White Lies

by Jeremy Bates

  Zach crept up the stairs and left the basement. It was still raining, the sky low and dark. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and went east on Birch Street, past Orchard and Cascade. He turned onto Ski Hill Drive and continued along until he reached Wheeler. As he walked down the street, he thought back to the night he came here to see what Katrina’s place looked like, spying on her through the window, coming back the next night.

  He shivered. What had he been thinking? But that was exactly it. He hadn’t been thinking. He’d been caught up in something ugly and petty, and he really hadn’t been thinking.

  It was four minutes past nine when he reached Katrina’s property. He stopped dead in his tracks.

  Jack’s black Porsche 911 was in the driveway.

  Zach’s mind reeled, trying to figure out what this meant. Had he been wrong about Katrina? Was she, in fact, in league with Jack? Not a prisoner of fear, but a willing accomplice? Were they inside celebrating their victory?

  Only one way to find out.

  He dashed down the driveway, then cut across the lawn so he was next to the trunk of the massive ponderosa pine, safely concealed in thick shadows the boughs created.

  Nobody was in the front bay window. Not yet, anyhow. He watched and waited.

  He never noticed the man in the unmarked sedan parked across the street.

  Chapter 31

  “Jack,” Katrina said, “there’s something we need to discuss. It’s about us.”

  Jack flicked off the TV and gave her his full attention.

  “If this is finished, as you say, well, we have to decide what we’re going to do from here. What are your plans?”

  He shrugged. “Like I told you before, I was heading east. But to be honest, Leavenworth is growing on me.”

  Katrina tried not to let her disappointment show. This was going to be just as hard as she’d imagined. “I didn’t think you were a small-town type of guy.”

  “I’m not. But change is good, right? Keeps you young.”

  It was then Katrina realized she didn’t know Jack’s age. She’d always imagined him to be in his mid-thirties. The fact she was only guessing struck a chord within her. It hit home how little she really knew about him. “So what are you thinking? A few more days? A week? Months?”

  “If you’re worried I’m going to leave you, don’t be. I’ll stick around however long you want. We’ll see how things go from there.”

  “That’s sort of what I’m getting at.” She paused. Swallowed. Pressed on. “I think the best thing we could do now would be to lay low. Separately.”

  Jack didn’t react, or she didn’t think he did at first. Then she saw something fleeting and dark in his eyes, the only indication he’d understood what she was saying and wasn’t happy about it. “Would you care to elaborate?” he said.

  “Jack, I’ve been through a lot. We both have. But I’m not made like you. I don’t have your strength. I need time to rest. To recover. To sort things out in my head. It’s going to take a while.”

  He pulled his ponytail over his shoulder and began stroking it. Katrina had never seen him do that before. It was oddly disturbing.

  “Can you understand?” she pressed.

  “Oh, I understand perfectly.” The darkness was back in his eyes, no longer a misty apparition but a black fire. “You need space, am I right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And if I decide to stay in Leavenworth for a while, because I think it’s such a nice place and everything?”

  “That would be your prerogative.”

  “You would simply ignore me?”

  “No, of course not,” she said, knowing full well that’s exactly what she would do.

  Jack studied her, long and hard and intense. She almost buckled under his stare and looked away, but she didn’t. Then he shrugged. “You’re worried. Stressed. Get a good night’s sleep and you’ll feel differently about things in the morning.”

  His words carried a finality that made them seem more like a threat than sound advice. But before she had time to let them sink in, let alone respond, someone outside shouted.

  “Hey, you!”

  Zach whirled around and squinted through the rain. He was so surprised to see a small man in a yellow windbreaker pointing a pistol at him that he cried out in alarm. His muscles bunched, as if his body was getting ready to run. But you couldn’t outrun a bullet.

  “Police! Put your hands where I can see them.”

