by JLee Meyer
“That’s why I’m here. I want to make sure you don’t screw something up while you demolish the wall. There could be old pipes in there that tap into another area.”
Stef could feel Denny glaring at her, irritated that she kept trying to goad Jock, but, dammit, she had a right. The hotel was her responsibility, her risk, and she still thought they were making a mistake hiring Jock Reynolds. In college Jock had been nothing but a basketball player and a flirt, bedding any woman she could. Stef had made a few attempts at being nice, only for Denny’s sake, but she was ignored. It was like she didn’t exist because she didn’t flaunt her tits. Now she’d reluctantly placed her future in Jock’s hands. But she wasn’t going to stand back like a cheerleader. Jock had better damn well get used to being supervised. This was no game.
She watched Jock’s shoulders straighten as she marched into the room that contained the wall they were arguing about. She picked up a sledgehammer leaning against a cart and kept moving. Stef suddenly had a bad feeling and scurried after her. Once inside the door, Jock stopped and Stef narrowly avoided crashing into her.
“That the wall you’re worried about?” Jock asked.
Stef nodded. “I don’t even know why it’s there, it’s not on the blueprints. It will open up the room considerably, and we could…”
Her words were lost as Jock strode up to the wall and let the sledgehammer fly, placing a six-inch hole in the plaster and the old and rotting wood slats behind it.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Stef yelled. “I said to be careful.”
Jock struck again, widening the hole, then again, and again. She was about to swing the sledgehammer once more when Denny yelled, “Stop!”
The room was quiet. The new kid, who’d returned and picked up a broom, stared slack-jawed as Stef and Jock squared off. Two other crewmembers poked their heads in the doorway.
“How dare you.” Stef’s hands were on her hips and she could feel the blood rushing to her face. She was going to fire this woman. “I gave you an order, and you ignored it. You work for me, Jock Reynolds, and I will not tolerate your disrespectful attitude.”
“If you think I’m going to let you tell me how to run a job, then you can take this hotel and shove it.” Jock loomed over Stef and wasn’t about to back down.
Denny stepped between them and pushed them away from each other. “That’s enough. Both of you, take a breath. We’re going to have a meeting and I’m going to be the mediator, and the one who decides. Now.”
A higher-pitched voice intruded enough to get their attention. “Maybe you’d better decide about this, too.”
They all turned to the kid, who was staring into the hole Jock had just put in the wall. She aimed a flashlight she must have pulled from the bucket of tools.
Automatically, Stef asked, “What is it?”
Ember never took her eyes from the hole. “Looks like a coffin to me.”
*
Jock muttered, “Well, I’ll be damned.”
The air was stagnant and thick. Stef, Jock, and Denny peered, as a unit, into the hole. Ember obligingly held the flashlight. The beam played weakly over an oblong wooden box, among a few possible wardrobe trunks and very old filing cabinets. There was also a desk of sorts, covered with detritus.
Stef thought her heart had stopped. Both she and Denny turned and slid down the wall to land heavily on the floor, trying to absorb what they were faced with. “I can’t believe it. Just when we were back on track. This can’t be happening.” She felt tears threaten, and tried to will them away.
Denny placed a comforting arm over her shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay. We don’t know for sure that it’s a coffin. We have to look. Let’s not borrow trouble.”
“Why are you upset?” Ember asked. “Isn’t it exciting? I mean, what if it’s a mystery? How cool is that?”
Ah, youth. Suddenly Stef felt much older than her years. Wearily, she said, “Because if there is a body in there, construction stops. Everything stops while an investigation occurs. No jobs, no money, no extensions on our loan, nothing. For however long the powers-that-be take to decide what to do with it.”
That piece of information seemed to deflate the excitement the discovery had generated. No one wanted to be out of work.
Sighing, Stef got to her feet and pulled Denny up. “Okay, let’s take a look. Jock? Why don’t we finish what you started.”
