by Dixie Cash
Edwina flopped a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I must have given that funny kid one of our business cards or something. He gave the Styling Station’s phone number to that reporter that was on the phone just now. She’s coming here to cover the Elvis celebration. She was at the airport in Dallas killing time, so she called us.”
“From Dallas? Why didn’t she just wait ’til she gets here?”
“She wasn’t sure when that would be. She said some jerk on the freeway cut her off and caused her to pass up her exit. She was late getting to the airport and missed her flight. She said she’s waiting on standby for another one.”
Before they finished their burgers, a man wearing a cowboy hat appeared at the door and tried the knob. “Oh, hell,” Edwina said, craning her neck and looking through the Dutch door’s glass. “It’s Billy Don.”
Debbie Sue fought the urge to scream. “I wonder what kind of mess he’s made now.”
“I’ll let him in,” Edwina said, rising from the chair. She opened the door to him and he stepped inside the shop. He removed his hat and hung on to the brim with both hands. “Lord, Sheriff, you look like you just lost your last friend,” Edwina said. “I better call Vic and tell him to fix a casserole for the grieving family ’cuz somebody’s died.”
“Did something happen with Jerry’s horses?” Debbie Sue asked.
“Nope,” Billy Don answered. “We got ’em off the highway just fine.”
“Then what’s got you so upset, hon,” Edwina asked. “Is it Elvis’s missing shoes?”
“It’s more than that. It’s this whole dang thing. I didn’t think it would be a big deal. Some locals and maybe a few out-of-towners from someplace like San Angelo or maybe Big Spring. But nothin’ really big.”
“And?” Debbie Sue said.
“My brother’s youngest daughter?” Billy Don said. “She just called me. She works at the Best Western Garden Oasis Hotel in Odessa. It’s a real good job. They furnish her uniforms and—”
“Billy Don, what did she tell you?” Debbie Sue said.
“She said every room at the Oasis has been rented by people comin’ in for the celebration.” His eyes grew wide and he gripped his hat brim even tighter. “Holy-moly. That’s over two hundred people.”
The number surprised Debbie Sue, too. She blinked. “Really?”
“No shit?” Edwina said, cocking her head. “And here I was afraid nobody would show up.” Her breath caught. “My God, they must be coming to see those famous shoes.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Is that what’s got you so upset?”
“That’s not the whole story,” Billy Don said. “Brittany, that’s my brother’s daughter’s name. Brittany tried to help some folks out and made calls to other hotels in the area. She’s like that. A real sweet girl, always tryin’ to help others. She’s got a couple of sisters that wouldn’t lift a finger to—”
“Billy Don,” Debbie Sue said firmly, “get to the point.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. She said she called ever’where in Midland and Odessa lookin’ for rooms and there just ain’t any. People comin’ to Salt Lick have took ’em all. That RV park was plumb full, too. Ever’ kind of campin’ rig you can think of.”
Of course Debbie Sue had noticed a few new people on the streets of Salt Lick, but she hadn’t given a thought to just how many strangers there were.
Billy Don’s eyes grew even wider. “There could be a thousand people here, Debbie Sue. Maybe more. Lord, Lord, I can’t handle that kind of crowd. What if somethin’ goes wrong? What if there’s a riot?”
Now Debbie Sue’s desire for the rest of her lunch flew right out the window. This news was more than she was prepared to hear. How did so many people know about this small-town gathering? She knew that from a law-enforcement perspective, Billy Don had good cause to feel edgy.
Salt Lick’s population was twelve hundred, with only a few more people living in the rest of Cabell County. Doubling that number in a matter of twenty-four hours and for three days was reason for concern for any two-man sheriff’s department, and especially for one in which the sheriff was a nugget short of a Happy Meal.
Suddenly the disappearance of the shoes took on even more significance. And so did the attendance by a reporter from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. If there was one reporter, there would be others. Fuck! Debbie Sue got to her feet and patted Billy Don’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine,” she said, not the least bit confident that it would. “These people are coming to honor Elvis, not rape and pillage.”
