Mary Jane's Grave (5 page)

When I turned onto Tucker Road and saw how dark it was, I thought I should’ve waited until morning. I felt my old fears rise to the surface but fought them back.
I’m a cop, for Christ’s sake!

Gathering my courage, I headed toward the cemetery after getting on my police radio to tell the dispatchers where I was. It wasn’t that I was worried about ghosts or dead witches, but if I ran into a group of drunks partying at the grave, I might need some help. There was supposed to be an officer parked at the grave to prevent curious locals from visiting the site after the murder, but to my surprise, no one was there.

I parked near the gate and considered leaving my headlights on for more light, then decided against it. The last thing I needed was to get stuck down here with a dead battery. As I got out of my car I remembered to grab my mini tape recorder and my camera, which I hung around my neck.

As I started walking toward the woods, I had a sudden thought and turned back to the car to grab my gun. Better safe than sorry. Then I started back toward the area where Kyle said he had seen the woman.

I pointed my flashlight toward the tree where Kari was found and scanned the cemetery. It was just as eerie as always. The broken tombstones were far apart from one another, all surrounding the large pine tree with a cross burned into the front of it. As I got closer to the edge of the woods, I pointed the flashlight down to look for any imprints, shoe or otherwise, in the ground.

At the exact area Kyle had been talking about, I actually got down on my knees and scoured the ground, inch by inch. I found a slight impression in the dirt, about a foot from a large maple tree at the edge of the woods. I couldn’t tell if it was from a shoe or a hoof print, so I grabbed my camera and began to photograph it. I heard a noise behind me. Gun in hand, I whirled around, shining my flashlight over the cemetery.

Remembering my tape recorder, I quickly hit the record button, holding the recorder in the same hand as my flashlight. At first, I thought the noise sounded like a grunt, and knowing the woods can produce unusual sounds, I tried to brush it off.

A few years earlier, I’d been in a patch of woods at night searching for a rape suspect who’d escaped from a uniformed officer. I had been standing still when I heard a low grunt or growl, with heavy breathing behind me. Convinced I would turn around and face none other than Bigfoot himself, I was startled to see a large buck with a pretty impressive rack on his head. In retrospect, I guess I was lucky I hadn’t been gouged to death.

I felt a chill go up my spine, and I shivered. It was brisk, but not as cold as it had been the night of the murder. I stood for a few more minutes and listened, but heard nothing. The sound was enough to make me call it a night and I quickly headed back to my car. Although it was probably a coyote or deer, I really wasn’t in the mood to investigate.

The imprint I found could have been anything, and I decided to look at the area more closely in the daylight.

When I pulled out onto Pleasant Valley Road, a long, winding road that made its way through the foothills, I saw headlights coming from my right. They were far away enough that I had plenty of time to pull out onto the road, but in a few seconds the car was so close behind me I couldn’t see its headlights anymore. It had to have been doing seventy-five, at the very least. The car stayed on my tail for another half mile before backing off.

I was annoyed, and had I been able to see the license plate, I would’ve called it in; the driver was probably drunk.

It was only when I was almost back inside the city limits and had made four turns that I realized the car was following me. I started zigzagging down side streets and called for assistance on the radio. Then I turned right on a dead-end street and threw my car into park. I jumped out with my gun and badge, ready to confront the driver.

He must’ve anticipated my move because he kept going straight by and I could only catch the back end of the vehicle, which looked like a dark compact car. It was only a few minutes before the uniformed officers arrived. Eric was the first one, and my father, the night-shift lieutenant, followed.

“CeeCee, what’s going on?” Eric asked, a frown of annoyance on his face. I was suddenly aware of how drawn he looked.

I explained what had happened, and he radioed for the other patrol cars to check the area. I also reassured them that I was fine.

“I’ll go look around for the car, CeeCee,” my dad offered. “Call me tomorrow, and get yourself to bed. We’ve both been worried about you.”

I didn’t have a chance to protest because I heard my cell phone ringing. I knew it was Michael, but just as I took the call Eric came up to ask if I wanted him to drive me home.

Michael must have heard him. “CeeCee! Where are you? Was that Eric?” he said, his voice rising.

“Michael, I’m okay. I’ll call you back.”

I knew Michael would be furious, especially since I hadn’t explained what had happened. All he knew was I wasn’t home at three o’clock in the morning and that when he called me, I was with Eric.

The officers checking the area couldn’t find Anything, so I asked Eric to write a report on the incident and forward it to me in the morning.

But before I got in my car I remembered something. I saw Eric standing with a group of other officers and realized this wouldn’t be a good time.

“Eric, when you get a chance, I need to talk to you about something as soon as possible, if you can. It’s personal.”

“It’s not the girls, is it?” He looked concerned again.

“No, no, of course not. It’s us.”

He looked taken aback. “Us? Well, why don’t you meet me at the Corner Grill tomorrow night at six? I gotta go in early and I can grab something to eat while we talk. Jordan will already be at work.”

