by Billy Coffey
“Briar?” Bucky asked. “What y’all doing?”
Wilson stuck his head under Briar’s arm. “Need a word, Buck. I know it’s late, but mind if we come in?”
They filed in close, saying their hellos to Angela and Cordelia. Kayann paused when she reached Angela, and don’t you know that woman actually hugged her? Did so with both arms, right there in Angela’s own living room, and Angela was so shocked that she hugged Kayann back.
Angela said, “Let me get y’all some chairs.”
“Won’t be necessary,” Wilson said. “This’ll only take a minute. Got Scarlett and Naomi up at Landis’s house with Hays, and we don’t want to let them alone for long. It’s been a hard day all around, and we could all use some rest.” He looked at Bucky. “Seen what you did tonight at the store, Buck.”
“What I . . . ?” Bucky dipped his head. Doing it quick, I expect, because he couldn’t look at any of them. Not at the mayor, who was the best friend he’d ever had, not at his pastor or the two men on the council. Not at his own family. “Wilson, I don’t know what happened there. I just got so overcome, like I couldn’t think straight, and—”
“What you talking about, Bucky?” Chessie asked.
They all stared at him.
“I don’t know,” Bucky said. “What’re y’all talking about?”
“The fire alarm,” Wilson said. “I saw you hit it when everything got bad.”
“Fire alarm?”
“You saved us tonight, Constable. Maybe saved us all. It’s a dark time, I don’t have to tell you that. You and Angie and Cordelia know it as well as any of us. We need the strong to stand and fight, good men with smarts and quick thinking. Folk need to feel safe again.”
Bucky nodded through all this. Angela too.
“That’s why the council met just a little bit ago, along with Chessie and Briar, the Reverend and Belle. We all voted in accord to come up here and ask if you’ll do Crow Holler the honor of becoming its sheriff, effective immediately.”
Angela gasped. “Sheriff?”
“We know what Homer Pruitt did to you,” Wilson said. “Wasn’t right what he did, so we want to help make up for it. Job will be a paid position, of course. We ain’t settled on how much, but it’ll be more than what you’d get working a dozer. Town funds will cover most, along with your insurance. Briar here said he’d contribute—”
Chessie threw in, “’Long as you leave us alone, Buck.”
“—the rest,” Wilson finished. “You’ll be an important man, Bucky. Time like this, maybe the most important we got.”
Angela couldn’t say a thing. She’d gone just as slack in the face as Cordelia, who’d retreated to the very corner of the room alone and had found a sadness no one bothered to notice.
“We need you, Bucky,” Wilson said. “Town’s all here asking. Will you do this?”
And what could Bucky answer but yes, friend? Couldn’t have been anything but that, because these were his friends and this was his town and it was just as the mayor had said—to be sheriff had always been Bucky’s only dream and want. Yes, he told them, yes and yes again, and when Bucky shook their hands and waved as all those friends made their way back to their dark homes and frightened children, he never once wondered why none of them could look him in the eye.
VIII
Angela quits. Crow feathers. Revival. The kids meet.
-1-
I wouldn’t say Bucky was late rising for the first official day of the rest of his life, but he wasn’t early. Angela served him breakfast in a bed that had endured more rocks and squeaks in the night than it had in quite a long while. Twiced a month may’ve been good enough for a trash man, but I guess Angela thought a town sheriff (that’s how she kept saying those two words, hard and almost awestruck) deserved to partake in the pleasures of the flesh more often. She kissed Bucky on the cheek and neck. Let her hands wander, invited him to do the same. When it was all over, she laid out Bucky’s best jeans and shirt for what was to be a new start for them all.
The mayor called, wanting Bucky to meet him at the grocery so they could take stock of how much damage had been done the night before. Wilson also asked if anybody there had found a flyer either in the mailbox or left inside the screen door that morning. No one had.
“Maybe I’ll just come on up,” Wilson said. “We could ride over to the grocery together. Talk some things over.”
Bucky said that’d be fine, Angela needed the car anyway. She had a special errand down at the grocery that morning. Bucky wasn’t the only member of the Vest family who’d looked forward to this day for a long while.
