Letter to Belinda

by Tim Tingle

  She walked around back to take a look at it, but there were no flaws, it was perfect. No one would ever know that it concealed the body of Judge Leon Rosewood. She was almost home free. All she had to do was get rid of the last two pieces, and it would be like he was never here. What should she do with them? Why not let Lennie decide what to do with them, since he was so eager to help. With just a little smile, and a turning of her female charm, she could get Lennie to do anything for her, she was sure of it. She just had to make sure that he understood what he was to do and say, should the police find him in possession of the parts. He must not even hint that she had anything to do with the Judge’s death. She would coach him to say that he accidentally killed the Judge. And then he was scared, and so he tried to hide the body, but it wouldn’t fit anywhere, so he cut him up into small pieces, and disposed of the pieces in the river, where the fish could eat him, and no one would ever find the pieces. It sounded plausible, if she could get Lennie to stick to the story without deviating from it, or adding to it.

  But there was the problem. When the police begin asking their questions, it was sure to rattle Lennie. The questions of ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ were going to sound a lot different coming from the police than from her coaching. He was going to slip up and say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and then the police were going to be knocking on her door. And she knew that if the pressure was on her, she would crack open like a rotten egg!

  No, she couldn’t let Lennie help her, because it was sure to backfire. He already knew too much as it was. If only he would oblige her by dying of cancer in the next day or two, then he couldn’t mess things up running his mouth. Dead men told no tales. Arg! That sounded so pirate-like! And it was an awful thought to have about Lennie, but it was the truth. If he carried the parts to his house, then he died, the police would be left trying to piece together what happened without Lennie’s explanation to clog up the works. They would have to piece it together with nothing but physical forensic evidence, and hopefully there would be nothing there to point to her. It was all so confusing, trying to decide what she should do, and what the consequences would be, if something didn’t go as planned.

  She went and got a lawn chair, and took it out beside the new pool. She sat down and looked forlornly into the empty pool, as though she thought she might see some dark reflection of her soul, as she considered her options. Should she include Lennie in her planning, or not? If he did not know anything already, then the answer would be no. But even the things he was privy to didn’t seem a good enough reason to get him involved any deeper. He was going to mess it all up, she was sure of it.

  So what should she do? Where could she dispose of those other body parts? She had noticed an old hand-dug well out beside Lennie’s house. He told her that his grandfather had dug the well a long time ago, but it was dry now, and was half-full of trash and junk. She had looked down into it, but could not see the bottom without a flashlight. She had the thought to drop the remaining parts into that well, without Lennie knowing about it of course, and see if anyone finds them. She could put the parts into a garbage bag with other animal parts, like pork chops, and chicken, and so it would all rot together, and would probably never be found.

  But when would Lennie not be home, so she could throw it in there without being seen? That was the problem, because Lennie was always at home, unless he was gone to town with her. Hmm. That could work. She could visualize a plausible scenario. She could offer to take him to town to eat lunch one day, a chance he would jump at. When he gets in the car, and she backs up to go, she notices that his shirt is a little dirty. (His shirts were always dirty.) “No, Lennie! That shirt is too dirty. Go back and change it, and put on some deodorant too!” Of course, he would do just as she asked, and as soon as he went into the house, she could jump out, pop the trunk, and throw the bag of parts into the well. She would be back in the car waiting by the time he changed his shirt. It was too easy. It had to work. She would get the parts bagged up, and call him tomorrow.

  29

  “Our top story tonight, on the Channel 9 News At 6:00, is a deadly residential fire near Laurel Grove. We reported the fire earlier, but now we are told that firefighters have apparently found a body in the charred ruins of the house on rural route 3 near Laurel Grove. The body was badly burned, so identification will be difficult. Speculation is that it is the body of the only resident of the house, but his identity is presently being withheld. The body was reportedly found in the kitchen area of the house. More details will be released when investigators have examined the scene. Cause of the fire is still under investigation, but arson is not being ruled out. A neighbor reported seeing a vehicle leave the house only minutes before it burst into flames, but was unable to identify a make or model of the vehicle.”

  As the news anchor moved on to another story, Janice sat horrified in front of the TV, having heard that ‘arson was not being ruled out’, and that ‘a witness reported seeing a vehicle leaving the scene just prior to the house bursting into flames.’ She knew that vehicle was her blue Blazer, with her driving it! It was just a matter of time before the police would be knocking on her door. She turned to Rebecca, who had been watching the news with her, and said in a sickly way, “I need to talk to your father.”

  “But he’s in England.”

  “I know, but I have to talk to him!” Desperate to confide in someone, she broke down in tears, and told Rebecca the whole thing, about taking Penelope to her dad’s house, and what happened afterwards. Rebecca was shocked.

  “Mom! That makes you an accessory to the crime!”

  “I know, but all I was doing was trying to help Penelope! I didn’t know something like this was going to happen!” Then, in anger, she burst out, “Every time I try to help that woman, it turns out badly! Your father is going to kill me, because he told me not to try to help her any more. But I did, and now this happens! He is going to literally kill me!”

  “No he won’t. I have only known him a short time, but I know him better than that.”

