Tired But Wired
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There were four men in the room when they entered, two on chairs reading newspapers and the other two sitting at a table.
It was difficult to tell what their professions were from the clothing alone: a butcher with a blackened face, an undertaker with a white, wrinkled, round face, a plumber’s apprentice in greasy overalls who was listening to music, and a man with a briefcase who looked like he came from somewhere uptown.
None of them spoke up as they entered but all stood when they saw the gun and nodded to Morgan as he walked over to the bar.
“What’ll you have?” he asked, pouring a shot of whiskey from an unmarked bottle. He slid it toward the butcher and followed with the glass. “What are you having, boss?”
Morgan couldn’t tell whether he’d spoken because he thought he was being asked or if it was a greeting. “A pint of your best.”
The undertaker finished his music and stood.
“Come on,” he said to the butcher, who’d been staring at Morgan. The butcher hesitated before walking back to the table.
The undertaker came over to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry about this,” he whispered in a low voice. “I’m an old friend of the boss here. He told me to keep an eye on you. He’s got you under guard. If anything happens to him I’m to shoot you dead. It’s not pleasant but that’s how these things go sometimes.”
The boss chuckled. “Well, it’s always nice to have someone looking out for you. Thank you, my friend.” He patted the man’s arm.
“Are you sure you want to be in here?” the butcher asked. “I mean, what if the boss comes back and finds you two together?”
“I’ll tell him the truth.”
“Why would you do that? You’re a killer!”
“For my own protection,” Morgan said. “That way the boss knows how he can help you.”
“Help you?”
“Kill you,” the undertaker said, with a straight face.
Morgan felt the man’s hand squeeze his shoulder as they left the room. Once again Morgan had an uneasy feeling that someone was watching them but couldn’t see anyone outside. When the door closed behind him, Morgan realized he wasn’t alone. A man with a scar on one cheek was standing in front of the window.
“It’s hard to believe people still come here,” he said as the other two men followed him. “Not many who think twice when you pull a gun on them.”
“The boss isn’t the only one who thinks this place is cursed,” Morgan said. He stepped into the street and the four followed. “I’d hate to see this town disappear.”
They turned the corner and the butcher led them down a side alley toward a building on the left. “You mean to stay long?” he asked.
“How long do you think I’ve lived in a boarding house? I can’t say. The boss is too busy to give me a straight answer.”
“A week?”
Morgan nodded.
“You need to get out of here.”
“Why?”
“Because someone’s killing these people! That’s why they’re all leaving town!”
“I can imagine.” Morgan raised his voice so the man with the scar could hear him. “What did the boss have you do before he sent you to look out for me?”
The butcher stopped walking, looked up at Morgan, then back at the floor. “He had us follow you.”
“Did he send you alone or did he give you backup?”
“No, he sent an older man named Shug.”
“Shug?”
“Yes.” The butcher’s voice quivered. “The same Shug who was murdered yesterday.”
“Murder?”
“He was shot dead in his room.” The butcher took off his hat and ran a hand over the top of his hairless skull. “There wasn’t much we could do for him but we were supposed to watch his room and keep anyone from entering.”
“Anything else?”
“No. We didn’t hear anything until later. One of the boarders found him on the floor. The door to his room was open.”
“Was there a note?”
“There was something written in blood. I’m not sure what it said.” The butcher pointed to a boarded-up storefront with peeling paint. “That used to be a barbershop. There are four men in that building. They’re always together.”
“Are they dangerous?”
“Very. But don’t worry about them. I’ll take care of it.” The butcher lowered his voice and nodded toward the other side of the street. “Just go there, boss. They won’t hurt you.”
Morgan followed him down the street. “Who do you think is doing this?”
“I wish I knew. Maybe one of the boarders is.”
“But the boss sent me to find out who was killing them. It couldn’t be one of his borders because none of the murders happened here. Right?”
“Well, maybe he’s just protecting his own.” The butcher shook his head. “But you know how that goes.”
They entered another alley and went up a flight of wooden steps. Morgan stopped at the top and looked out at the main street. A few men walked by but nothing unusual. “Where are we going?”
“That way,” the butcher said as he turned left. He climbed two more flights of stairs, then opened a door and stepped inside.
Morgan waited a minute and realized he was alone. “My friend,” the butcher called down. “You need to come in.”
