Fire in Bone: A Jake Pettman Thriller

by Wes Markin

  Jake nodded at the photograph in her hands. “May I?”

  “Of course.”

  Jake smiled. “He has your eyes.”

  “Yes. The hair was his father’s fault.”

  He handed back the photograph. “What else did you tell Chief Jewell?”

  “I told him I caught Bobby and Henry kissing. That’s how I found out. Days later, they were both dead. I never told anyone until today.” She sighed. “There’s something else. Something really peculiar. And it was after I told Chief Jewell this that he left in a flurry.”

  “Go on.”

  “After I walked in on them kissing and they broke away from each other, I noticed another boy. He was sitting in the corner of the room, staring right at Bobby and Henry. He didn’t even acknowledge that I’d entered the room. And when I asked Bobby to show his guests out, this boy still didn’t even look up at me.”

  “Did you know the boy?” Jake asked.

  “Yes.”

  Gabriel felt Mason’s knees in his balls and stumbled away, the world suddenly on fire. It took two gulps of air before he could steady himself against a shelf full of tinned veg. He felt some relief that Mason had struck; if he hadn’t, he’d have squeezed the life out of the old shopkeeper, and he desired a confession before ending him.

  After recovering, Gabriel reached for his sidearm, but Mason had managed to retreat behind his counter and was now holding a shotgun. Gabriel left his hand pressed against his sidearm. “Have you got it in you to kill the chief of police, Mason?”

  “Don’t you worry about that. Ever since your father-daddy cracked the fridge door with my head, I’ve dreamt about it. So, take your hand off the weapon.”

  Gabriel held his palms in the air. Temptation to charge at Mason picked at him, but he realized that was the Adderall’s influence. Getting torn to pieces by buckshot before getting answers was unacceptable.

  “I knew you’d be coming. But the truth is, I never expected you to come like this. Even your daddy started off with more decorum.”

  “He hadn’t just found evidence it was you.” Gabriel’s whole body shook now. He chewed hard on the gum, blinking as sweat ran into his eyes.

  “Evidence?”

  Gabriel stepped forward, pointing with a trembling finger. “Bobby White and Henry Clark.”

  Mason didn’t speak and kept the gun trained on Gabriel.

  “Cat got your tongue?”

  “I want you to leave.”

  “You killed both of them and pulled their teeth right out, you sick fuck. And you did the same to my sister—”

  “I said, leave.”

  “Tell me the truth.” Gabriel inched closer.

  “You wouldn’t believe the truth, so I’ll wait for some real police.”

  “The truth is you’re a faggot."

  Mason laughed. “Even if that was true, what would that have to do with anything, you narrow-minded prick?”

  Gabriel was now only several feet from Mason. Every nerve in his body twitched, seemingly screaming at him to charge. “You were jealous of Bobby and Henry.”

  “Why would I be jealous?”

  “The mother caught them kissing and saw you obsessing from a chair in the corner."

  Mason curled up his top lip. “A different lifetime ago, Jewell. They were my friends, then they were murdered. I was fifteen. I wasn’t some twisted killer. So, leave. Now. My life isn’t worth shit. My wife is dead, my son is dead, and everyone in town is beginning to turn their eyes on me again for something I didn’t do. You think I care about killing you? In jail or out of it, I’m rotting away.”

  Gabriel chanced another step. “Rotting? Like my sister?”

  Mason shook his head. “One more step and I’ll kill you. I swear it.”

  The urge to pounce was insatiable. Gabriel’s head knew he wouldn’t survive it, but his entire being craved it. He heard something behind him. He turned and looked down the short aisle at the door to Mason’s apartment.

  “Leave, Jewell.”

  Still watching the door, he extended a hand. “Shut up.” He held his breath and listened. He could definitely hear something; it sounded like scratching.

  “Jewell!”

  “What’s that noise, Mason?

  “I can’t hear anything.”

  “How can you not? It’s coming from your fucking apartment.” Gabriel marched down the aisle.

