Emma's Home (The Fairfield Series) Page 17

  “We found that it was a good place to umm… party, you know?” He blushed a little, as though he was embarrassed to be admitting that he partied. Emma gently smiled at him.

  “We liked it because it was back over that ridge, and the Park Rangers never go down there and well, until you moved in, there hadn’t been anyone living on your side of the river in years. We could play music, drink beer, and sometimes take our girlfriends there. When it was warm, we would even swim some ‘cause the water wasn’t too fast at all.” Brad chuckled. “We used to wonder why they called it a river when it was more like a big creek. I know that is why our grades were slipping at the beginning of the year. Senioritis hit and we just wanted to party.” He looked back up into her eyes and stated firmly, “But we NEVER had a fire there, I swear.”

  He paused again and then continued. “We knew it was illegal to have fires in the park and we just never wanted to take a chance on doing something that stupid.”

  “What happened the night of the fire?” Emma prodded.

  “It was only me and a couple of guys hanging out drinking. We heard some noise across the river, and we started to walk over. We started seeing some flames, and the other guys ran off.” He looked away, an expression of embarrassment crossing his face.

  “We knew we could get in trouble being out there drinkin’.” He raised his eyes back to hers. “I ran over the log connecting the two sides and saw someone near the flames of the hut. Smoke was coming out, and the flames were shootin’ up. I couldn’t get a good look at who was out there, but he turned around and saw me. Ms. Dodd, I’m ashamed to say, I took off runnin’ too. I hightailed it back over the log and caught up to my friends. I didn’t say anything at first – no one was hurt and I just went home.”

  “Brad, you could have told me. We could have told the police. Drinking in the woods with your friends isn’t a good thing, but I know your parents would want to know that you were safe. Jake and your parents could have helped out. What were you afraid of?” she asked.

  Brad shook his head slowly, eyes misting over. He raised a hand up, pressing his fingers into his eyes trying to keep the tears from falling. Emma quietly leaned over and pulled a tissue out of the box on her desk, holding it out to him. He took it gratefully, wiping his eyes. Then he looked back at her, straightening his back. Emma waited until he was composed enough to continue.

  “What happened then, sweetie?” she asked gently.

  “The next mornin’ I told my friends that I was going to the police. They’re good guys, Ms. Dodd. We were all scared but we were all going to go together. When we got to my truck after practice, there was a note on the windshield. It was a warnin’.”

  Emma’s blood ran cold. Oh my God. Brad’s been threatened too.

  “The note said that I was to stay quiet or they would make the evidence look like we did it and I’d lose my scholarship. Me, Scotty, Rick, and Nate all just looked at the note and froze. Ms. Dodd, I’m not afraid to tell you we were scared shitless,” he said emphatically.

  “I’m sure you were. I would have been too,” Emma confessed. She looked at him wonderingly. “What’s changed now, Brad? Why are you telling me this now?”

  Brad sat quietly for a few minutes, pulling his thoughts together. He raised his teary eyes up to hers.

  “I just heard my parents talkin’ about how you’ve been gettin’ notes too and how someone is tryin’ to get to you. They said you’d been chased out of your house. That’s just not right, Ms. Dodd. I thought about it all night and decided it was time to man up. I talked to the boys this morning. They know I am here. They agree.”

  Emma reached over and placed her hand on his arm, smiling at him. “Brad, keep this in mind before you beat yourself up too much. It is not the measure of a man in the mistakes you make. But in how you choose to correct those mistakes.”

  Brad glanced up into her smiling eyes and found himself smiling back. He felt lighter than he had felt in months. Taking a deep breath, he asked her what they should do now.

  Emma thought for just a minute. She told him that she would call Jake and let him know what was going on. She also said she would call his parents and talk to them as well. She was going to tell Wendy and Bill to come pick him up after school and have them with Brad when he gave his statement to the police. Brad nodded, seemingly relieved for the first time since he came into her office. She stood as he did, pulling him into a hug.

