by Joshua Brown
But we weren’t, and I was a detective. I puffed on my cigarette a couple times but didn’t get much smoke in the lungs. They hurt from the wind. How bad would it be from harsh tobacco?
And then, when I felt confident, I killed the half-stick with my heel and walked over to the rest of them.
Along with Freddy, Rodney, Nox, and Lincoln McDonald hovered beside the scarecrow. I couldn’t make out much of what they were saying from this far out, speaking in hushed tones even though there wasn’t another face for miles.
Lincoln was the first to speak. “Little Jack Mercer? Well, I guess you ain’t so little anymore. How the hell are you?”
“Could be better, considering,” I said.
“Yeah, suppose we all could be. What sorta depravity is it, where a man kills another man for no good reason?”
“Isn’t that it? The nature of man,” I shrugged. “Evening Nox, Fred, Rodney.”
I didn’t have the balls to look up at the scarecrow. Not yet.
Everyone greeted in return. I took a while to steady myself, focusing more on the floodlights than what hovered over my shoulder. But as I spun on my heels, I wasn’t greeted by a nightmare-inducing murder. There were no missing facial features. No naked body lacerated beyond repair.
Dominic Cornelius was dead, that much was certain, but the only similarities were his hands nailed into the scarecrow's post. His head hung low, mouth slightly agape. I suppose doing it on private property, and Lincoln McDonald’s no less, didn’t give time to paint signs and leave cryptic messages. Whoever the killer was did this in a hurry.
Dominic was a firm man, much like the Magnus brothers. Blood stained his white suit shirt, all flowing from a cut on his neck. His eyes were closed, hair in a mangled, wet mess. From the wound circling his throat, I saw the sparkling white Rutilated Quartz gem sticking out.
I suppose there were two things in common between Dominic and Lynne – the crucifixion and the purification artifact.
“Well, shit,” I shook my head. “Lincoln, I don’t suppose you have any idea who might’ve done this? Why bother putting him here on your land?”
“I couldn’t tell you. I don’t see why anyone would do something like this anywhere, let alone here,” Lincoln said. “If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say it’s because these folks are setting up the mall across the street. Maybe whoever did it took a wrong turn and dumped his body here instead of there.”
The killer’s too calculated for that, I thought. What he was doing was supposedly some ritualistic bullshit for some pagan religion. He’d have taken the time to figure out where he was going with the body beforehand. Hell, there was a fence and signs all over Lincoln’s farm and nothing across the way.
That alone was enough to poke hole’s Lincoln’s theory.
“And there wasn’t a message this time? Nothing left at the scene of the crime?”
“Not that we could find, no,” Rodney spoke. “No knife this time anyway, no hammer either. I suppose he learned from the last time.”
“Speaking of which, did nothing come back from those two items?” I cocked a brow.
“Not yet. Apparently, there’s a backlog, and they can only get to our stuff in due time,” Rodney said.
“Well, that doesn’t help a goddamn thing.”
“No use in taking the lord's name in vain, Jack. Really no sense in it,” Lincoln reprimanded me.
I ignored it and moved on. “Has anything suspicious happened around here lately, Lincoln? Any reason to feel concerned or alarmed that you might be in danger?”
“No, not that I’ve seen anyhow. Got my shotgun for trouble, if it does come a knocking,” Lincoln paused, looked up at the stars. I took it he was thinking about something, and a few seconds later, I realized I was right. “Well, there was something a couple days back. I don’t think it suspicious at all, more just the only real thing what happened in a while.”
“Alright, go on,” I rolled a hand to get him speaking.
“That boy, Victor Something came over to mine. It was the day after that poor woman got butchered. Said he was walking around trying to clear his head of it all. Told him he shouldn’t be out walking alone, it’s dangerous around here nowadays and get this,” Lincoln let out a little laugh, shaking his head. “He pulls out a steak knife and tells me he’s got his protection.”
“Did you say a steak knife?”
“Sure did, weren’t you listening?”
