by Marja McGraw
Bubba didn’t stay long, preferring to return to the kitchen to stare at the back door with longing.
“Okay, I’m leaving, but be careful. The last time someone made threats against you, well, you remember what happened. You almost lost your life.”
“But I didn’t. And I’m going to be fine this time, too.” Over the past couple of years I’d built up a lot of confidence in myself. I could handle anything. I was turning into a crusty broad, just like Prudy. Yeah, right.
As if reading my mind, Pete said, “Don’t be overly confident, Sandi. Use your common sense.”
“Don’t I always?”
Twenty-one
Before Pete left, he insisted I check the locks on the doors and windows, which I would have done anyway. I felt it was best to humor him so I let him follow me around while I locked up.
One goodnight kiss and he was gone. Climbing what felt like very long and steep stairs, I wondered if I should have bought a one-story home. No, I was just tired. Because the house had been my great-great-great-grandmother’s, I loved it. If Pete and I ever married, then I could picture us living here and… How on earth had my mind leapt to marriage? I shook my head and continued up the stairs.
Thinking about the evening, I turned around and headed back down the steps, wanting companionship and safety.
What a day. I’d talked to Slim, met with Stretch and Opal, had a run in with a reporter, and ended it with a dead rat on my porch. I needed my friend.
“Come on, Bubba. Time to sleep.” He reluctantly stood up, hating to leave the vicinity of the back door, and followed me up to my bedroom where he’d sleep on the floor at the foot of my bed. Hopefully he’d forget about the package in the trashcan by morning.
~ * ~
The next day I awoke early, ready to meet with Slim. I was actually looking forward to it. I wanted to meet all of the suspects and decide who was the most likely to call and threaten me. On the bright side, at least the caller hadn’t bothered Prudy.
I let Bubba outside while I ate my breakfast. About halfway through a bowl of cereal, I heard a crash in the backyard. I jumped up and ran outside, expecting the worst thanks to the rat incident.
Bubba had knocked over the trashcan and was busily trying to figure out how to get the lid off, pawing at it.
“No,” I said sternly. When he chose to ignore me, I repeated myself. “No! You get away from there. That’s not a toy.”
Grinning at me, rather sheepishly in my opinion, he backed away. I righted the can, counting my blessings that the lid hadn’t come off, and shooed Bubba into the house. After filling his bowl with dog food, I returned to the yard. I knew I was going to have to get rid of the dead body, because Bubba wasn’t going to leave it alone.
I pulled the bag containing the rat out of the trash. Placing it inside another sack, and putting that inside a third one, I walked around to the front of the house and opened the trunk of my car. I threw the whole mess into the trunk and closed it with finality.
Turning back to the house, I saw Bubba watching me out the front window, a look of sadness on his face. I wiped my hands on my jeans and started up the walkway.
“Sandi,” Dolly called from her front porch.
I redirected my steps toward her house. “Good morning, Dolly. Is Prudy about ready to go?”
“She’s looking for her cigarette holder, but she’ll be out in a minute.
“We were watching you and Bubba over the back fence. He’s almost as big as you are, so it was quite entertaining to see you ordering him around.”
I grinned. “Surprisingly, he listens to me. I don’t know what I’ll do if he ever decides to be stubborn.”
Prudy walked out onto the porch, ready for action. She had on her uniform: cowgirl boots, fur coat and cigarette holder, and her purse hung from her arm. “Are you about ready, Sandi? We’re letting the day get away from us.”
I glanced at my watch. It was six-thirty. “I don’t think we’ll have a problem. Slim will still be there, waiting for us. He wants to help us with our cold case.”
“What he wants and what he gets are two different things, cookie.” Prudy picked something off the front of her coat and frowned. “Uh oh. Looks like I’m shedding. Either that or Miss Kitty has been sleeping on my coat.”
“Aren’t you going to be too warm with that thing on?” Dolly asked.
“I’ll be fine. I have to maintain my image, you know.”
I turned toward my house, trying to hide a smile. “I’ll be back in about half an hour,” I said over my shoulder.
