Gossamer Falls

by European P. Douglas

  “Tammy!” he called out, like he’d just thought of her far away.

  “I’m here, Lawrence, I’m right here!” she said, but she didn’t know if he was hearing her at all. His face was red and shiny with sweat and his eyes bulged, though saw nothing that was real.

  “Shot himself!” Lawrence called, sitting up suddenly, a look of terror now scrawled on his face. “Sanders is killing everyone!” Tammy started to cry at both the pitiful state of him and also the idea that what he was saying could be true. In a way she hoped it was, because if he was lying, it meant he was a killer and that was something she just couldn’t face.

  “You’re safe now, Lawrence!” she shouted at him, trying to get through his fog. “I’m going to call the doctor for you!” He didn’t respond to this but had calmed a little and was saying something she couldn’t make out - most likely something that didn’t make sense in his current state anyway. Reluctantly she backed away, tears in her eyes, and went back to the front office to call Doctor Hanrahan.

  Back in the front office, Tammy gazed around the room. She knew she’d seen the phonebook in here somewhere, but she also recalled seeing a list of important numbers on a wall somewhere with Doctor Hanrahan’s number on it. Right now, though, both of these things were evading her eye, and it was getting frustrating not being able to recall where she’d seen each.

  Planting herself down in the seat by the radio, sighing, she saw the list at once from the new vantage. She called and waited for the receptionist to answer.

  “Doctor Hanrahan’s Surgery,” the voice of Selma Blythe answered. Selma had been the receptionist there since Tammy was a child, and in Tammy’s eyes the woman hadn’t changed a bit in all those years.

  “Hi, Ms. Blythe, this is Tammy Dern, I’m calling on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office,” she said, feeling like it was a lie.

  “Yes?” Selma asked like she got this call every day. A dog barked in the background and Tammy recalled they were being housed there for now.

  “Deputy Garrick has asked that Doctor Hanrahan come over to the station to have a look at someone in the cell. It looks like they might be suffering a fever.” She was going to say Lawrence’s name and not mention the cell at all, but that would have opened up for a whole lot of questions.

  “I’ll pass the message on to Doctor Hanrahan as soon as he is finished with his current appointment. What number can I reach you on to let you know what he says?” Selma’s chipper voice came back.

  “It’s...” Tammy looked around; she had no idea what number she was at. She’d never had to call the Sheriff’s Office in her life. “I don’t know, it’s the Sheriff’s Office, do you have that number?”

  “I do,” Selma said, and Tammy could hear the pleasant smile that no doubt currently adorned her face in her voice. “I’ll call soon, good morning.”

  “Bye,” Tammy said, and the line went dead. Anyone else would have asked what Tammy was doing in the Sheriff’s Office this morning, but Selma had always been able to keep her own business and no one could ever accuse her of being nosy or spreading gossip.

  Tammy stood and was about to go back to tell Lawrence the doctor would be here soon (not that he’d probably even take that in) when the door opened and Derek Gough came into the room, a big smile on his face, though one that looked more malicious than friendly.

  “I hope that coffee pot is on darling?” he said with a lecherous grin.

  “Oh, I thought Mayor Allgood spoke to you about the change of plans?” Tammy said. In fact, she was sure of this and wondered why Gough was here at all. Gough nodded and glanced at the coffee pot again before looking back to her.

  “Seems like a lot of things have changed this morning, including my becoming a Sheriff’s Deputy, temporarily of course. I didn’t go to college to throw drunks in cells to sleep one off!” He laughed out loud at his own comment and Tammy smiled nervously. “Now, how about that coffee?”

  Though she was loath to do it, Tammy went over and poured the new deputy a small cup of coffee.

  “You know, I don’t actually work for the Sheriff’s Office,” she said, handing it to him. “I’m only helping out while this crisis is ongoing.” Gough took the cup without saying thanks and nodded.

  “Just like us all,” he said, looking around the room. “So, anything going on I need to know about?” he asked.

  “Well, I assume the mayor filled you in on the missing men in the mountains and the double murder out at the hotel?” Tammy said. Gough swallowed at this, the smile disappearing from his face.

