Death is Long Overdue

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER FIVE

If I was smart, I would keep driving and act like I didn’t see him. Instead, I put on my big girl granny panties and pulled in next to him. I hopped out of Velma and tried to stroll casually towards him. Not an easy task with a dead body on my mind and a sexy deputy sheriff in my driveway.

Clint had wavy dark brown hair and the greenest eyes. His six-foot frame towered over my five foot two self. Every time I saw him, I felt like a silly schoolgirl. I knew he saw me as Rick’s little sister, not Ophelia Jefferson, Super Librarian. One day I hoped his hands would undress me in real life instead of just my fantasies.

“ Hi, Clint. What’s up?” I asked in a nonchalant voice. I continued past him and unlocked my door.

“ Really?” Clint’s incredulous response told me the game was up. He clipped his phone back into the case on his belt. “Oh, I don’t know. You make an anonymous phone call to the sheriff’s to report Huey Long dead in his house and you want to ask me what’s up? You’re killing me.” He strode up the steps and brushed past me into the house. “You want to tell me what crazy stunt you are up to now?”

“ I don’t do crazy stunts, thank you very much.” I tried to sound indignant, but I was so nervous my voice cracked.

“ If it’s not a girl’s night out prank you and Juliet cooked up, then what in the Sam Hill is going on?” He fixed me with an intense glare. When I didn’t immediately cave and confess, he sighed. We walked into my kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea. Even though he spent time at my home growing up, I felt an intimate domesticity with him right then. Despite the trauma of the evening, I couldn’t help but appreciate how good his rear end looked in his khakis. Good googly moogly, he was fine. “Spill it, Phee. I want you to tell me why in the world you made an anonymous call to report a body. You realize a false police report is a punishable crime.” Clint reached into the cupboard and pulled out two glasses. He turned and leaned against the counter waiting for an answer.

I took a deep breath and told him I went to Huey Long’s house and discovered him n***d and dead in the middle of his living room. I left out the part about me mooning the world when my pants came off. I felt some things should be kept secret. Besides it wasn’t relevant to the case, darn it!

“ Let me see if I understand this. You broke into his house, found his body and decided not to call an ambulance. You presumed he was dead? Ah, Phee, you’ve put me in a bad spot.” I refused to look at him. If I did, I would burst into tears and end up splotchy, snotty and not potential hot girlfriend material.

“ I didn’t presume anything. Trust me. He was dead. An ambulance wouldn’t have changed anything, and I panicked! I’ve never seen a body. It is way different in real life than when you read about it in an Agatha Christie novel. Clint, I am sorry. Please don’t arrest me!” I begged and felt the tears welling in my eyes. In one quick move, he was across the room and pulling me out of the chair and into his arms.

“ Don’t cry, Flea. No arrests. I promise. I think I know you fairly well and chances are good that you aren’t a murderer. Rick would kill me if I arrested you, then your dear, sweet mother would bury me in her vegetable patch. The handcuffs are staying put for now.” He ruffled my strawberry blonde curls like I was still twelve years old and following him around asking for a ride on his dirt bike. Unlike Rick’s other friends, Clint always found a few minutes to talk before riding off with my brother to “pick up chicks.”

“ Thanks,” I sniffled. “Don’t call me, Flea. You know I hate that name.”

I pulled myself away from him and poured two glasses of tea for us. To compose myself, I took my time adding sugar to my glass. “Thanks for not thinking I’m a murderess. I would not do well in prison. Orange clashes with my hair.”

“ You’re not off the hook yet. Drink your tea and let’s head over to the scene. We need to meet Deputy Thompson. Just in case you weren’t joking, I sent him over there to check out things. I got a call from him right before you pulled up. He verified Huey Long is dead. He said it looks like murder.”