Innocent Souls

By Alice Earl

Narrative

Innocent Souls is a work that details the disappearance of ten residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the investigation pursued by Sheriff Enos Lanford. The narrative opens as three-year-old Jake accompanies his mother and sister to the cotton fields for a day of work. While Jake is napping under a tree, ten people mysteriously vanish. Enos discovers the boy and takes him to his home. He, his wife Jenny, and Mrs. Hannah decide to care for the boy. FBI agent Anna Servanti helps Enos with his investigation, and together they uncover drug running and treachery involving Quality Health Supplements Company. Jennys father, Mayor Potts, is targeted, but his stay in the hospital prevents a murder hit.

Innocent Souls mixes drugs, persistent police work, and family in a story that seeks to explore life in a small rural Arkansas town. Fayetteville is a Southern town where strong oaks spread their limbs, almost touching neighboring trees. Their acorns create an inviting aura of peace and tranquility. A gentle river runs the length of this small town with surrounding forests, which is home and haven for wild creatures and feathered friends alike. It is a poor town, but man, forest, and beast coexist together in peace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 17, 2009
• ISBN: 9781462823581

Alice Earl

The author was born and raised in the South. After many years of residing in New York, her strong roots continue planted in her former hometown. Though Innocent Souls is purely fictional, it speaks of the human condition and emotions in general that we may have experienced at one time or another in life such as feelings of insecurity, disappointment, loneliness, fear, jealousy, greed, notwithstanding those of joy, compassion, and most of all love.

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Copyright © 1997, 2009 by Alice Earl.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage

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copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents

either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

INTRODUCTION

It is a period of strong racial tension in the history of our nation especially in many parts of the South. What sets this little community apart from others is that whites and blacks are struggling together in a cooperative spirit for survival. A war is also raging overseas in Vietnam. Americans are embroiled in this war, and it has made its mark even on Fayetville. The adversities are many, but there is a feeling of hope in the air.

In one day, Fayetville is changed. Some lives will be changed forever. Instantly, this small town is gripped with fear. The tranquility disappears with ten of its townspeople. What once seemed to be sane and normal is no more. A frantic search for life ensues and shatters the notion that a small town is synonymous with safety. Although the entire scenario seems surreal, something scary actually happened in a cotton field that only the birds, crickets, and maybe a few other creatures witnessed but cannot tell.

Enos Lanford, a strong yet sensitive sheriff, takes on the incredible task of finding the ten innocent souls of Fayetville and restoring the town to at least a semblance of what it was before this heartrending enormity. An unanswered question is why three-year-old Jake is left behind. As the mystery unravels, it becomes evident that more lives of Fayetville will be affected. Emotions are frayed until sheer exhaustion. During this difficult ordeal, Enos learns many things about the people around him in Fayetville. Through tragedy, he has an unforgettable chance to glimpse their very essence of being, including well-kept secrets, joys, sorrows, and dreams. Due to these wrenching events, poignant memories of the sheriff’s past resurfaces to torment his soul. Thus Enos’s life will also be changed.

CHAPTER ONE

The Disappearance

Summer is gracefully winding down in this small Southern town of Fayetville, much like an aging woman who maintains a certain beauty while her last golden years gradually fade away. Her gray hairs are a splendor of glory. Telltale signs of summer’s departure are the magnificent leaves subtly changing to breathtaking shades of yellow, orange, and red. Autumn is holding onto her coattail as she gingerly steals away.

It is a picturesque Wednesday, September morning. The sky is a beautiful azure blue with a few fluffy white clouds that hints of a weather-perfect day. Though it has barely begun, this morning is already a warm one. Lula Mae is rushing to make breakfast for Sadie and little Jake. Within minutes, a truck will be there to pick them up for the journey to Mr. Haney’s cotton field. All summer long, Lula Mae has made this short trip without her children. Sadie’s job had been to watch Jake at home until their mother returned in the evening. But starting today, Lula Mae needs twelve-year-old Sadie’s help in the cotton field. Times have been extremely difficult and the money tight. To make matters worse, unpaid doctor bills are overdue since Lula Mae was ill earlier this year. These are hard times, and Sadie will have to help out by picking cotton alongside her mother until school shortly begins.

