Redemption (15 page)

The man knew exactly what he wanted,
Overton thought. “And what’d you think at the time, Robbie?”

Robbie smiled. “That I just made an easy fifty bucks.”

“
No, I mean, what did you think the man wanted the car for?” Overton asked.

Robbie leaned closer. “I thought he was a banger needin’ a car for a drive-by.”

Even a banger wouldn’t get a pink Cadillac to do a drive-by.
“But the Cadillac couldn’t be driven, right?”

“
Don’t know,” Robbie said. “With new tires and a tune-up, maybe. Them old engines is a whole lot easier to repair than these new ones.” He looked over his shoulder. “Shit. Tony’s comin’.”

My God,
Overton thought as he watched Tony racing toward them.
It’s Danny DeVito’s twin.
A barrel-chested man shorter than Autumn yelled “Hey!” as he rounded a pile of hubcaps.

“
Better make somethin’ up, huh?” Robbie asked.

“
Couldn’t hurt,” Overton said.

Robbie waited until Tony was a few feet away. “I don’t know, ma’am. I suppose we could squeeze this old engine into your Escort, but you’d need to do a whole lot of bodywork. This here’s is a vee-eight— Oh, hi, Tony. I was just showin’ these folks—”

“
Get back to the office,” Tony barked, and Robbie backed away. “What’s goin’ on?”

Overton laughed. “My sister has this crazy idea to put this huge engine in her little car. I’ve told her it won’t work, but she’s right persistent.”

“
You expect me to believe that the little lady wants this engine in her little car?” Tony said.

Overton took a large stride toward Tony, putting Tony in the shade of his shadow. “No. I expect you to tell the truth to any cop that comes by. Pink Cadillacs don’t vanish, Tony, but business licenses do.”

Tony chewed his lower lip. “Robbie told you.”

“
He did,” Overton said, “but I’d like to hear your side of it.”

He looked around Overton to glare at Autumn. “You, uh, gonna make trouble for me if I do?”

“
No. Stops here. I’ll only make trouble if you don’t.”

Tony tightened his jaw. “How I know that for sure?”

Overton pointed to the Pine County patch on his shoulder. “I’m out of my jurisdiction.”

Tony smiled. “So I don’t have to tell you squat.”

“
True. But ...” Overton sighed. “Never mind, Tony.”
This is gonna be easy.
Overton started for the gate, Tony trailing behind. “When do y’all close up shop?”

“
Huh?” Tony said.

Overton slowed to let Tony catch up. “When do you go home at the end of the day?”

“
Don’t know. Six usually. Why?”

And this is why you get at least a GED.
“And that’s right before a shift change, right?”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “I don’t get you.”

Overton shrugged. “It’s my sworn duty to report what I know to the Calhoun police, and cops called in for a major bust like this are mighty pissed if they get called in right before they’re supposed to be goin’ home to their wives and girlfriends. Something might get broken by accident. Some folks might get roughed up. All that buildup of testosterone. Could get ugly.”
“You gotta call this in?” Tony said.

“
My sworn duty.”

Tony stepped in front of Overton and held up his hands. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. Nigger came lookin’ for a ride. Walks right up to the Caddy. ‘How much?’ he says. I tell him it won’t run. He hands me five hundred bucks. I walk away. End of story.”

And Robbie only got fifty.
“You owe Robbie two hundred dollars.”

Tony shook his head. “I don’t owe that criminal nothin’. He’s lucky he has a fuckin’ job.”

“
He likes to talk,” Overton said.

“
So?” Tony said.

“
So you better pay him.”

“
Yeah,” Tony said with a false smile. “I guess I should do that.”

Y
ou won’t. Robbie will be lucky to have a job after tonight.
“Robbie said the man wore a cap. What color?”

“
Black,” Tony said.

“
You ever see him before or since?” Overton asked.

“
No.”

“
He have an accent?”

“
He said one sentence.” Tony toed the ground. “Wore nice boots.”

Nice boots?
“Like snow boots?”

“
Nah,” Tony said. “Like work boots, shit-kickers, the steel-toed kind. Heavy duty. Chippewas. Gotta go a hundred, hundred-twenty easy.”

A working man?
“Was he a gang-banger?”

Tony looked up. “Ain’t they all?”

Overton bent over, his nose inches from Tony’s. “Most
aren’t
. Was this man wearing such nice work boots, in your opinion, a gang-banger?”

Tony looked down. “No. He drove a piece-of-shit Buick. No wheels, no loud music, no gold teeth.”

“
Approximate age?”

“
Hell if I know,” Tony said. “Older. Maybe forty.” He stepped back into the sunlight. “Hey, are we done here? I got a business to run.”

It ain’t going anywhere, and we’re the only customers anyway.
Overton straightened. “Yep, we’re done. Just do me a favor.”

“
What?”

“
I just paid Robbie twenty bucks to get information I should have
already
had.” He held out his hand. “Pay up.”

