Iris Avenue

by Pamela Grandstaff

  “By whom?”

  “By someone who cares about you,” Scott said, thinking of Patrick and Maggie destroying the photos after Hannah and Maggie discovered them in Theo’s hiding place. They had also destroyed the blackmail evidence against the former fire chief and Ed’s father by burning up the evidence in the burn barrel behind the fire station. He had almost arrested Maggie for doing it. “You never have to worry about anyone seeing them.”

  “He made it sound like he had them,” Doc said.

  “He was lying,” Scott said. “They would say or do anything to get to Brian.”

  “I may as well have killed him myself.”

  “It was an accident,” Scott reassured him, even though he thought that it may well have been murder. “They chased him through the State Park and he went off the road, down into a deep ravine. He was thrown from the car and was almost dead by the time they found him. You aren’t to blame for Brian’s death. He brought this all on himself.”

  “I didn’t know all that,” Doc said. “Thank you, Scott.”

  “Let’s get you some hot coffee,” Scott said, offering a hand to the older man.

  “You know,” Doc said, as he accepted Scott’s help getting to his feet. “After Theo died, I thought maybe the dark cloud I was under would disappear. Even though you tell me those photos have been destroyed, I can still feel it hanging over my head. I wonder if it will ever go away.”

  Scott got Doc some coffee and left him in the kitchen, safely surrounded by doting women. Then Scott went to find Sam Campbell. He took his old friend outside for a chat, and afterward, he went to find Maggie.

  Scott found Maggie in what had been their eighth-grade classroom. The desks were all still there, as well as the chalkboards and bulletin boards. She was sitting at the teacher’s desk with her head down on her crossed arms.

  “Are you okay?” Scott asked her from the doorway.

  “Yes,” she said, without lifting her head. “I wish everyone would quit asking me that.”

  “I just wanted to be sure,” Scott said, and walked to the front of the classroom.

  Maggie looked up.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I’m alive,” he said. “Everything else is just details.”

  He sat down on the corner of the desk and looked at her with such tender fondness that Maggie felt guilty for every cross word she’d ever spoken to him.

  “I didn’t find out until this morning,” Maggie said. “It must have been scary.”

  “It was,” Scott said. “There for a minute I didn’t think I’d make it.”

  “Malcolm said the FBI agent called and told him to bring the boat before you were even in the water.”

  “They had the Explorer bugged,” Scott said. “He knew what was going on while it was happening.”

  “Malcolm said you shot the guy.”

  Scott smiled a little ruefully.

  “Is that not what happened?” she asked.

  “A gun went off and the guy died,” Scott said.

  “Are you saying Gabe killed the man?”

  “If Gabe killed someone, he’d go back to prison,” Scott said, “no matter what his deal was with the feds. Jamie and I talked about it and decided having Gabe available to testify against Mrs. Wells was more valuable than sending him back to prison.”

  “If he’s still alive,” Maggie said.

  “I’m sorry,” Scott said. “They haven’t found him.”

  “Don’t feel sorry for me. It’s Maria and Luis you should feel sorry for. If he’s not dead, he ran away, and that may be worse.”

  Scott reached out and pushed a stray curl back from Maggie’s forehead.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I don’t know why,” Maggie said.

  There were tears in her eyes.

  “When I thought I was going to die,” Scott said, “I thought how sad it was that I’d never see you again.”

  Maggie took his hand and held it up to her cheek. Tears rolled out of her eyes onto his hand.

  “I’ve been so awful to you,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I know when you let Gabe go instead of arresting him you did it because you loved me.”

  “It was a mistake not to tell you,” Scott said. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Just more details, right?” she said. “It doesn’t seem to matter so much now.”

  Maggie brought his hand to her lips and kissed it, held it there.

  “Tell me, Maggie,” Scott said. “Can we finally let go of the past and be together?”

  “It’s not that simple,” Maggie said, and dropped his hand.

  “Oh, yes, it really is,” Scott said. “It’s just that simple.”

