We dismounted our bikes several feet away from the main door. “You two stay here,” I told them. “I’ll go in.”
“Fine by me,” Rob replied.
Sam just had a look of concern on her face. I knew she was worried about what type of interaction I might get inside the station. The cops around our parts weren’t the nicest group of individuals you could find on a regular basis. Look at Chief Mays, for example. He might’ve been the worst out of the whole bunch!
I took a deep breath in and headed toward the entrance.
“Hewey, wait!” Sam whispered loudly. “What’re you gonna say?”
“Not sure yet.” I shrugged.
I knew not having a plan wasn’t necessarily the wisest move in the world, but every time I didn’t have one, things basically worked out for me anyway. I figured in that instance, it wasn’t bound to be any different.
I walked into the station and took a quick glance around the open area. The rectangular reception desk was a good ten feet away from the entrance and surrounded by drab-looking off-white walls.
I always thought police stations had a certain air about them that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I never had any reason to step inside this one other than when I accompanied Dad to pay a visit to his friend, Joe, on several occasions. I did go on a tour to the other station in Forestville a few miles down with my seventh-grade class. Back then, I thought cops were pretty cool—that is, until I started puberty. Or maybe it was when I started getting in trouble with the guys and my mom threatened to call Joe and have me locked up for good. One time, she actually convinced Dad to have Joe stop by after work and when he showed up, he gave me a lecture I wasn’t listening much to and pretty much threatened me in a polite manner.
I sauntered over to the receptionist desk where a rather lanky officer was seated. He was staring at his computer screen, then he looked up and his eyes locked on mine.
“Can I help you?” he asked monotonically.
I was shocked that he said anything. Even so, I couldn’t help but notice that dead stare in his eyes.
“I’m here to report a murder...a death...at number 21 Rosemore Lane,” I said.
The lady’s name is Mrs. Christie—Johnette Christie.”
He kept looking at me.
“Maybe if you can also reach her husband to let him know what happened… He works out of town somewhere, but I have no idea where. I guess you can pull that info up on your computer somehow, huh?”
The guy seemed to be looking straight through me.
“Uh, hello…” I waved.
He started keying something into his computer. Maybe he understood what I was saying—at least, I hoped he did.
I saw cops walking back and forth mainly in the area behind his desk. All of them seemed to be in a daze and I wondered how they managed to function like that. Maybe it was an innate instinct for cops to be able to function even in such a state. My folks obviously didn’t have that same instinct and neither did anyone else I’d come across lately who were under that spell.
The guy finished typing then I thought he fell asleep with his eyes wide open. He was sitting and staring at the computer screen like he was when I’d first walked in.
“Sir, did you understand what I said?” I glanced down at his computer, but knew I wouldn’t have been able to see anything since the screen was facing him and not me. He seemed to just completely blank out now. What about all that kind stuff I said about cops having that innate capacity to function even in a zombielike state? Anyway, I was about to leave when I noticed something far at the back of the room.
It was a Pit Bull dressed in the type of uniform Chief Mays wore. Mays was stationed at that location, so I wondered where the heck he was—until I saw him emerge from a side door in a typical sergeant’s attire. Stunned, I realized I needed to get the hell out of there. On the way, I’d thought that if, by chance, those cops were normal, I could’ve filled them in on what was going on and they could’ve somehow taken care of it. But that hope was crushed the minute I walked in.
The finely dressed Pit Bull was heading my way and I was careful to lower my head and not make eye contact even from that distance.
“I guess that’s it then,” I said to the guy sitting in front of me and I did a one hundred and eighty degree turn, then calmly walked out of the station.
I arched my eyebrows, hinting to the guys that we should leave like NOW. Good thing they were paying attention and we all quickly hopped on our bikes and started down the street.
“Hewey!” Sam cried behind me after we left.
“I’ll tell you about it later. Let’s just go!”
We were riding for a couple of minutes when I heard Rob say, “Gotta stop for something to drink. I’m thirsty!”
I slowed down, and Sam and Rob pulled up next to me.
“Stop for something to drink where?” I asked him.
The diner over there! I have money,” he replied.
“Can’t it wait ‘til we get back to the spot?” I frowned.
“Unless you want me to fall out on this bike, I’d be better off getting that drink now.”
“Let’s make it quick then.” I led the way across the two-lane street over to an empty parking space in front of the diner.
Fredricka’s Diner was a local hotspot that was around for decades. Three generations of Forresters ran the place and kept it from looking run-down. It wasn’t a large place, but was fairly cozy inside. The roof had bright red fish scale shingles and the wide fluorescent green overhang had a plastic, animated look to it. My parents actually weren’t ashamed to tell me that they spent their first date at Fredricka’s. Back then, they said it attracted a lot of teenagers and even had a live band several nights per week. Now, it was just a plain, old diner where waitresses ranged from the ages of nineteen to ninety. Yep—Grandma Jane was still as active as ever making sure the customers were happy. I hoped that one day when I grew up, I’d have a successful business and if I were lucky enough to have kids, they’d be interested enough to keep it going long after I passed on—just like the Forresters did theirs.
