Dreams (Part Two) (Dreams #2)(4)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“That was the book that made everyone in Fulbrook Corners realize Colby Savagar was going to become famous instead of winding up in prison,“ Gil explained sardonically. “But like I told Colby, since everyone in town had read the book, it was going to be difficult figuring out who was playing the pranks.“

“We discovered the culprit,“ Colby said.

Gil shot him a quick look. “Who?“

“My son’s girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend, that is. She was angry at Diana because Diana had helped me convince Brandon not to get married right away.“

“Poor Robyn wanted marriage in the worst way, I’m afraid,“ Diana explained to Evelyn. “She was trying to escape her domineering, battling parents.“

Evelyn nodded in understanding. “And she thought marriage was her ticket to freedom. Poor kid. And poor Brandon if he had, indeed, married her.“

“So you think she was the one behind the pranks, hmm?“ Gil looked at Colby again.

Colby nodded abruptly. “Yeah. Diana and Brandon caught her in the act of setting up the last prank. That was the end of it.“ He gave Gil a meaningful glance and then picked up the bottle of wine. “Another glass, Evelyn?“

Gil took the hint. “I hear you’ve been in touch with your old buddy, Eddy Spooner.“

Colby nodded. “He and I shared a couple of beers and talked about old times a few days ago. I see he didn’t end up in jail, either. That must have really irked most of the townsfolk. They were so sure he’d come to a bad end, too.“

Gil’s brows rose again. “I think Spooner came a little closer to ending up behind bars than you did. That boy had some real problems, and he didn’t have the inner fortitude to work ‘em out the way you did.“

For some reason Colby felt obliged to defend his old friend. “Eddy had it rough. That drunken bastard he had for a father was nothing short of a child-abuser.“

“I’ll grant you that much. No one shed any tears when Dwight Spooner fell from the top of Chained Lady Falls.“

Diana looked up in surprise. “Eddy’s father died there? But it’s not that treacherous around the top of the falls.

Colby and I have been up there a couple of times on picnics. As long as you don’t get too near the edge, it’s safe enough.“

“That’s true. No one else has ever fallen from up there in all the time I’ve lived in Fulbrook Corners. But Eddy’s father was drunk at the time. As usual. He’d taken a rifle and gone out hunting. He’d also taken along a fifth of that old rotgut he liked so much. They found him and the bottle in the pool beneath the falls.“

Something in Gil’s voice caught Colby’s attention. “What’s the matter, Gil? You think it was something besides an accident?“

Gil toyed with his knife. “I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone else except Evelyn, and I don’t want it going beyond this room. Clear?“

“Don’t worry, Gil. Diana and I aren’t likely to start gossiping with the locals.“ Colby knew his disdain for the good people of Fulbrook Corners was reflected in his voice.

“Right. Well, I was still sheriff at the time Dwight Spooner died. I was the one who did the investigation and wrote up the report. It looked like an accident and there was no evidence to the contrary, but I always sort of wondered if Dwight hadn’t had a little help going over those falls.“

Colby was silent for a moment. “Eddy?“ he finally asked softly.

“If it was, I couldn’t rightly blame the boy. Lord knows the kid had provocation. But there was no way anyone was ever going to prove anything one way or the other. So I wrote it up as an accident and that was the end of it. Eddy never gave me or Roy Barnes, the man who took my place a couple years ago, any trouble after that so I figured the least I could do was not cause trouble for him.“

Colby glanced at Diana and realized she was staring in shock at Gil.

“Can a sheriff just do that? Ignore a suspicion of murder?“

Gil grinned at her, and Colby couldn’t help himself. He started to laugh.

Evelyn frowned severely at both men. “Pay no attention to them, my dear. A man’s sense of humor is biologically different from a woman’s, you know. The male of the species finds humor in the oddest things.“

“What is so funny, Colby?“ Diana demanded.

“Nothing, I swear it.“ But he was unable to control his smile.

“Colby, if you don’t tell me what is so amusing, I’m going to let you do the dishes alone.“

He held up one palm in a placating gesture. “Okay, okay, I’ll try and explain. It’s just that you looked so naive and innocent when you asked Gil if a sheriff could ignore something like Eddy Spooner’s father going over the falls.“

“Well?“

Colby looked at Gil. “You tell her. I don’t want to be the one to disillusion her.“

Gil groaned. “Thanks a lot, Savagar.“ He turned to Diana. “You have to understand, Diana, that in a lot of ways the sheriff of a rural community like this is not only the enforcer of the law and an investigating officer, he’s also judge and jury a lot of the time. There was no evidence to indicate Spooner’s death was anything but an accident. So I called it quits with a report stating exactly that. The county coroner agreed with me. What was the point of pursuing a suspicion when the victim was a vicious, drunken fool with a history of child abuse? Sometimes you settle for rough justice. Ill tell you something else, too. It’s no different in the big city. Cops are cops.“

“I see what you mean.“

Gil grinned widely. “Hell, if you only knew how many times I turned a blind eye to the activities of your fiancée when he was a kid, it would curl your hair. Why, if I hadn’t been such a nice, understanding guy, I could have…“

“Forget it, Gil,“ Colby broke in quickly. “Diana’s had enough disillusionment for one evening. Let’s change the subject.“

“You sure have gotten straitlaced in your old age, Savagar.“

“People change,“ Colby reminded him smoothly. “Have some more of Diana’s stir-fry.“

“It’s delicious,“ Evelyn said brightly.

“It’s the one company dish she’s mastered,“ Colby explained. “After we’re married, I intend to broaden her repertoire.“

Two hours later, the Thorps rose reluctantly to take their leave. Evelyn hung back to have a few last words with Diana, and Colby took the opportunity to walk out onto the porch with GO. Specter padded behind them, yawning mightily.