But it weren’t Parnell that stepped out of that car. It was Paris.
I blinked my eyes real fast a couple times to make sure I weren’t seeing things, but sure as day, Paris Caraway was walking up our yard, still wearing them riding clothes she had on earlier. I reckoned that was the first time she’d ever stepped foot on our property. She come right up to the steps, but didn’t go no farther once she saw me.
“I came to fetch you, Dovey,” she said to me. “Parnell’s got one of those dogs of yours locked up in the back room of the store, and he says you best come claim it before he takes a mind to do something about it.”
“What’s Parnell doing with one of Amos’s dogs?” I asked.
“It wandered into the store, and when Parnell tried to shoo it on out, why, it tried to bite his hand off. You shouldn’t be letting those mangy dogs run loose. They’re dangerous.”
I rubbed my head, trying to figure out what was going on here. “So why’d he send you to fetch me?” I asked her.
“He’s making sure that dog don’t get out and hurt some child,” Paris answered. She looked about her for the first time. “You need to paint this house. It’s a sight.”
“Maybe Daddy will hire you for the job,” I said. “Maybe then you could afford to buy you some real pants.”
“Just get in the car, Dovey. I ain’t got all day.”
I got into the front seat next to Paris, hating to admire the leather upholstery as much as I did. The inside smelled real good, like Parnell paid someone to sit in the car and smoke a pipe all day long. It didn’t occur to me till we were halfway down the road that Paris was a bit young for driving, but I reckoned them Caraways didn’t have to worry so much about following the rules as the rest of us.
Paris hummed a little tune as she drove, probably enjoying the thought of folks seeing her behind the wheel of her brother’s car. I had to admit she looked right smart, driving with one hand while the other was resting on the back of the seat, like she’d been doing this all her life.
“I plan on getting out of Indian Creek one day,” she said out of the blue, but it was like she were talking to herself as much as to me. “I reckon this town’s too small for me,” she went on. “I need a big city full of classy folks who know there’s more to life than farming and quilting bees.”
“Where you aim to go?” I asked, surprised to be in a normal conversation with her.
“Asheville, maybe,” she replied. “Or maybe even further away. London, England, could be. I wouldn’t mind getting as far from here as I can go.”
It struck me as odd that Caroline and Paris might have some of the same dreams. Shoot, visiting London, England, even sounded like a good idea to me. Not that I was dying to move away from my family; just sometimes I wondered about what it would be like to see some of them foreign spots I’d been reading about in books. China always struck me as being real exotic, and Africa, too. I’d been considering saving up to go on one of them safaris one day, maybe ride me an elephant.
“I wouldn’t mind going to London, England, myself,” I told her. “See where they keep them kings and queens.”
Paris looked over to me and give out a little laugh. “How do you plan to get there? Ride over on one of them pigs of yours?”
The conversation kind of sputtered out between us after that. I guess Paris figured she’d told me as much about herself as she wanted me to know. We drove by MeMaw’s house, and I peered out the window to see if I could catch sight of Tom or Huck, but I didn’t spot neither of them. Maybe the newness of being in town got them curious, and they decided to take a look around. That seemed strange to me, though. Usually they didn’t like to get too far away from Amos.
When Paris pulled up in front of Caraway’s Dry Goods, there didn’t appear to be anyone inside. Only one little light showed through the window.
“The store looks closed. You sure Parnell didn’t go on to y’all’s house?” I asked.
“No, I reckon he’s in the back room. I suspect you better fetch that dog of yours before Parnell loses his patience with it. Tell Parnell I’m taking the car over to Lorelei’s.”
As soon as I slammed the car door behind me, Paris put her foot to the gas and roared off down King Street. All the sudden Huck was jumping all over me, like he’d been waiting forever for me to get there and rescue Tom.
“Down, boy,” I told him, rubbing him about the ears. “You stay here while I go fetch Tom, and we’ll get back to MeMaw’s directly. Amos is probably wondering where you done gone.”
The door to Caraway’s Dry Goods was locked, so I pounded on it a couple of times to get Parnell’s attention. He come out of the back room with a big grin on his face, like he were as happy as could be to see me, and unlocked the door. When he opened it to let me in, the bells hooked to the knob giving out a little tinkling sound, I could smell liquor on him.
“Well, hey there, Dovey. Nice of you to stop by for a visit,” he said, motioning for me to come on in.
I looked about the store for Tom. “I didn’t stop by for no visit, Parnell. I come to get Tom and take him home. What’s all this about him biting you?”
Parnell walked over behind the counter. “Oh, he didn’t bite me; just tried to, is all. I think maybe he done gone and got the rabies. He looked right demented.”
“Tom ain’t got no rabies. He’s just got the good sense to know you ain’t nothing but trouble,” I told him. “Now give him over.”
“Now why you got to go around talking about me that way, Dovey? I always been sweet to you.” He moved over to the fountain. “Can I offer you something cold to drink? A soda, maybe? We got cherry and lemon, mighty tasty.”
