Sylvia didn't try to argue, she simply brushed a few bugs and ceiling chunks aside with her foot and sat. Moments later, she felt Bill lean against her. Her brother did the binding himself this time, wrapping the wire through the ties first and then in a figure eight around their wrists. The wire was thick and heavy, and its rusting metal dug into the soft skin of her wrists. Still she made no cry or movement.
At that point, Strawberries left them. He went to the back room again, but this time didn't return, and then Sylvia heard the door opening and then forcefully being shut. In between, Sylvia could hear the gentle waves of the lake for just a brief second. He had gone outside.
Sylvia scanned the room, but there simply was nothing that could help them. Other than the assimilated couch, the only thing in the room was some old fishing poles on a wooden rack in the corner, but they appeared just as brittle as the house itself.
Her cell phone was in her front pocket, but there was no getting to that. Her parents were going to be of no use. She tried to get their attention, but their minds were so fogged that her words weren't making it through to them.
She hooked a finger around one of Bill's. It was the only contact that she could manage. It took her a little time, but eventually, she settled into her fate just like the others.
She would wait and see.
FIFTY
Climbing back into the Hummer proved difficult. His knee still sung its painful song, and with his shoulder the way it was, pulling himself up into the driver's seat felt like his arm was being ripped from him. When he was finally seated, Harry reached over to where he had left his cell phone, and then dialed Jasper's number.
“Harry, it's great to hear from you, but we need to talk about…”
“Just shut up, Jasper, and listen. We found him. He's in Pleasure, Wisconsin. Send all the men that you have. He has his family held captive. And…” Harry trailed off.
Jasper waited for more, but none came.
“And what, Harry?”
“And, she's dead. Love is dead. He killed her. Send the men, Jasper. Just send the men.”
“OK, Harry, but you sit tight. You hear? You have no autho…”
Harry hung up.
He put the key into the ignition and turned. The Hummer rumbled to action. He would find someone in town. Someone would know where the bastard would have taken them.
Someone had to know.
The blood coming from his shoulder was thicker now, his tourniquet failing.
Whatever, Old Man. Your life means shit. Just hold it together until you can save that family.
He drove from block to block, desperately seeking a place where the locals may congregate. Finally, on Weeping Willow Boulevard, he found what appeared to be the central hub of the town. It was a typical small town main street, lined with mercantile and antique shops. There was a dentist office, but that appeared closed. Further down, he found his best shot. There was a general store on the end of the street, and it was the only location that had any cars parked outside.
Harry didn't bother to actually park the Hummer, but instead just pulled it to the side of the street opposite the store, and left it there running.
When he hopped down to the ground, his body failed to hold him up, and he hit the asphalt. His blood splashed against the white lines of the street. Several men were eyeing him through the window of the general store, but none made any attempt to come out to help.
Back on his feet, he hobbled to the store's door, and a bell rang out as he opened it. His blood was now dripping down to the linoleum floor, and all eyes were affixed to him. “Do you sell bandages? Maybe tourniquets?”
“Aisle eight has all of our medications, and what not,” the man standing at the register said, “I'll get Sam to go and get you some things, you just have a seat. Looks like you could use it.”
The man pointed to a teenage boy at his rear, and the boy ran toward the back of the store.
“Thank you,” Harry said as he allowed his aching body to spill into one of the fiberglass bucket chairs that lined the front window.
Another man, leaning against the register counter said, “I get the feeling that you aren't from around here.”
Harry laughed, and it hurt. “You're right, Sir. I'm not from here, but a murderer is. I work for the FBI. Or used to, anyway. Have you gentlemen seen the news about the Strawberries Killer?”
That caused everyone in the room to shift positions.
The boy, Sam, ran up to him then with numerous supplies in his arms. Most of it was worthless to him, but there were bandages and rags. There was also a package of generic feminine napkins. Overnights.
“Thought they would be good for stopping the blood,” the kid said.
“Shit, kid, that's smart. Help me out, would you?”
He took the kids idea and opened a couple of the pads. He pressed one to the wound on his front, and got the kid to press the other against the exit wound. A few seconds later, they had filled to capacity, but the blood had slowed. He opened two more and did the same thing again, this time using gauze to hold them to his shoulder, and then bandages to wrap it all tightly together. “Thanks kid.”
Sam nodded, then returned to his place behind the counter.
“Now that you're all bandaged up, would you mind telling us what you were saying before? Are you saying that Strawberries fella is from here?” asked the man at the register.
“Yes, and I need to find him. He's taken a family hostage, and I need to get to them before he kills again. His name was Robert Kirkman. Has anyone here ever heard of him?”
