The Dead of Winter (Seasons of Jefferson: Book 2) (17 page)

My mind searches through any possible obstacle as to why this wouldn’t work.
Got one.
I clear my throat.
“Problem. Snow sports already started.”

“I know they’ve already started
practicing
, but they haven’t
competed
yet. Besides, cross country kids get to start late. I bet they’ll make an exception for you too.” I take a minute to process the idea. My lack of response has the others jumping in to help convince me.

“It’s Coach Rico for crying out loud. He’s always looking for new talent.”

“Remember, he already tried to steal you off the basketball team sophomore year?”

“I forgot about that. Our team sucked so bad that year that I seriously considered it.”
This snowboarding thing’s not a bad idea. Throw another patch on my jacket?
“You think they’d let me on Varsity?”

“Why wouldn’t they, dude? You already kick everyone’s ass on a snowboard anyway. They’ll be stoked that you can’t play basketball this year.”

“Guess I can talk to the coach on Monday.” I look back down at my phone and remember there’s a message about my truck.

“Have any of you heard from Officer Marnia?”

“Not me.”

“Me neither.”

The only one who doesn’t speak up is Brody, whose eyes pierce through the rearview mirror. He glares me down, with a silent warning to discontinue the conversation.

Kaitlyn’s squinting eyes meet ours in the mirror. “What’s going on? Have you heard from her?”

Brody clicks his tongue and shakes his head. I watch him curse under his breath.

“She messaged, saying they haven’t found Pistol, but they did recover my truck. She wants me to call for details.”

I watch my sister’s face drop, as she clutches the seat in front of her. She bows her head against the forward headrest. My eyes reconnect with Brody’s. He looks pissed. He’s kept her in such a protective bubble since the wreck, that her response to the latest update has him agitated.

“It’s gonna be okay, babe. I swear. I’ll take care of you. Are you okay, Pip?”

She turns her head and looks out the window. Clearing the foggy glass with her hand, she softly speaks, “I will be when they find him. I just can’t help feeling like he’s out there. Watching. Not all the time, but, here and there. Jenna and I have talked about this. She feels it too. Don’t you, Jenna?” I watch my sister reach through the seat and tug on Jenna’s shirt sleeve. “Right, Jenna? Didn’t you say you feel like someone’s been watching you?”

“It’s probably just cuz I’m still freaked out about the river. I don’t know who’d be watching
me
, but I could’ve sworn that last night when I was leaving Ty’s house, I was being followed. They didn’t peel off til I was almost home. I took a different route, just so they didn’t know where my house was.” She shakes her head. “I know it’s impossible. It can’t be
him
. It wasn’t even a truck. It was a sports car with tinted windows. It doesn’t make much sense.”

“Maybe I should call Officer Marnia back and see what she wanted to talk to me about.”

“Call now. That way we
all
know what’s going on.” Kaitlyn looks at Brody through the rearview mirror as she speaks. “Brody, you can’t keep everything from me. I know you want to protect me. I get it. But please don’t. We’re going back to school the day after tomorrow, and you can’t sit next to me in every class. I need to know what I’m up against. We all do.”

I take out my phone and dial. As it’s ringing, I hit speakerphone.

“Officer Marnia here. How can I help you?”

“Hi Officer Marnia. It’s Caden Woodley. I got your message.”

“Yes, Caden. I’m glad you called. There are a couple things I want to talk to you about. First, we’ve recovered your truck from the river. Sorry to tell you, it’s a total loss, but your insurance should cover it. If your company needs pictures or a report, give them my number. They won’t be able to see it for themselves. We already turned it over to forensics down in Sac.”

“What kind of stuff are they going to be looking for? I mean, we need answers. Especially these girls. They’re really on pins and needles here, thinking someone’s still after them.”

“Well, I have more to tell you.” There’s a brief silence. Everyone leans in. “We found Pistol’s truck. It was hidden from view, wedged in a crevice between a huge rock formation. It looks like it took a pretty good roll down the embankment. The cab was completely smashed.”

