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HOW THE FUCK DID THINGS get so bad so quickly? Stanley sat on the grass beside the ramp he used to push Deborah’s car into the river. There was a crime scene on the other bank to his right. It was too far away for him to see, but it was there. If the talk was right, there’d be another to his left, at the bridge, downstream from where Marie was dumped.
Something thumped the boot of his car.
Stanley turned.
“What’re you doing here?” Sydney asked and strode toward him.
“How’d you find me?” Stanley asked.
“You haven’t figured it out yet?” Sydney sat beside him and tossed a rock into the water.
“Haven’t figured what out?”
“You didn’t answer my question. What’re you doing here?” Sydney tossed another rock.
Stanley watched the ripples spread out and get lost among the bigger waves in the water.
“Feeling sorry for yourself?” Sydney pressed.
Stanley nodded. “I suppose so. This isn’t what I wanted when I asked for your help. All I wanted was—”
“—a happily ever after with Kasey Winkle?”
“Something like that, I suppose.”
“The bitch who’ll want your romantic arse thrown in prison for the rape she begged for?”
Stanley tossed a stone into the river. “I liked Marie,” he said sadly.
Sydney shrugged. “She’d have gladly had your loving arse exposed to the gang-raping animals in Shafton Prison, and that sweet, romantic Kasey Winkle will be among to—”
“Well I won’t get to Shafton if—”
“No you won’t.” Sydney’s voice was grave. “You won’t get past those gallows behind the courthouse. Not upright at least.”
Stanley sighed and looked at the other bank of the river. “They’re saying another body’s found in the river. You reckon it was Marie?”
Sydney shook his head and laughed. “Your poor, drowned Marie? Of course it is. Who else do you think would be found naked and in this river?”
“I don’t want this.”
“Where were you last night?”
“Out.” Stanley looked at Sydney. “Where were you?”
“Timber Getters, assessing the talent. Friday nights were not meant to be spent alone in your room playing with yourself. They’re meant to be spent somewhere with a plaything, a warm one.”
“You found a woman?”
“So did you, didn’t you?”
Stanley looked over the river. “I don’t understand all this. I barely remember...”
“Exhilarating, isn’t it?”
“No it’s not. It disgusts me. I don’t even know... I have no...”
“You’re not thinking of dumping it here, I hope.”
“Why?”
“Two is a coincidence, three is a pattern. Pattern enough to bring some smarts from the big city of Orsvonton, or even Wildemarsh. These coppers have no idea about things like this. The last thing you want is them bringing in some big dicks in the know.”
“Things like what?”
Sydney shook his head. “Every gods-damned time. You know what’s happening, you just don’t want to believe it. Because if you believe it, it might be true. Just like those bitches. My advice to you is the same as I gave that bitch last night.”
“What bitch?”
“You’ll meet her soon. I cleaned up some shit for you while you were out getting your revenge on your dear old dad.”
Stanley’s stomach sank. “What do you—”
“The advice,” Sydney snapped. “It’s this. I got news for you sweetheart. Whether you believe it or not, it’s what’s happening. You can believe it’s not, if it makes it easier for you, but your unbelief’s not going to stop what’s going to happen.”
“And what’s that?” Stanley asked.
“Come and ask her,” Sydney said. “She’s in the trunk of your car, with your date from last night.”
“In the boot?” Stanley was surprised by his own lack of emotion.
“No, in the trunk. It’s what used to be strapped to the rear of the cars when they were pulled by horses and referred to by their full name, carriage. We’re at a stage in our relationship where you can begin to understand and adhere to a few things about me. The first thing you need to know is I abhor lazy thinking and lazy speech. If I hear you refer to the trunk of a carriage as its boot again, I’ll abandon you to your fate. You know what that fate is, don’t you?”
“What?”
“Look inside yourself and give voice to what you know, but don’t want to believe.”
Emotions rose and then drained from Stanley’s body. “The gallows behind the courthouse,” he said coldly.
Sydney smiled. “That’s better. Now, you understand who I am?”
Stanley nodded.
“...and what you are?”
“Your bitch,” Stanley said.
“Not how I would have put it, but the sentiment is accurate. Now, let’s deal with this young lady.”
“She’s not dead?”
Sydney shook his head. “Your job, sweetheart.”
“Can’t we just sink the bodies here? It’s convenient and—”
“A whole damned car floated down the river with a carcass in it. Although the local coppers are too fucking stupid to come here yet, they won’t be that fucking stupid for long. That’s why I asked why you’re here. It’s a fucking stupid place to be. How many places are there that a car can be pushed into this river?”
“There must be hundreds,” Stanley said.
“I said pushed, not driven, idiot. Don’t bother answering me. I’ll tell you. There’re six, and two of them are downstream of where your Deborah’s car was found. Now let’s deal with the bitch in the trunk and find—”
“Can we keep her for a while?” Stanley asked. “You had your fun, I want mine.” He closed his eyes and shook his head.
“Surprised that you’d say something like that?” Sydney asked.
“I’m not like this.”
“No,” Sydney corrected. “You weren’t like this. You agreed to come under my tutelage and become the kind of man that I make you.”
“It’s not—”
“You are like this now. Get used to it. If it makes you feel any better, you can’t be hanged for your fun. You’re invulnerable. There’s only one family who can kill you and there’s none of them here. Now, if you want to keep the bitch in the trunk for later, you’ve got three tucked away already. That’s a bit excessive.”
“I’ll take one of the circus bitches to make some room and—”
“Take the other one,” Sydney told him. “Don’t go enjoying carney bitches when one of the carney bastards could be looking for them.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s when they’ll find her. Have your fun when their circus is performing; when they’re looking at something else.”