by Robin Mahle
“That’s not what this is about and you know it,” Riley replied.
“I think you should have Jacob head on over to your house and keep you company. You can lose your thoughts in a movie or something like that. You need the downtime, Riley. Please, just humor me, okay? I don’t ask for much.”
Riley turned away and peered through the passenger window. “He’s at work.”
“Now you’re just making excuses. I ain’t falling for that nonsense. You know if you ask, that boy will jump. Frankly, I’m surprised he hasn’t moved in with you yet.”
“Yeah, well. There’s still a lot of things he and I need to work out. I guess I’m not there yet.”
“You might not be, but I can tell he is.” Dan made a left onto her street. “As a general rule of thumb, I know you don’t like doing what I say, but most of the time, I’m right. You just hate admitting it.”
“Maybe.” Riley cracked a tender smile. “Fine. I’ll take off the rest of the day. Maybe I’ll call Jacob, I don’t know.”
“It’d be best if you had someone with you. Unless you want me hanging around?”
“No thanks, Cap.”
He pulled to a stop and walked around her side to open the door. Riley stepped out and he followed her to the front porch. “Now if you need anything, anything at all, you just pick up the phone.”
“I will. Hey, you’ll tell Pruitt?”
“You know I will.” Dan pulled Riley into a tight embrace. “Now go on, get your boyfriend over here to take care of you. That’s what they’re supposed to do.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Riley walked through the door. “Thank you, Dan.” She watched as he pulled out of her driveway and then closed the door. CJ was already at her feet. “Hey, buddy. Feel like keeping me company on the couch today?” She scratched behind his ears and his tail wagged.
2
Jacob Biggs had made his unforeseen return to Owensville four months ago, amid an ongoing murder investigation in which he ended up playing a major role. Since then, in the small Indiana town, not much had happened, which was exactly the way Riley preferred it. She never was the type to seek out thrills or danger or anything of that nature. Her ability to sense the emotional turbulence of those she cast her sights upon served up enough of that to last her a lifetime. But Jacob felt differently. He thought life in the big city was the be all, end all. Turned out, it was anything but.
When he was fired from his architect job in Indianapolis and decided to return to Owensville last fall, he didn’t know trouble would follow him. It was Riley, Captain Ward, and Ethan Pruitt who would stand against the mafia, with the help of some Indianapolis cops who were looking to put the bad guys behind bars.
Murders just didn’t happen in Owensville, not until Jacob Biggs came back to town. Riley knew it was unfair to attribute it to him and felt guilty just for thinking it. In fact, she had faced down worse back in the days when her abilities were new and frightening, and Carl Boyd was her savior. So was Dan Ward, for that matter. She was only ten and her brother Dillon, only fourteen. They needed a strong male figure in their lives because their father, Jack, certainly wasn’t one. In fact, they might have died if it had been left up to him.
Now Carl was gone and Riley was lost. From the overwhelming grief that crashed into her to the playing cards he showed her with a nameless meaning, she reeled in uncertainty.
Riley lay on her sofa with CJ in a ball beside her and the television broadcasting the evening news. She reached for her phone on the side table and made the call. “Hey. It’s me. Are you still at work?”
“I’m just taking off, actually. Are you at the station?” Jacob asked.
“No. I’m at home.”
“Oh. Is everything okay? Are you sick?”
“No. I’m not sick, but, um, well, it’s been kind of a rough day.” Her long pause would be cut short by Jacob if she didn’t continue soon. This Band-Aid needed to be pulled off. “Listen, um… Carl passed away this morning.”
Jacob was silent, probably absorbing the news. “Oh my God, Riley. I’m so sorry. Geez. This morning? Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve come over.”
“I didn’t want you to miss work. I know you just got that job, and well, the captain helped me out. He took me to the mortuary to say goodbye. But I’m telling you now.”
“Yeah. I guess so. I can be there in twenty minutes. I’ll bring dinner.”
“You don’t have…”
“Yes I do. I’ll see you soon.”