Tony squinted. “You ain’t serious, are you?”

Overton turned to Autumn. “You still have that cell phone?”

“
You’re serious,” Tony said. He pulled out two wadded bills from his pocket. “Two tens all right?”

Overton smoothed out the money. “Yep. Now you only owe him a hundred-eighty.”

“
Hey, don’t tell no one about this,” Tony said. “I got a reputation.”

“
Tell who about what?” He turned to Autumn. “Ready to go, Sis?”

Autumn rolled her eyes. “Sure, Bro.”

After lunch at The Hot Dog Shack, Overton directed Autumn toward the mall southwest of Calhoun. “What are we doing here?”

My thoughts exactly.
“We’re going to a jewelry store.”

Autumn smiled. “For Miss Callie?”

“
Yep.”

“
I’m jealous. Are you going all out? Because if you aren’t, I’m not helping you a bit.”

“
Why?”

“
It’s a woman thing.”

Women are a cruel breed of human.
“Okay. Let’s go all out.”

They entered Fenton Jewelers and were immediately served by a tall, stately-looking woman with dyed blond hair. “How may I help you today?”

“
We’re, uh,” Overton started to say. He smiled. “We’re looking for—”

Autumn cut him off. “What my fiancé is trying to say, is that we’re looking for engagement rings.”

The saleswoman smiled broadly. “I thought so. I can always tell.”

While the two women checked out a tray of rings, Overton wandered through the store.
Three grand for a watch? I’ll keep my Timex. That way I can tell time and eat for a year or two at the same time.
He looked at the various birthstones.
I’m sure Callie’s got one, but she doesn’t celebrate birthdays anymore
—

“
I’m ready, honey,” Autumn said.

“
So soon?”

“
Yes, honey.” She latched onto his arm.

“
She’s picked out four
marvelous
rings,” the saleswoman said, laying a tray in front of him. “Each one looks
fabulous
on her.”

Overton squeezed Autumn’s hand. “Which one do you like the best, honey?”

Autumn slipped the ring with the largest diamond on it onto her ring finger. “This one.”

“
It looks so lovely on her,” the saleslady said. “Don’t you think?”

Overton wasn’t thinking of the ring’s loveliness. He was thinking of the bottom line, watching the price tag sway in the breeze.
Five thousand dollars!
“Yep. It sure is a beaut.”

“
Will you be opening an account with us, sir?” the saleslady asked.

I’ve never even owned a credit card, ma’am.
“Thanks for your help.”

The woman’s smile faded. “I can hold it for you for a few days.”

Overton looked at Autumn, but Autumn was only looking at the ring.
That ring ain’t goin’ nowhere for a while at that price.
“That won’t be necessary.”

Autumn pouted and gave the ring to the saleswoman. “But it’s the one I want, honey.”

Overton grunted and led Autumn out of the store and to the car. “I can’t believe that a little rock like that can cost that much.”

“
It’s supposed to last a lifetime.”

“
Callie and me ain’t spring chickens, Autumn. I just want one to get us through the
next
fifteen years.”

They drove past Wal-Mart on their way out of Calhoun County. “Wonder if I could get Callie a ring there.”

Autumn growled. “Doesn’t Miss Callie deserve a fancy ring?”

“
Sure, but—”

“
Then that’s what you’ll get her. When’s the wedding?”

“
We haven’t discussed that yet.”

They passed several antiques shops. “Fall weddings are so beautiful. Am I invited?”

“
We aren’t even properly engaged yet.”

“
Oh, and I’ll need to write up an engagement announcement for the paper. Wait, if y’all are getting married in the fall, you two have work to do, Miles.”

“
Now just wait a darn minute—”

“
And I’ll be your wedding coordinator,” Autumn said. “For a fee, of course.”

Overton gave up, and on the drive back to Snow, he listened to Autumn’s plans for
his
wedding.

And despite the rising costs, he liked what he heard.

Finally dropped off at his home, a two-bedroom ranch with a burned-out yard, Overton added to his list:

Why that particular cemetery?
he wondered.
It was clear across town from the hospital. And where was Creed for ten years? He would have needed money. And what black male has something against Annie, if he was, indeed, the driver?

He took his list to the basement.
I’ve put it off long enough
. He had promised himself yearly that he wouldn’t re-open J’s file, but something kept calling him back. He never looked at the pictures, though. They were already in his permanent memory.

Unlike the other files he had inherited from Sheriff Hughes, J’s file fit into a single manila envelope marked “Jeremiah Poindexter, Summer ‘83.” He stared at it on the old workbench, a single light bulb dangling above. “Tell me something new this time,” he whispered, and he slid out the contents of the envelope, leaving the photographs inside. He and Hughes had only done four interviews during a four-month investigation: Callie Poindexter, Sharese White, Lester Williams, and Annie Mitchem.
And two of them are dead.
He set Callie’s statement aside and re-read the transcript of his interview with Lester: