chapter 101
MOON PIE HELD his side as he drove. The road was slick and rutted, causing him to put the truck into four-wheel drive. Despite the pain from the gunshot, he loved being in the swamp at night. It felt like home and was energizing. He was confident that Jake’s body would never ever be discovered. There was no reason for that drainpipe to be replaced or inspected before the body decomposed. And if Jake’s body somehow washed through the pipe, alligators and turtles would take care of it.
He smiled, held up the whiskey bottle in a toast to his brilliant plan, and took a long drink as he reviewed his plans for Jake. First he’d zap Jake again to knock him out and then drop him into the drainpipe, feetfirst. Then he’d bust the beaver construction and listen to Jake beg for his life as the pipe filled with water, slowly drowning him. The next step would be to get medical attention for his wound. At daylight, he’d kill the bald eagle near Officers Lake Road with his suppressed .22 rifle, and then, finally, he would head to Alabama.
Jake had been in and out of consciousness. He was awake, lying on his side on the small backseat of his truck. He couldn’t sit up. Every muscle in his body hurt, and he assumed that the electric shocks had caused it. His hands were bound in front of him, and he tried to force his knee down in between his wrists to break the large black zip ties, but he couldn’t get enough leverage, and he only caused the ties to cut deep into his wrists.
Moon Pie punched the CD button on Jake’s stereo, and the Conway Twitty song “Hello Darlin’” flowed from the speakers. He shook his head as he punched the stereo’s off button.
“Say, Jake, my boy, got any Johnny Cash?”
Jake ignored the question. He was staring at the back of the driver’s seat, trying to think of what to do. He had found a small flashlight in the cup holder and held it like a weapon. He was thinking that if he could stall long enough, he might be able to regain control over his muscles, throw his bound arms over Moon Pie’s neck, and strangle him with his own zip ties.
Jake finally said, “So what can I do to make you change your mind and not do this? Money? I can get you cash. I’ve got several gold coins and some silver too. Name it. Just tell me what you want. I’m willin’ to do whatever you ask.”
“This ain’t about money,” Moon Pie said, growing agitated as he took a pull of whiskey. “It’s an eye-for-an-eye thing. You know that.”
“There’s gotta be—”
Jake didn’t get to finish the sentence because Moon Pie erupted in anger, slamming on the brakes, throwing Jake into the floorboard. And before Jake could say or do anything, Moon Pie zapped him in the back of the head with the stun gun. Jake’s eyes rolled back in pain.