Third to Die

by Carys Jones

  Betty also sensed the truth behind the sentiment. She stiffened but forced herself to smile.

  “That’s Edmond, always looking out for me.” Then she disappeared behind the door.

  Aiden stood up and shrugged on his jacket. He reached for his car keys which were on the desk when his cell phone suddenly whirred to life. He was now running dangerously close to missing his flight if he procrastinated any further. But when he saw the caller ID he knew he had to take it. It was an incoming call from Edna Copes.

  “Edna, hey,” Aiden lowered his voice slightly as his heart began to race. Surely this wasn’t the call, it couldn’t be. Not yet. Edmond was a fighter; he was locked in a battle he was going to win, wasn’t he?

  “Aiden?” Edna sounded brittle on the other end of the line. He could hear the pain stabbing through her voice.

  “Edna, are you all right? Is Edmond okay?” Aiden spoke frantically, his body breaking out into a nervous sweat.

  “Can you come?” Edna asked him urgently. “Can you come now?”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Chapter Nine

  Letting Go

  Aiden felt his chest tighten as he listened to Edna’s panicked voice through the phone.

  “He’s…he’s asking for you.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Aiden was crossing the waiting area in long strides. The door chimed as he went through it and stepped out onto the street, but he didn’t stop to savour the sound. He raised his keys and clicked open his car.

  “I’m worried he doesn’t have long left,” Edna admitted. She sounded tearful and broken.

  “I’ll be right there.” Aiden climbed into his car and was about to turn the key in the ignition when he noticed Betty standing in the entrance to Copes and May, she was squinting at him in the morning sunlight. As he wound down the window, she approached the car.

  “Is everything all right?” she asked cautiously. She’d heard the worry in Aiden’s voice, saw his haste to leave.

  Aiden knew he could say that he was just running late for his flight but he didn’t want to lie to Betty.

  “It’s Edmond,” he told her sadly. “I’m heading over there now.”

  Betty bristled and tilted her chin upwards.

  “Do you want to come?” Aiden wasn’t sure Edmond would be up to accepting guests, but he felt he had to extend the invitation to her nonetheless. After all, she’d known him a lot longer than he had.

  Pursing her lips, Betty quickly shook her head. She moved it fast enough to cause her glasses, which now hung around her neck, to sway but not so fast as to disturb her styled hair.

  “Tell him.” She drew closer to the car. The words were seemingly right on her lips but then they inexplicably fell away. She shook her head once more.

  “Just be there for him, Aiden.”

  “I will be.” Aiden nodded solemnly. Then Betty backed away from the car and he turned the key and the engine growled as it came to life.

  *

  A few more cars merged along Avalon’s roads as the hour was now a more reasonable one. Aiden weaved his way through town towards the long road which led out to Edmond’s home. The same road he’d had to travel to visit the late Samuel Fern.

  Questions buffeted around Aiden’s mind like paper caught in an updraft. He was powerless to collect any one of them and actually consider their answer. He wanted to turn on the stereo, to drown out his thoughts with music, but they refused to give him such respite. Each question gnawed at his mind, demanding attention. Straining, Aiden managed to catch just one and he sighed as he realized it wouldn’t have an easy solution.

  He would miss his flight to Chicago and in doing he wouldn’t be able to meet with Guy Chambers. Or Brandy.

  “Dammit.” Aiden seethed as he smacked his hands against the wheel. He needed to be by Edmond’s side, he owed the dear old man as much. But he also owed his friends the truth over Justin’s death.

  “Dammit,” Aiden repeated. He indicated and quickly pulled over on to the side of the road, stirring up a cloud of dust as he did so. He reached for his cell phone and dialled the number he now had for Guy Chambers. He knew his former friend wouldn’t take the cancellation well, it might even mean that Aiden missed his opportunity to call in that favour he was owed.

  “Chambers,” Guy gruffly answered after four rings.

  “Guy, hey, it’s me, Aiden. Connelly.”