“That’ll be fine. I’ll see you then,” I said, disliking this whole business.

I already anticipated a confrontation with Michael when I got home, so it was no surprise to see him sitting on the couch in our living room, waiting.

“I can’t wait to hear what you’ve been up to in the middle of the night,” he said stiffly.

“Good, because I can’t wait to tell you,” I said with a grin, hoping to warm him up.

I sat down next to him and told him about my eventful night. By the time I got to the end of it, his face had softened considerably.

“You know, the only thing I don’t like about this whole business is the possibility that someone followed you to night. God only knows how many enemies you make on some of your cases, which is why it wasn’t very smart to go down there alone.”

I nodded, knowing he was right.

“Just promise me that next time you’ll let me know if you’re leaving, okay?” he said quietly.

I squeezed his hand. “Okay.”

When we finally went back to bed I was still fairly wired. By the time I had to get up for work, I had slept less than an hour. It was going to be another long, long day.

In my office, Naomi and Coop expressed their own concerns about what had occurred earlier. Coop wrote down the description of the car and said he was going to drive around the campgrounds near Tucker Road to look for it. I knew Coop was working on two other homicide cases, so I tried to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but stubborn as always, he didn’t listen.

I spent much of the day catching up on paperwork and listening to ridiculous phone messages from people desperate to leave their Mary Jane stories on my voice mail. When I was almost done for the day, I called Bob over at the lab.

“It’s CeeCee, just checking in,” I said wearily. “Anything more turn up?”

“Not yet, but we still don’t have everything back,” he reported. “Hey, I forgot to tell you this yesterday. For laughs, we took a sample of the burn mark from the tree. You know how some people claim it’s spray paint or a carving, etcetera? Turns out it really
is
burned wood, and according to the lab, it’s pretty old, too.”

“I’m glad you had a few laughs, Bob, but that doesn’t solve my case. Let me know when you hear something, okay?”

The “burn mark” Bob was referring to, according to the legend, was the spot where the witch, Mary Jane, had reportedly been burned as she hung from the tree. I know of several instances where vandals have tried to set the tree on fire, so I dismissed his update on this historic evidence as just that.

Exhausted, I smacked the phone down and started gathering my briefcase, purse and files together. I’m not usually a nap-taker, but I suddenly found myself entertaining visions of a cozy snuggle under the covers when I got home. My visions didn’t last too long, because Eric called to remind me of our meeting. I told him I’d be there in fifteen minutes and hung up, wondering if this was really a good idea.

When I walked into the diner and saw Eric sitting in the booth, I knew I was in trouble. I felt an involuntary tug at my heart and couldn’t push away my feelings of regret. We’d been so happy once; invincible, we’d thought. And then it had all gotten screwed up.

I pushed these thoughts aside. Eric had also broken my heart, and now Michael had come into my life to heal it. “Settle down, girl,” I told myself. “He’s history, remember?”

As Eric stood and kissed my cheek, I turned away quickly and sat opposite him.

“CeeCee, you look great as always,” he said with a grin.

Smooth talker, I thought, moving my purse around and not meeting his eyes directly. We exchanged pleasantries for a while, talking about his new son and our girls. I could tell Eric was getting more and more curious as to why I’d asked to speak with him, so I finally got to it.

“Eric, the reason I need to talk to you is that yesterday I went to the county courthouse. Well, lo and behold, I was informed that you and I are still legally married. For some unknown reason, the final paperwork was never filed.”

His eyes opened wide, and he looked as stunned as Michael had. Now, for once in his life, Eric was actually at a loss for words. Then, to my amazement, he broke into a big smile. Maybe Michael was right, I thought. Maybe Eric did have something to do with it. If that were the case, I’d probably beat him right there with the ketchup bottle.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, my eyes narrowing.

“Nothing. I thought you had bad news. This isn’t bad news.” He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “Still being married to you is
not
a bad thing. In fact, this is the best news I’ve had in a long time.”

Stunned, I pulled my hand away as Eric leaned back in the booth, playing with the paper that had earlier wrapped his drinking straw.

He sighed deeply. “CeeCee, every day, and I mean every single day, I think about us and what we used to have.” He looked out the window. “I messed up—I know that. You did, too, but not like I did. I realize that, CeeCee. God knows if I could take it all back, I would.”

I felt another tug at my heart, but this time it was out of guilt. I certainly wouldn’t want Michael having a conversation like this with his ex- wife.

“But you can’t take it back, Eric, and neither can I. What’s done is done, and we have separate lives now—lives that involve other people.”

“No, I guess we can’t forget that Mr. FBI is in the picture, can we?” he shot back.

“I’m also talking about your new son, Eric, a child you had with another woman while you were still married to me!” I was getting upset. This was not what I’d anticipated. Maybe I’d been fooling myself, but I’d thought Eric would say, “Okay, take care of it and let me know when it’s all done.”

