Life in a Small New Hampshire Town Pt. 05

"Time to cut them off and ask them to leave. Let me find Derrick and get him in the room as backup first."

I went next door where he was talking with Olivia and explained the situation.

Derrick

"Let me give Erik a heads up. Have Amy come and tell them they are cut off when I nod to you. We'll be close by."

I followed Chris back into The Beat, spoke to Erik, and sat down at a nearby four-top where Samantha and Brian were seated. Erik announced a ten-minute break when the current song finished and joined me. I signaled Amy who approached the table and said,

"I'm sorry, Gentlemen. I can't serve you any more. You'll have to leave now."

Justin got up, stood directly in front of Amy, and realized that he had to look up to her as, at six feet tall, she towered over him by a good six inches.

"Look, Bitch, you can't throw me out. Get me that beer now!"

Erik had positioned himself behind the other two. I was beside Justin, put my hands on both shoulders and said, " You and your friends do need to leave, Mr. Russell."

Justin's two buddies started to stand up when Erik clamped down on their shoulders.

"I suggest that you two gentlemen stay sitting until Mr. Russell decides that it is in his best interest to leave."

Several men in the crowd stood up and approached the Russell table.

"Need any help, Derrick?

"Thanks, but I believe these gentlemen just decided to leave." Turning back to Justin, I said, "The New Hampshire Liquor Commission not only gives me the authority to stop serving you, but requires me to stop if you appear intoxicated. You, my friend, meet those criteria. We'd be happy to call a taxi for you as it appears that you are too impaired to drive."

"Come on, Guys. Let's get out of this dump."

"You need to pay for your beer first, Mr. Russell."

His parting comment was, "Fuck you, Asshole."

"You shouldn't have said that." Scattered applause broke out as he left. I followed him to the door and watched him depart. Sheriff Farnsworth lives here in Appleton and had given me his personal number, with explicit directions to call him anytime I felt it necessary. I did just that. "Sheriff Farnsworth, this is Derrick Powers." I informed him of what happened, that I thought Justin was too inebriated to drive, that he was headed north on Main St., and gave a description of the car and the plate number. I also mentioned that he refused to pay for his beer before he left.

Erik had made an announcement that the next round was on the house. This resulted in a much louder round of applause and cheers. Erik put some music on and the dance floor filled with couples dancing.

"I don't believe that we are allowed to offer free drinks, Erik."

"We didn't. I asked the servers to keep close track of what they delivered. We have a substantial one-time price reduction for every drink sold for a fifteen-minute period. You and I are going to pay for those drinks and the State of New Hampshire will collect their tax. Not everyone partook, so there's that."

"That seems a little flakey to me."

"I anticipated that we might have a situation such as this before we opened. I spoke with my lawyer and he laid out the framework. The key is to have absolute correct totals for what we sold and pay the correct tax. Besides, do you know how much goodwill we just created?"

"Gotta hand it to you, Erik."

Chris

Once it slowed down a bit, I had Amy join me at a booth in the restaurant.

"Are you okay, Amy?"

"Yeah. There's a jerk like him in every town. Remember Brad Moore from high school?"

"Who could forget that little twerp? Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like company tonight? We haven't had a sleepover probably since freshman year."

"That would actually be very nice."

"Let me tell Tom."

Amy and I were ready to head upstairs to her apartment after we completed our checklist and closed. Derrick approached us and handed Amy a bottle of one of our better wines.

"I'm sorry that you had to put up with Justin. Here's a token of our appreciation for you to relax with tonight."

Amy responded with, "Thanks, Derrick. I appreciate you and Erik having my back."

Sunday, February 24

Around 2:00 AM

Chris

Amy and I had been talking since we arrived at her apartment upstairs. She didn't seem overly upset about her run-in with Justin. We shared the wine, and the conversation moved on from that incident to life in general, including gossip about old friends in our hometown.

I felt the call of nature brought on by the end of shift beer and the wine we had consumed. Amy's apartment was at the back of the building. I gazed out the window as I was drying my hands, and saw a man carrying something, running away from the building towards a truck, then speeding off. I then realized that there was flickering light and by pressing my head to the window, could see that the dumpster parked next to the building was on fire. I ran back to the living room while calling 911.

