Chapter Eight
Maudie nodded as tearssparkled in her eyes as well.“And my King knows dat he is part of me too.I know there’s only one chance at this life and I am careful to make it the best.So yes, I did wait for him.Love isn’t something growing on trees, ya know?I never met anyone dat could take his place anyway.I kept the flame going by helping anyone I could.The swamp has many people in it dat are the family of my heart.Like the Hogans.I be a healer so I would never do harm to anyone, but dat don’t mean I won’t stand with him and fight.I have my own ways of protecting the people I love and protecting dis place.My soul is as old as dis swamp and I always said it will protect its own, and I have been right.I think the swamp is telling us to protect it now and the best way to do dat is to take out the worst of the worst people.They came here to do harm and they done harm already to a lot of people outside this swamp too with them bombs they used.We need to stop them any way we can.”She looked over at Bethy and said, “I think your dad has been very busy for a long time now.I was thinking about it and I might know of another place where he has been hiding his work.”
Bethy swiped a tear from her eye and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Maudie sighed hard.She sat down and reached for Bethy’s hand.“Sha, it’s been a long time ago now, when you were just a kid, but I think your mama found a place your dad had all set up as a storage area for what he was doing.I think that might be why she was walking out on him and taking you with her.Mais, he couldn’t have dat and I think the day she was leaving he found out she knew about his secret.You might be right about the reason she never came back for you.I was having dreams around dat time, but they were so vague I didn’t know what I was feeling.I could hear words in the dream but I never saw the person.”
Bethy looked saddened.
Tannin took her other hand in his.
Maudie looked over at King.“The last couple of nights my dreams have been coming back, they've been like someone calling me from the other side, telling me to bring justice for something bad dat happened years ago.I heard the same words as I did all those years back.”She glanced at Bethy.“I wasn’t sure what I was hearing for sure but when you said you were ten and you heard your mama screaming your name, I knew dat voice must have been her’s.She was calling me to get her justice.”
Bethy burst into tears and Tannin wrapped his arm around her.Micah crawled over to her lap and she held him tight while Tannin held them both.
For a moment, nothing could be heard but her sobs.
King looked at his woman and asked, “Did your dreams tell you anything else?”
Maudie nodded.“I think I know where there might be more bombs.”She looked at Shay and went on, “But your men need to be real careful with them.Dey been laying in the ground for a long time and this ground might not be good for something filled with gunpowder or worse.”
Shay nodded.“Yeah, I’ll agree with that.Even the air here in the swamps is different than most places.Could be the humidity.”
“Just tell them to be careful when dey go to get them.Dose bombs haven’t been moved for a long time.”Maudie shook her head.
“Well, we can make that decision when we find them.”Shay nodded.“But my team is the very best.”Then he looked at King and Tannin.“We’ll want to take everyone down at one time.So as soon as my team gets here, we’ll split into three groups, one team will go to Bethy’s house and collect her dad, her cousin and Salvador.Then another group will go to the old church and the third group will go to the site where his older bombs are possibly hidden.I want it all...the losers and the explosives.Then once we get everything loaded, we’ll get it all the hell out of here.”
King nodded.“I can show you where the old church is.”He looked at Colt and Sonny.“They can tell you where Leroy lives and you can go after the older bombs.”
Maudie shook her head.“Dey won’t never find them without me along to show them where they are.It’s kinda hard to tell anyone where, especially when there are no outstanding landmarks.”
King shook his head and argued, “I don’t want you out there, Maudie.You are carrying my baby and I cannot have—”
“Now King, you can’t just be telling me—”
“—I think I know where they are.”Bethy looked up at Maudie.“I’ve been living here all my life and I’ve been walking those old paths for some time now.I’ve also been noticing some disturbances in one place and the air stinks of something I’ve smelled on my dad’s clothes for some time now.I think that smell is old gunpowder.I can show them the place.It's right beside a bunch of white lilies, isn’t it?”
Maudie slowly nodded.“Weh honey chile, that’s what I been seeing in my dreams.White lilies.”
Bethy nodded.“Then I know where they are.For some reason, I found that path a while ago and now I go there most weeks.I just sit there and remember or try to remember my mom.She’s been gone a while now and I don’t remember her too well anymore.I’m not sure why but I somehow feel closer to her when I’m there.”She shrugged.“But I think you’re right about something being wrong in that area.The ground isn’t right there, is it?The smell is wrong too.There’s an area there where the plants have all died and the ground is oozing something that smells bad.I think even the wildlife knows it.I haven’t seen any tracks around that area for years now.”
Maudie’s eyes darkened.“Something is wrong there, but with everything else going on around here for a while now, I haven’t been able to check it out.”She turned to look at Shay.“Make sure your men know to keep their distance until they can think about what to do.I don’t want any more people to get hurt.”
Shay nodded.“Yes I agree, if there is something buried there, the chemicals could be leeching into the ground and that could be very dangerous for everyone in the area.”
Just then, they all heard the rumble of trucks coming up the massive driveway.Everyone got to their feet and followed as Shay led the group to the front door.
Four big trucks came to a stop in the circular drive and their engines shut down.Then about three dozen men gathered in the yard.
Shay nodded at his lead enforcer and began rubbing his hands together as he explained to his men what they were here to do.They had several K9 dogs along with them but they kept the dog’s leases high and tight.These were specialized dogs and they didn’t want their noses confused with too many scents right off the bat.
His men listened and shook their heads at the details.
One of them spoke up, “Shay, Salvador and this Louise woman are the first in line for suspects in the three bombing we just had.If she’s Louise Matteo then this is bigger than we thought.And it goes back twenty-three years.”
Shay nodded sadly.“I remember it, Mike.”
King growled.“Would you like to fill in the rest of us about this history?”
