Long Shadows

Chapter 95

S​houldn’t you be in class?” Decker called out to Tyler.

Decker was leaning on the fence that surrounded the football field, and was watching Tyler run pass routes all alone.

“Teacher workday — thought I’d get in some reps.”

Tyler glided over to Decker and wiped down with a towel he pulled from his duffel. “You know they let my dad go, right?”

“Yeah, I heard.”

“I told you. You just wouldn’t listen. And now our neighbor said the same thing.”

“Right. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what?”

“Did you really want your dad to get away with it?”

Tyler slowly let the towel fall to the ground. “Wh-what?”

“Could you really live with the knowledge that your father murdered your mother?”

Tyler’s lips started trembling and he looked away. “What are you talking about?”

“He confessed, Tyler. He... he couldn’t live with the guilt anymore. So he did the right thing. He came in and confessed. He asked me to come here and tell you that. And that he was sorry for everything. He didn’t mean to do it. He just snapped.”

“He... my dad confessed?”

“Yeah. He’s in custody now.”

Tears slid down Tyler’s cheeks as he cried out, “Why couldn’t you just let it alone?”

“It’s not my job to let things like that alone. It’s my job to catch people who commit crimes. He used your electric bike, did you know that?”

Tyler slowly nodded. “I keep a really accurate record of mileage because it’s part of my training. It had four extra miles on it that morning.”

“Right, over and back from your mom’s. And ‘res ipsa loquitor’?”

“She was always saying that to him. I never really knew what it meant. When I found out it was on a note left beside her body...”

“But you knew what he’d done before that, right? The laundry? You spilled your dad’s drink on purpose so you’d have an excuse to run another load of clothes while we were there. The clothes he wore from that night were in the machine when you tossed in the clothes you spilled the drink on, weren’t they?”

Tyler shook his head, his eyes clenched tight. “He washed his clothes that night, which he never did. I heard the machine going from my room. But there were still some stains on them when I checked them early that morning. I... I didn’t know what they were.”

“I think you did know what they were, Tyler. I think you saw the mileage on the bike and the bloodstains on the clothes. And then your dad showering at three in the morning? You said that was normal, but I don’t think it was. And, I spoke with Drew James earlier. He confirmed that you didn’t run with them that morning. Before you supposedly even knew your mother was dead.”

Tyler’s eyes glistened with tears. “I’d seen a CSI episode where they check the drains for blood. I thought if I ran it multiple times and used bleach...”

“It’s harder than you think to get rid of that evidence.”

He finally looked up at Decker. “Look, I didn’t want to think that my dad...”

Decker’s tone softened. “I know.”

“I... I was hoping it was all in my head. That I was just thinking crazy stuff. I made myself believe that my mom was fine. That I’d see her soon. Right until the police showed up to tell us she was dead.”

“I understand, Tyler.”

“No, you don’t fucking understand anything. Now, thanks to you, I’ve lost my mom and my dad. I’ve got nobody. I’ve got nothing. I’m all alone,” he screamed.

Tyler threw his duffel at Decker and sprinted flat out to his car. He slid into his BMW, fired it up, and roared off.

Decker just stood there and watched him go before slowly walking back to his car.