Surprise Visitor

So far, Miranda is raising the son of her ex-lover, Dougie. When Dougie disappeared with a trace, Miranda was granted temporary custody of the boy, Waylon. Dougie returns and now she is afraid he has come back to take Waylon from her. Then a teacher, who Waylon has a rocky relationship with, ends up murdered and Dougie is the prime suspect. Miranda knows Dougie is capable of a lot of things, but he isn't capable of murder.

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During my break I reach for the phone and dial the Sheriff's office to talk to Mitch. I really want to bounce my ideas and questions off of him. I pick at my nails as I wait for the receptionist to put me through.

"Hello Tiger," he says. "I was just about to call you."

"You were? I can hang up and let you follow through on that, if you want the credit."

"Funny. I had a visitor this afternoon."

I sit back in Matt's over sized office chair and glance at the monitor. "Who was that?"

"A young man named Terrence Evanoff." He pauses to let the name settle in my mind. "Came to find out if we had any clues about who killed his teacher."

"And," I ask, suddenly sitting forward and waiting for more. "What did you tell him?"

"Just what I can. We have a suspect, no motive and no real leads."

"Well, Dougie told me he heard a kid screaming for help and that he didn't know it was Tomlin because of all the blood."

"Dammit, Miranda, why didn't you call me. I could have come in to question him. Did that even cross your mind?"

I stare at the phone with enough anger to rip it out of the wall. "Whoa. I was there as his friend. No, calling you did not cross my mind. Lose the attitude, Officer Danner."

I hear him sigh, his way of trying to calm himself down and still let me know he's pissed at me. "Is that all he said?"

"I asked him if he saw the kid and he said he couldn't remember. Just the scream. It proves that he didn't force the car off the road. He saw a child being forcibly removed from a vehicle and he stopped to help. He didn't even know it was Tomlin in the driver's seat."

"So he says. Did you ever think he might be lying to you? Are you naive enough to believe him?"

I feel a curse word crawling up my throat and into my mouth. "We have customers, Mitch. I gotta go." I say, staring at the monitor that displays an empty store.

"Wait, Miranda, I'm sorry," he says. "I just don't know him as anything other than an idiot who left you and his son. Forgive me for not giving him the benefit of the doubt."

"But you know me, Mitch. I know him. I know what I see and hear. You refuse to check out Mira Evanoff. You refuse to look at the whole picture. You only go by the evidence."

Again, he sighs. "That is all I can look at. I have to make sure things hold up in court. I have to watch every step I take so that if I do get that person to go to trial, they don't go free because of something I did foolishly. You can run around the county and dig through every clue you find. I can't."

"Will you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Call Terrence and talk to him. I think he knows something. You've already told me I can't go near him. Just talk to him."

"I'll call him tomorrow. I'll ask him to come down here to identify something we found in the woods, see if he can identify it as belonging to Dennis Tomlin. Good enough?"

I smile. "Thank you for indulging me."

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Just before closing, Aaron pulls up to one of the gas pumps and starts to fill up his truck. He keeps glancing towards the store.

I finally go out with a fistful of trash bags to start emptying the garbage cans. "What are you doing here? I thought you could only put diesel in this monstrosity of yours."

"No, only high test. I, uh, came to talk to you. You never seem to be home any more."

He reminds me of a brother, even though I've never had one. I feel like a protective older sister.
"What's up?"

I work while I listen to him. Taking the full and half full bags out of the can, twisting them tight before tying them closed. Then snapping open the fresh bags and putting them in the cans.

"I can't show my face around town anymore. Everybody and his brother knows what happened to me. I'm humiliated."

"Why are you humiliated? Two people assaulted you. Because you are a kind and true gentleman, you didn't retaliate. Why would you be humiliated?"

Aaron pulls the nozzle from his gas tank and hooks it back on the pump. He only put four gallons in. "I just am. Word got back to my dad."

I roll my eyes. Here we go. Aaron and his father have a ridiculously messed up relationship. Aaron yearns for approval and his father is unable to accept Aaron for what he is. "And?"

"He told me to come out of the closet once and for all." Aaron says, his voice shaking. "Miranda, I'm not gay. I couldn't hurt those old women. No matter what they were trying to do to me. I couldn't hurt them."

"Aaron, listen to me and listen good," I say softly. "Your Father is up there." I point to the night sky. "He is the only father's approval you need. And, I can bet he is so proud of the man you are. Stop wasting your life trying to gain the approval from a man who probably doesn't even like himself. Stop trying to be someone you aren't, just for him."

Aaron nods, a small smile replaces the hopeless look of earlier and he looks away, sniffing. "I knew you'd make things better."

Before things get too emotional, I lightly punch him in the arm. "Follow me. I have day old crullers inside. A healthy dose of sugar and you'll be good as new."

Aaron nods, then starts walking beside me and throws his arm around my shoulder. "Miranda, you should be a therapist." he says, squeezing me tightly.

"God help you if you come to me for counseling. That's the blind leading the blind."

I put my arm around his waist and squeeze him back, happy knowing he feels safe with me.