My Sister's Fear

by T. J. Jones

  "Well, Lilly Franklin, alive and well it looks like. Don't worry, it was just the garage. Wallace is over by the front of the house. Next time you decide to run off, tell somebody young lady. You get everybody all riled up thinking Wally did something to you and stuff like this happens."

  Lilly wasn't listening, she was running through the group of onlookers to find Wally.

  Maggie wasn't happy. "Don't blame Lilly for this, Sherriff. What happened to keeping an eye on Wally? Do your job and go find the redneck bastards that did this!"

  "Yes Ma'am, I plan to do that, real soon." He tipped his hat and backed away grinning. Maggie and I walked over to where Wally and Lilly were standing. The old man was wrapped in a blanket with one arm around Lilly.

  He turned to us, his eyes wet. "Worst of it is they killed Jasper. That damn cat never did them no harm. Found him dead, by the front step when I came out. Fire was already so big it lit up the whole yard."

  "Did you see who did this Wally?" I asked.

  "Not for sure, but I thought I seen Levi Davis's truck tearing off down the road. This time I told the Sherriff who it was. What kind of a miserable bastard would kill a cat?"

  "All your Art, Wally. I'm so sorry." Maggie said looking at the rubble.

  "Just blocks of wood, but I wanted to give Lilly that piece I was doing for her. I told y'all she would come back when she was ready." He smiled at the young woman and pulled her closer.

  We stood there in the eerie shadows of the firetrucks LED lights, watching them put out the remnants of the smoking garage and talking to everyone who came up to quiz Lilly about her disappearance and whereabouts. Some were her friends, and some were just nosy or surprised to find her above ground. It was midnight before Maggie and I went home, but I called Camille and told her what had happened, and about Wally's trouble with his medication and our concern for his ability to be on his own going forward. Lilly spent the night at his house. She said they had a lot to talk about.

  We all met for breakfast the next morning, Maggie and I, Wallace and Lilly. Bonnie came up to the table and greeted us like it was just another day, although she did acknowledge Lilly's presence.

  "How's life up north. Heard your shacked up with Maryetta's boy. Hope he don't get mean in his old age like his Momma did." Lilly extended her left hand, showing off the small wedding band. "Nice, does that make you Jewish?"

  "Makes me happy Bonnie."

  "Well, ain't that something? Pretty good thing ain't it Wally?"

  By now I was a pretty big Bonnie fan. She didn't always say it well, but she always knew what needed to be said.

  "I been saying she had to go find her own happiness, and she'd come back to say goodbye, but nobody believed me." He smiled, but there was some sadness.

  Bonnie looked at me. "So Slater, you and Red here, you leaving our little town? Probably tired of getting beat up."

  "It was just the one time, Bonnie. And you know you're going to miss me."

  "Yeah, maybe. For a Yankee you're not so bad."

  Half way through breakfast Kyle Davis walked in, pulled his hat off and walked over to our table. "Lilly, nice to see you, healthy and all. Glad you could shake loose of the Davis family."

  She smiled up at him. "If your brothers were more like you Kyle, maybe I would have stuck around."

  He hesitated, then turned to Wally. "Mr. Weston, there's no replacing your Art, but my Daddy and me talked, and we'd like to rebuild your garage for you. Levi, he's locked up for a bit where he can't cause anyone trouble. I'd like to think he'll learn his lesson, but there's no excuse for his kind of meanness. Maybe it taught my Daddy something too. Times change and we have to change with them. If it takes beating some sense into my brother, I reckon I'll have to do that."

  "Thanks." The old man looked into his coffee cup, then back up at Kyle Davis. "I guess maybe it's time I go live with my sister, like Lilly and everyone's been saying. I'm old and forgetful. I forget to take my medicine or take too much sometimes. My legs don't work the way I want and I don't see so good. I thought I'd die here, but this don't feel much like home anymore."

  "Sorry to hear that. This town will miss you, even if it doesn't know it yet. But we can still rebuild that garage for you, it'll make the property easier to sell." He reached out and shook my hand. "It was good to meet you Mr. Slater, Maggie. If y'all get up this way again stop in here and I'll buy you breakfast. Have a good day."

