The Red Clay: Part Eighteen ©

Hali was having lunch with Adalia when Harmon came over and asked if he could sit with them.
Harmon was one of Hali’s friends and worked in the university lab, Hali had given him the scrapings off of the statue and asked him to test it for him.
Harmon settled into his chair and asked Hali where he had gotten the sample he had given him.
Hali told him it was scrapings off of an African statue that had come into his possession and he was trying to find out what it was made of.

Harold told him that the computer at the lab said it had various minerals found in the soil from the part of Africa it came from and there was evidence of human blood.
There were a couple of organic substances that the computer couldn’t identify as well.

Hali sat there thinking as Harmon was reporting his findings to him.
So there was human blood in the clay, it could also be transfer from someone with a cut finger picking it up.
Maybe even some of the blood from the gas bar had gotten on it.
His mind drifted back to the gas bar, the blood was everywhere and the bodies were lying around like shattered jars.

Adalia’s touch brought him out of his trance.
Hali looked at her and smiled, he told her he was ok, just thinking.
He then thanked Harmon for checking out the sample for him and offered to buy him lunch but Harmon said he couldn’t stay because he had more things to do at the lab; he just came by to tell him about his findings.

Hali thanked him and told Harmon he owed him a lunch just the same next time he was free.
After Harmon had left, Hali and Adalia sat around talking about the weekend coming up.
They were planning a trip to see Hali’s grandmother in four months, right after he graduates and two months after that they were heading off to Africa and their calling, to help the children there.

After lunch Adalia had to get back to the store so Hali walked her to the commissary and headed of home.
His roommate wasn’t there so he turned on the TV and lay on the bed blankly staring at the set.
He looked to the night table and saw the statue sitting there and reached out for it.

His eyes opened to the sound of a distant noise.
It was dark as he looked around, he must have passed out.
Hali went to push up and his fingers touched the dry grass under him, he rose to the sitting position quickly and found himself staring out in a dark wilderness.
The sound of the drums was coming from his left so he slowly got up and looked around what should have been his room but was now somewhere outside he didn’t recognize, yet part of him did.

He started walking slowly in the direction of the sound but constantly alert to the sounds around him.
But for the moon in the sky there was no light anywhere.
There should be thousands of blinking lights from the houses and stores in his neighbourhood but this didn’t feel like home, yet it did.

He walked to the edge of some thick brush that looked like a tropical jungle in the dark and waded in towards the sound of the beating drums.
Onward he pushed through making a path where one had not existed before.
For thirty minutes he was whipped for his efforts before he came upon a clearing.
In the center was a crowd of people around a huge bonfire chanting and dancing around the pillar of flames licking at the night sky.

Trying to stay as quiet as he could, Hali moved along the clearing while still staying hidden in the brush so he could get a better look at what was happening.
As he got closer the sound of the drums grew louder and he could almost feel their beat in his chest as the sound rebounded off of him.
Getting within fifty yards of the crowd around the fire, knelt down and watched what looked like a village of African natives of one kind.
He didn’t understand what they were chanting.
Just then an old man walked out from the darkness to a stone platform and the crowd went silent then made their way to the alter.
The old man dressed in dark skins accented with feathers and bird claws looked like a witchdoctor.

The witchdoctor raised a hand to the night sky and the moon seemed to get brighter lighting up the whole area with its warmth.
He then began speaking to the sky, calling out loud with conviction as if he was summoning the gods themselves.
Two hands he now held high to the sky, fingers stretched out, straining to reach farther to the gods, begging for an audience.

The wind rustled the jungle around Hali as it blew past him and through the crowd to the witchdoctor then straight up to the night sky drawing the clouds together above them.
Thunder clapped the night sky as a streak of lighting shot down striking a large boulder blinding all that witnessed it temporarily.
Even Hali had to look away from its brilliance.

When his eyes readjusted to the darkness he looked back towards the village and the people were kneeling at the base of the boulder.
Hali looked at the boulder and on top stood a tall warrior draped in a lion skin with the main around his shoulders.
He stood up there straight and ridged like a statue holding a long spear in his fight hand anchored to the ground, staring out towards Hali.

The warrior looked to the people before him then began speaking to the people and they slowly began to rise to their feet once more.
Hali couldn’t hear what he was saying.
Even though he didn’t understand the language these people spoke he had a compulsion to get closer to hear this man speak so he slowly moved out from the confines of the jungle and moved closer to the village only concealed by the darkness of night.

