First to Fall (7 page)

Aiden sat there pondering on it all. He realised that he needed to press Brandy further for answers. He felt relieved that thus far she had told him the truth. It was always so much easier to represent a client when you felt that you could trust them.

Seated in his car, before he started the engine to travel back to Avalon, Aiden fished out his mobile phone. He called Eastham to inform them that he would be visiting Brandy again the following day. Then he called Betty to tell her that he wouldn’t be in until the afternoon –Edmond was also working away from the office. Finally, he dialled Avalon Pine from the number he had sourced on the internet moments earlier, and a pleasant woman informed him that Clyde White would be on site all day. Aiden turned the key in the ignition and set off to pay Brandon’s father a visit.

Avalon Pine was located on the outskirts of town. Aiden parked in the designated customer lot and walked over to what he presumed were the offices; a long log cabin with the company logo emblazoned on the side. Inside the wooden structure it was blissfully cool, thanks to half a dozen fans whirring away. It was an insanely hot day; Aiden was thankful that his car had air conditioning. In Chicago, air conditioning came as standard wherever you went, but in Avalon, things were different. Only the well-to-do could afford such a commodity; most people made do with electric fans scattered around the place, as was the case with the offices at Avalon Pine.

A heavily made-up young blonde woman was seated behind an ample desk filing away at her nails. She greeted him with the fakest smile he had ever seen, her lips a most unnatural shade of fluorescent pink.

‘I’m looking for Clyde White,’ he told her.

‘Is Mr. White expecting you?’ she asked insincerely, obviously not really caring what answer he gave.

‘No, but if he has five minutes I’d really like to talk to him. It is regarding the trial of Brandy White.’ The false lashes framing her eyes widened in interest. She was suddenly much more attentive, realising that she was witnessing some potential high-level gossip.

‘Please, take a seat and I’ll call him, Mr…?’

‘Connelly.’ Aiden settled himself down on a pine bench in the lobby area, watching as her lacquered nails furiously clicked numbers into the phone on her desk.

‘Mr. White, sorry to disturb you, I have a Mr. Connelly here to see you.’

Aiden was too far away to be able to hear Clyde’s response. The receptionist lowered her tone.

‘I think it is something to do with Brandon, he must be a lawyer or something.’ More silence as she nodded whilst her boss responded. At last she put the phone down and flashed her Barbie smile at Aiden once again.

‘He says that you can go right through. His office is just across the lumber yard, you can’t miss it.’ Aiden thanked her and stepped back out into his heat. He was beginning to thoroughly regret wearing a suit.

Avalon Pine was clearly a successful business. The lumber yard was bustling, as various burly men in T-shirts and jeans carried huge planks of wood here and there. Aiden could make out what appeared to be a warehouse; the huge open doors revealed garden sheds in various stages of production. Across the large yard was another pine log cabin, identical to the one he had just been in. As he got closer he could make out the sign on the door: Clyde White, Site Manager. He knocked twice.

‘Come in,’ came a voice from within. Aiden pushed open the door and was greeted with refreshing cold air, yet there were no fans in sight. This was an air-conditioned building, another indication of Clyde White’s success.

Inside there was large desk, with two leather chairs opposite it. The walls were lined with framed photographs and newspaper clippings. Aiden immediately recognised Brandon in a number of them.

Clyde White was immaculately dressed. He wore a crisp white shirt and grey trousers. His black hair was streaked with silver and his face was heavily lined, yet he was strikingly handsome. He was what Isla would refer to as a ‘silver fox’, meaning that he was a very attractive older man. Beneath the shirt, it was clear that he was in good shape. Aiden felt slightly intimated as he held out his hand and introduced himself.

‘Do take a seat,’ Clyde instructed him. He had the same chiselled jaw and pale blue eyes as his son.

‘Thank you for agreeing to see me,’ Aiden began. ‘I work for Cope and May Solicitors at Law. I am currently representing Brandy White, and as part of my investigations into the case, I am eager to learn more about your son, Brandon.’ At the mention of his son, Clyde White seemed to age ten years.

‘That is, only if it is not too painful to talk about,’ Aiden added, starting to wonder if it had been a bad idea to come and see Mr. White.

‘No, Mr. Connelly, I am always more than happy to talk about my son. He was a truly wonderful young man, an inspiration.’

