Doug's hands trembled, jingling the gems. Then he shifted. His jaw set. His grip tightened.
"Take it easy," Mitch said, his wary tone confirming he'd seen the change too.
Doug pointed the rifle at Mitch's chest. "No. I can't. I need those jewels. I need?—"
Shit! He's going to shoot us.
"Doug, please!" I screamed. "Don’t!"
Doug's finger curled around the trigger.
Chapter 16
Frank
* * *
Title: Don’t let family disappoint ya
Date: Most of my damn life
* * *
I had a brother once. Name was Willy. And he was a damn pain in my ass from the day he was born. He was fourteen months younger and followed me around like a wounded dog.
I was fourteen when our mom nicked off. Didn’t leave a note. Didn’t leave nothin. Just vanished like mornin fog, like your own mother did. Didn’t see me whinin about it, though, not like you lot did.
When Mom pissed off, Dad and us kids had to keep Koolaroo runnin. Dad weren’t no father type. He thought a whippin fixed anything.
Cows got out of the paddock…. Whip.
Broken tools…. Ass smacked ’til it was blue.
Smart mouth…. Smack in the teeth.
Dad taught us to hit first, ask questions later. Guess that stuck.
But while I was bustin my guts workin on the farm, Willy was always crying about somethin. Too hot. Too hungry. Too fuckin tired. I didn’t have time for that shit.
Told him to toughen up. Told him to stop hangin off me like a tick.
He didn’t. Like I said, pain in my bloody ass.
But one summer, can’t even remember when, he was bitchin about how hot it was. And it was damn hot, the kind of heat that made your eyeballs burn. No point whinin ’bout it though. I told Willy to cut it out. He didn’t.
So I locked him in the cold meat shed overnight.
Didn’t figure he’d freak out like he did.
Didn’t figure he’d start shakin the next day, like he’d been cursed.
Willy never came back right after that. He started hearin voices and talkin to his self. Spent more and more days starin at the dirt like it had answers.
I never told no one what I did to him. Willy didn’t either. Not even when the hospital visits started.
And the pills.
And the bills.