Truth on the brink, p.21
Truth on the Brink, page 21
I sighed. “Maybe, but take it, please. I killed a tree to print that for you.”
Kyle shook his head. “Whatever, Dad.” He folded the paper and opened his backpack to put it in. A notepad slid out onto the floor, and I picked it up.
At first, I thought it was something for school, but then I recognized it as one of his sketch pads. The kid was always drawing something. Deer, turkeys, landscapes, occasionally a sketch of a friend. “What’s the latest?”
Kyle reached for the pad. “Nothing.”
“Aw, come on. You always show me.” I flipped it open and turned to the last page. The image of an eagle jumped off the paper at me. It was striking in its intricate detail, but there was something else about it, a raw emotion captured in the bird’s eyes, somehow simultaneously eyeing both me and its feet, where one was grasping what looked like a bomb, and the other was empty. “Wow.”
Kyle successfully grabbed the pad from my hand this time. “It’s nothing. Still working on it.” The bell rang, and he turned to leave.
“Kyle.”
The boy stopped near the door and looked back.
“You gonna look at the riddle for me?”
He nodded.
“Not a word to anyone. And don’t send that to any of your friends. I mean it. Lives could be in danger.”
Kyle nodded. “Not a word to anyone. I’ve heard that before. Sounds great.”
THIRTY-THREE
ABI studied the passing scenery as I drove, seemingly intent on taking in each detail as if she hadn’t seen this stretch of road a hundred times before. Her motivation for staring through the window had nothing to do with the sights, though, and everything to do with me.
“Mom, don’t be like this.” Kyle patted her on the shoulder from his seat behind her. “It’s not a big deal.”
Abi shot me a steely glare and shook her head. “I’m not mad at you, Kyle. But I wish your father hadn’t dragged you into this mess.”
“Nobody dragged me, Mom. Dad thinks I can help.”
Abi sighed. “I sure hope so. And I hope it’s worth it.”
“He’s camped up around the bluff before, Abi, so something in that message from Perry might ring a bell. And we need all the help we can get.” Not to mention that it would be good for us, generally speaking. Kyle seemed to be struggling with his identity lately, at least as it pertained to his relationship with me. I didn’t know if he could help us and really didn’t care. I just wanted him to feel needed and to spend some time with him.
She shot me another glare. “We?”
“Yes, we need help. You, me, Jack. Devlin. Ronny Shane. To find the truth, whatever that turns out to be.”
The truth. I had begun to wonder if there even was such a thing, or just hazy shades of reality converging like wax from a thousand melting candles. Devlin killed Ronny for reasons he wouldn’t share, maybe because of drug money owed and the blinding rage of unrequited love. Admitted to it from the very start.
Wait—no—Tammy killed Ronny over drug secrets and his persecution of her son. On accident, of course. Or was it? Was she lying to protect Devlin, or vice versa?
Or was Luke Wiseman somehow involved, as once thought? After all, he had threatened Ronny the night before and later been at the scene of the crime, with a gun in hand, no less. No doubt we hadn’t even scratched the surface of Ronny’s acquaintances in the four days since the accident, so who knew how many motives lurked out there among his drug clientele, if that portion of his story was to be believed.
For that matter, what about the apex of the love triangle, Lena Cole herself? She was pregnant, according to Tammy, and whose baby was it? Could another suitor be angry enough to murder, or did rejection by the baby’s father drive her to do it? How many thousands of murders had occurred over the eons for the same reason? Then if all that wasn’t confusing enough, we had duplicate tire tracks, videos blurring the timelines, and discrepancies about where Ronny Shane went over the bluff’s edge—and how many times, for that matter—all confusing enough on their own without river-tabling peripatetics wielding obfuscatory poem riddles.
Sorting it all out and gleaning the truth felt like trying to unravel an unginned cotton bale in search of a single thread of white silk.
