52113 tishomingo blues -...

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TISHOMINGO

BLUESE L M O R E L E O N A R D

A free mini e-book excerpt from

Leon_0060008725_2p_fm_r1qxd 12102 915 AM

EPIGRAGHIrsquom going to Tishomingo to have my ham bone boiledIrsquom going to Tishomingo to have my ham bone boiledhellip

CHAPTER 1DENNIS LENAHAN THE HIGH DIVER would tell peoplethat if you put a fifty-cent piece on the floorhellip

CHAPTER 2THE TANK PAINTED A LIGHT blue with curvy white lineson it to look like wavesmdashBilly Darwinrsquos ideahellip

CHAPTER 3HE DOVE DYING TO GET off that perch showed Charlie aflying reverse pike and ripped his entryhellip

CHAPTER 4ldquoI STARTED TELLING YOU ABOUT this man name Kirk-

briderdquo Robert said

C O N T E N T S

Leon_0060008725_2p_fm_r1qxd 12102 915 AM Page 2

CHAPTER 5DENNIS ASKED IF CHARLIE HAD called and Vernice said

ldquoHe hardly ever does I donrsquot have to worry about mealshellip

CHAPTER 6ROBERT OPENED THE DOOR IN a hotel terry-cloth robesmoking weed knowing who it was and what happenedhellip

CHAPTER 7THE BLACK MAN IN THE photograph was hanging nakedless than ten feet above the river

CHAPTER 8CHARLIE HOKE SAID ldquoI HAVE to go to Memphis to pickthis guy up Irsquom not a goddamn limo driverrdquo

CHAPTER 9DENNIS SAID ldquoIrsquoM STUCK WITH you calling the divesagain Tell me yoursquore kiddingrdquo

CHAPTER 10CHARLIE BELIEVED HE LIKED THE way this game wasopening up seeing Robert as a new pitcher coming inhellip

CHAPTER 11ONE OF THE WHORES AT Junebugrsquosmdashtwo in the afternoon the place emptymdashwalked up to John Rauhellip

CHAPTER 12VERNICE SAID TO ROBERT ON the phone ldquoWell yousure rise and shine early Hersquos still sleepinghelliprdquo

CHAPTER 13THEY WENT UP TO MEMPHIS and took 72 East toCorinth a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Tunicahellip


CHAPTER 14WALTER KIRKBRIDE CALLED THE MEETING in his office at Southern Living Villagehellip

CHAPTER 15HECTOR DIAZ ARRIVED FROM DETROIT and Robert andTonto picked him up in Memphis

CHAPTER 16THEY HAD CHOSEN THIS ABANDONED farmland for thesite and stood in the opening of a barn loft looking outhellip

CHAPTER 17AS SOON AS ROBERT GOT back to his suite he calledroom service and asked for Xavier

CHAPTER 18SATURDAY MORNING DENNIS GOT UP at seven-thirtyHe put on his corporalrsquos uniformhellip

CHAPTER 19DENNIS CROSSED THE SLOPE WHERE the spectatorswould sit to watch the battle no one else out here yet

CHAPTER 20ldquoJERRY WONrsquoT EAT OUTSIDErdquo ROBERT said ldquoand Anne

says itrsquos too hot in the tent so Tonto and Hector ranhellip

CHAPTER 21A LANTERN HUNG FROM THE tent where the pie ladysmoking a cigarette sat in a low-slung canvas chairhellip

CHAPTER 22A FEW MINUTES PAST SIX the next morning Sunday thebig day Anne left Robertrsquos suite to go down the hallhellip


CHAPTER 23SHE WASNrsquoT OUTSIDE SHE COULD be in the tent AndArlen could be in there with her but he doubted it

CHAPTER 24ROBERT WENT DOWN TO THE Confederate encampmentin the orchard his sword hanging at his sidehellip

CHAPTER 25ldquoAND THE FIRST PRIZErdquo CHARLIE announced over thePA systemhellip

CHAPTER 26NEWTON HOON SAT IN HIS trailer with a jelly glass ofbourbon watching the newshellip

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

OTHER BOOKS BY ELMORE LEONARD

CREDITS

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

FRONT COVER

COPYRIGHT


For Christ ine


Irsquom going to Tishomingo to have my ham bone boiledIrsquom going to Tishomingo to have my ham bone boiledThese Atlanta women done let my ham bone spoil

Performed by Peg Leg HowellAtlanta Georgia November 8 1926


DENNIS LENAHAN THE HIGH DIVER would tell peoplethat if you put a fifty-cent piece on the floor and looked down at itthatrsquos what the tank looked like from the top of that eighty-foot steelladder The tank itself was twenty-two feet across and the water init never more than nine feet deep Dennis said from that high up youwant to come out of your dive to enter the water feet first yourhands at the last moment protecting your privates and your buttsqueezed tight or it was like getting a 40000-gallon enema

When he told this to girls who hung out at amusement parkstheyrsquod put a cute look of pain on their faces and say what he did wasawesome But wasnrsquot it like really dangerous Dennis would tellthem you could break your back if you didnrsquot kill yourself but therush you got was worth it These summertime girls loved dare-devils even ones twice their age It kept Dennis going off that perch

1

Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 830 AM Page 1

eighty feet in the air and going out for beers after to tell storiesOnce in a while he rsquod fall in love for the summer or part of it

The past few years Dennis had been putting on one-man showsduring the week Then for Saturday and Sunday he rsquod bring in acouple of young divers when he could to join him in a repertoire ofcomedy dives they called ldquodilliesrdquo the three of them acting nutty asthey went off from different levels and hit the water at the sametime It meant dirt-cheap motel rooms during the summer andsleeping in the setup truck between gigs a way of life Dennis thehigh diver had to accept if he wanted to perform What he couldnrsquottake anymore finally were the amusement parks the tiresome piz-zazz the smells the colored lights rides going round and round tothat calliope sound forever

What he did as a plan of escape was call resort hotels in SouthFlorida and tell whoever would listen he was Dennis Lenahan aprofessional exhibition diver who had performed in major divingshows all over the world including the cliffs of Acapulco What heproposed he rsquod dive into their swimming pool from the top of thehotel or off his eighty-foot ladder twice a day as a special attraction

Theyrsquod say ldquoLeave your numberrdquo and never call backTheyrsquod say ldquoYeah rightrdquo and hang upOne of them told him ldquoThe poolrsquos only five feet deeprdquo and

Dennis said no problem he knew a guy in New Orleans went offfrom twenty-nine feet into twelve inches of water A pool five feetdeep Dennis was sure they could work something out

No they couldnrsquotHe happened to see a brochure that advertised Tunica Missis-

sippi as ldquoThe Casino Capital of the Southrdquo with photos of the ho-tels located along the Mississippi River One of them caught his eyethe Tishomingo Lodge amp Casino Dennis recognized the managerrsquosname Billy Darwin and made the call

2 E L M O R E L E O N A R D


T I S H O M I N G O B L U E S 3

ldquoMr Darwin this is Dennis Lenahan world champion highdiver We met one time in Atlantic Cityrdquo

Billy Darwin said ldquoWe didrdquoldquoI remember I thought at first you were Robert Redford only

yoursquore a lot younger You were running the sports book at Spade rsquosrdquoDennis waited When there was no response he said ldquoHow high isyour hotelrdquo

This Billy Darwin was quick He said ldquoYou want to dive offthe roofrdquo

ldquoInto your swimming poolrdquo Dennis said ldquotwice a day as a spe-cial attractionrdquo

ldquoWe go up seven floorsrdquoldquoThat sounds just rightrdquoldquoBut the poolrsquos about a hundred feet away Yoursquod have to take a

good running start wouldnrsquot yourdquoRight there Dennis knew he could work something out with this