  “I can’t,” she said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I can’t seem to change it. I do love you. I know I’ll probably regret it, and the thought of you with anyone else makes me want to scream, but I just can’t give in.”

  “Committing to me feels like giving in?” Scott said.

  “I know it’s crazy,” she said. “I can’t explain it except to say I just can’t do it.”

  “Okay,” Scott said. “It’s not what I wanted to hear but I’ll accept it.”

  “It’s not fair to ask you to wait.”

  “I’m not going to,” Scott said. “Not anymore. Life’s too short.”

  Tears rolled down Maggie’s face and Scott gave her a clean handkerchief from his pocket.

  “We’re still friends,” he said. “When you need me you call me.”

  Maggie found she couldn’t talk.

  She listened to Scott’s steps across the squeaky wood floor of the schoolroom and the hallway outside. She heard him go down the steps and out the side door; it slammed shut with a bang. She put her head back down on her arms and wept.

  Hannah found her there.

  “What’s up, chicken butt?”

  “I have spiritual cooties,” Maggie said, as she raised her head. “I may have soul chiggers, too.”

  “Sounds itchy,” Hannah said. “You wanna hear about your old boyfriend?”

  “Did they find him?”

  “No, but someone thinks they saw him get on a bus in Morgantown.”

  “Of course he ran away,” Maggie said. “He’s a drug dealer who just got out of prison and probably killed a man. Poor Luis and Maria are lucky to be rid of him.”

  “Now, what would Jesus do, Maggie? You’re supposed to turn the other cheek, like, seventy billion times or something.”

  “He came to my place last night before the accident. He climbed up the fire escape.”

  “And?”

  “He has a snake tattoo on his arm.”

  “So? Sam has an eagle on his bicep,” Hannah said. “And I may or may not have a small bluebird on my tushie.”

  “And they both mean something,” Maggie said. “Why would a man pick a snake?”

  “I can’t imagine,” Hannah said. “Snakes are creepy.”

  “And dangerous,” Maggie said. “I was a fool to think he was anything but a snake-tattooed, lying drug dealer who was willing to abandon his wife and son for me. He saw the bookstore and my apartment and thought, ‘hey this is a much better deal.’ He’s no better than my brother Brian. I’m just lucky he didn’t marry me and kill me for the life insurance. What an idiot I was.”

  “Don’t get too worked up,” Hannah said. “We all do stupid things we regret. Let it go, and get on with your life. You’re finally free.”

  “Except Scott had some epiphany during his ordeal last night and gave me an ultimatum: now or never. I chose never, as usual. I am officially my own worst enemy.”

  “So what? It’s your life, and if you don’t want to be with Scott, then heck with him. Scott Gordon’s a mama’s boy, anyway. Scott Gordon can go suck an egg.”

  “That’s one of the things I love most about you, Hannah. You never hesitate to take a situation back to the sixth-grade level.”

  “I hate seeing you so miserable all the time
.”

  “I know. Thanks for being such a pain in my butt. I do appreciate it.”

  “Did you see my big boy Sam walking around on those wacky robot legs?”

  “He looks great. He seems, I don’t know, healed in some way. I know that sounds corny, but it was something in his eyes. He looks like he’s made peace with himself.”

  “He’ll probably always have problems with depression; I’m not kidding myself about that.”

  “But this is a huge accomplishment.”

  “I guess because the wheelchair didn’t matter to me I thought it shouldn’t matter to him. He knew he could probably walk but was afraid to try again. Alan has been waiting for a chance to help him. That Alan; now there’s a nice single man for you.”

  “Oh, no. Stop that right now.”

  “And Drew’s single again.”

  “I love you, Hannah, but no.”

  “I love you, too. And because I love you I’ll tell you this: you look awful. You need to wash your face or something.”

  “I don’t want to go downstairs,” Maggie said. “All those horrible people.”

  “There’s some nice people down there, too; people who care about you and your family.”

