South River Incident

by Ann Mullen

  Today was Friday, the day after Thanksgiving—the first shopping day of the Christmas season. I had things I wanted to do, regardless of the turmoil going on in my life. If the roads were clear enough to drive, I would go to the bank and deposit my check, then I’d get my hair done. Shopping was on the agenda for the rest of the day. I needed a few things for my new home, and I figured it wasn’t a bad idea to start thinking about Christmas presents.

  Christmas was a big deal with my family. It wasn’t the presents that mattered, it was the celebrating. It was the warm feeling of sharing a special time with the ones you love.

  Reluctantly, I crawled out of bed and jumped into the shower. The soothing water seemed to cleanse me of the negative deeds I had encountered in the last few days. I forced myself to think of the positive things that had happened to me. It didn’t take me long to come to the conclusion that Billy was the man I had been searching for all my life. Sure, he might be much older than me, but that just made him more mature than any of the men I had dated. He was caring, sensitive, and had a feeling for what was right, and I knew he loved me. That’s all that mattered.

  After pulling out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt from one of the boxes that lined my bedroom wall, I decided it was time for me to get my act together. I could empty these boxes in no time at all—and it was about time. I dressed and began the task of putting things where they belonged. I had to do some stuffing to get some of the clothes to fit in the dresser, but that was all right. Soon, I would buy another dresser. Half an hour later, the job was done, and I had a stack of empty boxes ready to throw in the fireplace. I stripped the sheets off the bed and threw them in a pile to be washed. I carried the boxes to the living room, tore them into pieces and threw them into the fire. In the background, I heard the sound of a power saw. I went back to the bedroom, gathered the pile of sheets, and headed to the utility room. A heavy quilt had been tacked up over the doorway and the door had been removed. I pushed the quilt aside and peeked out. Billy was in the back yard cutting a hole in the bottom of the door.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I’m cutting a pass-through for the dogs. Then I’m going to attach a rubber flap. That way, if we’re not here they can still come in and out of the house. I also put a deadbolt on the door. I found one in the garage. I guess I must have bought it a while back and just never got around to installing it. I don’t remember.” His voice changed. “How’re you doing?”

  “I’m fine, Billy. How’re you doing?”

  “I love you, Jesse.” He gave me a warm smile.

  “I know,” I said. I ran outside and threw my arms around him. “I love you, too, Billy.”

  That moment was the most intense moment I had ever felt in my entire life. It was like waking up from a dream. I cried as Billy held onto me.

  “I know you’re scared,” he said. “Just give us a chance, Jesse. I will never let you down. I will always be here for you.” He gave me a little squeeze and said, “You better get back inside. It’s cold out here.”

  “Yeah, my tennis shoes are soaking wet.”

  I let go of Billy and ran back inside, straight to the fireplace. I slipped off my wet shoes and lay them on the hearth to dry. Returning to the utility room, I put the sheets in the washing machine, and poured in some detergent. At the last minute, I threw my wet socks in with the sheets.

  By the time I finished my first cup of coffee, Billy had the door mounted and ready for use. I was sitting at the kitchen table going over the computer printouts concerning the Keen case, when he walked over to me.

  “We’re ready to test it,” he said.

  I got up from the table, went to the utility room, and stood by the door.

  Billy went outside, pushed open the doggie flap and tried to get Thor to go through it. Of course, Thor resisted, until I called his name. Then he hopped through the hole, shook off the snow on his back, and headed for his favorite spot—the fireplace.

  Athena was a different story. Billy even tried to push her through, but all she did was stand staunch. She wasn’t having anything to do with that hole. I bent down on my knees, pulled the flap back and called her name.

  “Athena, come on baby girl.”

  She stuck her head in the hole, looked around, and slowly climbed through. Once inside, she jumped up and licked at my face.

  “Yuck!” I pushed her down. “No licking.”

  “Hey, that’s how they show affection,” Billy said.

  “Have you had anything to eat?”

  “I had a bowl of cereal about an hour ago.”

  “We have cereal?”

  “Yes, we certainly do. I didn’t buy any eggs. I’ve seen what you do with those,” he chuckled.

  “Hey, I never said I could cook.”

  “I’m well aware of your cooking abilities or lack thereof.”

  Ignoring his remark, I said, “I see you’ve been on the computer this morning. Have you found out anything?”

  “Yes, I have.” He walked over to the table. “Did you notice that I’ve put a name to everyone in this picture?” He passed the photo to me.

  “How did you do that?”

  “I tapped into the sheriff’s files. Did you know there’s a picture of every employee beside their name?”

  “What, no picture of the spouse?”

  “You can’t have it all.”

  “Oh, wow! Billy, I forgot to tell you, but Roy Keen whispered something to me before he died. He said one word—Chicky.”

  “That sounds like a nickname.”

  “That’s what I thought, too.”

  “We’ll talk to the people in the photograph and see what we can come up with. I thought we’d visit a few of them this morning.”

  “Ah, I kind of had things I wanted to do today. I thought I’d do some shopping. There are a few things I need around here, like more towels. Then, I was going to get my hair cut. I haven’t...”

