The Final Shortcut (28 page)

“It looks more like a shack, probably a hunting shack. And very dark.”

“You’re not afraid of the dark are you?” Fudd quipped at him without looking around. He stood there silently and they both scanned the area for more clues. “There, by that tree.” Fudd pointed to a tree just under the shack. “You see that, looks like a parking place.”

“You may be right.” They walked closer to examine the clues. “There’s an oil spot, looks like he uses this place quite a bit.” Taipei crouched lower and followed the tracks through the woods, pointing out the route that leads away from them in the opposite direction.

“Well, are you ready to see if anybody is home?” Fudd turned and crept toward the shack, Taipei closely in tow. The closer they got the lower to the ground they got, so when they approached the door they were nearly crawling. Taipei put his ear to the wall and confirmed that it was empty. A short nod to his partner and the big man muscled the door open.

At that same instant, back at the leather workshop Junior’s beeper sounded loudly. The sudden burst startled him and he stared at it for a few seconds before turning it off. He sat bewildered for a second before acting; someone was encroaching on his private property, again. This time he would not be caught by surprise. In a flash he locked the shop and headed for his truck, he would be at the mine in less than three minutes. His beeper gave him a code that indicated an intruder was at his shack, and since he always kept a weapon behind the seat, he would be ready.

Once the two men entered the shack it only took a brief moment to look around, thoroughly searching everything. An electric stove, small refrigerator, a small table and a single bed lined the wall. Only one small window next to the table and a gun rack next to the door, complete with a pump shotgun.

“Well, other than being very well furnished for a hunting shack, I would say we haven’t found the treasure.” Taipei grinned some and poked a little more fun at Fudd.

“Yeh, it looks that way. Maybe we should get out of here.” Fudd spun on his heel and slipped on a rug nearly falling. “Whoa!! Watch that rug….Hey! Do you see what I see?”

“I sure do, it looks like a secret door in the floor.” Taipei looked at his friend and they both smiled.

“Let’s have a look shall we?” He reached down and grabbed an indent that served as a handle and raised the door. The exposed ladder was well used and inviting so they wasted little time in climbing down. Once at the bottom they turned on their flashlights and set out, following the tracks in the dirt.

“It stinks down here, like something died a long time ago.” Fudd curled up his nose and tried to find his way in the pitch black of the mine.

“It would be very easy to get lost in here, I think we should think about this…”

“Not afraid of bats are you Tai?”

“No, but a very old coal mine, which this probably is, could have many pitfalls and weak timbers that could collapse easily.” Taipei walked carefully watching his path with the utmost scrutiny. “And these flashlights are almost useless in this place, I can hardly see my feet.”

“You’re right about that, I feel like I’m in a bad B-horror movie.” They walked carefully along, following a well-packed path until it intersected with three other tunnels. “I don’t like the looks of this. How do you feel about wandering into a maze?”

Taipei seemed short of breath when he whispered his answer. “I think we should get out of here man!” He stood half crouched, shying away from the overhead timbers, pacing very nervously.

“What is it?”

“I just got a real spooky feeling about this, we should follow our tracks back out of here before we get lost.”

The hair on Fudd’s neck stood straight up and he felt his heart speed up a notch. “I’m beginning to think the same thing. I don’t want to be a statistic.” They turned in unison and started back. They hadn’t walked very far but in the clinging gloom of the mine but it seemed like miles. “Wait a minute Tai. I didn’t notice this cavern before. We had our heads to the ground and walked right by. How could we have missed this big th… what the…” Fudd pointed his light across the wall of a spacious cavern that was only yards from the ladder. Something caught his eye and he slowly walked forward trying to make out what he saw. “Oh my God, it’s a skeleton. Well, two of them right ….Tai… can you see this.” Fudd stared transfixed with his mouth agape, “I’m not believing what I’m seeing.”

“We are in big trouble my friend.” Taipei stood a few feet away at the center of the chamber scanning it with his light. An endless crowd of skeletons lined the walls of the cavern. Some were clothed in faded rags, the only remnants of their former life. And some were clothed in newer outfits. But each was posed neatly around the wall facing the center. The still, white, bones gleamed in the stark darkness. Their faces seemed to move in the shadows mocking the intruders. “I’m getting a serious case of the creeps here, there must be two dozen of them. What kind of freak does this?”

