A Violent Gospel by Mark Westmoreland

Author:Mark Westmoreland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Down & Out Books

Andy finally went limp. Cody dropped the foot of the bench, and Cory jerked the towel from her face. Randy Jessup slipped his fingers into the crook of Andy’s neck to check her pulse. “Take her back to the basement,” he said to the Elis, “when you’re done with her, come back and get him. I need to prepare my sermon for tomorrow.”

12.

The Elis hauled me down to the basement. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs to look for Andy. She’d been tossed into the basement corner and left like a crumpled pile of dirty laundry. Cody shoved me, and I tripped my way over to the freezer. Cory lifted the lid. “Get inside.”

“Wait,” Cody said, “take your pants off first.”

I turned so he could watch me do it and said, “Your mama’s gone be pissed if I get freezer burn on my pecker.”

Andy didn’t laugh at that. It got a rise out of Cory, though. “Say another word about my mama and see if I don’t beat the shit outta you.”

Cody flinched at his brother’s language. “Just get in the freezer. It ain’t gotta be no worse than that.”

I let the corner of my mouth curl into one of those fuck-yourself-smirks meant just for Cory. “Get in the goddamn freezer.”

Cody flipped me inside like a dead carcass needing hiding.

The lid slammed on my head and shut with a thud. The chain jingled around, and the lock clicked into place, and the motor snored to life. I waited for what seemed an appropriate amount of time to call for Andy. I said her name big and loud and made sure she could hear me over the motor, but she offered no reply.

Andy could hold a grudge better than any girl I knew, but this wasn’t like her—even when I made her so mad she’d tell me she didn’t want to see me again, we’d keep talking, it might be a few days before one of us made contact with the other, but there’d be a phone call, or we’d just so happen to be at the same place at the same time, I wanted her to know that I wasn’t lying when I told the preacher I didn’t know where Marshall was, the last thing I wanted was for any harm to come to her, but she wouldn’t answer me and I hollered her name until my throat was raw.

If the preacher was going to keep his word, I’d be dead by tomorrow afternoon. I needed her to know I was sorry.

“Andy,” I hollered her name so loud I could hear myself scream into both of my ears, “if you ain’t gone answer me I need you to listen to me. If I could’ve known the shit storm taking that money would cause I’d’ve never let Marshall talk me into it. We didn’t even mean to take enough for y’all to notice. I wish to God, you’d’ve never found us in that goddamn hole. If I’m able to get my hands on that preacher, I’m gone do it, by God.

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