Points West (A Butterscotch Jones Mystery Book 5)
Page 8
“Yes, the old hambone. I’ve never seen him that drunk.” Chuck wrapped an arm around me and nuzzled my hair. Chuck always made me feel that my clown hair was beautiful. “Got your coat?”
“It’s in the vestibule.”
“Is it still raining?”
“Of course it is,” I said and smiled.
Chuck smiled back.
“Of course.”
Chapter 14
Agent Desoto left the next morning though he had a hangover, as did almost all of the Gulch residents. Sasha drove him to Seven Forks since the weather was fair and Desoto was adamant about not flying with the Wings, even after we extracted a promise from a barely sober Danny to behave on the return flight.
They were getting a late start so we arranged for Desoto to stay over with one of the Bones’ patients in Seven Forks who let rooms when he needed extra money. Stoddard was contacted and he agreed to pick up the agent in Seven Forks the following morning. I didn’t know if Desoto would be submitting an expense report, but rather doubted it, which was a good thing for us but not for him. Stoddard isn’t cheap.
Sasha decided that he would spend the night with Anatoli and get caught up with his old friends. The Flowers, who was exhausted from the party and just wanted to sleep, was okay with this.
Chuck mentioned over coffee that he would also have to leave the next day and that he would be taking his dad with him, though Horace was enjoying himself immensely. Chuck had called in to the office to explain his delay in returning, because there had been an unexplained explosion while he was visiting friends over the weekend and that it was feared there had been some fatalities. He would take back a bit of Brian’s hair. They could test it for a DNA match and eventually figure out the traitor was dead. Given his background, Chuck figured that no one would be too surprised that he was dead. We even had a convincing crater to show anyone who might show up with questions.
We were sticking to the bear story to explain the death of Janet Dee. Chuck had the bloody glove which would have bear saliva on it. Maybe some wolf slobber too. In any event, it would be believed and further our reputation as having a bear problem. That was all to the good. The fewer visitors we got, the better it was for all of us. I did feel sorry for her family though.
It didn’t come as a complete surprise when Chuck again mentioned his desire to move in with me. This time I didn’t argue. Our being together had begun to feel inevitable.
“But how would we manage it?” I asked, pouring out more coffee and pulling on Max’s ears.
“We still have roving officers,” Chuck said. “And the outback isn’t popular with most of the men, especially the married ones. I’m thinking of putting my name in for this area. Hopefully a post will open soon. I would still have to travel when a Mountie is needed in the outback, but hopefully it wouldn’t be often and it would get me away from Winnipeg.”
“That sounds wonderful!” I exclaimed.
“It would mean a cut in pay,” he warned.
I shrugged. Money wasn’t much of an issue in the Gulch. We used it only with outsiders. In town, we mostly used barter. Our goal was sufficiency. There was also a small fund left over from the mafia cache that went to paying for the town’s one phone and a radio license.
“What about your father?” I asked. “Do you think he would want to move too?”
“Maybe. At least for the summer months.” Chuck frowned. “I think he’ll have to. I can’t trust him on his own.”
“We’ll have to see about fixing up one of the old cabins then. It might also be a good idea to get him a snowmobile.”
“Butterscotch,” Chuck cleared his throat. “I have something else to tell you before you decide.”
Chuck spoke slowly. He sounded as if he were walking a tightrope and there was no safety net if he fell off. He looked so serious that I braced myself.
“Before we make any more plans I think you should know that.…”
“Yes?”
“I play the trombone. Not particularly well either.”
I punched Chuck in the arm for alarming me. He rubbed it, pretending it actually hurt.
“You’ll get better,” I encouraged, starting to smile. “And you’ll have the whole of the great outdoors to practice in once the snow has melted.”
Chapter 15
Chuck looked up from his computer and picked up his phone. He was shocked to hear Agent Desoto’s voice greeting him.
“You were lucky to catch me,” Chuck said. He couldn’t help but pitch his voice low as a colleague walked by. The affair with Brian was weighing on his conscience. “This is my last week in the office. I’ve accepted another posting to the outback.”
“Tired of urban living? I don’t blame you. I’d get away more if I could. So, since you’re busy, I’ll keep this short,” the agent said. “I just wanted to assure you that I got back safely, no trouble bringing my catch across the border. Those are some wicked bears you’ve got up there. If the fishing wasn’t so good I’d probably never go up there again.”
“You can see why they don’t have a lot of cross-country skiers out that way,” Chuck agreed warily.
“Hey, I’ve sent a thank you gift up to your girl. It was really great of her to host me on such short notice. It was an unforgettable vacation. I always come away with the best stories.”
