Other Plans (McGarry Stateside Book 4) by Caimh McDonnell

Author:Caimh McDonnell [McDonnell, Caimh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFori Ink
Published: 2023-10-16T16:00:00+00:00

THERE BE DRAGONS

Given that this meet-and-greet had started with “Sorry, yes, I am trying to steal your car,” what followed had gone surprisingly well. They’d taken seats outside the cabin on some battered deckchairs and a couch that looked like it had seen the Vietnam War but didn’t want to talk about it, while Beth had served them coffee and iced tea. The trio of dogs hung around, regarding their visitors with great interest. The small one, Princess, sat there glowering at Smithy, waiting for the first sign of trouble. The three-legged one, called Cerberus for reasons that were never explained, instantly laid his head on Carlos’s lap, much to the big man’s delight, and who soon became entirely engrossed in petting the pup. Lollipop neatly reversed his wheels to position himself beside Beth’s chair and stared intently at the new arrivals – playing good cop to Princess’s bad.

Diller, once directed, had made a less than dignified sprint for the toilet, which had naturally led into Bunny and Smithy explaining in detail how they had ended up here. What won Beth over was her knowledge of the parties in question, Jake and Ronnie in particular, as was made clear by her interjecting with the occasional “asshole” and “motherfucker” when their roles came up in the story. Bunny found it oddly reassuring. The last day had been so intense, it was rather comforting to have someone else confirm that they hadn’t all collectively lost their minds, and that the situation they found themselves in was indeed insane.

Diller came back just as Smithy was talking Beth through their great escape into the woods, which Bunny guessed technically qualified as their second escape, the first featuring Billy’s grand exit and the Winnebago’s last act. His friend looked like a new man. It was as if the metaphorical weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders, or eased from elsewhere.

When the story had finished, Beth shook her head in disbelief. “Where’s Billy now?”

“The bull?” said Smithy. “No idea, but I can’t help thinking he’s better off anywhere than there. They weren’t treating him right at all.”

“Leo said that. He even tried to talk to them about it, but those assholes don’t listen to anyone.” A pained expression came over Beth’s face and the conversation rather ground to a halt. None of them wanted to ask. It turned out they didn’t have to.

“Leo is my fiancé,” explained Beth in a quiet voice, rubbing the back of Lollipop’s neck. “Or was … He … He’s been missing for …” She paused and looked up at the sky. “Forty-one days now. He went up to fix the phone exchange when it went down again and then he disappeared.”

Bunny, Smithy and Diller swapped looks, none of them knowing what to say.

Lollipop lay his head in Beth’s lap and she scratched behind his ears as she spoke. “I’m not a fool. I know he’s dead. We did the whole search thing, but they never found a body. One of the state troopers tried to console me with the idea that maybe he’d just run off.

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