Clifton Falls

by L A Taylor

  A tiny tear rolled down the sergeant’s left cheek, but the stunned onlookers never noticed. He’d surely lose his macho image if they did. Another minute went by before Wayne released the embrace. He gave Jason a serious smile to indicate he wouldn’t let him down.

  The nurses walked over to the two men. Wayne apologised to Katrina for his disagreement while the second nurse regained the role of wheelchair pusher.

  “We’ll take Jason down to the isolation unit, but you guys will have to remain here until we’ve done some tests on him.”

  Wayne watched as the injured constable was pushed away. Jason stared bleakly ahead, tears dropping from his eyes as he now ignored the other people.

  Wayne wasn’t taking any chances. He told Doug to give a blood sample before returning to the station to let Mike know what was going on, but he would remain with Jason.

  “You’re kidding me about the blood test, right?” Doug said.

  “What’s up, Doug, are you scared of a little needle?”

  “No, of course not, why’d you say that?”

  “Nothing, just wondering that’s all.” Wayne smiled.

  Blood samples were becoming more popular than a cheeseburger, Wayne thought, as the men waited for a nurse to see Doug.

  The room they were now in reminded Doug of his childhood. He was ten when he last had a test done. He remembered fainting back then. The nurse entered, and his face turned pale.

  “What’s up with you?” Wayne said. “I thought you liked pricks in you.”

  “Fuck off.” Doug was finding this moment hard to digest. “This isn’t funny, man, I just don’t like needles. There, I said it, are you happy now?”

  “You’ll be okay.”

  Doug moved closer to the nurse, but stalled. Wayne watched him closely, eagerly waiting for his fellow officer to let the nurse do her job. A step closer, then another, but Doug couldn’t maintain it. All of a sudden he was gone, fainting right next to the nurse. Wayne should’ve taken this more seriously than he did, but this was a great escape for him. It was the escape he needed, and sorrowful thoughts about Jason had been erased for this short spell of time. He laughed. Doug returned to his feet, apologizing for the recent collapse.

  “It’s cool,” the nurse said. “You’re not the only person who does it.”

  The officer felt less embarrassed now and finally plucked up the courage to get the test done. He sat down to let the nurse do her job. Wayne watched the many facial expressions Doug showed, but was glad that the officer never fainted again.

  He clapped after the nurse placed a band aid over the needle’s entry point.

  “Well done you,” Wayne said with a smile.

  It was now time for Doug to leave so Wayne followed him outside, said farewell, and then phoned Jason’s parents.

  Donald listened to what the sergeant told him, but the mystery of his son being put into quarantine troubled him. However, Wayne managed to put the older man’s mind at ease on that. “The room was no ordinary room because it had a thick, glass wall that separated the patient from the visitors. To communicate you used a phone. It was as simple as that.”

  Wayne finished off the conversation by mentioning that no one was allowed to visit at this time, but he’d be in touch when he’d more details.

  His next mission was to find the coffee machine. If he was to remain there for some time then he’d better stay awake. After finding the machine and inserting some change, Wayne punched in the required information and waited for the plastic cup to fill. He then grabbed it and sat next to some magazines. He wasn’t much of a reader, but what else was there for him to do? He now laughed to himself as he caught up on the latest gossip pages. The usual rubbish stories were printed, like alien sightings in a shopping centre, six-legged animals, and a woman who gave birth to thirty children, but was pleased that there was no story about a zombie attack occurring in a small farming town.

  Two hours had drifted by before he knew it. He was so wrapped up in reading that he forgot about what was going on all around him. He sat spaced out. It was the best two hours since Tuesday, but he snapped out of this relaxed feeling when Katrina came over. “So, you’re still here,” she said.

  “I’m staying for my friend. How’s he doing?”

  “He’s comfortable. The wound’s been cleaned and redressed, and he’s been asking for you.”

  “Can I see him?”

