The Killing King of Gratis

by Jay Jackson

  Delroy didn’t know whether he would do any of the things he threatened, but hoped their mention would have the desired effect. He got in the Suburban and, as he drove away, his head started to throb and his hands started to shake.

  Then he started crying.

  He didn’t know how much longer he could juggle everything. Meg and Peck were hiding at Cozette’s house, Anna was under arrest, Althea was dead and her son missing. On top of that he was investigating a murder he was sure would scar the kids for life, trying to keep his business afloat, and defending the main suspect, which was probably a conflict of interest since Delroy helped recover the ear. As far as he was concerned, his law license was more in jeopardy than Broyles’.

  The tears streamed down his face as he drove. He turned down a country road and parked so he couldn’t be seen. Nobody wanted to hire a lawyer who went around crying in public.

  He sat there, baking as the old Suburban’s air conditioner fought a losing battle against the Georgia heat, and sobbed. Red cows in the pasture next to him looked on as he cried, apathetically chewing their cud. The more he cried the less sure he was of what to do. Delroy didn’t know whether he could keep juggling everything. He didn’t even know if he wanted to.

  The one thing he knew for sure was that he needed a drink to quiet his now aching head. He turned the Suburban around and rolled down the windows. The whipping wind dried his tears as he headed toward Daddy Jack’s, the coldhearted cows fading into the distance.

  Before he arrived he got a call from Kero.

  “Man, I was just on my way over there. Did you hear about Anna?”

  “Yep, but we got something else cooking over here so hurry up.” Kero hung up without saying goodbye.

  Great, like I need something else. No problem at all.

  He was whispering “no problem” to himself when he tried to go into Daddy Jack’s. The door was locked, and he banged on it to let Kero know he was there.

  Kero opened the door and looked at Delroy with weary eyes.

  “I went by your office a while ago and saw a little problem sitting on your doorstep. Follow me.”

  They walked downstairs into the Rendezvous, and Delroy noticed a small figure sitting at one of the picnic tables. He couldn’t make out the face, his eyes still not accustomed to the darkness after coming in from the bright summer sun. Then the small figure spoke to him.

  “Mama said you my lawyer and that I should go to you if I ever needed help.” Delroy’s eyes started to adjust and Terrence’s tear streaked face came into focus.

  My God, thought Delroy, I made this boy into an orphan. This is my fault. By now Delroy’s head was splitting in two, but he managed to sit down beside the child. Terrence started to cry again. His tears fell, each one stealing a little bit more of his childhood. Delroy took him in his arms and started rocking him.

  “I’ll make sure you’re safe.” Delroy didn’t believe the words as they came out of his mouth. He didn’t believe he could keep himself safe at this point. He couldn’t even keep his sister-in-law out of jail, and none of the people he loved the most were where they were supposed to be.

  The three of them sat there. Delroy rocked the small child and Kero wondered what to do next. The answers wouldn’t come, and the only sound in the room was a child’s mournful sobbing for his mother. It rang in their ears.

  25.

  One More For Cozette

  For the second time in days Delroy found himself in a boat, this time one of Kero’s. He was going downstream to Cozette’s home again, and carried with him another child. The load felt even heavier than the first trip.

  Once he got to Cozette’s dock Matthew came out of the boathouse, which was really no more than a shack straddling the bank and the swamp. He was carrying a twelve-gauge shotgun in one hand like it was a pistol. Delroy couldn’t help but think, this is a man who could make me dead with no problem.

  “My lawyer, you should’ve called,” Matthew said to him, the timber of his voice whipping Delroy like a gator tail.

  “Right now, Matthew, I don’t want anyone to trace my phone. Lately, I haven’t been calling too many folks.”

  “Well, my lawyer, looks like you got a passenger. Let’s go talk to Cozette.”

  Before they could walk the thirty yards to the back of the house, the dog pack started barking. Cozette came storming out.

  “Cozette,” Delroy started.

  “Don’t say a word Delroy. Matthew, take that boy and get inside. I have something to talk about with this idiot.”

