Page 63 of A Winter of Discontent for Henry Milch
That was odd, I hadn’t expected it. Did it mean something? I was about to ask more questions, but Brian said, “Look, I have to go. I’ve got things I need to do.”
He walked part way down the short driveway, around the far side of the sheriff’s SUV. I expected to see him walking the way out to the road and then back up his driveway, which was obscured by trees, but he didn’t reappear. That was strange. Had he fallen down? Was he hiding? What was happening?
I walked over to the SUV, then around… I found a neatly shoveled path through the trees which connected the Belcher property to Patty’s. I hadn’t noticed it before. I mean, come on, everything was white. But now that I did see it, I wondered, why? Why take the time to shovel a path between the houses? The end of the driveway was only another twenty feet. They couldn’t have been going from house to house that often. Could they? And why…
Oh crap. There was something going on between Patty and Brian. I’d seen them together at Trivia. She was all dolled up. I guess I hadn’t picked up on it, since she was older than he was by… fifteen years? Possibly less. To cut myself some slack, I was taking care of a baby that night. And playing trivia. And asking a lot ofotherquestions. Plus… who really understands the things straight people do?
Anyway, now that I figured it out, what did it mean? Did it mean anything? I kind of remembered that Russell Belcher died about a year ago. So it was an anniversary. Patty killed Bobbie on the anniversary of her lover’s father’s death. No, that didn’t make much sense. So what did make sense?
I realized I was freezing my ass off, so I went back inside.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
They finished up around six. I was starving and cursing the fact that the nearest McDonald’s was forty minutes away. Logically, I should go home and eat there, but at that particular moment Nana Cole’s house was about as appealing as a nuclear test site.
Also, Opal had left two messages before my phone died. Begrudgingly, I drove out to Queens Way Mobile Home Park in Coldwater. I parked across the street from the park since it was barely plowed. Not that it was easier to park on Turtle Highway, I was just less likely to get stuck—though, more likely to have my car totaled by a semi.
Promising myself I’d be quick, I jumped out of my car and ran across the two narrow lanes of Turtle Highway. Honestly, most places in the country would be embarrassed to call it a highway. I could name wider residential streets in LA, but there you go.
When I knocked on Ronnie Sheck’s door, I noticed my hands were getting red and chapped from never wearing gloves. Maybe I needed to pay more attention. No. I reminded myself I wouldn’t be here much longer. Worrying about whether I had gloves to wear implied a permanence I couldn’t deal with.
Ronnie opened the door, and said, “Oh, you…” He stuck his head out and looked in each direction, didn’t see anything, and pulled me inside.
The same two stoned minions who were always there sat zoned out on the rancid looking sofa. Before I could ask another question, he unzipped my puffer coat and stuck his hand up under my sweater.
“Hey, that tickles.”
After withdrawing his hand, he said, “Sorry. We’ve been watchingThe Wireon HBO. It’s got me a little freaked out, you know?”
I didn’t, so I said, “Whatever.”
“I don’t have any benzos right now. I do have a big bag of thirties.”
Thirties meant Oxy, and despite every bone in my body screaming, “YES! I’LL TAKE THE WHOLE BAG!” I shook my head no.
“You sure? I’ve got a new source. This guy in Florida, he’s got ten or fifteen seniors on payroll. They go from doctor to doctor complaining about arthritis. It’s like a freaking faucet.”
Apparently, he thought I’d stopped Oxy due to low supply. I said, “Listen, I’m looking for a guy named Denny who works at the barbershop in Masons Bay. He likes to PNP.”
“Yeah, so… Why do you care?”
“I don’t really. Do you know Opal who works at Pastiche?”
“Dyke.”
“Yeah, uh… technically, I think she’s bi. Anyway, she’s got this thing for Carl Burke, who’s also bi, and he has a thing for Denny. And now Denny is missing, which upsets Carl, which upsets Opal, and now it’s upsetting me.”
“Well, I’m not upset. I don’t give a shit where he is.”
“He’s been gone a couple of days, probably having sex somewhere. I wondered if you might have some idea where that might be?”
“Yeah, you know, my clients expect a certain amount of confidence, or whatever, so how about you fuck off. If you’re not buying, you’re leaving.”
Okay, well, that was useless. I was about to go when I thought of something. “You showed me that shoebox of random drugs you have. Are there any heart medications in there?”
“I’m not a pharmacist…” he said, then he thought about it, and said, “I mean, amateur, sure, but… Hold on.”
Apparently, I’d sparked his curiosity. He walked out of the room, leaving me with his minions who looked like they might chop me up into bits just to break the monotony. Before they could decide about that, Ronnie was back with the shoebox. He picked through it as he walked.
