Family Sins

Samuel took a couple of steps upstream from Red and squatted down beside the trickling water to wipe the sweat from his face. As he leaned over to sweep his hand through the water, he caught a glimpse of his reflection. He’d always taken great pride in looking like his father, but now it was a reminder of their loss. He set his jaw as he sloshed the water on his face. Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he stood, mixing with the water droplets as he started back up the mountain with his dog. By the time he got back to the murder scene, cops were everywhere, and the ache in his chest was firmly entrenched.

* * *

Leigh’s silent vigil over Stanton’s body ended when the constable and his men arrived. Once she had given her statement, she had to watch from a distance as the crime scene investigators began taking pictures of everything from the name that he’d scribbled in the dirt to the position of his body. When the medical examiner rolled the body over and realized the shot had been a through and through, the crime scene officers began looking for a bullet, hoping it had hit a tree.

When Michael and Aidan offered to help look, their offer was rejected, so they went to stand beside their mother. They stood for a few moments before they realized she was too quiet, and began to get concerned.

Leigh’s expression was evidence of her contempt as she watched the officers stomping around the area and examining the trees in search of the missing bullet.

“Both of you, please, go help those fools find the bullet. It’s going to help us name the killer.”

“We offered. They told us to step aside.”

“Oh my God,” she muttered, as she ran a shaky hand through her tangled hair.

“You don’t think they’ll find it?” Michael asked.

She pointed.

“No. Just look at them. They can plainly see where Stanton is lying and a direct line of shot would be there.” She pointed toward the northeast. “And yet look where they’re at.”

Aidan frowned. “I don’t care what they said. I’m going to help search. This is ridiculous.”

“I’ll go with you,” Michael said.

They were on the other side of the clearing when Samuel came up behind his mother. He tied Big Red up and then slid a hand across her shoulder.

She spun immediately.

“Anything?” she asked.

“I found a cartridge casing, and then the trail ended a ways down. He got away on a motorcycle.”

“Where’s the cartridge?” she asked.

“I marked the trail and let it lie. I figure the crime scene investigators will need to bag and process it.”

Leigh paused for a moment, staring up at her second son, then she cupped his face. Her voice shook as she spoke.

“You and Bowie look so much like your daddy.”

Samuel pulled her into his arms.

“We love you, Mama. We’ll all be here for you and Jesse. Always.”

She drew a slow, shaky breath. There were tears on her face when she pulled away, but the fire in her eyes was even brighter.

“Do you have Bowie’s number on your phone?”

“Yes, ma’am. Do you want to call him?”

He watched a muscle jerk at the side of her jaw and then the tears began to fall in earnest.

“I can’t say the words yet. Will you call him for me? Tell him I need him. Tell him I said to come home.”

“Yes, I’ll call. I have to go find a signal. I won’t be long.”

Leigh watched him walking away and for a moment could almost imagine it was Stanton.

Oh my God. Stanton. How am I going to live life without you in it?

Two

Samuel tried to call Bowie but had to leave a message for him to return the call, then headed for Constable Riordan instead.

“Sir, I have some information for you.”

“I’m listening,” Riordan said.

“I took my dog and trailed the shooter all the way down the mountain until the trail ended at a set of tire tracks. It was some kind of motorcycle. I took pictures of the tread and of his footprints. Give me a number and I’ll send the pictures to you. Also, there’s a spent cartridge in the brush where the shooter stood. If you’ll get one of your investigators to follow me, I’ll show him where it is. I marked the spot without picking it up.”

Riordan’s eyes widened.

“Good job,” he said, and then added, “I’m sure sorry for your loss. Stanton was a good man.”

Samuel’s eyes were glassy from unshed tears, and his chest was so tight it hurt to breathe.

“Yes, sir,” he said, and waited.

The constable called out to one of the investigators, who came on the run.

“What’s up?” the man asked.

“This is Samuel Youngblood, one of the victim’s sons. He found a spent cartridge. Follow him to bag it.”

“Yes, sir,” the investigator said, and took off after Samuel, who was already walking away.

Despite being frowned at for interfering, it was Aidan who located the tree where the missing bullet was lodged. He turned and called out, “Here! I found the bullet.”

