by C. C. Wall
“Stop it. Right now. No more of that,” Sue said. “You were right about more than you think, but I’m not here for that, I wish I was, but I’m not. It’s official nagging today.”
Bekka smiled. “What do you mean?”
Sue placed her hands palm down on the bar and opened her eyes wide. “Have you seen Gus around today? Even last night would be good.”
Bekka thought about it. “No, I don’t believe so.” She smiled, “What did that fat ass do this time?” The fact that Sue wasn’t smiling made Bekka feel uncomfortable. “Sue, did something really bad happen?”
“What about the Driggers’? Seen any one of those two today?” Sue asked.
Bekka’s eyes began to water. “Sue, what’s going on?”
Sue rubbed her face with both hands. “All right, let me have a beer.”
Tears began to fall out of Bekka’s eyes, all by themselves, without her crying or even whimpering. Her eyes were just too full of fear and sadness from what if’s. She got Sue a beer.
Sue took a big drink, and looked at the beer, hoping an easy answer would pop up out of it. “This is how this is going to go: I’m going to tell you something, and your job will be to pass information on, and then to stay the hell away from any of those guys until I let you know it’s all right for you to hang out with them again. Sound good?”
“No,” Bekka said. “I don’t understand.”
Sue slammed her hand down on the bar. “Damn it, Bekka! Listen to me. Gus got himself into a world of trouble. Someone is coming for him and we don’t know if we can help protect him. He either needs to turn himself in or hide for a bit until this blows over. I know he won’t turn himself in. So, I know he is going to go to Colt for help. Colt won’t have the resources to help him, so they will go to Dakota for help. That places you in the line of fire. I don’t want you to go through that. You have to tell everyone to convince Gus to turn himself in.”
“Who is after him?” Bekka asked.
“I can’t tell you that,” Sue said. “In fact, even if he hid, I don’t think he would be safe. Gus is putting everyone close to him in danger until he turns himself in.”
“Okay,” Bekka said. She wiped tears from her eyes. “I’ll pass that along. Thank you.”
With that, Bekka’s afternoon of freedom and a future vanished into thin air.
“Stay safe, sweetie,” Sue said. She finished her beer and was headed towards the door when Bekka stopped her.
“I haven’t seen or heard from Dakota since he hit me with his truck. He’s supposed to be here now, but he never came in today.” Bekka swallowed hard and continued, “I was just with Colt. I don’t think he knows anything you’re talking about. He was just telling me about how he feels like he has a future for the first time in his life. He was happy,” Bekka said.
“Thank you,” Sue said and gave her a hug. “Try to stay away from all them for a while, all right?”
Bekka nodded, wiped more tears away and smiled, then tried to hide everything behind a giggle. Bekka ran back behind the bar and got back to work.
A text came into Sue’s phone. It was from Lukas. It said, “Any luck?”
She called him.
“Hey, Lukas,” Sue said, “No, nothing. But just a heads up, Dakota seems to be on the lam.”
On the other end of the phone, Lukas was searching through Chaney’s place again, in hopes of finding something that they had missed before. “One down, two to go, I guess.”
“Are you having any luck?” Sue asked.
“No. I’ve just been going over every inch of this place, hoping that I can find anything of use,” Lukas said.
“I’m gonna pass Henry’s shop on the way back to the station, so I’m gonna stop by and see if I can get a hold of Michael. I would like to put that whole case to bed so we can focus on this,” Sue said.
“That’s good. Do that. I’m gonna finish up here then head over to Cook’s and see if any of the three musketeers show up,” Lukas said. “You should come by later. It’ll be fun.”
“Nice sarcasm,” Sue said. “Maybe I will. I’ll let you know what I find at Henry’s.”
