Chapter 11
Like Asher said, there was nothing obvious to be seen that they hadn’t seen a thousand times before.
“This place is huge,” Nora said. “I don’t think I’ve been down here before.”
“It’s the entire footprint of the house above us. It had a hard-packed dirt floor for years, but every time we went down and came up, we tracked in dust. Mom hated it. Dad kept promising to finish it off with a pour of concrete, but then she was gone, and nothing mattered anymore,” Asher said.
“So, how did you come by all these bricks?” Nora asked.
“I remember,” Gunner said. “I was about twelve…maybe thirteen. They were tearing down an old brick building in Silverton. Anybody who wanted bricks could come to the site and load up what they wanted. Ash measured the area of the cellar, the size of the bricks, and figured out how many we’d need to cover the floor.
It was a surprise for Dad’s birthday. We did it Ash’s senior year of high school during spring break. ”
“That’s quite an engineering feat for a kid still in high school,” Nora said.
“I wasn’t all that. I asked my math teacher how to figure it,” Asher said.
She slipped her arm around his waist. “You are all that, and a piece of cake,” she said. “All three of you are amazing. You, Dylan, and Gunner. Jacob did good.”
“Asher helped. He stepped into Brenda’s shoes,” Gunner said.
“Right down to giving us the talk about the birds and the bees,” Dylan added.
“Okay, we’ve seen it and up we go,” Asher said, and led the way.
“Dylan, are you still with us?” Nora said.
“Still listening, lady,” he said.
“Twenty-one years buried is a long time. You all have a new theory to work with, and to solve it, you need a metal detector. If it’s okay with you two, I’m going to exit this meeting, take a pain pill, and a shower.
I have one request to make of all of you.
Under no circumstances mention that I helped you.
You did not inform me of any of your research.
I have no knowledge of FBI files, or police files, or the rap sheets.
I did not know about Joe and Darren Wilson.
I do not know who Everett and Freddie Brandt are.
I had no part in pointing out the obvious omission of Brenda’s statement.
Two of you are cops. You’re the ones who figured it out. ”
“Understood,” Asher said, and the other two echoed his comment.
“Gunner, I promise not to use up all the hot water. Asher, when you come to bed, I promise not to fall asleep in the middle of it. Dylan should be able to rent a metal detector somewhere in Amarillo. All three of you became part of the fallout. You should be together when you put an end to it.”
“Nora’s right, Dylan,” Asher said. “The security detail will cover Dad’s safety, although now that we have this new theory, the fact that Dad is up there might be right where the Brandts want him.
If the bar is closed, they may try to make another run at it, and it’s likely they don’t know that we’re here.
We only have a short timeline to see if this plays out. Find a metal detector and come home.”
“First thing tomorrow,” Dylan said. “See you soon,” he said, and hung up.
As Nora stood up, Asher got up with her. “Nora, honey, do you want me to put a plastic bag over your hand again?”
“No thanks. The bandage has served its purpose. It’s coming off.” Then she kissed Asher on the cheek and left the room.
Gunner got up and began putting the dominoes back in their box. “Do you feel like as big a fool as I do?”
“Probably bigger,” Ash said. “We never once thought of what Mom’s part in the robbery would have been. Just that she cheated on Dad and killed herself.”
“Nora was right. We were too close to it all. We lost our objectivity,” Gunner said. “I wonder what the hell her job actually entails?”
“Best we don’t ask,” Asher said. “We don’t talk about our cases with the public.
If there’s something she wants us to know, she’ll tell it.
” He gave the basement door a last glance, and then opened the fridge.
“I need something to wash away the bad taste of all this,” and he chose a can of Pepsi. “Want one?”
“Are there any Cokes?” he asked.
Asher handed one to him. They heard the shower come on, then went into the living room and turned on the TV, while Gunner reached for his phone and went through his emails.
Thirty minutes later, Gunner still wasn’t watching the show and was still staring at his phone. “Tomorrow is the first of November. The temps are in the mid-thirties. If it’s buried outside, it’s gonna be hard digging in frozen ground,” he said.
“Don’t borrow trouble,” Ash said. “If she’s the one who hid it, I’d bet good money it’s in the basement. I don’t think she would have chanced digging outside where anyone could have seen her.”
