The Discovery - 20. Chapter 20

It took an exhaustive hour of negotiating over the phone with Angela Crawford before she would agree to meet with Monica and Michelle. She agreed to meet them on the north side of the zoo in a park. Monica drove the rental car carefully, following the directions supplied by her phone in the unfamiliar area. They had to wait until afternoon when Angie was done working for the day which left them with hours to explore the area. After a long lunch where they planned their questions and went over all the information they had acquired over the previous months of the investigation, they felt confident they could figure out a way to have Angie see their side of the murder case.

As they parked the car, Michelle checked the time on her phone. She got out of the car and looked around the area. It was very open with few cars in the parking lot they were in. Monica emerged from her side and closed the door to come around and joined Michelle as they walked over to the picnic table they were supposed to meet.

“You know what I find odd,” Michelle said casually as they walked.

Monica smirked. “You mean other than meeting a stranger in a public park?”

“Yes. Kyle hasn’t called to get an update on our progress.”

“We haven’t made any progress yet,” Monica pointed out.

“That’s never stopped him before.” Michelle frowned. “Hopefully everything at the office is okay.”

“If there were a problem, I’m sure we’d hear about it.” Monica sat on the bench, leaning back against the table as she looked around. “Let’s just hope Ms. Crawford actually shows up.”

Michelle rechecked the time. They were at the right place at the right time. She was about to dial the number again when she saw a car door open as a woman appear, looking around cautiously before studying them. She nudged Monica to get her attention before nodding. The woman hesitated for a second before walking slowly towards them.

There was no one else around, but the woman looked around in every direction as she made her way over to them. Dressed in simple clothes, with her purse hanging off her shoulder, she had the appearance of an unassuming soccer mom. When she reached the table, her voice was quiet and cautious. “You’re the lawyers the guy told me about?”

Michelle nodded. “I’m Michelle Crowder and this is Monica Jones. Ms. Crawford, I want to emphasize before we continue that you are not in any way in trouble or part of any litigation. We are here to get information from you regarding the murder of Sharon Ellington.”

“I know,” she said as she slid onto the bench across from them. “It’s been so long since she passed, I thought no one cared anymore.”

Monica regarded her with a confused look. “I think you may be mistaken. Joshua Carter was convicted of her murder over five years ago.”

She nodded. “Oh, I know. But I had my doubts. That’s why I left.”

Michelle was now equally confused. “Why did you leave?”

Angie sighed and looked around again. “Just in case. Never know what else he might do.”

Michelle and Monica exchanged perplexed looks. “Ms. Crawford,” Monica began. “Perhaps it would be best if we start at the beginning. How did you find out about Sharon’s death?”

“Rhonda told me,” she replied. “That afternoon. She called and told me. A couple hours later I started packing.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t want to take the chance that I was going to be next.” Angie’s voice faltered on the last word. Her eyes blinked rapidly as her lip trembled.

Monica’s eyebrow lowered as this little mystery deepened further. “Tell us.”

“I can’t.”

“Why can’t you,” Michelle asked.

“They said the restraining order was sealed. His lawyer said if I made it public, then I’d get in trouble.”

Monica frowned in anger. “Do you have a lawyer of your own?”

“No.”

“You do now.” Monica’s first duty was clear. Whatever was going on in Angela’s life, she needed someone to help her out of her fear. “We came here to uncover information about Sharon’s murder. You think you know who did it?”

“I think I know who it was,” Angie said.

“Anything you tell me will be in the strictest of confidence. I cannot divulge anything you tell me to anyone. Who did you have a restraining order against?”

Angie looked from one to the other. “Dylan Goode.”

Michelle barely reacted. She almost expected to hear that name. But the fear in Angie’s eyes still didn’t fully make sense. “Tell us what he did to you.”

She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before she spoke. “It was in our sophomore year in college. I had met Sharon in a philosophy class, and we started hanging out. We had a lot in common and just got along really well. About two months into the first semester, I met Dylan. He seemed very charming and nice. He had this kind of attitude about him. Like, when Sharon and I would be sitting in the cafeteria during lunch, he would just sit next to her like she was supposed to sit with him and no one else. He would put his hand on hers or his arm around her shoulder. When I said how cute her boyfriend looked, she said he wasn’t her boyfriend. I thought that was a little weird, with how he was acting with her. But I just accepted what she said. I mean, why wouldn’t I? She was so kind.”

She took a breath to steady her nerves before she continued. “By the fall semester, Sharon and a bunch of us were all hanging out regularly. I had a sense that Sharon was doing drugs. Cocaine, I later found out.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Turns out, Dylan was the one who introduced her to it. Anyway, it was that year that Dylan turned his attention to me. He poured on the charm and took me out to dinner and bought me gifts. He liked flaunting his money and it didn’t take much to get him talking about his powerful father and how he was going to take his place and maybe even go to congress in the future.

“We started dating. Within weeks of us being official, Dylan was talking about marriage and how many kids he wanted us to have. I was a little stunned because we were just getting started, and here he was talking about wanting to have kids and a whole bunch of other stuff. The longer he went on, the more I saw the real Dylan.”

“And who was the real Dylan,” Michelle asked.

