The Devil's Dwelling (27 page)

The house was dark when I arrived home. “Dang, I forgot to leave the porch light on.” I said aloud. No one can hear me but I  sometimes find myself talking to the wind.  I pushed the garage door fob and the door slowly crawled up.  I pulled the Honda into the garage and looked in my rear view. I caught my heart in my throat. The Jeep was parked at the end of my drive way. Just as I looked he turned his lights off. I immediately pushed the fob lowering the garage door. What am I going to do. I have to go out the side door and walk into the house. He could be lurking outside my door. He could have a gun, a knife anything. He could have rape and  murder on his mind.  He could be the massage murderer. My thoughts were running wild. What am I going to do?  I noticed the small window at the rear of the garage.  I could climb out the window and run to my parents house. Better idea, call Randy he will have someone here in a snap. I dug in my bag for my phone. No phone. I  must have left it on the counter. My heart is doing summersaults.  The window is my only option. I pushed a box under the window, opened the window and dang it squeaked. I hoped he hadn’t heard the squeak. I tossed my bag out the window. Whoops! My Glock is in my bag.  I put one leg over the window sill and let my leg slip toward the ground outside. I pulled my other leg over the window sill. I couldn’t touch the ground. I was hanging in mid air twisting and turning every way possible before falling on my butt in the middle of a rose bush. Silent screams…many silent screams.  I pulled myself up and started to wipe off my pants when the thorns poked me. I have thorns in my butt, my hands and my legs.  I grabbed my bag and ran down the alley toward my folks house. I got to the house ran around to the front just as the Jeep drove past. I kept my eye on the Jeep into the distance until the tail lights faded in the distance. I could wake my folks but that would be rude since the Jeep is gone.  I chose to go home. I walked home pulling at my pants. With every step another thorn poked me. I fished my keys from the bottom of my bag and entered the house, turned off the alarm and immediately reset it. Bailey was pacing needing to hike and poop. I turned off the alarm and let him out.

“You do your job and get back here, pronto.”  I’m sure Bailey knew exactly what I told him.  And of course he will heed my orders.  What I really hope is he comes back before I get in the tub to soak out the thorns.

I pulled my jeans off to the sound of a woman yelling ouch.  The thorns had pricked my legs and as the jeans came off so did the thorns from my legs.  I took off my shirt. It was bloody and ripped. I ran a tub of water to soak my wounds and my pride.  I wrapped a towel around my body and waited for Bailey to return. There was a scratch at the door. I looked out and Bailey was ready to come inside.  I turned the alarm off, unlocked the door and reset the alarm. Bailey ran straight to bed.  I dropped the towel at the side of the tub and put one foot in to test the water. It was a little hot. I turned on the cold water and swished the water with my foot. In a couple minutes the water was warm and good for soaking. I stepped into the tub slid down to my chin and soaked. Rings of blood floated on top of the water.  “Yuk! I can’t set in this nasty water.”  I got out of the tub and stepped in the shower to rinse off. I ran my hands across my body and found numerous thorns.  I took a couple of  Excedrin for the pain. For the remainder of the night I tweezed thorns from my body and extremities. I rubbed an antibiotic salve over the wounds.  At about five the next morning I put on my new pajamas and crawled into bed with Bailey who had taken his side out of the middle.

I kept hearing this ding dong.  The ice cream truck, no can’t be, it’s my alarm clock, no can’t be…it’s the dang door bell.  Who would be visiting at this hour?  I found my robe at the end of the bed. I put my arms in the sleeves and tied the sash as I opened the door. “Hayden, what are you doing here?” I stepped back for him to enter.

“Just thought you might have some lunch with me.  What happened to you? Your face is red and prickled.”

“And so are my arms and legs. I fell into a rose bush last night.”  I opened my robe to expose my legs and pulled the sleeves up to show Hayden my piercing.

“You poor darling. How’d you fall into a rose bush?”

