Holly Grove Homecoming (22 page)

“No need to be,” Trooper assured her as he sat down across from her. He glanced at Carly. “Are you joining us?”

She hesitated. “Maybe Mrs. Abbott would prefer to talk to you alone.”

Marge spoke up. “No, you can stay. I guess since you and Trooper are so close, you know all about what happened twenty years ago.”

“Yes, I know about it,” Carly said as she slipped into a chair beside Trooper. “And I’m sorry for your loss.”

Marge blinked rapidly for a second. “Nobody says that to me anymore. Not many people said it back then. Everybody thought my Larry was a murderer.” She shifted her gaze from Carly back to Trooper. “I want you to know, Trooper, that my boy didn’t kill your mother and father. I believe that with all my heart.”

“I believe it too, Mrs. Abbott,” Trooper said softly.

Her eyes widened and her color, which had been rather high, faded. “You do?”

“I do. And I hope to prove that Larry is innocent.”

“I reckon you also want to prove your momma is innocent.”

“Of course. But I think the two go hand in hand.”

She nodded once, then grimaced. “I owe you an apology, Trooper. I always wanted somebody to believe in Larry but I never thought it would be you.”

Trooper held her gaze. “I never thought Larry was guilty, but I was little more than a boy myself back then and had no way of exonerating either Larry or my mother. I hope to change that now.”

Marge placed both hands flat on the table and pushed herself up. Trooper wondered if he was being fanciful, but he couldn’t help thinking that Mrs. Abbott looked twenty years younger than she had when she appeared on Carly’s back stoop that morning. He also got to his feet.

“I’m glad you made the effort to stop by and talk to me, Mrs. Abbott. If I find a way to uncover the truth after all these years, you’ll be one of the first to know.”

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, then faded, leaving Trooper with the impression that smiles for Mrs. Abbott had been few and far between over the past twenty years.

But her eyes appeared brighter and her voice stronger as she turned to speak to Carly. “I appreciate you letting me in this morning. I wasn’t sure you would, and I couldn’t have blamed you if you didn’t. But I appreciate it.”

“Feel free to come back anytime, Mrs. Abbott,” Carly said. “My door is always open to you.”

Mrs. Abbott smiled fully, then turned and made her way to the door where she paused and looked back. “You’re a good man, Trooper Myers, and your momma was a good woman. Neither her nor my boy deserve to have their names tarnished. I’m depending on you to remove that tarnish.”

She didn’t give Trooper time to respond. She just slipped out the back door and disappeared in the murky light of dawn, leaving Trooper to reflect that she’d just given him even more incentive to discover what had really happened all those years ago.

C
arly had watched
Trooper’s face during Mrs. Abbott’s visit and realized—even if he did not—that his ability to ease the woman’s mind had also brought him some degree of relief. She was thrilled that Mrs. Abbott had worked up the courage to leave her house and confront Trooper.

She was sorry, however, that Trooper hadn’t had a chance to finish sharing the details about his last assignment with her. She felt sure that talking about it would have been good for him, but now he obviously had other things on his mind.

He turned from watching Mrs. Abbott leave, then heaved a sigh. “Now I really have my work cut out for me. I can’t live with myself if I fail Mrs. Abbott in the way that was done twenty years ago.”

Carly walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Two things, Trooper. One, you’re not an unskilled, eighteen-year-old boy now. And two, you’ve got me on your side.”

She realized that the second part of her statement made her sound overconfident about her own abilities, but she wanted him to realize he was no longer alone. “Do you know what you want to do next?”

“Well, we need to reschedule our trip to Knoxville to look at those newspaper archives, but that’s not high on my list of priorities now. First I really need to get with Tommy and hopefully take a look at the supposed suicide note that was found beside Larry’s hand. I’m going to try to do that today.”

“I’m eager to see that note myself if you’ll allow me to. As a writer, I might be able to examine the language and syntax and make some sort of informed decision about the age of the writer.”

“You’re more than welcome to read the note if I get my hands on it. I’m just praying that Tommy actually had a copy and if he did, that it hasn’t been misplaced or thrown away years ago.”

“He said if he had a copy, it would be at his dad’s house, right?” Carly asked.

“Yeah, along with the other stuff he left there from his high school days. He married right after graduation, or so Aunt Myrna told me. I was gone by then.”

“So you didn’t stay around to graduate?”

“Nope. I couldn’t face a ceremony when my parents weren’t going to be with me, so I left.”

“I can understand that. But you must have been terribly lonely.”

“I was fortunate to be able to live with an uncle in Knoxville. As you know, Mom was one of eighteen children.”

“Yes, Myrna told me all about her family one of the first times we met. She was commenting on how many nieces and nephews she has. She said she’d never had any shortage of young people around her even though she never married and had no children of her own. She did hint that she’d had an unhappy ending to a romance when she was young but she didn’t elaborate.”