Billy Darwin ldquoI could set my tank right next to the hotel dive fromthe roof into nine feet of water Do a matinee performance and oneat night with spotlights on me seven days a weekrdquo

ldquoHow much you wantrdquoDennis spoke right up talking to a man who dealt with high

rollers ldquoFive hundred a dayrdquoldquoHow long a runrdquoldquoThe rest of the season Say eight weeksrdquoldquoYoursquore worth twenty-eight grandrdquoThat quick off the top of his headldquoI have setup expensesmdashhire a rigger and put in a system to filter

the water in the tank It stands more than a few days it getsscummyrdquo

ldquoYou donrsquot perform all yearrdquoldquoIf I can work six months Irsquom doing goodrdquo


ldquoThen whatrdquoldquoIrsquove been a ski instructor a bartender rdquoBilly Darwinrsquos quiet voice asked him ldquoWhere are yourdquoIn a room at the Fiesta Motel Panama City Florida Dennis told

him performing every evening at the Miracle Strip amusementpark ldquoMy contractrsquoll keep me here till the end of the monthrdquo Den-nis said ldquobut thatrsquos it Irsquove reached the point Actually I donrsquotthink I can do another amusement park all summerrdquo

There was a silence on the line Billy Darwin maybe wonderingwhy but not curious enough to ask

ldquoMr DarwinrdquoHe said ldquoCan you get away before you finish up thererdquoldquoIf I can get back the same night before showtimerdquoSomething the man would like to hearHe said ldquoFly into Memphis Take 61 due south and in thirty min-

utes yoursquore in Tunica MississippirdquoDennis said ldquoIs it a nice townrdquoBut got no answer The man had hung up

This trip Dennis never did see Tunica or even the Mighty Missis-sippi He came south through farmland until he began to spot hotelsin the distance rising out of fields of soybeans He came to signs atcrossroads pointing off to Harrahrsquos Ballyrsquos Samrsquos Town the Isle ofCapri A serious-looking Indian on a billboard aimed his bow andarrow down a road that took Dennis to the Tishomingo Lodge ampCasino It featured a tepeelike structure rising a good three storiesabove the entrance a precast concrete tepee with neon tubes run-ning up and around it Or was it a wigwam

The place wasnrsquot open yet They were still landscaping thegrounds putting in shrubs laying sod on both sides of a stream that




ran to a mound of boulders and became a waterfall Dennis parkedhis rental among trucks loaded with plants and young trees got outand spotted Billy Darwin right away talking to a contractor Dennisrecognizing the Robert Redford hair that made him appear youngerthan his forty or so years about the same age as Dennis the sameslight build tan and trim a couple of cool guys in their sunglassesOne difference Dennisrsquo hair was dark and longer almost to hisshoulders Darwin was turning starting this way as Dennis saidldquoMr Darwinrdquo

He paused but only a moment ldquoYoursquore the diverrdquoldquoYes sir Dennis LenahanrdquoDarwin said ldquoYoursquove been at it a while uhrdquo with sort of a smile

Dennis wasnrsquot sureldquoI turned pro in rsquo79rdquo Dennis said ldquoThe next year I won the

world cliff-diving championship in Switzerland a place calledTicino You go off from eighty-five feet into the riverrdquo

The man didnrsquot seem impressed or in any hurryldquoYou ever get hurtrdquoldquoYou can crash enter the water just a speck out of line it can hurt

like hell The audience thinks it was a rip perfectrdquoldquoYou carry insurancerdquoldquoI sign a release I break my neck it wonrsquot cost you anything Irsquove

only been injured I mean where I needed attention was my firsttime at Acapulco I broke my noserdquo

Dennis felt Billy Darwin studying him showing just a faint smileas he said ldquoYou like to live on the edge huhrdquo

ldquoSome of the teams Irsquove performed with I was always the edgeguyrdquo Dennis said feeling he could talk to this man ldquoIrsquove got eightydives from different heights and most of rsquoem I can do hungover likea flying reverse somersault your standard high dive But I donrsquotknow what Irsquom gonna do till Irsquom up there It depends on the crowd


how the showrsquos going But Irsquoll tell you something you stand on theperch looking down eighty feet to the water you know yoursquorealiverdquo

Darwin was nodding ldquoThe girls watching you rdquoldquoThatrsquos part of it The crowd holding its breathrdquoldquoCome out of the water with your hair slicked back rdquoWhere was he going with thisldquoI can see why you do it But for how long What will you do af-

ter to show offrdquoBilly Darwin the man here confident saying anything he

wantedDennis said ldquoYou think I worry about itrdquoldquoYoursquore not desperaterdquo Darwin said ldquobut Irsquoll bet yoursquore looking

aroundrdquo He turned saying ldquoCome onrdquoDennis followed him into the hotel through the lobby where

they were laying carpet and into the casino gaming tables on oneside of the main aisle a couple of thousand slot machines on theother like every casino Dennis had ever been in He said to Dar-winrsquos back ldquoI went to dealersrsquo school in Atlantic City Got a job atSpade rsquos the same time you were thererdquo It didnrsquot draw a commentldquoI didnrsquot like how I had to dressrdquo Dennis said ldquoso I quitrdquo

Darwin paused turning enough to look at DennisldquoBut you like to gamblerdquoldquoNow and thenrdquoldquoThere rsquos a fella works here as a hostrdquo Darwin said ldquoCharlie

Hoke Chickasaw Charlie he claims to be part Indian Spent eigh-teen years in organized baseball pitched for Detroit in the rsquo84World Series I told Charlie about your call and he said lsquoSign himuprsquo He said a man that likes high risk is gonna leave his paycheck onone of these tablesrdquo

Dennis said ldquoChickasaw Charlie huh Never heard of himrdquo




They came out back of the hotel to the patio bar and swimmingpool landscaped to look like a pond sitting there among big leafyplants and boulders Dennis looked up at the hotel balconies onevery floor to the top saying as his gaze came to the sky ldquoYoursquoreright Irsquod have to get shot out of a cannonrdquo He looked at the poolagain ldquoItrsquos not deep enough anyway What I can do place the tankfairly close to the building and dive straight downrdquo

Now Darwin looked up at the hotel ldquoYoursquod want to miss the bal-coniesrdquo

ldquoIrsquod go off there at the cornerrdquoldquoWhatrsquos the tank look likerdquoldquoThe Fourth of July itrsquos white with red and blue stars What I

could dordquo Dennis said deadpan ldquopaint the tank to look like birch-bark and hang animal skins around the rimrdquo

Darwin gave him a look and swung his gaze out across the sweepof lawn that reached to the Mississippi the river out of sight beyonda low rise He didnrsquot say anything staring out there so Dennisprompted him

ldquoThatrsquos the spot for an eighty-foot ladder Plenty of room for theguy wires You rig four to every ten-foot section of ladder It stillsways a little when yoursquore up thererdquo He waited for Darwin

ldquoThirty-two wiresrdquoldquoNobodyrsquos looking at the wires Theyrsquore a twelve-gauge soft

wire You barely notice themrdquoldquoYou bring everything yourself the tank the ladderrdquoldquoEverything I got a Chevy truck with a big van body and a hun-

dred and twenty thousand miles on itrdquoldquoHow longrsquos it take you to set uprdquoldquoThree days or so if I can find a riggerrdquoDennis told him how you put the tank together first steel rods

connecting the sections Dennis said the way you hang a door Once


the tankrsquos put together you wrap a cable around it tight Next youspread ten or so bales of hay on the ground inside for a soft floorthen tape your plastic liner to the walls and add water The waterholds the liner in place Dennis said he rsquod pump it out of the riverldquoMay as well itrsquos right thererdquo

