Evil in Hockley

by William Buckel

Chapter 17

  Sandy brought coffee for everyone but Bobby. He was given a glass of water.

  “So where do we do the exchange?” asked Sandy.

  “On the Humber river bridge near the intersection of Hockley and Airport Road. It’s not as open as I’d like but there’s traffic. Enough to keep them from making a major assault. Besides there are a few houses nearby. Not close enough for neighbours to see exactly what’s going on but enough that if they start shooting the police will be called in. I only want Shelley, nothing more for now.”

  Sandy said,

  “After we give them Jimmy we can’t bring Shelley here.”

  “I’ll tell you where we’ll take her, later.”

  At eleven o’clock that night Harry parked his car near the corner of Airport and Hockley Road. He walked to the bridge and scouted the area. At half past eleven he called John Dean to verify his position. He told the preacher to proceed south on Airport Road. Fifteen minutes later he gave Dean the exact location for the trade. Ten minutes after that a car parked at the side of the highway. The driver John Dean walked to the passenger side of the sedan and escorted Shelley over the bridge toward Harry. As arranged Karma led the handcuffed Bobby Mercer toward the bridge.

  There was only twenty feet of space separating Mercer and Shelley. Harry noted she was still bound, hands clasped, with leather lacing. A pencil was shoved deep into each of her eyes. She appeared placid, almost comatose.

  It happened quickly.

  Shelley ripped the leather lacing binding her hands then pulled the pencils from her eyes. Blood gushed from her hands and her eyes. Her face transformed along with her body features.

  It was Lenea.

  Lenea held up an effigy and chanted several words. Harry turned to see Karma’s wide eyes as she tumbled to the ground. Harry knew she’d been taken completely off guard. Bobby ran toward the preacher. On the way he body butted Harry sending him to one knee. Lenea put both hands on either side of his face and loudly chanted. Her cries echoed through the night.

  Harry felt drugged and as though he were tied with invisible ropes. John Dean led him to the sedan and pushed him into the back seat then sat beside him. Lenea removed the cuffs from Bobby who jumped into the driver’s seat of the sedan. Harry felt groggy but he could see Lenea approaching Karma.

  “Well dear sister, it seems you’re indisposed at the present time. Did you really think you could vanquish the combined powers of John and I? You’re little more than a joke.”

  Karma lay helpless on the side of the road.

  Headlights appeared from the south side of the bridge and aimed at Lenea. She calmly returned to the sedan and climbed into the passenger side then gestured Bobby to drive.

  It was Sandy and she had wedged her car between Karma and Lenea. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Karma and Sandy were both safe and it appeared Lenea and John were content with the rescue mission and his capture. They drove north toward home.

  Lenea held her hands high and chanted. Blood stopped flowing and the wounds where the lacing had bound her bones together healed. He suspected her eyes did as well. It must have been a illusion. No one could heal that quickly.

  She turned to him then said,

  “We’ll have a homecoming celebration for you tonight. You’ll be the guest of honour. Sounds exciting don’t you think?”

  She spoke as though a child going to a birthday party.

  Harry felt every punch and kick assault him as Bobby Mercer giggled like a maniac. Both he and Joe divvyed out the punishment. Harry passed out from time to time but was awaken with pails of water. John Dean and Lenea sat at a table sipping drinks, talking to each other as though nothing else was happening in the room.

  Harry woke in a basement shackled to a cement wall. He attempted to explore his surroundings through swollen eye lids. He saw only a few feet of the place, the rest a blur. He did after a time make out Shelley near him propped against the wall. Her hands were still bound with leather lace, stitched around bones, holding them together in a praying fashion. Each eye had a pencil shoved deep. He wondered if she was still alive. The basement was too small to be the one in the bar so he assumed it was the one in Joe Sharky’s house. Harry eyed his chains then realized he was in deep shit.

  Harry finally came to the conclusion that when dealing with Dean and Lenea he could not rely on what he saw. She had some magical control over his mind. A recognition that, on his part, was too late materializing.

  It was later when John Dean and Lenea came with a pitcher of water. Lenea poured Harry a glass then let him drink it. When he was finished she took the glass. Dean spoke first.

  “He’s alive. He shouldn’t be, but he is.”

  Lenea turned Harry’s face from side to side then said,

  “The spell I used on him by the bridge should have put him out but it barely worked.”

  Dean paced then said,

  “He’s not invincible. He can’t break free of his bonds therefore hasn’t a hint of a gift.”

  “There’s something wrong here John. I can feel it.”

  “Could it be a spell Karma hexed him with? Something that gave him immortality?”

  “I doubt it but lacking any other explanation that would have to be it.”

  Harry forced himself to speak.

  “Is Shelley still alive?”

  It came out sounding like he was talking under water.

  Lenea shook her head, disgust showing on her face.

  “You have this fascination with Shelley as though she has the answer to the meaning of life itself. What makes you think she knows more than you do?”

  Harry shrugged. She was his only lead.

  Lenea sat on her heels before him. She was a formidable woman, not some thin wannabe model.

  “Yes Harry, she’s still alive. I can keep her that way indefinitely but I’m afraid that sooner or later Joe’s going to get sick of putting her up in his basement. Probably after he’s done with you.”

