Chapter 5

The next morning went quickly. For most of it, Mr. Hardesy had me stocking canned goods, and I was actually surprised when he told me to go eat lunch at eleven. I grabbed my sack from my locker and sat down on some boxes behind the store. I hadn't been hungry until I'd known it was lunch time, but now I was more than ready to enjoy some turkey salad sandwiches that Tracey had put together for me. One bite, and I knew Tracey had a winner with this one.

"Robinson," Jesse Caldwell came out the store's back door. "Mr. Hardesy told me I'd find you back here."

"Hi, Jesse. Sorry about last night. I didn't mean to be..."

"Don't worry about it," Jesse said. He was abrupt, not smiling, and obviously disturbed about something.

"What's on your mind, Jesse?"

"Last night at the Lake some things happened."

That was disturbing news. "It wasn't Jane? Is she okay?"

"No, no, it wasn't Jane. But it could have been. You were right on the money there, Robinson. It was her best friend Stacey."

"Stacey Jackson?"

Jesse nodded.

"Is she okay?"

"I don't really know." Jesse shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "She was in tears when Jane found her. Junior was passed out next to her. I let Jane take her home in my car. Man, Junior ripped her clothes bad. And there was blood on my front seat when we got home. I don't know what to do, John. You've always been a good guy. I guess I'm looking for some ideas."

I was stunned. I didn't know what to do or say. Jesse was visibly shaken by last night's events. He'd even called me 'John, ' something he never did.

I frowned and walked over to the trash can, tossing out the remains of my lunch; Tracey's wonderful turkey salad suddenly seemed much less appetizing. I sighed and turned back to Jesse. "I'm not sure what to say, Jesse. I guess, if I were you, I'd be looking for a way to stay away from the Lake and keep everyone you know away from there."

Jesse nodded. I'd never seen him so visibly disturbed.

"Have you tried talking to Jane and Stacey?"

"I'm not high on their list of good guys right now, John. They see me and they think of Junior."

"I'm sorry, but I need to get back to work, Jesse. Can you fix it so the four of us go out for dinner tonight? You, me, Jane and Stacey? Maybe we can talk things through then?"

"I'll try. If not, could you maybe stop by after work? You know, talk to them, maybe help?"

"I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I'll do what I can, Jesse."

"Thanks, John. I owe you, big time."

Jesse shook my hand and walked away. His body language screamed sadness and dejection. I knew it wasn't the main reason Jesse was bummed, but I had to believe that it was at least partly because, for the first time, he was seeing his chance to get out of this town for the asshole he really was.

After my talk with Carly Marks, I had known what really went on at Junior's Lake parties for quite a while. I was sure a lot of other people in town had known even longer. But, I guess like Jesse, until the reality hit close to home, it really hadn't bothered me. What if it had been someone like Jenny or Tracey or even Jane Caldwell? I didn't know Stacey Jackson well, but I did know Stacey's sister, Rebecca. Rebecca had dropped out of school last Christmas. She and Tommy Lee Morgan had had a kid over the summer. There was just too much coincidence in that for me. You didn't have to be a genius to count backwards from nine.

As I left the store, I called Tracey and told her I was going to be at the Caldwell's and then maybe out for dinner. She didn't really keep tabs on me that much, but I didn't want her to wonder. She had a wedding reception to cater anyway.

Jesse was sitting on the hood of his pickup when I walked up his driveway.

"Thanks for coming by, John." He gave me a humorless grin. "Jane and Stacey haven't said two words to me since I got back from Hardesy's, so I think the whole 'talking things through at dinner' idea is a long shot." He looked down and sighed, then looked back up at me. "Jane did say you could come by and they'd at least talk to you, though. She and Stacey are in the basement. Mom and Dad are off at the VFW for the monthly dinner dance. I think it would be better if I just sit out here."

Jesse was obviously feeling guilty. I wanted to help him, but I had no idea what to say, especially since I thought he had reason to feel guilty. So I nodded and walked into the house. As I did, it occurred to me that I had no idea what I was going to say to Stacey, either, but I figured I could listen and play the rest by ear. I'd been to Jesse's before and headed down the stairs to the basement. I could hear Jane talking, so I knocked on the wall.

"Jane, Stacey? It's John Robinson. May I come in?"

"Come in, John," Jane called.

Jane was sitting on the sofa the Caldwell's kept in the basement. She was cute in the girl-next-door fashion, freckled and blonde. I wondered why I hadn't really noticed that before. Jane had her arm around Stacey, who was bent over hugging her knees. Stacey looked up when I walked in, and, wiping her eyes, she pushed herself up into more of a sitting position. Her eyes were rimmed in red. She had obviously been crying. Her cheek was puffy and I wondered if that was just from crying.

"Hi, Jane. Hi, Stacey. How are you feeling today?"

"Oh, she's just peachy, asshole," Jane hissed.

"Hey, Janey, put the claws back in," I said gently. "I only want to help, and I didn't mean anything by it."

Jane frowned, and then sighed. "Okay, I know you didn't, but try to be a bit more sensitive, will you?

I nodded. "Has she talked about last night?"

Jane shook her head. "No, she just cries and curls up like this."

"I take it she doesn't want to see her mother either."

Jane shook her head.

I motioned for Jane to come away from her friend. She looked down. Stacey was now lying on the couch all curled up, sobbing again. Jane grimaced, but got up. We walked through the doorway to the other room.