by CC Dragon
Gus nodded. “He’s dangerous, but he’s smart enough to get people dependent on him first. The guy doesn’t start a ton of bar fights, unpleasant as he is.”
“I still say he could’ve sent someone to deal with Luke. If Megan’s ex could’ve, why not Ed?” I asked.
Gus smiled at me. “Because Ed’s sort of friends would’ve left ten snakes and Luke would’ve been tied up naked covered in mice.”
I laughed. “That’s a visual I didn’t need.”
“If it was Ed behind it, the job would be done.”
“Really? He might be smart, but not every trucker is. Maybe there were more snakes and they got away,” I suggested.
“Agreed.” Gus sighed.
“I say Shelley is behind it. She got someone or hired them to take Luke out and make it look accidental, if possible.”
“Why would she hurt the guy who helped her?” Gus asked.
“Because deep down, Luke was mostly a selfish coward. He helped people when it was safe for him. Mrs. Woodson and Mrs. Gillis know about it. Which means half of the PTA at the kids’ school will. Why do you think Ed suspects Luke? Marriage counselling and all of that is a good cover, but he knows his wife was talking to Luke. The longer she’s gone with no contact, the more he’d suspect Luke. If Luke is dead, Ed might not have a trail to follow. Luke couldn’t help but brag about what he did, unofficially,” I warned.
“Shelley would be grateful,” Gus said.
“And still be scared out of her mind. Men like Ed won’t stop, ever. She’s got his kids. Legally, he’s got a right to see them, until a judge says different because of the abuse. If she called Luke to say she’s okay, even from a truck stop so old it still has pay phones—that could be used to track her. Luke wouldn’t take a beating from Ed,” I argued.
“He’d give up the info.” Gus nodded.
“Faster than an idiot running after he mowed over a yellow jacket nest or a hooker in church.” I looked around. Only a few couples making out. Nothing like drug deals or hookers working the area. “Should we go in?”
He leaned over and kissed me. “I have to go.”
“Why? Don’t avoid the Buckle on account of Dina. She gives white trash a bad name and it shows ten times worse in a decent bar,” I mocked.
He smiled. “Not her. I gotta track those numbers and locate Shelley best I can. Maybe I’ll get the Tennessee Bureau involved.”
I shook my head. “Don’t bother. Mrs. Gillis said something. I think they went out of state.”
Gus cocked his head at me. “Which one?”
“You should check with her to be sure, but I think they went a tiny bit north is all. I better go help.” I kissed his cheek.
“State lines make things harder,” Gus reminded.
“Harder for you, safer for her. I didn’t make any of these choices. Don’t give me the sour puss.” I wagged a finger at him. Who could blame a mom protecting her kids? The laws protected keeping the kids in close contact with both parents, so she’d have to prove her hubby was abusive to block his rights. That’d hurt the kids. He’s their dad, evil or not, and they’d end up blaming their mom instead of the court.
I knew who I was praying for in church on Sunday. People could make fun of my parents for running off, but when I saw situations like Shelley’s, I was grateful I hadn’t gotten stuck in a dysfunctional or abusive relationship. Gran and Grandpa had loved each other and me, and no one had gotten hit unless it was smacking my hand away from the stove or a fancy cake frosted to perfection. And those hadn’t even hurt.
“Belle, bar’s getting backed up,” Larry called.
“Coming.” I jogged to the back door. “Where’s Martha?”
“Out with Harry on a Nashville date.” Larry rolled his eyes.
“Okay, we’ll text Megan in to cover tables,” I said. “But Martha and Harry are cute.”
Larry smiled. “She’s nice.”
I walked in to a fussy crowd and a dead keg. I immediately started pouring shots and sliding bottled beers to those with empty glasses. “I’m busier than a one-armed paper hanger, so everyone just show the manners your mama gave y’all.”
* * * *
Between Gus, Mrs. Gillis, Mrs. Woodson and some of Shelley’s family in Tennessee, Gus managed to figure out where in Kentucky she might be hiding.
