“That’s insane.”
“Is it? How many years have I been hearing the same story about you dumping bodies in the river?”
“That’s bullshit!” He stood up.
“Oh really? You charged Steve so you can get away clean,” I said. “You were in our class. What happened, Bobby? Did Reynolds get you?”
“You shut your mouth, Keegan,” he said in a low tone. “I’m not a fag like you. Nobody touched me.”
“I’m thinking that’s your problem.”
“You’re the one with the problem. Your fuck buddy is going away for murder, and you’re his accomplice.”
“Are you deaf? I told you. We were investigating. We located the body and the wallet. We identified the body as Joe Reynolds, the middle school history teacher. We went to his house. The door was unlocked. We went in. We didn’t find anything upstairs. We went in to the basement where we found the room with all the boys school pictures. Steve went back upstairs to try and access the computer…”
“Reynolds was a sick, sick bastard,” Bobby said. “I had the tech guy get into that hard drive. You don’t want to know what was on there.”
“Steve told me.”
Bobby Ryker sat down in his chair. “I’m glad he’s dead.”
“Did you kill him?”
He scowled at me. “I’m asking the questions here.”
“Did you kill Joe Reynolds?”
“No, but I wanted to,” he confessed. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled.
“You knew what he was doing.”
“We had our suspicions. That’s all. You can’t arrest anyone on mere suspicion. My dad told me to watch him. He’d seen Reynolds being a little too friendly with the boys at the park and on the street. Dad couldn’t prove whether he was a kiddie diddler or a nice old man, and no one ever came forward, until today.”
“Today?”
“Steve. He admitted it was him in the videos. He gave a full statement. It took hours. There’s a lawyer coming from New York. We have to take this to trial, Seth. If we don’t find anyone else, Steve Lark is our number one suspect.”
“He didn’t do it.”
“How can you be so sure?” Bobby asked. “No one knows exactly when Reynolds was killed. The coroner is working on it. He said it appeared to be weeks ago. You can’t account for all of Steve’s time, every day. Every minute. Can you?”
“No. So, what do you want from me?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m desperate. I want you to work with me…”
“No!”
“Please, Seth. I’ve never seen anything like this. I need help. I need you.”
“Why me? You’ve done nothing but make fun of me since second grade when I met you. You called me a fag, today!”
“You’re gay, aren’t you? Geez. Get all defensive. I just said I needed your help. People don’t take me seriously. They think I’m a joke. They respect my dad, but no one in this town respects me. People like you, even though your a…”
I glared at him and leaned, palms down on his desk.
“I was going to say, a Keegan.”
“I don’t want to help you.”
“Think about it. Please.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know if I want to investigate this or not. It’s making me sick. I didn’t sleep at all last night. I have to run the diner…”
“Why is Ava in there?”
“I hired her. She works for me now.”
“I guess I’m not the only desperate soul in town. Keep an eye on your cash register. She’s a known druggie.”
“Don’t worry about my business. Worry about your own, and you don’t have a soul. You don’t care about anyone except yourself. If you killed Reynolds, you better pray I don’t find out about it.”
He got to his feet again. “See? That right there. That’s what I need.”
“You don’t want to work with me, Bobby.”
“Yes, I do!”
“People will talk. I’m a Keegan and I’m gay. Think about it, and if you did this, a confession would be a good idea right now. They’ll go easy on Paul Ryker’s son, and because you’re a cop. You suck at it, but they gave you a badge and a gun. It means something.”
“Thanks, but I didn’t do it. If you find out who did, will you come and tell me?”
“You want the glory of finding the killer?”
“No. I want to help the guy. Whoever it is, I can put them in a hospital and get them some treatment. After I saw those videos…” He shook his head. His eyes were moist and his hand was shaking. “Right here, Seth. Right here in our town. For years! This happened to our friends, our neighbors and nobody could stop it. No one knew.”
“Makes me wonder what else we don’t know,” I said, meeting his gaze. “Anymore questions?”
“No. That’s all.” He struggled to regain his composure, and he straightened the papers on his desk. “You can go. Don’t leave town.”
I forced a bitter laugh. “Where am I going?”
“Wait. One more thing. I have to question Old Man Keegan. Do you think you can convince him to come in?”
I laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“I might have to get a warrant.”
“Get one for all the good it will do ya.”
“Can’t you just bring him in?” Bobby pleaded.
“No. Hell no! He shot me in the leg when I was nine years old just to show me how much it hurts. He broke my arm and busted my face in when I was seventeen! You want my pa? You go get him.”
“Come on, Seth!” he begged.
I walked out of the office and didn’t look back.
Chapter 8
I went back to the diner. Steve was sitting at the counter talking to Ava, and the cat was on the floor, at his feet. Everyone else was gone. The place was empty. My lunch rush hour vanished. In a way, I was okay with that. I was not in the mood to face people. I sat down on a stool beside Steve. He had a burger and fries on a plate in front of him, but he’d only eaten a few fries. “Are you okay?”