  “We’re not meeting till three.” Guy announced flatly, clearly not pleased to have heard from him.

  “That’s just it,” Aiden began awkwardly. “I can’t make the meeting.”

  “What is this, Connelly? You call me up out of the blue citing old favours and wanting to meet up and now you’re cancelling? I work for the Bureau now, I can’t deal with this inconsistent shit.”

  Aiden closed his eyes and leaned against the car’s headrest.

  “I hate cancelling and I promise that I wouldn’t do it unless it was life or death.”

  “Are you dying?”

  “No, but someone very close to me is.”

  Silence on Guy’s end of the line. Aiden kept his eyes closed. He half hoped that when he opened them everything would be how it once was; Edmond would be well and life in Avalon would be as idyllic as Aiden had always dreamed it could be.

  “It’s not easy taking time out when your every move is scrutinized,” Guy declared, his voice low.

  “I know, and I appreciate that.”

  “Give me a name.”

  “What?” Aiden blinked his eyes open in surprise.

  “This favour you’re calling in, I imagine it involves a question regarding someone connected to the Bureau, am I right?”

  “Partly, yes.”

  “Well, this line is secure. I double-checked after you called. Tell me the professional angle you’re coming from, Mr. Connelly.”

  Aiden coughed to clear his throat. He hadn’t been focused on Justin’s case recently; he’d been too caught up with events in Avalon.

  “A mother of a deceased high school friend of mine contacted me regarding her son’s death certificate. She needs it to be completely filled out so she can claim his life insurance which had recently matured. However, the cause of death on the certificate is stated as unconfirmed.”

  “That’s odd. What did the local P.D. say?”

  “Apparently his files are sealed.”

  “By the Bureau?” Guy quickly made the connection.

  “Yes,” Aiden confirmed. “By the Bureau.”

  “So you’re looking for a confirmed cause of death for this high school friend of yours?”

  “Yes.”

  “Name?”

  “Justin Thompson. He died in Greensburg.” Aiden could hear Guy quickly scribbling down notes.

  “Thompson, Greensburg,” Guy recited. “How many years ago?”

  Aiden faltered. How many years had it been since Justin died? Almost ten? The decade which hung between the night of the accident and the present chilled Aiden. When spoken aloud it sounded like such a great stretch of time but he still dreamed of Justin, could still see the cheeky grin he used as currency with girls, could smell the petrol and cigarettes which clung to his beloved leather jacket.

  “About ten years.”

  “Mm.” Guy made a non-committal sound.

  “What can I tell my client?”

  “Tell her I’ll see what I can find out. At the very least there should be a confirmed cause of death; I imagine that was an oversight on the local P.D.’s part.”

  “That’s one hell of an oversight,” Aiden stated.

  “You’d be surprised what sort of negligence laziness can breed. Especially in small towns.”

  Aiden knew all too well the black hole effect of small towns. Secrets that came in rarely came back out. Guy might think it negligence, but Aiden knew better. Small towns were great places for hiding big secrets.

  “So when can you get to Chicago?” Guy sounded less tense than he previously had.
>
  “I’m not sure,” Aiden rubbed his spare hand against his neck. “Give me a week?”

  “A week, okay.” He heard Guy making more notes. “Let’s meet in a week, same time and place as planned and I’ll have something for you.”

  “I really appreciate you looking into this for me.”

  “I owed you one.” And then the line went dead. Aiden glanced quizzically at the phone as he realized that Guy had ended the call.

  Aiden was about to pull back onto the road when he remembered his other call to a Chicago resident. Brandy had agreed to meet with him. After all the promises he’d made and then broken, she’d still found it in her heart to agree to see him. And now he was going to cancel on her, again. How many chances was she willing to give him? What if this was the last one?

  “Shit.” Aiden smacked his palms against the wheel. His shoulders trembled with the realization that he wouldn’t get to see her. Aiden couldn’t help but feel that the universe was somehow conspiring to keep them apart. He could call her. He should call her. She’d understand as she loved Edmond Copes as much as everyone else. Aiden was about to dial the number for her apartment in Chicago when his phone beeped with an incoming message. It was from Edna:

  Are you almost here?

