THE ROOF OF OLD EEBLE

Twenty thousand dollars.  That was a pile of money especially for someone like Buster.  Where the hell was he getting that kind of money?  First the hidden compartment in the van, now this.  I was starting to get an uneasy feeling.

Epps just about shuts down at night.  There are no movie theaters, no malt shops or other diversions for kids except for an occasional ballgame.  All the businesses were closed except for the two grocery stores, Bestway and Chouccoli’s.

One of the adages I’ve lived by most is, ‘I’d rather be lucky than good.’  It helps to be both, but if I have to choose, I’ll take lucky every time.  I wanted to find a quiet little piss ant named Ronald McVay really bad and he didn’t impress me as the homebody type.  I figured my chances of catching him at home on Waller Road were no better than fifty-fifty.  But that was where luck came to the rescue.  Just as I was slowing down for our one and only red light, my little piss ant buddy in his little Pissat was pulling out of Chouccoli’s parking lot.

The only question now was would my luck hold?  Was he on his way home?  I decided to follow.  My luck held – he was on his way home.  I followed him there and pulled in and parked right behind him. 

A roll of thunder greeted me as I got out of the car.  Not a star was shinning.  Ronald was already walking toward the door.  He looked back at me and his expression revealed in the porch light said he was not exactly wanting to have an evening chat.

I followed him to the door.  The female Rottweiler in the back yard was raising a hell of a racket with both her deep alto barking and the zinging sound her chain and leash make as she runs back and forth.

“Hello, Ronald.  Lovely evening.”

“Yeah, whatever.”  He reached under the mat, extracted a white envelope and put in his shirt pocket.  He fumbled for his key, found the right one then looked back at me.  “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been trying to talk to you, remember?  Now I have an even better motivation.  You gonna invite me inside?”

“Sure.  Hope you can handle big dogs?” He looked back at me with a wicked little grin.

“I like dogs, all sizes and you better keep that one in check.”

The living room smelled of dog, dust and marijuana.  He flipped on the light switch.  Without seeing the rest of the house I could imagine it would be a challenge for most housekeepers.  Clothes were strewn about on the chewed-up couch and the overstuffed chair.  The room did have its little surprises, though.  A big flat-screen TV stood over to our left and the stereo system on the bookcase next to it was state of the art.  A darkened kitchen was just ahead.  Dishes were piled near the sink.  They looked dirty. I nervously waited the appearance of the other big dog.

“T-rex!” Ronald called loudly.  “T-rex!  Stupid dog.”

“Ronald . . .”

“Just a minute.  Hey, dog!”  He whistled a high-pitched whistle.  “Where is that damned dog?’  He walked ahead, looked down the hall to the right, and then proceeded that way.  What the hell, I followed.

“Ronald, we have to talk.”

“Bet that stupid dog broke through the screen again.  No telling where he is. Yeah, you and your talk.  Why can’t you leave me alone?”

We were now in the middle of the hall.  A bathroom was just to my right.

“I’ll leave you alone, Ronald. Just tell me where you and Buster got or were going to get twenty thousand dollars.”

“Bullshit.  T-rex!  Damn, the bedroom door is closed.  Bet Debbi closed him up in there.”  He stepped forward and opened the door and flipped the light switch.

I leaned against the hall wall and folded my arms.  The light to the bathroom just ahead of me was off and the door was opened.  By now my eyes had adjusted to the poor lighting in the hallway. Through the crack in the door I could see the bathtub and shower curtain.  There was something at the bottom of the bathtub. What the hell was that? 

There was a loud clap of thunder and rain drops hit the roof.

Something dark was in the bathtub just behind the curtain.  And there was just the tiniest speck of a light in the tub that