Fourth To Run

A chill shot down her spine upon saying her deceased husband’s name. Brandy did her best to banish the sensation and focus on Aiden’s loving, attentive gaze.

“We’ll figure it all out,” Aiden promised her. “You most certainly will not be a kept woman. You’re a gifted piano player and I’ve no doubt you could earn money from that.”

Brandy nodded hesitantly.

“I just want you to be happy.” Aiden edged closer to her so that their noses were almost touching. “We’ve both suffered in unhappy marriages which means we’ll work harder to make this relationship work.”

“So we’ll go pick some stuff out at Home Depot?” Brandy clearly couldn’t hide her excitement at the prospect as her eyes glistened and a faint smile tugged on her ruby lips.

“We’ll get whatever you want,” Aiden grinned. He was so close Brandy could smell his cologne which was still strong even after a day in the office. He smelled so good. Brandy wanted to reach out and pinch his cheek to make sure he was real. She’d wanted this for so long; for their life together. But she was quickly learning that even happy endings aren’t perfect.

“I love you,” she whispered into the small space between them. Her heart swelled as she released the sentiment. Chicago offered her everything she’d ever wanted; except Aiden. She’d moved her entire life for him but she didn’t regret it. Love was so rare and precious she knew it was worth fighting for, worth moving for.

“I love you too,” Aiden echoed. Then he reached for the back of her head and drew her lips against his. At first the kiss was soft and delicate, but it quickly deepened. Brandy lost herself in Aiden’s embrace, managing to forget all about her anxieties over living in Avalon.

*

“Mommy, who that man?” Meegan asked, her eyes rounded with curiosity. She was holding her third doll, the one which had come via the stranger.

“I’ve told you,” Isla rolled her eyes at her daughter’s reflection as she sat at her vanity unit and applied her make-up in the mirror.

From the bed Meegan watched her mother get ready for a night out and bunched her face up in confusion.

“Who that man?” she repeated, stroking the hair of her new doll. Her small legs kicked over the edge of the bed and she spluttered slightly against the overly perfumed air surrounding Isla. But she refused to go back to her own room. She loved watching her mother get ready and apply her make-up, it was like watching a magic show. At the start her mother was normal but by the end she looked like a princess.

“How many times?” Isla uttered in annoyance. “His name is Guy, okay? Now, do you want Mommy to put some blusher on your cheeks or not?”

Meegan eagerly hopped off the bed with a giggle and raised her dimpled cheeks up towards her mother’s large brush which was dusted with rose-tinted powder.

*

The nearest Home Depot was located about an hour outside of Avalon. Brandy wound down the car windows as they drove, savoring the sensation of the warm air pressing against her cheeks and dancing through her hair. In Chicago the air always felt heavy as though it were weighed down by too many scents. Here the air was lighter, purer. It smelled of heated Tarmac and Brandy found it oddly comforting.

Aiden drummed his hands against the steering wheel in time to the country song which was playing on the radio. Brandy arched an eyebrow in his direction as she noticed the absent smile he wore as he mirrored the rhythm with his hands.

“Since when do you like country music?” she laughed. Aiden ceased drumming, his cheeks turning red.

“I guess it has grown on me since I’ve moved here,” he explained, his hands now still against the wheel.

“Country music is the best music,” Brandy enthused as she stretched back in her seat and briefly hummed along to the melody.

“It’s sung by real people who understand real pain,” she continued.

They drove on without saying another word, letting the music from the radio fill the space between them. Brandy continued to hum along and after several minutes Aiden resumed drumming his hands on the steering wheel.

*

The parking lot for Home Depot was about half full which wasn’t that surprising considering it was late on a Saturday morning. Aiden stepped out and stretched, his limbs grateful for the release after an hour behind the wheel.

“Wow, it’s pretty big,” Brandy observed as she took in the vast building looming up at the far end of the parking lot. It was modest in design but not in scale. It’s flat roof and long bare walls cut an imposing figure on the landscape.

Aiden compared the building to Eastham Prison where he had first met Brandy. It gave off the same feeling of being a structure built for a sole purpose; to house something within. There was no warmth to the building, no unnecessary embellishments. The store’s logo was attached to the far end of the wall, just above the entrance. Everything seemed simple and functional, just like they had at the prison.

