by Mayer, Dale
"Thank you." She stepped forward and sat down.
The other guys backed off, following Jessie toward the back doors. "Why the hell did you do that?"
"Jesus, man, just because she was your brother’s stupid girlfriend doesn’t mean you have to go and give her our spot."
Todd’s stupid girlfriend. Cassie could only wonder what else people thought of her relationship with Todd. A Principal’s List student, she hardly qualified for ‘stupid’ status. Obviously people applied the term because she had been friends with Todd. Cassie slid lower in the seat and closed her eyes, letting other conversations drift around her. She'd much rather be home alone in her room.
"Cassie?"
She opened her eyes.
Todd. Looking as careless and gorgeous as always.
She bolted upright, glanced around and quickly sat back down. "What are you doing here?" Keeping an eye on anyone close enough to hear, Cassie winced at the idea of being overheard.
"Don’t you want to see me?" He grinned.
She noted he wore the same clothes. Were they the ones he’d worn in the accident? If so, why weren’t they covered in blood? Or alcohol, for that matter. Keeping her voice soft, she asked him.
"I don’t know. These are all I’ve seen. I can’t take them off." He tried to lift up the strap of his muscle shirt and it lifted but was as transparent as his own body. He hooked his fingers into his pockets and his fingers disappeared as if they were actually going into something. Weird.
"Your brother called a deputy, asking for more details."
"Oh." Todd sat on the arm of the couch, oblivious to everyone else.
Cassie couldn’t talk out loud to the empty air in front of her face. People were worried about her now. Wait until she got caught talking to a piece of furniture.
"What did he find out?"
Keeping her voice low and trying not to move her lips too much – which wasn’t easy – she relayed what she’d learned.
"I was outside the vehicle? So I must have been thrown free." He frowned. "That can’t be right. I always wear a seatbelt. And what about the air bags, were they deployed?
Cassie shook her head. "I don’t know. He didn’t mention them."
Todd stared off into the distance. "We need to find out. If the airbags deployed, I had help getting out of the vehicle. I think they deflate quickly, but they’re big and awkward. They would have been hard to get around and I was badly injured. If they didn’t, then maybe something mechanical was wrong with the car and that caused the accident."
Cassie pursed her lips. Odd, she hadn’t considered a mechanical problem. Why not? If there’d been booze containers in the car, still in the case or bag, they would have obviously broken in the accident, spraying their contents throughout. Had the police considered that?
"I may have to call them myself."
"Call who?" Penny stood in front of her, two iced coffees in her hand, slightly out of breath.
Cassie glanced at Todd then shook her head. Todd was gone. Again.
"Here, take one will you? These things are freezing."
Cassie snagged the one on the left and took a long sip, hoping her friend wouldn’t notice her discomfort. Penny took Todd’s spot. Cassie watched her out of the corner of her eye, wondering if she’d feel anything different. Nope.
"The line was huge." Penny shook her shoulder-length, brown hair – the ends flipped up as they landed. "At least I can sit down now."
"Mmmm." Cassie busied herself drinking her iced treat.
"So, who are you going to call?"
Glancing up at her friend, Cassie shrugged. "I might call the police and ask for the facts about Todd’s death."
"Oh, no. Don’t do that. You’re never going to get over this if you have all those nasty details rolling around in your head." Penny pretended to shiver horribly. "Yuck."
"I know, but there’re a few questions that I want answered, and I won’t get them unless I ask."
"Ask his father, then. He’d know the pertinent ones."
Todd’s father. Cassie shuddered. She’d rather not know than approach him. She’d seen a lot of him over the years, but when the man was drunk, ugh. He was bad news. Then again, Jessie could ask him. They might be on talking terms. "Are you going to the funeral on Friday?"
Penny glanced sideways at her. "I don’t want to. I hate funerals. Besides, I start work at four. I’d have to get someone to cover my shift, and you know how hard that is."
Cassie was a part-time checker at Thrifty’s, and no one ever wanted to work Friday nights. Just the same, Cassie hoped Penny found someone to cover for her.
She wanted her by her side at the funeral tomorrow. And she wanted answers to her questions.
Why was someone holding back information? Cassie was sure someone knew what happened to Todd on his last night, and she was going to find that person.
She needed to know the truth. And so did Todd.
***
Cassie walked into the sheriff’s office on her way home from school. Going through the front door wasn’t too bad, but once inside she felt intimidated. Everyone had such stern, imposing looks on their faces. Unapproachable. She almost backed out.
"Hi there. How can we help you?"
Cassie followed the friendly voice to a large counter where a woman smiled at her. A friendly face. Cassie headed for her, relief in her voice as she said, "I want to find out some information about an accident that happened last weekend."
