Lacene Lords

by Fornataro, Nancy

  The same morning, at 9:10, Dana arrived at the high school with Hank. They ran down the deserted hallway to Dana's biology class doorway. She nodded at him, and he drew his gun. Sheriff Davey followed at a safe distance, his gun drawn also.

  Dana burst into the room, and aimed her gun at Tom. Hank aimed his gun at Joe. They holstered their guns as Davey came in the door behind them. The teacher put her hands up and the students were shocked into silence.

  Smiling tightly, Dana strolled up to Tom, heaved him up from the desk and clicked handcuffs on him. "Thomas Jameson, you're under arrest. The charges are rape in the first degree, two counts of assault in the first degree, possession of cocaine, possession with intent to sell cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession with intent to sell marijuana, possession of prescription drugs, possession with intent to sell prescription drugs."

  She continued, "These are your rights: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed by the court free of charge. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"

  "Uh, Dana..."

  She lifted his arms and increased the pressure on his cuffs, "That's Sheriff Keefer to you, jerk-off. Now, answer my question."

  "Yeah."

  Hank was reading the same charges and rights to Joe Hopkins.

  She walked Tom towards the front of the room, and shoved him to Davey. "This one's really rank, Sheriff. I'll let you do the honors."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Pap and Davey sat at noon on Tuesday, both with a shot of bourbon, looking at the photos in front of them on the kitchen table.

  "Never in all my born days have I seen anything like this," Pap said breathlessly. "Looks like a wild animal got him. You said Matt out there at the motel heard a growling noise?"

  Davey rubbed his eyes, trying to stay awake. "Yeah." Then he chuckled. "Should have seen D and D. They were green around the gills, Pap. Think they would've seen it all by now, bein' big city boys and all."

  He sighed and continued, "Figured I should call them in, what with the Moorehouse thing, and Maria. Probably have to work with them again on this one. Not looking forward to it."

  "What about that Freemont guy? What kind of charges you got on him?"

  Davey sniffed disdainfully. "Kiddy porn on his computer. Meg got the restraining order on him for Susie, and temporary custody at the Cowells. Guess Willie is living in the second temporary trailer while Susie lives with the Cowells at the main one until they get the new house built. The mother's pretty much of an alcoholic, and unless she gets her act together she's going to lose her daughter permanently. Really sad case, Pap. Susie never could bring herself to talk to Meg about what went on at their house. All I know is that when Meg took over the restraining order to that guy, something wild happened and he left town before I could even get there. We're still looking for him."

  "An', the pictures of Sheriff Dana? Her crummy reputation at school. What's the deal on that?"

  "The whole thing was a set-up Pap. Her face on a picture of Miss February or something. And she started all the rumors about herself at the school as well. Got a lot of respect for her now, though. She broke up the whole ring, including Kaylee Peters, the all-American cheerleader."

  He continued, "And, I spoke with Spence. He's going to have Mark rebury the parents. Say goodbye. He didn't have a chance the first time around, what with him being overseas and all."

  Pap took a big slug of bourbon. "Ahhh, nothing like a little booze to perk a person up. Speakin' of which," he peered at Davey closely, "when you finding yourself a woman, son? I won't be around forever to take care of your ass."

  Davey smiled and shrugged. "Don't have time, Pap. Job keeps me pretty busy."

  "Bullshit. What about Kathy over at the school?"

  "Not my type. Plus she's too tall."

  "Well, Meg's taken, so leave her out of the mix."

  Davey laughed. "She's pretty sweet on Spence. Always has been. Sat out there all these years just waiting on him."

  "Nah, she had her singing at Red's. Then Willie kept her busy."

  "Nice kid."

  "Hear he's got that Susie for a girlfriend. Needs to keep it in his pants though, otherwise same thing'll happen to him."

  Davey smiled. "Pap, you must have connections all over town or something."

  "Not denying it."

