by Andrew Gruse
Julie picked up her glass, swirled it beneath her nose, and sniffed it. They clinked the glasses. “This town is full of characters. Tell me about him.”
CHAPTER 27
Zack hung up and looked out the window again. The rain still fell but now as a steady rain instead of a blowing storm. He scanned the yard. Zack liked what he saw and realized in the right flyway the yard would be a magnet for migrants. A smaller man in a rain suit with a toolbox and toolbelt wrapped around his narrow waist walked along the side of the house. He stopped at the central air unit.
Zack watched as the man squatted beside the unit and opened it up. He opened his toolbox, pulled something out of it, and went to work inside the unit.
After a few minutes, the man left the unit, walked to the front, and Zack heard the front door open. Zack couldn’t make out what was said, but it sounded like Molly had the guy inside the house. Zack stuck his phone in his pocket and went downstairs.
Zack saw Molly walk across the living room and head out to the four-season room where Julie sat. Zack saw the open bottle of Merlot. It sounded good, but it was too early to start drinking for him. Later, for sure. But not now.
“There you are. I thought you’d never come back,” Julie said. She held out her hand to Zack. He walked to her, took her hand, and sat beside her. “We’re having a glass of wine. You want some?”
“No. I’m holding out for bourbon,” Zack said.
“I wish I had some for you,” Molly said.
“I’ll get some later. Who’s the guy messing with your central air unit?”
“Oh, that’s Marvin,” Molly said. “Marvin Solder. Owner of Solder Electrical.”
The name rang in Zack’s head. Part owner of the Midwest Development Company and Weber’s alibi. “Really? Something wrong with your air?”
“Wouldn’t turn on,” Molly said.
“Molly’s AC unit didn’t work, so she called the repairman. He said he had to run new wires or something.”
“Why would you have the AC on? It’s only seventy outside. How can you hear any birds with the windows closed?”
Julie smiled. “There you are,” she joked. She rubbed the top of his head. “I knew you were still in there.”
Zack smiled and rolled his eyes. “Molly, do you know who Keith Overton is?”
“Keith Overton? Are you kidding me?”
Zack exhaled. His patience already tested. “Who is he?”
“He’s been missing about eight years. From the same time Dick Miller killed himself,” Molly said.
Zack shook his head. “Jesus Christ, eight years ago this was one happening town.”
Julie looked at Zack. “What do you know?”
“Michelle dug up his name. Remember hearing about Midwest Development Company? The company that paid that guy to level the Johnston property. Overton is listed as one of the owners.”
“Are you kidding me?” Molly said again.
They both stared at her, and she knew it was time for her to tell what she knew.
“Overton was a chemistry teacher when I got here. I didn’t know him well like I told you before. My first couple of years here, I concentrated on teaching and stuck to myself mostly,” she said. “You really should have some of this wine. Isn’t it amazing, Jules?”
Julie smiled. She barely sipped hers. “It is good.”
“Molly,” Zack said, “Keith Overton.”
Molly smiled and winked at both of them. “I came to school one day, it was fall, and there was Orb in the teacher’s lounge talking to Keith. They quit talking as I put my stuff in the fridge, and Orb asked me to leave. I didn’t know what they talked about, but the rumor was that Keith had an inappropriate relationship with one of the students.”
“Please tell me it was with a girl,” Zack said.
Molly shook her head. “No. The boy’s name was Randy. I don’t remember his last name. Smith or something like that. Or Banks or Wilmot.” She shrugged. “I never had the kid in class, so I’m not sure.”
“Focus, Molly,” Zack said impatiently.
“Ok, so,” she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “The rumors circulated and it looked like the police were going to press charges when all of a sudden, the boy recanted his story. Said he made it all up because he wanted to hurt the teacher.”
“That would do it,” Julie said.
“The kid said he got a bad grade on his report card, and it ruined his chances of getting into a good university. I know that was all BS because the kid, according to another teacher who had Randy said he was dumb as a stump and had no chance of going to any university, but no matter.”
