A Few Drops of Bitters

by G. A. McKevett

  “That was what Savannah thought, too,” Granny told them. “Plus you three are good judges of character, so I reckon he wuddin’ worth spit.”

  Ryan chuckled. “I’m not exactly sure how much spit he might have been worth. I understand he was an extremely talented surgeon. But that night, he’d had quite a lot to drink and was acting inappropriately with a young woman there.”

  “He most certainly was,” John agreed. “At one point I thought her husband might challenge him to engage in fisticuffs before all was said and done. But the lady encouraged her fellow to take her home, and eventually, he did.”

  “You sound a mite disappointed there, John,” Granny said, giving him a wink.

  “I hate to admit it, since I claim to be a peace-loving man, but after seeing how uncomfortable he’d made her, I thought someone should administer a thorough trouncing, just to teach him not to behave like a boor.”

  “Lordy, I wish you had,” Granny said. “I’d have paid good money to’ve seen that!”

  “What exactly did he do to the woman or say to her that would warrant a trouncing?” Savannah wanted to know.

  “Let’s just say he was determined that she spend some ‘quality’ time with him upstairs in one of the bedrooms,” Ryan said. “He continued to make his suggestions, which were loud, lewd, and often.”

  John reached for a coffeepot on a nearby table and refilled Savannah’s and Granny’s cups. “Several men, including myself, Ryan, and Dr. Weinberg spoke to him, at first suggesting, then demanding that he leave her alone. Dr. Weinberg eventually had him escorted off the property.”

  “Do you have any idea who that couple was?” Savannah asked.

  “No. We’d never met them before,” Ryan replied, “and we haven’t seen them since.”

  “But we do know their names,” John added. “We heard them spoken several times amid the arguments. Hers was Lissa.”

  Savannah’s pulse quickened.

  Ryan added, “And his was—”

  “Jerry.”

  Both men looked at Savannah, surprised.

  “How do you know that?” Ryan asked. “Have you met them?”

  “Not yet. I just recently heard of them. Dr. Liu told me that Erling often attended, shall we say, sexually adventurous gatherings, always accompanied by the same woman. A gal named Lissa. This woman was at least involved with, if not married to, a fellow named Jerry. How much do you want to bet they’re one and the same?”

  “Jerry’s a common enough name,” Granny offered. “You can’t shake out your dust mop without hittin’ one of ’em. But you don’t run into a Lissa every day of the week.”

  “We have to find out who they are,” Savannah said. “Either one of them makes a good suspect. Maybe even both of them. Stranger things have happened.”

  Gran reached over and patted her granddaughter’s hand. “You really don’t want it to be Carolyn that done it, do ya, darlin’?”

  “No, I really don’t want it to be her.” Savannah looked over at the cheerful gang on the other side of the room.

  Ethan was on his hands and knees. Brody was trying to lift Freddy up onto Ethan’s back, so he could enjoy a “horsey ride” at his father’s expense.

  Once the little bronco buster was in place, Ethan began to “buck” and neigh loudly enough to make it exciting for the youngster.

  Then it was Vanna Rose’s turn. Brody held on to her throughout her ride, so she didn’t slide off.

  Of the group, Brody seemed to be enjoying the playing the most, and Savannah knew it was because he loved giving the little ones joy.

  Why wouldn’t she want the killer to be someone other than one of his very best friends, one of the people he admired most in the world?

  Savannah thought of how the kids at school had said such ugly, hurtful things to him. Yes, their statements had been true, but that only made the pain worse.

  She recalled the dark, frightening picture the boy had drawn, a representation of the fear he hid deep inside.

  Let it be someone other than Carolyn, she heard herself silently pray. And while you’re at it, please help me catch him!

  Chapter 25

  “Where do you think? In his room or down here?” Dirk asked Savannah later that evening after they and Brody had returned from ReJuvene and were getting ready to retire for the night.

