Chapter 7
The bus dropped her off three blocks from Vanderhorn's store and Miranda walked toward home, eyes tearing, spirit depressed. She felt terrible for losing control that way. She was eager to have Carl but regretted taking him that way.
She tried not to look at the store as she passed but it was impossible. She was drawn to it. Drawn to Carl's little place of work. Miranda glanced through the store window and just as she got past the door, Jesse opened it and called to her.
"Missy." he said. "Missy Miranda?" She turned and looked at the old man. Miranda didn't want any trouble from Jesse. She glared at him but his face was calm, his voice gentle. She didn't see the harm in talking with him providing he kept civil. Miranda figured he would offer an apology for earlier and she wanted to give him the chance.
"Mr. Vanderhorn?" she said, letting him know she was willing to listen.
"Missy, please, may I speak with you a minute?" he asked. "Please, I promise I won't yell at you again, or say unkind things to you, Missy. I just need to speak with you. Please come inside and we can talk. Jesse looked sincere but what could he possibly have to say, she wondered.
"We can talk right here." she said.
"Please, Missy Miranda, not out here where people will heir. I must tell you about my Carl. The street isn't the place." Jesse was pleading, as if some horrible secret would be exposed in the street and his family would be forever ruined. She could see the earnest expression in his eyes, a man desperate to make things right, and because it was his store and because Miranda wasn't the sort to turn people out, she agreed to talk inside. She stepped into the store and Jesse locked the door.
"Just to keep customer's out." he explained. He pulled down the door shade then asked if she'd like something to drink.
"Help yourself to anything, Miss Miranda." he said. Jesse was being too kind, almost deviously kind, but Miranda took a coke then asked what he wanted to say. Jesse was reluctant to talk. He asked if she'd come to the back room where they could sit. She followed him and Jesse got her a chair. He took pains for her comfort then thanked her for coming inside.
"I want to tell you about my son." Jesse started. He looked tired. Weary was a better was to describe him. His face looked ragged, like he'd just finished battling a wind storm.
"Alright." Miranda said. "But, I must tell you, Mr. Vanderhorn, I think very highly of Carl. I realize you don't approve of us seeing one another, but Carl is a grown man and should be able to date if he chooses."
"Yes, and that's why you should listen to what I have to say." Jesse pulled his chair closer to Miranda's. He was sitting close enough to touch her knees if he took the notion, and Miranda sipped her coke and let him continue.
"Carl is a special boy, Missy. He's not like other men."
"I realize that, Mr. Vanderhorn." she said.
"Carl is different." Jesse said, looking at her. She wondered what the point was. She realized Carl was special, Jesse didn't have to tell her that.
"What is it you want me to know, Mr. Vanderhorn?" she asked, losing patience.
"Carl is, well ... " he hesitated. "Carl is slow, Missy."
"But, he's smart. He's not the dummy you think he is." she said.
"No, no dummy, this I know. I'm not saying he's not smart, Miranda, Carl is slow. He doesn't know about certain things and a girl like you could harm a boy like Carl."
"I would never hurt Carl." Miranda insisted. She didn't like Jesse's implication one bit. There was nothing she did, or would ever do, to hurt Carl Vanderhorn. She liked the man.
"Let me finish." Jesse snapped. Miranda watched Jesse struggle to gain composure. He was like an explosive ready to ignite and she backed off letting him speak. The very last thing she wanted was a scene with Jesse Vanderhorn.
"My Carl, he's a good boy, Missy, a real good boy. He never hurts no one, my Carl. He keeps to himself, and that's the way it should be." Jesse stated. Miranda didn't agree with Mr. Vanderhorn, but she let him have his say.
"My Carl, he does well by himself. He works in the store, he doesn't bother the customer's. He keeps quiet back here, Missy. Carl is a quiet boy. He needs to stay away from the people because Carl, he's like an animal."
Miranda heard enough. It was one thing to say Carl was different, even slow, but to call him an animal? She had to interrupt.
"Mr. Vanderhorn, what are you trying to say?" she asked, abruptly. "Are you telling me to stay away from Carl, because if you are, just save your breath. First of all, he probably won't want to see me again and even if he did, nothing you could say would keep me from that. I like Carl, I like him very much, and as much as you think he's an animal, I find him to be the opposite."
