Half Past Dead

by Meryl Sawyer

  Tori had been in Oxford, taking extension classes at Ole Miss and working at an expensive boutique. In the months immediately following her father’s heart attack, Kat had expected her mother to try to get Tori into Ole Miss full-time. It hadn’t happened. Tori was still attending part-time when Kat had been arrested. Kat had called her mother from jail. She’d hung up on Kat.

  IT WAS AFTER EIGHT O’CLOCK by the time Kat’s hair was done and she’d gone to the supermarket for food. She’d stocked her small fridge with low-fat, low-carb goodies. She was better-looking, thanks to Lola Rae. The warm brown hair with red highlights in a bouncy flip made her eyes seem greener and her skin less sallow from the years in prison.

  Lola Rae had shown her a few tricks with mascara and a hint of eye shadow. She’d applied a light sheen of foundation with a sponge and dusted Kat’s cheekbones with a soft coral blush. All of the cosmetics went onto Kat’s tab. She hoped she could duplicate Lola Rae’s efforts on Monday before she went to work.

  Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since Special Agent Wilson had bought her a salad at noon. She should stay home and study the paper more closely so she would be familiar with the layout, but she’d been dreaming about Jo Mama’s Ribs for years. Surely her first night of freedom called for a small celebration.

  She drove her Toyota over to the north side, where Jo Mama’s Ribs had been located for nearly forty years. Jo Johnson had opened the place back when her husband became one of the first black pilots in the Tuskegee Air Squadron during the Second World War. He’d been killed early on, and a foul-up had deprived Jo of his pension for years. She supported their five children by making the best ribs in this part of Mississippi.

  Abe Johnson had taken over when his mother’s health began to fail. A mountain of a man with a huge smile, Abe had inherited his mother’s talent for cooking. Big Abe’s ribs had been her father’s favorite, and he brought her to Jo Mama’s at least twice a month when he’d been alive. Her mother and Tori never came, her mother insisting no self-respecting white person would be seen in the “north side.”

  Kat parked and walked up to the outside takeout window. Being Friday night, the place was packed, and there was a long line waiting to get in. More than half of the people appeared to be white. Just like her father had always said, “Good people know good food, and good people don’t care about the color of your skin.”

  She waited behind a man who could no longer see his shoes, and his wife, who shuffled along beside him in what appeared to be a housecoat. Kat promised herself she would limit Big Abe’s ribs to special occasions.

  The couple put in their order and stepped aside. Kat moved up to the window. Big Abe’s daughter DeShawnna took Kat’s order for baby back ribs and coleslaw—no fries, onion rings, or barbecued beans.

  DeShawnna hesitated a moment, pencil poised in the air and asked, “Don’t I know you?”

  She paused, reluctant to say her name. What if they refused to serve her? Get over it, she told herself. “Kat Wells.”

  “Kat? Well, I’ll be jiggered. You’re beautiful.” She peered out the service window at Kat who was still wearing the white capris and red blouse knotted at the waist that she’d worn to have her hair done. “Girl, how did you get so skinny?”

  Heat flushed the back of Kat’s neck. No one had ever called her beautiful. She knew she was thinner and vastly improved but “beautiful” was a stretch.

  “Daddy, git out here. You gotta see this.”

  A few seconds later Big Abe poked his head through the window. Kat smiled at him, remembering how kind he’d been to attend her father’s funeral. It had enraged her mother, of course, but Kat believed her daddy was with the angels and would be thrilled to see Big Abe at the service.

  “Is that you, Kat?”

  “Yeah. I’m out for good behavior. This is my first night home. I’ve been dreaming about your ribs for years.”

  Abe’s smile was startlingly white in his dark face. “Hold on.”

  A minute later he was outside, hugging her. “Glad to see you, honey. You’re looking mighty fine. Come on inside. We’ll get you a table. A first night of freedom calls for a party.”

  “Oh, no, Big Abe. It’s just me. I don’t want to take a whole table on a busy evening.”

  “Don’t matter. They’ll wait. I take care of my friends.”