He took off his hat and followed the butcher into the room. His nostrils were filled with the musty smell of a basement. The place was dimly lit with only one tiny window. Two men sat in the shadows. They both wore gray suits, black ties, and fedoras. “Boss!” the butcher called out, then motioned for Morgan to come closer.
One of the men spoke first. “Hello, boss,” Shug said.
Shug! Morgan had never heard of this man before. The other man didn’t look like Shug. He was lean with sharp features, short dark hair, and a scar on his left cheek. “What brings you here?” Shug asked. “Did you find my wife?”
“I did,” Morgan said. “But it was hard to tell her you’d sent me to kill her.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I also found out you killed another man.”
The two men exchanged glances. The second man kept his hands clasped together, but Morgan could see him working the fingers around.
“That’s not true.”
“It is.”
“You’ve been playing a dangerous game, boss, but it ends today.”
Shug reached under his jacket and pulled out a gun. He turned toward Morgan and the barrel of the gun pointed at the back of his head. The other man quickly walked forward, stood behind the first one, and held out his hand. The gun dropped into it.
“How long have you known about this?” Shug asked.
“Not as long as you might think.”
“What do you mean?”
Morgan showed Shug the pistol. “When we went to your boss’s house to look for you, one of the boarders here in town saw us.”
“Where?”
“You need to listen.” Morgan held up the revolver and shook it so Shug could see it. “There are four men in this building. I’m going to take care of them. You’ll be safe in here until then.”
“What are you going to do?” Shug asked. “Are you going to kill us both?”
“No.”
Shug raised an eyebrow. “You can’t kill us.”
“Why not? There are six of them against three of you.”
“I know.”
“You should leave now before I hurt anyone else.”
“Boss!” The second man pointed to a door on the opposite side of the room. “Get him out of here and keep him outside the back door. We need time to get rid of his body.”
“It was nice meeting you,” Shug said. “You’ll never find me.”
Morgan watched the two men go. “But we know where your wife lives now.” He picked up a candle and followed the two men through the dark hallway. They went down two flights of stairs and to an empty street.
“Why didn’t they just tell me their plan?” Morgan asked as he walked back to the hotel. “That’s what you should have done. Why did you lie to me?”
“Because you were going to get rid of us anyway.”
“Why would I want to kill them?”
“They killed people. That makes them bad, like me.”
Morgan looked around and noticed it was still early in the evening. The sun wasn’t even down yet and already the streets were deserted. “Do you know how hard it is to get rid of a body?”
“Sure,” she said as if he’d asked. “We saw it on TV. You wrap them in cloth and stuff the body in a trunk. Then you put dirt and leaves over it and bury them.”
“Did you think I meant that?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Where do you bury your dead?”
“With other dead people. In a cemetery. They get burned. It’s not easy but you can do it. And then we all live together.”
“I’m glad to hear you’ll be putting my body in a grave someday.”
“Maybe you could come to visit us. We don’t have any graves but we do have a big house with a lot of rooms. There will always be room for you. Do you want to see the place before you leave?”
“No. I came here to look for you because I thought we were going to have a picnic. Remember? You told me it was a fun day of fishing and eating fish.”
“Oh,” Shug said. She seemed disappointed. Morgan tried to picture a little girl talking like this. “I didn’t tell you that because I knew you weren’t ready.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have to let go of some things before you can move forward.”
“And what are these things you’re talking about?”
“I think you know.”
Morgan kept walking. “Yes, I do know.” He’d felt them for years. That’s why he left home.
***
Shug opened the front door and pointed to a wagon parked in the street. “That’s your car.”
Morgan walked to where it was parked and turned around. Shug waited inside the doorway. When Morgan looked back, she nodded at him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“I hope you don’t think you’re going to get away with this.”
Shug shrugged her shoulders and turned toward the back of the wagon. She pulled out a rifle.
Morgan reached under his jacket for his gun. “We’ll just see about that.”
Shug aimed the rifle at Morgan as she walked to the side of the wagon and lifted down a canvas sack. Then she tossed the bag over the side. It landed on the road behind them and bounced once before falling still.
Shug pulled two other sacks off the wagon bed. One was larger and the other looked like it had rocks inside it. “I don’t believe it. You’re carrying all this stuff. What are you going to use it for? And how much money do you have with you?”
“Enough to buy another wagon and start my business over again.”