The rumbling from Jacob’s older model Mustang as it approached the front of Riley’s house caught her attention. She stood from the sofa, forcing CJ from his comfortable spot, and walked to the door. The bright headlights lit up her living room for just a moment until he parked and turned them off. She opened the door and wore a compulsory smile at his approach. “Thanks for coming. You didn’t have to…”
“Last I checked, I was your boyfriend. This is kind of my job.” Jacob held two plastic bags. “I hope you’re in the mood for Chinese.”
“Sounds great. Come in.” Riley stepped aside while he entered, and she closed the door behind him. “You can put in on the kitchen table. I’ll grab some plates.” Food was the last thing on her mind; regardless, Jacob had gone out of his way and made the effort. She wouldn’t insult him by refusing the meal. Making others happy was what Riley did best.
Jacob set down the food and immediately advanced with open arms. “I’m so sorry about Carl, Riley. I know how much you loved him.” He pulled her close to his chest.
It felt good to be in his arms. It always did. Her love for Jacob was never the problem. It was the fact that he abandoned her, regardless of whether she insisted it was what he should do. It wasn’t fair to put that on him, but nothing in this life had been fair to Riley Thompson. Nothing.
He gently pushed her back. “You look like you’re holding up okay, but looks are deceiving.”
“I’m okay. I mean, I’m not, but I will be—in time.” She walked to a cabinet and retrieved two plates. “We should eat. Don’t want the food to get cold.”
They sat on the sofa with their plates of Chinese food and watched the news, neither speaking of what Riley had seen when she touched Carl. Jacob was no stranger to her abilities and how her gift worked. He’d seen it when they were younger. He’d also witnessed how much stronger it had become now that she was an adult. What she’d done that day at the old plant just a few short months ago was unlike anything she had done before. Riley picked up that man as if he was nothing more than an insect and flung him across the plant floor, dangling him over a conveyor belt, ready to end his life. That was how strong she had become. Willing people to move wasn’t something she could do as a child.
“I can tell you want to know what I saw.” Riley placed her fork on the plate and turned to him. “With Carl.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything, Riley. I’m just glad you called me.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you earlier.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin and tucked behind her ears her thin blonde hair. “He wasn’t in pain. I know that, thank God. He showed me his life, in pictures. It was wonderful and horrible at the same time. Carl suffered a lot of terrible things in his life.”
“That he did,” Jacob replied. “I’m glad to know he passed peacefully. I’m sure that must be a consolation for you.”
“Yes, but then it changed. I was still there, the pictures of his life were there, but then he showed me a deck of cards. They just floated down, one by one. I caught one of them, the Queen of Hearts. I don’t know what any of that was supposed to mean.”
“I don’t know either.”
Riley sighed. “I have to start making the arrangements tomorrow. I need to clean out his apartment.”
“Let me help. Please. It’s the least I can do, and I want to do it.”
“Okay. Yeah.”
Riley pulled her bag from the desk drawer. “I’m heading over to Carl’s apartment.” She
looked at her partner, Officer Ethan Pruitt. “You’ll be okay here for a while? I won’t be but a couple of hours.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m sure the captain and I can hold down the fort while you’re gone. Is Jacob going with you?”
“He is.”
“Oh.” Pruitt cast away his gaze. “Well, you shouldn’t be going on your own. So. Good. Glad to see he’s stepping up.”
“Ethan, you know how hard Jacob’s been trying. Come on. After what we all went through with the mob guys. He got shot, for Pete’s sake.”
“I know he did. I’m sorry. You’re right. I need to cut him some slack.” Pruitt returned his attention to his computer. “Still, I mean, the guy broke your heart, but whatever. Not my business.”
Riley regarded him with dismay. “I’ll be back later. Let Cap know?”
“Copy that.” He watched as she started to leave. “Hey, Riley.”
She turned back. “Yeah?”
“I know what he meant to you—Carl. If you need a shoulder, or whatever…”
“Thanks, Ethan. You’ve always been there for me.” She smiled and pushed through the doors.