In spite of his worry about speaking on the phone, Chuck had to grin.
“City slicker.”
“You know it.” Desoto chuckled. He sounded natural though Chuck suspected Desoto wasn’t any more comfortable than he was. “If you’ve got a minute, I have a funny story to tell you back.”
“Sure, I can always use a laugh.”
“So, I have this friend who starts dating a woman who works for this pharmaceutical company. He’s kind of a player and this girl is worried her job isn’t interesting enough, so she started telling my friend about how she’s doing work on a new HGH youth serum that will keep people young and virile until they’re ninety. It’s all bullshit, but my friend buys it.”
Chuck clucked his tongue.
“Being kind of a jerk, he wrangles a tour of her workplace and while he’s there he swipes these vials he sees in the fridge. They have an H on the label and he doesn’t look real close to see what it is.”
“Oh no—I can guess what happens.”
“You got it. The idiot starts using it on himself. Only it turns out it isn’t really the new Viagra he thought it was. Seems it was some kind of heartworm thing for dogs.”
Chuck couldn’t help it. He started laughing. It was more hysteria than humor and he brought it under control at once.
“That’s rich.”
“Yeah, poor sap thinking he’s got plague or leprosy or something, but it was just this dog thing. Insult to injury, the girl dumps him when she finds out he took the stuff because she’s catching it at work for letting samples go astray. She even breaks into his place trying to get it back. Totally trashed the house. I tell you, he’s lucky he didn’t end up on the evening news.”
“Lucky.” Chuck knew his voice was a little flat.
“The dumb bastard starts thinking he’s dying and begins making final arrangements, putting his affairs in order. Everyone is panicking.”
“But everything’s okay now?”
Desoto paused.
“I think it’s safe to say that he’ll never do that again.”
No, nor anything else.
“And it never hurts to have your affairs in order. Makes it easier for your family when you go,” Desoto added.
“True enough. It’s hard for the ones left behind trying to tie up loose ends.”
“Well, these ends are all tied up.”
“Good to know. Thanks for calling—and for the present. I’m sure she’ll love it.”
“No problem. One good turn deserves another.”
Desoto hung up and after a moment Chuck did too.
He could guess what the present was. Probably a list of names of corr
upt police in the RCMP along with some kind of proof of their wrongdoing. It wasn’t really something that Chuck wanted.
Didn’t want it, but maybe it was good to have. Just in case.
Chuck turned back to the screen and began finishing his report on the freak explosion outside McIntyre’s Gulch. It was the last bit of work he needed to do. The lab already had the hair sample, but it would take them another couple weeks to finish testing it. By then he would be gone and hopefully that would be the end of Brian’s interference in their lives.
Chapter 16
Horace had agreed to move to the Gulch, much to Chuck’s relief. It would be a while before he got up there since he had a house to close up and probably sell, but he was excited about coming and had given me some money to fix up one of the old cabins for him. It was small but it looked nice with the fireplace rebuilt and some rugs on the floor, and it was weathertight. Big John helped me set up a small shed that would hold firewood and also be a place for Horace’s new snowmobile. His vintage Buick couldn’t make the trip to the Gulch and wouldn’t be practical even if he somehow managed to drive it through the forest and into town.
I had also spoken to Wendell and he agreed that Horace should have a wolf puppy as a housewarming gift. Dogs are good company especially during the long, dark days of winter. They can also save your life when you go out into the world. If you lived outside of town, you had at least one dog.
About a week after Chuck left, we had a spell of warm weather, so one day when Wendell was at loose ends I asked him to come with me and Max for a hike to explore points west. I wanted to go out again before the Mountie arrived because I had the feeling that we would be busy for a while after, and I wanted to see if I could find the rune stone again while the way was clear in my mind. Probably it was still buried in snow, but I wanted to remember the location so I could come back in the summer for a better look at the thing. That meant memorizing landmarks because the scenery looks very different in other seasons.
Not that I would do anything with the rune stone if I found it, or even tell anyone it was there. I trust my neighbors, but secrets really only remain secrets if they aren’t floating around in places where they can be accidently revealed. Everyone would understand my reasoning if I explained it—we don’t tell each other everything in the Gulch. Sometimes we don’t tell each other anything at all.
About the Author
Melanie Jackson is the author of over 50 novels. If you enjoyed this story, please visit Melanie’s author web site at www.melaniejackson.com.
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Home Fires
Points West
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The Second Book of Dreams: Meridian
The Third Book of Dreams: Destiny
Medicine Trilogy
Bad Medicine
Medicine Man
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