Shine (Kentucky Outlaw Book 1) (10 page)

Julie found Madison sitting in a plastic seat a few rows up from the main level, watching the horses being corralled into the starting gates.
 
She sat next to her sister and said, “I made a bet for you.
 
He’s name’s Unbridled Regret.
 
I bet him to win.”

Madison took a long time before saying, “That’s an odd name.”

“Yeah, well, there’s no horse in this race named Your Sister’s an Ass.”
 

Madison barely laughed and the small smile left her face quickly.
 

Julie said, “Let’s get out of here.
 
There’s some place I want to take you.”

“Don’t you want to see if the horse wins?”

“Let’s just assume he does.”

They left the track, and Julie insisted on driving, so she took the keys from Madison and got behind the wheel.
 
Madison wanted to know where they were going, but Julie didn’t give in.
 
Finally she parked the car across the street from a gray brick building with dirty windows called The Casino Grill.
 
Julie got out of the car.

Madison called out to her, “Julie, where are you going?
 
You could get shot in this neighborhood.”

Julie was halfway across the street and turned back to see her sister still in the car.
 
“Come on.
 
I’m buying you lunch.”

“Here?” said Madison, but got out of the SUV.
 
She hurried across the street.
 
“Is the reason they call this place Casino Grill is because eating here is a gamble?”

With her hand on the door Julie turned to Madison.
 
“Like I said, I’m buying you lunch as an apology.
 
Don’t embarrass me, OK.”

As they walked in, Madison stared at the plastic chairs and scarred wooden tables, but said nothing.
 
A tall, balding black man wearing an apron came over to them, smiling at Julie.

“Alvin,” Julie said, greeting him

He stood next to her and put his arm around her.
 
“How you been, girl?”

“I been good.”

“Haven’t seen you in here much since…”
 
He trailed off not know what to say, the look on his face showing that he had made a poor choice of words and couldn’t get out of it.

“It’s OK,” Julie said.
 
“I haven’t been around much.
 
This here’s my sister.”

Alvin shook her and Madison politely said hello.

Julie told Alvin she wanted two of her usual and Alvin said they’d be out in just a few.
 
The sisters took a seat.

“So you eat here enough that they miss you when you’re not around,” said Madison.

“It’s close to work, cheap, and tasty,” said Julie.
 
Madison said nothing in return, but Julie could tell from the look on her face there was something she wanted to say.
 
“What?” Julie asked.

“What is it about our family that you hate so much?”

Alvin came by with two beers, setting them on the table without a word.
 
Julie grabbed her beer and took a drink, thankful for the distraction.
 
She put the bottle back on the table and said, “There is nothing I hate about our family, nothing in the world.”

“Then why all this?” Madison asked looking around the small restaurant.

“I told you, it’s inexpensive and tastes great.”

“Don’t do that,” said Madison, rolling the beer bottle in her hand, but not taking a drink.
 
“You know what I’m talking about.
 
Why work lousy hours for lousy pay?
 
Even if you want to work, then go to work in one of Daddy’s companies.
 
You could be made an executive right away and make good money if you are dead set on earning it.”

She would never understand, Julie realized now.
 
Madison just didn’t get what Julie was going through.
 
It wasn’t her fault.
 
Hell, Julie hardly understood what she was going through herself.
 
She was lost, out of sorts, and confused about everything going on in her life.
 
The one thing she was sure about was that it had started long before Nicky died.
 
Everyone around her assumed she was reacting to his death, but it was this confusion that led to their engagement ending before that happened.

Alvin came by with two overflowing shrimp po’boy sandwiches.
 
Julie slathered hers with hot sauce and took a large bite, but Madison just stared at hers, confused.

“What?” said Julie, through a mouthful.

“I just eat it with my hands?”

Julie swallowed.
 
“It’s a sandwich, Maddy.”

“You haven’t called me Maddy in a long time.”

Julie said, “Yeah, I know.”

Madison hefted her po’boy and opened wide.
 
She tore off an impressive bite, chewed, then swallowed.
 
She got a big grin on her face and said, “Wow, you weren’t kidding.
 
This is great.”

“You’re admitting I was right about something?
 
I’m taking a picture to remember this moment.”

Madison stuck her tongue out at Julie, just like when they were kids, and the girls laughed and dug back into their food.
 
Neither said much as they ate, and by the end both of them were full and licking their fingers, the argument from that morning forgotten.
 

Alvin came by with the check and Madison reached for her purse.
 
Julie beat her to the punch and got her credit card out first.

“You don’t have to do that.
 
You work hard for your money.”

“I told you, I’m taking you out to lunch, but thanks for saying that.”

Back at the car, Madison told Julie to drive, claiming the one beer she’d put down at lunch had been too much for her.
 
With Julie behind the wheel they headed east, with a tipsy Madison saying she wanted to visit a craft brewery down by the Kentucky River.
 

“Beer is great,” said Madison.
 
“We should definitely get some more beer.”

“You just had the one, and if you drink another you’ll be taking a nap in no time.”

“Come on,” said Madison, “it’s party day for the Prescott girls.”
 
She turned up the radio and sang loudly to a Katy Perry song.
 

Just as they hit a stop light Julie watched Kenny Salo’s truck cross the intersection in front of her.
 
Even though she was in the middle lane she didn’t bother waiting for the light to turn green.
 
She hit the gas, cutting off the cars in the turning lane next to her and sped up to find Kenny’s truck.
 
