Chapter 17
The sun rose in Illinois but he would rise behind an overcast sky of gray clouds.
It was now April 17th, 1934.
Hud and the others woke up early.
After a weak breakfast of bread and jelly they took from Hank's kitchen they went over their plan.
"I changed my mind, we'll hit the bank at nine-thirty. For some reason, I think that would be a safer time," he told everybody.
Jack, Harold, Jack and Willie nodded in agreement.
Hud looked at Ester. "We'll head straight here after the job and head south to Arkansas," he told her.
"I'll be waiting in the car," she told him.
Meanwhile, Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson started their drive over to Gibsland, Illinois.
It was time to go so Hud, Harold, Jack and Willie got in the Ford and drove off out of the woods.
Ester started cleaning up their campsite.
Over in Gibsland, Chief of Police Steven Compton held a meeting with all of his police officers.
"Okay, it's believed that The Hudsters will hit the bank at eleven this morning. And they're now driving Buicks or Fords. So if you see a Buick or Ford outside the bank you don't recognize, it's probably their get-away-car." Chief Compton told his officers that nodded that they understood.
"I want two officers on the roof of the store across from the street from the bank with rifles. Then I want two officers each at both ends of the streets with rifles," Chief Compton said and his officers nodded that they understood.
"And I want someone in civilian clothes to be inside the bank watching things. Any volunteers?" Chief Compton said.
All the officers looked at each other to see who would volunteer.
"I'll volunteer for inside the bank," forty-year-old Homer Randall called out and he looked determined to catch some gangsters.
"Okay, Homer." Chief Compton replied.
"We'll get staged, as soon as the three Bureau of Investigation Agents come into town," he said.
"I'm going home to change," said Homer.
Chief Compton nodded that that was okay.
While Homer left the police station, the rest of them stayed behind and chatted about this exciting event that would soon come down.
A little while later, Homer walked down the street to the First National Bank dressed in his Sunday going to church suit. He had his 38 Special tucked into his trousers behind his belt under his suit coat.
He entered the bank looking cool.
Homer walked past the customers that waited in line for the teller.
He went behind the tellers counter and went into the office of Joe Hamlin the bank manager's office. His office was to the right of the bank vault.
"Hey Joe," Homer said to Joe who sat behind his desk. Joe looked a little nervous. "We've never had a robbery before," he said and trembled a little bit.
Homer noticed that Joe was nervous. "Don't worry. We'll have the place covered and the Bureau of Investigation will be here. We'll catch them in the act this time," he said.
"I hope so," Joe replied and was still nervous.
Then all of a sudden, they heard the front door of the bank slam opened, then machine gunfire was heard.
"This is a stickup!" the voice of Hud was heard in the customer area.
Homer motioned for Joe to stay put while he removed his 38 Special out from behind his suit coat.
Homer cautiously walked to the doorway of Joe's office. He listened to the robbery going down by the teller.
Homer suddenly got brave and knew he had to act since the others were not in a position at the moment.
He quietly stepped out of Joe's office then his eyes widened the second he saw Hud Hudson six feet away from him with a potato sack in hand. Homer went to fire his 38 Special figuring he would be deemed a hero for shooting Hud Hudson.
Gunfire was heard and Homer suddenly felt a bullet him in his chest. He fired his 38 Special.
The bullet zinged over Hud's head.
Hud reacted quickly and fired off another shot at Homer. The bullet went straight through Homer's heart. He dropped dead to the floor leaving a wife and young boy behind.
Hud ran and stepped over Homer's dead body. He ran inside the manager's office and saw Joe behind his desk, scared to death.
"To the vault," he yelled at Joe.
Joe stood up, and Hud saw the large wet spot in the crotch of the bank manager's pants.
Joe and Hud stepped over Homer's dead body while they went into the vault.
Back at the Gibsland Police Station, Chief Compton had all of his officers check their weapons.
"Again, we'll get in position as soon as the Bureau of Investigation Special Agents arrive," Chief Compton told his officers.
