by D J Monroe
When the kiss ended, Nate simply stood there looking into Creed’s eyes. “I’m sorry, that was, well, unexpected,” he said.
“It was,” Creed said, his voice trembling only a little.
Nate cleared his throat and took a step back.
“But don’t be sorry. It was nice,” Creed said.
They continued to stand there looking at each other as if neither one knew what to do next. Finally, Nate nodded and then turned and headed down the hall toward the bedrooms.
Creed wasn’t sure his legs would hold him up but he swallowed hard, took a deep breath and followed.
The first room on the right had definitely belonged to Charles. His athletic trophies and pictures and awards from high school and were displayed prominently. Everything was covered with dust and the photos were yellowed and starting to fade.
“I suspect Walter is going to want these,” Nate said, turning around in a small circle taking in the collection.
Creed gazed around the room. He could still taste Nate’s kiss but his senses were starting to return to normal. The energy darting around the room was more active, more insistent than it had been in the kitchen or other places. Creed wondered if it had been dark would he have seen an orb bumping around the room from place to place. It hovered in one corner and then jumped to another as if searching for something.
Instead of sharing this with Nate, he said, “Other than these boxes just stacked everywhere this room shouldn’t take too long.”
Nate seemed hesitant but he moved further into the room and looked around. Creed followed, noting the narrow bed, the navy comforter and the utilitarian furniture. There were a few books on a shelf above the bed and a desk under the window but other than that, it was truly a boy’s room.
“Let’s get out of here,” Nate said, motioning toward the door.
The room across the hall appeared to have belonged to Nate’s dad. It contained the same utilitarian furniture but instead of trophies and awards, all of the shelves were lined with well-read books. Nate strode into the room easily, touching the books, reading off the titles in a whisper. The desk under the window, really a table, was bare. There was a drawer in the center and Nate saw it about the same time Creed did. He pulled out a notebook and opened it on the desk.
“It looks like he was getting ready to start a list of some sort,” Nate reported. “All that’s written on the page is the number one.”
“Maybe he was going to investigate Tammy’s disappearance,” Creed suggested with a shrug. “When we talked to him it was obvious that he’d never really gotten over it. If it still affects him that much now, it must have certainly dominated his thoughts when it first happened.”
Nate paused for a moment, thinking and then shook his head. “I have no idea.”
Moving to the closet, Nate opened the door and peered inside. From where Creed stood, it looked to be empty.
“It’s almost like both of them just walked out and left yesterday,” Creed said. “Well, except for the dust.”
“And the boxes,” Nate added, tapping the one closest to him with his toe. It made a clinking sound. Frowning, he opened it and gasped as he stared down at the contents. “What the-"
“What is it?” Creed asked, curious
“Dishes,” Nate answered, holding up a cup covered with delicate roses and vines. “Cups and bowls and saucers and none of them seem to match at all.”
He sounded exasperated and returned the cup to the box none too gently.
Creed didn’t pursue the subject. Nate was upset enough at the overwhelming job ahead of them.
“I should ask Dad what he wants me to do with all of these books,” Nate said as if making a mental note to himself.
“I don’t think he has room for them where he is now,” Creed said.
“I don’t either. Maybe I’ll suggest that we donate them to the library or something,” Nate said, shooting a scornful glance at the box of dishes that remained open. “And I have no idea what to do with all of these.”
“Books to the library is a good idea. I’ll do some research to see if there’s a church or someplace where we can donate the household items. Maybe they’ll even come and get it.”
Nate nodded and smiled at Creed as he led the way out of his father’s childhood room. “Thanks. That’ll help a lot.”
There was no denying that the next room they entered belonged to two girls. It was decorated with sheer white curtains on the windows, pink floral wallpaper and white twin beds, dressers and desks. Over one bed was a large glittery pink J. There was nothing over the other bed and Creed noted that an air of sadness filled the room.
Stuffed animals lined the shelves on one side of the room. Photos, some in frames, some not, covered the other side. These photos were cracked and yellowed with age and appeared to be pictures of Tammy’s classmates. Some were framed, hanging on the wall, some were just stacked on shelves but Creed was sure this was what Tammy considered her side of the room.
And the little ball of energy that seemed to be his constant companion when he was in the house was very active. Creed could picture it bouncing on the bed, careening off of the closet door and then dancing over the dresser.
Forcing himself to focus, Creed wanted to spend some time looking at the pictures just to see if there was a theme or something that might help him get into Tammy’s thoughts around the time she disappeared. Again, his training told him that Tammy had a good eye for composition and color. From what he’d seen, she had an offbeat sense of humor as well.
Noting that there were several photos all grouped together of one girl in particular, he looked through them, flipping each one over to see if he could locate a name. The name, Kathy Ross, was scribbled on a few of them.
Then, he came to the last picture and stopped moving, didn’t even dare breathe.
The picture was a closeup of Tammy and Kathy together. It looked like they were at a dance or someplace, maybe they’d been dancing together. He held it up but was unable to figure out what he saw in the background. It was too dark.
