Sutherland

by Karen Trailor Thomas

  The handyman seemed to be in charge. He shouted orders to his makeshift crew, which Jennalee saw included her father. The big front windows of the two rooms had been smashed in, lawn chairs half inside. Smoke poured out, flames darting as if they wanted to get out, too. An end window also billowed smoke, and one of the hoses was directed there. Wesley, wearing leather work gloves, was trying to get the door open but it wouldn’t give. Giving up on that, he pulled a hose from Kyle Sutherland’s hand because Kyle was backing away. Wesley rushed forward, directing water into the window but, like his efforts at the door, it had little effect. Sirens were finally heard in the distance.

  As Harley and Jennalee watched, Wesley threw another lawn chair, this one through the Laidlaw parents’ window. Smoke billowed out, at which Harley cried, “My violin!”

  The end room, his and Garth’s, had no apparent fire yet. Harley ran to the closed door but his key card wouldn’t work. “C’mon,” he yelled to Jennalee and they ran to the building’s end. At the lone window, Harley tore away the screen while Jennalee ran for a shovel she knew Wesley kept nearby. Rather than hand it to Harley, she gave it a mighty swing, shattering the glass. She then began a ramming motion, knocking shards free, clearing the way for Harley, who climbed inside.

  Jennalee stood holding the shovel as she waited, feeling like a warrior princess battling some fire demon. She coughed as smoke engulfed her and she called to Harley, afraid he’d swallowed too much. But then he was climbing out, violin case strapped to his back like it had been when he first arrived. He grabbed Jennalee’s hand and they hurried around front, pushing through the throng of Sutherlands to get behind it all, up against Building Seven. Both coughed for a bit, then took gulps of air until they settled.

  Meanwhile, Phyllis Sutherland, restrained by Marian Sutherland and Jane, screamed, “Noel is in there! And Daniel! You have to help them!” On and on she cried and begged while her two other boys, Robert, the oldest, and little Clifford huddled against Parker Sutherland. Jennalee saw his big bear presence reassuring in such a situation. Robert stood stone-faced while Clifford buried his face against Parker, crying.

  “Poor Phyllis,” said Jennalee. “I wonder what started it.”

  “I don’t think they smoke,” offered Harley.

  The fire engine took little care as it raced around to the back of the grounds. When it came charging down the winding path, it had the effect of unwinding it because such a large and urgent vehicle couldn’t be contained by a meandering roadway. Thus it crushed various shrubs and native plants, took out a couple lounge chairs, and careened through a bunch of inflated pool toys that had been gathered to dry out.

  The crowd was pushed back by firemen who sprang from the truck while their brethren pulled hose from the back. Jennalee noted how neatly it unfolded but wondered where the water would come from. She mentioned this to Harley, who said the truck was a tanker and they’d use that, then run hose back to a pipe a couple buildings away if needed.

  “Where’s that?” Jennalee asked.

  “I don’t know. In the middle somewhere. It’s just this connection about a foot off the ground, a country kind of fireplug.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Eight or nine years ago a brush fire got started at the base of the bluff and the same fire engine came out, hooked up, and put it out.”

  “Wow,” offered Jennalee.

  Wesley’s crew had now been pushed aside, their hoses turned off while the big boys set to work. A fireman’s ax made short work of the first Sutherland door, and two men wearing oxygen gear raced inside. Jennalee wondered how they could see in all that smoke. Just then a cop car screeched to a halt behind the crowd, and after it came an ambulance.

  The only noise was that made by the fire and the firemen. Onlookers had gone silent, even Phyllis Sutherland, though she shook with silent sobs. Harley took Jennalee’s hand and held tight until a fireman rushed out with Noel Sutherland over his shoulder. He dropped the stricken man on the ground, where medical personnel set to work.

  “My boy is in there!” screamed Phyllis, so the firemen rushed back in, leaving her to attempt to follow. Jane and Marian held her in a double embrace as minutes passed. Flames were nearly quelled, but hoses still sprayed water into the room. A fireman with an ax was on the roof now, chopping a hole. Dad will shit, thought Jennalee.

