The Chronicles of Beast and Man (8 page)

Besides he had work to do. He would eat later.

-

Later that afternoon,
Rod sat down with Ricky and Evelyn Parker to discuss their daughter, and the events that preceded her death. It was obvious that they loved their daughter very much. Both of them took a great deal of interest in her activities. She received good grades and was an outstanding track athlete. The only unpleasant thing that they had to say was related to her relationship with Owen Kelly. Neither parent cared for him, and hoped that she would have found someone else. Ricky did not come out and say it, but it was kind of clear that he was already holding Kelly responsible. The scowl that came over Ricky’s face when the name was mentioned made this more than obvious.

It was starting to seriously look like Rod was going to have to bring Owen in for questioning. Rod understood this, but didn’t like the idea especially since he himself didn’t feel that Owen was guilty. After the interview Rod asked for Ricky and Evelyn’s permission to take a look at Gabrielle’s room. Despite being a little hesitant, they both agreed to let him. They of course followed close behind.

Gabrielle’s bedroom was exactly what Rod had expected a typical teenage girl’s bedroom to look like. It was brightly lit and covered with posters.

“I come in here every day.” Evelyn said despondently. “It is almost as if I think she is just going to come home and head straight for her bedroom.”

Evelyn’s words were terrible and gave Rod unexpected emotions he hadn’t ever felt before. Rod was already deeply involved with this case, but now it was touching him on a personal level. He hadn’t wanted to be this attached, but now he was. He had to mentally remind himself that he was the Sheriff. He could not let himself get too attached. He hadn’t gotten this close to the murder five years ago, so why now?

Rod knew exactly why, because this time it was different. This time the people looked at him differently, he was in charge now. And by god he better do the best job that he can do.

Rod noticed a small pink book sitting on a dresser, it was Gabrielle’s diary. He immediately picked it up.

“Mind if I take this?” Rod asked the grieving parents.

Evelyn automatically said yes, but Ricky protested. He quickly stopped when Evelyn gave him a cold stare.

“I guess if it is going to help you figure things out, then yes. Take it.” Ricky said timidly.

-

When Rod left the Parker residence, he drove down Hawthorne Street; he then took a left on Chestnut. It didn’t seem to be intentional, but he was driving to the park. When he got there he parked his truck beside the basketball court. As he walked through the court he couldn’t help but notice how desperately it was in need of help. The paint was faded on the court and the hoop was in shambles.
The city had a sufficient amount of funds available, someone could have put some money into the park,
He thought. Thinking about the current state of the park was only a small distraction. The truth was that he felt that he was letting this whole situation get under his skin, it was to the point that he felt like he could break.

“You are stronger than this.” Rod told himself, but it probably didn’t help that his predecessor retired during a similar situation. Rod wasn’t going to walk away, what kind of message would that send? Rod hadn’t even thought about doing such a thing, it was just the pressure that was starting to build up around him. Maybe someday soon he would take a ride out and see Hank and ask him for some advice. It wasn’t like Hank probably wouldn’t enjoy the company; Rod hadn’t seen him since he retired and often wondered how he spent his time now.

As he walked further through the park, Rod glanced down to his phone to see that he had another text message from Marcy. It had been sent more than four hours ago. It was a little late to reply now.

Rod took in a deep breath of the chilly air. It would be fall soon. People were already talking about how bad the winter was supposedly going to be, as they did every year around that time. He walked near the spot where they had found Gabrielle Parker’s body.

“What is happening to my town?” Rod asked himself as he watched his misty breath leave his mouth and float away into the dark evening sky.

T
hat very same morning at five thirty, several hours before Rod would stop at Steve’s garage, Marcy was up making her kids breakfast. Her husband Matthew on the other hand was still sleeping, he usually didn’t get out of bed until nine or ten. So for a moment she was alone; just her and her coffee. She would have no time to relax and enjoy this time though. There were pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs to be made.

No rest for the wicked.
Marcy jokingly thought to herself.

Of course every now and then Rod would slip in the back of her mind. She thought about him on top of her thrusting, pushing, pulling, sweating. He still moved his hips the same way that he had all those years ago, when they were teenagers, doing it in the back of her father’s car. The fact that they could have the same fire and excitement that they had when they were kids gave Marcy goose bumps.

At six o’clock Marcy marched upstairs and woke Candice and Zachary. Candice was eight years old and Zachary was five. They were the light of her life, and her reason for living. She believed that if something ever happened to either of her children, she would just pass out and die there on the spot. Candice quickly ate her pancakes and took a couple bites of her eggs, only because her mom would insist that she did. Zachary munched down his pancakes, eggs, and bacon so fast that Marcy couldn’t believe it. Zachary would then ask for a second helping of bacon, the kid just couldn’t get enough of it. For some reason Marcy always would forget to make enough to satisfy her little bacon-nator. This upset him a great deal, but he would quickly get over it.

Once breakfast was over, the kids dressed in their jackets and put on their backpacks. Before heading out the door for school Zachary turned to Marcy.

“Mom, what does a bee sit on?” The boy randomly asked in an adorable voice.

“I don’t know.”

“His bee-hind, bye mom!” With that said he was out the door.

Marcy smiled, she could only assume that her little man must get his sense of humor from his father. Marcy herself had never been very good at telling jokes.

