Reveille in Red by George Wier

Author:George Wier [Wier, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1674566166
Amazon: B07WZW2CM3
Goodreads: 52757624
Publisher: Flagstone Books
Published: 2013-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ladd Ross and I stepped inside the Purgroy Winery front doors, followed by Mr. Smythe, who whispered, “The people you will want to speak with are likely at a set of tables in the back.”

“Thanks,” I said.

There were no other customers in evidence. There was also a dearth of serving girls, as if they had been dismissed from the wine-tasting hall to attend to other duties.

The guys at the two tables—I hurriedly counted seven of them—were as out of place in the wine-tasting hall as a ballerina would be in a billiard parlor. These fellows, though, were decidedly not ballerinas. Not by a long shot.

My first estimate was that this was a real biker gang, and not the professional type, where the doctor, the lawyer, and the Indian Chief get together with their wives on the weekend for a scenic drive from nowhere to nowhere else. No, these guys were the real deal, from the unwashed and unruly hair down to their sleeveless Harley-Davidson shirts, their ripped and torn jeans, and their scuffed leather black brogans. A more motley crew I had never run across.

“Who’s the leader of this little kaffe clatsch?” I asked.

“That would be him,” a fellow said, and pointed.

The leader of the gang sat leaning back in his chair with his legs propped up on the elegant table before him and a wine glass in one hand. The other hand was out of sight at his side.

“Who wants to know?” the leader asked.

“Me,” I said.

“Look,” Ladd stated, “this is Bill Travis. He’s a Texas Ranger, and I don’t mean the baseball team. I’m Ladd Ross, the Sheriff in these parts. We’re going to need each of your names.”

“I’m Cleetus,” the leader said.

“Of course you are,” I replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I glanced over at Ladd, and he nodded. He was going to let me take over for awhile.

“It means the name fits, that’s all,” I said. “I didn’t figure you for a Lawrence or a Ferdinand. What’s your last name?”

“Jones.”

“All right, Mr. Jones, we have a few questions for you. If your answers are satisfactory, then we’ll leave you be. If one of us gets the idea that you aren’t being completely forthcoming with your answers, well, I suppose we’ll all have to go down to the Sheriff’s Office in Trantor’s Crossing to sort it all out.”

Cleetus stared at me, blankly.

“I’ll take your thousand-yard stare as an acknowledgment,” I said. “Okay, here goes. Someone was killed and buried in a shallow grave at the next winery over. There were motorcycle tracks all around the area. Did you fellahs have anything to do with the killing?”

“I don’t know,” Cleetus stated, and looked around. “Any of you guys see anyone get themselves killed?”

There were a number of slow headshakes all around, and the occasional “Nah,” thrown in for good measure.

“That’s what I thought, Bill,” Ladd stated.

“That’s right,” I said. “These choirboys are a little too innocent to be involved in something like murder. “Tell me, boys, have you seen any other motorcycles around here.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.