The tall bar owner, with a beard halfway down his chest, shrugged.
Colby flashed his badge.
Wayne nodded as if he understood that this visit was official.
“That would most likely be Joey Hattly. He gets beat up on a regular basis. I’m usually the one who patches him up. He has a mouth on him that has no brain driving it.”
“Got any idea who broke his arm?”
“Didn’t know it was broken. I own this place, but outside that door I don’t see much. I’ve thought of beating on Joey a few times myself. He was picking on Marcie last night. She sings in here on the weekends.”
“Marcie? That wouldn’t be Boone Buchanan’s girlfriend?” Colby didn’t add more details. Everyone in the state had followed the trial of Buchanan, the man who tried to burn down the Honey Creek City Hall just to hurt the mayor. Colby had sat in the courtroom every day. So had Marcie Latimer. She cried now and then, but she never made eye contact with Boone that Colby saw.
“Yeah, that Marcie. She’s a sweet kid. I don’t know how she got mixed up with Buchanan, but I know her. She would never be involved in hurting anyone, not even Joey.” Wayne rubbed his whiskered chin and dust seemed to waterfall out. “I’ve known her most of her life. She’s got a big heart but sure can’t pick a man.”
“Know where we could find her?”
“Last trailer in the park. Back by the trees. If she’s not there, she’ll be back here singing tonight. You can catch her between sets.”
Sam thanked the owner, when Colby would have asked more questions. As they climbed into the car, Sam added, “Forget Marcie. If she’d been involved she’d be the one hurt. Joey was more than likely fighting with one of his drinking buddies. Why else would they run away after they dropped him off? We’re at a dead end.”
Sam was reading a text on his phone as he spoke. “Besides, I’m being called back to the station. We’ll have to cut this hunt short. They’ve moved the weather meeting up. My guess is that’s where you’ll find Piper. The mayor usually sits in.”
Colby agreed. “I’d still like to make sure Marcie is okay. I saw her during Boone’s trial. She looked so broken. If I ever find Piper, I’ll try to talk her into going over to Bandit’s Bar to hear her sing tonight. Piper and Marcie were friends when they were kids.”
“You and the mayor have a date tonight?” Sam laughed. “I don’t know about your tracking skills, Ranger. You can’t keep up with your lady in a small town. What chance do you have finding Marcie, who probably doesn’t want to see you or any law man?”
“I hope Piper and I have a date.” Colby ran his fingers through wet hair. “She seemed real glad to see me, but she’s not the clingy kind. In fact, she’s not the cuddling kind either, or the kiss-goodbye kind, or the call-me-back kind.”
“What kind is she?”
Colby frowned. “The leave-while-you’re-asleep kind.”
The fire chief shook his head. “Sorry about that.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Sam drove while Colby tried to reach Piper. No answer. Maybe she’d turned her phone down while she did the interview and forgot to turn it back on. When they passed the Honey Creek Café, he didn’t see her van.
“Mind dropping me at Widows Park?”
“No problem.” Sam turned left. “Nowhere is out of the way in a town this small.” As Colby climbed out, Sam added, “Good luck.”
Colby waved goodbye and headed up the long walk to where all the Mackenzie widows lived. It seemed the Mackenzie men were strong, driven men. Colby worked with Piper’s two brothers, and they fit the mold. Max and James Mackenzie were two of the best Texas Rangers in the state, but both pushed themselves to the limit.
Mackenzie women all outlived their mates. Piper’s grandfather built the house, which looked more like a small dorm, for the widows in his family. When he died, he deeded the place to Piper. One by one her grandmother and aunts and cousins lost their spouses and moved into Widows Park.
Colby knocked on the massive oak door, then turned back to stare at the town blanketed with low clouds. The weather was as gloomy as his mood. This was not the weekend he’d hoped to have.
The door slowly creaked open. Suddenly he was surrounded by gray-headed women who had shrunk to granny size. He was reminded of a fairy tale in reverse. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Only he was the one lost and the ladies were the seven. Every one of them started hugging on him.
Two widows, Aunt Linda and Aunt Morgan, pulled him inside as others hurried to have their turn at hugging him. He was patted on, all the way to the kitchen.
“You’re family, Colby, since that night we all saw you in your undies. Remember when you were hurt?”
“I remember.”
The one behind him announced, “So, since you’re here, you’ll join us for coffee in the kitchen.”
Colby didn’t hesitate. He was still starving even after an apple in the café kitchen and two donuts. If they didn’t offer him food, he’d take all of them out to lunch.
Only the ladies kept bringing out food to go with his coffee. After twenty minutes of talking, one lady declared it was close enough to lunch to eat, so out came all the fixings for sandwiches. Colby didn’t turn down a single side. While he ate, they told him what was happening in town. Most of the people they mentioned he didn’t know, but it was nice listening to them talk.
After eating, Colby drifted through the old, peaceful home. All the ladies went up for their naps and Colby stretched out on the office couch. He’d decided he wasn’t leaving until Piper either called or dropped by.
The thought occurred to him that she might be mad about something, but that didn’t make sense. He’d thought about how to make love to her every night they’d been apart, and he’d done everything right. Twice.
He felt like he’d just dozed off when he heard the huge front door open and close. No mistaking who it was. Piper’s high heels tapped on the entry tile like a clock ticking in double time. When the tapping stopped, he opened one eye. “Afternoon, PJ,” he said.
She smiled. “You having a nice nap?”
“Yeah, what have you been doing?” He rose to an elbow.
“I’ve been at a meeting. Sam was there. He told me he dropped you off here.” She pushed into his side, making room to sit. Her fingers brushed through his hair.
Colby smiled. All seemed right. If Piper was mad about something, she wouldn’t be touching him like this.
He made more room for her and leaned to kiss her lightly.
She pulled away and smiled. “Glad you got some sleep. We may be in for a bad storm later tonight or tomorrow morning. Possible tornadoes and flooding. Yesterday the weathermen said it’d go south of here. Now it looks like it might come straight down into our valley.”
He tried to kiss her again, but his lover had turned into the town’s mayor. He liked them both, but it was like knowing Superman and Clark Kent. You never knew which one was coming to dinner.
Piper continued, “There’s a chance it’ll hit all three towns. Someday Valley is on high ground, but Clifton Bend and Honey Creek are low. Too much rain and we’ve got a real possibility of flooding. Who knows which way a tornado will turn.”