Stillborn Armadillos (John Lee Quarrels Book 1) (17 page)

Chapter 33

Troy Somerton kept him waiting for over fifteen minutes. John Lee spent the time sitting in a chair leafing through old building industry magazines and listening to Charlotte Thompson answering the telephone and directing calls to different parts of the large complex that included a lumber store, building supplies, warehouses, and a construction yard where utility sheds, wooden decks for mobile homes, and trusses were built. After directing him to a chair and telling him that her boss would be with him as soon as possible, given that he didn't have an appointment, Charlotte had pointedly ignored him.

John Lee knew she was still mad at him because he had arrested her daughter for shoplifting at the Dollar General six months earlier. She considered it somehow his fault that Danielle had $36 worth of makeup and other merchandise shoved inside her backpack when the store's manager stopped the girl on her way out the door. Between claiming that the whole thing was a set up to harass her daughter, and warning John Lee that she would have his badge before it was all over with, not once did she ever acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, her lack of parenting skills and the fact that she spent most of her time holding down a barstool at Bill Gator's Pub might have something to do with it being the fourteen year old's third arrest in just over a year.

Eventually her phone buzzed and she picked up the receiver, listened for a moment, and said, "Yes, sir." She hung up, and without looking at John Lee, said, "He'll see you now."

"John Lee Quarrels! How you doin', man?"

Troy came around his desk, a massive, dark wooden affair that took up almost as much floor space as a '55 Rambler, and gripped his hand hard. Troy was a couple of inches shorter than John Lee, the time he had spent sitting at a desk was beginning to show. His face and neck were thicker, and there was the beginning of a potbelly stretching the front of his light gray polo shirt with the Somerton logo, a stylized red S, embroidered on it.

"I'm good, Troy. How about you?"

"Oh, busy, busy. Have yourself a seat."

He walked back behind his desk and sat down as his face grew serious. "I was so sorry to hear about Ray Ray Watkins. That was a terrible thing. Just terrible."

"Yes, it was."

"How are you holdin' up, John Lee?"

"We're all doing the best we can."

"Do you have any leads yet?"

"Nothing so far. Maybe that reward you announced the other day will help."

In a front page story in the
Somerton County News,
Troy had announced that Somerton Forest Products Company was offering a $50,000 reward for anybody who could provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Deputy Raymond Watkins.

"I hope so, I really do. It's a small price to pay to see justice done. Now, what can I do for you today, John Lee?"

"Well, it's about those three skeletons we found out there on Turpentine Highway a while back."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, I read about that in the newspaper. What'd they say, they was fifty years old or somethin' like that?"

"We're not really sure how old they are," John Lee told him. "At least that old, maybe more."

"I don't want to think about things like that happenin' around here," Troy said, shaking his head. "But I guess back in those days... well, you know."

"No I don't know. That's why I'm here, Troy."

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"How do you think those three men wound up dead out there?"

"Lord, man, I don't have any idea! Happened before either one of us were born. My first thought was maybe the Klan."

"That was mine, too."

Troy laughed and said, "Now John Lee, I've been known to drive my Corvette a little too fast on some of the back roads, and I've got the tickets and the insurance rates to prove it. But that's about as unlawful as I get. You really don't think I have anything to do with the Klan, do you?

"No, no, not at all. That wasn't what I was getting at. Troy, do you remember when this company used to be called Somerton Lumber Company?"

Troy laughed again. "Boy, you're really going back in history now. Yeah, way back when my daddy was a boy that's what it was called. That's before we diversified and got into building materials and small construction and all that."

"Do you know when the name changed, by any chance?"

"Not off the top my head. Maybe sometime back in the 60s or 70s, I really couldn't say. Why?"

"Do you know anything about the turpentine business?"

"Turpentine? I know we sell it down in the building supply store. What's this all about, John Lee?"

He took an evidence bag from his pocket and set the brass tag on Troy's desk. "Have you ever seen one of those before?"

The other man picked it up and studied it for a moment, then set it back down. "Can't say as I have."

"Are there any company records anywhere, Troy, from back in the old days?"

"I don't know. What exactly is it you're lookin' for, John Lee?"

"Well, as I understand it, back in the old days this whole region of the country was filled with turpentine camps. They tapped into pine trees and got the sap and distilled it into turpentine. They used a lot of it on the old wooden ships."

"That's interestin', I don't think I ever knew anything about that."

"Yeah, apparently that's how your family's company got started. A fellow over at the Historical Museum was telling me that Somerton Lumber Company had six turpentine camps around the county."

"Really? I'll have to get over there and check that out."

