Sugar and Spite

by G. A. McKevett

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The teenager who had identified himself as Nathan—aka Nat the Juggling Computer Nerd—began to relax as Savannah sat on the sun-warmed rock beside him and nudge answers out of him. Neither Dirk nor Jake was nearly so mellow-minded; they paced up and down the edge of the pond, listening anxiously. Jake jingled change in his pocket and smoked liked a salmon in a hothouse. Dirk just paced and smoked.

  “The belly-dancer girl,” Nat was saying, “the one who wouldn’t let Snake kiss her...”

  “The girl who slapped him and took off down the trail?” Savannah offered. “The girl we never found?”

  He nodded vigorously. “Yeah, her. I think she had something to do with what happened to him later.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Savannah’s left eyebrow lifted one notch, an accurate barometer of her interest level. “What do you think she had to do with him being killed?”

  “Well, it wasn’t her fault, or nothing like that,” he quickly added. “I mean, if she did do it... come on to him and then slap him and get him to follow her into the woods... she didn’t mean to. That is, she didn’t do it to get him killed. She would’ve just done it because... well, because her boyfriend wanted her to. That’s all.”

  Savannah studied his face, the blue eyes so full of fear. “Sounds as if maybe you like her a little, maybe you want to protect her even though you know she did something wrong.”

  He shook his head. “No. She didn’t do anything wrong. And I don’t like her. At least, not that way. She’s... well... she’s my older sister. I’m just telling you this because I’m worried about her.”

  Dirk stopped pacing for a minute. “You’d better be worried for her. If she lured that guy Snake into the woods to get him killed, she’s in big trouble.”

  “Yeah!” Jake agreed. “And you’d better not protect her, because then you’d be an accessory, too.”

  Savannah gave them both scathing looks. “If you two don’t mind. Nat and I are talking. You two are pacing and smoking and acting like jerks. We all have our gifts, and it’s best if we stick to what we’re good at.”

  She turned her attention back to the boy. “You said she would have done it because she was told to. Who would want her to do such a thing?”

  “Her no-good, bum boyfriend, Kevin Donaldson. He’s a really bad dude.”

  The kid’s fear intensified, and Savannah realized the source of his anxiety and why he had requested such a private, out-of-the-way meeting place. He was scared to death of this bad dude. But he still had the courage to come forward out of concern for his older sister. She had to admire him for his moxie and loyalty to his family.

  “What makes you think this Donaldson is so bad?” she asked him. “Have you seen him do anything or—”

  “I’ve seen him smack my sister around. And he kicked our dog a couple of times, really hard, and she wasn’t even doing anything wrong. And, one time when he was really drunk, he said that he had burned some people’s house down. Said he did it with another guy for money. That’s how he bought his Corvette.”

  “Did he say who those people were... the people whose house he burned?”

  “No. And I didn’t ask him either. I was afraid that the next morning he’d sober up and remember he told me about it and kill me.”

  “Probably smart on your part. What else?”

  “And he was asking me all about my crossbow, how to use it and stuff.”

  “Did you tell him?”

  “Yeah. I was afraid not to. He even made me take him out into the woods, and he practiced shooting at trees and then birds.”

  “How was he?”

  “Pretty good! He shot a crow out of a tree, first try.”

  Savannah gave Dirk and Jake knowing looks. They had stopped their restless wanderings and were listening attentively to every word.

  “He was all proud of himself that he’d shot it,” he continued. “It was lying there all dying and bloody, its wings twitching. And Kevin was laughing, bragging that he’d got it right through the heart.”

  “Where is your crossbow right now?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Don’t know. I put it back after we’d been shooting in the woods. I kept it under my bedroll in our tent. But when I looked for it this morning, it was gone. My quarrels, too.”

  “Quarrels?”

  “Sorry. That’s what they used to call the square-headed arrows used with a crossbow.”

  “Of course. I’m a little rusty on my old English. Did this Kevin guy know where you kept your bow?”

  “Sure. He saw me get it out before we went shooting, and he saw me put it back under my bedroll.”

