Mr. Cooter's Bowling Ball

by Harper Harris

  “I see we’re at Red Rivers. Are we here for a nice lunch perchance?”

  I shrugged, not quite ready to reveal all. I parked the car not too far from the door and all of us got out to head towards the door. Before we were all the way up the steps, Henry, the butler for Red Rivers, opened the doors for us.

  “Miss Jacobs, Miss Butler. How lovely of y’all to grace us with your presence.”

  Everyone knew we were coming since I’d called ahead, but they were also very aware that Ashley did not know what was going to happen. A few seconds after Henry greeted us, the Great Danes, Snickerdoodle and Macaroon rushed out and came to say hi. Shortbread was super happy to see his parents and Ashley was tickled to get some sweet doggie kisses.

  “Miss Sylvia and company are currently in the drawing room, if the two of you will follow me?”

  We got all the dogs inside and then we followed Henry down to the drawing room.

  “Ladies, Miss Jacobs and Miss Butler are here to see you.”

  I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get used to being announced. I didn’t hate it, it was just weird.

  Miss Sylvia got up and out of her seat and gave me a huge hug.

  “Kari! How wonderful to see you again! You must visit more often.”

  Miss Delilah and Miss Ginny were next, giving the same sentiment. I hadn’t really visited since my last time here. I’d called a few times but getting out to Red Rivers was a bit of a trek and I had gotten very caught up in work. I did feel a little bad, though. Miss Sylvia really was a sweetheart, as were Miss Delilah and Miss Ginny.

  “Sylvia told me why you’re here,” Ginny said giving me a bit of a wink.

  Ashley clearly caught that, but, lucky for me, the cat wasn’t let out of the bag. Thankfully, Ginny remembered that it was all meant to be a surprise. She looked a lot better since the last time I saw her. She was a lot more lucid and it looked like everyone was pretty good friends at this point. I was happy for all of them.

  “Ginny!” Delilah whispered, lightly elbowing her friend. While Ginny was pretty obvious, I didn’t mind the lack of subtly given she didn’t give anything away.

  “Oh, Delilah, it’s just a little fun!” Sylvia laughed.

  She pointed at me like she just had a revelation.

  “Henry will bring us some refreshments.” And like he knew we were talking about him, Henry popped in with a tray of fresh iced tea and cookies. “Now I’m going to go upstairs and retrieve what we talked about.”

  Sylvia gave me a wink and Ashley saw that too. It seemed subtly wasn’t the word of the day for anyone, not that I minded too much. I’d forgotten how fun these gals could be.

  We all took seats around the table in the drawing room while Sylvia headed upstairs.

  “Dear, you must tell us how you’re liking Appleton!” Delilah exclaimed. I sat back with a glass of iced tea and a chocolate chip cookie. I took a small bite and sip before answering.

  “It’s really nice. I’ve made some great friends,” I said, motioning towards Ashley, “and work has been great. It was a bit of a bumpy start, but everything turned out okay.”

  Ginny’s eyes lit up at my statement. “I remember hearing about that!” She turned her head towards Ashley, “Poor dear, I hope all that unpleasantness wasn’t too taxing.”

  Ashley smiled and shook her head. “It wasn’t too bad. I mean, in the beginning I was very worried, but with Kari in my corner everything turned out okay. She’s really the best friend a girl could have.”

  I blushed, a little sheepish, but I took the compliment because it was so nice.

  Before I could say anything more, Sylvia was back with my gift to Ashley in her hands. We all turned to her and Ashley gasped when she saw the puppy wriggling around. She went between looking at the dog, Sylvia, and me.

  After a few seconds, she asked, “Who’s that?”

  “This is Biscotti, little Shortbread’s sister,” Sylvia answered.

  “Can I hold her?”

  “Of course, hun!” Sylvia handed the young dog to Ashley and she nuzzled into Biscotti’s fawn-coated fur.

  She was making all the cute little sounds she made whenever she held Shortbread.

  “Oh, she’s such a cutie.”