Angie sighed. “The real Dylan was controlling. Very set in what he wanted. He didn’t really care what degree I got because he said once we got married that I wasn’t going to be working anyway. He was pretty clear that he saw women as just housewives who take care of the kids, keep the home clean and host parties for his friends. After a few months, I told him I wanted to break up with him. He got very angry with me. Told me that he was the best thing that would ever happen to me. That I would be giving up so much that I would be stupid to not marry him.

“I told him I didn’t want to be a trophy wife and that I was done with him. That enraged him. He screamed and ranted that I’d be sorry. I ignored it and started avoiding him. I talked to Sharon on the phone a few times after that. She told me to just stay away from him until he got over it. And I thought after a month it was over.”

She went silent. As she sat there, Michelle and Monica leaned in closer. “Angie,” Monica began softly. “If he did something to you, you need to tell us. We can help you. We can protect you and make sure he can never hurt you again.”

Angie sniffed and her hand shook as she wiped her eyes. “One night… I was in my apartment off campus. Alone. There was a knock on the door. Before I could even get to the door, it opened because I had forgotten to lock it. Dylan came in, looking drunk and mad. I told him to leave, and he stepped up to me and started screaming in my face. He was telling me how it wasn’t fair that I broke up with him. That I should be on my knees thanking him for being his girlfriend. I told him over and over that I wanted him to leave. He started screaming at me. Telling me he wanted us back together. I told him I was going to call the police and then…”

Tears started to drip down her face as she looked away with a mixture of fear and shame. Michelle reached across the picnic table and put her hand over Angie’s. “It’s okay. You can say it.”

Her breaths were strained and ragged as she tried to keep her sobs under control. “He… put his hands around my neck and started squeezing. I tried to fight him off, but he wouldn’t let go. I couldn’t breathe. I was starting to blackout and panicked. I slapped him across the face as hard as I could. My nails scratched his cheek and he screamed before he finally let go. I was struggling to breathe as I raced to the kitchen and pulled out a knife. I screamed at him to get out and pointed the knife at him. He stumbled to the door, calling me a whore and slammed the door shut.”

Monica rose from her seat and came around the table to sit next to her in an act of compassion. “What did you do after that,” she asked Angie gently.

“I called Sharon,” she replied. “She came right over, and I told her what happened. She insisted that we go to the police. I didn’t want to at first, but she said that I had too. That I needed to tell them. She took some pictures of my throat because you could still see where his hands had been on my neck before we went.

“It took most of the night with the police. Filing the complaint and getting pictures taken. Then they made us wait while they called the local prosecutor’s office. About an hour or so later they told us to go home, and they’d be in touch. It was two days later when the lawyer showed up at my door. He walked me through the process of getting the restraining order and he took my statement. Sharon called me a little later to tell me they contacted her too.

“After that, Dylan’s lawyer started calling me. Telling me to drop the assault charges. He said that if I didn’t, then they would sue me and my family and bring out all sorts of nasty rumors at trial and ruin me. He told me that I’d have to sit there on the witness stand and tell everyone about every guy I ever slept with. That he’d paint me as a stuck-up bitch who was using Dylan for his money.” She hung her head slightly as she continued. “I gave in and dropped the charges. They agreed not to fight the restraining order as long as it remained sealed from public knowledge. After that, I never saw him again. Any time there was one of those parties, even after college, if he was there, I never went.”

“Angie,” Michelle began carefully. “Do you know what happened to the pictures Sharon took of you that night?”

“I still have them,” She admitted. “I kept them and everything else from that ordeal in a lockbox. I didn’t want to let go of it even though it was mostly just junk now.”

“We’ll need copies of it all for evidence,” Monica said.

“No,” Angie nearly shrieked. “I can’t let this become known! If I do, it’ll break our deal and his lawyer—”

“Will have a lot to worry about once the truth comes out,” Monica interjected. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Angie. Dylan assaulted you. His lawyer was just trying to intimidate you and keep you silent. He had no right to do that.”

“But…”

“Angie, do you really believe you were the only one he did this to,” Monica asked her. “For all we know there are more women like you out there with a story about him. You can’t let him silence you. If he did kill Sharon, your silence helped him cover up his crime. You can’t let him get away with that. You have to speak up and tell people what he did to you.”

“We can help you,” Michelle insisted. “We can get it out and use it against him. You know deep down he is the likely culprit behind her murder. You practically said so when you first sat down. Now is the time to do something about it. Otherwise, Sharon will not get the justice she deserves.”

Angie looked at the two of them as fear still tugged at her. “I won’t have to testify or anything?”

“We can’t promise that,” Monica replied honestly. “But I can promise you that if you do have to tell your story, we will help make it as easy as possible.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“He’s counting on that,” Michelle pointed out. “Dylan is probably counting on you to be too scared to face him. If he did kill Sharon, then he knows he got away with it in part because he scared you into staying quiet and running away. You said Sharon was a friend of yours. If you mean that, then you have to face him.”

“Does anyone else know about this,” Monica asked Angie.

The scared woman lowered her head. “Emma knows,” she said, nearly in a whisper. “I told her about a year ago.”

“And she believed you?”

She nodded.

A silence hung over the three women for a moment before Michelle spoke again. “Angie… I know how scared you are. What we’re asking you to do isn’t easy. But there are a lot of other people out there that have gone through the same thing you have. If you can show bravery and speak up, then you may give some other woman the courage to speak herself. And in the process, you’ll be saving someone from being found guilty of a crime that he didn’t commit. Do you think that’s fair for someone else to pay the price for Dylan’s mistake?”

