Coulson's Crucible Read online

  Up at Clement Falls, Gina Carracci grieved for the loss of her brother. Nick Carracci tried to be patient with his wife, yet was silently thankful Anthony Marino was out of their lives. Unlike his wife, he was not certain his brother-in-law was gone for good—but he prayed, each night, the man would never return.

  After 1961 arrived, a new president, John Kennedy was sworn into office. As the country rolled into the sixties, its landscape changed in ways Randall’s bride, Mary Ellen Browning, would never have imagined. Coloring the decade was social unrest, a civil rights movement, a slain president, murdered civil rights leaders, and an unpopular war in Vietnam. Man was preparing to walk on the moon while back on earth hippies marched for peace and free love.

  By the time Sonny returned from his European tour, he decided he no longer wanted to be called by his nickname but insisted on using his legal given name. It caused a certain amount of confusion sharing his father’s name, but the family quickly adapted.

  It didn’t take long for Randall to realize his eldest grandson had no business aptitude, but he did have a flair for charming people. Randall kept Sonny moving, transferring him from one Coulson-Enterprise location to another. The younger Harrison’s responsibilities at the company were insignificant at best, which made the young man quite happy. The life of a roving playboy, who simply had to smile for the camera when the public relations department needed a pretty face, suited him well.

  Garret left Coulson to attend college, two months after graduating from high school. After completing his bachelors, he went for his masters. Maintaining high grades was keeping him out of the draft and out of Vietnam, but he understood he might not be able to avoid the draft indefinitely.

  In the fall of 1968, Russell Coulson was the last of the three brothers to still be living at Coulson House. Russell, Tommy, and Ryan were all juniors in high school—the same grade Garret had been when he had saved Alexandra from the third grade bullies. Alexandra and Jimmy started high school that fall. They had become close friends over the years, and Jimmy was no longer the pudgy first grader but a lean young man with a ready smile.

  Wally Keller never remarried, but he had several lady friends over the years. He had remodeled the motel and business proved steady. It had been years since he had thought about Anthony Marino, and not a single motel guest reported seeing a ghost in room ten.

  Up on Clement Falls, Gina Carracci passed away a few years after her brother’s disappearance, leaving her husband to raise their young daughter alone. With Gina gone, there was no one left to ask—or care—about Anthony Marino’s fate. Even the FBI had moved on, believing Marino must have pissed off one of his former employers and was wearing a pair of concrete boots. Since his disappearance, there had been no hits with his trademark touches. What those were exactly were never revealed—just in case he was still out there

  Chapter 22

  Reclining on her bed, Alexandra glanced up from the book she was reading and looked over at her sister, Katie.

  “What in the hell are you doing?” Alexandra asked. Katie stood by the dresser, her blouse pulled up, as she shoved a sock in her bra.

  “I’m going to the bathroom,” Katie told her.

  “Umm… you have to do that with a sock in your bra?” Alex asked.

  Katie grabbed a second sock from her dresser drawer and shoved it in the other side of her bra. Pulling her blouse down, she looked in the mirror. Using her hands to rearrange and shape the sock-breasts, she ignored her sister’s inquiry.

  “Oh, now I get it,” Alexandra said with a chuckle. She closed the book and set it on her lap. “Don’t tell me, Tommy is home and he has some of his friends with him.”

  “So?” Katie leaned closer to the mirror and began applying makeup.

  “You know Mom doesn’t like you to wear makeup. And thanks for asking me if you can use mine, by the way.”

  “Well, it’s not like I’m going anywhere. And why do you get to wear it and I can’t? We’re only a year apart.”

  “I don’t know why Mom makes the rules she does. But please Katie, don’t go out there like that, you look silly.”

  “I do not!” Katie protested.

  “You’ve obviously stuffed your bra. Please. Tommy’s friends aren’t worth it.”

  Katie paused for a moment and looked at her sister. Letting out a sigh, she slipped her hand under her blouse and removed the socks. Any illusion of breasts vanished.