Darwin asked him where he was fromldquoNew Orleans originally Some family and my ex-wife rsquos still

there Virginia We got married too young and I was away mostof the timerdquo It was how he always told it ldquoWe rsquore still friendsthough sortardquo

Dennis waited No more questions so he continued explaininghow you set up How you put up your ladder fit the ten-foot sec-tions onto one another and tie each one off with the guy wires asyou go up You use whatrsquos called a gin pole you hook on itrsquos riggedwith a pulley and thatrsquos how you haul up the sections one after an-other Fit them onto each other and tie off with the guy wires beforeyou do the next one

ldquoWhat do you call what you dive off fromrdquoldquoYou mean the perchrdquoldquoItrsquos at the top of the highest ladderrdquoldquoIt hooks on the fifth rung of the ladder so you have something

to hang on tordquoldquoThen yoursquore actually going off from seventy-five feetrdquo Darwin

said ldquonot eightyrdquoldquoBut when yoursquore standing on the perchrdquo Dennis said ldquoyour

headrsquos above eighty feet and thatrsquos where you are believe me inyour head Yoursquore no longer thinking about the girl in the thongbikini you were talking to yoursquore thinking of nothing but the diveYou want to see it in your head before you go off so you donrsquot haveto think and make adjustments when yoursquore dropping thirty-twofeet per second per secondrdquo




A breeze came up and Darwin turned to face it running his handthrough his thick hair Dennis let his blow

ldquoDo you hit the bottomrdquoldquoYour entryrdquo Dennis said ldquois the critical point of the dive You

want your body in the correct attitude what we call a scoop posi-tion like yoursquore sitting down with your legs extended and it levelsyou off Do it clean thatrsquos a rip entryrdquo Dennis was going to addcolor but saw Darwin about to speak

ldquoIrsquoll give you two hundred a day for two weeks guaranteed andwe rsquoll see how it goes Irsquoll pay your rigger and the cost of setting upHowrsquos that soundrdquo

Dennis dug into the pocket of his jeans for the Kennedy halfdollar he kept there and dropped it on the polished brick surfaceof the patio Darwin looked down at it and Dennis said ldquoThat rsquoswhat the tank looks like from the top of an eighty-foot ladderrdquoHe told the rest of it up to what you did to avoid the 40000-gallon enema and said ldquoHow about three hundred a day for thetwo weeksrsquo trialrdquo

Billy Darwin finally raising his gaze from the half dollar shiningin the sun gave Dennis a nod and said ldquoWhy notrdquo

Nearly two months went by before Dennis got back and had hisshow set up

He had to finish the gig in Florida He had to take the ladder andtank apart load all the equipment just right to fit in the truck Hehad to stop off in Birmingham Alabama to pick up another eigh-teen hundred feet of soft wire And when the goddamn truck brokedown as he was getting on the Interstate Dennis had to wait thereover a week while they special-ordered parts and finally did the jobHe said to Billy Darwin the last time he called him from the road


ldquoYou know itrsquos major work when they have to pull the head off theenginerdquo

Darwin didnrsquot ask what was wrong with it All he said was ldquoSothe life of a daredevil isnrsquot all cute girls and getting laidrdquo

Sounding like a nice guy while putting you in your place lookingdown at what you did for a living

Dennis had never said anything about getting laid What heshould do ask Billy Darwin if he rsquod like to climb the ladder See ifhe had the nerve to look down from up there

1 0 E L M O R E L E O N A R D


THE TANK PAINTED A LIGHT blue with curvy white lineson it to look like wavesmdashBilly Darwinrsquos idea but okay withDennismdashwas in place out on the sweep of lawn Dennis changed hismind about using that river water full of silt He spoke to Darwinabout it and Darwin got the Tunica Fire Department to fill the tankfrom a hydrant by the hotel giving each of the firefighters ahundred-dollar chip they could play with or cash in Dennis wouldbet they played and hoped they won

It was the Tishomingo Lodge amp Casinorsquos celebrity host CharlieHoke the ex-ballplayer who got Dennis a place to stay a room in aprivate home for a hundred a week No meals but he could cook ifhe cleaned up after

ldquoVernicerdquo Charlie said ldquois on a diet and hardly cooks anymoregoddamn itrdquo Vernice a nice-looking redhead if a bit plumpmdashwhich was okay with Dennis he liked redheadsmdashowned the house

2


a three-bedroom bungalow with a screened porch on School Streetin Tunica the school at one end two bail bond offices at the otherVernice was a waitress at Isle of Capri Charlie Hoke was supposedto be her live-in boyfriend but had his own room so Denniscouldnrsquot tell how much time he spent with Vernice They acted liketheyrsquod been married twenty-five years After Dennis looked at hisroom and agreed to take it Vernice said ldquoI never met a high diverbefore Is it scaryrdquo Dennis believed he could get next to Vernicewithout breaking Charlie rsquos heart

It was Charlie also who got Dennis a riggerThis was a man by the name of Floyd Showers from Biloxi a

skinny guy in his fifties with a sunken mouth and skidrow waysabout him He always had a pint of Makerrsquos Mark and cigarette buttsin the pockets of the threadbare suitcoat he wore with his overallswore it even during the heat of day Floyd had worked county fairson the Gulf Coast and showed he knew how to stake down and tieoff guy wires adjusting the block and tackle to pull forty to sixtypounds of pressure Charlie mentioned Floyd had done time on aburglary conviction but said donrsquot worry about it Floyd wasnrsquot aptto get in any trouble

This final day of setting up they were working late to finish Den-nis in red trunks stood on the top perchmdashthere was another perchbelow at forty feetmdashlooking down at Floyd tying off the last of thewires Dennis pressed down on his end and felt it taut

It was early evening the sun going down over Arkansas acrossthe river No one sitting by the pool the patio in shade now Aboutan hour ago Dennis had spotted Vernice in her pink Isle of Capriwaitress uniform with Charlie out on the lawn talking It surprisedDennis to see her here at Tishomingo She had looked this way togive him a wave as she walked back to the hotel Charlie had re-turned to the weird attraction he worked and was still there a wire-



T I S H O M I N G O B L U E S 1 3

fence enclosure that looked like half a tennis court and a sign on itthat read

CHICKASAW CHARLIErsquoS PITCHING CAGE

LETrsquoS SEE YOUR ARM

What Charlie had there inside the enclosure was a pitching rub-ber at one end and a tarp with a strike zone painted on it hangingsixty feet six inches away You made your throw and a radar guntimed the speed of the baseball getting to the tarp and flashed it ona screen mounted in there on the fence Five bucks a throw Getthree in a row in the strike zone you got three more chances freeHum one in ninety-nine miles an hour or better you won ten thou-sand dollars Or you could challenge Chickasaw Charlie If this bigex-ballplayer with the beer gut fifty-six years of age failed to beatyour throw you won a hundred bucks

