Investigation

Jason forced a small grin, though it did little to remove the shadows from his eyes. "Yeah...yeah, I'm okay." His gaze dropped though. Was he actually going to stand here and lie? That didn't seem right. But neither did it seem right to be talking to her about this. Would the awkwardness ever truly go away? They had so much history...so many shared emotions. Things could never go back to the way they were, but how could they even be...normal?

He straightened and lifted his chin, but only to rest his elbows on the wall and hide his eyes in his palms. No...he couldn't lie, and if he didn't talk to someone, it would just make him feel worse. "I broke up with Misty tonight," he mumbled. There. He'd said it. And now that he had, it just emphasized the truth to himself. Saying it aloud somehow made it seem more real, and the pain seemed to grow just a little more sharp.

It wasn't until he'd taken a deep breath did he finally raise his eyes once more. The tears would not fall...but they were there, hiding behind the wall he'd created to protect himself. "The whole thing with her and Carson..." He shrugged lamely. "I just didn't feel it was right to continue a relationship with her while she's still married. I mean..." He sighed. It felt so wrong and so right at the same time.

Jason's gaze met Katie's, and he wished he knew what she was thinking. Would she think him a jerk for leaving Misty at a time like this? She was a good friend of hers, after all. "I guess I don't know any more what I think of Carson, and if God prefers them to work it out somehow, I didn't want to be the one standing in the way. I don't want to live with that on my conscience...that they might break their vows forever because I got in the middle."

He ran his thumbnail across the top of the wall, and hit a slight notch that he suddenly remembered making on some other occasion when he'd been upset. His fingers apparently still had their same nervous habits. His eyes found the floor again. This had to be weird for Katie, and he hadn't meant it to be. "I'm sorry," he apologized quietly. "I didn't mean to put you in an awkward position. I just...didn't have anybody else to talk to. I'm sure you've got better things to do than listen to me vent about my personal life."


Alec was a little surprised he didn't see Jason's truck, as he pulled his motorcycle into the driveway. Usually Jason stayed later than this, but... it really wasn't any of Alec's business anyway. Once parked in the garage, he headed inside the house. There was little reason, but he liked letting Misty know he was home before going out to his shed for the night. And...one thing his shed lacked was a shower.

"Honey, I'm home!" He shut the door behind himself and took off his leather jacket, slinging it over his shoulder. Seeing a light on in the living room, he wandered that direction. "Man, things sure look lively around here," he teased. Not even the television was on. "I smell like sweat and pizza grease, so I'm gonna..." His voice trailed off as he neared the couch and spotted Misty. Immediately, he knew something wasn't right, and his pulse quickened. "...shower," he finished.

Coming closer, his concern grew. Was she crying? "Hey..." His voice had softened, and he came around to sit on the edge of the couch near Misty. "You okay? What happened?"


It wasn't that JT thought no one else could handle this or that Hope and Bree weren't doing all they could to help Gunner...but he just had a hunch he wanted to follow. He'd asked Gunner about his family around the time of the accident, and Gunner had always just pushed that topic aside, saying he knew all there was to know about that, and it wasn't worth pursuing. They were still after a killer, quite possibly with Agency ties, which had nothing to do with family or friends. And yet...something about it just didn't seem quite right. Several days had gone by, and Gunner was no less on edge. Not that JT thought it would be an overnight cure, but something had to be done. Something had to end Gunner's obsession before he went mad or drove away the people who cared most about him...

"Franklin?" The man furrowed his brow while wiping his hands on a towel.

It had taken quite a bit of doing for JT to find him in Knox. There were an awful lot of dead ends, which just added to the mystery. Thankfully the little pottery shop was not busy today, providing an ample opportunity to chat. "Yeah." He handed Paul a photo of Gunner.

After Paul took the picture, a look of recognition crossed his face. "Wow. Yeah...yeah, I knew him. We hung out in high school. Weren't best friends or anything but we almost always wound up at the same lunch table." He cocked his head at JT. "What's all this about?"

"Did you have any contact with Brent after high school?"

"Not really. Well, maybe a couple times, then he was in an accident that took his memory. He didn't remember me, so there wasn't much to go on. I went off to college and that was it."

"So you didn't help him or anything?"

Paul quirked an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, he was pretty bitter and didn't want much to do with anything. I heard his folks' insurance took care of most of the bills and stuff, and a lawyer was making sure he was set. There wasn't much I could do." He paused to study JT's face. "Why?"

"Just digging. Brent's wanted to find out a few things about his past and I'm trying to help."

