Chapter 18
Another day had passed, and it was the early afternoon of Saturday, May 26th, 1934.
Harold drove the Hudson up the winding mountain road in the mountains of western North Carolina. He drove slowly since a few turns did not have any protection for driving off a long drop-off.
Ester sat in the passenger seat while Hud, Jack, and Willie sat in the rear seat.
“Are you sure that place is up here?” asked Hud while the road turned left with a fifty-foot drop-off.
“That’s what the kid back at that gas station told me,” Ester replied.
Willie, Hud, Jack, and Ester were getting a little nervous with this windy road.
Harold finally drove to the top of the mountain, and it leveled off.
Everybody in the Hudson sighed a sigh of relief and felt safer.
Harold drove the Hudson down the road a little farther. Then they saw the sign for Mountain Top Cottages down the road about five hundred feet.
Harold stopped the Hudson in the road.
Hud, Jack, and Willie got out.
They immediately got out and rushed into some nearby woods.
Harold drove the Hudson off down the road.
Harold then turned left into the gravel entrance of the Mountain Top Cottages.
He drove the car over and parked by the office.
Harold got out of the car and rushed over to the passenger door. He played the act of being a gentleman and opened up the door for Ester.
They walked arm in arm into the office.
Once they entered the office, they saw forty-year-old George Lawrence sitting behind a small counter reading an issue of Life magazine.
Harold and Ester walked up to the counter.
“We would like a cottage for,” Harold said then paused while he looked at Ester. “What do you think baby, should we honeymoon up here for a month?” he asked her in the sweetest voice he could muster up.
Ester pretended to think about his question for a few seconds. “A month sounds good, darling.”
Harold and Ester looked at George.
“Ah, honeymooners. Welcome. And we can accommodate you for a month. Where you from?”
“Georgia,” Harold replied, as this was the plan and even then The Hudsters drove through Georgia, they stole some Georgia plates and placed them on the Hudson.
“Okay, that would be sixty dollars for the month,” George replied then slid a Guest Registration form over to Harold.
Harold filled out the registration form and put them down as Elmer and Gertrude Brown of Atlanta, Georgia. He slid the form back to George then reached in his right suit coat pocket. He removed four twenty-dollar bills. “Here’s sixty dollars and an extra twenty to ensure we won’t be disturbed,” he said to George and winked.
George knew honeymooners like to fuck like rabbits, so he accepted the extra cash. “Will do,” he said then placed three twenties in the cash box and shoved the extra twenty into his right pants pocket.
George turned around and looked at the cottage keys that hung on a board behind him.
“We really would like a cottage at the far end. Hopefully, one that’s not near anybody,” Harold asked.
George turned around and looked at Harold and Ester.
“You know, I don’t want anybody to hear us during the morning, afternoon or evening,” Ester replied with a smile.
George smiled and knew that this couple was planning some naughty sex.
He handed them the key for Cottage 12 that was away from the office and secluded.
“This one has a great view of the mountains,” said George while he handed Harold the key.
“Thank you my good man, and, I’ll be providing some extra tips if our privacy is maintained,” Harold said, then winked at George.
“Yes sir,” George replied, then watched while Harold and Ester turned around and headed to the door.
“Let’s go into town for a spell,” Harold told Ester while they walked out of the office.
George watched them get back into the Hudson. And when it drove off, he noticed the Georgia plates and did not suspect that they were part of The Hudsters.
He returned to his Life magazine.
Meanwhile, back at the Springfield Bureau of Investigation office, Agent Kelly sat behind his desk. He stared at the maps of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio that had marks of all the bank and jewelry jobs, The Hudsters were known to have completed. He racked his brain on their next possible move.
Then that night, Harold fucked Ester in the bedroom of their cottage while Hud, Jack, and Willie cleaned their weapons in the small living room.
They did not realize that George crept outside their bedroom, and he heard Ester cry out when she had an orgasm. George often did this perverted spying on the guests.
The month of June passed by and Harold and Ester able to keep the ruse that they were newlyweds. George often spied outside the bedroom window of the cottage thinking he heard Harold and Ester fucking. But in reality, Ester took turns with all The Hudsters.
