Chapter Five
Philip laughs and looks around the grounds. In the distance, he sees a young blond cutting flowers from his mother’s prized rose garden. Vincent follows his brother’s gaze and shakes his head, “You never cease to amaze me little brother.” Vincent places a hand on his brother’s shoulder. He and Philip begin walking toward the blond when they see their sister Lucretia enter the garden and drag the blond to a nearby weeping willow tree where they both disappear under the tree’s billowy branches.
Philip is intrigued and quietly approaches the tree for a better look. Beneath the tree’s canopy, Philip sees the two kneeling. Lucretia cups the girl’s cheek in her hand and rubs her thumb across her soft supple lips. The blond responds and grabs Lucretia’s hand and expertly glides it down her throat, across her collarbone, and places it on top of her breast. Lucretia inhales deeply and gently squeezes the firm, ripe breast as she bends forward to kiss the sultry blond. Lucretia eagerly licks the outstretched tongue of her companion. Philip wants to continue watching but turns away. Admittedly, he was depraved, but not that depraved.
Throughout the day, Philip and Vincent help prepare for the reception. As the sun turns the horizon orange, the two brothers hop into Philip’s Lincoln, and quietly sneak away.
Philip and Vincent drive to the cable ferry at Cave in Rock. It is dark when they arrive. In the distance, the shadows of four ghostly men reflect off the pale moonlight in the swirling black waters of the Ohio River.
Vincent mutters to no one in particular, “What the hell have I gotten myself into?”
“Shush, here they come.”
“I see ‘em, shit them boys are huge. What do they feed them in Kentucky?”
“Sh. They might hear you.”
“So what if they do?”
The cable ferry comes to a stop on the Illinois side of the river. Two huge, burly men lower a wooden ramp onto the bank. The other two men pile into the truck and drive to where Philip and Vincent are standing.
Philip tries charm, “How you boys doin’ tonight?”
The leader of the crew responds, “I ain’t got time for no small talk. Let’s hurry up and get this over with. Is it just the two of you?”
Not wanting to tip his hand too quickly, Philip replies, “Maybe, why?”
The huge ape of a man looks around nervously, “Hardin County ain’t safe. You know that. Let’s get your car loaded up so we can get the hell outta’ here.”
The transfer is quickly made. Extracting a wad of cash from his pocket, Philip says, “Here, it’s all there. You best be on your way.”
Nodding in agreement, the two boys drive back on to the ferry and head toward the banks of Kentucky. Philip and Vincent are left standing alone in the middle of the road.
Swiping at his brother’s arm, Vincent pleads, “Let's get the hell outta’ here!”
Philip turns toward the car and stops. “Did you hear something?”
The sound of slamming car doors pierces the stillness of the night causing the brothers to jump in horror.
Philip announces, “We've got company.”
Two sets of headlights shine on Philip and Vincent. Four men emerge from the edge of the darkness and walk toward them.
The leader is tall and muscular. His hair is slicked back revealing a pronounced widows peak. He approaches Philip and asks, “What are you boys doing over here in Hardin County in the middle of the night?”
Philip replies, “Nothing. We’ll just be on our way.”
“I don’t think so.”
Vincent begins to chime in when the leader approaches Philip and pokes him in the chest with his finger and exclaims, “I know who you are, you son-of-a-bitch. My baby sister knows you too.”
Philip racks his brain trying to figure out who in the hell he is talking about when the Neanderthal yells, “Andi, Andi Campbell is my sister!”
A wave of shock crosses Philip’s face as the name punches him in the gut. He folds his arm over his midsection and bends forward.
Philip doesn’t know what to say and all he can choke out is, “How is she?”
“How do you think she is you worthless piece of shit? She’s sick, and she says it was you that made her that way.”
“I doubt your little sister told you everything. She is nasty. Why don’t you ask her which she likes more, my rod up her ass or my dad’s cock in her mouth?”
Vincent turns in shock and yells at Philip, “What the fuck are you doing?"
The mention of his sister causes the man to erupt in a fit of rage. He grabs Philip by the collar and head-butts him. Philip begins bleeding from the nose. He swings wildly and loses his balance, falling to the ground. One of the goons from the second car grabs Vincent’s arms and yanks them behind his back, while the other thug repeatedly punches him in the stomach.
Philip gets off the ground and continues to exchange blows with Andi’s brother. The two pricks that had been wailing on Vincent toss him aside like a sack of potatoes and help take care of Philip. The yellow glow from the headlights of a truck emerges from a thin veil of fog. It’s the boys from Kentucky. Andi’s brother and his companions, snag one of the crates of bootleg alcohol, toss it in the trunk and speed away.
Philip barely has the strength to lift his arm over his head in an attempt to wave down the Kentuckians. Both he and Vincent are lying in the middle of the road half-conscious. The boys land and drive over to the Lincoln. They pick the brothers up off the road and toss them both into the backseat of the car. One of the boys drives the car to a nearby lot and stops.
Vincent rolls his head to the side, looks out the backseat window, and watches the boys drift away. Before blacking out he mutters, “I promise, I ain’t never gonna’ say nothin’ bad about Kentuckians again.”