Meanwhile, Bureau of Investigation Agent Hampton drove the Ford sedan with Agent Kelly in the passenger seat and Agent Henderson in the rear seat.
Agent Hampton drove their car into Gibsland from the northern side. Agent Kelly wanted to get there early so that they could be in a position in plenty of time.
But unknown to Agent Kelly, The Hudsters raced out of Gibsland from the southern side of town.
Back at the police station, Chief Compton and his officers waited.
Then the front doors to the stationed slammed opened. Helen, a long-time resident of Gibsland, ran into the station in a panic.
"The bank was robbed and Homer's dead!" she cried out.
Chief Compton and his officers looked at Helen in disbelief with that she said.
"What?" Chief Compton asked Helen.
"The bank was robbed by that Hud Hudson and his thugs. Hud Hudson shot and killed Homer," she cried out and started to sob.
Chief Compton and his officers just stared in disbelief.
Then the doors of the station opened again and the Bureau of Investigation Agents Kelly, Hampton and Henderson entered ready to fight with The Hudsters.
"What's wrong?" Agent Kelly asked when he saw the stunned faces of all the officers.
"The Hudsters already hit the bank a little while ago. They killed one of my officers," Chief Compton replied.
"Fuck!" Agent Kelly yelled out.
His curse word surprised Helen and the other officers. But they all felt the same way.
An hour had passed.
While Bureau of Investigation Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson drove back over to Springfield, Hud drove his Hudson south on Route 51 and was in Kentucky.
They stopped outside the small town of Westfield.
Hud, Harold, Jack, and Willie hid in the woods while Ester drove into Westfield.
She pulled into a gas station and filled up the Hudson. The young attendant did not have a clue who Ester was as he was too busy checking out her sexy legs.
Ester drove off and headed back to pick up Hud and the guys.
After they got back in the car, they continued their southerly drive down Route 51.
A couple hours of navigating through numerous country roads, Ester drove the Hudson toward the town of Woodland, Arkansas.
They drove south on Route 14.
Ester drove past a charming farmhouse off to the left.
She drove down about a quarter of a mile farther down the road.
She drove past a clump of trees to the right.
Then Hud caught a glimpse of a two-story abandoned farmhouse while Ester drove past a dirt driveway to the left of the clump of trees.
"Stop," he told Ester.
She stopped the Hudson. "What's wrong?"
"Back up to the dirt driveway," he told her.
Ester backed up the car to that dirt driveway.
They all saw the dirt driveway and saw that abandoned farmhouse.
"This is perfect," said Hud while he stared at the farm. He liked that clump of trees in the front that shielded the house from the street.
Ester drove the Hudson down the dirt driveway and parked the car in the rear of the deserted farmhouse.
Fifteen minutes later, Hud, Ester, Jack, Harold, and Willie set up house in that abandoned farmhouse.
In the middle of the night, Harold, Jack, and Willie snuck over to that other farmhouse a quarter a mile down the road. The guys stole gasoline and food from that farmer while he slept.
Back at that abandoned Hud fucked Ester in one of the upstairs bedrooms that still had a bed.
The sun rose the next morning and it looked to be a beautiful and sunny day in Arkansas.
After The Hudsters woke up at the farmhouse, Ester made some plain bread and jelly sandwiches for breakfast. While they ate, Hud got an idea.
"Listen, I've been thinking, I think it might help if we all grow a mustache," he said then took a bite of his sandwich.
"But, I can't grow one," Ester jokingly replied.
"I know. But if you could, I would still fuck you," Hud answered with a hint of a smile.
"That might help," Jack replied while he rubbed the morning, stubble on his upper lip.
Harold and Willie nodded in agreement.
So after the guys shaved leaving their moustaches untouched, The Hudsters got in the Hudson with Jack behind the wheel.
They drove out of the farmhouse driveway and headed south into the town of Woodson.
After they drove through Woodson without an issue, Jack drove south to Mississippi.
The evening rolled around.
