It amazes those that know the truth
of the heart of the matter. The intense
gaze of one may be an oblivious blink from another. The silence to be interpreted or the white
noise of an old television set. It was
on one such occasion that a young man, on the cusp of adulthood, sat and stared
into his slimy pancakes in an old hometown diner on a dreary, cold November
morning that something strange had occurred.
Lukas Mason Marris watched with rapt attention as he drowned out the noisy people around him and focused solely on his pancakes, as if they were more interesting than the people. He contemplated the sticky ratio of the maple syrup he loved and the dryness of the pancakes and wondered how some person he had never heard of had ever come up with the idea of pouring syrup over the sweet confection-like food that laid before him. The contemplation had taken hold of him once again and his mind wandered to the inventor the damned food before he picked up his fork to stab the sustenance he’d come to loathe and love in equal measure.
It was while he had taken the first sweet bite that the bell above the door of the establishment he had found himself in rang out slightly. His ears rang along with the bell and he finally looked to the door to see who it was that had ruined his peaceful moment. The first movement he had seen was from a white lace covered gloved hand move to the head that it belonged to. The bare arm, smooth and flawless, led to a beautifully and well-dressed body that seemed to have been plucked from a magazine. He frowned momentarily as he looked up to the face that the body belonged to and froze. There stood someone new.
A new face meant new gossip and new gossip meant idiocy to the tenth degree from the not only the founding families and their debutante friends, but to the mediocre masses as well. This would not bode well for this father’s company. Fresh blood meant a number of things that could not bring good business. Especially, if from the looks of the fine clothes, the new blood in town had money. Lukas, a young man of seventeen and a senior in high school, was the son of the most prominent and corrupt man in town. He knew how his father was and how he did his business. He let out a sigh and moved his eyes back to his food. Not in the mood for the sweet food any longer he stood and walked over to the register.
“What’s wrong Mase?” A female voice asked in front of him. Lukas looked up to see Daniella ‘Dany’ Clifton’s worried beautiful green eyes stared back at him. Lukas cleared his throat unnecessarily.
“Nothing Dany. Just not in the mood to eat right now. I lost my appetite a minute ago.” He said with a sigh. “I’ll just pay the bill and go. I’ve got to finish that paper before third period and I’ve only just started on the paper. I’ll have it knocked out in ten minutes, but that’s what I get for procrastinating.”
“Yeah, hey Mase?” Dany agreed before she asked.
“What’s up?”
“Do you think you could walk me to school? I get off at seven thirty and there’s been some thugs that hang around here lately.” Dany asked as she explained the situation.
“Yeah, I’ll be here when you get off. I’ve got to run. Thanks anyway for the food, Dany.” Lukas said as he handed the money over and made his way toward the door.
The moment he opened the door another body ran into his. Oomph. He grunted before he looked up to see a well-dressed man in what looked to be an Armani suit. Well, this is interesting.
“Excuse me, Son. I didn’t see you there.” The Armani clad man said with a smooth accent-less voice said as Lukas looked up to see the clean cut face.
“Not it was my fault. I didn’t watch where I was going.” Lukas muttered before he tried to get past the man in front of him.
“You look awfully familiar.” The man said as Lukas raised an eyebrow to the man. “What’s your name, son?”
“Lukas. Lukas Marris.”
“Marris? Son of Walter Marris? The Chairman of the City council and owner of Marris Logging?” The man asked as Lukas nodded to the man warily. “It’s nice to meet you, Lukas. I went to school here with your father. We were good friends when we were younger.”
“Right.” Lukas scoffed. “Cause my dad has friends.”
The man’s eyes scrutinized him for a moment. “Yes. My name is Nathan Erros. This lovely young lady is my daughter, Natalia, and this is my beautiful wife, Adenia. Ladies, this is Lukas Marris.”
The two women that had come in before the Armani man, Nathan. The woman, Adenia, looked him over with a tight smile. “You’re Walter’s son?”
