Victory's Brother

I try not to think about it
Wouldn't think at all if I could
If I'd only do what I wanted, I'd leave this town for good

Three more dead just this last month
I guess I signed up for this
There's a madman on the run and I'm going after him

Squad car smells like sweat and coffee
Partner's more like a pig
We're going to question one victim's mother
Sometimes this job makes me sick

She tells us Bradley was a peaceful boy
And she shows us his old room
She asks if we have any leads, but I don't have a clue

Make her tea with sliced-up lemons to try to ease her nerves
Bradley, night lead, the Old Springwater
That's all we get out of her

The bar's closed 'cause it's too early
So we go to the next victim's home
But they don't wanna talk to us, there's only one place left to go

Read her name was Victory Scott
And her kid brother answers the door
He doesn't know an awful lot, but he's willing to tell us more

Victory worked Vanderbilt, seven to seven most nights
The kid harbors a whole lot of guilt
'Cause he never really said goodbye

He's got a guitar on his bedroom wall and I ask him if he plays
Says he's gonna be a country star, gonna sing with Johnny some day

I tell him that I used to play myself
Used to have Grand Ole Opry dreams
Then I tell him to practice, not to give up
Hope he doesn't end up like me

Now that it's nearing three o'clock
The Springwater's open, if barely
But the bartender's useless, says "We see a lot of folks
How am I supposed to know him from here?"

Seems these people don't care to help
Think of only themselves all the time
And my partner's getting tired, says he's running late for dinner
But then again, he's got a kid and a wife

So, I head back to that lonely old bar
And the 'tender now remembers me
He says, "Listen, man, I've told you all I know"
I say, "Shut up, I just want a drink"

It's 3 a.m. when I leave that place
And some bar cat catches my eye
And where else am I gonna go?
So, I sleep at her place for the night

She smokes Camels and offers me one
But I gave that up years ago
She's the curious type, asks what's on my mind
And I tell her that I don't know

Ask her if she's a regular there
At the Springwater, has she been around?
She says, "Who's asking?" I don't show her my badge
I just tell her I'm new in town

She's there most nights, knows most of the faces
Says it's everyone's place to get high
I show her Bradley's picture
She says that she knows him, but hasn't seen him for some time

"What's it to you, anyway?
What are you, some kind of cop?"
I tell her, "Not really
But these days, I seem to get that a lot"

And I put on my coat
And she says, "That kid, he had a real ugly friend
Tall as a hickory, came up from Texas, said that girls like me wind up dead"

I ask if she's seen him since then, and I'm dreaming
That this might be some kind of lead
But she loses interest, says, "Not in a minute
That was back in December, I think"

Three years go by and I lose track of time
'Til I run into Victory's brother
And the kid looks a mess, like he's broke and depressed
And he asks me if we know each other

I say, "Just the once" and after re-introductions
I'm reminded of something of mine
And I reach in my wallet for a crusty guitar pick
That I've kept nearly all my life

And I give it to him and I tell him I got it
As a kid from a man in black
And I tell him to use it for one of his songs
But he says, "I gave up on all that"

And I gave up too
One winter Monday
Hung up my badge and my coat
But I kept the gun
'Cause you never know someday
Well, you never know

Sunday morning, my regular cafe
A coffee and a copy of the Times
I ask for the check
As Lucy crunches numbers, I read of our most recent crimes

Some punk at the counter starts raising his voice
In a Kazzy's and Wrangler jeans
He's tall as a hickory, talks like a Texan
And he's ugly as he's mean

He's yelling about some miscalculation
Threatens the waitress, calls her a whore
And I don't have the proof
But I know in my gut this is who I was looking for

Get up from my table, tap him on the shoulder
Ask, "Is there a problem, sir?"
He says, "Mind your own"
I tell him, "I'm gonna, but first, can we have a word?"

I say, "Don't you know Bradley, and Victory, the nurse
And a few others from around this place?"
He says, "I don't know, maybe, I've met a lot of people
And really, I'm not good with names"

I say, "Well, then, let me be more specific"
And I level my pistol at his head
"Do you remember how all of those people
In the same way, wound up dead?"

At first he says nothing, but he gives me a look
And he even lets slip a grin
Says, "So, you're gonna arrest me?"
I say, "I'm not a cop, I'm just doing this for a friend"

And right then he gets it and his eyes flash with terror
And his lips start to form the word "Wait"
Oh, but nothing could stop me, I've waited forever to put a bullet in this bastard's brain

There's blood on the ceiling
There's blood on the counter
There's blood in the customers' food
I'm going to county in a sweaty old squad car
And I've never been happier to

Oh, I'm going to county in a sweaty old squad car
And I've never been happier to