Chapter Five

 

The house was dark, Jake saw no movement. He knew this might take some time. He didn't know Mike well enough to know how or what he would do. He simply had to wait till there was something substantial to charge him with.

He checked his gun. He had pulled the unmarked dark colored police car behind some trees but he could still watch the house from here.

He had put his radio on silence and sat in the dark, waiting. He knew it could take days. However, this was the only way he knew to find out what Mike was up to, and if Mr. Turner ever returned from town like Mike had said.

He'd taken the time to brief the Sheriff on his work and the Sherriff instructed him to call if he needed backup.

No one in Sweetwater thought Mike would do anything to harm anyone, but everyone also knew he wasn't right in the head too. It was nightfall, a light flickered upstairs. Obviously Mike was about to go to bed. After a short while, the light went off. Jake thought he'd be out here for a long while and he was tempted to get a little sleep himself, but since it was the first night he knew he couldn't allow himself that pleasure. He was used to not allowing pleasure.

His thoughts kept straying to Tara. She was so tempting. He liked her though. She seemed to fit in here and she worked doubly hard. He was even interested in the dogs she intended to train. He'd been in charge of the K-9 division in Houston once and he enjoyed it.

He was almost nodding off when he saw a new shadow. It was Mike and he was coming into the back yard. Now why would he come out in the backyard at night?

Jake pulled his gun out again and laid it on the seat.

Mike was moving about the backyard a lot and Jake couldn't see what was going on.

However, he wasn't carrying a body, and he wasn't digging a hole, so what was he doing in the yard?

In a short while he went back inside, and up to his room. He turned the light on for a few minutes then turned it off and obviously went to bed.

Jake wished he could sleep, but surveillance was not something to sleep through. He wanted to catch Mike and take him in.

Midway through the night, Jake decided to sneak into the yard to see what Mike had been doing. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary. Except someone watered the flowers.

He had been watering his flowers. Mike loved flowers.

Jake thought about the boot he'd borrowed and thought maybe he'd return it tomorrow.

He'd felt guilty taking it, trying to prove Mike guilty, but he had to get to the bottom of this mystery.

The next day Mike was out and about the yard, taking care of things, no sign of Mr. Turner.

Jake began to wonder if Mike had killed his father. Why had that idea flashed in his head? Even Mike wasn't that cruel. No, something else happened.

After two more days of observing he decided to take the boot back and see if he could discover anything. However, when he knocked on the door, Mr. Turner answered.

"Mr. Turner?" Jake said in surprise.

"Jake, what's up?" Mr. Turner twisted his head in a way that asked, was he crazy or what.

"Nothing, nothing at all. Just wanted to return Mike's boot to him. I know how he loves the flowers."

Mr. Turner nodded. "Yeah, thanks…"

"I—came over the other day and you weren't here." Jake said watching Mr. Turner as he spoke.

"Naw, I had to go get a tractor part. Mike busted the tractor and it had to be special ordered. Did you need something?"

"Oh no…not really. I just wanted to show Tara the flowers."

"Tara, my renter…?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Does she like it over there?"

"Well, I think she'll be fine, once she gets the dogs out here." Jake replied.

"Dogs…what dogs?" Mr. Turner asked.

"She raises dogs, I figured she told you."

"Oh…yeah…that's right she did say something about them. I didn't pay much attention to that. Mike was so upset about me renting to her." Mr. Turner frowned and shot his son an ugly look. Jake noted that look but figured Mike had done something to deserve his fury. After all, it had to be unnerving taking care of a son like Mike.

"Well, good day to you sir, I better get back to work…"

Mr. Turner nodded and watched him leave.

Jake still had an eerie feeling about the place and couldn't put his finger on what it was.

He reported not finding anything to go on to the Sheriff and the Sheriff told him not to worry about it unless something else happened. It was probably just kids fooling with her.

Mike didn't continue his stake out any longer and Tara was able to go back home. Her sister had brought Greta to her and she needed to get her into the backyard anyway.

