Hot Southern Nights

by Gen Griffin

  “Fuck you,” David said as he walked out the front door and slammed it shut behind him.

  Chapter 33

  `“Son, don't take this the wrong way but I'm starting to think you might just not be cut out for this line of work.” Sheriff Frank Chasson was looking directly at Kerry as he turned his truck back onto the highway that would lead them to Possum Creek.

  “This isn't my fault. David punched me and dislocated my lower jaw. ” Kerry spoke each syllable as if it were painful. “Doctor said it'll heal on its own without surgery.”

  “He tell you to take some time off?” Frank asked.

  “He recommended it,” Kerry admitted. “But he didn't order it. He said it was my choice. I don't want to take any time off.”

  “Kerry, I think you need to take a couple of weeks off. Leave Possum Creek in the rear view mirror. Go find a beach somewhere, drop a line in the water and think about what it is you really want from your life.” The Sheriff frowned at Kerry. “You're a bright young man. You could go somewhere else and make a whole lot better money with a whole lot less bloodshed. Go back to law school. I don't enjoy seeing you get beat up all the time. You need to think about what you want. Decide if keeping the badge is worth the price you're paying to keep it.”

  “I want justice.” Kerry had been considering turning in his badge right up until the Sheriff had suggested it to him. Now he didn't have to think twice about what it was he wanted. “I want justice for every single person living in Callahan County. I want fairness. Equality. I want every person to matter and every crime prosecuted.”

  “We ain't living in no fairy tale. I understand your goals, but you worry me. I come to the hospital every single time one of my officers is admitted while on duty. Every time. In the last 12 years, I've had to come down here four times for Mooney, three for Addison, never for Ian and eight times for you. Eight times in six months, Kerry. That ain't counting your breathing problems.”

  “My breathing problems are Addison's fault. You told me you'd make him stop smoking in the station.”

  “He's not smoking in the station.” Sheriff Chasson gave his mustache a tug.

  “He put the designated smoking area directly on the other side of the air vent that leads to my office. All of his smoke gets sucked right in and blown out on my desk.”

  The Sheriff let out a loud sigh. “I think you're missing my point. We're police officers, Kerry. This isn't elementary school and I sure as shit ain't a guidance counselor. I have better things to do with our tax payers money than spend my days mediating your childish fights with Addison. And before you say anything, the answer is yes. I'm fully aware that Addison starts shit with you, but you're not exactly an innocent bystander. When I hired you, I assumed you boys had more or less worked your differences out during that whole debacle with Perkins. I thought y'all would be able to maintain a civilized working relationship. Instead, you're burying my desk in paperwork complaining about Addy and one of these days he's going to knock the rest of your teeth down your throat. Or have David do it for him.”

  “You didn't arrest David.” Kerry couldn't hide the bitterness in his own voice.

  “No. I didn't. You had been taken off active duty and you showed up at a crime scene anyway. You accused him of murder without any evidence. You really want me to file a report that details what happened today?”

  “I don't see how making David play by the rules could possibly make my own situation worse.” Kerry crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his head against the truck's window. Sheriff Chasson had chosen to transport Kerry up in his personal vehicle, as usual.

  “You ain't got no people skills, Kerry.” The Sheriff let out a frustrated huff and picked up his coffee mug out of the cup holder. “If you're going to be a successful police officer, you have to treat your fellow officers as if they were your very best friends. You've got to treat them like you would your own favorite brother. You have to treat the citizens like they're your family.”

  “No thanks.” Kerry shook his head.

  “You just don't seem to understand the unnecessary risk you're putting yourself at. Your fellow officers are all that stands between you and the criminals. No one is going to rush to your side when you need back up if the guys who are supposed to be your back up hate your guts. You should know that better than anyone. If Ian and Addison hadn't gone after you when Perkins took you captive, where would you be right now?”

  “I'd like to think I would have escaped eventually on my own.” Kerry struggled to protect the mangled shreds of his own dignity.

  “I think Perkins would have blown your brains out,” Sheriff Chasson told him bluntly.

