Page 10 of Ewing

He still, even a couple of hours later, was laughing about her telling him about waiting on having kids. He would have given her whatever she wanted, but was glad that she felt the way that he did.

The vines were coming along nicely. He was impressed and told them so that the faeries were doing just what he’d asked them to do. The new grapes were looking good and full, and when he walked into the winery, he was impressed with how much cleaner, not that it was ever dirty but it looked shiny, like a new penny to him. Perhaps it was because he’d not been there in a while, but he loved the look. He looked into the cork situation.

“We can make those for you, my lord.” He wished they’d just call him Ewing but that wasn’t going to happen, he didn’t think. “I have heard that there is some trouble with them being ordered. It would only be enough for you to fill what wines you have going out soon. That way, we will not contribute to the downfall of the world.”

“The world? But it would hurt the middleman in this case. However, I just discovered that the man is dead, so I might have to find someone else to get them for me. I could have gotten them cheaper by going to markets myself, but I like using the local people for that sort of thing. It’s a nice income for them.” She told him that she knew Ms. Mason and that she would grow the most beautiful flowers in the summer months. “You know you can plant some flowers around the vines if you wish. So long as they don’t interrupt the grape harvest, you can use the land that is between the grapes.”

“That would be most helpful, my lord.” After showing them where they could use the soil, he was happy with the quickness of them getting them planted and started growing. It would be great if the flowers were to bring in more bees to the place. Pollination is critical for the grapes that he grew. Most anything, he knew.

~*~

Mac saw the cruisers go by the house three times. Well, that was all he noticed before it occurred to him that they might be looking for him. After giving them information about him being related to his nephew, he was sure that they were going to question him about his whereabouts concerning what he’d been caught doing. He had been practicing what he’d say to them all day yesterday and into the morning hours.

“I’m just going to blame it on him.” He wasn’t sure how that plan was going to work, but that’s the only one that he’d thought of that would get him out of the picture, so to speak. “It’s not like he can dispute my words over his. He’s dead.”

Looking at his phone when it rang, he decided that he was going to get out of the killing business for a while, too. It was too much to juggle the police, the men calling him to get his act together and get him another group to go after teenagers. His mind kept going back to the little girls. Damn, but they would have been a nice addition to his money maker.

When his phone rang again with the same number, he decided that he was going to get going on his blaming Vance for all the murders. Of course, he figured out that he couldn’t say that it was murder,but he could, for now, at least pretend to know nothing about the boy’s activities when he wasn’t living with him. His mother would be rolling in her grave if she were dead. That was a sore spot for him.

Gertrude had been roaming the world since she’d been divorced from her husband. Not that he liked the other man, but his sister had made out very well when they divorced, taking more than half his estate and holdings. She was usually on a cruise ship, traveling around the world and would never, no matter how many times he asked her to send him any money. He knew that she had it, but she wouldn’t share it with him.

Picking up the phone, he was surprised that the call was so clear. It was his sister, Gertrude, who was asking about how much truth there was about her son dying. He told her what the papers had said about him.

“And you never thought that I’d like to know about my own son’s death, did you? You bastard. I loathe you. I always have.” He said that he didn’t think she’d care all that much since she’d not seen him in decades. “I saw him just a month ago. We had a nice visit, and he even took one leg of the cruise with me. How dare you think that I’d not be devastated by the death of my only child. And to have to find out from my ex-husband, to boot. I could just strangle you, Mac. What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing. I mean, he’s dead. It’s not like he was anything to me. My nephew, of course, but we weren’t close.” He thought that was a brilliant thing to say in the event that his phone was being bugged. “I don’t even remember the last time I saw him, as a matter of fact.”

“Liar. You and he were up to something. Vance told me that you were making good money, he didn’t say illegally, but knowing you, there is no other way that you could be. You’re a lazy fat fuck now, just like you’ve been all your life.” He looked around the room to see if anyone was in there to overhear what she was saying to him. “I’m coming home. And my home had better be in good shape, too, or I’m going to sue you for it. I’m sick of traveling anyway, so prepare yourself by moving out.”

“I don’t live there no more anyway.” He thought of the state of the house and decided that it would be a good thing to blame on the kid, too. “Vance was living there for the last few months. I haven’t been there, but—”

“Why must you lie all the time? I know that Vance wasn’t living there. He told me that you made a whole mess of the place and had moved out a week or so before I saw him. I was just seeing if you’d blame him for it. You really are a bastard, aren’t you?” He wanted to hang up on her, but she said she was coming home, and he wanted to make sure he was out of town when she got here. “Besides that, he’s very neat, unlike you, so I know that if there is a mess, then you’re the one who did it. Where are you staying anyway?”

