by V. M. Burns
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I didn’t really care. At that point, something rose up inside of me, and I saw red. I clenched and unclenched my fists. I ached to wipe that unpleasant, smug expression off of his face. Before I knew it, I had provided a sharp uppercut, which caused his neck to snap back. Before he could fully recover, I followed that with a knee to the groin.
He dropped like a rock.
Arms came around me, pulling me away.
Though the blood was pounding in my ears, I heard him wheezing. “I’ll file charges. I’ll see you in jail.”
I spun away from the flood of hands propelling me away and marched back and leaned down to stare him in the face. “If you lay one finger on my dog, so help me God, I’ll strangle you.”
I turned and walked away. The sea of bodies parted, and I threw open the door and allowed it to slam as I left the building. My anger propelled me home so quickly I didn’t even recall the walk. Once inside, I paced for a quarter of an hour before I was calm enough to sit down.
Aggie watched in silence as I paced around boxes and slammed cabinet doors. The front doorbell rang. I assumed he’d made good on his threats and called the police, so I grabbed my cell phone and dialed my daughter, Stephanie.
“Hello, Mom, I—”
“Sorry, but I don’t have time for pleasantries. I just struck one of my neighbors at the neighborhood association meeting and threatened him in front of a room full of people. I think he’s called the police. I wanted to have the phone where you can hear what happens.” I walked to the door and swung it open.
To my surprise, it wasn’t the police but the president of the association, along with the woman I’d seen earlier at the association meeting. “I was expecting the police.”
“May we come in?” he asked.
I stepped aside. “Of course. I’m sorry. Despite my behavior earlier, I do have manners.”
Once they were inside, I closed the door and remembered I still had Stephanie on the phone. “I’m sorry, dear, but I’m going to need to call you back.”
“Mom, don’t you dare hang up that phone. What on earth is going on? You can’t just call and tell me you hit someone and are expecting the police and then hang up. What has happened to you?”
“I can’t talk right now, but I promise I’ll call you back shortly.” I hung up.
“Please sit down.” I extended a hand toward the sofa, but both of them declined.
“We won’t be here long. My name’s Jackson Phillips, and this is Carol Lynn Hargrove. I’m the association president, and Carol Lynn is the treasurer. We wanted to apologize and make sure you’re okay.”
“Apologize? I’m sure I’m the one who needs to apologize. I just moved into the neighborhood, and I hit someone.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe I did that.” I paced. “I was just so angry.”
He held up his hands. “Understandable. You’re not the first person to strike Theodore Livingston. In fact, when Mrs. Hansen called and told me a nice accountant had rented the house, I meant to come over and warn you about our neighborhood crackpot.”
“Wait...someone else hit him?” I stared from the president to Carol Lynn.
They both nodded.
“Practically everyone in the subdivision has had an altercation with him at one time or another. Unfortunately, several have led to blows.” His lips twitched, and he struggled to keep from laughing. “Although most women don’t pack quite the same wallop. You have quite a right hook.”
I stared openmouthed. “You must be joking.”
They shook their heads.
“The man’s a menace. He needs to be locked up. I thought you were the police coming to arrest me.”
Carol Lynn placed a hand on my arm. “Honey, Theodore Livingston has called the police so many times they’ve threatened to arrest him if he calls for a nonemergency again.”
My face must have reflected the disbelief racing through my mind because both of them nodded to reassure me of their truthfulness.
“But...that isn’t right. I mean, I was angry, and I shouldn’t have hit him, but...”
Carol Lynn shrugged. “Theodore Livingston is a cantankerous old fool. He’s a mean, vicious, troublemaker who would find fault with God Himself.”
Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m afraid Carol Lynn’s right. I’m sorry your first introduction to the neighborhood involved dealing with Theodore Livingston.”
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked.
“Touched in the head.” Carol Lynn swirled her fingers in the universal sign for crazy.
“We’ve even tried to buy him out,” Jackson said. “Robert Hansen tried several times to buy his house, but he won’t sell. The entire subdivision voted to buy his house at market rate, but he refuses to move.” He shook his head again. He reached out a hand to me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’ll be fine. I can’t remember when I’ve been that angry.” I hid my face with my hands. “I feel so ashamed.”
They both tried to soothe my feelings, but once the anger died, there was nothing left but shame.
I stared through my fingers. “I need to apologize to him. I raised my children to believe there’s no right way to do a wrong thing.” I sighed. “Just because someone’s rude and nasty to me doesn’t mean I should sink to their level. I should’ve taken the high ground. I should’ve walked away.”
Jackson and Carol Lynn spent a few minutes trying to convince me I was wrong, but my conscience wasn’t having any of it.
After a while, Jackson looked at his watch. “I need to get home. I’ve got a lot of papers to grade before school tomorrow.” He looked at me carefully. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nodded. “I’ll have a talk with Theodore tomorrow. It’ll be fine.”
I held the door open as he and Carol Lynn headed out. “Thank you both for coming over. I appreciate your concern for my feelings. Tomorrow, I’ll apologize to Mr. Livingston. I used to get along beautifully with my neighbors in Lighthouse Dunes. They were older, and one of them had dementia.”
