Give Me Some Sugar

by Gen Griffin

  “We can do that,” Gracie told her. She peered over Katie's shoulder towards Ian. “You have that thing hooked up yet?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. Get out of the way. I'm going to snatch it out,” she said.

  Ian started to head towards the driver's seat. Katie beat him to it. “I don't think so,” she said.

  “It's my truck.” Ian caught the door in his hands.

  “You're drunk.”

  “I'm fine to drive.”

  “How much have you had?” She demanded.

  “A couple of beers.” He had to put real effort into enunciating his words in order to keep from slurring.

  “You're drunk, Ian.”

  “You're embarrassing me.”

  “I'm embarrassing you?” Katie couldn't believe what she was hearing. “Did you ever stop to think that I'm completely humiliated right now...No. Of course you didn't. Never mind. I don't want to have this conversation with you tonight.” She climbed into the driver's seat, doing her best to ignore the mud that was currently ruining the soles of her newly purchased heels. “Get out of the way, Ian.”

  Ian shook his head at her as he stepped backwards. “Why can't you ever just let me be the man?”

  Katie ignored him as she slammed the door shut and waited for Gracie to snatch the S-10 backwards out of the ditch.

  “God, please please please give me patience. I don't know how much more of this I can take,” she whispered as she jammed the gear shift into reverse and felt the tires start to spin.

  Chapter 20

  “This sure is a nice truck.” The blonde who had been sitting on Ian's tailgate was now sitting in the front seat of Gracie's Chevy, stroking the leather interior in an almost sexual manner.

  “You're right. It is.” Gracie kept both hands on the wheel and focused on the road ahead. Katie hadn't had room in the truck for herself, Ian and his obnoxious new friends. Trish was entirely too nice to deal with scum like Lowery. Gracie had volunteered to take one for the team and drive Angie and Lowery back to Canterville. She was regretting every mile of the trip. Neither one of her new companions smelled like they knew what a shower was.

  “Must have been expensive.”

  “It was.”

  “You must have plenty of money to afford a truck like this. Or did you fuck your way into a sixty thousand dollar truck?” Lowery leered over her shoulder from the backseat.

  “You want to walk home?” Gracie snapped at him.

  Lowery sat back. “Touchy, touchy.”

  “Don't piss her off, Lowery. We're still twenty miles from town. I ain't sober enough to walk half that far without passing out. I don't want to sleep on the side of no highway and my phone is out of minutes.”

  “You're more than welcome to borrow my phone if you have someone else who can come get you,” Gracie offered with a smile that was mostly a baring of teeth. “I'd be more than happy to meet them half way. Or leave y'all here for them to pick up.”

  “Ian sure wasn't kidding about you, was he?”

  “Depends, what did he say?”

  “He said you were an ice cold bitch.”

  Gracie was momentarily taken aback. She'd known Ian for most of her life and she'd always considered him a friend. Not her best or brightest friend, but a friend. He was David's cousin. He'd grown up just down the street from Cal. He'd married her best friend. Heck, she'd been in his wedding and Cal had nearly asked him to be one of his best men, despite the recent drama. “Ian called me an ice cold bitch?”

  “He said that you was a fucking Ice Princess. He warned me not to fuck with you. Said you'd probably shoot my dick off. He says your old man is pussy whipped as a limp cock.”

  Gracie hit the brakes on the truck and pulled it onto the shoulder of the road.

  “Dammit Lowery.” Angie let out an unhappy sigh as the Chevy's brakes barked on the pavement.

  “Get out,” Gracie said.

  “Aww, hell no. Fuck you. You ain't leaving us out here in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Watch me.”

  “Both of us?” Angie whined.

  Gracie hesitated. The girl hadn't actually said anything out of the way to her. Lowery, on the other hand, had to go. “Get him out of my truck.”

  “Screw you, bitch!” Lowery breathed down Gracie's neck. “You want me out of your truck, make me get out.”

