Chapter 2

“WHAT?” was heard, from the guest room, plainly, by all concerned. She came out wearing a shorts outfit, cuter than a button, and sandals, effectively looking like she’d been up and dressed forever. Good move, Donna, regardless of the law, it would make this seem less of a situation and more normal for us. “Oh, my,” she said, acting surprised at the uniform and badges. “I’m Donna. What’s going on?”

“Have a seat, please. Both of you.” We were all in the kitchen dining area, and all four of us took a seat. Brent started. “There are some irregularities, and some folks from the Atlanta police need to get some background. You’re Donna Curry, then?”

“I went by Curry in school. It made things easier. My last name is actually Grant. I haven’t been adopted or anything. Grant has always been my last name. Birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, and all that. School enrollment said Curry, but they knew I was a Grant by birth.”

“Got it. Donna, this is Detective John Parson of the Atlanta Police Department.” Donna nodded. “Go ahead, John. Charlie is a friendly. Trust me on that.”

“Thanks, Brent. OK, it seems like some foul play may have taken place with your brother’s death, Mr. Curry. It seems, from my view, anyway, that things are happening too fast and money is flying too far and in quantities too large to point to anything else. I’ll tell you what we know, then if you can help us fill in any blanks, we’d appreciate it.

“Firstly, Donna’s mother is already shacked up with another guy. No problem from a legal sense, but it looks bad. No law against it, HOWEVER, secondly, the guy that ran that deadheading semi into your brother is out on bail and has a brand new shiny seventy-five-thousand-dollar deposit in his family checking account. His wife has cancer. Him being a truck driver and her being a waitress, it doesn’t look that good. Thirdly, Sherri Curry’s new boyfriend plays cards with the owner of the trucking company the driver worked for. And, fourth, an inventory of that company shows that truck, was the oldest on their lot, due for a rebuild, and again, was NOT pulling a trailer. Odd for that to happen, on the outskirts of town, the other side of town from the company, their service contractor, any load out warehouses, and their fuel source. Just doesn’t make sense to us. There was a half million-dollar policy and somehow over a hundred and a half large is already gone. The rest is still in an offshore account, but we were able to get the government there to help us out a bit. Seems they’re short on medical equipment on the island and we kind of worked a deal. Nothing we’ll admit to yet, though.

“Would either of you have anything to add to that information?”

“She cheated on Doug. She cheated on my Dad, too, come to think of it. She never said anything that I know of. I wouldn’t have protected her if she did. Mr. Parson, Sherri isn’t my mom. She’s my stepmother. I thought she was OK, but I found out she was cheating on my dad. I know she was cheating on Doug, not confirmed until after he was gone, but if I knew anything, I would have protected him, not her. My mother died, along with my little brother, in a hospital in Germany when I was like two or three. My grandparents raised me for a long time, then Sherri came along, and Grandpa passed away. Grandma got sick a little later, then she died, too. Sherri kept me when Dad was deployed, then when he didn’t come home, she got all his insurance and figured she’d keep me. Even when she remarried, I was still a dependent and had access to military base facilities and medical coverage. Anyway, I was just saying if I knew she was doing something bad to Doug, I would have called this one,” she pointed her thumb over at me, “so he could have done something about it.”

“Why would you have called Charlie, hon?” Parson asked her.

“Doug was blind to Sherri. She couldn’t do anything wrong. If I’d said she was doing anything bad, she would have taken him by his handle,” she giggled, “and made sure he didn’t believe me. I’m pretty sure anyway. As much as they argued, she always won the fights, and he always came back out of the bedroom with a satisfied look on his face. Charlie would have listened to me. He thought Sherri was my mother until just a couple of months ago, but still, I would have done it that way.”

“Well, that gives us more circumstantial basis. Mr. Curry, anything you can think of?”

“No, John, just what Doug told me about her cheating on Donna’s father, the shoebox of letters, and such. Doug and I weren’t close. Nothing bad, though. We talked, occasionally, and I went to meet Sherri when they first got serious, then the wedding and reception, but as it wound up, I was really closer to Donna here than I was to Doug. We were family and all, but we never had anything in common. Like Donna said, I thought she was Sherri’s daughter until Sherri gave her some money and sent her out here to me.”

“Interesting. When did that happen?”

“Donna, wasn’t it six weeks after the funeral you showed up? I think I remember talking about that.” She nodded. “Nine weeks ago? Close to that anyway. Around the first of June.”

“OK. Thanks. If either of you remember anything else, please call us.” He handed me a card. “Do you mind if I ask why you came here, Donna?”

