Chapter 66 hired worker

The man on the witness stand twisted his sombrero with his huge hands.There was a paleness in his weather-beaten face. "Well, sir, very dreadful. Most dreadful I've ever seen in my life." The prosecutor asked: "What kind of terrible law, Sheriff?" "Ah, blood, blood on the bed, even on the wall..." On the dock, the defendant shivered, took a deep breath, and shivered again.He leaned forward and whispered to his lawyer, "I remember." The defense attorney turned his head. "You remember? Everything?" "He mentioned blood just now, and it reminded me of everything."

The lawyer stood up abruptly. "Your Excellency! I beg the court to pardon my interruption, but I wish to take a brief break. My client is... well, unwell." There was a moment's silence, and then the gavel fell. "All right. The court adjourned for fifteen minutes." The lawyer hastened to take his client to the cabin next to the courtroom.When the door closed, he said, "So your amnesia is real? You're not lying?" "I'm not lying." "Well, go ahead. But if you're lying to me—" "I'm not lying. I remember everything. I wish I forgot!"

Spring weather in North Central Texas appears to be warm.It can be very hot in March, but the cold air from the north can drop the temperature thirty degrees in an hour at any time. It was on such a warm day that Cliff Dandoy first met Katie. He turned off the main highway and walked down a gravel road, his khaki shirt unbuttoned, his backpack slung over one shoulder and a canvas case containing a guitar. Cliff was a tall, slender man with blue eyes and fair hair, not yet thirty years old. Many thought he was a farm laborer, but Cliff thought of himself as a bard, a free-spirited elf who wandered and made his home everywhere.

He had just been to a farmhouse to ask that they didn't need hands, but the hostess there offered him a lunch of cold fried chicken, cold biscuits, and a piece of peach cobbler.He sat under a tree by the side of the road and ate his lunch.When he had finished, he took out his pipe and smoked, and then slept for a while. When he woke up, he saw a large cloud approaching the northern horizon. Cliff knew what that meant.He spent the winter in the Grand Canyon, where it was so warm that he didn't need winter clothes at all.He suddenly wanted to travel again, so he left there and walked north.He didn't bring any clothes that could withstand the cold north wind.He must find shelter before nightfall, or he will freeze to death.However, as far as the eye could see, there was not a single farmhouse in sight.

He was on his way again.An hour later, he turned a corner and saw Ledbert's house.He later learned that the house was a century-old house.It looks really old and hasn't been painted in ages.There is a porch in front of the house and a cistern to the east.Fifty yards behind the house was a new barn.He looked up involuntarily and saw that the house was wired to the barn, at least there was electricity, and there was a new tractor parked in front of the barn. Cliff's experience told him that if he knocked on the front door at this time, he would be regarded as a peddler, and the people in the room would ignore him.So he went around to the back door, knocked on the kitchen door, waited a while, and knocked again.

The door opened, and for the first time he saw Katie Ledbert's hot, flushed face.She was a small, slender woman with long blond hair and dark eyes.She was wearing a baggy dress, which, however, accentuated the curves of her whole body.She is about twenty years old. She pushed back a strand of damp hair from her eyes and asked, "What's the matter?" "Ma'am, I want to ask, do you need people here?" "You have to ask Toy, Toy is my husband." Then, she quickly added, "We just let a person--leave, is last week." She smiled sheepishly, and Cliff thought it was a labor of effort, as if she hadn't smiled in a long time.

"Your husband is in the field, isn't he?" "He's there. But I can't tell where exactly." She shivered suddenly. Cliff realized that the cold air from the north was coming.The sun had gone, and a cold wind was blowing into the house. She retreats into the house. "It's going to be freezing cold outside soon. You go in the kitchen and wait. Maybe you're hungry and want something to eat first?" Cliff never refuses food, even though he ate it not so long ago.In his life, suffering from hunger and hunger was a frequent occurrence.Her pecan pie was delicious, and the glass of cold milk was fresh.

The cupboard, although very clean, gave off a primitive and backward impression.There was an old refrigerator in the house that hummed like a jukebox, the only electrical appliance visible, and the cooking stove was large and wood-burning.There was no faucet, the water was pressed by hand, the stove was boiling, and the floor was a little wet, and Cliff guessed she was mopping it, which explained why she was flushed when she opened the door. She rarely took the initiative to speak, and Cliff was used to silence, so the two of them waited silently.But it didn't make people feel uncomfortable.Cliff lit his pipe and smoked while she busied herself on the stove.Once or twice he heard her sigh and looked up to find her standing at the window, gazing out.The north wind roared outside, making the house creak.She stood at the window and said, "Here he is. Troy is here."

