by Ann Mullen
“What can we all do to help?” Mom asked.
“I guess you can count me in,” Claire replied as she went over to Benny and Carrie. She wiped Carrie’s chin and cut another chunk of meatloaf for Benny.
“I wanna help, too, Ant Jess,” Benny said after he swallowed the food he had in his mouth. “I can baby-sit.”
“Thanks, Benny,” I said. “I don’t think it’ll come to that.” I looked at Mom and Claire. “If I’m not back by the time Russ gets here, I want the two of you to take care of the baby. I’ll take my cell phone just in case.”
“I’m coming with you,” Cole said.
“Okay, but don’t try to get in my way.”
“Why would I do that? What do you have planned?”
“Just get your coat and let’s go. It’s cold, it’s been snowing, and it’ll be dark soon.” I grabbed my coat off the coat rack and rummaged through my purse looking for my cell phone. “Ah, Billy you’re such a good man!” I turned and said to my captive audience. “He always puts things back where they belong.”
I struggled to get my coat on over the cast on my arm, but finally managed to accomplish it. I walked over to where Thor was lying on the floor and said, “Come on Thor. Show me where you hid that bag.”
Thor jumped up without hesitation and headed toward the utility room door. Cole and I followed. The minute we were outside, Cole confronted me.
“Just what do you plan on doing if you find that shirt?”
“What do you think?” I said. “I’m going to burn it!”
CHAPTER 9
The temperature outside was twenty-six degrees according to the thermometer hanging on the side of the garage, and the snow that had been coming down like a soft rain earlier was now showing signs of a snowstorm in the making. Visibility was minimal. I was bundled up from head to toe and should have been warm, but the cold in my heart gave me the shakes. I was worried… worried that I would find the shirt and Cole would force me to turn it over to the sheriff. He didn’t say anything when I said I would burn it. He probably thought I wasn’t serious, but I was. I had already decided that I was going to get rid of the evidence if I found it, no matter what. My mind raced as the thought of what was to come haunted me. I was determined that Billy would not pay for something he didn’t do. I looked over at Cole and the sight of him made me laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“You look like an Eskimo with that furry hood covering your head.”
“Hey, I know what it’s like out here in the winter. You have to be prepared for everything. This is my cold weather clothing. Once the winter sets in, I carry a duffel bag in my Jeep filled with insulated coveralls, gloves, boots, and a heavy coat. Everybody should. What would happen if you got caught in a snowstorm and your car broke down? You could freeze to death. It’s been known to happen. I also have a couple of candles in that bag.”
“Why would you carry candles?”
“If your car broke down or if you got stuck in the snow, you could light the candles and keep a little warmth inside the car, and then hope for a quick rescue.” He let out a little chuckle. “I know it sounds silly, but you’d be surprised at how many times a candle has come in handy in situations just like I said.”
Cole and I were making small talk as we followed Thor into the woods. It was obvious that Thor wasn’t in a hurry as he walked ahead of us, but he did appear to be on a mission. We kept up with his pace and didn’t try to rush him. Occasionally, he’d stop and look back at us as if he wanted to make sure we were still there, and then he would continue. I had no idea how long this journey was going to take, so I decided that now would be a good time to have that serious talk with Cole. I had put it off long enough.
“What’s really going on with you and Claire?”
“I was wondering when you’d get around to asking me that,” he said as he stopped in his tracks. He turned to me and smiled. “You still care about me, don’t you?”
“I care about my sister, and yes, I do care about you, but not in the way you think. Cole, it’s been over between us for a while. We had an intense relationship that fizzled out quickly. What does that tell you?”
“It tells me that I made a terrible mistake.” He reached out to touch me.
“Don’t,” I said as I backed up. “Cole, you don’t want me. I know you don’t, so why do you do things like this? Are you angry that I fell in love with Billy, or is it that you just don’t like to lose? I know the two of you had this competitive thing going on about women, but it’s time to grow up and get over it. It’s time to stop playing games. I don’t understand you. You seem like a reasonable man, but sometimes I wonder. I think that bullet did something to your sense of reason.”
“That bullet did more than just mess with my sense of reason; it made me realize that life is too short to just stand back and let it pass you by,” he said. He turned and started walking. “Come on, let’s catch up with Thor.”
I wiped the snow from my face and caught up with Cole. “You never did answer my question about Claire.”
“Claire is a wonderful person and maybe one day I’ll fall in love with her, but right now I have to get over you. You broke my heart, Jesse, and I can’t seem to get past that.”
I grabbed him by the sleeve and said, “Please try, Cole, for all our sakes. It would make life a lot easier. I don’t want my sister hurt; she got enough of that from Carl. She loved him and he turned around and treated her like dirt. He cheated on her. When she found out, they argued and she fell down the stairs. She had a miscarriage. I’ll always hate him for that.”
“You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“I wish I had the nerve.”
We looked at each other and then laughed.
Thor let out a bark and then took off running. We followed him until he came to a spot in the woods under a fallen tree. He started digging and then all of a sudden he backed off. A putrid smell filled the air. Cole and I stepped back.
