CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Deputy Foster had arrived first, followed by Byron Warner and then eventually Detective Kendrick. An ambulance and the men from the volunteer fire department also pulled up within ten minutes from Foster placing calls to the right departments. It wasn’t a surprise to see Gus, Noah, and Reese walking up the drive, right along with Rose and Tiny.
Hell, they might have the entire town show up in another twenty minutes.
“You’d think we were hosting a town gala,” Brynn jested gently, wishing she could elicit a bit of laughter from Lance. They were sitting on the tailgate of his truck, with her tucked in underneath his arm and both of them watching the chaos around them. He hadn’t left her side, though he was still glaring Clay’s way. “Lance, he’s just scared.”
“He let fear overcome his better judgment, and we could have died as a result.”
Lights were flashing in the driveway, making it seem as if Christmas had arrived early. In a way, it had. Clayton made a life-altering decision that had left all of them still breathing. That was saying something, right?
“What the hell happened here?” Noah asked, his eyes darting from Lance to her numerous times before landing on his brother.
Gus was right by Noah’s side, though Reese had turned around and placed her palms on the tailgate to hoist herself up. She stroked Brynn’s arm in comfort.
“Are the two of you alright?” Reese asked softly, her dark gaze settling on Brynn’s right hand that was covered with blood.
“It’s not mine,” Brynn reassured her, figuring that’s what everyone thought. Tiny moved Noah out of the way with just his presence, making room for Rose to stand in front of Brynn. “I’m okay. Really. I remembered what you said about making ordinary items into weapons. I used my car keys just like you taught me.”
“That’s my girl,” Tiny said in praise, though his features were set in stone. Brynn recognized that look from when he had to kick the riffraff out of the Cavern. She attempted to grab his arm to stop him from making a mistake, but it was too late. Tiny had already spotted the culprit being put into the back of Kendrick’s vehicle. “Schaeffer!”
“Let him go,” Lance murmured, pulling her closer. “It’ll do Kendrick good having to deal with a pissed-off father, because he hasn’t seen anything yet.”
“We warned him this would happen.” Gus reached into the lone pocket on the front of his shirt, pulling out one of those trusty toothpicks of his. Brynn realized early on that chewing on them relived some of his tension. Lance could learn a thing or two from his father. “Kendrick can’t go rounding up good people and making everyone think they’re a suspect. He needs more than circumstantial evidence before he drags people off to be questioned.”
“Is that what happened here?” Noah asked, watching as the rest of the Schaeffer boys came marching up the driveway. “Clayton thought he was going to be arrested? Why?”
“Clay must have been the one to work on the basement stairs,” Lance surmised accurately from what Clayton had told them earlier. Brynn could relate to the fear that must have run through him when he realized that all the evidence was pointing directly at him. “He mentioned putting some sort of mark in the wood, saying that Kendrick would assume he was the one who had free access to this house. He’d already been questioned about the Andersons’ place. Clayton poured gasoline around the house and was about to torch it when Brynn came home from the bar.”
“I think Whitney going missing and then being declared dead by the police might have sent him over the edge, though.” Brynn looked up at Lance, seeing him nod in concession. “He and Whitney were apparently…”
“Having sex?” Rose asked, raising her eyebrow as she finished Brynn’s sentence. “That doesn’t surprise me. He and Whitney used to sneak off to Lookout Point every so many weeks back when they were teenagers.”
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Detective Kendrick interrupted, having brought Tiny back to where he couldn’t get near Clayton. He made it a point to look everyone in the eye before turning his full attention to Rose. His displeasure was evident. “Mr. Schaeffer came clean to me about meeting up with Whitney last month, but he didn’t mention anything about being in a long-standing relationship with her.”
“Oh, you misunderstand me,” Rose corrected with a wave of her hand. Kendrick moved his suit jacket to the side, setting his fist on his hip. He was struggling for patience, but Brynn agreed with Gus at this point. He’d been warned about the close-knit community. “Clayton and Whitney never dated formally. They were just…”
“Friends with benefits?” Reese offered up, casting a suspicious glance in Clay’s direction. “Did he ever come into contact with Sophia?”
“Clay helped out around the camp, just as many of the townsfolk did back then.” Rose patted Tiny’s hand when he rested his palm on her shoulder. “But if you’re asking me if I saw something unusual, I didn’t see him do anything suspicious. Detective, we’ve been over this numerous times and—”
“Which is why I’m surprised I’m hearing something new at this point,” Detective Kendrick pointed out, running a hand of frustration down his face. “Lance and Brynn, I’d ask to speak to the two of you in private, but I somehow doubt that’s going to happen tonight.”
Brynn surveyed their family standing around the back of Lance’s pickup truck. No one even contemplated moving from their spots. They had all gathered around to show their support, much like Miles and Wes had done for Clayton. Chad was missing, which spoke volumes about his troubled relationship with his brother.
“We can get Clay for attempted arson and assault, as well as—”
“No,” Brynn exclaimed, shifting her body so that she could hold tight to Lance’s hand. Couldn’t he see that pressing charges wasn’t the right thing to do? “Clay was scared. You know he wasn’t going to hurt us. I suspect he never would have gone through with any of it.”
“And what if Clay had dropped that lighter by accident? What if you hadn’t been here to dissuade him?” Lance asked, shaking his head in disbelief. Brynn figured he was more frustrated over the fact that Clay had put all of them in this position to begin with. “We’d both be dead. Or at least, I would be. I’m not even talking about the fact that he was going to burn down my house.”
“He thought he was going to go to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.”
“Are we sure he wasn’t involved?”