“No thanks, Parnell. I’d just as soon get Tom and leave, if it’s all the same to you.”
Parnell squirted cherry syrup and some soda into a glass and put it on the counter. “No, I can’t say it is all the same to me, Dovey. I think it’s time we made amends, don’t you? Patch things up between us. Come on now and have you a glass of soda.”
I walked over to the counter. “You ain’t put poison in it, have you?” I asked as I picked up the glass.
Parnell laughed. “No, I ain’t put poison in it. Look, I’ll squirt me some, too.” He filled another glass and took a sip from it. “See? Ain’t a thing peculiar about this here cherry soda, no sir.”
I picked up my glass and drank it down in one swallow. “Okay, Parnell, I done had a soda. Now let Tom out, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Can’t do it, no, I’m afraid not,” he said. “Not until we have us a little talk.” He come out from behind the counter and stood next to me, the smell of liquor coming off his skin about to make me dizzy. “Dovey, Dovey,” he said, turning to face me and shaking his head like he was real sad. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It sure is a shame you didn’t get your sister’s good looks.” He reached and touched a strand of my hair that had gotten loose from my braid. I backed away from him and said, “This ain’t making me like you any better, Parnell.”
“Oh, Dovey,” he said, his voice as sweet as a mama talking to her baby. “I don’t expect it matters what you like or dislike, not to anyone but you.”
“What in damnation are you talking about?” I asked, moving farther away from him, a little trickle of fear starting to work its way through me.
Parnell got a real disappointed look on his face. “Now you know I don’t like hearing that kind of talk out of you, Dovey. I reckon I’m going to have to punish you for that.”
My insides turned cold listening to him, like a bitter wind blown through my skin. “Just give Tom over to me and let me go. That’s all I’m asking.” My voice shook a bit as the words come out.
“You ain’t talking so smart now, are you?” Parnell smiled, then turned toward the back room. “C’mon, then, let’s go see where Tom’s at.”
I followed him into a small, dark room lined with shelves. Metal soda canisters were stacked against the wall by the door, and a dozen or so twenty-pound bags of flour were piled next to them. It took a second for my eyes to get adjusted to the darkness, but when they did, I seen Tom in the corner of the room tied by a short length of rope to a pipe that run down the wall. He whimpered a bit when he seen me, his tail wagging, like he was ready to go home.
“I don’t know why you got this dog tied up, Parnell,” I said, turning around. “He wouldn’t ever hurt anybody, not even someone as low-down as you.”
Parnell bent to the floor and picked something up. Then he walked to the door. He was holding a brick in his hand. “Oh, this dog, it’s a menace to society. Who knows what it might do to a little child.”
“Why are you doing this, Parnell?” I asked, the words barely making it past my lips. My hand reached for the knife in my pocket. I pulled it out without Parnell noticing. My fingers was trembling, but I managed to flick the blade open with my thumb.
“I done told you, Miss Dovey Coe. I aim to teach you a lesson. You’re always butting into other people’s business, ain’t you? And you’re a regular mother hen to that brother of yours, watching over him like he was the younger and you were the older. But you can’t protect Amos against everything, no sir. You can’t have everything your way.”
In a flash, Parnell drew back his arm and aimed that brick at Tom. That’s when I stuck my knife out and made a wild stab at him. But it was too late. The brick left Parnell’s hand and flew through the air. My blade tore through the sleeve of his shirt, a line of blood rising in a stain across the fabric.
Parnell bellowed and swirled around at me, his fist drawn back. As that fist come toward me, I slashed at him again. That’s the last thing I remember.
When I come to, Huck was licking my face, and my head felt like it were split in half. I scooted myself so I was sitting up and rubbed my forehead, trying to stop the pain that was pounding against me like a hammer. It took me a minute to remember where I was. Tom lay in the corner, so stiff that I could tell he was dead. The tears filled my eyes, and I let them fall.
“How’d you get in here?” I asked Huck, who’d gone over and laid next to Tom, little whimpers coming out of his mouth. I looked about the room, wondering how long I’d been knocked out.
That’s when I seen Parnell.
He was lying on the floor as stiff as Tom, one of them metal canisters a few feet from his head. I crawled over to him and passed my hand over his mouth. There weren’t a breath left in him.
“Oh, Lord,” I said out loud. “Oh, my Lord.”
The bells tinkled on the front door, and a voice called out, “Parnell? Are you in here? I’ve been keeping supper on the stove for you for almost an hour.”
It was Mrs. Lucy Caraway. She come to the door of the back room and reached in to flip on the light. That’s when she saw us. “What in heaven’s name?” she yelled, running over to Parnell. She put her ear to his mouth, and then felt his neck with her hand. “He’s dead! Oh, my God! He’s dead!” Then she turned to me. “You killed Parnell! You killed my son!”