Chapter 09 Ghosted
Boyd Fletcher didn't start out as a Cat-Man-Do, but life with his Miss Kitty, his pudgy little meower, has the fur flying. Today on the Quirky Cat Nips Podcast, we're airing Chapter 09 of Quirky Cat Gets Ghosted in our ongoing presentation of this hilarious audiobook. Meow Kitties!
Listen to Episode #15 Now:
Transcript:
00:00:02.320 --> 00:00:03.680
Announcer: This is PetLife Radio.
00:00:03.880 --> 00:00:05.040
Announcer: Let's talk pets.
00:00:07.460 --> 00:00:13.200
Announcer: Cat lovers and feline friends, it's time for Adele Park's Quirky Cat Nips.
00:00:16.200 --> 00:00:25.800
Announcer: Today, on the Quirky Cat Nips Podcast, we're airing a chapter of Quirky Cat Gets Ghosted, which we will do until the entire audio book has been broadcasted.
00:00:26.680 --> 00:00:33.260
Announcer: >We invite all you kitties to kick back now, relax, and enjoy Quirky Cat Gets Ghosted by Adele Park.
00:00:40.927 --> 00:00:42.247
Announcer: >Audio Recording St.
00:00:42.267 --> 00:00:48.907
Announcer: George Presents Quirky Cat Gets Ghosted Written, produced, and edited by Adele Park.
00:00:49.467 --> 00:00:50.907
Announcer: >Narrated by a full cast.
00:00:50.927 --> 00:00:51.047
Announcer: A cast.
00:01:01.008 --> 00:01:06.348
A Directive from Gertrude Fletcher, Head of the Naval Utah Department of Motor Vehicles.
00:01:07.308 --> 00:01:08.408
Part 09.
00:01:12.188 --> 00:01:16.168
Secrets, secrets everywhere, lead to trouble and despair.
00:01:16.188 --> 00:01:20.348
I can't remember who told me that little rhyme when I was a child.
00:01:20.728 --> 00:01:24.428
I only know it's the truest thing I have ever heard.
00:01:24.848 --> 00:01:31.908
And yet, I find myself simmering in a stew of secrets, many of which I never cooked up myself.
00:01:32.488 --> 00:01:34.888
Boyd Fletcher was the apple of my eye.
00:01:35.508 --> 00:01:39.928
I married late in life, having been burdened with helping support family members.
00:01:40.328 --> 00:01:47.368
Papa was addicted to everything that would kill a normal person, alcohol, tobacco and gambling.
00:01:47.988 --> 00:01:53.488
It was the latter that ultimately brought me to the gaming tables at Double Deuces in Las Vegas.
00:01:54.228 --> 00:01:58.728
Like Papa, Boyd was foolishly trying to win back squandered money.
00:01:59.368 --> 00:02:04.328
That's like trying to scoop milk back into the jug once it's been spilled on the counter.
00:02:04.728 --> 00:02:10.068
Double Deuces is owned by the same racketeers I worked for at the track in New Jersey.
00:02:10.728 --> 00:02:16.628
Any way these people could separate a patsy from their money was on the table, so to speak.
00:02:17.188 --> 00:02:23.768
Casinos, payday loans, dog tracks, horse tracks, sports betting, anything and everything.
00:02:24.708 --> 00:02:31.288
I worked at the track in New Jersey until I went off to college, returning there to work during the summers and on holidays.
00:02:32.268 --> 00:02:34.788
I possess two unique qualities.
00:02:35.388 --> 00:02:39.048
I observe everything and I know how to keep my mouth shut.
00:02:39.808 --> 00:02:43.028
This is how one survives in a mob owned business.
00:02:43.728 --> 00:02:48.288
I spotted dozens of inaccuracies occurring in the front office at the horse track.
00:02:48.888 --> 00:02:55.008
I quietly sorted through accounting errors, payroll mistakes and other mismanagement practices.
00:02:55.768 --> 00:03:05.348
Even at 16, I took great pleasure in ironing out the wrinkles in the business, all the while knowing it was fueled by blood money.
00:03:05.968 --> 00:03:10.468
The company I worked for was under investigation by the federal government.
00:03:11.088 --> 00:03:17.988
I was interrogated on several occasions, especially as my office duties at the horse track expanded.
00:03:18.868 --> 00:03:26.528
Unnerved as I was, I held my ground, never lying, but never revealing more than I was asked about.
00:03:27.088 --> 00:03:29.548
My steely reserve didn't go unnoticed.
00:03:29.988 --> 00:03:37.508
In fact, it was these very encounters with the FBI which forever altered the course of my life.
00:03:38.148 --> 00:03:45.648
While these events were monumental on a personal level, I wasn't able to discuss them with anyone including Boyd.
00:03:46.188 --> 00:03:53.628
It was painful not to share my past history with my husband, but in the end, it kept Boyd out of serious trouble.