  While the fireman was inside looking for the boy, others broke down the doors to the second and third rooms, and the man who’d chopped the first hole in the roof began on another. As they chopped away, the fireman who’d gone back inside came out empty-handed. Seeing him, Phyllis screamed and collapsed and Jane and Marian lowered her to the ground. They sat beside her, holding her hands.

  “There was nobody else in there,” the fireman said when he removed his mask. “Are you sure the boy was inside?”

  “We were going to the pool, the boys and me, and Daniel said he wanted to ask Daddy to join us, so we went on and he went back. Then the fire came. Where else could he be?”

  Medics now had Noel on a stretcher, oxygen mask over his face. “How’s my husband?” Phyllis asked.

  “Appears to be no burns, just smoke inhalation, but that can be serious, so he’ll be transported. He was in the bathtub and that spared him the flames. We got here just in time.”

  “But where’s my son?” Phyllis demanded.

  “I suggest you look for him, ma’am. Where would he go?”

  Hearing this, Harley stepped up. “We’ll look for him,” he said. “We’ll find him.”

  “Oh, thank you, Harley.”

  Harley grabbed Jennalee’s hand. “C’mon.”

  As they started from the scene, Kendall Sutherland met them. “Let me help,” he said. “I know Daniel pretty well.”

  “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Harley asked him.

  “Yeah.”

  “What?” asked Jennalee.

  “That Daniel set the fire.”

  “Jeez,” she said.

  “Let’s split up,” suggested Harley. “We’ll check the grounds, you check inside, all the public places. Meet back at the pool.”

  “Deal,” said Kendall and he ran off.

  Harley and Jennalee ran toward the manzanita grove at Jennalee’s suggestion, but once there, they found it unoccupied. “You think Daniel tried to kill his father?” she asked Harley.

  “I do. It sounds like he made an excuse to go back, which may mean planning.”

  “How about the bluff?” Jennalee said and Harley agreed. They hurried up but nobody was there either, nor in any other place they looked. At one point they heard motorcycles.

  “Mom and Dad,” said Harley. “Wait till they see what’s happened.”

  Once they’d scoured every outdoor nook and cranny they could find, they headed to the pool, where Kendall waited. “I found him,” said Kendall. “He’s in the storage closet in the Oak Room. He won’t come out.”

  “Let’s go talk to him,” Harley said.

  “Poor Daniel,” Jennalee sighed. “Ten, right?”

  Harley blew out a sigh. “Yeah, ten.”

  The ambulance passed them as they walked along. “Wonder if Noel will be okay,” Jennalee said as they neared the Hall housing the Oak, Pine, and Spruce rooms.

  “Probably,” replied Harley. “He’ll recover and make Daniel’s life hell.”

  “Won’t they put Daniel in juvenile hall?” Jennalee asked.

  “First they have to decide he set the fire, and I doubt they’ll come up with that right off,” said Harley. “Fires have to be examined, evidence gathered. So far nobody can prove the kid was even in there except his mother, and once it clicks with her, which it might never do, she’ll clam up.”

  “Even if the cops figure it out,” said Kendall, “a Sutherland isn’t going to be arrested. No way. Noel will play good parent, excuse it all, maybe even totally deny it, and if that fails, he’ll buy the kid out of it. The sad thing is the kid would be better off in juvie, but Noel will n
ever let it happen. He’ll put on some front, then dish out his own punishment.”

  “Why would Daniel do it?” Jennalee asked Kendall.

  “He won’t talk so we can’t be sure he even did it, though hiding makes him look pretty guilty. And how else could it start?”

  The three fell silent as they reached the Hall. “It’s scary,” Jennalee said. “You know? Important. Serious.”

  She got no comment from the others. Finally, when they stood outside the Oak Room, Kendall sighed. “Okay, here goes,” he said and he opened the door.

  Chapter 19

  The Oak Room felt cold and cavernous to Jennalee, which surprised her, considering her morning joy there with Chopin. Kendall opened the closet door. “Daniel? It’s Kendall again and I’d like to talk about things. Harley and Lee are with me, you know them, right? No parents. I haven’t told anybody I found you, except these guys. You know you can’t stay in there forever. Please come out.”

