Chris looked back at me, obviously desperate to change the subject. “So, Tim and Jackie finally got divorced. That was a whole mess. We got called out there all the time because they were always yelling at each other and throwing things and the neighbors kept calling on them. Bet they’ll be remarried within the year, though.” I gave a half-hearted huff of laughter. I didn’t care about my former teammate and cheerleader. They were just more assholes from high school, like me.
Chris glanced out the window for a second, then looked back at me. “Oh, man,” he went on. “Did you know Brandon Bates? He was a few years older than us. He graduated when we were almost out of middle school.” The name was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it. For some reason my mind went to social media instead of a face in town.
“I don’t think so...” I trailed off, suddenly remembering where I’d heard the name. He was the person who’d beenmurdered. I still couldn’t quite place who he was. “I think I may have seen something online, though.”
“Dude, it was crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it, never even heard of anything like it happening around here. They found him in his hunting cabin out in the woods. Chase was the one who went out there for the welfare check. Definitely got more than he expected. Brandon was stabbed thirty-seven times. What a mess. Crazy thing was, he wasn’t a small guy. He was tall and bulky from heavy labor. He was imposing and not friendly, definitely not someone you’d think of being overpowered by a perp with a knife. It was...” He trailed off again, looking at me with wide eyes. “Damn, I’m sorry, Mason. I shouldn’t talk about work like this with you. You’re here for a break from all this shit. I’m glad you’re here, and I hope we can all really catch up soon. I’m sorry.”
I started to tell him it was fine, but Jodie brought my food over and placed it on the table in front of me with a wink as she told me to enjoy. I looked at my food and started eating, but noticed when Derrick nudged Chris. “Dude,” he hissed. “I know it’s still kind of work related, but you should tell him. I mean, I think he should know.”
Chris looked at Derrick with a warning look and a little bit of the horror he’d had when Derrick first spoke. I stared at them while continuing to eat my food. Chris looked around without meeting my eyes. I knew I probably shouldn’t let it, but my curiosity got the best of me. “Tell me what?”
Chris sighed. “It’s nothing you need to worry about. It’s all settled, and there’s nothing you could do anyway. I mean, I know you guys were close when you were young, but...”
I raised an eyebrow, no idea where the conversation was heading. “Just fucking tell me,” I prompted.
Chris finally looked at me. “Brandon was... I mean the number one suspect when it first happened was Elijah.”
I froze, fork halfway to my mouth. “What?Why?”
Chris shifted in his seat. “Because Elijah had motive. I mean, if we’re being real, a lot of people had motive, but Elijahhad more than anyone. There weren’t too many tears shed at the news Brandon was gone, just a lot of people concerned that a murder had happened here, in their safe little town.”
I set my fork down. My blood had started to get hot, and I knew it would come to a boil if I kept asking questions. Even though I’d been a complete asshole in high school, the answer was going to piss me off, but I asked anyway. “Why did Elijah have motive, then?”
Chris looked at me again. “Brandon and Elijah, they were a thing, I guess. He didn’t exactly live with Elijah, but they were always together. I don’t think Brandon ever admitted he was into guys, but it was pretty damn obvious. The bruises were obvious too. Elijah isn’t clumsy, but he always had some kind of excuse for where they came from. I tried to get him to talk to me when he ended up in the hospital with broken ribs, but he would never admit it was Brandon. The guy was a giant prick when he was drinking, even in public. He was livid if any other guy so much as spoke to Elijah. The whole town was scared of him, which made his murder even that much more shocking.”
My teeth ground together hard enough to be painful. I was aware that I hadn’t protected Elijah from myself in high school, but when we were young, back when we were still innocent and I wasn’t hiding from myself, I’d been overly protective of him. All the instincts I’d had back then came rushing back as Chris went on. “Anyway, Elijah had an alibi that night. He was out with his friends. There’s proof he was in town at the time of the murder. And he actually seemed sadder than most people when he found out, even though they’d obviously broken up months prior. There’s no reason not to believe him, but there are still people who suspect he knew or somehow orchestrated it.” Chris paused, then to clarify he added, “He didn’t.”
I knew that. Elijah would never do something like that, no matter how badly someone treated him. I’d known him better than anyone growing up, and I’d hurt him badly, so I should know.
“So anyway, since it was someone he was... close to, Ithought maybe there was a chance that he, you know...” Chris trailed off, once again avoiding my eyes as well as Derrick’s, and looked a little sheepish. He put both hands on his coffee and stared into it.
“He what?” Derrick asked, scrunching his face up in confusion.
Chris sighed. “He was speeding today, and I normally wouldn’t have bothered pulling him over, but I saw an opportunity to talk to him. Don’t you guys remember how he got feelings and stuff when we were in school? He used to freak me the fuck out. Remember when I was working on the school paper with him and he had a weird thing with his head that wasn’t exactly a headache, and I left to take him to the nurse and right after that a car crashed through the wall? I’d probably be dead if he hadn’t insisted I go with him. And there was that day that was really nice and there wasn’t even rain predicted and he kept saying something was wrong and there was a tornado? I mean, come on, that’s all weird. There were other times too, smaller things. And I swear he looked at that empty bathroom downstairs at school like something was going to come out of it and chase him every time he passed it. I never used it because of that even though it was usually empty.”
Derrick was looking at Chris like he’d grown another head. “Man, are you serious right now? Do you think he’s psychic or something?”
Chris shrugged. “I don’t know what I think, but it doesn’t matter either way. I can’t officially question him about it, or they’d have me committed. We were told to leave it alone. He’s already been questioned, and he hasn’t tried to skip town. I doubt you could pry him out of his house no matter how much danger he thought he was in. He loves that place.”
“I hope we stay friends forever and live together in a cottage in the woods.”
“Is it a cottage in the woods?” I asked, even though I almost choked on the words.
Chris wrinkled his brow. “Yeah. I guess you could callit that. Anyway, he told me he doesn’t know anything and it doesn’t work like that. So I guess leaving it alone is all I can do. The police department would never take the psychic thing seriously anyway. If I wasn’t a police officer here, in this town, I’d question him about it for real, try to figure out if there were any leads to be had there, maybe try to get him out to the crime scene. But you know, Iama police officerhere, so I can’t.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as I started eating again. “Don’t look at me like that. What, you thinkIcan talk to him? You think he’d actually give me the time of day? I mean, come on, Chris. You were there. You’re asking the wrong guy. Derrick would have better luck than me.”
Derrick shook his head adamantly. “Oh no. Derrick is not touching this one with a ten-foot pole. You’re both crazy for even entertaining the idea. Don’t look at me.”
Chris huffed at Derrick. “I told you I didn’t want to say anything and you got me talking about detective work again.” He looked back at me. “Hey, you should come out with us tonight. It’ll be good for you to get out and act normal for a bit. We can catch up over drinks. No work talk, I promise.”
My parents were hiding their alcohol in fear I’d become despondent again. There was only one bar in town, and everyone went there. As much as I didn’t want to seeeveryone, I really wanted a damn drink. I grinned at Chris as I finished my breakfast. “Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter 5
Elijah
Rory had fucked up my head for the rest of the day, and she didn’t even know it. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she didn’t question my sudden ineptitude. She just came to my rescue when I couldn’t hit the vein on a Great Dane, when I screwed up an ear cytology, and when I quicked a cat’s nail. “You need a break,” was all she said. And I did, but I wanted the break alone, in my house. I needed time to wallow in my memories and lament the fact that though I’d had a few of them, the tormentor who’d hurt me the most was back.
