Bobby Cole - The dummy line

“Base to Unit One.”

“Go ahead, Miz Martha,” Ollie replied, hoping for some good news.

“Sheriff, I just gave two deputies from Hale County directions to your twenty. They’re coming through Livingston right now.”

“Redirect one to Larson’s location. Have him watch the trailer and report anything unusual. Larson can give him the details. I need Larson and Shug to be flexible for the search.”

“Ten-four.”

“Sheriff Marlow’s about five minutes behind ‘em.”

“Thank you,” Ollie replied.

Ollie pulled out the radiophone that R.C. had found in the pickup and stared at it. He hit the menu button and found the recently received calls. There was Johnny Lee Glover’s number. All I have to do is hit that button .

“OK. I’m goin’ to do it. I’m just gonna call him. Straight up,” he told R.C. confidently. “I’ve got to do something.”

R.C. nodded, and Ollie hit Send, heard it beep twice, and waited.

Just a few seconds before he heard beep-beep, Reese thought he glimpsed a flashlight beam for a split second across a clear-cut. He stopped, leaned his rifle against a tree at the edge of the cutover, and pulled his phone from his pocket. He looked at the screen. Tiny? His phone’s at his house, he thought. This is weird.

Reese hit Send, and the phone beeped twice. He didn’t say a word. Reese listened intently.

Ollie and R.C. had their fish on the line but didn’t know what to do next. Ollie took a deep breath and went for it.

Beep-beep. “Mr. Glover, this is Sheriff Landrum. I need to speak to you.”

What the hell!? How’d he… Reese thought, shocked. He stared at the phone, trying to make sense of what he heard. Shit! Do I respond? Ignore him? Reese decided to see what he could learn.

Beep-beep. “I’m kinda busy right now, Sheriff. Maybe tomorrow.”

Beep-beep. “No. I need to talk to you face-to-face. Right now. Where are you?”

Reese was scrambling to think this through. Maybe he went to Tiny’s house, searched it, and found the phone. Maybe Tiny left it in his truck at the gate and they found it there. If that’s the case, he’s on the property. But he thinks he is talking to Johnny Lee…so they haven’t found his truck yet.

“Shit!” Reese said out loud.

Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee, where are you? This is important.”

Beep-beep. “Where are you, Sheriff?”

Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee, we’re looking for a missing female. You know anything about it?”

Reese’s mind was swirling… Is he talkin’ about the woman I had Moon Pie kidnap? Maybe it’s the “female” I heard screaming with Tiny and Sweat?

Beep-beep. “Sheriff, I don’t know anything about that at all. How ‘bout I call you tomorrow sometime?”

“That’s not Johnny Lee!” R.C. said. Ollie looked at him like he was crazy.

Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee, no…I need some answers. Now!”

There was no response. Only silence.

Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee?”

Beep-beep. “Johnny Lee!”

Reese had no intention of talking to him anymore. He had to get Moon Pie. Reese hit End, then dialed Moon Pie’s number.

Beep-beep. “Moon?”

Beep-beep. “Yo.”

Beep-beep. “Get rid of the package and get the hell out of there. But I need you to hang around and wait for me to call you back. I’ll need you to pick me up on Highway Seventeen, ‘round the Noxubee River bridge at about daylight. Be close but not too close. Go hang out at the truck stop off Twenty…that’s maybe ten miles from me.”

Beep-beep. “Whadda I do with our girl? They’re gonna follow me.”

Reese thought for a minute. There were too many unanswered questions. He needed some time. He needed vengeance, but he decided to eliminate a liability first.

Beep-beep. “Blindfold her. Tie her hands, then push her into the woods behind the trailer…she could walk for days back in there. Has she seen ya?”

Beep-beep. “Shit, man, yeah. This is screwed up, dude.”

Beep-beep. “I really need you on this one, Moon. Get rid of her and hang tight.”

Beep-beep. “I’ll be there…you call; I’ll be there.”

Beep-beep. “Hey, Moon?”

Beep-beep. “Yeah.”

Beep-beep. “This shit’s serious, man…he killed Johnny Lee and Sweat. So whatever happens tonight, I need to know that you’ll help even the score…and then some.”

Beep-beep. “You got it, dude. Go get him. I’ll meet you at the bridge.”

Moon Pie slithered out of his Tahoe and crawled to where he could look at the cop’s car. The moonlight made it easy to see the lone deputy’s outline slouched behind the wheel.

He hurriedly went inside the trailer, straight to his victim. She jumped when he whipped opened the door. He could tell she had been trying to get free of the duct tape.

“Get up, bitch!” he said, jerking her up by one arm. The room reeked of urine. Because now she was going to live, he was careful not to let her get a good look at him in the light. He stood her up, then cut the duct tape from her ankles. He checked her wrists. They were still secure. She could barely make a sound with the tape over her mouth. He led her to the back door, unlocked it, stuck out his head, and looked both ways.

Beyond Johnny Lee’s trailer lay miles of swamp that eventually ended at the Tombigbee River. Gators, moccasins, and rattlers waited. If she wandered west, she could reach a catfish farm or the giant landfill. Moon Pie didn’t care just so long as she was as far away from him as possible.

“Listen to me and listen good. This is your lucky night…but only if you do one thing. So you better listen good, real good, you hear? You walk straight ahead and do not come back in this direction…don’t turn right and don’t turn left. You forget everything that has happened, you hear?” Then he whispered in her ear. “If you talk to anybody… ever …remember, I know where you live.

“You hear me?” he asked, cupping her breast from behind, and then he nibbled on her ear. She nodded, tears streaming down her face.

He pulled off an eight-inch piece of camo duct tape and put it over her eyes. She cringed. But when she opened her eyes, she could see parts of her bare feet. She was shaking so violently, she could hardly stand.

“If you want to live, you walk straight ahead and forget any of this ever happened. Understand?”

Again she nodded, overwhelmed with relief at the thought that she might actually live.

“Go!” He slapped her butt like she was a football player and watched her follow his directions to the letter. He then hurried back inside and looked around before bolting out the front door.

Inside his Tahoe, he breathed a sigh of relief, cranked up, and rolled out of the gravel driveway. He didn’t like this at all. Johnny Lee would never be this disorganized or take these crazy risks. Moon Pie knew he had to keep his cool for just a little longer. He turned onto the pavement and gave his ride some gas.

Larson saw the lights and sat up straight. He grabbed his microphone and excitedly shouted, “Ollie?” Come on…hurry up, he thought.

“Go ahead,” Ollie responded.

“Daniels is leavin’…whaddya want me to do, Sheriff?”

“Follow him. Let’s see where he goes. Give the Hale County deputy good instructions-have him watch the trailer. You should be able to reach him on the radio now. And Larson…be careful.”