Toy Ledbert is not at all what Cliff imagined.He was a small, thin man, an inch shorter than his wife, and Clive guessed, perhaps twenty years her senior.He was pale, not tanned like a man who worked in the Texas fields.Toy's expression is gentle, with a baseball cap on his head and a pair of brown eyes watching Cliff. When his wife explained Cliff's purpose, Toy said gently, "I think I'll hire someone again, Katie." Her hands trembled. "I know, Troy, I know. I just thought you—" "You thought," Troy repeated.Then he turned to Cliff. "Just so I need someone. Can you use an axe?"

"I used it." "I think you know there isn't much work in the fields at this time of year, but I'm clearing thirty acres of trees by the river for fall planting. If you're willing to cut down trees, you stay, I'm You can be employed until the autumn harvest, which means you will have work until winter. Would you like to?" Cliff said, "Well, that's a deal." Toy nodded slightly. "There's a vacant house down the hall, where you can stay, and you'll dine with us later. Is supper ready, Katie?" His wife, with her back to them, was busy at the stove, and she said vaguely, "There, Troy." There was a fear in her.The fear didn't show in her voice or her actions, but a tension settled over her as soon as her husband walked through the door.She faced Cliff as he picked up his backpack and guitar case. "Mr Dandoy, can you play and sing?"

