Gunning For Angels (Fallen Angels Book 1) (32 page)

Marriage is like putting your hand into a bag of snakes in the hope of pulling out an eel.

–Leonardo da Vinci

Bud sat at the kitchen table, staring down at the divorce papers. He looked at Bunnie, who was leaning against the sink, watching him with pursed lips.

Bunnie said, “We sell the house, split the money – you go your way, I go mine.”

A line from a David Allan Coe song flashed through Bud’s mind – when she starts talking about leaving, she’s already gone.

How long has she been gone?

He looked down at his hand resting on the paper and saw he was shaking. His heart gave a throb and he felt a stab of fear at the thought of being without Bunnie. “Can’t we talk – work this out?”

“I got a Realtor for the house. Movers come tomorrow.”

“Movers?”  

“I rented an apartment. I’m moving out.”

Bud tried to speak but nothing came out.

“I’m sorry, Bud. I have to think about myself. We’re not getting any younger. I want to live.”

Bud sat a long time, hearing her voice but not comprehending her words. It didn’t matter what she said – she was gone. She moved around the kitchen like she had so many times before. She set a glass of water in front of him as her lips relentlessly moved. He watched her face contorting around her words and stared in fascination at the bobbing ponytail cinched up in a pink scrunchie.

She doesn’t want me.

“What?” He said, vaguely aware that she had fallen silent and was waiting for a response.

“I’m only asking for half of your pension. I think that’s fair.”

Fair?

Bud giggled.

Bunnie looked at him, surprised.

Bud clapped his hand over his mouth guiltily. It seemed to Bud like it was the first time she had responded naturally to anything he had said or done since he had come home.

Another giggle escaped.

“What’s so funny?” She glared at him, red with anger. 

Bud burst into laughter that left him with tears streaming down his face.

“What are you laughing at?” Bunnie yelled.

Bud tried to stop himself but couldn’t. He shook with laughter until his sides hurt and Bunnie was purple with rage.

“What’s so fucking funny?!” Bunnie screamed.

Shaking with laughter, the words surfaced from somewhere so deep he didn’t even know it existed, Bud managed to gasp out, “You – cheating.  Me – a detective…”

He howled with laughter, doubling over, unable to control himself. He felt pleasure snake through him in the telling of a bald-face
d lie.

Bunnie reeled backwards, bumping to a stop at the sink’s edge.

Bud sat up, hiccupping. “I got – a – private detective – follow you.”

She stared at him, scared.

Bud hiccupped and said, “He’s cheating – on you.”

Bunnie glanced at her cell phone on the counter.

“It’s finally happened – Bunnie – speechless.” Bud wiped his eyes, hiccupping. 

Bunnie grabbed her cell phone. “You bastard.”

Bud stood, made his way to the front door. He needed to get out. Go someplace – anyplace but here.

Hours later, Bud sat in his office at the station, staring out the window. There was a giant orange moon that hovered to the east over the mountains, gleaming down on the city.

He felt numb, emptier than a tin can.

Tomorrow, strangers would haul their belongings out of the house like wreckage from what was left of his marriage.

She loves somebody else.

For the first time in h
is life, Bud didn’t want to get to the bottom of a mystery. He didn’t want to know anything. If Bunnie loved another man – so be it. The hurt that he had expected to feel, that he had been feeling all these weeks – wasn’t there. He felt numb, a very lovely kind of numb. His mind flickered back, hovering over the memory of Petunia’s lips like a shadow from a cloud passing over the land. He shook his head and leaned back, hand resting lightly on his chest, which had become his new unconscious tic. Bud pressed his hand into his chest, feeling the beating of his heart. He took a deep breath, felt it momentarily slow.

“Detective Orlean?”

Bud spun in his chair and was greeted by the sight of Enid. She was sitting in a chair facing his desk. 

“I didn’t hear you.” Bud sat up straight, clearing his throat. “How long have you been here?”

She bit her lip, eyes troubled.

He frowned. “Chip did take care of you – and your dad picked you up, right?”

“That man I
–
can you tell me about him?”

Bud shook his head, knowing she was talking about Dennie Dutter.

Enid looked down at her hands, examining the fresh scars. “I keep having the same nightmare. That man – I kill him but he won’t die. No matter what I do – he won’t die.”

“Have you talked to your dad about it?”

