Black Hearts Dance

by Gerald Lopez

  Chapter 31

  Telling a Story

  “WHAT ARE those pictures saying to you, Layton?” Forrest said.

  “They’re definitely telling me a story of sorts,” I said. “Look at the ones in front of me and tell me what you see, Forrest.”

  Forrest got up and stood next to me, then peered down at the photos. A smile came over his face and he looked at me with a question in his eyes.

  “What do you think, Alex?” I said. “You’re a photographer and have done portraits. What do you see?”

  Alex stared at the pictures, then at me. Both he and Forrest had seen the same thing I had and even partially realized what they were looking at, but couldn’t quite connect the dots.

  “Pictures can say a lot sometimes,” I said. “A whole lot in this case.”

  “What do you see, Layton?” Shannon said. “I’ve looked at them for hours searching for clues.”

  “I’ll give you a big clue,” I said. “The eyes are the windows to the soul.”

  Elise stood and walked our way to look at the pictures, then spoke.

  “I’m missing something obvious, aren’t I?”

  “I almost get what you’re saying… and I feel like I’m seeing something, especially in the grouping in front of you, but I’m not sure what,” Shannon said

  “Look at Veronica and Thomas’s wedding picture,” I said.

  “We already established they look stern,” Alex said. “They’re not even looking at one another, in fact—”

  “Say it,” I said.

  “Are you suggesting Thomas and Veronica didn’t love one another?” Shannon said. “Because they lived together their entire lives and seemed happy enough in accounts I’ve read.”

  “Grandma says she remembers them being happy, too,” Elise said.

  “But the opposite of love isn’t hate or even indifference,” I said.

  “They could’ve been loving friends in an arranged marriage, but not true soulmates,” Forrest said.

  “Exactly,” I said. “Look at the later picture of Veronica and Thomas. They still don’t look at each other.”

  Elise reached for, then looked at the picture of Thomas, Veronica, and Marcus taken years after Thomas and Veronica’s wedding.

  “I still don’t get it,” Elise said, then placed the picture on the table in front of me.

  “Things are becoming much clearer to me,” Forrest said. “And it’s painfully obvious.”

  “All you have to do is follow the eyes,” I said. For a minute, my previous case in Shelby with the blue lights came to mind—I also dealt with the topic of eyes there. Picking up another picture, I aligned it with Thomas’s eyes and made a straight line with the edge of the picture to what Thomas was looking at. Elise and Shannon gasped.

  “I knew it,” Alex said. “But, for some reason I couldn’t fully believe it.”

  I took the picture of the backyard party and did the same thing showing the path from Thomas’s eyes to what he was looking at.

  “That,” I said is a look of absolute love emanating from Thomas Carson’s eyes and landing on his beloved… Marcus Carson.”

  “Oh my God,” Elise said. “I can see it… I can absolutely see it. And… and—”

  “And every fiber of my body can see that what you say is true,” Shannon said, then looked through the stack of pictures and pulled out more with either Thomas, Veronica, and Marcus or just Thomas and Marcus.

  No one spoke for a minute, then Shannon broke the silence. “I’ve been such a fool not to have seen what was right in front of my own eyes.”

  “Even if you did see it, you probably tried to brush it away,” Alex said. “My first instinct was that the two men were in love, but I brushed it out of my mind as soon as I’d thought of it.”

  “Is that a strong enough motive for a woman to kill her children,” Forrest said. “Because she caught her husband and her brother in a love affair.”

  “But the three of them lived at Carson Court like a family until they died,” Elise said. “So they didn’t hate each other.”

  “Something else happened,” I said. “Something involving the Black Hearts Dances. Elise, your grandmother said that she knew her Uncle Marcus had gone to the bordello on at least a couple of occasions. I wonder why, and if Marcus went with him.”

  “Not to be crude, but could they have gone there for sex?” Elise said.

