by E A Lake
“You know, if it bothers you so much, you can say something to Chloe about it,” I dared to toss into the conversation.
She didn’t even flinch; she just kept on mending those damned pants. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Quinn.”
Yeah, right.
“Avellyn calling me daddy.” She sighed and looked at me.
“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll admit that I’m not overly fond of it. I mean, you’re not her daddy. She’s eight and you weren’t here when she was conceived. It makes me a little jealous, if I’m honest about it.
“I want us to have children. I want our children to call you daddy.” She set the pants aside and gave me her full attention. “But she’s always going to call you daddy. I don’t like to think of wondering what that will do to our children. And just so you know, I’m not mad or even jealous you slept with Chloe. I wasn’t here and you had no idea how to find me.”
I went beside her and knelt. “While you were gone, while we were apart, were there ever any other men in your life? Someone you were maybe close with?”
Tears formed in her eyes and I debated whether I really wanted to know the truth.
She took my hands and kissed each one of them. “There’s only ever been you, Quinn Reynolds. I’ve never looked at another man the way I look at you. I thought about you every day for almost seven years. Each and every day. You’re all I ever wanted — ever!”
We were about to share a kiss when a knock on the door made both of us jump.
“Sheriff,” a voice called out – Petri’s. “There’s a stranger in town nosing around. Maybe you’d better come check it out.”
“I’ll come with,” Morgan said as I stood. “I like spending time with you. Even when you’re working…and ignoring me.” She poked a sharp elbow in my ribs when she stood. “And keep an eye on you. Apparently, you can’t control yourself around that dog lady.”
That was my Morgan.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-THREE
The stranger was gone. As in left Chloe’s, left town and was on his way to see some people in Terre Haute. And all he did was talk to Chloe about getting some dogs.
“He was a nice enough fellow,” Chloe reported to me while Morgan pushed Avellyn on a rickety swing. “He didn’t speak very well, but he was awfully polite.”
Petri and Cooley stood beside me, taking in all Chloe reported as if they were a pair of big city detectives. Their expressions were laughable as they listened to the boring talk of nothing.
“Cooley,” I said, scratching my head through my cap. “Aren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on Robert and Charolette? You know, just in case this was all a diversion and that stranger is really after Charolette?”
He shook away my concern like yesterday’s rain. “She’s taking a nap right now, boss. Robert’s in a chair next to her bed and Ronnie’s sitting on the front porch with a loaded shotgun.” He poked his friend in the ribs. “About the only thing she has to be afraid of right now is getting attacked by Robert’s trouser snake.” The pair laughed and gaffed for several seconds before Chloe stormed over to them.
“You two watch your mouths!” she scolded. “Don’t be talking like that about Charolette or anywhere near my daughter. You know better than that. I know you boys were probably raised in a barn, but you can behave more decent than that.”
Neither seemed too offended by Chloe’s tongue-lashing and their smirks remained in place. They were a special pair alright.
“So, this guy just wanted dogs?” I asked, trying to wrap up an obvious case of mistaken identity. The fellow may have been a stranger, but he didn’t seem to have any malicious intentions.
“Yep, said he was looking for some dogs,” Chloe replied. “The kids didn’t like him much at first, but once he got in there, he seemed to have a real way with them.”
“Kids?” I inquired.
“She means the dogs, boss,” Petri answered, his chest puffing out.
“Did he ask about me or the others?” I pressed. “Did he seem like he was after anything other than dogs?”
She thought for a minute, tapping a dirty finger on her cheek. “Nope; though he did ask who the sheriff was. I told him your name and he acted like he’d never heard of you before.”
“Did he say where he was from?” Morgan asked as she joined the conversation.
“A ways south of here,” Chloe replied, seemingly trying to think of the name of the town he may or may not have mentioned. “I don’t recall it right now. Does it make a difference?”
I smiled and squeezed her forearm. “Not really; he sounds harmless.”
“He’ll be back in a week or so, he said,” Chloe added. “Maybe you can meet him then.”
I nodded and motioned for Morgan that it was time to leave…and hopefully lose Petri and Cooley for the rest of the day. That’s when one last question crossed my mind.
“Did he say his name, Chloe?” I asked as she nodded.
“Ramos Stanlard,” she replied proudly. “At least I remembered that.”
For a heartbeat it didn’t click, even though I recognized the name. But then it did and I felt my stomach tighten.
“That’s not a very common name,” I said, staring at Morgan. “And the only Ramos Stanlard I’ve ever run across is dead and has been since I slit his throat more than two months ago.”
The color drained from Morgan’s face as she pushed around me and got closer to Chloe. “Describe him for me.”
Chloe shrugged before beginning. “Like I said, he was nice enough. About your height, Morgan. Medium-length dark beard and hair. Dressed like a farmhand more than anything else. And he had the most unusual colored eyes.”
I could see Morgan’s breathing become shallow. That wasn’t good.
“What color?” she asked, nearly out of breath.
“A brilliant hazel,” Chloe replied with a smile. “So pretty for a man.”
I noticed Morgan begin to shake. “Did he have any other marks; anything that stuck out to you?”