  “Then we're going to have to agree to disagree,” Kerry replied.

  “How many times you think Ian has been punched in the face since he got hired?” The Sheriff switched tactics.

  “None.” Kerry already knew the answer to the question.

  “Why do you think that is?”

  “Probably has something to do with being married to our primary dispatcher. Ian gets all the easy calls. Katie won't send him into anywhere nasty by himself.” Kerry hadn't lodged a formal complaint against the unfairness of Katie's dispatching arrangement, but he planned on doing it shortly.

  “That ain't true,” Sheriff Chasson said bluntly. “Ian gets just as many nasty calls as you do.”

  “No. He doesn't,” Kerry argued. “Ian is Katie's favorite, followed by Addison. She always sends me into the nasty situations and sends them to deal with the kitty cats that are stuck in trees.”

  “Calls are assigned based on location and availability,” Sheriff Chasson argued.

  “Sure they are.” Kerry had a splitting headache and his conversation with Frank Chasson was only making it worse. “Ian just never happens to be nearby or available when a call comes in from the Happyville Trailer Park. I think he's had to go down there twice since he was hired. I get sent down there twice a week, if not more.”

  “I'll look into it,” Sheriff Chasson said with a sigh. Kerry knew the Sheriff didn't believe him but he was so tired he was past caring. No one in Possum Creek ever believed him.

  “Good,” Kerry said. “In the meantime, you should know that I do not want to go on vacation. I'm not leaving this job voluntarily. I'm going to get my justice. I'm going to make every criminal in Possum Creek pay the price for their crimes. I'm not going to rest until that happens.”

  Sheriff Chasson scowled but he didn't say another word for the rest of the drive.

  Chapter 34

  “Tell me you brought more beer?” Cal said as Addison came walking down the trail that separated the house from the creek.

  “I did, but I’m not sure I really want to share it with you.” Addy held up a case of bottled beer.

  “Consider it your price of admission,” Cal replied. He was sitting on the porch of the houseboat with a couple of fishing poles propped in holders beside him. “And dinner. I've caught four catfish so far.”

  “I'd have rather had brim.” Addison toted the beer into the houseboat and presumably put them in the fridge. He re-emerged a moment later, shirtless and looking like every girl's wet dream in a pair of blue swim trunks.

  Trish squinted at Addison through her halfway open eyes and decided he was worth waking up for. She'd been dozing in and out of sleep for the last two hours or so. The afternoon sunshine felt good on her bare skin. Addison's bare, golden chest felt good on her eyes. She sighed and reached for the margarita pitcher that Gracie had settled down in the sand between them.

  “This is nice,” she muttered.

  “Isn't it though?” Gracie asked. She was stretched out on the second chaise lounge with her blonde hair pulled up into a sloppy bun. “Pour me one too.”

  Trish refilled both plastic cups and passed Gracie's to her.

  “Whatcha got?” Addy asked as he walked over to them.

  “Margaritas. But you can only have one if you're a good boy,” Trish said.

  “I'
m always a good boy,” Addison smirked. “Except when I'm bad. When I'm bad, I'm really bad.”

  “Which would be most of the time,” Trish said.

  “Some of the time.”

  “All the time,” Cal commented as he reeled in another fish.

  “Its a talent,” Addison replied. He ran one hand through his golden blonde curls, posing just enough to make it clear that he was posing. “You ladies shouldn't just appreciate me for my looks. I also have a brilliant mind-Ouch! Hey. Dammit. That hurt.” Addison stared down at the projectile that had just hit him. It was a small pine cone. “Do you mind?”

  “Just trying to make sure your ego stays on this planet with the rest of us,” Gracie smirked at him. She held up a second pine cone.

  “It would have been nice if you'd shown up about four hours ago,” Cal said to Addison. “We could have gotten the rest of the sheet rock up inside the house.”

  “Sorry. I had to deal with David's latest corpse.” Addison opened a beer.

  “You learn anything?” Cal asked.

