Robert Tanenbaum - Absolute rage

"So do I. I don't have the manpower or the budget for a siege. If it comes to that, we'll have to bring the feds in, and avoiding that was the whole point of this exercise. I realize Hendricks is in charge of the police work, but I'm looking for you to provide the subtle angles. Wade sometimes lacks subtlety, and he's got no sense of resources. He's a get-the-job-done kind of fella. Hell, that's one of the reasons I came to Washington this trip. I think our LEAA grant's going to be cut, and God knows where I'll find the money to keep your operation going. So speed… you know? If you can manage it, I sure would appreciate getting this behind us as soon as possible."

"We could just grab them and hang them."

The governor looked startled, then laughed. "Bite your tongue, son. We don't have a death penalty in this state. We can't afford one, tell the truth. I'm counting on you for-what did we used to call it?-all deliberate speed."

The FedEx package from V.T. took a week to arrive, during which time Karp had essentially nothing to do: deliberate speed indeed. Marlene went to New York for a meeting of her foundation board and returned to find Karp in a lounger by the pool at the lodge, picking through papers.

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, Judge Murdoch's ticket to retirement. How was your trip?"

"Sure are a lot of people in New York, and those tall buildings. When are you going to use that?"

"Now."

"Will you change out of your bathing suit?"

"Yes, this is a pinstripe occasion. I've always wanted to fire a judge."

The press loved it. West Virginia does not ordinarily generate a lot of news aside from car wrecks, so that the local TV stations and newspapers seized upon the doings in naughty Robbens County like the castaway upon his coconut. The results of this interest shone from the screen in the living room of the Karps' cabin at Four Oaks, the evening after Judge William Murdoch announced his retirement for reasons of health. The team-Hendricks, Hawes, Cheryl Oggert-had gathered to watch with Karp and Marlene.

"Oh, we have a logo!" Oggert exclaimed. "The great PR nightmare. I never had a logo before."

"Mazel tov!" said Karp, and smiled at her. The logo, floating above the sculpted hair of the anchorpersons at WOWK (Huntington-Charleston), consisted of three red skulls and crossbones, superimposed over a stylized dragline, under the caption (with the sort of gore-dripping letters associated with B horror movies) "Blood on the Coal." The coverage started with a look at a crime-scene photo, the bloodstained bed in the Heeneys' bedroom, ten seconds of the funeral, with inset photographs of the three victims, a shot of Moses Welch being arrested, then one of him being released. A shot of Hawes eating crow and announcing the expectation of new arrests, some excited blather from the anchor, then stock footage of Murdoch as a state senator, with a coda showing him with wife and kids, giving ten seconds of resignation speech. He had health problems and wanted to spend more time with his family. Knowing comments from the anchors, suggesting otherwise.

After that, a round of applause in the room, as their own Cheryl faced the press on-screen, announcing the appointment of Justice Honus Ray Bledsoe, late of the state supreme court, to fill Judge Murdoch's shoes until a new election could be arranged. A still photo of that jurist appeared over the anchor's right shoulder.

"What a face!" crowed Marlene. "He looks like an engraving on a Confederate twenty."

There was indeed something stern and nineteenth century about the man, the bristling eyebrows, the grim, lipless slash of the mouth, the odd peaks that decorated the spare, bony face. Then the image was gone, replaced by an inserted talking head, a political reporter standing in front of the state capitol. What does Charleston make of this, Barbara? Barbara allowed as how Charleston was all agog. Murdoch was not just a county judge, it seemed; he'd served three terms in the senate and had plenty of powerful allies. He was known as a good friend of big coal. Rumors of corruption? No plans for any prosecution? Not now, according to sources. Connection with the triple murder and the union troubles in Robbens? Too early to say, Jim. Jim gave us all a sincere smile, and the scene dissolved to a car crash involving a truck and a family car and the miraculous escape of a baby thrown from the latter. But first this.

Karp muted the set as the commercial came on. He looked at Hawes. "You know this Bledsoe guy, Stan?"

"Only by rep. Vinegary but fair is what I hear. He's from around here originally."

"Everyone's from around here originally," said Karp. "I'm surprised it doesn't have the population of Brooklyn. Meanwhile, I think you all did real good, defined as keeping my name out of the news."

"Don't think they didn't ask," said Oggert. "The print guys, especially. The story is you're a technical consultant to Stan here. The Charleston Gazette is doing a feature on the crime-fighting Karps. I told them no interviews."

"You told them right," said Karp. "Wade, can we pick up these guys anytime we want?"

Hendricks waited his usual couple of beats before answering, his face knotting around the mouth, pursing, unpursing, lower-lip chewing, a half frown, cheeks sucking in, then releasing. "Well, I have some fellas generally keeping an eye out for them, but I don't have the resources for a twenty-four-seven tail on all four of the suspects. Floyd is no problem. He's in the union offices every day and he lives right outside of town. The Cade boys are another story. First of all, they can't hardly be followed up onto that mountain. Burnt Peak I mean. Once they're up there, there's a million ways they can get off it, and there's no traffic and no concealment for a following car. Unless you want them to know?"

Hendricks saw Karp make a negative gesture and went on, "If we can pick them up in town, that'd be good. If we have to go up the mountain…" He made a shaking gesture with his hand, stuck out his lip consideringly, shrugged.

"You think they'd resist?"

"They might. Ben Cade swore the last time that he wouldn't let the law touch him or his again. He don't believe in the state of West Virginia much."

Hawes said, "I'm a little tired of hearing that. What's wrong with going up and getting them? You've got enough cops."

Karp thought, wrong move, Stan, but said nothing.

Hendricks gave Hawes a considering look, not hostile, but not interested, either. He did the business with his face again; those muscles seemed to be linked to his thought centers. "Have you ever been up there on Burnt Peak where those Cades live?"

Hawes indicated he had not.

"Burnt Peak," said Hendricks reflectively. "I been there. You come up off the county road onto a dirt switchback that climbs up the face of the mountain through big outcrops of greasy shale. That whole mountain is pretty well coaled out. What they live in is the remains of the old coal patch, plus they got some newer double-wide trailers. They had to take 'em apart to get them up there. Any one of them switchbacks, three men with automatic rifles and dynamite could hold up an army. Well, maybe not a real army, but let's say the whole of the West Virginia State Police. I guess there's eighty or so living up there, a little more'n half of them men, all Cades. Got a nice spring and a big diesel generator. They never took the public power when it came in 'round the Depression. Old Devil Rance said he wouldn't have it, and he didn't need it, 'cause he had all the old plant from the Canker Run coal mine. No phones either. Anyway, the compound, or village I guess you could call it, is built on a big shelf that trails off into a bunch of hollers all full of laurel. They got some fields they cleared, but nothing much, mostly vegetables and some cows and hogs. Ben likes to have animals around, is what I hear. It makes it more Old Testament for him, flocks and herds. It would take a month to climb up through those hollers, if no one was shooting at you, that is, which I guess they would be, if they didn't want you up there. Which generally they don't. I won't even mention the dogs, big packs of vicious dogs they keep, let 'em run wild in the woods. Over on the back, that's the northwest side of the mountain, you got the leavings of the first strip mine in the county. That whole section is chewed away. It looks like a stairway, with each step maybe four hundred feet high, and a lake at the bottom. You could get up there if you were mountaineers."