Reunion (7 page)

With a sense of dread and an aching back, Grant
looked around his crowded house and wondered how he was going to survive the
next couple of hours. He’d avoided watching the news and refused to talk about
the dead boys last night, but there would be no getting away from the truth of
the situation today.

To distract himself, he started counting heads.
Roll call: a teacher’s automatic reaction to the start of class. Giving up
after a minute, he wondered if it was even possible to jam one more person
inside the small house. Michael Enwright himself was here, along with his
attorney, Cade McMartin, Graeme, Jolynn, a court reporter, and a few others who
hadn’t been introduced. The Enwright contingent also included a psychologist,
who’d bundled Annie off to her bedroom, chatting away about the new Tinkerbell
video and a Mario video game the therapist had on her iPad.

There were also FBI agents, the two Maricopa
detectives, and someone dressed in black and introduced as Agent Black from the
Department of Homeland Security. The man’s mouth twitched in an almost-smile at
the name when Michael introduced him. Patti sat at the table next to Grant, but
RJ couldn’t seem to settle. He kept himself busy in the kitchen making coffee,
while his eyes moved restlessly over each person, as if he was mentally
recording the meeting.

“For the record, I’d like to make my objection to
the inappropriateness of this meeting.” Detective Parker’s voice cut across the
quiet chatter in the room, signaling the start of the conference. “This should
be law enforcement only, and held at the station—”

“Noted,” said Agent Black. “Now—
for the record
—shut
up and take notes, Parker. The sheriff is expecting your report when you
return.” There was a light purple tint to the overweight detective’s complexion
and he looked ready to blow a gasket. All of the federal law enforcement officers
seemed to expect that Agent Black would be in charge—or maybe Detective Parker
was the only one foolish enough to express an opinion.

“Special Agent Trudeau, does the FBI wish to make
any objections for the record?” From his position on the backside of the dining
table, Grant saw several pairs of eyebrows raise at Black’s words. Apparently,
they hadn’t expected him to ask.

“Nope.” The senior FBI agent fired her answer
without hesitation or voice inflection. Clearly the DHS held the winning hand
in this game.

“Michael?”

Enwright nodded at Graeme, who was apparently his
pick to lead the meeting.

Graeme turned to look at him. “Grant, we have a
few questions for you and then everyone here is at your disposal to answer your
questions, if we can.” After clearing his throat, he read from a small green
notebook. “You know Toby Kincaid?”

“Yes. He’s a senior at school…in my government class.”
He looked down at the table and cleared his throat. “He was a student.”

“How about Mark Kender?” Graeme pitched his voice
low, as if it was just the two of them talking about a sad event that happened
to someone else.

“Yes, of course. He is…was another student…Jesus.”
He made a move to stand, but Patti’s hand on his shoulder tightened, and he
fell back on his seat. “Graeme?” His voice came out as a plea, even though he
knew they had to go through all the details.

“Grant. I’m sorry. I know this is difficult.
Unfortunately, with both young men gone—we have to try to piece this together
as best we can. Is there any reason you can think of they would kidnap Annie?
Any reason they might hold a grudge against you?”

“It just can’t be, Graeme. These were a couple of
high school kids. Are you—fuck, of course you’re sure.” He rubbed his hands
over his face…trying to wipe away the mental image of Toby and Mark, riddled
with bullets, bleeding, dead. A shudder rocked through him.

“They were failing my class.” His voice was a
whisper. “It’s a graduation requirement. Neither boy showed up for a make-up
session I scheduled a couple of weeks ago for any seniors needing extra help.”

“And you think they kidnapped your kid because
they were failing?” Parker asked, his voice derisive.

“No…I don’t. I mean, I can’t imagine anyone
kidnapping my child. I’ve got no money, no rich relatives, no reason for anyone
to think I could get fifty thousand. So if you’re telling me these two high
school boys kidnapped my daughter—there is only one possible reason I can think
of. They were in serious danger of not graduating. Toby and Mark had full ride
football scholarships on the line. But no, Detective Parker, I just can’t…”

The detective snorted, but Graeme’s voice cut off
whatever Parker had been about to say. “Okay.” He looked around the room, gaze
settling briefly on the law enforcement types. “We established what we already
knew…the suspects were familiar with the victim’s family. And just because
failing a high school class seems like a stupid ass motive, we have to remember
the scholarships and any potential future earnings should either or both of
them move to the next level of play.” Graeme shook his head and blew out a
breath. “I still have a feeling there might be more to this. Special Agent
Trudeau? Did you have any luck with background on the mother?”

