“Uncle Alva is helping me with something,” Lady Zhorzha said. “I’ll go when it’s done.”

“You’ll fucking go now.”

He stepped closer so that we stood nigh toe to toe. I watched his hands and set my shoulder that I might be ready for him. Ere we came to blows, the kitchen door opened and Dirk called out.

“Hey, where are you all?” He entered the room and observed we three. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on is Zhorzha’s getting ready to leave,” Dane said.

“Already?”

“She ain’t going nowhere,” Sir Alva said. He came from the hallway, his phone yet in his hand.

“I think maybe I better go,” my lady said. She made to rise, but could not. When I put out my hand to her, she took it, and I pulled her to her feet. Once aright she was unsteady and leaned upon me.

Sir Alva inclined his head toward the hall, and he alone among us in that room held no tension in his body, for methinks he was weary to his bones.

“Come on back to my room,” he said to my lady. “I got some news for you.”

CHAPTER 38

Zee

   He ain’t nobody to us, and I aim to keep it that way,” Uncle Alva said, when I asked what the guy’s name was. The Fury, that’s what Uncle Alva kept calling him, and it took me a couple minutes to realize the guy with no name was a Klansman. Whatever relief I’d felt finding out my father wasn’t a murderer, it was watered down by knowing that my grandfather had seen nothing wrong with lynching and cross burning.

“How do we know we can trust him? That he’s not just scamming us for ten grand?” That was what the Fury wanted: ten thousand dollars in exchange for information on where Tague Barnwell and Conrad Ligett were hiding out.

“No way to be dead certain, but he was sent to me by a man who knows him, and wants to see we’re dealt by honestly.”

“And what does that guy expect to get out of it?” I said, because I was still choking on the thought of giving somebody ten thousand dollars for information.

“Debt paid. He owes me.”

I might have felt bad that he’d called in that favor for me and LaReigne, except right then Uncle Alva didn’t look like he had much longer to get paid. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, bracing his hand on his knee like he needed it to hold himself up. Someone banged on his bedroom door.

“What the fuck are you two whispering about in there?” Dane yelled.

“Mind your own goddamn business!” Uncle Alva answered.

“How is this going to work?” I said, since we were out of time. “Is the Fury going to call us? How does he get his money?”

“He’s coming here.”

“It is my goddamn business, whatever you’re getting up to.” Dane rattled the knob, but Uncle Alva had locked the door.

“Here? Because that doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. I promised Dane I was leaving, and I think I better.”

“You’re fucking around with this because you don’t know how dangerous it is,” Dane said. “You need to come out and see what’s on the news.”

We couldn’t talk with Dane yelling anyway, so I opened the door, even though I figured it was bullshit. Gentry was standing in the hallway with Dane. I left them there and went out to the front room, where Dirk was watching the news.

“They found her dead,” he said. “The other hostage.”

“I know.” I felt the most cold-blooded relief that it was just more details about Molly Verbansky. Cause of death was manual strangulation, and the news people talked like the police were sure Molly had helped with the prison escape, because she was “romantically involved with Conrad Ligett.” For the first time, they started hinting that maybe LaReigne wasn’t innocent, either. All that told me was that the police cared even less about her safety than before.

“You see?” Dane said, standing in the doorway with Uncle Alva and Gentry. “Those are the kinda men you’re messing with. And you think you’re gonna track ’em down and get your sister back?”

“We’re gonna go into town and get a motel room,” I said.

“Why don’t you head back to Kansas, get a motel room after you cross the state line?” Dane said.

Uncle Alva doubled over coughing, and the look Dane gave him was pure contempt.

“Come on, Gentry,” I said.

We hadn’t unpacked much, so it only took a few minutes for us to get everything put back in our bags. I don’t know what was said while we were gone, but when we got downstairs, I could see it wasn’t anything good. Uncle Alva was standing at the kitchen sink. Dirk was at the back door, and Dane was out on the porch pacing up and down, smoking a cigarette.

“Just be cool,” Dirk was saying to him.

“Do you fucking know what they’re up to?”

“I know there’s no sense getting into a fight about it.”

When I stepped outside, Dane stopped pacing, but he didn’t say anything as Gentry and I went down the steps. Uncle Alva came after us, and together we walked across the yard to Gentry’s truck. Dane stayed on the porch, smoking and glaring. The sun was going down, but the outside lights hadn’t kicked on yet.

“I hate to see you go like this,” Uncle Alva said. Because I didn’t know what else to do, I hugged him. The butt of his gun pressed against my hip bone.

“I’ll call you and let you know where we’re staying,” I said.

“I reckon that’ll suit. Better than having somebody come around here while Dane’s bent outta shape.”

I let go of Uncle Alva and nodded. He turned back toward the house and, while Gentry put our bags in the back of the truck, I went around to get in on the passenger side. As I circled the hood, Dane came walking across the yard. Before he got to me, he took a drag off his cigarette and pitched it.

“Don’t you fucking do it,” he said. “I told you to go back to Kansas, and you damn well better.”

I ignored him and reached for the door handle.

“You seen what they did to that other woman. You think some Klansman is gonna sell out his brothers? More likely he’s coming to kill you. Maybe come around here and kill us, too.”

“I thought they were good old boys,” I said.

“I swear to god you better shut your smart mouth.”

Dane grabbed my arm and turned me around. I don’t know what he planned to do, but as soon as he touched me, Gentry came around the truck at full speed.