The Wreck

by Marie Force

  “How did I ever stand to be without you for so long?”

  “You’ll never be without me again. I promise you that.”

  As the sheer over the bedroom window fluttered in the soft summer breeze, they listened to the noise coming from the street below. One of the bands ran a sound check, and the music echoed through the room.

  “Imagine you’re a Main Street resident who was planning to sleep tonight,” Carly said.

  “You’re shit out of luck.”

  “We should get going.”

  “Do we have to?”

  Surprised, she looked up at him. “You don’t want to?”

  “I’d much rather stay here with you and listen to it.” He ran a hand up to cup her breast, telling her what else he had in mind.

  Amazed to realize she already wanted him again, she said, “I’d have to call my mom and tell her we aren’t coming.”

  “Is, um, will Zoë be there?”

  Touched by the wistful tone of his voice, she caressed his face. “I think so. Cate and Tom aren’t letting her run around with her friends the way she used to.”

  “I suppose we can go.”

  “Because Zoë will be there?” Carly asked, raising an eyebrow.

  He replied with a sheepish grin. “Maybe. Is that all right?”

  “Sure it is.”

  “How about a shower?”

  “Together?”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ve never done that.”

  He brushed a light kiss over her lips. “No, I don’t suppose you have.”

  “Have you?”

  “Never with anyone I love. Come on.” He tugged her out of bed and led her into the bathroom to turn on the shower.

  Carly stepped in after him and was hit with a sudden wave of shyness, which was odd considering the intimacy they had shared only minutes earlier.

  Turning to her, he moved to the side to share the water with her. “I used to wonder all the time why we didn’t shower together in the hotel in Michigan.”

  “We never thought of it.”

  “There were so many things we didn’t know then.”

  “I still don’t know most of them.” She once again felt a twinge of embarrassment as he watched the water sluice over her breasts with hot, hungry eyes.

  “Oh, you will.” He held her long hair under the water. “Ten days in Jamaica should get you all caught up.”

  “I’m concerned about what you’ve got planned for this honeymoon.”

  His grin lit up his face. “Be very afraid.” He reached around her, lifted her, and pressed her against the wall.

  She gasped from the chill of the tile against her back. “What’re you doing?”

  “Making sure you’ll remember the first shower we ever took together.”

  “Oh,” she moaned, clutching his broad shoulders. “Ohhhh.”

  The first band was well into its set by the time Brian and Carly found her family and his mother clustered together on four blankets. They were greeted with hugs, kisses, and teasing questions about why they were so late.

  “We were, ah, busy,” Carly said, grateful for the dark so her sisters wouldn’t see her face turn bright red.

  “Busy,” Caren said with a wistful grin. “Remember when we had time to be ‘busy,’ Neil?”

  Her husband, who had Justin in one arm and Julia in the other, laughed. “Busy got us this armload of trouble.”

  Zoë dashed across the blankets to hug and kiss Carly.

  Brian seemed startled when he received the same effusive greeting—as if Zoë had known him all her life.

  “I was wondering when you guys were going to get here. Did you bring the cookies?”

  Carly smiled and produced a large container. “Yes, ma’am. As requested.”

  “Nice,” Zoë said.

  “Did you meet my mom?” Brian asked.

  “Sure did.” Zoë turned to Mary Ann, who seemed to be having trouble taking her eyes off the girl. “I think I remember now where I’ve met you before. Did you ever substitute at Granville Elementary?”

  “Yes,” Mary Ann said. “For years.”

  Zoë snapped her fingers. “That’s it! I think I had you!”

  “Oh,” Mary Ann stammered.

  Brian slipped his hand around his mother’s.

  “I was well behaved,” Zoë added. “So you probably don’t remember me.”

  Mary Ann laughed.

  “Mom!” Zoë called. “Can I go to that blanket right over there to see Gretchen?”

  “Right there and nowhere else,” Cate said.

  Zoë bolted.

  Brian folded his mother into a hug. “Isn’t she something?”

  “She’s amazing,” Mary Ann agreed. “And I can see why you recognized her right away. It’s like looking at Carly when she was that age.” Mary Ann reached out to include Carly in their embrace. “I can’t believe she was in a class of mine, and I had no idea who she was.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Carly said. “The words sound so insignificant, but I’m truly sorry.”

  “It was a terrible time.” Mary Ann kissed Carly’s cheek. “For everyone. That’s all that ever needs to be said.”

  Realizing Mary Ann had found a way to forgive her made Carly weak with relief as she hugged her future mother-in-law.

  Brian kept an arm around both of them as they listened to the music. After a while, Carly’s niece Lilly wandered over and climbed into her aunt’s lap. Julia and Justin were right behind her, and when Carly reached capacity, they overflowed onto Brian’s lap.

  He looked over at Carly, and the delight on his face stopped her heart. With a squeeze of affection for the girls, Carly said a silent thank you to her nieces and nephew for accepting Brian into their family.

  Michael took one look at Nathan Barclay’s frustrated face and knew their latest lead had vaporized. “It’s not him.”

