Wolfe in Shepherd's Clothing

by David Gane

  Suh Dude looks at Charlie, then me. He’s still not convinced.

  “I don’t need her home address or phone number,” I put in. “Just tell me if she works somewhere else now or—”

  “She’s studying.”

  “Which school does she go to? Ashworth Comp? Guthrie High—?”

  “No. Adult school.”

  A quick glance at Charlie and I can tell he’s as confused as I am as to what—or who—Mike had gotten himself messed up with.

  chapter 83

  We get back to school before anyone—especially Gekas or my parents—notices we’re missing.

  “The Adult Campus is across town. We’ll never get there and back to school over lunch tomorrow,” I say.

  “Not unless you take your spare.”

  “But you have Native studies. You planning on skipping?”

  He shakes his head. “Hell, no. I’ve got my documentary on Louis Riel to finish up.”

  “Documentary?” He’s only been here two weeks—and what a very long two weeks it has been.

  “Yeah, well, everyone else was doing commercials, and Statten told me I could do something smaller, like a brochure, but I was like ‘hell, no.’ So I started researching for the commercial, and, well, it just sort of grew into something bigger.”

  Who is this guy? Every time I expect him to zig, he zags.

  “So you want me to go alone?”

  “Sure, why not? You’ve done this long enough. You’re a big boy.”

  My heart beats a little faster. The thought of going out on my own and doing something against my parents’ wishes—it kind of freaks me out. I’ve always had Charlie as my fallback excuse for when I misbehave.

  If something happens this time, I’ll have no one to blame but myself.

  chapter 84

  The next morning we do a low-key planning session over text while we eat breakfast, not that we’re given any other choice. My parents hover—Mom at the house, then Dad on the ride to school. I’m certain they’re keeping close tabs on us so we don’t try to stage a breakout on them and Gekas.

  Suh Dude told us that Autumn worked at the library at the school, so Charlie wants me to check there first. He hands me a little USB stick drive in the event I can’t find her there. “Find a network office computer and plug this in. Should help me enough so I can at least find her home address.”

  I hate the legal complexities of this business, but it’s clear that if I want to find out what happened to Mike, I’m going to have to cross a few lines I’m not usually willing to step over.

  I try to focus on Statten’s psych class and English 30, but I’m running through the plan over and over before I get to homeroom. I feel over-prepared. I’ve dug up enough change and double-checked the bus schedule several times, but I’m still nervous that something’ll go wrong.

  As soon as homeroom’s done, I rush out of school to the bus stop. It’s been forever since I’ve taken public transportation. As soon as I got my license, I pretty much said goodbye to long, cold winter rides and weird, stinky strangers. Fortunately, the ride downtown goes smoothly, with no need for transfers. From there, I have only a five-block hike.

  The Adult Campus is in an old three-storey building downtown, not far from the office of Charlie’s “buddy,” Mr. Lock. It’s a drab, boring structure on the outside, with a lot of red brick and no real sizzle or flash. It was likely a series of shops and offices at one time, but now every window is covered in plastic blinds, concealing the educational institution inside.

  I go in the front door and follow the signs to the library on the third floor. I arrive at a plain door, with a torn piece of paper taped on it: QUIET. LIBRARY.

  I step inside.

  chapter 85

  The library is small. I mean really, really small.

  There’s a desk by the door, but no one’s sitting at it. Behind it are five rows of shelves, double-sided but maybe only an arm-length or two long. There are maybe a couple hundred books. Past the shelves, the room opens to reveal a bright workspace with four tables in the centre and a half-dozen small cubicles against the far wall. Several people look up when I enter, distracted by my presence—except for a woman not much older than me, wearing earbuds. She continues to work, head down, in one of the cubicles, and I immediately realize why I recognized the name of Mike’s barista.

  Autumn Flettner was a year ahead of me and Mike. In fact, she and Heather hung together in the same social circles back in grade school. But when she got to high school, she quickly became a known badass, hanging with a crowd that enjoyed shoplifting and joyriding in stolen cars and, of course, my sister avoided her completely.

  I’d almost forgotten about her until this moment.

  She seems not to have forgotten me, though.

  “Tony Shepherd?” she exclaims loudly when she looks up. “Holy crap, look at you, all grown up!”

  The other students glare at her, but she doesn’t give a shit.

  “Hey, Autumn,” I whisper, pulling up a chair and hoping that getting closer will encourage her to lower her voice.

  It doesn’t.

  “How’s your sister?” The tone of her voice, you’d think she looked up to Heather a little.

  “Good. In university, taking law.”

  Autumn rolls her eyes—obviously not too enamoured by my big sis’s choice. “Of course she is. What about you? You taking classes here?”

  “Uh, no. Still in high school.”

  “God, tell me about it. I’m trying to finish my Grade 12.”

  “You’re not done?” I ask, hoping I seem surprised.

  “Nah, I got suspended near the end. Who knew arguing with teachers and picking fights would get me kicked out of school.”

  I think she’s actually shocked by this.

  “So, what brings you here, then?” she asks.

  “My friend, Mike.”

