by Wes Markin
“It’s bollocks.”
“If you want, I can take you to the station and show you the records. After the Bickfords were run out of town, we exhumed the bodies of five girls. Seems your kin could be quite aggressive when trying to tame their prisoners. The youngest one had had her entire skull caved―”
“That’s enough” Jake stepped forward. The blood was rushing around his body.
Gabriel smiled. “Interesting. Up until now, I did have you pegged as unshakeable.”
Jake clenched his fists.
“Will you fall at the first hurdle in your search for the girl, Mr. Pettman?”
Jake took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “True or not true, none of this is relevant.”
“I say it is. I say there is deep irony in the fact that such concern for a young girl could come from the direct descendent of child killers.”
Jake took another deep breath and took two steps back before opening his eyes. “You want me to swing for you. I get it. It’s the way you all work around here. I’ve come here for a productive outcome. I’ve come to tell you, Gabriel, you will help me, or I’ll hang you out.”
“Hang me out?” Gabriel took several large steps forward until they were barely a foot apart. “You come into my house, a man descended from savages, and address me, the chief of police, by my first name? How do you intend to hang me out exactly, Mr. Pettman?”
“I’ll start by going to the press and creating a scene over the property scam.”
“You think they’ll be interested?”
“Everyone is always interested in an ecosystem, as you called it. The whole town working together to threaten the elderly out of their homes—I’ll sell the story; don’t you worry about that.”
Gabriel sneered. “So what if you do? I’ve survived worse. Our whole town has survived worse. We survived your family, for a start.”
“Your town may survive this scandal, but I’ll tell you this—and I speak heavily from experience here—Gabriel, your town will not survive a man like Jotham MacLeoid. Not for long. That much evil and corruption in such a small place? It will only be a matter of time before your whole town is rotten.”
Gabriel’s and Jake’s eyes locked.
“You stand there,” Jake said, “claiming to love your town, yet you are letting it fall.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand that deep down you don’t want Jotham’s empire at the heart of this beautiful place.”
“What I want and what can happen are two vastly different things.”
“Why? Forget the threat, Chief. See me as an opportunity.”
Gabriel chortled and turned. “This is nonsense.”
“Let me do what you cannot do. Use me, an outsider. I’m happy to take out the cancer.”
Gabriel stepped backward and sighed. He glimpsed a photograph of a young girl on the mantlepiece. “This place wasn’t always like this.”
“I believe you.”
Gabriel stared at the photograph a moment longer, sighed again and focused on Jake. “I’ll tell you one thing, and then you’re on your own.”
After Jake had left, Gabriel stood alone in his living room, holding the photograph of Collette. It’s for the best, Collette. He wanted to talk out loud to her, as he’d so often done in the past, but was aware of Kayla’s presence upstairs. He returned the photograph, smiled at his beautiful, lost, sister and turned.
When Gabriel’s father had been police chief, he’d had to deal with Jotham’s father, Boyd. But he was an easier man to deal with—a simpler man, a man who could enjoy power and privilege while understanding his place. Gabriel envied his dead father. He’d never had to struggle with a megalomaniac.
Jotham refused to understand the pecking order. One just had to trace his rise to power to see that. As an organizer of dog fights from an early age, Jotham had collected valuable and notorious contacts from around the state. Due to his efficient yet often heavy-handed nature, he’d been entrusted as a drugs mule in the more populous and profitable cities: Portland, Lewiston, and Bangor. His strategic marriage to Amber Colson at thirty, daughter of the wealthiest man and chief selectman in town, was another masterstroke. Henry Colson may not have been pleased with his daughter hooking up with a dog breeder who was assisting the rising tide of drug use in Maine, but he quickly saw the business potential. Colson funded Jotham’s rise to the top while providing him the necessary immunity from the town’s law enforcement. It allowed Colson’s own popularity as chief selectman to grow when Jotham employed the residents of Blue Falls.
And the ecosystem was born.
Even the tragic death of Amber Colson and their three daughters didn’t derail Jotham’s growing empire. If anything, it strengthened it. The fear and mystery surrounding the kingdom’s black, beating heart grew and grew. Then rumors of a killing pit emerged. Anyone who betrayed Jotham, betrayed the town, would disappear into the depths of the earth never to be seen again. The more rational people in the town, Gabriel included, had always considered it nonsense.
After hearing Kayla’s story though, Gabriel had to concede that, at times, the most illogical explanations were often the most accurate. Controlling Jotham was now an impossibility and, for that reason, Gabriel despised him. It’s for the best, he thought again.
The information he’d given Jake Pettman would lead him straight into the black, beating heart of Blue Falls, and who knows, maybe the insistent, big bastard would rattle Jotham to the extent that cracks would appear. Bigger empires had probably fallen on less. Whatever happened, there would be fallout, and, for that reason, he had to be careful to cover his tracks.
He phoned Lillian. “Sorry to disturb you, Lillian.”
“No problems, Chief. I―”
“Good. I just wanted to give you some food for thought this evening.”
“Okay …”
“If you spend any more time with Jake Pettman, I will see to it that you will never work as a police officer again.
