Letters From the Grave
saw and to tell him about Ryan. Come along and I’ll introduce you.”
She nodded in agreement.
They went through the front door, and Jake looked both ways down the street for Ryan before crossing onto T.W.’s grass.
T.W. spoke first. “Howdy, Jake. I see you got you new lady with ya.”
“Yeah, T.W. She’s here for good now. I’d like you to meet my soon-to-be wife, Julie.”
T.W. stood awkwardly and reached down from his porch to shake her hand. “Well, It’s a certain pleasure to meet you ma’am. Me an Jake here been the only bachelors on the street for too long.”
She smiled. “Well, T.W., Jake has talked about you, and it’s surely a pleasure to meet you.”
T.W. started to lift the lid of his cooler, “Ma’am, can I offer you a cold beer?”
“Oh, thank you T.W., but I think I’ll pass. I need to get back to the house and finish moving in.”
They said goodbye and she smiled at Jake before walking back across the street.
T.W. watched her walk, then said, “That’s good, Jake. This is a family neighborhood, and it should have families. You and me, we been exceptions to the rule.”
“You’re right old man. Now it’s just down to you to carry the bachelor colors for all free men!”
“Right on, brother. How about a beer?”
“Aw, thanks T.W. but I got a question, and then I want to get back to Julie.”
“Okay, shoot.” T.W. took a long swig while Jake watched his Adam’s Apple wiggle up and down.
“Did you see a man with flowers come to my door today?”
T.W. rocked forward. “Yup. He brung a purdy bunch to your front door for the missus. She seemed happy to get ‘em for a while, then turned kinda sour, suspicious like.”
Jake looked down then up. “Yeah. That’s the guy. Would you kindly keep an eye out, and if you see him again, give me a call right away.”
“Sho’, Jake. Do I have your number?” Jake had given it to him at least once a year since moving in.
“Well T.W., I gave it to you before, but let me write it down for you again. This is real important, my friend.”
T.W. inquired. “This man, he a bad man?”
“Yes he is, T.W.. He’s killed people. He tried to kill me once.”
“Well, sir, then I better get my gun out here with me if’n I’m gonna be protectin’ yo woman.”
Jake cringed at the thought of T.W. shooting anywhere, especially shooting toward his house. “No T.W., I don’t want you risking yourself for anything. If you just call me on the phone, that’s the best defense I could ever want.”
“Well, sho ‘nuff, Jake. I’ll be vigilant. That rascal won' get near. You can count on ol’ T.W., yesser.”
Jake patted his friend’s knee. “I know I can, neighbor. Now, I really got to get back home to my fiancé.”
“Okay, Jake. You sure she don’t carry no bible! Best weapon I know of to get rid of a man.”
Jake would have chuckled, but he had more serious things to think about. He hadn’t told Julie everything Tibbs said. Ryan was “of interest” in the murder of a young girl the night before.
Jake opened one of the gun safes that actually had guns in it and showed it to Julie. He had a hunting rifle that someone had given him that he’d never shot and a twelve gauge shotgun that he’d used for trap shooting at one of the Army bases where it was popular. Then there were the two pistols.
He asked, “So, do you want me to show you how to use any of them?”
She seemed uneasy. “Which one?”
“I think the Beretta 92 would be the easiest for you to handle. It’s got a fifteen-round magazine and doesn’t kick too badly. There’s also a spare magazine that I’ll load. It’s easy to shoot and will fit your hand easier than the Colt.”
“I don’t know, Jake. I don’t like to think about shooting anyone.”
He smiled at her. “Just wanted to let you know the options sweetheart.” He closed the door but didn’t lock it. “So, what about the Texas girl stuff? Have you ever shot before?”
“Yes. I can shoot. I just don’t like guns.”
He smiled. “Me either, that’s why they’re locked in here.”
“Then why do you keep them?”
He shrugged. “Maybe, it’s a guy thing. I don’t know. I haven’t shot one since I lived here. All of these are souvenirs.” He told her about the two long guns. “The two pistols were my military side arms. First, we got the 1911, which was my favorite if I had to use it, then the Army switched to the Beretta for some reason, probably because it’s lighter and carries more rounds. The forty-five is more accurate and will knock a man down no matter where he’s hit. The nine mil will bounce off some windshields, so’s not even popular with police these days.”
