by Ann Mullen
Billy walked outside with Cole and when he returned, Jonathan was with him.
“I didn’t hear your Humvee pull up,” I said as I kissed him on the cheek. “Let me take your coat.”
“I should stay away more often,” Jonathan said. “I get a kiss from a beautiful lady and lunch waiting for me on the table. What more could I ask for?”
“Come have a seat,” Helene said. “I’ll get you a plate.”
“What have I missed so far, other than Jesse’s big bang on the head?”
“They found a print on a gas can that belongs to Wayne Avery,” I said. “And Cole wants to help us out on the case of the Greene County Killer.”
“He wants to help, or is he just digging?” Jonathan replied. “No offense, but Cole is a cop and he’s always in cop mode. You should know that by now giving your past history with the guy.”
I was a little surprised at Jonathan’s bluntness, but not angry. He was stating a fact. “Just say what’s on your mind, why don’t you?” I laughed.
Helene put a plate on the table for Jonathan, looked over at me and said, “As I said before, there are no secrets in this family.”
“If that’s the case, then why haven’t I met you before?”
“You have, Jesse,” she replied. “I was at your wedding, but you were so elated about becoming Billy’s wife that you just don’t remember. I was the one dressed in red.”
“I remember now! I loved it. When I saw you I told Mom that you really looked snazzy. You were definitely dressed for the occasion—a Christmas wedding. That was so sassy.”
Jonathan sat down at the table and started digging into the food.
“The police know about the medal,” Billy said.
“Yes, I know. I told them when I got the results from Caroline. It seems we’re always doing their job for them.”
“Is that the same Caroline that you know, Billy?”
“Yes. She’s an old friend of the family. Jonathan used to date her.”
I laughed out loud. “Is there anyone in Charlottesville that you haven’t dated? Or Greene County… Albemarle… Orange… Madison?” I asked.
“Ah… yes, but we’re not going there.”
“You’re such a… what’s the word I’m looking for?”
“Not one you should say in mixed company,” Helene intervened. She grunted and then went to the refrigerator. “Would anyone like something to drink?”
“I’ll have another glass of tea, if you don’t mind,” Geneva said.
“I have something in my truck for you guys,” Jonathan said to Billy. He looked over at me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of shopping for Christmas tree decorations while I waited to hear from Lu Ann. Billy said that the two of you were going to go shopping later, but I figured if I waited for that to happen, your tree would go undecorated until the very last minute. I know my brother wants to keep with tradition, so I handled it. I hope you don’t mind. I knew that the first thing the two of you were going to do is go out looking for that criminal, and that the decorations would have to wait. Now they don’t have to. Besides, I had to go buy some new clothes and a suit for the funeral.”
“Thank you, Jonathan,” I said as I walked over, leaned down and gave him a big hug. “You’re so thoughtful!”
Jonathan wolfed down his food, and then stood to take his plate to the sink.
“I’ll take that,” Helene said. “You all have unfinished business and time is slipping away.”
“You’re wonderful,” Jonathan said as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve missed your smiling face.”
“Don’t try to lay that bull on me, young man. I got your number. You’re just trying to butter me up so I won’t give you grief about being single. Don’t you think it’s time you settled down and got married? Aren’t you tired of chasing after low-lifes and criminals? You should be married with a house full of children.”
“I will be soon.”
Helene had a stunned look on her face. “Tell me more!”
“Jesse can fill you in when I leave, but for now, I have to go out and catch low-lifes and criminals.”
“You are such a bad boy!”
“And you love me for it.”
Helene smiled a sheepish smile and I could tell that she adored Jonathan as she probably did the rest of the Blackhawk brothers.
Jonathan turned to Billy and said, “Come help me bring in the packages from the car, and then I’m going to be leaving, brother. Take care of this little filly.” He pointed to me. “She’s a spry one. I half expected her to hit you over the head with a frying pan when you let that kid slip through your fingers.”
“She doesn’t know what one is,” Billy replied, laughing it off.
“I heard that, pal. You can sleep with the dogs tonight.”
Athena and Thor appeared and took notice.
“That’s right. I was talking about you guys. Go bite your daddy.”
They both had a confused look on their face. Athena twisted her head and Thor howled.
“They know who the boss is in this house, `ge ya,” Billy smirked. “I’m the chief of this teepee!”
“Yeah, you’re right. You are the head honcho, and they know it. Right, guys?” I snapped my fingers.
Athena, even with her limp, walked over and sat down by my feet, and Thor couldn’t get to me fast enough. He slid across the hardwood floor and landed on top of Athena. I laughed. “See what I mean?”
Jonathan walked over and gave me a hug before leaving. “Please don’t hurt my brother. He means well, but we know who is in charge here.” He winked at me.
Billy walked with him to the door, and then the two of them walked outside. They seemed to be gone far too long, so I went to the door and opened it. They were standing there, packages in hand, talking about something they obviously didn’t want me to hear. They stopped talking when they saw me. I asked them if they were plotting something that I should be privy to.
“Not today, `ge ya,” Billy replied.
“I know when you’re hiding something, Billy Blackhawk, so you might as well tell me what it is. I’m going to find out anyway.”
