***So far, Miranda Jessup Buckley has been jilted, fired and left to take care of her ex-lover's child.   She found a dead body, thinks her high school friend killed one person, possibly more.  Now, she's going with her neighbor to be with him as he helps remove two sunken cars from the bottom of Haynes Pond.***

 

 

 

                  ***************

 

 

Matt agrees to cover my shift on Friday so I can fulfill my promise to Aaron.  Now, he can assist the divers with the retrieval, with our "gang" as his witness.

 

He still hasn't completely forgiven me for calling in Mitch but, he's so excited he keeps talking to me.

 

"Should I call and tell my dad or make it a surprise?" He picks up his cell phone and touches the screen.

 

"I think you should wait.  No sense in telling him until it's done.  No matter what, he's going to be proud of you."

 

He looks up, eyes bright.  "It'll be the first time.  No matter what I do, it's always sub par."

 

"Then why are you doing this?"

 

Aaron shrugs.  "One last ditch effort to make him like me, I guess."

 

"I'm sure he likes you, Aaron," I laugh.

 

"He loves me.  That doesn't mean he likes me.  He likes my brother.  Me?  Not so much."

 

I reach across and squeeze his hand.  "Then he doesn't know what he's missing."

 

One of the police divers walks over.  "Mr. Earl, I just need to borrow you for a minute."

 

I walk back and lean against Aaron's truck where Waylon is.

 

"Man, I wish I could go back down there." 

 

I nod.  "I know you do.  But Mitch went out on a limb getting permission for Aaron.  It's bad enough I'm letting you skip school.  This could be dangerous."

 

A big tow truck pulls down the road and passes us where we stand.  It goes down onto the mud, the wheels rolling over the thicket I usually cut through.

 

"Can we go down there?  I might as well be in school, if I've gotta stay back here." Waylon stretches on his tiptoes to see what's going on.

 

"I guess.  Just stay out of the way, got it?"

 

We walk down there, close enough to see the divers checking oxygen tanks, going over plans.  Calling out instructions to the tow truck driver.  

 

Aaron stands in the midst of them, listening intently, pointing to where they should focus their attention.  He looks towards us and spots Waylon.  His face breaks into a smile and he sends him a thumbs up.

 

Mitch walks over.  He must have just arrived on the scene.  His hair is poking out from under a baseball cap, and he's in jeans and a striped t-shirt. 

 

"Off duty or is it casual Friday at the station?" I ask.

 

"Today is my day off.  I wouldn't miss this for the world.  You think your friend, Aaron, is prepared for what's about to come to the surface?"

 

"I doubt any of us is prepared for this."

 

Mitch looks at Waylon.  "School holiday?"

 

Waylon grins but doesn't answer.

 

"Smart kid," Mitch says, looking at me.  "Knows better than to incriminate himself."

 

We turn as the three divers and Aaron start walking into the water.

 

"Gosh, I hope there aren't real bodies in those cars," I whisper.

 

Both Waylon and Mitch look over at me.  "No way,  I hope it's his uncle," Waylon says, stepping closer to get a clearer view.

 

Mitch takes the opportunity to step a little closer to me. His bare forearm brushes against mine, sending a wonderful shiver down my spine.

 

"Considering you work almost every night, can I take this chance to ask you out to lunch?"

 

I tell myself to play it cool.  Less is more.  But that goes right out the window when I look in his eyes.

 

"A girl's gotta eat."

 

"That she does," he says, his hand searching for mine.

 

I feel like I did in high school. Butterflies, sweaty palms, and all that's missing is some romantic ballad playing in the background.

 

 

 

                      ************

 

It's nearly three-thirty when the second car is dragged out of the muck.  It's another five or ten minutes before the dark brown muddy water stops pouring out of it.

 

Mitch and Waylon start walking towards the two cars.  I hang back.  

 

"Cool," Waylon says as the door is pried open. More water gushes out, along with a water snake.  

 

"I only see the one body in this one," one of the divers calls out to Mitch.  "Two are in the other one."

 

"Coroner is on the way." Mitch walks down to where everyone is clustered.  "Sheldon, call and get a flatbed to take these cars in.  They been down there so long, pieces of them are going to be falling off on the road if you tow them behind you."

 

Every once in a while, they move and I get a glimpse of the body pressed up against the steering wheel.  I can't help but wonder if Aaron's great uncle was running hooch, trying to get his own father to like him.  It makes me wonder how a parent can't just accept their kid for what they are.  Whatever, that kid paid the ultimate price for approval.

 

They pop open the trunk and I hear the clinking of glass. 

 

"Lotta booze in here.  This woulda put him away for a long time."

 

I search until I find Aaron.  He's down on one knee in the mud, head bowed.

 

I close my eyes and join him in prayer.  A quick prayer for Aaron's great uncle, him, Waylon and all the other kids who just want their parents to like them.

 

 

To be continued ...