Absolute Corruption: Southern Justice Trilogy

by Cayce Poponea

  “No.” The distance between us was suddenly reduced to nothing. His movement startles me, causing me to jump slightly, and place my hand on his chest. It was warm and incredibly solid, and I can feel the quick beating of his heart.

  “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right. What I meant was, I want to be so much more than your friend. But I know you’re struggling with what happened, and I’d like to help with that, too. If you will let me.”

  Heidi’s plane had been delayed coming out of Denver. She phoned me just as I was about to leave work to pick her up. It would be another couple of hours before they could get her on the next plane. She assured me she was fine, and had made a new friend while waiting in the line for a connecting flight. “Preston left me a voicemail saying George had been served while meeting with the church Deacons.”

  I could feel the sheer joy in her voice, finally being free of the man who had enslaved her for all these years. Although it did bug me she was calling her attorney by his first name. “Okay, call me once you’ve boarded your flight, and are almost ready to take off.”

  Austin had wanted to take me to dinner, so we could sit down and get to know each other, without the influence of his family. When I told him I had to collect my sister from the airport, he understood, and offered to come with me. I declined, but made a date for later in the week. With nothing to do for the next several hours, I tossed fate a bone, and called Austin.

  “Hey, did you get your sister okay?”

  I could hear the clicking of his keyboard in the background, and imagined I was on speakerphone. As that’s what I would have done. Did his office look anything like mine? Monitors on every surface that could hold the weight, placed there strategically by the person who would be using them.

  “Her plane was delayed a couple of hours, due to mechanical issues with the connecting flight. So, it seems I have a few hours to kill.”

  “And you thought of me first?”

  Chasing men had never been my style. If I wanted a guy around, I let one in. After the attack, this worked to my advantage, as a way to avoid male contact.

  “Well, ya know how it is. You start calling the people on your contact list, and low and behold, your name starts with the letter A.”

  “So I win because I am at the top of the alphabet?” He chuckled, “I can live with that.”

  “Is the offer for dinner still open, or do I need to look at the letter B?”

  Hard laughter filled my ear. I imagined him pushing back his chair, as he tipped his head back toward the ceiling. Tossing down a pen or two, maybe even spinning in his chair.

  “Sweetness, you better forget the rest of the alphabet. I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.”

  When I was sixteen, I had my first real boyfriend, Clayton Thomas. He was sweet enough, and the tallest boy I’d ever met. But, so very shy. His younger brother came to the house one day, and told me Clayton was sweet on me. We held hands, shared a popcorn at the movies, and he would walk me home in the afternoon. It took him nearly four months before he kissed me on my cheek. That summer, his daddy had an accident and had to have surgery. So Clayton had to take over working the farm. He tried to come over as much as he could, but getting his crops in so the family could eat, was more important.

  One day our neighbor made homemade ice cream, and I thought Clayton would enjoy something cold. I packed up a big container, and walked over to his house. When I got to the front door, I found his mother and little brother sitting in the living room, watching television. It bugged me that they were inside with the air conditioning, and Clayton was out in the field. Wayne, his little brother, motioned toward the back of the house. In the last room down the hall, I opened the door to find Clayton getting a blowjob from a girl I didn’t know. I could have stormed out of there, or tossed the ice cream in his face. Instead, I told the story differently when school started back up. The girl became a guy, and everyone believed me. How the story spread after that, wasn’t my fault.

  When I was eighteen and getting ready for my first semester at college, the country fair was going on in Louisville. My friend Samantha, got a car for graduation, and so we headed out for a road trip. We met these two guys who were also going to the fair, Justin and Matt. Samantha was in serious lust with Matt, which left me and Justin to spend some time together. We walked around the fair, and he tried to buy me a lemonade, but I refused. After we made the big loop, he said he had to go and do something, but hoped to see me later. I found Sam by the entrance to the entertainment stage, where she told me the guys were part of one of the bands. We found some chairs, and waited for the show to start. Sure enough, Justin came out on stage, and began singing cover songs. He spotted us half way through a show, and dedicated a song to ‘the pretty girl who doesn’t like lemonade’.