  He escorted her past the line at the door. She didn’t recognize any of the people. Inside a huge ceiling fan substituted for air-conditioning, stirring the delicious smell of barbecued ribs through the café. Wooden tables were covered with red-and-white gingham paper cloths. All the food was served on paper plates and the entire mess was bundled up and thrown away after each patron.

  “Sit yourself down right here,” Big Abe told her as a table for two was being reset. “Baby backs, my special slaw, and onion rings, right?”

  “Right,” she replied although she wouldn’t have ordered the onion rings if Abe hadn’t been so genuinely glad to see her. She sat down, her back to the wall, facing the crowded room.

  Big Abe bent low and whispered in her ear. “Your pappy would be right proud of you. You’re his girl…and never forget it.”

  Big Abe trundled off toward the kitchen. “His girl” echoed in her ears. Big Abe was right, she decided. Kat might look like Tori a little, but Tori was Loretta Wells’ child through and through. Kat was like her father—quieter, more studious, and uninterested in “society.”

  A waitress brought her an iced tea with two springs of mint. Kat couldn’t help smiling. Big Abe remembered everything.

  Kat glanced around the room, checking to see if anything had changed. She didn’t allow her eyes to linger too long, not wanting to make eye contact. Her first day home hadn’t been as stressful as she’d expected. Lola Rae had shut up Mrs. Avery, but Kat knew there would be others who wouldn’t be easily cowed.

  Jo Mama’s hadn’t changed much since the last time she’d been here with her father. They’d discussed her application to Ole Miss. He’d been proud of her early acceptance. Neither of them mentioned Tori, who had been rejected by the school two years earlier.

  Three weeks later, her father had slumped over at his desk at Twin Oaks Power and Gas. Parker Wells had been pronounced dead when the paramedics arrived. Kat was thankful he hadn’t suffered, but she wished she could have seen him one last time.

  She would have told him, “I am what I am because you loved me.” It was true. In her father’s eyes she wasn’t a fat little girl with no potential. She was a princess who received good grades and could be anything she wished to be.

  Lost in memories, it took Kat a moment to realize the din in the room had dulled to hushed whispers, and people were staring at her. She added low calorie sweetener to her iced tea, even though she never used it, and busied herself stirring her drink.

  She glanced up to see a hulking man weaving between the tightly spaced tables, heading toward her. Hank Bullock. In high school, Tori had gone out with the tackle a few times but dropped him when Clay started calling. Hank had never gotten over Tori and he’d never missed an opportunity to tease Kat, telling her Tori had the looks in the family.

  “Well, call me a dog if the jailbird ain’t back in town.” He leaned close, his breath rank with whiskey and onions. “You’re lookin’ better, piggy. I guess prison got rid of that fat ass.”

  Kat made herself smile as if she’d received a supreme compliment. She poked the belly that slopped over his belt. “My loss. Your gain.”

  It took a second for the insult to register in his inebriated brain. The old Kat would have cowered, but she wasn’t giving an inch.

  “You bitch! This here’s a hard body.”

  Kat could see the bully was going to make trouble. She refused to let a lowlife like Hank make a scene that might ruin Big Abe’s Friday night profits. The man’s friendship meant too much to Kat for her to allow it to happen.

  Another thought hit her. She’d been warned that any brush with the law—
no matter how minor—and she could end up in prison again. She knew how to take care of this bum, but she couldn’t do it in front of witnesses. She attempted a coy smile. “Let’s go outside.”

  Hank’s conceited smirk made her want to slap him. He didn’t get it—at all. He turned toward a table across the room where his buddies were watching. They gave him the thumbs-up.

  Kat led him by the line outside the door and around the bend into the parking lot. She stopped near her Toyota and looked up at the sky. A star winked at her. It was the first time she’d seen the stars as a free woman. A scumbag like Hank Bullock wasn’t going to ruin her second chance.

  Hank stumbled up behind her. “In jail too long, huh? Need a good fuckin’ bad? Real bad.”