00:03:54.268 --> 00:03:56.588
It may have even saved his life.
00:03:57.308 --> 00:03:57.828
Next!
00:04:02.708 --> 00:04:06.448
In case you haven't noticed, you've been ghosted.
00:04:10.348 --> 00:04:16.268
Chapter 09, Boyd Fletcher The fog was a misty green.
00:04:16.828 --> 00:04:18.308
The temperatures were cool.
00:04:18.828 --> 00:04:22.008
It was too late in the year for this to be happening naturally.
00:04:22.588 --> 00:04:26.388
I couldn't smell her yet, but something was afoot all right.
00:04:27.008 --> 00:04:30.748
Miss Kitty had her back scrunched against the front door to the cabin.
00:04:31.688 --> 00:04:35.128
Every hair on her body stood straight up.
00:04:35.648 --> 00:04:41.428
When the scent of rotten meat assaulted my nostrils, I knew it wasn't Gertie.
00:04:41.448 --> 00:04:44.908
It wasn't my sweet grandmother Delphina neither.
00:04:45.848 --> 00:04:51.828
No, this air pollution could only come from one source, Blue McKenna.
00:04:52.488 --> 00:04:54.448
Go away, I said.
00:04:54.468 --> 00:04:56.348
I don't have time for you.
00:04:56.888 --> 00:04:58.108
And that was the truth.
00:04:58.808 --> 00:05:04.108
I had to get up early in the morning to be at a Taste of Heaven Bakery when they opened.
00:05:04.928 --> 00:05:10.288
Otherwise, all the cherry popovers would be gone, and I needed them.
00:05:10.988 --> 00:05:15.768
That boy from Las Vegas was coming over, and he was expecting a story.
00:05:16.608 --> 00:05:20.448
I've been dealing with scoundrels and thieves all my life.
00:05:21.188 --> 00:05:22.528
I know how things work.
00:05:23.068 --> 00:05:25.448
You got to give something in order to get something.
00:05:26.608 --> 00:05:33.088
Telling this boy a ghost story was either plum loco or pure genius.
00:05:34.028 --> 00:05:38.848
Brandon, his name is, showed up right on time with the cat.
00:05:39.768 --> 00:05:47.708
I don't like that striped tub of attitude they call skitters, but Miss Kitty has taken a shine to him.
00:05:48.488 --> 00:05:54.668
If he doesn't visit on a regular basis, she takes off and won't come home till I get a call from Gecko's Gulch.
00:05:55.888 --> 00:05:58.528
Best to just let them get together.
00:05:59.068 --> 00:06:01.488
At least I know where my Miss Kitty is.
00:06:02.248 --> 00:06:05.028
The brown boy tagged along with Brandon.
00:06:05.908 --> 00:06:07.888
I guess he's a regular now.
00:06:08.668 --> 00:06:11.088
Good thing I got a dozen pop-overs.
00:06:11.748 --> 00:06:16.228
He packed away more of those treats than Brandon and me put together.
00:06:16.988 --> 00:06:22.228
You want to know about Juniper Hollow, I ask, settling into my favorite rocker.
00:06:23.148 --> 00:06:29.448
Brandon was sitting on the stoop while his friend licked up the remains of the pop-overs.
00:06:30.448 --> 00:06:31.328
No foolin.
00:06:31.728 --> 00:06:35.668
This tiny pipsqueak could out-eat a desert warthog.
00:06:36.328 --> 00:06:39.448
Nothing good ever happens at Juniper Hollow, I said.
00:06:40.328 --> 00:06:45.408
Everything and everyone who associates with that place gets corrupted.
00:06:46.168 --> 00:06:53.688
It's pure evil, like the Devil's Triangle, except in this case, there's no ocean.
00:06:54.508 --> 00:06:57.568
You don't need all that water to make people disappear.
00:06:58.228 --> 00:07:02.088
They do it at Juniper Hollow with just that tiny pond.
00:07:02.908 --> 00:07:07.128
But it isn't only the water that's gone bad at Juniper Hollow.
00:07:07.848 --> 00:07:10.048
It's the whole wretched place.
00:07:11.008 --> 00:07:12.688
Nobody gets out alive.
00:07:13.268 --> 00:07:19.548
Not my wife, Gertrude, not my grandmother, and not your stepmama either.
00:07:20.588 --> 00:07:22.808
That perked up Brandon's antenna.
00:07:23.608 --> 00:07:28.088
When negotiating, it's good to keep a few cards close to your vest.
00:07:28.868 --> 00:07:33.508
Like this business about the ghosts, especially since they aren't permanent.
00:07:34.248 --> 00:07:43.488
In the days after my grandmother, Delphina, got swallowed up by the debauchery at Juniper Hollow, she appeared at my bedside.
00:07:44.528 --> 00:07:46.648
Scared the living daylights out of me.
