Sleepless Nights

by Pierre C. Arseneault

  Lincoln gave Robert a scowl of a glance before reaching behind the bar for the remote and changing the channel on the set above the bar.

  29

  Having washed her dishes and now impatiently waiting in the kitchen, Raylene noticed a glare in her window as she fiddled with her cell phone. The sun had begun to set making the headlights more noticeable in the shadows cast by the trees on the edge of their red and orange leaf sprinkled lawn. Setting down her cell phone, perched on the balls of her feet she looked out her window as she saw Clovis pull up in his cruiser and park next to her car. She stood motionless, watching, waiting for him to get out of his car. Instead he sat looking down and then suddenly put his cell phone to his ear. She watched him for a few moments and then glanced at the metal sunflower shaped clock which hung on her kitchen wall. Panic rose inside her as thoughts of all her plans falling apart with one simple call about Crandall. She knew the safety of the people in Carlton was Clovis’s first priority. His selflessness was one of the qualities she loved about the man she proudly called her husband. She watched as he lowered the phone away from his ear. His head down, he was still looking at his phone. A moment later he leaned forward slightly and she heard the cruiser’s engine come alive. Clovis wrapped his arm around the passenger seat and looked behind him as he began backing out of their driveway. The buzzing vibration of her cell phone on the kitchen counter spooked Raylene. She quickly scooped up her cell phone as she watched Clovis drive off as he disappeared behind the colourful trees on the side of their property line.

  Curse words were rare for the school teacher but one came out without her ever realising she said it.

  “Fuck!” said Raylene as she impatiently looked at her cell phone to find a text from Clovis.

  The message read. “Dwayne called. It’s about Crandall. Sorry but I have to go.”

  “If this is your big plan,” Raylene said aloud. “Clovis is going to kill you. Right after I do that is.” A few more curse words would be uttered before she would try her deep breathing exercises to calm herself down as she looked for her keys.

  30

  Floyd gave Lincoln a dirty look as he spoke. “Not too loud!” Lincoln had turned up the volume on the flat screen above the bar. A reporter in a suit was on the screen standing on an empty street in Stonevalley with a Channel 9 mike in hand. Lincoln only caught the last half of his report.

  “Sources say there haven’t been any tips coming into the hotline in the last twenty-four hours. Police seem to be baffled as to whereabouts of Crandall and if they have any leads they’re not sharing them with the media. This is Mike Reicker for Channel Nine News.”

  Molly took the remote from Lincoln and turned down the volume slightly and set the remote down on the bar. She turned, took a beer from the cooler, replaced Lincoln’s empty bottle with a full one and took money from Lincoln’s change that had stayed on the bar and paid for the beer.

  Lincoln looked at Molly, sipped his beer and spoke. “I was thinking. The glass is half full if it was never filled to begin with. But if it was filled and then you consumed the first half, then that makes it half empty.”

  “Whatever you say, Thinkun-Lincoln.” Molly turned and looked to see if Floyd had heard any of what Lincoln had just said. She was happy that he looked oblivious to Lincoln as he chatted with Robert. The last thing she wanted tonight was for Floyd to get angry at poor old Lincoln.

  31

  Darkness approached as Clovis sat in his police cruiser in the empty parking lot of Pinewood Lodge, radio mike in hand. The sun was almost completely set, hidden behind the thick red leaves of the forest casting everything into the shadows. The lights on and surrounding Pinewood Lodge were hindering his vision more than helping with the fading daylight.

  “Dwayne, are you there? Over,” said Clovis into the mike for the second time.

  “Almost there,” replied Dwayne. “Did you see anything? Over.”

  Clovis smiled as he spoke into his radio mike. “You mean anyone. Did I see anyone? And no I didn’t. Over.”

  Clovis heard nothing for a moment and then the silence broke. “It has to be the same hitchhiker that Mr. Brooks saw. The call said he was on this road near Pinewood Lodge. Over.”

  “Well I drove up and down Short Fir Road and didn’t see anyone. Not even you. Over.”