An old red pickup truck honks outside. Lula Mae runs out with Sadie and Jake; they hop into the back of the truck with other hired hands. Lula Mae holds Jake on her lap as the truck drives away. Finally there, everyone unloads and, with the exception of Jake, sets to work, hanging cotton sack straps over their shoulders. The morning slowly creeps toward noon; by now, it has turned unseasonably hot and humid. Sadie struggles to keep stride with Lula Mae as they make their way to the end of each long cotton row with seven other people. Jake is getting tired from playing with grasshoppers and other small bugs that have intrigued him all morning long. He begins to rub his eyes. Lula Mae finds an old ragged cotton sack no longer fit for use due to gaping holes in it. She lays Jake down for a nap nearby in a shady spot underneath an old oak tree then returns to work immediately. Jake is lulled to sleep by muffled sounds of talk and laughter of people dragging their sacks side by side down long and tedious rows of cotton stalks. Sharp, pointed cotton bolls feel like needles of steel to Sadie’s tender hands. She flinches as they pierce the delicate skin of her fingers, occasionally drawing blood. As she glances at Lula Mae, Sadie notices that her mother looks so tired. She becomes even more determined to help her mother the best she can.

A few hours go by. Jake awakens, looks around, and rubs his eyes. He wants his mommy and goes in search of her and Sadie but doesn’t find them. Jake doesn’t see anyone. The cotton field is desolate and so intensely quiet. Jake calls out loudly, Mommy, Mommy, Sadie, Mommy, where are you? I’m hungry. He wanders through row after row of the deserted cotton field. Jake feels the heat of the day in warm dirt beneath his little bare feet. A gray and scrubby-looking rabbit jumps out of seemingly nowhere and suddenly crosses Jake’s path. Jake is startled and picks up his pace with small quick steps. Cotton sacks are lying scattered about on the ground. Some are filled with cotton. The old red pickup truck is parked where it was when Jake fell asleep.

Heading to the truck, Jake notices sandwiches that were never unwrapped on the step of the pickup. A blue thermos sits with the lid off as if some tired and thirsty soul was about to take a drink of the cold water it contained. Hungry and thirsty, Jake sits in the dirt beside the truck and eats a fried green tomato sandwich and drinks some water. He knows his mommy and Sadie will appear any moment now. They would never ever forget him. They would never leave him.

After satisfying his hunger, Jake amuses himself with a caterpillar crawling up the bark of that same massive oak tree under which he had taken his nap. Leaves on this tree are larger than the palms of Jake’s small hands. It will soon bear acorns because fall is close at hand. He touches the scantly furred caterpillar with one finger as it continues to inch its way up the tree. The setting sun looks like a big shiny orange to Jake. It will soon be dark. Jake hears strange noises and they seem to be coming from everywhere. A black crow sitting in a nearby tree screeches at another crow and both become embroiled in a battle of wills over their spoils of victory: a tiny dead field mouse. Jake is scared and starts to cry. He is afraid those crows will come after him when their dispute is finished and the field mouse is eaten. Jake is thinking they might still be hungry. He starts running toward the truck but sees a hairy creature with a long nose and wiry whiskers. This strange thing is digging a hole and thankfully seems uninterested in Jake. So Jake hurries past him, crying, "I want my mommy, I want my Sadie. Not a human soul is in sight.

It has grown dark outside, and no one has come for little Jake. He is frightened, sobbing, and shaking from fear and the added coolness of the impending night. Fireflies hover around the truck, sprinkling tiny speckles of light as if to keep watch over this courageous little tot. Jake climbs onto the side step of the truck and is able to open the door. Crawling to the seat, he falls asleep from exhaustion and fear on the seat of the old red pickup truck.

Daylight arrives and Jake is awakened by voices outside the truck. Lifting his head, Jake sees a strange man looking inside the window of the truck. The man says, Oh my god, there is a child in this truck! He quickly opens the door, and Jake bounces into a sitting position. Jake’s eyes widen while his little heart beats faster than a runaway train. Before Jake can blink again, he sees at least three white men surrounding the truck. One man opens the door, reaches in, and lifts Jake out into his arms. Don’t be scared, son, I won’t hurt you. What’s your name, little fellar? Afraid and relieved at the same time, Jake stares directly at the man and says, My name is Jake. Well, Jake, I’m Enos. Jake sees two cars with big red lights on top just like a toy car he has at home. The men are dressed in light gray clothing with wide-brimmed gray hats. Sensing Jake’s apprehension, Enos carries Jake to one of the cars while repeating to him that he is safe now. He then tells an officer to stay with Jake while they search the cotton field.

