Outlaws: A Romance Anthology

by Yolanda Olson

  “Oh, yes! Right there!” a female’s hushed voice carried over to us.

  The acoustics in the woods could be deceiving, but it didn’t sound like the voice was very close. Lars quickly pulled out of my mouth and tucked his cock back into his pants as I stood. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and glanced around us. The two of us stood stock still, listening. Another faint, muffled moan found its way to us, and I quickly turned to face the direction it sounded like it had come from.

  I caught movement just ahead of us and stood frozen in my spot. About thirty yards away from us, Aunt Marlowe leaned with her back against a tree and a leg wrapped around some guy. I turned my head slowly to look at Lars. A look of shock covered Lars’ face as he stood there watching his wife getting fucked by another man. He motioned toward the direction of the house, and we walked back to the party in silence.

  “Let’s talk in my study, Griffin,” Lars suggested while we climbed the steps that would take us up to the patio deck.

  Once we were inside the study, Lars shut and locked the door, and then went to his wet bar and poured two glasses of scotch. He handed me one before we sat down, facing one another. His eyes shifted back and forth slightly as he stared in the direction of the window. His silence told me that he was deep in thought, and after a few lengthy minutes, he took a long sip of scotch and looked at me.

  “Griffin,” he began, but paused. He frowned and looked at his glass of scotch and rubbed his finger along the lip of the glass. “Griffin, I need you to help me.”

  “Of course, what do you need me to do?” I asked.

  His blue eyes darted up to mine as he said, “Her name is now in the book. Your father and I had always handled the … removing of those who needed to be removed.” Lars set the glass down on the round antique table and then leaned forward and laced his hands together. He continued when he looked up at me. “We never had outside help. We always did it alone. I was so angry with your father for asking you at age twelve to do what I’m about to ask you.”

  I leaned back against the cushion of the chair while I wrapped my head around this. He was asking me to help him murder my aunt, my mother’s sister. My mouth had grown dry, and I sipped from my glass.

  “I knew that one day you would have to step into this role with me if our beliefs would go on. I’m not a young man anymore, Griffin. You can carry on our legacy, and Riley will follow you if you mold and shape him.”

  Though I had never actually participated in any of the disappearances, I wasn’t naïve to what my great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, and Lars did. My parents had a large estate and lots of land that backed onto my aunt and Lars’ property. The very woods where we fucked just today was also used for “removing” the cheaters. My father and Lars had the Grand Rapids police chief, a few investigators, and patrolmen in their back pockets. Any reports of missing people simply went unsolved, while certain members of the department pockets grew thicker and thicker. Greed overrode ethics and morals, and for the right price, everything could be overlooked and explained.

  At age twelve, I had learned what my father and Lars had done with the bodies. I remembered that small cabin in Clark’s Creek, Wisconsin like the back of my hand. I hadn’t been back there since I helped my father bury my mother, and now it looked like I was going back—this time with Lars to bury my aunt.

  “Forgive me for asking this of you, Griffin. I’m sorry,” he murmured.

  “Why are you sorry? If things are to continue, as you said, you knew that I would have to begin to take a more active role,” I stated.

  “Because I’m asking you to take part in the death of yet another family member. For that, I am deeply sorry.”

  “I want this, Lars,” I insisted.

  Lars’ eyes searched mine, and then he nodded.

  “After this, you’ll have more than earned your father’s office.”

  Chapter Five

  Before I left the house that night, Lars and I worked out the details. Sitting behind his desk, I penned a fake suicide note from my aunt. In it, she cited no longer loving Lars and that she had fallen for a married man. Which, by the end of the evening, we’d discovered the man she was fucking in the woods was one of the caterers they’d used to help organize the parties for the past several years. So, God only knew how long that had been going on.

  The letter also asked Audrey to make sure Lars was looked after. I held my arm at a weird angle to write the letter, so it appeared to be close to her handwriting. Looking back at it, the handwriting didn’t really resemble hers at all, but it didn’t matter. There wouldn’t be an investigation. The letter merely was for show for Audrey’s benefit.

