Cesspool (19 page)

“What kind of jam?”

“The kind you don’t want to be in.”

“How can I help?”

“Do you know any coyotes?”

“What?”

“A coyote. You know, the people who help you cross the border.”

“I know what a coyote is, but what the hell do
you
need one for?”

“To get into Mexico without papers.”

“What is going on, James? You’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s better I don’t tell you the specifics. Do you know a good coyote? One who won’t rob me blind and leave me for dead?”

“You think because I’m Mexican I know a coyote?”

There was a pause. “Well, yes.”

She exhaled. “Well, I don’t, … but Cesar does. I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you. You’ve always been a good friend to me. Can I ask you for one more favor?”

“You’re lucky I like you.”

“You remember the girl I told you about?”

“The one you helped with her GED?”

“Yes, her name’s Brittany. She may have to leave here, and she has no family. If that happens, I was wondering if she could stay with you for a month or two until she gets settled? She’s really nice and helpful. She won’t be a burden.”

“That’s fine. I just have to ask Cesar, but I doubt he’ll care.”

“Thank you. Can I call you tomorrow for the information on the coyote?”

“Yes.”

“Talk to you then.”

James pulled into his driveway and turned off his phone. He entered the cabin, his head dusted with ice pellets. Brittany looked up from her assembly line on the kitchen table.

“You didn’t get the copies?” she said with a frown. She wore frilly slippers and sweats.

“I’m sorry,” James said as he hung his coat on the rack next to the front door. “I’ve been racking my brain, trying to figure out how to setup the letter so that it’ll cause an uproar. Not just around here but nationally. The problem is, I don’t think we have enough on them.” He ran his hand through his hair and sat across from her at the kitchen table.

She set down a book of stamps and raised her eyebrows. “We’re cuttin’ it close on time, don’t you think?”

“I know, but I have an idea. I think we should set up the MP3 recorder again at the diner tomorrow. Do you think you can do it one more time?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

“Just set it up early and stay away from them.”

“I know. You think we’ll get somethin’ new?”

James grinned. “If we give them something to talk about.”

* * *

“You want to take a look before I send them?” James asked. “This one’s to Dale.”

Brittany set her book facedown on the kitchen table and scooched her chair next to James. She peered into the tiny screen on the burner phone.

Kurt’s been a very bad boy—stealing from the family business. He must not have much respect for you or your dad. What’s this world coming to? You can’t trust anyone, not even family. I suppose the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. As bad as Kurt’s been, you and I both know you’ve been worse … much worse. And soon the world will know too.
Hugs and Kisses ☺
Charles Lee Ray aka “Chucky”

Underneath the text were three pictures of Kurt shoving bills from an envelope to the front pocket of his jeans. In the background, vinyl lettering spelled out All-American Auto Parts on the door.

Brittany laughed. “That’ll get ’em talkin’. Who’s Charles Lee Ray anyway?”

James smiled. “It’s from the
Child’s Play
movies. You know? Chucky, the homicidal doll?”

“I never saw that one.”

“It’s actually pretty scary. That doll used to freak me out—I hope they don’t actually know someone named Charles Ray.”

“I like how you signed it,
hugs and kisses
, with a smiley.”

“Do you think they’ll appreciate the irony?”

She giggled. “Do you have their cell phone numbers?”

“I pulled them off Harold’s cell.” James tapped on the burner phone. “This is the other one, to the chief.” He put the phone in front of Brittany.

“Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.” There are plenty of sins hanging around the Strickland family tree—hanging like dirty laundry that needs to be aired. Wait a second. I thought we weren’t supposed to air our dirty laundry? Don’t worry. You won’t have to. I’ll do it for you. It won’t be long now.
Hugs and Kisses ☺
Charles Lee Ray aka “Chucky”

Underneath the text were pictures of Heather running into Dale’s cruiser, her vinyl-sided trailer in the background.

“Are you gonna send ’em now?” Brittany asked.

“I thought about waiting until right before they have their meeting at Dot’s, but they might get suspicious. I could do it now, so they’re less likely to realize that the diner’s unsafe. What do you think?”

