“Just that it’s interesting that you always seem to be getting involved with girls that David has dated. You’ve been jealous of the fact that girls preferred him all through high school.”
As Steve spluttered in indignation Richard held up a hand to silence him. “David told me, so don’t bother to deny it. He was so angry with you over that flirtation with that cheerleader he dated – that Heather Hamilton. I think that this is just one more time you’ve let your jealousy make a mountain out of a mole hill.”
Steve was on his feet, his face white with suppressed anger. “I. Never. Loved. Anyone. But Sarah!”
Lee Ann looked up at him and smiled sadly. “I know that you loved Sarah, but even she came home in tears about how much time you were spending with Deborah Graham during the senior play.”
Steve stared at Lee Ann, dumbfounded. Sarah had told her mother that he had been flirting with Deborah? “I didn’t…” he denied in confusion.
Richard raised a knowing eyebrow. “I’m sure that they were nothing serious in your eyes, but the pattern is still there. Heather, Deborah, our Sarah, now this Beth Stewart. You’ve left a lot of mayhem in your path, Steve. If David got angry again, he’s not entirely to blame, is he?”
Steve looked in disbelief from one stony face to the other. They couldn’t - WOULDN’T - believe that David was out of control. In their eyes, it was easier to believe that Steve’s behavior had somehow – provoked – David. Suddenly Steve wondered if David had been blaming Steve all these years for his many failed relationships!
“You’ll believe what you want,” he told them at last, “I never loved any girl but Sarah, and I never ‘flirted’ with Heather, or Deborah, or any other girl that David was dating!”
He scribbled a room number on the top of the police report and tossed the pen on the table. “Go see for yourselves. Beth will be in the hospital another day or two. “This wasn’t just some misunderstanding, and Beth did not deserve what he did to her.”
Steve let himself out of the front door. He stood numbly on the steps, taking deep calming breaths. He had expected tonight to be unpleasant, but he had never expected that the Bolton’s would turn the tables and accuse him of causing David’s behavior. Could they really believe that this was just some stupid rivalry over a girl?
Bleakly, Steve raised his eyes, taking in the Bolton’s modest two story home. He had spent much of his childhood and youth within those walls, but he had been a stranger there nonetheless. David, and even Sarah had lied about him. It was all so hard to believe! If it weren’t for Gracie, he would walk away and never return to this house, but that was impossible. Somehow, he must let the anger go, for Gracie’s sake. He would not put his daughter in the middle, or make her choose her loyalty to either of them. He’d always hated parents who used their kids against each other…
Disturbed and hurt by Lee Ann and Richard’s accusations, Steve shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking. Several hours passed before he finally turned toward home.
Ch 34
Starting Over
Steve’s breath blew white as he unlocked his truck, and used a plastic scraper to clear the first heavy frost from his windshield. He was grateful for the jacket and gloves that he’d finally gotten around to unpacking last night.
In the two weeks since he’d been back, the temperatures had dropped steadily. There’ll be snow on the ground by next month, if this keeps up, Steve thought as he drove down the mountain road to unlock the park gate for the day. There were still several campers in the park, although they were no longer filling up even on weekends now. Still, many people drove out for the day to enjoy the trails and ever-changing fall foliage. Autumn reds and yellows were quickly overtaking the remaining green summer leaves. By the end of October, though, the show would be over and only the green needles of the fir trees would break the monotonous grays and browns of the hardwood stands. The weekend campers would die down to a trickle, and the park would take on the silent mantle of winter.
Steve inhaled the crisp air and felt his whole body relax. Fall was his favorite time of year at Hanging Rock. It was wonderful to be back in the mountains and breathe in the invigorating fresh air! Steve was glad to be back, although much had changed during his leave of absence. Not just new faces at the concession stands and the Visitor’s Center, but there had also been a shift in relationships among his friends.
