Balloon Body Murder by Stephanie Parker McKean

Author:Stephanie Parker McKean [McKean, Stephanie Parker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

My guardian angel must have been on duty that day. When I hit the ground, the dog stopped growling and sniffed me. Maybe I smelled bad. Tail between his legs, he slunk away and crawled under a pickup truck with a crumpled hood and a few spare bumpers hanging over the dented roof. Using the caddy as support, I wobbled to my feet and opened the door. The child tumbled out into my arms and burst into a new spate of tears. “I want Momma. Where’s Momma?”

“Who’s that?” Cody asked as he threaded his way across the broken field toward us. “And what are y’all doing on top of my cars? You look like crazy folks. I ought to call the law on y’all for ruining my cars. I ain’t got no truck with religious shows. Y’all should keep them in church.”

“It’s your dog,” Opal said indignantly. “He’s the one that made us get on top of your cars. And I reckon we couldn’t hurt them more than what they’re hurt even if we beat them with an ugly stick.”

“Aww, that old dog? He ain’t never bit no one. He’s so old most of his teeth are broken off from carrying rocks around. He’s plumb fascinated by rocks and plays with them like they was toys someone throwed for him.”

“I imagine he doesn’t get any attention or have much else to do with here besides play with rocks,” I said critically as I helped Opal and Honey down from the cars. Hooter was on her own. She’d squash me flat as a beetle if she fell on me.

“I take him home with me and let the grands play with him once in a while,” Cody said. “But that dog ain’t none of your business and you ain’t told me why you’re here or what this young ‘un was doing playing in one of my cars.” He leaned down and asked her severely, “Did you mess up my car when you was playing in it?”

Reminding me somewhat of Zoe with her officious attitude, the girl glared at him. “I’m Savannah, and I’m five, and mister—your car is a mess.”

Even Cody gave his face permission to smile. “Reckon you’re right about that, kid. But someone’s gonna come in here one day and get that old car and take it home with them and fix it up real good.”

Savannah’s face mirrored her doubt. I looked around at the virtual sea of scrap metal and wondered if my face displayed the same doubt.

“Why were you in my car…Savannah? Savannah’s a long name. Does anyone call you by a shorter name?”

She nodded. “Momma calls me Van, but no one else is ‘sposed to. I want Momma.” New tears budded in the corners of her eyes. “A mean man gotted me into his car and took me away from Momma and I gotted out of the car and ran and hid in your messy old car. And I didn’t hurt it none.”

Cody dropped to his knees.

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