“She ripped out her own fucking eyes! If that ain’t suicide then you’re a bigger quack than I thought!”
“The removal of her eyes was incidental to the shock or trauma that precipitated her ultimate demise. I’m looking for information relating to what happened before she tore her eyes out.”
“She was a fucking nutcase, Doc! That’s why she was taken to Ivory Rock in the first place! You just write it up as a suicide and let me close my file on this case. I can make things very difficult for you if you fuck with me on this. I got friends on the force over where you live. You won’t be able to drive your car down the street without getting a ticket for reckless driving. You walk across the street and you’ll be arrested for jaywalking. I’ll have your ass run in on any little thing that strikes my fancy. Am I making myself clear, Doctor?”
“Crystal clear.”
“Good. Now, you sign off on that report as a suicide—or else,” Bischoff said and hung up the phone.
Undertaker held the phone in his hand long enough for the operator’s voice to come on asking if he wanted to make a call. He hung up the phone, but he was livid. This case wasn’t going to end here. No small town cop was going to intimidate him into filing a false report. He’d dealt with a corrupt Chicago police force and the mob during his career. He’d never filed a false report when they’d threatened him and he sure as hell wasn’t going to start now. In fact, it only made Undertaker more determined than ever to find out what happened to that woman.
CHAPTER 16
“Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”
—James Stephens
Torrie and Ed brought home a couple of steaks, loaded baked potatoes, Caesar salads and an order of Bloomin’ Onions from the Outback Steakhouse. They had to go across the bridge to the mainland; there weren’t too many restaurant choices on Edge Key and most of those were fast food joints. They didn’t forget Archie either—both of their steaks had bones.
Torrie had completely forgotten about repeating her earlier question to Ed regarding the name that Uncle Kane was supposed to provide him with. She’d even grabbed a couple of candles to put on the dining room table to set a romantic mood. Ed hadn’t forgotten, but he didn’t want to bring it up. They were having too good of a time talking about other things—reminiscing about when they were kids, what they’d done since high school and other mundane things to reacquaint themselves with each other. Archie was enjoying their romantic dinner also because every so often, one of them would toss her a piece of steak. All that ended when the phone rang.
“Hello,” Torrie answered the phone.
“Um, I think I done dialed the wrong number. This old noodle ain’t what it used to be. I was lookin’ for my nephew, Eddie Nanreit, but you sound too pretty to be him.”
“Uncle Kane?” Torrie said.
When Ed heard that, he stopped what he was doing—holding a scrap out for Archie. Archie didn’t like the interruption and jumped about two and a half feet in the air, plucking the morsel out of Ed’s hand in the process. She also nipped his fingers, but his attention was too focused on Torrie to notice.
“That you, Torrie?” Kane said. “Well, I’ll be dipped in . . . Ah, is Eddie there?” he said, catching himself before the vulgarity escaped his lips.
“Sure, hold on,” she said and handed the phone to Ed.
“Hi, Uncle Kane. Is everything all right?” Ed said.
“Right as possible in this joint, but that ain’t sayin’ much. I remembered a name for ya. I’m not, ah, interruptin’, am I?”
“No, Uncle Kane. We were just eating dinner. What’s the name?” Ed said as he pantomimed to Torrie to hand him a pen and paper.
“I don’t know his real name, but we all just call him, Tazz—that’s short for the Tasmanian Devil. You know, like that old cartoon where that critter swirls around in a tornado destroyin’ shit. Tazz is like that cartoon character when he gets drunk, so watch out.”
“Uncle Kane,” Eddie interrupted. He didn’t have time for one of Uncle Kane’s long, drawn out stories. “This Tazz character, he lived on Edge Key back when all that stuff was going on in the sixties?” Ed didn’t bother to write down the name. He figured he could remember that name.
“Shit, ya. We been runnin’ buddies for almost as long as I can remember. I’m actually surprised I didn’t think of him earlier, but this old noodle ain’t what it used to be.”
