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by J. A. Henderson

  He laughed humourlessly.

  “Once I figured out she was the real Inductor, everything fell into place. The room full of appliances wasn’t switched when I was there because it would have dampened her emissions and I would have seen her and not Justin. When Maggie and I turned up unexpectedly to test the prototype AID, she had to turn it to the wrong frequency, or it would have been the same story. And she couldn’t let us get near the boathouse because Justin was locked in there. Not her.”

  Ettrick knew this was the moment to walk away and return to his duties. Man the weakening barriers against the excesses of human nature. Go back to his ruined marriage and try to repair it.

  He remained sitting down. Partly it was morbid curiosity to see how far his old friend would take this. Partly because genuine doubts were creeping into his mind.

  “Justin cared about Clancy more than his own safety.” R.D. said sadly. “I imagine he began working on a cure for her Inductance, out in the arse end of nowhere. But that meant he was with her all the time, with her pheromone release slowly wiping his brain clean. By the time he realised that static electricity was the key to blocking Inductance, his mind was probably on his last legs.”

  Ettrick pulled two cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to R.D. He was caught up in this new version of events, despite his best intentions.

  “Aye,” R.D. continued.” My guess is that Clancy locked Justin in the boathouse once she had destroyed his brain. Then she had to ask for my help. She didn’t know enough about electronics to build the device she needed.”

  His voice cracked.

  “So, she came to my office and gave me her tale of woe. Knew a mug like me would come rushing to her rescue. When I got there she assumed Justin’s identity. She’s been pretending to be him ever since.”

  For a second he allowed anger to bubble to the surface.

  “I was so stupid! I should have known Justin wouldn’t act that way. He was the nicest guy I ever met and that’s why I kept defending him.”

  He slapped his head in frustration.

  “I ought to have worked it out sooner.”

  “But Justin attacked you in the boathouse,” Ettrick argued. “Not his wife.”

  “When I drove out there I was wearing the Mini-AID and Clancy saw it as soon as I stepped into the boathouse. She knew she couldn’t hide from me by impersonating Justin any more, and she couldn’t bend my mind with the Mini-AID protecting it.”

  R.D. avoided Ettrick’s sceptical stare.

  “But she could use her pheromones to penetrate what was left of Justin’s brain and move him around like a marionette. He hadn’t any will of his own to fight back, not that it would have helped.”

  He picked morosely at the wormy white scar under his chin.

  “She made him keep hitting me, Ettrick. Even after I’d shot him to pieces.” He choked back a sob. “Talk about fighting over a girl. When Justin died, she didn’t dare take me on, cause I still had the Mini-AID and a loaded gun. It looked like I was goner, anyhow.”

  “And suddenly your story aligns with the facts again.” The detective pursed his lips. “Very inventive, R.D.”

  “Jesus!” the psychologist erupted. “If we were at the Last Supper, you’d be the one doubting Doubting Thomas.”

  “OK. So why didn’t Clancy come right out and tell you the truth? Judging by what you’ve told me, you’d have helped her anyhow.”

  R.D. was silent for a long time.

  “Because she’d have to admit she killed my son.”

  Ettrick blinked.

  “She did what?”

  “She killed my kid, Ettrick.”

  “How is that possible? You drove into a truck with him in the back.”

  “Like I said, I’ve had nothing to do in here but think. So I began to concentrate on the one thing that never made sense. When I tried to take the AID from Clancy’s head, she switched from impersonating Justin, to projecting the image of my worst nightmares.”

  “The Longhorn Bull.” Ettrick caught on immediately. “Something you never told anyone about.”

  “Exactly.” R.D. nodded. “So how did she know?”

  “The trailer your car crashed into.” The detective looked at the folders, a shiver running down his spine. “It was carrying a Longhorn.”

  “I never wanted to relive the moment my son died,” R.D. sighed. “But now I forced myself to go over and over and over that day again.”

  The detective winced.

