by A L Crouch
“My mother loved that house more than anything too. She just wanted a place to raise me, a house where we could grow together as a family. She also loved her life. We were just starting over. I lost everything when she died. She was MY life and she didn’t deserve to die.”
Rick took one final step towards me, his face contorting into a humorless, grotesque smile. I could feel his hot breath on my cheek as he bent down close. Sweat beaded my brow, but I set my chin and met his glare. He chuckled and squinted his eyes.
“Well then,” he growled, “I’d say we’re even.”
“Alexandra, back up now!” Donovan screamed and I stepped back just as Sulley lunged for Rick.
“You son of a . . .” Sulley screamed and swung at Rick, connecting with his jaw.
The two men grappled on the ground exchanging blows until workers from the site came running towards the commotion from around the corner. They dragged the two apart as I watched in frozen astonishment. When they were on their feet Sulley shook himself free from the men that held him at distance from Rick. Rick struggled against the two men that restrained him, his chin bloodied and his flannel shirt ripped at the sleeve.
“I’ll have you for assault Chief!” Rick screamed as the men started to drag him away.
Sulley wiped at his scraped lip and walked to the driver side door of the truck motioning for me to get in.
“Come by the station, I’ll have my secretary draw up the papers for you!” he yelled back and then turned to me. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Wait,” I shouted, spotting something on Rick’s exposed arm.
The men stopped dragging him and Rick wrenched free of them and glared at me.
“What is that? On your arm?” I asked pointing.
Rick rubbed the large bandage covering the lower part of his forearm.
“Not that it’s any of your damned business, I got snagged by a 2x4 unloading the truck.”
I stepped towards him, adrenaline propelling me forward.
“Let me see it!”
“Alex, get in the truck,” Sulley instructed, but I kept my eyes on Rick.
“I don’t have a damned thing to prove to you or your boyfriend there. I can see he is just as caught up in you as he was in your mom. Well, you win again Chief. You’ve got the house and another Ms. Nolan. You win. I don’t have to prove a damned thing to either of you.” Rick snarled back and turned and huffed away towards the site followed by the workers.
I stared after him, the pit of my stomach clenching. Looking at him made me want to vomit.
“Alexandra, it’s time to go. It’s alright. There’s nothing more you can do. Let’s go,” Donovan said. I felt his touch on my shoulder.
I took a shaky breath and willed myself to back away. I climbed into the truck but kept my eyes on Rick until he disappeared around the corner of the building. Sulley started the engine and hurled the truck back onto the road before looking at me.
“You’re trembling,” he said and patted my knee.
“It’s him. You heard that. It has to be him. Did you hear what he said to me?”
“Oh I heard it, the bastard. He’s got one hell of a nerve . . .”
“He had a bandage in his forearm.”
“Yeah? So what? The guy’s in construction, I’m sure it happens all the time,” Sulley said, watching the road as he maneuvered the truck onto the descent back.
“Last night, when the intruder grabbed me, I scratched him. It must have been pretty bad too, because I heard him scream and he let go of me. It would have been in the same place on his arm.”
Sulley looked at me considering, then turned his attention back to the road.
“I don’t know, Kiddo. As much as I dislike the guy, there’s still no proof that it was him last night OR fifteen years ago. He would have been just a kid, barely out of high school at the time.”
I thought about that for a minute. “Mom bought the house when I was seven, and Rick said his mom died shortly after that. He had a few years to brood it over. If he really blamed Mom for taking the house . . .”
“Even so, we don’t have anything else but a hunch and some harsh words to go on,” Sulley said sighing.
“Aaaahh!” I yelled and brought my fists down on my lap. “If I could only remember something that would help. Wait . . .”
“What is it?” Sulley looked alarmed.
“On the way up, when we passed that side road, I think I remembered something. I’m not sure if it will help.”
“What exactly did you remember?” Sulley asked looking back to the road as he took a tight turn and I had to brace myself against my arm rest.
“I only remember the headlights really. When I looked down that road, I remembered that they were up higher than where I sat in our car. It couldn’t have been as small of a car. More like an SUV or a Truck.”
“Were they as high as in this truck?”
“No,” I contemplated. “Not as high, but higher than a car. Maybe a smaller SUV or a Jeep even. Something like that. I also remember seeing red between the lights. I think the vehicle was red. Does any of this help at all?” I asked, looking Sulley in the face.
He thought about the new information nodding as chewed on it.
“It might. I mean, it’s something,” he said. “I can cross reference some things when I get back to the station and see what turns up.”
I sighed and sat back in my seat. It was a start. I thought about the encounter with Rick and all of the things he had said.
“Was what Rick said true? Did Mom buy the house out from under them? Did she know?”
For a minute there was silence. I glanced at Sulley who looked to be deep in thought and waited.
“Your mother knew that they had lost the house and that it had gone to auction. That was all she needed to know,” he finally answered.
“So you knew? You knew they were trying to get the house back?”
