Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans (8 page)

I stomped my foot hard, finally managing to dislodge the dog before I hurried inside after Neely Kate.

“Well come on in, then,” he sneered, downing the beer as we walked past him.

“Don’t mind if we do,” she said, her voice syrupy sweet.

I sent up a little prayer that the dogs would stay outside, but they all came in, the last one barely making it through the crack before Billy Jack slammed the door shut.

Standing in the middle of the living room, Neely Kate waved her hand in front of her face. I couldn’t blame her. It smelled like a rat had crawled up inside the tattered sofa and died. “What in tarnation are you cooking in this trailer, Billy Jack?” she asked.

He crushed the beer can with his hand, then tossed it over his shoulder into the kitchen, where it landed on the floor. “I’m working on my super-secret muskrat jerky recipe.”

She shook her head in irritation. “Everybody and his brother knows the only reason you started seeing Dolly Parton was to get at Aunt Thelma’s jerky recipes.”

“That right there’s a bunch of bullshit! I was making jerky for years before Dolly started hangin’ around.”

She put her hands on her hips and glared. “So where is she now?”

“I done told you. I. Don’t. Know.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“Two days ago. We got into a big-ass fight and she took off with some guy.”

“What guy?”

“How the hell would I know?”

She turned her head and gave him a sideways glare. “You’re standin’ there tellin’ me that you let Dolly Parton go out that door—” she pointed at the front door, “and get into a car with
some guy
you didn’t know nothin’ about?” Her eyebrows rose high on her forehead at his silence. “
Huh?
”

“All right.” He opened a baby gate separating the kitchen from the living room, and the dogs immediately followed him. He moved over to the sink and opened a window, then reached through the opening and grabbed a can of beer.

The dogs ran deeper into the room and began snarling.

Billy Jack cast a backward glance at the dogs as he popped the beer open. “Go on now.
Git
.” He shooed them out of the kitchen and sauntered into the living room while taking a big gulp of his beverage.

The dogs skidded to a halt next to a nasty leather recliner, still snarling, and piled in a heap.

I felt a vision coming, and I nearly groaned out loud. Talk about poor timing. The nasty trailer faded away, and suddenly I was in a tiny room covered in cheap paneling. An old metal desk sat in the corner. A pretty brunette wearing something that looked like a two-piece swimsuit covered in sequins leaned against it, and she looked ticked off.

“I’ve done my part, and I want my money,” I said in Billy Jack’s voice.

She put her hands on her hips. “Well, you didn’t really deliver in the end, did you?” Her face softened, but her mouth puckered into a pout. “Besides, I thought you did it for me, sugar.”

“I did,” I grunted. “But I still got bills to pay.”

She sighed, gliding toward me, trailing her fingertips down the side of my face. “Don’t you worry. I’ll take care of you.” The vision quickly faded.

“You did it for her,” I blurted out as Billy Jack’s living room came back into focus.

“What are you on about?” he hollered. “If she wanted to leave, I couldn’t do much to stop her.”

Neely Kate shot me a weird look, then turned back to him. “Cut the stalling, Billy Jack.” She tapped her foot. “I ain’t got all day. I got a boss nosier than a cat sniffing out a ball of catnip, wondering where in Sam Hill I am. Who’d Dolly Parton leave with?”

“Some guy from her work.”

Neely Kate’s back stiffened. “
What
guy?”

“I don’t know. I think he’s a bartender. He came out here lookin’ for her, and she left with him. That’s all I know.”

She put her hand on her hips. “And you just let him take her?”

“It weren’t like that.” He waved his foot at the dogs in front of the recliner, and they scattered, one of them dragging the fur of something that looked alarmingly like a raccoon. Billy Jack flopped down in his chair without spilling a drop of beer—an amazing feat. “I done told you we had a fight. She locked herself in the bedroom, then she came barreling out and hopped in his car. She must have called him.”

“Where’d she go?”

“Damn, woman, yer like a broken record. My answer’s the same as the other first half-dozen times you asked.
I don’t know
.”

Neely Kate considered his answer before asking. “What were you fightin’ about?”

He stopped mid-sip, mumbling, “I forget.” Then took a drink.

