“Don’t they have gyms they can go to?”
"They wanted to save a buck. Look, I understand it's a little weird, but I told the boys they could work out there if they stayed towards the side of the building. They've been out there, and I haven't heard any complaints."
"They are not just working out. In the lunch room today, I heard one of the coaches complaining about it. He said he saw the boys yesterday and they were doing these crazy lifts. He said there was no one out there watching them."
Gavan's face went sheet white. "What do you mean crazy lifts?"
"They are not just ‘pumping iron.' They are doing that Crossfirst, or whatever it is called. They are doing complex movements, and to tell you the truth, they probably need a coach. Those Olympic-style lifts are a great way to get somebody killed. "
The youth minister's face went beet red as he came to the realization that he had made a fool out of himself not just in front of Elena but to anyone who saw those boys out there.
"That makes sense now. The guys had those funny bumper plates...you know, the kind you can drop. Anyways, that kid, Dallas, has gotten huge into ‘functional fitness,'" said Gavan, using air quotes on the phrase for added emphasis. “I had never heard the term before, but I know he is driving his parents crazy over it."
"Yeah. It is huge right now. It's not bad, but it is very technical, and I don't think those crazy teenage boys know what they are doing."
"I'm so embarrassed. I will take care of that problem," said Gavan. "Is there anything else you need?"
It was now Elena's turn to blush, and she became red before speaking. "Yes. Do you spend much time in the Samaritan Closet?"
"No. Why?"
“Well, there’s a man that goes to the clothing room.”
"Do you know his name?"
"No, but I've heard people call him the Walking Man. Anyways, I am afraid of Lois being out there by herself."
"The Walking Man? I have heard that name, and I do go out there to check on Lois, but I have never seen him out there. Maybe he's scared of me," said Gavan in a joking manner, then he refocused his attention to Elena. "Has this 'Walking Man' done anything to make you think he would hurt someone?"
“Well, not exactly.”
“But you are afraid of him?”
"Absolutely."
THUM THUM THUM THUM
Her words were cut off as bumper plates slammed against the ground.
“Do you want Don or me to go out there with Lois? She usually has other workers out there, but if there isn’t would you like me to go out there too?”
"Yes. I can't describe it, but I just don't feel comfortable with that man around here."
"I'm sorry about that," said Gavan. "I will see what I can do."
"It is just I am afraid someone will get hurt."
THUM THUM THUM THUM
A horrific scream erupted immediately following the sound.
Quickly looking at each other, both Gavan and Elena sprinted out to the screams.
Outside, Dallas Chetham lay on the ground. About five to six feet away was the culprit. It was a bar with six forty-five plates on either side. The truck that had all the weights in it was still running, and the tailgate was open with the bed of the truck empty. Elena felt the urge to vomit as she looked at Dallas' right leg and saw a bone protruding from his skin, just above his ankle. Dallas tried to speak to them, but in his agony, his words came out as incomprehensible sounds.
"He's bleeding pretty badly," said Elena.
"No, he's not. He's got a tourniquet on," said Gavan. "Quick, Elena, call 911."
Elena pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed the number. The emergency operator answered, and as Elena attempted to speak her voice was drowned out by ambulance sirens as the vehicle turned in right next to them. Elena looked over at Dallas one more time. There, underneath the tourniquet, was a black bandana. The bandana looked identical to the one she had seen the Walking Man wearing.
Immediately, the first responders leaped from the vehicle with equipment in hand and started to secure Dallas onto a stretcher. While two paramedics were working on Dallas, a third paramedic came to the realization that he was the odd man out. Elena overhead one of the senior paramedics tell the third man to get their information, and the man nodded and then walked over to the group.
"You guys threw that tourniquet on like a pro," said the paramedic.
“Is he going to be alright?” asked Elena.
"Who threw that tourniquet on?"
Gavan and Elena didn't know how to respond but looked back at the two teenagers beside the truck.
"How did this happen?" asked the paramedic.
The teenagers remained silent and then looked at each other, trying to figure out who should speak first. Elena thought it was odd because the two boys were standing right next to the truck, but Dallas was at least ten feet away from then.
"Adam, Paul," said Gavan, "what happened out here?"
"Why did you have all those weights in the bed of your truck in the first place?" asked the paramedic.
"The weights, the weights rolled back on him. From the truck right on his leg!" cried Paul.
Adam Gibbon turned to the paramedic:
"We read about how Arnold used to load up weights in his truck, then he and his friends would go out into woods in Austria and work out. We thought we would do the same...except with functional fitness instead of bodybuilding. So we loaded up all the weights in the truck bed and came out here to work out. We finished up our workout and started to load the weights in my truck bed. We've never done it this way before. We put all the plates on the bar. I've had issues with my tailgate before -” The teenager felt his throat tighten and he couldn’t speak. "I didn't mean to get Dallas hurt. The tailgate swung open, and the weights rolled when I started driving. I didn't know this, but Dallas was right behind me. Those were all the plates Dallas had. It was over six hundred pounds."
