by Dale Mayer
“With good reason,” he said shortly. He took a right just then onto a long dirt road. He passed several houses, then pulled into the driveway of the third one.
She hopped out and said, “Why are we here?” She wrapped her arms around her chest, feeling a sudden icy coldness.
“This is the call I was asked to check up on,” he said. Just then a middle-aged man came out and spoke to Rowan in a language she didn’t understand. “Wait in the car,” Rowan said. “I shouldn’t be long.”
She nodded but didn’t get back in the car. She was more than happy to walk around and stretch her legs. Besides, sitting here wasn’t any good. It just made her tense. She waited until Rowan was inside the house, and then she slowly walked around the vehicle down to the main road and back up again. It wasn’t a very long distance, but she couldn’t help feeling eyes were watching her. Such an unnerving feeling.
But, if anybody had seen or had heard something unpleasant had happened to the old man who lived here, then, of course, they were watching. Nobody wanted to get involved, but everybody wanted to know what was happening. When Rowan still didn’t come out, she made another trip up and down the driveway.
By the time she made it back to the car, she was worried about the timing. They still had to meet this Haro person, and it was getting late. She wandered to the front door, wondering if she should knock, and then decided Rowan might get angry, and she should stay at the vehicle.
So once again, she traipsed her way back down to the car. There she leaned against the hood and waited. And waited. And waited. And finally she couldn’t wait anymore. She walked around to the back of the house. As soon as she got inside the yard, she stopped and cried out in horror.
An old man lay on the ground, naked, spread-eagle, his hands staked to the ground. Candles circled him. And he had crosses cut into his skin. Rowan ran toward her. “Don’t,” he said. “I told you to stay in the vehicle.”
“You also told me that you were looking for somebody, who the son hadn’t seen.”
“Well, we found him,” he said. “It’s very important you go back to the vehicle and wait. Do you hear me?”
She shot him a wounded look and said, “He shouldn’t be alone like this.”
“He’s not alone anymore,” Rowan said. “I’m here.”
She bit her bottom lip and left, wrapping her arms tighter around her body. She retraced her steps to the car. She sat inside and could feel the tears coming down her cheeks. Something was familiar about that sight, but she didn’t know what it was. She closed her eyes and waited.
*
Rowan swore under his breath as he watched her disappear around the side of the house. He turned to look at Sven Hogarth, who stood at the back door, a shocked look on his face as he studied his father. “Don’t touch anything,” Rowan said. “I’m bringing a team over.”
Hogarth nodded. “Do we know for sure he’s dead?”
It was obvious. The old man’s eyes stared up at the sky above him. Enough blood had seeped into the ground that proved it had been a long, slow process to die. “How long ago did you see him?”
“Yesterday at dinnertime,” the son replied, his voice jerky. “And he was perfectly fine. Normal. Happy. We don’t get many murders in this town. And usually they’re brought on by the tourists.”
“I know,” Rowan said. “But something weird has been going on these last couple days.”
Hogarth nodded jerkily. “Yes,” he said. “More fights, more arguments. Long-term friends and relationships splitting up. Two women I know lost their babies. I just don’t know why this is happening.” Hogarth cast one more long gaze at his father, turned back to Rowan and said, “I know what you’ll probably say, but could I please cover him up?”
“No,” he said. “I’m sorry, but that’s not possible yet.”
“I didn’t think so, but I was hoping. It is just so demeaning to see him like this.”
“I think it was meant to be empowering,” Rowan said, studying the old man. “Almost like he was a sacrifice.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say,” Hogarth said. “My father was a lot of things, but he certainly wasn’t anybody’s sacrifice.”
“What do you mean?” Rowan asked, turning to look at him.
“I loved him very much, but he wasn’t necessarily a good man, but, no matter his sins, he didn’t deserve this.”
“What sins? I don’t remember hearing anything in relation to your father.” Rowan also realized he didn’t know everybody in this town as well as he would have liked. “Your father only moved here about a year ago, didn’t he?”
Hogarth nodded. “When he was released from jail,” he said sadly. “I have very mixed memories about him. I’d like to think they were all good, but, of course, they aren’t.”
“What was he in jail for?”
Hogarth stared down at the man with a mixture of revulsion and love.
And then Rowan knew. “He was a pedophile, wasn’t he?”
Hogarth looked at him in surprise. “How did you know?”
“It was a lucky guess,” he said, his tone heavy. “But that’s it, right?”
“Yes,” he said. “Little boys and little girls. He wasn’t particular. He liked to abuse anybody.”
“I’m sorry,” Rowan said. “But it looks like somebody found out and decided he hadn’t paid his debt to society.”
“A part of me agrees,” Hogarth said. “What kind of a monster does that make me?” On that note, Sven turned and headed back into the house.
Rowan knew he had his hands full. And how the hell was he supposed to fulfill his promise to get Phoenix right now with the geologist? He’d already called in the forensics team. By the time he made his way out to the front and to his cruiser, they were here. He set up a guard to watch for the coroner on the way and to keep out the curious.
