Monday - Chapter 10
As his first day in Pine Haven comes to an end, Joe Richards reconnects with the people he left at home.
New to The Road Cain Walks? See the Table of Contents to start the first chapter.
Fifteen minutes after lunch, Dan Thomas leaned back in his rocker on the Hovington’s porch and released a long snore.
With a wispy smile, Joe Richards stared across the highway to the tree on top of Memorial Hill. He’d delay his visit there a little longer—maybe on his last day with his bags packed. Rucker would call his avoidance unhealthy. Like a Band-Aid, he’d say, better to do it in one quick rip.
As lunch caught up to him, Joe’s eyes also drifted closed, the next two hours passing in a blink that ended when Suzanne shook him awake.
“I’m heading out,” she said, “but I wanted to let you know Ms. Finch is working on dinner.”
Joe answered with a stifled belch that made Suzanne laugh before she crossed the porch and ran through the rain to her car. He gave Ms. Finch another hour before he woke Dan to return to the dining room.
As Ms. Finch brought their plates, Joe marveled at how little she’d changed in the past twenty years. Exotic green eyes better suited for a calendar model contrasted a deep-set and constant frown. As a kid, he imagined she was once beautiful until some backwoods witch put a curse on her. Now, he understood life just hadn’t dealt her many good cards.
Clearing his throat, Dan said, “Ma’am, I just want you to know, in all the places I’ve stayed in a well-traveled life, this is the best without question.”
With a trace of a smile, Ms. Finch set his plate in front of him—two slices of pot roast with mashed potatoes and green beans. “Thank you. I hope you’ll sign our guest book before you leave.”
“I certainly will. Did you own this place back in 1980?”
She nodded as she gave Joe his plate. “We took over for my mother in March of ’79.”
“I came through that next April with my future wife.”
Without another word, Ms. Finch returned to the kitchen.
Dan picked up his fork. “What did I say?”
“She’s always been like that. I’m impressed you got a smile.”
Stabbing a piece of pot roast and swirling it in his mashed potatoes, Dan took a bite. “Never underestimate a mesmerist.”
Dinner ended with a scrape of Dan’s fork, startling him from a long, deep nod. Pushing his plate away, he stood. “That does it for me. I hope I’ll see you in the morning.”
Joe smiled. “I’m sure you will.”
As Ms. Finch came to clear Dan’s place, Joe built his nerve like the boy who used to ride his bike past the Hovington’s back door, terrified of the witch inside.
“Do you remember me?” he asked. “I used to live here in town.”
She nodded. “I remember. With all those snakes and rusted nails in that field, it’s a miracle you lived this long. I told you so many times to stay away from that shack.”
With a half-smile, Joe said, “I almost ran over a copperhead out there but still didn’t listen.”
“All boys are the same, I guess. It’s the men who turn out different.”
“Sounds about right.”
Ms. Finch met his eyes. “I got to be good friends with your father after you went off to school. A shame you never visited. My boys would have given anything to see their daddy get old.”
Clenching his jaw, Joe managed to keep his mouth shut. His relationship with his father wasn’t any of her business, but he knew Pine Haven too well to say it. By morning, everyone would know, the story growing until some people said he hit the poor woman. He didn’t care to find out how it would affect his access to the prison, so he waited until she took the stacked dishes to the kitchen and snuck upstairs to his room.
She didn’t know the whole story: the nights Garrett Richards treated his son like a painting on the wall. The baseball games and graduation he didn’t attend. How nothing Joe did was ever good enough and had to be repeated until he did it right. She had to know about the drinking, but not how his father was when he ran out or tried to get sober. She didn’t know how hard he hit when the frustration became too much. She didn’t know anything.
Sitting at the small desk in his room, Joe called Elaine again. This time, she answered on the first ring. “I was waiting for you to call back.”
Home was on the other end of the line. In the background, Brad shouted something unintelligible. His best friend Nick Sumner yelled a response. The boys would leave for camp tomorrow, Nick staying over so they could ride together.
Joe leaned back in his chair. “Sounds like you have your hands full. Just Brad and Nick?”
“I wish. The twins are out in the yard. They’re playing war, so hopefully they’ll tire themselves out.”
“Just count the hours until morning drop-off and you’ll be fine.”
“That’s easy to say from two states away. Drive back up here and see how fine you are at work tomorrow.”
“I would if I could.”
Elaine giggled. “But you can’t and you ain’t.”
Brad yelled again with a burst of electronic machine gun fire as punctuation. Someone pretended to die in exaggerated groans. By Brad’s dramatic cry, it must have been Nick. Never serious for long, his vengeful pleas broke into the wild cackles he inherited from his mother.
Elaine’s voice wavered. “What am I going to do without either of you here all week? This house is too big to live in alone.”
