by A.L. Crouch
Chapter 10
When I emerged from the shower I felt refreshed despite the lack of sleep. I was eager to see what the day would bring. I hoped it would bring Brightman to justice. I reminded myself for the umpteenth time not to jump to conclusions just yet, but I couldn’t help it. It all added up.
I wiped the fog from the bathroom mirror and studied the lump on my forehead. It was healing at least; the shades of black and blue were fading into a greenish yellow. Noticing the dark circles under my eyes, I dabbed on some concealer then put on a pair of jeans, a tank top and my favorite red sweater.
I made a point to not look into the bedroom mirror as I laced up my sneakers. I knew Donovan was there, I could hear him, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to talk about the last few hours. Not before I could figure them out for myself.
“You have feelings for him,” he said softly.
I continued to tie my laces. “I don’t know what I feel, if you want to know the truth.”
“You probably feel less alone,” he said and I finally looked into the mirror and met his eyes.
“I already felt less alone, as soon as I found you again,” I whispered.
Donovan sat at the edge of the bed. He was leaning over, his forearms resting on his thighs, fingers laced. He looked worried.
“Well, you probably feel more understood, because you see the same pain and emptiness in him that you’ve lived with for so long.”
I couldn’t deny any of what he was saying. I didn’t have the words to even try.
“Bonding over tragedy is natural. The closeness you feel for him is normal.” Donovan sighed and looked away from me. “But Alexandra, you mustn’t get that close to him. You have to trust me with this. Keep your distance.”
“But why?” I asked.
Donovan shook his head. I thought he wanted to tell me something, but couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.
“Aside from what I am sensing about him, you shouldn’t trust him. He’s hiding something from you.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not sure,” was all Donovan said before the sound of a heavy motor could be heard pulling up the driveway.
“Chief is here!” Will yelled from downstairs.
“It’s go time,” I whispered, suddenly feeling anxious.
“I’ll be with you the whole time. Listen for me.” In the mirror I watched as Donovan took hold of my hand reassuringly.
I focused on his warmth and took a deep breath. I was about to come face to face with my mother’s murderer. As much as that thought nauseated me, I willed myself to stand up and walk to the door. I turned to look once more at Donovan and saw him standing beside me and reassured, I left the room.
When I walked into the kitchen Sulley was leaning back on the counter with a cup of coffee in hand. He offered me a full cup and I took it gratefully. Will was at the stove scrambling eggs. He nodded at me and went back to stirring.
“Long night?” Sulley asked, one eyebrow raised.
“We got by,” I said and took my first scalding sip.
Sulley inspected my face, obviously trying to decipher what he had missed last night.
“Right. Well I’ve got a locksmith coming by to change all the locks. Should be here any minute. We’ll head on out to the school and have a word with your friend Rick once they’re done.”
I flinched. “Ugh, don’t call him that. Makes me sick to my stomach.”
“Now I told you, we can’t go jumping to conclusions about the man,” Sulley said. “We’re going to need some hard evidence that links him to last night’s break-in. Or to your mother’s accident. We can’t work on only assumptions here.”
I stole a glance at Will who gave me a told-you-so shrug. Sulley wanted hard evidence. I wasn’t sure how possible it was going to be, but I was determined to find some. If Brightman was the killer, he was not going to go free like he had the last fifteen years.
I was suddenly very anxious to get to the school. I needed to see Brightman. I needed to gauge his reaction to some questions. I needed to know.
“Can’t we go now? The locksmith could take a while and I don’t think I can sit here that long,” I pleaded.
“Why don’t you have something to eat? I mean, I know I’m not the greatest cook, but you should eat something,” Will suggested.
“He’s right. Maybe by the time you’re done, the guy will be here,” Sulley said.
I shook my head. “No, I can’t. My stomach’s a mess. I just want to get up there. I have to know.”
Will sighed and started dishing eggs onto a plate.
“More for me I guess. You guys go on. I’ll stay here and wait for the locksmith.”
“Really?” I asked. “You wouldn’t mind?”
Sulley held up a hand. “I don’t know that I like this idea. I wanted to see to it personally that Alex and I were the only ones who touched those keys, no offense.”
Will took a sip from his coffee cup and met my pleading eyes.
“Look,” he said, “as SOON as the guy is gone I will lock up and take the keys straight to the station and lock them both in the safe. You’ll probably be back by the time I get there anyway, in which case I’ll hand them right to you.”
“That’s a great plan, since we’re just going up there to ask him some questions, right? We won’t be gone long.”
I understood Sulley’s concern, but I was too desperate for closure to let it stop me.
“I don’t like it Alexandra.” Donovan’s voice whispered in my ear.
“Please, we’ll be right back. Will can give the keys right to you,” I pleaded to Sulley, but was really answering Donovan.