00:07:47.528 --> 00:07:52.308
Leave me alone, I don't believe in ghosts, I screamed.
00:07:53.268 --> 00:07:56.308
I was a young boy, panicked by what I had seen.
00:07:57.288 --> 00:07:58.728
You're not real.
00:07:59.708 --> 00:08:07.328
I yelled that last line so many times, I woke up the whole house, even rousting daddy out of his drunken slumber.
00:08:08.068 --> 00:08:11.508
After that, I never saw Delphina again.
00:08:12.288 --> 00:08:14.128
With Gertie, it was different.
00:08:15.268 --> 00:08:18.848
I didn't know if the villains at Juniper Hollow killed her.
00:08:19.448 --> 00:08:22.468
I only know her spirit was still around.
00:08:23.288 --> 00:08:27.248
This time, I didn't yell anything about not believing in ghosts.
00:08:28.088 --> 00:08:30.528
I missed Gertie too much to be afraid.
00:08:31.488 --> 00:08:37.428
My tank was so full of sadness, nothing could ever scare me again.
00:08:38.228 --> 00:08:46.048
Gertie hung around almost a year, fading and stinking a little less each time she visited.
00:08:46.988 --> 00:08:52.648
That's how I knew the foul odor floating up on my porch came from Blue McKenna.
00:08:53.508 --> 00:08:55.728
I never knew Blue very well.
00:08:56.428 --> 00:09:00.488
The only thing I'm certain of is that she didn't have to die.
00:09:01.248 --> 00:09:07.008
She's poking up daisies in the desert because she meddled in the chicanery at Juniper Hollow.
00:09:08.528 --> 00:09:14.728
Foolish girl kept investigating the wrong things, kicked the beehive and got swarmed.
00:09:15.328 --> 00:09:23.268
Blue was focusing on the past when she should have been looking into what was going on at Juniper Hollow right now.
00:09:24.168 --> 00:09:28.208
But that wasn't the story for tonight's telling.
00:09:29.088 --> 00:09:32.948
It doesn't matter what kind of fancy structure they build at Juniper Hollow.
00:09:33.988 --> 00:09:38.508
It always becomes a cabal of evil, I said.
00:09:39.488 --> 00:09:48.508
One depraved group replaces the other, but always involving polygamists from Zion Flats and their gangster friends.
00:09:49.588 --> 00:09:54.328
I settled in, shifting in the rocker to take the ache off my bum leg.
00:09:55.088 --> 00:10:02.028
The only reason the mob stole Juniper Hollow was because the cops finally had the place on their radar.
00:10:02.908 --> 00:10:08.608
I'd been hoping some richie rich from up north would come along and claim it for a summer property.
00:10:09.288 --> 00:10:16.688
I shouldn't have been surprised when it got lapped up by that slick-talking polygamist Jasper Stratton instead.
00:10:17.428 --> 00:10:24.168
Won't be long before he's cavorting with the crime syndicate out of Las Vegas, just like the rest of them.
00:10:25.028 --> 00:10:26.748
I know they're watching me.
00:10:27.288 --> 00:10:29.908
Polygamists and mobsters alike.
00:10:30.788 --> 00:10:33.688
They've been after my family for years.
00:10:34.588 --> 00:10:40.248
First, they suckered my granddaddy into distilling their devil juice during Prohibition.
00:10:41.088 --> 00:10:42.648
They haven't let up since.
00:10:43.388 --> 00:10:50.588
Having a polygamist hold the title to Juniper Hollow is no better than the hooligans who stole it from my family.
00:10:51.428 --> 00:10:55.308
I've got news for the new owner, Jasper Stratton.
00:10:56.308 --> 00:10:58.228
I'm watching him back.
00:10:59.168 --> 00:11:02.688
So should you, I said pointing my cane at Brandon.
00:11:03.168 --> 00:11:05.968
The boy nodded, already reeled in.
00:11:06.708 --> 00:11:10.068
We Fletchers have always been good at building things.
00:11:10.708 --> 00:11:13.028
It's owning them that's the problem, I said.
00:11:13.868 --> 00:11:21.888
Our family started the Mass Ascension and Trust Company right after Joseph Stratton settled Naval back in 1857.
00:11:22.728 --> 00:11:26.168
We built the trusses for almost every building in town.
00:11:27.308 --> 00:11:37.348
My granddaddy's house at Juniper Hollow was the finest in Pitt County, even nicer than the one Joseph Stratton had for his favorite wives.
00:11:38.048 --> 00:11:44.188
Then the Great Depression rolled in, dousing everyone's dreams like water on a bonfire.
00:11:45.088 --> 00:11:55.968
Granddaddy got in over his head, not collecting like he should have from customers at Mass Ascension and building a mansion at the worst possible time.