  Davey's phone started to vibrate on the table. He ran a hand over his face tiredly, and looked at the display. "What the hell?"

  But when he answered, a big smile came over his face.

  He heard a familiar voice. "Sheriff Davey Miller?"

  "Yes ma'am, you got him." He gave Pap the thumbs up sign and the old man studied him questioningly.

  "This is Dr. Kim Sloan from Rushburg General. How are you?"

  "Fine thanks. Something new on Dana Keefer?"

  She laughed. "Yes, I guess you could say that. She came in today. I understand she wasn't quite the person we thought she was at first."

  "That's an understatement if I ever heard one. You get the DNA from the rape kit?"

  "Yes. It came back and matched the suspects. I just thought you'd want to know."

  "That sure is good news. They'll be arraigned tomorrow and charged as adults. Judge Janine doesn't take kindly to sex crimes or drugs for that matter."

  "Wonderful. And, by the way, while Dana was here, she gave me your card. I hope you don't mind. It has your personal cell number on the back."

  "No, I don't mind."

  "Well...actually, I wanted to ask you to dinner. Saturday, if you aren't on duty that is."

  "I'm free Saturday for sure."

  It was Pap's turn to give the thumbs up.

  "And please call me Kim. Everyone does."

  "You got it. And now I've got your number right in my phone here. Any special time I should call beforehand?"

  "Oh," she laughed, "anytime at all. My job is so similar to yours in that we're always on call."

  "Right. Okay, see you Saturday. Look forward to it."

  He clicked off and Pap looked at him with his eyebrows raised.

  "Doctor from Rushburg, dinner Saturday." Davey said.

  "Damn, I'll drink to that!" Pap said enthusiastically and they clinked glasses.

  *****

  Martinez came out and stood by Smith's desk. "So I heard what happened."

  Ellison and Smith looked at each other.

  "You had no clue about this Karl guy being the murderer?" he said.

  "No, sir," Smith said. "Absolutely none."

  Ellison peered at him. It was the first time he'd ever heard Smith admit to a mistake. Something was up.

  Martinez chuckled. "Well can't win them all, guys. What about the motel murder over there? How's that going?"

  Smith gestured to Ellison. "I'm leaving it all for him, sir." The way Smith was smirking, Ellison knew. He was retiring.

  "You put in that paperwork without telling me?" he said loudly, ignoring Martinez.

  "Got tired of you calling me names."

  "Okay, then fuck you, I'm retiring too."

  Martinez looked flustered now. "Wait guys. I don't want to accept either of your resignations. Why don't you just work it out between the two of you?"

  "No more name calling," Smith said to Ellison, who nodded.

  "No more bad moods," Ellison countered. Smith nodded.

  "Okay," Martinez said jovially. "It's all set then. So let me know what you find out about the motel murder over there in Lacene."

  They both gave palms up and clapped in agreement. Smith was thinking about the 'foot hooker.' Ellison was thinking about a burger and fries.

  Just another day in the detective squad room.

  *****

  Orenda, Woya and Chetan sat in Tim's old office at the university.

  "Did they decide where the service would be?" Woya said, smoothing her black braid.

&
nbsp; "His only family," Chetan said, "the Cowells have asked us to bury him on The Reservation. I wanted to ask you. Can we do it?"

  "I don't know. We usually cremate," Orenda replied. "I will ask the elders."

  "He has done so much for us and our heritage. I will pray they say yes," Chetan said.

  And, with that, Chetan returned to his work and Orenda and Woya went back to the dig.

  *****

  Father Damien drove into the Cowell's driveway and was surprised to see a mobile home erected already. Jake's resourcefulness never failed to amaze him. Bulldozers were already at work clearing away debris from the old burned down house.

  Lila and Jake sat on the porch in a small swing.

  Smiling, Lila waved at him. "Father, it's so nice to see you."

  Jake, who smoked a cigar, simply grunted.

  "Just wanted to touch base with you, Lila, on the happenings out here yesterday. I've heard some pretty amazing stories."

