Between setting her pen down and checking her next email, she paused when she heard something. She waited, holding her breath without realizing she wasn’t breathing as she listened. Then she heard it, a repetitive thumping noise. She smiled. The young couple who had taken over Charlie Baker’s old apartment were at it again. Those kids fucked like rabbits, she thought as she fought off the temptation to peer through the old peephole. Instead she clicked on the link Myrtle had emailed her.
The link titled Christmas Balls a Ringing was everything Myrtle said it would be and then some.
“Oh, my,” Agatha said, which she followed up with a gasp as she turned up the volume on her computer.
70
It took Sadie a while to get accustomed to prison life. It wasn’t quite what you saw in the movies, but it was still no picnic in there. The trick was to make the right friends. Things got a lot easier with the right friends having your back, especially for a small woman like Sadie Cross. Sadie sat on a bench, holding a rolled-up shirt in her lap while in a general population area, her new friends talking all around her while she barely heard a thing. She had a habit of retreating into her own mind and spending as much time as she could there. She’d stare off into the distance, daydreaming about being at the daycare again. Spending time with the kids was something she missed terribly.
Sometimes she dreamed of lying in Charlie Baker’s arms, usually after having sex, and that was better than being here with these women. Many of them were manlier than her dead husband had been. Not that Vernon had been a feminine homosexual. He was quite butch, considering. He’d been a handsome, burly man who’d loved her proper in the early days. The crazy part of it was that she missed him. She missed the time they spent together, watching movies or cooking for guests. Vernon had loved to entertain. God, how could she have been so stupid not to know very early on that Vernon was gay.
Sadie unravelled the shirt she had in her lap. From it she took a slab of foil- covered dark chocolate, exposed some of it, and took a generous bite. Her mind still wrapped up in her fantasies, she did this without even realizing she was being watched. She chewed slowly, savouring the chocolate as she thought about Charlie Baker. In her daydream, she felt Charlie tug on her arm as she was falling asleep. She smiled slightly, as she knew he wanted more. He wanted her again, she thought. Twice in one visit was normal for Charlie Baker, the pills made sure of that, but three times was odd she thought, but she smiled a coy little smile just the same. When she felt the tug on her arm again, she broke from her daydream to find Loraine, her six-foot-two butch friend, was trying to get her attention.
“Friend of yours?” Loraine asked as she gestured with a nod in the direction of a pretty blonde woman.
Sadie broke from her trance, still savouring her dark chocolate, and saw a slightly battered Trudy Wilkins standing not far in front of her. Trudy was staring directly at her when they made eye contact.
“You could say that,” Sadie replied.
Trudy scanned the other prisoners before approaching, as if she wanted to make sure it was safe.
Sadie could see Trudy had had it rough so far.
Trudy could see that Sadie, while she didn’t look happy, looked like she was doing pretty well. Sadie actually looked like she had gained a few pounds.
“Hey,” Trudy said in a meek voice, as if afraid of what would happen as a result.
Loraine tugged on Sadie’s arm to get her attention but Sadie kept eye contact with Trudy.
“Hey,” Sadie replied. “How’re you doing?”
Sadie wasn’t as meek as Trudy recalled. She had a serious look instead of that fake smile she often wore whenever they bumped into each other in Poplar Falls.
Trudy wasn’t as thin as she used to be, thought Sadie. Plus, the side of her face looked like it was recovering nicely, but still showed some slight bruising.
“I see you’re better at making friends in here than I am,” Trudy said.
“You can be my friend, too, sweet cheeks,” Loraine said.
“Eat me, you cow,” Trudy replied, surprised at her own sudden boldness.
“Sure,” Loraine replied with a smile and roaming eyes. “You want some dark chocolate, too in exchange for some honey, honey?”
“She’s good, too,” Sadie said with a blank-faced expression, taking another bite of her dark chocolate which Loraine did get her in exchange for sexual favours. Sadie shrugged and patted the seat next to her, inviting Trudy to join them.
