Chapter 6
The next morning arrived, and it was July 21st, 1932.
Hud and Harold had another egg and toast breakfast with Carl and Cindy.
“Oh, mom and pop, Hud and I will be leaving for Chicago tonight,” said Harold then he took a drink of coffee.
“Chicago? Why are you going to Chicago?” Cindy asked and was not happy with the thought of her baby leaving home.
Harold hesitated for a few seconds, as he got a little nervous with Cindy’s eyes on him.
“We found a job in Chicago,” Hud replied.
“A job? Doing what?” Carl curiously asked.
Hud and Harold looked at each other.
“A sawmill that’s about fifteen miles outside Chicago,” said Hud.
Carl thought about Hud’s response for a few seconds. “Well, I guess you better take what you can get since the both of you boys have a criminal record,” he said then took a bite of his eggs.
“Yes, sir. This might be our only chance,” Hud replied.
Harold nodded in agreement.
Cindy turned her head while her eyes welled up. She hated for Harold to leave, but knew this was his only chance for honest work.
It was quiet during the rest of their breakfast.
After Carl drove off to the glass factory and Cindy cleaned the breakfast dishes, Hud and Harold walked around Bellwood.
After a relaxing day hanging around Bellwood, Hud and Harold had dinner with Carl and Cindy.
While they ate their fried chicken dinner, Harold knew this would be his last dinner at home for a long time. And the conservations during this meal were light since Carl and Cindy knew Harold would be leaving in a few hours.
Nine o’clock arrived in Bellwood, and the sky was almost dark.
Hud and Harold, with their small suitcases, stood on the front porch of the house.
Carl and Cindy stood on the porch.
Cindy had a tissue in hand and occasionally wiped away a tear while they ran down her cheek.
“Well boys, I guess this is it,” Carl said and then paused.
“Are you sure I can’t give you a ride?” he added.
“No pop, we have some friends that are going to pick us up.
They also got jobs at the sawmill,” said Harold.
“Friends? Do I know them?” Carl asked.
“No, they’re from Fairmont. We knew them in prison. They also had hard times finding work,” Harold replied, not wanting his parents to know that he was hooked up with known Bellwood hooligans Jack and Willie.
“Their names are Ervin and Sammy,” Hud added.
“I see,” Carl replied and started to believe Harold might be up to his old ways. But he decided that Harold was a grown man and had to live his own life.
But he was not going to mention to Cindy of his strong suspicion.
“We better get going,” Hud told Harold.
“Yeah, we better get going,” Harold told his parents.
Carl extended out his hand.
Harold shook it.
“Take care of yourself. And don’t let those saw blades end your life,” Carl said while he shook Harold’s hand and silently prayed that some cop would not kill him.
“I will.”
Cindy immediately hugged Harold the second Carl and Harold’s hands separated. Tears filled up her eyes.
Carl shook Hud’s hand. “Watch over my boy and keep him safe,” he said.
“I will.”
Hud and Harold picked up their suitcases and walked off the porch.
Cindy’s eyes continued to fill with tears while she and Carl watched Harold and Hud walk away down the street.
They stayed on the front porch until Harold and Hud were no longer in sight.
Then Cindy looked at Carl with tears running down her cheek.
“He’s going back into a life of crime. Isn’t he?” she asked while she also had the same strong suspicion.
“I believe so. We’ll just have to pray he stays out of prison and an early grave,” he told Cindy while he placed an arm around her shoulder.
They went back to their home.
While they walked down Main Street of Bellwood, Harold took one last glance AT his home town. “I guess this will be the last time I see this place.”
“Yeah, probably for the best. I know I’ll never see Booneville again,” Hud replied.
“This place has nothing to offer. So it’s really time to leave,” Harold said while he glanced at the Bellwood Police Station across the street. That was the place he first started his brief life behind bars years ago.
The guys stayed quiet while they continued their walk down Main Street and headed out of town.
A little while later, Hud and Harold were in that spot on Route 18 outside of Bellwood.
A pair of headlights came down the road from the direction of Bellwood’s Main Street.
The car slowed down, and Hud and Harold saw it was Jack in that Ford Tudor Sedan.
Hud and Harold got in the back of the sedan with their suitcases.
Jack drove off down the road and headed east.
“Okay guys, last chance to change our minds. As there’s no way, you can live your old lives after tonight. Is everybody up for this new and exciting opportunity in life?” asked Hud.
