Red Ochre Falls

by Kristen Gibson

  “Just pick one. You can head inside and sign it out.” He paused and smiled. “I may not get to your car today so you can keep it through the weekend if you want.”

  If I want? Yeah, I want. But, what’s the catch? Am I going to have to whack someone to pay for this? He must have read my mind.

  “Don’t worry about money. Garrett’s got it covered.”

  I shivered wondering what I might owe Garrett for this one. Mysterious? Sure. But, I didn’t have the luxury, or time to ask a lot of questions. Granny always said, “Never look a gift horse in the mouth.” I’d taking her advice on this one. Besides, he didn’t have an air of superiority about working on my crap-mobile or giving me a loaner. He just acted like he was doing his job, which made it easier to accept the gift.

  “Thanks.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll call you when your car is ready.”

  I took the apartment and storage locker keys off the ring and handed it to him. I briefly glanced at the new cars and headed inside.

  A woman in a tight red shirt, and an even tighter black skirt met me. Her brown hair was pulled up, and she looked striking. The only thing that looked out of place was the small black skull tattooed on her neck. A part of me winced thinking of the favors she must have owed Garrett, and what he actually did to earn them.

  I swallowed my pride, stiffened up, and extended my hand. “Hi, I’m Mattie.”

  “Garrett said you’d be needing some help.” She didn’t roll her eyes, but it wasn’t hard to hear the tone in her voice and see her disappointment. “I’m Bianca. I see you already met Dawes.”

  “Is he the mechanic?”

  “Yes, he’s the mechanic. His name is Billy, but he goes by Dawes.”

  She eyed me for a few moments. I’m pretty sure she just checked me out, and not in a good way.

  “So, how do you know Garrett?”

  “Work,” I said, not wanting to get into the details. “Billy, I mean, Dawes said you had keys?”

  She kept her eyes on me as she rounded an old metal desk that looked like it belonged in an institution. She swiped a hand on a computer screen and typed something. The laptop was new and looked out of place.

  “Well, which one?” She huffed. Not much for chitchat I guess.

  “Car?”

  “Yes, which car did you want?”

  It wouldn’t have been a big deal, but I’d about had it with rude people. I didn’t do anything to her. I just wanted to get the keys and get out.

  “Hello…Car?”

  That’s it. I don’t like rude, and I don’t like being rushed. I was perfectly happy to take the Mini, but now it seemed too...mini. So, I did what any self-respecting girl in my position would do. I didn’t back down.

  “I’ll take the Hellcat.” Definitely not mini.

  “Huh, I didn’t picture you as the American muscle type.” She grabbed the keys out of a lockbox and dangled them in front of me. “It’s pretty powerful. Think you can handle it?”

  “Absolutely.” I snatched the keys from her hand and left without another word. When I got out the door I growled. Her comment about me handling ‘American Muscle’ went beyond the car. And there was no way she and was going to intimidate me about anything. Including accepting a better-than-I-could-ever-afford car, albeit a loaner, and repairs to my current rust bucket from a guy I barely knew, and she apparently knew intimately. She irked me on a day I didn’t need it. Best to get out before I said or did anything stupid.

  When I got to the car Dawes stopped what he was doing to walk over. He whistled through his teeth and leaned into the window. “Nice choice. Just make sure you watch the throttle, it’ll kick you in the a—” he caught himself before he finished. “Just make sure you take it easy the first few go-rounds.”

  “Thanks.” I put on my shades. “I appreciate the advice. Call me when you know more about what’s going on with my car.”

  “Will do.”

  The Hellcat growled extra loud as I pulled out. Probably because I wanted to let everyone, including Bianca, know I was leaving.

  It took moments for me to hit the road home. It had been a long day, and it was only half over. I planned to stop at the bank and the store before I went home, but I was hungry and agitated. Errands could wait. I headed home to grab a PB&J instead.

  My phone buzzed just as the engine stopped. Garrett wanted me to meet him at the police station. Talking with the police didn’t sound fun, but answers were more important than food and comfort right now. I texted that I’d meet him, turned the car back on, and rumbled out of the parking lot. There was enough power to easily beat out a hatchback and head downtown.

