"Sweetie?" It finally hit her. "What the hell. It's better than Raylene."
The two of them laughed and it wasn't the kind of laugh you'd expect after a killing.
****
Not too long after that, Kevin and Kami paddled the boat in the small man-made lake, with Zoey and Kaley, sitting in front of them, and the body of the creepy man wrapped in a tarp on the bottom of the front of the boat. "Alright, I'm curious," Kevin said, "I want to know how you two distracted so many people for so long."
"While we did a bomb job on the clean-up and the sneak-out," Kaley said proudly.
"Easy-peasy." Zoey pulled the hoodie-sweater Kami wore down. "I sent Kami inside wearing just the top."
"That kept falling down," Kami said.
"And whenever any miniature golfers showed up outside, I told them what I heard was going down inside—" Zoey continued.
"My top," Kami finished.
"Sometimes the best plans are the simplest," Kevin commented.
They paddled to the part of the small fake lake that was obscured from the buildings and the events.
Kevin stood carefully, stepped, and squeezed between Kaley and Zoey. He looked at the body in the tarp. "We wrapped enough bricks in there to sink him." He stroked his chin and shook his head. "I just hope the tarp doesn't deteriorate. Rot."
"It looks heavy," Kaley said.
"Yeah, but bodies bloat and float." Kevin blew out a sigh.
"Do you have a knife, Kevin?" Kami asked.
"Yes," he answered.
"Of course, he does Sister." Kaley grinned at Kevin. "A gentleman always brings a sweater in case his girlfriend gets cold ... And a knife in case his sister kills again."
Kevin and Zoey shared a look. It was good to see Kaley feeling good again, but what it took to make her feel good was disturbing.
"I think we make this look better if we chop his wiener off." Kami looked like she was thinking unusually hard. "No wiener on a sex offender says something about the killer, right?"
"Sounds good to me." Kevin fished the knife out and looked at it. "I can't do it."
Kami raised her hand like she finally had the right answer to a tough question in class. "Me, me!" She saw the look Zoey gave her and read it wrong. "I guess I can share so you can get in on the action too."
"She's good." Kevin nodded at her. "She already killed a dude."
"Really?" Kami read Kevin's nod and then looked at Zoey like that hurt her. "Everyone but me. It's not fair."
Zoey couldn't deal with that. She dealt with Kaley's look. "My ex-boyfriend. I didn't want to tell you and maybe incriminate you."
"That's not the all for one and one for all attitude it takes to be in my family." Kaley still had her intelligent look, but there was a cold confidence that was a new look added to that.
"Sorry," Zoey said to tone down that new look.
Kaley nodded.
Kevin had the thin rope untied from the middle part of the tarp.
He let Kami squeeze by and turned his head.
"Just the thought of something sharp on a guy's thing?" Zoey asked.
Kevin nodded.
"Dammit—" Kami said. "Not coming off easy." She grunted. "Have to saw it."
Kevin caught Kami as she fell back after pulling and sawing and having it come off unexpectedly.
The dismembered member flew up in the air and they all watched it on its way down to the water.
Zoey leaned forward and pointed. "It's floating. There it is."
"We can't have that washing up to shore." Kevin shook his head with worry. "Someone needs to get it."
"I can't swim," Zoey said with a little embarrassment.
"Me neither," Kami said.
"I can, but not in the dark," Kaley said.
"Crap!" Kevin took off his shirt and dove in after it. He got to the general area it floated in, but it was too dark and hard for him to see it with his eyes wet.
"About a foot in front of you," Zoey said.
Kevin finally saw the floating penis and reached, but that action made it float further. He treaded water gently to ease toward what disgusted him. He reached.
Some creature came out of the water and swallowed it whole before disappearing in one fell swoop that was as instantaneous as it was startling.
"What the hell was that?" Kaley said.
"A lake creature," Kami said.
Zoey was too busy laughing at how fast Kevin swam toward the boat.
The girls pulled him into the boat.
"You alright, Babe?" Zoey got the hoodie sweater to put on him.
