Deadly Gratitude

by Lori Donnester

  Several bumps later, the jet stopped on the runway amidst a torrential downpour. The killer stared out the window, his face as gloomy as the weather.

  A couple of hours later, he made it through customs and stood in front of the airport out in the rain in the hopes of nabbing a cab. The newspaper that he held as an umbrella wasn’t helping much. After what seemed like an hour, he got into a taxi and sat while it inched forward in the bumper-to-bumper traffic. The wiper blades beat back and forth against the windshield in rhythm, struggling to clear the torrents of water streaming in rivers down the glass. The killer stared out the window, his elbow propped on the armrest and his chin in his hand. He could see only foggy glimpses of the city through the windshield on the slow ride to his hotel.

  It took forever until he was in his room. He stripped off his wet clothes and huddled under the covers, falling asleep.

  When he awoke, his head felt as foggy as the weather. He grabbed the clock and then stumbled to the window. How to get anything done on a Sunday afternoon? Why didn’t I think about the time change?

  Smacking the window, he plopped down into a chair. The room service menu was right next to him. He knew enough Portuguese to order a bottle of Scotch.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  In Denver, Don was in a convenience store near his condo buying some cereal and milk when his phone rang. He didn’t look at the screen when he answered, “Layden here.” When he recognized the caller’s voice, he put his products down on a nearby shelf and leaned against a wall, grinning. “Ryan! How are you, bro’? It’s great to hear your voice!” He nodded his head as he listened to his brother. “I’d love to have you and your family come and stay with me for a ski vacation. My home is your home. Hopefully I can get some time off to ski with you. And yes, March is good. Always a great time to ski.” He listened.

  “Oh, the job’s a little tough right now. I’m on a brutal case and my boss keeps dictating that I go out and search a bunch of dead-end clues. It was a good way to start the case, but Luke and I just couldn’t interview a gajillion people in two days. Now the case has moved beyond that. But she just won’t let up that we haven’t finished those interviews. In spite of her, I’m still working on any other leads I run into, of course.”

  Don sighed, “My boss has the department running too thin. But I’m making progress. It’s just excruciatingly slow.” Don paused. “Yeah, can’t wait to see you. Hey, sorry for unloading on you. I’m just frustrated.” Don smiled. “Yeah, love you, too. Give Gretchen and the kids a hug for me.” Still smiling, Don looked at the phone for a few seconds before he put it in his pocket and headed for the checkout.

  In another aisle of the store, Sarah Snow stood stock still, holding a bright orange container of laundry soap. Frozen in place, she watched the door open and close when Don exited. She ran her tongue over her lips as she pondered what she had just heard.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Time zones away from Denver, a clap of thunder startled the killer out of his sleep. Ugh. A moan escaped his lips when he grabbed the clock and read that it was ten in the morning. Glancing over at the bottle of scotch, he saw it was now three-quarters gone. He held his head in his hands for a while and then stumbled into the shower. Whew. Feeling a little better. Searching the clothes he’d packed, he picked out one of his best Armani suits. They need to see who they are dealing with!

  Walking over to the window, he saw that the rain was still coming down in sheets. He steadied himself with coffee and pastries and took another cab ride, this time to the address listed on his certificates. It was time to make his next move.

  After getting out of the cab, he tried to open the door to the investment offices and it wouldn’t budge. It was locked. What? Peering through the windows, he saw the offices inside were completely empty. What’s going on? He walked over to the business next door, and a pretty girl with dyed blonde hair looked up from her work. “English?” She wasn’t going to be bright enough to know English, he just knew it.

  She smiled and shook her head.

  The killer grunted and pointed to the business name on one of his certificates. “Where?” He searched his brain for the word in Portuguese. “Onde?”

  She shook her head again and shrugged her shoulders.

  “How long? Como longo?”

  She held up a calendar and pointed to last Thursday.

  “Obrigado.” The killer walked back to the closed business and beat the glass until his fists couldn’t take it anymore. Head hanging, he stood in the rain and tried to flag down a cab. Traffic cruised by him as though he wasn’t there, and several cars splashed filthy muck all over his Armani suit. Perfect! Can this get any worse?

  A cab stopped. Finally! “Policia,” he directed. After another interminable cab ride, he arrived at the downtown Brasilia police station, which looked like it was understaffed judging by the number of people that needed help. Asking for direction, he ended up in a line that wound by grimy walls and through a battered doorway. This is not acceptable. Jostling and shoving amidst shouted curses, he made his way to the front desk. He pounded on the desk and pointed to his certificates. “Money gone! Theft! Roubo!”

  The thick-necked, gray-haired Brazilian sergeant narrowed his eyes. “Back in line,” he shouted in English. “Get back in line, American!”

  The killer slammed the certificates on the desk. “No! Theft! Help now!”

  Two large policemen got up from their desks where they were taking reports, came over and folded their arms. “Back in line,” growled the sergeant. “Back in line or we throw you in jail!”

  The killer looked from one officer to the other and trudged back to the end of the line. About two hours later, he was finally at the front of the line. “English?”

