Settling Old Scores: BWWM Second Chance Romance (21 page)

"Holy
shit Matt! That is a good idea! Nobody will find you there,"
Kevin said as he thought about it.

"You
know that step is even braver than going to the police yesterday. You
son of a bitch! I'm having a ‘Fucking A Moment’. That's
when the underdog gets off the canvas and starts to kick some serious
ass," Kevin stopped himself as Matt just sat there and looked at
him with a little grin.

"I
knew you would be jazzed about the idea. I had no idea it would get
you so wound up. Will you give me a ride to the VA?" Matt asked.

"In
a heartbeat," said Kevin. They finished eating, waved to Janet,
paid the bill and headed out. Matt got his few things from the hotel,
checked out and met Kevin on the sidewalk in front of the place.

As
they drove, Kevin and Matt were mostly silent. Matt told the story of
how they presented the inpatient treatment to him. He told Kevin that
he had tried a couple of times before to quit on his own and never
could seem to get it to stick. He thought it over and decided that
the timing was good, and that maybe this approach would work for him.
Uncharacteristically, Matt did admit to having some fears. Kevin took
it as a good sign as he said goodbye to Matt once he got all checked
in at the VA.

30.
The Funeral Home

After
Kevin left the VA, he headed over to see Mr. Bailey. He found him at
home. No drinking coffee on the porch today. It was too chilly
outside for that. Mr. Bailey invited him into the Kitchen and clumped
in behind him. He sat down in a kitchen chair with a little thud,
raised his cup and said, "Fetch me a little coffee there boy and
get some for yourself."

The
two of them talked. Kevin knew that Mr. Bailey used to go down to the
same junior high that Kevin attended, after hours, and shoot craps on
the steps of the school with other old guys from the neighborhood.
Most of them would sip bourbon or whiskey and smoke as they shot dice
and made small bets. The steps of the school came right off the
sidewalk.

Mr.
Bailey would park his car right next to the steps, get out and clump
over to shoot craps and shoot the shit with his friends. In this
neighborhood, it was as close to a senior center as it got. Besides
that, they wouldn't let you sip out of a bottle or flask at the
senior center. The men did this pretty much year round. In the
winter, one or two of them just kept their cars idling at the curb to
warm up in, as they hung out.

The
old guys would catch each other up on what was going on as they
tossed the dice. Kevin asked Mr. Bailey if he still shot craps over
at the school like he used to. Mr. Bailey said he did, just not as
much as he used to. For one thing, about half of the men had "passed
on". Then he asked Mr. Bailey about the news reports of the
previous day.

"I
used to know some of them guys that ran things on the Avenue. I knew
Tyrone Jenkins, always used to place bets with him on different
sports and get my hair cut at his place. I knew them McCanns too. I
won't say how I knew them though," he said with a grin. Kevin
asked him about the riots, knowing he was going to get an earful.

He
did get an earful. Mr. Bailey told him about a friend of his that
used to collect gambling debts for the Jenkins Barber Shop. One time,
Sam McCann and Jenkins got into it about some unpaid bets. Sam
knocked him down and threatened him. Mr. Jenkins wouldn't make book
with Sam anymore. Mr. Bailey said his friend was the one that set the
funeral home on fire. He harbored a big grudge with Sam. He had hoped
that Sam was upstairs when he set the fire.

"Was
that the guy with the bullet scar on his neck?" asked Kevin as
he thought about some of those guys from back then that hung out in
the barber shop.

"Yeah,
that was him. He had been in prison, too. His name was Cool Calvin.
He was the type of guy you don't want to cross. He would get even if
it took him a lifetime," Mr. Bailey said. Then, Kevin told his
story about Sam coming out of the apartment the one time with the
knife in his hand.

Mr.
Bailey laughed when Kevin told him he almost wet himself as he jumped
back off the landing of the upstairs apartment. Kevin told Mr. Bailey
about one time in 1972 when he met Floyd Patterson at the New York
Athletic Club. He said that there was nothing that impressive about
him except his hands, which were so huge they looked like hams. Kevin
said he thought Sam's hands were close to the same size as
Patterson's were.

They
went on like that for a while, talking about the McCanns. Kevin
thought it was funny that Cool Calvin was the torch for the funeral
home. Mr. Bailey told Kevin that both Sam and Donny had quick
tempers. He doubted that either of them planned anything out. Kevin
agreed thinking to himself that a profiler would tell you the same
thing. Murders that appear spontaneous are way different than ones
done by a psychopath. Kevin asked about the cops back in the sixties
and got another earful. He said they didn't investigate anything
about the riot. He concluded by saying he suspected the funeral home
was a front for getting rid of other troublesome bodies for the
McCanns, or somebody with a need and some money.

"You
know all those caskets have false bottoms in them. They could contain
bodies of any babies the girls had, or even some of the girls
themselves without attracting attention. Ain't no Pallbearer could
know what a casket should weigh. Ain't like you carry one every day.
They are all different, in size, weight, and number of Pallbearers,
anyway," he said. That got Kevin's attention.

"Do
you think they did way more murders?" Kevin asked. "Boy,
what you mean, do I think?" laughed Mr. Bailey. "Ask
yourself what you think. You will come up with the same damn answer."

Holy
shit! This guy knows more than he is saying. He is just trying to
lead me to it, thought Kevin.

"Yeah,
I bet you are right. This wasn't a one-time only deal. The funeral
home would be convenient for dealing with bodies. I have no idea how
busy they were, or should have been. I don't know anything about that
business. I do know a guy who owns a funeral home in New Orleans. I
remember one time he told me you could tell sometimes about a guy's
drinking history by how hard his liver was. He told us how they
embalm bodies. I bet after being around it awhile, the McCanns knew a
thing or two about it," Kevin said.

