Pretty Is As Pretty Does

by Gen Griffin

  “Where is my son?” Jane May demanded as soon as she was within hearing distance.

  “I don't know,” Katie lied. “Last time I saw him, he was in his bed in the hospital room.”

  Jane May hissed through her teeth. “He needs to be in the hospital, Katherine. He's hurt. He needs doctor supervision.”

  “Are you saying Addy left the hospital?” Katie decided to play stupid.

  Jane May narrowed her bright eyes at Katie and glared down at her. “Are you trying to pretend you don't know that my son got his buddies to help him escape this morning?”

  Katie shot Jane May her best fake look of surprise. “I had no idea.”

  “You're here to pick up Cal's truck,” Jane May pointed out. “Or is this David's truck now?”

  “Last I heard, it was Cal's.” Katie forced a wide smile and held up the keys she was holding. “I'm um, borrowing, it.”

  “You're borrowing it,” Jane May's voice was thick with skepticism.

  “Just for the afternoon,” Katie said. “Ian's out at his Dad's old fishing camp on the river and he needed the truck dropped off so that he could drive it home when he gets off the water tonight. Frank sent me home from the Sheriff's department because I keep having contractions. The doctor says I'm not in labor but I didn't want to be alone at the house without a car. Cal and Gracie told me that I could have this one if I'd come pick it up.”

  “In other words, you could have it if you'd come look me in the eyes and lie to me about where my son went?”

  “I don't know where Addy is. He doesn't exactly check in with me on a regular basis when he's off duty.” Katie shrugged her shoulders and tried to look as young and innocent as possible.

  “Gracie dropped you off.”

  “So?” Katie asked. “I already told you, I'm borrowing the truck from them.”

  “You're borrowing Cal's new truck while my daughter drives around in his old one?” Jane May asked.

  “The exhaust fumes from the blue truck make me nauseous if I ride in it too long.” Katie pointed down at her bulging baby bump. “I get sick pretty easy these days.”

  Jane May let out a loud and rather over-dramatic sigh. “You're about to be a mother. I would think that you, of all people, might have some sympathy for a mother whose only concern is for the health and well being of her child. I love my son and I want the best for him. The best thing for Addison right now is for him to be under the care of a doctor. He's hurt and the man who shot him is still on the loose. Please, tell me where he is.”

  “Addison doesn't confide in me, Jane May.” Katie smiled at the other woman. “I understand that you're worried about him but he's a grown man. If he left the hospital, he had to feel like he was ready to go home. You won't be able to talk him into coming back.”

  Jane May pursed her lips and then sighed. “I hope one day you have to feel half the pain I feel. My children think I'm evil. I know that. I even know that they have convinced all their friends that I'm a horrible human being. David looks at me like he'd like to slit my throat most days. Cal has nothing but disdain for me even though he's marrying my little girl. We could have had Calvin thrown in jail years ago, you realize?”

  “Excuse me?” Katie was sweating through her shirt. The last thing she felt like doing was sitting through one of Jane May's tortured 'poor me' monologues.

  “He's much older than she is, Katherine. There were several years when she was in high school where her father and I could have had my brother arrest Calvin. We didn't because Dale felt that no good would come from having the mayor's son arrested. Not to mention that Addison would have hated us forever.”

  “Its getting late, Jane May. Maybe you should go home and get a shower.” Katie tried to change the subject.

  “Calvin has never showed the slightest bit of gratitude towards me for letting him sleep with my daughter. He has never apologized for helping her drop out of college. He's ruined her life and he doesn't even seem to feel any remorse. Gracie could have had any future she wanted.”

  “She wanted Cal.” Katie had heard this argument dozens of times before.

  “I only want the best for my children, Katherine. I want the best for Gracie and I want the best for Addison. Running away from the hospital was not in Addison's best interests. If you do happen to see him, will you do me a favor?”

  “Sure,” Katie said.

  “Call me and tell me where he is.”

