The Homecoming

by Carsten Stroud

  Martin and Zorah Palgrave operated printing shop that created tintype print Niceville Families Jubilee 1910.

  Indications Leah Searle made same findings re Rainey adoption and communicated same to Miles Teague at his office in Cap City on May 9 2002 prior to adoption from alleged “Palgrave foster home,” no actual trace of which can be found in any taxpayer list or census other than in Cullen County census of 1914.

  Conclusion: further study required to verify place of birth, true identity and origins of person now known as Rainey Teague.

  Query Miles Teague suicide possible result of his realization that Rainey Teague’s recovery from Ethan Ruelle crypt was related to R’s uncertain origins. Otherwise it is inexplicable.

  Must place all this before Kate now, since she, as his legal guardian, will be the obvious choice to provide him home until he comes of legal age. These issues need to be resolved ASAP.

  She finished reading it and set it down on the table. “So Leah and your father were following the same lines. I’m not surprised. Do you suspect that the child Clara delivered was Abel Teague’s?”

  “I’m convinced of it.”

  “So am I. What a terrible man he was. For his sins, Abel Teague deserved death many times over. Yet he lived a long time. An abnormally long time. Do you know how long, Reed?”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “Abel Teague died at the age of one hundred and twenty-two years, give or take a year or so. He spent most of his later years right here in Sallytown.”

  “Here?”

  “Yes. He was a resident in a palliative care facility not far from here, called the Gates of Gilead. Do you know it?”

  “I’ve had calls there, when I was on patrol. But no, I’d have to say I don’t know it well. I know I never ran into an Abel Teague.”

  “You would not have had the opportunity. He maintained a private room in a remote wing of the facility, at great expense, a room without windows or mirrors. He was particular about that. It amounted to a mania. He had several strange men, creatures really, who saw to his needs. The staff abhorred them. The creatures allowed no one else near his suite. Other than Abel’s private doctors, of whom he had many. Abel Teague moved into that suite in the 1950s. He never left it until the morning he died. Would you care to know when he died?”

  “Please.”

  “He died last spring. He was found lying on his back in a small forested park adjacent to the facility. He was wearing pajamas and a bathrobe. The cause of his death was a large-caliber bullet that had been fired into his left cheek, just below the eye. According to the rather cursory report compiled by the coroner and by your State Police, the wound was self-inflicted, although the weapon, a .45-caliber pistol, was never found. It was assumed that someone happening on Abel’s corpse had stolen the gun. If you wish, you may visit the Gates of Gilead yourself, to confirm my narrative.”

  “I don’t need to confirm it, Miss Beryl.”

  She sighed, and seemed to grow sad.

  “I wish someone would try. Perhaps a rational explanation would arise.”

  She was silent for a time.

  “I know you’re wondering why I know so much about this matter. I told you I liked Leah Searle. This is not accurate. I loved her. She was young and bright and smart and sweet. I was attracted to her, and she to me. Not an appropriate match, I know. I am old and she was not, but it was a strong attraction nonetheless.”

  Miss Beryl, Reed thought, has hidden depths.

  “I watched her disintegrate during her employment with Miles Teague. She grew secretive. Where we had once shared the work, and the time, she drew away, and spoke less and less about Rainey and his adoptive parents. Her attention moved to Gracie, where I gathered she was following a line of inquiry. She admitted as much, but would say no more about it. Then she died. Drowned. In her tub. In a cheap hotel in Gracie. It was ruled a misadventure. She had been drinking, and had also taken several tablets of Ativan. The Gracie police maintained that she passed out and slipped under the water. I believe she was murdered.”

  Reed had seen this coming.

  “By Miles Teague.”

  “Yes.”

  “In order to stop her from finding whatever she was looking for?”

  “Yes. Either here in Sallytown, or in Gracie.”

  “And what she was looking for was where Rainey had come from and who his parents really were.”

  She shook her head.

  “That is where it began. The search for Rainey’s true origins was what led her to Gracie. I believe that she brought what she found there to Miles Teague. And he killed her for it.”

