Читать книгу Cat - R C Hilty - Страница 9
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It had been nearly a week since Officer Conrad had been taken to the hospital. Every day after school, Cat went to the hospital to visit him. It was more or less a one-way conversation. The warden was still quite heavily sedated. He would open his eyes every once in a while, crack a smile, and nod.
The doctor started weaning Officer Conrad off of the pain killers. Cat was hoping the nurse was right, that he would be more coherent this afternoon.
Cat walked into the Conrad’s room. He was sitting up, eating, and watching TV.
“Glad to see you are back amongst the living.”
“If you call it that.” He lifted his arm. “Still hooked up to all these wires and tubes.”
“Well, at least you are eating on your own.”
“Yeah, Jell-O and chicken broth. I want some real food.”
“It shouldn’t be too long till your body can handle a steak and potato.”
“So tell me, what were you doing out there that night?”
“Since you were there, you already know.”
“Well, I had my suspicions.”
“You know what I was doing. That’s not the first time you saw me there.”
“You’re right, it wasn’t.”
“Why don’t we leave this conversation for another time?”
“You’re right. Anyways, I want to thank you. I heard you did a fine job getting me to the cave and covering me up. You saved my life. I don’t know how I can repay you.”
“Oh, I don’t know. How about a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card?”
The warden smiled. He liked Cat. She had a heart of gold. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I am glad you’re awake. It was getting kind of boring me just doing the talking.”
“I heard you’ve been up here every day.”
“Yep, well, I had better get going. Have some chores to do at home. Let me know when your stomach can handle it, and I’ll bring you a steak and potato.”
“Venison?”
“Season’s not in yet.”
Conrad smiled. “See you tomorrow.”
*****
Judge Bean went to the hospital to see how Officer Conrad was getting along. He walked into Conrad’s room.
“You’re looking a lot better than the night they hauled you in here.”
“I would hope so. From what I hear, I was in pretty bad shape.”
“That would be putting it lightly.”
“Cat just left about an hour ago.”
“You had her worried. She’s been up to see you every day since you’ve been here.”
“That’s what the nurses told me.”
“So what were the two of you doing out there at that time of the night?”
Conrad sat up in his bed. “You probably already know.”
“I have an idea, but go ahead and fill me in.”
“Well, you know how Cat likes to bend the law a little.”
Judge Bean laughed. “A little?”
Conrad smiled. “I guess maybe more than a little. You know that Cat has been helping a lot of the poorer families in the area.”
“Yeah, like Widow Johnson and her young’uns.”
“I heard a couple of women talking to each other about how Cat was keeping their freezers full of meat. I stopped in to see old man Smith, who lives in that small cabin by the abandoned railroad depot.”
“He tans animal skins and peddles them at rendezvous?”
“Yeah, him. He was tanning a fresh deer hide when I stopped by. He told me that he had a few left in the freezer from last season.”
“You didn’t think so?”
“No, I started putting two and two together and decided to start following her.”
“And…?”
“I went down to the valley one night. Sure enough, there she was sitting by a rock with her shotgun. It was a pretty well-lit night. I stayed back and watched through my binnacles. A huge buck came into the area. I think it was the one all the hunters have been talking about, the one that disappears opening day. Cat raised her shotgun and looked through her scope. I sure didn’t want to see him killed that way. Before I could do anything, she put her gun down.”
“Then what happened?”
“The strangest thing I have ever seen. The buck nodded at her as though he knew she was there, then he walked away. Two minutes hadn’t gone by when a yearling came in to view. She raised her gun and shot, the deer ran about twenty yards and fell over.”
“You think that big buck lead that deer to her?”
“Had me wondering. I watched her clean that deer. It was the neatest job I had ever seen. She cut the meat off the bone, wrapped it in sheets, put in plastic bags, then packed it in her backpack.”
“You didn’t approach her?”
“No, I just watched. In the distance I saw some coyotes just sitting, waiting, and watching. Cat put her backpack on, went back, and picked up her gun. She walked across the valley then just disappeared.”