“Nothing beyond the surface. I’ll send someone to
talk to her ex today. We’ve got the ransom note in for analysis. For what it’s
worth, the profile team agrees with your field assessment of two minds at work,
but for now, we have two dead suspects and that could be all…”

Two dead suspects.
Mark and Toby. Grant
rested his elbows on the table, and leaned his head into his hands, shielding
his eyes, blocking out the voices. He didn’t want to hear any more. Two dead
suspects. Mark and Toby. The phrase echoed around, bumping against random
thoughts. Mark and Toby. Dead. Mark and Toby. Desperate enough to kidnap a
child.

What twisted logic led them to believe this would
make everything okay? Clearly, their combined scholarship was worth more than
the money they’d demanded for Annie’s safe return. What had they possibly
hoped? That he would be so relieved when he’d gotten Annie back that everyone
passed his class? Or had they planned to take the money and kill her
anyway—steal his grade book and effectively end his academic year early. It
wouldn’t be the first time the school board would grant a blanket pass to all
students touched by a crisis.

A sharp squeeze of his leg brought Grant back to
the present and Patti’s hand on his thigh. Dropping his hands and blinking
around the room, he realized the meeting was breaking up and most of the
secondary players had already shuffled out, including the court reporter and
most of Enwright’s people.

“Grant?” Graeme asked.

“Sorry, it was…thank you. Thanks to all of you for
helping. I don’t—”

“Daddy?” Annie was smiling but her voice held an
edge of uncertainty. The psychologist was holding her hand and smiling.

“See, honey, there’s your daddy. I think their
meeting is over now. Would you like to go in the backyard?”

“Can Daddy come, too?” He saw her fingers tighten
around Marissa’s hand.

“Sure, let’s go wait for him on the back patio.”
The woman continued to guide Annie toward the back door. Not pushing in anyway,
making it easy for his daughter stop.

Next to him, Patti rose. “I’ll go with you, too,
sweetie. Come on.”

Grant watched as the two women eased Annie into
the backyard, and he realized this was almost exactly where he’d been standing
when Annie—

At that moment he knew—just knew—he could never
live in this house again. He glanced toward the kitchen and caught RJ watching
him. His friend’s mouth was a straight line, his lips pressed tight together.
For just a moment the connection between them felt so strong, it wouldn’t have
surprised him if RJ could see straight into his thoughts. RJ seemed to shake
himself and pulled a small smile from somewhere, nodded once, then walked
around the counter and stepped into the living room.

Graeme placed a sheaf of papers on the table and
began to explain what the next steps in the investigation would be. Grant tried
to focus, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit a large share of his attention
was focused on the backyard. 

“Grant…” Graeme said. He had the feeling the
former sheriff might have called his name more than once.

“Sorry, Graeme. This all seems too much. What…what
do you need me to do next?”

Special Agent Trudeau stepped forward. “Don’t
worry, Mr. Anderson. You have the best there is working to solve the why of
this. For now, you and your daughter should consider taking a few days out of
town to avoid most of the media attention. Just make sure to keep us informed—”
She glanced at Agent Black. “Through Enwright’s is fine.

“This case is going to generate a lot of
publicity, especially since the identities were leaked.” Trudeau’s gaze
flickered briefly to Detective Parker and back to the DHS agent. “Whether the
final investigation proves the killings were justified—oh shut up, Black—I’ve
seen the tapes and listened to the recordings. I know Enwright’s people didn’t
have a choice—except maybe to trust us at the beginning. But justified or not,
there are two dead high school football stars to explain, and the press and the
public are going to be all over this. So, rent or borrow a car, go someplace
beyond the metro area, but close enough we can get you back here in a hurry if
the need arises.”

Graeme nodded in approval. “Agreed. Michael has a
place—”

“I’ve got it taken care of,” RJ said, stepping
back into the room. “I’ll give you our location, Graeme, once everyone clears
out.” His words were casual enough, but he was looking directly at Detective
Parker, as if he didn’t trust him not to reveal where they would be staying. A look
at the detective’s face told Grant, RJ might be right.

