by Aiden James
They argued about what to do next; whether to dig a hole someplace else or to make due with the one they had. With Zachariah rapidly loosing his nerve, Billy Ray made the decision to bury the body here in this spot, stating that no one in the community would come looking for Allie Mae before sunrise.
They retrieved her corpse and carried it to the hole, picking up her shoes and other clothing as well as the remaining stems from the strewn bouquet. They placed the corpse and everything else inside the hole and began covering it all with dirt. Zachariah noticed something glistening in the dirt, near the hole’s edge. He reached down and picked it up, and as it glistened in the lantern’s glow, Billy Ray snatched it from his grasp.
“Well I’ll be fucked!” he declared, examining the oval object in his hand.
David drew as close as he could to see what he held. The precious stone, a sapphire, appeared polished, though covered in a film from many years under the earth’s surface.
“‘Anythin’ else in there?”
Billy Ray dropped to his knees and dug his hands around the body while Zachariah stood by, grimacing. He pushed aside the body, throwing its limbs back as his fingers probed the soil. He soon recovered a handful of other non-faceted gems: a deeper purple stone, another green and red, and one with a yellowish tint that David guessed to be either topaz, or the off-color diamonds the region known for. Billy Ray lifted the corpse up and shook it, perhaps thinking the jewels were Allie Mae’s and had been hidden in her garments, but only trickled blood fell from the body that had grown cold and stiff since her death.
He tossed her aside and dug his hands even deeper, recovering several more gemstones. When at last he could find nothing else, he stood up.
“We ain’t got time to look for more tonight,” he said, after placing the gems inside his trousers’ front pocket. “‘Looks like we might’ve found ourselves some treasure!”
He picked up the corpse and threw it back down in the hole, Allie Mae’s limbs twisted grotesquely. Zachariah grimaced after seeing her mutilated face in the lantern’s glow again.
“So are ya just goin’ to leave her here?” he asked sadly, his eyes swollen from tears.
“Yep. But not like this,” replied Billy Ray. “Lay yer shovel down and come with me.”
They moved back to where the bench sat. With tremendous strain, the two lifted the immense stone slab and carried it back to the hole. Billy Ray’s strength amazed David, since it appeared the slab weighed upward of three hundred pounds and Zachariah provided little help in sharing the burden as they moved it back into the woods. When they arrived at the hole, Billy Ray guided his brother in positioning the slab directly over its original spot. Then they dropped it, crushing the corpse beneath.
Zachariah looked down at the slab that now completely obscured his love. His body shook until it appeared he might collapse again, but Billy Ray grabbed him and turned his attention back to the ravine.
“We need to clean this place up and make it look like it did before we was here tonight,” he advised, moving back to the small boulders that recently supported the stone bench.
He picked up one of the boulders and told Zachariah to gather up the rest of the flower stems and any clothing shreds he could find. But Zachariah wouldn’t help him anymore, his attention drawn to an unusual sound emanating from the woods further downstream in the ravine, well beyond the reach of his lantern’s glow. It sounded like a huge nest of hornets had been disturbed and an angry swarm moved toward them.
“Do ya hear that?” he asked, anxious, while his brother returned for the other boulder.
“Hear what?” asked Billy Ray, his tone impatient and his breaths labored from his recent exertion.
The noise grew much louder and filled the air in front of them, while an immense shadow crept onto the edges of the lantern’s glow. Zachariah screamed and dropped the lantern on the ground. Rather than wait for his brother, he scrambled to the other side of the ravine, splashing up water and kicking his foot against Allie Mae’s submerged lantern as he clambered to the other side. He frantically clawed his way out of the ravine, his cries echoing into the night as he ran down the path toward John Oliver’s homestead.
“Goddamn it!” Billy Ray hissed in anger.
He appeared only slightly concerned by the encroaching shadow until it reached the oak bearing Allie’s name, where the angry buzz suddenly grew to a deafening roar. He raised his sullen gaze and the meanness in his countenance softened. His eyes grew large and his lips quivered. In panic he, too, fled from the ravine, leaving the lantern and shovels behind. David wasn’t able to see what frightened him from within the dark mass, witnessing only the ominous shadow veer swiftly toward him as it pursued him out of the ravine.
David listened to his screams as the specter caught up to him, the echoes of his terror filling the night air as he continued to flee along the same path his brother took. He wondered if this was the reason Tennessee’s census archives contained no record of what became of the two men associated with Allie Mae McCormick’s disappearance. Perhaps it was also the reason no one realized her corpse lay under the stone slab, despite the digging tools left behind by her murderer.
The buzz and screams disappeared into the night and David returned his gaze to where the lantern lay. Allie Mae’s blood still glistened in a large puddle on the ground where she died. Near the puddle lay two objects that had escaped his attention until now, and he moved over to them. The lantern’s glow was fading, but in the fleeting light he saw the objects more clearly, and when he did he fell to his knees and cried again.
Allie Mae’s little bag of keepsakes apparently had fallen out from inside her dress, and next to it sat the broken bicuspid from when her face had been savagely crushed. David scooped up both items and brought them over to where he knelt, the contents of the bag jingling softly as he held it in his lap.
