“I’ll take a thunderstorm,” Floyd said as he turned onto the frontage road. “If we don’t get some moisture soon, my grass will blow away.”
“I guess that’s the advantage of renting. I don’t have to worry about the grass.”
Kathy Tucker stood in the gravel parking lot with a hose, spraying the bushes and trees with water. She wore a white tank top and denim shorts that showed off her athletic build. Floyd parked near the door to the building, but Kathy didn’t acknowledge them.
“Hi,” Floyd said. “Have you got a second?” Sandy followed behind.
“Are you buying, or asking more questions?”
“More questions,” Floyd replied.
Kathy made no effort to turn off the hose. “Ask away,” she said, continuing to water the trees.
“You weren’t drunk the night Aaron disappeared. You didn’t start drinking until after Aaron disappeared.” When Kathy didn’t respond he went on. “You were an athlete, and you didn’t smoke or drink at all. During Ken Solstad’s last night in town you guys were at the bar in Beroun. You drank soda pop all night and were sober when you left the bar.”
“What’s your point?”
“You’ve been telling us for years that you were too drunk to remember what happened that night. Why?”
Kathy released her grip on the spray nozzle and let it fall to the ground. She turned slowly and stared at Floyd with contempt. “Because it was the worst fucking night of my life. I’ve never wanted to remember a second of it.” She stomped across the parking lot with determination and threw the door open with Floyd and Sandy close behind.
“That’s not the only answer I need,” Floyd said as he walked briskly to keep up with her long purposeful strides. “I need to know what happened.”
Kathy stopped at the back door and spun around to face Floyd. “All right. If you have to know what happened, here it is. Aaron dumped me. I thought we were going to get married and he told me that he had new friends in the Cities and we didn’t have anything in common anymore.” Tears welled in her eyes and her hands shook. “Aaron was the only person I’ve ever dated. Ever! I was devastated. I argued with him and then I swore at him. I asked him if he’d been cheating on me and told him that I hated him. I yelled and screamed and he just stood there and took it all. That’s why I never realized what happened to Melissa in the car; I was too mad at Aaron and I was yelling at the top of my lungs.
“Ken got out of the car, and I thought he came to see what was wrong. So, I told him that Aaron was a shit and that he’d cheated on me. Ken took my side and he punched Aaron, but Aaron still didn’t fight back. Ken threw Aaron in the backseat with Melissa. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he probably did that so I wouldn’t see what he’d done to her. When he dropped Melissa off, Aaron tried to confront Ken about Melissa. Ken went ballistic and started pounding Aaron. He knocked Aaron down then dragged and pushed him into the backseat of the car, then drove me home. I never saw either of them alive after that.”
Tears welled up in Kathy’s eyes and she looked around for a tissue or napkin. Finding neither she wiped her nose on the back of her dirty glove, leaving a smear of mud across her face. “Damn you. I hope that you’ve finally got the answers you needed so bad. Can I go back to my fucked-up miserable life now?”
“What happened to Aaron after Melissa was dropped off?”
“I told you! Ken threw him in the backseat of the car. He was still there when Ken dropped me at home.”
“Do you remember Ken’s knife, the one with the saw blade on the back edge?”
Kathy hesitated for a fraction of a second. “He showed it off that night. Yes, I remember it.”
“Ken took a picture of Aaron tied to a tree with cuts all over his chest.”
Kathy pulled off her gardening gloves and wadded them tightly in her hand. With her eyes clenched shut she said, “God, why did you have to tell me that? I have enough terrible visions in my mind without that being the last image I’ll have of Aaron.” Standing a few inches taller than Floyd she looked down at him. “Did you think I needed a larger helping of guilt?”
Kathy threw her gloves at Floyd’s chest, swung the garden shop door open, and stalked through it. It slammed, almost breaking the glass.
“I think you touched a nerve,” Sandy said quietly as Floyd brushed bits of dirt off his shirt.
“I’m sure I’m still not getting the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Did you notice how she hesitated a bit before answering my question about the knife? She didn’t want to admit something there, but knew I had more information than she thought I had.”
They walked back to Floyd’s pickup in silence. “If that wasn’t the truth, what do you think she’s holding back?” Sandy asked.
“I wish I knew.”
CHAPTER 30
Thunder rumbled as Pam and Barb pulled into Floyd’s driveway. The horseshoe loop was lined with cars and pickups, and the sound of women’s laughter carried through an open door. Spot raced to them like a brown streak and slapped their calves with her tail as she circled their feet.
“Good puppy,” Barb said, kneeling down and petting Spot, who ate up the attention.
Mary met them at the door and gave Barb a hug. “Did you find a dress?”
Barb was surprised by the show of affection and stammered more than usual. “I…I tried on a couple and found one that we both liked.”
“Tell us about it,” Mary said as she ushered Barb into the room of women. The women quickly flocked around her and listened intently to all the details of the simple ivory dress. Thunder rumbled more closely as they lined up at the kitchen table for coffee, and a buffet of tiny sandwiches and cake.
Barb was opening the last gift when the doorbell rang. Mary was surprised to find a gaunt man, probably in his thirties, standing on the doorstep. He was dressed in a bright floral shirt and linen pants with sandals on his feet. His hair had frosted tips and was carefully styled to look random and messy. His face had red marks that looked like he’d had deep acne in his youth. Although he looked determined, there was an air of discomfort about him.
“May I help you?” Mary asked, noting how tired his sunken eyes looked.
“I’d like to talk to Floyd Swenson,” the man said, shifting nervously. “Is he home?”
“I’m sorry, he’s not here right now. If you leave a message I’ll have him contact you when he returns.”
Pam Ryan stepped to the door. “Is something wrong?”
The man shook his head. “I was trying to get in contact with Floyd Swenson. I’ll catch him later.” The man turned to leave.
“What’s your name, so I can tell Floyd who was here.”
“Tell him a friend of Aaron Roberts stopped by,” the man said over his shoulder as he approached his car.
Pam dashed out the door as lightning flashed, followed quickly by thunder. Mary watched out the open door as Pam sprinted after the man. The other women ran to their cars to roll up windows and then ran back to the house. They watched Pam as she talked to the man standing next to his car. Large raindrops splatted on the cement sidewalk as the wind picked up. Pam’s dress flapped in the wind as she put a hand on her thigh to keep it in place.
“Who’s the gay guy?” Barb asked.
“I don’t know,” Mary replied, then paused and asked. “What makes you think he’s gay?”
“He’s gay,” Barb replied. “Did you see how he walked? And look at that outfit. Would any of your husbands be caught dead in a flowered shirt like that and sandals?”
The rain came with fury and Pam ran back to the house. By the time she got to the door she was drenched and her hair was plastered to her head. Mary ran to the linen closet for towels. Pam wrapped a towel around her hair and tried to dry her dress with the other.