The Bend

by Terri Tiffany

  She ducked her head, embarrassed to be caught snooping. Yet why wouldn’t the woman speak to her knowing Brother Earl had invited her as a guest to their home?

  The only explanation that made sense was the woman was shy. That’s why she’d sent her son over today and last night as well. That had to be the reason for her reserved manner.

  Kate packed her camera and notes and dug into her purse for the business card. She’d call Brother Earl when she returned to the office and schedule the dinner. Although she hesitated to make friends in the Bend, it was obvious Brother Earl’s wife needed one. And what better friend to have than one who kept quiet.

  CHAPTER 6

  If only she’d shut up. He tightened the rope that constrained her wrists. His new candidate twisted, screaming beneath her tape. He hated to damage her but in some cases it was the only way they learned.

  Pity.

  Who knew that outing to see the circus trainer when he was twelve would change both his father’s life and his life forever? And now this woman, Cindy, would reap the benefit of his lessons.

  He plied his fingers across her pale throat. She’d offered her name when he carried her groceries out the door. Naive, stupid Cindy. Look where flirting got her.

  Another caress. She squirmed away from his touch, her arms banging against the sides of the box.

  Fire shot from her eyes. He would douse that soon. He would douse everything very soon.

  “You’ll play nicer tomorrow,” he whispered. He flicked one finger under her chin.

  If she made it until tomorrow.

  He pulled a chair from the dark corner. Straddled it. Looked down at her lying in the pine coffin.

  Good hips. Nice for bearing offspring.

  Cindy moaned, banged her feet against the base.

  “No one can hear you. No one. The faster you play by my rules, the faster this will go.”

  He reached for the lid, let it slam shut. “Nap time, darling.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Seth checked the time again. He couldn’t keep his thoughts off last night’s meeting and the redhead who stole his thunder. Sure, Kate seemed nice enough. She’d offered to run out and buy more coffee when the supply ran low. She also suggested they meet the next day at the theater and interview Mr. Jeffers. “Get his thoughts on what he’s showing and how he’s accepting what the town is saying.”

  The last thing Seth needed was someone telling him how to do his job. Been there before. Not going there again.

  He reached for a flavored tooth pick. Peeled the paper back and jammed it in his lower jaw. It was a wonder he never drank.

  Anyone would after losing a woman like Lisa.

  Images of his lost love fired through his thoughts.

  Someday she’d see his picture on the front page of the news or on TV when he accepted his award. She’d regret dropping him. Maybe she’d even cry a little. He pictured her calling her girlfriends to tell them how Seth and she were once an item. Maybe she’d call him.

  He crushed his paper cup.

  Who needed this little redhead to come in here acting like a star reporter? He spun around, eyed the office doorway and the clock over it once more. Where was she now? Barking up another tree in hopes of putting him out of a job?

  “Where’s that story you said you’d have for me by now?” Tim trotted out of his office, his glasses pushed high on his head, his lips turned downward. “Daydreaming out here again, huh?” His voice sounded gruff but Seth knew his boss well enough to know he was all air.

  “Almost done. You’ll love it.” He returned to his computer, tapped a few keys.

  “Yeah, yeah. That’s what you always say. Just so it pays the bills.”

  “Speaking of bills, have you thought about raises? My yearly anniversary was last month.”

  Tim stopped sorting papers on a nearby desk. “Told you and I’ll tell you again. Get me a story worth selling and I’ll get you that raise. Then you can buy yourself a decent car instead of that piece of junk you call a Jeep.”

  Seth laughed. “You don’t like it?” He loved his Jeep. It had been his father’s. Parting with it wouldn’t be so easy.

  “Just get me my story.” Tim returned to his office, leaving Seth staring at a blank computer screen.

  He had nothing new to report on his story. Last night’s meeting hadn’t revealed much more about Brother Earl than he already knew. The guy lived like a king in his funeral home surrounded by more women than Seth cared to count. Young women. When Seth tried to check the marriage records, the staff at the county office politely told him they were none of his business. The next day he saw the Recorder of Deeds eating lunch with Earl at the Cow’s Cafe. Neither spoke to him when he walked past.