Up in Bellwood, Missouri, Carl Pyle sat on the front porch of his house in his rocking chair reading the newspaper. Cindy was in the kitchen, making a meatloaf dinner.
Carl turned the page and read another news article about The Hudsters.
Then he cringed in a little pain while he read the article. He clutched his chest then slumped in the rocking chair. He had a massive heart attack and died.
"Dinner is ready," Cindy said while she opened up the screen front door. She saw Carl slumped in his rocking chair. She figured he fell asleep so she went outside to the porch to wake him up.
She walked up to him and saw his eyes were closed. "Dinner," she said when and shook him to wake him up. Carl's eyes remained closed and he slid out of the rocking chair and onto the porch.
Cindy looked at his motionless body and started sobbing. She knew he was dead.
Meanwhile, Hud drove his Hudson down a road in northern Mississippi. Harold was asleep in the rear seat.
Then in the middle of the night down in Mississippi, Hud drove his Hudson down Uncle Melvin's driveway.
Hud parked his car next to Melvin's Model T. They all got out of the Hudson and walked to the front porch.
"One more move and I'll fill you up with led," threatened Uncle Melvin from the dark porch.
"Uncle Melvin. It's me, Willie, Hud, Ester, Harold and Jack," he said.
"Willie?" Uncle Melvin said.
"Yes Uncle Melvin," Willie replied.
"I reckon it got too warm up in the north?" Uncle Melvin asked.
"Yeah. Can we stay with you for a while?" asked Willie.
"For that standard rate," Uncle Melvin replied and looked forward to some more of that easy money.
"Standard rate," Hud replied and started to get tired of paying people all this money to hide. But he knew this was the business he chose.
"You guys growing moustaches?" Uncle Melvin asked when he got a closer look of their faces.
"Yep," Willie replied, then touched the stubble on his upper lip.
"I reckon that might help," Uncle Melvin added then held opened his screen door.
Everybody went inside the house.
So during the rest of April, Hud, Ester, Jack, Harold, and Willie hid at Uncle Melvin's farm. It was back to that smelly outhouse again and pumping water out of the well.
The month of May rolled around.
On May 18th, 1934, Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson headed over to Bellwood, Missouri.
They parked in a Ford a few houses from Harold's parent's house. They staked out the house for any signs of Harold or The Hudsters.
The Pyle house was quiet, but they saw movement in the living room.
"Let's check it out anyway," Agent Kelly told his partners.
Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson got out of the Ford and walked across the street to the Pyle house.
They walked on the front porch and knocked on the screen door.
Cindy appeared at the screen door and looked like she had been crying. "Yes?"
Agent Kelly flashed his identification. "Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Kelly and Special Agents Hanson and Henderson. We want to talk to you about your son, Harold," he told Cindy.
Cindy opened up the screen door.
Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson stepped inside the house.
Once Agent Kelly got inside the house, he looked around the living room. "Search the place," he told Agents Hanson and Henderson.
"If your looking for my son Harold, I haven't seen him since he took off with that Hud Hudson hooligan back in thirty-two," Cindy replied and her eyes welled up.
"Why are you crying?" Agent Kelly asked.
"My husband Carl died from a heart attack a little while back," she told Agent Kelly.
"I'm sorry to hear about that," Agent Kelly replied.
Agents Handson and Henderson returned into the living room.
"No sign of them," said Agent Henderson.
"Misses Pyle. If your son contacts you or tries to hide out here. Call me. Because if I find out that you've been hiding him here, I'll arrest you for aiding and abetting a fugitive. Do you understand me?" Agent Kelly said and looked dead serious.
Cindy nodded that she understood. "I don't know why he chose this path in life. He was such a good kid. But I guess he started hanging around with the wrong crowd. Kids like that Jack Jenner and Willie Gates. Carl and I told him to quit hanging out with those two guys," she said while her eyes filled with tears.
Agent Kelly reached inside his right suit coat pocket. He removed a business card. "Call me if you hear from Harold," Agent Kelly said while he handed her his business card.