So yes, we needed all the help we could get, and why not Kyle? I would make sure he didn’t do anything to inadvertently interfere with evidence, if we found any. As for Abi, she was, regrettably but understandably, torn between her roles as mother and prosecutor. In my defense, her coming along on this particular adventure was never my intent. She just happened to call as Kyle and I were leaving the school. Ten minutes later, we picked her up, and my tongue lashing commenced.
“Dad, you okay?”
I blinked and realized I had stopped at the edge of the Logan’s Bluff clearing.
“You know how he gets sidetracked by his thoughts sometimes,” Abi said.
Kyle laughed. “Yeah, I’ve seen that look when he’s designing a new football play in his head. Stares off into the sky like he’s looking for Jesus to come back.”
Abi spun in her seat and cocked her head with a raised eyebrow. Watch it with the irreverence.
Kyle shrugged and opened the door. “C’mon, Dad. Show me.”
Abi grabbed her door handle but hesitated. “What you thinking, Case?”
I sighed. “Just trying to make sense of it. Not just what happened but how to handle it. My friend. My player. You. A lot of parts moving against each other.”
Abi patted my arm. “I know you’re trying to do the right thing. If it makes you feel any better, I discussed it with the DA, and we both agreed to recommend that the judge release Devlin. Not enough solid evidence to hold him right now.”
“You think Foster will let him go?”
She nodded. “It’s being processed as we speak. She’s been acting weird, though. Made some snide comment at the initial hearing about you. I think it was a reference to that stuff Alethia printed way back. And then insulted me, saying I get off the path into the weeds too much.”
I chuckled. “First of all, that’s old news about me. I’ve done way worse than that since then. Second… well, I can’t refute that part.”
Abi punched me playfully. “Not funny.”
“You still think Devlin did it?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” She opened the door and slid out of the truck. “Let’s go see what we can find out.” She pivoted and looked behind us, toward the sound of a vehicle approaching. “This should be interesting.”
I glanced in my rearview mirror to confirm it was Jack’s GMC pulling up, but it wasn’t until I stepped out of the truck that I realized Abi was referring to more than the general Masterson flair that Jack brought to most any situation. He was not alone.
“Aunt Abi!” Lily’s head protruded from the rear passenger window like a puppy on its first ride to the country, with a broad, toothy grin to match. “Aunt Abi!”
Jack stepped out and shrugged in response to my folded-arms stance as he went to the passenger side to help Lily down. “Janie had to work. What you want me to do?”
Lily squirmed from Jack’s grasp and launched herself into a dead run toward Abi.
“Find a babysitter?” I murmured. “There’s been enough trauma around here without worrying about a three-year-old running off a cliff.”
“Four.”
“What?”
“She happens to be four. And I won’t let her out of my sight. Unless of course you want me to just go home.”
“Do I have to answer that?”
“Wasn’t a question. You heard anything from Rap? You know, any leads on the real killer?”
Jack spat on the ground. “He wouldn’t know a lead if it was glued to his eyeballs. He can’t see any possibilities other than Devlin. Gonna do his best to prove it was him even if he knows it wasn’t.”
“Maybe he’s right.”
“Nope.” Jack punched me in the arm and headed out into the clearing. “C’mere, Kyle. Where’s your sister?”
Kyle hustled to catch up. “Volunteering for some silly club she’s in at school.”
“Helping get ready for the Halloween festival,” I added.
Jack winked at me and gave Kyle a fist bump. “C’mon. Let me show you where the accident happened. Your dad thinks you can help us.”
I caught Abi’s eye but lost it as she wavered between interacting with Lily, who was playing with her earrings, and watching Jack and Kyle move toward the edge of the bluff.
“Why do you have stars?” Lily tugged at one ear lobe, and Abi pulled her hand away to save it.
“Because you’re a star, and it helps me remember.”
Lily’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped to form a round smile. “You ’member me a star?”
Abi laughed. “Absolutely. Let’s go see what Papa Jack and Kyle are doing.”
Jack was pointing down over the edge of the bluff, toward the spot where Ronny was found.