  I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer and I finally spat it out, “Well, she’s your cutie!”

  Ashley looked at a little confused and then she suddenly understood.

  “Oh my goodness, really?”

  I nodded.

  “Like, really, really? She’s mine, mine?”

  I nodded again. The tears started to flow right then, and I was worried it may have been a little too much.

  “I can’t believe you went to all this trouble!” Ashley said, thanking me through tears, basically bawling.

  “Don’t worry about that! It’s your birthday and I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Biscotti is a present from me to you and I’m so happy that you love her so much.”

  “Love her! She’s family! Biscotti is a certified Butler member from now until forever.”

  She was basically talking to the dog at this point and I just let it play out. Sylvia got back into her seat and we let Ashley revel with her new friend. I knew Ashley would love to have a puppy of her own. She was always loving on Shortbread and I could tell she’d make a perfect dog mom. Plus, I thought it would be nice for Shortbread to have a friend – and his sister to boot. I was sure they’d be the best of friends.

  Eventually, Ashley stopped crying and she calmed down a bit. That was good since there was a part two to her gift.

  “I wanted to let you know that we also enrolled Biscotti in obedience classes. In fact, she’ll be going to school with Shortbread. The four of us will get to go through this together.”

  I thought taking the classes together would be a nice way for us to spend time together and get a chance to bond with our puppies even more.

  “Oh, Kari. I don’t know how to thank you. This is really the perfect gift!”

  “I’m so happy you like it.”

  I knew Ashley loved dogs being that her grandfather was an amateur canine breeder, but I was still a little nervous. This gift was kind of a big one and a small part of me worried that it might be too much, but Ashley seemed to love it, so I was happy.

  We spend a little more time talking with the gals. Sylvia and Delilah were much closer with Ginny now. They’d been spending a whole lot of time together and I was happy that Ginny seemed to be getting better. Red Rivers also looked to be in better condition. It looked like Sylvia’s plan to use Snickerdoodle and Macaroon’s litter to keep them afloat really took off. I couldn’t be happier for them.

  It was time for us to go and we said goodbye to the ladies. Henry escorted us back to the front. Ashley hadn’t let Biscotti go the entire time. She was cradling the puppy like a baby. That little girl was going to be spoiled.

  “It’s always lovely seeing you Miss Jacobs. Please come again soon. You too, Miss Butler.”

  He opened the door for us and we left. I always loved talking with Henry. He was just so proper. I was about half sure he liked me, but that was more than enough.

  As we were making our way to the car, I saw someone walking up the way.

  “I think that’s Greg Olsen,” I said.

  I was pretty sure it was Greg Olsen. I hadn’t seen him since the last time I was at Red Rivers, but I hadn’t forgotten his face over the past few months. I waved to him and he walked over to me and Ashley.

  “Hi, Kari. It’s been a while.”

  “Greg, it’s so good to see you. I’m sure you’ve met Ashley at some point?”

  The two of them nodded. The smallness of the town still surprises me sometimes. I didn’t even know everyone in my high school. Maybe if I saw their face, I’d have known we were in the same school, but being able to definitively know everyone in town is something new to me.

  “How have you been since I last saw you?” Greg asked.

  “Things have been p
retty good. I moved in with Ashley and work’s been going great. I really like Appleton. A few adjustments, but it’s been a relatively smooth experience. How about you? How are things at White Oaks?”

  “Um, the museum has been doing okay. There’s still a bit of work to be done, but we’re definitely on the right track. Mom’s been doing a lot better. I’m actually here to pick her up,” he pointed over to the house.

  “Yeah, we were just in there. She helped us out with a little surprise.”

  I looked over at Biscotti, still in Ashley’s arms. Greg looked at her, too.

  “She told me about that. Can I pet her?”

  Ash nodded, and Greg softly petted Biscotti’s head. It was quick little interaction and then Greg looked back up at me.