  He’d need to be more careful if he wanted to uncover the truth.

  He shut off his computer. The only event for him to cover today was the bowling derby at the Starburst Lanes outside of town. He picked up his phone. It wouldn’t hurt to take a photographer with him.

  Kate answered on the second ring. “This is Kate.”

  “Meet me at the bowling alley in ten. I need pictures.” He didn’t give her a chance to refuse, hung up and gathered his belongings. He was the real reporter at this paper.

  ###

  The temperature inside the lanes registered eighty degrees according to the cowgirl thermometer that hung over the front counter. Seth pushed his way through the crowd of wannabe superstar bowlers until his gaze landed on Kate. Bent over a bowler, her hand clutched a pen and pad. Seth dug for his recorder. He gritted his teeth as he approached.

  “What are you doing, Red? Where’s your camera?”

  She straightened, jutting her chin out as she did. “I brought it. Jack and I were just discussing the way the tournament is going to run. I thought that information might be useful.”

  He could tell by the way her lips moved, he’d offended her. But who cared? She was hired as a photographer and needed to go on his leads. “Great. Get some pictures of the teams as they warm up while I meet with Jack.”

  Kate nodded her apologies to Jack and shuffled over to the other side of the lanes where she pulled out her camera. Seth shrugged. Maybe she’d get tired of the Bend and pack up and leave. Others had. What made her any different? Once most newcomers got wind of this town, they took off running like a bad case of diarrhea. He’d seen that happen a dozen times in the past year.

  Faith, the last photographer, had not even said good-bye. She never showed up at work the next morning after a big rally on the hill. Rumor had it she’d run off with a local but Seth thought otherwise. She hadn’t liked his warnings. He didn’t want to think about the other possibility—the possibility that ran through his brain when he lay in bed at night. He shook his head. Idiot thoughts.

  He glanced again at Kate. How long before she ran off too? Maybe Tim would let him pick the next photographer. Someone who wouldn’t compete with him.

  He shelved his dismal thoughts for later when the announcer came over the PA system. Time to do his job.

  The event rolled to a stop after three hours of bowling and a lot of hoopla in between. Kate took the pictures he suggested while he took notes. He almost pulled the plug an hour into it but didn’t. He needed a complete story and might as well keep his eyes open for one here. Besides, she seemed content to hang out. She’d struck up conversations with several of the locals.

  “Soda?” The bar maid wiped down a wet spot in front of him when he stopped at the counter.

  “Root beer, please.” Seth took a long sip through the foam, and eyed the remaining patrons. To his far left, a group of older bowlers gathered. Their heads were bent close, foreheads almost touching. Seth watched with interest as Kate approached them, notebook in hand. He took another long sip as she sidled up to one gritty farmer. His scraggly bearded face scowled when she said something to him. Kate stepped back, nodding, her cheeks turning crimson. Even at this distance, Seth could tell that whatever bearded face said to her it wasn’t
nice. He set down his glass with a sigh.

  Seth ambled toward the group of men and Kate with a smile pasted on his face. Hopefully he could diffuse whatever mess she’d gotten herself into without a fight. Gritty Farmer, aka Mole, looked up at him. “Hey Seth, tell your sidekick here that women ought to dress like women. Not hang out in bowling alleys asking questions they have no business asking.” He spit a wad of juicy brown slop into a nearby cup.

  “She’s new to the Bend. Give her a break, Mole.”

  Mole frowned. “Slow learner and an outsider. Better have a talk with her.” He spit again, this time giving Kate the stink eye. She’d had the decency to step further back from the group but Seth saw her jaw tighten.

  She would not be easy to convince. But he owed it to her to try.