Abi thrust Lily toward me with a stern look. “Don’t put her down.” She turned and moved through the winter-dried grass toward the other two. “Jack, what are you telling him? He’s only fourteen, for crying out loud.”
I sighed and hugged Lily tight and followed quickly. “Lily girl, want to see something cool? I’ll show you where you can see across the whole county.”
She pooched her lips and frowned. “What’s a county?”
I laughed. “The place where all the people you know live.”
She arched her eyebrows like it was big news and instantly shrugged it off on second thought. Then she smiled. “I do want to see it.”
“That’s a long way to fall,” Kyle was saying as we walked up.
I caught his eye and nodded at Lily. Stop the talk about Ronny for a second.
“Look, Lily. You can see forever here.” The view was as spectacular as ever. It occurred to me that I hadn’t even stopped to appreciate it with my recent trips. The raw power of the perch looming over the mighty river, the granular undulations of the bottomland treetops stretching toward the horizon, and the jagged shore below was at once majestic and ominous given recent circumstances.
Lily wasn’t looking to the horizon. “It’s way far down there. We should be careful.”
Kyle stepped away from the edge and pivoted toward us. “You’re so right. Falling off would be terrible.” He gave his mother a smirk. “Have you guys figured out the riddle yet?”
Jack huffed. “Kyle, I’ve read over that thing a dozen times and can’t make any more sense of it than the first time. Don’t know what most of those words mean. Our old friend the Vagabond ain’t wired up like normal folks.”
“His vernacular is spectacular.”
Jack shook his head at me and looked at Abi. “Your husband has spent way too much time with Jet.”
Abi smiled. “If it makes you feel better, that’s the opposite of the meaning of vernacular, so Case has a lot to learn.”
“’Tacular ’nacular.” Lily giggled.
We all laughed, and I tickled Lily’s ribs to make her giggle more. “Now that’s how you use those words the right way.”
Jack reached over and gave her a playful pinch of her nose. “We needed that, Lily girl.” His smile faded and he took a deep breath. “But I won’t really feel better until we solve this.”
“You’re absolutely convinced it’s not Devlin.” Abi said.
Jack nodded. “But he and I have some talking to do tonight. I appreciate you helping him get released.”
Abi held up a palm. “Just going by the evidence. Not enough to be sure he’s the one. Not enough to be sure he’s not, either.”
“Fair enough. What do you think about Perry’s riddle?”
Abi frowned. “There’s a name in there I’m not excited about.”
“Alethia Abbot,” Jack said. “Case and I think you should be the one to interview her.”
Her blue eyes flashed and jaw muscles tensed. “I’ll be more than happy to go talk to that heifer.”
I fought back a smile. “Maybe we’ll go together. But what about the rest of it?”
“Can’t make much of it, to be honest. There are two references to rocks—boulder and millstone. That may be important, but who knows what that’s referring to?” She made a sweeping gesture. “This whole bluff is rocks and boulders. I had to go to my dictionary. Internuncio means messenger. Peregrinate, which means to travel, must be a reference to our so-called Mr. Peregrine himself. That’s all I’ve got, but I’m sure there’s more in there.”
“What about the ghost part?” Jack asked. “Not my favorite subject, by a long shot.”
Lily tapped me on the shoulder, but I ignored her.
Abi shook her head with a wry grin. “Ghost, oh, yeah, forgot that. I think that’s our old pal Perry being smug and having a little fun. He ghosted us what, twenty-five, thirty years ago?”
Lily tapped me again, with more urgency this time. “What, baby?” I said.
“I don’t like ghosts.” Her eyes were wide and animated. “They are scary.”
Abi chuckled. “Don’t be scared, Lil’. Not that kind of ghost. This is the kind that just means somebody you don’t see very often.”
Lily gave a reassured nod. “Like Jesus.”
Jack’s mouth dropped open into an O shape, and we all laughed.