It was a weird date, but I’d packed lunch and we had a few hours to talk. We never ran out of conversation or argued seriously.
“Are you sure it’s her?” I asked.
“She bought a used car under her maiden name,” he said.
“Stupid,” I muttered.
“She had to buy something. Shelley isn’t a criminal. She doesn’t want to break the law. It makes her much easier to find.” Gus shrugged.
Before we got near Shelley’s, we made a pit stop and had a picnic on the squad car.
“Gran doing better?” he asked.
“She needs her routine. Emergencies like when Milan had the heart attack just throw her off more. She doesn’t eat the same, take her meds at the same time and all the stress…”
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“Martha is working all day at the shop today and we should be home for dinner. But Martha is taking her girls over to Gran’s to play with the goats. I’ve also spoken to Mrs. Gillis. She’s not even fifty—really young widow. I’m going to have her come clean once or twice a month to start. Places it’s too hard to get or we haven’t had time to go over.”
“Your gran will hate it,” Gus said.
I nodded. “At first, but when she realizes Mrs. G is a widow just like her—looking for something to do, like Gran with her shop—I think she’ll feel better about it. A little time and Gran will be comfortable with Mrs. G in the house. That way, if something comes up, I can ask Mrs. G to stay with Gran. Or help her throughout a day when I can’t be there, at the shop or wherever. We’re busier than a raccoon in tall corn some days, so I need backup. Not that Gran needs medical caretaking, just someone to keep her on track when her routine is totally backwards. Am I crazy?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. That’s smart. Martha and Katie have to work. We’d all help, but Mrs. Gillis has the most flexible schedule. Her hubby left her well set enough to work when or really if she wants to.”
“I don’t ever want Gran to feel like I’m pawning her off, but I can’t be in two places at once.” I’d thought I’d be her shadow once I moved home, but we weren’t conjoined twins. Sometimes the world was going to drag us in different directions for a bit.
“She’d never think that. You know it’s not true. Life happens. I couldn’t have done this without you,” he said.
“I do feel like I need to be there. If she’s surrounded by all men, that could be very scary for her,” I pointed out.
“Kentucky state troopers are sending a female deputy and a female social worker. She’ll have to be processed here and handed over. Depending on whether she denies or admits anything, it might take days or weeks to get them to hand her over.” He shrugged.
“We don’t have any female deputies,” I observed.
“I’m open to it, but small southern towns… Good ole boys in bar fights need to be wrestled apart and such. A little lady like you couldn’t do it,” Gus teased.
“Whack ’em in the business with a full bottle. That always worked fine in Atlanta.” I grinned.
“You were security?” he asked.
“No, but do you know how long it takes to get Atlanta PD to show up? Big city, lots of murders and everything. A bar brawl isn’t at the top of the list. Hotel bars especially, since we have security, but a two-man fight turns into a mob. You have catch that before it grows like weeds. I’ve a couple tricks up my sleeve.”
“I can’t wait to hear, but we should get going.” He tossed our trash into the can as I settled into the car.
Another twenty minutes and we pulled up to a trailer.
Two kids were playing outside, but they ran in whe
n they saw the cop car. Gus knocked on the door.
“Shelley, it’s me. We need to talk,” Gus said.
I wondered how many times Gus had been out to try and help Shelley. He could press charges on Ed, but if Shelley kept letting Ed back into the house or never moved out… I wouldn’t want Gus’ job for the world.
The door opened and Shelley looked healthier than she ever had. Not so frail and shaky.
“Come on in, I guess,” she invited.
“Hi,” I said.
“Eddie, Christy, you remember Miss Belle and Sheriff Gus?” Shelley asked.
“Hi,” the kids replied in unison.
“Go play in the bedrooms. Grown-ups have to talk,” Shelley explained.
Eddie was about ten and went into one room. Christy was only about five and headed into the other bedroom.
“How did you find me?” Shelley asked as she sat on the flea market couch.
“You bought a car under your maiden name. Registered it to this address. Your family did a good job of dodging any questions,” Gus acknowledged.
