Jim declared that it would take him about two weeks to finish the trap and so Bree had to take it upon herself to track down the monster and come up with the best way and place to capture it.
She also had to figure out a way to get Jim his freedom - maybe Norman could help.
Norman!
Bree sighed as she thought of her new boyfriend. Yes, she had said yes to him and they were now a couple. Although they'd agreed to keep their relationship on the low so Bree could avoid getting mobbed by the girls upstairs.
To them, Norman was still the single poetic prince charming they swooned over and Bree sometimes found herself laughing when they flocked around him. It reminded her of how nervous she'd felt whenever Norman stalked her, oblivious to the fact that he also had stalkers of his own.
There were about ten girls. The feistiest were a set of triplets named Fallon, Hailey and Sally. They were beautiful Israeli immigrants that had moved to Oakwood several weeks after Norman had. They seemed to always fight over which one of them he'd waved at or smiled at or even looked at. Sally who was the youngest, looked older than the other two.
What interested Bree the most was how they wore a certain color all the time. Fallon loved gold, Hailey stuck to white and Sally sported burgundy. All together, they looked like a country's flag with lipstick.
The rest of the girls were younger than most and sometimes their parents would glare at them for fawning over someone obviously older than they were. Bree didn't even bother to know their names.
Norman had suggested they go out for breakfast but the girls had intercepted them before they made it to the lobby. Norman signalled Bree to go on since their relationship couldn't be made known, at least not yet. She proceeded to wait outside. After a few minutes, Norman came out looking more flustered than he usually was.
His brown shirt was rumpled and his hair stuck out in many places. He looked like he just escaped death but as he got closer, Bree noticed lipstick marks on his cheeks.
Burgundy. It was Sally.
"She kissed me, i'm sorry." He apologized knowingly.
Bree found herself laughing. A couple of months ago, seeing Norman disoriented and covered in lipstick stain would've made Bree happy as it was a sign of intervention from the girls but now she just felt pity for him. He had literally escaped a mob of beautiful ladies just for her.
She hooked her arm around his own. "Come on."
Amy's AM was still closed and so they had to go to Betty's Cafe. Somehow, all the legit food places in town was run by women.
Nobody ever saw Betty but her daughter, Diane ran the place. They served the best coffee, even better than Amy's Bree had to admit.
Norman had initially suggested they visited a fancy restaurant uptown but Bree dismissed the idea, claiming she didn't want crabs in her purse.
They secured a table by the window, a spot Bree found liberating. She hated being in the middle of a room. As they sat, Norman clutched her hand and squeezed it gently. She managed a smile. They'd been going out for only a week but he'd done more for her than a normal boyfriend would; he'd brought her another giant vase filled with flowers and this time they were yellow. He bought her jewelry, sent care packages in lovely blue boxes decorated with pink ribbons.
Everyday she found something new in these "care packages" (a concept Norman claimed to have invented). She'd found a small diary covered in glitter and a pen stuck to it, a bar of chocolate, pearly studs, sometimes a love poem and one time he'd sent a single flower petal. Bree didn't understand why and never bothered to ask.
Norman was the sweetest boyfriend a girl could ask for. He was almost perfect and it began to make Bree feel uneasy. There was nothing wrong with him being perfect, right?
They ordered blueberry muffins and coffee- a chai latte for Bree and maté for Norman. He began to talk to her about moving back to Parrish since seeing him everyday could make their relationship boring. Bree nodded in agreement although a part of her mind had begun to float away.
She thought of going to talk to Mr Gordon. He was influential and held more sway over the town than anyone else and that was not just because he was Mayor.
"Oh yeah, how has that worked out for the past four months?" Bree could hear Pauline asking.
It was near impossible to get an audience with Richard Gordon and even for those who managed to, they claimed they did not spend longer than three minutes before his assistant took over. Bree knew she needed him to be able to get Jimothy out of the ground. One simple letter from Mr Gordon would mean a lifetime freedom for Jim.