  “Not really. Body has been taken to the lab in Baker County for DNA testing.” Addison shrugged. “Kerry showed up and made an ass out of himself. David knocked a couple more of his teeth loose and now Frank's stuck sitting in the ER with him. Again.”

  “Not surprised.” Cal unhooked the fish from the line.

  “Speaking of David, where is he?” Gracie asked. Trish had wanted to ask but she hadn't wanted to seem nosy or demanding.

  “I have no idea,” Addison said. “Last I saw him, he was headed for his shop. He said he was going to swap out the wrecker for the Harley and then go talk to Trish. But Trish is here.”

  “Oh, crud.” Trish frowned. “I didn't tell him where I was going.”

  “You couldn't tell him where you were going. He broke his phone again.” Cal tossed the fish into the cooler, where it joined the others he'd caught. “Don't worry. He'll figure out where you went.”

  “It wouldn't hurt him to spend a little time cooling down,” Addison added with a grimace. “He was in a really shitty mood when we left his place.”

  “Can't blame him,” Gracie said. “I mean, no one was expecting a dead body to turn up in the rubble of his house.”

  “True.” Addison set his beer to the side. “I ain't got no idea who it is. Neither does David. That's never a good sign.”

  “I heard that Kerry thinks its Casey.”

  “Ron Kahl dug up a pet cemetery in his back yard last week. Kerry thought those remains were Casey too. Turned out to be six hamsters, 3 cats and a pit bull named Frank, according to the collar.” Addison shrugged his shoulders. He opened his mouth to say something else but a small, hugely pregnant girl appeared on the trail behind him before he could speak.

  “Addy, come help me.” She was trying to inch her way down the root-covered embankment while carrying a massive quilted beach bag and two large food containers. “I heard we were having a cook out, so I made potato salad and a fresh strawberry shortcake, but I can't seem to carry anything without dropping it these days.”

  “Katie!” Gracie went bounding over the girl with Addison on her heels. “I didn't know you were coming.

  “Me neither.” Katie made a face and held out her hands to Addison. “Take this stuff before I fall on my face. Y'all don't even know how glad I'll be when this baby is finally born.”

  Addison took the bags and bowls from her and then immediately passed them to Gracie. He reached out and took Katie's hands in his own, pulling her to him. She leaned against him for a moment and then rubbed her tummy.

  “I thought you were supposed to be staying home in bed until you had the baby,” he said.

  “I am, but this is home too, right?” She smiled towards spring and houseboat. “Ian and I were supposed to be finishing the nursery today but he wound up having to cover Kerry’s shift since the Sheriff had to take Kerry to the ER.”

  “Ah crap. I hadn’t thought about that,” Addison grumbled. “Guess we'll all be working doubles for the next three weeks. We don’t have enough officers on the road as is.”

  “I don’t know what Frank’s going to do. Ian isn’t going to want to work doubles once Hannah Mae is here,” Katie said. She patted her tummy again, pouting at Addison. “He has to be able to get at least a week off work after I have her. Doctor Mills thinks I may have to have a c-section. The baby is supposed to be head down by this point in my pregnancy but she hasn’t turned yet.”

  “Frank’s going to make sure Ian has off. You know he treats Ian like he were his own son.” Addison picked up the bowl of potato salad and began inspecting its contents. “I’m hoping Frank has finally had enough of Kerry’s crap. If losing his cruiser ain’t a decent excuse to fire his ass, what is?”

  “If you ask me, Kerry should never have been hired,” Gracie chimed in.

  “Well, the good news is that Kerry is currently only allowed to work cold cases. He’s not going to be able to cause half as much trouble if he’s only allowed to work cases that are more than two years old,” Katie said. “The bad news is that Ian just got given every single one of his patrol shifts for this week. I’m hardly going to get to see him and there’s no way he’s going to have time to finish the nursery.”

  “I’ll finish the nursery for you,” Addison said. “I’m off tomorrow.”

  “Are you really?” Katie positively beamed at him. “You don’t mind?”

  “You know I’ll do anything for you.” Addy wrapped one arm back around her shoulders. She was more than a foot shorter than he was. “I’m not about to let you try and finish that nursery. You shouldn’t even be walking around right now.”