Chloe nodded, pointing at her cheek just below her right eye. “He had a nasty scar, right there.”
Morgan looked as if she’d seen a ghost.
“You know this man, Morgan?” I asked.
She nodded several times before staring at me. And she looked scared. “Yeah I do, and you do too. It was Jimmy Yelk.”
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR
Morgan and I sprinted back into town towards our home, more aptly Ronnie’s home. The others seemed to catch on quickly that something was wrong and hustled to keep up. By the time we reached the front porch, we were both out of breath and yappy at the same time.
“Where’s Charolette?” I asked Ronnie hurriedly. He quickly rose from his spot and pointed at the house.
We all hustled inside and found the young woman doing what she did: cleaning. Ronnie’s wife stood over Charolette with her hands planted firmly on her hips.
“You’d better be here to take her home,” his wife said grumpily. “I’ve had about enough of her for one—”
“Jimmy Yelk is in town,” Morgan gasped. Sasha launched off the couch like she’d been shocked with a cattle prod. Charolette simply looked up and shrugged.
For the next five minutes, all women in the room talked at once while I explained to the men just who Jimmy Yelk was. Sasha tried to come up with the best hiding spots for all of them; Sara peered out the window as though Yelk might mount the steps any second. Liv got busy in the kitchen, baking something it appeared. Like that was going to help.
Charolette seemed unimpressed by the news or all the commotion going on around her. She even quit cleaning and took a spot on the couch, patting the seat next to her for Robert to come and sit, which he did immediately.
“Aren’t you concerned, Charolette?” Morgan quipped when things began to settle down a little. From the smile on her face, I’d say she wasn’t.
“I’m not worried one little bit,” Charolette beamed. “I know Robert wi
ll protect me. He’s my knight in shining armor.”
Oh God, she was in la la land. That made one of us.
Jimmy Yelk was on the top of my shit list. Wayyy on the top. Not only was he a mean, ornery man, but he seemed to like to hurt women. His worst offense, to me, was booting my woman in the face, and doing it with a smirk.
“We’re talking about Jimmy Yelk,” I said, hoping to be the voice of reason. “Shaklin’s thug. Ring a bell?”
She continued to smile. “I’m not worried. Robert will—”
“Does this Yelk fellow carry a gun?” Robert asked nervously.
I didn’t know. I’d never paid that close of attention to any of Shaklin’s muscle.
“No,” Morgan answered. “He likes knives, big ones.”
“But no guns?” Robert continued, even more nervous than before. Morgan and I looked at Chloe.
“He might have had one,” Chloe muttered, rubbing her chin while thinking. “I don’t remember seeing one though. I did see a knife.”
Charolette snuggled tightly against Robert. She seemed content, but he wasn’t quite as happy.
“No matter what,” Charolette purred, “Robert will protect me. I’m not worried in the least.”
A rustling by one of the front windows drew my attention away from the dreamy girl.
“I think I see a stranger,” Sasha gasped. Sara chased towards the window and peeked out beside her sister.
“He looks too tall for Jimmy Yelk,” Sara replied. “I don’t recognize his face, but I haven’t met every man in town yet.”
Ronnie walked over to the front door and ripped it open. Apparently, he had no problem meeting the danger head on.
“That’s Scott Ripley,” he said, looking back at me. “He ain’t no danger. He’s the wife’s brother.”
“We can’t be too careful,” Sasha added, moving away from the window, raising a finger to her mouth. There went some more skin.
“She stays here tonight,” I ordered. Most everyone agreed with nods. “Tomorrow night, she’ll be at Robert’s and then back home with Morgan and me the day after.”
“How long we gonna keep this up?” Ronnie asked.
I glanced at him sideways. “Until we catch Jimmy Yelk and find out what else Shaklin has in store. It may take a couple nights, a couple weeks, or even a couple of months. But we’re going to come out on top here. That much I know.”
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE
After a week of watching, waiting, planning and trap setting, we had nothing to show for our efforts. That was mostly because only three strange men had come to Pimento in that time and none of them resembled Jimmy Yelk. We even took to interrogating each strange person and not one of them seemed to have any connection to my old friend Tony Shaklin.
But we remained vigilant to a fault.
“I think Robert and Charolette are going to get married sometime soon,” Art reported the eighth morning of our vigilance. “Robert ain’t ever been happier that I’ve ever seen. And that little Charolette is so in love that you can just feel it every time she walks by.”
That brought up a problem, a sore spot in my own relationship.
Morgan and Sara had decided amongst themselves that Charolette shouldn’t be locked away day and night. They claimed she needed to be out and about during the daylight hours. That way if anyone was watching her, or us for that matter, they wouldn’t suspect we had a trap set for them.
They reasoned that maybe Jimmy Yelk was just in town to check things out. Shaklin, they claimed, had dozens of people who could sneak into Pimento and attempt to abduct Charolette. Grudgingly, I agreed with them.
But that put Charolette in the open and at risk. Sure, she always had Robert by her side and he was as prepared for problems as much as anyone was. But there were gaps in our extra coverage.
