Chapter 62
“And that’s exactly what you’ll have.”
“Where do you get off havin’ this fuckin’ jigaboo bangin’ on my door in the middle of the night?” Tate demanded when he entered Napoleon’s office.
“Who the fuck you callin’ a jigaboo?” Bubbles shouted and slapped Tate upside the head.
Tate turned to retaliate, but Bubbles hit him in the stomach. When he doubled over, Bubbles grabbed the back of his shirt and tossed him face first into the wall like he was a rag doll. Then he threw a left-right combination to his kidneys. Tate groaned and leaned back, reaching for his bruised organs. Bubbles put his huge, mitten-like hands on the back of Tate’s head and slammed his face into the wall three times. Dazed by the repeated blows, Tate staggered a few steps to the right and fell against the wall.
“Now get somewhere and sit yo’ ass down,” Bubbles shouted. “And if I hear that jigaboo shit again, I won’t be so gentle.”
“Now that that’s settled,” Napoleon said, finding it difficult not to laugh along with Lucas and Johnnie, “have a seat, Sheriff.”
Still dazed, Tate stumbled over to a chair near Napoleon’s desk. Bubbles, as was his custom, took out a small bottle of bubbles and blew them in the direction of the debilitated sheriff. He always blew bubbles either before or after he killed or beat someone into submission. He chuckled.
“Tate, do you know this young lady?” Napoleon asked.
Tate had taken such a quick and fierce beating that he hadn’t noticed anyone was in the room besides himself, Napoleon, and Bubbles. He looked at her.
“Yeah, I know her,” Tate said. “She’s a sweet girl. What’s she doing here?”
Napoleon looked at Bubbles, giving him the signal to start the beating again.
“You just don’t get it, do you, Tate?” Bubbles said and backhanded him. “You’re here to answer our questions, not the other way around.” He blew a few more bubbles at him.
“How did you know Richard Goode killed her mother?” Napoleon asked. “And Tate, spill it all. I’m in no mood to dance with you tonight. The first time I think you’re lying, I’m going to turn Bubbles loose again.”
“I ain’t gon’ be as nice as I was the first time.” Bubbles smiled.
“I saw him do it,” Tate confessed.
“You saw it?” Johnnie shouted. “You never said you saw it!”
“Yeah, I saw the whole thing,” Tate continued. “It was a set-up from the word go. Apparently, Marguerite was attempting to blackmail Goode. When he got out of the car, he had a duffel bag with him. When she got out of her car, he showed it to her. Poor Marguerite must have thought she hit the jackpot. She didn’t stop to think why they were on a quiet back road instead of their usual meeting place.”
“So, what happened?” Johnnie asked, relieved to finally hear the truth.
“You saw her, Johnnie,” Tate said. “He beat her like I never saw nobody get beat in all my life. He took that German gun of his and beat her practically to death. Then he shot her in the head.”
“And you just stood by and watched?” Bubbles asked incredulously.
“What the hell could I do?” Tate shouted. “You know how them people are. They cain’t wait for an excuse for a uprisin’. Besides, I didn’t know he was gonna kill her. I just thought he would beat her to scare her. I didn’t know he was gonna kill her. I swear I didn’t.”
“Would you have done anything if you did know?” Bubbles asked sarcastically.
“Of course I would have. I wouldn’t stand by and watch someone be killed. I am the sheriff.”
“But you would stand by and watch someone being beat to death. Is that it, Sheriff?” Bubbles asked.
“Fuck you!” Tate shouted.
“Fuck me? Fuck me?” Bubbles repeated. “If we didn’t need your sorry ass, I’d kill you just for the fun of it.”
“All right, that’s enough,” Napoleon warned. “Show the sheriff to his car, Bubbles.”
“Let’s go, Tate,” Bubbles commanded. “You served your purpose.”
Napoleon waited for them to leave then he said, “Here’s what I propose we do. We wait a few months until this blows over, then we kill him.”
“I want him to suffer the way she suffered,” Johnnie said. “I want you to take his gun and beat him with it first, then kill him. That’s biblical justice, Napoleon. That’s what I want. Biblical justice.”
“And that’s exactly what you’ll have.”