“Went up that hidden trail?”
“I was told that Cat brought the SWAT team in that way. No wonder I never saw her leave. Anyway, after she left, the coyotes went and cleaned up what was left. It was like they knew. It was as though the wild had accepted her as one of their own. I observed this a couple of more times. The same thing happened.”
“Why didn’t you arrest her?”
“I don’t know. I mean, she was helping people.”
“So having a problem with what is legal and what is right?”
“It was starting to bother me. After all, she was breaking the law. I decided to bring her in. That’s when I ran into that meth lab. That was my fault. Knowing that Cat wouldn’t give me any trouble, I had let my guard down. Walked right into trouble, you know the rest.”
“I’m glad to see you’re getting better. Hey, I’ll see you later. I need to stop by the office before I go home, see you tomorrow.”
“All right, I ain’t gonna be going anywhere.”
Judge Bean opened a letter from the State that was left on his desk. It was the answer to his request for a DNR officer to fill in while Conrad was recuperating. He read the letter over. Just as I figured, someone that hasn’t been with the DNR very long. I’ll call around tomorrow and see what kind of guy he is.
*****
Mike installed new target holders and rebuilt the benches on his rifle range. It had been a long time since it looked this good.
Mike took his .308 Winchester rifle out of his safe and picked up a target and a box of cartridges. He hung a target at the hundred-yard mark. After squeezing off three shots, he walked down and checked his target. He took a dime and put it up to the holes. It didn’t quite cover all three. “Not too shabby for an old man.”
Mike put his rifle away and started to look over some old catalogs. There was a lot of catching up to do since he had been out of the game for a few years. He found some old papers he brought home from Camp Perry.
“I wonder if Jim is still shooting.” Jim was twenty years younger than Mike. Mike had taught him a lot when they were shooting together. “I’ll just give him a call, hope the number’s the same.” Mike looked up Jim’s number and dialed.
“Hello.”
“Hi. Jim?”
“Yes.”
“This is Mike.”
“Mike? The old guy that used to show up at Camp Perry, come hell or high water?”
“Yeah, that Mike.”
“How the hell are ya?”
“Not bad, you still compete at Camp Perry?”
“Every year. Why, ya thinking about getting back in the game?”
“No. The reason I called was, I was wondering if you could send me some info on what’s new in long-range shooting. There’s a young girl that’s interested, and I’m teaching her.”
“Man! You gonna teach a young girl how to shoot? What happened to the ‘I just want to be left alone’?”
“It’s a long story. She found out that I was a sniper. She just kept coming over to my place and wouldn’t let me alone, so I figured I might as well teach her.”
“Like a stray dog?”
“Exactly.”
“Sure, I can send you some info. I have plenty. I also have some CDs, you have a computer?”
“No, but I’m sure her brother does.”
“Okay, I’ll box up what I have here and send it your way. Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m thinking about taking her to Camp Perry next summer.”
“That’d be great! I’ll send you the dates next spring.”
“Okay, talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
The next day Mike went out to his workshop to build Cat a practice rifle, one that would be as realistic as possible—weight, balance, length of pull, etc. He had an action and a stock. The local machine shop turned down a piece of steel with a threaded end he could use for a barrel. Cat could use this to practice her trigger squeeze and breathing. Everything he had was for a right-handed shooter. Her being a southpaw would take a bit of getting used to. The basics were the same. He would let her use his .308 Winchester to start off with. He would build her a rifle later. Left-handed equipment had gotten more available in the last few years.
The people in town were starting to notice the difference Cat was making in Mike’s life. He was coming into town more often, not as grumpy. One said that they thought they heard him laugh. Another said they saw him smile.
*****
Cat was walking toward the diner when Judge Bean came up.
“If you have a minute, I’d like to talk to you. Can you stop by the office?”
“Sure, I’ll come over right now. I can stop and see Mom after.”
Cat followed Judge Bean over to the courthouse. After they were inside, Judge Bean pointed to a chair. “Have a seat.”