Adam cupped his face in his hands, and Paul, not sure what to do, looked at his friend and patted him on the shoulder.
"How did you get that weight off of him?" asked the paramedic, "seriously who threw that tourniquet on him? You did great."
“I only know one man that could lift that much weight,” said Gavan to himself, “but he’s dead.”
Gavan intended for the comment to be an internal dialogue, but he said it so loudly that the others heard his comment.
"Well, who lifted that weight off of him?" asked the paramedic.
Adam said nothing and shook his head.
"Adam, Paul," said Gavan, "you need to speak to this man. You sound like you are hiding something. Why aren't you talking to us?"
"Because," said Paul, "because..."
"It is because they are afraid," said Elena, "but not for the reason you think they are."
Adam and Paul looked at Elena. They did not want to publicly acknowledge that she was right, but ever so slightly, Adam nodded his head as a note of appreciation to Elena.
“Well at least tell me who called us,” said the paramedic.
"It was," said Adam, this time visibly shaking, "it was the same man that lifted the weights off of Dallas."
The paramedic was about to ask another question, but he was called back to his vehicle. The paramedic shook his head in frustration as he ran back to the ambulance and then got in. The driver got into the ambulance, and the ambulance took off with lights and sirens going as it traveled to the emergency room. The teenagers knew where the hospital was and, leaving the weights on the ground, they got into Adam's pickup truck and drove off, kicking up dust as they went. Gavan and Elena turned to each other, trying to figure out what just happened.
As the ambulance sirens grew quieter as they left, a new set of approaching sirens grew louder. The sounds grew louder, and then three police cars pulled into the grassy area where Adam's truck had just been. The last police car which came in almost hit the bar of weights, until the driver jerked the vehicle out of the way at the last
second.
“Whoa!” said one of the policeman as he saw his buddy almost crash into the weights.
“What the heck is that doing out there?” asked the second police officer.
"That's a good question," said Gavan. "Apparently somebody moved it, but we don't know who. You guys are rolling pretty deep, aren't you?"
“Do you guys not watch the news?” asked the last police officer.
"What do you mean?" asked Elena. "The ambulance already beat you here officers. They picked up the boy and took off."
"Well, as of just a few hours ago, ambulance and fire are not supposed to be going places without us securing the scene," said the senior officer. "But I am glad they got the boy out of here."
“Are you Elena Doolin?" asked one of the younger police officers.
“Yes. How do you know my name? Why are there three officers here?”
“You’re not in trouble, young lady, we just want to talk to you," said the senior officer.
"What is this about?" asked Gavan.
The younger two officers started to get frustrated with Gavan and Elena, but the senior officer, who was the oldest of the three, raised his hand, calming down both the younger officers and Elena and Gavan. The senior officer remained silent, and slowly he took notes out of his breast pocket and started to look at them while the others looked on.
“Ms. Doolin, were you at the Wilson Community Gas Station this morning?"
Elena's eyes bulged from her eyes. "Yes, I was."
“Do you remember anything about this morning?”
"Did I hit that homeless man?" asked Elena. "Did you find a man out in the road? I didn't feel my vehicle hit anything, but I fell asleep at the wheel. Is there anything out on the road?"
The younger officers brought their hands in front of their body, ready to take action, but the senior officer raised his hand again, calming the situation down.
"No, there were no signs of any problems on that road. We brought in dogs, and they would have found a person in that area. The manager stated you and a student were at the store. Was there anything that you saw at the store?"
“There was a homeless man outside of the store,” said Elena.
"Anything strange about him? Did he do anything weird?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. It was strange that the homeless man was wide awake when I went into the store, and then when we left, he was fast asleep."
"And about what time was that?" asked the senior officer.
"That was exactly eight o'clock this morning. The manager's security footage had gone out at just that time."
“Yes it did,” said one of the younger officers.
“What happened to that homeless man? Did he do anything?”
The senior officer looked at the younger officers as they glanced at him for guidance.
"What is this about?" asked Elena. "What did that man do?"
Elena had been so focused on speaking to the senior officer that she did not see one of the younger officers walk off. She did not know the man had left until he came back and handed her a clipboard with documents.
"What is this?" asked Elena, staring down at the documents in her hand.
"It's a witness statement," said the senior officer. "We need you to write down what you saw."
“What I saw? I just told you.”
“I understand, but we need that on paper,” said the senior officer.
“But why?”
The younger officers looked at the senior officer again. The senior officer grimaced as he thought about the information he was about to release to both Gavan and Elena. In the world of social media, he didn’t want them to release information, but at the same time, he was surprised that they had not heard anything about the crime already.