  “I told you to leave.”

  “Someone’s in your apartment, who is it?”

  “There isn’t. Get out or I’ll use this.”

  Gabriel reached for the handle.

  The shotgun fired, and the world shook.

  8

  JAKE SAT RIGID in the passenger seat. He held his breath while clutching the grab handle as Lillian defied the laws of physics on the next corner.

  “For a big man pumped full of bravado, sometimes you worry me.”

  “Just got a thing about speeding.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know.” Jake paused to clench his teeth as Lillian overtook a worn-out Impaler. “With some people, it’s spiders. With me, it’s fast cars. You need any other reason?”

  “I don’t mind spiders.”

  “Piss off, Lillian, and just get us to Mason’s store without killing us.” As they neared Main Street, Jake said, “I hope we’re not too late.”

  “The chief’s on edge, but he’s not stupid.”

  “He’s just found out that the prime suspect for his sister’s disappearance was involved in a case with a similar MO. I don’t think his intelligence will be running the show anymore. Not that he ever really had any.”

  Lillian turned onto Main Street. “Louise Price needs to be brought into the loop now, Jake. This has to be investigated properly.”

  “I agree.”

  “Maybe that’s where we should be heading now. Let them handle this?”

  “No need,” Jake said, pointing out the window.

  Lieutenant Louise Price was standing in front of her black BMW, flanked by two of her male officers. She was pointing at the Rogers general store.

  “Capable police can sniff out trouble all on their own.”

  “Jesus,” Lillian said.

  “Just drive past. She’s about to discover Gabriel’s gone rogue. Last thing they need is to find out a civilian and the police officer she so admires for some reason are off working their own angle.”

  “What’s not to admire?” Lillian said, following Jake’s instructions.

  “Ask me again when you’re not subjecting me to your driving.”

  Since the gunshot, Gabriel had remained in a crouching position. He’d been told that if he stood, he was dead. It was an easy decision to make.

  “It took every ounce of willpower to miss,” Mason said. “And you owe me for it. A new set of shelves and a range of condiments.”

  Again, Gabriel heard the scratching from behind Mason’s apartment door. “What’s in there, you sick fuck?”

  He heard Mason’s footsteps grow in volume as he came down the aisle. “None of your business.”

  “You won’t get away with any of this. You’ll pay for your sins.”

  “If I’m a killer, why’re you still alive?”

  “Because killing me doesn’t feed your fantasies.”

  “Jesus.” Mason laughed. “If this is the way you start thinking as a cop, I’m glad I never chose that option.”

  The scratching at the apartment door continued.

  “You know,” Mason said. “If you’d just come here and asked your questions, I would have answered them. I may have even gone to the station with you to give any statement you so wished. But you, just like your father, have a habit of creating unnecessary situations—another animal who needed to be caged.”

  “Shame for you he wasn’t. He sniffed you out.”

  “You crossed a line, assaulting me today, Jewell. Your father was lucky when he hounded me, because I had everything to lose back then. You, on the other hand,
couldn’t be any more unfortunate, because I have nothing left to lose. Blowing off your head doesn’t faze me in the slightest. In fact, it excites me. You know, maybe I’ll give you the truth. Why not? You won’t understand it anyway. A man like you wouldn’t be able to.”

  Gabriel felt the shotgun touch the back of his head.

  “Go on. Stand up. Open that door. But control your anger, your frustrations, or I will end this.”

  Gabriel stood, took a deep breath, and reached for the handle.

  “Go easy.”

  Gabriel started to push down the handle.

  “Put down the gun!”

  Gabriel recognized the lieutenant’s voice. He didn’t know whether to smile or curse. Even though his chances of survival had just increased a hundredfold, he wanted to know the truth of what was behind the door. He faced forward until he heard Mason deposit his weapon on the floor, then he turned.

  Mason’s hands were in the air while Louise and her two sidekicks had their guns trained on him.