I needed to get out to the school, to get answers. Nothing else mattered to me in that moment.
Sulley tugged from his coffee cup and looked from me to Will.
“Fine. But only because I have somewhere to be later.” He jabbed a finger at Will. “I want those keys in that safe or in my hand. No one else so much as looks at them.”
Will nodded and shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth.
“You got it. Mind if I grab a shower before the guy gets here?”
“Yeah, sure,” I nodded and gulped down the rest of my coffee. I gestured for Sulley to do the same.
Sulley took another long drag and then grabbed a fork from the counter and scooped some eggs from Will’s plate into his mouth as Will gawked at him.
“You’re right. You’re not the greatest cook,” Sulley said and then taking one last sip of coffee turned to me. “Okay Kiddo, let’s go.”
Will took another bite of his eggs and shrugged as Sulley walked out of the kitchen.
“Thank you,” I said to Will.
Will nodded. “Just don’t let me regret it. Be careful. Feel the guy out, but don’t push him. Let Sulley handle it. If he’s the one, we’ll find a way to prove it.”
“Got it,” I said. “I’ll see you later then.”
I turned and jogged out the door and hopped into Sulley’s truck as he started the massive engine.
“Alright, now we are just going to ask Brightman some very basic questions about the house and what he may know about the break-in last night. Let me do all the talking.”
I nodded and turned my attention to the window while Sulley navigated us to the road that would lead us to the school. The morning was overcast with a light, chilling breeze. The darkened sky muted the fall colors and added a grayish tinge to the atmosphere.
I stared, mesmerized, out the window. I hadn’t been on this road since that night, coming back from my recital. How fitting it was, I thought, that we were driving up to confront the man who murdered my parents off this very road. Why? That would be my first question to him. Why?
The truck hugged the curves of the road and I held my breath and looked at the steep drop on the left side. We were getting closer to the accident site. I turned to Sulley who was concentrating on the road. He turned to me and smiled, oblivious. I had a
lmost forgotten; Sulley was still in Iraq when the accident happened. He didn’t know the exact spot. But when we turned the next curve, I remembered vividly.
Turning back to my window, I saw the small side street coming up on my side of the road; the side street the killer had sprung up from before hitting our car. The street was hard to make out because it jutted up from below the tree line and was covered in overhanging brush. I stared at the spot as we passed and tried to remember that split second before our car was struck. I remembered the headlights speeding up from the side street.
Closing my eyes, I focused and brought the image from the past into my current reality. When I did, I recalled that the headlights were high up, above my eye level, not like the headlights of a sedan or smaller car. No, it had been taller, wider than a car. I concentrated, pulling the image closer in my mind. Red. There had been a glint of red from between the headlights. I gasped and opened my eyes. Sulley looked at me, concerned.
“What is it?”
“That was the road . . . the one the vehicle that hit us came from.”
Sulley’s eyes widened and he nodded with sudden understanding. He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze.
“God, I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it. I’m sorry. This was the road . . .” he sighed. “I shouldn’t have let you come up here. I wasn’t thinking.”
“No,” I interrupted, “it’s fine. I needed to come.”
I squeezed his hand back and smiled. I didn’t want to tell him what I had remembered just yet. I didn’t want anything to distract from the task at hand. Talking to Rick was all that mattered at the moment.
“Well, we’re almost there,” Sulley said letting my hand go.
I looked to the window, at the incline in the road. The school was at the top. My heart began to race with fear and anticipation. How long had I dreamt of this moment? How often had I prayed for a chance to see justice served? I closed my eyes and focused on the strumming that came from the back seat.
When the truck reached the top of the incline I stared at the red brick building trimmed in navy blue which sat among the tall oaks and pines. The school was smaller than I remembered, but had the same quaint charm. I scanned the parking lot for the white pickup truck and spotted it by the main office where it was parked next to a work van and larger pickups filled with lumber and metal extension ladders.
“There’s the truck,” I said pointing it out to Sulley. “That’s the one I kept seeing.”
Sulley parked beside it and turned off the growling engine then turned to face me.
“Now remember, we don’t know anything for sure yet. We can’t just go accusing people of murder or break-ins on a hunch. I’ll do the talking, you just hang back and see if you can pick up on anything, okay?”
I nodded, telling myself he was right. “Got it.”
We got out of the truck and walked to the main entrance. I wrung my hands as Sulley tried the door. It was locked. He shrugged and then we heard the humming of a saw coming from the side of the building.
“This way,” Sulley said and motioned me to follow.
We turned the corner and found Rick with a half dozen other men in the courtyard between the main office building and the rest of the school. They had set up shop in the center with heavy equipment and lumber. A tent of plastic film covered the opened wall of the auditorium. Rick was bent over a long folding table in the center of the courtyard looking over plans while other men sawed and carried plywood and insulation from the side door. I stopped short when he spotted us and flashed us his signature smile.
