Chapter 5
It was now July 19th, 1932, and Hud and Harold met the other members of their new gang.
Willie Gates was twenty-two years old and spoke with a southern accent. He was from Mississippi, but his daddy moved to Missouri when Willie was ten.
Willie learned the trade of safe cracking from an older neighbor man, who took Willie under his wing after his daddy died from a heart attack.
Then there was Jack Jenner, twenty-three years old, and both had experience with burglaries and loved stealing cars.
Harold told Willie and Jack to meet them just outside of the eastern side of Bellwood on the main road called Route 18.
After the short introductions, Hud and Harold drove off in Harold's car.
Jack and Willie followed in Willie's car that belonged to his neighbor.
They drove two miles then Harold pulled off the road and down a dirt path.
He stopped in the woods where he knew nobody would bother them.
Hud worked on building a campfire for ambiance.
After the fire got started, they sat around the warmth.
Hud opened up a bottle of whiskey. "Okay, I want us to hit banks all around Missouri. I hope everybody agrees," Hud asked.
Harold and Willie nodded in agreement.
"I would love to hit banks. The bank took daddy's farm away six months ago. We're now living with his sister," said Jack.
"Good. I also think that before the jobs, we stake out the area for any abandoned farmhouses for a hideout. If there ain't any, then we'll camp out in the woods," he told the four guys then he took a drink of whiskey from a bottle he passed it to Harold to his right.
"Divide up the loot four ways?" Willie asked while Harold took a drink of whiskey.
"Of course. Nobody gets cheated. We'll all be fair and square with each other. That means we don't fight amongst ourselves," Hud replied while Harold passed the whiskey bottle to Jack to his right. "Now another thing, if the cops become a threat, I hope you are willing to shoot them," Hud said then looked at Jack and Willie to see if they had an issue with that.
"No problem here," Jack said and looked sincere.
"Me neither. All the cops I know are crooked anyway," replied Willie, and he looked sincere.
Hud never bothered to look at Harold, as he knew his feelings about the cops.
"We'll never shoot bank customers," Hud added.
"What about the crooked bank managers?" Jack asked as he knew of a bank manager; he felt he needed some lead in his body.
"Only if the manager becomes a threat," Hud replied.
Harold, Jack, and Willie nodded in agreement.
"We need a leader," said Jack then took a drink of whiskey.
Jack, Harold, Willie, and Hud looked at each other.
"I know Hud finished his schooling and I like the way he plans and thinks things through. So I say Hud should be the leader," Harold told the other two guys.
Jack and Willie thought about Harold's proposal for a few seconds.
"I'm good with that," Jack said, then passed the whiskey bottle to Willie to his right.
"Me too, as I don't want the worries and headaches," Willie added then he took a drink of whiskey.
Jack and Harold nodded in agreement while Willie passed the whiskey bottle back to Hud by his right.
"First we need some guns," Hud said then he took another drink of whiskey.
Harold, Jack, and Willie thought that for a few seconds.
Willie's eyes widened. "I know this rich dude over in Fairmont, about five miles away.
He's the mayor of that town and a little strange. Name is Kent Henderson. I broke into his safe a few months back, and I know he has a beautiful gun collection. Even two Thompson machine guns," he said while Hud passed the bottle back over to Harold.
Jack's eyes widened with joy. "I've always wanted a Thompson," he said then made the impression with the sound he fired a Thompson machine gun while Harold took another drink of whiskey.
"Okay. We'll stock up with Willie's suggestion over at Fairmont," Hud said then he thought for a few more seconds. "We'll need a car," he added while Harold passed the whiskey bottle back to Jack.
"I can take care of that," Jack said then he took another drink of whiskey.
"Get a Ford. That's common and easier to blend in. And don't steal it from Bellwood," Hud said while Jack passed the whiskey back to Willie.
Jack nodded that he understood.
"We need to dress like gangsters. That means nice suits. We can't go in there looking like a bunch of dirt poor farmers. They might laugh at us," Hud said while Willie took another drink of whiskey.
