Will Baker is Dead, Episode 4 - "Confrontation"

       On the mantle over the fireplace there are three pictures from their wedding day, the sun-drenched white dress on her soft shoulders while she stands next to her husband in the traditional black tuxedo.  His office has a small computer desk they picked up at a yard sale for $25 two summers back.  Their bedroom looks pristine, his beautiful bride having made the bed that morning after they both prepared for their days.  The garden out front shows evidence of care and concern, each flower placed exactly where it best complements the others around it.

But in the living room, there is a blood stain.  And around that blood stain there are police officers and investigators taking samples and pictures to preserve the scene.  In the kitchen, men examine the blood trails trying to determine how far the man crawled before succumbing to his fate and where his attacker went after finishing the job in the hallway.  Around the front door, they take fingerprints trying to determine just who was with Will Baker that afternoon.  And in the center of the living room, in that bloodstain on the floor, lies the end of Jules Baker’s life, the end of everything she had come to know in those three short years. 

One of the police officers, a sort of hero around Horizon, carried his presence through the scene over to the mantle and grabbed up a picture of the newlywed Mr. and Mrs. Will Baker. 

“Officer Rodriguez, where are you going with that picture?”

“It’s for Mrs. Baker.  She’s waiting in my car to follow the body to the station.  Have you catalogued it yet?”

“Yes sir, but…”
            “Then you don’t need it near as much as she does.  I’ll be sure to log it into evidence for you later tonight, don’t worry.”  Officer Rodriguez had carried weight in the department ever since sustaining two bullet wounds a few years earlier, all in the process of stopping a robbery outside of town one Saturday night.  There weren’t very many shootings on this side of the county, and having endured two bullets made Officer Rodriguez some kind of a rarity.  His enlarged frame, coming in at nearly 6’5” with very broad shoulders, didn’t hurt Officer Rodriguez’s reputation for being the man you yield to. 

Jules sat in the back of the car, separated from the world by plates of quarter inch glass.  She had been waiting to follow her husband to the police station for almost thirty minutes now, as soon as someone a grade up from even Officer Rodriguez determined it was okay for her to leave the scene.  And now he had disappeared, leaving her alone with the air conditioning and her thoughts.  In the space of a single day, she had managed to lose her husband and gain an affair, along with forsaking any sense of security she had before.  And it still pulled at her, who could have hurt her husband?  Who could want him dead so badly as to…treat him as they did?  And how could she despise him enough to lie about her love?  Jules had lost any sense of certainty about her world, and she had lost any sense of security in her home.  Out the window Jules could see her home and her neighborhood, and out the window she could see the same sunset she had seen over Mrs. Davis’ home like any other day, but she cried to think that she would only see her husband one more time, and even then it wouldn’t really be him. 

“Here you go, Mrs. Wa – Mrs. Baker.”  Officer Rodriguez corrected himself, wanting to keep from further upsetting the woman.  He handed Jules the picture she had requested, “Should I have a car pick Rob up for you?”

“What?” she responded, startled out of her shock.

“Do you want me to get Rob to meet you at the station?  He hasn’t been gone too long, I’m sure we could pick him up to meet you.  I know you two are real close, and I really feel like you could use a friend right now.”

“No, thank you.  I’ll be okay.”  She must’ve seemed cold to Officer Rodriguez as Jules had already run out of tears, only able to show the depths of her pain through the hollow eyes that now focused on the once smiling love between her and Will. 

The two held hands outside of Horizon Baptist, right down the street from where they would soon live.  The pair dreamed of a nice starter home where they could grow their family, and then move out of town a little and build their perfect dream home with a three-car garage and two teenagers learning how to drive.  They dreamed of two good jobs helping to put their kids through college and themselves through middle age.  They dreamed of happiness and love, but mostly they dreamed of a long life together. 