Then June 29th, 1934 rolled around, and Harold and Ester strutted into the cottage office.
“George, we must leave and want to see more of the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. Do you know of another place like your fine establishment a little more east of here?” asked Harold.
“Oh yeah, Elmer. My cousin Wilbur has a similar place. It’s about an hour drive east of here. The Pine View Lodgings,” George said then reached under the counter and produced a brochure then handed it to Harold.
“Thank you good man, and here’s your tip for making our stay here a grand time,” Harold said then handed George another twenty-dollar bill.
“Thanks and please come back,” said George with dollar signs in his eyes.
“Oh we plan on it next summer, George,” Harold replied then he escorted Ester to the door.
Back at the Bureau of Investigation in Springfield, Agent Kelly was getting even more frustrated when all the leads for sightings of The Hudsters dwindled down to almost nothing. He again wondered if they went into hiding for good.
During that night, The Hudsters got settled into another cottage at the Pine View Lodgings that George recommended. This place was located near the town of Abnerville.
And to keep up with their ruse, Harold and Ester again registered as Elmer and Gertrude Brown of Atlanta, Georgia. George’s cousin Wilbur got a call from George that these newlyweds might be heading over to his place and stated they were heavy tippers.
The Hudsters loved this area since they were able to easily sneak out of their cottage and slip into the woods to stretch their legs and get some fresh air. They also loved the nearby stream located at the bottom of the mountain where they stayed. That stream went right through the center of the nearby town of Abnerville.
Two weeks had passed, and it was now July 10th, 1934. It was hot that day, so Hud and Ester decided to take a nice swim in the stream at the bottom of the mountain.
So they hiked down the small dirt trail and got to the part of the stream they always swam.
But this time, Ester felt a little crazy, so she stripped out of her clothes and bathing suit and got bare ass naked.
Hud decided to join her and stripped out of his clothes and bathing suit.
They jumped into the stream and played around in the water naked.
While they splashed around in the chest-deep water, they did not notice that on the hill on the other side of the stream, two eleven-year-old boys named Ronald and Johnnie were hidden behind a large rock. Those two boys initially hiked down that hill to hide behind that rock to secretly read Ronald’s True Crime Detective magazine. Even though Ronald’s father was the Chief of Police in Abnerville, his father strongly disagreed with young Ronnie reading such trash.
But being a young and curious boy, Ronnie could not resist the temptation to read about real-life criminals.
So while they looked at the pictures in the magazine behind the rock, they heard Hud and Ester splashing in the stream. They got curious and peeked around the sides of that rock.
Their eyes widened in shock at the sight of Hud and Ester naked in the stream. Then their eyes widened even more prominent the second they saw Ester’s bare breasts.
Then Ronnie suddenly got a feeling that these two people looked familiar. He looked at the cover of the True Crime Detective magazine.
The cover of the magazine showed the mug shots of Hud and Ester with the “Public Enemies Hud Hudson and Ester Walker” title.
He peeked back around the rock and took another glance of Hud and Ester naked in the stream.
His eyes widened in shock. “It’s them,” Ronald whispered to Johnnie.
“Who?” Johnnie replied while he peeked around the other side of the rock and had his eyes fixed on Ester’s bare breasts bouncing a little while she played in the stream.
“Hud Hudson and Ester Walker,” Ronald said.
“Are you sure?” Johnnie asked while he looked at Ronald.
Ronald pointed to the Hud and Ester’s mug shots. “I’m sure,” he said and looked serious.
Johnnie looked at the cover of the magazine then peeked back around the rock. “I believe they are,” he whispered back.
“We better tell paw,” said Ronald.
“Won’t he give you a whopping for reading that magazine?” asked Johnnie while continued to peek around the rock to see Ester’s breasts again.
“Not if I turn in two public enemies,” replied Ronald.
“Okay.”
Ronald and Johnnie ever so cautiously started their climb back up the hill.
Hud and Ester did not have a clue those two boys watched them in the stream.