“What’s that smell?” I asked, covering my nose.
Cole tried to cover his nose as he bent down to look at what Thor had discovered. “Jesus,” he said, backing away.
“What is it?”
“It’s just a deer,” Cole answered as he pulled me by the arm. “He’s half-buried. He probably was injured and tried to find cover under the leaves and dirt. Once Thor started digging him out, the odor was released. Let’s get out of here. That smell is awful.”
“Come on, Thor,” I yelled. I felt sick to my stomach and had to get away from that smell, or I was sure to throw up. Once we got far enough away from the smell so that I could breathe fresh air again, I bent down and held Thor’s head. “Come on, buddy,” I whispered. “Show me where you buried your treasure. I don’t have all day. The cops will be coming back soon and if they find the shirt, Billy’s going to jail.”
Thor took off running in the opposite direction. He slowed down and then turned around to look at us. Cole and I stared at each other and then took off after Thor again.
“What you just said back there—does that mean you think Billy’s guilty?”
“No, I don’t think he’s guilty, but the cops do, and that’s what counts.”
Silence filled the air.
We continued to follow Thor on what seemed to be an endless journey. I was beginning to wonder if maybe we were wasting our time. Either Thor was giving us the run around or he had forgotten where he had hidden the shirt. I was getting frustrated.
“Thor!” I yelled and then stomped my feet. “I’m getting tired of playing around. Go find that shirt before I kick…”
Off he went again. I looked at Cole.
“What do you think? Is he pulling our chain?” Cole asked.
“I don’t know what he’s doing, but I’m not going to give up until he drags his tired old butt home.”
We were still following Thor in and out of the woods, looking under every bush, when Cole stopped and looked at his watch. “We’ve been walking a
round in circles for twenty minutes, Jesse. We’re not getting anywhere. Aren’t you getting cold?”
“I’m freezing, but…”
“Let’s go back to the house and get warm. If you want to come back out again, I’ll come with you.”
I looked around and realized that we were deep into the woods. “You didn’t happen to bring a flashlight with you, did you?”
“Of course, I did.” He reached into the pocket of his bulky coat and pulled out a flashlight. “I never go anywhere without one.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Let’s head back.”
We turned around and headed out of the woods. By the time we had reached the edge, darkness had descended upon us. It felt like the temperature had dropped twenty degrees. I could see the glow from the light on the back porch.
“Ah, there’s the house,” I said. “I was afraid we’d gotten lost.”
“I hate to say it, but I’m afraid your buddy let us down.”
We both looked at Thor.
He must have understood what we said, because he stopped, lay down and then rolled over onto his back. He made goofy noises as he wiggled and wagged his tail. He reminded me of a child making a snow angel in the snow.
“Thor, you’re such a putz!”
Cole laughed at me. “Where on earth did you pick up that word?”
“Get with the program, pal. That word’s been around for a long time.”
“Heaven help us all,” he said as he rolled his eyes. He clicked on the flashlight and we started back to the house. The snow continued to beat us in the face.
“I have one question for you, and I want the honest truth,” I said. I looked directly at Cole and waited for his reply.
“Okay,” he said. “You can ask one if I can ask one.”
“Fair enough,” I replied. “Have you ever hit, pushed, or in any way physically hurt Claire?”
“I most certainly have not,” he immediately replied. “I’m hurt at the idea that you would even suggest such a thing. I’ve never hit a woman in my entire life and never would, unless it was in the line of duty. Why do you ask?”
“Because she’s got some strange bruises on her shoulder, and when I asked her about them, she gave the standard answer that someone would give if they had been abused.”
“How would you know what an abused person would say?”
“I once had a friend who was constantly being beat up by her husband. I’ve heard all the lies and excuses.”
“Claire fell down the steps, I swear, Jesse.” He was quiet for a second then he said, “I’ve been meaning to say something to someone, but just never got a chance. I think there’s something wrong with her… medically, I mean. She falls down constantly.”
“What are you saying?”
“I think she needs to go to a doctor. I think there’s really something wrong.”
“Don’t be making up stuff, Cole.”
“I’m not, I swear!”
The look in his eyes seemed sincere. Maybe I should say something to Mom about this, I thought.
“I’ll ask Claire about it in front of Mom, that way I know she won’t try to cover up anything. She’d never lie to Mom.”
“Please do,” he said. “I’ve been worried about her. When I said something to her about her problem, she just brushed me off.”
“She won’t brush me off; I can promise you that.”
“All right, now it’s time for my question.”
I stopped in mid-stride and turned to look at him. “Go ahead, but you’d better make it good, because you only get one,” I replied.
“Actually, I don’t have a question. It’s more like a request. I want you to have a paternity test done. I really do think you’re carrying my baby.”
“You’re out of your mind! Absolutely not! No way am I going to do that. What kind of message would that send to Billy? He’d think that I had doubts about our baby, and I don’t! Get away from me... you pig.”
“Jesse, I think you’re wrong. Please listen to me!”