Jules squeezed Will’s hand for the picture, tighter than she ever had when they were dating.  And the harder she squeezed, the wider he smiled, making sure this picture would be one they were both proud of for years to come.  This was the last one he would get, since they’d already taken a few pictures with his parents and her parents and her cousins and his cousins and the mass of extended family they had both invited to the wedding.  Everyone from second and third cousins to old teachers came to see the young couple married off, them both being local kids and all.

Will whispered into her ear, soft with a hint of villainy to his voice, “Mrs. Julia Robbins, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“Only if you, Mr. William Reginald Baker, will take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife.”

“Oh, gawh, you would,” both of them laughing, knowing how much Will hated his middle name. 

“It’s a beautiful name.  And you know we’re going to have to give it to our first son.  I think it would kill your dad if we didn’t.”

“Yeah, he loves those old family traditions, doesn’t he?  But what if we have a girl?”

“Well…” she thought for a minute, wanting to be sure she answered the question right, “either we’ll name her Julia Jr. or…”  She paused for a second, wanting to soften the impact of what she was about to say.  “We’ll name her Nikki.”  Will looked down, but he was smiling, clearly agreeing that it was a good choice. 

“I like it.  Maybe we’ll have one of both.”  Will gave her that grin he had, the one he used when he couldn’t quite smile, but wanted to melt her anyway.  He gave her that grin with what could only be described as a 3/4 smile where the left side of his mouth smiled higher than the right.  “But we’re a long way away from that day.  Maybe in a few years.  Let’s just enjoy what we’ve got here.”    

“Sounds good.  I tell you what, why don’t you help my dad load up the gifts, and I’ll talk to the guests before we have to leave.  What do you say?”  Jules grinned back at her husband, hoping to coerce him into it. 

“I like it.  The faster we get everything loaded up, the faster we can leave.”  As he walked by his new wife, Will gave Jules a pinch.  Sure it was a public place, but it’s their wedding.  How could you really chastise a man for pinching his wife just under an hour into the marriage?  They both laughed a little in anticipation, and she went on about meeting with guests and taking their congratulations in the mid-May air on a somewhat cool Saturday afternoon.  Finally, she saw Mrs. Baker, Will’s mom.

“Erin!  Erin!”

“Oh, hey baby, come here, let me give you a hug.  You are so beautiful in that dress!”

“Thank you, Mrs. Baker.  It means so much to me, everything you’ve done for us,” Jules wanted to add, noting how Mr. and Mrs. Baker took care of the greater part of the expenses, seeing as how they were both poor students, fresh out of college. 

“Nothing’s too good for my son and his girl.  After all, you’ve been like a daughter to me.  I know it’s meant a lot to Will’s father, too, all you’ve done for us.” 

It was hard not to talk about Nikki around the Baker family, as much as they hurt to mention her.  Will’s younger sister, Nikki, was killed crossing the street, struck by a drunk driver, after a Horizon football game a few years back right before Jules and Will went off to college.  Even before Jules started dating Will, she had been like a surrogate daughter for their family.  It meant a great deal to both of his parents to have a young girl in their lives, especially after losing their own.  In fact, it wasn’t until after Nikki’s death that Will really caught Jules’ eye.  They knew each other, but were never as close as she and Rob.  Honestly, she thought he was a bit of a jerk in high school, but they grew closer, and they really came together when they were off at the same college. 

Jules hadn’t even thought of his parents, Erin and Phil, with everything that was happening.  They were off on vacation in Hawaii for his retirement from work, and were probably just sitting down to a nice lunch.  Jules didn’t want to, but she had to tell them about what had happened to Will. 

By now, they were pulling up into the parking lot of the police station and Officer Rodriguez helped her out of the car.  She recognized the area, as Jules often passed the station on the way to Rob’s house out in the more rural areas of Horizon.  Why it was so far out of town, she never knew, but it felt good to her being closer to Rob.  She knew he was right around the corner, and she would probably call him after both her and Will’s parents. 

“Officer,” she asked softly, hinting at the soreness of her crying throat. 

“Yes, ma’am?  What do you need?”