Angie reluctantly knew that they were right. Sharon had been her friend and her boyfriend had been nothing but polite and kind to her. He didn’t deserve what he was being put through any more than she had. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

Monica smiled with a little pride for her. “Thank you. Now, let’s go see what you have, and we can get copies of it all.”

The three of them stood and walked together to their cars. Michelle was thoughtful as they walked across the brown winter grass. “If it’s been so long since he assaulted you, it shouldn’t be hard to get those orders unsealed. Especially if they can be used to show a pattern of behavior.”

Monica nodded. “I’ll take care of that myself,” she said as she pulled out a card from her purse and handed it to Angie. “As far as you’re concerned, I am your lawyer for anything that creep or his lawyer say to you. If they try to call you, you direct them to me.”

“Thanks.” Angie smiled slightly, feeling more hopeful about what she was committing herself too.

 

****

 

Kyle sat quietly in his office all day. He avoided any conversations with any of the staff and only gave Rosette a short instruction about not being disturbed all day before he shut the door behind him.

When he woke up that morning, Jacob was still absent from their bedroom. He had hoped that at some point in the night he would return but it had been a longshot hope at best. After he got dressed for work, he joined everyone else in the kitchen to find Jacob quietly serving breakfast to the boys. Kyle attempted to initiate a conversation with him but was met with total silence from him. As if he had never spoken at all, Jacob went about his duties preparing the boys for school and reminding Matt that they were going start working on the labels that evening.

Matt watched the interactions between his fathers and felt a sliver of fear start to creep into his heart. While he had witnessed some spats and disagreements between his dads on a few rare occasions, he had never seen Jacob be so cold and quiet. Even before Kyle had entered the room, he could hear how different Jacob’s voice sounded when he greeted him and Aaron when they came into the room. It was a quiet, unemotional voice that sounded almost foreign to his ears. He said nothing but just looked at them at the table before he had to get his things for school. Taking Aaron’s hand, he also noted Aaron seemed unbothered by it all and that gave him a small measure of relief that his little brother couldn’t understand what was going on.

When Kyle finished breakfast, he approached Jacob as he was cleaning up the dishes. “Jacob? Can we talk?”

Jacob looked at him darkly and replied, “no.”

Kyle sighed in exasperation as Jacob turned away from him. “We need to talk,” he continued. “We can’t just ignore this.” He attempted to put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder only to feel him flinch before pulling away.

Jacob stared at him as if he had just been violated. With clenched fists he forced himself to keep his voice down. “If you can’t pick the boys up from school today, say so now.”

Kyle stared at him, hurt and resentful of Jacob’s actions. He saw the clenched fists and wondered if Jacob was thinking about taking a shot at him. The pain of rejection won out in his voice as he replied softly, “no, I can.”

“Fine.” Jacob turned, having nothing more to say as he headed to their bedroom to get dressed. Within minutes, he and the boys were heading out of the house, giving Kyle only a few seconds to say goodbye to them.

Left alone in the empty house, Kyle swallowed his feelings and resolved that before the end of the day, he would settle this problem between the two of them. All day as he sat alone in his office, Kyle went over his work, typing up new subpoena requests and taking a call for a meeting with the ADA the next week to schedule final motions and jury selection. He came up with new ideas for Josh’s defense and edited and revised his opening statement for when the trial began.

When the alarm on his phone went off, Kyle got up from his desk and gathered up his papers before putting them in his briefcase, grabbing his coat and heading out. “Rose,” he said as he paused at her desk. “I’m heading out to pick up the boys from school. Any messages?”

Rose double-checked her notebook before replying. “No, Mr. Howard.”

“Okay then.” He threw his coat on and absently added. “Since it’s Friday, if you or anyone else wants to leave early today, you can. Tell Kevin I want a meeting with him along with Michelle and Monica Monday morning.”

She nodded as she made a note of it. “I will do that. Have a good weekend.”

Kyle frowned slightly. Having a good weekend seemed to not be in the cards for him today. “Thanks.” He left the office and drove quietly over to the school. It occurred to him as he sat in the car, parked next to the elementary school, that in a few years Matt and Aaron would be in different schools. When that happens, they’ll never be in the same school again. The thought saddened him in a way. Getting older and watching how fast they were both growing made him wonder if the bond they shared now will continue as it was now when the years went by.

He thought about Jacob, wondering how he was going to get through to him tonight and repair the damage to their relationship. The idea that it might not be possible to fix upset him and sent his thoughts down avenues he never considered. What if Jacob didn’t want to fix things? Maybe he was being so quiet because he was planning to leave. Maybe for good? His right hand reached over to his left and touched the gold band on his finger. Kyle couldn’t envision a life with the boys or at the house without Jacob being there. Even when they had been separated for years before they reconnected, Jacob had always had a presence in his mind. Stephanie and the others may have wondered why he would occasionally go quiet or sullen and he would never tell them or admit to himself that he missed Jacob. The number of nights he laid awake and cried from the grief he felt back then were more than he would like to admit. Faced with the prospect of losing him again only fueled his growing sense of loss.

