by BJ Bourg
“He’s too late.” Dawn let out a heavy sigh. “My mom’s dying.”
CHAPTER 23
Wednesday, October 3
I was awake by six, thanks to the sunlight pouring through the cracks in the curtains over my living room windows. I tossed the blankets off and sat up on the sofa, rubbed my eyes to see clearer. Dawn and I had talked late into the morning and she was emotionally wrecked, so I figured she’d sleep for a while longer. I’d set up my bed for her sometime around three and then crashed on the sofa. I couldn’t fall asleep right away because I felt horrible for her. I’d wanted to help ease her pain but I didn’t know what to do, so I only listened.
Moving like a ninja through the house so I wouldn’t disturb Dawn, I turned the dryer back on to fluff out her clothes from yesterday. Instead of driving all the way to Seasville to get more clothes, she’d decided to wash what she had at my house and wear it again. “This isn’t high school anymore,” she’d said. “I don’t care if anyone realizes this is what I wore yesterday.”
I’d shown her where I stash my clothes and let her rifle through the drawers until she found something suitable to wear. We weren’t exactly the same size and my shirts looked more like dresses—albeit short dresses—on her, but she didn’t seem to mind.
After taking care of her clothes, I took a shower, dressed for work, and then began cooking breakfast. Bacon was frying in the pan when I heard the floorboards creak behind me. I turned to see Dawn standing there wearing one of my button-down shirts. She was casually rubbing her eyes and yawning.
“I thought I smelled breakfast.”
I smiled. “It’s not great, but it’ll keep you alive until lunch.”
She strode to the table and dropped to one of the chairs, folding her tanned legs in front of her. I was very aware of her eyes following me around the kitchen as I scooped grits and scrambled eggs into two plates and then set them on the table. I put the tray of bacon between us and took a seat opposite her.
“Wow, I didn’t know breakfast came with the room.” She took a bite of the eggs and allowed her eyelids to slide closed. When she finished swallowing, she looked at me and winked. “Best eggs I’ve had all day.”
I stopped with my fork poised halfway to my mouth. “Is it that bad?”
She laughed. “I’m messing with you. They’re really good.”
“Well, it is kind of hard to screw up eggs.” I was happy to see her in better spirits. I devoured the food on my plate and served a second helping while she was still on her first serving. “Do you want any more?”
She shook her head and stared down at her plate, seemingly lost in thought. When she looked up, her eyes were misty like they were last night in my truck. “I really appreciate you letting me cry on your shoulder.”
Embarrassed, I waved her off. “It was nothing.”
“No, it was something.” Dawn stared back down at her plate. “I’ve never cried like that in front of anyone before.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut in case I’d say the wrong thing.
After a long moment of silence, she ate the last of her food and stood to pick up her plate.
“I’ll clean up while you get ready for work,” I said, hurrying to my feet to take the dishes from her. Without objection, she handed me the plate. I started to walk toward the sink when she grabbed my arm. I stopped in my tracks and looked down into her dark eyes. Without warning, she stood to her toes and kissed me softly on the side of the face. A chill ran down the right side of my body as her moist lips made contact with my flesh.
When she pulled away, she said, “I mean it…I really appreciate you letting me cry on your shoulder. It helped a lot.”
“You’re welcome, I guess, but I didn’t really do anything.”
“You were there when I needed someone to listen to me, and that’s important.” She smiled and stared thoughtfully at me. “You know, I was right about you.”
I returned the smile. “About what…that I’m an awesome cook?”
“No…that you’re a perfect gentleman.”
“So, the eggs did suck!”
“The eggs were fine.” After she let go of my arm, she spun on her heels and her hair whipped around, offering a fleeting glimpse of her smooth neck. As she walked toward my room, she called over her shoulder, “It was the bacon that sucked. They were undercooked.”
I laughed and watched her walk away. She paused for a second in the doorway to my room and looked back at me. Our eyes locked for what seemed like too long to be casual, and then she quickly disappeared inside.
As I was cleaning up the kitchen, I heard her bustling about my room and then I heard the shower faucet kick on. I checked the clock on the stove when I finished the dishes…nearly eight o’clock. I didn’t want to be late for work, so I texted her while she was still in the shower to let her know I was heading into the office. I told her where I hid the spare key and asked her to lock up on her way out. I then walked into the cool morning air.
It was bright outside, but I felt down. On any given day I would’ve been riding high, considering Dawn had spent the night at my house, but my mood was sour because of what she was going through. I knew too well what it felt like to lose a parent and I didn’t want her to experience that pain.
When I arrived at the detective bureau there was a sticky note on my desk asking me to call the warden of the detention center, Captain Carl Boutin.
I cursed silently when the automated answering machine picked up. Is it so damn hard to get a live person to answer the phone anymore?
Like a good little soldier, I followed the instructions on the recording and punched in the first three letters of Captain Boutin’s last name, waited for him to pick up. When he finally did, I told him it was me and asked what he needed.
