Neither man, father nor son, said a damn word. Grunting and breathing up behind him. Chester reached for the coffee, not liking the way his hand shook as he lifted it to his lips.

“I heard they done quartered that woman,” the young one said, speaking low and conspiratorial. “Left the head on the body but cut off the arms and legs. Cleaned her out like you would a deer.”

The old one grunted some more. They both snickered a bit.

“Whoever done that gonna ride the damn needle at Parchman,” the young one said. “Guess the law got to decide if it was her kid or not.”

“Wadn’t no kid,” the old man said, croaking out his words. “Kids don’t have no ability to strip that body like it got done, have the fortitude to pickle that woman in a concoction of bleach and special chemicals.”

“What you thinkin’, Daddy?”

“Son,” the old man said. “I got me some good information it had to be some old fella got jilted by this dead whore. I figured this man got himself the best pussy he’d had in a coon’s age and went crazy.”

The Nixes laughed and laughed but quieted down as Miss Mary wandered on up to the table and took their orders. They spoke low and respectful as they asked for the Fillin’ Station lunch plate with extra onion rings and two jumbo sweet teas. Chester didn’t turn around after Miss Mary left, his eggs untouched, holding his hands around the coffee. Working with these two pieces of dogshit might’ve been the dumbest thing he’d ever done in his life. They weren’t about to just walk away and wait until things shook out to get whatever else they thought was coming.

“You think that woman might’ve had a cell phone on her?” the young one asked.

“Don’t know,” the old one said. “If she did, mighta been all kinds of things on it.”

“Text messages,” the young Nix said. “Secret recordings of them doing the dirty and them coming to blows. Shoot. I could see that shit getting loaded up there on the World Wide Web. Being viewed more times than one of those cats playing old-time tunes on the piano.”

Chester had enough. He stood up and dropped a twenty on the table. Just as he turned for the door, he caught the eye of the young one, giggling like something sure had tickled him.

“Something funny?” Chester asked.

“Didn’t know you was there, Mr. Pratt,” Dusty Nix said, smiling bigger than shit. “Sure am sorry to hear about your girlfriend. Me and Daddy want to wish you our thoughts and some of them good prayers.”

“Y’all can go straight to hell,” Chester said. “Don’t come around me again.”