Reunion (A Psychological Suspense with Murder, Mystery and the Paranormal) (16 page)

He marveled at the universe and often wondered how it all came to be. Was his life just an illusion that played out in his mind? As he ran, he idly questioned whether the sunrise and the Grand Canyon were only figments of his imagination.

One thought led to another. Was his spirit resting somewhere in the heavens, creating some kind of cerebral fantasy? Had he been killed in the massacre? Were the last twenty years an imaginative fulfillment of his desires, when in truth he was still that little boy he used to be, dreaming of being a man?

Tanner realized that he frequently struggled with his thoughts about eternity—life and death and God, if there was one. Occasionally, he doubted the validity of a creator, but he didn’t fully believe that the details of life were so intricately formulated by chance either. Consequently, he questioned his arrogance and his faithless life. Yet, with so much appreciation of the world around him, he wondered how he could even consider it a chance mishap of the universe.

With his legs driving forward on autopilot, Tanner turned around and ran back across the railroad tracks near the granary. As he drew closer to town, he wondered if Crescent Falls had given up on God too, or whether they had embraced Him in the midst of their struggles. Whichever it was, he returned to earth when he saw another runner in the distance.

A petite figure graced the concrete trail ahead. As he slowed down to get a better look, his breathing grew heavier and his lungs tried to catch up with his heart rate. He lifted both hands above his head and stretched, peering through the morning light to watch the woman runner bounding forward like a spring doe. He watched her brown hair bobbing from side to side and noticed her thin gazelle legs, with a slight limp to her left.

Looks like Lana, he thought. His spirit perked up.

He was too far away to call her name so he picked up his pace again and caught up with her. When he drew parallel with her, his smile grew even bigger. Her smooth, tan legs seemed to attract him with every stride. He couldn’t help but notice her scant running shorts and how they left very little to his imagination. As he approached, announced by the pounding of his feet, she turned around, recognized him and smiled.

He matched her pace.

“Good morning, Lana.”

“Hey Tanner…how are you?”

“Great, thanks.”

“Beautiful morning, huh?” she asked. Tanner was so close he could smell her hair as it swung, releasing a country-lavender fragrance.

“Yes,” he went on. “Just watched the sun rise over the mountains. Reminded me of how beautiful it was growing up here.”

Lana chuckled. “Yeah, I remember.”

“So, do you run much?” asked Tanner.

“I try, but I have my limits.” She reached down and rubbed the scar on her thigh. “It’s painful sometimes, but I don’t want that to stop me! How ‘bout you?”

“Five a day! If I’m not running, I’m biking, or climbing, or kayaking, or something. I can hardly keep still.”

Lana laughed at him. “You were always hyper. Some things never change.”

He smiled back. “I guess not.”

The rhythm of their feet filled the silence.

Then Lana asked, “So, where are you headed?”

“I don’t know. I’m about finished. Why? You going somewhere special?”

“Yeah.”

“Where?”

“The school.”

“Really? Why?”

Her willingness to venture into their past intrigued him.

Lana slowed to a walking pace, grunting from the pain in her leg. The wind, no longer flying through her hair, let it fall back into place and she looked away from him for a moment. “I don’t know, Tanner. I just feel compelled to look at it, and see if it’s still there. I mean, I guess I just want to s—”

Tanner completed her sentence. “Want to see if you can stand it? That is, if you can take the heat?”

Lana stopped and grabbed Tanner’s arm, bringing him to a sudden halt.

“Yes! How did you know?”

“I told you, I did a lot of thinking before I came out here. I knew this could be tough. And I kind of figured some of us wouldn’t be able to go through with it.”

“Then why even suggest it?”

“Because I know what
I
need. And…um…” Feeling a heaviness in his gut, Tanner turned away. “I…uh…I need to walk in there, and let out some anger…and…” He continued to fight the torrent of emotions that he had held at bay for so many years. Yet his quivering voice gave away his buried grief. “I need to figure out who I am, and what I believe in, because when this is over, I’m not sure what’ll become of me.”