It looked easy

The first time Dennis left his work and wandered over there tosee what was going on Charlie said to him ldquoWatch rsquoem Theseyoung hotshots and farm boys come here thinking they have anarm Watch this kid with the shouldersrdquo Wearing his John Deerecap backwards ldquoHe throws harderrsquon sixty mile an hour Irsquoll kiss himon the mouthrdquo The kid went into his stretch brought the ball up tohis chest with both hands and threw it Dennis believed as hard ashe could The radar screen flashed 54 Charlie said ldquoSeerdquo and tothe kid ldquoBoy my older sister can throw harderrsquon that You ever seea knuckleball Irsquom gonna show you a knuckler Look here how youhold it with the tips of your fingersrdquo Charlie stepped on the rubberwent into his stretch and threw a ball that seemed to float toward the


tarp before it dipped into the dirt and the radar screen registered 66Charlie said to Dennis ldquoThey throw with their arm you noticersquoStead of using their whole body You play any ballrdquo

ldquoNot once I climbed up on a diving board I follow the AmericanLeaguerdquo Dennis said ldquoNow and then Irsquoll bet the Yankees except iftheyrsquore playing Detroitrdquo

ldquoYoursquore smart you know it How rsquobout the rsquo84 SeriesrdquoldquoWho was in itrdquoldquoDe-troit won it off the Padres You remember itrdquo No but it

didnrsquot matter Charlie kept talking ldquoI was up with the Tigers andpitched in what became the final game Went in in the fifth and struckout the side I got Brown and Salazar on called third strikes I hitWiggins by mistake put him on and got the mighty Tony Gwynn togo down swinging at sixty-mile-an-hour knucklers I went two and athird innings threw twenty-six pitches and only five of rsquoem wereballs I hit Wiggins on a nothing-and-two count so you know Iwasnrsquot throwing at him I come inside on him a speck too close SeeI was never afraid to come inside Irsquove struck out Al Oliver GormanThomas and Jim Rice Darrell Evans Mike Schmidt Bill MadlockWillie McGee Don Mattingly and I fanned Wade Boggs twice in thesame gamemdashif those names mean anything to yourdquo

Later on that day Billy Darwin had come out to see how Denniswas doing By then he and Floyd Showers had put up four sectionsof ladder and the metal scaffolding that supported a diving boardthree meters above the rear side of the tank Dennis told the bosstheyrsquod finish tomorrow and then started talking about Charlie Hokeamazed that a man his age was still able to throw as hard as he did

Darwin said ldquoHe tell you about all the big hitters he rsquos struck outand what he threw themrdquo

ldquoI canrsquot believe Irsquove never heard of himrdquo Dennis said and sawthat hint of a superior grin Darwin used




ldquoHe tell you where he struck them outrdquoldquoWhere I donrsquot know what you meanrdquoldquoAsk himrdquo Darwin said

Dennis thought of it now looking down from his perch Have abeer with Charlie and listen to baseball stories He believed Charliewas still over at his pitching cage across the lawn He hadnrsquot seenhim leave though it was hard to tell the wire fence dark greenagainst a stand of trees over there He could yell for Charlie to comeout and when he appeared show him a flying reverse somersault

Dennisrsquo gaze lifted from the pitching cage and the trees to a viewof empty farmland reaching to hotels that seemed to have no busi-ness being there The hotel next door invited its patrons to enjoyldquoCaribbean Splendorrdquo but was called Isle of Capri Like theTishomingorsquos patio bar looked more South Seas than Indian

Two guys in shirtsleeves one wearing a hat were by the barDennis hadnrsquot noticed them before It looked like a cowboy hat

When the hotel did try for Indian atmospheremdashlike the mural inthe office reception area Plains Indians in war bonnets huntingbuffalomdashthey got it wrong Charlie said Chief Tishomingo and hisChickasaws mightrsquove seen buffalo in Oklahoma after they gotshipped there but they sure never saw any in Mississippi Tishomingohimself never even got to Oklahoma Charlie said he was a direct de-scendant of the old chief born in Corinth over east of here fifteenmiles from the Tishomingo County line

The two guys were out at the edge of the patio now this side ofthe swimming pool Yeah it was a cowboy hat light-colored

Dennis was wearing sneakers no shirt or socks with his redtrunks He looked down to see Floyd Showers hunched over light-ing one of his cigarette butts A couple of times Dennis had found


him under the scaffolding behind the tank smoking a joint Dennisdidnrsquot say anything and neither did Floyd didnrsquot even offer a hitWhich didnrsquot bother Dennis not sure he rsquod toke after itrsquod touchedFloydrsquos mouth Floyd hardly ever spoke unless asked a questionhe rsquod answer and that would be it Dennis looked down at his sneak-ers stepped to the edge of the perch and was looking at the lowerperch halfway down the diving board below that and the tank youaimed for the tiny circle of water so still the tank could be emptyFor the night dive he rsquod light the water He rsquod need a dive caller acute girl in a bathing suit one with the nerve to stand on the narrowwalk that rested on the rim of the tank Announce the dives andsplash the water if he had trouble telling the surface from the bot-tom He was thinking it would be good if you could dive wearingsneakers and raised his eyes

The two guys were out on the lawn now coming by the tank The cowboy hat was that shade between white and tan the brim

rolled where he rsquod take hold of it This one walked tall in whatlooked like cowboy boots long legs in slim-cut black jeans hisstarched-looking white shirt buttoned up and tucked in tight Hisbearing along with the sunglasses under the hat brim gave him astraight-up military look Or a state trooper on his day off Theother one had a smaller frame wore his clothes loose his shirt hang-ing out and what hair he had slicked back hard

Dennis kept waiting for them to look up he rsquod give them a waveThey didnrsquot though they walked past the tank toward Floyd Show-ers Floyd pinching his cigarette butt looking up as the one with hishair slicked back called to him ldquoFloyd rdquo and Dennis heard itthe way he might hear a voice a word when he was at the top of hisdive bringing his legs up to go into a reverse pike

ldquoFloyd rdquoAnd Floyd had that look as if caught in headlights and turned to




stone the poor guy hunched inside that suitcoat too big for himnow reaching up to hang on to a guy wire

It was never in Dennisrsquo mind these guys were friends If anythinghe thought the straight-shooter in the cowboy hat might produce apair of handcuffs It was the other one doing the talking wordsDennis couldnrsquot make out He watched Floyd seem to stand taller ashe shook his head back and forth in denial Now the slick-haired onedrew a pistol from under his sportshirt hanging out A long thinbarrelmdashit looked to Dennis like a 22 target pistol called the Sports-man or something like that The one in the cowboy hat and troopershades stood looking out at the grounds like this was none of hisbusiness But then he followed once the slick-haired one took Floydby the coat collar and brought him around back of the tank out ofview from the hotel

Now they were under the scaffolding eighty feet directly belowDennis

He turned on the perch to face the ladder and was looking at theMississippi River and Arkansas and a wash of color way off at thebottom of the sky losing its light He wanted to look down butdidnrsquot want to stick his head over the top rung of the ladder and seethem looking up at him He wanted to believe theyrsquod come all theway across the lawn from the hotel without noticing him Hewanted to dive enter the water ten feet from them in a rip so per-fect it wouldnrsquot make a sound and then slip out of the tank and runrun like hell He heard Floydrsquos voice He heard the words ldquoSwearto Godrdquo and heard a sound like pop from down there a gunshot orsomebody driving a nail with one blow of the hammer a hardsound that reached him and was gone Dennis waited looking atArkansas He heard three more pops then one after another inquick succession There was a silence Dennis thinking it was doneand the sound reached him again that hard pop A minute or so


passed He saw them come around to the side of the tank movingaway from it

Now they were looking up at himDennis turned enough to watch them the two talking to each

other having a conversation Dennis couldnrsquot make out until theirwords began to reach him talking as they held their gaze on him

ldquoYou think I cainrsquot hit himrdquoldquoYou fire enough rounds mayberdquoThis coming from the hat and sunglasses looking up at him in the

gloomldquoShit I bet I can hit him on the flyrdquoldquoHow muchrdquoldquoTen dollars Hey boyrdquomdashthe one with his hair slicked back rais-

ing his voicemdashldquoletrsquos see you diverdquoldquoWould you dive offa thererdquoTalking to each other againldquoIrsquod jumprdquoldquoLike hellrdquoldquoI was a kid we rsquod jump off a bridge on the Coosa RiverrdquoldquoHow high was it twenty feetrdquoldquoIt wasnrsquot high as thisrsquon but we rsquod jump off rsquoerrdquo He called out

again ldquoHey boy come on diverdquoldquoTell him do a somersaultrdquoThe same thing Dennis was telling himself a triple in a tuck as

small a target as he could make himself hit the water and stay thereIt was his only move and he had to go right now before the onestarted shooting Dennis turned to face the tank raised his arms and the lights came on in the pitching cage across the way