  Lars would place the letter on his nightstand as if Aunt Marlowe had done it herself before going to bed. Then, sometime after midnight, he would smother her. Lars would stage an empty plastic vial of the pain medication she took for arthritis next to the bed and flush the pills down the toilet.

  As soon as it was done, he would text me asking if I was awake, and then a second text would come over, saying that my aunt was gone. A few minutes following the texts, he would call and tell me about the note he found, and he would tell me that the police had been notified. I was to tell him that I was on my way over. In my trunk, I was to have a travel bag prepared that would have enough clothes for a few days.

  The police and an ambulance unit that Lars handsomely compensated to look the other way would come during the night, take the report and question all of us. While Audrey and possibly Riley would be questioned in the study, the medics would put her in a body bag and place her in the trunk of Lars' car. The police and medics would leave, supposedly with the body, and we’d sit in the kitchen with Audrey, distraught over the evening’s events.

  Around 6:00 in the morning, Lars would say that he needed out of the house and away for a few days, and he’d suggest going to his cabin in Clark’s Creek, Wisconsin. I’d comment that he shouldn’t be alone, he’d disagree, and hopefully, Audrey would agree with me. I’d then offer to go with him, and he’d relent. We’d leave the house by 7:00 a.m. to make the hour and a half drive from Grand Rapids to Ludington and catch the ferry that departs at 9:00 a.m. and arrives in Manitowoc, Wisconsin around noon. There were a few convenience stores along the way that we could stop at for food to last us a couple of days and then make our way to the cabin.

  That was the plan.

  I left my aunt and Lars’ house that night with a heavy heart, knowing I would never see my aunt alive again. It was close to 11:00 p.m. when I got home, and I was too hyped up on adrenaline to sleep. I packed the overnight bag with expendable clothes like jeans, sweats, and t-shirts, and set it by the door. I laid in my bed and stared at the ceiling until about 12:45, then I bolted upright when a text alert rang out.

  Lars: Are you awake?

  With shaking hands, I held my cell phone and waited for the next one.

  Lars: I lost your Aunt Marlowe.

  My stomach sank. Even though I knew it was coming, it still hit me like a ton of bricks. I took a few deep breaths, knowing that I had crossed the line to his side. No longer could I pretend that I didn’t know the heinous things the men in my family before me had done. Despite just being twelve when I helped my father, I was truly one of them now. The ringing cell phone startled me, and I dropped the phone on the bed, but quickly picked it up.

  “Hello?”

  “Griffin,” Lars’ weary voice came through the phone. I sat silently with my heart pounding hard in my chest, waiting for him to continue. “Your Aunt Marlowe is gone. I came to bed and saw that she had propped up a note on my nightstand. The note said that she had fallen in love with another man. She said she couldn’t go on with the guilt anymore. She’d taken the whole container of her pain pills.”

  “Okay, take it easy. Are you sure she’s just not unconscious?” I immediately jumped into the role of being shocked but trying to calm him.

  “I’m sure, Griffin. She’s gone.”

  �
��Okay, shit. Did you call the police?”

  “They’re on their way.”

  “Alright, I’m on my way,” I said quickly. As I pulled the phone away from my ear, I heard him say my name.

  “Griffin,” he said, causing me to lift the phone to my ear again.

  “Yeah?”

  I wasn’t sure what to expect because we hadn’t rehearsed anything else, nor did he indicate that something else would be said.

  “Drive safe, Griffin. I love you.”

  I promised him that I would and ended our call. Quickly, I made my way down the stairs. I grabbed my keys as soon as I put on my coat and picked up the overnight bag that had been waiting beside the front door. Before I left, I made sure that I armed the house alarm and locked the door.