Cat sat down. “Pretty nice day.”
“Relax. As far as I know, you ain’t in trouble.”
“Good.”
“I wanted to let you know that the state is sending a DNR officer to fill in while Conrad is laid up. Conrad will be getting out of the hospital soon, but it will be awhile before he’ll be able to work full time.”
“Them slime balls did put the hurt on him.”
“Yes, they did. I got the letter from the state with the information on the new officer. He has been with the DNR for a little over a year. I called around. He is as I suspected—gung ho, goes by the book, and measures his success by how many arrests he makes. He does not take into account the human factor.”
“I take it he won’t be as nice to me as you guys have?”
“Or to the rest of the residents in the county. He’s young, hasn’t figured out that you can get more flies with honey than vinegar.”
“I had better do a good job covering my tracks.”
Judge Bean shook his head. “It’d be better you not make any tracks. Like I said, he measures his success by how many arrests and convictions he gets. It would put me in an awkward position. If I let you off with little punishment, he could send in a complaint to the state.”
“Okay, I’ll behave. What’s his name?”
“Officer Shot.”
“Is his first name Big or Hot?”
Judge Bean, doing his best not to laugh, said, “Cat!”
“Yes, Judge, I’ll behave.”
*****
Cat rode her bike into town to pick up some bait before heading over to Mike’s to do some fishing. When Cat came out of the bait shop and started to get back on her bike, Officer Shot walked up to her.
“May I see your fishing license?”
“I ain’t fishing.”
“You have a pole and bait. I want to see your license, now!”
“How do you know I ain’t going to a private pond?”
“I don’t care. You have the equipment. I want to see your license.”
“I’m going to a private pond, I don’t need a license. It’s on page 6, third paragraph down on the left side in the fishing regulation.” His first name must be Hot.
“Look, girly, show me your license.”
“I’m gonna report you for rape.”
“Rape, I didn’t rape you!”
“Well, you have the equipment, don’t you?”
“Oh, we have a smart-ass kid, huh?”
“No, we have an arrogant half-bright game warden. Give you a badge and a gun and you think you’re god. Creases so sharp in your uniform you could cut yourself. Boots so shiny, it’s a wonder you don’t blind yourself on a sunny day.”
Shot glared at her.
Cat thinking to herself, This oughta impress the judge. I’d better show him my license.
With Shot still staring at Cat, she handed her license to him. “There, now if you see me on state ground, you won’t have to ask me for it. As you can see, it has all the stamps.”
Shot looked it over and then handed it back to her. As he turned around, Cat said, “Have a nice day. I will.”
Officer Shot walked into the courthouse. Conrad was there visiting with Judge Bean.
Judge Bean said, “How’s it going?”
“You sure have some smart-ass kids around here.”
Conrad asked, “How so?”
“I just asked that girl out there for her fishing license. She started quoting fishing regs to me, page and paragraph.”
Judge Bean responded, “That would be Cat. When she’s around, we don’t need to look anything up. We just ask her.”
“She said she wasn’t fishing. I told her she had the equipment.”
“Then what?”
“She said she was going to report me for rape because I had the equipment!” Shot was still steaming as he left.
Conrad and Judge Bean held their laughter until Shot got outside.
Judge Bean said, “Report him for rape. I guess we don’t have to worry about her. This might get interesting.”
Conrad responded, “I’m gonna have to be careful not to tear any stitches from laughing so hard. Almost feel sorry for Shot, but on second thought, nah.”
That story spread through the town faster than a forest fire on a windy day. Betty heard the story more than once while she was working at the diner that day.
*****
Cat was still mad as a wet hen when she got to Mike’s. She told him about running into Officer Shot.
Mike listened to the whole story then burst out laughing. “You told him you were going to report him for rape ’cause he had the equipment?” He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. He hadn’t laughed like that for years.
Cat didn’t think it was that funny. “I’m gonna see if the fish are biting.”