  “Yes you can. He keeps freaking out, cursing at everyone he sees, but seems to be okay when you’re around.”

  Wayne couldn’t stop himself from diving into the nurse’s eyes. She was like a magnet and he was a paper clip, the attraction couldn’t be avoided. She’d caught him at a bad time and he wasn’t quite in sergeant mode yet.

  “I must have the touch,” he said with a cheeky grin.

  Katrina used her charms on him, but was he strong enough to break free of them? “Really, maybe one day you could show me that touch?”

  “You never know, you might get lucky, one day.”

  They smiled at each other, but Wayne knew she was only flirting. It was her way of communicating with the opposite sex, so he flirted back.

  Katrina led him down to the room, but they remained quiet throughout the short journey. Perhaps they were embarrassed by what’d been said a few moments earlier. Once outside, Katrina said farewell and headed back to work.

  Wayne entered the isolation room, sat in a chair and picked up the communication device. Jason was sitting upright in the bed. The colour of his skin was now a mustard-yellow, but the pain shooting through his body had lessened. He felt able to talk, and so waited for Wayne to speak. Wayne tried being as sympathetic as he could, but what could he say to cheer Jason up?

  “Look, mate, I’m here if you need me. You do know that don’t you?”

  “I know. You’re the only one I can really talk to. You’re a great sergeant, a friend, and I wouldn’t have wished to work with anyone else.”

  Wayne smiled, as the famous words flattered him, but knew that most of the waffle coming out of Jason’s mouth had something to do with the drugs being pumped into him.

  “Stop it. You’re giving me a big head.”

  “I…just…want…to…say…thanks,” Jason said, as his words were slowly released.

  “For what...?”

  “For being here now, for…everything…man, you know.” A slight pause was needed before Jason finished his sentence. “Everything...”

  Wayne felt extremely emotional but wasn’t going to let this speech get to him. Jason needed him to be strong for the both of them. “Do you want me to do anything for you, like fetch anything?”

  “No man. Could you tell… my… parents… to… come… see… me, and bring me some clothes?” Jason shook as he spoke, but it didn’t stop him from finishing the sentence.

  “I’ll...need...to...get...changed...for...when...I...get...out...of here.”

  “Will do - I’ve got to get back to work now but if you need me, call me. I’ll tell your folks.”

  “I definitely will. You...get...back...to...work...before Mike sacks you.

  Wayne got up, gave the ‘thumbs up’ sign and headed back out the door. He had to get out of there because he couldn’t listen to the other man going on about getting out, when he knew better. It was too upsetting to stomach.

  He walked outside, re-phoned Donald and told him the news. After that he left the hospital to carry on with his job.

  TWENTY-TWO

  Mike received an important phone call from the lab. The testing process was still underway, but already there were signs that the fertilizer sample suffocated all thoughts of any good news. He waited for the final results to be emailed over to the station, but now looked deeply troubled, and the other people in the room noticed it. “Right, I want you two to go to the factory manager’s house.”

  “What are we going there for?” Craig replied.

  “I want all the fertilizer sacks confiscated from his factory and then I want you
to bring him in for questioning.”

  The chief popped another headache tablet into his mouth as Doug and Craig left his office again. He then turned to Wayne. “How’s Jason doing?”

  “He appears to be okay. His parents are visiting him.” Wayne needed to know what’d been said on the phone to worry Mike so much. “What did the lab say?”

  “We may’ve laughed about the fertilizer, but the boys from the lab found some strange shit inside it.” Mike scrunched up his lips before puffing out his cheeks. “I’m waiting for the final results of the test but if Blake’s story is true, then we could well be in serious danger.”

  Wayne knew this upset Mike, but couldn’t work out why the fertilizer would be a future problem. “In what way?” he asked.

