Thunder in the Night 3
This is a fictional story dealing with love and consensual sexual activities between males. If you are not of legal age, reside in an area where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by homosexuality and/or homosexual themes, leave this site now.
The author retains all rights to this story. No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the permission of the author.
Note: I owe a special thanks to Robb for doing the final proofreading and catching all those silly little errors that I missed.
If you like the story, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Send your comments to Jeff Allen (jeff_allen15@hotmail.com).
THUNDER IN THE NIGHT
by Jeff Allen
CHAPTER 3
I rinsed my cum off the wall of the shower, shut off the water, and grabbed a towel. Why had both Luis and Deputy Campbell appeared in my jack off fantasy? What was going on with my mind? I hadn't had a vivid fantasy like that in the two years since the relationship with Richard had come to it's pitiful, melodramatic end.
I pulled on a pair of shorts and a shirt and went down the hall to check on Luis. He was sound asleep on the bed his body curled in a fetal position. I pulled the comforter from the end of the bed up over him. He didn't move a muscle. I figured he was exhausted...I felt kind of drained myself.
I went into the office/computer room off the back of the kitchen to try to do some work. This room had been a cook's bedroom when the house was built. I'd converted it into my workstation at the rancho. Increasingly over the past year and a half I'd found that my best work and ideas happened while I was at Rancho del Abuelo, but that afternoon I couldn't get started on anything. After about an hour I gave up in disgust, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and went out on the porch to sit.
The porch extended around three sides of the house, and the house was placed on the top of the hill so that it was possible to watch the sunrise from the porch on the bedroom side of the house and watch the sunset from the porch on the kitchen wing. I spent many afternoons and evenings in the chairs on that porch passing the time of day looking at the hills. That afternoon, I didn't find any comfort in the beauty of nature. What was I going to do with Luis? I found that I was strangely drawn to him, and that surprised me...my usual type was anglo and about my height, build, and age. Luis was so different...smaller, darker, younger, but definitely an attractive young man.
In addition to my unsettling thoughts about Luis, I was deeply troubled by his claim that some law enforcement officer had been out in the draw just before the murders. Could he be correct about that? Which law enforcement agency was involved? Sheriff's Office, INS, Border Patrol, CHiP's or some other? Or had Luis mistaken what the man had been wearing for a uniform of some kind?
I decided I'd try to get a better description of the man and the uniform that Luis had seen when he woke up. I went back into the computer room and searched the Internet for web sites that might have images of the type of uniform worn by the likely agencies. The county sheriff officer's uniforms were easy to pull up from the county web site. The CHiP uniform took a little more time, and the INS and Border Patrol uniforms were the hardest. I had to search through several government sites to find those. I printed the images and then set the prints down beside the computer.
It was nearly eight in the evening when I finished with the computers. I checked on Luis, and found that he was still asleep. He had moved around on the bed so that the tee shirt had ridden up exposing a broad expanse of bare, golden midriff. I tore my eyes away from that inviting sight and went out to the barn to get the horses ready for the night.
I wasn't very hungry, even after the chores so I just made a sandwich, grabbed another bottle of beer and sat on the porch until nearly eleven. After checking in on the sleeping Luis, I went into my own bedroom, stripped naked, and went to bed.
I went out almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
**********
I woke up about six the next morning. My bladder was sending an urgent message to my brain that cut through my usual morning fog so I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stumbled into the bathroom to take my morning piss. I had to wait impatiently for my morning erection to recede before the stream started, but when it started, it felt like I had been storing it up for days. When the stream finally stopped, I shook my dick a couple of times and then moved over to the sink and splashed some cold water over my face.
"Pardón, Señor Paul. I made some coffee."
I must have jumped a foot. My mind hadn't yet retrieved the fact that there had been someone else in the house last night. As I jumped, I turned so that my full naked glory was displayed to Luis.
He blushed deeply and averted his eyes from my nakedness. "I...I did not know that you were not dressed. Pardón, Señor."
He set a steaming mug of coffee con leche on the counter top and turned to leave.
"Nothing to apologize for, Luis. You just startled me. Thank you for the coffee."
He kept his eyes downcast, but a smile moved across his lips. "De nada, Señor Paul. I will have the meal ready for you when you finish getting dressed."