  My pulse rate soared, and I felt like none of this was really happening. When I looked down at the speedometer, I was surprised to see that I was closing in on ninety miles per hour. Shit! I took my foot off the accelerator and tapped the brakes to get the speed limit under control. Though, it wouldn’t be considered out of the norm for someone to speed in this situation. However, I didn’t need to kill anyone on my way to Lars’ house. One death on my hands was enough for the day.

  When I turned onto their private road, I could see two police cars and an ambulance out front. I parked my car out of their way, and as I got out, I could feel my legs shake. I raced up the steps and sidestepped between the partially open door and the doorframe. All eyes turned to look at me as I stood in the entryway.

  My eyes found Lars, and I hurried toward him. I wrapped my arms around him in an embrace; this wouldn’t seem out of place given the situation. His arms wrapped around me and his hands settled on my back, instantly calming me. The few moments of our embrace forced my eyes to look down the long hallway beside the stairs. Pacing around nervously in a random pattern was Riley. He wore light gray sweatpants and one of the navy long-sleeved University of Michigan t-shirts that I had given him. Selfishly, I hadn’t even considered what the death of Aunt Marlowe might mean to Riley. This had been the only home Riley had known, and Aunt Marlowe was like a second mom to him.

  Just as we had planned, everything from there followed seamlessly. I looked over the fake note that came from my own hand, then Audrey and Riley were escorted to Lars' study to go through a series of questioning that would go nowhere. In silence, I waited beside Lars in the hallway as the two medics brought my aunt down in a body bag strapped to the gurney. From the entryway, we watched them load her lifeless body into Lars' trunk. Two officers remained in the entryway with us, and once the ambulance drove away without the body, they looked at Lars.

  “So,” one drawled as he gestured to me, though he spoke to my uncle. “Bringing in Miles’ boy?”

  “Yes,” Lars confirmed. “It was time.”

  Both officers nodded at Lars and shook hands with me. Lars and I sat at the kitchen table with the officers until the other officers were done with Audrey and Riley. Audrey sat with us well after the officers left, but Riley had retreated back to his bedroom. As rehearsed, Lars announced that he needed to get away from the house for a few days.

  “No, now is not the time to be alone,” I insisted. A chill washed over me as I recalled my Aunt Marlowe telling me that when I came to live with them after my dad had died. I had become a recluse, and she pulled me out of my shell.

  “Where would you go? The cabin?” Audrey questioned as if on cue.

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll come with you,” I countered.

  Lars looked at the clock on the wall and then nodded at me.

  “Very well, Griffin. The ferry leaves Ludington at 9:00 a.m., so we need to leave by 7:00. We’ll stop by your place so you can gather a few things,” he said. He knew that I had packed already, but it was for Audrey’s sake. “I’m going to go pack a few things,” Lars said as he stood from the chair.

  Audrey offered to help him and followed him up the stairs. I finished the cup of coffee that I’d been sipping at and then took the mug to the sink. We were planning on leaving within the next fifteen minutes or so, but I felt that I needed to check on Riley. I went to his room and knocked on the door that he had open halfway. He was lying on his bed with his back to the door.

  “What?” he mumbled and rolled over. When he discovered I had knocked, he looked shocked that I was standing there. Riley quickly got off the bed, sniffled to clear his sinuses, and rubbed at his eyes. “Sorry.” He sniffled again. “I’m sorry. I thought you were my mom,” he apologized and explained. Riley walked around the foot of his bed and sat on the side closest to where I stood.

  “It’s okay, Wolverine,” I reassured him as I sat on his desk chair. “But you shouldn’t talk to your mom like that.” I paused as I looked into his red, swollen eyes. “You’re very lucky to have her, and you’d be sad if she were gone.”

  He had no idea what I had done to secure that his mom would be okay. Riley nodded and agreed with me. Next to his pillow was the Wolverine mascot plush. I leaned forward, picked it up, pressed it against Riley’s chest, and let go when he held his hand over it.

  “Are you doing okay?” I asked him. He only nodded and lowered his head. “I know that she meant a lot to you as well. She will be missed for sure. Lars wants to spend a few days at the cabin, so I’m going to go with him so he’s not alone. Will you look after your mom and help her out while we’re gone?”

