Dorothy Garlock (37 page)

“Not now.”

“Figured they was Madison men. I'll keep an eye on 'em.”

Thad and Blue moved away to join the men throwing dirt on small grass fires.

“Some folks don't have the brains of a flea, ”Thad said and paused to view the throng of townfolk. “Look at them, letting those kids run all over.” He motioned to a group of small boys playing in the road. “They think this is a picnic.”

Ten minutes later the second tank exploded, spraying flaming oil in all directions, igniting pools of water and numerous grass fires. A blasting rush of air slammed Thad to his knees. When he came up again he heard a woman screaming.

“Bobby! Bobby! ”

Thad looked over his shoulder and terror clutched at him. Running desperately through a spreading pool of water, his face distorted with terror, was a young boy no more than five or six. And racing along over the oil-soaked water were leaping tongues of fire reaching out for him.

“Bobby! ”His mother's voice was hysterical.

Terrified by the searing flames that surrounded him, the boy, possessed by fear and indecision, was running in circles.

“This way, boy! This way! ”Racing against near-hopeless odds, Thad ran toward the boy, water splashing his pant legs with every step; his booted feet seemed heavy, awkward, as if each weighed a hundred pounds. A single glance told him that the boy's short stubby legs would never take him beyond the reach of those leaping flames in time. On the other hand, there was a chance — one chance in a hundred — that he might be able to grab him and outrun the fire.

“Here, boy! ”Thad's voice was choked and strangled. “This way! ”

The sound of Thad's voice must have driven some of the terror from the lad's mind, for he turned and stumbled toward him.

“Papa! ”he screamed. “Papa! ”

“Run, boy! ”Thad's booted feet sank in the mud of the soggy ground. Fear for the boy gave him the extra speed he needed. He reached the boy and scooped him into his arms.

The small, squat corrugated tin that covered the water well seemed miles away as he headed for it. When he reached it, he dropped to the ground behind the shelter, covering the boy's small body with his big one.

Jill, I love you!
The thought screamed in Thad's mind as the living wall of flame swept over and around the well covering to fizzle out on the muddy ground beyond.

Thad felt the searing agony of the flames, heard the boy cry out. From far away he could hear a woman's hysterical cries: “Bobby! My God! Oh, my God! ”

He was sucked down into a vortex of darkness for only a few seconds, then Blue was beside him, tearing the burning shirt off his back. As soon as he could, he rolled off the boy and Blue helped him up.

Jelly Bryce lifted the boy up and carried him toward his mother.

“Is the boy… all right? ”Thad gasped. Needles of pain were stabbing his back with relentless precision.

“Yeah, ”Blue growled. “But you ain't.”

Chapter 26

J
OE MOVED RESTLESSLY FROM THE BACKYARD
, where he watched the billowing black smoke, to the front porch, where he saw the people streaming by on their way to get a better view of the fire. He knew more than most the danger of an oil well fire and was worried for Thad and Blue.

Elmer had told him that Lloyd Madison had come down shortly after Thad and Blue left the hotel. Without even a morning greeting, he had walked quickly through the lobby, across the porch and up the street toward his office.

The night clerk and his wife had agreed to stay on throughout the day. One of them would man the desk while the other napped on the couch behind the screen. Joe was glad to have them there to help him keep an eye on Madison as well as take care of the morning checkouts.

Jill and Radna were worried about Justine. This morning her speech was slurred; she had a strange vacant look in her eyes and she had swallowed only a few bites of her breakfast. Not wanting to use the telephone and alert everyone listening in on the line, Radna had gone down to fetch the doctor, only to find that he was out delivering a baby. She had left word for him to come to the hotel as soon as he returned.

When Mrs. Cole came to work, Laura and Mary Pat were with her, even though it wasn't wash day. Laura volunteered to take over the chore of canning the cucumbers Radna had sliced the night before. After putting her daughter in the playpen Thad had built for her beside the wash house, she rinsed the slices to remove the salt and packed them in the jars Radna had scalded the night before. A mixture of pickling spices, sugar and vinegar was heating on the stove.

Laura and Joe conversed while she worked. She was sincerely concerned for Justine. She knew, too, the danger of an oil well fire and understood Joe's worry for his friends. Mrs. Cole had not given a reason why Laura and Mary Pat had come to work with her. Considering Justine's condition this morning and the oil fire, neither Jill nor Radna had thought to ask. They were grateful for Laura's help.