“Rape?” Now his eyes widened to the size of golf balls. “And what?…Oh, sweet Jesus. Rape. Did Buddy tell you that?”
“It’s just an old saying, Billy Don. Don’t take it literally. Remember, they’re not coming to cause trouble. They’re here to honor Elvis. And hell, Billy Don, they’re probably all too old to cause too much mischief. Elvis has been dead for more than thirty years.”
A tentative smile gradually crept across the sheriff’s mouth. “I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t even remember Elvis, m’self. If it wasn’t for my mom, I prob’ly wouldn’t know much about him.”
“She’s a big fan?” Edwina asked.
“I’ll say. If I told you some o’ the things she does around the house when she listens to Elvis…well, you’d think she’s crazy.”
Debbie Sue had known Billy Don’s mother, Roxie Roberts, her entire life. “That’s just not possible,” she finally answered and decided to leave it at that.
“You know,” Edwina piped up, “that’s not really true about the age of Elvis’s fans. They come in all ages, two to eighty-two. I’ve heard he has more fans now than when he was alive.”
“So what do you want from us, Billy Don?” Debbie Sue asked. “You want the Equalizers to help you with crowd control?”
Billy Don’s smile fell. “Debbie Sue, do you think Buddy could get us some of them DPS troopers to help us? Ever’body’s got lots of respect for them state cops. If they say jump, most folks say how high. But listen, don’t tell Buddy I was afraid or nothin’ like that. Tell him you’re the one that’s worried. I don’t want him to think…well, you know.”
Double fuck! Debbie Sue hated the very idea of discussing the security of the event with Buddy. In a conversation like that, sooner or later, the topic of the shoe theft would arise.”
“Buddy’s not here. He went south on a…on a mission. He won’t be back for at least three days, or maybe four.”
“But you could call him, couldn’t you?”
Triple fuck! How could she say no? The fact was, all she would have to do is mention Billy Don’s concerns to Buddy on the phone, then all Buddy had to do was make one phone call and get all the help required. Hell. Buddy could come up with a regular posse if one was needed. “Where’s Deputy Bridges? Won’t he be around to help?”
“Or is Deputy Harry Britches still in therapy?” Edwina quipped and guffawed.
Billy Don stiffened. “Deputy Harry Bridges will be around. You know he’s always ready to help. And he wasn’t in therapy. He just had a bad rash from layin’ his sleepin’ bag over a fire-ant bed when he took his boys campin’.”
Edwina turned her back, choking off laughter.
“It’ll be fine,” Debbie Sue said for the second time, turning the deputy around and urging him toward the door. “I’ll be talking to Buddy tonight and I’ll let you know what he says. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. This is Buddy’s hometown. He won’t let anything bad happen.”
As the sheriff made his exit and climbed into the county’s white SUV, Debbie Sue and Edwina stood and watched.
“Over a thousand people, huh?” Edwina crossed her long arms over her chest, her mouth twisted into a smirk. “I’d say you better put your parachute on, girlfriend. This plane’s going down in flames.”
chapter six
Avery reached her destination several hours later than planned, but without further drama or stressful encounters. The skies were clear and the plane ride had been smoot
h. She deplaned in a temperature that was chilly rather than cold. In spite of her tribulations in reaching Midland, Texas, she felt lighthearted.
She knew only a few facts about the area. The Midland airport sat dead center between two of the larger cities in West Texas, Midland and Odessa, thirty miles apart. Each city had a population of approximately ninety thousand people. Small towns, compared to the Metroplex. Unfortunately, she knew not one person in either of them, or for that matter, in all of West Texas. She might as well have ridden the space shuttle to another planet. She was alone and on her own.
But she did have a phone acquaintance. A co-worker at the Star-Telegram had given her a woman’s name—Edwina—and phone number in Salt Lick, and Avery had called her from Dallas while waiting for a plane seat. Edwina had been very friendly. She had welcomed Avery to contact her once she arrived in Salt Lick. From what Avery’s co-worker had told her, this Edwina knew everyone and most likely everything going on in the community. A reporter’s dream was to have a source with the inside track on a story. Maybe Avery Deaton, frustrated reporter, would indeed ferret out that special story to be published under her byline.