  Justin was touring around with his band. But he called me all the time, and visited me on holidays, and long weekends. The first Thanksgiving we were together; he invited me to spend the holiday with his family. His momma was amazing, and I fell in love with his little sister. He took me around the small town he lived in, showing me off to his friends. At the end of the evening, we ended up in the back of his truck, where he told me he loved me, and I gave him my virginity.

  The next summer Justin auditioned for a talent competition, and was picked up by the production company. I was excited for him and wanted him to succeed. But the harder he worked to fit into the band, the less time he spent with me. Eventually, he stopped calling, and I stopped writing. After that, I devoted every waking moment to getting my career.

  Austin shocked the shit out of me by pulling up to my building in a truck. I had assumed, with his big city ways, he would have been driving an Aston Martin or something equivalent. He pulled up to the cover of the building, jumped out, and opened my door for me.

  “Hey, sweet girl, long time no see.” He sent me that damn wink Claire warned me about, when I called her earlier about seeing Austin. Well that, and to chew her out a little, for running her mouth to Dylan.

  “Hey, handsome, goin’ my way?”

  “You do the leadin’ and I’ll follow.” Something told me he meant that literally, and not just as an anecdote to liven the mood.

  “All right, Cowboy! You promised me dinner, and I’m starving.”

  We ended up at Sesame Burger, my absolute favorite place to eat in Charleston. He told me about his first year at MIT, and how he worked really hard to fit in. I shared the struggles I had being one of the few girls at Caltech.

  “Lainie, you are the first girl I’ve been able to sit and have a conversation with, which didn’t involve some reality TV star.” He made me laugh, and forget the panic which would creep up on me every once in awhile. He even told me these incredibly stupid jokes, I couldn’t help but laugh at.

  “You think you had it bad growing up? I was a computer geek who played chess.”

  “Wait, you play chess?” I watched his face fall, as if he hadn’t meant to say anything. I instantly felt bad for causing the smile to leave his face. “I once tried to learn how to play, but I couldn’t find anybody else who knew how.” It wasn’t a lie, when I was little we had gone to a thrift store for summer clothes. On the counter was this really cool chess set; the players were Civil War soldiers. I must have looked at that set for an hour before Momma dragged me away. I found a book on how to play, but no one would play with me.

  “Well, I have an amazing set at my office. Anytime you want to learn, you come on by.”

  As we were about to order desert, Heidi called to say she was on the way. So he paid the check, and drove me back to my office. “I’d like to take you out again. I have a meeting with my brother tomorrow, but if you can…Will you stop by the shop after work?”

  I would ask if Claire wanted to come with me, and bring Heidi along, so she could meet my family I’d found here.

  “It’s a date.”

  Only three things can lighten up a victim’s feelings, justice, revenge, or justice

 
; ~ Bradley B Delania

  “Carson said he would be a little late. He got some news about his retirement. I have a feeling it ain’t good.”

  I loved coming to the shop. It reminded me of the time we spent hanging out with granddaddy, covered in dirt and grease, learning about how life really was. We were free to say what we wanted, no question was too bold, or subject off limits. It was like our own secret society. Held together by honesty, and blood. As I drove home last night, I caught myself wondering what Granddaddy would think of Lainie.

  “Find a girl who is willing to cook your supper, clean your castle, and straighten your short hairs.”

  I knew the majority of his words of wisdom, or granddaddy-isms, as Chase cloned them. Gave us advice our young minds could understand, while having the guy humor we all enjoyed, and remembered. I had no idea if Lainie knew how to cook, and honestly, I didn’t care. When a girl can sit at a table across from you, dive into a rare hamburger, stacked high with all the fixings, and then wash it down with an ice cold beer, she pretty much secured herself a place on my list.