When the hot spiced vinegar came to a boil, Laura wrapped a dish towel around a Mason jar filled with cucumber slices and ladled it into the jar. After filling it, she screwed on a zinc lid and set it on the table to cool. Before filling another jar, she looked out the door to where Mary Pat played in the sand pile.

Her heart jumped into her throat. A man was leaning over the fence and was lifting her daughter up into his arms. Laura dropped the dish towel and ran out the door, allowing the screen door to slam behind her.

Lloyd Madison turned and smiled.

“Hello, Laura. The baby has grown since I saw her last.”

“Give her to me.” Laura reached to take the child. Lloyd turned, keeping Mary Pat out of her reach. The baby began to cry.

“I'll hold her. You are a pretty thing, ”he said to the child. “Almost as pretty as your mama. Another twelve to fifteen years, you and your mama can open up a real whorehouse. I bet there's not another in the state of Oklahoma with a working mother and daughter.”

“Give her to me! ”

“I went by your house, Laura. Not open for business during the day? Well, I knew that if you weren't at home, you'd be here.” Lloyd walked toward the wash house. Mary Pat began to scream in earnest.

“Stop! Give me my baby! ”Laura ran after him, yelling at the top of her voice.

“Don't get in a snit, Laura. I'll take her in here out of the sun and play with her for a while. You want to play with me, don't you, baby doll? ”Lloyd spoke calmly, completely ignoring the baby's cries.

“Give her to me, ”Laura screamed and beat on his back with her fists.

He turned suddenly and lifted a hand as if to hit her. “Stop it, you … shitty slut, ”he snarled and shoved her away. “You are a slut. Any woman who would fuck Hunter Westfall is a … shitty …trashy slut! He's poked his pecker into hundreds of sluts just like you. You'll find out what happens to a woman's
kids
when she plays fast and loose with me.”

“Hey! Hey! ”Jill's yell mingled with cries from Laura and her daughter.

Jill had been in her aunt's room when she heard the back door slam and, thinking it strange, went to investigate. At the door she saw Lloyd Madison with Laura's little girl in his arms and Laura screaming and running after him. Without another thought, Jill was on her way out the door. She grabbed the mop as she crossed the porch.

Lloyd was going into the wash house, Laura's hands fastened to his shirt trying to pull him back. As soon as Jill reached them, she swung the mop handle with all her strength. Crack! The heavy wooden handle connected solidly with the side of Lloyd's head. The blow knocked his head against the doorframe, cutting his ear. He staggered, then he righted himself, turned and shoved Laura to her knees. She was up in an instant and when his hand went to his ear, she grabbed Mary Pat from his arms.

His fury now was directed at Jill.

“Bitch! ”he yelled, holding the side of his head where blood trickled down through his fingers from his bloody ear. “You'll pay for this.” His eyes were bright with anger, his lips curled in a snarl. He was like a snarling wolf ready to spring.

“I'm not afraid of your threats.” Jill stood her ground, ready to swing the mop handle again. “Get away from here or I'll hit you again.”

“Slut! Whore! ”He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to his head. He looked past Jill to the porch, then turned and walked quickly around the hotel to the street.

Joe jumped from the porch and hurried to them. “What happened? ”

Laura was sobbing and clutching the baby to her. Mary Pat had quieted now that she was with her mother. Jill had her arms around both of them.

“That polecat had Mary Pat and wouldn't let go of her.”

“He … he was going to …take her in the wash house.” It was difficult for Laura to get enough air in her lungs to talk. She hugged the little girl so tight, the child was wiggling to get down. “He just kept holding her and turning so I couldn't grab her.”

“I whacked him a good one up alongside the head, ”Jill exclaimed. “I doubt it knocked any sense in him.”

“That awful man called me nasty names and said nasty things, ”Laura blurted. “He said … he said he'd been to my house and …and came here looking for us. Hunter told me not to stay at home by myself.”

“Mr. Westfall told you? ”Jill asked.

“Someone ran him down with a car near our house.”

“Deliberately? ”

“He thinks so. He also thinks whoever did it may try to hurt us … to get back at him.”

“I didn't know you were that friendly with Mr. West-fall.”

