Trouble in Paradise

by Brown, Deborah

  “Don’t you ever lay one of your grimy fingers on me again,” I growled, but my bravado was starting to fail.

  Kibble rushed me like a bear, jerking me around and off my feet in a crushing bear clench. “You dumb mouthy bitch,” he hissed in my ear, shaking me until I thought my brains would scramble. “I hate you more than I did Cosmo.” Spit flew out of Kibble’s mouth.

  He opened the laundry room door, sending me airborne across the small space. My head hit with a thud against one of the dryers.

  “Cosmo?” I reached for my Glock, but Kibble was one-step faster, twisting my arm as the gun dropped to the floor. He kicked it under the dryer.

  “What the hell’s wrong with you?” I screamed as loud as I could.

  “Scream one more time and I’ll stab you in the throat,” he threatened, pulling a switchblade from the front of his pants. “Don’t think anyone’s going to hear you. The place is deserted and the sheriff call was a friend of mine.”

  ‘Focus!’ My instructor always shouted at me. I jumped up, kicking Kibble in the upper thigh. He fell back, blocking the door. The knife fell to the floor and I scrambled after it, but he kicked me hard and pushed my face into the concrete.

  Triumph showed in his eyes; he knew he had me blocked in. I wouldn’t go down without a fight, but I couldn’t discount the fact that he was three times my size and a foot taller. I’d make sure he got the death penalty by leaving enough DNA to seal his fate.

  “Have you lost your mind? Just leave and we’ll forget this ever happened.” I had my back against the far wall. “You’re not going to get away this.” I needed to keep him talking to buy time; someone had to come home soon.

  “I have before,” he said, his laugh hysterical. “I’m leaving alright and taking you with me. So sad,” he mocked. “You’ll disappear without a trace. This time I’ll use weights so there’s no chance of you floating onshore. Maybe a gnawed on piece or two, but that can’t be helped.”

  His eyes told me he was savoring this moment. I needed to regroup for the fight of my life. “At least tell me why you want to kill me. Is this about asking you to move?”

  “You’re always getting in other people’s business, asking questions, snooping where you don’t belong. You know how I know you’re not going to be missed and that there’s a long line of people who hate you? Joseph’s old lady. She kept a log of everything you did and reported back.”

  “You killed Cosmo? Why?”

  “That dumb bastard. Barbie Doll told me he forced her into sex, then blackmailed her. Said he would ruin our marriage by telling me about it if she didn’t continue to service him when he called.”

  Kibble laughed, scratching his head like he had bugs. “The best part? Not one word of what Barbie told me was true. She didn’t tell me until after Cosmo floated up that she was testing our relationship, wanted proof of my love.”

  “How did you get Cosmo out into the Gulf?”

  “He never saw it coming. I knew he needed the cash and tossed him a side job when I knew there wasn’t another boat leaving out for a few days. When we got out to the middle of the Gulf, I beat him until I’d broken most of his bones, then threw his ass in the water. I never expected him to wash up. Damn those currents.”

  “What about your crew?” Half a dozen men work his boat, and all of them stood by while Cosmo got beaten to death and they all kept quiet? That was shocking to me.

  “They were ordered to stay below; it was a personal issue between me and Cosmo. None of my crew would dare talk. They know I’d make an example of them, cut them up alive and throw ’em in the water for shark bait.”

  “Did you even bother to ask around to see if anyone ever saw them together?” When Kibble left town I’d never seen Barbie with anyone but Angie, and their relationship was well known.

  Kibble’s face puffed up, even angrier. “You’re like everyone else, no one believing my girl.”

  “What do I have to do with all this?” I asked.

  “You snotty bitch. You beat Barbie twice when I wasn’t around, ’n’ got her fired from her job. You tried to have Kibble Junior put in foster care and now we’ll be out on the street. I caught Barbie crawling out the bathroom window and she told me she did it because she was afraid of you.”

  “If the three of us could sit down and talk we could straighten this out.”

  Barbie had a job? There were rumblings that she was the neighborhood drug runner for that pony tailed weasel, a big time dealer who couldn’t get his hands dirty since he was still on felony probation.