The coroner was the local doctor. He doubled up his duties. Like most of them had to in a small town like his. As soon as he arrived, Rowan spoke with him for a few moments and then said, “I have to leave. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
The coroner nodded and said, “You’ve done your job. Let me do mine. You hunt for a killer.” And he disappeared. Rowan got into his vehicle, turned it on and slowly backed out of the driveway. He didn’t say anything to Phoenix for several moments. His mind was caught on what he’d seen and heard.
So many vehicles were arriving now that it was hard to get out of the driveway. Finally he was on the open road again, heading for the geologist’s house. He looked over at her. “Are you okay?”
“No,” she whispered. “He was sacrificed, wasn’t he? What had he done wrong?”
“I think he was a victim,” he corrected. “And, yes, he had done something wrong. He was released from jail a year ago. According to his son, he was a pedophile.”
“Damn,” she said in a hoarse whisper. “Do you have a vigilante running amok?”
“Anything’s possible,” he said. “But let’s not make any assumptions. Let’s see if we can at least solve your problem.”
“That’s two then,” she said finally.
“Yes,” he said. “Two that we know about.” At her gasp, he realized she got his message.
“So you’re thinking there might be more?”
“If there’s been two, then I have to consider that possibility.”
“Do you know everybody who’s committed horrible crimes in town?”
“It’s not something I ever aspired to know,” he said. “I know those we’ve taken off the streets ourselves, but that’s not many. We do have a lot of people who call here home but weren’t born and raised here, some of them obviously with criminal records.”
“Great,” she said. “And I came here, why?”
“Well, that’s what I’ve been asking you,” he said with a grin. “And hopefully we can solve your problem fast, as I have to get back to work.”
He drove up to the cabin where the geologist was. No lights were on though. Row
an checked his watch and said, “We’re five minutes early. It’s not quite six yet.”
“He isn’t here though. Do we just wait?”
“Yes, but not for long. I’m on a tight schedule as it is.”
“Any chance this guy’s exactly the same?” she asked. “As in dead. Potentially sacrificed?”
He gave her a startled look. “Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “But we came to one empty house, and look what we found.”
“That doesn’t mean the next one is a duplicate.”
“No,” she said, turning her hard gaze on him. “It doesn’t mean it isn’t, either.”
Chapter 14
The day had a gray overcast sky. Phoenix couldn’t forget the image of the old man spread-eagled on the ground. She couldn’t place why it felt so familiar, but it ate away at the back of her mind. Sitting in the car at the geologist’s dark house, waiting, made her think all kinds of horrible things. Finally she turned to Rowan and said, “Go check.”
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged. “Please, go check.”
He sighed and opened the car door. “He’s not late.”
“Only a few moments more,” she said.
He nodded and walked up to the front door. He knocked. She watched as he stood there, waiting, and, when nobody came to the door, he walked back down the steps and headed around the side of the house. And again she was in that horrible position of sitting and waiting.
They were too damn close to the other crime scene, and she knew the cops would be spreading out through all the neighboring properties. But what if another murder had been committed here? She didn’t know how this was suicide season, yet they had found a murder.
Rowan came back to the car a few minutes later and shook his head. “Nobody’s here,” he said.
“Good,” she said and relaxed. “I was afraid we’d end up finding him in the backyard too.”
The radio crackled with static and dispatch spoke. Rowan answered, and again it was the language Phoenix didn’t understand. When he was finished, he turned to her. “The geologist left a message to say he’s on his way home.”
She smiled up at Rowan. “Perfect. We should just sit here and wait then?”
A few minutes later, a vehicle drove in, and a burly man in a big plaid jacket and heavy work boots hopped out. He walked toward the cruiser and smiled. Rowan hopped out, and they shook hands. The two men spoke. Phoenix wasn’t sure if they would walk from here or drive, but she assumed drive.
Rowan poked his head in and said, “Come on. We’ll go in his rig. It’s got better 4x4 capabilities.”
She nodded and hopped out. She was introduced to Haro, and they shook hands.
The grizzled-looking man in a safety vest eyed her. She gave him a bland smile and hoped he wouldn’t ask too many questions. He motioned toward his vehicle, and she took the front seat and Rowan sat in the back.
Haro reversed out of the driveway, talking to them about the changes in the lava. “I know we often get one fissure on this place every few years around this time,” he said. “But this one is quite a bit bigger than what we’ve seen in the past.”
“Any idea why?” Rowan asked.
“No,” he said. “Mother Nature likes to keep us guessing.” He looked over at Phoenix. “Have you seen lava up close before?”
“No,” she admitted. “I haven’t.”
“Interesting that you want to do this.”
“I’m not sure it’s a choice,” she said, refusing to lie. “Sometimes you just feel compelled to do something, and it won’t leave you alone.”
He gave a bark of laughter. “Is that not the truth? Even when it’s against our better judgment.”
She didn’t have an answer for that. They drove into rougher terrain, where the road was more like a faint line. She expected a chill to the air, but instead it got hotter, and that was how she knew they were heading for the area. The windows were closed, the air circulating. Haro eventually pulled off to the side of the road and said, “We have to walk from here.”