“You forget?” Neely Kate’s tone was dry.

“That was two days ago—” he snorted his disgust, “you can’t expect me to remember everything.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Try again, Billy Jack.”

They had a staring contest for several seconds before he looked away, squirming. “She thought I was messin’ around on ’er.”

“Were you?”

He looked defiant. “Even if I was, it still don’t make it right that she smashed my TV on her way out.” He gestured to a flat screen TV with a shattered screen. “I traded that for a hundred pounds of jerky to Big G at the pawn shop.” His eyes widened. “Do you know how hard it is to make a hundred pounds of jerky?”

“Where’s Dolly’s car?” Neely Kate asked.

He shrugged. “The repo man came and took it two weeks ago.” He downed more beer.

“If you see her, have her call me. I can’t get her on her cell, and her momma’s worried.”

Fear filled his eyes at the mention of Neely Kate’s aunt. “That woman’s the devil.”

“And you’re lucky she didn’t come out here and tan your hide.” Neely Kate glanced at me. “Give me one of your cards.”

My mouth parted. “What?”

“Your business card. Give me one.”

Did she really think Billy Jack was gonna hire me to landscape his
yard?
“I don’t think—”

She held her hand out to me. “
Give me one
.”

I dug into my purse and pulled out one of my new business cards. I gave it to her, and she handed it to Billy Jack.

“If you remember anything or hear from her, call this number.”

“I ain’t gonna hear from her. I told her not to bother comin’ back.”

Neely Kate headed for the front door, apparently done with him.

“Take that box with you,” he called out.

“What box?” she asked.

He pointed to a cardboard box on an end table on the other side of the wall. “That’s Dolly’s stuff. Take it with ya.”

Neely Kate looked torn with indecision, so I hefted the box on my hip. She gave me a grateful smile, then opened the front door. Just then, one of the dogs shot across the floor with the raccoon skin in his mouth and raced outside, the other four dogs following.

“You let my dogs out with that skin! Now I’ll never get them back!” Billy Jack hollered, fumbling with the lever on his chair as he tried to put it down. “Fluffy! Carmen!” he shouted.

Neely Kate’s eyes widened. “Run!”

We hurried out the door, trying to take advantage of our lead time and our sobriety. The dogs were shooting toward the woods, the dog with the raccoon hide in the lead.

We’d made it to the dirt road when Billy Jack finally appeared in the doorway. “Carmen! Poncho!
Mr. Wiggles!
” His gaze landed on us as we halted in horror, both of us staring at him. “I’m gonna get you for this!”

Neely Kate took off running again, and I struggled to keep up while juggling the heavy box. Thankfully Billy Jack was drunk enough that his coordination was off, and he missed the top step, landing flat on his face. He fell hard enough that I worried for a moment that he was really hurt, but as he struggled to his feet, it soon became apparent that Neely Kate and I were the ones in real danger.

We made it to the truck, and I swung open the driver’s door and jumped in, heaving the box into the backseat as Billy Jack came staggering around the corner, moving faster than a drunk man had any right to.

“Hurry!” Neely Kate hollered as she leaped into the passenger side and shut the door behind her.

I dug the keys out of my pocket, shutting the door seconds before Billy Jack reached the truck. He slammed the palms of his hands on the truck hood.

“You lost my babies!”

“His babies?” I asked in disbelief as I fumbled to get the key into the ignition.

“Don’t ask. Just go!”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I started the engine and jerked the truck into reverse. I floored the gas so hard that the truck shot backward, leaving Billy Jack off-balance with a stunned expression on his face.

I made it to the end of the lane and backed onto the highway, thankful there wasn’t any traffic to hamper our escape.

“I’m gonna kill you, Neely Kate,” I muttered as I checked the rearview mirror. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Billy Jack running down the road after us.

“You can kill me later. You had a vision, didn’t you?”

I scowled. She was trying to change the subject. “I think Billy Jack was foolin’ around on Dolly.”

“Tell me what you saw.”

I told her about my vision, then glanced over at her. “Wait, maybe I saw Dolly. What does she look like?”

“She’s blond. About my height. Big blue eyes.”

“So a lot like you?”