  “Why would you do that? You have beautiful hair. Please don’t cut it.”

  “You don’t think it makes me look plain?”

  “I like your hair just like it is.”

  “Then it’s settled—no haircut.”

  “That works for me. Let’s get back to the task at hand. I have an errand to run also so why don’t we meet back here around two. Will that give you plenty of time to do your shopping?”

  “It should.”

  “Then we’ll go talk to some of the people on this list.” He handed me a piece of paper.

  “You’ve even got their addresses. You have been a busy little bee.”

  “That’s me.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Oh, I’ve already checked the roads. If you can get out to the main road, you’ll be fine. They’re clear. VDOT has been working all night it seems.”

  “What about the weather? Is the snow finished?”

  “It quit snowing late last night. I know, because I had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I let the rug rats out.”

  Athena and Thor jumped up and stood at attention.

  Billy and I looked at each other and laughed.

  “It’s not over yet,” he said. “We’re supposed to get more. They’re calling for three to five inches on Sunday.”

  “Maybe I should call Mom and Claire and make sure they’re all right.”

  “They’re fine. I talked to her around eight this morning.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “Cole was there.”

  “What? At eight o’clock in the morning? What was he doing there?”

  “Your mom said a big limb broke off that poplar tree beside the house and landed in the driveway. Cole was on his way to work, saw it, and stopped by. He’s such a good neighbor. He cut it up for her and got it out of the way.”

  “I guess it just so happens that he had a chain saw in the trunk of his car, like all good neighbors?”

  “A lot of the people in the county carry chain saws. You never know what you’re going to run into on one of these mounta
in roads.”

  “Did you say anything to him about us?”

  He walked over to the coffee pot, refilled his cup that had been sitting on the counter, and then turned to me and said, “I didn’t say anything about us. I figured that was your place.”

  “I’ll take care of the situation.”

  “What about your mom? Are you going to tell her about us?”

  “No, not just yet.” I turned my back and walked away.

  We made sure the dogs had plenty of food and water before we left the house. Billy stoked up the fire and brought in a load of wood while I put the sheets in the dryer and picked up around the house. The dogs whined when we walked out the door.

  “Ignore them,” Billy said. “I’m more concerned with you leaving the dryer running while we’re gone.”

  “Why? What’s wrong with leaving the dryer running?”

  “You do have a lot to learn about housekeeping.” He shook his head. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  Billy had taken my Jeep out of the garage, turned it around, and had it positioned for me to drive straight out of the driveway.

  “Such a thoughtful man,” I said, and blew him a kiss. “I’ll be back around two. See you then.”

  “I’m right behind you.”

  Once we got to Rt. 29, we went our separate ways. Billy turned right, and I turned left.

  I went to the bank and then spent the rest of the morning shopping at the Fashion Square Mall in Charlottesville. The mall had everything I could possibly want. I bought sheets for all the beds, towels and washcloths for the bathrooms, an electric frying pan (hoping it would do the cooking for me), a huge bearskin rug with a real bear’s head to lay in front of the fireplace for the dogs, and a three-foot Indian dream catcher.

  I was standing on a wooden crate on the front porch, trying to put a nail in a two-by-four overhead, when Billy drove up. So far, I’d hit my thumb twice. Fortunately, I wasn’t banging the hammer very hard.

  “I quit. This is a man’s job,” I cried, stepping down off the stool. “I bought a dream catcher. It’s supposed to catch all the bad dreams and turn them into good ones. I was going to hang it, but...”

  His smile warmed my heart when he said, “I’ll take care of it.”

  I watched him as he hammered the nail and then hung the dream catcher.

  “There you go, it’s all done.”

  “You’re so good at stuff like this. Are all men that way?”

  “Nope, I’m the only one.”

  “I knew that all along.” I laughed, teasing him. “So what did you do this morning? Did you get everything done that you set out to do?”

  I picked up the crate to carry back to the utility room, and for a split second, a vision of Ruth flashed in my head. Did Billy do things like this for her? I mentally slapped myself. Of course, he did. He was married to the woman for a hundred years. He loved her. He would have done anything for her and probably did. A pang of jealously struck a chord deep in my heart. For a moment, the thought of Billy loving someone else didn’t sit well, but I think it was at that precise moment that I finally let go of the green-eyed monster lurking within my soul. I realized jealousy was such a waste of time. All those years I had spent being jealous of my sister, my friends, and others, had been for nothing. You can’t control how people are, what they have, or how they feel. None of that matters. The fact is, Ruth lost out. She had let go of a wonderful man and he had come to me. I would gladly take him.

  “I ran a few errands,” he answered. “What did you do?”

  “I went to the bank and the mall. I bought a few things for the house.”

  He looked at the dream catcher and said, “I see. You made a good choice on this purchase. What else did you buy?”

  “Come on, I’ll show you.” I grabbed him by the arm, snuggling close. “It’s so cold out here.”

  “It’s going to get worse, according to the weatherman.”

  He wrapped his arms around my shoulders to shield me from the cold.

