While You Were Sweeping

by Christy Barritt

  “Riley! Good to see you here.” Todd sauntered toward him and clamped Riley’s hand in his grip. “I was hoping you might take me up on my offer.”

  Riley shrugged, wishing he could think of a way to eloquently describe his thoughts. Instead, he shook his head and stated the truth. “Someone tried to kill me. If someone ever tries to do it again, I want to be more prepared.”

  Surprise washed across Todd’s face. “Sounds like a good enough reason to me. Ever done any martial arts?”

  Riley shook his head. “You might remember that I ran track in high school and college, and I used to play basketball with some guys for stress relief. But never any martial arts. I’m ready to learn.”

  “I do mixed martial arts here, so we do combinations of Ju-Jitsu, kickboxing, and karate. How about we get you started on the punching bag?”

  Todd explained to Riley how to properly punch so he didn’t injure himself. Then Riley put on his boxing gloves and began his workout. With each jab, Riley felt stronger. Working out relieved some of his pent up frustrations. The sweat felt good, and the exertion was invigorating.

  “Good job,” Todd said, bumping Riley on the arm when he finished. “You looked like you were really getting into it.”

  “It was good.”

  “It’s hard to believe our paths crossed again, huh? Especially in an area like this. Who would have ever thought?”

  Riley nodded. “Yeah, not me.”

  “God has a plan, though. There are no accidents. He’s proven that to me time and time again.”

  Riley didn’t say anything. To acknowledge the truth in that statement would be to also acknowledge the fact that God had a plan for Riley’s brain injury. Riley wasn’t sure he was ready and willing to accept that yet.

  Just then, Riley looked out the window and saw his mom pull up. He waved to Todd. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good, bro. I’ll see you then.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Riley leaned back in a leather recliner in his bedroom. He kept the lights low—the less stimulation, the better—and made sure it was quiet around him.

  He’d spent the last thirty minutes trying to talk to God, but their relationship had come down to the most guttural level of communication—at least on Riley’s part. Riley cried out to Him, not always having the words to communicate. God seemed to silently tell him to wait. Patience was not proving to be Riley’s best quality.

  As he closed his eyes, the gunshot at his neighbor’s house resounded in Riley’s mind again. He couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it, even though he was determined to hide his obsession lest anyone think he was having an “episode” again.

  He realized that he hadn’t ever seen Mr. Parksley’s wife, though. Not that day when he heard the gunshot. Not yesterday at the man’s house. Never when he sat by the lake and let his gaze wander.

  Could the man have killed his wife?

  The only other possibility that came to mind concerning a potential victim was the cleaning lady. Mr. Parksley had said her name was Heidi. Perhaps she would be easier to eliminate as a victim than Mrs. Parksley.

  While his dad was at work and his mom met with her book club downstairs, Riley did a quick internet search for Wintergreen Housecleaning. He easily found the company’s number. On a whim, he gave them a call.

  A woman answered on the second ring. “Wintergreen Housecleaning.”

  He cleared his throat. “Hi, I’m interested in your services and was hoping to get some more information.”

  “What size is your house?”

  He glanced around his bedroom and tried to mentally calculate how big his parents’ place was. “It’s around five thousand square feet.”

  “How many bedrooms?”

  He suppressed a sigh. He hadn’t planned ahead enough to know any of these answers easily. He talked through the rest of the questions, wishing the conversation would move more quickly—specifically before his mom wandered upstairs to check on him as she often did.

  The woman on the other line finally quoted an approximate amount.

  “The price sounds decent,” he said, even though he thought it actually sounded way too expensive. “Someone recommended one of your employees. Her name was Heidi . . . something.”

  “Heidi Klein?”

  “Yes, that’s it. Would she be available for the job?”

  “I’m sorry, but Heidi is no longer with us.”

  Riley’s heart raced a moment. “Really? I’m sorry to hear that. Let me get a few more quotes. Thank you for your time.”

  He hung up, his thoughts racing. Maybe it was Heidi who died.

  But another thought also occurred to him. Why were there no other cars at Mr. Parksley’s house on the day of the murder? If Heidi had died, then how had she gotten over there in the first place?

  He shook his head. It was another mystery, he supposed.

  He’d try and look up more on Heidi soon. But right now, he heard his mom’s book club wrapping up. He needed to make things appear as normal as possible in order not to trigger any alarms with his parents.

  With that thought, he went downstairs to tell everyone hello. He’d do more research when he had another moment alone.

  ***

  “What are you thinking about, Riley?”

  Riley snapped his attention back to Dr. Perkins. Dr. Perkins was a fifty-something woman with black hair that sharply contrasted with her pale skin. She always wore her hair in a severe bun, and the woman didn’t seem to like smiling. Her gaze was intense, her blue eyes always assessing and labeling.

  She was supposed to be one of the best psychologists who dealt with traumatic brain injuries. Riley had even started meeting with her before he moved back up here. Personally, Riley didn’t see what the big deal was about her.

  He shifted in his seat, so tired of talking. What would it be like if he simply canceled the rest of his counseling appointments? The idea was tempting, for sure.