Inside the airport, she looked around for the baggage claim area. An overhead sign indicated it was located on the lower level and she was only a few feet from the escalator transporting passengers down. Avery’s steps lightened as she followed the other passengers toward the moving stair.
She heaved her one suitcase off the baggage carousel and walked the short distance to the car rental counter. Besides being polite and friendly, the young man at the Enterprise rental desk was flirtatious, but without being offensive. He gushed all over her and told her he could almost mistake her for Faith Hill. As she always did when someone paid her that compliment, Avery smiled and said thanks, because Faith Hill was a beautiful woman.
The clerk gave her specific directions to the Best Western Hotel, less than a mile from downtown Odessa, and assured her that she couldn’t possibly get lost. This day could turn out to be salvable after all, she thought, but she said, “Don’t say that. If anyone can get lost, it’s me. It happens all the time.”
“Well, you might get a little turned around, but naw, you’d never get lost. To someone who lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Odessa’s not a big town. You’d have to be trying to get lost.”
“Maybe you’re right. I’ve had sort of a rotten day, but things do seem to be looking up.”
Carrying courtesy a step further, the young man came around the counter, took Avery’s suitcase by the handle and started for the door. She followed as he wheeled it to an Aero economy car parked in the shelter of an awning. “You here on business, Miz Deaton?” He placed the suitcase in the car’s trunk.
“Yes, I am,” Avery replied, still smiling. The young man’s congeniality was infectious. “I’m a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I’m here to cover a story in Salt Lick.”
“A reporter, huh? You said Salt Lick? Lemme guess. You’re here for the Elvis thing.” He slammed the trunk lid and moved to open the driver’s side door. “Ever been to Salt Lick?”
“Actually, no. This is the first time I’ve ever been to West Texas, period.” She folded her five feet and ten inch frame into the Aero.
He grinned. “I’ve been renting cars to people all day who’ve traveled here for that Elvis gig. Somebody told me they’ve got a pair of Elvis’s shoes on display down there. Guess a lot of people want to see ’em.”
Her editor had mentioned the shoes to her and suggested she get some pictures of them. “A lot of people, huh?”
“I’ve only got two cars left to rent. The other rental stores are about the same.”
“I had no idea there would be that kind of turnout. I thought Salt Lick was a really small town.”
“Yes, ma’am. Really small.” He chuckled as he closed the door.
She watched him amble back to his office. Her fingers paused on the key in the ignition. What was that last remark and that little laugh supposed to mean? Suddenly she was no longer smiling. She had detected an ominous undertone to his laugh.
On a sigh, she set aside negative thoughts, pulled from the parking lot and stopped at the yield sign long enough to look at the rental clerk’s handwritten directions to the Best Western Hotel. There were basically only three directives, simple enough that even she could follow them:
Exit the airport and at the red light turn left. Enter the interstate ramp on your left, go west for twenty miles, take the exit marked “Downtown.” Hotel is on the right. See? You can’t miss it.
The clerk had drawn a smiley face at the end of the note, a contradiction to that ominous little laugh she couldn’t put out of her mind.
The Enterprise car rental clerk had been right in that Avery didn’t miss the hotel. In less than twenty minutes, she was standing at the registration desk with anxiety creeping into her stomach. “What do you mean you don’t have a reservation for me? It was made weeks ago.”
The young, chubby desk clerk had a name tag pinned on the left lapel of her dark green blazer identifying her as Brittany. She perused Avery’s paperwork for the second time. The anxiety began to creep from Avery’s stomach into her chest. She hadn’t made her own travel arrangements. They had been made by a Star-Telegram employee named Keyona who hadn’t even consulted her.