Ronald and Johnnie ran through the woods the second they got to the top of the hill.
Then they ran down the mountain almost tripping over their feet a few times.
After they got down from the mountain, the two boys ran and eventually ran into Abnerville.
They made a beeline through town and went inside the police station.
Inside the police station, Chief of Police Allan White chatted with fellow officer Kurt when Ronald and Johnnie ran up.
Chief White saw Ronald and Johnnie all out of breath. “Did you boys run here?”
Ronald and Johnnie nodded that did while they tried to catch their breath.
“Is there a fire?”
Ronald was still out of breath and flashed his True Crime Detective magazine at Chief White.
Chief White looked furious when he saw the magazine. “Didn’t I tell you never to read that trash?” he yelled at Ronald.
“We saw them,” Ronald blurt out when he started to catch his breath.
“Saw who?” Chief White asked not sure what Ronald meant.
“Them,” Ronald replied and pointed to the magazine cover that showed Hud and Ester’s mug shots.
Chief White and officer Kurt looked at where Ronald pointed.
“Hud Hudson and Ester Walker? You saw Hud Hudson and Ester Walker?” asked Kurt.
“Yeah” Johnnie replied with a bit of a smile remembering Ester being naked.
“Where?” Chief White asked, and now he was not concerned that his boy had this magazine.
“Down by the stream near the bottom of the hill near the Pine View Lodgings,” Ronald replied, and he was no longer out of breath.
Chief White looked over at Kurt. “Let’s check it out,” he said then rushed over to his desk.
Kurt nodded in agreement while Chief White removed a pair of binoculars from his desk drawer.
“I don’t want you near that lodging or near that stream, Ronald. Do you understand?” Chief White said in a serious tone while he walked away from his desk with his binoculars in hand.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll tan your hide good if I hear you were there. Is that understood?” Chief White said and looked dead serious.
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s move out,” Chief White told Kurt.
Ronald looked proud while he watched his daddy, and Kurt rush over to the front door of the police station.
“Paw will get Hud Hudson,” Ronald told Johnnie and looked so confident.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Chief White and Kurt hid behind some trees in the wood by the Pine View Lodgings.
Chief White peeked around the trunk of a tree with his binoculars. He saw Hud and Ester walk out of the woods back in their clothes. He kept his binoculars on them and watched while they walked to a nearby cottage. Then he saw Hud’s Hudson parked by the right side of the cottage.
“Yep, it’s them alright,” Chief White told Kurt while he lowered his binoculars.
“What do we do?” asked Kurt.
“We call that Bureau of Investigation fellow. These gangsters are too dangerous for you and me to fight,” Chief White replied and looked concerned for his town.
Kurt nodded in agreement.
“Let’s head back to the station,” Chief White said then stepped away from the tree.
Chief White and Kurt rushed back through the woods and headed back to their Ford cop car.
Back at the Bureau of Investigation in Springfield, Agent Henderson just sat down with a cup of coffee. His desk phone rang.
“Springfield Bureau of Investigation office, Special Agent Henderson,” he answered the phone then took a sip of coffee.
“Chief of Police Alan White here in Abnerville, North Carolina. I just discovered that your public enemies The Hudsters are staying at a lodgings place outside of town. The Pine View Lodgings. I just saw Hud Hudson and Ester Walker fifteen minutes ago,” he said from the phone.
“Just a second Chief,” Agent Henderson replied then moved the phone away from his face. “Ricky! Have a sighting in North Carolina!” he called out.
Agent Kelly got up from behind his desk and walked over to Agent Henderson’s desk.
“I’m Special Agent Kelly,” he said into the phone the second he took it away from Agent Henderson.
Chief White repeated what he told Agent Henderson.
Later that night, Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson boarded that Ford Tri-Motor airplane at the Springfield airport. Agent Kelly wanted to take off sooner, but there was a mechanical issue with the airplane. So he had to wait a little while longer while the two mechanics fixed the problem.
The Tri-Motor was finally airborne.
