by Laurèn Lee
“Aw shit, Earl,” Warren said and fanned himself, feigning a blush.
“But he sat me down in my shiny, new office and gave me the best words of encouragement anyone could have ever told me. Do you remember what you said that night?”
“How could I forget?” Warren mused. “I told you to man up and do your damn job!”
The men drunkenly roared and cheered.
“You sure did! And, that was the bold push I needed to put my big boy boots on, and as you said, ‘do my damn job!’ It had been so simple, but exactly what I needed to hear. And, here we all are, so many years later, cheering you on!"
“To Warren!” someone in the back proposed again. “To Warren!” everyone chanted in unison.
After the toasts and roasts, Earl needed a minute to sit down and catch his breath. He stumbled over to his favorite booth toward the back of the bar and slumped back against the wood.
“Feeling okay?” his favorite waitress asked. “Need a water?”
“No, I’m fine. Thanks, Shelly. Just a little tired.”
“I don’t blame you. How do you guys have this much energy?” she mused.
“I don’t think the guys get much time away from the wives and kids." Earl smiled.
“Well, you just holler if you need something. Okay, Sheriff?”
“You bet.”
Earl rested his head against the booth and closed his eyes. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but sleep took him anyway.
Visions of Jackie poured into his mind. Flashes of her smile at the bar mingled with images of a knife cutting her body and sending her shrill screams through the air. Earl wasn’t watching the murder from an outside perspective; he watched as though he were the killer. He felt how the killer felt, and he thought how the killer thought.
“Boss? Boss? Are you okay? Wake up!” Ricky shook Earl furiously out of his slumber.
“What happened?” Earl asked.
“You fell asleep, sir,” Ricky said with a slight slur.
“Jesus,” Earl replied and rubbed his eyes. “I think I had one too many drinks.”
“You were talking in your sleep,” Ricky said quietly.
“I was?” Earl asked, petrified as he remembered what he dreamt about. “What did I say?”
“You kept saying, ‘Don’t look at me. Don’t you dare look at me, bitch!’”
“Wow, that’s odd,” Earl said, confused.
“You sure you’re okay?” Ricky asked with furrowed brows.
“Yeah, I just need a good night’s sleep is all.”
“Want me to call you a cab?”
“Nah, I’m alright,” Earl said sleepily. “You enjoying yourself?”
“I’d say so,” Ricky said and smirked.
Across the bar stood a busty woman with doe eyes and long, chestnut hair which had been curled to perfection. She waved at Ricky and winked. Earl’s stomach dropped and anger rose within his spirit.
“You’re talking to her?”
“Yeah, she’s been buying me drinks!” Ricky glowed with intoxication and lust.
“Son, do you know who that woman is?”
Ricky looked perplexed and glanced back to his date and then to Earl again. “She said her name is Candace. Is there something I should know?”
“She’s a prostitute, Ricky,” Earl sighed.
Ricky’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding me!”
“Serious as a heart attack. You best stay clear of that one. I’ve personally brought her in a handful of times for unlawful solicitation.”
Earl had essentially deflated Ricky’s spirit like a balloon. His smile faded, and the sparkle disappeared from his eyes. “Well, that sucks.”
“The woman for you is out there, she’s just not the whore across the way.” Earl’s blood boiled. How dare that woman crash a gathering for a well-respected officer of the law. It was like she was taunting them all.
“I can’t believe I fell for her act,” Ricky said, now growing as angry as Earl. “She told me she was a teacher.”
“She must know you’re new to town.” Earl glared at her menacingly, and Ricky turned to her and did the same. Candace’s toothy grin vanished as panic set in. She’d been caught.
“Why are women such whores?” Ricky asked. He chugged his beer and slammed it down on the table. Earl had never seen Ricky so heated before. It was rather invigorating to see him exude such passion. “Fuck her! I’m going to get another beer. Do you want one?”
“I’m good, but thank you. I am actually going to head out.”