  “Thank god, Lieutenant,” Gabriel said, inching forward.

  “Stay where you are a moment longer, Chief. At least until you tell me what the hell is going on.”

  “Mason Rogers murdered my sister. I came here to arrest him.”

  “Bullshit! He didn’t come to arrest me. He came to kill me!”

  “Nonsense!”

  “He had his fucking hands around my neck seconds after he came through the door! Look at his eyes. Look at the way he’s moving. He’s wired! If I hadn’t pulled my weapon, I’d be cold on the floor by now.”

  “Is that true, Chief Jewell?” Louise asked.

  “I won’t dignify that with an answer.”

  Ewan, the officer who Gabriel had pushed the previous night at the crime scene, said, “You do look on edge.”

  Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “I saw my sister’s body last night. Who wouldn’t be on edge? Seeing the officers attending the crime laughing to themselves didn’t help either. What was so fucking funny anyway?”

  The officer looked away.

  “Enough!” Louise said. “It’s not the time to be questioning anyone’s integrity. Yours, Chief Jewell, or my officers’. A violent altercation was happening in this shop, and a passerby called it in. We came because your name was given, Chief. You’d been asked to step aside due to your personal connection to the case, so I’m entitled to some answers.” She nodded to Ewan, who went to Mason and cuffed him.

  “What the hell?” Mason said.

  “You had a shotgun pinned to the back of the chief of police’s head. What did you expect?” Louise said.

  “I was defending myself.”

  “We’ll listen to your side of the story … at the station.”

  The officers started to lead him from his store.

  Louise holstered her weapon.

  “Wait,” Gabriel said. “Keep your weapon out. I think someone’s back there.” He pointed over his shoulder. “Someone has been scratching at the door, trying to get out.”

  She nodded and drew her weapon again. She turned to look at Mason, who was by the door. “Stop. What’s back there?”

  Mason turned. “I’ve done nothing wrong. You’re leading me out in handcuffs, and you expect me to comply?”

  “That’s exactly what I expect, Mr. Rogers.”

  “Oh really. Well, fuck the barbarian over there, and fuck you and the horse you rode into town on. I’m an innocent man, and I’ve lived through this bullshit once already, and I’m in no mood to live through it again.”

  She nodded at one of her officers. “Keep him there.” She refocused on Gabriel. “Open the door and step aside. I’ve got you covered.”

  Gabriel leaned forward and opened the door. It was dark inside and difficult to see anything of note except the outline of a television and a sofa. The Adderall was still coursing through his veins, so the urge to dive in and satisfy the curiosity was overwhelming. He shimmied to one side and clutched a refrigerator door to try to keep himself from doing anything stupid.

  “What could you see?” Louise said.

  “Not much. Curtains must be drawn. It’s dark. I can go in.”

  “No. I will—”

  A small dog padded from the apartment. It scanned the occupants of the store and whined.

  “Try not to scare him,” Mason said. “He’s just a puppy.”

  “Jesus,” Gabriel said, approaching the puppy and looking back at Mason. “It’s a pit bull. Only one person around here ever had pit bulls.”

  “Yes.” Mason said. “The night someone set Jotham MacLeoid’s property on fire and released his dogs, I was part of the party who searched for them to round them up. I came across this little man all on his own. I didn’t want him to end up in the pound like the others.”

  “Heart of gold. Careful, I might just burst into tears,” Gabriel said.

  “I told you that you wouldn’t understand.”

  Louise approached the dog, shooing it.

  “His name’s Kyle,” Mason said.

  Louise continued to shoo it without using its name.

  After Kyle had retreated into the apartment, she closed the door and nodded at her officers. “Take Mr. Rogers to the station.”

  “Can I at least lock up?”

  Louise nodded.

  Outside, after her officers had left with Mason, she turned to Gabriel. “Now, Chief Jewell.” She pointed at the floor. “Last night, we were standing together, clueless, at a crime scene. Less than fifteen hours later, we are standing here, and you seemed convinced, to the point of ruining your life, that this man is guilty. Can you fill in the gaps please, and I’ll see if I can save your ass?”