“That makes sense. Can they trace the phone? Are you gonna go someplace?”

He nodded. “You read my mind. Thought I’d drive to the river, send the texts, and, as soon as they’ve gone through, I’ll ditch the phone. I’ll pick up another burner phone on the way back. In the meantime, we need to get our stuff packed and ready.”

* * *

His heart pounded in his chest as he pulled up to Dot’s Diner. The lot was deserted except for a couple employee vehicles in back. Brittany pushed through the metal-clad door with a frown.
Shit
. James’s heart pounded. She hopped in the truck.

“Are you okay?”

“I got it,” she said.

His shoulders slumped in relaxation. “How did it go?”

“They were mad when they came in. Even from across the diner, I could tell.”

James nodded.

Brittany continued. “I went in the back and had dinner. Rod let me have a long break again.” She frowned. “He made sure I understood that I was off the clock. Like our hourly wage is so awesome. I asked Jessica about the Stricklands. She said they stayed longer than usual, and, at one point, they were arguin’. Jessica told me that she had never seen them like that. Officer Dale didn’t even finish his food.”

James glanced at her as he backed out of the parking space.

She pursed her lips and gazed out the window.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I think Jessica’s mad at me,” she said to the window.

James drove out of the parking lot. “What happened?”

“Jessica keeps wantin’ to hang out, and I keep tellin’ her that I’m busy. I told her that I have to study to get into college. I could tell she thinks I’m blowin’ her off. I just feel bad. I really like her.”

James glanced over again. Brittany had her arms crossed over her chest.

“I know. I’m sorry,” he said.

She took a deep breath. “It’s not like I can tell her the truth.”

“No, you can’t. But she’ll know soon enough.”

They entered the cabin, hung their coats, and rushed to the kitchen table.

“You ready?” James asked.

She nodded. He forwarded through the first few hours of diner noise. The good part started with a banging on the table, what sounded like one hard fist slamming down like a gavel.

“Somebody’s gonna fuckin’ pay,” Officer Dale Strickland said.

“It’s sloppiness, pure and simple,” the chief said.

“Fuckin’ Kurt. I told you that he was a problem.”

“No more of a problem than you.”

“Me? I never took a dime from you.”

“You’ve been takin’ somethin’ worse from your brother.”

There was silence.

The chief continued, “And what do you think shit like this does to business? You can have any goddamn whore you want, but you gotta fuck your brother’s girlfriend.”

“Pops, I, uh—”

“Shut your fuckin’ mouth. You will stop seein’ that little whore immediately, and you will make sure she understands how important it is that she keeps her trap shut. You got me?”

“Yes, sir,” Dale said.

“Where you been takin’ her?”

“Motel 6 on the interstate.”

“You ever take her to the stone hut?”

“Come on, Pops. I know better than that.”

“When was the last time you were there?”

“Last week. Everything was where it should be.”

“I’m thinkin’ we should move the money. This Charles Ray character knows too much.”

“Pops, I told you. It’s from a movie.”

“Goddamn it, I know that. We gotta call him somethin’.”

There was silence, followed by Jessica taking their orders. They were curt and short and did not flirt.

“Where’s the stone hut?” Brittany asked James, while the Stricklands were still quiet.

James smiled. “I caught Dale there with his brother’s girlfriend and have the photographs to prove it.”

“Any ideas who it might be?” Dale asked his dad.

“It has to be someone local, someone who knows us well.”

“One of our clients?”

“I don’t think so,” the chief said. “We haven’t taken on a new client in years. What would they have to gain anyway? Without us, they’d have to deal with a department that might put ’em out of business.”

“You don’t think Harold might try somethin’ like this?” Dale asked.

“I don’t see the motive.”

“Maybe for a ransom to stay quiet. Maybe Harold’s tired of livin’ in a trailer.”

“Harold knows he could take a bigger role in the business if he wanted to. He’s never given two shits about money.”

“Maybe Kurt saw the guy?” Dale said.

James’s stomach turned.

The chief grunted. “If he knew he was bein’ followed, you think he’d be stealin’. Hell he didn’t even try to conceal it. Your brother’s dumb, but he ain’t
that
dumb.”

