“So you wouldn’t consider a permanent arrangement?” Anita asked.
“I can’t think of a better roommate than you but to be honest, there are times when I miss being in and having my own place.”
Nodding her head in understanding, Anita told her, “I have an even better idea. Instead of you moving from Mama Ann’s house to here and then to your own, why don’t I just help you house shop? Then once you find the perfect place, I’ll put my dynamic interior decorating skills to work and help you to create an exquisite and elegant masterpiece that you can call your own.”
Kayla appreciated Anita’s offer. More than that, she appreciated the fact that she was not offended by the fact that Kayla was essentially refusing her offer.
She was fully aware that sometimes Anita got lonely, she had told her so on more than one occasion; Kayla had often felt the same way when she had her apartment. While there were some people who might think that working and living together would be too much and a recipe for disaster, Kayla honestly didn’t think so. There was no question in her mind that she and Anita being roommates would never negatively affect their friendship. But as much as she loved her mother and Anita, Kayla still longed to have a place all her own. Once again, without even trying Anita had spurred her to make a decision that she wasn’t at that moment even cognizant that she needed or even wanted to make.
“Well that settles it then. We get through this madness then it’s house hunting we go.”
***
On the drive to Roseport, Mama Ann was mostly silent. Aunt Nat knew she had a lot going on and decided not to intrude on her thoughts. Besides, they had just met and she didn’t want to seem like a busybody even though they were going to be spending an indefinite amount of time together. Aunt Nat glanced once more at Mama Ann. She was looking out the window; in the reflection Aunt Nat saw the tears streaming down her face. After checking the rearview mirror to make sure they did not have any unwanted visitors, she pulled over on the side of the road.
So soft, that her voice was almost a whisper, she called Mama Ann.
“Ann.”
Receiving no response, she spoke louder, “Ann.”
Slowly, Mama Ann turned her head to look out the windshield. “I hate this. You know this is all my fault,” she said.
“How so?” inquired Aunt Nat.
“If I hadn’t taken that money, we wouldn’t be in this position. I just didn’t know what else to do.”
Aunt Nat looked at Mama Ann, her expression thoughtful. She reached over and placed her hand on Mama Ann’s arm.
“None of this is your fault. You lost your husband and you weren’t thinking clearly. Death has a way of doing that to you. Believe me I know.”
For the first time since they got in the car, Mama Ann looked at Aunt Nat. She never asked the question but it was written all over her face.
Aunt Nat knew what she was thinking. “No, I’m not talking about my nephew Anthony. I’m talking about my husband. Richard.”
Mama Ann’s eyes widened slightly. She hadn’t even thought about or considered whether or not Aunt Nat was married. “Do you mind my asking what happened?”
“No of course not. Richard and I married young, and by young I mean straight out of high school. People thought we wouldn’t last but we did. Oh sure, we had our ups and downs but we always managed to work through them. We had made a pact early in our marriage that no matter what we went through, we wouldn’t let it break us. We agreed that we would always do whatever we needed to make sure that we ended up stronger than we started.”
Aunt Nat cast a sideways glance at Mama Ann.
“Anyway, it worked for us for the better part of our lives. One day my Richard told me he was going on a hunting trip with some of the men in town. I didn’t want him to go. Not because I ever tried to stop him from doing anything he wanted to do, but because I just had a bad feeling about the trip. When he told me about the trip it just felt wrong, but he wouldn’t listen. It was one of the only times he paid me no mind.”
A small smile appeared on Mama Ann’s face. Aunt Nat noticed and chuckled. Mama Ann quickly apologized. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make light of your story, it’s just that…”
“It’s alright,” Aunt Nat told her, “You were married too. You know how it is when those men get to thinking that they’re too grown or too much man to listen to the likes of us women.” Aunt Nat sighed. “That was one time I wished he had listened to me. If he had, he might still be here.”
“What happened?”
“The men left at the crack of dawn to head out to the woods to do whatever it is they do when they hunt. When they came back that night, my Richard wasn’t with them.”
Mama Ann unconsciously held her breath.
“You should have seen them. They all came crowding up to my door with these sad looks on their faces.” Aunt Nat looked at Mama Ann. “They told me that Richard had gone off by himself because he thought he knew where the hunting would be a little better. They said they told him to stay with the group but he refused and walked off. After a few hours, they said they went looking for him but couldn’t find him. When it started to get dark, they came to my house to tell me what happened.”
Aunt Nat looked back at Mama Ann. “I asked if they had reported it to the Sheriff and they said no, they wanted to come to me first.” Aunt Nat shook her head. “Can you imagine that? They didn’t report him missing to the Sheriff, they came to me. Their friend was lost in the woods but instead of telling the Sheriff so they could get a search party together, they came to me.”
This time it was Mama Ann’s turn to put her hand on Aunt Nat’s arm. “Maybe they looked as much as they could and since it was dark just wanted to be the ones to tell you instead of having a Sheriff’s car showing up on your doorstep.”