  “Why bother when there’s a whole estate at hand?” I said. “And I’m sure there are secret passageways leading from one room to another.”

  “I’ve heard there are,” Elise said. “I just never found them.”

  “Mrs. Carson seemed to think Marcus had found himself a female lover at the bordello,” I said. “I need to find out if that’s true. If he was looking for a beard, he’d hardly go for a black one. That would’ve been almost as unacceptable as homosexuality back in his day.”

  “There are other players involved,” Alex said. “Could we be talking blackmail?”

  “Maybe,” I said. “There could also be a jealous ex lover in the picture.”

  “Whose jealous ex-lover?” Elise said. “My great-grandfather’s or my uncle’s. I know these things happened a long time ago, but it’s hard to imagine my great-grandfather was a virgin when he married.”

  “I think we’ve gone as far as we can on this particular subject for now,” I said, “and I would sure like a good workout at the gym before I tackle my next project.”

  “Which is?” Alex said.

  Before speaking, I turned to Forrest. “Is there a place open today where I can rent a backhoe?”

  “There’s a rental place in town open on Sundays,” Forrest said. “I’m afraid to ask why.”

  “It’s time to dig up the ground where the twins were found,” I said.

  “Then Rory and I will help,” Forrest said. “It’s a good thing we’re gonna work up a sweat at the gym first—it’ll help alleviate my stress.”

  “You’re not worried about digging up the ground, are you?” Alex said.

  “I am… and I’m not sure why,” Forrest said. “Why do you feel the need to dig there, Layton?”

  “Because nobody else has,” I said. “And because Javina’s ghost wanted to make sure we looked at and noticed that spot. I’m thinking her missing journals might have gotten buried there when the tree in honor of the twins was planted.”

  “I never thought about that,” Shannon said. “It makes sense since the journals were clearly important to her.” She picked up a picture of Javina who was smiling while clutching a journal.

  “She was a pretty girl and she looked so happy too,” I said. “Children often bury things that are precious to them, which would include journals. Hopefully she protected them before burying them.”

  “I’m sure she did,” Shannon said. “The idea of finding even one of Javina’s journals is exciting.”

  “I can have lunch ready for you all when you come back from the gym,” Elise said.

  “I’m not really that hungry,” I said. “We’ll pick up a couple of pizzas on the way back.”

  “That would hit the spot,” Shannon said.

  “Hopefully we’ll hit the right spot when we start digging,” I said.

  Chapter 32

  Fighting Men

  I WAS DRIVING my truck with Forrest sitting in the front passenger seat directing me to the gym and Alex in the backseat. The gym was a large building on the outer edge of our neighborhood, located on a hill facing the protected wetlands. We entered the building and stopped at the registration desk where a tall, muscle-bound, blonde female greeted us dressed in a cropped sports top and shorts.

  “Hello, Forrest,” the blonde said. “Who are your friends?”.

  “These are Layton and Alex Shayne, the new owners of Carson Court,” Forrest said. “And, guys, this is Lynette Boyd. She and her husband Larson own this gym. They are award winning sports people.”

  “Welcome, Layton, Alex. Can I give you a tour or would you
like to do the honors, Forrest?”

  “I think I’ll do the honors for today, and I’ll do my best to talk them into joining up,” Forrest said, then smiled.

  Lynette laughed. “I’m a better hostess and trainer than a saleswoman. Alex and Layton, would you please sign our guest book before starting your workout, I’d appreciate it?”

  Alex signed his name in the book on the desk and I spoke to Lynette. “Do you need to see ID’s or anything?

  “No. Since you’re with the deputy I’ll assume you’re not criminals. Normally we do ask to see a license or some other form of identification, though. The main areas of the gym are coed, but there are smaller workout areas that aren’t coed. We also have steam rooms, and saunas in both the men’s locker areas and the ladies. Oops, I almost forgot. Will you be needing guest locks for the lockers?”

  “Yes, please,” I said.