00:11:56.868 --> 00:12:02.428
The mobsters preyed on him like a hungry hawk going after a field mouse.
00:12:03.428 --> 00:12:07.408
They swooped granddaddy up and turned him into their meal ticket.
00:12:08.168 --> 00:12:10.048
Wasn't hard to figure out why.
00:12:10.908 --> 00:12:15.248
Juniper Hollow was the perfect place to distill their hooch.
00:12:16.188 --> 00:12:21.888
Prohibition was coming down hard on liquor companies, raiding them like they were killing babies.
00:12:22.808 --> 00:12:25.768
Juniper Hollow was a great little hidey hole.
00:12:26.828 --> 00:12:36.448
No one would ever suspect folks would be mixing up moonshine in a dry county plopped down in a state full of god-fearing Mormons.
00:12:37.228 --> 00:12:40.868
I spent my early years at Juniper Hollow, I continued.
00:12:41.608 --> 00:12:46.188
My mother died of cancer when I was just five years old.
00:12:47.008 --> 00:12:57.968
Father moved me and my two little sisters into Juniper Hollow to be raised by our grandmother, Delphina, while he helped Granddaddy on his way to an early grave.
00:12:58.888 --> 00:13:06.188
Granddaddy was a smart fella, but he had the curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
00:13:07.408 --> 00:13:15.648
One morning, just as prohibition was about to come to an end, the Feds charged into Juniper Hollow, guns blazing.
00:13:16.568 --> 00:13:23.208
The spotter on top of Granite Ridge sent out the alarm, triggering a grisly shootout.
00:13:23.988 --> 00:13:27.828
There were bodies everywhere, including Granddaddy's.
00:13:29.008 --> 00:13:33.748
After the buzzards ate their bloody fill, the mob proclaimed victory.
00:13:34.648 --> 00:13:42.608
That should have been the last of this vile arrangement, but the Fletchers don't seem to know when to leave well enough alone.
00:13:43.588 --> 00:13:49.168
The boy knew this already, or could find out by asking just about anyone in Navel.
00:13:49.908 --> 00:13:53.468
I needed to toss him something he couldn't get anywhere else.
00:13:54.388 --> 00:13:57.068
Father never got over what happened, I said.
00:13:57.828 --> 00:14:01.368
We were forced to move into a small house in Navel.
00:14:02.228 --> 00:14:11.848
My grandmother Delphina was a stratton by birth, and a close descendant of Joseph Stratton, the man who was prophet when I was a boy.
00:14:12.408 --> 00:14:18.448
Delphina stood up straight, proud in the light of the ruin all around her.
00:14:19.548 --> 00:14:24.308
Everyone in Navel thought the Fletchers were high and mighty because of Juniper Hollow.
00:14:25.008 --> 00:14:28.568
They were glad to see our whole clan take a tumble.
00:14:29.548 --> 00:14:33.328
The house in town wasn't half the size as Juniper Hollow.
00:14:34.168 --> 00:14:40.048
Delphina did her best to make things homey, up before the roosters to cook and clean.
00:14:40.868 --> 00:14:48.088
I got my own room on account of being the only male child, but we were still stacked right on top of each other.
00:14:49.148 --> 00:14:55.008
I went to work at Mass Ascension and Truss, dropping out of high school so I could take up the slack.
00:14:55.828 --> 00:15:03.108
Delphina, who once had people cleaning and cooking for her, now did her own chores and then some.
00:15:04.128 --> 00:15:11.408
Still, Delphina found it in her heart to greet me at the door when I'd come home from a long day of breaking my back.
00:15:12.188 --> 00:15:14.628
She always said I was her godsend.
00:15:16.908 --> 00:15:18.108
Announcer: Hang tight, kitties.
00:15:18.428 --> 00:15:19.988
Announcer: We'll be back in a scratch.
00:15:24.568 --> 00:15:26.368
Announcer: Holy hairballs, kitties!
00:15:26.768 --> 00:15:30.048
Announcer: This isn't the only quirky thing prancing around the planet.
00:15:30.468 --> 00:15:37.628
Announcer: Quirky Cat Goes Splat by Adele Park is an entire audiobook dedicated to quirky cat stuff.
00:15:38.688 --> 00:15:43.068
Announcer: This is a story for people who appreciate a good cattail.
00:15:43.908 --> 00:15:47.628
Announcer: The rest of you can go stab yourselves with your stupid allergy pins.
00:15:48.608 --> 00:15:50.268
Announcer: Quirky Cat Goes Splat.
00:15:50.628 --> 00:15:53.088
Announcer: Get it today on audible.com.
00:15:56.208 --> 00:15:57.148
Announcer: Let's talk pets.
00:16:09.632 --> 00:16:15.812
It hurt to tell this story, but if I was going to get this boy on my side, it had to be done.
00:16:17.612 --> 00:16:20.972
Father took to the bottle, swelling his life away.
