by Matt Drabble
His mind was full of thoughts about the practicalities of the situation when Katy walked back in with two steaming mugs. There would be the funerals, the investigation, the questions, the press intrusion, it all seemed so overwhelming.
“You look like I feel,” Katy smiled. “How’s the shoulder?”
“Not too bad. Good job that you weren’t a better aim,” he joked.
Katy only looked sadly down at the floor.
“You know I can’t help but think that it doesn’t quite all add up,” Tommy mused.
“How do you mean?”
“Well some of the murders were so Trotter and some just don’t seem to fit. I mean to start with how was he keeping out of sight?”
“Apparently there was an old teacher of his,” Katy replied.
“Hogan, Jeremiah Hogan?”
“Yes that was him.”
“Was?” Tommy said with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“One of the cops told me that he had been found early this morning at his home. It seems that Trotter was hiding out there. They found a whole bunch of his stuff and fingerprints.”
“What about the two deputies?” Tommy asked dropping his voice low, “I’m sorry if they were friends of yours.”
“What about them?”
“Well, where did they or the waitress fit into all this? I mean when did he have the time to kill them and why were they the only bodies hidden? How was he able to get around town without being spotted? How was he able to set up the whole elaborate scene at the barn without help?”
“Who knows?” Katy said simply. “Maybe we’ll never know.”
“I guess so,” Tommy pondered. “With a mind as nuts as Trotter’s, maybe we won’t ever understand him. I mean the guy was a freak for Christ’s sake.”
“Well he did have some justification,” Katy said a little distantly. “I mean look at how this whole damn town treated him. Who wouldn’t want revenge for that? Which of us wouldn’t think that we had the right to exact a little justice?”
Tommy stared at the young deputy. Her mood had seemed to switch fast enough to make his head spin. Unconsciously she had reached into the pocket of her dressing gown and withdrawn a well worn coin. As she spoke she began to roll the coin over her knuckles. Her dexterous fingers moving with expert ease as the coin bobbed back and forth between them. His nose was suddenly assaulted with a strange yet familiar odour of a sweaty sheen that seemed to gleam on her forehead and he was inexplicably scared.
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“Ah yes,” Diane startled him from behind as she leant over Sam’s shoulder peering at the photograph that he had found. “I remember Miranda being such a devoted mother. When I was viewing this house before I bought it from her, that cute little thing was always running around here. She was always so shy, always hiding in the corner the few times that I was here. I often wonder what happened to that little girl after her mother passed away.”
“Was there a husband in the picture?” Sam asked with a dry mouth as he stared at the image of the child.
“No. Miranda lived here alone. She never mentioned a husband,” Diane said regretfully.
“What about the father?” Sam asked, even though he was terrified that he already knew the answer.
“I did ask once, but all Miranda would say was that he was away and wouldn’t ever be coming home”.
Sam eyes were glued to the image. Miranda Yates had worked as a therapist at Halsom Prison. The warden had told him that she had worked with Trotter and had left under somewhat of a gossip’s cloud. He stared down at the photograph. In it she stood tall with a confident air. She was attractive and officious. Her young daughter was half hidden behind her mother’s legs. A small shy face poked out and Sam’s eyes were drawn to the cheek of the girl. He could just make out something so familiar and at the same time so terrifying. The young girl had a small crescent moon birthmark on her cheek. It was a birthmark that he had seen a million times before back home. He desperately snatched the phone from his pocket and punched in the numbers with trembling fingers. All he could do was to pray that it wasn’t too late.
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Ally had been quickly packing a few essentials when she heard the phone ringing and picked up the phone. She stared down at the dark plastic handset that was unlit and yet the ringing noise persisted. She suddenly realised that the ringing was coming from her jacket pocket. Puzzled, she searched the pockets and found Gaines’ phone. She had answered it at the barn and must have put it in her pocket absentmindedly. The phone was older than any other that she could remember seeing and she had to search for the button to answer it.
“Oh thank God,” the voice exclaimed on the other end.
“Hello?” Ally replied.
“Ms Chambers? Is that you? It’s Sam Norton, thank God you answered. I couldn’t get anyone to pick up on the police station and I couldn’t think of anyone else to try. I just prayed that someone in authority had Sherman’s phone to hand.”
“Just me I’m afraid doc. What’s the problem? You sound flustered.”
“Where are you?” Norton snapped quickly.
“I’m at home.”
“Are you alone?”
“Well there are some cops outside.”
“Not Katy?” Norton said his voice laden with concern.
“No, why?”
“Is Mr. Marsh with you?” Norton replied ignoring her question but sounding relieved.
“Not at the minute he’s nipped over to say thanks to the young deputy who saved us,” Ally said, confused by the elderly doctor’s tone.
“You mean to Deputy Jacket’s place? To see Katy?”
“Jesus doc what the hell’s going on? What’s got you so concerned about Katy Jacket?”
“She’s his daughter Ms Chambers and I fear that Mr. Marsh may be in terrible danger.”
“What? Whose daughter?”
