Busting Broncos Pt. 08

The place reeked, not just of garbage and decaying food but of a sweetish, cloying dirty body odor. It almost made my eyes water. I quickly moved through the small house. To compare it to a pigsty would be an insult to pigs. There was so much clutter and filth I began to worry about catching something. The bathroom, when I pushed the door open, shared much in character with the Black Hole of Calcutta, I'd say. And there were more flies than in our barn.

Reeling from the experience of the bathroom, I finally located Crouch's bedroom. A greedy old bastard like him was bound to have money hidden away and I intended to find it.

The bedroom was as bad as the rest of the house, reeking. The bed linens looked as if they hadn't been changed in months, you could see the outline of his sweaty body on the sheet and pillow. There were dirty clothes scattered everywhere and in one corner was a pile a yard tall of filthy clothes which seemed to be made up entirely of stained dirty underwear. It was almost as if the crustiest, most skid marked briefs had been arranged to cover the other clothes. I backed away from the pile but then I had a thought. In a house this small, where would someone like him hide valuables?

I found a dusty broom back in the kitchen and I used the handle to tip over the pile of smelly underwear, gagging even while holding my sleeve across my face. But, I'd been right. Beneath the pile there was a metal strongbox.

There was a folded towel on the dresser and I used it to pick up the box and open the lid. The inside was stuffed with bills. I folded the towel around it, went outside and put it in my wagon. Trixie's medical bills were now covered. From the corral I could still hear the sound of the engine in the barn.

* * * * * *

I slept like a log that night. It was just starting to get light outside when I awoke. I jumped up and ran to the barn where I loaded hay in my wagon, then hurried to the horse pen. I was afraid the horses might be really hungry since I was a little late.

They came snuffling to the fence, knowing that I was there to feed them and I took my time about it. The sound of the electric motor still came from the barn, light still showed through cracks in the walls.

I rushed home and prepared a big breakfast for everyone. The smell of pancakes and coffee roused everyone from bed and soon they were around the table waiting to be fed.

As I set daddy's plate in front of him I said, "Didn't you tell me that ole Crouch doesn't waste his electricity?"

"He'd rather blunder around in the dark than spend the cost of a light bulb burning." Daddy replied.

"That's weird because last night when I was over there feeding the horses, I could hear a machine running in the barn and there was a light on inside. This morning, it was still running and the light was still on."

"That does sound strange." Daddy said. "Did you knock on his door or check it out."

"Not me. The last time he saw me over there he threatened to shoot me. I'm not taking a chance."

"I'll walk over there after breakfast." he said. "The old bastard could have had a heart attack or hurt himself."

I was glad that I'd made so much food; I was suddenly ravenously hungry and made a pig of myself. Steve sat across the table watching me eat and when I'd glance over at him he'd puff out his cheeks to make his face look fat. I ignored him.

When daddy was finished he got up from the table.

"I'll come with you." I told him. "If you get shot, I can at least call for help."

We walked the path to the horse corral without needing to talk, just enjoying the morning. At the pen daddy stopped and petted and stroked the three skinny horses, then we headed to the barn.

When we got there, daddy said, "You wait here. If the old fucker is in there, I can handle him best alone." He walked the rest of the way to the barn and went inside.

It was only a minute or so later that the door flew open, daddy came running out and stood in front. He bent over at the waist and his entire breakfast came up and out, splattering over the ground in front of him. I felt truly sorry for him.

"Daddy, are you alright? What's in there?"

I started toward the door and daddy gasped, "Don't go in there. Get on your phone and call the sheriff and tell him we need him here right now."

I did as I was told. The sheriff sounded like he'd just gotten up but when I relayed daddy's message he said he'd be there ASAP. I went to daddy and, holding his arm, I helped him over to sit on a woodpile across from the barn.

"What did you see?" I asked.

"Never mind. Don't talk about it, I'll throw up again."

The sheriff, good as his word, arrived a few minutes later. When he got out of his car daddy told him, "In the barn. It's really bad, so be prepared."

The sheriff got a cold look on his face; turned and stepped into the doorway that daddy had run out of. He was in there for several minutes before we heard the motor cut off and then he stepped back out. He looked pale but calm.