With that, Denny took the sledgehammer and Stef wielded a crowbar and they beat the crap out of the false wall, enough to work out some frustration and be able to crawl through to the space they’d uncovered. After about fifteen minutes of swearing and sweating, they dropped the tools.
Stef said, “Kid, would you give me the flashlight and see if you can find a few more? Thanks.”
Ember handed the torch to her and left the room. Five minutes later Stef, Denny, and Sika, who had arrived to see what the commotion was about, picked their way into the confines of the interior.
“Stef, you should be the one to open the coffin, I mean box.” Sika evidently couldn’t edit her thoughts in time.
“Someone hand me a crowbar.” Stef knew her voice sounded close to hysterical, but she was beyond caring.
As her fist closed around the crowbar Denny passed her, she said a prayer that this really wasn’t a sarcophagus and shoved the pry between the lid and body of the box. It only took two or three pumps to pop the lid, the rusty nails breaking easily. Dust rose and filled their nostrils, sending them all into coughing fits.
“Let’s get this off of here,” Denny said.
They raised the lid, and Sika directed light into the box. “Clothes.” Her deep voice was almost a whisper.
Stef cautiously put a hand inside, preparing to run into skeletal remains as she pressed down on the faded burgundy-colored material. The sensation of age and secrecy ran through her, the material felt fragile but somehow thick and sturdy. An involuntary shudder played over her shoulders.
Behind her she heard Jock say, “Are you okay?” Her voice held none of its usual bravado; she sounded sincere.
Stef could only nod once, not feeling okay at all. She pressed gently down and ran into hard edges but nothing like a skeleton. She exhaled at last.
“I think it’s just more books.” Her voice sounded weird to her, but it was the best she could do.
She heard Jock behind her yell, “Good news, no bodies,” and a small cheer went up from the crew, who’d gathered nearby in concern.
“All right.” Stef was so relived she almost staggered as she sought to lean against the false wall. “Let’s get this stuff out of here and get on with it.”
“Wait, Stef, what will we do with this discovery?” Sika asked. “We don’t know anything about it. There could be some valuable items here. I think we should treat everything carefully and with respect.”
Resisting the urge to stamp her feet and say what she was really thinking, that she wanted to shred the stuff for almost giving her a heart attack, Stef said, “Okay, Mamaka, we’ll move all of this to the vacant apartment at the end of the hall on my floor. That way we can look through it later.” She made her way out of the airless space and addressed the young woman who evidently lived with Mrs. Castic. “Kid? What’s your name?”
“Ember.” She offered nothing else. Her tone hinted at defiance, but her expression suggested nerves.
“Amber. Listen, take one or two others and get the stuff—”
“Ember.” The kid straightened to her full height, a lot taller than Stef, and set her jaw.
Attitude, great. “Ember. Would you please take this stuff, carefully, to the apartment at the end of the hall on Mrs. Castic’s side? You know where that is, right?” Stef had just about had it for the day. The adrenaline surge from the discovery was wearing off.
“I thought you were gonna be next to Mrs. C.”
“No, the other side of Mrs. Castic, end of the hall. I’ll come down and unlock the door.” Stef loved working with mostly women, but it
had its downside. All this being nice stuff. She was impressed, though, that word had already spread that she would be moving into the apartment next to Mrs. Castic’s. She hadn’t even started cleaning it out.
Denny and Jock were smiling at her when she turned back to say something.
“What?” Even Stef had a hard time keeping a grin off her face. They knew exactly how polite she enjoyed being.
Jock gave her a break and ordered, “Let’s clear the room and then take a half-hour lunch break. Move it, folks, show’s over.”
Stef had never been so grateful to escape to her office. She felt like she’d narrowly avoided disaster.
*
Jock strode quickly down Powell toward Market. She’d left work for the day and needed to get cleaned up, but finding a dark place for a beer sounded better. South of Market had more working-class bars where she would fit right in. Hell, it was where she belonged anyway. Being around rich kids like Stefanie Beresford gave her a headache. She’d gone through college on basketball scholarships. It was that or being stuck in Barstow, California, at her father’s construction company.