“Ms. Doolin, that homeless man was killed. The security footage time was a little off, so we don't know what time this horrible act occurred. From what you and the manager say, that man was killed at almost exactly the time you went to the store, and you just told me it was 0800 hours. I will write a supplemental report, but your testimony ties the murderer to that store at the time you just reported."
"Whoa!" said Gavan.
"But I didn't hear a weapon or anything like that. It was entirely silent. How did it happen?” asked Elena.
The senior officer grimaced again, unsure whether or not to give her information. He had more knowledge and hoped that the facts would not influence her witness statement.
“Sir?” asked Elena.
Elena looked so concerned that one of the younger officers felt sorry for her.
"His neck was broken," the younger officer said.
"Like he-he fell down?" asked Elena.
"No. It's more like the homeless man fell out of a Greco-Roman toss. That man was thrown down on his head, and broke his neck."
“But he looked like he was sleeping when I left,” said Elena.
“Well then hopefully he died instantly. That would not be a good way to go,” said the senior officer.
"So you're saying that whoever killed that man went straight up to him, killed him, and is now running around Henryetta?” asked Gavan.
"No," said Elena. "Here is what he is hinting at: somehow someone turned off the security footage at the gas station and then grabbed that man in some sort of judo hold and threw him down so hard it killed him. That someone then went back, turned the camera back on, and left the area. That is what he is saying.”
"And that's why three officers in a small town are going to one call, right?" asked Gavan. "That man is still around town isn't he?"
"I wish I knew that. I would feel a lot of safer if I did," said the senior officer.
"Please, I know this is a police matter, but just to make me feel safer, are there any clues?" asked Gavan.
The senior officer shook his head and walked over to the weight-lifting bar with the six hundred pounds of attached weights.
He set his foot on top of the plates on the right side and put his hands on his hips.
"I wish there were," said the senior officer.
"I think the clue is literally right under your nose," said Elena. "Go talk to Adam and Paul. I think they may have a potential suspect for you."
CHAPTER 7: THE THIN LINE BETWEEN ECCENTRIC AND MADNESS
Elena - Henryetta, ok
At 09:10 am, Chance entered his office. He removed his motorcycle helmet from his head. He wore the same suit as he had the day prior, but his secretaries did not recognize this. However, they did notice how loose they hung on his body. His yellow tie lay limply against his wrinkled shirt.
Theresa could not hide her shock. She stared at Chance as if he had an additional appendage growing out of his forehead. The stock-broker recognized this look but was too fatigued to think of something intelligent to say to distract her.
“Mr. Chance!” screamed Theresa.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Charles LeMay!” cried Theresa.
“Charles LeMay?" asked Chance.
“Yes! You have an appointment in fifteen minutes!” screamed Theresa, in shock not just with her boss, but the fact she was raising her voice at her employer.
“Charles LeMay,” said Chance absent-mindedly as he walked towards his door, “the name sounds familiar. Do you know where he is from?”
“No, but the account is huge!” exclaimed Theresa. “You have to be on your A-game.”
Chance walked to his door and opened it. He rested his back against the door jam, and looked up to the ceiling, rolling his eyes around as he thought. Then he turned his attention to Julie.
“Julie, I'm stuck in my office with other things. Otherwise, I would do this task myself. I need you to look up Charles LeMay on his social media page. Find his hometown, and if you can’t do that, look through the pictures on his page. If you can't find it that way, I want you to look through his personal pictures, or his family members’ profiles and identify his hometown. Get this done, Julie, and then in
fifteen minutes, I'll be back to check on your progress."
Awkwardly, Julie Tamber acknowledged what Chance had told her to do. Chance went into his office and closed the door, leaving the two women staring at themselves in silence.
***
“Show me what you dug up,” said Chance.
Chance stood behind Julie's computer looking at its screen. Julie, who just a few minutes prior had idolized her boss, was now very uncomfortable.
"Mr. Chance, your eyes are blood-shot."
“Gene Autry! Just like I thought!"
“Gene who?”
“That’s his town. Gene Autry. Julie, call him and cancel his appointment. I am not talking to him."
Theresa spewed water out from her mouth. Her mouth gaped open in astonishment.
“You can’t just cancel!” Theresa wiped water from her mouth as she spoke to Chance.
"Mr. Chance, he'll be here in five minutes!" said Theresa still holding the bottle of water in her mouth.
"Find a way. Make it happen!"
With that Chance left the room, went into his office and closed the door.
"What do I do now?" asked Julie.
"Well, call him, I guess," said Theresa as she wiped the liquid from her desk.
Three times Julie called his number, and three times there was no answer. She thought about leaving a message but knew if she tried to lie she would stammer over the phone. She went to his office and knocked on the door.
“Mr. Chance?”
Chance quickly opened the door. He partially opened it and wedged himself in the doorway. Out of curiosity, Julie extended her neck to look around him and into the room.
"Julie!" he barked.
"Sorry," said Julie.
The Dark Lord of Oklahoma Page 5