Hunter

 

Tablo reader up chevron

Chapter One

     I was standing at the top of an extension ladder cleaning out my gutters when the mail man showed.  I could always tell it was the mail man by the sound of his truck.  Something was going on in the front left wheel but despite the numerous times I volunteered to take a look at it he persisted to evade my hospitality.  Truthfully, it was no skin off my back, just an attempt at being neighborly.

     I was just descending from the ladder when he stopped, grabbed a handful of mail and held it out the window for me as I approached.

     “Mornin’ Vickie.”

     “Mornin’ Ralph.”  I replied with a smile on my face.  Removing my slime coated gloves I wiped my sweaty hand on my jeans before accepting the packages held out to me.  “How was the game on Friday?”

     “Same as it ever was.  We tromped ‘em in the second half.  You should’ve seen Stevie play…it was a sight I’ll tell ya.”

     Stevie was the mail man’s son.  Star quarterback, looking at a full ride to any college of his choice.  In most small towns, sports were the only way to escape.  It was helpful to be talented.

     “That sounds like quite a time!  Sorry I missed it.  I’ve been busy down at the store.  Inventory is coming.”

     Most of this was the truth, part of it a lie.  I had no interest in sports.  Nor in the town’s social events.  Mainly, I just wanted peace and quiet.  Believe it or not, that is something that is hard to come by in small towns where everybody knows everything about everyone.

     Well, most everything.  Sometimes you can keep a secret buried.  The trick was to make them believe you were transparent.  Then they stop digging.  It’s when you look like you are hiding something that they tend to pry.

     “Speaking of the store…I almost forgot!”  Ralph said before turning to pick up a padded envelope on the seat beside him.  “Nancy told me you was off today and this came to the store for you.”  Nancy was the owner of the store in question.  She had taken me in under her wing when I first rolled into town 7 years ago.  I had been a royal mess back then.  Still am in many regards.  But she had given me a chance when I needed it most and had done so without judgment.  “She thought it was important and with it being your day off thought you might want it sooner than later.”

     I accepted the envelope glancing at the return sender’s address.  It was from the Coroner’s Office in Spokane, Washington.  My heart stopped, a lump wedged in my throat and I’m pretty sure the blood drained from my face when the implications hit me.

     “Vickie?”  Ralph’s voice softened.  “You got family in Spokane?”

     “Huh?  Oh no,” I answered as I quickly recovered from the shock.  “No I don’t…I’m actually at a loss.  Probably nothing.”  I quickly put the envelope under the stack he had given me initially.  The smile returned to my face and I looked upward at the sky.  “Gotta get back to work Ralph…those clouds look full and these gutters aren’t going to clean themselves out.”

     Ralph scrutinized my expression before returning the smile.  He put his truck into gear and drove off.  I stood in the driveway watching him go, the contents of the envelope a dead weight in my hand as I tried to ignore it and look nonchalant in the eyes of the retreating mail man.  I stood in the same place watching the dust settle and the sun slowly crawl toward the horizon not wanting to acknowledge the package that had come in the mail.

     Spokane.

     The Coroner’s Office.

     It could mean only one thing and it was something I didn’t want to consider.  Not even contemplate in the slightest.  But there it was, the past smack dab in my present.  No matter where you went, the past always caught up to you in the end.

     I turned and walked into the house forgetting about the gloves on the step and the ladder still resting against the house waiting for me to finish cleaning out the gutters.  Those could wait.  This could not.

     But first, I needed a drink.

 

Comment Log in or Join Tablo to comment on this chapter...

Chapter Two

     I was sitting on the front porch in my favorite rocker with a half empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s Whiskey on the table beside me.  There was a tumbler filled with a shot sitting beside the bottle and an empty one in my hand when a car turned up the drive and bathed me in its headlights. 

     I winced, raising my free hand to shield my eyes from the glare and waited until the car had settled, shut off the offending lights and sat idling in the driveway a few yards from the porch.  The driver of the vehicle killed the engine and I lowered my hand to the bottle beside me so that I could refill my tumbler.  The Nissan’s engine ticked as it began to cool down and I raised my glass to the driver in a salute before taking another drink.  I knew it was only a matter of time before she arrived.  She always was too damned predictable. 

     The car door opened and for a brief moment Nancy was bathed in light of the overhead dome before she exited the vehicle and closed the door behind her.  Her footsteps crunched on the gravel drive and I smiled in greeting as she approached the porch.

     “Evenin’ Nancy,” I raised my glass to my lips once more and looked away from her disapproving stare into the woods that surrounded my property.  “You’re out late.”

     "I see you’re drinking again.”  A statement.  Nothing more or less.  I remained silent knowing there was nothing to say.  Nancy knew me better than most and words would be meaningless.

     She sighed, dropped her overlarge purse on the wooden planks and looked at the tumbler on the table beside me.

     “Joe?”

     Pain flitted across my face briefly and I finished the shot I had poured as my answer.  This was my lame attempt at regaining my composure.

     “Shit.”  She sighed.  “I was afraid of that.”

     She leaned against the railing and nodded toward the bottle.

     “Got a glass for me?”

     I smiled, reached beside my chair and produced a tumbler for my best friend.  She smiled, a sad smile, and watched as my shaking hands poured us both a drink.

     “To Joe,” she toasted, raising her glass in salute.

     “To Joe,” I whispered.  The shaking continued and the tears that had threatened all day finally came as the tumbler slipped from my fingers and the news of the day finally hit home.  Nancy caught me as I slid from my chair and held me as the waves of grief tore through me consuming me just as she did for many nights when I first came to town covered in blood.

 

Comment Log in or Join Tablo to comment on this chapter...
~

You might like 's other books...