Welcome to Blissville

by Walker, Aimee Nicole

  “Did your wife and Georgia know that you were sleeping with someone other than them?” I asked, no longer willing to beat around Rocky’s bushes.

  Rocky’s mouth fell open in shock, and he audibly gasped. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The sweat that popped out on his forehead and the way he averted his gaze from me, were classic signs that he was guilty as charged.

  “Rocky, this is a very small town,” Adrian said as if he wasn’t talking to the mayor. “You have to know that there are no such things as secrets.” Rocky’s eyes darted up to meet Adrian’s then returned to the table in front of him. “Surely you realize that someone has seen you coming and going from Georgia’s house on Thursdays.”

  “Don’t forget the biological evidence left behind on the sheets,” I added and enjoyed the way Rocky flinched.

  “You don’t have to answer them,” Carrington told his client.

  “We haven’t asked a question yet,” I told the attorney. Arrogant prick. “Right now we’re telling you that we have witnesses that have seen your client enter and exit Georgia Beaumont’s residence on Thursdays.” I stretched the truth to suit me. “We also know emphatically that the biological evidence is only present after he leaves. Now, it’s in your client’s best interest, to be honest with us from this point on.” I turned to look at Rocky. “How long had your affair been going on with Georgia? Or the person you took to the cabin with you?”

  “How is any of that relevant?” Carrington asked. “My client has an alibi for the night of the homicide and the break-in. What would be his motive for harming Georgia Beaumont?”

  “Maybe she was about to ruin his marriage by telling Nadine about their affair. I find the timing of her death to be rather convenient,” Adrian replied to Carrington. “Nadine and Georgia had a big fight, and Georgia is killed later that same night.”

  “The alibi for the night of the homicide is a bit shaky,” I told the attorney. “We’re not going to just accept what Nadine tells us. Georgia might not have gotten along with a lot of folks, but none of them had a motive to kill her. Besides, it doesn’t mean that he didn’t hire it done.”

  “I would never hurt Georgia,” Rocky said emphatically. “I was—am—a bad husband with a wandering eye,” and dick, “but that doesn’t mean I didn’t care for her. I loved Georgia; I always have and always will. I fucked up with her, but I can’t regret my kids, Detectives.” He took a resigned breath and said what we both already knew was true. “I had been sleeping with Georgia for a few months. I’m not even sure how it happened. I just showed up randomly at her house, and one thing led to another.”

  I just stared at the philandering man sitting across from me who acted like cheating on his wife was no big deal. “It just happened. One thing led to another.” Affairs didn’t just happen, and a person could easily prevent one thing from leading to another by never putting themselves in that position in the first place. I didn’t believe for five seconds that he just showed up at Georgia’s without ulterior motives. He knew that Georgia was lonely and he took advantage of her. Did he tell her that he loved her to get back in her bed? Did Rocky tell her he was leaving Nadine? He must’ve told her something to keep her quiet because only the housekeeper knew about the affair. Of course, I wasn’t about to tell him that. Let him think multiple people saw him sneaking in and out of Georgia’s house.

  “You weren’t worried that she’d tell Nadine? Surely she hated Nadine’s guts after she stabbed her in the back and had an affair with you,” Adrian told Rocky. “You’d think she’d jump at the chance to get even with Nadine.”

  “Georgia didn’t want me back,” Rocky said softly. “She told me so after the last time we were together. She was happy with how things were between us.”

  What he said didn’t jive with what Josh and Wanda Honeycutt said. Both of them emphatically said that Georgia wanted to be loved and sex without strings was the furthest thing from being loved. Was it possible she was playing Rocky’s ego, making him think she didn’t want him so that he’d work harder to get her?

  “We’ll ask you what we’ve asked everyone so far. Who would want to hurt Georgia?” I asked him.

  “I honestly can’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt her. I mean, she was kind of bitchy to just about everyone, but still…” Rocky shook his head.