‘Of course.’ Father West’s cryptic warning to tread carefully lingered in his mind. He knew that if he was going to get any useful information about Brandon from his father he needed to gain his trust first.

‘I’ve read about his triumphant days on his school football team.’ Clyde smiled proudly at this. ‘Did he ever think about going pro?’

Clyde leaned back in his chair, thinking hard. ‘He had the talent, no doubt about that, but he loved his family too much to leave. The good teams, where you could make a career out of playing, were all too far away.’

‘So he worked here?’

‘Sure did. He was my right-hand man and the hardest worker I ever knew. All the guys loved him, I’d hoped that one day he would take over the business for me but now…’ Clyde gazed at his desk in sadness. ‘He was my only son, my only child.’

Any preconceived theories that Aiden had once had were slipping away. Clyde White was shaken to the core over the death of his son whom he had loved dearly. If Brandon was at all like his father – well spoken, intelligent – it was making it even harder to identify a motive for Brandy to have killed him. He knew that he had to dig deeper.

‘What did you think of Brandy?’ Clyde’s face suddenly distorted with disgust.

‘Little tramp. Blinded my son with her butter-wouldn’t-melt face and then…’ Aiden noticed that his fists were now clenched tightly in anger.

‘They were together a long time before it happened. Five years. How did she and Brandon get along?’

‘Fine, they seemed in love. She never came down to the yard when he was working so I didn’t see all that much of her, except the odd weekend when they came over for lunch and on the holidays. She was always polite, bit too quiet really. She never said much, it was clear Brandon didn’t marry her for her brains.’

As discreetly as possible, Aiden switched on the Dictaphone which was concealed in his jacket pocket. Clyde’s perception of Brandy could prove invaluable later on in court.

‘She had a rather, unconventional upbringing,’ he said, trying not to sound too sensitive towards Brandy.

‘Oh yeah, her mother was a whack job. Whole town knew about her troubles. And then that whole beauty pageant thing. We weren’t happy when Brandon started knocking about with her, to say the least.’

‘What else was Brandon interested in, besides football?’

‘The usual, hanging with guys, watching sports, movies. He never read books or anything, his grades were average. His talents lay in the more physical aspects of things.’

‘So he didn’t gamble or drink excessively?’

‘No!’ Clyde White snapped. ‘My son was a gentleman through and through.’

‘I only asked as I’m trying to ascertain a motive for his murder. I didn’t know your son, but from what I can gather from the people of Avalon he was a great man.’

‘The greatest.’

‘So it must have been one hell of a shock when Brandy murdered him.’

‘Truly shocking,’ Clyde agreed, but something in his eyes gave him away. Was it regret, sadness? Aiden could not tell so he tried to push him further.

‘Do you have any idea what may have driven her to do it?’

‘None at all. Isn’t it your job to find out why she did it? She is probably as crazy as her jacked-up mother. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had been high as a kite for years.’

‘Well, I sincerely hope to get to the bottom of it all.’

‘As long as that little witch pays for what she has done.’ Clyde’s voice shook with emotion, his eyes narrowed in spite.

‘Do you know if Brandy had any friends in town, anyone I could talk to?’

Clyde shook his head.

‘That girl was all about Brandon. Once they got married she stopped working and just stayed home. She was always at church though, seemed quite friendly with Father West, but then he was the one who had sent her mother away.’ Clyde glanced at his watch and seemed anxious.

‘I am very sorry, Mr. Connelly, but I have got work to attend to.’

‘Well, thank you very much for your time.’ Both men rose to their feet and shook hands.

‘If I can be of any further help, do not hesitate to call.’ Clyde handed him a business card.

‘I will.’ Aiden had one hand on the door handle and was about to leave when Clyde called him back.

‘One more thing. This Wednesday, it is a big game for the Avalon Angels. You should really try and come. That team meant everything to Brandon, thought you might want to check it out.’

‘Yes, I will, always been a big football fan anyway.’

‘Oh yeah, who is your team?’

‘Chicago Bears.’

‘Awww no, Dallas Cowboys all the way. I never miss a game!’ Clyde smiled and waved goodbye.

Outside and back in the heat Aiden felt no closer to finding the truth; if anything he felt that he was edging further away from it. He needed to talk to Brandy again as soon as possible.

Betty was sat at her desk, two fans billowing air at her, her normally immaculate hair dishevelled and soaked with sweat.

‘Too hot for you, Betty?’