  “Yes,” he said with distaste, and Tammy could see his fear at having to get involved in such things.

  “Sheriff Garrick,” (that still sounded so strange to her) “is on top of those things so I suppose the best thing you could do at the moment would be to patrol the town, keep an eye out around the cloud landing sites and just reassure people they are being looked after,” she suggested to him.

  “Pah!” he scoffed, surprising her with a wave of his hand. “Those scientists are here today, and they’ll tell us to just destroy the clouds and that will be the end of it.” He sat down and looked at the radio equipment like a little boy at a Christmas present.

  “Well, I can’t drive,” Tammy said, “And someone needs to be out on the street. I can radio you if anything comes in.”

  “Nah, I think I’ll just hang on here,” he said, not a care in the world. “If a call comes in that a layman like myself can deal with, I deal with it. Otherwise we’ll just be taking messages for when Garrick gets back.” She didn’t like the way he referred to the new Sheriff by his last name alone, but then there was nothing about Derek Gough Tammy liked so far. The sooner the better Sheriff Garrick was back.

  Chapter 31

  No one at the ‘Clear View Hotel’ had heard or seen anything during the night. Each of them was so rattled Garrick had no problem believing in their innocence. It was clearly the work of this one person who was missing, Edward Dobbins. It hadn’t escaped Garrick’s police hound notice that Landy and the two dead people were the only ones who could attest to his existence. This made Landy a suspect even if the Sheriff knew in his bones he was not the man. The more Landy described the mystery man, however, the more it sounded like someone Garrick knew. Clinton Scarrow.

  “Did he have a car?” Garrick asked.

  “Yes, it’s still outside,” Landy said.

  “Show me.”

  Garrick and Landy went outside. The mist was still heavy, but visibility was up to about fifty feet, a welcome sign of it lifting.

  “That’s the one,” Landy pointed. Garrick knew at once it was Scarrow’s. Funny he hadn’t twigged it while counting the cars on his arrival.

  “That belongs to Clinton Scarrow,” Garrick said, “I think that’s who you had here last night. He’s a bad seed around town, but I’d never have pegged him for murder. I’m surprised you didn’t know him.”

  “I don’t see much of people from town,” Landy said, “I rarely go in and they rarely come out here.” Garrick nodded understanding, but his mind was somewhere else. The car was still here; that meant either Scarrow was still here or else he’d left on foot. Why would he leave the car though? Circling the car, Garrick saw immediately the signs of something sinister. There were blankets pulled over the rear seats, but on the insides of the doors there were smudged stains that looked like dried blood.

  He tried the rear passenger side door and it was unlocked. The smell that emanated from the open door confirmed it to Garrick. Something was dead in there. His nose wrinkled and he turned to Landy.

  “Why don’t you go back in to your guests,” and then added, “Don’t do anything else on the way, just go straight to them. You’ll be safe in numbers. He could still be around here somewhere.” Landy looked around nervously and started away before stopping after only one step,

  “I don’t want to imply you’re not doing a good job, Deputy, but shouldn’t the Sheriff be here for this too?” Garrick felt a slight sting
of professional pride, but he swallowed it fast and looked earnestly at Landy who returned a similar frightened gaze.

  “I’m going to level with you, Mr Landy,” Garrick said, “There is a team of men missing up in the mountains since last night. Sheriff Schall is among them. As of this time, I am the Sheriff until we know more.”

  “Jesus, how many missing?” Landy asked.

  “Five,” Garrick said, “But we don’t know anything yet,” he stressed. “I’d appreciate if you kept this knowledge to yourself.” Landy nodded and started to walk away.

  “What a week for Gossamer Falls,” he muttered to himself, and Garrick found himself wondering why he’d felt the need to tell Landy about the missing Sheriff. He watched Landy until he was inside and then turned his attention back to the car. Landy wasn’t the only one who wished Anderson was here instead of him.