  Maggie poked me as he walked away. "If you and I don't work out, I'm moving here and getting a job at this Diner."

  I wasn't really worried. "Kyle Davis can find his own partner, I'm keeping you."

  Camille and her mother arrived in town around noon and we all went back to Maryetta's again for lunch. It was settled. Wally would move to Jacksonville and live with his sister. Maggie would take Lilly Kaufman back to her husband, where she could be happy and practice the craft that Wally had taught her. It wasn't a perfect solution, but the best it could be. I checked us out of the hotel and threw everything in my pickup, then went back to the little house by the school to say goodbye to Wallace Weston. He gave me a big hug and told me to come visit in Jacksonville. Then I got in my pickup because I didn't want to watch Lilly say goodbye to the old man. I was afraid there would be a lot of crying and I didn't want it to be me.

  Lilly and Maggie walked over when I started the truck. "Thanks for coming to find me Mr. Slater, and I'm sorry you got beat up on my account."

  "You should thank Maggie, she figured it all out, and kept me from getting a worse pounding than I did. You have a happy life, okay? Red, I'll see you back in Jacksonville."

  "I might stay at Lilly's tonight, it'll be late."

  "Good idea. Could you maybe slow down a little bit? You drive like a maniac."

  "Yes dear." She mocked, then leaned in to kiss me. "Good job Slater, the bad guys are in jail and nobody got killed. We make a hell of a team."

  "That we do." I admitted. "See you at home."

  Chapter Eleven

  Forty was coming in a hurry, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. The thing is, you don't have a lot of choice, at least not any good ones. There had been a few times in my life when I wondered if I was going to make it to forty, but luck, quick reflexes, and my natural abilities with a handgun had gotten me out of some tough spots.

  I've always been a natural when it comes to shooting. I have good eyesight, steady hands, and learned good technique when I was in the Navy. I practiced long hours with my favorite gun, a Sig Sauer 226 9mm, until I was winning most of the base competitions. I had been issued the Sig when I went to work alongside NCIS and I fell in love with it instantly. When I mustered out, I had to leave the gun behind, but I had since picked one up at a local gun store. Most recently I had used it to kill the man hired to assassinate Frank Jeffries' girlfriend.

  Maggie knew some of that story, and since returning from Georgia she hadn't quizzed me about any more of what had transpired while she was laid up with her own bullet wound. It was coming sooner or later, and it wasn't a conversation I was looking forward to.

  Frank Jeffries had been a sick individual on so many levels it was hard to categorize his brand of evil. Early in his marriage he had crossed the line of infidelity, literally, sneaking across Point Road for a one-night stand with Edith Templeton. Davey, the fruit of that union, became my best friend as a young boy and we spent many days swimming with Angela and sometimes Maggie, never dreaming that he was their half-brother. Davey was gay, and considering how close he and Angela were, it was probably a good thing or the situation would have been even more convoluted.

  I had it bad for Angela Jeffries back then, and arguably well into my thirties. If I'm being honest, it was probably my rediscovery of the younger Jeffries girl, grown into a woman that saved me from the kind of life Wallace Weston had lived, always pining for someone he could never have, because it was never in the cards for Angela and me. I had a good feeling about Maggie, despite the fact that she couldn't shoot for shit.


  "I'm doing everything you said, why do I suck at this?" She complained, pulling off her ear protection.

  "You're good at practically everything you do, just relax. Extend your arms a little more, and stop anticipating the shot, you're flinching."

  "I'm tired, maybe I need a lighter gun."

  "Maggie, you're the strongest woman I know. It's because you're all tensed up, you have a death grip on that gun, and that makes you yank the trigger."

  "My hands aren't as big as yours are, maybe that's the difference."

  "Hopefully we never get into a situation where people are shooting at us. If you think you can't shoot now, try it with someone shooting back at you. Forget I said that, we are sticking to less dangerous cases from now on. After you whacked his buddy with that bat, Levi could have really hurt you."

  Maggie slid her gun into its holster and snapped the cover, glowering in my direction. "You have a short memory. It was you that got his butt kicked, I was doing just fine. I've been punched and kicked in competitions a lot harder than that skinny turd Levi could hit, and I picked myself up and kept going. My bruises heal too Slater, same as yours. Quit protecting me. Anytime you don't think I can pull my weight, you let me know."

