Read Online Runny03 - Loose Lips by Rita Mae Brown - Free Book Online Page A

sorry, Mrs. Trumbull, I’m sorry about all of this. It didn’t start out like this. We were going to ride over to Baltimore and come right back, but—”
    “Don’t lie to me, Billy. You were abducting my daughter.” Louise’s voice was hard.
    “Abducting! Hell, Wheezie, she about ran her legs off to get in the car. Car looks pretty bad,” Juts said.
    “Keep out of this, Julia! You’re not a mother.”
    “Louise, will you calm down? Getting Billy arrested isn’t going to solve anything.”
    “Don’t you take her part!”
    “I’m not, I’m—”
    They all stopped to observe Harmon Nordness stop, lift himself out of the squad car, and size up the catastrophe, then, head down, stride across the debris.
    “Hello, Sheriff.” Chester tried to smooth things over. “We’ve got a bit of a situation here, but nothing we can’t get sorted out.”
    “Thank you, Chester, I intend to do just that….” Sheriff Nordness licked his fleshy lips. “Who was driving the Ford?”
    “I was,” Billy declared.
    “You usually run into statues, Billy? I’ve caught you at cockfights. I’ve hauled your poppa in drunk and disorderly with you in the backseat. But I believe this is the first time you and anyone else has ever wantonly defaced state property.”
    “It was an accident, Sheriff.”
    “Uh-huh.” Harmon put his face right up to Mary’s tearful one. “What have you got to say for yourself, girlie? I’ve got a report that you were shooting a revolver from this very car.”
    Mary wailed.
    “Oh, Harmon, people do talk.” Fannie Jump fudged it a little. “The gun in question happened to be in the backseat of the car and when Extra Billy encountered a little difficulty steering his car it bounced off the seat and discharged.”
    “Gee-od.” Harmon spat a wad of tobacco juice on the ground.
    “Crazy things happen.” Juts smiled big.
    “Yeah, ’cause crazy people make them happen.” He turned on Juts, who took a step closer to Chessy. “Now folks, I’m going to have to run you all in. Extra Billy and Mary and whoever was driving the Model A.”
    “Me.” Pearlie stepped forward.
    “Pearlie, why’d you want to do a fool thing like that? That’s not like you.”
    “He didn’t do it, I did.” Louise practically pushed her gallant husband out of the way.
    “That’s more like it.”
    “You can’t take Wheezie without me.” Paul put his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
    “Trumbull, I can do whatever the hell I want around here. I’m the law in this part of Pennsylvania.”
    “Indeed you are and I don’t know how you do everything that you do. You’re woefully understaffed, Harmon.” Celeste’s voice rang like silver. “But tomorrow is Easter. Why don’t we all go home, go to church tomorrow, and ask for forgiveness. No crime has been committed other than repair work to George here, and I expect Extra Billy and Mary will have to make good on the statue.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Billy eagerly looked to Harmon. “Yes, sir.”
    Harmon, like most low-level officials, entertained a keen awareness of where local power resided. It definitely resided with Celeste Chalfonte even though she lived in Maryland. You just didn’t rile the Chalfontes or Rifes or Frosts or other localworthies. Besides, the editors of the
Clarion
and the
Trumpet
could make him appear heartless for hauling kids into jail on reckless-driving charges before Easter, even if they did have it coming.
    “Tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to let you get these cars out of here. People who go to church in the morning don’t want to be looking at this mess. Then I’m going to call down at Dingledine’s Nursery and ask them to let you all in late to buy tulips and azaleas and then you all are going to plant these tulips and I don’t much care if it takes all night. Then I will assess the damages and we’ll figure it out from there.” He glared at Juts and Louise. “Seems to me you girls already have racked up some