The Silent Scream of the Straw Man

by Corinne F. Gerwe

  Farley waited until Sherwood was finished to ask about the extras, if there had been any behavioral issues. Sherwood replied, none that he was aware of. He admitted that he hadn’t given them much attention, but complimented the town of Serena for the fine folks chosen from there. He did recall giving one of the extras a bit more film time, a surly type with looks and perhaps raw talent. Farley asked if he was referring to Zack Tanner. Sherwood said he thought so, suggesting Farley talk to the casting director, she could fill him in. He asked one of the crew to find her, and then apologized and excused himself.

  Farley didn’t have to wait long before a large woman with a deep throaty voice came up to him and introduced herself as Joyce Crenshaw.

  “I understand you have some questions about the extras, Chief Farley? I’m on my way to the parking lot. Ask away while we walk to our cars. We’re doing some work with some of the extras in town tomorrow. I’d like to watch them rehearse this afternoon at the Events Center.”

  “Does that include Zack Tanner, Miss Crenshaw?”

  “Oh no, not him, he’s out with the stunt drivers today. You might say he’s expanded his horizons in terms of being an extra. Why are you asking? Is he in some kind of trouble? Play it straight with me, Chief. I took a chance on that one.”

  “No. He’s not in any trouble. Let’s just say I found it surprising he’s taken an interest in acting. It seemed a departure from his previous activities. But, I’m here doing a general routine check. You folks are a bit isolated out here, and from what I hear, filming can run late some nights. I noticed the trailer campsite when I parked. Do some of the cast stay there overnight?”

  “I really can’t say. I’m usually out of here by early afternoon. We do a lot of the preliminary work with the extras at the Events Center, which is close to the lodge. I wouldn’t normally be called back to the set unless a casting problem arose. To tell you the truth, I’ve been spending my evenings in the lodge tavern. It’s the only escape I have from my work. The extras are encouraged not to mingle with the cast after hours. It helps keep those who are star-struck from bothering members of the cast.

  “That’s why I said what I did about Zack Tanner. The stunt guys rarely allow extras to do anything beyond what they are paid to do. This is an unusual situation in that they are working from a separate stunt vehicle lot and filming chase scenes off location. It is helpful for them to have someone like Zack around who knows the back roads the way he does. He pretty much acts as gofer when not playing extra. The stunt vehicles often need cleaning in between runs and sometimes parts are needed from local garages. I recommended him or he wouldn’t have been accepted by the crew. Tell me I don’t have to worry about him.”

  “I’m not here to cause you to worry. I just want to know how he’s doing, and if you have any concerns about him,” Farley replied.

  “If I did have concerns, I’m not ready to put them into words. Give me a few days to keep an eye on him. Then I’ll decide if it’s worth mentioning. Maybe by then you’ll be ready to tell me the truth, Chief.”

  “Fair enough, Miss Crenshaw. But let’s not drag this out. Do you have you cell phone handy?”

  “In my pocket.”

  “Program in my number.”

  As Farley drove away, his thoughts were on something she’d said about Tanner helping with the vehicles. His felt his phone vibrate and answered it.

  “Chief, this is Kate. Do you have time to stop by the house this afternoon? I’ve got Eleanor here. I know Deputy Purdy was supposed to take her home after our session, but I thought it best to bring her here rather than send her home to an empty house. She has something to share with you that might be important to your case.”

  Dev was waiting outside for him when Farley arrived.

  “Jeff, I’m glad you’re here. I was going to call you about the list you gave me. Do you have time to talk after meeting with Kate and Eleanor? I think I can narrow down your search for a culprit.”

  Farley replied, “I’m planning to make some home visits this afternoon from a new list I made. I’ll update you on why I made it and you can tell me what you’ve come up with. Why don’t you go with me? I could use your expertise.”

  “I’ll be out back, working on my rock wall project. Give me a shout when you’re ready.”

  Kate met Farley at the door. Eleanor Gaither sat waiting in the living room. Her eyes were glistening and her hands were clenched together. She sat perfectly still but appeared animated.

  After Farley was seated across from her, she began.

  “I was only seventeen when I started college. I’d been younger than most of the kids in my class since first grade. I probably should have been held back, but hadn’t been and as a result was always a little behind the others socially. During high school, my English teacher, aware of my shyness, encouraged me to audition for the school theater group. My love of poetry and literature helped me to memorize the lines I was given and recite them with conviction. I was naturally thrilled when chosen for a part and literally became another person when performing onstage.

  “My personality developed simultaneously with each role, however my confidence did not. I couldn’t seem to connect with my success. I tried out for every play and even tried out for cheerleading. Because of the plays, I was chosen. I gave credit to the plays for becoming a cheerleader and gave credit to becoming a cheerleader for the attention I started receiving from boys. In other words, if I hadn’t been in the plays, no one would have been interested in me. That might sound crazy, but it’s true.

  “As a result of my good grades and extracurricular activities, I received a partial scholarship to Wilmont College. I had to take a job in the college library to subsidize my scholarship. Between work and the theatre group, I had little time for anything else but study. There was much more competition than I had been accustomed to, and although I tried to be friendly and outgoing, was bypassed for many roles. So I tried out for cheerleading and it was during those tryouts that I met one of the football players.

