Ninety Degrees Out

“What do you think, Hakan?” Alicia asked as they watched Chay and Armaruq pick their way through the heaps of glass inside the great room.

“It smells like a dead body. I’m afraid they’re going to find bad news of some sort.”

“Do you want to follow them in?” Alicia didn’t really want to be left out of the discoveries inside. The place had been in pretty good shape except the glass damage last time she was there.

“Yes and no,” Hakan unwound the bandana he wore around his neck. “Do you have something to cover your nose with?”

“I’ve changed baby diapers. I can deal with it,” Alicia said.

“Then let’s go.” Hakan tied the black cloth he’d rolled up around his face, covering his nose. “I think they’re gone in any case.”

Alicia followed in Chayton’s brother’s footsteps. The glass was unstable, and she felt herself slipping on the uneven piles of shards. She threw her arms out to help keep her balance, and decided she wasn’t coming out the same way.

“Stay back there,” Chay called as they approached the short hall into the kitchen.

Alicia walked up beside Hakan where he stood peering into the darkened area behind the island. She reached around the corner and tried the switch. The hanging lights above them sent brilliant white glare into every corner.

“I thought we left the electricity off.” Alicia commented.

“We did. They turned it on again. The water’s on too. And you don’t want to come back here.” Armaruq wretched softly.

“What have you got?” Hakan sounded like she felt. Apprehensive.

“I’m taking pictures, and those are for Catherine. Armaruq says his boots match the tracks you were following. She needs to see he’s dead. He’s not ever going to bother her again.” Chayton swallowed twice as he spoke.

“He’s dead then?” Alicia knew she was stating the obvious.

“As a doornail,” Chay confirmed.

“Does your phone work here, Hakan?” Armaruq asked.

“It looks like I’ve got signal.”

“Try the troopers and let them know we have a dead body out here. I think he took a bit of a beating before he hit the corner of the counter. He didn’t make it.” Chay explained. “Tell them I’m taking pictures of the scene. I’ll bring them in if they really want them. Otherwise, we’re digging a grave. Can’t leave him the way he is.”

Hakan walked out into the backyard, and Alicia heard him talking as she waited for Chay to finish what he was doing. She started back out through the glass, totally forgetting her promise to herself to find another way out of the house. Baby diapers had nothing on the stench emanating from the kitchen.

“Hey, Alicia, can you help me pull one of these tarps free?” Hakan had finished his call.

“Are we burying the guy?” Armaruq had overheard his friend’s comment.

“Yeah. The homicide unit is pretty much a thing of the past. There are so many bodies in the morgue, there’s no space left, and they’re storing them in the hockey rinks while they identify them and then find places to bury them. The cemeteries are putting them at least five deep into each plot and marking them with etched aluminum crosses. It’s horrible work.” Hakan’s disgust was palatable.

Alicia watched as the men took turns digging into the lawn. They chose a spot just above the highwater mark from the flood that sent her looking for help. Rolling the body into the tarp so they could move him, had her running up to use the bathroom to clean up.

She wished she’d gone out and used a hose. The bike gang left such an overwhelming mess behind, the house would never be the same. Disaster recovery wouldn’t stand a chance. As far as she was concerned, a stick of dynamite was the only way to fix it.

Now she felt numb. Guilty because she was fiercely glad the man was dead, and sad about the loss of a life which could have been so much better than it turned out. She must have zoned out into a micro nap when she heard Chay’s gruff call.

“Drag him over. I think we’re deep enough.”

The men had stripped down to shorts and bare chests to work. She had to admire their rippling muscles, and then she shuddered as she remembered why they were working. How sad. An unmarked grave behind a house. Any other reason than the one they had, used to bring the cops running and a huge investigation into what they found. Not anymore. This was the final resting place of the unknown criminal.

She watched them pile the dirt over the blue plastic lump in the bottom of the hole and went out to the front to see if the horse was still where they’d left him. Alicia couldn’t take anymore of this. Bingo was standing in the shade of a grove of aspens, his tail swishing briskly, knocking flies off his haunches.

Wrapping her arms around Bingo’s neck, she leaned into the sturdy Appaloosa, and let the silent tears roll down her cheeks. This fucked up world was more than she could handle today.

“Honey, are you alright?” Chay’s voice rumbled in her ear.

Alicia shook her head, burrowing into Bingo’s neck harder.

Chay came up behind her, wrapping his long arms around her waist and putting his long form against her back. Surrounding her in a solid wall of muscles. She wished she could stay like this forever and ignore everything happening around her.

“That was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do.” Chay was swaying with her in a gentle rocking rhythm. She felt like she was in a rocking chair.

“I can’t figure out what I feel about this.”

“Neither can I. But we didn’t leave him to rot. And I feel like we should have. If it were an old Cherokee tribe dealing with him, his body would have been left for the buzzards.” Chay’s arms tightened around her.

“Can we get out of here?”

“We’re done. There isn’t anything else. Sarge told Hakan, they would close the investigation once Catherine confirms he was the one who attacked her.”

“What about the rest of the gang?”

“They’re gone. If they come back, they’re considered fugitives and castle law applies. We protect what’s ours. It’s up to us to keep ourselves safe.”

“I need to talk to Hakan before we go. I want to leave Arimina with them until tomorrow.”

“Good idea. Let’s ride Bingo into the trail, you can talk to my brother while we head back to the pond. They’ll take him back to the ranch with them.”

Alicia watched Chay check the saddle to make sure the cinch was tight. He mounted and then reached down to let her use the stirrup and slide up behind him. Pressing her cheek into his back, she closed her eyes. Maybe she could shut the images of this horrifying afternoon out for a little while.