When Brute carried her out of the infirmary, he didn’t really know where to go. He ended up taking her to his favorite spot, the roof. There might be a nip in the air sometimes but up here, it was quiet and a person could think.
He carried her to his little corner and sat down. He had his own little place up here and it was good enough for him. He had an oversized cushion to lay on and one of those large camping type chairs if he wanted to use it. He also had a blanket or two and pillows in a storage bin. When he would come up here at night, he could lay here and watch the stars.
When he sat down in his big chair, he adjusted her in his lap. She was still crying but had slowed down to whimpers. He held her and just let her cry. His mama had told him once a long time ago that sometimes women and babies just needed to cry. She told him ‘tears washed the soul and hurt away.’
Finally, he whispered, “Hush now, woman. He ain’t worth your tears.”
Tatum laid her head on his broad chest. After a while, she began to speak, “You know, I always knew there were cruel people out there in the world, hell I lived with one. She was a miserable person in a way most people would never think to be. I would look out the window and watch the world go by and wonder what it would be like to be outside. That old woman believed in two things religiously, studying and chores.” She lifted her head to look at him as she sniffled.
Brute paused and reached into his pocket to hand her his bandana.
She took it and wiped away the tears then settled down and pressed her ear to his chest again. “I thought once I was grown up that she would finally release me from my prison but it never happened. I thought I’d never get away from that house, then Dennis Matchy started coming around. The first time she saw him coming to the house, she dragged me to my bedroom and locked me inside. She told me if I made any noise and he found me I’d know what real hell was like and that I probably wouldn’t survive it.” She paused. “As I listened to them fighting, I realized she was right. I had lived in fear every day I was in that house but that day I was terrified that he would return. The day she died, she didn’t have time to lock me in my room. He just kicked in the door while yelling at her. He sounded almost desperate and Mrs. Wyman wasn’t helping. She just screamed back at him, telling him to get out of her house. He yelled that his money paid for the house so it was his house. Then she called him out, saying that they needed her a hell of a lot more than she needed them. She went on to say that she took in the baby they stole and it was her life on the line if they got caught, so she had worked for every penny they paid for her services. Then he told her in the coldest, deadliest voice I’ve ever heard that she let the baby die and now she was of no use to them, they had nothing now to save their own lives. It was up to them who would live or die. All three of them would have to keep their secret and heaven help them all if they were ever found.”
Brute listened as he smoothed her hair with his hand. “Did you ever hear who he was talking about?”
“No, I never heard any names but Mrs. Wyman told him she had nothing to fear, at least she tried to take care of the baby, and she could always claim she had no idea where the baby came from. He got so mad saying how she had betrayed him as he grabbed her by the throat and began to squeeze. Then I heard him snap her neck. I couldn’t bear to look but a moment later, I heard his footsteps as he walked out the door. I grabbed my coat and followed him. It might have been wrong to just leave her there, but I didn’t want to lose him.”
“Honey, that doesn’t make you a bad person,” Brute assured her. “I’m pretty sure he has the answers you’ve been looking for all your life.” He shrugged. “And there was nothing you could do for her.”
Tatum nodded. “But then I was caught up in that shootout and got wounded and now, I know. Matchy made that very clear. I may never know who I am.”
Brute shook his head. “No… he told you that you were his secret to keep, but we have ways to make a man talk.”
“But Luna has already told us he can’t be trusted to tell the truth.” Tatum exhaled shakily. “I guess I just have to face facts that I’ll never know who I am.”
“Does that make any difference?” he asked her. “Like Cat told you, you determine your own fate. I think you are like a blank slate, you can decide for yourself what kind of person, or in your case, what kind of woman you want to become. You have no one to be disappointed in you when you make the wrong choice, no one to yell at you about your choices in life, no one to pressure you to go one way when you want to go another.”
“And no one to support me or guide me, I’ll have no one to love me either,” Tatum pointed out.
Brute’s arms tightened around her. “I think you’re smart enough to do that on your own. And as far as loving you that’s the easy part. Trust yourself. You know what you want and don’t want in a person. Just don’t settle for someone who would abuse you. No real man ever has to hit a woman.”
“Dennis Matchy is one such man right? He hit Mrs. Wyman almost every time he showed up, but she wasn’t very nice to him either. She wasn’t a nice woman most of the time.”
“Did she ever hit you?” Brute wanted to know.
Tatum hesitated, she really didn’t want to answer him, but finally, she nodded.
He waited for her to talk again but after a few minutes, he knew she wasn’t going to. “Well, no one here will ever lay a hand on you or hurt you.”
They sat there quietly for a few minutes.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “When was the last time you ate anything?”
“I had some crackers and water yesterday but I think while trying to keep up with him I’d been too scared to even be hungry. Last night before the shooting started, I climbed the nearest tree and prayed no one would see me. I thought I was going to be okay then someone from the roof must have shot wild and I caught the bullet. I was too afraid to even call out. Then this morning, you came along and I was feeling so faint, I couldn’t stay up there any longer.” She sighed. “I thought for sure I was going to break my neck when I fell out of that tree. Then I passed out. How did I fall and not break my neck?”
Brute smiled. “Cuz I caught you. You fell right into my arms.” His smile widened and he leaned closer to whisper in her ear, “So I’m thinking that means I get to keep you.” He paused as something occurred to him. “Hold up, you said you were up in the tree when the shooting started?”
Tatum nodded. “Yeah, I thought I’d be safe if no one could see me, why?”