First the lights and now he saw Charlie Hoke coming out on thelawn Charlie in his white T-shirt that said rsquo




across the front Charlie yelling at the two guys ldquoThe hell you bumsdoing hererdquo

Sounding like he was calling to a couple of friendsThey saw him Theyrsquod turned and were walking toward him

Charlie saying ldquoGoddamn itmdashyou trying to mess up my dealrdquoThat was all Dennis heardThe three were walking toward the pitching cage now Charlie

paying attention to the one in the cowboy hat who seemed to be do-ing the talking While Dennis watchingmdashwound tight and rootedto the perchmdashtried to make sense of two guys Charlie knew shoot-ing the guy Charlie had brought to work here They stood talkingby the cage a couple more minutes Now the two walked off towardthe hotel and Charlie was coming out on the lawn again

About halfway to the tank he called out to Dennis ldquoYou gonnadive or whatrdquo



HE DOVE DYING TO GET off that perch showed Charliea flying reverse pike and ripped his entry without seeing the watercame up with his face raised to smooth his hair back and could hearCharlie out there clapping his hands Dennis pulled himself up tothe walk that circled the rim of the tank rolled his body over ithung and dropped to the ground

Charlie stood waiting for him in the early darkldquoThat was pretty what I could see of it We got to get you a

spotlightrdquoldquoCharlie they shot Floydrdquo Dennis saying it and wiping his

hands over his face ldquoThey took him back there and shot him fivetimes The little guy He had what looked like a twenty-two like atarget pistolrdquo All Charlie did was nod his head and Dennis saidldquoMaybe he rsquos still aliverdquo

3


That got him shaking his head ldquoThey want him dead thatrsquos whathe isrdquo

ldquoCharlie you know those guys Who are theyrdquoNow he looked busy thinking and didnrsquot answerldquoThe one in the cowboy hatrdquo Dennis said ldquoI thought at first he

was a sheriff rsquos deputy or a state trooperrdquoCharlie said ldquoYou ought to see him with his sword When they

dress up as Confederates and refight the Civil War But listen to meYou donrsquot know nothing about thisrdquo

ldquoI donrsquot even know what yoursquore talking aboutrdquoldquoFloyd What you saw You werenrsquot here so you didnrsquot see noth-

ing Irsquom the one found the bodyrdquoldquoYou want to protect those guysrdquoldquoIrsquom keeping it simple so neither one of us sticks our neck outrdquoldquoWhat if somebody was looking out the window They see me

up on the ladder and the two guysrdquo Dennis glanced toward the ho-tel saying it

ldquoPeople come here to gamblerdquo Charlie said ldquonot look out thewindow Anybody happened to what would they see Nothing Itwas darkrdquo

ldquoIt wasnrsquot that darkrdquoCharlie put his hand on Dennisrsquo shoulder ldquoCome on letrsquos move

away from hererdquo They walked toward the hotel Charlie sayingldquoYou ever see anybody in the swimming pool Hell no theyrsquore in-side there trying to get rich I mean it you got nothing to worryaboutrdquo

Not sounding worried himself talking Southern in his way Itdidnrsquot help Dennis ldquoBut you know those guys They kill Floyd andyou say to them lsquoYou trying to mess up my dealrsquo rdquo

ldquoI meant their hanging around here I know rsquoem as the kind youdonrsquot want to be associated with Understand I did not know they




shot Floyd till they told me I come out I thought they mightastopped by to scare him remind Floyd to keep his mouth shutis allrdquo

ldquoAbout whatrdquoldquoAnything Hell I donrsquot knowrdquo Charlie let his breath out sound-

ing tired of thisDennis kept after him ldquoYou said Floyd had been to prison but

donrsquot worry about itrdquoThey stopped at the edge of the patioldquoI was talking about the kind of person Floyd is or was I told

you he went to Parchman on a burglary charge Floyd sucked up tosome cons there but they had no use for him beat him up when theyfelt like it I thought well since you didnrsquot know anything aboutthat the kind of people he tried to associate with there rsquos nothing toworry aboutrdquo

ldquoCharlie the police the sheriff theyrsquore gonna ask me questionsyou know that The man worked for merdquo

ldquoHe ever talk about his life Tell you the kind of snake he wasready to give up people to get his sentence reducedrdquo

ldquoWhy would you get me a guy like thatrdquoldquoYou wanted a riggermdashyou think you find riggers walking down

the goddamn street Did he talk about himself or notrdquoldquoHe hardly opened his mouthrdquoldquoSo you wonrsquot have nothing to tell will yourdquoldquoExcept what I saw They start asking questionsmdashwhat if I slip

up say the wrong thingrdquo He could tell Charlie wanted this overwith and was losing his patience

Charlie saying ldquoListen to me Irsquom gonna go inside and call nine-eleven Theyrsquoll send out sheriff rsquos people and Irsquoll show rsquoem Floyd Isay I was out there looking for you and tripped over him A homi-cide the sheriff himself rsquos likely to come get his picture in the


Tunica Times making a statement Floyd wonrsquot be worth too muchpress Before you know it itrsquos blown overrdquo

ldquoThey wouldrsquove shot me toordquo Dennis said not letting Charlieoff the hook ldquoand you know it But Irsquom suppose to act dumbrdquo

ldquoWhat I heard it sounded like they were playing with you hav-ing some funrdquo

ldquoYou werenrsquot up there no place to hide Charlie I saw rsquoem kill aman I can pick rsquoem both out of a crowd and they know itrdquo

Charlie was shaking his head the best he could doldquoLook I told rsquoem yoursquore okay you work for me I told rsquoem you

and Irsquoll have a talk and there wonrsquot be nothing to worry about Lis-tenrdquo Charlie said ldquoyou go on home Irsquoll give you my keys and geta ride from somebody afterrdquo

ldquoWhatrsquod they sayrdquoldquoThey know Irsquom good for my wordrdquoldquoBut whatrsquod they sayrdquoldquoThat you better keep your mouth shutrdquoldquoOr whatrdquoldquoYou want their exact wordsrdquo Charlie showing his irritation

now ldquoOr theyrsquod shoot you in the goddamn head You know thatWhatrsquore you asking me forrdquo

ldquoBut Irsquom not suppose to worry about it Jesus Christ CharlierdquoNow Dennis was looking at the T-shirt in front of him rsquo

and got a whiff of cigarette breath as Charlieturned to him saying in a calmer tone of voice ldquoI told rsquoem take iteasy Irsquod handle it See I go way back with the sheriff rsquos peoplerdquoCharlie glanced toward the hotel and went on in a quieter toneldquoThere was a time after I lost my ninety-nine-mile-an-hour zingerand left organized ballmdashthis was a while agomdashI ran liquor downfrom Tennessee to dry counties around here Some moonshine tooThere rsquos people can get all the bonded whiskey they want legally still




prefer shine Some take the jars and put peaches in rsquoem to set Thisstuff I ran was top of the line hardly any burn rsquocept you betterdrink it holding on to something or yoursquore liable to fall and hit yourhead I was pulled over now and then but never brought up as I gotto know the deputies on my routes See these boys arenrsquot paid muchto fight crime and have to look for ways to supplement their incomeThere rsquos only so much house-painting they can do All right theyget here theyrsquore gonna recognize Floyd right away They got sheetson him that tell of way more funny businessrsquon I was ever in WhatIrsquom saying is theyrsquoll have a good idea who did it If they want topursue it thatrsquoll be up to themrdquo