“Hey, Jock, wait up.” Denny came running toward her and halted six inches from her face. “Want some company?”
Jock had to grin. Denny always made her smile, no matter what the situation. In college Denny had tutored her and helped her pass her classes so she could keep her scholarship. She was a true friend.
“Are you sure you want to be around me? I’m looking for a beer and I’m not particular where I find it.” From the look on Denny’s beautiful face, Jock could tell her remark had come out rough and uninviting. Quickly, she said, “I’m sorry, Den. I’d like some company, if you don’t mind a foul mood like the one I’m in. I was just heading to that dive we used to hit when we were in town for a game. Are you sure you want to risk your health?”
“La Cucaracha? Oh, hell yes. As long as we drink from the beer bottle and avoid anything raw, we should live. I could use some nachos after today.”
They silently fell in step, two very tall women who always got curious looks from the much shorter general population. They were heroines in college, and everyone knew them. After school, well, for Jock at least, she became just another construction worker, most often assumed to be a man, or she was considered an oddity.
When she started her own company, the best of the female tradeswomen were more than happy to come with her. Straight or gay, they liked to work with other women and get things done, minus the politics and the men who usually took or were given the credit for their hard work. The company’s reputation was impeccable.
The bar hadn’t changed. Small, crowded, but relatively quiet at this time of day. Most of the patrons there were just off work and tired, like Jock and Denny. They managed to snag the last tiny table and eventually order beer and nachos.
After a few sips of beer, Denny asked, “So, having fun?”
That was all Jock needed. “That damned Stump. She won’t cut me any slack and never misses an opportunity to complain or try to order me around. God, what’s her problem?”
Denny sighed. “I know Stef has been a real pain to work with. She feels personally responsible for the Kevin screwup, and her family is just waiting for her to fail. Thanks for not just stomping off the job.”
“I understand where she’s coming from, Den, I really do. But this seems personal. Jeez, we never dated, she should feel grateful. You were right to declare her off-limits when you two were roommates.”
“I just didn’t want to listen to another brokenhearted woman carrying on about how the star center on the team dumped her after only a few dates.” Laughing, she added, “It could be a whole lot worse for us now if you had dated her, believe me. So yeah, I guess I was right.”
Jock studied her. “She’s your best friend, so she must have some redeeming qualities. And she’s hot. I would have gone out with her in a second. You saw something about me that made you warn me off. Smart woman.”
Denny cocked her head and Jock flinched inside, hoping she hadn’t revealed too much. “Jock, what do you mean by that? I didn’t put Stef off-limits because you were a bad person. Just…a rolling stone. You were having a great time and weren’t ready to be all ‘let’s get serious’ with anyone. We were kids.”
Staring at her beer, Jock said, “Yeah, kids.”
The waitress appeared and they ordered more beer and a
huge plate of appetizers they could share for dinner. Just like old times.
After a few more minutes of small talk, Denny said, “So, did you date yourself into oblivion? Because according to your crew you don’t go out much these days, or at least you don’t brag about it. That doesn’t sound like the Jock I know.” She placed her hand gently on Jock’s forearm.
Meeting her eyes, Jock found only warm acceptance there. She’d never been able to lie to Denny. She was perhaps the one woman in the world Jock wouldn’t try to manipulate. “I’ll bet you’re like your mom, aren’t you? She gets the absolute truth out of anyone she talks to.”
“I hope so. She’s my hero. Now, are you going to answer my question?”
Sighing, Jock gave in. Maybe telling someone would help her deal with the guilt. The risk was that Denny would be so disappointed she would stop being her friend. After two beers and the day she’d had, that would be one blow too many. The words came out anyway. “Do you remember Melanie Rippitoe?”