“All right, everyone. Let’s get out of their hair
so they can pack. The press is already starting to descend,” Graeme said with a
glance at the front window. A news van rolled into place across the street. “Marissa?
Bring Annie back inside.”

Turning back to Grant, Graeme said, “Go on, get
out of here, we’ll take care of closing up your house. Take RJ’s rental—my folks
brought it from the restaurant and parked it down the street. You might want to
put the original license plate back on once you get where you’re going, though.”

Grant didn’t need any encouragement. He packed a
bag for himself and another for Annie. Patti used cloth grocery sacks to collect
an assortment of toys while RJ backed his rental into the driveway. Ten minutes
later, the SUV was loaded and they were headed out of the subdivision while
Graeme and Michael hemmed the van between their own vehicles.

“Where are we heading, RJ?” Grant asked as soon as
they hit the 101 Loop.

“How do you feel about Sedona?” RJ asked with a smug
smile.

Patti gasped. “You didn’t—it can’t possibly still—”

“It is and I did.”

The knot of tension that had been squeezing his
gut for days unfurled at RJ’s words. Seated in the back next to Annie’s booster
seat, Grant tugged at his seatbelt, then leaned forward. For a moment, all he
could do was rest his hands on the shoulders of his two best friends.
Swallowing hard, he said, “I don’t know how we would have gotten through this
without you. Thank you. And have I mentioned that I seriously love you both?”

“What about me? Do you love me, too, Daddy? Is it
okay to love all of us?”

Settling back against the seat, he reached across to
take Annie’s hand and bring it to his mouth for a kiss.

“You bet it is, sweetheart. That’s just what I
intend to do.” Then Grant began to laugh.

Recognizing it was too late to protect his heart,
but still trying to salvage a little of his sanity, RJ stepped outside in order
to give Patti and Grant their space while they tended to Annie. The rented
vacation house just outside Sedona was even better than he remembered from all
those years ago. The house was Frank Lloyd Wright inspired, with glass, stone,
and wood set against a stunning backdrop of red rock formations, pinyon pines,
and the oak trees for which the canyon and creek were named. When he’d called
his real estate agent this morning in a last minute effort to try to find
something similar that was available for the next few days, he’d been surprised
to discover the place was still a by-the-day rental for tourists and wasn’t
booked.

After spending the afternoon exploring the
surrounding area, conversation at the dinner table had been quiet, but
comfortable. Afterward, RJ had volunteered for kitchen duty, since Grant and
Patti had cooked. While he’d loaded the dishwasher, RJ smiled at the easy
laughter that spilled from the back of the house as the other two put a very
tired Annie to bed.

Based on their brief conversation at the
restaurant the other night, RJ knew Patti wanted Grant, and she sure as hell
wanted children. Since Annie was crazy about Patti, too, RJ hoped Patti would
get the family she wanted so badly. As for what he wanted…well, he really
couldn’t say.

Ignoring the little voice in his head that called
him a liar, RJ stood, looking up at the stars, and wondered at the true nature
of the universe. He didn’t believe everything in life was pre-ordained, that
free will was just an illusion. As an electrical engineer, he’d veered down the
path of the measuring life in minute increments. Details down to the nth degree
were important and the present always determined the future. Life was a
conditional construct: if this—then that.

Yet now, looking up at the dense band of stars
blanketing the sky in a wide swath, he had to wonder about the significance of
any single detail, of any individual being. Earth was just one of four billion
planets and stars in the Milky Way. How fucking important could any single life
choice be?

Arms wrapped around him from behind. “Penny for
your thoughts,” Grant whispered. “No, wait, don’t answer that. Let me guess…you
were contemplating your place in the universe, right?”

RJ smiled. “Guilty as charged.” Resisting the urge
to lean back into the embrace, he asked the question that had been on his mind
all afternoon. “Are you okay? I can't even imagine what you've been through the
last few days.”

Grant tightened his arms momentarily, then
released RJ and started to pace. After a while, he said, “We didn't even use
this patio when we stayed here last time.”

Stepping through the open sliding glass door from
the living room, Patti watched Grant pace for a second, then moved to stand
next to RJ. “We didn't use the kitchen either. Or the second bedroom. Or the
third. In fact, I'm pretty certain, they had to replace the king size bed in
the master suite after our weekend, because we probably busted a spring,” she
said. “By the way, Annie is out like a light. I don’t think anything is going
to wake that child up until morning. RJ, you flat wore her out on your little
hike.”