Greta was happy with the huge yard to play in and ran about the place with her tail wagging high.

After Tara was through at the hospital, she came home and spent a couple of hours with Greta. She felt safer with Greta there.

Jake came by and got friendly with Greta too. The dog really warmed to Jake.

"So are you off the case completely now?" Tara asked one afternoon while she pruned the roses against the house.

"Pretty much…yeah. He thinks it's just vandals, kids."

Tara firmed her lips and shook her head, "I don't think so…, but then I'm not the Sheriff, am I."

"Are you afraid to stay here?"

"No, not now that Greta is here. She'll protect me from anything. I'll take her in at night and nothing will bother me." Tara laughed.

Jake nodded. "So…when we gonna set a date…?"

Tara felt suddenly tongue-tied.

"For what?" she asked with a smile.

"For the wedding…" he muttered.

"Were you serious?" she asked glancing up at him.

His eyes traveled from her head to the bottom of her short-shorts. "Very much so, weren't you?"

She laughed, "Very much so…" her voice seemed to catch.

"Then when…?"

"Well…I don't know…do you want a wedding or to go to the justice of the peace?" she asked, as though they were talking about taking out the trash.

"Frankly I want to get married as soon as possible…but if you want a big wedding, then we'll have one…" he studied her.

She bent over to dig up the dirt some more and her shorts rode up high on her cheeks.

He whistled. "Yep, very soon…"

She laughed again; she knew exactly what she had done. She was about to flirt a little more when suddenly she saw something that made her come unglued.

There in the dirt, sticking up out of the dirt was a hand….she screamed shrilly.

Jake took her n his arms and held her, "What's wrong?"

"Look," she pointed down in the rose garden. Jake got on his knees, moved the rose bush over just a tad, and saw it. His eyes widened a bit. "Hand me the shovel."

She moved to the side of the house where she had left it and brought it back for Jake.

He dug the body up in no time and called the Sheriff.

The Sheriff came in one car and the Police Commissioner came in another. Everyone witnessed the body and could not believe that Mrs. Turner had turned up on their old property after nearly ten years. Of course they couldn't be sure it was her until they performed an autoopsy. Still that's who they figured it was.

When Mrs. Turner died, she'd been in a hospital back east, at least that was what Mr. Turner had reported and her folks wanted her buried in Kansas, so that's where everyone thought she had been buried. Now finding her here changed everything.

"You think it was Mike?" the Commissioner asked.

"Don't know. He'd have been ten years younger so who knows. Nevertheless, I guess it had to be him. Since he's the one with all the problems." The Sheriff was saying.

Jake thought about it a long while. Things didn't add up.

During Mrs. Turner's illness, Mr. Turner had stayed with Mike as per her request. He wanted to see the autopsy report and he wanted to know if Mr. Turner went to Kansas during that time. He'd blamed Mike but more and more it looked as though Mike might be innocent. Of course if he had buried his mother at the house that would be an excuse to not want anyone living at the house. Something didn't seem right to all of this.

Tara was afraid again. Jake wanted her in town, but she insisted she had to stay there because Greta couldn't be left alone.

Jake agreed, so he sent her into town and he volunteered to stay at the house.

He took care of Greta and they had become good friends. She was a great company for him too. Although, he would rather have Tara by his side, he settled for Greta.

He finally got an autopsy confirming Mrs. Turner's identity.

It was time to talk to Mr. Turner about Mike.

Jake decided it was a good time to see how well Greta performed around others too. So he took him with him over to the Turner's place.

The Turners lived out in the country too, away from most houses, with a cornfield hiding their nearest neighbor. Mr. Turner hadn't done much to keep the place up, but Jake reckoned he had his hands full with watching Mike all the time.

Mike was nowhere to be seen. Mr. Turner answered the door. He wasn't too happy about Greta greeting him with a loud bark. Jake tried to settle her down, but Greta seemed to really dislike Mr. Turner.