"Ah." Paul wandered back to his pottery wheel and sat down to start working again. "I suppose it sucks to not remember, but there was stuff I wouldn't want to remember." He chuckled. "Did he ever remember the trouble he got himself into?"

JT followed him and watched him work for a moment. "Trouble? No, he still has no memory prior to the accident."

"Well, he was quite a rebel in high school. Too smart for his own good if you ask me, but his dad wasn't too pleased."

"Oh?"

"Eh, I didn't know the guy, but Brent told me he could be pretty rough, especially when Brent would get himself in trouble. Got suspended once for lipping off to the principal one too many times - thought he might never be back, the way his dad talked. But I guess we all thought we had parents who were too hard on us when we were that age."

JT eyed the lump of clay that began going around in circles on the wheel, while Paul's hands started to shape it. "I see. Did you know anything else about Brent's parents?"

"Not really, other than their marriage was on the rocks."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm." Paul kept his eyes on his work and was quiet for several moments before giving up and letting the wheel stop. He sighed and looked back up at JT. "I haven't thought about all this in years, ya know? But parts are coming back to me. I remember once at lunch, Brent was all upset about something and I razzed him about it. He spouted off at me and ended up telling me he'd found out his parents were getting a divorce." He shook his head. "Fool kid thought it was 'cause of him. Said he'd been too much trouble and his dad had finally had it, so was leaving."

JT folded his arms, his mind hard at work. "How long after that was the accident?"

"Not too long. I was surprised they were all in the same car, to tell you the truth. Figured his dad had already split, but I guess not..."

...As JT drove down the highway, his thoughts were a mess of facts and theories. A very interesting story was being built, and he wondered if there were any answers therein. He had just enough time today to make one more stop. And maybe, just maybe, it would shed more light on the dark puzzle...

"Yeah, I remember that night well." The attractive middle-aged woman offered JT a drink, to which he shook his head. She shrugged and poured herself one anyway before rejoining him in the plush living room. "Sam and Lynn were their cool selves, like usual. Oh, they hadn't always been that way - just for a couple years. Anybody could tell they were having problems." She took a sip of her drink, her rings clinking lightly on the glass. "'Course me and Harry weren't exactly best friends at that point either."

JT gave Renee a wry grin, but found little real humor in all of this. "So backtrack just as little...It was a business party that afternoon? And Brent came along with his parents?"

"Right. He hung out with my boy for a while, until Sam and Lynn got into it."

"So they fought?"

"Sure did. I don't know how it started, but Sam was throwing around the insults pretty good, and that was without having had anything to drink."

JT tried to imagine what was being described to him. "And then they left?"

"Oh, yes. Slamming door - the whole bit." Renee took another sip of her drink before setting the glass down on the elegant coffee table.

"And Brent?"

"Followed them out like a whipped puppy. Oh, he tried to act all tough, but he was mortified that his parents had caused a scene like that. The rest of us just went on, hoping the whole thing would blow over." Renee sighed as she remembered. "We were all shocked to hear of the accident, and we all wished we could have talked Sam and Lynn into staying longer - maybe they could have avoided what happened."

JT nodded slowly. "One can always wonder..."


...And wonder, he did. Although less than he had before. Driving back to North Springs, he had plenty of time to think and put pieces together. The only thing left now was to figure out what to do with them.

Gunner really had been completely on his own after getting out of the hospital. The family lawyer had assisted with paying off bills and legal advice, but otherwise, Gunner had to rely on himself. It was true that no family had shown up - a fact that still felt strange. Apparently there were a couple friends that lent a hand, but it seemed he, or his family, had no close friends that had stepped in to help. Gunner had been to visit his parents' graves, however, he'd missed the funeral as he'd been in the hospital for so long. From what JT had been able to dig up, the funeral had been very small.

Then there was the thing about Gunner being a troublemaker and upsetting his father. And his parents who had been just ready to divorce. Had Gunner really blamed himself as Paul had implied? What a horrible thing for a kid to experience. Yet Gunner remembered none of it. But did his subconscious? Even though memories did not exist, was it possible for emotional footprints to linger? Was it possible for something to remain, tucked way down deep, that toyed with his emotions - remnants of feeling guilty for his parent's behavior? And was it because of their argument that an accident had happened? A man had served time in prison for vehicular manslaughter, yet Gunner remained unsatisfied. Was it really a shrouded truth like he claimed, or was there guilt in his own heart?

Was there anything to all of this, or was it just random facts that meant nothing? JT didn't know. But he'd gone about as far as he could on his own. The only thing he could do now was pass the information along...

