by PJ Fernor
“I love it here, Ben,” Lo said. “I mean it. I know it’s not easy for you. Or Allie. Or your father. I can’t imagine what he must feel.”
I nodded. “Go back to texting and being a teenager. Just not a dumb teenager, okay?”
“Deal,” Lo said.
I shut her door and smiled.
All things considered, I was a very lucky guy.
Then my luck decided to run out.
My phone vibrated with a text message from Johnny Barby.
Wanting me to call him.
He was by far the last person I wanted to talk to.
A part of me still couldn’t get rid of the image of Allie kissing him that one time.
Sure, the guy had been tied up and almost killed… but still…
I had to push those feelings away.
It made me go back even more to when Allie had been involved with Tommy.
Her high school sweetheart.
I loved her. She loved Tommy.
Tommy was a loser.
Allie knew it all along, but she couldn’t help herself.
There was another example of Dad being the man and hero he was.
He saw the way I looked at Allie. And he saw the way Allie looked at me.
Even when we were in high school.
He always told me to be patient. Be protective but be patient.
Learning patience was by far the hardest thing for me to do.
But it served me well. Not just back then, it also served me in my job.
It wasn’t easy to come home and try to act like things were okay when there was a murderer on the loose. Patience taught me how to create a balance. Patience taught me how to remain calm, look for clues, and patience taught me when to act and when to wait.
Johnny sent another text.
A question mark.
I gritted my teeth and walked through the house to the front door.
Outside, I shook my head as I called him.
“Ben,” Johnny said in that annoying tone he called a voice.
“Johnny.”
“How’s it going? Did I wake you?”
“What do you want?”
“No time for small talk?”
“I’m not a small talk kind of guy, Johnny.”
“That I know is a lie. But I get it. You don’t like me. I don’t like you. The only thing we have in common is Allie.”
“No, we don’t have her in common,” I said. “I’m not getting into it with you.”
“I think I’m right on this one, Ben. You know the only reason I would want to talk to you would be because of Allie.”
“Okay then. You’ve got me on the phone. What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure how to approach this situation.”
“What situation is that, Johnny?”
He sighed. “I know who killed Allie’s sister.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I didn’t need to be in law enforcement or a detective to know something was off with Ben. He told me he had a rough night of sleep. That he ended up wandering around the house, checking on everyone. When I pushed at him a little harder, he told me Lo was up late texting Trevor. That he promised her he wouldn’t say a thing.
Meaning I had to keep my mouth shut.
I locked that away just in case I needed it later. Not that I wanted to be that mom to Lo, but if she ended up getting a poor grade on her chemistry test, I would have to step in and take her phone or limit her texting time with her boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
My mind shifted gears at that.
That Lo had a boyfriend. That Lo wanted to drive. That Lo was looking at technical schools to get a head start on her nursing education and career. That was just a ploy to spend more time with Trevor.
I had to hand it to her though. She had a plan. She was far more organized in life than I was at her age. My world revolved around Tommy at her age. I was so smitten and lost in that world of puppy dog love, I had no idea the difference between up and down or red from blue.
I had no doubt that Lo felt that puppy dog love toward Trevor, but she also kept her own goals and dreams in mind too.
When I arrived at the station, Ben broke away from me way too quickly. He wanted to go talk to Muldavey.
I went to my office, thinking I was going to be alone.
Mayor Jim waited for me.
This time with coffee and some cake.
“Thin slices,” he said to me. “From Margaret’s place. She makes everything by hand. Herself. She’s the best, right?”
“Is this a kind gesture or a bribe?” I asked.
“Just two people finding common ground,” he said. “We have to work together.”
“Work together,” I said. “You mean, I have to solve a murder while you worry about how many lollipops to order using taxpayer money for your parade.”
Mayor Jim smiled. “You would make a great politician, Allie.”
“I’m too honest for the job, Jim.”
“I can teach you.”
“To what, lie?”
“There is no lying. There’s a personal version of the truth.”
Allie laughed out loud. “I think we’re done here, Jim. You’re here to bother me about this case. I’m working on it. We all are. I don’t want to get into it.”
“These notes,” Mayor Jim said. “They’re not threatening, right?”
“It doesn’t matter whether they are or not. They’re serious. Whoever killed Claire and Candice is too close for comfort.”
“But they haven’t hurt anyone else.”
“Yet.”
“Of course. Believe me, I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt.”
“But you won’t back down on your parade.”
“That I can’t do. We both know that.”
“I’m trying to keep this town safe and calm. But there’s a murderer out there. That should bother you more than it does.”
“This does bother me. Sometimes my job requires me to hold a certain standard since so many look up to me. What would it do to you and this town if I raced around scared? It would put everyone into a state of panic. That would only hurt you, Allie. I’m concerned. Very concerned. I was just asking about these notes to get your thoughts. How serious they are. If it could be someone else messing around. Maybe someone got wind of the murders and is having fun. Just throwing ideas out there. I do care, Allie. I care very much.”
