Song of Life

by C. L. McCullough

  * * * *

  As soon as it slammed shut behind her, Ennis popped out from behind his screen, startling everyone but Jonas and Marge.

  “Good lord, Ennis,” Bea shrieked, patting her chest.

  “I was never here,” he informed everyone. “I got things to do. Got me a line of investigation going. Brenda don’t need to know I was here at all, hear?”

  Moving quickly, he made for the door, almost running into Lila who was about to come in. “Thought maybe Cas might could use a haircut,” he heard her say as he hurried around the back to his patrol car.

  Ennis climbed behind the wheel of his official vehicle. Damn, who the hell would show up next? Don’t matter, I got me some birds to catch. They’ll get the Big House this time for sure, Marge, don’t you worry none about that anymore. For damn sure.

  He pulled out of his parking place and pointed the nose of the car toward Wayland’s.

  Chapter 27

  Bubba Smyth was three hundred pounds of prime southern masculinity. He was the champion arm wrestler up to the Carolina. He’d been known to wade waist deep into ice cold water to collect a duck he’d shot and never think twice about it, although every time he did he’d wonder if he should get him one of those retriever dogs. He drove a pickup with the Confederate flag glued to the back window and a bumper sticker that said “Keep honking, I’m reloading.” He was tough and took no crap from anyone, especially about his chosen line of work, which all in all, was quite lucrative. Sort of like the funeral business, he never ran out of customers.

  None of this explained why he was standing in front of Sunny’s desk, shuffling his feet and trying to get a word in edgewise. He’d made the mistake of trying the ‘little woman’ routine on her and he was sad to say she wasn’t buying it. He moved his chaw to the other cheek and scratched his belly.

  “Now, Miz Douglas, you know I never said that there patch would last forever. I done told you, you need a complete overhaul.”

  “So you did,” Sunny replied, “but for what I paid for your ‘patch’, I expected it to last longer than a month, Bubba! That’s not good business, is it now? You know how word of mouth spreads in these parts. You might find folks going farther afield for their plumbing needs.”

  “Now, Miz Douglas, ain’t no need to be making threats. I’ll get it fixed all right and tight, but it ain’t going to be worth a hill of beans in the long run. It all needs replacing.”

  “I’m aware of that. I’m also aware you think me a fool female. You needn’t think you can pull the wool over my eyes. You’ll fix it–again–and not charge me one thin dime. That’s if you want my business when the time comes to replace it all. Your choice, Bubba.”

  “Aw hell, Sunny, don’t be like that. I need to at least get my gas outta this deal.”

  “Should have thought of that when you were slapping that excuse for a patch on the last time. It’s the middle of tourist season. I can’t have bathrooms out of commission, not right now. But soon as colder weather sets in, I’ll be calling you. That’s if we can come to an agreement here and now, and if your ‘patch’ holds up until then.”

  “Sunny…” Bubba needed desperately to spit but saw nothing to accommodate him. Not even he was quite uncouth enough to just spit on the floor.

  “Take it or leave it,” Sunny said, her voice hard. “I got a couple other companies in mind I can call.”

  “I’ll take it,” he replied despondently. “You just don’t know how business is done, Jim woulda understood.”

  “I’m not Jim.” Sunny’s eyes were cold and unblinking. Bubba shifted uncomfortably again. “I’ll be here in my office. You let me know when you’re ready to cover it back up, I’ll come look and you can explain what all you’ve done.”

  “Yes’um,” Bubba said, subdued. He left hurriedly, intent on getting outdoors so he could spit. He hoped to God Sunny would keep her mouth shut about this; if it ever got out, his life would be a pure misery.

  * * * *

  Sunny almost collapsed into her chair, clutching her trembling hands tightly in her lap. God, she hated having to be boss sometimes. But she had learned the hard way not to let these men, who all seemed to belong to the ‘good old boys club’, run over her. They would do it in a heartbeat. Despite liking Jim, despite liking her, they would take her for every penny they could squeeze out of her and never think twice about it.

