South River Incident (21 page)

“Who were you talking to,
Jesse?” Claire asked, walking into the kitchen. “I see the phone’s back in
service.”

“Yes,” I said. “The phone’s
working. That was Mom’s doctor. She’s been released and I’m going to get her.”

“I thought we were going to
make her stay in the hospital.”

“Forget what I said. The
storm didn’t last long enough to trap her and force her to stay. I thought we’d
get snowed in and she wouldn’t be able to leave the hospital, but I was wrong.
She wants to leave and if I don’t go get her, she said she’d call a cab. I
believe she will.”

“I think you should talk to
Billy first,” Claire said. “Have you been outside? It looks pretty bad.” She
walked over to the front door and pulled back the curtain. “Look, Jesse. You
can’t see anything but the tops of the cars. I bet there’s twenty-five inches
of snow on the ground. You can’t go anywhere. I think it would be physically
impossible.”

I walked over and stood
beside her, peeking through the glass pane.

“I think that’s a good
idea, Claire. Maybe I should go wake up Billy.”

“That won’t be necessary,”
he spoke softly as he walked down the staircase, fully dressed and ready for
the day. “I’ve been awake for a while. I’ll drive my truck and go get your
mother. This is not a journey for two city girls. This is a man’s job.”

“What?” Claire and I
protested, indignantly.

“It’s the place of the man
to protect the women. You’re the women, and I’m the man...” He was adamant as
he beat his chest with his fist. “I’ll bring her here. The storm’s not over.
It’s still for now, but soon it will do real damage. Yes, I will take care of
her, She will not... ”

Claire rolled her eyes at
me. I cocked my head toward her, and batted my eyelashes at Billy.

“Your wit is what attracted
me to you in the first place,” Billy kissed the side of my face. “Claire,” he
turned to her and said, “Make sure Jesse stays in the house. I don’t want her
running around while I’m gone. Keep the place locked up and the cell phones
charged while we still have power. Mine died last night.”

“I’m not going outside
unless I have to,” I tried to reassure a non-listening audience. Billy and
Claire were in a conversation all by themselves. They weren’t listening to me.
I had lost control of the situation.

Claire and I stood on the
front porch, barely clothed, watching Billy try to get his truck out from under
the fallen snow. Eventually, he cleared a path where he had been parked, and
managed to use the force of his truck to forge ahead. Once he had made it out
of the long driveway and down
Bear
Mountain Road
, he would be on a main
road that we could only hope had been plowed by VDOT. I wouldn’t have to worry
too much about him after that. I held my breath until I saw the tail lights of
his truck disappear. He’ll be fine, I kept telling myself. He knows what he’s
doing.

Claire wrapped her arm
around me, and led me inside.

“He’ll be fine, Jesse. He’s
a good driver.”

“He’s a good man,” I added.

The house was warm, but
lonely without Billy. I missed him. I was finding this new and empty feeling a
bit strange. I’d never felt sad when the person I was dating wasn’t around. I’d
just go on about my business doing whatever it was I was doing. However, with
Billy, it was different. We weren’t dating; we were engaged. I found that I
wanted us to be together all the time, and when we weren’t, it would make me
sad and lonely. Did Billy share these same feelings? Was this how true love
felt?

“I’m going to check on the
kids.” Claire’s words snapped me out of my daze. “If Mom’s going to be here
soon, maybe we should get a room set up for her. You know how funny she can
be.”

“There’s not much to do.
The beds upstairs already have sheets on them.”

“We could change the sheets
so there would be fresh linens on the beds, and we could do a little dusting.”

I realized she was trying
to keep my mind occupied with household chores until Billy’s return. She must
have sensed my lack of direction.

“That’s a good idea. I
finally did get around to unpacking my stuff, but I haven’t spent much time on
housework.” My hyperactivity mode kicked in. “I’ll go strip the beds and put
the sheets in the wash while you see to the kids. I bought extra linen the
other day, but they haven’t been washed.”

“That’s okay,” Claire
responded. “We’ll wash the new sheets and the ones on the beds. It shouldn’t
take too long. We have plenty of time.”

I turned and headed
upstairs, feeling happy inside. It was time to turn this house into a home! I
wanted it all, and I was going to have it.

I bundled the sheets,
blankets and bedspreads into balls, and tossed them down the steps. Claire
picked up one of the balls and mumbled something about the kids being asleep,
and was gone in a flash. A minute later, I heard the hum of the washing machine
start and the sound of rushing water splashing in the tub.

By the time we heard the
kids come to life downstairs, Claire and I had dusted the furniture with a damp
rag, and damp-mopped all the floors. The second load of sheets was ready for
the dryer.

“Pretty good timing,”
Claire said, walking down the stairs carrying the mop bucket. “We couldn’t have
planned it any better.”

“You’re so good at
cleaning,” I said. “If I had to do this job by myself, I’d still be on the
first room. My cooking is horrible and my housekeeping skills could use some
improvement.”

“The more you do it, the
better you get,” Claire laughed. “I’ve had years of experience. I can clean a house
in no time flat. I can show you ways to cut your cleaning time in half, if
you’re interested.”

“Sure, I am. I need all the
help I can get.”

It was
noon
before I noticed
the time. The rooms upstairs were ready for company, and the downstairs had
been cleaned and mopped. The kids had eaten breakfast and were talking about
wanting more food. I was putting fresh sheets on my bed when I glanced at the
clock on my makeshift nightstand.

Claire was in the kitchen
making a snack for the kids, when I walked into the room.

“Don’t you think they
should be here by now?” I asked her. “I’m worried. They should have been home a
long time ago.”

“I’ve been thinking the
same thing. Maybe you should try calling. Mom has her cell phone. I know,
because I took it to her at the hospital.”