"I'm sorry; we're training her for the force so I had to bring her." Jake explained.

"Oh…one of them police dogs, huh?" Mr. Turner chuckled.

"Yeah, she will be soon…" Jake nodded as Mr. Turner let him in the house.

Greta barked again at Mr. Turner but Jake had full control and settled her down.

"Mr. Turner I came to talk to you about your son…"

Mr. Turner nodded, "Yeah…what now?"

"Well, I don't know if you've heard the rumor or not, but we found your wife's body at your old place." Jake watched Mr. Turner fidget with his pocketknife in his hand.

"I heard, but didn't believe it. How'd you know for sure if it was her?" he asked still flipping his knife in his hand.

"They did an autopsy, took her false teeth, they checked out. Now…I must ask you some questions and they won't be pleasant. Nevertheless, you told us she died in Kansas, where her folks were from. Is that right?"

"Yeah…yeah, that's right; she was in the hospital there."

"What did she die of, sir?"

"Complications of Diabetes…I think…" he coughed, and threw the knife against his wall, Greta growled at him again.

"The coroner confirmed she had diabetes but that isn't what she died from." Jake informed him.

"What are you saying'?" Mr. Turned on him with a frown now.

"I'm saying your wife died from a bullet in her heart…." Jake spoke softly. "I'm also saying that only you and your son knew where she was, and how she died."

"Now look, you and I know that Mike ain't right in the head…but to kill his own mother…why…that's impossible. He has a gentle nature…most of the time."

Jake watched Mr. Turner and Greta. Greta was not happy with the man and for some reason she snarled at every move he made. Jake watched in fascination.

"That only leaves you…Mr. Turner…" Jake insisted.

"Well, you don't think I did it, do ya?" he asked turning to stare at Jake.

"Did you?" Jake asked.

"Why you asking' me all these questions for. It's Mike you really want to talk to. I know that. I've taken care of that boy for years, alone, with no help from anybody. He wouldn't kill anybody…He's touched, but he ain't a killer…."

Jake nodded, "No…I guess he's not…why'd you do it Mr. Turner?"

Mr. Turner swiveled on his feet to stare at Jake, and then he glanced at his knife on the wall. Jake saw it took and shook his head, "Greta will eat you alive…"

"You can't prove anything…." Mr. Turner frowned now, turning all his anger on Jake.

Greta's lips snarled, and she barked aloud.

"I don't have to…that's up to a judge and a jury…."

"You can't arrest me without proof?" He hollered.

"I'm sure they can get DNA, if we need it." Jake replied. "What I want to know is why?"

Mr. Turner sat down in his chair, and stared at the dog that snarled at him at every turn. "It was Mike…."

"No…I thought it was Mike, but it wasn't. It was you, Mr. Turner. Now why did you do it?"

Mr. Turner jumped up and darted for the knife, but Greta had his arm and chewed it like a piece of raw meat. Jake quickly called her off, threw Mr. Turner in the chair again, and cuffed him to it.

"Now tell me why you did it?"

Mr. Turner clamped his mouth together at first, and then hung his head. His shoulders slumped, his eyes watered. "I been taking' care of that kid for ten years straight, just like she asked me to. Every day, never any relief from it. Never any time away from it. Always there. Always staring' at me…she spoiled him. He never did like me. My own kid…he just loved her. And he never let me be. I could beat him and he'd get up and never say a word. Just silence with me. I could tell how I killed her and he'd cry. I tried to get him to fight me a time or two, but he wouldn't. I was sick of her; all she lived for was that boy. Then she made a slave of me…when I killed her. She had this shocked look on her face as she died and she asked me to take care of him. I felt bad about killing' her. But they was driving' me crazy. Livin' with both of them in the same house. Never going' off. Never any rest from them. She'd got sick. I knew she'd be dead before long; I didn't want to take care of two of them. So I killed her. I buried her over at the house thinking no one would find her. Then that lady came and wanted to rent it. Mike didn't want me to rent it…because he knew where she was. He's the one that tried to run the girl off. Not me. She paid me... I was broke after taking' care of him so long. Don't nobody know what it's like to take care of someone like Mike."