Kevin felt the warmth of that and felt the laugh attack coming on strong.
They all laughed so hard it rocked the boat a lot.
****
They finished cleaning the boat before they tied it up and walked on the short dock. The sound of a big chopper motorcycle broke the sounds of loud games and kids from the fun spot.
Instinctively, Kevin put his arms out to get a hand on his sisters and his girlfriend as the intimidating rider dismounted the intimidating bike.
"Nice night for a boat ride, right?" The man was almost handsome, but the muscles that bulged through his shirt and the chilling tone he spoke with weren't almost disquieting.
"Sure is." Kevin heard his own tone and judged it pleasant. He knew the girls were more on alert than he was. He felt that in the tenseness of their bodies. He knew to trust their instincts. They were better than his.
"It's also a nice night for a ride." The biker pointed back at his bike.
Kevin saw the man's biceps. He thought the man's arm was about as big as his own leg.
"We're good," Kami said, "but thank you anyway."
That was something familiar to Kevin. His pretty sister was pretty good at handling men. All kinds and types of men. He figured it came with the territory. He was told he was good-looking. He didn't really believe that. Even if he was a little handsome, he never had to handle women. His sisters did that for him.
"If it's not a nice night for a ride, beautiful—" The man arched a brow and leered at Kami. The evil tinge to his face made him look older than his late-twenties age. "Is it nice enough for some beer? Or weed?"
"Not tonight," Kami said even more politely.
Kevin heard the stomping sounds of the man's boots as he walked toward them. He thought his steps were angry and didn't match the big smile on his face.
As the man neared, Kevin took a step forward.
The man looked Kevin over. "You're a nice looking young man, but it's not nice to have more women than you need."
Kevin pointed over his shoulder with his thumb as he spoke about the women behind him, "My sisters and my girlfriend." He tried to make his voice sound cool and chilling. "And I say 'my' because they're mine. All mine." All he was aware of was spinning after that.
The biker had Kevin spun around facing the girls, while he had the point of a long knife blade under his chin. "Young ladies, I could have all three of you while the others watch. Or, I could just let you watch a handsome face get less handsome."
Kami broke ranks with the other girls and walked to the motorcycle.
"No, Kami!" Kevin felt the sharp point of the knife pressing under his chin almost hard enough to puncture the skin after he said that.
"I'll have your sister back here in an hour," the biker said like he was a nice guy talking about a voluntary date. He pushed Kevin so hard that Kaley and Zoey almost fell down trying to catch him. He turned and stomped toward the motorcycle.
The idling engine revved up and the sound filled the air.
Kevin had just turned around and he grabbed the other two and flung them all to the ground.
Kami throttled and aimed the motorcycle right at the man. She picked up enough speed to hit him hard enough to send him flying until he landed with a hard thud on the boat dock.
Kevin hopped up and ran over to the man. He turned when he heard the sound of the chopper behind him. "He's out."
Kami nodde
d. "Hold his legs down." She eased the bike past Kevin, so the rear tire was by the dead biker's head. She nodded her head at the other girls. "Hold an arm down each."
The girls minded her obediently.
Kami maneuvered the big bike into position. She rolled the back tire onto his head that turned to the side with the rolling. She tried to put both legs on the dock but settled on one. She revved up the engine before slipping it into gear.
It took some strength for Kami to hold the bike in place and run the big back tire on the man's face, but it also took some strength for the others to hold him in place.
Kami drove a few feet off the man's face and parked the bike, turned the engine off, and hopped of.
The others let go of the man and backed away.
Kami knelt and looked at the man's shredded face. "Not so handsome." She took the knife she used to dismember the creepy man before. "But, I'm not cruel." She put the knife under his chin in the same spot he held the other knife on Kevin. She used both hands and pushed it up. She had to take a breath to get the shaft all the way in.
The man's eyes opened wide.
He trembled violently as she sat on him and rode the trembling out.
When he moaned out his dying breath, she pulled his eyelids down.
