think after that performance, she killed anyone?” Max asked Stetson as he turned back to the chief.
“Could be an act,” he argued.
“Christ, for an officer of the law you’ve got shit instincts, Duke. The only thing that woman is capable of is bringing a man to his knees.”
Seven
How to make a man lose his mind
“That jackass Stetson wouldn’t know a killer if one hit him between the eyes,” Martha commented.
I’d made my way back to Maxine’s, not that I was following Max’s orders mind you, it just seemed like the safest place to be. I’d just informed Lucy, Frank, Martha and Maxine of Curly’s demise, and my subsequent five minutes in the back of a police car. After the initial shock had worn off, Maxine got up, pulled out five beers, and put them on the table. We each grabbed one as Maxine raised hers and said “To Curly, the kindest man this side of the tundra.” We all clinked our bottles together and drank deep remembering the man.
Then the “who would kill Curly’s” began.
Our conclusion, based on the fact the murders were the same, he must have seen something he shouldn’t and was killed to keep him quiet.
We sat in silence, each one of us reflecting I supposed on the loss of life the past two days, and in my case, who the hell was doing it.
“Where do we go from here?” Lucy asked, “If we keep pushing to go back up the mountain, will others die?”
“Stetson's sure I'm the killer, he won't look for the real one until he is convinced otherwise. We have a responsibility to this town not to push if it threatens people’s lives.”
“Christ, we’ll lose five years of research,” Frank mumbled.
“Better to lose the research than anyone else loses their life,” I told him.
“If Stetson ain’t gonna pull his head out of his ass, I guess we’ll have to find the killer ourselves,” Martha stated out of the blue.
Surprised by her comment, I questioned her sanity.
“Are you nuts? We aren’t looking for the killer.”
“Not look for the killer, look for evidence. If Stetson doesn't ask around, because he’s convinced it’s you, then I don’t see any harm in us asking. Someone might have seen someone on up Grizzly Pointe yesterday,” Maxine jumped in.
“Maxine, whoever this is they’ve killed two people, one an old man. He or she won’t hesitate to kill you or Martha if he finds out you’re asking questions,” I pointed out.
“Missy, at my age, I could die in my sleep. I don’t give a rat’s ass about dying, but I do care about this town. If this person keeps on killin’ my friends, you might as well kill me. Stetson isn’t gonna do shit so I’ll do what I can to help get you back on Grizzly Pointe,” Martha vowed.
“Count me in, Martha. We can start in the morning,” Maxine told her.
Frank and I bugged our eyes out at each other, thinking these old ladies were nuts, but Lucy had a different opinion. She stood suddenly and announced, “I’m in I can knock on doors.”
“Lucy, none of you should—”
“Count me in too, I’m not about to let you ladies take a risk like this without my muscles for backup,” Frank interrupted and my eyes shot to his. He shrugged, said, “We got nothin’ better to do with our time and I don’t think you can stop them, Mia. Better to tag along and keep them safe than to sit back and worry.”
Then all eyes were on me.
“Fine, but I highly suggest you don’t tell your son what we’re up too. After the ass-chewing I received today, I’m steering clear of him for the rest of my life.”
“You just gotta know how to handle him. I’ll explain the complexity that is Max while we cook.”
“I don’t need to know anything that is Max.”
“I’d say last night says otherwise.”
“That was the alcohol.”
“That was my son. Are you sayin’ you’re not interested?”
“I’m sayin’ I’m here to do work and then go home.”
“Well, see,” she mumbled.
“Okay, now that
“Could be an act,” he argued.
“Christ, for an officer of the law you’ve got shit instincts, Duke. The only thing that woman is capable of is bringing a man to his knees.”
Seven
How to make a man lose his mind
“That jackass Stetson wouldn’t know a killer if one hit him between the eyes,” Martha commented.
I’d made my way back to Maxine’s, not that I was following Max’s orders mind you, it just seemed like the safest place to be. I’d just informed Lucy, Frank, Martha and Maxine of Curly’s demise, and my subsequent five minutes in the back of a police car. After the initial shock had worn off, Maxine got up, pulled out five beers, and put them on the table. We each grabbed one as Maxine raised hers and said “To Curly, the kindest man this side of the tundra.” We all clinked our bottles together and drank deep remembering the man.
Then the “who would kill Curly’s” began.
Our conclusion, based on the fact the murders were the same, he must have seen something he shouldn’t and was killed to keep him quiet.
We sat in silence, each one of us reflecting I supposed on the loss of life the past two days, and in my case, who the hell was doing it.
“Where do we go from here?” Lucy asked, “If we keep pushing to go back up the mountain, will others die?”
“Stetson's sure I'm the killer, he won't look for the real one until he is convinced otherwise. We have a responsibility to this town not to push if it threatens people’s lives.”
“Christ, we’ll lose five years of research,” Frank mumbled.
“Better to lose the research than anyone else loses their life,” I told him.
“If Stetson ain’t gonna pull his head out of his ass, I guess we’ll have to find the killer ourselves,” Martha stated out of the blue.
Surprised by her comment, I questioned her sanity.
“Are you nuts? We aren’t looking for the killer.”
“Not look for the killer, look for evidence. If Stetson doesn't ask around, because he’s convinced it’s you, then I don’t see any harm in us asking. Someone might have seen someone on up Grizzly Pointe yesterday,” Maxine jumped in.
“Maxine, whoever this is they’ve killed two people, one an old man. He or she won’t hesitate to kill you or Martha if he finds out you’re asking questions,” I pointed out.
“Missy, at my age, I could die in my sleep. I don’t give a rat’s ass about dying, but I do care about this town. If this person keeps on killin’ my friends, you might as well kill me. Stetson isn’t gonna do shit so I’ll do what I can to help get you back on Grizzly Pointe,” Martha vowed.
“Count me in, Martha. We can start in the morning,” Maxine told her.
Frank and I bugged our eyes out at each other, thinking these old ladies were nuts, but Lucy had a different opinion. She stood suddenly and announced, “I’m in I can knock on doors.”
“Lucy, none of you should—”
“Count me in too, I’m not about to let you ladies take a risk like this without my muscles for backup,” Frank interrupted and my eyes shot to his. He shrugged, said, “We got nothin’ better to do with our time and I don’t think you can stop them, Mia. Better to tag along and keep them safe than to sit back and worry.”
Then all eyes were on me.
“Fine, but I highly suggest you don’t tell your son what we’re up too. After the ass-chewing I received today, I’m steering clear of him for the rest of my life.”
“You just gotta know how to handle him. I’ll explain the complexity that is Max while we cook.”
“I don’t need to know anything that is Max.”
“I’d say last night says otherwise.”
“That was the alcohol.”
“That was my son. Are you sayin’ you’re not interested?”
“I’m sayin’ I’m here to do work and then go home.”
“Well, see,” she mumbled.
“Okay, now that
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