chapter 95
HAVING JAKE WALK into his trailer was a poorly timed but pleasant surprise for Moon Pie, and he planned to take full advantage of the situation. For a long moment, he watched Jake’s heavy breathing as he lay on the floor, blood from his head slowly soaking an old canvas decoy bag. He had decided to haul Jake into the woods and kill him slowly before heading to Alabama to hide from the cops and the Mexicans.
With Jake still unconscious, Moon Pie quickly looked through drawers until he found a bag of large, thick, black zip ties. He bound Jake’s hands and tightly secured his ankles. Moon Pie was confident that the heavy-duty plastic ties would hold.
Moon Pie found several white socks that he duct taped over his bullet wounds in hopes that the pressure would stop the bleeding. He then washed up and changed into clean clothes.
He located his stun gun and did a battery test with a quick press of the trigger. The blue electrical arc between the metal posts reminded Moon Pie of a tiny, personal bolt of lightning. The first thing he had done after buying the device was to test it on a neighbor’s cat that always sat on the hood of his Bronco. He never saw the cat again. The thought brought a sinister smile to his face as he looked down at Jake. This oughta keep that son of a bitch in line.
Moon Pie placed the stun gun in a coat pocket as he thought about what to do with Jake’s truck. It was much newer than the Bronco and would be significantly more comfortable to drive. And with thousands of Z-71 Chevy trucks in the South, he would be able to blend in, more so than in a restored old Bronco. Plus, it would only be a matter of time before the Mexicans learned that he owned the Bronco, and they would be looking for it. Moon Pie found Jake’s truck keys in his front left pocket and then went to look for the truck.
Moon Pie quickly found it and backed the truck next to his Bronco. He then swapped everything from it to Jake’s truck. Jake was still unconscious when he finished loading everything, including the frozen head and cape of the big full-velvet whitetail he had told the taxidermist about. Moon Pie knew his buddy would pay top dollar for it.
Moon Pie splashed cold water on Jake’s face, waking him abruptly. The outlaw squatted down next to Jake’s face and said in a menacing tone, “Hey, sunshine, you comfy?”
Jake’s head pounded, and even as he struggled to free his arms and legs, he realized it was useless. His breathing was labored. Jake watched the wild eyes of his captor as he finally asked, “Are you Moon Pie?”
Moon Pie laughed out loud and then said, “Yep. That’s what they used to call me. But I go by Memphis now.” He watched Jake’s reaction. He liked that Jake had never known what he looked like. Now it didn’t really matter.
“And you’re the guy who killed Johnny Lee and Reese,” he said, shaking his head disapprovingly. Then he added, “You musta caught ’em by surprise—too much of a chickenshit to take ’em on face-to-face, I guess.”
Jake struggled to sit up but couldn’t. He asked, “So…is that why you been followin’ my family?”
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. Look, you broke into my house. Guess you ain’t ever heard of the Castle Doctrine. You stupid shit! I got every right to shoot and kill your ass right now in the name of self-defense. There ain’t a jury in the great state of Mississippi that’d convict me. Hell, I doubt that I’d even get arrested.”
Jake realized he had been an idiot to come after Moon Pie. He had let his anger get the better of him. No one, not one soul, knew where he was. He wanted to keep Moon Pie talking, to buy some time to devise a plan to get out of this mess. He asked, “What about last night?”
“What about it? I watched a football game, bro. Right here. Got two neighbors that’ll alibi me.”
“You weren’t at the Rascal Flatts concert last night?”
Moon Pie was enjoying Jake’s confusion. He said, “Hell no. Sat right here and watched a good ol’ slobber-knocker on TV and drank some beers.”
Jake didn’t believe a word of what Moon Pie was saying. He’d been a stockbroker long enough to recognize a lie when he heard one. He looked around for his gun.
Moon Pie knew what he was looking for and pulled it out of his waistband, waving it in front of Jake. “This what you’re looking for? Sweet piece. I always wanted a Ruger. Guess what? Now I got me one.” He aimed it at Jake’s forehead, closing one eye to look down the sights.
Jake knew that he was toying with him, and from the look in Moon Pie’s eyes, it was clear that he was capable of anything and everything.
“What now?” Jake asked.
“You and I are gonna take a little ride to a very remote swamp, and we’ll see how long you can hold your breath,” Moon Pie said with an evil smile.
“I’m not goin’.”
Moon Pie pulled out the stun gun and squeezed the trigger, letting the electricity pulse for a long moment, and then calmly replied, “It don’t look to me like you gotta choice.” He chuckled as he brought the bright blue current so close to Jake’s eyes that for a moment Jake believed Moon Pie was going to blind him.
Jake was angry with himself and furious at Moon Pie. In an attempt to mask his fear, he yelled, “I want you to leave my family alone or I’m gonna kill you!”
“I want you to shut the hell up!” Moon Pie said and then touched the two metal probes into Jake’s neck and squeezed the trigger, instantly sending 4.5 million volts through him. Jake began flopping convulsively as Moon Pie counted to four.
Jake lay still. His eyes rolled back in his head. The smell of burning flesh made Moon Pie laugh. He carried Jake to his truck and folded him into the backseat. Moon Pie went back inside to clean up the blood on the floor. When he finished, he picked up an old decoy bag, thinking it was perfect for hiding a dead bald eagle.