“Jonathan thinks he knows where Wayne Avery is hiding out, and we’re going to go looking for him.”
“I’ll get my coat,” I said. “Don’t think you’re going without me, Tonto.”
Chapter 20
The decorations for the Christmas tree were piled, still in their bags, on top of each other by the tree waiting to be hung, and the bags of new clothes Jonathan had purchased were stacked on top of the bed in the room he would use for a while. His new suit was hung in the closet.
Mom called, but I told her we were on our way over and that I was in a hurry. I didn’t mention the morning’s events, and she didn’t ask. I guess she was waiting until she saw me in person so she could read me the riot act. I asked her to please call her friend, Savannah Kelley, to see if we could have a few words with her at her convenience—hopefully before the day was over, and that it was a matter of great importance. Mom wanted to tell me more about the book, but ended her monologue when I told her that Billy was standing at the door waiting for me. I did manage to tell her how much I liked Helene before I hung up the phone—and I could’ve sworn that I heard a sigh on the other end of the line.
Geneva packed up some food at my request and took it home to Eli. She insisted on returning so that Helene wouldn’t be by herself under such dangerous conditions. A killer was still out there, and might possibly return. The kids, the dogs, and the cat would be under the watchful eye of their new nanny, Helene and her helper, Geneva. I felt secure knowing this, even the part about Geneva.
Billy called his dad before we left to see how everything was going and to check on Sarah. Apparently, all was about as good as it could be. Several relatives were there lending their support, and Sarah was up and about. That was everyone’s main concern—that Sarah wouldn’t fall into a state of de
pression and not find her way back. The death of a loved one can do that to a person.
We followed Jonathan’s Humvee in Billy’s Dodge pickup truck, knowing that it was always better to have more than one means of transportation while on a mission, or in this case, another means of escape. We had no idea what we were going to encounter, so as they say, we came prepared. Jonathan had a cache of weapons that he kept stored in his Humvee, which was a good thing since most of his guns and grenades had been destroyed in the fire. Billy and I came with our own small arsenal. We were ready for anything.
It was cold outside, but at least it wasn’t snowing right at the moment. I looked around at the passing scenery and wondered what the rest of the day would have in store for us. We didn’t need another blinding snowfall while we searched for a killer. The temperature was supposed to drop into the single digits tonight, so whatever it was we were going to do, we needed to do it before it got too late. I didn’t want to be hiding out in the woods behind someone’s house in the freezing cold.
Billy pulled out his cell phone, punched a number on the pad, and then laid the phone in its holder on the dashboard. I could hear the numbers being dialed.
“I want to be able to talk with Jonathan while we’re on the road,” he said. “I have it on speaker, so watch what you say.”
I smiled and replied, “Are you afraid I might cuss out loud?”
“I never know what to expect from you.”
“Hello,” we heard Jonathan say.
“What’s the guy’s address?” Billy asked.
“I’m not sure about the number, but he lives two doors down on the right.”
“What are you talking about? What guy?” I asked.
“Hold on a minute, Jonathan, while I fill Jesse in.”
Billy explained everything to me as we rode down Rt. 29. “All the information the police have on Wayne Avery is only part of his criminal background. They implied that his trouble really started when he moved here, but that’s not true. He was always getting into something everywhere he moved to. It was his grandfather who saved him every time and cleaned up after the kid. His grandfather was a judge in Texas until he died a couple of years ago. The judge made sure that his grandson didn’t have a criminal record. Once he passed away, there was no one to cover for the kid. That’s why he has a record in Greene County. He doesn’t have anyone to fix things for him, nobody to wipe his slate clean.”
“Where did you get the dirt on Avery?”
“Jonathan has a friend on the force in Texas where the kid was born, so he made a call. Need I say more?”
“Why am I not surprised? Jonathan has connections everywhere. Who’s this guy you’re talking about who lives two doors down?”
“He’s the only living relative we could find in this area,” Jonathan said. “The rest live in Texas. The guy’s name is Eric Webster, and he lives two doors down from the murdered couple in Ruckersville.”
“Webster—huh. Was he related to the mother? I mean, if he was related to the father, you’d think his last name would be the same.”
“That’s just it,” Billy said as he made a left turn onto Rt. 33 at the Ruckersville intersection following Jonathan’s Humvee. “He was the stepbrother of the daddy—same father, different mother.”
“Yeah,” Jonathan broke in. “My contact in Texas tells me that there was a big stink about that situation. It seems the wealthy judge had planted his seed where he shouldn’t have and it came back to haunt him. He refused to marry her and then paid her off. When her son got older, he made it a point to make contact with his father. The old man wanted nothing to do with the boy, so he paid him off, too. The only problem was that the boy found out he had a stepbrother and then hunted him down. What happened after that is anybody’s guess. All we know is that after the grandfather died, Eric wound up in Greene County, living close to Peter and his wife Judy, and their son, Wayne.”
“Are you telling me that Eric Webster is Peter Avery’s stepbrother, and that he lived two doors down from the murder victims in Ruckersville?”
“That’s right,” Jonathan replied.
