by Jay Jackson
“Then I saw her. I didn’t think it was her at first. She used to have a dress dummy, and I thought she left it in the middle of the floor. I called and she didn’t answer, and then, I don’t know, it just hit me. There she was, in the middle of living room, and I noticed the red hair. That dummy didn’t even have a head, much less long red hair. Goddamn, she looked all wrong.”
“I stood over her just looking. I knew it then, the son of a bitch who killed Millie killed her. Hell, she was killed because she knew me. I should have called you Kero, or somebody. I just wanted things to be normal again. I just wanted to have a Merry weekend.” Newt hung his head. He stopped crying and now peered at the floor as if looking for something. Delroy thought he looked shot out at that moment, finally spent from a lifetime of no limits.
Newt continued, “I just got down with her and lay down on the floor right beside her and looked. It was like I was there, but not quite. I was operating from some place way behind my eyes, like I was being told by someone else what they were looking at.”
“Her front teeth were knocked out and her nose was broken. There was a huge hole in her chest, not like a knife wound but like she was stabbed with a stake. I mean the hole in her chest was huge. She just stared back, not angry or anything. Seemed like she was about to say hello, I swear. I looked at her hands. Her knuckles were raw. I tell you, she hit that son of a bitch at least a couple of times. I was proud of her when I saw that, that’s the truth.”
Kero spoke up, “I bet you were, buddy. She was a hell of a girl. I thought the world of her.”
“Thanks,” Newt almost smiled.
“Well Newt, did you say anything to the officers?” Delroy dreaded the answer. A quiet client is always the best client, and Newt had been quiet for about as long as he could.
“Didn’t have a chance. They came in while I was on the ground looking at her. They snatched me up and just tagged my ass good. Didn’t fight’em, say nothing. It was like I couldn’t even feel anything. I started crying, that’s the truth. Crying like when momma died. I can’t believe Merry’s not here. I just want to cry some more, then I want to kill somebody, maybe me. It’s my fault.” Newt grew silent.
“Look, you didn’t hurt her, stab her, nothing like that. You made her life fun by the simple act of knowing her. We’re going to find who did this. You just have to stay quiet. You can’t talk to anyone. You know how the police will twist anything you say.” Delroy saw police officers do that to people every day.
“You know Gratis is coming for you and you’re going to be around their detectives while you’re being transported. They’re going to try to get you talking. They’re going to bait you to say something and then use that something to hang you with. Stay quiet Newt. Shut up. That includes anyone, jailer, inmate, nurse, anybody you come across in here. Be quiet.”
The three of them sat there for a while, in silence. Delroy was starting to run out of comforting things to say. Between calming the kids, placating the sheriff, making sure that Anna was okay, and lying to Johnnie Lee, his bullshit tank was running extremely low. He and Kero said their goodbyes and left.
They had been up for hours and were feeling empty. Delroy pulled off I-16 halfway to Gratis to eat at the Beaver House restaurant in Statesboro. Fried chicken, biscuits, home grown vegetables, and fatty casseroles were on the menu. It would be a good break from the Daddy Jack’s shrimp and barbeque they lived on the last few weeks.
After piling their plates they sat in silence and ate. Kero got up for seconds not five minutes after he sat down, and Delroy wasn’t far behind. They were well into their third plate, and at least their fourth glass of sweet tea, before either of them spoke.
“I have just never not known what to do, Delroy. I don’t have a clue what we need to do. Everything seems to run downhill and hit us like a train when it reaches us. Man, I don’t know.”
“It’s tough.” Delroy fairly mumbled his reply.
“Tell me you got more than that. You are the man’s attorney.”
Delroy thought for a moment, looking at all the activity as servers moved in and out of the kitchen, thinking about how calming making biscuits and frying chicken must be. He wondered if it was too late to change professions.
“Well, we know it’s someone who’s close to us. Nobody could take Newt’s new number from us unless they had access to us. Of course, it could be one of us, couldn’t it?”