"Carl's never experienced a woman, Missy, not until ... " Jesse stopped. He didn't want to let her know he was in the theater tonight. He watched them flicking in the movie house and Jesse wasn't going to let it slip.
"My Carl, he don't understand about the women, Missy. He only knows about them from magazines. He's never had a real woman. He wouldn't behave the right way. I'm afraid for you, Missy, that's why I want to talk. You could be in danger with my Carl." Jesse said it in an apologetic fashion. Miranda felt odd knowing the truth but wasn't sure she should mention it. If Jesse knew they had done it in the movie theater he might become violent and toss her out. She decided to listen.
"Carl, he dated no one all the way through school, Missy. He left school early and never developed. He's a normal man though, with normal
desires for the women, you know what I mean. I just think he might get over excited and harm you in some way." Jesse said. His concern for Miranda's welfare didn't seem genuine. His expression did, and so did his voice, but Miranda had trouble accepting his words. If Jesse had been concerned for her welfare then why would he make those ugly remarks about she and Carl? She let him talk but needed more than a few words to convince her he was sincere.
"My Carl, he's like a young animal, Missy. You know what I'm saying, don't you?"
"To be honest, Mr. Vanderhorn, no I don't. Carl is wonderful to me. He's gentle and sweet. He got a little worked up the other night when we kissed but it wasn't difficult to calm him. I don't fear for my safety around Carl, Mr. Vanderhorn, I trust him completely."
"How did you calm him?" Jesse asked.
"I just asked him to slow down, that's all."
"Then what?" Jesse's eyes were getting more intense. He wanted the truth from Miranda about the other night. He wanted to know what they did.
"You know, Carl is a grown man, Mr. Vanderhorn. He shouldn't have to talk with you about his sex life."
"You lucked my Carl, then?" Jesse asked with outrage.
"No, we didn't do that, and what if we had, what business would that be of yours. You know, this conversation is silly. Carl doesn't have to answer to you and neither do I. Does Mrs. Vanderhorn know you ask these things?"
"Never mind, Mrs. Vanderhorn, Missy. Alice doesn't know from nothing. It's Carl I want to deal with, Carl and you." Jesse leaned forward putting a hand to Miranda's knee then he pressed harder than he should and asked if she liked Carl's dick.
"I don't have to answer this." Miranda said, attempting to get up, but Jesse didn't allow it. He stood and pushed her back down in the chair then grabbed her hair to make her sit still.
"I saw what you did, Missy. I was there in the movie house tonight. You lucked my Carl in the theater, I saw it. I got a cure for girlies like you, Missy. Girls like you go around teasing old men with your charms then you luck their boys, leaving the old man out in the cold. I have a cure for your kind."
"Let me go, you old fool. What's gotten into you?" Miranda yelled. She wanted to run but Jesse had such a grip on her hair she wasn't able. He would have pulled it out by the roots had she attempted to move.
"My Carl thinks he can come in here and steal my lady, but I won't let him. It was fine when he was younger. Then he wasn't a problem in the Store, then I didn't have to fight for my ladies, but now ... now he's a man and he takes from me. Carl never had proper respect for his father, Missy. That's wrong not to show proper respect. He can't take you, I won't allow that."
"Old man, what in hell are you talking about?" Miranda asked, squirming from the pain in having her hair tugged. She became fearful of Jesse. His eyes glassed over and he wasn't making sense.
"Us, Missy, us. I've had my eye on you. I've been courting you all these months and Carl won't take you from me."
"You're nuts, Jesse, you know that?" Miranda yelled.
"Keep your voice down, Missy." Jesse pulled a rag off the butcher block counter and stuffed it in her mouth then forced her to stand up. He made her climb up on the butcher block and lay down. Miranda didn't know what to do. If she tried to run the old man would hurt her badly, but if she did as he said, it might be worse. As she got up on the block, Miranda kicked Jesse in the stomach then made a wild dash for the back door. It was locked tight and before she had the chance to get away, Jesse had grabbed her by the hair.