  Clovis sat waiting for a reply but nothing came. A glare of headlights suddenly appeared behind his cruiser. He quickly recognized the car and knew it was Dwayne’s own police cruiser as he watched him park in an awkward angle right next to his own car. Both men simultaneously got out of their police cruisers.

  Clovis smiled.

  Dwayne walked over to where Clovis stood. “What are you grinning about?” asked Dwayne.

  “Why are you in uniform?” asked Clovis.

  “I-I...” Dwayne was looking down at himself as he began to answer Clovis’s question before he stopped abruptly when a loud crack caught both men’s attention. Dwayne spun around facing the forest with one hand on his gun holster and the other already holding his police issue flashlight, aiming it into the trees.

  “Who’s there?” shouted Dwayne as he felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck rise to the occasion.

  Amidst the trees, both officers saw a faint glow of what had to be a weak flashlight. They heard crackling that could only be twigs and branches snapping under the weight of the bearer of said flashlight. Dwayne drew his gun but kept it pointed at the ground as he pointed the flashlight towards the trees.

  Clovis heard a familiar voice mumbling as he saw the shadow of a man emerge from the trees behind a dull yellow cone of light.

  Dwayne took a step forward and spoke again. “This is Officer Dwayne Adams. Who’s there? Identify yourself.”

  Clovis saw Dwayne’s gun arm twitch slightly and noticed Dwayne didn’t have a finger on the trigger. With a swift motion Clovis drew the Taser from his gun belt and fired it hitting Dwayne square in the back. Dwayne convulsed violently for a moment before dropping to his knees and falling forward.

  The sound of crunching gravel underfoot accompanied by a loud shout came from the edge of the tree line as the man stepped into view. “Holy Jesus!” exclaimed Ernie Woodman in his BELLS T-shirt. “What the hell, Clovis?”

  Clovis took a step forward looking down at Dwayne twitching slightly as he lay in the gravel parking lot.

  “He could have shot me!” said Ernie.

  “The safety is still on,” said Clovis as he pointed to the gun on the ground.

  The Lodge door burst open and a flood of people came pouring out. The crowd being led by Libby and Father Finnigan also included Clovis’s kids, Anna and Cotton. In a mere moment there were forty some people gathering in the parking lot of Pinewood Lodge and more were jamming in the doorway trying to get out.

  32

  Molly leaned against the bar across from Robert, her ample bosom perched on the bar. He tried to hide it but Robert’s gaze kept wandering up and down Molly and she knew it. She liked his attention more than any of the other patrons who flirted with her. Floyd was in his office and out of ear shot while she spoke to Robert.

  “Lincoln’s plastered,” said Molly.

  “He was already staggering when he came in,” replied Robert. “And it takes a lot to unsteady that guy.”

  “I didn’t expect to see him here tonight. He must have run out of booze at home.” Molly leaned in closer and touched Robert’s arm. “You know why they call him Thinking-Lincoln, right? The shit he says when he’s drunk.”

  Robert, still nursing the same beer he ordered hours ago while Lincoln was now on his seventh. “Floyd would have probably kicked him out again if he wasn’t his only paying customer.”

  Molly jumped when Lincoln set down his clearly empty beer bottle hard making a loud crack that echoed in the place. Molly smiled at Robert.

  “Lincoln told me he
thought the talking snake in the Garden of Eden was a metaphor for Adams dick.” She let out a giggle. “How fucken crazy is that?” said Molly as she walked over to serve her only real customer of the evening.

  33

  Maureen pushed her way through the throng of people and ran to her husband who still lay on the ground. Dwayne, already stirring, looked up at Clovis who still had the Taser in his hand.

  “What the hell!” Maureen screamed at Clovis as she dropped to her knees.

  Ernie Woodman still stood near the tree line, flashlight in a quivering hand. “I almost shit myself!” he exclaimed.

  “You knew it was Ernie didn’t you?” asked a frazzled Dwayne as he sat up.

  Clovis holstered the Taser. “I recognized his voice.”

  Libby stepped forward in her country girl fancies. “It was Dwayne’s idea we all park at Sheppard Foods and cut through the patch of woods.”

  Bonnie Campbell raised her drink and yelled. “Surprise!”

  Everyone burst out laughing.