"Get dressed. There's a fire."

We both threw our clothes on. I pulled the building's fire alarm to alert the other apartments while heading for the stairs. I grabbed a fire extinguisher from The Beat and ran out the back door. The fire was shooting 20 feet up, licking the wooden siding. I activated the extinguisher, aiming it at the siding. Amy came out with another one and did the same from the other side. The first pumper from the Appleton Volunteer Fire Department arrived shortly after, and quickly put the flames out.

Three more fire trucks and Sheriff Farnsworth arrived shortly thereafter. A large crowd, including other tenants from the building and neighbors who heard the commotion were gathered outside. I had called both Derrick and Erik. The Fire Chief, Michael Cunningham, accompanied by Sheriff Farnsworth and several firemen, inspected the building from the basement to the roof.

Amy told me that she was going in to make a pot of coffee for the firemen.

Chief Cunningham addressed the crowd. "Excitement's over, Folks. There is no apparent structural damage, nor is there any smoke inside. Go home and get warm."

Derrick and Olivia and Erik and Shiloh arrived as the crowd dispersed. Erik reset the internal fire alarm. Amy returned outside and addressed the firemen, "We have a pot of coffee brewing. Come in and get warmed up."

Everyone moved into the restaurant. Amy served coffee to those who wanted some, and Olivia offered pastries, pie, and cake. There were no refusals. I was explaining what had happened to Derrick, Erik, and Shiloh when Chiefs Cunningham and Farnsworth approached. Derrick had me repeat what I had just told him.

"That pretty much confirms what the first responders reported seeing. We're quite sure that an accelerant was used."

Derrick responded, "We installed motion activated security lights as well as video cameras. Let's take a look."

The film very clearly showed a man pull up behind the restaurant, get out, open the dumpster, pour something in, toss a burning match in. The dumpster immediately erupted in flames and the man ran to his truck and fled.

"That looked like Roger Russell."

"Yup. It's very nice of you to have installed a 4K video system. We can unmistakably read the license plate. Let me call it in."

***

"That was in fact, Mr. Russell's truck. I believe that I shall pay him a visit, accompanied by a few of my deputies, a little later this morning. Interesting opening weekend that you've had, Derrick."

Everyone left at that point. Amy and I returned upstairs and eventually went to bed.

Around 11:00 AM

Chris

I returned home and recounted the early morning events to Tom.

"I haven't eaten yet and I definitely need a shower."

"Go. I'll have a brunch ready when you are finished."

I felt really grubby between working a full shift and the fire. I luxuriated in the shower, but eventually toweled off and pulled just a robe on. Tom must have been listening to the shower as he was just serving Eggs Benedict with a slice of cantaloupe. We ate with few words shared, cleaned up, and retreated to the bedroom. We made slow passionate love. I fell asleep afterwards. I eventually woke up, had another quick shower, and we both walked to The Beat. I had to work, but Tom was just there for support or to lend an extra hand if needed.

Tom visited with his mom while I sat down with Derrick, Erik, and Amy.

Derrick started by bringing me up to date. "I was just thanking Amy for all she did last night and this morning, Chris. We owe you the same thanks. You two averted a disaster with your quick actions. 'Thanks' is hardly adequate, but they are wholehearted." He handed us each an envelope with that. "This is just a token of our appreciation."

"That's not necessary, Derrick."

"Au contraire. Well, I don't even want to contemplate 'what if' this building had caught on fire. The State Fire Marshall was by earlier and gave us the authorization to open today. There was minimal damage, limited to the siding, thanks to your quick actions."

Sheriff Farnsworth appeared at that time, and pulled up a chair.

"This has been an interesting 24 hours. I live north of town. I was able to jump in my cruiser when you called me about Justin Russell, and watch him pass my driveway. I pulled in behind him and observed his erratic driving, which is documented on my dash cam. I had sufficient cause to pull him over between your information and my observation. He sped up instead of stopping when I flipped my blue lights and siren on. I had the foresight to determine that two Deputies were already in the area and they set up a roadblock."

"Justin decided that he could plow through the two cruisers. He destroyed one and severely damaged the other, but they did ultimately stop his vehicle. I have it all on video. Both Deputies were fortunately standing well to the side of their vehicles."

