CHAPTER 9
Anderson
I exit into the fresh air, exhaling loudly. I remember the little tap which draws water from a nearby well, and I head over there. The splash of cool water on my face feels restoring. I’m not sleepy or tired. It’s the opposite, actually. I’m too spirited, I guess is the word. Way too spirited than I should be, under these unwelcoming circumstances, but it is, what it is.
Bouncy. Peppy. Zesty. I think of all those terms my mom used to refer to when she’d be talking about boys and their strayed thinking when it came to girls. I guess that’s exactly how I feel now. The sight of Maddie’s nipples piercing through the light fabric of her sweatshirt still returns to me. Actually, I can’t say that it returns, because it never left me. So, it’s stayed with me since I first laid eyes on them. And, the image is still as fresh in my mind as half an hour ago.
I splash some more cool, deep water on my face and for a moment, I feel refreshed. But, the image returns again, with a vengeance. I feel a stirring in my pants, something that has no place happening here or now. I can’t think that way about her. Maybe Fynn is right. I’m way too friendly sometimes, and occasionally, it came back to bite me in the ass. I don’t want that to happen now. I can’t lose focus of what’s important here, and that’s Maddie’s safety. I can’t go around with a freakin’ boner, wondering how it would feel to fuck her brains out. Fynn would kill me. Hugo would hang me by the balls. I know all that, and more. And, yet, her sweet face won’t leave me, even when she’s not around.
I sigh heavily, knowing that I need to work on this every single waking moment of my time here. That only adds more strain to the situation. But, it is what it is. I need to make it work somehow, and just keep my distance from her. That’s the only way.
At that moment, I feel my work phone vibrating. It’s a burner, specially bought for the purposes of coming here, and it’ll only be used for a few days. Then, either Fynn or I will go and get another one, for the next few days. We can’t risk being tracked this way.
“Hello?” I pick up, already guessing who will be on the other end of the line.
“Anderson?”
“Yes, Chief Garth?”
“Have you settled in?”
“Everything according to plan so far, Sir.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he pauses a little, which worries me. He usually speaks in one elongated sentence which more resembles a monologue than a dialogue, and all you are left with is to simply agree. “Listen, I will need you to come down to the station tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I repeat, stunned. “But, you know that means leaving Fynn alone with the girl?”
“I am fully aware of that fact, Anderson, and believe me, I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t a matter of great urgency. But, it is. We need you down here for a few hours.”
“Well, if it’s an urgent matter…”
I lift my gaze up to the sky. The clouds are grey, promising the arrival of rain. So, it won’t be the usual quick ride. I’ll have to drive slower.
“It concerns one of your previous cases, the Higgins drowning.”
He knows he doesn’t need to say anything more. It was the case that Fynn and I couldn’t crack for years. A young girl drowned, and everything kept pointing out to an accident. But, something just didn’t sit right. The girl was a good swimmer, plus she knew those waters. She had lived close to the lake since she was born, and knew not to go in from the side where she was found. After much digging and poking around, after stepping on many corns, we discovered that her ex-boyfriend dragged her into the water by the hair and kept pushing her under the surface, until she was finally gone. Those bruises on her body fit perfectly with that story. Everyone always assumed that they were made post mortem, as her body lay there in the shallows, subject to the weather and rough rocks. Long story short, we couldn’t help the girl, but at least we had him. And, having him in the interrogation room was one of the rare times I almost lost it. The whole thing is still a blur to me, but I remember my hands around his neck and others me pulling off of him. It was tough, but they erased it from the official record. After all, who’s gonna believe a guy who murdered his ex in cold blood?
I still get the goosebumps when I remember that. I guess some things stay with you and never let you go, no matter how much you’d like them to. The only thing you can do is learn to live with it and if possible, learn from it. I learned that two wrongs don’t make a right. As for Fynn, he learned his lesson some other time. More than once, actually.
“It’s finally going to court and the DA wants to go over some things with you for the court hearing the day after tomorrow.”
“Alright. I’ll be there tomorrow,” I tell him, squeezing the phone.
I don’t want to leave Maddie and Fynn alone, but something tells me if I don’t speak with the DA, the guy might walk. And, I’ll be damned if that happens.
“Good. Keep me updated.”
“Will do, Sir.”
And, with those words, the chief hangs up. The idea of returning to a case I consider solved doesn’t appeal to me, but I know the chief wouldn’t call me back for nothing. Fynn will have to make by for a day. I’ll try to wrap it up as quickly as I can and then, return. But, still, the thought of leaving Fynn without a backup doesn’t sit right.
I return inside, and pass by Maddie’s closed door. I continue to our room, and open without knocking. Fynn is in bed, but he’s still dressed, staring at the window. When he sees me come inside, his whole body unwinds. It reminds me of being a boy and fearing my mom would walk in on me jerking off. Only, Fynn doesn’t have that look on his face, that embarrassment. It’s something else. Something much more sinister.
“Is everything OK?” he asks, immediately getting up, with his feet on the floor.
“No, no,” I shake my head. “I mean, yeah, it’s fine, don’t get up…”
“Why aren’t you out?” His voice is stern, but not agitated.
“The chief called.”
“And?”
“I need to get back to the station tomorrow.”
“For how long?”
“Just a day. Apparently, I have a meeting with the DA about the Higgins drowning.”
“Oh,” he nods.
“Will you be alright?” I ask, but I already know what he’s going to say.
“Why wouldn’t we be?” His answer is quick, cuts at the root. I’m used to it. But, I still ask.
“Well, not like I wanna go. But, it’s important.”
“Of course it is. I don’t see why you feel the need to apologize for something that needs to be done.”
After all these years, he still knows how to make me feel a little awkward, a little ridiculous, but I wouldn’t trade this son of a gun for anything.
“Did you hear an apology come out of this mouth?” I ask, the tone turning into a joke, and we both jump on the bandwagon. “No. So, get your ass to bed, so you can be well rested tomorrow. You’ll be keeping an eye on this place all on your own.”