  CHAPTER 8

  The last time a man spoke to Kate like that she’d told him off. Today she took a deep breath, wishing her face didn’t burn so much. She must look like a school girl who heard her first bad word on the playground. Too bad she needed this job. She would like to walk right out the door, get her belongings and head south.

  “I’m sorry to have bothered you,” she said to Mole after Seth finished his rescue.

  “Maybe you better think twice about going around and asking questions about the Bend. You might not like the answers.” He snorted and turned back to his group of cronies, laughing as he did.

  Kate limped to a corner where she’d set her belongings. She shoved her camera into its bag harder than she should. So what if she asked a few questions about Brother Earl. He seemed to be the man of the hour and she wanted more information for her story.

  “Can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Seth stood next to her. She fisted her hands. Forced herself to not slap him. Let alone thank him.

  “Are we done here? I’ve got a few calls to make and I’d like to check my photos.”

  He shrugged as though he had nothing better to do than remind her about her humiliating moment. “Fine with me. I’ll meet you back at the office. Everyone should be gone by now. If you beat me, there’s a key under the front mat.” He turned and returned to the lanes where he stopped and chatted with a few younger bowlers who were packing up.

  Kate gritted her teeth. Seth would definitely take getting used to as much as this town, but his arrogance would not get the best of her. What Seth didn’t know was she was a survivor.

  ###

  The key sat right where he said it would be. Kate felt for the light switch. The front room illuminated with a soft glow casting enough light into the next room to find the next switch. She went directly to her desk and fell into her chair with a sigh. Was it too late to call Brother Earl and set up dinner?

  She dug for her cell phone. She still couldn’t rid the boy’s comment about his mothers from her mind. That’s what she’d asked old scraggly beard and his friends at the bowling alley. “Do you know Earl’s wife?” They clammed up like someone had threatened to take their paychecks from them. All except the guy whose shoulders outsized a grizzly and smelled like he needed a long overdue shower.

  She flicked the embossed card with her finger. A funeral home director. The kind of man she’d want to go to if she needed those services. Brother Earl didn’t exactly ooze compassion. She couldn’t imagine him assisting a broken-hearted widow with the coffin selection or choice in music. Perhaps he owned the home but didn’t run it. That had to be the answer. Maybe his wife performed all the empathy scenes. Or one of his wives.

  She set the card in front of her. What kind of meeting would it be? Would he allow her to question him about his plans for the Bend? Of would she be expected to sit meekly and sip her soup?

  She wouldn’t go if that was the case.

  Her phone in hand, Kate punched in the numbers. She waited. On the fifth ring, a woman answered. “May I help you?”

  “This is Kate Song from the paper. Brother Earl invited me to dinner at your home this weekend. Could you give me a time and directions, please?” Getting right to the point seemed the best tactic. She waited while the woman put her on hold.

  A second later, Brother Earl’s fiery voice boomed into her ear. “We eat precisely at six p.m. This Saturday will be fine. Sunday is the Lord’s Day and I reserve that for my family. I will see you then, Miss Song.”

  The phone died.

  Precisely at six he’d said. She’d arrive at 5:45.

  CHAPTER 9

  Seth frowned. It wasn’t like him to eavesdrop on someone but he couldn’t help it when he heard Kate mention Earl. Mole was right. She was a slow learner. Stupid wouldn’t win her any Pulitzer prizes. For that he should be grateful.

  He pretended to cough twice before he entered the office, giving her time to pull herself together. He hated a weepy female. “So how did the pictures turn out? Get any we can use?” He didn’t care but one glance told him now wasn’t the time to ask. She looked like she could eat a bear for dinner. Raw.

  “How much do you know about Brother Earl? Really. Is he always so polite?”

  Seth plunked down in his chair across from her. He turned on his computer. “You heard him at the rally. The man is intense.” In some ways, like himself. But Seth didn’t go around in public acting like he was God.

  She turned back to her desk and punched some keys. “I’m surprised he’s so well received. He has the personality of a shark.” She pulled out a cable and attached her camera to the computer. Another few clicks. “So do his cronies.”