“That makes him Wayne Avery’s uncle.”
“Step uncle,” Jonathan replied. “That sounds weird.”
“I’ll tell you what sounds weird,” I said, my mind going as fast as it could. “Could it be possible that Eric… oh, forget it. That’s a crazy thought.”
“What, Jesse?” Jonathan asked. “Say what you’re thinking.”
“Is it possible that Eric could be the one Wayne talked about, the one he said would kill him if he told anybody about him? Isn’t it a little ironic that Eric lives close to the murdered couple? This is too much of a coincidence. I told you that I thought Wayne had an accomplice, and the man who assaulted me this morning was an adult, not a teenager. I’m pretty sure of it.”
“How can you be so sure?” Jonathan asked. “You said he came up from behind…”
“I’m telling you that the man who conked me on the head was a grown man. He was bigger than Wayne and his boots were huge. Leatherneck—that was the name printed on the side of his boots. They were the last thing I saw before I passed out. I remember the boots and that he had bad breath. It just about made me gag.”
“That’s good to know,” Jonathan said. “We’re looking for a big guy with Leatherneck boots and bad breath.” He chuckled.
“I heard that,” I said. “Laugh if you want, but killers have been captured by far less evidence than bad breath. Look at… ah… it doesn’t matter. If Eric Webster is the man who assaulted me, I’ll know.”
My cell phone rang.
“What was that?” Jonathan asked. “Is that your cell phone, Jesse?”
“Yes, it is,” I said as I pulled it out of my coat pocket. “It’s just my mother. She was supposed to call me as soon as she talked to that author.”
“Fix her phone, Billy,” Jonathan demanded. “All we need is for it to go off while we’re breaking into someone’s house.”
“I’ll take care of it as soon as she finishes talking with her mother.”
Our conversation lasted for about one minute. Mom wanted to tell me that Savannah Kelley said to come by her house as soon as we could, and that she lives up the road on the left. We were to look for a house surrounded by a wrought iron fence. A double gate marked the entrance to her property. Everything was electronic, so she would know when we arrived.
When I closed up the phone, Billy told me to push the button on the side and hold it down until the word vibrate appeared on the display screen. I did as he said.
“You’re so smart,” I said as I shoved the phone back into my coat pocket. I leaned over and kissed his cheek, and when I did, I suffered a dizzy spell. It was all I could do to maintain my balance and not fall over in the seat. I was suddenly afraid. What would happen if I was with Billy and Jonathan and things got a little hairy? Would I be a burden to them and get one of them killed? As much as I wanted to keep silent about it, I had to say something. I surely didn’t want to jeopardize their lives, or mine.
“Wow,” I said. “I just had a terrible dizzy spell.”
“I knew it!” Billy said. “You should’ve stayed home. You’re not well enough to be out on a dangerous job like this.”
“We can’t take her home,” Jonathan said. “We’re almost there.”
“All right,” Billy agreed as we pulled off the road and into a gas station parking lot behind Jonathan. “You’ll have to stay in the truck.”
“But…”
Jonathan made a U-turn in the parking lot and pulled up alongside Billy’s truck, their driver’s side adjacent to each other, and then rolled down his window. “Are you okay, Jesse?”
“I’m fine. I just had a dizzy spell.”
“This puts a kink in everything,” Jonathan said. “We can’t let you go with us. What happens if you pass out right in the middle of everything?” He looked back at Billy. “We can’t take that chance, brother.”
“
I told her the same thing.”
“She’ll have to wait in the truck.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll stay in the truck, and be your lookout.”
After a few seconds, Jonathan said, “Jesse, we have to be able to count on you to do what you say. One of us could get killed if you don’t have all your faculties together. If you faint, we could all die.”
“I understand, Jonathan. I promise you I’ll stay in the truck until you tell me differently.”
“Follow me and when we turn onto Little Creek Road, look for a blue house on the right. Don’t stop. Just keep following me until we come to the end of the road.”
“I’m with you,” Billy said.
“Okay, brother. Let’s get this party started!”
Jonathan pulled back out onto Rt. 33 and headed down the road. We were right on his bumper until we came to Little Creek Road. He turned right; we followed. About a mile down the road we passed a section of houses on the right. I touched Billy’s arm when we passed the blue house. He glanced over at it for a second and it was then that we both saw the old pickup truck—it was an old, black, Ford Ranger—the same one that had been parked out on Bear Mountain Road when Billy caught Wayne trying to break into our house. We followed the road until we came around a bend where the road abruptly stopped. After turning around, Billy and Jonathan sat, parked side by side, and talked on their cell phones. No one could see us because of all the trees, and it helped that the road curved before it ended.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Billy said. “We’ll park right up by the bend out of sight, but close enough for Jesse to be able to see what’s happening. You and I will go through the woods and come up on the backside of his house.”
“I think we should storm the house.”
“I agree. We need to catch him by surprise.” Billy turned to me and said, “If you see anything suspicious, call me on my cell phone. It’s set on vibrate, and I won’t say anything when I answer, so don’t be surprised. Just tell me what you saw. Okay?”
“If something happens and you can’t get through to Billy, call me.”
