The Aftermath

03

CHAPTER THREE

Tom's sister, Drew Rivers, was a tall blond, but not the platinum of her brother. Her hair was more like Samantha's. In fact they could be sisters. They both had the same shapes; athletic with hips as wide as their shoulders. Their hands were long artist fingers, and their eyes deep glacier blue. Angie could have been the daughter of either women.

"Hey little brother, good to see you." Drew said as she stepped down off her porch. The house was brown with wooden slat walls, built up from a real log foundation. It looked seriously rustic, but in the setting of Julian's mountain pines, it fit perfectly. "What are you making for diner?" She asked with a smile.

"Diner? Probably the fine art of calling for pizza. You guys still have a pizza place up here, right?" Tom asked as he opened the back of the SUV to grab some of the groceries they purchased in Ramona. "Or have you small town folks finally run the foreigner out of town?"

"Yeah, it's still open." Drew nodded, giving Angie a hug and tussling her hair. "Tony is about as foreign as milk and about as Italian as barbecue sauce, by the way. Need a hand?"

"He still makes good pizza."

"Is Mike here?" Samantha asked Drew while looking at the house.

"Nope. I think we are really done this time. He's living down in Lakeside with a twenty-something bartender, or card dealer, or something like that. All I'm sure about is she isn't a stripper like the last one." Drew turned back to Angie, "But Bart is here. I bet he would like to be taken out on the trail if you feel up to it."

Angie's smile broke through all of her pent up worry. She loved the horse and knew the trails behind the house very well. "Sweet!" she exclaimed.

Once the groceries were inside and stowed into the kitchen, Angie was out the back door and heading for the corral. A young German shepherd pranced up to meet her, and she stopped briefly to make friends with the canine.

"New dog?" Tom asked, watching Angie through the back window.

"Clipper." Drew answered, then she scowled a bit, "Mike got him, but I try not to hold that against the animal. He seems intelligent enough. Clipper I mean, not Mike."

Tom allowed a small smile. "I understand." He looked over at his sister, "You aren't going to be making digs about Mike the whole time we are here are you?"

"Probably." Drew sighed, "Seems to be all I think about lately. That and watering the plants."

"Oh."

"And, before I forget..." Drew said looking down at a note pad, "Mom called. She asked that you call her when you are settled."

"Really." Tom sighed, "What does she want?"

"Didn't say. But I would guess it is something like wanting to hear your voice now that the trial is over." Drew ventured.

Tom lifted an eyebrow in doubt, but then shrugged, "I'll call her. You have the number?"

After getting the number from Drew, he pulled out his cell phone and stepped out on the back porch. Angie was saddling Bart, and checking him over. She handled the horse with firm but loving control. Tom watched for a bit and then dialed his mom. Best to rip wounds open quickly, if they have to be torn.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hey, it's me. What's up?" Tom asked.

"Tom?" She asked.

"Yeah." Tom said.

"I'm glad you called." His mother told him, "Listen to me Tom, I don't want you to come by my house or to call me. I don't know how you got them to let you go, but I know you killed those girls. I remember the animals behind the fence. That was the first thing I thought of when I heard about those girls on the News, those poor animals with their chests split open and their insides pulled out. It didn't surprise me at all when they arrested you. I don't want you around. You hear me?"