Smoke Stack

by Andrew Gruse

  Zack nodded. “I think it’s time we have a séance. And you need to call in the state police or something to search that forest. I’d do it quickly, too, because this town is about to become a circus. You need good press. Not bad.”

  CHAPTER 21

  The clock struck one in the morning. Zack and Julie in their motel room for the last three hours had talked, made up, made love, and tried to sleep. Jules was silent, but Zack tossed and turned. Restless and tired of the bed, he stood, walked to the window and moved the shade slightly to look out into the dark parking lot and black night.

  “Babe, you ok?” Julie asked.

  “Did I wake you? I’m sorry,” he said and moved away from the window.

  “No, I’ve been awake all night.”

  “Me, too,” Zack said. “This town has the strangest vibe, and I think it’s created my insomnia.”

  “For me too,” Julie said and exited the bed. She walked to a chair in just her boy-shorts, grabbed one of Zack’s shirts, and put it on. “I figured you’d be exhausted after the day you’ve had and the night, too.” She cozied up to him by the window, and he put his arms around her. “I didn’t expect you to be on top of your game tonight.”

  “Those boy shorts did the trick,” Zack said. “You want a glass of wine or something? I’m not going to sleep anytime soon.”

  “Umm, just a little one.” She walked to the only chair, sat, and crossed her legs. “You’ve been keeping a lot from Orb.”

  Zack handed her a glass of Chianti and sat across from her on the bed and smiled. “I know.”

  She shook her head. “I think he’s a good one, honey. I think you can trust him.”

  “I think the same thing.”

  “You need to sleep.”

  He looked at her. “I know. Your legs are magnificent. Maybe another roll in the sack will wear us out.”

  Julie smiled. “If you play your cards right, we’ll see.” She winked.

  He sipped the wine. “Booby-trapped forest, a history of missing kids, a school that burned down and a dead man burnt possibly alive in his own house nine miles out of town. And somehow, we managed to end up right smack dab in the middle.” Zack drank again. “Maybe you were right yesterday morning when you said you were cursed. Maybe the curse is me.”

  Julie lightly nudged him with her barefoot. “I thought it was a blessing.”

  “Nothing about the trip since we drove into Clyde could be considered that.”

  “The whole history of Clyde seems kind of cursed,” Julie said. “I learned a lot at the library.”

  “So did I. I learned you really know how to shoot down a guy’s fantasy at a library when literally no one else is there,” Zack said.

  Julie giggled. “I am not making love to you in a library. I am not ending up in jail because of that.”

  “But what a fantasy.”

  “Well, the story goes that two settlers, Clyde Malliston and Hobby Delton, settled this town back in 18 something. Before the Civil War, I think. A few years into establishing the town, the two men got into a dispute, one story has it over a woman.”

  “What else? Behind the downfall of every good man is a woman,” Zack injected.

  “Yeah, like it’s the woman’s fault,” Julie rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Hobby picked up his belongings and moved down the road and established the town of, you guessed it, Hobby.”

  Zack closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and listened. “Hobby. I wonder if all ends there. Wonder why he named it Hobby and not Delton.”

  “Why did Clyde name it Clyde and not Malliston? The two became rivals. One town opened a bank, the other opened a bigger bank. One had a grain mill, the other had a beef cattle auction. They were always trying to outdo the other and beat the other. That hadn’t stopped. The high school rivalry is no different.”

  “Let me guess,” Zack interrupted. “The mascots are the Clyde’s Dales, and the Hobby Farms.”

  Julie shook her head. “No, they are the Tornadoes and the Mustangs.”

  “Clyde’s Dales would have been an epic nickname.”

  Julie continued. “The town histories are fascinating but nothing much there until recently. Both are sleepy, slowly dying farm towns. Happening all over the Midwest and Great Plains, right? But the safety net is the railroad a couple of miles south of here. Remember hearing the trains rumble all day and night? Major railway and now a huge agriculture company named Ag-Cen wants to build a large grain elevator and intercoastal yard right here.”

