by Matt Drabble
“Oh calm down Sherman. I saw your last blood pressure test and it’s no good you getting upset,” Doc Norton said.
“These two were making out through the bars,” Katy said pointing at Tommy and Ally. “And this one was cheering them on!” She said pointing at Doc Norton.
“I think cheering them on is a bit strong,” Norton said grinning.
“Jesus can’t I leave you alone for two minutes!” Gaines said angrily towards the doctor.
“Hey I’m not the love police,” Norton said maintaining his grin.
“You’re not any kind of police!” Katy said with a red angry face.
Doc Norton responded by poking out his tongue. Tommy could feel that the old doc was having the time of his life.
“Let’s all take a breath for a minute,” Gaines said with authority. He stepped towards Doc Norton and spoke in low tones. “I thought that you were the one who was pointing the finger at Tommy here?”
“Hey what do I know? I’m not any kind of police remember,” Norton said tilting his head towards Katy.
“But what about his history and all that?” Gaines asked.
“Well not every screwed up individual becomes a serial killer, in my professional opinion at least,” Norton answered.
“What about Dixon’s witness statement?” Katy interjected.
“Yeah what about that?” Norton said firmly. “Are any of you really going to tell me that you would take his word about anything?”
“Um, excuse me,” Ally piped up. “But I saw Trotter tonight. The psycho chased me down Main Street trying to kill me. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
“What?” Katy asked surprised.
“I’m afraid that you’re a little late to the party,” Norton said still grinning.
“So we won’t take Dixon’s word about what happened, but we’ll take hers?” Katy said suspiciously.
“You don’t need to take my word for anything. I got the guy on tape,” Ally said proudly and Tommy wanted to kiss her all over again.
“How?” Gaines said.
“When he was chasing me I ran past McEwen’s gallery. He had some CCTV cameras installed outside watching the street. If they’re working, then they caught the whole thing.”
Tommy looked out across the gathered faces. Doc Norton looked happy. Gaines looked impressed and Katy looked pissed.
“Well then,” Gaines said firmly. “Why don’t we go take a look.”
Tommy waited with Doc Norton as Ally led Gaines and his young deputy over to the gallery to check the cameras.
“So you thought that I was the nutty one?” Tommy asked the elderly doctor.
“It was just a theory,” Norton shrugged as he worked on peeling an orange.
“Not a good one,” Tommy answered bitterly. “If I wasn’t locked in here then Ally might not have been almost murdered.”
“I don’t think that young lady is need of any chivalrous knights riding to her rescue. She seems more than capable of looking after herself.”
Tommy couldn’t disagree, but the caveman instinct ran deep in men and he still felt an almost overpowering need to protect her.
“Besides,” the doc continued, “would you have thought about running past the only CCTV cameras on Main Street to try and catch an image of the man? I know I wouldn’t have.”
Again he couldn’t disagree. Hopefully in one foul swoop Ally had proven his innocence, especially if Trotter’s face was clearly visible on the tape. All he could do was to wait and hope.
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Gaines led the expedition. He had tried Trinder on the radio on the way over to tell him to get back to the station and watch Marsh, but there had been no reply. He was now torn between carrying on to the gallery or detouring to the diner. He could always split himself and Katy, but somehow it didn’t feel right to divide his forces.
He glanced down and was relieved to see that Katy was still carrying her service revolver. He was still carrying his also and the gleaming metal was of some comfort.
They reached the gallery before any of them realised that they actually had no way of entering the premises if it was locked. The building was dark inside and no amount of peering through the windows seemed to offer any solution.
“We’re just going to have to break in,” Ally stated.
“We can’t just go around committing crimes on your say-so!” Katy exclaimed.
“Well what do suggest then genius?” Ally barked back.
“We’ll just have to wait until Mr. McEwen gets back into town,” Katy answered primly.
“You really think that he’s coming back? You really think that he’s not dead already?” Ally said sadly.
“You can’t possibly know that Ms Chambers,” Gaines said kindly.
“I can’t, but I do,” Ally answered. “I know in here,” she said, touching her chest.
Gaines walked around to the front door as the other two followed. He tried the door hoping to find it unlocked, but life was rarely that simple. He knew that Katy was right and he couldn’t affect an entry to the premises without a crime being committed, but on the other hand. He placed his sturdy work boot on the wooden door and kicked hard. The fragile frame was more designed for aesthetic reasons than security and the door gave way easily.
“HELLO?” He called out loudly, there was no answer. “Katy, you stay out here and watch the perimeter. Eyes sharp and ears open girl,” he demanded firmly. “Ms Chambers you’re with me.”
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Ally followed Gaines into the gallery. The scent of McEwen suddenly washed over her in waves. His presence was palpable on the walls and in the air. Feelings of sorrow and loss consumed her for her friend, for all of them.
The gallery was dark save for the soft glow of the fire alarms overhead. Ally knew that there was an office at the rear and tugged at Gaines’ coat before pointing him that way. He moved forward stealthily with his gun out and his head twitching from side to side as he scanned the room. The doors had been locked to McEwen’s building so she felt fairly certain that it was empty, but she was grateful for the cop’s reassuring presence nevertheless.