“Yes, ma’am. And I’m going to be late for school. So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going.” He said as he nodded to the three of them and then looked to the time. He had twenty minutes to get his back from home and then be back here in time to walk Dany to school. He looked to Dany and pointed at his watch as she nodded her confirmation.
Unbeknownst to him the daughter of the couple, Natalia, watched the interaction with interest. “Mother, who is Walter Marris?” She thought about the young man and remembered his features. His eyes were not some boring brown color, but an icy blue and his hair a deep, deep black color that seemed as if sunlight died when it touched it. His clothes were nice enough to the point you could tell he had some money, but didn’t ‘dress to impress’ anyone. He jacket was leather and he carried a laptop bag. His lips were full and his jaw looked strong. He looked as if he had muscles. He was a perfect specimen of male.
“This is not the place to be asking those questions. The explanation can wait until we are back into the car.” Adenia said with a calculated look to her eyes.
Natalia nodded and looked around as a waitress made her way to their table. “What can I get for you today?” The waitress, it was the girl that the boy, Lukas, had motioned to, asked.
“I would like a bottled water and a fruit platter, thank you.” Natalia said icily.
“Dany, I’d like those pancakes that everyone raves about, a side of bacon and an orange juice. It’s nice to see you after so long.” Nathan said as Natalia looked at him like he grew a second head.
“Hey Mr. E. It’s good to see you again. And I’ll have those pancakes out here real quick. And for you ma’am? What would you like?” Dany asked Adenia, whose eyes were locked onto her husband’s face.
“I’d like the same as my daughter, thank you.”
“Alright, I’ll be back soon. I’ll tell my pops your back in town Mr. E. He’ll be happy to see you.” Dany said as she moved her way back to the front to give the orders to the chef.
“Father? Care to explain how you know our waitress?” Natalia asked as Adenia raised an eyebrow.
Nathan chuckled and looked to his family. “Her father is Darius Clifton. He’s the man that sold me the house and the land. He and Dany were there to greet me when I came to look into the land and house.”
Adenia seemed appeased at that statement, but Natalia didn’t believe it. She looked over to the waitress one more time and saw that the girl had taken off her apron and hung it up. She was handing her paper pad over to another waitress and left to the back room. Five minutes later and their food was in front of them.
Dany looked at the time and saw she had four minutes to spare and turned to talk to Candy. “Hey, Cand. That table over there is new to town. Treat’em nicely.” Dany said as Candy threw her head back in a laugh.
“Of course, girly. Now off with you. Your school date is waitin’ on ya.” Candy said. Her Irish roots moved to the forefront. Her crazy red hair and glasses shimmered as she moved through the room swiftly.
Dany moved to the front of the building and pulled her jacket closer to her. Even though it was late Fall, there was snow already on the ground. Dany smiled at the way Lukas paced the front sidewalk. She laughed quietly to herself as he took out a small notepad to write. She’d known him so long it came as no surprise to her.
He always wrote when he was nervous or bored. She opened the door and called to him. His pacing had stopped and his head snapped up to hers. A small indiscernible smile graced his full lips. That was the only smile she’d get from him in public, she knew. They’d been friends since they were twelve, and after years of trying to date, knew they were too much like siblings and parted ways as best friends on mutual ground.
“Finally, Dany. We’ve got to head out.” Lukas said as he pulled his leather jacket closer to his body. She saw the tattoo that had been slapped on his neck and smiled. A tribal tattoo that had only five names filled the spaces between the designs. Hers, His, their friends Abigail, Leland and their last and only friend Theresa. The five of them had been close as close could get.
Dany nodded and pulled her own jacket closer to her as a small breeze caressed her cheeks with a bite from the frozen morning.
The two walked for almost ten minutes before a small, high pitched squeal was heard and a body rushed toward them like a mini bullet on crack. Lukas opened his arms as the little mass rushed straight into his arms to cling onto him like monkey. “Abby, is it necessary to kill my hearing before school starts?” She heard him droll out before she moved away from him with a quiet ‘sorry’.