“Some of these have been here a long time. And I don’t want to join them.” Fudd turned toward the way out but Taipei stopped him by grabbing his arm.

“Say…why are they so clean?”

“What do you mean?” Fudd looked up at him, standing close enough to feel him tremble.

“You’ve seen bodies that were left to rot, they aren’t clean and white like that.”

“You’re right…these look like he polishes them.”

Taipei stepped quickly to the ladder anxious to leave. “I have never had a feeling like this before, I’m scared shitless!”

“Then climb, I’m ready to git too!” Fudd tried not to let his fears take over, something he had trained himself to do. But he could feel the same tension that Taipei was feeling. No matter how cold and unemotional you become something can always bring you to your senses. And a room full of skeletons is enough to rattle anyone.

The forty-foot ladder seemed to grow longer as they climbed and Taipei sighed a sigh of relief when he stepped up into the shack. He stood still, catching his breath as Fudd climbed out. But when he stepped out he headed straight for the door.

“You staying?” He barked out the phrase with a tough guy edge to his voice, trying to shake off the chills. Without wasting another second he snatched open the door and strode outside, his wind pulled the door nearly closed behind him. Taipei pulled the door opened and looked straight ahead. What he saw happen next unfolded to him in mind numbingly clear slow motion.

A shot rang out, a rifle flash in the trees twenty paces ahead, and then he saw Fudds body thrown backward. The bullet sprayed blood out of his back in a small fountain as it passed through him just above the heart. With one hand over the wound he staggered boldly forward and managed to raise his pistol to shoulder height. The second shot entered just below the left eye and exploded the back of Fudd’s head like a melon. Spinning him just enough so that he fell on his side, eyes wide-open, staring back at Taipei. Dead before he hit the ground, the remnants of his brain were dangling in shreds.

The shock of watching his only friend fall before his eyes had riveted him to the spot, but only for a moment. A millisecond after his body hit the ground, Taipei was on the move. The shots had come from straight ahead and he intended to fight back. He jumped back into the cabin and killed his light. His pistol would be inadequate, fortunately his host had a gun rack by the door. He reached above his head and snatched the shotgun off the rack. That caused one of the support arms to come loose and fall loudly to the floor. Before he could react a hole exploded in his face. The plywood wall splintered as the high powered shell crashed through, simultaneously punching a dime sized hole in his chest just below the collarbone. He stood frozen and watched in agony as two more bullets blew splinters in his eyes before passing through his body. He felt his heart stop and for a silent moment he felt euphoric. Then he fell to the ground with his hands still clutching the shotgun. When Junior walked in he didn’t bother to be coy, he knew his target was dead. That shotgun rack trick had been one that Marty had thought of years ago, and for the first time the trick paid off. Confirming the fact that he was dead Junior trotted back outside and pulled Fudd’s body back in the house. He turned on some lights to take a closer look at the burglars. There was nothing on the bodies to tell him who they were, only a couple handguns.

But one thing caught his eye as he undressed Fudd, a most unusual tattoo. There was something about it that made Junior start to laugh, an almost manic laugh. He held the arm up and looked at it from every angle.

“Now this is something I can use. I never thought about using this kind of leather.” Still giggling he finished undressing the bodies and opened the hatch to the mine. Taipei’s body was heavy enough that Junior had to wrestle with it before forcing it into the hatch. Fudd’s was considerably easier to handle and before he pushed it in he had to look at the tattoo again. “ Yeh boy! That’s gonna make something real special.”