“Chief, Miss Nolan, to what do I owe this pleasure? I hope nothing is wrong with the permits.”
Sulley shook his head and took the hand that Rick offered him. I stayed back, suddenly without words.
“No sir, nothing like that. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking the time to answer just a few questions. Do you have a minute?” Sulley asked.
Ricked look from Sulley to me, the smile disintegrating from his face.
“Certainly. I hope everything is alright. Shall we?” Rick gestured to the parking lot and walked passed me.
I could only stare, taking in his heavy work boots and long sleeved flannel shirt. He looked different out of his usual business attire, but that smile was just as off-putting in jeans and a baseball cap. I could imagine his hands, covered with leather gloves.
We walked back to the parking lot where the sounds of hammering and sawing were muffled and we could better hear one another. Rick stopped in front of his truck and turned to Sulley.
“So what can I do for you Chief? The look on your face tells me this has nothing to do with our job here,” Rick questioned.
Sulley sighed and rubbed his chin before starting.
“There was a break in at the house last night. Someone attacked Alex.”
Rick’s eyes widened with shock and he looked at me.
“My God, are you all right?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
I took a step back, not liking his eyes on me. I didn’t dare speak for fear of saying something Sulley would regret later. Glaring back at him instead, I gauged his response. Sulley stepped between us.
“Well here’s the thing, Mr. Brightman,” Sulley began, casually, focused. “Alex seems to remember seeing your truck on two separate occasions up near the house prior to the incident last night. I know your family owned the home before Tina . . . before Alex’s mother purchased it from the bank. I was wondering if you might have an idea as to who might want to scare Alex out of the house. Did you see anything unusual?”
Rick looked to Sulley and then back at me considering what had been said. He nodded and turned to look Sulley directly in the eyes.
“Oh I get it. You think I had something to do with it,” he said. “What? Because I drove by the place a couple of times?”
“Now, no one’s accusing you of anything,” Sulley said, clearing his throat. “Do you mind telling me though, just why you were driving past the house? Were you on your way somewhere?”
Rick took a labored breath, obviously upset by the direction of the questioning. He stared at me, his grey eyes pierced into me, and seemed to pin me to the pavement where I stood.
“I haven’t been in Saluda for years. I wanted to see the old house. I have a lot of memories tied to that place, some good, some bad. I was just trying to get a feel for the old neighborhood, you know?” he said staring down Sulley. “Last I checked Chief, that wasn’t a crime. I’m sorry if you thought I had anything to do with that break-in. I hope you find your man, I really do.”
Rick started to walk off back towards the school. I looked desperately at Sulley to see if he was going to stop him. Sulley only shook his head at me and sighed.
That couldn’t be it. No, this wasn’t over yet.
“Why didn’t you mention that you were from Saluda on the plane?” I called after Rick who stopped and turned to me.
“Alex no . . .” Sulley said, but I waved him off.
“What do you mean?” Rick asked.
I took a step towards him. “On the plane, when you asked me about my roots in Saluda, why didn’t you mention that you were from here? You made it seem like you had only ever been here on business.”
Rick contemplated and then, growing impatient, walked up to me.
“Careful Alexandra,” Donovan whispered from beside me. I stood firm knowing that he was with me.
“What do you think I should have said?” He chided. “‘Hi, my name is Rick and your mother took away the one thing that mattered most to my dying mom.’ Would that have been better for you?”
Sulley scoffed and motioned for me to get into the truck.
“Let’s go. This is doing no good Kiddo.”
Rick snickered and took another step towards me.
“Oh he never told you? Why does that not surprise me?”
“What is he talking about?” I turned to Sulley.
“Get in the truck
,” he answered.
I turned back to Rick, rage mingled with fear in my throat.
“My mother bought the house at auction. Your family had already lost it.”
A vile sneer twisted on Rick’s lips.
“You’re right, we did lose it to the bank. When Mom came down with cancer she couldn’t work anymore. My dad had to take on two jobs just to keep food on the table and the power on. When the medical bills got out of hand they put a lien on the house,” he said stepping even closer. “We had to sell everything we owned, called every family member we had. We could have bought the house back.”
“There was no way you were going to get the house back. It belonged to the bank straight out,” Sulley argued coming to us.
Rick kept his eyes on me, unblinking.
“We could have bought the house back at auction if there hadn’t been any other bids on the table. Your mom bought the house right out from under us,” he said, his voice rising. “That house was everything to my mom. Her heart and soul went into that house. Her children were all born under that roof. She loved that house more than anything. She was devastated when we lost it. She died less than a month later.”