She pitied the man. He had no family, no friends, no companions. It was just him, his crossbow and belt of bullets. Bree suddenly remembered his metal belt. He always carried a rifle and so he'd need to restock if he ran out - and he made sure he didn't.
"Bree?" A voice called from a distance. Bree turned and suddenly noise from the cafe enveloped her. Norman was peering at her like he'd seen a naked ghost.
"You've been staring into space for five minutes." He stated looking horrified.
Bree shook her head slightly and tried to speak but no words came to mind.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked and squeezed her hand again. She wasn't even aware he still held on to it.
"I'm uh, i'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping for days now. I'm only tired." She lied. Norman didn't look convinced but he nodded and squeezed her hand again.
She thought about telling him about her problem with Jim and the pigs and everything else but a faint tug in the back of her mind warned her not to.
"Listen, there's something i have to tell you." Bree said.
Norman's cup hung halfway from his lips and he stared at her for a few seconds before slowly dropping the cup. "Yeah okay."
Bree realized he looked nervous. He was probably thinking she was going to break up so she quickly spoke. "It's about where i work. Bruno and uh, the pet store. I need your help too."
Almost immediately, Norman relaxed.
"Oh, so what is it?" He asked. Bree had smuggled her hand away from his and placed it on her lap. It had become uncomfortably warm and she didn't want to start sweating.
She sat up and explained her plight and not once did Norman's gaze quiver. He gazed at her with deep interest and she knew he was paying full attention. She loved that about him - he was a good listener but with bad memory. He'd probably forget about all she had told him within the next few days.
"Whoa! So the thing on that paper, the thing you called Ed, it's here? In this town? And it's been stealing pigs and it tried to kill you?"
To each question, Bree nodded. Norman looked like an inflated balloon. Bree began to regret telling him, maybe she shouldn't have let out so much information at least.
"Is that it?" He asked.
Bree tried to convince him that it was but he coaxed her into telling him everything including her visit to Jimothy. At the mention of Jimothy's name, Norman turned pale.
"What?" His voice went higher than she expected but thankfully, the cafe was already noisy and people barely noticed.
"You met up with the lunatic at the interstate? He's dangerous and crazy and doesn't shower or change clothes. He could kidnap you or worse attach you to one of his stupid furniture."
Norman looked worried but also scared. Bree had no idea how he'd known Jimothy but she didn't bother to ask.
"You have to calm down. Jim is a friend." She said calmly but Norman wasn't having any of it.
"You will stay away from that deranged man and have nothing to do with him. I don't want you getting hurt." Norman ordered but with a hint of fear in his tone. He'd probably had an ugly experience with Jimothy but even at that, he was the only person that could help, plus Bree wasn't one to listen to orders. She'd had a falling out with Ed because of it.
"Norman, he's the only one that can help me. He's the only one that doesn't think i'm making this up." Bree defended.
"I believe you, don't i?"
"You can't build traps, can you? I need Jim. He can help."
Norman looked angry but he tried so hard to hide it. It wasn't working. "What about my help? What did you want my help for?"
After seeing his reaction to Jimothy, Bree wasn't convinced he'd help. "I wanted you to help me get to Mr Gordon. I need him to send a petition to the state so Jim can be cleared of all charges. . ."
Norman slammed his hand against the table and that caught attention. Bree jerked in surprise.
"I will not do anything to aid that mad man, do you understand me?"
Bree felt hurt. This was the first time Norman was refusing her and she didn't realize it would hurt. Around the cafe, a few people stared at them in concern as if they wanted to intervene but then resisted with caution when they realized the two must be a couple.
"Fine then. I guess i'm done with breakfast." Bree said between clenched teeth and stood up then exited Betty's with a lot of eyes on her.
She hailed a cab without a destination in mind. The cab went around town, into parts that Bree didn't have time visiting. She realized just how big Maine was and how busy it was in many parts. She finally stopped at a small restaurant. Bree had never seen it before since she hadn't been to this part of town. It was painted bright red with sturdy white pillars on each side of the entrance. Its name blared above in neon lights but Bree did not bother to look at it.
