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“Is she dead?”Please tell me I’m reading you wrong. Please, please, please…
He nodded with a heavy sigh, his tearing eyes glued to the floor next to me.
Deedee, no…My soul instantly felt like a bite had been taken out of it. Deedee and I were never the best of friends, but I knew her better than most. Maybe because we had an easy relationship from the get-go. We were both the type who believed that people had more in common than they realized. It was how we connected with our crazy customers and each other.
Especially each other.
She was introverted and cared about everyone. I had a loud mouth and kept my heart safely guarded. I was steak on the grill, and she was fancy mushroom burgers with weird sauces. I was old-school rock and Patsy Cline. She was country pop all the way. All day. Every day.
But what we had in common was so much more. Neither of us expected others to take care of us or to fix our lives. We were both fiercely independent.
I can’t believe she’s gone.
Off in the distance, sirens shrieked while my eyes flooded with juicy tears. “Why’d he have to kill her? What’d she ever do to anyone?”
“I’m just glad you’re alive, Masie. I can’t…I can’t even think about what I’d tell your mamma if he’d gotten you, too.”
I knew he didn’t mean that Deedee’s life was worth less than mine, but he understood, like I did, that Mamma never got over Daddy’s death. If something ever happened to my sister, Maybell, or me, she’d never come back from that. The last thing he wanted was to deliver the kind of news that would put Mamma in the ground.
The sirens were suddenly right outside, and within seconds, Sheriff Idiot was rushing in, his beige shirt untucked, his hair shooting every which direction. He looked worse than I felt.
“Don’t you worry, Masie,” he stammered. “We’ll catch the SOB. With the partial plate, he can’t hide for long.”
Catch him?But wasn’t he… I frowned, my eyes gravitating to the floor by my side. “Wait. Where is…” I pointed to the spot where Tall Guy had died. “Where’s the body?”
“Deedee’s outside,” Jimmie said softly.
“No, the tall guy who attacked us. I watched him die right here.”
Jimmie and the sheriff exchanged glances.
“Where’d he go?” I asked.
“Darlin’, I think you’re in shock,” said my uncle. “The man probably thought you were dead and took off in his truck.”
“But,” I blinked, “that’s impossible. I saw him die with my own eyes.” Or had I? Because clearly there was no body. Not a drop of blood either. I was completely clean, too. “Maybe, I dunno, maybe I dreamed it.” After all, Ihadlost consciousness.
On the other hand, if I merely imagined the man killing Tall Guy, then how was I still alive? Someone had stopped that futhermucker from murdering me.
I rubbed the front of my neck, massaging the very real ache.
The paramedics rushed in, and Uncle Jimmie waved them over.
“We’ll sort this all out later,” he said.
“Youjust worry aboutyouright now, ’kay?” said Sheriff Idiot.
How could I think about myself? Deedee was dead. I wasn’t. Her parents would never be the same. Neither would I or Jimmie or this town. The Flaming Rooster was the heart of this community—at least for the people who grew up here—and they saw us as family. We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and half the dang town had met their spouses right here in this bar. Friends, community, and whiskey. Okay, and horny drunk cowboys, though the women had their fair share of rowdiness, too.
The Flaming Rooster would forever be marred by this tragic loss. So would I.
After a thorough examination and three X-rays, the ER doctor determined I had strained neck muscles and deep bruising, but no broken bones. I was lucky, he’d said.
“Still, no physical activity for the rest of the month,” he warned. “No lifting, and absolutely no more psychotic stranglers, young woman.” He smiled.
I got that he was trying to cheer me up, but this wasn’t a busted arm like when I fell off my bike at ten. Deedee was dead, and I blamed myself. I hadn’t taken the threat seriously and sent Joe home early instead of taking precautions. I’d leaned on the fact that I lived in Leiper’s Fork.“It’s safe here. Nothing bad ever happens.”These are the things I’d believed before last night.
“I’m giving you a prescription to help you rest, Masie.” The doctor put his hand on my shoulder. “You need anything else, you just give me a call.”