Looking into Rick’s eyes I could see unadulterated pain and raging hatred staring at me in cold slate. I leaned into his face, my own anguish and anger screaming in protest within my soul.
“Alexandra, please . . .” Donovan pleaded, but I was too far gone.
“My mother loved that house more than anything too. She just wanted a place to raise me, a house where we could grow together as a family. She also loved her life. We were just starting over. I lost everything when she died. She was MY life and she didn’t deserve to die.”
Rick took one final step towards me, his face contorting into a humorless, grotesque smile. I could feel his hot breath on my cheek as he bent down close. Sweat beaded my brow, but I set my chin and met his glare. He chuckled and squinted his eyes.
“Well then,” he growled, “I’d say we’re even.”
“Alexandra, back up now!” Donovan screamed and I stepped back just as Sulley lunged for Rick.
“You son of a . . .” Sulley screamed and swung at Rick, connecting with his jaw.
The two men grappled on the ground exchanging blows until workers from the site came running towards the commotion from around the corner. They dragged the two apart as I watched in frozen astonishment. When they were on their feet Sulley shook himself free from the men that held him at distance from Rick. Rick struggled against the two men that restrained him, his chin bloodied and his flannel shirt ripped at the sleeve.
“I’ll have you for assault Chief!” Rick screamed as the men started to drag him away.
Sulley wiped at his scraped lip and walked to the driver side door of the truck motioning for me to get in.
“Come by the station, I’ll have my secretary draw up the papers for you!” he yelled back and then turned to me. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Wait,” I shouted, spotting something on Rick’s exposed arm.
The men stopped dragging him and Rick wrenched free of them and glared at me.
“What is that? On your arm?” I asked pointing.
Rick rubbed the large bandage covering the lower part of his forearm.
“Not that it’s any of your damned business, I got snagged by a 2x4 unloading the truck.”
I stepped towards him, adrenaline propelling me forward.
“Let me see it!”
“Alex, get in the truck,” Sulley instructed, but I kept my eyes on Rick.
“I don’t have a damned thing to prove to you or your boyfriend there. I can see he is just as caught up in you as he was in your mom. Well, you win again Chief. You’ve got the house and another Ms. Nolan. You win. I don’t have to prove a damned thing to either of you.” Rick snarled back and turned and huffed away towards the site followed by the workers.
I stared after him, the pit of my stomach clenching. Looking at him made me want to vomit.
“Alexandra, it’s time to go. It’s alright. There’s nothing more you can do. Let’s go,” Donovan said. I felt his touch on my shoulder.
I took a shaky breath and willed myself to back away. I climbed into the truck but kept my eyes on Rick until he disappeared around the corner of the building. Sulley started the engine and hurled the truck back onto the road before looking at me.
“You’re trembling,” he said and patted my knee.
“It’s him. You heard that. It has to be him. Did you hear what he said to me?”
“Oh I heard it, the bastard. He’s got one hell of a nerve . . .”
“He had a bandage in his forearm.”
“Yeah? So what? The guy’s in construction, I’m sure it happens all the time,” Sulley said, watching the road as he maneuvered the truck onto the descent back.
“Last night, when the intruder grabbed me, I scratched him. It must have been pretty bad too, because I heard him scream and he let go of me. It would have been in the same place on his arm.”
Sulley looked at me considering, then turned his attention back to the road.
“I don’t know, Kiddo. As much as I dislike the guy, there’s still no proof that it was him last night OR fifteen years ago. He would have been just a kid, barely out of high school at the time.”
I thought about that for a minute. “Mom bought the house when I was seven, and Rick said his mom died shortly after that. He had a few years to brood it over. If he really blamed Mom for taking the house . . .”
“Even so, we don’t have anything else but a hunch and some harsh words to go on,” Sulley said sighing.
“Aaaahh!” I yelled and brought my fists down on my lap. “If I could only remember something that would help. Wait . . .”
“What is it?” Sulley looked alarmed.
“On the way up, when we passed that side road, I think I remembered something. I’m not sure if it will help.”
“What exactly did you remember?” Sulley asked looking back to the road as he took a tight turn and I had to brace myself against my arm rest.
“I only remember the headlights really. When I looked down that road, I remembered that they were up higher than where I sat in our car. It couldn’t have been as small of a car. More like an SUV or a Truck.”
“Were they as high as in this truck?”
“No,” I contemplated. “Not as high, but higher than a car. Maybe a smaller SUV or a Jeep even. Something like that. I also remember seeing red between the lights. I think the vehicle was red. Does any of this help at all?” I asked, looking Sulley in the face.
He thought about the new information nodding as chewed on it.
“It might. I mean, it’s something,” he said. “I can cross reference some things when I get back to the station and see what turns up.”