  “Miles committed suicide.”

  “With a shotgun and I was delighted to hear it. Why did he do it? I am persuaded that he had something to do with Sylvia’s death as well. She was in touch with me, shortly before Rainey disappeared, following the same lines that Leah had been following. I tried to help, but as you have seen, as your father reports, there really is no trail here at all, and Leah refused to tell me what she had found in Gracie. She felt that it was the kind of truth that is dangerous to know. As it turns out, she was right.”

  Her blue eyes were shining and wet. Reed looked around, found a box of tissues. She took one, touched her eyes, and folded it into her hands.

  “Miss Beryl, Kate has papers supposedly provided by Leah Searle, birth certificates and other records, that show a date of birth for Rainey as the year 2000, right here in Sallytown. They’re signed by her, at least. And by a notary.”

  Miss Beryl’s lips tightened and her cheeks flushed pink. She answered with real heat.

  “Forgeries. Complete forgeries. Miles had them created by a counterfeiter. There are no such records in existence and Leah would never have tried to fake them. Never.”

  Her certainty was pretty convincing.

  She went on.

  “I know that Sylvia began to investigate these things herself. And then she disappeared. Threw herself into Crater Sink, we are expected to believe. She may have gone into Crater Sink, Reed, but not willingly. I think Miles put her there, for the same reason he killed Leah.”

  “A man who was cold enough to do those things isn’t likely to take his own head off with a shotgun, Miss Beryl.”

  “That would depend on what he was afraid of. Perhaps he saw something coming that he did not care to face.”

  “Justice?”

  She shook her head.

  “Not ours, certainly. Perhaps it was something darker. And older. How do you imagine Abel Teague managed to stay alive and healthy for one hundred and twenty-two years?”

  “Money? Luck? Fiber?”

  “Don’t be pert, young man. I believe he had … allies. I believe he had found a way to prolong his life. An unnatural way. I have no idea what shape it may have taken, but Abel was tapping into a darker power.”

  “The devil?”

  “Abel Teague was a devil, yes, but I don’t believe that Satan as we understand him has anything to do with this. Or God, whom I am completely persuaded has as much interest in His Creation as a careless child has in the ant farm he has long ago abandoned at the bottom of his yard. I have tried to discern the shape of this force, at least from the effects it seems to produce, in people such as Abel Teague, in places such as Crater Sink. It’s like trying to detect a new planet simply by observing the alterations in stars and planets nearby. Some gravitational force twists reality in this part of the world. I am convinced of it. Abel used this force to survive far beyond man’s natural span of years, and I have no doubt that it—whatever it is—used Abel in return. I know that Abel Teague was a lecher and a degenerate and addicted to opiates. I wonder if whatever the power is, it uses people such as Abel Teague to allow it to experience, to savor, the sensual elements of the living world. A fancy, but I believe there is something to it.”

  She smiled, and shook her head.

  “I’m old, Reed, and Leah Searle was the last love I will ever have. I imagine I am shocking y
ou, and you must try to bear up. But I lived a false life for all my years with Walter, and when he died I decided never to be false again. Leah’s gone and I’m fading. I’m glad you came. I think the answer to your question is not here in Sallytown.”

  “Where, then?”

  She stood up. So did he.

  He was being dismissed, but with style.

  “There’s a place in Gracie. It’s called Candleford House. Have you ever heard of it?”

  “Yes. It was an asylum, wasn’t it? Back in the twenties. Didn’t have a very good reputation.”

  Miss Beryl shook her head.

  “It had the reputation it fully deserved. Candleford House was a barbaric prison run by sadistic guards and quack medics and assorted charlatans, and the inmates were routinely tormented, raped, and ultimately poisoned for what money they possessed. Candleford House was a portal into hell, Reed, and it was the last place Leah went to before she died. She wouldn’t tell me what she found there, but as we have already discussed, Leah confirmed that Clara Mercer was forcibly removed from Glynis Ruelle’s care in 1924 and locked up in Candleford House. And there she stayed until 1931, when she was taken from Candleford House to Lady Grace Hospital in Niceville. We are agreed that she was there for an abortion, probably the result of a rape. Clara escaped from Lady Grace Hospital and threw herself into Crater Sink. Leah found something in Candleford House and Miles Teague killed her to suppress it. I was going to go there myself, but I’m too damn old. Gracie isn’t far. I want you to go for me, Reed. Today. Right now.”

