Page 65 of The Woman Who Couldn't Scream
Calm descended on Kateri.
The bad-tempered woman was apparently unhurt.
Kateri scooped up Lacey to protect her paws from the broken glass, strolled over to a bar stool, used a napkin to dry it and seated herself, Lacey in her lap. She waved Sean Weston away and waited until Bertha wound down. “So, Bertha, how’s it going?” she asked.
That started Bertha off again. “I just had Tom in here to build me a new bar, solid walnut, and that limp prick John Terrance slashed the wood and ruined the finish. Ruined it!”
“I can see that.” Big cuts in the bar. Deep. “What’d he use?”
“A machete.”
“And…?”
“I pulled my sawed-off shotgun out from under the bar and aimed it at him. Told him he was an idiot to bring a knife to a gunfight. I thought he was going to take another swing at me—”
“Wait. Back up.” Kateri shed a little of her professional calm. “When did he swing atyouwith the machete?”
“He came in through the back. Sneaked up behind me, the snot-nosed little coward, and he would have got me, too, but Berk Moore shrieked like a trussed-up opera singer. I dove for the floor. That’s when Terrance took the first chunk out of the bar. There.” Bertha pointed. “He buried the blade deep enough he had trouble prying it loose, and that gave me the time to grab the shotgun. By now the crowd was screaming and running outside, which was a goddamn good thing since Terrance started backing toward the back door. I yelled at everybody to hit the deck and when John Terrance turned to run I peppered his behind with buckshot. I was hoping to kill him but the last I saw he was still moving. You got him in custody?”
Kateri checked. “Not yet.” She cradled Lacey in one arm and offered her hand. “You look silly up there. Let me help you down.”
“I’m going to need more than your help.” Bertha looked sheepish. “When I jumped up here, I think I broke something.”
“Like a bone?” Kateri asked. “You jumped?”
“I was just so goddamn mad.”
Kateri called, “Sean, you need to call the EMTs.”
Sean reappeared at her side. “I already did. She was listing a little to one side, so…” He climbed onto a bar stool, wrapped his arms around Bertha’s waist and asked, “That okay?”
“Okay? It’s great.” Bertha grinned at him. “I don’t often get a young, handsome, buff guy hugging me.”
He smiled back. “I can hardly believe that.”
“Shitkicker.” She braced herself while he lifted her. He did not place her on the stool.
Kateri reached up and helped steady her.
Bertha looked down. “Honey, in your shape, what are you going to do if I topple over?”
“Break your fall?”
“That’s fine, but I don’t want to land on the dog.”
Kateri chuckled and stepped away.
Sean Weston climbed down, took Bertha by the waist and lifted her to the floor. “Mrs. Waldschmidt, with all due respect, next time when you get mad, would you stay on the ground?”
Damn. Kateri was starting to like Weston. To counter that, she asked, “Give me a report on the surveillance at Rainbow’s house.”
He sighed. “It’s okay. I haven’t seen anything.”
Kateri put her hands on her hips.
Weston looked sulky. “I need to go back and check. After I’m done here, I will. I promise… it’s just so boring.”
So much for liking Weston.