“Not at all. Sherri knew I had a thing for Charlie. She also needed me out of the way. Her new boy toy didn’t want me around, so she threw some money at me and told me to bail. I came here and told Charlie how I felt. I asked him to help me. He told me how he felt. Then he said yes. Then I said yes. There has been a lot of yeses lately.” She giggled.

Parson laughed. Brent chuckled.

“Make sure to let him out often, Donna, and brush him regularly. Charlie, you are a dog!”

We all laughed at that comment.

My saying “Bow wow” didn’t slow the mirth one iota.

“Thank you both. Please, if you remember anything, call me.” Parson touched his brow in a manner of a salute.

As they were walking out the door, Donna yelled, “Wait. Stay there. All of you.” She ran into the guest room and came back out holding her phone. “Look at these numbers, Mr. Parson. Maybe this is one of the trucking company guys. Sherry asked to borrow my phone one evening while Doug was down at the bar with his buddies.”

Parson looked at it and jotted down some numbers and such. “Four months ago. Huh! Hang on.” He used his cell phone to call someone, asked them to look it up, gave them the number and we watched as his eyebrows rose. He looked like he was scrolling down and then gave them another number, then a third. “You have a friend named Tina?” Donna nodded. “Donna, I hate to do this, but get any information you need off this phone. I can wait for a bit while you do. I’m going to have to take it as evidence. If Sherri was the only person you let use this phone, this ties her to both the employer, AND the driver...”

The gasp let loose by Donna was only overshadowed by my own. Sherri had my brother murdered. Damn the bitch.

“Then she got Donna out of town so no one would look at her phone or her phone records. Almost clever. Almost,” Parson said.

Donna got the notepad off the kitchen counter and started jotting down names and numbers. She also wrote the names of some apps she was using. Games for the most part, but she could start them back up and maybe even continue where she left off.

“I’ll get you a new phone on my plan later today, baby, don’t even worry about it,” I told her. She tried to smile, but I could tell it was forced. It wasn’t about the phone. It was about Sherri and what may have happened. What probably happened. Parson painted a pretty clear picture.

Parson recorded her saying she loaned her stepmother the phone and about when it happened, then he continued. “That may put a lid on it, folks. We can hope. If we can turn any of them, we’re home free, but this may be enough in itself. A lot of folks in the legal profession say circumstantial evidence is just bullshit, but if you pile manure high enough and enough of it falls on you, it’ll do you in.

“It’ll be a while, but it looks like I’ll probably need both of you in Atlanta for court at some point. Donna as a fact witness and you, Mr. Curry, as a circumstantial witness what with your brother’s input. That shoebox may be something the prosecutor is interested in, too. We’ll see. Anyway, we’ll be in touch. Thank you both.” He shook my hand then took Donna’s in a small shake as well. Nice guy.

Brent mentioned getting out on the links soon, to which I adamantly agreed, then they all took off, the deputy that had been outside waiting for them in one car, and Brent and John Parson in the other car.

“Wow,” Donna said.

“Yeah. Wow. Come on.” I got dressed while she watched me and we went out to the truck, jumped in, and headed for town. “Let’s go get you a new phone. Afterwards, you can call all of your friends and let them know your new number.”

“All three of the girls. Cool. No rush, Charlie. I wasn’t Miss Popularity, and the only boys that tried to get to know me wanted in my knickers. I have three friends I want to get my new number to and that’s about it. The rest of what I wrote in the kitchen was scores for Cookie Blast, Bejeweled, and a couple of other games I like. I was pretty far along.” She looked at me and smiled. “Kind of like we will be, if things like this morning keep happening.”

“About that...” She interrupted me.

“If you say we’re going to proceed at my pace, I think I know that. I’ve seen that. I understand that. I’m fine. I appreciate you doing that. I don’t feel pressured. I feel more held back, but I understand, and love you even more for it. Oooops. I said it. Bad Donna. After this morning, it’s my intention that you won’t go completely without anymore. I think you said this morning was special for you. It was for me, too. I promise. Charlie, there are a megabatrillion things I can do, we can do, without us consummating a marriage before we want to, or more accurately before we’re ready. This morning was but one, or two, or three of those things, depending on what your outlook is. There are a lot more. I plan to use some of them to keep us interested in each other until things progress in our relationship. Oh, and don’t change anything on the web access router box thing. Everything is just the way it needs to be.” She grinned.

“If you don’t think I feel the same way, honey, you’d be wrong. I do. I’m afraid to say it. Two months. Three months. However long, using that word is dangerous. I will, though. I know I will. As far as all those other things, I can’t wait. Donna, I really do want this. Please let me know if you ever aren’t happy. That would really kill me.” The conversation ended just as we pulled up to the phone store. She squeezed my hand and smiled at me as we got out of the truck.