  “But it’s empty. A ruin, isn’t it?”

  She came around the table and took his hand. Her fingers were bony but her skin was dry and cool. The scent of mimosa floated around her.

  “It’s a ruin. But it’s not empty.”

  The Remains of the Day

  Nick was on his way to a crime scene at a Motel 6 on North Gwinnett, lights and sirens, when Kate got him on the cell.

  “I’ve been calling and calling, Nick.”

  Her voice was completely wired. Nick shut off the siren, kept the roof rack going.

  “Don’t tell me. Rainey?”

  “Who else? WellPoint Neurological lost him.”

  “Lost him? Lost him how?”

  “Dr. Lakshmi said she’d see Rainey right away, so I took him straight to WellPoint. He said he needed to go to the bathroom. I told them he was a flight risk, I told them that, so they assigned a male nurse to stay with him. But the nurse wouldn’t go into the bathroom with him because there were rules about it—sexual abuse liabilities—so he went down the hall to talk to the other nurses, and poof!”

  “When was this?”

  “Just now. Maybe fifteen minutes ago.”

  “You weren’t there?”

  “No,” she said, with a hysterical edge to her voice. “They wouldn’t let me, because of Hannah!”

  “I don’t—”

  “I had Hannah, that’s why! Look, Beth took Axel to school, and then she had to meet with the lawyer about Byron’s estate. So I kept Hannah with me and we drove Rainey to WellPoint. But Hannah was having a fit in the truck. She said Rainey was giving her a headache. I mean, what now, but okay, so I asked her how, and she said Rainey was making her hearing aid buzz—”

  “Rainey was where?”

  “In the front seat, beside me. Hannah was in the back. Nick, Rainey wasn’t even talking. He was staring out the window, stony silent. He didn’t have his phone on or anything. He wasn’t paying any attention to her at all. But Hannah’s screaming—”

  “What’s she saying?”

  “Saying? Nothing sensible. She’s a kid, Nick. Something about buzzy talking in her head. Screechy talk, she says. But she’s obviously in pain, I mean, severe pain. I couldn’t leave her in the truck, so I had to take her in with me, with Rainey and me, and we got Rainey signed in, and they told me I couldn’t bring Hannah into the clinic—no kids as visitors—and she’s hysterical by now—so I let them walk Rainey away—Nick, he never even looked back—but as soon as the big steel doors closed, she shuts up, stops crying. Now her hearing aids are fine, she says. So I leave her in the front office for a second, and I go ask Reception where Rainey is, and they say he’s been taken to the prep room for X-rays, fluoroscopy, an angiogram, something called a computed tomography, and later they were going to do a lumbar puncture. It was all in-house. They said it would take several hours and no I couldn’t be there if I had Hannah with me. I went back out to look after Hannah. She was hungry. We went to McDonald’s. Drove around. Met Beth for lunch. Called in to see how he was doing—he’s gone! I’ve been calling and calling, Nick!”

  “I’m sorry, babe, really. I was in a meeting with Tig, talking about Rainey. Then I went to see Beau. I had to turn my cell off to get into the hospital. I’m sorry, babe. Where are you now?”

  “I’m in the car, looking for him. Beth is with me. Eufaula is taking care of Axel and Hannah. I called the Niceville police but they don’t seem to be doing much. So we are.”

  “Where are you looking?”

  “We’ve checked out Patton’s Hard. The place is covered with crime scene tape and there are two cop cars keeping everybody away. Now we’re heading over to Sylvia’s house to see if he’s there.”

  “Have you called Lemon?”

