“Do you remember what they fought about?”
“Anything and everything. The two had always butted heads, that was a fact, but it seemed things got worse around Valentine’s Day when they both asked the same girl to the dance. The girl went with Austin, which really made Colin mad. After that, every little thing seemed to lead to a boxing match.”
“Do you think they might have fought on that campout, and something happened to Austin? Something awful that the others agreed to cover up.”
A look of shock crossed Dex’s face. “God, I hope not.”
“What about Larry? What was he like?”
“He was the quiet sort. He liked to read a lot, and was smarter than the rest of us, although, like Colin, he had a tricky home life. His folks moved him around a lot. I know he had a hard time making friends. He’d only been in Foxtail Lake about six months at the time of the camping trip, and moved again before the year was out.”
“I understand he lives in Steamboat Springs now.”
“I hadn’t heard. I didn’t stay in touch with him after he left.”
“Okay.” I crossed my arms on the desk. “Tell me about Bobby.”
“Bobby was a scrawny kid. He was a good head shorter than the rest of us. He could be scrappy, and he did tend to get into trouble at times, but Bobby was the tenderhearted sort who wore his emotions on his sleeve. He had a hard time as he grew older, but as a kid, he was the one who would stop to help an injured bird or bring home a stray puppy.”
I leaned back in my chair. “Okay. Let me make sure I have this right. Josh and Colin were older, and therefore the natural leaders of the group. Josh was a nice kid who took his leadership role seriously, while Colin was a bit of a screw-up.”
“Basically, yes.”
“Larry was the smart one, although also the newest to the group, and the least integrated with the others, Austin was a rebel of sorts who liked to go head to head with Colin, and Bobby was the sweet tenderhearted one.”
“Sounds like you nailed it.”
“What about you? What sort of role did you play in the group?”
“I didn’t go on the trip, so it really doesn’t matter.”
I smiled. “I know, but humor me. Who was Dex Heatherton when he was twelve?”
“I was sort of vanilla. I went to school, kept my nose clean, made good grades, and rarely got into trouble. My parents were well known in the community, and if I even thought about smoking a cigarette or taking a drink, they somehow found out about it. Keep in mind that of all the boys in the group, I was the only one whose parents forbid them from going on that campout. I guess you could say that I was raised on a short leash.” He looked around his office. “I guess it worked out okay.”
I nodded. “It totally worked out okay. If something did happen to Austin on that campout, and the others all vowed to cover it up, your parents saved you from a lifetime of living with that secret by forbidding you to cut class and go along.”
Dex frowned once again. “Do you really think Bobby was shot because of something he knew?”
I shrugged. “I really have no idea. It’s a story that fits for me, but Cass is looking into all sorts of angles. Maybe he’ll have an update for us by the end of the day.”
Chapter 8
After I left the newspaper, I headed toward the new health club. I supposed I needed to settle on a descriptor for the dang place. Since I’d first been assigned the article, I’d been flipping around between gym, health club, wellness center, workout center, and spa. The words wellness center were in the name, so perhaps I’d settle on that.
A beautiful and perfectly fit woman named Ava met me at the front desk. Ava asked me about my membership, and I explained who I was and what sort of trial membership I’d been given. She asked if I’d had the tour, and I assured her I had. She assigned me a locker, gave me a key, and provided directions to the spin class I’d decided to start with. I figured I’d do the class, mess around with the weight machines a bit, take a sauna and maybe a dip in the Jacuzzi pool, and then shower and dress in time to pick Paisley up. What I didn’t know was that the spin class was an advanced class for those who were planning to take a virtual trip up the side of a freaking mountain.
By the time I finished the class, I could barely walk, so I headed straight for the pool where I tried to keep my tears at bay while my legs, butt, and back screamed for a good thirty minutes before they began to relax. I’m not sure how I managed to get showered and dressed in time to make the trip to Paisley’s school, but by sheer determination alone, I managed to get into the pick-up line just minutes later than I usually did.
“How was the spin class you told me you were going to try out?” Paisley asked after climbing into my car once I’d pulled to the front of the line.
“It was fun,” I lied, knowing that I’d probably never touch another bike. “I think I’m going to work with the machines next time so I can set the pace myself rather than trying to keep up with a class. It takes a while to get back into the groove of things when you haven’t worked out for as long as I have. How was school?”
“Boring. My teacher is getting us ready for state testing, but I already know everything she’s showing us. I asked her if I could read, but she wanted me to participate with the others. I can’t wait until state testing is done so we can get back to our normal routine.”
“Hang in there. This, too, will pass.”
“At least I had my piano lesson to look forward to.” Paisley rolled the passenger window down. “I’ve been practicing, and I think I might have finally figured out that middle part I was having so much trouble with.”
“That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to hear it. Anything else going on with you?”
She paused and appeared to be thinking about it. “My friend, Jolene, told me her uncle died this weekend. Someone shot him right in the head.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Was your friend’s uncle named Bobby?”
She nodded. “She told me Uncle Bobby was out with his friends but got tired so he left. When he got home, someone was waiting and just shot him dead.”
I wondered if that was what had really happened. Cass hadn’t filled me in at all at this point.
“The police came to his house,” Paisley continued. “I wonder if Cass was there.”
“I’m sure he was.” I hadn’t filled Paisley in on why Cass hadn’t joined us for the cookout last night. I’d just said he had to work when she asked where he was.
Paisley wrinkled her nose. “It would be gross to see someone who had been shot in the head. I bet there was blood everywhere. I probably would have barfed.”
“I’m sure there was a lot of blood, but I think that people who work in law enforcement get used to blood the same way doctors do. Once you see it often enough, you tend to lose your sensitivity to it.”
“I hope so. I do want to be a doctor, but I won’t be able to do a very good job if I barf every time I see blood.”
“Yeah,” I smiled. “I guess that would be a problem.”
“Do you barf when you see blood?” she asked.
“Not usually, but I guess it depends on the situation.” Luckily, we pulled into the drive at that point, and changing the subject, I asked, “Do you want a snack before we start our lesson?”