“What a damn minute.” Kero looked as if he would explode out of his chair. He might have done so, if he wasn’t on his third plate of mac and cheese and green bean casserole.
“Kero, I know it’s not you and you know it’s not me. But everybody else is fair game. Anyone in the sheriff’s department, the sheriff, customers at Daddy Jack’s, whoever. There’s no telling, except that somebody had to have some access to us, if only for a moment, to get that number off of our phones.”
“So I know that it’s somebody with a green truck, somebody who knows Gratis well enough to know the tunnels, and somebody who knew Millie so she would smile when he approached her. They even knew the best time of day to go after Althea. Of course, they knew that Newt had a thing with Merry, too.”
“Shit Delroy, why couldn’t it just be some drifter that got Millie. He could’ve just gotten on a train and rode off. It would’ve been easier.”
“I know. Right now we have to keep looking for records on that green truck. The good thing is that the truck Newt was in had different headlights than the one described by Terrence. Newt’s cousin’s truck isn’t five years old.”
“But it sure is a damn green Ford. And he was sure on the damn ground beside Merry when the cops came in. God almighty, Delroy, he looks guilty to me and I know he’s not.”
“Yep, me too.”
Delroy excused himself and went to the dessert table. He brought a big plate over, dumped two pieces of pecan pie on it, and slathered the rest of the plate with ladles of banana pudding. He wasn’t sure what he would do next, but he was sure as hell not going to do it on an empty stomach.
34.
The Guessing Game
Meg and Peck lazed on the dock looking over the swamp and the channel that meandered by. Peck was wearing new overalls Cozette brought from her store. They were an irregular brand of Tuffskins, they were dark blue, and they itched because Peck refused to wear a shirt. It was just too hot.
Cozette brought Meg a pair of cargo pants and a t-shirt with “Keep on Truckin’” emblazoned across the front. Meg was amazed that Cozette would pick those pants, but the shirt was retro and went nicely with her jean shorts. Neither of them wore shoes, as was usual in the summer.
Peck spoke dreamily. “Sister girl, do you think we’re ever going home? I miss Mommy.”
“Of course we’re going home and soon, Peck.” Meg reassured her brother with words she didn’t know whether to believe herself. She looked over at Terrence, who was playing with the dogs a bit closer to the house, and was overcome with sadness. She may not have known when she was going home, but she did know that Terrence would never go home again. He had to know that, too, and it made her sadness all the greater.
“I wonder where he’s gonna live.” Peck saw her looking at Terrence.
Meg didn’t answer. She just looked at the Neck, squinting when the sun light flashed off the dark water.
Meg was sad but wasn’t one to be defeated. She knew her uncle left them at Cozette’s to keep them safe. Between the dogs and the huge football player he picked a pretty good spot to do that. She imagined that he would keep them holed up until he felt they were okay. The problem with Uncle Delroy was that nothing was ever okay, even before they found the ear. He was a hoverer, and no thirteen year old girl needed that in her life.
Peck looked at his sister.
“Meggy, I have a secret.” He smiled.
She looked at him and he just kept smiling. “Peck, won’t you just tell me Baby Brother?” When she used his pet name his smile got wider.
“Guess. I�
��ll give you three guesses.”
Peck loved the guessing game. When he was a toddler he always made Momma or Meg guess, “ge wha, ge wha.”
Meg furrowed her brow. “Let’s see, is it that you are the world champion farter of all time?”
Peck laughed. “No! You have two guesses left!”
“Hmmmm. Okay, I know. It must be that Peck’s farts taste like a dog’s butt.” She laughed at her own foulness.
Peck was laughing so hard that he needed a moment to answer her.
“Nooooooo! You have only one more guess!” Peck rolled over the boards of the old dock, risking a splinter with every move.