Gaines pushed open the office door with the tip of his gun. The room inside was darker than the outer gallery and Ally leaned past him to the left and hit the light switch. The room flooded with light and there were no maniacs lurking in dark corners.
There was a desk on the far wall that was laden with a computer monitor and various paperwork holders. She had never envisaged McEwen to be in possession of such a tightly organised mind. Perhaps this was the work of his late agent or perhaps he wasn’t quite the flake that people took him to be.
“You better take a look,” Gaines offered meekly, “I’m afraid that I don’t know an awful lot about computers.”
She walked over and hit the power button on the computer tower. The system chugged along until it staggered into life. Judging by the speed of it, the system was functional rather than cutting edge. She flicked through the files on the computer desktop. Nothing leapt out at her as being related to the CCTV system outside but she finally found what she was looking for under a shortcut title “1984”. She smiled at the George Orwell novel reference. She double clicked the icon and the monitor became a split screen image of the front and back of the building. The front camera looked out over a deserted Main Street and the rear looked out over the rear of the gallery. The rear image showed a smallish fenced off courtyard with a dumpster. The metallic fence wrapped around the area making it private and secure.
“Are there any recordings?” Gaines asked.
Ally prayed that there were. She scanned the set up and quickly ascertained the system in use.
“Ok,” she said “You can use the computer screen to monitor the camera’s live feed and then the recordings are sent to the DVR over there,” she pointed to the recorder underneath a small TV. “What the cameras saw a short while ago when I ran past should have been recorded.”
Gaines moved to the TV an
d DVR. He picked up several remote controls that were lying around and began pointing them randomly at the screen jabbing his finger with increasing irritability.
“Bloody thing,” he mumbled under his breath.
Ally stood and took the remotes from him. “Here let me,” she said gently. “Not the most technically minded are we?” she smiled.
“Just turn the damn thing on,” he grumbled.
Ally turned the TV on and selected the HDMI setting whilst powering up the DVR. She could see from the menu that the recordings ran for many hours when operated. The times showed that the system was only working after 7pm. She highlighted the front camera option and today’s date and did a quick mental calculation as to the rough time that she would have been running past the cameras for her life. She allowed enough room for error and selected the playback option. The TV burst into life with a decent quality image of the front view. The image was black and white but perfectly clear. She pushed the fast forward button to x2 and then x4. The street was deserted save for the occasional bird that fluttered by. Her hope was sinking fast when she suddenly saw herself fly past the camera. She quickly rewound the recording and paused it.
“Here,” she said to Gaines breathlessly.
Her heart was pounding hard and she prayed that the camera would capture enough to save Tommy. She pressed play at half speed. Her jolting image stuttered in front of the camera again and she held her breath, and suddenly there it was. The tall figure lumbered after hers. The figure wore a long black cape with the hood pulled down over its face.
“It’s something, but not conclusive,” Gaines said as he watched. “I mean how do I know that it’s not one of your friends? How do I know that it’s not McEwen chasing you just to give Mr. Marsh an alibi?”
“Really?” Ally said with both eyebrows raised. “That’s the best that you’ve got to offer?”
Gaines shrugged thoughtfully. “I know that you care about Mr. Marsh a great deal Ms Chambers. And I certainly wouldn’t put anything past your ingenuity.”
“Well that’s certainly a backhanded compliment if ever I heard one,” Ally laughed.
Gaines stood back from the TV and wandered around the office as though thinking. “I really don’t know just what is going on in my town Ms Chambers. But I do know that I don’t want anyone else to get hurt, not even Adrian Todd.”
“Do you still think that Tommy’s guilty?”
“No, not really. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I just let him go, not with all the circumstantial evidence and Mr. Dixon’s statement. Besides we really can’t tell anything from an image like this,” he said looking at the computer monitor. “I mean this could be anyone dressed up in a black cape with their features hidden.”
Ally looked up in surprise; the DVR recording on the TV screen was frozen after Trotter had passed through. “What?”
“This guy, it could be anyone,” Gaines replied.
“Holy shit!” Ally exclaimed. “That’s the live feed!” She said looking at the computer monitor. “He’s outside now.”
The image on the monitor still showed the split screen image of the front and rear of the gallery. The left image showed the caped figure moving slowly around the front of the building. The silhouette slipped from sight. They both turned to the right hand image. This one showed Katy standing guard, oblivious to the danger.
“You mean that this isn’t a recording? This is happening now?” Gaines gasped.
Ally stood frozen to the spot unable to tear her eyes from the screen.
Gaines screamed loudly for the young deputy. On the screen the woman turned as though she caught the scream but only as a whisper due to her distance. Gaines leapt into action and ran towards the rear door. He thudded and banged on it uselessly as it was securely locked. On the screen Ally saw Katy suddenly grabbed from behind and almost out of sight of the camera’s view. Gaines turned and tore back out through the gallery to the front door and into the street. The young deputy was jerked off of her feet and flew backwards. Ally’s hands went to her mouth in shock as she could only watch. She could hear a loud commotion outside as Gaines tried to get around the building. A few seconds later he appeared, gun drawn and panic on his face. He scanned the now empty rear courtyard and looked up to the camera with terror in his eyes and arms outstretched in confusion. Trotter was gone and so was Katy, Gaines stood alone and helpless.