“I’m game,” Jack replied.
“I’m going all the way,” Willie added.
“You know me Hud, I don’t have much of an exciting life back home,” Harold said.
“Okay, let’s go get rich,” said Hud, and he was glad nobody changed their minds.
A little while later, Jack drove into the town of Fairmont.
He drove around the streets following Willie’s directions.
He eventually parked the Ford down Hillside Avenue that was close to Kent Henderson’s house.
They got out of the car.
Hud scanned the houses up and down the street, and they appeared quiet with very few lights on. “Lead the way, Willie.”
Willie walked off down the street. Hud and the rest followed.
Willie then turned right down West Avenue, and they headed down that street.
Then Willie stopped at a large two-story home where the house was dark inside. It also had a black 1931 Cadillac parked in the driveway.
“Right here,” Willie told everybody then he looked at the house.
“We can get in from the rear, enter the cellar then head upstairs. He keeps his guns in his den,” he quietly told everybody
Hud looked at all the nearby houses and could not see where anybody spied on them. He motioned for everybody to head to the rear of Kent’s home.
They all snuck down the driveway and headed off to the rear of the house.
They followed Willie to the angled wooden doors.
Willie opened the wooden doors, and they saw some wooden steps that led down to the cellar door.
Willie walked down the stairs and stopped halfway. He then kicked out one of the small panes of glass from the cellar door.
Willie then went down the rest of the stairs, carefully reached inside the missing pane of glass and unlocked the door.
He motioned for the guys to follow him.
Willie then opened the cellar door and stepped inside. The other guys followed.
The cellar was dark, but Willie knew the way to the stairs.
So they carefully walked through the dark cellar and got to the stairs.
The stairs creaked a little while they slowly made their way to the door at the top of the stairs.
When Willie got to the top of the stairs, he slowly turned the doorknob of the door. He cracked the door opened and peaked inside the kitchen. It was nice and quiet, and not a soul was there.
He opened the door all the way.
Willie and everybody entered the kitchen.
Willie then motioned for them to follow him.
He walked through the kitchen and headed to the doorway that led to the hallway.
Hud and the others followed Willie while he crept down the hallway.
Willie then turned into Kent’s den. He flicked on the light, and the guys saw it was furnished in mahogany paneling with a fancy mahogany desk.
Hud saw the large gun cabinet that contained an extensive collection of guns. He motioned for the guys to head over to the cabinet. They did.
Hud opened the gun cabinet doors, and his eyes immediately lit up the second he saw a Colt 45 in a shoulder holster. He quickly snatched that out of the cabinet.
Willie and Jack’s eyes lit up when they saw two Model 1921 Thompson machine guns with Type C magazine drums. They snatched them out of the cabinet.
Harold saw another Colt 45 in a shoulder holster. He snatched that out of the cabinet.
Hud saw two drawers at the bottom of the cabinet. He knelt down and opened up one on the left.
He saw eight boxes of .45 ACP bullets for the Colt 45 and the Thompson machine guns. He removed all those boxes.
Hud closed the gun cabinet doors.
Willie leaned in close to Hud. “He also keeps a good amount of cash in his bedroom. I’m talking maybe a hundred dollars,” he whispered to Hud.
Hud thought about Willie’s statement for a few seconds while he placed the shoulder holster of the Colt 45 around his shoulder. “We could use some start-up money. For gas and food,” Hud said then paused for a second while he glanced at the ceiling for and sounds of life. “You and I will go upstairs,” he said, then motioned for Jack and Harold to come over.
They walked over to Hud.
“Willie and I are going upstairs to get some cash. You guys take the bullets and guns and go out the rear kitchen door. Wait for us at the car,” he told Jack and Harold.
They both nodded in agreement.
Willie handed Jack his Thompson machine gun.
Harold gathered up all the boxes of bullets.
They all headed out of the den and went down the hallway.
While Jack and Harold headed to the rear kitchen door, Hud and Willie headed to the stairs that led to the second floor.
Hud and Willie slowly crept up the stairs that creaked a little.
Jack and Harold entered the kitchen and slipped out the rear kitchen door.
Hud followed Willie while he carefully walked down the upstairs hallway.
Willie then turned into the master bedroom with Hud right behind him.
They both stopped in shock the second they arrived in Kent’ bedroom.