Might as well, thought Trudy as she sat. It was better than being pushed around all the time.
71
Lucy Shaffer’s first tweet after coming out of her most recent stint in rehab was shared over a million times. It read as follows.
The television entertainment shows spoke of an upcoming movie where the comedian would play a woman whose life is forever altered by a sex tape that made its way onto the internet. The script would be loosely inspired by actual events but none of it would resemble anything that happened in Poplar Falls that summer. But the sex tape and the new movie would breathe new life into the career of the sassy comedian. Although her new manager advised against making this new film, Lucy would decide the best way to get past the scandal was to give people something else to talk about.
72
Calvin sat at his desk in his new office in the main building of the Magnolia Wellness and Rehabilitation Centre. The office was small and had no windows, but that was for the best. Fewer distractions that way, and Stella could keep a better eye on her new head of information technology. She had her reasons for wanting to keep him out of trouble and employed as well.
Calvin had moved in with her in the beginning of December, but they didn’t tell anyone at the centre, although Emma O’Brien already knew. She had her ways. But this secret she had kept, so far. Emma knew which secrets had to be kept. She also had a way of manipulating rumours when she needed to. That was one advantage of being the unofficial leader of the therapy group who called themselves the Naughty Knitters. Emma also didn’t tell anyone about Calvin’s new obsession. A dark-skinned busty woman named Stella Rubbin. And Stella had dirt on Calvin, too. She was the only person Calvin ever confessed to about leaking the Lucy Shaffer videos. Calvin hadn’t left a trace. The only trace would have been the money, had he gotten paid like he was supposed to. The money was to pay off some bills he was behind on. But being stiffed in a deal like that wasn’t exactly something he could go to the cops about. Which had left him stressed out again, but Stella had helped him forget about the money. She had ways of making Calvin forget a lot of things, such as his addiction to pornography.
Calvin hadn’t watched any since that day in Stella’s office. The day she taught him things about human sexuality that pornography couldn’t. Calvin also started to learn how to get past his awkwardness with women. She taught him that women were people, too. Pornography had programmed him to objectify women, and until he met Stella he never realized he did this. And while their relationship had started as purely physical, it had blossomed into more. Neither of them had actually admitted it yet, even to each other, but they each knew it. Stella had a reason to stay sober now and Calvin had no desire to watch pornography. And Charlie Baker had been the reason for it all happening.
73
Emma sat at her kitchen table, wearing her nun’s habit, sipping gin. Next to her glass sat her riding crop and next to that was an aerosol can. Mountain Mist deodorant spray. Across from Emma with her own glass of gin sat Myrtle, also wearing a newly acquired nun’s habit. Next to her glass was a short-handled whip that was more for show, but still stung pretty good.
“When you suggested a threesome, this is not what I had in mind,” Myrtle said as she sipped gin.
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fun,” Emma replied with a smile as she finished the joint, butted what was left of it out, and took a sip of gin.
“Maybe,” Myrtle replie
d with a smirk. “In a twisted sorta way.”
“Well, what other way is there?” Emma said with a smile as she used the aerosol spray to mask the smell of the joint the ladies had shared.
The ladies in their nun’s habits laughed and sipped more gin.
“You coming back?” Bill shouted from the basement.
“You shush if you know what’s good for you,” Emma shouted in reply. “He thinks I’m on the phone again, you watch,” Emma said to Myrtle.
“Don’t leave me down here for an hour like last time,” Bill screamed from the basement, where he waited, bound and helpless. “This wood won’t last forever.”
“Oh, I’m coming, bad little Billy,” Emma said as she sipped the rest of her gin. “Little Billy’s been a bad boy, hasn’t he? And boy do I have a surprise for little Billy today.” Emma smiled and winked at Myrtle.
“Oh, what the hell,” Myrtle said, drinking the rest of her gin. “And don’t you dare ever mention this at a Naughty Knitters meeting.”