  Kat almost laughed. She wasn’t a virgin, but the thought of Hank touching her made her stomach churn. Hank grabbed his crotch and fondled himself through his jeans.

  “Look, you jerk! Stay away from me.”

  Hank reached over and mauled her breasts. His meat-hook hands were hot and sweaty. “Get a load of your rack. You were so fat. Who knew you had tits like this?”

  Kat shoved him away. “I’m warning you. Leave me alone.”

  “I’ll leave you alone after I fuck your brains out. Tori thinks she’s too high and mighty for me, but you.” His hand clamped around her wrist and twisted. “You’re just a loser jailbird. Who’s gonna care if I rape you? Who are they gonna believe—you or me?”

  Kat didn’t hesitate. She lunged at him and kicked him square in the groin. He dropped to his knees, doubled over in pain. She let him whimper for a few seconds before moving closer. She clutched his neck, gripping his windpipe and pressing down on his carotid artery. The takedown was a favorite of the guards. A prisoner would pass out and there wouldn’t be a telltale mark on the neck.

  “Don’t you dare touch me or come near me again.”

  Hank’s head bobbled. She took that for a yes and released him.

  “Ah-ah,” sputtered Hank, gasping for breath and clutching his crotch. He looked beyond her with glazed eyes. “Sheriff, arrest her! She tried to kill me.”

  Kat turned and found herself nose-to-nose with Justin Radner.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  KAT GAZED into the most intense blue eyes she’d ever seen. Even in the dim light of the parking lot, she could feel their heat. Justin Radner was taller than she remembered. The planes of his face had become more angular and small lines fanned out from the corners of his eyes. He still had an athlete’s hard body with broad shoulders, well-defined muscles, and a trim waist. He was a man now, not a boy.

  And he was the law.

  She muttered a silent prayer. This man had the power to send her straight back to prison before she’d spent one night in her new home. If he charged her with any crime, her furlough would be revoked. Don’t allow yourself to remember how attracted to him you were in high school, cautioned the rational part of her brain.

  Still, being this close to him made her pulse pound in her temples the way it had when she’d secretly watched him at the trailer park years ago. Kat reminded herself that times had changed and so had she. But still, there was something about him that called to her and always had.

  She’d forgotten how powerful and confident he’d always been. Without even knowing she existed, he’d overwhelmed her as a teen. That was then; this was now. The last thing she needed was the attention of a sheriff whose virile good looks she’d always found disturbingly appealing.

  The way he stared at her seemed impudently familiar. His eyes roamed over her in silent appraisal, tracing the curve of her cheeks and dropping to the swell of her breasts, then roving lower to her hips, then thighs until he reached her toes. She wondered if he was recalling her fat years. No, she decided. He’d never noticed her then, and he wasn’t interested in her now. She found him sexy, but his expression said he was so bored that nothing short of a terrorist attack would move him.

  Hank lurched to his feet. “You saw what the bitch did. Arrest her!”

  “I was defending myself. He was trying to rape me.”

  Kat watched Justin study them both for a moment. “I was right over there.” His voice was deep and husky as he inclined his head toward a nearby black pickup where a hound of some kind was leaning out the window. “I saw your hands all over her, and I heard you threaten her.”

  “I was just joshin’, that’s all.” Apparently, Hank was still sober enough to know not to cross a man like Justin.

  “I could haul your sorry ass to jail, but I’m letting you go with a warning. Don’t come near this woman.” He pointed his finger at Hank. “And get someone to drive you home. You don’t need another DUI.”

  Hank weaved his way toward a battered car with duct tape holding a taillight in place. He yanked open the rear door and threw himself onto the backseat, where Kat assumed he was going to sleep it off.

  “Thanks for helping me.”

  “Don’t thank me,” he said, a threatening undertone in his voice, and something clenched in her stomach. “I’ve seen you in action.”

  “In action?” Droplets of sweat blossomed across the back of her neck.

  “You used unnecessary force on Hank. Kicking him in the balls would have been enough,” he said in an emotionless, detached voice. “Must have learned the takedown maneuver behind bars.”