Zack sighed, and Julie squeezed his arm. She knew his limit was near.
“It may have been for a scholarship, I don’t remember.” She looked up, smiled, and winked at Zack. Julie smiled, and Zack realized Molly told her story like that intentionally to bother him. “Anyway, no one followed up on it, and nothing ever happened to Keith. Principal Bloom said the school didn’t need a scandal and that the rumors were false. Two months later, right before Christmas, the student disappeared.”
“What do you mean, disappeared?”
“I mean, he vanished. He left home one morning, and no one ever heard from him again. His body wasn’t found, no car was found, nothing. He disappeared,” Molly said. “I had a bad feeling about this place then. I knew I should have gotten out of here.”
“What happened to Keith?”
“After the Randy kid accused Keith, he resigned. There was a movement in town that tried to link Overton with the other pedophile charges in town. This was the same time the other kids went missing, but all were blamed on that disgusting mess Miller.”
Julie and Zack looked at each other. “Why didn’t they look at Overton?”
“Orb did. He looked at Keith and Dick Miller. He tried to find any connection he could but couldn’t. You know what happened to Miller, and at the same time, Keith disappeared.”
“Like quit and left town?”
“No, I mean, he literally disappeared.”
Zack shook his head. “How the hell does anyone still live in this place? My God! We haven’t had that many disappearing people in Fells Point ever!”
Julie slid her hand onto Zack’s back and patted him. “Don’t exaggerate.”
“So missing kids, mostly boys, a missing teacher, another teacher having sex with a male student who is now missing. I mean, come on! What do they put in the water here?” Zack said.
“Hey, I drink the water here and still like the appropriately aged opposite sex,” Molly said. “Here, have a drink of this wine. It will calm you down.” She winked.
Zack shook his head, grabbed the glass, and had a quick drink. “Miller, Overton, and Weber all went to Clyde High together,” he said. “Played football together. All interested in little boys.”
A knock on the entrance door to the four-season room startled them. Marvin Solder stood there, his toolbox in his hand, and his eyes stared intently on Zack.
“Molly,” Marvin said after he broke off his stare at Zack, “everything is set. I just have to get a part for it. A transducer,” Marvin said. “I’ll stop by and install it when I get it. You don’t need to be home. It’s to the unit outside.”
“So I can’t use it?”
“I wouldn’t. I’ll get the part tomorrow, stop by and install it and then it will be fine.”
“Ok, thank you, Marvin,” Molly said, and she got off her chair. “Come on, I’ll write you a check.” The two disappeared, but not before Marvin looked again at Zack and Julie.
Julie nudged Zack. “Creepy if you ask me.”
“Yeah,” Zack said. He sipped the wine again. “I’ve seen that shape before.”
“Where?”
“The guy running away from here the other night,” Zack said. Julie’s eyes opened wide. “Marvin.” Zack sipped the wine. “He’s tied in with Overton and Weber, but Michelle didn’t mention his name when she found a yearbook.” He p
ut the wine down. “Did you learn anything today?”
“I’m not sure where to begin.”
“Let’s start with Mr. Weasel, the electrician.” Zack picked up the wine again. “Looks like I picked the wrong day to quit drinking.”
Julie rolled her eyes. “You really do watch too many movies.”
Zack leaned back and closed his eyes. “If they make a movie about this place, it really will be a horror flick. Just thinking of another day here scares me.”
CHAPTER 28
The wait worsened Zack’s mood. Michelle hadn’t called back. Molly offered nothing new to dissuade the conspiracy formed in Zack’s head, and Julie finally had enough and fell asleep on the couch before he moved her to the bedroom for a legitimate nap.
Zack, as tired as he was, however, could not sleep. Zack heard from a teacher who texted Molly that Weber and half of Clyde searched the forest and fields by Hobby. Still, no one considered the Clyde Trees of Demons. Zack had a different name for it every time it crossed his mind, which was at least five times every hour.