“I called a friend from high school. He owns the trailer park. Had this hunk of junk empty and he’s letting me stay for free. But I needed a car to get some work. I don’t want to break the law, Sheriff. I want to be safe and my kids to be safe,” she insisted.
“Self-defense is nature’s oldest law. We’re not here about you running. We know what you were going through,” I assured her.
“Ed is still determined to find you, so be aware of that. We’re here about Luke’s murder,” Gus warned.
“Murder? I’ve cut off all contact. I have no idea what happened,” she said.
“He was strangled to death by a python. I know you called Luke when you got safe. I tracked the call to a diner about forty miles from here. If I can do it, it’s possible Ed could’ve gotten info out of Luke,” Gus said.
“You think Ed killed Luke? It’s possible, to get info, but he’d use his fists, not a snake,” Shelley chuckled.
A bedroom door creaked shut.
Shelley waved it off. “The doors don’t stay closed. The whole trailer is all catawampus.”
“Mind if I talk to Eddie?” I asked.
She fumbled for a tissue. “I guess. He’s still a boy. I kept him from stuff.”
I walked down the hall and tapped on his door. “Eddie, can we talk?”
He opened the door and I saw it. Or rather, them!
The hissing was hard to escape. All around the room were glass enclosures with reptiles of all sorts. “Wow, Mrs. Gillis said you were into frogs, but you’ve got all kinds here.”
“Yep. Want to help feed them?” Eddie asked.
“Could I? Thanks.” It was probably a great honor, but I would’ve happily declined.
“Snakes aren’t bad like people say. They’re just different. Sort of scary, but they only have their mouths to protect them,” he said with a smile.
I nodded. “Did you have a lot of snakes back in Sweet Grove?”
He frowned and his shoulders sank three inches. “I had to let them all go. Mom said we couldn’t take them. I had to catch a whole new set of pets.”
“Well, it’s a very impressive collection. I see rattlers and cottonmouths.” I looked around and wanted to run.
“Here. Grab a mouse by the tail and toss it in. Be quick.” Eddie put his hand on the lid of the snake enclosure.
I opened the shoebox marked mice, expecting one to jump out at me. They were dead, if not mostly dead. I quickly grabbed one tail and closed the box. This was a trust thing. I got it. Eddie didn’t trust a lot of people.
“Ready? He’s hungry. One, two, toss,” Eddie instructed.
I tossed and the snake caught the mouse in the air. Eddie closed the lid and I could breathe again.
“You’re cool. Not like some girls. Do you know anyone who has a python?” he asked.
Python?
“No, I don’t know anyone who has a collection anywhere near yours. Pythons aren’t native here though, right?” I asked.
“Right. You’re smart. That’s why I need someone who has one. I got my last one from a kid in high school. His family was moving away and his parents wouldn’t let him take his collection. He released the native stuff, but the exotic ones were too dangerous. I got a free snake.” He finished the feeding. “Here I clean out the mice traps around the trailers. Some people give me some cash for it, but at least it’s free food.”
“I don’t see a python. What happened to your python when you had to move so fast?” I asked.
He sat on the bed and looked at his shoes. “I left it for a friend, but I don’t think he liked it. He probably got rid of it.”
“What friend?” I asked.
He shot me a look that scared me a bit. “It’s Pastor Luke’s fault. We had a house and a dad. Now we’re in a trailer and it barely has anything in it. The heat won’t work. I knew we’d be worse off. Dad told me if we ever had to leave, it’d be worse.”
“I’m sorry it’s worse, but I heard your dad could be mean.” I had to be careful.
Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Why do you think I kept a bunch of snakes? He thought I was badass. I told Mom, if it got too bad, I wouldn’t feed the snakes for a while so they were starving. We’d wait for Dad to come home drunk…then guide him into my bedroom. I’d dump some dead mice on him and then pull the lids off. We’d lock the door behind us and brace it with something. They’d attack him for sure. That many venomous bites and a python? Then we’d lie to the cops. Say that Dad went into the wrong room because he was drunk. I wasn’t there because I’d slept with my sister. She got scared Dad wasn’t home yet.” Eddie batted his big innocent eyes that any judge would believe.