“I appreciate that, Jim. There’s not a single thing you’ve thought that I haven’t thought.”
“Okay,” he said. “At the very least, I wanted to stop by and give you a little treat. You’re doing a great job, Allie. Keep it up.”
Mayor Jim winked at me.
Ben came into my office as Mayor Jim walked out, but not before grabbing Ben’s hand for an aggressive handshake.
“He never gets any less annoying,” Ben said.
“Never,” I said.
“We’ve got nothing going on right now, Allie Down. This is driving me crazy.”
“Me too,” I said. “There’s a part of me that wonders if I should call Garrison.”
Ben sighed. “Really?”
“He’s got resources,” I said. “He knows this town. The people. He was undercover here, Ben. For a long time. One call and he could help.”
“Do you really want that attention? You know that will set Mayor Jim off.”
“I know. What’s more important? Solving these two murders or a parade?”
“Hey, you don’t have to twist my arm for an answer,” Ben said. “I understand.”
“It almost feels like this was so well planned out,” I said. “The location, the time, everything. Claire and Candice were seriously in the absolute worst place and time ever. Nobody saw a thing. Nobody heard a thing. Other than Mrs. Mickels. But even then, she can’t help us.”
“Then we get together and start over. Think from the beginning.”
“Or I call Garrison. Ask him to help but without too much at once. E
xplain what’s happening in town. With Mayor Jim. The parade.”
“That might be a big risk,” Ben said.
We both fell silent.
I pictured the trails. Where Claire and Candice had been. Where the bodies were found. The foot in the pumpkin.
My office door opened again.
This time it was Johnny.
“Great,” Ben muttered.
“Did I just make your morning that much better?” Johnny asked.
I glanced at him.
“Oh,” Johnny said. “I feel the tension in here.” He looked at Ben. “You told her?”
“Told me what?” I asked.
“I haven’t said a word yet,” Ben said to Johnny. “Thanks for that.”
“Why haven’t you told her?” Johnny asked.
“Hello!” I called out. “Tell me what?”
“I was waiting for the right time,” Ben said. Then he looked at me. “I guess now is the right time.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ben hung his head and sighed. “Thanks for this one, Johnny.”
“Hey, I didn’t know,” Johnny said. “I thought you two were the perfect couple that shared everything. That you knew everything about each other’s lives and all that. I called you last night, Ben, and I-”
“Last night,” I cut in. “That’s why you couldn’t sleep?”
Ben looked at me. “Not just that, Allie Down. I was restless about everything going on. With my father…”
I saw Ben felt uncomfortable talking about his father in front of Johnny.
“Your father is sick, right?” Johnny asked Ben.
“Alzheimer’s.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“I am too. He had an episode and it was just bothering me.” Ben moved his eyes to me again. “I checked on Dad. I checked on Lo. Then Johnny wanted to talk. I went outside and he told me that they found out who killed Alex.”
Hearing the words made me shiver.
“I didn’t realize you two hadn’t talked yet,” Johnny said. “I know I can be a jerk at times…”
I laughed.
“Fine,” Johnny said. “I’m a jerk all the time. Just not this time.”
“Okay, it doesn’t matter,” I said. “It doesn’t matter who’s a jerk or not. I want to know everything.”
“Before that,” Ben said to me. “You have to know the position I’m in here. We have this case going on. I was going to talk to you today. We got here and Mayor Jim was waiting for you. It’s been a little busy.”
“I’m not mad at you, Ben,” I said. “If that’s what you’re worried about. I just want to know what happened to my sister.”
“You know what happened to your sister,” Johnny said. “You know more than all of us do, Allie. What we know was that she was in a car accident. Someone hit her car and drove off. Sadly, she passed. Right?”
“Who did it, Johnny?”
Johnny tightened his jaw for a second. “Okay. You made the demand a while ago. I heard you loud and clear. Both of us did. It wasn’t easy to figure this out. I had put out some information to some old friends. I had to tell them I was working an active investigation. I’m sorry, Allie, but the interest in this was nowhere to be found. It sounds sad, and it is. It was your sister. Your niece’s mother.”
“I get it,” I said. “The list of priorities is messed up.”
“A friend of a friend called me to ask more questions,” Johnny asked. “This was, I don’t know, two months ago.”
“Before that video you showed me?” I asked.
Johnny nodded. “This guy had been dealing with something similar. Then again, hit and runs happen all the time. The thing is, he had some decent footage of the accident. It meant nothing to me at the time. I didn’t want to get your hopes up. The vehicles didn’t match. Okay? The video I showed you seemed to be the right vehicle. We traced that video back to a junkyard. Things got stirring in my mind and I got the first video. After comparing the two and figuring out where those vehicles ended up going…”
“The same place,” I said.
“That’s right,” Johnny said. “So now we have a location.”
“You know where this junkyard is?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s go. Right now.”
