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 nine in the morning, so we need to leave by seven o’clock. We’ll stop by your place so you can gather a few things,” he said. He knew I had packed already, but it was for Audrey’s sake. “I’m going to go pack a bag,” 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 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 it was me who 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 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 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. He 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 too.
“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’s 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 on and off 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.”
