by Matt Drabble
He pulled up in front of the large barn secreted in amongst Todd’s tall crops. The barn was mainly for equipment storage. There were no locks on the doors as no-one ventured out this far.
He got out of the truck and looked down with puzzlement at the fresh tracks on the ground. He could not remember the last time anyone was sent out here on official business. And yet the tire tracks looked fresh in the soft mud. It wasn’t unheard of for some of the local teens to look for places to party out of sight. He had caught more than a few infringing on their land and had to send them packing with a large amount of restraint. Whilst they had some control over the authorities it was never wise to piss directly in the face of Gaines.
He left the bodies in the back of the truck and headed cautiously inside the barn. The door swung open easily and the smell hit him immediately. His first thought was that some animal had limped its way into the barn to die with dignity and privacy.
He walked forward and saw that someone had arranged some of the hay bales in a semi-circle. His heart suddenly pounded hard and he snatched out the revolver from his waist band that he carried all the time now. He held the gun out in front of him as he scanned the barn carefully and listened intently. He almost felt alone, but not quite.
He walked slowly to the front and stepped over the hay bales. He could smell the thick copper aroma of blood in the air. When he looked down he saw that the floor was splattered with dry crimson stains. He had two bodies drawing flies in the back of his truck and he had brought them here to hide. Apparently someone else had the same idea. The amount of stains on the floor told him instantly that there was no chance for the poor soul.
He looked over to a metallic barrel that had been used for storing a special mix of plant food that they used. There were already weeds growing true and strong around the barrel. Some of the contents had been spilled across the floor as though the container had been filled with something else. He stepped to it and with great reluctance removed the lid and peered inside. McEwen’s eyes were open and staring forever upwards. His severed head was floating on top of the remaining liquid. Other chopped body parts bobbed around in the barrel stirred by the motion of removing the lid. A lifetime ago they had been close friends, as close as brothers and he’d thought that they’d always remain so. But that intimacy had dissolved over the years. McEwen had proven to be as weak as the rest of them. Hiding behind the shadows of his paintings and avoiding the real world. Dixon did feel a loss at the sight of his former friend dismembered corpse, but it was a feeling of loss at what might have been. It should have been the two of them standing side by side during all of this. They could have taken Todd’s empire long before now if only they’d stuck together. The remains in the barrel were only the remains of a lost future.
He quickly hefted the two dead weights from the back of the truck into the barn. He found an old rusty but sturdy looking chain and closed the doors behind him. He laced the door handles with the chain and took a padlock from his toolbox in the truck. He secured the barn and left his grisly cargo behind with their newfound companion.
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Tommy rode in the back of the police car to the station. He had been given the all clear from the hospital after just a single night’s stay. His head still ached fiercely but his vision wasn’t blurry anymore. The doctors had discharged him with a painkiller prescription and he was on his way to jail. Deputy Trinder wasn’t full of conversation and the man looked worse than he did having spent the last 18 hours or so on duty.
“What now?” Tommy asked.
“Beats me,” Trinder shrugged from the driver’s seat. “I’m just dropping you off at the station and then I’m going home.”
“Do they really think that I did all of this?”
Trinder didn’t answer and Tommy thought that it couldn’t be good news. For whatever reason Gaines believed him to be the guilty party. He wondered if they had access to his medical history and just what they might make of it. He knew that his past psychological issues wouldn’t be viewed with anything less than suspicion. To the unenlightened mind he could seem guilty. A few visits to a shrink and a couple of prescriptions seemed to be enough to make anyone think that you were nuts these days.
The car pulled into the police car park and Trinder got out. Tommy’s hands weren’t cuffed and he was grateful for that. He was also grateful that the car park was removed from the sightlines of the street outside and prying eyes.
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Ally was getting ready to close the diner. She had been planning on visiting Tommy that evening but when she’d called the hospital to check on his condition a nurse had told her that he had already been released into police custody. She couldn’t believe that this was all happening. Surely Gaines could not really think that Tommy was some kind of psychotic mass murderer. She had looked into Dixon’s eyes and known that he was lying about just what he’d see at the warehouse. During their short lived marriage she’d amassed enough experience to tell when he was telling the truth and when he wasn’t. His clumsy pass at her with daydreams of rosy red futures had been awkward and uncomfortable. She had genuinely thought that they had parted on amicable enough terms. Better as friends than lovers was how she had put it and he had seemed to agree. She knew that he would have rather they had stayed married, but she hadn’t guessed the depth or even the true nature of his feelings for her. Far from being flattered she was suddenly very wary. Dixon could be a dangerous man when he felt the occasion arose and she now believed that Tommy had become his focus. If he was lying about what he’d witnessed, then that could very well mean that Tommy’s tale was true. She hadn’t had the chance to speak to him directly yet, but rumors abounded that Tommy had seen the return of Trotter. Poor PJ had paid the price that they all owed and she could only fear who was next.