  Jake coughed and Lila slapped him on the arm. "Yes, Father. It was really something."

  The only problem, Father thought, is she didn't say what. He tried a different approach. "They told me of demons and devils and the like. You remember our discussion about believing?"

  "Yes, of course Father. I never forget your teachings."

  What could he say to that? Rumors were flying, and he felt helpless. Then he thought with determination that he would make demons his sermon topic for next week.

  "Okay, Lila. I'll see you Sunday. And, always a pleasure Jake."

  As Father was driving away, Jake said, "Prick," under his breath.

  Jake dragged heavily on his cigar, and between puffs, asked Lila, "Why'd you want to go with June Moorehouse? Why a woman and not a man? For Christ sake, if you're going to cheat on me, why not a man?"

  She smiled as she looked at him affectionately. "Jake I've loved you for almost fifty years now. And I need to tell you we really need to work on your technique. She was slow and gentle, where you're quick and rough. That sort of thing."

  He stopped puffing and watched her now. "In bed?"

  She laughed. "Yes, Jake. Let me take you to a place you haven't been before. You'll have a little taste of what the opposite of submissive means."

  "Goddamn, woman," he said, flipping the cigar off the porch and moving over next to her, "Goddamn."

  *****

  Renee and Lex sat staring at each other over Renee's kitchen table.

  "I guess we should start sorting it out," Renee began.

  "Her dreams," Lex said, "were a view to the past. I looked at the maps of that area a few days ago. I believe it was a communal Indian area. And I also believe it was raided by another tribe. There was at least one evil spirit in the house, and we've got the tapes to prove how it attacked Meg. Leftovers. We saw the other spirits last night."

  She shuddered. "Does that mean they're gone now?"

  Good question.

  Fatigue got to her at that point. But she looked into his deep blue eyes. You won't leave me will you? That really scares me.

  He sat back in his seat. Never. His glance rolled over her possessively. Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?

  She felt her fatigue lifting as she shook her head.

  He was up in a flash, grabbed her by the shoulders and backed her to the wall. She felt his arousal, as he pressed against her. His hands came up and caressed her breasts.

  While he laughed softly, his mind then told her, quit squirming. Just relax and enjoy me.

  So, she did.

  *****

  Spence stood by his Cadillac wondering how he was going to tell her. But, she seemed to sense it.

  "I know, I know," Meg said slowly, "you'll be back for me. I'm not invited to go with you again."

  "I'm a failure Meg. Need to get my act together. Figure out what to do with myself that would make a difference in the world."

  She nodded. "I'm thirty-five and still live with my parents. Now there's a success story."

  He smiled and drew her close, ran his hands down her hair. "I'll be back." Then he drew her against him and kissed her hard. "I will be back."

  EPILOGUE

  One Month Later

  Willie heard his mother in the bathroom for the second time that morning. It was Saturday and he was home from summer school.

  Her phone rang on the table. He looked at the name and return phone number and cursed. "Yeah?" he answered.

  "Willie?"

  "What do you want Spence?"

  He paused. "What's going on, Willie?"

  "You don't pick up the phone and call my Mom for four weeks. I'm not exactly your best friend right now, Spence."

  Spence paused again. "So I'm calling now. Put your mother on the phone."

  "She's in the bathroom."

  "I can wait."

  Willie smashed the phone down, but he could tell Spence was still on the line.

  His mother came in, ashen faced. Then she looked on the table. "Who's on the phone?"

  "Dickhead."

  "Don't be a smart mouth. 'Dickhead' covers half the county. Now I'm asking you again. Who is on the phone?"

  Willie cursed and walked into the mobile home living room.

  "Hello?" She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Willie knew. For sure now, she thought.

  "Hey. It's Spence."

  Images flooded into her mind when she heard his voice. Sex, sadness, grief, fire, passion, love. It almost overwhelmed her. "How are you?" she managed to say.

