Holly Grove Homecoming

by Carey, Carolynn

  He’d barely gotten into the zone before he heard himself being hailed as he approached Mr. Underwood’s house. Ordinarily, he preferred not to stop in the middle of a run, but he was happy to pause to talk to Tommy’s dad.

  Mr. Underwood stood near the front gate in the picket fence that encircled his property. He held a rolled-up newspaper. “Just retrieving my morning paper from the shrubbery,” he said with a wry grin. “I’d complain, but I remember when you and Tommy both had newspaper routes. I always hated it when folks on Tommy’s route complained because he hadn’t managed to throw the paper exactly where they wanted it. I longed to ask them how accurate they’d be, riding a bike and throwing a paper at the same time, but I refrained. How about you? Did you get complaints too?”

  “Of course.” Trooper returned his grin. “I always tried to throw the papers onto people’s front porches, but some mornings I got in a hurry and I think my aim might have been a little off. I didn’t stick around to see.”

  Mr. Underwood’s grin widened. “I’m not sure my carrier does more than lob the paper toward my gate, but that’s okay. Hunting for the paper gives me a reason to walk a few feet, which is about as much exercise as I’m up for these days. I sure admire you, going for a run this early. I won’t keep you any longer. I know runners don’t like to be interrupted.”

  “No problem,” Trooper assured him. “As a matter of fact, I’m glad you stopped me. I’m planning to drive out to Uncle Joey’s later this morning and was hoping to see Tommy again. Do you happen to know if he’s working today?”

  “So far as I know. He told me he wanted to drop by one evening and go through some of the old papers he left here. Something about looking for that Abbott boy’s suicide note. Do you want me to look for it? Tommy stays so busy, I’m not sure when he’ll make time to come by.”

  “Thanks anyway, but I don’t want to put you to the trouble. Besides, I’m hoping to see Tommy later today. I’ll rattle his chain again.”

  “Oh, I don’t mind looking. I’ve got more time on my hands than you two young fellows. So, if I start going through Tommy’s things, it’s the suicide note you’re interested in, right?”

  “Yes, but I’m also hoping to locate a copy of our yearbook, so if you were to run across that, I’d appreciate it if you’d set it aside for me too.”

  “You didn’t keep yours?”

  “I left it behind when I left town.”

  “Of course. I should have realized.” Mr. Underwood sighed. “Me and a lot of other folks felt bad when you left the way you did, not only because we worried about you but also because we worried about Myrna. It was bad enough that she’d lost her sister and brother-in-law, but it seemed like she’d lost you too, and we all knew you were her favorite.”

  Trooper’s muscles tensed, not only from standing still so long but also in reaction to words that brought back memories he still hadn’t fully dealt with. He rolled his shoulder. “Maybe I should have stayed around Holly Grove longer. Lord knows it took me too long to come back. Fortunately, all of my cousins watched after Myrna in my place.”

  “That’s true, but she missed you.” Mr. Underwood took a step back, away from the gate. “Well, I’ve kept you too long, and I can tell that your shoulder is bothering you some. You go on with your run. I’ll call you at Myrna’s if I find that yearbook or note or anything else you might want to see.”

  Trooper forced a smile. “If you decide to go through Tommy’s things, keep in mind that I’d be interested in looking at whatever you might run across from that period. Newspaper clippings. Anything at all.”

  Mr. Underwood retreated another step. “I’ll remember, Trooper. You take care now.” He turned and shuffled back down the walk leading to his front porch. Trooper was surprised to see that his friend’s father had aged so much. On the other hand, perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised. Myrna had told him about Tommy’s mother dying and about how devastated Mr. Underwood was by her death. Obviously it had taken a physical toll on him.

  Trooper watched until Mr. Underwood had safely negotiated the steps leading up to his front porch and then disappeared inside. After that, he stretched for a couple more minutes before continuing his run. He’d have to cut it a little shorter than usual. Not only was the day heating up, but he was also in a hurry to get back to Myrna’s house and clean up so he’d have time to drive out to his uncle Joey’s and hopefully catch Tommy before he went to lunch.