As Hali got closer he hear the villagers chanting “Thilivhali” over and over again.
Hali figured it was the warrior’s name.
The crowd stopped the chanting when he spoke.
The warriors words were gentle yet powerful which gave you a sense of comfort and pride.
Hali stood there listening to his words and ……. He understood what he was saying as if he spoke English… but how?

He told them that one day they would be free once more to run with the wind and the antelope.
Free to hunt with the lions and swim with the hippopotamuses.
Free to live in peace with the ones they loved.
One day soon all the suffering over the centuries will be put right and their souls will be free to wander.

Hali sat out in the darkness on his haunches absorbing what was being said by this warrior, Thilivhali.
That’s when he spoke to him.
The crowd turned and looked into the darkness right at Hali.

The warrior jumped to the ground from the boulder and started walking out towards Hali as he spoke to him.
“You are the one who is to set us free” he told Hali.
“You are of my blood, of our land”
“We are your forefathers”.
“We are of the lion”.
The warrior started to walk faster towards Hali.
Hali didn’t know what to do, should he run or stay there and try to explain his presence here?

Every second that passed was a step the warrior took closer to him.
Hali stood up on shaky legs and stared at the warrior and he closed the distance between then.
Thunder crashed in the sky above as lightning lit up the sky.
Hali looked at he warrior and saw something was happening to him.
With every step he took closer to him he leaned farther forward until he was within twenty yards of Hali and then he saw that the warrior was now not as a man but a giant majestic lion with a long flowing golden mane baring down on him.

Hali didn’t know what to do, a thousand thoughts rushed through his head.
How did he get to be here he thought and just them the lion lunged at him.
Hali stood there looking up in the air as he watched the lion stretched out in the night sky as it came down on top of him.

Jonas walked through the door of the North Side Social Club and was immediately met by a large man in a dark suit.
He was definitely sure that this was not an ordinary doorman but a gangster guarding the front door, that he was sure of.
The man told him that this was a private club for members only.

Jonas told the man that he was the landlord and was only stopping by to see how his tenants were and if there was anything they needed.
Jonas’ heart was racing as fast as his brain.
Just then the office door opened and a man in a tailored suit walked out followed by Leonard Cohn.

When Leonard saw Jonas he smiled and introduced him to the man, Mr Ross.
Mr Ross said that he had heard of Mr Beacham and all of it was good talk.
Mr Ross shook hands with Leonard Cohn then bid them both goodbye and walked out followed by the big mountain of a man.

Leonard invited Jonas into his office offering him a drink of whiskey.
Prohibition may be law but everyone had and sold whiskey at a huge profit.
Jonas tasted his drink and he could tell this was not any of that watered down whiskey everyone else sold but the best scotch that could be found.

Leonard asked Jonas what had brought him to his place of business on this fine day.
Jonas decided to tell him the truth and told Leonard he came by to see what he had done to the place.
Leonard thought about what Jonas said for a little bit then got out of his chair and picked up the bottlle of scotch from the bar and walked back to Jonas.
Looking at Jonas for a second he then reached out with the bottle and refilled Joans’ glass and told him that he had a proposition for him but he didn’t have to give him an answer today and only after he showed him around the place first.

Leonard put the bottle back in the bar then sat back in his seat behind the desk.
He then proceeded to tell Jonas that this was a private club for members only and that they only let in a select few that could afford to pay the thousand dollar a year member fee.
For that money all they got was the opportunity to walk through the door, what every they wanted was extra.
The club provided all sorts of liquor and women, of the best quality, not that cheap stuff you find in the speakeasies.


Jonas sat back and listened with intrigue as Leonard listed the available services supplied for the club’s membership.
He was sure that Leonard was going to ask him to become a member before he left and the thought was becoming appealing to him.

After their glasses were empty Leonard took Jonas for a tour of the club.
He had spared no expense to make this place look like a club you would find in a well to do part of town and not along the waterfront.
Leonard assured Jonas that it was safe for anyone coming here, in fact his silent partner guaranteed everyone’s safety.
To that, Jonas had no doubt especially after see the doorman.