  “What should I do, Rebecca? Should I call the police, and tell them what I know, or what? Should I just wait and see if they find me out?”

  “I would think that honesty is always the best policy. But you are right. You probably should talk to Dad. Do you know how to contact him in England?”

  “Yes, I have a number for the Hotel in London, if he’s still there. But it will be an expensive call.”

  “I don’t think Dad will mind the cost. Get the number, and we will call him.” As she went to get the number, Rebecca calculated the time zone difference. “It’s a little after 11pm in London, so he should be in his room, but probably not asleep yet.”

  “Here, you punch in the number. My hands are shaking too badly.”

  “I’ll try.” She punched in the international code for England, then the number for the Royal National Hotel—South. The switchboard operator at the hotel asked for a room number, but they didn’t know it. “The guest name is Travis Lee.”

  “One moment.” She rang the room number, and while it rang, she handed the phone to Janice. On the third ring, a sleepy woman answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Mrs. Lee?”

  “Yes?”

  “This is Janice. Did I wake you up?”

  “No, I had to get up to answer the phone anyway. Is there something wrong at home?”

  Not wanting to worry her, she lied, “No, not at all. I just wanted to talk to Travis. Is he there?”

  “No, I don’t guess he is back yet. He went to a bar earlier.”

  “Is Drew there?”

  “No, he went out too.”

  “Both of them went out to a bar?”

  “No, Drew went out on the town with the girls.”

  “Girls? What girls?”

  “The girls on this trip with us. They just
went out for a little fun.”

  Janice was visibly shaken. “Let me get this straight, Mrs. Lee. Travis went out to a bar, by himself, and my oldest son, who is only 16, went out bar hopping with a group of wild college girls?”

  “It sounds a lot worse when you say it.”

  “I thought Travis was going to be watching Drew, to keep him out of trouble? And I thought you were going to be watching Travis, to keep him out of trouble?”

  “I’m sorry, Janice, but I had a long day, and I was bone tired when I got back to the hotel! But at least I know where they went. We are having a great time though.”

  “Oh yeah! It sounds like Travis and Drew are having a ball!”

  “I’m sorry you think I have let you down, Janice, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Is there anything you want me to tell Travis?”

  “Yes! Tell him to call home immediately, no matter what time he gets in! I will be waiting by the phone!”

  “I’ll leave a note beside the phone, in case I’m asleep when he gets back in.”

  “Thank you.” She hung up without even saying good bye. Rebecca was almost afraid to ask.

  “So he wasn’t in his room, huh? Is there something wrong?”

  “Wrong? What could possibly be wrong? I could be facing homicide and arson charges, and I call my husband, to get advice, and find out that he is gone out to a bar somewhere, and that my oldest son is gone bar-hopping with a group of college girls! No, what could possibly be wrong?”

  “But you left word for him to call you back, so he should be in soon.”

  “Yes, unless he gets drunk, and carried home with some British floozy! I’m sorry. You didn’t hear me say that. But when your Dad gets drunk, he could wake up anywhere, and it’s never his fault!”

  “Does he get drunk often?”

  “No, very seldom, in fact. But I just hate not knowing what’s going on! I called him up to get advice, and to get reassurance and comfort, and what do I get instead? Worries stacked on top worries! I would have been better off not to call him!”

  “I’m sorry I suggested it. So what are you going to do now?”

  “I’m going to sit right here and wait on that phone to ring, if it takes all night!”

  “So you are not going to call the police and tell what you know?”

  “That’s right. I don’t want Travis to say later that I should have talked to him first. Where are the boys?”

  “In the garage working on their play costumes.”

  “Go tell them that their supper is getting cold!”

  * * *

  The boys were preparing Lazarus’ funeral wrap, by tearing up old sheets and wrapping Chris like a mummy. Joey and Calvin were doing the wrapping, while their friend Cory was testing the color of the red water colors they would put on the mummy wrap after the church play, and before they went on their ‘wild ride’ around the county.

  “This don’t really look like blood. It’s too light.”

  “Add a little blue,” Joey suggested, “Not much, and it ought to look a lot more like blood.”

  Calvin asked, “So the three of us will be riding in the cab, and Chris will stay in the casket the whole time?”

  “Yeah, that’s the plan. He needs to stay in the casket so he’ll be ready all the time, in case we see a group of kids we want to scare.”

  “What kids?” Chris asked. “Everybody’s probably going to be at the Presbyterian Retreat down on the river! Everybody but us! We’ve got to put on this stupid play, while they’re down there having fun!”

  “All the more reason why we’re doing this!” Joey said. “If we can’t be down at the river, we can at least have fun on our terms! Cory’s got use of his Dad’s truck, and we’ve got a casket! What else do we need?”

  “We need someone else to be the dead man!” Chris said. “I don’t know if I can lay in that thing with the lid shut while Cory is driving! I’m likely to be killed!”

  “Well at least you’ll already be on a casket!” Calvin piped.

  “Being in there is probably the safest place to be, if we wreck,” Cory said. “You have the added protection of the padded casket! Ask yourself this question: Have I ever heard of anyone being killed in a casket?”

