Page 92 of Here Comes the Judge

“I’ve got to make a phone call. You need anything, baby?”

“Nah,” She held up a red t-shirt with both hands, debating whether she was going to donate or keep it. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? Hungry? Tired? Horny? I can handle all three needs for you with no sweat.”

“I bet you can!”

With a mischievous wink, he headed back downstairs. A few minutes later, she found herself sitting back down on the bed, laughing at the comedic renderings of her podcast.

I better not get too comfortable.

She got up, grabbed the dust cloth and Pledge, and began to dust around the place. The desk, chairs, nightstands, even the baseboards. She got on all fours in front of the clock and cleaned the base. Up and down and all around she went, getting into the intricate carvings and grooves.

Jude said this thing been in the family for years, passed down from son to son. He said it was in his father’s house, and was supposed to go to Cain, since he’s the eldest, but the man ain’t want it and gave it to Jude. He also said it was haunted, though he’s never had any bad stuff happen. I gotta say though, it does have a strange energy. Not really scary, but heavy. Like it’s seen a lot…

The thing was absolutely filthy, like it had never been dusted before. She kept on working on it, almost manically, determined to get a good shine to it. As she maneuvered her body around to get to the back of it, she noticed some engraving.I can’t really see that. The writing is so tiny.She ran her hand over the gold plate, then leaned in close, down on her side, and read: ‘Cooper & Sons 1928.’ She noticed a few scratches and smudges there, too, and gave it a good shine. Right as she was pulling away to get up and move on to the next item to clean, she noticed a line in the wood by the plaque. She ran her hand over it, feeling a groove in the wood, then saw another like it, about 10 inches away on the other side of the plaque. Maybe a compartment of some sort?

What is this?Her curiosity piqued, she ran her bare hand over the etching, and again, until she felt an indentation.That’s a hook. Ohhh! I know what that is. My grandmother had a clock with one of these. These old clocks sometimes had a little spot where tools were stored inside to fix them. Like little spring bars and bits. With a clock this old, I wonder if they’re still in here.Slipping the tip of her long nail along it, she gave it a pull, but it didn’t budge. She pulled again, and her nail chipped.

“Damn it!” Her nail was cracked and bleeding, sickening pain radiating up and down her finger. “Just got my nails done. Now they’re messed up!” Standing to grab a bandage and fish out a pair of scissors from the desk drawer, she returned to her post, and wrapped up her finger. This time, with a little finagling, the drawer loosened. She set the scissors down and pulled… and tugged… then tugged a bit harder.

“…Oh my God… JUDE!!!! JUDE!!!! Oh, Lord!!! This can’t be real!!! JUUUUUDE!”

She heard the man’s heavy footsteps thundering up the stairs and down the hallway, until he burst inside the bedroom.

“What is it, Iris? You all right?! Did you fall or somethin’?”

On her knees, she rested against the clock, the entire base of it now covered in bundles of money…

“Holy hell…” Jude ran his hands down his face as he fixed his gaze on all that cold hard cash.

“I was dustin’ the clock and saw a small plaque down here, at the bottom. It’s on a drawer back here. It can… barely be seen.” She took a deep breath, afraid she might pass out from the shock of it all. “I… I pulled the drawer open thinkin’ old tools was in there for clock repairs. Some of these old clocks got things like that…”

“Mmm hmm…” Wide-eyed, the man stood with his hands up against his nose and mouth, pressed together as if in a prayer position.

“And… when I did… all this money come flyin’ out. It was wedged in there…” They both stared at the money, looking practically brand new in bank parcels, as if it had never seen a bit of sun or moisture.

“Shit…” He dropped down to his knees and began to pick up the bundles. Bringing one to his nose, he sniffed it. “Damn… it even still smells fresh. This is where Mama and Daddy put it. No wonder nobody found it. Help me count this, baby.”

When they were all finished, they looked at one another in shock. Over six million dollars. Jude had shown her his banking accounts. He already had a few million and then some, so he wasn’t hurtin’, but the man was trying to start two new businesses, help her with hers, get Cain new legal counsel, put more money in Pete and Ayanna’s college fund, and a number of other things. He had big plans, and with a baby on the way, he had even more. She could see the wheels turning in his head.

“What are you going to do with it, Jude?”

He sat there for a long time, one leg up and his arm resting on it. Thinking.

“I gotta do right by Mama and Daddy, Iris. It’s gotta go not just to me, but to help somebody else, too. They’d want that. I know one thing, though. I damn sure ain’t telling anyone about this.”

“I don’t expect you to. Your parents lost their lives over this.” She picked up one of the bundles once again and ran her hand over it. “I ain’t never held this much money in my life.”

“You and me, baby, need to have a meeting. Tonight. We’re going to sit here and devise a plan. This is our little secret.”

“Yes, of course. I wouldn’t say a word.”

He left and returned with an empty box. Without being asked, she quickly helped him load the cash inside…

Peach Pit’s, ‘LookOut!’ played at The Magnolia, on Eagle Pointe Way in Pigeon Forge, as everyone got settled. The sky was a little overcast with streaks of blue-gray and wisps of cream and white floating over the mountains in the near distance. Iris looked on at the scene from her cabin, standing in her long, lacey white gown with her friends from Memphis all around her, dressed in their splendidly gorgeous bridesmaid dresses she’d had made by her favorite seamstress. The fluttering in her stomach, which had been messing with her all day, began all over again. A hand on her belly, she recognized it as a mixture of nerves and her baby moving about inside her.

“Ohhh, honey, you look beautiful! I saw Jude just now. He looks so handsome!” Aunt Blue burst into the cabin, her hair styled in a layered bob with a light brown streak in the front.

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