  “Let us help,” Harley added.

  After a minute out came Daniel, red faced and disheveled. He wore a white T-shirt over blue bathing trunks and was barefoot. His mouth was clamped shut and he looked as wary as a cat ready to claw.

  “Let’s sit down, okay?” Kendall pulled chairs into a little circle, then sat, as did Harley and Jennalee. Finally Daniel stood behind the vacant chair.

  “Come on, Daniel,” Harley said. “You’re with friends now. You’re safe.”

  The boy looked tired yet ready to bolt, and when he finally sat, his body slumped. Jennalee felt so sorry for him, carrying the weight of such events. For a second she thought of her parents, relieved she had them instead of a Noel Sutherland.

  “Can you tell us what happened?” asked Kendall.

  Daniel shook his head so they waited. The boy was brown-haired and freckled with that same unfinished look Jennalee saw in the Malvern boys. His lips were pale, as would have been his face had he not been flushed. Finally, he began.

  “He just wanted some excuse not to take us to the fireworks,” said Daniel. “Last year we went but left before the show because he got mad at some people. This time Cliffy had an accident and that did it. No fireworks.”

  “Accident?” asked Kendall.

  “Dad slapped him and we’re not allowed to cry and Cliffy didn’t, but he wet his pants and that made Dad worse.”

  “Why’d he slap him?” asked Harley.

  Daniel hesitated, like he didn’t want to tell on his brother.

  “Why?” prompted Kendall. “It’s okay to tell us. This is all secret, everything.”

  “He was holding himself, you know, down there. He does that when Dad scares him.”

  “Jeez,” said Jennalee without thinking. Harley frowned at her.

  “Okay,” said Kendall. “We understand why you were upset. You had every reason to be, so that’s okay, but what happened next? Did you start the fire?”

  Daniel seemed to relax at this point, as if the weight of things had slid off his shoulders. He took a long moment, then said, “I don’t want a dad anymore. I can take care of Mom and my brothers. We’re happy when he’s not around, so I was going to kill him.”

  Jennalee had a “Jeez” on her lips when she caught herself.

  “That’s very sad,” offered Harley. “I mean, feeling that way. We’re sorry you were put in such a spot.”

  “Tell us what you did, Daniel,” urged Kendall.

  “Mom said we’d go swimming instead of fireworks so we got ready. Dad said he didn’t want to go. He never does. We got outside and I told Mom I wanted to go back and tell Dad Cliffy was sorry for upsetting him and she said okay, catch up with us after, so they left and I went back in.”

  “Then what?” asked Harley. “It’s okay. Whatever you say is okay.”

  Daniel drew a long breath and continued. “I’ve been taking matches from that basket in the lobby. I had six little books. And Dad likes newspapers so there were a bunch in his room. When I went back in, he asked what I wanted and I said Clifford was sorry. I wasn’t sure I’d do it, start the fire, until Dad said too little, too late, and went into the bathroom with a paper. He always takes forever in there so I knew I had time. I lit papers and put them under the curtains and the flames went right up. I lit the bedspread and little fires all over the room and watched until they joined up so Dad couldn’t get out. It was really smoky. Then I came over here.”

  Nobody said anything. Jennalee glanced at Harley, then Kendall. She couldn’t imagine that much hate, and worse, that it had gathered inside this boy in just ten years.

  “I don’t care if I go to jail,” Daniel declared.

  “You’re too young for jail,” said Kendall.

  “Okay, reform school. I don’t care.”

  “Your father,” Jennalee began before Harley cut her off with a shake of the head.

  “Your father,” he repeated, “shouldn’t have treated you so badly.” It took a second for Jennalee to see she wasn’t to tell the boy his father hadn’t burned up.

  “He won’t anymore,” said Daniel.

  “So what are we going to do, guys?” Kendall asked. Turning to Daniel, he added, “We told your mom we’d find you. She’s very worried about you, so I think we should take you to her.”

  “Will she find out about the fire?” he asked.

  “Not unless you tell her,” said Harley. This caused Jennalee’s head to snap around. He met her challenging gaze with a half nod and she got the gist.

  “Right, Daniel,” she said. “It’s your call.”

