Chapter 8

Eleven years and a few months had passed since the day Judy had been murdered. A lot will happen in that amount of time. Elderly die, children are born, and people marry. Life goes on. Nothing stays the same.

Paul and his wife, Kim, had driven four thousand miles in a loop, seeing the sights at the rate of hundred and fifty miles a day. They had been on the road for a month. There was a lot of the country to see, and they were in no rush. Paul had come to the conclusion that this was the perfect kind of vacation. Now that he was retired, he could take trips that lasted for a month or more.

He also had more than enough money to pay for vacations like that. After Judy died, it was like her parents gave up on life. They stopped doing things and slowly wasted away. They had left him half of their estate. That would have been Judy’s share.

Paul’s parents had passed away several years after that. His father had had a bad heart, and his mother wilted away shortly after his father died. He had been the sole inheritor of the estate, and had moved back into his childhood home. Neither set of parents were all that wealthy, but together the estates added up to some significant money.

He also had his 401K from where he had worked. Then there was his savings, which had accumulated at a tremendous rate while living a spartan lifestyle in that small apartment. Finally, there was social security.

Kim had a job as a law enforcement officer. In fact, that was how Paul had met her. He had been following a car when it suddenly swerved and struck another car nearly head on. There were injuries and Paul had pulled over to provide first aid. When the police, ambulances, and fire department arrived, he went to return to his car. Along the way, he noticed a deer thrashing around by the side of the road. He went back to the first police officer he could find to let someone know about the deer. When he tapped the police officer on the shoulder, Kim had turned to look at him. He explained to her about the deer. She went over and put it out of its misery. He had then thanked her for the kindness she had shown the poor animal. They met for coffee after her shift was over.

At that time, she wasn’t a regular full-time employee with a police department. She filled in when other cops were ill, on vacation, or unable to come for some other reason. She did that for three different towns, including the one they lived in. This allowed her a lot of freedom as to when she had to work. During the off seasons, when kids were in school, she could take month long vacations since very few officers tried to get time off in fall or spring.

They were unloading the car from their annual trip when a taxi stopped in front of the house. Always aware of her surroundings, Kim paused to look at the taxi. She frowned when a woman got out of the taxi.

Kim asked, “Who is that?”

The woman was now walking up the driveway. Paul looked at her and groaned. It only took him a fraction of a second to recognize her despite the fact that she hadn’t aged well.

He told Kim, “Go get your gun.”

“Why?”

“That’s Annie,” Paul said tilting his head in Annie’s direction.

“Oh, crap!” Kim said before scurrying into the house.

Kim knew all about Annie. She had heard his story. She had also read the office police reports. There was a footnote in the official report that Annie was a narcissist with sociopathic tendencies. She knew that Paul had written Annie a letter telling her that she was persona non grata, and never to come to his home. Apparently, Annie didn’t care. That meant trouble.

Annie watched the woman who was much younger than her father go into the house. She wasn’t surprised that he had taken up with younger woman. That’s what old men did. There were a lot of bimbos out there who took up with sugar daddies. At least this bimbo wouldn’t give her any trouble.

Annie set the tone of the encounter when she asked, “Who’s the bimbo?”

Paul would have smiled at the question, but didn’t. Kim was not the kind of woman one called a bimbo. She was about as far from being a bimbo as the earth was to the sun. She was the most self-sufficient, street smart, and tough woman he had ever met.

“Annie,” Paul warned.

“I asked who is the bimbo.”

Deciding to be cute, Paul said, “I answered your question. The only bimbo here is you.”

“Fuck you, Daddy Dearest,” Annie said getting angry.

“Get lost, Annie,” Paul said bluntly.

“I want my stuff.”

“I threw everything out,” Paul said.

“You fucking bastard.”

“Now that we’ve established that you’re a bimbo, and I’m a fucking bastard, I don’t think we have anything else to say to each other. Leave here, and never come back.”

She had known it was going to be tough dealing with him. He had never approved of her. Still, he was her father. As far as she was concerned, that meant he owed her some support until she got back on her feet. It might take a little time since she was an ex-con, but that was his problem. She had needs and he was supposed to provide them for her.

“I want my stuff,” Annie shouted.

Kim came out of the house carrying a shotgun. She held it like she knew what she doing.

Annie asked, “Are you going to shoot me, Daddy Dearest?”

“I won’t,” Paul said smiling over at Kim.

Looking as serious as a heart attack, Kim racked the shotgun. It made a distinctive sound that always captured everyone’s attention. Annie stared at the shotgun.

