SECRETS IN THE CORN

  by BJ Bourg

Carl hiked up his polyester pants and plopped into the chair. He snatched a pen from his uniform shirt and logged the latest of the hourly rounds. When done, he turned his attention to the bank of monitors lining the wall in his office, especially the one that provided a view of the emergency room. Toni Dickens was busy filling out a patient's chart. Her long red hair hid most of her tanned face, but there was no mistaking the fact that she was a beautiful woman. Carl picked up the phone and dialed her extension. He smiled as he watched her idle hand reach over and pull the receiver to her ear.

"Emergency Room, this is Toni, how may I help you?"

"You can begin by unbuttoning your shirt."

Toni's head shot upward. "Are you watching me again?"

"You know it."

Her cheeks darkened and she smiled into the camera. "I feel like a rich celebrity. I've got my own personal security guard."

"Yeah, but not all celebrities are sleeping with their––"

"Hush! You know we can't talk like that at work."

"There's no one around."

Toni looked over her shoulder and then glanced back into the camera. "It's just that I get so nervous when you say those things around here. David would kill me if he ever found out about you."

"Baby, what do you think Cynthia would do?" His tone was defensive. "I won't do anything stupid. I have just as much to lose."

Toni frowned. "I know, sweetie. I'm sorry if you took it wrong. I just worry sometimes. You know I've never done anything like this before."

Carl caught movement at the top of the monitor, several yards behind Toni. It was one of the emergency room doctors. "Don't look, but one of the doctors is coming up from behind you. Meet you in the parking lot tonight?"

"Yes, sir," Toni said in her most professional voice. "I'll get those right over to you."

"Great. You can follow me to a new place I've found at the end of Pete Farmer's Lane. More secure." Carl glanced at the monitor. The doctor was now standing directly behind Toni. "I love you, baby. I can't wait to rip your shirt off and kiss you all––"

"Okay, thank you, sir. Have a good night." Toni dropped the receiver in its cradle and winked at the camera before turning to face the doctor.

Carl settled back in his chair and flipped through the different sectors of the hospital on the monitors. It was quiet, which was normal for a Monday night at St. Matthews General Hospital. The hour dragged painfully by and he was relieved when it was time to get up and stretch his legs. Checklist in hand, he had just left his post when a patrol car drove up to the emergency room entrance. He watched as a deputy helped a handcuffed man from the back seat. The prisoner's clothes were muddy and shuffled. There was blood on the front of his yellow T-shirt.

Carl buzzed them in and waited by the door. The prisoner walked on wobbly legs and Carl indicated with his head. "Hey, Bill, where'd you find him?"

Deputy Bill Payton rubbed his shaved head and shook it. "Crashed his car into a tree, nearly split it in half."

"The tree?"

"No, the car."

The prisoner opened a bloodied mouth to speak and Carl nearly gagged when the bitter stench of stale vomit massaged his nostrils like coarse sandpaper. "How…how's…how is my wife?" The man swayed off balance and Bill had to catch him.

"Sir, I already told you, your wife wasn't in that car."

Toni looked up from the clipboard as the trio approached her workstation. She blushed when her eyes met Carl's, recovered quickly, and pointed at the prisoner. "What have we here?"

Bill placed a driver's license on the counter. "Nathan Underwood. He crashed his car. I need to have him examined before I book him into the jail."

"Why didn't he come by ambulance?"

"He refused treatment at the scene. On the way to jail he decided he'd let me bring him in."

Nathan Underwood leaned a shoulder on the counter. His crooked nose scrunched up. "I thought he…him…that…that cop dude was gonna bring me to…to…home." He exhaled forcefully and pursed his lips together. "He lied."

Carl shook his head. "Need anything from me, Bill?"

"No, I got it. Thanks."

For just a moment, Carl let his eyes feast on Toni's neck, just above her collarbone, where his lips would be in less than two hours. Toni pretended not to notice. He sighed and turned to begin his rounds.

***

At half past midnight Carl drove up to their rendezvous point, Toni following close behind. He parked his truck in a spacious barn and motioned for Toni to follow. When the engines were off and they were cloaked in darkness, Carl pulled the large barn door shut.

"What is this place?" Toni sidled up beside Carl.

"Relax, baby. It's my friend's tractor barn."

"Who keeps a barn out in the middle of the corn field, miles away from civilization?"

"Most corn farmers do. Imagine how long it would take them to make the drive back here on their tractors."

"I guess." Toni felt her way in the dark and leaned against her car. "You couldn't find a place, I don't know, classier?"

Carl felt a pang in the pit of his stomach. He mumbled his apologies and dropped the tailgate on his truck.

