Matt stared at the autopsy report on his desk and shook his head in disgust. Blunt force trauma, face and hands burnt beyond recognition.
'It's like somebody was trying to conceal an identity' Gail advised, smiling when Matt finally noticed her leaning against his open office door.
'You didn't hear that' he warned, not believing he had been reading out loud.
Gail rolled her eyes, her friend refused to acknowledge her ability to answer his thoughts and seemed more comfortable pretending he was so unprofessional that he reads peoples confidential information out loud. 'Behave, I'm not a Reporter anymore remember? It's not as though I can report on this murder whis is completely unrelated to my Husband' she sighed irritated, then closed the door and pulled up a chair..
Matt narrowed his eyes at her and regarded her cautiously. It wasn't like Gail to make such an open comment about Lucas' potential involvement in anything, so her candidness was intriguing.
'Be more intrigued with that file rather than me, the body was found on the long stretch between the old Jacobs pasture and Goat Town. Hardly anyone uses that road, there's no visibility at night and people prefer the route from the centre of Town when heading out to Goat Town...I've been using that road for months, and never even came across another car so God knows how the body was found-'
'A local jogger, she's been home from college for a few weeks' Matt interrupted subconsciously, then gave her a look of warning when he realised he'd revealed something she didn't know.
'Well that's interesting, joggers are creatures of habit and I bet she runs that route regularly, meaning the body was dumped probably in the last 48 hours' Gail pondered, ignoring Matt's discomfort at her being here now.
'Gail, I thought you said you weren't here as a Reporter?'
'I'm not, just a citizen concerned for all of our safety'
Matt stared at her disbelief and laughed when she had the audacity to look offended. 'Oh please, I know you and this innocent visit feels a lot like a fishing expedition for an article'
'Who me?' Gail asked, feigned hurt.
'Yes you, you're like a dog with a bone and you know it' Matt responded, not falling for her act.
'Alright, so I don't like being benched on the first actual thing that's happened in forever and I'm so bored being an Editor!' Gail resigned, changing her tactic to honesty sensing she was getting nowhere trying to fool him. 'Besides like you said you know me, do you really think me chasing this murder is a bad thing considering how easily things get swept under the rug here? You know once I truly commit to investigating something that I won't let it go'
Matt thought for a moment, and she wasn't wrong. The Coroner Curtis had already tried to play down the injuries to not make the matter appear too serious, meaning our good Sheriff was clearly wanting to keep it quiet so not to stir up the townspeople; however, a man had been murdered and for all they knew it might not be an isolated incident.
Gail read his thoughts and smiled to herself mischievously, so Lucas was trying to keep this low key? That wasn't her style when something didn't directly involve her family and it had been ages since she had an opportunity to play properly.
'Fine, I'm trusting you're doing this for the right reasons and I know you'll only convince some fool to give you the information on the record anyway. This is categorically off the record Gail' Matt said sternly, still doubting his decision.
Gail put on her most innocent façade and smiled sweetly at him. 'I wouldn't expect it to be anything else with you' she responded, leaning forward to touch his arm gently.
Matt hesitated for a moment, then let out a long sigh and pushed the Coroners report towards her. 'You be careful' he warned.
'Always am' she smiled, then tucked the file into her backpack and left the office quickly before he could change his mind.
Caleb peered over the faded grey fence carefully and surveyed the backyard discreetly, pushing down his excitement and ensuring that he remained in control of himself. He had been allowed a lot of freedom by his parents recently due to showing how responsible and considerate of their rules he could be: however, that didn't mean they would tolerate any poor behaviour if he was caught doing something untoward.
'Whatcha doin'?' Bobby asked loudly, clambering up the fence impatiently to see what Caleb was looking at. 'Why don't ya just jump in?'
Caleb closed his eyes at the other boy's inability to show some common sense and yanked him back behind the fence abruptly. 'Hey, the last thing I need is Mrs Denton catchin' me out here and collerin' my folks...You think Gail will take kindly to your bad influence on me? You are the oldest one here after all' he warned quietly, hoping Billy would control his childish outbursts.
Bobby went to protest, not wanting to tarnish the way Gail saw him after all that she had done to help him with his Father previously, then stopped and thought for a moment. 'Who're you kiddin'? She ain't stupid and knows full well that I couldn't pull anythin' like this off without guidance' he said smugly, happy for once that his short fuse would go in his favour for a change.
Caleb sighed and shook his head in irritation. It was true Gail wouldn't believe Bobby was the instigator of this exercise, he lacked the ability to plan and acted out carelessly without giving much thought to anything, so he wouldn't be a plausible scapegoat in this instance. 'Fine, you're too much of an oaf to come up with a successful plan. Happy now?' he asked sarcastically, laughing when Bobby began scratching his head trying to figure out whether his question was an intentional insult.
'You're mean' Bobby said finally, beginning to wonder why he chose to follow the younger boy instead of showing his strength like he used to.
'Because strength don't just come from fists and you know what I can do when I put my mind to it' Caleb advised, knowing that he had Bobby on his side regardless of how torn the boy was, much like his Father had his peoples loyalty when they sometimes they didn't appear to agree with his ways.
Bobby let out a resigning sigh and rolled his eyes, hating that Caleb was right. 'This is lame' he whispered.