“Something like that.” I gestured toward Kyle. “Read the whole thing out loud for us, son. Maybe hearing it here will trigger something.”
He pulled his out his phone, tapped the screen a couple of times, and began to read. “The wise stop and think atop the boulder brink. For Alethia resides where internuncios hide and millstones float when ghosts peregrinate the moat.” He chuckled. “That’s a mouthful of nonsense right there.”
“Come on, boy. You’re supposed to be good at puzzles. It’s why I brought you.”
Kyle rolled his eyes and held up an index finger. “Okay, okay. For the record, I do happen to have one idea you’ll find quite interesting.”
“We’re all ears,” Abi said.
“And earrings.” Lily pitched in. “To remember.”
I gave her a squeeze. Kyle and Jack exchanged frowns. “Inside joke, guys,” I said. “What’s your idea?”
“A moat is like water around a castle, right?”
“Yep,” Jack nodded. “With alligators and hot lava. To keep people out.”
I didn’t want to know whether he was joking or serious. “Water around a castle, go on.”
“What if you look at Logan’s Bluff like a castle? What would be around it?” Kyle shot a glance at Jack. “Minus the gators and lava.”
Abi turned and looked out over the bluff edge to the river below. “Obviously there’s water there. Think that’s what Perry meant?”
“Maybe,” Kyle said. “But a moat surrounds a castle. What’s surrounding the bluff?”
I pivoted to look away from the river to the south, west, and north. “It’s river on one side and woods on the other. Except for the overgrown access road that brought up here.”
Kyle shook his head and went to his phone again. “Look at this app. It shows satellite images layered on a map.” He tapped the screen and waved us closer. “Look beyond the woods around us. What do you see?”
The image showed a blue dot corresponding to the spot where we were standing. “I see the waterway there,” Abi said.
“To the east,” Jack pitched in.
Kyle traced his finger across the screen, drawing an approximation of a triangle around our location. “Logan’s Bluff is surrounded. Yes, there’s the waterway itself on one side, the blacktop road—Waterway Road—on one side, and look at this.” He moved his fingers along a serpiginous line on the screen.
A creek. I knew immediately the name of it and wondered why it hadn’t hit me. Miller’s Creek. It crossed Waterway Road about a half mile before the turnoff onto the logging road up to the bluff before meandering down to empty into the Timtullah River. Likely named for a long-forgotten man whose long-forgotten ancestor had held one of the world’s oldest occupations.
And what did millers use to grind their grist? Millstones. “Maybe Perry is saying Ronny’s killer traveled the creek to get here.”
“But it sounds like he’s saying he himself did,” Jack said. “You know, ghost and peregrinate.”
“Which doesn’t make sense,” I added, “because we know that’s not the way he came up to the bluff.”
Abi gestured with a finger pointing upward. “Or he’s letting us know that way is possible, which means the killer could as well. Which would explain why only Devlin’s and Tammy’s tracks were found up here and the only sign of a boat was Perry’s. The killer could have come downriver from who-knows-where, then up Miller’s creek, then climbed up to the bluff from there. It’s essentially untraceable.”
“How would Perry have figured all that out?” I said.
Jack shrugged. “Who knows how that guy finds out anything?” He grabbed Kyle’s hand to steady the phone for another examination of the map. “That’s a long way through thick woods, up from Miller’s Creek. Seems unlikely.”
Kyle turned and began walking away.
“Where you going?” Abi asked.
“Come on. I’ll show you.” He waved at us to follow, moved about fifty yards to the other side of the clearing, and paused for us to catch up. He pointed down the hill, through the timber. “See that group of pine trees? There’s an old walking trail. Nobody uses it now because it’s overgrown up this way. But from there down to Miller’s Creek it’s pretty clear. Four, five hundred yards is all.”
Abi folded her arms. “And you know this how?”
Kyle twisted his mouth in feigned disgust. “Mom, we camp not far from here sometimes. Besides, I know every patch of woods on this side of the county.”