"A little bit." He smiled slightly. "Singing is not good, it's just for self-entertainment." He felt that she wanted to smile back, but her husband was watching so she didn't. Cliff woke up in the middle of the night.The north wind has stopped blowing, and the old house is very quiet. He seemed to hear a cry.The crying woke him up, and he thought he was dreaming, but just as he was about to fall asleep again, he seemed to hear a low whimper again. Kate Ledbert is an excellent cook.Breakfast was a stack of pancakes and thick slices of bolognese.Toy kept his head down as he ate and said little.Katie did not sit with them.She came and went between the table and the stove, serving them.Cliff knew that this was not because of Toy's cruelty, but a habit.She didn't eat until they were gone. He wanted to ask her to sit down and eat with them, but he knew it wouldn't work."Mrs. Ledbert, this is the best breakfast I've ever had," he said as he left the table. She didn't blush, she didn't turn her face away in embarrassment.She stared straight at him to see if he was joking.Realizing that he wasn't joking, she really turned her face away and her hands trembled. To spare her embarrassment, Cliff turned away to draw out his pipe, and he found Troy watching them, a slight smile on his thin lips. The day was sunny and cloudless.Troy gave Cliff two sharp axes, led him to an S-shaped area by the river, and told him to clear the oaks and bushes there. The river is narrow and the current is fast.It took several hours for Cliff to get the rhythm of the job. By noon, he was so hot that he took off his shirt. At noon, Katie came with a hot meal.She stared at the smooth skin on his panting chest, then looked away quickly. Cliff took the lunch seriously, "Thank you... Katie." She nodded, smiled, and trotted away.He stared at her for a moment, shrugged, and sat down to eat. As time went by, Cliff became more and more puzzled by the Ledberts. During the day, they didn't say much to each other, at least he didn't hear them, nor did they say much when Cliff suspected he wasn't there. They sat in the living room at night, Katie mending, Troy browsing farm magazines or equipment price lists.They didn't have a television, not even a radio.Cliff had a transistor radio, which he brought into the living room on the third night.At the sound of the music, Katie looked up and smiled expectantly, but the smile disappeared as soon as she saw her husband.Cliff was so stubborn that he stayed there for an hour.Troy didn't say a word. He didn't look up from the magazine, but Cliff felt strongly that he disliked the radio very much. Cliff never brought the radio into the living room again.In fact, he never entered the living room again.He stayed in his room, listening to music, or playing the guitar and singing softly. The morning after that particular evening, he managed to get some alone time with Katie. He said, "Do you want to listen to my radio during the day?" There was a look of longing on her face, but it was gone again in an instant. "No, Mr. Dandoy, thank you for your kindness, but I have too much to do to listen." The farmers Cliff worked for all had a radio to listen to weather forecasts and grain prices.He later discovered that the Toy tractor also had a radio, which he used to listen to the information he needed. This was another thing that puzzled Cliff.Toy has the latest farm equipment: two tractors, cultivator, seeder, hay baler, etc., but there are no new appliances in his house, and the furniture is very worn out.Katie cleaned with a broom, mop and rag.Their only means of transportation is a ten year old van. Cliff began to think that Toy might have a religious dislike for electrical appliances. But the first Sunday proved him wrong: the Ledberts didn't attend church.After breakfast, Toy went to the fields while Katie cleaned up the house.The only difference on Sunday was a line from Toy: "Dandoy, today is Sunday. You don't have to work today." Cliff wanted to say, "Ah, thanks," but he didn't. He doesn't like such a family atmosphere, and under normal circumstances, he will leave in the first week.But he stayed, and he was angry with himself for doing so, you might even say terribly angry.He knows why he does it. He fell in love with Katie.It's ridiculous, it's insane.She hadn't given him an ounce of encouragement, but somehow he felt she knew. By June, the weather was so warm that Cliff could sit on the porch at night and play and sing.He knew Katie was listening.He even expected Toy to object, but the man said nothing. A week later, Katie came out of the house and sat on the porch listening, her hands folded on her knees.The porch lights were out.Troy went to bed early. He always went to bed at six o'clock every night. Troy went to bed early and left him alone with Katie, which also puzzled Cliff, but he said nothing. For the first few nights, Katie said nothing.One night, when Cliff stopped playing and looked up dreamily at a full moon, Katie said softly, "Cliff, play and sing me another sad song." It was the first time she called him that.Cliff turned to look at her and said enthusiastically, "Oh, Katie, Katie!" He was about to stand up when she walked away with trembling hands and disappeared into the dark room. Weeks passed.The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and it's summer.Cliff swung his ax in the sun, and the trees fell like soldiers who had been shot.Crops thrive in sunlight.Thirty acres of alfalfa that Toy had planted by the river would soon be ready for harvest. At night, Cliff played and chanted on the porch, but alone.Katie never came out to listen again, never called him Cliff again, but always called him "Mr. Dandoy." Cliff wanted to leave, but he stayed on, calling himself a fool. On a hot day, Katie didn't bring him lunch in time.He burned the bushes by the river, sweating and covered with ashes.The water looked very cool and inviting. Every night before returning from work, he would swim in the river for a while. On impulse, he took off his shoes and socks and plunged into the water.It doesn't matter if the pants are wet, as long as they are exposed to the sun for a few minutes, they will dry.When he surfaced, he heard crisp and sweet laughter.He saw Katie standing by the river.It was the first time he heard her laugh. "You look like a child splashing in the water," she said. He didn't know what prompted him to say the following, but he felt it was the right moment, to say that.He said, "Katie, come down and play with me in your clothes. The sun will dry them before you go home." She put down the lunch box without hesitation, took off her shoes and socks, and plunged into the water gracefully. They play like two children.Kate is very watery.In that moment, Cliff believes, she forgot all about it.She laughed and screamed, pumping water vigorously. Finally, they climbed the slippery bank.Her hair was piled on top of her head like seaweed, and her clothes clung to her in a disarray. She was the loveliest woman Cliff had ever met. He moaned and took her hand. "Katie, Katie, I love you. You should know that!" She obediently leaned into his arms and raised her mouth in search.Suddenly, she yelled and broke free. "No, no! I don't want to cause death again!" He stared at her, blinking puzzled. "Katie...what the hell are you