I started running toward the house. All I wanted to do was get away from Cole. His head was screwed up and I didn’t want to hear another word from him. I made it to the back door and pushed it open. Thor came barreling past me. Maybe he didn’t want to be around Cole anymore than I did. We were both inside warming up by the fire by the time Cole walked in the living room.
“Here, let me take your coat, Cole,” Mom said as she went up to him. “Jesse said that y’all didn’t have any luck. I guess the cops and their dogs will find it. Too bad; I was hoping Thor would lead you to it.” She went to hang the coat on the rack by the front door, but stopped halfway there. She turned to look at me. “What were you going to do, Jesse, if you had found the bag?”
“Don’t ask,” I replied.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” she said as she hung up the coat and then walked over to the fireplace. “I believe the blood on that shirt is probably animal blood. Someone probably hit a deer and Billy helped get the deer off the road. If Billy had a chance, he would tell us this himself. I’m sure it can’t be Carl’s blood. If you destroy the shirt, you destroy any proof of Billy’s innocence.”
“I guess I never thought of it that way,” I said. I wanted to believe Mom’s words, but I just didn’t want to take a chance that she could be wrong. I had to do something. Maybe, if I took Thor outside by myself, I’d stand a better chance. But how could I pull that off?
“That lawyer, Russ, just called,” Mom said as she sat down on the sofa. “He’ll be here any minute.”
I looked around and noticed that Claire, the kids, and Athena were missing. “Where’s everybody?”
“Claire and I had a little talk while you were gone.”
“And…”
“And we’ve decided to stay here tonight and help you out. We’ll stay longer if you need us. You’re going to need help. Billy’s gone and that little baby is coming to stay. The kids are upstairs asleep in the guest room they stayed in when they slept over the other times, and Athena’s on your bed. I didn’t make her get off because…”
“It’s all right, Mom. That’s the least of my worries.”
“Claire took the van and went back home to get some things. I told her to bring back some food, too. Your refrigerator is sorely lacking in provisions. It was all I could do to fix a decent meal.”
“You sound just like Billy.” A tear slid down my face at the thought of my beloved husband being locked up in a stinking jail cell. He hasn’t been arrested, but that could change. Just the mention of his name made me even more determined to find that evidence before the cops did, but to do that, I had to get rid of Cole. He was standing in my way. Thor made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t going to lead me to that bag as long as Cole was around. Why else would he casually lead us a on a wild goose chase? It didn’t take me long to figure that one out. Cole was the hold up. He had to go. I had to make a move and do it quickly.
“It’s snowing pretty hard,” I said. I looked over at Cole, who had barely said two words since our return. “I’m not trying to get rid of you, Cole, but I’m scared for Claire. It’s really getting nasty out there and I’m sure she doesn’t have a candle in her car.”
I used Cole’s own advice against him. He responded immediately by saying that it was time for him to leave. He would check on Claire on his way home. If we needed anything, we were to call him and then he’d come back in a flash. He turned and was gone.
I was shocked at how well I had pulled that off, but I didn’t stand around and pat myself on the back. The minute Cole left, I walked over to Thor who had been soaking in the heat from the fireplace.
“All right, rat, no more crap. Let’s go!”
The minute I spoke, Thor jumped up and ran to the back door.
“What…” Mom started to ask, but I cut her off.
“Just stay here and keep a lookout for Russ. We’ll be back in a minute.”
I grabbed my coat and a flashlight and then r
an after Thor. As soon as I got outside and shut the back door, I saw Thor disappear into a hole in the house foundation, beside the air-conditioning unit. I walked over, bent down and saw a rubber flap, just like the one on the back door. I pulled the flap back and discovered a cut-out in the cinderblocks. The hole was just big enough for either one of the dogs to crawl through. Billy must have done this for them in case they ever got shut out of the house for some reason (like the time I put a basket of clothes in front of their hole and they couldn’t get in), or maybe he wanted them to have a hiding place. I stood up and smiled. This was just one more of the many reasons why I loved Billy. He’s such a loving, compassionate person. A hiding place, huh? The moment the thought crossed my mind, Thor jumped through the hole with the plastic Zip-Lock bag clenched between his teeth. He dropped the bag at my feet.
“Thor, you’re a real trip!” I bent down and hugged him long enough for him to get in a couple of licks. I figured he earned the right to slobber on me. I picked up the bag and headed toward the back door. I stopped and looked around, surveying the landscape. Should I hide it somewhere and pray that no one finds it, or should I do what I thought about in the beginning, and burn it? Burn it, won out. Mom said that this was proof that Billy was innocent, but without this shirt, there was no evidence at all. It was going in the fire, but I had to be discreet. If I should get caught… oh, I wouldn’t think about that now. I would go inside and burn the shirt! I opened the back door and prayed all the while that Thor wouldn’t do something stupid like bark and draw attention to my illegal act. I stuffed the bag under some dirty clothes in the laundry basket until I had the opportunity to complete my task. As I walked through the kitchen to the living room, I saw a pair of headlights shine through the living room window, and then heard the honk of a car horn.
Mom jumped up from the sofa and said, “That must be Russ.” She walked over to the door and opened it. “It’s Russ, Jesse, and he’s carrying a baby seat.”