"Yeah, they've got some stuff on display there about it."

"That's just fascinating," Troy said. "I'll have to ask my Daddy about it. Though I guess that was before his time, too."

"How is your grandpa these days, Troy? Is he still doing well?"

"I'll tell you what, John Lee, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that old man outlasts all of us. He always says that he's going to live forever because Heaven don't want him and the Devil's afraid he'll take over. He has his moments, and he's slowed down a whole lot, but trust me, he can get just as cantankerous as all get out. A week ago he decided it was plantin' time and he went out to one of the barns and started up a tractor and drove that thing right through the back wall and into Mama's flower garden before we even knew what was happenin'!"

They laughed at the story, and then John Lee said, "Anyway, that brass tag there with the numbers on it and those initials, SL? The man at the museum told me that stood for Somerton Lumber, and those numbers on there were a number issued to an employee at one of the turpentine camps. Kind of like an identification tag. I guess each employee had one, and each one had a different number on it."

"Really?" Troy picked the tag up and looked at it again. "Did you get this at the museum?"

"No. They've got a couple of them on display," John Lee said, "but that one you're holding there came from where we found the skeletons of those men that got themselves killed out there. One of them was carrying it with him, or more likely he had around his neck on a string or something that went through that little hole there in the top."

Troy dropped the tag onto his desk like it was hot.

"Sorry, didn't mean to spook you," John Lee said.

"No, just surprised me, I guess. I mean, it's kind of morbid to be holding somethin' in your hand that came out of a grave."

"Yeah, I felt that way at first, too," John Lee said. "Sad fact is, though, that whoever killed those men out there and buried them like they did never marked those graves. I expect their kinfolk always wondered what happened to them."

"Be a terrible thing to live with, never knowing where somebody you loved disappeared to like that," Troy said.

"Anyway, John Lee said, "I was hoping that maybe you had some kind of records somewhere, in an old warehouse or some such, that dated back to those days. That might tell us who it was that had this tag. That way if he still had any family around the county, at least we can tell them and see the man gets a decent burial."

"I don't know, but I'll sure look into it for you, John Lee," Troy promised. And I'll tell you somethin' else. If you think those men worked for the company way back there in the day, I'm goin' to make sure that all three of them have Christian burials. You just tell me whenever y'all are finished with the remains and I'll talk to Edgar Ross over at the mortuary and see that it's taken care of. I mean after all, if they were Somerton people, they're like family, right?"

"That's mighty good of you, Troy. I don't know if we'll ever find out who they are. I think our best shot is if you can find some records somewhere. The way I understand it, there was like a company store or commissary or something where workers could buy stuff they needed, and they kept track of it based on those ID numbers so they could settle accounts at the end of the month. My thought was if you had any records of that kind of stuff, it might help us out."

"I'll sure do what I can, John Lee. How about you check back with me tomorrow afternoon? I'll get a couple people on it and see what we can come up with. Hell, if we could find something like that, it might make an interesting display to have down there in front of the store. Kind of give people an idea of how far we've come."

"I appreciate that," John Lee said, standing up and picking up the tag and returning it to its envelope.

"We need to get out on the water somewhere and go fishing one of these days," Troy said. "Remember when we used to do that, back when we was kids?"

"I do remember," John Lee replied.

"We had a some good times back then, John Lee. I'm sorry we grew apart as we got older. But workin' and life and everythin' gets in the way, I guess."

"Yeah, it does. Hey, thank you for your time Troy. It's really good to see you again. I'll check in with you tomorrow and see if you've come up with anything."

"I'll do my best. Thanks for stopping by. And I'm serious, we need to get together and do somethin' one of these days. Ever since Daddy retired, it seems like I spend half my life sittin' behind this desk and the rest of it in a meetin' someplace. I need to get outta' here and have some fun for a change."

They shook hands again and John Lee left the office, Charlotte ignoring him as he walked by her desk.

Chapter 34

"You ask me, when ya' catch the bastard, ya' oughta' take him out in the swamp and strip him naked and tie his ass to a tree. Then leave him there for the gators and snakes."

"I heard that! Or just shoot him right between the eyes and be done with it."

"Shootin's too good for what he done to Ray Ray."

The three old men wearing feed store caps were seated at the counter at Sparky's Diner, turned sideways on their stools so they could talk to John Lee.

"Any truth to the rumor that it's a drug gang movin' into the county?"

"Not that I know of," John Lee said. "This area's not exactly a hotbed of drug activity, and even if it was, why would they draw attention to themselves by shooting at deputies?"

"Ya' never know what people goin' to do when they get wired up on that stuff."