  “Yes, some English.”

  Pointing to the address and the phone number on his certificates, Barry explained the scam and summarized his problem. “I want my money. I invested thousands and thousands of dollars, but now I cannot get in touch with this business. I came all the way down here from the United States to talk to them and their offices are closed. They took off with my money!”

  “Fill out the form and put it in that box.”

  The killer’s face turned red. “What? I’ve been in line for hours! I expect some action!”

  “You get the same action as everyone else. Fill out a report and we will call you.”

  “When?”

  “As soon as we get to it.” A shrug. “Shouldn’t be too long.”

  The killer raised his arms and opened his mouth to yell, but once again the two officers came over and showed him to a table where he could complete the form.

  One more endless cab ride brought him back to his hotel. After taking a lengthy hot shower, a big, juicy steak was right up his alley. He dug into his meal, angrily slicing the meat and smacking his lips as he chewed and thought about his day. As he cut the last of his food, his steak knife gleamed when it caught the illumination from the lamp. The killer stopped chewing and studied it, turning it from side to side and watching the light reflect off the blade. Thirty minutes later, he put the room service tray outside in the hall.

  No one would notice a missing knife.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  In Denver, Don was in a counselor’s office at the high school Barry went to. A yearbook lay open to Barry’s senior picture.

  The counselor leaned back in his chair. “I got here after Barry graduated but there are a couple of teachers still here who might remember him. Wait a few minutes while I make some calls.”

  Two elderly teachers came down to look at Barry’s photo, but they had no recollection of the student. Then an old shop teacher shuffled into the office and studied the yearbook.

  “Yup. Barry Witt. I remember him.” The old man pointed at Barry’s picture. “He was a lost, lonely young man. Didn’t have
any friends, really, far as I could tell. I felt sorry for him.” The teacher regarded Don. “He had good skills in my class. Did good work. I encouraged him. He often dropped by my classroom after school to ask questions.” The instructor put his hands in his pockets. “I could tell he was figuring out excuses to just spend time with me. One day I noticed a sketch of a sword on his notebook and that gave me the idea to start a knife sculpting unit in my shop class.”

  “What? You taught high school kids how to make knives?”

  “It was before Columbine. I don’t teach that anymore.”

  “Good.”

  “Anyway, Barry really excelled at it. He made some beautiful knives in class. As a matter of fact, he made one for me. I still have it.”

  Don stood up. “I appreciate the information. Thank you for your help.”

  The old man stood there, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I hope Barry’s okay. I try to help the lost ones. He was bullied back then. We know more now. We would’ve intervened. High school can be hard on the less popular kids.”

  “I can tell you one thing for sure: we could use a lot more teachers like you.” Don shook his hand.

  He got back in his car and leaned his head against the headrest to think. Belinda would want him work on the files. But he wanted to keep digging into Barry Witt. He gave Rebecca a call. Maybe she could do some research for him. Then he went to work on the files.

  A few hours later, Don replaced a hated file into the hated box and slammed the trunk of the Crown Vic. After filling out his part of the paperwork to get the investigation into Avery’s death closed and working on the files as he knew Belinda would ask about, he was tired. He looked at his watch and his face relaxed. The last game of the season was coming up. In spite of their recent losses, the Eagles still owned the best record. If they won this one, they would win the league championship. He got back into the car and wondered how he’d lead his team to victory without Luke. A smile crept on his face and he made a call.

  “Hi Kate, this is Don Layden.” All of a sudden, his palms were sweaty and he wiped each one of them on his pants, fumbling with the phone as he switched hands to do so. “Lucy’s the same, but I do have an update on the case. However, right now I need a favor. With Luke out, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind covering for him on the coaching front. It would really help us out and I can fill you in on what I learned about the case after the game.” Don held the phone away from his ear as Kate’s excitement spilled out of it and into the car. “I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  On the way to pick up Kate, Don found himself surprised at how much he was looking forward to seeing her. When he pulled up, he saw Kate waiting outside in front of the hotel wearing a big grin and a bright orange BSU jacket.

  She jumped in the car and squealed, “Are you excited? Your team is playing for the championship!”

  Don nodded. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.”

  Kate’s smile broke for a moment. “How did you get your car? Did you call Lyft? I would have given you a ride.”

  “I just grabbed a Lyft here in the morning and then drove my SUV home and switched to the Crown Vic. I drank three scotches fairly quickly last night. Driving would have been a bad decision.”

  “Yeah, but I could have given you a ride.”

  “No big deal. I just took care of it.” He held up his hand as if to signal the case was closed.

  Kate shrugged. “Okay.” Then she rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “So, fill me in on what I need to know to help the Eagles win this championship!”

  Don threw back his head and laughed. Then he handed her a team roster and started in on the details. “So, there you have it,” he summarized. “Now you know about a little about our offense and a fair amount about our defense. I need you to coach the defense.”

  He glanced over at Kate. She had her hands clasped together and was staring at them.