  Matthew smiled, slightly, and led Terrence into the home.

  “Wait,” said Cozette. She took the shotgun from Matthew. Eyeing Delroy she said, “I might need this in just a minute.”

  Delroy just stood there, knowing he was about to ask more of Cozette than he had any right to. He wondered how a shotgun blast would feel about right now. Considering the circumstances, he thought it might not be so bad.

  “Delroy, I took in Meg and Peck because you and them are important to me. Anyone in your family is always welcome here.”

  “Cozette, you don’t understand.”

  “Shut your damn mouth. I understand exactly what’s in your head. I knew that child’s mother was dead before you did. I suspect I know why you think she died, although, the way Althea lived, I can name any number of people who could have killed her, and with good reason.”

  The more she talked the angrier Cozette became. She hoped she wouldn’t be tempted by the shells in the gun. They called to her.

  “Now you bring this child to my house, this child without a mother, who might be a witness in at least one and maybe two murder cases, and you expect me to keep him. Really, haven’t you heard of DFACS? They’re made for this. How many laws do you reckon we’re breaking right here, Mr. Dumbass Attorney? I swear, the first thing I’m gonna do when this is done is upgrade my legal services.”

  “Hell, Cozette, I’ll help you do that if you want, just hear me out.”

  Delroy sat down with Cozette, spent after her tirade.

  He told her that he believed Althea’s murder was connected to Millie’s. The coincidence was too extreme. He told her how he started to cry this morning and didn’t know if he might start again at any moment. He told her that he had a plan to drive the killer out into the open, but that he needed to hide Terrence. Finally, he told her that he needed her. All he could do now was ask and pray she would say yes one more time.

  “Well, my God, you have been humbled, haven’t you?” Cozette looked at Delroy with eyes as black as the Neck’s water.

  “Yes I have Cozette, but that is about to change. Now, I’m gonna be on offense, and to hell with waiting on what everyone else is doing. I need you on my team.”

  Cozette stood up. “I’m on your team Delroy. Just don’t screw up the play. Even Bear Bryant couldn’t run the wishbone with a drunk quarterback. And, not to put too fine a point on it, you are one drunk-ass quarterback.” She walked away shaking her head, wondering which potion she could mix up to help her out of this mess.

  Delroy thought about what she said and knew she was right. He got back into the boat and headed toward the Bird. His hands were shaky. He wanted a drink but thought he might go to bed early instead.

  I promised Cozette a plan, he thought, I better come up with one. He had no idea what he would do. The boat puttered toward the river as dusk settled all around. Even with all his worries, he muttered to himself as he watched the last of the day’s sun spark against the river’s water. “Beautiful. With all I’ve got on my plate, this is still beautiful,” he whispered, before turning his boat toward home.

  26.

  Meg is Bored

  Meg was greatly disappointed in how the summer was progressing. She was thirteen, soon to be fourteen. Spending summer at a house in the Neck with her little brother was not what she had envisioned.

  This was a summer to go to the pool, flirt with lifeguards, and start getting ready for high school. She should be goin
g to movies with her friends, shopping at the mall, and practicing for cheerleading tryouts.

  Instead she was surrounded by the swamp, watching reruns with her brother and checking in with a two hundred seventy-five pound behemoth every time she wanted to go outside. Cozette and her brother were nice to her, but she didn’t want nice. She wanted freedom. The Neck was starting to feel small to a girl curious about the rest of the world.

  If any good came from this, though, it was how well Peck adjusted to his new surroundings. He was practically the king of the dog pack. Whenever he was outside they would follow him or come when he called. If they were napping under a tree he could be found napping with them. If they chased rabbits or squirrels he trailed behind them, eager to see what they caught.

  Peck also found a real friend in Matthew. Separated by size and years, they both carried an innate shyness they recognized in each other. Matthew, for all his bulk or maybe because of it, never felt comfortable around others unless he was on the football field. Except for the Neck, it was the one place he felt at ease. Off the field that confidence withered away.

