Guilty by Association

by Brad Cooper

  “How did he know to come here to look for that tape? The only people that knew that the tape existed are me, you, Kara, and Lisa. That’s it. How did he know that it even existed, much less where to look for it?” Ryan walked in circles as he thought aloud.

  “One other person knew though; that trooper that Lisa’s been talking to. He got the copy from her. Remember?”

  “Yeah, the copy we made that night but what does that have to do with the locals knowing? Unless…”

  “Unless what?” Adam asked. He was already considering the same remote but disturbing possibility as his friend.

  “Unless he’s involved in it.” Ryan turned to look at Adam and said, “That’s it. That’s the only way those guys could have known about it because we sure didn’t let on.”

  “Son of a… okay. So you’re telling me that the only guy on our side is really on their side? Fantastic.”

  “It looks that way for now. Can you think of anything else?’ Ryan asked.

  “Nope, that’s all it could be. No tape, no help, and no way to stop them from doing whatever they’re doing,” Adam said with disgust.

  “Don’t forget the fact that Alvin is completely hung out to dry right now, and for no good reason. Go downstairs and tell Lisa that she can’t talk to that guy again until we get our stories straight. Until things settle down, all four of us have a giant bulls-eye painted on our backs.” Ryan began pacing again. “I don’t care if they start in on us. I think we can handle ourselves but we’ve got two people in this house with us that we have to worry about right now.”

  “I know that but what do you want to do about it, Superman?”

  “Simple. Instead of two people living here, we’ve got four. You talk to Lisa, I’ll talk to Kara. Neither of them stays alone from now on and they don’t go out alone either. I know it sounds like we’re going to be living in a communist state but it’s what we have to do.”

  CHAPTER

  22

  Although never committed to an official record, there was a schedule to be followed in the Clark household. It was flexible, and there were always deviations, but a lack of structure only resulted in chaos. At least that’s how it seemed to certain people who were more anal retentive in nature than others.

  Fridays were designated for grocery shopping but every item on the schedule had been thrown out of sync in the last month.

  Meyer’s Grocery was not part of a national chain. The nearby town of Monroeville was the home of the only Meyer’s in existence and was only seven miles from the edge of Spring Creek’s city limit. Monroeville was also home to several chain stores but Ryan Clark would only shop at Meyer’s. He played little league baseball with the owner’s son, whose dad was an assistant coach. Plus he thought it to be a redeeming quality to help local businesses remain open. It was about loyalty, both to friends and to the area.

  Kara did not want to accompany him on the run to the store but she was quickly reminded of their agreement. She and Lisa were not to go anywhere without Ryan or Adam, if not both. It wasn’t a decision she agreed with but she trusted them both enough to go along for the time being.

  Clark turned his silver Hyundai Tiburon into the parking lot and found that the closest space to the front door that was not marked handicapped was vacant. That type of good fortune was rare on weekends when it came to parking. He got out and walked at Kara’s side, but slightly behind her, through the automatic sliding doors at the front of the building. His eyes carefully moved slowly from side to side, looking for anything that seemed strange by his current personal definition of the word.

  Kara grabbed the first available shopping cart and walked with Ryan around the checkout stands and toward the aisles. The small store only accommodated five aisles but all five were packed to their maximum capacity. Meyer’s had more than the bare essentials but lacked the high-priced luxuries that only a small percentage of people purchased but were so prominent in chain stores.

  Clark’s first stop was the snacks aisle, selecting a can of spray cheese. His favorite was the sharp cheddar and bacon flavored variety but regular versions were also acceptable. What the product could do to his health wasn’t an immediate concern. “Alright, now I need crackers. We’re out,” he said, looking around.

  “How can you eat that stuff?” Kara said with disgust. She followed him with the cart. Ryan tossed a box of crackers into the cart followed by a box of chocolate snack cakes. “Do you ever buy anything healthy?” she asked.

