Clay began to feel that familiar coolness permeating the room again. He felt certain that Adrian was witnessing the conversation. He bit his tongue in an effort to not say something nasty about Adrian. He was also amazed at Erika’s composure as she sat listening, not interrupting.
“Well, I’ve learned a lot of things the past few days. Erika, the Depot is worth 5.3 million dollars in the latest appraisal. Andi Nickel told me that she calculates that from Marshall’s share of the Depot’s sale, he will owe you in excess of another million dollars. I know you have a two million dollar life insurance policy to collect as well. In the process of tracking down your money, I also learned some things about Adrian. I now know he blackmailed his partner, cheated on you, abused his son, ran friends out of business, committed at least one known rape, and ignored his illegitimate daughter. I can name other things, but you get the point. He was a rotten man. He seemed to think by giving me some sort of inheritance, he would make up for all his dirty deeds. Well, I can’t be party to that, so I’m taking the inheritance and giving it away.”
“What!! You can’t do that!” Adrian yelled. “Giving you my inheritance is my one good deed! It’s my ticket out of this miserable, lonely existence.”
“Forgive me for saying this, Erika. But you don’t need his money. However, there is someone who does. I’m going to give the money to Stacy Gomez and to Anna. That way, Adrian will provide for them just like he managed to provide for you.”
“Nooooo! You can’t do that! I don’t care about them! I gave that to you! You’ll be rich, and I can move on!” Adrian began to have a temper tantrum. Pictures started flying through the air. Things started flying from Erika’s desk. Jasper’s eyes got huge as he curled up in a ball on his chair, arms covering his head. Erika backed herself into a corner of the office beside a file cabinet, and Clay ran to her side to protect her from the articles that were flying around the office.
“The office is haunted, Jasper. Let’s get out of here!” Clay shouted. He ushered Erika out, then returned and literally scooped the unmoving, terrified Jasper up in his arms and carried him from the room. Several articles smashed into Clay, but he managed the retreat without serious injury.
“You’ll still my protector, Clay,” Erika said in relief.
“Looks like you’re mine too,” Jasper said with big, fearful eyes. “But you’ve also managed to save me from myself.”
Epilogue
It was a very warm but overcast spring day. Tanner had picked Clay up at the airport and brought him home to find Erika and Logan waiting on the front porch. A smile lit up Clay’s face as he saw the woman in which he was deeply in love. After his baseball team’s return from Alabama, Clay was excited to be home and to see his girlfriend and her son. Clay and Erika hugged and gave each other a short but satisfying kiss. Then Clay gave Logan a handshake, which also turned into a hug.
Logan and Tanner began to play catch as Clay and Erika settled into a two-seated swing on the porch to watch and talk. A lot had happened in nearly five months. After Adrian’s temper tantrum in the Depot, Erika never went back. Marshall Mortonson ran the Depot until it was sold, and eventually was tried for embezzlement, tax evasion, and money laundering. In a civil suit, headed by Andi Nickel, Morty paid Erika over a million dollars, and with fines, interest, penalties, and back taxes owed, he owed the IRS more than a million more. Then between attorney’s fees, realtor fees, and taxes owed for the sale of his business, Morty was left with $25,000. While serving his sentence, he was tried and convicted for a class 5 felony and put in jail for two and a half years for moving, hiding, and abandoning a dead body, and was fined $25,000. When Morty would eventually be released from prison, he would be bankrupt.
Dan Duncan was tried and convicted for his attempted murder of Clay, malicious destruction of property, grand theft auto, and second-degree murder of Joseph Carrollton. He would be in prison for a long, long time.
Roberto Gomez was never tried. The prosecutor determined that there wasn’t nearly enough evidence for a conviction, but Chief Hopper was convinced of his guilt, and he let Robbie know how fortunate he was.
Jasper became a new man. He was the realtor who brokered the sale of the Depot. With his six percent commission of over three hundred thousand dollars, he became the most generous man in Durand, showing special generosity for children, and even more special generosity for the Gomez girls. He became the family’s closest personal friend. Jasper’s co-careers as an attorney and as a realtor both took off, and the more prosperous he became, the more generous he was as well.
Chief Luke Hopper ended up getting an accommodation for the “Adrian Payne Case,” but he knew that he could have never solved it without Clay, and Clay knew he could have never solved it without Tanner. Luke and Clay became good friends, and Clay took to calling him Copper. It was the perfect nickname for the copper-headed police officer, and soon Luke gave up and accepted the nickname from all of his friends.
What happened to Adrian, no one knows for sure. There are still stories and rumors of ghosts haunting the Depot, but Clay never went back and neither did Erika. He certainly was instrumental in solving the puzzle of what happened on the train that night. What other purpose he might have in roaming the earth as a ghost was unknown.
The prosecuting attorney reviewed Logan’s case and determined that it would simply be a waste of the county’s money to try Logan for any crime. Andi Nickel was prepared to argue self-defense, but it was never even necessary. Logan ended up getting honorable mention all-conference in basketball, and was doing very well on the varsity baseball team as well. His new coach loved Logan’s attitude, which was becoming more and more outgoing and friendly. He smiled a lot and had put all signs of depression behind him. Every time Clay looked at him, he felt immense pride in the fact that he had used his powers for the good this time. He had helped Logan, the Gomezes, Erika, and Jasper, without hurting any of them.
A light rain began to fall. Tanner looked to his dad and smiled. It had become a tradition for the father and son to sit on the porch and think of Jessie Thomas during a rain. “I love a good spring rain,” Erika said. “It smells good. It’s so refreshing. I think when I’m sitting here with you, it’s kind of romantic.”
Tanner and Logan walked over and sat on the porch with their parents. “Mom loved the rain too, Erika. Dad and I always think of her when it rains.”
“You know when the sun shines and it’s still raining somehow? We like to say that she’s smiling down on us.”
“I know she was special, Clay and Tanner. I hope she approves of me.”
Just then the clouds separated, and though it was still raining, the sun began to shine. A rainbow of colors appeared in the heavens, and the beauty of nature was exposed in a way that was awe inspiring to each of the persons sitting on the porch.
Tanner, who always seemed to know just the right words, said, “It looks to me that she’s smiling down on you right now. Mom approves. If you ask me, it was a match made in Heaven.”
Erika, with tears misting up her eyes, snuggled just a little closer to Clay. It was as if the line was choreographed when all four people said at the same time, “I love the rain.”
About the Author
Jeff LaFerney has been a language arts teacher and coach for more than twenty years. He earned his English and teaching degrees from the University of Michigan-Flint and his master's degree in educational leadership from Eastern Michigan University. He and his wife of twenty-five years live in Davison, Michigan. Torey and Teryn are their two children. Skeleton Key is his second novel. His first, Loving the Rain, is also available.
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Skeleton Key Page 21
