“I wonder if Kathy was terribly unhappy about Aaron’s new path.”
“I know at least two people were unhappy about Aaron’s choices; My father didn’t like the idea of his son as a college kid, and Ken Solstad told Aaron that spending money on school was about as stupid as throwing it out the window. I suppose you might add Kathy to that list if Aaron dumped her.”
“Was it just Aaron registering at the university that caused all the commotion?”
“It was his whole lifestyle change. Aaron started coming to the Cities for concerts and Twins games. He stayed with us and met new friends. They were clean cut and not into spending every night killing brain cells in a bar. He saved some money and bought a car that ran all the time and he started wearing clothes without holes and grease. He got a job at a coffee shop near the University and moved into an apartment with some other students.”
“Have you heard from Aaron since then?”
There was a long pause.
“I don’t understand what you mean. Do you think he might be alive?” Jennifer asked.
“We can always hope.”
“I gave up hope,” she sighed. “He’s never called. He’s never stopped by. The only way I’ll ever hear from Aaron is if I hire a clairvoyant.”
“Did you ever call his roommates to ask if they’d seen him?” Floyd asked.
“Aaron was very protective of his new life. I didn’t have his address or phone number. When he called, and that was rarely, it was from the coffee shop.”
“Please call either Deputy Ryan or me if you think of anything else.”
“Wait! Before you hang up, tell me where Mom is.”
“I can’t because she’s in a safe house. I promise that I’ll have her call.”
“What’s going to happen to my father?”
“The county attorney filed charges of domestic battery and assaulting an officer against him today, and bail was set. I don’t think that he’s posted bail.”
“They’ll let him out. Mom won’t admit that he hit her.”
“A deputy overheard a fight and witnessed your mother’s injuries. That’s all that’s required to file domestic battery charges. He also assaulted three deputies and a state trooper during the arrest.”
“Will you do something for me?” Jennifer asked.
“I can try.”
“Don’t let Mom go back to him. One of these times he’s going to kill her.”
Floyd paused, then asked, “Has your father ever assaulted you?”
There was silence until she whispered, “He hit everyone in the house when he got drunk.”
“Did you ever tell a teacher or counselor about it?”
“I was afraid to, and he was always careful not to leave bruises where my teachers would see them.”
“Is he capable of killing someone?” Floyd asked.
“When he’s drinking, I think he’s capable of anything.”
“Do you think he could’ve hurt Aaron?”
“When he’s drinking, he’s capable of anything.”
The line went dead.
CHAPTER 28
Floyd parked in downtown Pine City and walked the few blocks to Gordy’s Drugstore past old brick buildings built with apartments on their second floors. He waved to Mrs. Slinkard, his fourth grade teacher, who was sitting by her window fan watching people passing by. The afternoon heat radiated through Floyd’s shoes and his lungs struggled to draw oxygen from the hot, humid air. When he stepped into the drugstore his shirt was streaked with sweat. The air conditioning quickly turned his damp shirt clammy.
“Everyone in town will have pneumonia by the time this hot weather breaks,” Gordy said. He was taking inventory of the card rack near the cash register when he saw Floyd.
“Isn’t that good for business?” Floyd asked.
“It makes no difference. The bulk of our business comes from people who are on maintenance medications for chronic illnesses. The cold supplies aren’t a high-margin item and I’ve always got too many when I don’t need them and too few when I do need them. Now that we’re required to keep the cold remedies behind the counter so that people don’t make them into methamphetamine, it’s even more of a bother.”
“As much as that’s a bother for you, controlling the cold medicines really put a dent in the meth labs. For a while we had to watch every abandoned house to make sure someone wasn’t cooking meth in it. That, and the number of arrests we’re making for meth distribution and use has dropped off. It was terrible to see those messed up people with their teeth falling out, robbing houses to pay for their next hit.”
“I don’t know, Floyd,” Gordy said. “It seems like drug use is like a big balloon; when you squeeze out one drug, a different drug takes its place. Meth use goes down and Ecstasy goes up. We control Oxycontin and Vicodin use and heroin shows up. I don’t think there’s a solution.”
“Barb’s been doing a great job for me on the picture investigation,” Floyd said, changing the topic and hoping to create some goodwill between Barb and her employer. Floyd assumed that most of Barb’s effort was at the expense of the drugstore, but he didn’t want to open a sore topic.
“She’s a good worker,” Gordy replied. “The women were put off by her some at first, but once people get to know her they see how hard she works for them and what good work she does. My sales of photographic equipment and supplies have more than doubled since I hired Barb. People used to bring their film and SD cards to Walmart for cheap photographic prints, but now they’re bringing them here and Barb sometimes spends half an hour with a customer to help them crop photos and order enlargements.”
“I sense there’s a, ‘but’ lurking behind your words.”
“Well, she’s a little flaky sometimes, and I wish she’d show up on time more often.” Gordy smiled. “But I’ll put up with it as long as she keeps people happy. By the way, I understand Mary is throwing a wedding shower for Barb tomorrow at your house. My wife said she was surprised when Mary called, but she couldn’t be more pleased that she’s been invited.”
“I hope you told that to Barb. Mary says she’s very insecure and really doesn’t feel comfortable as the center of attention.”
“She doesn’t feel comfortable at a party with women. I’d bet she would eat up the attention if the attendees were all men. You should see her work the old guys who come in with pictures and camera repairs. I swear she could sell books to a blind man.”
“I doubt that a blind man would appreciate the view,” Floyd said. He nodded toward the camera counter where Barb was leaning over the counter showing a middle-aged man how to operate a demo camera. His eyes spent equal time on the camera and Barb’s cleavage.
“I’ll bet you a dollar he buys that camera,” Floyd said.
“His wife is buying groceries,” Gordy said. “If she gets back before Barb closes the sale she’ll drag him out by his ear.”
As they drank coffee and watched, the man reached for his wallet and Barb went to the cabinet behind the counter to get a boxed camera. “You win this time,” Gordy said, pulling out his wallet and handing Floyd a dollar bill.
“It’s hard to believe someone like Sandy Maki would have anything to do with a woman like Barb,” Gordy said as the man accepted his new camera and thanked Barb. “She seems like such an unlikely match for a deputy.”
“I think Sandy saw the softness under Barb’s brash exterior. They were thrown together when she left her biker boyfriend. She needed someone like Sandy and he found that he liked someone smart with a hard exterior. It’s not easy being a cop’s wife, and I think Barb can tolerate his strange hours and the chilly response he gets from some people when they’re out together, especially those he’s arrested.”