  “Low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium, low sugar, low taste. No thanks,” he said with a smile. “Yes, I do, and more often than you think, but right now I need my perks and whatever is fast and portable is a winner. You know? I’m an injured man. I think I deserve to have it easy for a while.” He walked around the corner and into the next aisle. Turning to Kara he said, “Want anything?”

  “We’ll see,” said Kara.

  Random items were tossed into the cart, some of which made Kara shake her head. Clark turned the corner only to see something that made him stop in his tracks. Whatever it was made Clark move backward and was out of Kara’s sight.

  Standing beside the front door of the store, arms folded and looking around, was Darrell Sparks.

  Clark moved back and guided Kara halfway down the aisle they’d just walked exited. “What’s wrong?” Kara asked, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

  Ryan checked behind him again and said, “You mind telling me what a Spring Creek cop is doing here? I didn’t even see him come in.”

  “Where?” she asked, starting to peer around the corner. Clark held her back.

  “He’s at the front. It’s probably a coincidence but I really don’t like being around any of them, especially since they know we know about everything.” He didn’t move. He looked at Kara and said, “Let’s just finish up and get out of here.” Then he emphasized, “Stay with me.”

  They turned the corner together and started down the next aisle, looking at the items packed onto the shelves. Clark could almost feel Sparks’ stare. He turned as if to look for another item and quickly looked past where Sparks was standing. Indeed Sparks was watching them.

  Yeah, we’re a big threat at a grocery store, Clark thought.

  He dropped several more items into the cart. A gallon of milk, a package of assorted lunch meat, and others were included.

  “Got everything?” Kara asked.

  “We’ve got enough. If I missed anything, it’s nothing we need. I’d rather just get out of here for now to be perfectly honest,” Clark replied.

  They hurried to the checkout line, a currently incorrect term as there was no one was waiting. The cashier greeted Clark, who was a familiar face, and engaged in small talk with the only two customers in the store aside from the police officer staked out beside the door while drinking a bottle of Coke.

  “Is he here a lot?” Clark asked the cashier.

  “The cop?” she asked, looking in his direction. “First time I remember seeing him. Why?”

  “No reason. I just didn’t think Meyer’s was a cop hangout.”

  The cashier finished scanning and bagging what few items Clark purchased and handed him the receipt. His concentration was elsewhere. Sparks was no longer looking directly at them but was watching the parking lot intently. Ryan stepped in front of the sensor to open the door but allowed Kara to exit first before walking out behind her, carrying the bags.

  Ryan opened the trunk using the remote control on his keychain then unlocked the doors. After hurriedly dispatching the bags and closing the door on the trunk, he rushed to the passenger door and opened it for Kara. She smiled and shook her head slightly but didn’t speak.

  A minute later they were back on the narrow two-lane road back to Spring Creek. The four-lane provided a more comfortable drive but added ten minutes to the travel time and lacked the scenery. Clark incessantly checked his rearview mirror, one of his many driving habits, watching for any sign of the cruiser carrying the officer who’d been
watching them. Paranoia was setting in.

  Two miles from the city limits, Clark again checked his mirror and saw the same gray conversion van trailing him that had been there the entire time. The van gradually decreased in speed, signaled, and turned left off of the main road and onto a side street. The vehicle behind the van gradually closed the gap to within half a car length of Clark’s rear bumper. It was a jet black police cruiser with a familiar face behind the wheel.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Clark said quietly to himself but audible to the girl in the seat beside him.

  “What?”

  “Hold on,” said Ryan. Clark slowed quickly and turned into the lot of a gas station on the side of the road. The cruiser turned in behind them.

  “What are you doing?” Kara asked.

  “Go inside and get something to drink. Don’t ask, just do it.”

  “But…”

  “Please. Just humor me. I think he’s following us and this is the best way to be sure. Don’t worry. I’ll be right out here watching. I want to see if he follows you inside.” He handed her a dollar bill and several coins and got out of the car.

