214 Palmer Street(26)
Judy implied that something terrible had happened to him after he left, that perhaps he’d been murdered while hitchhiking. That was plausible, but there were other possibilities as well. What if he had been killed before he’d even left town? Perhaps his own father had killed him and covered up the death by saying he’d run away. Or maybe Jeremy had an argument with friends, an argument that got heated and led to violence and his death.
With a shudder she recalled the machete seen in the photos of the bomb shelter. Damascus steel, just like the one Gavin had displayed at his house. What were the chances there would be two of them? Her heart raced as she went over all the possibilities. Could the machete somehow tie in with Jeremy’s disappearance? No. That meant that Gavin and Kirk would have been involved, which didn’t connect with what she knew of her husband. Kirk could fly off the handle at times, but he wasn’t capable of committing violence. He rarely even raised his voice. And Gavin? He always seemed like he had something to prove, but murder? No. He was a decorated police officer. Natalie had once bragged about a time earlier in Gavin’s career when he’d outsmarted a hardened criminal, getting him to confess to a murder. Natalie had said, “Blake Starkey would still be walking the streets if not for Gavin. He’s a hero.”
A hero.
Kirk and Gavin were good men. She knew this, so why was her mind going to this dark place? Her imagination was out of control.
It was a long time ago and the situation had nothing to do with her, but somehow she couldn’t shake the feeling that she and Jeremy were connected.
When Kirk came home from the auto show she didn’t waste any time. He’d barely set down his messenger bag in the foyer when she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you were friends with Clarice Carter in high school?”
In one second his friendly demeanor became guarded. “I wouldn’t say we were friends.”
“I saw some pictures and you looked pretty friendly to me.”
He ran his fingers through his hair and lifted his shoulders. “You know how it is in high school. Sometimes you hang out with people for a while but they’re not really your friends. Clarice had a thing for Gavin and so she just kept coming around. It was only one summer, thank God. She’s annoying.”
His words made sense but Kirk was a bad actor. His tone was disingenuous. Alarm bells went off in her head. He’s lying. “And you didn’t think to tell me this when Clarice started working with me?”
“It was a long time ago, Sarah. I didn’t actually think too much about it, frankly.” He sighed. “Can I at least get in the door, put my feet up?”
She followed him into the living room. “Kirk, it just doesn’t make sense to me. Why wouldn’t you say something?” He sat on the sofa and patted the space next to him. She took the chair opposite. “And why didn’t you ever tell me you had a good friend in high school that went missing? We’ve been married three years and I had to find out about this from your mother. Why are you keeping secrets from me?”
He rested his hands on his knees. “Listen, Sarah. I’m sorry you had to find out from my mom, but this isn’t a big secret. I just don’t like to talk about it. That was a painful era in my life. Jeremy taking off like that was the worst. He was my best friend and then he was gone.”
“I thought Gavin was your best friend.”
“That’s what he’d have you think.” He gave her a sad smile. “But no. Gavin’s always been a friend, but not like Jeremy. Jeremy and I were close. Really close. We had plans to room together in college.”
“So no one knows where he went?”
Kirk shook his head. “He told his sister he was coming to see me when he left home that day. But he didn’t come to my house. The note he left in his parents’ mailbox said he was going away but didn’t give any details about where he planned to go. His family blamed me for a long time and it really weighed on me. I was just a teenager.” He took off his glasses and dabbed at his eyes with his fingertips. “As for Clarice, I did tell you she was bad news in high school.”
He had, but she’d assured him Clarice was fine. People changed. Everyone at work liked her. She hadn’t thought it was fair to judge her based on how she’d been half a lifetime ago. Maybe she should have listened to him.
That could have been the end of it, but she couldn’t let it go.
The next day, after Kirk had left for work, she got out her laptop and googled Jeremy Bickley’s name, immediately coming upon a website devoted to his disappearance. The home page had what looked like a school photo, and beneath it his statistics. Hair color: brown, Eye color: brown, Height: 5’8”, Weight: 156 lbs, Distinguishing marks: none. She studied the photo. Jeremy Bickley had a shy smile and hair that fell over his forehead. He wore a button-down shirt and tie in the picture, like he was heading out to a wedding.
“You look like a sweet boy,” she said aloud.
The website was poorly done, with wonky formatting, making it hard to read. She imagined that the family had set this up in the early days and as the years went by with no news to report, it hadn’t been updated. She wondered why. Creating websites was so easy nowadays that it wouldn’t take much to revamp this one. Had the Bickleys given up hope?
There was a video clip of the family being interviewed on a local news station. She clicked on the link and watched as the female anchor introduced the segment, saying, “An eighteen-year-old local man has gone missing. Jeremy Alan Bickley left his family home the night of June 19th, after an argument with his father. He hasn’t been seen since. A note from Jeremy left in the family’s mailbox said: Dear Mom and Stephanie, I’ve had enough of Dad and his drunken rages. I need to get away and find myself. I’ll be in touch once I get settled somewhere. Love, Jeremy.” She faced the camera. “Understandably the family is worried about their son and would like him to call or come home. Dale Pittman visited with the Bickley family recently.”