She was curious. “So, did you ever shoot anyone?”
“Nope. But it was always my security blanket when in a firefight. My best defense was always being higher and faster than the enemy.”
She said, “Let’s just keep them in the safe. I’ll know where to find it if I need one.”
For the next few days, Julie was cautious, when leaving the house. She always checked to see that T.W. was there, and looked in the back seat before getting into her car. The doors were always locked. She drove with one eye in the mirror, always looking for someone following her. Jake said that Ryan would not be allowed to drive anything with an engine, but she didn’t expect him to follow the rules.
The following Saturday, they drove to Mineral Wells again for a few days to check the house and do the yard maintenance. Each night they had dinner with her friends and generally forgot about Ryan. She sold off a few more pieces of furniture after reviewing Jake’s things and re-assessing the size of the rooms. The moving company left a stack of boxes and packing materials in the garage, so they could pack her kitchen things and all other loose items going to Lafayette. By Wednesday, everything was ready to go into the moving truck for shipment directly to Jake’s house. She hadn’t told him yet, but they were going to hold a major garage sale at his house the following week. They were having fun, exhausting themselves with the move, but enjoying every minute together. At one point, he wrapped his arms around her from behind saying, “Let’s get married now. Why wait any longer.”
She turned and faced him, “I’m already married in spirit. Like you said, what difference does a piece of paper make?” They drove back to Lafayette that night.
Closing In
The police went back to the halfway house asking Keats about Ryan. They were investigating the dead girl in the park. She was only sixteen when someone sexually assaulted her and strangled her. Her mother was a single parent who had tried to raise her daughter to be a good Christian girl. Her mother had made her work for everything to teach her the values important to her, while the girl’s friends in school were simply being provided everything. The girl (name withheld) rebelled and started sneaking out at night. According to the police, she must have tried selling herself to make money and lost her life in the process. Her mother swore she’d been a virgin, but the examiner didn’t confirm it.
Ryan was out of the house until curfew that night, but Keats didn’t remember anything unusual about him. He wished he had.
Ryan kept going to work at the restaurant, and the owner didn’t have any complaints. He wasn’t happy about the police questioning him, but let it pass when Ryan continued to show up and did his job.
The next Sunday night, Ryan told Keats he was going to see a movie. There was an old-time theater in town that showed second and third-round movies. Ryan hadn’t seen any of them, but had seen trailers so many times over the years that he could answer questions about them. It was another warm night with all the shops closed downtown. He walked up and down Main Street, passing by all the bars. If the inside looked promising, he went inside and ordered a coke, waiting to be approached. If nothing happened, he moved
to the next one. If there were any police nearby, he walked the other way. Around nine o’clock he saw her. She was sitting on a stoop in front of an ugly looking nightclub, so he approached with a grin on his face.
She was older than Ryan, nearly forty and flabby in a sexy sort of way. The combination of mini shirt and halter top, with big loose hair was appealing from a distance. He didn’t have any alternatives that night, so he kept grinning.
She exhaled from a cigarette. “Hi honey, you lonely tonight?”
Ryan put one foot on the step, bringing his crotch close to her face. “Maybe I am, and maybe I’ll just go in for a drink alone. I wonder what turns a nice girl like you on, suga’.”
“Well, twenty will get you off, or fifty will get you on, big boy. What do you say?”
“What will a hundred get me?”
“Sho’ me the gold, suga’.”
He pulled a wad with fifties from his pocket, and she said, “Oh, my, and I just thought you was glad to see me. You sho’ is big in the right places.”
Ryan looked around, and the street was empty. “Come on you beautiful hunk o’ woman. Let’s take a walk down behind this here building, and you can earn it.”
She got up carefully, adjusting her skirt so as not to be judged totally indecent if the police stopped her. Within three minutes, she had already earned twenty dollars in service behind the bar.
Ryan was back at the house before ten, having stopped briefly to deposit his roll of bills, still intact. Keats didn’t stop him, but just let him pass upstairs.