“Yeah, well, she wore me out, too. I’m going to
have to get online in the morning so I can answer all her questions about rock
formations. As for the bed…it's different, this time,” RJ said. “We're not a
bunch of young twenty-somethings out for one last good time. Hell, we have
Grant's child with us.” He looked up at the sky again, as if some answer was
waiting to reveal itself. “A child. What's that like, Grant?”

Grant made a small sound, halfway between a laugh
and a sob, then collapsed back on the bench built into the surrounding wall. “I
don't even know how to answer. It's the most amazing, wonderful…” Grant smiled
up at them, and RJ nearly lost his breath at the wonder on his friend's face.

“Six months ago, I got your email about this
weekend, Patti, and immediately sent you my acceptance. I'd been so worried I
would be the only one still not married. Or worse, the only one who remembered
we’d made the promise. Two days later, I received an invitation to a lawyer's
office and found out I was a father.” He shook his head. “It doesn't seem real.
Or maybe…” He blew out a breath. “Maybe this whole…” Grant swallowed hard, then
shuddered. “Damn…I'm sorry. Sorry. I keep thinking about those kids…about…they
had…”

God. Grant was going to lose it. With a panicked
glance at Patti, RJ took a step back and jerked his head in Grant's direction,
indicating she should get over there. Pronto.

****

Patti rolled her eyes at RJ. Did he really think
giving her a head jerk would cause her to trot over to Grant and ease his pain?
Let RJ weasel out of any meaningful contact with the other man? Not likely.
When Grant had first stepped outside to embrace RJ, she'd noticed how the two
men moved apart fairly quickly, and assumed RJ was resistant to Grant's attempt
at intimacy. The two men might be experiencing different types of pain, but it
was pain none-the-less, and Patti was ready to move forward.

Taking RJ's hand, she withstood a glare she was
sure he intended to melt her into the ground and instead gave a hard tug,
pulling him in the direction of their friend. “Come on, honey, Grant bites, but
as I remember, you liked that.”

“Oh, hey—” RJ looked away, but not before she
caught a glimpse of the smile he tried to hide.

Grant tugged at RJ's arm and pulled him to sit on
the bench next to him, then reached for Patti to do likewise, so she took a
seat on his other side.

“Hey, back, RJ,” Grant said softly. “And I really
didn't bite much, but Patti's right. You did like it.”

“You want to talk about what happened?” RJ asked.
He pulled his arm from Grant's grip, but shifted slightly so he was facing the
other man—not pulling away so much as focusing his attention. To give RJ credit,
he wasn't just trying to change the subject. Grant had been very close to a
meltdown, but Patti’s brief conversational diversion had distracted him long
enough to regain his composure.

Patti’s breath hitched as the two men leaned close
together. There was just something so damned beautiful about these two men who
always seemed to be struggling to find their way together. RJ's black hair
seemed to absorb the night, his eyes dark with emotion. With his bronze skin
and high cheekbones, his mixed heritage added an exotic touch in the starlit
night. She scooted closer to Grant, as he brushed the heavy black hair from
RJ’s eyes.

“I don’t think I want to talk about it right now,
RJ. It’s been…what? Three days? Do you think it’s too late to have our reunion?
I don’t want us all to go back to our everyday lives and miss—” He shook his
head.

It was RJ’s turn to suck in a shuddering breath.
Before he had a chance to say something stupid—like no—Patti dragged her nails
over Grant’s denim-clad thigh, the scraping sound surprisingly loud. When Grant
turned his head and smiled at her, she nodded. “It’s been a long three days,
that’s for sure. I think some time for us, for our reunion, is exactly in
order. Where do you want to start, sweetie?”

Grant gave a harsh little laugh. “I think you both
know a lot about what’s new in my life. Obviously, I’m still single. So, enough
about me, please. Tonight, let’s make this all about you. What’s going on in
your lives? Are you both still single? Ever get serious about someone? Got any
big plans?”

Everyone laughed, then Patti said, “Ahh…the old
what-I-did-on-my-summer-vacation oral essay. You’re such a teacher, Grant.”