  I couldn’t help but watch her. Her hazel eyes, which seemed to sparkle with excitement, as she told me of graduating at the top of her class from Caltech. How her fingernails were painted with that white line at the top, clean, and well kempt. Her clothing professional. No tight fitting blouses, with her tits about to come falling out. While I appreciated a woman who can dress sexy, sometimes the illusion is better than being stripper pole ready. And while her smile was electric and body perfectly curvaceous, it was her incredible legs which hooked it for me. Long and slender, glistening from healthy skin, and proper grooming. When she excused herself to visit the ladies room, I imprinted every step she took into my memory. Appreciating the definition her workouts had created, and smiling at the way her heeled shoes accentuated her ass.

  She was busy with Heidi today. Sending me only a few texts, and a picture of them on what looked to be someone’s bed. Where Lainie fashioned after the ‘girl next door’ look, Heidi subscribed to the ‘pure and natural’. Where Lainie wore freckles dancing across her nose, kissed by the sun as she enjoyed the outdoors. Heidi looked more like the older of the two, pale and tired, with scars from a hard life.

  They had plans of visiting the campus today, buying Heidi the books she would need for her classes. I offered to come with them. To keep her mind off the library and the shadows, which haunted her. She declined my offer. As Claire and Momma were going with her, making a day out of it, with a trip to the mall and salon. If I knew Priscilla Morgan, the mall would turn into the shops she enjoyed, and the salon was exclusive to a select clientele here in Charleston. Momma prided herself on being an original. No measuring up to the magazine covers she skimmed through, as she killed time. I’d called ahead of time. Sure enough, Mrs. Morgan had the afternoon reserved with three guests joining her. I left my credit card, with instructions to take care of Lainie’s and Heidi’s expenses.

  “Austin!”

  Hearing my name being called, snapped me from the memory of Lainie, and the sight of her waving goodbye, as she drove off to the airport.

  “Huh?”

  “Did you hear anything I just said?”

  I wiped the oil from my hands with the shop rag. My mind had wandered away from Dylan talking about Carson, and his retirement. “Yes, you said Carson was gonna be late.”

  Dylan shook his head, chuckling silently. “That was fifteen minutes ago.” He tossed the rag in his hands at me. “You want to pay attention before you do some damage to that thing.”

  I glanced down at the oil, which now sat in a puddle on the floor. The screw still sat where I’d placed it on the lift. My mind was so preoccupied, I forgot to replace the screw. Now that I was back home, I had made a promise to myself to take my bike out as often as possible. As I tightened the screw carefully, a thought hit me.

  “Hey, Dylan, does our paint guy do helmets?”

  Dylan flashed his eyes in my direction, as he continued to work on the custom job. “He does. You thinking of getting somethin’ new?”

  I wanted to share pieces of my world with Lainie. Not just dinner, and the occasional movie. I wanted her on the back of my bike, wrapped around me, as I drove us down the highway. Along the back roads, while we lost ourselves. I wanted to cook dinner with her, as we laughed and shared stories of our day. Sit with her on my lap, as we competed for control of the keyboard, and see what kind of code she was capable of writing. For the first time in my adult life, I wanted to have a conversation, using big words I didn’t have to define. To have someone who could take care of me, as I took care of them. And I wanted that someone to be Lainie.

  “Yeah, I want to get somethin’ new.”

  “Sorry to interrupt.”

  Audrey, the new receptionist Dylan hired, stood shyly in the office door frame. Dylan said she’d taken to the job like a fish to water, organizing the old files, and learning the computer system I created for us. He even raved about the coffee she managed to make come out of the old coffee maker she found in the back.

  Audrey Helms, another southern born girl, who had been wronged by the men in her life. I hadn’t shared with Dylan or Chase everything I had discovered from the background check I did on Audrey. While she worked hard to provide for herself, she also struggled with a few bills, which had recently gone into default.

