"C'mon, Bobby. Just start the vehicle and let's go! If this plan is going to work, you have to drive me out to the party and back. Just circle around the field a few times once we get there. I'll talk to a bunch of the other grads to make sure they see me and remember me, and then we'll leave."
"I just don't know. What if something happens? Those grad parties get pretty rowdy."
"We'll be long gone before the party's really even started. Now, c'mon. Let's go."
"There's gotta be a better way," Bobby said. He rubbed his leg and hoped Ricky would agree, but Ricky was persistent in implementing his plan tonight.
"We've hashed this out over and over how many times now? I need an alibi in case things go wrong, and being seen at the grad party is the best option. There'll be so many people out there, and most of them will be drinking to get wasted. No one will even remember what time it was that they saw me."
"Uh huh, I guess," Bobby replied reluctantly.
"And remember, we'll have to go back to the party afterwards as well so everyone sees me after it's all done. There'll be a big bonfire there too, I heard, so maybe I can even throw the tapes or CDs into the fire. Get rid of 'em tonight!"
Bobby looked at his watch. It was nearing ten o'clock and the party would be well under way already. He let out a huge sigh, turned on the ignition and pointed his vehicle in the direction of Michael Wolfle's property on Battersby Road.
CHAPTER 49
Simon stepped out of his vehicle with Sarah and was immediately upset. Wild sounds erupted from the grad party on Jens Wolfle’s property directly behind his house.
"I don't believe it!" Simon shouted. "Of all the hundreds of acres he has back there, he has them set that grad party up right behind my house!"
Simon stormed around to the back of the house. Sarah followed close behind. Sure enough, a few hundred yards away in the clearing beyond the dense trees behind Simon's property line, roared a massive bonfire visible through the trees. Simon stared out and bobbed his head back and forth trying to see as much as he could through the thick branches of the evergreens and the leaves of the poplars. There were dozens of vehicles parked haphazardly in amongst the trees that surrounded the clearing where the bonfire blazed. It looked like hundreds of young adults were already mingling around the flames. They screamed and hollered as the rock music blared. They were obviously drinking and having a monstrously good time.
Simon stared at Sarah as if she had an answer to what was going on, but she said nothing. She only watched, alongside Simon at the field full of wild, party-crazed kids and could feel his frustration.
"That bugger did this on purpose! See what I mean? This is exactly what I've been having to put up with living next to him. I heard the party was out on his property, but never in my wildest dreams did I think he would stoop this low."
He looked out at the large fire.
"He must have been planning this for days! Look at the size of that fire! Must've hauled truckloads of lumber in for that."
"Oh, Simon. I'm so sorry," Sarah offered.
"Sorry? It's Jens who is going to be sorry," he replied and stormed off into the house. Sarah knew where he was headed, and by the time she stepped up to the back door, Simon was already on the phone to the police. He demanded that someone get out here to stop this wild party. He paid his taxes and wanted peace and quiet, not a bunch of rowdy kids who screamed and partied all night outside his back door. He stayed on the phone until he finally had the assurance that someone would be out to Battersby road soon.
What Simon didn't know was that the police were already out on Battersby Road down at one of the field entrances to Jens’ property. Jens insisted the police be stationed on the road this Friday night to ensure no young graduate would leave his property in a vehicle while intoxicated. It was his sense of civic duty and responsibility, he said, to host this party where the youth who would become tomorrow's great citizens could let loose one final time before leaving home and making their own futures. Hosting this party also meant making sure everyone arrived home safely afterwards, and that meant having the police stationed at the entrance.
CHAPTER 50
"Oh no," Bobby exclaimed. His eyes bugged out as he spotted two police cars at the entrance to Jens’ property.
"Cool it," Ricky said. "They're just there looking for drugs and shit. We have nothing, so we'll be okay."
"But they might remember us later when we leave," Bobby replied nervously.
