Stories by Kiera Dellacroix

by Dellacroix, Kiera

  The drive took a little over an hour on the asphalt, and another ten minutes down a bumpy dirt road carved between a wasteland of dead cornfields. As we pulled up to what I assumed was her home, my mouth dropped open and I looked at Lance for confirmation.

  "Tell me she doesn't live in that thing?"

  He chuckled. "All year round."

  I shook my head. The dilapidated wooden house leaned heavily to one side, looked to be about the size of three refrigerator boxes, and hadn't seen a drop of paint since the Depression.

  "How the hell does she keep from freezing to death?"

  "Trust me, the woman is tougher than you and I put together."

  "I don't doubt it."

  As the car came to a stop, my eyes strayed to the little building sitting all by itself in the backyard and I pointed. "Is that what I think it is?"

  "Yep."

  "How long has it been there?"

  "Since before I was born."

  I shuddered. "I'll bet the grass out back is really, really, really green in the summer."

  He laughed and opened his door. "Come on, it's early enough we might only have to stay for lunch."

  I got out after him, hoping like hell that I could get through the day without having to potty. We were almost to the porch when the door opened and a tiny figure wrapped in a heavy blanket tottered out to glare at us with fiery hazel eyes.

  "What ya want, Sheriff? And who's that little thing you got with ya?"

  I grinned. I certainly wasn't a giant but I stood at least half a foot taller than she did.

  "Hi Sue," Lance said. "This is Maddie and we're looking for a girl who grew up around here. We have a picture and was kinda hoping you'd be able to recognize her."

  "Maddie, huh?" she asked suspiciously. "You some sort of FBI agent?"

  "No, ma'am."

  She squinted at me for a moment. "Better get out of the cold then," she said finally, spinning as the words left her mouth to reenter the house.

  I turned a questioning look at Lance, but he just shrugged and gestured for me to precede him up the steps. I took them carefully, afraid they would collapse under my weight. Surprisingly, they held and I entered the little home cautiously.

  Jesus Christ! It was like stepping into an inferno. The heat so intense that every sweat gland in my body sprang into emergency action. The air was thick enough to bottle and my hair immediately pasted itself to my scalp. For God's sake, I could even feel my toenails perspiring.

  "Is it warm enough for you in here, Sue?" Lance asked, taking off his ball cap and wiping his face with a forearm.

  The woman was standing in front of an old wood-burning stove still wrapped in her blanket. "I get along," she said, her eyes peeking out at us from under her covers. "Chili for lunch, you're staying aren't ya, Sheriff?"

  Just the thought of hot chili made me feel faint.

  "You bet, Sue."

  I closed my eyes, fairly certain that I wouldn't last an hour.

  "Make yourselves comfortable then."

  How could such a ramshackle little dwelling be so well insulated? I took off my jacket and plodded over to seat myself in a wooden chair. If he were in my shoes right now, Satan himself would be asking God for fuckin' Popsicle.

  ----------

  Four tortuous hours later, I couldn't help but smile. Sue had finally left the stove to sit with us and had immediately launched into storytelling mode. Eventually, she produced a pack of unfiltered cigarettes and shed her blanket to reveal a weathered face and a head of scraggy, unkempt hair. She smoked like a chimney and, for the most part, I listened with a feigned courtesy since it was too hot to do anything but pretend. I had long ago rolled up my sleeves and lost the top four buttons on my shirt. It was a small comfort since my clothes had already soaked through several times over in places.

  Her latest story had caught my interest for a variety of reasons and I listened amusedly. Obviously, the younger Miss Judy could've cared less about gender and had taken a surprising amount of lovers from both sexes. She wasn't shy and her attention to detail was shockingly graphic. Despite my extreme discomfort, I found her candid commentary in front of a complete stranger to be a hoot.

  When she reached the end of her sordid story, she rose and puttered back to the stove, leaving Lance and I to share a look of quiet humor.

  "Grab a bowl off the table, I ain't gonna serve ya," she barked.

