{"id":600745,"date":"2026-06-23T05:13:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T05:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/?p=600745"},"modified":"2026-06-23T05:13:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T05:13:21","slug":"six-shots-for-a-sharpshooter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/six-shots-for-a-sharpshooter\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Shots for a Sharpshooter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mee-Maw\u2019s bones spoke to her. She blamed that on the mountain dust caked over them. They told her rain was coming, that they were fixing for a long winter, and that Brandy\u2019s story was a load of bunkum.
\n+++++<\/span>The cops had their own reasons for suspecting her. Mee-Maw heard them from Detective Angel Angelov, a soft, blonde woman who\u2019d lived in the mountains about as long as Mee-Maw\u2019d been weaning. Everyone knew Brandy had been seeing the victim, and their only love language had been fisticuffs. She couldn\u2019t account for her location at the time of death, and she knew her way around the gun that killed him.
\n+++++<\/span>There was only one problem. Brandy had witnesses swearing she was physically incapable of committing the crime when it happened, including a few in the police department.
\n+++++<\/span>They had no choice but to let her go, even as she sat smirking through every interview. She happened to be leaving the Sylva police station when Mee-Maw approached, shuffling her walker down Main Street. Even as fall stepped aside for winter, Brandy wore a skirt above her knees and a cropped tank top. Her arm, covered in a sleeve of inked roses, held a pink vape.
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw sighed at the sight, but not out of prudishness or jealousy. She found it pitiable how young folks developed new ways to make the same mistakes their parents already had.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWhat you doing out so late, Mee-Maw?\u201d she grinned. \u201cShouldn\u2019t it be past your bedtime?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve always been a night owl,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cIf I still had a man to drive me around, I\u2019d be livin it up later than you.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ve got that Harry Perrier kid you\u2019ve been solving all these mysteries with,\u201d Brandy said. \u201cDid he bring you here?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Harry was the friend of Mee-Maw\u2019s grandson Roger, who\u2019d become the closest thing Mee-Maw had to family after they solved Roger\u2019s apparent murder together.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cHe dropped me off and then went out with his girlfriend\u2014or whatever you young\u2019un\u2019s call your relationships these days,\u201d Mee-Maw chuckled. \u201cI\u2019ve got an appointment with the detective, and unlike you, I\u2019ll be on the right side of the table.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Brandy narrowed her eyes. Her tongue went exploring the inside of her mouth, and then she smacked her lips and sauntered off.
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw had never liked this woman, ever since she started seeing Roger. Even back then, she\u2019d felt something was off about the girl, but a baseless hunch wasn\u2019t worth a penny at market. Once she uncovered dirt that Brandy had been cheating on Roger, she sent her packing quick.
\n+++++<\/span>Brandy\u2019s skin was still soft as a baby, while Mee-Maw\u2019s was wrinkled and leathery. Still, Mee-Maw reckoned Brandy\u2019s heart was shriveled up like a prune. It seemed like a few more years had not brought her any wisdom.
\n+++++<\/span>What the police didn\u2019t know, coming from out of town as many of them did, was that Brandy\u2019s kin had been nothing but trouble for three generations. Back when Mee-Maw grew up, that was enough to stack justice on, but you had to be more creative anymore.
