See, I didn’t peek at’cha none.” He smiled. “The name’s Tommy.”
“Since you’re still here, ya wanna talk for a spell?” She bit her bottom lip, like her older brother commanded her to do while he raped her. He said it reminded him of Greta Garbo when she did it. “Do ya think I’m pretty?”
“You look like Clara Bow,” he muttered. “You got her eyes...and her shape.”
Beth Ann disguised her nervous swallow by tilting her head. She squeezed one of her small breasts, palmed the knife, and held it behind her. He walked up to her, transfixed on her chest and the nimble way her fingers caressed it. She opened the knife, readied the blade, and waited for him to make his move.
She remembered how she killed her father, slitting his throat while he was inside her. The blood poured over her face and into her mouth, making Beth Ann retch over the side of her bed before pushing him off. He fell prone to the wooden floor, clutching his throat while his nose dug into the blood and vomit. She collected herself and went to her older brother’s bedroom. She took a hunting knife from his nightstand, the one he threatened her with while molesting her, and plunged it into his heart. Before he could utter a word, Beth Ann sliced his neck with her switchblade. After hawking up the bile that rose in her throat, she stole into her younger brother’s room. Of the three men in her life, he had treated her tenderly during his assault. Beth Ann stood by his bed, shed a solitary tear, and positioned the hunting knife over his left eye. She clutched the end, closed her eyes, and slammed the blade into the socket. Her brother lurched up, twisted his body, and fell sideways on his pillow. She fell to her knees and started to cry. Beth Ann took a long hot shower to clean up, gathered her things, and stopped by her mother’s garden. There, she knelt and asked God to forgive her of her sins. By the time she reached the main road, Beth Ann could tell the Creator was content to ignore her pleas – like he always did.
She stiffened when Tommy embraced her. While he tried to kiss her, his hands dug into her still sore bottom, making her clutch the stranger from the pain coursing through her. When he laughed at her cry, apparently thinking she approved of his actions, Beth Ann shoved him away and smiled. She maneuvered his body away from her, huddling against his back while massaging his crotch. When Tommy relaxed and began to moan, she stood on her tip-toes, readied the blade, and slashed him while a primal grunt left her clenched lips. She pushed him to the ground, straddled his waist, and slammed his head repeatedly into the rocky earth. Beth Ann caught her breath while his struggles waned, climbed off his body, and grabbed her bag before racing to the car.
* * *
Elijah pulled out his wallet and took a five out. When he silently gave it to the man, the shopkeeper gave him a cautious glance.
“You from around these parts?”
“Here and there,” Elijah replied. “I’m a traveling salesman around the state. Never spend too much time in one place, but I call Akron my home.”
“Do tell,” the owner said. “I just got done talkin’ to a deputy before ya got here. He said there was some trouble down the road over in Challis.” His bushy white eyebrows went together. “You been travelin’ over that way?”
“I camped out there a month or so ago,” Elijah replied, keeping his tone pleasant. “Reckon I passed by it last night durin’ the rain, but I didn’t stop. Why ya asking?”
“Oh, no reason,” the man said. “Deputy said to watch out for any suspicious people. ‘Specially since three people in Challis got their throats slit last night.”
“My Lord.” Elijah winced while he kept him stare aimed at the owner. “That’s some sorrowful news. I’ll be sure to pray for the poor people involved in the deadly matter.” He released a pent-up breath. “Did you happen to catch their names?”
“Deputy didn’t throw out none, said it was a preacher and his two sons.” The man twisted his mouth before adding, “I reckon that ain’t the worst part of it either.”
Elijah stroked his five o’clock shadow. “Can’t get much worse than that, can it?”
“Ahyah, it can,” the shopkeeper replied, leaning forward to impart the information like a secret revelation. “Looks like the killer done took off with the man’s daughter. The law can’t find a trace of her.”
