Page 19 of Small Town Beast 2: Saverin’s Duet (Sins of the South)

Dinah’s white face turned green. “H-how did you know?” She stammered. “Hiram told everybody not to tell. And everybody’s too scared of you to snitch.”

“Fear ain’t the only thing that motivates people.” A lesson you Snatch Hills had better learn quick.

“Hiram forced me into this mess and he knew I loved somebody else,” Dinah choked. “He just did it to spite you, and to hurt me.”

“You seemed happy enough on our wedding day.”

“I was drunk as a fish.”

“Yeah, I remember. You’re scared of him? Hiram?”

“I am.”

“But he’d never hurt you, of course,” said Absalom.

Dinah poked her tongue into her cheek and looked away. She tapped her feet on the floor. Absalom said nothing.

“He’s hurt me,” Dinah admitted. “He used to lock me in his bedroom and his friends would pay him to— they’d pay him…” She covered her mouth and shook her head.

“Alright,” said Absalom quietly. “No hard feelings over the wedding. You were forced into it.”

Dinah nodded bleakly.

“I’ll take care of him. But we need to make a deal.”

“What are you saying, then?” Dinah put up her chin. “What kind of deal?”

“You help me out to clear the air on our little arrangement . Otherwise I can’t make you any promises at all.”

“And Hiram?”

Absalom smiled. “I’ll sort out Hiram.”

“I want an annulment,” said Dinah firmly. “I want to marry Gino and I don’t want nobody interfering.”

Who the hell is Gino? “Sure,” Absalom said. “Granted.” He put out his hand, and she shook it. But he still didn’t trust her. She was a Snatch Hill, after all.

Weave it together , he thought, moving purposefully through the house to the room that held their prisoner. After this next interview, he’d have to write that note to Shadrac’s Aunt Eileen.

Subdue the enemy without fighting.

Tanya was her name. Tanya Weaver. Saverin had good taste.

She looked so much like Lorrie, though she was more cinnamon-colored than honey.

Her hair was curlier than Lorrie’s, but if he took one of those ringlets and stretched it down, down, it might touch the tiny indent in her back.

Absalom tore his gaze from the glass panel and rubbed his jaw.

Enough. All day long these thoughts of Lorrie played like music in another room.

He’d tune them out, but in short order he’d hear them again, whispering, urging.

Maybe I could go down to the cabin tonight. Later. Sneak away from this bullshit…Would take me an hour, maybe two…Need to make sure we’re still good. I could take her somewhere when this is all through…

He entertained the delusional thought a moment too long; Tanya was staring at him through the panel.

“ Hello ?”

Right. He went through the door and locked it. The girl tensed. For all her posturing he sensed her fear, and she had good reason to be afraid. Hiram and his thugs had handled her roughly. Her position as a hostage was a damned precarious one.

“It’s not my intention to hurt you,” he said, pulling up a chair.

“Well, good,” snapped Tanya. “I feel so much better now that you said that.” She paused and squinted at him. “You look familiar, mister.”

“We met last night.”

“You came to my house,” Tanya worked out slowly. “Hold up. You’re the deputy ?”

“Don’t worry; I’m not here to talk about that man your boyfriend murdered.”

“Saverin didn’t murder him,” Tanya said with obvious unease. “That was self-defense. Like he said in the statement.”

Absalom held up his hands; a peace offering. “From the man’s criminal record, and Saverin’s standing in town, I don’t doubt it, darlin’.”

Tanya glared at him. “So why am I here, exactly?”

“Before I answer that, I need you to clear something up for me,” Absalom said. “What happened when the boys brought you up here? Did they kill somebody?”

“Yes,” she said. “Those men killed a harmless old man with no legs. They shot him dead at his own front door! He was a good man and he fought for our country. He lost his legs for our country! And they killed him for nothing.”

“I gave no orders for that, darlin’. But take my word, the men responsible will be punished.”

“I don’t believe you,” said Tanya. “I know how it goes. You all protect your own.”

“Saverin must like that you got a temper.”

She seemed to be restraining a poisonous comeback. Absalom waited.

“How long are you going to keep me here?” she asked finally.

He was honest. “As long as Saverin behaves you won’t come to no harm.”

“Are you going to hurt him?” She inhaled sharply and looked down. “Don’t. Please. He’s a good man and he only wants to heal.”

“Is that what you do together? Healing?”

“You–” Again she bit her tongue and glared somewhere off in the distance. Good girl.

Absalom flicked a stray curl out of her face. “Tell me more about this man they killed, alright?”

Tanya shifted her gaze to the clean glass window and the incredible view of Florin beyond it. It was the best view in the county, second only to the one from Saverin’s hill.

“I didn’t know him very well. His name was Wilks Johnny. He was Saverin’s friend,” she answered slowly.

“Did he shoot first?”

“No,” she snapped. “Your thugs just ran up on him and shot him dead. He was defending himself. There was nothing wrong with that.”

“Does he have any family?”

“No. He was all alone…Saverin was supposed to fix his roof.” She brushed at her eyes. “Just a nice old man, going out like that. It was foul. And they just left him there to rot!”

“Saverin found him. They called the funeral home,” Absalom told her, stretching an assumption into what he hoped was the truth. “I can’t bring him back, but we’ll make it right. And for what it’s worth, I am sorry.”

“Where is Saverin? I saw you talking to him through the window. And who was that woman with them? Where the hell am I?”

“You’re in Florin.”

She widened her eyes at him. “Wow, really?”

He restrained a laugh. She reminded him so much of Lorrie and it wasn’t funny so much as— what was this damned feeling like his heart was being squeezed?

“Do you know Lorraine Denver?” he asked.

“No.”

“Excuse me, then.” He got up and put the chair back in place. “If the boys give you trouble just let me know. You’re our guest.”

“And how am I supposed to let you know if I’m in trouble?” she demanded.

“Scream real loud.”

“Wow, thanks.”

Absalom was nearly out the door, his mind already turning to other things, when Tanya called “Wait!”

“What?”

“One of your men— the big ugly redhead one—”

“Hiram.”

“He took my wallet. It’s got a picture of my son. Can I have it back, please?”

She sounded like she’d been practicing that line. Maybe that explained the square thing in Hiram’s jacket.

“I’ll look into it,” said Absalom, shelving it as a bottom priority. He shut the door, and locked it.