Warning: Things are going to be difficult.

Lindsey sat in the front seat of Frannie’s jouncing car clutching a huge gift bag to her chest. She smiled as the wind blew through her short sun bleached yellow hair. It was starting to get cool but Lindsey knew she would be back to Beth’s before the sun fully set and the night took on a chill air. The weather was starting to feel more like early fall than late summer.

“You okay, Girlie Girl?”

Lindsey smiled and yawned before answering, “I’m great. Sleepy but great. It’s a good kind of tired though. You guys were so sweet to have a party for me.”

“I don’t think a seamstress, three transit workers, and four pizza’s qualifies as a party,” Frannie corrected.

“It does for me. And, I got gifts too!” Lindsey snuggled the beloved bag a bit closer before yawning again.

Frannie feigned disapproval, “A couple pairs of jeans and a few blouses are not much to brag about. Besides, we only got you clothes because we was worried we’d have to look at your way too skinny white ass if your way too big pants fell down.”

“I prefer to think of myself as scrawny,” Lindsey snorted a laugh. “But, you’re still going to have to admit it was a nice thing to do, Frannie. Thank you for organizing it.”

Frannie gave a half grin and placed his right hand on his chest, “And, what makes you think I organized it?”

“The tablecloth matched the plates that matched the plastic ware that matched the cups that matched the balloons. And, everything matched your purple outfit. Sort of screamed Frannie,” Lindsey summed up as the Eldorado bounced into the driveway.

“It’s good to see you noticed the little things,” Frannie gave a giggle. “That makes me very happy. Need help getting into the house?”

Lindsey was already out of the car with her arms wrapped around her bag, “Nope, I’ve got it covered. Good night, Frannie. Thanks again.”

“Night Girlie Girl,” she could hear him shouting after her as she let herself into the front door of the house.

Lindsey wandered into the living room hoping to find Beth. She wanted to tell her all about the party and show her the gifts. However, the living room only held one person this evening; a state trooper.

“Lindsey Ash?” He stood as he asked the question.

Lindsey dropped her bag. Her eyes went wide as she tried to take in the intimidating sight before her. From the Smokey the Bear hat all the way down to the spit polished black knee high boots, this cop was scary looking.

“That’s one big mother fucking gun,” Lindsey meant to say it to herself but somehow the cop heard it too.

He gave a slight grin, “I’m sorry if it frightens you but I’m required to carry it while on duty. It might give you some solace to know that I’ve only had to discharge it twice in ten years.”

“Sure, that’s a huge comfort,” Lindsey couldn’t seem to hold her sarcasm back.

Beth entered the room carrying two steaming mugs. She gave a brief nod to Lindsey before handing a cup to the trooper. She set the other on the coffee table close to the chair Lindsey stood next too.

“Lindsey, Officer Charbonnier is here to gather some more information about the attack. He’s taking the lead for the DA’s office. There was some concern about a conflict of interest with the local police department.” Beth took a breath in the explanation to gather her own thoughts. “Why don’t you two sit down and I’ll just be in the other room if you need me?”

“I don’t wanna sit down,” Lindsey backed herself up to the door jamb. “I already told them what I know. There’s nothing else to tell. I don’t want to talk to him. Why do I have to talk to him?”

The trooper sat down and took a sip of his coffee before speaking, “Lindsey, I need to ask a few more questions. You may not even realize you remember something which will help us catch the person or persons who assaulted you.”

“I don’t want to remember it! It almost killed me…could’ve died…could’ve been real dead…you know?” Lindsey was gasping out the words.

“Ms. Ash, I know it was a terrible experience. I’m sympathetic but a crime was committed. Now, I promise to try to make this interview as quick and painless as possible if you cooperate.” He gave a gentle fatherly wink, “But, if you don’t cooperate then I will arrest you and take you before a judge and you will be held in contempt of court. You’ll sit in a cell until you decide to work with us.”

“Officer, I’m sure you won’t mind if I call our lawyer,” Beth stated with none of the fear she currently felt.

“Of course not.” He encouraged her, “It’s what I’d do if she were my daughter.”

Beth gathered her courage and looked directly at Lindsey, “Lindsey, sit down, right now!”

“But…,” Lindsey’s heart was racing and she could barely think.

“SIT!” Beth use her sternest parental tone and the girl obeyed. “Okay, you stay put. I’m going to go make that call.” Beth hurried out of the room hoping Harvey would be at home.