It was no secret how Ethan Pruitt felt about Riley. Not only had she seen it in his eyes and felt the emotions in his mind, but he’d said as much too. It had been hard for him to watch Jacob work his way back into her life and she tried to make it easier on him. Her efforts, however, seemed futile. No matter what Jacob did or how he helped Riley, Ethan would never forgive him for hurting her. He wasn’t even there when it happened after graduation, but he knew about it. Everyone did. Riley Thompson and Jacob Biggs were supposed to be together forever. That was what the whole town thought. No one else knew of Riley’s gift back then. The night of the tornado, Jacob didn’t know then either. It wasn’t until they started dating in high school that she revealed to him what had happened and what she could do. It nearly scared him off. Maybe she would’ve been better off if he had ended it then, but he didn’t. He decided to wait until she was completely and utterly in love with him to cut ties.
Well, Ethan Pruitt hadn’t forgiven him for that, even if Riley had. Mostly. And when Jacob returned, bringing all kinds of trouble with him, it was another reason for Ethan to dislike him. Now that a few months had passed, and she and Jacob appeared to be on the mend, Riley felt Ethan was further disenfranchised from her life. But he wasn’t, not from her perspective. She never really had those feelings for him to begin with. So Jacob coming back had no bearing on what might’ve happened between them.
Riley pulled to a stop alongside the front of the senior facility. She stepped out of her patrol car, dressed in her brown uniform, which she begged the captain to change to blue or something less like a UPS driver. A smile stretched across her lips when she spotted Jacob walking toward her. “Thanks for coming.”
He approached and kissed her on the cheek. “Of course. This isn’t something you should do alone, Riley.”
“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” She led the way inside and immediately felt grief from the two staffers who had cared for Carl on a regular basis. Riley knew them both well. “Hey.”
“Oh, Riley, honey, I can’t tell you how sorry I am about Carl.” The older woman, slightly plump, but well put together, wrapped her arms around her. “That man was a thorn in my side, and I loved him so much.”
“I know you did, Carol. He knew it too.”
“And he loved you most of all. Don’t you forget that, Riley Thompson. Don’t you ever forget that.”
“I won’t. Do you think we could go up?” She peered back at Jacob, who stood with his hands in his pockets, appearing sullen. “We’d like to clear out his things.”
“Of course.” The woman turned to her colleague. “Hey, Rose, would you mind letting them in Carl’s room?”
“Sure. I’ll take you up.” Rose pushed up from her chair. Dressed in pink scrubs, slim, and approaching sixty, she led them to his room. Her sneakers squeaked on the scuffed faux-marble floor and her scrubs swayed loosely around her figure. “We are really going to miss that miserable old goat.”
Riley smiled because she could sense Rose truly loved Carl. He was a miserable old goat, but that didn’t change the fact that he had a great big heart.
Rose inserted her key into the lock and pushed open the door. “Take as long as you need. Anything you don’t want will be donated.”
“Thanks, Rose.” Riley stepped inside. Her senses were bombarded. She stumbled back a few steps when Jacob reached out for her.
“Hey. It’s okay. I got you. You’re okay.” He steadied her before turning back to Rose. “I got it from here. She’ll be all right. It’s just a lot to take in.”
“Sure it is, honey. You let me know if you need anything at all.” Her eyes shifted to Riley and began to well with tears. “You’ll be okay, sugar.”
Jacob waited until Rose left and shut the door behind her. “Can you stand on your own now?”
“Yeah. Sorry. It just kind of hit me all at once.”
“I know. We’ll take this one step at a time, okay? I’m here for you.”
Riley returned her weight to her feet and smoothed down her uniform. “Okay. I’m ready.” She felt his presence everywhere. It was as though he was still sitting in his favorite recliner, the one on which she now set her sights. This was going to be more difficult than she first thought. “Just suck it up,” she whispered.
“What’s that?” Jacob asked.
