To fully understand the context of what is happening, I suggest you read Part One of this story first.
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The end of Evil Woman, Pt. 01:
...
"Dave, it's me, Stan," I said. Dave was an old friend from way back. We had worked together on a number of jobs and got along quite well.
"Stan, you old son-of-a-bitch," he said. "What the fuck's going on, man?"
"I gotta little problem and was wondering if I could come rack out with ya for a few days," I said.
"Sure, buddy," he said. "Come on up. Just do me a favor and pick up a couple six-packs if you wouldn't mind."
"No problem, buddy," I said. "See you in a few hours."
"See ya," he said before ending the call. Feeling better, I pulled onto the interstate and headed north.
...
And now, Evil Woman, Pt. 02:
I spotted a convenience store on my way north, so I stopped and grabbed a couple six-packs of beer along with a styrofoam chest and some ice to keep it cold. I also warmed up my coffee and decided to grab a couple packs of smokes. I normally didn't smoke around the apartment, but I knew Dave smoked and thought he might appreciate the gesture. He was letting me rack out at his place for a while, after all, so I thought I owed him that much at least.
Dave Brolin was about 15 years older than me and had worked with my father. That's how we met. He stayed at our place several times when he was working in our area, and he was kind of like a big brother to me. I learned a lot from him working in my dad's shop.
He had it rough growing up. His father worked in the shipyards and ended up dying from complications due to mesothelioma, thanks to the asbestos he was constantly exposed to. After his father died, his baby sister, Beverly, stayed home to watch over their mother until she died a year or so ago from stomach cancer.
I had known Bev for quite some time. She was a no-nonsense kind of girl, attractive in a girl-next-door sort of way. Of course I never made a move on her partly because of Dave's friendship with me and my dad, but mostly because I was already smitten with Lucy. Bev and I got along nicely, and we were more like siblings than anything else, ribbing each other over this or that. I hadn't seen her in a while, and was curious to see what she was like nowadays.
Like me, Dave married young, but ended up divorced when he came home to find his wife with one of her co-workers. He never re-married, but does go out now and again. Most of his time is spent looking after Beverly, who now lives with him. Beverly, of course, would say she's watching over him.
I pulled up in front of Dave's two-story log house about 2:30 am, grabbed my stuff and the ice chest, and met Dave on the front porch.
"I hope you got some beer in there for us," he said with a smile. After taking the pack of smokes I offered him, he opened the door and helped me get the rest of my things inside. I carried the ice chest into the kitchen and saw a gorgeous blonde coming down the stairs wearing a long t-shirt and a short pair of pajama bottoms.
"Whose the blonde bombshell?" I asked Dave. He laughed.
"You know who I am, numb nuts," the blonde said. I did a double-take and realized it was Beverly. She looked nothing like the gangly teenage girl I remembered. Her legs were well-toned, her breasts had gotten a bit larger and her hair reached almost to the middle of her back.
"Beverly?" I asked, confused. "Is that really you?"
"You know it is, dipshit," she said sarcastically. "Why are you here so damn early in the morning? Lucy catch you cheating on her and throw you out or something?"
"No, not quite," I said with an edge in my voice. Bev's face softened as she took me in.
"I'm sorry, Stan," she said, looking at my bruised face. "What happened? Are you alright?"
"Not really," I said. "That's why I'm here."
"Why don't you grab a beer and come explain it to us?" Dave said. I nodded my head, grabbed three beers and headed into the front room. I handed one to Dave, then turned to Beverly.
"You sure you're old enough to drink?" I asked her sarcastically. She smiled as she held up a middle finger and grabbed a beer out of my hands.
"Spill it," she said. "What's going on with you two?"
"It's pretty embarrassing," I said.
"So?" Beverly said. "We're adults and we're damned near family, so out with it."
"Okay," I said before telling them the whole story about Lucy, Marie and Jake. I showed them the video I took of my brief meeting with Holly. They sat, shocked into silence, when I finished.
"Damn," Dave said after he took a swig of his beer. "Do you think they know where you are now?"
"I don't think so," I told him. "I didn't see any cars follow me up here anyway."
"Well, fortunately, we're on top of this hill and we can see anyone heading up here. And I still have the guns I bought from your dad after Mikey's accident. You still remember how to shoot, don't ya?" I nodded my head.
"Yeah, but I haven't touched a gun since that happened," I said. My younger brother, Michael, or Mikey, as everyone called him, accidentally shot himself in the leg with my dad's .22 caliber pistol years ago. Mikey only suffered a minor flesh wound and recovered just fine, but my dad felt so bad about it that he got rid of all his guns and never replaced them.
"That's alright," Dave said. "I'll take you out back and let you get familiar with them. Bev can work with you as well, she's gotten to be a pretty decent shot." I looked at Beverly, surprised. She sat up a bit and gave me a wicked smile. "Does your dad know you're up here?" Dave asked me. I shook my head.
"No," I said. "I haven't told anyone where I'm at. I need to let the assistant DA know, though. You have to remember, I didn't even think about coming up here until I had already left."
"Okay," he said. "I'll call your parents and let them know this morning after the sun comes up. Don't use your cell phone if you can help it. In fact, it might be a good idea to turn your phone off and remove the battery, just in case there's some kind of tracker on it."
"Good idea," I said, turning the phone off. I popped the back off and removed the battery.
"So Lucy and her friends are going before the judge on Monday?" Beverly asked.
"Yes, the arraignment is on Monday," I said. "The DA is hoping the judge holds them without bail, but after what I heard from Holly, I'm not so sure that'll happen."
"Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need to," Dave said. "I have a job to get to a week from Monday and I'll be gone for a week, but if you need to hang around, that's okay. How much time are you taking off?"
"I was planning on two weeks," I said. "I'm hoping this gets squared away by then."
"Like I said, you're welcome to rack out here," Dave said.
"Thanks, I appreciate that," I said. "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know." Dave looked at Beverly, then smiled.
"I'm sure Bev can think of a thing or two," Dave told me. "But you're a guest here and your folks always treated us like royalty, so you can kick back and enjoy the country air as far as I'm concerned."
"Well, guys, this has been fun, but I have to get up and make breakfast in a few hours," Beverly said, standing up. "I hope you like omelets and hash browns, cause that's what I'm fixing," she added, looking at me.