  Gracie sighed and slid her hand down the underside of the steering column. Cal had put a concealed handgun holster just under the driver's side dashboard. At the time, Gracie had thought it was pretty serious overkill. Now, as she slid the 9mm Glock out from under the dash, she was decidedly glad the weapon was there. She cocked the gun, twisted around in her seat and raised it up so that Lowery was leering straight down the barrel. “Give me a reason to ruin this pretty leather interior,” she told him.

  Lowery's ruddy tan turned a sickly green.

  “Oh shit,” Angie whispered.

  “Get the fuck out of my truck,” Gracie said.

  “You're a psycho bitch.” Lowery held his head up and glared angrily at Gracie through rheumy eyes. His gaze never left hers as he opened the door of the Chevy and stumbled out of the lifted truck.

  “Shut my door,” Gracie told him.

  “Fuck you, whore.” Lowery slammed the door shut.

  Gracie quickly dropped the gun into her lap and hit the door locks. She cast a sideways glance at Angie. “You staying or you going?”

  “You gonna shoot me?” Angie asked with wide eyes.

  “You going to call me a whore?”

  “No.”

  “Then probably not.”

  Lowery was yelling obscenities from outside the truck. Gracie slipped the gearshift into drive and hit the accelerator hard. The truck squalled tires pulling away. Lowery threw something at the Chevy that hit the side with a heavy thump.

  Gracie's heart was pounding in her chest as Lowery faded away in the rear view mirror.

  “He doesn't know what he's saying or doing when he drinks,” Angie offered. “I'm really sorry about how he was acting.”

  “I don't care about him,” Gracie said. “I'd rather talk about you.”

  “Me?” Angie eyed her warily.

  “Yes, you. You were flirting with my bestie's husband earlier tonight. I want to know what's going on between you and Ian. If you want to stay in this truck, then you're fixing to tell me everything.”

  “Oh gosh,” Angie whined. “Ian's cute and all but I ain't done nothing with him. I may flirt but I don't do married.”

  “Swear it?”

  “On my life. I ain't promising you that he ain't thinking about cheating on her or that he ain't done it, but he ain't done it with me.” She sloppily crossed her heart with her right hand. Her t-shirt had a faded pink heart printed on the center of it along with the word 'princess'. It was more than a little bit pathetic.

  Of course, this entire situation was kind of pathetic. Gracie hoped like hell that Angie was telling the truth about sleeping with Ian. They'd looked way too friendly earlier in the night. Gracie didn't want to be the one to break it to Katie that the love of her life, the guy she'd always put above anyone else, was cheating on her less than three months after the birth of their daughter.

  “If Ian is cheating on Katie, I absolutely will shoot his sorry little micro-weenie straight off the top of his balls.” Gracie announced to no one in particular.

  Angie shuddered in the passengers seat. Other than giving directions, she stayed quiet the rest of the drive to Canterville.

  Chapter 21

  “It was his ghost. I'm telling you. It was his ghost.” Kerry was sitting on the tailgate of Addison's truck. He had a rough flannel blanket wrapped around his shoulders and he was shivering despite the relative warmth of the night.

  “Whose ghost?” David asked. The ambulance had just left with Meg on the stretcher and Makinsley holding her hand.

  “His. Curtis.”

  “You were attacked by Curtis Heinstein's ghost
?” Addison made no effort to keep the skepticism out of his tone.

  “I heard him in there. He was talking about-.” Kerry caught himself mid-sentence. “Never mind. It was him.”

  “It was not Curtis. He's dead and ghosts aren't real.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Dead. Autopsied. Buried just outside his hometown up North. I think it was in Michigan. Or was it Maine? I don't remember. One of those 'M' states. Trish went to his funeral.” David eyed Kerry unhappily. The scrawny deputy had made some effort to wash up, but the combination of urine and blood that was stuck to his clothes wasn't the sort of substance that could be wiped off with a few swipes of a cheap paper towel. “Besides, don't you think that Curtis would haunt me if he were going to anyone?”

  “It was him. I'm telling you. Curtis was the only person who knew about... No. Wait. He wasn't the only person, was he?” Kerry narrowed his eyes and pointed one bony finger at David. “It could have been you.”

  “Oh hell no.” David stepped back away from Kerry and held up his hands in the air. “You are not pinning this one on me. I've been with Addison and Cal all night.”