Oh no. What have you got yourself into Eli? He nodded. “Well, I’ll put the little girl in my prayers too, Sir.” Elijah picked up the bag and nodded. “You have a blessed day, you hear?”
“That I will,” the man said, walking back to his stool and newspaper. “Drive careful.”
Elijah forced himself to walk slowly to the exit. He grimaced while watching Beth Ann race to his car, climb in, and hurriedly shut the door like hellhounds were pursuing her. He walked up to the Roundabout, glanced at the side of the building, and opened the door. After putting the groceries into his seat, Elijah looked back again before turning to his passenger. She looked at the road, her body visibly trembling. One hand fiddled with her knapsack while the other hid in her jeans pocket. He could see red flecks dotting her hand, chin, and the green-colored bag.
“Could you look at me, Mouse?”
She clenched her mouth, muttered something under her breath, and faced him. Her green eyes seemed to plead with him. Despite the splash of blood adorning her left cheek, he twisted his mouth and nodded.
“You from Challis, ain’tcha?”
She swallowed. “Yes Sir.”
“That true about your daddy and brothers being mean to you?”
A tear left her eye, falling onto the front of a dry plaid shirt that seemed two sizes too big for her. Her silent mouth pulled tight before she turned to the road again.
“Did that boy who pumped gas mess with you?”
“He tried,” she said in a flat tone that chilled his soul. “I stopped him.”
Elijah sighed, reached into his back seat, and pulled out a knife from the bundle he had tossed back there earlier. He slipped it into the belt of his pants and smiled at her. “I forgot to get you some candy, Mouse. You like licorice?”
She looked over her shoulder as a small grin cracked her stoic exterior. “I sure do.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He turned to look both ways down the empty road. “If someone pulls in, honk the horn a coupla times.”
He left his car and walked back to the store, reminding himself of his vow never again do what he knew had to be done. Once inside the building he waved genially at the old man and casually took a long stare around the place.
“You look like you forgot something, Suh,” the owner said. “What’cha need?”
“Some licorice,” Elijah replied, addressing the man in a comforting tone. “And one other thing I’ve truly missed the taste of.”
The old man left his perch and opened a glass case where he kept the candy. Elijah crept past the counter and behind the shopkeeper. When the man raised his head, Elijah heard a short gasp before he shoved the man’s head into the counter. Elijah pulled his head up by his gray hair, positioned the knife under his neck, and slashed it with a savage grunt. He took a moment to watch the blood fill up the case, grabbed a handful of the licorice before it became tainted by the scarlet fluid, and helped himself to the money in the cash register. He stared at the body of the owner again and licked the blood off the blade.
“Just so you know. You’re the first kill I’ve had in a long time, Sir.” He chuckled. “If it’s any consolation, you were one of my easiest.” He walked to the door and gazed out at the empty lot and the frightened face of Beth Ann. Now I have to decide what to do with you, Mouse.
* * *
Beth Ann Cooper put the last bite of the second cheese sandwich into her mouth. She chewed it twenty times like her mother had told her, and washed it down with a swig of her drink. She stared at Elijah eating his food, his stare focused on the road ahead. She recalled the first act he performed when he returned to the car had been to run his hand over the perspiration soaked bottle. Then, he reached over, gently dabbed his fingers on
her cheek and wiped off the blood with a handkerchief he produced from a coat pocket. Their eyes had locked during the chore. He didn’t give her the look she grew to hate from her father. Elijah’s gray eyes were kinder; the way Beth Ann’s mother used to look at her. He slid in, started the engine, and peeled away from the store. After several silent miles went by, he asked her to make them a sandwich if she wouldn’t mind. She didn’t.
“Need me to make ya another one, Katt?”
“Nope, this’ll do it for me, Mouse.” He paused to smile at her before looking ahead. “Feel free to make you one more if you’re still hungry. You got a lot of growing up to do in the future, plus you’re skin and bones.”
