Chapter Six
Jimmy was still nervously waiting for Virgil and Scotch to come back. He had wanted to go along, but Virgil had pointed out that someone needed to stay behind who knew where they were going so that they could get help if need be. When Scotch's text came through, Jimmy stared at it in horror and leaped up. Help was definitely needed.
He hurried down the hall, looking at each closed door. He didn't want to disturb Radley and Kalin, but he also wasn't sure if anyone else would know as much what to do. Finally, in resignation he quietly opened the door to Radley's room.
Radley looked over in surprise. "Hey, Jimmy. What's up?" He and Kalin were both resting in the bed, but neither seemed to be asleep yet.
Jimmy rushed over to them. "I'm real sorry to bother you guys, but weird stuff was happening at that building and Virgil and Scotch went over to check it out," he said. "I think Biff went after them too! And now I got this text from Scotch." He held up his phone so they could see.
We saw Lawton at the window! Virgil's so mad he's picking the lock to get inside.
Both Radley and Kalin stared at the disturbing message. "What does he mean, Lawton was at the window?" Kalin frowned, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know! It sounds like they think he's alive!" Jimmy exclaimed. "I'm not sure what to do. If he's there, and they bust in on him . . . !"
Radley leaped up in the next instant. "Let's get over there. Hopefully it's nothing, but Virgil breaking and entering isn't nothing. Either way, we've got trouble."
Kalin nodded. "Of all the . . . !" He snarled. "What are the odds that we'd run into more trouble with Lawton out here?! If he is alive, somehow, this is either an inane coincidence or he's following us."
"We thought he'd tipped off the deep end." Radley took off his sleep pants and grabbed his leather pants, pulling them on. "If he really has, he might be capable of obsessing over us and following us. Otherwise, I don't see it."
Kalin didn't bother to change and just headed for the door. "I just thought he was out of our lives for good, unless the place where he fell is haunted by his ghost," he snarled. "I wasn't expecting this place to be haunted by him too."
Radley sighed. "I know." He grabbed his jacket and hurried after Kalin. "Let's go."
xxxx
Biff grabbed Scotch's and Virgil's arms at the sound of the footsteps outside the office. "We don't know our way around in here and it's dark," he said. "Whoever's coming will have the advantage over us. We've gotta get out of here!"
Virgil growled. "If it's Lawton, we need to confront him now or he might hurt Radley!" he protested.
"Or he might hurt us and that's how he'd hurt Radley," Biff said. "This is not a good time to face him. We should do it on our terms." He started pulling them towards the door.
Scotch didn't resist. "Biff's right," he said. "Let's go back and tell Radley everything and see what he wants to do."
Virgil scowled. ". . . Alright." But he grabbed the folder. "And we're taking this to show him."
Biff didn't protest the illegal action. It was true that Lawton could hardly call the police on them. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go!" He dragged his friends outside and around the back of the house.
They nearly ran into Radley, Kalin, and Jimmy coming from the opposite direction.
"Are you guys alright?!" Radley cried.
"Yeah!" Scotch said, beaming in relief. His shoulders slumped. "Radley, I'm sorry. . . . I saw a flashlight and I thought maybe someone had broke in over here or that the power was out and they needed help or something. But I can't deny I really did want to come back over and I was happy for a legitimate reason to do it. . . . And now we found all this trouble!"
"Yeah, what does this text even mean?!" Radley demanded, pointing at Jimmy's phone. "How did you see Lawton?!"
"We both saw Lawton," Virgil said. "He glared at us and snapped the blind shut. And then we came in and found these documents about him owning this place!"
"Or somebody else named Lawton," Scotch added. "But wouldn't that be too weird a coincidence?!"
Radley sighed and took the folder, but frowned as he studied it. ". . . If Lawton possibly is alive, he's still a wanted man," he noted. "We don't have any authority here, but maybe I should call the local police and tell them about all this. We don't want him to get away if he's really in there."
"I'll call right now." Kalin took out his phone and looked for the number.