“Trotter, Arnold Trotter,” Norton snapped harshly. “Katy’s mother worked as a therapist at the prison where Trotter was first sent. Before he was attacked and… ruined shall we say, I believe that he and Miranda Yates conceived Katy.”
“Are you sure?” Ally asked skeptically.
“There were rumors about Miranda and Trotter. Apparently Ms Yates left the employ of the prison under a cloud and much gossip. I’ve found a photograph that shows Miranda and her young daughter. The little girl has the same crescent moon birthmark on her cheek as Katy does. She’s his daughter damn it, his daughter!”
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Tommy watched the young deputy nervously. The silver coin continued to dance across her knuckles. It was an abstract motion that the woman didn’t even seem to be aware that she was doing. Her face was distant and lost as her mind drifted off somewhere else. All during the latter stages of Trotter’s reign of terror that had plagued the town he couldn’t help but feel that someone had to have been helping him. He’d assumed that the most likely candidate would have been the one man who had tried to stand by him at the trial; Jeremiah Hogan. But now it would seem that Trotter had another little helper. It made no sense, but there was no mistaking that the aroma of insanity that he had caught on Trotter’s scent was now filling the small apartment in which he sat.
“Why?” He asked simply.
“Why what?” Katy said as she turned her gaze back towards him with seemingly some difficulty in focusing again. Her face was titled to one side and her eyes shone with intensity.
“Why everything Katy?”
“Were you close to your father Tommy?” She asked out of nowhere. “I never really knew mine, I only heard about what was done to him. About the abomination of a trial that ran him into jail and the town that laughed.”
Tommy glanced around the room nervously. The deputy was young and fit and he only had one working shoulder. He felt helpless and trapped.
“I used to visit him in the hospital after this town sent men into his prison cell to take what little life he had left. I used my police cre
dentials to make sure that my name never showed up on any visiting records. He would show me tricks,” she said fondly as she stared at the dancing coin. He told me all about what they had done to him. My mother never understood about my need to get to know him in that place. But he and I were connected in a special, magical way,” she smiled fondly.
“What did you do for him?” Tommy asked, wanting to keep the conversation going as he was terrified about what came next when she ran out of words.
“I was a good girl,” she said primly. “I was daddy’s little helper. I helped him to get justice against all of those that had wronged him. You were always the key Tommy. Always the key to get the party started again, so I killed your father.”
Tommy was staggered at the suggestion. “My father died in a car accident,” he said unsurely.
“I know, I caused it,” she smiled.
“But surely there would have been an investigation…” he trailed off as she continued to smile.
“Chief Gaines always held me in the highest of esteem. I was given the case to investigate and guess what? I found that it was just an accident,” she grinned lopsidedly.
“You were the one helping him around town? Making sure that he wasn’t caught or discovered?”
“Well dear old dad wasn’t exactly much on details unfortunately. After everything that this town put him through it isn’t surprising,” she spat. “He was a shell of a man left hollow and empty and all because he was a little different. But I made sure that you would all pay. I went to see him after I found out that Gaines had been to see him. My father told me everything that Gaines had suspected. I broke him out of Blackwater Heights and I burned that stinking place to the ground. I wanted to bring him straight back with me, but I knew that I had to put a little distance between us to make sure that no-one ever joined the dots about us. And dear old dad did have such fun on his way home.”
Tommy could only watch on as the young deputy flashed between rage and mirth with head spinning speed. He could feel the waves of crazy flowing from her petite frame and he could feel fear, fear and sorrow. Katy Jacket, it would seem had just been another victim of Trotter all along. His warped mind had hereditary powers and she had stood little chance of escaping him.
“What about that whole scene at the barn? You were just pretending to be under his hypnotic spell?”
She nodded happily, her head bobbing up and down like a dog in a car.
“You shot Gaines on purpose?” He asked.
“Of course, I thought why not kill two birds with one stone, so to speak,” she replied. “With Gaines and his other flunky deputies gone, I’ll be the one put in charge. Daddy got his vengeance and I get a promotion,” she smiled proudly. “After we staged my kidnapping at McEwen’s gallery I was free to help him with the final arrangements. I drugged Adrian Todd and brought him gift wrapped, not to mention taking care of a few other loose ends.”
“So it was you that killed Burns and Trinder? That’s why they didn’t fit the pattern?”
“And that disease ridden slut that Burns was going to marry. I figured why not clean the slate while we were at it. Not to mention the fact that now that Adrian Todd and his pet ape Dixon are also gone, there will be another more lucrative opening,” she grinned merrily.
“You want Todd’s business?” He asked incredulously.
“Hey I may be a little nuts, but I’m not stupid,” she laughed.
Tommy couldn’t stand it any longer. The insanity that hung thickly in the air coupled with the senseless deaths and Katy Jacket’s grinning face were too much to bear. He made a clumsy attempt to lunge towards her, but his balance was off. The combination of the painkillers and his arm in a sling had skewed his balance. Katy neatly stood and effortlessly sidestepped his awkward attempt. Her hand soon reached into her dressing gown pocket and withdrew her police issue revolver. She held the gun over him with mocking laughter in her eyes.
“You can’t just shoot me,” he gasped. The lunge had torn open some of his stitches and he could feel his shirt already starting to soak through with blood from the wound.