  The Sheriff and I rose to our feet and fell into a makeshift chow line, waiting dutifully to be served our portion.

  "There's drinks in the box," she said as she plopped a ladle full of chili into my bowl.

  I looked at my lunch with no small amount of nausea, the steam rising from my food made me want to start weeping. It looked about as appetizing as a bowl of diarrhea.

  I was wondering if I could avoid lunch by pretending to have a seizure when Lance thrust an ice cold RC Cola into my hand as he passed. The temperature of the can against my hand was practically orgasmic and I rushed over to my chair to greedily sample the contents. I drank half of it in one burning swallow and placed the can against my forehead, savoring the minuscule relief it offered me.

  As I was stifling my moans of pleasure, Sue returned to her chair and leveled a look at Lance.

  "Who's this girl you're looking for, Sheriff?"

  He stood a little too quickly and I was immediately suspicious. "I left the picture in the car, Sue. I'll be right back."

  The bastard! I watched with envy as he sprang for the door and vanished into the inviting winter air. I frowned as I imagined him spinning around happily in the front yard like Julie Andrews, basking in the relief I knew he must be experiencing. I had no doubt that he'd left the picture outside on purpose.

  "Eat your food, girl," she ordered and I submissively dropped a gloomy gaze to the chow in front of me.

  I poked the chili with my spoon reluctantly, irrationally upset at how long it was taking for Lance to return. I could've crawled to the car and back in the time he'd already taken. He'd gone on without me to save himself, leaving me to die slowly inside a house that was really just a furnace in disguise. Irritably, I lifted my spoon; perhaps the chili would just kill me.

  The door opened and I delayed ingesting the horrid concoction long enough to shoot a glare in his direction. He gave me a sympathetic smile and seated himself with a pleased sigh; acting as if he'd just received a blowjob in a cool spring rain. I hated him.

  "Here you go, Sue," he said, leaning over to hand her Tish's picture.

  Angrily, I took a bite of my chili and froze. Holymotherfuckingsonofabitch! My eyes wouldn't blink fast enough to clear the tears and I couldn't breathe since there was a trail of burning napalm creeping toward my belly. Trembling hands lifted my soda and I drained the rest of the can without feeling it. The beverage had no effect and I bolted to my feet, gasping desperately for air. Finally, I managed a ragged breath and stumbled over to the little metal box that served as Sue's refrigerator. I didn't drink the soda I seized from the ice, but pressed the can to my lips with a whimper. They were smoldering like fresh lava and felt to be about the size of truck tires.

  "Are you okay, Maddie?" Lance asked in concern, rising from his seat and approaching me.

  I managed a nod and waved him away, the fire beginning to dwindle. I popped the top of my lifesaving cola and sipped gingerly at the contents while he looked on in worry.

  "You ain't from the country are ya, girl?" Sue asked, a nefarious smile plastered across her withered features.

  I shook my head.

  She chuckled. "It'll be just as hot going out as it was going in."

  Gee, what a pleasant thought. "Great," I rasped. "I'll just buy a snow cone to wipe my ass with."

  She clapped her hands together and cackled gleefully. "Where'd you find this one, Sheriff?"

  Lance just offered a shrug as he chuckled in tune with the old crone.

  I ignored both of them, deciding to focus on the rest of my medicinal beverage. Eventually,
they tapered off and Sue leaned back in her rocker to light a cigarette, puffing on it thoughtfully as she studied the picture.

  "Do you know her, Sue?" Lance asked, reclaiming his seat and helping himself to the malevolent chili as if it were ice cream.

  "Yup, one of the Booker girls. She ain't as old as she looks in this picture."

  "You know her full name?" I asked, suddenly animated.

  She shot me an annoyed look. "Yup, Julie Booker."

  "She have kin nearby, Sue?" Lance asked.

  "Mother died when she was just a babe. Father raised her and her sister. He died a couple years back, thank God."

  "Is it a good thing he's dead?" I asked.

  "Yup."

  "Why?"

  "He kept his lovin' in the family, if ya know what I mean."

  I winced. "Damn."

