by Bryna Butler
Chapter 12: Boys Night
By the 26th, Jamie was completely overtaken by cabin fever. This was the reason why he didn’t come back to his small, rural home after college. When he was a teenager, he had often called it the most boring place on Earth. This feeling only intensified after moving away and experiencing life in the city. It seemed as though the whole town (except Walmart) shut down at six p.m.
Colby knew something was up when he overheard Jamie saying goodbye to Mary Sue.
“I promise. I won’t be long. I’ve just got to do something,” he said to her.
Mary Sue was very understanding. Not many women would be okay with being left alone in the middle of nowhere with her newborn and the in-laws that she barely knew.
Jamie turned and was headed down the stairs when he bumped into Colby.
“Where are you going?”
“Smitty just called. I’m headed to his place to watch boxing,” Jamie said. “What’s it to you?”
“Can I come too?”
“Why?”
“Hey, I want to get out of the house, just as much as you do.”
Jamie thought for a moment. Colby knew that his older brother was taking his time in considering a worthy comeback. He was always a bit slower on the uptake than Colby. “What’s wrong, didn’t Kiki invite you to her tea party?” he finally managed.
Kiki…Colby hadn’t heard that name in years. That’s what Colby used to call Keira. The two had been friends since they could crawl and that was his first attempt at pronouncing her name. His Mom and Nana had thought it was adorable, so they encouraged it. He called her Kiki for the first five years of her life, only reverting to Keira when they started kindergarten, and then it was more of a Kei-wa.
“Come on man, I just wanna watch the fight,” Colby pleaded.
Jamie grunted, then hesitated, then grunted some more, until he finally gave in. “Let’s go, but I’m driving.”
They hopped in Jamie’s rental car and were soon at Smitty’s doorstep. Colby had expected an apartment befitting a young bachelor, but was surprised to find that Smitty lived in a well kept, two-bedroom house on a quiet street. It was the kind of house that typically belonged to the kindly old lady on the block that baked pies for everyone. The house had white siding with red shutters and a big front porch with a swing. The outline of a Christmas tree took up the entire front window. Puffs of smoke were drifting from the chimney. The Smith house had that warm, homey feeling, complete with a huge evergreen wreath on the front door. It even had a white, picket fence.
Jamie knew it was the right place because the house used to belong to Smitty’s grandmother before she passed away. Colby knew it was the right place because he could see Smitty’s squad car parked outside the garage.
The two knocked on the door and he let them in right away. He was wearing a worn out rugby shirt and jeans that were ragged at the bottom. His hair was disheveled, like he had just woken up. He was barefoot and had a longneck beer in his hand. Colby was surprised to see this version of Smitty; the party guy he remembered, rather than the button-downed policeman he met the other day.
“Dude, my man, glad you could make it,” he greeted Jamie. “And your little bro too. Listen, man, I am so sorry about picking you up the other day.”
Jamie flashed an inquisitive look at Colby, but held back to listen.
“No problem. Any word on them yet?” Colby asked.
“We’re looking into some alternatives, you know, trying to cover all the bases. When your name came up, I told the detective that there was no way that you were involved, but that guy won’t listen to anybody. At the station, the rest of us think that if anyone’s involved, it’s that Edwards guy. My money’s on him.”
“Edwards?” Jamie asked.
“Yeah, the rich guy that used to have the big place on Front Street. You remember. He hired us to mow his lawn that one summer. ”
“I know who you’re talking about. That guy was loaded and didn’t care what he spent. He paid us whether we mowed or not. That’s the summer we were trying to raise money to go to Ft. Lauderdale. Man, what a trip.”
“The Banes place?” Colby interrupted in an effort to keep the conversation on track.
“Yeah, and oh James, this Banes guy is the one that owns it now. Man, let me tell you, he’s got a daughter that is a stone, cold fox. If I was sixteen again…”
Colby’s face flushed. This didn’t go unnoticed by the policeman who was used to being fully aware of his surroundings. “Oh, sorry, little bro. I totally forgot. She’s your friend, right? She was with you when we picked you up.”
“She’s actually my girlfriend,” Colby managed.
Smitty looked at Jamie, then to Colby with total shock.
“No doubt? That girl is smokin’,” Smitty declared
“Yeah, she is.”
They laughed all the way to the couch and plopped down in front of a full spread of junk food. Once everyone was comfortable, Colby delved back into the conversation, his true reason for the visit. “So, who’s this Edwards guy that you mentioned?”
“Oh yeah, if you ask me, this Logan Edwards has ‘perp’ written all over him. He’s wealthy, but no one knew where his money came from. He’s a high level sponsor for the after school programs, so he has access to the kids. He has no family and no friends. Then, one day, he gets up, sells his house, and disappears. That sounds like someone who’s up to no good to me.”
“So how does he fit with Bobby and Shara?” Colby invited.
“My theory, and this is only between us, is that he’s the one that kidnapped them and maybe even killed them. There are all kinds of possible motives. Maybe they were buying drugs from him and were going to turn him in. Maybe they witnessed a crime that he committed. Most likely, he was probably some weirdo that gets his kicks from taking kids. Anyway, he’s gone without a trace. I think that someone found him out and took revenge. Maybe one of the parents got to him. The girl's parents left town. They said they had a commitment to Doctors Without Borders and couldn’t get out of it. So, they’re not even in the country now. It gets me thinking, you know? Logan Edwards is the perfect suspect; the question is, is he on the run or is he dead?”
By this point, Jamie was fully engrossed in the story and wanted more. “But if he is dead, where are they? I mean, the kids, where could they be?”
“That’s the part that I can’t figure out. Let’s assume he’s dead. Maybe he killed the kids and his murder was payback. Maybe a third victim killed him during escape and didn’t know there were others. Maybe he nabbed them for someone else who killed him to insure his silence. Maybe he lied to his murderer about the kids’ whereabouts and he died before they could find out where he really stashed them.”
“Whoa. This town might not be as reserved as I thought,” Jamie said. He tossed a piece of popcorn into the air and caught it in his mouth.