  “By sheer effort, I began to remember. Like a jigsaw, bits began to fall into place.”

  “Not for me, they aint. You wanna elaborate?”

  “That weekend, Anne-Louise was away and Justin was in the labs.” R.D. closed his eyes. “I was taking my son for a drive and got stuck behind a truck, just outside Nolansville. And yes, it was towing a trailer carrying a Longhorn bull. A gigantic thing, it was. Seemed like the iron rails on the back couldn’t possibly be strong enough to hold it.”

  He stopped. Chewed on a knuckle, obviously reluctant to picture the event.

  “The driver of the truck didn’t know it, but the bull’s legs had burst through the floor of the trailer and hit the road. The animal was completely trapped and its weight was forcing it down onto the asphalt.”

  “Oh shit.” Ettrick cringed.

  “Its legs were being ground to a pulp right in front of me. I could see strings of blood and muscle streaming out from under the trailer.”

  He bit his knuckle harder.

  “The bull’s neck was straining and its mouth wide open and dripping spittle and blood… huge fucking eyes rolling round in its head. I swear it was looking right at me. Then it spoke.”

  Shivers puckered Ettrick’s spine.

  “It spoke?”

  “I swear it screamed for help.”

  “In English?”

  “I don’t speak any other language.”

  A tear rolled down R.D.’s cheek.

  “I sped up and hit the trailer. When I woke up I was in hospital and Martin was dead.”

  “I’m sorry, R.D. But what has this got to do with Clancy?”

  “I would never deliberately endanger my boy. Not for any reason. Not unless someone made me.”

  “Wait!” The detective threw up his hands. “Clancy was in the car?”

  “I still don’t remember her, but why not? We were hanging out together in those days. She was ultra-sensitive to animals, Ettrick. Something like that would have sent the girl off her fucking rocker. I’m talking up-the-wall, hysterical.”

  “Jeez, R.D.”

  “Clancy’s helplessness. The empathy she had for this trapped suffering dumb creature. I think she snapped and her pheromones went into overdrive. I must have picked them up. Acted on her impulse to put the bull out of its misery at any cost.”

  Exhausted, R.D. put head in his hands and wept quietly.

  “And the cost was my son.”

  His shoulders sagged. A bald patch was evident for the first time on his closely shorn head.

  “The trailer unhitched, went off an incline and turned the animal into confetti.” Ettrick resisted the temptation to pat his bald pate in sympathy. “Nobody thought it was important. After all, who does an autopsy on a cow? Plus you didn’t mention any of this at the time.”

  “I had severe concussion. Thought that was the cause of my memory loss.”

  “Maybe it was.”

  “No. I’ll lay odds it was Clancy’s Inductance. I bet it started getting a lot worse after that kick start, so Justin whisked her off to East Texas.” R.D. sniffed and wiped his nose with one sleeve. “When Justin’s head turned into a bull in front of me, I should have guessed. He couldn’t have known it was my greatest fear. But Clancy did, because she witnessed what caused it.”

  He gave a sour grin.

  “One more thing I can’t prove, obviously.”

  Ettrick hesitated. Then he lifted another file from his knee and put it on the table.

  “What’s t
hat?” the psychologist asked.

  “A copy of the police report on your car accident.”

  “I’ve already seen it. There’s nothing in it to back me up.”

  “You’re right about that.” Ettrick laid the file on the table. “It doesn’t mention Clancy as a passenger. Doesn’t mention anyone except your son.”

  “It wouldn’t, would it?” R.D. smiled sadly. “Clancy’s fear of the authorities was absolute after her years at Northland. She obviously wasn’t badly hurt, so she walked away from the crash without even trying to get help. If anyone saw her they wouldn’t have remembered, not after the burst of pheromones she released.”

  He stubbed out his cigarette on the weathered table.

  “Including me.”

  “Or she might not have actually been there.” But the detective sounded uncertain.

  “Please tell me you found something.” R.D. pinged the crushed butt across the room with an angry flick of his finger. “You’re my last hope.”