“Can I make my phone call now?”  Not fully understanding what Jules asked, she added, “I get one phone call, right?  Can I make my phone call, now?” 

“Oh, no, Mrs. Baker, you’re not under arrest.  Goodness, no, you’ve got a clear alibi.  You can call whoever you want.  I’ll give you some quarters for the phone, or you can even use yours, it doesn’t matter either way.” 

Almost worried that he had first jumped to the word, “alibi,” instead of picking up on her humor, Mrs. Baker added, “I was kidding.  It’s a joke.” 

“Oh.  Haha.  Yes, ma’am.  Go right ahead.” 

“Thank you.”  Even in the worst of moments, Jules tried to keep her humor.  Even when you’re at your worst, you should always try to look your best.  And you should always try to act your best.  So Jules threw out that patent humor of hers whether it was to make people laugh when she wanted them to or make her smile when she needed it. 

And Jules needed all of the smiles she could get right now.  She called her parents and cried with them for a minute.  They’d already heard and had actually been trying to get in touch with her while she was in Officer Rodriquez’s car, but weren’t able to.  Before she hung up with them, they promised to meet her at the station as quick as they could get there. 

It was easy talking to her parents, because as much as they loved Will, it was mostly their sympathizing with her own pain.  But to call Will’s parents meant telling them that their only other child was gone.  It was just a few years ago when the pastor of Horizon Baptist walked over with the police to see them and deliver the news.  Though Jules wasn’t there, she heard about the pain and anguish they had gone through and could just see it on their faces.  And as much as she didn’t want to, it was time for her to deliver a similar blow. 

Jules pressed each number with a definite certainty, delaying the moment when she would actually have to tell them.  The phone rang.  And it rang.  And it rang.  She thought for an ever too fleeting moment that she could avoid this, but then… “Prince Hotel, how can I help you?”  The sweet, Hawaiian young lady on the other end answered, promising a service that Jules didn’t want. 

“Yes, ma’am, could you connect me to…” she choked back, having to say, “…Mr. and Mrs. Baker’s room?  It’s an emergency and I really need to talk to them?” 

“Your name?”

“Jules Baker, I’m their daughter-in-law.”

“Right away, Mrs. Baker.  I’ll put you through.”

In her ear, the on-hold ukuleles and tropical breezes played, almost distracting Jules with the paradise she was about to shatter for her mother and father-in-law. 

“Hello?”  She waited for a second, then repeated, “Hello?”

“Oh, hey, Erin.  I’m sorry.” 

“Oh, hey!  How are you, Jules?  How’s the garden?”

“It’s all good.  I was working out in it this morning,” hoping to hold on to conventional conversation as long as she could. 

“Is something wrong, dear?  You sound upset.  What’s wrong?”  Erin, never losing her motherly sense, could tell that Jules had been crying, and she wanted to do whatever she could to help the poor girl who had given her a daughter.  “Did you and Will get in a fight again?  What did he do?”

“No,” cutting off her mother-in-law quickly, not wanting to even think of the bad times between her and Will.  “No, that’s not it.  Erin.  Something happened.”

She waited for a second, counting the red dots in the speckled floor of the police station.  She watched the officers walk around with folders in their hands, trying to piece together various puzzles of what had happened in Horizon that day. 

“Erin.  He’s dead.” 

Neither of them spoke, waiting for Jules to clear up what she meant.  Every part of Erin wanted to scream back at her, ask her who she meant, and make her say it wasn’t her son. 

“Will’s dead, momma.” 

The next few minutes in Hawaii were hard for Jules to hear, as she was shouting “Oh, God” and kept denying it, knowing it wasn’t true.  “No, it can’t be.  He can’t be.  Phil, No.  Phil, it can’t be.  Will’s dead.”  And the three of them cried together, his dad asking her what happened.  How he died.  Who did it.  She wanted to tell him, but Jules didn’t know.  And what she did know was fear that it was her fault and that the other man she loved had done it because of her, but she couldn’t tell them this.  She couldn’t do it.  As much as the Baker’s needed their daughter-in-law now, she needed them, and Jules couldn’t have the only other people feeling her pain to blame her for it all as much as she did. 