  Kara walked into the store and browsed several refrigerated rows of beverages, while Clark started fueling the car. Clark grew uneasy as he watched Sparks get out of the cruiser and enter the store. Sparks passed by Kara as she approached the counter. She paid for the bottle of iced tea and walked back to the car. Clark finished filling up the gas tank and paid for it at the pump with his debit card.

  As Kara sat down in the passenger seat, Sparks walked out of the store empty-handed, his eyes on Clark’s car, and started his engine. Clark pulled out onto the road with Sparks closely in tow. Sparks matched every change in speed and direction that Clark made. He was not going anywhere.

  Clark passed the police station and continued in the direction of his house. Sparks turned in the direction of the station. Clark sped up to fifty miles per hour and kept his speed constant until reaching the point where he turned into his driveway. After getting out of the car, he removed the bags of groceries from the trunk and carried them into the car. Kara, who’d had her own key for several months, unlocked the front door and held it for him as he walked through.

  “Thank you,” he said to Kara. “Adam! Where are you?”

  Adam walked out of the bathroom and tossed the towel he’d been drying his hands with back into the room before turning out the light. “Yo,” he said.

  “Good news!” Clark exclaimed sarcastically. “We’re being watched or followed or whatever you want to call it.”

  Adam followed Clark into the kitchen and said, “What are you talking about?”

  Kara hopped up onto the countertop. “We saw our local down home police chief at the grocery store,” she said to Adam.

  “At Meyer’s? That’s like ten miles away!” said Adam.

  Ryan started placing items in cabinets and said, “Distance sure didn’t deter him. Why are they following us? We’re not much of a threat to their freedom at the grocery store.”

  “Maybe he was just there for himself or something.”

  “He left without buying anything. He didn’t even go all the way in,” said Clark. He dropped a can of tuna, picked it up, and continued. “Then we stopped at a gas station and he followed Kara into the store. A gas station. Think they’re desperate?”

  “Looks that way. What now?” Adam asked.

  “Now I eat. You two can, too, if you want. Then we figure out something for the weekend. I’ll be cautious but I’m not putting my life on hold because of these idiots.” Clark thought for a moment and said, “You know what? Call Lisa. I want to see something.”

  Sparks hung his hat on the row of pegs nailed to the wall. “Any calls?” he asked Amick.

  “Only two. Ron called and said he hasn’t talked to our girl in a while. Carl’s cousin called and said he’d take care of everything sometime today. I told him we needed it ASAP and he said not to worry. Looks like that worked out.” Amick got up and followed Sparks into his office. “What were our little friends up to today?” he asked. Amick spit his gum into the wastebasket and took out a fresh piece.

  “Not much. Went to the store down in Monroeville and got a few things then stopped and got gas on the way back. Didn’t talk to nobody at either place. So did Carl’s cousin say what time he’d be around? He’s got three lines to do.”

  “Couple of hours, or so. It’s only noon,” Amick said. He propped his legs up on the desk.

  Sparks checked his watch and said, “He better be on time. I want those done by the end of the day. We can’t take any chances from here on out.”

  Amick dropped his legs back to the floor and said, “How long is that going to be, Darrell? You think we can just keep this up permanently?”

  “As long as we have to,” said the chief. “I told you, we all signed up for this. Now don’t you have somewhere to be?”

  “Right,” said Amick. “I’m going.”

  Ryan, Adam, and Lisa stood outside in the driveway between the house and Adam’s aging Toyota 4-Runner. The late afternoon sun was beaming down, reflecting off the hot surface and into Lisa’s eyes. Even shielding them didn’t stop the glare. She’d forgotten her sunglasses at home.

  “It might work,” Adam said while still pondering the idea.

  “It’ll work. If they show up around you guys, then we know we are all being watched. If not, then we can just write it off as a coincidence,” Clark said. “Go somewhere, stay for a few minutes, and get back here. You know what three guys to look for but only one of them will be around. This isn’t a team effort.”