49 - Knocked
As Sue drove down Main Street in Black Star Canyon, she couldn’t help but think about how everyone in that town “seemed” to be all right. She had no idea what was going on behind their closed doors. The happiest people could be the most damaged, the most hurt. She thought about Chaney’s relationship with Sara and how they got along. She thought they were happy. They “seemed” to be. She thought back to all the times she had seen them together. All the times they had run into each other on Main Street on a Saturday. All the holiday parties they would attend. All the times she would bring in lunch to the station for him or dinner if it was going to be a late night. Sue never thought they had any problems. Of all people, she should be able to see a relationship with problems. That’s what Sue thought.
The other thought running through her mind was how strong Lukas and Reagan had tried to be at the scene. She thought for sure that they would break or tear up or show any outward display of sadness. Lukas had gotten a little hot-headed and Reagan had become stoic, but neither of them reacted the way that she had expected. Sue wasn’t even sure if Chaney was innocent of the crime. It seemed very unlikely, but it was impossible to know. You never ever know what couples are like behind closed doors. That’s what Sue thought.
Sue’s phone rang. She knew she should not answer it while driving but it was Eric and she wanted to make sure he was all right. “Hey, hun,” Sue said.
“Hey mom, we are going to get some food then head over to Cook’s,” Eric said.
“Why don’t you eat there?” Sue asked.
“Their food is terrible and Jen is afraid Bekka will spit in it,” Eric answered.
Sue chuckled. “Eric can you do me a favor? Like a cop favor?”
Eric was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, what do you need?”
“If you see Big Gus or Colt or Dakota Driggers, could you call me right away?”
“Yeah, but isn’t that Bekka’s boyfriend?” Eric asked.
“I’m sure one of them is, just listen to me; stay away from them and call me if you see them. It’s really important,” Sue said. “And don’t tell Jen or anyone, all right?”
“Yeah, no sweat,” Eric said. “I’m on the case,” he said, laughing.
“Don’t be cute baby, just do what I ask,” Sue said. “Be careful. Love you.”
Sue hung up the phone as she pulled up to Henry’s shop. She got out of the car and slowly checked the place out from the sidewalk. It still looked closed, like it hadn’t been open in days. There was mail and newspapers piling up outside. She pulled her phone out to try to get a hold of Michael again, one last time, to see if she could get anything out of him.
She thought that she should touch base with Lukas, but since she was using her phone at the moment, she thought she would try Lukas on the walkie. “Lukas? Come in, it’s Callahan. Over.”
A few seconds went by before she got an answer. “Hey, Sue. Lukas here. What’s up? Over.”
“I’m at Henry’s shop and it looks like no one has opened the place up since he went missing. Over,” Sue said. She called Henry’s house on her cell phone. “Just called Henry’s house, still no answer. Going to try Michael’s cell. Over.” Sue called Michael’s cell phone. Her eyes lit up. Her mouth hung open. “Lukas, Michael’s cell is ringing inside the shop! How should I proceed? Over.”
“Get in there! Open it up! Call in back up, over,” Lukas said.
Sue drew her weapon, “This is Deputy Callahan requesting back up at Henry’s Handy Shop. All available units. Over.”
She immediately heard back, “This is Reed, we are a minute out.”
Sue heard the siren from their cruiser and knew they were close. She looked through the glass and couldn’t make anything out. She took her nightstick and broke the window out of the glass front door and opened it. She couldn’t find the light switch so
she pulled out her flashlight, holding her gun, ready to fire.
“Black Star Canyon Sheriff’s Department! Slowly come out with your hands up!” Sue froze to see if there was any movement. None. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Sue slowly made her way through to the back of the shop. The smell should have given it away as soon as she broke the glass but she didn’t know what she would find.
“Lukas, I have Michael, he’s dead. Been dead. Over.”
“Damn it,” Lukas said, “can you see how? Over.”
“He is naked, bruising around his neck. I’d say strangled. Over,” Sue said.
“If he died the same night as Henry, chances are Henry’s heart attack…” Lukas hesitated, “shit. Sue, don’t talk about cases on the radio, Jack Hart has a scanner.”
