Box

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get my rope.”

  Moments later I’m startled to see the rope he’s brought has already has a professional hangman’s noose at one end.

  “You’re going to hang me with a used rope?”

  “Why do you care?”

  “I’ve got a thing about germs.”

  “Trudy’s the pride of Wilford County,” Scooter says. “Homecoming queen, three straight years.”

  “I’m not surprised. Were you the runner-up?”

  He frowns.

  “How’d it go down?” he says. “Trudy’s smart. How’d you get her to go outside with you?”

  “I tricked her.”

  “How?”

  “I told her I saw a starving cat out back and asked permission to feed him a crab cake.”

  “And she went with you?”

  “She did.”

  He nods. He can see that happening. Then he says, “When you cuffed her to the fence, why didn’t she scream?”

  “I said I’d kill her if she made the slightest sound.”

  “You admit you tried to rape her?”

  “I’ll admit I wanted to.”

  “Close enough,” he says.

  He unties the rope around my chest and legs but my wrists are still bound.

  “Are these the same handcuffs?”

  “Yup. I felt they was appropriate,” he says, helping me to my feet.

  He places the noose around my neck and tightens it. Then kicks me in the nuts so hard I fall to the floor and nearly pass out. When I come to, I’m in a world of hurt, gagging, choking. He helps me to my feet and kicks me in the nuts again.

  By now my pain receptors are numb with adrenalin, so the pain is palpable. Still, it’s enough to make me fall to my knees, retch, and start dry-heaving.

  He helps me to my shaky feet a third time, and tosses the other end over a beam I now notice is situated directly above his chair. He makes me stand on the chair, then on top of the chair back. Then he takes up the slack, and ties the rope to one of the stall doors.

  “You’ve got good balance,” he says.

  “Thanks.”

  “If you slip, you die,” he says.

  “Got it.”

  He watches me a minute, then says, “What sort of name is Box, anyway?”

  I start to answer, then say, “Does it really matter?”

  “Not really.”

  He watches me some more, then says, “I can go ahead and kick the chair out from under you if you’d like.”

  “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll try to balance a while and see how it goes.”

  “Any last words?”

  “Four.”

  “Let’s hear ’em.”

  “It was worth it.”

  “You wanna share what you mean?”

  “Trudy Lake was awesome! Her tits are perfect! Feeling her up was one of the highlights of my life!”

  “Worth dyin’ for?”

  “And then some! Her nipples were like pencil erasers. Her breath, her tongue, sweet as condensed milk.”

  “Condensed milk? What the fuck type of degenerate mother-fucker are you?”

  “The kind that would haul Trudy Lake off to New York City and give her ass a daily pounding. I mean, be honest, Scooter. Can you just imagine what it would be like to get some of that?”

  “She’s barely eighteen!”

  “Which means I could fuck her for ten years and she’d still only be twenty-eight!”

  He comes around to look at me. He’s red-faced, furious.

  “You’re jealous,” I say.

  “No.”

  “Then what’s the big deal?”

  “She’s my daughter, you miserable fuck!” he yells, then kicks the chair out from under me.

  8.

  Trudy Lake.

  Thirty Minutes Earlier…

  WE HAD A moment at the fence when I wasn’t sure I could trust him, but now Doctor Box is kissin’ me as if kissin’ would put out a forest fire. I’m hooked to the fence and his hands are on my boobs like a blind man huntin’ a braille tattoo.

  I saw Daddy watchin’ us from the bathroom window a minute ago, when I put my back to the fence. I figured he’d let it go. Then again, he questioned our age difference when I pointed Dr. Box out to him while he was drinkin’ his laxative coffee.

  “Let me get this right,” he said. “You want me to let him steal my handcuffs?”

  “I dared him to try.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m just messin’ with him,” I said.

  “There are easier ways to land a man, Trudy.”

  “He’s not a man, Daddy, he’s a world-famous doctor.”

  “Yeah? Well I don’t like it.”

  I threw a pout and said, “You never let me have any fun!”

  “Fine. Whatever,” he said, and left the cuffs where they could be stolen.

  When the fun started between me and the doc, I saw Daddy sneakin’ up on us. I figured he was just gonna scare Dr. Box and we’d all have a laugh, but Daddy punched him in the back of the head.

  “Why’d you hit him so hard?” I yell.

  “He was molestin’ you!”

  “Oh, fiddle,” I say.

  “Where’s the key?”

  “In his pocket.”

  He gets the key out and unlocks me and says, “Fiddle? What the hell are you talkin’ about, girl? You got more action just now than I did on my weddin’ night!”

  “You’re crazy. Doc Blanchard gets more titty durin’ my annual physical.”

  “If that’s true, I’ll be payin’ him a visit after this.”

  “Don’t be silly. It’s a routine medical procedure. And anyway, they’re both doctors.”

  “Does your annual physical with Doc Blanchard include the kind of kissin’ I just witnessed?”

  I frown.

  We’re standin’ over Dr. Box, who’s laid out on the ground like a possum pelt.

  “Look what you’ve done!” I say. “How hurt is he?”

  “Why do you care? I’m gonna kill him anyway.”