"Mr. Turner," Jake shook his head. "Was Mike born like that or did you abuse him?"

"Aw hell…" He stared up at Jake. "You got to know it all, don't you."

Jake nodded, "Come on, tell me."

"I dropped him one night when he was a baby, on his head. I was drunk. I didn't mean the kid any harm. I was just playing' with him. She hated me playin' with him. Anyway, it happened. His head busted open and I sewed him up myself. She blamed me for it. All those years she held it over my head. Instead of loving me, she loved him. Her baby, she called him. Never a kind word for me. Just her baby."

Jake nodded. "We'll be going in now. Where is Mike?"

"In the garage…."

Jake nodded, he secured Mr. Turner in the police car he had driven out and then went to get Mike.

Mike was huddled in a corner hiding, or at least it looked like he was hiding. However, after careful consideration Jake decided he wasn't hiding at all, he was cowering as though he'd been beat.

Jake twisted his head in question. Had Mr. Turner beat the kid? Greta followed him in the garage and when she saw Mike she ran up and licked his face. Mike looked at the dog and smiled.

Jake felt bad about thinking it was Mike. If Greta liked him, Mike couldn't be so bad.

"You’re a good doggie…." Mike said and began petting Greta. Greta licked Mike and wagged her tail happily.

"Mike, let's take a little ride into town, okay?"

Mike looked at him, "Where's my daddy?"

"He's going with us…okay…."

"Okay," Mike said with a smile. "Can the doggie come too?"

"Sure Mike, the doggie can come too." Jake smiled and guided Mike to the car.

 

***

Two days later Jake was sitting on the couch with Tara, planning their small gathering at the courthouse wedding.

"What all did you find out about Mike?" Tara asked.

"His father beat him pretty often, never sent him to school, never had a doctor look at him after that head injury, too worried about being arrested for that, I imagine. Mike is really a very gentle man, and Greta thinks he is a big overgrown child. She loves him.

Tara laughed. "So who was trying to run me off this property?"

"Mike…he knew his mother was buried over here somewhere." Jake told her. "He didn't want anyone disturbing her."

"And what will happen to Mr. Turner now?"

Jake patted her on the leg, "He'll go to trial. If found guilty he'll serve some time, not only for her, but for Mike too."

"And Mike?" Tara asked her eyes wide with concern.

"They've got a special school he can go to, to learn to do things for himself. Even though he can talk, sometimes he doesn't make a lot of sense. However, they can help him. They'll teach him things too that he's missed. He'll be treated well…he's the state's responsibility now."

"I hope so. I feel so sorry for him…"

Jake smiled, "That's another thing I like about you. You forgive easily. And you care about people."

"I like that," she cooed in his ear, and kissed his cheek. "Tell me more things you like about me…."Tara pulled Jake closer and lay across his lap, "Now look, I know you don't want to compromise me before the wedding. I know all that, but it's been a while and I haven't had much attention. A girl likes attention you know."

Suddenly he laid her down on the couch and stretched out on top of her, nearly knocking the breath from her as she smiled into his face. However, no one had to tell her how he was feeling as she could feel it against her. Maybe I should rethink this wedding night thing…" he began.

"Oh, now you are rethinking it?" she laughed.

"Well honey, I've been thinking. It's just a justice of the peace thing, and it won't take that long and you aren't even going to wear white…so maybe…." His hand went up her blouse and found the eager peaks of her breast, and he sighed. "Besides, his lips followed his hands, "this could kill me…the waiting…" he snickered, as his lips kissed her breast, then suckled.

She sighed happily, "hmmm huh. Now you are talking'." She giggled.

The waiting was over.

 

The End