Free Birdsongs by Jason Deas

Benny,” the voice said with caution. It was Jane, his ex-wife. Over a year passed since the last time he heard her voice and he did not know or care where she was or what she was doing.
        “Well, well,” Benny responded, knowing immediately who it was as he recognized the unforgettable tone of her voice. “Did you run out of money already? I thought I gave you just about everything I owned.”
        “Please don’t be a jackass Benny, I’m worried about you,” Jane said with determination. “I’ve been watching the news and if I know you, you have your nose in that mess going on in Tilley. It’s all over the news here.”
        “Where exactly is here?” Benny asked.
        “Phoenix.”
        “Back with Mom, eh?” Benny asked not expecting a response.
        “She needs me Benny. She had another stroke.”
        “I’m sorry to hear that. Tell her I send my best,” Benny said, continuing to read the newspaper.
        “I’m sure she will find great comfort in your caring words,” Jane said, flustered. “I just called because I was worried about you and I wanted to offer you some advice.”
        “Oh God please give it to me,” Benny said mocking her. “I have barely been able to function for the past year without your words of wisdom.”
        “You haven’t changed a bit have you Benny James?”
        “No I haven’t,” Benny said with blood in his teeth. “And neither has the fact that you fucked Chuckie Neighbors.”
        “Goodbye Benny,” Jane said, disheartened.
        Benny hung up the phone without a word, picked up the lawn chair he sat in that belonged to Jane and threw it in the lake. His breathing reached its normal level again as he envisioned it touching the bottom and resting in the muck.
        The marriage to Jane was a short one and Benny’s only venture into this arena of life. He was serious with a few other women, but the marriage to his career would not allow him to commit polygamy. His so called retirement and move to Tilley led him to believe it would work at this point in his life. Jane respected his private eye business and the odd hours he kept, but she had a nomadic heart. She and Chuckie Neighbors grew up in Tilley and were high school sweethearts. They married a month after their high school graduation. During the same week, Chuckie entered the force as a rookie cop. Being such a small town, the Tilley Police Department was desperate for bodies to fill its meek numbers and the requirements for entry were low. Chuckie in the beginning years was a loyal, thoughtful, and dedicated husband. As he climbed each rank in the force, he became more and more distant as his growing powers led not his heart, but his loins to wander. Once he reached the rank of Chief, he didn’t exert any effort in covering his misdeeds. Power is a mighty corruptor. Although Chuckie ran a spic and span operation in every other sense, his sexual escapades were dirtier than a truck stop bathroom. Jane tried to ignore it for a while, but one can only be slapped in the face so many times before retaliating. One afternoon, she decided to surprise him at work and surprise him she did. She walked unannounced into his office against the strong advice of his secretary to find panties just inside the door on the floor and a very young gal doing what looked like a split on his desk. She saw the top of Chuckie’s head and when he looked up, he told her to go home and not to bother him at work.
        She did go home. She packed her stuff and visited a lawyer. Taking on the Chief of Police in a judicially slanted town was an uphill battle and she luckily took possession of the house, which had a mortgage balance she could handle, and nothing else. She thanked God there were no children involved. She attained the house, thanks to the services of Benny James and some lascivious photos the judge could not ignore. Benny advised her to use the photos as leverage. As advised,