The Green Children: A Sycamore Moon Novel (Sycamore Moon Series Book 3) (26 page)

Diego sighed, thankful at least for the short respite. He heaved his shotgun and started forward, but Maxim held him back.

"Look," he said, pointing to the expanse of woods ahead.

Diego saw it. The bluish-white fires returned to life within the trees. A mass of them, all on top of each other. All on top of Red.

A scream pierced the air.

Diego crossed his arms over his chest. "He lost his iron."

Wild rays of light escaped the trees, cutting back and forth. The leaves bustled violently. Red howled now. Gone were the taunts, the curses, and even the words in the end. The only sounds that escaped his lips were gurgles, and even that cacophony withered away with the unnatural, dying light.

A soft wind blew over the canopy and lifted the fog. It rolled through the grass and washed against Diego's face as it escaped to higher ground. Then Sycamore became still. And for the first time in five days, it was truly beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maxim fixed his collar and hurried through the black iron gates of Sanctuary Memory Lawn. He didn't like cemeteries. The dead spoke to him through clues, through the desperation of their killers. He didn't see anything meaningful or peaceful about funerals. Yet every day, crowds shared uplifting stories about those that had passed on.

The ugly truth never entered those tales.

Many people were gathered around the grave. Olivia Hayes had a larger circle of influence than Maxim had expected. She stood front and center by the casket. Although the priest was reading from the bible directly opposite, the mother's eyes were lowered, staring at the hard ground, whispering one last goodbye to her Annabelle.

Maxim wondered if he'd be able to get through this without her noticing him. It was a fantasy, of course. Wishful thinking that the inevitable could be avoided. But the detective knew better. Olivia would be expecting him.

Beside her, Bertrand Collins stared past the proceedings, a melancholy look on his face. Maxim scanned the rest of the group and was surprised to see Annabelle's father in attendance. He, like Maxim, was a man on the outskirts. Afraid to mingle outside his element. Afraid to confront the truths of what this day meant.

Finally, Maxim settled on a smaller group paying their respects in the back. Diego held a strong arm around Julia Cunningham. At his other side, he gripped Hazel's hand tightly. None of them had known Annabelle. Not really. But each of them understood in different ways the tragedy that had occurred.

The detective shook his head. Diego may have been an outlaw, but he had a lot of heart. Maybe that was why Maxim overlooked the legal missteps the biker often made. Sometimes Maxim wondered what it would be like to let loose completely. To uproot and turn his life on a dime. But the detective knew that would never be in his cards. More and more, he was a slave to his calling. More and more, he wanted to be.

Maxim quietly stepped behind them and tapped the biker's back. "Didn't expect to see you here."

Diego de la Torre smiled. "Yes you did."

Maxim didn't have a rejoinder. He returned Julia's wave and removed his white panama hat from his head. They listened to the eulogy for a few moments, then he pointed out the perimeter. "You ever look closely at cemetery gates?"

The biker furrowed his brow and checked. Maxim noticed the second Diego realized.

"The bastard's pike," said Diego. "He stole it from a cemetery."

Maxim nodded. "That explains the fleur-de-lis. You know, it's funny. Red used the old iron to keep his ghosts at bay, but the gates were meant to keep them in. This whole place is a trap."

"Not for her, Maxim. She's free now. You know that more than anybody."

Again, the detective didn't know what to say. He was comfortable with death, but funerals were awkward. If it were up to him, he'd be chugging a bottle of bourbon right now. But it wouldn't be that kind of day. He had business to attend to.

Maxim changed the subject. "They're still finding pieces of Red."

Julia turned to him with a horrified gasp. Diego narrowed his eyes. The biker shoved Maxim away from his girls with a whisper of apology.

After they distanced themselves from the others, Diego shook his head. "What's wrong with you, bro?"

"Sorry. I'm not used to kids."

"Or civilians, it seems. Julia doesn't need to know those details either."

"Fair enough," said Maxim, zipping his finger across his lips. Maybe that hadn't been the smartest time to relay the information.

His friend sighed. "Really? You're gonna make me work to get it out of you now?"

"Ah, hell," Maxim snapped. "I would but I'm not in the mood. The dogs worked through the night. Lachlan Munro was ripped apart. They're saying wild animals. Bears."

"Smarter than saying 'wolves' in this town."

Maxim agreed. "Anyway, that was some creepy shit out there. I'm thinking about seeing Kayda after I organize my thoughts. See what she knows. See if we can get a handle on what's going on around here."

"Sounds like a plan," said Diego.

Maxim noticed Julia checking on them. It was just a quick glance, and not an overbearing one. She had a smile on her face and probably missed having Diego by her side. After recent events, Maxim couldn't blame her. As far as he was concerned, they'd all earned it.

His eyes subconsciously fluttered to Olivia Hayes in the front. He wished they hadn't, because she was looking right at him. He smiled weakly. It must have been easy to see through, but she waved anyway. Maxim nodded and put his finger up to signal that he needed a minute.

"I can't do this," he said, turning back to Diego. "I don't know how you can."

His friend took a deep breath. "It's as easy as it looks," he said. "You just go with it."

"You know Lola left me before she died. You're one of the few who do. What am I supposed to do after that?" Maxim motioned at Julia. "How do you know she's right for you?"

Diego braced Maxim's shoulders. "You're thinking too hard. You know, for days I stared at that class picture of Hazel. The smile was off. I realized it was a pose for a picture, a response to 'cheese,' and not genuine. Now check out her smile. Look at them both. Those are real, and they're worth the world to me."

"So one smile from Julia and you know she's the one?"

Diego dismissed the skepticism. "You want the honest answer? I have no fucking idea if she's right for me. But she's beautiful, and her heart is even more so. And Hazel? She's got a lot of spunk. She wants to be a biker like me now."

