Autumn's Shadow (3 page)

The woman's compliment took Keely by surprise. "Thank you."

"No, thank you. You really came through for my niece Carrie last night. Maybe you didn't remember, but her mother was my sister." The woman pursed her lips as though checking a show of emotion and then continued. "Anyway, I'm glad her father had to cool his heels in jail last night."

The mention of Walachek triggered a sinking feeling.  Last night had been awful. But Keely only nodded. "Bye."

"Night." The woman waved. "Take care of yourself. Don't work too hard!"

The kind words lifted Keely's spirits. Burke Sloan's voice played in her mind. Not the words, just his calm tone and even delivery. He'd been a rock last night. As she walked through the quiet dusky streets back to school, a red truck sped by, swirling up a few dry leaves from the gutter.

Reaching the school, she unlocked one of the front doors, the one nearest her office and then she locked herself inside. Tonight was one of those rare nights when no school practice or activity was being held. After last night, she looked forward to a peaceful evening. It would be good to get some work done—all alone in the school—even if the quiet was almost eerie....

6:45 p.m

 Burke lounged at the table in the Durand kitchen, trying not to show his worry. So far Nick had yet to show. What was the kid up to?

Rodd and Wendy Durand, newlyweds, had invited Harlan—who happened to be Wendy's grandfather—Nick and him over for supper. When Burke and Nick had moved in to board with Harlan, they both had been taken in like family.

Wendy put a pan of biscuits into the oven, and Rodd took the opportunity to steal a kiss. Though blushing, Wendy paused to kiss him back.

"You two youngsters," Harlan scolded with a big grin, "hold up on that lovey-dovey stuff. You got company."

Burke felt like rubbing his eyes and taking another look. Rodd Durand had been one of his closest buddies in Milwaukee. A good part of that had come from the fact that neither of them was married or looking for a wife. But that had changed. Rodd was "definitely" a married man now. For some reason, Ms. Turner's face popped into Burke's mind.

In this cozy setting, Burke increasingly was having a hard time not letting his irritation and anxiety show. After leaving the cabin they'd been looking at, Nick had gone AWOL in Harlan's old red truck. Nick should have been back by now. Why wasn't he? And where was he? Should Burke go after him? Being responsible for another person, a teen, was new to Burke. Is this just the usual with teens or should I be concerned?

Shaking these questions off, he stood up, walked over to the stove, and poured himself another cup of coffee from the percolator.

"I could have done that for you, Burke," Wendy said, stirring the fragrant beef stew in the skillet.

"No problem." Burke reached for the creamer. Rodd's wife had short, golden brown hair. The image of Keely Turner with her long hair came to Burke's mind again. Where was she, and was she having a better evening than he was? He hoped so. He'd wanted to ask Rodd for more background about Ms. Turner but hesitated. He didn't pry into people's lives.

But Keely Turner had made him curious. She'd been on his mind all day because of what he'd overheard last night after he'd followed her home. What had all the shouting at her door been about? He'd walked up to her door simply trying to return a tube of lipstick that must have dropped out of her pocket outside. But the sound of raised voices and a glimpse through the side glass by the front door had revealed two adults and a teen— Keely's parents? A teenaged brother?

Their loud unpleasant discussion had turned him around and back to his Jeep. He hadn't wanted to embarrass Keely by knocking. And judging from the heated exchange at the Turners' last night, he wasn't the only one having trouble handling a teen. But yelling didn't help. Where are you, Nick, and what are you up to?...

7:01 p.m.

Listening to her footsteps echo in the silent hallway, Keely entered the outer office in the principal's reception area. She locked that door before going into her own office. Taking these precautions in a little town like LaFollette was probably ludicrous. But the contrast between busy, noisy daytime and quiet, solitary evening at the school made her nerves edgy. During school hours, this building didn't feel large enough for all the young people who ran through the hallways, calling to each other, slamming lockers, racing to class before the raucous bell rang. Empty now, it felt like a mausoleum.

She shook her head and smiled. At least my imagination is still working. She laid out her supper on her desk. Her cell phone rang.