00:16:21.732 --> 00:16:24.072
Liquor is the worst kind of sin.
00:16:24.612 --> 00:16:26.692
Cunning and cruel, I said.
00:16:27.672 --> 00:16:35.732
He couldn't unhinge himself from the gangsters at Juniper Hollow, sinking further and further into depravity.
00:16:36.652 --> 00:16:42.072
He borrowed money from the mob, then drank to try to forget what he'd done.
00:16:43.052 --> 00:16:49.992
Pure humiliation in a community like Naval, where alcohol is shamed and rejected.
00:16:50.732 --> 00:16:53.232
One night, the hooligans called in their note.
00:16:54.232 --> 00:17:01.552
No one in Naval locks their doors at night, so they walked right in and rousted Father and Delphina from sleep.
00:17:02.152 --> 00:17:11.652
My sisters were just wee ones at the time, crying and fussing as they roughhoused Father and Delphina, forcing them into their truck.
00:17:12.172 --> 00:17:17.472
One of them stayed behind, holding a gun on me and my weeping sisters.
00:17:18.092 --> 00:17:22.172
I will never forgive those degenerates for the fear they inflicted.
00:17:22.612 --> 00:17:25.352
I had to take a deep breath before I could go on.
00:17:25.952 --> 00:17:30.352
Father was taken to Juniper Hollow and beaten senseless.
00:17:31.072 --> 00:17:36.612
Liquor had turned Father into a liar, which meant no one believed his account of what happened.
00:17:37.272 --> 00:17:40.412
Father claims Delphina was able to make a run for it.
00:17:40.832 --> 00:17:46.712
They never found her body, even after I got the authorities from Naval involved.
00:17:47.352 --> 00:17:55.232
I knew I had a target on my head for calling the coppers, but by that time, they already squeezed all the juice out of Father.
00:17:55.712 --> 00:17:59.592
We were left like discarded trash to spoil in the desert.
00:18:00.192 --> 00:18:04.732
I searched for Delphina long after the authorities in Naval gave up.
00:18:05.372 --> 00:18:08.572
Not that they really put much elbow grease into finding her.
00:18:09.132 --> 00:18:17.872
Delphina had stratton blood in her heritage, but being associated with the family in cahoots with criminals erased her good standing.
00:18:18.452 --> 00:18:23.652
Unable to manage things at Mass Ascension and Trust, I took over for Father.
00:18:24.392 --> 00:18:32.512
The drinking got worse, till one day Father had a massive stroke, leaving him speechless and frozen on one side of his body.
00:18:33.112 --> 00:18:41.312
The church put Father up as a charity case, where he withered like a grape on a vine until he died a few years later.
00:18:41.972 --> 00:18:50.512
I scrimped and scraped at the business for decades, never able to climb out of the hole my father and granddaddy threw our family in.
00:18:51.112 --> 00:18:57.292
Not having anything to offer, I didn't court any ladies, knowing I couldn't feed another mouth.
00:18:58.252 --> 00:19:03.812
I grew sour and resentful, working my fingers to the bone and never getting ahead.
00:19:04.512 --> 00:19:10.712
One day, I decided I was going to get back at the mob responsible for all this ruin.
00:19:11.212 --> 00:19:24.692
Ditching Sunday worship services, I began to hang around double deuces, the Las Vegas casino owned by the ruffians who ensnared my family into their bootleg booze operation.
00:19:25.732 --> 00:19:30.232
I tried to win back the money they stole, only to lose more.
00:19:30.952 --> 00:19:37.012
On one particular Sunday, I bet the farm, deciding to put it all on the line.
00:19:37.652 --> 00:19:44.492
Those mobsters have no heart, taking all I had plus my dignity.
00:19:45.412 --> 00:19:52.412
Defeated, I sat in my truck in the parking lot of double deuces, contemplating ways to kill myself.
00:19:53.312 --> 00:20:01.572
I didn't have a gun with me, although why I drove all the way down there without one is a head scratcher for sure.
00:20:01.592 --> 00:20:08.132
I didn't want to admit to the next part of the story, but it was something Brandon couldn't get from anyone else.
00:20:09.192 --> 00:20:11.192
I had to earn his trust.
00:20:11.932 --> 00:20:18.052
I'm not a man taken to crying, but there I sat, blubbering in the Las Vegas heat, I said.
00:20:18.812 --> 00:20:24.792
I was so eaten up by my own misery, at first I didn't hear the tapping on the window.
00:20:25.312 --> 00:20:30.972
Gracious God in heaven, I had given these mobsters everything I had.
00:20:31.532 --> 00:20:32.932
What did they want now?
00:20:33.632 --> 00:20:37.532
Go away, I shouted at the irksome window tapper.
00:20:38.132 --> 00:20:41.632
It was the lady who had robbed me at the blackjack table.
