CHAPTER 38

CAL CALLED KELLY and told her he had one final stop before he returned to the hotel to write his story. It wasn’t research as much as it was a tip of the cap to the man who pointed him in the right direction.

Steve’s Burgers and Brew was buzzing with activity for a change. Cal walked in and looked at Steve behind the counter. He opened his arms and looked around, eyebrows arched and mouth agape.

“I know, right?” Steve yelled from behind the counter. “I haven’t been this busy in months.”

Cal strolled up to the counter and sat down. Steve pushed a menu in front of him. “Journalists know how to find a good haunt.”

“When you’re the only haunt in town, it’s not too hard,” Steve said as he wiped the counter in front of Cal. “What brings you in today? I thought you’d be headed out by now.”

“Do you have to ask? Your burgers are awesome.”

“That’s the only reason?”

“I couldn’t leave town without thanking you, too. If it hadn’t been for you pointing us in the right direction, I think an innocent kid might be sitting in prison right now—or at least about to go on trial for a pair of murders he didn’t commit.”

A bell rung and Steve spun around to grab an order and deliver to two patrons sitting at the end of the bar. He then returned to Cal. “I admire your courage. I’ve never seen anyone go after Wilfred Lee like that, even after he threatened to ruin your career.”

“Threatened? Heck, he did ruin it—for a few days. I had nothing to lose at that point. It was the only way to clear my name.”

“I think it’s safe to say you accomplished that mission—and nobody’s happier about that fact than me.”

“Why’s that?” Cal said, spinning the menu around and pointing to the burger he wanted.

Steve scribbled down the order and pinned the ticket to the line strung over the kitchen prep counter in the back. “He dragged my sister off to The Gentleman’s Club one night. When I went over to her house and found her the next morning curled up in the fetal position on her porch sucking her thumb, I waited for three days before she talked to anyone in our family. She told my parents she had a bad breakup and she did some things she regretted. Then she told me the truth.”

“Order’s up!” shouted one of the cooks, followed by another ding. Steve retrieved the plate and served it to a couple seated in the dining area. Then he came back to his spot behind the counter.

“What did you do?” Cal asked.

“I was stupid. I tried to play hero and told a Kentucky state patrolman I knew. The next morning, I found a Polaroid picture of his dead body in my car as I was getting ready to go to work. On the back were the words: His blood is on your hands. Below that it said: Keep your mouth shut or you’re next.”

“What did you do?”

“This town has lived in fear of Wilfred Lee for years. You only stand up to him once—and if you’re lucky, you survive. But you never do it again. That man had too much power and too much money for anyone to prove what he did. That is, until you came along.”

“Sometimes ignorance is a beautiful thing.”

“You may have saved this town’s soul, Mr. Murphy. And for that I can’t thank you enough.” He gestured toward the restaurant’s customers. “We can’t thank you enough.”

The bell rang again and Steve turned around to see Cal’s order piping hot and ready for delivery. He put the plate in front of Cal. “Enjoy.”

“You know I will,” Cal said before taking a big bite.

Before he could swallow the first piece, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Cal spun around to find Mrs. Riggins standing in front of him.

He wiped the corners of his mouth and then his hand before offering it for her to shake. “Mrs. Riggins, it’s so good to see you.”

She smiled and nodded. “I’m glad I caught you. I just can’t thank you enough for what you did.”

“You need to thank Tom Corliss and the FBI. Those were the guys who did all the real work here this week in making sure justice was served.”

“But none of it would have happened without you.”

Cal smiled. “The only thing I regret is that we haven’t identified the person who actually killed your son. Not yet, anyway.”

“That doesn’t matter to me,” she said. “I just want justice. Whoever actually did it worked under the direction of Mr. Lee. It’s not like someone had a vendetta against Billy and wanted to kill him.”

“I know. It doesn’t make it any better though.”

“Sure, but at least I know someone will pay for his senseless death. It’ll never bring me any satisfaction or closure, but at least I know there’s not some murderer stalking the streets of our town and looking for another victim.”

Cal nodded knowingly. “It’s good to know that you feel that way. Quite frankly, we may never know who actually committed the act. This whole situation is so messed up and disturbing, but at least the mastermind behind everything won’t be going anywhere for a long time.”

She tapped the bar and ordered a bourbon. Ironically enough, it was a shot of Lee Creeks’ finest. “I’ll drink to that,” she said. “Cal Murphy, you’re one exceptional human being.”

Cal thanked Mrs. Riggins before she walked away and smiled as she did.

***

THE NEXT MORNING as Cal and Kelly drove back to Atlanta, Kelly scrolled through social media apps talking about Cal’s story that detailed Lee’s dark deeds and the control he held over the town. He’d managed to convince Gatlin to run the story in the Atlanta paper—and pay him handsomely for it. Other news outlets were reporting on Cal’s story as well, and it dominated the front page of national news websites.

“I can’t believe this,” Kelly said. “You never get so many good comments like this. Want me to read some of them to you?”

He shook his head. “No comments praising the article are going to be more satisfying to me that what just happened in that town. Let’s just leave it at that and move on. I was just doing my job.”

“Yeah—a job you don’t have now,” Kelly said.

“Don’t worry. Something will come up.”

Cal’s phone buzzed. Kelly looked at the unfamiliar number. “Who do you know in Charlotte?”

He grabbed the phone from her and answered it, smiling as he talked. When he hung up, he looked at her and winked.

“What?” she said.

“Something just came up. I just got offered a job in Charlotte.”