Someone Knows Something

by Christa Weisman

  “Come on,” Maloney said. “The sheriff has things under control right now. Let’s get you some water.”

  He needed something stronger than water. A lot stronger. There was a flask waiting for him in the glove compartment of his patrol car. If he could just get to it without Maloney, he would feel better. He pulled his arm from his friend’s grip and did his best to smile.

  “I’m fine, really,” he said to Maloney’s wary look. “I think this case is just getting to me, and I lost control for a moment.”

  Maloney let go of his arm. “I hear ya, Chief.” He leaned in closer. “Between you and me, I haven’t been sleeping much. Too much running through my head, you know?”

  Rex nodded. He did.

  “We gotta keep it together, though,” he continued. “I tell myself all the time if I’m struggling, just imagine what these families are going through. That helps me keep my head on straight.”

  Rex placed a hand on his friend’s arm. “You’re a good man, Maloney. You’d make a good police chief.”

  Maloney looked taken aback. “I’m not taking your job, Chief.”

  Rex looked back at Nora and Anna, huddled together as they watched their husbands trek off to the woods. Maloney may not have had a choice in the matter. If the mayor were, in fact, to fire Rex from being the chief of police, Rex would lobby for Maloney to take over. If by chance the mayor changed his mind and let Rex keep his job, Rex may still have decided to walk away. He was not the man for this job.

  “Go help the sheriff,” Rex encouraged. “I’ll go grab a coffee and calm down. Keep me informed if there is any new information.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  Rex caught Anna’s apologetic eye as he walked to his car. He didn’t want her pity or her apology. He nodded back at her and slid into the driver’s seat, noting the time. Lila would be out of school by now, and probably at home. He had half a mind to go home and tell her what was happening, but the other side of him pulled stronger. He drove down the steep gravel drive until he met concrete. From there, he turned from town and drove along the lake that met the bottom of Oracle Point. He found a place to park, away from the road and wandering eyes. He put his car in park and lifted the flask from the glove department. He shot back a drink, his eyes never leaving the scene ahead. From where he sat, he could make out a clear view of the top of Oracle Point.

  He kept his radio on, though it mostly fell silent as all of the officers in the area were on scene and in search of the boys. They would have spread out, taken various trails down to the lake below as well as searched the deep of the brush in case one of the boys had gone off trail and become lost. There was just as much possibility of finding the boys together as alone.

  He drank in the silence, his nerves rattling as his mind filled with images making him sick to his stomach. Ethan, Caleb, J.R., Lila.

  Lila, Lila, Lila.

  It was foolish of him to have allowed the mayor to shake him as he did. But he couldn’t help himself. The rage that he held deep in his belly was slowly seeping out, and he didn’t know how to contain it any longer.

  He drank while the evening sun began to set over the hill, and still, no word came from the mountain above. He should have gone home, but he wasn’t sure if he could see straight enough to do it. His head wobbled as he struggled to keep it upright and straight. He should have been on the mountain. He shouldn’t have been on the mountain. He was a fuck-up. Everyone knew that. His head slid to the side as he eyed the gun on the passenger seat. He picked it up and weighed it in his hand. Would anyone even care?

  Lila, Lila, Lila.

  He swore under his breath as he placed the gun back on the seat. He took another drink, emptying the flask. Crap, now what was he going to do? He closed his eyes and began to drift when the two-way radio shifted on, startling him.

  “Chief. Come in, Chief, this is Officer Maloney.”

  His fingers wobbled with the cord, causing the CB to fall from his hands. He picked it up and cleared his throat. He tried his voice before pushing the button to return the message.

  “This is Chief Tourney.” How much longer would he be able to say that? He waited in silence for a reply. It seemed to take forever. He wished he had more to drink.

  “Chief,” Maloney’s voice came back over. “We found a body.”