  “I’m going to straighten this out all right, you’re going to die.” Kibble clapped his hands. “You’ll be lucky number three.”

  “Three? You killed someone else?”

  “Five years ago Batty’s torso washed up on shore. He’d been fish food for a long time. Another smart, know-nothing ass who thought he could fool with my wife. I thought I’d sent a pretty good message the first time with Batty, but I guess Cosmo must not have understood my ‘no touch’ policy.”

  “You murdered two men based on what Barbie told you?”

  “First, I never murdered anyone. I pushed Batty overboard. Not my fault he couldn’t swim and he drowned. Cosmo was alive when he went in the water. He could’ve dog paddled to shore if he hadn’t been unconscious. Dumb bastard sank. I got a boner feeling his bones snap under my fist,” Kibble bragged.

  All this carnage based on lies from that evil wife of his. “I’ll give you money, you can go anywhere you want.”

  “That sounds good but you know what I’d like better, is to beat you until every single one of your bones is broken and then toss you over for fish food. Sharks love fresh blood.”

  I didn’t entertain the thought of his plan succeeding. He was going to get the fight of my life; he’d have to drag my dead ass off this property. I tried to stay calm, waiting for him to make the first move.

  “I know you’re thinking there’s a way out of here, and there is. I promise you’ll be alive.” Kibble grinned. “That big dick brother of yours threatened me. I’ll have to attend your funeral out of respect so I can watch Brad cry like a girl.”

  “You’ll never get away with this.” My family flashed before my eyes, happy that I always told them, ‘Love you.’

  “Ready to leave?” he asked as he advanced, reaching for my hair. I let out a blood curdling scream, jumped, extended my leg, and connected just short of his groin. His belly fat protected his small brain.

  “Bitch,” Kibble hissed, spraying me with spit.

  Swinging my fist, I aimed for his throat and caught the side of his neck.

  Stunned for a nanosecond, he jerked me off my feet like a stuffed animal and shook me back and forth. My head whiplashed so hard I thought my neck would snap. I sank my nails into his back, like claws, raking downward, ripping his skin open, blood coming out in tiny spurts.

  Kibble screamed, his grip loosened. Grabbing a fistful of my hair, he dragged me up to eye level, then slapped me with his open hand, followed by his fist.

  I crumpled like a sack. He tightened his hold, and I sank my teeth into his forearm, clamping on. He hit me in the side of the head and rammed it against the wall.

  “Kibble!” someone yelled, followed by rapid-fire gunshots. Kibble let go of me and slid to the ground.

  CHAPTER 36

  “Open your damn eyes,” Brad pleaded and rolled Kibble off my legs.

  “Stop yelling, my head hurts.” I flexed my feet, thankful I wasn’t paralyzed.

  “What a fat lard.” Brad scooped me up in his arms and carried me out of the laundry room. “Don’t look at him.”

  “Where the hell did you come from? I didn’t have any more for him, gave it everything I had. He was just too big for me.”

  “That’s not a very nice thank you,” Brad complained, kicking open the pool gate, sitting me on a chaise by the pool.

  “Have I told you lately that you’re my very favorite brother?”

  “Why didn’t
you shoot him? Surely you don’t wear a holster without a gun,” Brad said as he examined my swelling face, sitting down next to me.

  “Kibble got the jump on me, knocked my Glock out of my hand and kicked it under the dryer.” I leaned my head against Brad’s chest and cried. “I thought I got shot.”

  “You look like crap, but no bullet wounds.” He rubbed my back. “Stop with the tears, you know I hate that. And I’m your brother they don’t work on me.”

  “Yes… they do…,” I choked as tears streamed down my face.

  He touched my face gently. “I forced myself not to think about what if I got here too late to warn you.” He checked me over, did the finger test. “How many?” He held up two fingers.

  “Six. You need to call 911 or something.”

  “If you can dazzle me with your humor, you’ll live. Your voice sounds weird; must be the fault of the fat lips.” Brad called Kevin, informed him that in addition to paramedics, he’d need to call out a coroner van. The conversation was short as Brad related few details. “Agreed.”