The woman looked at her monitor and typed in something. "What kind of information are you looking for? And which accident?"
Cassie took a deep breath and gave out the details. "I’m…" she stumbled and corrected herself, "… I was his best friend and well, I can’t sleep for the questions rolling around in my head."
"How old are you, Cassie?"
"Sixteen," she muttered, hoping age wouldn’t make a difference.
"And do your parents know that you’re here?"
A heavy sigh slid out. "No. And I suppose you can’t talk to me unless they are here, too, huh?"
"That’s not mandatory. Let me find someone for you." The woman stood and left the room.
Cassie wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans. That wasn’t so bad.
"Cassie, come on through here. Deputy Magnusson has a few moments to spare."
The large wooden desk-high gate opened, giving Cassie entrance to the other side of the counter. The woman led her down a small hallway and into a smaller office. A portly man her father’s age stood and smiled at her. "Come in, come in. We don’t get too many people your age in here voluntarily, you know."
Cassie grimaced. "Not sure I’ll ever come again either, sir."
He laughed. "Sit down and relax. What can I do for you?"
"Thank you." She sat down on the edge of the spare chair. "My friend, Todd, died in a car accident Friday night." Tears threatened. Cassie stopped, sniffled once and stared out the window for a long moment before she managed to get her emotions back under control. Facing the deputy again, she saw empathy and understanding on his face. "I know that everyone says he’d been drinking and driving and deserved what he got." This time tears did form in her eyes. She choked them back. "But, he didn’t. He’d never drink and drive."
Deputy Magnusson sat back, crossed his hands on his belly and gave her a solid look. "First off, no young man deserves to die. So what they’re thinking along that line is just plain wrong. Second, the investigation hasn’t officially been closed and rumors will always float around."
"I need to make sure you checked out a few things."
The deputy raised one eyebrow and settled back into his chair. "Fire away and we’ll see if I can help."
"Did his airbag go off?" she blurted out. Sitting back, she wondered at the frown on his face.
"You know, that’s a darn good question. There was one on the car, I know that. And it was burned in the fire." He reached into the drawer at his side and pulled out a thin file. "I’m not sure if I have
anything written down about whether it went off first though. Why are you asking?"
"I’m wondering if he was actually thrown out of the vehicle, and if he was, how? He kept his car tuned up particular. He loved that machine and there were airbags in it. So if the airbags went off, how could he have been thrown out of the vehicle?" she asked reasonably. "Also, did anyone find Todd’s cell phone?"
The Deputy frowned as he flicked through his open file. "We didn’t find one. Although, chances are it was destroyed in the fire."
Wincing, Cassie stared at the floor for a moment, catching her breath. "Right. Fire," she said weakly. "Was Todd burned as well?"
"No." He rushed to assure her. "He was far enough off to the side that he wasn’t caught in the fire."
Her breath gusted out in relief, not wanting to have that picture locked into her head. "So is it possible for him to have been thrown out before the airbag opened up or to have crawled out after it inflated?"
The deputy studied her face. "What’s the real problem here?"
Cassie flushed. "The problem is Todd didn’t drink. Maybe a little but not very much and never ever would he drive afterward." She sighed. "Have you met his father?"
When the deputy nodded, she grimaced. "Maybe you don’t know if you’ve never seen him at his worst, but Todd’s dad is a horrible drunk with a matching drunk driving record. He hit a woman years ago when driving home. Todd never could accept the fact that his dad had gotten off so lightly." Raising her voice slightly, she repeated, "Todd would never drink and drive. Never. There had to have been someone else in that vehicle with him. Someone else had to be involved. Maybe they survived the crash and ran off, afraid of what they’d done. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I need to." She leaned forward. "Please, check it out further."
With a heavy sigh, the deputy shuffled the papers in front of him, aimlessly. "I’ll tell you what. We won’t close the case until we have all the facts. Good enough?" At her bright smile, he held up a warning hand. "Don’t get too excited. The men were pretty sure they knew how this accident had played out."
Cassie’s grin didn’t dim one bit. "No, I understand. Thank you." She jumped to her feet and headed for the door. At the doorway, she turned back. "I don’t suppose it’s possible to search for the cell phone is it? Just in case he picked up a friend who needed a ride or called for help?" She leaned over and handed him a folded sheet of paper with the type of phone, color and the number. "Here is the description of his phone. I’ve tried calling and texting, but it never goes through. Oh, and he scratched his initials on the back, on the sliding keyboard piece."
The deputy grinned. "Are you angling for a future in law enforcement, young lady?"
"No, sir. Just doing for a friend who can’t do for himself."
Serious appreciation glinted in his eyes. "Lucky friend."
CHAPTER SIX
"Cassie, can we see you for a few minutes, please," her mom called up to her.
