A day had passed and all was quiet, no reports had hit the news about a dead body and Gail sat on her side porch in total disgust of the incompetent Reporters in Trinity.
'Why don't you report?' Luke asked his Mother as he snuggled up on her knee and reached for another piece of toast, not fully understanding her thoughts but curious about what was bothering her all the same.
'Because she ain't a Reporter no more, and she won't give Dad the satisfaction of beggin' to go back down to that rank' Caleb joked, then saw the look of anger on Gail's face and shrunk down in his chair.
'Beggin' is such a judgemental word don't you think? I assure you she doesn't have any qualms about beggin' for certain things when it suits her' Lucas goaded, as he came out onto the porch with his Daughter in his arms.
Gail stood up and placed Luke on her chair, then walked out into the garden before Lucas could touch her and pushed them all out of her mind. She wasn't in the mood for jokes, her investigation had hit a dead end yesterday evening and she was thoroughly disappointed in her colleagues for not noticing that a dead body had been found. It was as though everyone in this Town was oblivious to what was happening around them and it was beginning to bother her.
Lucas placed his hands on her hips and regarded her confused when she jumped. 'The boy was jokin'...Love?' he asked concerned, when she didn't lean back into him like she usually did.
'Be more concerned about finding the murderer than about me' she snapped, pulling away from him moodily and heading to the back of their property to give herself some space to regroup.
Lucas let out a small laugh and shook his head, Gail was never one to take kindly to hitting a wall with her investigation and he knew she was just redirecting her frustration. He on the other hand had a productive day yesterday and had a few avenues he could go down today to assist his investigation, he wouldn't allow Gail to distract him like she usually did and decided to go back to his children to finish breakfast before heading out.
'How are you gettin' on Son?' Lucas asked, sitting down beside his children to fill his plate with bacon and eggs.
Caleb looked up meekly and just shrugged. He didn't like it when Gail seemed sad and he sensed how frustrated she was over not being able to write an article about what she knew.
'Keepin' it quiet just like me huh? That's the way to do it, you might even pip her to the post if she doesn't reign in her emotions' Lucas laughed, knowing Gail was her own worst enemy when it came to these matters.
'Shouldn't you help her when she's upset?' Caleb asked in disbelief of his relaxed manner.
'Son, would you accept help in your investigation?' Lucas retorted.
Caleb went to answer, then paused. Of course he wouldn't, he was more than capable of doing things himself.
'That's what I thought, now you leave my Wife to me and concentrate on your own issues' Lucas ordered, sensing Caleb's investigation had also stalled. It was amusing that his family believed they could go up again him and win, they should know better.
Gail sensed Lucas' feeling of superiority as she walked back up on the porch and forced a smile for her children, pushing down her irritation at how far ahead his investigation had clearly gotten. 'Caleb, I'm heading out, do you need a ride?' she asked pleasantly, not bothering to look at her Husband.
Caleb stared from his Mother to his Father, then grabbed a few more slices of toast and jumped up, happy for being allowed an early start.
'Great, you be good my little angels. Daddy will be taking you today, make sure you show him just how much fun you both really are!' Gail exclaimed smugly, bending down to kiss them both on the forehead before making a quick exit with Caleb.
'You asked for that one' Abe said from the corner of the porch, smiling at his friends confusion at being dumped with the babies.
Lucas shot Abe a look of irritation and waved off his remark, having no intention of allowing Gail's tactics to slow down his progress.
Gail pulled up at the Library, surprised that Caleb had requested to be dropped off here. This was her intended destination too and she was starting to wonder whether she had underestimated his abilities. It was naïve of her to do so as she knew how smart and resilient he was, much like her he wouldn't stop until he had found the answers that he wanted and he had shown that so many times in the past.
When Gail got out of the car with Caleb, he stared at her suspiciously. 'You're comin' in here too?' he asked confused.
'I most certainly am' she answered, keeping her demeanour pleasant.
'Whatcha lookin' for?' Caleb asked casually, trying not to appear too interested.
'Oh some light reading I suspect' Gail lied, her demeanour remaining unchanged. 'You?'
'The same I guess' Caleb shrugged, then smiled happily when she smiled too. 'You're here for the Secretary ain't you?' he asked excitedly, wanting confirmation that his own hunch was correct.
Gail's smile grew wider, he had no idea how proud she was of him right now and she couldn't believe she had underestimated him so much. 'The Librarian now, not a Secretary, she works on the first floor by the sports and leisure section' she responded honestly, then stared at him confused when his smile faded and she sensed his disappointment.
'I just thought she came here a lot to read, I didn't realise she worked here' he said, annoyed at his own stupidity.
Gail took hold of his shoulders when they reached the entrance and turned him towards her. 'Caleb, I have a laptop and access to things you haven't even heard of. You, without using any technology whatsoever, somehow found out about the Secretary and located where she was going to be at this very moment. That's incredible and you'll have to fill me in on your methods once this is all over' she advised, truly taken by his abilities.