Brittany returned her attention to the computer monitor. Her fingers clicked away at the keyboard. Eventually, she shook her head, her brow knit in a frown. “I’m sorry, ma’am. Do you remember who you talked to? I’ve checked everywhere and I don’t find your name. In fact, I only have one reservation that hasn’t checked in.”
Avery suppressed a huge sigh of annoyance. “Okay, then just give me a room. Any old room. I prefer nonsmoking, but I’ll take smoking if that’s all you have.”
The clerk’s expression grew solemn. “Ma’am, we don’t have any rooms.”
Now Avery felt her own brow tug into a frown. “None? None at all?”
“No, ma’am. We’ve been booked for quite some time. In fact, there aren’t any rooms around the whole area. I’ve been trying to find something for other people too. I’ve called as far away as Big Spring.”
“Big Spring. I thought that was a good distance from here.”
“Yes, ma’am. Sixty-four miles. But around here, that’s just across the road. They don’t have anything either.” Brittany gave a nervous laugh. “I’ve never seen all the rooms filled up before and I’ve worked here a long time.”
“Unbelievable,” Avery mumbled, the buoyant feeling of earlier deflating like a leaky balloon. She pulled her paperwork back to her side of the counter, studied it again, then slid it back to Brittany, pointing out the information she wanted the clerk to read. “But here are my reservation and confirmation numbers. Don’t those mean anything?”
Brittany’s expression twisted into a wince. “I’ve found both of those numbers in the computer, ma’am.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Avery pulled up her suitcase’s retracting handle and began to dig in her purse for her credit card.
“Uh, well, uh, kind of. But not really. The reservation is in Florida. Odessa, Florida. Not Odessa, Texas.”
Avery was dumbstruck, the only thought in her head being what she would like to say to Keyona. How in the hell had she managed to confuse Florida with Texas? And who even knew there was an Odessa in Florida?
“Ma’am?” Brittany said.
Now full-blown panic blossomed within Avery. Except for the woman she had met by phone, she knew not one single human being in this part of the world.
“Ma’m?” Brittany said again.
“I’m sorry, what?…What were you saying?”
“I said there’s still some hope.”
“Hope? For what, an early death? Being struck by lightning? How about a tree falling on my head? Apparently being knocked unconscious and spending time in a hospital is the only way I’m going to get a bed for the next few days.” Realizing she was r
anting, Avery clamped her mouth shut. Getting hysterical would solve nothing. This was a simple error that could be corrected.
“I understand how you feel, ma’am,” Brittany said. “There’s still that one person that hasn’t showed up yet. He made a deposit for one night. We have to hold the room ’til midnight, but if he doesn’t check in, you can have his room.”
Avery’s chin began to quiver. She was trying to be cool and professional, but even her stiff upper lip started quivering too.
“You can wait in the lobby,” Brittany said enthusiastically. “There’s a TV.”
Avery glanced over her shoulder at the lobby filled with sofas, chairs and plants. A jungle of plants. She saw no TV, but she was sure one was probably hidden behind a giant ficus tree.
“Those couches aren’t too bad,” Brittany added eagerly, as if parking on a sofa in the lobby for some unknown period of time were an ideal solution.
“This other person has until midnight to take the room? You’re saying for me to wait in the lobby until midnight?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve already called the phone number he gave us, but it was disconnected. That’s a good sign. Maybe he won’t show.”
Avery chewed on her lower lip as she looked through the French doors that led to the indoor pool. Even the dismal choices were limited, but she truly appreciated the pleasant young woman’s attempt to accommodate her. “I guess that’s what I’ll have to do,” she said weakly. “I’ve had a really long day. I don’t know if I can stay awake until midnight. Could I possibly get a pillow and a blanket?”
“Oh, yes, ma’am. Ab-so-lutely.”
“Thanks…. Look, I’m starving, so I’m going somewhere to get something to eat.”
“I get off work at seven, but Roland relieves me. I’ll explain the whole thing to him. I’ll tell him to get you a pillow and a blanket. Just ask for him when you get back.”
Avery nodded. “Roland, is it?”