"No, no, no." he mocked. "You won't get away from me that easily. I have to teach you a lesson, Missy I have to make you understand that you don't luck with my boy." Jesse slammed Miranda's body against the steel door then bent her arms behind her and pulled up. He was hurting her. She had to go where he led or he'd break her arms.
"Up!" Jesse yelled. Forcing her up on the block again. This time he looped rope around her legs and tied them down. He pulled on them hard until her thighs were spread wide, then he wrapped the rope around the table legs.
"You won't get away from me, Missy. Not now." Jesse's eyes stared at her body. It was as if he could see through her, and when he secured her arms, Miranda panicked. She began thrashing trying to break free but Jesse had tied her so securely, she wasn't able to move more than half and inch in any direction.
"No use, Miss Miranda. You may as well give up." he said. "I'm going to teach you about men like my Carl and why you shouldn't luck with him." Jesse said. He pulled his chair close to the butcher block then had a seat. He wiped his brow then slipped the hanky back in his pocket.
Miranda watched his every move. What would he do, she thought. Has he gone mad? She listened as Jesse explained more about his Carl. She could see the envy in his eyes, the hatred for the boy. She imagined that Jesse's mind believed Carl was trying to take his girlfriend away and he would punish her for letting it happen.
"Carl don't need you the way I need you, Missy Miranda. Carl has his books and magazines. I've caught him with them. He takes off his pants and lays on the bathroom floor with them, I know I look under the door and see what Carl does. He makes noise in there, Missy, like a wild animal killing prey. My Carl, he's a big boy, eh?" Jesse smiled.
"Where you think he gets that, Missy?" Jesse smiled again. "You think he's big, Missy?" Miranda didn't respond. She just glared at the sick old man and waited.
"Let me prove what I say." Jesse said standing. He undid his pants then slipped them off. Next, his boxer shorts came down, and Miranda felt sorry for him. Jesse sported a cock half the size of Carl's but in his mind he was bigger than the boy.
"You see this dick, Missy?" Jesse asked, lifting the limp shaft then bobbing it up and down. "This is a family inheritance, that's what this is. My Carl, he got his cock from me, you can see that, can't you Missy?" Jesse asked. Miranda, again, didn't respond, but this time Jesse slapped her mouth.
"Say!" he demanded, and Miranda agreed. "That's better, Missy. When I ask you, you say, do you understand?" Miranda nodded. She was afraid of Jesse. He'd gone mad, and the more he talked the worse it became.
"I want to see your pussy, Missy." Jesse reached up and slipped Miranda's panties down. Her legs were so wide apart they only came to mid-thigh, and when Jesse took the butcher knife and sliced them off her body, Miranda whimpered. He was reckless with the thing and she was afraid he'd cut her legs.
Jesse lifted Miranda's dress exposing her nude body from the waist down. He positioned himself between her legs for a closer look and as his breath got closer and closer to her cunt, Miranda began crying. What would the old maniac do, she feared.
"Look at this." Jesse said smiling devilishly. His eyes fixed to her slit and his face lit up like a lamp. He was gawking at her spread pussy slit and rubbing his cock at the same time. Jesse wanted to fuck it but he held off.
His finger poked at Miranda's hole. He flipped the lips back and forth watching them stick together then he used his finger to separate them again. He was watching her muscles tensing and loving every second.
Miranda's cunt muscles tightened when the tip of his finger touched her opening, as if she could have kept Jesse's finger out if he'd wanted to finger her. He teased her, making her use the muscles then he lowered his face and did the same with his tongue.
Miranda was spread wide. She wasn't able to budge an inch and when Jesse licked her opening with the tip of his tongue, she flinched and clamped down. The old man laughed. He thought it was amusing the way she reacted. He wanted to show her there was no sense in fighting him. He'd get inside her slit anyway.
"You can't stop me, Missy, why try? Here, you squeeze down on my finger as bard as you can and let's just see how much you can prevent." Jesse forced his middle finger up her cunt and it dragged against the dry walls until his finger went deep enough to find lubrication from Carl's deposit, and when the old man's finger ran through the cock slime, he became angry.
