thought of a way to keep the feds out of the picture,' Boyd said, 'if we can get the timing down. The idea, separate Mr. Givens from his pack of suits and get him off by hisself.'
Oh boy, they liked the sound of that, asking how they'd do it, blow up a car? Boyd said, 'I got another plan. What I want you fellas to do is locate Raylan and let me know where he's at, from now on.'
Late afternoon, Raylan came out of Art Mullen's office in the courthouse to see Ava coming along the corridor in a beige outfit, skirt and sweater, pearls, Ava getting better-looking by the day, her expression becoming a big smile as she came up to him.
'My lawyer's still talking to the prosecutor, but it's looking good. Come on with me while I have a smoke.'
She took him outside, saw the benches on Central Street occupied - 'Geezers're always sitting there,' Ava said - and they went over to the bench in front of the Coal Miners Memorial: six columns of dead miners close to ten feet high, Raylan's dad's name among them. He found it as Ava, smoking her cigarette, told him she was pretty sure she'd get off with no more'n probation. 'I plead to some kind of manslaughter and I won't have to go to prison. Hey, why don't you come by for supper? I'll fix you something nice.'
Raylan said, 'Baked possum?'
'I only cooked that for Bowman. I got mad at him one time and put roach powder in it? He goes, 'Honey, this is the best possum I ever et.' Didn't even get sick. I'll pick up a couple of nice fryers and fix you some hot biscuits and gravy.' She grinned at him. 'Look at you licking your lips.'
Raylan said all his life fried chicken was his favorite, but he had to hang around, didn't know when he'd be off.
Ava said, 'I'm fixing it anyway.' She looked him in the eye saying, 'You're a big boy, Raylan. You want to come, there's nothing on earth gonna stop you.'
Devil had his hair cut and beard trimmed at the Cumberland Barber Shop, across the side street from the courthouse. He put on his hat and got in Dewey's junk Cadillac, parked in front of the shop. Dewey said, 'You missed it. He come out with Ava, they talked and he went back in again. You said you thought that red Dodge over on Central was Bowman's? It was. Ava got in it and drove away.'
Devil said, 'Wasn't for Boyd I'd have me some of Ava.'
Dewey said, 'Wasn't for Boyd me and you could have us the marshal. Say we took him out, what would Boyd do, kick and scream? He does that anyways.'
Devil said, 'You got the nerve to shoot a marshal?'
Dewey said, 'I got the nerve and a reason to.'
They were silent, thinking about it, till Devil said, 'That barber didn't say one goddamn word to me the whole time he's cutting my hair.'
Ten of six they watched Raylan come out of the courthouse with four other suits and go to their cars parked on Central.
Dewey said, 'We get out on the highway - you're driving 'cause it's my idea - I reach in back for the twelve- gauge and blow him away. What's wrong with that?'
Devil said there wasn't nothing wrong with it.
Except once they got to 421 two other marshal cars were on Raylan's tail all the way to the Mount-Aire Motel. Devil called Boyd to tell him Raylan was back in his room.
'Roger that,' Boyd said, and told Devil, 'Okay, he should be leaving again pretty soon. I got a way to bring him to me I think'll work. He leaves, you stay on him.'
Devil's voice said, 'Where you at?' sounding surprised.
'Down the road from Ava's. You stay on him, hear?'
Boyd sat in his Jeep Cherokee by the JESUS SAVES sign, the road here like a tunnel through the trees, dark as night. He called the Pork brothers on the hill behind the motel and told them to get ready. 'You saw him come back? . . . Okay, you see his car pull out again, you let it go. Understand? But then any other cars pull out to follow him? You open up on 'em. Pour it on, as many rounds as you can squeeze off.'
The Pork brother on the phone said it was near dark, how would they see the cars? Boyd said, 'Jesus Christ, they put their lights on, don't they? Aim back of the headlights.'
Boyd believed the suits would spot 'em and swarm up there with sheriff's deputies and state police and shoot those two fat boys down, but didn't see losing them would handicap him any. It was the reason the Pork brothers were up there.
He drove through the tunnel of trees to a semidry creekbed he turned into and stopped about fifty yards in to leave the Jeep. It was a place he'd used to slip up on the house, make sure Bowman wasn't home. It was close by. Boyd moved through the pines toward a light shining in the front room, meaning she was home. He rapped on the door. It opened, and he saw right away Ava was expecting company.
X.
She had on her party dress, the shiny green lowcut one with the straight skirt she'd worn to Bowman's funeral. Seeing Boyd instead of Raylan gave her a start and all she could say was, 'Well, hi,' disappointed. There was nothing to hide, so she told Boyd she'd invited Raylan for a homecooked supper but didn't know if he'd make it or not.
Boyd came in sniffing, saying, 'Mmmmmm, fried chicken.' Saying, 'Why don't you call Raylan and remind him? Go on, he's at the Mount-Aire.' And gave her the phone number.
Well, then she became suspicious. Why would Boyd know that? 'You've talked to him?'
'Honey, me and Raylan are old buddies. I thought you knew that?'
She hesitated because it sounded fishy.
'Go on, give him a call. But don't say I'm here.'
'Why not?'
'I'm not staying,' Boyd said, 'so why mention it. I can see you want to flirt with him some.'
'We was neighbors,' Ava said, 'that's all.'
'I know, and you want to talk about old times and so on. Go on, call him.'
Raylan picked up the phone to hear Ava asking if he could smell the chicken frying. 'It'll be done by the time you get here.' Raylan, sitting on the side of his bed, took a few moments before telling Ava he was on his way.
He went next door to Art Mullen's room to let him know he was going. Art said, 'You don't see it as Boyd using her?'
'I would,' Raylan said, 'except she asked me this afternoon, at the courthouse.'
'She could've been setting you up then,' Art said. 'I think we'll tag along.'
Raylan didn't argue. He drew Art a quick map showing how to get to Ava's and left.
Dewey saw headlights pop on, the Town Car out from the motel, and hit Devil's arm, Devil still behind the wheel, Devil adjusting his hat as he turned the key and the starter groaned without catching. 'You're gonna flood it,' Dewey said. 'Pump the gas pedal twice and try it.' It worked, the engine roaring to life, and they took off east after the Town Car, Dewey saying, 'Now catch the son of a bitch, will you?' He reached over his seat for the shotgun and saw out the rear window another car pulling away from the motel and heard gunfire, an automatic weapon, and saw sparks jumping off the road behind the car, the car swerving, U-turning back to the motel with its headlights off. Now a rifle was firing along with the bursts from the AK, Devil hunched over the wheel saying, 'Jesus Christ,' and Dewey saying, 'It's the fat boys, up on the yan side of the mo-tel, holding 'em down. Come on, man, put your foot in it.'
Raylan saw the headlights trailing him. He came to the diversion tunnels, drilled through the mountain to run off floodwater, made his turn south and slowed down to watch. Now the headlights behind him made the turn and