“London, you need to get down here as soon as you can. Your prisoner is begging to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“Look, he’s feining bad and wants out of here, so he’ll probably say anything to get your attention.” Captain Boutin paused and took a breath. “Normally, we wouldn’t put much stock in anything an inmate in his condition would say, but his crazy talk is starting to sound real and I’m thinking you might want to hear him out.”
“Talking crazy? What’s he saying?”
“He’s going on and on about some missing person case. He says he’s got information about this person who went missing and he’ll only talk to you, but you’ll have to guarantee his release from jail before he spills the beans.”
“Well, that won’t happen,” I said. “I’ll come down there and talk to him, but he’s not going anywhere. For all I know, he could’ve been the one who killed Wilton Michot.” I paused, then asked, “Did he give the name of the missing person?”
“No. He said he doesn’t know the identity of the individual, but he said it happened a long time ago.”
“How long?”
“I didn’t ask.”
I sighed. I wanted another crack at interviewing him, but I didn’t want to be fed a line of shit. “This is probably bullshit.”
“You’re probably right, because, like I said, he’s feining bad and addicts will say anything for a chance to get some air between them and this place. I see it every day, but…”
“But what?”
“He said he has evidence that will prove everything he tells you.”
“What kind of evidence?”
“He’ll only talk to you.”
I rubbed my chin, wondering if I should waste my time with him. “I mean, how does someone like Cade Baryon come to possess information about a missing person?”
“Beats me, but he claims he’s the only living person who knows about it.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“He said the only other person who knew about it was Wilton Michot, but now Wilton’s dead and Cade thinks his murder has something to do with the missing person.”
CHAPTER 24
As
soon as I got off the phone with Captain Boutin, I called Dawn’s cell. She picked up right away.
“Hey, where’d you go?” she asked. “I got out of the shower and you were gone.”
“I sent you a text message.”
“Well, I guess I need to start carrying my phone in the shower then.” She laughed, but I cut her off and explained what was going on.
“Shit! Okay, I’m getting dressed and then I’ll be right there.” She ended the call before waiting for me to answer.
I quickly fired up my computer and accessed our detective database, searching for any active missing person cases. As I scanned the entries, I heard a noise behind me. I turned to see Detective Rachael Bowler walk up.
“Hey, London, what’re you doing?”
“Is it true you applied for one of the sniper positions?” I asked, ignoring her greeting.
Her face blushed just a little. “I did.”
“That’s great. I can’t wait to see you compete for the spot.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will.” I turned away from her and continued searching the files, but nothing seemed to stand out. “Do you know of any missing person cases that haven’t been resolved?”
“No,” she said, leaning over my shoulder. “How long ago?”
“I’m not sure.” I explained what was going on and she grunted.
“I’ve arrested Cade Baryon before. He lies about as naturally as he breathes. He’s probably full of shit.”
I sighed. “We’ll talk to him and see what he has to say. He claims it has something to do with the murder of Wilton Michot. If this case is real but it’s not connected to the Michot murder, would you mind coming in and taking over? We’ll be tied up on the Michot murder for God knows how long and won’t have time to run down leads on a missing person case, so we might need some outside help.”
“Sure, it’s not like I’ve got a ton of other cases to work.” She shot a thumb toward her desk, which was in the cubicle cater-corner to mine. I glanced where she pointed and winced when I saw a stack of files about a foot high.
“Damn, you’ve got a lot of cases. I can ask someone else.”
She laughed. “No, I was joking. I’m always up for a good cold case.”
“Great, I’ll let you know what happens—”
My phone dinged and I checked the screen. It was a message from Dawn telling me she was in the parking lot. I waved to Rachael and headed for the door.
Before Dawn could reach the entrance to the detective bureau, I was out in the parking lot waving for her to jump in my truck. I never quite understood the term “hot mess”, but if it meant the woman was damn good looking even though she was all messed up, that would’ve fit her current condition. Her shirt was still untucked, her boots untied, her hair was wet, and both hands were full.
I watched in amusement as she shoved her file folder under her chin and—using only her right hand—stopped to tuck the tail of her shirt into the waistband of her tight jeans. When she was done, she jogged across the parking lot and jumped into my truck. Before pulling the door closed, she grabbed one of her knees and pulled it to her chest. She held it for a few seconds, and then did the same with the other.
“Are you fixing to run a race?”
“I just pulled my clothes out of your dryer—thanks for that, by the way—and they need to stretch a little. My legs feel like green onion sausage stuffed in these jeans.”
I nodded my understanding and fired up the engine. I hated pulling clothes directly from the dryer and putting them on. Aside from being stiff, I didn’t like the way the static electricity felt against my skin.
“Do you think this is legit?” Dawn asked, slamming the door and pulling her seatbelt on. She continued talking while tying her boot laces. “We’re already in the middle of one major investigation, so we don’t really have time to go chasing down bogus leads on what may or may not be a cold case.”
“Who the hell knows?” I pulled onto Highway Three and smashed the accelerator, heading north toward the Magnolia Parish Detention Center. “Cade could be blowing smoke up the warden’s ass, or he could be telling the truth. In any event, there’s only one way to find out.”
