the show, then find out—whatever it was—I didn’t do it.” The man took a drink from his cup, then set it back on the table next to him. “A good suspect, they said. That kind of face.”
The men sat in silence, watching the white dot on the TV screen fade away.
“I wanted to ask you about the Darby money,” Roy said. “Bonnie and Clyde.”
“Bonnie and Clyde?” The old man laughed. “No, they were dead before I was born. I’m not that old. Killed in Louisiana by a group of Texas cops. Chased all over the South, robbing and killing. Frank Hamer finally got those bastards, though. You know, you hear all the damn time about Pat Garrett and what a hero he was for tracking down Billy the Kid. Nobody remembers Hamer. But they got shrines to Bonnie and Clyde. Nobody gives two shits for Hamer, for the good guys. Not two shits.”
“What about Darby?” Roy asked, working the old man back on the subject.
“H. D. Darby,” the old man said. “They grabbed him and a girl down around Ruston and dumped them over in Waldo. Don’t remember the girl’s name.”
“Waldo?”
“Yeah, Waldo,” the old man said. “Not ten miles from where you’re sitting. Bonnie and Clyde dropped the pair off there. And you want to know something scary?”
Roy said he did.
“Bonnie Parker asked Mr. Darby what he did for a living. And you know what he told her?”
He didn’t.
“He told her he was an undertaker.”
“Undertaker?”
“Right.” The old man tapped his nose. “When he told her that, when he says that to her, Miss Bonnie Parker laughed and laughed and said that maybe someday soon Mr. Darby would work on her.”
“Okay.”
The old man took another drink. Set the glass down. “Soon enough Bonnie and Clyde were shot dead in Louisiana and Mr. Darby was one of the undertakers who worked on them.”
They talked a few more minutes about Bonnie and Clyde. Then Roy asked about the hideout.
“Old farmhouse between Magnolia and Waldo. Nobody’s real sure where. Three oak trees form a triangle. In the middle they buried a chest. That’s all folks know for sure. Lot of treasure hunters turned over a lot of Columbia County dirt back in the ’30s and ’40s looking for it, but no one ever found anything.”
“Still there?”
“Nobody ever claimed it,” the old man said.
“So what do you think?” Roy asked. “Worth looking for?”
“That why you’re asking?”
“Ju)T said, st saw a documentary about it. Got to thinking about it, that’s all.”
The old man twisted around, trying to pop his neck. He gave up. Took another drink. “You know who Myrna Loy is?”
“From
The Thin Man
movies?”
“Yeah, sure. That’s what everyone remembers her for.
The Thin Man
.” He smacked his lips together for a bit. “Ever see
Across the Pacific
?
The
Desert Song
?”
Roy said he hadn’t.
“Jesus God.” The old man shook his head. “What a woman.”
Roy waited, then, “Not sure what this has to do with Bonnie and Clyde.”
“You were asking if it was worth it. I went to Hollywood back in the ’60s, looking for Myrna Loy. She was a little older than I was. She was probably, hell, fifty or sixty then. Saw a show on the TV the other day about that. Older women and younger men. They’ve got a name for that now. Can’t remember what it is. But we didn’t have shows like that back then. We had Mike Douglas and Andy Griffith. You probably don’t remember them either, but they were something special. They don’t make them like that anymore.”
“Okay.”
“So I go there looking for Miss Loy. You know she had four husbands? Divorced all four of them. What I’m going the long way around the barn to tell you is you go searching for something and you don’t know what you’re going to find. I go searching for Miss Loy and meet my Abigail Landry and we have two great boys and a great life. Luckiest man alive.” He leaned his head back on the recliner, looked off at something. “You go out looking
The men sat in silence, watching the white dot on the TV screen fade away.
“I wanted to ask you about the Darby money,” Roy said. “Bonnie and Clyde.”
“Bonnie and Clyde?” The old man laughed. “No, they were dead before I was born. I’m not that old. Killed in Louisiana by a group of Texas cops. Chased all over the South, robbing and killing. Frank Hamer finally got those bastards, though. You know, you hear all the damn time about Pat Garrett and what a hero he was for tracking down Billy the Kid. Nobody remembers Hamer. But they got shrines to Bonnie and Clyde. Nobody gives two shits for Hamer, for the good guys. Not two shits.”
“What about Darby?” Roy asked, working the old man back on the subject.
“H. D. Darby,” the old man said. “They grabbed him and a girl down around Ruston and dumped them over in Waldo. Don’t remember the girl’s name.”
“Waldo?”
“Yeah, Waldo,” the old man said. “Not ten miles from where you’re sitting. Bonnie and Clyde dropped the pair off there. And you want to know something scary?”
Roy said he did.
“Bonnie Parker asked Mr. Darby what he did for a living. And you know what he told her?”
He didn’t.
“He told her he was an undertaker.”
“Undertaker?”
“Right.” The old man tapped his nose. “When he told her that, when he says that to her, Miss Bonnie Parker laughed and laughed and said that maybe someday soon Mr. Darby would work on her.”
“Okay.”
The old man took another drink. Set the glass down. “Soon enough Bonnie and Clyde were shot dead in Louisiana and Mr. Darby was one of the undertakers who worked on them.”
They talked a few more minutes about Bonnie and Clyde. Then Roy asked about the hideout.
“Old farmhouse between Magnolia and Waldo. Nobody’s real sure where. Three oak trees form a triangle. In the middle they buried a chest. That’s all folks know for sure. Lot of treasure hunters turned over a lot of Columbia County dirt back in the ’30s and ’40s looking for it, but no one ever found anything.”
“Still there?”
“Nobody ever claimed it,” the old man said.
“So what do you think?” Roy asked. “Worth looking for?”
“That why you’re asking?”
“Ju)T said, st saw a documentary about it. Got to thinking about it, that’s all.”
The old man twisted around, trying to pop his neck. He gave up. Took another drink. “You know who Myrna Loy is?”
“From
The Thin Man
movies?”
“Yeah, sure. That’s what everyone remembers her for.
The Thin Man
.” He smacked his lips together for a bit. “Ever see
Across the Pacific
?
The
Desert Song
?”
Roy said he hadn’t.
“Jesus God.” The old man shook his head. “What a woman.”
Roy waited, then, “Not sure what this has to do with Bonnie and Clyde.”
“You were asking if it was worth it. I went to Hollywood back in the ’60s, looking for Myrna Loy. She was a little older than I was. She was probably, hell, fifty or sixty then. Saw a show on the TV the other day about that. Older women and younger men. They’ve got a name for that now. Can’t remember what it is. But we didn’t have shows like that back then. We had Mike Douglas and Andy Griffith. You probably don’t remember them either, but they were something special. They don’t make them like that anymore.”
“Okay.”
“So I go there looking for Miss Loy. You know she had four husbands? Divorced all four of them. What I’m going the long way around the barn to tell you is you go searching for something and you don’t know what you’re going to find. I go searching for Miss Loy and meet my Abigail Landry and we have two great boys and a great life. Luckiest man alive.” He leaned his head back on the recliner, looked off at something. “You go out looking
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