"Hi, Keely? Penny here." Penny Weaver, the local pastor's wife, was on the board of the Family Closet, the local non-profit thrift store. " Just wanted to let you know that the girl you called me about came in today and signed up for help and for mothering classes."

"Great." Satisfaction at helping another young single mom flowed through Keely.

"Yes, she asked to volunteer when you're on duty."

"Poor girl," Keely quipped. "I had her as a student my first year teaching at the high school. You'd think she'd remember what a slave driver I am."

"You would say that." Pause. "I thank God every day—"Penny's voice had become serious—"for the Family Closet, Keely. It's doing so much good for so many. I wish you'd let me tell people that you're the one who —"

"You're the one," Keely said, cutting Penny off, "who had the idea for it, and some anonymous donor bought the house. I'm just the organizer, right?"

"Very well." Penny sounded resigned. "If that's what you say."

"That's what I say."

"Keely, have you figured out who dug the holes in the athletic field where the girls were trying otu for the cheerleading squad yet?"

"No." The person had covered up the holes with sod and one of the cheerleaders has sprained an ankle. Keely hoped that whoever had done that wouldn't be setting any more traps. "It could have been one of the girls who doesn't have a chance to make the squad. Jealousy."

"Yeah, kids feel everything so much more. They're like raw nerves."

"Too true." Keely glanced at the big round clock on the wall. "Sorry, Penny, but I've got work to do."

After Penny's goodbye, Keely began eating forkfuls of the crisp salad she'd brought along. She thought about Penny's mention of the Family Closet. People were able to buy good used items there and that money made it possible to help out young mothers with diapers and mothering classes and anything else they needed. Maybe now as principal of the high school and with Family Closet carrying out its purpose, she could banish the guilty feeling that she, a Turner, had more to do—always more to do. She knew it was irrational but it never left her.

Out of the blue she wondered where Burke Sloan was tonight. Pushing away this errant thought and the memory of Walachek's angry face last night, Keely began reading the latest education bulletin from the State of Wisconsin....

7:25 p.m.

"My stomach's beginning to rumble, Wendy," Harlan complained with a big grin.

Wendy pointed her wooden spoon at her grandfather."You keep talking like that and you'll be washing the dishes."

Looking pleased, Harlan grumbled unconvincingly.

With his coffee cup in hand, Burke watched the byplay. The kitchen was warm from the oven and from the obvious love that Rodd, Wendy, and Harlan had for each other. He'd become aware of things like family again but only recently. And much too late. He'd suddenly realized he had for years been drifting away from his parents and brothers and sister. His disconnecting from his family had crept up on him over the past decade, and he hadn't realized just how isolated he'd become until his decision to move had unleashed such furor.

At the end of July, his parents and sister had been stunned and then very vocal about his decision to take Rodd's offer and move here to Steadfast and become a deputy. He'd been taken aback by their reaction. After all, they were all adults and had their own lives, right? But they had told him it was the final betrayal, that he hadn't been a part of the family since Sharon died... Burke stopped this line of thought right there.

Despite this opposition, Burke had gone ahead with his plans to leave Milwaukee. He'd wanted to join Rodd here. But the move hadn't gone quite as he had planned. His mother had finally taken the gloves off, confronting Burke because he had refused to help his newly divorced sister. After Nick had gotten into trouble in high school, she'd asked him to take Nick with him to Steadfast. Dereliction, his mom had called it.At least, that's how she had seen it. And his mom hadn't taken no for an answer. Nick needed help, a strong male influence and his mom had decided Burke was the one for the job. His dad's health rendered him not up to the task of riding herd on a troubled teen. Burke had tried to reason with them, but his sister's job had suddenly included traveling three weeks out of every month. Nicky couldn't be left alone.

In the end, Nick had come with Burke to Steadfast. Why had everyone thought Burke could make a difference with Nick? He hadn't been close with his nephew since the kid had been in grade school. A twinge of guilt ended this line of thought. How had he let himself get so cut off from his family? The answer to that was all too easy. But he didn't want to think about that now.

He turned back to the present, tuning in on the conversation flowing around him, trying to ignore his mounting frustration with Nick's tardiness.