“Not the most pleasant place to look at, is it?” Brandy turned and asked, her tone bright. Aiden wondered if perhaps she had made the same comparison as he had. But the sparkle in her eyes convinced him otherwise. She seemed only to be brimming with excitement.

“There must be so much stuff inside!” Brandy continued as they walked towards the entrance. Aiden could already feel his skin heating beneath the exposed sun.

“Have you never been here before?” he wondered as he slipped his own hand against Brandy’s and intertwined their fingers. His pulse quickened upon the connection but he tried to appear calm and collected but he couldn’t deny the thrill which sparked through him, igniting all his senses. He felt like all his emotions were being jumbled together as if he were a teenager with a crush.

Brandy squeezed his hand and gave him a shy smile. Her cheeks were slightly flushed which pleased Aiden; clearly holding his hand had the same effect on her.

“No, I’ve erm…not been before,” Brandy answered as they moved out of the heat and into the welcome cool of the store. The sudden change in temperature was almost unnerving. Aiden’s previously warme skin instantly broke out in goose bumps.

“I didn’t really get out much when I was in Avalon,” Brandy added with an edge of melancholy. Aiden released her hand so that he could wrap his arm around her shoulders.

“Well I’m going to take you everywhere!” he promised with a sincere smile.

“I look forward to it.”

They grabbed a shopping cart and sauntered behind it as they went deeper into the store. Together they drifted down the aisles as if in a dream. They were oblivious to the other shoppers around them; lost in their own private world.

Brandy cooed and giggled over various items she found and the cart soon began to fill up with curtains, cushions and tins of paint. Aiden watched in quiet awe as Brandy excitedly wandered up yet another aisle, approaching everything with childlike wonder. He envied her ability to always see the good in the world, he also admired it. Despite everything she’d been through; the hardships of her early life, the brutality of her first marriage and finally being wrongly accused of murder, she still retained a bright, optimistic outlook. The life she’d endured would have crushed most people’s spirits but Brandy had arose from the ashes like a golden phoenix; powerful and beautiful.

“What about this?” Brandy was holding a scented candle jar. She drew it up to her nose and sniffed deeply. Her face crinkled slightly and then she smiled.

“Ooh, it smells like winter,” she gushed approvingly. “Smell it!” she held out the candle to Aiden and he lowered himself so that he could sniff the colored wax. He had to admit that it did indeed smell of winter. There were hints of pine needles with undertones of candy cane.

“It would be a nice candle to light at Christmas,” Brandy was holding the candle up to her eye line, turning it round and scrutinizing it in great detail as though it were some wondrous artefact she had just discovered.

“Well what have we here?” The smile which Aiden had been wearing promptly fell. His entire body stiffened as he turned in the direction of the voice; a voice he knew all too well.

A feeling of dread washed over Aiden as he glanced down the aisle and saw Clyde White standing just behind him. He was holding a basket in which a few modest items had been placed. Clyde looked first at Aiden and then his gaze passed to Brandy.

Aiden wanted to grab Brandy’s hand, turn and run back down the long aisle, whisking her away from Clyde White and his cruel judgement. The goliath within Avalon’s community would surely still hold a grudge against her, refusing to accept that she wasn’t to blame for his beloved son, Brandon’s death. The blame for the crime lay with the real killer, Father West, but like most of Avalon, Clyde was reluctant to accept such a truth.

“Out for a little shopping trip?” Clyde asked. He delivered the question pleasantly enough but his words were dripping with malice. His hand tightened its grip on his basket as his eyes darkened and narrowed.

Brandy nervously dropped the candle she had been holding into the shopping cart and stood behind it, using it as a barrier between her and Clyde.

“I see you’ve bought the Whore of Babylon with you,” Clyde remarked cruelly. Aiden clenched his jaw and reminded himself to remain calm.

“I didn’t even know your wife had left town,” Clyde continued. “I bet her bed is still warm. Are there no depths you won’t sink to?” He lifted his gaze to deliver the question directly to Brandy.

“Leave her alone,” Aiden ordered sternly, instinctively wanting to protect Brandy from Clyde’s barbed words.