  “That’s a dumb question!”

  “You’ve got to be the dead man, Chris! You look the part! You look like death warmed over already!”

  “Thanks a lot, Bro!”

  “This is going to be so cool!” Cory said. “We’re going to scare the crap out of a lot of people! The chicks are going to be so scared! And when chicks get scared, they want a big hug! I plan to be right there to give them a hug!”

  “Yuck!” Calvin said. What’s so great about that?”

  “Somebody is coming.”

  “Is it Mom?’

  “No, it’s Rebecca.”

  “What are you guys doing out here?”

  “Getting ready for the play. Did Mom send you?”

  “Yes, she said to come eat, before supper gets cold.”

  “We’re almost done.” Joey said. “Heard anything more about Mr. Deason?”

  “Yes, they just had something on the news. They have not identified the body yet, but it’s probably Mr. Deason.”

  “Wow. I wonder what happened? He wasn’t so old that he couldn’t get out in time. He might have had a heart attack or something.”

  Rebecca wasn’t going to repeat what she had just heard from Janice, so she echoed this thought. “The news said he was found in the kitchen area, so he might have been cooking something, and had a heart attack. It is plausible that a grease fire could burn the house down.

  “As bad as the house was burned, he was probably a crispy critter when they found him.”

  “Speaking of crispy critters, Mom has fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans for supper. First ones there gets the breasts!”

  Chris was the last one to leave the garage, because he had to unwrap himself from the shredded sheets. I’ll probably be left with the neck and thigh, Chris thought, as he got himself untangled.

  * * *

  Penelope heard the news report as well, when she was dropped off at Vance’s house. Still dressed in her bloody clothes, she almost panicked when she heard that they had found a body there. She knew it was her Dad, because she had killed him, but she was hoping that the fire would burn him up completely, if that was even possible. She wondered if the knife was still in his chest, when they found him. Of course, why wouldn’t it be? She tried to pull it out, but she had shoved it so deep, that the hilt edge of the large blade caught under a rib, and she couldn’t pull it out, so she left it there.

  Of course, it was self defense. She drew the knife out of a counter-top holder, and threatened to kill him, if he came any closer, but he wasn’t even afraid of her! He kept walking closer and closer, and telling her that she couldn’t kill him, because he loved her, and wanted to take care of her! Here, put the knife down, Penny, and give your Dad a big hug! I’m so glad you came back home to me! It’ll be just like old times! Just you and me! I promise I won’t hurt you! I love you too much to . . .

  That was as far as he got. She growled like a wild animal, . . . an animal cornered and threatened with certain death. She screamed out some unidentifiable profanity, and lunged at him, forcing the knife blade so deep into his chest, that only the handle could be seen.

  Her Dad was frozen with shock, that she had actually stabbed him. It was a deadly strike, right through the heart. His clawed hands gripped her shoulders, not in anger, but in death. She felt his fingers trembling as he sank to his knees, his eyes still wide open, in a glassy, unseeing gaze. He was trying to say something, but his mouth would not form the words, as blood filled his left lung. He doesn’t deserve any last words, she thought, as he gurgled grunted his last
seconds of life away. She tried to withdraw the knife, to plunge it into him again, and again, and again, just like he used to repeatedly plunge his awful member into her body, again, and again, and again, but the blade would not come out. She released the knife handle and stepped back, to allow him to sink to his knees, then fall face-down in the floor. Falling on the knife handle only drove the blade deeper, and caused the point to protrude from his back. “Die, you filthy bastard! Die!” He had no choice but to obey her.

  He was dead.

  Finally, he was dead!

  That awful man, whose face was the face on every monster, in every nightmare she had suffered through, for the past 30 years of her life, was finally dead! She felt like she had slain a vicious dragon, a demon possessed dragon that molested and raped little girls, and impregnated them with seeds from the Devil himself! She couldn’t believe that he was really dead. That someone so evil could even be killed! Nor could she believe that she had killed him! She was horrified, yet elated! And it was so easy! She should have mustered up the courage to do this 30 years ago, and she could have freed herself then, and saved herself from what seemed like an eternity of tortured existence.

  This moment was sweet. So sweet, that she just stood there and watched in fascination, as the dark red blood pool widened and spread across the kitchen linoleum. She smiled, and said the words audibly, so that she could savor them with all her senses. “You sorry bastard! You are dead, and I, Penny, your ‘precious little girl’, have killed you! May you burn in Hell forever!” She kicked him in the head, but he didn’t feel it.

  Realizing that she was covered with blood, she went to the kitchen sink to wash it off her hands and arms. As she washed, she turned and gazed at the body of her father, just to be sure he didn’t rise up and come after her, the way monsters in the movies did. But Bob Deason was not getting up. He was as dead as a wedge. Her blouse was also soaked red. That would never do. She knew she had to get out of here, if Janice was still out there waiting for her. She went to her old room and grabbed the first bulky thing she saw in the closet, which was her old brown jacket from her High School days. That would cover her bloody blouse. She grabbed her family Bible to leave, but she had one more thought, to destroy the evidence that she had been here.