“Wow. Why didn’t you?” I asked.
“Mom wouldn’t. She told me that was wrong. Pastor Luke was going to help. But Dad was right. This is worse. Is Pastor Luke really dead?” Eddie asked.
“You left your python with Luke?” I asked.
Eddie shook his head. “Not really. I left it with a guy at school. I told him to wait until Sunday service and slip the snake into the pastor’s house. Put it in the closet or something. It was a surprise, but he’d like it. He wanted the snake.”
“Your friend believed that?” I asked.
“Never said he was my friend. I wasn’t sure he’d do it. Maybe he’d keep it or try to sell it. But he was always getting in trouble during Sunday school. Especially when Pastor Luke taught it. He loved the idea of a prank. It’s just a snake. Not even venomous,” Eddie replied.
“Eddie, you know how pythons kill their prey, right?” Gus asked. I hadn’t heard him come in.
“Duh, pythons crush. Wind around a mouse and squeeze.” Eddie mimicked being squeezed.
“How did your classmate at school handle the snake?” Gus asked.
“His dad does those roundups when there are too many rattlers. He had a stick where you can clamp the head, sort of. Or behind the head. Works good on the venomous ones. Pythons, you gotta control the body too. But the kid helped his dad at roundups so he was used to it,” Eddie explained.
“What guy does roundups in our town?” I asked.
“Oh, his dad doesn’t live with him. He goes out to the east end of Tennessee where his daddy works now. Divorce. But he did so well at a roundup that his daddy gave him his very own snake stick and a canvas bag to hold ’em in.” Eddie sounded envious.
“That sounds really cool, but snakes are dangerous,” I commented.
Eddie nodded. “I know. I’m careful. Never got bit. My sister never got bit either. I’d kill the snake that did that.”
Gus knelt down and looked Eddie in the eye. “Eddie, your python squeezed Pastor Luke to death.”
Eddie sighed, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. “It’s his own fault, then.”
“What?” I asked.
“He made us move. He said he’d help us. I couldn’t let that snake go in the wild. That’d be wrong. The least Pastor Luke could’ve done w
as help him find a new home. He wasn’t a bad snake. If you fed him, he was like a lap dog.” Eddie folded his arms.
“Eddie?” Shelley asked through her tears.
“I didn’t mean for the snake to kill him.” Eddie tucked his chin into his chest. “Snakes are animals. They follow their instincts.”
Gus got down on Eddie’s level. “Did your friend have anything to do with slipping snakes into local businesses? Maybe like a decoy?”
Eddie shrugged. “Maybe. He liked the attention.”
“How are you in contact with this boy?” Shelley demanded.
“Duh, social media. I created a fake account. I can go to the library or log on from your tablet. It doesn’t have my name or any information,” Eddie replied.
“Kids and technology,” I acknowledged.
“Were you in contact with your dad?” Shelley asked.
Eddie shook his head. “No, I was hoping Trevor left a snake in his place, but he said it’d be too obvious. It would’ve been easier than scaring or hurting Luke.”
Shelley shook her head. “Luke is dead and he helped us.”
“I had a better plan using my own pets that Dad let me have, but cuz I’m a kid, no one listens. Now Pastor Luke is dead and Daddy will come for us. Then it’ll be worse,” Eddie said through the big tears of a kid being brave.
“We won’t let that happen,” Gus promised.
“Promises don’t mean jack. Kids know a liar,” Eddie said.
I wiped away a tear.
Shelley hugged her son. “I swear, I won’t let him hurt you.”
“I won’t let him hurt me or Christy. I told him, he touches us and he’ll find water moccasins in his boots. He can throw out my whole collections, I’ll find more. I’ll fill his rig full of snakes. I can and I will.” Eddie broke down sobbing on his mother’s shoulder.
“Eddie, if you tell the judge how bad it is, he can block your daddy from seeing you,” I suggested.
Shelley and Eddie both chuckled through their tears.