“We’ll be headed out first thing in the morning, okay, Jules?  We’ll be there with you by this time tomorrow night if we can get a flight out.  Be strong, okay?  You know…you know he loved you, and you know he wouldn’t want you to be hurting.” 

The two women shared a short cry, one parting goodbye to acknowledge what had happened to them.  They would soon be discussing funeral arrangements and burials, but for now all they wanted was to cry together, and hold each other over the phonelines, and console a pain that would take more than sleep to beat. 

Jules looked down at the wedding portrait in her hands during the lull in conversation, thinking back to that day and talking to Erin about her son in a real way for the first time. 

“You know, he’s a strong boy.  He really loves you, he does, but he can be difficult at times.  He can be stubborn.  After all, he is a man.”  Erin and Jules laughed together, just like sisters would, or a mother would with her daughter. 

“I can’t blame him for that, can I?  I’m sure I can train him up right, though.  I’ll get him fixed,” said Jules, looking off at her man in the distance helping her father and a young kid who sometimes worked stock at the grocery store come to volunteer load up the wedding gifts. 

“Right.  I’ve been saying that about Phil for almost thirty-three years now.”  Before the women could laugh again, they were interrupted by a crash and a scene probably more common than expected at a wedding, but still out of place. 

The young boy had dropped a box of tumblers, very nice crystal from one of Jules’ aunts, and Will would not have any of it.  After angrily picking both the boy and his box up, he berated the poor kid, embarrassing him in front of the whole crowd.  “What were you thinking?  It was one box!  One box, and it isn’t even particularly heavy!  God!  Pick those up over there, at least you can’t break it.  And be sure to have your boss pay for this one when you talk to him.  You had to go and ruin my wife’s wedding day.  Why did you even bother showing up if you weren’t competent enough to carry one box of glass dishes?  You must be a great stock boy, let me tell you.”

She had never seen him get this hot, and wouldn’t have expected it on a day he was supposed to be very happy.  It was the first time that Jules had doubted her decision to marry Will.  The first time she had wondered what she was getting herself into, and whether or not it was a good idea.  That was a big deal to Jules, a woman who rarely doubted herself.  If she made a decision, she did it with thought and precision, never leaving room for doubt.  But now she did have doubt, just wondering if maybe it was a mistake, only after witnessing her new husband fly off at a slight, meaningless nudge.  Jules’ father helped to calm him down, diverting everyone’s attention from the scene with a hearty laugh and a smile. 

“And then there’s that,” Erin said, somewhat giving away her own embarrassment and a little shame for bringing any on the new daughter she loved so much.  “But don’t worry, Jules, he’s really gentle.  I’m sure you won’t have to see him get that way with too many people, and certainly not you ever.  He used to get real mad at Nikki, just flying off and yelling and waving his arms, but she’d control him pretty well.  She just gave him a look and put him right back in place,” Mrs. Baker added, gleaming back, thinking about her girl.  “Well, I’ve taken enough of your time.  Have a good evening, dear, and try to enjoy your honeymoon.  The real world is back here waiting for you afterwards.” 

Jules looked at the picture in her hand, wanting back the happy life she had that day, and the one she dreamed would be there for the rest of her years.  After she said goodbye to the woman, the one who gave her a husband, Jules called the man who kept her alive.  She still wasn’t sure what to think of Rob, whether she could trust him right now or not, but she knew well that he was the only one who could make her feel better tonight.  So she stepped outside of the station, somewhere safe, to call the man she thought may have killed her husband, but she knew loved her very much.

“Hey, baby.  Are you okay?  Where are you?  Do you need to stay with me tonight?”

“No, no, I’m fine.  Down at the police station.  I’m going to stay with my parents tonight, they’ll be here soon.” 

“Jules, you can’t go back in that house.  I won’t let you do that.”