  Not a chance, Katie thought. “I'll ask him to call you.”

  “Thank you,” Jane May said. She glanced down at Katie's bulging belly. “Good luck with the baby.”

  “Thanks,” Katie replied. She watched as Jane May looked her and the truck up and down one last time and then turned and headed back towards the hospital. It wasn't until after Katie had gotten into the truck and cranked it up that she stopped to wonder why Jane May had gone back inside the building instead of going to her own car.

  Chapter 26

  “I can't believe you trashed her house. She's going to know it was you.” Kerry wasn't sure his nerves could handle another day in Curtis' company. He popped open a bottle of antacids and ate four of them without flinching.

  “Who cares?”

  “We parked my squad car in the driveway. David isn't an idiot. If anyone tells him that my car was parked in front of the house on the same day that the house was vandalized, he'll know I was involved.”

  “David needs to die.” Curtis rubbed his goatee.

  “I couldn't agree with you more,” Kerry said. “But no matter how many times I toss that particular penny in the wishing well, it never comes true.”

  “Wishes are for weak little pussies who aren't brave enough to take action,” Curtis said. “Tonight you and I are going to deal with David.”

  “We're going to deal with David?” Kerry repeated. “How? Why?”

  “I promised you that I would help you bring him to justice, didn't I?”

  “Justice and murder aren't the same thing.”

  “Your definition of justice isn't the same as mine,” Curtis replied.

  “You're going to kill David?” Kerry felt an unexpected rush of adrenaline shoot through his veins.

  “He's a murderer. You said so yourself.”

  “He is.” Kerry mulled the idea of killing David over in his own mind. He didn't know if the idea of murdering David terrified him or if what he was feeling was relief at the thought of a dangerous man being permanently removed from the streets of his little town. Possum Creek would be a much safer place without David Breedlove living in it.

  “Besides, he's making it too hard to get to Trish.”

  “You want him out of your way.” Kerry felt stupid for not realizing Curtis's motivation immediately.

  “I do,” Curtis agreed. “Trish has no self-defense skills. Officer Fuck Buddy is gone, so the place next door is empty except for the old lady.”

  “Granny Pearl,” Kerry filled in.

  “Who cares what the old broad's name is?”

  Kerry didn't have a good answer so he stayed silent.

  “What I'm trying to explain is that your David is the only person standing between myself and my wife. He's got to go.”

  “Great. You won't hear me arguing. But how exactly are you planning on getting the drop on him?” Kerry crossed his arms over his own chest and stared at Curtis with a mixture of dread and curiosity. “David's smart. You're not just going to be able to walk up to him and put a bullet in his chest like you did with Addison.”

  “You're right,” Curtis said. “I'm not going to be able to walk up to him. But you can.”

  Kerry blanched. “You want me to kill David?”

  “I'd love for you to kill David, but I don't think you have the balls to do it. If you did, he'd have been dead by now.”

  “I'm an honest cop.”

  Curtis snorted with obvious scorn. “Keep telling yourself that, Kerry.”

  “I am-.”

  “David's not afraid of you. You won't
have any problem walking right up to him.”

  “I can't just shoot him.”

  “All you've got to do is pull a trigger.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  Curtis grinned at Kerry. “I'm a goal oriented man. I'll do whatever needs to be done to reach my goals.”

  “You have a plan for getting David alone?” Kerry's stomach was churning with anxiety. “Because I don't think walking up to his porch and knocking on the door is going to work out too well.”

  “Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's only one major road leading in and out of this town.”

  “Right.” Kerry nodded.

  Curtis stretched his big arms high over his head. “David's spending a lot of time at the hospital in the next county over, isn't he?”

  “Probably. You shot his best friend.”

  Curtis grinned at Kerry. “We've got a squad car. Wait until he's coming back into town tonight and pull his ass over.”

  “What if Trish is with him?”

  “Then I reckon all of our problems will be solved,” Curtis replied. “But I'm getting ahead of myself. We still have a lot of shit to get done today.”