  He decided to be more honest than usual. “I’m thinking that I want to go back to Norfolk. Maybe coming back here was a mistake.” The more he thought about it, maybe he could have made life work in Norfolk. He wondered how different things would be right now if he had. Maybe he could have asked more people for help. People at church. People in his apartment building. Maybe there were more options that he hadn’t explored and his decision had been hasty. His brain had been in what felt like a permanent fog.

  “Riley, coming here was the right thing. I think deep down inside you know that.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, though. I don’t want to be the kind of person who runs whenever the going gets tough.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He didn’t bother to fight the memories. Sometimes memories, no matter how painful they were, were a blessing. He’d learned that the hard way. “I mean that when I was right out of law school, one of my best friends died in a drunk driving accident. I turned my life around afterward. My relationship with God became real. I gave up being a defense attorney. Then after a high profile case, I realized being a D.A. was only a temporary gig for me. I moved across the country to start again. I don’t want to keep doing that. I want to be someone who’s stable, who’s a rock. I feel undependable, and that’s not who I want to be.”

  “This is about that woman again, isn’t it?” She raised a thinly plucked eyebrow.

  “Gabby. Her name is Gabby.”

  “We’ve been through this before, Riley.” Dr. Perkins didn’t sigh, yet her voice indicated that she wanted to.

  “If moving here was the right choice, then why do I think about all the reasons it was wrong every day? Why does my gut feel so unsettled?”

  “You can’t trust your gut.”

  “Then what can you trust?”

  “Your therapist.”

  Riley did let out a sigh this time. “Of course.”

  “Riley, you need to move on.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Relationshi
ps after an injury like yours—”

  “I know! I know.” He’d heard it a million times. “But maybe Gabby and I aren’t like everyone else.”

  “That’s not likely, Riley. I know that’s hard to hear, but it’s better if you face reality. Your brain isn’t working properly yet. Making decisions like this right now would be a mistake.”

  Coming to see Dr. Perkins always seemed like a mistake. He didn’t voice that thought.

  But he did glance at his watch. Thank goodness his time was up.

  “I should go,” he said, standing.

  “Riley, the sooner you accept—”

  He raised his hand to silence her. “I know. Repeating your advice over and over won’t change anything. But thank you.”

  As he turned to exit, something on the shelf by her back door caught his eye.

  It was a wooden bowl. And it looked just like one that Mr. Parksley would have carved.

  Was that significant? Maybe not.

  But maybe.

  ***

  After therapy, Riley went back to Todd’s studio. Todd offered to give him a ride home, which Riley appreciated.

  It was another good workout, and Riley couldn’t help but marvel that he should have tried mixed martial arts earlier. He liked the combination of moves, the exertion, and the way his thoughts became focused. What happened at Mr. Parksley’s house always remained right beneath the surface of his thoughts, though.

  “Want to grab a bite to eat?” Todd said, draping a white towel over around his neck. “I’m closing down for a couple hours before evening classes start.”

  Everyone else had filed out, and Todd had changed the sign out front to “Closed.”

  Riley dragged in a hesitant breath, realizing how nice it would be to spend time with someone outside of his family. “I’d love to. But there’s something I need to do. Maybe another time?”

  “I have a better idea. You need company?”

  Riley glanced at his friend, wondering how much he could trust him. He’d always seemed like an upright guy. But what Riley was going to do seemed so out in left field that he was hesitant to tell anyone.

  “Only if you feel like trekking through the woods,” Riley started.

  Todd raised his eyebrows. “Sounds interesting.”

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Ten minutes later, they climbed into an old Jeep Wrangler.

  “Nice ride,” Riley said.

  “I’m pretty sure this is vintage now. Didn’t seem like that when I got it my senior year of high school.”

  “You’ve had it that long?” Riley asked, looking at the well-maintained interior.

  He nodded. “Sure have. Why get something new when what you already have works just fine.”

  Riley smiled. “Makes sense to me.”

  Riley gave him directions, and they started down the road. As the landscape rolled past, he waited for the questions to come from Todd, questions about what had happened in Riley’s past.

  By all appearances, Riley was fine. His hair had grown back. His skull was still even and not misshapen. To look at him, people couldn’t tell the trauma he’d been through. No one knew about the turmoil going on in his mind or how his life had been turned upside down.

  “Pull off right here,” Riley said.

  Todd eased off the pavement and onto the rocky ground along the street. This strip of road was secluded, leading into the quiet community where Riley and his family lived. The area was a haven away from busy city life, surrounded by acres of woods. Right now, the trees looked skeletal, with only a few surviving leaves hanging on for dear life.

  After Todd put the Jeep in park, he turned to Riley. “Where next?”

  Riley nodded toward the woods across the street. “Right over there.”

  Again, Todd said nothing. He simply opened the door and hurried toward the trees. “Are we looking for anything in particular?”

  “A rug,” Riley said.

  He’d been thinking about it all day. Since Riley had essentially eliminated the thrift store, and Mr. Parksley had only been gone for less than twenty minutes, that meant his neighbor had to dispose of the body at a fairly close location.