As they walked around, Jonas couldn’t help but notice the new walls that had been built separating the open warehouse into sections of private rooms and open lounges with bookcases filled with books.
A bar stood in the corner of the lounge with male servers standing around waiting to be summoned by a patron.

Next Leonard took Jonas to the lower level where Turkish style baths had been installed for members to go and relax and next to the baths was a room where one can go and get a massage after a hot bath.

From there they went back up to the main floor where Leonard walked through another door that opened up into a area that had gambling tables scattered around the room.
Another bar was at the back but here the servers were scantly clad women who were also entertained on stage when not serving members.

The more Jonas saw the more he liked what he saw, especially the women.
There were a couple that caught his eye and excited him.
He still loved his wife Maggie but there was things he wanted to do that she wouldn’t let him.
She wasn’t making him happy lately either because she unable to give him an heir as of yet and he wanted to have children, a son to leave him this legacy.

Leonard led Jonas back to his office and re-filled Jonas’ glass once more then asked him what he thought of the business.
Jonas told him that it looked lucrative but wasn’t he worried about the authorities?
Leonard laughed and told Jonas that there were 5 judges and the chief of police himself was a member of the club so there was nothing to worry about.

Jonas told him that he was impressed and would like to become a member.
Leonard smiled at him and told him that he had a better offer for him.
Leonard told Jonas that he was looking for a partner in the business and he had some other business propositions for him to if he didn’t mind getting a little dirty.
Leonard told him that he understood that Jonas had property in Canada. on the Lake of the Woods to be exact.
Jonas nodded indicating that he did.

Leonard sat back in his chair and offered Jonas a partnership in this business and in the whiskey smuggling business if he let them use his property in Canada to smuggle in the whiskey from the lake there.
With all its inlets coming into the United States it would be ideal for smuggling in boats filled with whiskey.

Jonas thought about the proposition.
Up to now he stayed relatively safe by staying within the law to make his profits but he also knew that he could increase his profits ten fold if he took advantage of the situation.
Jonas asked Leonard what would happen if they were caught?
Leonard told him not to worry and if anything ever did happen to just say you didn’t know what was going on up there because you only go there in the summer months and the last time you were there everything was fine.

Jonas told him he would like a little time to think about it as it was a big decision and Leonard told him he fully understood and to take a week if he needed but for now he would like Jonas to be his guest at the club and he could have anything he wanted including a five thousand dollar marker at the casino, on him.

Jonas thanked him for his generosity and Leonard pushed a button on a panel at the side of his desk and a man walked into the office.
He told him to take Jonas to the back and to give him anything he wanted on the club’s bill.
Jonas got up, thanked Leonard Cohn and shook hands with him before he was led out to the back.
Leonard Cohn sat back in his leather chair taking out a cigar and lit it before he got lost in his thoughts.

In the casino, the man took Jonas to the cashiers booth and got him five thousand dollars in chips and told Jonas to enjoy himself.
He told him that if there was anything he needed, anything at all, he was to ask him personally and he would get it for him.

Jonas took the chips and went to the craps table.
He wasn’t much of a gambler outside of business and to him that wasn’t even a gamble, he was shrewd in his business deals and knew how to make his own luck.
He stood around watching at first and placed a couple of bets on a few tosses before it was his turn to take up the dice and to start throwing.

He tossed the dice and rolled a seven now he had to throw them again and try to catch them again and when the dice stopped spinning they showed a 2-5, he won.
For hours this went on and a crowd was now gathering around cheering him on.
A few were trying to ride his coat tail by betting along with him
Many had lost believing his luck would run out in the next turn only to loose their money instead.

A soft hand touched his shoulder causing him to turn and look into the deep blue eyes of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life.
She smiled and his heart skipped a beat, then asked him if she could get something for him to drink.
His tongue seemed paralysed in his mouth but he manage to cough out that he would like a whiskey then watched her walk away.
She look just as beautiful from behind as she did from the front.
While she was gone Jonas played a few more hands until she returned with his drink and that’s when he decided he wanted to take a break for a little bit.

He asked her what her name was and she said it was Veronica.
He then asked if she would join him at the table for a drink but she declined saying that she had to serve the other members.
Jonas nodded his understanding with a disappointing look on his face.
A look that the Nick, the man who brought him to the casino noticed from the back of the room.