“That’s great, Uncle Kane. Do you know where I can find him?”
“Yeah, he lives in the same alley as me. Only us old-timers can get that property. It’s a matter of respect.”
“What’s he look like, so I can find him?”
“Well, first of all, he’s one of them night-crawlers; he only comes out after dark, so you’ll have to git over there at night. When you do go, just ask around. He ain’t hard to find. Everybody knows old Tazz. Tell ‘em you’re my nephew though or they probably won’t speak to ya.”
“Thanks, Uncle Kane. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”
“Ain’t nuthin’, Eddie, especially for my favorite nephew.”
“I’m your only nephew, Uncle Kane.”
“And I’m your only uncle.”
“All that Dad would admit to anyway. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ed said and hung up the phone.
“What was all that about?” Torrie asked.
“That was Uncle Kane,” Ed said, sounding excited.
“Duh. I answered the phone.”
“Yeah, right. I found out quite a few things today,” he said and then stopped.
“Like what?”
“It involves my story. Torrie, I’ve probably already asked too much from you about things already. I don’t want to get you in any trouble and I certainly don’t want to put you in danger. It’s probably best if I just handle this myself.”
“Look,” Torrie said as she walked over, sat on his lap and put her arms around him. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m crazy about you. I didn’t realize it until I saw you again yesterday, but I think I’ve always been crazy about you. I hope this doesn’t scare you off, but I want you in my life. I want to be part of your life. I’m a big girl and I’ve taken care of my self on my own for the past twenty-plus years since my mom died. Whatever you’ve got going on with this story, or anything else in your life, if I can help in any way, I want to be there for you.”
“It’s just . . . If anything happened to you, Torrie, I could never forgive myself. The deeper I get into this investigation, the more I get this feeling that something big is going on . . . and that it’s something I need to be afraid of.”
“There’s no reason for you to ever be afraid of anything again while you’re around me. Remember what I do for a living. I can help you conquer your fears. Most fears are irrational and the only reason we’re afraid is because we don’t understand what the underlying truth is about the object of our fears. Once the truth is discovered, that ghost in the corner of your bedroom is revealed as a harmless shirt hanging off the side of a chair. But you have to turn on the light before you find that out.
“Let me help you turn on the light with your story, Eddie. I’ll show you that this boogeyman of yours is something of this world. Maybe it’ll stop those nightmares of yours in the process. What do you have to lose?”
Ed thought about what she said. What did he have to lose? Actually, she might be a big help. He was dealing with certain things where her Ph.D. in psychology might help explain or give him some insight into what was going on. Even though she wasn’t a medical doctor, she would have more knowledge about these mysterious deaths than he would. Plus, it would give him an excuse to spend more time with her. What did he have to lose?
How about her life? What if Uncle Kane is right and there is some creature hunting people? How can I protect her from that?
“Okay, if you don’t want me to help,” Torrie finally said when Ed didn’t answer, “I think you at least owe it to me to tell me what’s going on.” As
she said this, she got off his lap and stood up.
“Okay,” Ed said as he stood up and put his arms around her waist, “I’ll tell you what’s going on. I guess I owe you that much. Heck, I’ve told you most of it anyway. Earlier today, Uncle Kane told me something about Dr. Austin, Nurse Trish and the clinic before they changed the name to Ivory Rock. All this happened back in the sixties when we were growing up.
“Dr. Austin and Nurse Trish were, from what I was able to discern from Uncle Kane, involved in some kind of experiments or something with the homeless people who lived in Vagrant-ville. I’m not sure exactly what kind of experiments these were, but I think something bad happened and they were forced to stop.
“I asked Uncle Kane if he remembered anyone who’s living here now who was also living here back then, so I can, one, confirm Uncle Kane’s story and, two, try to find out some additional information about what was actually going on over there. I don’t know why, but a little voice in my head keeps telling me that there’s some connection to whatever went on at the clinic in the sixties and all these strange deaths.