  “Like what?” Kerry demanded. “My plan for today is to lay low and try not to draw attention to ourselves.”

  “We can lay low in Silver City,” Curtis said.

  “What?” Kerry shook his head vehemently. “No. We're not going anywhere.”

  “Sure we are,” Curtis said with a grin. “You've got some very expensive jewelry to pawn and I have a hot dinner date.”

  “A date?” Kerry wondered that he didn't have a heart attack right then and there. “You have a date?”

  “And she's a fine looking woman.” Curtis checked his own reflection in the mirror. “Come on, Kerry. Tonight is going to be a night you'll never forget.”

  “That's what I'm afraid of,” Kerry muttered under his breath as he picked up the keys to his county cruiser. “If we drive the squad car, we can be certain that no one will pull us over.”

  “If we take the squad car, we're not getting laid.” Curtis adjusted the sleeve of his wrinkled button-down shirt and scowled at Kerry. “We'll take Audi. I'll drive.”

  “I don't think that's a good idea.”

  “You really are a wet blanket,” Curtis said. “I can see why no one in this shit hole town likes you.”

  “Go to hell,” Kerry muttered.

  “In a stretch limousine drinking cocktails the whole damn way down,” the big man replied with a shameless grin. “If you're going to be bad, you've got to be damn good at being bad.”

  Chapter 27

  “You look like a mob boss,” Addison said as Cal stepped out of the dressing room in the pinstriped suit that Gracie had picked out for him.

  Cal flexed his broad shoulders. “I hate suits. I can't ever move in them. They're always too tight.”

  “Buy a bigger size suit.”

  “Screw you.”

  “You need to have one professionally tailored.” Gracie stepped up beside him and began picking at the collar of the suit. “You're too broad through the shoulders. All the jackets that fit you through the shoulders are huge everywhere else. The ones that fit your chest and stomach are too tight in the shoulders.” She made a tsk-tsking noise at him. “It fits well enough for you to wear it to the funeral tomorrow, but we'll have to have it altered before the wedding.”

  “We're wearing suits in the wedding?” Cal tugged at the sides of the suit jacket with obvious irritation.

  “Would you rather wear a tuxedo?”

  “I'd rather wear slacks and a nice button down. Suits make me itch and you know I hate ties. Anytime I put on a tie, I wind up feeling like its choking me.”

  “Maybe that's because you don't have a neck.” David stepped out of the dressing room in a slim cut suit that was made from the same charcoal gray and black pinstriped fabric. The jacket of David's suit was longer than Cal's. The suit fit almost perfectly and covered all the tattoos completely, making him look more than a little bit like James Bond.

  For a moment no one spoke.

  “God you're handsome,” Gracie said finally, breaking the silence. “Why do I always forget how handsome you are?”

  Cal snorted.

  “Isn't that supposed to be Trish's line?” Addison asked. He was sitting on the battery powered rental scooter. David had found him a thin long-sleeved button-down blue and green plaid shirt and dark wash blue jeans to wear, along with a pair of flip-flops.

  “I don't forget how handsome he his,” Trish said quietly. She was sitting on the floor with her back resting against Addison's leg. She was more tired than she had ever thought possible. Still, David was sexy and she definitely appreciated it. She wasn't used to being with the kind of guy who other girls would stop in their tracks to check out.

  Addy and Gracie both laughed.

  “I love you, Trish. And you're a hell of a lot better looking than I've ever thought about being.” David grinned and winked one dark green eye at her and then twirled around in a goofy little spin. “So I take it that the suit meets your expectations, Princess Gracie?”

  “I love you too,” Trish said softly.

  “Yes. The suit meets my expectations. On you anyways. Not on Cal.”

  “Cal looks like a stuffed sausage.”

  “Screw you, Breedlove.”

  “Y'all are so mature,” Addy quipped snidely.

  “Did they have one in Addison's size?” Gracie asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Does it fit him?”