“Are y’all coming inside with me?” Rob asked.
“All of us can’t go in and I’m not so sure we should,” I said. “Besides, someone has to stay here with the bikes.”
“I’ll stay,” Sam volunteered. “Not sure I wanna go in there anyway.”
As always, I gave Rob a brief lecture on being cool and blending in as much as possible with everyone else. The windows of the diner were tinted, so we had no idea how many people were inside.
Eager to get that drink and knowing Rob—possibly a muffin while he’s there—he opened the door and stepped inside. I followed.
What I saw almost caused me to blow my cover, hop on my bike and get as far away from that place as quickly as I could.
I nudged Rob because I sensed his struggles too, but as terrified as I knew he was, he really surprised me.
Inside the deli was a row of about ten tables and the accompanying seats located on the same side as the door. Another shorter row of tables and chairs was in the center of the room and yet another on the opposite side of the space. At the right of the door, about forty feet or so down was the large kitchen separated only by a long steel counter. And next to that was a commercial cooler filled with a variety of drinks. Dale Forrester’s cashing booth was nearby. Dale was a former prom queen who graduated from our school the year before. I always had the hots for her, but she never seemed to notice. Guess Jase was more her type.
What startled me was that the tables were occupied by various breeds of dogs and the Forresters and their hired help were waiting the tables as if there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary going on in front of them.
“I want a milkshake!” A little puppy told one of the two adult dogs at the third table from the entrance.
“Certainly, dear!” a female mutt dressed in a lovely purple sequence pants outfit heartily replied.
Grandma Jane appeared a minute later with the chocolate milkshake. She said nothing and her wrinkled face seemed lifeless.
The deli was pretty noisy due to the many conversations going on at the tables and the good thing is that no one seemed to pay much attention to Rob and me even though there were no other human patrons in there. Everything inside of me screamed to forget Rob’s stupid drink and get out of there at once. But yeah, like I said, Rob surprised me. He still went over to the cooler, picked up a ginger ale and walked right up to Dale Forrester. On a low, decorative stand next to Dale’s desk was about a dozen blueberry and banana muffins and what do you know? – Rob picked up three. Inwardly, I shook my head. That guy sometimes really got on my nerves. Even in a life or death situation or one that meant sanity or insanity, he couldn’t seem to control himself. The whole time I stood near the door with my head lowered and only glanced up occasionally to see what Rob was doing.
When he was done and heading back my way, I started toward the door.
“Hello…” I heard someone say. Reluctantly, I looked back. My heart was in my mouth as I considered the grim possibility that we’d been found out and that might’ve been the end of the line for Rob and me. I thought about how close I was to the door and that there was a good chance I might not be so unlucky and could escape. But then I thought of Rob and the possibility that he might not be as fortunate since he was about a good five feet behind me. Any of those dogs could’ve easily gotten to him before they got to me.
“Your change...” Dale said to Rob, who I knew breathed an inner sigh of relief.
In no time, we were out of there and I don’t remember us saying anything to Sam until we were way down the street.
9
_________________
“You numbskull!” I blasted Rob when we turned the bend where the distillery was.
“What did I do?” he asked as we all hopped off our bikes.
“You actually couldn’t leave the muffins, could you?”
“I’m hungry. Why couldn’t I get some?”
“Muffins, guys?” Sam intervened. “You’re really bickering over muffins? We have more serious things to think about.”
“I wish you’d get that into his thick skull!” I barked.
“They’re not all for me,” Rob said. “I bought one for each of us.”
After that I felt bad, realizing he didn’t take the risk just for himself, but for us too. I still wished he wouldn’t have, but it was water under the bridge now.
“Let’s just go inside, okay?” I started wheeling my bike towards the back door.
Stepping inside that diner was more terrifying for me, by far, than being at the police station. The dogs had pretty much taken over the place and although they acted like humans, I was very aware that they were still canines with extremely sharp teeth. How Rob could possibly have managed to think about his stomach in a situation like that was beyond me.
We’d come across a red and blue flyer attached to the lamppost near the distillery announcing a general meeting for the following night and that it was mandatory that everyone in our neighborhood be in attendance. The venue was one of the school campuses.
Sam had ripped the flyer off the pole and brought it inside with us.
“What do you make of this?” she asked after we sat down on the floor. “They’re really taking control of this entire town, aren’t they?”
“Seems so,” I replied.
I took that opportunity to tell the guys about how my visit to the police station went.
“It’s obvious they’re taking over on a large scale,” Rob said, afterwards. “If they’re now in law enforcement, what else can they get their hands on that’s more powerful?”
“The government,” I replied. “I have a strong feeling that’s what they ultimately want—to take over the government.”
“From the looks of things, I’d say they’ve already infiltrated,” Sam chimed in. “Why don’t we just get on our bikes and roll on outta here?”
