Barb is very much aware the fine Italian meal and wine that Gunner delivered to her and Messa in her cell was her last supper.
That would remain unspoken and Messa and Barb would not discuss Barb’s crucifixion that would take place the next day. What went on that night will never be known except by Barb and Messa for when Gunner was leaving the cell block he noticed a sting of cables and Cat-5 wires that had no business being in a rented obsolete county jail. He ripped them from the wall and dragged more than a dozen HD cameras and microphones with them. Gunner shut the door to the cell block and the women could hear him shout “Listen up you rednecks; I am a nigger with an attitude and some very big guns and knives. That is security tape I put on that door and it better be there and not broken when I get back in the morning or-
“Do you know what Rocky Mountain Oysters are? DO YOU… That’s right, they are pigs’ balls. Do you know what Ozark Mountain Oysters are? No? If that tape is not intact in the morning Ozark Mountain Oysters are YOUR balls! Goodnight gentlemen…”
So that’s why we don’t know what happened in Barb’s cell on her last night.
CRUCIFIXION DAY
After taking a shower I
passed out went to bed early last night and wake up at six AM. I haven’t seen that time of day after sleeping since I was an altar boy. The room was better than I expected as the front of the motel looked like it did when it was built in the 1930s when the two-lane Route 22 was
the road between Little Rock and Ft. Smith. The original rooms were kept as they were built with the only apparent upgrade being rusted window air conditioners hanging out the windows of each unit. Go through one door that should be a small closet there is short hall that leads to a…
I digress. I got up damn early. I get dressed and go to the front desk and ask the clerk if there is any place good for breakfast nearby. She says “You want McDonald’s or real food?”
“I think real food would be better. I have a busy day ahead of me.”
“Then just go a quarter mile east and you’ll find ‘Tree’s Family Diner’. If you don’t like the food you’re a damn Yankee” she says.
“I’ll give it a try. I’ve got a bit of time to kill. Is there a shop that’s any good with car AC? My truck’s has quit.”
“There’s none that I would trust on this side of the river. They are all owned by relatives of mine. Oh and how rude of me; I am Judy Tree. And yours is???”
“By coincidence most people call me ‘Tree’. I do have relatives around here.”
“Well Tree I know a bit about air conditioning from my time in reform school. Let me take a look at it” she says.
I follow Judy out to the truck. She can’t be a day over 21 and I’ve seen thong bikinis that cover more of her fine ass than her jeans do. I tell her hood-release cable is broken but I have pliers and can crawl under and open the latch. She says “That won’t be necessary.”
She opens a switch blade, wiggles it around, and the hood opens. She gives a low whistle then walks around the truck studying the rusted body and the flaking paint. She shakes her head and says “Honestly, Tree, what it will cost to fix the AC is more than what your truck is worth. I’ll give you a thousand dollars for it just because the tires are sort of new.”
“You are most generous” I say “but I need the truck today.”
I lean on the left side of the bed and she leans on the right side and purrs “You know that is a damn fair offer, Tree. What is holding… OH
MY GOD! That is Messaline’s Premium Crucifixion Wood!!! You are
The Hanging Tree! Granny told me about the dates you took her on and that cruise boat you took her on!”
“You’re Dorothy’s granddaughter? I hate to admit this but I never slept with her.”
Tree
“Did I call you grampa?”
Things happened fast after that. She takes me to breakfast at the diner that looked like a greasy spoon where I have the best breakfast I can remember. From somewhere out of her formfitting blouse and skintight jeans she pulls out an iPhone and calls someone telling him to meet her at the dealership. She drives me across the river to the Russellville Ford dealer where her fiancé meets us. He is going to loan me an F-350 Super Duty long bed crew cab 4x4 dually ‘King’s Ranch Edition’ with the Power Stroke Diesel. I ask him how much something like this huge black monster would cost and he tells me it’s ‘north of 75K’ but since I am family he’d let me have for an even $70K. I ask if that includes AC and he says “That’s funny! I don’t think you can get a truck without AC!”
I like the truck so instead of fixing the AC in the Dodge for a few grand I pull out my American Express card and buy the damn thing. We’ll do the rest of the paperwork later but I need to go back to the motel and get the crux wood and my tools and be back at the jail by 11 AM!
I have to remember not to get up this early again. It gets expensive!
Promptly at 11 I pull up to the jail and park the F-350 behind the Rolls limo. I look at the sign on the light post that says ‘parking for authorized vehicles only’. Fishing through my duffle bag I pull out a stack of laminated signs, find the one that says ‘Authorized Vehicle’, and toss it on the dash. As a walk briskly to towards the entrance I pause and see an assembled cross obviously made of Messa’s crux wood. I raise an eyebrow but proceed into the jail without inspecting it.
It is only an hour before I am to take my cross and carry it to my crucifixion. Messa and I had a pleasant night but I realize it was my last. Outside my cell Gunner and Bull are trying to find Tree.
“I called his truck and there’s no answer. I call the Motel and the voice mail says they are out until noon” Gunner says.
“What are we going if he doesn’t show up” Bull asks.
“I guess we get her start and hope he makes it before…”
“It’s two minutes after 11 and you assholes are whining about me not being here. God damn I thought you know me better than that” Tree growls as he walks in.
“Shit he is in a bad mood” Bull says. “He shaved!”
“You damn right I’m pissed off! I spent the morning getting my AC taken care of because you didn’t. Then I get here and find I didn’t have to the Tree estate because there’s another cross already in front of jail. I guess since we have two crosses and two women in the death row cell we may as well crucify both of them.
I grab Messa and cry “You can’t do that! She has done nothing!”
“You bastards! If you wish to murder me I will be honored to die on the cross with Barbara!”
“Relax; he’s fuckin’ with you, Messa. Barb’s the only one getting crucified” Gunner says as he unlocks the cell door. “Come on out and get dressed and I’ll run you over to the hotel so you can freshen up and put on what you like.”
He hands her the freshly dry cleaned clothes she wore when she arrived yesterday. After they leave I glare at Tree and say “I guess you thought that was funny.”
He shrugs…
Barb Moore –time running out
Tree