When Casey was little, his mom used to tell him that snowflakes were full of people’s secrets. Each silent crystal harbored something no one wanted anyone else to know. As the snowflakes pivoted all around him, he wondered how many his parents hid from him.
Casey, Lani, and Wyatt ate their supper in silence. Casey nibbled on his chicken fried steak, too lost in thought. After everything that happened, Casey found it concerning how their father disappeared without a word. It was almost exactly like with their mom and so far, the police had yet to hear from him either.
That made Casey wonder if he ever went to file an official report or try to figure out what happened. Doubting his dad felt wrong, but what else could he assume? There were so many unanswered questions about where he’d gone and why he wasn’t answering them. He checked his phone repeatedly throughout the day, hoping to find a response or explanation from his father. He even kept a close eye out on their landline, jumping up at every ring from telemarketers, thinking it might be their father calling.
His worries only mounted as the time passed by without a word from him. Had gang members taken both his parents?
Such a horrific thought made Casey ill. August wouldn’t have orchestrated a hit on his family, would he? Not after he helped bandage him up, right? He’d wanted no cops involved, and Casey tried his best to not reveal too much about his identity, but it wasn’t like he could keep it a secret from his folks.
“Where’s Papa?” Wyatt asked through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
“He’s busy helping the police find the person who hurt Nana,” Casey replied.
That wasn’t entirely a lie, but Casey knew he wasn’t being completely honest with his son either. He’d already learned someone killed his Nana, and he didn’t want to worry him more by mentioning his Papa missing too. Casey glanced over at Lani, who gave him a sympathetic half-smile.
“Hey, let’s watch a movie later,” Lani suggested. “It can be anything you want, Wyatt.”
“Yeah, I think a movie sounds like a great idea,” Casey said.
Trying to make everything seem normal didn’t qualm the anxiety churning in Casey’s stomach, but he appreciated his sister for the distraction.
After they finished supper, Casey and Lani set a Disney movie up in the living room for Wyatt. Casey found it difficult to concentrate and kept checking his phone, anticipating answers from his father. Casey worried that he met a similar fate as his dear mother.
Her sullen complexion and frightened eyes haunted him, and he wished he could erase that gruesome image of her. He wanted to remember the fun times they spent together as a family, and how she comforted him when he needed her the most. When he learned he’d be a father, he told his mom first, needing advice on what to do and how to go about it. She’d sat him down, let him cry and vent and worry about what awaited him in the future. She never judged or got upset with him.
It wasn’t until the movie was almost over when someone pounded their fist on the door. Casey froze, eyes glued to the locked front door. Lani pulled Wyatt close, giving Casey a side glance.
“Who is it?” Casey called out, taking tenacious steps toward the door.
“It’s just me, Casey. I forgot to bring my house key,” Mr. Lockhart replied. “Hurry and let me in. I’m freezing out here.”
Casey wasted no time with the locks, letting in a blast of chilling air along with his father. He kicked his boots off on the mat, tracking in bits of snow.
“Where the hell have you been?” Casey asked him. “You haven’t answered our texts and calls. What happened?”
“It’s a long story,” Mr. Lockhart sighed, removing his coat and wool scarf. “Have the police already stopped by?”
“Yeah, Dad. Detective Bailey dropped me off. After I found Mom-“
“What? Where is she? Is she home already?” Dad asked, gazing around. “I-I’ve been everywhere… I thought I knew where she might’ve gone.”
Casey froze, his jaw tightening. “Have the police not told you?”
Mr. Lockhart frowned. “Told me what?”
Casey inhaled a sharp breath, sparing a glance at Lani and his son curled up on the couch. “Mom’s dead. I found her in Mad Batter’s dumpster earlier. I thought you knew… I thought you’d been with the police all this time. Why haven’t you answered us? We’ve been worried to death, thinking someone might have killed you too.”
Mr. Lockhart reeled back, shock registering on his face as he stared at him, gaping. “No… She can’t be. I did everything they asked me!”
“What are you saying?” Casey shook his head in disbelief. “I told the detectives that you dropped by the station to figure out what happened and they looked at me like I was crazy. You need to tell us what’s going on.”
“I did what those bastards wanted!” Tears streamed down his father’s face. “They promised they’d let her go.”
“It was a ransom demand then?” Lani asked from the couch, sitting up with a frown. Wyatt stayed snuggled up beside her, watching them with curiosity.
