Part 21 (1/2)
”No,” Prime said. He paused. ”Why would he?”
”Seems he was bragging to some comrades how he was going to teach you a lesson. He'd have to stop by to do that.”
”Or he was just flapping his gums,” Prime said.
”Or he was writing a check he couldn't cash,” the detective said.
”He did-does-that a lot.”
Prime changed his reply in mid-sentence. He had used the past tense. The cop was using the present tense. Had he given himself away?
”He seems that sorta fellow.” The detective glanced around the apartment. ”So, you haven't seen Carson since...?”
”I dunno,” Prime said. ”Work on Thursday, I guess.”
”Where you had words in the locker room.”
It wasn't a question.
”I guess.”
”And you haven't seen him either?” the detective asked Casey.
”Why would I?”
”If he came around, you'd've seen him, right? You here alone taking care of the baby. You'd have seen him if he came by.”
”I would have,” Casey said. ”But I didn't.”
Prime looked for some sign, some tic on her face to give away a shred of guilt. She looked like a bored housewife, uninterested and cool. Prime felt himself relax in reaction.
”Anything else you want?” Prime asked, motioning toward the door.
The detective gave him a pointed stare. ”No, I guess that's it.” He glanced at the other officer. ”We'll be going then. If you happen to suddenly remember seeing Ted Carson on Thursday, you let me know.”
Prime showed them to the door and watched them clomp down the stairs. A sudden squawk from Abby made him jump. He shut the door too quickly and it slammed.
Casey looked at him, her face pale. ”We're going to have to move the body,” she said. ”They're on to us.”
Prime shook his head. ”No way. Someone will notice if we have to dig up that ground again.”
”I need to sow some wildflowers then,” she said. ”Something to cover up the dirt.”
”It's too late in the season for flowers.”
”Something!”
”Calm down!” Prime said. ”They were here to see what we did under pressure. If we run now, it'll be apparent!”
”But-”
”They haven't found the car, and they haven't found the body,” Prime said. ”He's just a runaway kid.”
She nodded. Prime took Abby and bounced her on his hip. She gurgled and cooed. She had no idea her parents were murderers.
He found himself rea.s.signed to overflow the next day, which meant he sat in the overflow room with six other workers waiting for the a.s.sembly line to back up. It meant idle time, nearly all day long. The workers in the overflow room were union advocates, since it was considered a cushy job. The six just stared at him, and he guessed that Ted Carson's father had something to do with his rea.s.signment.
It drove Prime crazy to sit idle. He was getting paid for doing nothing, but under the scrutiny of grizzled old workers.
He didn't even try opening a conversation with any of them. He ate his bagged lunch in silence, watching the six play euchre with rules that were a little different than he remembered.
At the end of his s.h.i.+ft, he couldn't wait to get out of there.
When he got home, Casey was in the shower while Abby slept.
Dirty clothes hung over the chair backs: overalls, plaid s.h.i.+rt. Dirty sneakers sat by the door, covered in mud.
”Where have you been?” Prime demanded as Casey stepped from the shower. ”Where have you been?”
Casey gave him a cold look. ”You wake the baby, you put her back to sleep.”
” 'Where have you been?' I said!”
”Yeah, I heard you the first time.”
”Well?”
”With your mother, planting bulbs and shrubs.”
”You didn't-” Prime had been sure she had moved the body.
”No, of course not. But our friend has a spruce sticking out of his chest, as well as a new blanket of mulch.”
”You... mulched him?”
”I bought a few extra trees, and when we ran out of room around the house, I suggested one by the road. You can't even tell the dirt was dug up now.”
”Will it take? I mean a dead tree is like a spotlight.”
Casey shrugged. ”The guy at the tree nursery said it would.”
Prime sighed.