Mariah Stewart - Hard Truth

“Danielle Porter,” she supplied.

“Right. Danielle.” He nodded.

“How about the night Jason disappeared?” T.J. looked at his notes. “Which most likely was the night he was murdered.”

“Again, we were all together. We met up at Matt’s, then we went to Dustin’s, and he drove us to White Marsh Park. He was sixteen that year, had his license.”

“How old were you?” T.J. asked.

“I was sixteen,” Fritz told him. “Jason was fourteen, but he looked older.”

“So did Mike,” Lorna recalled.

“True. He’d turned fourteen at the end of the summer, but he was always a big kid. He shot past me when he was twelve. He got the genes from our dad’s side of the family, I guess,” Fritz said. “Anyway, Matt, Jason, and I walked out to Dustin’s. His parents were out for the night, and he’d managed to score a couple of six-packs, I guess one of the older guys picked it up for us. I honestly don’t remember who we got it from. We took it out to White Marsh Park and drank it. Talked about stuff. Girls, of course. Matt had just been kicked off the soccer team for arguing with his homeroom teacher, so we had to talk about the injustice of that for a while. Later, Dustin drove me home, then Matt, and he was going to drop Jason off last, on his way back to his house. And that’s what he said he did.”

“Your brother wasn’t with you that night?”

“No, I don’t remember what he was doing that night.” Fritz glanced at Lorna, then asked, “What’s that little grin all about?”

“I was just wondering how you managed to sneak in half-drunk in the wee hours of the morning.”

“Oh.” He laughed. “My mother visited her sister in Rehoboth once a month. That was her weekend at Aunt Kitty’s.”

“How did you find out about Jason disappearing?” T.J. asked.

“When he didn’t show up in school for a couple of days, we stopped out there at his house, and his mother told us she didn’t know where he was, that the police were looking for him, and if any of us heard from him, we should let her know.” Fritz raised his eyebrows, as if revisiting the surprise of that moment. “We were just stunned, you know? He was just gone.”

“And you had no thoughts about that? What did you think might have happened?” T.J. probed.

“Truthfully, we figured he’d run away. That after his sister disappeared, maybe he figured, what the hell, there was no point in hanging around.” Fritz looked at T.J. “And right about then, the story was going around that the police wanted to question him about Melinda’s disappearance. Some people thought maybe he’d done something to her.”

“Did you?”

“No, Mr. Dawson. I knew he hadn’t done anything to her. For all he liked to tease and torment her, I always thought she was the only person he really cared about. I figured it was more likely that he thought that, with her gone, he didn’t have much reason to hang around.”

“He ever talk about running away?”

“Back then we all talked about running away. Kids do that. No one took him seriously. But then when he was gone like that, we-Matt and me-thought maybe he’d done it after all. Dustin believed Jason’s mother might have had something to do with it, but I never did. She just didn’t have the strength to take down someone who was bigger and stronger.”

“Do you know if he ever saw his father?”

“No. He never saw him, far as I know. Mr. Eagan had nothing to do with either Jason or Melinda. And frankly, Jason wanted nothing to do with his dad. There was no love lost there, on either side, I think.”

“I know you’ve been asked this before, and it has to be something you’ve thought about yourself, so I have to ask.” T.J. leaned forward a bit. “Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to harm either Melinda or Jason?”

“Jason could be a bully sometimes, so I know there were a lot of people who didn’t like him, maybe some who wished he’d disappear. But not liking someone, and killing them, that’s two different things. And as far as his sister was concerned, I’m sorry. I didn’t really know her well enough to have a feel for what could have happened to her. All we knew back then was that she disappeared one night, then a few weeks later, Jason disappeared the same way.”

He paused, then added, “Only now, we know what happened to him. Maybe she’ll turn up soon, too.”

“Is Matt Conrad still around?” T.J. asked.

“No, but Dustin lives out near Elk Run. Last I heard, they’d been in touch. I can get his phone number for you.” Fritz rose and started out of the room.

“And your brother?”

Fritz seemed to pause momentarily in the doorway. “He’s still around. You can probably catch him down at the store till seven.”

“How about this cop who made out the reports, Duncan Parks?” T.J. asked. “He still around?”

“Last I heard, he retired to Florida about ten years ago, had a heart attack, and died a month later.”

T.J. stood and went to the back of the sunporch and stared out at the rose garden. When Fritz returned a minute later, he handed the paper with the phone number on it to Lorna.

“Matt is married now and lives out near Reading, I think. Dustin’s still pretty friendly with him, so he should know how to get in touch with him.”

“You didn’t stay in contact?” T.J. asked.

“Not really.” Fritz shrugged. “We don’t have a whole lot in common anymore.”

“That happens, doesn’t it? Anyway, we appreciate the number, Fritz. Thanks.” Lorna tucked the slip of paper into her jeans pocket. “And thanks for taking some time from your travel schedule for us.”

“No big deal. Besides, I want to help if I can. That was such a sad thing, those two just disappearing like that.” He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “Sure would be a shame if Melinda had met the same fate her brother did, wouldn’t it?”

“How well do you know Fritz?” T.J. asked when they were back in the car.

“I used to know him pretty well. He was a bit older than me, but we were neighbors. The Keelers live right up around the bend on Callen Road. He taught me how to drive a stick shift after my dad died. I had just turned sixteen a couple of months before and Dad was teaching me how to drive his old pickup when he had his heart attack. Fritz later showed me how to work the clutch so I could drive the truck around the farm, like I’d wanted to do. He’s always been a nice guy. Quiet, for the most part, and devoted to his mother, who died a few years ago. She’d been ill, and he stayed home to care for her.”

“And his brother?” T.J. started the car and backed out of Fritz’s driveway.

“Mike had a different agenda.”

“What does that mean?”

“He was much more popular, especially with the girls. Everyone wanted to go out with him-me included-but he was really selective. Didn’t date a whole lot. His wife was a quiet girl all through school. I think a lot of people were surprised when he married her.”

“Why?”

“Well, like I said, he could have had his pick.” Lorna thought for a minute, then added, “She’s not as flashy as he is, if you know what I mean.”

“Maybe he figured one peacock in the family was enough.”

“I think you might be right.” She stared out the window, then said, “Slow down. The pizza place is up here on the left. I know we just had pizza last night, but I have the feeling we’ll have a lot of ‘splaining to do if we go back to the house without it for Regan, and this pizza place is better. The state liquor store is right across the road there, so we can grab a few sixpacks of beer while we’re here.”

T.J. parked in front of the restaurant and turned off the engine. They went inside and read the menu, debated topping options, then agreed on one large pepperoni, one large with everything. T.J. went for the beer, and when he returned he joined Lorna at a small table while they waited for the pizzas.