Beth Ann nodded and eagerly took out two more pieces of bread and slices of cheese. She scrunched up the end of the bag and placed it in the space between them. She took a small bite and chewed, closing her eyes while she savored the sharp taste of the cheddar. She sent it down her throat, and studied Elijah’s left hand before staring at him.
“You’re married, ain’tcha? You got any kids?” She noticed his expression changed for the worse and instantly regretted asking him anything. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to explain nothing to me, Katt.”
“No.” He pushed out the word like it pained him. “We’re friends, so I don’t mind.”
Elijah raised his bottle to his lips and chugged down half before replacing it in his lap. He used his sleeve to wipe off his mouth off and expelled a soft burp. “Excuse me,” he said, giving her an impish wink. “Proper etiquette demands you should only do that in the presence of your family and friends.”
“That’s okay,” she replied. “We’re friends.”
“Yes we are, Mouse.”
While he adjusted his bottom in the seat, a tight grimace replaced his solemn smile. Beth Ann began to eat her sandwich again, assuming the question about his family would go unanswered. Seconds later, he provided her with the sad details of his previous life.
“I was married to Patience for fifteen years. Met her in church when I was twenty-six and thought she looked like one of the angels they have in the picture books. She had long blonde hair like spun gold, a face that radiated innocence and caring.” He paused to put a sad smile back on. “And a smile that never left her lips.” He chuckled. “Not being a fool, I courted her for a spell and we got ourselves hitched.”
He stopped at an intersection and waited to let a sputtering red Model-T pass him, then continued with his story.
“We tried like heck to have a child, but three early miscarriages kinda let us know God wasn’t in favor of us having one on our own. We took in a neighbor’s ten-year-old boy when the daddy went to California to get a job. Eight years later, after not hearing a peep from the man, the boy left on his own and never even told us goodbye.”
“That was mean,” Beth Ann murmured. “He didn’t even leave ya a note?”
Elijah shook his head. “Hurt my Patience awful bad. She doted on that boy like he was her own. Heck, we both made sacrifices in order to give him things he wanted; a bike, new shoes, those movie star periodicals that weren’t nothing but gossip.”
“I seen one at the general store, Katt,” she replied. “Just made me jealous of ‘em.”
“Yup,” he agreed. “Anyhow, a few months later, Patience found herself expecting again. This time we thought it was meant to be because she made it through seven months without a worry. Doctor said she was fine, the baby was kicking like crazy and,” he stopped to clear his throat. “Patience was the happiest I ever saw her.”
Elijah reached down, grabbed the bottle, and drained it before tossing the empty into the floor of the back seat. Beth Ann watched him release a long sigh, roll his neck, and resume his tale.
“I left to go to Des Moines for a few days. Worked my butt off and sold seven sewing machines during that time. I called her before I started home, telling her we were gonna hit the five and dime to buy a crib and some baby clothes with the money.” He grinned. “She wasn’t worried about that, just told me just to hurry on home because they missed me.” He turned his head to look out his window before choking out, “They...missed me.”
Her throat tightened up as Elijah sent his sleeve up to his eyes; wiping away the tears he tried his best to keep hidden from her. She reached out to squeeze his arm, agonizing at the tortured grunt that left his mouth.
“I got home a day later and found her in the kitchen. Blood...was everywhere.”
“Oh no, Katt,” she moaned.
“I took her five miles to the doctor’s house. The baby was dead, but Patience was still alive. He worked on her but...she was too far gone. She passed...without ever...waking up.” Beth Ann jumped when he slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “Patience found me when I was at my lowest. I’d done some awful things in the past and she...her love kept me from…doing ‘em anymore.” He sniffed. “I felt...felt like a part of me...died with her... died with them...that day.
“You musta really loved her,” Beth Ann said. “I feel the same way, with my momma dying of the fever and all.” She paused to stare out at the passing cornfield. “Sometimes I wished I’d died with her.”
“Don’t you go talking like that there, Mouse. Believe it or not, you’ll go on with your life.” He scratched his stubbly chin for a moment. “I reckon I did.”