  “I wasn't planning on going anywhere today, but I decided I needed to get out of the house before I lost my mind. I didn’t want to spend all day today sitting alone at our house staring at my tummy and wishing I'd go into labor already.” Katie smiled at them. “I didn't figure y'all would mind having an extra dinner guest.”

  “You know you're always welcome,” Cal told her. “Besides, you make better potato salad than my Momma, and that is saying something.”

  Katie laughed. “You flatter me.”

  “Naw.” Addison shook his head at her. “We always tell the truth when it comes to you. By the way, have you met Trish yet?”

  “Who?” Katie asked.

  Addison gestured to Trish. “Trish, meet Katie. Katie, this is David's new girlfriend.”

  Katie blinked at Addison with obvious surprise and then turned to Trish. “David's got a girlfriend?”

  “Sort of,” Trish admitted with a shrug. “It's complicated.”

  “It's David,” Katie pointed out with a smile.

  “Valid point.”

  Addison laughed. “He's already proposed. She met him last night.”

  “You're kidding?” Katie asked.

  “Nope.” Addy shook his head, seeming highly amused.

  Katie considered for a minute and then shrugged. She turned to face Trish with a pretty smile on her lips. “When is the wedding?”

  “I haven't accepted yet,” Trish said.

  “Oh.” Katie said. “Well, he's a good guy.”

  Trish smiled and nodded, feeling awkward.

  “You swimming?” Addison asked Katie.

  “I will if you go back up to the truck and get my suit for me. I brought it with me because we always wind up in the water when we come out here. I guess I should have just worn it under my dress but I'm so darn hot I didn't want to add an extra layer and then wind up not needing it.” She pulled at the neckline of her maternity maxi dress. “I’m so ready to be back in my normal clothes.”

  “I’ll go get your suit.” Addison turned and jogged back up the creek bank, heading back up the hill to where the vehicles were parked.

  Katie watched him go with a small smile. “I love watching that boy leave.”

  Trish laughed.

  Gracie rolled her eyes. “Ewww. I can't look at him that way. Don't put those thoughts into
my head.”

  “Sorry.” Katie didn't look or sound sorry. “You know that lusting after your brother is one of my favorite pastimes.”

  “You're married,” Gracie reminded her.

  “I didn't say I was going to do anything with him,” Katie pointed out. “Its like when we go to Beauton and walk through all those fancy little boutiques downtown. Can't afford anything but it's still fun to look.”

  “You're window shopping my brother.”

  “Precisely,” Katie replied with a small frown. “He's the only thing I get to window shop for these days. God knows I'm not going to find any cute clothing that fits. Nothing fits me right now. Nothing. Not even the maternity clothes. I feel like crap and I look worse.”

  “But you’re so little,” Gracie said to her. “You’re cute pregnant.”

  “I’m five feet tall and built like a feather duster. My belly looks like the prize watermelon from the county fair. I have horrible, horrible bright red stretch marks. Stretch marks that y’all are all about to see because I’m so hugely pregnant that my stupid maternity suit doesn’t even fit me anymore,” Katie pouted at them, looking genuinely miserable. “ If y’all didn’t own this entire part of the creek, I wouldn’t be brave enough to be seen in public in a swimsuit right now.”

  “Don’t be silly, Katie. You’re beautiful and you’ve always been beautiful.” Gracie went to the other girl and wrapped her arms around Katie’s shoulders in a hug.

  Much to their surprise, Katie started to cry. “I know I’m supposed to be happy but I absolutely hate how I feel right now. Everyone says pregnancy makes women more beautiful but I’m miserable. My back, legs and hips are killing me. My skin is a hot mess of acne. I didn’t break out this bad in middle school. My feet are so swollen that I can’t wear any shoes except for flip flops because none of them fit. My hands are so swollen that I’m having to wear a fake $10 set of wedding rings right now because my real ones don’t fit over my fingers. It would be all right except the stupid things are turning my fingers green.” She held up her left hand to display her undeniably green fourth finger.