Meg was pretty good at the guessing game, as she was Peck’s most frequent opponent. She knew that Peck’s fatal flaw with the game was that he wanted you to guess his secret. He only played it if he had something he wanted you to know.
“Well, I wonder if it has to do with your farts.” Meg thought out loud, watching as Peck shook his head.
“No, that can’t be it, and it can’t be about your boogers or smelly feet.” Peck kept shaking his head and giggling.
“It might be about something here at Cozette’s.” Meg peered into the air, watching from the corner of her eye as Peck started nodding.
“I wonder if it’s about something at the dock.” Peck nodded more quickly. He stopped smiling by this time.
“I bet it’s about our boat.” Peck’s head was in full nod and his face was solemn.
“Peck, if you love me you’ll tell me where the spark plugs are.” Meg knew she was playing unfair and that pulling the “if you love me” card was not being a good sister. She simply could not stop herself.
Peck said nothing for a minute. They listened to the flies buzzing around them.
“I don’t want to get into trouble, Meg.” Peck looked as if he might cry.
“Baby Brother, you won’t get in trouble, Sister Girl won’t tell on you.”
“I found Matthew’s keys and took them out one night late after everyone was asleep. I went down to the shed and unlocked his box.” Matthew kept a large homemade box in the shed where he kept his more valuable tools and some of his football memorabilia.
“He had all kinds of neat stuff. I just wanted to see it. I didn’t take any of his things.”
Meg peered at him. “Well did you take anything?” She knew the answer but asked the question anyway.
Peck dug into the pocket of his overalls and pulled out his fist. He opened his fist and simply said, “these.” Meg looked at the spark plugs to the boat in his hand. She took them out, carefully, and closed his hand back into a fist.
“Thank you, Peck. You only took what belongs to us anyway. This is Daddy’s boat, and he would want us to have them.”
Peck teared up, and Meg put her arm around him.
They sat there for some time, big sister holding little brother, both of them sweating in the midday sun. After a while Meg whispered to Peck.
“It’s okay. We’ll go see Momma one night soon. Think of the hugs we’ll get.”
Peck’s tears dried up. He smiled again thinking of their little bungalow, sitting on either side of Mommy with Meg, her arms around them both.
It was time to go home and be with Mommy. He needed her hugs, and he knew she needed his.
35.
Amy’s On Board
When they got home, Delroy dropped Kero at Daddy Jack’s and made his way to an old store front near the courthouse. After parking he found himself looking at the name tacked outside of the door. “Amy Delahunt, Esq.”
He walked into the waiting room and was met by a secretary’s desk with no secretary. He used this trick himself. Even if he couldn’t afford a full time secretary, he sure wanted to look like he could. He rang the bell on the desk, waited 30 seconds, and then rang it again.
Just as he was about to leave the lonely waiting room, he heard the click of high heels and the closing of a door. He smiled, realizing he came while she was in the restroom, or napping for lack of work to do.
“Just a moment,” Amy called. He caught himself going into a swoon.
She walked in, heels clicking like an old typewriter, holding a file to make it seem like she was in the middle of something urgent. Busy lawyers inspire confidence in potential clients. Amy stopped dead when she saw him. Delroy was glad she didn’t frown.
“Well Delroy, I heard about your friend Newt. I’m sorry to hear about that. I guess I’m glad he’s not going to be able to hurt anyone else, though.” She seemed sincere, and he was glad to hear her use his first name.
“Well, I just came from Savannah after seeing him this morning. Newt is being framed.”
Amy smiled, a bit condescendingly for Delroy’s taste.
“Delroy, I’ve done my homework on you. I don’t just wait for things to happen, I like to figure them out before they do. I know you’re zealous. My daddy would say you’re like a “dog on a meat wagon.” But, from what I’ve heard, you have to let this one go.”
Before he could say anything she left to go back into her office. He stood there until she motioned to him with a smile and a slight nod. He had to be careful. She could crush him with that smile.