The sound of the school bell and children exiting the doors pushed the thoughts out of his mind. He got out of his car and stood on the sidewalk and waited. So caught up in his own thoughts, Kyle didn’t see Andy come up next to him. “Hey, stranger,” his friend said with a smirk.

Kyle was startled as he turned to look at him. “Geez. You creeped up on me.”

“Sorry,” Andy said. “You doing okay?”

“I’m fine,” he replied. “Just been busy at work and I still have some stuff to do when I get home.”

“Oh.” He nodded as if he understood when he had no idea what would make him so busy. “You’ve been working late a lot lately.”

“It’s not easy getting ready for trial. In a few weeks I’m going to be doing opening arguments and then defending someone’s life.”

Andy smiled for his friend’s woes. “Don’t stress yourself. You know what you’re doing. Josh Carter, right?”

Kyle turned his attention away from the school to Andy. “How did you know his name?”

Andy shrugged. “Matt looked it up online. Was asking Jacob about it over dinner the other night.” He frowned slightly before he asked, “he never told you?”

“Yeah, he told me.” Kyle wanted to be mad at Matt for snooping around online about his work, but he knew he had no one to blame but himself. He was the one who showed Matt the website to search on. “He hasn’t been in a good mood lately.”

“Jacob? Why?”

Kyle shook his head, not wanting to bring the entire revelation out until he had settled things with Jacob. “Not entirely sure. Just know he’s pissed with me.”

Having heard that before, Andy didn’t think anything of it. “You’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks for the confidence.” It wasn’t a feeling he shared but he didn’t get the opportunity to say more as Matt and the others came running up to them. “Hey, boys,” Kyle said with a forced smile.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hi, Daddy.”

He knelt and hugged Aaron, maybe a little tighter than usual. “Oh, I missed you. Let’s get home and get you boys something to eat.”

Matt smiled and waved to his friends who waved back before they got into Andy’s truck. Kyle made sure Aaron was secure in the backseat before getting Matt inside and heading home. “No work to do tonight,” Matt asked his father as he looked over.

Kyle shook his head slightly. “Nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow when you’re probably busy. What do you have to do?”

Matt looked at him curiously. “Dad and I were going to start putting the labels on the jars.”

Kyle’s lips twitched slightly as he was reminded. “Oh yeah. Well, you two should be pretty busy with that.”

“Can we order Chinese tonight,” Matt asked.

“Eww,” Aaron said from the back seat. “I don’t like that stuff.”

Kyle grinned. “Yes, you do.”

“I do?”

“Once you discovered sweet and sour chicken, yeah.” Kyle chuckled. “Don’t worry, Aaron. I’ll make sure you like what I get you.” As he drove, he realized he would need to know what Jacob wanted. “Hey, Matt. Text Jacob and ask him what he wants to eat tonight.”

Matt pulled out his phone. It wasn’t something he used often. It was limited in its use when his parents got it for him. It wasn’t connected to any internet, and he was limited to only text messages and calls to and from the contacts in his phone. Kyle and Jacob wanted him to have something for emergencies, while also protecting him from the rest of the world as best as they could. “Sure.” He dutifully typed in the message and sent it. A few minutes later, he read the response. “Broccoli beef.”

Kyle nodded. “Alright. Chinese tonight it is.” He pulled up to the house and parked. Once they were all inside, he headed straight to his room. “Boys, get yourselves cleaned up and any homework done before you touch the TV.” He smirked when he heard the affirmative responses. It was something his own dad used to say to him back when he was young, and they gave him the same response he usually gave. He quickly cleaned up in the shower and changed before heading out to the front room to watch a show.

Time crept slowly as Kyle sat there. But with each passing minute, dread was building up inside him when he knew Jacob would be home and their “discussion” would continue. How it would be resolved, Kyle didn’t know. He had faith that they would figure out the way forward. When there was only an hour to go and the boys were back downstairs, he got on his phone and ordered dinner to be delivered. Kyle went around the house, making sure everything was picked up and in its place. In the kitchen, he set out utensils and cups for drinks. If his hand trembled when he put something on the table, he chalked it up to just being hungry and not the growing dread that was gnawing its way through his chest.

He was so glad the boys were unaware of what was going on and he felt an almost relief when he was finished. With minutes to spare, he heard two vehicles pulling up to the house. Turning to the boys he said with a small hopeful smile, “go welcome your dad home.”

Matt and Aaron both hopped to their feet and ran down the hall. Kyle could hear from his place in the front room the door opening, and Jacob’s voice carried through the house. “Hey there, boys. Looks like you’re as hungry as I am.”

Kyle slowly got to his feet and walked towards the kitchen as the boys engaged in chatter with Jacob. By the time he got to the doorway to the kitchen, Jacob was telling the boys to get settled while he went to clean up. The food was already sitting in its bag on the table for everyone. He stood there, stuck in place as Jacob’s eyes met his. Where there had been light in them as he was focused on the boys, when Jacob’s blue eyes met his, the light inside them dimmed and his face set in a grim expression. Kyle’s heart sank and he didn’t bother hiding it in his own eyes. “Hi.”

Jacob was standing a couple feet from him but remained in place as he responded in a tight, quiet voice. “I would like to get cleaned up before I eat, if you don’t mind.”

Kyle understood perfectly what Jacob was really saying to him: “Get out of my way.” Without answering, he dropped his gaze and moved out of the doorway for Jacob to pass. Once Jacob went past him, Kyle stepped into the kitchen and started going through the bags of food.