A couple of the investigators came running, one with a small handsaw and the other right behind him carrying his evidence recovery kit.

Aidan watched them saw a notch out of the tree with the bullet still in it.

“Why didn’t you just dig it out of the tree?” he asked.

“It can ruin the striations,” the investigator explained.

“Ah, makes sense,” Aidan said, and watched them bag it up, tag it and enter it into evidence.

* * *

Bella Youngblood was relieved to see Jesse sitting on the porch when she drove up and parked. He was rocking too fast, which told her he was nervous, but at least he was still there.

She got out and hurried up the steps. “Hi, Jesse.”

He nodded. “Hi, Bella. Mama told me to stay here. The war’s coming,” he said.

Bella was a tall, buxom blonde and used to Jesse’s ways. She knelt in front of the rocker and patted his knee until he looked into her eyes.

“Are you hungry, Jesse?”

He nodded.

“Want to come into the house with me? You can show me what you want to eat.”

“Mama’s gone. She told me to stay right here.”

“She’ll be back,” Bella said, then stood up and opened the front door. “She won’t care if you come inside with me.”

Jesse got up and followed her into the house.

They were frying bacon for sandwiches when Maura and Leslie walked into the kitchen. Maura was six months pregnant, and Leslie was carrying her eighteen-month-old toddler on her hip.

When the baby saw Jesse, he squealed.

A big smile broke across Jesse’s face, and in that moment they could see the man he’d been.

“Hey, it’s my little buddy,” Jesse said, and sat down immediately and held out his arms.

Leslie laughed, leaned over and kissed Jesse on the cheek, and then handed over her wiggling toddler.

“Johnny sure loves his Uncle Jesse,” she said.

Jesse looked up at her. “Jesse loves Johnny, too.”

“I know, honey,” Leslie said, and then quickly turned away before she started to cry.

None of them wanted to let on that anything was wrong and get him upset, so there was no mention of what had happened or the sadness they were all feeling.

“Are you guys up for a BLT?” Bella asked.

Maura shook her head.

“No thanks. I was eating soup when Michael called. I’m good.”

Leslie held up her hand.

“I was feeding Johnny when Aidan called. He’s eaten, but I haven’t. I would love one if there’s enough.”

“Yes, there’s enough,” Bella said, and added a few more strips of bacon to the skillet.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Jesse said.

The baby laughed.

They all turned to look. Johnny had his little fists wrapped in Jesse’s long brown hair, and every time Jesse made a face and cried out, the toddler pulled his hair.

“Don’t let him hurt you,” Leslie cautioned.

Jesse pulled the baby to his chest. “It doesn’t hurt,” he said, and rubbed the baby’s curly head, then looked at Leslie. “Long hair, too?”

Leslie nodded. “Yes, Johnny’s hair will get long like yours.”

Jesse nodded. “Daddy says ‘Youngblood tradition.’”

The women’s eyes welled with tears.

“You’re right. It is a Youngblood tradition.”

“Like Samson in the Bible,” Jesse added, and hugged the little boy again.

Bella swallowed back tears. “There’s enough bacon fried to start making sandwiches. Maura, get the bread and mayo, and, Leslie, would you please slice up a couple of tomatoes, and then put ice in the glasses and pour some sweet tea?”

The young women set about their tasks, but their hearts were heavy. These moments here with Jesse were the calm before the storm. Once Leigh returned and the truth of their lives was out in the open, nothing would ever be the same.

* * *

The killer rode the motorcycle like a bat out of hell, taking all the back roads down the mountain to the Wayne family lake house. He rode straight into the detached garage and parked against the wall behind a half-dozen ATVs, grabbed a rag hanging from a nail and wiped the bike down to remove any fingerprints, then covered it with a tarp.

The walk to the lake house was brief, and once inside, he got the cleaning kit and set about breaking down the rifle. By the time he was through cleaning it and then wiping it free of fingerprints, no one would know it had been fired. It would be back in the gun case with the others, with no one the wiser.

When the job was finished and the gun replaced inside the case, he locked up and left. After one swift glance around to make sure nothing was out of place, he drove away in a dusty black Lexus.

* * *

Leigh watched them putting her husband in the body bag, and when they zipped it up, she pressed her fingers against her lips to keep from screaming as they took him away.