They stared is disgust when they saw Kent cuddled in bed with a teenage boy. The kid appeared to be around fifteen years old.
Kent was a sixty-year-old bald fat slob. And he appeared to be naked in bed since Hud and Willie could see part of his huge butt crack.
Hud shook his head in disgust, thinking this guy must be related to Russ Brantley.
Willie motioned for Hud to head over to the dresser at the other side of the room.
They both crept across the room.
The floor creaked a little while they walked.
They stopped and looked at Kent’s bed. He stirred a little but did not wake up.
Neither did that teenage boy.
Hud and Willie crept over to the dresser where a framed picture of a beautiful lake in the moonlight scene hung on the wall.
Willie opened up a small jewelry box on top of the dresser.
Inside the box was a wad of cash.
Willie snatched them out of the box. Then he snatched up a diamond necklace and a man’s diamond ring. He shoved them in his pants pocket then closed the top to the jewelry box.
Hud and Willie turned around and crept back towards the bedroom door.
The floor creaked when they got by the bed.
Kent’s eyes opened over that creaking sound. His eyes widened the second he saw Hud and Willie by the foot of her bed. “What are you doing in my bedroom?” he asked and looked a little fearful.
The teenage boy woke up. His eyes widened in shock the second he saw Hud and Willie by the foot of the bed.
Hud pondered for a few seconds. “I’m with the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch. We’re doing an undercover story on immortality with local government officials,” he replied and sounded sincere.
Willie looked proud of Hud for being that quick on his feet.
“Yeah, we’re with the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch. I’m Mickey Murdock, and this is fellow reporter Paul Paulson. Our cameraman, Hank Cornsby, is out in the hallway. He’s ready to take a picture for our front page,” he added.
Hud looked at Willie and winked to show he was proud of his addition.
“Ah, listen, maybe we can, you know, kinda let this go away. I mean, don’t you have other stories you can print. I mean for a small fee?” Kent said while beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Hud acted like he was thinking about Kent’s offer. “How much of a fee are you talking?”
Kent flung the covers off his body and got out of bed.
Hud and Willie cringed at the sight of the naked fat body of Kent’s while he walked across the bedroom.
Kent walked over to that framed picture above the dresser. He grabbed the right side of the picture frame, and it swung open to the left. Behind that frame was a small safe built inside the wall.
“Damn. I never thought to look there,” Willie muttered to himself while Kent turned the combination lock on the safe.
The safe opened and Kent reached inside. He grabbed two bundles of cash. He closed the safe and spun the combination lock.
He swung the framed picture closed.
Hud and Willie kept their eyes off Kent’s disgusted naked body while he walked over to them.
“I hope this is a satisfactory fee,” Kent said while he handled the two bundles of cash to Hud.
Hud looked and saw they were bundles of twenty-dollar bills.
“This will kill that story.
And we were never here.
Good day Mayor Henderson,” Hud said then he motioned for Willie that they should leave while he shoved the two bundles into his right pants pocket.
Hud and Willie rushed out of the bedroom.
Kent looked relieved while he climbed into bed.
Hud and Willie rushed down the stairs.
They rushed through the living room and headed to the front door.
They left the house through the front door.
Once they got outside, Hud and Willie ran through the front yard and ran down West Avenue.
“That was so fucking easy,” Hud said while they ran down the street.
“And he’ll never call in the cops when he notices his guns are missing,” Willie added.
“Yep, the pervert will never breath a word to a soul!” Hud replied and was happy.
Hud and Willie turned left and headed back down Hillside Avenue.
They ran to the Ford where Jack sat behind the wheel with Harold in the passenger seat.
Hud and Willie got in the rear seat with huge smiles on their faces.
“What are you smiling about?” Harold asked while Jack started up the car.
Hud reached inside his pants pocket and removed the two bundles of the twenties.
Willie reached in his pocket and removed the wad of cash he took from the jewelry box.
“We’re off to a good start,” Hud said while he held up the bundles of twenties.
“Whoa! Where did you find that?” Harold asked while Jack drove the car down the street.
“Well, we caught the mayor in bed with a teenage boy. Appears he a fucking pervert and we told him we were reporters from the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch,” said Hud.
“The fucker paid us off not to print the story,” Willie added and then chuckled.
“Yeah!” Jack cried out in joy. “We’re going to be fucking rich!”