Outside the Handy Shop, Jack Hart was laughing in his car as he heard Lukas finally make that announcement. “Too late there, supercop,” Jack said. He grabbed his camera and ran inside the shop. As soon as he got through the door, he found himself on the floor and felt something warm and wet all over his face. Things were fuzzy in his vision. He could make out Deputy Callahan, holding her head. “Shit,” Jack gurgled.
“What the hell are you doing?” Sue yelled.
Deputies Dyer and Reed rushed inside to see Sue holding her head and Jack lying on the floor with a bloody face. They grabbed him and dragged him out of the shop. “What happened, prick?” Dyer asked Jack.
“I don’t know,” Jack said.
Sue walked over, “I was running out of the shop as he was running in, we just knocked heads.”
“Does that sound about right to you?” Reed asked Jack.
“Yeah, I think so,” Jack answered.
“Why the hell were you running into a crime scene anyway?” Dyer asked.
“Just to get pictures.” Jack was still dazed.
“You know, he’s been at every crime scene, before we get there,” Reed said.
Dyer turned to Callahan, “Do you think we should take him in for questioning?” Dyer asked.
“Not at the moment. There is another problem here we need to deal with. He’s not going anywhere. Right Jack?” Sue asked with a smile.
“Yeah, I’m here in town,” Jack said.
“Get the hell out of here then,” Sue said.
Dyer and Reed tossed him onto the sidewalk and Jack slowly staggered to his car and drove away.
“Lock this area off. Its a crime scene. Get the boys down here now,” Sue said to Reed and Dyer. She then got out her phone, “Lukas. Hey, no there wasn’t an accident. When you said Jack was listening I looked out and saw his car out there. He ran in and I jumped out and punched him in the face. I had a rough day.”
50 - Row of Ducks
Lukas locked up Chaney’s place and walked down to his car. Something wasn’t right about all the events that had happened and the fact that he couldn’t figure it out was tearing him up inside. He put the keys in the ignition just as a hand grabbed his wrist. Lukas jumped when he saw that it was the man who could remove his own head.
“Leave it alone,” the man said.
“Christ!” Lukas gasped, “You scared the hell out of me.”
The man didn’t change his look or tone. “Leave it alone. Don’t worry about your friend. He is on his own path right now. You should be on yours.”
“Do you know where he is?” Lukas asked. “He couldn’t have done that in there, right?”
The man became angry. “Leave it alone! Your path is NOW!”
Lukas sat there, looking ahead onto the road then back at the man repeatedly, hoping that the man would disappear and that he was just a figment of his imagination. A clue that he was overworked. But the man was still there.
“What can I call you?” Lukas asked.
“I have been called many things,” he said.
“But what should I call you?” Lukas asked
“You can call me Mr. H,” the man said.
Lukas nodded. “Okay Mr. H, I have some questions for you, that are about my path. Could you help me?”
“That is why I am here,” Mr. H said.
“Jane came to me when you took me back to the rock that night, and now, her body is missing. I don’t understand,” Lukas said.
“That was not a question,” Mr. H said.
“I didn’t think I needed to ask a question when talking about a girl who hasn’t aged in a decade, turns up dead but can walk around and is now missing,” Lukas said.
Mr. H smiled, “Jane is not the problem. Jane has a job to do. Jane is what I call a beacon, and that beacon then becomes a spotlight in the darkness. That spotlight gets so hot that it burns away the darkness until that spotlight becomes the sun.”
“So, she’s there to help?” Lukas asked.
“Oh, dear god, no!” Mr. H chuckled. “She’s there to expose your lies. If there is no darkness, there is nowhere to hide anything.”
“But she’s dead?” Lukas asked.
“She’s a corpse,” Mr. H said. “But she is no longer your problem. At least not now. Tonight is going to be a very rough night, you should get your proverbial ducks in a row.”
Lukas nodded and turned to Mr. H, “But…” and Mr. H was gone. “Damn,” Lukas said. He grabbed his phone and dialed. “Sue, meet me at the station, I don’t think we have much time. Something is going down tonight.”