  "That covers a whole basket load of things. I'm doing well. And I decided I know what I'm going to do when I grow up."

  She smiled. "What?"

  "I'm going to be a music teacher. I know, how boring can I get. But I love music so much, that's what I decided to do. With the credits I have now, it will only take me a few years to finish up college and get the teaching degree."

  "Wow," she said weakly. "Congratulations."

  "And I wanted to let you know. D and D called me with the DNA results. Turns out, Mark is only my half brother. But neither of us cares much. I told the dicks to shove it up their asses." He paused. "Hey, how's the singing career going?"

  She smiled. "I got the contract. I'm going to L.A. next month to do a recording. Maybe we can get together or something..." her voice trailed off.

  There was a silence on the line, before he said, "I have a messenger coming over to see you."

  "A what?"

  "You'll know when it happens. Talk to you later."

  The phone clicked dead in her hand.

  Half hour later, she heard a knock on the door. When she opened it, she couldn't suppress a smile. Ned from Ned's Barbershop stood there, dressed to the nines in suit, white shirt, tie and cufflinks. He held a bouquet of colorful flowers. "Miss Meg," he said, "may I come in?"

  "Of course," she said warmly, "always a pleasure to see you Ned." Was this the messenger? She wondered. What on earth was going on?

  Her parents and Willie came in then and stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Jake and Willie grinned while Lila looked confused.

  Ned led her to a chair and she sat down.

  The house was quiet, as he took a deep breath and composed himself. "These are for you," he said, handing her the flowers.

  "They're beautiful," Meg said.

  "As are you," Ned replied formally.

  Awkwardly, he came to kneel on one knee. "I have a message from Spence."

  He pulled out a small box. "Says he can't stop loving you. Wants you to marry him in the worst way." He drew out a multi-carat sparkling diamond ring and put it on her finger. "Won't take no for an answer either. He's on his way driving over here from California to pick you up right now."

  She gasped.

  Spence got the return call at 2:30 exactly. He pulled the car over.

  Ned said to him, "Well, son, she says yes with one condition."

  Spence heard excited chatter and Willie whooping in the background, as Meg said, "Willie wants to know if you h
ave a back porch, and you'd also better know something before you take on Willie, Susie and me."

  He was fairly speechless, but he had the extra rooms in his Ventura house, so he said, "Okay. Tell Willie yes, I have a huge pack porch and a swimming pool. And there's a city college down the road a bit. So what do I need to know? What's the catch?"

  "Well, you knocked me up, Spence."

  Now he was really breathless. Then he grinned. "You and me? Together?"

  "Well, we couldn't have done it apart, silly."

  "Is the baby...okay, I mean..."

  "Because of my age? I'm not that old! I'll get the test done. And I'll accept the baby no matter what is wrong. But, my guess would be a healthy baby. Be thinking about names."

  "Oh," she added, "I love the ring, Spence. Are you sure your house is big enough for all of us then? It's really a responsibility you know."

  He thought of the loneliness within him as he rattled around in his four thousand foot Spanish style view house in Ventura, and he laughed. "Yeah. No problem."

  "And Daddy Jake says I finally did something right. I guess I'll invite him to the wedding."

  "Right. Tell him I said hi. And tell Willie KMA. He'll know what it means."

  "Love you. See you soon. Drive careful."

  He pulled the car back onto the road, and kept his speed at sixty. After all, he had a family now.

  The End (See Below)

  Dear Readers,

  As you probably already figured out, there is no such place as Lacene, Arizona or Rushburg, Arizona. Also, there are no such Indians as the Berilian Tribe anywhere. The rock groups are also nonexistent.

  At any rate, I'd like to take you through some:

  ASSUMPTIONS OF THE READER at the beginning of the book:

  Spence Moorehouse doesn't have much money.

  Sheriff Davey is dumb.

  Pap Miller, previous sheriff, is an asshole.

  Ned from Ned's Barbershop is a white man.