"The Weavers only kept Carrie one night." Wendy was slicing tomatoes from Harlan's garden. " This morning she went to live with an aunt in LaFollette so she'd remain in the same school district." She glanced at Burke. Had she noticed his attention wandering? "The aunt is going to try to get custody. And I'm afraid that it will take a few days before Carrie's face heals. Poor kid."

Thinking of Walachek added to the low burn in Burke's mid-section.

"I'm sorry to report her dad was able to post bail. Walachek
walked
late this afternoon," Rodd added. "It was his first offense. The DA couldn't persuade the judge that Walachek was dangerous. I couldn't believe it when the judge let him out. Why would he set a man free who had the night before pointed a gun at the local principal?"

Burke steamed over this again. Walachek should have been locked up for a few days at least. The man's uncontrolled temper would still be high. Would he play it cool or stir up more trouble? Burke thought more trouble was the likely answer.

Wendy and her grandfather exchanged glances. "That judge and Ms. Turner's father have been feuding a long time," Wendy said. "Turner knows how to make enemies."

Harlan shook his head sadly at Wendy's comment and said, "Just because Turner has money doesn't mean he's had no problems."

"I'm just telling the truth, Grandpa." Wendy turned back to her skillet.

"You didn't know Mr. Turner's father. Old Turner was a hard man. He demanded too much from his son. That can turn a man sour and ugly."

Wendy turned and kissed her grandfather's cheek."You're too sweet sometimes."

Harlan patted her cheek; then she went back to her cooking.

Burke grimly recalled Carrie's bleeding face and that moment when he drove up and found Walachek pointing a rifle at Keely Turner. The judge obviously hadn't given his decision much thought. Why did a grudge against Keely Turner's father mean a dangerous man should be free to do more harm?

"Rodd," Harlan said, "how's the Weaver baby's investigation going?"

Wendy frowned. "Grandpa, Penny keeps reminding everyone not to call Rachel that. She's only their foster child. Until Rodd finds the parents, they can't adopt her."

"I'm starting to wonder—" Rodd leaned against the kitchen counter—"if I'll ever find out who that little one belongs to."

Burke heard the frustration in his old friend's tone. Rodd had told him the story. Early this year in January, Rodd had rescued a baby girl from a car just before it had exploded. A male and female in the front seat had died in the explosion, and their bodies had been burned too badly for easy identification. A local couple, Bruce and Penny Weaver, who were the pastor and his wife at the Steadfast Community Church, had taken the baby in as a foster child.

"Well—" Rodd drew in a long breath—"the car had been stolen in Milwaukee. So that seemed to be a dead end. Then I started trying to match dental records of my two victims to any missing persons from the Milwaukee area. No luck."

"Nothing came through the fire?" Burke probed, curious. "Not even the man's billfold?"

"No, that puzzled me too. Often a man's billfold will come through a fire—the way a man sits on his billfold, the seat back will protect it. But the most peculiar thing is that neither of them had any identification on them."

"That is odd." Burke frowned. "No one around the county reported expecting friends or family to visit that didn't show up?"

Rodd shook his head.

Burke loved this kind of back and forth. He and Rodd had had these brainstorming sessions before—trying to think of every possible angle—spurring each other on to solve a crime. This had been one of the main reasons when Rodd had asked B to become one of his deputies, Burke had left Milwaukee. He and Rodd just clicked. They'd worked on so many cases as a team. "Could the two of them have been mugged, had their IDs lifted in the Milwaukee area or somewhere south?"

"That's a possibility."

"Anything else?"

Rodd shook his head again. "No fingerprints from the bodies because of the fire. A stolen vehicle. No matches yet for the teeth. This case is like walking in quicksand—no bottom."

Burke had no further leads to offer. Nicky popped back into his mind. Where was the kid and what was he up to?So far Burke's attempts to reconnect with his nephew matched Rodd's description of the case. Getting close to Nicky was like walking in quicksand with no bottom....

7:56 p.m.

Keely frowned, where were those figures she needed for this form? She glanced toward the outer office where her secretary kept all the school data in bound folders. If only Freda could learn how to set up databases on the computer faster.