“Become of you? What do you mean?”

“What do I mean?” Tanner stopped and stared up at the morning sky. “You know, I suddenly realized how long I’ve been climbing mountains and paddling upstream, chasing after something. It’s like I’ve been going after this invisible carrot that has somehow been dangling in front of me for twenty years. Funny thing is, I never realized it until Maria called and invited me to be a part of this. And I’ll be honest with you; nothing, and I mean nothing I’ve faced since I left this town, has been more frightening than coming back here.”

Lana gently touched his arm. “What’s so bad about that?”

Tanner ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath and thought, if I can face coming back to the school and walking through those halls without pissing my pants, maybe, I’ll finally be okay.

He looked directly into her eyes and said, “Nothing, I suppose. I’ve always told myself that one day I’d return. I always knew that if I could climb Mount Everest or sail the Atlantic, I’d finally be courageous enough to face my
greatest
fear…coming back to this place.”

“And now?”

“I’m here and I’m scared shitless. Most people spend their lives chasing after the allure of something that they can’t put their finger on. And that’s me. Or at least, that was me, until now. So, without the need to chase after my fears, ironically, I’m afraid. I’m afraid that all that’s left is emptiness. I’m afraid that those things that kept me moving will suddenly lose their purpose in my life. Again, I’m faced with the question: what will become of me?”

Lana stood stock-still, stunned by Tanner’s openness. She too had a quest, led by a distant force. What Tanner called a
carrot
, Lana always referred to as the
pull.
She remained silent about her feelings for Noah, but Tanner’s frank disclosure left her free to be honest.

In response to Tanner’s question, she replied, “What will become of you is…you’ll be even stronger than before. Maybe for the first time, you’ll be free to climb the mountains that you want to climb instead of the ones you feel you have to. Maybe, you’ll choose to live completely as yourself and not as some carrot chaser.”

Tanner smirked at her. “Well, what if I like chasing carrots?”

Lana responded sternly, while laughing at him and smacking his shoulder with her small hand. “Oh, what if, what if! I think you know by now that we’re about to embark on the greatest
what if
of our adult lives! Start looking at the
now what
! I mean, we’re here, and when it’s over,
now what
is the question we’ll all need to start asking ourselves.”

Tanner stood still and silent.

“Are you hearing me, Tanner?”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I suppose.”

The school stood only a block away. Lana nodded her head in the direction of the campus, bringing it to Tanner’s attention. They looked forward, held their breaths, and took the first step together into the great
what if
.

• • •

Later that same morning, Sheriff Richards sat in his office, shielded by the dusty window blinds that hid him from view. He slouched in his chair, mentally and physically exhausted from a night without sleep. He had just endured an hour of conference calls with the mayor, the county prosecutor and various members of the county council over their policy in regards to the death of young Chris Haden, the boy mysteriously murdered the previous night. His parents waited in a conference room just down the hall from Larry’s office. A city clerk, completely unaware of the situation, accompanied them.

Larry was anxious about what to say to the worried parents. He leaned back in his chair and considered his options. He had experience in communicating the worst of circumstances. For years he had delivered warrants, subpoenas, divorce notices and the dreaded news of the death of a loved one. Although his messages were rarely received well, they at least made sense or were often in some way expected. Chris’s death was nothing of the sort.

He knew he had to be extremely sensitive and careful with his words. He recognized that the sound of his voice would be blotted out like static until they actually came to terms with their loss, but it had to be done. It was his job. He stood up, walked out of his office and made his way to the conference room.

When Larry walked in, his heart grew heavy. The man’s arms clutched the boy’s mother, whose eyes were dark and puffy from a night of worry. Their brows furrowed—afraid of what they were going to hear. Mrs. Haden’s small frame slumped forward and her thin hands held a damp tissue. The couple looked at Larry, anticipating the bad news they feared he brought.

Larry cleared his throat and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Haden…” His deep voice was sincere and suited the occasion. “You were asked to come here this morning, because we have some unfortunate news for you regarding your son Christopher.”