Matthew had watched them interact and was confused by Jacob’s words. Like he was asking permission from Kyle to shower. When Kyle stepped into the room, Matt watched his dad silently go through the bags, opening the smaller boxes inside and setting them out on the table. Without saying anything, Kyle set the food around the table in front of both Matt and Aaron and then moved around to sit on the other end of the table where Jacob’s food was placed. Kyle sat next to Aaron and set to work getting his plate ready before he started in on his own. Kyle glanced at Matt as he remained sitting there doing nothing. “Matt, go ahead and get started. Don’t want your food to get cold.”

Matt wordlessly opened his box of pepper steak and spooned rice onto his plate before adding the beef and starting to eat. As he ate, Matt kept note of the time. Ten minutes passed and Jacob still hadn’t come back. He didn’t stop eating and he noticed Kyle and Aaron both seemed unbothered by his absence as Kyle asked Aaron about his day. Just as he was about to say something, he heard the door in the back of the house that led to their bedrooms slam shut and Jacob’s feet almost stomping their way back to the kitchen.

The table went quiet as Jacob appeared in the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway as if to inspect the table before he sat down next to Matt. Matt turned his attention back to Kyle who was frowning at Jacob to show his displeasure. As Jacob began eating, most of the conversation halted. Aaron, who Matt realized was totally unaware of what was going on between their fathers, would occasionally say something but the responses from Kyle and Jacob seemed reserved. Matt felt like he should say something, but he had no idea what it was he was supposed to say. Remembering their project, he finally turned to Jacob and asked in a quiet voice, “are we going to do those labels tonight, Dad?”

Jacob turned his attention to Matt and his eyes seemed to brighten a little bit but still looked like an almost different person than who he remembered a few days ago. “Probably not tonight. We have all day tomorrow to do it though.”

Disappointed, Matt said, “okay,” and lowered his head back to his food. As he ate, he remembered his friend Mark telling him and Blake about how weird and quiet things were in his house before his parents told him about getting divorced. He remembered Mark saying something about them fighting and it was obvious to him that his parents were fighting now. Even if they weren’t yelling. He hoped it would not come to that and the fear of what might happen started to build up inside him. He wished his grandpa were here or Colt. But they were too far away to do anything. Matt realized if anything was going to happen, he might have to do something.

Matt felt a chill go through him when the fight finally broke out at the dinner table. Kyle looked up at Jacob and said in a quiet voice, “I thought you promised him you would work on the labels tonight.”

Jacob’s eyes glared across the table and responded in a voice that dripped with sarcasm. “Since when have you cared so much about promises?”

Kyle’s eyes flashed and said nothing else, but Matt could tell that it was not going to be a quiet night in the house. He slowed his eating, hoping that just his presence in the room with Aaron would be enough to keep some kind of peace between them. Once Aaron finished eating, Matt took matters into his own hands. He helpfully took Aaron’s hand and said to him, “let’s go upstairs and play a game.”

Aaron, always eager to spend time playing games with Matt, agreed. “Okay!”

Without waiting for permission, Matt took Aaron upstairs, stopping at the bathroom to clean their hands. As they crossed the hall to his room, Matt’s little heart dropped into his stomach when he heard Jacob’s voice boom through the house. “I don’t give a damn about your fucking excuses!”

Aaron paused and looked towards the stairs with a worryied expression. “What’s going on?”

Matt eyes started to water, and he felt true fear. “Get in my room,” he said quietly. He practically pushed Aaron through the door before closing the door and locking it behind him. Downstairs, he could hear indistinct yelling.

Aaron sat down on Matt’s bed, as his eyes started to show real worry for the yelling coming from downstairs. “Why are they yelling?”

“I don’t know,” Matt replied. He stood there trying to decide what to do. A part of him wanted to go downstairs and yell at both of them. Another part of him just wanted to run and hide and pretend nothing was wrong. “I don’t know what to do,” he said to himself. He needed another adult. Someone to do something. He settled down onto the floor and reached into his bookbag. Once he found his little cellphone, he opened it up and called the one person in the world he knew could help him.

 

****

 

“What do you want to do tonight,” Brian asked Andy as they were finishing up the dishes.

Andy shrugged. “I dunno. Strip poker?”

Brian laughed. “Uh, no. Well, at least not until after bedtime. Then I’ll consider it.”

Andy chuckled and leaned over to kiss the side of Brian’s head. “After bedtime works. Don’t even need cards then.”

Brian laughed softly and stifled it when he saw Tanner come into the kitchen out of the corner of his eye and head right to the refrigerator. “What are you doing,” he asked the boy. “You just ate ten minutes ago.”

Tanner looked up from the door and grinned. “I’m a growing boy.” He pulled a bottle of water out of it and a root beer bottle out before closing the door.

“Hey,” Andy started as he moved to his elder son.

Tanner was already turning back to the stairs when he called back, “the root beer is for Blake.”

That stopped Andy in his tracks, and he nodded in satisfaction. “Well, good then.” He had taught Tanner how to eat and drink responsibly if he wanted to stay in shape for the next season of wrestling. He was impressed with Tanner’s progress and imagined that by the time he was in high school Tanner would be a very competitive member of the team. He turned back to Brian and shrugged. “He’s getting pretty lippy, don’t you think?”