00:20:42.352 --> 00:20:47.672
I was about to drive off, but didn't, realizing I had nowhere to go.
00:20:48.992 --> 00:20:51.152
The annoying woman kept tapping.
00:20:52.092 --> 00:21:00.232
Finally, I rolled the window down and was about to lay into her, cursing all the damage done to me and my kin.
00:21:00.852 --> 00:21:03.472
The hand on my shoulder should have made me jump.
00:21:04.212 --> 00:21:08.572
If I had my wits about me, I would have viewed that jester as a threat.
00:21:09.532 --> 00:21:10.712
Turns out it wasn't.
00:21:11.372 --> 00:21:16.292
It was my gurdy, there to warn me not to come back to the double deuces.
00:21:17.392 --> 00:21:18.012
Why not?
00:21:18.012 --> 00:21:18.732
I demanded.
00:21:19.312 --> 00:21:24.432
They killed my grandparents and brought shame to my entire family.
00:21:25.092 --> 00:21:26.672
I have nothing to lose.
00:21:27.352 --> 00:21:29.612
Let those bastards come after me.
00:21:30.072 --> 00:21:32.972
It'll save me the trouble of doing myself in.
00:21:33.592 --> 00:21:34.932
That's when I lost it.
00:21:35.452 --> 00:21:41.852
Years of working myself weary, only to wind up further in debt was more than I could bear.
00:21:42.392 --> 00:21:44.232
Gurdy said I should get a move on.
00:21:45.072 --> 00:21:56.172
Not wanting to die in the sweltering parking lot of the casino owned by the thieves who stole everything my family ever had, I rolled out.
00:21:56.772 --> 00:22:06.172
It wasn't until I was at the stoplight that I noticed the note Gurdy had dropped into my lap, instructing me to meet at a coffee shop off the strip.
00:22:06.752 --> 00:22:11.332
Drinking coffee is a sin, but then so is making bathtub whiskey.
00:22:12.552 --> 00:22:15.812
I could tell those boys didn't give a hoot about drinking coffee.
00:22:16.332 --> 00:22:21.592
It isn't a sin in their spoiled existence, what with all their Starbucks and such.
00:22:22.212 --> 00:22:37.672
Continuing on with my tale, I said, I wasn't sure if I was walking into a trap, but thinking it would look better if I got murdered instead of taking my own life, I slinked into the nearly empty restaurant.
00:22:38.352 --> 00:22:38.992
Who knows?
00:22:39.412 --> 00:22:44.052
Maybe the authorities in Las Vegas wouldn't take too kindly to a mob killing.
00:22:44.712 --> 00:22:49.432
Taking a seat, I said, yes, when the waitress asked if I wanted coffee.
00:22:50.112 --> 00:22:56.992
It was bitter as hell, but that black brew woke me up in a way I'd never been before.
00:22:57.532 --> 00:23:01.472
Gertie came in a few minutes later, sliding into the booth next to me.
00:23:02.192 --> 00:23:06.632
I'd never been that close to a woman before who wasn't my sister or mother.
00:23:07.672 --> 00:23:12.772
I looked over at those boys, annoyed by the expressions on their teenage faces.
00:23:13.652 --> 00:23:14.812
I plowed on.
00:23:15.492 --> 00:23:19.812
Gertie was a pint-sized thing with not an ounce of fat on her.
00:23:20.432 --> 00:23:27.032
She wore her hair in a bureaucratic bun and peered out at the world through the thickest glasses.
00:23:28.212 --> 00:23:29.832
I thought she was beautiful.
00:23:30.412 --> 00:23:32.352
We talked for a long time.
00:23:33.052 --> 00:23:35.112
It was dark when I drove back to Naval.
00:23:35.972 --> 00:23:41.032
Everything was still as wrecked as before, but I had Gertie's phone number.
00:23:41.652 --> 00:23:47.592
I didn't want to seem too eager, but I just couldn't help calling Gertie every chance I could.
00:23:48.232 --> 00:23:50.312
You know how that goes, don't you boys?
00:23:50.712 --> 00:23:51.812
Both of them nodded.
00:23:52.392 --> 00:23:56.292
Gertie seemed so worldly, yet mysterious.
00:23:57.072 --> 00:24:03.892
She never would let on about her family or the connection she had to the outlaws who owned double deuces.
00:24:04.772 --> 00:24:06.212
One thing was for sure.
00:24:06.752 --> 00:24:10.712
Gertie didn't trust these people and said, I shouldn't either.
00:24:11.372 --> 00:24:13.132
We started meeting in Mesquite.
00:24:13.712 --> 00:24:16.832
Gertie's days off were Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
00:24:17.652 --> 00:24:19.992
I'd clock out early at Mass Ascension.
00:24:20.632 --> 00:24:23.972
That ship was going down with or without me.