Dennis said ldquoThis is all about running whiskeyrdquoldquoI wonrsquot say all nordquoldquoWho are those guysrdquoldquoIrsquoll tell you in two wordsrdquo Charlie said ldquowhy Irsquom not gonna tell

you any more about itrdquoldquoTwo wordsmdashrdquoldquoYeah Dixie Mafiardquo

Charlie said come on he was going to tell Billy Darwin and thenmake the call Dennis said he had to get his clothes Charlie didnrsquotlike the idea of his going back out there Dennis didnrsquot either butsaid he wouldnrsquot have finished work and left his clothes there wouldhe Charlie said okay he rsquod give him time to get away from here be-fore he told Billy Darwin and made the call He said go on homebut donrsquot tell Vernice Get her to make you one of her toddies

Dennis walked out across the lawn his wet sneakers no longersquishing to the tank with wavy lines and the ladder standingagainst the night sky

His clothes his jeans T-shirt and undershorts hung from a bar of


the scaffolding head high but not in the way of seeing Floyd Show-ers lying face up in his suitcoat a dirty brown wool herringbone Je-sus the poor guy Dennis took time to look at him the third deadman he rsquod seen up close No the fourth The one in Acapulco who hitthe rocks the two amusement park workers cut down by broken ca-bles He saw a lame horse shot in the head brains draining like redCream of Wheat Floyd was the first one he rsquod seen killed by gunshotand even the ones who did it He had spent the weekend in a holdingcell with a guy whorsquod shot and killed a man in a bar fight but thatdidnrsquot count It was the time in Panama City Florida they wentthrough his setup truck looking for weed or whatever and the guy inthe holding cell whorsquod killed somebody still wanted to fight Thatmean ugly kind of drunk Dennis had to punch him outmdashno helpfrom the deputiesmdashand bang the guyrsquos head against the cinder-block wall to settle him down It wasnrsquot bad enough getting hit a fewtimes the guy a wildman the guy threw up on him and Dennis hadto wash off his shirt and pants in the toilet bowl He remembered be-ing a sight Monday morning but nothing the court hadnrsquot seen be-fore When they let him go he said to a deputy ldquoI have to put up withall this shit and I didnrsquot even do anythingrdquo The deputy said he rsquod puthim back in the cell he didnrsquot shut his mouth

Thatrsquos why he had trouble talking to cops they always had theadvantage

Getting dressed he turned away from Floyd lying dead but keptseeing the two guys looking up at him on the perch Then seeing theone holding a sword as he remembered what Charlie had said Char-lie rsquos tone just for a second there making fun of the guy You oughtasee him with his sword And something about them dressing up asConfederates and refighting the Civil War It reminded Dennis nowof a poster he saw in Tunica something about a Civil War battlereenactment




The lights were still on in the pitching cageDennis walked back to the hotel thinking he rsquod better not waste

time Duck through the back work area to the employee rsquos entranceHis setup truck was over at the far side of the parking lot Go homeand spend a quiet evening with Vernice Work on what he rsquod say andhow he rsquod act surprised when the deputies stopped by for him

There was a guy standing on the patioA black guy But not one of the help No a cool-looking young

guy in pleated slacks a dark silky shirt open to his chest a chain theguy slim about Dennisrsquo size the guy starting to smile Dennis gotready to nod say how you doing and walk past

The guy said ldquoI saw you diverdquo and Dennis stoppedldquoYou did Where was it FloridardquoldquoNo man right here Just a while ago I gave you a tenrdquoWith the smile and Dennis turned enough to look out at the lad-

der ldquoYou could see okay It was pretty darkrdquoldquoYes it wasrdquoldquoTomorrow night itrsquoll be lit uprdquoldquoThe way Irsquod have to be go off that thing lit with some kind of

substancerdquo He said it nice and easy his tone pleasant ldquoIrsquove beennoticing the signs in there lsquoDennis Lenahan World ChampionFrom the Cliffs of Acapulco to Tunica Mississippirsquo Doing yourthing huhrdquo He offered his hand ldquoDennis Irsquom Robert Taylor Itrsquosa pleasure meeting you a man with no small amount of cool dowhat you dordquo

ldquoIrsquove been at it a whilerdquoldquoWell I hope you stay with itrdquoDennis began to feel the guy was somebody and said ldquoYou were

out hererdquoldquoMean when you dove No I was in my suiterdquoDennis said ldquoLooking out the windowrdquo and knew it sounded


stupid the guy Robert Taylor staring at him then beginning tosmile a little

ldquoYeah as Irsquom getting dressed I happen to look out see you up onthe ladder the two redneck dudes out there watching I thoughtHey maybe we gonna see a showrdquo

Dennis said ldquoThe two guys standing thererdquoldquoYeah looking up like they talking to yourdquoDennis said ldquoYeah they were watchingrdquo and right away said

ldquoThey wanted to see a triple somersaultrdquo Dennis shrugged tellinghimself Jesus relax will you as Robert Taylor kept looking at himwith his pleasant expression

ldquoYou waited till they left Man I donrsquot blame you Dangerous oc-cupation you donrsquot do it for freerdquo

The guy wasnrsquot exactly smilingmdashit was in his tone of voicemild sociable giving Dennis the feeling the guy was somebody andhe knew something ldquoIrsquom paid by the week or the seasonrdquo Dennissaid ldquobut yoursquore right you canrsquot put on a show for anybody hap-pens to come byrdquo He paused and said ldquoLike those two guys I neversaw rsquoem before in my liferdquo

He waited for Robert to pick up on it mention he saw themaround or coming out of the hotel No what he said was ldquoYou didperform for Chickasaw Charlierdquo

And the two guys Dennis hoped were left behindHe said ldquoYeah well Charlie rsquos a good guy You try your arm

over thererdquoldquoI threw somerdquo Robert said ldquoBut I think that radar machine the

man has favors him You know what Irsquom saying Except I donrsquot seehow he rsquod work it You know set the speed up for when he throwsSo I give him the benefit say fine this old man can still hum it inmdashtill I study what he might be doingrdquo




ldquoYoursquore staying here a whilerdquoldquoHavenrsquot decided how long Came down from DetroitrdquoldquoTry your luck huhrdquoldquoWe got casinos in Detroit No you have to have a good reason

to come to Mississippi and losing my money ainrsquot one of rsquoemrdquoHe let that hang but Dennis wasnrsquot going to touch itmdashas much

as he wanted to know what the guy was up to He didnrsquot like the feel-ing he had He said ldquoYou know Charlie pitched for Detroit in aWorld Seriesrdquo

ldquoUh-huh he told me Went in and struck out the siderdquoldquoWell listenrdquo Dennis said ldquoI gotta get going It was nice

meeting yourdquoThey shook hands and he walked off reached the door to go in-

side and heard Robert behind him Robert saying ldquoI meant to askyou you donrsquot stay at the hotel do yourdquo

