Left behind, p.15
Left Behind, page 15
Ava was worn out from the drama of the day and from making choices, and laid her head on Wiley’s shoulder.
He knew when she fell asleep because she went limp in his arms, so he shifted her to a more comfortable position and finished shopping with her head on his shoulder.
Seeing the big good-looking man with the tiny blond asleep in his arms, drew many longing glances from women of all ages, but Wiley was oblivious. His entire focus was on the child and her well-being, and figuring out how the hell he was going to make good on his promises. By the time he checked out, all he wanted was to get her home.
He led the way to his SUV, with the kid who’d bagged his groceries now following him with the purchases. The boy loaded them into the rear hatch as Wiley laid Ava down in the back seat. He drove home slowly, parked in the garage, and carried her into the house and down the hall to her bedroom, tucked her and dolly in beneath a blanket, and went to finish unloading the car.
When he finally had everything put up, he checked on Ava again. She was still asleep, so he took off his boots and walked sock-footed through the house with his laptop. He was about to get online to research day cares in Jubilee when his cell phone signaled a text from Dani.
Aaron called me. God love you, Wiley. We’ve got your back. I am at home all day by myself. I’ll gladly be your summer babysitter, and I’ll be at school with her if troubles arise, so bring her by tomorrow so we can get acquainted. We don’t want to interfere, but we’re all here for you and her.
Wiley was overwhelmed and relieved, and sent an immediate text back.
Thank you! More than you will ever know. I’ll bring her by in the morning. She arrived with three outfits, including the one she was wearing, three pairs of panties, and the sandals on her feet, and said it was all of her clothes. There’s not even a coat or a jacket. She’s never had toys. I asked her what she wanted more than anything else and she said a bed and a pillow, and someone who didn’t yell. I bought some Jubilee tourist clothes today at Georgia’s and a bunch of stuffed animals and a doll. She’s never owned toys. She looks like some little half-starved orphan from the streets. She keeps saying she was a mistake. When I asked her what she liked to eat, she said mac and cheese in the blue box and soup in a can. She wanted to call me Daddy. I would have given anything to say yes. Instead, I am her Bubba, and I will slay dragons for her. That is all.
When Dani read that response, she burst into tears. She’d seen children like that walk into her classroom before. She knew how traumatized some of them were. And how distrustful they were of everyone. Someone had done a really good job of breaking this child, and it was going to take the whole Pope family to put that little girl back together again.
***
After the hospital interview with Carey Eggers, Detective Gardner made sure to spread the news around the Bowling Green PD that Billy Eggers’s sister never saw the man who shot him, or her, and that she was useless as a witness. Then he announced that they would proceed with an arrest warrant for a man named Lonny Joe Pryor, based on DNA recovered from beneath Billy Eggers’s fingernails and from the fingerprints found at the scene.
The news trickled down to a desk sergeant, and when his lunch break came, he went to his car, pulled a burner phone from the console, and made a call to Carl Henley.
It rang three times before Carl picked up.
“This is Carl.”
“It’s me. They’ve interviewed Eggers’s sister and completely eliminated her as a possible witness. She never saw the man who shot her brother and heard nothing but a fight and the gunshot before she ran. She never saw the man who shot her in the back. They have crossed her off the list. But…they have identified the shooter from DNA under Eggers’s nails and prints found at the scene. They’re putting out an arrest warrant for Lonny Joe Pryor.”
“Thank you,” Carl said, and hung up, but he was already in cleanup mode, and he wasn’t leaving this to chance. His instincts had been right. He had to get rid of Gunny before the cops arrested him. As far as he knew, Gunny didn’t know the woman was alive. But he knew how to get rid of Gunny. The man didn’t go out to eat, ever. He ordered everything from restaurants and had the food delivered. It was the only crack in Gunny’s wall, and Carl was about to slip through it. All he needed to know was if Gunny was home, so he ordered a pizza to be delivered in person, as confirmation that he was home before Carl paid him a little visit. Instead, he got a call informing him that Lonny Pryor was no longer in residence at that address, and what did he want to do with the pizza?