  AFTER signing for the guest locks, we followed Forrest downstairs to the men’s locker room, where we changed out of our street clothes into workout gear consisting of tank tops, shorts, and sneakers. Forrest took a large drawstring bag out of his locker and carried it with him. We all had towels with us that we’d brought from Carson Court on Forrest’s suggestion.

  “I usually start on one of the treadmills upstairs,” Forrest said.

  “We’re in your hands today,” Alex said.

  The treadmills faced a wall of glass, looking out over the wetlands. It was an interesting view because of the birds, and yet tranquil at the same time. We did an hour on the treadmills, then Forrest stopped, and asked us a question.

  “We can do weight machines next, there will be an aerobics class starting soon… or we could go to the boxing ring.”

  “Boxing—yes!” Alex said, surprising Forrest and me.

  “You box?” I said.

  “Yes, I box,” Alex said and I know judo as well.

  “Wow,” I said.

  “Isn’t it great finding out new things about your lover?” Forrest said.

  We walked with Forrest to the boxing room located at the far left side of the building. Two women were in the boxing ring, so we went to the bags in the corner of the room first.

  “I’ll hold the bag for you, Alex,” Forrest said. “It’ll give you a chance to work on the other bag, Layton.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “That’s perceptive of you to know I needed to get some aggression out.”

  “You can thank Rory and Linus for my heightened perceptive skills,” Forrest said, handing Alex two gloves that he took out of his drawstring bag. He threw me two others that were also in there .

  I spoke as I put the gloves on. “I don’t mean to pry, but how do Rory and Linus figure into that equation.”

  “Linus got both Rory and me to sign up for some classes in North Carolina that were all about male bonding and empathy mixed with Tantric massage,” Forrest said.

  “Alrighty then,” I said.

  “I know it sounds like a strange combination or just a fancy name for an orgy session in the woods, but it really wasn’t,” Forrest said, then helped Alex with one of his gloves. “I learned a lot in that week and the three of us even took follow-up classes. Before the classes my nerves were fried and I couldn’t seem to relax or get my head on straight. The instructors showed me how to find inner peace and more.”

  “Are you talking about New Age stuff?” Alex said.

  “No,” Forrest said, and laughed. “Everything was actually very practical and simple. I grew up Catholic and while I don’t attend a church regularly I do consider myself a Christian, so New Age is a no-no for me.”

  “Understood,” Alex said, then finished putting on his gloves. “Enough talk for now. Hold that bag for me.”

  I watched Alex punch the bag with so much strength that Forrest actually took a step back.

  “Damn,” Forrest said. “Sorry, Alex, for not expecting that and for not being ready.”

  “No problem,” Alex said, then took a couple more punches at the bag.

  While punching the bag in front of me, I watched Alex and Forrest. I could see how Forrest would’ve been surprised, Alex was throwing powerful punches and even adding some kicks. I had seriously underestimated him and I felt slightly ashamed of that. So, I took that shame out on the bag I was punching.

  Once the boxing ring was clear, the three of us walked up to it.

  “How do we do this?” Forrest said.

  “I think I’d like to watch and study this situation, first,” I said.

  “Wimp,” Alex said, then smiled at me in a way that made my body automatically tingle. God, did I ever have it bad for him.

  “I’m no wimp,” I said. “But, I saw what you did to that poor bag and I’m not an idiot.”

  We all laughed.

  “Since we don’t have mouth guards with us, we’d better confine our blows to below the neck,” Forrest said. “Can you two control your punches?”

  “I can,” Alex said.

  “So can I,” I said.

  Forrest put on a pair of gloves he’d retrieved from his bag.

  “Do you always have extra pairs of boxing gloves with you?” Alex said.

  “Yes,” Forrest said. “I enjoy boxing and it keeps me on my toes finding new people to box with. A lot of times they don’t bring gloves with them. It’s not often you find a boxing ring in a gym.”

  “That is true,” I said. “Why is there a boxing ring in this one?”

