Edward Lee - The Backwoods

Jesus. And now this stuff is here . . . .

Patricia went back to the living room, dreading her sister’s reaction. Judy looked drawn-faced now, partly confused and partly infuriated. Ernie was pouring her some coffee as she mused: “I guess that’s the modem world. In the old days, people used to have stills in the woods and make their corn liquor. Now they’re making this stuff . . . this crystal stuff. And not just any people. My people. My Squatters.”

“It’s probably just isolated, Judy,″ Patricia said when she came in and sat down. She wanted to sound optimistic, but didn’t really know if that was honest or not.

“It was probably just the Hilds doing it.”

“You think you know people,” Judy said, oblivious. “You like them, you help them, and they seem perfectly normal, perfectly decent, hardworking folks. Then one day you find out the truth. I give ‘em a free place to live; I give ’em work when they ain’t really suited for work nowheres else. And they do this to me. They been takin’ the money I pay ’em to make this drug stuff. And we got a lotta Squatters on the Point. I’d be plumb stupid to think it was just the Hilds.”

“Aw, Judy, you don’t know that,” Ernie said. “I think it was just the Hilds. They was always a bit strange any-ways, more’n most of the Squatters. And may God forgive ‘em, but it looks to me like they got what was coming. Ain’t no way I believe there’s a whole lotta this goin’ on at the Point. These people are crabbers, for Christ’s sake. Everd’s got ‘em cowed like he’s Jesus Himself. The Squatters don’t even drink. I ain’t never even seen one smokin’ a cigarette or chewin’ chaw. They all think it’s a sin to drink ‘n’ smoke, so makin’ . hard drugs is ten times worse. The Hilds was bad apples, is all. Every basket has a few.”

Judy leaned backed in her chair, brushing hair from . her eyes as if exhausted. “But that’s all I been hearin’ lately. Squatters gettin’ in fights, Squatter’s turnin’ lazy at the line, Squatters leavin’ the Point ‘cos it ain’t good enough for ’em no more, like the work I give ‘em ain’t good enough. I’m hearing all the time these days that somea’ the prettier clan girls’re sellin’ theirselves—whorin’—but all Chief Sutter ‘n’ everyone else says is the same blamed thing. ‘Oh, don’t worry, Judy. They’re just a few bad apples.’ Well—Christmas!—it’s startin’ to look like we got the whole orchard goin’ bad.”

Wow, she’s really riled up, Patricia realized. This was rare. “Judy, I think you’re overreacting. It’s inevitable. Anywhere you go, bad elements can work their way in and have a negative effect on otherwise good people.”

“She right,” Ernie agreed. “You don’t need to be worryin’ about this, ‘specially after what’cha just been through.”

Judy’s large bosom fell as she sighed. “I guess things do change, no matter how bad we don’t want ’em to.” Her eyes sought out Patricia’s. “Mom and Dad never had problems with the Squatters, but the world ain’t the same place as it was back then.”

“No, it’s not,” Patricia said. “As society progresses, good things come with the progress, but so do some bad things.”

Now Judy’s eyes seemed to be looking more at herself than anywhere else. “I don’t know, Patricia. Maybe I really should just up ‘n’ sell the company, the Point, everything. Maybe it’s time.”

Oh, Lord. Here we go . . . The image of Gordon Felps flashed in her mind—and it was a shifty image. “You don’t need to be thinking about anything of the sort just yet. Things will probably be back to normal in no time.”

Another long sigh. “Gracious, I hope so. Ernie, will you get me a glass of wine, please? I need something to relax.”

“Sure.”

Great, Patricia thought. She’s going to get drunk again. “I’ll go fix lunch,” she offered, if only to keep things active. The day had turned sour fast: first notice of two murders as well as drug activity on her sister’s property, and now Judy all wound up again. At least one good thing happened , she thought with a slight smile. Her talk with Dr. Sallee left her feeling much better about her recent dreams and behavior. There’s nothing wrong with me, thank God . . . .

But when she headed for the kitchen, Ernie cast a quick glance at her when she passed. Was it a neutral look? Or did his eyes brush over her breasts? Just my imagination, she insisted. He’d been quite a gentleman in the aftermath. But she couldn’t shed the reminder. Dr. Sallee or not, she was attracted to him, and—

I almost had sex with him today—in the woods. . . .

She busied herself over cold cuts in the kitchen, preparing sandwiches. A simple cross hung by the bright window—a normal cross—but for whatever reason she was reminded of the much stranger crosses used by the Squatters, and their bizarre good-luck charms. She truly did believe that the Hild tragedy was isolated, but somewhere deeper in her spirit she feared that something else just as bad was about to happen.

Seven

(I)

Think I’ll have me a jerk, Junior thought. His brother Ricky was out right now, took the truck over to Crick City to pick up some things at Wordon’s Hardware: muriatic acid (whatever that was, some kind of cleaner, he guessed), acetone, and some special kind of alcohol called “denatured.” Junior didn’t know shit about crystal meth, but the way Trey explained it, these were the things that rednecks used to make the stuff in their trailers. He already had a bag of matchbooks and several bottles of allergy medicine ready to go—all for appearance’ sake.

Junior had done the rough stuff last night, so tonight was Ricky’s turn, which was fair enough. This Felps fella was paying righteous bucks for the work, and it was fun—it got their dander up—and it sure as hell beat real work.

Yeah, he thought again. I need a jerk, all right. Still all hot ‘n’ bothered from last night. Get one off quick, before Ricky comes home . He rooted through their box of video porn, hunting for his favorite: Barnyard Babes #4, but then thought, Aw, shit, that’s right . The tape had broken a few weeks ago, so he’d ordered a new one. Fuckin’ post office is slower ‘n’ molasses. Shoulda got it by now. Such were the disappointments in Junior’s existence. He started to hunt through the box of tapes again but then realized, Hell, I can do without it, I guess, because he was indeed still a bit tingly with the image of Ethel Hild in his head. The old bitch was actually pretty good-lookin’—for an old bitch, at least—and Junior had had a good time putting the blocks to her, and then, when he thought about chopping her in half with the ax . . .

He felt his crotch, nodding in satisfaction. Who needs porn? I’m ready to go without it. Yes, Ethel Hild . . . She’d been something. For some reason, making that weirdo husband of hers watch as he’d dropped the ax made it that much more of a turn-on. Junior had especially liked the way her titties jiggled as he’d chopped, and then when she’d started crawling away. . . ?

The recollection enticed him further. But soon other images entered his head. Judy , he thought next. Not a bad-lookin’dish either, and those big tits? Junior wouldn’t mind doing a similar job on her, just tear the clothes right off her and get her really screaming. And then another image . . .

Patricia.

She was about the cream of the Agan’s Point crop: one hundred percent pure-grade fox. That silky, bright red hair? And the tits on her? Jeez . . . Junior was breaking out in a sweat just thinking about that one. Maybe get her ‘n’ Judy at the same time, have me a double stack .