Bree ventured in and picked a table. As soon as she sat, a young man walked up to her wearing an impeccable waiter outfit. Bree couldn't help being impressed. He had a French accent when he spoke and Bree was all for French.
"Yeah, i'll have a Waldorf salad and anything with juniper." She said. The young man disappeared into a corner while Bree waited for her order. She began to admire the restaurant. It wasn't big, just the right size of a room Bree would love to be in. The walls blared white and red making Bree think of Diet Coke. The floor was tiled and glossy, the chairs looked like really thin massage chairs with a soft seat and a hard backrest. The tables were covered in fine peach colored tablecloth with several flower patterns on them. A huge luminescent lightbulb in the middle of the room served as the only source of light and shone into every nook and cranny.
At the end of the room, a small canteen stood with several soft drinks on display. Next to it was a counter where a redhaired lady stood. A red door led to where Bree thought was probably the kitchen.
People spoke in French and laughed heartily all around Bree. She racked her brain on how she'd never heard about this restaurant. She realized she hadn't even looked at the name when she stepped in.
Just then, the waiter came back with her order. Bree thanked him and downed the cocktail first before digging into the salad. As she ate, she caught sight of a familiar person walking into the restaurant.
She turned and their eyes met, his face expressionless.
"Sawyer." She said in surprise.
"Hello, miss Deckard. pleased to meet you again." He said and pointed to the seat opposite her. "May i?"
"Yeah sure." She said and wiped her mouth with a napkin. It smelled like rosemary.
"Neat place, isn't it? Opened up a week ago." He said.
"really? It's no wonder it looks so new and well. . .new." She said.
Sawyer laughed. "It's better than most of those far-fetched dumps in town. Although it is far-fetched too. Charles Kingston owns it, plans to open up a chain of restaurants worldwide kinda like McDonald's."
"How do you know that?" Bree asked with raised eyebrows.
"Oh, cause big ole Charlie told me a year ago."
"You know the owner?"
"We used to be chappies back in high school. He came all the way from France to go to high school in Glasgow."
"You went to high school in Scotland?" Bree asked.
"You sure are full of questions, miss Deckard but yes i did. twas good times, those times."
Bree ordered a cocktail for him and another for herself. Sawyer Leonard was one of her many neighbors that she didn't know too well. She'd seen him many times but they never really had a real conversation. There were about 30 residents in Oakwood. Bree knew she couldn't know them all personally but the least she could do was know their names.
The last time she'd seen him was when she had replaced him at the pen. He had mentioned he was going for treatment. Bree thought that would be a great way to start the next conversation.
"So how's your health now? You told me you had pig flu." She said.
He took a sip of his drink. "I'm all better now, thank you for your concern miss."
"If you're all better, why didn't you come get your job back?"
"Job?" Sawyer asked then burst into a quiet laughter that sounded like a repeated cough to Bree. "I'd rather go hungry than work for Herb. He's a bloody bastard and i'm happy i left that shithole. I don't mean to scare you off but Herb plays dirty games. He's got filthy riches, dishonest ways of making his cash. He parades around like a peasant but he's got dirty businesses everywhere; cows and pigs, horses and bulls, heck baby dragons and other stuff he sells for money."
Bree blinked. She definitely hadn't heard right.
"I'm sorry, a baby what?" She asked. Sawyer sipped his drink and stared her, probably realizing he had said too much.
"Just forget it, missy. Point is, Herb's bad news and i ain't going back there. You can keep the job."
Bree nodded.
"By the way, i heard someone's been snatching em pigs from the pen. Catch the thief yet?"
Bree placed a hand under her chin. "No. i'm working on it or at least, i think i am."
"Some nerve they have stealing from a snake like Herb. Bah, he deserves it."
