Alex Standall's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

Alex had one foot in the tree line when the bird stopped him. Mystic landed on his shoulder and dug in with sharp feet. "Cars," the cockatoo said. "Two of them. Coming back." Alex turned. Down the road, headlights swung toward the cottage. If the sheriff caught him walking into the woods before dawn, he'd look like a man burying evidence. Every eye in town already wanted him guilty. He couldn't run, and he couldn't hide the direction he'd been headed. "Change of plan," Alex said. "We don't leave. We give them nothing to see." He walked back to the porch and sat on the step, hands open on his knees. Mystic hopped to the rail beside the flowering tree, orchids and peach blossoms hanging over him. "Play stupid," Alex told the bird. "You're just a bird." Mystic clicked his beak. "I am insulted." One car was the sheriff's. The other was a small hatchback. A woman climbed out first, before the deputy even opened his door. Dark wavy hair, a black suit like she'd come straight from an office. She moved fast, sure of the ground. Alex knew her without meeting her. She was the one who'd been posting his face online for a week. The one turning the town against him. Samantha Evans. She held up a folder. "His victim had a life policy," she said, loud, for the deputy. "Lapsed. Then the beneficiary changed. Two weeks ago. When he showed up." She flipped it open and stabbed a page. "I sell insurance. I read files. He's tied to her money." Alex stood slow. "I never met that girl." "Everyone says that." Samantha didn't look at him long. She cut her eyes away like he wasn't worth the study. "Save it." "Then read the date again," Alex said. "That change was filed while I was three states over. I've got gas receipts. Motel stubs. All stamped. Your own file clears me." Samantha's jaw tightened. The deputy took the folder from her hands. He ran his thumb down the page and frowned. "He's right about the date, Sam," he said. "This was signed before he ever rented here." He handed it back. "There's nothing to hold him on." For one second the charm dropped off her face. Underneath it was something colder. She looked at Alex like she was measuring him for later. "This isn't over," she said. Then, to the deputy, "We're done here." She turned and walked to her car without another word. The sheriff's cruiser backed out. Samantha's taillights followed. Alex let his shoulders drop. Mystic flew back to his shoulder. "She'll dig deeper now," the bird said. "You embarrassed her in front of the law. She won't forgive that." Alex watched the road go dark. "Then we finish before she does." He stepped off the porch toward the trees. "Show me what's buried out there. Tonight."