Denny looked across the room, probably trying to pull out a face for the name. It didn’t take long. Eyes widening, she said, “Do you mean that girl from the tiny town in Arkansas? The preacher’s daughter. Okay ball player but always telling us about our sinful ways? Sure, I remember her. Don’t tell me you bedded her.”
Jock nodded, staring at her beer.
“My God. I’ll be that went over well with her daddy. When we were in school?”
“Summer after graduation. We were both on campus for classes. After our senior season I blew off an econ class and had to repeat it. She was doing something similar. We ran into each other.”
“So you took her out?”
“It gets worse, Den. You know how I was then—fuck ’em and forget ’em. She kind of let me know she liked me and I turned on the charm. I thought what a cool thing if I could score with a preacher’s daughter. I didn’t give one thought to the ramifications of that, not one.”
Denny only nodded, but it was enough.
“We went out, I was my usual charming self, and we ended up fucking our brains out for a few weeks, probably longer. She was insatiable. I thought it was great, even though afterward she usually was quiet before coming for me again. Usually with tears in her eyes. Everyone’s different, so I just went with it. To tell the truth, I didn’t care, I was getting laid constantly.”
Their platter of food came, and a third round of beer. After a few moments to eat, Denny said, “Well, she was a consenting adult and you brought her out.”
“One night, we didn’t do much talking. We’d been going at it for hours and she told me that she was going to apply to a Bible school for graduate work and she’d probably be moving to Oklahoma. I said I thought that was cool for her. She got all happy and started going on about how I could probably find a job in Tulsa and although we’d have to be in the closet, we could still be together. Eventually she’d have to tell her family, but not at first. She had it all planned.”
“So you would be her secret stud muffin?”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way. But yeah, I guess that’s just what I’d be.”
Denny put her beer down and leaned closer. “What happened?”
“I told her that I was sorry if she misunderstood, but I had no intention of moving to Oklahoma to be in a closeted relationship with anyone. I was out and not about to apologize for that. So she could make whatever plans she wanted, but count me out.”
“Did she accept that?”
Staring, without interest, at the plate of food, Jock said, “She started ranting about how
could I expect her to stay with me but still be a good Christian? She had to go back home, and her solution was the only way we could be together. I…wasn’t very gracious.”
“Go on.” Denny waited patiently, just like always.
“I said that we had never mentioned the L-word and I didn’t need her to stay with me. I was happy to share what we did and she was dynamite between the sheets, but that was it. When school was over, so were we.” Jock could barely get the last part out, trying not to feel the cruelty of her words.
After a few seconds, Denny said, “What happened next?”
Jock felt her eyes slam shut but forced the words out. “She got dressed, walked out to her car, and left. The next day it was all over the campus that she had driven her car off of a bridge and was dead. Terrible accident. But I knew better, I knew she’d committed suicide. Because of me.”
The noise in the tiny bar was raucous but Jock heard nothing. The truth was out, and as horrible as it was, she was relieved to finally tell someone.
Denny’s sweet deep voice intruded on her. “I agree she may have killed herself, Jock. But if that’s true, you weren’t the only reason.”
For the first time since the confession began, Jock was sure she revealed her shock. “What are you talking about? I could have agreed with her, tried to take some time to make her see it wasn’t right. I could have realized she might do something like that. I was such a self-centered ass. If only I’d—”
“You were a kid, Jock. Was this the first time you’d heard of her plans about moving?”
“Yes. All we did was fuck. I even offered to take her out on a real date, but she only wanted to get in bed. I was fine with that. As I look back on it, she was probably afraid someone might realize she was screwing a woman.”
“Honey, Melanie’s problems started a long time before you came along. She was a lesbian growing up the daughter of a Baptist preacher in a small Arkansas town. She’d probably liked girls for a long time and resisted it. She watched you bed every woman in town and maybe fantasized about it. Then, there you were, ready to make her erotic dreams come true, and she couldn’t help herself.”
