Page 14 of Code Violation

Dammit. Fucking Rufus Ferguson had fucking dared him. Being dared was like catnip. He and Xavier had dared each other so many times as kids that they’d spent more time in the principal’s office than out of it. Forrest always had to prove he wasn’t afraid of anything. And Rufus knew it.

“I’m not responding to that.”

The thing was, doing the scary thing didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid of it.

Rufus snorted—again.

“You’re both assholes,” Forrest said without heat. “I came in here for some food and advice, and you’re taunting me about fucking Vik instead.”

“This is advice, Grasshopper. Exactly about fucking Vik. Whatever it takes, I say. I remember your grandpa used to dare you to do stuff all the time,” Rufus said, chuckling while he did so. “Sometimes it was the only way he could get you to listen to him or do something he wanted you to do. Oliver always said you were worse than Ned.”

“Seriously?” Forrest let himself think about his grandpa for a minute. “On second thought, that doesn’t surprise me. I still miss the old man, but he could be sneaky. I wonder what he’d make of the mansion burning down now, too. Can almost hear him.” Forrest dropped his voice even lower, to the register he always remembered as distinctly Ernst Cooper’s sound. “Fuckin’ A, Rufus. What the hell is this town coming to?”

The last was mostly rhetorical. Mostly. Something funky had been set in motion and Forrest thought it stemmed from the discovery of the remains. He’d sensed something in the past four months, a growing menace he couldn’t explain.

“We all miss your grandpa.” Rufus turned in his seat to face Forrest fully, his expression serious. “So, grab the bull by the horns, boy, and don’t let something that could be good pass you by.”

“Did Wanda give you one of those inspirational calendars or some shit?” Forrest faked a shudder. “Maybe I’m just better off single.”

“So, you’re afraid of taking a chance? Is that it?” Rufus shook his head again. “I expect better of you, Forrest Cooper. You need to live, not hole up in Ernst’s old house talking to ghosts.”

Rufus was fucking daring him again? Forrest resisted the urge to argue. Arguing would only make Rufus feel he was right about both Vik and talking to ghosts. Rufus wasn’t right.

And Forrest would prove it.

SEVEN

Nero – Thursday

“Hi, what’re you drinking today?” the dark-haired young woman asked him. Nero thought her name was Tilly but didn’t want to freak her out by asking. No one liked strange old white men—ancient at nearly forty—asking their names. Today, possibly-Tilly was bundled up in a thick sweatshirt and knit cap and only opened the order window about halfway to keep out the chill.

“A triple cappuccino, extra foamy.” He peered at the menu posted on the side of the wood-shingled building. “And one of those veggie burritos.”

“Coming right up.” She turned from the window to the gleaming espresso machine that Nero could see from the driver’s seat.

When he’d first arrived, the tiny town of Cooper Springs had appeared to Nero to be tired and run-down. But he knew better now. More than a few residents drove newer model cars, which meant decent jobs were within driving distance.

Martin Purdy continued to upgrade the rest of the cabins at Cooper Springs Resort —a much-needed remodel that would give visitors a place to stay in town for at least a few days. And he’d heard from a guy at the Steam Donkey that there were more plans in the works for new businesses, a new winter festival—something beyond the Cooper Springs Chainsaw Art Festival—and reviving something called Shakespeare on the Beach in August.

But most importantly on this late morning, this drive-through espresso stand had recently opened up on one end of town. It was within walking distance of his cabin, but he’d chosen to take his SUV over instead, planning to drive by the Blass home afterward and then to the station to report the weird break-in.

He crossed his fingers. Hopefully, Amy Blass would be home and willing to speak with him. Of those related to the teens who’d gone missing in the 1980s, she was the only parent who still lived in town as far as Nero knew. The third teen, Kaylee Fernsby, had been found eventually, yes, and all three young women deserved justice, but he had to start somewhere.

Nero normally dealt with older cold cases, but he’d wondered if there was a chance that Blair Cruz’s case could somehow be connected to those earlier ones. She was around the same age as Morgan and Sarah had been when they vanished. Stranger things had happened.

“That was some fire last night,” he commented just to say something while she ground the coffee beans and poured milk into a stainless steel pitcher.

“Yeah, it was. I’ve always thought that place was creepy,” possibly-Tilly said with the sangfroid of a longtime resident. “When I was a kid, we pretended it was haunted.”

A kid. Nero managed not to laugh. Tilly couldn’t be much more than twenty. While waiting for his coffee drink, he listened to the raspy buzz of several power tools starting up at once, like they were warming up for a concerto.

The sound of chainsaws was something else he’d found himself getting used to since he’d arrived. From the many yard signs, posters, and banners around town, the chainsaw art festival was a lot bigger than he had first thought and was set to happen in just a couple of weekends. Nero had to give the town credit; all the signage had sparked his curiosity from the moment he’d arrived.

Nero debated how to best approach Amy Blass. He hadn’t wanted to leave a phone message that might be misunderstood and give false hope that there were new leads about Morgan’s case, so he’d decided approaching her in person was for the best. Finding her address had been easy, but the rest was making Nero edgy. He did not want to get this wrong.

While he idled at the order window, a battered postal vehicle drove past the stand, heading north along the main road, probably ready to deliver the day’s mail. It turned in at the backside of Cooper Springs, where the town came up against the timberland.

The forest was doing its best to take back the land Cooper Springs occupied. The battle was between man and nature, and he didn’t think it would take much for nature to win.

---