  “Why here? We are in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Exactly, but it makes sense,” Julie said. “The land is here, both in Clyde and in Hobby, and both towns are essentially giving it away. The state has almost eliminated any taxes to Ag-Cen, and it will bring in jobs and commerce. The intercoastal yard will bring in dozens and dozens of truckers every single day. They’ll need fuel, food, lodging, maybe a bath,” Julie listed.

  “Not the truckers I’ve seen when it comes to a bath,” Zack joked.

  “There are other reasons, as well. Interstate access is already there, plenty of room for a railway yard, but Ag-Cen hasn’t finalized where yet. And that’s where this competition gets interesting.”

  Zack drank his wine.

  “Ag-Cen will have to bring in people to run it. People will have to move to the area. There aren’t enough people in both towns to fill the roles needed. I doubt many people in Hobby or Clyde have warehouse manager experience on their resumes.”

  “I doubt many here even have a resume.”

  Julie shook her head. “So, Ag-Cen is looking at the infrastructures of the town.”

  “And now Clyde is minus a school,” Zack said. “That can’t help Clyde.”

  Julie nodded with a smile at Zack. “Exactly.”

  Zack shrugged. “So you’re saying the ghost of Hobby Delton started the fire to help his town win the award of a business?”

  “Honey, I don’t know. The state urged the school boards of Clyde and Hobby to combine their schools because there is no more money coming this way. They have no choice. Either merge or die.”

  “So, they are arguing over who will close.” Zack shrugged. “Should be a no-brainer now. There’s only one school left.”

  “Hobby’s school is just as old and just as much in need of renovation,” Julie said.

  “So either renovate if it goes to Hobby, or completely rebuild here in Clyde,” Zack said. “That’s interesting.” Zack stood and paced slowly. Julie watched and waited. “And Ag-Cen is waiting on that decision before it makes its decision?”

  “Basically,” Julie said. “At least that’s how I understood it even though Ag-Cen never said that.”

  “And building a school requires money,” Zack said. “Money coming from taxpayers.” He looked at Jules. “Or insurance money, which beats the hell out of a referendum and borrowing money long term.”

  “Yeah, if a referendum even passes, which it didn’t the last four times the school has tried. To rebuild, they are estimating about seventy million dollars,” Julie said.

  Zack stopped and sat on the bed next to Julie’s chair. “That’s a lot of schoolbooks.” Zack re-filled his glass and stood. “The Johnston property.” Zack stopped and looked at Julie.

  “What about it?”

  “The intersection of State highway 9 and 22,” Zack said. His eyes widened. “Perfect location, don’t you think for development now knowing about Ag Cen?”

  Julie thought for a moment and nodded. “Yeah, that would be. Plenty of room.”

  “And no more farmer there holding up progress,” Zack said.

  Julie was silent.

  “We know a teacher who may have some insight. Let’s step outside. This room is too claustrophobic to think.”

  Julie said Ok and put on her flannel pajama pants and flip flops. “Let’s both talk to her tomorrow.”

  Zack grabbed a can of Off he kept with him at all times. Mosquitoes treated him like an all-you-can-eat buffet. If there was only
one around, it would bite Zack. The lights out in their room, he undid the lock on the back door, and the two stepped outside.

  “I better not get bitten,” Julie said. “I hate mosquito bites. Remember our first date?”

  They stepped onto a small concrete patio with two picnic tables and two permanent bar-b-q grills. Beyond the courtyard was a small maintained greenspace before a fence and then housing. The area was dark, but cracks in the clouds let some light from the moonshine through. All in all, it was a beautiful night.

  Zack shut the door and put the Off and a new bottle of wine on a picnic table. Zack looked into the black sky. A soft, warm, and humid breeze blew from the south. “I took you owling with me, forgot bug spray, you got bitten about a thousand times, and I thought for sure that was our last date.”

  Julie laughed. “You got that right. If you weren’t so good looking, I might not have called you again.”