Cordelia was adamant she would go as well. Not only would Hays be there, chances were good she’d see Naomi and Scarlett too. There’d been texts between the three of them since returning from the hospital, but nothing more. What Cordy had to discuss with her two best friends needed to be done face-to-face. She hadn’t forgotten what Hays had told her the day before or the fear in his voice as he’d said it. And how could she, faced with even the possibility of such a thing? Of something following them home from the mountain? She hadn’t told her daddy and would never tell her momma. I guess she feared that would only poison Hays to Angela even more, and she didn’t want to put further strain on Bucky.
Besides, nothing had followed them from the witch’s house. She would have seen something if it had, yes? Someone else would have seen it, Scarlett or Naomi. She would ask them and they would both say no, of course not, that was just Hays being Hays.
Wilson arrived in his T-bird not long after. Angela sent Bucky off with his own mug of coffee and waved good-bye from the front porch. Bucky grinned and waved back. Should’ve seen how that man smiled, like the whole scene was something straight out his dreams. And I guess it was. He was happy, his wife was happy. The only thing that dulled it was the sight of Cordelia peeking out from her bedroom window, looking at Bucky like he’d never come home again.
“Here,” the mayor said. He took a crumpled piece of paper from his suit jacket. “Look at this.”
Bucky took the page and held it out near the windshield, saying he hadn’t brought his readers with him. He squinted as his lips moved in silence.
REVIVAL!!
ALL THIS WEEK NIGHTLY BEGINNING AT 7:00 P.M.
THE LORD CALLETH FROM THE DARKNESS
WILL YOU ANSWER?
“Found that in my paper box this morning. Found another taped to the door on the council building. Reverend’s done put them up all over the place.”
“Well, I don’t see nothing wrong in Preacher calling a revival, Wilson. Maybe it’ll do some good.”
“Won’t do no good, Bucky. I went to his house, and you know what he told me?”
Bucky said he didn’t, though I imagine he could’ve guessed.
“Said Crow Holler needs a rededication of faith. A turning away of sins past and present. David means to purge the Holler of evil, Bucky. You know what that means? That man stood at the grocery last night and spoke long of battling the witch, now he turns around and tells me the fight’s not on Campbell’s Mountain, it’s in the town itself.”
The mayor drove on, shaking his head, telling Bucky over and over this was all so bad. Bucky sat there like he was trying to put together a puzzle without a picture to go by.
“Preacher didn’t say nothing about revival when I went down to see him yesterday.”
The mayor’s foot slipped off the gas pedal. “You went to see David?”
“I needed prayer, Wilson.” Which was true. In a way. “I got stuff going on you don’t know about.”
“He say anything about me?”
Plenty, Bucky looked to think. But he’d given his word to David Ramsay that he’d say nothing of it. In these parts, a man’s word is about all he’s got. “What would he say about you, Mayor?”
Wilson didn’t answer. “Listen here, Bucky. I’m gonna be straight with you. A few people at the meeting last night didn’t want to see you in this job.”
“Like who?”
“Chessie and Briar, for one. Raleigh too.”
Bucky cocked his head. “What’s Raleigh got against me, Wilson? I ain’t ever done a thing to him. Chessie and Briar, I can see. Them two—”
“Will be left alone,” Wilson said. “That was a condition, Bucky, and you’ll abide by it. Look here, all I’m trying to say is this won’t be easy. Most in this town don’t even want a mayor, much less an officer of the law. Don’t matter if Alvaretta Graves is looming over us all or not. Now I stood up for you last night because I trust you. Always have, Buck, and you’re about the only one.
“Raleigh, he’s gonna do what Chessie wants. I don’t think Landis is in much shape to be on the council at all right now, not after what happened to the grocery. And the Reverend . . .” Wilson shook his head slow. “He’s gonna make this whole mess into some kind of crusade, Bucky. You mark my words, that man’ll turn neighbor against neighbor just to satisfy his own conscience. What you need prayer for? This thing about Homer firing you?”