Their conversation went silent for more than ten miles, the only sounds being the soft throbbing of the engine and a flock of noisy geese flying above them in a V-formation. Beth Ann reached down to the bag, opened it, and pulled out two strings of licorice. After offering one to Elijah, which he accepted with a smile, the two ate the treat while the countryside flew by them at a brisk pace. She swallowed the last of her drink, put the empty bottle beside her feet and turned her gaze to Elijah.
“You said you used to do bad things before you met your wife.”
“I did,” he replied softly. “Nothing I’d like to admit.”
“I’ve done...some bad things too.” She wrenched her mouth to one side. “Real bad.”
Elijah reached out his hand, palm up, and left it there until she took it. Still staring at the road, he squeezed it gently and nodded his head. “Then it’s in the past as far as I’m concerned, Mouse. You’re about to start a new life with your aunt in ‘Frisco.” He clutched her hand. “Don’t think any less of yourself for doing something you thought you had to.”
“I’m afraid I lied to you about that.” Beth Ann’s voice lowered to a fragile whisper.
“I ain’t got no aunt there. I’m...I’m all by myself now.”
“Now, how in tarnation are you supposed to get by, Mouse?” Elijah replied. “How much money do you have?”
“Ain’t much.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “I only got three dollars.”
Elijah glanced at her in disbelief. “And no relatives to stay with?”
“Not a one,” she moaned in defeat. “I was hopin’ to get a job as a housekeeper in the city. I can sew stuff too.”
She watched him from the corner of her eye, taking his grimace to mean he was furious at her. She flinched when he gently took her hand and guided it to his mouth, giving it a chaste kiss before he brought it down and placed it on her leg.
“Beth Ann, this might sound like something naughty, but.” He stopped to bite his lip. “I can’t promise a life with me wouldn’t have its bad spots, but maybe you could stick around and let me take care of you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Take care of me...how?”
“Like a daughter, I reckon.” Elijah exhaled tersely. “The child that died with Patience was a girl. Ever since that day I wondered what it’d be like to have a little girl. To buy her dresses, or learn how to braid her hair.” A tear rolled down his cheek and melted into his shirt. “Maybe God put us together for a reason.” He slowed down to smile at her. “Of course, it’s up to you. It’s just a thought.”
“Like a daughter,” she repeated. “Not any other ways...right?”
&nbs
p; He sighed, hard. She assumed it stemmed from the suspicious tone nestled in her reply.
“You’re a sweet girl who needs a real daddy.” He paused for a few moments. “Not someone who treats you like a woman...and not one who’s mean to you, Beth Ann.”
“You’d do that for...me?” She choked out her last word.
“If that’s what you want?”
“But, you don’t even know me,” she replied, hoping he was on the level with her. “I’m...I’m...not a good person.”
He reached out and took her hand again. “You did what you had to do to stop them from messing with you. If you hurt God’s creatures long enough, even a mouse, don’t expect them not to draw blood when they bite ya.”
“I could stay with you,” she replied softly, lifting his hand to kiss it. “I think you’d be a dang good daddy, Katt.”
“Well, I think you’d be a swell daugh – ”
Beth Ann stared at Elijah, wondering why he stopped so abruptly. She saw the initial fear in his eyes turn to a grim determination and followed his stare to the road ahead. There, standing by a pair of black Model-T’s, were two policemen waving their arms around.
His voice rattled, “I’m thinking they’re looking for you, Mouse.”
Beth Ann swallowed while she pulled out her razor. “I’m not going to jail.”
She watched him take one of his carving knives from the bundle and held it beside the door while he came to a stop a few yards from the officers.
“There’s only two.” He smiled at her. “One each?”
She rolled down her window and waved at the lawmen, causing one to gravitate to her. “I guess we ain’t got much of a choice... Daddy.”
Broken Mirrors, Fractured Minds Page 11