51 - A Silhouette Is Most Dangerous At Dusk
The sun was setting in Black Star Canyon. Colt was finally opening his eyes. He’d had them shut for a little over an hour. His head was throbbing. His ears were ringing. He couldn’t make anything out; the sun was setting directly in his face. He tried to get up but when he couldn’t his screams became louder than the throbbing and the ringing that was already taking up too much space inside his head. As frantically as he could, he tried to assess his situation. With the sun in his eyes it was hard to see, but he was pretty sure that his leg was bent backwards and that his shin had a bone protruding out of the front of it. The excruciating pain he was feeling certainly helped him come to that conclusion.
Colt was trying to figure out how he got there. He noticed that he was looking uphill, and thought that must be the road up the hill. He knew that the sun was going down quickly and if he didn’t get up soon, chances were he would have to stay the night there. He tried looking around for his bike and couldn’t see it anywhere. He tried retracing his steps. He remembered being with Bekka and dropping her off. After that his brain went fuzzy.
Colt remembered that he had ridden back into the winding roads of the canyon. He loved riding those roads. They were relatively empty and the views were amazing. He loved having the wind blow his hair back as roared through the canyon. Something was coming to him though. He remembered something. Something that wasn’t right. In his mind, he remembered two engines roaring through the canyon. He wasn’t riding with anyone. He then remembered hearing a loud screeching sound and losing control of his bike. He had to have been hit by a car, he thought.
He tried to get up again but his legs weren’t moving where they should be. He cried out.
“Help me!” Colt screamed. This made the throbbing and ringing inside his head come back. He heard a rustling in the leaves. He tried turning his head, panicking, to see if he could see anyone. The sun was blinding him. “Help me! I’m over here! I think my leg is broken!”
The footsteps got closer. He began to see a figure coming towards him but couldn’t see who it was.
“I’m here!” Colt said as he waved his arms.
“Yes, you are,” a voice said. “I have been looking for you for a while.”
Colt thought he recognized the voice but couldn’t be sure with all the throbbing and ringing.
The voice spoke again, “You must have really flown off that bike.”
“Help me,” Colt said.
The figure stood there looking at Colt but not moving. Not in a hurry to offer assistance.
“Please. Call for help,” Colt asked.
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The figure saw that Colt’s leg was badly broken and placed his foot onto the bone that had ripped through Colt’s flesh and jeans.
“What are you doing?” Colt asked nervously.
The figure pressed down on the leg.
Colt’s screams were horrific.
The figure was a complete silhouette now with the way the sun was setting. Colt still couldn’t make out who it was. But what he could make out, was that the figure was standing in a way that meant only one thing. Colt had been in a similar situation before. The figure must be pointing a gun at him. He confirmed this theory once he heard the figure cock the gun.
52 - Connection
Hot coffee was in abundance at the sheriff’s station that evening. Lukas knew he needed it. What he wanted was some vodka but he knew he needed coffee. He needed to be alert, he needed his head on straight. He paced back and forth blowing on the coffee he was holding, wanting to take a big gulp of it but knew it was too hot. He kept trying to take little sips and it would burn his lip. He would cringe in pain, blow again and then take another sip and repeat the process. He thought about adding creamer to hopefully cool it down some. He hated cream in his coffee but was growing increasingly impatient.
Sue finally walked into the conference room to meet him. Deputy Reed was with her, carrying a box of evidence from Henry’s Handy Shop.
“What do you have?” Lukas asked.
Sue reached into the box and pulled out a receipt. “This receipt puts Jonathan Kensington at the shop around 4:30, or so, the day Henry died,” Sue said.
“Which is also the day Michael died?” Lukas asked.
“That was my guess. Pete in forensics also thinks that, but we are waiting for the official word,” Sue said.
Lukas thought for a moment and finally got to take a good swig of his coffee without burning himself. “You know, Jonathan came down to where we found Henry’s body and didn’t say anything about seeing him the day before.”