"who saw you two, carlee?"

"dunno, someone in her building i suppose."

"what did you do then?"

"i walked, for hours, until my face quit hurting and my ear stopped burning. eddie was a creep, and that was the only reason why i didn't date him. hazel was vulnerable, oh, how very vulnerable. i wound up at her house at three in the morning. her lights were out, naturally so, but i stood there, not knowing what to say or do, i cried."

carie held my tightly. "oh carlee, i'm so sorry."

"i have to finish carie, i've started and i can't stop, it gets worse. not being able to account for my where-abouts that night, i was picked up the next morning by the police who accused me of robbing the white tray with my friend brent. they came to my house carie, i was asleep in my chair."

"how awful baby." she softly said.

"they took me to jail, told me that brent was there too. i knew that this was eddie's doings, but, there was nothing that i could say. i waited there, for something, i didn't know what. a guard came and told me that i had a visitor, it was hazel. i felt so low, so slimy, it was hard to look at her.

""carlee, this is all my fault, and i'm so sorry." she was almost crying.

""it's not your fault hazel, really it's not, we didn't do anything wrong."

""i've asked my father for bail money, and he told me that he would have it by this afternoon."

""oh hazel, you shouldn't have done that." god, i didn't know how much my bail was, but hazel's dad was a poor farmer, i didn't want him to do this, yet, i couldn't bear being in jail. maybe i should call the colonel, i didn't know what to do....

""miss mccord." a rather handsome man in a grey suit said.

""yes sir." i answered.

""i'm jerry cummins, the public defender. i understand that you were not told that you had the right to a phone call."

""phone call?"

""miss mccord, i don't usually make it a point to see clients in jail, but there seems to be several disturbing factors here. did you ask for me when they arrested you?" he asked.

""no, we have our own attorney actually, i was only read the charges and brought here."

""did they tell you you had the right to post bond.?"

""no sir."

""miss mccord, i could probably get you off on false arrest, so many inaccuracies here. your bond is a quarter of a million dollars, which is highly unusual for a suspected crime of a little over $1,000.00. do you have any clues?"

""mr. cummins, i feel this arrest was due to a friend of mine, lt. gambrel, we had words last night."

""eddie gambrel, the officer killed in the high speed chase last night?" oh my god, i thought i was going to faint. "are you alright miss mccord?" he asked.

""i'm not sure. eddie, killed, are you sure?"

""yes, a little after midnight, i'm not sure of the details."

""is this you client jerry?" asked a short man in uniform.

""yes it is frank, and the office wants her out of here as soon as possible."

""no problem jer, her bond's been posted. you're free to go ma'me, and your trial is set from april 9th, see you both in court." frank unlocked the cell, and i left with mr. cummins. i picked up what few belongings i had at the desk. mr. cummins told me not to worry, but i was as worried as i ever had been in my life."

carie asked "carlee, this may be very important, how long was it until hazel was killed?"

i thought--"a week maybe, she quit her job at the white tray, we sort of came down from this nightmare. slept together at my place a couple of times, held hands a lot, and became outcasts. the arrest happened on saturday morning, and the following saturday i was awakened at two am to identify the body behind snell hall." i couldn't hold back my tears.

"carlee, who was the boy at the white tray that night who took up for you?"

i was trying to think....."leo, big leo! i always hated him, but he was the one who stood up for me."

"please tell me more about him."

"not much to tell, he was weird, hung with some gothic chicks, they always wore black. i had some classes with him during my freshman year. he hadn't had a haircut in at least two years, they all stayed stoned most of the time, big leo and his girls."

"did the girls attend classes at western?"

"i don't think so carie, i think they were local drop outs looking for a thrill."

"was leo thrilling carlee?" she asked.

"hardly carie, he was huge and ugly, he had gobs of acne on his face, and zero personality."

"what did the girls see in him?"

"search me, maybe he had a long tongue." we smiled.

we made a nightcap and carried the drinks out to the veranda. i put my clothes back on and climbed out with carie. "long day carlee?"

