Trailer Park Noir

her nose. She had not yet put her teeth in, so her lips stuck out like a small bill.

Miss Dunfy’s car backed out of unit eight, and pulled up beside her. Miss Dunfy rolled down her window.

“Hello, Mrs. Snodgrass,” Anna Dunfy said.

“Hi, there.”

“Look, Kendra’s going to be home alone again today. She cut her finger really bad yesterday.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear it,” Muriel said, the cigarette bobbing in her mouth.

“Yeah, Mr. Reznick in space nine took her to the hospital and she had to have five stitches. She bled all over the place. Anyway, she’s on painkillers, so she’s not feeling so well. If you could keep an eye out for her today, I’d sure appreciate it.”

“Be happy to, honey, you know me. I might even pop in on her today, see how she’s doin’.” A long ash fell from the cigarette.

“Thank you so much.”

“You got a job?”

“Yeah, one of the temp jobs has turned into something a little more permanent. For a while, anyway.”

“Well, good for you, honey. You have a good day.”

“Bye-bye.”

“Oh, wait,” Muriel said. “You wanna do me a big favor?”

“Sure, what?”

Muriel held out the letter. “You wanna stick this in my mailbox and put the flag up for me on your way out? I’d sure appreciate it.”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Thanks a lot, hon. See ya later.”

Anna drove away.

Muriel turned around to head back to the house when something caught her eye, something on the ground. She stopped walking and squinted down at the ground. Something dark was spattered over the broken pavement, a trail of it. It went this way and that, over there, over here. She couldn’t get a good look at it – she’d left her glasses back at the house, and whatever it was, it was blurry. But it looked like…

“‘Zat blood?” Muriel muttered.

She remembered Anna saying Kendra had cut her finger badly the day before.

She bled all over the place.

That must have been it. The poor girl had staggered and stumbled all over the place on her way to the trailer just next door. Probably the squeamish type, messed up by the sight of blood, especially her own.

Muriel’s cigarette had developed another long ash, and there wasn’t much left to it. She plucked it from her mouth and dropped it to the ground, stamped it out with her slipper. Then she went inside to get a cup of coffee and start breakfast.

* * * *

The day was scorching hot. By ten o’clock, the temperature was a hundred and five degrees. The trees above the Riverside Mobile Home Park, dry and rustling in the hot breeze, were filled with birds – their chirping and screeching clashed in a shrill cacophony that did not pause.

Shortly after ten, Reznick took Conan and left the trailer. The little dog followed him over to the Dunfy trailer next door. At the screen, Reznick knocked and looked inside and said, “Hello?”

“Hi,” Kendra said. She came to the door and opened the screen for him. “C’mon in.”

Reznick went up the steps and Conan followed him.

“I thought maybe Conan and Dexter would like to see each other this morning,” he said. “I hope it’s all right that I brought him over.”

“Oh, sure, I like Conan. Hey, Conan, you cutie.” She bent down and petted him.

“How’s the finger?”

“Not bad right now,” she said.

She wore a plain white cotton T-shirt and yet another pair of short denim cutoffs, this one with a yellow daisy sewn onto the back pocket. The T-shirt’s material was thin and Reznick could see the faintest hint of her rosy nipples beneath it.

“You want somethin’ to drink?” she said. “Mommy’s got beer, or there’s Pepsi.”

“A Pepsi sounds good.”

Kendra went to the refrigerator, got a Pepsi, and brought the can back to him. “C’mon in and sit down.”

They both sat down on the couch.

“I was watchin’ The Joker’s Wild,” she said. “You like game shows? I love game shows.”

“Yeah, game shows are fun.”

Kendra stretched out on the couch and put her bare feet in Reznick’s lap. He looked down at them – the small, perfect toes with their red-painted nails, the paint chipping in places. He let his eyes move slowly up her long legs. He followed his eyes with one hand, running it up her leg, feeling the smooth skin, the lump of her knee, the firmness of her thigh. Then he looked at her.

She was smiling at him. She liked it.

He smiled back and said, “What have you been up to today, Kendra?”

She shrugged. “Just watchin’ TV.”

He nodded. “And… what have you been up to… lately?”

Another shrug. “Just layin’ around since I cut my finger. The pills make me sleepy, but they also make me feel real good. I mean, they make me feel all floaty, like. I never felt nothing like that before.”

“Yeah, codeine’ll do that to you. No, I meant the last few days. I was wondering what you’ve been up to. If maybe you’ve been… say… posing for some pictures?”

The smile dropped off Kendra’s face and her beautiful blue eyes popped open wide, lips parted, head tilted back just a little. She stayed that way for a long moment, frozen in place.

Reznick smiled. “I’ve seen your pictures online, Kendra.”

“You… have?”

“TrailerParkGirls.com. See, my work sorta brought me into contact with the man in unit five. What’s his name again?”

“Steven. Steven Regent.”

“Yeah, he’s the one. Steven Regent. I needed to look up his websites for a case I was working on, and I saw your pictures on TrailerParkGirls.com.”

For a moment, Kendra looked as if she were about to cry.

“They’re beautiful pictures, Kendra,” he said, almost whispering. “You’re a beautiful young woman.”

One corner of her mouth curled up into a half-smile. “Re… really?”

“Looking at your pictures… it excited me.”

“It… did?”

“Oh, yes. It made me very excited.”

His hand was still on her thigh, moving back and forth slightly, and the sensation of their skin rubbing together made him hard. With his right hand, he pressed her ankle down against his erection.

The other corner of her mouth curled up, too. Her cheeks became rosy, but that didn’t last.

“Do you like me, Mr. Reznick?” she said, tilting her head to one side.

“Kendra, you’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said. “And I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you on the roof of this trailer.”

“You’ve… wanted me?” she said, her eyebrows rising curiously.

“Yes. Wanted you. I’ve wanted to touch you, kiss you. I’ve wanted to make love to you.”

Her breath caught in her chest and she held it for several seconds, then started breathing again, her eyes wide.

Reznick leaned over to his left and put a hand behind her neck. He pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers. He gently pried her lips open with the tip of his tongue. When she exhaled against his face, it was with a high,