When Samuel touched her shoulder, she turned to him with purpose.

“Samuel, I need to borrow your phone. I have to call your Aunt Polly. That’s where Stanton went this morning. Then I need to call your Uncle Thomas. Stanton’s sister and brother need to hear what happened from me.”

Samuel took out his phone and checked the signal.

“The signal is good here. Their numbers are in my contact list if you need them.”

“I know them,” Leigh said, and wiped her hands on her pants before she took the phone from his hands.

Samuel kissed the side of her cheek and then walked a distance away, giving her some privacy to make the calls.

Leigh called Stanton’s sister, Polly Cyrus, first. Her thoughts were in a jumble as she tried to figure out how to tell her without screaming, and then Polly answered and Leigh’s eyes immediately filled with tears.

“Hello?” Polly said.

“Polly, it’s me, Leigh.”

Polly laughed. “Honey, I know your sweet voice.”

“I have something to tell you, and I don’t know how,” Leigh said, and then started to cry, soft, near-silent sobs.

Polly’s heart skipped a beat, and then she started to panic. Leigh was not the crying kind.

“Honey, just spit it out. What’s wrong?”

“Stanton’s dead.”

Polly gasped and then moaned.

“No, no, no. He was just here. What happened? Was it his heart?”

Leigh took a breath and then choked on her sobs.

“No, he was murdered. Shot in the back on his way home.” As she told Polly the rest, Polly went into hysterics.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Leigh said. “If I could, I would die for him. I don’t know why it happened.”

Polly was sobbing. Leigh had started to hang up when Polly’s husband, Carl, took the phone.

“Leigh! What the hell happened? Polly’s done lost her mind.”

Leigh told it all over again, and Carl groaned.

“Sweet Lord, I am so sorry, honey. I’m so sorry. What can we do for you?”

“Nothing. I just had to tell you myself. Now I’ve got to call Thomas.”

“Do you want me to do it for you?”

Leigh wiped her eyes and then her nose on the back of her sleeve.

“Yes, I want you to, but I have to be the one to do it. I think Stanton’s family deserves to hear this from me.”

“All right, then, but we’ll be coming over to your house soon.”

He disconnected, which left Leigh with one more call to make. She punched in the numbers, dreading this call the most, because Thomas sounded so much like Stanton when he spoke.

Thomas Youngblood answered on the third ring.

“Hello, Samuel. How’s it going?” he said.

Leigh sighed. She’d forgotten she was using Samuel’s phone.

“Thomas, it’s me, Leigh. I’m just using Samuel’s phone.”

Thomas laughed.

“Well, you’re a lot prettier than my nephew, so that’s fine with me. What’s going on?”

“Is Beth there with you?”

“Yes, do you need to talk to her?”

“No, I called for you. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t alone.”

She heard him take a quick breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was deeper, even a bit nervous.

“What’s wrong, girl?”

She started all over again, saying the awful words: Stanton is dead. She ended by explaining what had happened, and that she bore the blame because it was someone from her family who’d done it.

Thomas was crying, but the whole time he kept trying to reassure her. Finally he handed the phone off to Beth.

“Leigh, it’s me. I am so sorry. I can’t believe this happened, but we’ll get justice for Stanton. We’ll be over to the house in a while.”

“Okay,” Leigh said, and started to hang up, but Beth stopped her.

“Leigh?”

“What?” Leigh said.

“I just want you to know how much we love you. You won’t go through this alone. You have a mountain full of people who love you and Stanton. We’ll stand beside you all the way.”

“Thank you,” Leigh said. “I love you, too.”

She disconnected and then waved at Samuel. He and his brothers came back on the run.

He could tell how hard it had been for her to make those calls. Even though he was broken up about the loss of his father, he was struggling with how to help her first. He picked a piece of vine from the tangles of her hair and then cupped the side of her cheek.

“Hey, Mama, how about I run up to the house and bring back Bella’s car so you won’t have to walk?”

Leigh glanced back into the clearing, to the huge dark blot on the ground where Stanton had bled out, and then shook her head.

“I need to be gone from this place. I’ll walk. Will you all walk with me?” she asked.

