Stone Cold

Chapter 7

I made it to Yelm pretty late in the afternoon; it would be dark when I finally made it home. Since my contract was up with Billy, I figured there was no problem telling his brother exactly what was going on. I wouldn't blame him if he actually decided to leave the company now.

All of the trucks were there, parked in front. Considering their worksite was so far away from the office, and more than likely their homes, it was common for masons to spend the night at their job sites. I bounded up the steps and rang the doorbell. It took a minute before I heard footsteps, along with voices.

Mick turned the porch light on and opened the door, mild surprise on his face. "Ms. Kennedy. Is the article published already? That was fast."

"No, I need to talk to Mr. Lummick, please. It's urgent."

I assumed he could see the stress and anger on my face, because his own turned worried. "Is everything alright?"

"No, not really."

He turned back inside. "Hey, Jon! Come here for a minute!"

The other man approached us and we all stepped outside into the chilling air. "What's the problem?"

I took a deep breath before continuing. They were going to be pissed. "I lied to you. I'm not a freelance journalist." I paused for a moment. When they didn't respond, I continued, "Your brother—"

Mick let out a string of curses and threw up his hands. Jon stayed quiet, no emotion showing on his face. "What the fuck did that bastard do now?"

"He hired me to frame you. I'm a private investigator. He tried accusing you of stealing money from the company." I handed Jon the bank statements, which he immediately began flipping through.

He scoffed then said, "These were all for work."

"I figured. They didn't look like unusual purchases. I questioned all of the men over at his site, and he got upset. I think he just wanted me to look at his highlights and immediately say that you were the one who did it. Anyways, he paid me for the work I did then fired me on the spot."

"He wants the profits to himself." Jon sighed. "When our father died he put in his will that even though Bill ran the company, he wanted the profits split sixty-forty. Neither of us are bad off, but my brother is a greedy son-of-a-bitch. He just wanted an excuse to get rid of me legally so he could take all the money."

Mick pointed a finger in Jon's face. "What the fuck did I tell you? I told you he was out for you! You didn't fucking listen! We just need to start our own company!" He paused to run a hand through his sweaty hair. "You know most of the employees prefer you anyways. That way you won't have to worry about any of this shit."

I gave a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry." I turned to leave but Jon stepped forward, holding out his hand.

"Thank you."

I hesitated before grasping his palm. It was huge, not as big as his brother's, and very rough and calloused. I could tell he did more work. Mick held his out too, an annoyed look plastered on his face. He shook mine abruptly and let go almost immediately, storming back inside.

* * *

Back in Eatonville I checked my gas gauge. All of this driving was going to use up all of my gas money for the month. The sun had almost set as I filled up at the local station and made my way back to the development. By the time I arrived, it was already dark. Parking between some bushes a couple blocks away from the taped-off house, I walked the rest of the way, hoping not to be noticed. I lifted the "Do Not Enter" police tape over my head and walked to the backyard. There was more of the tape around the hole, unearthed dirt and soil littering the perfectly cut lawn. Chunks of stone lay all around it, too. I turned on my light and peered down into the abyss, not wanting to get too close for fear of falling in. The hole looked pretty deep; there was no way I'd be able to get out on my own. I really wish I could have explored it more, but at the same time I would have been scared shitless to go down there. I mean, standing in a ditch where a dead body once lay? No, thank you.

Regardless, all I saw was dirt. "What did you want me to see?" I muttered.

I heard a door slam nearby and my heart pounded in my chest. I turned off my flashlight and sprinted to the gazebo in the middle of the lawn. It was the closest hiding place in the backyard.

The blood pounding in my ears almost drowned out someone's footsteps stomping through the grass. When my eyes adjusted to the dimness, I could see a black silhouette, but no discernible features. Whoever it was walked up to the hole and stood there, stared at it and muttered things too low for me to hear. After a couple minutes they walked away.

When I heard a vehicle door slam, I ran to the fence and crouched down to catch a glimpse of the intruder. None of the street lights had come on yet so I couldn't see much. An average-sized car headed down the road towards the entrance of the complex.

I took out my flashlight again and searched the grass for a hint of who the person might have been. Blades of grass bent and smashed against the earth indicating a large footprint that hadn't been there before. I clenched the flashlight in my teeth and took out my phone. I didn't have a tape measure on me so the only choice I had was to put my hand up next to the print and take a picture with my cell. It wasn't much, but it was all I could do. I walked back to my car and sent the picture to Forrester, dialing his number immediately after.

"Detective Forrester," he answered, sounding distracted.

I put him on speaker phone as I pulled out of the complex. "Hey, it's Melissa. I just sent you a picture."

He paused for a moment and I heard buttons clicking on his end. "What is this?"

"Don't get mad," I rushed out. "I went to the crime scene—"

"Melissa! Damn it, woman, you out of all people should know—"

"Listen! Someone snuck in after me, but I hid behind the gazebo. That's his footprint. It looks too big to belong to a woman. I didn't have any way to measure it other than my hand. He drove away in a mid-sized sedan, but there weren't any lights for me to get a good look at it."

There was another pause. "I thought you were supposed to be good at your job."

"Shut the fuck up," I growled. "Do you want my help or not?"

Daniel sighed. "Quit breaking the damn law. Did you see who it was?"

"No. It was dark. He looked a bit broad." The info felt a bit useless, but at least I had something. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. I'm hanging up now."

"Fine."