by catt dahman
Of Lost and Found
A Virgil McLendon mystery
catt dahman
© 2014, catt dahman
[email protected]
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book, including the cover, and photos, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher. All rights reserved.
Virgil McLendon Mysteries
Of Blood and Water
Of Lions and Lambs
Of Guilt and Innocence
Of Lost and Found
Before:
Lisa puckered her lips as she looked into the mirror, liking the way the red lipstick had glitter and shine to it, making her thin lips look fuller and sexier. She had never worn such a color before, always using, instead, a sticky, orange sherbet-flavored gloss from the five and dime that was less waxy and very pale colored.
“Do a second coat,” Judy suggested.
After a second coat, Lisa batted her eyes. Judy had coached her through several coats of mascara and thick eye-liner so that Lisa’s eyes looked as if fat spiders sat on each lid, waving giant legs. “That eye shadow is close to my eye color. Cool. Don’t you want more make-up?”
“No thanks. I am allergic to anything but the expensive stuff,” Judy said.
Lisa nodded. She had let Judy buy her the cosmetics in the store and they got a lot for a small price; the expensive stuff must cost a fortune. Lisa was grateful Judy had been with her to pay and to help her select colors. She felt very grown up and she knew she had to look classy, because Judy was one of the classiest, richest, more popular girls at Thomas Jefferson High School and for sure, the most admired in their ninth grade class.
Until the past Monday, Judy, Trisha, and Tammy had not spoken to Lisa since sometime around first grade, and Lisa had thought they laughed at her. Judy said they hadn’t, but were only busy and scared of being bullies for having other friends, but that they were over that, and could be friends with whoever they wanted.
One day, Lisa was sitting alone, pretending to read a book while she hurriedly finished her lunch so she could escape from the busy school cafeteria. Everyday, she sat alone, unless a few of the fat, band girls needed a table and sat across from Lisa, watching her with narrowed eyes. In fact, Friday, Lisa sat alone. But Monday morning, things changed, shocking Lisa.
When she arrived at school, she saw the popular girls and ducked her face to keep going so she could get inside and hide in the restroom until the first class bell rang.
“I like your blouse,” Trish said.
Lisa’s face flamed as she thought they were, again, making fun of her, but when she glanced up, Trish, Judy, and Tammy smiled her way and waved; there were no giggles. It had to be a joke. Lisa kept going. In first period, English, Tammy sat in the next row, the same as always, but this time, she asked if Lisa got her homework finished and smiled. When Tammy took her perfume out and sprayed it, she offered the tube to Lisa, who shook her head, scared it was another joke she didn’t understand.
During class, Tammy refused to partner with another girl for editing practice and asked Lisa to partner with her. She made funny jokes and shared bits of juicy gossip with Lisa who sat with her mouth hanging open most of the time. Class passed all too quickly for Lisa, who enjoyed the attention and envious stares from the other girls.
Those jealous girls might pick on her in the hall, so Lisa hurried out when the bell rang, but Tammy called to her to wait up. As they walked down the hallway, Tammy gave her a wave as Trish and Judy settled into step with Lisa, chatting the entire way.
“What are you foxes doing with Trailer Park Trash Lisa?” Joe called out.
Lisa’s face went red hot and she wanted to die. To her amazement, Trish walked right up to Joe, who was semi-popular and a basketball player, and gave him a loud pop across his face, “Shove off, Joe-Blow-Slow…it takes you an hour to do a ten minute math drill, so don’t think you’re smart now.”
His jaw dropped.
“Ignore his dumb ass, Lisa,” Judy said.
Other students stared.
“Thanks,” Lisa mumbled.
“He is a jerk,” Trish said, “Hey, I can really hit.” She held up a red palm, laughing.
Lisa began laughing too. So many times, she had watched the three cheerleaders with hatred in her heart as they wore cute bell-bottom, hip-hugger jeans, cotton knit blouses in all colors and accented with sequins, ribbons, or sparkles, and platform shoes that were real leather, expensive, and cute. Tammy was a long, straight-haired blond, Judy had short dark hair cut in a glossy pixie style, and Trish was a curly haired strawberry blond. They always looked so stylish.