"You slut!" he yelled, jabbing her slit hard with his finger. "You like a cock, Missy, I'll show you what flicking sluts like you should have." Jesse ran across the room and took out a frozen salami from the freezer case. He wrapped his hanky to it then ran back and shoved it into Miranda's cunt.
The freezing temperature of the thick meat made her cry Out and the forceful way Jesse reamed her hole gave her pain. She wanted to get away but couldn't move, and the more she struggled the more difficulty Jesse had making the think go in. He forced it up and when Miranda figured she'd do better to relax and take it, the man stopped.
"A slut like you will take meat, eh, Missy." he said. "You like the salami too, don't you?" Jesse was out of control. He yanked out the thick frozen meat tube and threw it to the floor then he used both hands to spread her slit wide. His tongue sank deep up her pussy and he bit the tender flesh of her pussy lips as he tongue fucked the hole.
Jesse licked her for several seconds then hit her hard. He wanted to make her suffer for making a fool of him. He wanted Miranda and she ran off with Carl. Jesse taught all the young girls a lesson when they refused him. He used the back room to teach them respect. Slut's shouldn't shun old men, he said. Slut's should be lucky an old man wants them.
Miranda lay as still as possible. She tried to relax and keep the pain down to a minimum but Jesse had had enough of her. He was planning to dispose of her the way he got rid of the others. He picked up the butcher knife then came around to her neck.
"I'm sorry, Missy, but this can't end any other way. Carl shouldn't have let you destroy him this way. He's just a boy, Missy, a stupid boy. He'll be better off with you out of the way and so will I." Jesse lifted the knife over Miranda, and just as he was about to stab her, he heard a rattling at the back door. He turned to see Carl entering the back room, and when Carl took in the scene, his mouth hung open in awe.
Miranda was tied to the butcher block table, her legs apart, and Jesse stood over her with the long thick butcher knife. Carl didn't know what to think. He became confused then realized Jesse was going to kill Miranda.
"What are you doing?" Carl questioned, walking toward Jesse.
"Stay where you are, Carl, or I'll cut her." Jesse shouted. Carl stopped. He could see the old man meant every word. "What are you doing here, you should be home?" Jesse added. He hadn't planned on Carl coming to the store. He figured after Miranda ran off, the way she did, he'd go home to his room full of magazines.
"I came for the aprons, dad."
"Not now, you can get them later." Jesse yelled.
"What are you doing to Miranda?"
"Teaching her a lesson for you, Carl. "Jesse said.
"Me?"
"Yes, son. She ran out on you, I saw her. Shed left you in the movie house alone and she made a fool out of you in front of the others. She's no good, Carl, no good, we must get rid of her." Jesse insisted. Carl knew his father was mad. It was in his eye, the same distant stare he used when yelling at him for some little mistake he'd make with the platters. Carl didn't know how yet, but he had to get the knife from Jesse, and get it fast.
"She didn't run out, dad. Miranda didn't leave me."
"I saw her, Carl. I was there." Jesse insisted. Carl's mind was reeling faster than it ever had. He was frantically assessing the situation and when he remembered something his mother told him about arguing, he looked at his father and smiled.
"I wanted to teach her a lesson too." Carl said. "I wanted to teach her that I'm not a dummy. Miranda thinks I am, dad." he said.
Miranda's eyes widened with Carl's words. None of it was true and she became fearful Carl was cracked too. She couldn't believe he'd slip away from her that way. Miranda didn't want to die but the more Carl spoke, the more evident it became that her time was up.
"Let me, dad." Carl said. "I'm the one who should get rid of her. I want to teach her." Carl stepped closer and Jesse became confused. He hadn't expected Carl to be this agreeable. Could it be the boy finally saw it his way, he wondered. Jesse lowered the knife and stepped back. He was mesmerized by Carl's advancing form and when the boy was close enough, he grabbed the knife and knocked Jesse to the floor.
Miranda's heart soared. She realized it was all an act Carl put on to get the weapon. He cut the ropes holding her legs and arms then turned the knife on his father.
"You sick old man!" Carl screamed. "Is this what you do back here at night?" he asked. "You teach girls lessons?"
