Deception Creek by Terry Persun Page B

him alone. Maybe Alice had truly loved him all those years, but the pain of seeing Charlie and Sarah ate at her, winnowing away her strength, reminding her, every day, of the rape. Perhaps the only way she could keep her sanity that long was to punish them for their son’s crime. Billy didn’t know. He couldn’t.
    Billy drove to London’s, his thirst so great he couldn’t wait any longer. He walked into the back of the store, took a bottled water from the cooler.
    â€œYou’re looking a bit worn today,” Mrs. London said when Billy stepped to the counter.
    â€œA tough one,” he said.
    â€œGoing out tonight after you clean up? A lot of the kids go to that new place in town. I forget the name of it.”
    â€œI don’t know either,” he said. “I’m going to hit the Shannon Library. Some research,” he explained.
    â€œSounds like fun.”
    Billy smiled and nodded. “It does, doesn’t it?” Before disappearing out the door, he said, “Tell Vicki I said hello.”
    Billy sped back into the trees towards Scott’s house, kicking dust and dirt into the air behind him in a whirl of wind. He came to a sliding stop, jumped out of the truck, and ran into the house, stripping clothes off as he went. The shower felt great, and before long, he was dressed in clean clothes and back on the road toward Shannon.
    North on 107 was not a highly trafficked road, so Billy felt fairly safe even while driving dangerously. The few cars he did see that evening surprised him, but he was able to keep control of his vehicle.
    As he drove down the mountain, the setting sun threw golden light over the sleepy town, a divine light, cast from the heavens to anoint the town and its occupants. Billy’s amazement at its beauty surprised him. Since entering college, he had hardly seen the beauty of any small town, no matter how much he missed, or enjoyed, the woods and creeks. But that night something struck a chord inside him that, even if he didn’t wholly understand the feeling, he recognized a sense of belonging.
    A short drive through town and Billy pulled into the library parking lot. Inside was the same young man who worked in the reference section the last time Billy was there. Recognizing Billy, the boy pulled the microfiche out for him to go through. As Billy prepared the microfiche and ran it through the machine, looking for where he had left off before, a familiar voice said, “Hello, Billy.” He turned. Vicki stood behind him.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” he asked.
    A sly smile crossed her face, and although Billy already knew what had happened, he waited for her to explain. “Well,” she said, pulling a chair out to sit next to him. “I called Mom to check in. She told me about your little talk the other day, then said you were headed here. We weren’t camped far, so I came by and waited for you.”
    â€œIt wasn’t a little talk,” Billy cut in. “It was light conversation at the checkout counter.”
    Vicki closed her mouth tightly, looked disappointed. “I thought you might need a friend.”
    â€œI’m sorry,” he said. “I could use a friend.”
    Vicki turned her chair and looked into the newspaper print enlarged before her. “What are you looking for?”
    â€œMy past,” Billy said. He pointed to the place where he’d left off and began to read.
    Vicki read also. “Oh, my God. Was he your dad?”
    Billy nodded.
    â€œI thought you knew what happened.”
    â€œApparently not,” Billy said.
    â€œIt says three teenagers,” Vicki read.
    â€œMom was there.”
    â€œYour mom and dad? Who was the third person?”
    â€œSome guy at work. He just got out of jail.”
    â€œAnd he came here?” Vicki looked puzzled. “What about your mom? Does she know?”
    â€œShe’s tried to get me to quit, tried to get him fired, and has