Horror and Thriller Fiction posted January 19, 2025

Chapters:

...28 29 -30- 31 ...

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Dodie Rae and Bay Lynn try to clear their names.

A chapter in the book Dodie Rae

Corroborating stories

by Neonewman

The author has placed a warning on this post for violence.
The author has placed a warning on this post for language.

Background
Dodie Rae, an abused wife, becomes a shapeshifter and takes matters into her own hands. In the last chapter, Bay Lynn visits Dodie Rae and tries to calm her fears.

The following day, Bay Lynn remained inside the car in the precinct parking lot with Dodie Rae, who thrummed an incessant drumroll on the steering wheel with her fingers. "Tell me again, Mama," she implored.

Bay Lynn shook her head and opened the car door.

"Mama, please!" The timbre of Dodie Rae's voice shot to the stratosphere.

"No, Cher," she replied, stepping out of the car. "We've been over this enough. You need to manage your nerves, Young Lady."

"I know, Mama, and I will."

"Now, Cher!" Bay Lynn said sharply.

Dodie Rae let out a long breath and exited the car. Both women walked toward the precinct, where Officer Carey greeted them as he opened the door.

"Good afternoon, Ladies," he said.

"Let's get this over with," Dodie Rae said, steamrolling past Carey and through the door beside him.

"Cher," her grandmother chided. "I apologize, Officer. It seems she's a bit on edge today."

"I understand," Officer Carey replied, motioning for them to follow him down the hallway. No one was unaware that the tiny rooms on either side held two-way mirrors.

Dodie Rae lifted her head, tightened her shoulders, and followed as Carey led them to a waiting area.

"Please have a seat," he said. "I'll be back in a few minutes, and then we can get started."

The women watched Carey as he began speaking in hushed tones with another officer further down the hallway. The man eyed Dodie Rae and then concentrated again on what Carey was saying.

"He's going to interrogate me," she whispered.

"What?" Bay Lynn asked.

"He's going to have that officer interrogate me while Carey interrogates you, Mama."

"Interrogate?" Bay Lynn echoed, puzzled.

"Yes."

"Interrogate is such a strong word, Cher."

"Well, that's what they're going to do." Dodie Rae insisted.

Bay Lynn smiled at her granddaughter and said, "Baby Girl, they're going to ask me why my car was near Riley's house the night he was attacked. I will tell him what you will tell your officer, and then we'll go home. It's as simple as that, Cher."

"Yeah." She gave Bay Lynn a dubious look. "I guess you're right, Mama."

"I'm always right, Baby Girl. You'd think you would have figured that out by now." She smiled at her granddaughter as the two officers walked toward them. "Here we go, Cher."

"Dodie Rae," Officer Carey said. This is Officer Reyes. Please follow him. He has a few questions for you. And Mrs. Bay Lynn, if you will follow me, I have a few questions for you."

Before her granddaughter could respond, Bay Lynn stood up and said, "Lead the way, Gentlemen."

"This shouldn't take long, Mrs. Bay Lynn. If you'd like to sit, we'll get started."

"You may call me Bay Lynn," she said as she sat.

"Can you tell me why your car was parked outside Officer Riley's house on the night in question?" Officer Carey asked.

Bay Lynn leaned forward. "I wasn't in front of anyone's home on the night in question, Officer Carey. I was on the side of Interstate 10 with an empty gas tank."

"Yes, but that's about fifty feet from the driveway leading to Officer Riley's home," he said.

Bay Lynn sat back. "I have never been to this man's home, and I certainly didn't plan to run out of gas near it. I had a stressful day and was trying to get to my own home because I was upset about the events that occurred that day."

"So you were upset at Officer Riley?" he asked"

"Of course, I was upset with him; he manhandled my granddaughter. Officer Carey, you and I both know she has not been herself lately, and I understand why she ended up in jail. I wasn't planning to confront Officer Riley anywhere other than the hospital in the heat of the moment. I understand how all this must look to Law Enforcement, but I truly was where I said I was."