“You want me to handle Kurt?”

“I don’t want you anywhere near your brother until you have some distance from that fuckin’ whore. I’ll handle it.”

The men were silent.

“Here are your drinks,” Jessica said as she set the drinks on the table. “Your food will be out shortly.”

After Jessica left, Dale said, “I tell you what, whoever it is, is fuckin’
dead
when we find out.”

“I keep thinkin’ about that nigger doctor,” the chief said.

“You think she’d dredge all that up now, after all these years?”

“She was just another broke nigger back then. She can afford a good lawyer on her salary now.”

“You think he was innocent?” Dale asked.

“Hell no,” the chief replied. “Nigger was guilty as sin. He was escalatin’. Hell, I busted him for vandalism when he was a kid, assault a few years later, and breakin’ and enterin’ a few years before the first rape and murder. You were just a little shit at the time, so you might not remember, but, when the second woman was killed, people got crazy. We were havin’ a tough time denyin’ that we had a serial. An eyewitness placed Frank at the scene, and another placed a black man at the first murder but couldn’t ID Frank in the lineup. We thought we had the right guy and so did the public.”

“What about that murder we had when I was a rookie?”

“What about it? Had nuthin’ to do with Frank.”

“The MO was the same as Frank’s. She was raped, strangled, and the techs found water-based lubricant in her throat.”

Brittany gasped, on the verge of tears.

James paused the recorder, his eyes wide. “Harold?”

A few tears slipped down Brittany’s face.

“Do you want me to listen to this alone?” James asked.

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and shook her head. “Keep playin’ it. But who’s Frank?”

“I’ll have to look it up to be sure, but I bet his last name is Wiggins.”

“Is he related to Dr. Wiggins?”

“Husband, I think.” James pressed Play.

The chief exhaled. “Unfortunately, those things are commonplace for the sick bastards who do this shit.”

“She was worked over pretty good. The first thing I thought when I saw her was that there had to be more than one guy.”

“There’s a big difference between thoughts and evidence. There was no evidence of a second perp.”

“What about the murders in Northumberland and Columbia? Again, same MO.”

“We were gettin’ close. That’s prob’ly why he moved on. Still don’t have shit to do with Frank.”

“Did you guys find any DNA?” Dale asked.

“We found some hairs,” the chief said, “but they were too degraded for a DNA profile.”

“Nigger hair?”

“We got the right guy.”

“You gonna talk to the doctor?”

“I’ll have to remind her that she still has a son to keep out of trouble.”

“Did you hear that Harold’s been sick?” Dale said. “Bill told me that Harold called in sick last week. I can’t remember him ever bein’ sick.”

“Hmm. I’ll have to give him a call tomorrow,” the chief replied.

Brittany’s eyes were like saucers.

“What do you think about the teacher?” Dale said. “He could be behind this.”

“I doubt he has the stones for somethin’ like this, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pay him a visit. You could check on Harold while you’re out there.”

“Shit,” James said.

Dale and the chief spent the rest of the conversation discussing the particulars of covering their tracks. They talked about destroying documents and possible places to move the money.

James pressed Stop on the MP3 recorder.

“We are so screwed,” Brittany said.

James stood and paced.

“James?”

“Let me think,” he said. After a minute of pacing, he stopped and sat at the table across from Brittany. “Here’s what we know. They don’t know that I sent the texts, but I’m on their radar now. Dale’s coming here tomorrow to check on Harold
and
to pay me a visit. He won’t find anything at Harold’s, but he would probably start a missing person’s investigation, and I would be a prime suspect. The other issue is Kurt. He’s a moron, but I’m pretty sure he can put two and two together if Wade shows him the pictures I took. He did steal my camera.”

“Do you think he’s gonna show Kurt the pictures?” Brittany asked.

“I’m not sure. If he does, we better be long gone.”

“How much time do you think we have?”

James rubbed his chin. “I have a hunch that he’ll give him a chance to confess before revealing the evidence. Could be weeks, could be days. The bottom line is we need to work fast. The more immediate issue is Dale coming here tomorrow.”