Kathy stopped, looked up, hoping for a sign that she’d shared enough. The silence ate at her and she went on, “I was trapped. Ken was drunk, screaming at me to use the knife. I’m sure he thought I was so mad that I was going to kill Aaron, but I saw this pathetic man I’d loved and nurtured for five years. He was half frozen and bleeding from cuts all over his chest and all I wanted was for the madness to stop.
“I was going to cut Aaron loose when Ken told me to wait. He went for the camera and I stood by Aaron, not sure of what to do next. I knelt down behind Aaron. I must’ve been crying at that point. All I remember was whispering in his ear that I was sorry and that I’d come back for him as soon as I could get rid of Ken. I cut the rope behind Aaron’s back, and then I thrust the knife into the tree behind him so it looked to Ken like I’d buried it into Aaron’s ribs. When I stood up, Ken took a picture and said he wanted to show his Army buddies how people in Pine County dealt with homos.
“Ken drove me home and told me we’d done the right thing by ridding the world of another homo. I was a basket case. I ran into the house. As soon as Ken pulled away I got the car keys and drove back to Aaron. He’d come around and had crawled on his hands and knees to a cabin where he was leaning against the siding. He was nearly blue when I put him into the car with the heater blasting. His teeth started to chatter and we held each other for the longest time. He never seemed to warm up and his chest started to bleed again, so I said I’d drive him home or to the hospital. He refused saying he needed somewhere safe to go for the night. We’d been sitting in the car next to the cabin for a couple hours. Aaron said we should break into the cabin and start the furnace. He said it was the only place he’d be safe. We couldn’t get the cabin door open so I went back to the tree and got Ken’s knife and pried a window latch loose. I crawled in and started the furnace while Aaron stayed in the car. When it started to get warm inside I helped him into the cabin and put him into a bed with some electric blankets I found. I fed him some Spam we from the cupboard and a cup of hot chocolate mix from a package, and then promised that I’d be back in the morning with clothes and some bandages for his chest.” Kathy took a deep breath and let it out, stopping the narrative.
“What happened in the morning?” Floyd asked.
“Aaron was gone. The door was unlocked and the furnace was off. Even the bloody sheets were gone from the bed. I thought maybe Aaron had called someone to pick him up, but there wasn’t a phone. My next thought was that Ken had gone back, so I drove to Solstad’s. Ken was driving away. I stopped him before he got to the interstate and I asked him what had happened to Aaron. He looked confused and reminded me that we’d left him dead, tied to a tree. He also told me not to go there, to just let someone find the body in the spring and to act surprised when I was asked about it.”
“So,” Floyd summarized, “you don’t think Ken went back?”
“I don’t know. I’ve asked myself the same question a thousand times.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this story before?” Pam asked.
“Because…because it’s crazy. I didn’t want to talk about Aaron dumping me. I didn’t want to tell anyone he was gay. I sure as hell didn’t want anyone to know that I’m HIV positive. And, I was always afraid that I’d committed some crime and would go to jail.”
“If you’d told the original investigators this story,” Floyd said, “they might’ve been able to find Aaron.”
Kathy shrugged. “I was confused and afraid.”
“Ken’s rage was fueled by more than alcohol and his homophobia,” Floyd said.
Kathy was about to answer when she hesitated and bit her lower lip. “Ken had scored some Ecstasy that night and he was pushing it on all of us. I don’t do drugs, period, and Aaron refused. Mike and Betsy were happy, high and they were all over each other. The Ecstasy had the opposite effect on Kenny. Instead of getting mellow and funny, he got edgy and mean. He was on a bad trip and I’m sure the drugs fueled his reaction to Aaron’s announcement.”
Kathy leaned against the wall, covered her face with her hands and slid to the floor. “It’s my fault,” she sobbed. “I was mad at Aaron and I told Kenny that he was gay hoping to… I don’t know, maybe get even or get revenge. I killed him. I used Ken as the weapon and I killed Aaron. I should never have left him alone.”
Pam knelt next to Kathy and put a hand on her arm. “You didn’t kill Aaron. You had no control over Ken’s rage or his frenzied knife attack. There’s no way to know how Ken might’ve reacted if you’d stepped in to stop him.”
“I’m just a shit,” Kathy said, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand, then pushing herself up from the floor. “I’ve replayed that night in my mind a million times and every time there was something I could’ve done to stop Kenny.”
“Kathy,” Floyd said, “we’re not sure what happened after you left Aaron at the cabin, but we’ve uncovered some clues to what happened, and Aaron may have left the cabin under his own power, which would say he survived Ken’s attack.”
“We think Aaron might’ve stolen an ATV from one of the cabins and then drove it to Round Lake. Do you have any idea why he’d go there?” Pam asked.
Kathy hesitated a fraction of a second, then shook her head.
A gust of wind slammed the house and the sound of hail hitting the windows diverted Kathy. “Oh, hell. I’ve got to run to the garden center and cover the hostas. This hail will rip them to shreds.” She sprinted for the back door and grabbed a ring of keys off a hook near the door. “Close the door behind you!” she yelled as she sprinted for her car. They watched Kathy back out of the driveway and speed down the street.
“Do you believe her?” Pam asked.
“I believe at least ninety percent of it. The guy who owns the cabin reported someone broke in and ate a can of Spam. There’s no way she would know that unless she’d been there.”
“She said Aaron didn’t have any clothes, so I doubt he would’ve walked any further than the garage with the ATV.”
“Most cabin owners leave some clothes and old jackets around, so I don’t think a lack of clothing would have kept him there. On the other hand, Passenger Lake is a long way from anything, especially in the winter. There aren’t any permanent homes for miles in any direction. Why would he pick Round Lake as his destination?”
“Without a phone,” Pam said, “he couldn’t have called for a ride. So maybe he knew someone there or knew where he could find a phone. I wonder who he would have called?”
“They pay us the big bucks to figure out mysteries like that,” Floyd said with a smile.
“What big bucks?” Pam asked.
CHAPTER 32
By the time Pam and Floyd retrieved her car and got back to his house the guests were gone and Mary was washing dishes. Spot, looking like a muddy drowned rat, raced to meet them as they pulled into the driveway. The heavy rain had given way to a steady sprinkle, providing the slow saturation the ground needed to recover from the searing heat and strong winds. Cooler air accompanied the rain and Mary had opened the windows to take advantage of the fresh air.
Floyd pecked Mary on the cheek while Pam called the dispatcher and gave them the license plate number to identify the owner of the purple car.
“How’d the party go?” Floyd asked.
“I think everyone had a good time. Barb got some nice gifts and we laughed a lot. Most of the women had met Barb, but had never really had a chance to talk with her or get to know her.”