Souls in Peril (50 page)

Numb, Max said nothing.

“
In
this note
,
she mentions a journal she want
ed you to
turn over to the police. Do you have that with you?”

“I
’
ll get it.” Coach got up and went to his car. He grabbed the envelope and brought it to the officer. As he handed it to her, a car with the Port Fare Airport shuttle logo on the side pulled up in front of the house. Izzy
’
s cocky father stepped out of the back.

Max shot up, rage flooding every square inch of him. He didn
’
t know if it was JD
’
s rage or his own, or both, and he didn
’
t care. Kevin Thurston was about to pay for what he
’
d done.

“What
’
s going on?” he demanded.

“You foul, sick pervert.” Max launched himself at Kevin, kicking, punching and swearing with each blow. Kevin tried to defend himself, but he was no match for Max
’
s rage.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, i
t surprised him that no one stopped him
.
After several seconds, the two officers and Coach finally pulled Max off.

“Yo
u, young man, will pay for that,”
Izzy
’
s father spat at him as he struggled to
stand
up. “
Officer, I want this man arrested for assault.”

Max grinned as Kevin wiped at the thin trickle of blood running from his lip, wishing he
’
d done more damage. “Your daughter is dead, thanks to you,” Max snapped angrily, kicking at him, unable to make contact with the three men holding him firmly.

“Dead? My Isabelle is dead? How?” He appeared visibly
shaken
.

“She killed herself,
mainly
because you
’
ve been molesting her, you freak,” Max shouted.

Kevin had the audacity to look offended. “And you can add slander to the charges against JD,
O
fficer.” That sparked Max
’
s rage all over again
and h
e almost broke free of the men as he swung out, missing the creep.

“See that journal she
’
s reading?” Max pointed to Officer Karren. “That
’
s Izzy
’
s. She
’
s been documenting what you
’
ve been doing to her. You
’
re busted, perv.”

Wide-eyed, Kevin turned to Officer Karren. “Miss, I
’
m a lawyer, and unless you have a warrant, you have no right to go through my family
’
s belongings. My daughter is dead
,
and that makes her belonging
s
mine.” He reached for the journal, but Officer Karren stepped back.

“
Mr.
Thurston, as you well know
,
that
’
s
not
correct. Besides, this was addressed to us
and delivered to us at Isabelle
’
s request.”
She held up the padded envelope. “It
’
s
not your
property. And I
’
d suggest you find yourself a very good lawyer.”

“Aren
’
t you the least bit concerned that Izzy
’
s dead?” Max asked bitterly. “Or are you only concerned with your own putrid self?”

“The boy has a point, Thurston. Why haven
’
t
you asked to see your daughter?
Where were you last night around ten p.m.?” asked Officer Karren.

“I was in Ohio at a business dinner with five other attorneys,” he answered, indignantly.

“We
’
ll need you to ID the body please.
This is a crime scene, I
’
m sure I don
’
t need to remind
you
not to touch anything.
” Officer Karren, looking as repulsed as Max felt, turned and walked in the house. Kevin followed.

“What happened to my house? This carpet is imported wool!” he shouted as he crossed the threshold.

Max stomped over to Coach
’
s car and dropped onto the hood again. Coach came over next to him. “How are you doing, JD?” Max shrugged. JD was pulling away. Feelings of failing Izzy, along with complete and utter sorrow over losing his best friend swamped him. Max knew he should fight it, try and encourage JD to talk to Coach or Mel, but his
own
sorrow and rage
engulfed
him.

Kevin
’
s repeated screams of
No
hit Max like punches
. It was her. Izzy was dead. He didn
’
t know what he
’
d expected. Maybe that it was all a mistake, and that it wasn
’
t her upstairs, dead. Overwhelmed, Max slid off the car. He wanted to leave. He didn
’
t
know
how much more he
could possibly take. A few m
inute
s later, the medics wheeled out the stretcher
with
a black body bag strapped to it.

Max stepped back, his head shaking in disbelief. Kevin bolted out the front door and threw himself across Izzy
’
s lifeless body. “No, Isabelle. Please. I
’
m sorry. Please. No.” A medic tried to pull him off Izzy, but he held tight
ly
to her body, begging. Begging her to live, begging her to forgive him. Begging and begging.

Max didn
’
t realize he
’
d worked his way down the driveway. Watching her vulgar father
’
s pathetic attempt at redemption and seeing her hauled out in
a
body bag pushed him over the precarious edge he was on
.
JD
ran. Max, emotionally beaten, let him go.

