Page 37 of Violent Little Thing

“She’s not…”

“She’s in,” Charleigh interjected, smiling serenely. “We’d like to talk to her now, unless she wants us airing dirty laundry in public.”

The girl in the tennis skirt hurried off, looking over her shoulder as she did, hoping to catch me looking.

I didn’t, instead focusing on Charleigh.

“Do you know the director?” I asked.

“She used to work with my mom,” she said. “Then she married a rich guy, and he got her this job here. She wears pearls and expensive shoes, but deep down at the heart of her she’s still that cursing trucker lady that smokes Marlboros and can drink my dad under the table.”

“You know her well then?”

She shrugged. “Know her kind of well. She was at our house every Friday night playing quarters and drinking beers with my family. Then her husband died, and she stopped coming around as often. When she started dating her rich fellow, she stopped coming around at all, quit the power company, and hasn’t looked back since.”

When the woman came from the back room, I could see what Charleigh meant.

“Charleigh, what are you doing here, doll?”

The woman certainly sounded like she smoked Marlboros all day long.

She also looked quite uncomfortable in her skirt and silk top.

“Came to talk to you about a certain member, and what you’re going to do about her removal from your club.” Charleigh crossed her arms over her chest.

It was quite cute, really.

I knew that I kept saying that word in relation to the woman, but seriously.

She was in yoga pants and a tight black top today, paired with ballerina flats. She looked about as ferocious as a puppy. Yet, she hardened her stare and leveled it at the director.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Listen, Linda.”

At first, I wondered if she’d said it that way because she was trying to be funny, then I realized that the woman really was named Linda.

“To what?” Linda asked.

“To the fact that you literally allowed two people, drunk off their asses, to walk out of here. Where they later killed someone.” Charleigh repositioned her arms over her chest, which pushed her breasts up slightly. “Those two killed one of our friends. Almost killed another. Seraphina has also already killed my best friend. And I think you, of all people, would be sympathetic to the fact.”

I wondered if that was how Linda’s first husband was killed…a drunk driver.

“Doll…”

“Don’t,” Charleigh said. “I’m asking you very nicely to revoke her membership. I know that you’re in a bind, but I’m about to ruin Seraphina’s life. You don’t want her coming here and stinking the place up.”

“I can’t just kick her out. She and her dad are prominent…”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Linda,” Charleigh said. “It’s going to get ugly, and you’re about to realize that you should’ve listened.” She paused halfway out the door that I was now holding open for her. “Oh, and look for a lawsuit soon. The family of Koen King will be suing you.” She smiled. “And Ida Bell, as well. A local. A Dixie Warden local. This country club is about to swirl down the drain, and you’ll be the reason why.”

Linda’s face froze.

Charleigh didn’t hesitate in leaving.

When we got outside, I asked, “Do you think she’ll kick Seraphina out?”

“Yes,” she answered. “They should’ve cut her off way before they did. Then, they should’ve taken away her keys. That shows a lack of awareness that facilities that serve alcohol don’t have the luxury of dismissing. Linda knows that I don’t bluff. We had a standoff a few years ago when she denied a friend a job because she didn’t fit the right mold. I.e., she was hefty and didn’t pull off a tennis skirt well. I talked with Linda, warned her about her actions, and then helped my friend sue for discrimination. They lost a lot of money off of that lawsuit. So she knows that I’m not just saying this to hear my own voice.”