  Looking into his eyes, she smiled and said, “You did good, kiddo.” He just nodded and left her office.

  Emma sat back down, feeling better than she had in a long time. Pondering the new information, her mind began to race with ideas.

  Finally, we may be getting somewhere. Who would have wanted to burn down the shack? The only reason would have been if there was something there that they did not want anyone to know about. That property had been vacated for years so the hut in the woods would have been the perfect place to hide something. And when I moved in, it may have made someone nervous. I know the police checked out the area and didn’t find anything. But maybe, something was missed.

  Grabbing her phone, she called Jake. His phone went straight to voicemail. She left a message that told him to call when he got a chance. She then called the station to see if Mike or Tom was available. The dispatcher put her through to Mike.

  “Hey Emma, what’s up? You finally decide to dump Jake’s ass and give me a chance?” Mike joked.

  Emma laughed. “No, but if I ever do, I’ll let you know,” she joked back. “Listen, I wanted to let you all know that Brad Evans and his parents are coming to the station right after school. He and some guys were near that old hut that burned and he may have seen something suspicious.”

  “What did he see?”

  “I want him to tell you himself, but I will just say that he saw a suspect at the time of the fire. It seems that he and some of his friends ran but then got a threatening note to not tell anyone. I wanted to talk to Jake because I was going to head back over to my place and see if there is anything suspicious still there.”

  “Don’t be foolish, Emma,” Mike admonished. “You know Jake would shit if he knew you were off by yourself over there. We didn’t find anything and determined it could have been a vagrant that had used the property because it had been vacant for so long.”

  “I know, Mike. But what if there is something there. A vagrant wouldn’t threaten Brad’s scholarship if he told anyone.”

  There was silence on the phone as Mike pondered this information. “You’re right, Emma. But I don’t want you to go. How about if I drive out there myself, check things out again. You could come in here to the station, wait on Jake, and be here when Brad, Wendy, and Bill get in.”

  Emma had to admit that Mike’s plan made sense. She agreed, hung up, and then realized the last bell had rung. Looking out of her window, she saw Wendy and Bill picking up Brad. She called them earlier, knowing this was going to be hard on them, but they were proud of Brad for coming forward. Reaching for her purse, she checked her cell phone noticing that Jake had not yet returned her call. Walking to her car she glanced over when she saw Coach Ted jogging to his truck. As she was driving through the parking lot, ready to head to the station, Ted peeled out leaving her to stare after him.

  Did Brad tell the coach what he was going to do? Why else would he be heading out of here as though his ass was on fire?

  Quickly changing directions, Emma decided to head over to her place. She would be safe if Mike was over there, and she didn’t want to waste any time. She tried Jake’s cell phone again but he still didn’t pick up. Calling the dispatcher, she was told that Jake and Tom were already in the interview room with Brad and his parents.

  “Just tell him that I have headed over to my place to check out the burned hut with Mike. I have some suspicions and want to check them out.” She didn’t want to mention Ted’s name; she had no proof that he was involved in anything illegal and wanted to be careful what she said.

  Se
eing that Ted was traveling a few cars ahead of her, she wondered if she should follow him instead of going to her place. Her decision was made a few blocks away when she was stopped by a red light. She lost track of Ted, but didn’t care. By now she convinced herself that she needed to be with Mike looking over the burned area. Pulling into her driveway, she followed the familiar curves until her house came into view. Even in the dead of winter, the sight of her house warmed her heart. She couldn’t help but smile, determined to put an end to whatever was keeping her from enjoying her home. Driving toward the garage, she parked outside. Stepping outside of her car, a blast of cold air swirled around, showing that the temperature had dropped significantly. Leaning back in, she grabbed her scarf. Shoving her keys in one pocket and her cell phone in the other, she started off around the house.

  Tromping over the dead grass she thought back to the activity of last summer; Brad mowing, Helen planting flowers, and Jake coming around to see what needed to be worked on.