  “What was that about and when did you get Kevin’s number?” I wiped my nose on his shirt.

  “I told him Kibble was dead and he said ‘good riddance.’” Brad hugged me. “Kevin wanted to meet the guy who was dating his sister. Said he got tired of hearing from Liam how cool I was. Having met you and Mother, he didn’t know what to expect. The four of us went to dinner, had a great time, and we swapped numbers.”

  I nodded, somewhat absently. “I wish I’d shot Kibble.”

  “Better this way. Word will get around the Westin family packs and isn’t afraid to shoot your ass. Weeds out the weak-kneed criminals,” he boasted and lightly touched the bruises on my face, anger in his eyes.

  “You never come here. How did you know to show up today?”

  “Pretzel cornered me earlier at the fish scales; told me Kibble was in an out of control rage about shutting your mouth. Told me Barbie winds Kibble up, and then people end up in the hospital.”

  “Kibble killed Cosmo and a fisherman named Batty a few years back,” I told him. “Barbie told Kibble that Cosmo forced himself on her and then blackmailed her into having sex.”

  Brad was stunned. “Cosmo never had sex with Barbie. When he wasn’t working, he spent every minute with his kids. Custody was already a fragile issue with the ex-girlfriend. He wouldn’t have mucked that up for a skank like Barbie Shiner. Every man I know steered clear of Barbie because of Kibble.”

  “Barbie waited until after Cosmo washed up to tell Kibble it was all a lie. From day one I knew the Shiners were trouble but I had no idea.”

  “This should surprise me but it doesn’t,” Brad said. “She’s come down to the docks just to start trouble and leaves when fists are flying.”

  We both turned to look as sirens screamed into the driveway. “Don’t move,” Brad ordered. “I’ll send the paramedics to you.”

  Kevin ran through the pool gates. “Who shot Kibble?”

  “I did,” Brad said. “Gun’s here on the ground by my right leg.” He pointed.

  “You okay?” Kevin asked me, kneeling down in front of me.

  “Bruised, that’s it. Where’s Liam? I don’t want him to see a dead body.”

  “I called Julie on the way over here and told her to stay away until I give the ‘all clear.’ If something had happened to you, Liam couldn’t see that, he would’ve… I don’t know, he likes you. This isn’t the way we like to solve the few murders we do have.”

  I turned to Brad. “Let me use your phone.” I called Zach, but it went straight to voicemail.

  A cute paramedic walked in the pool gate pulling a stretcher, then dropped his medical bag on the ground next to me. “How are you doing?”

  “My head aches, my face is throbbing, and there isn’t a place on my body that doesn’t hurt. Other than that, I’m damn grateful to be alive since I didn’t think it would end this way. The best I hoped for was a quick death on the laundry room floor.”

  His name tag read ‘Nickel,’ and he checked me over in efficient fashion. “We’re going to transport you to the hospital to be checked over and possibly get you an MRI. Head injuries are nothing to fool with.”

  “What about the dead guy?”

  Nickel looked over his shoulder. “He’ll be there for a while. The sheriff needs to finish his investigation. After that, the coroner comes out, signs off and then the guy can be moved. I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait! How long does that take? Dead bodies are bad for business.” But he was already out of earshot.

  Brad came up beside me. “Kevin said he’ll talk to you after,” he stressed, “after you’re released from the hospital.”

  Veta Lindsey stared out of Joseph’s kitchen window. “I need to stop at Joseph’s before we leave.”

  “What’s so important?” Brad asked.

  “Come with me.” I made my way slowly to Joseph’s cottage, hanging on Brad’s arm, pounding on the door.

  “Damn, you’ve got a better cop knock than cops I know.” Brad laughed.

  Veta looked out the window; a second later the door opened. “Is it necessary for you to knock like an offensive person?”

  “You’re lucky I don’t kick your ass,” I yelled. Brad grabbed the back of my shirt. “You were home the whole time. You had to hear me screaming and you did nothing, not even a call to the sheriff.”

  “Don’t you…,” Veta started.