"Carl, son." Jesse pleaded. "It's for their own good, I have to do it. They are bad girls, Carl. I only teach the bad girls."
"Miranda isn't bad, she's wonderful. Get up, you old fool." Carl ordered. Miranda jumped down from the block and stayed behind Carl. She kept away from Jesse, hiding behind the shelter of Carl's form.
"What are you doing, son?" Jesse pleaded. His face twisted, his eyes still glassed over.
"Get back!" Carl snapped. He didn't know what to do with Jesse. "Sit down and keep quiet!"
"What are you going to do, Carl?" Jesse pleaded again.
"Carl," Miranda said. "You can't hurt him. If you do; you'll go to prison, you don't want that. You'll have to call the police, Carl, that's what you have to do."
"Don't listen to her, Carl, it's a lie. If the police see you holding that knife on me they'll put you away."
Carl became confused. His father was right about the knife. What could he do?
"Let me think!" Carl shouted. "Just shut up and let me think!" Carl shouted. Jesse and Miranda were talking a mile a minute. He couldn't think. It was too confusing for Carl, trying to sort out what to do. He held the knife on Jesse while Miranda kept to the side out of the way. Jesse kept dogging Carl and the boy was frustrated. What Jesse said made sense.
"She ran out on you, Carl. All her kind wants is money or cock." he said. "Didn't she run out of the movie house right after you let her have it?" Jesse drove the point home. He wanted Carl to see slut's like Miranda are all alike and deserve punishment. He kept saying it over and over again until finally, Carl told him to stop.
"Carl, think about it, go on. Think for the first time. She took your dick in front of those other men and she made you luck her. She humped up and down on you until you lost your semen. That was your semen, Carl, what you needed to be a father, and she stole it from you. You've lost it now. You can't be a father now, Carl, not without your semen." Jesse went on and on, and again, Carl warned him to shut up, but he wouldn't. He kept talking making Carl more confused.
"Did she ask if you'd pay for the movie?" he said, thinking he'd get Carl on another track.
"No, I offered to pay for the movie. Miranda didn't ask me to pay."
"Did you show her your money?" Jesse asked.
"Don't listen to him, Carl, he's lying. He's trying to turn you against me, can't you see that? I didn't take anything from you, Carl, think. What about all those books you've read? You know about semen, Carl, think. Your body will make more, you know that, and the money, I don't want your money, Carl. Please, don't listen to him, Carl, women want more than money and dicks." she pleaded.
"She's lying, Carl, she ran away because of the money. You're broke, Carl, Miranda wants a man with money. Did she ask how much you had?" Jesse asked, frantically. He knew he had to talk fast or Miranda might convince him she was right.
"She asked about all my money." Carl said, thinking back.
"What did you tell her?" Jesse asked. He just knew when Carl told Miranda he was broke he could use her running away to prove his point, but when Carl told him about the money, Jesse was shocked.
"What are you talking about, Carl? You don't have any money."
"I do have money. It's in my account." Carl insisted.
"If I wanted your money, Carl, would I have run away? You have plenty of money, don't you see that. I ran because I wanted to get away, Carl. I was trying to get away from myself for hurting you the way I did. I thought you were angry with me in the movie house. I was lashing back at you." Miranda tried to explain and Carl listened but didn't understand. Was she angry at him or was he supposed to be angry with her, his mind became a jumble.
"She's lying, Carl, she's a woman, they only want cock and money and when Missy here knew she couldn't get your money, she flicked your cock then ran." Jesse shouted.
"Just shut up, both of you!" Carl insisted. He was more confused than before, but when Miranda pleaded with him and finally explained that she felt awful making it with him in front of the others and she thought he'd lost respect for her, Carl responded with understanding. Jesse tried telling him it was a lie but Carl wouldn't listen. He knew Miranda was telling the truth.
"You had no right to tie up Miranda that way, dad. She never hurt you, and even if she had, you can't go around tying up people." Carl said. "Come over here." Carl poked the knife at his father making the old man move toward the cooler. He forced Jesse inside then told him he'd be back with the police.
