Grave Danger, page 28
“So many.”
They were past the cemetery by then, and the trees closed in on either side of them. Cody tried not to look for the spot where he’d hit the mayor, but he found the stain in the road without any effort on his part. He wondered if he’d ever not look for it when he drove out this way. He hoped it would eventually become just another spot in the road he was familiar with but not focused on.
The Hollow Leg came up on their right. The gravel parking lot was full, and music pumped out the propped open door. Sounded like Aerosmith, and it made Cody realize they hadn’t turned on the radio. Ah well, he liked sitting in silence with Demmy. It felt calm and comfortable.
A short time later, they entered the Harriettville downtown area. Slightly bigger than Parson’s Hollow, it took up four blocks and two streets. Bars, restaurants, and small businesses made up the bulk of the offerings, with a couple of banks, a funeral home, and a hardware store added to the mix. Cody only drove this way if he needed to buy something specific, or had a taste for something different to eat. Or if he was going to visit Jugs.
“How did Jugs’s skin graft go?” Demmy asked. “You called him yesterday, right?”
“I did. He said it went well. Just itching like crazy.”
“According to Jugs’s grandma, that means it’s healing.”
Cody chuckled. “Good ol’ Grandma Jugs.”
A short distance outside of the Harriettville business district, Demmy made a few turns into a neighborhood and cruised slowly down the block. Cars lined the street, and it took a bit of searching to find a spot big enough for the truck. They got out and walked back to the house where Jugs and Agatha lived, the sun still high enough to feel warm on their shoulders and backs.
Dave and Ollie waited for them at the foot of the driveway. Ollie looked smug, most likely because he’d found a parking spot closer.
“How far away did you park?” Ollie asked, then waved toward his car parked a short distance away.
Yep, that explained the smug expression.
“We had to park in the big boy area,” Cody said, flashing a tight smile, which Ollie returned in kind. Yeah, Cody really had to admit he was starting to like Ollie more and more. Not that he’d ever come right out and say it.
A chorus of barking as all four dogs announced their approach to the wire gate. Demmy laughed and started talking in a high-pitched, sappy-happy voice as he leaned in over the gate to let the dogs sniff him.
“Look how big you guys are!” Demmy looked at Cody, his eyes practically glowing with happiness. “I haven’t seen the puppies in a long time. Oh my gosh. They’re so big.”
The puppies, Abbott and Costello, were a mix of Deloris, the greyhound Agatha had while growing up, and Zydeco, a golden lab. They put their front paws on the gate and accepted Demmy’s petting and ear scratches with tongues hanging out. Zydeco sat nearby, waiting patiently for his turn, while Jugs’s Yorkie, Enid Helen, barked like crazy and occasionally spun herself in a circle.
“Hey, you made it!”
Cody heard Jugs’s deep voice even above all the dog-related racket. He scooped up Enid Helen, shunted the younger dogs off to the side, and opened the gate to admit them all.
“Thanks for inviting us,” Cody said, then took a look at the house. “Chez Jugs is looking pretty good these days.”
“Thanks. Even though it’s a rental, we try to keep it up. I’m telling you, it’s nice to be in our own place.”
Cody looked down at the white bandages wrapped around Jugs’s forearms. “Things still feeling good?”
“Oh, yeah. No big changes, which is what we’re all hoping for. Well, other than for them to just one day have magically disappeared.”
Cody held up his arm with his own white bandage. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“It’s been a ride, hasn’t it?” Jugs said.
“That it has.”
Agatha approached with freshly opened bottles of beer she distributed as she urged Jugs to go back to his place at the grill. He gave her a quick kiss before strolling off to the back deck where a gas grill emitted delicious aromas. Ollie and Dave each took a beer, then both meandered off, most likely making their way to where Amelia, Otis, and Eileen stood talking with Lucia. Cody almost didn’t recognize Lucia because she was out of uniform, dressed in white shorts and a tiki-patterned button down shirt. What the hell?
Demmy headed off to greet Amelia and Otis, leaving Cody and Agatha on their own. After taking a long swallow of beer, Cody asked, “Any word?”
Agatha didn’t look at him as she took her own long drink, but she shook her head a couple times. “No,” she said, once she’d lowered the bottle. “He’s still somewhere in the wind, letting his staff take the fall for their shit show.”
“But he wasn’t in charge, right?”
She gave him a sour look. “Even if he wasn’t signing the paychecks and sitting up in that big office like last time, he still had a lot of input in that place. I don’t buy that innocent of all culpability act for a second.” A muscle in her jaw pulsed, and she shook her head as she turned away to glare out across the yard.
Abbott and Costello ran up to her, providing a happy and needed distraction, and they moved off to join the rest of the party. Cody greeted Amelia, Otis, Eileen, and Lucia. They were talking about some drama at the senior center that Cody only half listened to. His thoughts were still on Llewelyn Tisdale’s whereabouts and what his true role had been in things at GRUNT. They’d all been following the stories in The Herald, Parson’s Hollow’s paper published twice a week, as well as the national news once the AP had caught wind of everything. Dr. Willoughby, Sam, and the other surviving staff of GRUNT were all being charged with multiple counts, not the least of which was the manslaughter for the deaths of thirty-two town residents and fourteen GRUNT staff members. But Sam and Dr. Willoughby had assisted with the antidote, so they were placed under house arrest rather than imprisoned.