Cooley and Petri had a way of wandering off when they were supposed to be tailing the couple inconspicuously. Neither ever missed a meal or a chance to stop and say hello to a pretty woman. Hell, I’d even caught Cooley playing catch with the Davidson boy one afternoon when he was supposed to be on duty. He claimed he still had an eye on them, even though Charolette and Robert were nowhere in sight.
“What are your thoughts on marriage, Sheriff?” Art asked, jolting me out of my rumination.
“Mine didn’t end all that well,” I replied, pondering Carla for a moment. She was a real piece of work. “If those two want to get married, I won’t be against it. More power to them. We just need to catch Jimmy Yelk. That’s the only thing on my mind right now.”
Art shuffled in his squeaky chair. “You and Morgan thinking of getting hitched anytime soon?”
She had brought it up several times to me in private. I wasn’t against it, but I wasn’t ready for it yet.
“Not ’til we catch—”
“Jimmy Yelk,” Art added. “I get it.”
He was quiet for a moment and when I peeked his way, he was rubbing his chin.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time out at Chloe’s place lately,” he said, as if there was more. And there always was with Art. “Just wondering out loud…is there anything going on between you two that might be getting in the way of an otherwise happy relationship at home?”
I shook my head and leaned it back, staring at the ceiling.
“Chloe’s a good person,” I replied with a chuckle. “Can’t say if she’s my type or not. But I’ve been there making sure she knows she needs to send Avellyn right away when Yelk shows up. For that matter, he doesn’t know what I look like, so I’m hoping he drifts back in while I’m there on one of my visits.”
“I noticed her little girl still calls you daddy,” Art added. “Which you’re most certainly not. That a problem with Morgan though?”
I shook my head again. “We’ve already talked it out. Morgan’s not thrilled about it, but she’s a big girl and has come to terms with it.”
When I looked again, I could see Art pondering something else. What now?
“Has Avellyn been at your house the past couple of nights?” he asked slowly and carefully. “Not that it’s any of my business…”
Finally, I was able to nod at something he asked. “Morgan’s idea. She’s trying to get to know the child a little better. Plus, we’ve had one of Ronnie’s daughters staying at night, too. Some sort of sleepover crap Morgan dreamt up. They seem to be getting along just fine.”
“Huh, I would have thought that was something Morgan would never do, much less suggest.”
I glanced at him and shrugged. Me too, Art; me too.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-SIX
Three more days of complete boredom passed without so much as a single incident to take my mind off the return of Jimmy Yelk. I was beginning to think that he had run into trouble in Terre Haute and was already dead somewhere in a gutter. Either that, or he’d been watching us and was on to our trap.
Charolette was safe, but for how long? Shaklin probably had a schedule in mind for giving the girl to Winston Cutler. Tony did plan with the best of them. I remembered that from being in business with him. I was sure he had even planned my business exit down to the last word of his speech as he shoved me out the door.
Mid-afternoon, the door opened and a man I hardly knew stood before my desk. I thought his name was Harvey something-or-other. But I wasn’t sure.
“Hey there, Sheriff,” he said with a southern drawl. “Hope I ain’t bothering you.”
I sat up, placing my elbows on the desk. “Not at all, Harvey. What brings you to town?”
He looked embarrassed for a moment, rotating his crusty, faded John Deere hat in his hands. “It’s Harley; Harley Pickert.”
“Sorry; what can I do for you Harley?” I decided at that moment I was going to go around and learn every man, woman and child's names…right after the current problem was over.
“Well, I hate to bother you,” he continued. “But those damn dogs of Chloe’s have been barking and howling since late last night. Now I k
now dogs, and I ain’t got a problem with them… but the wife is getting kinda ornery and wants me to do something about it.”
“Did you talk to Chloe?”
He shrugged. “She ain’t home right now as far as I can tell. That’s probably why those mutts are all worked up.”
That was strange. Where was Chloe?
“She say anything to you about going somewhere?” I asked as my curiosity shifted from mild to heightened.
“No, but she’s got relation over in Blackhawk that she goes and sees every once in a while,” he replied.
I knew that fact. She had a sister or maybe a brother in that small town some four miles directly east.
“Okay,” I said, scratching the back of my head. I needed to wash my hair soon. “What do you want me to do?”
He grinned a little, displaying his brown-stained teeth. “Maybe you could come over and help me give them some water and round up a little food for them. I don’t think they’ve been fed since she left.”
I thought about sending Art to handle the simple task, but remembered he was on duty “tailing the lovers”. I grabbed my gun and hat and popped out of my chair.
“Let’s run over there and take care of them,” I replied with a smile. “Maybe Chloe will be back already. She’s hardly ever gone more than a day.”
As we strolled along, something in my own words didn’t ring true. Yes, Chloe went and visited a relative from time to time. But she usually made arrangements with me or Ronnie to feed her dogs. She loved them too much just to wander off and not make sure they were properly taken care of. Maybe there’d been a family emergency, I decided. Something that took her away in the middle of the night and she hadn’t had time to talk to — or didn’t want to bother — anyone.
Harley and I took care of the dogs and after he left, I snooped around a little. I half expected to find an apology note on her front door explaining the circumstances. There was nothing.