“Do you want me to take you home?”
“Nah. Try and enjoy the rest of your night.”
“I can call someone to take you home, Boss. It’s not a big deal. You still look tired.”
“I appreciate it, Ricky. I do. Have a good night, okay?”
Ricky nodded and watched Earl stumble out of the bar, hoping he’d make it home in one piece. Meanwhile, he had a bone to pick with the slut standing with a martini just several feet away. No one made a fool of Ricky Jensen and got away with it.
Thirty-Six
When Kit turned fifteen, the local high school allowed him to re-enroll within the school district despite his expulsion several years prior. He secured a clean record since he began homeschooling and scored very high on his state exams. With the promise of no more troublemaking, fighting or violence, the school board approved Kit’s plea to re-enter the public school system.
Kit hadn’t told his mother he’d be going back to a school because she wouldn’t have noticed, anyway. Life drastically changed since his father abandoned the family. Meg teetered off the rails and transformed from Betty Crocker to Jessica Rabbit in a few short years.
She still worked at the strip club, drank excessively, and now she brought home a different man every few nights. If Jim knew what had become of his ex-wife, he'd have gotten sick. She was just as bad as him now. Jim neglected his family, and Meg followed his example.
Gabby had trouble understanding why her mother turned into a different person since Jim left. She asked Kit when their old Mama would come back. Kit hated breaking his sister’s heart, but he figured she deserved to know the truth. He encouraged her to stop waiting around for life to go back to normal, but instead, to focus on school so she could graduate and go to a college very far away.
Kit hated being at home and couldn’t wait to start school again. He knew this time would be different. He’d work harder to contain his demons. Often he felt the urge to hurt his mother. He wanted her to feel the same pain she had inflicted upon Kit and his little sister. He hated she’d turned into a dirty whore. He loathed the greasy men she brought home.
One of his mother’s dates punched him in the ribs when he refused to give him money for pizza. Quite familiar with physical abuse, Kit promised himself he’d never be a victim again. He took out his Swiss Army knife and pointed it toward Meg’s flavor of the week. Kit suggested the next time he slept over, he’d slit his throat while he slept. That was the last time he ever came to the house, and Kit pled innocent when Meg asked if he scared her boyfriend away.
Another time, one of his mother’s dates salivated over Gabby as though she were a deer and he was the hunter. The look in his eyes frightened Kit, and he knew he had to protect his baby sister. Especially if his mom didn’t seem to care about the types of men she brought around her family.
Kit borrowed a book from the library with the desire to learn about car mechanics. He read just enough to understand about a car’s brakes and their anatomy. He screwed with his mother’s boyfriend’s Jeep enough to cut the brake line, which caused him to fall victim to a devastating accident. His mother didn’t wait around for him to recover before she moved on.
Kit did everything to protect Gabby. Anything.
Kit’s first month of school came and went with no outrageous or particularly exciting incidents. Once October rolled around, many of his classmates geared up to ask a date for homecoming. Kit hadn’t made any friends yet, which w
as fine because he hadn’t made any enemies either. He mostly kept to himself and focused on his schoolwork. However, there was one girl who’d caught his eye on the very first day of school. Mindy Bradshaw lived a few streets away from Kit, and he watched her walk to and from school every day. He usually walked a few paces behind her so he could watch and admire her. He loved the way she strolled to school, the way she twirled her hair and how she bit her lip when she was nervous.
Kit wanted to ask her to the homecoming dance more than anything else in the entire world. Most of the kids at school didn’t remember him from elementary school. He’d lost his stutter and lifted the weights his father left in the basement. He wasn’t the most handsome boy in school, but he caught girls looking him up and down from time to time.
“Hey, Mindy,” Kit said as he caught up with his crush on the way to History.
“Hi,” she said as she smiled sweetly.
“I was wondering if you had a date to the dance yet?” Kit’s palms sweated profusely.
“I don’t. What about you?” Mindy answered.