The ladies laughed as they went downstairs to surprise Bill, who was waiting where Emma had left him.
74
Marci looked around her home, trying to remember it the way it used to look when Trudy and her daughter still lived with her. The place was always a mess, but it had that lived-in feeling. Now it just felt empty. Trudy’s jealousy had been hard to bear but there had always been something special about her. And now there was a void in the house that Marci couldn’t shake. Since it was dark out now she flicked the switch, turning on the outdoor Christmas lights Dave had put up for her. She wanted the place to have a welcoming feel to it when people came to see it. Marci had listed it herself and got Dave to put the sign up. She knew she probably shouldn’t be doing that, but her price was so low that nobody would accuse her of playing double agent. Not with the deal she’d be giving them. Plus, her new lawyer said he’d help her out with a fellow real-estate agent if she wanted. Help her make the paperwork look more legit, for a small fee of course.
Marci placed a brown-leather-gloved hand on the doorknob, just about to leave as her phone rang. She thought briefly about not answering the call and then remembered how much she needed the money. She dug through her purse and found her phone on the fourth ring.
“Red Realty. Marci Grant speaking.”
“Miss Grant. It’s Franklin Dodge.”
“Detective Franklin Dodge, is this about Trudy?” Marci asked with a wistful tone.
“No-no,” Dodge replied. “I’m actually calling you on personal business, to list a house.”
“You leaving town?” Marci asked, unsure why this was the first thought that came to her.
“Actually, it’s for a friend. She wants to put her house up for sale and I suggested she use you, seeing as how business is down for you with everything that happened and all.”
“Well, thank you,” Marci replied. “That’s very kind of you.”
“Actually, the real reason I suggested you is that you’re the best in town.”
“Now, Dodge, flattery will only get you so far.”
“Well, my friend really wants to sell her house.”
“No pressure at all,” Marci replied with a tone of amusement before continuing. “You know December isn’t exactly the best time of year to sell a house.”
“Oh, I know that, but we gotta start somewhere,” Dodge replied.
“True. Well, I can come by tomorrow morning if your friend is available to go over the details and make arrangements.”
“Actually, I was thinking more like tomorrow night, if that’s okay. My friend’s a teacher and she won’t be available in the morning.”
“Evening works fine,” Marci replied. “I can work with that.”
Marci got a pad and pen and took down the address.
“Will you be there tomorrow night, or just your friend?” Marci asked.
“I’m not sure,” Dodge replied. He paused for a second then continued. “Yeah, I should be there.”
“Seven?”
“Sounds perfect,” Dodge replied. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you,” Marci said as she terminated the call.
75
Dodge hung up the cordless phone, shifted into a comfortable spot on the couch, and put his feet up on the coffee table as he watched the Christmas tree fade from red to clear. Then it faded again to multicoloured and then back to red and so on.
“I should really head home.”
Margaret Weatherbee joined him on the couch. “Why not stay the night?” she asked as she snuggled up next to him, grabbing his arm and putting it around her.
Dodge smiled and tightened his grip a bit, hugging her against him for a moment before relaxing. “Maybe I should, but…”
“If you’re still worried about people finding out we’re seeing each other, then go. But we won’t be able to hide it once we move in together, and you know it.”
Dodge laughed.
“And you know we’re not the only ones with something to hide, right?”
“Yup,” Dodge replied.
“I know we’ve not been dating that long, but we’re grown-ups and can do whatever we please.”
“Yup.”
“And we please,” Margaret said with a smile.
“I’m thinking I should sell my house, too,” Dodge replied. “We could get a new place together and have more privacy that way.”
“Nah,” Weatherbee replied. “I like your place. Mind you, it’s in severe need of a woman’s touch, but I like it.”
Dodge hugged her close and they sat quietly for a good while, watching the Christmas tree change colors, bathing the room in the soft glow of the holidays. The quiet lasted a good while until she spoke. “What are you thinking about?”