  “Don’t you think Russell Coulson is cute?” Katie asked.

  “He’s too old for you.”

  “But don’t you think he’s cute?”

  “I guess he’s okay.” Alexandra shrugged and started reading her book again.

  “Gosh, Alex, what’s the point of putting up with Tommy if we can’t check out his cute friends?”

  “Well, check out all you want. But don’t parade yourself in front of them. Boys can be jerks. And trust me, when you start high school next year, you don’t want to be known as Socks.”

  “Socks is kinda a cute name.” Katie said brightly.

  Alexandra lowered her book and glared at Katie. “Really?”

  “Well,” Katie said with a shrug. “I guess not if they’re talking about my boobs.” Walking to the bedroom door, she opened it slightly and peeked out. After a moment, she closed it and faced her sister.

  “I wonder why they’re home so early. It isn’t past Tommy’s curfew yet.”

  “Who knows? Who cares?” Alex asked, again focusing on her book.

  “Hey, Chamberlain, I saw your sister at school today.” Ryan Keller lounged on Tommy’s bed, looking up at the ceiling as he bounced a football in his hands.

  “So?” Tommy sat at his desk sharing a pizza with Russell.

  “Just sayin’. You guys check out the new crop of freshman? Some real dogs. Looks like Alex might be the pick of the litter this year.”

  “Don’t be an ass.” Tommy wadded up a soiled napkin and tossed it in Ryan’s direction. It fell to the floor.

  “Hey it’s true. If she wasn’t your sister, I’d be tempted. Of course she doesn’t have boobs yet.”

  “Fuck, Keller.” Tommy glared at Ryan. “Shut up already.”

  Ryan laughed, then tossed the ball at Tommy who knocked it to the floor.

  “I saw Alex at school today too,” Russell commented. “And Jimmy. How did he do this week as a freshman? Any hazing?”

  “Shit no. I told the guys if they touched my brother, I’d kick their ass,” Ryan told him.

  “Well, you touch my sister, and I’ll kick yours,” Tommy warned.

  “No problem. I’d rather wait for her to get tits.”

  Tommy reached to the floor, grabbed the football and threw it at Ryan, who managed to grab it before it hit him.

  Russell took his slice of pizza and sat on the floor, leaning against the side of the bed.

  “Those guys were getting crazy tonight,” Russell said. No longer a blond, Russell’s hair had darkened like his older brothers’.

  “Yeah, it was getting wild at the lake. I sure as hell didn’t want to get busted. My dad would kill me,” Ryan said.

  “It was a good thing we left when we did,” Tommy said.

  “Yeah, I have to work tomorrow anyway.” Ryan tossed the football to the floor.

  “What shift? Can you go out tomorrow night?” Tommy asked.

  “Morning shift. Flipping eggs. Let me crash for a couple hours after I get off, then I’ll be ready to go.” Ryan had been working at restaurants since he was twelve years old, beginning as a busboy.

  “Cool. I have to work for a few hours at my dad’s office but should be off by two. How about you, Coulson?” Tommy asked.

  “Are you kidding, Russell doesn’t have to work.” Ryan laughed.

  “Shut up, Chamberlain.” Russell stood up and tossed his paper plate in the trashcan.

  “Sorry,” Ryan said, still chuckling. “But it’s true.”

  Before Russell could respond, the phone began to ring. Tommy answer
ed it the same time as Alex, and after a brief exchange she hung up, because the call was for Tommy.

  “Fuck, no. You’re kidding?” Tommy said into the phone. “So what happened?” Tommy was now sitting on the edge of his chair. “Who else was there? What are they going to do?”

  Ryan and Russell listened attentively to Tommy’s end of the conversation. It went on for several more minutes, and finally he hung up.

  “Fuck,” Tommy said when he hung up the phone. There were tears in his eyes.

  “What happened?” Ryan asked, now sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “The cops showed up at the lake to bust the party. Mike jumped in the water, not wanting to get busted. He never came up.”

  “What do you mean he never came up?” Russell asked.

  “They think he drowned,” Tommy said.