  Lucas Campbell, the name on the loans Audrey co-signed, was bad news. Records showed he was married to an Amy Campbell. A high school dropout from Biloxi, Mississippi. Amy wasn’t much better in the character department. Three arrests in the past year, ranging from petty theft, to aggravated assault. Jail must have been a turn on for these two. Given their quickie courthouse marriage, was the same day they were both released from a Savannah jail five years ago.

  Lucas had purchased a mobile home and a new truck, totaling just over one hundred thousand dollars. He never paid a dime on either one, and now the loan was in default. He had a list of priors including domestic violence, and not surprisingly, forgery. My guess is Miss Audrey never signed the loan papers. Maybe he took his wife to sign, with his girlfriend’s credit, to seal the deal. While I’d never seen any marks on Audrey, I questioned if he strong-armed her at home.

  One summer Momma took us to work on a campground in North Carolina. We were raised with the belief that while you can talk about the wrong which happens in the world, you can’t complain until you do something about it. Daddy had been contacted by his branch office in Charlotte, asking for help with a shelter they had come across.

  Our family went to do whatever we could to help. While we fixed a bad roof, and replaced several old pipes, what we took away was an experience I will never forget. Our last night there, Dylan and I were sitting beside the campfire, tossing in scraps of twigs and bark. He asked me if I’d seen the sign which hung in the meal hall? I hadn’t, so he showed me where it was. What you allow, is what will continue. Reading those words changed the way I looked at the women around me. It solidified for Dylan his need to be a cop, and ultimately form this underground system we had.

  Audrey came to us eager to please, with a low value of herself, and the weight of her world displayed on her shoulders. She came early every day, and stayed until the last possible moment at night. Her lunch consisted of a few crackers with either butter or jelly between them. A few days ago, I came by the shop on a Sunday afternoon to do some work on my bike. Audrey was in the bathroom, and nearly jumped out of her skin when I said hello to her.

  Since then, she has been skittish, fumbling over her words, and apologizing for everything. We’ve told her a dozen times she can wear jeans and the company t-shirt. But every day she comes in with a long black sweater and skirt, which reaches her ankles.

  “The boxes that were delivered for Mr. Chase have been put in s-storage.” Her fingers were knotted in the fabric of her skirt, and her hair was falling into her face, shielding her eyes from us. “Except for…e-except for the long box that I unpacked, and h
ung the guitar on the wall.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, I could see his most prized possession on the wall. When Granddaddy gave it to him, Momma wanted to get a glass case for it. But Daddy told her a guitar was meant to be played and enjoyed, not stuck behind glass just because someone famous wrote on it.

  Chase had all of his stuff sent here to the shop. Audrey had cleaned out the area above us, suggesting to Dylan he could rent the place out as an apartment. We all agreed it would be better used as storage, and a temporary bed, if we ever pissed our girls off too much.

  Chase had made Momma cry when he told us he was done with the military. Since his announcements, I had been sending him several apartment listings in the area. I cringed when he mentioned having Harmony live with him.

  “Miss Audrey, do you like Chinese food?” If what I suspected was true, she was using every dime she made to pay that cocksuckers bills. Leaving no money to buy food, or anything else. If Lucas was still claiming to be her boyfriend, he was failing miserably at taking care of her.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Dylan looked at me with a puzzled gaze. Surely he had noticed how thin she was, and how little she ate, if she ate at all.

  “Good, cause I am craving some shrimp fried rice. Can you please take some money out of petty cash, head two blocks over to Mr. Wong’s, and get us all some dinner?”

  Dropping her head again, she started to turn around. “Miss Audrey?”

  She stopped with a jerk, as if she had been electrocuted. She lowered her head, and turned back around. Dylan rose up from the floor, he too had noticed her reaction.

  “Y-yes, Sir?”

  “Audrey, take enough to order yourself a hearty dinner. Not just an egg roll and a drink. I wanna see a full box on your desk, and a fork delivering food to your mouth.” Dylan and I both watched as she took a deep breath. No doubt the gears in her mind completely confused at the different way she was being treated here, as opposed to the way she must suffer at home.