He backed out of the bathroom and disappeared down the hallway. I went back into my bedroom and pulled on some clothes as I sipped the rich coffee that Luis had brewed. By the time I'd pulled on underwear, socks, jeans, boots, and a shirt, I could smell chorizo cooking in the kitchen.
Luis prepared a big breakfast...chorizo, eggs, tortillas rolled around jam, juice, and some cut orange slices. Juanita Stout kept my kitchen supplied. I remembered the chorizo and tortillas from the freezer. The juice and oranges, I had purchased on my way out to the rancho on Friday. God, was it only Sunday? The previous day had been one of the longest of my life.
Luis served my breakfast and then moved away from the table.
"Luis, aren't you going to eat?"
"Sí, Señor Paul. I will eat later."
I stood up. "No, Luis. I don't want you to act like a servant. Sit down and have some breakfast. I want some company!" I grabbed a plate from the cupboard, walked over to the stove and filled the plate with eggs and chorizo.
After putting the plate down on the table, I grabbed some silverware and set the utensils down next to the plate. "Please, Luis, eat breakfast with me"
Somewhat reluctantly, he sat and began eating. Gradually he relaxed and we moved into an easy conversation while carefully avoiding any subject that might bring our minds back to the killings.
When we were done eating, I helped him clean up the kitchen over his protests.
When the breakfast dishes were washed and put away, I picked up the telephone and dialed Alton Stout's number. He answered on the second ring. I quickly explained the situation and asked him to come over as soon as possible.
Luis helped me with the morning chores. Alton and Juanita pulled up in their pickup truck just as we were walking back to the house. I introduced Luis to them, and Luis and Juanita immediately began a rapid fire conversation in Spanish that overtaxed my meager language abilities.
Giving up on what Juanita and Luis were chattering about, Alton and I walked away from them toward the house. We poured ourselves a cup of coffee and settled into a couple of the chairs on the porch.
Before we got really settled, Juanita came over. "The boy has no clothes. I'm taking him to the house. He looks about the same size as our Javier. We'll be back in an hour or so."
Alton didn't say anything as Juanita loaded Luis into the truck and drove down the driveway. Finally he looked at me with a tear in his eye.
"Our Javier's been dead for six years, and Juanita has kept all of his things just like he was still around. She hasn't gotten rid of anything, and now she's going to give his stuff to a kid she's only just met."
"Does that bother you, Alton."
His response surprised me. "Hell no. I'm glad. We need to move on. SHE needs to move on. Keeping Javier's clothes and things won't bring him back. I just never thought she'd be ready to do this."
Javier Stout had died before I bought the rancho. It was one of those things that you heard about around town in those isn't-it-so-sad tones that generally mean no one wanted to talk openly.
"What did Javier die of?"
He starred off toward the hills. "AIDS."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"S'okay. He left here right after highschool. Went to San Diego. It's hard to be gay in a small town like Santa Teresa so he went to San Diego. He came home when he got sick. Died about a year after he came home. Juanita's kept his stuff ever since."
"I'm sorry, Alton. It must be rough on you and Juanita."
He looked away toward the hills again. "Rough ain't the word for it."
We didn't say anything more. We just sat in the chairs and looked out toward the horizon. After several minutes we noticed a dust cloud from the road that meant a vehicle was approaching the house.
Alton looked at his watch. "Too quick for Juanita to be back. Wonder who it is."
We didn't have to wait long for the answer to that question. A brown and tan Santa Teresa County Sheriff's patrol car emerged out of the dust. The car pulled up to the side of the house and stopped. A tall, lanky, uniformed man emerged from the car, pulled the waist of his pants up over a slight paunch and strode toward the porch.
Alton stood and addressed the stranger. "Mornin', Endicott. What brings you out here?"
"Morning, Alton. I need to speak with Mr. Nichols for a few minutes."
The man turned to me and removed his sunglasses. I guessed his height to be six foot plus another two or three inches. He was fairly lean except for a little paunch that poked out like half a soccer ball stuck under his pants and shirt, but he carried himself like a man used to authority. He had a tanned, weathered face with piercing gray eyes. I put his age in the upper fifties, maybe sixty.
"Mr. Nichols?"
"Yes."
"I'm Sheriff Hardee. I'd like to speak with you about that little incident on your ranch yesterday."