  “Then two things happened in one day that changed the course of my life. I was rejected from the cheerleading squad and invited to a party by the football player, who at the time was very popular. I was both devastated and thrilled, my confidence very low and my level of excitement, high. The dinner date was scheduled for the following night, which was a Tuesday. He told me weekends were no good because of the game. I had little time to prepare for my date, but did my best to look as attractive as possible. Instead of taking me to dinner, he took me to a house rented by one of his teammates.

  “When we arrived, six of his teammates were there, most of whom I recognized, without dates. They told me their dates were on the way and pizza was ordered and gave me something to drink. The drink was alcohol, but I was nervous and felt apprehensive. So I drank it down to calm my nerves, and then drank another.

  “The next thing I knew, I felt dizzy and weak. I remember being carried up a rickety stairway and laid on a bed. They were standing around me looking down and one of them started to undress me. It was like being in a dream with their faces swimming around in a circle. I couldn’t seem to move and yet I felt the first intrusion. The pressure was overwhelming and I wanted to scream. I felt like I was being suffocated and smothered and yet I kept on breathing. I slipped in and out of consciousness as each one took their turn. I felt certain I would die from it and hoped that I would. Then I started feeling sick in a different way as my body began to revolt. I went into convulsions and it must have scared them badly because they didn’t know what to do. One of them slapped me to make me stop and I must have lost consciousness.

  “The next thing I knew was in another room in another place that was not a hospital. There was a man seated next to my bed. I recognized him as the coach of the football team. There was no doctor attending to me and no woman present. He asked me if I could recall what happened and I said I could. He then proceeded to tell me that I had gotten myself into a lot of trouble by selling my servi
ces to his players. I tried to move to lift myself into a sitting position, but could not. I felt my face. It was swollen and stinging with pain. I felt nauseated and had to vomit, but I somehow held it in. I started to cry and he gave me a handkerchief to wipe my eyes. He said he would help me and keep all this quiet, but I had to cooperate. He said there was no use denying it because no one would believe me and my reputation would be destroyed.

  “In the days that followed, he cared for me and bought me new clothes and gave me enough money so that I could quit my job. He was kind and thoughtful and suggested I stay out of the limelight for the rest of the semester. I spoke to no one about what happened and couldn’t concentrate on my studies. I failed every exam and didn’t care. He was always there to pick up the pieces and I grew to depend on him. I never attended his games, at his request, because he said I had gained a reputation among the players. I actually came to believe it had all been my fault, that I had missed something in my recalled scenario, had brought it on myself, given mixed messages.

  “He rented a place for me off campus and we were never seen in public. He told me he was married but in the process of a divorce. If I questioned him about anything, he became angry and I feared making him angry because of my dependence on him. I had little contact with my mother, who’d had little interest in me since my father left home when I was young, one of the reasons I was sent to school so early, and perhaps the reason I found a father figure in Willis Gaither instead of going to the authorities as I should have done.

  “Yes, Chief. That is how I met and eventually married my husband. My life since has been what you might expect. After his divorce, he took early retirement, and me to the courthouse for a marriage license. He was nice to me most of the time then, but my world became smaller at his insistence, and any attempts I made to rebel were squashed by his brutal authority. His reputation as a coach had been similar, one of the reasons his career had been ending anyway.

  “By working at home at his internet business, he had full control of his environment and me, and that is what he demanded. I could not fight him because I was weak and felt I had nowhere else to go. I did try, once, just recently, but that was hopeless. But I did not kill him, Chief. I swear I did not. I didn’t even have enough fight left in me to kill a flea. I had no allies, no support system, not even a friend. Not until today.”

  She looked over to Kate, who was sitting nearby, and then back to Farley.

  Kate added, “I’ve insisted she stay for dinner, Jeff. Could Deputy Purdy swing by later to take her home? I’d feel better if she were escorted safely.”

  “Of course,” Farley replied.

  He turned back to Eleanor and said, “I appreciate your honesty, Eleanor. I know this was hard for you, but it will help me focus on what is necessary. You may not have contacted the authorities years ago, but you have now and that is to your credit. Now I must be honest with you. Until this crime is solved, you will remain a suspect, a very unlikely one.”

  Farley said to Kate, “I’m going to wander round back and fetch your husband. We have some business to attend to. I’m afraid he might be late for dinner.”

  She laughed. “If it will take him away from his rock wall project, I don’t care. He won’t stop otherwise! He says his genes are expressing themselves, that in Ireland, rock walls are part of the landscape across the land. I’m beginning to believe most of them were built by his ancestors. No worries about dinner. I’ll put a covered dish aside for both of you. You look like you could use a good meal. In the meantime, I’ll invite my reclusive houseguest to dine with us. He could use a good meal, too.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  FARLEY WALKED AROUND TO THE back yard, where he found Dev working. Kate was right, the low rock walls Dev had constructed to buttress the hillside, were being extended. Each section of wall curved toward the back yard property line and promised to eventually encircle the entire rear acreage.