Bucky nodded, glad to change the subject.
“Well, we got that taken care of, didn’t we?”
“Some of it,” Bucky said. “There’s other stuff I don’t think you’ll be able to fix, Wilson. Or me.”
“Don’t you worry about Cordy. All our girls are gonna be fine soon as we figure out a way to fix all this.”
“Ain’t just Cordy’s face. It’s Hays. She was upset when we picked her up last night. I mean, she’d have to be, you know, when we told her what all happened at the grocery. But there was more going on. I think it’s that boy.”
“Ain’t a problem,” the mayor said. “Cordy ain’t got no ring on her finger. Best she get away from him. You know that.”
“She might not got a ring,” Bucky said, “but she’s got something other.”
“Like what?”
“Like a baby inside.”
That nugget of news stole the mayor’s tongue for a good long while. Other than the usual How’d this happen? and Are y’all okay? and That boy did that to Scarlett, I’d gut him, them two rode like strangers rest of the way into town. I don’t guess Bucky minded. It meant the mayor wasn’t asking him anything else about what the Reverend had said, and it meant Bucky wouldn’t have to either lie or ask Wilson why the Reverend would think Alvaretta Graves had taken both John David and Wilson’s dead wife.
-2-
I don’t know how many hours of her life Angela had wasted pining for the day she’d be free of the grocery. Dreaming of marching up to Landis and Kayann (Kayann especially) to say she was done. Now and finally that day had come, which made it all the stranger that she looked so cold and distant driving along in the family’s little car. But I guess Angela had built that day up so high that actually living it was bound to disappoint. Sure, she was quitting, and she was quitting because her husband was now an Important Man. But it had taken Alvaretta Graves and the evil she’d claimed from the mountain for Angela to gain what she had. It had taken Cordelia and all the other girls getting cursed and the man Angela once loved and maybe still did to lose his business. That’s what I’d guess. And the way Angela stole a peek at Cordelia beside her would tell me I’m right. Because there wasn’t motherly love or heartfelt sorrow in that long gaze at her daughter. It was more a kind of anger.
They pulled into the grocery only a little while after Bucky and the mayor. Angela spoke the very words her husband had only a few minutes before: “I didn’t realize it was this bad.”
Others had already arrived. Along with the mayor’s T-bird, there was Briar’s truck and the Ramsays’ Jeep. Everybody was inside but Bucky, who’d taken it upon himself to go through the lot and pick up the refuse the crowd had left behind. You’d have to chuckle at the irony of it—Bucky getting fired from the dump and then handed the job of his dreams, only to spend his first day of it picking up trash.
Cordy went inside to find Scarlett and Naomi (and Hays, of course, though I’d be lying if I said he was first on that girl’s mind right then). Angela lingered and helped Bucky bag up what they could.
“You sure you want to do this?” Bucky asked. “Cut ties here? Wilson ain’t even said when I’m gonna get my first pay, much less how big it’ll be.”
“Wilson said it’ll be more than the dump, plus insurance. You got reason to doubt him?”
Bucky looked at his wife like maybe he did. “Reverend’s calling revival.”
“I think revival’s a fine idea,” Angela said. “Town needs saving, Bucky. You and the Reverend both have parts to play. If this curse means anything, it’s that we’ve all strayed from the right and good.” She stroked his arm. “I know that means me too.”
“That ain’t how Wilson sees things. I think he come up here this morning looking for the preacher. Belle told us he’s down at the church, getting things ready.”
“Why’s Wilson want words with the preacher?” Angela asked. Her whole face brightened. My, does that woman love her gossip. “What’s he say?”
“Tell you later. Where’d Cordy go?”
“Inside.”
“She act okay on the way?”
Angela shrugged. “I guess we both got a lot on our minds.”
“I guess so,” Bucky said. “You go on and do what you gotta.”
She kissed his cheek and went inside, ignoring the little group of girls that had gathered near the door. Nor did Angela notice Hays’s absence from the store that morning. Her mind held room enough for only one thing, friend. The only thing that mattered.