“Allie,” Ben whispered.
“No,” I said. “I want to make this very clear. I don’t care what has to happen, but I am making the arrest. I am going to look that guy in the face and… arrest him…”
“Do you want to know his name?” Johnny asked.
My heart sank. “Yes.”
“Calvin,” Johnny said. “Durean. That’s the guy who did it, Allie. I was able to trace him back to that junkyard. After a little digging, I found out that he worked there. The entire place is a front for something else. What that something else is I really don’t care about at the moment. I just cared about finding the guy who killed your sister. I’m willing to bet we can find the car too. If it’s not destroyed. Not sure if he would have been smart enough to destroy it.”
“Then let’s go,” I said.
“He’s a career criminal,” Johnny said.
“I don’t care.”
“He’s dangerous.”
“With a car,” I said.
“There’s a small group that works at the junkyard,” Johnny said, completely ignoring me. “They all have records. Again, I’m not worried about that. There are some open investigations into the place already.”
“Yeah, I get it, Johnny,” I said. “Us busting in and making an arrest makes us look bad. So you don’t want me to kick down the door, right? Fine. But whatever phone calls you need to make, do them right now. Explain the situation. Okay? We need to isolate Calvin so I can arrest him. I’m not taking no for an answer on this one either. I promised myself… my sister… even my niece… I would make this right.” I looked at Ben. “And before you say anything, I’m well aware this won’t bring Alex back. What it will do is make me feel like I did something for my sister.”
“For the record, you are doing something for your sister,” Ben said. “You’re taking care of Lo. And you’re doing an amazing job of it.”
I looked at Johnny again. “Make your calls, Johnny. Whatever you need to do. We can go in casual. In fact, I’d like to do that. I’d like to talk to him before I arrest him. Hear what he has to say for himself.”
“Allie,” Johnny said. “Calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” I said. “Ever.”
“Yeah, don’t do that to her,” Ben said to Johnny.
“I’ll make a note of it, but you’re not listening,” Johnny said.
“I’m done listening,” I said. “We’re going over there right now. Either make your calls, Johnny, or we look bad. I don’t care. This is my chance to make this right.”
“Ben,” Johnny said.
Ben stepped into my path.
I lifted an eyebrow.
Do you think I won’t take you down, Ben? I love you, but I will put you on the floor and step over you and walk out of this office.
Except Ben had that face.
I knew that face.
The face that there was something else.
I turned my head and looked at Johnny. “What now?”
“You can’t make the arrest, Allie,” Johnny said.
“Why not?”
“Calvin is already in jail.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“He’s in jail,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” Ben said to me.
“You’ve been holding this in all night and this morning?”
“Bits and pieces,” Ben said. “I wanted to sit down and talk to you.”
“Just know he’s going to pay for what he did,” Johnny said.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
Johnny sighed. “He’s in jail for killing two people.”
“Killing…? How?”
Johnny rubbed his jaw. “Those who know tha
t junkyard and that area know Calvin. He’s always been untouchable. The place is dirty, Allie. It goes deep.”
“What? Cops and such?” I laughed. “Look at where I’m standing, Johnny. Look at the mess I’ve been in.”
“I know,” Johnny said. “I understand. Anytime Calvin got into trouble, he got right out of it. There were drunk driving charges that disappeared. There were assault charges that were dropped. There were money issues that magically fixed themselves. Believe me, it’s one of those kind of things.”
“What, like some organized crime situation?”
“Something like that,” Johnny said. “I can’t get involved in that whole thing. But as far as Calvin goes, he acted stupid and now he’s done for.”
“How so?”
“The two people he killed… they were in a car.”
“No,” I said.
Johnny nodded. “It was the same situation as your sister. He killed a father and his son. The kid was only ten. They were on their way home from a late-night movie. Father took his son to the first showing at midnight or however they do it. Calvin was drunk and driving reckless. He hit them broadside and…” Johnny cleared his throat. “They didn’t make it. As for Calvin, he tried to get away.”
I felt my anger growing in my chest. “What happened?”
“He tried to drive away but his car was messed up pretty bad. He tried to drive the car off an embankment but it died on him. He was so drunk, he was walking down the middle of the road. He had cuts and bruises on him. He was concussed from the accident. When he was picked up, it was all over for him. The man he killed was a lawyer’s cousin. They were close, like brothers. They were really close. This lawyer isn’t backing down. From what I understand, Calvin’s protection… they were told to back off or else things would get bad for everyone. Calvin even tried to talk right away. Wanting to spill secrets. Nobody cares. Nobody wants to hear it. They just want him to suffer.”
“Is he suffering?” I asked.
“He’s in jail, Allie,” Johnny said.
“That’s not suffering.”
“He’s in jail until trial,” Johnny said. “He’s not getting out of there. He’s done. It’s over. Even if he wants to try to make a deal, he’ll be in for the rest of his life. And even if it’s not, it’ll be a long time, Allie.”