Pete and Deborah were engaged now. Pete had given Deborah a ring over Labor Day Weekend. Steve was genuinely happy for them, but it felt odd sometimes to realize that Deborah’s attention was now on Pete and not him! Deborah simply exuded joy whenever she was near Pete, and it was clear that Pete was head over heels in love with her. Steve occasionally felt a tug of envy, but he had no doubt that Deborah had made the right choice. She and Pete really were the perfect match.
Now he and Chuck were the bachelors, although it did not appear that this would be the case for long. Jill seemed to have set her heart on marrying Chuck, and she was not above trying to flirt with Steve to try and get Chuck jealous, something that Steve didn’t want any part of. Unfortunately, Chuck was often oblivious of Jill’s attempts to get his attention, so she was frequently out of sorts with both of them.
Steve’s assignment today was to walk the trails and replace the different colored plastic blaze marks wherever they were missing on the trail. He carried a small axe with him and cleared the occasional fallen branches off of the trails. By the end of the day, he was worn out, and with the exception that he missed seeing Gracie, he was perfectly content. He headed home for a hot shower and some of Chuck’s famous spaghetti lasagna.
Steve was lazing on the couch of the quarters he now shared with Chuck, feeling too full and a little sleepy. They’d put on a movie but Steve was having a hard time concentrating. For some reason, Chuck kept tapping nervously on the arm of his chair, and didn’t appear to be watching the movie at all. When someone finally knocked on the door, Chuck sprang to his feet a look of relief on his face. “I’ll get it,” he announced.
Before he could reach for the knob though, the door opened and Pete stuck his head around the corner. He glanced at Steve and then back at Chuck. “Now?”
Chuck nodded. “Good a time as any, I guess.” He looked at Steve. “Can we turn off the movie for a bit, amigo?”
Steve nodded, curious now as to what was going on. Chuck and Pete looked nervous. He punched the button on the remote, killing the television, and waited. Pete finally stepped inside. Steve realized that he was carrying a yellow nylon gear bag – his gear bag, he thought uncomfortably. He had not seen it since that afternoon on The Wall. The memories it brought back were ones he had worked hard to forget over the last year. He took a swig of his iced tea and forced a smile. “I wondered where that had ended up. Thanks for keeping it safe for me.”
Chuck and Pete looked at each other uneasily. Finally Chuck turned to look at Steve. “We’ve got some questions about last year, Steve.”
Steve took another sip of his tea. “Questions?” He asked mildly. “Either of you could probably tell me more about what happened that day than I can. It’s pretty much a black hole in my mind.”
Pete sat down in the chair Chuck had been sitting in earlier. He placed the bag on the coffee table in full view. Chuck joined them and took a seat on the couch. “That’s just it, Steve,” Pete said. “We have an idea of what happened – what really happened – and we’re concerned for you.”
Steve looked from Pete to Chuck and laughed nervously. “If you are afraid I’m going to rappel without a buddy again, don’t worry. I promise you, I’m in no hurry to pull out those ropes again any time soon!”
Pete sighed. “Steve, you were out of it for over a week. You missed most of the investigation. Did you know that initially they thought it might be an attempted suicide?”
Steve stared at Pete in surprise. He hadn’t known. “That’s ludicrous,” he said flatly. “I was upset, and I was stupid going out alone, but it was never �
� I never thought of suicide!”
“Yeah,” Chuck agreed. “That’s just what we told ‘em. You weren’t a jumper, you were just being stupid.”
Steve blinked at Chuck’s phrasing. “Thanks, I think,” he said wryly, leaning forward. “So...how did you two prove ‘stupidity over suicide’ to the police, then?” His curiosity over the events of that missing week aroused for the first time.
There was a lengthy pause. Pete’s brown eyes were troubled. “I lied,” he admitted at last.
Steve frowned. “You’re joking. Why would you lie?”
“I told them that the carabiner failed,” he replied calmly. “With no brake mechanism, you were in freefall the last twenty feet or so to the ground.”
Steve closed his eyes and felt his stomach roil as the sensation of that sickening drop washed over him. He realized that he’d broken out in a cold sweat just thinking about it. “It sounds about right,” he muttered.