  Standing next to her mother Anna spoke with very little zeal in her voice. “Happy birthday, Dad.”

  Bonnie Campbell took a step past a stunned Linus and Charlie Brooks. She emerged out of the crowd and snapped her digital camera twice, making sure to capture the Chief of Police standing over his own officer whom he Tasered a few moments ago.

  34

  Lincoln staggered back to the bar with his paper cup full of peanuts and made his way back to his stool. He struggled slightly when he climbed onto it knocking over his empty beer bottle in the process. Floyd shot him a dirty look and turned towards Robert shaking his head in dismay.

  With slurred speech, Lincoln spoke loudly. “The problem with today’s society is we put way too much energy in trying to prove were right and the other guy is wrong.” He snatched up the empty beer bottle as it rolled slowly towards the back of the bar. He set it down half on the coaster causing it to tilt slightly.

  Molly looked at Floyd as she walked over to Lincoln. “You know I think you’ve had too many already, Lincoln.”

  Lincoln slapped down his money onto the bar and opened his mouth to speak but Molly cut him off before he could utter a single word.

  “Ok, one more. If you behave that is,” she said with a smile as she took another bottle from the cooler, cracked it open and replaced the empty bottle in front of Lincoln with the full one.

  Robert spoke up. “Floyd can handle Lincoln. Come to Pinewood Lodge with me.”

  “Careful now, Robert,” said Molly as she smiled wide. “One of these days I’m gonna say yes and then what’ll you do?”

  Robert sat at the bar with his empty beer mug in hand. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words.

  35

  Raylene stood next to Clovis by the bar, her arm around his waist. Ernie Woodman patted him on the back.

  “Happy Birthday, Clovis. Thanks for not shooting me.”

  Clovis pretended to reach for his gun. The same gun that now sat in the trunk of his cruiser. Dwayne’s gun belt sat in the driver’s seat of his.

  Raylene looked up at her husband. “You knew, didn’t you?”

  Clovis smiled leaning in so no one else could hear him. “Of course I did. You don’t think anything happens in this sleepy little town without my knowing it do you?”

  Raylene jabbed her tiny fist into her husband’s side in frustration even though she was smiling from ear to ear.

  Jack Ledger handed Raylene and Clovis beers. He then hoisted a glass of his own. “A toast! To the second most important man in this town,” said Mayor Jack Ledger jokingly. Everyone knew he really meant what he said. And that the most important man in this town, according to Jack Ledger was himself.

  36

  Robert set his empty mug down, got up and walked into the men’s room.

  Lincoln waited until he saw the door close behind him before he spoke. “Atheists are not evil. They know in their minds that we only have one life and so let’s live it to our best. Not in jail.”

  Molly, sitting on a bar stool nursing a glass of lemon water, replied. “What makes you say that?”

  To which Lincoln replied. “You know religious people scare me more then atheists.”

  Floyd spoke with a tone bordering on anger. “That’s a stupid thing to say.”

  Molly ignored Floyd and turned to Lincoln. “How?”

  Floyd crossed his arms and leaned back against the bottle rack behind the bar as he spoke. “Atheist believe there are no consequence to their actions. They’re the ones you should fear.”

  Lincoln drank the rest of his beer and set down an empty bottle. “Not true actually. Atheist believe this life is it and so they want to live it well. Religious people believe they can sin and then pray for forgiveness and then all will be well.”

  “That’s messed up, Lincoln,” said Molly. “Are you a religious man, Floyd?”

  “Yes,” replied Floyd. “I believe in God.”

  Lincoln stared blankly at his bottle and hesitated before asking a question. “Does that mean you could kill then pray for forgiveness and think all is well?”

  Floyd replied harshly as he walked over to Lincoln and took his empty bottle from him. “Hell no! I never said that. But sadly some would. What I mean is your religious beliefs don’t make you a killer or not.” Floyd looked at Molly to make sure she heard him as well. “That’s enough of that crazy talk. Any more and I’m gonna throw you out on your ass.”

  Lincoln smiled. “Sorry if I make you think, Floyd.”