Returning home, I let Bubba outside again. He immediately walked over and sniffed the trashcan, but lost interest quickly and chose to lie down under his favorite oak tree.
After washing my hands and cleaning the kitchen, I changed into clean jeans and called the office. Pete was already there.
“Did you take care of Stanley and Felicity last night?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He sounded disgusted. “By the time I got there, Stan had found his wallet. It was a wasted trip. I could have stayed with you.”
I tried to think of something positive to say. “Well, we’ve got dinner tonight.”
Pete chuckled, although it wasn’t a happy sound. “Yeah, with Stan and Felicity.”
“We’ll have a good time. Trust me.”
“Hey, Sandi, can you stop by the office? I have some papers you need to sign so I can mail them out today.”
“Sure. Prudy and I will stop by on our way to Slim’s house. See you soon.” I hung up and locked the back door, grabbed my backpack and headed out.
Prudy was waiting by my car. Dolly stood on the porch, waving and looking left out.
“Say, Sandi, how come you use a backpack?” Prudy studied the bag hanging over my shoulder.
“It holds more than a purse and I can just throw the two straps over my shoulder.”
“I might have to get me one of those things.” She looked worried. “Actually, though, it looks sort of heavy. Is it?”
“Only when I’m carrying.”
“You carry a gun?” Prudy was suddenly a little too interested. “Are you packing right now?”
“No.” I wouldn’t have told her if I did have it in the backpack.
“Can I see your gun sometime?”
“No. Let’s go.”
I opened the door for her and took her cane from her, placing it on the backseat. Her lips were tight and I knew, without a doubt, that she was upset because I wouldn’t show her my gun. I don’t like guns and don’t carry mine unless I have to.
I started the engine and pulled away from the curb. “We need to stop by the office for a minute before we drive out to Slim’s.”
“Okay. It’ll be a hoot to see the old neighborhood. I wonder how much it’s changed.”
We drove to the office and I signed the papers Pete had mentioned while Prudy waited in the car. Stan hadn’t arrived yet, and Pete said he’d called to say he and Felicity had a long night and he’d be late. I smiled, happy that Stanley had found someone. I hoped it would last. He deserved happiness with someone, like Pete and I had.
Leaving the office, Prudy and I headed for her neighborhood. She’d lost her frown somewhere along the way and appeared to be excited about seeing her old home.
I turned a corner, entering the outskirts of her neighborhood, and her face fell. “Oh, Sandi! Look at all these apartment buildings. All those wonderful old houses are gone. How could they do that?”
“It’s called progress,” I replied.
“Progress my patootie!” She watched the street signs. “Turn right at the next corner.”
I turned right.
“Now turn left at the next street.” She looked hopeful as I drove. The apartments had begun to disappear and we saw more houses.
“Second street, turn left again.” Prudy was leaning forward as far as her seatbelt would allow, watching. Just watching. I turned left and Prudy let out a sigh of relief.
“Well?” I ask
ed.
“Yeow! Everything looks the same. They didn’t touch my old street.” Her voice held wonder. “Look. Look. There’s our house.” Prudy was pointing at a small yellow home. “And they even kept the yellow. I told Brian our house should be the sun in a neighborhood of boring homes, so he painted it yellow for me.”
I stopped in front of the house and let her take it in. I was on a case, but Prudy was on a walk down Memory Lane, and she was enjoying every step.
“I wonder if the people who live there now are home. Do you think they might let me look through it?”
“Can’t hurt to check it out,” I said. “But let’s go talk to Slim first. Maybe he can tell us something about the people who live there.”
Prudy nodded, but she wouldn’t take her eyes off the yellow house. “We bought it new, you know. Put a down payment on it a week before we got married. It was our first and only home together.”
“Which house belongs to Slim?” I asked. I honestly hated to drag her away from her memories, but we needed to take care of business.
She pulled her attention back to the present and pointed at a white house across the street and slightly south of hers.