Sawyer's eyes looked bloodshot and Bree was convinced he had been drinking. He looked healthy but his skin was almost orange like he'd had too many carrots. His clothes looked neat but his hair could use a wash. It looked dusty and disheveled.
"Hey uh, Sawyer, can i ask a favor?" Bree said. An idea tugged at the back of her mind and she was convinced it would work.
"Depends on what kind of favor you're talking about." He said leaning against the backrest with so much force, Bree was sure she'd heard it creak under his weight.
"Allen, he's a bloodhound and that means he can sniff just about anything right?"
"That's right."
"I would like to borrow him." She said. Her words sounded ridiculous to her but Allen was her best chance. He was the last piece of the puzzle, if only Sawyer would agree.
"You want. . . to borrow my dog?" Sawyer asked with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"Yes, i want to borrow Allen. But i won't hold on to him for long, i just need him for a few hours during the day and that's it. I'll return him right after."
Sawyer studied her, a smile tugging at his lips. "You need him to smell out that thief don't you?"
"Yes i do, please Sawyer."
"No." He said bluntly.
"Why not?" Bree asked. Her hoped had been shattered twice, first by Norman, now by Sawyer. Her day couldn't get any worse.
"Because the pigs belong to Herb and i want nothing to do with the bastard." He said sipping his cocktail. Bree was a little surprised that he hadn't downed the entire glass but maybe he considered that would be unwise and embarrassing given the number of good mannered French folks in the room.
"This isn't about Herb anymore. Everyone believes that i'm the thief, i have to prove that i'm not. Otherwise i'll lose my job and if i do, i'll never get another one. You of all people should know what Herb would do. He'd tarnish my name so i don't get accepted anywhere else. Please, just please let me borrow Allen. If i can catch this thief and prove that it wasn't me, Herb won't do anything even if i quit."
Sawyer could see how helpless Bree was but she was also determined. He'd always thought her to be a snub and a dumb teenager but she'd taken on his job without complaint, working until it was almost midnight and taking up the responsibility of chasing a thief that was making her look bad. She was relentless and he respected her for it.
He'd seen her come home during midnight one night, riding on Jonas. She had looked fazed and terrified but he hadn't bothered to interfere. At first he was scared she might've been shot when she slumped on the sidewalk but almost immediately, she stood up and trudged into the lobby where he lost sight of her.
He wanted to ask what had happened that night but decided to let it go.
"Alright, you can have Allen for as long as you want but i'm only doing it cause i believe you're a badass with a big heart and i respect a badass with a big heart."
Bree smiled, revealing her white teeth. Her eyes seemed to glow with appreciation.
"Thank you so much, Sawyer." She said.
"You're welcome. Now i gotta order me something, i'm starving." He said and called on the waiter.
Bree was tempted to leave him so he could eat alone but she did not want to go back to Norman. She tried to imagine what had gotten him so ticked off about Jimothy.
They obviously had history but an ugly one.
Norman had a habit of telling her what to do, expecting her to do it without question. He was a control freak but had done his very best to conceal it. She couldn't date a control freak. What was she thinking?
She couldn't break up with him either since they just started dating. She wondered if there was a rule book that stated the rules of dating like don't try to break up after a week even though he or she is a control freak.
Bree smiled like a goof at her rhyme then caught herself when Sawyer stared at her questioningly.
"uh, cute baby." She said and pointed behind him where a young mother held on to her child who made cute cooing noises.
Sawyer nodded and continued eating.
Bree returned to her thoughts. If she couldn't get Norman to help her with the petition then maybe she could find another way. Norman has revealed once that because of his mother's social status, he was quite important. All he needed to do was state his surname and people would do his bidding. She imagined how easily he'd enjoy seeing people bend to his will since he pretty much loved being in control.
She racked her brain. If she couldn't get to the Mayor, then she could get the Mayor to come to her.
Her brain began to work overtime again and suddenly a wild idea clicked in her head as a single name danced around her mind.
Tatum.