  She’d gotten herself a reputation, she knew. It was best that way. It was safer that way. Only with Cas did she now feel she could be her true self–a woman like any other, with insecurities and weaknesses. She longed for Cas to take some of the burden from her shoulders, to help make some of the hard decisions, be someone she could talk to honestly, someone who wouldn’t take advantage of her. She knew instinctively that they would be each other’s support.

  She glanced out the window. All she could see was darkness but she knew they were out there, the mystical mountains, the healing mountains, the mountains that had brought her a new chance to be the woman she wanted to be.

  All she had to do was have faith. Cas was innocent. She’d never thought otherwise. They’d prove it and he’d be free. They’d both be free to live their lives together. Her hand hovered over the phone; she pulled it back. No sense making a nuisance of herself, and maybe Duncan was there already and he and Cas would be talking.

  She’d find out tomorrow. Tonight she had a plumber to keep in line.

  * * * *

  Ennis pulled off the road just before he got to Wayland’s driveway. Fumbling in the glove compartment, he pulled out a small flashlight, checking to make sure it worked. He eased out of the car, careful not to slam the door and began to trudge up the rutted driveway.

  He couldn’t remember if Wayland had dogs or not, and that was a worry. Wayland lived alone though, and he was gone so much it wouldn’t be practical to have animals that would need taking care of. Not that Wayland would ever think about that. Still, any self respecting animal would have left long ago.

  The trailer was small, not much bigger than the huge Kenworth parked in front of it. Ennis didn’t see why Wayland just didn’t live in his truck. The trailer didn’t seem to have much more room. It sat in the middle of a field. Must have been hot as hell inside at high noon. The Kenworth was parked between the pickup and the trailer and would provide some protection against prying eyes. There was only one light showing, but with the pickup there, Ennis felt sure Wayland was home.

  Ennis wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking for. He just knew that Wayland had to be involved somehow, along with his sidekick Darryl. Ennis knew his people. He knew those two were ruthless and would dare anything for revenge. From what he’d heard tonight, Cas had given them plenty of reason. He had a sneaking hunch why Cas’s father had shown up in this neck of the woods. He couldn’t prove a thing, but he did know his people. He’d always suspected those two had blackmailed money from Billy Simpson somehow, but the old man had up and died before anything could be done. If Cas’s father hadn’t been agreeable to paying what was sure to have been an extortion attempt, neither one of them boys would hesitate a minute to take him down. Well, maybe Wayland would, he was just lazy and greedy. Darryl though—Darryl was greedy and downright dangerous. Neither one of them understood they were also as stupid as a hill of beans.

  One thing he could do. He’d heard they’d gotten a partial make on the getaway truck. As quietly as he could, he made his way to the tailgate of the pickup, crouched, and holding the flashlight in his mouth, wrote down the tag number. He resigned himself to the walk back to his car. It wasn’t the most efficient use of time, but he saw no way around it. He began to get excited when the partial tag numbers matched those of Wayland’s truck.

  Now we’re talking, he thought as he sneaked back up the driveway, wincing as a twig snapped under his boot. Meticulously he went over the driver side of the pickup, focusing the flashlight at various spots, again not sure what he was looking for. Didn’t really matter. He found nothing.

/>   He moved to the passenger side, and here it was a little more nerve wracking. His back was to the trailer. There was a greater chance his small light would be seen. He did his duty, starting at the hood, and worked his way back until he came to the passenger side door.

  Wayland’s pickup was an older model, with a door handle that had to be grasped while pushing in a knob to open it. The handle was smeared with something that looked black in the uncertain light he was using. He wet a finger and cautiously touched it, then watched with disbelief as the black turned red. He put his finger to his nose and smelled the copper tang of blood.

  “Holy shit. Ho-ly shit.”

  Excited now, he directed the light inside the cab, trying to see past the glare reflected by the glass. The seat looked clean but that might be another smear along one edge, it was hard to tell from this distance.

  A gleam of gold on the floorboard caught his eye. He squinted and pushed as close as he dared against the truck, steadying the light as best he could.

  “I’ll be a son of a bitch. I don’t believe it.”

  He straightened back up with a deep sigh. This would tie the final knot, indeed it would. He had to get help out here, get Wayland arrested and in jail, and get Cas out. Fuck the damn detectives. They took their own sweet time investigating, they shouldn’t get pissed when the local sheriff solved their damn case.

