The Drifting Tumbleweed

Chapter III: Eddy Edwards

Tony was so focused on Larry that he wasn’t paying attention to Eddy’s incessant chatter. But that was fairly typical. Eddy liked to talk and while he seldom found an audience, in The Drifting Tumbleweed no one made him stop. They just tuned him out. One time on a slow winter night, Tony started closing up a little early. Eddy was the only customer in the bar and started telling a story about his military days which was his favorite topic. Tony went to the back and did his nightly closing routine of closing everything down. It took at least fifteen minutes. When he came back, Eddy was still engaged in his story. Tony didn’t think Eddy even noticed he wasn’t in the room for a good portion of the the story.

It’s not that Tony thought Eddy was a bad guy. He was pretty sure he wasn’t bad. Not all that bad anyway. But he wasn’t convinced he was all that good either. What he did know for sure is that Eddy Edwards was annoying. It appears it all stemmed from the fact that Eddy wanted to be liked so much that he tried too hard. Eddy was a fake and to Tony that made him a man without a soul.

Rumor in the town was Eddy’s mom married well beneath her station during a wild-haired phase. By the time she outgrew that phase she had a small boy to raise. In an attempt to bring her new surroundings up to her old standards, she named her son Benedict hoping that would inspire her son to elevate his status. But before she could make any of her culture stick to him she had the audacity to pass away while he was a young boy. Her husband, being an overwhelmed young widower, sent their son to live with his brother’s family in the small town. There was no way his brother was going to raise a boy with a name bigger than the town. So, he just became Eddy short for Edwards.

Eddy grew up without the security of a love net. Because of this, he tried a bit too hard to make friends. He just wanted to be liked. Tony suspected that was the reason Eddy joined the military. To get that bonding he never had experienced. But it didn’t seem to work but all Eddy returned home with were stories. And then Larry was there with a fresh pair of ears and had allowed an opening, albeit a small one. Eddy seized it and was sharing everything he could about the town, the bar, the people, and yes, the serial killer. He never paused for a breath but jumped from story to story and because of this, he did present with an air of authority. Even Tony found himself learning a thing or two about the townspeople he was well acquainted with. He had to remind himself a few times that he already knew the story Eddy was telling and his version was different.

Larry looked around the room at the small crowd while Eddy launched story after story. Tony couldn’t tell if Larry was listening or if he had, like everyone else in the bar, tuned Eddy out. But the way Larry scanned the room made Tony a little nervous. Was this a hunter looking for his next prey? No, Tony still didn’t think Larry was the serial killer but he certainly had a purpose. He was up to something.

The night slowly passed. The patrons started to leave the bar in small groups. While they were brave enough to venture to The Drifting Tumbleweed late at night, none of them were stupid to go it alone.

Finally, right before closing, all of the groups had left and the only ones left were Larry, Eddy, and Tony. Tony had hoped Larry would have assimilated into one of the other groups but he never did. He hovered by the bar all night listening to – or giving the appearance of listening to – Eddy. Now it was just the two of them left

When Tony turned the sign to ‘closed’ he looked at his two patrons. “You two going to be all right getting back to town?”

Eddy looked nervous but Larry seemed rather calm.

“What?” Larry said dryly, “I don’t think I’m your serial killer’s type, do you?” There were a few layers of implication and a hint of baiting in the question.

Even though Tony had ended quite a few bar fights, he had never started one. He was tired enough at that moment he sure wanted to take a swing at Larry. But he let his years of wisdom take over and he merely shrugged his shoulders. He looked at Eddy and back at Larry. Neither one gave him any optimism about reaching their destinations safely.

Larry slapped the bar. “Well old man, it seems as if that’s our cue to head out.” He looked at Eddy. “Be my travel buddy for the night?”

Eddy nodded his head nervously. Maybe after all that talking he was now beginning to realize he didn’t really know this stranger all that well? “Sure,” Eddy said.

Tony nodded.

“Nice to meet you, Tony Twomoons,” Larry grinned charmingly and held out his hand.

Tony shook it and was surprised the grip was stronger than he had anticipated. He followed them to the door and watched as they both climbed into Larry’s car. He waited until the car pulled out of the parking lot before locking himself in the bar. Normally, he reconciled the till and dropped off the deposit at the bank but that was out of even Tony Twomoons comfort level. Instead, he did a quick count and placed the money in the safe. He’d come and get it before the bar opened and take it to the bank.

He counted the money and then counted it again. It was off a significant amount. Which led him to his next round of questions:

1. How much money did Gil take out of the register? It was off $200. Where exactly did his wife want take-out from? But if it wasn’t for food, what was it for?

2. Would it really be so bad if either Larry or Eddy were the next victim?

3. And if either of them were to be the next victim, would the law enforcement finally open an official case?

4. Could Larry actually be the killer? No, he still didn’t think so. Why couldn’t he believe Larry was the killer?

4. How long did Eddy talk nonstop tonight? Was that a record?

5. Was Sheila waiting up for him so he could tell her all about the evening? Did she save him any dinner? Or was she still mad at him for coming into work?