Dennis held the door for him ldquoIrsquom at a private home in TunicaI rent a roomrdquo

Robert said ldquoI thought you might be staying in town You everrun into a man name Kirkbriderdquo

ldquoIrsquove only been here a weekrdquoldquoWalter Kirkbride Man has a business over in Corinth makes

these mobile homes arenrsquot mobile They called manufacturedhomes come in pieces and you put rsquoem together on your lot whereyou want There rsquos one called the Vicksburg has like slave quartersin back where you keep your lawn mower and shit There rsquos one alog cabinmdashI know it ainrsquot called the Lincoln Log this man Kirk-bride rsquos all the way Southronrdquo Robert telling this to Dennis follow-ing him along a back hall

Dennis said ldquoIf he lives in CorinthmdashrdquoldquoI forgot to mention he rsquos putting up like a trailer park of these


homes near Tunica he calls Southern Living Village For peoplework at the casinos Kirkbride stays in one he uses for his officerdquo

ldquoYou want to see him about workrdquoRobert said ldquoI look like I drive nails do manual fuckin laborrdquoWith a different tone sounding like a touchy black guy who be-

lieves he rsquos been disrespected and it rubbed Dennis hard the wrongway Shit all he was doing was making conversation He didnrsquot lookat Robert as they came to the employeesrsquo entrance Dennis pushedthrough the glass door and let Robert catch it coming behind him

Outside on the curb Dennis turned to him in the overhead lightHe said ldquoIrsquoll believe whatever you tell me Robert rsquocause it doesnrsquotmake one fuckin bit of difference to me why yoursquore here Okayrdquo

He got a good look at the guy now in his pale-yellow slacks andsilky shirt that was dark brown and had a design in it that lookedChinese the shirt open to his chest the gold chain the guy giv-ing him kind of a sly look now saying ldquoSo you come alive the realDennis Lenahan huhrdquo Robertrsquos mild tone back in place

ldquoWe out there talking I feel you hanging back Irsquom thinking aman that puts his ass on the line every time he goes off whyrsquos heworried about me what I saw Ask was it from my window Did Iget a good look at the ones watching yourdquo

ldquoI never asked you thatrdquoldquoItrsquos what you meant what you wanted to know How much did

I see of what was going on One thing I did wonder aboutmdashthe manthat was working for you all day I see him finish up I go in thebathroom take a quick shower I come out he rsquos gone Now thoseredneck dudes by the tank are talking to you Irsquom thinking whathappened to your helper He didnrsquot want to see you diverdquo

Dennis said ldquoYou know who he isrdquo feeling his way but ready togive up the two guys if he had to




Robert shook his head ldquoNever saw him beforerdquoldquoThen whyrsquore you asking about himrdquoldquoI thought it was funny he seem to disappearrdquoldquoYou donrsquot do manual laborrdquo Dennis said ldquoYou want to tell me

what you dordquoIt brought Robertrsquos smile back Robert taking his time before say-

ing ldquoYou think Irsquom the man huh Not some local deputy dog youthink I might be a fed like some narc sniffing around Hey come onIrsquom not looking into your business I saw you dive man I respectyourdquo He said ldquoListen I bet Irsquove been in your shoes a few timesYou know what Irsquom saying I think we both had our nerves rubbeda little You ask me am I looking for work and I jump on it rsquocause Idonrsquot seek employment Any given time I got my own agenda LikeI ask if you know this man Kirkbriderdquo

Dennis said ldquoYoursquore talking man Irsquom throughrdquoldquoYou want to get a drinkrdquoldquoIrsquom going homerdquo Dennis said felt the pocket of his jeans and

said ldquoShitrdquoldquoWhatrsquos wrongrdquoldquoIrsquom suppose to take Charlie rsquos car He forgot to give me the keysrdquoldquoYou going home Irsquoll drive yourdquoldquoMy truckrsquos over thererdquo Dennis said looking across this section

of the lot where the help parked rows of cars and pickup trucksshining under the lights ldquobut I canrsquot leave it where Irsquom staying Ver-nice has a fitrdquo

ldquoI donrsquot blame herrdquo Robert said ldquothatrsquos a big ugly truck Comeon I said Irsquod drive yourdquo

Dennis hesitated He needed to get away from here but didnrsquotwant to walk around to the front and run into Charlie and maybesheriff rsquos people arriving He said ldquoIrsquod appreciate it But could you


get the car and meet me by my truck I have to get something outof itrdquo

No problem

He couldnrsquot tell the year of Robertrsquos car new or almost a blackJaguar sedan spotless shining in the lights rolling up to Dennis stillwondering what the guy did

They kept to themselves driving away from the hotel leaving be-hind the neon Dennis didnrsquot think was as tiring as amusement parkneon this was quiet neon He began to relax in the dark comfort ofleather and the expensive glow of the instrument panel He closedhis eyes Then opened them as Robert said ldquoOld 61 Yesrdquo Andturned right onto the highway to head south

He said ldquoDown there rsquos the famous crossroadsrdquo He said ldquoYoulike bluesrdquo

ldquoSomerdquo Dennis said starting to think of namesldquoWhatrsquos that mean SomerdquoldquoI like John Lee Hooker I like B B King Lemme think I like

Stevie Ray Vaughan rdquoldquoYou know what B B King said the first time he heard T-Bone

Walker He said he thought Jesus himself had returned to earthplaying electric guitar They cool John Lee and BB and StevieRayrsquos fine But you know where they came from What they wereinfluenced by The Delta The blues man born right here CharleyPatton from Lula lived on a cotton plantation Son House lived inClarksdale down this roadrdquo Robertrsquos hand reached to the instru-ment panel and pushed a button ldquoYou donrsquot get off on this youdonrsquot know bluesrdquo

The sound came on scratchy a guitar setting the beatDennis said ldquoJesus how old is itrdquo




ldquoRecorded seventy years ago Check it out thatrsquos Charley Pat-ton the first blues superstar Listen to him Rough and tough manHits you with it He rsquos doing lsquoHigh Water Everywherersquo about theflood of 1927 changed the geography of the Delta around hereListen to him lsquoWould go to the hilly country but they got mebarredrsquo Turned away by the law the high country for whites onlyThey made songs out of what was going on their life how theywere getting fucked by the law or by women women leaving rsquoemAll about man and woman about living on plantations on workfarms chain gangs This man Charley Patton his style begatSon House and Son House begat the greatest bluesman ever livedRobert Johnson Robert Johnson begat Howlinrsquo Wolf and all theChicago boys and they put their mark on everybody since includ-ing the Stones Led Zeppelin Eric Clapton Eric Clapton use tosay you donrsquot know Robert Johnson he wonrsquot even talk to yourdquo

Dennis had to think trying to recall if he rsquod heard of the manRobert Johnson

Robert Taylor still talking telling him ldquoThirty-seven miles downthis highway past Tunica you come to the famous crossroads rdquo Hepaused and said ldquoShitrdquo

Dennis saw high beams coming at them headlights and the wail-ing sound of law enforcement on a dark country road and a pair ofsheriff rsquos cars blew past going toward the hotels

Robert looked at his rearview mirror ldquoI know they not after meHow about yourdquo