  Three weeks earlier

  Ballots for Homecoming King and Queen were passed among students. It would be no question that J.R. and Grace would hold the title, but they had to earn it rightfully through a vote. Avery and Grace had plans that upcoming weekend to travel north to Seattle to buy their dresses, a tradition of theirs since freshman year. They hadn’t officially been asked to the Homecoming dance yet, but that was just a technicality. Of course Grace would go with J.R., and Avery—well, she thought Caleb better get his act together soon and ask. She’d been dropping hints whenever they were around each other, whether that was when they were making out in the back of his Jeep or when he was ignoring her and talking to the boys at the lockers. She made sure he heard her. He was doing this on purpose, she knew. It would just be like him to make her sweat it out.

  She watched him now, the way he eyed that freshman ass as it waddled by. He was a disgusting pig, and she hated that she loved him. He leaned against his locker all cocky. The girls giggled when they walked by and caught him staring. She was sure they felt special. Avery knew by experience that they weren’t. She rolled her eyes and then glared at the girls when they passed. Their smiles quickly vanished from their faces.

  Ethan walked up between her and Caleb, and twisted the knob to enter his locker combo. She looked up at him. Why hadn’t she ever gone for Ethan? He was just as hot as Caleb, maybe a little prettier and not so rough around the edges. She wondered what he would be like in bed, if he would actually care about her needs.

  “Ethan,” she said sweetly, leaning into him.

  He didn’t look at her when he answered. “Yep?”

  “Go to Homecoming with me.”

  Grace, who’d been wrapped up in J.R., spun her head Avery’s way. “What?”

  But it was Caleb who caught Avery off guard. It was meant to make him jealous, and instead, he was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. Asshole.

  “Uh,” Ethan stammered as he shoved his math book to the back of his locker. “Thanks, Ave, but I’m not going with anyone this year.”

  Her face turned as red as her hair. “Who goes without a date to Homecoming?”

  Ethan closed his locker and turned to face her, one shoulder against the cool blue metal. He shrugged. “I don’t like to be tied down,” he teased. “Besides, don’t you already have a date?” He rolled his eyes back toward Caleb behind him.

  She leaned against the locker and crossed her arms. “No.”

  “Come on, Caleb,” J.R. said. “Don’t be a jerk.”

  Avery was so embarrassed. She did not need a pity date. She was sure there were plenty of other guys in this school who would be happy to take her to the dance if Ethan and Caleb wouldn’t. She’d been told her number was plastered on all of the boys’ bathroom stalls.

  Caleb was still chuckling when he came to stand in front of her. She rolled her eyes and looked away when he dropped to one knee in front of her. It caused other students to stop and watch. He took her hand.

  “Avery Abigail Quinn, will you escort me to the Homecoming dance?”

  “You’re a prick.”

  He cocked a smile. “Is that a yes?”

  “Fine,” she retorted. But she couldn’t help but smile. Everyone was watching them when he lifted her up off the ground and kissed her hard on the lips.

  “You’ve made me the happiest man on the planet.”

  She swatted at him. “Put me down. You better take me to a really expensive restaurant.”

  “Aren’t you making me dinner?”

  “Yeah, Ave,” Grace chimed in. “I was thinking it would be really fun to make the guys dinner this year. My mom said it was okay and they’d
leave the house for us. And Ethan, you can come, too.”

  “Pre-party shots on me!” Caleb cried out.

  Avery sighed. “Fine.” She wouldn’t argue about getting sloshed before the dance.

  “And the after-party at Bryan’s,” J.R. said, smiling at Grace. What he was thinking about was the old cabin playhouse deep in the backyard of Bryan’s house. Every year, Bryan auctioned the room to the highest bidder, and this year it was J.R.. A few candles and incense burning would hopefully be what Grace needed to feel special and get her in the mood.

  “Bryan throws the sickest Homecoming parties,” Caleb exclaimed. “Remember last year?” He winked at Avery. It was Caleb who had won the cabin last year, where he’d taken what he’d assumed was Avery’s virginity.

  Everyone remembered last year, Ethan thought. And everyone but Caleb had known that Avery wasn’t a virgin. She’d lost it to Marcus Freshman year. How’d Caleb miss that? But no one corrected Caleb when he boasted about it, especially Avery.