Sulley looked at me. “I knew they were trying. The bank didn’t think they had much of a chance. Your mother deserved that house every bit as much as they did. I wanted her to be happy, and she was. You both were.” Sulley looked back to the road. “Sometimes one person’s loss is another person’s gain. That’s just life Kiddo.”
“What about the other thing he said?”
“What other thing?”
“What he said about you and Mom. He thought you two were involved. He called you my boyfriend,” I said.
Sulley huffed. “He doesn’t know anything about anything. He was a kid. He was just trying to get a rise out of us. I want you to stay far away from him. Even if he’s not our man, I don’t want you near him. Okay?”
Conceding to nothing, I turned to the window and noticed where we were. We turned the next corner and the crash site came into view. In all my life I knew I would never forget the way the tops of those trees looked, just peeking over the slope on that side. As we got closer I noticed something white laying on the side of the road at the spot where our car had gone over.
“Stop! Stop right here,” I shouted and Sulley hit the brakes.
“What’s the matter?” he asked pulling over to the side of the road and I jumped out.
“Maybe I can remember something else. This is where it happened,” I yelled back and Sulley got out of the car to stand with me.
I walked to the spot where I remembered our car had left the road. Lying on the ground was a bouquet of a dozen fresh white lilies. I bent down and picked them up, inspecting them for a card. They were the same kind of flowers that were left on my mother’s grave.
“I wonder who left these here,” I said as Sulley came up beside me. I looked at him while he gazed into the deep expanse over the side.
“This is where the car went off,” I explained while he stared blankly ahead. “The vehicle came up from the other side of the road and smacked right into us straight-on. We flew right over the side.”
I walked to the edge of the embankment and braced myself before l
ooking over the edge. The brush was overgrown, but I could make out the base of the huge pine tree that had broken our fall. It was so far down. Much farther than in my dreams. I blinked back the tears that threatened to escape my eyes.
“Do you remember anything about that night? Anything else at all?” Sulley asked.
I took in a shaky breath. “Besides the gloves, brown leather . . . and the knife? I still remember the snake handle, how it coiled around his hand. I will never forget that,” I shuddered. “But that’s all I remember.”
“I think about that night all the time,” Sulley said, still looking out into the expanse. “I wonder what I was doing. What was I thinking at that moment? If I had not have left for Iraq, things would have been so different. I could have stopped it.”
“No Uncle Sulley, you can’t think like that,” I said. “You were protecting our country. You were already our hero. There’s nothing you could have done. It was their time. I’m starting to accept that, I think.”
“If only I had stayed. How different things might have been,” he whispered.
“Everything happens for a purpose. I think it’s our purpose now to bring whoever did this to justice. They can’t get away with it, they just can’t,” I said and Sulley lowered his head.
“I know,” I said as an idea hit me. “I’ve got to get down there. See if I can remember something else. Maybe if I get to the actual spot where it happened, I could remember something else about him. It’s not that bad of a climb down. . .”
“No. That’s not a good idea,” Sulley interrupted. “We’re not prepared for that sort of climb.”
“Oh come on. It will only take thirty or so minutes. I think I can remember . . .” I gauged the first step down, contemplating how I could maneuver the steep decline when I heard the strumming right beside me.
“You have to leave now, Alexandra. We can’t stay here any longer. You’re in danger here. We have to leave. Right now,” Donovan ordered into my ear.
“I told you, it isn’t a good idea. Get back from there, get in the truck,” Sulley insisted and I could see the urgency in his eyes.
My heart quickened in my chest. I looked around at the dense woods that surrounded us and the fall below. I could feel it. The air had grown thick, and tension seemed to seep up from the drop below and hovered around us like a fog.
“Go. We have to go now.” Donovan said again and I could hear the desperation in his voice despite his trying to retain a calm tone.
I set the flowers back down on the side of the road and took one final glance over the edge before jogging back to the truck and jumping in. Sulley’s face was hard to read, a mixture of sorrow and fear. He pulled the truck back onto the road and made a swift three-point turn to get us going back towards town. I scanned the wilderness outside my window for any signs of danger. No one was out there; no other cars were on the road. Perhaps Rick had followed us . . .
“It’s okay now. I don’t feel it anymore. You’re safe,” Donovan whispered from behind me.
I tried to steady my shaking hands. I had to know what was going on.
“So what was that all about?” I asked out loud, but directed my question towards the back seat.
“It just wasn’t a good idea. I’m not too fond of heights either, getting worse with age.” Sulley shrugged. “Plus, if anything happened, no one would even know we were down there.”
I looked behind me to where I knew Donovan sat, pleading for him to answer. I wished more than anything that I could see him.
“I’m not sure, it came out of nowhere. A strong sense that you were in direct danger, but from what or whom, I don’t know. It was everywhere all at once and then just as quickly vanished into nothing. I’m sorry. You’re safe now, but I’m not sure what that was,” Donovan said.
Turning and reclining in my seat I looked back to Sulley.
“If I’m going to remember anything, I have to get down there.”
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea. It’s too dangerous down there. We’ll find another way to tie Brightman to the scene. We have an idea of the size and color of the vehicle that hit you. That could give us a lead.”