The lady there was a blast. She helped Donna pick out a new phone, similar to her old one, but generations newer. She was also able to, with Donna’s help logging in, get most of the information from the old account and downloaded to her new device. Contacts and settings, anyway. Cookie Jelly Blaster or whatever it was called, was a Donna problem, and she was on her own. The clerk and I laughed at the look on Donna’s face. One of mock horror. She laughed with us after she let us know how terrified she was of going through the games again.

The good news was she once again had a phone, and with it a new number. The bad news was for Sherri. If she called Donna, the Atlanta police would answer. Donna texted her friends, letting them know she had the new number and that everything was still going well. School was starting in less than a month, though, and she was a bit apprehensive about starting a new year, in a new school, without knowing anyone. Even though she’d be a senior, and not subject to upperclassmen’s antics, it still wasn’t ideal.

We were shopping at our local grocery when I ran into one of our town’s finer citizens, the mayor no less, with a young woman accompanying him.

“Charlie Curry, what the hell are you up to, young man? I haven’t seen you in ages. You’ve missed the last couple of Chamber meetings. Charlie, this is my daughter, Amy. Her mother ran off to Pennsylvania to be with family and left us behind.”

“Nice to meet you, Amy. This is my niece. Well, not really anymore. Roger and Amy Baker, this is my girlfriend, Donna Grant. She’s new to town. Amy, are you still in school, by chance?”

“Yes, Mr. Curry, I am. Senior year then I’m outa here. Leaving the Lou and heading to Mizzou! I hope.” She grinned. Donna giggled at the play on words. Amy held her hand out to shake with Donna. “Nice to meet you, Donna.”

“You as well, Amy. I’m starting my senior year, too. What did you mean, leaving the Lou?”

“The St. Louis area. All the ads these days are calling it ‘The Lou’. It just sounded good. I’m not much of a poet. I’m hoping to get into Mizzou based on Daddy’s money and my STEM scores, not my literary abilities, of which there are none.”

“So, I ain’t the only one what’s got that problem?” Amy laughed at Donna’s comment and shook her head. The girls started talking, making me feel wonderful, hearing a giggle or two, and leaving Roger and I to talk about golf, Chamber of Commerce meetings, and me missing the last two, whilst avoiding a certain buxom blonde that wants to have my children while emptying my wallet.

The blonde in question is a fairly recent graduate of UMKC Law School and came home to a very entitled, in her mind, lifestyle. Her father is a big-time lawyer in our little burg, getting a lot of business out of the city on trip and trap cases and such. He even advertises them that way. “Accident? Slip and Fall? Dial all sevens for Randy Hall. We’ll get you all the compensation you deserve.” Drove me nuts. Anyway, Diane Hall was not my cup of tea. Nothing worse than a gold digger that grew up with a silver spoon. Ackkk. She was beautiful and built like a brick shit house, and of course, always dressed to the nines in form fitting silk blouses, short pencil skirts, stockings, and heels. Yes, obviously she dressed like I would like to see my woman dressed, but ... She was obnoxious. She was stuck up, conceited, and all the other traits of the head cheerleader up until just before the quarterback dumps her for the next one in line.

Only Diane never came down to earth. She probably kicks herself for ever dating Frank now, after his clear failure to launch, as they say, but ... Whatcha gonna do. You pays your money and you takes your chances! Frank runs the most highbrow beauty salon down in St. Peters now, catering to the money in town. He’s self-admittedly as queer as a three-dollar bill, lives at home with his widowed mother, and is proud of both of those facts. We all love him. He really is a great guy. He just doesn’t want Diane touching him anymore. She probably feels the same way.

My attention was turned back to Roger. “Yes, Roger, as soon as we get settled, I’ll touch base with Occifer Brent and we’ll get a foursome together for the Chamber tournament. Promise.”

Roger laughed at the comment. We made fun of the Sheriff and called him Occifer Brent once in a while. He didn’t mind, too much. Roger said, “Great. Hey, gotta run.” He looked down at his cart. “Supplies for the cats so we can run off to PA to catch up with Annie. She had to go out early for a class reunion, but I couldn’t leave until our princess here finished some course she’s taking for college. Amy, come on, let’s go. Get Donna’s number and you all can talk later.”

I saw the girls trading numbers, smiling at each other, and already saying goodbye, right after they had met. In any case, it was completely fortunate. Now Donna will know someone when she starts school in August.

“Charlie, that was great. How lucky for me! You really are good luck, you know it?”

Just then, Diane Hall came around the corner, the click, click, click of her heels catching my attention. She looked up from the shopping cart she was pushing in front of her.

“Well, hello, handsome. Did you know I was here? Following me, maybe?”

“No, I didn’t and no I wasn’t, or this wouldn’t have happened.”