While inside the Tri-Motor airplane while it ascended into the night sky, Agent Kelly looked out his window at the lit Springfield area one thousand feet below them. “I sure hope this isn’t another false lead,” he said.
Agents Handson and Henderson nodded in agreement from the other seats.
Back at the Pine View Lodgings, Hud, Jack, and Willie relaxed in their cottage drinking whiskey. Ester just returned with Harold from a little food shopping in Abnerville.
“They have a gun store down in town,” Harold told Hud while Ester placed the grocery bag on the counter of the small kitchen. She removed a newspaper they also bought down in town. She handed it to Jack, who walked it over to Hud.
“Good,” Hud replied, then started reading the newspaper. Then his eyes widened when he read an article on the first page. “Fuck!” he said.
“What’s wrong?” asked Harold.
“The fucking Bureau of Investigation arrested Uncle Melvin for aiding and abetting wanted fugitives. Us,” Hud said while he continued to glance at the article.
Willie snatched the newspaper out of his hands and read the article. “Uncle Melvin!” he said and looked saddened. He handed the paper back to Hud then walked away so nobody could see his eyes tear up.
“I got a bad feeling. So, we should head out in the morning. Let’s go to down to South Carolina,” Hud told everybody.
It was a somber mood in the cottage as everybody was genuinely fond of Uncle Melvin.
“Let’s get the car packed now so we can leave as soon as the sun rises,” Hud added.
Everybody headed off to the bedroom down the hallway.
Then in the middle of the night under a full moon, that Ford Tri-Motor airplane landed at the McGhee Tyson airport at Knoxville, Tennessee.
That Ford Tri-Motor airplane soon taxied over to the terminal.
The engines of the plane turned off.
An Abnerville Ford cop car drove up and parked near the Tri-Motor with Kurt as the driver.
“I’m Kurt Stone from the Abnerville police department,” he said; the second Agents Kelly, Handson, and Henderson walked over to his cop car.
“Glad to meet you. I’m Special Agent Kelly; this is Special Agent Handson and Special Agent Henderson,” Agent Kelly introduced his partners.
They got inside the Abnerville cop car then Kurt drove off down the flight line.
It was a quiet drive through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina to Abnerville.
Kurt pulled into the Abnerville police station around 3:00 a.m.
When Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson arrived inside the police station with Kurt, Chief White immediately greeted them.
“Let’s get some coffee in us before we head out,” Chief White said.
Agent Kelly nodded in agreement as he was a little sleepy from the trip.
While they drank coffee and discussed their plans, they did not notice a car that drove down the street past the station.
After they had enough caffeine in their systems, Agents Kelly, Handson, Henderson, Chief White, and Kurt took off in two cars. One was the town cop car; the other was Chief White’s personal Ford Model T.
Chief White drove his car with Agent Kelly in the passenger seat.
Officer Kurt drove Agents Handson and Henderson in the trailing cop car. Kurt was actually nervous, as this might be his first gunfight.
“How many officers do you have?” Agent Kelly asked Chief White while he made the drive up the windy road to the mountain.
“Just me and Kurt. We’re a quiet and peaceful town. Not much crime happens here except for the occasional fights when guys get drunk,” Chief White replied.
A little while later, the two cars arrived near the Pine View Lodgings. They parked their cars along the road by the woods.
They all got out of the cars.
Agents Kelly, Handson, Henderson, Chief White, and Kurt cautiously walked through the woods.
They hid behind some trees near the edge of the woods where the property of the grass Pines View Lodgings started.
They all looked at the cottage Chief White told him they were staying.
“I don’t see the Hudson they’re known to be driving,” Agent Kelly said to Chief White.
“Maybe he parked it around behind the cottage. It was parked to the right side yesterday.”
“Maybe,” Agent Kelly said and started to believe this was another wasted trip. “Well, let’s see what we can find,” he said.
Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson stepped out of the woods with their Thompson machine guns in hand. Chief White and Kurt tagged along behind nervous with their 38 Specials in hand.
They cautiously walked through the grass and headed to that cottage.
