Page 9 of Hillbillies and HellHounds

“Okay, deal,” she answered, immediately shaking my hand.

I eyed her skeptically. “But that means you have to call your pa and set up a time for a visit with him. Deal?”

Sicily beamed. She stood from the porch swing and gave my hand another business-like shake, excitement bubbling in her eyes.“Deal.”

“Good.” I sat back in the swing with a huff. “Now, go and help that Josh kid finish the decorations. If Ol’ Ned catches Josh on his own, he’s gonna hunt the poor kid down for sport.”

Sicily laughed and nodded, turning with a wave before racing off. A cool breeze swept past and I watched some of the multicolored lights rattle on the roofs until my eyes were drawn towards the hill. From my trailer, I could just barely see the corner of the police station sticking out from behind the trees. I screwed my mouth up and, groaning, got back on my feet, walking stiffly towards the main road to the River’s Edge entrance.

Well, no time like the present,I told myself as I headed for the station.

The walk wasn’t too bad. It felt nice to stretch my legs after a few days on pseudo bed rest, even though it was a bit of a hike up to the town proper. I got a few waves from monsters on the sidewalk as I walked up to the thin, double-story brick building that was the only police station for miles.

Opening up the double glass doors, I walked into the lobby which wasn’t manned by anyone. At one point there had been a receptionist but I wasn’t sure what became of her when the Fog came through. Dean’s office was only a few doors down, through some hallways and breakrooms. I had the pathway memorized by this point.

When I arrived at Dean’s office, I noticed the door was ajar and he was seated at his big desk, pouring over a stack of papers in front of him. I knocked on the door, stuck my head in, and smiled at the handsome man sitting behind the desk.

“So, Sheriff Hawke, how do you feel about community service?”

Chapter Four

“Are there any clown shifters in Windy Ridge?”

I turned to Mason from where I was sitting at the table. “Clown shifters? Not that I know of. Why?”

“Well,” he smiled, side-eying Dean. “The best way to lure a bat-man is with a joker, right?”

Damnation Diner was half-full of residents getting their lunch (even though it was ten pm), but I’d made sure to reserve the largest table for the impromptu meeting Sicily had set up. She’d gathered everyone—Bud, Slim Jim, Boone, Ol’ Ned, Dean, and Mason—so they could discuss our next moves. I was able to carve out my lunch break for the same time, and we all sat at one long table as Dorcas served us begrudgingly.

The joke made half the table groan, but Mason didn’t look upset. He grinned at us proudly, elbowing his uncle in the side with an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle.

Dean shook his head with a sigh as he stabbed his fork into a bite of egg. “That’s not a new one,” he said.

Mason straightened up, affronted.

“Yeah, maybe not toyou,but I’ve never told it to them!”

“A joke repeated is not a joke laughed at twice.” Dean gave me a knowing look and I, grinning, elected not to help.

“‘Taint a thing ta be feckin’ jokin’ about, anyhow!” Slim Jim slammed a mug of beer on the table and pointed a furry finger at Mason. “That thang’s dangerous. Nearly knocked Miss Twila out last time we tried to trap it.”

“Did it use a batarang to do it?” Mason mumbled into the rim of his cup, and I caught a stifled giggle from Sicily who was sitting across from him. She smiled at Mason with a special kind of glimmer in her eye and instantly my teeth were on edge. This wasn’t the first time Mason had gotten Sicily to giggle, and considering how he smiled when he looked at her, that was on purpose. I’d begun to grow a little sour towards Mason the longer I saw him making eyes at Sicily,my daughter, who was a few months away from graduating high school. He wasn’t… abadguy, true, but he was a young twenty-something and he was handsome and charming just like his uncle. It was hard not to imagine Sicily’s situation as mine when I was her age, but I knew she was her own person. And she was a hell of a lot smarter than I ever was or ever would be. She wasn’t going to end up pregnant and alone. I just had to keep reminding myself of that.

“Keep on witch’er jokes, boy,” Ol’ Ned hissed from across the table. He and Slim Jim had their heads buried in blueprints spread across each others’ laps, and he glanced up just to glare at Mason. “You won’t be laughin’ whenyou’rethe one in that demon’s flight path. An’ last time I seem ta remember you got yerself gored by a damn hog, so keep your mouth shut.”

“Quit being rude, Ned,” Sicily shot back. “You’re the one who didn’t catch the hog-man which was why it gored poor Mason in the first place. Now that I think of it, not only didn’t you catch the hog-man—but you also haven’t caught the bat-man—sounds like the beginnings to a pattern to me.”

Ol’ Ned grumbled into his soup, but I caught a swift blush from Mason’s end as he offered Sicily an appreciative smile, one to which she eagerly returned. From the end of the table, Boone piped up as if to break the awkward silence as quickly as possible.

“Have you g-g-got a lead on it yet, Brother Ned? The bat-man, I mean. I know you didn’t manage to t-t-tag it, but—”

“No,I ain’t got a lead on it yet.” Ol’ Ned snapped his jaws with a serpentine hiss, and from over his shoulder, I could see Bud chuckling. “I’ll find one, though. We’ll just have ta keep a look on them cameras. I’m draftin’ up a whole new idea that’sgottawork this time.”

“That’s what you said the last two times,” I muttered, my face pressed to the heel of my hand. Dean snorted at my side and I saw Ol’ Ned throw me a glare, but Bud coughed into his fist and cocked Sicily a brow, waiting until the rest of the table was watching to speak.

“Now, if I remember rightly, Miss Sicily was the one that wanted to lead this conversation,” he said pointedly. “Why don’t’chu start us off, darlin’? Before these fools start a grudge match right inside the diner.”

“Oh! Right.” With a clearing of her throat, Sicily stood and pulled out her large, black binder, opening it to the half-finished map of Windy Ridge. “Alright, so. We’re all here for two things. First, we’re gonna have to find a way to catch the bat-man, that’s true, but more pressingly, I’ve brought you all here to discuss the completion of the Damnation County census.” Everyone groaned at that and Sicily gave each one a stern, reprimanding expression. “Sheriff Hawke has kindly agreed to help me in gathering this information,” she flashed him a smile, and to me she tossed a wink even though I wasn’t sure why, “as well as his nephew, Mason, and my own mama.”

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