Brian gave Andy a mockingly shocked look. “No! You think?!”

Andy grinned slightly. “Wonder where he got that from?”

“Let’s go down in the den and heckle them while they watch a movie,” Brian suggested.

His grin widened at the idea. “That sounds like fun.” They were about to follow after Tanner when Andy heard his cellphone ring in the front room. “I’ll be there in a minute.” He went the other way and went around the large sofa as his phone continued to ring. When he picked it up, he looked quizzically at the caller ID on the screen. “The hell?” He answered the phone and said curiously, “Matt?”

“Um. Uncle Andy?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you, um, come get me and Aaron?”

Andy frowned and his parental instinct went into alert. “Where are you?”

“I’m at home,” the boy answered in a shaky, uncertain voice.

Andy’s concern deepened as he moved around the room to find his shoes. “I can, bud. What’s going on?”

There was a pause and Matt answered in a small, scared voice, “my dads are fighting, and I don’t want to be here right now.”

Andy stopped in his tracks, turning his full attention to the boy’s voice. “Are you up in your room?”

“Yeah.”

“Is Aaron with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I want you to grab a bag and get some clothes for the both of you. PJ’s, underwear, everything. You understand?”

Matt was used to Andy talking like he was giving orders and knew he meant what he said. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Andy found his shoes and pushed his feet into them before looking for his keys. He went down the stairs to the den where Brian and the others were. “When you’re done, I want you to stay with Aaron in your room and don’t come out until I get there, okay?”

Brian was sitting on the sofa next to the boys when his ears picked up on Andy’s tone. When he turned his head to figure out what was going on, he saw Andy’s body language and it confirmed to him that his husband was in what Brian affectionately called “marine mode.” When Andy ended his call, he made another call. “What’s going on,” Brian asked him as he stood and followed him.

As Andy waited for an answer on his phone, he frowned and shook his head before his eyes went to Tanner and Blake before he went back upstairs. Brian was behind him when the call was finally answered. “Hey,” he said into his phone, still with that hint of authority and worry in his voice. “You need to go to the orchard. There’s a fight brewing.”

Troy seemed confused by the words. “What?”

“What,” Brian echoed.

“Matthew just called me,” Andy said, emphasizing the name to get his attention. “Told me Kyle and Jacob are fighting and he’s scared.”

Troy knew all of the boys well enough to know that Matt wouldn’t get scared if his fathers were just having an argument or a spat. If he was scared enough to call Andy, then there was a serious problem. “Alright, I’m on my way. What are you doing?”

He turned to look at Brian as he replied to Troy. “I’m heading over there to pick up the boys and bring them back here. No sense in them getting scared because of God only knows what.”

Troy sighed. “Gotcha. I’ll leave the kids with Liz and see if I can get them to calm down.”

 

****

 

“You don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot think,” Jacob said to Kyle.

Kyle was done trying to reach an accord of some sort. They had gone back and forth, and Jacob was refusing to try to see things from a different perspective. “I’m not saying you can’t think it. You’re not listening to me!”

“Well, why the fuck should I listen to someone who’s been lying to me for the last year?!”

“I have not been lying to you,” Kyle screamed in frustration. “I explained myself. I apologized. What more do you want from me?!”

“What I want, I can’t have,” Jacob declared in a broken roar. “I want my life back! I want you to have never found him! But you’ve decided that he is more important than me, so that’s something I’m just going to have to live with.”

“He is not more important than you! I have tried to get you to talk to me about all of this and every time I do, you keep slamming the door in my face!”

“Yes he is! If he wasn’t, then you wouldn’t have gone behind my back and lied about it this whole time!”

“I didn’t lie,” Kyle repeated in frustrated rage. “Stop accusing me of lying to you like I was doing it on purpose. I was trying to get you comfortable with the idea of your brother being in your life. I tried my best to understand why you were so against it, but you kept putting up walls between us.”

Jacob waved his arms out. “Oh, so now it’s all my fault!?”

“No! Goddamn it, will you just listen to me for once?!”

Andy and Troy entered through the back door together and heard the yelling that seemed to be coming from the front of the house. “Let’s get them to stop,” Troy muttered as they stepped inside. “Then get them in a room before you go grab the boys. I don’t want them seeing their dads fight.”

Andy nodded in agreement, and they walked purposefully towards the front of the house and found Kyle and Jacob in a standoff in the front room. When he stood there, seeing them looking like two strangers. Their bodies and facial expressions were totally different from anything he could remember. Andy frowned darkly and added his own voice to the fight as he yelled, “what the hell do you two think you’re doing?!”

Kyle and Jacob had been so caught up in each other they never heard their friends enter the house, much less come into the room. Troy stood behind Andy with his arms folded across his chest looking at them with a deep frown of disappointment on his face. Kyle stared at them for a second before he said, “what are you two doing here?”

Troy didn’t answer. He stepped forward and said to Andy, “go upstairs.” When Andy started moving, Troy glared at them both and pointed down the hall. “You two, in your room, now.”

Jacob blinked in surprise. “What?”

Troy raised his voice the same way he would do to his children when they disobeyed. “Room! Now!” With reluctant steps, Kyle and Jacob slowly made their way to the back of the house where their room was located. Troy followed behind them, keeping his gaze on them until all three were inside. Troy closed the door behind them and said, “sit down and don’t speak until I say so.”