  John Dean laughed.

  “He’ll be happy as a lark to hear you’re still alive. He get’s to punish you all over again tonight.”

  Harry had to give it a try.

  “Did he kill my brother, Jarrod?”

  Lenea glanced at John then back to Harry.

  “We don’t know. We were told to eliminate you. Once we’re told that, a decision has already been made. We’re not a jury, we’re the executioners. We’re not interested in the details.”

  Dean added,

  “Too much knowledge confuses the issue which is just simply that you have to die.”

  Harry understood these two. He really did. His job in the Middle East wasn’t unlike theirs. He was given a target and told to eliminate someone. Whether for the common good, his country, or money: did it really matter? They were assassins, same as he was.

  Harry, Lenea, and John played the game knowing risks and rewards the same as a boxer when he enters the ring. It’s a battle between two consenting adults. What bothered Harry was when innocent people like Shelley were dragged into a fight.

  As a matter of fact all the folks Joe Sharky and Bobby Mercer preyed on were innocents. They sold illegal drugs to people already in despair. They promised to make lives better yet made them worse. All for the almighty buck.

  Yes, Harry understood these two.

  He asked,

  “Can I speak to Shelley? I mean what’s the harm if I’m going to die?”

  Lenea looked at John who shook his head then answered.

  “Not part of the job. She may not be able to answer in any case.”

  Harry suddenly realized his problem. If it was an assignment he wouldn’t have screwed up. He never would have underestimated these two. But he was personally involved and didn’t look at the big picture. Added to that was a distraction he’d never encountered before. The gifts of Karma and Lenea.

  Lenea gave him another drink of water. There was enough slack in the chains. Lenea and Dean both gazed at him then left. Harry e
yed Shelley and again realized he was in deep shit.

  Chapter 18

  Sandy had helped Karma into her car earlier on that night and was now putting cold compresses on her brow. It was four in the morning and Sandy was still unable to control her shaking hands.

  Karma started to stand but Sandy shoved her back into bed.

  Karma pushed her away and said,

  “We have to get him out of there.”

  “Can we finally call in the police to sort out this mess?”

  “Listen Sandy, Joe Sharky has a legal firm on retainer not just a lawyer. The police would need sufficient grounds to search Joe’s properties. Plus we don’t know where they’re keeping him. And besides all that: it was Harry who grabbed Bobby Mercer that started all this. They call that kidnapping. Remember the bikers? Joe’s lawyers can make a case that looks as though we’re the only ones guilty of anything.”

  “What about Jarrod’s death, Harry being attacked at Sharky’s bar, Harry being dumped in the reservoir, and Shelley? What about Tony Moore?”

  “There isn’t a shred of proof that any of those things happened. Remember who shot Tony and who finally sent him to meet his maker and buried him?”

  “I guess you’re right. How can anyone like Sharky be so evil and yet look so right?”

  “They can when someone like Harry tries to play their game without the resources Joe has.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “First we have to find out where they’re keeping Harry. I know a cellar attached to Joe’s house. The cops could search his basement and never find a thing but there’s another place. I’ve heard him call it the bomb shelter. He stashes drugs there.”

  Karma limped to the kitchen with Sandy’s help, had a coffee, and a cigarette.

  “Breakfast of champions,” she called it.

  “Lenea caught me off guard,” she added.

  After a long drag from her cigarette she said,

  “I’ll be okay in a few minutes. Lenea is not as strong as she thinks.”

  They took Sandy’s sedan to Joe Sharky’s Bar and Grill, parked in a farm laneway, and watched through binoculars.

  “The shed behind the house,” said Sandy.

  After a time two men came out carrying a water jug.

  “We have to make our way through the woods to that shed before dark,” said Karma.

  They were in place near the shed as the sun went down and light was fading.

  “They’ll be busy with customers now.”

  Karma searched the shed with a penlight looking for a door leading to an underground passage. Sandy watched for unwelcome visitors. The shed was only a hundred feet behind the house and anyone coming in their direction would be on top of them in seconds. Karma found the panel in the double wall. It opened mechanically with a hard push.

  “Come on Sandy.”

  They went down a short corridor which led to an underground bunker where they found a lit room containing shelves.

  “About time.”

  It was Harry chained to the far wall, Shelley close.

  “The keys to my locks are in that shelf in front of me.”

  Karma unlocked the cuffs holding Harry then examined Shelley.

  “I’m not leaving without her,” said Harry.

  He was standing now, stretching. Karma couldn’t understand how he was able to rise: his wounds appeared severe. He was bleeding from several and his face was contorted from bruising and cut skin.

  Shelley wasn’t chained and she rose when they pulled her arms. She was like a mechanical doll following physically cues. They made their way through the shed, Sandy leading the way with a penlight.

  Harry was first out of the door, and who was on the other side about to open it? Bobby Mercer stood, his eyes wide. He was partially visible due to light from the rear of the house. In all probability he was there to give Harry another beating. Harry however literally beat him to the punch knocking him to the ground. Bobby’s scream was cut short when Sandy drove a pitchfork deep into his chest.