  Nathan shook his head. “He produced bank statements that prove he made a deposit in Jefferson City on the same day Tanya Lewis was attacked. There was an ATM withdrawal in New York City on the day Alicia Perry disappeared.”

  “Tanya couldn’t pick him out of a photo lineup, either.”

  Nathan punched the wall. “We just cannot catch a fucking break on this one.”

  “I’ve started sifting through Sam’s class. I can’t believe I didn’t think to do that sooner. I was just so sure this was about Carly and Brian.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up, Mike. Nothing about this case has been routine.”

  “What’s happening with Lowell?”

  “His parents got him a lawyer, and Woonsocket is sorting out the details with the warrant.”

  “I wanted it to be him,” Michael said, rubbing at the stubble on his jaw. “I need to know who took my son from me and why.” He glanced at the FBI agent who had become his friend. “I think I could kill whoever it is without blinking an eye. Does that make me a bad cop?”

  “No. It makes you a father. Anyone who’d been through what you have would feel the same way.”

  Michael expelled a deep, rattling breath.

  Nate squeezed his shoulder. “You look beat, man. You ought to go home and get some sleep.”

  “Not until I’ve run a check on every male member of Sam’s class.”

  “How about I take half the alphabet?”

  With a grateful smile, Michael handed him a yearbook. “Thanks.”

  In between bands, Alicia Perry’s father was called up to the stage. The crowd fell silent as they waited for him to get himself together.

  “I want to thank you all for the overwhelming love and support you’ve shown my family over these last few difficult weeks. Alicia was a special girl, and we were blessed to have had fifteen years with her. When you think of Alicia, don’t remember how she died. Remember how she lived—with enthusiasm and humor and delight in everything she did. And if you have a young person in your life, give them an extra hug tonight.” His voice broke. “You never know when it’ll be t
he last time. Thank you all again for reminding us why we chose to raise our family in Granville.”

  Carly looked over to find Zoë had returned to her family’s blanket. Her face was pressed against Tom’s chest, and her shoulders shook with sobs.

  Brian watched intently as another man cared for his daughter.

  Carly squeezed his hand.

  He forced a smile for her, but she could feel the struggle that gripped him.

  “It’ll take some time,” he said softly.

  She nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. Reclining against his chest, she tried to clear her mind and enjoy the rest of the concert. When the final band had completed its set, a lone guitarist took the stage and sang Bruce Springsteen’s “My Hometown.”

  The song gave Carly chills. She realized that while they could live anywhere in the state and be close enough for Brian to commute to Providence, she wanted to stay in Granville and raise her children in the same small-town environment she and Brian had grown up in. Even though she had the freedom now to go anywhere she wanted, there was nowhere else she wanted to be. This was their hometown. It was where they belonged—and it was where their daughter lived, too. Caren had mentioned a house for sale on her street. Tomorrow Carly would ask Brian if they could go take a look.

  By the time the song ended, the crowd was on its feet applauding. Floodlights lit up the common as people gathered their belongings and began walking home or to their cars.

  Carly was saying goodnight to her parents when Matt Collins joined them.

  “Hey, Matt.” Mary Ann kissed his cheek. “Did you get to hear any of the concert?”

  “Some,” he said. “It’s been a busy night.”

  “Take these cookies back to the station,” Carly said, handing him a paper plate.

  “Thanks. The guys will appreciate that.” He turned to Brian. “Your dad asked me to bring you and Carly to meet him.”

  “Where?” Brian asked.

  “At the place where Randy Lowell had been hiding out. The chief wants to see if you can ID any of the items we found. He thinks it’s possible some of it was taken from your place earlier today.”

  “So you’ve decided it’s him?” Brian asked.

  Matt glowed with excitement as he nodded. “We’ve got him nailed.”

  “I didn’t notice anything missing from the apartment,” Carly said.

  “We didn’t exactly look, though,” Brian said with a meaningful glance at Carly.

  “Do you mind coming?” Matt asked. “It shouldn’t take long.”

  “No problem. We’re happy to help if we can.” Brian put his arm around Carly. “Let’s go.”

  They said good night to the others and followed Matt to his squad car, which was double-parked on Main Street. He held the back door for them and then used his flashing lights to get around the traffic leaving downtown.

  Sitting close to Brian, Carly looked through the cage that separated the front seat from the back. Just as she realized there were no handles on the back doors, alarms began to go off in her gut. She vividly remembered what Chief Westbury had said when he gave her the pepper spray: if you feel like you’re in danger, you probably are. She reached into the pocket of her shorts and wrapped her hand around the pepper spray she carried with her all the time. Her heart beat hard as she looked up at Brian.

  He raised a questioning eyebrow that she could barely see in the dark.

  She put her lips right up to his ear and said, “I don’t like this.”

  His face twisted into a perplexed expression, and she knew he was wondering what she didn’t like about being with a police officer he had known since he was a kid.

  She shook her head and pointed to her stomach.

  Brian cleared his throat. “So, Matt, where’s this place you found?”

  “Up by the Massachusetts border. A hunter called it in.” When he looked back at them in the mirror, his eyes burned with excitement. “You wouldn’t believe the stuff we found there.”

  Brian looked over at Carly, and she could see he no longer liked it, either.