“It’s not, though,” Pete replied flatly. “Your carabiner was fine. The one I showed them was damaged. It was the one of those old style ones that you’ve never gotten around to throwing away. Anyway, they believed me, and didn’t even bother to ask to see the rope.”
Steve felt as if the world had slowed to a stop. “The – rope?” He managed to repeat. His mouth was suddenly dry as he recalled the sudden slack between his fingers as David sliced the chords.
Pete reached in the bag and pulled out the end of the rope Steve had been using that day. “Cut,” he informed Steve. “Cut clean through. It’s not frayed from the rocks, or rotten from too much weather exposure.” He dropped the coil back into the gear bag. “On top of that, it was removed. Someone untied it from the anchor and tossed it over the side. Whoever it was didn’t want anyone to see where you’d gone down.”
“They tossed the gear bag down, too,” Chuck interjected seriously. “That’s what we spotted lying in the brush at the bottom of the cliff, but only because we were looking for some sign of you being down there. I don’t think anyone else would have known what it was, but it really showed up in the lightening flashes. Good thing too. You’d have been rotting down there for days, amigo, if it weren’t for this bag.”
“Ironic,” Steve said slowly, “that in his zeal to cover up the murder, he went and left a neon flag by my body that ended up saving my life!.”
Pete and Chuck looked at Steve with growing surprise as they realized what he had said.
“So someone did try to kill you!” Pete exclaimed.
“Dude! Who’d randomly cut your rope and leave you to die?” Chuck asked indignantly.
Steve gritted his teeth and let out a long sigh. “Chuck, there was nothing random about it. I know who did it. I’ve always known. He made sure of it before he cut the rope.”
Pete gave Steve a long look. “So this wasn’t a surprise to you at all, was it? You remember what happened. You’ve known all along.”
“It was David Bolton,” Steve admitted quietly. “I don’t think he planned it in advance. I just crossed his path at the wrong moment. Anyway, I believe he followed me up the trail, and after I dropped over the side, he started yelling down at me – called me a murderer and telling me I deserved to die. When I realized what he was doing, I started descending as fast as I could, but he cut through the rope before I could reach the bottom. Everything after that is pretty confused.”
“I don’t get it,” Chuck said with a frown. “If you knew it was David, why didn’t you say something?”
Steve shrugged. “Lots of reasons. He’s Sarah’s twin brother. He was once my best friend. I still half believed he was right and that I deserved to die for causing Sarah's death. And I couldn’t do that to his parents so soon after burying their daughter. It was my fault Sarah died, I couldn’t turn around just a couple weeks later and tell them their only son had attempted murder!”
Chuck nodded. “That would be kind of cold,” he agreed.
Pete shifted, considering Steve’s tale. “Do you think he just did it out of grief?” He asked hesitantly. “Maybe it was a one time act, and he won’t be tempted a second time?”
Steve shrugged. “Who knows? My finding out about Gracie and getting his parents’ legal support in taking over my responsibilities as her father has complicated things for him, I think. He had always planned to settle down and raise her himself, eventually. I can guarantee he’s none too happy with me at the moment, but he’s too far away to do anything for now.”
“What do you mean? You’ve seen him since he did this?” Pete asked sharply, still holding the cut rope.
Steve nodded. “Once. I went out for one last dive with my friend, Beth. Remember, you met her at the beach this spring?"
Both Pete and Chuck rolled their eyes. "Like we'd forget that chick?" Chuck asked.
Steve looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Yeah, well, it turns out that Deborah was right, and that she was still his girlfriend. Worse, he found out that we had gone out alone, and followed us to the dive sight. When we surfaced, David was there waiting for us.”
Steve made a face at his friends’ incredulous expressions. “It could have been a lot worse. He left me stranded at sea, but he didn’t actually try to kill me.”
Steve paused and took another sip of tea, his face growing hard with anger. “He didn’t try to kill me, but he did beat the crap out of Beth later that day, though. It was a pretty close call for her.”