I parked across the street from the white house and opened the door for Prudy. She didn’t snap at me like she usually did. I retrieved her cane from the backseat and she rocked herself out of the car.
She was busy checking out the whole street, so I held her back when I saw a car coming. She wasn’t paying attention to traffic, although there wasn’t much to speak of in this residential neighborhood. I glanced around and had to admit that the houses had a certain appeal. Even as young as I was, they made me think of neighborhood barbeques and kids playing in the streets.
I remembered my mother telling about clipping canasta cards to the spokes of her bicycle tire with clothespins so it would sound like a motorcycle. Well, she’d admitted they only made a clicking sound, but that was enough for her and her friends.
“Which house belonged to Matthew?” I asked. “None of them look the way you described his place.”
Prudy studied the street before answering. “I can’t believe it, but that’s his house down there.” She pointed to a house in the middle of the block, on the same side as her old home.
“That nice looking off-white house?” I asked. It sure didn’t look rundown anymore.
“Well, I’ll be darned. Someone’s fixed it up, and done a grand job of it. I don’t know if Matthew would be happy or sad about it. I’ll bet that house looks like it did when Matt first bought it.” She sighed. “Poor old guy just never had what it took to keep the house and yard up.”
We watched as two children ran out the front door and jumped on tricycles. Prudy grinned. “I’ll bet Matthew is sitting up in Heaven smiling, glad to see someone enjoying his house.”
“Okay, let’s go see Slim,” I said.
Prudy and I crossed the street and before we could knock on the door, Slim opened it and stepped out.
Seeing the old neighborhood must have knocked the wind out of Prudy, because she had tears in her eyes when she said, “Why you’re not a little twerp anymore. You’re a grown man. My goodness, look at you.”
Slim pulled Prudy close and hugged her. I stood in wonder, having heard all the stories about how these people had so many problems. I didn’t get it.
I could see only a trace of the young Slim in the wrinkled face I saw in front of me, although he was still slender.
“Mrs. Lewis, it’s been so many years,” Slim said. He pushed her away and looked at her, grinning. “You look just like you did the last time I saw you, cowgirl boots and all. I figure you must be on the job since you’re wearin’ your fur coat.”
“Well,” Prudy said, wiping her eyes, “are you going to invite us in or not, young man?”
“Yeah. We’ve got lots to talk about, don’t we? You guys wanna hear about Ratty Matty. I’ve been rackin’ my brain, and I did come up with a coupla interesting things to share. Yes, indeedy, I thought real hard on that night.”
Twenty-two
We followed Slim inside and he showed us to the den he’d added to the back of the house.
“This is the best room in the place. I did the work myself.” He was proud of his accomplishment, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d done a great job.
“Cathy will be here in a minute; that’s my wife. She’s makin’ us some java. Thought we could get our morning caffeine fix while we talk.”
“A man after my own heart,” Prudy said. “I could use a little pick-me-up.”
“I’m surprised at you two,” I said. “I was under the impression you didn’t like each other.”
“Oh, you would have had to have lived here to understand,” Prudy said. “It was kinda like one big family. We watched out for each other and our kids. I was just as likely to yell at Slim as I was to take out after Junior.”
“And she did yell at me. Frequently. Stretch and me was always causin’ problems around here. Our folks didn’t much care about Stretch and me. Prudy was the one who made us mind.”
Prudy grinned. “You two boys were a handful. I figured you’d both hate me, but Stretch was just fine when we saw him.”
“You saw my brother? When?” Slim seemed interested. “I haven’t seen him in damned near a year.”
“We met with him yesterday,” I said. “He told us about the fight you had with some older boys the day before Matthew’s death. Would you tell us your version of the story?”
“I remember that day. Yeah, I sure do.” Slim rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
~ * ~
“Hey, Milton! Where’d ya get a stupid name like Milton?” The two boys laughed and pushed Slim from behind.
The boy stumbled, but caught himself and stood a little straighter. “They call me Slim.”