They gathered around her then, like the little boys they’d once been, fussing for a place in her arms. Only this time, they were the ones who were holding on to her.

“Yes, we’ll walk with you. I love you, Mama, and I am so sorry,” Samuel said.

“Love you, Mama,” Michael said, and slid his arm across her back. “Yes, we’ll walk with you. Just lean on me.”

Aidan cupped her face and then kissed her forehead. “We love you. Let us be strong for you this one time, okay?” he said.

Tears rolled down her face as her gaze moved from face to face, and then back to Samuel.

“Did you call Bowie?”

“Yes, ma’am, but he was unavailable. I left a message for him to call me.”

She nodded, leaned against Michael’s chest and reached for Aidan’s hand, and then said in a soft, shaky voice, “I want to go home.”

They started up the mountain with Michael and Aidan on either side of her, as Samuel led the way with the dogs. Despite Leigh’s determination to walk, she kept stumbling, until finally Samuel turned around, handed the dogs off to Michael and picked her up in his arms. She never said a word. She just leaned her head against his chest and let him carry her home.

* * *

The sisters-in-law had cleaned up the kitchen and were doing their best to keep Jesse entertained, but he was bothered, and they knew it. He kept walking out onto the porch and then back into the house. Finally they all decided to sit outside with him, and once he settled in his rocker, he seemed to calm.

Jesse was the first to see his brothers walking up the road. He abruptly stood.

“Mama’s not walking,” he said.

Before they could stop him, he was down the steps and running toward his brothers with a long, loping stride.

“Oh, boy,” Samuel said. “Mama, you need to wake up. Jesse’s coming.”

“I wasn’t asleep,” Leigh said, and quickly wiped her eyes as Samuel set her on her feet.

“Are you okay?” Michael asked.

Leigh fixed him with a look. “Are you?”

“No.”

She reached out and squeezed his hand. “Sorry. I’ve been emotionally gutted. I lose my manners when I feel threatened.”

“We know, Mama. Don’t apologize to us. Just brace yourself for Jesse.”

Leigh turned around just as Jesse came to a skidding stop and took her in his arms.

“Mama? Are you hurt?”

She took a slow breath, and then took his hand and laid it against her chest.

“No, I was just tired, and Samuel carried me so I wouldn’t have to walk.”

Jesse wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the crown of her head.

“You are my mama. Did I make you sad?”

She knew he’d seen the tears in her eyes, and she hugged him fiercely.

“No, my sweet boy, you did not make your mama sad. Come walk with me. I need to talk to you.” She then took him by the hand and led him toward the house, talking all the way.

The brothers watched, but their hearts were breaking. They knew the minute their mother cupped Jesse’s face that she was saying the words. And they knew from the way Jesse flinched and doubled over as if he’d just been gut-shot that one of the legs to his world had just been cut out from under him.

“God Almighty, why is this happening?” Aidan asked, his voice thick with tears.

Samuel shook his head and then swiped a hand across his face, and when Jesse fell to his knees, he started crying again.

Michael wiped his tears and grabbed the dogs’ leashes.

“I’m gonna tie them to the porch. You guys go help Mama with Jesse.”

Samuel took two steps forward, and then his phone began to ring. He looked at it and groaned.

“It’s Bowie. You all go on. I need to do this alone.”

They patted him on the shoulder and then walked away.

Samuel cleared his throat and then answered. “Hello.”

“Hey, brother! It’s me.”

“Bowie, I’m not going to beat around the bush. We have bad news.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Bowie spoke, but this time the delight was gone from his voice.

“What’s wrong?”

Samuel tried to say the words, and then the crying got the better of him.

Bowie Youngblood couldn’t remember seeing Samuel cry after he’d turned eighteen. Now he was scared.

“Is it Jesse? Did something happen to Jesse?”

“No, it’s Daddy. He’s dead, Bowie. Mama found him shot in the back.”

Bowie’s knees went out from under him. He sank down into a chair inside the office on the drilling platform and then curled his fingers around the arm of the chair.

“What? What did you say?”

Samuel sighed.

“Daddy’s dead. Mama said to call you. Mama said to tell you to come home. She needs you.”

“God in heaven,” Bowie whispered, and felt like he was going to throw up. “How did it happen? You said someone shot him? On purpose?”

