A Life for a Life by Lynda McDaniel (best selling autobiographies .txt) đ
- Author: Lynda McDaniel
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Just as we were finishing up, Della added a big box of things that werenât sellingâboth fresh and in cansâand let me decide who to give âem to, just to be neighborly. And to help them love the store again, like we already did. Some folks still held it against Daddy for stopping the Rollinâ Store, but he couldnât help it. They didnât buy enough to keep it rollinâ. People were peculiar that way. They didnât always get it that what they did led to what somebody else did.
I was beside myself when Duane pulled the bus out of the driveway, me riding shotgun. It felt like I was on the trip of a lifetime. Weâd be on the road till two oâclockâthe longest Iâd been away from our patch in three year.
Della came out and waved at us like we was heroes or something. Mama and Daddy even stepped outside to see us off. I rolled down my window and let the air blow my hair. Man, it felt good. Duane was chuckling at me, and he looked pretty darned happy. I couldnât help but hope that would last, and itâd keep his fists from forming back at home.
And what a day we had. Folks came out, even if they didnât need nothinâ. One feller said, âI ainât saw you lately,â like heâd somehow missed us, instead of the bus being parked for two year. Everyone took a tour of the inside and youngâuns were climbing all over the bus. One mama shouted at her kid to take care and not scratch the beautiful flowers on the side. I was proud theyâd noticed Duaneâs handiwork. And I felt like Santa Claus giving out the old groceriesâyouâdâve thought they were bags of money the way people looked at them and smiled.
âHello. Hello? Anyone there?â Dead air.
I didnât think much about a call like that. Lots of folks around there just hung up if the person answering didnât sound like the one they wanted. Efficient, if not particularly neighborly.
That evening, I wished I hadnât been so pigheaded about not getting cable. I turned and twisted the foil-draped rabbit ears, hoping something would make a difference. It didnât. The steep mountains guaranteed varying degrees of television snow. But I couldnât justify the cost of cable, given I was still working hard to make the store turn a profit.
I wasnât one of those anti-television fanatics who made everyone feel guilty for seeking a little entertainment. Television had a lot of potential for sharing ideas and creativity. Okay, that potential hadnât panned outâyet. But so what? At that moment, I was seeking only a nice, vacuous blur. I hated to admit it, but I was feeling lonely.
Jake had just curled up next to me on the couch when the phone rang again. And again. A hang-up each time. By the fourth call, I started to feel uneasy. Iâd had my share of menacing phone calls over my career, and these felt similarly creepy.
âHello,â I said. Dead air again. âCome on, pal. Either say something or quit calling.â
âGet out of our lives, bitch.â
âWho is this?â was all I could think to ask.
âNone of your goddam business.â
âWell, then how can I get out of your lives?â
âMove. Go away. Stop what youâre doing, if you know whatâs good for you. Go back where you came from,â he spat out before hanging up. At least I think it was a man. Sounded like somethingâa tobacco-stained red bandana popped into my mindâcovered the receiver.
I couldnât imagine the caller was referring to Duane and Abitâs successful first day with the rolling store. Even Browerâs father with his SuperMart wouldnât care about that. And Iâd lived in Laurel Falls too long to have the unwelcome wagon calling. Sure, early on, I experienced some animosity from those who resented a newcomer taking over âtheirâ store, but that edge had worn off. At least I thought it had.
I checked the locks on the doors and sat next to Jake. âKeep me safe, okay, Jakey Boy?â He looked me in the eyes, licked my face, and curled up again in the nest heâd made on the couch. I gave up on the TV and decided to turn in, as well.
As I lay in bed, I wondered what the caller hoped to accomplish. Was I going to stop looking into Lucyâs death just because some jerk cursed and threatened me? Move away? The amateur nature of the demands eased my fears. Just crazy thinking, I told myself.
But night demons began dismantling my newfound confidence, reminding me of the time I was cornered in the Dupont Circle Metro station by an irate interviewee. When he grabbed me, a Vietnam vet nearby literally picked the guy up and carried him to the tracks. I learned later that the vet had held him over the third rail until I could escape the station. On other occasions, Iâd had to defend myself with mace or self-defense techniques.
Turned out, these memories actually had a fortifying effect on me. A few phone calls, I told myself, werenât going to stop me. Finally, I drifted off to sleep, and the phone remained mercifully quiet.
Until the next night. And the next. I tried to imagine who was making these calls. I called Alex.