Kim said, “I’m more than willing to shoot you.”

Kim was definitely holding the shotgun like she knew what she was doing. Annie had seen prison guards wielding shotguns of the same kind as Kim was holding. None of them had looked as comfortable with a gun as Kim did.

“You?” Annie asked with a frown.

“I spent a tour in the desert killing terrorists. Taking out a common murderer would be nothing, compared to facing them. It might even help me deal with my PTSD. Sometimes, I just want to blow something - or someone - away.”

Paul could barely contain his glee at how Kim was putting Annie in her place. Kim was one woman with whom Annie wouldn’t want to tangle. She had ‘been there and done that.’ She’d seen it all. She wasn’t afraid to do it again. It was one of the things he really appreciated about her.

“Don’t get your panties in a wad, bitch. I just want what is mine.”

“There’s nothing of yours here,” Paul said.

“What about my car?”

“I had it impounded. They sold it, years ago.”

“My jewelry?”

“Tossed into the trash. I told you that in the letter.”

Annie stood there, open mouthed. There was no way that he would throw all of that jewelry away. It was worth a small fortune.

“You’re lying.”

“I threw the jewelry box away. I didn’t even look inside it. It was cursed by having belonged to you,” Paul said.

“My clothes?”

“In the trash. Like I said, I threw everything away.”

Finally, she asked, “What about the pictures?”

“Threw them in the trash. I kept nothing in that house that had anything to do with you. I threw out the pots, pans, and dishes, because I though you might have touched them at some time.”

“You could have kept the pictures,” Annie said.

She found that hurt more than she could believe. After all, they were pictures of her. She couldn’t understand why anyone would want to throw away pictures of her.

“Why would I want pictures of the monster who killed my wife?”

“I’m not a monster.”

Kim said, “In my book, killing your mother pretty much makes you a monster.”

Paul said, “Leave now and never come back.”

“Can I at least have some money?”

“No,” Paul said.

“I’ve got nothing,” Annie said trying to play the victim.

Kim wasn’t buying it. She glanced over at Paul, and saw that he was shaking his head in disgust. She was pleased that he wasn’t buying it, either.

He said, “Too bad.”

“May I make a suggestion?” Kim asked.

“What?”

She said, “There’s always prostitution.”

“Don’t you have any compassion for a poor woman who is down on her luck?”

“Nope,” Kim said. “I lost that in the desert.”

Annie couldn’t believe it. Her father had married a woman who was as much of a hard ass as he was. She was going to try guilt again.

“Don’t you feel bad that you threw everything of mine away?”

“No. Why would I want to keep anything that you had touched?”

She couldn’t believe it. Her father wasn’t giving an inch. She changed tactics going after his parental instincts.

Annie said, “You’re my father. You’re supposed to help your child.”

“You lost all rights to my help, a long time ago. You killed the woman who was your mother, and my wife,” Paul said.

Seeing that wasn’t working, she tried begging. “Please. I’m really desperate.”

“No. This conversation is over. Leave. Now.”

There had to be a way to make him see reason. Annie clenched her fists and took a step forward.

“One more step and you’re a wet spot on the driveway,” Kim said.

There was nothing friendly in her voice. It had taken on a sudden hardness, that cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. Annie recognized that hardness, having heard it often enough in prison. A chill went down her spine. One glance at Kim showed that she was more than willing to bury Annie, right there in the front yard. It was the look in her eyes. This was one woman she didn’t want to mess with.

Annie backed up a step.

Kim said, “Go.”

Annie decided that there was one last hope. If she could get in the house, then she could look around for some of her stuff. Once she proved that he had her stuff then she could start dictating terms.

She asked, “Can I use your phone to call a taxi?”

“Walk. There’s a store two miles down the main road. They might let you use their phone,” Kim said.

“Daddy? You’re not going to let her talk to me like that, are you?”

“You heard her. Start walking,” Paul said pointing down the road.

Annie backed up a couple of steps.

Kim said, “Oh, one other thing. If you decide to go the prostitution route, don’t do it my town. I’ll fucking throw you in jail so fast your head will spin.”

“Huh?”

“I’m a fully authorized law enforcement officer.”

“You’re a cop?”

“That’s right. Now go before I arrest you for trespassing.”

Annie turned and trudged down the driveway. She stopped once and looked back at Paul and Kim. Paul was leaning against his car with a smile on his face. Kim was holding the shotgun cradled in her arms. They were both watching her. She turned and walked away.