That was our first actual clue to solving this case, I thought. What were the chances that Lynne Sawyer died by a steak knife, only for Lincoln to mention it a few days later? The coincidences only grew deeper with him being on Lincoln’s property, only to later have a dead body on it.
“You said his name is Victor something. Victor, what?” I asked.
“I couldn’t tell you that,” Lincoln shrugged. “I know his Momma, Daphne, too, but only when she stops by to pick up some fresh produce.”
“I think I know the kid,” Freddy chimed in. “Stays not far from your parents' place. Kind of slinks around most days, but I don’t think he’s much of a threat. Lynne Sawyer, maybe, but not to a burly man like Dominic over here. That boy doesn’t have a muscle on his body strong enough to move this mountain.”
“If it’s all we’ve got, it’s all we’ve got, right? Best to look into it anyway. Speaking of which, I’ve cleared Jim Heath’s name off the list entirely. He was with his mother tonight, made her a seafood dinner. At least that’s one avenue we don’t have to press,” I extended a hand out to Lincoln, and he shook. “Good to see you again, and thanks for the help, Lincoln.”
“Any time,” Lincoln replied.
“Rodney, you got anyone coming around to pick up this body?” I asked.
“Sure do. Nox can hang back and wait for them to arrive.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” I asked, making my way back over the dry soil, towards the cars. “Let’s regroup back at the station before we head out. It’s best if we move together from there.”
“Sure thing, Jack.”
~
Freddy and Rodney followed behind me in the police cruiser, down the road, and across Priest River. We got back to the station together and headed inside. Somehow, the station hadn’t cooled even with the chilly night. It was still hot and uncomfortable, and I felt sweat pits form under my armpits as soon as I entered.
My body couldn’t make up its mind to wanting the hot or cold.
“Jack, I really don’t think it’s that Victor kid. He’s not the sort who’d do something like this,” Freddy said as soon as we stepped through the door.
“That’s the thing, Fred. It’s usually the ones you suspect the least that are most prone to acting out in fits of rage.”
“But what reason does that boy have to do it? This town is too small to even keep the few people we have employed. I’d think he’d be happy to finally be able to start making some money for himself. Hell, his momma’s always out on the road anyway. Can’t be fun being lonely in his house all day.”
“Look, it’s only questioning like we did with Jim. We’re not making any arrests until we’ve got actual evidence of anything, but we’re burning all our avenues, and I’m going to jump on any opportunity I can to get this thing sorted out,” I said. I walked over to a water dispenser behind the sheriff’s desk and filled a Styrofoam cup. I gulped it down in a single go.
“That thing they found in Lynne Sawyer is some pagan artifact used to exorcise demons, by the way,” it sounded stupid coming out of my mouth. I decided to fill Freddy and Rodney in with what Aaron had told me. “Whoever’s doing this thinks he’s doing good work in the name of a goddess. We can’t rule out some tyrannical fantasy and delusion of power. Even the weakest in physical strength has overcome tremendous odds believing they have power.”
“When you talk like that, you sound like a crazy man,” Freddy said, cocking a brow.
“And that’s telling a story. Imagine someone actually believing it, too.”
> “Alright, fine. What’s your plan of action then?” Freddy finally gave in.
“Like I said, it’s literally just a chat. We go over, knock on his door and sit him down. We’ll figure out soon enough if he’s our man or not,” I replied.
“Then we best get going. Rodney, you joining us?” Freddy looked over his shoulder at Rodney, who paced back and forth beside the front door.
“Sure thing, Fred. I’ll come,” Rodney nodded.
“Then let’s go,” I made my way towards the door.
But as we stepped outside, the three of us were met by a woman in hysterics. Tears streamed from her face, and she was all but sprinting from her car towards the sheriff’s department door.
“Thank god, I caught you, Sheriff,” she said, in between tears.
“Evening, Miss,” Rodney said. “What’s the matter? How can we help you today?”