  Mike began to rant about all the possible reasons to why the fertilizer could cause serious problems. Wayne sat and listened to him talk about the bank manager with the garden, fact, his mother woke up because of the fertilizer, fact, the fields at the factory had been sprayed with the stuff, fact, the freaky weather condition that mysteriously washed all the fertilizer away, fact. Even though Mike laid out all the facts, Wayne knew they were just coincidences, or thought he knew.

  “I know what you’re saying, but it’s all over now.”

  The tension on Mike’s face was close to erupting so whatever he had to say next obviously troubled him a great deal. “Or is it? What would happen if the fertilizer made its way to the cemetery?”

  Wayne hadn’t thought of that and didn’t want to think that this could well be the actual event. Mike became very believable with his assumptions so Wayne became horrified and worried. “It couldn’t spread that far,” he replied.

  “I don’t know for sure, but I really don’t fancy taking any chances. If we find out this stuff is causing the problem then I want everyone from the holiday village evacuated until further notice.”

  “Let’s not be so hasty.”

  Not so long ago Wayne was the ‘tell the world’ man, but now he was trying to stop his chief from thinking the same thing. Mike calmed down slightly, but everything he said would be looked into.

  Karen opened the front door to two visitors. “Hello officers, can I help you?” she asked, anxious in case they wanted her to identify the bodies of her boss and his wife.

  “Is Blake in?” Doug replied.

  After her husband’s name was mentioned, all thoughts on her being the intended target faded into the distance.

  “Yes he is. Why? What has he done now?”

  The officers entered the house and Blake shot up out of his seat when they entered the living room. “All right chaps. What appears to be the problem? Have I upset the chief?” he asked, inwardly worried that they were going to arrest him for making disturbing phone calls.

  “We need to confiscate all the fertilizer that you’ve stored,” Craig said.

  Blake’s eyes lit up because the conversation became extremely interesting.

  “Hold on, are you telling me that my fertilizer’s infected?”

  “We don’t know, Mike just told us to see you. He needs a word after we’ve loaded the bags.”

  Blake kissed his wife on the cheek, grabbed his coat and began to leave with the other men, but Karen reached out to give him a hug. She was pleased that his theory was at last being investigated. Blake hugged her back, but hoped that she would trust him more when another crazy idea escalated inside his mixed-up head.

  The police car pulled up outside the factory gates at 5.30pm, as staff members clocked off for the evening. Todd remained to finish off the daily paperwork. The three men exited the vehicle and walked inside the building.

  “Hey, Blake, what are you doing here? I thought you were spending some time with your wife?” Todd shouted, moving closer to the others.

  Blake glanced around the area, checking to make sure there wasn’t anybody else hanging about. There wasn’t. He then explained to Todd the situation with the fertilizer. Todd wasn’t sure where this conversation would lead, but never questioned it because the two officers were proof that something wasn’t quite right. Blake wanted to tell him something, but knew he had to keep quiet.

  He would find out the reason soon enough, Blake thought.

  “I’ll give you a hand shifting the stock.”

  “Cheers mate,” Blake replied.

  Craig informed Todd that he mustn’t mention to anyone where the fertilizer had gone to. Todd had no choice but to agree. Whatever went on was way too big for him to be involved in, and if Blake was in on it then he would help.

  A large van arrived on the scene as everyone walked over to the storage hut. Craig gave his partner a sorrowful stare as he remembered what’d happened at the Smythes house. Doug sent back a praying gulp before putting on protective gloves. Everyone got busy as soon as the vehicle backed up.

  Another twenty minutes flashed by before they were ready to leave the site. Blake shook Todd’s hand, thanking him again before being accompanied to the police station by the officers. Once back at the station, the fertilizer was deposited inside the police storage the warehouse. Blake was then escorted into Mike’s office.

  “All right, Blake, we meet again. Take a seat.” Blake hadn’t a clue on what the chief was going to say or do to him. “Why don’t you two go home, get some rest while it’s quiet,” Mike said to the officers. “I’ll keep you informed of the night’s progress as it happens.”

