by Bryan James
“You can leave it with me,” he replied.
Simon and Heather looked around the inside of the house as best they could but there was no sign of Simon’s mother.
“We just. There’s some stuff,” Simon said.
“Like what?”
“We gave him some supplies and we wanted to see if anything was left,” Heather answered.
He waved them inside and they went to the kitchen. He followed behind them, knocked ash from his cigar to the floor. Their backs were to him as they looked over the remains of the food. Each of them tried to think of some new plan, some way of getting the money. Simon’s money was safe in the barn for the moment but Conrad’s money was right there. It was going to be left behind.
“Conrad is a good friend of mine. I don’t want you to think you’re leaving his bag with some stranger. I really care for him. He’s important to me. He’s trouble but--”
His words were cut off by a scream of pain, his scream of pain. They turned on him as he grunted and fell to one knee. Simon’s mother was just behind him. She had stabbed him in the side with the kitchen knife. She pulled the knife out and Marcus struggled to get to his feet dropping the cigar as he did. He turned on the woman and she slashed at him cutting across his forearm as he grabbed at her. Simon ran to his back and grappled him but he was clearly outmatched. Marcus advanced on his mother, dragged him along as he did. He took hold of her, got the knife from her hand and began to stab her with it.
Simon wailed and began to cry as he struck the larger man from behind. Marcus was immune to the blows. Heather ran past them to the bag. There was only one thing that would bring him down. She opened the bag as she listened to them continue to struggle. For a moment she thought she wouldn’t be able to find the gun but then it was there and she pulled it out, turned and pointed it at Marcus who was sunk down over Simon’s mother choking the life from her, Simon atop him still hitting his back.
“Get out of there,” she yelled to Simon.
He didn’t hear her. Marcus didn’t hear her. He didn’t stop until Simon’s mother was dead. He pushed himself from her body but instead of getting to his feet he fell backwards and fell on Simon who let out a moan. Heather stepped closer but was wary of getting too close in case he came at her. If she lost this it was over.
She watched as Marcus struggled to get up. He made it to his knees and turned at a slight angle to see her. His eyes widened. Such a pretty blue.
She pulled the trigger. The sound deafened them all. For a moment she was worried she had missed until she saw Marcus’s hardened form crumble. He fell face forward and thudded against the wooden floor. Simon crawled to his mother’s lifeless body. He began to cry as he lay beside her. Heather kept the gun pointed at Marcus as she moved to them. She put her back to the wall and sunk down. She took aim at Marcus’s head but he didn’t move so she lowered the gun down between her legs.
Everything had gone so wrong.
Chapter 39 - Guilty Parties
Two weeks later, Kevin knocked at Heather’s bedroom door before pushing it open with his knuckle. He looked into the room to where she stood looking over her open suitcase. She looked to him and smiled before she crossed to him as he entered and they hugged each other. It was a deep, warm hug that neither of them wanted to stop but they had to and they did. They looked at each other, then to her clothes.
“Going away permanently?” he asked.
“No, just a kind of vacation,” she said. “Well, a trip, we’re looking for a new home.”
“So it’s true,” he said. “I was over at Simon’s and I saw he was selling nearly everything plus the house. I’m not sure what kind of market there is for old stuffed animals, and a house in this town, even at a discount it wouldn’t be worth it.”
“He knows. We know. But we want out even if he takes a loss,” she said.
“He should rent it,” Kevin said.
“Anyone in mind?”
“Well, I wouldn’t be able to pay much, but it’s better than nothing,” he said.
“Wouldn’t you be afraid of ghosts?” she asked.
“I think they’re all dead and buried,” he said.
“You’d have to take over caring for my cat. We can’t take him with us.”
Kevin walked to the bed where her cat was curled in a ball and picked him up, set him on his lap, and began to pet him. The cat relaxed against his thighs, twisted and turned under his fingers as it enjoyed the attention.
“No problem,” he said. “Just the two of us in that spooky old house. Although I guess we’d have one visitor.”
“Things are going okay with you and Thad?” she asked.
“They are. I’m not certain about our future together but I was thinking about it last night and he can’t stay in this town forever even if nobody finds out he’s gay there’s still got to be something out there for him.”
Heather cleared her throat and began to sort her clothes. She tried to keep telling herself that it was just a vacation, a road trip to find a new place, a new town, hopefully a new city. It wouldn’t be an easy move. She worried about finding work, having income, and the two of them together, maybe for the rest of her life.
“That was kind of weird burying his mother there though. I’d never been to a funeral but I kind of always thought it would be at a cemetery. I didn’t know people still had family plots near their homes. Yet another reason I guess for not wanting to buy the place.”
“I doubt anyone from in town would want it, aside from you.”
“So is it a deal?”
“We’ll work something out,” she said.
“Great,” he replied before falling backwards onto the bed and stretching out his arms.
“Do you know what the strange thing is? The strange thing is that if it weren’t for his mother we might not have survived. That guy Marcus was so big, so muscular. He would have made short work of all of us. If it weren’t for her stabbing him we might all be buried on Blatty’s farm.”
