Chapter Text
~The Arm~
Miller’s Sports Bar.
It was the only place in Possum Springs to get a proper drink unless you wanted to go all the way out to the highway, which the vast majority of people did not want to do. Because of that, it was probably the single most profitable business in town.
The people of Possum Springs liked to drink.
And no exception was made for Officers Molly Williams and Sam Hutchins. They came in at least three times a week when their shifts were up and knocked back a beer or two.
Today was no different. If anything, it was needed more than usual. It had been a long day.
The two of them walked into Miller’s and headed directly for their normal booth in the back corner. The bar was pretty dead at the moment, which made sense as it was considerably later than they normally came in. The only other people inside were Frank Santello, who was already about twenty beers into his night, and the owner, Thomas Miller.
As they slid into their booth, Thomas called out to them. “The usual?” he asked.
Sam nodded. “Yeah.” He paused. “And double it. We need it tonight.”
“Alright.”
They sat there for a moment in silence as they waited for Thomas to bring them their drinks. Frank mumbled something under his breath and slumped forward onto the bar. Molly eyed him thoughtfully and hoped they wouldn’t have to throw him in the drunk tank tonight.
After a minute, Thomas came over with their drinks and then retreated back behind the bar, leaving the two officers to talk in peace.
And, boy, did they have things to talk about.
“So,” Sam said, taking a sip of his beer, “Someone lost an arm today.”
Molly chuckled dryly and leaned back in her seat. “Yeah.”
“And your niece was pokin’ at it with a stick. Tamperin’ with it.”
“Yes she was.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “That’s Mae for you.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “And what’s she doin’ back in town anyway? Wasn’t she up in Durkillesburg or somethin’?”
“She was. Don’t know why she’s back.” She scoffed. “I mean, Candy called me the night before last and told me she was coming home, but didn’t explain any further.”
“She dropped out?”
“Apparently. I asked her about it when I drove her home last night, but she wasn’t exactly forthcoming with details.”
“And on her first day back she manages to find a dismembered arm on the street and decides to just poke at it with a stick?”
“Of course. She, Greggory Lee, the younger Delaney brother, and…” Molly glanced over at Frank, who was making his way through another drink. “…And the Santello kid were all there. She’s got her little gang of friends.”
“That she does. All that’s missin’ is Casey Hartley.” Sam stifled a yawn. “And maybe it’s a good thing he’s missin’ too, ‘cause I don’t know if I could handle the three of them bein’ back together again. The terrible trio, back at it again.”
Molly groaned at the thought. “Oh God. I don’t even wanna think about what trouble she and the Lee boy are gonna get into just by themselves. It’s been nice and quiet for the past few years in that regard. He really simmered down after she left, though I guess that was mostly because, uhh…what’s-his-face reigned him in.”
“Angus, I think? His older brother’s Johnathan,” Sam supplied.
Molly nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. Angus.” She stopped there and spent a moment drinking her beer. “I had hoped that college might’ve straightened her out a little bit, but after I found her walking on the power lines again last night, I guess that might’ve been too optimistic. So long as I don’t end up having to arrest her for anything, it’ll be fine.”
“You really care for her, huh? Even after all the trouble she caused as a kid?”
Molly shrugged. “She’s family. And now she’s—” She broke off, steering the conversation back on track. “And now this arm thing’s happened and she’s involved with it. I don’t want her to get hurt.”
Sam stiffened at the tone in her voice. He turned his head, quickly looking over the rest of the bar. Frank had his face buried in his arms, his drinks forgotten, and Thomas had disappeared into the back room at some point. No one was listening in.
“You think the arm is…?” He gave her a questioning look, not wanting to even finish the question.
Molly sighed and leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. She knew they’d have to talk about this, but really wasn’t looking forward to it. “I don’t know. I mean, you’d think so, right? I don’t what else it could be.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “We’ll have to poke around some. If it’s not related, then we have even more to worry about.”
“And if it is, then this is probably the biggest thing we’ve had in years. The chief would—”
“Dave can’t know we’re looking into this, Sam. You know that.” She glared at him. “Especially not this. This is big, and we have to keep it under wraps as much as we can. It would mean the end of everything we’ve worked for.”