Kyle looked up at him as he sat down in his desk chair. “Troy—"

Troy turned his angry gaze at his old friend and said sharply, “I said don’t speak!”

Kyle sat back in shock at the harsh tone and remained silent. The three of them waited in silence before Troy could hear through the door Andy guiding the boys through the house and out the back door. When he heard it close, he turned his attention back to his friends and lowered his voice. “Alright. Andy took the boys home with him. They’re staying there while we discuss this.”

Jacob frowned. “What do you mean he took them?”

Troy looked at him with a hard stare. “We just took Matt and Aaron from you. You’re scaring the shit out of them with your yelling and don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing if the situation were reversed.” When he got no reply, he nodded. “Yeah. See? That’s what we do for each other. Now, what were you two screaming at each other about?”

Jacob and Kyle stood apart from each other avoiding each other’s gaze. They remained silent as they glowered at the floor. Troy’s gaze went from one to the other for a moment before he threw his hands up in frustration. “Oh my God, you two. You’re gonna sit there in silence now? Kyle, what started this fight?”

“Him being a liar,” Jacob muttered.

Troy’s eyes went to Jacob. “What did he lie about?”

“No telling what all he lied about.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Kyle said from across the room. “I didn’t lie to you.”

Troy went back to Kyle looking impatient. “What didn’t you lie about then?”

“About Josh.”

Troy closed his eyes and sighed. “Who’s Josh?”

Kyle looked down at his desk and replied, “Jacob’s brother.”

“He is not my brother,” Jacob said in a defiant whisper.

Troy looked from one to the other in shock. “Are… are you talking about the DNA thing again!?”

Jacob glowered and repeated, “he is not my brother.”

“The test says otherwise,” Kyle said cheekily.

“Stop it,” Troy ordered. “So, you found his brother from the DNA test? How?”

Kyle wouldn’t look Troy in the eye as he answered. “I kind of called in a favor. But then I forgot about it because DNA tests take a while.”

Jacob’s anger grew as he listened. Troy noticed it but kept prodding at Kyle. “And what did you find out?”

“That his brother’s name is Joshua Carter and he’s been in prison for five years on a life sentence for a murder he didn’t commit.”

Jacob shook his head and chuckled darkly. “You can’t believe that. For all you know he is a murderer. After all he’s in prison.”

Kyle took that personally as he fired back. “I have uncovered enough evidence to support his innocence. If you could get over your bullshit and actually stop and listen to me, I could explain it to you.”

Troy moved to sit down between the two of them to act as a buffer. “Explain it to me,” he said to Kyle. “I want to know.”

Kyle sighed and looked at Troy in exacerbation. “He was adopted at birth. He lived a normal life but by the time he was nine, both of his parents were dead. While he didn’t say it outright, it looks to me like he fell through the cracks in the foster care system and never got out. He was shuttled from house to house his entire childhood until he reached eighteen where he was pretty much dumped out onto the street on his own. He did the best he could, but he got into drugs and that put his life in shambles.”

Jacob chuckled again. “Likely story.”

Kyle glowered across the room at him. “Yeah. You would think addiction ran in his family.” Seeing Jacob rightly humbled, he turned his attention back to Troy. “He got into rehab and got help. He’s been clean ever since. He met a girl and fell in love with her. Then one night he went to bed because of an injury he got at work. When he woke up the next morning, she was dead on the floor in the front room of his house. The police arrested him. And with little to no evidence other than wrong place, wrong time, he was convicted of first-degree murder and handed a life sentence. He has maintained his innocence this whole time.”

Troy blinked and shook his head trying to digest all the information. “When did this start?”

“Around the end of October,” Kyle guessed.

Troy turned to Jacob. “And when did you find out about this?”

Jacob looked up at Troy and answered in a scowl. “Yesterday.”

Troy groaned. “Man…. Kyle…” He turned back to Kyle. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“Troy, I tried,” he replied. “More than a couple times I hinted to him about wanting to talk about his brother but each time he just got pissy and said he didn’t want to talk about it. So, I eventually gave up.”

“So, what’s the big deal? I mean, he’s in prison.”

Kyle shook his head. “Technically, no. I got his first conviction overturned. I’m his lawyer now. We’re getting ready to re-try his case in less than a month.”

Troy’s curiosity got the better of him. “What does he look like?”

Kyle stared at Jacob as he answered. “A small, thinner, nicer version of Jacob.”

“Younger to, I’d guess,” Jacob shot back.

Kyle nodded. “Just under two years younger than you, yes. He’s very quiet and was a bit shy on the first few meetings. He knows about you. He didn’t even know he was adopted before I told him.”

“And you’re the only lawyer in the world that can save him, I guess,” Jacob said caustically.

“Maybe not, but I’m not taking any risks,” Kyle replied. “Jacob, this is about getting him justice. After that, we can talk about what happens. But for right now, he needs me.”

“Why you,” Troy asked. “You have other lawyers that work for you. Why not one of them?”

Kyle sighed in frustration. “If I had put Michelle or one of the other lawyers on the case first, then, yes, I wouldn’t be needed. But we’re past that point now.”