“I didn’t want to worry you but I have a stalker.  Someone in a Jeep is always around.  Last night when I pulled in the garage he parked across my driveway. I put the garage door down and started to call Randy but I couldn’t find my phone. I had left it on the counter. Anyway, long story short. You need to have the gardener remove the rose bush from under the garage window. I’m sure it’s destroyed anyway.”

“I feel really bad.”  Hayden looked at the floor.

“It’s not your fault. I remember your dad planting the rose bush. He said, no one will be crawling in this window. Guess he didn’t think about crawling out.” I giggled .  “Clumsy me.”

I put on a pot of coffee and we set down at the table.

I jumped up. “Want some toast?”  I put a couple slices of wheat bread in the toaster. Pushed down the button. “It’ll pop up in a jiffy.”

The drips from the coffee maker was the only sound for a moment. The toast popped up. I got the Cheez Whiz from the cupboard, a knife from the drawer and inserted the knife in the jar and brought out a big hunk of Cheez Whiz. “This is enough for both pieces of toast.”

I smeared the Cheez Whiz on each slice of bread and handed Hayden a slice.

“Do you remember when we shared Cheez Whiz sandwiches when we were kids?” 

“You made some sloppy sandwiches. I did a lot of licking my fingers and the edges of the bread with the Cheez Whiz oozing.”

Hayden took a big bite. “Guess this means we aren’t on for lunch.”

“I’m sorry but I don’t feel up to going out. People will think I couldn’t decide where to get my piercing or think I got carried away with it.”  I laughed and Hayden joined in on the laughing.

The coffee pot buzzer went off and I poured us a cup of coffee. I handed Hayden his coffee and swigged on mine while I walked to the table and set down across the table from him.

“Oh this is good.”  I took another swig and set it on the table. I picked up my Cheez Whiz toast and took a big bite.   I reached across the table and took Hayden’s hand.  “You’re a good friend.”

THIRTY-THREE

I checked my rear view mirror and saw Marty Martin riding my bumper.  I pulled my Honda to the curb and he flew past me. I accelerated in hot pursuit of him. We drove the surface streets going up and down the city blocks.  Marty turned into a cul de sac and I pulled straight at his drivers door ready to T-Bone him.  I could see the whites of his eyes.  Marty started to take off and I hit the side of his maroon Chrysler with my bumper jamming his door. He crawled across the seat and jumped from the Chrysler.  He ran behind Conway Lumber Yard. I took my Glock from my waist and fired a shot in the air. Marty ran between stacks of lumber.  We were was running through a maze of boards stacked higher than my five feet seven.  He climbed up on a stack of plywood. I followed and he jumped to the ground, bounced off a pile of insulation and fled. I couldn’t get down from the stack of plywood as swiftly as I climbed up.  The last I saw Marty he was high tailing it down the street waving me a big bird.

A red Dodge Power Stroke was parked in front of Peterson’s Bail Bonds office when I arrived at work.  I walked in the office and looked around. Linda was setting in her usual chair at the desk.  The aroma of coffee lingered in the office and the donut box had been opened.

“Does Peewee have someone in his office?” I chose a jelly donut and began licking my fingers.

“Yeah, it’s Charley our new employee.”

“So, looks like she drives a big red Dodge Power Stroke.”  I took a sip of coffee and walked over to the window and took a look. “That rig will be good for hauling in ‘no shows’.

Peewee’s office door swung open and out walked Charley dressed in black Bermuda shorts and a camouflage shirt.  Her forty inch waist was belted with a black belt and shiny buckle, her ankle high laced up boots are topped off with black socks. Her cuffs were hanging from her back pant loop and her gun attached to her waist in a holster on hr right hip and on her left side in a holster was a stun gun. She looked like a damn bounty hunter. She and Mona sure beat me when it comes to the bounty hunter look. She had a file in her hand Peewee had given her.

“Who are you going after?”  I asked her looking over her uniform.