Overwhelmed by terrible grief, he screamed into the night while he pictured what her family went through trying to find their cherished daughter. He thought of his own daughter, Jillian, and how it would destroy him and Miriam if anything like this ever happened to her. He buried his face in his hands, dropping the bag and tooth back onto the ground. Bawling harder than he ever could remember, tears flowed freely through his fingers, dripping onto the light blue thread of the bag’s cross-stitched letters.
Incredible despair and loneliness filled his heart, the body heat created by his distress left him unaware the temperature around him rapidly dropped. When cold enough to where his fingertips tingled, he peered through his hands. A figure with two bare nymph-like feet stood in front of him. He wiped away his tears to clear his vision, and saw the frayed inseam of a once-beautiful blue Easter gown.
“I’m so sorry, Allie Mae…s-so very sorry!” he said be-tween sobs, reluctant to look up.
He felt her fingers graze his shoulder, and he prepared for the worst. But the figure withdrew her hand. As she stood before him, David gathered his courage and looked up. Her dress still torn, enough buttons were left intact for her to cover her bosom on up to her neck again. From the neck up she no longer bore the carnage inflicted on her. Her face whole and radiant, her eyes twinkled in the light he thought at first came from the lantern.
A nightingale called from somewhere nearby, distracting him to look away. Still in the ravine, the colorful foliage and loose leaves strewn around him told that he had returned to the present. His misty breaths had nothing to do with Allie Mae’s chilled presence, but instead were caused by the cold early-morning mountain air in late October. The moonlight’s glow illuminated his surroundings.
He looked back at her, fearing again what he might see. But her face remained beautiful, and her aura seemed like an angel’s. She held him in her gaze for a moment and then smiled, nodding her head in approval. Suddenly the ground beneath him shook, and he looked in time to see the bag and tooth pulled down into the earth, the tender blades of grass separating to allow the items through. When he looked up again she had
left, the only vestige being her shimmering strawberry blond hair and the bottom of her blue gown as she disappeared into the woods near where her body lay buried.
David waited a few minutes to see if she returned, but she didn’t. Surrounded by songs from the early morning birds in the treetops he got back to his feet. The multitude of weathered names on the surrounding oaks and pines were clearly visible under the moonlight. 1:36 a.m., according to his wristwatch. His body weakened from the past hour and a half’s emotional toll, he staggered down into the deep grass and weeds of the ravine to reach the other side.
Grateful for the moon’s abundant light, he followed the overgrown trail and soon had a clear view of its entrance that once formed the northern boundary to John Oliver’s property. As a precaution, he looked behind him again. He remained alone, except for the nocturnal animals and birds busy foraging for food.
He stepped past the tree line and into the meadow. A soft breeze blew toward him from the darkened cabin, and when he glanced toward it this time it seemed even lonelier than before. He pictured it long ago, in the spring of 1916, wondering if its occupants slumbered peacefully the night Allie Mae died, or if the screams and shrieks that pierced the night had awakened them to terror.
Grateful the LeSabre was still parked where he left it, John opened the driver’s side door. He had awaited David’s return with Evelyn at his side. They both shared their gratitude that he remained among the living. He responded with a weak smile and motioned for John to remain in the driver’s seat while he climbed into the back seat.
John pulled the car back onto Cades Cove’s main thoroughfare. David’s clothes still damp, he shivered more than he had during his return from the ravine once the warmth from the car’s heater reached him. He retrieved his cell phone from inside his coat, dismayed the screen received a slight crack from his fall into the stream. Luckily, the phone still worked. He dialed Miriam’s cell number and waited while it rang, hoping she hadn’t gone to sleep yet. When she answered, at first all he did was weep.
“It’s finished,” he managed to whisper into the receiver, and as he did, both John and Evelyn turned toward him. “It’s finally over.”
Chapter Thirty-eight
David told John and Evelyn what happened when they returned to the cabin. Though not surprised, both responded with sorrow upon learning the details of Allie Mae’s murder. John commented again on the similarity between David’s last name and that of the Hobson brothers. Since it wasn’t so unusual to change last names during southern Appalachia’s formative years, he suggested there might be a link that extended beyond the fact his and Tyler’s physical appearance so closely matched that of Billy Ray and Zachariah. David admitted he now considered the same thing after what he witnessed.
John and Evelyn stayed in the bedrooms at David’s insistence, while he slept on the couch. Shawn and a warm fire kept him company for the rest of the night, and he fell asleep around three o’clock, after keeping a watchful eye on the picture window. Other than occasional wind gusts, no other disturbances visited the cabin.
He planned to be up at sunrise, but John didn’t wake him until eight. After he showered and shaved, Evelyn surprised him with flapjacks and thick sliced bacon for breakfast, along with a pot of fresh brewed coffee.
“Thank you for everything,” he told her, once he packed the LeSabre with his belongings. A beautiful fall Sunday morning in the Great Smoky Mountains, only a few wispy clouds dotted the blue sky.
“It’s been my pleasure, David,” she told him, stepping down from the front porch to give him a warm hug. “Please keep in touch!”
“I will—I promise!”
