Dark Places by Reavis Z Wortham Read Free Book Online Page B

her moist eyes. Running ragged nails through her dishwater blond hair, Melva gave the lawmen a crooked grin. She shook her head. A shrill, self-conscious giggle became a guffaw. “He sure did love stewed prunes.”
    Embarrassed by the odd statement, Winnie Louise rubbed Melva’s back in sympathy. “He’s in a good place.”
    Fannie patted Melva’s hand. “Better than this old world.”
    Melva giggled again and shrugged her thick shoulders. “I guess it’s up to me now to milk.”
    â€œWhy, honey, you can sell that old cow.”
    Another giggle, and then tears rolled down her plump cheeks. “Marty’ll milk for me. I imagine he’ll hang around the house more now that Leland’s gone.”
    Those two were like oil and water, and Marty never much took to Leland after they married. Leland expected him to listen to him as a son would, but the youngster was turned in such a way that they never saw eye to eye.
    Melva wiped her tears. “What am I gonna do about Leland?”
    Ned cleared his throat. “We’ll take care of that right now. He’s on his way to Travers and Williams. They’ll fix him up and you can go up there this evenin’ or in the mornin’ and pick out his casket.”
    Melva giggled again and everyone in the house was embarrassed.
    Ned had all he could take. “Let’s go.”
    â€œBye, Melva.” Cody touched her shoulder and followed. “Call if you need anything.” They clumped down the steps, passing another couple on their way in with a fresh-baked peach pie.
    Marty rested on the fender of Cody’s sheriff’s car, one heel propped on the front bumper and his hands cupped around a Zippo. He flicked it closed and exhaled a lungful of smoke toward the two lawmen.
    Ned wanted to simply walk past the glower, but it wasn’t polite not to say anything at all on such a day. “Sorry for your loss, son.”
    â€œI ain’t your son.” Marty hawked and spat. “Sorry is the best description for that man I can think of. He wasn’t enough for my mama. She deserved better.”
    Cody tried to stay out of it and let his gaze rest on Marty’s Dodge parked in the yard. He idly checked the truck’s fenders, in case Marty might have run into something, but they were undamaged and freshly waxed. He tried to think of something to say, but everything sounded trite and dusty in his mind.
    Ned slipped his hands in his pockets. “We’ll do our best to find out what happened.”
    â€œI don’t care one way or another. He never was much, no how.”
    To control his temper, Ned changed the subject. “You might want to replace some of them boards up there on the porch.”
    â€œI’ll get around to it.”
    â€œYour mama’s liable to fall through and get hurt.”
    As if that hadn’t occurred to him, Marty straightened to better see the boards. “I’ll get to it soon as I can.”
    â€œAll right, then.” There wasn’t any point in standing in the wet, talking to a post.
    Another couple arrived, the woman carrying a covered dish. After a somber exchange of howdys, the lawmen got in the car.
    As soon as Ned slammed his door and was sure no one could hear him, he took off his hat and rubbed his head. “That woman’s as crazy as a shithouse rat, and so is that no’count boy of hers.”
    Cody started the car and grinned. The wipers caught the water beaded on the windshield and flicked it away. Only then did Marty push off the fender, but he didn’t turn around. Ignoring him, Cody saw an abandoned truck rusting to dust in a thick mat of coastal Bermuda grass. Beyond the fence, a weathered barn sat a hundred yards from the house with Leland’s pickup parked inside.
    â€œHang on a minute.”
    Marty leaned against a porch post and watched Cody go through the gate and head for the barn, soaking the legs of his pants