He forced Jesse against the shelf and the impact of Jesse's body hitting it made a package fall off the top. Jesse's face became fearful seeing the wrapped package and when Carl picked it. up shivers ran through his body and it wasn't the cold air from the freezer causing it. The severed hand of a young girl fell from the package to the cooler floor and Miranda screamed. Carl jumped back three feet and Jesse hung his head low saying nothing.
"Oh, God, Carl, what has he done?" Miranda said, taking hold of Carl's arm. "We have to get the police." she added.
"What is this, dad, explain what this is?" Carl insisted. He couldn't believe his own father would do such madness but there it was, the evidence, and Carl felt sick. When the package moved again, a foot fell out, then an ear. Carl threw it down then ran from the cooler and Miranda followed slamming the door locking Jesse inside.
"What am I going to do?" Carl asked.
"We must get the police, Carl.
Carl and Miranda ran from the store leaving Jesse locked in the cooler with the evidence. Carl ran toward home and she followed. He was half in shock and half angry How could Jesse do such a thing? How could he be so sick, and what about Miranda? How could he consider doing the same thing to such a sweet girl?
When they reached Carl's house it was dark. Alice had been asleep for hours. Carl fumbled with his keys to find the right one, but he was so upset he couldn't do it. He pounded at the front door until Alice came and opened up.
"My God, Carl, what is it?" she asked, seeing the fear on his face.
"Don't ask, ma, not now." he said. Carl ran up to his room and slammed the door leaving Miranda alone with Mrs. Vanderhorn. She didn't know what to say. The old lady looked so concerned but if Miranda told her about the cooler and Jesse, she might go into shock or worse, have an attack right there in the living room.
"What's wrong with Carl, Miranda? Tell me, please."
"He'll be fine, Mrs. Vanderhorn, please, just sit down."
"Did you say something to upset my Carl?" she asked. Miranda had to laugh. There was nothing she could possibly have said to induce such fear in a man.
"No, Mrs. Vanderhorn, I didn't say anything to Carl. He'll be fine, just give him a minute.
"I'm going to check." Alice started for the stairway but Miranda grabbed her arm and pulled the woman back.
"Let go of me, you little hussie!" Alice barked.
"Please, just leave him alone, Mrs. Vanderhorn. Carl will come down when " Before the words left her lips, Carl was on his way down. He looked into his mother's eyes then wept.
"Carl, my boy, what is the matter?"
She followed her son to the living room then had a seat. Carl couldn't tell his mother the truth. It was too awful, too gruesome. She must be told but he didn't know how to do it. He looked to Miranda but she was just as uncertain. Finally Carl asked his mother to make coffee. He wanted to get her out of the room while he telephoned the police. She was reluctant at first but Carl promised he'd tell her all about it when she got back.
Alice went to the kitchen and put on the coffee. She was getting the cups ready when she heard the dial on the phone. Carl was making a call. Alice picked up the extension and listened. She covered the mouthpiece and waited for the line to answer.
"Police emergency, officer Alderman speaking." Alice cringed when she heard Carl talking to the police. She knew something awful must have happened to Jesse.
"I'm calling to report a murder." Carl said. "I found the body at Vanderhorn's Grocery Store on ... "
"Ya, I know Vanderhorn's store, who am I speaking with?" the officer asked.
"This is Carl Vanderhorn, Jesse's son."
"Right, we met once last year. Now, slow down and tell me what you found?" officer Alderman said.
"A human hand, a human foot and a human ear. They are inside my father's store wrapped in a package in the freezer. My father is locked in there with it. I found him trying to murder my girlfriend tonight and when I stopped him and untied Miranda, we found the body parts."
"Whoa, whoa, slow it down, son, what's this all about. Are we talking about Jesse Vanderhorn?" the office asked.
"Yes, he's my father. I'm afraid he's killed a girl. Please, get to the store quickly. We left him locked in the freezer."
"Will you meet us at the store and open up?" the policeman asked. Carl agreed. He hung up the phone then sat down next to Miranda.
"It's done." he said. "Finished. I have to meet them there."
"I want to come with you." Miranda said.
"Oh, God, Miranda, mother?" Carl said. He jumped up then ran into the kitchen. Alice wasn't there. The coffee was on, but she was nowhere to be found.