“That’s why Uncle Kane called, he remembered a name—his name is, Tazz, and he lives over in Vagrant-ville. From what Uncle Kane said, he lives like a vampire—he sleeps all day and only comes out at night. I need to find this guy and talk to him.”
“Vagrant-ville isn’t like it was when you and I were growing up,” she said, looking concerned. “It’s dangerous over there at night now. We get people coming into the clinic almost on a daily basis who’ve been stabbed or slashed or had their head bashed in. I think there’ve even been a couple of murders.”
“This is my job, Torrie. I’ve done plenty of things that were a lot more dangerous.” It was a lie—the most dangerous situation he’d ever been in before was the one time he tried to interview Sean Penn when Sean was married to Madonna and almost got punched in the face—but Ed didn’t want Torrie to worry. “I need to talk to someone besides Uncle Kane who was here when all of this happened. It’s important.”
“Then if it’s so important, I’m going with you.”
“Oh, no you’re not!” he said as he removed his arms from her waist and took a step back from her. “You were the one who said it was dangerous over there. You’re a woman for Christ’s sake. I sure as heck am not going to allow you to go with me.”
“Allow me? You’re not going to allow me?! Just who in the hell do you think you are, mister?” Torrie had her hands on her hips and her face was bright red—Ed pushed the wrong button. “The way I see it, you don’t have a choice in the matter. If I want to go, then I’ll go and you can’t stop me.
“And furthermore, I know most of the people who live over there from the clinic. I’ll be a hellava lot safer over there than you, woman or not. And another thing. Do you think they’re going to talk to you—an outsider—even if you were to mention that you’re Uncle Kane’s nephew? You need me to come with you or, at best, you won’t find out squat and, at worst, you’ll end up getting a knife in the belly for being too nosey.”
Ed had spent his whole life being walked over and things weren’t going to change instantaneously. He’d tried to stand up to Torrie, he’d given it his best shot, but she was adamant on going with him and Ed didn’t know how to convince her otherwise. Ed even tried to convince himself that Torrie was right and he’d be better off if she came with him, although in his heart, he was scared to death that something might happen to her.
“Fine,” Ed finally said to her. “You can go, but we’re out of there at the first sign of trouble. No arguments, okay?” Hopefully, he could at least get this small concession from her.
“That’s a deal. I’m not crazy, after all. I’m not particularly keen on going over there at all, especially at night, but I know these people, Eddie, and you’ll not only be safer with me there, but you’ll also have a better chance of getting the information you need. I promise not to get in your way other than to make a few introductions, and I promise that I’ll be safe; I won’t take any unnecessary chances.”
That was as good as Ed was going to get from her and he knew it. They cleaned up the remnants of their dinner without discussing the matter further. Ten minutes later, they were in the car heading over to Vagrant-ville in search of a man named Tazz—if he existed.
“We should probably stop by the liquor store on the way over there,” Ed said. “It’s been my experience that street people are usually more talkative when they’ve got a little booze in them. Is there someplace on the Key that’s open?”
“I don’t think we should be encouraging anyone’s bad habits. Most of these people wouldn’t be on the streets in the first place if they could handle their alcohol, we-”
“Torrie,” Ed interrupted. “If you want to be their doctor, then I’ll drop you off at the clinic. I’m trying to gather information as expeditiously as possible and if that means bribing someone with something that might not be the best thing for them, then I’ll do it. Besides, if I didn’t give it to them, they’d figure out a way to get it on their own. You of all people should know that nobody can be helped unless they want to be helped.”
Torrie decided not to fight this battle. She’d already made Ed take her with him despite his reluctance to do so. She didn’t want to push him any further.
“There’s a convenience store on the way,” Torrie said. “They don’t have liquor, but they have beer and wine. Will that do?”