"And it was reckless going in there," Radley continued, looking to Virgil. "You guys should have come back the minute you found all the doors still locked. But . . . if that really was Lawton, we needed to know before he could try to hurt us again. So I have to be glad you came out in the first place, when you ended up seeing him at the window. Maybe he's after us and maybe not, but I don't want him parked right next to my family. Who knows what he'd do to them at some point!"
"I guess that's true," Biff frowned. "He'd be real nasty to them just because you care about them!"
"How could he have even survived, though?!" Scotch said. "I thought maybe we were seeing a ghost. . . ."
"And maybe you were," Radley sighed. In the background, Kalin was calling the police. "Right now, I don't know what's going on."
"Well . . . I'm really glad you believe us about what we saw anyway, Radley," Scotch said softly.
"Of course," Radley soothed. "I know you guys don't make stuff up or see things that aren't there."
The police soon arrived, and after questioning Radley and the others, went inside the already-open door to look around. But whatever the boys had seen was now nowhere to be found; the building was empty.
"That's bogus! There was someone there!" Virgil snarled.
"And he had no way of getting out without us seeing him," Biff said.
"He must have gone in a secret passage or something!" Scotch exclaimed.
"We'll look up this name on the deed and see if we can find the blueprints to look at," the officer said. "That should tell us if this guy really is your Lawton and if there's any weird places for him to hide. We can leave a couple of officers in case he comes out a normal door, but that's all we can do for now, and we can only spare them until they're needed on another call."
"We understand," Kalin said with a curt nod. "Thanks."
"I don't think I understand," Virgil snarled. "I want this guy taken out!"
"They've tried everything they can for now," Radley said. "Yeah, I sure want him stopped too, if it really is him." He sighed. "For now, let's get to bed. Emilio's looking forward to showing us his favorite places here tomorrow and I'm not gonna see that ruined, ghost or no ghost."
Kalin nodded. "That's a good idea. Let's go."
Somewhat reluctantly, Scotch and Virgil trudged after them. Biff went much more enthusiasically. At the villa, explanations were given to those still awake of their friends and family and they tried once again to get to bed.
"I wonder if I'll sleep tonight now," Radley said wryly as he laid back down under the covers.
"I don't know if I will," Kalin grunted. "What if it really is a living Lawton and not a ghost that they saw?" He slipped out of his shoes and back into bed.
"Then we've got a problem," Radley remarked. "I think he'll realize he has to stay low this time."
"Unless he really has lost his mind, as he'd seemed to," Kalin said.
Radley sighed. ". . . Is there any chance Lawton didn't even fall far? Maybe he just landed on an outcropping or something and decided to just let you think he was dead. Then he could have climbed back up after you left."
"Anything's possible," Kalin conceded. "But then why go to a house that's next to your family's vineyard? He had to know he might be seen."
"I wonder if he didn't have anywhere else to go," Radley said. "And coming to think of it, where was the caretaker who supposedly lives there? There was no trace of him." He frowned. "I hope Lawton didn't hurt him."
"If the caretaker works for Lawton, he's probably fine," Kalin said. ". . . Unless he threatened to go to the police after realizing everything Lawton's done."
"Yeah. Lawton wouldn't take kindly to that," Radley said. He sighed. "We'd better try to get some sleep. I'll need to tell everyone about this in the morning. I was only able to tell Grandpa of my biological family, and a lot of the Bunch were asleep too."
Kalin nodded. "I'll help you tell everyone."
"Thanks," Radley smiled. "I hope Lawton won't ruin this trip like he tried to ruin Christmas. . . . I didn't want him to be dead, but I'm not thrilled for him to turn up possibly alive if he's just going to get right back to trying to hurt us."
"He won't ruin it," Kalin vowed. "I won't let him."
"Just don't let yourself get hurt," Radley said in concern.
"I won't," Kalin said. "I know you can't stand that, and I don't want to be hurt anymore myself."