Kami stood up and spoke to Zoey's curious look. "I dated a dude last year just to ride his bike." She looked at Kevin with a questioning look. "Little Brother?"
Kevin smiled at that look. Sure, she was the bad-ass who killed a bad-ass, but it was his bad-ass crime cleaning that they all deferred to and depended on. "Everyone up for another boat ride?"
"It is a nice night for it," Zoey said.
"It would be nicer with some beers," Kaley said.
"I'm down for a beer," Kevin said.
Kami shook her head firmly to tell him 'No!' on that.
"What? I can kill a man. Clean up all the bodies for my sisters and girlfriend. I can even swim after a guy's Johnson, but I can't have a frigging beer?"
"No, you can't." Kami followed Kevin as he rolled the motorcycle down the dock. "But, you can be the designated driver."
Kevin shrugged. "Fair enough." He pointed for Kami as the other girls carried the body. "Get that thick rope."
****
About an hour later, they were at a popular place where the food was fast, and you could eat it outside on picnic tables. Their order came and about half the order was Kami's.
Kami took a bite of a long chili dog that took almost half the sandwich down. She noticed Kevin watching that. She pointed to the end of the long hot dog protruding past the bun. "Remind you of something?"
"Stop that!' Kevin tried to say sternly, but that gave way to a laugh.
Kami popped several jalapeño poppers into her mouth and swallowed them more than she chewed them.
Zoey shook her head at that.
"What?" Kami asked.
"You." Zoey shook her head some more. "You can eat like a trucker and still look like a model."
"It's my metab—" Kami cocked her head and thought. "My mestasticism."
The others laughed.
Kami's face grew a little red.
"Sorry Kami," Zoey apologized.
Kami took a drink of her cola and let it go before she confided in her new girlfriend. "It's hard for me." She pointed at Kaley with a French fry she held. "Kaley is older and smarter. So much smarter." She looked at Kevin and her look softened. "Don't even get me started on how smart little brother is."
"I cried when I read his file and saw his IQ," Kaley said.
"Grommets!" Zoey blurted that out before she turned and looked at Kevin. "Those metal hole things on the tarp. You knew what those were."
Kevin looked down. He was a little proud they were bragging on him, but that always made him uncomfortable. A lot.
"He knows what everything is." Kami's soft look at him swelled with pride. "He read all the encyclopedias in the house before he even started school."
"Guys ... Come on." He put his hand on Zoey's leg and felt better when she took it.
"Anyway, girlfriend—" Kami took in a breath and let out a sigh. "You have no idea what it's like to be the dumb one in the family."
"I'm the dumb one in my family." Zoey nodded to affirm that when Kami looked at her. "My Mom and Dad are scary smart." She looked off before she looked back at Kami. "I'm kind of smart, but when I sit down to study, my mind thinks of a thousand things."
"Me too!" Kami leaned forward with interest. "Sometimes, I wish I had what Kevin has so I could focus like he does."
"What I have—" Kevin gulped. "Is no picnic."
"But this looks like a picnic." A big jock sat down in the small space between Kami and Kaley.
Kaley had to move because the jock wasn't moving, but she did protest. "No one invited you Max."
Max ignored Kaley and spoke to Kevin. "I know you're a good-looking spaz Kevin, but that don't get you three babes—" He laughed the practiced laugh of a well-practiced jerk. "Even if two are your sisters."
Kevin took in a breath to go off on the familiar jerk jock, but his eyes opened wide as the big teen literally flew backward off the picnic bench.
Skip sat down. "Mind if I join you?"
Kevin realized that Skip had held his tray in one hand and jerked the other big kid out of his seat with the other hand.
"Goddammit Skip!" Max said before a groan as he rolled on the ground.
Skip turned his head. "That wasn't even my max, Max." He grinned at that and grinned more when he turned and saw the others laughing at that.
The others watched Skip with a little curiosity and a lot of wariness.
