“What?” Cody said. A surprised fear grew in his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“The devil’s nightmare. Do you remember saying that the first night you were here?” I waited for Cody to respond, but he didn’t. He pursed his lips and stared at the wall behind me. Riley took a seat behind Mr. Hadley’s desk. “What did you mean by that? What’s the devil’s nightmare?”
Cody shifted his eyes towards me and said, “You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Try me.”
“I wasn’t at the cemetery when…” Cody swallowed and pursed his lips again.
“Go on,” I encouraged, grabbed the arm of the chair near me, and pulled myself onto it. “I don’t see how you couldn’t have been there, Cody. What about the photos? We got them from Jackson’s phone, and we know he was there, too.”
“How did Jackson die?” Cody asked, ignoring my question. I lowered my eyebrows at Riley, who responded with a shrug.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I thought you didn’t like it when people lied,” Cody said, and stood up. “He is dead, isn’t he?”
I breathed a slight sigh and answered, “Yes, he is, but how did you know that? Did you see it on the news or something?”
“No,” Cody answered and sat in the chair next to me. “I just… knew.”
“Like a premonition?”
“A what?” Cody asked cocking his head back. “What’s a premo-ni-tion?”
“It’s sort of like when you have a vision or strong feeling that something is going to happen—”
“And then it does,” Riley added, completing my words.
“I had a dream,” Cody said. “And you were in it. You were driving a police car on the highway. I think you were chasing somebody, but then you were in a car accident. There was a voice, someone calling you to help him. It sounded like a kid, so you searched the car, but you didn’t find anything. Then you heard the voice behind you, but when you turned around Jackson was standing there all bloody. His eyes were all black, too. Then, he ripped open his chest and—”
“And his heart was missing. I look down and I’m holding Jackson’s heart, which bursts into flames.”
“Right,” Cody said.
Riley stood and took a step back. “You two had the same dream?”
“Apparently so,” I said.
“His heart was burnt for real wasn’t it?” Cody asked.
“How could he possibly know that?” Riley said.
“Yes, it was,” I said, glaring at Riley. I leaned forward and asked Cody to tell me what happened at the cemetery.
He glanced at Riley and then took a deep breath. “Kyle came out with the axe to scare Jason and Cullen and then…” He shivered and his lower lip quivered. “His head came off. And then that thing bit Cullen and…” Cody turned away.
“I know it’s hard, but try to tell me what you saw. Was it a cougar?”
“No,” he said facing me, his eyes focused on mine. “You know what it was. You’ve seen it too.”
“Seen what?” Riley asked.
“Tell me what you saw.”
Cody swallowed and said, “It was big… and it…” He took a deep breath and whimpered, “There was so much blood. It killed them so quick. They tried to get away but they couldn’t. It was too fast. I… I ran away while it was… while it was eating Kyle.”
“Is Kyle one of your friends from school?” Riley asked.
“No,” Cody answered while wiping tears from his eyes. “He was one of Jackson’s friends.”
“Did a lion attack your friends? That’s what it looks like in the photo.”
“It had the body of a lion, but had three heads,” Cody said. “A dragon, a lion, and a ram.”
Riley couldn’t keep himself from laughing. “I’m sorry, but are you trying to tell me that some sort of three headed monster did this?”
“Yes,” Cody said with a straight face. He then turned to me and stressed, “I’m not lying. I’m telling you the truth. That’s why I never said anything. I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
“What about your parents?” I asked. “Did this thing kill them too?”
“I don’t believe this,” Riley said. “It’s pure fantasy.”
“Shut up, Riley!” I said, and then I asked Cody again, “Did this thing kill your parents?”
Cody nodded. “I thought it killed Jackson, too, but when I went to the cemetery, I only saw Jason… and… what was left of Kyle and Cullen.”
“Wait-wait-wait, hold on a minute.” Riley shook his head and said, “What do you mean when you went to the cemetery? You just said that you were there when they died and then ran away. So, which is it?”
