Page 59 of Road Queens
Amanda didn’t have to look to know Cass and Sidney were wearing the same stunned, trying-not-to-laugh expressions. As sometimes happened, the inherent danger heightened the giggle factor.
“Uh, hon, it’s okay; you don’t have to worry about walking on the lawn—I already picked up the dog poop this morning.” Then, sotto voce: “We don’t have a dog. But the neighbors do.”
“Heardthatbefore,” Gazella snapped. “What, you need these girls to protect you?”
“Naw,” Sidney replied with a wicked grin. “We’re just here to hold you down while he kicks your kidneys up into your lungs.”
Amanda bit back a groan. De-escalation and Sidney Derecho: nope.
“They won’t touch you, and neither will I,” Paul soothed. “But I’ve got to go.”
“I knew you were up to something! Your lie was stupid and clumsy.”
“As was yours. You never take Saturday-morning shifts,” Paul replied. “But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change anything.”
“I said I was sorry!”
“And I believe you. I believe you every time.”
“You know what’ll happen,” she growled. “You know what I’ll do.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Keep off him, Banks. We won’t let you touch him,” Sidney said.
“It’s worse than that, I’m afraid.” Paul gave his wife a long look, then dropped his gaze. “I’m leaving regardless of your actions, Jilly,” he told the lawn. “Because what we’ve got? Is unsustainable.”
“Unsustainable” was punctuated by Sidney slamming the van’s rear door. The door closed via her car remote, but Sidney had no patience for sitting through those interminable eight seconds.
“Time to go,” Amanda said quietly, and slipped her hand through his.
“Look. Paul.Look.” And then Jill Banks slapped herself, hard. Amanda could see a red handprint rise almost immediately. When Paulmade no comment, she did it again. “See? Please. You can’t leave me like this. Paul? Please?”
It’s worse than that, I’m afraid.
As the three of them gaped, Mrs.Banks climbed the porch steps, steadied herself, and then smashed her head into one of the pillars. Twice. When she turned back to them, a knot the size of a walnut was starting to form. Then she took two handfuls of her shoulder-length blonde hair and yanked, yanked, yanked until tears were streaming down her pink, swollen face.
Oh, you manipulative cooze.Poor form, she knew. Mrs.Banks was clearly suffering.
Not her job. “In you go, Paul,” Amanda said, and gently shut the door as Paul buckled his seat belt. She was trying to understand the self-effacing decency of a man who would tolerate his own abuse but not his wife turning her violence inward.
Then she got ahold of herself because they were breaking their own rules, not to mention losing time. “This is not a spectator sport,” she hissed. “He’s packed, we’re loaded, it’s time. To. Go.”
“Um, should we call an ambulance?” Cass murmured.
“They’re on their way,” Paul called from the van. “Not even five minutes out. Thanks again for being right on time.”
Damn. He’s quite the planner.Sidney swung a leg over her Roadster as Mrs.Banks darted inside the house, no doubt on the hunt for a knife to stab herself or a fireplace poker to beat herself or paper to cut herself or poison to glug like it was a spritzer. Amanda and Cass climbed into the van, which pulled away from the curb even as Cassandra’s door slid shut. Sidney swung out in front and put out her left arm, palm forward:follow me.
Paul let out a breath from the passenger seat and let his head thump against the headrest. “Whatever you guys get paid, it’s not enough.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Cass said. “We should triple our fees. And then triple them again. And then quadruple them!”
“Ignore her,” Amanda commanded. “We don’t get paid.”
“You’re kidding.” Paul turned around in his seat. “How do you fund your operation?”
“Mostly our own money.” It wasn’t any more expensive than belonging to a book club that met an hour away, given how expensive hardcovers and gas were. “Though we never say no to donations,” Amanda continued. “There’s a form you can fill out and everything. Warning: the proceeds of said donations go toward our debrief sessions at Muddy Waters.”