The store was pitch black and when Alice came in through the back door she turned on the light. The butcher block still had ropes tied to it where Miranda was held and the salami he forced inside her was on the floor. Alice picked it up then threw it down quickly when she realized what had happened.
The freezer door was locked from the outside and as Alice peeked in the window, she saw Jesse trying to hide packages. She knew what he was doing and the fact that he was trying to hide them made him guilty. Alice Vanderhorn had spent years living with Jesse and she put up with more torment than most. He was a tyrant. A barking, demanding, violent tyrant who beat her, and forced her to perform unusual sex acts. She hated the very sight of the man, and now this. Alice had reached the end of her rope. She could no longer suffer the consequences of Jesse's life.
Carl and Miranda waited for officer Alderman to arrive. They watched from the street in front of the store. Carl was calm, at least more than he was, and Miranda seemed to handle things better too. They worried about Alice but figured she'd gone back to bed. It was late, after all, and Alice most likely figured Carl and Miranda had a fight.
"What do you think will happen to your dad, Carl?" Miranda asked, thinking about the human body parts he kept in the cooler.
"I don't know."
"He'll have to go to trial, you know."
"Yes, I knew that much. I guess he'll have to die for what he's done."
"What if they find him crazy, Carl. They might you know, he seemed awfully crazy to me." Miranda said.
"Jesse isn't crazy, Miranda, he knew what he was doing. He's a tyrant, that's all. I hope they hang him for what he's done."
"I wish the police would get here." Miranda said, feeling the chill from the evening air.
"I don't. I hope they take an hour. That way Jesse will be frozen solid." Carl looked to the sidewalk and spotted his signature. He turned to Miranda and smiled.
"I put that in the day they poured the walkway." he said proudly. "I was a small boy then. I've lived my whole life right here on this block."
"I grew up out west." Miranda said. "My daddy hat a cattle ranch out there and I used to ride all the time. I might go back someday." she said.
"It's the police, good, they're here."
"You Carl Vanderhorn?" the officer asked.
"Yes, and this is Miranda Saunderson. My dad is inside the store, come on, I'll show you." Carl said.
"Not so fast, Mr. Vanderhorn. Where exactly did you leave him?"
"In the cooler, sir. There was no other place. He's been locked in there for thirty minutes, I've kept track of the time."
"And you say there are human remains in the cooler with him?"
"Yes, in a package. It was up on the top shelf but when I threw dad in, it came down."
"Why were you throwing him in the cooler, sir?" the officer asked.
"This is ridiculous!" Miranda spoke up. "Can't you guys get the story after Jesse comes out of the freezer?"
"No ma'am, we can't. We'll get it now, just keep still." the man said.
"He had Miranda tied up in the back room and was going to stab her when I caught him. I didn't know what else to do." Carl said.
"Fine, show us where you've got Mr. Vanderhorn." Carl unlocked the front door then turned on the lights. As the door opened, a loud shrill scream came from the back and officer Lambert and Mahaley pushed Carl aside and ran to the back room.
The screams came from the cooler and when they ran around to the door, saw Alice Vanderhorn slumped over a stack of cardboard boxes. Jesse was holding a knife and the officer's drew their guns and demanded he drop it, but Jesse got that look in his eye and when he saw the way Carl looked at him, he threw the weapon at one of the officers and the other one shot him.
His old tired body fell to the floor and when the officer felt his pulse he was dead. Alice was also gone and when Carl realized what had happened, he broke down. Miranda helped him to a chair then hugged him tightly. The officers found the remains of Jesse's victims on the top shelf of the cooler, and once they called for the coroner, Carl had to be taken to the hospital in shock.
Miranda crawled into bed and wept. Leaving Carl at the hospital was difficult but he needed rest. She thought about the horrible tragedy with Carl's parents and tried to sleep but the horror of it kept playing over and over in her mind like a recording. She was sobbing heavily when Jan came home and when the girl heard Miranda crying, came to her bedroom.
"Miranda, is everything alright?" she asked.
"Yes, go away."