I sighed and sat back in my seat. It was a start. I thought about the encounter with Rick and all of the things he had said.
“Was what Rick said true? Did Mom buy the house out from under them? Did she know?”
For a minute there was silence. I glanced at Sulley who looked to be deep in thought and waited.
“Your mother knew that they had lost the house and that it had gone to auction. That was all she needed to know,” he finally answered.
“So you knew? You knew they were trying to get the house back?”
Sulley looked at me. “I knew they were trying. The bank didn’t think they had much of a chance. Your mother deserved that house every bit as much as they did. I wanted her to be happy, and she was. You both were.” Sulley looked back to the road. “Sometimes one person’s loss is another person’s gain. That’s just life Kiddo.”
“What about the other thing he said?”
“What other thing?”
“What he said about you and Mom. He thought you two were involved. He called you my boyfriend,” I said.
Sulley huffed. “He doesn’t know anything about anything. He was a kid. He was just tr
ying to get a rise out of us. I want you to stay far away from him. Even if he’s not our man, I don’t want you near him. Okay?”
Conceding to nothing, I turned to the window and noticed where we were. We turned the next corner and the crash site came into view. In all my life I knew I would never forget the way the tops of those trees looked, just peeking over the slope on that side. As we got closer I noticed something white laying on the side of the road at the spot where our car had gone over.
“Stop! Stop right here,” I shouted and Sulley hit the brakes.
“What’s the matter?” he asked pulling over to the side of the road and I jumped out.
“Maybe I can remember something else. This is where it happened,” I yelled back and Sulley got out of the car to stand with me.
I walked to the spot where I remembered our car had left the road. Lying on the ground was a bouquet of a dozen fresh white lilies. I bent down and picked them up, inspecting them for a card. They were the same kind of flowers that were left on my mother’s grave.
“I wonder who left these here,” I said as Sulley came up beside me. I looked at him while he gazed into the deep expanse over the side.
“This is where the car went off,” I explained while he stared blankly ahead. “The vehicle came up from the other side of the road and smacked right into us straight-on. We flew right over the side.”
I walked to the edge of the embankment and braced myself before looking over the edge. The brush was overgrown, but I could make out the base of the huge pine tree that had broken our fall. It was so far down. Much farther than in my dreams. I blinked back the tears that threatened to escape my eyes.
“Do you remember anything about that night? Anything else at all?” Sulley asked.
I took in a shaky breath. “Besides the gloves, brown leather . . . and the knife? I still remember the snake handle, how it coiled around his hand. I will never forget that,” I shuddered. “But that’s all I remember.”
“I think about that night all the time,” Sulley said, still looking out into the expanse. “I wonder what I was doing. What was I thinking at that moment? If I had not have left for Iraq, things would have been so different. I could have stopped it.”
“No Uncle Sulley, you can’t think like that,” I said. “You were protecting our country. You were already our hero. There’s nothing you could have done. It was their time. I’m starting to accept that, I think.”
“If only I had stayed. How different things might have been,” he whispered.
“Everything happens for a purpose. I think it’s our purpose now to bring whoever did this to justice. They can’t get away with it, they just can’t,” I said and Sulley lowered his head.
“I know,” I said as an idea hit me. “I’ve got to get down there. See if I can remember something else. Maybe if I get to the actual spot where it happened, I could remember something else about him. It’s not that bad of a climb down. . .”
“No. That’s not a good idea,” Sulley interrupted. “We’re not prepared for that sort of climb.”
“Oh come on. It will only take thirty or so minutes. I think I can remember . . .” I gauged the first step down, contemplating how I could maneuver the steep decline when I heard the strumming right beside me.
“You have to leave now, Alexandra. We can’t stay here any longer. You’re in danger here. We have to leave. Right now,” Donovan ordered into my ear.
“I told you, it isn’t a good idea. Get back from there, get in the truck,” Sulley insisted and I could see the urgency in his eyes.
My heart quickened in my chest. I looked around at the dense woods that surrounded us and the fall below. I could feel it. The air had grown thick, and tension seemed to seep up from the drop below and hovered around us like a fog.
“Go. We have to go now.” Donovan said again and I could hear the desperation in his voice despite his trying to retain a calm tone.
I set the flowers back down on the side of the road and took one final glance over the edge before jogging back to the truck and jumping in. Sulley’s face was hard to read, a mixture of sorrow and fear. He pulled the truck back onto the road and made a swift three-point turn to get us going back towards town. I scanned the wilderness outside my window for any signs of danger. No one was out there; no other cars were on the road. Perhaps Rick had followed us . . .
“It’s okay now. I don’t feel it anymore. You’re safe,” Donovan whispered from behind me.
I tried to steady my shaking hands. I had to know what was going on.
“So what was that all about?” I asked out loud, but directed my question towards the back seat.