Toni sat beside him and tugged at his arm. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"That's not true."

"What, you're calling me a liar now?"

Toni slid from the tailgate and stood directly in front of Carl. She placed both hands on his face and gave him a whisper of a kiss. "Sweetheart, you don't spend six months being intimate with someone without getting to know them. I know something's wrong."

Carl pouted for a minute. "You're right," he finally said, "but I don't want to talk about it."

"Baby, we agreed to tell each other everything."

After a long moment, Carl nodded his resignation. "I just feel weird when you start talking about classy this, or expensive that. I mean, you're a nurse, your husband owns a pharmaceutical company. I'm just a security guard. My wife's a stay-at-home mom. I don't even know what you see in me."

"None of that matters to me."

"Then why do you keep saying things like, Couldn't you find a classier place?"

Toni opened her mouth to speak, but light splashed through a stained window of the barn and cast eerie shadows about the room. Carl grabbed Toni and they both dropped to the soft ground. Toni pushed Carl's chest and whispered, "I thought you said this place was more secure?"

"It is."

Toni pointed to the window. The hum of a car engine stopped just outside the barn. "Then what is that ?"

"I don't know." Carl licked his dry lips. "What if David hired a private investigator to follow you?"

"That's nonsense. He doesn't suspect anything."

A car door slammed just opposite the splintered wall. Another door opened. They could hear the visitor's labored breathing. There was a grunt and something thumped to the ground. The door slammed.

"What's going on?" Toni's whisper was barely more than the flap of a butterfly's wings.

Carl pushed his finger to her lips. He opened his mouth to hear better. Although it was cool outside, beads of sweat slid down his forehead. More labored breathing. The visitor dragged something on the ground outside of the barn. The sounds gradually moved away from the barn and into the corn fields.

When the sounds faded, Carl inched toward the window. Toni remained glued to his hip. When they reached the window, Carl slowly straightened his legs until he could peer over the sill. He winced when his knees popped, but there was no indication anyone heard.

"What do you see?" Toni asked from the ground.

"Just the back of a car."

"What kind?"

"Looks like a Ford."

Toni sighed. "Definitely not David. He's a Chevy man."

Carl strained to see more of the car, but couldn't. Toni rose beside him and pressed her face to the glass. He pointed to the license plate of the car. "Do you have something to write on?"

"Yeah."

"Copy that plate."

Toni knelt and fumbled in her purse for a pen. "What is it?"

"Kansas plate, 2JN 6L6."

"2-J-N-6-L-6?"

"Right."

Suddenly, the sound of the visitor crashing through the corn field became louder, as the person approached quickly. Carl dropped to the ground beside Toni. They both held their breaths as the footsteps passed just inches from where they sat. Carl tried to calm the pounding in his chest, but it was no use. The sound reverberated within his eardrum and made it hard to hear what was taking place on the outside. He let out an audible sigh of relief when the vehicle sped away.

They sat quiet for several moments before either of them spoke. It was Toni who broke the silence. "What do you think that was about?"

Carl noted that her voice shook. He took several soft breaths to gain control of his own emotions. "I'm not sure."

"You think he's really gone?"

"Yeah."

Toni stood slowly to her feet and looked out the window. "Everything's dark."

"We should get out of here. Remind me to kick my friend's butt for suggesting this place." He walked to his truck and opened the door. "Let's get out of here, baby."

"Aren't you a bit curious?" Toni asked from the window.

"About what?"

"About what just happened."

"Look, as far as we're concerned, nothing happened."

"What if he hid a pile of money, or something? We could afford to run off together––"

"There you go with the money crap again." Carl walked to the barn door and jerked it open. "There's no explanation for either of us being here. Whatever that person did, it's none of our business. I need to get home before Cynthia calls the hospital looking for me."

Toni hesitated. "I just want to have a quick peak."

Carl walked over and cupped her face in his hands. Her eyes were spooky in the shadows. "If you look, you become involved. If you become involved, then I become involved, and I'd have to alert the authorities. If that happens, our secret would be exposed."

Toni sighed. "You're right. I'm not looking to get divorced...or dead."

"Neither am I. Let's get out of here before we get busted."

***

Carl jerked awake and stared wide-eyed around the room. He collapsed to the bed when he realized he'd only dreamed that Cynthia found out about Toni and him. "Thank God," he whispered. The smell of bacon and fresh biscuits lured him from the bed. He padded down the hall and found Cynthia sitting at the edge of the coffee table in the living room. Her eyes were transfixed to the television. A spatula dangled from her fingers.

"Morning, sweetheart. How'd you sleep––"

"Shush!" Cynthia waved her hand to silence him. "Listen."