  “We’d better hunker down. We have a Nor’easter heading this way. It’s going to go down in the teens tonight, and the wind is supposed to get up to sixty miles an hour. That’s pretty rough. You might want to put that dream catcher inside until it’s over. I think we’re in for a real storm. We might get as much as a foot of snow. Throw in some high winds, and we’re talking about a major mountain storm. It just might kick our butts.”

  “That’s all I need to know.” I turned and put the crate back down, stepped up on it, and removed the dream catcher from the nail. “I’ll hang it somewhere inside for the time being.”

  He picked up the crate and followed behind me.

  The house was warm, setting off a feeling of instant comfort. I laid the dream catcher on the kitchen table and walked over to the fireplace.

  “This is so nice,” I said, rubbing my hands across my butt and doing a little dance.

  Athena and Thor lay asleep, curled up close to the bear’s head on the rug in front of my feet.

  Billy sat the crate down by the door, walked over to where I was standing, and stood beside me with his back to the fire.

  “You know Jesse; your hunches were right on the money about Helen Carrolton. Your instincts are pretty good. I have a question for you.”

  “Okay, what is it?”

  “If you had to choose one person as the murderer from the picture we found at Roy’s house, which one would you choose? Take your time and think about it before you answer.”

  “I don’t need to take my time. I know who I’d pick. I thought about it the minute I saw the picture. It just flashed in my head. It’s the girl standing behind the guy with his arm around Mary. I got some really bad vibes from her. She looks evil, mad, and jealous. Why do you ask?”

  “Because most people are killed by someone they know. That’s why I snagged the photo. It’s obvious that Mary and Roy socialized with these people. Maybe one of them is the killer.”

  “Whose killer are we talking about—Mary’s or Roy’s?”

  “Both.”

  “Well, then I would have to go with the blond.”

  “That’s Laura Westover. She’s the one who sent you that message on your computer screen. She’s married to Brad Westover—the guy with his arm around Mary.”

  “When did you find out who the phantom e-mailer was?”

  “I stopped by the office and did another search on my computer.”

  “Ah, ha... the plot thickens.”

  “I don’t know. I’d have to go with the guy. Mary’s body was battered.”

  “Big deal, you don’t think women can be brutal?”

  “I believe what you say. I trust your instincts, but I have to tell you, Jesse, I have my doubts about this one.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “That’s what you said the last time, remember? I tried to warn you about that kid Jay, but you wouldn’t listen. You thought I was crazy. Yet, he led us to the real killer eventually.”

  “Yeah, but...”

  “No butts... you asked me. That’s what I think.”

  I could see he wasn’t buying anything of what I was selling. He never did listen too well once he had made up his mind. He had his own idea of how things were, and most of the time, I played a hard game of convincing him otherwise. He thought Brad Westover was the bad guy and never considered for a moment he might be wrong.

  “I have something for you,” I said. I walked over to the kitchen table, removed an envelope from my purse, and handed it to Billy.

  He took the envelope and looked inside. “What’s this?”

  “It’s the rest of the money I owe you on my car loan. I didn’t want to start out this relationship in debt. I’m sure we’re going to have plenty of obstacles in our way and I don’t want money to be one of them.”

  “I can’t take this money, Jesse. It’s part of your inheritance.”

  “To do with as I see fit,” I said. I walked back to the fireplace.

  Billy stood hol
ding the envelope as if he didn’t know what to do next. He turned his back to me and stuffed the money in my purse. “I’m not taking the money.”

  “Why won’t you take the money?” I walked back to him. “It belongs to you. I owe you that money. It’s a lot of money, and I won’t have anyone thinking I used our relationship to get past not paying what I owe. You have to take it.” I reached past him to retrieve the money.

  Billy took my arm before I could get to my purse and led me back to the blazing fire.

  “Sit down. I want to talk to you.” He motioned to the hearth.

  I sat while he squatted down on one knee.

  He reached inside his jacket, pulled out a small black velvet case, and opened it. His words were soft and tender. “Will you marry me, Jesse?”

  My mouth hung open as he took the ring from the case and slipped it on my finger. I was too shocked to speak. I stared at the huge diamond poised on top of a gold band. I raised my head, and peered into his dark eyes and said, “It’s beautiful, Billy.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes,” I choked out.

  He grabbed me up in a bear hug and kissed me. “You won’t be sorry, Jesse. I promise.”

  Athena and Thor, obviously sensing the situation, jumped up and started howling. They ran around in circles, slobbering all over the place.

  “What’s wrong with you guys?” I reached to pet them. “You’re both acting crazy.”

  “They’re not dummies,” Billy said. “They know what’s happening. They’re happy. Can’t you tell?”

  I started to reply when a knock came at the door.

  “Who can that be?” I looked at Billy in surprise.

  “It’s probably the chief. He went with me to pick out the ring,” he said. He walked over to open the door.

  “He went with you?” I asked, wondering who else knew.

  “Yes, and before you ask, they all know. I made a few phone calls.”

  “What would you have done if I’d said no?”

  “Probably feel like a fool,” he answered, looking at me with a silly grin on his face. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  I walked up and wrapped my arms around his waist.