\n+++++<\/span>She watched Brandy strut off. The old woman shuffled into the police station, shaking her head. Seemed like that woman was long overdue for some old-fashioned justice.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll start at the beginning,\u201d Angel sat in the driver\u2019s seat of her cruiser, taking a desperate swig from her coffee cup, and stared out the window at the overgrown, white-painted house. \u201cThe call came in at 9 p.m. from a man named Wayne. He claims they were just friends, but he obviously came up to make a purchase.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cAwful neighborly of him to stick around,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cI suppose you thanked him with a night in a cell?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Angel brushed aside her long hair and glared at the old woman. Her Barbie-like complexion made it hard for Mee-Maw to trust her.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cHe didn\u2019t get the chance to break any laws. His dealer was too dead,\u201d Angel said. \u201cThat\u2019s the victim, Jerry Cavanaugh. He served a stint in Raleigh for dealing meth and decided to move his operation here after getting out. Since then, he\u2019s started dating a local named Brandy Miller.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cAnd you think she killed him?\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cWhy?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI can\u2019t say for certain, but it seems like their relationship was dysfunctional,\u201d Angel said. \u201cWe\u2019re not exactly desperate for a motive. A simple argument might have been enough to make her snap.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cBut that ain\u2019t what happened,\u201d Mee-Maw grinned. \u201cThis was premeditated.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Angel turned away, resting her arm on the open window. She slowly breathed in the fumes from her cup.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWhen Wayne arrived, he saw Brandy\u2019s car leaving the driveway,\u201d Angel said. \u201cShe claims she found the body first and wanted to grab his leftover supply before calling it in, but you see why I don\u2019t believe that.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cSo why get outside help for this?\u201d Mee-Maw asked. \u201cSeems like you have her dead-to-rights.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThere\u2019s a sizeable gap in Brandy\u2019s alibi that happens to be right around the estimated time of death,\u201d Angel said. \u201cThe problem\u2019s where she was before and after the murder.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Angel opened the car, stepped over to Mee-Maw\u2019s side, and guided her to the crime scene. The door was closed and covered in yellow tape, but they instead approached the front window. It was smashed and covered in wooden boards, with just enough room to peer inside at a red, cushioned armchair.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWe found Jerry on that chair with the TV still playing,\u201d Angel said. \u201cThe killer shot between those boards and hit him square in the forehead.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s a difficult shot,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cTakes a steady hand.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cIt gets worse. We didn\u2019t find traces of powder burn on the boards. That means the killer stood a few feet back and aimed their shot through the thin gap.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cLike they were bragging\u2026\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cBrandy\u2019s a card-carrying NRA member. She could do it,\u201d Angel turned, her thick eyebrows knotted. \u201cBut not the way she was that night.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ve got witnesses placing Brandy at Innovation Brewing at 8. The bartender and the man next to her watched her down enough shots of Jameson to kill a horse. Then, at 9:30, shortly after the murder, we got another call from some farmers saying a car had plowed through their fence. Of course, it was Brandy, and the officers who took her BAC found her well over the legal limit.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cSo Brandy could have made that shot sober,\u201d Mee-Maw leaned over the walker and folded her hands. \u201cBut not while drunk out of her wits.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cExactly,\u201d Angel sighed. \u201cWe even tested it. Some of our off-duty officers were out drinking, and we had them come back and try it on the shooting range. None of them even got close!\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cTax dollars workin overtime.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThe point is, she couldn\u2019t have shot Jerry through that gap after getting so shot up herself.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s quite the puzzle,\u201d she peered through the gap in the window. \u201cI can see why you wanted me and Harry\u2019s help on this.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cOf course, we could be on the wrong track here,\u201d Angel leaned against the wall and stared up at the stars. \u201cMaybe her worst crime was really going on a bender and crashing her car.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI doubt that. Intuition is nothing without inspection, but it\u2019s almost never wrong,\u201d Mee-Maw straightened up and nodded her head. \u201cNow how about you show me inside?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Angel unlocked the front door and pushed hard till it slid out of the warped frame with a sickening grind. Mee-Maw had expected the inside to look far worse than it turned out to be. Jerry\u2019s home was surprisingly clean, with no stains in sight, beer bottles lined up neatly in a small recycling bin, and a waist-high bookcase organized alphabetically by author. However, the floor was covered in a carpet of broken glass.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWas the door locked when you found the scene?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Angel shook her head. \u201cAnyone could have got in, but they\u2019d make a lot of noise doing it. The real problem is the glass.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw glanced at the floor, where the shards were piled in a curved line like marks left by a windshield wiper.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI suppose this happened when the cops came in?\u201d she asked.