Carl turned his attention to the news anchorwoman on TV who stood outside of the St. Matthews County Sheriff's Office. " Thank you, John, " she said. " Good morning, we're here live outside of the Sheriff's Office, where deputies confirmed a farmer found the nude body of a St. Matthews woman in a remote patch of corn fields this morning …"

Carl sank to the sofa and stared as video feed from a news helicopter showed images of the barn in which he and Toni had hidden just nine hours earlier.

"... a source close to the investigation told me police have identified the woman as Holley Underwood. Lead Detective Reggie Falcon commented that police received a lucky break in the case when an alert patrol deputy remembered arresting a man for driving while intoxicated and the man made suspicious statements about the whereabouts of his wife. Police believe the man was speeding from the location where he dumped his wife's body when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree. Detectives investigated and learned from witnesses that Holley Underwood left a bar walking at around nine o'clock last night because she refused to get in the car with her drunk husband. Nathan Underwood left minutes later and that was the last time anyone saw the couple until …"

Carl's cell phone rang from the bedroom. He bolted off the sofa and rushed to answer it. "Hello, this is Carl."

"Are you watching the news?" Toni's voice was frantic.

He walked into the master bathroom and shut the door. "Yeah."

"We have to do something."

"Calm down, baby. The police have everything under control."

"What if someone finds out we were there?"

"That's impossible, unless one of us says something. And that's not going to happen, right?"

There was a long pause.

"Right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I just feel so guilty and…and…baby, I'm scared."

"There's no reason to be scared, and there's no reason to feel guilty. We did nothing wrong."

"But what if they arrest that man?"

"They can't just arrest people because they think they did something. They have to have evidence––"

A man's voice boomed in the background. Toni gasped and spoke in rapid fire. "I have to go, it's David. See you at work. I love you."

The call disconnected and Carl stared at his phone. The clock on it read ten-thirty—time for him to get ready for work.

***

When Carl arrived at work an hour later, Toni was waiting for him outside his office, arms folded across her chest. He glanced up and down the hall. All was clear. He unlocked the door and Toni followed him inside. "What's going on?"

"They arrested him."

"Who?"

"The husband. Charged him with murder."

Carl sat in his chair and pondered that bit of information. "Well, they must have some sort of evidence."

"That's bull! He didn't do it! He was in this hospital when his wife's body was dumped. You and I both know it."

"Maybe he bonded out of jail and dumped her body after—"

Toni tossed a hospital discharge sheet in Carl's lap. "He didn't leave the hospital until two o'clock. You and I saw that car at about quarter to one."

Carl rubbed the sweat from his face. "But we couldn't have seen the car. We were never there."

"Carl, this is bigger than us and our marriages. An innocent man could go to jail for the rest of his life. We have to do something."

"I'm sorry for him, baby, but I'm not throwing my life away for that drunk, especially since we don't know what's going on. He might've paid someone to dispose of her body. There's a lot we don't know."

Toni pursed her lips. "Well, I'm going to the police. I promise to leave you out of it."

Carl stood and threw his hands in the air. "What are you going to say? What could you possibly say that wouldn't give away the fact that you were cheating on your husband?"

Toni chewed on her lower lip. Carl could almost hear the wheels squeaking in her head as the hamster ran for its life. Finally, she looked up and smiled. "I know. I'll say I was driving by Pete Farmer's Lane and I saw the car pull out onto the highway."

"What would be suspicious about that? People live at the beginning of that lane. They come and go all the time."

"I'll tell them the car cut me off and almost crashed into me, then sped away like it was running from something."

"That might work."

"So, you don't mind?"

"I guess not."

Toni lunged at Carl and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, baby! This was really eating away at me. It'll make me feel better."

Carl squeezed Toni and inhaled deeply of her Beautiful perfume. "Can you do one thing for me?"

Toni leaned back and stared up at Carl. "Anything."

"Get with my buddy Bill. He's an honest cop. Maybe he'll be able to use you as a confidential informant or something, kind of insulate you from too much exposure."

"Okay, baby. I'll do that for you."

Carl grabbed a sheet of paper from his desk and wrote Bill's number on it. "Tell him I sent you. He's the cop who brought Nathan Underwood—"

"Yeah, I figured that much. I'm a redhead, not a blonde." Toni pinched Carl's cheek and gave him a swift kiss. "I'm taking off tomorrow, so I'll call then."

"You'll let me know as soon as you talk to him?"

Toni nodded. "I'll drop by the hospital in the afternoon."

