Chapter 50

word count  1115

Jake Leichtenstein pulled out of the car wash bay and eased into a spot at  the edge of the parking lot. From behind the front seat he pulled out a Walmart bag and fished around for a spray can. He pulled it out, Lysol, and rushed with trembling hands to spray the stuff all over the cab of the truck, then bent down to try and spritz under the seat. He struggled to reach every open spot and crevice. In his mind, the place was crawling with germs. To him, odor and germs were synonymous. If you had one, you had the other. And the odor from "it" which had been resting in the truck bed for days had seeped into the cab.

He had dumped "it" in Big Bear River at dawn yesterday morning, but the deathly smell stuck as though it had coated everything in the trunk with its stink.  He whooshed around the can  spewing out a generous spray one more time. Finally satisfied, he tossed the can and on stepping up to get in the truck paused to stare at his reflection in the mirror.

"Not bad," he murmured. "Blond...like a beach bum. I like that!" The final check was to assure himself  he was unrecognizable to the local police. The next exit was New Albany. He was heading back because he felt like going home. There was too much unfinished business there to stay away long, too many boys he had wanted to become acquainted with, to have a go at. He had to go back.

***
Trudy tied on a good one last night. But she was still up early. Her head felt big, very  big, and her eyes hurt. Well, everything hurt. Gilberto had dropped her off at home after seeing Buzz admitted to the hospital. She recalled gazing at him and Jeannie in the same space like husband and wife. The image fried her brain just thinking about it. That's when she hit the bourbon. John yelled at her and said something about a sleepover, but she didn't know what he said. She was too far gone when he spoke to care. But once she fell, literally, into the bed, she couldn't sleep.  Jeannie and Buzz, Jeannie and Buzz...it wouldn't go away. So she was here at an ungodly hour trying to stomach coffee and get a grip on herself.

She switched on the kitchen TV for a distraction but then decided she should turn the volume down so it didn't wake anyone. The last thing she wanted was to make idle conversation. Moaning, she took another sip of coffee and stared at the screen while her gruesome thoughts danced a frenzied jig in her head. It all stopped when she spied a picture of Buzz  on the screen. Her coffee mug slipped out of her hand and crashed to the floor. Diving for the volume knob, she turned it up.

"The home of a local detective, William Miller, burned to the ground last night after an explosion. The fire marshal is investigating." The newscaster, pushing long strands of sleek, red hair off her shoulder, removed her dark shell glasses and cooed, "Around town, we all know Detective Miller as Buzz. He's popular, we love him, and we wish him well. Now back to the news."

Trudy's jaw dropped. Was everyone in love with Buzz? If she hadn't already dropped her coffee, Trudy would have thrown the mug at the TV. Then she realized what the bitch had said. Buzz's house exploded and burned to the ground!

"What's going on down here? I heard something crash." John's soft voice broke in.

Trudy pointed to the TV. "Buzz Miller's house exploded last night. It burned to the ground. It was just on the news."

"What? Oh my gosh, Trudy! His little boy is sleeping upstairs. We can't let him know. At least not until I talk to the lady he’s been staying with." He pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and grabbed the phone. "She'll be here soon," he said after a few minutes.

***

"It's too bad my dad didn't die in the explosion." They were the only words out of Adam that morning when Lisa, John, and Trudy explained what happened. The three adults exchanged glances. Lisa and John were shocked, and Trudy paced in annoyance. She got up and poured herself a drink. The others didn't notice.

"What do you mean, honey?" Lisa asked. She moved close and put an arm around Adam. "Why on earth do you think it is bad your dad didn't die?"

"No reason." He studied his pajama sleeve as though it were something interesting.

"That's a very odd thing to say. You're saying you want him to die. Do you understand that? Did you mean to say something else?"

"No." He shot Lisa a wide-eyed look.

John came forward. "Why don't you like him, Adam? Is he mean to you?"

"No."

"Well, then, what is it, champ?" John hugged him, but the boy remained silent. John and Lisa spent the next hour trying to get him to speak, but to no avail. Finally, Lisa pulled John aside.

"Look, maybe I'll take him home. After he is settled, maybe he'll relax and talk to me. He's been under a lot of stress."

"Okay," John replied. "But could I mention, I've really enjoyed meeting you." He shot her a smile.

"I'm glad I met you, too, John," she replied.

***

At the hospital late, on that night when he was admitted, after Trudy and Gil left, Buzz woke out of a sound sleep after what he thought was a thunderous roar. His heart pounded so fast, he worried the ditsy nurses would come and bug him about it. Stretching to look at the monitors, he saw they looked normal, no alarms or anything. He had such a feeling of dread. But there was no reason for it, other than what was apparently a bad dream that woke him up with a boom. It was the middle of the night. He hoped he could go back to sleep, but he felt so bummed out and nervous, he doubted he could. He wished he could remember the dream. He heard a stirring from the next bed. Looking over, he could see in the dim light Jeannie was awake. She turned and saw him.  Her eyes registered surprise.

"Buzz, I just had the worst dream. There was a boom at the end of it that woke me. It scared me to death. But why are you and I here in a hospital...and together?”