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cExactly, and not a single shard elsewhere in the room has been disturbed.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>The glass was from a wall-mounted clock that had probably come direct from the flea market. The front had been blown apart by a bullet, stopping it right at 8:55.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cSurely y\u2019uns didn\u2019t fall for that?\u201d Mee-Maw raised an eyebrow. \u201cIt\u2019d be easy to push forward the hands.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cBut not to fake the glass on the ground. We know after that bullet was fired, no one came into the room.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw pushed her walker forward, cutting a path through the glass. She stood in front of the clock and looked at the window, aiming a finger at the gap.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cReal funny angle on that bullet.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cA difficult shot, but I think Brandy could have managed it without alcohol in her system.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThen that\u2019s a problem,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cThe shot that killed Jimmy ain\u2019t nothing to write home about. Brandy could have walked inside and shot him from a few feet away, then put him in that couch facing the window.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s still a difficult shot to make while drunk,\u201d Angel said.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cBut easier than dealing with the gap,\u201d Mee-Maw tapped her forehead with a bony finger. \u201cProblem is the clock, which had to be shot from outside. And no way around it\u2014she had to be sober for that.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ve about reached the point where my finest officers hit a wall,\u201d Angel said.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWell, you\u2019re missin the lifetime of wisdom I\u2019ve got,\u201d Mee-Maw grinned. \u201cI already have an idea.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>She shuffled through the house, glancing in each room as she made a beeline for the kitchen. The house reminded her of where she\u2019d grown up\u2014tinged with blood, sweat, and a little desperation. She crossed the recently mopped tile floor and opened the fridge. Everything was sorted by food group and smelled fresh.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cJimmy was awful put-together for a meth head.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI doubt he was a user,\u201d Angel sat on a ladderback chair by the dining table, sipping her coffee. \u201cMost of the successful dealers aren\u2019t.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw yanked open a drawer and unwrapped a cheese stick.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cYou know that\u2019s evidence, right?\u201d Angel said.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cAre you gonna write me up?\u201d the old woman raised an eyebrow behind her large glasses and stuck the cheese in her mouth like a cigarette. She rotated it in her mouth as she sucked on the end and shuffled off to the laundry room.
\n+++++<\/span>Jimmy had his own washer and dryer, as well as a large ice chest in the corner like the kind her late husband had always kept stocked. Mee-Maw gently lifted the lid and saw it was just about used up. Only a few slabs of cleaned venison covered the bottom.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThere you have it,\u201d Mee-Maw turned and eyed Angel through the open doorway. \u201cThat\u2019s large enough to fit Jimmy. She could have chilled the body to disguise the time of death!\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cSo you\u2019re saying,\u201d Angel said. \u201cJimmy was already dead before Brandy got drunk?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cShe made those shots sober, including the one on the clock,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cThen she only had to come back here and move Jimmy\u2019s body to the chair. That might be hard while indisposed, but it don\u2019t require accuracy.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThat makes sense,\u201d Angel nodded, then glanced back to the crime scene. \u201cBut wait, isn\u2019t that\u2014\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cStill impossible?\u201d Mee-Maw pulled out the cheesestick, which she\u2019d filed almost to a point. \u201cYeah, I just realized that too. Brandy couldn\u2019t get back in to move the body after shooting the clock, which means she still shot the clock while drunk. That makes moving the body pointless.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cAnd it\u2019s not like she could drive Jimmy to another ice chest before going to the bar,\u201d Angel said. \u201cThen she\u2019d have to get him inside over the glass. That window doesn\u2019t open, and she can\u2019t drop him through the ceiling.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI reckon we can trust that broken clock,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cBrandy took every step to make sure we knew when Jimmy was shot, because she\u2019d already set up her alibi.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWell, once we get the autopsy results we\u2019ll know if the body was chilled,\u201d Angel rapped her knuckle on the table, as if trying to jump-start her brain. \u201cBut if not, did Brandy really commit this murder while drunk off her ass?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cShe committed it after drinking multiple shots,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cThat ain\u2019t the same thing.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>She walked back through the kitchen and stared at the field of glass. She slammed her walker down roughly, grinding several shards into the carpet.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cIf she wants us to bang our heads against this wall she\u2019s set up,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cShe\u2019ll have to be ready for me to break through.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Last call at Innovation Station was in thirty minutes, but Mee-Maw showed up anyway. Stools were piled on tables, suggesting that the last few stragglers should clear out, a practice brought in from out of town that would have been unfamiliar to Mee-Maw in her youth, when most stills only closed once everyone passed out or the cops came knockin\u2014whichever came first.