“Why did you kill them?”
“Because they killed people.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good reason.”
“It is when you understand that killing is wrong and I’m doing it for the right reason.”
“They’re bad,” Shug said.
Morgan smiled. “I thought you would say that. How many times did you hear that from your dad?”
“Do you know why we call this place The Territory?” Shug asked as she finished packing the second sack with rocks.
“No.”
“We’re all in a big territory. There are hundreds of places like this one in different states. And there’s only one way out.”
Morgan thought about that. “You can leave.”
“We could go to Kansas. We could even move to California.”
Morgan laughed. “Why do you think I’ve always wanted to go back to Kansas? To be honest, it was the farthest place I ever thought of leaving Mississippi. I never wanted to go any farther than that. And I didn’t want anyone following me but I guess they did.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“Since you came here to take my job.”
“But you couldn’t get rid of us so you made a plan. You lured me to Denver and then you brought us here.”
“Yes.”
Shug put down her gun, opened the sack, and pulled out a handgun. Then she loaded it with a bullet before putting it in his pocket. She picked up the larger sack and carried it away.
“What’s happening?”
“I’m going to show you what happens to people who steal.”
“I don’t want to hurt anyone. It wasn’t my fault.”
Shug stopped. “That’s a good thing because you’re not hurting anyone right now. And that will change.”
“When do we eat?”
“After I finish killing these two.”
Morgan took a few more steps and stopped. He turned around. “Why?”
“Because we should have plenty to eat in there.” Shug pointed at the sack with rocks.
“I don’t understand why you would kill them.”
“It’s my life. If you were in their shoes, you’d do the same thing.”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“If you lived here and wanted something for your family, like money, you might feel differently.”
Morgan tried to picture a life without him. There was no such thing as a happy life. But he had no doubt that if he didn’t get the money that night, his life would be ruined. “I would never steal.”
“You’ll see how desperate you are when we go in there.”
Morgan watched her walk toward the other wagon. As he walked to where she was working, he wondered what kind of man was living inside the small house. Was he a nice person or was he a thief too? Did his wife know what he did for a living? Probably not but it would all be over by tomorrow morning. He thought about her standing outside with the gun.
Shug’s voice stopped him before he got close enough to hear what they said. “She won’t take you back. She’s been in love with me ever since I came here.”
“What?” Morgan couldn’t believe she could think that way. It wasn’t right.
“I told you you couldn’t get rid of us so you decided to make a plan.”
“So it’s true?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t she want to marry you?”
“She wanted someone like her. Someone who would live with her family, someone who would have kids and raise them.”
“Like I could do that.”
“But she married me anyway because she liked me. And now you’re taking her from me.” Shug began to cry as she continued to load the sack.
Morgan remembered the time they met at the bank. He had talked to her there first. Now he was going to see her for the last time. “We had a lot of good times together.”
Shug looked up. “You’re the only man I ever kissed.”
“Who else has ever kissed you?”
Shug didn’t answer and she turned away. Morgan stopped her work for a moment to look at the house. The front door was open. He glanced inside, then went back outside.
“I want you to remember this,” Shug said, holding up the sack.
“Me too.”
As Morgan watched Shug walk around the wagon, he thought of what had happened over the past few months. Shug had come to work for him as a maid and, within weeks, she’d become more than a hired hand.
He couldn’t forget how they became close and shared their secrets. How could he ever be happy with anyone else? Shug wasn’t the type of woman to settle down. And if she did, it wouldn’t be with a man like him.
When she reached the other wagon, she walked up and opened the lid. It smelled like fresh bread and coffee. She lifted out a loaf of white bread, a jar of jam, and a box with an apple. She looked up to check on them again.
“Shug, will you stay with me?”
Shug shook her head. “No.”
Morgan watched as she loaded the food into the back of the wagon. “Shug, we’ve been through so much together. Will you give me one more chance?”
“It’s already over.”
“Why didn’t you say yes when I asked you to marry me?”
The back door of the house slammed shut. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Come on, Shug. Say yes.”
Shug ran her hand along the gun’s barrel. Then she put it back in the sack.
“Shug, I know it wasn’t your fault.”
Shug moved away from the wagon. She tried to smile but it was obvious that she was upset. She picked up a bag, walked back toward the house, and went inside. Morgan watched her go until he saw the flash of light coming through the open window.
The End