Lindsey sat eyeing the trooper while he sipped his coffee. The room was unbearable quiet. The cop finally cleared his throat.

“How are you feeling, Lindsey? Are you healing up?”

She ignored his question, “You’re really gonna to toss me in jail when I’m the one that took the beating? How fair’s that?”

“I’m sorry, Lindsey. This has nothing to do with fair. This is about the law. Now, why not tell me what happened and maybe we’ll be done before Mrs. Pretty gets off the phone.” He took out a notebook and pen.

Lindsey closed her eyes and tears splashed down her cheeks. “Fine. I was putting out the trash. I stepped into the alley and something hard hit me in the back. I fell face first and smacked my head. I don’t remember nothing after that until I woke up in the hospital.”

“Did the assailant say anything?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t know or you don’t remember?” The trooper persisted, “Or you don’t want to tell me?”

Lindsey scowled, “Don’t know.”

The Officer made some notes. He took another sip of coffee.

“Did you see anything? A shadow? Clothing? A hand? Anything at all which might give us some clues about height, gender, race?”

“I got hit from behind. I only saw the pavement.”

The trooper smiled again, “Ah, but it’s not pavement. The alley is black topped. You’re not trying to lie to me, are you?”

Lindsey started to shake her head no. She could barely find her voice. “Made a mistake…you know…not lying…”

“Did you fall on the trash? If you were putting it out, you’d think it’d break your fall and you wouldn’t hit the ground hard enough to get a big old black eye like you did. Try not to lie to me this time or I might lose my patience,” his voice took that ominous tone Lindsey had learned to fear very early in life.

She felt all the blood drain from her face. She tried to scramble for the right answer but memories of being handcuffed and dragged away by the police were clouding her thinking, “I…I don’t…kn…I mean, I don’t re…remember. I must’ve dropped it when he hit me.”

“He?”

“Well, ah,…maybe he grunted like a guy?” Lindsey rambled. “You know, when I hit me with the bat.”

The trooper’s smile broadened. “He used a bat to hit you. I thought it was a board from the alley. You know, a crime of opportunity. But, if he had a bat then he was probably planning to beat you up, wasn’t he?”

Lindsey just stared at the cop. Her vision was clouded with tears. She would have run from the room but she saw Beth had returned and was watching the scene play out from the doorway. Her eyes seemed to will Lindsey to reply but the girl could not summon the strength to tell the entire truth. She could only tremble under the scrutiny of two sets of eyes.

“Are you really gonna arrest me because I can’t remember stuff?” Lindsey finally asked again.

The trooper drained his coffee mug. He set it on a coaster on the coffee table. He put his note pad and pen back in his jacket pocket. When he stood, Beth entered the room and moved closer to Lindsey.

“I don’t think there’s any need to arrest you tonight. You gave me a few more answers than I had before. But, your continued cooperation is vital to the investigation. Please, for your own sake, don’t screw around with me, Ms. Ash. Mrs. Pretty, thank you so much for your hospitality. You can give my card to your lawyer. We need to arrange for Lindsey to come in for more questioning. He should come along with her.” He tipped his hat before stating, “Don’t worry, I’ll show myself out. Ladies, goodnight.”

As soon as the door latched behind him, Lindsey let out a sob. “Oh, fuck me!”

It was noon and Ash was still lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. She was trying not to think about the visit to the DA’s office the day before. Harvey Elmwood, Mrs. Pretty’s lawyer, had gone with her. Officer Charbonnier and the DA lady were much more accepting of Ash’s claim of limited memory of the attack with her lawyer sitting in the room. In fact, any suggestions about arrest and contempt of court were completely off the table.

“Guess everybody’s afraid of somebody,” Ash mumbled to herself as she tossed the covers off.

She stumbled to the door still clad in her pajamas. She wanted a cold drink juice and then she planned to go right back to bed. However, Ash was not wallowing in her misery. She was ashamed of herself and hiding. In her room, she wouldn’t have to face Mrs. Pretty and the unspoken accusation that Ash was a liar.

“Nice fuckin’ job. Good way to thank her for putting it on the line for me,” Ash reprimanded herself. “Mommy was right, I’m nothing but bad.”

Ash made her way to the kitchen as quietly as she could. She didn’t want to get caught out of her room. At the doorway, she lost any chance of remaining unseen. Puddles raced up to her, whimpering and doing a little dog dance around her legs.

“Yep, I feel the same way,” Ash muttered.

“That you, Lindsey?” Grandpa Stu called from across the room.