“You’ve got Prescott.”
“He snores and has awful gas.”
“It’ll be like I never left.”
“Good point.”
A boy screamed loud, and Joe pulled the phone from his ear.
Elaine’s shouted response was muffled by her hand. “Okay, boys. Time to settle down. Pick a movie and bring it in here.”
Her voice grew louder again. “How am I going to make it through the night?”
“Spike their soda. If that doesn’t work, spike your own.”
“Don’t tempt me. I thought about calling the zoo to see if they’d loan me a tranq gun.”
“If they don’t go down on the first shot, you’ll just make them mad.”
Elaine snorted.
Joe pictured her surprised laugh, one hand covering her mouth as her cheeks blushed. “You know, you’re sexy when you’re flustered.”
“You’re lucky you can’t see me.”
“What are you wearing?”
“One of your old Pink Floyd shirts and gym shorts.”
“Sounds hot.”
“Save it for your dreams.”
“The first one has your name on it.”
Elaine’s voice softened. “It better. I miss you.”
“I miss you more.”
“When are you coming home?”
“Hopefully by the weekend.”
“That’s too long.”
Brad said something in the background Joe couldn’t hear.
“I don’t care, honey. Whatever you boys pick is fine. Do you want to talk to your dad?”
The line crackled as Elaine passed the phone, Brad’s voice replacing hers. “Hi Dad!”
“Hey, bud. You all set for tomorrow?”
“Yeah. We’re gonna watch Camp Blood to get psyched.”
“Sounds fun. Have a great week, but behave out there.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
Elaine laughed in the background.
“The guys are waiting,” Brad said.
“Sure. I love you, bud.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
When Elaine had the phone again, she was still laughing. “He sounds just like you.”
“I knew you were going to say that.”
“Listen, I better go. If I don’t start cleaning after them now, this place will still be a mess when you get home.”
“I love you,” Joe said.
“I love you more.”
Ending the call, Joe imagined being there, sending the boys outside so he could take Elaine to bed and dissolve the day’s frustrations. But if he really was at home, he’d more likely be in his office behind the den, sorting through session notes and writing reports for Rucker. This wasn’t his first trip away. By the end of it, he’d swear everything would change when he got home—that he’d prioritize his family and live life instead of working it. As always, he’d pass through the front door and find routine waiting.
Joe’s next call was to Rucker Phillips, the gruff, hurried voice interrupting the third ring. “Tell me about our prisoner.”
“If he hadn’t been handcuffed, I’d have pissed myself.”
Rucker laughed. “The warden said he was a big man. Do you think he’s legit?”
“A wise man once taught me you can’t learn anything in a single session.”
“I was never wise and lost my patience before I lost my hair. Now, tell me what you think before I get cranky.”
“He might be the real thing, but that could change tomorrow.”
“I’ll go ahead and start the transfer request.”
“You aren’t listening. You should hold off until I’ve seen more.”
“Why?”
“I haven’t met his alternate yet. According to Warden Carmichael, he’s dangerous.”
“Did I ever tell you about the patient who bit me?”
Joe sighed. “You needed fifteen stitches.”
“It hurt like hell too, but that’s not the point. I didn’t treat her because she was safe but because she wasn’t—for herself or the world. I’ll start the paperwork in the morning. If you change your mind about Mr. Perlson, I’ll throw it in the trash.”
“I’m holding my recommendation until I’ve heard his whole story.”
“As long as you can get it out of him this week. I’m pushing our budget as is. I’ll be happy when I’m retired and don’t have to deal with this anymore.”
The buzz around their department was that Rucker was closer to it than he let on. Some said this was his last year and that the hospital board had asked him to name his replacement. Joe never put stock in rumors, but Elaine suggested it was why Rucker sent him to Pine Haven. To hear him mention it now felt like more than a coincidence, but Joe wouldn’t put it past the old sadist to lower the carrot and then yank it out of reach.
Just in case, he chose a safe response. “You’ll be around when the rest of us are long gone.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
A woman’s muffled voice came over the line, and Rucker sighed. “I gotta go.”
“Hot date?”
“We’ll find out in a couple hours. I’ll give you all the details after you send me your recommendation. In the meantime, be careful down there.”
“I will.”
As the line clicked dead, Joe set his phone on the desk and took his laptop from its bag. He stood the voice recorder beside it and hit the play button, his own voice speaking through a low buzz of static.
What can you tell me about Grady Perlson? With a soft smile at how much he learned in one session, Joe transcribed the warden’s answer.
When he finished with the recording, Joe stretched and stripped down to his boxers. Pulling back the bed’s comforter, he cut out the light and climbed under the sheets. In five minutes, he was asleep.
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