Before Veronica could leave Nick was there asking Jonas if everything was OK.
Jonas said everything was fine and thanked him.
Nick looked at Veronica and asked her if she would like to sit with Jonas while he was here and he would find someone else to do her section for her.
She looked at Nick with a smile and said yes, she would like to sit there and talk to Jonas.
Nick told them to have a fun time then headed off back to his perch in the casino.

Jonas and Veronica spent the next few hours playing the various games in the casino, periodically stopping for a drink and a chat.
Jonas was enjoying her company, more than any other females company ever since he met Maggie.

As the evening progressed Jonas found himself leaving the casino with Veronica then down to one of the private rooms on the other side of the building.
Inside the room was decorated in the latest style and was kept very clean with clean sheets on the bed.
Veronica held the door open as Jonas walked in past her then heard the lock slip into place.
He turned to face her as she walked towards him wrapping her arms around his neck then kissing him full on the lips.

Taking her in his arms he kissed her back and as their burning lips heated up the beast inside him began to grow like it never had before.
In his forties now his hunger for women and sex only grew as the years went by and right now he wanted nothing more that to tear Veronica’s clothes off and ravage her body.
He grabbed the front of her dress and tore it apart then bit into her neck with a hungry mouth as she grabbed at the back of his head swimming in pain and pleasure.
Pulling the dress of her shoulders revealed her breasts to his mouth and he took each nipple between his lips biting and sucking each.

Her moans filled the room adding fuel to the madness building up inside him when he turned her around, bending her over the foot of the bed.
He raised her dress up then pulled her undergarments down then pushing his way in her from behind thrusting himself deep inside her with the first push.
She gasped against his initial invasion of her body sinking her fingernails into the bedding deeper with every thrust of his hard shaft.
Insane with lust Jonas pounded away at her against her moans and gasps that recoiled off the walls until he couldn’t hold himself any more and released his all filling her up until it flowed out and down her thighs.

There was a knock on the door as Leonard sat there in his chair.
He told who ever it was to enter and Nick walked in then sat in front of him to give Leonard his report on the night’s business but Jonas wasn’t as interested in the nights business as he was about Jonas Beacham II’s night.
He told him Jonas had won another ten thousand on top of the five thousand he had given him
Right now Jonas was in one of the rooms with one of the whores.

Leonard smiled at the news, it was a fair trade as far as he was concerned.
The profits will out weigh the cost but what impressed him the most was how easy it was for Jonas to get hooked into his scheme.
There was no chance for Jonas to refuse his proposition now, especially after tonight’s events.
If he did refuse, he could always blackmail him for his support but something told him he wouldn’t have to resort to that level.
At least not yet.

Before him stood the same doctor that had refused to help fix up Domingo until he was ordered by the general when they were in Cuba.
Hali told the docotr he was needed up the ways and to get his bag to come with them.
The doctor looked past Hali and could now see Betty standing behind him in the distance.

Doctor Wilks looked at Hali it was to late for him to be going out and he didn’t administer medicine to Negroes.
Hali remembered this man’s hate for him and Dakarai after he was ordered to help Domingo in Cuba.

Hali took a step towards Doctor Wilks and pulled out the gun from his pocket and pointed it towards Dr. Wilks.
He had no time to waste arguing with this man while Dakarai lay dieing back at Jeb's house.

The doctor looked at the pistol in Hali’s hand then back at him as he thought of his next move.
He told Hali he needed to get his bag and started moving back into the house with his hand still on the door when he suddenly moved to close it but Hali got his foot in the way and forced himself into the house.
A woman screamed from the other room and Hali looked to see a woman with her arms wrapped around two children.
Hali told her to be calm and that he was only there to get the doctor to help him with a wounded man.
He then turned to the doctor and told him to get his bag and this time, no tricks or he would be the one needing a doctor.

The doctor picked up his bag and led the way back out the door where Betty was waiting for both of them with the doctor’s buggy ready to take them back to the farmhouse.
On the ride back the doctor commented that Hali looked familiar to him but didn’t recognize him from the area.
The doctor didn’t remember their first meeting in Cuba and Hali wasn’t sure he should tell him now.
It took the about forty-five minutes to get back to the farm and inside they found Dakarai unconscious but alive.
He had lost a lot of blood.