The waitress set a glass of sweet tea in front of him and asked, "Do ya' know what you want?"

"I'm thinking the steak fingers."

"Make that two," Maddy said as she slid into the booth across from him.

The old men nodded at Maddy politely, then turned back around, but not before giving her admiring looks.

They hadn't talked much since the night after Ray Ray's funeral, and when they had it had been somewhat strained, both of them avoiding the topic. So John Lee had been surprised when she called him and asked if they could meet for lunch.

"What's happening?"

"Not much," she said. "I guess Joe Taylor pulled over a drunk driver last night, some clown who lives someplace down around Gainesville. As it turned out, he had like a dozen warrants out for DUI, failure to appear, and grand larceny. While Joe was putting him in the back of the car, the guy got aggressive and tried to bite him. They had a little tussle, and in the process the guy's dentures fell out on the road. Joe said he was tempted to pick them up and bite him with his own teeth."

They laughed and John Lee said, "I remember back when I was a rookie I arrested somebody for DUI, I can't remember who now, but he started out by telling me that his tax dollars paid my salary. Then he started puking. Puked all over my shoes. Puked so hard his dentures came out. I told him to pick them up and he said he wasn't touching them, I needed to do it because I was a public servant."

"Oh, gross! Don't tell me you did!"

"Sure I did. I put on latex gloves, I picked them up from all that mess and I shoved them right back into his mouth!"

"You could've waited for another time to tell me that besides when we're eating lunch."

"Hey, you brought it up."

The three old timers had finished their lunch and each left a quarter on the counter as a tip and shuffled out the door, tipping their ball caps to Maddy as they went.

"So, I'm kind of surprised you called and wanted to meet."

"I think we need to talk, John Lee."

"It's been my experience that whenever a woman tells me that we need to talk, something bad is about to happen."

"No. No, not at all." She reached across the table to put her hand on his, then took it away as the waitress came back with their orders.

"Will that be all?"

"Looks good," John Lee said.

"I'll check in with ya' in a bit, see if you need refills on your tea."

When she left, Maddy said, "I just wanted to clear the air between us."

"Okay."

"That night... I hope I didn't put you in an uncomfortable situation."

"Maddy, contrary to what guys have probably told you, nobody ever really died of blue balls."

She laughed, a sound he had not heard in a while and had missed. "You always see the good side of everything, don't you, John Lee?"

"I saw a couple good sides of you that night."

Her face turned slightly pink and she said, "Yeah, I guess you did.  Such as it was."

"Looked damn fine to me."

"I don't exactly have boobs like Emily. Or Beth Ann."

"You know what they say, Maddy, any more than a mouthful goes to waste."

"You'd have to work pretty hard to get more than a mouthful from me."

"How hard?"

Maddy laughed again, this time so loud that someone at the far end of the counter turned and looked in their direction.

"I could ask you the same question. But judging from the tent I saw in your briefs that night, I think I've already got a pretty good idea."

It was John Lee's turn to blush, which she seemed to take delight in as she smirked at him and sipped her tea.

"Anyway, that thing I said about coming by and seeing Beth Ann's car there? Let's not let that make things weird between us, okay?"

"As opposed to sleeping together and not doing anything?"

"Yeah, as opposed to that, I guess." She reached across the table and took his hand again and squeezed gently. "I was really vulnerable that night, and I had had a few beers, which I don't do very often. I mean, I wasn't out of it or wasted or anything like that. But I appreciate the fact that you didn't want more. And the fact that you were more concerned about our friendship than you were about just getting your dick wet."

"Oh, I wanted, Maddy. I'm not gonna lie to you about that."

The waitress was coming back with a pitcher to refill their tea and he pulled his hand away again. With their glasses topped off and with assurances that they didn't need anything else, she went down the counter, making sure everybody else was okay.

"So we're okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay."

"Good. I've been worried about that."

"Me, too."

They finished their lunches, paid their bill, and left the waitress a good tip. Outside, before she got into her patrol car, Maddy said, "I have to ask.... when I said I drove by your house that night, planning to knock on the door? What would have happened?"

He smiled at her and said, "Let's just say that if you ever do decide to come knocking, I won't leave you standing out there on the deck very long."

"So now I guess I've just got to find a night when you're not otherwise engaged, huh?"

"Oh, don't let that stop you. I've heard that three is a very interesting number."

"Trust me, John Lee. It's been so long that if I ever do work up the courage, you're going to have more than you can handle without needing anybody else there."

She kissed the air between them, got in her car and drove away, leaving him standing there in the parking lot.