  “I don’t know,” Savannah replied. She looked down at her lap, where Diamante was stretched out, purring with ecstasy as Savannah scratched behind her ears. “I’m even neglecting my own cats these days,” she said, more to herself than to him.

  But since she was sitting in her comfy chair, and he was stretched out on the sofa with his head a mere three feet from her, he had heard.

  “The cats are fine, Van. We’re all fine.”

  “Then why are we sitting here trying to decide where’s the best place to talk to our kid about something so awful that his teacher called us on the carpet about it?”

  “Because we’re being overly conscientious about this parenting business.”

  Savannah sat up straighter in her chair. “Do you really believe that?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. But it’s possible. We both had a rough time growing up, thanks to the adults who were supposed to be taking care of us and weren’t.”

  “Weren’t . . . and worse than weren’t.”

  “That’s what I mean. We might be overdoing it, trying to go too far the other way.”

  Savannah thought it over, while listening for Brody to finish brushing his teeth upstairs. He’d be downstairs in a minute, ready to be tucked in. They had to decide. Now.

  “Do you really think something as serious as parenting can be overdone?” she said.

  “Absolutely. I see kids all the time whose parents spoiled them rotten and let them do whatever they damned well wanted to. Surprise, surprise! They grew up to be adults who expect the world to carry them for the rest of their lives and grant their every wish, like their parents did.”

  “We don’t want to do that to him.”

  “We won’t.”

  “There has to be a happy medium between spoiling and neglecting.”

  “There is. We’ll find it.”

  “Might take some practice.”

  “He’s six. I figure we’ve got about twelve to fourteen years to figure it out.”

  Savannah heard the water turn off in the upstairs bathroom. “He’s done. Let’s do it upstairs in his room. He probably feels safer there than anywhere else.”

  “Okay. Let’s go on up then.”

  “Keep it as lighthearted as possible, like we discussed.”

  “We’ll do our best. It’s not exactly a jolly topic.”

  They stood and headed for the stairs, hoping to intercept him before he came down.

  The three met in the hallway beside Brody’s bedroom door.

  “Oh, hi,” he said, as he reached down to scoop Diamante, who had followed Savannah, into his arms. “I was going to come down to get her, but she came up to me.”

  He looked so pleased that Savannah’s heart hurt. Every day she saw signs of how much this child needed love. It seemed no one and nothing would ever be able to truly fill a hole so deep, so longstanding.

  But she had every intention of trying, and if she erred on the side of spoiling him a bit, then so be it.

  Granny had given Savannah and her eight siblings infinite, unconditional love when they had been taken from her negligent mother and given to their grandmother. If what Gran had done was considered “spoiling,” then she had every intention of spoiling the child in her care as much as she could.

  “We’re going to both tuck you in tonight, if that’s all right with you,” she told him.

  Instead of looking suspicious about this change in protocol, he beamed with pleasure at the idea. “Cool,” he said, tucking the cat under his arm and heading into his bedroom.

  Savannah and Dirk followed the boy into the blue and white, baseball-themed room.

  S
he pulled back the covers and got him and the cat situated in bed and sufficiently tucked in.

  Meanwhile, Dirk turned on an LED night-light that beamed a bright and intricate night sky, including the constellations, across the ceiling and walls.

  Brody had seen the light advertised on television and had begged for it with an intensity that had surprised Savannah. Now, seeing how much it illuminated the room and how effectively it dispelled the darkness, she wondered if the gadget provided more comfort than entertainment for the child.

  Considering what he had drawn on that picture, she could understand why he might prefer to sleep in a well-lit room than a dark one.

  She sat down on one side of his bed, near the foot, and Dirk did the same on the other side. They had discussed the importance of giving him some space, even actual physical space, when they first broached the topic, until they saw what his reaction would be.

  She gave Dirk a questioning look, to see if he was ready. He gave his customary nod of agreement, and she began.

  “Brody, we want to ask you a couple of questions, and what we really want, more than anything, is for you to just tell us what you think is true. There isn’t any right or wrong answer. Nothing you say will get you in trouble. So, just tell us whatever comes to your mind. Okay?”