“The Mason’s house.” Closing his eyes at the stupidity of his answer and now they’d know that he’d been here staying, he tried to backtrack. “They’re out of town, and I’m house-sitting for them. They really are out of town, Gerty. I swear it.”

“I don’t care where they are, you old fool. Not that I believe you. You will always lie even if the truth is right there in front of you.” She huffed at him once again. “I’m catching the next flight home, and you’d better be making the house look like I left it. Why I allowed you to move in while I was away…I must have had a brain fart or something. I’ll see you in a few days.”

With that scary parting, she simply hung up the phone. Jesus, that was all he needed now was his sister being around him all the time. Maybe he thought he could get someone to kill her off for fun. He’d almost pay good money for that to happen.

The second time his phone rang, the caller ID said that it was a private number. He usually would answer those but not today. He was too nervous after talking to his sister to try and keep his stories straight. He needed to write things down is what he needed to do and he was going to start that now.

By the time he was ready to cook his meal, his phone had rang four more times. The house phone—who had one of those these days, he thought with a grin—had rang quite a few times, too. One of the calls was from the Mason’s daughter. She was wondering why she’d not heard from them again. Now, he had to come up with another excuse as to why they weren’t able to come to the phone.Putting his head down on the table, he decided that there was just too much going on for him to keep track of. He would almost go to the police to tell them what he’d been up to if not for the fact that he’d go to prison.

Answering his cell phone, he was nearly ready to toss it across the room, too. He realized how short he’d been when the caller asked him if he was all right.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Too much going on right now. Who is this?” He told him that it was Ewing Cross. “Oh good lord, what is it you want now? I’m sorting out things that are in the way, and I don’t have time for you and your cokes.”

“It’s corks, not cokes. And that’s the reason that I called you.” He said that he called the place this morning and they’d not called him back as yet. “That’s all right. Tell them I’m getting a refund from you, and that will be the end of it.”

“From me? Why do I have to give you a refund if you didn’t even get the corks yet? That’s just stupid on your part if you think that I’m going to—how much are you talking anyway?” He told him. “For corks? That much for a couple of corks? Good god, what are they made of anyway? Gold?”

“They’re made of corks, you imbecile, and it’s not a couple of corks. It’s three hundred thousand of them. The last time I got them ordered, they came here on a semi.” He couldn’t imagine that what he was saying was true. What the hell was he going to do with that many corks anyway. He remembered using the corks that had been in the brewery his parents worked at and using them to go fish— “Are you listening to me? I said that I’d be there first thing in the morning, so you’d better have my money. I know for a fact that they don’t charge you for them until they shipped and since they’ve not arrived on time, I’m assuming that you didn’t order them. So I want my money back.”

“You’re just causing me all kinds of trouble right now, and I don’t like it. I have a great deal on my mind and—Well, I’ll just tell you. My sister is coming home. She’s not going to be happy with me—with Vance because he left her home in a wreck. She’s also mad because I never told her that he was dead. Why would she even care, I ask you? It’s not like he lingered around being sick before he kicked the bucket. Someone killed him, and I don’t know what happened to his body even. Then there is the trouble with my money maker that I can’t do because Vance put me in a world of hurt by getting caught and killed.” On some level, he knew that he was saying too much, but he was on a roll and it was actually making him feel better to vent like this. “The police keep going by the house here. And the Mason’s freezer is about empty. What am I going to do about food when that happens now that I don’t have my money maker. I don’t know, do you? Then there is the stupid store. I can’t steal any money from it because no one pays in cash. Even for a little two dollar thing, they whip out that credit card like they don’t have two bucks on them. Christ, I wish that I’d never started this shit. But it was a good—”

In that very moment, he realized all the things that he’d been saying and shouldn’t been. He didn’t know if he should hang up or not and was startled when Ewing started laughing. Asking him what he thought was so funny didn’t help his nerves at all, either.

“You are. Christ, this is wonderful. I thought that I could distract you for a minute or two while the police surrounded your house or the Mason’s home, but you just confessed to a great many things that I didn’t care about while sprinkling in there the fact that you’ve been in business with your nephew as well as living in the Mason’s home. We know that you killed them. You got your DNA all over their bodies. Also, and speaking to you just now, I’m not the least bit surprised to know how you managed to get an entire handprint of your right hand—in their blood, no less—on their bodies. Did you what? Hope for someone to catch you? It certainly seems like it.” He let out a laugh, one that was enough that had him realizing that Ewing didn’t think he was funny at all. “And if you ever come near my family again with the intention of taking one of them, I will shift into my bear and tear you apart while you’re still breathing. Do I make myself clear?” He nodded, not thinking about the fact that he couldn’t be seen. “You have a nice day, Tetters.”