Willie smiled while he remembered some of his crime sprees in Fairmont. "Fairmont has a nice clothing store with fancy suits," he said then passed the bottle back over to Hud.
"I like the way things are shaping up. So, let's get the car first, then Willie will take us to this rich guy's house, and we'll get the other stuff we need," Hud said then looked over at Jack. "Work on getting a car tomorrow," he said then looked at everybody else.
"The last thing we'll need is a place to hide out for a few days."
The guys thought about a possible solution.
"I know of a farm about three miles out of town. Old man Wilbur died three weeks ago. He lived alone as his wife apparently died a year ago. We can use that place for a spell," said Harold.
Hud thought about his proposal for a few seconds. "That'll work. Round up some camping gear," Hud said.
"I can also take of that," said Harold.
Hud looked at the bottle of whiskey. "I hope this rich guy has some good whiskey," he said while he looked at Willie.
"He does," Willie replied.
"Good, because I'm of tired of drinking this cheap shit," Hud replied then threw the bottle, and it smashed against the trunk of a tree.
"Good," Hud said, then paused for a few seconds. "Let's meet tomorrow at the same time and location.
And hopefully, Jack will have a car. Then we'll head out to that farmer's house and go from there," Hud told everybody.
Harold, Jack, and Willie nodded in agreement.
Hud immediately started kicking dirt onto their campfire.
Jack, Harold, and Willie joined in kicking dirt at the fire. It was out in a matter of seconds.
They all headed off to the two cars parked twenty feet away.
Hud and Harold walked over to Harold's car.
Jack and Willie walked over to Willie's car.
Hud's eyes widened when he remembered something. "Jack," he called out.
"Yeah."
Hud walked over to Jack. He reached inside his pants pocket and removed a ten dollar bill. "Get us some groceries," he said when he handed Jack the money.
"Will do boss," Jack replied then sat in the passenger seat of the car.
Hud smiled as he loved being called a boss while he walked over to Harold's car.
After they all got in their cars and started up their engines, they drove off through the woods and headed off to the road.
"What do you think about the guys?" Harold asked while he drove back down the road towards Bellwood.
"I have this good feeling about them. I think this will work," Hud replied.
"So, after we get rich, what are you going to spend your money on?" Harold curiously asked.
Hud thought for a few seconds. "I want one of those Hudson's. You know, the Hudson Greater Eight," he said with a smile thinking life would be grand if he owned one of those cars.
Harold thought about his answer for a few seconds. "I get it. Hud Hudson owns a Hudson. Catchy. That could be your trademark," he said.
"Yep."
"I'm going to some of my money on the finest whores money can buy," Harold said and started to get an erection thinking about that.
Hud smiled when he thought about those younger days with Millie.
"Me too."
Later that night, Harold lay on his back in his bed and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. He wondered if this was a mistake. But he knew that he did not have any other way to make a living. Nobody wanted to hire an ex-con. And he really did not want to live a boring life at his parent's house.
Hud lay on the floor with a blanket and pillow. He also stared at the ceiling and wondered if he was making a mistake. But he even knew that he did not have any other way to make a living. And he really wanted to purchase a Hudson and fuck more whores.
These bank robberies would allow him to frequent some of the best whores around the state.
They were both fast asleep in minutes.
The sun rose, and Harold's mother, Cindy, around fifty-five years old, entered his bedroom.
"Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes," she called out from the doorway.
Harold and Hud woke up.
"Thanks, mom," Harold said while he got out of bed.
After Harold and Hud took turns shaving and washing their faces, they headed off to the dining room table.
Already eating his egg and toast breakfast was Harold's fifty-five-year-old father Carl who wore his work coveralls.
"Hey boys," Carl said the second Harold and Hud walked into the dining room.
"Hey pop," Harold said when he and Hud sat down at the table.
Cindy immediately entered with two plates of eggs and toast. She placed one down in front of Hud and Harold.
She went back into the kitchen and soon returned with two cups of coffee.
She sat down at the table by her plates of eggs, toast, and a cup of coffee.