Mike was still bent over from laughing. “Okay, go right ahead.”
Cat went back to the pond. It wasn’t long before she came back with a catfish, five nice bluegills, and a bass. She cleaned them, put them in a bowl of salt water, and set it in the refrigerator. Fishing or hunting always calmed her.
“There, that should make you a nice meal.”
“You gonna fry ’em up for me?”
“Oh, I suppose.”
“Well, come over here. I wanna check something out.” Mike handed her his Winchester. “Hold this. I want to see how it fits you.”
Cat was all smiles as she took a hold of it. It was a bit heaver and longer than her Rossi.
As Mike looked at her stance, he said, “Line up on something like the saltshaker on the stove.” The stock could be a little shorter, but this would have to do for now.” He took some measurements and wrote them down.
Cat handed the rifle back to Mike. “You gonna let me shoot this?”
“I know you’re a southpaw, and this is for right-handed shooters, but we have to work with what I have. When do you want to start your lessons?”
“Yesterday.”
“I guess we can start now.” Mike cleared off the kitchen table then sat a couple of sandbags on it. He grabbed a target and taped it on the wall. Cat watched him in disbelief. Mike caught her out of the corner of his eye and started laughing.
“No, you’re not gonna blow holes in my walls. You are going to start off with dry firing.”
“Dry firing?”
“Yes, I want to see how your trigger squeeze and breathing are.”
“Why do I have to do that? I know all about trigger squeeze and breathing control.”
“If you already know, why you want me to teach you? Now, you gonna listen, or you wanna get a different coach?”
Cat looked toward the floor, knowing that she had better start listening if she wanted Mike to teach her. “Sorry, I’ll be all ears.”
Mike placed his rifle on the sandbags, having Cat sit in a chair behind the rifle. She put the stock up to her shoulder. He looked at her stance, moving her elbow closer to the rifle. “Looks pretty good. Now, where your cheek touches the stock is the spot weld. Every time you put the rifle to your shoulder, it has to be the same. This is important. The rifle needs to be an extension of your body.”
“Like the rifle and I are one?”
“Yes. Later I will have you close your eyes and shoulder the rifle. It should be right where it needs be. No adjustments necessary.”
“This is going to take a lot of work.”
“Yes, it will. Now, let’s check your trigger squeeze.” Mike put a snap cap in the chamber and closed the bolt. “Now line up on the bull’s-eye, take a breath, let some out till you feel comfortable, and squeeze.”
Cat squeezed the trigger. The rifle moved just a little. After a few more times Mike set a dime on edge on the barrel. “Now try it and see if the dime stays there.”
Cat squeezed the trigger ever so slowly. The dime fell off. “Ain’t no way.”
Mike had her get up. He put the dime back on the barrel, sat down, and squeezed the trigger. The dime was still sitting there.
Cat looked at Mike. “Will I be able to do that?”
“With enough practice.”
“Well, I had better get home.”
“Okay. Be back tomorrow to fry those fish?”
“And do some more practicing.”
After Cat left, Mike looked over the material that Jim had sent him. A lot of advances have been made in long-range shooting, especially optics. Mike liked Cat being around; she was like a granddaughter he never had, plus her cooking was a lot better than TV dinners.
After Cat put her bike away, she walked into the house all excited. “Mom, Dad, guess what? Mike is going to teach me how to shoot!”
Betty replied, “Teach you how to shoot, don’t you already know how?”
“No, I mean long-range shooting, a thousand yards.”
Betty, not having a clue what Cat was talking about, replied, “That’s nice of Mike.”
Dave said, “He’s a brave man.”
“Well, supper’s about ready. Cat, after you wash up, would you set the table.”
“Sure, Mom.”
After supper, Cat went to bed thinking how great it was moving down here.