  More determined than ever, she headed into the woods at the back of her property towards the Little River. The last time she had been in the woods it was fall and there were still a lot of leaves on the trees, full of red, gold, and orange. Now as she walked, she noticed how desolate everything looked. Winter was not her favorite season. The wind kicked up and she wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck.

  She found herself attempting to walk carefully and quietly, but had no idea why. It was as though she instinctively felt fearful, without knowing what there was to be afraid of. She desperately wished she had either called Mike to see when he would be here or that she had waited on Jake.

  Emma stopped suddenly at the sound of voices raised in anger. Her heart began to pound as she wasn’t sure what to do. Peering ever so slowly around the large tree that was blocking her sight, she tried to discern who was in the woods near the river. She could see two men, but only one was partially visible.

  “I’m done, you hear me? I’m out,” one of the men said.

  “You’ll be done when I say you’re done. Nothing’s changed. We’ve got a good deal here and it works because you don’t ask questions, you just do what I goddamn tell you to do.”

  “No more, I’m telling you. I’ve sat back and watched my boys be scared, but no more,” the first one shouted again.

  My boys? Oh my God, that’s Ted.

  Placing her hand on the rough bark of the tree in front of her to keep her balance, she leaned farther around the edge to see if she could identify the other man. She could see Ted facing in her direction, with his hands up.

  “Come on man, put the gun away,” Ted said nervously.

  Emma’s eyes searched the ground for something she could use as a weapon, but she saw nothing. Just then her pocket vibrated, and she realized someone was calling her cellphone. She quietly slid her hand into her pocket and pressed accept call. Looking down she saw it was from Jake. Please let him hear what is going on.

  Chapter 19

  Jake and Tom finished interviewing Brad with his parents. Handling himself like a man, Brad gave clear answers and held nothing back. Wendy and Bill, were anguished that they had not tried harder to get their son to open up to them when they noticed his personality changes. They had chalked it up to teenage hormones, never realizing how much of it was due to the stress that he felt.

  “Mom, Dad, you did nothing wrong – it was all me. I made stupid choices and then got scared. Coach even told me not to worry about it.”

  Jake, Tom, Wendy, and Bill all looked at Brad incredulously.

  “Coach? You told Coach Ted, and he said nothing?” Bill said, anger showing in his voice.

  Brad looked around at the faces all staring at him, and he nervously admitted, “Yeah. I told coach right away, when I first got the note to stay quiet. He agreed and told me that the best thing I could do for everyone, including you and mom, was to stay quiet and pretend nothing happened.”

  Wendy and Bill exploded in a flurry of cursing and threats. “Goddamn, son of a bitch, wait till I get my hands on him!” Bill threatened. Tom calmed them down and made them promise not to say anything to anyone until it could all be investigated. Wendy and Bill reluctantly agreed. Leaving, with their arms around Brad, they thanked the detectives for handling everything.

  After they left, Jake looked over at Tom. “That son of a bitch works with Emma and knows she has been talking to the kids,” he cursed.

  “Do you think he is the one who left Emma the notes?” Tom asked.

  “I don’t know, but I sure as hell am going to find out.”

  “Not alone, partner. I can’t have you go off halfcocked and ruin this investigation.” Tom threatened.

  Jake turned and stared his partner in the eyes. “And what if it were Carol that were being threatened?” he asked. “Would you back off then?”

  Tom stared right back at him, grim faced at the thought of someone ever harming his wife. “No.” Then he smiled at Jake. “But I sure as hell would want my partner at my back.”

  Jake nodded his head firmly. “Damn straight. Let’s go.”

  Striding out of the interview room, they grabbed their coats to head out the door. Sally, the dispatcher, called them back.

  “I’ve got a message from your pretty lady, Detective Campbell.”

  Turning back around, Jake pulled out his cell phone, noticing several missed calls from Emma. He started to call her back when the Sally continued her message. “She called earlier and talked to Mike. He headed out later to say he had to go check something out. Then Ms. Dodd called back to say that she had planned on being here with the Evans when they came in, but she decided to go out to find Mike. And she was….hmm, now what did she say exactly.” Sally shuffled through some papers quickly. Jake was already dialing Emma’s cell as Sally came up with the note.