Even that wasn’t important. What caught and held his attention was the fact that they were looking at each other exactly the way Nate had looked at him out on the landing before they’d kissed.
Had Kathy and Tammy been lovers? Creed tried to remember if he’d read anything about gays or lesbians during that time period. His thoughts were in such a buzz that he couldn’t think straight. However, could someone have suspected or guessed or known for sure and done something to Tammy because of that?
Creed looked across the room to where Nate stood in front of the two desks which sat side by side under the wide window. More stuffed animals littered one of them but otherwise it was empty. He didn’t bother opening the drawer.
Some photography magazines were stacked neatly on the other desk, along with a list of some pretty well-known photographers that Creed recognized when Nate read the names aloud. When Creed heard Nate open the desk drawer, he replaced the pictures where he’d found them and crossed the room to look over Nate’s shoulder. Batteries, rolls of film and some flash cubes littered the drawer but little else. Squatting, Nate opened the drawer as far as he could and attempted to remove it completely. It resisted so Nate stopped but he ran his hands all over the inside of the desk.
“Nothing?” Creed asked when Nate shook his head. He still wasn’t sure how to tell him what he thought he was seeing in this picture but the ball of energy seemed to be sitting right on his shoulder.
Suddenly, Nate stopped, ducked is head and looked at the bottom of the drawer. “I found something,” he said, grinning up at Creed.
Eighteen: A Discovery
Ducking his head to look at the bottom of the desk drawer, Nate saw what looked like a single sheet of paper folded in half, taped to the bottom of the drawer.
“I found something,” he said, grinning up at Creed.
Creed smiled and knelt on the floor beside him just as Nate slid his hand up under the paper,
easily popping the old tape free. And suddenly, with Creed so close beside him, the room was very, very hot.
“Let’s see what we’ve found,” Nate said, standing and heading out into the hall.
He moved out to the landing where a large window let in plenty of natural light. Creed followed, looking over his shoulder as he unfolded what was indeed a single sheet of notebook paper.
It was a handwritten letter that began with ‘Dear Tammy’.
“It’s dated the month before she died,” Creed noted. “Who’s it from?”
Nate ran his finger down to the bottom of the page. “It’s signed Kathy.”
Creed placed a hand on Nate’s shoulder. “Before you read that, look at this.”
Nate turned toward him, looking puzzled and then his gaze dropped to the photo. He took it from Creed, studied it closer, glanced at Creed and then back at the picture.
“What do you see?” Creed asked.
“I see two women dancing together,” Nate said, studying the picture again. “That wasn’t unusual back in the day.”
“Is that all?”
Nate shook his head. “They’re looking at each other like-“
“Like they’re more than just friends,” Creed finished for him.
“Yes,” Nate said quietly. He handed the picture back to Creed.
“There are dozens of photos of Kathy,” Creed said.
Nate nodded and began to read aloud. “Dear Tammy. I’m in love with you. There I’ve said it. I just wish I could tell you in person but every time I try to do it, I lose my nerve. I know there’s no future in this for us but telling you, even if it’s just on paper, makes it real. I hope it eases the pain in my heart I feel every time I see you with Butch. The other day when we pretended to kiss, I came so close to showing you just how much I want you. But, again, I lost my nerve. Please, don’t be mad at me but just know that even though we’ll live our own separate lives, I’ll love you forever.” Nate stopped reading and looked at Creed.
Creed dashed down the hall to Tammy’s bedroom. He returned carrying the stack of photos of Tammy and Kathy. Slowly, Creed and Nate sorted through the pictures of the two smiling girls. Sometimes they were together, sometimes separate but always smiling, happy to be together.
“So, Tammy’s best friend was in love with her,” Creed whispered, flipping the pictures over to note the names and dates on each one.
“Could they have run away together?” Nate asked. “Times were so different then and in a town like Lost Creek they would have been crucified.”
“How would two young girls have supported themselves?” Creed asked. “It would make sense that if they were going to run away together, they would have at least waited until they graduated.”
Nate shook his head. “When you’re young and in love you don’t think that clearly.”
They were quiet for a few minutes and then Creed said, “This adds a whole new layer to this investigation.”
“It does,” Nate said, his thoughts whirling. “If we could find Kathy Ross, we might find out what happened to Tammy.” And then he stopped. “You don’t think Kathy would have hurt Tammy do you?”
Creed shook his head. “Not from the way they were looking at each other in that picture.”
Nate had to agree.
“Besides,” Creed said, “If she had just run away with Kathy or anyone else, she wouldn’t have taken her purse and left a shoe behind and her broken glasses or her camera. Apparently, it was her most prized possession.”
“Could it have been staged?” Nate asked. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew that wasn’t even a possibility.
Creed shook his head.
“She wouldn’t have done that to her parents. Put them through that torture,” Nate said.
“Come on, let’s add this letter and these pictures to what we know so far and see what else we can uncover in those newspaper articles,” Creed said, bounding down the steps.