Silent gasps fill the cab.

Jenna whispers over her shoulder, “Ask about Pistol. Was he in it?”

“And what about Pistol? Your text said you didn't find him.”

“Well, we didn’t find him in the truck. It was empty. Eddie and his team have been all over the place. They did find some traces of blood around the same area they rescued you. It was scattered along some rocks near the river. It could’ve been yours, could’ve been one of your friends’. We’re still trying to get an ID on that. Worst case scenario, if it was Pistol’s,” Officer Marnia takes a deep breath, “he may be on the run.”

I throw my head back, “Shit. What are you trying to tell me here? You think he’s alive?”

“Hold on. Take a deep breath. Judging by the looks of that truck, it’s unlikely, but I don’t want to rule anything out. There’s a remote possibility he escaped before the truck went over the embankment.”

More gasps.

“Until we have a body, we’re treating this investigation like he’s still out there.”

“So, where do we go from here? I’m not going to lie, this is pretty disturbing news.”

“I know it is, Caden, but I can assure you that we are doing everything we can to find Pistol. In the meantime, keep doing what you’ve been doing. Stick together and stay close to home. It’s unlikely he’d go anywhere we could be waiting for him.”

“So basically, we’re safe at school and at home. Fun.”

“For now, yes. Just remember, I really don’t think he could’ve made it through that crash. His body was probably thrown from the truck before it lodged itself into the crevice. It’s pretty rugged terrain. When the snow clears, we may have a better chance of finding a corpse. I’ll let you know the minute I get any new information.”

“Got it. Thanks again, Officer. I look forward to hearing from you.”

Our call ends just as Brody pulls into my dad’s store to drop off the snowmobiles. When he kills the engine, silence permeates the cab. Once again, we’re all shaken. A tiny sniffle comes from my sister’s direction. Brody throws open the truck door and comes around to the back seat. “I need to help her, dude. Go see your dad so I can get a minute here.”

I nod in agreement and slide out of the truck, allowing Brody to take my place. Jenna and Mason jump out and begin to unload the gear.

When I get back to the truck, all our bags are unloaded. I don’t see Jenna and Mason right away, but Brody and T are sitting on the tailgate. He’s holding her in his lap, rocking her back and forth. They look like they could use a little more time.

Not wanting to interrupt, I scour the parking lot for the others. I spot them near the big oak tree out in the middle. They look to be in an intense conversation. Their heads are close together, huddled over a glowing phone. I don’t want to scare them, so I stomp my boots as I approach.

“Shhh. Not another word about it.” I hear Mason’s raised voice.

“Everything okay here?” I ask, as I walk up on my friends.

“Everything is just fine,” Mason replies, looking sternly at Jenna. “Girl problems. That’s all. Nothin’ you need to worry about.”

Something tells me there’s more to it than just girl problems, but I’ve had enough for one day.
I don’t even want to know
. “I’ll take your word for it. Let’s go.”

We join the others back at Brody’s truck. We all look at each other, secretly assessing one another’s mental state. Smiles start cracking. Then a few giggles.

Mason looks at all of us. “We need to have some fun. Take our minds off this mess.”

I look down at my phone, remembering all of our options. “So who’s up for an ugly sweater Christmas party?”

Jenna’s face brightens. “I’m in! I’ll call Ty.”

“Me too!” Kaitlyn grabs Brody’s hand, smiling. He nods in agreement.

“Sounds good to me.” Mason jumps in. “I might be a little late. I’ll probably have to sneak Marissa out again.”

“Well, dig out the sweaters, boys and girls. We’ve got two hours to get home and make our sweaters shine!”

“LOOKS LIKE IT’S JUST YOU
and me,” Jenna links her arm through mine as we walk up to the front porch at Sadie’s party.

“Well, we’re not really alone,” I say, pointing my thumb over my shoulder at Kaitlyn and Brody. “And Mason and Marissa should be here any minute.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m just bummed I couldn’t convince Ty to come, especially cuz he’s been after me for not spending enough time with him lately.”