  “Uh, before you go, I was hoping I could actually get your number. I was going to ask you for it before you left, but then you left in a hurry to get your car towed before I had a chance,” he took a deep breath right there and I could see a blush creeping up. I smiled because Greg was pretty cute, and it was adorable seeing him get a little flustered, “and I was hoping to possibly ask you out to dinner or something and, yeah, that’s what I wanted to say.”

  He stopped a bit suddenly, so there was some silence, but I filled it pretty quickly.

  “Of course I can give you my number. Let me put it in your phone.” Greg handed me his cell and I typed my number in for him. He didn’t try to ask me out to dinner right then, but I was surprisingly looking forward to that text. I hadn’t really thought of Greg like that when I was here, but now that the possibility was there, maybe? I’d have to wait and see.

  “Thanks, I’ll make sure to call.”

  We said goodbye and Ashley and I headed over to my car.

  After we were inside, dogs secured in the back and driving away, I noticed that Ashley seemed deep in thought.

  “What is it?” she sighed.

  “Well, I was just thinking why no one is ever trying to get my number? I think I have some pretty exciting digits I could plug into a couple of phones.”

  The way she phrased it was funny, so I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. I didn’t understand why no one was asking for her number either. Ashley’s a certified cutie and so sweet and nice. Maybe they all just found her a little intimidating. She was from a fairly prominent family and grew up with wealth, but she was down-to-earth and friendly, something easy to see almost right after getting to know her.

  “I’m sure they’ll be along soon. Phones ready to have your number added.”

  She giggled, and we continued on our way. We had one more stop to make, Cooter’s dump. I was going down there to do an iPod swap with him. I made a playlist of international dance music I was hoping he would like. We’d had one other swap before this and I was super impressed by the depth and breadth of his collection. I was hoping to impress him with this new playlist, so I really tried to up the ante. I knew he’d have to give me props for this one. If not, I wasn’t sure how I was going to impress him.

  We pulled into the dump and instead of finding what I expected, Cooter’s regular dump and junk, there were police and county vehicles everywhere. The place was glutted. I couldn’t think of anything to explain what was happening. Ash and I got out of the car to get a closer look. No one seemed to be paying any attention to us, so we were able to get pretty close to the action.

  “Oh my gosh,” I heard Ashley whisper once we got closer.

  The deputies were drawing a chalk-line around a body lying among the garbage. Next, I saw a policewoman removing something heavy in an opaque bag. I couldn’t tell what was in the evidence bag, but I also wasn’t very caught up on it. My mind was racing trying to put together a timeline from almost nothing. While I was trying to put the pieces together, I felt Ashley tap on my arm – a hard enough tap to get me out of my head.

  “Kari, look!”

  She was pointing to the other end of the dump where I saw Cooter Prescott being led to a police car. His hands were cuffed behind his back and, immediately, I knew something was very, very wrong.

  Chapter Three

  Sunday

  I didn’t want to waste a second, so I rushed over and blurted out, “I’m Mr. Prescott’s lawyer! What’s going on here?”

  I slowed down because I realized it wasn’t a great idea to rush a bunch of cops especially right after they just found a body. I kept walking but slowed down. I was pretty sure Coot hadn’t asked for any representation at this point, but the fact that he was being arrested was enough for me to jump and take the job.

  He was a bit of an outsider in Appleton. I didn’t think anyone would jump at the chance to defend him. They’d probably only do it if they were forced to by the county. Most people in town looked at him like he was somewhere between a derelict and a menace. Sure, he was a little weird, but Cooter was a really nice guy and deserved a lot better than he usually got.

  After my outburst, everyone stopped moving for a second and the officers looked at me like I was playing a trick on them. They turned to Cooter next.

  “Is she really your lawyer?” one of them asked.

  Basically, everyone in town thought of me as some bigshot lawyer since I was Judge Jacobs niece and then there was that whole insane case with the murdering judge. I’d accidentally made a name for myself.

  Cooter gave me a wide-eyed look and then nodded to confirm something that really wasn’t true until a second ago.

  “You can come meet him down at the station. Once he’s booked and processed, the two of you can talk.”

