Kate walked into Flutter’s Café at Angel View Lodge, the delicious aromas of fried bacon and warm bread filling her senses. She spotted Abby pouring coffee for Grandpa Buck and his friend Titus Jackson. Abby looked up and smiled, then walked over to her.
“There you are,” Abby said. “Elliot’s sitting over there by the glass wall. He already ordered for you. Breakfast should be up in just a couple minutes. I’ll get your coffee.”
“Thanks, honey,” Kate said.
“You look intense.”
“Do I?”
Abby’s smile faded and she seemed to study Kate’s face. “I know you’re freaked out about Jesse being a witness, but don’t be. This case isn’t high profile like when Daddy and Riley were missing. The media probably won’t even give it much attention.”
“Let’s hope.”
“Relax.” Abby nodded toward Elliot. “Go enjoy a few minutes with your sweetheart before you open the office.”
“I will.” Kate turned and walked to the table where Elliot was seated. He seemed mesmerized by the sea of white fog blanketing Beaver Lake, which gave the illusion of being high above the clouds.
“Lost in the view?” Kate said.
Elliot flashed a perfect smile worthy of a toothpaste ad. “It has to be one of the most beautiful sights in the country. And it’s right here at Angel View Lodge. You and Micah were so wise to buy this property when you did. It’s sure prime.”
Kate sat at the table opposite Elliot and looked out at the postcard view she had never grown tired of.
“How’d you sleep?” he said.
“Not well. I’m probably overreacting to the whole thing with Jesse. But I’ve been through tragedies and near misses with every one of my children, not to mention my murdered husband. I’m worn out with it.”
“I know. That’s why we have to trust God.”
“I do. I think.” Kate sighed. “I’m trying. Let’s talk about something happy.”
“Okay … marry me.”
Kate looked into his gentle eyes and felt her heart sink. “I thought we agreed to put off this conversation until I feel ready to talk about it.”
Elliot took a sip of coffee. “You said to talk about something happy. I can’t think of anything that would make me happier.” Elliot reached across the table and took her hand. “Kate, I didn’t sleep well either, knowing you were all alone, wrestling with your fears. All I could think about was how much I wanted to lay beside you, hold you in my arms, and reassure you that everything’s going to work out. We’re better together than apart. You know it too.”
“I never said we weren’t. I just like things the way they are for now.”
“So is that a firm no?”
Kate smiled without meaning to. “For now. There’s plenty of time to have this conversation.”
“I don’t know, I just passed the half-century mark. I wouldn’t push the envelope, if I were you.”
Kate laughed. “Give me a break. You’re fit as a fiddle. You make it sound as if you have a long white beard and walk with a shuffle.”
Elliot’s eyes twinkled with delight. “I love it when you laugh. I just want to make you happy.”
Abby was suddenly standing beside the table pouring coffee. “Your breakfast is up next. What are you two lovebirds laughing about?”
“Lovebird things.” Elliot winked.
Abby looked at her mother, the corners of her mouth twitching. “I’m probably out of line to say this, but if you don’t marry this man, I’m going to take you in and have your head examined.”
Kate felt her cheeks get hot and glanced around the room, relieved that no one was staring at them. “I don’t remember asking for your opinion.”
“But you’re the one who said I was wise beyond my years.” Abby giggled and took a step back. “I’m just sayin’ …”
Abby turned and started pouring coffee refills for the folks at the next table.
“Honestly, she’s just like her father,” Kate said, more amused than she wanted to admit.
“Really?” Elliot said, tongue in cheek. “Because I was thinking she’s just like you.”
Jesse sat in the middle row of Mrs. Richie’s second-period English class. When he had arrived at his first-period homeroom, he was told he needed to go see the principal. That’s when he learned he was being transferred out of Miss Berne’s class and was not to communicate with her.
He was aware of a number of students stealing glances at him. What were they thinking—that it was cool he was a witness to Dixie Berne’s murder? Or that he made it up to get attention? Either way, he just wanted to disappear.
Mrs. Richie had introduced him without explanation and said he was joining their class. But the gossip had already spread, and he figured every kid in the seventh grade had heard the exaggerated version that he could identify the man who had drowned Miss Berne’s mother.
The bell rang. Jesse breathed a sigh of relief, then grabbed his backpack, hurried out into the hallway, and almost ran into Bull Hanson, who grabbed his arm.
“Hey, slow down, man,” Bull said. “Where’ve you been? You weren’t at the flagpole yesterday after school.”
Jesse felt his cheeks burning. “I had to take the bus. If I’d met y’all, I’d have missed it.”
“How come I didn’t see you this mornin’? You’re always a few minutes early for school.”
“Not today. I was running late.” Jesse bit his lip as if that would conceal the lie. His bus had arrived fifteen minutes early, and he had walked behind the school, waiting until after the bell rang before going inside.
“How could you be runnin’ late if you rode the bus?” Bull said.
“Well, no. I mean, my mom drove me this morning. But I usually take the bus.” Jesse’s gut tightened. Could he keep track of all the lies?
“Look, man. You’re either in or you’re out. I did Dawson a favor by convincin’ the others to let you in the group. We’re tight. We do things together.”
Jesse looked up into Bull’s face, suddenly feeling very short.
“Be at the game Friday night.” Bull pushed his index finger into Jesse’s chest. “The team’s goin’ out for pizza afterwards. Come with us. If you’re gonna be part of us, we hafta get to know you.”
Jesse pasted on a phony smile. “Okay. Sure.”
Bull looked over at two guys standing outside the music room. “What’re you stooges starin’ at?”