“Milty, Milty, you’re lookin’ a little wilty.” The boys were acting childish, even though they were bigger and older than Slim. And they didn’t like him. “Okay, we can call you Slim, too, ‘cause you’re such a skinny runt.”
One of the boys slammed his fist into Slim’s back. It hurt, but Slim wasn’t about to cry out. He was scared, but he kept walking.
“Let’s show this little chump what can happen if he won’t listen to us,” one of the boys said, pushing Slim again.
“Wilty Milty, Wilty Milty,” they sang, taunting him.
Slim looked up and saw he was in front of Matty’s house. Without much hope, Slim glanced at the windows, hoping to see the old man. Maybe he’d help him out. He didn’t see anyone.
The boys pushed him again, and he almost fell, the worst thing that could happen. The older boys would be all over him in a flash.
He tried to will Matty to look out his window, but it didn’t work.
The bigger of the two boys shoved Slim up against a tree. “You ready for this, ya little slug?” He pulled his fist back.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” boomed Stretch’s voice.
Slim looked up, never so glad to see his brother as he was in that moment. And across the street Slim could see Nick heading over. Nick stopped in the middle of the street, seemed to have second thoughts, and turned back to his own house. He continued to watch.
“You’ll have to come through me to take my brother,” Stretch said threateningly. “And I ain’t no chicken. I can take ya both!”
“Aw, Stretch, we was just playin’ with Milton. You know we wouldn’t really hurt the kid.” The two boys were backing away. Stretch had a well-earned reputation.
~ * ~
“I think my brother saved me a lot of grief that day.” Slim sounded like he had a grudging respect for his brother. “I may not like him much now, but he was okay when we was kids. He looked out for me.”
“And you say Nick Stanton watched the whole thing?” I asked.
“Yeah. He saw it all. After those goobers took off, Nick went back into his house. But when Matty came out and he and Stretch got into it, I saw Nicky watching out
his window. Did Stretch tell you about arguing with Matty?”
“Yes, he told us that part of the story. He said he pushed Matthew, and that Matthew hurt his head. Did he leave anything out?” I asked.
“If he told you that part, then probably not. But back to Nicky watching the whole thing. You think that might mean something?”
“Don’t know,” I replied. “Anything could mean something. Do you remember anything else about that day?”
“I remember Nicky going home drunk that night.” Slim had a look of disgust on his face.
“I thought all you kids said you were in bed.” Prudy sounded testy. “You all said you didn’t see a thing because you were asleep.” Her back was stiffening. She wasn’t happy at this new information. “I recall you kids saying you missed everything in the neighborhood that night. Did you lie to us?”
“Uh oh. Now, Mrs. Lewis, we were just kids. And we were scared. After all, a man had been murdered.”
“Yes, a man had been beaten to death. And he was my friend. If you knew something back then, you should have told us. Maybe we could have caught his killer.” She was angry.
And Slim knew it. He played the youth card again. “We was just children, Mrs. Lewis. We didn’t understand just how bad things really were. All we thought about was savin’ our own hides. My mom and pop would have skinned me if they knew I’d been up and watching stuff.”
“How did you know Mr. Stanton was drunk?” I asked. I didn’t much care what Slim did as a child. I wanted to know what he remembered.
He turned to me. “He was staggering. And when he went into his house, I could hear him yellin’ at Opal all the way down here. I couldn’t hear it all, but I do know he was sayin’ something about her mom. And I heard Opal crying.”
“You couldn’t hear that all the way down here,” Prudy said. “Now you tell the truth, boy!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Slim glanced at his hands before turning back to me. “When I saw Nicky come home, I was sitting outside drinkin’ a beer. My pop had left one on the porch so I decided to finish it off. When I heard Nicky start yelling, me an’ my beer headed down the street to see what was goin’ on. I heard every word that came out of that man’s mouth. That son-of-a-bitch told Opal that she was worthless, just like her momma. That didn’t make her cry, so he pushed it. Told her that her momma was nothin’ but a two-bit whore. She still didn’t cry. That’s when he told her she probably wasn’t even his kid.