“All right, Ty.”
“But he kept saying it, and saying how he had some work, but he didn’t hire pussies, and what was that word I told you, Lindy?”
“Eunuchs. Fucker—sorry, more plain speaking.”
“I agree with your opinion,” Abigail told him, then looked at Ty. “He tied your weakness to your manhood, and tied both to your desire for work. It was cruel and manipulative.”
“It made me mad, but it felt true when he said it. How you tried to make me feel less of a man, Brooks, and how you humiliated me, and castrated—he said you’d castrated me, and it made me feel bad. Mad, too. And that glass of Rebel Yell was right there. I only meant to have the one, just to prove I could. But I had another, and I guess another after that.”
Ty’s eyes filled, and when he lowered his head, his shoulders shook.
Abigail rose, left the room.
“I just kept drinking, ’cause the glass was right there, and it never seemed empty. I’m an alcoholic, and I know I can’t have one drink and not take another.”
Carrying a tray of cookies, Abigail came back in. She set the plate on the table.
As he watched her take one, pass it to a teary Tybal, Brooks thought he loved her more than breath.
“He was cruel to you,” she said. “He should be ashamed of what he did to you.”
“I kept drinking, and getting mad. He kept talking about what Brooks’d done, making me look weak and gutless infront of my own wife, how he was trying to run this town into the ground. Look how Brooks’d framed his son. Something had to be done about it.
“He kept talking, and I kept drinking. He said what was needed was somebody with guts and balls. He asked if I had guts, if I had balls. Goddamn right I do, that’s what I said. Maybe I’d just go kick your ass, Brooks.”
Ty shook his head, hung it again. “I’ve been going to meetings, and I’ve been going to group. I’m getting to understand when I’ve been drinking I just want to go beat hell out of something. I hurt Missy ’cause of it. And between what he said and the drink, I was wound up good and proper. It seemed like a good thing when he said how ass kicking wasn’t enough. It had to be permanent. You’d killed my manhood, that’s what you’d done. The only way to get it back was to kill you. Since he’d be grateful, he’d give me five thousand dollars. Like a reward, he said. He gave me half of it there and then.”
“He gave you money?” Brooks asked him.
“I took it, too. I’m ashamed to say, it was cash money and I took it. But I didn’t keep it. Lindy’s got it. What he said—Mr.Blake said—to do was go on home, get my gun. How I oughta wait till after dark, sit on out here, on the road. Then I oughta call you up, tell you there was trouble. And when you drove out, I’d just shoot you. I went home to get my gun. Missy wasn’t there, as she’s over to her sister’s. I got my rifle, loaded it up, too, and I started thinking why the hell wasn’t Missy home. Started thinking she’d earned herself a couple good smacks. I don’t know how to explain, but I heard myself thinking those things, and it made me sick. It made me scared. I called Lindy, and he came over.”
“You did the right thing, Ty.”
“No, I didn’t. I took the drink. I took the money.”
“And you called Lindy.”
“You have an illness, Mr.Crew,” Abigail said. “He exploited your illness, used it against you.”
“Lindy said the same, thank you, ma’am. I’m ashamed to tell Missy. She’s still some pissed at you, Brooks, but she’sglad I’m not drinking. Things are better with us, and she knows it. She’ll be more pissed if you put me in jail. Lindy said you wouldn’t.”
“Lindy’s right. I’m going to need the money, Lindy.”
“It’s locked up in my truck.”
“And I’m going to need you to come in, make an official statement, Ty.”
“Missy’s going to be pissed.”
“I think she might be a little pissed about the drinking, but when she hears it all, start to finish? I think she’s going to be proud of you.”
“You think so?”
“I do. I’m proud of you. I’m glad you didn’t try to kill me.”
“So’m I. What’re you going to do, Brooks?”
“I’m going to put all this together, all right and tight, then I’m going to go arrest Blake for solicitation of murder for hire of a police officer.”