  CHAPTER 8

  Garrett told me to wait inside until he, or Detective Calvin Bateman showed up.

  I arrived a couple minutes early, so I took the opportunity to check on mom. When I called she sounded good. Mom told me she and Aunt Eileen were doing fine, and she promised a more detailed update later because they were discussing grandpa’s latest run-in with the nurse’s aide who came to help him each week. I hung up and wondered how things were really going, but was glad mom had someone with her. Lord knows they’d have their hands full with my grandpa.

  About the time I finished checking my news feed and the ten-day forecast, Garrett sat down beside me. We only waited a couple minutes before a light-haired man about an inch taller than Garrett walked in with two teenagers in handcuffs.

  “I picked up these two thieves and brought them here for booking. These geniuses tried to swipe a Sonicare toothbrush, shirts, and some kind of book reader thing from the department store. I was picking up socks on my lunch break.” He sounded humored and annoyed. It was hard not to laugh, but they looked every bit as dumb as their attempt at shoplifting sounded.

  “I didn’t get to finish shopping,” Calvin said. “And I really need socks.”

  I laughed imagining the guy trying solving crimes without socks.

  “I’ll hand them off and take your information here in a few,” he said to me. “You can sit by my desk. The coffee is free, but it tastes like crap. Garrett shook his head to reinforce the point. If you want something else, the vending machine’s that way.” He motioned to an area past the front desk. I really just wanted to get down to business, so I followed Garrett to Cal’s desk and we waited.

  When Cal was finished with dumb and dumber, he met us. We talked over Chloe, Tab, her mysterious casino case, and anything else that seemed out of the ordinary, like the calls she and her mom made to me this past week.

  Going on my assumption that Chloe wouldn’t commit suicide, Cal said there was a real possibility the Tab or someone from the case she was working had a part in her death. Garrett and Cal talked about the autopsy, which they told me would have been standard in a case like this. Something I hadn’t known before.

  Garrett looked at me cautiously, then at Cal and described the things he noticed about Chloe. Garrett told us he discovered some scratches, bruises, and a tiny needle mark on Chloe that must have been made by an especially small needle. The mark was made by someone who knew what they were doing because he almost missed it. I wasn’t sure if it there was a mix-up at the Coroner’s office, or not, but something about it bothered Garrett. It bothered me, too. If he hadn’t been looking for something, it might have stayed hidden.

  Originally, Chloe was found with a nearly emptied bottle of sleeping pills by her bedside. Garrett’s new information made Calvin wonder if the killer used some kind of poison, then staged the scene to make it look like Chloe did it herself. If we were correct, then we’d eliminated one unspeakable act and replaced it with another. Maybe Chloe hadn’t killed herself, and someone else was responsible. It was difficult to process, and I couldn’t imagine how Chloe’s mother would react to this news.

  Cal thought Tab was a good suspect since he’d abused her before—Chloe had fresh bruises—but Cal didn’t think a fake suicide fit Tab’s profile. Tab seemed more impulsive, not methodical enough to pull off something li
ke this.

  Cal stopped the conversation and looked directly at me. He asked me if I understood violence was unacceptable. He quoted domestic abuse statistics, so I’d understand how easily things could have escalated. It was scary to hear him talk about it. Scary enough, my mind started to wander back to some of the things I’d seen.

  While I was distracted, they started to discuss the dusty bodies that were coming to the funeral parlor. Apparently, the local police were trying to keep the details under wraps. They didn’t want to alert the public until they knew what was really going on. Calvin spoke quietly as he told Garrett the bodies were covered head-to-toe in what the lab determined to be some kind of pulverized rust. Probably the reddish powder on the first dead guy I saw at the funeral home.

  I didn’t totally understand, but it seemed significant that the two bodies were also discovered near a known mob hot spot with what Cal described as native artifacts. He didn’t give more detail, but told Garrett to watch out for anything suspicious. Basically, he told Garrett to double check the bodies as they came in for anything that the Coroner may have missed. When Cal said the last part, Garrett stiffened up and looked more serious than before.