“I was just thinking that if it wasn’t for Charlie Baker moving to Poplar Falls, I probably would have never met you.”
“Oh, you,” Weatherbee said, playfully swatting at Dodge.
“I certainly wouldn’t have gotten that show I got that day outside Charlie’s apartment.”
“You little brat,” she said as she sat up to give him the stink eye. “Did you bring it like I asked?”
Dodge reached into his pocket and fished out something that looked like an oddly shaped mitten.
“And you never tried it on?” referring to the penis cozy given to him by Ester.
“Hell no,” Dodge replied with a laugh.
“Well, I want to know if it fits,” Weatherbee replied with a wide smile. “Bedroom… now!”
76
Detective Roxanne Tilley sat at her desk, warming her cold hands on a large steaming coffee mug. She leaned back in her chair, propped her feet up on her desk, and closed her eyes. She breathed deeply, savouring the rich coffee aroma as she enjoyed the rare quiet of the Poplar Falls police station bullpen. This December had felt subdued so far and life felt a little normal again, but there was always something going on. So staying late to get caught up on paperwork wasn’t an everyday thing, but sometimes it was necessary. But things were pretty quiet, and after last summer that quiet was something Tilley didn’t feel would happen again for a long time. But here she was, enjoying a hot cup of coffee, her paperwork almost caught up. She glanced at the clock and knew she had a bit of time to kill. Dodge didn’t think his partner knew about his new relationship, but she was a detective after all. And Tilley also knew that the new couple was meeting Red Realty that night to list her former teacher’s house. She knew because Marci wasn’t good at keeping secrets from her.
With her eyes still closed, Tilley’s mind relived the previous evening. She remembered what Marci’s gloved hands had felt like on the small of her back. How her kisses had tasted. And each time they were together, their passion melted away all the confusion she had ever experienced throughout her life. Being with Marci confirmed what she alwa
ys knew but spent most of her life being in denial about.
Still leaning back in her chair, Tilley sipped coffee and woke her computer from its sleep mode. She moused her way to an old folder and clicked on the video she had watched a few dozen times, perhaps more.
Tilley watched the blonde woman, her back to the camera as she kissed the naked Charlie Baker passionately while he gently removed her blouse, leaving her with just matching panties and bra. The blonde woman pushed the clearly aroused Charlie away from her as she gestured towards the bed. Tilley could only assume she was instructing him to lie down, perhaps even telling him to assume the position in a commanding tone. She watched as the attractive blonde woman used heavy silk ropes to tie Charlie Baker to the metal four-post bed frame. She watched the woman walk around to the side of the bed, and straddle Charlie’s stomach. Knowing Marci Grant now, she understood why she had been attracted to Trudy. Trudy was an athletic, attractive woman and exactly Marci’s type. She found herself feeling a little jealous as she watched the lithe blonde woman reach for a pillow.
Charlie’s hands clenched and unclenched multiple times as his feet twitched as much as the rope would allow. The woman seemed to fidget some with the pillow held at chest height. She leaned forward, pressing the pillow on Charlie’s face, leaning into it with all her weight applied to the pillow. Charlie bucked against the ropes. She watched Charlie struggle hard at first, weaken, and eventually stop struggling altogether. The blonde woman sat up, leaving the pillow on her victim’s face. She seemed to hesitate there for a moment, as if already regretting her actions, Tilley assumed. She swung her leg backwards as she climbed off Charlie, knocking his manhood around in the process. Tilley watched it bob and weave with curiosity, but only for a moment. Trudy Wilkins had turned towards the rabbit eye camera, which recorded everything but sound. She watched as Trudy Wilkins picked up a thin, off-white blanket and draped it over Charlie Baker’s torso. Why she did this, Trudy never said. It didn’t really make sense to Tilley, but what she thought she saw was regret.
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