"That was hardly an 'incident', Sheriff. Ten men are dead."
"That was an unfortunate choice of words, Mr. Nichols. My office is working round the clock to find the men who killed those poor Mexicans. You told my men yesterday that you thought you'd heard the shots that night."
"Yes. I woke up to what I thought was thunder, but after I found the bodies I realized it was probably the gunfire."
"You didn't see anything that night? No cars or trucks on the road?"
"I can't really see the road from the house, Sheriff, and I didn't get out of bed when I woke up. I was tired and just went back to sleep."
"I see. You didn't notice anything until you found the bodies?"
"Like I told the detectives yesterday, I saw the buzzards circling and thought a steer might be down."
"Then you have no idea who did this?"
"No, but I'm darned angry about it."
"I understand, Mr. Nichols. We'll get to the bottom of it. Can't have this sort of thing happening in Santa Teresa County."
I heard Alton chuckle. "Might be bad for your re-election chances, Endicott."
Sheriff Hardee shot a hard look at Alton but recovered quickly. "We all want Santa Teresa to be a safe place, Alton."
Hardee pulled a business card out of the breast pocket of his uniform shirt and handed it to me. "Mr. Nichols, if you think of anything at all that might help, give me a call. I've put my cell phone number on the card. That way you can reach me directly without any delay."
I took the card. A telephone number was written in ink above the top of the official looking card.
"Thanks, Sheriff. I'll be sure to do that."
"Thank you, Mr. Nichols. I appreciate your cooperation."
We exchanged handshakes before Hardee returned to his patrol car and headed back down the driveway.
Alton and I settled back down in the chairs.
"You knew the Sheriff. Tell me about him."
"Enidcott Hardee and I were in school together. Not that we ran in the same crowd. He's a couple years younger'n me. Plus my folks was poor, and Endicott's daddy owned the big insurance and real estate agency in the county. Ole Endicott went off to college at USC but I don't think he ever finished. His daddy died and he came back here to run the family businesses. Got himself elected to the County Board about twenty year ago and then sheriff after that. Guess he's been sheriff for about fifteen year or so now."
"You don't like him much do you?"
"Naw. He's just another politician. Looks like you got more company."
I looked up to see another dust cloud proceeding up the driveway. It was another Sheriff's cruiser. This time there were two figures in the car.
When the driver emerged, I realized it was Deputy Campbell. I felt an involuntary tightening in my groin as the big man adjusted his belt and pants and began walking toward the house. God, that cop was hot!
The passenger emerged from the car also. He was a much smaller man with dark hair, sunglasses, and a swarthy complexion. He was also in a uniform, but it wasn't a Santa Teresa County deputy's uniform. It took me a second, but I finally recognized the INS uniform from my Internet searching from the previous day.
The two walked up to the porch. I tried to keep my eyes from settling on Deputy Campbell's crotch, but I wasn't completely successful. It looked like he was carrying a black jack in his pants, and if it wasn't a black jack then Deputy Campbell had one helluva big dick!
Alton and I stood as the men approached.
Deputy Campbell spoke first. "Mr. Nichols, I'm Deputy Campbell and this is Agent Napier from the INS. Can we ask you a few questions?"
I reached out to shake Campbell's hand. Napier didn't offer his. "Of course, Deputy. I remember you from yesterday. This is Alton Stout."
Alton extended his hand, and Campbell took it. Again, Napier kept his hands at his sides. I didn't think I liked the man very much.
I invited Campbell and Napier up onto the porch and indicated chairs for them. Campbell settled his large frame into one of the chairs right away, but Napier leaned against one of the roof posts.
Napier finally spoke, and his voice was low and husky, like he'd had too many cigarettes or too much whiskey over a long period of time. "We'd like to talk to you alone, Mr. Nichols."
Alton stood up from the chair he had just settled into. "I'll be in the barn, Paul. Holler at me when Juanita comes back with the truck." He walked off toward the barn after giving me a sideways glance that I read as a warning to be careful.
When Alton was out of ear shot, Napier began the questioning. He asked for identification, and I handed him my billfold and driver's license. Then he moved on to how much time I spent at the ranch, what my business was, when I'd come to the ranch last time, had I heard of any suspicious activity, why had I gone out for the ride on Blaze the previous day, how did I know where to go, and could any one verify that I was at the ranch that night?