  Myrna was waiting for him in the living room when he got back to her house. “Your uncle Joey called a few minutes ago. He said to tell you he was sorry he missed your visit the other day, and he’s hoping you can drop back by the dealership soon. He’s leaving for another trip the day after tomorrow. I do believe that man goes to every conference he hears about. If I was a catty woman, I’d say he welcomes an opportunity to get out of town, seeing how demanding Nancy is.”

  Trooper bit back a smile. “Is Aunt Nancy still trying to claw her way to the top of Holly Grove’s social ladder?”

  Myrna snorted. “Honey, she’s been standing on the top rung of that ladder for years now, and she acts like she’s deathly afraid somebody else might try to climb up there with her. Why, I remember when Carly first moved to town, Nancy called me at least twice a week for the first few months, wanting to know if I’d learned anything about my new neighbor. She sure acted relieved when Carly didn’t show any interest in joining either the Country Club or the Garden Club.”

  Trooper laughed. “I can’t see Carly being interested in either one.”

  Myrna’s smile turned a tad sly. “Carly’s interests these days seem to revolve more around you than anything else.”

  “You think?” Trooper grinned. “You might say that the feeling is mutual.” Then, to fend off any further inquiries from Myrna, he made a point of glancing at his watch. “I’d better shower and change if I’m going to be visiting Uncle Joey this morning.”

  Myrna reached to grasp Trooper’s arm so he paused. “Yes?”

  “I know you’ve been doing some investigating. I’m just wondering if you’ve learned anything we didn’t know before.”

  Trooper watched Myrna pull in a deep breath and then grip her lower lip between her teeth. He feared that Carly was wrong in thinking Myrna was less vulnerable these days when it came to news about her favorite sister’s murder. “No, I’m afraid I haven’t learned anything we didn’t already know, but I’m still working on it.”

  She gripped his arm a little tighter. “You just be careful now, Nelson. If there’s a murderer still running free in Holly Grove, you could be in danger too.”

  Trooper placed his hand over hers. “Don’t worry about me, Aunt Myrna. I can take care of myself.”

  Her gaze flicked toward his shoulder. No doubt she’d noticed that he still favored it, and he suspected she longed to remind him that he wasn’t invincible, but she merely nodded and pulled her hand away. “Go ahead and call your uncle Joey back so he won’t take off before you get there. I don’t see as much of him as I’d like to, but then I don’t run in the same circles as him and Nancy.”

  “Thank God for that,” Trooper said with a wink and a grin. “I’d hate to see you tooling around town in a fancy car while wearing a mink coat.”

  The anguish faded from Myrna’s eyes, just as Trooper had hoped would happen. Then she laughed out loud. “I’d look good in a mink coat, especially in this weather. Why, I’d have a heat stroke within three minutes.”

  “Good thing you don’t have a fur coat then,” Trooper said. His grin faded. “But you’re right. I’d better call Uncle Joey and let him know to expect me.”

  Trooper purposely refrained from mentioning that he wanted to talk to Tommy too. He didn’t want to risk upsetting Myrna for a second time this morning. He instead sat down on the end of the sofa so he could reach her old-fashioned rotary dial phone on the end table. Myrna had jotted the number of the dealership on the notepad beside the phone, so he was soon connected with his uncle.

  �
��I need to take a quick shower and change, but I should be there within the hour,” Trooper told him before hanging up. He then gave his aunt a quick kiss on the cheek and headed upstairs to clean up.

  His uncle Joey was waiting for him right inside the showroom door, leaning against a sparkling new SUV. He straightened when Trooper pulled the door open, then greeted him with a tentative smile, almost as though he feared Trooper was too fragile to approach with any degree of heartiness.

  Trooper merely grinned and stuck his hand out to give his uncle a firm shake. He’d obviously have to prove that he wasn’t standing on the threshold of death’s door. That didn’t mean he welcomed his uncle slapping him on his still-healing shoulder, but he managed not to flinch. “Good to see you, Uncle Joey. I hear you’ve turned into a traveling man.”