"I will," she said while she took his card.
After Cindy let the agents out of her front door, she sat down on the couch and started sobbing again.
While Agent Kelly walked back to their Ford with his partners, he could hear Cindy sobbing from her living room. He actually felt sorry for her.
Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson got back in their Ford with Hanson behind the wheel.
"Well, the living parents of The Hudsters have been a dead end," Agent Handson said while he started up the Ford.
"They were smart for not visiting relatives as a hangout," Agent Kelly replied.
Agent Hanson drove the Ford off down the street.
It was now Thursday, May 24th, 1934 and The Hudsters were getting restless down in Meridian, Mississippi. The guys all now sported mustaches.
It was now Thursday evening, and Uncle Melvin returned back to the farmhouse from working at the newspaper office.
Hud, Ester, Jack, Harold and Willie hung around the kitchen and ate some of Ester's chocolate chip cookies.
Uncle Melvin entered the kitchen from the living room.
"Uncle Melvin, Ester made us some cookies," Willie said.
Uncle Melvin looked at three cookies left on a plate for him on the kitchen table. He walked over to the table and grabbed a cookie. "We heard today that Bonnie and Clyde were killed in an ambush by the cops in Louisiana yesterday. Filled them with bullet holes. Heard it was a bloody mess too," Uncle Melvin told them then took a bite of the cookie.
"Bonnie and Clyde dead?" said Ester in a little disbelief.
Hud looked worried for the first time since he started this crime spree.
Meanwhile, back at the Springfield Bureau of Investigation office, Agent Kelly sat at his desk.
He and his Agents had checked out eight more false leads on sightings of The Hudsters.
Then Agent Henderson walked up to Agent Kelly.
"Can't believe we missed this, but Willie Kerr has an uncle that lives outside Meridian, Mississippi," Agent Hanson said.
"He's the brother to Willie's mother," Agent Henderson added.
Agent Kelly thought about this information for a few seconds. He looked confident. "Call the Chief of Police down in Meridian. I have this gut feeling that's they're hiding. We'll fly down there tomorrow," he told his partners.
Agent Henderson walked to his desk. He sat down and called the Chief of Police of the Meridian Police Department.
The next day arrived and Uncle Melvin went off to work in his Model T.
Hud and the gang started to clean their weapons in the kitchen.
"It's getting fucking hot down here. I don't think I'll be able to last the whole summer," Harold said while he wiped sweat away from his forehead.
"I know what you mean," Ester said while she fanned her face with her right hand.
"Maybe we'll head up to the mountains in North Carolina. Should be cooler up there," said Hud.
Everybody looked relieved they would be leaving Mississippi soon.
Down at the Meridian Star office, Melvin walked through the reporter's area to head to the restroom.
"Are you for real? The Bureau of Investigation from Springfield, Illinois is coming down here to Meridian today?" Jason, a reporter, said his phone while he spoke to one of the Meridian police officers that had a big mouth.
Uncle Melvin stopped and eavesdropped on the reporter's conservation.
"You're kidding me? The Bureau believes that The Hudsters are hiding out here in Meridian?" Jason said into his phone.
Uncle Melvin rushed away and looked concerned.
A little while later, Uncle Melvin raced his Model T out of Meridian and headed back to the farm.
While he drove down the country road to his farmhouse, he did not see the Ford Tri-Motor airplane that descended to the Meridian airport. It was located in the southeastern part of Meridian.
A little while later, Uncle Melvin raced his car down his dirt driveway.
He screeched his car to a stop, and his front bumper missed his front porch by an inch.
Uncle Melvin got out of this car and left the engine running.
He ran up the porch and ran inside his house.
"The Bureau of Investigation from Springfield, Illinois are on their way to Meridian today," Uncle Melvin cried out the second he stepped into his living room.
Hud, Ester, Jack, Harold and Willie rushed out of the kitchen.
"What?" Hud asked not sure he heard correctly.
"I overheard a reporter on the phone. The Bureau of Investigation believes you are here in Meridian. They're on their way right now," Uncle Melvin said and he looked serious.