  He shrugged, reached down, and stroked Diamante’s back. “Okay. Right now what’s true is, I’m wondering what you guys are up to. I’m wondering if I’m in trouble and how bad.”

  Dirk laughed. “You aren’t in any trouble at all, son. Promise. Like she said, there’s no right or wrong answers here. Just say whatever you want to.”

  He grinned. Far too broadly. “Even if it’s a cuss word?”

  Savannah raised one eyebrow, thought about it, and said, “This one time, if you really can’t think of a better word to use, I suppose so.”

  “Cool. Shoot.”

  “Okay.” She drew a deep breath. “First of all, we’d like to know how it’s going at school so far.”

  He thought carefully, then said, “I like the lunches you send me. I like my teacher. I like my classroom, even though it smells like tuna fish and bananas at lunchtime, ’cause that’s what we’re all eating, and it ain’t the greatest combination, smell-wise.”

  “How about the kids?” Dirk asked. “Made any friends?”

  “Yeah, a couple. We hang out at recess. There’s a girl who likes me, but yuck.”

  “Is she cute?” Dirk asked.

  “I guess. But she makes me all these love notes, a new one every day, with hearts and stuff on it, and gives them to me. Asks me if we can go together. I don’t know why she asks me that. Like where are we gonna go? We’re six!”

  “Yeah. I’d save that ‘going together’ stuff until you’re older,” Savannah said, “when you’re both more mature and know what you want out of life.”

  “Like when I’m eight?”

  Dirk nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

  “Do you have any other problems at school, other than this lovesick, but artistically inclined, girl who’s determined to win your heart?” Savannah asked.

  A slight shadow crossed his face, then quickly disappeared. “Not really,” he said. “Some of them say some dumb stuff to make me mad. But they’re just a bunch of monkey fudge nuggets, so I don’t pay ’em no mind. That way I don’t have to hit ’em and get in trouble.”

  Savannah stifled a laugh and nodded solemnly. “Excellent choice. A wise and mature decision.”

  “Not mature enough to go out with a girl though. I might not ever be mature enough to do that.”

  “You’ll know when the time comes,” Dirk said. “Believe me, you’ll know.”

  Savannah steeled herself as she prepared to steer the conversation down a rockier road. “How about outside of school?” she asked gently.

  “You mean, like here?”

  “Yes. Like here at home.”

  “Oh, I like here! It’s the best. I got you guys and the Colonel and Di and Cleo and even Vanna and Freddy and all the grown-ups. They’re all cool, but especially Granny. I had so much fun with her at the park today. The one by the pier. Do you know she’s got a red swimsuit, and she wears it, too, there at the beach? She doesn’t even care if she’s, you know, old. She went swimming with me and the hound dog, like she was a kid, too.”

  “Gran’s awesome,” Dirk said. “We’re all hoping to be like her when we grow up someday.”

  Brody snickered. “If you grow up any more than you already are, you won’t fit in your car or your clothes or Savannah’s comfy chair!”

  Savannah reached over and put her hand on the little foot that was sticking up beneath the blanket. She found his toes and gave them a gentle squeeze.

  “If something, anything at all, was bothering you, Brody,” she said softly, “I hope you know that you can talk to us about it. Any time. But now’s an especially good time. You know, if there was anything in particular.”

  Suddenly, his bright smile disappeared. Tears sprang to his eyes and his lower lip began to tremble.

  “What is it, son?” Dirk asked, moving up the bed so that he could take him in his arms. “Tell us what it is.”

  “I shouldn’t oughta say,” he replied, choking on the words, as he laid his head on Dirk’s shoulder and snuggled in.

  “Are you afraid you’ll get in trouble?” Savannah asked. “Because if you are, you don’t need to be. We’d be really glad if you told us what’s bothering you.”

  “I know.” He sniffed. “I know you won’t get mad at me. That’s not what I’m afraid of.”

  “Are you afraid we’ll tell someone else?”