Enos and two other men begin to comb the cotton field for clues of what might have happened. Jake hopes they will find his mommy and sister. What Enos and the men find are obvious signs of a struggle. Some of the cotton stalks are bent over or trampled, and drops of blood are on the ground between several cotton rows. A few open bolls bursting with rich, soft white cotton are stained with the deep redness of blood. Large tire tracks with extremely wide treads are visible in the dried dirt. Rain from two days ago had been greedily gulped by the dehydrated soil needing every bit of moisture and in want of more. This cotton field is labeled a crime scene albeit the nature of the criminal act is yet to be known.

Enos walks back to his car where Jake is sitting and asks him, How old are you, son? Jake proudly holds up three pudgy little fingers and says, I’m three years old, mister. Enos bends down to eye level with Jake and places both hands gently on his shoulders. Do you know where your mommy is? Enos asks. Jake says no and starts to cry. Son, did you see anyone fighting out here yesterday? Jake stares into Enos’s eyes without an answer. Do you know what it means to fight? Enos feels that Jake understands but wants to be certain. After a moment of contemplation, Jake’s eyes meet Enos’s with an apprehensible gaze and replies, I fight with Sadie sometimes, but we don’t hurt each other. Enos’s eyes express feelings of tenderness and compassion for the young child that might have lost his entire world.

Enos is troubled by findings of blood in the cotton field. He knows ten people are missing since yesterday afternoon including this little boy’s mother and sister. No one has seen or heard from any of them since. The earth could not have mysteriously swallowed up ten inhabitants of Fayetville. It is only the size of a drop in a bucket compared to other surrounding towns. This cotton field has to hold the answers to some of Enos’s questions.

Enos’s thoughts drift for a moment to his wife who is expecting their first baby any day now. His emotions are stirred by the idea that Jake may now be without a family. In many ways, Jake is still just a baby at the age of three and so innocent. Enos wonders why Jake was left alone yesterday in this cotton field that would later be enveloped by darkness of night. Did someone leave Jake unharmed due to an act of compassion? Or did fate simply have a hand in Jake’s going unnoticed while sleeping underneath that old oak tree? Questions swirl in Enos’s head, but he cannot call to mind any plausible answers. An unsettling feeling starts to rise within him. Enos wonders if it has something to do with the impending birth of his and Jenny’s unborn child and the future. He questions if this could be some type of a diabolical plot to eventually destroy their minuscule town for some unknown reason. But this notion seems absurd since most who live in Fayetville are simple folk with the exception of the few wealthy ones. So Enos completely dismisses the speculation. Whatever happened, Enos knows that time is crucial and this case will probably be the biggest one ever heard of in these parts. It is definitely not Enos’s preferred way for Fayetville to become known on a map of Arkansas, the state of opportunity. But ten people are missing as if disappearing off the face of earth itself. Suddenly, the past, present, and future are hanging in the hands of a man who was once deemed to be a stranger to this small and seemingly insignificant town. Enos has grown to love Fayetville and generally all of its residents with the exception of a few whom he regards as deceitful or outright malicious. His wife, Jenny, feels there is some good in everyone. Enos knew that she is naïve in her thinking and acceptance of all. In his line of work, Enos absolutely knows that right amidst good and decent humans in this world are wicked and callous ones lying in wait to inflict harm on innocent souls for one bad reason or another. Nevertheless, Enos loves Jenny because of her pure motives and tolerance. After all, Jenny loved him from the moment they met.

Enos rationalizes to himself that the answers are there; they just have to find them. He keeps on saying, I have to believe that the ten missing persons are alive. How would he or anyone be able to mend the town of Fayetville if ten of its people are dead? Although a decent but not particularly religious man, Enos finds himself silently uttering, God, please help us find these folks before it’s too late. A search for clues continues for approximately another hour. Enos then returns to the sheriff’s department along with accompanying officers to organize a more intense search and investigation. En route, he considers possible consequences if the case is not well handled. Feeling certain it will be the greatest one in his career in law enforcement, Enos ponders what the crime will actually involve. Will it be a case of kidnapping, murder, or both? Enos will not consider that the mystery might go unsolved. These thoughts haunt him as he ponders what the next step will be. How could ten people from one small town vanish, and where could they be? Will a miracle happen before this day is over?