  Zach mutely obeyed the order, all the while wondering what the hell was happening. The cop grabbed his wrists and shoved them behind his back. He was about to clasp a pair of handcuffs on them when the front door to the bungalow opened and Jack marched out, followed by Katrina, her face drawn and pale. That damn dog of hers—what had she called it? Baxter?—began barking wildly. She shooed him back inside and closed the door again.

  “What the hell’s going on here?” Jack demanded. His face registered surprise. “Zach? Mike?”

  Jack knows the cop?

  “Evening, Mr. Reeves,” the cop replied, tipping him a nod. “Looks like I caught your Peeping Tom, Ms. Burton.”

  Katrina looked bewildered. “Zach?” she gasped.

  “What Peeping Tom?” Jack said. “What’s going on here?”

  The cop shoved Zach up the porch steps and out of the rain and explained what happened last week, and Zach realized Katrina must have called the police after he’d fled.

  “You never told me about this,” Jack said to Katrina.

  “It wasn’t something I felt comfortable about.”

  Zach couldn’t believe the irony of what was happening. Jack was looking at him with an expression of disgust. Zach had an urge to shout, “Yeah, well at least I didn’t kill anyone, you son of a bitch, so don’t look at me like that.”

  “You mean it was you, Zach?” Katrina said. “You were the one spying on me?”

  There was more sorrow in her eyes than accusation. How could this have happened? He was here to help her. Now she would never listen to him. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. He had nothing to say.

  “I don’t understand,” Katrina said to the cop. “How did you know he would be back tonight?”

  The small man twitched. “Well, I didn’t.”

  “Why are you here then?”

  “To be truthful, Ms. Burton, I was keeping an eye on you.”

  Katrina blinked in surprise. She and Jack exchanged looks.

  Did the cop already suspect them? Zach wondered. But how? Who told?

  “Because of Charlie’s accident?” Jack asked, incredulous.

  “Yes, sir. That’s right.”

  “Goddammit, Mike,” Jack snapped. “He had an accident. Can’t you understand that?”

  “I’m just doing my job, Mr. Reeves.”

  “This isn’t cops and robbers. It might seem like a bit of fun for you. Trying to catch make-believe criminals. But you’re beginning to become a nuisance.”

  “I understand perfectly, Mr. Reeves, that this is a very serious matter.”

  Katrina said, “So you were both spying on me?”

  Zach wanted to tell her he hadn’t been spying, but it was too late for that. The first flash of lightning lit up the black sky, followed by a peal of thunder.

  “Would you mind telling us all what you thought you might accomplish coming out here, Mike?” Jack said, clearly struggling to keep his cool. “What you thought you might witness in this very serious investigation of yours?”

  The cop twitched again. “Oh, it’s probably nothing.”

  “If you don’t stop with these games and give me a straight answer, Mike, I’m going to call up your chief and slap you with a harassment charge.”

  “Officer Murray,” Katrina said, more politely, “it’s late and I’m tired. If you could please explain what exactly you think is going on to warrant putting me under surveillance, I’d appreciate it.”

  The cop tugged up his khaki pants as he considered her r
equest. “How about I just say there were certain statements in both of your stories that left me a little perplexed.”

  “That’s not good enough, Mike,” Jack said.

  “Let’s start with Mr. Stanley driving all the way to his cabin from the hospital in Wenatchee, leaving his sick wife by herself, just to tell you folks to turn down the music.”

  “I told you—”

  “I know what you told me, Mr. Reeves. But I started thinking, if I was angry enough to drive the thirty clicks for something like that, would I just leave? When I told this to Lucky over in Skykomish, he told me Charlie would never do something like that. More likely he would have had a fit and tossed you all out. Also,” the cop went on, gaining momentum, “I didn’t quite swallow that bit of yours, Mr. Reeves, about why you had to return to the Blackbird Lodge. That’s not to mention the mystery of why Charlie was heading home, instead of back to the hospital after he left the cabin. Or those bruises on your face, for that matter.”