  Zack put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you did.”

  They sat on the top of the picnic table with their feet resting on the seat, their backs to the motel, and they stared into the night sky.

  “So what’s next, Private Detective?” She nudged him.

  “As far as the school, we talk to Molly. As for Derek, I don’t know where to go next.” He knew where to go with Derek. The forest.

  “What about the C4 you believe was used?” Julie asked.

  “Gary, the fire investigator for Clyde, scoffed at the mention of it. I sent a text to Michelle asking if Ronald the FBI Guy may be able to find any around here. Maybe some got stolen from a National Guard armory or something.” They both drank their wine, and he looked at her. “Want to make love and think about it?” She smiled; he leaned forward and kissed her.

  Suddenly, tires screeched, the sound of a loud crash shook the building, the lights flickered and went out, and the rear wall exploded behind Zack and Julie. A cloud of debris from the motel filled the air. They dove to the ground as bricks, stone, dust, plaster, and wood settled on them.

  Zack opened his eyes and reached for Julie. She lifted her head, and he helped her brush off debris. They coughed out the dust.

  Lights turned on in the three occupied rooms. A man ran out the back of a place two away from them. It was Brian Sedowski. “Are you guys Ok?”

  Zack looked back at his former room.

  “What happened?”

  Zack turned to Sedowski. “Seriously?”

  CHAPTER 22

  An old rusty pickup truck rested in the room, it’s front stuck in the rear wall. The windshield was smashed, and the engine died. Steam and smoke rose from the dead engine, but there was no fire. Zack helped Julie up, and the two inched closer to the truck, but it was empty.

  Minutes later, a siren screamed through the night air. Sheriff Orbison stopped his vehicle in the parking lot. He saw his mother and talked to her before he saw Zack and Julie.

  “What happened?” Orbison asked.

  Zack looked at him. It’s pretty damn obvious, isn’t it? Someone drove a truck into my room! “You tell me, Sheriff. This is your town.”

  They heard rumblings, and pieces of the room fell off the truck. The rear room door broke off the hinges and hit the ground, and a cloud of dust rose from the crash.

  A deputy stopped by Orb and Zack. “Too bad your car wasn’t in front of your room, huh?”

  Zack rolled his eyes. “Yeah, too bad.”

  “You recognize this vehicle?”

  “Yep,” said the deputy. “That’s Dick Miller’s truck.”

  “How the hell did his truck end up here?” Orbison looked at the small crowd. “Truck’s don’t drive themselves, do they?”

  “This one might,” said the deputy.

  “Excuse me,” interrupted Julie. “Who is Dick Miller?”

  “Oh, he was the local idiot,” the deputy said. “The town drunk. Really just a waste of a human,” he said.

  Orbison spoke. “Only Dick Miller was just as much of an idiot when he was sober.” The deputy examined the expired license plate. It hadn’t been renewed in nine years. “Yep, that’s his truck.”

  “Orb, who is Dick Miller?”

  “He’s the farmer that blew his own head off eight years ago,” the deputy said.

  Zack stared at the sheriff.

  “He’s the ghost. The child molester,” Orbison clarified. “And it seems you pissed him off.”

  * * * *

  When the sun rose a few hours later, Zack and Julie sat on the picnic table behind their demolished space and watched the few firemen and policemen ensure the area was safe…except for their room.

  Zack watched the owner, Orb’s mother, discuss the situation with Orb and the fire chief. A tow truck removed the truck of ghost Dick Miller. The group seemingly decided what was what, and all split their separate ways.

  The fire chief left one way, Orb’s mother returned to the office and Orb looked for Zack and Julie. He spotted them on the same picnic table they occupied all night.

  “How you two holding up?” Orb asked. He lifted his foot to the bench seat of the picnic table.

  “Considering we’d likely be dead if we hadn’t decided to enjoy a late-night out here, I think just as one would expect,” Zack said. His watch read seven in the morning, and they hadn’t slept.

  “Are there any other rooms available?” Julie asked. “I need some sleep.”

