Chapter 10
Later that day in the department in the conference room, Kamira, who had been pacing, turned and faced Vittoria DeLuca sitting next to Jack.
“How did this happen? Jack, you had a patrol car at the Bellows’, and Vittoria, you and your men were there. How does an 88-year-old woman crawl out of a window and end up at a bar?”
Vittoria smiled. “It’s Willie Mae. You should know by now, dear, that lovely woman is fierce and does what she wants to do. She was protecting her family.”
Kamira glared at Vittoria, ready to explode.
Jack said, “Vittoria and I have been talking, and I think we have a plan. It’s not exactly what you would call legal, but it’s the only way I can think of to find Willie Mae.”
Kamira sat down in the chair. They had found no leads all day. “Let’s hear it.”
Jack nodded. “I can gather the names of some known members of the State Line Mob, and we have Suzie do the search for current addresses and send the DeLuca men to say, pick them up.
The plan gets interesting from here. Bringing the mob to the station will accomplish nothing. Instead, we have them brought out to old Arnie Bailey’s place on the river.”
Kamira’s jaw dropped, “Arnie Bailey? Are you insane? That man is over a hundred years old, near as anyone can tell. What in the world is he going to do?”
Kamira’s eyes gleamed as realization struck. “Those alligators are like his children. It just might work.”
Jack smiled at Vittoria, knowing it was her idea. Willie Mae had told her all about Arnie Bailey.
Vittoria looked at Kamira and softly said, “Go home, Kamira. Try to get some rest. We will meet here in the conference room tomorrow at 7:30 am. My men will be ready to move.
That evening, Willie Mae heard the padlock on the door at the top of the stairs unlock. She hoped her captor, whoever it was, had some water. She was thirsty.
Hearing the heavy, uneven steps coming down the stairs, Willie Mae shuddered in the basement's corner opposite Alyce Ann’s body.
Willie Mae realized the light had come on in the center of the basement. Rubbing her eyes, she looked up to find a drunk Buddy Colfax standing in the center of the room.
Aghast, Willie Mae stood facing Buddy Colfax.
“I should have known the State Line Mob would be behind this. Did George tell you to kidnap me, Buddy? To kill Alyce Ann?”
Buddy Colfax laughed harshly, “There is no one who tells me what to do, old woman. I am the head of the State Line now.”
Willie Mae laughed, “You’re nothing but George Buchanan’s lapdog, Buddy Colfax, everyone knows that. I visit George up there at Parchman, and my son’s house is burnt to the ground. I confront you at the bar, and here I am.”
Pointing her finger in Buddy’s face, she continued saying, “Have you forgotten who my niece is, Buddy? Kamira will hunt you down if something happens to me.”
Willie Mae watched the flash of fear cross Buddy’s face. Then she felt his fist slam into her face, breaking her nose and throwing her on the hard cement floor.
Blood poured from her nose, and she struggled to sit up. Willie Mae laid still as Buddy menacingly leaned over her, shouting.
“Shut the hell up, old woman, or you will end up like your friend over there. Dead. Hell, you’re going to, anyway. It’s just a matter of when is all.”
Willie Mae laid there as Buddy drunkenly made his way back up the stairs. She heard the padlock lock into place.
She was pulling herself back into the corner, trying to stifle the bleeding from her nose. Willie Mae heard loud voices coming from upstairs.
“Buddy, what are we going to do with Willie Mae?”
“Chester, pull yourself together and put that bottle down. We have our orders. George wants us to take care of Willie Mae tomorrow and dump both her and his dead wife out in the sound.”
Chester slammed the bottle of moonshine down on the table. “That Kamira Jackson, she is nothing we want to confront. George is behind bars. She can’t get to him, but she can get to us.”
“Don’t you worry about Kamira Jackson. She is going to be getting hers soon. George will see to that. Now finish getting the papers in order, we are moving the headquarters in three days. End Willie Mae tomorrow morning. I need to be at the new headquarters.”
Leaning back against the damp wall, her face and body filled with pain, Willie Mae said to herself softly, “I will not let George win. He has taken enough from this family. I may be 88 years old, but I am a Creole woman. God willing, I will save my family and make Shadowbank a better place for my new grand baby.”
Holding the hem of her dress against her nose, she closed her eyes. As a child, she remembered a dog who would play dead and then chase her around the yard. It was a game they played for hours. Maybe if she could play dead, she could get to the gun Chester kept in the front of his pants. He didn’t seem real bright, and if he was drunk, even better.
Willie Mae, with a plan of action, drifted off to sleep.
The following day, Willie Mae, sitting up, heard Chester unlocking the padlock and coming down the stairs. Laying down, she relaxed her body, pretending to be dead as she had as a child.
Chester stood over Willie Mae, saying, “Is she dead?” He kicked her in the side, and she didn’t move. He felt her nose to see if she was breathing. Relieved, a hungover Chester assumed she was dead.
Grabbing his phone, he dialed Buddy.
“Buddy, Willie Mae is dead. She died during the night. What should I do now?”
“Fool, we talked about this last night. If you weren’t so drunk, you’d remember. Wrap her body in some plastic,