  “Yes.” Ettrick admitted. “I found something.”

  -65-

  “I told you I’d be thorough,” The detective said. “Besides, I never really bought the idea that you’d drive that fast with your own son in the car.”

  “But you were fine thinking I’d murder three people?”

  Ettrick ignored the barb.

  “So I went through every other police file for the area on that day.” The detective picked up a sheet of paper from the folder.

  R.D. strained to read the upside down writing.

  “The precinct thought it was unrelated and that’s understandable.” The detective handed the file to his companion. “But a couple of farmhands called Frantos and Bonner reported that their entire herd of cattle had walked off a cliff, like they forgot their way. It happened at exactly the same time as your crash and was only half a mile off.”

  “Ah.” R.D. scanned the sheet and gasped.

  “Yeah. On the way to report it, they were flagged down by a woman walking by the side of the road. They think she had blood on her face.”

  “They think?”

  “As you can see, the report is infuriatingly vague. But they recalled she wouldn’t go to hospital and made them drop her off in Austin before they got to the station.”

  “It was Clancy. It had to be!”

  Ettrick took back the paper and dropped the file into his briefcase.

  “There’s no way to know. Despite the fact that they’d just spent an hour in a truck with her, they couldn’t say what she looked like.”

  For a long time neither man spoke. Then R.D. reached across the desk and touched Ettrick’s elbow.

  “You believe me, don’t you?”

  “Does it matter? Even with me on your side, I guarantee nobody’s gonna go for your story. The case is closed and I can’t change that.”

  “I don’t care about anyone else. I just need you to believe me.”

  “Why? What good will it do you?”

  “If you think I’m lying you can’t protect me. You can’t protect yourself.”

  “From who?” Ettrick dropped the files back into his briefcase and shut it. “Let’s suppose your story is true. Clancy’s dead. The fire killed her.”

  “Oh no, it didn’t.” R.D. gave a snort of derision.

  “Clancy Moore is very much alive.”

  -66-

  The detective had resigned himself to carrying on. He didn’t flinch.

  “Of course she’s dead,” he said, as if talking to a child. “The police found her body.”

  “They found a body but it was burned to a crisp. It could have been anyone. A runaway she picked up the day before. Or a hitcher. The roads in that area are full of them.”

  “Because she’d already decided to get rid of you, Maggie and Justin.” Ettrick caught on immediately. “And the best way to deflect suspicion from herself, once you were all gone, was to fake her own death.”

  “Clancy is a very smart creature, Ettrick. And she’s got no scruples whatsoever about killing to protect herself.”

  The detective wasn’t going to argue that particular point. He knew how easily life could be taken.

  “She offed the girl, dumped her in the house and put my chain round her neck.” R.D. folded his arms. “Set fire to the place, so the burned body would be mistaken for hers. Then, knowing I’d be hot on her heels, she set a trap.”

  “Dental records proved the body was Clancy’s.”

  “Think she couldn’t stroll into a morgue, impersonating a police officer?” The psychologist refused to back down. “That she couldn’t nudge the coroner’s mind in any direction she wanted?”

  Ettrick considered that.

  “Go and get a court order. Exhume the body. You’ll find it’s not Clancy.”

  “There isn’t a judge in the country who would sign off on such a request. No matter how hard I pushed.”

  The detective lit two more cigarettes and handed one to R.D. Jesus. If he spent any more time in this room he was gonna end up with lung cancer.

  “Anyway, why the hell would she come after you now?” Ettrick leaned over and gave him a light. “It’s not like you’re gonna convince anyone there’s a shape shifting monster loose on the streets of Austin.”

  “Clancy needs the Mini-AID to live normally.” Smoke drifted up from the corners of R.D’s mouth. “And only I know if it still exists. But the hunk of granite I put it in is totally impervious to heat. It’s probably still intact.”

  “It’ll take a lot more than a fake MP3 player to convince the authorities.”

