Just My Luck Chapter 17
A lone car slowly traveled down the dry, seemingly deserted dirt road leading to the Scott home leaving a small cloud of dust floating behind it. Inside the vehicle, its occupant carefully read the names printed on the outside of the mailboxes as he passed by them, searching for the one name that might lead him to the prize before he made it to the dead end of the road two miles ahead.
More than a few mailboxes displayed no names, only box numbers…there were even those that displayed no discernable name or number…the elements and time had long ago worked to erase the information to the point that it was just a faded memory. Ron Williams could only speculate that the mail carrier knew those living on his route well enough that information was no longer needed. Minutes slowly passed as he drove by mailbox after mailbox, searching for any kind of clue that might help only to come to the end of the road. In a burst of frustration, he hit the steering wheel with his fist then rubbed a shaking hand over his face, all the while looking about him at the area surrounding his car.
“What do I do now?” he mumbled under his breath, shaking his head. “Mr. Picatti is not going to like this.”
For several seconds, Ron sat still looking at the scenery, mulling over options before deciding to leave, knowing that a strange vehicle might raise suspicions. Quickly, he pulled a map from the passenger seat…opened it to scan it, knowing that his next move needed to take him to Houston where he would get help from some associates of Mr. Picatti. Moments later, Ron folded the map before turning his car around then sped back up the dirt road never realizing just how close he had been to finding the five young men.
* * * * * * * *
“I feel like I need to be doing something,” Chris said to Mrs. Holder, who was busily cooking in the kitchen. “Is there anything to do…that I could do…somewhere?” he asked, looking at the woman with a look of near desperation. His energy level was nearing an all-time high but things had to remain quiet in the house due to Joey and JC napping upstairs…and frankly, he and quiet just didn’t go well together. Dr. Holder had examined both young men, as well as Lance and had suggested rest for the three, as well as another round of medications for JC and Joey before heading into town to run a few errands. He would be returning in time for lunch, as would one or two of the couples’ sons.
Glancing out one of the kitchen windows, Nora noted the brightly colored leaves scattered about on the lawn and her mind took her back to a time where the Scott’s had always taken pride in keeping their yard tidy…the lawn mowed and well manicured, continuously free of limbs as well as leaves.
“Well, Christopher…I do believe the yard could do with a once over,” she quietly suggested, wiping her hands over her apron before laying one soothingly on the young man’s shoulder, noting the questioning look on his face as well as the tension lying just beneath the surface of her hand.
“There’s a tool shed on the other side of the garage that has a yard equipment…rakes, hoes, shovels, and the like. You could work on those leaves,” she said, gesturing toward the yard at the back of the house. “Once Albert gets home, he could help you burn any piles you have.”
Chris hesitated for a moment, before smiling. “Okay…I haven’t done anything like that in a long time. It might be kind of fun…but…”
“I’ll call you in when it looks like lunch is almost ready, Christopher…and I’ll let you know if anyone needs anything,” she added, having an idea as to why the young man had slightly hesitated.
Chris smiled and nodded. “Just on the other side of the garage?” he asked, watching Nora nod as she returned to the stove.
“Yes, dear. Be careful in there…and watch the back porch door,” she admonished turning just long enough to watch as Chris stepped out of the kitchen and onto the porch, being mindful not to let the door slam against the doorframe.
Glancing briefly around the backyard, he headed off in the direction of the garage. Just as he rounded the building, he spied the small shed and he set off toward it hoping that whatever he found inside the small structure would occupy his time and thoughts.
At the same time, Lance entered the kitchen in search of the Chris and, before he could even voice his question, Nora gestured toward the door…”he’s outside, hon…going to the old tool shed, behind the garage,” she added with a small smile.
Lance watched the older man cross the yard through the screen door, at first unsure of what to do…if Chris needed to be alone or if he wouldn’t mind the company. After a second or two of debating with himself, Nora spoke.
“He might could use some help out there, Lance.”