"i couldn't have put it better babe." it seemed like a hundred years since i got fired, since i talked with dad; i thought about calling him, but then i thought better. i was relaxing with my friend, maybe the most relaxing thing i'd done all day.

"carlee, i have one question?"

"ok, shoot." i had to smile.

"could the guy who knows you here, leroy, be big leo?" this startled me.

"what ever made you say that carie?"

"just a thought, he seems protective of you." impossible, but, carie was thinking. big leo-leroy, hmmmmm that would solve hazel's murder and grey's also, i never thought about this, but leo must have weighed 300 pounds, leroy was so weird though that i really didn't pay much attention to him; carie was thinking though, and very astutely, this was all very interesting. "how was hazel killed?" she asked. "you only told me that she was raped and sodomized."

"she was shot carie." god, did i have some research to do.

"i have to go sweetie, work comes early, will you be alright?"

"i'll be fine carie, i'm tired too, think i'll take a bath and turn in." i didn't want to tell carie about my job, i would at a better time.

"leo." i thought while i was soaking in a hot bubble bath. i had never even thought of that. god, he would have had to have lost 200 pounds; he didn't speak two words a week back then, not that leroy was vocal mind you, he did stand up for me that night, when i was so scared and alone, but i never thought of either him nor leroy being over protective, where did carie get this?

it was after midnight, i was sitting in the mayflower chair, smoking my last cigarette, trying to relax. suddenly there came a knock at my door. i almost jumped out of my skin. "who is it?"

"lisa manasco." i recognized her voice, and went to the door.

"what has happened in this house tonight dear, i heard about it down town?"

"oh, ms. manasco, it's been perfectly horrible, someone shot and killed mr. grey."

"hmm, good riddance if you ask me. vile man, vile and dangerous, i worried about you ever since you moved in, and your friend carie, downstairs."

"please, come in ms. manasco." and she did.

i told lisa (she asked me to call her that) all about everything that happened. she sat quietly on the bed.

"i would suspect that a man of grey's calibre had many enemies, anyone could have killed him, even i." she smiled, but i wished she hadn't said that. "i suppose the police will want to talk to all of us, even charlie."

"probably even russell ms. manasco."

"lisa, carlee, i insist." she nodded and walked toward the door. "this apartment is layed out funny." she frowned.

"i know lisa, it still baffles me sometimes."

the bed felt good, i didn't need or want any more excitment tonight. the night was fretful, i had all kinds of nightmares. i woke up at 9:00 am and felt like i'd never been asleep. a pot of coffee and the birds is what i needed now. so let it be written, so let it be done. it wasn't carie's, but not bad. i put on white shorts and a black top, did my hair in a pony tail and took my coffee and myself out on the veranda. the day was warm, maybe 75 degrees, and traffic was rather heavy for the time of day and the first of the week. i tried not to let my mind be shadowed with dismal thoughts this early. the birds sang so sweetly; apartment rows generally didn't attract them, but central park had many feeders, and some migrated to local trees. i thought of sidney, i would meet him at the zoo saturday, unless they locked me up for killing grey. someone whistled at me, but i couldn't see who it was, maybe i didn't want to know who it was. i needed to get a paper, look for another job. i estimated that i probably had close to $500.00 in the bank, and $10.00 in my purse, miss money bags i wasn't.

i drove downtown, picked up a paper and stopped at andy's store. he was glad to see me.

"hi guy." he smiled.

"hi, are you ok?"

"never felt better."

"you look great."

"sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care. you should try it." i smiled.

"go to the track with me tonight carlee."

"ok, what time?" i asked.

"pick you up at 6:00."

"will i need a lot of money?"

" a hundred dollars maybe."

"see you at six andy."

now i had to stop at the bank. i decided to draw out $200.00 at least, gosh, that almost cut in to half the account. i bought a sack of white castles and a humongous rc and headed home. pigging out is usually something i don't do, today was an exception. gosh, i was stuffed, a nap was in order, i could get use to this.

after my nap, i sat in the mayflower chair and read the want ads. aids at nursing homes, paralegal, another tech at a different tobacco factory (i hoped bob saw that one), an e.r. physician and several clerk position for stores downtown, three jobs at day care centers and a host of stuff that i wasn't qualified for. some others that were interesting, to say the least, models who don't mind getting undressed, and one for a girl in a porno film. hmmm, i'd keep that one in mind :)

andy came at six on the dot. he had on shorts of an unknown color, and of all things, a sweatshirt with a picture of donald duck. "so, we're not in the v.i.p. area tonight?" i asked.

