23 Miles

by Renee Mackenzie

  Shay nodded. “A lot of people will feel much safer then.”

  Chapter Seven

  Talia was in the lab area pouring a stone model for a patient’s crown. She held a finger between the metal tray of impression material and the top of the vibrator to buffer it a little. She started the flow of stone mixture from one end of the tray and let it go in slowly, being careful to vibrate out any bubbles as she went to keep the model from having voids. Dr. Bennett hated voids. She stared, loving the lava-like viscous flow of the mixture.

  She smiled at the memory of when the last vibrating thingamajig had conked out and Dr. Bennett asked her to order a new one. Sally usually did the ordering but was on vacation. Talia had no idea what was the official term for the thingamajig and was mortified when she called the dental supply company to order a new one. Talia and the rep on the other end of the phone laughed for ten minutes about Talia wanting a new vibrator for work. In the end, she got the equipment Dr. Bennett wanted, but still didn’t know it by any other name.

  Dr. Bennett was in the hallway talking to a patient and Talia heard them mention the woman found in the York River. She took the tray she was pouring stone into away from the vibrator to better hear but only a few words made it to her, and she was risking screwing up the model so she quit trying to eavesdrop. Maybe Lacey was hearing the conversation and Talia could ask her later.

  Talia finished pouring the model and was quite impressed by her work. It wasn’t lost on her that the parts of her job she enjoyed the most didn’t directly involve patients. More than once she’d thought that maybe she should look into working at a dental lab.

  At the end of the day, Talia and Lacey were in the lab area. As Lacey cleaned the counter space and Talia pulled sterilized instruments from the autoclave, she asked, “Did you hear what Mr. Wilson was saying about the woman pulled from the river?”

  “Yep.” Lacey came closer. “Definitely looks like a suicide. Been there so long it may be tough to get an identity. They’re looking into a few possibilities. You know, women who went missing from the area a long time ago.”

  Women like Mrs. Hunter, Talia thought. She found herself wondering which would be harder, finding out your mother killed herself years earlier or never really knowing what happened to her.

  She was still thinking about the Hunters when she left for the day and walked into the parking lot. That’s one of the reasons she jumped when she saw April Hunter standing next to her car.

  “Hi, Talia.”

  “Hey, April. What’s up?”

  “Please tell me you have something. Anything.” She leaned closer as she spoke.

  Talia grew concerned that April might raise her voice. It’d be just Talia’s luck that she’d say something about drugs loud enough for Dr. Bennett to hear on his way out. “I have a little weed at the apartment.”

  Talia had enough for about a joint. And then that was going to be the end. She was going to quit smoking pot all together. She didn’t like doing it enough to risk news of it getting back to Shay, or getting caught with it, or being tempted to cruise the Colonial Parkway looking to score from Fish. No, after this little bit, she was done.

  April followed Talia in her little Ford Pinto, parking a few spaces down from her and trailing after her into the apartment.

  “Want something to drink?”

  “Got a beer?” April asked.

  Talia handed her an Amstel Light and opened a Jolt Cola for herself.

  April kept leaning as if to see out the kitchen window as Talia rolled the joint. April was making her feel paranoid and she wasn’t even buzzed yet.

  “Everything okay?” Talia asked.

  “Yeah,” April said. “Everything is fine.”

  Talia fired up the joint and handed it to her. Talia didn’t really feel like smoking so she took tiny hits and kept passing it back to April. Talia wished she had given it to April to take with her.

  April closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

  “Do you know who Jeffrey Gardner is?” Talia asked.

  April exhaled hard. Her eyes sprang open and she looked thoughtful. “Yeah, I know Jeff. Why?”

  “How do you know him?”

  “He and Boyd used to hang out every now and then.” April averted her gaze when she said Boyd’s name. Talia couldn’t help but wonder if she still loved him a little, even though he was a hoodlum and had caused all kinds of turmoil for April and her sister.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Boyd and Jeff used to hang with your brother Brian too.”