Skip caught that. He turned and faced Kami. "I have to go to the Cape this summer with my family, but ... Well—"
Kevin saw the awkward shyness again and felt a camaraderie with Skip on being that way with a pretty girl.
"I want to be your boyfriend—" Skip put a palm up quickly. "But, I'll settle for just one date with you ... When I get back ... Before school starts."
"Skip, you should skip on—" Kami was silenced by Kaley's hand over her mouth.
Kaley looked at Skip. "My little sister just had a big moment. That's making her cocky."
"And she might come off as snarky—" Zoey added.
Kaley looked right at Kami. "So, we'll act as her agents." She confirmed that with Kami before she grinned at Zoey.
Zoey pointed at herself. "I'm Kevin's girlfriend ... Zoey."
Skip flashed his brows at Kevin. "My little man."
Kevin flashed his back. "My big man."
"Lay out your pitch for that first date, Skip." Zoey rested her chin on her palm.
"Well, everyone knows me, but they know me as a bully." Skip hung his head down and shook it with regret. "I got that label in Junior High. I just grew faster than the other kids, so it wasn't fair."
"Skip?" Kaley said sternly.
"Okay, I was a kind of an asshole." He shrugged before he was more truthful. "The worst kind." He looked at Kaley to see if the confession was enough and went on when he saw it was. He looked shyly at Kami. "I know I look stupid, but I'm not."
"You look handsome, Bro," Kevin said. He was aware the girls were giving him looks, but he wasn't aware the looks were of amusement.
Skip gave Kevin a nod of thanks before he looked at Kami again. "But, I'm not stupid. My grades are up. Way up."
There was a tense silence for Skip as the others stayed silent and let him get to it on his own time.
"I've wanted to go out with you since I was thirteen, Kami. I want to show you how much I've changed."
Kevin saw Kami giving Kaley and Zoey a look.
Kaley leaned forward in a negotiating position. "The date is doable."
Zoey leaned into a similar position. "All we have to do now is hash out the terms."
"Terms?" Skip pondered the information for a few moments and figured it out in his own way. He pulled out his wallet and looked at Kami again. "I won't be here for the p
ageant, but I know how much those gowns cost." He reached into the wallet and pulled out all the bills except for one. "I know this isn't enough, but I saved some money I made working for my old man—"
It only took Kami a mere glance to know how much. "Six-hundred dollars."
Kaley snatched the money out of Kami's hands. "You don't have to, and we won't let you buy a date."
Zoey reached over, got five of the bills, and handed them to Skip. "You can make a down payment—"
"A lay-away?" Kevin snorted when he caught the double meaning of that. He caught a sharp glance from Kami, but her giggle defused that.
"A down payment to insure she doesn't get tied down to some hunk while you're at the Cape." After she said that, Kaley conferred visually with Zoey and Kami to make sure they were all settled on the deal.
Skip took Kami's hand and looked into her eyes. "You've made me so happy."
Kaley leaned over and patted Kami. "You are due some quid pro quo big guy."
Kami explained when she saw Skip was puzzled. "Some consideration in exchange."
"God, you're so smart," Skip said.
Kevin enjoyed the smile that put on Kami's face after she lamented so sadly on not being smart.
"I think my pretty little sister should match your down payment with a first-date kiss down payment," Kaley said.
Skip smiled broadly until he closed his eyes and pushed his face forward slowly. He stopped just short of her lips and looked around. "Can you guys turn your heads?"
Kevin shook his head. "If you want my trophy sister to be your trophy girlfriend, you have to get used to displaying that shiny trophy in public." He knew that was funny from the giggling girls. He watched the kiss and thought it was one of the sweetest kisses he ever saw.
Kami put her hands to the sides of Skip's face. "How did you know about the pageant? The money for the gown?"
Kevin was eating a popper and spoke without thinking, "He gives me money for information on you." He held up his hands in front of his face, but many of the fries his sister threw at him got through.
They all laughed hard after that.
Skip stood up reluctantly. "I have to run and go pack."
The Killing Rileys- First Love, First Kills Page 6