"Already?"

Diego laughed. "Already." They faced the crowd again and Diego left his arm around Maxim. "Just look at them," he said. "That little girl needs close watching. She's trying to be tough, but she has stuff to work through. And Julia's just as fragile. I can't tell you what will happen six months or six years from now, but I can say this: I'm gonna keep an eye on them. At least for now."

Maxim cleared his throat. He couldn't help admitting it sounded nice. Maybe some good did come from bad situations after all.

The eulogy finished and the gathered crowd began to disperse. It was now or never.

"So what of it?" asked Diego. "Olivia keeps checking you out. She's in a much worse situation. It won't be easy on her. Probably not for the rest of her life. She needs someone looking after her."

Maxim's words caught in his throat. He wasn't big on setups, but he was already past that with Olivia. He could let the chips fall and see where they landed—it wouldn't be a hard thing to do—but inside, he already knew.

"It wasn't her that needed looking after."

Maxim put his hat back on, tipped the brim at his friend, and strolled away. He headed straight for the center of the proceedings, beside the casket of Annabelle Hayes.

Olivia welcomed him with a smile and tears. "Oh, Maxim," she sobbed, burying her face in his chest. He put his arm around her and patted gently.

"I'm sorry, Olivia. I'm sorry I couldn't save her. I did my best."

"Shush," she cried. "It's not about blame."

Maxim gritted his teeth. Yes it was, he thought. Everything was cause and effect. It was easy to talk a good game, to wish well, but actions needed to go into motion for it to count. A little added attention here and there could have made all the difference.

When he pushed Olivia away, Maxim was surprised that he felt guilty. That didn't stop him from walking past her.

The psychologist was heading to the exit. Maxim called for him to wait and jogged to catch up.

"What are you doing here?" asked the detective.

Dr. Collins turned to him and pressed his wire frames to his face. He appeared annoyed. "Paying my respects, of course. It was nice of you to show up, too. However late."

"Yeah. I'm a little slow sometimes. But I keep at it until the job's done."

Bertrand crossed his arms over his chest and lifted an eyebrow. "Yes, I heard. Congratulations on the case, Detective. Isn't that the lucky little girl over there?" He pointed out Hazel Cunningham, and Maxim noticed Diego eyeing them.

"Concerned about another victim, huh? I've got news for you, buddy. You're not getting anywhere near that little girl. But that's not the case I'm finishing up. Right now, I'm speaking for Annabelle Hayes."

The doctor's nostril's flared. It was quick, but Maxim picked up the tell.

"It's unfortunate," said Bertrand. "It's common for men in your position to burn out after extended stress. Time off is the most important thing. It's vital you don't carry the burden of guilt for events beyond your control." The psychologist took a heavy breath and gazed longingly at the casket as it lowered into the ground. "This didn't end the way any of us wanted."

Maxim slipped his cuffs from their case. "Who said this was over?"

He saw panic in Bertrand's eyes, the classic moment of fight or flight. But there were too many people here, and he was too distinguished to run. Within seconds, the panic transformed to indignation.

"What do you think—"

"You fucking dirtbag," exclaimed Maxim. "You're the reason she's in the ground at all."

The doctor was startled by the accusation.

"Look familiar?" asked Maxim. From his pocket he produced Annabelle's key chain. The same one he'd lost in Sycamore. Somehow, it had turned up in his car again. And this time, when he'd listened to the recordings, he understood the subtext. "You made her turn off her cell phone," explained Maxim, "to make sure she couldn't record anything incriminating. But you never realized she had an audio recorder on her key chain." He spun the man around. Just as he did, Olivia Hayes approached them.

"Maxim?"

He shot her a stop gesture with his hand while keeping his eyes on the doctor. He knew this would hurt Olivia. It had been what Bertrand meant by Annabelle making her mother jealous. If she had found out. If Annabelle had told her. The doctor had been convincing Annabelle to bear the burden of what he did to her by herself. He had instructed her to be strong.

Now, Maxim had to let the truth out.

"Bertrand Collins, I'm arresting you for sexual contact with a minor. You have the right to remain silent." Maxim cinched the doctor's hands behind his back, making sure the lock was extra tight. He didn't normally read Miranda this early, but he wanted to put on a show. "Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Once Dr. Collins was safely secured, Maxim continued announcing his rights, but his glare turned to Olivia. The woman trembled, mouth open but at a loss for words.

If Maxim had to guess, the mother had never known. She wasn't evil. She had just been caught up in family politics. She'd moved on from her husband and moved up in the world, but she never figured out how to make Annabelle fit.

Over and over, Annabelle had tried to expose the truth. She'd left her key chain behind at her father's house. Her mom made mention of the same thing. Even Maxim hadn't seen it until it was too late. It was a tough thing to live with, and he would ponder it for a long time.

But Olivia Hayes had years to see the truth. Maxim knew her failure was in not being vigilant enough, and he could never forgive her for it.

"What is this?" demanded the doctor. He'd been silent, but now that a crowd had gathered he was obligated to play a part. "This is a ridiculous mistake! You'll make me late for my appointment."

"It might do your patients some good to take a day off," snarked Maxim.

"Oh, no. If you think I'll spend more than a minute in a cell, you're sorely mistaken." Bertrand wriggled in Maxim's tight grip but didn't dare resist. "I want my lawyer. I'm going to be back to work in time for lunch."

Maxim laughed coldly. He turned away from the crowd and shoved the man towards the grand iron gate. "That's not gonna happen, Doctor. You and me are in for a long day." The detective even managed a smile. "Trust me. We're just getting started."

 

 

 

 

 

Hi. I'm Domino Finn, an urban fantasy author and contributor to several award-winning video games. If you enjoyed this Sycamore Moon book,
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