âItâs bound to be one of those yahoos from the Green Treatise. Maybe someone spotted you, or was aware of your inquiries,â he said. âGet that idiot sheriff involved; he speaks their language.â
âThat sounds worse than receiving the calls. Besides, heâll just deride my concerns.â
âOkay, hon. Youâre probably right. I just donât know what you see in that place. Itâs time to come on home.â
âI am home, Alex. Besides, you make D.C. sound like Disneyland. I had plenty of troubles there, too.â I didnât remind him that many of them were inside our home.
âOkay, but what did you expect? That theyâd welcome your inquiries into their testosterone treatise? Or that the murderer wouldnât mind your solving this case?â
âI underestimated how fast news spreads here. I worked under the radar in D.C., but here thereâs no such thing.â It had finally struck me what Iâd gotten myself into. I felt like locking the store and running away.
âHey, I know you. You couldnât not help someone, or her family. You had to do this. Just be careful. These folks may be more dangerous than the Armani-suited snakes in D.C.â
âWell, at least there are less of them here.â
âFewer.â
âOh, shut up. Iâm not in the mood for your wordsmithing. Do you ever take a break from AP Style?â
âNot hardly, to quote Abit.â
âLeave him out of it.â
âOkay, weâre getting on each other nerves. Gotta go.â
âMe, too.â When we said goodbye, we both sounded sad.
The following Tuesday, I was working in the back of the store when the bell over the door jingled. I came out front but couldnât see anyone. As I headed over to check the cash register, a deep voice made me jump. Tattoo Man was standing behind a tall display in the canned goods aisle. He was still clean-shaven, but his hair had grown out since the funeral.
âHave you been calling me and threatening me?â I barked at him, surprising myself as much as him. He winced and waved his hand in that universal motion meaning âno way.â
âNo maâam. Iâm not here about that.â Did he even know what I was talking about? I couldnât tell. He looked over his shoulder and asked if we could go in the back.
âWhat for? I like it right here, out front.â
âYeah, but I donât.â I tried to outwait him, but he won. As we settled into folding chairs in the back, I asked him what he wanted.
âLook, I didnât kill that girl,â he said in a hushed tone, as though he was afraid of being overheard. Or that my store was bugged. Conspiracy theories did that to people. He looked over his shoulder and asked, âThat retard outside? He seen me come in. Will he talk like everybody else in this town?â
âStart over, pal. Abit is my friend, and heâs no retard. Iâm more concerned about his safety than yours.â
âYeah, yeah, that didnât come out right. Iâm just scared, you know?â
âYeah, I do knowâthose phone calls are giving me the creeps. Is that why youâre here? Getting me to stop looking into this mess?â
âNo!â he said, pounding on the table. âJust the opposite. I was set up for that murder, and I didnât do it. I barely knew that girl. Iâd seen her at a few of the GT meetings, but she didnât do no harm, that I saw, anyways.â
âOkay, back up. You donât want me to stop looking into this?â
âRight. Word is out that you arenât letting this thing go the way Brower is. Fine with me. I want you to find whoever did it, because it werenât me, and I donât like the idea of this hanging over my head. Sure they say itâs a suicide, but the statue of limitations donât wear out for murders. That means somehow, sooner or later, someone could try to pin this shit on me.â
âStatute,â I said, ever the wordsmith.
âHuh?â
Never mind. âWhat shit are you talking about?â
âHer death. Why else would someone call me and tell me I was needed out at that clearing. I thought the call was some GT prank, you know? Like some kind of initiation rite or test. Grissom, our leader, is always asking folks to prove their allegiance. I was told to go meet with some govâment guys who were trying to âbroker a deal.â They said dress nice, so I pulled my hair back and found that shirt in the back of my closet. I showed up, and thereâs that girl. I touched her to see if she was dead, and she was cold. And looked a mess and ...â
I motioned for him to move on. I remembered all too well what she looked like. He stood and started pacing. âSo my prints are probably on somethingâif that lazy-ass sheriff had bothered to look into it. I was glad he didnât. Well, at first. But now I figure I want the shit who did this to get caught. That would clear meâand my conscience.â
âSo youâve got a conscience?â
He nodded, as though my question deserved a legitimate answer. Maybe he was telling the truth. âThis GT crap is out of control,â he said. âI donât want no part in it anymore. I think thatâs why I was sent out there. They donât like it that Iâm questioning Mr. High-and-Mighty Grissom Wells. And they
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