  Taking hold on the corner of one of the blankets, Garrick gently pulled it out, sliding it along the seat. More and more blood became apparent and then on the floor he started to see some mixed items he at once recognised as objects reported stolen while the town meeting was going on. The items bore traces of blood too, and it seemed to Garrick that some kind of attack had taken place within the car. Whose blood was it?

  Having gone over the interior of the car, he found no weapon and evidence of heavy drinking on Scarrow’s part. He popped the trunk and went around to the back of the car. He knew there was going to be something in there he didn’t want to see. This is where the main smell must be coming from. Covering his mouth and nose, the Sheriff lifted the lid with his free hand.

  Flies buzzed out and even with the precaution the horrid odour was overpowering. Garrick stepped back, feeling the rise of bilious vomit scorch up in his throat. To make this worse than the couple in the bedroom, Garrick had met the open eyes of Danny Putch, his face bruised but his body torn to shreds and covered with maggots and flies. His nostrils refused to get used to the smell and Garrick began to feel dizzy. He didn’t know if it was from what he saw or the laboured breaths he was trying to take through his hands, but it finally got the better of him and he rushed to the bushes to throw up violently.

  It was a huge relief to get this out of him, and in the moment before he stood erect the thought came that this was the best he’d felt since the clouds arrived a few nights ago. He just hoped those inside hadn’t seen him getting sick.

  Garrick walked back to the car and looked over the body, mindful to avoid the eyes this time. They were the same kind of wounds as those on the couple dead upstairs. Scarrow must have seriously snapped to do something like this. It was the work of a maniac, and if he wasn’t arrested soon, there would be more dead before long.

  After closing the boot and making some notes, the Sheriff went about the hotel and surrounding grounds looking for evidence of Scarrow either hiding or having passed by. He found no trace of either and, conscious there was still the matter of what had happened up in the mountains pressing on him, he made a decision.

  “There is another body in the trunk of the car outside, a local man,” Garrick addressed the hotel staff and residents back inside. “I have looked around and I think I know who did this. I have not been able to find any trace of him, though, and, as such, I want all of you to come back into town with me. It is not safe here until he is caught.”

  “I don’t want to go into town!” one of the residents, a Mr Clarke, said. “I want to get out of this crazy place!”

  “I think you will all most likely feel the same way,” Garrick said with hands out in a calm down motion, “but I’m afraid no one can leave town while this investigation is ongoing.” He was going to have to get the State involved in this, Garrick thought. How was the town going to survive this? This hotel was probably a goner for starters.

  “Is this really necessary, Sheriff?” Landy asked, and Garrick heard himself addressed as such for the first time. “I just don’t like the idea of leaving my home and business alone like this.” Garrick was about to speak up when he saw Emily’s hand reach for Landy and touch his shoulder.

  “Charlie,” she said, “It’s not safe for you to be out here, especially alone. I’m sure you can come back very soon.” Landy looked at her and sighed, and Garrick knew he wasn’t going to be able to refute her after what had happened.

  “Alright,” he said, resigned, and he looked around the place as though it was going to be the last time he saw it.

  “We’ll go back to each room for a small bag to take with you now,” Garrick said, “and then we move to town in one convoy.”

  Fifteen minutes later, the cars were lined up at the gate behind Garrick’s cruiser. He got out and waved to them all.

  “One more thing to do before we go!” he called to them. Each pair of eyes watched him and he went to Scarrow’s car, lifted the hood, and ripped out the starter solenoid. If Scarrow was still here, he would have no choice but to be on foot now if he wanted to get away.

  Chapter 32

  Just as there came a knock on the Sheriff’s Office door, Tammy saw Doc Hanrahan’s car pull up outside. Gough didn’t stir from his seat, giving the closed door a cursory glance before going back to the newspaper he’d been reading. Tammy went to the door and opened it to find Maggie Glymer standing there. The older woman looked surprised to see Tammy answering the door here and then even more surprised when looking past Tammy, she saw Derek Gough.

  “I’m looking for the Sheriff,” Maggie said.