*****
Officer Shot was always trying to nail Cat for something. This was starting to irritate her. One night she decided to keep him busy. Grabbing her backpack, binoculars, flashlight, and sketchpad, she headed toward the cave. She entered the valley so that Shot would see her. Cat sat up by the rock like she’s done times before. It was a moonlit night; a light snow was coming down. She listened to the hoot owls as well as the coyotes howling in the distance. “This sure is pretty and peaceful.” She scanned the valley. Before long, the monster showed up. He looked so magnificent standing there broadside, looking in her direction. His antlers reflected the moonlight. The light snow looked like glitter as it fell on him.
Officer Shot was watching her through his binoculars, talking to himself. “I knew it, you ain’t getting away from me this time!”
Cat took out her sketchpad and sketched a picture of the buck. He stood there as though he knew what was going on. After she was done and had put her pad and pencils back in her backpack, the buck nodded and walked away, as if knowing she was done. As she picked up her backpack and started to leave, a yearling came into view.
“Not tonight, this is your lucky day. Sorry, coyotes. No free meal tonight.”
She hiked over to the cave and went home the back way.
Officer Shot couldn’t believe it. It was as though she had disappeared into thin air. He was talking to himself, as he walked back to his truck, “You got away this time, but I’ll get you. There’s a new sheriff in town. You ain’t gonna get away from me, you little smart-ass.”
Cat would lead Shot on more wild goose chases. It was getting personal with him. Every time he thought he had her, she would slip away. It became known as the game of “Cat and Warden.” Officer Shot was getting no slack. When he walked down the street, somebody would yell, “Hey, Warden, I saw Cat with a fishing pole. Gonna ask her for her license?” The whole town was getting into the game. Young and old alike were on Cat’s side. There was a board up on the barbershop wall that was keeping score. Every day it would be updated. You could bet on what the score would be at the end of the week. Put your guess and two dollars in an envelope, wait till the end of the week, and if you guessed it, you won the pot. If no one had the right answer, the money would be put in next week’s pot. Most of the entries had the rookie at zero. Even the judge and Conrad played.
*****
Widow Johnson’s oldest boy wanted Cat to take him deer hunting. It was too late for this season, but Cat would be able to get him ready for next year. On opening day, Cat killed a nice buck on her dad’s property. She would have to tell the story to the boy every time she went over there. His mother would shake her head.
“The kids sure love it when you stop over. I appreciate all you have done. He can’t wait till you can take him deer hunting. That’s all he talks about.”
“If it’s all right, I can take him rabbit hunting.”
“Sure, that’d be great. Bless your heart.”
Cat smiled. “No problem.”
“I have my husband’s guns here, but they might be a little big for him.”
“That’s okay. I’ll let him use mine.”
“Bless your heart.”
“I had better get home. I’m sure Mom has something for me to do.”
“All right, come back anytime.”
“Thanks, bye.”
*****
After supper one night, Cat said to her mom, “I think I am going to take a bike ride.”
“Gonna go to your second home, the woods?”
“Yeah, I haven’t been out for a while. It’s a clear night. There should be a lot of animals out tonight.”
“You be careful.”
“As always.”
Cat was riding her bike to one of her favorite spots, a valley that had a lake and plenty of grass for the wildlife. It was a great place to relax, gaze at the stars, and watch the animals get a drink and graze on the grass. It was a good place to refresh her soul. She noticed Officer Shot’s pickup alongside the road. Cat wasn’t in the mood for games tonight, so she snuck by him.
Cat turned down a fire road toward the valley. When she got there, something just didn’t seem right. She looked down toward the valley. There were two guys by a campfire. Off to the side was an old junky red pickup. Cat picked up her binoculars. What she saw made her more sick than mad. They had shot a small deer but had not killed it. They were poking it with a stick. She could hear it cry. The guys would just laugh and take another swig of whiskey. They should be shot down like rabid dogs.
Cat had a high respect for animals. The Good Lord put them on earth to use, not abuse and torture. She had no problem killing animals for food or their fur, or killing rodents and predators that were destroying crops and property. It was all natures predator-prey of the food chain. What these jerks were doing was not only illegal but just plain wrong. She sat there for a bit. So much for enjoying the moonlit night. Now, what do I do? I guess it’s a good thing I left my rifle at home. She sat there a bit longer. I’ve got it! Hot Shot wants to catch some slime balls. Here’s his chance.