“I know. I know. I just— You know I don’t like this, Molly. It…it feels wrong. Couldn’t we at least cut Dan in too? He’s been here longer than either of us and he—”
“We can’t trust Dan with this either. You know how he is.” She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “Listen, if you want to, you can take a backseat for a while, okay? I can handle this on my own. I was doing it long before you came along, anyways.”
“I don’t wanna leave you with that, Molly. That ain’t right either.”
“It’s fine. Really.” She tapped on the table. “I’ll do this, and you just focus on whatever else comes up, okay?”
“I…” Sam pursed his lips and then nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
There was another lull in their conversation as they both finished off their beers.
After a moment, Sam spoke up again. “So what next then? What’re you gonna do ‘bout this arm?”
Molly didn’t respond at first, instead fiddling with her empty glass. Eventually, she looked up at Sam, meeting his eyes. “Well, as much as I don’t want to, we’ll have to follow proper procedure for now. Too many people heard about the arm for us to just sweep it under the rug. We’ll have to send it over to the precinct in Saltztown for analysis—because we certainly can’t do anything with it here—and we’ll have to wait and see what they say. Meanwhile, I’ll have to try and find just who the arm belonged to.”
“That sounds like fun.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice.
“Oh yeah, it’s exciting stuff. Some actual police work for once.”
“You want any help with the paperwork?”
“Nah, I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”
“Alright.” He yawned again. He was obviously getting tired. “Just offerin’.”
Molly nodded absentmindedly and glanced at her watch. It was almost midnight.
They had had a pretty late shift, what with having to deal with the arm and everything. It had kept them working overtime, and she was feeling pretty exhausted. She was fairly certain Sam was as well.
She knew she needed to go home and at least try and get some sleep before having to head in the next morning. Whether or not that would actually happen would remain to be seen, as she already knew she’d be kept up thinking about the arm.
At least she and Sam had managed to talk about everything they needed to talk about. That would make planning things out somewhat easier, knowing that they were on the same page.
She tilted her head, gesturing towards the front door. “Wanna head out?”
“Yeah.” He idly rubbed one of his eyes. “It’s gettin’ late.”
With that, they stood up, bringing their empty glasses up to the bar. Thomas was still in the back room, somewhere. “Hey, Tom!” Sam yelled as he pulled on his coat, “We’re leavin’!”
“See ya!” Thomas called back, and, after a moment, he came out to clean up after the two officers.
On the way out, Molly stopped beside Frank, who was staring forlornly at the bar top. She put a paw on his shoulder, but he didn’t seem to acknowledge her any. “Hey, Frank,” she said, “You doing okay?”
He didn’t respond.
Undeterred, Molly squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “You should get on home, Frank. It’s late. Go see your daughter.”
He shrugged her paw off and pointedly continued to ignore her.
She sighed heavily and left Frank to his misery. She hadn’t exactly been expecting any change in attitude from him, but at least she tried. Maybe one day, he’d find peace. She could only hope.
With that done, she joined Sam at the front door, where he had been watching their exchange. Together, they exited out into the night. “He doin’ okay?” he asked once they were outside.
Molly gave a noncommittal grunt and put her hat back on her head. “He’s the same.”
Sam nodded at that and walked up to their cruiser, which was parked out front. He fished in his pocket for the keys. “Here. Catch,” he said, and tossed the keys to Molly.
Caught by surprise, she turned just in time to see the keys flying at her, barely getting her paw up in time to catch them. Clutching the keys, she looked at him, an eyebrow raised in question.
“You drive her home tonight,” he said.
She was surprised at that. There were only two police cars in Possum Springs, and Dan had the other one, as he worked nights. She and Sam always had to share the other, and he was the one that normally took it home every night, as he lived further away. “You sure?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’ll walk.” He waved goodbye and turned to walk away. “See ya,” he called back over his shoulder. And with that, he was gone.
Molly watched him until he turned the corner at the end of the block before she got into the car.
She sat there for a few moments, without the engine on, staring off down the street towards the Click Clak where the arm had been earlier in the day. All of a sudden, she had the strangest feeling that something big was going to happen, and she didn’t like it. Her intuition was rarely wrong.
And then she started the car and drove off for home.