“Need another?”
The question brought Cody back to the party, and he found Lucia dangling her empty bottle in front of him.
“You off in space or something, Bower?” Lucia said. “Need another beer?”
He checked and discovered that, sure enough, he’d finished his first one. “Yeah, I could use another.”
“Come on then,” Lucia said. “I’m not playing bar wench for you.”
Cody couldn’t help the grin as he followed her to the large metal washtub that had been filled with ice and stocked with bottles of beer and a variety of hard seltzers and ciders.
“They finally gave you a day off,” Cody said.
“Yeah. Sheriff pretty much forced me to take the day and come here. I guess my attitude needed improving.”
Cody stood and looked at her a moment. “You know you left that wide open for me, right?”
Lucia smirked as she selected a beer. “Thought you needed a lift. You’ve been going through a lot yourself.”
“It’s no fun if you just serve them up on purpose like that.”
They laughed together, and it felt good. It felt pretty fucking great, actually.
“So, what’s going on with the recovery operation?” Cody asked.
Lucia took a drink before replying. “They’ve been able to match up about ninety percent of the bodies with their graves and return them. The funeral home is providing whatever services and products are needed, like attending to the deceased’s condition, new casket, providing another memorial service, and digging out and refilling the grave. All of that is being billed to the lab.”
“That’s going to be a big price tag.”
“Getting bigger every day. The deputies have been conducting sweeps of the surrounding woods in an effort to find the last ten percent of those who were previously interred. That’s been a real treat.”
“Sounds like a nice distraction. A little nature walk through the woods.”
“It’s not really a distraction when I have to keep my eyes down looking for bodies in varying states of decay.”
Cody took another drink and looked away before asking, “How’s Zellmer’s mother doing?”
“About as well as you’d expect considering Jaylene lost her husband to a monster attack a few years ago, and then her only child to a completely different monster attack.”
“She still trying to get our business license revoked?”
“Not anymore. I did hear she’s getting her house ready to sell so she can move to Tucson.”
“That’s a big change.”
“She’s got a sister out there, so she’ll have someone close when she needs them.”
“That’s good.” Cody shook his head as he thought about that day with Zellmer in the cemetery. He had been a grudge-holding asshole, but nobody deserved to go out like he did.
“The mechanic’s family, though,” Lucia said. “They’re still trying to get your business license revoked.”
Cody sighed. “If Demmy and I wind up dead under mysterious circumstances, I hope you question the Woleks first.”
“Yeah, right after I finish asking the zombies, the werewolves, and the sasquatch.”
Cody snorted. “Good point. At least GRUNT paid for Phil’s funeral.”
Jugs announced that food was ready, and everybody moved toward the grill. Cody caught up with Demmy in line and accepted a compostable but sturdy paper plate that had most likely been Agatha’s selection. Cody had seen how Jugs packed a lunch, and he wasn’t focused on the environment when he wrapped food in plastic.
A couple of burgers later, Cody was full and feeling good after a third beer. It was about eight thirty, and the sun was starting to go down. The light would soon be shifting to that amazing time when the very air seemed to be tinted with orange. Firecrackers had been popping off and on throughout the day from the yards around them, and now someone a couple of yards over who couldn’t wait the extra thirty minutes for true dark lit off a Roman candle.
“Harriettville fireworks starting already?” Cody called to Jugs who was dancing with Agatha to some Mariah Carey song while the dogs barked and chased each other around them.
“You’re not funny, Bonker,” Jugs called back.
“Asshole,” Cody grumbled.
“Bonker?” Amelia said, looking at him with a lopsided grin.
“Never mind,” Cody said.
“Hey, did you want to stay for the fireworks or head out?”
Demmy had leaned in and lowered his voice. In the slowly shifting light of the sunset, his face practically glowed. Cody thought he’d never looked more handsome. Actually, he looked pretty fucking beautiful.
“I’m all up for heading out,” Cody said. “You okay to drive?”
“I only had the one beer then switched to iced tea.”
Cody put a hand on the side of his face. “My responsible husband. I love you.”
“Hey, you’re responsible, too. And I love you right back. Come on, Bonker, let’s say our goodbyes.”
There were protests about them leaving before the fireworks, of course, but Cody said he was tired from the treatments he’d endured that week, and the beers had made him even sleepier. Hugs all around, even from Lucia, and Agatha held the collars of the dogs as Cody and Demmy slipped out through the gate.
They held hands on the walk to the truck. The scent of some kind of flower trailed on the gentle breeze, and Cody drew in a deep breath.
“Smells a bit like the Widow’s car,” Demmy said.
Cody laughed and pulled him in close. “I knew it smelled familiar.”
“Do you think Eileen goes out to her garage now and then and sits in the Cadillac and talks to the Widow’s ghost?”
“I didn’t until now. Thanks for putting that in my head.”
“My pleasure.”
“I still wonder how the hell the Widow managed to drive that car through the fence.”