“He’s been giving you a hard time?”

“He thinks I’m a little too consumed with watching out for my best friends.”

“I’m sorry. You know you don’t have to babysit me.”

“I know I don’t
have to
babysit you. I want to,” she laughs.

I stop walking long enough to stun her with my pouty face. I watch her expression change when she realizes that I don’t want her to feel obligated to take care of me. I especially don’t want to come between her and her boyfriend.

“I’m just messing with you.” She pulls on my arm to tug me forward. “Truth is, I feel safer when we’re all together. We’re on the same page.
On guard
. You know?”

“Yeah, I know.” I feel my muscles tighten just thinking about how long we’ve been exposed since we left the safety of our car. A half dozen different scenarios have entered my mind about how Pistol could come jumping out of the bushes, swing down from the overhang, drive by with a gun, or …

“I’m glad someone gets it,” she pulls me in tighter and lays her head on my shoulder as we continue walking toward the house.

“Look, bottom line is we need
each other
right now. We’ve gone through some messed up stuff that not a lot of people are going to understand. It can’t be easy for Ty to see us spending so much time together. You’ve just got to reassure him that he’s your man. I’m just your best guy friend, someone you shared a horrible tragedy with. If I can do anything to help define our friendship, I will. Give him some time. Once they find Pistol, we can go back to our old lives, and you can spend every waking second with the guy.”

“Just not tonight,” her face drops. “Well, he can’t say I didn’t try.”

“Guess we both failed tonight.”

“What do you mean,
we
failed?”

“Peyton.”

“You tried to get her to come?”

“I tried, but she won’t even answer my texts or phone calls.
Damn it!
It’s been a couple weeks since we went to her house. I figured she might be ready to see me by now.”

“She’s never responded?”

“No.”
I wish she’d at least throw me a bone. Anything.
My throat constricts just thinking about it. “Pretty sure she’s done with me.”
God, I miss her.
The words,
“I don’t want you either,”
begin hissing through my mind. Peyton’s cutting remark is masked with the vision of red eyes and bandages.
No, I take that back. I miss the old her.

“
Okay, let’s make a deal.” I look over my shoulder to pull Kaitlyn and Brody in for a pep talk. “We’re going to forget about Peyton, Pistol, the investigation, and everything else for one night. Let’s go have some fun.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The four of us pound fists and continue to the door. At least our conversation up the walkway has distracted me from my apprehension, if even for a few minutes. I seriously worried about coming out to this party tonight. Not only for our safety, but small town gossip can be rough, and I’m not sure how ready I am to face some of the people spreading it. I haven’t seen anyone since the accident.

They probably think it was all my fault since I was driving.
I think back to the chapel at the hospital.
Have those girls poisoned the high school against me? Do they blame me for what’s going on with Peyton? I wonder if they’ve seen or heard from her. Do they even know what’s going on? Maybe she’s talked to them. They might know more about her condition than I do. Ah hell, I really shouldn’t be here.
I turn to Jenna, “You know, this could be uncomfortable, right?”

“Tell them they can all kiss your ass. Nobody knows what really happened down river. If they give you any crap, come find me. I’ll set ‘em straight.”

“She’s right. We’ve got your back. We’re all in this together,” Brody says as he holds open the door.

When we step into the entryway, I take note of a few small groups scattered about downstairs. It’s the usual party crowd, not too many surprises. Everyone seems to be engaged in deep conversation.
Nice, maybe they won’t notice we’re here til I get a feel for what’s going through their heads.
No sooner does the thought cross my mind, than a cold breeze blows through, forcing the door to shut with a thud.

An abrupt silence fills the room. It’s probably my imagination, but it sounds like the music has also come to a stop. A few eyes drift up and lock on mine. I can’t help but feel a little defensive. I have no idea what these people have been saying about us. I scan the onlookers with a look of forewarning.
Go ahead, just try to start something.
After what feels like a solid minute, the eyes begin to drop away. The time warp slowly begins to re-seal itself. Motion in the room picks up, and the volume of the music begins to increase.