“So are you two like a thing now?” Clyde spoke with a supercilious air.

“Yes,” Aiden nodded. “We’re together.” He knew it was going to come out sooner or later. In less than an hour all of Avalon would know and they’d be waiting at his home upon his return with their pitchforks sharpened. But he loved Brandy; there was no shame in that. Yet his cheeks burned and he wasn’t sure it was solely from anger.

“Did you run his poor wife out of town?” Clyde sneered as he addressed Brandy, his contempt for her obvious.

“You always were a wicked little viper. Be careful.” His stony gaze flickered back to Aiden. “This one will ruin you like she did my son.”

“Clyde…” Aiden raised his hands in a placating gesture but Brandy jumped in before he could continue.

“I’m just trying to get on with my life, Mr White! Avalon was my home once and I’m hoping it can be again. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“Avalon will never be your home!” Clyde spat the words through barely parted lips. “You’ll always be hated here. You’re a fool to return.”

He gave the couple one last hateful look before turning back down the corridor. But then he paused, briefly turning on his heel as if forgetting something.

“I hope you see him everywhere you go,” he barked, the veins on his neck beginning to tremble. Aiden held his breath. He was willing the older man to leave, not to stir any further trouble and cause a scene.

“I know I do,” he added somewhat sadly, his head lowering. Then he continued to walk away. He’d almost reached the end of the aisle when he plucked his cell phone from his pocket. Aiden shuddered as he realized the judgement he’d soon be facing from everyone in Avalon. He was least looking forward to explaining himself to Betty. They were in such a good place professionally now; all that would be undone.

Brandy sniffed and wiped a hand across her eyes, slightly smudging the mascara she’d carefully applied that morning.

“Are you okay?” The sound brought Aiden back to the present. He reached for her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I’ll always be hated here,” Brandy stated bleakly. She looked up towards the fluorescent lights overhead, blinking rapidly.

“Don’t listen to Clyde White, he’s just a bitter old man.”

“He’s wrong anyway.” Brandy lowered her head, satisfied that she’d overpowered her need to weep. “I don’t see Brandon anywhere,” she said defiantly. “We didn’t go anywhere together, at least not during our marriage. He doesn’t haunt my steps.”

“Good.” Aiden leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You’re unbelievably tough, Brandy.”

“We’re both going to have to be tough.” Brandy sighed. “Soon all of Avalon will know I’m back and then we’ll have Clyde times ten to deal with.”

She looked down in to the shopping cart and her shoulders slumped.

“Can we just pay and go home now? I’m done with shopping for today.”

*

Aiden was tired long before his head hit in the pillow. The intense heat of the day had managed to linger into the night and so the bedroom window was cracked open, the newly hung curtains dancing reluctantly in the breeze.

In the darkness where dreams are made, Aiden hoped to find respite from the stresses of the day but instead he found only further turmoil.

He was standing in the middle of a rain-slicked road. It was dark but light enough for him to make out the distant silhouettes of trees. It was eerily silent. The air felt charged with unseen energy, like the calm before a storm.

“Aiden!” a voice hissed directly in his ear and Aiden turned with a start. His heart was hammering madly in his chest, frantically flooding his system with adrenalin to enable him to either fight or take flight.

Justin Thompson was standing beside Aiden, his hair flattened against his head. Not from rain but from blood. Aiden realized with horror that half of Justin’s face was awash with blood which seemed to pour off him like an angry, relentless river.

“Don’t just leave me,” Justin begged. His voice now sounded distant despite his body’s proximity to Aiden. He reached for his friend and Aiden gasped as he saw his hand. The skin had been crudely torn away to reveal the bright white of bone which now clasped Aiden’s shoulder. The skeletal fingers gripped him with surprising force.

Aiden tried to find his voice but had been rendered speechless. Then the skin on Justin’s face began to melt away as easily as wax, revealing the network of muscles below. Aiden opened his mouth and screamed.

“Aid, are you okay?” Brandy was beside him, the whites of her wide eyes bright in the relative darkness of the bedroom.

