Carys Jones - Fourth To Run

Justin had told his mother that he’d torn the leather when he fell from his motorbike but it was a lie. Justin never fell from the bike, he had an almost symbiotic relationship with the vehicle. They moved as one, seamless and precise. But Justin’s mother would have been distraught over the revelation of a bar fight, better to the blame the bike; the inanimate object she couldn’t fear.

Aiden snorted at the irony of it. All along it was the bike Justin’s mother should have feared as it was the bike which ended her son’s life. The air in the stadium had suddenly plummeted and Aiden’s breath gathered in a wispy cloud before his face. He was now standing on the end of the stranger’s row. Their gaze remained fixed upon the empty football field.

“Hey!” Aiden called out but they did not look up. There was no way they couldn’t hear him when he was standing so close. It took Aiden less than three long strides to reach the hooded figure. Aiden’s teeth had started to chatter loudly in his head from the growing cold.

“Where did you get that jacket?” Aiden asked as he reached out and touched the figure’s shoulder, the leather damp beneath his fingertips. As Aiden connected with the figure, their head suddenly snapped back, limp like a rag doll. Recoiling in horror, Aiden looked down at the face which was now staring up at the sky. A terrified cry was born deep in his gut but it remained trapped down there as Aiden froze, suddenly unable to move or even look away.

The figure’s face was nothing more than a skull, the hollowed eyes gathered rain water as they now gazed up at the heavens. Aiden’s mouth hung open and his shoulders trembled as he looked at the perfect white of the bone, the rows of teeth; the preserved shell of the man it had once been.

Then Aiden’s cry managed to burst out; breaking through the fear and tumbling against the harrowing figure.

*

“Aiden!” Brandy was staring down at him, silhouetted against the bedside lamp shining behind her.

“Are you okay? Were you dreaming about your friend again?”

With a groan, Aiden hoisted himself up and ran his hands through his hair.

“Yeah,” he admitted, his voice hoarse. “I was dreaming about him again. I was led to believe that he’d died in a motorcycle accident. But recently I discovered that his death wasn’t an accident, that he’d actually been murdered.”

“Oh God!” Brandy’s eyes widened and she nudged closer to Aiden. “Murdered by who?”

“I don’t know, though I’ve got my suspicions.” Aiden’s shoulders slumped. “And now I see him when I close my eyes. Like I can feel him suffering from beyond the grave, as stupid as that sounds. No one was made to pay for his death. The people who killed him, they got away with it.”

“You feel like they need to be brought to justice.”

“Yes!” Aiden felt his body begin to burn with intention. That was exactly what he wanted. He thought of the phone call with Guy Chambers, of the small slip of paper with a Mexican town written upon it. The culprit for Justin’s death was within reach, Aiden was certain of it.

“I might have a way to bring them to justice,” Aiden lifted an arm and looped it around Brandy’s shoulders. She pressed her head against his bare chest and Aiden felt a pleasant sense of contentment surge through him. Brandy seemed to fit perfectly against him, like they were made for one another. His fingertips spun circles on the soft skin of her exposed shoulder as they talked.

“I know a guy in the FBI who has pointed me in the direction of a potential contact. But it means going to Mexico for a few days.”

“Want me to come with you?” Brandy offered.

“No,” Aiden tilted his head so that he could plant a tender kiss upon her forehead. “I want you to stay here so that when your new piano arrives you can set it up right away.”

“You don’t mind that I ordered it?”

“Not at all.” Aiden smiled. “I’m glad you did. Having it here will make this house feel more like it’s your home too, which it is.”

“I am excited for it to arrive,” Brandy admitted. Then her tone lost some of its lightness.

“Do you think going to Mexico will make the nightmares stop?”

Aiden shrugged.

“I don’t know.” He shook his head sadly, the image of the hooded skull still haunting his thoughts.

“I guess it’s worth a shot though, right?” Brandy noted hopefully.

“Yeah,” Aiden agreed. “It’s worth a shot.”

*

“Mexico!” Betty echoed the location and adjusted her glasses so that they weren’t on the end of her nose.

Aiden placed down her morning tea and croissant and gave her an apologetic smile.

“Well, I suppose it’s up to you as and when you take your vacation.” Betty did a poor job of masking her indignation. Aiden understood her misgivings; he’d been at the helm of Copes and May for just under a month, it certainly wasn’t the right time to be going off on vacation.

“It’s not a holiday,” he explained, standing beside Betty’s desk clutching his own morning cup of coffee.

“I’m actually going down there to follow a lead on something.”

“In Mexico?” Betty’s scrunched her features up as she spoke, making her face seem even more lined than usual.

“I know it’s very last minute but I’ll only be gone a few days.”

“Well, I can keep an eye on the office while you’re gone.”

“Why don’t you take a few days off?” Aiden suggested brightly. Betty instantly shook her head as her eyes began to sparkle.

“No thank you,” she replied courteously. Aiden wondered why she seemed so averse to having a few days’ vacation. Then he realized and felt his cheeks start to burn slightly with embarrassment. The reason Edmond had always looked after Betty as loyally as he had was because he understood that Copes and May was all she had. Betty didn’t have a family waiting for her back home at the end of the day. She enjoyed coming to work; savored the opportunity to chat with people and get out of her modest house.

“Actually, I probably will need you here.” Aiden withdrew his previous offer and he saw Betty straighten in her chair like a wilting flower which had just been watered. She fed on her own importance within the office and Aiden knew he owed it to her to nourish that.

“You’ll need to field phone calls for me, stay on top of incoming emails.” Not that there were many of those to deal with. Clyde White had done a sterling job of turning the residents of Avalon against Aiden yet again. At some point he’d have to win back their collective trust but, right now, he had much older ghosts that needed to be laid to rest.

“I’m more than happy to come in during your absence,” Betty declared.

“Good.” Aiden nodded at her and began drifting towards his own office. He had flights to book and needed to arrange a hire car once he landed in Mexico.

“If someone asks where you are, what do I say?” Betty turned to look back at him.

Aiden paused with his free hand clutching the door handle to his office. What did he want Betty to say? He wasn’t sure he should be openly advertising his impromptu visit to Mexico. Besides, Guy had privately given him the information, Aiden risked landing them both in trouble if word got out about his true intentions down there.

“Just say I’m away on business,” Aiden shrugged.

“Will do.”

*

Buck Fern slowed his patrol car as he passed down the street outside the offices of Copes and May. His golden sherriff’s badge winked in the light from where it was proudly attached to his shirt on his chest.

He glanced in and saw loyal old Betty typing away at her desk. News of Aiden’s encounter with Clyde White in Home Depot had filtered back to him. Despite the sunshine burning overhead and the shimmering blue sky, Buck knew that a storm was heading towards Avalon. Aiden had foolishly brought back the girl who had ignited a fire of hate within the town.