Trooper’s eyebrows shot up. “This is the first I’ve heard of something like that.”

Carly shrugged. “It’s possible I misunderstood her. Anyway, are you going to try to catch Tommy at home before he leaves for work?”

“No, I’ll wait until midmorning and drive out to the dealership. I need to visit Uncle Joey anyway, and I should be able to touch base with Tommy at the same time. If he can lay his hands on the suicide note, I won’t have to bother the sheriff again.”

“That makes sense,” Carly said, then wrinkled her nose. “I, unfortunately, have to write for a while today. I’m getting behind on my schedule, but if I write for a few hours, I should be able to devote some time to research.”

Trooper placed a hand on each of Carly’s shoulders and gazed into her face. “I really appreciate what you’re doing to help me, but I don’t want you neglecting your career.”

“I won’t, but your quest is much more important than my writing. For all we know, that monster may still be out there preying on some young man in Holly Grove.”

Trooper’s jaw clenched. “I pray you’re wrong but we’ve got to assume you’re right. I just wish I had a better idea of where to look.”

Carly rested a hand on his cheek. “It’s been twenty years, Trooper. You’re not likely to find an answer overnight.”

“No, but I’m afraid I won’t find an answer at all.”

Carly tapped his cheek gently, then dropped her hand. “Don’t take a defeatist attitude. After all, we have a few clues, which is more than you had to start with.”

“Thanks to you and Eric, we have one significant clue. We just have to be careful with it. I’d love to go out and ask people if they know anyone whose nickname is Pap, but then word might get back to him and he could disappear.”

“True. We’ll just have to keep our ears open and maybe do some more digging. How about high school yearbooks? Sometimes people wrote little notes in them.”

Trooper frowned. “I’m not following you. How could a note in a yearbook help?”

“I’m thinking that since this man was an authority figure, he could be someone from the high school—a teacher, a coach, even an administrator. If that were the case, some student might have written a note saying ‘Thanks, Pap, for all you’ve done for me over the last four years.’ I realize it’s a long shot and maybe not worth our time.”

“I agree that it’s a long shot, but long shots have paid off before. I’ll ask Tommy if he still has his yearbook. I left mine behind when I drove out of town twenty years ago. There’s no telling where it is now.”

“You might ask Myrna if she has it.”

Trooper nodded. “She might. I told her to take anything she wanted out of the house after I left town. I never asked her what she took.”

“Now might be a good time to ask. I know you worry about upsetting Myrna, but I think she might welcome an opportunity to talk about what happened after you left town. However, she probably hesitates to bring up that period of time for fear of upsetting you.”

“You may be right, but frankly, if I started talking about it and Aunt Myrna started crying…” He paused and gulped. “My mom was Myrna’s favorite sister, you know.”

“I know. But she’s a strong woman, probably stronger than you realize. I don’t think you need to worry quite so much about upsetting her.”

“You’re right. Myrna is one of the strongest women I know. I’ll talk to her today. But first I think I’ll go for a run. It’s still early enough to be relatively cool outside. Want to come along?” He grinned.

Carly wrinkled her nose at him. “Gee, thanks for the invitation, but I’m going to have to pass. I have more important things to do.”

“Such as?”

“Sit and drink coffee.”

Trooper’s grin broadened. “I thought you might say that. In any case, I need to go across the street and get my running shoes. And I need to leave you alone so you can get some writing done. Why don’t you call me later today when you’re free? We’ll make further plans then.”

“Okay. Come on, I’ll walk you to the front door.”

Carly started to turn but Trooper pulled her into a quick hug, then gave her a meaningful look. “Thanks for everything you’re doing to help me. It means a lot.”

“No thanks are necessary. What we’re doing is as much for my peace of mind as yours. If we find out who murdered your parents, I’ll know who destroyed Eric’s life and I’ll feel less guilty about having failed him.”

Trooper nodded, then headed toward the front of the house. “I’d better get a move on or it will be too hot to run.”

“Right.” Carly followed him down the hallway and opened the front door for him. “I’ll call you later.”

Trooper dropped a brief kiss on her lips, then turned and loped down the sidewalk and across the street. Carly watched until he disappeared up the steps leading to Myrna’s front porch. She stepped back into the hallway just as FluffBall appeared from the direction of the living room and began brushing up against her leg.

“Hungry, are you, Fluff?” Carly asked as she leaned over to scratch the cat’s head. “Come on to the kitchen then, and I’ll give you some breakfast.” She welcomed the interruption because feeding FluffBall gave her another excuse to stay downstairs a few more minutes. She dreading going back to her office and trying to immerse herself in her current novel. Everything that was going on in her life right now was much more interesting than the trials of her heroine, but she had a contract to fulfill, which meant she had to buckle down and get to work, which she would do just as soon as she got FluffBall fed.