  “You’ll do no such thing! He’s my way out.”

  Daddy sighs. “Pumpkin, there are easier ways to get out of this town. Plus, you just met him. He’s probably married, with six kids.”

  “He was gonna give me a big tip tonight.”

  “Let’s see.”

  Daddy goes through Dr. Box’s wallet and pockets, finds some bills, counts them out. “How’s eighteen hundred sound?”

  “He’s carryin’ that much?”

  “He’s carryin’ thirty-six hundred, to be exact.”

  “You’re takin’ half?”

  “Seems fittin’.”

  “Why?”

  “He’d bribe me at least eighteen hundred to escape an attempted rape charge, don’t you think?”

  “I suppose. But I don’t want you to run him off, Daddy.”

  “Trust me, this guy’s scum.”

  “He’s rich, and he likes me.”

  “He may be rich, and he may like you for a night or two, but you need to take this eighteen hundred, get yourself a car, and drive to a better place so you can start a new life.”

  I frown. “Eighteen hundred ain’t but a start for that type of plan. I’d need twice that, at least.”

  He sighs. “Fine. Here. Take it all. But when you go, don’t look back.”

  “What about Dr. Box?”

  “I’ll send him packin’. After we have a little talk.”

  “You’re gonna tell him to never see me again.”

  “That’s right. And someday you’ll thank me for it.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  “Wait here and call Kennon to cover your shift. I’ll be right back.”

  He circles the restaurant to the parking lot, drives Dr. Box’s rental car over to where I’m standin’. Then he pushes Dr. Box into the back seat and tells me to drive to Jake Thatcher’s old barn.

  All the way
to Thatcher’s, I think about drivin’ off with Dr. Box, but Daddy’s behind me in his squad car, and I’d never get away. But I’m also thinkin’ how I’m gonna write Dr. Box a message about how to contact me after Daddy throws him out of town.

  When we get to Thatcher’s, Daddy drags Dr. Box inside, handcuffs him, and starts tying him to a chair.

  “This where you interrogate your prisoners?” I say.

  “It is. Now go out to the car and wait. And do not come back in here.”

  “Can I ask a favor?” I say.

  “What?”

  “Before you let him go, kick him in the nuts.”

  “What?”

  “Twice. And don’t hold back.”

  “Why?”

  “I have my reasons.”

  “You never fail to surprise me, Trudy.”

  I do have my reasons. I aim to drive out of town with Dr. Box later tonight, and don’t want sex on his mind for at least a day or two while I decide what I want from the relationship, if anythin’.

  While Daddy’s tyin’ Dr. Box up good and tight to the chair, I climb in the rental car and dig a pen and paper from my purse and start writin’ him a note. I hear the sound of a trunk slammin’ shut and look up to see Daddy carryin’ a long rope into the barn. I finish writin’ the letter and put it in the console between the seats, figurin’ Dr. Box will check to see if there might be somethin’ in the console he can use to stop the bleedin’ Daddy’ll cause durin’ the course of his interrogation.

  Two minutes passes, then I hear a terrible noise. It’s dark, but I can tell half the barn roof has come crashin’ down!

  9.

  Dr. Gideon Box.

  DEPUTY SCOOTER BING kicked the chair out from under me to start the hanging, but the beam couldn’t handle the weight, and broke. I fell to the ground. There was a split-second pause before the roof came crashing down.

  It wasn’t much of a roof, but it was board and tin and heavy enough to kill me. I counted my blessings at having cheated death two times in the space of thirty seconds. As I pulled the rope off my neck, Trudy ran into the barn yelling, “What the hell happened? Is everyone okay?”

  She saw me moving around and said, “Where’s Daddy?”

  Turns out Deputy Bing was alive, but his right leg was trapped under one of the rafters. Trudy and I pulled it off him and found his leg was broken.

  “Other than that, is he okay?” Trudy asks.

  “Yeah, but we should get him to the hospital.”

  “Daddy?” she says. “You got what you deserve for tryin’ to hang my boyfriend.”

  She unhooks my cell phone from his belt and gives it to me.

  “You’re not gonna leave me here, are you?” Scooter says.

  “I’d take you to the hospital, but sure as shit you’d just wind up throwin’ poor Dr. Box in jail. So we’re gonna leave now. I’ll call an ambulance to take you to the county hospital. And tomorrow I’ll call to make sure you’re okay. But we’re gonna head out now.”

  She looks at me and says, “Are you fit to walk?”

  “I’d be fitter if he hadn’t kicked me in the nuts.”

  Trudy said, “I love you, Daddy.”

  “I love you too, sugar,” he says. “But I’m afraid you’ve got yourself a bad doctor.”

  “Time will tell,” she says. “Let’s go, Doc.”

  “It’s been a pleasure,” I say to Deputy Bing as I step over his body.

  “She’s a good girl,” he says. “Don’t treat her badly.”

  I wait till Trudy’s nearly out the barn before whispering, “Every time I fuck her I’ll think of you.”

  I get about ten feet before he says, “I’ll be sure to tell Darrell you said that.”

  I stop and turn. “Who’s Darrell?”

  “You’ll see.”