I glanced at Riley and nodded. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Did you leave and then go back to check on them?”
Cody shook his head. “No, I already told you. I wasn’t there when it killed them. Not really.”
Riley settled into Mr. Hadley’s chair and leaned his head back in frustration.
I rubbed my hand over my face and closed my eyes for a moment to focus. “You’re not making any sense, Cody. The photos prove you were there.”
“I know, but I wasn’t really there.” He placed his hand on his chest. “But I did see everything… in a nightmare.”
“Aaron, this is ridiculous. This kid is obviously delusional or just feeding us a bunch of malarkey.” Riley headed towards the office door. “What he needs is a shrink. I’m getting Miss Jimenez.”
“Sit down, Riley.”
“Are you kidding me? You believe this nonsense?”
“I don’t know what to believe, but I’ve seen a lot of shit that doesn’t make any sense.” I turned my attention back to Cody. “Still, this does sound a bit far-fetched, don’t you think?”
Cody sighed and sat down. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Well, what did you expect, kid?” Riley said, returning to the chair. “Three-headed monsters? We have your pretty little mug smiling for the camera, and you expect us to believe you weren’t there? Give me a break. Evidence just doesn’t get much better than that.” Riley paused as if expecting me to tell him to shut up again, but I just raised my eyebrows. “Look,” he continued, “I admit that the dream you and Detective Sanders both had is pretty weird, and I guess I can believe that happened, but this whole thing about three-headed monsters is a bit much to swallow.”
“Do you like living here, Cody?” I changed the subject. Riley rose his hands up and dropped them in defeat, clearly frustrated.
“No. I hate it here.”
“What don’t you like about Saint Hedwig?”
“Everything.”
“But, what specifically don’t you like? Are the kids mean to you here? Is the staff treating you bad?” I put my hand on Cody’s shoulder and then tilted my head in a grimace. “It’s the food isn’t it?” A slight smile formed on his face. “Seriously, though. I know what it’s like, but from what I’ve seen, other than that creepy minister during chapel service, it seems a lot better here than when I was a kid.”
“The kids tease me… especially Joseph.”
“Joseph?” I asked. “Which one is Joseph?”
“Joseph Michaels. He’s the oldest one who carries the cross during chapel services.” Cody frowned and said, “He calls me a devil worshiping queer, and tells me that no one will ever want to adopt me.”
“Have you told Mr. Hadley or Miss Jimenez about it?”
Cody shook his head. “He also thumps me on the back of the head and trips me when we’re outside, making all the other kids laugh at me.”
“And none of the adults see this?” Riley asked.
Cody shrugged. “I don’t know. I just get up and sit by myself until it’s time to go back inside.” He lowered his head, and then added, “I get picked on all day and then when I go to my room…” He looked away.
“What?” I asked, feeling remorseful. “What happens when you go to your room?”
<
br /> “I try not to sleep.”
Riley leaned forward in Mr. Hadley’s chair and rested his arms on the desk. “Why is that?”
Cody replied with solemn eyes, “I’m afraid of dreaming.”
“Nightmares?”
Cody shifted his eyes towards me and hesitated before he said, “The devil’s nightmare.”
Three knocks on the door startled me.
“I apologize, Detectives,” Mr. Hadley said, poking his head inside the office. “I have foster parents arriving in the next ten minutes, so I must ask that you conclude your meeting. It’s also supper time for the children.”
“I understand.” I stood up and asked, “Would it be possible for Steven and me to take Cody into town for lunch?”
“No, I’m afraid not. I would need Maria’s approval for that, and she has already left the premises for another appointment.”
“So, call her.”
“My apologies, but I do not think it would be appropriate for me to interrupt her meeting.”
Riley raised both eyebrows. “But you thought it would be okay to interrupt ours?”
