October Fest

by Jess Lourey

  “Of course, Mira,” Mrs. Berns said, in a voice so cultured it made my ears hurt. “And I’d love to treat you to dinner at Stella’s after you drive me home from the hospital on Wednesday. Is that proposition acceptable?”

  “Yes, most certainly.” I ducked out as quickly as I could and tracked down Freda. Her bruises colored her as brightly as an Easter egg, and one eye was still swollen shut, but she was thrilled by the company. We shared dinner, me eating a turkey and cheese sandwich that was surprisingly good for hospital food until I remembered it was my first solid food in nearly two days. I must have inhaled it because Freda offered me her applesauce. She tried to be good company but was still in a lot of pain. The doctors had told her they wouldn’t know until the end of the week if she’d be able to walk without help, but her attitude was as sunny as spring. I promised to stop by to visit on Wednesday when I picked up Mrs. Berns.

  My next and final stop before reuniting with my beloved bed was the Old Brick Inn to find out if Brad had, in fact, slept with Sarah Glokkmann’s daughter on Saturday night. If he had, their stories didn’t jibe. He’d told me they’d only bumped uglies between sets, but Kennie’d said that Glokkmann’s daughter couldn’t offer her mom an alibi because she was out with a band all night. I wanted to know which version was true.

  By the time I arrived at the busy bar, it was past ten o’clock at night and I was so tired that I was hallucinating. I exited the car into a night that was cool enough for a medium jacket and smelled as clean as frost and woodsmoke. A lonely wind rustled through the dried leaves still clinging to trees. It was the perfect weather for curling up in a quilt. I hadn’t slept in my own bed since Friday night, and had logged six total hours of sleep since then. The sandwich seemed to be staying down fine, but my stomach wasn’t yet at 100 percent. I’d make this quick.

  It was unusual to find a live band in town playing on a Monday night, so either Brad was correct that Not With My Horse’s Octoberfest gig had increased their following or all the news crews in town didn’t have anything better to do. I certainly didn’t recognize most of the people seated in the darkly-lit main room, but bars tend to create their own small communities, and I’d never frequented this one much. The band had launched into a techno cover of “Delta Dawn” just as I entered. Disappointed that I hadn’t caught them on a break, I squeezed up to the bar and ordered a club soda.

  Somebody tapped my arm “You here to see the band?”

  I turned, immediately defensive, and then did a double take. The woman who’d addressed me was Grace Swinton, Glokkmann’s handler. “What?” I’d heard her, but I used the noise of the band as a cover to decide what I wanted to ask. I hadn’t planned on running into Glokkmann or a member of her entourage.

  She indicated my club soda and raised her voice. “Not many reasons to come to a bar if you’re not going to drink.”

  I took a swig. “Just needed to get out of the house. You?”

  She appeared thoughtful for a moment, and then held up her drink. It was dark, and I recognized the smell of whiskey, at least a double shot. “Me too. Just needed to get out of the house.”

  I considered lying, but up close, she seemed defenseless. The dim lighting colored her hair like mud, and she had worry lines feathering her eyes and mouth. I chose the straight route. “You’re in town with the representative, aren’t you?”

  Her eyes flashed and she turned away.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that I saw you at the news conference Saturday morning. This must be a stressful time for you.”

  She took a deep pull off her sweating glass. “Yeah.”

  “Can I buy you another?”

  She shrugged. “What the hell.”

  Brad screamed into his back-up singer microphone like a neutered cat and we both temporarily glanced his way. I ordered her another and worked at small talk. “He’s good looking, isn’t he?” I indicated Brad, who had the poor timing to be humping the drum set, balancing his bass over his head.

  “He looks like a dick.”

  Dang she was growing on me. “He is. I used to date him. He cheated on me.”

  She squinted her eyes in his direction, looking for what I must have seen in him. Good luck with that. “He is pretty hot, actually. But why doesn’t he have any eyebrows?”

  I swiveled in my seat to follow her gaze. I squinted my eyes, too, and had to agree with her analysis of his appearance. “He had face bugs.”

  She nodded as if that was the most normal thing in the world.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. “You look kinda sad.”