Enid took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “My dad hates me.”

Bud opened his mouth to speak but Enid interrupted him. “Does Chip love Ms. Hargrove?”

Bud frowned, unsure.

Enid said, “I think – my dad – is, uh…”

Bud watched her struggle over her words.

“There you are!” Chip charged into the room. “I’ve been on a wild goose chase looking for you. Where the hell have you been?”

Enid eyes narrowed. “I was in Eve Hargrove’s guesthouse.” 

Chip’s jaw dropped, face drained of color.

Bud said to Enid, “What were you doing there? Where’s your father?”

“H
e went for a walk,” Enid said.

Bud said, “Have you seen him today?” 

“Seen and heard,” Enid glanced at Chip, “
lots
of stuff.”

Chip groaned, dropped his head into his hands.

Enid said to Chip, “An hour after you left – she was having sex with some other guy.”

Bud glared at Chip, “What the hell is this about?”

Chip pointed at Enid. “If anyone has anything to be embarrassed about – it’s her.”

Bud stood up, hands flat on his desk, “What the hell is going on?”

Chip headed toward the door. “All I wanted to do was shadow you but, no, you have to turn me into a babysitter.”

“Babysitter?” Enid shot up, furious. “If anyone here is a baby – it’s you.”

“Stick a fork in me, I’m done!” Chip left.

Enid ran to the door, shouted down the hall, “Keep chasing that old bag of STD and see if I care!”

Bud went to Enid, guided her to the chair. “What kind of language is that, young lady?”

Enid crossed her arms, tears in her eyes.

The phone rang and, eyes not leaving Enid’s face, Bud answered it. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Bud hung up, gestured for Enid to follow him. “You’re coming with me.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Bud said, “We can book you for grand theft auto.”

Enid grimaced. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

“I’ll escort you.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“We’re not anywhere you can hijack my car and leave me half-naked on a deserted road so – let’s not take any chances.”

There is nothing so powerful as truth, and often nothing so strange.

–Daniel Webster

“What is this place?” Enid said.

From the driver’s seat, Bud said, “One of the few places in town that would let in a half-dressed man with no shoes.”

A blue neon sign reading “Nail” decorated a nondescript building surrounded by everything from Mercedes, to Harleys to dust-coated Chevy trucks.

“Wait here,” Bud got out and walked to the entrance.

A bare-chested cowboy in leather chaps and a dog collar walked out. Enid’s jaw dropped as she saw past him to a bar filled with men decked out in leather, studs and chains.

Jack, dressed in his nerd pants, charged toward the car, his naked chest and feet flashing blue under the neon lights. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Jack pounded on Enid’s window. “Do you have any idea of what you’ve put me through?”

Bud placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder.

Jack shot away from Bud’s touch. “Back off.”

Bud pointed Jack to the front seat. “Remember – ”

Jack gl
ared at him, shaking with anger. “No violence.”

Bud said to Enid, “He gave his word, you’re safe.”

Jack said, “For now.”

Enid gulped. She was beginning to think that maybe she’d gone a bit too far.

Bud unlocked the door and Jack slid into the front seat, glaring at Enid in the rearview mirror as Bud got behind the wheel.

Jack said
to Bud, “Any chance you have a change of clothes on you?”

Bud shook his head. “Where to?”

“His house burnt down,” Enid said, trying to be helpful.

Jack shot her a venomous look.

Bud said, “Coffee and clothes – my house. We can talk.”

Enid said, “Is Chip there?”

Bud said, “If he’s there, he can join the conversation.”

Enid slunk down into the seat, feeling nauseous.

Jack said, “You don’t want to see Chip? What the hell did you do to him?”

Enid said, “Why do you always assume that all I do is cause trouble?” 

Jack said, “Do you have any idea what I had to do to even get them to let me use the phone?”

Enid said, “Ew, you kissed a boy.”

Jack said to Bud, “You see what I have to put up with? She’s a menace. Since she got here, my whole life has gone up in smoke. Literally! My house is gone – ”

“I didn’t do that,” Enid said.

Jack said, “You couldn’t have picked that night to be hiding under the bed with a fire extinguisher, could you?” He hooked his thumb toward Enid. “I’m with my girlfriend – in bed – guess who is crawling around on the floor listening? Who does that shit?”

Bud’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Enid said, “It was an accident.”

