SAM
We sat down near the whiteboard, and I said, "Well, Danny, our team is really working hard. First, there is good news and bad news concerning your favorite chauffeur, Bubba Wilson. First, the bad news: your Ratso found him in San Antonio, Texas, and beat the hell out of him and left him for dead after he told Ratso that he had given you a ride to El Paso, Texas."
He's had several operations at the hospital in San Antonio. Did you notice I said he told Ratso he took you as far as El Paso? I nodded. Remember Helen and Marty, the FBI agents? I nodded again. Well, they flew to San Antonio to talk to Bubba and found out he realized the boy Ratso was after was you. Bubba looked so damn mean and spoke like he didn't want to tell him anything. But Ratso figured out Bubba knew more than he was letting on, so he started beating on him. Bubba didn't want to admit he'd dropped you off in San Diego, so he lied and said you'd gotten off in El Paso so you could go north to Albuquerque or maybe Denver. I'm guessing Ratso's been all over the West trying to find you.
It all sounded like bad news to Danny, and he said he didn't think Ratso would go to all that trouble to find him. He mentioned that he hadn't told anyone anything except Bubba, and now look what happened to him. He was glad that he had lied about where he dropped him off and that he had never sent any mail back to Flowers.
"The good news is that Helen and Marty have gotten a warrant for Ratso's arrest for assault and attempted murder of Bubba Wilson. Before, we did not have the kind of evidence that we could have used in court to arrest him. He must be kept in jail so we can get your mom and sisters out of that damn house and town. Now, isn't that good news?" Danny nodded. "Now they'll need your help getting Ratso arrested peacefully – and getting your mom and the girls away from there. I'm going to set up a Zoom call with Helen, Marty, Clair, and you. We need to do it soon because the doctor taking care of Bubba says he was at death's door when he first came into the hospital, and his condition is still listed as critical. Do you want to sit here with me when we get them or wait until you get home?"
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"I'll stay here, I can take the tram any time. I'll call Cheryl and tell her I'll be a bit late, OK?"
It took me about half an hour to get the three others online, and while I was doing this, I heard Danny talk with Bubba in San Antonio. The call must have moved Bubba, as Danny was crying again when he said, "Bubba, man, I didn't want to make you cry. I'm really, really happy that you recognized my asshole dad and lied for me." He listened to the old man for a few minutes and ended with. "I do hope that you keep healing and getting better. Ok if I call you again?" I guess Bubba said yes, and Danny said, "Good, I gotta go now before a meeting with some good people who are helping me. Have a good evening, Bubba."
Danny and I looked at Marty, Helen, and Clair, and I said, "As you see, I have Danny here with me. Now, let's ask Danny what the best way is to protect his family while we arrest Ratso. Ratso is a name Danny and I came up with when I said that 'asshole' was too good a word for him. I said rattlesnake because I hate those poison bastards, so now we call him Ratso. So I think this needs to get done soon, given Bubba's critical condition and before Ratso finds out where Danny is. Oh, while we still have you two, Helen and Marty, on board. I asked Danny to tell us a little about his Ratso, so Danny..."
Danny said, "This Friday, I know it is the first home football game of the year, and that is one time when there are a bunch of strangers in town. That might help hide you if you dress like everyday kind of people and not like TV kind of black-suited FBI people."
Both Helen and Marty laughed and asked, "Where do we find Ratso on a Friday night?"
"He'll usually be driving around the school and stadium. We do call the football field and the little bunch of bleachers the 'stadium'. And sometimes he'll get outta his car and walk around to make sure nobody is causing any trouble. Everybody knows he'll arrest anybody at the drop of a hat."
Helen asked, "And will your mom be home and taking care of the girls? Oh, and what are their names and ages?
"Mom's name is Marge, and she's about 26 or 27 – that's about twenty years younger than Ratso. I heard him say to a fellow one time, 'You gotta get 'em young and then ya can raise 'em right.'" All four of us frowned. It wasn't funny, and we could tell Danny didn't think so either. "Jaque is five and Susie is 8. Since we were caught trying to escape to Memphis a year and a half ago, Susie and I have been taking care of Mom more than the other way around. I guess Susie is probably doing it by herself. Since that time and the bad beating she took from Ratso, Mom trudges around the house like a zombie. She's a good cook – at least when Ratso buys groceries that she can cook. She's a good housekeeper even when she's moving around like a zombie. Oh, Ratso doesn't want anyone running away again, so he tells the school that Mom is homeschooling us. Of course, mom can't school nobody."
We all paused for a few minutes because Danny was having a good cry. I really love this boy, and I could tell that all three of our team members were beginning to love him, too. Marty asked, "Danny, do you think your mom could testify in court about the abuse she endured at the hands of Ratso?"
"If she could be in a safe and healthy place for a while, I think she could. I'm damn sure that I can. Oh, yeah, another thing. I think he will have one of his thugs, he's got two I think, kind of guarding the house and the family when he's going to be outta the house for a while, so I bet one of 'em will be there. And he'll have a gun, so we all were almost as afraid of them as we are of Ratso."
"Do you know where they live?" Marty asked.
"I'm pretty sure they live in an old cabin about a mile from town. Our house is just outside of town, about a quarter of a mile. It's kinda hidden by the trees and brush."
"So, a couple of our agents could sneak up on your family's house?" Danny nodded. "And what about your mom and sisters? If we got there and didn't see the guards, how do you think they would react when we went into the house?"