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw only wanted to ask a few questions. When she reached the bar, she found the bartender waiting out the end of his shift and Brandy nursing a half-finished stout.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re already back?\u201d Mee-Maw cackled. \u201cHaven\u2019t you drunk enough lately?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Brandy turned to Mee-Maw, her bright red lips forming a smile that barely disguised a grimace.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWhat\u2019d you expect?\u201d she said. \u201cI lost my boyfriend, and I\u2019ll probably lose my license too. I can\u2019t knit myself a scarf to feel better.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s your own damn fault,\u201d the bartender grumbled. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have let you leave if I knew you were about to get in your car.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI can take care of myself, Miles,\u201d Brandy said. \u201cBut it\u2019s gonna be tough getting around now. Maybe I can carpool with you, Mee-Maw. I\u2019m sure Harry would be glad to give me a ride.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>She flashed an ugly grin and downed the rest of her drink in one go. Mee-Maw sat beside her with a groan.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI take it you served those shots earlier?\u201d she nodded at the bartender.
\n+++++<\/span>Miles turned and flipped a hand towel over his shoulder. He wore a jean jacket tied round his waist and a T-shirt for some band Mee-Maw\u2019d never heard of.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cYeah, and I\u2019ve already explained that to the police countless times. I\u2019m not going through it again for some nosy woman.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI\u2019m actually working with the police,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cSo you can explain it to me here or in an interrogation room.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Brandy leaned against her fist, her blonde hair enveloping the empty glass. \u201cThere ain\u2019t much to say. He was just doin his job.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Miles nodded. \u201cShe came in and ordered a shot of Jameson. I served her, then she ordered five more. She hung around for half an hour and left.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s a shocking amount of alcohol,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cDid she explain why she wanted so much?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cIt ain\u2019t even that bad,\u201d Brandy rolled her eyes. \u201cI\u2019m young and hardy. Not my fault you couldn\u2019t sniff a Seagrams without keeling over.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI\u2019d be more worried about cost. Surely it would be cheaper to get a bottle from the ABC store?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThen I\u2019d drink the whole thing and have a killer hangover. That\u2019s less fun,\u201d Brandy grinned. \u201cAnyway, what the hell are you getting at?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI think you came here cause you wanted witnesses,\u201d Mee-Maw folded her hands on the bar. \u201cPeople who\u2019d testify you got drunk when you were still plain sober.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cLike I\u2019ve already said, that\u2019s impossible,\u201d Miles sighed. \u201cI served her six shots of Jameson, and I\u2019ve been using the bottle all day. She couldn\u2019t have switched it out.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThen she changed the contents of the glass after it was poured.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cHow?\u201d Brandy laughed. \u201cThere were folks on either side of me. They would have seen me juggling a buncha little bottles.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cAnd besides, what would she switch them with?\u201d Miles asked. \u201cIf it was vodka, I\u2019d say you have a point. I\u2019m sure loads of sorority girls sneak that stuff around in their water bottles every day. But Jameson\u2019s a whisky. Its light brown color doesn\u2019t look like much else.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw narrowed her eyes, thinking the bartender had little imagination. Brandy\u2019s problem was managing the switch, not finding a substitute.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cPerhaps the drink was simply watered down?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI hope you\u2019re not accusing me of colluding with her,\u201d Miles snapped. \u201cBecause all those shots were whiskey. In fact, the guy on Brandy\u2019s left got concerned after the fourth shot, so he sniffed the drink. He would have noticed if it was anything less than a full pour. Why don\u2019t you go interrogate him?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThe cops must be desperate if they need escapees from the old folks home to do their job,\u201d Brandy curled her hair around her finger. \u201cJimmy had plenty of enemies. I\u2019m not sure why you\u2019re still hung up on this theory.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cYou were seen leaving the house.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cLordy, I was seen leaving my boyfriend\u2019s house! Maybe that was a scandal when you were born, but times have changed,\u201d She crossed her legs beneath her red plaid skirt. \u201cSure, I shoulda called the cops before I bolted. That\u2019s on me, but I wasn\u2019t thinking straight, remember? I was drunk.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>She leaned forward and looked Mee-Maw in the eye, lips slightly parted in anticipation. Mee-Maw\u2019s brain was circling, trying to think of a rebuttal, but anything she thought of would sound tinged with desperation.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cIs that all? Then you\u2019d best run along. If you hurry, maybe you\u2019ll still catch the Jeopardy reruns.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw wanted to tell her those ended two hours ago but doubted it would help her case. She slowly stood, grabbed her walker, and marched out, taking long enough to leave that she could hear Brandy giggling the whole way.