  “Easy, now,” Cal said to Garrett. “I’m just saying what you already know. I trust you better than her. If you notice anything that could be useful, give me a call.”

  It was apparent Garrett was still tense, but he smiled at his buddy. “Of course, I’ll call you with any news,” Garrett said.

  Cal told us he’d look into Chloe’s background and see if anything popped. He expressed concern, and warned us not to mention either case to anyone before he could get more information. Cal said he’d make it a priority and keep us in the loop, and he was sincere, even though his desk looked like he had plenty of cases to handle without mine.

  After we finished Garrett walked me out. “See you back at the parlor.”

  “Sure. I’m just going to grab a peanut butter sandwich, or some crackers first if it’s okay.”

  “I’ll grab some sandwiches and meet you there.” Garrett turned to leave.

  I walked toward the Hellcat, which was parked down the street. My thoughts went all over. This whole thing with Chloe was crazy. Why did she waste her time with a jerk like Tab? Why didn’t she leave when he hurt her the first time? How could the normal girl I spent practically every day with in college end up dead like this? It didn’t seem possible to have a murderer invade our little part of the world. Was it Tab, or her work that killed her? I had to find out.

  My distracted brain registered a noise behind me. I walked faster and pulled out my keys. If there was enough distance between us, I’d make it to the car and get safely inside, but there wasn’t. I knew it and started to run.

  A large man grabbed me from behind and lifted me off the ground—his chest and arms were huge. He turned me to face the closest brick building. I struggled to hit and kick him, but he had me locked down so tight, I could barely move.

  “You can have my purse.” Terror shot through me and tears welled up in my eyes, but instead of crying, a little whimper escaped. “Take the money. Just please, don’t hurt me.”

  He covered my mouth with one of his hands then squeezed tighter. It hurt to breathe. I wiggled in an attempt to free myself, but I was only able to move just enough to get a tiny gasp of air. The guy waited for me to waste some more energy trying to escape. My arms started to feel like fire, and my mind raced with thoughts of what he might do to me. Maybe someone would see me in distress and come save me. No one came.

  “Are you listening?”

  I hesitated, then shook my head yes.

  “Stop poking around other people’s business, or next time you won’t be so lucky.” He squeezed tighter until my bones and cartilage started to grind. “This is your only warning.” He let go.

  My body shook. I nearly collapsed, but I was too afraid to move. Not knowing what to do, I stood there for a minute and kept my eyes focused on the weathered bricks in front of me. When my instincts kicked in, I turned, grabbed my bag and keys off the pavement, and ran for the Hellcat. I didn’t stop until I was locked inside with the engine running. My fight or flight instinct yelled at me to get as far away as possible, so I pushed back the tears, shoved the car into drive, and zoomed off.

  By the time I got back to the funeral home, I was one hot mess of tears, mascara smudges, and panic. Garrett’s truck was parked next to the garage, and so was his Maserati. I punched the gas and squealed the tires coming up the driveway. It didn’t matter if the Hellcat crashed through the building, I wanted everyone to know I was here. Mostly so they could help me in case the crazy guy came back.

  I flew in the back door, through the hall and into the office. Apparently Garrett was unable to hear my entrance because he had his hands full. With Bianca. I nearly ran them over. They stood lip-locked. I stopped short and stared in shock. He pushed her away just as I bolted through the office. He caught me halfway down the hall.

  “Mattie,” he said firmly. “It’s not what you think.” Right, and I’m a brain surgeon who moonlights as a Victoria’s Secret model. Not buying it bud! I turned to dart off again and he grabbed my arm.

  “Hey!” I protested still wounded from the psycho encounter. It must have taken him by surprise, or he noticed my panicked look. He let go. I started off again when the door to the viewing room opened. I freaked and tried to move left, only my foot caught part of the doorway and I went flying. Gravity brought me down with a thwump. Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! “Ouch!” was about all I could manage with my face to the floor. I was going to have bruises and rug burns, or worse.

  Mille and Garrett both ran over to help me.