“Do you know what happened before the shootout?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes, I told you all, I followed Matchy here. He met up with an older guy who was already here. They were watching the clubhouse.” She wrinkled up her nose. “He was holding a rifle and was swearing and cursing.” Tatum snickered at her thought. “The two men were complaining about having to wait for the evil woman to arrive; they said they were always having to wait on her to do anything. Then Matchy told him he’d take an extra rifle and move to another area. He said he was done waiting. Then as soon as he moved out to settle in another position, she showed up.”
Brute frowned. “Who is ‘she’?”
Tatum shrugged. “I have no clue but she had long red hair and her arm was in a sling. Her shoulder was all bandaged up and she also had a bandage around her head. She was walking like she was in pain.”
Brute looked down. “You could see her that well?”
Tatum nodded. “I told you I was up in a tree. When she showed up, she went right over to the first man. I don’t think she wanted Matchy to know she was here yet.” Then she paused and frowned, “I think she called the older guy Hogg? That’s an odd name But that was what she called him.”
“You could hear them talking?” Brute asked.
“Yeah, I could hear them, they weren’t very quiet.” She shrugged then she admitted, “They weren’t really trying to be quiet. They didn’t think anyone else was around.”
Brute tightened his hold on her and got to his feet. “You need to tell the brothers what you overheard. Matchy was shot on our doorstep and Hogg ambushed us from the woods.” He carried her back down the stairs and found everyone in the main room. “Guys, we might have a witness to what went down in the woods last night,” he announced.
Hawkins, Cash, Wilder, Titan and Kota looked up at him.
“What the hell are you talking about, Brute?” Hawkins asked. “We know what happened last night, Hogg and Matchy started a fucking gun fight and Isobel ran away again.”
Brute sat down with Tatum on his lap. “No Prez, you don’t understand. Tatum was in a tree watching the whole scene before the battle began. She heard and saw the players and she might have heard what went down before the shitstorm hit.”
“Exactly how long were you out there, little girl?” Hawkins wanted to know.
Tatum shrugged. “I told you I followed Matchy after he killed Mrs. Wyman.”
Everyone nodded.
“Well, that was two days ago. I’d been up that tree for almost a day and a night when Brute found me.”
Hawkins frowned and stared at her for a moment. “How exactly did you follow this guy?”
“I followed him on Mrs. Wyman’s scooter.” Tatum shook her head. “And that wasn’t easy.” She flushed. “I had never ridden one of those things before, so I fell a few times before I got the hang of it, I’m not the best rider I guess. He must have been way ahead of me.”
“Why do you say that?” Cash asked.
“He got here a good twenty minutes before I did. I had no idea where he really went but I took a chance and when I got into the woods, he was there. I wasn’t even sure I had the right place until I saw his car. He’d driven it in to hide it, with the heavy trees all around, no one would have seen it probably. So when I heard their voices, I got as close as I dared to then I climbed up into that tree. I was stuck for half that day and the night before the big guy found me.”
“Brute tells us you were there last night before the gun fight started,” Wilder stated.
Tatum nodded at him.
“So can you tell us what you heard. Like anything they discussed?” Wilder asked.
Tatum laid her head on Brute’s chest and she tried to remember everything from the night before. “Like I said he arrived yesterday just shortly after noon. He and the older man began arguing about what the hell they were even doing here. The other guy was bitching and complaining about being so close and yet so far away. I think he was hoping he could cause some damage. I don’t know why but I think he was looking forward to taking you guys down. Dennis had to tell him they weren’t here for that, at least not yet. Then he said something about getting to Cat and getting her away from here. He said Isobel figured she was the ticket they needed to find what they were looking for.” She looked over at Cat and shook her head. “I think the deal was supposed to be to distract the brothers while one of them came down to snatch you. I’m not sure why but they think you know where something is and that something was important to the woman who was there with them.”
Cat paled and sat down.
Titan wrapped his arm around her and just held her.
“Go on.” Hawkins growled as rage was building in his eyes.
Tatum nodded and went on, “It wasn’t until after Dennis started down here that the woman showed up. She watched him sneak down the hill and then she ordered the other guy to get ready to start shooting. There was another guy with her but I don’t think he wasn’t here to shoot anyone. The woman had one arm in a sling and her shoulder was all bandaged up but she also had a bandage around her head. I could see blood on the bandages around her head. That didn’t stop her from pacing back and forth and yelling at the older guy.”
“Could you hear what she was saying?” Kota wanted to know.
Tatum nodded. “I could hear some, but not all of it. It was almost dark by that time and she must have seen something going on down here cause she told the older man to start shooting. That’s when I heard her call him Hogg. He did it too, right away. Then the shots were going back and forth. She saw he was losing and ran over to him, she shouted that he would know where to find her if he survived the battle. Dennis was pinned down by the shooting and she shouted out again that she hoped he wouldn’t survive. She was so done with him and his fucked up ways.”
Hawkins shook his head. “She didn’t happen to say where she was going, did she?”
Tatum frowned and seemed to think about it for a minute. “I think she said something about going back to the Albert or Abbett?” She shrugged. “Whatever that means. It seems to make more sense if it’s the Abbett…I mean who goes to the Albert?”
Cat looked over at Luna and they both paled as their eyes met.
Titan stared at Cat. “What’s going on here? Do you know this place, the Abbett?”
Cat turned to look at him and nodded slowly. “Yes, I know it.”
“So just how do you know it?” Hawkins demanded with a growl.
Cat laughed bitterly. “I should know it. Luna and I grew up there. That’s where we were placed by the state after we lost our families. It’s the orphanage we ended up in.”