  “No. He’s just fucking with them. Mike’s a great swimmer. He probably swam over to the other side of the lake and got out. I bet he’s home now laughing his ass off,” Ryan insisted.

  “He didn’t come home.”

  “Well shit, he probably had to walk there. He’ll show up. You’ll see.” Ryan said.

  By Saturday morning, news around Coulson was that 16-year-old Mike Murphy had drowned in Sutter’s Lake. They were sending divers to look for his body. Tommy’s dad told him he didn’t need to go in the office that day. Before noon, Russell picked up Tommy and the two teenagers drove down to Sutter’s Lake to see what was going on.

  Katie wanted to go with them, but her mother wouldn’t let her. Alexandra had no desire to go to the lake. The last thing she wanted to witness was the lifeless body of one of her classmates being dragged from the icy water.

  When Tommy and Russell got to the lake, the parking lot was full. Many of their classmates had the same idea. The officials didn’t send the teenagers away but told them they had to keep to the north shore. Tommy and Russell found a dry place to sit and watch as the divers looked for their friend’s body.

  “This just totally sucks,” Tommy said.

  “I hope they don’t find him. I hope he’s just being an ass and fucking with us.” Russell didn’t take his eyes off the divers.

  “I heard this lake is really deep. If he did drown, I hope they find him.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. My dad said it’s one of the deepest lakes in the state.”

  “I wish Mike would’ve listened and come home with us last night.” Tommy wiped tears from his eyes.

  “I know, but he was pretty wasted.”

  They heard someone shout, “I found something!” They were too far away to hear what was being said, and by the commotion, something was going on. They could see one of the police officers on his radio. In spite of the burst of activity, nothing was being pulled from the lake. After about fifteen minutes, a tow truck pulled up. They watched as it backed up to the lake, guided by two police officers.

  “Why do they need a tow truck?” Tommy asked.

  “Hell if I know.”

  While the tow truck backed up to the water, Russell pointed to the other side of the lake. “Look, they’re still diving over there. What’s going on?”

  They looked back to the tow truck. It was slowly dragging something from the lake. They watched in fascination as a waterlogged 1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III gradually emerged from the water. Just as the car was removed from the lake, there was another shout from the other direction. They found Mike’s body.

  Tommy and Russell watch as their friend’s lifeless body was removed from the lake. In the distance, they could see Mike’s parents and hear their cries of anguish. After members from the fire department loaded the body into a van, Mr. Murphy helped his wife to their car, and the two drove away, following the van from the parking lot.

  “Fuck.” Tommy wiped away more tears.

  The two teenagers sat there for a few moments before finally standing up. Walking back to the parking lot, they noticed the small crowd around the car that had been pulled from the lake.

  Silently, they approached the Lincoln Continental and listened to the chatter of the police officers, who were inspecting the vehicle.

  “I’ve seen that car before,” Tommy whispered.

  “Well, now we know what happened to Anthony Marino’s car,” Wally said as he read the Sunday paper. “Now the question I have, what happened to him?”

  “Who was that again?” Jimmy asked. He poured syrup on his pancakes.

  “The one who used to put candy in the mailbox,” Ryan reminded his brother. The three sat around the Keller breakfast table.

  “I liked that guy,” Jimmy said.

  “Yeah, you were like six. Wasn’t he a hitman, Dad?” Ryan asked.

  “That’s what I heard.” Wally folded the newspaper and tossed it aside, then added, “I’m really sorry about Mike. He was a good kid.”

  “Yeah, I remember when I used to watch you guys play over-the-line.” Jimmy told his brother, recalling the games at the park with Russell, Tommy and Mike.

  “When is the funeral?” Wally asked.

  “I haven’t heard. But this really sucks,” Ryan said glumly.

  A week after Mike’s death, Russell, Ryan and Tommy downed a case of beer. In their drunken state, they solemnly vowed to be friends forever, and when the time came for one of them to join Mike, the two remaining friends would help carry the deceased’s casket to it final resting place.