  Now she really had Talia’s interest.

  “I remember the first time I saw them together it surprised me because, at that time, I thought Brian was in no way a thug like Jeff.” She took another hit off the joint, breathed in deeply, then let it out slowly. “What’s it say that it didn’t surprise me that Jeff and Boyd were hanging out, huh? Maybe deep down I always knew my boyfriend was a thug.”

  Tears flowed down April’s face, coming faster and faster, but she didn’t make any noise or act like she even knew she was crying. She cried like someone who’d done it a lot lately. Talia decided if April wasn’t going to acknowledge the tears, she wouldn’t either.

  She put the last of the joint in the ashtray. April looked around the room and Talia got up to get her a box of tissues. April blew her nose on one, then shoved some extra tissues into her pocket.

  “Boyd was afraid of Brian,” April said. “I never did understand that.”

  “Afraid of Brian? Really?”

  “Boyd didn’t admit it, but the way he tiptoed around your brother always made me wonder.”

  Talia stared at April. Someone like Boyd Smith—someone capable of murder—was afraid of Brian? She couldn’t quite wrap her head around that, and it nagged at her.

  “I better get going. Thanks for the buzz,” April said.

  “You should probably know that I’m not getting any more weed. Or speed.”

  April nodded and headed toward the door. Talia watched from the door as she walked to her car. She leaned into the backseat and pulled something out.

  Talia gasped when she saw her holding her six-month-old baby for a moment before putting him back in the car. Talia wanted to throw up. Her hands shook as she went back into her apartment. She emptied the ashtray of ashes and the roach into the toilet and flushed it. Then she leaned over the sink and threw cold water on her face.

  Talia had to do something. Or tell someone. She had to tell Kate. Or she could tell Shay and have her tell Kate.

  But what would Talia tell Shay? What would she say they were doing in her apartment while the baby was in the backseat of April’s car?

  How about the truth? she thought. Yeah, Lisher, that would be nice. Tell the truth.

  Talia jumped at the knock on the door. She peeped through the hole and saw it was April, with the baby this time. She opened the door and April asked if she could change the baby’s diaper in the bathroom. Talia stepped aside and she came in.

  Before she could shut the door, Talia saw Maybe Lesbian wave to her. She waved back, then shut the door quickly behind her. She grew paranoid about what Maybe Lesbian might think of her, if she would figure out why April was there. Oh, stop, she told herself. It’s the pot making you paranoid. She turned her attention back to April.

  She wondered where April’s husband was. It flashed through her mind that maybe April would leave the baby behind. No, she was stoned, not crazy. Well, maybe not crazy. What was it Kate was saying about postpartum depression? Talia quickly regretted the little bit of weed she did smoke. Her mouth was dry and she wasn’t sure how to handle a depressed new mother.

  April came out looking better than when she went in. “I gotta big case of the munchies. You got any Doritos?”

  “No, but I have Fritos.” When she started to pout, Talia added, “And some mild Taco Bell sauce.”

  “Make our own Doritos? Now you’re talking.”

  Talia got out the chips and sauce and grabbed two Coke
s. Now that she knew April had the baby with her, Talia wouldn’t even offer a beer. They started shoving the food into their mouths. Talia wanted April to keep snacking until the buzz wore off.

  The baby made a few baby sounds.

  Talia dipped a corn chip into the taco sauce. “What’s the baby’s name?”

  “Joseph. After my husband, Joey.”

  She saw the opening. “Where is your husband?”

  “He works a lot of hours these days. At the shipyard.”

  Talia nodded.

  April held up a Frito and asked Joseph, “What’s this?”

  “Futc.”

  “That’s right, it’s a fucking Frito.” She held up her lighter. “What’s this?”

  “Futc.”

  “Correct, a fucking lighter.”

  “Futc!” the baby said louder, and then laughed.