  10.

  WHEN I EXIT what’s left of the barn I notice Trudy’s in the driver’s seat.

  I open the passenger door and lean in.

  “Not to be rude, but that man looks way too old to be your father.”

  “He’s had a rough life.”

  “How old is he?”

  “You mean because he looks too old to be my Daddy?”

  “Well, yes. To be frank about it.”

  “He started another family before he met Mom. She was much younger.”

  She looks at me, smiles, and says, “Guess she was a lot like me.”

  “In what way?”

  “Attracted to older men.”

  I smile.

  She says, “Aren’t you gettin’ in the car?”

  “Who’s Darrell?”

  She frowns. “Scooter told you about Darrell?”

  “Just in passing. Who is he?”

  “My brother.”

  “Will he be mad at me, too?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “No, of course not, honey!”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Your place.”

  “I haven’t booked a room yet.”

  “No. I mean, your place. New York City.”

  “This is a rental car.”

  “I know. You got it in Nashville. At the airport.”

  She can tell I’m puzzled, so she adds, “The rental agreement’s in the glove box. I read it while waitin’ for you. So anyway, I’ll drive us to Nashville, we’ll catch an early mornin’ flight, and be home by noon.”

  “Home?”

  “I’ve decided to move in with you.”

  “Seriously?”

  “How could I not? We’re practically engaged.”

  I hold up a hand.

  “What?” she says.

  “First things first.”

  I open the glove box, pop the trunk.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I can’t leave him like this. He’s in pain.”

  “The man tried to hang you.”

  “Good point.”

  “And anyway, we’re gonna call an ambulance from the highway, remember?”

  “I know. But in the meantime, he could go into shock.”

  “Is there something you can do to prevent that?”

  “My medical bag’s in the wheel well, under the spare tire.”

  “Okay, but let’s do this quickly, okay?”

  “Why the rush?”

  “I don’t expect you to understand, but I’ve tried to escape this town six times and never got past Starbucks. Somethin’ always happens at the last second.”

  “You’ve got a Starbuck’s here in Clayton? No shit?”

  “No, of course not. Starbucks is a town, twenty miles south of here.”

  I grab my bag and a towel from my suit bag, and head back inside. Trudy’s a step behind saying, “Who packs a beach towel to go to Western Kentucky?”

  “Believe it or not,” I say, “Clayton wasn’t my destination.”

  “Where were you headed?”

  “Ralston.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s personal.”

  “Personal means a woman. It’s a woman, right?”

  I sigh.

  Trudy says, “Good thing you met me when you did.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Whoever she is, I’m way more fun.”

  I stop a moment to look at her.

  She shrugs. “It’s true, Gideon.”

  I say, “In the two hours I’ve been here, I’ve been knocked out cold, tied to a chair, hung by my neck to die, and had a roof come crashing down on me.”

  “So?”

  “Where’s all this fun you’re talking about?”

  “Are you always this negative?”

  “Yes.”

  “You know how I see the last two hours?”

  “Tell me.”

  “You had a wonderful home-cooked meal, you French-kissed the Wilford County homecomin’ queen, you felt her up, and found true love.”

  “True love?”

  “Well, far as you know.”


  “What does that mean?”

  “I got a feelin’ about you. And you’re about to get me on a road trip. Not many men can say that.”

  “How many, exactly?”

  “Let’s just fix my Daddy’s leg and get out of here,” she says.

  As we approach Scooter, he says, “Don’t let him touch me, Trudy. He’s gonna give me an overdose and kill me.”

  “Don’t be silly, Daddy. He’s a doctor. And a damn fine one, too.”

  “You’ve only got his word for that.”

  “I trust him. Now let him give you somethin’ for the pain.”

  As I cover him with my beach towel he says to Trudy, “You know what he said to me a minute ago?”

  “What’s that, Daddy?”

  “He said he was gonna think about me every time he fucks you.”

  She looks at me and says, “You said that?”

  I shrug, check his pulse.

  She says, “Well, how thoughtful is that! Weird, but thoughtful.”

  She thinks on it a minute, while I check his pupils with my penlight, then says, “More weird than thoughtful, I think.”

  By then I’ve given him a shot of morphine. When he seems stable, we head for the car.

  11.

  “CAN WE GO now?” she says.

  We’re in the car again, but this time I’m holding the keys.

  “Look,” I say. “I appreciate the compliment, I really do. And I understand how things happen at warp speed in small towns. But I met you exactly two hours ago. And while this might come as a shock, I’m not ready to let you move in with me.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t even know your middle name.”

  “Leigh. Can we go now?”

  I shake my head. “That was a figure of speech. What I mean is I don’t know you well enough to take on whatever baggage you might bring.”

  “Like what?”

  “Your father’s the deputy sheriff. He tried to hang me just now. And your brother sounds scary.”

  “All you’ve heard about my brother is his name.”

  “The way your father said his name was scary.”

  “Where’s your sense of adventure, Gideon?”

  “Sorry.”

  She sighs heavily. “How long would it take you to know me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can’t be puttin’ too much time into this relationship if it’s not goin’ anywhere.”

  “It’s not so much a time thing.”