I smiled at the thought of my neighbor, Bradley Hurston, a retired cop. He had once been a vibrant, caring man who was struck down with mental illness that left him crippled and locked in a mental fog of confusion and paranoia. He was killed, and I mourned for the man he used to be.
I sighed. “Unfortunately, he was killed. There are so many angry people around. I’m afraid if Theodore Livingston isn’t careful, he’s going to go too far and someone won’t stop at merely punching him.”
A strong wind blew through the house and sent a chill up my spine. Aggie did something I’ve never heard her do before. She howled.
Chapter 4
Stephanie and Joe rushed home, and I filled them in on the events from the association meeting. Joe was a Lighthouse Dunes policeman who had helped us figure out who killed Albert. He was a part of the K-9 division and had brought along his almost constant companion, Turbo, a Plott hound who thought Aggie was the bees’ knees. Clearly, one of the stops Stephanie had made was to a pet store because she came home with a large dog bed, which she placed near the fireplace. Joe carried the golden retriever and placed him in the dog bed. He looked woozy, but that was probably due to the anesthesia. Once in the bed, he curled up into a large ball and slept. Aggie and Turbo played tug-of-war and keep-away with a stuffed bear. I was surprised at how gentle the larger dog was with her. I suspected the Plott hound got quite a bit of pleasure watching her prance around the house with the toy in her mouth, as though she really was tough enough to have won the battle fair and square. The two friends played together until they were both tired and then curled up together on the rug. We stayed up late, talking, but I was both physically and emotionally drained and left the younger crowd and went to bed.
I had a difficult time sleeping. I couldn’t get what I’d done out of my mi
nd. I’d actually struck another human being. Shame and guilt tortured my thoughts. I tossed and turned for most of the night. For the second night in a row, I gave up on the idea of sleep and got up and baked shortbread cookies. They were quick and easy and required very little mental acuity, which was good, given the fact I hadn’t slept well for the past two nights. I even went so far as to dip some of the cookies into melted chocolate. They were a thing of beauty and left my house smelling wonderful.
While the cookies cooled, I took a long, hot shower. I heard my cell phone ring while I was in the bathroom, toweling off. “Stephanie, can you get that?” I yelled. I waited and the phone stopped, so I assumed she’d taken care of it.
By the time I got out and dressed, I heard the shower in the guest bedroom. I hoped the hot water heater was sufficient to provide two long, relaxing showers.
I looked down as Aggie scavenged the kitchen floor for crumbs and realized I’d neglected her. I glanced at my watch and saw I had time to take her for a quick walk before I needed to head out to work. So I packed the cookies into a tin and grabbed my cell phone from the counter, along with Aggie’s leash. I tossed my phone into my pocket and hurried out the door. It was early, but I remembered Theodore Livingston say at the association meeting that he got up early. While I still had the nerve, I dashed next door and quickly rang the bell. I waited and practiced deep-breathing exercises, which were supposed to calm and relax. After close to a minute, I rang the bell again and also pounded on the door. When no one answered, I wondered if Mr. Livingston truly wasn’t home or if he was still angry and avoiding me. I shook myself. “He’s probably still asleep or in the bathroom,” I told Aggie. “Let’s take our walk and try again when we get back.”
Aggie must have thought that was the best idea because she wagged her tail and anxiously pulled on her leash.
We walked the same path we’d taken two days ago, past the gazebo and toward the wooded area. Aggie stopped a couple of times along the way and took care of business. I was careful to clean up and properly dispose of the waste. As we walked, I thought through what I’d say if I found myself face-to-face with Theodore Livingston again. A sincere apology was the first course of action. I would own my behavior and assure him it would never happen again. My mind wandered, and my stomach clenched at the thought of how he would respond. I thought through various scenarios, including doors slammed in my face. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. He was rude, but there was never an excuse for violence. However, the more I thought about it, the worse the scenarios became. Eventually, I decided to stop thinking about it and just get it over with.
I stopped walking and turned. “Come on, Aggie. Let’s get this over with and go home.” I tugged on her leash.
Aggie was sniffing around a tree stump. She was engrossed in sniffing and scratching and certainly wasn’t paying any attention to me.
“Aggie, come,” I said forcefully, like Dixie had instructed, but Aggie couldn’t have cared less what I wanted and gave no indication she’d even heard me.
Dixie had warned me against repeating commands. Aggie needed to be trained to come the first time she was called. If she didn’t, I was to pick her up.
I sighed as I walked over to pick her up. It was only then that I saw what she was digging at. She’d unearthed a man’s shoe. Closer inspection showed the shoe was attached to a leg, a man’s leg. I squealed and jumped back. “OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD!”
I had no idea how long I stood there, but eventually I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and made several calls. The first was to Dixie, instructing her to get over here immediately. The second call was to my daughter, Stephanie. The message was roughly the same thing, except I ordered her to send Joe out here immediately.
The third call was to 9-1-1.