“Chief―”
“Not here, not anywhere. Do you understand?”
“But, Chief―”
“Do you understand?”
“Yes. But, Chief―”
“Goodnight, Lillian.” He hung up on her and reached for the living room door.
Kayla. His heart beat faster.
Kayla. You’re safe with me. His breathing quickened. He opened the door.
You’ll always be safe with me. He stepped into the hallway and glanced up the stairs, feeling his erection pressing against his trouser legs.
You’ll never have to return to that man. I will spare you that fate. He walked down the hallway. At the foot of the stairs, he stopped. His blood froze.
His rifle wasn’t against the wall.
10
Peter Sheenan had spared him several cracked ribs, so Jake was pleased to see him. It was nice to know someone had his back in this poky little town.
Peter, on the other hand, couldn’t look any more annoyed. Predictable. Dogman, as dubbed by Justin Stone and his friends, adored canines. It was the reason Jake had contacted him and why Peter had a face like thunder. Dogfighting was abhorrent to most people, but to a dog lover like Peter, it must have been completely soul-destroying.
Peter climbed into Jake’s car.
“Did you know about this?” Jake asked.
Peter shook his head. “You hear a lot of rumors in Blue Falls. Sometimes it’s just easier to believe that’s all they are.”
“Can you direct me to Sharon’s Edge?”
Peter nodded, gave his first direction and stared out the window. “I warn you, Jake, if it’s true, I may not be able to go in with you. I don’t know if I’d be able to control myself.”
“I understand. What can you tell me about dogfighting?”
Peter instructed him to turn off Main Street and head toward the bridge over the River Skweda. “We could begin with the obvious. It’s brutal. You’d have to be a sadistic barbarian to be mixed up i
n it. It makes you wonder who the animals are—the creatures inside or outside the ring?”
The streetlights disappeared behind them, and an eerie darkness settled on them and their journey.
“I’m not clued up on it,” Jake said. “Owning dogs for fighting is illegal back home.”
“It is illegal to train dogs to fight and allow them to participate, but due to some fucked-up loophole, it’s not illegal to own them. I knew Jotham bred fighting dogs. Everyone does. And I also knew he was involved in fighting when he was younger, but I hoped it wasn’t still happening. Shit. Maybe I’ve just turned a blind eye. I thought he loved his dogs.”
“Maybe he does. I’ve encountered men like this before back home. Their version of love and adoration can be significantly different from ours. I don’t know much about Jotham, but he seems to be a fighter who enjoys his power. Maybe he’s trying to offer this same experience to the dogs he adores?”
“If this is all true, I’ll have no choice but to try to stop it.”
“As I told you on the phone, that is not why we’re going tonight. A little girl is missing, and this is our inroad. After this is done, I’ll help you any way I can, but tonight is not about stopping it.” Jake drove over the bridge and stared at the Skweda—a dark vein twisting and turning into the black heart of the former Rosstown Plantation.
“Fire in Bone,” Peter said.
“Sorry?”
“Skweda is Abenaki for Fire in Bone.”
“I see.”
“The fire is inside all of us, Jake. We all have the choice of how we use it.”
“Free will?”
“My ancestors believed that bathing in the Skweda would give you direction and help you choose how best to wield your fire.”
Jake nodded. “There’s a few people in this town who could do with a wash then.”
“Agreed.” Peter gave Jake some more directions.
“How do they train American pit bulls?”
“Pump them to the eyeballs with steroids, give them a fitness regime like a boxer, stick them on treadmills, prepare poles with animal hides on them for them to chase. Nothing is as barbaric as the bait dog though. Often older, retired fighters. The other dogs practice on them.”
“Jesus. Awful. No wonder dogs like this sometimes turn on us. They do say it’s the owner and not the dog.”
“Couldn’t agree more.”
The road led them into the center of Sharon’s Edge, and the car bumped and rattled over the potholes. It was far more rundown than Blue Falls. Most of the stores were boarded up, and several disheveled individuals congregated in shadows, swilling from bottles in brown paper bags. Some of them stopped to stare at the car as they passed, as if contemplating how best to carjack the vehicle. Such was the air of desperation here, Jake wouldn’t be surprised if one decided to throw themselves in front of them to force them to brake. He kept himself alert.
He recalled Gabriel’s words earlier: “So, it doesn’t bother you that they employed women from local, more impoverished towns? And that they took girls, some as young as ten?” Was this one of the towns?
The poverty intensified as Peter directed Jake down several side streets. He gulped when he remembered Gabriel’s reference to the five recovered bodies. Was this where his child-killing ancestors had poached some of their wares? He gulped.
The potholes worsened, and Jake was forced to slow. There was a lack of streetlighting, and most of the residential houses were dark and potentially unoccupied. Jake glanced at the automatic locking button. It glowed a friendly orange. “Are we safe here?”
Peter smiled for the first time since they’d left Blue Falls.
“Don’t answer,” Jake said.
They hit a stretch of road with no housing. Jake had tried to be conspicuous in his approach, but the lack of light was forcing his hand now. He hit the high beam. “Don’t worry, I’m used to the middle of nowhere where I come from. Wiltshire is full of it.”
