Crash Test Dummy

Chapter 17

We had a layover in Houston. We got some snacks and found our gate with several hours to kill. I went to find a bathroom while Momz and Seth watched my bag. I was coming back down the concourse when I saw Momz and Seth huddled together looking at her phone. As I walked up behind them, I heard Momz say, "What's he doing?"

"Who?" I asked, looking over her shoulder.

She immediately shut the phone down. "Nobody." She looked and sounded guilty.

"Was that Uncle Clarence? It looked like he was in F2." Suspicions growing, I pointed to the phone. "Were you on Skype with him?"

Momz looked uncomfortable. "Ah, CW." Her voice dropped as she said my name. Her mouth turned down and her eyes begged for understanding.

"What she's trying to say is that it was Uncle Clarence in F2, but he wasn't on Skype."

"You put a camera in there, didn't you?" My voice was ominously low as I struggled to control the volume. "You said my space was clean, but you lied."

"No, hon," Momz said. "He didn't lie. Your space was clean. The company called the Friday before we left. They wanted us to test drive a new, very small camera they are trying out. If we help them, they're giving us an extra month free and the little camera to use as long as we're under contract. We just put it in F2 for while we're in Mexico. We weren't planning on leaving it there. I just didn't trust Jake and Marlow."

"Oh, I know how you feel about my homies." My eyes and my voice sneered. "But you didn't find them snooping, did you?"

"No, no we didn't."

"So, what was Uncle Clarence doing? I want to see."

"Uh, CW." Momz was stalling.

"Just show me."

She reluctantly pulled up the cameras on her phone. She was the only one with remote access while we were trying out the system. Once we signed a contract for the next year, we'd all get access on our devices.

"Back it up to where he comes in the shed." 

She did as requested. I heard Uncle Clarence say, "What have you gotten me into, Paul?"

Momz hit the mute button. "No! I want to hear."

She started over. Uncle Clarence started talking to himself again. "What have you gotten me into, Paul? First you give me the key to Blue Ox and swear me to secrecy. Now you tell me you have a secret stash that needs to be cleaned out before CW can find it."

While he was talking, he was taking stuff out of the cabinet. I held my breath when he took the blanket out, but the I-pad stayed hidden. I watched as he dropped the false back and peered in. The contents weren't clear, but it didn't matter.

"You weren't kidding." He began taking stuff out and putting it in a box mostly hidden behind the chair. "Booze, weed, bongs... You left him a treasure trove, you Son of a Bitch. You need to be down on your knees thanking that God of yours that he didn't get into this one of those times when he was about ready to throw Patty to the dogs."

He closed up the cabinet.

"I've seen enough." My voice cracked as emotion overwhelmed me.

"Did you know all of that was there?" Momz asked.

"Yeah, I found it, but I was a good boy." Sarcasm oozed from every word. "I left it there. I didn't even drink the Whiskey."

"Thank goodness Jake and Marlow didn't know," Momz said. "I'm sure they would have relieved you of your stash. They'd probably be selling it on the corner."