Relax son, breathe, his granddaddy used to guide him, splaying his hand over Big Country’s chest, teaching him how to ground his emotions when he was a boy seething with a well-cultivated rage.
Big Country inhaled deeply.
Control this shit, ol’ son, here and now; Stormy’s seen too much already.
Whichbegged the question, why was she down in the sublevels ofMama’s Housewhere only Brood was allowed in the first place? Whatever she might be, Stormy wasn’t Brood.
Mama never should’ve allowed her and her friends to party on their mountain, he thought, his shame turning into justifiable anger. He hadn’t had an episode in over two years, and now here she was with a ringside seat to the worst of him, no doubt anticipating the opportunity to use what she saw against him.
He lowered his gaze, not ready to reveal his suspicion that these episodes were somehow her fault, and noticed the dust and debris covering his relatively unmarred flesh. It was a wonder that in his rages, his body didn’t register pain or sustain signs of any except the most severe injuries. In comparison, there were a number of bruises and contusions covering his Brood mates.
They got hurt protecting him from himself.
If this shit kept on, he’d have to step away. He couldn’t let his lack of control put them at risk.
“Daddy, look, I’ll go back to my house as soon as—”
“No. Hell no, you come home. Your brother is already at your house dealing with the situation, he’ll keep us updated. And if the investigators want to talk to you they’ll do it here, where I can make sure you’re safe, I’ll be damned if my baby girl—”
“Arthur, give me the phone,” a woman demanded impatiently.
“All I’m saying, Reesy, is that if Detective Tracy doesn’t have a suspect in custody by weeks end, me and my boys will get it done ourselves.”
“You and your law enforcement boys’ old asses are retired. Leave the investigating to the ones paid to do it.”
“How bad is the damage, Ma?”
Stormy’s mother summed up the situation with a precision that made Big Country wonder if she was also a retired cop.
Aside from the first story window that had been broken into, the damage was exclusive to Stormy’s bedroom where a bottle of vodka was poured on the bed as an accelerant. There was some damage, but the fire never spread beyond the bedroom due to the vigilance of Stormy’s neighbor.
“Mrs. Yin called the police the moment she saw the woman disappear into your back yard,” Stormy’s mother said. “Not long after, she said she saw smoke coming from an upstairs window, and by the time the cops and fire department got there, Mrs. Yin was ready with the time the woman arrived and left, the make, model, and license plate number of the car, and a detailed description of the woman. I told your daddy the best security system your block has is Mrs. Yin.”
“Lucky for you, beds aren’t as easy to burn as people think,” her father said.
“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Stormy muttered in confusion.
Big Country lowered the leg extension on the recliner, planted his dirty feet on the floor, and leaned forward, placing his forearms on his knees as he watched her. “Oh, it makes some sense, darlin’. Think, where have you heard that car described?”
Stormy looked at him and it was as if her eyes were seeing him for the first time. Maybe she was fighting to reconcile the man she invited inside her body with the man she’d watched him become.
“Is that the white boy Mrs. Yin saw strolling out of your house in nothing but his raggedy draws this morning?”
“Daddy.”
“Arthur.” Stormy and her mother spoke at the same time.
“Look here, cousin, ain’t nothing I own raggedy. I got too much money and too much of my grand’s home trainingnotto be meticulous with the things I own,” Big Country said. “But that’s neither here or there, because I suspect what me and your daughter did in that bed just hours before is the reason it was set fire to.”
Neither of her parents responded immediately, so he took the opportunity to recount his first-time meeting with Delilah and each exchange they’d had, glossing over his moment of what passed for intimacy at his house.
“You’re the fiancé!”
“Come on now, darlin’, that don’t even sound right,” Big Country said.
“You’re right, it’s ridiculous, but she believed it enough to try and burn down my house, to spy on me at my place of business,” Stormy said, telling them about her interaction with Delilah at Red’s the day before.
“At least we got video from the boutique to give to the investigators,” Big Country said.