Caleb's smile returned when he sensed how genuinely proud she was of him and he stood tall. 'It took all day runnin' around to different people and I weren't even sure this was worth a trip until you got out of the car too'
'My perfect little man' she said, ruffling his hair affectionately and placing a loving kiss on his cheek. 'Alright, we're not working together, we just happened to have stumbled on a similar lead separately so this is allowed...You know what, you go first. I'm not sure how I wanna play this yet'
Caleb narrowed his eyes at her confused and regarded her suspiciously. 'Are you sure? What if I mess it up for you? The whole town knows who we both are these days'
Gail was truly impressed that he had gotten this far on his own, she didn't have the heart to swoop in first and spook their person of interest before Caleb had a chance to test his skills on his own. 'Seriously, knock yourself out and don't tell your Father I showed this much weakness in a hunt' she warned sarcastically, pushing him towards the door to boost is courage.
Caleb gave her a quick hug then rushed inside, excited about the being allowed the first run at this.
'Well well well, will you look at that, great minds think alike it appears' Lucas said smoothly, as he approached after allowing Caleb to enter the Library without spotting his presence.
Gail closed her eyes at the sound of his voice and let out a long sigh. 'Are you following me Sheriff? I'm surprised you'd stoop that low to gain an advantage' she accused, confused by his presence so soon after she ditched him with the children.
'I'm followin' up on somethin' Darlin', like you two apparently' Lucas responded flatly, not falling for her attempt to bait him.
Gail narrowed her eyes when Lucas brushed her off, then stepped in front of him before he could enter the Library. 'Don't' she ordered and pressed her body against his, surprised at her own commitment to give Caleb the lead in this.
Lucas stared at her in disbelief and laughed. 'Lowerin' yourself to these tactics are we?' he asked amused, then lifted her up effortlessly and moved her out of the way.
'Wait!' Gail pleaded, rolling her eyes at how pathetic she sounded.
Lucas took his hand off the entrance to the Library and turned towards her, always unable to turn her down knowing how hard it was for her to show such vulnerability. 'You know I'll never deny you if you just say Love' he reminded her.
Gail took in a deep breath and bit down on her bottom lip, then closed her eyes in frustration. 'Please Lucas' she said obediently, hating the words as soon as they came out of her mouth and hoping that Caleb knew how much she always sacrificed for him.
Lucas cupped her chin in his hand, stared deep into her eyes and pulled her lips to his for a passionate kiss. He lifted her up and carried her to a secluded side of the Library, where large trees shielded their presence from anyone coming to the building. 'This is down to you' he advised as he pushed her against the wall, pulled up her dress and thrusted his hard manhood inside of her, unable to help himself.
Gail had warned him about public displays with how nosey his townspeople were; however, this was in fact on her and she knew he could never resist her when she pleaded. Gail let him take her hard without protest, allowing herself to enjoy this treatment guilt free and hoped that Caleb wouldn't squander the opportunity she had given him.
Mrs Connor sat with the nice Temple boy as he tried to decide which sport he wanted to learn more about. She knew he was now known as a Buck; however, he would always be a Temple to her, considering how close she had gotten to Gage Temple some nights when their paths crossed in a bar.
Caleb tried to hide the disgust from his face as he read her thoughts and forced an innocent smile. 'I feel like I know you, did you know my Daddy?' he asked, hating referring to Gage as that these days.
Mrs Connor smiled, she didn't recall meeting Caleb when she had snuck away with Gage in the past but she had been very drunk on those occasions and could've easily forgotten. 'I did actually, it's a shame how he turned out...I suppose you never truly know someone' she answered sadly.
'You really do though, you just decide whether your willin' to accept who they are or distance yourself. My Teacher Mrs Denton taught me that, she made us write a paper on personal masks and such, it really makes you think about those around you' Caleb advised pleasantly, watching her reactions closely.
Mrs Connor's breath caught in her throat at the name Denton and her eyes grew wide for a moment. She wished she had never heard of that name; however, she was truly cursed by it.
Caleb smiled, this was perfect. 'Are you married Mrs Connor? Mrs Denton is and also isn't, it's weird. My Cousin and Step Father are married, they took me in after that awful business with my Daddy, they're really happy together, inseparable you might say...Are you happy with your Husband Mrs Connor? Do you have any children? My Cousin and Step Father have two, they can be so tiring and sometimes I just wanna get outta the house so I can breathe. Is that wrong?' he asked feigning innocence, bombarding her with questions to prevent her from seeing through his act.
Mrs Connor got so lost in the questions that her mind trailed to her unhappy marriage and almost suffocating desire to be free from it. She began to think of all the bad decisions she had made in life, Mr Denton had been the worst of all and that bad choice had haunted her for nearly 30 years; however, she could finally put it behind her, she could finally get closure and be free.
Caleb's smile grew wider, it had taken more acting than he had anticipated but his plan was working. 'You've saw Mrs Denton's Husband recently?' he asked sweetly, acting as though she had volunteered the information.
Mrs Connor took in a sharp intake of breath and her hand came up to her mouth. 'I never said that, I wouldn't-' she protested in shock.
'What do you mean?' Caleb asked with wide eyes, feigning confusion. 'You just said you got closure when you saw him recently'
'No, no, no, no. You can't repeat that, you heard nothing!' Mrs Connor snapped, then stood up instinctively and ran away quickly before she could spill anything else.
Caleb's watched shocked at her reaction, impressed by how easy it was to connect with her thoughts. When it was clear that she wasn't going to return he walked out smugly, happy with the information he had gotten to help him progress with his investigation.
-To be continued-