“It’s my daughter, Sheriff. Lee-Anne, works down at Hopewell’s diner,” the woman said.
Lee-Anne from Hopewell’s? I knew I had a bad feeling about her not being there that afternoon.
“She’s gone missing. Went over to her boyfriend’s place last night but never came home. I know they sometimes spend nights together, but with everything that’s going on and her not answering the phone…” she trailed off, words mixing with tears, becoming impossible to hear.
“We’re just about to head off and speak with someone now, miss. We’ll make a stop at Lee-Anne’s boyfriend before. Can you tell me his name?” Rodney said.
For a man that lacked far too much common sense in the murder investigation, he was somehow pulling this off quite well.
“Sure can, his name is Victor Dinwiddie,” she gave us his address too. There it was, another link to Victor being our prime suspect, only this time I felt like that was the final nail in the coffin.
Rodney carried on easing Lee-Anne’s mother while Freddy and I got into my car.
“Still think Victor couldn’t have anything to do with this?” I asked.
“Well, now, there sure are a lot of things pointing in his direction,” Freddy sighed.
Once Rodney got in the car, we all drove down to Victor’s address. I checked my pistol, and so did Freddy. More than ever, we had to be prepared for the worst possible outcome.
We approached the front door, banging hard, but there was no response. Nobody home. That made sense. If Victor was the one who left Dominic on Lincoln McDonald’s grounds, he probably wouldn’t have made it back as fast as we could by car, even with the stop at the station.
The three of us waited around for a while, seeing if he’d come back. With another knock, calling his name and alerting him that I was an officer, there wasn’t much more to do. Freddy began nagging me that he was tired and ready to go home after a while. I called it quits on the stakeout and instead put Rodney in charge of keeping an eye on the place.
I drove them back to the station, letting Freddy go home and Rodney get his car to return to Victor’s address. I gave him a rundown of how to handle his mission and kept him under express orders to call me if anything at all happened.
I needed to rest. My mind, body, and soul were exhausted. Coincidences relating to Victor aside, I believed in Rodney Stern as sheriff to do this one thing. There wasn’t much point in all three of us waiting for Victor to return.
Chances were if he was our man, he’d have ducked out by now, out on the run – that was to say Victor knew we had him in our sights. It was still early enough that he could be anywhere. All Rodney had to do was wait.
As I pulled into the Eagle Nest, I instantly regretted my decision of letting him be the watchdog.
Chapter 19
Onyx
I saw them gathered, three before my door. Their incessant pounding inspiring a chatter of neighborhood mutts and their barking owners commanding silence. Night cloaked me, kept me hidden, with no streetlights alerting anyone to my presence. Behind a short fence, I remained dead quiet, inspecting my unwanted guests.
If it weren’t for Rodney Stern alongside the others, I might’ve not known they were the police.
I knew Freddy Cochran, of course. Having only handed the torch of Sheriff to Rodney two years prior. A good man, a strong pillar of our community, and one of few I trusted.
The third man, however, dressed in his dark brown coat and lazily placed fedora, left me with an uneasy queasiness. Like the Inquisition, he was an outsider, a vagabond, standing before me and greatness.
What brought them before my temple to the goddess? What vile misdoings had they planned for me?
They didn’t linger long enough for me to fear their presence. After a few knocks, calling my name, “Victor Dinwiddie,” they shuffled off back to the stranger’s car. I felt like I’d drawn my first lungful of fresh air since I returned to my street. But time wasn’t on my side.
When I was certain they weren’t around any longer or watching from a distance, I jumped the fence. I entered through the kitchen door rather than the front. I was so close to completing my mission, bringing the Earth Mother into our world, and destroying the demons sent from the Inquisition. I couldn’t let anything stop me now.
I left the lights off when I got inside, feeling around for objects while moving in the dark. If anyone returned, I didn’t want to give them a reason to disturb me. The Earth Mother’s presence flowed through my home, as it had since Lynne Sawyer’s murder. Her strength was growing, but it would take time for Dominic Cornelius to form part of it.