It was Belle Ramsay who told Angela where she could find Landis. The Reverend’s wife tried to smile as she pointed back toward the dairy section, where most of the damage lay. Belle’s top lip was sweating and her clothes were filthy from cleaning—a happy woman, doing the Lord’s work.
Angela found Kayann trying to piece together the back corner of the store. Landis was with her. The sight of him was enough to give Angela pause—the bent posture, the pale skin, the faraway look to his eyes. Like he’d gone old in a single night. But this was to be Angela’s day, her new start, so she picked her feet up again and kept walking. Not to Landis, though (she’d found she couldn’t bear to wound that man, no matter how he’d once wounded her), but to Kayann. The woman’s clothes weren’t near as soiled as Belle’s. Clean, pressed jeans and a bright orange top with the sleeves rolled to give the appearance of labor. Even Kayann’s makeup was perfect. Angela hated her.
“Angela,” she said. “You’re late. There’s a lot to be cleared away up front. And open or not, you need to wear your smock.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to do that on your own,” Angela said. “I quit, Kayann.”
Kayann near dropped her broom and dustpan. “You what?”
“I’m quitting. I’m not working for you anymore.”
Landis shuffled his body over, and Angela told him the same, though with a softer tone.
“You can’t quit now,” Kayann said. “Look around you, Angela. We have nothing left.”
“I’m sorry,” Angela said, which I suppose she was some, but not really. “I have other duties now.”
“Is this about Bucky?” Landis asked.
“It is.” She turned to Kayann. “My husband is now a man of importance, Kayann. He’ll need me for support.”
“You can’t stay on at least until we get things back the way they were?” Landis asked. “We’re already short Tully. Doc says he won’t be able to work for maybe six weeks.” Then, lower and mostly to himself, “If even he wants to come back, after what we let happen.”
“I can’t. My husband’s gotta come first, Landis.” It was almost an apology—Angela giving him permission to finally let her go.
“How much of this is because of your husband,” Kayann asked, “and how much of it is because of mine?”
Angela whirled around. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know what it means. You’re still in love with Landis. You always have been. This is rev
enge, pure and simple, your way of getting even because he chose me. Bucky’s never meant anything to you, and I dare you to stand here and say otherwise.”
Landis tried acting like he hadn’t heard any of this, but there was no doubt he had. Everyone’d heard it, Kayann had all but shouted the words. Angela looked up to see Cordelia staring from the other side of the store. Bucky stood not ten feet away.
“I quit,” she said again. “I quit, Kayann Foster, and I hate you.”
“Alvaretta should’ve taken more than Cordelia’s face. She should’ve taken you. That would’ve solved all of—”
“I quit,” Angela screamed. “You are a vile and evil woman, Kayann Foster, and there is a hole in your black heart.”
She stormed out, trying not to see Bucky’s face (but doing so anyway, and oh, how his expression hurt her, to Angela’s very bones), screaming for Cordelia to follow. She didn’t wait when Cordy didn’t come. Angela roared out of that little lot at the grocery and never once looked back, leaving everyone to stand and stare.
No, friend. I expect that weren’t the way she’d dreamed it going at all.
-3-
It hadn’t taken much effort for Hays to sneak away from the grocery that morning. One look at that place had been enough to let him know there would never be any putting it back together.
Took him all of ten minutes to walk the road down to Medric’s. Spent another thirty waiting for Medric to get back from wherever he’d gone. His black car came down the road the opposite way sometime later and pulled straight into the back. Medric got out and slammed the door.
Technically, it was business hours. The laminated sign taped to the window said MON–SAT, 9–1, and it was well after opening. But knocking seemed good after what Medric had found nailed to his door two days before, and knocking at the front seemed best.
It was a good thing Hays went that way. As he took the steps leading to the front door, Medric sat in the small kitchen in back, cleaning his shotgun.
Hays knocked and toed at one of the potted plants Medric kept in the porch planters in the warmer months. He looked through the little window to the side of the door and saw a dim room of empty caskets for sale. Then he saw Medric and the shotgun in his hand.
