Page 106 of Left Behind

“I don’t know. I went away for a week dealing with family stuff and still playing catch-up. What’s wrong?”

Lilah sighed. “Oh, I forgot. Anyway, you know about the girl who was shot up on Pope Mountain a few weeks back?”

“Yes. Carey Eggers. I was put on guard duty at the ICU when she came out of surgery.”

“Long story short, they figured out who did it and arrested him, and I didn’t know anything about it until weeks later, when the chief said something in passing. When I heard the name of the man they’d arrested, I fainted from the shock, and I am not a fainter. I not only knew the man from when I used to live in Bowling Green, but he called me the night the Eggers woman was shot, gave me some big story about hurting himself trying to change a flat in that rainstorm, and begged me to help him get bandaged up so he could drive home.

“I hadn’t seen him in years, but relented. And when he showed up at my house about ten minutes later, I fixed him up and he went on his way. And then after hearing what the chief said, I was horrified that I had helped a murderer escape. I told the chief everything. My statement helped put Lonny Pryor at the location of the attempted murder and verified the timeline of when she’d been shot.”

“But that’s good, Lilah! Why would you be embarrassed?” Wiley asked.

“I’m embarrassed that I even knew someone who was capable of murder, let alone help him in any way.”

“Try being related to a killer and living it down,” Wiley muttered. “You just got played because you have a good heart. There’s no shame in that.”

Lilah didn’t know what Wiley was talking about, but she guessed it was personal. “You’re right. I was making a big deal out of nothing after all.”

“No. It was a big deal to you, and how it made you feel matters. Now, I better hustle before Leedy drives off without me.”

He took off at a lope, caught up with his partner outside, and jumped into the cruiser. “Sorry. Lilah dropped a bunch of files in the hall. I stopped to help her pick them up.”

“No problem,” Doug said. “We’re just doing a welfare check on a man. His neighbors haven’t seen him in days and he’s not answering his phone.”

Wiley groaned. “Please God we don’t find a body in a state of putrefaction. I’ll take a house full of cats and fleas before that.”

Doug grimaced. “Damn, Wiley. Those are some god-awful choices.”

“Yes, they are. My two worst fears for welfare checks, and so far, so good, but I don’t want to encounter one today.”

They left the precinct and headed east out of town toward Reagan Bullard’s campground, then turned south at the first section-line road and drove into a trailer park, and noticed the rows of mailboxes.

“What’s the address?” Wiley asked.

“It’s trailer number eleven,” Doug said, and slowed down so they could read the numbers as they passed.

“That one!” Wiley said, pointing to a rusting white and turquoise single-wide with the front half of the skirting lying on the ground.

They pulled up in the drive behind a black Dodge truck. The hood was up, and the engine block was hanging on chains from a nearby tripod.

“If he’s gone, he left afoot,” Wiley muttered, carefully eyeing the concrete blocks stacked up for steps as he went up onto the stoop and knocked.

No one answered.

Wiley knocked again, and then called out, “Mr. Carlisle, it’s the police. Are you able to come to the door?” He knocked again, but heard nothing.

“Try the knob,” Doug said, and to their surprise, the door was unlocked.

“Here goes nothing,” Wiley muttered, and stepped over the threshold.

The trailer was hot. Dirty dishes were in the sink and on a table, and flies were rampant all over the kitchen. But there was no one home. And after a quick check of the bedrooms, it was evident that Mr. Carlisle was no longer in the residence.

“No clothes and nothing in the bathroom,” Doug said. “Not even a toothbrush. We’ll check the bus station when we get back into town to see if he took the bus, but it appears he left of his own accord. The only crime here is stinking garbage and dirty dishes, which is a reminder to me of why I do not ever want to be a landlord.”

“Then we’re done here, and I need some air,” Wiley said.

After a quick trip by the bus station to check the records, they learned Sam Carlisle left Jubilee two weeks ago on a bus bound for Denver.

“Welfare check completed,” Doug said as he got back into the car. You call and notify the chief ASAP so the family will at least know that much. I’ll write up the report later.”

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