  He turned to go back down the drive. A loud report and a whining past his ear had him falling forward, bouncing just a bit as his belly hit the ground. The damn idiot was shooting at him.

  “Wayland! You cut that out now, you’re just digging yourself a deeper hole.”

  “You’ll never take me alive.” Wayland sounded hysterical and for sure he wasn’t thinking straight. Long hours by himself probably had him imagining all sorts of scenarios, had him sweating and believing they’d pin it all on him. Ennis knew Way was feeling desperate and ready to bet his life on one throw of the dice.

  He fumbled for his walkie talkie. “Jonas. Get your ass out here now, to Wayland’s. And roust Randy out too. We got us a situation. Move it.”

  “Ten four, sheriff!” came the startled reply.

  Ennis began the long crawl back to his car, highly pissed because he’d be ruining a uniform. Behind him, on the floor of the pickup another of Jose Aguilar’s molars, filled with precious gold, lay waiting for the evidence bag.

  * * * *

  Duncan leaned back in Ennis’s chair and studied his client. Cas looked too big for the seat he’d chosen, but he seemed relaxed and waited quietly for what his lawyer had to say. No fidgeting, no lack of eye contact. All in his favor. Duncan liked his looks and liked the man. He’d spent the evening watching Cas interact with his visitors and approved of what he saw. So, to him Cas was a winner on two counts. Legally he much preferred defending an innocent man, and personally he wanted nothing but the best for Sunny.

  Ennis’s call had electrified the people in the station. Lila wasn’t the only one who had shown up. Clay had popped in to give his support and Ida had come looking for Ennis. Every single one of them heard Ennis on the walkie talkie and all vowed to stay until the outcome was determined. Brenda pleaded, “You can’t make us leave now. How would we ever sleep a wink not knowing what happened? Why, anything could happen.”

  Marge probably had visions of a convoy of citizens heading out to Wayland’s because she’d agreed they could wait at the station. She was a little sharp with Randy when she called him. “No, it’s not a joke and you’d best not be treating it as one. Get your ass on out there, Randy. Ennis needs you.”

  Jonas had unlocked the gun cabinet, made a selection of firearms and left running. There was no longer anything party-like in the atmosphere. People sat in groups, talking quietly, pausing in their conversations when the walkie talkie Marge had set on the desk crackled to life.

  “Jonas, you on your way?”

  “Ten four Sheriff, ETA five minutes.”

  “Come in quiet. I’m at the bottom of the driveway.”

  “He out roaming?”

  “He’s holed up in his trailer, but he’s got him a rifle. Already took one shot at me.”

  A gasp from Ida, a moan from Brenda.

  “Randy. Randy, you copy?”

  “Loud and clear, Sheriff. ETA–I just turned onto Pike’s road. You should be seeing me coming.”

  “I see you. Jonas, pull round back. That tin can of his have a back door?”

  “Probably, most do. Ten four, Sheriff, I’m taking the old lumber road. Goes right past his back door.”

  “Do nothing, I repeat, do nothing, until we get ourselves coordinated here. Over and out.”

  Duncan had stood and stretched and motioned Cas into Ennis’s ‘office.’ “Best get this out of the way and it’ll keep our minds occupied,” he’d said softly and Cas had agreed.

  Now Duncan leaned back in Ennis’s chair, tapping a pencil against one hand, watching Cas watch him.

  “You kill your daddy?” he asked suddenly.

  “No.”

  “You want to?”

  A corner of Cas’s mouth quirked up. “If you only knew how many times.”

  “Why didn’t you then?”

  That made Cas hesitate. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “Maybe I’m a coward.”

  “Maybe you’re a decent man,” Duncan threw back at him. “Maybe you got too much of your mama in you.”

  “Sunny’s been talking,” Cas said with resignation.

  “Not to me. But Uncle Paul required some background. Any lawyer worth his salt would. I’m going to be frank with you. From what I could pick up in Eufala, they’re not dead set on it being you. There’s witnesses saw the killer running and they don’t describe you. Set against that is the one survivor who told them your daddy’d been to visit you that night, with nothing good in mind either. I don’t think they’ll have enough to arrest you for murder, but we’re not going to help them either. I don’t want you talking about this to anyone, not even Sunny. You’d be surprised what can come back to haunt you. Think you can do that?”

