Side Story #1 - Colt - Page 37

'He punched one of them,' said Bohwanox.

Colt just sighed.

'They didn't seem to like that much,' the reaper said.

'I wonder why.' In spite of himself, Colt did a U-turn in the empty intersection.

Okay.

Obviously, he wasn't actually going to intervene in whatever stupid bullshit Malcolm was getting himself into. He wasn't about to risk getting dragged into a fucking gang war because of the antics of a drunken idiot he barely even knew.

But if that little confrontation escalated, it also wouldn't be good for the town. And if those guys really were Muett thugs, they might very well kill Malcolm's dumb ass. Orden didn't need a second murder in barely a week.

Well. A second murder that the public found out about, that was.

'Oh, good, they're taking it outside,' said Bohwanox. 'At least they're being considerate to the old folks behind the bar.'

'Those old folks callin' the cops?' asked Colt.

'They're trying.'

That was good, at least, but Colt wondered if it would even matter. The sheriff was dead, and the deputy, still missing. Who would show up? The cops from the capital again? They didn't have jurisdiction, of course, but these were extenuating circumstances.

'What is the fight even about?' said Colt.

'Malcolm seems to think they were here to make trouble.'

'Were they?'

'Well, they hadn't actually done anything wrong yet, but they were clearly making the lady behind the counter uncomfortable with their questions. And they don't exactly look like the friendliest sort, either.'

Mm. Definitely not worth throwing the first punch over. If it was Colt's decision, Malcolm would be cooling his head in jail tonight.

'They still fighting?' said Colt. Drunken brawls didn't typically last more than a few minutes, he'd always found. He was almost at Sam & Jenny's already, but he doubted that he would be able to get there in time to break it up--even if that had been his intention. Which it wasn't.

'No, they haven't restarted yet,' said Boh. 'They're still talking in the parking lot.'

'What about?'

'Seems to be posturing, primarily. Telling each other to back off. Calm down. But also calling each other pussy-bitches. Not the most constructive conversation I've ever heard.'

'What sorts of "weird questions" were the guys asking the old woman?'

'How long she's lived in Orden. If she runs this place by herself. Where her husband is--he was in the back, by the way. If she heard about the dead sheriff. What she knew about him. If she thought he was a good man. If anyone else had come around asking after him.'

Colt waited. 'That everything?'

'Yep. That was when Malcolm interrupted.'

'Hm. Did she have any interesting answers those questions?'

'In order? All her life. No. In the back room. Yes. Then she asked who they were, which they ignored. Yes. And yes.'

Alright, now the reaper was just showing off his memorization.

But wait a minute. That last question. 'So someone else DID come around asking after Rex?' said Colt.

'That's what she said. She didn't elaborate before Malcolm butted in, though.'

Goddammit.

That was tentative confirmation, though. The two men that he'd killed and buried in the woods were probably the ones who'd been asking about Rex. It made the most sense, at least. They had to have found out about Janet somehow. If this was how they'd accomplished that, then Colt had to wonder what else old Jenny might know.

He was getting close to the bar now. Ah. There they were. Three men standing together in the distance.

Colt pulled into an adjacent parking lot and stopped the car. He grabbed his binoculars from the glove box in order to get a better look.

'You actually showed up?' said Boh, sounding genuinely surprised. 'I figured you wouldn't come here even I'd told you that they'd pulled guns on Malcolm.'

At that statement, Colt had to double check. No. The other two men didn't have guns in their hands. The reaper was just speaking hypothetically. 'Yeah, well. Call it professional curiosity. What're they saying? More tough talk?'

'Yep. Oh, wait a minute. Malcolm is inquiring about the two people that they're looking for. He's actually... offering to help them?'

Oh, shit. That was last thing Colt wanted to hear, right now. He was pretty fucking confident that no one would ever find those bodies, but he still didn't like the idea of an actual cop looking for them.

'They're asking what makes him think he could help,' said Bohwanox. 'And he's... oh, he's telling them that used to be a cop. Huh. Not the strategy I would've gone with if I were him, but let's see how it plays out.'

Colt could see the two men's hands going to their sides, then to their lower backs, as if they were about to draw weapons.

But they didn't. Not yet, at least. They just stood there, flapping their gums some more.

'They are declining his help now,' said Bohwanox. 'And rather politely, I might add. Wow. Maybe they're nicer guys than they seem. I'm starting to feel like a jerk for stereotyping. Aaannd... Malcolm is asking what the sudden change in attitude is about.'

Colt saw them backing away from Malcolm now.

'They're saying that there's been a misunderstanding. They're saying that their friends are probably just on a fishing trip or something and that there's no need to involve the police. Malcolm is saying that he's retired, but I don't think they're listening, anymore. They're going back to their car. Malcolm is following.'

'I can see that much,' said Colt.

'Malcolm is still offering to help, and they're still refusing. Yeah, I think that's the end of it. Strange.'

Colt watched as the two men got in their black truck and left. Malcolm just stood there for a while thereafter, even after they were gone from view. He didn't look unsteady on his feet, but after all that, Colt had to wonder how drunk the man was.

'That was unexpected,' said Boh. 'But I guess it would make sense that the Muetts wouldn't want to attract attention from the police.'