nodded. Now he felt better about falling in with these people. One Marine was better than ten gangsters any day of the week.
Eldon looked at him. “Alcina told me how you saved her and her brother. She said you put down a couple of her attackers, despite their weapons. That ain’t easy to do, even with those kids. They’re young and strong but don’t know how to fight except with a gang backing ’em up.”
“Most of them are little boys dressed up to be tough. I suspect you know that as well as I do. They’re not the kind of enemy we face on a battlefield.”
“No, but they will smile while they beat you to death with a crowbar. They’ve done it.”
“Yeah, I found that out when I pissed them off. I would’ve got a bullet in the back of my head if your boys hadn’t shown up when they did. I appreciate that. Your son, Jake? He’s not too bad with a Louisville slugger. Can’t say I like this concussion he gave me, but it’s not as bad as it usually is.”
Osceola said nothing and went back to cooking. The sun was peeking over the trees in the distance now, flooding the fields around them with bright sunlight and turning the sky a clear, brilliant blue. The fierce glitter-glare attacked Novak’s headache, and it quickly intensified. He needed sunglasses. He needed painkillers. Hell, he needed some clothes to put on. He glanced at the tents along the road. Nobody showed. Nothing moved. Maybe nobody else had spent the night. Maybe all the Osceola kids had homes in town. Maybe they were up earlier than Novak and off on assignment. Novak hoped somebody was on guard duty at the road. Apparently, Eldon Osceola felt safe enough.
“Anybody else out here with us?” Novak inquired. “Or just me and you?”
“Some of my sons stayed here last night to guard you and those Castillo kids. They like to sleep in, like I said. They’re lazier than their coon dogs, but they were up late saving your ass, so I’ll cut them some slack this morning.”
Okay, so that’s how it was gonna be. Novak had to grin. This old man was right. Still, they had brought him out there without his permission, and he wanted to know more before he got Claire and himself too deeply involved. “So, what about Alcina? Is she really safe out here? They’re targets now, witnesses to their own attempted murders. That’s going to make the Skulls nervous. They’re going to try to put them down, and fast.”
“Try is the operative word. We’re protecting her. Don’t worry about that. My boys know what they’re doing. I taught them myself. Taught my daughters, too.”
“They got here legally, right? Why don’t you have them go to the police about that attempt on their lives? Get those guys locked up?”
“I don’t trust some of the police around here. Some officers are paid off. I’m just not sure which ones. Only takes one bad apple to murder somebody in their custody and make it look like an accident.”
“Has that happened before?”
“Yeah.”
Osceola seemed to like to converse in spurts. Maybe he liked to think things through before putting them out there. By now, he had fried up enough bacon to feed thirty men. Novak’s stomach appreciated his skill, if not his haste. He watched Osceola pour off most of the bacon grease and then crack a good two dozen eggs into the skillet. He started scrambling them with a fork. No milk added but plenty of salt and pepper.
“Where exactly are we?” Novak asked him.
“Big Cypress on one side; Everglades on the other. See that water over there? It’ll take you straight down into the swampland and then out through the open corridors in the grasses.”
“Business good out here?”
“Good but seasonal. We do other things in the off-season.” He looked up. “Are you nervous around swamps?”
Novak shook his head. “I live in the Louisiana bayou, so I know where the dangers lie. I’ve been out in the Everglades a few times but wouldn’t know my way around it. Had to come out here on a case once a few years back.”
“Eggs are done. Eat ’em while they’re hot. Help yourself.”
Novak thought he’d never ask. The sun was already hot on their heads. Novak wished he had a shirt to put on. The humidity was heavy, and his head was sweating under the bandage. He needed to get rid of it. The bleeding had stopped. He wished the headache would. Osceola took a Styrofoam plate, the big white kind divided into sections, and handed it to him. Novak filled his plate with good-sized portions and sat back down with it, glad to get something inside his empty stomach. He felt a little sick from the pain, which was gradually advancing up into the agony level. His companion dropped a couple of pieces of grilled bread on Novak’s plate and took a camp chair across from him. He started eating without comment. Novak followed his lead. Concentrating on his food was fine with him. He already felt better.
After a while, Novak attempted conversation. “Alcina said you’re a member of the Seminole tribe. You guys have got several reservations around here, right? She said this is the Miccosukee. You live out here?”
“I live in town with my wife and some of my kids. Alcina’s confused about the tribe. Actually, we’re members of the Miccosukee tribe. We used to be part of the Seminole nation until we split in the 1960s, but we still live and work closely with them. My wife was born a Seminole, and some of her relatives work out here with us. We’re members in good standing all around. They let us do our business with a cut going to the res. Both my daughters work up there in the museum. There’s a snack bar in there, by the way, that sells T-shirts. You might want to get a couple of those. Put it on my tab and you can settle up later.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks.”
“I knew the boys would be hungry, so I came out early and fixed them breakfast. You kept them up past their bedtime, and I doubt if they trust you any more than you trust them.” He took a big bite, chewed it, swallowed, and then said, “Truth is, my children like to sleep. It goes against my grain the way they do that, but they stay up all night and sleep way past sunup. It’s not a good habit to get into. Good to see a man who’s up with the sun and ready to go to work.”
Novak wished he wasn’t. He wished he was back at the condo in a shower with a soft clean bed next on the agenda. “Thank the Army. They trained me. Food’s good. Thanks.”
“I’m the best cook around, and that includes my wife. She tries, but she fails. She’s an attorney in Punta Gorda.”
“Bet that law degree comes in handy.”
“You bet it does.”
Novak grinned and then cleaned up his plate. He stood and poured them both more coffee. He drank it while he listened to some bird shrilling its head off. He wasn’t a fan of birds. Somebody ought to shoot it so it would shut up. If that racket didn’t wake up the Osceola boys, nothing would. Yep, he was in a foul mood. After a few minutes, Eldon finished his breakfast and dumped his paper plate inside a covered trash can. He turned back and stared hard at Novak.
“Alcina tell you why we’re helping her?”
“She told me you’ve got a mutual friend, some doctor who knows Claire’s husband. I guess you’re helping for the same reason I intervened on that beach. It irks me when bullies pick on innocent people.”
“Yeah, I get that. That doctor was a good friend
