Page 60 of Silent Ridge

“Stop.” I look startled. I don’t realize I said that out loud. I’ve had more to drink than I should have. That’s why I’m so morose. My life doesn’t suck. Not really.

I put the Taurus in gear and the transmission hesitates, then clunks as the gears mesh. That makes me smile. Maybe I’ve got some miles left on me too.

I drive by Dan’s shop. No lights are on inside. No truck. I step on the gas and head home.

Fifty-Two

I wake up with a bad taste in my mouth and my throat is burning. I didn’t sleep well. I don’t remember the dreams but they were unsettling. I blame the burn in my throat on the jalapeño poppers and the bad dreams on the Scotch.

My gun is on the nightstand. I’ve kicked the sheet off the end of the bed. I have to pee.

I finish my morning business and as I’m getting dressed I remember part of a dream. In it, Dan was with Hayden. They both looked serious and I had a feeling they were going to do an intervention with me. In the dream, they said I was a liar and they were going to make me tell the truth. I was angry at being called a liar even though I knew it was true. That memory brings back the anger and anxiety of being trapped between a guy I really like and a brother I love and telling the truth to either of them.

It’s early but I drive by Dan’s shop downtown. It’s out of my way and chances are he won’t be in yet, but I have to see that he’s okay.

The shop isn’t open yet. A couple of vehicles are parked along the street. The owners are probably in the coffee shop that opened just around the corner. It’s called Dilly Dally. Stupid name, but I heard the coffee’s good. I slow down and think maybe Dan will come in for coffee. I stop and get a half dozen coffees. The owner looks like Elmer Fudd in the Bugs Bunny cartoons. He’s staring at my chest while he talks. That should get me coffee for free, but I don’t say anything. Staring at my less-than-ample breasts may be the best thing that happens to him today.

Dan doesn’t come in. I stall and ask for creamer, sugar and napkins. Dan still hasn’t come in by the time I get all that and pay. The creep is still looking at my chest while I get my change. I don’t leave a tip. He’s gotten all he’s going to get from me this morning.

I drive by Dan’s one more time. He said he hired a girl but there’s no sign of activity. I’m not threatened, just curious. I drove by the shop before I went to The Tides last night and he wasn’t at work. I’m pretty sure it was his truck I saw driving by The Tides last night. I wonder where he was going.

I have to quit thinking about my personal life. That’s the problem with having one. It’s hard to stay focused. That is part of the reason I resisted taking Ronnie on as an intern. Now that she will be full-time, I think it might change the flow of things. On the other hand, it may be easier if she gets some of the workload, if I ever get a workload. In the last three weeks I’ve had two burglaries that weren’t actually break-ins. In both cases they turned out to be false reports. They had rented something from a rent-to-own store and reported it stolen to avoid paying. Sheriff Gray calls those places “rent-to-steal” stores. Plus I’ve had a handful of domestic abuse incidents.

That’s another reason to avoid relationships.

At work, I see Sheriff Gray’s truck and Ronnie’s Smart car. Nan’s Batmobile is there. A jet black ’69 Cadillac with huge tail fins and black leather interior. She’s lucky to get three miles to the gallon.

I go inside with the box of coffees and hand one to Nan and Ronnie. I must be the last person to arrive at work for once. Ronnie seems happy but I can see the headache lines beside her eyes. I go back to my desk, take the lid from one of the coffees and blow across the top. I hear my name called, pick up another coffee and take it to the sheriff. I set the paper coffee cup on his desk.

“Shut the door and have a seat,” he says.

I shut the door but don’t sit. “I really have something to do this morning,” I say.

“We need to talk,” he says before I can come up with what that something is.

“Okay.” I sit down. I don’t intend to have the talk this morning. Or any morning if I can help it.

“What’s going on with you?” he asks.

“What do you mean?” It’s always good to answer a question with one of your own. Sometimes the other person will answer their own question.

“I think you know this killer personally. I think it has something to do with that old picture of you. I think you are hiding something and it is eating you up. I think you don’t trust me.”

He doesn’t know how right he is.

“I can’t tell you everything right now. I will, but not right now.” I change the subject. “You know I had an argument with Dan a couple of nights ago?”

He nods but says nothing.

“I think it’s Michael Rader who left the pictures for Dan. I knew Monique Delmont from around the time that high school picture was taken. I suspected Michael Rader of being a serial killer back then, but I never had proof. Michael thought I had the proof. He knew I was looking into his past. He threatened Monique back then to tell him where I was or he would kill her daughter.”

“Gabrielle.”

“Right. Gabrielle. I think Monique found the proof and Rader killed her.” This is all made up but it sounds good. “He’s coming after me but he wants to kill the people who helped me try to track him down back then. That’s why I had Gabrielle move away and why I’ve been talking to the other people he might be after.”

“And you didn’t think I should know about this?”

“This is something that I started a long time ago. I wanted to get a handle on it before I told you. You think I don’t trust you, but you’re the only person Icantrust.”

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