I went to the wall phone
and started to pick up the receiver, when all of a sudden, it rang.

“Hello,” I said, putting
the phone to my ear. “Hello... Hello... Who is this? Hello!” Irritated, I
slammed down the receiver and glanced at Claire. “It was just someone playing
tricks.”

The phone rang again.

I snatched up the receiver
and barked, “Hello!”

“Is the lady of the house
on a rampage?” Billy chuckled.

“Where are you?” I
demanded. “I’ve been worried sick!”

“We’re at your mother’s
house.”

“What are you doing there?”
I asked, baffled.

“Your mom refused to come
stay with us unless she had a few items so we swung by here. My cab’s so full,
I’ll probably have to drive home with a suitcase in my lap.”

“Let me talk to her!”

“Forget it, Jesse, she’s almost
finished. Besides, I just told her she had five more minutes, and then I’m
dragging her out of the house.”

“Please hurry. The last
time I looked at the sky it was pretty intense. I think you were right about
the storm not being over.”

“I tried to tell your mom
that, but she doesn’t want to believe me. She will see. I’m usually right about
these things.”

“Trust me, Billy. She’s my
mom and I know how she can be.”

“We should get there in
about an hour. The roads aren’t too bad, considering what we’re up against,”
Billy said. “Ah, she’s ready. Jesse, I have to get off the phone. Your mom’s
waiting on me.”

I was so relieved they were
fine that I hung up the receiver before I remembered to ask Billy if he had
seen my gun. Regardless of the chaos in my life, it was still missing.

“It sounds like
everything’s all right,” Claire said. “Mom wouldn’t come without some of her
stuff, huh?”

“Yes,” I replied. “That’s
our mom!”

“I’m the same way,” Claire
admitted. “Isn’t it odd that I’m just like Mom, but she always liked you best?”

“I can’t believe you would
say that. It isn’t true. I’m probably the least favorite one of her children.
Are you serious or were you making a joke?”

“Sometimes I did wonder.”

The phone rang.

I looked at Claire and
waved her off as she motioned for me to sit at the table and have a bite to
eat. Later, I would discuss the possibility of her seeing a therapist. She was
still laughing when I picked up the phone.

“Hello, Jesse speaking.”

There was no reply. Someone
was there, but they didn’t say anything.

“Hello!” I shouted.
“Idiot.” I ranted, slamming down the receiver.

For some reason, I had the
strangest feeling about this second nobody-on-the-other-end call. If it wasn’t
Billy or Mom, who was it?

“Claire,” I walked over and
spoke quietly into her ear. “I don’t want the children to hear what I have to
say. Let’s have a private talk.” I motioned for her to follow me.

She made sure the kids were
settled in with their snacks before leaving them. Thor and Athena lay at the
feet of the innocent, waiting for the last crumb to fall.

“I don’t want to scare you,
but there’s a lot going on that you don’t know about. I think it’s time to tell
you.”

“What do you mean?”

I tried to explain my
theory in as few words as possible. “I think the woman who broke into Mom’s
house has also been here. I don’t know what she’s after, but I think it’s
connected to the murders of Roy and Mary Keen. I’m afraid she might come back
while we’re here and that could prove dangerous. She knows we’re onto her. That
phone call was not the first hang-up I’ve received.”

“She wouldn’t dare do
anything in broad daylight.”

“Wake up, girl,” I grabbed
her by the arm. “Two people are dead. Laura and Brad Westover were their
friends, and I think they all were involved in drugs. My guess is something
went sour and we’re right in the middle of it.”

“Wait a minute. I thought
they were cops!”

“
Roy
was a cop
until he got kicked off the force for stealing drugs and money from the
evidence room. Brad was his partner.”

“But isn’t Brad still a
cop?”

“Yes, and
Roy
is dead.”

“And Mary is dead.” Claire
began to take heed of my suspicions.

“Mary’s body turned up in
Mom’s backyard. Laura Westover broke into Mom’s house, and I believe she has
prowled around mine. She left clues. We came home the other day and the back
door was open. The dogs found a woman’s glove outside, and my Glock is
missing.”

“Your gun’s missing?”

“Don’t worry, I have a
backup. We’re not totally defenseless. That’s not all,” I muttered. “Laura left
a threatening message on my computer. She told me to stay out of her business
or die.”

“How do you know she was
the one who sent it?”

“Billy traced the message
back to her. It was either her or Brad because it came from their e-mail
address.”

I started to tell Claire
about our visit to
Roy
’s house the day he died, but decided against it. I
didn’t want to discuss the details of that horrible scene. I was sure the house
had been torn apart in a fit of jealous rage, and it was most likely the rage
of a woman scorned. I believed that woman to be Laura Westover.  I couldn’t
prove it, but to me, that made both Westovers dangerous.

“Do you think they had
something to do with
Roy
and Mary’s deaths?”

“If they didn’t, I think
they know who did. I think they’re both in on it as deep as you can get.”

Our discussion was brought
to a halt by a knock at the front door. We both let out a scream. Instantly,
Benny and Carrie burst out crying. The dogs started howling. Utter chaos
ensued. Claire ran to the children while I ran to the bedroom for my gun. I
made it back to the living room in time to see Chief Standing Deer walk through
the front door with a concerned look on his face. Sarah followed him inside.

“What’s all this noise?” He
demanded to know. “Sounds like a bunch of silly squaws. They’re either talking
or crying all the time.”

“Oh, stop it!” Sarah
brushed past her husband. “Can’t you see they’re scared? This is serious.” She
came over to me and put her small hand on mine. “How are you, dear?”

“I’m fine. You just scared
us to death, that’s all.”