“I’ll tell you what an accident is – ” Jack stopped, fists clenched.

Enid said, “Go ahead and say it – you think I was the accident.”

“I didn’t say that,” Jack said.

“I heard it!”

“I didn’t say it so – you didn’t hear it.” Jack swung around, glaring.

Enid sat forward, shaking with anger, “I heard it clear as day – I don’t know how, but I heard it.”

Jack turned around.

Enid crossed her arms to try to stop the shaking. He said it in his head and she heard it as distinct as if he’d leaned over and whispered it in her ear. She said, “I didn’t ask to get born. You did this to me.”

“What did I do to you?”

“Made me. Now here I am. Deal with it.”

Jack squeezed the bridge of his nose, grimacing.

Bud said, “My wife is divorcing me.”

Jack and Enid looked at him, startled.

Bud said, “I heard some statistic about how high school sweethearts have the lowest divorce rate. She wants to
live
. What does that mean?”

“Sorry to hear that,” Jack said.

Bud said, “She’s got a boyfriend. I
got heart disease.”

Enid said, “You mean you have a broken heart?”

Bud sighed, “No, I got the pill-taking, follow up with the cardiologist kind of heart disease that HMO’s hate.”

Enid said, “Are you going to die?”

“Jesus!” Jack said.

Bud said, “The night is young.” He turned to Jack, “Isn’t it better she ask than never ask anything?”

“It’s not polite,” Jack said with a pointed look at Enid. 

Bud said, “I think Enid passed impolite miles ago.” 

“Ya think?” Jack said. 

Enid said, “Besides the heart disease that HMO’s hate – are you heartbroken? Over your wife, I mean?”

Bud said, “Do you like omelets? I make a mean western omelet – I think I forgot to eat today.”

Enid said, “Does Chip know – about the divorce, I mean?”

Bud pulled into his driveway. “Home sweet broken home.”

Later, as the three of them sat around the kitchen table, dirty plates cleared and Enid finishing off the last of her orange juice, Enid said, “That was good.”

“What do you say?” Jack said.

“I just said it.”

Jack said, “How about a thank you?”

Enid made a face. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Bud said, sitting down with a legal pad. “I want to create a time line.”

“What’s that?” Enid said.

Bud said, “The three of us know a lot of the same people. I have a hunch that if the three of us combine notes, we might discover something.”

“Like putting together a puzzle?” Enid said.

Jack said, “What’s your end game, Orlean?”

Bud said, “The bodies are piling up, my friend. If I’m not mistaken, you might be on the hook for one or two of them.”

Jack compressed his lips.

Bud said, “If this is going to work – we each need to be completely honest.”

Jack said, “I’m in – but the kid can’t be here.”

“I’m not a kid,” Enid said.

Bud said, “She gonna hear anything more shocking than what she already heard – hiding under your bed?”

Jack ran his hands through his hair, sighing. “At least give a man a beer.”

Bud shook his head. “No foggy brains.”

Jack got up, got a beer out of the fridge, popped the top and took a swig. “Shoot.”

Bud said, “Jeni Hargrove.”

Jack pulled out his phone, flipped his calendar so Bud could see it. “Here. She hired me to find her real mother. Came to my office.”

Bud copied the date.

Enid said, “That’s when I met her.”

“You were there?” Bud said.

“I was in the waiting room when she went in.”

Jack said to Enid, “You lied and pretended like you were with her.”

“You assumed I was with her, Mr. Smarty-Pants, and you know what they say about assuming.”

Bud said, “We need to stay focused and keep emotions out of this. Can we do that?”

Enid tossed her head, “I can if he can.”

Jack said, “Jeni was broke – ”

“He wouldn’t give her a student discount,” Enid said.

“She wasn’t a student,” Jack said. “She was a stripper.”

Enid said, “Duh. But she was also in nursing school. She told me.”

“Maybe her application was being processed,” Jack said.

Bud said, “This isn’t going to work if we pretty up the picture with wishful thinking. Jeni was a stripper at The Candy Store. She had a daughter – Faith.”

Enid said, “What happened to Faith?” 

“Social Services,” Bud said.

“I babysat for her,” Enid said wistfully.

Bud said, “How’d you get from pretending to know Jeni at Jack’s office to babysitting for her?”