He took another long look over Fudd’s bicep, a four inch color tattoo of Elmer Fudd on a Harley with the words “Live to Wide, Wide to Live” written underneath. “You know maybe I should carry you down, I would hate it if you messed up my prize. You’re gonna be immortalized in some of my artwork.” Junior’s eyes were glassy and wild, barely cognizant of his situation. He was in survival mode now, and in a world of his own. He was still laughing sporadically as he fetched a rope and tied Fudd's hands to the end of it. He carefully lowered the body down to the bottom, making sure not to scrape the tattoo and tossed the rope in after. “Th..Th..That’s all folks.” Still laughing, he started cleaning up the blood, mopping up the bulk of it with their clothes. As he worked he began to hum cartoon theme songs, every few minutes he would imitate one of his favorite characters and start laughing again. The blood was mostly cleaned off after thirty minutes, good enough for a shack that no one ever visits. The bullet holes went in one side and out the other, but should he have to, that could be easily explained. It was good enough for now, he had other work to do tonight.

He was functioning on an inner drive that kept him from losing control. His nerves were at a ragged edge but his demeanor was jovial. The madness was at bay in his mind, as long as he could cover everything up. As long as he could avoid listening to his Father’s voice, as long as he kept busy. And his favorite thing to do is create unique, artistic leather goods. He swelled with pride every time a customer told him how beautiful his art was. For a few moments he sat there daydreaming and fanaticizing about being famous for his work. He reeled in his imagination hearing endless crowds cheer as he passed. Then he turned melancholy and started to look around the shack again, as if he didn’t know where he was. But in a flash it all came rushing back to him with amazing clarity. He’d been hunting and it was time to clean the kill.

One thing he had learned in his hunting was for the best hides, skin them quick and clean them well. He had worked with every kind of indigenous animal fur and every kind of leather, tanning most of his own pigskin and cowhide. All the new materials back at the shop had inspired him to create dozens of new pieces. And tonight he was ready to experiment with a new hide. “I don’t know why I haven’t thought of this before, oh well.” He stepped over to the hatch and peered down. “You all right down there?” He grinned as he yelled down the hole and in a gruff bass voice he answered himself. “S’alright.” Once again he started laughing and kept laughing as he disappeared into the mine to attend to his grisly duty.

Before sun-up the meat would be seasoned and ready for grinding, the skeletons would be ready for display. And in three days he would have some new leather goods for his shop, something he was very excited about.

His tanning process was quick and easy, particularly with the right equipment and he had more than enough. Once he stretched the skins tight on a frame, he reached for his tools. Each would have to be thoroughly cleaned first, then tanned by his special technique. Once everything was cleaned and stored safely away he made his way to the bedroom for a nap. He fell asleep quickly, feeling safe in his underground haven. He had successfully protected his property, and this time he was in complete control.

Chapter 21

The rolling hillside seemed to move as the long shadows of afternoon stretched their dark fingers wide. Every low spot was shrouded in a creeping gloom that brought a chill to the air as it settled in. Along every roadway the headlights were coming on and most drivers were rolling up their windows against the moist evening air. A low hanging fog was forming in the trees, creating a haunted appearance to the mountainside. From his hiding place under a huge Sycamore tree, Ramone rolled up his window and reached in the backseat for a blanket. This had been his home since the murdered bodies of Tree and Crazy Mary were found. A well-hidden spot that was perched near a scenic overlook on the edge of a ridge, less than a hundred yards from a nicely apportioned home. A home he had followed Fudd to just four days ago, two nights before Faruk’s arrest. An event that he was convinced had more significance than was obvious. And with a double murder the same day, he was certain that his quarry was involved. Even though he only had a gut feeling to go on, he was convinced that he would find the definitive clue soon. Sometimes the least possible explanation is the only one, and at this point he was willing to camp out for a week if need be. But in his professional mind he was beginning to believe that his geese had flown the coop.

With the approach of another cold October night, he was counting the minutes before calling it quits and returning to his hotel. The longer he sat, the darker it became. So when his watch read eight p.m. he reached for the keys. There hadn’t been a single sign of life in over two days, and it was clear to him that this was another cold trail. The lonely mountain road wound quickly down the mountain and he was back to his room in less than twenty minutes. Formulating a quick plan in his mind he headed for the bathroom. First a long, hot shower, a call to the Boss, then out to a lovely Italian restaurant nearby for some pasta and wine. Then he was going to sleep for twelve hours, or at least that was the plan.