***

Carl's shift seemed to last forever. He and Toni decided not to meet that night, so when he knocked off, he drove straight home. After a restless eight hours of tossing and turning, he dragged himself out of bed and dressed for work. His cell phone remained by his side the entire while, but by noon he still hadn't received a call from Toni. During his first rounds at the hospital, he asked several of Toni's friends if they had heard from her, but they all said no.

When he'd completed his rounds, Carl returned to his office. He called Toni's cell phone for the hundredth time, but got no answer. It was not like her to go so long without calling. As he sat there pondering what to do next, the receptionist buzzed his line.

"Carl, you have a call on line four."

Carl snatched up the phone, praying it was Toni. "Hello, this is Carl."

"Carl, it's Bill."

"Hey, what can I do for you?"

"Look, I received a call from a nurse named Toni Dickens. Said she had the license plate number of Holley Underwood's killer."

"Yeah, I told her to call you."

"Did she tell you the license plate number?"

Carl hesitated. "Um, no. Why?"

"She was supposed to meet me at the office, but never showed. I asked her for the number when she called, but she didn't want to give any information over the phone."

"What time did she call?"

"It was early. Eight or nine." Bill sighed. "Oh well. Do you know if she told anyone else the number?"

"Why?"

"I need it so we can investigate this lead. We're sure we have the right person, but we don't want to leave any loose ends. You know me, I like to run down every lead, positive or negative."

"Yeah." Carl was thoughtful as he returned the receiver to its cradle. He had to find Toni. After notifying his boss that he had a family emergency, he drove by Toni's house. Her car was gone. Repeated calls to her cell phone met with the same results. He drove around town for hours; searching, praying he would catch a glimpse of her vehicle. Nothing.

When midnight rolled around, Carl made a final pass by Toni's house. His heart leapt into his throat when he saw red and blue flashing lights in her driveway. He slowed to a stop across the street and watched as several deputies walked in and out of her house. Fear gripped at his chest and made it difficult to breath. It took all the strength he had to remain seated in his truck. After several minutes of watching, he drove away.

A phone call to the hospital confirmed his worst fears; David Dickens had reported Toni missing. He suddenly remembered the suspicious call from Deputy Bill Payton. Carl jerked his truck to the shoulder of the road and dialed 911.

"911 Emergency, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak to the detective working the Holley Underwood case. His name is Reggie something. I saw him on the news. I think his last name starts with an F ."

"Falcon?"

"Yes! That's it. I need to speak with him immediately."

"Hold on, I'll patch you through to the sheriff's office."

The sheriff's office dispatcher came on the line and told Carl that Detective Falcon was busy.

"Ma'am, it has to do with the case he's working right now. It's a matter of life and death."

"Okay, hold on just a minute. I'll patch you through to his cell."

Detective Falcon picked up on the third ring. There were voices in the background and he had to speak loud. "Hello."

"Detective, I need to talk to you about the missing person."

"What missing person?"

"Toni Dickens."

"Who is this?"

"I'm Carl Fuller, a security guard at St. Matthews General. I work with Toni."

Detective Falcon didn't say anything. The voices in the background slowly faded. When all was quiet, he came back on. "Okay, you've got my attention. What do you have for me?"

"I think her disappearance has something to do with what happened to Holley Underwood."

"Explain that."

"Not on the phone."

"I'm kind of in the middle of an investigation here."

"What I need to tell you is going to blow your case wide open. For starters, you have the wrong guy in jail."

"That's absurd. Nathan Underwood confessed."

"Then he wasn't alone. I have the license plate number of the man who dumped Holley's body."

"How'd you get it?"

"I was hiding in a barn when the body was dumped. I saw the car."

"Where's this barn located?"

"Back of Pete Farmer's Lane. I can take you to it."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I think a cop's involved in Toni's disappearance."

"What makes you say that?"

"She wanted to contact the authorities about the license plate number. I suggested she call a cop friend of mine."

"How'd she get the license plate number? Did you give it to her?"

Carl sighed. "She was with me in the barn."

Detective Falcon grunted. "Okay, I understand where you're coming from. Where are you now?"

"About two miles from Toni's house."

"Meet me at the beginning of Pete Farmer's Lane. I'll flash my headlights when I get to you. You can lead me to the barn."

"But, what about Toni?"

"Sir, I promise you we're doing everything we can to find her. I've got every available car out looking—"

"Not Bill Payton!"

"No, Bill's off. Why?"

"I'll be waiting for you at the beginning of the lane." Carl abruptly flipped his phone shut and drove off.

***

Carl parked his truck parallel to the front doors of the barn and stepped out. Detective Falcon parked beside the truck and greeted him with an outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you face to face."