The next morning, the police arrived again to question Ryan, who came downstairs in his underwear, just to annoy anyone walking past. “Why Inspector, Tibbs. What brings the big dog out to these parts?”
Tibbs wasted no time as the uniformed police officer with him and Keats looked on. “Where were you last night, Ryan?”
Ryan smiled. “Why I was here, General. Right here in my bed asleepin’ like a baby. You know what sleepin’ with babies is like don’ you, Inspector Gadget?”
Tibbs wasn’t affected. “Before that, moron. Where were you between eight and ten?”
“I went to the movies. Ask momma Keats there, he saw me.”
Keats started to say something when Tibbs interrupted. “Look asshole, we know when you left the house. You got any proof that you went to the movies? What movies?”
Ryan was starting to enjoy this. Years of questioning had taught him to be fearless around bureaucratic thugs. They were all the same as him. They just got paid for being criminals. They were all crooks. “Well, sir. I wen’ to the movie on Main Street. You know, that old building with all the neon.”
“What did you see?”
“Nothin’.”
“Did you or did you not go to the movie?”
“Are you deaf, Dick Tracy. I went. How many times I gotta tell ya?”
“Was there a movie playing?”
“Yep.”
“What was it?
“Godzilla something.”
“What was it about?”
“I don’ know.”
“Did you or did you not see this movie?”
“I did not.”
Tibbs in frustration turned to Keats and the officer. “We’re taking this trash downtown. He doesn’t have an excuse for last night.”
Ryan asked. “You mind tellin’ me what this is regardin’?”
“Not now, Ryan. We just want to treat you to a little of our hospitality.”
Ryan didn’t like the idea of sitting in a hot interrogation room. “I slept through the whole movie.”
Tibbs cocked his head looking at him, “You said you didn’t see a movie.”
“Tha’s right. I didn’t see it ‘cuz I was asleep.”
“Where were you between eight and ten last night?”
“I was asleep in the theater except for walkin’ there and back to here.”
Tibbs got to within an inch of Ryan’s face, looking down on the little man. “Ryan, you’re going down. I’m patient, but you’re so much of a screw-up that I’m going to be able to come down hard on you, boy. It’s just a matter of time. You’re gonna help me do it!”
Ryan said nothing more to Tibbs, who signaled the officer, “Come on, let’s go. It stinks around here.”
As they left, Ryan turned toward Keats as he started climbing the stairs again, “Nice man, Detective Tibbs. Don’ you think, Keats?”
Jake and Julie arrived back at his house after dark and started unloading some things from the car when T.W. yelled from across the street.
Jake answered. “I’ll be over in a bit, T.W., just want to get Julie settled.” They carried their bags through the back door, and Jake did a quick reconnaissance of the house, turning on all the lights and locking the doors. “Okay, honey, lock the door behind me. I’m going to see what T.W.’s got to say.”
She nodded and Jake hurried across. “T.W. it’s late for you.” He really meant that the beer was probably all gone and T.W. should be passed out in bed.
“Yeah, Jake. It’s late all righty, but I gotta tell ya somp’n.” He didn’t’ have a beer in his hand, confirming Jake’s suspicion that he’d drained the well dry.
Jake started to say something during the pause, but T.W. interrupted. “That skinny feller you was alertin’ me about? Well, he come back around Saturday or Sunday. I don’t remember which. I used to know when it was a church day, but I don’t go no mo’ as you might ‘o guessed.”
Jake said. “It’s okay, T.W. Did he do anything? Did he go on my property?”
“Naw, Jake. That’s why’s you got me here. I yelled at him and told him I had my gun. He done turn’t and run away. Ain’t seen him sense then.”
“Look, T.W., I don’t want you getting involved in this. You should just call me if you see him. I’ll call the police, but you shouldn’t get involved.”
“Aw, Jake. What’s a neighbor for? I ain’ scare’d ‘o him. That scawny little varmint. I could break his neck and piss on him.”
“Okay, look, T.W. I’m going back to be with Julie. I don’t want you yelling at that guy again, just call me. I mean it.” Jake emphasized it with a finger wagging in T.W.’s face. The man was too inebriated all the time to know what he was doing or even his own physical limitations. Julie could out-fight T.W. in the shape he was in and never break a sweat.
