Carnal Innocence

he noted that two county boys stepped forward, rifles oiled and ready. Though he didn’t think they’d shoot first and ask questions later, he was grateful when Burke waved them off.
    “You got yourself a real operation here, don’t you?” Tucker commented as he stepped out.
    “County sheriff’s spitting fire,” Burke muttered. “He didn’t like it that the FBI was around to see this screw-up. He thinks Austin’s halfway to Mexico by now, but he doesn’t want to say so.”
    Tucker took out his cigarettes, offered one to Burke, then lighted one of his own. “What do you think?”
    Burke blew out a long, slow stream of smoke. It had been a hellishly long day, and he was glad to talk to Tucker.
    “Seems to me if a man knew the swamps and rivers around here, he could lay low for a good long time. ’Specially if he had a reason to.” He eyed Tucker. “We’re going to post a couple of uniforms at Sweetwater.”
    “Shit on that.”
    “Gotta do it, Tuck. Come on now.” He dropped a hand on Tucker’s shoulder. “You got women out there.”
    Tucker looked across to where the long flat gave way to trees, and trees to swamp. “What a fucking mess.”
    “It is that.”
    Something in Burke’s voice had Tucker looking back at him. “What else is on your mind?”
    “Ain’t this enough?”
    “I’ve known you too long, son.”
    Burke glanced behind him, then edged a few more feet away from the county deputies. “Bobby Lee came by the house last night.”
    “Now, there’s news.”
    Burke looked miserably at Tucker. “He wants to marry Marvella. Got his gumption up and asked to speak to me in private. We went on out on the back porch. Shit, Tuck, it scared me bloodless. I was afraid he was going to tell me he’d gotten her pregnant, then I’d’ve had to kill him or something.” He saw Tucker’s grin and answered it weakly. “Yeah, I know, I know. But it’s different when it’s your little girl. Anyway—” He blew in smoke, chuffed it out. “He didn’t get her pregnant. I guess kids’re smarter today about being protected and all. I remember driving clear into Greenville to buy rubbers when I was courting Susie.” His grin was a little stronger. “Then when we got into the backseat of my daddy’s Chevy, I left them in my pocket.” The grin faded. “Of course, if I’d have remembered them, we wouldn’t have had Marvella.”
    “What did you tell him, Burke?”
    “Shit, what could I tell him?” He rested a hand absently on the butt of his gun. “She’s grown up on me. She wants him, and that’s that. He’s got a decent job at Talbot’s, and he’s a good boy. He’s crazy in love with her, and I’ve gotta figure he’ll do right. But it damn near breaks my heart.”
    “How’d Susie take it?”
    “Cried buckets.” On a sigh, Burke tossed down the cigarette and stamped it out. “And when Marvella started in on how they were thinking of moving to Jackson, I thought she’d flood the house. Then she and Marvella cried together awhile. When they dried up, they started talking about bridesmaid’s dresses. I left them to it.”
    “Getting old sucks, huh?”
    “That’s the truth.” But he felt better having gotten it off his chest. “Keep it under your hat for a bit. They’re going to break it to the Fullers this evening.”
    “You got room in your head for something else?”
    “It’d be a pure pleasure to push this out for a while.”
    Tucker leaned back against the hood of Josie’s car and told a tale of lipstick and adultery.
    “Darleen and Billy T.?” Burke frowned as he thought it through. “I haven’t gotten wind of that.”
    “Ask Susie.”
    Burke sighed and nodded. “That woman can keep a secret, God knows. She was three months gone with Tommy before she told me. Worried I’d be upset because we were just scraping by. With Marvella being in love with Darleen’s brother, I can see how she’d keep it to herself.” Thinking, he jingled his keys. “The thing is, Tucker, I can’t go up to Billy T. about all this just because Darleen’s using the same kind of lipstick as Josie.”
    “I know you’ve got a lot going on, Burke. Just figured I should pass it along.”
    Burke gave a grunt of assent. They would lose the light soon, and God knew where Austin had gone to ground. “I’ll talk to Susie tonight. If it turns out Billy T.’s been seeing Darleen on the sly, I’ll make some time to feel him out.”
    “Appreciate it.” But now that his duty was