Then Hud realized something. “Shit, we forgot to get some good whiskey.”
“No, we didn’t. I found two bottles in the kitchen when we left,” Harold said then he reached down on his floorboard and held up two bottles of Macallan Single Malt Whiskey.
Hud grabbed one of the bottles out of Jack’s right hand. He checked it out. “This is fucking great,” he said then handed it back to Harold. “We’re going to make a good team and make it filthy rich,” Hud said while he relaxed in his seat.
Ten minutes later, the guys broke into Wendell’s Men’ Clothes Store off of Peabody Street.
After spending twenty minutes shopping around the store, the guys all walked out with a nice black three-piece suit each and a black Fedora hat. They would be their regular wear when robbing a bank.
It was a quiet ride back to Wilbur’s farm located outside Bellwood.
Once they got inside the house, Hud and Harold lit two kerosene lanterns while in the kitchen. He placed one on the counter and the other in the middle of the kitchen table.
“Don’t use these in the living room. Someone from the road might see the light and get concerned,” Hud told the guys.
They all nodded in agreement.
Hud then broke opened one of the bottles of whiskey in the kitchen. The guns they stole from Kent’s house were stashed up on the counter by the sink.
Hud took a drink of whiskey then passed the bottle around, and they each took a celebratory drink of whiskey.
Then Hud took the bundles of twenties and the cash Willie took from the jewelry box. He divided the money up into four equal amounts on the kitchen table.
“Okay, everybody’s take comes out to one thousand, four hundred and eighty dollars. Not bad for a couple of hours worth of work,” Hud told everybody.
Jack, Harold, and Willie each grabbed their bundles of cash.
They stared at it in awe.
“Pop barely made that sweating at that glass factory for ten hours a day, six days a week,” Harold said then he kissed his bundle of easy cash.
“Yep, we’re going to be,” Jack hesitated for a few seconds.
“Fucking rich!” he yelled out, and it echoed in the kitchen.
There were smiles on all of their faces while they shoved their loot in their pants pockets.
“Okay, let’s plan our job in Polk City,” Hud instructed the guys.
They all sat around the kitchen table.
“Okay, like I said before, Jack will be the driver and remain outside with a Thompson. Fire at any cops that becomes a threat to our job,” he said.
Jack nodded in agreement.
“Willie will have the other Thompson. Don’t fire it unless we’re facing numerous cops,” he said.
Willie nodded in agreement.
“Harold and I will fire our Colt’s into the ceiling to get their attention and let them know we mean business. Willie will guard us while Jack and I get the cash.
I’ll be the one to request it in a sack,” Hud said then looked at everybody to see if they were in agreement.
Harold, Jack, and Willie all nodded in agreement.
“Then we’ll head back here and divide up the loot. Any questions?”
“How long do you think we can hide out here?” Jack asked.
“I’m thinking about two days. Then we’ll head down south and plan our next job,” Hud replied.
Harold, Jack, and Willie nodded in agreement.
“Good, now, get some rest. We’ll head out to Polk City early in the morning,” Hud said then put the cap back on the whiskey bottle.
Jack, Harold, and Willie got up from the table with Hud.
They all headed out of the kitchen and went down the dark hallway.
An hour later, Jack and Willie were sound asleep in the bedrooms.
Hud and Harold sat on the dark porch in rocking chairs. They drank more whiskey to celebrate tonight’s surprising take.
“Do you know what I need real soon?” Harold said then he took a drink of whiskey.
“What’s that?” Hud replied while Harold passed him the bottle.
“Pussy. I need some pussy,” Harold replied.
“That would be nice.”
“I know this girl in town, named Katie. She’s a good whore. Maybe we should pay her a visit,” Harold offered.
Hud thought about his proposal for a few seconds. “That sounds mighty tempting, but I think it would be best if we don’t show our faces back in Bellwood,” he said then took a drink.
Harold thought about his response for a few seconds. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said, then took the bottle from Hud.
“Don’t worry, we’ll visit a good whorehouse after we hit a few banks,” Hud replied while Harold took another drink of whiskey.
“Good. I sure need some pussy,” Harold replied, then passed the bottle back to Hud.
Hud took a drink then placed the cap back on the bottle. “We better get some sleep,” he said while he stood up.
Harold nodded that he agreed while he stood up.
They both went inside the house and found a place to sleep.