“What do you mean, he’s no longer in residence?” Carl asked.
“You said to hand deliver the pizza, so when he didn’t come to the door, I knocked on a neighbor’s door and found out the man’s gone. The landlord already has the apartment up for rent again.”
The hair stood up on the back of Carl’s neck.
“Enjoy the pizza,” he muttered, and disconnected, then stared out the window in front of him, trying to decide if this was good news or bad news, when he heard the doorbell and then the housekeeper’s footsteps going to answer.
Now the foyer was echoing from the loud voices. He stepped out into the hall to see what was happening and saw cops swarming all over the entryway.
“What the hell is going on here?” he shouted, then heard Junior charging down the stairs behind him.
“Daddy! What’s happening?”
Detective Gardner took pleasure in handing over the search warrants.
“Carl Henley, we have a warrant to search your house, and Junior Henley, this is a warrant to search your truck.”
“You can’t just search my house for no reason,” Carl roared.
“We have reason. You own a weapon just like the one used to kill Billy Eggers, and the truck the killer was driving matches your son’s short-bed black Chevy truck, right down to the rebel flag sunshade on the back window.”
“That’s absurd! Guns are everywhere. How dare you assume it was mine?”
“Because you’re the only registered owner of a Beretta M9 in the entire city of Bowling Green, and that was the weapon used to kill Billy Eggers. So of course, we have to eliminate you from suspicion, and the only way to do that is to test-fire the gun to see if it matches the cartridges found at the scenes of both Eggers’s murder and the attempted murder of his sister near Jubilee, Kentucky.”
Carl staggered. “That’s impossible. I’m just a collector.”
“Then you won’t mind taking my officers to your gun collection and turning it over,” Gardner said.
Junior was in a panic. He’d already tossed that gun down into the city sewer system, and its absence was going to make his daddy look guilty. He knew this was all his fault, but he had his own ass to cover, too.
“I don’t own that truck anymore. I lost it in a poker game to Lonny Pryor last month. You go ask him! You’ll find it parked at his place!”
Carl turned and stared at his son as if he’d never seen him. He didn’t know what was happening, but from the look on his son’s face, he was all too aware of what and why.
Junior’s panic was obvious, but Detective Gardner already had a rebuttal.
“No, Junior, the truck in question is parked in the alley at the back gate into this property. And according to our records, the title is in your name. So, if you lost it in a poker game, then why is it hidden behind your residence?”
Junior groaned. His refusal to pay off an honest gambling debt had just nailed him to the getaway car at a murder scene. He’d called Gunny a dumbass, but it appeared Gunny had outsmarted both of them.
Meanwhile, Carl’s shock was morphing into panic, and Detective Gardner was still issuing orders.
“Mr. Henley, if you’ll escort these three officers to where you keep your guns, we need to confiscate the Beretta for testing, and Junior Henley, these two officers will go with you. The truck is locked. If you have an extra set of keys, we won’t have to break it open. We will be towing it to the lab.”
Carl glared at his son and then headed for the game room at the back of the house. He swaggered to his desk, got the keys from a drawer, and opened the gun case. But the place where the gun should be was empty, and the moment he realized it, he felt the blood drain from his face so fast he nearly passed out.
“The Beretta! It’s not here!” he said, and turned to the officers in a panic. “I don’t know where it is! I swear!”
Gardner was waiting in the foyer when Henley returned with the officers.
“Sir, Henley’s Beretta seems to have gone missing.”
Gardner glared. “Convenient. This doesn’t look good, Carl. We’ll be needing you to come down to the station to make a statement.”
“How can I make a statement about something I know nothing about!” Carl shrieked.
“We need that on record,” Gardner said. “And a plausible reason for why you don’t know where it’s at, since it’s the weapon used in a murder.”