  Dirk walked up to them and sat on a nearby rock. His face softened as he dropped the tough-guy routine and became the man Savannah had always found endearing.

  “I’m sorry I was a jerk a few minutes ago,” he told Nat. “I’m just really worried about this case and mad, too. See, that guy Snake murdered my ex-wife, right in my own home. Shot her with my gun.”

  Nat’s eyes bugged. “No way!”

  “It’s true,” Savannah assured him. “And now Snake’s dead, too, and we don’t know why.”

  “Do you think your sister might have lured Snake into the woods so that Donaldson could shoot him with your crossbow?” Dirk asked.

  The kid’s blue eyes quickly filled with tears, but he blinked them away. “I think so. I heard them arguing just before. She was saying, ‘Why? Why do you want me to do it? I won’t do it unless you tell me why.’ ”

  “Do you think he told her?” Savannah asked.

  “No. I listened, and he didn’t. He just hit her and told her to do it or else she’d be sorry. And he told her to keep her mouth shut about it, too.”

  Jake had sat down on the rock near Dirk and lit up another smoke. “Did you hear him tell her what she was supposed to do?”

  “No, but it was right after that happened that she went out and found Snake and was making eyes at him, coming on to him and stuff. Then, when he decided to go for it, he tried to kiss her, and she slapped him. My sister Lynn isn’t that kind of girl. She doesn’t go around teasing guys. And she didn’t like Snake at all. She’s just into Kevin; I don’t know why.”

  Savannah gave him a sympathetic nudge with her elbow. “Sometimes girls get involved with a bad guy before they realize what’s up. And then, they’re afraid to walk away. Your sister’s probably caught in that sort of situation. But now that you’ve come forward, I think we can help her. You did the right thing, Nat.”

  “Yeah, and we really appreciate it,” Dirk said. “I really appreciate it.”

  “Will you come down to the station with me,” Jake asked, “and put this on paper?” When a look of horror crossed the boy’s face, he quickly added, “I’ll keep you safe. I promise. I won’t move on this Donaldson until I’m sure I’ve got him. We’ll do it right. Trust me.”

  Savannah gave Jake a You’d Better Not Screw This Up Or You’re Dead look. Then she turned to Nat. “They’re going to do it right. Promise. We have to take good care of folks who do the right thing; there aren’t enough of them in the world as it is.”

  Savannah licked the edge of the Very, Very Berry and Chocolate Supreme Decadence, double-scoop ice-cream cone and decided that maybe, just maybe, life was worth living after all. How many occupations allowed you to indulge in such culinary hedonism... all in the line of duty? And every dieter knows that food eaten on the job has no calories, as well anything consumed standing up or riding in a car, or bites stolen from someone else’s plate in a restaurant, as those calories rightly belong to the person who ordered the dish in the first place. Guilt-free goodies... one of life’s greatest treasures.

  The girl who had scooped this bit of heaven on earth for Savannah was none other than Nathan the Juggler’s wayward older sister. Though it was difficult to imagine her belly dancing in a medieval gypsy village. At the moment, she was a study in boredom, standing behind a counter that held more than twenty flavors of ice c
ream, dressed in a pink-striped smock and wearing a pink scarf to hold her blond curls away from her face.

  She had served Savannah with only minimalist grunts and a mumbled, “Two-fifty.” Savannah decided that her somewhat surly attitude might be due to her blackened left eye and her busted lower lip. Either Nathan’s sister, Lynn, had a self-destructive habit of walking into doors, or old Kevin had been using her for a punching bag again.

  Retreating to the card section of the large drugstore, Savannah stood behind a rack of red, pink and white Valentine cards and watched Lynn as she mechanically performed her duties of scooping and collecting money. The young woman looked intensely unhappy. There was a heaviness about her actions that indicated something was crushing her spirit.

  Savannah had seen the look on far too many women, young and old. And many of those had been truly kind, loving people... all the more easily taken advantage of because of their gentle natures.

