Debbie stamped her booted foot. “Billy Don, that applies to rattlesnakes and wild animals. Didn’t you hear me? He took a dog out of Ed’s back yard.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Listen to me. He had to open the gate. He might have even gone inside her fence. Uninvited. He broke in. If you go to Ed’s yard, you’d probably find his footprints.”
Aunt Ed tucked back her chin and gave her partner a look. “Footprints? There’s nothing in that back yard but sand and rocks. A herd of buffalo could tromp through it and not leave any footprints.”
Debbie Sue threw up her hands. “Y’all are making me crazy. Fuck it. I give up. It isn’t my dog anyway.” She stamped out of the office. Aunt Ed followed and Sandi trailed behind, breathing a sigh of relief. Debbie Sue’s personality was a lot to contend with.
“Okay, now what?” Aunt Ed asked as they rode back to the Styling Station.
“We can find out easy enough if Nick’s got him,” Debbie Sue said. “I’ll just call up C.J. and ask her. She can see the manager’s house from her kitchen window.”
“If Nick took him, he wouldn’t leave him outside alone,” Edwina said. “That wouldn’t make sense. Calling C.J. would be a waste of time and you might scare her.”
“Nah,” Debbie Sue replied. “When we get back to the shop, I’m going to call her.”
Only when she looked in a mirror had Sandi seen anyone with more determination than Debbie Sue.
The minute they walked into the beauty salon, the woman picked up the phone and pressed in a number. “Hey, C.J., what are you up to today?... Uh-huh.... Uh-huh.... Sounds like fun. When are you leaving?... Oh, I see.... Listen, C.J., can’t you see into the yard of your manager’s house?... Does he have a big dog running around over there?”
Debbie Sue gave Aunt Ed a look and pumped a fist. “What does it look like?...Uh-huh.... Uh-huh. That sounds like him all right.... Oh, nothing much. Your manager was in the shop for a haircut and telling Ed he was getting a new dog. He mentioned us picking him up and dropping him off at the vet’s to be groomed.... Well, listen, you’re so busy, I’ll let you go. Drive careful going up to Odessa.... Come to see us, ya hear?” She hung up.
Sandi didn’t know who C.J. was, but the conversation sounded like Waffle had been found.
Debbie Sue looked up. “Okay, y’all, Nick’s got him. He went by C.J and Harley’s house earlier and told Harley about getting his dog back. The dog and a puppy are in his back yard.”
“That would be Randy,” Sandi said.
“What would be Randy?” Edwina asked.
“That’s the puppy’s name. Randy.”
“Debbie Sue, I’m ashamed of you,” Aunt Ed said. “It’s not right lying to C.J. like that. And she’s a friend of ours. She’s gonna find out about this and I wouldn’t blame her if she never speaks to you again.”
“Ed. Stop and think. Was it right that Nick took Waffle out of your back yard? Just remember, sometimes, when you’re handing out justice, you have to make tough choices. I’ve heard Buddy say it a hundred times and so have you. C.J. will be fine. She knows me. She’ll understand.”
“Hah,” Aunt Ed said, and planted a fist on her hip.
“So here’s the plan,” Debbie Due went on as if Aunt Ed hadn’t scolded her. “Harley sent Nick up to Odessa to do some kind of business and he’ll be gone all day. Nick left Waffle behind in the back yard. Harley’s already gone to his office in Midland for the day. C.J. is taking one of the kids up to Odessa to the dentist. We’ll just drive out to the Flying C in my truck, pick up Waffle and come back to town. Everything all wrapped up an hour.” Debbie Sue dusted her palms. “Then Sandi can put him in her SUV and take him back to Midland with her.”
“Oh, yeah? And what if one of Harley’s hands sees us slinking around?”
“And what if one of them doesn’t? They’re supposed to be out on the range. Besides, we aren’t going to slink. You heard what I told C.J. We’ll just say Nick asked us to take Waffle into town to be groomed.”
“Harley’s hands have all got guns. I’ve heard Harley say so.”
“Of course they do. They use them to shoot varmints when they’re out on the range.”
“And what if one of them decides we’re varmints? What if he shoots first and asks questions later? We could get shot. And we’d be lucky if we did because it’d be quick. If Buddy Overstreet, on the other hand, finds out we’ve done this, he’ll skin us alive and stake us out on a red ant bed.”
Euwww! Legends about the Texas Rangers abounded, but did they do that sort of thing these days? Panic began to flutter inside Sandi’s stomach. All of the stories she had heard inside her family about her crazy aunt and her partner’s zaniness were coming to light right before her eyes. “Ladies, please. I appreciate your help more than you’ll ever know, but I don’t have time to do this. I’ve got to go home. I’ve got two young girls taking care of my store. I’ve got a business to run and animals to feed.”
Aunt Ed spoke to Debbie Sue as if Sandi hadn’t said a word. “And if Harley and C.J. get pissed off, I guess you can explain everything, smartypants. They’re better friends with you and Buddy than they are with me and Vic.”
“It isn’t a problem, Ed. I told you, C.J. will understand and she’ll make Harley understand. Just like I make Buddy understand things.”
“You mean sex.”
“Well, of course.”
Sandi stood there blinking at both women, trying to sort out the connection between sex and “understanding things.” That feeling of being on a carnival ride with no brake had returned. Hoping