“I’m not talking to you without my attorney,” Carl shouted.
“Fine. But you can ride down to the station with us and wait for him to show up,” Gardner said. “Officers, please take Mr. Henley to the station and put him in an interrogation room. I’ll be along shortly.”
Carl was cursing and shouting as they walked him out of the residence. And at that point, the other officers came downstairs with Junior Henley and the car title and extra keys for his truck.
“Where’s Daddy?” Junior asked.
“On his way to the station,” Gardner said.
Junior panicked. “But why?”
“Because the gun in question happens to be missing from his collection, which puts the both of you in a very bad light. I’m going to be needing you to come down to the station and give a statement as well. Officers, Mr. Henley needs a ride,” Gardner said.
“Fuck off. I’m not going anywhere with you!” Junior shouted.
Gardner pointed. “Handcuff him and get him to the station.”
Chapter 10
It was late in the evening before Carl and his son left the police station. They’d both had to wait for the lawyer, then gave their statements before being released, with a warning not to leave town.
Carl called an Uber to take them home, and the moment they got back to their estate, he lit into his son.
“What did you do with my Beretta?”
“Why are you blaming me that it went missing?” Junior snapped.
“Because you’re the only one with access to my things.”
Junior glared.
Carl moved closer. “Let me phrase this another way. Did you give my Beretta to Gunny?”
“It was just for backup. He wasn’t supposed to hurt anyone,” Junior said.
Carl’s gut knotted. “Hellsfire! You could get a burner off the street. Why the hell didn’t you do that?”
Junior shrugged. “I don’t know. Yours was here. It was handy, but after he told me what happened, I ditched the gun the same day he gave it back.”
Carl stared. “Did you pawn it?”
Junior shrugged. “No. I threw it away.”
“Where?” Carl asked.
“Down a sewer grate out in the park.”
Carl rolled his eyes. “Did you really lose your truck to Gunny in a poker game?”
“Yes. He’s been driving it most of this month,” Junior said.
“Then why do you still have the title? Do you not have any honor at all?” He slapped Junior with the flat of his hand and sent him reeling. “A man always pays his debts. It’s not like you don’t have the money to just buy another truck. Why the hell didn’t you just sign it over? We wouldn’t be in this mess if you had. There’s no way to explain this away.”
Junior’s cheek was burning. “Gunny’s prints will be all over the truck, and we can claim he stole the gun. Surely there will be security footage somewhere of him driving the truck. We can figure something out.”
“No. All of this still links us to Eggers’s murder. You know, you nearly drowned in the bathtub when you were two. I did CPR and saved your life, and at this moment, I deeply regret that. Get out of my sight.”
Junior pivoted on his heel and stormed out of the house.
Carl was on the phone when he heard the roar of Junior’s Porsche speeding away from the property. He thought about the possible consequences of Junior Henley having one of his meltdowns, then reminded himself it was nearly sunset, and his son was thirty-two years old. If he was lucky, Junior would wreck the Porsche, break his damn neck, and Carl could blame this whole mess on him.
***
At the same time Carl Henley’s world was coming undone, Gunny was at the bus station in Miami, waiting for his cousin Roly. He’d called Roly before he left Kentucky, making sure his cousin would give him a place to stay, and then called him again about an hour outside of Miami to come pick him up. If he wasn’t here already, he soon would be. It had been years since he’d seen his cousin, but all of the Pryors looked alike, and Gunny was counting on recognizing him, which he did.
Roly Pryor had already spotted Lonny the moment he walked into the station, and lifted a hand in greeting before heading toward him. They met with a quick hug, thumping each other on the back.
“Man, Lonny, it is good to see you,” Roly said.
“You too, cuz,” Gunny said. “I hope I’m not putting you out.”
Roly shook his head. “Naw. My ol’ lady left me over a year ago. I’m just rattling around in that house on my own. I’ll be glad for the company. You got your own bedroom, and I can always use a hand at work. I take people out on swamp tours. Got me an airboat and everything. Are you ready to go?”