“I’m such a jackass. Should’ve just settled for water from the bathroom sink,” Ash mentally abused herself. “I just wanted to get some juice,” she answered him.

“Well, get a glass for me too. Then come sit down and play some chess with me,” the old man instructed as he finished setting up the pieces.

Ash rolled her eyes, “Why the Hell did I tell him I knew how to play that stupid, eternal game? Now he wants to play all the time.”

She went to the cabinet and got two glasses. Pouring orange juice into both, she tried to think of a good way to get out of the game and back to her room. She crossed the kitchen determined to tell him no.

“Ah, I was just…,”

“Sit down, honey bunch. I let you have the north and I’ll take the south,” he said with a tilt of his head toward the Civil War chess set.

“But I was gonna…,” Ash’s resolve started to fail when she thought about what he called her. “Honey bunch. That’s kind of sweet. Wonder if he calls Nikki that too.”

Ash sat down. She took hold of a pawn and moved it forward.

“You always start with that move,” Grandpa grinned.

“One quick game,” she thought to herself. “He’s old. He might not have many games left in him. And, he did call me Honey bunch.”

After several moves, Grandpa Stu cleared his throat, “You know what?”

“What?”

“I’m not taking my heart medicine everyday. Just every other. See, I can tell I’m slippin’ a bit. My mind got that there Dementia. So, before I get too too bad, I’m gonna make sure I have enough extra pills to take myself out,” Grandpa explained.

He continued to study the chess board as he made his confession. Ash stared at him with her mouth hanging open. She couldn’t quite believe what he was telling her.

“Beth don’t know. She don’t need to. She’s been dealing with enough,” he said.

Ash snapped out of her stupor. “I don’t like that very much, Grandpa. Beth got a right to know what you’re planning. It’s her house. She might not want you dying in her house.

Stu seemed to think for a few minutes. He moved his Stonewall Jackson closer to Ash’s Lincoln.

“Maybe you’re right. Beth deserves better than me just dying. Tell you what. Before I do anything permanent I’ll talk to Beth about it,” Grandpa announced as he used a cavalry man to take General Grant.

“He’s still playing. Wants to off himself and he’s still trying to beat my game,” Ash marveled to herself as she tried to refocus on the board.

Ash used Sherman to get Stu’s Lee in Check. Stu rubbed his chin as he considered his options. Ash started to take a sip of orange juice.

“You know what I don’t like?” Stu asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “I don’t like that you lied to that policeman last week.”

Ash almost choked on her drink. She swallowed twice to clear her throat. But, Stu continued without waiting for her to speak.

“I don’t like that some guy almost beat you to death and you don’t have enough self respect to make sure he gets caught and pays for what he did to you. I don’t want to think you’re a coward but you’re not giving me a lot of options,” Stu took Sherman out with a sniper.

Ash pushed her chair back and got up. Her eyes never left Stu’s. Still, she said nothing in her defense.

“There you go, running away again.” Stu climbed to his feet. “Instead of facing the problem just run away. You’re more like your mother than people give you credit for.”

“Don’t you say that,” Ash hissed. “You got no right sayin’ such a mean thing.”

“Oh, don’t I? You listen here young lady, your mother and father might have earned the kind of disrespect you’re pulling but nobody here did. Those two proved over and over they ain’t nothing but white trash. If that’s all you want to be too then fine. You’re pretty much headin’ for the gutter from what I can see lately.” Stu was shaking now as he waved his finger inches from Ash’s nose, “But, Beth does not deserve this garbage in her life. She’s a decent woman and…,”

“Yep, right, she’s Mrs. Fuckin’ Flawless!” Tears of anger were streaming down Ash’s face. “And, I’m her ‘perfect opportunity’ to show the world how much better she is than the rest of them. Taking in her husband’s bastard kid. Isn’t she just amazing? It’s a great PR stunt, that’s all! And, I might have been born white trash but at least I didn’t sleep my way there like she did. If my mother was a whore for sleeping with your son then what’s so special about Beth? My mother only got fifty bucks a trick. Beth got a whole God Damn house for screwing that asshole!”

The slap silenced Ash. Her tears ran dry as she glared at the old man who struck her. The fury that was clearly written on her face a moment before was quickly hidden behind a practiced mask of indifference. Blood started to edge its way out of the corner of her mouth to dribble down her chin.

“Thank you for reminding me what I am, Mr. Pretty,” Ash stated before turning and making her way back to the guest room.

home poetry fiction horror sci-fi backyard m.e. wrote