Being a sunny Saturday, traffic was thick as they drove into an area full of car dealerships and strip malls.

“Where’re we going?” said Madison.
 
“The place I want to go to is back that way.”

“We’ll get there, but we’re going to play a game first.
 
See that truck up there?
 
We’re going to play spy for a minute and see what he’s up to.
 
You keep up with him and tell me where he turns while I drive.”

Madison sat up in her seat.
 
“Let’s play spies.”

They tracked Kenny for a mile down the road until he turned into Remington Ford and Mercury dealership.
 
Julie turned into a fast food joint next to the dealership and pulled into a parking spot where she could watch Kenny.
 
He drove past the customer parking and came to a stop across two employee spots towards the side of the building.
 
Julie watched as he stumbled out of his big truck and went inside.
 
It looked to Julie like he was even drunker than the previous day.

“That was fun, but I have to pee,” said Madison.
 
Before Julie could say anything she had gotten out and gone inside the restaurant.
 
Less than two minutes later Kenny came out of the car dealership holding a canvas bag.
 
He got back into his truck and after a minute of struggling got the truck started and took off.

Julie checked the door to the restaurant, but Madison hadn’t come back out yet.
 
She didn’t want to leave her sister, but she didn’t want to lose Kenny either.
 
She didn’t know what was going on, but her reporter’s gut told her to stay on him.
 
She watched as he took off down the road.
 
Julie started the car and pulled out of the parking spot.
 
She pulled in front of the restaurant’s door and honked the horn.
 
She would give Madison thirty seconds to come out, after that she knew she’d never catch up to Kenny.
 
Ten seconds, twenty seconds, Madison still hadn’t come out, so Julie dropped the gearbox into drive and started rolling.
 
Just at that moment she saw Madison come out, wondering what the hell was going on.

Julie stopped and Madison got in.
 
“You were going to leave me?”

“Get your seatbelt on, he’s getting away.”
 
Julie said, not waiting for the belt to be buckled before squealing the tires out onto the street.

Julie drove like mad, blowing past the speed limit and cutting off lanes of traffic and she wove through the cars, trying to catch up to the white SUV.

“What the hell are you doing?” yelled Madison.

“I told you, he’s getting away.
 
We have to follow him.”

“You’re crazy.
 
Tell me what’s really going on.”
 

She had her phone in hand, and Julie gave in to the demand.
 
“That man is named Kenny Salo, ever heard of him?”
 
Madison shook her head.
 
“I think he’s got something to do with Nick’s murder.”

“Nick was killed in a robbery.
 
Oh Julie, I know this’s been tough on you, but-”

“No.
 
I don’t think that’s true.
 
I think it was set up to look like that.”

Madison said nothing else as Julie sped down the road.
 
She had the Mercedes up to sixty in a forty-five zone, scanning the cars, looking for Kenny.
 
She saw him just up the way, making a left turn to a side street.
 
Julie was in the far right lane and the light changed yellow so she jerked the wheel hard, causing the cars in the other lanes to hit their brakes.
 
Several horns blasted at once, but Julie never looked back.
 
She finally let off the gas when she was thirty feet behind Kenny.
 
They left the overbuilt area behind them and headed into more rural surroundings.
 
She followed him for fifteen more minutes and he pulled into the parking lot of the Remington Country Club.

“What the hell?” said Julie, “No way he’s a member here.”

The parking lot was half full and Julie figured she could pull a Mercedes SUV into the parking lot without Kenny being suspicious.
 
She watched as he took the bag from the car and entered the club through the servants’ entrance around the side.

“Wait here,” said Julie to Madison.
 
“I’m going to follow him in.”

Madison put her hand on Julie’s arm.
 
Julie looked at her sister for the first time since taking off from the fast food place.
 
Madison looked a little ill from combination of beer and fast driving.
 

“That’s enough,” said Madison.
 
“You are coming unglued, girl, and I’m worried about you.”

Julie pulled her arm free and said, “That man knows something about Nick’s death and I’m going to find out what it is.”

“Listen to yourself,” said Madison, loudly.
 
“This isn’t normal behavior.
 
This isn’t you.
 
My sister, the Julie I know, wouldn’t chase after some random dirt bag all over town claiming conspiracy theories.
 
You need help.
 
You need to talk to someone who can help you get through this.”

Julie looked her sister straight in the eye and said, “
I’m
going to get me through this.”
 
Then she hopped out of the car and went straight for the country club.
 

Madison yelled out behind her, “I’m not sitting here waiting for you.”

“I’ll call a cab,” Julie yelled back without turning around.
 

She entered through the front, since she had a membership to the club, just like all the Prescotts.
 
Even though she hadn’t been inside in years, as soon as the front doors opened the familiar smell hit her and she was transported back to her teenage years.
 
Julie and Madison spent almost every single day of the summer around the pool, swimming, tanning, and most importantly trying to capture the attention of boys.
 
She absentmindedly shook her head at the thought of much energy she expended just trying to get their attention, like it was something so important.
 
She supposed that it was important at the time.
 
What else did a rich teenage girl have to worry about?
 

She made her way through the halls, feeling like she was sneaking in even if she did have a membership, she didn’t belong there anymore.
 
She couldn’t be further away from that version of herself now.
 
She had to admit, Madison was right.
 
She wasn’t the same person anymore and she didn’t know how to get back to that person even if she had wanted to.
 
That version of Julie, the version that existed before Nick, she was long gone and she was never coming back.