Taking Nora’s suggestion, he nodded then quietly exited the house, missing the knowing smile on the older woman’s face.
Moments later, Lance approached the open shed door and was immediately assaulted by the stale, musty smell of disuse. Waving his hand in an effort to ward off swirling dust before him, he stepped through the doorway. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he spied Chris bent over near the back of the shed, pulling and pushing items to the side, obviously in search of something.
“I’m looking for a rake, Poofoo,” Chris said, slightly startling the young man. He stood up and grinned at the questioning expression on Lance’s face.
“I knew you wouldn’t leave me to my own devices and you proved me right,” Chris said with a smirk before turning around to continue in his search. “Mrs. Holder said there’s some stuff in here we can use to spruce up the yard.”
“Chris, I don’t think you…I mean, they might not like…” Lance attempted, his quiet words coming to an abrupt halt as he flinched and recoiled instinctively when a rusty rake was thrust toward him.
“You’re in luck Poofoo…there’s two of them,” Chris almost crowed as he moved around Lance toward the shed’s door, leaving the younger man standing in bewilderment, absently wiping at the spider web encircling the rake’s handle as he too exited the shed.
“I’ll be surprised if this thing even holds up, Chris,” he complained, only to discover that he was talking to himself since Chris wasn’t standing around, waiting for him outside the building.
With a slight frown, Lance sighed and followed the sound of rustling leaves coming from the other side of the house. Once there, he stood for a moment, watching as Chris haphazardly raked at the leaves, his energy level obviously high as leaves scattered chaotically with each vicious swing of the ancient tool. A small smile graced Lance’s face as he realized that it was better that Chris was venting his energy on the leaves rather than on the rest of them…remembering the aborted prank they had almost pulled on Justin the previous evening. Then, he recalled why they hadn’t carried out their prank and his slight smile disappeared as a cold shiver raced through him…the memory of JC’s screams still fresh in his mind.
“There’s plenty of leaves for the two of us, Poofoo,” Chris said, his voice pulling Lance back to the present.
‘Please, Father…make this better,’ Lance quietly prayed before settling in beside Chris.
It wasn’t long before Lance had a fair sized pile of brightly colored leaves and was so deeply absorbed in his own thoughts, never realizing temptation would get the best of one member of the group. Without warning, he heard a yell of laughter and before he could even turn, he was grabbed from behind and propelled head first into the leaves. A split second later, he sputtered as he sat up to confront a grinning Justin staring at him…leaves protruding left and right from his tousled curls.
“Hi there…” Justin began.
“Justin…why did…”
“Hey…no fair, J. You beat me to it,” Chris moaned as he approached, his arms spread out. “I was gonna let the pile get a little bigger.”
Inside the house, the yelling and laughter coming from outside startled Joey from his nap. His eyes snapped open and abruptly he sat up then moaned as the sudden rush of adrenaline and movement caused his head to begin to pound painfully and he slowly, lowered himself back down as he cradled his head in his hands.
Carefully, he turned his head and glanced at the figure sleeping beside him noting, with a sigh of relief, that JC was still asleep. As he continued to stare at his friend, the memories of the previous evening came back in a virtual tidal wave, causing a surge of emotion to flood him so strongly that Joey was certain that he would be overcome with nausea. In an instant, he was bathed in a fine sheet of sweat, causing him to shiver involuntarily as he struggled to maintain control over the battle raging within his stomach. It took several minutes of deep, calming breaths to relax his jangled nerves and by then the noise from outside had all but disappeared.
“Jace…what are we going to do?” he asked almost inaudibly as he tentatively reached out to touch his friend’s shoulder, coming just short of doing so. He didn’t want to disturb JC, who was obviously sleeping peacefully…a complete turn about from last night’s frightening. Last night had been hard on them all and he knew that JC needed all the rest he could possibly get since Dr. Holder had suggested that recent ability to remember a small portion of the attack could be attributed to the lack of proper sleep. They all knew that eventually his memory of the attack in its entirety would resurface, but no one could have imagined the after affects would be so violent and maybe, with extra rest, the remaining memories would return without being as intense.
