Chapter 40 #2
She nods quickly, like a hyper little squirrel.
“Diane is.”
“May I speak with her, please?” I ask convincingly. She nods sweetly to me and walks towards the back, only to poke her head through an archway.
“Mama D? There’s someone here who wants to speak with you.
” She turns back around. “She’s coming.” She flashes me a bright smile as a mom and two kids walk in.
So, I scoot over a little to keep them from hearing what we talk about.
As much fun as creeping out little kids sounds, it’s better on Halloween, and I shouldn’t use our real-life issues to do it. Plus, I don’t have a costume.
A short, plump, whole southern woman walks up to the cash register. Her hair is about as tall as a beehive, and I should’ve called her the squirrel with how full her cheeks are, but she looks sweet enough—enough to be deadly.
“How may I help you, sir?” She walks up to the counter and lays her hands on top. It appears as a friendly gesture, but the tautness in her arms makes me believe that she would jump over this counter in an instant if she thought I was a threat.
Yep. I already like this woman.
“Yes ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to know if you saw this man come in here on September first?” I hold up the picture of Damien and Ash she sent to my normal phone before I left.
“Oh, goodness gracious! Is that his wife? Aw!” Her face morphs into a melted candlewax version of herself, and it hits me then. She recognizes him. “That baby is going to come out looking so scrumptious!” She scrunches her face and coos over their photo.
“So, he did come in here?” I clarify. So predictable, D.
“Oh, yes! He is such a sweet thing. He came in and just gushed over her—talked about how beautiful and glowing she was. I even remember him saying that cotton candy was her favorite, so he was sure to buy a quart of that, and a quart of our peach cobbler ice cream. He said she had been raving for days about coming in here,” she rambles, and I can’t help but chuckle.
Is she sure she’s not a Hartley? Or maybe a Moore.
She is a lot like my mom, too. Maybe it’s just a thing for middle-aged women to chat excitedly.
“Yeah, that sounds like Damien. Did he say where he was going after he left?”
“Straight home. He pulled up on a motorcycle, and it was hot outside. I was so worried that it would melt before he got home, so I gave him two ice packs and put them in his bag so he wouldn’t worry. But he assured me that he was going straight home to give it to her.”
“That was very sweet of you.” I give her my most charming smile. “Did you see him drive off?”
“No, I’m sorry, we were getting busy and he had to get home. I hated that he couldn’t stay and chat. It’s not often you find such a sweet thing like him in this day and age.”
“That’s very true,” I say agreeably, but I subconsciously roll my eyes. It’d ruffle your feathers if you knew what we do at night, lady. “You said you got busy, was there anyone in here who was focused on him? Or came in but didn’t buy anything?”
She scrunches her eyebrows, really thinking it over, but then she shakes her head.
“No, not that I can recall.”
“Do you have cameras?”
“Well, I do for inside. Not for the outside, though. Is everything alright? These are some strange questions.” Her eyes narrow on me, and I don’t miss the way she puts a little more weight on her hands.
“No, ma’am, it’s not. He’s missing. No one has seen him since that evening, and we’re trying to get any information we can. I’m his wife’s brother.” I stick my hand out for her to shake. “My name is Zeke.”
“Oh, dear.” She covers her mouth with one hand, but then reaches out and frantically shakes my hand with the other.
“Well, I’m Diane. You’re more than welcome to take a look.
Come on back here.” She lifts the walkthrough countertop and turns to the girls working.
“Katie! Man the front, I’m helping this young man! ”
“You got it, Mom!” the girl with pink hair yells back. Diane steps in front of me and swats her hand into the air.
“She ain’t really my daughter, they just all call me that.”
“I can see why,” I say honestly. She leads me to her office and pulls up a stool next to her desk for me to sit. I take the kind gesture while she types away. Her face is only about three inches from the screen, but she keeps darting her eyes to the keyboard like it’ll explode if she gets it wrong.
Oops. I probably shouldn’t make that joke either.
“Here we are.” She pulls up the video and fast forwards it to when he walked in.
Damn, he was happy. He was smiling and talking to Diane, looking at all of the ice cream like a kid.
But then after a few minutes, that haunted look washed over his face.
We had all known that he’d had trouble lately, but D’s been crazy.
So that wasn’t really a surprise. I think that’s where Satori and I really started to hate each other.
Damien is the kind of crazy that will jump out of a cake in the middle of restaurant, not blow it up.
Well, there I go again.
Plus, that’s a me thing, and he wouldn’t dare steal my sparkle.
I watch it all the way through until he pays with cash, fucking asshole, and walks out.
If he just would’ve used a damn card, we could’ve figured this out much sooner.
While it was a cute interaction, and it was nice to see D that way, there’s nothing on these tapes.
I can’t even see him pull out of the lot.
“I hope that’s helpful,” she says nervously.
“Unfortunately not, but I really appreciate your help.” I grin sadly back at her.
“Of course, honey, any time. I hope you find him.” She frowns, but then she perks up some, like she got an idea. “Did you say you needed to see where he headed when he left?”
I raise an eyebrow. Did I say that out loud? Shit. I need to get the manic talk under control before I go back to Ash.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Well, come on. We’ll try something else.” In a flash, she’s already up and out of the chair, walking out of the office. She scurries away, and I stumble to catch up with her. “Let’s go! Get a move on!”
I hurry behind her as she walks out of the building and towards the bank next door.