"Justin was wearing a seat belt, much to my amazement, so he survived, albeit somewhat the worst for wear. The front passenger did not survive. The rear passenger has several broken bones, but was alive the last time that I checked. The vehicle had several empty beer cans and a mostly empty vodka bottle on the floor. We also found several bags of what we believe is fentanyl laced heroin, and some with what likely is meth. In sum, Justin faces multiple charges: Disorderly conduct, DUI, eluding a police officer, careless and negligent operation with death resulting, destruction of property, and, if the lab results come back as expected, possession and distribution of controlled substances. Oh, and theft of services for not paying for his beer."

"I called Roger Russell to advise him that Justin was in the hospital in Greensboro and to advise him of the circumstances. I stationed a Deputy outside of Justin's room. Roger wanted to take Justin home but was advised that he was under arrest. He became belligerent and was escorted out of the hospital by my Deputy and hospital security. This was about 1:00 AM. You have him on tape shortly thereafter."

"He was arrested and charged with arson, destruction of property and attempted manslaughter this morning. That last one probably won't stick. The DA is looking into what else he can be charged with. He and Justin are currently residing in adjacent cells in Greensboro."

"We have known that Justin was dealing for a while, but didn't have grounds to arrest him until now."

Sheriff Farnsworth left with that. We prepared to open and were surprised at the crowd waiting to get in. Although we had expected Sunday night to be slow, it was the busiest night yet. The buzz was that people were in a festive mood and were out to celebrate. No one had a kind thing to say about either of the Russells.

I didn't open my envelope until closing. Amy and I each had ten $100 bills. Nice to feel appreciated.

Thursday, March 7

Chris

Business had been very steady at The Beat. It fulfilled a need that people hadn't realized existed, and the crowds were undeniably responding. Erik had a knack for reading the crowd and playing to them. Unlike Olivia's, The Beat had a limited menu, with typical pub items. Food service was quick, the food was delivered hot, and was well received. I think we were much busier than Erik and Derrick had expected. Everyone was happy.

I had Mondays and Tuesdays off, typically our slowest nights. I normally ran the bar myself on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Tim or another of Erik's friends joined me on Fridays and Saturdays.

Erik had developed a routine program for each night. Monday was trivia night. Tuesday was Erik's day off, so we played recorded music. Erik DJ'd Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Saturday had a live band. Today, being a Thursday, was Karaoke night which Tom had taken over, often giving Erik a second night off. Tom set the machine up, kept the sign-up sheet and acted as MC for the night. He seemed to really enjoy the work, certainly a break from his day job as a software engineer.

We were sitting down, enjoying our staff beer after we finished closing duties. Amy finished her beer and got up, saying, "I need to go get something from my car."

"'night, Amy. Tom and I are almost finished. We'll see you tomorrow."

She left, we finished our beers and headed out. We heard loud voices from the back parking lot as we started walking home, and ran to see what was happening.

Amy

"Get your hands off of me, Justin. Didn't you learn anything last month?"

"Shut up, you black bitch. You caused me to wreck my car and killed my buddy. Now it's your turn to die."

"Are you really that stupid? You were drunk and plowed into two cruisers. It was your own damn fault. Who do you think the sheriff will consider as a prime suspect if you try to kill me? "

He lunged at me with a knife, cutting my jacket sleeve as I turned sideways. One of his buddies circled behind me and grabbed me from behind as Chris and Tom arrived. She grabbed Justin's arm, twisted it back with one hand and pounded his wrist with her other, forcing him to drop his knife. Chris hit him hard in his solar plexus, kicked him in the kneecap and kneed him in the balls. He dropped to the ground, screaming expletives at her. Tom had pulled the second guy off me. Chris elbowed him in the neck and landed her boot in his balls, causing him to collapse to the ground. The third member of the group, Roger Russell, charged at Chris.

"Oh no you don't."

Following Chris' lead, I kicked him in the knee, followed by Chris kneeing him in the balls. All three were on the ground. Derrick and Olivia arrived, shortly after followed by Erik. Olivia called 911, described the situation and suggested that they may need an ambulance. Justin tried to get up. I was so infuriated that my body was running on adrenalin. I kicked him in his other knee and then in his balls for good measure. He was out cold.