There was a long sofa on one side of the office and a large desk made from an old barn door in the middle. Her client chairs were old metal lawn chairs Delroy remembered his grandmother having when he was a child. The ceiling was covered with pressed tin. Damn, this is just right, he thought as he sat in one of the chairs.
She brought him a black coffee and sat down in her red leather chair, eyeing him as she took a sip of hers. Delroy was overcome with thoughts of running away with her and living on nothing else but love, scotch, and cheesecake.
Oh hell, he thought, I’m in trouble.
“Well Delroy, I wondered when you would come to visit me. I’m wondering why you would pick just now, though. Why are you here, anyway?” Amy smiled.
For a moment Delroy had no answer. Looking into her eyes he fought to come to his senses. Through sheer will he made his fog lift and smiled back at Amy.
“Well, I know you think I’m stubborn. I might be, but it’s generally when I believe I’m right. I believe in Newt and know he didn’t do anything to anyone. I also know I need a good lawyer to represent him with me. I was thinking that you might be that lawyer.”
His smiled faded into the serious gaze he used with witnesses during cross examinations. He had some mojo of his own and hoped a bit of it would work with Amy. She kept her gaze on Delroy and started clicking her heels on the hardwood floor.
“I thought you were a solo act, Delroy. Why in the world would you need anyone to help you with this case? Especially me, for God’s sake? You know I’m Johnnie’s attorney, and she’s not the happiest woman in Gratis right now. You must realize that.” Delroy knew Johnnie wouldn’t be very happy. She stuck her neck out for Newt and was now in serious danger of getting her head chopped off.
“Well, I figure Johnnie’s going to have to help us on this thing, now more than ever. You know, in for a pound and all that.”
Amy laughed. Delroy had a reputation for being up front and honest, but Amy knew a user when she met one. Behind those innocent blue eyes was a seasoned manipulator.
“Delroy, I appreciate your offer, but why would I put myself in Johnnie’s shoes? What twist do you have waiting for me if I take this case with you? And just so you know, I’m probably never going to take this case, or any other, with you.”
Delroy took another gulp of his coffee and sat his mug on Amy’s desk.
“Amy, I don’t have any surprises. I am out of answers. Right now I’m tap dancing just trying to make sure nobody else gets killed. Locking Newt up isn’t the answer because he didn’t do anything. I have all kind of women I’m friends with, or related to, here in Gratis. They could be this guy’s next target. I need help, and you seem pretty savvy. Plus, having a beautiful woman help me with the media wouldn’t hurt our case. There’s going to be a lot of television
cameras with this one. We don’t have a serial killer in Gratis every day. When do you think you’re going to have another high profile gig like this one, in this town?”
Amy blushed, just slightly, and she got up to pour herself another cup of coffee. Delroy couldn’t tell whether she blushed because he called her beautiful or because she was excited about talking to reporters. Either way, he knew the hook was firmly set.
“Okay, Delroy, you have something there. Let’s go talk to Johnnie first. We’re going to have to get her on board with this, or at least off the ledge. When we spoke this morning, all I could make out was that you were a dead man, so to speak.” Amy smiled.
Delroy smiled back. He appreciated the strategic wheels already turning in her head.
“Oh, by the way, what’s the pay for this?”
Delroy laughed at the question. He thought a moment and replied.
“All the beer and barbeque you want at Daddy Jack’s. I bet Kero will give you free play on the jukebox, too, if you ask him nicely.”
Amy frowned and looked at him with her chocolate brown eyes. She collected her purse and headed toward the door. Once outside they got into the old Chevelle and drove away. Without missing a beat Amy took a scarf out of her purse and tied it around her head. Delroy thought her stunning and nosed the car toward Johnnie’s house.
Amy found an old Leon Russell cd on the floorboard and popped it into the player. If only for a moment, things felt right. Leon wailed as they drifted through Gratis, and Delroy drove slowly to make the trip last.
36.
Change in the Air