“I’m going to kick his ass if he’s wasting our time.”
“It might not be a complete waste,” I said. “We might be able to use the information as leverage to break him down and get him talking about his relationship with Wilton. If he thinks someone killed Wilton over this secret case, then we might be able to convince him the killer will come after him next.”
“Good point, but what if they’re not connected and we end up wasting half a day on this drug addict?”
I told her Rachael was willing to take the cold case if it pans out.
“Oh, did she tell you she was applying for the sniper position?”
“I heard it from Karen, but she confirmed it this morning.”
“She’s been practicing her ass off, so I think she’ll do fine.”
I glanced sideways at Dawn. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you want to be a sniper?”
“Had you paid attention during our first date, you’d already know the answer to that question.”
I remembered that day well and, although Dawn claimed to hate sniper crawling through the swamps, I had been thoroughly impressed by her abilities.
“You’d make a great sniper,” I offered.
“Whatever you say.” She had turned to stare out of her window and was watching the buildings fly by as we drove through Payneville. It was the same position she’d held last night, but there was a different expression on her face.
“How’re you feeling?” I asked.
She looked at me and smiled. Her brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. “Much better, thanks to you.”
I smiled inwardly. Now that she was in better spirits, it made me feel happier. I didn’t like seeing her in pain. It made me feel helpless.
We drove in silence until we rolled into the parking lot of the detention center. When I shut off the engine, Dawn reached out to stop me.
“I’m thinking about taking a trip to Arkansas when this is over,” she said. “I need to spend some time with my mom while she’s still here and well enough to go out and do things.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“I have about six weeks of vacation accumulated, so I might take some now and then some later when…”
Her voice trailed off and I frowned, knowing what she meant. As though a weight had been lifted from her chest once that decision had been finalized in her mind, she nodded and opened her door. “That’s what I’ll do. Now, let’s go see what Cade Baryon has to say.”
CHAPTER 25
Captain Boutin had set up a spot for us in the law library and Cade was already seated at a table when we walked in. He wore a red jumpsuit that sagged on him and his eyes were wild.
“You’ve got to get me out of here,” he said before I even closed the door behind us.
“Nice to see you, too,” Dawn said.
His eyes turned to slits when he saw her. “I don’t like you.”
“Aw…does that mean no Christmas presents?” Dawn chuckled, then pointed to the door. “I’ll wait out in the hallway so you men can talk in private. I wouldn’t want my presence to coerce Mr. Baryon into confessing to a crime he didn’t commit.”
When she was gone, I pulled up a chair and dragged it around the table until it was directly in front of Cade. I then sat and rested my elbows on my knees, leaning forward to peer into his eyes. “This had better be good.”
Cade rubbed a cracked hand nervously over his rough beard and nodded. “Oh, you’re going to like this. It’s the mother lode.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Cade looked around me to the tinted glass windows that lined the outer wall. “Can they hear us?”
“No.”
He licked his chapped lips and leaned forward
. “Okay, I’ll tell you what I know, but you’ve got to get me immunity first. And I want out of here.”
I stood to my feet and turned to walk out of the room.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Cade said in desperation. “Where the hell are you going?”
“I don’t have time for your games. You either tell me what you know or I walk…it’s that simple. No negotiations, no request for immunity, no special deals…nothing. You talk, or I walk.”
“Come on, man! I’m about to hand you the biggest case of your career. Can you at least consider talking to the DA for me?”
“Sorry, but I can’t make any promises to you. That would be against the rules.”
“Can you just talk to him for me? Without making promises, can you just put in a good word for me?”
I let out an exaggerated sigh. “Are you going to get straight with me about Wilton Michot, including explaining the true nature of your relationship with him? And I mean the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
He opened his mouth to speak and then clamped it shut, his brow furrowing. I could almost see the wheels spinning in his head. “What did you mean about the true nature of my relationship with Wilton? It sounds like you think we were doing the hanky-panky.”
“Well, were you? According to his wife, you’d drop by in the middle of the night, spend some time alone in the cabana, and then leave with a wallet full of cash. If he wasn’t paying for sex, what was it?”
Cade sneered and pushed an index finger to his lips. “My silence.”
That certainly got my attention, but I didn’t let him know I cared. I casually returned to my chair and folded my arms across my chest. “Go ahead, then, tell me what you know.”
He took a deep, nervous breath and exhaled forcefully. He sat upright and his right leg began to bounce up and down. “Wilton…um…it was a long time ago. Thirty, thirty-one years ago, to be exact. I was seventeen back then and Wilton lived in the same neighborhood as me, but he lived at the front of the street. I lived in the back with the rest of the poor families. I never had anything growing up, you now? Wilton…his dad had money, so he was always riding dirt bikes and three-wheelers and even got a truck when he was fifteen. He was always riding to the back of the street in one of his toys. He’d go off in the woods and would be gone for hours. I’d watch him disappear in the trees and wish it was me riding away like that. Of course, I was smart enough to know my dad would never have the money to buy something like that for me, so I knew it was all a fantasy.”