  In college he would hang out with the other players in downtown Athens. They went to the Odyssey, the Georgia Bar, or some other dive, and they would be the kings of the place. Invariably, someone would get in a fight and a few would meet coeds who wanted a football player. More often than not, he was the one who broke up the fight and watched somebody else go home with the girl. It was easier being in the background. Being the star was scary.

  When he first met Peck he thought him quiet. That didn’t bother him. Most people talk to damn much, anyway. The kid was respectful, and not just because Matthew was large. Peck had a natural empathy for others. Matthew had no idea that’s what he sensed in him, but he could feel it. He liked the boy.

  Peck’s just a dog without a pack. Matthew knew that feeling. It was a loneliness that was hard to live with.

  For Peck’s part, he liked Matthew as soon as he met him. He didn’t order Peck around like most other adults. When they first met he asked Peck if he wanted to see where he would sleep, and whether the room was fine. He asked about what Peck wanted, instead of telling him what he would get.

  Peck also liked Matthew’s calm. For a grown adult, Matthew spent a lot of time sitting around and looking out at the swamp, just considering things. He didn’t seem rushed to get anything done. His Uncle Delroy was kind but always rushed. Matthew had no sense of urgency whatsoever, and that suited Peck just fine.

  Neither Peck nor Meg knew what to think about Terrence. When he came there they put him in Peck’s room and he cried all night. Peck, not knowing what to say, never asked him what was wrong. It was the next morning before he said anything to him.

  “Are you hungry for breakfast?”

  Terrence didn’t answer so Peck got up and went to his sister’s room. He lay down on the bed next to her and waited for her to wake up. She wasn’t surprised to see him when she awoke. He had done this since he was able to walk from his crib to her room as a toddler.

  “Morning, Peck.”

  “Morning, Sister Girl.” She loved it when he called her Sister Girl.

  “What’s up?”

  “Terrence cried all night, and now he won’t speak to me.”

  “Well, you know his mommy died. He’s just sad.”

  Peck thought about this for a minute. “How did his Mommy die?”

  Meg considered her answer. Cozette told her that someone hurt Terrence’s mother, and that he was staying with them until they found the man responsible. She didn’t mention any connection between the ear they found and Terrence’s mother, but Meg knew there had to be one. She saw Uncle Delroy bring Terrence to the house.

  “Well, Peck, someone hurt his mommy really bad, and she died.”

  “Did they mean to hurt her?”

  “I think so, probably so, yes.”

  “Well, maybe we could take him for a ride in the boat.” That always made Peck feel happy.

  “Peck, you know Cozette won’t let us take the boat and that it won’t crank. I don’t think Terrence would want to do that right now, anyway.”

  Peck thought on this for a moment. “Well, I bet Matthew would let us take the boat. Maybe later.” With that Peck squeezed his sister’s hand and went to eat breakfast. Meg lay there for a moment and thought about what Peck said. She rarely spoke with Matthew, but Peck spent a lot of time with him.

  She would like to go out on the boat again. Cozette took the spark plugs out of the engine, but surely Matthew would know where she put them. Meg knew she was at Cozette’s to be safe, but a boat ride wouldn’t hurt anything. We wouldn’t even go into town, not for long anyway, she decided.

  She smiled at the thought of tying the boat off where it couldn’t be seen and sneaking around to watch people at the neighborhood pool. She might even see her best friends, the twins Piper and Sully, and let them know she was fine. They would never tell and would make a huge fuss over her. She yearned for that.

  Cozette thought Meg looked awfully happy that morning at breakfast. She even failed to complain that all they had was real bacon and not the god-awful turkey “lite” version. If she wasn’t so worried about Terrence, and all the laws she was surely breaking by keeping him, she would have worried about Meg’s positive new outlook. Instead, she put more bread in the toaster and made a mental note to get extra bacon next time she was at the Piggly Wiggly.