  "What about her sister, Sue?" Lance asked.

  "Last I knew she had a place out on the county line. Julie up and left not long after gettin' hitched to that Lloyd Parker. Course, that was years ago."

  The Sheriff's expression turned cruel and I looked at him curiously. "What's her sister's name?"

  "Dawn."

  I caught the Sheriff's eye and he nodded. "Thank you, Sue. You've been very helpful."

  "Yes, thank you, ma'am," I added.

  She grunted. "Where's Julie at now?"

  Lance and I exchanged another quick glance. "She's dead, ma'am."

  She shook her head sadly. "She was a sweet child, deserved better than she got."

  "That's a fact," I said, nodding politely and trying not to look hurried as I made tracks for the door.

  My feet hit the front porch and I couldn't quite suppress a groan of ecstasy as a wave of cold air washed over me. I left my jacket off as I strode to the car. Lance followed behind me and the second we were both seated; we rolled down our respective windows. He looked over at me with a smile.

  "Feeling better?"

  "You know it, but I'm closing in on another emergency."

  "You and I both," he said, dropping the car into gear. "There's a beer joint about fifteen minutes away."

  "Let's put a rush on."

  He nodded and a second later, we were screaming down the dirt road with flashing lights and a wailing siren.

  Part Four

  I

  The 'beer joint' was nothing more than a sheet metal building in the middle of a dirt parking lot and, going by the amount of trucks already surrounding the place, it was a popular getaway. As soon as the car stopped, I left the Sheriff in my dust as I made a beeline inside and looked around for the facilities. A sign in the back beckoned to me and I swiftly traversed the room.

  I knew the instant I closed the door behind me that I wouldn't be taking a seat. Call me a prude, but I wasn't about to place my naked ass on anything that populated the disgusting little room. In fact, if I thought I could pull it off, I'd piss in the sink since it looked to be a hell of a lot cleaner than the toilet.

  After a delicate, carefully balanced urination, I washed my hands and wandered back into the crowd. I spotted Lance leaning up against the bar and I walked over to jump up on the stool beside him.

  "Wanna beer?" he asked.

  "Thanks, but I'm not much of a beer drinker."

  "They don't have much of anything else."

  "I'm fine. I saw the face you made when Sue mentioned Parker. Want to fill me in?"

  The scowl returned. "He's of piece of shit."

  "I gathered that."

  He tilted his beer. "Couple of years ago, a girl came into the station all beat up. Told me Parker did it, told me a lot of other things too."

  "Like?"

  "She'd moved here from Des Moines to teach school and started dating Parker a few months later. I guess he waited a little while, and then started pounding on her. When he had her broken, he started giving her to his friends for sport. It wasn't the first time or the first girl, but it was the first time I had someone willing to testify."

  My teeth had started to grind before he finished. "I take it he's not in prison?"

  "No," he snarled. "When she got out of the hospital, she went to back Des Moines. Her body was found a week before she was to appear in court."

  I sighed. "Parker's work?"

  "Parker was in custody, judge wouldn't give him bail. But, I have no doubt he was behind it. The son of a bitch smiled all the way out of the courthouse."

  "His friends?"

  "That's what I believe, yes."

  I shook my head sadly. "Julie couldn't catch a break. No wonder she ran."

  "Yep."

  "Sue was right, she deserved better, a lot fucking better," I growled. "Where's this Parker at now?"

  "Does it matter? He probably doesn't know anything and, if he did, I guarantee he won't tell you anything."

  "It matters."

  He turned a thoughtful eye in my direction. "I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

  "And if I were?"

  He sipped at his beer for a moment. "You know what?"

  "What?"

  "In this particular case, I suddenly find myself not giving a shit at all."

  I knew Parker had nothing to do with Tish's death; he was just another spoke on the wheel. She needed someone to stick up for her and I wanted the job. I was a little late, but I'd extract a price nonetheless. "Justice doesn't always find everyone it should, Sheriff."

  He nodded. "Parker's one of them, no doubt."

  "If I dropped in on him, would it present a problem?"