Chapter 5
Joe and Turbo arrived first. Turbo was wearing his police K-9 unit vest and harness, and although Joe was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, there was something about both of their attitudes and demeanors that indicated vacation was over. They were working. Joe had a gun strapped around his waist. I’d never thought about it, but it made sense he would travel with it. I was a bit squeamish about guns. I never really liked them, although my husband had had one. If Dixie was to be believed, practically everyone in the South had a gun.
I released a breath and tried to steady my hands, which were shaking.
“You okay?” He stared at me with his steely-blue eyes.
I nodded. “I’m fine.” I took a couple of deep breaths.
There was a park bench nearby, and he escorted me to it and helped me sit. “Wait here.”
Whether it was concern for my well-being or a desire to make sure I didn’t interfere, I didn’t know, nor did I care. I flopped down on the seat and clutched Aggie to my chest.
He and Turbo went into the wooded area. I tried not to watch, but, as with a train wreck, I couldn’t seem to stop glancing over.
Not long afterward, I heard sirens as the first patrol car careened into the subdivision. Joe and Turbo emerged from the woods and flagged it down.
An officer got out of the car, and Joe and Turbo approached. Joe flashed his shield, and they shook hands. They stood talking for what felt like an eternity, but they were outside of hearing distance, so I could only speculate about the conversation. Joe gestured in my direction but otherwise ignored me.
“Mom, are you okay?”
I turned. Stephanie hurried to my bench. The policeman looked as though he was going to stop her, but Joe held up a hand, I assumed to indicate that Stephanie was neither the homicidal maniac who had just killed someone or a nosy neighbor intent on contaminating his crime scene.
Two more police cars pulled up behind the first one.
Stephanie threw her arms around me and hugged Aggie and me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
Joe and the first patrolman walked over to the bench. The officer was shorter than Joe, who I knew was over six feet. He was a fair-skinned African American with light gray eyes.
“Mrs. Echosby, my name is Officer Lewis. You found the body?”
I nodded. “Yes.” My voice cracked, so I cleared it and tried again. “Yes. My dog found it...ah, I mean him...the body.” I held up Aggie.
He nodded. “If you’ll wait here, I’m going to take a look. Then I’ll be back to take your statement.”
I nodded, and he headed to the woods.
Joe hung back and looked at Stephanie. “I thought we agreed you’d wait at the house.”
She tossed her head. “No, you agreed.”
He shook his head and tried to hide a smile. Then he and Turbo followed Officer Lewis into the woods.
There were quite a few police officers walking around the area, and many of my neighbors were now awake and curious about the sirens. I recognized Carol Lynn Hargrove and a few others from the association meeting, but they maintained their distance.
Stephanie and I sat quietly on the bench and waited. Eventually, Joe and the policeman returned.
Officer Lewis took out a notepad. “First, let me get your name and address. Do you have any identification on you?”
I shook my head.
“Oh.” Stephanie rummaged in her pocket and pulled out my wallet. “I grabbed this on my way out of the house.” She handed it to me and shot Joe a smug look that said, I was right to ignore you.
I pulled my driver’s license out and handed it over.
He stared hard at my picture and then looked at me. “This says you live in Lighthouse Dunes, Indiana.”
“I moved here a few weeks ago. Actually, I just moved into this neighborhood this week, and I haven’t had time to get my Tennessee driver’s license yet. I actually just got a permanent address. Well, not really permanent. I’m only renting at the moment.” I was rambling but couldn’t stop myself.
Officer Lewis nodded an
d made notes. He asked for my current address, and I gave it to him.
He paused and stared at me. “Did you know the deceased?”
I shook my head. “Actually, I didn’t really look at him.”
“Would you mind taking a look now?”
I didn’t want to look at his shoes, let alone his face.
“You don’t have to do this.” Stephanie tightened her arm around my shoulders.
“Who are you again?” Officer Lewis looked at Stephanie, and I could feel her back straighten.
“I’m her lawyer.” She looked him straight in the eyes and glared.
Officer Lewis turned to Joe. “I thought you said she was the daughter?”
Joe shook his head.
“She is my daughter and my lawyer.” I took a deep breath. “Look, I—”
“Lilly!”
I turned at the sound of my name. Dixie was at the edge of the police barricade.
“Dixie.”
I turned to Officer Lewis.
“Let me guess, another attorney?”
“No, but she is my friend.”
Officer Lewis reluctantly lifted his hand and beckoned for Dixie to enter.
She ran to me and gave me a big hug. Her mental state was reflected by the fact that my fastidious friend still had one large curler hanging from the back of her head and wasn’t wearing makeup.
“Anyone else coming?” Office Lewis asked.
“No, that’s it.” I pulled away from Dixie and stood. “However, I think I’m ready to take a look now.”
“Are you sure?” Stephanie rose. “You don’t have to do this.”
I sighed. “I know, but...well, it’s the right thing to do, right?” I looked from Stephanie to Dixie.
Dixie folded her arms. “Well, that depends. How bad is it?” She looked from Officer Lewis to Joe.
Joe shrugged. “He hasn’t been dead long.” He stared at me. “Stephanie’s right. You don’t have to do this, especially if you’re going to puke.” He turned to Officer Lewis. “She could stop by the coroner’s office later, couldn’t she?”