A month into the new year already? Snatch pulled away from Laura and pushed off of the bed. He could feel his heart pound in his throat. His tongue moved and his mouth tried to form words but nothing came out.
“What did I tell you?” Snatch asked, finally.
Laura narrowed her eyes and slid to the edge of the bed. She rubbed her neck and cleared her throat. “I just told you. You told me about Danielle.”
Snatch took another step back and swayed against the edge of the hole in the center of his bedroom. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and focused his gray eyes on Laura.
“Are you okay?” Laura asked.
Snatch turned his head and glared over his shoulder. His thoughts ran like Olympic sprinters. He searched the corners of his room for his sledgehammer. Where did he leave his sledgehammer?
“Hey,” Laura said. “What’s wrong with you?” She stood and walked to the end of the bed. She bent and lifted her belt. She worked to fasten it around her and adjust her gun’s holster for easy access.
Where did he leave his sledgehammer? He couldn’t remember. He clenched his right fist and imagined the feel of the wood against his hand. He turned his head to focus on Laura again.
“Danielle is not dead,” Snatch said.
Laura frowned. “What?”
“She’s not dead! I don’t care what I told you!”
“Calm down,” Laura said. “What are you talking about?”
“Whatever I told you last night. It’s not true. Not.”
“You really need to calm down,” Laura said. “I don’t know why you’re acting like this. You were so nice last night.”
Snatch squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember the conversation the two of them had last night. He couldn’t even remember how she got back in the house after he pushed her out the first time. He didn’t remember coming to bed with her or what the two of them discussed. He turned and stepped over the hole in the center of his bedroom floor.
Laura continued. “You were so different last night.”
Snatch turned and snapped at Laura. “Shut up! I can’t remember.” He pressed his hands to his temples and tried to remember the discussion. Laura said he told her about Danielle. What did he tell her?
He considered his options, and started to cover up any possible mess he made. He couldn’t remember what he said about Danielle.
“I was drunk last night,” Snatch said, “so nothing I said should be held against me.”
Laura frowned again. “I thought the things you said were pretty nice. How much you loved her, and how you wish you could see her again.”
Snatch scratched his chin and considered Laura’s words. He still had no recollection of the night before. He looked down at his underwear and then looked at Laura. “Are you about to leave?”
“Yes,” Laura said, “I should go. Maybe I’ll stop by later to talk to your mother. We still have to ask her if she’s heard from the Sheriff.”
“Mother.” Snatch fought the rush of anger inside him. “Call her Mother.”
“Fine,” Laura said as she buttoned her shirt and adjusted her badge. “I’ll stop by later to talk to Mother. Is that better?”
Snatch smiled. “Yes.”
***
Snatch returned to his room after seeing Laura off and he reached up to touch his lips. She’d kissed him before she left and the feeling still lingered there on his mouth.
He sat down on the edge of his bed and slid his tongue over his lips. He felt a flutter in his stomach and an unsettling movement in his underwear as he relived the feel of Laura’s lips on his.
He looked down and gasped. The dead mouse peered its cold black eyes up from under his bed.
“Go away,” he muttered.
“You’d better enjoy this while it lasts, Edgar.” The dead mouse laughed. “You killed the Sheriff, and Laura has one of two futures.”
Snatch looked down at the mouse and chewed his bottom lip. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Quiet down. You’ll wake Mother.”
The mouse whispered back. “Laura will either arrest you, or meet your sledgehammer. Just like Danielle.”
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