The storms rolled through one after the other. The weather forecasters seemed delighted that the unstable air mass stalled, and the Jetstream sucked moisture up from the Gulf and mixed it blah, blah, blah. I really should have been a weatherman. Talk about heartless, though. These dudes are all excited over the threat of tornadoes, torrential rains, and potential flooding. Where the hell is Derek? Maybe I need to watch Weber.
“Hey, there you are,” Molly said from behind Zack. “Can I get you anything?”
Zack turned from the windows in the four-season room and smiled at her. “No. I’m fine. Hey, do you know where Weber lives?”
“Yeah. North of Main on the west side in that new subdivision. I think he lives on Elm or sixth, or Washington, or something like that.”
Zack rolled his eyes. “Do you do that intentionally to me?”
Molly laughed. “Jules said it drives you crazy. It’s Jefferson Court,” she said. “I don’t know the number, though.”
“What about the creepy electrical guy?”
“I’m not sure,” Molly said. “You think he’s creepy, too?”
Don’t panic this girl, Zack. She’s doesn’t know better. Wait until I tell her that Michelle told me Marvin didn’t go to Clyde HS. Coincidence? Zack took a deep breath and smiled. “I’m just tired and cranky. I’m going to go check on Jules.”
He walked past her and headed upstairs. Jules, sound asleep under the comforter, didn’t stir as he dressed in dark clothing and strapped his Sig under one arm. Despite the rain, he wore no rain gear this day for that made noise. Zack needed silence. He left the bedroom and saw Molly in the kitchen baking cookies.
“Hey, I’m going to go for a walk,” he told her.
“What? It’s raining!” Molly laughed. “Are you crazy?”
A consensus is forming. “When Jules wakes, tell her I turned my phone off, but I won’t be gone long. Tell her I said not to worry.”
Molly stared at him with a questionable look on her face. “Is there something I should know?”
“There’s something. Oh, and do me a favor. Don’t let Marvin in your house if I’m not here. Cookies smell good. I’ll see you later.” With that, Zack left knowing he did exactly what he didn’t want to do. But it was necessary. She needs to learn to not trust anyone, starting with Marvin.
* * * *
The walk wasn’t long. But it was wet. The late afternoon hours under the gray skies seemed like later. The precipitation kept the streets silent. Zack wondered if people in Clyde ever needed to run out to buy milk, bread, meat, or beer because what he witnessed so far was the absence of a town with people that ventured out regularly.
Maybe because Derek Willows was missing.
Zack crossed Main, walked through the empty lot, was about to turn left to find Jefferson Court but saw a ranch house bordered in the back by empty farm fields with a light on near the front door and a white cargo van parked in the driveway.
Marvin Solder’s work van.
That changed Zack’s plan.
The man Zack suspected of being outside Molly Lockett’s house late at night and recently inside that house. Zack walked past and hoped he hadn’t been seen but knew his objective changed from observation to protection.
Marvin was a threat.
It didn’t take long for Zack to reach the end of the street and disappear in the hedgerow that surrounded the town and separated the yards from the farm fields. It took even less time for him to sneak his way behind it back to his targeted house.
It was only six o’clock, and Zack hadn’t slept in over a day, but when a pot needed stirring, the chef didn’t nap. Neither did Zack.
* * * *
The clock struck eight o’clock. The rain finally ended. The dark clouds didn’t vanish, though. The sun set and night settled in. Inside the house, Zack watched, lights flicked on and off, and Zack saw movement inside. Zack saw the occupant move across the windows. The house went dark as Zack’s watch hit nine o’clock. A light breeze rustled the hedgerow, and the chorus of nighttime animals filled the air. Had he been on a patio with a glass of wine in front of a firepit, it would have been a great evening to spend with Julie.
Instead, he sat inside a dense shrub with a thick canopy dripping water on him as the wind blew. Zack knew Julie was going to be mad. Pissed was the more apropos word. He remembered her make him promise he wouldn’t go solo. She said she needed him beside her. Hopefully, she’s still sleeping. Which is what I should be doing. I don’t even know if this is Marvin’s house.