  “Come on in,” Tammy said stepping, out of the doorway and looking eagerly behind at the Doc’s slow progress out of his car. “The Sheriff is not here right now, but if there’s anything we can help you with, we are looking after things here at the moment,” she continued to Maggie.

  Maggie stepped inside looking around as though she didn’t believe Tammy.

  “Is the Sheriff due back soon?” she asked.

  “Not too soon,” Tammy answered, looking to Gough for him to come up with something to tell her. When he didn’t seem like he gave a damn, she decided to leave whatever the problem was with him, “Mr Gough here had been appointed a Deputy temporarily while all this cloud stuff is going on, so you can talk to him as though you were talking to the Sheriff.” She sneered at Gough as she spoke and enjoyed seeing the corners of his mouth turn up in a bitter snarl at her.

  “No, that’s alright,” Maggie was saying falteringly when the door opened again, and Doc Hanrahan came in.

  “Morning all, where's the patient?” he said.

  “Back here,” Tammy said, taking the doctor by the arm and leading him to the door to the cell hall, seeing another opportunity to leave Gough hanging.

  At the cell, Hanrahan looked on Lawrence a moment with pursed lips. His eyes drifted to Tammy’s.

  “I take it the blood on his face and clothes that don’t belong to him are the reason he’s locked up right now?” Tammy blushed and for the first time understood how it all looked from another's point of view.

  “He said someone shot themselves in front of him,” she said. “I believe him, Doctor,” she added almost tearfully.

  “I’ve known Lawrence since he was a boy,” Hanrahan said, gripping her arm lightly. “I believe him too.” At this the tears did begin to fall from Tammy’s eyes. “Do you have a key to let me in to him?” Hanrahan then asked and this snapped her out of it.

  “Oh, I don’t know!” She looked around the nearby walls and there was nothing. Raising a finger for him to wait, Tammy then went back to the main office to look there.

  When she came into the office, she saw no sign of Gough, and Maggie was sitting in a chair looking at her eagerly.

  “Where’s Deputy Gough?” Tammy asked.

  “He said he had to go out on patrol and that you would speak to me when you are finished with the doc,” Maggie said. Tammy nodded, finding the keys with her eyes at the same time and going over to pick them up.

  “Alright, I'll be with you in a couple of minutes. I just have to let the doc in down the hall
.”

  “Take your time, dear,” Maggie smiled warmly at her. Could she see Tammy had been crying, perhaps? She went back to the cells.

  “Do you want me to leave the key in the door?” she asked as she opened it.

  “Yes, you can go back out to Maggie if you need to. I’ll likely be a few minutes here,” he said, nodding to the prone Lawrence on the cot, writhing and sweating profusely and mumbling gibberish. Tammy smiled wanly; glad Hanrahan wasn’t afraid to be left here alone with Lawrence.

  “Okay,” she said. “If you need me, just call.” She looked to Lawrence once more and then started to walk back down the hall.

  “Can I ask you one thing before you go, Tammy?” Doc’s voice halted her.

  “Of course,” she replied.

  “Whose blood is it?” Their eyes were joined, and she couldn’t even think of trying to deceive him.

  “He says it’s the Sheriff’s.” Hanrahan pursed his lips again and nodded thoughtfully.

  “I think there’s a lot going on here that as town doctor I’m going to need to be caught up on,” he said. “But it can wait until I’m done here with Lawrence.”

  “Yes,” Tammy said, feeling strangely feeble, like a schoolgirl just caught out and awaiting some harsh punishment. She headed back to see Maggie. At the doors she stopped and took a deep breath. It had been a crazy few hours, and she could only hope whatever Maggie Glymer was here for was nothing that was going to add to the chaos.

  “Now, Mrs Glymer, how can I help you?” Tammy asked.

  “I came to tell the Sheriff about something he might want to know about,” Maggie said cagily.

  “Well, if you tell me, I can let him know over the radio there,” Tammy suggested, pointing to the desktop device.

  “It’s about the clouds,” Maggie almost whispered, “I wouldn’t have said anything if that awful Mr Gough was still here.”

  “What is it?” Tammy asked, interested and worried at the same time.