The diner’s trade had been brisk all day with those seeking food and gossip in equal measure. The diner was often at the heart of the community and could almost always be relied on to spread the news of the day, however, today was different. Today she seemed to be the object of too many stares and curious looks. It was as though all of her regulars now viewed her with suspicion. She had somehow become Jack the Ripper’s girlfriend and the regulars wanted to see her close up. She had heard Tommy’s name mentioned several times as she’d passed tables, only for mouths and thoughts to close as she drew near. The small town had been her home and she was a central character to the town since taking over the diner. Now, however, that warm embrace of a small community seemed stifling and choking. It had been a relief to see the last customers drag themselves away with undisguised annoyance in their eyes at leaving empty handed.
Adrian Todd was supposedly hosting a town hall meeting that evening to announce that the killer had been caught. Tommy’s name would be dragged kicking and screaming through the mud. He would be held up as the answer to all their prayers. The bogeyman was caught and he was just a man after all.
“Why don’t you let me do that?” Daisy the cook said kindly as Ally was wiping down the counters.
“No, I’m fine. It’s good to keep busy,” Ally answered. “Perhaps you could walk Susie home?”
“Why?” The young girl asked suddenly popping up from the kitchen.
Ally considered the question. She couldn’t be sure that the wrong man was currently a guest in Gaines’ cell, and yet somehow she was. PJ’s death might be listed amongst the others, but for her that proved that Tommy could not be guilty. She was sure that Dixon was lying in his witness statement and so what if Tommy had a troubled past. It would have been more suspicious if he hadn’t considered what they had all gone through.
“Because it’s not safe out there Daisy,” Ally stated firmly.
“I’m sure that there are plenty of people about this time of the evening,” Daisy answered gently.
“Not tonight. Don’t forget that Adrian Todd is hosting his town hall meeting. Pretty much everyone in town will be there to celebrate,” Ally said bitterly. “Regar
dless of what you’ve heard around town, Tommy didn’t do it. And if he didn’t, that means that the real killer is still out there.”
“No offence sugar, but I thought that they guy was… you know?” Daisy twirled a finger at the side of her own head to illustrate.
Ally held on to her rising tide of anger at the suggestion. It wasn’t Daisy’s fault. She didn’t know Tommy, only the current salacious rumors.
“Just trust me on this Daisy,” she said, placing a hand on the cook’s arm. “Please?”
“Well I guess that it couldn’t do any harm,” Daisy smiled.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Susie said indignantly.
“No-one thinks you do,” Ally said leaning in close and whispering to the young girl. “I just thought that you could walk Daisy home,” she winked.
With the diner closed and empty Ally looked around her dominium, such as it was. It may not be every young girl’s dream, but it was her own business, and one that stayed in the black. She often liked to sit under the soft glow of the neon lights. The shadows were long and the day passed. The register was full and the shelves were empty and the town had been fed and watered for another day. She enjoyed the interactions. She enjoyed the regulars with their quirks and smiles and generally kind faces. This was her time of quiet reflection and appreciation.
Unexpectedly the back door banged open and her forehead crinkled with puzzlement.
“Hello?” She called out, “Daisy? Susie?” There was no answer and she grew nervous.
Suddenly the remaining light was extinguished as the power was shut off and the soft glow became darkness. There was no answer from her visitor and she could only fear the worst. Her heart pounded viciously against her chest and she searched her mind desperately for a plan. She was no DD blonde airhead and had no desire to start searching the diner armed with nothing but a kitchen knife and lingerie. She felt glued to the barstool at the counter. Her legs trembled and her hands shook gently. A dish fell in the kitchen and shattered on the linoleum floor. The sound of breaking crockery broke her paralyzing fear and she bolted for the front door. Her feet whispered across the floor as she ran on nimble legs with growing strength. She hit the main entrance hard and reverberated against the long glass panels as she found the doors locked. She frantically dug in her pockets praying that she still had the keys.
“Oh Ms Chambers?” A voice from behind her called in a high pitched squeak.
She didn’t bother wasting time with ineffective fear. She searched for the keys and fought against the rising tide of panic as she dragged the silver bunch from her tight jeans pocket. The front door key was the largest on the bunch and she thrust it into the lock. She felt his presence from behind and suppressed the urge to turn to him. Thankfully the door opened on the first turn of the key as it always did. There were no inconvenient last second complications thrown at her from left field for dramatic effect. She burst out into the street and ran for the middle of the road. The street was deserted as most people would be at the town hall meeting. They would all be laughing and joking about how they were never scared in the first place. The men would announce with ironclad certainty that they wished Tommy Marsh had tried coming after them as they’d have taught him a thing or two. Fear could never exist under the spotlight of warm company and cold beer.
She turned back towards the diner. There was no-one there. No silhouette leapt from the shadows with gleaming razor teeth and claws. No nightmare sprung from her darkest childhood dreams with ravenous vengeance in his eyes.
She stood that way for seemed like an age. Unwilling to move or even take her eyes off of the dark doorway. Her anger began to rise. This was her business, her sanctuary, her home. She had worked hard to achieve her little corner of this world and now someone wanted to take that away. Her hands tensed into fists as her anger rose into rage.