  I cased my gun and put my tongue in my cheek. "You know I don't want that, but maybe you should leave the gun at home and just carry a club."

  She shrugged and smiled coyly. "If you're going to pick on me, maybe I should cancel your birthday party."

  "Not a surprise party, I guess."

  "Forty is a pretty big deal, you had to know we were planning something. Jasmine and Angela are all over it. It's good those two are finally getting to be friends."

  "Jasmine's seventeen and acts thirty, your sister's thirty-eight and she acts twelve. Match made in heaven."

  "Don't be mean." Maggie snickered. "Angela is getting things figured out. She's not nearly as self-involved as she used to be before the therapy. And Jasmine is good for her, she doesn't cut her any slack and makes her behave. It's upside down, but Jasmine's so incredibly smart and mature she's like the mother Angie never had."

  "Except she did, have a mother."

  "Don't get me started on my Mom, Slater, just be happy Jaz and my sister stopped fighting."

  "Good for me, I get to spend more time with you."

  We climbed in my old pickup and she slid across the seat next to me. Maggie is normally a very practical woman, not a sit next to you as you drive kind of girl. It seemed like an odd place and time to make-out, but I was okay with it.

  "Thanks for trying to teach me how to shoot. Hopefully I'm better at being a pilot, my certification is next week."

  "Piece of cake, you're every bit as good a pilot as I am."

  "I don't know about that, I don't have the feel you do."

  "I've logged hundreds of hours in that Piper, that's the difference. What do you hear from Camille?"

  "She wants us to stop by with a bill. She said to come in, not email it, and to let her know when we're coming. She has something she wants to give us. Oh, and Tommy wants to talk to us about possibly working for him some more, for his law firm."

  "I hope he doesn't want us to chase ambulances. I made it clear I won't stoop to that."

  "That would be safe, you wouldn't have to worry about me chipping a nail."

  "Alright, I'm sorry I said that. I'm sure you could kick Levi Davis's ass in a fight."

  She grinned at me. "Probably not Kyle though. If he wanted to wrestle, I wouldn't be fighting back."

  "Is this how it's going to be? Kyle this, Kyle that? How long is this going to last?"

  "Until I don't think it's funny anymore." She leaned over to kiss me again. "You know I'm kidding. Forty, anything special you want for your birthday?"

  "Other than the obvious?" We were teasing, couldn't hurt to drop a hint.

  "Hmmm, what would be obvious?" She knitted a brow. "Angela is baking a cake, and we're going to decorate around the pool. We do have something special planned, but we're going to wait until after the party to give it to you." The teasing had turned physical, she was biting my ear.

  "Forty is just a number, and it's only a few days away. Maybe we should celebrate early." I suggested. She laughed, then slid over to the other side of the truck and buckled her seat belt.

  "No early birthday presents. Besides, Jasmine and Maryanne want to be there." She laughed at my expression. "It's not what you're thinking, pervert. But Jasmine was right the other day."

  "Jasmine was right about what?"

  "I am pretty horny."

  It was just after lunch the next day when we walked into the Akerman Law office and took our spot in the waiting area. Jarrod brought us coffee and tried to make small talk.

  "I met Jasmine's Mom the other day, she's very pretty. I saw Jasmine too, and she said you never said Hi for me."

  "I thought I did, I don't remember." I said absent mindedly paging through a magazine.

  Maggie had slipped away to the bathroom, and Jarrod must have thought I was lonely. He was a tall guy, unnaturally pale with blotchy skin that might have been freckles or psoriasis and had curly brown hair that hung down over one eye. He kept tossing his head trying to rid himself of the obstruction, but it kept falling back into the same spot repeatedly.

  "Is it true that Jasmine's Mom was in the movies? I mean, the erotic kind? Not judging, but Jasmine doesn't seem like that kind of girl to me."

  "The kind to be in a porno? She's only seventeen, and I don't think that's genetic."

