Someone Knows Something

by Christa Weisman

  Caleb slowly lifted his face to look at the chief. Rex saw his indignation as well as his disdain. He smiled just slightly as he told Rex in a cold voice, “Yeah, I fucked her. Just like you fuck my mom.”

  Rex jumped forward with a loud cry, pressing the gun against Caleb’s forehead. His ears were ringing, but he could still hear the wailing as J.R. jumped toward Ethan, clinging to him. Rex held the gun steady against Caleb’s forehead. He could see the sweat began to bead on his bald head.

  “Shoot me, mother fucker,” he taunted.

  Rex cocked the gun back. Nothing would please him more than to watch Caleb Weston’s brains splatter all over Oracle Point. But then he thought of Lila. What would become of her if he was sent to prison for murder? How would he be able to protect her behind a steel cage?

  “You don’t have the balls,” Caleb scoffed.

  Quicker than he could think, Rex lifted the barrel two inches above Caleb’s head and pulled the trigger. The sound was deafening, echoing through the vast wilderness around them. It all happened so fast. In the seconds that Rex fired the shot, two things happened. He felt Caleb jerk back before gripping the side of the concrete wall and pulling himself forward. And out of the corner of his eye, he watched as J.R. threw himself on Ethan, the force of his body plunging him backward, pulling Ethan down over the cliff with him. Rex could hear the screams begin to fade the farther the boys fell.

  And then Caleb was on his knees, his own scream matching theirs as he leaned over the wall and watched his friends fall to their death. Rex stumbled back. His gun dropped to the ground as he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

  Caleb looked back at him, his mouth moving in fast, frantic motion, but Rex couldn’t hear what he was saying. What he saw when he looked at the boy was what Caleb had been trying to hide. Fear.

  Lila’s face flashed before him. And when he looked at Caleb again, a rush came over him as he thought about his own daughter’s fear caused by this boy who got off on her tears.

  He lunged forward, taking Caleb by surprise as he gripped him by the shoulder. Caleb’s balance was wavering as his knee dipped over the edge. Rex saw it again, the cowardice in his expression, and the cold horror of understanding that this was the end. It gave Rex the last burst of adrenaline he needed to push Caleb Weston over the cliff of Oracle Point.

  Rex listened for when the screams ended in a thud. He was panting as he leaned over the edge, beaming his flashlight down, looking for any sign of life. But he knew there wouldn’t be. Realization swept over him as he faltered back away from the edge. What had he done? He looked around him. The trees spun in his sight; he couldn’t get a steady view. He knelt down, his palms resting on his knees. And that’s when he saw the folded piece of paper sitting quietly next to his gun. He bent down and reached for it. With shaky fingers, he read the words meant for his daughter. But she would never see them. He tore the paper until the page read just as he wanted and then walked back to J.R.’s car and carefully placed the note on top of the dashboard, where it was meant to be found.

  He grabbed his gun and fell into his car. His fingers trembled as he started the engine. He needed to get out of there before anyone saw him. Carefully, and as steadily as he could, he drove home. It took all of his concentration to keep his car between the lines.

  His house was dark when he entered. He sat his holster on the chair in his bedroom, going through the motions as he peeled off his uniform and changed into sweats and a tee shirt. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing, nursing a bottle of whiskey.

  Her scream jolted him into awareness. He had been warned to let her be, but tonight he refused to listen. He jumped off his bed and raced down the hall to the other side of the house, where his daughter fought off her attackers in her sleep. She was whimpering when he found her, sweat-drenched and trembling. Her eyes were still closed as she thrashed around the bed. His knees hit the ground beside her bed as he cradled her head in his arms. “Shhh,” he hushed as she pushed against him. “You’re safe, sweetheart.” Slowly, her jerking stopped as she began to calm. He didn’t know if she knew he was there, but he’d like to think that the sound of his voice brought her peace. He watched as a tear slipped from the corner of her closed lid. He brushed the sticky wet hair away from her face, seeing her again as he had when she was a child, but also as the young woman she was becoming. What those boys had done to her had damn well near broken her, but Rex wouldn’t let that happen. And that’s when he felt it, contentment for what he did. He would forever feel guilty for not saving his daughter from the pain, but he would never regret killing those who harmed her.

  “Shh,” he said again. Her quivering calmed as she fell back into a more peaceful slumber. “You’re safe, Lila,” he repeated in a whisper. “They will never hurt you again.”

  Six weeks gone

  There was a light knock on the front door. Rex opened and gave a slight nod to the man he was expecting to see on the other side.

  “Nick,” he said as they shook hands. Nick looked gaunt, a shell of the man he used to be. His hair was thinner, his skin hung off him like a loose blanket. He’d lost so much weight his body no longer knew how to carry him.