“It’s fine, Abbs. I was only teasing.” He said with a look.
“Dany, did you hear?” Abigail asked before she finally turned away from her personalized hero to her best friend.
“Hear what?” Dany asked with a raised eyebrow.
“That there’s a new family in town.” Abigail said with a smile.
“Yeah, I know. My dad and I are the ones that sold him the old Kelson place.” Dany said with a thoughtful look and a nod.
“They come from money, Abbs.” Lukas said with a sigh.
“Really? From money you say? Well that does change things.” A new voice said as Dany smiled a little more at the deep bass of the familiar voice.
“Yes, from money. They’re from Chicago actually.” Dany said as they all looked over to see Leland ‘Lee’ Justice, whose name belied his late night activities. Leland had baby blue eyes that sparkled with humor and an irritating condescending smile on his thin, yet perfectly sculpted lips. The only flaw on his face was a large scar that crossed his face from his right temple to his left lip. It in no way took away the handsomeness of his looks, but it did intimidate most people. It had come from an accident that he had been involved in with his eldest sister. His hair was shaggy and unkempt most days, but had a certain order the disarray.
“Chicago? Why would a family, socialites at that come here?” Lee asked perplexed on the situation.
“Of all places to live? Our little town doesn’t have much to offer in the way of Elitist comfort.”
“I don’t know, Lee. What I do know is my dad is gonna be pretty pissed.” Lukas said as he pulled on a gray beanie to stay the cold air around them. The four of them continued to walk before an irritated voice spoke up from beside Dany.
“Your dad? What about mine? I can already hear him grinding his teeth.”
The four of them stopped in their tracks to see their last member with an annoyed look upon her gorgeous face. Theresa ‘Tessa’ Thorne shook the light snow out of her long, dark mahogany and wavy hair as she tried to keep it from frizzing with her hands. Her face a perfect balance of her handsome father and beautiful mother. Her eyes a mixture of blue, green and brown created a dark hazel color that was almost always narrowed in scrutiny.
“Tessa it really can’t be that bad.” Abigail ‘Abby’ Turner said as Lukas turned his head over to his little friend. Abby was a year younger than the rest of them, but smart enough to be in their grade. Her mind worked wonders when they had a problem and her skill at sleuthing were phenomenal. Her hair a bright red that laid straight on her head and her bright emerald eyes were almost an identical match to Dany’s. The small freckles on her face belied her maturity. Her face was symmetrical in every aspect. She smiled constantly and he knew that he would harm anyone that would make her cry. It was a vow he had kept ever since their freshman year.
“Our dads work together Abby. They’re in business together, they’ll be pissed for sure.” Tessa said with a roll of her eyes.
“Lay off, Tessa. Just because you’re in a bad mood.” Leland scathed before Tessa stuck her tongue out at him. “So mature, Tessa. So mature.”
“Shut up, all of you.” Abby said quickly before her eyes scanned the crowded parking lot to see almost the entire school. “What’s going on here?”
“I don’t, let’s find out.” Leland said as Lukas looked up concerned at the chaos that had ensued.
Leland and Abby left the three of them and came to a person that stood around with a group of kids. “Sanders.” Leland said as said boy turned around to see Leland.
“What’s up, Lee?” The boy asked as Leland leveled him with a look.
“What’s goin on here?” Leland asked as the boy looked back to his friends and the back to Leland.
“Someone’s dead, but Principal Camden hasn’t made a statement. The cops and an ambulance had been here for over an hour. The janitor found the body.” Sanders said as Leland nodded and then turned away, Abigail on his heels.
“Abby, not a word to anyone else, besides us.” Leland said in an uncharacteristically serious voice. “I mean it, Abbs. Not a word to the outside.”
“Of course, Lee. I know the drill. We’ve got to head this off before it gets worse.” Abby said with a small smirk. “I’ll be back in moment. I’ll get the scoop.”