“He comes to the house. He's really a nice man.” Laura's tone was defensive.

Oh, Lord. Sweet little Laura has fallen for Hunter Westfall's smooth talk,
thought Jill.

“I wasn't really afraid of Lloyd Madison at first, ”Jill confessed to her brother. “But now …he's getting stranger and stranger.”

“Come on back to the kitchen, ”Joe said, herding the women before him. “I don't think Madison would be foolish enough to come back in through the front door, but I need to make sure.” It was a half hour before noon when Blue stopped the old topless touring car on the street beside the hotel. Seconds later, he stuck his head in the kitchen. Joe was moving jars of hot pickles to a shelf. Jill and Laura were cleaning up.

“Joe, Thad's been burned. Jill, call the doctor.”

Blue's words hit Jill like a blow in the stomach and robbed her of speech. It was several seconds before she could expel a breath.

“The doctor's here … with Aunt Justine.”

Joe shot past her out the door. Her breath had clogged her throat and her heart had jumped out of rhythm. She ran to the end of the porch to see Jelly Bryce, the Oklahoma City policeman, and Blue helping Thad out of the car. He was shirtless, his face dark with smoke, his back … oh, dear God … his back …

Jill ran to her aunt's room and jerked open the door. She could hardly breathe for the tide of panic that rose in her throat — Thad, her Thad! People died from burns, even minor ones, if they got infected.

“Doctor, don't leave. Thad's been burned. They're bringing him in.” With dread making her sick to her stomach, she went to her room and jerked off the quilt she used for a spread and smoothed the sheets. “In here, ”she yelled when she heard them come into the kitchen.

“No, ”Thad said when they led him into Jill's room. She stood in the corner with her hand over her mouth. Their eyes met for an instant. “Set up my cot, Joe.”

Jill almost cried out when she saw the raised blisters on his shoulders and back.

“Lie down, Thad. The doctor's here.”

“No. She won't want me here.”

“You stubborn, muleheaded jackass, ”Jill shouted.

“Lie down on that damn bed or I'll… I'll pull every damn hair out of your stupid hard head! ”

“Hush your swearing, ”Thad growled. “Someone ought to paddle your behind, ”he muttered and sank face down on the bed.

Jill burst into tears and ran from the room. Seeing the grimace of pain on Thad's face cut through her like a knife. By the time Jelly and Blue had returned to the kitchen, she was dabbing at her wet eyes.

“Thanks for bringing him home, Mr. Bryce, ”Jill managed to say. “Laura and I are about to put the noon meal on the table. Please stay.”

“Thanks, ma'am. It's a treat to have a home-cooked meal.” Jelly eyed the pretty girl sitting in the chair with the small child on her lap.

“This is Laura Hopper. Laura, Mr. Bryce is a policeman.”

Laura nodded but refused to look at him.

“I want my thanks, ”Blue grumbled. “I drove the car.”

“Thanks, Blue.” To Blue's surprise, Jill gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Where's Radna? ”

“She's with Aunt Justine. The doctor said my aunt has had a stroke.”

Joe came in. “I need a clean wet cloth to cover his back. The doctor said wet it with water from the teakettle.”

Jill opened a drawer and took out a clean thin flour sack, one they used to dry dishes. She held it over the sink while Joe poured water over it. The water had cooled enough that Joe could squeeze out the excess and hurry from the room.

Minutes later he was back. “The doctor wants me to get some things from the drugstore. Keep an eye out, Blue, and make sure Madison goes to his room if he comes in the hotel. He picked up Laura's baby this morning and wouldn't give her back. Jill clobbered him with the mop handle.” He grinned. “She'll tell you about it.”

“Is the doctor with Thad? ”Jill asked “He's dividing his time between him and Aunt Justine. I've got to go get this stuff.”

“Tell Blue and Mr. Bryce about what happened, Laura. I'll be right back.”

Forgetting how bashful Laura was and how uncomfortable she would be when left alone with the two men, Jill went down the hall to her room and looked in. Thad was lying on his stomach across the end of her bed. The wet cloth covered his back and shoulders and a sheet lay over him from his waist to his knees. The sharp smell of smoke drifted up from the muddy boots and britches that lay in a heap on the floor.

His face was turned away from the door.

She went quietly into the room, knelt down and removed his black socks, noting that a hole in the toe of one had been closed with white thread.