"Can somebody tell me what you two are seeing in there?" I asked.

"It looks like Crouch had a little accident with his log splitter." the sheriff said. "I called the coroner from inside."

"Can I look?" I asked.

"No, you can't, it would give you nightmares. He must have fallen or got dragged into the machine while drunk. There's a Jack bottle in there on the floor with just a few slugs left. The man looks like he was sliced and diced. I've had ground chuck that wasn't chopped that fine, it's hard to tell it's even a man."

Daddy made a gurgling noise and jumped up. He ran several feet from us and again bent over, making retching noises. We watched in silence until he stood back up and came back beside us.

"Maybe somebody pushed him." I said.

"Don't even say that. I'd have to interrogate every person over the age 16 in the whole county, there'd be so many suspects. I'll tell you one thing; somebody is going to have a hellacious mess to clean up."

"Coca-cola. That will take away blood stains." I said before I thought. I could have kicked myself.

The sheriff looked at me somewhat askance and asked, "Just how do you know that?"

"I must have read it in some mystery book." I answered. I couldn't tell if he believed me or not.

How did you find him?" the sheriff asked.

"That was my fault." I said. "I've been sneaking over here a couple times a day to feed those horses. When I was here late last night, the engine was running in the barn. Then, when I came back earlier this morning, it was still running and the light was still on. I told daddy at breakfast and we came over to see if everything was alright."

"Feeding other people's horses? I'll have to check the statute book and see if that's illegal. Sounds criminal." the sheriff said, smiling.

The coroner's car pulled into the drive right then. The sheriff left us and led the elderly coroner into the barn.

When they came back out, I heard the coroner tell the sheriff, "I don't know how we're going to transport him. We'll need to use a shovel to scoop him up. Fortunately the hands and some of the feet fell off to the sides so we can at least get fingerprints."

I heard daddy gulping beside me, then he turned and went back to where he'd thrown up before. While he was busy doing that, the sheriff walked over to me.

"I'm glad I ran into you today. The other night I was at home, resting from a long day when I got a call from that gas station out on the highway. You know anything about that?"

"Why would I know anything?" I asked.

"It was the damnedest thing. There was this great big old guy out there, claimed he'd been assaulted by a homicidal midget."

"You think I'm a midget?"

"I'm just repeating what he said. He said some little guy assaulted him and then threatened to burn him alive. It sounds like something you might know about."

"I can't help you, sheriff." I said. "What did the clerk say?"

"He was a smart ass little high school kid. He just kept laughing and saying he hadn't seen a thing."

"I'll ask around for you but I can't guarantee anything. What happened to the guy who called you?"

"He was an out of stater. Said he wanted to get as far from here as he could, that crazy people lived around here. I looked up his stats the next day, he just got out of prison about a week ago, and I guess he was headed home. He had a pretty fancy record."

"I guess he just tangled with the wrong midget." I said.

"I guess he did." the sheriff replied.

Daddy returned to where we were talking and I turned to him.

"What about the horses?" I asked. "Who's going to take care of them now?"

The sheriff said, "I could call the animal people. They're so sickly they'll probably be put down."

I looked at daddy but before I could speak he said, "There's no need of that. We'll keep them at our place until we find out what's what. I have to confess, I've been aching to get my hands on those horses to groom them and fatten them up."

"Then that's what we'll do. Crouch didn't have any living relatives that I ever heard of; I guess the bank will take the place over. Until then, they'll be one less thing for me to worry about."

Daddy looked at me and smiled and said, "Andy, will you take them home and pasture them?"

"I'll find some bridles." the sheriff said.

"There's no need. Just watch." daddy told him.

I walked over to the gate and let myself into the corral. The three mares crowded in front of me, their soft noses inches from my face.

"It's going to be alright now, girls." I told them. "No one will ever mistreat you again. You're coming home with me."

They were clustered in front, smelling my breath and I turned around to lead them out. One put her head over my shoulder so that her face was against mine so I spread my arms and cupped the other two under their chins as we walked out. I led them down the drive to the road. As I passed daddy and the sheriff, I heard the sheriff say, "Well I'll be damned. Aren't you afraid they'll bolt?"