"I really am afraid Mom has been beaten again for letting me run away. I don't know whether the guards have ever killed anyone, but if Ratso told them to, I bet they would. I heard him often yell at them like, "Do that or I'll throw your ass in jail. He has something on each one of 'em."
"So, you're saying they, whoever is there in the house besides your mom and the girls, is armed and dangerous. Right?"
"Yeah."
"And one last question, Danny, you are sure your mom could not leave the house even if Ratso weren't there, is that right?" Danny grunted another 'yeah.' Marty shrugged and said, "Well, Helen, it looks like we're going to need several agents to help us. Do you think the New Orleans field office will help us?"
"I hope so. One of us needs to call as soon as we hang up here. Now we need to find a place for Mom and the girls. Danny, does your mom have any friends or family to stay with until we find a permanent place?"
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Danny looked puzzled and thought for a minute, then said, "Nope, Ratso pretty well kept her locked up. I don't know whether she has any relatives anywhere. Could we get them to come to California? Jacque and Susan would really love the school, and Mom would want to get as far away from Mississippi as possible." He looked at Clair and then Helen.
Clair looked at me and said, "Sam, if I could find a place for them, could the school find room for them?"
"We don't like to go over 240 students, but one more kindergartner and one second or third grader, I think we could handle. It would be great if we could find an apartment in this area. Let's do it! Do you have the time, Clair?"
"No, but I'll find a place. Let's all send Danny's family and everyone some CEUS."
Danny looked at Clair and asked, "What's CEU?"
Clair smiled, "Einstein said the force of love ties everything together, and I call it Celestial Energy Units. My mom calls it prayer. Anyway, we're going to need all the help we can get. Thanks, Sam, for being our coordinator."
I told Danny he could tell Ella about his family back in Mississippi and ask her to tell only her mom and dad, and ask them to keep it confidential. He added that they could help us find a more permanent place for them to live in this area. I left him in the room and went to talk to the principal. Clair told me that she knew a realtor who worked only with low-income families. And she was sure the two teachers would find room for them. I called Danny in the other building and told him what the principal said, and asked him what he thought would be the best grade to start Susan in. He said that he thought the second would be better than the third because of her trauma; she needs to do homework, of any kind. Take a back east. I agreed.
Back in the room, I asked Danny to do some homework, then went to the corner cabinet and started on my own. An hour later, Marty called from Biloxi, Mississippi, and said he now had three FBI agents joining them, and that he'd call Danny if he needed more information about the layout in Mississippi. I told Danny to go on home to the O'Connell's.
I was even more on edge than Danny, but he managed to keep his feelings to himself. I had an earpiece firmly in my ear, and about ten o'clock, Mississippi time, I heard Helen whisper, "We managed to hack into the phones of the deputy's guards. One called our man, Ratso, and told him someone was prowling around his house. We are going to take him out." I hoped they could do it quickly and non-lethally. I was holding my breath, and I couldn't remember the last time I automatically did that.
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About a half hour later, Helen came online and whispered, "Both of the guards are tasered and tied up, we're going to wait upstairs with mom and the girls." I think I heard a gunshot. I waited in anxious silence. I don't know how long I waited until Helen came back on. "Damn, Sam, you still there?"
I exhaled rather loudly, "Yes, and are all of you?"
"Yes, all of the 'we' are alive, but Ratso is not. Did you hear the gunshots?" I muttered a 'yes' and she went on, "That was Ratso's gun and our tasers. As soon as he saw us, he raised his gun, and our New Orleans guy fired his taser. Ratso shot himself in the neck as he fell to his left and then down the stairs. He's dead." She lowered her voice to say, "Thank god. Betty, another New Orleans agent, is tending to Mom and the girls. They are all crying up a storm. Not because Ratso is dead, I think, but out of nervousness and fear, I believe. Has Clair found a place for them there?
"She told me to have you put them on the high-speed train and send them to San Diego, and she would have a place ready for them by the time they get here. Give them, Mom, and the older girl cell phones, if they don't have them, and give me the time when they will arrive. We'll be ready. And thank you for a job well done. Thank you, thank you." I took a deep breath and exhaled for a long time.
Sometime Saturday morning, Helen called to tell me that she was going to escort the little family to California that evening, and they would arrive in San Diego at 11:00 a.m. Sunday. She added, "I talked to the captain of the Mississippi state police, and he sent two of his agents from Jackson down to Flowers and has them take care of things. Flowers is a helluva name for this forlorn little old burg. It would make our little town of Julian look like a modern metropolis. The state police consist of a grumpy old fellow and a much younger woman who seems to have a brain and a heart. She is easy to talk to and takes our word for what happened. The old guy thinks they should investigate a possible homicide. The sensible one, a female, of course, tells me they call you all in Cal people, 'Californicators'. I told her to tell her that we call them 'Mississhitians'. I smiled at my own humor. The smile felt good.
Helen went on, "Oh, Sam, Marge, and Danny's mom is in terrible shape. I guess she is about 28 years old, and her poor, beaten-up body looks like that of a poor, beaten-up little girl, and her face like a tired and bruised old woman. She shuffles along with a limp and is in obvious pain. She needs to go to a hospital, but I don't think we should take the time. Please make arrangements for her to go to the emergency room as soon as we arrive. I'll see you Sunday. And that makes the trip more bearable. Take care, Sam. I'll see you soon."
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