  “You listen to me. Get off my property now and if you ever come back, I’ll have you arrested. I’m getting a restraining order tomorrow.”

  Brad put his arm around me. “You bitch,” he hissed at Veta. “Kibble was going to kill her. What did Madison ever do to you?”

  Joseph came to the door. “What’s going on?”

  “How long have you been home?” I asked.

  “Just. Kibble was already dead,” Joseph said.

  “Your girlfriend is one of the reasons Kibble came after me. She told him I was asking questions about Cosmo’s death. In fact, she’s been going all over town asking questions about me, spreading gossip. Do you know that today she was home while I was screaming for help? And ignored my pleas? Get her off my property and she’d better never come back.”

  Joseph looked at Veta in disgust. “I’m sorry, Madison,” he said.

  Brad’s phone rang and I handed it back. Nickel helped me onto the stretcher. I noticed Brad holding the phone away from his ear.

  “Your boyfriend’s not happy,” Brad informed me as he walked along with the stretcher. “Hard to make out all of his words since he yelled until he hung up on me. Zach’s headed to the hospital. I’ll take care of everything here.”

  “You get to call Mother,” I told Brad as the back doors of the van closed.

  * * *

  The nice thing about arriving at the ER in an EMS van, you cut to the front of the line. I immediately got rolled into my very own cold cubicle and left to stare at the ugly green walls. “The doctor will be right with you.” Despite the fact that the waiting room had been filled to overflow capacity, behind the scenes was surprisingly quiet.

  A hand tossed back the white curtain. “What are you doing here?” I asked Dr. A, a friend of Fab’s. My past had suddenly caught up with me. Dark haired and dark eyed, he made you feel like you were his only patient. He’d checked me over once after an adventure with Fab that went awry. “What’s the ‘A’ stand for anyway?”

  “Ardzruniannos. I vacation here and fill in on occasion when they’re short staffed and I’m available. My sister is the hospital administrator. She’s hard to say no to.”

  I interrupted. “We have the doctor-patient thing don’t we? Not one word to my boyfriend Zach that we know each other, how we met or anything else? Oh and not one word about knowing Fab.”

  Dr. A arched his eyebrows looking at me like I needed a psych consult. “Why is it you’re black and blue when we meet up? Tell me what happened this time?”

  “A few bruises are
better than what Kibble, my attacker, had planned. He slapped me, used his fists… I put up a fight but my vision went blurry when he beat my head against the wall.”

  “I’m ordering an MRI and if that comes back normal, you’ll stay overnight and go home tomorrow.” Dr. A shook his finger. “Try to be a good patient.”

  “I’ll do whatever you say… but at home. I hate hospitals; they make me anxious. Yes, I’m a grown adult but I want to be taken care of by my mother. It’s better for it to be your idea than for me to sneak out the door. Keep in mind, if you’re going to be living here, there’re perks to knowing me.”

  “Is this your polite attempt at blackmail?”

  “I hear Zach’s voice. The boyfriend is here, remember your promise,” I said.

  “What the hell happened?” Zach blew into the room, a force to be reckoned with. His hand got tangled in the curtain and he almost jerked the rod down.

  Dr. A sized up Zach. “You have two minutes and then she’s going for tests,” he said, before retreating to the other side of the curtain.

  “Kibble happened. He confessed to killing Cosmo and some guy named Batty.” I related the details to Zach. “Can Barbie be prosecuted for her part in a murder that happened because of her lies? She had to know the chaos she was setting into motion.”

  Zach kissed my forehead. “No wonder I could barely understand your message; look at your face! I know your lips are probably painful but I’m thinking nasty thoughts about them.”

  I rolled my eyes, but smiled. “It hurts to laugh.”

  “Kibble’s lucky he’s dead,” Zach said. “He got off easy with a couple of bullets. I checked and he was never on anyone’s list of possible suspects. There are no secrets on the docks. Why would they protect him?”

  “Fear possibly. You know the tendency of people around this town to mind their own business at the wrong time.” A nurse walked through the door pushing a wheel chair. “Don’t go anywhere, I need a ride home.”