During stakeouts, Zack always reached a point where he questioned himself. This night was no different, and soon, his mind wandered. Am I right? Why am I here? What if this is all a waste of time? I’m cold and wet, and this sucks. Isn’t there a better way to make a living? Did the Cubs do enough in the offseason to win a World Series? I should get tickets for when they come to play Washington. Hopefully, the Orioles are scheduled this year. That would be nice. What should I eat for lunch tomorrow? Is Jules’ birthday coming up? Should I buy her jewelry? Already gave her a ring. See how that went? Is that a Screech Owl I hear? Sweet A new species for the year. Wait, did she joke about her birth control not working? Is she insane?
Finally, action.
The door opened in the rear of the ranch house. A short man dressed in black exited the house, locked the door behind him, looked around, and walked into his backyard. Zack kept his eyes trained on the man. He wasn’t taking out the trash or walking the dog; he moved with a purpose. The short man headed out.
Zack watched him. He recognized the movement and shape. Marvin Solder. The man walked to the rear of his yard, stopped, looked around, and stepped into the same hedgerow Zack hid only twenty yards away. Marvin popped out on the backside of the hedgerow into a narrow path that paralleled the thick vegetation. Zack suspected it was made by deer and other animals. It followed the northern edge of the small town. Perfect for getting around unnoticed.
Marvin never checked behind him, but Zack kept his distance, almost too much distance. Dressed in black, it was difficult to pick out his outline amongst the black night. Zack didn’t know where they were but knew he followed Marvin a long way when suddenly Marvin darted to the right and disappeared in the hedgerow.
Zack approached carefully. He tried to keep his eye on the spot where Marvin disappeared, but depth was difficult to judge in the blackness. A few paces later, Zack knew he had to turn into the hedgerow, which changed into a thick line of pine and spruce trees several trees thick.
Zack knelt and looked around. There was no way he would know if Marvin saw him. Zack moved into the trees and followed an unobstructed path. Zack suspected it may have been the path Marvin took. He heard a door open and close and saw a faint light in the distance, a hundred feet away.
Zack hunched lower but quickened his pace. He stopped at the edge of the trees, the rear of a large yard with a three-story Victorian house in the front of t
he yard. Closer to the trees was another building.
A door opened on the side, a light from inside shown, and Zack watched him disappear inside. The door shut. Zack saw another thick stand of trees on the western edge of the yard. Moments later, Zack settled inside a Norway Spruce with a clear view of the side of the garage, everything still pitch-black.
Zack reached into his pocket when he heard a footstep crunch spruce needles on the ground. Zack didn’t move or make a noise. There was another footstep behind him, a long pause; the steps walked past him. A different man appeared in the yard, walked to the garage, and opened the door.
It’s a meeting. Who is in there? Did he see me?
Moments later, another man appeared from the rear of the garage, the same path as the Marvin. A large man walked up the driveway to the garage. Zack recognized that man when the side door of the garage lit him up: Coach Tim Weber.
What do we have here?
Another man appeared from the house. Ten o’clock at night. The activity outside stopped. Odd time for a meeting. Zack watched the garage, and the whole time his mind focused on one thing: What is this late-night meeting all about? What are they talking about?
CHAPTER 29
Zack crept forward under the spruce to see the yard more clearly. In the blackness of the cloudy night, there was no light other than an amber glow high above the door. The door opened, and a man he didn’t see enter stepped outside. He carried something in his hands. The man waved it in the air. A shotgun.
“I know you’re out there,” the man yelled. “Come out now, and I won’t shoot you!”
Zack tensed, his heart skipped a beat, and he knew he had been seen. He dropped to the ground.
“I’ll count to three!” The man yelled. “One,” he yelled and paused. Zack could see him look around, but he mostly looked straight forward in the direction of Zack.
“TWO!” The man stepped into the yard, away from the light cast from the open door and narrow circle of light produced by the amber light on the outside wall.