Page 60 of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Book
“I could ask you the same thing, Doctor,” Delvin responded.
Jeb glanced over his shoulder. “I’ve been concerned about the young man who lives up that drive. I feel like I should pay him a visit, but he’s got the property under surveillance and he may not be interested in receiving visitors.”
“You think he’s dangerous?”
“Yeah,” Jeb said. “I do.”
Delvin felt a wave of relief. He wasn’t the only one. “What tipped you off?”
“He brought me here for a house call a while back. His style of decorating was... well, let’s just say it was pretty fucked up. Then I had an exchange with him after Lula Dean’s rally. He was agitated and angry. Seemed real upset that Mitch had called me to pick him up. I’ve been trying to keep an eye on the kid since then. Followed him to the post office, but that’s the only place he’s been.”
“He sent Nathan Dugan a box of Nazi flags this morning.”
“SS and Gestapo?” Jeb asked, and Delvin nodded. “See, that’s a bad fucking sign right there. He’s getting rid of prized possessions. He had themin a display case in his den. Along with an arsenal that could take out an army. How’d you find out about the flags?”
“Dugan sped off in his truck as soon as he opened the box. Dumped everything in the trash as he left. I pulled it out.”
Jeb bowed his head for a moment then looked up at the trees. “Fuck. Dugan knows something’s coming. He doesn’t want to stop it, but he doesn’t want to be anywhere near when it happens.”
“My thought exactly. I tried warning the sheriff—”
“You mean Nathan’s second cousin?”
Delvin shook his head at his own stupidity. “Shit.”
Jeb chuckled darkly. “Don’t give yourself a hard time. As I think we’ve all learned in recent days, the family trees around here are as tangled as a box of Christmas lights.”
“So it’s up to us to stop him? I don’t suppose you have any thoughts on how to do that?” Delvin asked.
“Well, I doubt he’s going to take action tonight. My guess is Logan’s prepping for that party Beverly Underwood and the Wrights are throwing. But I’d love to be able to keep a closer eye on him if I could. I got these cameras I use to monitor the feral hogs in my orchard. If I could plant a couple of those up near his house, we would know when he’s fixing to make a move. Only problem is, he’s not too happy with me right now. And the way things are headed, if he spots someone coming up the drive that he don’t want to see, he’s liable to shoot first and ask questions later.”
Delvin knew Wanda would murder him herself if she heard what he was about to say. “How long do you need to position the cameras?”
“Three minutes,” Jeb told him.
“I can give you that,” Delvin told him. “Jump in the back. That’s the thing about the USPS. Even Nazis need their mail.”
“You know what kind of person we’re dealing with?” Jeb asked. “I saw a target with Obama’s face on it last time I visited. He’s not exactly going to welcome either of us with open arms.”
Delvin almost laughed. “He’s got plenty of company round here. And I deliver the mail to all of them.”
Logan Walsh was naked aside from a pair of novelty boxer shorts with little red lobsters on a sea of navy blue. Judging by his rumpled hair and bleary eyes, he’d just dragged himself out of bed. He looked so young, Delvin thought. Not much older than the boys he’d met at boot camp and not a single hair on his chest.
“Hey,” Logan said. Just that.Hey. Like they were just two regular people who had no reason to hate each other.
Delvin, halfway out of the Jeep, froze at the sight of the gun in the younger man’s hand.
Logan glanced down at the gun. “Oh, sorry,” he told Delvin. “I just got an alert that someone was coming up the drive. Didn’t know it was you.”
“That’s all right,” the postman said. “But I do come bearing bad news, so don’t shoot the messenger. We had a package get mangled in the sorter this morning. Couldn’t read anything but the return address, which turned out to be yours. Thought I’d bring it up and see if we can get it where it needs to go.”
He handed Logan a mangled piece of box and the two flags that had been inside.
“Shit,” Logan said. “Y’all really fucked this one up, didn’t you?”
“We did. But I don’t believe the contents were harmed. If you can write down the right address for me, I’ll put it in a brand-new priority box and make sure it gets out this evening.”
“Evening?” Logan looked up at the sky and yawned. “Okay,” he said. “Pretty sure I have a box in the office. Come in. I’ll get it all packed up for ya.”