With everyone watching Kevin
’
s guilt spilling everywhere, no one paid any attention to Max. He ran hard, through neighbors yards and across parking lots.

Max tumbled as JD
’
s sorrow choked him. His best friend was dead. The only person in the entire world who truly understood JD no longer existed. Not even his
own
mother got him like Izzy did. Now what? Who could he trust now? Who could he confide in when things got tough?

Max did his best to give JD hope, pointing out the new friends he
’
d made, but
his own
sorrow
anchored
heav
ily
on his heart. He slowed to a jog
and
eventually to a walk. He didn
’
t want to go home. No one would be there. He went to the school instead, going straight to his locker. JD wanted the painting Izzy gave him.

He opened the locker and removed the painting, unrolling it carefully. He sat down on the hard cement ground and soaked it in. The colors, the mood, the beauty of two young kids, so blissfully happy, in a field of weeds. Running his finger delicately across little Izzy
’
s cheeks, he smiled until the tears came. Then he
gave in to
deep
,
gut-wrenching sobs
.

**

Kevin Thurston was arrested the next day. He didn
’
t fight the charges brought against him. Rumor had it he even confessed. Izzy
’
s
suicide burned through the school like wildfire. At lunch, he saw the girls who
’
d been laughing at Izzy
’
s
gift
crying in a small huddle.
Good
, he thought to himself. His compassion
rode
low.

Izzy
’
s mom and sister flew out for the funeral on Friday. Her mom sat stoic
ally
through the entire service. Her sister
,
Kelley
,
was inconsolable. But it wasn
’
t Izzy
’
s family that drew his attention. It was the church.
Or rather,
all
the people in the church.
They packed the entire building. Students and teachers filled every pew and
packed
the wall
s
pace
,
all wanting to
say their goodbyes. In way too many cases, they
begged
Izzy for forgiveness for the way they treated her. Max hoped Izzy
watched
from heaven.

Her suicide affected many at Port Fare High. When Max rode the bus the first time after her death, two other students shut Greg down when he tried to bully him. Too bad Izzy had to die before others realized the ugliness of bullying.

JD
was
struggled
greatly
with Izzy
’
s death
. N
o matter what Max said to him
, his despair ran deep
,
and it
worried
Max
.

Despite the hot
,
sticky weather, Max decided to walk home
after the funeral, wanting to give JD another pep talk. He forgot that he
’
d have to pas
s
the Widow Maker on his way to Mel
’
s from the cemetery.

Max debated about turning down the road, but felt drawn for whatever reason. Probably morbid curiosity more than anything. As he reached the curve
,
he stopped in his tracks. Off the side of the road dozens and dozens of flowers
greeted him
, left in memorial to him and his family.

Max stepped up to the flowers and read
some
of the cards. Some were from teammates, others from friends. Several were from Em. He worried about her still. Izzy
’
s death shook her up pretty badly.
She
’
d been at his side since the moment she heard the news, trying to offer him comfort, but Max
knew
she
struggled
much more th
a
n she let on. Izzy
’
s suicide, and Em
’
s reaction to it, shook up her parents also.
They
’
d arranged for her to meet with a grief counselor
, and did their best to make sure she wasn
’
t
ever
alone
.
Em complained
to him
about all the hugging and talks she
’
d had with her parents over the past few day
, but Max sensed it didn
’
t annoy her as much a
s
she said.

He
sat down in the grass next to the memorial, overwhelmed by the outpour
ing
of love. He tipped his head back and let the sun
’
s rays bathe over his face. Shutting his eyes, his mind flooded with JD
’
s dream again. Too tired to battle him, he let JD remember the nightmare. Maybe if he stopped fighting JD about it, he
’
d finally get it out of his system. Besides, Tim was gone now. Max never did give him his pen back. He smiled to himself.

This time the dream picked up with Tim shoving JD in the car.

“Come on. We
’
re going to the hospital.”

JD laid the
seat back
in the car
to help fight the nausea
as
Tim drove carefully down the road.

“I can
’
t risk getting a ticket. My suspension is almost up and I
’
ll be able to drive again.”

“Okay
,
” JD said as his stomach rolled.

“I
’
m going to make you a deal. You tell the hospital that some kids from school jumped you and knocked you to the ground, and I promise I won
’
t try and teach you any
more lessons. You understand?”