  “Kate? You praying or somethin’?”

  “What?” Kate blinked and looked at her hands. “Oh.” She giggled. “No, I was thinking about different defenses I could run in different situations.” Her forehead creased. “I hope I don’t mess up!”

  Don reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “You won’t mess up. I have faith in you.”

  “Thanks.” She clasped her hands together again. “Maybe praying is a good idea.”

  Don chuckled as he parked the car.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  The game started and it was a defensive battle. No scores. Then right before half time, a Lions running back broke free for a touchdown.

  The Eagles’ defensive players trudged off the field, heads hanging. Don took a few steps toward them but stopped. Kate was already there to greet them and called to them to gather around her. She clapped her hands together. “That’s okay, men, that’s okay! It’s one score! Not a problem! Let’s talk about what happened so it doesn’t happen again, sound like a plan?” Sad faces looked at her and nodded. She got down on her knees as she talked with each player so that she could look at them in the eyes.

  By the time she was finished, the boys were pounding each other on their shoulder pads. “Yeah! Let’s go get ‘em!”

  Don’s heart softened and he found it hard to tear his sight away from the scene. A player tugged on his sleeve.

  “Coach, what’s the plan for the next half?”

  He blinked and grabbed his clipboard as he focused on the offense. The corners of his mouth were upturned as he talked to his players.

  The second half started and once again defense ruled. The Lions’ running back that scored the touchdown got the ball, but the Eagles’ defense closed in and tackled him right away.

  Kate jumped up and down, screaming. “That’s it! That’s it! Way to do it! Great stop, men, great stop!”

  Don grinned and ran over to her. “That was beautiful.”

  “Thanks.” Kate’s eyes shone.

  As the fourth quarter wound down, the Eagles’ quarterback dropped back and threw a beautiful pass to his receiver, tying the score. The Eagles punted the ball to the Lions, but their player fumbled. An Eagles’ player recovered and scored! They won the game! The team fell all over each other in one giant, screaming mass of wiggling arms and legs.

  Kate hopped around the boys and, as they peeled off of one another, she pounded them on their shoulder pads. The players pounded her shoulders in response.

  Don’s lips twitched as he watched. Then he ran over. “Hey guys, don’t forget she’s not wearing any shoulder pads.”

  Kate waved a hand. “I’m loving every minute! Don’t worry about it!”

  The referee called Don and the team over for the trophy presentation. Don beamed from ear to ear as he held it over his head. “Gentlemen! You are the champions!” The celebration continued for some time before Don finally called for everyone to go out for pizza.

  Hours later, after the final Eagle player left, Don walked back to the table where Kate was and sat down to admire the trophy.

  “Good job, Coach.” Kate grinned at him.

  “Good job yourself.” Don held up his fist, and she laughed and bumped it with her own.

  She sighed and rested her chin in her hand as she smiled at him. “I have to tell you, you do a wonderful job with those boys. It’s really something to watch. They learn a lot from you; how to overcome making mistakes and to celebrate the right things.” She paused in thought. “I’ve read that humans become what they celebrate. If they celebrate victories in gang violence, then they become violent. If they celebrate love, learning, and triumph over tough times, then that’s the behavior they follow. They love, they learn, and they overcome problems.” She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “Good for you, Don Layden.”

  “Thanks.” He shrugged. “I have fun with it.�
�� Don then pulled his notebook out of a pocket. “Let me tell you about a meeting I had earlier at Barry’s high school.”

  When he finished, Kate looked down at the table. “Wow. I had no idea. That’s just terrible. And then I ignore him at Jose’s. I feel awful.”

  “Maybe you can schedule a speaker to come and talk to your Bible study group about bullying when this is all over. Help someone in the future. But right now, I want to go over this with Luke. I’ll drop you off at the hotel and head over to the hospital.” He held up the trophy. “Besides, I have to show him this.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  The next morning Don whistled louder than Belle as he made his morning coffee. In response, Belle chirped and whistled. “Today’s going to be a good day, right Belle?” She chirped right on cue. Don laughed and sat down to read the paper, but he kept checking his watch. It seemed like forever until the time showed it was eight o’clock. He made yet another call to Treavor’s lawyer.

  He got an associate on the phone and listened to her reply. Don jumped up and yelled, “Are you serious?” Belle fluttered off his shoulder. “I can’t believe I can’t reach him again today! I can’t ever reach him! When will he be in?”

  “He’s simply not here.”

  Don grunted in disgust. “Isn’t there anyone else who can be present? I just want to ask Treavor a couple of questions!” Don sighed as he listened to the reply. “Yes, I know. And I want you to know that I have to be the first person he calls when he gets back into town.”

  Don hung up and plopped down. He put his elbows on the table and held his head in his hands as he stared at the table. In his peripheral vision, a movement caught his attention. He watched as Belle tottered over to him, climbed on his sock, and then made her way up his pants leg. As Don leaned back to observe her, his face relaxed. He held his finger out to her and she climbed on. Don held her up to his face and stared at her for a few minutes.