Brenda confronted Julie in the bathroom.
“Who was that couple you were so chummy with, Julie?” she said.
“Which couple you talking about?” Julie asked as she blew her hands dry.
“Don’t play dumb. The ones you pointed me out to.”
Julie knew she was no match for Brenda, having been privy to her intimidating side on recent occasions.
“All right,” she said. “I think she’s some kind of investigator. I don’t know him. Maybe he’s a boyfriend.”
“What’s that got to do with me?” Brenda hissed.
“Nothing, I guess,” Julie lied.
Brenda grabbed her arm and gave it a menacing twist. “C’mon, Julie. There’s more to it than that.”
Julie caved, fearing for her own safety. “The police are investigating Charlie’s death. I guess they don’t believe he killed himself. Anyway, Brenda, I have to get back to the bar. I’ve been in here way too long. You know what an asshole the boss can be.”
Brenda checked her makeup in the mirror and dismissed her with a wave of her hand. “Yeah, do that.”
Julie returned to the floor. McCabe and Jemimah were just leaving. She knew Brenda would hurt her if she went out to talk to them, so she didn’t.
Brenda watched as McCabe walked Jemimah out to her car. They stood a few minutes, deep in conversation. Brenda took a good look at Jemimah’s car as it pulled out of the parking lot. Brenda got into her car and followed several car lengths behind Jemimah. McCabe was already out of sight down the highway.
Jemimah turned right on the dirt road leading to her ranch house, triggering the security lights. It had been a long day and she was looking forward to a hot bath. Brenda waited a distance behind and parked her car next to a grouping of boulders near the Garden of the Gods, a wind-sculpted rock formation stretching for miles along the side of the highway. Her vehicle would be obscured from view. She took a pistol from the glove compartment and tucked it in the waist of her skirt. Walking around in the dark didn’t bother Brenda. Charlie used to tease her about being a cat.
Before she had left the bar, she had grabbed a couple of meat patties from the kitchen. Used to dealing with barking dogs, she cracked open two capsules of animal tranquilizer and blended them into the meat. Just in case there was a dog on the property, the fast-acting medicine would take them down quickly. She walked through the gate on Jemimah’s property, creeping along the edge of the fence to where the security lights didn’t extend.
Jemimah’s dog tripped the light as it ambled toward Brenda, tail wagging but uncertain if she was friend or foe. Brenda threw the meat out toward the edge of the drive. The curious Border Collie crept under a bush next to the fence, gobbled the meat in one swallow and dropped in its tracks. Brenda waited until the light went out before she moved.