  Aiden didn’t dwell on his thoughts a second longer. He pulled out onto the road and continued on his journey to Edmond’s house.

  Glancing at the clock he sighed regretfully. He didn’t have time to make a second call.

  *

  Brandy stretched beneath the covers as the sound of her alarm chirped relentlessly. She smiled sleepily at the sound and rubbed her eyes. She had programmed her alarm to sound like bird song. Rising to their digital dawn chorus reminding her of what she loved most about Avalon; the proximity to nature. Each morning the birds would gather on low-hanging tree branches and excitedly welcome the new day. Their enthusiasm was contagious. Brandy was amazed how the birds would even come and sweetly sing in the trailer park. They didn’t judge the area, or the inhabitants. Everyone was welcome to enjoy their rousing symphony that accompanied the rising sun.

  As Brandy sat up and began running her hands through her long blonde hair, she recalled the conversation she’d had during the dense hours of the night. At first she considered that it had perhaps all been but a dream but as she stepped into the shower the hot water and steam helped the memory to surface and solidify.

  Aiden had called her. He’d sounded drunk but also sincere.

  Brandy fiercely shampooed her hair as she forced herself to remember more of the conversation. He’d said he missed her. He’d said he missed her every day.

  This made Brandy smile and she began to hum as she stood beneath the running water and let it wash away all the soap suds. She watched the bubbles pool at her feet. They smelled of honey. Brandy loved anything with a sweet, sugary scent. They reminded her of the fair. Whenever a fair had rolled into Avalon she’d do her best to go, even if that meant sneaking out on her mother after she’d self-medicated herself into a comatose stake with her liquor.

  You could always smell the fair before you could see it. Between the candy floss, toffee apples and popcorn, the air always smelled delicious. Brandy’s stomach would be rumbling excitedly as soon as she arrived. As fun as the rides were, the sweet treats were always the best.

  When Brandon took her to the fair, he’d be quite the showman, buying her anything she desired to satiate her sweet tooth. That was back when they were dating, back when he so wonderfully played the part of the doting boyfriend.

  The remnants of the bubbles were washed away and Brandy stood beneath the water. She let it wash down her back, soak her hair and carry away the salty tears which were now falling. Whenever Brandy thought of her late husband she couldn’t help but think of the beast. Her body would instantly flinch and she’d have to fight the urge not to cower in the nearest corner.

  “He’s gone!” Brandy called out over the sound of the running water. “Goddamnit, Brandy, he’s gone!”

  She smacked a hand against the wet tiled wall in frustration.

  Aiden would be there later, wanting to talk. When she thought of him, she felt her fear and anxiety instantly melt away. Just imagining his kind smile and warm eyes had a calming effect on her. Brandy switched off the shower and stepped out into the bathroom wrapping herself up in a white fluffy towel which was hanging nearby. She still smelled of honey. But now the smell made her smile. It reminded her of when she’d enjoyed a hot chocolate with Aiden, how the rich cocoa scent had flooded her senses as they talked. She hoped that one day Aiden would erase all her negative associations, unwanted relics of her life with Brandon, and replace them all with positive ones.

  *

  Numerous cars were parked up outside Edmond’s home. It seemed that the entire Copes clan had arrived en masse to be by his side. Aiden pulled up behind a red pickup truck and quickly climbed out of his car. The front door opened as he approached it. Edna was standing there but she wasn’t alone, she was flanked by two of her children. They each wore the same grave expression, their faces drained and their eyes sore.

  “Thank you for coming so quickly.” Edna was unable to smile as she greeted him.

  “I came here straight away,” Aiden nodded as he walked into the hallway. He spotted some more members of the Copes tribe further along the hallway, holding one another in support. There wasn’t the usual joyous atmosphere which accompanied all other family gatherings. Even the children, stowed away upstairs, were quiet as even in their youthful naivety they sensed that something bad was happening.