  “Long weekend.”

  “I heard.” I put all my chips on the table. “I work for the newspaper in town. Somebody was murdered, somebody your boss didn’t like, and she doesn’t have an alibi for the night he was offed. It doesn’t look good.”

  She surprised me with a guffaw. “This isn’t Murder She Wrote, you know.” The smile lit her face like a thousand fireflies. “The death is sad, but Sarah isn’t tied to it at all. We’re staying in town a few extra days so she can listen to the voices of her constituents and bring them back to Congress.”

  I had to give her points for staying on message. “What about Swy-decker? Does he have an alibi?”

  She grew tightlipped. “I can’t speak for him.”

  “Fair enough.” It made sense that she wouldn’t defend her boss’ opponent. Did it make equal sense that she wouldn’t take an opportunity to badmouth him? Depended on her ethics.

  “So the representative will be in town through Thursday? Friday?”

  She stood and swayed slightly. “I think I’ve said more than enough. And it looks like your ex wants you. Good night.”

  She wove her way through the crowd and left with her drink still in hand. Not so legal. I hoped she was walking the four blocks back to the motel.

  “Mira! You came.”

  Brad was upon me. His lack of eyebrows and eyelashes made him appear scared, or inquisitive. Or like a naked mole rat. “You visit the doctor?”

  “Yeah, and you were right. No shot.” He held his hands wide to indicate his pleasure with this outcome. “Whaddyou think of the band? We’re on fire tonight.”

  “You’ve never sounded better,” I said honestly. “Say, while I’m here, quick question. That Glokkmann chick you slept with during your show Saturday night, what was her name again?”

  “Oh, Kenya?”

  I snapped my fingers. “Yes! That’s right. Kenya Glokkmann. You guys still seeing each other?”

  He sidled a little closer. Through closed lips, I tried to emit a high whining noise to deter bug migration onto my person.

  “You want your place back in my life?”

  “You’re a hard guy to forget, Brad. So, are you and Kenya an item?”

  He turned away momentarily to accept a drink from a star-struck brunette, and I wondered if that’s how I’d looked when I’d first approached him after a show at First Ave. I made a note to track her down on my way out and tell her that just this morning he’d told me he had crabs.

  “Naw,” he said, watching the brunette strut away. “Not dating. Just a little poke in the hay now and again while she’s in town.”

  He nudged me like we shared a secret and was immediately distracted by another attractive woman strolling past. With his attention elsewhere, I grabbed a nearly empty drink and poured it where he’d touched me, figuring the alcohol would kill any critters the doctor had missed. “Did she stay for the after party on Saturday night?”

  “Nope. I noticed her backstage when we de-staged to let Leif do his extended accordion solo. I was on her as soon as I spotted her. I romanced her like there was no tomorrow, and then I sent her on her way before the encore but after I’d pulled out all the stops. You remember all the stops?”

  I did. Pulling out all of them took five minutes, less if there was music with a steady drum beat. “So you two didn’t even hang out after the show? Just a quickie during it?”

  “Who said it was qui
ck?”

  I gave him the stink eye and he had the decency to look abashed. “Fine. Yeah. Just a one-off between sets.”

  “Any idea where she went after that?”

  “No idea. I can tell you she wasn’t at the after party but she is still in town. I bet I get fifteen calls a day from her. She’s got it bad.”

  I looked around. “She here now?”

  “No, but she said she’s crashing later.”

  “So why not start something more permanent with her? You like her?”

  He patted his chest. “In the Cities, I was a little fish. Here, I’m King Walleye. The ladies can’t get enough of this rock star, and I don’t intend to be bogged down by a single filly when I could run with the herd. Speaking of, you sticking around for the second set?”

  I wondered if he could hear my teeth grinding. “Is the Pope Lutheran?”

  He smiled happily and gave me the thumbs up, even though we were standing within inches of each other. I was scouring for the quickest way to excuse myself when I caught a familiar face on the other side of the bar. It was Johnny, scanning the crowd. My heart puckered. I dropped to my knees before his eyes landed on me and whispered up toward Brad. “Cover me. I gotta get outta here.”