He moved over to where John stood, dressed in his ranger uniform, complete with his hat and dark sunglasses. He smiled at David, the corners of his eyes misty beneath his glasses.
“You’ll be hearing from me very soon,” David assured him. “I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me, and I want you to know I consider you my friend.”
John nodded. They shook hands and seemed unsure what to do next.
“Oh, come on you two…. Give each other a hug!”
Evelyn moved toward them and as she did the two men embraced, enforcing the bond they forged during the past week. David then moved to his car and got in, waving one last time. He watched John and his granddaughter through his rearview mirror until they grew faint, and soon merged onto the thoroughfare leaving Cades Cove. It took another three hours before he reached Chattanooga, and along the way he listened to the handful of country CDs John gave him. He smiled at how his music taste had been altered and wondered how Miriam, and especially Tyler, would react when he opted for a country song the next time they took a spin in their sports car.
Just after noon when he pulled into the parking lot at Jo-Jo’s Steakhouse in Chattanooga, his aunt’s Taurus sat near the entrance and he parked a few spaces down from her. A family favorite and only a few blocks from the airport, his aunt suggested the restaurant might be nice to revisit. She reserved a booth for them near the back of the restaurant. The place sparsely populated, most of Jo-Jo’s clientele preferred to come at night.
“Well you made it here sooner than you thought you would, don’t you know!”
She rose to greet him. Smartly dressed in a dark pantsuit, her hair and makeup looked like she had recently visited a salon. It touched him that she’d gone to such trouble on his account. More guilt seared his conscience.
“My foot went a bit heavy on the gas once I was safely beyond Knoxville,” he explained. “It’s so good to see you again, Auntie!” He meant it, but it seemed to take her aback a little since accustomed to his preferred distance in their relationship.
“My, you look sharp today!” she said, as if looking for a distraction and brushing her hand against the dark blue velour dress coat he wore. One of the few original garments spared Allie Mae’s wrath, it lay hidden in the car’s trunk when she attacked his wardrobe. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a turtle-neck before.”
“I just started, since it’s been a little cooler than I expected this past week,” he told her, hoping the chocolate one he wore today covered enough of the scabbed scratches on his neck. “I’m hoping Miriam likes the look. If so, I plan on adding a few more when I get back to Denver.”
“Honey, she might just buy a dozen once she sees you like this later today!” She laughed.
A waitress arrived to take their orders. Afterward, Ruth told him about Max’s planned cataract surgery, since the dog often tripped down the staircase in her house. She feared he might break his neck if she didn’t get it taken care of soon. David felt sorrowful her life consisted of so little now that she grew older. When eager to learn the details of his Gatlinburg meetings, he gave her a terse fabricated summary of what happened, avoiding anything that might sound exciting.
Thankful he told Miriam what he had informed his aunt previously, Ruth mentioned she called her a few days ago. Touched by the kids’ school pictures, she called Miriam to accept a previous invitation to fly to Denver this coming Christmas. It thrilled him to hear this news, which again surprised her. If nothing else, the ordeal softened his heart. Ready to bury the hatchet on past hurts and grudges, he hoped he and his aunt could once again be close to one another.
After their lunch she became pensive, as if wanting to say something but unsure how to proceed.
“What is it, Auntie?”
Rather than reply, she lifted a leather tote bag from the floor next to booth. It appeared quite old, the corners of the brown bag badly worn. David cleared away their plates to allow enough space for it to sit upon the table. She opened the bag and removed a large photo album.
“Bobby wanted you to have this, David,” she explained. “He set it aside when you were young, right after your momma died. I know you weren’t so close to your daddy, but Bobby always loved you…in his own, misguided way.”
In the past he would’ve refused the item. But sensing how badly she wante
d him to have it, he smiled weakly and took it from her. Several page markers stuck out from the album, and she explained they were for photographs of particular note. She stood up and leaned over the table while opening the album’s clasp, and David turned to the first page she had marked. Filled with an assortment of black and white pictures, it contained several yellowed ones as well. Most images clear, the older photos looked as if someone had wadded and torn them up and then threw them in a musty box many years ago. One of these had been taped back together, and he recognized the image of the young man in the picture.
“Who’s this?” His voice dropped to a whisper. He already knew, but needed her confirmation.
“That’s my great uncle Zach,” she said. “I thought of him when you showed me Tyler’s school picture the other night.”
The image was identical to the ‘Zachariah’ he saw last night, including what appeared to be the same suit and tie.
“From what my pa told me many years ago, the picture was taken shortly before he went to Europe back in the summer of 1916, to fight the Germans in World War I.”
“I didn’t know we had anyone from our family participate in either world war,” said David, surprised and still staring at the picture. John’s speculation turned out true.
“Your great, great uncle was one of the most decorated veterans from the First World War,” said Ruth. “Pa once told us he received several Purple Hearts and other medals for valor. There was a published story some years back from another Tennessee veteran that served with Uncle Zach who said he’d never known a braver man. He said it was almost like he dared the German troops to kill him if they could. But he survived the war with only a minor wound to his arm.”
She grew thoughtful while David moved to the next marked page, featuring photographs from a farm.