  “You’ve got quite a project going on here, Dev.”

  “Isn’t it great? I’ve got it all drawn out in my head, Jeff. I had no idea how many rocks could be unearthed from this mountain soil. No wonder the people here had to resort to whiskey-making. They must have had a devil of a time trying to grow crops.”

  “They did indeed. Did you dig up all these rocks out here?”

  “Most of them, but now I’ve found a quarry where I can get as many as I need. Kate will love this when I’m through. Even now, she can hardly believe what she sees.”

  “I can believe that, Dev. Do you think you can pull yourself away?”

  “I’m ready, Jeff. I washed up and changed before you got here. I came back out to add a few more rocks without digging up more dirt, so I should be presentable to the wee urchins we’re about to interview. I do think I can save you some time, however. I’ll tell Kate we’re leaving and meet you out front.”

  As they pulled away in the cruiser, Farley gave him an update and Dev replied, “To be truthful, Jeff, I don’t think any of the lads on your list fit the profile for this kind of trickster. In fact, the recent episode goes beyond prank to something more deviant. I believe the incident at the Miller residence was a repeat, rather than a first attempt. The planning, timing, and approach has a voyeuristic element to it the other sightings lack. The costuming indicates disguise tendencies. When I say that I mean there is an indication of attraction to the power of disguise and a need for the excitement derived from the character represented.

  “When the sightings first began, they fit into the scheme of things, the recent murder and approaching Halloween, they seemed to have been influenced by these events, therefore your list would have been the one to pursue. But the scarecrow has now gone from someone dressed up to frighten, to someone who becomes the scarecrow to fulfill his needs. He took a great chance climbing to reach a second story window, in full disguise, with a specific target in mind, equipped with a fleeting plan of escape; all the features of a superhero fixation.

  “Superhero fixation typically begins in early childhood with intense fascination, hence the popularity of super-heroes such as superman and the like. Most children outgrow it and move on to admire or emulate more realistic heroes. But children who suffer feelings of insecurity and powerlessness at an early age and who find solace in assuming these identities can develop a need that overrides fascination with an obsession that continues to evolve. The scarecrow sightings, which seemed prankish when first reported, have already taken on a darker and more dangerously obsessive dimension.

  “Most of lads on your first list don’t fit the profile because they are older, and that is partially my fault because I was going by the first sightings. We should be looking for a lad who hasn’t been in trouble thus far because his fantasy hadn’t been put into reality until recently. Now that it has, it will be impossible for him to stop. We need to look for a lad who is about age fourteen or fifteen, who has few friends, if any, who doesn’t fit in with groups, and probably doesn’t have a girlfriend. Do you know of any such youth in this vicinity? I see by your second list that you’ve narrowed your geographical margins.”

  “You know Dev, I would have never thought of a scarecrow in relation to Superman or Batman or even The Hulk had we not had that discussion about scarecrows the other night. What you’re saying makes sense, although it seems farfetched. However, I don’t have time to second guess your theory. I can think of one kid who has caught my attention from time to time. He’s never been in trouble that I know of, but he is a loner of sorts and about the right age. He used to hang out around the library, but not lately. I did see him walking with some other kid not long ago. I noticed because he wasn’t alone. Isn’t that something, noticing a kid because he might have a friend?”

  “He sounds like a good lad to start with. If he isn’t involved, he might know or have heard something at school to give us a lead.”

  Farley replied, “Hold on while I put in a call to Aura Lee.”

  He inquired about the boy and she was quick t
o reply, “Chief, all I can tell you is those folks of his are strange. They come to church regular but don’t mix before or after. It’s not that they’re unfriendly, they just don’t talk much. I don’t think they talk to each other much. They used to bring their boy with them but he stopped coming about two years ago.”

  “What do you mean when you say they are strange, other than what you’ve said?”

  “Well, they never made a fuss over the boy or loved on him or anything like that. They didn’t even make him behave. Not that he misbehaved in church. It was that he sat there uninterested, didn’t sing along or act prayerful or part of things. It was like he had to sit there with them until he didn’t have to anymore. I don’t think anyone missed him when he stopped coming and I don’t think anyone would miss them if they stopped coming. We’ve all taken turns trying to get them more involved. She baked cookies for our bake sale once, but they were awful. I don’t think she put any sugar in those cookies. That should tell you something right there, Chief.”

  “Thanks Aura Lee. Remind me of their address. They live up by the old Grayson place, don’t they?”

  “Yes, it’s that small plain house before the road curves upward to the summer place. It’s as plain as can be, not a flower ever planted or one thing to make that house stand out. I guess you could say you’ll notice it because there is nothing to notice.”

  A few minutes later Farley and Dev were at the Williams’ door. Farley rang the doorbell and seconds went by to a minute before the door slowly opened. A small woman stood before them with no expression of welcome or invitation to come in.“Mrs. Williams, I am Chief Farley and this is Dr. Devlin McManus, who is accompanying me while I make inquiries concerning some recent events that have disturbed our local children. I wonder if you would mind answering a few questions regarding your son, Trent, and perhaps allow us to talk to him. We are interviewing the youth in the area, seeking information that might help our investigation.”