“Well the Kirkmans have been here a long time. Franklin plays dominoes here sometimes. I don't recall a Robert, though.”
Then a man to the far side of the store sat up, causing the rocking chair he sat in to creak loudly. The man's face had seen a lot of years, and he had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His voice sounded like a stone polisher. “Yeah, there was a Robert. Been gone awhile.”
“Well listen, do you have a police force in this town? I need to know where to find him, and I could use the back up.”
“You're talking to him,” the rocking chair man said. “Name's Jed. I've been the sheriff here a long damn time. I remember that kid. Weird one, he was. He was gone right around the time that… Shit. Well, that makes a whole lot of damn sense. You say Robert is this Strawberries?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then yeah, that makes a lot of damn sense.”
The man at the register said, “You thinking he was the one, all those years ago? Those red spots?”
“Yes, John, I think I am.”
Harry said, “Listen, I don't know precisely what you fellas are talking about. All I know is that I need to find him right now. Does anyone know where Robert may have gone?”
“Years ago we had an incident in our town. Never been the same since. I seem to recall that boy you want hung out around the lake a lot. If I remember right, I was sent by his father to fetch him a couple of times when he couldn't leave work,” Jed said.
“That old Thompson fishing shack is out there, if it ain't fell down yet,” said another man to Harry's left.
“Yes it is,” said Jed.
Harry interrupted, “So you think he's at this fishing shack then?”
“Nobody's been in there since old man Thompson found his horse dead inside. If what you're telling us is true, then this Strawberries character has been hurting this town for a long time. I suspect that shack would be your best place to start looking.”
“Good,” Harry got to his feet, his arm feeling a little better. “Does anyone have an address to this place?”
“There ain't no address,” said John, the man at the register. “You can't miss it though. Just take this street here right on out of town. West. Drive for five; maybe ten miles, then there will be a small road on the right that leads out to the lake. It's more of a path really, but judging by that vehicle you rode in on, I don't think you'll have any trouble getting d
own to it.”
Harry thanked them again and started for the door.
“Wait a minute, you saying that this killer is down at that place right now?”
“Yeah, John, he may be.” Harry looked over at the sheriff. “Do me a favor and try and get some police together. Maybe some from the next town, too. See if you can get someone out there to help. But I have to go now.”
“OK, I'll get you some help,” Jed said.
Harry was already out the door.
FIFTY ONE
He had the intruder tie up his parents. He didn't like this man invading their family. He had first thought that there might be a place for him, because he was told that a man needed friends. As more and more memories of his youth returned, he knew that his parents too wanted friends for him. He just could not be sure. He didn't feel as if this man wanted what he wanted.
He tied his sister and the intruder together himself. His mind clouded, and his confusion was causing him to make hasty decisions. It was not supposed to be like this. His mind was meant to be clear. He had gotten what he needed, and now the energy should be free flowing. Yet, he could not feel it. He needed to figure out what he was missing. There had to be a small piece of the puzzle that he had not yet obtained.
The suffering below his shell was rising. He felt it tickle the underside of his skin with its teeth. He needed to get to a place where he could think. To reason. He could not afford a mistake.
Looking around the house, he could see that there was nothing here that could be used to harm him, yet wasn't that the reason for coming here in the first place? As a boy, this was his only safe place. He was himself within these walls, and he knew that this was where he needed to be now. He could make a home here with his family. He knew that they would see the importance of the house, as he did, in time.
Then he went outside. The lake that he had spent so much time watching as a child was just as he remembered. The edge just a few short steps from the back door. He stood near the water, its small waves coming in close to the tips of his shoes, but then receding back as if playing a game of tag. He took several more steps inward, and his shoes sank into the muddy bank, the waves now splashed against him, making that sound that always seemed to sooth him before. He needed its grace now.
A few more steps in and the clear water covered his lower legs. The green algae and minnows that wrapped themselves around his legs mocked his agony. The spasms in his arms were not washed away by the lake, as they once had been. Looking down, he caught his distorted reflection in brief ticks. He held out his hands to view the damage that had rotted his arms. The pulsating of his torn skin wasn't the first thing he saw, however. In his left hand, he was still holding the grip of the gun that he had stolen.
He remembered the woman he had taken the pistol from, and he hated her for giving it up to him. He loathed the device, and suddenly realized that the weapon may be blocking his access to the energy that was surely waiting for him.
He reached back and threw it out into the lake. His arm bellowed its taunting burn, but he was still able to get some good distance with his throw. The splash was a large one; the weight coming from his own pain as much as the metal in the gun's construction.
He then sat down, the water now covering his legs and flowing around his midsection. Unburdened of the infernal device, he could center his mind. Soon, he would understand his next move. He need only wait.