Carl nodded. He was surprised at how short the detective stood. He'd seemed much taller on television. "Do you have any leads on where Toni might be?"

"Not yet, but we're working on it."

Carl nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. He walked past the back of his truck and led the way to the side of the barn where he and Toni had seen the suspect's vehicle. He pointed to a spot in the grass. "It was parked right here. We were standing by that window and were able to see the license plate."

"Did you see the driver?"

"No, sir."

"Then why do you think it was Deputy Payton?"

Carl began to walk back toward his truck. "He was the only one we…well, Toni…told about the license plate."

"I see."

Carl froze in mid-step when he realized he never told Detective Falcon he suspected Bill Payton. His eyes strayed to the back of Detective Falcon's unmarked cruiser and he nearly choked on his tongue when he saw the license plate number— 2JN 6L6 . Before he could turn, a bright light flashed inside his head and a shock wave shot down his spine. The last thing he felt was blood spraying from his nose. The last thing he remembered was falling.…

***

Carl tried to open his eyes, but the light stabbed through to his brain. Pressure enveloped his skull. There was a dull pain in his head. He opened his eyes in quick, jerky motions until they became accustomed to the light. Everything was a blur.

"He's awake!" someone shouted. It sounded like Cynthia.

A tanned face appeared in Carl's field of view. There was no mistaking that bright smile. "Bill—" Carl grimaced as his throat ignited and burned like a forest fire during the dry season.

"Don't try to talk," Bill said in a soothing voice. "Just relax. We were worried about you for a while, but you're going to be okay."

"Toni…how…how's Toni?"

Bill pursed his lips and shook his head. "She didn't make it. I'm sorry."

Carl's heart sank and tears formed in his eyes. "But, what happened?"

"Falcon got to her." Bill hung his head. "It's my fault. I should've known."

"How…how…could you…have known?"

"He acted real suspicious when I told him Toni had the killer's license plate number. He asked all kinds of questions about who she was, where she worked, what was her address. He asked me if she'd told me anything." Bill sighed. "I should've known."

Tears slid down Carl's face, but he didn't care. He swallowed several times and took a series of labored breaths to work up the strength to phrase a complete sentence. "How'd I end up here?"

"I followed you and Falcon to the back of Pete Farmer's Lane."

"You were…were following me?"

"No, I was following Falcon. When Toni went missing, I knew he had something to do with it. He was the only person I told."

"Sorry I suspected you of––"

"Don't worry about that."

Carl reached a weak hand to his head. He scowled when he felt a thick wrap. That explained the pressure. His eyes rolled to focus on Bill. "What's that?"

"Falcon whacked you pretty good with his baton. There was some swelling in your brain. They had to do surgery."

Carl's eyes widened. "Surgery? To…my head?"

"Yeah, but you're going to be fine. Doc says you'll be good as new in no time."

"Yeah," Cynthia said from the opposite side of the bed. "You're lucky you have such a hard head."

"What…what about Falcon?"

"I shot him as he stood over you with the baton. He died at the scene." Bill raised his eyebrows. "Of course, he lived long enough to confess to the murder of Holley Underwood and your friend Toni."

Carl stared at the ceiling for a long moment. His mind flashed back to the first time he'd met Toni. She had been a new nurse and the doctor had introduced her to the hospital staff. When he'd shaken her hand, he'd felt a twitch of interest. That one touch lasted six months. He squeezed his eyes shut. And now she was dead, killed as a direct result of their sin. "How can…a detective just turn…turn bad all of a sudden?"

"It wasn't a sudden thing. He's always had a problem with anger. Been accused of beating confessions out of more than one innocent person, but no one wanted to touch him."

"Why not?"

"He got results. It made a lot of voters happy and the department looked good, so they let him do whatever he wanted."

"But murder?"

Bill shook his head. "No one knew about that."

"Why did he kill that Holley Underwood?" Cynthia wanted to know.

"He made sexual advances toward her and she rejected him. According to him, things got out of hand. Before he knew it, she lay dead in the back seat of his unmarked car."

Cynthia put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my God! That's horrible!"

"How'd she…get in...in his car?" Carl asked.

"He picked her up walking. Told her he would take her home." Bill shook his head. "She did the right thing by not getting in the car with her drunk husband, but she made a fatal error when she got in with Falcon."

"What about the other woman?" Cynthia asked.

"Falcon called Toni and had her meet him—"

Carl closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't want…don't…I can't."

"I understand." Bill stood to go. "I'll let you rest."

When Bill's footsteps faded down the hall, Carl felt a tap on his arm. He opened his eyes. Cynthia stood by the bedside with arms crossed, her face tight. "Who's Toni?"