"So, you boys going to go out and try to find a job today?" Carl asked then took a drink of coffee.
"Yeah, can we use the car?"
"Drop me off at work. I can get a ride from Elmer," Carl replied.
"Thanks pop," Harold said then he glanced over at Hud and gave him a little wink.
"I'll pray you'll find a job," Cindy said then she took a bite of her toast.
"I wish I could get you a job down at the plant, but things are slow right now," Carl said then he took a bite of his eggs.
"Pop works down at the glass factory," Harold told Hud.
"I see," Hud replied but could care less.
They had an idle chat during the rest of the breakfast.
After Harold and Hud dropped Carl off at the Bellwood Glass Works on the other side of town, Harold drove off into the countryside.
A little while later, Harold drove Hud to old man Wilbur's farm he mentioned last night.
Harold parked the car in front of the house.
He and Hud got out and walked to the front porch.
"How long do you think we have to stay here?" Hud asked while he looked around the area and saw that the house was visible from the road.
"I figure two days max," Harold replied.
Hud thought about his answer for a few seconds. "That should be enough time."
Harold opened the front door of the house.
He and Hud went inside the home.
Hud and Harold spent fifteen minutes going all through the house.
Hud loved the fact that that place was still furnished.
"This is perfect," he told Harold and patted him on his shoulder.
They left the house, got back inside the car, and drove off back to town.
Later that night, Harold and Hud drove out to their campsite from last night.
The second they got out of the car, Willie drove up behind them in his car. He turned off the engine and got out.
"Where's Jack?" asked Hud.
"He's coming behind with a surprise," Willie replied while he walked over to Hud and Harold with a smile.
The sound of another car driving down the dirt trail was heard.
Hud, Harold, and Willie looked and saw a 1930 Ford Tudor Sedan pull up and park behind Willie's car. The engine turned off, and Jack got out from behind the wheel.
"What do you think?" he asked while he walked over to the front of the car.
Hud and Harold walked over and walked around the car, checking it out.
"This will do. Good job, Jack," Hud said while he peeked inside the car. "From now on, your job will be the driver during the bank jobs and responsible for getting us some fresh wheels," he added.
Jack flashed a proud smile as he loved stealing and driving cars.
"Okay, let's start planning," Hud said while he walked over to the area where they had last night's campfire. "But first, we need a little warmth," he said while he looked down at the ashes from last nights fire.
The guys started rounding up small tree branches and some kindling.
Ten minutes had passed, and they had another nice little campfire going.
They all sat around it in the dirt.
"Okay, I think we should do our first job over at the First National Bank in Polk City. I recall an old timer in prison that stated the cops in that town were not very bright. So this should be easy," Hud told everybody.
"Polk City sounds good," said Willie.
Jack and Harold nodded in agreement.
"Okay, since Jack got us a car, we'll head over to that rich guy's house over in Fairmont Willie told us about so we can get some supplies," said Hud.
"When are we going to do the job in Polk City?" asked Jack.
"A couple of days from now," replied Hud then he paused for a few seconds. "Here's your jobs from now on. Like I said earlier, Jack will drive and get us some new wheels. He'll also watch out for any threats from the cops. Willie, Harold and I will go inside the bank and get our well-deserved money. Then we'll race off to that farmhouse Harold showed me earlier," he added.
Harold, Jack, and Willie spent a few seconds digesting Hud's plan.
They all nodded in agreement.
Hud knew they were all on board. "Okay, we'll meet tomorrow night at ten at that spot on route eighteen. Walk there because I want Jack to pick us up in our new car. Bring some change in clothes and tell your family that you're heading out to Chicago for a job. Everybody understand?"
Jack, Harold, and Willie all nodded in agreement with Hud's instructions.
"Good. Let's get out of here," Hud said then he stood up and started kicking dirt on the campfire.
Jack, Harold, and Willie stood up and started kicking dirt on the campfire.
In a matter of seconds, the fire was extinguished, and a few burning coals existed.
They got in their cars and drove off to the road.
It was a quiet ride back to Harold's house.