Dead Fish Jumping on the Road by W. L. Liberman

Author:W. L. Liberman [Liberman, W. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TEACH Magazine

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The coroner's jury readied to march in with its recommendations in a few hours time. Teddy assured me that he and Dusty would cover for me if they broke before I returned from Brigsby. Having a small reporting staff limited the amount of ground you could cover and I appreciated Teddy letting me go off on my own course for an afternoon.

The clouds and humidity of the day before had instantly dried up as if god had lowered a vast nozzle from the sky and turned it on maximum vacuuming the wet into the heavens. The air swirled dry as a bone with that brittle kind of light that flattered no one. The kind of day where all is revealed.

I drove by the record store to see if I could catch a glimpse of Bev before heading out of town but it remained closed, not due to open for an hour even though a couple of scraggly-looking kids hung around the door. Inside looked dark and gloomy. I wondered if Wish would even make it if the party carried on as late as I thought or if he felt as exhausted as I did.

I continued on my way. A lone civic employee in white coveralls forlornly rode a small street cleaner. I inhaled a whiff of detergent as he dispensed its cleansing suds to the needy streets. The acrid odour brought me back to an incident from the night before. I'd stumbled into Wish's house looking for Beverly. No one in the front room but I heard voices coming from the back. I saw Wish, Damo, Neal and that beefcake on wheels, Bobby Ross, huddled around a table. They stirred as I walked in but Wish stayed cool and sauntered over grinning, asking me what was up. Although I don't recall the exact substance of our conversation, I do recall a strong and bitter chemical smell pervading the room. I remember asking about it. Wish just shucked, saying that somebody had knocked over a bucket of industrial detergent they used for cleaning things—everything from clothes to washing the floors. He bought it by the drum, he said. Not thinking anything more of it, I staggered back out and subsequently found Beverly who searched for me outside. Later that night, I remember Bev and Wish speaking heatedly. Wish grabbed her arm but she pulled away, said something stinging and left him standing there on his own. I'd forgotten all about it until I'd driven by the street cleaner in his crisp uniform intent on keeping the modest streets of our fair town absolutely pristine. It made me wonder if Wish was a little bit jealous of me being with Bev, after all. Nothing like a triangle to stoke the fires of anger.

I drove by the silent facade of the Two-Tone Hotel and the veiled elegance of The Round Table. Instinctively, I looked up at Mickey and Delaney's apartment above searching for signs of life. While pre-occupied, I almost ploughed into

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