The Tooth Fairy — Part IV
My name is Henry James and I’m a writer for Dark Sides of the Truth Magazine.
Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Conclusion
I rolled past the Tomball city limit sign around one thirty in the afternoon. I found the nearest fast food place and as I wolfed a burger and fries and slurped on a strawberry milkshake I used my phone to search for local mechanic shops.
Google is my next best friend.
I found Wayne’s Auto Repair on Holderrith street. Ten minutes later I was walking into the office area of a four bay metal building. There was a gentlemen behind the counter and I scanned the ubiquitous embroidered name above the right pocket of his work shirt.
“Wayne Bethard?”
The man flashed me a grin.
“Yes sir. What can I do for you?”
“My name is Henry James. I’m a writer for Dark Sides of the Truth Magazine and I just had a conversation with Robert Reed. He said you needed to tell me about the tooth fairy.”
The words barely tumbled over my lips when Wayne’s face twisted into a furtive, somewhat terrified looking expression. It was as if I’d just told him I was an enforcer for the Illuminati. He averted his gaze toward a stack of papers at the corner of the counter.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about mister.”
“Sure you do. Robert specifically told me to talk to you first. Said he didn’t have anything to say to me until you told me about the tooth fairy.”
An elderly gentleman with silver gray hair and a single braid pony tail dangling from the back of his head to his waistline pushed through a side door.
“Wayne, we got any more of them solenoids?”
“Jackson how many times do I have to tell you? I need the make, model and year.”
“Damn son what done crawled up your ass?”
“Can’t you see I’m with a customer here?”
Wayne looked at me.
“Tell you what sir, why don’t you let me pop the hood and give her a look? Probably just a belt slipping. I can fix that for no charge.”
“Sure, that’d be great.”
While Jackson retreated to the garage bays, Wayne slipped through the same side door and met me as I exited the front. In silence, we walked side by side to my car. I watched him release the latch and raise the hood of my car.
“You want to start her up?”
I slid beneath the wheel and started the car, then sat as Wayne Bethard slouched over the engine. After a couple of minutes he pushed away then knelt down beside me and the open car door.
“Okay, look. I’ve known Robert for a long time. We went to school together with my brother Sammy. There’s only three people in the world know about the tooth fairy. One of them is on death row and the other one’s dead. I’m guessing Robert has his reasons for talking to you, but I got a wife and kids and I’m trying to run a business here.”
“Are you saying you won’t talk to me?”
“I’m telling you mister I don’t want my life fucked up. You said you write for a magazine right?”
I nodded.
“What do you think’s going to happen when word gets out you got information from me? It will ruin my ass.”
“Look Wayne, I can make you a dude named Cecil from Tupalo Mississippi if you want. You ever heard of names being changed to protect the innocent?”
“What guarantee do I have?”
“Sorry dude, we don’t have a form for that. You’ll just have to trust me. Here it is Wayne. I tried to talk to Robert first. Hell, I didn’t even know you existed. I think Robert’s got a hell of a story to tell, but I’m never going to hear it unless you honor his wish.”
Wayne looked at me for the longest time then tilted his head and stared at the ground. I kept quiet.
I’ve been negotiating deals like this long enough to know whoever speaks first, loses.
He craned his neck and looked at me again, an expression of resignation crossing his face, as if he realized he’d been backed into a corner with no way out.
“There’s a park over on Myrtle road. Meet me there at seven.”
With that he stood up. Over the sound of my car’s engine he said, “that ought to fix you up mister. No charge. Tell your friends about us okay?”
At six fifty five that evening I parked my car and roamed the park, finally choosing a bench along a walking trail. The sun was beginning to fade, but even for May it was damn warm. As I waited, I wiped my face and neck free of sweat and concentrated on a fountain spewing water in the middle of a small pond.
A red pickup eased into the parking area and stopped. Wayne got out and headed in my direction. After easing himself on the bench beside me, he spread both arms out and stared in silence at the fountain.
Finally he said, “first things first. I tell you this shit and you better by God forget where it came from.”
“Got it. So what’s the deal with the tooth fairy?”
“Before we get to that you need to understand there were a hell of a lot of people who wanted Sammy Bethard dead. In fact, I’m willing to bet those same folks partied their assess off the day news of Sammy’s death got out.”
“He had a lot of enemies?”
Wayne snorted.
“Sammy was a fucking monster on two legs. When he got older, a day didn’t go by without him threatening me and mom. Promised he’d kill us both and set our corpses on fire. He was about as evil as they come.”
“You said you and Robert went to school with Sammy?”
Wayne nodded his head, but continued to gaze at the water fountain.
“Yeah. Sammy was two years older’n me and Robert. We went to school because we had to. Sammy went to school because of the targets.”
“Targets?”
“Vulnerable kids he could bully before, during and after school. Kids like me and others who were too scared to stand up to him. Kids who brought money to school each week for lunches. Kids who couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper sack.”
“Kids like Robert Reed?”
“Exactly. He was Sammy’s favorite target. Somehow he always found Robert on his way to school. Didn’t matter what route he took or if I was with him or not. Sammy would beat the shit out of both of us and he always took Robert’s money.”
“Why didn’t you guys report his ass to your parents or someone at school?”
“Sammy made sure we didn’t. The beatings would just get worse. There were only two things Sammy Bethard loved, one was power and the other was money.
“About Sammy’s love for money. How did go from a spiteful menace and schoolyard bully to a multi-millionaire?”
“He made a deal with the tooth fairy and I was there that night when it happened.”
“The real tooth fairy,” I asked, “with magic wand, tutu and tiara?”
“More like a cross between a monkey, lizard and a puppy. But I have to tell you those eyes man, they were as big as fifty cent pieces and shined the brightest color of silver I ever saw. Each of those silver dollar eyes had a round black spot in the middle. And when it spoke…”
I was shaking my head thinking the Bethard boys must have started hitting peyote buds at a very young age.
Wayne must have turned his head and caught me. He pulled his arms away and propelled himself off the bench.
“Whoa, where the hell are you going?”
“I can tell you don’t believe a fucking word I’m saying Mr. James. I never wanted to tell you this shit in the first place. You came looking for me remember? I ain’t crazy. I fucking heard and saw what happened that night.”
“Come on Wayne, sit down. It’s just some pretty weird shit you’re telling me here.”
“Weird shit? I saw it Mr. James, I saw that shit first hand. You think it’s weird? Get in fucking line. You have no fucking idea just how weird the shit was that night and what happened afterward. You have no idea what it did to Sammy. You have no fucking clue.”
“Wayne,” I said, my voice soft and easy, “sit down brother and tell me what happened.”
Wayne Bethard did sit down, but this time he propped his elbows on his legs and leaned forward. He was staring across the pond, but I sensed what he was seeing was inside his head.
“When It touched me I woke up.”
READ ON — THE TOOTH FAIRY PART V
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