  Seeing Jack under fire, knowing he was teetering on the edge of being found out, Zach felt a surge of hope. Maybe this was all going to work out after all. Maybe Jack’s murder of the old man was going to come to light without any intervention on Zach’s part. That would be perfect, he thought. But what about Katrina? Well, she didn’t really do anything, did she? Jack forced her to help dispose of the body. Zach would vouch for her. Tell the police she, like him, had been threatened and made to do what she’d done out of sheer terror of the crazy Indian.

  “This is absurd,” Jack said, sounding suitably outraged.

  “Quite possibly,” the cop replied. “And if that’s the case, then you have nothing to worry about, do you? In the meantime this fellow is coming along with me.” He made to handcuff Zach once more.

  “Wait,” Jack said, something brewing in his eyes. Zach could see that much. “I didn’t tell you everything earlier, Mike.” The porch went quiet as a tomb. Nothing but the rapid patter of rain falling on the roof. “It’s a long story. Why don’t you come inside, out of the storm, and I’ll explain it all as best I can?”

  The cop hesitated.

  “It will clear everything up for you,” Jack insisted.

  A lengthy pause. Then he nodded. He shoved Zach forward.

  Jack gave them both a reassuring smile as they shuffled past him, but for Zach it was anything but reassuring, and suddenly the last place he wanted to be was inside Katrina’s house.

  Chapter 32

  “Can I speak with you for a moment, Jack?” Katrina said when they were all inside the living room.

  “Not right now,” he answered. “Mike deserves an explanation, and I’m going to give him one.”

  Katrina was freaking out. The fact that Officer Murray was putting together all the pieces was bad enough, but that paled in comparison to the fear she felt at what she thought Jack had planned. Because now that she was seeing Jack with fresh eyes, she would not be deceived again. She would not allow herself to be deceived again. She knew his true character, knew he had murder in him. Cold, calculated murder, not accidental murder. And she knew he’d brought Murray inside to kill him and maybe Zach as well. The question was: what was she going to do about it that wouldn’t get herself killed in the process?

  “Jack,” she tried again, “I really need to talk to you.”

  Officer Murray was looking at her oddly.

  “I said, not now.”

  “Yes, Jack. Now.”

  Perhaps he saw the steel in her resolve because he shrugged, excused himself, then went to the bedroom. She followed on his heels and closed the door. He whirled on her, his eyes blazing. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he hissed.

  “What are you doing, Jack? You can’t talk your way out of this one. Not anymore. Do you understand that? It’s over. You have to accept that. We have to turn ourselves in.”

  He looked appalled. “Are you mad? We’re doing no such thing.”

  “Listen to me, Jack,” she said, her face inches from his. “If you touch that police officer, I don’t care what you tell me afterward, I will not go along with anything you say. I caved before because Charlie was already dead and nothing could be done for him. But I will not—will not—stand by and let you harm another person. If you do, I’ll go to the police right away and confess everything.” Her hands were trembling so badly she had to ball them into fists.

  “Jesus Christ, Katrina! I’m not a common thug. You think I get off on this? What happened yesterday happened because there were no other alternatives. You know how suspicious this looks, dragging me in here? Give me some credit and let me take care of this for both of us. I have a plan. It will work. No one will get hurt. Okay?”

  “Promise me you won’t touch him.”

  Jack didn’t promise. He didn’t say anything. Just opened the door and returned to the living room. Katrina had no choice but to follow.

  “Sorry about that,” Jack said. “Anybody like a drink?”

  Zach said, “I would.”

  Jack ignored him. “Mike?”

  “No, thank you.”

  “All right, then,” Jack said as he wandered to the window to look out at the now driving rain. With his back to them, his hands clamped behind him, he looked like a man admiring a Monet in a museum. “I wasn’t completely honest with you, Mike. What can I say? You got me. So I’m going to come clean, something I should have done from the beginning.” He turned around, and if Katrina didn’t know better, she would have said he looked genuinely contrite. “You want to know what happened when Charlie came by? I was telling the truth when I told you he said the music was too loud. I told him I’d turn it down. But you were right, Mike. He had driven a long way and he had come with a purpose. To kick us all out.”