Gunny nodded and followed Roly to an old black Jeep 4x4, threw his bags in the back seat and got in the front seat.
“Buckle up!” Roly said. “Driving in this traffic is like playing dodgeball with cars.”
Lonny sighed and did as he was told. He was about to leave Gunny behind, and it felt good. No one here had ever known him by that name. He was headed to the Everglades. Back to his roots. And if his daddy hadn’t moved them to Tennessee when he was a kid, he would have grown up in the swamps and been a whole different man. It was too late to change the past, but he was aiming for a new future.
***
Ava opened her eyes and, for a moment, didn’t know where she was until the pink room registered. Bubba! Then she heard music and smelled something cooking. She threw back the blanket, grabbed her dolly, and ran.
Wiley had spaghetti sauce simmering on the back burner and some refrigerated cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. They weren’t on the Granny Annie’s Bakery level, but they were good enough. He’d washed and dried all of Ava’s new clothes and had them folded on the kitchen table, just waiting for her to wake up before putting them away, and was online ordering storybooks, crayons, and coloring books, some colorful wooden puzzles, and a small flat-screen TV for her room. He’d just finished the order when he heard her running up the hall, and then she appeared in the doorway, wide-eyed and verging on panic. Before he could ask what was wrong, she slid to a stop.
“You’re still here,” she whispered.
Wiley opened his arms as she crawled up into his lap. “Yes, baby, I’m still here. Popes don’t lie. Popes keep promises. You’re my girl, okay?” He felt her trembling, but she was beginning to relax.
“Did you ever figure out what dolly’s name was?” he asked.
She pulled the doll up beneath her chin as she leaned against him. “She said her name was Pinky.”
Wiley smiled. Of course, it was. “Ah…what a great name. We should have known, right? I mean…look at that pretty pink dress she’s wearing.”
Ava nodded.
“Did you have a good nap?” Wiley asked.
“Yes. What do I smell?”
He grinned. “Spaghetti sauce and cinnamon rolls are in the oven. Smells good in here, doesn’t it?”
“Do I like cinnamon rolls?” Ava asked.
“I’m pretty sure you do. They’re sweet and have icing on the top and cinnamon and sugar swirled in the middle.”
“Yum,” Ava said.
Wiley laughed. “Definitely yum. And now that you’re awake, want to help me put away your new clothes? I have them all washed and ready to wear.”
“Yes! New clothes! I never had new ones before. Corina shopped at the army.”
Wiley frowned. “The army?”
Ava nodded. “Miss Mattie says it’s where they save souls and worn-out clothes.”
“Ah…the Salvation Army,” Wiley muttered.
“Yes, that’s the one,” Ava said.
Corina Dalton’s soul sure need saving, Wiley thought, but remembered he’d already called the woman an ass. There was no purpose in mentioning she was on the road to hell as well.
“Well, since we’re making new rules, we won’t be shopping there anymore, if that’s okay with you.”
Ava nodded. “It’s okay,” she said and slid out of his lap. “Pinky can help carry.”
“Works for me,” Wiley said, and handed her the little stack with her new panties. “You two can carry these.”
Ava’s eyes widened as she felt the silky garments.
“They’re so soft,” she whispered.
“No whispers, unless needed, and you’re right! They are soft,” he said.
He grabbed the rest of the clothes and did a march step out of the room, with Ava right behind him, mimicking his every move.
For Ava, the process of filling up her dresser drawers was like burying treasure. And it was all hers to wear when she wanted. She hadn’t thought of Conway, or Corina, in hours. Not since Bubba promised he was keeping her. Ava didn’t know the word trust, or understand its meaning, but without realizing it, she was learning that it did exist.
Wiley had signed up for the Disney Channel while she was sleeping so they could watch movies together and then found a channel on TV that aired nothing but cartoons.