  “Matt, I want you to stop the car and let us out. I’ll talk to my dad when he gets home, and we can go out there tomorrow.”

  “Sorry, Brian,” Matt said, glancing in the mirror again. “I’m just following orders.”

  Brian clutched Carly’s hand.

  Looking at him, she pushed her free hand against the cell phone in his pocket.

  He nodded, slowly withdrew the phone, put it on silent mode, and dialed 911. Then he jammed it into the space between the seats.

  They drove for twenty tense minutes before Matt pulled onto a rutted dirt road.

  The night was so dark Carly had been unable to follow the route they had taken.

  At least a mile later, if not more, he parked in front of a cabin. In the dark, Carly couldn’t see much, but she noticed right away there were no other cars nor were any lights on in the cabin.

  “I wonder where they went,” Matt said as he got out of the car and shut the door.

  “Fuck!” Brian cried the moment they were alone. “No fucking way!” He retrieved the phone from between the seats. “This is Brian Westbury. Patch me into Chief Westbury. Right now!”

  “I need your location, Mr. Westbury,” the operator replied.

  “Get my father on the line, this minute.”

  Carly watched the cabin, saw a flicker of light in the darkness, and then nothing.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t reach Chief Westbury.”

  “Tell him this—are you listening?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Tell him Brian called, the perp is Deputy Chief Collins, and he has Brian and Carly twenty minutes north of downtown by the Mass line—maybe even into Massachusetts. I’m calling from a cell phone, and I’m leaving the line open. Two lives depend on you getting this right. This is an emergency—treat it accordingly.”

  “Can you text your dad?” Carly asked.

  “Not with the line open. I called 911 because I wanted to be sure the phone put out a signal.”

  “He’s coming back,” Carly cried.

  Brian pushed the phone between the seats. “They’ll follow the signal. They’ll find us, honey.”

  Matt opened the back door and pointed his gun at them. “Let’s go.”

  Brian pushed Carly behind him. “Matt, for God’s sakes, what are you doing? My father is your good friend. How could you be the guy who killed my brother?”

  “Get the fuck out of the car before I blow your head off. Believe me, it would give me great pleasure.”

  Brian took Carly’s hand and got out of the car with her following right behind him.

  Matt flipped the gun toward the cabin. “Move it.”

  As they walked the short distance across the gravel driveway, Carly felt a strange sense of calm come over her. Whatever was about to happen, she would withstand it as best she could. Staying alive—and keeping Brian alive—was all that mattered.

  Chapter 28

  Michael arrived home about thirty minutes after the concert ended, ready to drop after yet another sixteen-hour day that had yielded nothing new or useful to the investigation. He couldn’t keep up this pace for much longer. Even his usual end-of-the-day beer held no appeal tonight. All he cared about was his bed and six uninterrupted hours of sleep.

  As he was untying his shoes at the kitchen table, Mary Ann came out from the bedroom. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light.

  “Hey.” He raised his cheek to receive her kiss. “Did I wake you?”

  “No, I was waiting for you. Did you get everything taken care of with Brian and Carly?”

  “Before the concert?”

  “No, after. Matt said you were waiting for them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He said you needed them for something to do with the case.”

  Michael looked up at her, confounded. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Tell me exactly what he said.”

  “J
ust that you’d found the place where Randy someone had been hiding out and you needed the kids to identify some things he’d taken from Carly’s apartment. He said you wanted him to bring them there to meet you.”

  Michael stood, all his senses on full alert. “I have no idea what he’s talking about. I never asked him—”

  “Michael? What? What is it?”

  The whole thing was so suddenly and painfully obvious that Michael wondered how he could’ve missed it—not a shred of evidence left behind, a tall, hulking man with big feet. I buy my shoes at Gleason’s. On vacation and out of touch when Alicia Perry went missing. “Oh my God. It’s Matt.”

  “No, Michael. No. It can’t be.”

  Michael reached for his cell phone as it began to ring in concert with the home phone and the police radio he had left on the counter. The dispatcher relayed the message the 911 operator had received from Brian.

  “He has them!” Mary Ann shrieked. “He has my son!”

  Matt pushed them ahead of him into the cabin, which glowed with candlelight.

  Carly took a step back.

  Brian realized she was afraid of the fire and rested his hands on her shoulders to offer what comfort he could.

  She stiffened when she saw the wall of photos devoted to her. “Oh,” she gasped. “Oh God.”

  “Jesus,” Brian whispered on a long exhale.

  “Give me your cell phones,” Matt said.

  “We didn’t bring them with us tonight because we wouldn’t have been able to hear them over the music,” she said.

  Brian was impressed by the calm tenor of her voice when she had every reason to be hysterical.

  Matt tucked the gun under his arm and quickly frisked Carly to make sure she wasn’t lying about the phone.

  Watching his hands move over Carly’s body was more than Brian could bear. He eyed the gun, trying to gauge whether he had a prayer of wrestling it away from Matt. But though Matt was ten years older than Brian, he was taller by four inches and outweighed him by at least twenty pounds. If Brian was going to lunge for the gun, he’d better be damned sure he would come away with it. The alternative was unimaginable.