“Nothing,” said the taller of the two, his face crimson. “Just waiting for someone to unlock the door.”
Bull went over to the kid who’d answered him and got up in his face. “You and your pal eavesdroppin’ on me?”
“I–I swear we weren’t, Bull. We just happened to be standing here. That’s it.”
“If one word of what I just said gets back to me, I’ll know where to find you.”
“We didn’t hear anything.”
“Keep it that way.” Bull turned around, snickering, and walked back over to Jesse. “Did you see the look on their faces?”
“I really don’t think they were eavesdropping,” Jesse said.
“That wasn’t the point. It’s about respect. No one messes with us. You’ll see.” Bull glanced at his watch. “I’ve gotta get to class. Think of Friday night as initiation night. You’re runnin’ with the big boys now, baby.”
Jesse met Bull’s gaze and faked a smile, then rushed down the hall toward his next class. How many guys would give anything for an invitation like that? But all Jesse could think about was how to find a legitimate excuse to get out of it.
Liam knocked and then walked into his supervisor’s office.
Marilyn Donovan looked up from her desk, the roots of her bleached hair matching the heavy mascara she wore. “What is it, Liam?”
“I should go home,” he said. “I’ve been throwing up and feel really bad. Must be a virus.”
Marilyn studied him. “You look a little green. Go on. You’ve got plenty of sick leave and I don’t want you passing it around. If you’re still puny in the morning, I need to know before seven thirty so I can get someone in here to take your shift.”
“Thanks. I’ll let you know.”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to you much since your mother died,” Marilyn said. “I heard on the news that the sheriff is now pursuing her death as a murder investigation. I’m sorry.”
Liam nodded.
“I appreciate the fact that you’ve been able to do your job. Can’t be easy right now.”
“No. But Colleen and I take a lot of comfort in the fact that she’s in a better place.”
“Still … it has to weigh on you.” Marilyn’s gaze was intrusive. “Let me know if you need a little time off. Or want to cut back on your hours for a while.”
“Thanks, but it helps to stay busy.” Liam put his hand over his mouth. “Sorry, I’m feeling sick again.”
“Go,” Marilyn said. “Be good to yourself. Get some rest.”
Liam nodded, his hand clasped over his mouth, and ran out into the hall and into the men’s restroom. No one else was in there. He waited for about a minute and then headed down the hall and out of the plant. He had no intention of going home yet.
Jesse rested his head against the bus window and was nearly lulled to sleep when he heard his cell phone beep and saw that he had a text message from his mother.
Sheriff Granger is sending a sketch artist to the house at 4:00. Come straight home.
Jesse sighed. He wished he hadn’t gone fishing the morning of the drowning. It felt as if his entire life had been turned upside down ever since.
The bus stopped on Angel View Road where it intersected with Skyline Drive. Jesse put on his backpack and got off with the Moyer sisters, who walked in the opposite direction.
The scent of pine filled the crisp October afternoon and brought a smile to his face. He loved the outdoors, and Sure Foot Mountain was a giant playground of endless discovery. He couldn’t imagine being stuck in the city limits of Foggy Ridge.
Jesse started up Angel View Road, the only sound the rapid drilling of a woodpecker on a nearby tree. The hardwoods had just barely begun to turn, but they would be magically transformed in the next couple of weeks as autumn’s patchwork covered the hills.
Jesse heard a twig snap. He stopped and listened. Nothing. Probably a deer.
He started walking again and heard an unfamiliar whistling noise coming from the woods. What kind of bird was that? He slid out of his backpack and set it in the grass on the side of the road, then walked slowly toward the tree line, listening intently. He walked gingerly into the woods and looked around, but the only whistling he heard was the wind in the trees. He wanted to listen longer and try to determine what had made the interesting new sound, but remembered his mother had told him to come straight home.
He turned around and started walking back to the road when he heard another twig snap. Then something powerful bulldozed him from behind and slammed him into a tree trunk. He felt crushed by the weight of it. He couldn’t move. Could hardly breathe.
“Make a sound and I’ll gut you like one of your crappie,” whispered a gruff male voice. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen up. You didn’t see a drowning. You didn’t see a man in the water. You made it up. Got that?”
Jesse tried to nod, but his head was pinned. “I … got … it.”
“I know where you live, kid. I know you have a mother and two pretty sisters. You can’t imagine what I’ll do to them unless you tell the sheriff, your mother, and your classmates that you lied. That you made up everything you told them about the drowning. Is that clear?”
“Yes.” Jesse’s heart was pounding so hard he thought it might explode.
“I promise you,” the man whispered, his breath warm in Jesse’s ear, “if you tell anyone about this conversation, I’ll carve up each person in your family, one by one, and leave you for last. Convince the sheriff you didn’t see anything. And you’ll never hear from me again. And believe me, you do not want to hear from me again.”
“I … under … stand,” Jesse said, a cold chill crawling up his spine.
“I’m going to turn loose of you now. Keep your eyes shut. Don’t make a sound or move a muscle. Count slowly to two hundred. Then go home and tell your mother you lied, and get her to call the sheriff. Either convince the sheriff you made it up or be responsible for your family dying. Badly. I’ve got eyes and ears in the sheriff’s department. I’ll know if you double-cross me. It’s up to you. I’m watching.”
The pressure was suddenly released and Jesse gasped for air, hugging the tree trunk and slowly counting to two hundred. Even after he finished counting, he was paralyzed with fear. What if he couldn’t convince his mother he’d lied? What if Sheriff Granger didn’t buy it either?
Jesse felt sick to his stomach. He had already lost his dad. He couldn’t lose his mother. Or be responsible for the deaths of anyone else in his family.