“Nothing. I just need to pull my act together. I’ll start in his room. He got rid of most of his stuff before he moved in here, but anything that meant something to him will be in there.”
“Sure. I’ll let you go and take care of that. I’m sure you’ll want the time to yourself.”
Riley nodded and walked into the short hall and veered right into the only bedroom. As she gazed around the room, she realized he was a man of ordinary means. He never wanted for anything because he didn’t need much. The double bed against the back wall. A couple of tattered oak nightstands with lamps. A tall-boy chest of drawers was fixed in the corner with a television on top of it. The TV had been a gift from Riley a couple of years ago when she realized he was spending more and more time in his bed as he aged. There were usually only two places one would find Carl in his apartment. His bedroom and his recliner. Unless it was mealtime, then he’d make himself go downstairs to eat in the cafeteria with the rest of the “old biddies,” as he used to call them. There weren’t a lot of men in this place. He often quipped how he could have had any one of them broads if he’d wanted. Pick of the litter. But he hadn’t wanted that. In fact, Riley couldn’t recall him with a woman in the sixteen years she’d known him. But Riley likened it to the fact that after his second wife died, he figured there wasn’t much point. He might’ve been right.
She walked to his closet and opened the door. Several clothes hung on hangers. Mostly t-shirts and jeans. That was who he was. But as she peered up to the shelf, she spotted a shoebox. A rush of feelings pushed through her. This box meant something to Carl. She raised on her tiptoes and pulled it down, setting it on his bed.
Upon opening the lid, several photographs were stacked on top of one another. “Pictures. You showed me these.” Riley tipped over the box and spread out the photos. Some were Polaroids, some were prints that had been developed at Walgreens. Most were pretty old. Riley sifted through them, recognizing several he had chosen to show her yesterday.
The image she was most drawn to, she picked up. A young woman and a child, a little girl. Riley knew instantly who they were. Carl’s first wife, Rosalyn, and daughter, Mary, both killed in a car accident in 1973 when Carl was in the Marines. The one responsible for that accident was her own grandfather. It was a revelation that came by way of her gift. She hadn’t recognized it as a gift in those days. It was more of a curse.
“You’re with them now, Carl. And CJ. You have your family back.” She pressed the photo against her chest and sobbed. She had made it through last nig
ht without succumbing to the grief, but now, seeing the picture, feeling him all around her, it was more than she could bear. Releasing the pain was her only remedy.
Jacob must’ve heard her cries as he rushed in. “Riley? Riley, are you okay?”
Of course she wasn’t, that was obvious, but it was the usual sort of thing people said when no words could offer enough comfort.
“It’s just being here, you know? Seeing all his stuff. These pictures. He kept what mattered most to him.”
Jacob picked up one of the prints. “You mean, like this one?”
Riley smiled at the image. It was the day she graduated from the Police Academy. He stood next to her like a proud grandpa. Dan was on the other side. The two men who were more like a father and grandfather than her own family ever was. That wasn’t entirely fair because she never knew her grandfather, not Jack’s dad anyway. Though she had more in common with him than with any other member of her family.
“I remember this like it was yesterday,” she said.
“It must’ve meant a lot to Carl to keep it with all these. You meant the world to him, Riley. But it’s time to let go. He needs to rest, and he might try to stick around if he thinks you need him to. Tell him you’ll be okay. That you learned all he had to teach you and you can take it from here.”
Those were probably the wisest words Riley had ever heard come from Jacob’s mouth. Carl had just passed, but the strength of his soul still lived here. It was much too strong. Maybe he was right. Carl would never choose to abandon her. “You know, this guy over here,” she began to speak to the room. “I think he might have you pegged. I have learned so much from you. Strength, compassion, fearlessness—forgiveness. You did your job, Carl. It’s time for you to enjoy your family. I’m sure there’ll be a Hoosier game on soon anyway, right? Go on. Go watch the game. I’ll be just fine.” She lost her voice but turned to Jacob and in a whisper began, “I’ll be just fine.”