“Yeah, wine should be perfect,” Ed said. Something in the back of his mind told him that MD 20/20 was the wine of choice for street people, although he couldn’t remember why he knew this. Ed had never had a drink of MD 20/20 in his life.
Ed and Torrie pulled into a parking space in front of the drug store next to Uncle Kane’s alley after they’d stopped for supplies—four pints of MD 20/20. Ed also bought a cheap flashlight so they wouldn’t be walking around completely in the dark. The alley seemed particularly dark this evening and Ed was beginning to think better of venturing in there with Torrie at his side, but Torrie seemed to be fearless.
“Are you coming, or what?” Torrie said to him as she stood at the entrance to the alley, waiting for him. Ed hadn’t moved from the safety of the car. “This was your idea.”
Ed reluctantly joined her and they began walking down the alley. Ed’s cheap flashlight didn’t illuminate more than a few feet in front of them, but the alley seemed to be just as deserted as it was during the day when Ed had made it half-way down the alley. The smell was also just as bad. Ed grabbed Torrie around the waist, more for his own support than to help her.
“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Torrie asked.
“Uncle Kane told me that everyone knows Tazz. I just need to ask around once I find some people.”
“Well, it sure as hell doesn’t look like anyone’s around here, but, then again, who could live in this filth. God, it stinks!”
“You were the one who made me bring you with me, so-”
“Will, y’all hold it down!” came a gruff voice, seemingly from nowhere. “Some of us who live in this stinky filth are trying to get some sleep!”
Ed and Torrie looked around for the source of the voice, but it could’ve come from any of the cardboard shelters that littered the alley. The owner of the voice didn’t seem to be in a mood for conversation, so Ed and Torrie picked up their pace and made their way to the end of the alley. On this side of the alley was a small road for deliveries to the stores that lined Goldust Avenue. On the opposite side of the road was an eight foot high chain link fence separating the road from the woods. A hole was torn into the fence directly across from the alley and a path led back into the woods, but they couldn’t see where the path led to.
Ed looked at Torrie and said, “We’ve come this far. Let’s follow the path.”
“Does any of this look familiar to you from when you used to come over here as a kid?”
“To tell you the truth, no. I’m trying to remember what was back here, but it’
s like I have this mental block. Of course, I’ve blocked out so much from when I was growing up here.”
“Like seeing that body?”
“Exactly.”
“Well, maybe it’ll come back to you like the memory of seeing that body did,” Torrie said.
Ed wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing or not. Who knew what else he’d been repressing? Some things were better off not being remembered.
Ed and Torrie followed the path through the woods, which reminded Ed of something out of a ghost story. The trees seemed to be alive and shadows were moving all around him. He told himself that it was just his imagination working overtime until he saw something through the trees that looked like two yellow eyes staring back at him.
“D-Do you see that up ahead, Torrie?”
“Yeah. I think I hear something up there too. Let’s keep going.”
It only took a couple of yards before Ed heard whatever Torrie had heard. The eyes had changed also. They weren’t eyes at all. There was a large campfire burning ahead that only appeared to be eyes through the underbrush. As they continued towards the campfire, Ed realized that the noise they were hearing was voices.
The closer they got to the campfire, the more cautious they got—even Torrie. Unfortunately, it was dark and Torrie tripped on a root. It didn’t make a lot of noise, but it made enough to alert the people around the campfire to their presence.
“Who’s there?!” someone yelled in Torrie and Ed’s direction.
Ed thought about making a break for it, he might’ve even done it if Torrie hadn’t been with him. Instead, he revealed himself from the shadows. “Hi. I didn’t mean to startle anyone.” Torrie was still hidden back in the shadows of the trees.
“I think you’re in the wrong place, boy,” said a rather large and hairy man as he stood up from the stump he’d been sitting on and started walking towards Ed. The man was about six foot four and looked like he weighed about two-eighty. He also looked dangerous.
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