Roger was trying to get up when Derrick pushed him back down.

"I suggest that you stay there or I'll kick you where you don't want me to, and I have steel-toed boots."

Roger slumped to the ground.

"Are you all right, Amy?"

"I am now, thanks to Chris and Tom."

"Are you okay, Chris?"

"Yep."

"What exactly happened here?"

I gave Derrick a quick recap of how events unfolded.

"I can't believe how Chris took these three out."

"Why don't you take Amy and Chris inside, Olivia. I think that Tom, Erik, and I can keep these three cretins under control until the authorities arrive.

Chris and I followed Olivia inside. I could sirens in the distance.

Derrick

Sheriff Farnsworth was the first to arrive. He looked at the two Russells and the third guy on the ground.

"Evening, Derrick. Care to enlighten me as to what I'm seeing here?"

"I came after the fact. I gather that Justin there, blamed Amy for his current problems, and threatened to kill her. Chris evidently used her self-defense skills and incapacitated these three. Tom was here before us. Olivia has the two women inside."

"Tom?"

"Chris and I heard shouting. We missed the beginning, but heard Justin threaten Amy. Chris in action was amazing. You need to get the full story from them."

Two more Deputies arrived, shortly followed by an ambulance.

"Get these three to the hospital. Cuff them first. Make sure there are three Deputies assigned, one on one. I'll catch up with you later. Haul them directly to jail if the hospital is willing to discharge them for some reason."

"Got it, Chief."

"Justin and Roger were out on bail from the earlier charges. Given the circumstances, I'll make sure that it gets revoked and it isn't allowed to happen again. I'm going to get a statement from Amy and Chris."

Erik, Tom, and I followed him inside. Amy did most of the talking, describing the attack and how Chris disabled them. Sheriff Farnsworth listened carefully and asked them to come in to make an official statement in the morning. A look of amusement crossed his face.

"We've been trying to nail Justin for a while now. Come see me if you get tired of working for Derrick here, Chris. You're going to have a reputation as someone not to mess with after tonight. You could have a future in law enforcement."

Chris blushed, Sheriff Farnsworth left smiling, and Tom said, "Why don't you come and stay with us tonight, Amy?" as we prepared to leave.

Chris

"Yes, please do, Amy."

"Okay. Let me grab a change of clothes."

I said, "That was a really nice, thanks, Tom," while she was upstairs.

We said goodbye to Olivia, Derrick, and Erik and walked to our place.

"Are you really alright, Amy?"

"I think so, thanks to all of my friends, especially you, Chris."

Tom asked, "Would anyone want some herbal tea?"

We agreed and Tom made us drinks. We unwound for an hour or so and decided to get ready for bed. Amy asked if she could take a shower.

"I still feel his presence clinging to me."

I pulled her into a hug.

Tom said, "Why don't Chris and I use the bathroom first. Then you can take as long a shower as you want, well, at least as long as the hot water lasts. I'll get the couch ready for you."

Tom and I heard the shower start as we got ready for bed. Tom said, "You were something else tonight," as we were undressing. "I knew that you had some self-defense training, but wow! Remind me never to piss you off."

"I don't think that's possible. My adrenaline rush is over, and I'm really horny now, but I think that we may have a visitor for the night. I want to put off lovemaking until we have a little more privacy if you're okay. I promise to make it up to you."

"Nothing to make up. I was the one who invited her over, after all."

"And that's one of the things I love about you. I think that we should probably wear jammies tonight."

'Whoa, Baby,' I thought. 'That's the first time that I've said love to him. I wonder if he caught it?'

Tom rolled over and gave me a big hug. 'Maybe he did catch it.' There was a knock on the door.

"Come on in, Amy."

"I can't sleep. I need..."

"We know. Come on in. There's room enough for three."

"I...I..."

"Shush, Girl."

I pulled her in to an embrace. "Relax, you're with friends."

I guess that we were all in a post-adrenaline crash as Amy and Tom soon were both asleep. I wasn't far behind.

Friday, March 8

Chris

Amy got up first and went into the bathroom to dress. I could feel Tom's erection pressing against me. I reached down and gave it a little squeeze. "Tonight, I promise." We got up and made breakfast.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted you lovebirds last night."

We both blushed a little. There's that word again.