“I lost my business, my reputation and my clients all in one day,” he said. “On top of that, everyone thinks I stabbed a history teacher twenty-eight times. I think the answer to your question has to be no, honey. I’m not okay. Look at me. How long do you think I’ll last in prison? I don’t want to be Bubba’s bitch.”
I rested my elbow on the counter and put my face in the palm of my hand. I felt like crying. How did this happen?
“Don’t worry about it. My family is going to get me out of trouble. I’ll have to go to New York for the holidays, but everything will be okay.”
I looked at him. “How can you be so sure?”
“My grandfather is Larry Elias Sullivan.”
“Who?”
Ava punched it up on her phone and showed me an older man who had a striking resemblance to Steve. He owned the LES Company which claimed ownership to ninety luxury brands worldwide. It listed items I knew existed, but could never touch. Sports cars, jets and five star hotels. I didn’t know what to say.
“He won’t let me go to prison,” Steve said.
“But your last name is Lark? Do you have a fake last name?”
“It’s my mother’s family. She joined a commune and met my dad. Moving to Buck Valley was what they considered moving off the grid.”
“We’re not off the grid,” I said.
“Compared to living in Manhattan, you are. My parents decided this was where they wanted me to be. So, here I am. They wouldn’t want me to call my grandfather for anything, but I think, in this case, they’d make an exception.”
“You’re worth…” I took the phone out of Ava’s hand and looked at it closely.
“Not yet and I hope my grandfather lives a long, long life. I hope he reaches 110 years old.”
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? You told me to come and eat. I’m trying to settle my nerves
.”
“I know but...” I glanced at Ava. She looked happier than I’ve ever seen her. I wiped my hand over my face. “It’s been a long day.”
“It’s 11:30 in the morning,” Ava said.
I shook my head. I think I heard my brains rattle around.
“What did Ryker want from you?” Steve asked.
“I told him we were investigating the case. I asked him if he killed Reynolds, and he said no. He told me it was a crazy idea.”
“Was it, though?”
“That’s what I said. Then, get this. He wants me to go get Pa and bring him into the police station for questioning because if you didn’t kill Reynolds, he thinks Pa might have.”
“What did you say?”
“I said no. I told him to go get Pa if he wants him.”
“He won’t go up there. Ryker’s afraid of mountain folk. Besides, he’s only got jurisdiction in town. The F.B.I got the mountain,” Ava said. “He’d have to call the Feds on Old Man Keegan.”
“Oh shit!” I jumped off the stool, burst through my front door and ran to my truck. I started the ignition and pushed the gas pedal to the floor. I took all the back roads I knew and made it to Pa’s in fifteen minutes. The way I barreled onto the property prompted him and Ma to have their guns on me. I got out of the truck with my hands in the air.
“What the hell is wrong with you, boy?” Pa asked, walking toward me.
“Feds are coming!”
“Get it moving! Ma! Call Casey in! We’re going to need his truck. We got to move this shine to the hideaway!”
I wondered, what the hell was wrong with me? I could have left, but I didn’t. I found myself backing up to the barn and loading cases of moonshine into the bed of my truck. While we loaded case after case, I explained the situation to Pa. “They said they’re coming for you.”
“Me? What do they think I did?”
“They think you killed Reynolds.”
Who’s Reynolds?”
“The body at Indian Rock. It was Joe Reynolds, the school teacher. Turns out, he was getting at the boys. Hundreds of them, for years.”
“He touch you?”
“No, Sir, but he got Steve and JD Hayward.”
“I didn’t kill him,” Pa said, “but I would have if I’d known that. Why are you helping me?”
I stopped with a case in my hands, half-way to the truck bed. “Well, I’m a Keegan, ain’t I?”
“That you are,” Pa said, smiling. “Get this load going. Come back for another.”
“Yessir,” I can’t explain it. Maybe the last twenty-four hours made me crack up. Could be the last bit of sense I had left when I found out Steve would one day be worth billions and he wouldn’t want anything to do with a backwoods ridge-runner. For some odd reason, I felt safe on the mountain. I was fine running the moonshine. I found myself hoping that Ma had made her stew that day with fresh biscuits. Some part of me wanted to go upstairs at that old cabin and sleep on the floor next to the wood stove like I used to. After all, Pa was just protecting his business. Casey acted like any older brother. He had a lot of chances to seriously hurt me, and he never did. Ma always cared, no matter what happened.
We put the moonshine in the hideaway shack and went back to the cabin. The evening went on like any other. I explained to them what happened in town, told them about Mr. Reynolds and let them know about what Bobby Ryker said.
“If he sends them Feds up here, we’ll have them chasing their tails,” Casey said.
