Gail brushed a stray strand of hair from her brow and tried to ignore the intense sun, causing beads of sweat to drip into her eyes. She glanced in the rearview mirror and shook her head in irritation at Luke's ability to remain untouched by the heat, she swore any females in this family were cursed to endure insufferable punishment just because they were unlucky enough to be tied to this line.
'Momma!' Gail Jr pleaded sweltering, pulling at her light dress uncomfortably and confused as to why Luke appeared to have been put in something so cool.
'I know sweetheart, I really do but leave it' Gail warned her Daughter, not in the mood for her irritableness right now when she felt as though the thick hot air was choking her.
Gail Jr tried to cry, but the fluids wouldn't come so she just pouted moodily and shot her Brother an angry look.
'What'd I do?' Luke asked confused, unsure why both his Mother and Sister were regarding him so harshly.
'What haven't you done?!' Gail snapped irritated, then turned the radio up and gave herself a mental shake, reminding herself that it wasn't Luke's fault that he had inherited the Buck men's genes or that his Father had abandoned her earlier when they usually split the morning madness for the sake of her sanity.
Gail pressed her foot down on the accelerator and really opened up the Mustang, deciding to take this secluded road when she knew how late they were as she could really put her foot down and make up some time. As she turned the sharp corner, she let out a surprised gasp and slammed her foot on the brakes, glancing back at the children concerned and letting out a small laugh when she saw them giggling with excitement. 'What the hell?' she asked when she was sure they were alright, and signalled for them to remain in the car while she got out to check what was going on.
Lucas was staring at Ben disapprovingly as he stood over the lifeless body drinking a large cup of coffee, then let out a long sigh when his senses spiked. 'Not even an hour?' he asked in disbelief to himself, sensing his Wife's approach instantly and signalled for Ben to hide his coffee so his Deputy at least feigned some professionalism.
Gail spotted Lucas' demeanour harden as soon as he sensed her and she smiled. It was nice to know that he remembered her professional stature and she still caused a rise in him, his reaction meant that something big was going down and she wanted to know what. 'Good Morning Sheriff, to what do we owe this large road block I wonder?' she asked, feigning innocence.
Lucas took in a deep breath, then smiled. 'Good Morning to you too Mrs Buck...looks like my Deputies decided to test there timings in case of a crisis of sorts, but don't you worry, I assure you this'll all be gone in a jiffy and it ain't no concern of yours' he responded casually, moving closer to her to shield her vision from the dead body in the grass behind him.
'Oh a drill, is that so?...You see Sheriff, it's kind of a concern of mine when this here drill is blocking my route to our children's day care. I'm sure you appreciate the townspeople's need to get to their destinations in a timely manner, so you wouldn't mind calling off your dogs to allow me passage' Gail said sweetly, not fazed by his attempt to brush her off but knowing better than to openly rise to him.
'You know what Darlin'? I see your point. The last thing my dogs wanna do is impact the routine's of the townspeople, especially when those people can't even stick to their own timetable...Why don't you head back to that fine car of yours and we'll get outta your way pronto' Lucas responded calmly, not allowing her to get under his skin and knowing she won't see much from the drivers side of her car due to the tall grass.
Gail bit her bottom lip to keep from reacting and remain composed, choosing to disregard his dig at her lateness. 'Why that's mighty considerate of you Sheriff, thank you...but alas I can't return to my vehicle just yet, you see my children have been ever so sad all morning due to their Father being called out so early. Who am I to prevent them from seeing the most important person in their lives?' she asked sarcastically, then glanced over her shoulder quickly and nodded her authority for the children to get out of the car.
'Now wait just one minute Gail-' Lucas started, not expecting her to lower herself to playing the children card.
'-Too late Papa Bear...incoming' Gail interrupted smugly, then stepped to one side as her children screamed excitedly and charged at their Father.
Lucas shot Gail a look of anger, then couldn't hold back his laughter as his children dove at his legs and tried to climb him. Before he had a chance to control them, Gail stepped around him and walked quickly towards Ben who was giving the other Deputies orders.
Gail stopped just before she reached Ben and her mouth dropped open when she spotted the lifeless body in the grass, she knew Lucas had been on his best behaviour over the past 6 months with how depressed she had been over having to make a deal with him; therefore, this body was not one of his, that meant there was a murderer in Trinity. An excitement surged through her that she hadn't experienced in a long time and she felt herself become giddy. She was drowning in her own mundane routine and this was something completely unexpected.
'It's too bad you're no longer a Reporter and have to hand this off to someone else' Lucas whispered in her ear amused, sensing her thoughts.