He was good at waiting.
FIFTY TWO
We open on a dank, musty old house on the brink of collapse. Two sets of people are tied together on the floor. One pair is our protagonist with the new man in her life. While not being able to see each other, the two can feel the other's heartbeat, and they soon begin to thump in unison; their fear shared.
SYLVIA
I decided that I love you today.
BILL
Just today?
SYLVIA
Just about an hour ago, in fact.
BILL
Well then, I win because I decided that I loved you a long time ago.
SYLVIA
I didn't realize that we were in a competition. If you knew a long time ago, why didn't you tell me?
BILL
Because I know that you're the kind of girl that needs to realize it on her own first. If I had told you, you would have freaked out and run.
SYLVIA
You're probably right. When did you decide?
BILL
When you got my name wrong.
SYLVIA
That is so ridiculous
BILL
It was that moment that I realized that I would never see you again, and it hurt a lot more than I thought it should. After that, I hounded Melissa about you, until she finally let me into your apartment that day.
Sylvia had been touching Bill's hand as best she could with her own. Her hand was now cramping hard, but she didn't want to stop feeling his skin on hers. She felt guilty for letting him come with her, but she knew that if she said it aloud, he would just call her stupid. She needed to say it anyway.
SYLVIA
I shouldn't have let you come.
BILL
Well that's stupid, why wouldn't I have come? Besides, if I wasn't here, you may not have had that revelation an hour ago.
SYLVIA
I… he's going to…
BILL
Don't. I know. He only wants the family, and I'm not part of it.
SYLVIA
I don't know what to do, Bill. What do I do?
BILL
I wish I knew. Someone will come to help. Those had to be cops back there. Maybe even feds. The man was still alive when we left. He'll call for help. We just need to hold on.
The other tied up couple were Sylvia's parents. She could hear them talking softly to each other, though she could not understand the words. Their conversation was probably much the same as hers.
SYLVIA
Hey, so what did you think about meeting my parents?
BILL
I'm not sure your dad liked me much. But, I'm pretty sure that if I got longer than twenty seconds with him, I might be able to upgrade that to general acceptance.
SYLVIA
Doubtful, Sir. My daddy doesn't think that anyone will ever be good enough for me.
BILL
Well then, we could find some common ground, because I totally agree.
SYLVIA
Oh God damn it, stop being sweet. I can't take it.
BILL
It's the unwavering charm. I can't seem to stop it.
SYLVIA
I love you.
BILL
You said that already.
SYLVIA
Fuck you. Just tell me that you love me back.
BILL
I love you back, Sylvia.
Then came the waterworks, but she did her best to make sure her sobs were inaudible. She could feel Bill squirm. His hands were probably just as cramped as her own.
BILL (CONT'D)
When I was a little kid, like, maybe four years old. I got lost in the woods for almost two days.
SYLVIA
What?
BILL
Yeah, I walked off while I was staying with my grandmother, and I guess I just never stopped walking.
SYLVIA
Where the hell did you even find woods to get lost in?
BILL
We lived in Texas until I was ten.
SYLVIA
Oh, my God. You never told me that.
BILL
We lived out in the middle of nowhere; just fields, woods, and cows. A lot of barbed wire fences too. Apparently, when they found me I had a bunch of holes in my shirt where the fences ripped the fabric as I crossed them.
SYLVIA
What possessed you to keep walking into nowhere?
BILL
How should I know? I was only four, remember? My dog George–he was a black lab–stayed with me the whole time. He lived to be eighteen years old. In
dog years, that's…a lot of years.
SYLVIA
How did they find you?
BILL
I'm told that I was sitting in a creek bed, just hanging out. I guess I got tired of walking.
SYLVIA
That is such a crazy story. I never knew that you had those kinds of things in your past.
BILL
Well, I was holding off on my stories. I figured you to be a girl that needed to be known before she was able to know someone else. And, you had no shortage of tidbits to tell me. I was just getting a kick out of finding out about you. I would have told you all about me eventually. I guess now… I guess I figured that I would just get one in, ya know?
He knew her. He really did. He had her all figured out from the start. She never would have thought that she was the way he had described, but she knew now that he was right. Had he told her all about himself early on, she would have gotten bored, and never even given him a real chance. He knew her, and now she was never going to get the chance to know him.
SYLVIA
Why did you move from Texas?
BILL
The heat.
SYLVIA
It's hot in California.
BILL
No. No, it really isn't.
Bill leaned back against her, and she did the same, allowing as much of their bodies to touch as they could.
SYLVIA
Tell me another story.
BILL
From my childhood?
Strawberries Page 23