Lance was angry, and she understood why. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t show compassion toward someone they’d known their entire lives.
“Can you honestly sit here and tell me you truly believe Clayton murdered all those girls?”
Everyone fell silent, though the low conversations of the surrounding people carried throughout the still air. One look toward the Schaeffers showed Clayton in the back seat of Detective Kendrick’s unmarked state police vehicle, while Miles and Wes tried to reassure him that everything would be alright through the open window. It had been a nice gesture on Kendrick’s part to allow such a conversation to take place at all.
“No, I don’t believe Clay murdered Sophia or had anything else to do with those missing girls.”
Lance tilted his head backward so that he could stare at the stars. The morning sun would be coming up over the horizon soon, dawning a new day. Would it begin with a fresh start, or would the past once again find a way to prevent them from moving on?
“This is just like what happened with Cassie and Darcy.” Reese’s summation drew everyone’s attention her way. “I came to town seeking answers, and their reckless behavior made it seem as if they had something to do with Sophia’s murder. In the end, they were only trying to protect Annie Osburn. It’s the same with Clayton. He truly believed this investigation was going to be pinned on him because of the people and places he’d come across in his youth.”
Cassie and Darcy’s verdict had been delivered, and it appeared that both of them just barely skirted a jail sentence. The judge’s compassion upon sentencing was most likely due to Reese’s testimony that it was her wish the courts would show leniency due to the extenuating circumstances.
There was no difference in this situation, but that wasn’t to say someone wasn’t going to get hurt at some point in the near future.
“I’m afraid it’s not going to stop here, either,” Tiny chimed in, his displeasure evident over the fact that Brynn had gotten caught in the crosshairs. He took the words right out of her mouth, though. “Detective Kendrick, you need to find the son of a bitch who’s turning our town inside out. It ain’t right.”
“We aren’t pressing charges.” Lance squeezed Brynn’s hand as he made the announcement. Relief washed over her upon hearing his decision. Unfortunately, Detective Kendrick was no closer to finding out who murdered Sophia and Whitney than he was in solving Emma’s disappearance. “There was no damage done other than that asshole killing my lawn. The firemen watered down the gasoline, so there isn’t any more danger of a fire.”
No damage? Brynn winced when she saw the injury she’d caused to Clayton’s cheek with the key she’d had clutched in her hand. Yes, he deserved it—and more—for pursuing her through the yard and making her think he’d come there to kill her. Unfortunately, panic and desperation caused people to react recklessly and to make poor choices.
“The district attorney will be deciding on the validity of prosecuting this case. Your wish to let the culprit take a pass is not up to you. She can press charges in a felony crime, if she deems there is enough evidence to convict. I’ll see if I can’t express your wishes, though.” Detective Kendrick then turned to Rose. “Mrs. Phifer, I don’t want you to take this wrong way, but you and I need to have a more in-depth conversation regarding the residents in this town and their connection to the camp.”
Tiny straightened his back, leveraging his height and displaying his displeasure at the fact that his wife was being dragged into this investigation. Brynn wasn’t surprised when Rose stroked his arm in reassurance and agreed to be of whatever help needed in the coming days, weeks, or months it took to catch whoever had brought this evil amongst them.
The detective set up a time tomorrow to speak with Rose and Tiny, while Miles had finally made his way over to Gus. The two men shook hands while Miles apologized for the behavior of his son. Reese had hopped off the tailgate and joined Noah, who was speaking with Byron Warner about the possibility of Mitch running for sheriff.
In the distance, Brynn could see Deputy Foster and Byron dealing with the two media crews that had gotten wind of what had transpired this evening. The red and blue lights swirling above their vehicles on the bars weren’t as bright as they once were as the morning sun finally made an appearance.
Even though charges might not be pressed against Clayton, he wouldn’t escape being processed down at the station nor would he miss being thoroughly questioned by Detective Kendrick. There was no denying his presence at both crime scenes. Maybe he could remember something to help the investigation, though chances were small of that happening.
“There are too many secrets, aren’t there?”
Lance wrapped his arm around Brynn, bringing with his embrace the security she now craved. She rested her cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt, grateful that she could still smell the strong odor of gasoline. It was the strangest thing to appreciate, but it meant they were still alive.
“Everyone has skeletons in their closet, some deeper than others.” Brynn had things she didn’t discuss about her parents, and Lance wasn’t completely open about his time in the service. The key was knowing their loved ones would be there should the day ever come when their secrets saw the light of day. “Clayton will have his family, and in a way…us. Making a few poor decisions doesn’t make one a bad person.”
“You and I both know Clayton was one step away from crossing that line.”
“But he didn’t take that step,” Brynn reminded Lance, comfortable with the fact that he already looked inside her closet. This town represented her family, and she couldn’t bring herself to accept that any of them could be guilty of something so horrific. “Oh, I didn’t get to thank you.”
“Thank me?” Lance questioned in surprise, pulling away just enough so he could figure out what she was talking about. “If you hadn’t gone around the back of the house and screamed my name, I’d most likely be ashes right now.”
“Oh, ye of little faith.” Brynn reached up and pressed her palm against the whiskers on his face that had formed overnight. Couldn’t he see that she wasn’t talking about him coming outside with a shotgun? Apparently not. “Lance, I’m thanking you for staying by my side. You could have easily talked to Clay without standing on the spot that was saturated with gasoline.”
“I hate to break this to you, but you’re not getting rid of me that easily. I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you in Mrs. Sanders’ math class back in ninth grade.” Lance smiled, bringing with it a mischievous sparkle radiating from his blue eyes. “You’re stuck with me. I left once before. I’m not leaving you ever again, blondie.”