Aiden was breathing heavily. When he turned to her he half expected to see Justin’s disfigured face. The sheets beneath him were soaked. As his breathing calmed, he realized it was from his own sweat.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Brandy whispered soothingly, her hands already rubbing his back.

“Yeah!” Aiden gasped. “I did.”

He heard Brandy anxiously explain: “Aiden, you were shouting.”

“Turn on the light,” Aiden requested gruffly, his voice hoarse. Brandy swiftly obliged, turning on her bedside light and Aiden was grateful for the yellow light which pushed back some of the shadows.

“Aiden, are you okay?” Brandy asked gently, a cool hand pressing tenderly against the base of his back.

“Yeah.” Aiden sighed as he ran his hands across his face, trying to push away the images from the nightmare.

“Is something troubling you?”

Aiden turned to glance at Brandy. She was so close he could smell her vanilla-scented skin, could see each individual eyelash which framed her dark eyes. He didn’t want to lie to her. Their relationship was still so new, so fragile, like a baby bird that still needed to learn to fly.

“Yes, something is troubling me,” Aiden admitted.

“What is it?” Brandy pressed, her tone soft and soothing, there was no pressure in her voice.

“You don’t have to tell me,” she added.

Clearing his throat, Aiden prepared to breathe life into his nightmare.

“Many years ago I lost somebody close to me, a friend,” Aiden explained, now feeling wide awake as the dust of sleep had been blown away by the intensity of his nightmare.

“I’m sorry. Do you want to tell me about him?” Brandy whispered.

“Can we…can we go back to sleep?” Aiden gestured towards the lamp.

“Sure.” Brandy nodded as she plunged the room back into darkness.

Only Aiden didn’t go back to sleep. He lay awake thinking about his old friend, Justin. An endless stream of questions floated through his mind ‒ why hadn’t he known Justin was in danger? How did he never think to question his death before? If his old high school friends from Greensburg hadn’t sought him out in Avalon, he’d have gone on thinking Justin had died in a motorcycle accident. Aiden had thought that searching for the truth might liberate his guilt, but it only gnawed within him with even more fervor. Because the question which troubled him most was: how could he bear the thought that Justin’s killer had been allowed to endure?

Chapter Two

The Chances You Take

The only sounds in the office were the gentle whirring of the air conditioning system and the distant tapping of Betty’s fingers maneuvering across her keyboard. In the relative silence Aiden stared at his computer screen. His inbox was unusually empty. It seemed that Clyde White had swiftly managed to spread the news of Brandy’s return to Avalon and now the town were keeping their distance from Aiden.

Groaning, he refreshed the page. He had enough open cases to keep him busy; some work updating wills and settling property disputes. But he’d feared that the work would suddenly dry up. It was as if overnight Avalon suddenly ceased to have legal issues.

To add to Aiden’s tension, Betty had been uncharacteristically late that morning. When he pulled up outside the office and stepped out into the bright morning sun he’d actually needed to do a double-take of the vacant entrance. Betty was nowhere to be seen. Aiden opened up, bought the usual breakfast order from across the street and then hid in the comfort of his own office. He was about to call Betty to check she was alright when he heard the soft chime of the main door announcing her entrance.

That had been forty minutes ago. Aiden had yet to venture in to the office and face Betty. He wasn’t sure he could handle the look of disappointment she’d doubtlessly be wearing when he addressed her.

But his plan to remain in his office was running out of fuel. With no incoming emails to respond to, he’d be forced to head out and attend to tasks around town. He had a pile of papers that needed dropping off at the town hall along with a couple of documents that required additional signatures.

“Come on,” Aiden refreshed his inbox again, willing someone, anyone to contact him. He was about to accept defeat and go out to see Betty when his cell phone began to whir upon the desk, spinning itself in circles.

Aiden grabbed the device with a sense of relief but bristled when he noticed that the incoming call was from a blocked number.

“Aiden Connelly speaking,” he greeted the unknown caller with slight trepidation in his voice. What if it was a crank call from a disgruntled resident? Was he now going to be subjected to harassment by those still loyal to Brandon who continued to wrongly blame Brandy for his death?

“Aiden, hey, it’s Guy.”

Aiden froze in surprise.

“Guy Chambers,” Guy declared confidently. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me already?” His tone was jovial, friendly even.