Mrs. Haden began to tremble.

Mr. Haden increased his supporting hold.

“There is no easy way to say this and I can’t tell you how sorry I am, but we found your son last night around 9:00 p.m. at the old Crescent Falls High School. He’s…he’s gone.” Larry paused. “I’m so sorry.”

For a moment the couple sat in quiet disbelief. All at once, Mrs. Haden began to wail. Mr. Haden spoke tender, yet ineffective words of consolation.

Moments later, Larry took them to the morgue to officially identify the body.

“Oh, God!” cried Mrs. Haden when she saw their son. Her knees buckled and Mr. Haden helped her to a chair nearby.

An explosion of misery and grief followed. Mrs. Haden buried her head in her husband’s chest and lost all of her strength. The heavyset man lovingly enveloped her and shared her grief. Larry dropped his head and recited a prayer he’d memorized over the years.

He silently prayed, Oh God, if you’re there, please, please help these poor folks cope with the loss of their son. Give them peace and give them hope. Amen.

Somewhat comforted, Larry opened his eyes and sat down in a folding chair adjacent to the Hadens. He waited quietly and respectfully until their first tears had run their course. Then he led them back to his office. He knew the questions would come soon enough.

When they were again seated in his office, with trepidation Mr. Haden asked, “How did this happen?”

Larry sighed and proceeded with great sadness in his voice.

“That’s why I’ve asked you here, Mr. Haden. You see, Chris’s passing is not what we call a normal circumstance. In fact, the cause is still under investigation, but at this time, we’re calling this an unexplained accident. I have pictures, if you want to see them. The scene is very painful and difficult to describe. The best I can do is let you come to your own conclusions.”

Mr. Haden put out his hand. Larry passed him a picture of Chris on the flagpole. Mr. Haden held the picture but hesitated before looking.

“Look at it,” commanded Mrs. Haden.

Mr. Haden slowly lifted it, but glanced no more than a few seconds before he handed it back to Larry.

Still trembling, Mr. Haden reached for the manila envelope that Larry held in his hands. He opened the flap and proceeded to look painfully at the pictures of the glass door, the melted face and the body on the flagpole.

“What is it?” demanded Mrs. Haden. “Show me. He’s my son too!” Her forehead wrinkled with concern.

Mr. Haden shook his head but she took the envelope as he tried to hand it back to Larry. She looked at each photograph and then howled like a dying animal. Mr. Haden snatched the pictures from her hands and threw them at Larry.

“You can have those! I didn’t want her to see our son like that.”

Larry left the room to give them some space as Mr. Haden tried to comfort his sobbing wife. Larry was the most uncomfortable he had ever been but he could not let them go until he had conveyed the message he had been ordered to give them. He had a female officer bring in coffee and sandwiches and take Mrs. Haden to the restroom.

When she returned, Larry detailed what the authorities thought had happened and why there were no suspects. He then delivered his next statement.

• • •

Tanner felt apprehensive as he took his first step onto the school property. Lana wrapped one arm around his waist and Tanner responded in kind by gently placing his arm around her shoulders. At that moment his mind filled with memories—memories of Kenny, the shooting, and the woman to his right. Holding each other upright, they walked across the weed-filled campus in defiance of their fears. Filled with a feeling of foreboding, Tanner managed to push back his fears, somehow overcoming the weight of the past.

Lana stopped and broke the silence. “Well, we did it. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Could’ve been better.”

“Yeah, well, I just hope walking inside the building is just as easy.”

Lana and Tanner smiled shakily at each other and celebrated their courage with a warm hug. When they pulled away, Tanner’s eyes reflected his triumph. I’m here, he thought, and it isn’t as bad as I feared. He continued walking, confident that he could go through with the reunion.

M
aria’s cell phone began pounding to a Latin rhythm. Her eyes strained to open as her hands fumbled around on the nightstand in search of the beat. She was tangled in the bed sheets, but managed to put the phone to her ear as the sun broke through her window blinds, casting brilliant lines across her face.