Hali pointed to Dakarai and told the doctor to get to work and fix him up.
The doctor went to the bed then took off the bandages to get a better look at the wound.
A poultice of some kind had been put on the wound to stave off infection.
He had seen this before among the natives and in Cuba when he was there during the Spanish American war.

He asked for some hot water and a clean sheet if they had one to be torn into strips.
He then went to open his bag but Hali reached down first and opened it for him.
Inside Hali found the doctors tools and a small pistol in a pocket at the side of the medical bag.
Hali took the gun and passed the bag to the doctor after it was safe for him to have it, Hali could see the venom in the doctor’s eyes as he passed him the bag.

First the doctor cleaned around the wound with clean hot water and some of the strips of clean cloth then he took out a blunt knifelike tool from his bag and slowly pushed in into the wound in search of the bullet.
When he felt the bullet he started pushing it out of the hole in Dakarai’s chest.
Grabbing the bullet with his finders he passed it to Hali then cleaned around the wound again before he started wrapping the bandage around Dakarai’s chest.

After he had finished bandaging Dakarai he got up and asked Hali what was to happen to him now.
Hali looked at him thinking for a little while then told him that he could leave in the morning but for now he would have to wait and keep an eye on his brother.

Hali moved to the table but in constant view of the doctor where he sat with Jeb.
Jeb told Hali if he let the doctor go, he would only go and get the authorities then come back and most definitely hang all of them.

Hali had already surmised that might be the situation but he was not prepared to murder a man, even one of the doctor’s moral fibre.
A man who swore to save lives should not be looking at the color of others skin.
He then asked Jeb if there was a place they could go and be safe.
Jeb said he had a hunting cabin back in the swamps of Louisiana that was well hidden and hard to find.
The only way to get there was by boat and he had one out there they could use but he said he wasn’t sure if Dakarai would survive the move in his condition
It was also a dangerous place to go to with alligators, snakes and other creatures that lived to kill.

Hali didn’t see any other choice.
Even if he killed the doctor it was only a delay because his wife must have gone for help already and they would be out looking for them even now.
He told Jeb they would just have to risk it and in the morning they would head out for the cabin.

In the morning Hali went to the doctor and asked him how Dakarai was.
The Dr. Wilks told him that if the wound didn’t get infected he would have a good chance to survive and should be on his feet by the time he was to be hanged with the rest of them.
Hali pulled his gun out and pointed it at the doctor’s head and told him to stand up and head off for the door.
He lead him outside with Jeb following behind them then told the doctor he was free to go but when the doctor went for his buggy, Hali told him he was to walk back home.

As soon as the doctor was out of sight Hali ran back into the house and started getting Dakarai ready to go.
They would use the doctor’s buggy until they got to the swamp and then the boat to go deep into it to Jeb’s hunting cabin.
Using the buggy would get them quicker and hopefully avoid any more trouble with the locals.
As soon as Dakarai was better they could leave and explore this new land, but first Dakarai must get better.

They bounced along the road for about and hour trying to go as fast as they could but not to fast as to jar their patient too much.
They could now see the tree line where the swamp started and relief started to come over them until they heard a noise from behind them.
Hali looked back and could see riders racing towards them in the distance.
They had to be not more than a mile back and would more than likely over take them before they reached the swamp at this speed so he gave the horses their heads and raced off down the path towards freedom or death.

Jonas sat in his office blankly staring at the figures infront of him.
His partnership with Leonard Cohn had been a very profitable venture, he was making ten times more now than he used to but his good fortunes was not what was on his mind.
Over the last two years his profits might have increased, as had his family fortune.
Maggie was now pregnant and due at any moment but to make matters worse, he had managed to get Veronica pregnant as well and both were due about the same time.
He didn’t; know what he was going to do.

Someone knocked on the door and a servant from his house came in and told him the doctor was at the house and wanted him to get home as quickly as possible because Maggie was giving birth.
Jonas grabbed all the papers returning them to the safe right next to the leather satchel.
He then grabbed his coat and rushed out the door for home.

No sooner had he walked through the front door the doctor met him with a worried look on his face.
He informed Jonas that there was something wrong with the baby and his wife.
She had lost a lot of blood so far and the baby had not come out yet.
That’s when the midwife came out and called the doctor back into the room, closing the door behind them.
Jonas paced up and down the hallway for an hour before the door opened once more and the doctor came out.