  “Ms. Burton,” Officer Murray said. “Would you have a pen and paper? I’d like to get all the facts straight.”

  Katrina went to the kitchen and retrieved a pen and a notepad from the counter. Then, with an abrupt burst of daring, she scribbled “Be Careful” on the first page of the yellow paper. She didn’t know what she hoped to accomplish, but she didn’t have time to think about it.

  All she knew was she didn’t trust Jack.

  She returned to the living room and handed Murray the notebook and pen. She watched him closely as he opened it to the first page. He seemed to freeze for a beat before glancing up at her. She didn’t think anyone else saw the quick exchange.

  “So Mr. Stanley told you to leave,” Murray said as if nothing had changed, though Katrina was sure everything had. “Then what?”

  “I said we weren’t going anywhere. We’d paid him for the night and had given him a one-hundred-dollar deposit. I told him the only way we would leave would be if he gave us a full refund, considering we had only been there a couple hours. We argued for a bit—”

  “Did it get physical?” Murray was eyeing the bruises on Jack’s face.

  “Come on, Mike. He was an old man.”

  “Was anyone there to witness this dispute?”

  “No. It was just Charlie and me. Katrina was inside the cabin. Everyone else was down at the dock. So we argued for a bit, and when I realized we were getting nowhere, I finally told him he can keep the rent but I wanted the deposit.”

  “One hundred dollars?”

  “That’s right. He decided that was reasonable, but he said the money was back at his home in Skykomish, and if I wanted it, I’d have to come and get it.”

  Katrina was studying Officer Murray, to see if he was buying any of this. Because even though she knew he’d read her message, Jack was putting on an impressive performance.

  “So you followed him in your car?” Murray said.

  “That’s right.”

  “Why not ride together?”

  “He never mentioned his wife, so I never knew he’d be coming back east to get to the hospital in Wenatchee. Besides, I didn’t really care for the man much. Now, this is where it gets, well, murky, for lack of a better word. We were almost t
o Skykomish when Charlie’s truck crossed the middle line. There were no oncoming cars, thankfully. But he didn’t pull back and I figured he must have fallen asleep. I blasted the horn. I’m not sure if it woke him up or not—maybe it did and he just reacted too slowly. Hell, he might have had a heart attack, for all I know. The bottom line is he went straight off the road, right into a big cottonwood. By the time I got to the truck, smoke was already pouring from the engine. I was about to pull Charlie out, but I realized he was already dead.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “He wasn’t wearing his seat belt. Was thrown forward into the windshield. His face was a bloody mess. Of course I also checked his pulse.” Jack paused, as if contemplating something. “I really can’t tell you why I didn’t pull him out regardless. It was a gut reaction at the time. I’ve thought about it a lot since, and I think I knew if I pulled him out and waited around for you guys, the cops, I’d have a lot of questions to answer. On the other hand, if I just left—it sounds bad, I realize that—but if I just left I’d be free of the situation. After all, he was already dead, right?”

  “So you left him to burn in his truck?”

  “Hell no! If I knew the truck was going to go up in flames, I would have pulled him out. At the time there was only smoke. I never thought it would progress to a full-fledged fire.”

  Katrina was absolutely speechless. Jack was incredible. He’d just given an Oscar-worthy performance. She half expected him to start thanking members of the academy—half expected him to give her a smile and a wink that said, “Stick with me, kid. I’ll show you the world.” Suddenly she found herself regretting tipping off Officer Murray. Had she just screwed everything up?

  “I have to tell you, Mr. Reeves,” Murray began slowly, “if you had reported the accident in the first place, you would have been in a much better situation than you’re in right now. It’s always better to tell the truth, no matter how difficult that may be. If you try to cover it up, especially something this serious, it’s going to come back to bite you in the ass, like it did here.”

  After the last twenty-four hours, Katrina would say that was very fine advice indeed.