“Oh, uh – ” 

Jack said, “She got into my office on false pretense and when I called her on it – ”

Enid said, “You came after me! What was I supposed to do?”

“She fucking took a bite out of me,” Jack said, rolling up his sleeve and showing the scabbed outline of Enid’s teeth. “Urgent Care and a tetanus shot.”

“You deserved it for scaring the bejeezus out of me,” Enid said.

Jack said, “You could have explained why you were there like a normal human being.”

Enid said, “Bottom line, I outran you. Not to mention, outwitted you.”

Bud held up his hands. “Ladies!”

Enid sighed. “I went to the diner across the street, saw Jeni and asked for a lift. She figured I didn’t have any money and said I could stay with her if I babysat.”

Bud said, “What about the gun?”

“I got it from my – Henry. My stepdad.”

“Got it or stole it?” Jack said.

“Borrowed it,” Enid said.

Bud said, “That’s the gun the police found in an ice cream box in the kitchen – when they found Jeni. They think it may be linked to a homicide six months ago here in Phoenix.”

Enid said, “It can’t be involved in anything! I got it from Henry’s gun cabinet in Florida.”

Bud said, “We’re still checking it out.”

Jack said to Enid, “The day Jeni was killed – why’d you go to her apartment?”

Enid frowned.

Bud said, “Did Jeni know about the gun in her ice cream?”

Enid shook her head.
“Safest place to hide something from a skinny girl.”

Jack said, “You went back to her apartment for the gun?”

Enid hesitated.

Bud said
to Enid, “You were afraid somebody was after you – like in one of your nightmares?”

Jack glanced at Enid, surprised.

“What?” Enid scowled at Jack, “You think I strangle a new pervert every Tuesday? You’d have a couple of bad dreams too.”

Jack frowned, looked away.

Enid said, “So much happened – I’m getting it all confused in my head.” 

Bud said, “Let’s focus on Jeni.”

Enid said to Jack, “Did you have sex with her too?”

Jack said, “You got a mind like a sewer.”

Enid turned to Bud, “Did
you
have sex with Jeni?”

Bud looked at her, startled. “No.”

Enid said to Bud, “You’re grilling us, but what about you?”

Bud said, “I met Jeni when I investigated her stepfather’s murder. She was a sweet kid, mixed up but, no – I nev
er had relations with her. I’m –
was
– happily married.” 

“We met Jeni’s grandmother,” Enid said. She described in overly dramatic detail what happened at the crazy-Christian lady’s house.

“Crucifix cookies?” Bud said.

“They weren’t that good,” Enid said.

Jack said, “The down-low is that Jeni’s biological mother was Ann Smith, who worked as a dancer at the same place as Vivian Hargrove, before Viv screwed her way onto the social register. When Ann died in a car wreck – Vivian took the girl in and raised Jeni as her own.”

Bud said, “The car wreck was – ?”

Jack said, “Legit. Nothing suspicious. I don’t know what else to tell you about Jeni.”

“Except somebody wanted her dead,” Enid said.

Jack said to Bud, “And you boys in blue think I’m the hit man on her – and Frank Ficus.”

Bud said, “Who hired Frank to follow you?”

Jack said, “My money’s on Petunia’s husband.”

“Larry?” Bud said.

Jack looked at Bud, surprised.

Bud said, “I know Larry. I had a conversation with Petunia.”

“Who’s Petunia?” Enid said.

“Ex-girlfriend,” Jack said. “Who has nothing to do with anything.”

Bud said, “Your meeting with Jeni at your office –Petunia was there, in the next room. She overheard it all.”

Jack’s lips tightened.

Bud said, “What if it wasn’t Larry who hired Frank to follow you? What if it was somebody else – maybe someone out to set you up for Jeni’s murder?”

Jack said, “Or keep tabs on me?”

Bud looked at Enid, “When Jeni was killed – is there anything you can remember? A sound, a smell?”

Enid said, “I heard Jeni come in, her heels. The baby was making noise, nothing weird. Somebody turned on the stereo. Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, I think.”

Bud said, “What else? Anything, even the tiniest thing.”

Enid said, “I heard voices. I thought it was Jeni talking to the baby.”

“Man or woman?” Bud said.

“I don’t know.” Enid squinched up her eyes. “There was so much blood – and then Jeni.” Enid shut her eyes. She opened them and looked at Jack, “The next thing I knew – why were
you
there?”