refrigerator, outside.
I shut the refrigerator door and took the carton of orange juice with me to the sink, turned on a small tube light so that I could see Daddy sitting there. I took the chair across from him, drank a long swig, and turned my head opposite of his so that I could focus all of the sound into one side like him.
“Charlie-Two, County. I’m going to need you to send another unit this way.”
“Ten-four, Charlie-Two. Can you offer any update on the nature?”
“Subject has been unresponsive to voice commands, County, and has a knife.”
“Charlie-Two, are you able to see the subject from your location?”
“Ten-four, County. Subject is moving from the porch into the house and I’m waiting for backup.”
“Ten-four, Charlie-Two. There’s a unit headed your way.”
There was a long pause of silence with only a few blips of static making their way over the airwaves, and Daddy leaned back in his chair.
“Where are they?”
“At your fucking crazy-ass mama’s house.”
“What for?”
“Ain’t real clear, but the way it sounded at first was like she called the goddamn law on herself. Said she’d reported somebody outside of her house.”
“Reckon anybody was?”
“Hell no, Jacob. That shit’s got her all goony. Ain’t nobody after her. Nobody would want her sorry ass. You know that.”
It took the other deputy a good fifteen or twenty minutes to make it up the mountain, with only one officer usually working this territory per shift. David-One checked on scene and Daddy and I listened for a long while to snippets of a story that never revealed enough to paint any sort of real picture. When it was all said and done, it was Charlie-Two who had more than he could stand and drew his Taser to probe about fifty thousand volts through her. Any bit of fight she’d had must’ve left awfully fast after that, because the weapon was secured and before too long they were checking en route.
“Charlie-Two, County. We’re going to have the subject in custody on a 10-73 and will be coming down the mountain.”
“Ten-four, Charlie-Two.”
—
I WAS ALMOST dozed off again when Daddy screamed.
“Goddamn it, they’re coming up here now! That fucking bitch, that dumb fucking bitch!”
His bare feet nearly stomped holes in the hardwood as he made his way from his room to mine. The lights came on and I was blinded for a second or two, that brightness just eating at my eyes before it settled.
“Get the fuck up! Come on!” Daddy was at the edge of my bed and slapped my feet beneath the covers. “Jacob, the goddamn law is coming up here and you need to get up quick. Get anything you got put up. Bud, pills, I don’t give a shit, just hide it.”
I didn’t have anything more than stems and a little bit of shake, and that Xanax bar I’d taken had emptied the bottle. As far as real dope, there wasn’t anything in the house that needed hiding anymore, but that type of GO-GO-GO at the first sign of blue lights and badges was something ingrained in Daddy long ago. It had kept him out of trouble many times, so he made it a commandment.
I don’t really know why I went with him. I guess in case he needed help with an alibi or something, but by the time I’d put on a pair of shorts and slid untied boots over my feet, Daddy was in the kitchen peering out of the window to where headlights lit the side field yellow.
“Thought I’d go with you.”
“What for? Use your fucking head.” Daddy thumped against my forehead with his fist like he was knocking on a door. “You know as well as I do they’re looking for me.”
“Thought you might want somebody to back up your story.”
“Well, I’ll be a son of a bitch if that ain’t a good idea, Jacob. Damn good idea.” Daddy shut the blinds and I followed him to the front door. “Get all your shit put up?”
“It’s up.”
The moon lit the yard a funny kind of blue, even the trails cut by the running of hounds that usually showed red in
I shut the refrigerator door and took the carton of orange juice with me to the sink, turned on a small tube light so that I could see Daddy sitting there. I took the chair across from him, drank a long swig, and turned my head opposite of his so that I could focus all of the sound into one side like him.
“Charlie-Two, County. I’m going to need you to send another unit this way.”
“Ten-four, Charlie-Two. Can you offer any update on the nature?”
“Subject has been unresponsive to voice commands, County, and has a knife.”
“Charlie-Two, are you able to see the subject from your location?”
“Ten-four, County. Subject is moving from the porch into the house and I’m waiting for backup.”
“Ten-four, Charlie-Two. There’s a unit headed your way.”
There was a long pause of silence with only a few blips of static making their way over the airwaves, and Daddy leaned back in his chair.
“Where are they?”
“At your fucking crazy-ass mama’s house.”
“What for?”
“Ain’t real clear, but the way it sounded at first was like she called the goddamn law on herself. Said she’d reported somebody outside of her house.”
“Reckon anybody was?”
“Hell no, Jacob. That shit’s got her all goony. Ain’t nobody after her. Nobody would want her sorry ass. You know that.”
It took the other deputy a good fifteen or twenty minutes to make it up the mountain, with only one officer usually working this territory per shift. David-One checked on scene and Daddy and I listened for a long while to snippets of a story that never revealed enough to paint any sort of real picture. When it was all said and done, it was Charlie-Two who had more than he could stand and drew his Taser to probe about fifty thousand volts through her. Any bit of fight she’d had must’ve left awfully fast after that, because the weapon was secured and before too long they were checking en route.
“Charlie-Two, County. We’re going to have the subject in custody on a 10-73 and will be coming down the mountain.”
“Ten-four, Charlie-Two.”
—
I WAS ALMOST dozed off again when Daddy screamed.
“Goddamn it, they’re coming up here now! That fucking bitch, that dumb fucking bitch!”
His bare feet nearly stomped holes in the hardwood as he made his way from his room to mine. The lights came on and I was blinded for a second or two, that brightness just eating at my eyes before it settled.
“Get the fuck up! Come on!” Daddy was at the edge of my bed and slapped my feet beneath the covers. “Jacob, the goddamn law is coming up here and you need to get up quick. Get anything you got put up. Bud, pills, I don’t give a shit, just hide it.”
I didn’t have anything more than stems and a little bit of shake, and that Xanax bar I’d taken had emptied the bottle. As far as real dope, there wasn’t anything in the house that needed hiding anymore, but that type of GO-GO-GO at the first sign of blue lights and badges was something ingrained in Daddy long ago. It had kept him out of trouble many times, so he made it a commandment.
I don’t really know why I went with him. I guess in case he needed help with an alibi or something, but by the time I’d put on a pair of shorts and slid untied boots over my feet, Daddy was in the kitchen peering out of the window to where headlights lit the side field yellow.
“Thought I’d go with you.”
“What for? Use your fucking head.” Daddy thumped against my forehead with his fist like he was knocking on a door. “You know as well as I do they’re looking for me.”
“Thought you might want somebody to back up your story.”
“Well, I’ll be a son of a bitch if that ain’t a good idea, Jacob. Damn good idea.” Daddy shut the blinds and I followed him to the front door. “Get all your shit put up?”
“It’s up.”
The moon lit the yard a funny kind of blue, even the trails cut by the running of hounds that usually showed red in
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