“Dad, why didn’t you say anything?” Casey asked.
“They told me they’d kill you all if I snitched or went to the cops,” Mr. Lockhart explained. “I couldn’t risk putting you all in danger. I thought I could do this on my own and get her back. They promised she wouldn’t be hurt as long as I gave them the money and did all their weird tasks.”
“What kind of tasks?” Lani asked.
“Illegal stuff, probably. I had no choice. They had me get rid of a gun and hide a thousand dollars out in the forest for them,” Mr. Lockhart replied.
Casey swallowed painfully. “Dad, had the gun been used recently? Do you remember what kind it was?”
“I’m not like your mom, I don’t know types of guns. It looked like the one she uses.”
“There’s something else you should know,” Casey said. “Mom was shot.”
“No… You think… You think I hid the gun they used to kill her?” Mr. Lockhart covered his mouth a moment, shaking his head. “Oh God.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it was a different gun?” Casey suggested. “But why would you not go to the police with this? They could’ve helped you. Doing this puts yourself and all of us in danger. Hell, we don’t know what these people could do to us.”
“I-I panicked. They sent me photos of all of you. Taken in random locations when you weren’t paying attention,” Mr. Lockhart said, fumbling for his phone in his pocket. “Look.” He showed Casey random photos of each of them, most at the bakery. Some of them captured him with Wyatt at the park, Lani out with her girlfriend, Mom in her uniform, and a few in front of their home.
“Jesus. They’ve been watching us this whole time,” Casey said.
“Let me see.” Lani leaned over on the couch as Casey handed her the phone to scroll through. “Oh wow, that’s creepy.”
“They said it would be easy to kill any of you within seconds. I should have gone to the police, but I worried that they’d mess things up. If they knew I’d snitched to the police, they could’ve gone after one of you,” Mr. Lockhart explained.
“But you could have gotten yourself killed!” Casey exclaimed.
“Better me than any of you.”
“Don’t say crap like that,” Casey snapped. “I thought I’d lost you too.”
“Casey’s right. You should’ve told us about this.”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to protect you all.” Mr. Lockhart sighed, stuffing his phone back in his pocket after Lani handed it back to him.
“Don’t ever scare us like that again.”
Casey threw his arms around his father, sinking into his comforting embrace. Mr. Lockhart held him close, neither saying a word for just a moment before parting. While it irked him how his dad went off on his own, he understood why he wanted to protect their family. Casey just wished he would’ve let him in on everything. Maybe he could’ve helped somehow.
Someone threatened them all and took his mother away from him. Visions of vengeance played in his mind. Casey wanted the bastard to pay, no matter the cost.
“We need to go to the police with this,” Casey said. “They’ve already been looking for you and now you can explain what happened. You tried saving Mom on your own and stayed quiet to protect us.”
Mr. Lockhart nodded. “Yeah, I need to do that. Could you come down there with me?”
“Of course, Dad. I’m sure Lani doesn’t mind staying here with Wyatt, do you?” Casey asked her.
“No, go ahead. We’ll be fine,” Lani assured them. “Won’t we?”
Wyatt nodded.
“We’ll watch another movie while you’re gone,” Lani said.
“Okay, honey, just be sure to keep all the doors locked. Don’t open it for anyone. We’ll be sure to bring the house key with us.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. While you’re there, you should ask the detectives if Mom had her house key on her,” Lani said. “If not, her killer might. And that means he can come and go here anytime he wants.”
Casey shivered at the thought. “We’ll be sure to ask them.”
“Tomorrow I’ll get the locks changed,” Mr. Lockhart replied. “We don’t want to take any chances, not with this lunatic still out there.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Casey donned his coat and boots, lacing them up.
The neighborhood resembled a snow-globe. Casey’s breath remained visible in the air as he trudged through their snowy lawn. Nippy wind crept under his warm layers and snowflakes alighted on the sides of his face, stinging with the chill. His nose reddened like Rudolph’s by the time he climbed into his father’s truck, allowing the heater to bring a smidgen of heat back to his shivering body.
On their way into town, they rode in silence. Casey didn’t know what to say because he couldn’t fault his dad for trying to keep them all safe, yet he wished he hadn’t acted alone. Perhaps their mom would still be alive. There was no way of knowing that and Casey would never blame his father for the tragedy, but that possibility still lingered in the back of his mind.
Comments (2)
See all