  “That’s it!” said Floyd. “I’m not selling you no more damned liquor. You’re already plastered enough.” Floyd leaned forward bracing himself with both hands on the bar and looked Lincoln dead in the eyes. “GO HOME!”

  Lincoln’s smile vanished as his voice quivered when he spoke. “One more and then I’ll go home.”

  “Ok, Lincoln but-” Molly had started to reply but Floyd cut her off.

  “GO HOME NOW!” shouted an angered Floyd. “One more fuckin’ word and I’m barring you from the place.” Floyd leaned forward and pointed a shaky finger at Lincoln. “You got that you son of a bitch!”

  Lincoln, clearly beaten cast his gaze downwards and struggled to get off his barstool, almost losing his balance in the process. Tears began to flow as he stammered. “But-but… I ain’t got no more-”

  “I don’t fucking care!” said a red-faced Floyd. “Get out!”

  Shoulders slumped in defeat, Lincoln walked to the door. He stopped in his tracks while standing at the door. Molly saw Lincoln wipe his eyes with the heels of his hands. Reaching towards his left side, he grabbed the top of the peanut machines and yanked them forward smashing them to the floor. Salted and barbeque peanuts plus broken glass scattered and skidded all over the wooden floor. Lincoln muttered a curse while proceeding to pushed through the glass door so hard it cracked on impact.

  “YOU RAT-FACED SON OF A BITCH!” shouted Floyd. “That’s it! I’ve had just about enough of that old fuck!” Floyd bent down behind the bar and came back up holding a shotgun.

  “Oh my God!” exclaimed Molly as she clasped her fists over her mouth in shock. Molly had been oblivious to the fact that Floyd kept a shotgun behind the bar until this very moment. She wanted to scream as she watched him climb over the bar and head towards the door, shotgun in hand. In her confusion she completely forgot about Robert being in the men’s room. Shaking, she got up from the barstool and took a few steps towards the door as she watched Floyd push his way through the cracked door.

  Molly stood frozen in her tracks until she heard a bang from behind her. Startled by the slamming of the bathroom door, she turned to see Robert had emerged with his shirt half tucked in.

  “What was that noise?” asked a befuddled Robert.

  Molly’s mouth opened in an attempt to reply but was int
errupted by a crack that could only be a gun shot. In that moment, Robert’s eyes widened in wonderment as he looked to Molly for some sort of explanation of what he had just heard. A second shot and Robert’s cop reflexes kicked in as he squatted slightly reaching for his gun on his hip. The same gun that sat in the passenger seat, neatly tucked in its holster.

  “Fuck!” he exclaimed as he heard the door open.

  37

  An hour after the Taser incident, almost everybody in Pinewood Lodge had a drink in their hand, even Dwayne. Many of them were already too drunk to drive. But there were many designated drivers with non-alcoholic drinks as well. The party was after all, for their Chief of Police himself. The man of the hour was one of their own, born and raised in Carlton.

  Bonnie Campbell, drink in one hand and camera held high in the other, looked at Clovis as she spoke with a slight slur of inebriation. “You know these pictures are gonna make the Gazette, right?” Half the room who heard her comment burst into laughter. Just like a smiling Bonnie had intended before adding. “Unless Crandall pays this town a visit tonight, they might even make the front page.”

  Dwayne spoke. “I’m just glad he didn’t shoot me.”

  “You’re glad?” said Ernie Woodman barking a laugh as he slapped Dwayne on the back hard enough to spill his beer.

  Most of the evening would be spent teasing Clovis about his greying hair, growing kids and approaching old age. That or Dwayne for his brilliant plan of getting Clovis to his birthday party without letting on to what was really about to happen. The same plan that got him Tasered and that luckily for him Clovis knew and so had the zapper set low.

  The clock would toll midnight before the inebriated crowd would start to thin out, leaving only a small band behind. Clovis had spent the first hour arguing with people as they handed him drinks. About how he couldn’t drink because he would have to drive his police cruiser home that night. Same goes for Dwayne he’d say. And almost every time he would argue that fact, Jack Ledger would remind him that nothing ever happened in Carlton. Raylene would make a deal with him that she would not drink if he let loose and had fun. And with enough coaxing, he reluctantly eventually agreed.