23.
DISCOVERIES
Dixon came very close to throwing his phone out of the truck window as it rang yet again. By now he didn’t need to look at the caller ID as he knew that it was Todd. His boss had been calling non-stop for the past hour. He thumped the wheel in frustration; just how long was Trotter going to wait? He had tried to call both of the deputies on their payroll for an update on Tommy, but neither Burns nor Trinder were answering. It was getting harder and harder to get good help these days, especially if he kept losing his temper and offing them.
He knew that he could kill Todd himself, but he also knew that there was practically no chance that he would be able to get away with it. The two college boys that he had killed earlier that day wouldn’t be missed if he had control of the company. But in order for him to get control, then Todd had to be out of the way. His boss would soon be demanding to know where the two guys were and Dixon did not have a good excuse. If he was in charge, then no-one would dare to even ask the question.
The phone rang again and this time he did fling it out of the window. The silence was golden and he breathed deeply to calm himself. All he had to do was to stay out of the way long enough for Trotter to do his thing.
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Adrian Todd slammed the phone receiver down hard on the cradle. Dixon still wasn’t answering and neither it seemed was anyone else. If Dixon wasn’t so dumb then he might have feared a coup in progress. But Dixon was dumb, and he couldn’t picture the lumbering ox scheming in any fashion.
He was alone at the farmhouse. The staff that he had gathered before when he had been scared had all been sent away. He still shuddered at his loss of control and just how he must have seemed to his underlings. Just how much respect he had lost in their eyes was also cause for concern. Considering that no-one was answering his calls tonight, it was becoming a major concern. His business might be relatively lucrative and low key, but even a small jungle had its share of predators. He had been unable to overcome his pride and call in protection for a second time. A house full of sniggering children wasn’t much protection in the first place and he couldn’t afford to be seen to be that weak again.
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“So what exactly do we know about Trotter? I mean apart from the myths and rumors?” Doc Norton asked the still recovering room.
Tommy’s cell door was open and he was sitting in a chair in the outer office. Ally and Gaines had returned with their tale of Katy’s abduction. Gaines had told the shocked room that he had found blood on the floor but no sign of either Katy or Trotter. They were now all seated in the office save for Doc Norton who was pacing around slowly. Tommy had noted that the existence of Arnold Trotter no longer seemed to be in question.
“We spoke to Jeremiah Hogan on the outskirts of town. Apparently he was the one person in town willing to speak up for Trotter at the trial,” Tommy said.
“The teacher? I don’t remember hearing anything about him at the time,” Doc Norton answered.
“He told us that Todd and his cronies, including Chief Taylor, put the pressure on him not to,” Ally said.
“Did he have anything concrete to say about the case? Any direct evidence?” Doc Norton asked.
“Just a character witness that’s all,” Tommy answered.
“All that trouble to stop a character witness from speaking? I guess Adrian Todd wasn’t taking any chances,” Doc Norton said with a sigh.
“What about the trial? I mean how much of it was rigged?” Ally asked.
“Well I sat in the back of the courtroom and I’ve never seen such a one sided lynching,�
�� Doc Norton said as he walked. “There were no objections raised, no speculation challenged, no witnesses for the defense, in fact barely any defense offered at all.”
“What about the motive? The idea that Trotter’s wife was having an affair and that he’d found out?” Tommy asked.
“I think that part was true to be honest,” Doc Norton replied. “Mary Todd was a girl with a certain reputation around town. But no man was ever specifically named as being the boyfriend at the trial. It seemed like the jury was only too happy to accept that it was someone and that was enough for them. Personally I think that Trotter was doomed from the moment that he first met Mary Todd.”
“Look, what the hell are we going to do about Katy? She’s out there with that maniac,” Gaines snapped harshly. “I’m sick and tired of running around in circles telling fireside ghost stories. How about we deal in some facts? Starting with you two,” he pointed at Tommy and Ally. “Just what the hell happened at that birthday party and where did a bunch of twelve year olds fit into it?”
Tommy looked hard at Ally. After a brief pause she nodded lightly and Tommy told their tale, albeit 20 years too late.
“It wasn’t what we did, so much as what we didn’t do,” Tommy began. “We found Trotter’s truck parked around the back of the house. We were 12 and nosy. We got into the truck and found the guillotine trick. It was this huge wooden structure with glinting metal blades and what looked like bloodstains on it. We were all fascinated and couldn’t keep our hands off of the thing.”
“Who was we?” Gaines asked.
“Me, Ally, Russell Dixon, Lee McEwen and Peter Joffre who stood guard,” Tommy answered. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Ally had started to cry gently.
“So you were responsible for making his equipment fail?” Doc Norton asked.
“The honest truth is that we have no idea,” Tommy answered. “We were trying to get the trick to work. McEwen’s head was on the block, so to speak, when something went wrong. The blade started to fall and we barely got him out in time. We were just kids, clumsy kids,” Tommy said sadly.