“Kyle, I’m not a lawyer, but I know that people change lawyers even in the middle of some of the worst cases. Can’t you just step away from this and focus more on your marriage?”

“No,” Kyle replied. “It’s not just about the case. It’s about him. He’s spent his entire teen and adult life with no one. No one, Troy. No friends in high school, no college, no family, no holidays or birthdays or anything. He’s missed out on everything. Not because he did something wrong. But because he lost his parents, and the system failed him. The one thing he had was a woman he loved very much. They wanted to get married. Then, because of something which I haven’t figured out yet, someone killed her. And in the process took the one person in the world who meant everything to Josh. To add insult to injury, then he was accused of the crime. His public defender failed him then and he was sent to prison to live out his life. I told him that I would not give up on him and I have got to stick to that. If I don’t, I’m not sure he’ll make it through this trial.”

Troy turned to the other side of the room. “Jacob? What do you think?”

Jacob was quiet for a minute and then shrugged. “What does it matter what I think? He’s just going to do whatever he wants anyway. I’m just here to take care of his kids and keep the house cleaned up. He doesn’t need me for anything else. And he sure as fuck doesn’t care about how I feel. So, why should what I think about anything be important to him or anyone else?”

“Jacob…” Troy admonished him gently. “You know that’s not true.”

Jacob rose to his feet. “Here’s what I know. I know that I’ve been living through half a marriage for the last two years while he runs around doing his job and leaving me with nothing but video calls, occasional weekends and long nights where I lay in bed while he works until he passes out at his desk. And even when he’s here, half the time it still feels like he’s somewhere else. I know I’ve been pushed out of the way in favor of him focusing the bulk of his time on other people from a class action lawsuit to a murder trial. And when I asked him to let this go and just be with me, he decided that I wasn’t worth listening to, so I’m done with fighting for what I want. You two go ahead and do whatever you want to do. I’m tired so I’m going upstairs to bed.”

Troy and Kyle sat there in stunned silence as Jacob walked to the door and left the room. After realizing that Jacob was not joking about being done, he turned back to Kyle. “You have a serious problem on your hands.”

“I know,” Kyle said. “I’ve been trying to get his side of things and so far, that’s the closest he’s come to sharing his feelings with me.”

Troy looked puzzled by that. “The night we all found out about the DNA test, he did seem a bit bent out of shape about it. But, I still don’t understand exactly why he got like that. Do you have any idea?”

Kyle shook his head. “I figured it would have something to do with his father, but whenever I tried to approach the subject, he would shut himself off and get defensive.”

“Kind like he was earlier?”

“Exactly.”

Troy sighed. He didn’t want to see them fighting but he could not see a solution to their problem. “Well, you really shit the bed on this one.”

“I know,” Kyle replied softly. “I didn’t mean for it to get like this. But… Seriously, Troy, Josh needs me. He needs someone to care about him. He’s never had that and had it last. I think he still holds back a little on me because he is halfway convinced once the trial is over, I’m just going to walk away on him like everyone else has done in his life. That’s why I can’t just stop now.”

Troy nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I get it. You probably couldn’t if you wanted to anyway. You’re definitely your father’s son, that’s for sure.”

Kyle smiled slightly at the compliment. “Even if it gets me into trouble.”

“Jacob will come around, I think,” Troy commented. “But before that happens, someone needs to break through that wall around him when it comes to his dad. And unfortunately, I already tried my best.”

“I appreciate it. And I do appreciate you guys taking the boys. We shouldn’t have started fighting like that with them in the house.”

Troy shrugged. “If I ever start yelling at Liz, I’ll know who to call to pick up my kids then.” He reluctantly stood up, knowing he was of no more use in the situation. “I’d say leave him alone for now. Try again in the morning. If he starts yelling, just text me and I’ll come over and moderate, so you guys don’t break anything.”

Kyle stood, feeling more tired than he thought he should. “I do appreciate you coming over. I just wish he would tell me what’s going on inside him.”

Troy stopped at the door and turned to him. “He did tell you, Kyle. You just weren’t listening because it wasn’t what you wanted to hear. He feels neglected. And to be honest, I can see his side of it. You were busy for over a year with that big case that just ended last year. And just when Jacob thinks he has you back, everything goes to shit and then you’re gone again. You have to start giving him more of your time. A marriage can’t last for long on autopilot.”

Kyle frowned. He knew Troy was right and Jacob did have legitimate concerns. But yelling about it was going to get either of them anywhere. “Maybe we can actually talk to each other tomorrow and reach some kind of decision.”

Troy nodded. “He’ll come around.” He opened the door and slowly made his way down the hall with Kyle behind him. “Don’t forget, he loves you. He always has and he always will.”

“I know. And I love him too.”

They reached the back door. Troy turned and hugged his friend warmly. “Get some rest. You probably need it. Andy will take good care of your boys.”

Kyle smiled, feeling a small measure of relief that at least his children were alright. While he returned the hug, he felt like he had failed as a parent because of the fight. “I know he will. Be careful going home.”

Troy nodded and stepped out the door and headed home. Kyle sighed and looked around the empty kitchen. The absence of noise in the house felt disconcerting. Normally there was a steady hum of noise from a television or people talking or the sound of children’s feet moving around. But now, there was an empty silence that seemed out of place. As he made his way back to his bedroom, Kyle prayed that this wasn’t the beginning of the end for them.