I formed a subtle grin, but in an effort to keep the peace with the director, I said, “This is the man’s office. I knew we were on borrowed time, so I guess it’s time for us to leave.” I turned to Cody and said, “I want you to tell Mr. Hadley what you told me about the bullying.”
“Bullying?” Mr. Hadley asked. “Is there a problem?”
“He’ll tell you. It’s just an issue with some of the other kids.” I moved towards the door and motioned for Riley to follow me. “Let’s go, partner.” I shook Mr. Hadley’s hand and thanked him for allowing us to use his office.
“You are most welcome.” He nodded towards Cody and said, “I’ll inquire about allowing you to take Cody out for lunch tomorrow, if you would like.”
“Thanks, I would.” I glanced at Cody, whose eyes lit up. “I appreciate that.”
As we left the building, Riley said, “You referred to me as Steven back there.”
“Don’t take it the wrong way, Riley. It doesn’t mean anything. I just thought it sounded more casual and less official under the circumstances.” I unlocked the doors of the Charger. “Believe it or not, I do have some people skills. Oh, and by the way, that bit about the director interrupting our meeting with Cody—”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“Bravo.” I smiled and stepped into the car. “My brashness is starting to rub off on you, rookie.”
Riley laughed. “Just admit it, partner, you like me.”
“Don’t push it, man. You’re still a pain in the ass.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Theories and Therapy
“So, what do you think about Cody?” I asked Riley, as we headed north back into town on the interstate.
“I think the kid has issues,” he said, scrolling through the emails on his phone. “Not to mention a vivid imagination.”
“Humph. There may actually be some truth in what he said.” I glanced at Riley, who gave me a look of astonishment.
“You’re kidding, right? The part about him being at the cemetery, but not being at the cemetery? Or was it the part about the three-headed monster?”
“Both.”
Riley laughed. “You’re pulling my leg.”
“Cody and I had the exact same nightmare about Jackson.”
“That doesn’t mean some monster out of Dungeons and Dragons is terrorizing the streets of Austin. Come on, you can’t—”
“I saw it.”
“You what?”
“I saw the same creature that Cody described, in a dream.”
“You said it right there. In a dream.” Riley smirked and stared out the passenger side window.
“You weren’t there the night Rick Hessler died. If you were, you’d have a more open mind.”
Riley eyed me in silence. I knew how ridiculous it sounded, but I had never been one to believe in mere coincidences. Did I believe that a three-headed monster was my murder suspect? Probably not, but I was starting to believe that Cody had some type of weird supernatural gift. Maybe he had some sort of clairvoyant ability.
Cody knew Jackson Smith had died, and had even had the same terrifying dream that I had, right down to the details of Jackson ripping his chest open and me holding his flaming heart. Regarding the three-headed beast, I had a hard time believing that the dream I had, and the creature that Cody claimed was responsible for the deaths, had literal connections. The only evidence I had was a blurry photo.
“So tell me. Did you actually see what killed that tow truck guy?”
“No, I didn’t. All I heard were his screams. That’s it.”
“And what about the dream?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you really interested in hearing this? Or are you just humoring me?”
Clouds overhead darkened the sky. A few raindrops hit the windshield as I exited the freeway.
“I’m just trying to process the information. You have to admit it sounds a bit absurd.”
“I know it does, but I can’t ignore it. Nothing has made sense lately.” That had been an understatement. I could only imagine how it sounded to Riley, and I struggled with whether or not I should keep talking. What the hell, I thought. So, I told him. “I fell asleep while I was waiting for the tow truck. In my dream, a three-headed beast with the body of a lion attacked me. It had the head of a lion, a dragon, and a ram… just like Cody described.”
“A chimera.”
“Yes, a chimera. I’m just telling you what I saw.” I switched the wipers to the highest setting as the rain intensified. I saw Riley shaking his head. “Do you want to hear this or don’t you?”
“So, what happened when you woke up?