We laughed as we sat around the table eating Ma’s stew. As odd as they were, these people were my family. I belonged here, and I realized how peaceful things could be on the mountain when there wasn’t any trouble going on. Up here, I didn’t have to worry about my diner. I didn’t have to think about Steve being arrested. I didn’t have to wonder if he’d go off to New York and leave me behind at Christmas time when the snow came. For now, it was fall. The air on the mountain smelled like sweet apples. Ma’s kitchen was warm and comfortable. The leaves were changing, and the forest was a kaleidoscope of reds, yellows and bright orange. Best of all, our nearest neighbors, the Haywards, were on the other side of the ridge. I didn’t have to think about Mr. Reynolds and what he’d done to those kids. On the mountain, I was just Seth, and I didn’t have to solve anything. Pa had all the answers and he gave them to us on a regular basis. None of us had to think.
But I started thinking about Steve, anyway. He probably left the diner and went home alone. Was he drinking again? He said his family would get him out of trouble, but if he liked them so much, why hadn’t he moved to New York? He could have had a real fancy hair salon there with the money from his grandfather. Why was he in Buck Valley?
“What’s on your mind, Seth James?” Ma asked. She’d finished cleaning up the kitchen, and she sat down at the table. She looked tired. Pa and Casey were on the porch smoking and having the blackest, darkest coffee they could make. It was so rich and thick, a spoon would probably stand up in it. “You ain’t said a word. That’s not like you.”
“Living is easy up here.”
“Easy? Did you hit your head somewhere?” She got up from the table, took a cup from the shelf and poured coffee for me.
I smiled, appreciating it when someone served me. It was a nice change. “Thanks Ma, and no, I didn’t. I was thinking about how peaceful it is on the mountain.”
“It is, until your Pa and Casey get into it.”
“True.”
“You’re not planning to spend the night, are you?”
I didn’t say anything.
“Listen,” she said, “I’m sure your pa is grateful for the warning you gave him and he’s extended his hospitality, but he knows what you been up to.”
“Huh?”
“You know what the bible says, son, and your pa is God fearin’. Man must not lie with man. You best finish your coffee and get back to town before sunset. Unless you can tell him you’ve been to church and repented for your sins.”
I looked at the coffee cup. “I haven’t been to church, Ma.”
“Finish up then and get going now.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“I’ll pray for you, son.”
“Thanks Ma.” I swallowed the rest of the coffee and got up from the table. I gave her a hug and walked out the door. I thought Pa and Casey were on the porch, but I didn’t see them anywhere. I figure they’ve gone off hunting together, enjoying some father and son activity I lost my right to share. It was cooler in the mountains than it was in town. I got in my truck and put the heater on. Giving Ma a short wave and a smile, I drove off ignoring the heaviness in my chest. It was home. It was somewhat safe and sometimes I missed being there. I knew they’d never change, but I also knew I couldn’t either.
Chapter 9
It was dark and chilly when I got back to town. They put up tables and vendor’s booths up near the gazebo. The annual Buck Valley Fall Festival begins tomorrow. All of the craft people come out and farmers sell their pumpkins. There are usually food, music and dancing. It’s not a huge event, but because there’s nothing else to do around here, everyone attends.
Steve was in the diner, waiting at the counter. Most of the lights were out, and he turned the sign over for me. I opened the front door and went inside.
“Did you go up to warn them about the Feds?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Family.” I paused. It was uncomfortable. I didn’t want to ask how he was doing. That was obvious. He was still here, instead of at home. “Bobby was annoyed when I asked if he killed Reynolds, but he didn’t look guilty.”
“No?”
“I didn’t think so.”
“Do I?”
“No. I know it wasn’t you.”
“You’re the only one in town who thinks so.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “We have to go back.”
“Back where?”
I went behind the counter and poured a cup of coffee. “Did you eat?”
“A little.”
“Did Ava go home?”
“Yes, and you’re stalling me. I’ve been sitting here thinking about it,” he said. “We have to do this. Even if my family gets me out of the situation, everyone in town will think I killed Reynolds.”
I sighed. “Steve…”
“I’m serious. What have I got to lose?”
“You could get into more trouble.”
“I’m not…”
“Listen,” I said, putting my hand over his on the counter. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I already feel lost.”
I went back around to the other side of the counter and sat on the stool next to him. “I’ll tell you what, this day has been a nightmare. It’s the weekend. The festival is tomorrow. Let’s try to forget about this for now, get some sleep, and start over. Will you go with me to the festival?”
He looked up. His eyes brightened. “Like...a date?”
“Yes. You and me. Right there in the center of town. Arm in arm, together. What do you say?”
“Yes! I say yes! But...do you want to be seen with me now?”
I chuckled and shook my head.
“What?”
“That’s the question I’m always asking myself. Why would you want to be seen with me?”
“Because,” he said, “I love you. I want to give this a real try. I think it’s time, don’t you?
“Definitely. That’s why I asked. I want to spend as much time with you as possible.”
“In case I end up in prison?”
“No. I believe your family can get you off. In case you end up going to New York,” I admitted. “I don’t know what I’d do without you here.”
“If I go, it will only be for a short time. I’d have to properly thank my grandfather. Favors like those don’t go ignored.”
I nodded. “So, uh...are you going home tonight or do you want to stay?”
He smiled, leaned over and kissed me. “I’d love to stay with you.”
Harvest Moon (Buck Valley Mysteries Book 2) Page 4