Aiden shook himself out of his startled stupor and cleared his throat.

“No, course not,” he replied politely. “I just didn’t expect to hear from you again. How are things?”

“Things are good!” And from the sound of his voice they truly were. Aiden could almost feel the heat radiating from the smile Guy was wearing coming down the line and bursting out into the office.

“I’m glad.” Aiden repositioned himself in his chair so that he was sitting straighter.

“Listen, Connelly, I’m going to get straight to it.” Typical Guy, not wanting to waste time on small talk.

“Okay…” Aiden nodded, feeling his shoulders tighten in apprehension. What exactly were they getting to? Why had Guy even called him?

“Last time we spoke, you asked me for more information on your friend Justin’s case.”

“Which you said you couldn’t give,” Aiden replied bluntly.

“Right.” On the other end of the line Guy cleared his throat. Was he nervous? “But say something fell in to my lap and I wanted to throw you a bone?”

“I’m not a dog.” Aiden ran a hand through his hair and glanced briefly at his inbox. Still no emails.

“Jeeze, Connelly, I’m trying to do you a solid here,” Guy’s voice boomed in to his ear. “Quit always being so tightly wound! I have a name and a location, you want it?”

“Why would you give me this?” Aiden wondered suspiciously. “Previously you told me you’d already said too much. Now you want to give me names? What’s changed?”

“The case has been tabled,” Guy said quickly, the words almost blended into one another.

“It has? But it had been open for ten years, why table it now?”

“The Bureau doesn’t have the manpower to keep chasing ghosts,” Guy said flippantly. “But I figured what is old news to us might be useful to you.”

“And you won’t lose your job by telling me this?”

“No!” Guy snapped a little too harshly. Aiden pulled a pen and paper towards him. In his mind he could still see Justin’s disfigured face from his nightmare staring at him, pleading with him. Whatever information Guy had, Aiden would willingly take it.

“So what do you know?” Aiden picked up the pen, poised to write with it.

“Your friend Justin was killed by a cartel run by the Caulerone Brothers. They operate out of San Migeno in Mexcio. Real nasty pair. But we’ve been liaising with a guy down there, a local cop keeping tabs on them for us. His name is Javier Santo. He should be able to at least tell you why they killed your friend. Because that’s what you wanted, right? Answers?”

Aiden was frantically scribbling all the information down.

“Um, yeah,” he agreed. “I wanted some answers.”

“Good, well that should help.”

“Thanks.” Aiden felt bewildered by the entire conversation. He looked down at the piece of paper which could lead him to Justin’s killer. Aiden ripped the note from its pad and held it between his fingers. It felt like holding a loaded gun; an object of frightening power – he just had to decide what he was going to do with it.

“So now you owe me one,” Guy declared smugly.

“Owe you one?” Aiden almost laughed at the absurdity of the notion. “What could you ever want from me, Guy? You work for the FBI, you’re much better connected than I could ever dream of being.”

“Hey, you never know,” Guy replied. Then his tone abruptly hardened. “Look, I’ve got to go. Think about what I said. I know you, Connelly. You’re the kind of guy who always does the right thing. Don’t go changing.”

The call ended and Aiden focused his attention on the piece of paper in his hand. He felt dizzy imagining Justin being connected with the Caulerone brothers, whoever they were. Had he gone down to San Migeno? If he had, he’d never mentioned it to his friends. After a few more seconds’ deliberation, Aiden folded the paper in half, shoved it into his pocket and then refreshed his inbox yet again.

*

Brandy had always liked Monday mornings. The prospect of starting a fresh new week excited her, or at least it had in Chicago. When she woke up there she would wonder where her week would take her. There was so much to see and do within the city that she wondered if she’d ever find the time to be able to take it all in. But it was very different in Avalon.

The kettle boiled and Brandy idly made herself a hot chocolate despite the searing heat outside. She needed the comfort of its sweet warmth. The visit to Home Depot over the weekend had rattled her, even though she kept insisting to Aiden that she was fine. Cupping her mug with both hands, Brandy walked slowly through to the living room. Even with the new drapes and cushions, the room still didn’t feel like home. She still felt like a stranger there.