  The walkie talkie crackled again.

  “You in position Jonas?”

  “That’s a ten four, Sheriff.”

  “Randy and I are going in. Keep alert, he may try to run your direction.”

  “Hold on a minute, Sheriff, let me check something out.”

  There was a tense silence as everyone waited. The minutes crawled by. Each minute seemed like an hour. Marge gripped the walkie talkie hard as if she could force something out of it, and Brenda’s breath was beginning to hitch when finally Jonas’s voice was heard.

  “Got him, Sheriff. We’re coming out, don’t shoot. Idiot never thought of the back door.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “Oh, Ennis,” Marge whispered, “don’t cuss on the radio.”

  Whatever else Ennis had to say to his deputy was lost in a babble of voices.

  “Oh my God,” Bea McGregor said, patting her chest. “I never thought I’d see the day!”

  “Ain’t that Ennis something!” Brenda exclaimed. “You can be right proud of him, Miss Ida.”

  “This town is going to the devil,” Miss Ida said. “I got no more time for this. You tell Ennis…never mind, I’ll tell him myself.” She marched to the door, disapproval in every line of her body.

  Duncan smiled at Cas. “I think Ennis just sealed the deal. He’s gonna want to send you home, but I’m afraid you’ll have to spend the night here, Cas. I don’t want a technicality to mess this up, and technically the Eufala Police detectives are in charge, not Ennis. It’s their say so. They have to make it official. If you’ll take my advice, you’ll stay put until you talk with them. I’ll be with you when you do, and I don’t think there’ll be any problem, but I don’t want to have to defend you on a charge of obstructing justice.”

  “It’s a stupid man who has a lawyer and then doesn’t listen to him,” Cas said. “But I have to tell you, I’m not looking forward to that bunk. It
’s too damn short.”

  “We’ve got the same problem,” Duncan laughed. “They just don’t make beds for real men.”

  “I should be glad I’ve got a bed at all,” Cas said easily.

  Duncan stood and stretched again. “Eufala said they’d be up tomorrow. It’ll all be over then. Just be patient a bit longer. Oh, and Cas–you should be thinking about the money.”

  “What money?” Cas asked blankly.

  “Your money. If you didn’t murder him, you’re the heir, aren’t you?”

  Cas opened his mouth but nothing came out. He stared blankly at Duncan, but gradually his expression changed, became cold and forbidding.

  “I wouldn’t touch that bastard’s money. It’s dirty money, I don’t know how, but I know it is. They can set a match to it, for all I care. Or send it with him down to hell.” He rose abruptly. “Thanks for your help. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Duncan was thoughtful as he followed Cas from behind the screen, watched him give a general wave to the room and disappear down the hall to lockup.

  * * * *

  Sunny turned over once again. She just couldn’t seem to settle, although she was tired to her bones. That damn Bubba and his patches. She hoped she’d put the fear of God in him, or at least the fear of Sunny.

  The bed was too big, too cold. Cas hadn’t even spent a whole night in it, but she missed him beside her, missed the solidness of him, the comfort of his big body next to hers. The warmth of his skin, the feel of his hands…now she was getting herself horny.

  She needed sleep. She had to be up early and much as she wanted to go to Cas, she would be forced by her duty to stay at the inn, to sooth any ruffled customer feathers and make sure Bubba’s damn patch held. Damn it.

  * * * *

  Cas drew his feet up, catching a heel on the iron framework of the bunk. Cursing, he turned on his side, but then his knees hung off the edge. Carefully he inched his butt back until it pressed against the wall. He couldn’t sleep.

  Damn Duncan for bringing up the money. It’d be a cold day in hell before he touched one penny of it. And like an idiot, he’d agreed to stay put here, when he could have been with Sunny, feeling her smooth skin against his and the warmth of her, the scent of her. He was getting hard; he’d be damned if he’d do what prisoners throughout time had done. He wasn’t a prisoner, he was more or less a guest, that’s all. He tried to blank his mind and find some sleep. But he wanted Sunny. Damn it.