He hurried back across the street, using his key to enter.
She was sitting on the couch, watching Jake talking with T.W. “So, what’s our neighborhood watch have to say?”
“He thinks Ryan came by over the weekend.”
“Why”
“I don’t know. But T.W. scared him off.”
“Good”
“Julie, it’s not good. Now Ryan knows T.W. is watching for him. That puts T.W. in danger and causes Ryan to be more cautious. I’m going to call the police again.”
He called and asked for Tibbs who had gone home for the evening, so Jake called Tibbs’ cellphone.
Jake heard something indiscernible, and said, “Hello, is this Detective Tibbs?”
This time, Julie was close enough to hear most of Tibbs side. “Hey, Jake. What’s up?”
“He was back, Tibbs, over the weekend. My neighbor scared him away. We were gone.”
“Are you sure it was him?”
“Who else would it be, Tibbs?”
“Okay, Jake. I think it’s time for a TRO if you’re willing to go to court with your neighbor. It won’t keep a determined criminal from coming after you, but it would give a way to send him back to Angola if he comes near you.”
Julie was shaking her head in agreement. Jake responded. “Won’t work, Tibbs. My neighbor won’t function in court. He’s a drunk sitting on a porch to tell the truth.”
“Look, Jake, it’s worth a try if he can positively identify Ryan. You and I know what he’s capable of, but a judge needs to know that the guy has act
ually been menacing you.”
Julie looked disturbed as Jake continued. “It won’t work, Tibbs. My neighbor can’t even tell you what day it is.”
“Okay, Jake. Look, there’s been another murder. I think we’ll have him soon. Can you protect yourself until then? I mean until the police can respond to your nine-one-one calls?”
Jake looked at Julie and saw terror on her face. “I think so, Tibbs.”
The call ended with her staring at him. “What does he mean, Jake, another murder?”
“I didn’t want to scare you, darling. Since Ryan moved back into a prison halfway house downtown, there have been two women killed. The guy’s a known sexual predator. He’s been in prison and has a lust for women. He likes to be rough and is a psychopath. He’s killed several people.”
She was stunned. He thought she would bolt away from him, and he’d lose her. If that happened, he’d go downtown and shoot Ryan on a street corner in front of the world. She stood silently for several moments then said, calmly, “Then we need a plan. I know you’ll protect me when you’re around, but is there anything we should do to protect other women?”
“Julie, that’s not our responsibility. We just need to be safe until they get him.”
“Why’s he after you, Jake?”
“Because he’s got this crazy notion that the gold he once stole, my coins, are somehow his now. He can’t get it out of his mind.”
He told her about his trip to visit Ryan in prison, to reason with him. “I saw it in his eyes, Julie. He’s completely nuts about it. He’s so screwed up that he thinks I robbed him. I think he planned to come back here to get the half BJ stole, but now that I have it all back, he’s after me, which means he’s after you. He threatened you when I saw him. Damn BJ, he told Ryan about you and got you involved when Callie took your letters. I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t want you in this for the world.”
She saw his distress. “Jake, I don’t blame you for anything. We’re in love. We’re getting married. So, now we just need to get tough and deal with this maniac until he’s arrested again.”
It amazed him that she could be so tough under that delicate exterior. He had often faced death, feeling it was his manly rite of passage, but that wasn’t her. She was just mentally tough, regardless of her femininity. He hugged her. “All right then, we’re in this together.”
Another week went by, and nothing happened. Julie kept waving to T.W. when she saw him, and remained vigilant in the house and in her car. On Saturday, they left for Mineral Wells again, for the last time. They would be married on Sunday. She had a new dress, and he brought along a suit, his only suit, which fit amazingly well after getting back into shape. She would surprise him with a new tie on Sunday. He hadn’t shown her the ring yet. They’d agreed to a single ring ceremony because he was cautious about anything that could get caught on the controls when flying, particularly in bad weather.
Her friends wanted to provide flowers, but Julie told them that they would just be wasted. They should all have a big party instead. All of her friends would stand with the bride and many of the husbands would stand with Jake. There wasn’t much for them to do on Saturday afternoon after the drive, so they visited one of her