Back in the kitchen, Nate placed the letter and the picture of Kathy and Tammy in an empty spot on the table. Creed began making notes on the timeline they’d created. That completed, he sat still waiting for Nate to continue reading.
With a newspaper clipping in each hand, Nate paused and smiled at him. His thoughts strayed to the kiss they’d shared earlier. “We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”
“We do,” Creed agreed.
“I mean, if you hadn’t suggested we look for a journal or something, we would never have found that letter.”
Creed shrugged. “I was a teenager once. I was just guessing.”
“If you hadn’t looked through the camera lens in the first place, we wouldn’t even be doing this at all.”
“If we can find out what happened to Tammy Palmer in nineteen seventh-three, it will at least put your dad’s mind to rest,” Creed said.
Nate caught his bottom lip in his teeth to keep from telling Creed the real reason he was working so hard for his dad. All of his life Nate had wanted to make his father proud. When he realized he was gay, he’d given up on that altogether, moved to Charlotte, trying disappear. This might just change everything.
Creed nodded at the articles Nate held in his hand. “What else do we have?”
Nate turned his attention to the articles and began reading. “We’re into August of seventh-three and it looks like the story is still front page news,” he said, unfolding the large article torn from the newspaper.
“Good.”
“This same reporter, Rollins, interviewed some of the kids in her class. They all said she was happy and friendly and evidently very popular. All of them seem to be at a loss when asked if they knew of anyone who might hurt Tammy,” Nate reported, skimming the article and then he shook his head. “He talked to Kathy Ross.”
“So we can nix the idea that they ran away together,” Creed said.
Nate nodded. “She was very distraught, as you can imagine. She was babysitting as well that night but they’d planned to go swimming the next day together.”
“Okay,” Creed said, making notes.
“They talked to someone named Kenneth Williams. He lived across the street from the doctor’s house with his mother,” Nate said.
“Crazy Kenny.”
“What?”
“That’s what everyone calls him. I’m sure they did back then as well. His mother died a few years ago but I think he might still live in the same house,” Creed explained.
Nate continued to read through the articles, coming up with no new information. Everyone was searching for Tammy or her body. The entire community was up in arms, locking their doors for the first time in forever, curfews had been shortened. Tammy’s parents looked like they’d aged ten years in some of the later pictures when it had only been weeks. His dad looked angrier than ever and Charles just seemed to be happy to fade into the background, maybe for the first time in his life.
“I have a feeling a lot of stuff was kept out of the papers,” Creed said.
“That makes sense. I mean, even if someone thought Butch did it, they wouldn’t just accuse him publicly,” Nate reasoned, scratching at his chin. “And if they did, it wouldn’t be printed in the paper.”
Creed yawned, covering his mouth with one hand. “Sorry.”
“No, don’t be sorry,” Nate said, standing up straight and stretching. He yawned as well and noted that it had grown dark outside. “We’ve had a long day. We probably should call it quits for tonight.”
“Start fresh tomorrow,” Creed agreed.
“Do you think we could talk to your brother-in-law tomorrow?” Nate asked, leading the way out of the kitchen.
“Let me see what I can find out,” Creed said, reaching for his cell.
Nate stepped into the bathroom, intending to wash his face and hands and change into shorts for sleeping. Instead, he stood there looking at himself in the mirror. He never would have dreamed that he would have quit his job, moved back to Lost Creek and be trying to solve an old myst
ery in just the space of a day or two.
And he never imagined he’d reconnect with Creed or that they’d become so close so soon. Closing his eyes, he let himself relive the kiss he and Creed had shared in the hall. He wanted Creed and he was pretty sure that if he wanted to take their relationship to the next level, Creed would be a more than willing partner. But weren’t they already partners, working together, trying to solve the disappearance of his Aunt Tammy? They were partners working on this old house together.
What would happen after the mystery was solved and the house on the market? Was this the glue that held them together temporarily or was something more long term growing here. He wanted to kiss Creed again so badly he could taste it. Nate licked his lips. He could still taste it. He closed his eyes and willed those thoughts out of his head.
When he finished in the bathroom, he struggled with the door for just a moment and then, at last, it just swung open easily. He found a single lamp burning to light his way and Creed already curled into his sleeping bag. Nate lay down on the air mattress and pulled the covers up over his shoulder.
“We have an appointment at the police station tomorrow afternoon,” Creed told him. “I hope that’s okay.”
“That was fast,” Nate said, surprised.
Creed chuckled. “I told my brother-in-law you were writing a book about the family, wanted to include this mystery and needed to go through the police files. I’m just helping out.”
“That’s as good a story as any so we’ll stick to that,” Nate said. “Although, I guess we could have told him the truth.”
“Nah. Besides, he’s excited to meet a real live writer,” Creed said, rolling onto his back.
All Nate could think about at that moment was Creed naked inside that sleeping bag. He reached out for the lamp sitting on the floor between them and clicked it off, plunging the room into darkness.