Poor, Lisa had second-hand shop jeans with out of date elephant bell bottoms and her were so tight they hurt her hips, but it was all they could afford. Lisa’s stepdad said to eat less, lose weight, and make-do. Lisa wasn’t fat; she was curvy, and that’s why her blouses were way too tight and dipped too low.
At lunch, Lisa was dragged to the table where the three girls sat with the popular boys and Lisa couldn’t stand to look up at any of them as she ate a bologna and mayo sandwich, a wrinkled, little apple, and carrot sticks.
“I love carrots,” Judy said. She traded Lisa half her salad for half of the carrot sticks.
“What is in this?”
Just shrugged, “Mom makes my salads…lettuce, spinach, sun flower seeds, eggs, tomatoes, Cheese, ham, and her special Italian dressing.”
Lisa thought it was the best salad she ever ate. Salad at her trailer was tasteless, wilted lettuce, a few radishes, and whatever was scratched from the dry garden, with a packet of lemon juice sprinkled on top for a dressing, taken from the truck stop café where Lisa’s mom worked.
The teenagers were so friendly and funny, that Lisa ended up having a wonderful lunch. The rest of the day was spent chatting with the popular kids between classes; Lisa didn’t want the day to end.
One of the boys gave Judy, Tammy, Trish and Lisa a ride home in his convertible. It was a dream come true. Later, Tammy called Lisa to ask about an assignment, and the last thing she said was to meet them in the morning. Lisa could hardly sleep because she was so excited; another day of fun!
Tuesday was even more fun.
On Wednesday, students still glanced at Lisa, wondering about her new status, but Lisa was beginning to relax. After school, the girls gathered at Judy’s house to study for an exam and it was all Lisa could do to keep from gawping at the fine, big house that was spotlessly clean, bright, cool and breezy, and had more rooms than Lisa could keep up with.
Tammy pointed, “This summer, we can all lounge out there and suntan.” She told Lisa. A bright, sparkling pool looked wonderful and thinking that they would be hanging out together in a few months was so thrilling. Lisa hadn’t told her mom yet because she was still taking it all in, but hearing that the other girls wanted to keep hanging out even into the summer vacation was like a gift.
On Thursday morning, Tammy, Trish, and Judy looked glum.
“What wrong?” Lisa’s heart raced with fear, although the night before, she and Trish had chatted on the phone for an hour and a half.
Tammy shook her head, “You know Al and I date, and Trish goes steady
with Steve, and Judy and Dustin date, right?”
Lisa nodded. She was still a little sad that no boys liked her but it might happen.
“This weekend, on Saturday night, Dustin’s cousin is coming to visit him from Dallas and Dustin, like a goon, promised him that he’s get him a date so we could all go out on a big date…driving around, a movie or stuff…nothing fancy….” Trish said.
Tammy huffed, “We thought Sandra Curry might be free, and she was, nut she just found out that she’s got to go somewhere with her parents over the weekend. Dustin said his cousin liked girls who are pretty, friendly, and smart.”
“And Tim won’t wanna go with us without a date. Dustin won’t go, then. It’s all ruined,” Judy moaned, “Where would we find anyone….” Her voice cut off as her jaw dropped and she stared at Lisa.
“Oh wow. Lisa!”
“What?” Lisa looked around but the girls stared at her.
“We are such idiots. We had our best friend here the whole time and could have set Tim up with Lisa to begin with! She’s twice as perfect for Tim.”
Lisa’s eyes went wide as she gulped; Judy said she, Lisa, was their best friend? Lisa wanted to dance and sing with happiness. Oh. Wait. A date with the other girls and their foxy, football paying boyfriends and a cousin as her date? “Ummm…well….”
Judy sighed, “I understand. Blind dates…ick. I’ve seen Tim and he’s a smash fox, plays football and baseball and is super popular at his school. He’s a great guy on my word,” she crossed her heart solemnly.
Lisa could barely speak, “Sure. I’ll go if you think he’d like me.”