Kevin pushed himself up onto his elbows. Not all of us, he thought, just you guys. He almost wanted to say it but stopped himself.
“Who do you think murdered Lucy? It could have been Conrad but I’m not sure. I mean the police said he had the jewelry on him and he was a drug dealer but it just feels too easy. Although they did match his gun to those two other murders in town. And then there’s Simon’s mother. She could have overheard Simon or Conrad talking about the party, went out the next morning and did it.”
“But why?” she asked. “I mean when she cut me I was kissing her son. If it was about revenge or something then she would have killed Josh instead of Lucy.”
“True,” he said, “but, and I hate to bring it up, that leaves Simon, but you said he was with you the whole night. No Simon, no mother, I guess it really does come back to Conrad. He is the likely suspect.”
It all made her feel so desperate and small. She inhaled deeply to steady her nerves and forced a smile before turning to Kevin who sat tickling her cat’s chin with his finger. She walked to him and picked up the cat.
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she said. “Tell me a story.”
Kevin sat up and touched the cat’s head between his ears.
“Well, we weren’t the only ones to have a terrible day. I was talking with my boss. He said this guy named David Joshua Granger went on a bender. His mother owns this bar and he worked there. He got into a fight with some patrons, but when the police showed up they just said it was a misunderstanding. He goes from there down to another bar and keeps drinking. He gets into another fight down there but instead of waiting around for the cops he takes off. The cops are after him and he leads them on a high speed chase through town all the way out into the farm area and eventually the woods where he’s trying to lose them. Bam, he wrecked his car.”
“Is he dead?” Heather asked.
“No, poor bastard survived but he’s got all of these broken bones. He’s going to jail for a long time when he gets out of
the hospital probably.”
The story was of little distraction for Heather who set her cat down and went to the dresser where she looked over her jewelry. She knew the truth about what really happened to Lucy. It was all inside her.
Heather squinted at herself in the mirror. Was it possible to confess right then and have it all be over? Would she give herself up that easy? She knew the truth but she didn’t want to confront it. The truth was some piece of history she would take with her. Some new evidence might be found, someone might come forward, someone might ask the right question and whatever life she built with Simon would be over.
One year, a decade, or maybe she’d be in an old age home and something, someone, might be discovered. Would she confess then and would anyone believe her? Would it be her last words on her deathbed or would she take it to the grave?
“I’m just going to say one more thing and then I swear I’ll stop talking about it. It’s just strange though because I saw Conrad after the party,” Kevin added.
She looked to him. The memory of that early morning throbbed in her brain. There was no good way to explain.
“I thought I said I didn’t want to talk about it,” she said.
“I know. It’s just, it bothers me. I saw him with this guy, hell I helped them to the car and it was like, I don’t know. I didn’t think he’d come back. What time did Lucy die?”
“I’m not sure,” she said.
“He knew his way around the place and he didn’t have time to steal things when he was with me, but then again he could have done it earlier.”
“Or maybe he saw something valuable when he was with you and came back?”
“Makes sense,” Kevin said. “It’s just been bothering me.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway, the past is the past,” she said.
“You’re right. I guess they caught the killer,” he said.
“Of course they did,” a familiar but unexpected voice interjected to their conversation. Kevin looked to the doorway where Simon stood with his arms crossed.
“Oh, hi there,” Kevin said.
“Would you give us a minute?” Simon asked.
“Of course,” Kevin said.
He got up and looked to Heather who faked a smile before walking away past Simon and down through the house. They both listened and waited until he was far enough away that he wouldn’t hear their conversation. Simon closed the door.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. He was just talking about Lucy and how he doesn’t think Conrad did it because he saw him leaving the party with some other guy.”
“Does he know anything about you?”
“I don’t see how he could,” she said.
“Do you want me to take care of it?” he asked.
“What does that mean?”
He looked her in the eyes.
“God no,” she said, “it’ll just go away and he’ll forget about it.”
But the past didn’t just go away, Simon knew that better than anyone, and that’s why after Kevin and Heather said their farewells he made up an excuse to leave and followed him to Thad’s house where he decided to stake the place out and form a plan.
Chapter 40 - Final Blood
Movie credits rolled on Thad’s flat screen television as theme music played softly in the background but Kevin and Thad were both asleep on the couch covered by a thin sheet. Two empty tumblers sat on the coffee table in front of them next to a half empty bottle of Scotch. The music faded and there was only the sound of their snoring until the DVD menu popped up with different, louder music. They awoke at nearly the same moment and Kevin pushed himself up from Thad’s chest leaving a puddle of drool there on his undershirt.
“We fell asleep,” Kevin said.
Thad reached up to his face and brushed his cheek, then wiped away the spit on his lips with his thumb. Kevin smiled at him and leaned in for a peck on the lips before deciding the music was too annoying and he got up from the couch. The sheet fell from him back to Thad who stretched and groaned. Kevin made his way to the DVD player and squatted down to turn it off. Thad looked to his round, muscled buttocks there in his white briefs, the cleft of them perfectly framed by the fabric. He shook his head and thought, this is too perfect. I am too lucky.
