“You can tell me what the hell you did to my Mercedes.There’s something wrong with the steering.”
“I didn’t touch the steering, Merrick.You had a knock in the engine and I fixed that.”
“Well, you must’ve done something because it failed, it ran me off the road, and now I’m fucking stuck in a ditch up near the old quarry.”
“What road?”I ask, ignoring his implications I’d had anything to do with whatever happened to his vehicle.
Although, I have my suspicions.
“Lizard Creek Road, right by the cutoff to the quarry.I need you to come get me out.”
“Sure, I’ll send out one of my guys with the tow truck.”
He’ll be getting a damn bill for the service though.
“No.I don’t want anybody else, it has to be you,” he insists.
That’s when I hear it, the slight slur in his voice.It supports the hunch I had.It wouldn’t be the first time our town’s leader had a little too much of the happy juice and got in an accident.In fact, rumor was that’s how he totaled his Lexus a couple of years ago.
“It’s gotta be you,” he repeats.
I’m not sure why he’s so insistent it be me, but I don’t really mind.I could use a little distraction.
“Fine.”
“And keep it to yourself.”
Yup, he definitely got himself into some kind of trouble.
“Sure thing,” I easily agree.“Be there as soon as I can.”
When I getup to the Lizard Creek quarry cutoff, I don’t see the Mercedes anywhere.I drive past a bit before turning around, wondering if I missed it.This time I slow down as I pass the dirt road heading up to the quarry and notice the road is partially blocked by a dead tree, and on the other side, halfway in the ditch, I just catch sight of Merrick’s fancy Mercedes.
I’m at a loss what the hell he may have been doing up there at the quarry.
It’s not until I pull in and drive up closer, I noticed the second vehicle; a shiny Porsche Cayenne I recognize because I service it.There is only one in Silence, and it belongs to Missy Gentry, the widow of the man who used to own the quarry, and the rumored mistress of our very married mayor.
“Missy was never here,” Merrick barks immediately as I walk around the tree to find the two of them sitting on a fallen log.
Missy is busy dabbing a tissue or something to a few cuts on the mayor’s forehead.I’m thinking steering wheel or glass.He looks like shit, and she doesn’t look much better.She appears to be even more intoxicated than he is.Great.
I glance through the back window of the Mercedes to see both front and side airbags have deployed and the front windshield is shattered.I’m guessing he took out that tree and Missy—who must’ve been behind him in her SUV—got blocked in.
He’s lucky it was dead and rotting, giving away under the force of the impact, otherwise it might have been worse for him.As it is, significant damage was done to the Mercedes, and it looks like Merrick isn’t walking away scot-free either.
“You need medical attention,” I point out, noting some of the cuts on his face will probably need a stitch or two.
“I’m fine, just pull that damn tree out of the road and get me out of here.”
Arrogant son of a bitch thinks he can order me around like I’m his damn servant.
“Please and thank you go a long way, Merrick,” I point out.
Missy seems to sense the tension and quickly intervenes, striking a different attitude from her lover.
“Please, Clem.You can see this situation might cause some folks to get the wrong idea.None of us want that.”
I almost laugh, because I frankly don’t give a shit about either of them.But I do feel sorry for Merrick’s wife.She seems a quiet and nice enough lady, who doesn’t deserve for her husband’s indiscretions to become so public.
