, then she reached out to cradle Bethy’s cheek. “Chile, you know you can tell me anything you want. I’m never gonna judge you. I be a healer, not a judge in black robes.”
Bethy nodded. “Remember I told you that Daddy had been drinking? Mais, it wasn’t him alone.
He had company. A man and a woman came to our house last night.
I think they are trouble, bad trouble. I just got a feeling in my gut that they aren’t good people, but what bothered me the most was the fact that the woman called my daddy her uncle.
I didn’t know what she meant but she didn’t seem like the type of woman that grew up in the swamps. She acted big city all the way.”
“Weh, I know the type. “Maudie looked puzzled. “She called your daddy her uncle? Did ya hear her name?”
Bethy nodded her head. “I ain’t never seen her before but he called her Lou.”
Maudie snapped her head up and looked over at Tannin.
He slowly shook his head but didn’t say anything.
Maudie slowly looked back to Bethy. “Your daddy called her Lou, as in maybe Louise?”
Bethy nodded. “Yeah, maybe. I know I had never seen her before last night. So how could she be related to us? But I got this bad vibe from her right away. She was bold and brash, kept yellin’ ‘bout stuff like looking for someone important and did my daddy hear anything ‘bout somebody named Soleman?”
Tannin got to his feet and moved Micah to his hip. “I need to talk to Shay.”
“What is going on here, Ms. Maudie?” Bethy asked.
Maudie sighed hard then sat down in the chair Tannin just vacated.
“Mais, it’s not good.” She rubbed her forehead as if she was feeling a headache coming on.
“You see, a few days ago a man named Soleman Porter came here looking for trouble and Dale Bailey. Solomon had hired him and his boys to make some bombs. He found the trouble but not Dale. He was ready to run away with his sons but he kept going after me and my family. Dale’s hated me for my whole life.
Den he messed around and finally got caught by King and the men. ”
“Soleman’s last name is Porter?” Bethy whispered as she paled.
Maudie nodded.
“Is he any relation to a man named Salvador Porter?” Bethy dared to ask.
Maudie nodded again. “Weh, Salvador is his son.”
Bethy swallowed even harder and told her, “This Salvador is sitting at my daddy’s table right ‘bout now.”
“Cho co!” Maudie whispered back. She slumped back in her chair and just shook her head. “That’s not a good thing, cher.”
Tannin had been listening and now he rushed from the room.
Bethy called after him before looking back at Maudie.
In the kitchen...
Tannin strode in and shifted Micah on his hip again. He stared at Shay and King. “I might know where to find the man you’re looking for,” he announced.
Shay turned his head to look at him but it was King who asked, “You know where Salvador Porter is?”
Tannin nodded. “He and his girlfriend showed up at Leroy’s house late last night.
She addressed him as her uncle. Bethy said they stayed up late drinking, so she finally had the chance to run this morning and she took it.
Said she had a bad feeling about the couple and just wanted to get away from her dad.
He’s literally been holding her prisoner for the last five years.
He kept her in line by threatening to hurt her son.
That’s just wrong and I want to punch a hole into him. ”
Shay just stared at him. “I don’t know about you making holes in someone, son. But we do need to talk to her.”
Tannin nodded. “She’s getting cleaned up right now, but if I know her, she’ll be out here right after.”
Shay looked over at King and asked, “Do you know where this guy Leroy Matthais lives?”
King nodded. “Sure, he’s been there for years. It’s a ways north of here, almost at the far edge of the swamp. If you’re afoot it would take about three hours but by jeep it might take an hour or so, give or take a few minutes.”
Tannin growled. “We found her an hour ago, that means she was running with a kid in her arms for two hours. With her dad stomping behind her. He was so close we could hear him coming even up in the trees.” Shaking his head, he clenched his fists.
Only when Micah began whimpering did Tannin notice the boy was scared.
He took a calming breath and whispered something in the boy’s ear and he settled down.
He then walked across the kitchen and sat Micah in a chair.
The boy reached up for him, seeming to know he was safe with Tannin.
“Just a minute, ok?” Tannin said. “I’m going to get one of these sandwiches for you.” He turned and got a plate, chose a sandwich that Maudie had a platter of and then grabbed a juice. He turned and set that in front of him.
The boy grabbed the sandwich up quick and chomped it down.
Tannin paused and then shook his head. “Poor kid is starving.” He raised his head and everyone there could see his raging green eyes.
King watched him and let out a heavy sigh. Keeping Tannin from literally punching a real hole into Leroy Matthias was gonna be hard. Maybe they wouldn’t stop him though. Any man mistreating a kid deserves a hole. Fist hole, knife hole, bullet hole. He felt strongly about this sort of thing too.
Tannin looked at King again and said, “Maybe you should have someone check the place out before these bozos have a chance to be smart and take off. It could already be too late.”
King kept his thoughts to himself as he nodded at him.
A voice came from behind Tannin with a snort added, “They aren’t going anywhere, at least not right away.”
Turning, Tannin saw Bethy standing there with Maudie. Bethy looked clean from the bath and was wearing clean clothes that were a little big on her small frame but at least they were clean.
Shay stared at her and asked, “What does that mean?”
Bethy moved into the room and came to stand beside Tannin.
She stared at the table full of men and women and then looked a little hesitant.
“Mais, before I ran this morning I took the keys to their vehicle along with my father’s and I threw them in the pond next to our house.
” Shaking her head she said, “That water is so bad it's black and it stinks. My dad won’t go anywhere near it and I have to walk half a mile to get fresh water every day.”
Shay glanced at King then back to Bethy. “So, they don’t have any vehicles to use?”
Bethy shrugged. “My dad has a truck along with his car, but it doesn’t always run. I use it to carry the harvest to town every Saturday for barter for the house. I trade vegetables and plants for flour and sugar then go and get Dad’s booze...”
King looked angry as he asked, “How bad is your dad drinking?”
Bethy turned her head to look at him. “It’s been bad, really bad, I have to do everything.
He starts drinking almost first thing in the morning.
I take Micah out with me every morning to gather what we need to eat during the day.
I don’t trust Dad being alone with him at all.
By late afternoon, he usually drinks his supper. ”
King clenched his jaw and stared at her for a minute then asked, “Does he ever hurt you or the boy?” he growled softly.
Bethy just stared at him with her lips pursed shut.
King took a deep breath but showed no other sign of anger. He glanced at Tannin and their eyes met. Fist holes it is. He turned and looked around at all the Hogans.
Just from the look in King’s eyes, they all got the message that went unspoken.