Read Laid Out and Candle Lit for Free Online

random. This was personal.
     
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    It was late afternoon when Ridge pulled into the police station and parked. He removed his hat, laid it on the seat, and rushed indoors to escape the heat.
    Inside, Bubba leaned against the counter, and Chief Ramsey manned the front desk.
    “Hey, Cooper, you wanna ride with me tonight for a while?” Bubba asked. “I promise you won’t be bored.”
    “That’s for sure,” Chief Ramsey guffawed. “Bubba’s a real voyeur on Monday nights.”
    Bubba jutted out his chest. “I looked that word up you know. I am not a voyeur . I ain’t watching anybody nekked.”
    Chief Ramsey crossed his arms. “They may not be nekked, but you’re getting off on watchin ’em.”
    “I am not! I’m protecting citizens working late, that’s all,” Bubba said, sticking to high ground.
    “I’m almost afraid to ask what you’re talking about,” Ridge said, taking a seat.
    Chief Ramsey lazily rocked back and forth in his desk chair. “You see, Cooper, sometimes, down at Sweet Thangs, the sweet thangs stay late baking sweet thangs, and Bubba here likes to park in the shadows and watch ’em. Especially one of ‘em.”
    Bubba straightened his shoulders. “Now wait a minute, Chief. You make me sound perverted, and I’m not. I’m watching out for those ladies. They’re usually alone and if anything ever happened, y’all’d be glad I was there.” He turned to Ridge. “Anyway, you wanna go? When I finish my shift, we can grab a beer.”
    “Why not? I don’t have anything else to do,” he said. “What time will you pick me up?”
    “About eight.” Bubba smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. “Say, do you have binoculars and a camera?”
    Ridge snapped his head around. “You’re kidding, right?”
    Bubba laughed heartily, crossed the room and opened the door. “Yeah. I’m kidding. See you at eight,” he said, closing the door behind him.
     
    * * * * *
     
    As inconspicuously as possible, with their lights off, Bubba and Ridge came down the alley facing Sweet Thangs and parked in the shadows. Bubba rolled down all the windows, and a slight breeze stirred the air. They unbuckled their seat belts and sat in silence for a minute, listening to the sounds of nature. Cicadas sang in the trees, a neighboring owl joined in, and then came the faint whistle of a freight train off in the distance. A gibbous moon hung in the night sky, and the aroma of cake floated to them.
    Ridge leaned his head back and thought how peaceful it sounded compared to the noise of the city. Bubba and he had an unobstructed view of the place. Inside were Pattiecake, Sugarpie, Tizzy and Rayann. Gracie sat at a small table, coloring. Ridge felt as if he were on a stakeout, waiting for the bad guy to show up and be taken into custody.
    He eased into his questions. “The McAlisters seem nice. I guess they’ve lived here all their lives?”
    “Oh yeah. A McAlister man has been the sheriff of the county for fifty years. Tizzy’s grandpa, then her daddy, and now Dan,” Bubba said.
    Ridge rested his arm in the open window. “Is Tizzy her real name?”
    “Well, I have to swear you to secrecy about where you heard this. Her real name is Marjorie Louise.” He gave a chuckle. “She’s the only granddaughter on both sides of the family, and named after each of her grandmothers. Grandma Marjorie’s side of the family called her Marjorie and Grandma Louise’s called her Louise.
    “Her mama and daddy could tell it was gonna to be a real problem. Even as a baby, she threw ‘tizzies’ when she got mad. So they started calling her Tizzy, and the nickname stuck. She loved her nickname until we got to junior high and the boys called her Titty instead of Tizzy.”
    He laughed, recalling the memory. “Dan had to whup a couple of asses. He was a senior in high school when we were in seventh grade, and you didn’t mess with his little sister and get away with it. You still don’t. I swear, if you tell her I told you,