“What do you want to do now?”
“Let’s call it a night,” Thad said.
Kevin stood and adjusted himself in his underwear as he looked around to reacquaint himself with the world and the house. He had taken to spending more time there at the house and yet it was still unfamiliar. He had yet to memorize all of the little details. He felt sweaty and unclean. He sniffed at himself and didn’t like the odor.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Very,” Thad said.
“Well, I need to get a shower,” Kevin added.
“I’m going to make sure everything is locked up.”
Thad got to his feet and moved to Kevin where they kissed again, but this time they grabbed at each other a little before pushing away. Thad lingered there for a moment and sniffed at Kevin, faked disgust.
“You’re right. You do smell,” he said.
“Give me a minute to get cleaned up.”
They kissed again briefly on the lips before going their separate ways. Kevin went to the bathroom and Thad went to the front door. He was happy to find it was locked and began his routine of checking each window, which were all closed, and eventually made his way to the back door where he found the handle was locked. He pulled the deadbolt and hooked the chain, then turned and went back to the living room where he put away the bottle, headed to the kitchen where he washed out the two glasses. He made his way to the master bedroom where the door to the bathroom was open and the lights were on, the shower was running. He went to the bed and picked up his book from the nightstand, pulled back the covers and sat. He opened the book and began to thumb through the pages, but the text didn’t make any sense to him. It wouldn’t be a good night to read, he told himself.
He was about to put the book away when he heard the shower stop and he looked to the bathroom. He listened as Kevin dried himself and fumbled with some kind of clothing. He stared at the doorway in anticipation of what he might see. He was delighted when he saw Kevin step into the frame in a jockstrap and nothing else.
“You’re going to wear that to bed?” Thad asked.
“Why not? It’s my lucky jockstrap.”
“I’m surprised the straps aren’t all stretched out.”
“Very funny,” Kevin said. “Maybe we can give them a tug tonight.”
“You read my mind,” Thad said.
Kevin walked into the bedroom and to Thad who pulled him into a kiss. They fell backwards onto the bed. Their two bodies pressed together. Thad enjoyed the weight of him there and Kevin liked the feel of the parts of their bodies as they touched. In a mutual act they rolled onto their sides as they continued to fondle each other. Eventually, they pushed their way onto the bed and into the pillows.
“Do you trust me?” Thad asked between kisses.
“Completely,” Kevin said.
“I don’t want to use protection tonight.”
“Okay,” Kevin said.
It was the first time they would ever have sex without a condom. Thad moved to his neck, down over his chest, and lifted Kevin’s knees into the air. There was a moment of absence as Kevin only felt Thad’s hands holding the backs of his knees and then he felt something, his tongue, press into that forbidden crevice of his body. Kevin arched his back, his head slid along the pillow, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he let out a moan of pleasure.
Thad continued to stick his tongue inside of him, toy with the wrinkled skin as he moaned and grunted. It was the first time they had done that too. Kevin reached down to the top of Thad’s head and ran his fingers through the man’s hair.
“Don’t stop,” he said.
“This jockstrap was a good idea,” Thad said.
“Keep goin
g,” Kevin replied.
Thad worked him for several more minutes until his jaw was tired and that’s when he began to use his fingers to carefully push into the opening. Kevin grabbed at the sheets in anticipation of that moment of pain as he tried to focus on his breathing and relax his muscles.
One finger and then another, Kevin felt the pressure there undoing the tension and stress he had been feeling. In that moment there was no past and no future. They were both as vulnerable as they could be to each other and to anyone who could possibly find them. He felt Thad adjust himself on the bed and he felt his penis touch him. It was slimy and he felt the hairs of Thad’s scrotum.
“Are you okay?” Thad asked. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Kevin looked up to him and they looked each other in the eye. Their ears were red and their faces had highlights of color as well. Sweat covered their skin.
“Yes,” Kevin said.
Thad pressed the tip of his dick to Kevin’s anus and slowly pushed inside until he felt a natural constriction. He pulled back out, then pushed back in, back and forth, back and forth until his dick slid easily. He pushed all of the way in before leaning down for a kiss. Kevin’s hand went to the pouch of his jock where he felt his hard dick and a spot of ejaculate. He worked the bulbous tip with his fingers as they kissed and Thad made small thrusts. They were like that for a long time. There was only the two of them locked together like puzzle pieces.
“I can feel your heart beat,” Thad said.
Kevin let out a laugh before saying, “I trust you”. Neither of them wanted it to end. They wanted to stay locked together for the rest of their lives but eventually the endorphins faded and what they were doing began to feel too real, too practical. Thad worked himself faster until the headboard began to hit the wall. Kevin looked up to see the piece of wood knocking above his head and he smiled. That’s when he felt Thad grab hold of him and heard the man let out a moan so he worked himself to an orgasm as well. Their two bodies felt like used, sweaty tools as they shared a kiss before Thad pulled out and got off the bed. Kevin looked to him, then got up and followed after him. His legs were weak and stiff but he forced himself to move.