Aunt Nat shook her head, “No. That wasn’t it. I never liked these guys and that’s one of the reasons I didn’t want Richard going anywhere with them. There had been some bad blood between them in the past and even though they claimed it was all done with, I never trusted them.”
“What kind of bad blood?” Mama Ann asked. “A couple of years prior, one of the guys accused Richard of messing with his wife; not because he was, mind you, but just because he never liked Richard and also because his wife told him that they were having an affair.”
“Why would she do that?” Mama Ann was confused.
“She had approached Richard at the local bar. She was drunk as a skunk. She came on to him but he shut her down, refused her advances. It wasn’t the first time. Nobody knows for sure where she went afterwards but she didn’t go straight home. Rumor had it that she came home smelling of liquor and another man and Bob just about lost his mind. When he confronted her, she named Richard. She was the type of woman who was used to getting her way no matter how she got it and when she couldn’t get Richard, she got revenge instead. I guess she decided the best way to get back at him was to lie and say that she was sleeping with him.”
“But you said that was a couple of years before?”
“Yeah. Let me finish. After she told Bob she was having an affair with Richard, he went down to the bar to confront him. Richard tried to tell Bob that his wife, her name was Eunice, had come on to him but Bob was beyond hearing the truth. Not one person in that place stood up and told the truth about what they knew and a big fight broke out.”
Aunt Nat looked at Mama Ann, “Things were never the same after that. Bob and his boys would always try to find little petty ways to pick at Richard but he usually just ignored them. Then all of a sudden out of the clear blue, Bob decided to call a truce. He wanted to let bygones be bygones.”
“And that was the end of it?”
“I guess you could say that. No one ever mentioned it again but I never trusted that sudden turn around. I never trusted Bob or his friends. A couple of years passed, and they asked Richard to go hunting.”
Aunt Nat grit her teeth and her mouth was set in a tight thin line. H
er eyes welled up with tears, “They never really cared for Richard even before that. I don’t know why but you could see it in their eyes. It was the way they looked at him; the way their eyes shifted in the other direction whenever he looked their way. I saw it even if he didn’t. Richard was a kind and trusting soul. Even though that was one of the things that I loved most about him, he was much too kind and much too trusting.”
“Okay, so what happened after they came to you?”
“We all went down to the Sheriff to tell him what happened. He decided it was already too dark to send out a search party. He said it would have to wait until morning even though I begged him not to wait until then.”
“I went home and cried myself to sleep. I just knew something bad had happened. But, true to his word, the search party went out the next morning. About noon, the Sheriff showed up at my door to tell me that they had found Richard’s body. At first he didn’t want to give me any details but finally he relented. He told me that Richard had been found a few miles away from the riverbed in some brush. He couldn’t tell what killed him right off because some animal or animals had already gotten to him and eaten most of the body. He told me that there was a good chance that they would never be able to determine the exact cause of death because of the condition of the body.”
Aunt Nat’s face turned hard as she looked at Mama Ann. “But I knew the truth Ann. Everything in me knew. Those men took Richard out hunting and killed him as sure as you and I are sitting here right now. Then they left his body out where the animals could get to him. That’s what they were banking on. They were hoping that he would be so chewed up by the time the body was found that there would be no way Richard’s death could be traced back to them.”
Mama Ann wasn’t exactly sure what to do with this newfound revelation, she didn’t even really know how to process it, so she remained silent.
Aunt Nat continued, “They wouldn’t even take his remains to the Medical Examiner. They tried to convince me that there was no reason for an autopsy to be done. Believe me, I tried to fight for one, but they refused. They said there was no evidence of foul play and based on what those men told them, it was pretty clear what had happened. They decided that Richard went off by himself in the woods and found himself on the bad end of a black bear attack.
The Coroner ruled his death an accident because there was no proof or indication to the contrary.”
Aunt Nat’s voice got lower and softer, “I know my husband died at the hands of those men but no one would believe me. I’ve had to live with that every single day since it happened. That was five years ago and whenever I see Bob and his crew, they always seem to be smirking at me; like they know some joke that I’m just not in on.”
Aunt Nat put her head down. “The only way the truth will ever come out is if one of those men develops a conscience and finally tells the truth. Until then, there’s never going to be justice for my Richard… at least not in this life.”
Mama Ann squeezed Aunt Nat’s hand. Aunt Nat looked her squarely in the eyes. “I’m not saying that your husband’s death and mine are the same, all I’m trying to tell you is that I understand. After Richard’s death, I couldn’t seem to do anything right. Simple decisions became hard and I made more mistakes than a little bit. I was so overwhelmed by my grief that I could barely function. That’s probably what happened to you after you lost your Gary. So don’t go blaming yourself for anything. What’s done is done. All you can do now is go forward and try to fix it.”
Mama Ann smiled. “You’re probably right. No, I know you’re right. I know I wasn’t thinking straight but knowing that all it took was one mistake on my part to set all of this in motion…” Aunt Nat interrupted her.
“No disrespect to your husband but he’s the one who set all of this in motion. If he hadn’t been involved with those men, there wouldn’t have been any money for you to find. And if he hadn’t mortgaged the store and the house without your knowledge, you would have never been taken by surprise.”