“Dude, what is this fascination you’ve got with this guy’s ladies?” Chuck asked in exasperation. “Wasn’t Deborah one of his chicks, too?” He glanced at Pete. “Sorry amigo. No offense.”
“It's not like I went out looking for them, Chuck,” Steve said in irritation. “I mean, what are the odds of meeting two of his former girlfriends in one year?”
“So,” Pete said loudly, trying to refocus the conversation. “David is in jail for a domestic violence charge? Is that what’s going on?”
Steve’s eyes grew somber at the memory of finding Beth, bruised and bleeding among the shards of glass. “I wish,” he growled, “but she refused to press charges. Pastor Graham knows his C.O, though, and arranged to have him reassigned out of the area for most of the next year. He also has to take anger management courses and spend time with a psychiatrist.”
“Man, you are playing with fire! This David’s not gonna be happy until you are nothing but blip on the history channel!” Chuck warned him seriously.
Steve looked at him. “What do you propose that I do, Chuck? I know it was David who cut the rope, but I don’t have any proof that it was him. It would just be my word against his at this point. Plus, he’s Gracie’s Uncle, and she loves him. He’s been a big part of her world! I am not going to be the one that puts her Uncle David in jail.”
Chuck rolled his eyes. “That’s all noble, but what’s it gonna do to her world when she finds out that her Uncle David killed her daddy? Will that be better?”
“I don’t know what’s better!” Steve shrugged in helpless frustration. He looked at Pete. “I’ve prayed. A lot! But for some reason I can’t bring myself to accuse him. At least, not now.”
Pete sat back in the chair considering. “Okay,” he said at last. “We’ll do it your way for now.” He gave Steve his familiar lopsided grin. “Maybe he’ll be happy with almost killing you.”
He got up to leave. “I just hope” he added, the warning in his voice plain, “that no one else gets hurt. This guy is a loose cannon.”
“Uh, Pete?” Steve said hesitantly. “I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell Deborah about this whole thing with David. It will upset her and there’s nothing she can do about it.”
Pete nodded. “I agree. She’s gonna have enough to concentrate on for the next few months without worrying about you and David. Did she tell you we’ve almost set the date? We want to get married this spring.”
“That’s great!” Steve replied. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Pete grinned at both Chuck and Steve. “So you’d better
stay alive, because I need you to be my best man!”
Steve hardly slept that night. His mind worried on the problem of David, and he missed Gracie. More than that, he was – lonely. Steve felt that at long last, he was letting go of Sarah, but where she had lived in his dreams there was now a deep void. He thought about Pete and Deborah and how bright their future looked. His on the other hand…despite all the changes he’d gone through in the past year, he still had no idea what his future would be. Every time he tried to pray, he envisioned himself standing at the top of a cliff. There was no going forward.
“Lord, he prayed again. “What next? I feel so alone. I need you to set a new path for me. I need for you to guide me.”
The hours ticked by slowly and still Steve felt out of sorts and at a loss as to what to do with his life now. Unable to form any other thoughts clearly in his head, Steve sat on the couch and let his heart and mind reach out to his Heavenly Father. Slowly, his body relaxed, and as the stars began to fade from the sky, he slept.
Ch 35
The Consequences of Oversleeping
Steve woke up abruptly. Disoriented for a moment, he realized that he was on the couch, his nose buried in the back of the sofa. His neck was kinked into an odd angle, and he grimaced in pain as he sat up and attempted to re-align his neck and spinal column.
Steve stumbled to the bathroom and glanced blearily at the wall clock in the kitchen. A groan of disbelief escaped his lips. Two-thirty already! He had to be at work at three o’clock!
Foregoing the shower and barely brushing his teeth, Steve threw on a noticeably wrinkled uniform that he’d already worn once and he had intended to wash that morning. He gave his sleep matted hair a half hearted rake with the comb, ignored the dark stubble on his face and headed out the door. Out of sorts and hungry, he gunned the truck out of the compound and just managed to clock in precisely at 3:00.
Deborah was just coming off duty, her hair and complexion looking as fresh and groomed as if she had just spent the last hour in a beauty salon.
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