  Right now, Gabriel couldn’t care less about having his ass saved, but he filled in the gaps anyway.

  On his way up the path, Jake swooped for an empty cigarette packet and slipped it in the trashcan by the front door. Before he’d even knocked, the homeowner answered the door, holding an icepack to his head.

  “Are you behind there, Peter?” Jake asked.

  Peter moved the icepack, revealing a lump.

  “Christ. What happened?”

  “A pile of Mason’s dirty laundry. Took my legs out from under me—”

  “Hold up. You went to see Mason?”

  “Yes, straight after you left me on my lonesome in Crowther’s.”

  “Reckless.” Jake slipped past Peter into his hallway.

  “Come in,” Peter said, turning and closing his front door behind him.

  Jake sniffed and turned in the hallway. “Have you been smoking?”

  “Yes. I’m seventy-three, Jake. Any more of my choices you want to question me on?”

  “Just didn’t know you smoked.”

  “I don’t, but I used to, and the last couple of months have been hard.”

  “They’ll stain your new teeth.”

  “Good. They stand out. Trying to make them look like the last set.”

  Jake sighed. “You shouldn’t have gone to see Mason. I think he’s dangerous.”

  Peter grunted and barged past Jake. “You’re starting to sound like every other basket case in this town.” He turned left into his living room and sat on his sofa. Keeping the icepack to his head, he reached for the packet of cigarettes on the arm.

  Jake eyed him from the doorway.

  “Fuck off, will you!” Peter said, leaving the cigarettes alone. “It’s hard to fight this relapse with you here!”

  “You say he’s not dangerous, but look at you.”

  “I fell over his dirty fucking underwear.”

  “Honestly?”

  “God’s truth. I heard noises in his apartment, so I went to have a look. Next thing I knew, I went ass over tit and banged my head on a cabinet. The lights went out.”

  “Noises?”

  “Turns out, he kept one of Jotham’s puppies. Rescued it after Ayden released them.”

  Jake shook his head. “A pit bull? Do they actually start off as cute, little puppies
?”

  “Well, this one is. Woke up with the little guy licking my face. I tell you, Kyle won’t be going down the same road as his kin, not with Mason looking out for him.”

  “Have you been to the hospital?”

  “Now you sound like the old-timer himself! He was outraged when I said I wasn’t going.”

  “He was right.”

  “I’ve been to war. I think I can handle myself.”

  “You’re probably concussed, and that can be dangerous.”

  Peter pulled out a cigarette. “Jesus. You are turning my willpower to dust.”

  “I’m taking you in, or I’m calling an ambulance. You might want to opt for the least-embarrassing option.”

  Peter sighed. “Can I smoke this first?”

  “You can smoke it in the car on the way to the hospital, and then we can also finish the conversation we had earlier.”

  Outside in the car, Jake let Peter enjoy his cigarette out the window. Afterward, Peter turned to him. “I’ve forgotten how slow you drive.”

  “Have you been talking to Lillian?”

  “No, why?”

  “Never mind. Anyway, we found out some things about Mason. I don’t think you know everything. I’ll tell you now, hoping you stay away from him. At least until these matters are cleared up.”

  After Jake had finished relaying about the circumstances surrounding the mutilation of Mason’s two friends, Peter threw his second cigarette half-finished out the window. “That would be one way to help me kick the habit, I suppose. Jesus, I feel sick now.”

  “That could be the concussion.”

  “I think it’s more likely to be your graphic description of what happened to those poor youngsters.”

  “You needed to know. If Mason did this—”

  “Sorry, Jake, but you’re definitely barking up the wrong tree. You and that fuckwit, Jewell. I’ve known that man a while now. As I said before, salt of the earth. The idea of him pulling teeth from the mouths of dead children? That doesn’t sit right with me. And I’ve seen a lot of dark shit in my time.”