Dennis let it go turning to watch the taillights until theydisappeared

ldquoI expect sooner or later Irsquoll be pulled overrdquo Robert said ldquodriv-ing around in an S-Type Jag-u-ar rsquostead of out in the field choppinrsquocottonrdquo He glanced at the mirror again then touched the button toturn off the blues


ldquoWhere they going could be something big Security man I talkto at the hotel A brother use to be with the Memphis Police he saythe Isle of Caprirsquos been held up twice Two dudes come in the frontwearing ski masks in Mississippi scoop up three hundred thousandfrom the cage security cameras getting the whole scene They takeoff run into a roadblock and one of rsquoemrsquos shot dead The secondheist the newspaper makes a point of saying was unprofessionalThree dudes walk out with a hundred thousand and disappear intothe night It makes you think you donrsquot need to be a pro do you Adude robs both Harrahrsquoses the old casino on Sunday the new oneon Wednesday gets away with sixty thou Witness say the manrsquosfront teeth are gold You bet they gold the manrsquos a success YeahTunica County Mississippirdquo Robert said ldquouse to be the poorestcounty in the US Jesse Jackson called it our Ethiopia There stillpeople farm Look on the backseat all the pamphlets and shitIrsquove picked up The one calls Tunica a place where I think it sayssmall-town friendliness is still a way of life Thatrsquos long as you donrsquotget mugged your car jacked or nobody passes off any funny moneyon you Counterfeiters man love casinosrdquo

Dennis had questions but kept quiet listeningldquoThe sheriff they use to have Went down for extortion getting

payoffs from drug dealers and bail bondsmen Drew thirty years Adeputy was brought up but he made a plea deal testified against thesheriff and only drew two to five A man running for sheriff to takethe one rsquos place went down They find him lying in a ditch shot inthe head They elected a brother as sheriff and now itrsquos cool least thebad dudes arenrsquot wearing badgesrdquo

Dennis was becoming at ease with this Robert Taylor from De-troit a guy with style and what he called his own agenda Robertwas giving him leads and Dennis felt he could say anything he




wanted and Robert would play it back in his own way showing offand theyrsquod talk the talk with each other

ldquoYou learned all that from the hotel security guyrdquoldquoSome Some I had looked up for merdquoldquoPlanning your triprdquoldquoThatrsquos rightrdquoldquoSee what there is to offerrdquoldquoCheck it outrdquoldquoWhat to look out for like the crime situationrdquoldquoYou canrsquot be too carefulrdquoldquoHistorical points of interestrdquoRobert turned his head to look at Dennis ldquoYou being funny but

history can work for you you know how to use itrdquoIt stopped Dennis for a momentldquoYou look into business opportunitiesrdquoldquoYou could say thatrdquoldquoLike mobile homes that arenrsquot mobilerdquoRobert said ldquoHey shitrdquo grinning at him in the dark ldquoYou

quicker than I thoughtrdquo


About the Author

Elmore Leonard is the author of thirty-seven novels includingthe bestselling Pagan Babies Be Cool Cuba Libre Out of Sightand Get Shorty as well as numerous screenplays He and hiswife Christine live in a suburb of Detroit


The Bounty HuntersThe Law at RandadoEscape from Five

ShadowsLast Stand at Saber

RiverHombreThe Big BounceThe Moonshine WarValdez Is ComingForty Lashes Less OneMr MajestykFifty-Two PickupSwagUnknown Man No 89The HuntedThe SwitchGunsightsGold CoastCity Primeval

Split ImagesCat ChaserStickLaBravaGlitzBanditsTouchFreaky DeakyKillshotGet ShortyMaximum BobRum PunchProntoRiding the RapOut of SightCuba LibreThe Tonto Woman amp

Other Western StoriesBe CoolPagan Babies

A l s o b y E l m o r e L e o n a r d


Credits

Jacket Design by Chip KiddJacket Photograph by Peter GriffithMasterfile


If you enjoyed reading this excerpt please visitHarperCollins Publishers to find out where to buy thisand other PerfectBound e-books

Australiahttpwwwharpercollinscomau

Canadahttpwwwharpercanadacom

New Zealandhttpwwwharpercollinsconz

United Kingdomhttpwwwfireandwatercom

United Stateshttpwwwperfectboundcom

PerfectboundPage_X 12102 921 AM Page 1

This is a work of fiction Names characters places and incidents either are theproducts of the authorrsquos imagination or are used fictitiously Any resemblance toactual events locales organizations or persons living or dead is entirely coinci-dental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher

TISHOMINGO BLUES Copyright copy 2002 by Elmore Leonard Inc All rights reservedunder International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions By payment of therequired fees you have been granted the non-exclusive non-transferable right toaccess and read the text of this e-book on-screen No part of this text may bereproduced transmitted down-loaded decompiled reverse engineered or storedin or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system in any form orby any means whether electronic or mechanical now known or hereinafterinvented without the express written permission of PerfectBoundtrade

PerfectBound trade and the PerfectBoundtrade logo are trademarks of HarperCollinsPublishers Inc

Print edition first published in 2002 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc


TISHOMINGO

BLUESE L M O R E L E O N A R D

A free mini e-book excerpt from








C O N T E N T S

Leon_0060008725_2p_fm_r1qxd 12102 915 AM



























ABOUT THE AUTHOR


CREDITS

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

FRONT COVER

COPYRIGHT


For Christ ine







1

































































































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3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits





















C O N T E N T S












Leon_0060008725_2p_fm_r1qxd 12102 915 AM
















ABOUT THE AUTHOR


CREDITS

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

FRONT COVER

COPYRIGHT


For Christ ine







1

































































































2














It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits




































Leon_0060008725_2p_fm_r1qxd 12102 915 AM





ABOUT THE AUTHOR


CREDITS

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

FRONT COVER

COPYRIGHT


For Christ ine







1

































































































2














It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits






























ABOUT THE AUTHOR


CREDITS

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

FRONT COVER

COPYRIGHT

Leon_0060008725_2p_fm_r1qxd 12102 915 AM

For Christ ine







1

































































































2














It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits



















ABOUT THE AUTHOR


CREDITS

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

FRONT COVER

COPYRIGHT


For Christ ine

Leon_0060008725_2p_fm_r1qxd 12102 915 AM






1

































































































2














It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits















For Christ ine




Leon_0060008725_2p_fm_r1qxd 12102 915 AM



1

































































































2














It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits




















1













































































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM




















2














It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits

















1























































































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM










2














It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits










































































































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM




2














It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits





































































































2

Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM













It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits























































































2








Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM






It looked easy

























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits














































































2














It looked easy


Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM























































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits



































































2














It looked easy











Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM














































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits
























































2














It looked easy




















Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM





































3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits












































2














It looked easy



























Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM






























3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits


































2














It looked easy

































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM
























3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits
























2














It looked easy












































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM













3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits


















2














It looked easy



















































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM






3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits



























It looked easy




















































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM





3
















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits




















It looked easy

























































3

Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM















































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits





































































3















Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM

































































































No problem































About the Author










Credits




























































3




























Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM




















































































No problem































About the Author










Credits



















































3








































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM








































































No problem































About the Author










Credits












































3
















































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM
































































No problem































About the Author










Credits






































3





















































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM



























































No problem































About the Author










Credits



























3
































































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM
















































No problem































About the Author










Credits




















3












































































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM




































No problem































About the Author










Credits



















3

























































































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM























No problem































About the Author










Credits

















































































































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM












No problem































About the Author










Credits













































































































Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM


No problem































About the Author










Credits


































































































No problem









Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM






















About the Author










Credits






















































































No problem


















Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM













About the Author










Credits














































































No problem
























Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM







About the Author










Credits









































































No problem






























Leon_0060008725_2p_01_r1qxd 12102 831 AM

About the Author










Credits






























































No problem































About the Author










Credits




































About the Author










Credits






















Credits















52113 tishomingo blues -...

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