  Brody thought that over a moment, then said, “No. Not really. You don’t talk to her.”

  Savannah and Dirk exchanged a loaded look. They were getting somewhere.

  “You mean your mom,” Savannah said. It was more of a statement than a question.

  Brody nodded. “Yeah. I mean her.”

  Dirk wrapped his arm more tightly around the child and said, “You know where she is, right?”

  “Yeah. In a jail.”

  “Not just in a jail, darlin’,” Savannah replied. “She’s in prison.”

  Brody looked up at Dirk. “What’s the difference?”

  “Well, you don’t want to wind up in either place. But prisons are way more serious. They’re bigger and the bars are a whole lot stronger. There’re tons of big prison guards who mean business, and they make sure that nobody can ever get out of there. Not until they’ve served all of their sentence.”

  He brightened a bit. “Nobody ever got out of a prison before they were supposed to?”

  Savannah searched for comforting words that wouldn’t be a lie. “Brody,” she said. “Your mother absolutely cannot get out of the prison she’s in. There is no way. She’s going to be in there for a long time.”

  “I know, ’cause she hurt a kid. Me.” He looked down at Diamante, who was rubbing her face on the back of his hand. He pulled her closer and said, “I heard that she’s gotta stay there a long, long time because of what she did to me. But I didn’t ask the judge to do that, to make it longer. I hope she doesn’t think I’m to blame for her gettin’ stuck in there so long.”

  “She’s in there for a lot of stuff she did, son,” Dirk said.

  “She also sold a bunch of really bad drugs to a lot of people. She attacked me and the policemen who arrested her. You saw that yourself. Plus she’d committed lot of crimes before, for years, and she didn’t seem to be learning her lesson.”

  Brody looked up at Dirk, a half grin on his face. “That was me that gave you the black eye when you arrested her. You didn’t put me in prison.”

  Savannah laughed. “You got a pass, kid, because of your tender years. A one-time pass.”

  “Next time, it’s San Quentin for you,” Dirk told him as he ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head.

  Savannah wanted to move to the child’s other side and hug him, too. But when she made a
slight movement toward him, she saw him flinch. So, she pulled back and tried not to take it personally.

  Though she couldn’t help it.

  “You don’t ever have to be afraid of her,” she told him. “By the time she gets out of there, you’re going to be a tall, grown-up man. She wouldn’t even think of raising a hand to you then.”

  “You mean she’d be afraid of me?” He seemed enchanted by the idea.

  “I think you being bigger than her and stronger would make all the difference in the world in how she treats you. Besides, you won’t even have to see her or talk to her again, unless you choose to.”

  “I won’t choose to. I sure as shootin’ won’t ever choose to.”

  “I understand, Brody.”

  “Do you think she’d understand?”

  Savannah shrugged. “She doesn’t have to understand. You aren’t responsible for her. She is. Maybe she’ll learn that while she’s sitting in prison and maybe she won’t. But it’s not anything for you to concern yourself about.”

  He sighed. “I wish I didn’t worry about her.”

  “You don’t have to, sweetie.” Savannah squeezed his toes again. “Those guards are going to make sure she doesn’t get out, and here at home, you’ve got a real, live, police officer right here to protect you.”

  “You was one, too,” he piped up.

  “I sure was, and I haven’t forgotten how it’s done.”

  “Plus you’ve got the Colonel,” Dirk added. “He’s a ferocious watchdog.”

  Brody rolled his eyes. “What’s he gonna do? Howl or sniff a bad guy to death?” They laughed together. “He could bite her ankle though, if he had to in a pinch.”

  “I’m sure he would.” Savannah gave him her most reassuring smile. “You are about as safe as any kid in the world could be, Mr. Brody Greyson. You have about a dozen capable people and critters around you who would fight with all their might to keep her or anybody else from harming one hair on your head.”

  He giggled, and Savannah saw the first glimmer of an upper front tooth, breaking through the gum.

  “Reckon I’m a pretty lucky kid, then,” he said.