Judy hugged her.
Tammy smiled, “Perfect.”
“What will I wear? And my hair is a mess….” Lisa felt a little scared.
“It’s jeans and tees. No biggie…but oh, let’s go after school Friday and buy make-up and then on Saturday, I’ll come over after lunch and we can fix your hair, get dressed, do make-up, and all that fun stuff,” Judy jumped up and down.
“Ok. Well. The trailer may be a wreck.”
“Who cares?” Judy laughed. “We’ll have a blast.”
At lunch, Dustin was glad Lisa agreed and said Tim would be happy. Lisa smiled all day long and after talking to Trish by phone, went to bed, still excited. These few days were the best days of her life and now she had a real date with a real boy. Dustin said Tim’s family might be moving there and that meant Tim would go to school with them; although he was a year old, they could hang out. What if Tim liked her enough that they went steady? What if every weekend, the four couples went out?
Friday was another fun day, but Lisa was ready for the weekend.
After school, Judy and Lisa walked to the five and dime and bought cosmetics. As Lisa went home, afterwards, she entered the trailer court and felt a little sadness wash over her. No one even left this place and did anything. Daughters got pregnant and lived with the parents, letting snotty-nosed brats dig for boogers in their noses and wipe them mixed with dust and dirt, across their bare legs. Dirty diapers turned black with filthy and sagging.
Sons stuck around, bringing home pregnant girls or thin, needle-marked little whores that helped with the drug dealing. The boys, ribs showing, shirt off, slept all day and drank and dealt by night. Clouds of pot smoke surrounded them.
All of the women were faded, thin, and tired; all of the men were mean, lazy, and kind of dirty. Both genders were crude and liked to fight. At night, the music on the air was voices screaming obscenities, kids wailing, guitar riffs blaring from cheap speakers, and the barking of dogs.
Lisa was better looking than the other girls in that she wasn’t thin from drugs or fat from drinking too much. She kept her clothing washed and pressed neatly, and she was blessed with thick blonde hair, bright, pale blue eyes, and good teeth.
Her clothing was too tight for her ripe figure and as she walked down the dusty road, carrying her bag of make-up and a few books, boys and men looked at her. At one trailer, two young men whistled at her while they wiped dirty motor oil on a rag as they worked on a car engine.
One of the men called out, “How much you charge ta-day, Lisa? Can I afford ya or ya want play fer free?”
At least twice a week he called out the same thing; the words were always the same. She had ignored him each time. Today, she glanced over, curled her lip with disgust as she saw his greasy hair, rotten teeth, and sagging jeans. As she walked by, today, she flipped him the bird with her middle finger and shook her head. The men chuckled but didn’t cat-call again.
“Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” an old man leered from his chair set out on his gravel drive. He had a can of cheap beer in one hand and waved at her with the other, motioning her to come over. He sniffed, “Come ‘ere, ya saucy whore.”
“I’m not a whore,” Lisa snapped back.
“Yer mama is , ain’t she? Like mama, like girly. Come on and gimme a kiss, Lisa,” he belched happily.
“Go to hell,” She kept walking. Her mother worked down at the truck stop café and when men claimed she slipped out the back to the truck to turn tricks, well, that was just nasty gossip and untrue. She might drink too much and be a lousy housekeeper and cook, but she tried hard. Lisa’s stepfather slept late, drank all day while he watched game shows, ate whatever Lisa fixed for dinner or her mother left in the refrigerator, drank more, and fell asleep on the ratty sofa.
He had talked fresh before, but he never touched Lisa. She still always went to her room after dinner, locking the door so she could sleep without worry. If he worked, they might have better clothing and a better life, but he claimed his back was screwed up.
Dustin dropped Judy off at Lisa’s on Saturday and Lisa peeking through the curtains, saw Tim was really foxy. Her stomach fluttered. She had cleaned up as much as she could, having to work around her step dad, but she was still ashamed for Judy to see the trailer.
“Wheeellll. Ain’t ya got a fine lookin’ friend?” Frank, Lisa’s step dad called out when Judy came inside.