"There're gonna be so many cars and trucks going back and forth. They won't remember shit. Just drive."
Bobby pulled up at the entrance and rolled down the windows. The officers asked them a number of questions. One appeared at each side window, while a third, Constable Heavyhead, walked around the vehicle and shone his flashlight through the windows. They were asked the usual questions: did they had any booze or drugs on board and others along those lines. They didn't and were soon ushered forward onto the property.
The exact location of the party was about a mile and a half from this particular access point to the many acres Jens owned alongside Battersby Road. The path to the party, now worn down by the tires of many vehicles, was easily visible. It started across a grassy slope before it weaved its way into a dense mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees. Once into the trees, the rocky path snaked about through some rises and dips before it emerged into the grassy clearing upon which the blazing bonfire was set. The trip from the entrance took ten long minutes.
"Wow! Look at this!" Bobby shouted in amazement at the number of people that milled about and at the size of the fire.
"No shit," Ricky replied grinning. "This is so cool." Ricky rolled down the window and let the sound of the music and the rumble from the fire enter.
Bobby steered his vehicle slowly around the outside of the circle. Many partygoers waved as they recognized Bobby's vehicle, and some raised a drink in salute to the end of the school year. Bobby waved back and forced a smile. He finally stopped, and the two boys got out.
"Okay, I'm going to go and say hi to a bunch of the guys."
"I'll come with you," Bobby replied. He didn’t want to be left alone in the large, disorganized crowd.
"No! You need to stay here. Best if everyone remembers you by yourself and me by myself. Just in case, remember. And no drinking," he added.
Bobby nodded and watched as Ricky disappeared into the crowd. Ricky slowly worked his way around to the far side of bonfire.
Bobby looked about at the festive appearance of his schoolmates. Many were in the process of setting up tents and folding chairs to claim their territory for the next twelve hours of the party.
CHAPTER 51
Dean was at the station when the call came in about the grad party noise down on Battersby Road. He listened from across the room as the dispatcher talked to a very upset citizen on the other end of the line. As soon as Dean heard that Simon Pelletier filed the complaint, he told the dispatcher he would take this one. He knew all about the grad party on Jens’ property, and he wondered what the hell was going on between Simon and Jens this time.
Dean jumped into his cruiser and headed out to Battersby Road on the edge of town. He shook his head because he couldn't believe the feud between Simon Pelletier and Jens Wolfle was once again in full motion. Jens was using the graduation to stimulate the conflict this time.
It pissed Dean off immediately that Jens had the gall to involve the Police Department in his little feud with Simon Pelletier. Dean finally understood why Jens had gone through all the effort these last few weeks to convince everyone he acted according to the best interest of the community. He offered up his land as a safe place for the graduates to let loose and go wild, and he insisted on police presence during the entire evening. It wasn’t really about the community at all. It was more about irritating the owner of the Flattened Frog Bistro.
CHAPTER 52
Ricky finally reappeare
d from the crowd that surrounded the humungous fire, and his silhouette was shrouded by an orange glow. He urged Bobby back into the vehicle. "Okay, let's go do this." Ricky had made sure many of his graduating friends would remember seeing him at the party.
Bobby started his vehicle, weaved his CRV slowly around the growing crowd that gathered around the bonfire and carefully edged his way out to the trees and back onto the winding path towards the exit. The going was slower than when they had driven into the party; they had to stop a number of times to let vehicles pass on the narrow path as more and more partygoers continued to arrive.
"It's back to your place first," Ricky instructed.
"I know, I know," Bobby replied, agitated. He really didn't want to participate at all in what Ricky had planned.
"Sorry, but we've got to do this quickly."
Bobby didn't reply. He slowed to a stop at the entrance to the field as Constable Heavyhead raised his arms and motioned for Bobby to roll down the window.
"Been drinking?" he asked.
"Nope," Bobby replied. "Don't drink."
