The Gardens of Digby Green: Vinegar
Ray left the Circle K lot merging into traffic four vehicles behind Digby’s truck. The van ahead of him braked and turned off into the next business lot. That left three. Knowing Green’s lead foot tendencies, Ray accelerated.
By the time he followed the pickup back onto I-80, the only vehicle between his Chrysler and the Ford was a motorcycle trike with two un-helmeted riders. The woman behind the driver wore a jacket decorated with a blue eye on the back of her left shoulder, and big pink lips just above the waist.
“That’s attention-getting,” Ray muttered. “I suppose it could be worse.”
Green stayed on westbound I-80. So did the driver of the trike. After an hour and a half, Ray was sure he’d see the passenger’s jacket art behind his closed eyelids wherever he stopped for that night. The pair might be on a joy ride, but he had to stay within visual distance of Digby Green’s pickup.
“Should’ve bought coffee…” The yawn that followed made his jaw pop.
Other should haves bubbled up, but Ray dismissed them. He would get answers. They were the least his Rose deserved. “How did you get to where they found you?”
#
“You’re going to put out a bulletin about Ray, aren’t you, Marquez?”
Marquez sighed. “Not without a solid reason, Frank. You go think about what you saw, and if you come up with something very specific, I’ll send an alert.”
The fireman shot him a hard look and clomped down the hall.
“So-oo, who’s this Ray?”
The agent’s insinuation hit Marquez like he’d knocked back a double shot of vinegar.
“Ray Wilkinson,” he said, speaking with emphasis as he shut the office door, “is our County Coroner. He’s also a grieving widower. Rose Wilkinson is one of the killer’s victims.”
“Statistics…”
“Not Ray!” He’d shouted, which would only escalate the argument. “You’re stepping over the line to slander, Agent Sikes.”
The outsider’s eyes narrowed, then he smirked again. “The truth will come out, it always does.”
The Gardens of Digby Green: Vinegar is an installment of a short story which posts on Fridays. To read from the beginning, look here.
Find a link to purchase the Heartland Treasures anthology here.
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