“It just wasn’t a good idea. I’m not too fond of heights either, getting worse with age.” Sulley shrugged. “Plus, if anything happened, no one would even know we were down there.”
I looked behind me to where I knew Donovan sat, pleading for him to answer. I wished more than anything that I could see him.
“I’m not sure, it came out of nowhere. A strong sense that you were in direct danger, but from what or whom, I don’t know. It was everywhere all at once and then just as quickly vanished into nothing. I’m sorry. You’re safe now, but I’m not sure what that was,” Donovan said.
Turning and reclining in my seat I looked back to Sulley.
“If I’m going to remember anything, I have to get down there.”
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea. It’s too dangerous down there. We’ll find another way to tie Brightman to the scene. We have an idea of the size and color of the vehicle that hit you. That could give us a lead.”
“You think you can place him in the vehicle that night?” I asked, hopeful.
“It’s a long shot, but maybe. I’ll run some searches when I get back to the station this afternoon.”
“So where is it you’re in such a hurry to get off to anyway?” I asked, trying to change the topic.
I was going to make my way to the crash site with or without Sulley’s help. That much I was certain of. I needed to know how much time I had in which to do it without his knowledge.
“Well, Kiddo,” he sighed. “I’m taking Gram to a home in Hendersonville today. It’s time. I just can’t give her the care she needs anymore. She needs to be in a constant care facility.”
It was as if he had slapped me in the face. I wasn’t expecting the blow.
“What? But I thought she was okay at home with . . .” I stopped short. “Is it because of what happened yesterday? This is my fault, isn’t it?”
“No, no this isn’t your fault. It’s just time. I’ve avoided it for long enough,” Sulley tried to comfort. “We have to think about what’s best for Gram.”
I blinked back my tears. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“I think it’s best I take her alone. She won’t react well to sad faces.” He squeezed my hand. “She’ll be confused enough as it is.”
I feigned a smile for Sulley’s benefit. I knew this was hardest on him. He had taken care of Gram ever since she had first been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. He had barely graduated from high school. He’d been with her ever since, save for the year he was deployed to Iraq when Gary came to live in the cabin in his stead. That’s when Mom had met Gary, while he was taking care of Gram. I felt guilty all over again for having made Gram upset, for not being here for her for so long. Now it was too late.
“I’m so sorry, Uncle Sulley. Is there any way I can help?”
Sulley smiled at me and pulled the truck onto the main street.
“This was NOT your fault. I don’t want you blaming yourself now. I’ve known this day was coming for a long time. It’s better this way.”
I looked away, not wanting him to see the fresh tears that fell onto my face. I wiped them with the back of my sleeve. Sulley was trying to make me feel better, but I still felt responsible. Would Gram have been better off if I hadn’t come back? Would everyone have been better off?
“Can I go visit her s
oon? I won’t upset her, I promise. I’ll go along with whatever she says.”
Sulley pulled up behind Will’s squad car in front of the station and cut the engine. He turned in his seat to face me and gave my hand a final squeeze.
“She would like that a lot. As soon as she gets settled in, okay? Now you let me worry about Gram for the time being. You need to focus on you right now. We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” he said and then turned and hopped out of the truck.
I followed him into the station and immediately searched for Will. The station appeared empty, the only indication of Will’s being there was a small stack of folders laying upside down on his desk.
“Will must be in the back. Listen,” Sulley said as he poured himself a cup of thick, black coffee from the readied pot and turned to face me, “as unhappy as I know this will make you, I want you to stay here at the station till I get back. I mean it, don’t go anywhere with anyone. Can you do that for me?”
I crossed my arms. “It’s the middle of the day. I really don’t need to be in quarantine. I’m not a kid anymore Uncle Sulley.”
He took a long sip of strong brew and winced.
“I know. I know you’re not a kid anymore. So do this for me as the police chief asking his witness, okay?”
I looked into his big, puppy-like eyes and nodded, not wanting to promise anything.
“Just take care of my Gram, okay? Don’t even worry about me. I’ll be right here when you get back.”
Sulley patted my cheek and took another sip of his coffee.
“Just let me grab those keys. Make yourself at home. Evelyn’s probably at an early lunch, she should be here within the hour. She’ll keep you plenty of company, I’m sure.”
I waited for Sulley to disappear into his office and then quickly made my way to Will’s desk. If he was really interested in helping me find my mom’s murderer, then the files on his desk might be about the case. Keeping half an eye on the office door, I examined the stack of small folders. Flipping them over in my hands, I read the tab on the top one. It was labeled with the date of the accident. Jackpot. I flipped through the contents and saw reports from various officers who described the scene from that night, taking care not to read details. Being there had been enough.