  He took a deep breath. "As Blaine County's chief law enforcement officer, I can assure you that anything other than a murder investigation would be handled in a very slipshod manner."

  I smiled. "I can deal with that."

  "When do you want to call on him?"

  "I'll stop by on the way out of town."

  "Sounds like a plan," he said, downing the rest of his beer. "Come on, let's go find Dawn Booker."

  I hopped off my stool. "Let's ride."

  ----------

  A quick call to the dispatcher yielded the information we needed and it took another hour of travel to get close to our destination. Unfortunately, Dawn lived on a rural route so it took another thirty minutes to finally locate her residence.

  The trailer house appeared to be in only slightly better condition than Sue Judy's shack and the yard was filled with an assortment of children's toys. I stood at the foot of the steps as Lance banged on the door.

  "Who is it?"

  "Sheriff Toliver, ma'am."

  A full minute passed until the door opened a crack and a pair of blue eyes appeared. She could damn near be Tish's younger twin. "What do you want, Sheriff?"

  "Are you Dawn Booker?"

  She nodded.

  "Can we come in? There's a few things we'd like to discuss with you."

  "Who's we and what do you want to talk about?"

  He gestured at me. "This is Detective Ledoux, Miss Booker. She'd like to talk to you about your sister Julie."

  Her eyes widened and she stared at me in horror. "I haven't seen Julie in years."

  "You're not in trouble, Dawn," I said gently. "And we know she came out here last year."

  "You don't know anything," she hissed.

  "I know more than you think. Julie changed her name to LaTisha and she came to visit you after a fight with her husband."

  She struggled for a moment and when she spoke, it was in a small voice. "Is she okay?"

  I choked down the lump in my throat. "Perhaps we could come inside?"

  She placed a knowing hand over her mouth and opened the door. The tears were already beginning as she directed to us to a seat. "What's happened?"

  I shared a quick, helpless look with Lance and cleared my throat. "Julie's dead. She was murdered."

  She collapsed into a chair and buried her face in her hands. I tore my eyes away and concentrated on the carpet, trying desperately not to cry myself. Eventually, she lifted her head and looke
d at me. "Who killed her?"

  "That's what I want to know."

  She sniffled. "She saved me you know."

  "From what, Dawn?"

  "From father. She'd fight him every time he came for me. She'd let him have her, but she fought to keep him away from me."

  I brought a hand up to wipe at my eyes. "Did she run away because of Lloyd Parker?"

  She nodded.

  "After she left, how often did you talk to her?"

  "Never. She sent money every month, but we never spoke until she showed up last year."

  "Did you know what she was doing?"

  "No."

  A small mercy. "When she left the first time, did she tell you where she was going? Did she leave you a number, anything?"

  She started to shake her head, but then glanced up sharply. "She called the day after she left to let me know she was alright, I made her give me a number so I could call her back. She wasn't there when I called."

  "You still have that number?"

  "I wrote it down in my book. I still use the same one."

  "May I see it?"

  She rose and disappeared into the back, reemerging a moment later to hand me a little black book. She pointed at the number and I handed the book to Lance. "Could you find out where this is? I think it's a Wisconsin area code."

  "Yep. Be right back," he said, rising and making his way out to the car.

  I pulled out my own book and jotted down a number, tearing it off and handing it to her. "Dawn, in case you don't have it, this is Sidney's number. I don't believe he knows about you. He…he seems to be a decent person and I know he cared deeply for Ti… I mean Julie."

  She accepted it and I wrote down another number. "This is my number. If you ever feel like leaving this place behind, I can find you a good job around good people."

  "Thank you."

  "Call me, Dawn. I can help more than you know."

  "Why would you?"

  "Because somebody should've helped Julie a long time ago."

  She digested this suspiciously, but finally gave me a nod as Lance poked his head back in and I looked at him expectantly.

  "It's a hotel in Madison, Wisconsin. I had the office give them a call, they have records for at least the last ten years."

  I turned back to Dawn. "Julie had aliases, did you know any of them besides LaTisha?"