walked around with it stuck in the rack.
Larry came to understand that Ken was also a very dangerous man. If Ken didn't like someone, or heard he was saying bad things about him or a member of his family, that person would walk out of the tavern one day and find Ken waiting for him around the corner with a shotgun or a long-bladed corn knife. When Ken drank, his grievances would eat on him.
He would tell Larry what he was going to do to get even with someone who had crossed him, and then, as the wide-eyed boy watched, Ken would carry out his threats. Before long, Ken was asking Larry to come along on his nocturnal stealing jaunts.
During this period, a seventeen-year-old girl named Barbara T. was hanging out with her girlfriend at the bar in Burlington Junction, a small town north of Quitman. The girls noticed a good-looking, muscular man with dark hair and pretty, dark blue eyes begin to come around. He drove an old white Ford and was usually alone. He either sat by himself at the end of the bar, or played pool or shuffleboard. The girls got to know "Kenny," and soon they were partying with him regularly. They would be drinking and talking, and all of a sudden he would say "Let's go," and off they would go, never knowing where, usually to bars in other towns or somebody's place in St. Joe. Ken seemed happy in those days, unless he hit the liquor too hard. He had plenty of girls wherever he went, and they were always young-younger than his seventeen-year-old friends. He would laugh and tell them they didn't have to worry about him.
"You're too old for me," he would say. "I like my women young and tender. I like that young meat."
By "young meat," he meant thirteen or fourteen. One thirteen-year-old girl, Donna G." used to sneak out of her farmhouse in the middle of the night to see him. She lived with her grandparents, who owned a tavern in a nearby small town. One night, when Ken and the two girls had been running around and drinking heavily, they stopped in at the tavern. Ken teased the grandfather-asking how things were at the farm and how Donna was doing-until finally the old man lost his temper.
"You stay away from her, goddamn it, or I'll get the law on you!"
Ken stopped talking and joking. He sat perfectly still and stared at the old man. The two girls also quieted down. After four or five long minutes, the three of them left, not saying a word. In the truck, Ken announced that they were going to the farmhouse to burn it down.
On the ride, they passed around a bottle of Jack Daniel's. Once inside the farmhouse, Ken said he was hungry and wanted a sandwich before they set to work. He found the bread, and the two girls got baloney and lettuce and mayonnaise from the refrigerator. By this time, the mood had lightened, and the three were joking and laughing, Ken describing with delight how the blazing farmhouse would light up the darkened countryside. Then they heard a noise overhead-the squeaking of bed springs and footsteps in the hallway.
"That must be Donna's uncle," Ken said, startled. "He's not a bad ol' guy, doesn't deserve being burned up, anyway. We'll have to come back." Disappointed, they finished making the sandwiches and walked out the door, eating and swigging from the whiskey bottle. A year or so later, Donna bore Ken a son.
Not long after McElroy returned from Colorado, he began running around with Sharon, a fifteen-year-old girl from a poor family in the St. Joe area. Sharon was sweet and unworldly and seemed drawn to Ken because of his style and strength. One night, she and Ken were quarreling in his pickup, when Ken pulled out a shotgun and told her if she didn't shut up, he was going to blow her head off. Whether by accident or design, the gun discharged and tore open the underside of Sharon's chin, leaving permanent scars. The police were called and charges were filed. Ken explained to Oleta that he would have to divorce her and marry Sharon in order to avoid prosecution for assault with a
Larry came to understand that Ken was also a very dangerous man. If Ken didn't like someone, or heard he was saying bad things about him or a member of his family, that person would walk out of the tavern one day and find Ken waiting for him around the corner with a shotgun or a long-bladed corn knife. When Ken drank, his grievances would eat on him.
He would tell Larry what he was going to do to get even with someone who had crossed him, and then, as the wide-eyed boy watched, Ken would carry out his threats. Before long, Ken was asking Larry to come along on his nocturnal stealing jaunts.
During this period, a seventeen-year-old girl named Barbara T. was hanging out with her girlfriend at the bar in Burlington Junction, a small town north of Quitman. The girls noticed a good-looking, muscular man with dark hair and pretty, dark blue eyes begin to come around. He drove an old white Ford and was usually alone. He either sat by himself at the end of the bar, or played pool or shuffleboard. The girls got to know "Kenny," and soon they were partying with him regularly. They would be drinking and talking, and all of a sudden he would say "Let's go," and off they would go, never knowing where, usually to bars in other towns or somebody's place in St. Joe. Ken seemed happy in those days, unless he hit the liquor too hard. He had plenty of girls wherever he went, and they were always young-younger than his seventeen-year-old friends. He would laugh and tell them they didn't have to worry about him.
"You're too old for me," he would say. "I like my women young and tender. I like that young meat."
By "young meat," he meant thirteen or fourteen. One thirteen-year-old girl, Donna G." used to sneak out of her farmhouse in the middle of the night to see him. She lived with her grandparents, who owned a tavern in a nearby small town. One night, when Ken and the two girls had been running around and drinking heavily, they stopped in at the tavern. Ken teased the grandfather-asking how things were at the farm and how Donna was doing-until finally the old man lost his temper.
"You stay away from her, goddamn it, or I'll get the law on you!"
Ken stopped talking and joking. He sat perfectly still and stared at the old man. The two girls also quieted down. After four or five long minutes, the three of them left, not saying a word. In the truck, Ken announced that they were going to the farmhouse to burn it down.
On the ride, they passed around a bottle of Jack Daniel's. Once inside the farmhouse, Ken said he was hungry and wanted a sandwich before they set to work. He found the bread, and the two girls got baloney and lettuce and mayonnaise from the refrigerator. By this time, the mood had lightened, and the three were joking and laughing, Ken describing with delight how the blazing farmhouse would light up the darkened countryside. Then they heard a noise overhead-the squeaking of bed springs and footsteps in the hallway.
"That must be Donna's uncle," Ken said, startled. "He's not a bad ol' guy, doesn't deserve being burned up, anyway. We'll have to come back." Disappointed, they finished making the sandwiches and walked out the door, eating and swigging from the whiskey bottle. A year or so later, Donna bore Ken a son.
Not long after McElroy returned from Colorado, he began running around with Sharon, a fifteen-year-old girl from a poor family in the St. Joe area. Sharon was sweet and unworldly and seemed drawn to Ken because of his style and strength. One night, she and Ken were quarreling in his pickup, when Ken pulled out a shotgun and told her if she didn't shut up, he was going to blow her head off. Whether by accident or design, the gun discharged and tore open the underside of Sharon's chin, leaving permanent scars. The police were called and charges were filed. Ken explained to Oleta that he would have to divorce her and marry Sharon in order to avoid prosecution for assault with a
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