“I know, I know, I won’t.  I couldn’t sleep there again, not without him,” or you, she thought to herself.  “I’ll be with my parents.  That should help some.”  They listened to each other breathe for a minute, reminiscent of those days in high school where they would talk for hours and sometimes not talk at all.  “God!  I just.  I just wish I could wake up in your bed again.  I wish I could just wake up and you be there looking at me like you do.  I just wish you’d never gotten that phone call, that none of this had ever happened.  I wish I could undo it all!  God, I can’t do this anymore!”  She screamed in anger, now thankful that she was outside where no one would hear what she said to Rob in passion, a secret passion she couldn’t afford to be careless with, or else take the lens of suspicion on herself and have the rest of the world feel about her like she does now.

“I know, babe, I know, but we’ve got to be careful, now.  If anyone finds out about us, it’ll be real bad.  They might think that I had something to do with it, or worse you.  I know you loved your husband, and people won’t understand what happened with us, how we came together last night.  They won’t, and they’ll think we killed him.  Be strong, baby girl.  Be strong.”

“You’re right, I know.  I’m sorry, Rob.  It’s hard.  I miss him, Rob.  I thought I could leave him.  I thought I didn’t love him anymore, but I did.  I do.  What was I thinking, Rob?”  She rambled on and on, losing control really for the first time all day, really doubting what she had done with Rob for the first time, really doubting a lot of things for the first time.  She wandered back to that afternoon, thinking about waking up in his bed, wishing it were enough to make the evening go away.  She remembered Rob’s smell on the pillows.  She remembered Rob’s rough hands holding her when he told her.  She remembered the sunshine coming in from the window.  And she remembered what really woke her up. 

Jules thought back as hard as she could, now, not letting any of the trauma hide her memory like it was prone to do.  She couldn’t remember a phone call.  It wasn’t a ringing phone that woke her up like she thought.  It was the front door.  It was the sound of Rob’s boots on the hardwood floors through the kitchen, the water running in the sink, and the sound of his feet running back to the bedroom.  It was the sound of his bedroom door opening and it was the sunshine in her eyes.  The phone never rang.  And she knew now that she didn’t see Rob getting dressed.  It seemed so small to her at the time, but she realized now, Rob was busy taking his shoes off so she wouldn’t see him dressed.  But why would he hide that?  What had he done that required him to hide? 

“Rob,” her tone changing, becoming much more questioning and more or less certain of something.  “Where did you go this afternoon?”

His answer, in stark contrast to her question, came slow and hard, testing his words before speaking them, unsure of what exactly she knew or suspected.  “I was, I was out.  I went to go get you something to eat, but I came back and heard the phone ringing.  That’s when, that’s when they told me.” 

“Right.  Right, the phone,” added Jules, an expert at trying to get people off task, easily recognizing Rob’s cruel attempts at easy grief.  “I don’t remember a phone, Rob.  It never rang.”

“I meant my cell phone.  It rang in the car and I was running in to tell you.  It’s this day, this…day that’s got you so out of sorts.  Are you sure you don’t want me to come up there?” 

True, Jules could remember nothing from the time that Rob told her about Will to the time she was talking to police at her house, but she remembered the seconds before perfectly well.  She remembered, now, the worried look on Rob’s face.  She remembered the way he tried to hide his own fear.  She remembered the drops of red on his shirt that had passed her notice earlier.  “I don’t want you up here, and your phone didn’t ring.  No, it didn’t.  You killed him.  Oh my…Rob.  You killed him!” 

“I swear to you, no, I didn’t!  Let me come up there and talk to you.  Tell you what happened, tell you what…” as she cut him off. 

“No.  It’s over, Rob.  I’m telling them what I know!  I’m telling the police that you killed my husband!”  She screamed at him and threw the phone away, assuming it hung up, while she cried into her hands once more, this time with the different tears, the furious tears of someone who had been so bitterly deceived.  She had killed her husband, in reality.  She had made Rob think that she loved him, and he killed for that love. 