"They won't do anything that Andy doesn't do. It's been like that since he was a little child, horses just naturally love him."

Luckily there was no traffic all the way back to our house. I brought the horse in and led them into the pasture where our horses were that day. They stood staring at each other in two groups until Marcy, our oldest mare, approached the newcomers. She sniffed all three of them in turn and then found something interesting to eat in the grass. I had just assumed that their scent would be recognized from the winds that blew from their corral to ours. The other horses, seeing them accepted, ambled over to check them out themselves.

* * * * * *

Daddy excused himself as soon as he got back and said that he felt like he might lie down for a spell. He said not to call him for lunch.

At lunch time, everyone wanted to hear the morning's events. I filled them in as they ate and no one seemed as queasy as daddy about Mr. Crouch's fate. Tony wished that he'd been there, too.

When lunch ended, I pulled Steve aside.

"The sheriff said that Crouch doesn't have any relatives, that the bank would probably take possession of his place."

I didn't have to say anything else.

"So it will probably go up for sale and it adjoins our property. We could use that pasture land." Steve said.

"We're thinking alike. Shall we walk over this afternoon and take a look around?"

"Hell, daddy won't know. Let's go now." Steve replied.

Once again, I found myself walking the well worn path between houses. When we got to the corral Steve said, "That comes down. It was built half assed and it's still half assed."

Everyone had deserted the scene so we went to the barn first. Inside it smelled like a slaughterhouse and there was a huge bloodstain radiating out from the log splitter on the concrete floor. The blood had hardened and almost turned black and there were flies all over it. We avoided the area.

Steve looked the barn over from top to bottom and then said, "It would be a shame to tear this down, I'd bet its well over a hundred years old. The joints are all tenoned, done by hand. You could probably even turn this into a living space, it's so well built."

We left the barn and approached the house. Remembering the place from last night, I let Steve lead the way. The door was still unlocked and when Steve pushed it open a wave of stench rolled out around us.

"Jesus Christ, are you sure the corpse wasn't in here?"

"Should we go in?" I asked.

"Yeah, but let's be quick. I don't know how much I can stand."

We held handkerchiefs over our moths and noses while Steve checked the place out. After a quick survey of every room, we hurried outside and Steve pulled the door shut behind him.

"Thank god for fresh air." he said, his eyes watering. "No wonder that old son of a bitch always stunk."

He walked around the outside of the house, me close behind and after seeing all he wanted to see he said, "This place looks a lot worse than it is. Providing we can get the stink out, we could put up new walls, sand the floor and spruce it up and it would be good for rental."

"Are you going to try to buy it?"

He looked at me and then said, "Can we afford to?"

"I'll worry about that part if you want it."

"Then hell, yeah. Let's do it."

* * * * * *

As soon as we got back to our place Steve said, "I don't care if it is ghoulish, I'm going into town to talk to the bank. Might as well let them know we're interested and expect first refusal." He was in the truck and gone before I could even reply.

When I got inside, Tony was waiting in the kitchen.

"Where's Trixie?" he asked. "It seems like I haven't seen her in a couple of days."

"She had an accident, I took her to Dr. Johnson, the vet and she's still there."

At the mention of Dr. Johnson, Tony subtly smiled and I had an idea.

"I haven't been over to check on her since yesterday, why don't you make a trip there?"

Tony smiled even more broadly at that idea.

"And just so you know, he told me he's a widower with no girlfriend and he feels kind of lonely sometime."

Tony by now was beaming.

"I bet he'd welcome some company. Just tell him you're my brother Tony. And be nice to him."

That was that, Tony jumped up and went down the hall to prepare for his visit and I went in to check on daddy. I lay down on the bed next to him and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Like everything I ate for the last 5 years came back up today and like I may never eat again."

"I guess that means no hamburger for awhile." I said.

He shaded a green color for a moment and then he said, "You evil little bastard. Did you know you're adopted? I'm sending you back to your birth family."

"I bet you'd miss me if you did." I replied as I snuggled in his arms.

* * * * * *

Early the next morning, Steve and I had just stepped out onto the porch when, driven by Tony, our truck pulled into the yard.