  “Oh yes, she said she was following someone suspicious from school and would try to meet up with Mike’s investigation.”

  The Chief of Police walked over to Jake, looking confused. “Why the hell is your Emma following someone suspicious?” he bellowed.

  “I don’t know, but I sure as fuck am going to find out!” Jake swore again.

  Right then Emma picked up her phone.

  “Emma, where the hell are you?” he roared. All he could hear was muffled sounds, and he gave Tom a questioning look.

  “Put her on speaker,” Tom said wanting to hear what Emma was saying. Jake hit speaker as he, Tom, the Chief, and Sally all leaned in to listen more closely.

  At first, Jake could just make out the sounds of two people arguing in the distance. His heartbeat began to pound as he realized that wherever Emma was, she wasn’t able to talk right at that moment but she must have wanted him to hear what was going on.

  *

  “I could shoot you now and dump your ass in the water. Or drag you over to the park and let the animals take care of you. So you got a choice. You either keep quiet, keep bringing those drugs over in the athletic buses from games, and you can keep living. How about that, you prick?”

  “I never meant to get in this deep. I thought it was a time or two. I never meant for you to burn down this hut getting everyone suspicious. I can’t keep doing this to my boys.”

  Jake and Tom looked at each other. “Ted,” they both said at the same time.

  The chief turned to Sally. “Put out a call, I want everyone looking for Ted Williams and get Mike on his radio or cell phone. He is off somewhere, and we need to know if he knows where Emma Dodd is.”

  Right then, they heard a gunshot and a scream.

  “Mike, you son of a bitch, you shot me!” they heard Ted yell. There was a pause and then he screamed again, “Emma, NO!”

  Another shot rang out.

  Chapter 20

  Blood pouring from his leg, Emma saw Ted go down. He looked up and cursed at Mike then saw her behind the tree. He tried to warn her away, and that was the last thing he was able to do before being shot again. Mike whirled around, gun still in his hand.


  “Emma, you stupid bitch, why didn’t you stay away?”

  Dumbfounded, Emma stared at the scene in front of her.

  Mike? Mike? How could he be involved?

  Looking at the gun in his hand, pointed directly at her, she felt fear trickle down her back in a way she had never known before. She wanted to run but was paralyzed at the sight of the gun.

  “Goddamn, you are fucking up my plans!” he screamed.

  “What plans?” Emma asked softly, thinking only to calm him. She had forgotten the phone in her pocket recording the scene like a bad movie script. Mike rubbed his hand over his face, then seemed to come to a decision. He walked over and grabbed her arm as she tried to back away.

  “Come on, I gotta get rid of his body and then we’re going to take a little walk. Then I am going to simply lose you in the park, in the cold and dark. The chances of you getting out are minimal. That will give me time to get away, and everyone will still be looking for you and not me.” He held on to her upper arm tightly and started to drag her forward. He stepped over Ted’s body and pulled her over it when she hesitated. Emma tried not to look at Ted, but she had to see if he was still breathing. He was perfectly still, eyes staring open in death.

  “Oh my god, you killed him!” Emma could feel the bile rising, and she flopped forward and began to throw up. Mike threw her on the ground in disgust. As soon as she stopped retching, he grabbed her arm again and hauled her to her feet.

  “Roll his body down the embankment,” Mike ordered, swinging the gun wildly in the air. Emma stood in shock, not moving. Shoving her in front of him, he ordered her to move Ted’s body again.

  “I… I… can’t. I… can’t,” Emma repeated, shaking her head, tears welling in her eyes.

  The crack of Mike’s hand slapping her across the face sounded out in the silent woods. Her body jerked to the side with the impact of the blow. She brought her shaking hand up to touch her stinging cheek, feeling the wetness of tears streaming down her face.