  “Fuck the authorities. I only need to persuade you.”

  “I didn’t say I was persuaded.”

  “Didn’t say you weren’t either.”

  He spotted Ettrick’s strained expression.

  “You found something else, didn’t you?”

  “You asked me to check out the truck driver who picked you up.” The detective never thought he’d have to mention this part of his investigation. “He drove his rig into the Colorado river not long after. The official report said it was suicide. His wife was adamant that wasn’t the case. Said he was the most happy-go-lucky guy she’d ever known.”

  “Suicide my arse. Clancy probably killed the poor guy after trying to find out if I’d given the Mini-AID to him.” R.D. took a huge drag and coughed violently.

  “Clancy has to know if the device survived. She needs it to live normally, now there’s no Maggie to make another. I’m her only way to find it.”

  “Good job you’re locked safely away.”’

  “There’s nowhere Clancy can’t break into eventually. Even a secure facility like this. To begin with, I wasn’t even sure if she might be impersonating you.”

  “That’s beyond weird, but are you finally satisfied I’m who I say?”

  “Yes. That’s why I’m going to tell you exactly where the AID is. I want you to go get it.”

  “Let’s just suppose you’re telling the truth.” Ettrick couldn’t believe he was uttering these words. “What the hell do you expect me to do with this device? I present it to the department as evidence and they’ll lock me in here with you. I may as well hand them my hairdryer.”

  “You use a hairdryer?’ R.D.’s eyes crinkled.

  “Well, its Madison’s really,” the detective corrected quickly.

  “Bring the Mini-AID back here,” the psychologist said. “Tell the staff it’s a MP3 player you bought for me to alleviate the boredom. You’re a cop. They’ll let me keep it.”

  “And if Clancy comes?”

  “I’ll be ready for her.”

  The detective pointed to the Aluminium crutches propped against one wall.

  “I don’t reckon it’ll do any good. Even if she has no mental control over you, you’re not exactly…”

  He didn’t need to finish the sentence.

  “Don’t worry.” R.D. tapped his nose. “I have a cunning plan.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better if I kept it?”
Ettrick suggested. “I’d stand a much better chance against Clancy if she tried to take it from me.”

  “So long as you’re comfortable with gunning a woman down in front of your wife and child.”

  “Maybe not.” Ettrick shivered at the thought. “What’s this brilliant scheme you got?”

  “The less you know the better. Just trust me, will you?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Unless you want to sit outside my room with a gun 24 hours a day, it’s about your only option.” R.D. dipped into his pocket, pulled out a folded sheet of paper and handed it over.

  “I had to draw it with therapy crayons,” he apologised. “I’m not allowed sharp objects.”

  “Great,” Ettrick said archly, unfolding it. “Looks like a kid’s treasure map.”

  “It’s still a fairly accurate description of where that rock is hidden. Shouldn’t take you more than a few hours on your hands and knees to find it.”

  “I got a bad back, you know.” But the detective tucked the paper into his shirt pocket.

  “You have to be very careful, pal.” R.D. reached over and squeezed his old partner’s arm. “Clancy knows I can’t get the Mini-AID myself. She’s not stupid and she’s probably been staking the place out. Watching you come and go.”

  “I’m her target now?”

  “Of course. Who else would I ask to get it?”

  “I can always count on you to keep life interesting.” Standing, Ettrick picked up his briefcase and wedged it under one arm. “Let’s hope she’s not waiting out there with a chainsaw.”

  “She is. No doubt about it. And she doesn’t need a chainsaw.”

  “If you had started by saying there was evidence hidden in East Texas, I’d have gone and got it, whether I believed you or not.” Ettrick prickled with exasperation. “I don’t appreciate being fed information in dribs and drabs.”

  “Without the knowledge that Clancy was still alive?” R.D. scolded. “She would have taken the device from you like candy from a baby. I couldn’t send you to fetch the Mini-AID until you were convinced I was telling the truth.”