With the kids gone she now had a moment to prepare herself for the rest of her day. She did her hair quickly, and put on a little makeup. Then she was out of the house and on her way to the Main Street Café, the only place in town where you could buy a hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Of course there was Sheila’s Bar and Grill, but they only served dinner, and it was primarily a bar anyway.

Marcy enjoyed her job for the most part. It had days that were worse than others, but that is to be expected. Her husband had told her shortly after she gave birth to Zachary that she did not have to go back to work if she didn’t want to. He was doing very well, and she could just be a stay-at-home mom and housewife. She refused, and wanted to do something with her time, even if it was just waiting tables at the Main Street Café.

When Marcy arrived at work it started out as a typical day. There were a few people (in an early morning/zombie like daze) still coming in for their bacon and egg breakfast and large coffee. It wasn’t long before she discovered that no one had taken the time to brew a new pot of coffee. Even though she was being distracted by a customer who felt the need to tell her every detail of his granddaughter’s life, she was still able to make a new pot.

At around ten o’clock things died down in a major way, but she had very little time to slow down. The lunch rush would start before long.

The lunch rush turned out to be absolutely dreadful. For some odd reason nothing went as planned. It seemed that every time Marcy turned around there was some kind of issue going on with someone’s food or the service they were receiving. It was not working out to be a very good day for her, and to make things worse, it didn’t look like Rod was going to stop in for his regular lunch.

Rod could always brighten up her day with a wink and a smile.

Oh well.
She thought. Even though she sent him a message last week that went unanswered, she knew she would see him sooner or later. Why worry about it?

When two o’clock rolled around, she really felt beat down by the lunch rush. Everyone was completely gone, but she was still feeling it. As she riddled through the pile of receipts to see how well they actually did that day. She started to think more about Rod.

I’ll be out of here a little before five. I think a little meeting might be in order
. Marcy thought to herself with a grin. Marcy retrieved her cell phone from her purse and quickly typed up a text message:

MEET ME AT OUR MOTEL AFTER WORK! The text read, and without another thought she sent it. Marcy continued on with her work, cleaning tables, and making sure everything was in order for later in the day when the supper crowd would come running through the doors. Marcy imagined some huge crowd running into the restaurant in a mad frenzy and could not help but laugh to herself a little bit. Marcy hadn’t worked an evening in almost three years and didn’t care to do it again. The evenings were never really busy, and the hours just stunk. If she liked sleeping in and didn’t care about being home at night, than she assumed that the evening shift would be perfect.

To Marcy’s surprise she was told she could go home at three o’ clock, which meant she had two whole hours before meeting with Rod later. She decided to use her time wisely. She would stop and get a few groceries, then go home and clean a little.

-

Immediately after walking in the door she began taking care of the little cleaning around the house that she hadn’t done for a while. She thought about the possibility of Matthew walking in. If he would happen to come strolling in after a long day, it would ruin her plans of meeting with Rod later. No such thing happened, nor did Marcy really expect it to happen. Matthew was three towns over in Monmouth assisting on a job to build the city a new hospital. There was no chance that he would be back early.

Marcy took a quick shower and changed into a sexy little black dress she had been hiding in her closet. She then made a quick phone call to her mother just to make sure she would watch her kids until six. Her mother of course said yes and did not even want an explanation as to why she needed them watched longer. Fortunately for Marcy her mother genuinely loved watching the kids.

Once that issue was taken care of, Marcy left and instantly drove to the Restful Motel, which was of course the only motel in Medusa. Marcy automatically noticed that Rod’s truck was nowhere to be seen. Rod usually parked a few blocks away in an attempt to not peak anyone’s curiosity. But Marcy was always able to spot the truck, it had almost became a game for her;
can I find the hidden police truck?

She walked up the stairs and came to the room number ten. Marcy turned the knob to the room but it did not budge. It was still locked. Rod hadn’t showed up and he wasn’t going to. An unspeakable feeling of rejection started to fester deep inside Marcy and she walked back down the stairs and to her car.

Maybe Rod did not know what time to meet
, she thought. Marcy knew that wasn’t true, he would have been ready at the drop of a hat. Perhaps their little affair was over, Marcy thought, or what if Rod really wanted more than just a sexual partner?
If that were so, then Marcy understood why Rod wouldn’t want to see her. She would never be able to give Rod more than just an afternoon orgasm. She valued her life with her children and her husband far too much. With that thought she wondered how much truth there could be in that statement. If she loved her children and husband so much, why would she
cheat? The relationship between her and Rod was not something that she was proud of, but it seemed to satisfy a craving from deep within. The more she thought about what she was actually doing to her family the more it hurt. Tears began to run down her face as she wept. How had she let herself get involved with another man?

Who was she trying to kid, this wasn’t just another man. This was Rod Truex, her high school sweetheart, the one that got away. It was then that Marcy noticed Rod’s truck sitting in the drive way of the Parker residence. In that very moment everything was once again right in the world. Rod had not cut off contact with her, he was busy with work. Of course he would be busy; a young girl had been murdered. Marcy felt very selfish for only thinking of herself and her sexual needs. Then again she felt relieved as well, this meant that Rod still found her attractive, and he also hadn’t ditched her.

Marcy wiped away any trace of tears and picked her kids up at twenty minutes after five. It was forty minutes earlier than she had told her mother she would be there, but it was no big deal. After arriving home they found Matthew
sitting in his recliner in the living room, watching the evening news, and about to doze
off already.
He couldn’t have been home for more than ten minutes.
Marcy thought to herself.