  “No more so than you, son. I’m glad you finally made it back to Holly Grove. How’s my sister doing? I hardly ever see Myrna anymore.”

  “She’s doing great,” Trooper responded. The two exchanged small talk for a few more minutes before Joey glanced at his watch.

  “Sorry to cut our visit short, son, but I’ve got a business meeting across town.”

  “No problem, Uncle Joey. Besides, I was hoping to visit a minute with Tommy Underwood. Is he here?”

  “Last I saw of him, he was involved with finalizing the paperwork for a buyer, but he should be free soon. Make yourself at home while you wait. There’s free coffee in the customer lounge.”

  “I appreciate it,” Trooper responded, then watched his uncle exit the building. Having no interest in coffee—free or otherwise—he went in search of Tommy’s office, which was easy enough to find. Sure enough, Tommy was seated behind his desk while a young couple sat opposite, leaning over a stack of papers.

  Trooper caught Tommy’s eye, then mouthed the word “Lunch” and raised his brows in a question.

  Tommy glanced at his watch and then at the couple before mouthing back: “Twenty minutes.”

  Trooper nodded, then headed back to the showroom to wait. Tommy joined him a few minutes later and asked what Trooper had in mind.

  “Since the closest restaurant is Margo’s by the Lake, how about I spring for our lunch there today?”

  “You’ve got a deal, except I’ll buy. I can put it on my expense account and your uncle can pick up the tab. He can afford it.”

  “Thanks anyway, but I prefer not to be beholden to Uncle Joey, even if he isn’t aware of it.”

  Tommy shook his head. “You always were a straight arrow. And that’s not a compliment, by the way.”

  Trooper grinned. “I didn’t take it as a compliment. I remember you well enough to know exactly how you meant it. So what’s the verdict? Do I get to buy lunch or not?”

  “Okay, but only if I can drive. I need to try out one of our loaners to make sure it runs all right.”

  Fifteen minutes later they were seated across from each other at a table in one of the sections that looked out over the lake. They were a little early for the lunch crowd, so Trooper had been hailed only a couple of times as they followed the hostess across the dining area. Both times he said a quick hello and moved on, hoping for some privacy, but he and Tommy had just placed their order when Mr. Graham walked up to the table. His expression was solemn. “Hey, Trooper. I’ve been expecting to hear from you.”

  Trooper’s stomach knotted. He’d been putting off talking to the man who’d found his parents’ bodies, and he wasn’t thrilled to be reminded now, but that wasn’t Mr. Graham’s fault. He stood out of respect for the older man. “Sorry. I’ve been meaning to get in touch.”

  Mr. Graham shrugged and smiled. “I don’t mean to suggest that you have to get in touch with me. After all, there’s not anything I can tell you that wasn’t in the police report, and my memory was a lot fresher then, so we both might be better off not reliving that afternoon.”

  Trooper decided not to mention that he’d relived that afternoon almost every day of his life, but Mr. Graham was right. Trooper’s experiences in the FBI had taught him that few if any people could resurrect accurate details from their memory after even a small amount of time had passed, let alone twenty years.

  “If you haven’t thought of anything that’s not in the report, then I think we can leave it at that,” Trooper said.

  “I agree. Frankly, I’ve given the matter a lot of thought and there’s really nothing else I can tell you.”

  “In that case, I won’t bother you with questions you’ve already answered.”

  The muscles around Mr. Graham’s lips relaxed. “That’s probably for the best. I may run into you again out at your uncle Roy’s though. Are you and that pretty girl going swimming again soon?”

  “We may but we don’t have any definite plans.”

  “I see. Well, I’d better be on my way. Good to see you, Trooper. You, too, Tommy. Take care now.”

  Trooper watched Mr. Graham walk away, then turned back to Tommy. “I visited with your dad a few minutes this morning while I was out for a run.”

  “Yep, he told me. I’m sorry I haven’t stopped by his house to go through the boxes I left in my bedroom closet. I should have gotten them out years ago. He could probably use the space.”