  “Walk much.” I heard Bianca say as she came toward us. She was on my last nerve and I was going to give her an attitude adjustment. I tried to get up on my feet, only nothing worked right and my foot slipped and landed me back on the floor.

  “Stop movin’ girl,” Mille told me. “Or ya gonna hurt somethin’ even worse.” She put a hand under my right arm and one on my back. “Garrett, help me move her over.” He got in position on my left side then stopped.

  “Wait. Mattie, are you okay to move? Does anything feel broken?” Only my ego, loverboy. Only my ego. I lifted my face off the floor and rested my chin on the carpet while the rest of me was pretty much flattened.

  “I don’t think so,” I said. They turned me over; I wasn’t much help even though I tried. I lay flat on my back for a minute looking up at Mille, Garrett, and Bianca who stood over me in a skirt so short I could see up to her neck. I gave her a dirty look, which turned to a death stare when she smirked at me.

  Garrett must have noticed because he stood up and told Bianca it was time to leave.

  “Sure, babe,” she told him. “You know how to reach me, day or night.” She rubbed up against him, gave me a look, and sashayed away.

  Garrett got right back down beside me. “Are you alright? Can I get you anything? Do you want to try and sit up?” He nervously fired off questions as he stroked my hair. I wasn’t expecting it, considering the whole Bianca thing, but it softened my anger a little.

  “I’m hurt. Still breathing. I could use a stiff drink, but I’d settle for whatever you’ve got. As long as it comes with some kind of pain reliever.” Millie and Garrett supported me as I sat up and only yelped once.

  “Garrett, go,” Millie said. I watched Garrett as he quickly disappeared into the back hall. Millie held one of my hands and used her other arm to keep me from falling backward.

  “There, there, now. Don’t ya worry about ‘dat girl,” she said. “Bianca’s nuthin’ but trouble—a whole lotta trouble. Ya got to do your own thing. He’ll come ‘round.”

  “What do you mean, Millie? I—”

  “Ya can’t fool me, neither one of ya. I know what I see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears. Ya got some kind of animal magnetism. Heat has been comin’ off ya both since ya met.”

  I blushed. There was abso
lutely no comeback for what she said. I didn’t know whether to deny it or give in to it. Situation: hopeless.

  When I didn’t respond, she continued the conversation. “Mattie, I don’t know what ya been through today, but it looks to be somethin’ more than tripping in the hallway.” I was scared, but felt safer than before.

  “It’s been a tough day, but I’m okay.”

  “When Garrett gets back, I’ll give ya somethin’ to help the pain. Made in my own shop.”

  “Shop?”

  “Yes, I sell natural herbs and medicines made the old way.” Something about her brown eyes told me to trust her. “And if ya need to talk, I’ll listen. I got big ears. See?” Millie pushed back her hair to reveal large dark lobes decorated with beautiful wood-carved earrings. She was right, the ears looked big even on her frame.

  Garrett hustled back with a glass of water and a couple pills, which Millie waved off.

  “Oh.” Recognition crossed his face. “She’s gonna give you some of the good stuff. It’ll definitely make you feel better, but watch out for the kick that comes later.”

  “After the morning I’ve had, I’ll try just about anything.” I tried to move. It took the three of us, but we managed to get me upright. Garrett hesitated to sit me in the grieving area, so we headed to the office.

  I sat at the desk opposite Garrett’s before Millie got on her way. This seating arrangement meant he could keep an eye on me while she left to get her special herbal painkiller. When she left, I wondered if I should have asked for a mind eraser to go along with it, so I could forget the madman from earlier, and Bianca, too.

  Garrett sat down. My chair was really low and the light from the desk lamp made me think he was about to interrogate me. I had no energy to fidget, so I left the lamp alone.

  Garrett started with his explanation for the whole Bianca incident. She came by to drop off his car, blah, blah, blah, and ended up kissing him just as I walked in. He was, apparently, not kissing her back, and had to pry her off his face using some amount of force. Their kiss was the last thing I wanted to think about, but he felt it needed cleared up. What Garrett told me sounded like the truth, but irked me anyway. He noticed and changed the subject.