About
an hour later, Kevin was on his way home. Mr. Bailey had given him a
lot to think about. His head was swimming. He didn't even drive down
English Avenue preferring to avoid it. Once he got home, he put a
call in to detective Perkins. Perkins took Kevin's call. He told
Kevin that they were waiting for some results from the lab and an
identification of the bodies which could take a while. He said they
were chasing down more leads. Kevin told him how he knew another guy
that hinted about other bodies being funneed through the funeral
home. Maybe he knew something, maybe not. This guy wasn't going to
talk to the police, for sure.

Perkins
listened to Kevin intently. Kevin could tell it was an angle he
hadn't thought of before. By the time Kevin hung up, he was pretty
sure he had just expanded the investigation into something bigger
than a couple of bodies. Then, Kevin asked Perkins about other open
cases where the McCanns and a body that was never found were linked.
Perkins said he could think of at least one other possibility.

Perkins
told him the case had really caught fire. The mayor and the chief
wanted to get these guys. They had a long and frustrating history
with a lot of old time beat cops. Kevin asked him if he was safe from
these guys. "Don't get cold feet on me. Right now, we are
holding both these guys in jail for questioning. They ain't going to
hurt anyone real soon," Perkins said.

"Well,
I was a little surprised when the TV news reporter showed a picture
of Sylvia on the television and made the statement that there was
speculation she was one of the bodies," Kevin said.

"That
was me trying to get more leads called in. It was purposeful, not a
result of a leak," Perkins growled a little.

"Did
it work?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah.
We got a call or two is all I am gonna tell you right now," said
Perkins. Kevin knew he wasn't going to get any more out of the guy.
He thought he was safe for the time being. There was nothing more for
him to do but just wait and see how the investigation developed.
Kevin wound up the conversation and quickly got off the phone.

A
little while later, Pat came home. She looked tired. Kevin greeted
her with a hug and asked about her day. She said she had spent part
of the day practicing violin for her upcoming audition in Houston.
They had given her several pieces they wanted her to play, and she
was working on them with her instructor. Kevin offered to take her to
supper. She smiled and accepted the offer.

As
they ate, he filled her in on his day. His big news was that Matt had
gone inpatient at the VA. Pat was happy to hear it.

She
acknowledged that this was about the best way to get Matt off the
street they could ever have hoped for. There was no way anyone would
find him now, even if his name got leaked to the McCanns.

Then,
Kevin told of his conversation with Mr. Bailey. Kevin told Pat he was
sure that Mr. Bailey knew more than he was saying about the purposes
the funeral home served for the McCanns. He told Pat that he had
talked to Perkins and that he felt relatively safe for the time
being.

Pat
told Kevin that she hadn't decided to talk to her dad or not. She
said she wanted to have a long talk with her mom before she did
anything. She asked Kevin if he would go up there on Saturday morning
for moral support while when they talked. "Of course, I would
Pat," Kevin said as he took her hand.

"I
know this is hard for you. Talking with her is a good starting
point," Kevin said.

31.
Where We Goin?

"I
hope I still feel like going to meet Willie and family after Saturday
morning," said Pat with a weak smile.

"Don't
worry. We will get through this," Kevin said. Then, they turned
to some other topics. She asked Kevin what would happen to them if
she ended up getting accepted for the position in Houston.

"Are
you worried about that? Well, don't be. I would follow you anywhere.
At the end of this semester, I will need to let go of this place.
Houston is a bigger port than Savannah. I can easily catch ships out
of that union hall. I know people all over the gulf. It shouldn't be
a problem," Kevin said.

"I
don't plan to ride ships forever. It should take me another three
years to get my Captain's license. In the meantime, I can work about
half a year, and spend half a year as your love slave," said
Kevin.

Pat
burst out laughing. "I get my own personal love slave out of
this. How sweet is that? I don't know if you'll make the cut as a
love slave. I think you could make it as a court jester though,"
she said.

"You
know Pat. I probably should be the one to worry. You will get down
there with all those macho Texas guys and I will be yesterday's
news," said Kevin.

"I
don't think so. I have settled on you. We just haven't talked about
where we are going. I wanted to have a serious conversation with you
about that. Maybe, I just am feeling a little insecure right now,"
quipped Pat.

Kevin
sat back. "So be specific. What is it that makes you feel
insecure?" he asked.

"Well,
we went our separate ways about four years ago. It was like you went
past me and left me behind. I have that same feeling now. You are
still past me. I haven't caught up. I am trying, but I'm not there.
It used to be I was the one that was ahead of you. I liked that
better. I can't say why. The feeling of control it gave me, maybe?"
wondered Pat.

"So
you think I will ship out and this will happen again?" Kevin
asked.

"I
guess that is it" she said.

"Firstly,
we had a damaged relationship for many years. I used you and counted
on you for your help in coming to grips with my own problems. I left
home when I was seventeen. I never really went back except for
occasional visits. I started to heal once I got away from the daily
stuff that just grinds you down. I healed even faster after dad died.
He was out of my life. I damn sure wasn't going to be one of those
guys that at age 40 or 50 still blames his childhood for everything,"
said Kevin.

Kevin
continued, "You said yourself that you just stayed in the same
rut. So we switched roles here, lately. I am pushing you to change.
You are a little afraid about it. Truth be known, I don't want a
relationship where either of us is dependent or codependent on each
other. In the long run, that won't hold up. Just like in the long
run, channeling anger won't get it done. What I want is for us both
to be functioning like well adjusted adults. We both have had a good
look or two at how sweet that is. The goal is to make that our
permanent condition."