Phoenix hopped out, closed the door behind her and took several deep breaths. A sulfuric acid smell gently floated toward her.
Haro said, “The easiest place is a lookout up here. With any luck we can tie your letter to a rock and throw it in.”
She smiled up at him. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”
“As long as it’s harmless, I don’t mind,” he said. He led the way, picking as close a path through the woods as he could.
She kept close, with Rowan bringing up the rear. She felt an odd sense of being watched again too. She kept looking around, but there was nothing to see. They arrived at the top of a plateau. Haro led them closer to the edge, then pointed downward.
They weren’t up super high, but, like the pictures she had seen of other Burning Fires, this was similar in that a red molten lava flow had burned all around. Instead of a big round circle, it was more of a small bubbling stream, like pus coming up from the center of the Earth. Red angry pus with a partial crust. She watched, fascinated, as it poured into a small river channel. “How far will it go down?”
“Eventually it’ll run to the water,” he said. “But this isn’t a very large amount. It’s still bigger than we’ve had in the past. This is only about twenty to thirty feet across. Not too bad. If it doubles or triples, that’s a different story.”
“This is just releasing pressure from inside the Earth, right?”
“Yes. This is a fissure that’s opened, instead of a volcano. So the gas escapes, followed by lava coming up from down below.”
She nodded. “The smell is something, isn’t it?”
“The smell is disgusting,” he replied. “And that’s one of the reasons why we have to keep people away. You can’t be here for long.” He looked at her pointedly. “You have something you need to do, please do it now.” He took several steps back, out of the way.
Rowan stepped closer. “I don’t know that you can throw a sheet of paper that far.”
She studied the distance and shook her head. “No, I can’t.” She glanced around for anything on the ground she could use. “We should have brought some rocks with us.”
“Didn’t think of it,” he said. He picked up several rocks and held them out. “One of these?”
She took out the letter and wrapped it around the bigger rock and then frowned. “How do we seal it? Do you have any glue or tape or rope or string?”
He shook his head but checked his pockets and pulled out gum. She looked at it and smiled. “It might work.” He popped it in his mouth and chewed vigorously, as she checked her pockets and the ground to see if she could use anything else. But nothing suitable was here.
When he had chewed up the gum enough, making it soft, he used it to hold the letter wrapped around the rock, mashing it together good and tight. “It shouldn’t come off.” He held it out to her.
She walked up to the edge, took several deep breaths, and, with the rock in her hand, she whispered, “With this act, I’m releasing my father and all the horrible things that happened in my childhood. From here on out, I move forward, without carrying the baggage from that time of my life.” She stretched her arm back, about to throw it, when a shot rang out. She yelped and dropped to the ground.
“Jesus, you’ve been shot.” Rowan kneeled beside her.
She couldn’t speak because of the burning pain in her shoulder.
He checked her over, then looked around, but the geologist was long gone. His vehicle was still there at the trees, but Rowan saw no sign of Haro. Rowan picked her up and ran as quickly as he could to the vehicle for shelter. With every step she cried out in pain.
*
He swore softly. “I don’t know who the hell fired that shot,” Rowan roared, “but they certainly targeted you.”
“Did anybody else get shot?” she asked through gritted teeth.
He looked around and shook his h
ead. “I can’t find the geologist.” He also didn’t know if Haro had done the shooting.
At the vehicle Rowan crouched down in front, where there was a little protection. There hadn’t been another shot. … Phoenix started to shake, and he could see blood welling from her shoulder. He pressed his hand to the wound and held her down. “When I take my hand away, you need to put pressure on it,” he said.
Rowan pulled off his uniform shirt and yanked his T-shirt over his head. He folded it up, using it as a bandage, and pressed it on her wound, then called out, “Haro, are you there?”
No answer.
Rowan looked around and swore. “Where could he have gone?”
“Did he shoot me?” She gasped.
He stared down at her. “I don’t know,” he said. “No sign of him though.”
“Why would he do such a thing?” she asked.
“We don’t know that he did,” Rowan reminded her. “Hold that thought. We can’t be sure. He had no reason to either.”
“Maybe not,” she said, “but he was the only other person here.”
“I know. Did you hear one or two shots?” He had only heard one, but something had been odd about it, so he couldn’t be sure. An odd hissing rumble here distorted everything.
“I don’t know,” she cried out. “Oh, God, it hurts.”
“I have to get you back to town,” he said. “Let’s get you into the truck, and then I’ll get you to the hospital.”
“We can’t leave Haro here. What if he shoots someone else? What if he’s been shot too?”
“What if he wants a second chance at you? He’s made one attempt, but what if he wants to make sure you’re dead?”
“Will he let us leave, or will he shoot at us again?” she whispered.
“I don’t know. Let’s figure that out afterward. Let’s get you inside his truck first.” Rowan managed to get her in the passenger side and turned to look at her. “Keep your head down, just in case.”
She nodded and shifted to lean sideways, groaning at the movement.