Sassasfras, Part 42

Rick


We sat talking and drinking for about an hour after Bill left. I noticed that it seemed like we were touching each other all night, just a hand on an elbow here, an arm around a shoulder there. We talked about the funeral tomorrow. We talked about Jenny's accident, trying to talk low enough so nobody around us could hear, but with the jukebox playing nobody could have heard us anyway.

"You know, this was the last place she was seen alive,” she said. “Steve, that guy you saw me talking with, said she was sitting back here by the pool tables. If somebody really did kill her, it could have been right here. I’m coming back tomorrow night and talk to the bartender that was here last night.”

"Like hell you are," I told her. "What if he was involved? If he killed your sister and you start asking him a bunch of questions, what makes you think he wouldn’t kill you, too? Even if he didn’t kill her, he may know who did. He might say something and tip off whoever killed her that you’re nosing around, and then that guy might come after you. You need to be very, very careful around him, and not let him get any ideas.”

While I was talking I was looking around, trying to think of some way to find out what really happened without asking a lot of questions. I was looking over at the bar when I saw the bartender hand a funnel and some thin plastic tube to a man in a flannel shirt. He walked over to a table full of guys drinking beer.

"Joan, look at that table over by the bar," I said. "Do you see that funnel and hose?"

"Yes, what are they doing?"

"That's a beer bong. I drank out of plenty of beer bongs when I was in college. You fill the funnel with beer, then open a valve and try to drink all the beer without stopping."

"Don't even think about it," she shook her head.

"What? Oh, I don't want to do that tonight. I was just thinking, if your sister never drank whiskey, how did it get in her stomach? Why couldn't you use whiskey in a beer bong? She could have been tied up, or unconscious. If they inserted the hose like a feeding tube they could have used it on her even after she was dead, just to make it look like she was drunk when she really wasn't."

“Who would do something like that? I mean, that’s so cold-blooded! It’s hard to believe anybody would even want to kill my sister, let alone do something like that. None of this makes any sense!”

"I know, but at least now we have an idea where she died, just not who did it or why. If she was really killed here, the bartender has to know something. If he wasn't involved, maybe he saw something, or heard something. When he gets here tomorrow, I'll talk to him, but I want you to go stay home. If he was really involved he might not say anything if he sees us together."

"I'm going," she said.

"No, you’re not."

"She was my sister," Joan said, "not yours."

"I know, Babe. You just have to trust me. The bartender knows me. He might let something slip. If you talked to him he would clam up. Look, I promise as soon as I talk to him I'll go to your house and tell you everything, just stay home."

“You can’t order me around. I’m not your dog or your wife.”

“I know, I know. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Jenny was my….”

“Sister. I know, Joan. This isn’t a movie, or some book you’re reading. This is real life. Jenny is dead. Somebody killed her. How do you know Matt didn’t do it? If he killed Jenny do you think he would hesitate to kill you, too?” She opened her mouth to protest, but I put my arms around her and pulled her close. “You’re burying your sister tomorrow. I don’t want to have to bury you, too. Please, humor me just this once. As soon as I talk to Matt I’ll tell you everything he said, but I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

“I just need to know what happened.”

“I know, Joan, but this isn’t a game. This could be dangerous, and I don’t want you go get hurt. Please don’t fight me.”

I felt her relax and sigh deeply, then she nodded. “Okay, but you have to tell me everything.”

“Everything.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”