She grinned. “We spent a lot of time together when we were little. People used to think we were sisters.”

“The girl in my vision definitely wasn’t her. She had long brown hair.”

“That only confirms that he
was
cheating on her. That lying snake in the grass.”

“Looks like it.”

“It’s a good thing the sheriff didn’t get involved.” She shook her head. “Billy Jack wouldn’t have told him a thing. Especially not what he told us.”

“And what exactly did he tell us? That she left with the bartender?” I shook my head. “That’s nothing special. Unless the vision means something.”

“Only that he’s cheating scum.”

I cast a quick glance at her before returning my attention to the road. “So what are you gonna do? Tell your aunt?”

“Yeah . . .” She sat back in her seat, lost in thought. “But I’ve got a bad feeling about all of this. If she left Billy Jack’s, why didn’t she call Aunt Thelma? She always tells her when she has a breakup.” She shook her head. “Something’s not right.”

“Well, like I said, I’m meeting Joe this afternoon. Maybe he can help.”

“He’s with the sheriff’s department. You’re wasting your time and your breath if you tell him about this.”

After I dropped Neely Kate off at the courthouse at one forty-five, I had little time to spare before my meeting with Joe. And after trying to eat Neely Kate’s tofu mess, I was starving. I decided to stop by the Burger Shack to pick up something to eat.

I wasn’t all that surprised to see Eric Davidson behind the counter when I walked in. He was one of the five guys responsible for a string of robberies before Thanksgiving, including the bank robbery in which my deposit bag was stolen. He’d been at the auction, and while I’d been there, too, he had no idea I was the Lady in Black. Still, I hesitated at the counter long enough to get his attention.

“Hey, you’re that woman from church.”

My eyes widened in mock innocence. “What?”

“I thought I recognized you when you came in a couple of weeks ago, but your friend did all the talking.” He looked worried. “You’re the woman who said that . . . strange thing.”

I shrugged, then shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I hoped I was convincing enough to get him to let it lie. I’d had a vision and blurted out to a group of four malcontents from Jonah’s support group that they were gonna rob another place. Things could have gotten ugly if Joe hadn’t intervened.

His eyes narrowed. “Yeah . . . I think you do.”

I considered turning around and running, but two things stopped me. One, I’d look guilty if I ran. And two, I was hungry.

I rubbed my forehead. “I wasn’t myself that day.” I leaned closer. “I hadn’t taken my medication.”

He took a step back, wariness on his face.

I straightened. “I want a hamburger with fries.” I shifted my eyes back and forth a couple of times. “And could you hurry? I’m late in taking my medication today, and I feel kind of strange, if you know what I mean.”

He quickly rang up my order, staying back from the counter. As he started to bag my food, I suddenly wondered what had happened to Mick Gentry, the large-animal vet who’d killed Norman Sullivan, the Henryetta Bank loan manager who’d been one of their co-conspirators, but had decided to rat them out. Mick had made the news when he disappeared the weekend after Thanksgiving. Had Skeeter disposed of him, or had he really run off as the police suspected?

Eric handed me the bag, still keeping his distance.

And that’s when I felt another vision slam me with more force than usual.

I was sitting in the front seat of an old car. The passenger door opened, but I stared out of the windshield instead of turning toward it.

“Is it set?” the guy next to me said.

“Yeah.”

“Let me know if you have any problems.”

“Yeah.”

The vision faded, and I was suddenly back in the Burger Shack. “Everything is set,” I gushed out.

“What?” he asked.

Usually a vision came and went, but a fuzziness had lingered in my head this time, and I stumbled backward. “See? I better go take my medication.”

I hurried out to the truck and set the forgotten food next to me, then drove the short distance to the nursery, anxious, though for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why. I was more upset over my vision than Eric was over me having it.

Joe’s car wasn’t in the lot, and neither was Violet’s, and no one was manning the few Christmas trees we had left in the lot. I could have gone inside, but I found myself staring out the windshield at the building instead. What had I seen, and why was it so ominous? Lost in thought, I didn’t pay any mind to my surroundings, so I shrieked when someone banged on my window.

When I turned, Joe’s alarmed face was staring back at me. He immediately opened the truck door. “Rose, are you okay?”