'Or, it's interestin' and you just don't wanna admit you can have fun without breakin' anythin' Caleb responded, then signalled for Bobby to follow him and climbed over the fence quietly.
A surge of excitement flowed through his body when his sneakers touched the freshly watered lawn and he smiled. This place was forbidden and he was trespassing. If Mrs Denton carried a shotgun and sought fit to protect her home it was her God given right to take action against an intruder in the eyes of the law, his parents couldn't officially condemn her as Caleb was in the wrong here. Still, he wasn't afraid and the threat of being caught only added to his excitement.
'What now?' Bobby whispered, quickly hiding behind a tree so not to spoil his friends fun.
'We wait and watch' Caleb answered, sneaking closer to the back door of the house to give him a better view of the property.
'Watch for what?' Bobby asked confused, following close behind.
Caleb's smile grew wider and he shrugged casually. You never truly knew a person until you saw them in their own domain, he had learned how easy it was for people to put on a façade and play different characters when they were out in public; however, when the lights faded and they retreated to their safe space, that's when the real face was shown.
Bobby feigned boredom but felt a curiousness as his eyes followed Caleb's and they watched the property closely. He wouldn't admit it to the younger boy; however, he did feel a strange sense of excitement spying on a Teacher without her knowing and he was intrigued to find out where this activity was going to lead.
Lucas closed his eyes as Ben pulled up at the large bungalow and shook his head in disbelief when he sensed his Son hidden out back. When Curtis had delivered his report on the body in person, Lucas couldn't believe his own bad luck and had left as soon as he could stop Curtis' rambling.
He should've known better, this subject had stayed buried for 30 years and the fact that Caleb had managed to dredge it up on today of all days wasn't a coincidence. Lucas appeared to have allowed himself to become inattentive with how smoothly everything had been running this year with his Town and his family, that was unlike him.
'You need me in there?' Ben asked cautiously.
Lucas smiled, Ben wasn't just nervous due to the long silence he had forced on the drive over here, the woman in that house had mentally tortured his Deputy for years in High School and Lucas knew the thought of seeing her now was causing Ben all kinds of anxiety. 'Nah, you go check on that pretty young Carly girl and see if she can add anythin' else that could assist in our investigation. I got this ol' bird' Lucas responded with a wink, feeling generous towards his friend today. He was the longest constant loyal person in his life after all.
Ben let out a sigh of relief and allowed himself to breath. 'Perfect, I can do that...thanks Lucas' he smiled appreciatively, then pulled away quickly when Lucas got out of the car to put as much distance between him and that God awful woman as he could.
Lucas watched Ben leave, then walked casually up the path and lifted his hand to ring the door bell; however, before he had a chance press the button, the door opened.
'Why afternoon Sheriff, thought you'd be along these ways today, although you're a little later than expected' Mrs Denton advised and signalled for him to enter her home.
Lucas put on his most charming smile and kept his demeanour welcoming. 'Now why on earth would a beautiful upstandin' citizen such as yourself be expectin' a visit from me I wonder?' he asked pleasantly.
'Oh come now Sheriff, you know better than to think that charm of yours will work on me' Mrs Denton responded frankly, leading him to her living room.
'It always works on me' Gail added and smiled smugly when Lucas' face dropped at the sight of her sat comfortably on the couch.
'Drink Sheriff?' Mrs Denton offered.
'Why thank you Ma'am, a coffee would be a treat if it ain't too much trouble' Lucas answered, wanting to get her out of the room so he could speak to his Wife in private.
'It isn't too much trouble' Mrs Denton corrected, shaking her head disappointingly at how easily he falls into the southern drawl when he has such high stature. 'Would you like to switch to coffee Gail?'
'No thank you Ronda, this tea is divine' Gail smiled pleasantly at her host, and watched as she exited towards the Kitchen.
'Ronda?' Lucas asked in disbelief when Mrs Denton was out of earshot, sitting down beside his Wife on the couch.
'Oh yeah, we're bestie's haven't you heard?' Gail responded sarcastically, amused by his confusion and shifted slightly as his arm instinctively came around her shoulders.
Lucas shook his head at her inability to follow a simple order, and his lack of awareness of her presence.
'Uh oh, has that all seeing eye of yours finally started to fail in your old age?' Gail mocked playfully.
'Careful Darlin', if my senses do fade the first thing to go is your precious Harvard who clearly doesn't know the meanin' of professional confidentiality' Lucas retorted, regaining his composure and sensing the file in her bag provided by Matt.
Gail shot him a look of warning and cursed herself for not being able to conceal Matt's involvement in her presence here. 'Careful yourself Sheriff, if my longest constant loyal friend goes then so does yours' she warned seriously, feeling her darkness begin to rise within her and willing to sacrifice Ben if he dared target Matt.
Lucas looked deep into her eyes with desire and smiled devilishly, this was the Gail he truly craved.
'Am I interrupting?' Mrs Denton asked, unimpressed that she was being made to feel like an intruder in her own living room.
'Of course not, we were just admiring how lovely your home is' Gail smiled sweetly, forcing her darkness down so she could concentrate on the job at hand.
'Truly inspiring' Lucas added, emphasising the 'g' knowing how much Mrs Denton hated the southern way of speaking.
Mrs Denton nodded her thanks for the compliments, setting down the coffee and some biscuits, then sat down in her large armchair and wondered how long this charade was going to continue.
-To be continued-