"Hey, there's someone here I want you to meet." Jan said. "Robert, come meet Miranda." The young man stepped into Miranda's bedroom then went up to her. He was drunk, as was Jan, and when he threw back Miranda's covers and sat next to her, Miranda was startled by the strangers intrusion and she jumped off the bed then backed away from him. Jan laughed so hard she wet herself and had to run to the bathroom. When Robert was alone with Miranda, he stripped down while she watched and started fondling his cock.
"Hey, honey, Jan's told me all about your .problem. She said you don't get any. I can fix that for you, sweetheart." he slurred.
"Get out of my room." Miranda shouted, but Robert moved closer. He was a big man, six feet, and wide shoulder's. Robert pressed Miranda up against the wall then kissed her mouth.
His breath stank of stale beer and cigarettes and Miranda thought she'd get sick if he didn't stop. Robert's hand slipped to her crotch and grabbed a feel of her cunt but when Jan came back and saw him, she became angry.
"What the luck are you doing?" she asked loudly.
"Hey, baby, you told me your little friend didn't get any dick so I was just giving her some of mine."
"Get him away from me, Jan!" Miranda screamed. After all she'd gone through, the last thing she wanted was a drunk man pawing her bones. The way Miranda tried to fight him off made Jan bust out laughing and when Robert saw that, he moved closer to Miranda knocking her to the bed.
Her sore body hit the mattress and Robert's cock hit against her pelvis bone. He scrambled to get it inside the girls pussy and Jan continued laughing. She was high and drunk. It wasn't unusual for her to lose control. Jan really wanted Miranda to have fun and in her drunken state, figured she was.
Robert managed to luck Miranda's pussy. He forced his thick cock between her legs then rammed it all the way in. Miranda was sore from Jesse's torture and she started to cry but Robert wouldn't stop.
When Jan finally noticed Miranda's pain, she pulled her date off the girl and when he slapped her, Jan hit him over the head with a vase. She beat Robert all the way out the front door and when he got into the hallway, dick still out, Jan slammed and locked the door. She ran back to check on Miranda but the girl was routing around in her closet.
"What are you doing?" Jan asked.
"Leaving, that's what!" Miranda yelled.
"Where?"
"Back home."
"Miranda, you are home." Jan laughed. She was acting silly and trying to take the suitcase from Miranda but the girl managed to shove Jan on the bed then start packing.
"Come on, Miranda, really, where are you going this rune of night?"
"I told you where."
"West? What the luck's out there?" Jan giggled.
"Get out of my way, Jan." Miranda said, pushing her aside. She was bound and determined to leave. She'd taken all the Jan Feldon she could stomach and all the trauma her heart could manage.
"Did you have a fight with that boy of yours?"
"No."
"Okay, so why are you acting this way?" Jan probed.
"I'm just fed up, Jan, okay. I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, how the tuck are we gonna fix what's wrong if you won't talk about it, honey. Come on, sit here with big sister, Jan and tell me all about what's eating you, or is that it honey, is it cause nobody's eating you?" Jan laughed again.
"I'm sick of you, Jan Feldon. You're nothing but a cheap luck."
"Hey, honey you'd better watch them F-words." she warned through her laughter. "They'll start becoming part of your every day talking and then who will you put down? You always did, didn't you, Miranda, put me down, I mean?"
"You put yourself down, Jan."
"Stay with me, Miranda, don't leave me. What'll I do without you?" Miranda looked at her drunken friend then sneered.
"Hire a tucking maid, Jan!" Miranda stormed out of the house then hailed a cab. She wanted out of Hendersonville forever and told the cabbie to drive to the airport.
She jumped inside and was on her way home. The business wasn't making it anyway and Jan could do just fine keeping things up to pay the bills. She wanted to feel the cool western wind in her hair and smell the clean air again.
Miranda inherited her father's ranch when he passed on. Her mother died when she was young but she never told anyone. Miranda didn't want others to know what she was worth. Her father left her a huge estate with plenty of acreage and even more money.
She worried about Carl. He was all alone in the hospital. Both parents gone in the same night, and now she was running out. She made the driver turn around and head toward the hospital. Miranda wanted to say good-bye to Carl and explain why she had to leave. She couldn't bear another minute of that city or its people.