talking about?" She turned away. "Before you came, there was a man..." "I know. You told me your husband fired him." "That's what I told you," she whispered, "but I think Troy killed him!" "Kill..." Cliff grabbed her chin and twisted her face around.Her eyes were tightly shut. "What are you talking about? Why would he do that?" "Toe caught us laughing together. That's all, Cliff. I swear it's nothing else!" "Okay, I trust you. Go on." "Joel was gone the next morning. Toy told me he left in the middle of the night." "How do you know he hasn't?" "He didn't bring a suitcase full of his things." "If your husband freaked him out, he might not have time to take it. Why do you think Troy killed him?" "Because..." She shivered. "I just know it!" "It's a woman's reasoning, Katie." "He was a homeless man with no family, no one will miss him." "Katie, I don't like Toy Ledbert, but that's probably because of my feelings for you, and even so, I can't believe he would kill." "You don't know him. He's very vile, very cruel!" "Why did you marry him, Katie?" Four years ago, Katie's parents died in a car accident, and she was alone and penniless, and she saw Troy's marriage proposal as a kind of salvation.She was seventeen, hadn't graduated high school, and didn't know what to do.Toy is a well-to-do farmer who is tidy, thrifty and seems to be a kind and gentle man.She doesn't love him, but maybe love is something only in novels and movies.After four years of marriage, she understood that his frugality was actually stinginess, and that under his gentle appearance was a cruel heart.For example, they lived seven miles from town, and twice a year Toy drove her into town and allowed her to buy a few clothes.He spends the extra money on farm equipment.Recently, he has become unreasonably jealous again. It's an old and dubious story.Cliff couldn't hide his suspicions. "If he is what you say, why don't you leave him? You can always escape?" "I thought about running away, but he swore he would find me and kill me. I believed him." Cliff knew she really believed, and she was really terrified. "Katie, you haven't told me yet. Do you love me?" "I..." She looked up at him, her eyes suddenly widened. "I don't...that's wrong, Cliff!" "You married him and it was a more serious mistake," he said calmly. "You don't love him, and you marry him. See, I'm going to Ledbert's, and tell him about us, and then I'll take you away." Her hands trembled violently. "No! He'll kill you, Cliff!" "Katie, listen to me now," he said softly. "I'm also a homeless person. I didn't have a reason to settle down. Now I have." Clearly, that was exactly what she wanted to hear.Her resistance crumbled.She trembled in his arms, and he knew she was afraid of Ledbert, but when he told her to put on her shoes, she obeyed.They walked towards the house hand in hand. They don't have to go to Toy.That morning he started baling the hay.Cliff didn't hear the tractor's motor as they walked toward the house, and apparently Toy had gone back to lunch.He came out of the kitchen as they approached. Katie's hand danced like a frightened bird, and Cliff held it tightly. "Ledbert, Katie and I are in love..." "Like those songs you sing, eh?" Troy said gently, his eyes becoming smooth marble, and Cliff understood why Katie was afraid of him. Cliff said, "We're leaving together. This afternoon." "yes?" Cliff stood away from Katie, ready for Troy's attack.He believes that if he fights one on one, he can overcome the opponent. But Troy looked at Katie. "You are my wife, Katie. You belong to me, as do this farm and everything in it. I will kill anyone who tries to take anything from me." "You can't stop us, Ledbert, with threats or anything." Cliff glanced at Katie. "He's just trying to scare us, Katie." Troy still didn't look at him. "Katie, you know I mean what I say." Katie's hands trembled, and one hand came to her mouth, biting her knuckle.She stared at Cliff with fear in her eyes. "Cliff...I'm so sorry! I can't! I just can't!" she whimpered and ran into the house. Cliff takes a step towards her, then turns to Troy. There was no look of triumph on Troy's face.He was as calm as he was talking about the weather. "When I get back tonight, I hope you're gone, singer. You get an extra month's pay. Why don't you sing for it?" He turned and walked away, never looking back. Cliff stared at him for a moment, then ran into the house.Katie hid in the bedroom. He begged her, coaxed her, threatened her outside the door.She said the same thing over and over: "Go away, Cliff! Please go away! " In the end, he knew he had failed.Maybe she didn't want to leave with him at all. He trudged to his house, packed his things in a backpack, and left. As he walked along the side of the road, he heard the rumble of a tractor across the river. After walking for an hour, his mind gradually became clear.He realized that Katie was worried about his safety, not her own.He should have known this earlier.He was confused. He turned and walked back.He must take her away, even if he hugs her. When he saw the house again, he had been walking for two hours.Before he saw the house, he heard the sound of the tractor in the field. The back door was open, but Katie was not in the kitchen.He walked into the house and called her name. No one answered. He found her in the bedroom, nearly torn in half by a shotgun bullet. Cliff staggered outside, feeling like throwing up.The roar of a tractor in the distance tore his nerves.He knew Troy had killed her.When he came back tonight, he would pretend to find Katie dead and blame the runaway hirelings. But why?Why did he kill her? Cliff walked out into the field, stumbling at first, but slowly returning to normal. The tractor towed a hay baler and was about to turn around.As soon as Troy saw Cliff, he stopped the tractor, but he didn't turn off the motor.So the hay baler kept turning. Toy said calmly, "I didn't expect to see you again, singer." "Why? Why did you do that, Ledbert?" Cliff had to shout over the roar of the tractor motor and baler. "She doesn't want to leave you!" "No, she wanted to leave. When I got back into the house, she was packing up and getting ready to leave." Cliff saw him grin. "She waited until she was sure you were gone. She said she didn't want you to be hurt. She was going to go." In a rage, Cliff reached out and grabbed Toy by the lapel of his shirt and pulled him from the driver's seat of the tractor. His lawyer said: "So you killed him?" "Yes, I killed him," Cliff said. "Yes, I killed him." "But what about the body? No body was found. The Sheriff searched everywhere. I think you know by now that you're on trial for Katie's murder. Since you can't, or won't, tell us what happened, Sheriff Guess you also killed Ledbert and buried him somewhere." "Hay baler? Is it still in the field?" "It was gone, the tractor and hay baler were driven into the barn the next day, but the hay was still there. It rained that night and it got wet." "The rain," said Cliff, "I think the rain washed the blood away." "Blood?" "You know, Ledbert likes his machine more than Katie." Cliff looked at his lawyer blankly. "I pulled him off the tractor, punched him, and put him in the hay baler. I could have saved him, but I didn't. Tell the sheriff he's going to find Todd in the last two bales of hay." E. Ledbert's remains."