Cat snuck back around Shot’s truck. This time she rode past him, making sure he saw her. When he did, he started following her with his lights off.
Cat said to herself, “Trying to be sneaky keeping your lights off, huh?”
As she got to the turn off, she turned on her flashlight. She wanted to make sure he didn’t get lost. Shot had taken the bait. Cat hid behind some trees to watch the show. When Officer Shot saw the guys at the campfire, he turned on his lights and sped toward the truck. The two jumped in their truck and took off. They drove about twenty feet, and both back wheels fell off.
Shot jumped out of his truck with his shotgun, pointed it at the two, and yelled, “Out of the truck, now!”
The two got out of the truck with their hands up and in full view. “Where’s the girl?”
“What girl?”
“Don’t give me any shit, scumbag, the girl that tried to warn you.”
They started to put their hands down. “There ain’t no girl here.”
“Bullshit! Put your hands up. I followed her here.”
“Look, pig, we don’t know nutten about no girl.”
“Get to the front of the truck.” He held his shotgun with his right hand and grabbed his handcuffs in his left. One of the guys tried to hit him. Shot hit him in the face with the butt of his shotgun. While he fell to the ground spitting out blood and a couple of teeth, Officer Shot pointed the shotgun at the other. “You wanna try, dickhead?”
“Uh, no.”
“Now grab one of those wheels that fell off your truck and set it by your buddy.”
“What for?”
“Just do as I say. It would be a lot easier to just shoot ya.”
He brought the wheel up and set it down by his friend.
Shot took his cuffs and threw them on the ground. “Pick ’em up. Put the cuff on your buddy’s left hand, keyhole toward his body.”
The guy did as he was told. “Now, what?”
“Put the other end through the wheel, and put the cuff on your left hand keyhole toward your body. That oughta keep you two from going too far.”
Shot called the state police on the radio to pick up the suspects. While he waited, he walked up to the wounded deer and put it out of its misery.
Cat waited around till she heard the state police sirens.
The state police came, picked up the suspects, and took them to town. Judge Bean was waiting at the jail when the state police, and Officer Shot showed up with the suspects. As they took the suspects back to the cells, Shot kept yelling at them, “Where’d that girl go?”
“Like I said, asshole, there weren’t no girl with us!”
Judge Bean said, “Calm down, Shot. While they’re being put in the cell, come out here and tell me what happened.”
Officer Shot sat down at the Judge Bean’s desk and told him the whole story. He ended with, “I still say that Cat girl was with them.”
Judge Bean rubbed his chin. “Now, let me get this straight. A girl that has been giving you the slip and staying one step ahead of you since you’ve been here just rode her bike past your truck like she never saw it.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then you started following her?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, and then she turned her flashlight on, not knowing you were following her?”
“That’s right. I told you, that girl’s no good.”
Judge Bean leaned back in his chair. “Now let me cut you in on something. Cat may bend the rules a bit, but there is no one in this county that respects wildlife the way she does. I know Cat pretty well. I would bet my last paycheck she didn’t have her rifle, or there would’ve been a couple of dead bodies with the deer. You didn’t follow her. She led you there.”
“What, you think I’m that dumb?”
Judge Bean ignored the question. “Now go and write your report. You have a good case. Drugs and drug-making paraphernalia found in their truck. So you have a drug charge to go along with the animal cruelty charge. They are going to admit to everything so that they don’t get charged with the kidnapping of an underage girl they’ve never heard of.”
“All right.”
“Clear your head, and be sure to read over your report after you’re done. You don’t want to look stupid.” Like he needs any help with that.
“Anything else?”
“No, that’s it. I’m gonna stay here tonight with the prisoners till the state transfers them in the morning.”
Officer Shot left the jail and went to his truck. On the hood of his truck were two sets of lug nuts.