  “Dude, what’s up? Or should I say, what’s down?” He smiled crookedly at his own joke.

  “Not your worry. Just walk that way.” I pointed at the exit opposite the door Johnny had entered and commanded Brad to walk at the same pace I was crawling so he could shield me from view.

  For once in his life, Brad listened to me. He made his own sweet way to the door, though, stopping to high five fans and make small talk. When I was within dashing distance, I stood and made for the exit. I thought I heard someone call my name but stopped only long enough to whisper, “The bass player of the band gave me crabs!” to a group of women near the door. They nodded vigorously. I’d have to trust that the news would find its back to the innocent-looking brunette who’d bought Brad a drink.

  On the ride home, I fought gravity to keep my gritty eyes open. I was running on fumes, aware that my lack of sleep was making me a poor driver. I wanted to speed, but I kept it slow. Thankfully, no deer jumped out at me, and I made it home unaccosted. I dragged my feet into the house, fighting the pull of my bed long enough to apologize to, feed, and water Luna and Tiger Pop. Once I knew they were taken care of, I crawled into my bedroom, hot tears wetting my eyes as I took in the beautiful sight of my soft, big, safe bed. I ditched my clothes and crawled under the fluffy quilt, nestling in like a baby bird. I was asleep before my eyes closed.

  This time the scream that woke me was my own. I lurched into an upright position, my heart punching out of my chest. Luna was whining next to my bed, her ears back and tail wagging nervously. I automatically reached out to soothe her and then scanned the room for Tiger Pop. I was terrified, and I only got this scared when someone I cared about was threatened. There he was, balled up at the foot of my bed, unconcerned about my odd behavior. I petted him too, and he stretched so far he grew extra bones. The sun was promising to rise, and everything in my room seemed in its place. What had woken me? I lay back down and shut my eyes, and it slammed back.

  Cold, waxy white skin, half-lidded dead eyes staring at me, lips pulled back in a pained rictus as he was forced to the other side without reporting his final, most important story. Bob Webber’s bloodless, wasted face. I’d seen a gravedigger’s share of dead bodies the last few months, and I’d grown callous about them. Or at least I wanted to believe I had. I’d stared at Webber dead on the floor as if he were a cut of meat at the grocer, distasteful but not earth-shaking. I’d walked away, sure I was unaffected. And I’d hardly slept since then. Only in the relaxation of REM did all the horror of his death wash over me. The poor man had been murdered, and his ghost had yet to see justice. He deserved better than that. Everyone did.

  Afraid to go back to sleep, I crawled out of bed far too early. Pulling on pants, a T-shirt and a coat, I stepped outside into the brisk morning air. My breath came out in tiny cumulous clouds. Tiger Pop and Luna followed me, which had been my intention, and I gave them both a long overdue brushing. Luna was mostly German shepherd and her thick gold and black hair grew matted without regular tending. The monotonous activity usually relaxed both of us, but its magic didn’t work this time. I tugged too hard and couldn’t find a rhythm. Luna, sensing my unease, nipped at me. I wanted to pinch back.

  Giving up on the brushing, I went back into the house and checked the interior temperature: 58 degrees. That had been perfect for sleeping under a thick comforter, but I needed more now that I was up and about. I pushed the thermostat to 68 and tried to relax at the soothing sound of the furnace kicking in. Standing in the central room of the open floor plan house, I examined my surroundings. My sink was free of dishes and my house clean but for dust. I vacuumed anyway to freshen the carpet and took the feather duster to the big open areas. None of it worked. I felt haunted.

  Even the plants couldn’t save me. I watered them, noting that the knobby baby orange had almost doubled in size. That made it as big as a pecan instead of an acorn, which wasn’t a huge accomplishment unless you loved plants. My spices were working equally hard, and I let the fresh and pungent smell of their growth embrace me, but I couldn’t shake the cold exhale of death on the back of my neck.