Steve had arranged for a meeting at Crouch's place at 9am with the bank manager, it turned out that the bank was just as eager to get rid of the mortgaged property as we were to buy it.

Tony stepped out of the truck and almost wafted up onto the porch.

"Are you just now getting home from last night?" Steve asked him.

Tony just turned to me, his eyes glazed and wearing a big grin as he said, "Trixie is good. Really, really good. I bet Trixie has never felt better."

"Good for Trixie." I replied. "Daddy is already out grooming those new horses. He doesn't know you were away. Try not to look so suspicious around him."

"Who's Trixie?" Steve asked and I just tugged his sleeve and pulled him to the truck.

It only took us a few minutes to get to the Crouch place. The bank manager was already there, waiting in his car. We all greeted each other and then he said, "Well, let's take a look around and see what the place might be worth. It doesn't look like much."

We walked toward the barn and the manager said, "I assume this is where the accident was."

Just as he was saying that, he pushed open the barn door and a swarm of flies buzzed out, engulfing all three of us. They hit the bank manager head on and I heard him gasping and coughing as he spit out flies that had flown into his mouth. The place smelled worse than before and the blood stain was now entirely black. There were maggots writhing on the stain.

The bank manager took one look and spun around and went back outside.

"I suppose that barn will have to be leveled, just to get rid of the smell and associations." he said. He looked queasy and kept wiping his mouth and face with his handkerchief as we walked to the house.

The house had been sealed overnight so that when he opened the door, the pungent stench inside rolled out even stronger than usual. He actually gagged.

"Are you sure there's not something dead inside there, too." he asked, holding the handkerchief over his face.

"Oh, no, the sheriff checked the interior. I think it just naturally smells that way." I said.

"Well, I don't need to go inside. I've seen enough." he replied. Turning to Steve he said, "Bring me a copy of the death certificate tomorrow. I know for a fact there are no heirs and the sooner these buildings are gone, the better for everyone. I'll give you the place for what remains of the mortgage."

"I don't know..." Steve started to say but I finished for him, "what time it will be but that sounds wonderful. Steve will be there as soon as he gets his document. I assume a check will do?"

"You want to pay it off outright? In that case, I can probably do a little better on the amount."

"We would really appreciate that." I said. Steve glared at me the whole time we again shook hands and saw the bank manager off.

"Why'd you cut me off like that?" he asked. "I probably could have bargained him down, he hates this place."

"And he'll have all night to think about that, and the stench, and the blood. You can bargain with him tomorrow if you want when you see what the amount is. For now, let him think over what he has on his hands."

Steve brightened a bit and said, "Maybe you're not as dumb as you look."

"I know for a fact that you are." I replied, wrapping my arm around his waist.

* * * * * *

That might have been the end of this story. However...

The sale of Crouch's property went through without a hitch. The bank manager knew a judge who expedited the whole probate process and a week later we owned the farm. It took all of my cash on hand but Steve was able to purchase the property outright, free and clear. The bank manager threw in the horses and all of Crouch's filth for free.

The first thing Steve did was go over to the house and while wearing a respirator, open all of the doors and windows in the house and barn. He said that anyone stupid enough to walk off with something was more than welcome to it; it would save having to haul it out to burn. He left the buildings stand open for 3 days before even attempting a clean up.

Trixie, meanwhile, was recovering nicely. Tony had been making regular visits to both her and Dr. Johnson and seemed to enjoy both. After a week, the Dr. allowed Tony to bring her home.

That evening, Tony and Trixie were both sitting on the sofa watching the news when daddy and Uncle Cody came in from working.

"Do we have a dog now?" Cody asked.

"Yes, we do." Tony replied. "Her name is Trixie. If you have any objections, you can both start sleeping in the barn. Trixie would probably like her own room, anyway."

Daddy and Cody look at each other and never said a word.

The wind finally blew most of the stench out of Crouch's house and Steve and I began the process of emptying it in preparation of a renovation. We carried every piece of furniture out into the yard for Tony to review. It all looked like junk to me but Tony had a way of finding the gems under the dirt and selling them. He'd done remarkable things with the junk left behind in the building where his shop was.