She took a step back towards the doorway, unwilling to surrender, unwilling to hand over control. Her entire marriage to Dixon had been born out of her need to lean on his shoulders and surrender control to him. She wouldn’t go through that again. She had made a promise to herself the day she’d signed the divorce papers that never again would she surrender anything of herself.
She took another defiant step, then another. Her breath was held and her lungs screamed in protest. She took another step and reached the door. She reached out a hand and grabbed hold hard of her door, her building, her home.
Her foot rose to take a step inside when rational sense invaded her mind and her foot hovered in mid-air. Surely there was a middle ground between surrender and suicide. It was that split second that saved her life. If her balance had shifted through the doorway then she would have been lost. The soft hand that leapt from the darkness and clamped down hard with an iron grip on her arm was only just unable to pull her in. She planted her mid air foot on the doorframe and pushed backwards with adrenaline infused strength. The iron grip was broken and she staggered backwards with arms spinning madly in the air as she fought for balance. She knew that if she fell then he would be upon her in a flash and she would be done for.
By some miracle and infrequent Pilates she gathered her balance and steadied the ship. And then his face loomed out into the night. His face was twisted with rage and contorted with hunger. His head was bald and his pallor had a sickly green tinge to it like he had barely met the sun in years. His eyes were dark pits that burned and threatened to drown her in their insanity. It was Trotter, The Captivating Cosmo X returned from her darkest dreams with only the worst intentions in mind. His mouth cracked with a wide smile, darkened by rotting black teeth.
She found what little courage that she had left. Her legs were turning to water but she somehow managed to turn and run. There were no words to speak, no cries of defiance to scream and no Hollywood pithy one liners. She ran for her life as if the very devil himself was chasing her.
Her feet pounded hard on the concrete as she flew. She knew that she was in reasonable shape and tried to slow her pace. Somewhere deep in her rational mind she was pleased to discover that she was still thinking. If Trotter had been incarcerated for over 20 years then he couldn’t possibly be in decent shape. She slowed to a jogging pace and figured that there was no way that he could keep up for long. She risked a glance back over her shoulder and was terrified to find Trotter grasping desperately for her. His long bony fingers whistled through the air and brushed her polo shirt. Whatever his physical fitness levels were, apparently his insanity had overridden those limitations.
She put the hammer down and floored her internal engine. She sprinted hard and ran through Main Street unable to comprehend just how there were no witnesses in sight. She risked another quick look back and this time she was relieved to find him dropping back and struggling to keep up. Another inspired thought passed through her mind and she broke for the other side of the road and ran for McEwen’s gallery. A few weeks ago he’d had some minor vandalism and his pushy agent had insisted that he’d had some security cameras installed.
She slowed slightly to allow Trotter to draw closer as she ran passed the gallery. She could only pray that the cameras were still operating. She passed underneath and turned her face upwards hoping that her image would be captured clearly. Despite her fitness she was starting to breathe heavily. Her legs were burning and she feared that she had wasted too much energy on her emotions. She could feel him closing in again and she reached down hard to find her last ounce of fuel. She turned right and pushed as hard as she could for the police station. It was no more than a quarter of mile from here but it felt like it was a marathon away. All the while now she could feel him closing in. She gave up trying to figure out if it was her fear or if he really was about to snatch her off the street and eat her whole. Her lungs were bursting and her heart was skipping worryingly. Her legs were full of scorching acid and her whole body ached with nervous tension.
She turned the last corner and saw the police station lit up like a shining beacon of hope. She pushed even h
arder, ignoring her body’s screaming protests. She could feel him for sure now. His hands were stretching out for her ready to rip the skin from her back; to strip the flesh from her bones allowing her this last thin vestige of hope. He would take her only when she thought that she was safe.
She thundered into the police station door just as she was sure that this was the end. Inexplicably the front door would not give and only rattled on its hinges. She tensed herself for his razor tipped fingers and pounded against the locked door that would not open. A hand grabbed her and she swung around with a clenched fist. With the last of her strength she struck the face from her nightmares as hard as she could, no surrender.
She looked down at the fallen form to find Deputy Henry Trinder holding his nose as it spurted blood between his fingers.
“What the hell did you do that for?” He spluttered.
Ally answered by bursting into tears.
21.
LOOSE ENDS
Adrian Todd looked out across the seated assembly and held sway over his town. He had assured everyone that things were under control during the darkest hours. He smugly held fast to the belief that Denver Mills belonged to him. When the crisis had struck it was him that the ordinary men and women turned to for answers. He had been stopped on the street more times than he could remember by sweaty palms desperate for assurance. The only blip on his landscape had always been Sherman Gaines, an incorruptible badge wearer and upholder of the law. The old man was closing in rapidly on retirement and perhaps the fear that had gripped the small town could be used to push him out of the door early. He had deputies Freddie Burns and Henry Trinder firmly in his pocket and either of them would make a sufficient puppet to put into power. There wasn’t a corner of this town that he didn’t hold influence over and it was time to exercise some control.