  “Do I really need to go?” Lisa asked. “I was just getting comfortable and cool in the house and all. The A/C in Adam’s truck is shot too.”

  Ryan placed his hand on Lisa’s shoulder, looked at her and said, “Please bear it for a few minutes… for me. Consider it a favor. We’ve got to know if they’re really watching us everywhere we go because if they are… well, we’ve got to rethink a few things.”

  Lisa pointed at him and, smiling, said, “Okay, but you owe me,” before stepping up into the truck.

  Ryan squinted looking into the glare and waved as Adam drove away, and walked back into the house. It was now a desperate search to find something to do. The available options were unappealing.

  Adam turned right onto the four-lane highway in the direction of Monroeville. It was a large enough town, just over twenty thousand in population, and was sizable enough to merit several ways to enter. The route Clark had taken to Meyer’s was considered the back way. The main road would take them to their current destination, which was the only shopping mall within thirty miles, if one did not count the small strip malls and shopping centers that were scattered amongst the small towns in the area. Spring Creek was one of the few such towns that did not have one. Main Street was the center of all commerce.

  Adam was cruising at forty-five miles per hour when he heard Lisa’s seatbelt disengage. He felt her hand on his leg then felt her lean over and begin gently kissing the right side of his neck. The glorious distraction caused him to swerve slightly. “Hey, I’m driving. Come on,” Adam said, stifling a laugh through a smile.

  Lisa offered a mischievous smile in return. “So? You can’t handle it?” She kissed his neck again. “You know you like it. Just try to multitask.” She slowly ran her hand through his hair.

  “Of course I like it but I don’t want to wrap my truck around a pole either.” With one eye on the road, he turned to Lisa and gave her a quick kiss. He smiled and said, “You just wait until we get home, young lady.”

  “Oh,” Lisa said with surprise. “I need to stop by the drugstore while we’re out.”

  “We’ll hit that on the way back. We’re not going to be here long.” Adam turned into a parking spot halfway up the long row of cars and turned off the engine. Lisa started to get out but Adam stopped her. “If we see one of those guys, don’t look at them. Don’t look around for them either
. We’ll just walk around a little, check out a store or two, and get out and see if anyone is there on every stop.”

  “Don’t worry, I got it,” Lisa said. Her only concern was checking out the stores.

  Walking through the parking lot in the direction of the closest entrance, an aging metallic blue muscle car pulled into their aisle of parking spaces and passed them. Adam caught only a glimpse of the driver but that was enough. Frank Amick was not in uniform but he was easily recognizable. Adam and Lisa did not change their pace.

  Amick pulled into the spot three spaces down from the 4-Runner and walked briskly to catch up to the two people he was supposed to be watching. No matter how much he desired to do so, he could not risk getting close enough to hear their conversation. He was certain that the subject matter was unimportant.

  Adam walked a step behind Lisa, who was leading the way. At times it seemed as if the mall was her second home, so he deferred to the expert. He took a seat on a bench in the center of the mall and watched Lisa enter Old Navy, her favorite store to spend what Adam considered to be ghastly amounts of money. He looked to his right and saw Frank Amick slowly approach, wearing street clothes rather than his uniform. His attempts to appear inconspicuous only drew Adam’s attention. Every move was exaggerated, hardly on purpose, right down to the gum chewing.

  Shifting his gaze back and forth between Amick, who was slowly circling behind him, and Lisa, who was in the store, Adam grew both nervous and restless. His first instinct was to move, to get away. Amick was moving behind him for one reason. It was not to gain an advantage on him, or them, as it was. He was moving there to have the same vantage point into the store as Adam. The distance was slightly greater but the view was identical.

  Lisa placed a pair of jeans back onto the rack and walked out of the store. Adam rose to greet her and guided her further down the mall. Several feet away Amick began to follow. He crossed diagonally forward and to his right, positioning himself directly behind them but by several feet.