  “Nobody knows I did it?” he asked.

  “No, they don’t,” said Harley. “Firemen have to get the fire totally out, and then they have to examine the scene and write reports, which all takes time. It could be days before they decide it was set, if they ever do. You’ll be back home by then.”

  Daniel’s mouth had fallen open on hearing this and Jennalee saw he had no idea what to make of it, having accepted jail as a consequence of his actions.

  “That okay with you?” Harley asked. “Go see your mom?”

  “I guess,” replied Daniel. “Except…”

  “Except what?”

  “I don’t know. Nothing.”

  “Okay, let’s go see your mom now. She’ll feel much better when she knows you’re safe.”

  Harley looked to Kendall, who nodded. “Come on, Daniel,” said Kendall as he stood. Daniel rose, and his cousin who-knows-how-many-times removed put an arm around the boy and walked him out.

  Jennalee and Harley followed at a distance while Kendall talked to Daniel as they went along. “You guys want him to tell his mother he set the fire, right?”

  “His mother or the cops, yes,” said Harley.

  “Is that what Kendall is saying up there?”

  “Probably.”

  “It’s cool how you handled it,” she added.

  “He doesn’t really want to kill,” said Harley. “This was a huge cry for help. He gets none from the inside so he took it public in the most dramatic way he knew.”

  “He really thinks that?”

  “No, but it’s how I think he feels. He’s too young to figure himself out. Kendall and I just helped him get a grip.”

  She grabbed his arm and held on. “My heroes.”

  “It’s not over yet,” said Harley. “But I think he’ll tell somebody, probably a cop instead of his mom, get it more public, get others involved, people who can help him. He’s willing to be locked up to stop Noel.”

  “Noel,” said Jennalee. “I almost forgot him. He’s going to shit when he finds out what really happened.”

  “I think Daniel is counting on that, and for authorities to protect him because Phyllis is no help.”

  “She’s as beaten down as the boys.”

  When Kendall patted Daniel’s back, it appeared a decision had been made. “Look,” said Harley. “I think Daniel just grew an inch taller.”

  Firemen were mopping up the scene at Building Eight. Police milled about, talking
to guests, when the two approached the scene. Phyllis let out a cry, jumped up, ran to Daniel, and hugged him to her. “You’re all right,” she said over and over, while Jane came to her daughter.

  “Where was he?” she asked.

  “Hiding in the Oak Room,” was all Jennalee said.

  She waited for Jane to press for more and was grateful when her mother simply said, “Thanks for finding him.”

  “How’s Dad doing?” Jennalee asked, not seeing her father around.

  “Lying down. I had to get him away from this and I think he was grateful. There’s quite a bit of damage.”

  Up ahead, Daniel gradually freed himself from his mother and turned to Kendall, who remained close by. Harley and Jennalee stepped up and heard Kendall say to the boy, “Ready?”

  “Yes.” As Kendall led Daniel to a police officer, Harley and Jennalee followed.

  “Sir,” Kendall said to the officer, “this is Daniel Sutherland, the missing boy, Noel’s middle son, and he has something to tell you. If you decide to take him to the station, I’d like to go along. I’m his cousin and he’ll feel better if I’m there. I’ll go ask my dad’s permission.”

  Kendall stepped into the crowd as the officer asked Daniel, “What is it, son? Let’s go over there and talk.” He put an arm around Daniel’s shoulder and led him to a bench in a grassy area behind Building Seven.

  “Is it over?” Jennalee asked Harley.

  “Just about.”

  “What’s going on?” Phyllis demanded, rushing over to Harley and Jennalee. “Why is Daniel with the policeman?”

  “He’ll have to tell you,” Harley said. Then he took Jennalee’s hand and pulled her away, leaving the distraught and now confused woman to Jane and Marian.

  Some Sutherlands had deserted the scene while those more persistent stayed to watch the last of the mopping up. The end unit where Noel had been was a ruin, roof torn up, windows out, door chopped to pieces, everything soaked. The Laidlaw parents’ room, third in the line of four, had burned but not so badly, since the fire had been caught as it worked its way down the line. It wasn’t gutted like the first two.