  “Who stands to inherit her estate?” Adrian asked. We were still waiting for her attorney to provide us with a copy of her estate, including her will. He had asked for a little bit of time since he needed to make final arrangements for his client.

  “I don’t know,” Rocky replied. “I’m sure she changed her will after our divorce, but I’ve never seen a copy of it. She didn’t have any siblings and both her parents are deceased. I was her only family once upon a time.” Once upon a time were words associated with fairy tales. Being married to Rocky was more like a Grimm fairy tale rather than Disney.

  How fucking pitiful was it that Rocky had been her only family? It made the sadness I had felt listening to Josh speak about Georgia even stronger. I was even more determined to give Georgia justice. “We’re going to need the name and phone number of the lady friend you spent time with in Tennessee to verify your alibi for the time of the vandalism yesterday,” I told Rocky, sliding a pad of paper and a pen to him.

  “No,” he said, sliding it back across the table. “I have a gas receipt that is time stamped and has the address of the gas station in Tennessee from yesterday. That’s going to have to be enough, fellas.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gas receipt confirming just what he said.

  “We’re done here anyway,” Carrington said. I had almost forgotten the pompous asswipe was in the room. “This has been a complete waste of time for us both,” he told Rocky. He then turned to the captain, choosing to ignore Adrian and me, and said, “You’ll need to call me if you want to speak with Rocky or Nadine Beaumont again.” He put his hand on Rocky’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go.”

  Rocky and The Third left our station without so much as another word to us. The captain looked at Adrian and me then said, “Well, what do you guys think? Did he hire someone to kill Georgia?”

  “What would be his motive?” Adrian asked. “He seemed to be telling the truth when he said Georgia didn’t want him back and was happy with keeping their relationship as it was.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Rocky’s such a sleazebag politician that it’s impossible to know when he’s selling you something or telling the truth.”

  “I wonder if he even knows what the truth is anymore?” Captain Reardon puzzled out loud. He shrugged his shoulder and added, “He sure doesn’t want us knowing who he was with in Tennessee.”

  “That’s for sure,” Adrian replied.

  “It could be important to the case to find out her identity.” I held up the receipt and added, “I wonder if this gas station has cameras aimed at their pumps to ward against theft.”

  “I like the way you think, partner,” Adrian said, slapping me on the back.

  “Call the gas station and ask. Let them know it’s for an official investigation and ask them to email the footage to us ASAP.” He rose from his chair, signaling that our discussion was over. “Good work, guys.”

  “Now what?” Adrian asked me once the captain left the room.

  “Well, Mrs. Honeycutt couldn’t tell if anything was missing, so I think we can rule out theft,” I replied. “Someone was looking for something that might’ve had personal value instead of financial.”

  “Maybe we’re asking the wrong people about Georgia,” Adrian said. “Maybe we need to talk to someone who didn’t like her so much. I think we can learn a lot from the people who considered her an enemy rather than a friend.”

  “Like who?”

  “Pastor Harrison’s wife, Darlene,” Adrian said.

  I didn’t attend any of the local churches, but I knew who he meant. I pictured the short, quiet lady with mousy brown hair and pale blue eyes who was the exact oppos
ite of her boisterous husband. “Why her?” I couldn’t imagine she was anyone’s enemy.

  “According to gossip, she was engaged to Rocky when Georgia moved to town. Rumor has it that he took one look at the young blonde and Darlene was a distant memory.”

  “Is there anyone in this town that Rocky hasn’t dated or slept with?” I asked facetiously.

  “Me,” Adrian replied with a grin that made me laugh.

  “I mean, seriously. The man must be hung like a horse to get all the action he does, because it sure as hell isn’t his looks or his personality,” I told Adrian.

  “He must know how to use it like a porn star,” Adrian remarked and then chuckled. “I hope he’s keeping their names straight.”

  We had a good laugh at Rocky’s expense because the guy was a complete asshole and deserved it. “Okay,” I said, trying to get us back on track, “let’s go have a talk with Darlene Harrison then. I’m sure church ladies are full of information.”