I flipped to the back of the folder which held pictures. My breath caught in my throat when I came face to face with a picture of the accident scene, captured in fading grey and white. The rest of the folders I dropped with a gasp, but my eyes remained locked on the photo.
The car lay upside down against the great pine, broken chunks of metal and debris scattered among the brush. The photo was taken after I was rescued from the car; the left rear door had been removed in the process. I brought the photograph closer, squinting, and could make out a hand dangling from the driver’s seat.
I clasped my hand to my mouth and choked on the bile and sobs that rose up from my gut then looked with curious dread to the right side of the vehicle, to where my mother would be lying. The photograph was blurry there. Squinting did nothing to help bring the image into focus this time. Wiping at the moisture standing in my eyes, I looked again. That part of the picture was smudged. I ran my finger across the glossy surface of the photograph and felt where that edge of the picture had been rubbed raw, maybe with an eraser. Someone had wiped out my mother’s image.
Commotion from the office sent me scrambling to put the picture back in the folder and reach down to gather the rest. I flipped them over and set them back on the desk and began to walk away when I noticed a paper I had missed lying on the floor. Snatching it up, I glanced at the fine black print. It was another statement, made by someone who had been at the accident site.
I opened the top folder in order to cram it back in when the office door opened and I heard Sulley’s deep voice as he paused to finish his sentence. The name on the statement caught my eye before I closed the folder: William Galia. Will had been there.
I shut the folder and walked away from the desk just as Will followed Sulley out of the office.
“The handwriting analysis should be here by the end of the day. Jones sent in the photos of the mirror as well as a snapshot of Brightman’s signature from one of the permits. It’s not much, but maybe we can get a match,” Will said as they walked into the room.
He nodded to me and I grinned back and had a seat at the table near the coffee pot. My head was reeling. Will had been there, at the accident scene, and had made an official statement about what he had seen. Why would he not have told me?
“Good, good. Call them back and tell them to call me directly. I don’t want to miss them if I’m not back. If that analysis points to Brightman, I’m hauling him in tonight.” Sulley walked to the coffee pot and refilled his cup.
“Will do,” Will said and walked to his desk.
I watched from the corner of my eye as he swept the stack of folders into his top drawer, the whole time keeping an eye on Sulley’s back as he did. Sulley handed me a key and I focused back on him.
“Here you go. Make sure you hang onto this at all times. Put it in your pocket and don’t let anyone else touch it. I’ve got the only other one for emergencies, so we don’t have to worry about someone letting themselves in,” he said and took a swig from his cup and set it down.
I stuffed the key into the front pocket of my jeans wishing I had brought my purse with my key ring or even my jacket, which had much deeper pockets. I had been in such a rush, I had forgotten both.
“Okay, I have to get going. I should be gone for a few hours,” Sulley said to me. “Just stay here, okay? If you get hungry have Evelyn call down to the diner and have them send something over. Tell them to put it on my tab.”
“I said not to worry about me. Just take care of Gram, please.”
“That’s the plan,” he said with a sigh and then turned to Will. “Remember, pull up anything you can on Brightman. We’ll go over what we’ve got when I get back.”
“I’m on it. Don’t worry about a thing,” Will assured.
Sulley gave one final glance from me to Will before he turned and left the station.
Will came around and had a seat on top of his desk and folded his hands.
“How are you holding up? The chief told me what happened with Brightman. What are you thinking?”
“It’s him. It has to be,” I said looking Will in the eyes. “You should have seen his face when he talked about my mom. Nothing but sheer hatred.”
“Sounds like he has a real thing about the house. I guess it would make sense that he would want to try and scare you out of it.”
I rubbed my face and leaned back in my chair.
“I don’t know. Just seems so . . . so crazy. To kill someone over a house. It just doesn’t make sense to me. How could someone DO that?”
Will nodded in agreement and came to the coffee pot and grabbed a clean cup.
“Yeah, well it sounds like his beef had more to do with the loss of his mother, not so much the house,” he said and poured himself a cup of coffee and then sniffed it and winced. “Do you think he still wants the house back?”
I took the pot from him and sniffed its contents. Disgusted, I put the pot back and watched in shock as Will took a sip and winked at me.
“Well,” I continued, shaking my head, “it makes sense with what was written in the mirror I guess. Maybe he found out I was coming to take possession of the house. I just wish I could remember something else.”
“Something else?” Will asked, taking another sip of coffee.
“Didn’t Sulley tell you? I remembered a little about the vehicle that hit us that night. I remembered that it was taller than a car, like a jeep or small SUV. And I remembered that it was red.”
“No, he didn’t say anything.”
“Yeah well, that’s probably because it does no good whatsoever,” I pouted.