  Her smile fades, and I wonder if Gekas has already been here. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  I proceed with caution. “Well, some people at the coffee shop said you’d given him your number.”

  “Ha! People! You talking about that skinny-ass chick he was hanging out with?”

  I can tell a guy at the next table wants to hush her, but he decides not to risk it. I wonder how many run-ins she’s had with her fellow classmates here.

  Likely a few.

  “Look, it’s not my fault. He’d tried hooking up with me for a while and I kept telling him no.”

  “Was he coming around a lot?”

  She shrugs. “Once or twice. Why’s everyone so interested in this guy? I know he’s younger than me, but seriously, it’s only a year!”

  I suddenly realize something. “You don’t know he’s been killed, do you?”

  chapter 86

  After I tell her, Autumn needs to step outside for a smoke.

  It’s cool in the alley, and she paces back and forth, one hand tucked tight in her underarm to keep warm, the other holding the lit cigarette. “Jesus, that’s why that cop kept calling. I thought she was ragging on me about my probation.”

  So Gekas had followed the trail at least this far.

  “How many times were you with him?”

  “We weren’t together!” she hollers.

  “Okay, okay.” Sheesh. “How many times did he come around?”

  “Just a few. Once at the coffee shop and then a few times at my old job.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “The sandwich shop.”

  Wait! The sandwich shop? Mike’s sandwich shop? “The one in the mall downtown?”

  “Yeah, Fresh Buns. Why?”

  Mike had been a fan of the place ever since it opened last year. More specifically, he’d had a huge crush on one of the girls who worked there.

  “You ever have
shifts with someone named Haley?”

  “Oh God, that slut? Yeah, she tried to get me fired!”

  Oh, Autumn, you’re so eloquent.

  Then something else occurs to me. “Didn’t you say he’d been only coming around the coffee shop recently? Mike’s been going to Fresh Buns for nearly a year. You must’ve seen him.”

  She glares at me before finally relenting. “Okay, fine. I knew he’d been around and had a thing for Haley.” She’s already eyeing the door, ready to leave, but I’m not done.

  “So the two of you were interested in him at the same time?”

  “Hell, no. I tried to piss her off by hooking up with him at some party, but he passed out before we got anywhere. Then shit happened—”

  I interrupt. “What shit? His?”

  “Do you not listen? I got expelled. I was out on my ass. And then—” She pauses, taking a big drag on her cigarette. “Look, I didn’t see him for nearly a year, okay? Then he started coming around again.”

  “Before last Tuesday?”

  “Can you please keep up? Yes! ’Cuz he started hanging with that bitch Haley again, so we started flirting again.”

  Interesting that Autumn’s attraction to Mike only occurs when there’s another girl in the picture.

  “But it was all innocent,” she insists. “We never hooked up. I promise.” She finishes her cigarette, stubbing it out on the brick wall. “Listen, I gotta get back to studying.”

  “Autumn—?”

  She gives a heavy sigh. “God, Tony! I haven’t seen Mike since last Tuesday, okay?” She pushes past me to the door. “Say hi to your sister for me.”

  Before I can ask anything else, she’s disappeared inside. I stand alone, shivering in the alleyway.

  She’s hiding something. I just need to figure out what.

  chapter 87

  I get back to school just as the bell rings for fourth period. I haven’t got a chance to track down Charlie—I’m guessing he’s on his way to graphic arts already—so I head off to law.

  I’m having a hard time focusing on the class. We’re discussing contract law, specifically landlord and tenant agreements. The words roll around in my head, but none of it makes sense. Once the bell rings, I head straight to Charlie’s locker, only to find him talking to Elaina.

  “You don’t suppose your parents would be too upset if Elaina came by the house this weekend?” he asks me. “She wants to show me the new Edgar Wright film, but I’m trying to convince her to watch some David Lynch.”

  “I don’t know.” I really have no clue what he’s talking about—not that his question really matters to me at the moment. I only want a quick word with him about Autumn before the bell rings. “Can we talk for a minute?”

  He shakes his head. “No can do. Elaina’s taking me across town so I’m not late for work.” He slams his locker shut, swinging his bag over his shoulder. “We’ll talk tonight, okay?”

  Elaina waves goodbye to me as the two of them head down the hall, leaving me standing at his locker, alone.

  chapter 88

  The last bell rings and I walk out of the school to find Dad.

  There’s talk in the hallways about a pre-grad mixer, as well as a get-together at a farm outside of town. A bunch of the guys from the team are planning a game of pick-up shinny to grieve and reminisce about Mike, but here I am in Grade 12, waiting on the curb for my parents to pick me up so I can spend the entire weekend being grounded.

  On the way home, Dad asks a bunch of question about how my day went, and I do my best to answer them, but I’m pissed about my situation and wishing Charlie could’ve spared two secs to rehash the conversation I’d had with Autumn.

  After we arrive at the house, I take my bag upstairs, hoping to hide in my room, but Dad calls me back down to help him with the pizza he’s making for supper.

  “You chop vegetables while I finish the dough,” he says.