  “Maybe it was all three of you,” Kerry said frantically, his voice climbing higher in pitch with every syllable. “It was all of you, wasn't it? You want your jewelry back, don't you?” He was looking directly at David.

  “What the hell is he babbling about?” Frank Chasson walked up from the side of the building. He had fleece pajama pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt on. His eyes were still blurry with sleep and he'd run his dually clear over the sidewalk and curb on his way into the parking lot. He'd missed turning the fire hydrant into a geyser by less than two inches.

  “Sheriff, I know you don't want to hear it, but I think Addison and David were the ones who broke into the jail tonight. This all part of whatever sick trick they're trying to pull on me. First they put the head in the trunk of my car. Once they knew they had me trapped, they broke into the jail and attacked me. They're trying to intimidate me into giving them the jewelry back, but I don't have it.”

  “Jewelry?” Sheriff Chasson raised one eyebrow at Kerry. “Son, are you sure we don't need to call for a second ambulance? I think you might have taken another bad knock on the noggin. Maybe given yourself another concussion?”

  “Sheriff, it makes sense.”

  “No. It don't.” Frank glared at Kerry. “For starters, I ain't never heard anything about any jewelry. What jewelry do you have in your possession that would make a sworn officer of the law bash an innocent girl in the head? Tell me, Kerry. Convince me.”

  Kerry's eyes widened. “I'm talking about the jewelry Curtis stole from Trish.”

  “What jewelry?” Frank asked. He looked over at David. “I ain't never heard nothing about Curtis stealing jewelry from Trish.”

  “Me neither,” David lied without missing a beat. He was careful not to show any emotion as Frank Chasson tried to read his expression. “If Curtis took jewelry from Trish, it must have happened a long time before I met her. She's never mentioned it to me.”

  Kerry's jaw fell open.

  “What about you, Addy?” Frank turned his attention to his nephew. “You know anything about any stolen jewelry? It sure as hell wasn't mentioned in none of your reports.”

  “No sir. First I've heard of it.” Addison offered his uncle a charming smile. Too pretty with too many teeth, David thought. Not that it mattered, Frank was hearing exactly what he wanted to hear and he wouldn't dig any deeper.

  “They're lying!” Kerry nearly dropped his cup of coffee into his own lap.

  “Are we?” David asked him. “Maybe you better tell us how you know Curtis stole jewelry from Trish?”

  “Yeah, Kerry. I'd be interested in hearing what you know about this supposed crime.” Addison's grin never faltered.

  Kerry paled. “You bastards.”

  “Now Kerry, there ain't no need for profanity.” Sheriff Chasson shook his finger at Kerry disapprovingly. “Nor is there any need for you to continue accusing upstanding citizens of crimes without any evidence. The county is fixing to pay out an awful lot of money because of your unprofessional behavior. I'd sure hate for any more zeros to be added onto that settlement. I wanted to give you a chance to tell us what happened to you, but I can't justify letting you accuse David of nothing else. He ain't done it.” Frank shot Kerry a warning look.

  David bared his teeth at Kerry in what he hoped passed as a very nasty smile.

  Kerry swallowed visibly. “I don't...I can't... You don't understand.”

  “Kerry, do yourself a favor and go find a change of clothes. You smell like piss.” Frank gave his mustache a yank, pulling several of the hairs loose. Anyone who knew the sheriff personally knew that it was always a bad sign when he started plucking his facial hair out one strand at a time.

  “Fine. You're obviously not going to listen to anything I have to say. Whatever. I think I have spare clothes in my locker. Can I go get them and change?” Kerry grimaced as he got down off the tailgate of Addison's truck. Frank nodded at him and he scurried off in the direction of the front door.

  Frank turned to Addison just as soon as Kerry was out of hearing distance. “You get any actual evidence from this clusterfuck?”

  “Not really,” Addy admitted with a shrug. “Front door was unlocked. Whoever came in probably attacked Meg right off. I think she tried to run. She was halfway back in the main room by my desk when we found her.”

  “You have any idea what they did after they hurt Meg?”