"We're out of here now!" Hud called out.
Hud, Ester, Jack, and Harold ran out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the bedrooms.
"Thanks, Uncle Melvin," Harold said then he rushed out of the kitchen and headed down the hallway.
"Good luck," Uncle Melvin quietly said then he walked over and sat down at his kitchen table. He figured he would wait until the Bureau of Investigation showed up.
Over at the Meridian Airport, that Ford Tri-Motor airplane landed and taxied to the terminal.
The engines of the plane turned off.
A Meridian Ford cop car drove up and parked near the Tri-Motor with a cop as the driver.
The passenger door opened, and Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson step off the airplane with suitcases in hand.
The cop got out of the Ford and rushed over to Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson.
"Chief Hutton sent me to give you a ride to his office," the officer told them.
"Let's don't waste time," Agent Kelly told the officer.
They rushed over to the cop car.
After they got inside, the officer started up the car and drove off down the flight line.
Meanwhile, Hud drove his Hudson north on Route 45. The Hudsters were ten miles away from Uncle Melvin's farm and getting close to the Alabama border.
Fifteen minutes had passed and Chief Hutton sat in the rear of one of his cop cars with Agent Kelly. Agent Henderson sat in the passenger seat.
Two other Meridian cop cars followed.
Inside those cars were Agent Handson and seven other Meridian police officers.
"I sent some officers to talk to some of the farmers near Melvin Kerr. They recall seeing about five people staying at his farm. One of them is a woman," Chief Kerr told Agent Kelly.
"Tell your men to be very cautious. Hud Hudson won't think twice about ending their life with a bullet.
Meanwhile, Hud drove his Hudson north on Route 11 and crossed into Alabama the second the three cop cars parked at the end of Uncle Melvin's driveway.
Agent Kelly got out of the car with a Thompson machine gun in hand. "Hud Hudson. This is Special Agent Kelly with the Bureau of Investigation. I want you to come out peacefully," he yelled at Uncle Melvin's house.
There were a few seconds of silence from Uncle Melvin's house.
"Get ready to fire and shoot to kill," Agent Kelly told everybody while they got out of their cop cars and got ready for a gunfight.
Then the screen door of Uncle Melvin's home slowly opened.
Uncle Melvin stepped out onto the porch with his hands in the air. "Don't shoot! I'm all alone," he yelled out at the Agents and cops hiding behind the three cop cars.
Uncle Melvin walked off his front porch with his hands in the air.
"Cautiously move out," Agent Kelly told everybody.
They all cautiously moved away from their cars and headed to Uncle Melvin's house.
"Put him in one of the cars," Agent Kelly told one of the officers the second they arrived at Uncle Melvin.
One of the officers grabbed Uncle Melvin by his left arm and escorted him to one of the cop cars.
Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson cautiously walked to Uncle Melvin's house with the other cops. They had their weapons ready to fire if required.
They cautiously walked to the front porch, and the house was still quiet.
Agent Kelly looked disappointed. "They're probably gone," he said.
"How do you know that?" Chief Hutton said.
"Hud Hudson would never let us get this close to him without trying to kill us," Agent Kelly said then looked at his other agents. "Search the house and see what you can dig up," he told them.
Agents Handson and Henderson took the remaining cops and went inside Uncle Melvin's house.
Agent Kelly sat down in the rocking chair on the porch. "If he was here, they must have been tipped off," he said then looked at Chief Hutton.
"If I find out one of my officers talked, he'll be fired that second," Chief Hutton said.
Agent Kelly just looked at the three cop cars at the end of the driveway and could see Uncle Melvin sitting in the passenger seat of one of them.
"We found this in the farmer's dresser," Agent Henderson said the second he stepped out to the front porch from the living room.
Agent Henderson walked over and handed Agent a photo.
Agent Kelly looked at the photo and saw Hud, Harold, Jack, Willie, Uncle Melvin and Ester standing in front of the Citizen's State Bank in Tupel