  “Lynette’s dad was a boxer,” Forrest said. “The boxing ring is a big draw that brings a lot of people here from the main area of town on the other side of the wetlands.”

  Alex and Forrest entered the boxing ring. I was curious to see how the match would go. Alex was slimmer, but he was probably faster than Forrest, while Forrest definitely had an advantage being larger. Immediately, my theories proved to be correct. Alex was quick and agile, keeping Forrest on his toes. He also knew how to effectively deflect and block Forrest’s punches. Not that Forrest was a slouch. He was sleek and thoughtful in his fighting techniques, not wasting energy without purpose. His punches were hard, but I could tell he held back for Alex’s sake, and that made me like him even more than I already did. The same couldn’t be said for Alex, who didn’t appear to be holding back at all but delivering some hard blows. He had something to prove for being underestimated by Forrest and me. When they finally stopped boxing, they were both drenched in sweat.

  “Next,” Alex said.

  “Hell and no,” I said. “You’re a man with something to prove, Alex. And I will concede right now. I profusely apologize for not realizing I was living with such a manly man.” I smiled at Alex.

  “You are a wimp,” Forrest said.

  “Hey, I don’t want to get pummeled like you were. I’ll be kind and let you rest for five.”

  I removed my tank top to get in the ring with Forrest. Alex, who’d removed his gloves, helped Forrest out of his tank top.

  Once Forrest and I faced off in front of each other, Forrest whispered in my ear.

  “I won’t hold back on my punches with you, friend.” He stepped back and grinned.

  “I won’t either, friend,” I whispered in Forrest’s ear.

  We touched gloves then started. My adrenaline was flowing and the rush of the match was amazing. I had to think quick to block Forrest’s moves and try hard to deliver some blows.

  When were done, Alex declared the match a tie and we headed downstairs to the lockers. We grabbed some towels provided by the gym, undressed, and headed to the spacious open showers.

  “Just do a quick rinse, then we’ll head to the steam room,” Forrest said.

  The three of us showered next to one another, then headed to the steam room with our towels slung over our shoulders. There were a couple other people in the locker-room by this time, but not many.

  “It’s slow here on Sunday,” Forrest said, then opened the steam room’s glass door.

  We walked inside the white tiled room, lay our towels down on sea
ts to the left, and sat down. I laughed when I realized we’d all sat back with our legs stretched out in front of us and our arms behind our heads.

  “That was one heck of a workout,’ Forrest said. “I don’t usually get to box with people that keep me on my toes to the extent you two did. You guys are amazing! And you’re in the neighborhood, which is even better. Sorry, I guess I made a big leap assuming we’d be able to do this again.”

  “That’s not such a big leap,” I said. “We are in the same neighborhood and I do like the fact there’s a boxing ring in this gym.”

  “And I would like a rematch where you don’t hold back on your punches, Forrest,” Alex said.

  “Oh, um, sorry about that,” Forrest said.

  “You should be,” Alex said, then smiled.

  A smile came over Forrest’s face that was so full of absolute happiness and contentment, that it struck me hard. “Forrest, we need to make a habit of these boxing matches,” I said.

  “I’d like that, Layton,” Forrest said.

  “What about the Black Hearts Dances?” Alex said, after the man who sat across from us had left and we were alone. “Why are they such a big deal if everyone already knew about the bordello and what it specialized in?”

  “Why indeed?” I said. “I’m not sure we know everything the bordello specialized in. Do you, Forrest?”

  “Back in the day there was an opium den in the house,” Forrest said. “But they became drug free, except for some marijuana usage that the police have been ordered to ignore.”

  “Why?” Alex said. “Why is the bordello even allowed to operate here?”

  “Old agreements were made a long, long time ago,” Forrest said. “The Delilahs have the goods on quite a few of the more powerful families in the area and they wouldn’t hesitate to reveal what they know should any moves be made to close them down.”