  “Still brooding about your encounter with the boys? Get used to it. In this town, you’re either on the inside or the outside.”

  “Where are you?”

  She was looking at him again and he couldn’t help but admire the fine shape of her lips. He tore his gaze away. The last time he became involved with a coworker, he lost a major story because he was too wrapped up in the chase. Nothing would stop him this time. Not even emerald green eyes that glowed like gemstones.

  “I prefer to stay neutral. If you have any sense at all, you will too. Consider that my free advice for the day. Now if you don’t mind, I have a story to write.” He placed his hands on the keyboard and typed two lines.

  “Of course. Don’t let me stop you.”

  Icy. He had almost felt sorry for her. Forget that. Let her find out on her own what the Bend was like. He’d tried to warn her but some fools needed to wade knee deep in it before they learned.

  ###

  Kate glanced at Seth again. Stuck working with Mr. Macho. A sigh wormed itself out of her lungs. Hopefully he hadn’t heard but just in case, she stretched her arms over her head and let out a huge yawn.

  Next she scrolled through the photos she’d taken earlier that day. She held her breath. Please no auras. But she never knew when they would appear. That was the hard part about this curse—never knowing when she’d see the white glow and who it would surround. She leaned in to peer at one particular shot. Mole. She’d taken a picture of him wiping his ball after throwing it. Was that a ring on his right hand? He didn’t look like the kind of man to wear one. She zoomed in. It was a ring. A ring with a hawk emblem. She tapped her fingers on her desk. Glanced again at Seth who was typing. Better not to ask him. He’d give her a flippant answer—something that meant nothing.

  She studied the ring again. Why did it look so familiar?

  It didn’t take her long to remember where she’d seen that ring before. The answer sent shivers racing across her neck.

  Brother Earl and Mole wore identical jewelry.

  CHAPTER 10

  There were distinct advantages and disadvantages to being the only reporter in town. Either people liked you or they didn’t. Most people Seth got along with. Most people.

  On Friday night Seth scanned the mixed crowd at Selma’s Pizzeria before choosing a secluded seat in the back. The smell of baked dough made his stomach growl. He usually ate at home but his refrigerator lacked food and the last thing he wanted to do tonight was shop. He also wanted to interview Selma, the pizzeria owne
r. He’d heard Earl had paid her a few visits.

  The cute waitress with a butterfly tattoo on her wrist dropped a menu in front of him.

  “Two slices with pepperoni and extra cheese.” He gave his order doubting whether or not she heard it. She seemed more interested in the gamers along the wall than her customers.

  He should have gotten it to go.

  “Late night for you? Or do you have another town meeting?”

  Seth recognized that voice. He looked up. Heads turned. Feet shuffled. The room quieted. A couple next to him grabbed their drinks and moved to the front.

  “Are you deaf?”

  His gaze crashed into Harley White’s iron stare.

  He could have spit and heard it splat on the floor.

  Harley slammed down his drink and shoulder-bumped the guy next to him.

  Looking for another fight.

  Seth usually managed to avoid the low-life but tonight he had no choice. Seth remembered what Tim told him after his first run-in with Harley. Play along. Don’t let him get to you.

  He didn’t want to pretend tonight.

  “Go home, Harley. Play with your dolls.”

  A buzz circulated around the other patrons. Small-town entertainment. Seth sipped his soda. Slowly and deliberately.

  “You don’t know who you’re messing with, boy.” Harley’s threat reverberated off the walls.

  Seth’s heart picked up speed. He unclenched his drink. “I know exactly who.”

  Harley hoisted himself from the chair, bolstered by the catcalls of his two buddies. More low-life. Seth steeled himself. He’d lose the fight but at least he hadn’t put up with him.

  “You think you’re something, do you? Writing fancy articles about a town that isn’t even yours. Why’d you come here? No place else want you?” He laughed at his twisted humor.