I look around the parking lot, wondering why the hell I’m letting the Alabama State Grandma lead me anywhere, but she’s determined—I’ll give her that.
She shoves the door open, struts in, and marches right up to the counter.
I can’t help but look around anxiously and grip the back of my neck, hoping that they don’t immediately call the cops.
Then I’ll have to explain myself to Tony, and I don’t want to deal with that Leave-It-To-Beaver motherfucker if I don’t have to.
“Where’s Gerald?” Diane asks the well-dressed woman behind the counter.
“Hi, Diane. Good evening to you, too,” the woman says in an annoyed tone. It kind of pisses me off. Yeah, we came in here a little too ‘gung-ho,’ but damn, what happened to customer service? Diane relaxes a little against the counter and puts on her softest smile.
“Good evening, dear. I need to speak to Gerald, please.”
“I’ll go grab him.” She huffs and walks to the back.
“Um, ma’am?” I try to get Diane’s attention, to ask what the hell we’re doing, but she just holds her hand up and shushes me. I raise an eyebrow but ultimately let it go. What am I going to do? Yell at her?
The woman walks back in, and a grey-haired man follows her. He’s probably in his early fifties and is dressed in a nice button-up shirt, but clearly has a clip-on tie.
Tacky.
“What can I do for you, Diane?” The guy, Gerald, says in a tone that speaks ‘I’m already sick of this shit,’ and now I’m fully annoyed. Diane just wants to talk, what’s his deal?
“This nice man needs to look at your security cameras.” Diane points back to me, and my eyes widen a little, but I can’t help but grin at her. This woman is on a mission, and I definitely appreciate her enthusiasm.
“Now, Diane, we don’t share our footage. Especially not with strangers,” Gerald drones.
“Well, I’m no stranger.” Diane puts her hands on her hips, and even though I’m standing behind her, I can feel the attitude radiate from her.
It’s inappropriate to start chanting ‘fight’ right now, isn’t it?
“I can’t show the footage to anyone but local authorities.” Gerald rolls his eyes, and I decide to step in on that remark—even though I already hate where this is going.
“Well, I can take care of that.” I pull out my burner phone and reluctantly dial Tony’s number. I guess I’m going to have to deal with this asshole anyway. It only rings a few times, and I can’t help but smirk smugly at Gerald’s wrinkly face.
“Sheriff Bordeaux?” Tony answers.
“Tony? It’s Zeke. I need you to come down to the bank on Mill Lane. The one next to the ice cream shop.”
“Why?”
I scoff.
“Don’t ask questions.” I hang up and turn back to the man. “My officer will be here in a few minutes.”
“Well, you’re also going to need a warrant, sir.” He leans on the counter and tilts his head to the side, like this isn’t a life-or-death situation.
“Oh, to hell with your warrant, Gerald!” Diane yells, and I flinch.
Damn, this woman is feisty. “There is a sweet, innocent man missing, and you’ll do well to comply!
I’ll flood your district manager with so many complaints that they’ll fire you just to get rid of me!
Now, you let this man watch your damn tapes! ”
I stand back and listen to them argue with each other for a while.
Diane’s face turns red, and I’m pretty sure Gerald’s hair becomes even thinner than it already was.
The lady behind the counter continues to work and just shakes her head, like this is some normal occurrence for them.
After about ten minutes of Diane screaming at Gerald, Tony comes striding in through the doors to hear the commotion.
His blonde hair is still shaved, and his looks just as dopey as ever.
“Whoa! Whoa, now. What is going on?” Tony approaches us all with raised hands.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here! This man is obstructing justice!” Diane yells, and points at Gerald.
“Officer, please get this woman out of my bank!” he yells back.
“Alright! Everyone, calm down. Ma’am? If you wouldn’t mind, I’ll handle this from here.” Tony puts his hands on his belt, like it actually makes him look more intimidating. I think it makes him look like a damn boy scout.
“Excuse me?” Ah, shit. Diane mimics his stance by putting her hands in the same position and pops a hip out. “You’re going to tell me to leave?”
“Mama D…” I walk up to her and gently wrap her arm in mine.
Whenever my mom is upset, we walk around her neighborhood like this, and that always seems to work with her.
“Can you wait outside for me? I have a feeling things are about to get ugly, and I don’t want to do that in front of a sweet woman like you.
I’ll come out and update you once we’re done,” I say as sweetly as I can and sport my best puppy eyes.
She pats my arm and smiles at me, telling me that I’ve won.
“Oh alright, sugar. I’ll wait outside the shop.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I lead her out the door and lock it once she starts to walk back across the parking lot. My lungs release a relieved breath, and I make sure the door is locked again. Just in case. “Jesus Christ.”
“Yeah, that lady needs God.”
I snap my head around to glare at Gerald.
“You need to shut the fuck up! She’s a sweet lady,” I yell back at him.
“Yeah. A real peach,” Gerald says sarcastically, and Tony turns to me, sighing like an over-spoiled dog.
“What am I doing here, Zeke?”
“I need to see his security tapes from the night D went missing.” I walk back up to him, and when he raises a brow, I tilt my head—practically daring him to argue with me. “It’s not too late to get Diane back in here,” I threaten. He turns back to Gerald and reaches up to his vest.
“Sir, would you be so kind as to allow us to see your security footage?” He lays his Sheriff’s badge on the table. With a defeated huff, Gerald then rolls his eyes and opens the door for us to follow him to the back.