‘Oh, I have always struggled with the heat. Ever since I was a girl. And these damn fans do nothing, they just circulate warm air! Edmond has said that I can leave as soon as all the admin for today is sorted. I honestly don’t know why he doesn’t just get air conditioning like everybody else!’ Her cheeks were flushed and she seemed extremely agitated. Aiden decided against asking her for a coffee.

In the main office Edmond was looking equally flustered in the heat. There were fans on in the room but none were directed at him as they would cause havoc on the mounds of paperwork scattered around. He was sweating profusely as he typed away on his keyboard.

‘Aiden, my boy, how are you holding up in this weather? It is not normally this hot in Avalon!’

Aiden undid the top few buttons of his shirt but that offered little comfort from the stifling heat. The air outside was so still, there wasn’t even the slightest breeze. It was unbearable.

‘All this mounting heat is no good,’ Edmond moaned. ‘There will be one hell of a storm soon, that’s for sure.’ The air in Avalon was indeed electric; you didn’t need to be a weatherman to know that some turbulent weather was heading their way.

‘Hope it comes before Wednesday,’ he added. ‘The boys can’t play good football in this damned heat!’

‘Speaking of football…’ Aiden was already typing away on his computer, writing up his conclusions from his encounter with Clyde. ‘You follow the Dallas Cowboys?’

‘Sure do, son. Think everyone around here does. Why do you ask?’

‘I went to see Clyde White before and he mentioned it. Figured Avalon was pretty big on sport, what with all the support the Angels get and that.’

‘You went to see Clyde?’ Edmond asked curiously.

‘Yeah, I’m trying to piece together an idea of what Brandon White was like. No one says a bad word against him.’

‘Well, people aren’t going to speak ill of the dead.’

Aiden looked over at Edmond in surprise. ‘So, you think if he weren’t dead people’s opinion of him would be different?’

‘No, no.’ Edmond was sweating even more; was it the heat or was he feeling suddenly under pressure? ‘It is just an expression. Folks around here have always loved Brandon.’

‘Oh, I get that. The sheriff, Buck Fern wasn’t it? He seems…’ Aiden struggled to find the right word. ‘Protective of Brandon.’

‘Old Buck can be like that. I’m sorry if he came across as rude yesterday. He just isn’t the sociable type, never has been. I’m sure that once he gets to know you he will be as nice as pie.’ Aiden doubted that somehow.

‘So how was Clyde holding up? I keep meaning to go over and see him but I’ve been bogged down with work lately. Once the Brandy White case is all sorted I’m afraid I’ve got a nice pile of divorce proceedings I could really use your help with.’

‘Can’t wait,’ Aiden laughed sarcastically. ‘Clyde White seems like a genuine guy. Got a nice setup with his company. Losing his son must have hit him real hard.’

‘He’s not been the same since,’ Edmond offered. ‘Always been such a composed man though. Takes himself very seriously as a businessman. I don’t think he is all that comfortable with the scandal of it all. He hasn’t been to church in a long while, probably isn’t up to facing the whole town yet, but you would think he would want to find some solace in God. Who knows?’

‘Mr. Cope.’ Betty’s voice was disjointed through the intercom.

‘Yes, Betty?’

‘I really cannot stand this heat any longer. I’m afraid I’ve got to clock off. I’ll be in all the earlier tomorrow to make up for lost time.’

‘Don’t be silly, Betty, my love. Go home and have some iced tea and come in usual time tomorrow.’

‘Thank you, Mr. Cope. Goodnight, and goodnight to Mr. Connelly, too.’ A few moments later the two men heard the soft whisper of chimes as Betty left for a cooler climate.

‘This heat is utterly ridiculous, poor old girl. I think it is worse for her, because, you know, she is going through that phase.’

‘Phase?’ Aiden was confused.

‘You know.’ Edmond seemed embarrassed by what he was trying to convey to his younger colleague. ‘They call it “the change”.’

‘Oh.’ Aiden felt his face flush. Why do men always fall apart at the mere mention of female problems? Every time Isla was on her period Aiden felt like an awkward twelve-year-old all over again. He hated it when she used to ask him to pick up tampons at the store, and he always got the wrong ones as in his haste he never read the labels properly. When she said words to him like ‘heavy flow’, he would just shut down and try to blank it all out. You would think he would have the maturity to deal with it all, but as Edmond had proved, men fail to grow out of their awkwardness with the female anatomy.