“You think you can place him in the vehicle that night?” I asked, hopeful.
“It’s a long shot, but maybe. I’ll run some searches when I get back to the station this afternoon.”
“So where is it you’re in such a hurry to get off to anyway?” I asked, trying to change the topic.
I was going to make my way to the crash site with or without Sulley’s help. That much I was certain of. I needed to know how much time I had in which to do it without his knowledge.
“Well, Kiddo,” he sighed. “I’m taking Gram to a home in Hendersonville today. It’s time. I just can’t give her the care she needs anymore. She needs to be in a constant care facility.”
It was as if he had slapped me in the face. I wasn’t expecting the blow.
“What? But I thought she was okay at home with . . .” I stopped short. “Is it because of what happened yesterday? This is my fault, isn’t it?”
“No, no this isn’t your fault. It’s just time. I’ve avoided it for long enough,” Sulley tried to comfort. “We have to think about what’s best for Gram.”
I blinked back my tears. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“I think it’s best I take her alone. She won’t react well to sad faces.” He squeezed my hand. “She’ll be confused enough as it is.”
I feigned a smile for Sulley’s benefit. I knew this was hardest on him. He had taken care of Gram ever since she had first been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. He had barely graduated from high school. He’d been with her ever since, save for the year he was deployed to Iraq when Gary came to live in the cabin in his stead. That’s when Mom had met Gary, while he was taking care of Gram. I felt guilty all over again for having made Gram upset, for not being here for her for so long. Now it was too late.
“I’m so sorry, Uncle Sulley. Is there any way I can help?”
Sulley smiled at me and pulled the truck onto the main street.
“This was NOT your fault. I don’t want you blaming yourself now. I’ve known this day was coming for a long time. It’s better this way.”
I looked away, not wanting him to see the fresh tears that fell onto my face. I wiped them with the back of my sleeve. Sulley was trying to make me feel better, but I still felt responsible. Would Gram have been better off if I hadn’t come back? Would everyone have been better off?
“Can I go visit her soon? I won’t upset her, I promise. I’ll go along with whatever she says.”
Sulley pulled up behind Will’s squad car in front of the station and cut the engine. He turned in his seat to face me and gave my hand a final squeeze.
“She would like that a lot. As soon as she gets settled in, okay? Now you let me worry about Gram for the time being. You need to focus on you right now. We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” he said and then turned and hopped out of the truck.
I followed him into the station and immediately searched for Will. The station appeared empty, the only indication of Will’s being there was a small stack of folders laying upside down on his desk.
“Will must be in the back. Listen,” Sulley said as he poured himself a cup of thick, black coffee from the readied pot and turned to face me, “as unhappy as I know this will make you, I want you to stay here at the station till I get back. I mean it, don’t go anywhere with anyone. Can you do that for me?”
I crossed my arms. “It’s the middle of the day. I really don’t need to be in quarantine. I’m not a kid anymore Uncle Sulley.”
He took a long sip of strong brew and winced.
“I know. I know you’re not a kid anymore. So do this for me as the police chief asking his witness, okay?”
I looked into his big, puppy-like eyes and nodded, not wanting to promise anything.
“Just take care of my Gram, okay? Don’t even worry about me. I’ll be r
ight here when you get back.”
Sulley patted my cheek and took another sip of his coffee.
“Just let me grab those keys. Make yourself at home. Evelyn’s probably at an early lunch, she should be here within the hour. She’ll keep you plenty of company, I’m sure.”
I waited for Sulley to disappear into his office and then quickly made my way to Will’s desk. If he was really interested in helping me find my mom’s murderer, then the files on his desk might be about the case. Keeping half an eye on the office door, I examined the stack of small folders. Flipping them over in my hands, I read the tab on the top one. It was labeled with the date of the accident. Jackpot. I flipped through the contents and saw reports from various officers who described the scene from that night, taking care not to read details. Being there had been enough.
I flipped to the back of the folder which held pictures. My breath caught in my throat when I came face to face with a picture of the accident scene, captured in fading grey and white. The rest of the folders I dropped with a gasp, but my eyes remained locked on the photo.
The car lay upside down against the great pine, broken chunks of metal and debris scattered among the brush. The photo was taken after I was rescued from the car; the left rear door had been removed in the process. I brought the photograph closer, squinting, and could make out a hand dangling from the driver’s seat.
I clasped my hand to my mouth and choked on the bile and sobs that rose up from my gut then looked with curious dread to the right side of the vehicle, to where my mother would be lying. The photograph was blurry there. Squinting did nothing to help bring the image into focus this time. Wiping at the moisture standing in my eyes, I looked again. That part of the picture was smudged. I ran my finger across the glossy surface of the photograph and felt where that edge of the picture had been rubbed raw, maybe with an eraser. Someone had wiped out my mother’s image.
Commotion from the office sent me scrambling to put the picture back in the folder and reach down to gather the rest. I flipped them over and set them back on the desk and began to walk away when I noticed a paper I had missed lying on the floor. Snatching it up, I glanced at the fine black print. It was another statement, made by someone who had been at the accident site.