  “I don't know if they tampered with anything in our office, if that's what your asking.”

  “I was.”

  “Haven't had a chance to really look around yet. I'll be able to better tell you in the morning. I can tell you that someone broke down the inner door between the main office and the jail.”

  “That door shouldn't have been locked,” Frank said.

  “I don't think it was.”

  “Great.” Frank shook his head with disgust. “Kerry ain't given you any useful information either, has he?”

  “He apparently thinks we did it. We didn't. We were at Leon's. Just ask anyone in the whole damn bar.”

  Frank sighed. “I know y'all didn't do it. I'll see if I can get Sully to talk with Kerry. He's in Silver City right now, but maybe he can convince Kerry to give a real witness account when he gets back.”

  “Why is Sully in Silver City?” Addison asked.

  Frank let out a bitter laugh. “He took the severed head to the crime lab up there. He wanted to get a full evidence work up on it, just in case Kerry's wrong and you didn't put the head in his car.”

  “Would you believe me if I said I honestly have had nothing to do with any of this?” Addison asked. He held his right hand up in the air as if he were swearing his word in court. “I don't have the slightest idea how the head got into Kerry's car and I didn't break into the jail and cover him in blood. I also didn't leave that severed arm in his cell.”

  “Me neither,” David offered. “Though I'm willing to bet money that the arm belongs to the same body as the head.”

  “No bet. Sadly, I do believe y'all. Kind of wish I didn't. I guess Kerry has more enemies than we thought.” Frank gave his mustache another yank. “And lucky me, I get to investigate this clusterfuck myself. I can't have you on any case involving Kerry because of all his complaints against you. I don't really want to use David as a witness because of his history with Kerry. Y'all are really putting me in a damn pickle with this shit. Come to think of it, what were y'all doing at my jail anyways? You weren't on duty.”

  “Um.” Addison and David exchanged slightly guilty glances.

  “Spit it out.”

  “Addy forgot his favorite pen.”

  “What?” Frank glared at David.

  “Addison forgot his favorite ink pen at work. He really wanted it. He was afraid Kerry would steal it if he left it here overnight, so we came back by to pick it up,” David explained.

&nb
sp; “That is the biggest crock of horseshit I've ever heard in my life.”

  “Would you rather hear that we thought we'd come by and mock Kerry for being locked up?” Addison asked.

  Frank groaned. “Son, I'm going to buy you a whole pack of those favorite ink pens of yours. Just so you never run out. I ain't never seen you without that ink pen. Ever. Your grandpa gave it to you, right?”

  Addison laughed. “Sure. He's only been dead since before I was born.”

  “Left it to you in his will,” Frank said. “It must mean a hell of a lot to you.”

  “Sure does,” Addy replied.

  Chapter 22

  “I've had enough of your drinking.” Katie had waited nearly fifteen minutes for Ian to start talking, but he'd stayed resolutely silent for most of the drive home. Even now, he didn't show any reaction to her words. He stayed leaning against the torn door panel. His skin and clothing reeked of cigarette smoke mixed with the kind of body odor that only came from spending your days mowing lawns in the early fall heat. His full lips were set in a sullen pout that did nothing for his cause. He looked like a petulant toddler and Katie was starting to feel like his mother.

  “Ian, I'm serious.”

  He shrugged.

  “This truck is wobbling like crazy. I'm hoping its just mud in the rims but there's a serious possibility you've broken something in the front end.”

  Ian shrugged again. “Heard your bachelorette party got ruined by a bunch of alligator gar in the pool.”

  Katie ignored him, figuring that he had heard the news from Addison and was trying to change the subject. “Ian, I'm serious. We only have one car. We can't afford to wreck it.”

  He ignored her completely and reached over to turn the volume up on the dashboard radio. Garth Brooks was suddenly blaring through the blown speakers at unbearable levels.

  Katie popped the power button with the palm of her hand. The silence was even more overwhelming than Garth had been.

  “Talk to me, Ian. I know you're going through a hard time, but I really can't help you if you won't talk to me.”

  He snorted. “Talk to you? Why bother?”