"donald is v.i.p. in select circles." he said.

"he's flat footed and doesn't give a quack" i quoted mr. leisure.

"neither do i, are you ready?" i smiled and grabbed his hand.

the "red mile" race track wasn't new, just new to me. dad had taken me to the regular tracks before, where the jockeys sat right on the horse, but the trots were very new to me. andy's car was about as impressive as mine, you couldn't even tell what kind it was, most everything was worn off. "you like?" he asked.

"be sure to take the keys out when we park." i retorted.

"i guess it would be a prime target." we smiled.

"peaches, here's you can." i recalled dad saying that before, or maybe it was grandpa.

the red mile was also known as louisville downs (as opposed the churchill downs). they were less than three miles apart though. the parking lot was practically full, many cars far better than ours, but i liked ours, our 'can'. andy paid our way in and inside it was very exciting, he wasn't over dressed at all, i was. "where do we sit andy?" i asked.

"wherever we want to carlee, but not there." he pointed to three rows of chairs to the front of the track. it was pretty though, lots of red and white, a barber shop quartet was singing old standards on the lawn in front of the dug out, they were so neat, guys in their fifties probably, dressed in black slacks with white shirts and red striped vests, gosh they were nice. what an excellent place indeed, a couple of very pretty bay horses (their the ones with tails darker than their bodies) came out pulling their carts (sulkies) with lone riders, dressed in very flamboyant attire. what could be lovelier? the quartet sang "surry with the fringe on top". i was enthralled. andy returned with two racing forms.

"do you know how to read one carlee?" he asked.

"of course i do." i smugly said. actually it was greek, i knew a little about horses, but nothing about handicappers etc. i studied it though, and andy looked surprised.

"are you going to do the perfecta in the first, or the regular carlee?" --alright miss know-it-all, come clean, i thought.

"what's the perfecta andy?" he saw right through me, but he didn't embarrass me. andy explained that the perfecta applied only to the first race, you had to pick the horses that came in first, second and third, and in that order, the payback was tremendous though. like the daily double at the tracks where the jockey sat right down on the horse. hmmm, i consulted the racing form. suddenly the horses appeared from the paddock, walking around the track, they were beautiful, carrying their sulkies, at least i though the little two wheeled carts were call sulkies, the barbershop boys did too. each horse and cart hand a number, in this case 1 thru 14. oh, number four was extremely lovely, him for first; number nine was a chestnut, his gait was entrancing, and number eleven was a cross-breed, a sort of apalossa, i liked him, he would do for third. i wrote the numbers down on andy's racing form.

"hot tip for you buddy, this is the perfecta." i whispered in andy's ear, so no one else would hear.

"you have to be nuts, these are the longest shots in the race. if these nags come in, we would have to carry the winnings home in a wheel barrow." he looked disappointed.

"carlee, number eleven has odds 70-1, are you sure you read the racing form?"

"yep, and that's my bet, place it friend." andy reluctantly walked to the paramutual window, shaking his head. i wished that he hadn't of called my picks "nags," they were very pretty horses.

andy returned and handed me my ticket. it was pretty, i liked it, very colorful. the quartet was singing a very nice song that i couldn't recognize. a girl with beautiful red hair was standing close to them, i knew her, lissell stacy, from last night. she wore tight fitting black jeans with black combat boots, a skimpy red top that exposed her midriff. she looked all but skinny, yet, very attractive. i had actually come to the races to get away from the awful events of the previous evening, but she was enticing in her street clothes, i wanted to see her front side.

"i'll be right back andy."

"where are you going carlee? he asked.

"i see someone i know, i'll just be a moment." lissell was talking with a much older lady who looked more like a man than a female.