  “I'm not trying on a suit today. If it fits Breedlove, go up two sizes and it will fit me.” Addy poked at his injured shoulder with one finger. “David and I are built pretty much the same. I'm just a hair taller and not quite as bony.”

  “You're just trying to get out of having to put a tie on. You like them just as much as Cal does.”

  “I got shot. I don't feel like playing fashion show for my kid sister.”

  “You're getting a suit to wear to Trish's grandfather's funeral,” Gracie reminded him. “This isn't just about me. I just thought that since y'all were all here anyway, the suits might as well serve dual purpose. Buy them now, wear them to the funeral tomorrow and wear them again in September for our wedding.”

  “Always need a good funeral suit,” Cal muttered. “I hate funerals.”

  “I already told David that y'all don't have to go to Grover's funeral. Really.”

  “They're going. They just complain like a bunch of grumpy little girls when you make them dress up. Trust me, they've always been like this,” Gracie said. “Rather shockingly, David's the most cooperative when it comes to playing pretty boy. He always has been.”

  “Good to know.”

  “At least we'll be getting our money's worth out of the suits,” Cal grumbled. “We can wear them to both funerals plus the wedding.”

  “Both funerals?” Addison cast a sideways glance at Cal. “Who else died?”

  Cal looked over at David. “You haven't told Addy?”

  David frowned. “I meant to tell him. I don't know. The last week has been the craziest week of my life, and y'all know that's saying something.”

  “What did you forget to tell me?” Addy asked.

  “I found out whose body was under my trailer.”

  “And we have to go to the funeral?”

  “I called Momma earlier and asked her to handle the arrangements, actually. I don't know if she's going to schedule a full on funeral or not. Probably. Momma does love an excuse to bake four dozen casseroles and make her sherbet punch.”

  “I like the funeral casseroles,” Addy mused out loud. “Who died?”

  “My biological mother.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah. Looks like Ricky bashed her skull in and buried her under the front porch.” David studied his own reflection in the mirror. “You know, I don't really look that much like him when I'm wearing a suit. Maybe that's because I never saw Ricky in a sui
t.”

  Trish stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her unbroken arm around his waist and leaning against his spine. “Based on everything you've told me about your biological father, you're nothing like him.”

  David laced his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand tightly in his.

  “He's nothing like Ricky and he knows it,” Addison said. “David, man, I'm sorry it was your mom. How did y'all figure it out?”

  “Trish's mom identified the bracelet Tate found with the body.”

  “Does Uncle Frank know yet?”

  “Probably. Momma offered to handle everything for me. She said she was going to call him and notify him. You know how efficient Momma is.”

  “She's probably already provided them with a DNA sample to test against,” Cal commented snidely. “She probably stores out DNA somewhere in that filing cabinet of hers just in case a situation like this occurs. I know she's got our dental records in there.”

  “If we're ever found as corpses, we'll be easy to identify,” David agreed with a smirk.

  “Y'all are so twisted.” Gracie shook her head at them, making her blonde hair fly in all directions. “Cal, you need to go up a size on that suit jacket and then all three of y'all can match. That will be one less detail to worry about for the wedding. We'll just have to change out the dress shirts that go underneath so all y'all can match completely.”

  “What colors are you using?” Trish asked.

  “I have no idea,” Gracie admitted. “I'm, um...well. I'm kind of running way behind on the wedding planning. We have three months until the wedding and I've gotten absolutely nothing done.”

  “Oh boy.”

  “We pretty much figure she'll wind up throwing everything together the night before the actual ceremony,” Addy said. “Does Walmart sell wedding dresses?”

  “Pretty sure Walmart sells everything.”

  Gracie swatted at her brother. “Y'all are bad.”

  “We're so bad that we're good.”

  “No, you're pretty much just awful. And mean. Don't forget mean.” Gracie stuck her tongue out at Addy. “Not that I don't love you. Because I love you.”