Heavyhead leaned in and asked Bobby to breathe out towards him. Bobby let out a heavy breath toward Heavyhead as instructed. Heavyhead smelled no alcohol on Bobby's breath, nodded and waved the two boys onto Battersby Road towards town.
"See," Ricky said. "No problem."
"You say that now. What if he remembers us leaving?"
"You saw how many cars and people are out there tonight. There's no way he'll remember us."
Bobby wasn't so sure but continued to drive back to his house. He parked in his usual spot in front of the garage behind the house, and the two boys exited the vehicle and made their way across the street on foot to the Dodson property. They snuck carefully through to the backside of the house and onto the path that followed the river.
"Hurry it up, Bobby!" Ricky called out. His anxiety was aggravated by Bobby's slow limp. The houses across the street from Bobby's all backed up to the Highwood River. The boys walked along the path behind the houses downstream towards the Oliver home. Ricky stepped out towards the river and grabbed a rock about the size of his fist as he waited for Bobby to catch up again. "You think this'll do?"
"It's a rock, Ricky. You're throwing it at a window. What do you think?"
"You don't have to be an ass about it," he snapped back. "What's with you all of a sudden?"
They walked on in the darkness. Only the moonlight lit their way along the river path.
"I really don't want to be doing this, that's all. What if we get caught?"
"We won't get caught. That's the point. Tonight of all nights, with the big grad party going on, no one will notice. We couldn't have planned it better. All the police are out on Battersby Road," Ricky said with exuberance in his voice.
Ricky stopped and looked at the big house beyond the trees behind Bobby. "Okay, we're here," he said. The Oliver property loomed eerily in the moonlit night.
"Which window are you going to break?" Bobby asked.
"I don't know yet, but let's go." The boys shuffled through the back gate. Ricky led the way along the narrow path that meandered through the forested backyard towards the back of the house.
"I don't even think anyone can see us here in the back yard," Ricky suggested as he looked at the houses to the left and right. "It's pretty dark, and we have great cover with all of these trees."
"That's great," Bobby said unimpressed.
They walked past the garage and physiotherapy office and looked up to the back door and kitchen windows. The backdoor was four steps up from the patio and had no glass. The kitchen windows were nearly eight feet off the ground.
"Those are too high," Bobby said blankly. "If you break one of those you still won't be able to get in. It's way too high off the ground."
"Hmm," Ricky agreed. "Let's go out front then."
"Out front?"
"Yeah," Ricky said, and he walked around to the front of the house. Bobby followed.
"Are you crazy?"
"No, I'm not. Tonight is the only chance I've got."
Ricky stopped, once he rounded the corner to the front of the house. "See," he said as he lifted his hand towards the house. "That's the one." He pointed to the large living room window where the glass reached nearly down to the floor of the room. The bottom of the window rested a mere five feet above the flowerbed.
"I don't know. This is way too out in the open." Bobby glanced up and down the street. Uneasiness fell over him. "I really think this is a crazy idea. Why don't we just go back to the grad party? Let's just hang out with everyone else for a change? We can find a way to get inside next week."
Ricky moved away from the corner of the house a few steps and searched up and down the moonlit street. "Oh, no!" he suddenly blurted out and began to pace about hysterically.
"It's been sold! Bobby, look!" he said and ran up to the real estate sign in the front lawn. A bright yellow "SOLD" label was stuck across the sign.
Bobby could see the yellow SOLD sticker clearly from where he stood.
"You see, Bobby! It has to be now! Tonight! Once the new people move in, I'll never be able to get inside. Never!"
Before Bobby could respond or say anything to dissuade Ricky, Ricky raced back to towards the front of the house and hurled the rock as hard as he could at the front living room window.
"Jesus, Ricky!" Bobby shouted as the glass showered down. "What the hell?" He was stunned at Ricky's boldness.
"We're doing this right now! Let's go!" Ricky said definitively and moved towards the broken window. "Quick! Hoist me up."