Back at the sheriff’s department, the operator is swamped by calls from relatives of eight of the missing persons. There have been no calls for Lula Mae and Sadie. As sheriff, Enos has no information to give them other than these people are missing without any evidence of their whereabouts. At this time, Jake appears to be the only one with no other family. Lula Mae and her husband Thomas had settled in Fayetville after their marriage. Thomas had worked at the cotton mill until laid off. After not being able to find stable work to support his family, Thomas joined the army. The few monthly checks from the military sustained Lula Mae and Sadie until Thomas was killed in Vietnam. Lula Mae was pregnant with their son Jake. Thomas never saw his unborn son. The checks soon stopped, and Lula Mae had to feed a family of three without any assistance. She courageously stayed in Fayetville and cared for Sadie and Jake as best she could by cooking and cleaning for a few families in town more fortunate than her own. As a result of her recent illness, Lula Mae lost those jobs and was now seeking seasonal work in the cotton fields. She was considering a move to Chicago come winter. An old friend from high school had heard about Thomas’s death and invited Lula Mae to visit and look for work. What is going to happen to this baby? Enos keeps asking himself. A female clerk had given Jake some lunch, and he is napping on a chair in Enos’s office.

In the late afternoon around four o’clock, Enos’s wife Jenny drops by his office on her way from seeing the doctor who would soon deliver their baby. She is excited after being told their baby will probably arrive on the anticipated due date a couple of weeks from now. As Jenny is sharing this information with her husband, she suddenly catches a glimpse of Jake asleep on the chair in the corner. Who is that little boy, Enos? And why is he sleeping in your office? Enos begins by explaining that Jake was found at one of Mr. Haney’s cotton fields this morning after receiving reports of people missing since yesterday from that same field. There were ten other folks out there, and none of them returned home yesterday evening. Roy is out of town on business so we drove out there to take a look. Out of the eleven, we found this one little person over there. His name is Jake. He is only three years old. Jenny honey, you know his mother, Lula Mae. She cleaned your father’s house a few times.

Surprised, Jenny uttered, Oh my god, is this really Lula Mae’s boy? Of course, I remember her. My father’s house had never been cleaned like that by anyone other than Mama. She also cooked some real good meals for him too. Daddy swore that Lula Mae’s sweet potato pie was the best in Arkansas. And she was such a skinny little thing. I do declare that a strong wind could have lifted her up right off the ground. Since Daddy was so lonely, he would ask Lula Mae to stay and eat dinner with him, but she always seemed to be in a rush. I didn’t know she had two children at home to feed. Otherwise, I would have insisted that she take some of the food home with her. Daddy didn’t need all of that food. He was lonely and bored. Lula Mae made things around the house perfect just like when Mama was alive. My gut feeling is Daddy didn’t have Lula Mae continue working for him because it reminded him too much that Mama was really gone. He misses Mama so much, Enos, so much that I am worried about him.

Enos comforts Jenny by embracing her. Your father is a tough man, Jenny. He’s going to be just fine.

But poor Lula Mae, it’s such a shame she and her daughter are among the missing. What do you think happened out there, Enos? Jenny is curious as to what will be done next. Enos says, Honey, I fear that an awful crime has been committed that might include assault or murder. But we don’t have much to go on as yet except blood found out at the cotton field. A sample of the blood was sent to the crime lab over in Memphis to determine the type and if it’s even from a human. I’ve also asked for an expert to determine what kind of truck made the huge tracks out there. They certainly weren’t made by the red pickup. There is this foreboding I can’t shake. We found Jake asleep in the old pickup truck that transported nine of the folks to the field. Henry Barnes had driven out there yesterday. He and his truck are missing too. So far, we keep coming up empty-handed in trying to locate the whereabouts of any other family for Jake. Lula Mae was so private and didn’t talk about her or Thomas’s family. Now I wonder why. With a worried look, Enos continues, We’re going to have to turn Jake over to the State Child Protective Services. From there, I don’t know what will happen to him.

Suddenly Jake cries out in his sleep, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy . . . I want my mommy, I’m scared. Perhaps startled by Jake’s outcry, Jenny feels her baby kick inside its safe and protected home. Rubbing her protruding stomach, she walks over to the chair, sits, and holds Jake in her arms. He opens his eyes and, despite not knowing Jenny, tightly clings to her. Jenny is wearing an indigo blue silk blouse and Jake’s warm tears begin to saturate against her bosom, but she doesn’t mind. She reasons this is a natural feeling of motherhood. Soon her own infant will lie upon her breast. Enos intently observes Jenny’s genuine concern for Jake and appreciates again why he loves her so much. From the moment he met Jenny, her qualities of compassion and deep caring for others was what attracted him to her.

Enos remembers seeing Jenny for the first time. She was in New York on a short-term business assignment for her job at a pharmaceutical company based in