"Good." Radley snuggled close and finally dozed. Kalin watched him for a moment. It was so good to see his friend able to be at peace after all that had happened. Kalin still wasn't sure he would sleep, but within moments he managed to slip into slumber as well.
xxxx
When Radley stirred come morning, he was surprised to find a small form had come and laid on his other side during the night. He smiled, watching Emilio sleep. The boy was so good, so pure. He had never believed it was right to shun Radley, and now finally the rest of his family believed the same thing. If Emilio had bought into the falsehoods he had been told, he might have been the hardest to convince of the truth, rather than the easiest.
Emilio roused up, smiling sleepily at his big brother. "Hi. . . ."
"Hey there," Radley said.
"Breakfast is probably ready." Emilio sat up. "We can eat and then go exploring! There's so much to see!"
Radley chuckled. "I'd love to."
Kalin woke up too, rising up on one elbow. "We'll be right down," he said. "Why don't you go around and make sure the Bunch is up?"
"Okay!" Emilio hopped down and hurried out of the room.
Radley watched him fondly. "Apparently he came in during the night and slept here," he said. He started to get up. "We'll need to tell everybody what happened last night. Grandpa said he'd let me tell everyone unless something else happened and he needed to do it. I hope it won't ruin Emilio's plans. . . . He wanted to see my favorite spots yesterday and said we'd do his today."
Kalin nodded. "For having been spoiled, he's actually pretty mature."
"Yeah, I've only seen his more spoiled side being put to good use, like insisting on coming to see me," Radley said fondly. "I guess if my parents had raised him like they did me, that might not have happened. He might have been too timid at his young age." He stretched. "Well, we'd better get ready for the day."
Kalin was in agreement, and soon they were dressed and heading downstairs, meeting up with the Bunch along the way. Those who knew about Lawton's appearance looked worried, while the rest were just eager for food.
"Any news?" Virgil greeted in an undertone.
"Not as far as we know," Radley sighed.
Scotch made a face. "Maybe we really were just seeing things."
"I don't think so," Radley said firmly. "You saw something. The question is, what, exactly, was it?"
They continued to ponder the problem as they went into the dining room. Marisol beamed as they entered. "It is so good to see you coming downstairs again, Radley," she told him. "This is just as it should be."
Radley smiled. "I'm glad to be here again, Mom."
Lucia watched them all with a scrutinizing eye. "What happened last night?" she demanded.
"You think something happened?" Alejandro returned.
"I know something did," Lucia insisted. "There were so many openings and closings of the front doors. Then you admitted something had gone on and that Radley would explain after sleeping."
Radley sighed. "Yeah . . . something happened, but we're still not sure what." He began to expound on the night's events, with interjections from Kalin and some of the Bunch. His family and the rest of the Bunch listened in alarm.
"What the heck?!" Billy exclaimed.
"That horrible man has come out here?!" Marisol gasped.
"We're not sure," Radley said. "And we haven't heard back whether the police have confirmed he's the Lawton Coulter who owns the property."
"It would be a pretty off-the-wall coincidence if he's not," Virgil said.
"I know," Radley agreed. "But we still need proof. And we're still not sure how he could have survived the fall."
Emilio looked worried. "Will he come over here and hurt you?!"
Radley smiled, touched. "I don't think so," he said. "He'll really need to lay low with the police monitoring the house and looking for him again."
"He must be holed up in there somewhere, unless there's a secret passage leading out," Virgil said.
"And there must be," Radley said. "Somehow he apparently got in there last night without unlocking any doors."
"Unless he really is a ghost," Scotch gulped.
"What nonsense!" Lucia sniffed.
Radley sighed. "I'm afraid it's not nonsense, Grandma. Spirits don't always immediately cross over to the afterlife when they die. We've had a lot of trouble with ghosts in our town."
Emilio stared. "Really?!"
"Yeah!" Scotch said. "It got really bad! But we helped some of them calm down and decide to cross over."
"That's so cool!" Emilio exclaimed. "I want to hear all about it!"
Marisol looked a bit worried. Lucia definitely seemed displeased.
Radley winced. "Well, maybe we can talk about it later, if it's okay with Mom."
Emilio scowled. "I'm not too young for scary stories! . . . As long as they turn out okay."
"And this one does!" Scotch said.
"We'll see," Radley said, more firmly.