  “You know what they say,” Adrian said as we left the interview room. “The biggest sinners sit in the front pew.”

  I’d have to take his word for it because I didn’t have firsthand experience. I’d heard enough bullshit talk about same-sex love being sinful, so going to church wasn’t something that interested me. I had heard that open-minded churches existed, but I had never encountered one. I didn’t have a problem with God; it was organized religion that angered me beyond reason. How many wars were fought in the name of religion? Too many to count, so I decided a long time ago that I would choose to do good things in my life and be a good person. It would have to be enough.

  “I think it’s time to talk to Georgia’s attorney again. I understand he wanted to make arrangements for her funeral, but he’s already made them. He should be able to put his hands on Georgia’s file quickly and make a copy for us.” I said.

  “Good point,” Adrian agreed. “Church, lawyer, and then lunch.”

  I looked at my watch and noticed it was only ten in the morning. I didn’t anticipate that either stop would take very long. “A bit early for lunch, isn’t it?”

  “Some of us worked up an appetite last night,” Adrian said. “I haven’t been the only ravenous person this week. I do recall someone eager to eat lunch early yesterday.”

  He had a point. “I’m good with an early lunch.”

  Funerals sucked—plain and simple. They brought out the best and worst in people. I stood in the back of the funeral home with my entire staff from the salon to pay our respects to Georgia on Thursday evening and shook my head at the spectacle in front of me. The place was jam packed wall-to-wall with people who supposedly stopped in to pay respects to her, our town’s former first lady. What I saw was a bunch of harpies and gossipmongers who were looking for a juicy story.

  I wondered what Georgia would think about the circus her viewing had become. The funeral was scheduled for the following morning at Sugar Grove Cemetery, and I asked myself how many of her friends would brave the blistering weather that was anticipated to say goodbye to her. I suspected not many. Well, one thing I knew for sure was that no one could find fault with her hair or makeup. I made damn sure of that when I prepared her for her big night.

  I didn’t do hair and makeup on deceased people very often because the funeral home had professionals on their staff who did that, but occasionally, someone requested my services, and I always obliged them. Oddly enough, spending time around deceased people didn’t creep me out; it was the living ones that often made my skin crawl.

  Georgia wasn’t just someone to me, so I called the owner of the funeral home and told them that I wanted to do her hair and makeup one last time. I just couldn’t let her go into the afterlife with helmet hair and the wrong shade of lipstick. Georgia detested pastels, and I knew she’d be very unhappy if she was stuck with pale pink lips for eternity. So, I used her favorite shade of ruby red and dared anyone to remark upon it.

  My staff and I had finally made it to the front of the line to pay our respects when the muted whispers stopped, and a hushed stillness spread over the room. I turned to see what was going on when I spotted Rocky and Nadine standing in the archway to the viewing room chosen for Georgia. I felt my jaw clench in anger, and I had to wonder just how big were their balls? I couldn’t believe that they had the nerve to show up after what they’d done to Georgia. In my mind, they could go to church and ask for absolution; her visitation wasn’t the place to cleanse their souls.

  At least Nadine had the grace to look both uncomfortable and sad as the crowd parted for them like the Red Sea did for Moses. In my opinion, it was because of the gatherings’ eagerness to witness the spectacle rather than any respect felt for the mayor. Rocky placed his arm on his young wife’s elbow and guided her straight to the front of the room where Georgia lay in her coffin. I had the irrational notion of shutting the coffin lid so that the two people who hurt her the most in the world couldn’t see her. They shouldn’t have been there at all.

  Then my eyes landed on a gorgeous man in a dark suit standing in the back of the room who appeared to only have eyes for me. I got caught up in Gabe’s intense stare and found myself feeling centered again. I felt like I’d been in a constant tailspin since learning that Georgia had died. I desperately wanted to get my life back to normal, but my brain cautioned me that relying on another person to help me find my balance always ended badly. I broke my connection with Gabe and stepped aside so that Rocky and Nadine could pay their respects and get the fuck out.

