“Lipe’s a bitch, den ya die.”
“That’s what they say. Sort of.”
Lib laughed. Then she reached over and patted Sandy’s leg.
“Yer a good kid, Charly.”
“Thanks.”
As she drove over the crest of the slope, the car’s single headlight swept down from high in the trees and stretched across the clearing to her trailer.
“That’s home,” Sandy said. “Should we hitch it up to your car and get out of here?”
“We can try. Ya know how?”
“Sure. My friend Agnes and I pulled it up here with her pickup truck. I helped her do the whole thing.”
“Done it myselp a pew times,” Lib said. “Use to hab me a peller wid a boat. Course now, there’s dipprent kinds a hitches.”
“I hope these’ll match,” Sandy said. “If they don’t, I guess we’ll . have to try Agnes.” She turned the car around, then backed it slowly toward the front of the trailer. “After it’s hooked up, we can go inside and get cleaned up and stuff before we take off.”
“Good deal.”
Sandy climbed out, leaving the engine running and the lights on. Lib met her behind the car.
“They look like they’ll go together, don’t they?”
“Reckon,” Lib said. “Hey, ya got any beer? My mout’s all busted up dis way. I could sure use me a cold beer. I tink it’d peel mighty good.”
“I don’t have beer, but I’ve got a bottle of bourbon.”
“Dat’d do. Me, I’ll get started hookin’ up dis shit. You go ‘n pine us dat bottle.”
“Okay, sure.”
Sandy hurried around to the side of her trailer, rushed up the wobbly stairs and opened the door. She stepped inside.
She glanced around. Everything looked fine. The bottle of bourbon still stood open on the counter of the kitchen area. She grabbed it, started toward the door, then changed her mind and went on to Eric’s room.
She rolled the bedroom door open a few inches.
Standing motionless, she heard the slow, steady hiss of his breathing. A tightness inside her seemed to loosen and a coldness seemed to grow warm.
She quietry rolled the door shut, then crept away.
Outside, she found Lib bending over the trailer hitch.
“Can I give you a hand with that?” she asked.
“Already got it. Just hang on hap a minute, an’ we’ll be all set. Ya got da booze?”
“I’ve got it.”
“Dare!” Lib stood up straight. Rubbing her hands on the front of her jeans, she came over to Sandy. She took the bottle, raised it to her lips, and filled her mouth with the bourbon. When her cheeks were bulging, she lowered the bottle. Sandy heard air hissing in and out her nostrils. Then came sloshing sounds. Lib’s cheeks sank in, ballooned, fluttered. She seemed to be working the bourbon around her teeth and gums as if it were mouthwash. After a while, she stopped swishing and started to swallow. Finally, she opened her mouth and sighed.
“Ohhhh, Charly, dat’s a mighty pine drink. Takes da pain right outa my teet.”
“You got some knocked out, I guess.”
“Bill’s old head come bustin’ right in. I reckon it took out a whole passel of teet, top ‘n bottom—eight or ten ob ‘em. An’ I got all dese bleedin’ holes in my puckfn’ gums. But de booze sorta numbs ’em por me. Damn good stuff.”
She filled her mouth again until her cheeks were bloated, shut her eyes and sighed through·her nose, then sloshed the bourbon all around for a while before swallowing.
“Yer a mighty pine girl, Charly.”
“Well, I’m glad the booze helps.”
“I’m gonna hap to buy me some new teet.”
“Yeah. There’s a lot of stuff we’ll need to do after we get out of ere. Are we all hitched up, now?”
“Yep.”
“Why don’t we go inside and get cleaned up? I’ll have to unhook us from the tanks, but that oughta be the last thing before we take off. Do you have any clean clothes to wear? I’ve got some in the trailer, but they’d probably be a tight fit on you.”
“Da trunk,” Lib said, and filled her mouth again.
Sandy went to the driver’s door of the car. Leaning in, she shut off the lights and engine, then pulled out the ignition key. She hurried to the trunk.
While she unlocked it, Lib sloshed bourbon.
Sandy raised the lid. Inside the trunk, she saw only darkness.
She heard Lib gulping.
Then Lib said, “Just reach on in.”
She reached into the trunk. She wasn’t sure what she expected to touch—suitcases, maybe. Instead of luggage, however, her hands met soft piles of fabric.
“Just grab me out sometin’,” Lib said. “Help yerselp, too. Ya look like ya might be a little low in da duds department.”
“Thanks. I’ve got stuff to wear, but I’d have to track through a lot of blood to get to them.”
“Take whatcha want.”
Sandy lifted garments out of the trunk and held them high so she could see them in the moonlight. She put back a couple of dresses, a sport jacket, a pair of slacks, and an evening gown before settling on a two tops that appeared to be shirts or blouses.
“These okay?” she asked.
“Sure. Whatebber.”
Sandy shut the trunk. “Let’s go inside and clean up before we put them on.”
Lib nodded, then filled her mouth again.
Sandy led the way. As she climbed the stairs, she warned, “Watch out you don’t fall on the way up. This thing’s kind of shaky.”
At the top, she entered the trailer.
And saw what she was carrying. The twin, short-sleeved blouses looked as if they were made of red silk. They gleamed in the lamp-light. They looked enormous. Stitched in swirling gold letters on the back of each were the words,
Lib stepped into the trailer.
Sandy turned around to face her. “Blazing Babes?”
Lib grinned. Though her puffy lips were shut, some bourbon dribbled out. She shrugged. She swallowed. After wiping off her lips and chin, she said, “Me and Bill, we piggered it was maybe like a girl’s soccer team or bowlin’ team or sometin’.”
“They aren’t yours?”
“Sure dey are. Didn’t used to be, but dey are now.”
“They’re stolen?”
“Hey, sugar, damn near everyting I got’s stolen. I’m a teep. Been a teep all my lipe. Dat okay?”
“I don’t know. Are you going to steal from me?”
“No! What kinda lowlipe you tink I am? Yer my pard, aren’t ya?”
“I guess so. But if we’re going to travel together, you’ve gotta promise not to get us into trouble. I mean, we’ve both killed guys tonight. We need to disappear quietly. We can’t go around stealing things.”
“Sure. I get it.”
“No more crimes.”
“Whatebber.” She raised her eyebrows. “So, pretty nipty blouses, huh?”
Sandy smirked. “Real nifty. Let’s wash up and get them on. This way.” She led Lib to the bathroom and