\n+++++<\/span>She paused at the door and raised a finger in the air, then turned back to Brandy. \u201cI don\u2019t suppose you\u2019d mind telling me how much you weigh?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Brandy\u2019s smile evaporated. \u201cNot even Jimmy was good enough to hear that. Get outta my face.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw smiled and stepped onto the deck, spotting Angel waiting by her car. The detective caught her eye and frowned, seeing that she hadn\u2019t made any headway. She silently opened the car door and climbed in.
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw sat beside her. \u201cAny chance Miles and Brandy are working together?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWe checked into his background, and I doubt it,\u201d Angel said. \u201cHe\u2019s been working there about two months now, and he came out to the college from down in Georgia. They would have only met in the bar.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cShe lives nearby,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cTwo months is plenty of time for young folk to get frisky.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWell, the two of them would still have to fool the other patrons, including the man who smelled the whiskey,\u201d Angel said. \u201cThat man\u2019s a campus minister, so I doubt he would have covered for her.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw fell silent for the rest of the trip back to her care facility, trying to figure out how such a thing could be done. There were any number of things that could have been substituted for Brandy\u2019s whiskey\u2014water with some food coloring, even just a lighter beer\u2014but how could she introduce it to the glass, in a crowded bar, without anyone noticing?
\n+++++<\/span>She was still considering the problem in her sleep, and after she woke up and got a call from Angel saying she planned to drop by. Mee-Maw had a nurse help her run some calculations on a computer and printed the results, showing them to Angel when she arrived.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cNow Brandy could use a little meat on her bones,\u201d Mee-Maw said, patting Angel on the shoulder. \u201cSo I\u2019m guessing her weight\u2019s a little below average. Maybe 140 pounds. Am I close?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cSure,\u201d Angel nodded. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>She showed her the page in her hands, a printout from a BAC calculator site.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cSo after 6 shots of liquor, she\u2019d be at about .19% an hour later. Obviously, that would impair her motor control. But if all those shots were beer, she\u2019d only be at .008%. That\u2019s a pathetic amount\u2014not even a standard drink.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThat minister would have smelled the difference,\u201d Angel said. \u201cHow could she trick him?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cMaybe only that one was actually whiskey.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThen how\u2019d she or Miles make the swap without anyone noticing?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Mee-Maw glowered across the lobby, where other residents were watching Steel Magnolias for the fourth time that week. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m still stuck on.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWell, maybe this will help.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Angel walked to the nearest table, pushed aside an unfinished Scrabble game, and set down her bag. She pulled out another piece of paper, this time showing a square photograph.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ve been looking for other people who were in the bar around 7:30. Apparently, one table was celebrating a birthday. They took this picture, which happens to show our key players in the background.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw grabbed the paper, took off her glasses, and peered past the birthday girl to the corner of the picture. Miles held out a shot of whiskey, stepping toward Brandy, who looked like a cartoon caterpillar in her red, puffy jacket. A grey-haired man sat next to her, obviously the preacher. An attach\u00e9 case sat on the floor beside him.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s strange,\u201d Mee-Maw muttered.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t blame you for missin this, Angel, seein as you\u2019re new around here,\u201d she continued. \u201cBut it blows the whole thing open for me. I was on the wrong track this whole time.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cYou mean,\u201d Angel\u2019s face lost some color. \u201cBrandy\u2019s innocent?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cNot at all,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cBut we need to run some errands before I can explain. Would you mind goin for a drive?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>First, Mee-Maw grilled Angel on what the cops found in Brandy\u2019s car. She didn\u2019t mention anything relevant, so she asked for a ride to the Goodwill in Sylva. Mee-Maw went in and asked what clothes they\u2019d been donated recently. She found what she was looking for and handed it to Angel, who promised to take it to the lab.