  Talia had to laugh too. Maybe she wouldn’t have found it funny if she hadn’t had a buzz, but April was laughing and Talia couldn’t help thinking that was a good thing, all things considered, so she laughed along with them.

  “At least his first almost-word is a fun one,” April said.

  Talia was glad to see April enjoying herself, but couldn’t help but feel like the kid was going to have a rough time of it if April didn’t get some help.

  When April and Joseph left, Talia felt a little better about April driving with the baby, but knew she still had to say something to someone about her leaving him in the car for the amount of time it took them to smoke the joint. And when Talia did say something, April would hate her and Shay would be disappointed in her, but she would at least know she did the right thing by speaking up.

  †

  Talia’s vision adjusted to the dim lighting and her eyes were drawn immediately to where Shay sat at the bar. Her heart pounded as Shay turned to face her. She imagined maybe Shay felt her presence and that’s why she turned when she did. That’s what Talia was hoping, anyway.

  “Hi,” Shay said as Talia came up beside her.

  “Hi.” Talia motioned to the chair, still not wanting to assume too much.

  “Sit. Can I buy you a drink?”

  “Vodka tonic would be nice.” Talia looked around. Lana was working, but she didn’t see Kate. “Is Kate around tonight?”

  “No, she’s home studying for a big exam coming up next week.” Shay swiveled around on her barstool and smiled at her. It was the most gorgeous thing Talia had ever seen. “You tell me about your last couple of days, and then I’ll tell you about my trip out to Pungo.”

  Talia didn’t want to tell her about April yet. She would do it; she just didn’t want to start the evening with that. “No, you tell me about Pungo first. It’s not fair to make me wait to hear about that.”

  Shay smiled again. “Okay, guess I’ll be nice and not keep you hanging.” She took a sip of her drink, then told Talia about talking to some folks who remembered a woman who called herself Karen Stephens. She fit Karen Hunter’s description, showed up at the same time Mrs. Hunter disappeared, and had left with a man a couple of years earlier.

  “So she’s gone?”

  “Yeah, but I have the man’s name and know enough about him that I should be able to find him. His family’s from Roanoke Rapids. He’s a plumber, and his name is Winston.”

  “That’s some pretty specific information.”

  “Yep. So, I’m thinking about a trip to North Carolina tomorrow. You want to come along and see what we can scare up?”

  “I’d love to.” Going on a weekend day trip with Shay Eliot was about the best thing she could have hoped for. “Wow. This is so cool.”

  Shay signaled Dee for another round. “Now it’s your turn.”

  “Can we get a table in the corner?”

  “If you want.” Shay cocked her head and studied her for a long moment. When Dee set their drinks down, Shay picked them both up and led the way to a relatively secluded table.

  Talia didn’t waste any time once they were seated. “I saw April the other day.”

  “You did?” Shay sat back and crossed her ankle over her knee, in an ultra-relaxed pose. “When I first met April Hunter she was a scared sixteen-year-old trying to act like a grownup. Then she got her act together and turned into a lovely young woman.”

  How did Talia tell her that she saw the scared girl again? That she was actually afraid for April’s baby?

  “When’s the last time you saw April?” Talia asked.

  “Oh, it’s been a while. Back when she was pregnant, probably around six months along.”

  Shay leaned forward and asked, “What’s up, Talia?”

  “Please hear me out before you pass judgment.”

  “I’m hurt that you think you have to start any conversation between us like that.”

  Talia stared at her. She could tell Shay really was hurt and that made her feel like crap. “I’m sorry. It’s just that this whole honesty thing is new for me. And telling you the whole story and not picking and choosing the details makes me feel vulnerable.”

  “Come on, spit it out.” Shay reached across the table and grabbed her hand. The sweetness of the gesture almost made Talia cry.

  She told Shay about April coming over and getting stoned together. Shay kept a steady, expressionless look on her face until Talia told her the part about the baby being in the car the whole time. “I swear to God I didn’t know the baby was in the car. The thought never even crossed my mind. I mean, who does that?”