  Riley had seen Mr. Parksley’s truck turn out of the driveway and knew this was the direction he’d come. He also knew that Mr. Parksley owned most of the woods on the far side of the neighborhood. This seemed like the most logical place to start looking for a body. After all, without a body, Riley had no case, and no one would ever believe what he’d seen.

  He stepped into the woods, the ground moist under his feet. It had rained earlier this morning and the earth seemed to absorb all of the water. He glanced over at Todd’s sneakers and had second thoughts. Neither of them had dressed for this.

  “You sure you want to do this? I totally understand if you want to go back to the studio now and forget you ever mentioned getting together.”

  “I’m curious now,” Todd said. “It’s not every day I’m asked to tromp through the woods looking for a rug.”

  Riley smiled. “It’s a big rug, if that helps.”

  Mr. Parksley couldn’t have dragged it but so far, especially through this terrain. As he climbed over fallen logs and squeezed between oaks and maples, Riley wondered if this was all a wild goose chase. But if not these woods, where else could the body have been dropped?

  “So, Sophia is your cousin, huh?” Todd asked.

  “Yeah, we’re the same age, so she feels more like a sister at times.”

  “Seems like a nice girl. I’ve seen her at church a few times.”

  “She’s great,” Riley said, pushing aside a tree branch. “You been going to church there long?”

  “About a year now. Ever since I got out the military and moved back here.”

  Riley glanced back. “You were in the military?”

  “Until I lost my leg.” He tugged up his pants until a prosthesis was revealed.

  “I had no idea.”

  “Most people don’t have a clue that my leg was amputated from the knee down, especially when I wear long pants. The whole ordeal gave me a new start on life. That’s what I like to call it at least.”

  “What happened?” Riley couldn’t believe he was asking that question. He knew how hard the questions could be to receive. Yet he was doing what he wished other people wouldn’t do and inquiring more than he should.

  “I was ambushed when I went into a village looking for some injured civilians. I was one of the lucky ones. Two of my guys died.”

  “Wow. I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Todd nodded. “Yeah. It was the deciding factor that made my fiancée break up with me. She couldn’t handle the pressure.”

  Riley swung his head toward his friend. “That had to be tough.”

  “Better to find that out sooner rather than later, right? I guess I learned that if you find a woman who will stick with you through thick and thin, you need to keep her.”

  His words caused grief to grip Riley again. Had he made the wrong decision to come here? Should he have stayed in Norfolk and let Gabby sacrifice everything to help him?

  Todd kept talking. “I was in the hospital for a while after that, learning how to walk again. I was really bitter for a long time. Then one day, I realized I could be bitter or I could make the most of what God had handed me. That’s when I decided to open my own studio and get back to church.”

  Maybe Todd was right and it was no coincidence that Riley and Todd had run into each other. Had God ordained their meeting? He had a funny way of working like that.

  Riley crossed the entire depth of the woods, reached the lake, and paused. He’d found nothing. Of course, Mr. Parksley may not have pulled off at the little patch of gravel alongside the road. It was the most logical place, but there were other acres of woods left to be explored still.

  He glanced at the water. Had Mr. Parksley somehow anchored the rug and sunk everything to the bottom of the lake?

  “No rug, huh?” Todd
said.

  Riley shook his head. “I guess not.”

  “Seems like this rug means a lot to you.”

  “Yeah, it kind of does.”

  “I hope you find it.”

  “Me, too.”

  CHAPTER 12

  The next day, after Sophia took Riley for physical therapy, they had a quick lunch at an Asian fusion restaurant. At his cousin’s recommendation, Riley ordered a General Tso’s burrito, which was surprisingly good. As they ate, Sophia’s phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen before letting out a grunt. She picked up the device and began typing furiously, shaking her head as she did so.

  “What’s going on?” Riley asked.

  “Gretchen, my supervisor, chose this week to take a vacation, which isn’t a good thing because it means I have to deal with everything while she’s gone.”

  “Is there a lot to deal with?”

  She sent him a pointed look. “An investigation has opened at the hospital, if that tells you anything.”

  Riley raised his eyebrows. “Is that unusual?”

  “I don’t know if I’d call it unusual. I mean, there are lawsuits all of the time. People are always holding us accountable and blaming us for things that only God can control. But a lot of people are nervous right now over this one.”

  “Why?”

  “Rumor has it that the FBI is even involved, and they’d been doing an undercover sting. Who knows? But as a result the hospital administration is clamping down on everything, which has made my job twice as hard.”

  “Sounds miserable. When’s your supervisor going to be back?”

  “I don’t know. She didn’t even tell me she was leaving. But apparently she’d planned it because she filed all of the paperwork. She’s like that. A lone ranger. Sometimes a jerk.” She shrugged. “Anyway, enough about that. How are you doing?”

  He nodded slowly. “Just fine, I guess. I went to Todd’s studio a couple of times this week.”

  She tilted her head. “Did you? How was it? I need to go now more than ever. I could work off some stress.” She glanced at her watch. “Speaking of stress, I should probably get going. I’ll take a rain check on that answer.”