I answered each of his questions in turn. I came out to the rancho at least once a month sometimes as often as three times a month. Alton and Juanita took care of the animals and the house while I was away. My business was Nichols Consulting in San Diego, and it was a firm specializing in imaging and software systems for businesses. I told him about hearing what I'd thought was thunder, that I typically rode the horse when I was at the rancho, that I'd just followed the buzzards, and that I resented the implication of his last question.
Deputy Campbell looked uncomfortable when my temper showed in response to Napier's question. "You understand, Mr. Nichols, that we have to ask all sorts of questions in this kind of investigation."
"I understand that you need to ask questions, but that doesn't mean you have to be a prick about it." I looked at Napier.
He stood up away from the porch and took a step closer to me. "Do I hear you saying that you won't cooperate with this investigation, Nichols?"
"I didn't say anything of the kind, Agent Napier. I was suggesting that you might get information a lot more easily if you improved your personality."
With that Deputy Campbell stood and put his bulk between Napier and me. "I think we all need to cool down a little."
"Suits me fine," was my reply.
Napier just continued to glare at me from behind his dark glasses. Fortunately our little test of wills was interrupted by the sound of a vehicle coming up the drive. Alton's truck with Juanita at the wheel roared into the yard. Now, Juanita is a very sweet person, but she is just about the worst driver I've ever encountered. She skidded to a halt just inches away from the fender of Campbell's patrol car.
She jumped out of the truck. "Paul, what's going on? Where's Alton?"
I put my hands up to calm her down. "Take it easy, Juanita. Alton's out in the barn. This is Deputy Campbell from the sheriff's office and Agent Napier from INS. They were just asking some questions about yesterday."
Napier remained as gentle as before. He turned to Juanita. "Who are you, and who's that in the truck?" He indicated Luis who was just timidly opening the door of the cab. I saw that he was dressed now in a different pair of jeans and a western style shirt. Javier's old clothes must have fit.
"I'm Juanita Stout. Alton's my husband, and this is my nephew Luis from El Paso. He's my sister Angelina's son. Would you like to see my driver's license."
Deputy Campbell smiled down on her from the porch. "No, Ma'am, that won't be necessary. Agent Napier and I were just leaving." He walked off the porch and toward the patrol car. As he passed Juanita he smiled again and I heard him say, "That was a nice bit of driving, Ma'am."
Juanita blushed at his attention and cooed, "Well, my husband always tells me that there's no one who drives like me."
That brought laughter from everyone except Napier who glared at us as he followed Deputy Campbell to the patrol car. My eyes followed Deputy Campbell's ass to the patrol car.
Just as he was climbing into the passenger side of the police cruiser, Napier turned and addressed me. "Nichols, don't go out of town for the next few days without clearing it through me."
"I'll let you know, but if I need to leave Santa Teresa I won't be asking your permission."
Napier glared at me silently as Deputy Campbell put the cruiser in gear and backed away from Alton's truck.
Alton came out of the barn and walked over to the porch as the sheriff's cruiser disappeared down the driveway.
"Did I miss anything?"
I laughed. "Only the fact that you and Juanita now have a nephew."
"I tried to call you on the phone, Juanita, to warn you that the INS was here so you wouldn't come back with the boy. Guess you'd already left the house. Wait a minute. Nephew? You told them he was our nephew?"
Juanita put her hands on her hips. "Well, what else was I supposed to say? That INS agent would have taken Luis away in a heartbeat, and I'm still not certain we've seen the last of him."
"Thank you, Señora. I did not like him either."
"Luis, you had better start calling me Tia Juanita. Now get your things out of the truck while I make some lunch for everyone."
Smiling, Luis pulled a medium sized suitcase from the bed of the truck. He stopped short as he looked up at me. Suddenly the smile was replaced by a look of anxiety.
My heart melted. "Go ahead, Luis, and take the bag to your room."
He broke into a white-toothed grin. "Sí, Señor Paul. Thank you."
Luis hurried into the house with the suitcase. Alton patted me on the back as we turned toward the house.
"Well, Paul, I think you just got yourself a new roommate for a while! I like this one a hellava lot more'n I liked that prick Richard."
(to be continued)