“Well, I was hoping to take you. If that’s all right?”
“Sure, I’d love to go with you,” she crooned.
Kit’s stomach ignited with a herd of butterflies, and he couldn’t believe he had a date for the dance. Soon, word circulated around school, and random classmates clapped Kit on the back for scoring such a hot date.
Kit promised to pick Mindy up at seven on Friday for the dance, and she ensured him she'd be ready.
On Friday, Kit’s heartbeat raced throughout the day. Every time he saw Mindy in the hallway he couldn’t help but blush. Some guys in the locker room after gym class joked about all the dirty things they wanted to do to their dates that night.
“Hey, Kit!” one boy called out.
Kit nodded as he changed into his jeans and second-hand Gap tee shirt.
“You going to give Mindy the business tonight?”
“Uh, I don’t know,” he said shyly.
“C’mon, man! You gotta tap that!” another boy encouraged.
“I don’t think she’s like that,” Kit replied.
“Bullshit. All the girls with dates are hoping to get laid after the dance.”
“They are?” Kit had no idea if this was true or not, but if it was, he grew more nervous. He’d never even kissed a girl yet, and now he was supposed to sleep with one?
“Here, man,” the first classmate offered, handing him a few condoms. “Better to be safe than a dad!”
“Thanks,” Kit said quickly and stuffed the condoms in his back pocket.
Kit picked Mindy up at seven as promised. He’d borrowed his mother’s car because luckily, she had the night off.
“Ready?” Kit asked as he stared at his date in awe.
Mindy wore a canary-yellow knee-length dress with gold sequins covering the bodice. She’d curled her long blonde hair and looked like a goddess from heaven.
“Ready!” she confirmed and interlocked her arm with Kit’s.
When they parked and entered the school’s gymnasium, neither could believe their eyes. The entire place had been decked out in silver and black balloons, streamers and confetti. Kit had never attended a school dance before, but he felt comfortable enough with Mindy by his side.
The couple danced all night and consumed several cups of punch. Unbeknownst to the chaperones, though, someone had spiked the punch with cheap vodka, which caused the kids to run rampant around the gymnasium.
“I think I’m drunk,” Mindy said sloppily.
“Me, too,” Kit said with a grin.
Mindy held Kit’s hand and put her head on his shoulder. “I like you,” she said.
“Yeah, I like you, too,” Kit replied.
Once the dance ended, several hundred groans filled the gym. During the last dance, though, a ballad, Kit and Mindy held each other tightly. Mindy felt Kit’s erection hard against her thigh and giggled in his ear. She kissed his cheek, and Kit wanted to kiss her right then and there. It didn’t matter if anyone watched; he wanted Mindy so badly it hurt.
Students poured out into the night and made plans for an after party a few miles away. A group of couples asked Kit and Mindy if they were coming too. They looked at each other and agreed to go together. They didn’t want the night to end either.
Even though Kit shouldn’t have driven, they made their way to the party and parked amidst the droves of other cars beside the woods. Someone started a bonfire, and two kegs were placed not too far from the flames. A few vehicles blasted their radios to the same station, and the party raged.
Kit and Mindy stumbled into the crowd of rowdy classmates and treated themselves to the flat keg beer.
“You ever been to one of these before?” Kit asked Mindy.
“Only one before this, but it wasn’t nearly this intense,” she giggled and hiccuped.
They quickly finished their first helpings and refilled them promptly. Though drunk, they attempted to dance, stepping on each other’s toes far too many times to count. By the time the clock struck midnight, the party had made no indication of slowing down. It seemed as though the entire high school came out to the woods to drink and cause mayhem. In the darkness, only illuminated by the moon and fire, cliques for once did not take precedence. The jocks shotgunned beers with the stoners, and the cheerleaders gossiped with the drama girls. For once Kit felt like he belonged. Mindy clung to him too, and the more intoxicated they became, the more Kit wanted to show her just how much he cared about her.