Grant shuddered. “I’m glad the school district put
me on leave through the end of the year. I don’t know if I could go back. I
don’t know if I ever—”

“Hey, I thought you wanted to hear about us,” RJ
said with a small smile. It was as if he wasn’t sure he should try to keep to
what Grant had asked for, but thought he should try.

Jumping in, she said, “I’ll go first. Hi, my name
is Patti and I’m a loser at love.”

“Hi, Patti,” the men obediently intoned. Both men
grinned, but she noticed Grant’s hand now rested on RJ’s leg. She hid the smile
that threatened. This was almost like starting over between the two of them.
Grant obviously wanted RJ, and RJ was back to feeling shy about his desire for
Grant.

“After we all went our own ways, I went north and
worked—took some more classes at NAU, and kept working my way through the
career ladder. I don’t remember what I’ve shared with either of you, but
basically, to move up, you have to move on. So, in addition to the Canyon, I’ve
worked at Rocky Mountain National Park, a short stint in DC, and my favorite
job at the Flagstaff Monuments.”

When she paused, Grant prodded her to keep going. “How
about any relationships? Anyone serious?” Grant asked. “You seemed damned
chummy with the doctor who was here—Gabe, right?”

“Yeah, Dr. Richard Gabriel. Oh my God…is he hot or
what?” She laughed softly. “He’s been a very good friend for a lot of years. He
helped fill the void that you two left. He’s into poly—you know, multiple
partners. I admit, we did try. We even went so far as to talk about finding a third
person, just to see—but we discovered we were better friends than lovers. It
was like being with my brother.” She shuddered. “He’s the only one I ever got
emotionally close to. No one else ever really fit, if that makes sense. And
honestly, I did a lot of moving, a lot of temporary assignments to fires or
other events. Not exactly conducive to building anything long term. How about
you, RJ?”

RJ lowered his chin, hiding his eyes beneath a
heavy black curtain of hair. He always used to do that whenever she or Grant
got too personal. “Marker hired me as an intern when I was still at MIT. I
stayed with them. They paid for me to keep going to school, you know?”

“Wait…did you get your PhD?” Grant asked.

RJ nodded then shifted his position again, so he
and Grant were more hip-to-hip than facing each other. “Yeah. Between that and
work…well, there wasn’t much time for dating. I went out with a few women from
work. Always tried to bring someone to the Christmas party…that sort of thing.”

Grant covered RJ’s hand with his own and threaded
their fingers together. “What about men, RJ?”

“Yeah…a few.” He looked up, his gaze lingered on
Grant for a moment before drifting over to Patti. “Sorry, there’s not a lot to
tell. I had dates and I had hook ups. Men were on the down low, as they say.”

“But what if you wanted to bring a man to the
Christmas party?” Patti asked.

RJ’s laugh was tinged with bitterness. “Bringing a
man to the parties would have been out of the question—and don’t talk to me
about discrimination. You both have the security of government jobs. In private
industry, the owner can do just about anything he likes, if he’s careful.”

“Why did you work for him, then?” Patti asked.
She’d been lucky, the Park Service was more liberal than most workplaces; it
was hard to imagine putting up with that type of bullshit from an employer.

“I didn’t realize Marker’s politics and religion
played so heavily into his work practices until after I graduated, and by then,
I had a contractual obligation for a certain number of years in exchange for
the tuition. It’s subtle enough from the outside, but he’s getting more deeply
involved in the far right conservative movement.” RJ looked down to where his
hand was linked with Grant’s and frowned.

“About six years ago, he made the decision to
start using two shifts during the week so he could close all operations on
Sundays. The memo said it was so all of his employees could attend church and
be with their families. There was some fuss, but not too much press. Mostly
because the right wing was politically powerful at the time and the political
pendulum was still on the right.” RJ looked back up, his mouth a tight line.

“That was enough to start me on the path to do some
private R and D at my house. I wanted to move on, but with a nice big project
that would make me more attractive to a company like Enwright. I guess that was
the real start of my thinking about moving back to Phoenix.”

That was her perfect opening. She needed to move
the men inside, bring them all to a place they could start over on some common
ground.

Jumping up from the bench, Patti reached a hand
out to each man. “Okay—I can’t tell you how excited I am that you’re thinking
about moving back to the valley, RJ, but do you men think we could move this
inside? It’s getting a little too cool out here and I don’t really want to put
on a sweater. I was sort of hoping we could go for less clothes, not more.”