“This isn’t the middle of nowhere, Jake. This is a hive of activity. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Turn left into this industrial estate.”
Jake kept his high beam on. None of the properties on this estate seemed open, and so there was no friendly light to guide them in. Jake listened to the tires crunch over litter and waste, wondering if he was likely to get any of his rental deposit back. They rounded a block of derelict garages.
“Here,” Peter said.
Jake saw a large open space heavily populated with parked cars and vans. A short walk ahead, through this makeshift lot, was a small building holding its own in this dark world, with a dim red glow. “Well, it seems to be the only place open around here.”
“Uh-huh,” Peter said. “I really don’t want to see what’s going on in there, but neither do I want to stay in this dark parking lot alone.”
“Come on then. I’ll buy you a drink.”
“I won’t be wanting anything they’re selling, Jake. You can be sure of that.”
With his heart beating fast, Gabriel knocked on Kayla’s door. “Would you like some supper before bed?”
No answer.
Shit! He should have known better. Leaving an armed weapon within touching distance of a MacLeoid—what the fuck was he thinking? He knocked again. “Kayla? Hot milk?”
No answer.
Fuck it. He opened the door. The sweat turned ice cold on his brow; she wasn’t in there. He stepped backward, closed the door and saw Kayla halfway up the stairs, pointing his rifle at him. “What are you doing?”
She took another step. Her eyes were red and blotchy.
He watched the end of the rifle bob up and down as she trembled. “Be careful with that. It may go―”
“You’re a liar!”
He turned so he faced down the stairs, putting her six steps from him. “Why’d you say that?”
“I heard! I listened!”
“To what?”
“To you and that man talking down there.” She gestured toward the lounge with a quick nod.
“Ahh … I see. What did you hear, exactly?”
“Everything you said.”
He shuffled forward. “Please tell.”
“Take another step, and I’ll use this. I know how. My daddy taught me. I’ve shot rabbits.”
“I’m not a rabbit, Kayla. I’m the chief of police.”
“Yes, and you told me they were arresting Daddy tonight, and yet, you just told that man a whole lot of different things.”
“Because he’s not a policeman. Hell, he’s not even from here. He doesn’t get to know what’s about to happen.”
“So, why did you tell him about the dogfighting? Why did you send him after Daddy? If you were really going to deal it with yourself, why do that?”
“I was getting rid of him. Sending him on a wild goose chase. So, he sees a dog fight, so what? Who around here hasn’t seen a dog fight before?” He chanced a step.
She waved the gun. “I’ll fucking shoot you.”
He showed the palm of his hands. “Okay, easy.”
“What happened to your sister?”
“My sister? Why do you ask?”
“Before, downstairs, you told me you lost her.”
“Figure of speech.”
“Where is she?” Kayla took another step.
“We argued. She left Blue Falls. We haven’t spoken in years.” Gabriel assessed the distance between them again. He could pounce four steps, but it was dangerous. Even if he missed the gunshot, they would tumble. He was a heavy man, which could cause significant damage to both of them.
“I want to go home now.”
“I understand. Put down the gun, and I’ll take you.”
“I don’t want you to take me. I just want you to unlock the front door.”
“So, you already tried to leave?”
“Yes.”
Gabriel wasn’t angry, just disappointed. He’d known their relationship was in its infancy, but he’d not expecte
d her to cut and run at the first opportunity. Gabriel moved down a step. “Okay, I’ll unlock the door for you.”
Kayla backed down the stairs as Gabriel descended. “Slowly …”
“Of course.” He took two more steps, slowly.
“I never should have come here.”
“And why’s that? Do you prefer it at home with your daddy? Have you forgotten what you saw the other night?”
She stepped off the final step and stood beside the hanging jackets. “At least I know he would never hurt me.”
“Maybe not you, Kayla, but he hurts others. A hell of a lot of others.”
She flinched. “You had your chance to get him. I told you what he did. You’re playing games. You all play games.” She moved around the end of the staircase into the hallway, allowing Gabriel to complete his descent and approach the front door. “Now unlock it.”
Gabriel put his hand in his pocket for the key then paused.
“Now.”
He removed his hand, empty. “No.”
“I’ll shoot you.”
“Then you’ll have to shoot me.”
“I fucking mean it.”
Gabriel turned. “I know you do. You’re a MacLeoid, after all. But, no, I’m sorry. I cannot let you go back to him. I couldn’t live with myself.”
“Please …” Her eyes filled with tears. “I made a mistake. My father has always been kind to me.”
Gabriel inched toward her. “It’s a lie. He lies. Eventually, you’ll become expendable. Everyone always does to him. Look how he treats his son, your brother.”
A tear rolled down her face. She didn’t move back.
Gabriel closed the gap between them and stopped an inch from the end of the rifle. He looked down to see it pointing at his stomach. “If you must kill me to leave, then I understand, but I cannot do anything but try to help you. I’m not wired any other way.” He looked back up at her.
She remained fixed in position, continuing to tremble, with tears streaking her face. Taking a human life was a big deal, and although he couldn’t be completely sure, he didn’t expect her to take that step.