“You’re right,” he said quietly. “Things have changed in our lives. But you can’t look me in the eye and tell me you don’t still think about us, or don’t have feelings for me anymore.”

Damn him! He’d hit a nerve, and I know it showed on my face. It wasn’t that he spoke the truth; it’s just that I was at a loss for words as this conversation took a direction I hadn’t anticipated.

“That’s what I thought,” he said, looking pleased. “Look, Cee, why don’t we sit on this for a while? Just think about it, okay? I know I have a new life and a new son, and I love him very much. But my relationship with Jordan has changed. It’s just not the same as it was at the beginning. And it can’t touch what you and I had. I’m pretty sure she senses that. She certainly wouldn’t be surprised.” He sighed, deep in thought. “This could all just be my ego talking, but maybe there was a reason for this delay.” I had to admit, I’d already had that thought. “There’s no hurry, right?”

I hadn’t told Eric yet that I was planning on marrying Michael, but I’d assumed he knew we would eventually. Now I had to make things crystal clear.

“Actually, Eric, there
is
a hurry.” I looked at him, fighting back feelings of nostalgia. “I’m marrying Michael as soon as this mess is cleared up. And yes, I’m in love with him. My feelings for you don’t matter because they’re buried beneath so much anger I don’t think I’ll ever be able to work through it all.”

I felt tears well up in my eyes. “I made mistakes with you, I admit it. I kissed Michael while we were married, and I had feelings for him. But I told you the truth. But you—you looked me right in the eye and lied to me!” I was sobbing now. “For over six fucking months you were sleeping with Jordan, and the whole time, you lied to me! I think about all those nights that you came home, acting like everything was normal, and it makes me sick to my stomach. It’s over, Eric!” I put my face in my hands and sobbed.

I didn’t need or want this scene with Eric today. I was exhausted, with little sleep and awash with feelings I’d been suppressing for years. Dimly aware, l felt him sit down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. With a big gulp, I pushed Eric away so I could slide out of the booth and stand up.

“My attorney will be calling for you to sign the new papers. It shouldn’t take too long, Eric, and now I need to go.”

“What if I refuse?” he asked, looking both defiant and broken.

“Please, Eric. That would benefit no one. The girls are settled with the way things are, and you need to stop being selfish for once and think about Brandon and Jordan.”

He bowed his head as I turned around and left, and I admit it, I cried all the way home. Dredging up the heartache from our treacherous past had taken me by surprise, and now it felt as if it would never end—and it had to. Things change, and so do people. My life was with Michael now.

He was home when I arrived, riffling through a filing cabinet in his office.

“Hi, honey. Where are the girls and Sean?” I asked, looking around.

“They’re next door visiting the neighbors’ new puppy.” He shut the cabinet drawer and looked at me, quickly taking in my red, swollen eyes. “What’s wrong, Cee? Where’d you go?”

“I told you, I had to meet Eric for dinner to talk about the divorce papers.”

Michael’s face turned five different shades of red in a matter of seconds. Although he did his best to keep his cool, I saw a brief moment of adolescent jealousy under his stoic exterior. His color quickly returned to normal, and he made his best effort to show concern.

“No, you forgot to tell me about the dinner.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “But I can clearly see it didn’t go well. You okay, Cee?”

I thought back. Maybe I hadn’t told Michael about dinner, although I thought I had. My insides lurched, knotting up.

“I’m sorry, Michael. I thought I told you. I didn’t think the divorce was something I should discuss with Eric over the phone, so I met him at the Corner Grill because he was going in to work early. I didn’t even eat! It didn’t go well and I left.”

“Why didn’t it go well, and why were you crying?” His eyes stayed locked on mine, trying to read me.

I proceeded to tell him exactly what had happened, and I even told him how Eric had threatened to refuse to sign the papers.

Michael crossed his arms and leaned back against the cabinet, a wry smile on his face. “Well, isn’t that something! I’d expect nothing less from Eric. Do you really think he wants you back?”

“Actually, Michael, it doesn’t really matter,” I said quietly. “I told him I was marrying you because I love you, and that’s the only thing that matters. He just caught me off guard, that’s all.”

I went over to him and took both of his hands in mine. “Michael, this
will
end—and soon. These last two years have been so up and down it’s got to level out somewhere. I’m going to be your wife, and nothing is going to stop that from happening. I love
you
.”

I took his face in my hands and kissed him deeply.

“I love you, too, Cee,” he whispered. “I just want you to be sure.”

“Oh, there’s no doubt in my mind,” I said softly. I was even about to suggest we sneak upstairs when I heard the kids come in the back door.

“CeeCee!” cried Sean, running to me and giving me a tight hug and a kiss. A miniature version of Michael, he would no doubt break many hearts when he grew up.

Michael changed gears like the pro he was and told the kids to get cleaned up for dinner. I was so exhausted that, by the time dinner was over, I’d dragged myself onto the couch and put my head on Michael’s shoulder to watch a movie with him and the kids. I was asleep within fifteen minutes.