“It figures Colby would take a crack at the first classy broad we’ve seen around Fulbrook Corners in a month of Sundays. He always did go for the fancy ones. Folks said he had no business aimin’ as high as he did. But I always told him – what the hell, go for it, man. What do you have to lose? Me and him used to spend a lot of time talkin’ about women.“
Diana took a closer look at the man who had been filling her gas tank once a week for the past few weeks. For the first time, she realized that Eddy Spooner was about Colby’s age, maybe a year or two older. It struck her that these two men must have been contemporaries while they were growing up here in Fulbrook Corners.
That realization came as a surprise. Eddy Spooner looked as if he came from a different world than the one Colby inhabited. It wasn’t just the jungle fatigues and heavy old military-style boots Spooner wore that gave that impression.
Nor was it the thinning blond hair that fell to his collar. It was something else, something to do with the expression of lingering bitterness that marked what had probably once been a handsome face.
Spooner was the kind of man who would spend a lifetime blaming others and an unkind universe for everything that went wrong in his world. He looked like a man who’d seen a lot of dreams go up in smoke.
“You and Colby were friends as kids?“ she ventured.
“Sure. Me and him used to hang out together. Sort of lost track of him after he left town. I spent a few years in the army and then came back here. But Colby, he lucked out. He didn’t come back until this summer. Wonder why he bothered to now? He never did think much of this town and after what he did, most people in town sure don’t think much of him.“
Diana started to ask another question. Her curiosity about Colby was running rampant again. But before she could open her mouth, the familiar growl of a Jeep’s engine caught her attention.
“There he is now. Looks like you timed things just right.“ Spooner dropped the squeegee into a bucket and came around to Diana’s window. “Ten bucks even for the gas.“
“Thanks, Eddy.“ Diana reached for her purse, one eye on the black Jeep that was coming to a halt outside the post office.
Spooner took the money and stared at Specter, who was sitting in the passenger seat watching attentively.
“That’s sure some dog you got there.“
Specter yawned, showing a lot of teeth. He was used to such observations.
“He’s a comfort to have around at times,“ Diana murmured, patting Specter’s shoulder.
“Yeah, a lady livin’ alone needs a dog. I used to have me a dog. Real nice Shepherd. But he died a couple years back.“ Spooner turned his head to watch another car, an aging blue Cadillac, pull into the post office parking lot.
“I’d better be on my way,“ Diana said, turning the key in the ignition.
“If I was you, I wouldn’t go rushin’ into the post office just yet,“ Eddy advised. “Not unless you want to wind up in the middle of a real mess.“ There was a twisted smile on his face, as if he was taking a perverse pleasure in a secret knowledge of whatever was about to happen.
“Is something wrong?“ Diana asked bluntly.
“Probably. See that big blue Caddy that just pulled up out front?“
“Yes.“ Colby had disappeared into the post office. Apparently he hadn’t noticed her car parked across the street yet. Or if he had, he was choosing to ignore it. This was not going to be easy.
“See that old lady gettin’ out of the Caddy?“
“What about her?“ Diana asked impatiently. She briefly switched her gaze to the aging, gray-haired woman with the regal bearing who was getting slowly out of the passenger side of the Cadillac. She was being assisted by her driver, a large, beefy man of about forty-five whose potbelly strained the buttons of his shirt.
“That’s Mrs. Fulbrook herself. Fulbrooks have owned just about everything in this town ever since my great grandpa’s time.“
“Is that right?“
Spooner must have sensed her lack of interest. He flattened one greasy palm on the roof of Diana’s Buick and leaned down to look at her through squinted eyes. “You don’t know nothin’ about the high and mighty Mrs. Margaret Fulbrook, do you?“
“What should I know about her?“
“Well, for starters,“ Spooner said, drawing it out as slowly as he could, “She’s Colby Savagar’s mother-in-law.“
“His mother-in-law!“
“Yup. And I’ll tell you somethin’ else. She hates his guts.“ Spooner stepped away from the car, apparently satisfied that he’d finally gotten her full attention. “See you next week. Miss Prentice. Nice talkin’ to ya.“
“Goodbye, Eddy.“ Diana pulled away from the gas station feeling dazed. Colby’s mother-in-law? But Colby wasn’t married’.
She was sure he wasn’t married. He couldn’t be married.
He would have told her if he’d had a wife. Colby Savagar wouldn’t play that kind of game.
But there was a lot she didn’t know about Colby Savagar, Diana reminded herself as she parked her Buick next to Colby’s Jeep. It was precisely that lack of knowledge that had kept her from going to bed with him last night.
She turned off the ignition and slipped out of the car. A small voice was urging her to turn around and drive away from what promised to be an unpleasant little scene. But the need to know the facts proved a far stronger motivation.
“Stay here, fella,“ she advised Specter. “I’ll yell if I need help.“
Specter was busy exchanging cold stares with the man who had driven the Cadillac. Diana took one glance at the overweight driver and then looked away. The man’s heavily jowled face was marked with the cruel, not overly intelligent lines of a natural bully. Diana was willing to bet that this was the kind of man who had amused himself as a child by tearing wings off flies. She hurried toward the post office.
The tension in the lobby hit her like a tidal wave when she pushed open the glass doors. The silence was unnatural. Several people stood as if nailed to the floor. Instead of exchanging gossip and observations on the weather as usual, they were all mute, all staring with rapt attention at the scene that was unfolding before them.
Colby was just turning away from the counter, a bunch of mail in his fist. He glanced toward the door and saw Diana. For an instant he fixed her with his brilliant gray eyes, but a second later he jerked his attention back to Margaret Fulbrook who had planted herself directly in his path.