“Yes. He scratched a name in the dirt before he died.”

Bowie tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come.

Samuel kept talking.

“The name was Wayne. I didn’t get the meaning, but Mama did. She’s certain the killer’s someone from her family.”

The shock of that reality transformed Bowie’s sorrow to instant rage. He stood abruptly.

“Why now? That was more than thirty years ago. What the hell’s happened now to start this up again?”

“I don’t know. It just happened a few hours ago. We just got Mama back to the house. She’s telling Jesse now, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night here.”

Bowie glanced at the clock. It was just after 3:00 p.m.

“I don’t know how long it will take to get a chopper out here to pick me up, but I’ll be there as soon as I can. Tell Mama I’m on the way. Will one of you come into Eden to pick me up when they drop me off?”

“Yes. I will. I’m so sorry to be calling with such bad news,” Samuel added.

“I’m sorry, too, for all of us,” Bowie said. “I love you, Samuel.”

“Love you, too, bro,” Samuel said.

The call disconnected, and Samuel was still standing there, staring at the phone, when he heard footsteps and looked to see Bella coming toward him. He walked into her arms and came undone.

* * *

Bowie came out of the office leading with his chin, and headed for the boss.

“Claude! Claude!” he yelled to be heard over the noise on the drilling rig.

Claude Franklin turned, saw the look on Bowie Youngblood’s face and knew something was wrong. He headed toward him at a trot.

There were tears still on Bowie’s face when he grabbed Claude by the arm.

“I need a chopper, ASAP. My father’s been murdered. There’s going to be hell to pay on the mountain. I need to get home as soon as possible,” he said, then began to explain.

Claude was speechless. In his whole life he’d never known anyone who was murdered, and to hear Bowie naming the other side of his family as the ones responsible was beyond understanding.

“Go pack. I’ll get you a chopper, son. Just get your head on straight.”

Bowie nodded and took off toward their sleeping quarters, the long black braid hanging down his back bouncing with every step.

* * *

By the time Bella and Samuel got back into the house, it appeared that Leigh’s momentary weakness had passed in her need to care for her youngest son. She was sitting at Jesse’s bedside, waiting for his meds to kick in as he cried himself to sleep.

The longer she sat, the angrier she became. By the time Jesse fell asleep, she was so mad she was shaking. She went through the house in search of her boys, calling them by name.

They came rushing out of the kitchen, thinking she needed them to tend to Jesse. He was a big strong man and, due to his head injuries, was hard to handle when he got upset, but when they saw she was alone they slowed down.

Leigh put her hands on her hips.

“I’m going to Eden. I want the killer to know before he lays his head on a pillow tonight that his days are numbered. Will you go with me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison.

“What about Jesse?” Michael said.

“I gave him one of his pills. He’s sound asleep.”

“Do you want to change clothes or anything?” Samuel asked.

Leigh looked down at the shirt and jeans she’d been wearing in the garden. They had blood all over them. She thought of the scratches on her face and realized she hadn’t even pulled the leaves out of her hair, and then let it go.

“No. I’m not changing anything. I’m not hiding the hideousness of what was done.”

“You can ride with me,” Samuel said.

“Aidan and I will follow you in my SUV,” Michael said.

“Bring your rifles,” Leigh said.

Bella gasped.

Maura and Leslie looked anxious.

“Do you think you’re all in danger?” Bella asked.

“No, not unless we turn our backs,” Leigh snapped, and then grabbed her purse and the keys to her Jeep. “We won’t be long. Jesse isn’t going to wake up, so don’t worry.”

“We’re not afraid of him,” Maura said, and hugged Leigh.

“Be careful. All of you,” Bella said, as she hugged Leigh, too.

Leslie kissed her mother-in-law on the cheek and then squeezed her hand.

“Scare the shit out of them, Mama.”

“I fully intend to,” Leigh said, and went out the front door with her sons behind her.

She tossed the keys to Samuel and then got in the passenger seat as he slid behind the wheel.

Moments later they were gone.

* * *

Henry Clayton had been the police chief in Eden for more than fifteen years. He’d just gotten off the phone with Constable Riordan, who’d filled him in on the murder and the name Stanton Youngblood had scratched in the dirt before he died.