Read Online Renewal 5 - an Untimely Fall by Jf Perkins - Free Book Online Page A

dragged Bill to the end of the tailgate until he could rotate to his feet. Kirk handed Bill the cut sapling, which became a remarkably well-fitting cane. Bill gimped over to the line of his guards and signaled for the police to come out.
    Bill’s crew moved in close to protect their leader, and possibly to catch him if he fell, and the police made an impressive line at a respectful distance behind the local guard. Bill turned to Kirk, and ordered, “Bring down the prisoners.”
    “We only have one now,” Kirk said.
    “Which one?”
    “The important one.”
    “What happened to the other one?”
    Kirk turned to his right, and pointed to a lanky young man with reddish hair and a near total coverage of freckles, all-in-all the least threatening guard in the whole community. “Donny, you tell him. You had the watch.”
    “Well, sirs... uh, you see... The Judge was upset by the rain and demanded his man’s jacket. When the man refused, the Judge had a screaming fit and shoved his man over the side. The man, Jerrod Cantrell was his name, fell head first and broke his neck. He was dead before we could get to him.”
    Bill looked at the young guard while he thought through the implications. Then he quietly said, “Very well. Thank you, Donny.”
    Donny almost folded with relief. Apparently Kirk had given the boy a serious case of the frights before Bill had arrived.
    Bill tilted his head back, winced at the pain of the slight motion, and called, “Thanks for the extra murder charge, Judge. That’ll make the trial so much faster.” He turned to Kirk. “Get him down.”
    One of the tree guards walked the bridge to the platform above the Judge, and kicked the rope ladder out and down past the Judge, who proceeded to ignore it.
    “Come on, Jerry. You’re pissing off all the nice state police,” Bill said.
    Nothing.
    “Oh, Jerry... I should point out that you are resisting arrest, which will make your ride back to Murfreesboro a great deal less comfortable. But more importantly, I have a number of options to get you down here, all of which are going to hurt you, and worse, scuff those shiny boots of yours.”
    Still nothing from the Judge.
    Bill said loudly. “Seth, I remember you saying you were unhappy to have missed some of the action a few days back. What would you say if I said there is a strutting peacock on that platform up there, and I will let you personally go up and escort him to the ground, however you see fit?”
    Seth played along with the most ignorant accent he could muster. “Boss, I’d love to go up there and beat that man until blood squirts out of his holes. That’d be real fun.”
    Still nothing.
    “Ok, Big Seth. Have fun.”
    Seth took two slurping steps before the shiny cowboy boots slid over the edge of the platform, and Jerry Doan Jenkins started the long climb to the ground. The tree guards raised rifles into position, but Bill looked up and shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to shoot his symbolic bid for law and order in Coffee County. They nodded acknowledgment.
    Jerry took his last stiff step, and turned to face his accuser.
    “Well, Bill Carter. Looks like you tangled with someone tougher than you.” The Judge said with a sneer. “Was it one of my boys?”
    “You give your boys too much credit. The men who did this take shits that are tougher than any man you’ve got, especially your own inbred flesh and blood.”
    Jerry Doan Jenkins flushed an ominous shade of red. “When my boys find out what you did here, they’ll...”
    “Let me stop you right there, little man. Once again, you let your ego run the show. What kind of fool does that in the face of...” Bill counted with his chin. “Twenty-four armed and trained men?”
    The Judge’s mouth dropped open, stumped for a response.
    “And let me offer you a free piece of advice. Rather than killing your own men with your stupidity, you might try training them to be better than you. Something to think about while you