  “Yes. He’s meeting us there. Can you come?”

  “Kate, I can’t. I’m on my way to a crime scene. Two dead. I can’t break away.”

  “But what about Rainey?”

  “I spoke with Tig. Like I said, he’s moving slow on this, I think to give us time to prepare. So far Tig hasn’t made any announcement about Alice Bayer. She’s just a Jane Doe we took out of the Tulip. But if Rainey’s gone again, Tig will put out a notice that the Niceville guys will take seriously. They’ll pick him up in an hour.”

  “But they’ll question him, won’t they?”

  “Not without a lawyer. It’s illegal to ask a minor any questions about a case unless he has a parent or a lawyer present. If they find him, they’ll bring him to wherever you are. Tig will see to that. We can trust him. Rainey will turn up.”

  “We’re still going over to Sylvia’s house. Aren’t you going to meet us there?”

  “I can’t, babe. I just can’t.”

  “Fine. I guess it’s Lemon and Beth and me again. Maybe you should put him on a retainer. Like Miles did for Sylvia. Our own private escort. That’s what Lemon used to do, wasn’t it? Entertain lonely wives whose husbands are too damn busy at work.”

  That stung him, but he controlled it.

  “You’re angry and upset, Kate. I get that. But that’s a cheap shot and we don’t play it that way. Don’t call Lemon if that’s the way you feel. And since you ask, I do have him on a retainer.”

  That stopped her.

  “Why?”

  Nick laid it out for her. He’d hired Lemon to help him figure out what was going on with Rainey and, for that matter, with Niceville itself.

  “But why Lemon? Why not one of your people in the CID?”

  “Because no one but Lemon would buy any of it. And he buys it because he’s seen it. But if that’s not okay with you, then he’s gone. I’ll call him as soon as you get off the line.”

  She was quiet.

  He could hear her breathing, and Beth in the background, on her own cell, talking to the cops again, and the sound of music playing, the hum of tires on the road. Kate was still moving, on the cell, and he was distracting the hell out of her.

  “Honey, you should pull over—”

  “No. I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s just—we’re trying to help Rainey, but he’s making it pretty tough. Do you know what else he did?”

  “I’m afraid to ask.”

  “I just went to an ATM to get some driving-around cash. My ATM card wasn’t in my purse. It was there last night, but it’s gone. I called the bank and they said someone just used my card to withdraw a thousand dollars. I think it was Rainey. This is no coincidence!”
>
  “How did he get your PIN?”

  “Same place he got the entry code to Sylvia’s house. My daybook. I can never remember pin numbers and codes. Rainey knew that. This kid’s out of control, Nick. But he’s not stupid. He’s actually making moves, Nick. Like an experienced criminal would. Making plans and getting access to cash. He’s operating. It’s like some adult is helping him.”

  “Are you still driving?”

  “Yes. We’re going to Sylvia’s house.”

  “Okay. Hang up. Keep your phone on. I’ll call Tig. He’ll get the Niceville PD moving. They’ll have him in an hour. Okay? This will all work out. Really, babe.”

  “Even after this?”

  “You and I have seen wild kids before. Their parents pay your salary. They all worked out, sooner or later, didn’t they?”

  Some moments went by.

  Nick could feel her thinking about it.

  “That’s true. They all did. Mostly.”

  “There you go.”

  More quiet breathing.

  “Thank you. I feel better.”

  “Good. That’s what I live for.”

  She even laughed. Weak and full of worry, but still a laugh. So he laughed too.

  “No, really, babe. You complete me.”

  “Dear God. What horseshit. Go to work, Nick.”

  “Be safe, babe. Keep me in the loop.”

  “You be safe too, Nick. Bye.”

  When he got to the Motel 6 the Niceville patrol guys had the scene isolated. There were two cruisers down in the parking lot, their roof racks spinning, sending that crazy flickering light flying around the walls and windows like fireflies from hell. The sun was going down in pink and golden glory, all the streetlights were on, and assorted gawkers were crowding the perimeter.