The doctor told him he had bad news for him.
He told Jonas his son was dead and his wife was barely holding on, she had lost a lot of blood and was going through a lot of pain.
He said he gave her something for the pain and she would probably be going in and out of consciousness for the next few days with fever.

Jonas walked passed the doctor and into the bedroom.
Maggie was lying on the bed with her eyes half open and looking like she was lost to the world.
As he sat on the side of the bed, he saw the small bundle wrapped on the table, a son, his son.

Maggie tilted her head up as he took her hand and asked him how the baby was.
He told her the baby was fine and she should just get some rest for now while he took care of everything.
She lay back on the pillow and went to sleep.
Jonas got up and went to the door, pausing for a second to take one final look at his son before exiting.
In the hallway Jonas told the doctor to send him his bill for his services.
The doctor told Jonas that he will call the coroner to have the infants body picked up if he liked.
Jonas told him he needn’t worry about that that he will just call the undertaker to make arraignments.

The doctor nodded, expressing his condolences one more time and told Jonas he will be back to check on his wife.
Jonas told him told him he didn’t have to but if he liked he could send a nurse over to stay for a couple of days with his wife until she got better.

The doctor thought for a few seconds then said he knew who to send and that he would be by in the next week to check on her himself and would bring his bill in at that time.
Jonas told him that would be just fine and asked one of the servants to walk the doctor to the door.

Jonas walked to his study and sat there sipping on a brandy while thinking about this night’s events.
That’s when his servant came in to tell him that there was someone at the door asking for him.
Jonas went to the door and Nick was there waiting for him to tell him he was needed back at the club.

Jonas told him he couldn’t go anywhere now as his wife was still ill and his baby had ..he was to busy at the moment.
Nick told him he understood but said it was important and it might even make him happy if he came with him, it was Veronica; she was going into labour.

This was the last thing Jonas wanted to hear on this night.
His mind was racing as he slowly got to his feet, taking his coat of the rack to follow Nick.
Just then his eyes lit up as if a light had been switched on in his head.
He told Nick to go without him and he would drive himself there in a short time, then turned to the butler and told him he was going out.
He said he would back later then walked back to the bedroom where his wife lay passed out on the bed.
He quickly went out the door without anyone seeing him and into a cab that had waiting along the road.

Before going to the men’s club Jonas told the driver to take him to one of the foundries he owned.
When he got there he told the driver to wait a few minutes while he ran in.
Inside he went to the back where the kilns were where he tossed something into one of the large blast furnaces then walked back out to the cab.

The whole drive to the club was eerily silent.
As soon as he got to the club Leonard was there waiting for him holding a box of fat cigars and offered Jonas one congratulating him on the birth of his son.
Jonas just stared at him blankly and told Leonard his son was dead.

Leonard looked puzzled and told Jonas that his son was not only alive, but loud from the moment her was born and Veronica was in fine shape to.
Jonas realized what he now meant and walked off into the back where the private rooms were.
Nick stepped next to Leonard and whispered something in his ear; understanding came across Leonard as he watched Jonas walk into the back.
Leonard asked Nick if he was sure?
Nick told him the doctor was upstairs in one of the rooms with one of the girls and could go ask him himself if he liked.
Leonard smiled; it wouldn’t be necessary.

Leonard walked into the room where Veronica lay and she smiled as soon as she saw him come in.
He grinned a little at her.
Then he heard a baby’s cry in the corner and walked over to the crib to meet his son for the first time.

Veronica told him that the baby looked just like him, he had to agree with her.
She then said that he would need to find a place for them to live because she couldn’t raise his child in this place, a brothel.

His child he thought.
He wasn’t going to leave his son in this place and he wasn’t going to have this woman raise his son.
All she was to him was entertainment.

Jonas went to Veronica and told her that she had nothing to worry about and his son, his son would be raised in the proper environment with everything made available to him.
Veronica smiled at his words and told Jonas that they would make a great family together.
Jonas told her that they would be a family then told her to rest before he walked out to talk to Leonard, his partner.

Maggie woke up with a fright and called out for Jonas.
Jonas was by her side immediately as she begged him for her baby.
Jonas calmed his wife down and told her everything was fine then got up and went off to the corner of the room then came back holding a baby gently putting it in her arms.
“Here is your son” he told her.

Walker