Bobby reluctantly lumbered forward and tried to lift Ricky up to the broken window, but his weak leg repeatedly buckled under the weight and brought both boys down on top of the newly budded tulips in the flowerbed below. After a number of failed attempts, it was obvious to Ricky that he wouldn't get in the house this way. He turned to Bobby and suggested he hoist Bobby in through the window instead.
"Me?"
"Yes! Now let's go! The alarm's been triggered, and we've only got minutes before the call goes to the police and they head this way. Move!" Ricky cupped his hands together for Bobby to step up into.
"I don't hear any alarm," Bobby replied.
"It's silent. It rings down at the security office. Now give me your foot. Hurry up!"
The first attempt was an immediate success as Bobby suddenly found himself looking through the broken living room window. The front window was so large that the safety glass had shattered into an array of pea-sized pieces. He broke away more of the broken glass that sat in the bottom of the sill and then rolled inside onto the living room floor. He quickly stood up. Fear painted its way across his face. "Okay now what?" he asked while he brushed the glass chunks from his pullover.
"The fireplace. Go to the fireplace. Hurry, Bobby!"
CHAPTER 53
Dean arrived at Simon Pelletier's, and to his surprise, Simon wasn't alone. Simon had a woman guest with him tonight. Simon introduced Sarah and Sarah reached out and shook Dean's hand.
"Look here, detective," Simon interrupted. He had a reason for calling Dean, and he got right to it. "Come see what he's done now!" He pointed out towards the back yard. "Come with me!" he demanded.
Dean followed Simon out to the back of the house, and saw through the trees what Simon complained about.
"What is with you two?" Dean asked, after he shook his head in disbelief. "This little thing you and him have going on bothers me. It's not just tonight. This has been going on for some time between you two. You both insist on provoking each other at every chance you get. This is what you get." He removed his hat, looked out at the raging bonfire beyond the trees and scratched his head. "Simon, I'm not sure there is anything I can do about this. You brought this on yourself. You and Jens."
"What? Are you mad?" Simon asked. "Look out there! They're noisy and loud! I'm sure that's
a violation!" he screamed.
Dean raised his arms in the air and took a defensive posture. "Look here," he said. "You two have been at it for a long time with each other. That party is on his private property, and he has all the legal right to let those kids have a party."
"C'mon, detective," Simon rebutted. "There are kids out there drinking. Surely, you must know that many are under age. And listen to that noise!"
Dean shook his head. "That's private property, and I really can't go out there."
"Every time I call you, you do nothing. I'm beginning to think he's bought you off or something."
Dean turned red at the suggestion of being corrupt. "Don't you dare suggest I'm taking sides here, Simon."
Sarah suddenly stepped forward. "Simon isn't suggesting any such thing, detective," she said. She looked at Simon and hoped he would just shut up for a moment. "Simon's upset that there's a huge loud party going on behind his property, that's all. He was hoping you could step up and maybe have them cool it a bit." She looked nervously back at Simon and hoped she had not crossed him.
There was something about Sarah that Dean liked. "Okay, okay," Dean replied. "I'll see what I can do, but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to stop the party. I might be able to cut the noise level, but..."
Dean's radio interrupted him as he heard a call for a B&E silent alarm at an address he recognized. He grabbed his radio and called back to dispatch. "Was that call for the Oliver house?" he asked.
"Yes it was, Dean," the dispatcher said.
"Shit! I'm on my way!" he replied.
"You're not leaving!" Simon exclaimed.
"There's been a break in. Gotta go!" Dean said and scurried away.
"What about these animals?" Simon shouted. He pointed to the field behind him.
"Sorry!" Dean shouted back as he ran for his vehicle.
CHAPTER 54
Bobby stumbled around the dark Oliver house, not sure where he was supposed to look. Ricky shouted from somewhere behind him, outside, "The front den! That's where it is Bobby. Go to the front den!"