  Ethan lifted his head to the crowd of students rushing from one class to the next. A few guys stopped, as they always did, to high five the star athletes and comment on the previous game. Walking toward them, he recognized the golden hair nestled between two brunettes. As she stepped closer, their eyes met and he held her stare and smiled. Lila bit down on her lower lip, trying to suppress her wide grin.

  The exchange didn’t go unnoticed.

  “The chief’s daughter?” Caleb exclaimed. “Damn, Ethan, are you hitting that?”

  Ethan’s smiled faded as he glared at his friend. “Shut up, Caleb.”

  Caleb whistled. “Isn’t she like fifteen? I mean I’m all for the young girls, you know, but didn’t know you liked to babysit.” He winked at his friend.

  “You’re disgusting,” Avery snapped at him. She pushed off the locker and grabbed Grace’s hand. Grace planted a kiss on J.R.’s cheek as she was yanked away and led to class.

  “Don’t talk about her that way,” Ethan warned. “And it’s not like that.”

  “What’s it like, then?” J.R. asked. He seemed sincere, which Ethan appreciated even if he was chuckling at Caleb’s jabs. “She wasn’t looking at you like it’s not like that.”

  Ethan shrugged. “We’ve just talked some, that’s it. And I took her for a drive the other day.”

  Caleb smacked his friend playfully in the arm. “Damn! You’re getting some from the chief’s daughter. You know he hooks up with my mom?”

  “I’m not getting some from Lila,” Ethan repeated. He wouldn’t deny that the thought had crossed his mind. It actually crossed his mind a lot late at night when he was alone in bed.

  “What are you talking about, Caleb?” J.R. asked. J.R. had never seen Kate with a guy before. It was strange to think of her with anyone, especially someone well known in this town. “Is your mom dating the chief of police? I thought you hated him.”

  “He’s a douche.” He nodded. “She doesn’t talk about it and I don’t want to hear about it. And it’s never when I’m at home. But I’ve seen the evidence of him being there.” He smiled at Ethan. “What if it got serious and they like moved in together? Maybe Lila and I could share a room…”

  Ethan’s face went red. He didn’t like Caleb talking about Lila like she was another one of his playthings. “Knock it off, Caleb.”

  “Oooh, did I hit a nerve?” Caleb laughed. “Hey, I’m just saying if you’re not hitting that, then she’s fair game, right? Can’t blame me if we’re stuck in the same house.”

  Ethan shoved off the locker and stormed off.

  Lila watched the scene unfold from a distance. She didn’t know what had happened to make Ethan go from happy and smiling to brooding and looking pissed. He turned the corner and out of her sight, headed down the English hall. She looked back to see Caleb Weston and J.R. Hudson laughing at an inside joke, and she had the sinking suspicion that maybe the joke was her.

  She wanted to fall into a sinkhole.

  “So, are you going to tell us what’s going on with you and Ethan Young?” Hannah asked her, breaking her thoughts.

  Lila looked at her best friend, the one she told everything to. “I don’t know what you mean. Nothing’s going on.”

  “Come on, Lila,” Olivia pressed. “We’re not stupid. And where’d you disappear with him to the other day?”

  “He took me on a drive,” she answered. A small smile crept up on her lips. “Actually, he let me drive his car.”

  “What?” Hannah exclaimed. “You drove Ethan’s car? You don’t even have a license.”

  “Duh.” Lila sighed. “He knew that.” She kept her answers short. There was something pressing inside her to keep her feelings for Ethan a secret. Deep down, she knew it had to do with him not returning her obsession.

  “Are you ditching us for Homecoming?” Olivia asked.

  “Right.” Lila rolled her eyes. “Like my dad would even let me go with a date to Homecoming.”

  “So you do want to go with him!” Hannah declared, loud enough to get stares from passing students.

  Lila looked away from her best friend. She didn’t know how to lie to her and get away with it. “No.”

  “Liar!” Hannah cried out.

  Lila brought her finger to her lips to hush her friend. But a smile broke through anyway. The truth was that she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Ethan since he’d taken her for a drive. They’d had small exchanges in the hall between classes, and even once at lunch. But as far as she knew, he’d forgotten his invitation to not go to homecoming together.