  “What about you? You need to rest as well, chief,” Doug said.

  Mike gave a, ‘God, if only I could’, smile. “I’ll grab a nap in here when I can. I’ll speak to you soon.”

  Both officers turned around and escaped the building. Mike now had Blake at his mercy and was ready with a list of questions.

  “Do you know why you’re here?”

  “It’s got something to do with the fertilizer that I got from the city.”

  “Yes, that’s right.” He did the walking while talking thing again. “I want to know who your contacts are. I need to speak to these people. I’m not overly convinced that the fertilizer is dangerous to the public but I’ve opened an investigation based on what you told me and what’s been found inside the stuff.”

  Blake’s curiosity was knocked for six after finding out that the fertilizer did have some strange ingredients inside it, but this wasn’t enough proof to accuse his stock of the murders. “My supplier lives in the city. I’ll phone him and get the number of the scientist who invented the stuff.”

  Mike nearly fell over from a slight intake of shock after listening to what the other man said. “Hold it right there.” He pointed a finger at Blake. “Let’s just rewind the conversation a touch. You said some scientist made the fertilizer.”

  Blake explained the facts all over again, making sure Mike understood why he’d phoned about the fertilizer, and it wasn’t because it smelt a bit funny. Mike listened to the story of what the fertilizer could do in regards to helping the farming industry, but still wasn’t any wiser on why the stuff could harm the people in this town. “Do you know what ingredients are in it?” the chief kindly asked.

  “No, but I’m sure I’ll find out for you.” Blake dialled his supplier while Mike watched closely. After a minute or so of talking, Blake wrote information down onto scrap paper and the phone was replaced. Mike waited to hear the outcome. “I have the number of the laboratory where the stuff was made. The scientist’s name is Mr West.”

  Mike’s curiosity overtook him and he seemed very keen to speak to the mystery man. “Go on, what are you waiting for? Get dialling,” he urged Blake.

  Blake had done his bit by retrieving the number, so surely it was down to the police to do the rest. He refused to make the call, forcing the chief to take over. Three rings later and a voice responded on the other end. “Good evening, this is Doctor Shane West speaking. How may I help you?”

  “Hi there, this is Chief Inspector Mike O’Sullivan. I’m phoning from Clifton Falls Police Department. We’ve a very serious problem
down here and I think you can help sort it.”

  “I’m sorry, Inspector, but how am I going to help you?”

  “I have Blake Taylor with me. He received a delivery of fertilizer the other day and it was tested at your lab. I need to know what you mixed it with?” Mike kept his composure in order during the chat. He’d no idea on what was inside the bags so there was no need for any stress. “And I need to know now.”

  The “now” bit did not impress Shane. “Blake, did you say?”

  “Yes.”

  “If my memory serves me right he did receive a batch of the new stuff. It was delivered straight from the testing site. I’m still waiting to hear from him. I need to know if it works before I make some more to be despatched.”

  This guy was something else, thought Mike.

  While Shane focused on his wonderful fertilizer, people close to Mike were dying or had died. He was beginning to feel annoyed, not by what this guy said, but because of what he might’ve made happen. He kept it together, but insisted on a list of all the ingredients inside the fertilizer. He needed it now, and delivered by hand.

  “You’re having a laugh, you’re miles away,” the scientist cried out. Those weren’t the words the chief required, but before he could counter attack with his own, the scientist spoke again. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll come down when my schedule isn’t so hectic. I’ll try my best to see you tomorrow.”

  Mike sensed a challenge emerging and knew he would have to be more demanding to receive the other guy’s attention. It was now time for the threatening approach.

  “Listen up buddy. I don’t know you, but I really don’t fucking like you. If you don’t get your arse here tonight then I’ll go to you with my truncheon and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. Are you hearing me now?” Mike needed to take a well deserved breath before his face turned purple. “We’ve got a major situation developing here and we need your assistance.”