Kalin quickly sought to fill the awkward silence. "Yusei and Antinomy are coming today," he reminded everyone. "They can't stay long, but they wanted to come for what they could."
"That's good," Fidelio said. "We were hoping they could make it out. Will any of the others be coming too?"
"I'm not sure," Radley said. "If any of them suddenly decide to show up with Yusei and Antinomy, I hope that won't be a problem. . . . I know there's already a lot of us here."
"We can fit in a few more," Lucia said.
"So what are your plans for today?" Alejandro gruffly asked.
"Well, Emilio is going to take us on his own tour today and show us his favorite places," Radley said. "And we should also check with the police and see if they've learned anything new."
"Yes, you should," Alejandro grunted. "We need to get this mystery solved."
"I promise we won't leave until it's settled," Radley said. "I'm not going to let that creep hurt any of you."
"We don't want you to be hurt either, my darling," Marisol said in concern.
"I'll be fine, Mom," Radley smiled.
After breakfast, Radley walked over near the doors leading onto the veranda with Marisol. He glanced around to make sure they were alone before he spoke. "Hey, I'm sorry about the ghost thing," he said. "I know that's kind of a touchy subject around here."
Marisol sighed. "I don't mind as much, but your grandmother still feels about it as she always did," she said.
"I never did get that," Radley said. "There's a lot of Catholics that believe in ghosts."
"I know," Marisol said. "But she still doesn't like for them to be talked about. She's concerned just talking about bad ghosts could summon demons."
"You're Emilio's mother, though," Radley said. "If you're okay with it, then you have a right to say so. You've been doing so well standing up for yourself lately."
"Yes, and I am still not sure what I think of my mother," Marisol said.
"Or where you're going to live?" Radley prompted. That situation still hadn't been settled either. Marisol had decided to wait and see how it felt to be back home before making up her mind.
"I really think it's better for Emilio to grow up here," Marisol admitted. "Except I don't want him to be under your grandmother's thumb, as you were. And I wish he could be with you. But if there are angry spirits in town, I don't know that it would be a safe place either."
"The angry ones are gone," Radley promised. "The only ones staying on love the town and the people and want to protect them." He sighed. "I don't want to tell you what to do, but I would love to see Emilio all the time and not just on visits. I know he would love that too."
". . . There is one other solution," Marisol said slowly.
"For me to stay here," Radley realized.
"You could bring Kalin, of course," Marisol said. "And all of the Bunch too, if they wanted. . . ." She sighed. "I didn't think I had any right to ask, but after things have been so good . . . and after seeing you come down to breakfast and experiencing again how wonderful that felt, I . . . I felt I had to try."
Radley smiled a bit. "I know. But I . . . all of us, we have responsibilities back in town. We can't just move here permanently. It wouldn't be fair to the townspeople to leave them high and dry."
". . . If that's your only reason, maybe some of your friends would want to stay behind to look after the town," Marisol suggested.
"I think some of them would think they needed to," Radley said. "But they'd be torn. For me, I would love to have all of my loved ones around meall the time! But . . . our lives have gone down different paths these last years. I don't really see any way for all of us to be together without someone having to give up something of their current lives . . . or someone."
"You're afraid Kalin would stay behind," Marisol deduced.
"I might have been once, but no, I know he'd come," Radley said. "He loves Satisfaction Town, though. . . . I wouldn't want to ask him to give it up. And . . . I don't want to give it up either. I've worked so hard to help that town. If I moved here, I'd either have to conduct my business long-distance or go into something else, like the winery. I never wanted to be a wine merchant, even before I discovered I'm allergic." He gave Marisol a sad smile. "I still love it here, and it's still home, but . . . I just don't think I could live here again."
"I understand." Marisol sighed.
"I'm sorry," Radley said softly. He hugged her close.
Marisol returned it. "Well, maybe we still will come out there to live," she said. "I haven't decided yet. Neither has Fidelio."