  She found it hard not to hate the abusers who mistreated these women simply because they could. They were cowards who chose those females as targets for their rage and feelings of impotence, rather than stronger, less kind and generous souls. For the most part, bitches didn’t get whacked around. Nice ladies did. It was a cruel irony that Savannah despised.

  And Nat’s sister, Lynn, looked like she had once been a nice, sweet young lady. Now she just looked empty, used up.

  Savannah killed time, shopping for a Valentine for Tammy, until another ice-cream server relieved Lynn, and she walked outside the store for a cigarette break.

  Savannah followed and found her leaning against an empty bicycle rack, lighting up.

  “Hi,” she said as she approached her, trying to look as casual as possible. It wasn’t easy, considering that Jake and Dirk were anxiously watching every movement she made from Dirk’s old Buick Skylark, parked in the rear of the lot near the road.

  Lynn gave her a suspicious half scowl that made her black eye look even more ominous than before. She didn’t reply... only grunted.

  “I know something about your boyfriend, Kevin,” Savannah said, leaning against the rack herself, watching traffic whip by on the busy, palm-tree-lined Lester Street.

  “So?” She was like a trout who was obviously interested in the worm on the hook, but wouldn’t bite.

  “So... I know that he killed that guy, Snake, at the faire. And I know that you helped him by getting Snake to follow you into the woods.”

  There! That had the desired effect! Miss Cool Hand Lynn’s mouth sagged and even her bruised, swollen eye opened wide. Savannah loved dropping bombs on people, especially deserving folks who had done nasty deeds like helping to murder another person.

  Lynn sputtered and spewed, but no articulate words came out.

  Savannah continued. “I also know that you didn’t really want to help him, that he bullied you into it. Which means, that if you come forward right now and tell the authorities everything you know, you won’t be in nearly as much trouble as you will be if you wait until they come after you.”

  Lynn’s fingers were trembling so badly that she could hardly bring her cigarette to her lips. “Are you... are you a cop or something?”

  “No. I’m not a cop. I’m a private investigator.” She pointed to Dirk and Jake, sitting in the car near the street. “But they are. And they know everything that I know.”

  Lynn choked on her smoke. “So... why haven’t they arrested me yet?”

  “They were going to. I talked them out of it, said I wanted a chance to convince you to give up Kevin and save yourself.”

  Throwing the cigarette onto the ground, the young woman began to cry. Savannah reached into her purse, pulled out a tissue, and handed it to her.

  “Why would you do that?” Lynn said between sobs. “Why... did you want to help me? You don’t even know me.”

  “Oh, I know you. I know you all too well,” Savannah said, wrapping her arm around the girl’s shoulders. “I’ve known literally hundreds of women like you, young and old, rich and poor, black, white, and all the colors in between. And I know that the best thing you can do to be rid of this bastard, once and for all, is to help the cops put him away.”

  Savannah shook her gently, wishing she could literally shake some sense into her. But there was so much fear in the young woman’s eyes. And, often, fear overrode common sense.

  “He’s a killer, Lynn,” she told her, “and he’s incredibly selfish. He’ll kill you, too, if he decides it’s what’s best for him. Don’t think for one moment that he won’t. In spite of what he tells you when you’re having sex, you aren’t that special to him. Believe me, no one is truly special to someone like him.”

  Tears streamed down the young woman’s face, causing her mascara and eyeliner to run in black rivulets down her cheeks. Savannah could tell that her mind was racing as she tried to make what was probably the most difficult decision of her life.

  “He murdered somebody, Lynn,” Savannah added softly, trying to tip the scale to the right. “He killed someone in cold blood. And worse yet, he used you to do it.”

  Lynn blew loudly into the tissue and dabbed at her eyes. “Snake was a jerk,” she offered feebly.

  “I’m sure he was,” Savannah agreed, “but that didn’t give Kevin the right to stalk him with a crossbow in a dark woods. He died in a lot of pain; I know, I was there. And you know as well as I do that this wasn’t the first time Kevin has done something illegal.”

  It was a shot in the dark, but this particular quarrel had found its target. Lynn looked shocked that Savannah seemed to be so knowledgeable on the subject of Kevin Donaldson’s exploits.