“Please, Frank….”
“Suitcase? Are ya movin’ in or staying the night?”
“No Sir.”
“What a shame,” Frank leered, “Yer a polite girly. Raised good.”
“Now Lisa, don’t be that way. Wanna sit down and match some wits with me on these shows?”
“No one wants to sit on the sofa and watch show, Frank,” Lisa said. He was in his old, raggedy underwear but Lisa had prayed he’d stay covered by the fuzzy red afghan, but his lap and legs showed as he reached for a fresh pack of cigarettes. He offered the girls a cigarette.
“Jeez, Frank.” Lisa led Judy back to her room. She had that clean and neatly picked up. Judy sat on the bed that was covered with an old quilt and a bunch of faded stuffed animals from flea markets. She apologized for Frank.
Judy waved it off and set about rolling pink foam curlers in Lisa’s hair with a spritz of hairspray and a little water. Just then went to Lisa’s closet and spent a great deal of time looking over the contents. She shrugged, “I brought some things you may like,” She said, as she unpacked the heavy, huge suitcase.
She handed Lisa a short denim skirt. Lisa found it fit perfectly, riding on her hips, but it was really short. Judy’s skirt was looser and almost to her knees. Judy wore some loafers, saying her angle was too sore for platform shoes. Lisa wore her highest wedges, making her legs look a million miles long.
“It isn’t too much?”
Judy shook her head, “You look really hot. Okay, for a top…I have a smock top and it’s short,” He put on a pink top that flowed prettily, slightly showing her stomach. She still looked very innocent and classy.
Lisa picked out a pale blue top. It was a little tight and short but it was cute with darker blue, small teddy bears around the neckline. Judy nodded approval.
After Lisa had make-up on, Judy unrolled her hair and it went all over in thick curls, wild like a lion’s mane. Lisa was shocked, but Judy pinned the sides back above Lisa’s ea
rs with glittering barrettes.
“Wow. You look twenty-five. I’m impressed,” Judy said.
She shared her perfume and in a few minutes, they heard Steve beep the horn on his van. Both girls hurried out. Frank looked up from his television show and asked, “You gonna go turn tricks?”
“What? Shut up, Frank.”
“Ok. You just look like a hooker.”
Lisa ignored him and followed Judy outside, glad to be away. Dustin got out and opened the van’s sliding door, letting the girls climb in after he gave Judy a kiss and told her how great she looked. Tammy introduced Lisa to Tim with a huge smile.
“You are exactly what I expected,” Tim offered her a seat beside him.
Everyone laughed and Tim pulled icy beer from a cooler, passing them around. Lisa took a beer, wincing at the taste; it was terrible, but she drank some to fit in. She was having a good time.
“We’re going to my house,” Al announced. “My parents are gone for the weekend so we can party. We have a hot tub,” He winked and raised an eyebrow, making kissing noises at Tammy.
She giggled.
Dustin lit a marijuana cigarette and after puffing on it, passed it around. Since the other girls smoked it, Lisa tried, coughing hard, but giving it several puffs. Dustin had another that he lit and Lisa drank another beer. It kind of shocked her because all this time, kids at school gossiped about Lisa and her family, calling her trailer trash, saying Lisa’s mama a whore and drug head, calling her step father a lazy bum and drunkard, and making then seem the lowest forms of life.
Lisa had never had sex of any kind, never tried drugs, and never drank alcohol, and yet, tonight, with the most popular girls in school, she was trying some of that. It seemed to Lisa that rich, respected people and poor, despised people did a lot of the same things. The difference was that the rich people were allowed to do it in secret, while the poor people were shamed. It came down to the fact that someone had to be at the low end to look down upon.
It might have been a revelation, but Lisa had been at the bottom for years, skulking and hiding to avoid humiliation, trying to just get through school days so she could go home and hide. She was the butt of too many jokes to forget how it felt. This past week was wonderful and she had held her head up high, laughed, and truly enjoyed herself; for the first time, she had not only friends, but friends who were cheerleaders.