'What are you talking about?' Gail asked confused, turning towards him and letting out a sigh of relief when she saw him holding their children with their hands tightly over their eyes so they couldn't see into the grass.
'You're an Editor Gail, gone are the days where you can drop your responsibilities whenever you feel like it. Go ahead, go call this in and I assure you all the evidence will be cleared up before any of your subordinates have a chance to get here...Now, I do believe you're late droppin' off our Cherubs. We don't want our townspeople questionin' your ability to handle simple duties now do we?' Lucas said casually, then signalled towards his Deputies to start heading back to the Station.
Gail took in a deep breath and cursed herself when she couldn't think of a suitable retort. Without a word, she took their children from him and stormed off towards her car, not bothering to give him the satisfaction of even a glance back. He wasn't the only one who had been on his best behaviour, she had to keep in line so not to give him any reason to claim on his deal and he knew she wouldn't push him too much due to that. Damn it!
Lucas smiled as he watched her storm off moodily, sensing her guard shoot up so he couldn't read her thoughts. He had no doubt that he'd pay for cutting her out of this; however, he was less likely to get distracted with her lack of involvement and it was imperative that he solved this murder quickly, to ensure the trains kept running as always in his town.
Caleb sat across from his Father with his head buried deep in a large text book, while Lucas reviewed the witness report from earlier this morning. The sight of Caleb lost in a text book amused Lucas, he had never envisioned Caleb being the obedient student type especially in the last week before summer vacation and his boy's current desire to impress his English Teacher was a surprise.
'Say's you, you're always lookin' for ways to impress Momma so I guess you ain't much different than me' Caleb responded to the unspoken thoughts without raising his eyes from his textbook.
'Oh she's Momma again and not Gail? I suppose you two finally made up fully, it took you long enough...And in response to your belief that we're the same here, I get to do things you couldn't even comprehend when I choose to behave, I doubt your Mrs Denton is gonna reward you quite so well' Lucas smirked, remembering old Mrs Denton from his years in High School and knowing his Son was in for a rude awaking if he thought he could sweeten her up.
'Why's she a Mrs when she ain't got a Husband?' Caleb asked absently.
Lucas' smile grew wider and he pushed the report he was reviewing to one side, then leaned forward and gave him his full attention. 'Well, she ain't divorced and she ain't officially a widower either' he responded, then leaned back in his chair comfortably when Caleb's curiosity visibly spiked.
'Officially?' Caleb asked intrigued, catching the slight change in his Fathers tone instantly.
'I ain't one for idle gossip Son, there's been a lot of different rumours floatin' around throughout the years but the only true fact of the matter is about 30 years ago Mr Denton went home late one night after courteously droppin' off his young Secretary at her place, and was never seen again from then on after' Lucas advised casually, amused at how wide Caleb's eyes grew.
'Were you Sheriff at the time?' Caleb asked, wondering how the story could just be left there.
'Not quite, I was in the middle of my campaign when it happened. Had I been in play at that time, you can damn sure guarantee the mystery wouldn't have gone unsolved for this long, but it wasn't a concern for me at the time'
'Why'd you leave it?' Caleb asked curiously, knowing his Father was just as guilty as Gail for not dropping such matter of intrigue.
Lucas sensed his thought and let out a small laugh. 'Where your Momma needs to know the truth for some unimportant virtue she likes to cling onto, I only require knowledge to better improve my circumstances. Diggin' into Mrs Denton back then wouldn't have achieved anythin' worthwhile, in fact lettin' sleepin' dogs lie got me her unwavering support throughout the years so I ain't had any reason to dredge up the past' he shrugged.
Caleb thought for a moment and nodded, he supposed there was no point in digging into something that didn't appear to be hurting anybody; however, now he really wanted to know what was going on.
'You be careful Son, that ol' bird can bite so you best keep yourself under her radar' Lucas warned, reaching for his report again.
'You ain't gonna tell me to let it go?' Caleb asked confused.
'As you're your own man, you can make your own choices. Do you think your Momma would let somethin' like this go?' Lucas answered, amused by the question knowing Caleb had Gail's incessant inability to leave things alone.
A small smirk crossed over Caleb's lips and he stood up. 'Momma woulda been outta this office as soon as you mentioned 'never seen again', so on that note-' Caleb smiled, then nodded his thanks to his Father for giving him something more interesting to focus on rather than schoolwork and rushed out of the office excitedly.
Lucas let out a small laugh and shook his head, he didn't know what the boy expected to achieve after all this time; however, he would allow him to make his own mistakes, and it gave him peace to focus on his own mystery.
-To be continued-