  “And Snake isn’t the first person that Kevin had hurt either,” Savannah ventured. “There was that house that he burned and heaven knows what else. Somebody like that can’t be allowed to walk around free, hurting more and more people. Next time it could be you, Lynn, or somebody in your family, someone you love.”

  Lynn nodded, looking positively miserable. “Last night he hinted that he was going to do something to my little brother, Nathan. Said he thought Nat might get him into trouble, you know, about the crossbow.”

  “What about the crossbow?” Savannah asked with conjured sincerity.

  “It was my little brother’s crossbow that Kevin used to shoot Snake. And Kevin’s afraid that Nat noticed it missing. I told him if he touched my brother, I’d turn him in or kill him myself.”

  “Let me guess,” Savannah said dryly. “That’s when you got the shiner.”

  “Yeah. I didn’t sleep at all last night, worrying about my little brother.” She started to sob again, even harder than before. “If anything happened to Nat, I don’t think I could stand it.”

  Savannah patted her back soothingly, just as she would have any one of her own younger siblings. “That’s why you have to talk to them, Lynn,” she said, pointing to the car where Jake and Dirk sat, watching. “You have to tell them everything you know so that they can make sure they have a case against him. Are you willing to talk to them right now? I’ll walk you over to the car and introduce you. Then I’ll go back into the store and make it right with your boss. I’ll tell them that you have a serious family problem and had to go home. Okay?”

  Lynn blew her nose again, squared her shoulders, and nodded. “Okay.”

  “Good girl! That’s one of hardest, smartest things you’ll ever do. I’m mighty proud.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  An hour and a half later, Lynn was sitting in Savannah’s Camaro in the middle of the drugstore parking lot, crouched down in the seat, so that she could barely see out the car window. Savannah sat in the driver’s seat beside her, cell phone in her hand.

  “How’s she doing?” Dirk asked over the phone. He and Jake were still in Dirk’s Buick, but they had pulled the car to the front row, near the store’s door.

  “She’s fine ... considering,” she replied, looking down at the frightened young woman in the pink smock beside her.

  “Isn’t this
about the time Donaldson usually picks her up from work?” he asked.

  She turned to Lynn. “Your shift is over at five, right?” she asked her. “And that’s when he arrives to drive you home?”

  Lynn’s teeth were chattering, her arms crossed tightly over her breasts, as though she were afraid her heart was beating so hard it would fly out of her chest at any moment.

  “He’s usually here about ten minutes early,” she said, “to make sure that no other guy is hanging around. He’s really jealous.”

  “Yeah, he’s jealous. His kind always is. They’re also the sort of jerk who fools around on a girl. It never fails.”

  She lifted the phone back to her mouth. “She says he’s often early, so it’s anytime now. You two ready?”

  “Chomping at the bit, fit to be tied, and rarin’ to go ... as you would say.”

  Savannah grinned. “Why, I’ll make a righteous Rebel out of you yet, Yankee boy.”

  Dirk just growled.

  Suddenly, Lynn gasped, reached over, and grabbed Savannah’s thigh. “That’s him, there in the new black Corvette.”

  A sleek, perfectly polished Corvette slid into one of the parking spots near Dirk’s Buick and came to a stop.

  “Heads up, lawman,” she said. “That there’s your guy ... the scrawny-assed yahoo crawlin’ out of the black ’Vette.”

  “They’d better be careful,” Lynn said breathlessly, as they watched Dirk and Jake approach their suspect from the rear as he walked across the lot toward the store entrance. “Kevin’s really strong, and he’s mean, and he knows a lot about fighting. He might hurt them and get away.”

  “He’s like all the rest of the lily-livered bullies,” Savannah said. “He’s a big shot when he’s beating up on women and other innocents, or when he’s stalking somebody in the dark. But let’s see how he does against a couple of really tough guys. How much you wanna bet he folds like a cheap playing card?”

  Lynn had started crying again, hugging her arms even tighter across her chest. “No, you don’t understand. He’s really—”