  “Yes, Griffin.”

  His eyes followed mine as I stood.

  “I’ll see you in a few days, Wolverine.”

  When I walked back down the main hallway, Lars was waiting for me at the base of the stairs.

  “I was just checking on Riley. He’s going to help you out while we’re gone, Audrey,” I informed her.

  “Thank you, Griffin,” Audrey replied.

  Once Lars and I got out on the main road, I asked him if he had any difficulties with Aunt Marlowe. He said there was a minimal struggle, and she went quickly. Somehow that made me feel just a little better. After we got out of the city limits of Grand Rapids, Lars pulled over, put the car in park, and leaned over to kiss me.

  “Thank you for coming with me, Griffin.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  We rode in silence for a while, but at my request, Lars filled me in on how he and my father carried things out. Lars told me that he had admired my father’s ability to turn off his feelings and emotions as he killed. He said that my father was always very methodical, and he was able to twist every situation to justify what they were doing. Shit. My father sounded like a stone-cold killer. Only time would tell if I possessed those characteristics.

  “Were there ever any that you regretted killing?” I asked.

  “No,” he said confidently. “Griffin, don’t pick up a conscience. That will only lead to being sloppy and getting caught. The police can only help as long as you’re meticulous and don’t get distracted.”

  “I won’t get distracted,” I promised.

  About an hour and a half from the time we left Lars' house, we pulled up to the small wooden structure with the automatic arm in the down position, blocking our path to the ferry. Lars rolled the window and presented the ticket attendant with his pass. The attendant scanned the reverse side of the card and passed it back to Lars as he bid us a pleasant ride. We followed the line of slow-moving cars being guided and directed to a spot to park.

  “So, did you and my dad sit in the car, or did you walk around the ferry?”

  “A little of both on our way to Wisconsin. One of us usually sat in the car while the other stretched. It’s a three hour ride; you might think about getting some sleep,” he suggested.

  It wasn’t such a bad idea. I had a feeling that once we docked, we’d be very busy. I dozed in and out until the ferry pulled away from the dock, and I slept like a rock until I heard a foghorn. I jerked awake to find that we were nearing the dock.

  “Shit, I didn’t realize I slept the whole way. You needed some rest too.” />
  “Don’t worry about it, Griffin. How about you drive to the cabin, though? I’ll navigate.”

  “Yes, of course,” I agreed to his plan, and we got out of the car to switch places.

  As soon as we drove off the ferry there was a sign welcoming us to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. According to Lars, it was only about twenty minutes from the ferry to Clark’s Mills. I pointed out a convenience store as we approached it, but he said we’d stop at one before the turnoff for Clark’s Mills.

  “I’ll wait in the car. We’ll have a stove and microwave at the cabin, so get whatever you’d like to eat for the next few days,” Lars said as I pulled into the parking lot.

  I grabbed a basket that was next to the door when I walked inside and knew better than to drag my feet. I tossed a few cans of soup, chicken pot pies, a fresh loaf of bread, and a package of sliced American cheese into the basket. I set the basket on the counter and went back for a box of Corn Flakes, a case of bottled water, a half-gallon of milk, and a few single-serving juices. I loaded the bags of groceries in the backseat of the car, and we were back on the road.

  “It should be about a half hour from here,” Lars said.

  As we neared the family cabin, my pulse started to race again. The last time I was here was with my dad to bury my mom. When the cabin came into view, my mouth went dry. It looked exactly the same as it had eighteen years ago.

  “Let’s get the groceries taken in first, then we’ll handle the unpleasant task we came here for. After that, we’ll spend the rest of our time focused on one another. Sound good?”

  “Yeah,” I agreed and nodded. “That sounds good to me.”

  I hoisted the case of water onto my shoulder and grabbed the bags with the juices and milk in it while Lars grabbed the rest. We climbed the wooden steps to the house, and I gazed around the woods while Lars unlocked the door.