  I knew this was how things went down, but the brusqueness didn’t sit well with me. I had dealt with the Appleton police department before and they’re typically nice enough, but this behavior reminded me of when Ashley had been arrested. They didn’t play around when it came to murder, it seemed. As it should be, admittedly.

  I had to say something before they took him away, so Cooter at least knew his rights.

  “Cooter, just know you don’t have to say anything and I recommend you don’t until I can come meet with you at the jail, okay?”

  He just nodded, but he was relatively calm given the situation. In fact, Cooter seemed unfazed by the arrest which was beyond weird given the severity of the charges.

  I thought he wasn’t going to say anything, but he said, “I’ll take your advice, but it’ll have to be either pro bono or I could pay you in junk.”

  The police placed him into the car after that and I wasn’t sure what to take from Cooter’s response. He was so calm that he was, I think, making jokes. I didn’t know what that meant, but I was leaning towards him being innocent.

  Once Cooter was taken away, Ash and I got back into the car.

  “Do you think Cooter –”

  I knew where Ashley’s question was going, and I stopped her right there.

  “I don’t know. He’s a weird dude for sure, but speculation like that never leads anywhere good. If he is innocent, then he’s going through the same thing you did, and you remember how that felt.”

  Ashley did a small shiver.

  “I do remember,” she whispered back. The rest of the car ride was in relative silence. It seemed even the dogs had gotten the hint and stayed quiet and calm.

  We got to the house and once I got Shortbread settled, I quickly left to get back to helping Cooter. Ash promised to watch the pups and make sure they got what they needed.

  I parked close to the front of the police station and ran inside.

  Going to the front desk, I told the officer there, “I’m official counsel for Cooter Prescott. I was hoping I could get a copy of his file.”

  I had to see if he had any prior arrests. Whenever a case went to court, priors always came up. Depending on what I found, that would greatly impact my approach to Cooter’s defense. The officer asked for my ID and I handed it over before she gave me Coot’s file. I stepped to the side to peruse and found nothing too frightening.

  He had had a few small arrests – like a drun
k and disorderly – but it looked like he ended up sleeping it off in the drunk tank once or twice. However, those were from the nineties. His record was clean recently, except for a vandalism charge from not too long ago. It appeared that the charges were dropped, but the file was incomplete, so I had no way to verify how the precinct had closed the case.

  A different officer walked over to me. It looked like he had a question coming for me.

  “Kari Jacobs, I heard you took over presiding over old Prescott’s case.” I nodded to confirm. “Well, then let me give you some of the facts. We haven’t had a chance to write up a report yet, so none of this will be in there.”

  I scrambled to get my notebook out so I could write all of this down.

  “So, what happened?” I asked the officer.

  “The victim was bludgeoned to death around the head with Cooter’s bowling ball. Since we found them in his dump and the murder weapon belonged to him, Prescott seemed to be the likeliest suspect. We all know how much the ol’ guy hates people poking around his place. My guess is, this was the last straw.”

  I knew Cooter didn’t like people in his space, everyone knew that, but I didn’t think it bothered him to the point of him violently bludgeoning someone to death. I wrote everything down, so I wouldn’t forget the officer’s initial words.

  Then I asked, “Could you tell me where Cooter is being held?”

  The officer led me to the jail cells. I was left alone to talk to my client and when I got to Coot, he was sleeping peacefully in his cell. He was the exact opposite of Ashley when she was incarcerated. She was a complete mess when she got arrested, and that wasn’t even that long ago.

  “Cooter? Cooter. Cooter!”

  My calling his name woke him up. He sat up, stretching and yawning.

  “Kari, you’re here.”

  He was so unconcerned, it was bothering me.

  “Of course I’m here! This is a murder charge, Coot! Even if you’re exonerated, something like this can really damage a reputation.”

  And someone like him, who people already consider sketchy, would have an even harder time bouncing back.

  I wasn’t sure my concern was reaching him completely, as his shrug evidenced.