  Lila looked her friend straight in the eyes and kept her lips from smiling. “I swear that there is nothing going on between Ethan Young and me.”

  Hannah eyed her, looking for any cracks. But it was Olivia who spoke. “I don’t know, Lila. He was looking at you like he likes you.”

  Lila bit down on her lower lip. So she wasn’t imagining it. “Well, it’s not like my dad would ever let me go out with him.”

  Hannah shrugged. “So don’t tell him.”

  Lila rolled her eyes. “You try keeping a secret from the chief of police and let me know how that works out for you.”

  “Tell him you’re staying at my house,” Hannah suggested. “He’ll believe you.”

  Hannah’s parents had always been the lenient ones. Being an only child, Hannah pretty much got whatever she wanted, whether that was no curfew, or a brand new car she wasn’t even able to drive yet. Olivia and Lila soaked up Hannah’s privileges, and Hannah was all too eager to share. Lila was an only child too, but lived a vastly different life.

  “Actually,” Lila said. “Can we stay at your house on Homecoming night? There’s this party we got invited to.”

  “Whose party?” Hannah asked. “You don’t mean Keith’s, ’cause his are always super lame.”

  Lila shook her head. “No, Bryan Lawson.”

  Olivia’s eyes widened. “You got invited to Bryan Lawson’s Homecoming party?”

  “We did,” Lila clarified.

  Hannah held up a hand. “Wait, what? How?”

  Lila shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about it. “Ethan invited us.”

  “Girl, there are things you are not telling us,” Hannah quipped.

  The bell to class rang above them, but the girls didn’t move. Hannah was going to dig the truth out of her best friend, even if it meant missing her math exam.

  Lila sighed. “I told Ethan I was going to Homecoming with my friends. And he said that there was this after-party we should come to.”

  Hannah eyed her suspiciously. “That’s it?”

  “That’s it,” Lila confirmed.

  Hannah looked at Olivia, dumbfounded. “Okay,” she said. “I guess we’re going to Bryan Lawson’s party.”

  Lila smiled. She couldn’t wait to not go to Homecoming with Ethan Young.

  Four days gone

  The words rang in Jameson’s head like a gong being hit with a mallet over and over again. It made him dizzy, un
able to focus.

  “We found a body!”

  Nick gripped Jameson’s arm, though Jameson wasn’t sure if it was to keep himself steady or Jameson from falling. Thank God they’d sent the women home. He wouldn’t want Anna to hear this, to wonder if the body they found was their son’s.

  He had been kept back from the scene, a shadow in the background. He wasn’t supposed to be there, but it was made clear that neither he nor Nick would be leaving the mountain without their sons. There had been a bit of a frenzy after he kicked Tourney out, but then they all got their asses in gear and sorted out that there was an important job to be done. He wanted his son found.

  It had taken all of his strength to hang back, leaning against his car and watching others as they took over. He was used to being in charge, and when your child goes missing it’s the responsibility of the parent to find them. He should have been the one out on those trails, searching through brush, looking for clues as to where his son might be hiding. He saw it in Nick too, the way his body leaned forward, ready to pounce. They didn’t say much standing together, but they each felt what the other was feeling. And just being there, with his best friend of over thirty-five years, gave Jameson the slightest bit of comfort, knowing he wasn’t alone.

  When the words he dreaded to hear echoed through the trees, he thought he would run toward the sound. That his first instinct would be to see if what they had found was, in fact, J.R., but his body betrayed him. He froze, like a coward.

  “Sheriff!” One of the officers called out as he made his way through the clearing. The sheriff trotted towards him “We’ve got a body,” the officer said, out of breath. “He’s about a hundred and fifty feet down from the ledge. We found him on a rocky cliff that juts out from the mountain.”

  “Do you know who it is?” Sheriff Gibson asked.

  The officer shook his head. He looked distraught as though he had never seen anything like this. “No, he’s face down, and he’s hard to reach. I need the fire department to help us get him. Most likely, we need to rope down.”