Sighing, Joey silently whispered a prayer before quietly getting up and heading for the bedroom door. With one more glance into the room, Joey saw that he had not disturbed his friend, and with that, he closed the door and headed down the stairs.
* * * * * * * *
“Well…hello there, Joseph. I’m glad to see that you’re awake,” Nora said with a smile as she approached the figure standing in the doorway. “How is your hand feeling, dear?”
“It’s fine…hurts a little, but it’s not bad,” Joey answered as he returned the quick hug that Nora was giving him. “What’s cooking?”
“Oh…I’m just putting a little something together for you boys…nothing much, mind you,” she answered, returning to the stove. “There will be a bigger meal at supper.”
Nora moved with practiced ease around the Scott kitchen, her small figure moving from the counter, to the stove, and back again, all in a virtual whirlwind of motion as she prepared lunch for the young men staying there.
Her bustling about put a smile on Joey’s face and Nora stopped long enough to return it before turning back to the tasks at hand. Joey cleared his throat, then, with quiet tones, began speaking as he continued to watch Nora move about.
“My great-grandmother Fatone…she was awesome in the kitchen,” he said…the smile on his face evident in his voice. “When I was a little kid, she and my grandma and mama would cook together for the whole family on Sunday afternoons after church. All of our aunts and uncles…cousins…even some of our friends from the neighborhood would show up for their meals…there’d so be many of us, we’d eat in rounds,” Joey finished with a laugh, shaking his head at the memories. “I’d sneak into the house after they’d run us all out and I’d sit just around the corner of the kitchen doorway, just listening to the gossip…smelling the food. Sometimes, they’d catch me sitting there and run me out of the house again…but I think they always knew when I was there and would let me stay.”
Nora stopped what she was doing and turned to gaze at the young man…smiling at the look of nostalgia on his face.
“Well…I did hear that you are handy in the kitchen…so…why don’t you get a spoon and stir for me and you can tell me more about yourself…” she added, pointing toward a drawer at the end of one of the counters before moving to the sink to rinse some vegetables.
“Okay,” Joey said with a smile, moving around the corner and, as he moved across the kitchen, he noted from the corner of his eye some movement.
“Hey, Jace? I’m sorry, man…did I wake you up?” Joey asked, turning toward the younger man, stepping over to drape an arm over his shoulders taking in how tired his friend looked, even after their long naps.
“No…you didn’t wake me,” he answered as he smiled at Nora who walked toward them. She reached up and patted him on the cheek as she spoke.
“I’m making a big lunch for you boys. You all need to get some more meat on those bones…especially you, young man,” she said giving JC’s cheek a gentle pinch.
With that remark, JC’s smile grew even larger and he slightly blushed, causing Joey to laugh boisterously as he shook his friend while giving him a tight squeeze.
* * * * * * *
Ron Williams drove into the outskirts of Houston…the traffic was heavy and slow, reducing his progress to a near crawl, which suited him just fine. He was not looking forward to his meeting with a few friends of Tony Picatti and with good reason. The men that he would be meeting were some of the hardest in the underworld that would just as soon kill you than look at you. His own survival would be touch and go for a while things as they work out plans necessary in finding and capturing the five young men supposedly hidden somewhere in east Texas.
As traffic once again came to a stand still, Ron ran a hand over his face then briefly glanced out the window before pulling a sheet of paper out of his coat pocket to scan over the names of those he would be meeting. Some of the names he was familiar with, having heard of the many crimes these men had or had not served time on. ‘Russell…Thompson…Gonzalez…Ibarra…Morris…Holder.’
The sound of a horn blaring behind him caught Ron off guard and he glared at the car behind him in his rearview mirror before touching the accelerator and pulling forward.