..."Hope?"JT knocked on her office door before entering, a few papers in hand. "I didn't want to bother you, but I had a few things that...well..." He shrugged and approached her desk to hand her the papers that had handwritten notes jotted on them. "Just some stuff I dug up. Gunner may think he's the only one who can investigate, but this can be our little secret."

He gave her a wry grin. "I don't know if this will help or anything, but I just did a little research about Gunner's family. I got the impression he'd done an awful lot of fact searching about the accident, but not his family before that point, and..." He shrugged again. "Call it a hunch, I dunno..." He went on to explain all the things he'd learned, and who he'd talked to, still not sure if it all meant anything, but hoping it would help in some way.

"So anyway...I just thought I'd stop by. Gunner's part of our family now and I just want to help."


Rosalyn sniffed and wiped her eyes, unable to help but smile a little at Chad’s text. Oh, how she wished things were simpler. Why did they have to be so hard? Why did something so beautiful have to be so complicated?

To Chad:
From Rosalyn:
It’s one of my best memories too.

Would she have more memories like that? She couldn’t help but wonder.

I gotta get back to the others before
I’m missed at supper. Will text more
again soon.

Standing, she was just turning to go back into the dining room, when a shadow caught her eye. Looking up quickly, she was startled to see her father. “Oh. Dad. Need something?”

Jim shook his head. “We just wondered where you’d disappeared to was all.” He glanced at the phone in her hand, then cocked his head, seeing a strange redness to her eyes. “You okay?”

“Of course.” She tucked her phone back in her pocket and forced a smiled. “I was just checking some texts while everybody was busy eating. Figured I wouldn’t have time once the all dishes needed to be done.”

“Ah.” Jim smiled. There still wasn’t something right about that look on her face though. It was the same look she’d gained as a child when she’d done something wrong but was keeping it a secret. Not quite guilt, but almost. And why did she look as though she’d been crying? “Who’d you hear from?”

The question was so direct, Rosalyn’s mind couldn’t think fast enough. Her mouth opened, but instead of saying anything, she just blinked for a moment. “Oh, um… well just… a friend.” She nodded. “That’s all. Nothing important.”

Jim’s smile remained, but he also didn’t move from the doorway, still blocking her path to the dining room.  “I’ll never understand the significance of texting without it being important,” he teased. “Which friend was it this time? Hannah?”

Rosalyn swallowed hard. She could feel her cheeks growing warm, and there was nothing she could do about it. “No. Just a friend.”

“I see.” Jim nodded slowly. “A guy, maybe?”

He knew. Rosalyn wished she weren’t so transparent, but her father knew her way too well. Her smile faded as her jaw tightened. “Maybe,” she responded tersely. “But I’d rather not talk about it. Now…excuse me.” She gestured to the blocked doorway. “I need to check and see if anyone needs anything else.”

Jim sighed and shook his head. “What’s it gonna take, Rosalyn?”

“For what?”

“For you to get your head on straight. For you to give up on someone who will do nothing but cause you grief in the long run. I thought you’d already gotten past that man.”

A tear ran down Rosalyn’s face as her eyes blazed with anger. “I asked you to excuse me.” Her words were spoken through gritted teeth. “Move.”

Jim held up his hands and stepped to the side. “Just…” He didn’t finish his sentence. There was no point, since Rosalyn had already brushed past him and was gone.

Instead of checking to see if anyone needed anything, as planned, Rosalyn ignored everyone, and headed straight for the door. Once outside, she aimed for the barns, but after arriving, she kept on walking. Her route continued until she’d reached the small orchard. It was after sundown, and starting to get chilly, but she didn’t care. Her jacket  had been left behind, and the evening breeze sent goosebumps up and down her arms, but she ignored it. All she wanted to do was cry.


A chuckle managed to surface, and Clint shook his head. “I’m afraid this tractor needs a mechanic’s eye, but thanks. I’m glad somebody wants to help.”

He took a long sip of Mountain Dew before sighing deeply. “Mm…I prolly drink way too much of it. This, and coffee.” He took another swig before his gaze moved to the door that was being pushed open.

“Well, I thought for sure somebody just left the light on.” Eric grinned as he poked his head inside the garage. He’d been walking to the dining hall to join Stacy when he’d seen the light and just thought he’d save energy and shut it off. He was surprised, though, to find not only Clint, but Ashlee too.

His grin widened into a smile. “Hey, Ash! Thought you’d have gone with your mom to supper. Wanna join us?” He threw her a wink. “Dinners on the road have been awful lonely.”