“I don’t think we’ll ever know,” Demmy said. “I mean, we know Dottie doubled back once she stole the car. A lot of people saw that. My theory is she parked out on that dirt road before climbing in the backseat and passing out.”
“Not even a little surprised she had a flask on her.”
“Nope, not one bit.” Demmy was quiet a moment, then said, “My guess is the Widow came upon the car as she walked with the rest of the zombies from the cemetery, and muscle memory took over or something.”
“Muscle memory in an embalmed zombie.” Cody shook his head as they approached the truck. “I guess it’s not the weirdest thing we’ve seen.”
They got in, and Demmy drove through the neighborhood. Small houses lined both sides of the streets, most well maintained. The styles seemed to run in packs: a group of bungalows, followed by a number of colonials, with some Craftsman thrown in as well.
The main road out of town was jammed with cars heading in the opposite direction, filled with families making the trek to Portnoy’s Drive-In Theater on the other side of town. They still showed movies on three big screens in the spring, summer, and fall. On the Fourth of July, however, they put off the start times by an hour so people could watch the town fireworks which were set off in the field behind the center screen. Jugs and Agatha had guaranteed their guests they’d all be able to see the fireworks from the yard, but Cody wasn’t so sure. He was definitely going to ask Jugs about it tomorrow at the office.
When they’d left Harriettville behind, Demmy cleared his throat. “You know, we never got to talk about all that stuff that came up just before we met up with Oliver and Dave and followed the creek.”
Cody nodded. He’d been wondering if they’d ever get back to that conversation. He hadn’t been too eager to pick at that scab after everything they’d gone through. “You’re right. I guess it didn’t seem all that important once everything started happening.”
“Yeah, I understand that. But now that things have settled down a bit, we should talk about it.”
“Okay.”
Demmy paused, keeping his eyes on the road and holding the steering wheel with one hand at the bottom. He pressed his free hand against his thigh, and Cody reached over to claim it. That earned him a quick glance and a smile.
“I know I have a controlling personality. I’m not sure where it stems from, but most likely because my parents, while loving me without question, also made sure I knew you have to work hard in life to get what you want, and that you should always try to make a difference.”
The sun was a slice of orange beyond the fields, like a forgotten bit of peeled rind.
“I admit I have a fascination with our more unusual cases. I’ve always loved monster movies and horror stories, even as a kid. And in those movies and stories, there were always people who figured things out and helped bring a stop to the bad stuff going on.” He lifted one shoulder and showed that embarrassed half-smile that Cody thought of as Demmy’s ‘aw shucks’ expression. “I like being the hero of these cases, you know? And I’m driven to try and stop whatever’s happening so we can save people. Or bring some resolution for the creature, like we did with the Pinesville Devil.”
“The Devil of Pinesville,” Cody said, receiving the gentle glare he had hoped for.
“Anyway. That’s where I come from when I make decisions for the both of us. Hopefully we won’t stumble into any more of these cases.”
Cody gave a sarcastic snort, and they both laughed.
“Fine, I’m sure we will. But when we do,” Demmy continued, “I’ll work on being better about talking things through with you first. Okay?”
“Thank you.”
Cody squeezed Demmy’s hand and held onto it. They were quiet as they entered the tree-framed area of the road. The headlights chased the darkness as the road hummed beneath the tires.
“I’ve come a bit more around to your way of thinking,” Cody admitted.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Watching all of it unfold made me feel angry and sad and frustrated. I wanted, needed, to feel like I wasn’t powerless over it all, so I had to take some kind of action. That made me realize that’s how you feel every single time. So, I want you to know that I get it. And I’ll work on being more open to these bullshit cases in the future.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
As Demmy drove them home, the night sky darkened, releasing the stars a little at a time. Cody still held Demmy’s hand, and he reclined his seat a couple of notches. He realized with a grateful lift to his mood, that he hadn’t thought about looking for the spot where he hit the mayor so many weeks and several lifetimes ago. Then he heard the first boom of fireworks, and raised his seat back.
“I hear them,” Cody said, looking out the rear window. “But I don’t see… Wait, there they are. Damn, pretty much centered over the road behind us. Can you see them in the mirror?”
“I don’t need to,” Demmy said.
Cody looked at him. “Why not?”
“Because I can see Parson’s Hollow’s fireworks in front of us.”
Cody faced forward and smiled as fireworks bloomed and boomed in the night sky ahead and behind them.
“Fireworks in front of us, and fireworks behind us,” Cody said.
“Seems about right.” Demmy took his hand again. “Now, about all those things I promised we could do once we got home.”
* * *
THE END
MORE CRITTER CATCHERS MISADVENTURES
Is this your first Critter Catchers story? If you enjoyed Grave Danger and getting to know Cody, Demetrius, and all of their friends and family, you may want to start at the beginning and see how their relationship develops throughout the original Critter Catchers stories. These humorous paranormal books introduce and then follow Demetrius and Cody, best friends who open an animal control business and stumble into monster cases. Along the way, they realize they might be better suited as something more than friends.
All seven of the original Critter Catchers books are available in e-book, paperback, and audiobook formats.
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Terror by Moonlight: Critter Catchers Book One