Leland turned his eyes away from her retreating back and back to his other friends. He made his way to the front of them.
“What’s wrong, Lee?” Dany asked curiously.
“Seems some poor soul lost their fight with the Angel of Death in the school this morning. Question is-‘Who is it?’” Leland said in a semi-serious voice.
“Oh no!” Dany gasped as Tessa and Lukas shook their head. Of all of them Dany was the most empathetic towards other people. “That’s awful.”
“True. It also make me wonder what the hell is going on in this town. I mean, last month, the local bar is burned down and before that three houses on skid row went up in flames too.” Tessa stated in annoyance at not knowing anything.
“Where’s Abby.” Lukas asked effectively veering them off the subject of the incidents a few months ago.
“Getting info from her usual source.” Leland said as he pointed to the news van that sat in the parking lot.
“It’s good to have your father on the inside, I should think.” Tessa said with a smirk.
They watched as Abby had wrote down all that her father was telling her and she thanked him before she left his side. She waltzed her way through the crowd to make her way back to end up where her friends were.
“What’d you get?” Leland asked hungrily.
“A name. One that will actually surprise you all.” Abby said with a smirk.
“What name?” Lukas asked drolly.
“Justin Reeves.” Abby said as two loud gasps were heard. Tessa and Dany looked to each other and then to Lukas and Leland. Lukas rubbed his forehead slowly as Leland raised a slender brow in surprise.
“You’re sure, Abbs?” Lukas asked as his hand moved to the back of his neck.
“Yep. That’s the name Daddy got from the deputy. Look.” Abby said as they all snapped up to see a body under a sheet being hoisted down the school steps.
“Looks like no school for the next few days.” Leland observed as a teacher came near them.
“Yes. There will be no teacher for the next four days, Mr. Justice. So if you and your friends would promptly remove yourself from the property as the rest of the student body does the same, we would like to get this over with.” Mr. Ignacio Regarro said in his slightly distinguishable Hispanic accent.
“Of course, Mr. Regarro. We were just leaving.” Lukas said as the teacher looked to him with disdain. Something he was simply too used to seeing. “Come on guys.”
The five of them turned around and started to walk. “Let’s meet in my garage. I’ll begin the start of the investigation. We’ll gather more info later.” Abby said as the other four nodded and left for their respective homes. Lukas made sure to walk Dany home before he left for his own.
Lukas crunched through the snow as his ears picked up the songs of the birds. He knew soon, though, no bird would be singing. No animals would be out. The light songs and chirps would soon grow silent. He knew something bad was coming, he could feel it in his bones. His eyes roamed up to the huge manse that lay before him. A place he had called ‘home’ all his life. A scoff settled in his throat at that laughable thought. Home, a word so foreign to his vocabulary that it made his lips twitch upward in a smirk.
“I see that you’re home earlier than usual.” His father’s deep baritone reverberated around the stone room of the foyer.
“Yep, death a school.” Lukas said with a bored look. “Know anything about it?”
“Really? That’s a new one.” Walter said with a shake of his head. “I did not know anything about it. Where are you headed now?”
“To Abby’s.” Lukas said as he walked passed his father on the landing of their grand staircase. Much too showy for his tastes. He’d have rather had a small house on the edge of town that no one knew about. He’d have rather have turned his back on this town and skipped out the moment he could walk. Sadly it was not meant to be. His mother, now dead and gone, had left the town and his father, and by extension him.
“And what, pray tell, could you find at Abigail’s?” Walter asked curiously.
“A distraction from the idiocy that runs rampant in this town.” Lukas said as he shook his head in disdain.
“You could come to work with me.” Walter suggested as Lukas scoffed.
“I’d rather not. I’ll be home later.” Lukas said as he took off up the stairs to get to his room. He threw his backpack on his bed and then moved to the desk to grab the jump drive that was connected to his desktop. He made sure he had his charger for his laptop and sighed. Today and the next few days were going to be a long day.
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