  “Chief,” he replied and then caught himself. “Sorry, old habit.”

  “No apologies.” Rex stepped back. “Come on in.”

  Nick walked through the door, doing a double take as he looked around the empty living room.

  “I’d offer you a place to sit,” Rex said. “But as you can see, I don’t have one.”

  “Going somewhere, Rex?” Nick asked as he eyed the boxes lining the walls.

  “I’ll cut to the chase, Nick,” Rex said, shoving his hands into his denim pockets. “I’d like to take you up on your offer to buy my property.”

  Nick’s eyes widened. “What made you change your mind?” he asked. “James told me he offered you your job back but you turned him down. You get a better offer?” Few words had been spoken between Nick and his best friend. Nick had lost more than just his son on that November night. But in passing one day, he’d stopped to speak to Jameson, who’d mentioned he’d reached out to Rex to no avail.

  “Actually, I did,” Rex said. “In Idaho.”

  “Wow.” Nick nodded. “Congratulations.” He scratched at his day-old beard. “Kate, now you. A lot of change in Timber Falls.”

  They let the rest land in the air between them. Rex didn’t ask how he was doing dealing with the death of his son. Another man would have, but Rex couldn’t bring himself to say the words.

  Nick cleared his throat. “Have you talked to Kate since she left?”

  Rex thought back to the day Kate had come to him in tears saying Avery had miscarried the baby. She had nothing left for her in Timber Falls, and like Rex, needed a new start. She was gone the next day.

  “No,” he answered honestly. “I just heard she moved out east with some friends from college. Sounded like one of them had some connections to a nursing job for her.”

  Rex stood back as Nick walked to the back of the house, looking out the window to the vast land before him.

  “Well, Chief.” Nick smiled back at him. “I’d be honored to take this off your hands. When are you leaving?”

  “Today.”

  “Today?” Nick was taken aback.

  Rex handed him a piece of paper. “Here’s a forwarding address of where we’ll be staying. I’ll give you a call when we get settled in.”

  “Okay,” Nick said, taking the paper from him. A chill went down his spine as he remembered the last time the chief handed him a folded note, with the words his son had written. He felt his throat tighten. “Thank you,” he managed to say. “I’ll have my guy draw up the paperwork.”

  Rex nodded. He’d never imagined there would come a time when he would willingly sell off his family’s land. He’d always thought he would live out his days here and then pass it down to Lila. But now, he couldn’t imagine staying in Timber Falls one more day. He walked Nick to
the door and shook his hand again.

  “Best of luck to you, Chief,” Nick said sincerely.

  Rex looked the man in the eye and held his stare. “Same to you, Nick.”

  Rex let out a deep breath as Nick’s car pulled out of his drive. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Lila standing in the hallway, backpack on, pillow in hand, and headphones around her neck.

  “I’m ready, Dad.”

  “Me too.”

  She walked up to him, close enough for him to put his arm around her. She looked up at him with her bright green eyes. The color was back in her cheeks, her face healthy and rounder, transforming back from its hollow form. She smiled slightly at him.

  He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. A couple of weeks ago, she’d broken down and shared with him what had happened that night in the cabin. He held her while she cried, being the strength that she needed. He told her how proud he was of her for coming forward, and that she had nothing to feel shame for. It was the beginning of a very long journey to healing. But it was a start. He was in awe of her bravery. She was a hell of a lot stronger than he was.

  He never told her what happened on Oracle Point that night, but sometimes he wondered if she knew.

  “Thank you,” she told him.

  They loaded the last bag into the car, a used sedan that replaced his patrol car. The movers would be by in the morning to bring the rest of their belongings to Idaho. But he couldn’t stay one more day in Timber Falls. He was ready to leave it all behind and start anew.

  He didn’t want Lila living in the shadow of the past, always being reminded of what had happened. She needed to be in a place that didn’t haunt her at every corner—far away from Timber Falls, and those who lived there.

  And maybe that was true for him as well.

  Every time he closed his eyes, he heard the howls from the boys as they fell from Oracle Point. He saw the look of terror on Caleb’s face when Rex lunged at him, his hands ending Caleb’s life. He didn’t regret what he’d done. But he wasn’t without sin. He deserved for those images to follow him for the rest of his life, wherever he went.

  He couldn’t escape the guilt. It lived in his bones and pulsed in his blood. No amount of distance would help escape the screams for Rex. But he was going to try anyway. For Lila.

  For more of Christa Weisman’s novels, visit

  christaweisman.com

  https://www.facebook.com/C.E.Weisman/

  https://www.instagram.com/christaweisman/

  https://twitter.com/ChristaWeisman