Bluebird, Bluebird

Darren leaves Geneva’s in search of a drink at the icehouse, but he calls his wife Lisa first, intending to leave Lark immediately. She answers his call and tells him she misses him, asking him to come home. She apologizes for her anger over him helping Mack. She is scared for his safety. Lisa tells him she loves him, but she wants him to stop drinking. He assures her he is controlling it. Darren tells her he is helping Greg with a job and will be home soon. Their conversation is strained and brief. Darren thinks about his relationship with Lisa in connection to his past. His uncle Clayton loves her and was very supportive of their marriage. Lisa, a city girl, always struggled to fit into Darren’s rural lifestyle, but she loves his family. Clayton encouraged them to work through their struggles. Darren was unfaithful to Lisa in college, but they did not discuss it. He leaves the conversation with her resolved to quit his job as a Ranger and feels they have mended their relationship at least for the moment.

The icehouse bar is a stereotypical small-town honky-tonk with pool tables and greasy food. Darren has been to these types of establishments before and experienced racist threats. He is unnerved as he walks in seeing only white men staring at him and a Confederate flag on the wall. The only women in the bar are the bartender and waitresses. Darren sits at the bar and orders bourbon. He is carrying his weapon concealed. The bartender is unfriendly and asks “You lost?” (76). He toasts to open carry. He takes in the scene of the bar populated by a wide age range of men and notices the walls are covered in pictures of scantily clad women. Out of the women’s restroom emerges a Black woman, expensively dressed, who looks lost and unwell. Darren immediately identifies her as Michael Wright’s wife, Randie Winston. Darren approaches her, tells her his name, and asks if he can help. Randie claims she does not know why she is here except she needs answers about Michael’s disappearance. She makes a sudden move to leave, and Darren tries to stop her. The bar bouncer intervenes and asks them to leave. Darren notices the bouncer has tattoos indicating he is a member of the ABT. Other men from the bar emerge outside as Randie screams at them that she wants to know what happened, and Darren works quickly to get Randie out of the area. One of the men is named Keith, Missy’s husband. The two leave in Darren’s truck and he then reveals to her he is a Ranger.

Randie Winston is a photographer and was in London on assignment when she got the call about Michael. She returned home quickly to meet with Sheriff Van Horn, but a young deputy met her instead. Randie identified Michael’s body by a photograph and was given a bag of his belongings. Darren checks into a motel under the scornful eye of the owner so they can talk. Darren knows Van Horn had not met her because he was in Lark investigating the other body. Darren looks at the items through the bag—a black leather wallet, a wedding band, BMW keys, and a torn leaf. Randie says Michael’s body was badly decomposed and she knew it was him by the wallet; it was a gift from her. Randie is confused by the deputy’s assertion that Michael was robbed as he was leaving the icehouse, got lost, and fell into the water. This is inconsistent with the evidence as all his money and credit cards are still in his wallet. The car is still missing. Randie shares more about their marriage and that Michael was unfaithful, but they were not divorced. The couple had not spoken in months. She does not know why he was in Lark. Randie is scared and anxious and begs him to help her find out what happened to Michael. Darren texts Lisa to tell her is not coming home tonight and he sets out on foot to do some investigating near the icehouse. It is two o’clock in the morning and very dark. Darren sips bourbon as he walks, thinking about the two murders and how they might be connected or racially motivated. He thinks Michael may have been car-jacked. Darren finds Randie’s car intact, and the bar is closed. He drives down a farm road and walks toward the water to retrace Michael’s steps. He slips and falls into the water, but it is shallow, and he stands up and walks to the banks.