I explained the boring details of my encounter with Rick Hessler and then described the attack. “It was brutal, Riley, and whatever attacked him must have been big.”
“And you think it was this chimera you saw in a dream?”
How was I supposed to answer that? Hell, I wasn’t certain if I even believed Cody’s story, but I also couldn’t ignore the facts. Was I losing my mind?
“Well?” Riley asked, his voice spiked with impatience. “Did you see what killed him, or didn’t you?”
“I already told you I didn’t.” I pulled the car into the parking garage next door to the police headquarters and searched for a parking spot. “I know it sounds nuts,” I said, “but how do you explain the connection between mine and Cody’s dreams. I never told him about it, yet he claims the very thing that showed up in my dream was what killed his friends.”
I maneuvered the car into a parking spot and waited for Riley to respond, but he just stared forward at the cement wall in front of us.
“Say something.”
Riley unfastened his seatbelt and got out of the car without a word. Great. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything to him. I sat in the car for a few minutes and considered everything I had just told Detective Riley. It had sounded like something out of a horror movie, but I couldn’t deny the fact that Cody Sumner and I had seen the same damn thing. The only difference was that I had seen it in a dream, and he’d claimed to have seen it with his own eyes. Maybe I was taking it too literal. The kid had lied to me before, so maybe…
My phone rang. It was the transmission shop that had my Corvette.
“Tell me you have good news, Doug.”
“Good news and bad news. Whatcha wanna hear first?”
Doug Hartman and I had gone to college together for about a year, and had been friends ever since. He hadn’t been much a student—he’d dropped out of college—but he knew everything there was about cars. He’d built his first custom hot rod when he was only twenty-two, and had restored old cars ever since. I had confidence my car was in able hands, but I never wanted to hear the words ‘I have bad news.’
“Let’s start with the bad, Doug.”
“Well, bad news is the parts f
or yer tranny are on backorder. Be at least a coupla months ’fore I can get it rebuilt the way you had it.”
“Tell me you’re kidding me.”
“Wish I was, buddy. Wanna hear the good news?”
Somehow, I didn’t think the good news would rectify not being able to have my car back for over two months. “This had better be some pretty damn good news. I sure as hell could use some right about now.”
“How ’bout a nice upgrade?”
“For free?”
Doug laughed. “Good one, Aaron. No, course not. I’m talking ’bout beefing it up with—”
“How is me spending more money good news?”
“Upgrading yer four to a five-speed rated to handle over six hundred foot-pounds of torque ain’t good news? If it ain’t, then I don’t know what to tell ya, buddy.”
The idea of such an upgrade washed away my headaches for a brief moment. “Did you say six hundred?”
“Exactly what I said. I can have the conversion kit here in two days if ya want it. Installed, ready to deliver a few days later.”
“And you won’t have to make any modifications?”
“Just a few upgrades here and there to match the engine and tranny. All bolt-on. No custom fab needed.”
“So, here’s the big question… How much are we talking about?”
“Oh, ’bout five grand. Give ’er take.”
I think I stopped breathing for a minute. “Five thousand? Are you nuts?” I rested my head back. “I don’t have that kind of money, Doug.”
“Trust me, Aaron, it’s worth it.”
“Oh, I’m sure it is. I just can’t afford it.” I sighed and said, “I guess I’ll just have to wait for the parts.”
“What if I—?”
“Goodbye, Doug.” I ended the call and rubbed the back of my neck. “God, I need to get a new car with a warranty.”
†
I sat at my desk staring at the blurred image of the beast I believed killed both Jason Dexter and Cullen Chandler. The photo was the only evidence I had that a large creature had killed the boys, and to think that it was anything other than a lion left me with conflicted feelings. I kept thinking about the dream I’d had the night my car broke down. I could still hear Rick Hessler’s screams. One detail about the aftermath of his death bothered me most. The young man’s head had fallen from the sky and crashed through the rear window of my car. I couldn’t explain that.
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