  And that’s when I realized I was ravenous. Striding to the fridge, I pulled out my last three eggs, a can of refried beans, an avocado that was nicely green-black on the outside and soft, two slices of sprouted grain sesame bread, and a jar of hot habañero salsa. I cooked the eggs over medium and cut the avocado in half, spearing the pit with the long end of my knife so I could pluck it out with a flick of my wrist. I sliced the green meat into five long sections on each half, scooped out the slices, and laid them in a fan on my plate before salting and peppering them. I opened the can of beans, heating half in the microwave and putting the other half in the fridge. The bread I popped into the toaster. When the microwave dinged, I yanked out the beans and spread them on my plate and slid the eggs on top, salting the works before liberally dousing it with salsa. The toast popped up and I buttered it, trying not to drool. At this point, my hands were shaking, either with a lack of proper nutrition or anticipation. A tall glass of half vanilla and half chocolate rice milk at my side, I dug in, not bothering to breathe or look up until there was nothing but faint smears on my plate to remind me that food had ever been there.

  And when it was gone, I felt sick to my stomach. It was Bob Webber’s jacket that I kept going back to, the sad worn coat that was the best he could do. “Who killed him?” I asked my animals. “Who killed him and why does it feel like they’re not done yet?”

  Luna thumped her tail and whined. I reassured her with a scratch behind the ears and popped in the shower. I was pretty sure my breakfast was visibly moving through my stomach like a rabbit in a snake’s gut, so I kept my eyes raised. By the time I was dressed and my hair dry, it was 8:00 a.m., a perfectly reasonable time to travel to the Big Chief Motor Lodge and find out if the candidates wanted to talk to the local news.

  It was early on a Tuesday for a city, maybe, but a farm town gets up with the sun, even after there aren’t many farmers left. A steady stream of cars and pickups cruised down Lake Street, stopping in front of the Village Apothecary or parking so their owners could run in to the post office, waving hello to familiar faces on the way. The two places in town that served breakfast, the Shoreline and Turtle Stew, were full to the top. The parking lot at the Big Chief was thinner than it had been this weekend, but it still contained almost a dozen cars.

  I wasn’t sure if Glokkmann and Swydecker would be in their same rooms as Saturday night, but it seemed a reasonable place to start. I stopped in front of room 17 because it was nearest the stairs and knocked. And knocked again. I was about to give up when a brisk voice on the other side asked, “Who is it?”

  I stared into my end of the peephole struggling to exude sweetness.
“My name’s Mira. I’m a local.”

  Hesitation from the other side, followed by a reluctant opening of the door. “Which news station? CBS? NBC? Just tell me you’re not from Fox.”

  I held up my hands to show they were empty of recording devices. “None of the above. I really do live in Battle Lake.”

  “Then what do you want?” His voice was more perplexed than gruff. He was wearing a crisp white button-down shirt open at the collar, gray slacks with a black belt, and black shoes. He looked like he’d been up for a while. Swydecker’s room also looked clean except for papers spread out over his unmade bed. He followed my gaze. “Sorry. Not expecting company.”

  “That’s okay. I should tell you up front that I am a reporter.”

  He stiffened.

  “But that’s not why I’m here. A friend of mine is sort of caught up in the fallout of the murder, and I’m trying to help her. I was hoping I could ask you a few questions off the record?”

  His right hand went to his left to fiddle with a piece of jewelry that wasn’t there. I noted the faint tan line on his empty ring finger and filed that away. His marital problems did not concern me. “Why not? Haven’t got anything to lose, have I?” He smiled. It took some effort. He led me over to the small round table by his TV and mini fridge. “Coffee? I’m afraid the pot only makes one cup at a time, but I’ve already had more than my share.”

  “No thanks. Coffee makes me jumpy.”

  “You should try being a murder suspect.” He laughed, but it didn’t touch his eyes.

  “No one thinks you did it,” I said. “I’ve been watching the news.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Once you get connected to something like this, your political career is finished.”

  “Representative Glokkmann seems to be making the most of it.”

  “You sure you don’t want coffee?” I shook my head, and he helped himself to the pot. He was right. It barely filled one Styrofoam cup. He added powdered creamer and two packets of sugar and started another pot brewing. I noticed he had a box of single-serving ground coffee bean packets. I also observed that he hadn’t taken my bait. I changed the subject.