  “He offered to look himself. I told him not to go to the trouble, but I got the impression he might go ahead without you.”

  “He told me he might try, but I don’t like the idea of him climbing up to get things off the shelf so I told him to wait for me. He said he would. I’ll go over there this afternoon.”

  “I noticed he looked a little frail. Has his health been bad?”

  Tommy’s eyes widened. “Frail? I never think of him as frail, but then I see him pretty often. Maybe he really has gone downhill quite a bit since you saw him last. Twenty years can make a big difference.”

  “Tell me about it. I haven’t bounced back from getting shot nearly as quickly as I bounced back from football injuries when we were in high school.”

  Tommy grinned. “What football injuries? You were so damn fast, nobody could touch you.”

  “Then I must have been mighty clumsy because I recall numerous times lying on my back struggling to breathe because some overweight tackle had landed on top of me.”

  Tommy was still chuckling when the waitress arrived with their salads, and Trooper waited until they were headed back to the dealership before asking Tommy if he could be there when Tommy went through the materials from his closet. He couldn’t very well explain that while Tommy was looking for the suicide note or his high school yearbook, Trooper would be looking for references to someone named “Pap.” Not that he held out much hope for actually solving that little mystery so easily, but he had to try.

  Tommy pulled into a parking space at the dealership and turned to Trooper. “You’re more than welcome to join me. I’ll just give Dad a call and let him know to expect us. How about five o’clock? I can be there by then.”

  “Five is great.” Trooper let out a soft sigh of relief. Until that second, he hadn’t been aware of how much he’d been hoping to examine Tommy’s high school mementos. That was one of the few avenues he still had left to explore.

  “I’ll be there,” Tommy said. “But in the meantime, I’d better get back to work. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  Trooper drove away from the dealership feeling equal parts of anticipation and dread. He’d come to realize that he couldn’t leave Holly Grove and go back to work until he’d either solved this case or followed every lead.

  Because now there was more at stake than simply clearing his mother’s name. Now there was a possibility that a monster still lived in Holly Grove, a monster who had not only killed three innocent people to cover his misdeeds but one who could still be preying on young men like Eric.

  Trooper wanted nothing more than to stop off at Carly’s house and report on his visit with Tommy but he didn’t want to interrupt her writing time. He knew she was on a deadline, and his return to Holly Grove had already dis
rupted her life enough.

  On the other hand, he couldn’t imagine going back to Myrna’s and killing time until five o’clock. Instead he decided to drive out to his uncle Roy’s farm and see if he could borrow a suit and take a quick swim in the lake. He needed something to work off some of his excess energy.

  He hadn’t driven more than a couple of miles toward his uncle’s house when his cell phone sounded. He glanced at caller ID, recognized Carly’s number, then pulled off to the side of the road to answer. “Hey. Aren’t you supposed to be writing?”

  “I have been writing, thank you,” Carly responded, a smile in her voice. “I’m tired of writing. What are you doing?”

  “I was going to drive out to Uncle Roy’s for a swim. Could I interest you in going along?”

  “Sounds wonderful. I could use some exercise after sitting in my desk chair for hours. I can be ready in thirty minutes.”

  “I’ll be there in fifteen. If you don’t mind, I’ll let myself in and check my email. I could do it on my phone but it’s a lot easier on my computer.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll leave the front door unlocked so you don’t have to bother with your key. You can tell me about your visit with Tommy on our drive out to Roy’s.”

  “Will do. See you soon.” The sense of unease that had plagued Trooper after his visit with Tommy dissipated as he drove toward Carly’s house. Somehow, just being with her seemed to relax him. He wished he could take her with him to Mr. Underwood’s house this afternoon to examine whatever pertinent papers they might turn up in Tommy’s closet, but he didn’t want to advertise the fact that she was helping him. If there was danger involved in this investigation, he wanted all of it to fall on him.

  Of course he couldn’t tell Carly that he felt that way. She wouldn’t appreciate his attitude at all, but that just meant he’d have to be careful not to let on that he was trying to protect her.