We had our fill of football by the beginning of the last quarter—Kensington was slaughtering Kingsbury High. Thankfully, I’d had the time to pick up some cheap tires earlier in the day, so Stephen dropped me off at my bike and I rode over to the radio station; thanks to the headlight the church had purchased for my bike I was able to ride it at night.
When I caught up with him, Stephen was on the other end of the park at the Baptist Women’s pie booth paying for a chocolate cream pie.
Stephen was already at a table perusing a menu when I arrived at Main Street. “Find anything that suites your picky palate?” He looked up and frowned. “I think I’ll try the spaghetti. I’m sure it’s just as good as Mama’s,” he said sarcastically.
As I stood in the back, my congregation filed out without so much as a word to me. The normal handshaking joviality was missing. A few nodded and smiled as they went past, but it was the quietest I ever remembered the church being.
Lola dropped me off at my apartment. Even though it was late, I opened the window that faced the Kings River. I was lucky to live at the Riverside Apartments. It wasn’t a new complex but the view made up for its age.
I asked Kevin when Jim would be working again. He said Jim wouldn’t be back until tomorrow night’s graveyard shift. I intended to come back and talk with him, though I didn’t seriously consider him a suspect…
By the time we finished lunch, it was nearly dinnertime and the park was beginning to hum with activity. Ready to take on the task of the food booths, it hit me that I hadn’t told anyone about the arguments I’d overheard.
Paul took the Martinez’s home while I returned to the park. It took some time to convince them to leave. They insisted that they would be back this evening when the booths were reopened. By now, the park was nearly deserted.
Police and reserve officers cleared the scene and enclosed the area with police tape. Detective Reagan knelt beside the body, his large frame shadowing Toews. The parade, to my surprise, seemed to be continuing.
The bikers were gathering at the far side of the park, so I pushed my bike over to join them. The ages of the bikers appeared to range from teenagers to senior citizens. It was good to see young people involved in something positive…