“Hope you’re right on all counts,” Gunner said. “I’m ready to go back to Dallas and chase down killers there. I don’t like to think that all this happened here. Crossroads always felt safe.”
“What made you choose law enforcement?” Asher asked. “I know why I did it. It’s what I’d always wanted to do, but you turned down athletic scholarships. You had free rides to two colleges, and you turned them down. Why?”
He shrugged. “The only thing I was naturally good at was running, but I had no goals beyond playing sports. What would I have done afterward? You’re viewed as too old for professional sports past the age of thirty-five.
It just didn’t feel right…not having purpose.
I decided I’d rather run down criminals than chase after football players on a field of fake grass. ”
“I would have been proud of whatever you chose, but I like knowing what you’ve become. You’re good, Gunner. Real good at what you do. You go on ahead and shower. I’m going to take a quick walk through the bar to make sure everything is undisturbed, then lock up before I quit this day.”
Gunner nodded, and then he was gone.
Asher unlocked the door into the hallway between their house and the bar and made a quick sweep.
The front door was firmly locked.
Remnants of the crime scene tape were still tied to a light pole in the parking lot.
The blood stain behind the bar was gone.
There was nothing out of place except the fact that Jacob Kingston was not on the premises, but that would soon be rectified.
* * *
Before Nora got in the shower, she removed the bandage from her hand, eyed the stitches in her palm, and decided they didn’t look as bad as she expected.
The tiny little black bits of thread in each stitch, with the snipped ends sticking up, looked like antennae and spikes on a furry caterpillar.
It was a little dicey using her hand, but not as painful as she’d expected.
Once she showered and dried off, she pulled her football jersey over her head, then eyed the palm of her hand.
She didn’t like what she was seeing, and without second-guessing her decision, got a black ink pen from her purse and put two tiny dots at the end of the stitches for caterpillar eyes.
Satisfied that she’d turned something ugly into whimsy, she took a pain pill and crawled into bed, weary to the bone.
She would go home tomorrow before the search began.
She’d done her part. The rest was up to them.
* * *
Asher was the last to shower, and the last to go to bed. He didn’t know how to feel about what tomorrow might bring. He didn’t know how they were going to tell their dad if it was true. And if they did find the money, they still had to find a way to tie the Brandt brothers to the shooting.
When he finally slipped into bed beside Nora, she was lying on her back with her left arm over her head, and the football jersey she was wearing, clearly visible. She was always animated, and seeing her like this was like looking at a painting of her face in a way he rarely saw it.
Her lashes became shadows below her eyes. Her lips were slightly parted, as if waiting for a chance to speak. The high cheekbones and the shape of her face—an exquisite work of art. The inhale and exhale of each breath was almost too soft to hear.
The bandage was gone, the stitches plainly visible. But as he looked closer and saw what she’d done, turning a wound and a row of stitches into a caterpillar with little round black eyes, it made him smile. She’d turned something painful into something to smile about.
That she still loved him like this was his gift.
She had been everything he’d ever wanted from the first time they’d made love, and nothing had changed that feeling.
When he pulled up the covers over her, she stirred.
“Ash?”
“It’s me, love. Go back to sleep. I just need to hold you.”
“Love…” she mumbled, and rolled over on her side.
Moments later, she was tucked into the curve of his body.
He closed his eyes and dreamed of digging for treasure, and finding Brenda instead, sitting in a hole crying, and saying “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
* * *
The first rays of the morning sun were coming through the curtains when he opened his eyes.
She was watching him, and without saying a word, she reached for him.
He needed no urging.
They made love in silence.
Slow, deep strokes into the warm, wet heat of her.
Watching her face. Waiting for that moment when she closed her eyes.
Chasing that moment when consciousness lapsed into a blood-rush frenzy.
It was so good.
* * *
Nora was dressed and at the table drinking coffee when Gunner walked into the kitchen.
“Where’s Ash?” he asked.
“Living room talking to Dylan, I think.”
He nodded, poured himself a cup of coffee, and sat down at the table.
“Your bandage is off. Can I see?” he asked.
She held out her hand, and smiled when she saw the delight on his face.
“Cute worm,” he said.
She glanced at her palm and frowned. “It’s a caterpillar, thank you.”
He was laughing when Asher walked in.
“What did I miss?” he asked as he refilled the cup he was carrying.
“I dissed her worm,” Gunner said.
“Caterpillar,” Nora muttered.