Page 33 of Long Pig
When he walked back into the sunshine, he casually glanced around again. The parking lot remained empty. He was done here. The drugs and drinking would cause her taste to be off. Like pork left out too long, spoiled with a sour tang of chemicals. She would have tasted repulsive.
Besides, he wasn’t ready to process a body. Yet.
That would come with time, and Butch had all the time in the world.
Chapter Twenty-One
Satan Wears a Badge
Willow
Willow’s hands shook the entire time she made dinner. The dogs knew something was wrong and stuck by her side until Dale came home. He walked into the kitchen whistling but stopped when he saw her expression.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I’ll make tea and we can sit down and talk.” She lifted two cups from the cupboard. They clinked together, and Dale took them from her.
“Forget the damned tea. What happened?” he asked again.
“That deputy pulled me over when I went into town,” she said.
“Deputy Wallard?” he clarified.
“Yes. He gave me a warning before he asked me to go have a freeze cup with him.” She laughed slightly. “A freeze cup.”
“That son of a bitch,” Dale muttered.
“He said I didn’t come to a complete stop behind the sidewalk before I pulled onto the highway when I left the feed store. He also said he couldn’t see my seatbelt.”
“Oh, he could see your seatbelt,” Dale said angrily. “Wait, the feed store?” he asked before uttering a few more expletives. “There’s no sidewalk there. There’s also no stop sign.”
“I recorded what he said on my phone app.”
Dale grinned. “Smart move. Let’s sit down so I can listen.”
Willow gave a shaky smile. “You’re the one who told me to record, or I wouldn’t have thought of it.”
“See, you follow smart directions and throw the dumb ones out.”
Relief flooded Willow. She’d been afraid Dale would storm out and go after Wallard. Her father would have. As an abusive man, he saw it as his duty to punish her and her mother himself. Dale was angry but managed to think calmly.
She made the tea, and they took their mugs to the couch and listened to the recording. Dale cussed several more times before shaking his head.
“We’ll listen again, and I’ll keep my mouth shut so I don’t miss as much.”
Willow chuckled. “It’s okay. I’m glad you’re on my side.”
After the recording played again, Dale looked even more furious. “He used the words ‘walking path,’ the idiot. Like I said before, he’s a predator. He thinks he can intimidate you, and you’ll keep your mouth shut about it. Men like him are ultimately cowards. If you make a stand, they go after easier prey.”
“That’s horrible. He’ll terrify some other woman next?” she demanded.
“I’m only the messenger,” Dale said, raising his hands in surrender. “You are not the only woman he’s doing this to. He should be fired and reported to AZPOST so he never wears abadge again. That will only happen after multiple complaints.” Dale checked his watch. “We can leave for the Sheriff’s department right now.”
“No, please. Tomorrow is soon enough.”
Dale played with her phone and sent the recording to his phone through a text message. He looked up and smiled. “It smells damned good in here. What’s for dinner?”
“Spaghetti with garlic bread and butter.”