About then, one of the officers on a smoke break came out back to find Jules in this horrible state.  “Oh, Mrs. Baker, there you are.  Come on in, they’ve been waiting for you,” and upon seeing her tear stained shirt, “…that is, unless you need a minute.”

“No, I’m coming.”

She walked slowly down the hall, finding herself whistling that same old tune that Will had sung time after time to her, and hummed around when he didn’t think she would be bothered by it.  The sad tunes of Waylon Jennings weren’t so bad coming out as a whistle, but she knew the words just as well, and she knew the pain behind them even better now that he wasn’t there to whistle it for her.

In the sheriff’s office, where apparently the investigation into Will’s death was already going full steam, there was a board of evidence by the wall.  A few men in suits, out of uniform she supposed, were wondering over it.  She saw on the board what looked like were probably the contents of her husband’s pockets, with a few hundred dollar bills and a business card, presumably from one of his clients.  She saw pictures of people she assumed were suspects all over the board.  As soon as all the men in the room noticed her arrival, everyone looked back at the sheriff where he sat at his desk waiting for her. 

“Mrs. Baker, first I just want to tell you that you have all of our condolences, and we’ll get you down to the coroner as soon as we can to claim your husband’s body.  But, if you don’t mind, we want to ask you a few questions.  We want to talk to you about some things.  Now,” the stereotypical small-town sheriff, a comically large man with a typical handlebar mustache shuffled himself into the seat, looking back over at the men in suits as if for permission or a warning, “we have a few folks we want to ask you about, but I didn’t want to go too far without asking you.  Can you think of anyone, and I mean anyone at all, who would want to hurt your husband?  Does anyone come to mind?”

“Yes, sir.”  She thought for a minute.  She had to give him something, now, but it wasn’t too late to make up a name or blame some angry client at the bank she felt he spoke of.  Did she have to condemn herself now, and did she have to sell the man she had loved into murder?  It wasn’t too late to save them both, but it wasn’t too late to tell the truth for her husband’s sake.  For her first love’s sake, even if it meant crucifying her second love.  She knew this was right, and she knew what she had to say.  “Yes, sir.  I think it was Robert Evans, the fireman.  I think Rob killed my husband, Will Baker.”

AUTHOR'S NOTE: First of all, in case you didn't catch it, we're moving around on the timeline this week.  This all happens in the evening, after the events of Episodes 2 and 3, immediately following Episode 1.  Oddly enough, this was just supposed to be a filler episode to help transition from introducing the main storylines to getting into the next phase.  However, I really enjoyed getting into the story behind it all here, so I hope y'all enjoyed the short detour.  Next week, we'll be back on track with another character focus, starting early in the morning and leading up to the realization that something isn't right, and someone will probably utter the words, "Will Baker is dead."  If you hadn't noticed it yet, that keeps happening.  Who do you think it'll be next week?  Which characters are you looking forward to seeing?  I'm excited about it, and I hope y'all are, too.  Let me know what you think!  As always, you can comment on here, you can talk to me on Facebook (Adam Wynn; facebook.com/adam.wynn), Twitter (@42Cobras), or you can just send me a smoke signal.  Seriously...I read all forms of fan mail.  
Two more things and I'm done.  First of all, I am SO sorry this is late.  I had tried to get it on time, but it wasn't going to happen.  I wasn't done writing yet, and I hadn't had a chance to check it, much less I had a doctor's appointment at 3:50, so publishing at 4pm wasn't happening.  Lastly, don't forget to keep using the honorary 42Cobras Facebook Chat code, :42:.  If you do, you get a cool icon in FB chat.  And it's all for us here at 42Cobras publishing!  I mean, what else could a red 42 be for?  Which reminds me, (I know, this makes three things) I'm working on a logo and new layout for the blog.  I'm hoping it'll be revealed soon, but not yet.  Still working on some ideas.  Have a great 4th of July weekend, and watch out for those aliens!  If they can get the White House and the Empire State Building in the same night, they can surely get you.  Let's just hope that Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and the whole ID4 crew will be there to save the day.