  "We handled the transaction with Maryanne, and she seems normal. Sad, when you have to pay your daughter just so she won't drag your granddaughter off and expose her to that kind of thing."

  "Pretty sure Devine doesn't bring Jasmine on the set."

  "Still, nice that Maryanne would keep Jasmine. Of course, she has more money than she can spend, what with all those oil wells."

  The kid was getting on my nerves. "Do you generally discuss your clients with strangers, Jarrod? I would think that would be something lawyers aren't supposed to do."

  "Sorry! Yeah, it's not. It's just that I know you and Maggie know the whole family so I didn't think it would matter. But, sorry, you're right." He was quiet for a minute while I sat there hoping Maggie would come back soon. "It's just that I really like her, you know?"

  "Who, Devine?" I thought it was funny, he didn't.

  "God no! Jasmine. Do you think she would go out on a date with me?"

  "I think she's seeing someone, but I'm not sure. Call her up, and ask her out. I'm betting you have her number in your files since you obviously snooped through everything else. Worst she could do would be to say no."

  "So you really think she would go out with me? And I wasn't snooping, Mr. Slater, it's my job to proofread the contracts. What if she laughs at me?"

  "She wouldn't. Okay, she might, but she wouldn't be mean about it. She's a really great girl Jarrod, but I can't play Cupid for you. I'm twice your age and women are still a complete mystery to me. Screw up your courage and ask her, that's all you can do. But keep in mind that she's only seventeen."

  "She'll be eighteen soon, a few months. Maybe I can ask her then."

  "You read that in those contracts?"

  "How else would I find out?"

  "I was going to ask the same thing. Jarrod, the best way to get to know a girl is to talk to her, not by reading her file."

  "I'm too dorky to ever have a chance, I better not even call her."

  "Nobody was a bigger dork than me, and look who I ended up with."

  "What are we talking about?" Maggie slid into the chair next to me.

  "How lucky I am." I winked at the kid. "Jarrod is going to ask Jasmine out."

  Jarrod turned a very deep shade of red and stared down at the papers on his desk. "I don't know, maybe."

  Maggie gave me her disapproving look. "I think she might be seeing someone Jarrod."

  "The bag boy at Safeway?" Jarrod wasn't any prize, but the Safeway kid s
truck me as a little too slick, and he had a brand new Mustang. Slick and spoiled. I didn't trust him and Maggie knew it.

  "Jaz is a big girl, Slater."

  "Exactly, call her up Jarrod, couldn't hurt." I was surprised when Maggie agreed with me.

  "Sure Jarrod, I don't mean to discourage you, give her a call. She said she doesn't want to get serious with anyone, so give it a try. Worst she can say is no thank-you."

  "There, see? That's exactly what I just said." I got the look again.

  "Maybe I'll call her, I'll see." Jarrod said. He didn't look too confident, and if I was going to guess, I was stuck with the Safeway guy. Okay, Jasmine was stuck with Safeway guy, not me. She had pointed out, painfully, that she had been around the block; her way of telling me, "I'm a teenager, stay out of my business." Still, I didn't trust the slick kid with the new car, and this was Jasmine. I worried.

  Ten minutes later Tommy's door opened and he came rolling out of his office, followed by a man about my height, dressed in a brightly colored jacket that didn't quite fit around his middle. It must have taken half a bottle of gel to plaster his graying hair back over his head and he sported a tiny mustache that completed the impression that he might well be selling snake-oil. I eased myself down in the chair and lifted my magazine slightly, trying my best to hide behind it.

  "Eric? Eric Slater?" Randall Jenkins stepped across the room and held out his hand. I heard a quiet groan from Maggie when she recognized him.

  "Hey RJ." I shook his hand quickly, hoping he hadn't run it through his hair recently. "How've you been?"

  "You know me, never a dull moment, always in the middle of things. Tommy is helping me with a deal. Well, this is like old times! You're Maggie, right? I think you were probably ten years old when all us guys were hanging out at your house trying to get in Angela's britches. I knew back then you were going to grow up and be a hottie. I should have been nicer to you."

  Maggie had never liked RJ, but she smiled. "That wouldn't have been creepy at all and I'd have a Me-Too story to tell. I knew there was something missing in my life."