Mama Ann merely nodded her head.
“I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone; that I’m not just the woman who’s going to house you for a little while. I’m a woman who has suffered loss too and I know only too well just how deep grief can go and just how lost and abandoned you can feel when you’ve lost the love of your life.”
Mama Ann was so touched by Aunt Nat’s confession and the sincerity and pain in her voice that she reached over and hugged her.
“Thank you.”
“No, thanks necessary. We’re in this together in more ways than one.”
Aunt Nat started the car; she looked at Mama Ann and asked, “Are you ready?”
“Yes, I am. Do you mind if I turn on the radio?”
“Be my guest.” And Aunt Nat pulled off and continued down the road.
***
Back at the Raven’s Nest, Detective Woods downed another shot of Jack. Suddenly bored and not wanting to go into the meeting drunk, he paid his tab and left. He decided to go for a drive, thinking that it would help him clear his head. Since it was only after 9:00, he decided to drive toward the country side and back. But first, he wanted to take a quick run past Kayla and her mother’s house. He wasn’t actually going to stop in; he just wanted to do a quick check from the outside.
He stopped down the block from their house and turned off his lights. He sat for a few minutes checking the area for anything or anyone suspicious. Seeing nothing, he proceeded to park across the street. He could see a faint light shining in what appeared to be a room toward the back of the house but other than that there were no other lights on. Even from where he was sitting, the house felt empty. For a moment, his nerves jangled. He shook off a fleeting sense of dread and pulled himself together. Shaking his head, he laughed at himself. “You just got a little case of the jitters. They’re fine.” Satisfied, that all was well, he drove off. But he couldn’t resist one last look back at the house.
At about 10:15 p.m., Detective Woods head back toward Lambert. He couldn’t believe how slow time was going. He even tapped his watch a few times to make sure that it was working. Going home wasn’t an option so he decided to drive to an area not far from the warehouse to wait. The spot he chose was surrounded by trees where he would not likely be seen. Even though he was expected, he was early. A car sitting too close to the warehouse at this time of night might be automatically construed as a threat. He didn’t know everyone and they didn’t all know him. He didn’t want to become a casualty just because of an error in judgement on his part or a lack of recognition on theirs. It was now 11:20. He opened his window and sat back, trying to enjoy the cool breeze coming through the window.
Chapter 14
Kayla unpacked and decided to call and check on her mother. When she finally answered the phone, all Kayla could hear in the background was music and laughter.
“Mom, what’s going on?”
“Oh Kayla, I am having the best time. Natalie is such a wonderful hostess and Lawrence and his friends are so funny. How are you doing?”
“I’m at Anita’s. We’re just going to relax for a little while and then go to bed. We still have work in the morning.”
“Well, everything’s fine here. Tell Anita I said thank you for introducing me to her aunt. We should have done this a long time ago. Anyway, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay mom.” Kayla got off the phone feeling just a little left out. When Anita asked her what was wrong, she grumbled something unintelligible and went outside and stood on the deck. Anita followed her.
“Well, well. And why are you such a Grumpy Gus all of a sudden?”
“You should have heard them Anita. They had the music going and everybody’s laughing and having a good time and I’m stuck here with you.”
“Oh, really? So now that’s a bad thing? If it weren’t for the fact that I have extremely thick skin, I would be seriously offended. To be honest, if you were someone else, I would’ve told you about y
ourself and then showed you the door. You’ve got about 60 seconds to tell me what’s wrong.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that with everything that’s happened and everything that’s going on, I don’t feel like I’ve had even a minute to just feel normal let alone really laugh and have a good time. I’m glad my mom’s enjoying herself; God knows she deserves it but I just wish this was all behind us and we could all just kick back and really enjoy life again. By the way, she said thanks for introducing her to your aunt.”
“Yeah, Aunt Nat is something special. The only way you can’t have a good time with her is if you’ve just made her mad and she’s coming for you or if you have just made up your mind that you just don’t want to have fun.”
Kayla just stared off into space. Anita watched her for a few moments then walked over and leaned against the deck railing.
“I’m not crazy Kayla. Not only did I know that my people would protect Mama Ann to the death if necessary but I knew that if anybody could take her mind off her troubles it would be Aunt Nat. Don’t worry when this is all over, we’ll all get together and have a big old barbeque, family reunion style.”
“I’m being a brat aren’t I?”
“Well since you asked…yeah. Now let’s go inside and get something to eat. I don’t know about you but I am starving.”
***
At 11:50, Detective Woods parked directly in front of the warehouse. As he got out, he could see armed guards posted on top of the roof. The guards at the entrance lowered their weapons once they recognized him. One of them escorted him inside to the meeting room. Seated behind a large table sat Escobar Valentino, the man whose money he had accepted to do things that no cop should ever do; the man who now held the power of life and death over a 62 year old woman and her 28 year old daughter.
MY FATHER'S KILLER: Kayla's Story Page 10