  “I still think for their safety I should not be let loose among them today.”

  “I need to tell you about something but I’m not sure it’s the right time.”

  “Oh, crap, here we go,” Maggie said. “Just say it.”

  “I went out to see Hatch.”

  “Hannah.”

  “He admitted he got the money to buy the station from Patty’s drug-dealing boyfriend. I’m worried he might somehow get caught up in this investigation.”

  “There’s nothing you can do, Hannah. Stay out of it.”

  “I know, I know,” Hannah said. “Did Patty ever fool around with Brian?”

  “Probably, everyone else did. Why?”

  Hannah told her about Joshua.

  “Your brother was a fertilizing fool,” Hannah concluded.

  “Is there anything to be gained by finding out for sure?” Maggie asked.

  “Not unless Ava wants to add to her collection.”

  “That woman,” Maggie said. “She’s got Scott right where she wants him.”

  “It’s not too late,” Hannah said.

  “It is,” Maggie said. “I just blew my last chance.”

  Hannah’s stomach gurgled loudly.

  “You’re hungry?” Maggie asked. “You just ate a whole bowl of olives.”

  “I’m not hungry, but the vessel is starving. Let’s go feed the vessel.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I haven’t told you about my Ann Marie séance? Wait’ll you hear this…”

  Sam and Ed were sitting in the game room of the Community Center watching some men play pool.

  “You know, it was Drew and Alan who saw Brian wreck,” Sam said.

  Ed’s head snapped around instantly and his mouth fell open.

  “Why did they call it in anonymously?” he asked.

  “They were driving Hannah’s county truck. If they got caught, she’d be fired. They were checking feral cat traps and took a shortcut from the old camp on our property to the State Park. Brian and the SUV chasing him almost ran them off the road. Luckily Drew was pulled over in a lay-by looking at a map when they came past. They called me first, and I used an untraceable cell phone to call it in to the park ranger.”

  “I can understand not wanting to get caught with the county vehicle, but why all the secrecy of an untraceable cell? Why didn’t Drew and Alan just use one of their cell phones and say they were hiking?”

  “They saw the license plate on the SUV chasing Brian, and I advised them not to get involved.”

  “Why?”

  “It was a government plate,” Sam said.

  “Holy smokes.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Sam, you remember I run a newspaper, right?”

  “You won’t print this. You have a new girlfriend and twelve-year-old boy to protect. These people don’t care how many little fish they hurt, they’re only interested in catching the big ones. If they have to use little ones for bait ...”

  “Okay,” Ed said. “So why tell me if I can’t do anything about it?”

  “So you’ll be aware. So you won’t let your guard down.”

  “You know about our little escapade the other night with the three vehicles,” Ed said.

  Sam nodded.

  “Lester put Scott’s Explorer up on the rack the next morning and found the GPS device and the bug,” Sam said. “We left them there so they wouldn’t know we found them. It’s a good thing we did; it saved his life last night.”

  “No search warrants were applied for or issued for this surveillance, I presume.”

  “You should assume your house is bugged,” Sam continued. “All your phone calls and e-mails are intercepted, and all of your movements are supervised.”

  “But how can they do that indiscriminately, without subpoenas or just cause?”

  “You’re an idealist, Ed, and while that’s admirable, it’s not very realistic. I recommend you practice being more of a pragmatist.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “You know, Ed, for somebody who is so smart you’re still a bit slow on the uptake.”

  Ed stared at Sam, whose face was inscrutable. Then he knew.

  “You don’t…” Ed said. “Oh, except you do. You do security work for the government.”

  Sam clapped Ed on the back and smiled at him.

  “Now you’re with me. If any of this starts to get you down, I can recommend a good antidepressant. It has very few side effects.”

  Hannah came in and sat down on Sam’s lap.

  “I gotta go, sweetie,” she said. “They arrested those dog-fight guys Hatch told me about and I need to pick up the dogs.”

  “You want me to come?” Sam asked.