Cassie groaned and dropped her head to her keyboard. When would they leave her alone? "Just a minute." She saved her homework, closed the lid on her laptop and headed downstairs. Checking her watch, she realized how late it had gotten.
Her parents sat on opposite sides of the kitchen table again. Her stomach sank. Now what? She studied their serious expressions. Would her life never get easier? "What’s the matter?"
Her father spoke up. "On my way home from work, I saw you coming out of the sheriff’s office."
Cassie stared up at the ceiling. Not good. "And?"
"I’d like to know what you were doing there."
"Like to know or demanding to know?" She pulled out a chair and sat down. This might take awhile.
Abby jumped in. "Cassie, this isn’t an interrogation. Honey, we’re concerned about you. You’ve had a difficult time lately. And going to the sheriff’s office is unusual for you."
"How do you know, Mom?" Cassie would have liked to ignore their stares, but found it beyond difficult. "I didn’t hide my trip. I just didn’t feel the need to tell you about it."
"Why did you go?" Abby got up and walked over to sit down beside her husband, aligning herself against Cassie, as always.
"I wanted answers about Todd’s accident."
"Damn it!" Her father glared at her. "Why would you want to go and do that?"
Cassie’s heart pounded. She rarely bucked her father. This time she had no choice. It was that important. Trying to keep her voice calm and steady, she said carefully, "Because I needed to."
Her dad sat back open-mouthed. Abby reached over and held his hand.
"Cassie, what information did you want?"
"Confirmation that no one else could have been driving that vehicle." The words just burst out. "I knew Todd. I knew him better than probably anyone else, and there’s one thing that I know for absolute sure – he wouldn’t have been driving after drinking."
Abby dropped her head. "Oh, honey. You’re trying to prove he wasn’t responsible. What difference will that make? He's still going to be gone. You have to accept that."
"All the difference in the world to me. Don’t you understand? I go to school and all I hear throughout the day is how Todd brought this on himself. How Todd met the end he deserved. It doesn’t stop." Her tone rose. "Todd. Did. Not. Do. This."
Slumped back into his chair, her dad stared at her wordlessly. Abby held her fist against her mouth.
"What will it take for you to leave this alone, Cassie?"
At the pain and caring in her mom’s voice, Cassie’s lower lip trembled.
"The truth."
***
Jessie kicked the rock all the way home, enjoying the force behind the blow, the satisfaction of being able to hit something…hard. Tension lived with him these days. Nothing was the same anymore. He’d always been sure of what he wanted to do, knew where he wanted to go. That had changed. Everything felt messed up. His brother, he could have used more time with Todd; and his father, well he could use a whole lot less of him. And his mom had gotten the wrong idea there. She seemed to think he was missing a father’s touch. That getting him and his dad together would save them both.
How wrong could she be? Todd was proof of that.
She was probably fearful that she might lose one of them or the other like she had Todd and she wanted them to have a relationship before it was too late. Like it now was with Todd.
But just because he'd lost his brother didn't mean he wanted to create a relationship with his messed up father.
His phone rang. Jessie checked the incoming text. Stephen and a couple of other friends wanted him to join them at the mall. He didn’t feel like it. School was over for the day, and he felt lost. He wanted to know more about his brother. That meant talking to Cassie.
The tension inside eased. He’d always liked her, really liked her, but she’d been Todd’s friend, and that had meant she’d been off limits, regardless of his interest. Todd’s death was too recent to feel any differently about that. Yet, she'd always had a smile for him. Even more when Todd had acted like an ass. She'd always stepped in to smooth out any conflicts, the first to make everyone feel welcome.
It would be nice to talk to her.
His phone beeped again. He checked and didn’t recognize the number. "Hello."
"Is this Jessie?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"Cassie. I grabbed your number off the phone when you called me."
Sweet. "Smart," he said.
"I stopped at the sheriff’s office today and spoke to a deputy."
"Really? What did he say?"
Jessie listened in amazement as she explained what had gone down at the station. "Wow, I’m really surprised."
"I know. So am I, actually. It’s encouraging."
"But he did say to not get excited about this," he warned. Jessie had to agree with that commonsense statement. To expect much out of this would be a mistake. He’d love to know that his brother hadn’t done anything so stupid, but the odds were aga
inst confirming that.
"I know. I’m just happy they’re at least going to check it out. They need to find his cell phone."
Jessie sat down on a bus stop bench. Cell phone? That’s right. Todd was always on that thing. If the cops said he’d had an accident while texting, Jessie would have been convinced hands down.
Drunk driving – not so much.
"Jessie, are you there?"
"Yes, sorry." He sighed. "I just realized how much I’d blindly accepted. It never occurred to me that the police might not have retrieved the cell phone or checked out any calls."