  “He’s been asking for you,” Edna walked alongside Aiden towards the lounge. As they reached the doors, she gently placed her hand upon his arm.

  “This is the time for goodbyes,” she whispered tearfully. Aiden swallowed hard and opened the door. Edna didn’t follow him in, she remained in the hallway with her children, who quickly swarmed around her in support.

  Edmond was resting in his chair, his gaze directed to the window on the far side of the room. As the door closed behind Aiden, he turned slowly to face him and a sincere smile briefly warmed his face.

  “Aiden, my boy! So good to see you!”

  Aiden returned the smile and sat down across from Edmond. But smiling was hard.

  “I heard you were desperate to see me,” Aiden joked. This made Edmond chuckle but as he laughed he raised a hand to his chest and winced.

  “Argh, everything hurts these days,” the old man sighed. “Even breathing is a labour of love. I can feel my body breaking down.”

  Aiden tightly clasped his hands together and willed himself to remain composed. No one deserved to suffer, especially not a man as decent as Edmond Copes.

  “But yes, I was desperate to see you,” Edmond pointed at his young colleague, his pain seeming to have briefly abated.

  “I wanted to talk to you about the company.”

  “Work talk can wait,” Aiden quickly interjected. If this truly was the time to say goodbye, he didn’t want to waste it going over the trivialities of life in the office.

  “No, it can’t,” Edmond told him stubbornly. “Because what we must discuss is the future of the company. And it must be done whilst I’m still compos mentis.”

  Straining in his chair Edmond tried to reach a piece of paper resting on the stand which supported his IV drip.

  “I’ve got it,” Aiden swiftly stood up and retrieved the paper, passing it directly to Edmond.

  “No,” he pushed it back into Aiden’s hands. “You need to read this. And sign it.”

  Frowning, Aiden looked down at the document. It took him a second to realize what it was. It was the deeds to Copes and May. Edmond was leaving him the company.

  “I can’t.” Aiden blinked back tears and raised the paper towards Edmond, but the old man wouldn’t take it.

  “You can,” he told him, his tone soft and warm. “All my life I’ve lived and breathed Avalon. I came back here after college to pursue a dream
; a dream of helping those that lived here. A dream of enacting change and doing the right thing.”

  “And you’ve done that,” Aiden enthused. “So let one of your children take the helm of my company.”

  “They don’t understand Avalon the way you do,” Edmond looked directly at his young protégé, his eyes gleaming with admiration.

  “You stood up against Buck Fern, against the whole of Avalon to save Brandy White. When you did that, I realized that you were what I had been looking for all along.”

  “Edmond—”

  “Please, Aiden. Take over Copes and May, don’t let my legacy die with me. Continue to do great work there, continue to change lives.”

  “I…” Aiden looked down at the formal agreement in his hands. All that was required was his signature and then Copes and May would belong to him.

  “I’ll call it.” Edmond’s mouth pulled up into a smile as he spoke, his tired eyes sparkling with mischief.

  “Call what?”

  “My dying wish,” Edmond declared grandly, pointing at the piece of paper. “My dying wish is that you stay here in Avalon, Aiden, and run my company after I’m gone. Can I rely on you to do that?”

  Aiden felt his chest begin to tighten. His wife and child had left Avalon and returned to Chicago. There was little left for him there, nothing holding him to the small town. Except if he signed the document, if he honoured Edmond’s wishes, he’d be bound to Avalon for the rest of his life. Was that what he really wanted?

  “Betty likes you, and she’s a sour old girl, she doesn’t take to everyone.” Edmond started wincing with each word but he was determined to say his piece.

  “And you get it, Aiden. You get that money can only buy you material goods, it shouldn’t purchase justice. You’re not afraid to stand up to people, you’re not afraid to fight for the truth.”

  “But you can’t go!” Aiden suddenly insisted as tears dropped onto his cheeks. “Because you are Avalon, Edmond! What would this town be without you in it? Why would I want to stay here without you?”