“Oh I’m not going to shoot you Tommy my boy, not if I don’t have to anyway. You see you are quite a well known odd ball around town these days. The 12 year old boy who lost it after his birthday party. It’s kind of ironic don’t you think? You are now the one who is looked upon with suspicion by passing eyes. My father was convicted because they all saw him as a weirdo, as an outsider, a freak. Now when you commit suicide no-one will bat an eyelid.”
“Your father was convicted because he was guilty!” Tommy snapped.
“Yeah, but they didn’t know that did they?” She pouted in reply. “They convicted him because he was different and Adrian Todd wanted his pound of flesh.”
Tommy could see that arguing with the woman was going to be pointless. She was obviously too far gone to listen to any reason. But even he had to admit to himself that she had a point.
“ALLY DON’T!” He suddenly bluffed and shouted towards the door.
Katy turned as he’d hoped. He’d shouted as a distraction and as she turned he stumbled for the fire escape. He might have made it if not for the cat. The ginger tom suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself between his legs as he reached for the window. His feet caught together and he fell forwards. His hand grasped for the windowsill and his fingers slipped. His head came down hard on the wooden surface and she was on him in a flash. She brought the hard metal barrel of the gun down on the back of his head and he saw stars. The last thought that flashed through his mind before he fell into the pit of unconsciousness was that he really hated cats.
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Ally just reached Katy Jacket’s apartment when she saw the woman closing the back of her truck. The young woman looked red faced and puffed like she had just loaded something heavy into the rear. Her heart skipped a beat as she feared the worse. Tommy was nowhere in sight and the daughter of Arnold Trotter had just loaded something large into the back of her truck.
Her hand was on the door handle before she realised that Katy was already pulling away from the curb. It took every ounce of restraint for her not to drive straight into Katy’s vehicle. But somehow she managed to listen to the rational part of her brain. Not only was Katy potentially crazy, she was also an armed police deputy. Accosting her on the street was only likely to result in two bodies in the back of Katy’s truck. She had to believe that Tommy was still alive, she just had to.
She followed at a decent distance, scared to tip her hand so soon. She thought back to Doc Norton’s conversation. Like Tommy she had also had some doubts over Trotter’s seemingly supernatural ability to move about the small town undetected. She’d also thought that some of the murders had taken place almost too close together to be the work of one man. It made far more sense that the man had help, rather than that he was some supernatural being.
Ally followed as Katy drove slowly out of town. The deputy was careful and picked her way through the increased traffic as Denver Mills seemed to be becoming the centre of the police and news universe. Ally passed several police cars but couldn’t quite bring herself to stop and ask for help. She knew that by the time she had explained her unbelievable story Katy would be out of sight and reach. All of these cops were from out of town and she couldn’t see any of them taking her seriously enough in time. The entire Denver Mills Police Department now seemed to consist entirely of the deranged offspring of Arnold Trotter. She couldn’t risk any harm coming to Tommy, he was all she had left.
The road out of town was practically empty as the car lights coming in the opposite direction were stacked up high. The traffic seemed to consist mainly of police and news vehicles. The story had apparently spread countrywide and the details were seemingly too juicy and salacious for anyone to pass up. She was growing concerned that Katy was going to keep driving until just before she reached the town border she pulled into a dirt track road. Ally recognised the area and followed her down towards the
reservoir.
“Satan’s Drop” was the name given to the beauty spot that sat high above the water. The reservoir dam was over 200 feet high and the water flowed downstream at a rapid rate of knots for over 15 miles. It was the local spot where most virginities were surrendered and most beers were tasted for the first time. As youths Ally, Tommy, PJ, Dixon, and McEwen had spent many hot summers whiling away the days here. They would bring food and PJ’s old battered stereo. They would laugh and they would smile. It seemed like a whole different life now. It had always been a favourite place of hers and a place of memories to picture them all together and happy. Her stomach twisted in knots at the thought of yet another recollection that was about to be distorted and ruined.
She parked at the top of the lane and got out of her car. She could hear Katy’s truck idling a little further down and she crept forward stealthily through the trees and bushes. She stayed around 10 feet back and hidden whilst the deputy got out and walked around to the rear of the truck. Katy dropped the tailgate and began to pull a large shape out. Ally held her breath and prayed that the woman wasn’t just dumping a body. Her spirits soared as the wrapped shape moved and emitted a soft moan. It suddenly dawned on her that she didn’t actually have a plan or even a weapon. She watched on as Katy dragged the body from the truck’s tailgate. The shape thumped to the floor and the body groaned again, louder this time as though it was coming to. Ally lowered herself onto her stomach and began to slither forward on her belly as quietly as she could.
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Tommy came around groggily. The world was suddenly draped in darkness and it took him a moment to realise that he was under a blanket and not actually dead. The air smelled fresh with a breeze that was gentle and he knew he was outside. He pulled back the blanket and could hear the soft rush of water. The stars were shining clearly above his head and somehow he could just tell where he was. Unbeknownst to him he shared a flash of anger with Ally at the thought of yet another childhood prized memory was taken from him.