  These kids are eating me out of house and home. Delroy’s gonna have a big old bill when this is done. She smiled as she imagined handing Delroy a bill, and then went to get Terrence from his room. He might be sad, but she wasn’t going to let him starve, not on her watch. Poor baby, she thought.

  27.

  A New Plan

  Delroy awoke the next morning somewhat clear-eyed. He drank only one rather small glass of Jack Daniels the night before and went to sleep before the late news aired. He even made it to the bed instead of falling asleep on the couch. Before going to bed an idea about how to find Millicent’s killer grumbled in his mind. He struggled with it as he slept and it sprang forth, fully grown, when he awoke. God bless the subconscious, he thought.

  The audacity of what he planned to do made him giggle as he washed and dressed. Son of a bitch, he thought, what the hell? After he finally staunched the bleeding from all the giggle cuts he inflicted while shaving, he put on his favorite tie. It had small yellow flowers on a field of blue. The children gave it to him for Christmas two years ago. He looked at himself in the mirror.

  His blue eyes stared back at him with bags under them he hadn’t seen since his divorce. The lines going through his brow had deepened in the last few weeks. His skin was a bit mottled, “damn liquor”, he whispered, and he could swear his teeth weren’t as white as usual.

  I look like total ass, he thought. Despite himself he giggled again.

  Leaving the house, he headed toward the Suburban, but then decided to take the tarp off the Chevelle convertible he kept in the garage. He was in attack mode, and it was well suited for his purpose. He gave the car to himself after his divorce as a consolation prize, and loved the bright white paint job and the red leather seats. This is not a mere car, he thought, this is a war chariot.

  He drove into the town square, the Chevelle roaring as he accelerated. He went around the square and found a parking space directly in front of his destination. Before getting out he looked in the rearview mirror, smoothed his hair back, and told himself he looked like a hell of a man.

  The patrons of Le Café were gossiping and eating when Delroy walked in and strode to the main table. All chewing ceased as Delroy stopped, looked down and said, “Ms. Johnnie Lee, we need to talk now. Does that work for you?”

  Johnnie smiled. “Why yes, Mr. Jones, so good to see you. Why don’t we go to my house and have a chat?” She was a clever old pro and gave no indication she was as surprised as the rest of the diners by Delroy’s presence. Delroy threw a twenty on the table and walked Johnnie outside
.

  Some diners in Le Café went back to eating. Some put their forks down and just stared. None were sure of what would come from this unexpected development. They were all sure, however, that they couldn’t wait to read the next Proclaimer. Too bad it only came out twice a week.

  Delroy followed Johnnie’s Grand Mercury over to her house in the Pine Hills neighborhood. This was the oldest middle class neighborhood in Gratis, book-ended by the First Baptist Church on one end and the outskirts of downtown on the other.

  Most of the houses were mid-century brick homes or well-maintained ranches sporting additions tacked on over the years. Delroy grew up in this neighborhood and knew it well. His dad bought a home there when he finally built up his insurance business. He often told Delroy that the day they moved from the mill village to the small brick ranch house was the proudest day of his life. Sometimes he would also add “after marrying your mother, of course,” but not always.

  They sold the house after his mother died. He still drove by every couple of weeks just to make sure it looked okay.

  Johnnie’s house was one street over from his old home. It had whitewashed brick and green shutters, a large fireplace on the side, and a yard fairly exploding with arbors, trellises, and flower gardens. Delroy had never seen so many large, full rose bushes. They were almost obscene.

  I have to admit, he thought, she does keep her place nice. He didn’t know that the upkeep was cheap, considering Johnnie’s blackmail of the sports editor.

  Delroy parked on the street in front and followed Johnnie into her home. Once inside he immediately felt claustrophobic. She led him into a front living room stuffed with knickknacks and mementos. Figurines adorned every shelf, prominently featuring cats and songbirds coexisting in a static world. He wondered if Johnnie realized that cats loved killing songbirds, whether for food or sport. He smiled as he imagined the figurines coming to life in front of Johnnie. The feline fueled massacre would be awesome.