“Billy Bob. Seems he was a ‘no show’.”

“Billy Bob is a tall drink of water with curly red hair tousled  all over his head.

You’ll probably find him at his garage over on Pine Street.”  I told Charley.

“Well, thanks Tiffany, I appreciate your help.”  Charley took a look at her file flipping through the pages.

“This guys got a lot of ‘no shows’ on record.”

“Yeah, he is a good mechanic but he’s always ripping someone off.  They get into a fight over the inflated bill.  Fists start swinging and someone calls the police and Billy Bob won’t heed the officers advice and he’s hauled off to jail.”

“Thanks for the info. I’ll get right over there.” Charley seemed anxious to haul in her first official ‘no show‘.

‘Oh, you won‘t take him without a fight.”  I grinned and headed for Peewee’s office door.

Charley nodded and headed out the door. Jumped in her Dodge Power Stroke and was gone in a flash.

Peewee was setting at his desk thumbing through a couple of files. 

“You and Mona wanna stay partners or do you think she can handle cases on her own?”

Peewee pushed his chair back waiting for an answer.

“You know I think we make a good team.  I’d like to keep her as a partner. But it’s up to you and Mona.

Mona walked in the office twirling a donut around her forefinger and sipping on a cup of coffee.

“You like being Tiffany’s partner?”  Peewee asked.

“Yeah, why? Tiffany you okay with us being partners?”

“Yep, couldn’t ask for a better partner.” I smiled at Mona and gave her a wink. She grinned back.

“Is that Charley wanting to take my partner?”  Mona laughed and twirled her donut around her finger.

“Ladies, here’s a couple of ‘no shows’ I need you to bring in.” 

I opened the file and laughed. “Sally ‘shoplifter’ Sawyer. She at it again?”  I shook my head. “We’ll pick her up. She shops at Wal-Mart on Wednesday’s.  That’s when the big sales start and the store is crowded giving her more cover for her shoplifting.”

I pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and parked near the entrance.  The closer to the store the better for dragging her to the rig.  I noticed Sally’s rig in the parking lot pulled through the space where she can get away before the store security guard can apprehend her.

Mona took a look at Sally’s picture.  “She’s about five feet tall, brown hair always in braids and weighs about two hundred pounds. You can’t miss her. She‘s usually dressed in a big shirt and carries a big hand bag.” 

I killed the engine and hopped from the Honda.  Mona came around to my side of the rig and we walked in the store. 

“I’ll take the ladies clothing side and you go to the nursery department and we will meet in the middle.  When you find her give me a whistle.”

“You got it.” Mona took off for the nursery department dressed in her bounty hunter garb. 

I heard a loud whistle and poked my head around the gondola at the end of the aisle. Mona was motioning for me to come her way.  Sally was in the pet foot department.  We approached Sally from opposite ends of the aisle.

“Sally!” I yelled.  “Get your butt over here” 

Sally grabbed a fifty pound bag of dry dog food and threw it at me. The dog food bag busted open and dog food scattered all over the aisle.  Mona was slipping and sliding trying to keep her balance.  I ran across the scattered dog food and landed on my butt with feet in the air.  Mona made her way across the dog food and was running through the store with her 38 in hand yelling.

“Bounty Hunter, stop or I’ll shoot.”  She ran up and down aisles right behind Sally.  Sally made a quick turn and headed out the exit door not waiting for the sliding door to open she pushed the door open setting off alarms.  I gained my footing and was out the door behind them.  Sally made it to her rig, hopped in and  started it up and was about to take off when Mona jumped on the hood and pointed the gun at Sally’s head.

“Stop or I’ll put a bullet in your head.”  Mona cocked the gun. Sally put the pedal to the metal, made a quick start, cranked the wheel and threw Mona off.  She headed out of the parking lot.  I jumped in the Honda and picked up Mona as I left the parking lot.  Mona leaned out the passenger window and fired a couple of shots.