Time we just didn’t have.
“I feel your presence, my Goddess,” I let her know. I always let her know. “We cannot wait any longer. We must press forward, birthing you within Lee-Anne.”
I got nothing in response.
I went downstairs into the basement. I left the light on for Lee-Anne when I left that evening, but with the door closed, there wasn’t any sign of it. Though barbaric, I kept her strapped to a chair, arms and legs bound and her mouth taped shut. When I got downstairs, she began weeping, shaking her head. Pleading eyes stared me down, begging for release.
The circumstances in which I held her weren’t ideal, I suppose. The cardboard coffin in which I left my birth mother’s remains had withered and rotted away with her. The odor her body released, a nauseating, bitter disgust that left my guts churning. Keeping Lee-Anne anywhere else, however, was dangerous. Had she known there were police officers outside that day, she’d have caused a ruckus hoping to catch their attention.
“I’m sorry, Lee-Anne, I can’t let you go,” I replied. On my approach, she shook her head. It stung me to see her fearful and recoiling. I’d explained it all to her, why this needs to be so. The Earth Mother had to find a vessel to interact with our world. There was no way of fighting this battle and standing a chance of winning without her being physically present.
It was a sacrifice that pained me. Lee-Anne was an incredible lover, and I’d miss her dearly. However, the Earth Mother was a far better replacement.
“Your sacrifice will not be in vain,” I said, stepping closer to Lee-Anne. I placed a soft kiss on her forehead and reached out to touch her cheek. She pulled away at both. “The world will thank you for what you’ve done. You’ll be a martyr in the eyes of the Goddess, and she will reward you for surrendering your mortal shell so that we may fight.”
Lee-Anne attempted to speak, but I couldn’t make out a word of what she was saying through the duct tape sealing her mouth.
No matter.
I removed the onyx arrowhead from around Lee-Anne’s neck and inspected it in the basement’s light. I desperately hoped to see the Earth Mother again, but she didn’t present herself to me.
“Soon, you’ll be with me,” I sighed.
I ran the tip of the arrowhead along Lee-Anne’s cheek. Her fearfulness turned into blubbering. I didn’t let it distract me. My narrow window only grew smaller, with the police showing signs of suspicion. One wrong move now, and our entire world would shatter at the hands of monsters walking in m
an’s skin.
I’d never allow it to happen.
It was my sworn duty, my oath, to stand against the tyranny of these oppressors. Wolves in sheep’s clothing, so eagerly clawing at the fabric of our existence. Their takeover meant a new reign on earth, which would only lead to further suffering for the people.
We rise together, and we fall together—and Lee-Anne, the poor thing. If she would not come willingly, I’d have to take her.
And so I began the ritual to bring the Earth Mother into our domain. I didn’t speak to Lee-Anne again. Her potential screeching would only amplify my fears of going through with it. Instead, I prepared her body, the summoning circle where at the tip, a single vial of the demon Dominic Cornelius’ blood sat. It was a longshot, but I hoped having his essence in the room may quicken the pace the Earth Mother would inhabit Lee-Anne.
Finally, I made the first incision. Two cuts with the onyx arrowhead on her wrist above the back of her hand. Bloodletting, though a cruel process in the eyes of many, was still the most prominent method of removing the old and bringing in anew.
Lee-Anne shook her head, resisted, and fought against the bonds of the duct tape holding her in place. Her wailing hit new heights as the arrowhead pierced her skin, and her face was a sullied mess of tear-stained make-up.
This was our epoch.
Myself, Lee-Anne and the Earth Mother, together at last; together forever.
Chapter 20
Jack
The lonesome road back home left an uneasy churning in my gut. Rodney Stern wasn’t much of a sheriff, but where I had faith, he might pull off sitting in front of a house for a night. That soon faded all the same. All he had to do was wait and watch. Any movement, he had to call it back. A task so simple and yet, if he floundered for even a moment, this entire investigation could go up in flames.