"Okay," said Carey.

Bay Lynn wondered how things were playing out in the other room with her granddaughter and Officer Reyes, hoping Dodie Rae would mind her manners.

"Bay Lynn," he said. "I would like to be transparent and inform you that we have collected DNA samples from the crime scene."

She lowered her lids at him in disgust and asked, "Then why in the hell are we here?"

**********************************************************************

Officer Riley walked out the back door to smoke, leaving his screaming wife in the living room. As he lit a cigarette, he could hear the officer assigned to their house until further notice, paroling the front perimeter. Within a moment, he entered the backyard, gun drawn.

"Everything all right?" the officer asked.

"Yeah," Riley said. "You might want to return to your post, though. My wife is in one hell of a mood."

"Heard," the officer said, holstering his pistol. "Holler if you need anything."

"Will do."

The back door flung open, and May stood red-faced and incensed. "Get your bitch ass back inside this house, Timothy Riley. I ain't done with you."

"Yeah, well, I'm done with you, May," he said, flicking his cigarette across the lawn and walking away.

She leaped from the back porch, tore after her husband, and, upon reaching him, struck him in the back of his head with her fist.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Woman!" he screamed as he turned toward her.

Immediately, she stepped back, aghast, as she watched her husband's eyes and features begin to transform. Her bottom lip quivered, and every inch of her body soon trembled uncontrollably. She let forth a feral scream as her words ripped through the air. "What is happening to you?"

"I'm angry, May!" he screamed, his eyes glowing molten red.

"Baby, please!" he heard her cry. Gone was the snarling, tough-bitch tone from just a moment before. Now, she was mewling like a goat in a slaughterhouse. He watched her gape as he burst through his clothes and transformed into an enormous, wolf-like body covered in hair.

"No more!" Riley growled.

Fangs protruded from the salivating mouth, and claws sprung from Riley's fingertips as he roared furiously.

He had failed to notice the officer standing at the edge of his house. Instead, he fixed his molten eyes on his abuser, leaped toward her, and suddenly felt the searing pain of hot steel from two bullets to the chest.

His beastly claws penetrated May's chest and killed her instantly. He immediately turned his attention to the assaulting officer, who had begun to reach for his radio. The beast knocked him to the ground, straddled him at once, and, in one swift move, clamped its massive jaws around the officer's neck and severed his head from his twitching, uniformed body.

As Riley's metamorphosis passed, he stood naked and weeping over the dismembered body of an officer he had never wished to kill. Riley grabbed the fallen officer's radio and managed to choke out, "Officer down."

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Book of the Month contest entry

CHARACTERS:
Dodie Rae: Abused wife of her late husband Richard.
Sadie Barlow: Head of The Women Support and Shelter of Orange County.
Samantha (Sam): Girl from support group, married to Keith.
Keith: Sam's abusive husband
Officer Daniel Carey: Orange County policeman.
Officer Tim Riley: Orange County policeman.
Clara Leeds: Abused wife of Martin Leads.
Martin Leeds: Clara's husband.
Helen Morgan: Abused common-law wife of Pete Carrington.
Maggie Reynolds: Abused wife of Ben Reynolds.
Bay Lynn: Dodie Rae's Grandmother, known as Mama.
Luke Riker: Bearded man killed with Ben Reynolds.
Steven Miller: Texas Wildlife and Game expert.
Pete Carrington: Helen Morgan's abusive Common Law husband.
May Riley: Officer Tim Riley's wife.
Dr. Eddard: Attending physician in the E.R.
Geena Burkhart: Dodie Rae's high school nemesis.

And a special thank you to Karen Cherry Threadgill for the accompanying artwork.

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Neonewman has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Dodie Rae and Bay Lynn try to clear their names.

A chapter in the book Dodie Rae

Corroborating stories

by Neonewman

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