Page 33 of Venom's Sting
“Cut me loose and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
Siege jerks his chin at Rigs. “Cut him loose. If he tries to run, kill him.”
Edmund grumbles, “Jesus Christ. You guys are the jumpiest bunch of fuckers I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”
The minute Rigs cuts him loose, he takes a gigantic step back, rubbing his wrists. “You don’t have to turn every fucking thing into a capital offense. You do know that, right?”
“I’m tired of hearing the sound of your voice. Tell us why he took Carol Grayson, or so help me you will regret it. Make it quick and concise.”
Shooting Siege a dirty look, he says, “Fine. My old man has a few fucking screws loose.”
“Like dementia or something like that?” I ask.
“Yeah, probably. I’m not a damned doctor but something is sure as fuck wrong with him. He didn’t want us around when his wife was alive, guess he was ashamed of us or something.”
“Or didn’t want her to know about his cheating?” Rigs mutters.
“Yeah, something like that. After his wife got sick, we started dropping around and paying the old man a visit. He kept going on about his daughter, how he regretted what he’d done and saying he wanted to make it up to her. Turns out the stupid fucker changed his will and left everything to her.”
I jump in, “So you’re planning on holding her captive until he dies, then killing her too?”
Edmund’s eyebrows almost disappear into his hair at that, “Wait? What? No! Well, okay maybe Big Joe said something like that. But the thing is, the old man’s mind keeps going back and forth all the time. He didn’t remember changing his will, as far as he’s concerned his bitch of a daughter upped and ran off thirty years ago. We decided if we moved in, then maybe we’d get him on a lucid day and get him to change the will. Problem is the old man is batshit crazy half the time, so there’s no way any attorney would notarize it.”
“Okay, this sounds like a fucked-up telenovela, you wanna tell me where Amy’s mom fits in to all this?” I’m trying to get my head around what he’s saying, but it sounds so messed up I’m not sure I’m following.
“The old man is sick, not just in the head, and if he dies and the will isn’t sorted then everything goes to our sister. We wanted to keep her in our sights, that way, if he goes before this mess is sorted, then maybe we can persuade her to sign thefarm and land over to us,” Edmund pauses and catches our eyes, “Look I don’t mean we were gonna torture her, just offer to set her free if she gives us what is ours. But then…”
“Then what?” I demand.
“It got kind of fucked up,” Edmund says.
“Kind of? Like this isn’t the craziest redneck shit I’ve ever heard,” I spit out.
“Hey, I resent that. I’m not a fucking redneck. Anyway, I managed to get her to come to the house, I have a friend who works in the hospital pharmacy, and he managed to get the delivery address for her meds changed. Problem is, when the old man opened the door and saw her, he thought she was his dead wife.”
“Fuck!” Siege exclaims. Rigs looks concerned.
Me, I’m confused as fuck, “Which one?”
“The first one, Amy Beth’s mom,” he answers.
“Don’t tell me, he’s keeping his own daughter as a wife,” Rigs’ tone is menacing.
Edmund shakes his head, “It’s nothing like that, I don’t think the old man would be capable of sex even if he wanted to. No, he’s got some fantasy about having his family all together. He’s got poor Carol cooking and cleaning like a good mom. We sit around the dinner table every night, say grace, and make polite conversation. He’s happy as a clam, thinks he’s finally getting the family he deserves.”
“What about his other three sons. Aren’t they invited to dinner?”
“Hell no. Big Joe and Hal are fucking animals, and Dan isn’t good at pretending to enjoy the happy family life he’s providing. They take their meals in the barn and sleep there too.”
While everyone is trying to wrap their head around his story, I’m furious. “In other words, he’s slaving her out. He has to be. Carol is way too sick to be cooking and cleaning for five men every day. I know you said you weren’t gonna physically hurt her, but this is absolute bullshit.”
“Of course she isn’t doing all that singlehandedly. Dan does most of the work for her, and the other two deal with the farm, leaving me plenty of time to…” he trails off.
Yeah, leaving him plenty of time to run his meth operation. While a lot of what Edmund has said rings true. I don’t think he’s telling the entire truth. My mom was right, this one is the sneaky one. “So, let me get this straight, the lot of you are just running Amy in circles, thinking her poor mom is lying dead in a ditch somewhere, while you’re all playing happy families with her mom? That’s fucked up.”
“Yeah, it is,” Edmund replies sarcastically. “Want to know what’s even more fucked up? The fact that the only fucking thing the old man was ever good at was buying up property, sleeping with every woman who crossed his path, and spawning bastards like me and my brothers. I can’t be everywhere at once and earn enough money to keep the farm afloat. If the four of us are ever going to inherit the old man’s seven thousand fucking acres, I’ve got to keep all the balls in the air. My brothers might not be all that smart but they’re the only family I fucking have.”
Chapter 12