  Of course, Rocky was in no hurry to shed the attention that was bestowed upon him right then. He stood looking down at his first wife and shook his head sadly as if he had so many regrets. I didn’t consider myself a violent man, but I wanted to drive my knee into his ball sac and laugh as he collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. It was a lovely image.

  Meredith must’ve sensed the path my thoughts were heading because I felt her small hand on my forearm as if she was stopping me from going through with my evil plan. Who knows, maybe I would have, but Meredith was a reminder of the good things in my life that I’d miss if I went to jail for assault. She wasn’t the only person in the room I’d miss; I adored my staff and my clients. There was someone else in the room that I’d sort of miss seeing around, but I’d be damned if I’d admit that to him.

  I turned back to look at Gabe and saw that Adrian and Sally Ann had joined him in the back of the room, but I wasn’t sure he was aware of their presence because he still had his eyes locked on me. I tried sending him a silent signal to quit it before the entire town added the two of us into their tongue-wagging stories.

  “You did good, Josh,” Nadine said softly, pulling my attention away from the detective in the back of the room. I saw so much regret in her eyes and the sad smile she gave me. “She would’ve hated to wear a pastel or neutral color.”

  “She would’ve haunted me for the rest of my life,” I replied.

  Rocky looked at us like we were mad and it didn’t surprise me that he didn’t know anything about his first wife’s preferences after being married to her for more than two decades. Rocky cared about one thing only—himself. “Let’s get going, honey,” he said to his wife. Nadine stiffened at hearing the endearment roll off his lips. It looked to me that there was trouble in paradise.

  My staff and I paid our respects and then moved out of the way so that others could do the same. I tried not to look at Gabe as we walked in his direction, but it seemed someone on my staff had an altogether different idea because one of them tripped me from behind just as we came up on him.

  “Whoa there,” Gabe said, throwing his arms out to catch me.

  I immediately pulled myself out of his arms when I got my equilibrium back even though I really wanted to remain pressed against him and sniff his aftershave, cologne, or whatever he used to make himself smell like sex on legs. I turned and pinned my staff, who I also erroneously considered my friends, with a death glare. They all wore an innocent expression on their faces
and gave nothing away.

  I turned back to Gabe and mumbled, “Thank you,” before I resumed walking toward the exit.

  We all decided to head over to the diner to eat together before we went home. The diner was practically empty with most the town crammed inside the funeral home looking for a cheap show. I figured that a lot of them would be heading to the diner afterward, so I was happy to beat the crowd and get back home before I had to witness any more pathetic behavior.

  Daniella brought us menus as if we didn’t have the damn thing memorized after eating there our entire lives. Much like the town of Blissville, the menu never changed. We gave our orders to Daniella without even glancing at them.

  I ignored the stares I was getting from everyone at the table. “So what, I ordered the fucking beef stew,” I exclaimed after several awkward moments of quiet. “I don’t care what day of the week it is; I wanted some motherfucking beef stew.” I might’ve said that a bit too loud because Emma poked her head out of the kitchen window. Just great! I’d be getting another call from my mom, or worse—an emergency visit home.

  “Yeah, Meredith,” Chaz said as if she’d spoken up. “He wants some motherfucking beef stew.”

  “Well, okay then,” Meredith replied.

  The exchange was just what we needed to break the odd tension that had formed. Yes, I was doing things out of my normal order, and I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t feel my actions warranted such scrutiny and worried reactions from the people who knew me best. I felt like I needed to shake things up a bit and food choices were safer than bed partners.

  Talk turned to normal things like dates, clients, and weekend plans. Daniella brought our food, and we all made the best of a sad evening because life went on regardless of loss. Going to pay final respects at a viewing drove home just how fragile life was, so it was good to be reminded of the blessings we had in our lives. Each and every person at that table enriched my life, and I felt lucky to know them.

  That night as I lay in bed alone, listening to the wind whipping through the barren trees, I couldn’t help but remember the last time someone was killed in our sleepy town and the scary ramifications it had on my life.