  “Then what?” Shay said as she pulled her hand away from Talia’s.

  “Then she came back in with the baby and we pigged out on junk food.”

  Shay massaged her temples.

  “The whole thing kind of freaked me out.” Talia looked at her hand and wished Shay hadn’t let it go. “And I want you to know that the pot we smoked was the end of it for me. I’d already decided not to smoke anymore.”

  “Tell me more about your time with April,” Shay said, dismissing her claims of getting cleaned up. “How did she seem when she left?”

  “She seemed better. At one point she was crying but never said exactly why. I assumed it was because we were talking about Boyd.”

  “Why in the hell would you be talking about Boyd?” Her voice rose for a second, then she calmed down. “What the hell?”

  “I asked her if she knew Jeffrey Gardner and she said he was friends with both Boyd and my brother.” She experienced the same dizzying sensation she felt every time she tried to imagine Brian hanging out with people like Jeffrey and Boyd—Boyd was a murderer for Christ’s sake.

  “What?”

  Talia nodded. “I didn’t know my brother even knew Boyd, let alone hung out with him.”

  “Hmm. That’s interesting.” She seemed to think about that for a few moments.

  “Look, I’m sorry about getting high with April. That’s not going to happen ever again. I’m sorry I made her cry. But what we need to be focused on is the fact that she has got some serious issues.”

  “Postpartum depression,” Shay guessed.

  “You think?”

  “Could be.”

  “Can I still go with you tomorrow?” Talia asked.

  Shay stared at her for several moments. “You don’t have any drugs on you right now?”

  “No, and there are none in my car. And none at my apartment.”

  “You promise you won’t ever have any drugs around me?”

  “I promise.”

  “Well then, I guess once again we need to talk about sleeping arrangements. I want to leave pretty early tomorrow so you should probably stay at my house tonight so we can leave from there. Is that okay?”

  Okay? “Couldn’t be better.” She studied Shay from across the table and thought about hearing her nightmares the last time she spent the night in Shay’s spare room. She wondered if that was a recurring thing and if it had anything to do with the murders.

  †

  Shay was driving Talia’s car because the bed of her truck was loa
ded down with lawn care equipment. They were on Highway 58, not too far from Emporia, where they would pick up I-95. Shay kept catching Talia watching her hands on the wheel.

  “What are you thinking?” Shay asked.

  “Nothing,” Talia said.

  Shay could see Talia’s blush move up her neck to her face. She smiled, wondering if she’d caught Talia having intimate thoughts. If so, then so much for total honesty. But, in Talia’s defense, Shay knew some things just needed the right time and the right place to be discussed. She wondered if they’d ever find that place and time. Every time they were around each other, Shay thought that would be the time she would finally kiss Talia. But then, it wasn’t.

  “What else did April say about Jeffrey Gardner?” Shay asked.

  “She said he was a thug.”

  “And they all knew each other,” Shay said.

  “Yeah. I don’t know what the connection would be. Brian is a white-collar criminal. Not that it’s any better, but it doesn’t really make sense that they would be in business together.”

  Shay pulled into a gas station. “I’ll get gas while you go to the restroom, then I’ll take my turn.”

  Talia was waiting in the car when Shay got back in. Shay handed Talia a Jolt, and the smile she got in return made her grin back. The act was so familiar that it made Shay’s stomach do a little butterfly flip.

  Their next stop was at a gas station in Roanoke Rapids. They found an ad in the phone book there for a Winston Plumbing Company. They drove to the address and weren’t surprised the building was closed up for the weekend. There was an on-call number stenciled to the glass door, but Shay wanted a face-to-face with the guy first.

  “How do we find where he lives? We don’t even know if Winston is a first or a last name,” Talia said.

  They rolled down the windows and Shay sat completely still for a while, then suddenly sat up straighter and smiled. She started the car and followed the dirt drive back behind the plumbing business. The path curved around and they saw a mobile home tucked between the trees.

  “How did you know this was back here?”