“I don’t know; it could be useful. Would be pretty easy to see what kind of car was under Brightman’s na
me at the time. Cross reference vehicle description with accident reports or mechanic shop submissions on or around that day. I mean, to hit you guys with that kind of force must have done some pretty significant damage to the perp’s car as well, right?”
I found new hope in his words. “You think it’s possible to track down the vehicle then? Is there anything helpful in those files you have?”
Will looked up, mid sip, from his cup.
“What files?”
I pointed to his desk and raised an eyebrow at him. “The ones you hid in the top drawer of your desk as soon as Sulley had his back turned. What are you doing with those anyway? And when were you going to tell me that you were there that night? That you gave a statement?”
Will let out a long breath and set his cup on the table.
“I’ve been looking over the files from the accident, trying to find something that could tie Brightman to the scene. I haven’t found anything.”
He walked to his desk and retrieved the files from the drawer.
“I was there that night, yes.” He confirmed. “I was walking home from a friend’s house and saw the car over the side of the road just as the paramedics and police were pulling up. They took me in for questioning, but I didn’t see anything. There was nothing to tell. See for yourself.”
He tossed me the statements folder and I caught it and pulled his statement from the pile. I read it over as he watched.
“Why didn’t you tell me? It says here you helped get me out of the car. I don’t remember any of that.”
“Yeah, well you wouldn’t. You were pretty banged up and unconscious at the time.”
“Answer my question, Will,” I demanded.
“I didn’t say anything because I can hardly remember a thing myself. I was walking home from my friend’s house because I was wasted. He took my keys so I got pissed and started walking, okay? Not one of my prouder moments.”
“Did you see an SUV? A red one? Did you see anything?”
Will sighed and shook his head. “By the time I got close enough to realize what was going on the paramedics and police were already swarming the place. The guy was long gone by then. It’s all a blur anyhow.”
“Did you see her?” I whispered.
Will shuffled his feet and shook his head.
“No,” he said softly. “She was covered with a sheet when I got down there. All I saw was . . .”
“Was what?”
Will walked closer, bent down to look me in the eye.
“I saw you. I saw what that monster did to you. And for the first time, I stopped thinking about only myself. I wanted to help you, but there was nothing else I could do besides get you out of that car. It’s why I decided to be a cop, Alex. I wanted to keep things like that night from happening to anyone else.”
“Why were you hiding them from Sulley? Does he know you were there?”
“I don’t think he knows. I doubt he ever cared to read the accounts of that night. It’s a tough read; I don’t blame him. I was hiding them from him because I know he wouldn’t like me meddling. He doesn’t want to admit that the person who broke into your house the other night could be the same person who murdered your mom and his brother. But sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can catch things that may have been overlooked. I actually found your account really interesting.” Will turned and had a seat behind his desk and grabbed another folder. “I didn’t realize you had gotten a good look at the murder weapon.”
I closed my eyes and shuddered. “The snake handle . . . sort of hard to forget. I just wish I could remember more. If I could just get down there, to the place where it all happened, maybe I could remember something else.”
Will held up his hands. “That’s a great idea. Why don’t we?”
“I wanted to earlier with Sulley, but he didn’t like the idea. Said it was too dangerous. He’s probably right, it’s pretty steep and a lot further down than I remembered,” I said and then considered my next words before I spoke them. “And something felt . . . off about the place.”
Will stood again, “That’s understandable. It can’t be easy to go back there. I think you should though, get down to the crash site. It’s the only way you are going to remember anything that could help us find the bastard, especially if you remembered something already today.”
I became aware of the strumming that surrounded me, a warmth on my shoulder.
“I don’t like it, Alexandra. It’s too dangerous. There has to be another way, and I don’t trust him. I knew he was hiding something,” Donovan said against my ear.
“I know a guy in my neighborhood,” Will continued. “He’s leant me some repelling equipment in the past. I can go get it, and then we can get down there and see.”
I shook my head. “Sulley will blow a gasket if I do. He doesn’t want me to leave here at all. He’s got enough to deal with today without me worrying him more.”
Will glanced at the clock. “He said he was going into Hendersonville. That’s a good twenty or thirty minutes away. It will take me about that long to grab the gear and get back here. We could be there and back before he even leaves Hendersonville.”
“I don’t know . . .” I said.
I wanted to go, but Donovan’s concern, his warmth on my shoulder, made me doubt. I wanted desperately to get back to the site and see if I could remember anything else, but I was afraid that the danger Donovan felt, that I felt, would still be out there. Whatever it had been.
“What about Evelyn? She’ll tell him we left.”
Will chuckled and taking the files with him, grabbed his coat from the rack at the front door. He turned back to me with a smile.
“Let me take care of Evelyn. You just be ready as soon as I get back.”
“I don’t know about this,” I said.
Will looked me right in the eye and winked.
“Trust me,” he said and went out the door.