  “Well, we were talking, and it seems though there are some rooms available, we decided it best not to let anyone stay here, outside the two people already here since their rooms are at the end and not near your room,” Orb said.

  “That makes no sense at all, Orb,” Zack said.

  “Stack, I have something else in mind for you two,” Orb said. He noticed a fireman approach. “Hey, Gary. You need me?”

  “Excuse me, folks,” Gary said. He looked at Zack. “Guess the ghost didn’t like you being in the Miller woods, huh?”

  Zack eyed him. “News travels fast around here.”

  “Find any C4 out there?” Gary chuckled.

  No, but I’d like to ram a chunk up your smug ass. “Have you found anything out there?”

  Julie quickly grabbed Zack’s arm and squeezed it. Zack exhaled slowly.

  Pritchett stared at Zack and smiled. “Stay in your lane, bro. I don’t interfere when you’re looking for lost dogs.” He turned back to Orb.

  Zack moved to get up, but Julie held him back and said so only he could hear, “calm down, honey. Let it go.” He sat back down.

  Pritchett spoke to Orb. “Looks like it’s going to rain. I need you to keep someone posted at the school, so no one goes scrummaging around the ruins. It’s unstable, especially with all the searching we’ve been doing. We don’t need anyone hurt, know what I mean?”

  Orb nodded. “I’ll keep a deputy down there.”

  “What about the search for Derek Willows?” Zack asked.

  “He’s not there.” The dismissal ended the topic to Gary Pritchett.

  “But his car was,” Julie said. “And we know he was there Saturday morning before the fire started.”

  Pritchett looked indignantly at Julie.

  “Well, ma’am, he ain’t there.” Pritchett looked back at Orb. “And the note in the car said he ran away. Do me a favor and keep the amateurs out of my fire scene.”

  “Are you including yourself in the edict?”

  Pritchett took offense, turned to Zack, and clenched his fists. “Stack, you sure got an attitude, don’t you? You think because you come from some big city that you know everything?”

  “Calm down, Gary,” Orb said and put a hand on Pritchett. “He’s tired and testy. You would be, too, if someone drove a truck through your home.”

  Zack stared at Pritchett, not intimidated at all, and Julie kept her arm around Zack tight.

  “Just keep them away from my fire scene,” Pritchett said before he turned and walked away.

  Orb turned to Zack and Julie. “I’ve made a few
phone calls and lined up a place for you to stay as long as you’re in town.”

  “Please don’t tell me the church has a shelter or something ridiculous like that, Orb,” Zack said. “We’re grown adults. We can find our own lodging.”

  “I want you to stay with Molly Lockett,” Orb said. He stood tall and put his hands on his belt. “With all that’s been going on around here,” he paused and looked around as if to make sure no one else heard, “I’d feel a little better if you two were with her considering circumstances.”

  Zack knew exactly what circumstances Orb meant. Orb is sweet on the teacher and wants us to protect her from whoever is lurking outside her house. Convenient and efficient. “Isn’t that up to her?”

  “She’s already called twice this morning and asked when you’ll be there. There was someone outside her house again last night,” Orb said. “You want a ride, or do you know where it is?”

  “We’ll find it,” Julie said and clutched Zack’s hand. “What about finding Derek Willows?”

  “I’ve got a nationwide alert for him. We don’t have any leads here, though. Unless you’re hiding something from me.” He looked at Zack.

  Zack stood from the table and helped Jules to her feet. “Start with organizing a search of the haunted forest, Orb. If you don’t, I will. It’s the only place no one has looked.”

  CHAPTER 23

  Julie came downstairs from their new bedroom first after a shower. Molly Lockett was more than accommodating and seemed ecstatic to have the visitors. A stack of towels and washcloths waited on the bed, and she quickly offered the use of the shower. Julie declined Zack’s offer to join her. Once Zack finally got his chance, since the water was hot, he took his time.

  A hot shower seemed an ironic place to cool off, but that’s what Zack needed.