“Hey, wanna go back to my car for a few minutes and catch some air?” Kit asked hopefully.
“Oh my God. Yes!” Mindy replied enthusiastically.
They walked the handful of yards back to Meg’s car. Kit leaned against it and looked up at the stars just visible through the branches.
“What a night, huh?”
“Thank you for taking me to the dance, Kit,” Mindy said.
“Thanks for saying yes,” he replied.
“I was hoping you were going to ask me,” she said.
“You were?”
“Yes!”
Kit took a deep breath and pulled Mindy close so that his arms wrapped around her petite body. They stood nose to nose, and both smelled the booze on each other's breath. Kit closed his eyes and kissed Mindy on the lips, praying she wouldn’t pull back. She didn’t.
They started to make out, and although at first it felt awkward, Kit and Mindy quickly learned each other’s movements and fell in sync. Kit’s erection returned and throbbed against his jeans. Mindy massaged him, and Kit moaned into the night.
Instinctively, Kit reached behind him, opened the car door and the couple tumbled into the back seat. He clumsily pulled Mindy in with him, and they giggled as they tried to regain their balance on the suede seats.
“I like you so much,” Kit slurred.
“I like you, too,” Mindy replied as she nibbled on Kit’s ear.
Kit thought back to earlier in the day when the boy in gym class gave him a condom. All his advances toward Mindy were accepted, so maybe she did want to have sex, after all. Kit carefully unzipped Mindy’s dress and pulled the bodice down until she sat with her white, lace strapless bra showing. Kit’s eyes zoomed out of their sockets. He’d never seen a woman’s breasts up close before.
Mindy snickered and pulled Kit back into her embrace. They resumed kissing passionately as though it was their last day on Earth. Only, this time, Kit wanted to go further. He unzipped his pants and pulled Mindy’s hand to feel him. At first, she pulled away, but when he guided her hand back, she didn’t resist.
Kit put his hand on Mindy’s thigh, and his fingers massaged her skin. He traveled farther and farther until he felt her panties in his grasp.
“Kit, wait,” Mindy urged breathlessly.
“What? Did I hurt you?”
“No, no. I just want to take it slow is all.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” Kit’s cheeks reddened, and his heart pou
nded more furiously.
“Well, yeah. But I don’t think I’m ready for more right now.” Mindy blushed.
“I thought you liked me?” Kit asked, confused.
Mindy pushed herself back toward the passenger door. “Of course I like you, Kit. I just don't want to have sex tonight.”
“Why not? If you like me, then we should have sex,” Kit’s voice boomed within the car.
“Kit, I think you should take me home now.” Mindy’s voice shook.
Kit narrowed his eyes and fury unleashed itself within his body.
“No,” he said sharply.
Mindy's face turned white, and desperation sounded within her voice. “I want to go home. Please!”
“Not yet,” Kit warned and pulled Mindy back toward him. “You can’t tease me all night and then act like a prude.”
“I never meant to lead you on, I promise,” she sobbed.
Kit pulled out the condom from his back pocket, covered Mindy’s mouth to stifle her pleas and carried out the fantasy he had in his head all day long.
Thirty-Seven
Earl rose early Saturday morning before the sun had risen to a distinct chill in the air. He heard geese overhead flying south. Winter approached and would be here in no time. His head swirled with endless scenarios of how Ricky could be the killer his entire department had lost sleep trying to catch. He tried to picture him slicing up Jackie, Rhiannon, and Daniel. Presumably, the killer only murdered Daniel because he tried to protect Rhiannon. This killer distinctly hunted women, and anyone else who got in his way was merely a consolation prize. He saw the hatred in his eyes after he learned Candace was a prostitute. That kind of pure angst is rare. His lieutenant certainly had a darker side.
The media and the public poured on the pressure and criticized the station every day that passed with no answers. The tip lines remained open, but most of the calls were angry folks screaming about the injustices happening in their town. However, Earl kept a few lines open just in case a real clue trickled through.