00:24:24.632 --> 00:24:29.892
As you know, Mesquite is just a wide place in the road where they threw up a few casinos.
00:24:30.692 --> 00:24:32.632
Gertie never stayed in any of them.
00:24:33.452 --> 00:24:36.792
She'd get a room at the Budget Motel and I'd pick her up.
00:24:37.752 --> 00:24:39.252
Sometimes we'd drive to St.
00:24:39.272 --> 00:24:42.232
George and have ourselves a nice meal.
00:24:43.092 --> 00:24:46.632
Other times, we'd take my truck out to Gold Butte for a picnic.
00:24:47.492 --> 00:24:49.072
We always had coffee.
00:24:49.852 --> 00:24:54.572
I didn't let on to these kids that the coffee excited me almost as much as Gertie.
00:24:55.232 --> 00:25:01.232
Although she never said why, Gertie wanted out of Las Vegas and away from double deuces.
00:25:02.132 --> 00:25:05.272
Eventually, Gertie quit her job at the casino.
00:25:06.012 --> 00:25:08.272
I was happy to make an honest woman of her.
00:25:08.892 --> 00:25:10.212
We got hitched in St.
00:25:10.232 --> 00:25:13.012
George to avoid getting a Nevada marriage license.
00:25:13.532 --> 00:25:18.012
Gertie even took on the last name of Fletcher, which kind of surprised me.
00:25:18.732 --> 00:25:26.452
But I suppose if you want to be anonymous in a small town like Naval, having the last name of Fletcher is one way to do it.
00:25:27.092 --> 00:25:29.972
There's almost as many Fletchers as there are Strattons.
00:25:30.812 --> 00:25:37.492
By the time Gertie had become my missus, Mass Ascension and Trust was heading straight for bankruptcy.
00:25:38.092 --> 00:25:43.992
I sold the house Delphina kept so clean and tidy and moved up to Granite Ridge.
00:25:44.652 --> 00:25:50.032
My sisters have a stake in the Ridge property, but everyone could see the writing on the wall.
00:25:50.712 --> 00:25:54.152
I was about to be homeless with a brand new wife.
00:25:54.912 --> 00:26:03.492
My brother-in-law stepped in and brokered a deal with some of the Stratton boys who had been chomping at the bit waiting for the business to fold.
00:26:04.572 --> 00:26:11.632
Handing over the keys to Mass Ascension and Trust felt like pulling a six inch splinter out of my hand.
00:26:12.132 --> 00:26:16.452
Pure relief, even though it left me all dug up.
00:26:17.252 --> 00:26:20.532
I could tell Brandon hadn't heard this part of the story.
00:26:21.112 --> 00:26:21.932
I went on.
00:26:22.432 --> 00:26:32.232
Gertie got herself a job at the DMV, tightening up that operation until it became the one government department that actually worked.
00:26:33.012 --> 00:26:40.952
I filed for disability on account of a bum leg I got when a truss fell off a crane back in my early years at Mass Ascension.
00:26:41.552 --> 00:26:43.572
Darn thing keeps me up at night.
00:26:44.292 --> 00:26:49.652
Anyway, between Gertie's job and my government dole, we were able to limp by.
00:26:50.512 --> 00:26:52.012
I never felt safe though.
00:26:52.872 --> 00:26:58.712
I used my free time trying to root out the evil that was happening right below my property.
00:26:59.392 --> 00:27:12.432
After the feds rounded up a bunch of polygamists and one of the ring masters from Las Vegas last summer, Jasper Stratton sprang onto the scene to snatch up Juniper Hollow for his own misdeeds.
00:27:13.092 --> 00:27:17.992
Brandon wanted to know how everyone kept getting away with so many crimes.
00:27:18.652 --> 00:27:28.772
Well, as you know from all your trespassing, there's only one road into Juniper Hollow, but there's three ways to get out.
00:27:29.432 --> 00:27:31.712
Ideal for committing wrongdoings.
00:27:32.672 --> 00:27:37.552
During Prohibition, they always had a spotter on top of Granite Ridge.
00:27:38.352 --> 00:27:44.812
If anyone tried to come through the entrance of the property, they'd alert the people making moonshine in the catacombs.
00:27:45.472 --> 00:27:56.012
I know you boys want to explore the caverns underneath the ridge, but you should know, they zag in so many directions even I could get lost in there.
00:27:56.652 --> 00:28:01.932
You saw the stakes Grandaddy pounded into one of the shafts that goes up to the top of the ridge.
00:28:02.532 --> 00:28:04.712
It takes a lot of nerve to climb it.
00:28:05.292 --> 00:28:08.012
The cops never wanted to mess with the catacombs.
00:28:08.672 --> 00:28:09.772
Maybe it's the bats.
00:28:10.252 --> 00:28:13.412
Maybe it's because it's easy to get turned around in there.
