Brenda stepped in front of Lomax and drove a fist into his gut. “Shut up!”
Mrs. Mears cried out as if she had been hit. Lomax looked at her and smiled despite the pain. “I guess it’s a good thing I had a light breakfast after all,” he gasped.
“Gun,” Brenda said to Liz, holding out one hand.
Liz hesitated, just for a moment, and then gave the automatic to Brenda.
Brenda turned her own chair around and straddled it, facing Lomax.
She told Patty to check the other door.
“Now, tough guy. Who else is in the house?”
“What a sad creature you are,” Lomax said. He heard Mrs. Mears gasp. He wasn’t trying to be a tough guy. He’d taken two hits and both had hurt like hell. He didn’t want to be hit again, but he wanted the kids to have time to hide in the crazy warren of rooms and corridors down in the basement.
Brenda only laughed. “This is gonna to be fun.”
Patty had gone through the door opposite the door they had come in, and now she was back. “There’s cartoons on the TV. And games and stuff in that room.”
“And there are a lot of dishes and cutlery drying in the dish rack.” Liz said.
“What,” Brenda said, “Are you two making like ma and pa Walton?” Lomax simply stared at her.
Marisa reached around Mrs. Mears from behind and squeezed both of the older woman’s breasts this time. “These are nice, considering how old this bitch is. Ain’t no way a buncha babies been sucking on these. I bet Mr.
Lomax been titty-fucking them though.”
Brenda glanced at Marisa, clearly annoyed. “Why don’t you let go of her?” Marisa did as told. Brenda laughed again. “I can’t picture Ward here banging away at June, I really can’t, but I guess anything is possible.” Marisa looked at Lomax with loathing. “No way I’d let that cock inside me. Hey, mami, do you let him fuck those titties or do you just lie back and take it for—“
“The children are adopted,” Mrs. Mears said. She was flustered and embarrassed and angry.
“Sarah,” Lomax said softly, “Don’t say any more.”
Brenda pointed the gun at the ceiling. “Liz, Marisa, check upstairs.
Find those kids. Patty, take a look outside, and if there’s a basement check that.”
When they were gone Brenda sat silently for a while, then she chuckled. “Lomax. Strutting through the courtroom, swinging those big fucking balls around and twisting every jury to think just like you. You and your teams of little secretaries or paralegals or whatever they were. Were you banging them, Lomax? You always had pretty ones with you taking notes and carrying your cases of files. I bet you did. I bet you made them blow you.”
He had done just that, but Lomax considered that his old life, something he was trying to make up for.
Brenda got up and got a glass of water. When she sat down again, she brought edge of the gun butt down on Lomax’s left knee. He wasn’t expecting it, and he let out a yell.
She laughed her raw, throaty laugh. “Hurts, huh?”
Lomax said nothing. He wanted to tell her she was just a raw-boned ugly dyke with no brains, thinning hair and eyes that looked like the lids had been peeled off, cold, ignorant reptile eyes. But he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want her going off on Mrs. Mears.
Mrs. Mears asked, “Why are you doing this?”
“Sarah,” Lomax said. “Be quiet.”
Mrs. Mears cocked a defiant eyebrow at him.
Brenda looked at Lomax a moment and then punched him in the gut again, putting her considerable weight and muscle behind the blow. “She’s got a right to speak. Every woman has a right to speak. Guys like you don’t want a woman to speak. Guys like you just want to fill a woman’s mouth with cock.”
Lomax couldn’t say anything. One more hit like that and he was going to puke.
Brenda got up and stepped close to Mrs. Mears. “Why am I doing this? Because that fucker Lomax has to be taught a lesson. And because I can.” She touched Mrs. Mears braid, looking at the colors within those red and gold strands. “Figures that even out here in the middle of fuck all Lomax would find himself a babe.” Brenda cupped Mrs. Mears’ cheek, and then bent quickly, kissing her on the lips.
“You dis gust ing woman,” Mrs. Mears said, as she turned her face away.
Brenda’s face colored, becoming a dull red, like sun-bleached brick.
She jammed a hand up under Mrs. Mears skirt. “If I wanna—“
“What the fuck is this?”
Brenda turned and saw Marisa standing by the door to the hall. She shrugged. “Just playing around, mi niña.”
Marisa came into the kitchen, followed by Liz. “We didn’t see any kids upstairs,” Liz said.
Patty appeared a moment later. “Brenda, I checked outside like you asked, but the basement . . . It’s crazy down there, all dark, and there’s all kinds of weird twists and turns.”
“For fuck sake,” Brenda said. She got up, crossed the hall to the basement door, and fired a single shot down into the darkness. She shouted, her voice rolling like thunder. “If you kids aren’t up here and in the kitchen in five minutes I am going to shoot your daddy dead!” Lomax opened his mouth to tell the children to stay hidden. Marisa was ready for him. She had a rag from the kitchen sink in one hand, and she stuffed it in his mouth.
Before the five minutes were up Claire, Lyle, Annie, Shae and Gary came into the kitchen. Gary and Claire were crying. Lyle was quiet and clearly angry. Annie was white with fear. Shae hugged Gary to her.
“Geez,” Brenda said, gesturing with the gun toward Shae and Annie.
“Those two are getting ripe. You poking them, Lomax?”
“Shut your filthy mouth,” Shae said. Marisa slapped the girl so hard she fell to one knee. Gary started crying.
“Fucking Christ, I need a drink,” Brenda said. She got up and started opening cupboard doors. At the back of a high shelf she found a bottle of bourbon. She took a deep swallow as if it were water and then sat by Lomax again. “You kids, sit on the floor. Now! ” They did as they were told.
Brenda looked them over. “Christ, Lomax, you got girls, boys, a couple of whites, a half-breed with a big mouth,” that was directed at Shae,
“and a nigger and a chink.” Brenda didn’t see Marisa and Liz frowning at this. “It’s a hell of a collection. Is this everyone?” Gary looked toward the kitchen window.
“Who’s missing?”
No one said a thing.
Brenda leaned close to Lomax. She unzipped his fly and reached into his pants. “I’ll tear your daddy’s pee-pee off and eat it if you don’t tell me who isn’t here,” Brenda said.
Lomax’s face burned red with shame and he bellowed, “You psychotic bitch!”
“Eddy,” Gary said. “He’th my big brother. He’th ten and when he theeth you he’th going to be really mad!” Then he started crying again. Shae hugged him and tried to calm him down.
“Well,” Brenda said, zipping up Lomax’s fly and taking another drink. “Eddy.” She looked at Mrs. Mears and grinned. “He got hard when I had my hand on him.”
“Bullshit,” Mrs. Mears said with utter contempt. “I know what it is to arouse a man. One look at you tells me you do not.” The older kids, who understood what Mrs. Mears was saying, gaped in astonishment.
“You’re gonna get yours,” Brenda said to Mrs. Mears. Then she smiled at the children, and her smile was mean. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. Each one of my friends here is gonna tell your daddy how mean he was to them, and you’re all going to listen. I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind too. When we’re done, we’ll decide if he should live, or die.” She looked at Mrs. Mears. “And I’m personally gonna fuck up that pretty face and that big mouth.”