\n+++++<\/span>When they got the results, she knew it was time to visit Brandy one last time.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Brandy was sober when she stepped out of the car, but she seemed about to vomit when she met Mee-Maw\u2019s eyes.
\n+++++<\/span>She stood at the front of a group of officers beside Angel, all gathered in the parking lot of the strip mall that housed the Goodwill. Angel held up a bag containing a red cylinder of fabric and smiled.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cLooking for this?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Brandy crossed her rose-covered arms over her chest and bit her lip, eventually dragging a smile from somewhere inside her.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI ain\u2019t lookin for anything,\u201d she said. \u201cI just wanted to shop for clothes. Nothing strange about that.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWho\u2019s that in the car with you?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Miles slowly stepped out, hands raised in the air. \u201cDon\u2019t get the wrong idea, detective. She needed a ride, and I was coming off my shift\u2014and she promised to buy me Cookout, and\u2014\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cSimmer down, boy,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cYou ain\u2019t under suspicion. I know you served Brandy six shots of whiskey, just like you said.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Miles sighed with relief but didn\u2019t lower his hands. Brandy stepped forward, standing confidently with her fists clenched but still trembling.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cAre you listenin to yourself? If I drank all that, there\u2019s no shot I\u2019m the culprit!\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cIf your alibi and the time of death are both true, there\u2019s only one option,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cYou drank the alcohol but kept it from impairing you!\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Angel took the evidence out of the bag and handed it to Mee-Maw. She held it to her chest, keeping it tightly wrapped.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI first caught on when I saw a photo of you at the bar,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cYou were wearin a heavy, puffy jacket that obliterated your curves, and that didn\u2019t ring true for me. My momma woulda had a word for women like you, one that don\u2019t bear repeatin. I\u2019ll call you \u2018free-spirited.\u2019\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cIs there a point to this?\u201d Brandy snapped.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWhen I saw you a few hours later, you were dressed like you usually do, in a tank top and skirt,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cEven though we were outside on a cold autumn night. That had me wonderin: what happened to the jacket? Or better question, why were you wearin it earlier?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>She let go of the top of the fabric, causing it to unfold like a matador\u2019s cape. It was a corset patterned with glimmering roses, with a narrow waist and long black cords weaved through the back.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t even know how a woman gets something like this,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cBut my daughter was given one for a wedding and let me try it on. I\u2019d rank it as one of the worst experiences of my life. If she\u2019d fastened the thing any tighter\u2026I think it\u2019d have shut down my blood flow.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cIt takes a certain kind of woman to wear one,\u201d Brandy smiled.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cJust like it takes a certain woman to kill their boyfriend,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cPoint is, the bride told my daughter bout a hundred times to be careful at the reception, because no matter how much wine she drank she wouldn\u2019t feel a drop till she unlaced that corset\u2014and then it would bowl her over like a train. With that big, puffy jacket, you could easily hide a corset.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cAnd what if I didn\u2019t tighten it enough and got tipsy too soon?\u201d Brandy asked.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cIt\u2019d be easy enough to not kill him,\u201d Mee-Maw shrugged. \u201cBesides, you could shoot him as soon after you left the bar as you wanted. You just had to push the clock forward enough that Jimmy\u2019s next buyer would think he was shot a moment ago.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>She turned and gestured to the building behind them.