  I begrudgingly oblige since he’s not giving me much of a choice.

  Dad pulls the dough out of the mixer and spreads it out over the rolling board. “I know things aren’t easy right now, but all we want is to keep you boys safe.”

  I’m sure he’s trying to be caring and helpful, but when I realize this is exactly the sort of thing that pissed Carrie off, I laugh.

  Dad raises an eyebrow. “Want to share?”

  “Not really. Just keep on being your perfect self.”

  It doesn’t make much sense out of context, but Dad rolls with it, giving me a quick salute. “Aye, aye, captain.”

  I watch him work and decide to open up a little more. “With everything that’s going on out there … It’s just …” I sigh. “I’m not trying to be ungrateful.”

  “Son, you’ve faced more in the past two years than I think I’ve experienced in my lifetime. And it makes me proud to see how you’ve dealt with it all.” He pauses to dust the work surface with flour, and I think he’s going to give me a big however …

  But he surprises me.

  “I wish there were more people like you and Charlie. Willing to fight for the good in this world. I know you don’t know what you plan to do when you graduate, but I hope you keep pursuing that fight.”

  He pauses again, looking at me, forcing a smile. I can see the rigidity in it, and the hint of fear in his eyes. “But not quite yet. Give your mom and me just a few more months, okay?”

  It’s only then that I realize how much they worry about what my future could hold.

  chapter 89

  Charlie arrives home with Mom and the four of us have another family supper together.

  “How was slinging doughnuts?” I ask.

  “Tough but good. You know how it is when you’re bringing home the bacon.” He takes a sip of his carbonated water for dramatic effect. “Oh, wait. No, you don’t.”

  “I work!”

  “One house—to check on plants?”

  “Hey, it’s busier in the summer!”

  Mom and Dad laugh, and I let the sarcasm fly. “Why did I invite you to stay with us?”

  Charlie’s quick, though. “First, your parents offered, not you. And second, you’re a masochist when it comes to me.”

  “You got that right.” It’s time to turn the tables. “Sooo, did you ask Mom about Elaina?”

  Dad’s ears perk up at the mention of a girl, but Mom just smiles. “Yes, we discussed his plans on the way home.”

  Of course Charlie hadn’t hesitated to ask a question that most normal teenagers might find awkward—especially with a family he’s just moved in with.

  Mom continues, “I thought it might be a nice way to break up the weekend.” She looks over at me. “You know, son, if there are any girls … ones you respect and treat with kindness—you might want to invite them over too.”

  “Let’s not even go there, Mom.”

  She rubs my shoulder but is willing to let it go, at least for now.

  Mom and Dad talk about their day, and Charlie tells them how his classes are going. I answer their questions as they come my way, but I feel somehow outside of myself, thinking about Mike, and Autumn, and my future.

  It’s odd how normal it is to have Charlie here; he’s become part of our family dynamic, like he’s always fit in. If someone had told me a year and a half ago that this is where we’d be now, I wouldn’t have believed them.

  chapter 90

  After supper, Charlie and I are on dish duty. He’s washing and I’m drying, but I’m falling behind.

  “Yo, Earth to Shepherd. What’s on your mind?”

  “Autumn.”

  He sighs. “All right, what about her?”

  I tell him everything until he interrupts. “She’s chaos.”

  “And I’m sure she’s lying,” I say. “I just don’t have a specific reason—”

  “Call it a hunch. I dig
hunches.”

  “Dig? Did you just get zapped out of the ’60s?”

  “You know, we can’t all be ‘perfectly normal’ like you,” he says mockingly. “So, you think she’s involved with what happened to Mike?”

  “Oh, she’s definitely trouble,” I agree. “But do I think she killed him? No.”

  Charlie finishes the last dish and hands it to me before hanging up his dishcloth and drying his hands, thinking things over.

  “But …?” He waits for me to continue.

  “I can’t quite pin down how she’s connected. She’s not telling us something.”

  He leans against the counter, head down. “Well, we know she’s been tempting him for a while. They had that exchange on Tuesday when he was on his date with Carrie—”

  “Not much of a date,” I say.

  “Hey, he’s your friend.”

  I appreciate that Charlie hasn’t put him in the past tense yet.

  “He played some basketball, then, according to his mom, was home early Tuesday night.”

  “So Tuesday’s a bust. Wednesday, he was at school with us—before we left for the condo.”

  I hate thinking about that moment. If he’d come with us, would he have been safer? Was the girl he’d been talking about that day Autumn or someone else? If only I’d talked with my friend a little longer maybe he’d still be here.

  Charlie goes on. “I think we need to check out the mall, see if Mike went there after school. There’s a few people there who might be able to help.”

  I shake off my funk and focus on the problem. “And I know some of the people at the sandwich shop. So, sneak off Monday at lunch?” I ask.

  “Actually, I have an idea how to get us there this weekend.”

  chapter 91

  Charlie’s idea is stupid: he asks my parents to take us.

  Of course, he’s prepared a story. He tells Mom he needs new clothes, showing her the holes in his socks and underwear, all of which I’m sure she didn’t need—or care—to see.