Inside the cottage, Willie was the only one there. He stayed up all night drinking whiskey because of the news of Uncle Melvin being arrested in Mississippi. Hud and everybody else drove off into town to break into that gun shop Harold found earlier. They needed to stock up on .45 ACP bullets.
Willie lay in bed, thinking about Uncle Melvin. Jack’s Thompson machine gun was propped up against the wall under the bedroom window.
Then Willie started feeling sick. He jumped up out of bed and ran over to the bedroom window. He opened the window and stuck his head outside. He barfed into the grass down below. Then something caught his eye when he was finished barfing. He saw the figures of five armed men in the grass in the moonlight about thirty feet from that cottage.
He quickly reached down and grabbed his Thompson machine gun. He started firing at the figures. “You took my uncle, you fucking bastards!” Willie yelled while he fired his Thompson out the window.
Agent Kelly, Handson and Henderson immediately started firing their Thompson machine guns back at the cottage.
Kurt looked and saw Chief White face down in the grass. He knew he had been shot. Kurt froze then some of the bullets from Willie’s machine gun hit him in his right thigh. He dropped to the grass in pain and never fired a shot.
While Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson ran off in different directions while they fired their machine guns at the cottage.
Kurt scooted over to Chief White.
He immediately rolled him over on his back and saw the Chief’s blank stare. His eyes welled up, knowing he was dead.
Then Willie’s Thompson jammed. He tried to fix it.
Meanwhile, down in Abnerville, Hud, Ester, Jack, and Harold were standing outside the gun shop after stealing six boxes of bullets.
They stood by the Hudson and could hear the faint sound of machine-gun fire from the mountain. Then the sound of machine-gun fire stopped.
Hud glanced down the street. He saw the cop car and the other car that were out in front of the police station were gone. They were parked out front then they drove past the station to break into the gun shop. Hud knew Willie was in trouble.
They all hoped inside the Hudson with Hud behind the wheel, Ester in the passenger seat, and Harold and Jack in the rear seat.
Hud drove the Hudson off down the street.
A little while later, Hud drove out of Abnerville.
“Aren’t we going back for Willie?” Jack asked and looked concerned.
“Could be dangerous. We’ll stop off at the nearby town and try to find out what happened,” Hud replied.
“We can’t leave him behind!” Jack yelled and was pissed.
“Listen! We can’t go up there and risk the rest of us getting shot or captured. I would expect you to do the same to me. Enough of this shit!” Hud yelled back, and he was more pissed that Willie might have been arrested or killed.
Ester and Harold kept quiet while the air in the car was tense between Hud and Jack.
“Where we going?” Ester asked Hud as she sensed he was heading north.
“West Virginia,” Hud replied.
It was a quiet ride out of Abnerville.
A couple of hours passed and Agents Kelly, Handson and Henderson searched all the other cottages for signs of the rest of The Hudsters.
They came up empty-handed.
“I guess they caught wind of the shooting and headed out of town,” Agent Handson said to Agent Kelly while the headed back to the cottage.
Back at that cottage, a photographer for the Abnerville News snapped a picture of Willie’s dead bullet-riddled bloody body on the floor of the cottage bedroom floor.
Outside the cottage, Wilbur was almost in tears when he saw his bullet-riddled cottage building. “I hope the Bureau of Investigation pays to repair my cottage?” he yelled the second he saw Agent Kelly walk out of the cottage with his two partners.
Agent Kelly ignored Wilbur while the three Bureau of Investigation Agents walked away to a waiting Ford Model A sedan. The driver was going to drive them back to the Knoxville airport so they can fly back to Springfield.
Two days had passed, and Hud, Ester, Jack, and Harold hid out in a small town in West Virginia called Fay.
They also finally saw the newspaper article where Willie Gates was shot and killed during that gunfight at the Pine View Lodgings with the Bureau of Investigation and Abnerville police department.
Then July 23rd, 1934, rolled around.
The Hudsters left West Virginia and stopped off for gas at a gas station in Burrows, Virginia.
“Did you hear the news?” the young teenage gas station attendant asked Ester while she sat behind the whee