River Road(34)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

According to the child protective services people, Mason had anger-management issues. They claimed that he had acted out in the three foster homes he and Aaron had been placed in over a period of three months. There were reports of fights with other boys in the homes and one incident in which Mason was accused of attacking an adult male relative of one of the foster parents. The well-intentioned child services folks strongly suggested counseling.

But Deke had been pretty sure that regardless of what had occurred in the foster homes, Mason had just been doing his job, taking care of his younger brother. He could tell by the relief in the caseworker’s eyes that she knew that, too. That’s why she had pushed through the paperwork so damned fast it had made everyone’s heads spin.

Within an hour Deke had stowed Mason and Aaron and their few belongings in the SUV and hit the road.

Life had changed for all three of them that day.

When Mason grew up he had not gone off to a war zone on the other side of the world. Instead, he had become a soldier in another kind of war, the never-ending battle against the bad guys at home. He had taken on a new mission. When Deke had found him at the front door two weeks ago, it was obvious that Mason hadn’t come back to Summer River because he needed a break, as he claimed. He needed some healing.

Deke had recognized the shadows in Mason’s eyes because, in spite of the counseling and the meds, he saw similar shadows when he looked in the mirror.

Mason had returned to Summer River carrying the heavy weight that only a man who believes that he has failed to complete the mission could know.

18

Lucy’s phone rang just as she opened the closet in Sara’s bedroom. She glanced at the familiar name on the screen, took a deep breath, braced herself and answered.

“Hi, Mom. I’m fine. Everything’s under control.”

“What in the world is going on there in Summer River?” Ellen demanded.

The academic world had its own accent, a cool, assured “I just published another peer-reviewed paper—what have you done lately?” edge that never failed to irritate ever so slightly those who lived outside the bubble that was the college environment. This morning, however, Ellen’s usually well-modulated tones were laced with genuine alarm.

“Sounds like you’ve heard the news,” Lucy said.

“They found Tristan Brinker’s body inside Sara’s fireplace?” Ellen’s voice rose slightly on the last two words. “I can’t believe it. The media is saying that the authorities think he was that serial ra**st who was in the news at the time.”

Lucy studied the row of exotically printed dresses, long skirts and flowing tops that had been crushed against one side of the closet. No wine-country casual for Sara. She had been heavily into the New Age look.

“There is definitely some indication that Brinker was the Scorecard Rapist,” she said. “Sara seems to have been certain of it. There was a newspaper with a headline about the ra**st sealed up alongside the body. Nothing has been proven yet, but the local cops are going with that theory.”

“I can’t begin to imagine the shock of having a body fall out of the fireplace. And your aunt’s fireplace, at that. She was a vegan, for heaven’s sake.”

“She killed him, Mom. She didn’t eat him.”

Ellen sailed right past that. “Sara was antiwar. Antiviolence. Anti-guns.”

“She didn’t use a gun. It looks like her weapon of choice was the business end of a poker. We found it inside the fireplace as well.”

“It’s just so hard to imagine your aunt killing someone—especially in what sounds like a premeditated act.”

“They say that most people can and will kill under the right circumstances.”

“Yes, I know,” Ellen said. “There was a notorious case a few years ago in which a female academic murdered a few of her colleagues because she didn’t get tenure, of all things.”

“Imagine that,” Lucy said. Having been raised by academics, she did not have any problem at all envisioning such a scenario.

“Still, it’s hard to wrap my head around the idea of Sara killing someone.”

“It was somewhat disconcerting,” Lucy said. “Fortunately, I wasn’t alone when I found the body. Mason was with me.”

“Who is Mason?” Ellen asked. “The contractor you brought in to do the upgrades?”

Lucy smiled. “Not exactly. Remember Mason Fletcher?”

“No.”

“He was the person who brought me home on the night of Brinker’s last party.”

“Now I remember the name. He was the young man who convinced Sara that you should leave town immediately. She was quite sure he knew what he was talking about. I had to cancel a conference to pick you up at the airport in San Diego.”

“Whoa. Mason told Sara that I had to leave Summer River? He’s the reason she hustled me out of town the next day? Well, damn. I should have guessed that.”

“All I know is that Sara called me the next morning. She said a young man named Mason had talked to her a short time earlier and claimed that you were in danger. She said that she was going to drive you to the San Francisco airport and put you on the first plane to San Diego. She told me to meet the plane on the other end and not let you out of my sight until she called to tell me that everything was okay.”

“So that’s how it went down. I never got the whole story from her.” Lucy paused, thinking about the timing. “Did she ever call you to confirm that everything was all right?”

“Yes, about a week later. But she sounded odd—not like her usual self. That was when she told me that you were safe but that you could not stay with her again there in Summer River. She never explained her decision, but she was adamant.”

Lucy closed the door on the jumbled contents of the closet. “She didn’t want me to have to sleep in a house with a dead man in the fireplace. Bad karma.”

“Good grief. She killed him that same week, didn’t she?” Shock and disbelief shuddered through Ellen’s voice.

“The timing fits. Do you remember anything else about Sara’s reaction to the events that week?”

“I’m not certain—it’s been thirteen years. To tell you the truth, I thought at first that Sara might have been overreacting. I knew you would never be so stupid as to get sloppy drunk at a party and put yourself in danger. Then Sara explained that the bastard had intended to drug you.”