* * *

T
rooper was pleased
when he let himself into the house to discover that Myrna was still in bed. He left a note to let her know he’d been home but was going for his run. He then changed clothes and exited the house, pausing on the front porch to stretch before setting off on his run.

He’d barely gotten into the zone before he heard himself being hailed as he approached Mr. Underwood’s house. Ordinarily, he preferred not to stop in the middle of a run, but he was happy to pause to talk to Tommy’s dad.

Mr. Underwood stood near the front gate in the picket fence that encircled his property. He held a rolled-up newspaper. “Just retrieving my morning paper from the shrubbery,” he said with a wry grin. “I’d complain, but I remember when you and Tommy both had newspaper routes. I always hated it when folks on Tommy’s route complained because he hadn’t managed to throw the paper exactly where they wanted it. I longed to ask them how accurate they’d be, riding a bike and throwing a paper at the same time, but I refrained. How about you? Did you get complaints too?”

“Of course.” Trooper returned his grin. “I always tried to throw the papers onto people’s front porches, but some mornings I got in a hurry and I think my aim might have been a little off. I didn’t stick around to see.”

Mr. Underwood’s grin widened. “I’m not sure my carrier does more than lob the paper toward my gate, but that’s okay. Hunting for the paper gives me a reason to walk a few feet, which is about as much exercise as I’m up for these days. I sure admire you, going for a run this early. I won’t keep you any longer. I know runners don’t like to be interrupted.”

“No problem,” Trooper assured him. “As a matter of fact, I’m glad you stopped me. I’m planning to drive out to Uncle Joey’s later this morning and was hoping to see Tommy again. Do you happen to know if he’s working today?”

“So far as I know. He told me he wanted to drop by one evening and go through some of the old papers he left here. Something about looking for that Abbott boy’s suicide note. Do you want me to look for it? Tommy stays so busy, I’m not sure when he’ll make time to come by.”

“Thanks anyway, but I don’t want to put you to the trouble. Besides, I’m hoping to see Tommy later today. I’ll rattle his chain again.”

“Oh, I don’t mind looking. I’ve got more time on my hands than you two young fellows. So, if I start going through Tommy’s things, it’s the suicide note you’re interested in, right?”

“Yes, but I’m also hoping to locate a copy of our yearbook, so if you were to run across that, I’d appreciate it if you’d set it aside for me too.”

“You didn’t keep yours?”

“I left it behind when I left town.”

“Of course. I should have realized.” Mr. Underwood sighed. “Me and a lot of other folks felt bad when you left the way you did, not only because we worried about you but also because we worried about Myrna. It was bad enough that she’d lost her sister and brother-in-law, but it seemed like she’d lost you too, and we all knew you were her favorite.”

Trooper’s muscles tensed, not only from standing still so long but also in reaction to words that brought back memories he still hadn’t fully dealt with. He rolled his shoulder. “Maybe I should have stayed around Holly Grove longer. Lord knows it took me too long to come back. Fortunately, all of my cousins watched after Myrna in my place.”

“That’s true, but she missed you.” Mr. Underwood took a step back, away from the gate. “Well, I’ve kept you too long, and I can tell that your shoulder is bothering you some. You go on with your run. I’ll call you at Myrna’s if I find that yearbook or note or anything else you might want to see.”

Trooper forced a smile. “If you decide to go through Tommy’s things, keep in mind that I’d be interested in looking at whatever you might run across from that period. Newspaper clippings. Anything at all.”

Mr. Underwood retreated another step. “I’ll remember, Trooper. You take care now.” He turned and shuffled back down the walk leading to his front porch. Trooper was surprised to see that his friend’s father had aged so much. On the other hand, perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised. Myrna had told him about Tommy’s mother dying and about how devastated Mr. Underwood was by her death. Obviously it had taken a physical toll on him.

Trooper watched until Mr. Underwood had safely negotiated the steps leading up to his front porch and then disappeared inside. After that, he stretched for a couple more minutes before continuing his run. He’d have to cut it a little shorter than usual. Not only was the day heating up, but he was also in a hurry to get back to Myrna’s house and clean up so he’d have time to drive out to his uncle Joey’s and hopefully catch Tommy before he went to lunch.

Myrna was waiting for him in the living room when he got back to her house. “Your uncle Joey called a few minutes ago. He said to tell you he was sorry he missed your visit the other day, and he’s hoping you can drop back by the dealership soon. He’s leaving for another trip the day after tomorrow. I do believe that man goes to every conference he hears about. If I was a catty woman, I’d say he welcomes an opportunity to get out of town, seeing how demanding Nancy is.”