  “Drew’s going with me,” Hannah said. “There are state troopers out there so we’ll be okay.”

  “Be careful,” Sam said. “Remember you’re carrying our little biology experiment.”

  “You’re pregnant?” Ed asked.

  “Yeah,” Hannah said. “He knocked me up after we got married. He’s old-fashioned that way.”

  Hannah’s truck labored through the muddy ruts and deep puddles that made up the narrow road between two steep hillsides. They crossed a shallow creek in two places.

  “I can’t believe anyone lives out here,” Drew said.

  “Brace yourself,” Hannah said. “I’ve been to places like this before and it’s never a good experience.”

  There were two state troopers standing guard at the end of the rutted driveway and their facial expressions were grim.

  “There may only be two or three worth saving,” one of them said.

  On the way back to Rose Hill, Hannah and Drew stopped in Fleurmania at Hatch’s gas station. Drew filled the tank while Hannah talked with Hatch in the office.

  “We saved four,” Hannah said. “There were six others so bad off Drew put ‘em down right then and there.”

  “I think them people ought to be chained to a dog house up to their knees in filth,” Hatch said. “They ought to have to spend the winter outside, see how they like it.”

  “You did a good thing telling me about it,” Hannah said. “And don’t worry, no one knows who I got the tip from.”

  “I been thinking about what you said the other day.”

  “I say a lot of things,” Hannah said. “Most of it comes out of my mouth before I stop to consider how rude it is. I was awful rough on you.”

  “No, you were right,” Hatch said. “I told Patty’s man I didn’t want the money and I canceled the loan application. Just in time, too. I guess you heard Patty’s man done got his self killed yesterday.”

  “He was the guy who kidnapped Scott and Gabe?”

  Hatch nodded.

  “I didn’t want him hanging ar
ound Joshie, but I didn’t wish him dead.”

  “I’m sorry you won’t get to buy the station.”

  Hatch shrugged.

  “Maybe I’ll take your dad up on his offer. Rose Hill’s got a better school for Joshie anyhow.”

  Hannah thought about little redheaded Joshua going to class and sitting next to Timmy Fitzpatrick.

  “Hatch, have you ever met Ava Fitzpatrick’s kids?”

  “I can’t say that I have. Are they as purty as she is?”

  “Charlotte’s the spitting image of Ava,” Hannah said. “Timmy looks like Brian.”

  “Well, I guess that’s natural.”

  “Did Patty ever run around with Brian?”

  “Not that I know of, why?”

  “I just wondered,” Hannah said, and then snapped her mouth shut.

  “What?” Hatch asked.

  “Joshie is the spitting image of Timmy Fitzpatrick.”

  “Well, he would be with that red hair.”

  “No, I mean so alike they could be twins.”

  Hatch stared at her for several seconds.

  “Well, I swan,” Hatch said. “I guess it’s possible.”

  “I thought I’d better warn you; I hope I was right to do it.”

  “If that boy’s got Patty’s and Brian’s blood running through his veins, I’m gonna have my work cut out for me. I didn’t do so well with Patty.”

  “You were only a kid yourself,” Hannah said. “You did the best you could.”

  “I always regretted what I did to you,” Hatch said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you, and wonder how you’re doing.”

  “I’m doing fine,” Hannah said. “Sam and I are doing just fine.”

  “I’m glad for you, I really am,” Hatch said, although his sorrowful face belied the words.

  Ed was surprised to see Ava Fitzpatrick walk into the newspaper office.

  “Hello, Ed,” she said. “Do you have a few minutes for me?”

  “Sure,” Ed said, and then looked away as he realized he was staring.

  “I’d like to take a walk, if you don’t mind,” Ava said.

  “Sure,” Ed said, and then wondered if he’d ever had a more limited vocabulary.

  Ed put on his coat and they walked down to where the barriers were set up on Pine Mountain Road. The water, although no longer rising, was still rushing fast and loud, with occasional crashes as debris struck obstacles in its path.