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThat leads us to Goodwill. You needed to get rid of the corset, but you also needed to get your BAC tested later to perfect your alibi. That\u2019s why you prepared a bag of clothes in the trunk of your car, which you could shove the corset in and leave at Goodwill. You dropped off out back, so no one actually saw you.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cBut that was just a temporary measure. You wanted to get the corset back to hide it permanently. That wasn\u2019t easy with all the interviews and losing your license, but I knew you\u2019d show up eventually. You woulda told them you\u2019d let the corset slip in the bag accidentally, but that won\u2019t be good enough for us.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Angel stepped forward, accompanied by two officers. One was pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cWe found your DNA all over the inside of the corset, and the Goodwill takes notes of when every donation arrives,\u201d Angel said. \u201cI think you\u2019ll have trouble explaining to a jury why you fled a crime scene to donate some old clothes. Still, I\u2019d love to see you try.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>The officers grabbed Brandy\u2019s hands and cuffed them together. She leaned forward, her hair falling in rough streaks over her face. Miles watched with a blank expression, perhaps wondering if this was a good time to ask someone else to cover his Cookout order.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cOh, and Brandy?\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>She glared at Mee-Maw, as if wishing she could turn the woman to dust.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI was young like you once,\u201d Mee-Maw said. \u201cI lived frantically and made stupid decisions. Those are memories I\u2019ll cherish forever, but\u2014\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cDon\u2019t lecture me,\u201d Brandy snapped. \u201cYou know, Jerry was about to leave me! For some woman at the college\u2014probably barely legal.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s real funny comin from you, after what you did to my Roger.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cGood lord, Granny, let it go!\u201d Brandy leaned her head back and rolled her eyes. \u201cYeah, I cheated on him, but only with boys his age. It\u2019s men like Jerry getting away with being complete creeps that gets me. I\u2019m not saying I killed him, but it pissed me off. You reach a certain age and people think your life is already over.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cMaybe you wouldn\u2019t feel that way if you didn\u2019t say the same thing to me.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t want to hear it. Old folks always think they know better, but they don\u2019t. They didn\u2019t have to deal with this housing market or live on a burning planet. You don\u2019t know anything about my life, so don\u2019t tell me how I should have lived it!\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cYou didn\u2019t let me finish,\u201d Mee-Maw sighed. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to give you platitudes. I don\u2019t like you enough for that.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw slowly inched forward, leaning in close to Brandy\u2019s face.
\n+++++<\/span>\u201cI was saying, I got to live my twenties in style, while you\u2019ll be spending them in a cold gray cell.\u201d
\n+++++<\/span>Mee-Maw stepped back as Brandy yanked against her cuffs, practically trying to tear off the old woman\u2019s face with her teeth. The officers held her back and took her to the squad car. Mee-Maw watched with a dull grin and headed back to Angel\u2019s ride, pushing her walker across the asphalt. The clouds broiled in the sky, and something dark lurked on the horizon.
\n+++++<\/span>She had a feeling it would rain, and her bones never lied.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[Image Credit : Photo by Jay Rembert<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mee-Maw\u2019s bones spoke to her. She blamed that on the mountain dust caked over them. They told her rain was coming, that they were fixing for a long winter, and that Brandy\u2019s story was a load of bunkum. +++++The cops had their own reasons for suspecting her. Mee-Maw heard them from Detective Angel Angelov, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":698,"featured_media":600877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1470,1452,2005],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-600745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-s","category-short-story","category-stephen-m-pierce"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1Zyqm-2whr","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Six-Rounds-for-a-sharpshooter.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/698"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.close2thebone.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}