"miss stacy." i said. she turned, such a beautiful face, high cheek bones, piercing blue eyes and a knockout smile.

"oh, hi there. this is miss mccord, margo, the girl i was telling you about this morning. what are you doing here tonight carlee?"

"i decided to quit my job and take up gambling for a living." i answered.

"risky business girl."

"ah, but i'm good."

"i'm sure you are..." margo was staring at me, undressing me with her eyes; she was really quite weird, a bull dyke if i ever saw one--sister george type.

"she's captivating lissell." margo said, unsmiling.

"listen carlee, i would really like to speak with you more about the grey case, there's a few more pieces of that puzzle i need."

"i thought you were forensic lissell."

"no, i'm a rookie and a student, i just do what i'm told, but it would be a feather in my cap if i could be of help on this case, you don't have to, but i'd appreciate it."

"call me tomorrow then, ok?"

"sure, and thanks carlee." that beautiful smile again. i winked at her and then heard them announce that the horses were coming on the track.

"say, i have to go, nice seeing you again and nice meeting you margo." she nodded.

"oh, look andy, don't my horses just stand out like sore thumbs." i proudly remarked.

"an apt choce of words carlee."

hmmm--"ye of little faith." they were pretty though, in spite of andy's sarcasm."what is the official name for their carts andy?"

"carts will do, surries won't, sulkies are the proper names, this is a very old form of racing carlee, not the oldest, but old."

"how much do i win it my horses come in like i bet them?"

"i proposed that to the ticket masters when i bought it."

"and?"

"they couldn't stop laughing long enough to tell me." he smiled.

"sour grapes, that's all." and i smiled. it's always nice to add cheerful notes to others lives, i try to make a habit of that.

"THEY"RE OFF!" the p.a. said, and they were. what a lovely sight, my grey horse was running second, that was encouraging, number four was in the middle of the pack, and i couldn't see my other. when they reached the half mile marker, everyone was yelling so loud that i couldn't hear their progress over the p.a., but old grey was hanging in there. he played out near the end though, and wound up dead last.

"ohhhh :(, i didn't win."

"that's alright carlee, neither did i." andy said, and we laughed.

andy won $40.00 on the second race, and i won $20.00 in the fifth. andy put his arm around me and whispered in my ear-"i'm horny carlee"

"how could you think of sex at a time like this?" i asked.

"it's easy, pretty one." he smiled.

"i'm going to get a beer andy, be right back."

"be careful." he said. gosh, who needed to be careful at a fun place like this, i could kick my own butt for not coming here before. i bought my beer and then i saw a figure looming in the craigs of mist, just outside of the club house, in a black over coat. leroy, god, he was stalking me. he looked like lucifer's offspring standing there by a fountain, raging with fog, blond-unkept hair and tons of makeup, nails painted brightly. my initial inclination was to run for andy, but i knew i needed to talk with leroy, if nothing else but to see if shades of leo came through. i walked toward him, i didn't flinch or blink until i was standing right next to him.

"fancy meeting you here leroy, sorry you didn't stop in after you murdered mr. grey last night." leroy smiled, but said nothing. "what are you doing here leroy?" i asked.

"it's a free country, didn't anyone tell you that carlee."

"answer me!!" i shouted; leroy was startled, but not by anything i said, i looked behind me, it was lissell.

"what are you doing here scumbag?" she asked.

"as i was telling my dear friend, before we were so rudely interupped, this is a free country officer stacy, and you have no right to call me names." his eyes teared.

"no right!!" lissell said. "and i suppose you're the only one around here that has any god damn rights?"

"what i do is no-one's business, no-one's!!" his teary eyes glistened.

"are you alright carlee?"

"yeah, i'm ok." i answered.

"call you tomorrow." she said, and walked away.

"motherfucking bitch." he exclaimed, "what do you two have cooking?" he asked me.

"she was part of the team investigating mr. grey's death leroy."

"i didn't kill the son-of-a-bitch carlee, i would have, if he had hurt you, or had spoken badly to you. but i was on theother side of town last night"