"Maybe not, but somebody needs to run the place besides Grandma and Grandpa," Radley said. "If you guys leave, who will there be?" He smiled a bit wistfully. "And I think you're in love with the land too much to want to move to a more desert-like environment. I just don't think you'd be happy living in Satisfaction Town all the time. I can't blame you either. Everything's so lush and green out here. I'd almost forgotten what that was like."
"Your town has some beautiful places as well," Marisol said. "But . . . it's true it's not like it is here." She turned to look out the window. "This was always all that I wanted . . . until I no longer had you, my son. Now I'm torn between raising Emilio in this familiar world, or coming to your new world and having both my sons together."
"Well . . ." Radley looked thoughtful. "I think you'll have to make that decision, Mom. But just know, I would really love to have you guys in town to live."
Marisol smiled. "I know."
Radley stepped back. "I'd better see how everybody's doing. I'm not sure what time the plane's going to get Yusei and Antinomy."
"I think it will be after lunch," Marisol said. "But maybe that's when they're supposed to arrive." She frowned. "Maybe they should be warned about the possible trouble here."
"Kalin was going to do that," Radley said. "But they'll come anyway. I know that."
"I am glad you have such loyal friends," Marisol said.
"Me too," Radley smiled.
He soon left to find Kalin and the others. Kalin was in the middle of texting with Yusei, but he looked up with a smile as Radley approached. "Yusei is still coming today," he said. "He's worried about us with Lawton apparently back, of course."
"Of course," Radley said.
"And the police don't have any info on this Lawton Coulter guy," Scotch said, making a face. "No pictures or anything!"
"So this deed is the only thing saying he exists?" Radley said in disbelief. "I think I'm going to call Malcolm." He took out his phone.
"Are you going to tell him Lawton might be alive?" Kalin asked.
"No, I don't want to do that yet when we're not sure it's true," Radley said. "I'll just try asking him about this last name." He dialed the Facility.
Soon the call was set up and Malcolm came to the phone. "What is it, Radley?" he asked.
"How have you been doing lately?" Radley returned. He wanted to know anyway, and it seemed the best way to open the call.
"Oh, I'm getting by," Malcolm said gruffly. "It's not like much has really changed. Lawton pretty much ostracized me anyway."
Radley sighed. ". . . Have you or Lawton ever used the name Coulter?"
Malcolm fell silent. "Coulter, huh? Yeah, that's our mother's name."
"I see." Radley frowned.
"What's going on, Radley?" Malcolm demanded. "Maybe my wit's not as sharp as yours, but I have enough brains to pick out when something's off. You wouldn't go pulling that name out of a hat!"
"No, I wouldn't," Radley agreed. "It seems that Lawton owned the property next to my family's vineyard, believe it or not. We found a deed under the name of Lawton Coulter."
Malcolm scoffed. "Now if that isn't the . . . ! Do you think he knew?!"
"Strangely enough, it's a weird coincidence," Radley said. "According to the deed, the property was purchased eight years ago, when Lawton didn't know me from Adam."
Malcolm swore under his breath. ". . . How did you find out about this anyway?"
"I always liked that property and I was showing it to the Bunch," Radley said vaguely. "Later that night, some of them went inside a building there and found the deed."
"You're still not telling everything," Malcolm remarked.
"I'll tell you everything, Malcolm. I promise," Radley said. "Just not right now."
". . . I wouldn't have accepted that years ago, but I know you're not a liar," Malcolm said. "Not about things that count. You just let me know soon, alright?"
"I will," Radley said. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah. Later," Malcolm grunted.
Radley hung up, frowning more. "So that was definitely the Lawton we knew on the deed," he said. "But we still don't know if that was him in the flesh last night."
"What are we going to do?!" Scotch exclaimed.
"Well, right now we're going to let Emilio take us around like he's been waiting so patiently to do," Radley smiled. "Then we'll figure out the rest. I think the police really think they've been over everything in that place by now."
"Yeah!" Emilio grabbed Radley's hand. "Let's go!"
Radley chuckled, allowing himself to be pulled. "Okay, okay. We're coming."
Kalin had to smile a bit. Radley was definitely an ideal brother, to Emilio as well as to the Bunch and to Kalin. He never tired of watching Radley in action.