  It took quite some time for them to make their way back to Sandy’s car. Shelley was slow to respond.

  To their dismay a police officer stood in the light of his cruiser writing down the plate number. Karma and Sandy came forward leaving Harry and Shelley in the shadows.

  “What’s the problem officer?” asked Sandy.

  He looked surprised by their appearance.

  “Got a call from a farmer. Your car’s been here for hours. I should be asking what your problem is.”

  “I let my cat out for a pee. He chased something and ran off. We’ve been trying to find him.”

  “So where is he?”

  “We didn’t find him. Then we decided we couldn’t look for him in the dark. We’ll come back tomorrow. I once heard a cat won’t wander far. Have you ever heard that officer?”

  “Can’t say that I have. Can I see you registration and licence?”

  Sandy unlocked the car retrieved her purse, searched it, and gave him her ID.

  The officer wrote down the information then said,

  “Have a good night and sorry about your cat.”

  He was gone in a flash and out of sight. Harry guided Shelley into the rear seat, strapped her in then climbed into the passenger side. Karma sat in the back with Shelley and examined her.

  Harry was impatient and asked,

  “What are the chances she’ll ever be able to talk?”

  Karma didn’t answer immediately but finally spoke.

  “First I have to break the spell that Lenea has on her…”

  Harry interrupted.

  “Lenea? I thought it was John Dean?”

  “I told you once I have no idea how John Dean fits into all this. Lenea is the Voodoo priestess. She has the power. She was the one who, in our minds, transformed into Shelley then knocked me on my butt. I owe her one for that because she intended to kill me. No respect for family, that one.”

  Karma stopped for a moment then added,

  “I have to break the spell then take control. In order to do that I have to take the pencils out of her eyes and remove the laces from her hands. She will be in terrible pain once the spell is broken. I can ease it slightly. Whether she’ll be able to talk is anyone’s guess. She’s literally dead to the world, this world.”

  Chapter 19

  Once at home Harry took a bath, Sandy soothing his wounds with a face cloth. Karma stitched his worst cuts with a needle and dental floss, including ones on his private parts. Sandy kept a close eye on the procedure.

  Next came Shelley. Karma wasted no time and simply yanked the pencils from her eyes reciting a spell. She cut the leather laces binding her hands and when the final one was severed Shelley screamed. She was no longer under Lenea’s spell. Karma uttered one, hexing Shelley, and knocking her out.

  “Will she wake?”

  “I don’t know Harry, I’ll do my best but do you really want to see her in so much pain? It might be better if I dispatched her to the other side.”

  Harry appeared alarmed.

  “That would send the last of my chances to find Jarrod’s killer down the drain.”

  Karma nodded but was clearly upset.

  “All right Harry then you make the final decision. I won’t stand in your way. Take your gun and put a bullet in her head when you’re sick and tired of hearing her scream.”

  Karma stood and paced then yelled,

  “For fuck sakes Harry, she’s no longer human.”

  “You’re pissed about me shooting Tony, aren’t you?” said Harry.

  “I’m pissed about the whole affair. How far is your lust for vengeance going to take this? It’s way past an eye for an eye. It’s a pissing contest between you and Joe. Other people are having to pay for it with their lives. Who’s next? Sandy? Me? And what if Jarrod died through accidental means?”

  Harry tried to put his hands on Karma’s shoulders but she pulled away.

  He said,

  “I
can’t tell you why but I know Jarrod was murdered. You’re right, it’s way beyond what I intended but I had no control over that. Ask yourself why you’re here?”

  Harry was silent for a moment then said,

  “If you want to leave then I won’t even try to stop you, either of you. As a matter of fact you should both go.”

  He turned to Sandy.

  “You killed a man last night. I’m sorry.”

  Sandy raised her brow.

  “If I hadn’t we’d all be dead or like Shelley. Not for me. I might have left finger prints on the pitchfork handle though.”

  Karma said,

  “No, I wiped the handle clean.”

  Harry kept watch while Sandy slept then they changed places. Karma chanted trying to keep Shelley alive but life seemed to slowly drain from the woman.

  “I’m attempting to keep Shelley alive and Lenea is attempting to kill her. I can feel my sister’s energy.”

  Harry eyed Shelley and saw a greying in her skin he’d not seen before.

  “Is there anything we can do? Anything you can think of?”

  “My mother Marie knows more than I do. She wouldn’t teach Lenea everything. Wouldn’t trust her. That’s why Voodoo magic has lost power over the years as less and less is passed onto the next generation. A lack of trust issue.”

  “Where is your mother now?”

  “New Orleans.”

  “Could you ask her to come here?”

  “I could but she would never come, never leave the environment she feels comfortable in. She’s the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Lenea calls herself the Voodoo Queen of everywhere else.”

  “And John Dean’s the mystery man?”

  “Yup. You finally got it.”

  “Not really. How exactly do you fit in?”

  “I’m the disloyal daughter. Left the family behind and became a whore.”

  “You have power.”

  “I have a witch’s power. I could never put Shelley or Tony in a trance the way Lenea did.”

  “We need a passport for Shelley if we’re going to cross the border.”