  News of Marino’s car being hauled from the lake, after it first went missing almost eight years earlier, might have received more press had the town not been grieving for one of its own. However, the discovery did attract the attention of Agents Carmichael and Stephens, who had always assumed Marino had left Coulson on his own volition.

  The two agents now wondered, was Marino still alive, and if not, where was his body and who killed him? With Marino’s sister gone and no known associates of Marino in Coulson—aside from a very casual and brief acquaintance with the town’s founding family and the Kellers—they had no other leads.

  Chapter 23

  Fall turned to winter and winter to spring. Summer arrived again, and the cycle continued. As December of 1969 approached, another decade was coming to a close. Fighting continued in Vietnam, and Garret Coulson, who had returned to his hometown, was waiting for the results of the draft lottery to see where his future lie—in the military or Coulson Enterprises. When the numbers were drawn on December 1, 1969, it was safe to say his future was with Coulson Enterprises; his number was 342.

  “You could always move back home,” Vera told Garret. Christmas was three weeks away and the Coulson family was holding a celebratory dinner at one of the new seafood restaurants in town. The special occasion was Garret’s high lottery number. Sonny was the only family member not in attendance, as he was currently living in Chicago.

  “Really, Mother? That’s a generous offer, thank you—but no. I’ve found an apartment.”

  “Well, it’s going to be lonely there, with Russell leaving in the fall for college.” Vera looked over to her youngest son.

  Harrison was right when he had told Vera, “We’ll go back to how we were before. Before Anthony Marino came into our lives.” They continued to occupy separate bedrooms, and Vera didn’t doubt he kept a mistress. She didn’t invite Harrison to share her bed, nor did he ask. In public, no one doubted they were a couple, albeit not an affectionate one. No one considered that particularly odd.

  Vera tried, in her own awkward way, to improve her relationship with her sons, but in many ways, they were strangers to her, so she wasn’t sure how to progress. Of the three, Garret was the most distant and impossible to reach. At times, she suspected he hated her.

  “I’d like to make a toast,” Randall said as he raised his glass. “To the newest member of Coulson Enterprises… sorry Uncle Sam, I’m keeping him!”

  The next day Garret was alone on Main Street, doing a little shopping. His first stop was the diner for breakfast. When he finished eating, he planned to walk down the stree
t to the furniture store and look at sofas.

  A few moments after leaving the diner, a woman’s voice called out, “Garret? Garret Coulson?”

  Garret stopped walking and turned in the direction of the voice.

  “Sheryl?” Garret said in surprise when he spied the young woman walking toward him. He hadn’t seen her since he had graduated from high school. She didn’t look much different than he remembered, just a little older and her hair was cut into an attractive style that did much more for her looks than how she had worn it in school.

  “I thought that was you!” Sheryl gave him a welcoming hug, which he accepted and returned.

  “You look great,” Garret told her when their hug ended.

  “I was about to say the same thing about you. God, it’s been years!”

  “You still live in Coulson?” Garret asked.

  “Oh, hell no!” Sheryl laughed at the idea. “I left right after high school. I’m just visiting my mom for Christmas. Thought I’d do a little Christmas shopping. You?”

  “I just moved back,” Garret explained. “What are you up to these days?”

  Sheryl flashed her left hand, showing her wedding band. “I married a very nice man I met in Colorado. We have a little girl.”

  “You look happy. Are you happy, Sheryl?”

  She smiled up at him. “Yes, Garret, I am. Of course, I spent a shitload of money on a shrink after I left Coulson. But I finally got my head on straight. I’m at a good place now.”

  Garret smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. You really do look radiant.”

  “Probably because I’m expecting!” Sheryl laughed. Garret smiled again and gave her a quick hug.

  “Garret,” Sheryl began, her tone now serious. “I’m glad I ran into you today. I’ve always wanted to thank you for being so sweet to me back then.”

  “Hell Sheryl, I’m older now and hopefully a little wiser. I realize now, I would have been a hell of a lot better friend if I had kept our friendship… platonic.”