Rob shook his head. “We’d need a car for that—the bikes won’t do.”
“We can take the boat!” Sam suggested. “Before you know it, we’ll be clear across the lake to Crescent.”
“Too risky,” I said.
“But it’s right there!” Rob indicated. “I think we should take the chance. Suppose the people there are not under this crazy spell?”
I knew he had a valid point, but I also considered the possible flip side of that equation. I leaned forward. “Listen to me, guys. I feel like taking off in the dinghy should be a last resort if we can’t find out more about what’s going on while we’re here. The reason I say that is: number one—we could easily be spotted in the lake. And what if they—the dogs—decide to come after us? There’s no guarantee we’d get away. Number two: What if we actually took that chance and got away only to find out that Crescent is in the exact same situation that we’re in now? What’re we gonna do? Stay over there and try to find somewhere to hide out? Whereas if we stay here, at least we’ve got this place. And if we decide to come back since we do have this place, who’s to say they won’t nab us even before we get ashore? It’s too risky guys. Just too risky.”
“I see what you mean,” Sam replied.
“Me too.” Rob sighed. Moments later, he said, “But what if we managed to get over there without being spotted and the people there are normal?”
Sam cleared her throat. “That’s a possibility, Rob, but Hewey painted a picture for us that it’s just too risky to take the chance...and I tend to agree.”
Rob looked a little disappointed. He did always have an adventurous side to him—we all did. That’s part of the reason we’d been hanging out together for so long.
“Let’s keep the lake as a last resort, okay, bud, considering the dinghy’s still there?” I said.
“Okay.” He nodded. “We could’ve taken one of our folks’ cars if any of us knew how to drive. So, that’s out of the question.”
Mom had been behind me for months to take the time out of my busy schedule with friends to let Dad teach me how to drive. I didn’t see the rush and kept putting it off for later. I surely lived to regret that one. Rob was right—taking a car might’ve been a breeze if one of us were able to drive it.
“Let’s just focus on finding out what’s really going on around here, so that if we’re able to get outside help, they won’t be clueless as to how to handle it,” I said. “The more information we can gather, the better.”
They were both in agreement.
Rob got up and sat on the bench in front of the window. “What about Mrs. Christie?” he said. “Do you think they’re gonna leave her body in there?”
“Hope not.” I sighed.
I’d told them how the officer didn’t appear to be completely clueless when I first arrived at the police station, but how he was totally clueless after the first minute or so.
“Poor Mrs. Christie,” Sam cried. “I wonder who did that to her.”
“Probably her boyfriend,” Rob said.
“You think?” I grimaced. “Why would Willie Reid want to kill her though?”
Sam got up and slowly walked over to one of the windows on the eastern side of the room. “Well, maybe he and Mrs. Christie had a falling out and she threatened to tell his partner all about their steamy love affair. That sort of drama happens all the time,” she said.
“Which means she’d be exposing herself,” I quickly pointed out. “She’s married, remember? So, that doesn’t make too much sense. Besides, do you really think anybody around here who’s literally spaced out twenty-four-seven has the capacity to plan a murder? I highly doubt that.”
“You
did say the cop seemed to give you at least five seconds of attention,” Sam noted. “So, it isn’t too far-fetched to think someone who had it in for Mrs. Christie had the presence of mind for a short while to decide they’re going to knock her off.”
“Maybe the husband snuck home after hearing rumors and did the deed himself,” Rob suggested.
“You mean, you think he drove on in here and acted normally and wasn’t hypnotized by those dogs?” I proposed.
“I think you have a point,” said Rob. “I don’t suppose it would’ve been as easy as that.”
The debate concerning possible suspects connected to Mrs. Christie’s death continued for a while longer, then we left it alone and grabbed something to eat. The muffin Rob had bought literally melted in my mouth and went perfectly with the other junk food I’d selected from his backpack.
“So back to the subject…” Sam had a little peanut butter at the corner of her lips. I pointed it out to her.
“What subject?” Rob asked her.
“This so-called general meeting. Should we go?”
“Definitely!” I replied. “It would be interesting to see what it’s all about. Maybe we’d get some of the answers we’re looking for.”
“I hope so,” Sam said. “Don’t know how long we’ll be able to hide out here. No power, no light—nothing except for a couple of search lights, cockroaches and lizards crawling about at night, and God knows what else! Not the most ideal situation to be in.”
You would’ve thought Sam wasn’t used to this old place. We all were. Roaches and lizards showed up in the daytime too, so it was no big deal, at least for me.
“We gotta do what we gotta do,” I said. “Would you trust going home and staying in that house with your folks right now?”
“I wouldn’t!” Rob commented. “I’d have to sleep with one eye open ‘cause I don’t know what those people are capable of. As far as I’m concerned, they’re not my folks. I don’t know where my folks are.”
It sounded so strange the way he said it, but I knew what he meant.
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