  “If I hadn’t taught him a lesson, Hank would have come after me later.” She paused, trying her best to make her case and not anger this man. “I needed to show him that I can take care of myself.”

  “I’ll just bet.”

  His voice could freeze vodka. She couldn’t afford to alienate the sheriff. She might be innocent, but only a few people knew the truth. A deep anger born of frustration welled up inside her.

  She looked away from him and thought about the hummingbird for a second. Her heart was thumping painfully against her ribs. It eased a bit when she pictured the dainty bird. She reminded herself that she’d been through worse than this and survived. The way to handle Justin Radner was not to get angry and not to give him any reason to arrest her.

  “My dinner’s probably been served,” she told him.

  He followed her. “I’m going to talk to you while you eat. There are a few things we need to get straight.”

  Inwardly she was still trembling from her encounter with Hank, but before she could adjust, she had to deal with this man. No doubt he was going to lecture her about toeing the line while she was on furlough. She’d be forced to sit through it—and smile.

  A mountain of baby backs was waiting for her. The aroma of barbecue sauce made her stomach growl and brought back fond memories of times with her father. She took her seat and Justin sat opposite her. He leaned forward across the small table. Too, too close.

  The crowded room was almost silent. Only the slight whir of the ceiling fan and the muffled clatter from the kitchen filled the air. Everyone was watching and waiting for them to talk.

  Big Abe lumbered out, slapped Justin on the back, and asked, “What can I get for you?”

  “Nothing tonight, BigAbe. I’m just keeping Kat company.”

  Justin sounded as if they were old friends. Big Abe smiled and winked at Kat. He turned to the silent room. “Now you folks finish up so those in line can get in. Kat Wells is back in town. She’s out for good behavior, and we’re going to see she gets the second chance she deserves.”

  “Yeah, right,” said a male voice with a pronounced twang.

  Justin surged to his feet. Every eye swung to his towering frame. The confidence he’d exhibited as a youth had become an aura of power. “Don’t let me catch any of you giving this woman trouble.”

  “Iffin’ you do,” Big Abe chimed in, “don’t come to Jo Mama’s. Get your ribs over in Jackson.”

  Justin sat down and Big Abe clambered into the kitchen. Kat picked up a rib and took a small bite. The tender meat with the special barbecue sauce brought the sting of tears to her eyes. This one’s for you, Daddy, she said to
herself.

  A few minutes later the noise level in the room returned to normal, and Justin said, “I was just notified this afternoon that you’re here on a work furlough. I’ll be keeping my eye on every step you take.”

  “Why? Don’t you have a murder to solve? Isn’t your time better spent on that?”

  Something flared in the depths of his eyes, and she regretted not keeping her mouth shut. Don’t turn this man into another enemy.

  “You’re a real smart-ass, aren’t you?”

  Kat wiped her hands on her napkin. Once having a man talk to her in that tone and using those words would have shocked her, but prison had transformed her in ways she was just now realizing. “Let’s just say being convicted of a crime I didn’t commit and serving time for it has changed my outlook on life. I’m not letting people push me around.”

  Justin lofted his dark brows, obviously not believing one word. Then his lips curved into a suggestion of a smile, reminding her of how attractive he could be when he wasn’t being a total jerk. His smile evaporated as if it never existed. “I’m not pushing. I’m the law. It’s my duty to make sure you don’t return to a life of crime.”

  Anger simmered inside her, but Kat picked up another rib and decided not to argue her innocence. Until the truth came out, most people would assume her to be guilty the way Justin did.

  “You don’t have to watch me too closely. I’ll be working—”

  “For David Noyes at the paper. I know all about it.”

  “Then what’s your problem? You can check on me without watching every step I take.”

  He leaned back in his chair and rocked it slightly while he gazed at her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable. A brief, bristling silence followed. “I’m going to keep close tabs on you. Tell you why. Most people don’t just suddenly commit a crime. It’s a gradual thing. Filching money from their mother’s purse. Pocketing pens and pencils when the teacher isn’t looking. Then it escalates to petty shoplifting.”