00:28:13.972 --> 00:28:16.612
Just a warning in case you're feeling foolish.
00:28:17.252 --> 00:28:19.672
The boys shot each other a knowing look.
00:28:20.892 --> 00:28:24.732
I saw last summer you found the second way out through Fletcher's sneak.
00:28:25.272 --> 00:28:27.852
Granddaddy called it his lucky break.
00:28:28.632 --> 00:28:35.232
It was like Mother Nature had carved out an escape route right through the basin of rock under Granite Ridge.
00:28:35.732 --> 00:28:43.932
Granddaddy hauled out a few boulders blocking portions of the sneak, which is a whole lot safer and faster than climbing up the ridge.
00:28:44.512 --> 00:28:49.972
If you boys get into trouble at Juniper Hollow, that's the best way to make a run for it.
00:28:51.172 --> 00:28:56.332
Ah, don't tell me you aren't itching to see what these new racketeers are up to.
00:28:56.352 --> 00:28:58.592
I was just guessing at this.
00:28:59.512 --> 00:29:03.052
Either way, I was going to make sure they did.
00:29:04.092 --> 00:29:13.972
I don't know what kind of news organization hires a 16-year-old boy, but Brandon had landed himself a post at the Naval Weekly Banner.
00:29:14.892 --> 00:29:24.992
They have him on the circuit for every dog and pony show in town, but Brandon claims he's free to do side projects, whatever that means.
00:29:25.672 --> 00:29:28.432
How about a side of crime, city boy?
00:29:29.092 --> 00:29:30.852
It was time to deliver the goods.
00:29:31.552 --> 00:29:42.892
I said, there's no telling what the new scam is, but since we have polygamists running things at Juniper Hollow, you know for sure something isn't above board.
00:29:43.772 --> 00:29:46.092
It's just the way these polygamists work.
00:29:46.592 --> 00:29:53.052
Break every law they can without getting arrested, then line up for a government handout.
00:29:53.692 --> 00:30:00.272
Needing to put a little meat on the bone, I added, how about this side slider, Brandon?
00:30:00.972 --> 00:30:04.672
Your stepmother is haunting Juniper Hollow.
00:30:05.592 --> 00:30:07.772
And my gurdy is helping her.
00:30:08.392 --> 00:30:11.832
I didn't know about the last part, just a niggling feeling.
00:30:12.552 --> 00:30:15.292
Brandon actually flinched when he heard this.
00:30:16.032 --> 00:30:17.472
Had he seen something?
00:30:18.172 --> 00:30:19.832
Or maybe he just smelt her.
00:30:20.372 --> 00:30:23.932
That woman stinks from here to hell and back.
00:30:25.412 --> 00:30:27.872
The time had come to show my cards.
00:30:28.892 --> 00:30:34.692
Did you know, Blue was killed in the same exact spot as my gurdy?
00:30:35.272 --> 00:30:37.512
This time Brandon actually gagged.
00:30:38.072 --> 00:30:42.152
Even that hungry friend of his looked up from the phone he was holding.
00:30:42.872 --> 00:30:44.812
I could tell I had their attention.
00:30:45.412 --> 00:30:53.052
It's no coincidence both women were killed by hitting the same granite pillar on the bridge in front of Juniper Hollow.
00:30:53.612 --> 00:30:58.112
My granddaddy built those pillars with rock carved out of granite ridge.
00:30:58.752 --> 00:31:02.872
He wanted them to match the ones marking the entrance to Juniper Hollow.
00:31:03.292 --> 00:31:07.452
The ones for the drainage ditch were a bit too fancy for their purpose.
00:31:07.872 --> 00:31:12.612
But granddaddy pulled out all the stops when it came to building his dream home.
00:31:13.752 --> 00:31:18.252
Your stepmother had a line on what was going down at Juniper Hollow, I said.
00:31:18.872 --> 00:31:22.732
As you know, she was fixing to write a book about that place.
00:31:23.332 --> 00:31:25.292
That's why they had to shut her up.
00:31:26.232 --> 00:31:29.572
The boy looked a bit weepy, which surprised me.
00:31:30.592 --> 00:31:34.252
You aren't going to let them get away with murder, are you, boy?
00:31:35.872 --> 00:31:39.292
Announcer: What happens when cosmetics and polygamy collide?
00:31:39.852 --> 00:31:42.832
Announcer: Find out in Quirky Killers by Adele Park.
00:31:43.652 --> 00:31:51.592
Announcer: Take a trip to quirky polygamist country, where one of the local brides is just itching to get her husbands to heaven in a hurry.
00:31:52.272 --> 00:31:55.812
Announcer: Quirky Killers, get it today on audible.com.
00:31:56.332 --> 00:31:57.852
Announcer: You'll die laughing.
00:31:58.612 --> 00:32:04.692
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets , every week , on demand , only on petliferadio.com