by Joshua Brown
Victor paused, the crowd murmured again.
“Talk to me, Victor. Tell me what’s going on here. Don’t do something you’re going to regret,” I tried to reason with him, but this whole situation was beyond any chance of it.
“Regret? No, that’s not what any of this is, Jack. These people, the Inquisition, United Fed, whatever you want to call them, they are not what they seem. The Goddess has come to me; she told me of their vile cruelty. She whispered their sins into my ear and asked me to bring an end to it. I am the only one who can stop them from luring more into their web of deceit, and I will not stand by idly while they corrupt Priest River,” Victor shook his head.
“And what about Lee-Anne Jefferson?” I thought mentioning her name might spur something in Victor’s head. Turn him away from what he was doing, get him to realize that this was all some big mistake.
“Lee-Anne is perfect,” Victor sighed. “A vessel for the Earth Mother to inhabit, so that she too may walk freely among us. Her power will drive Priest River back on its course. All she needs is a body. No longer will the slithering tongues of men like Buster Scott coo the people on. Instead, it will be our goddess.”
So much for appealing to his better nature. There wasn’t much left in the way of reasoning in Victor’s head. Too far gone on whatever path his lunacy took him.
Lucius said something inaudible that left a sneering rage on Victor’s face. Accompanied by his remarks, Lucius gave a smug grin. Taunting a man holding a knife to your throat? Brave or stupid, it somehow benefited me.
“I send you back to the depths of hell, demon,” Victor roared. He pulled back the blade from around Lucius’s neck, thrusting it into his back.
A woman in the crowd erupted into a horrified scream. They started moving forward, someone shouting, “Let’s get him!”
Lucius let out a shrill screech that seemed inhuman in its echo over the Priest River but collapsed forward. Victor rose the knife high overhead with both hands, but before he could drop to his knees and carry on stabbing, I pulled the trigger.
The shot rang out, having the crowd collapse all around me. Voices cried out, someone yelled to get down, and it was a complete mess. “Everyone stay down,” I demanded. It seemed the citizens weren’t foolish enough to go against a man with a gun, no matter how ready they were to fight Victor Dinwiddie.
Victor lay on the floor, wriggling side to side. The bullet hit him exactly where I wanted. A non-lethal shot to the shoulder, enough to incapacitate, but with medical care, he wouldn’t die. I approached cautiously, Freddy at my side.
Lucius rolled away from Victor, getting to his feet.
“Took you long enough,” Lucius reached for the point of entry where he was stabbed, looking at blood-soaked fingers.
“Freddy, get an ambulance for Lucius….”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll take care of it myself,” Lucius replied. Another strange addition to a messed-up situation, I thought. But what could I expect with how everything was playing out? All this talk of demons, goddesses, and all the rest…
Why would I think any differently of Lucius shrugging off a knife to the back and walking off?
No one tried to stop him, either.
Victor lay on the floor, still. The only reason I knew he was conscious was because of his eyes blinking now and then.
“Victor Dinwiddie, you are under arrest for the murder of Lynne Sawyer and Dominic Cornelius,” I said.
“It doesn’t matter, Jack,” Victor chuckled. His body remained motionless, only his lips moving. “It’s too late now. I’ve set the plans in motion, and soon, the Earth Mother’s glorious return will come.”
Freddy stepped aside to call an ambulance and disperse the crowd.
“Usually, after getting shot, people come to their senses,” I replied.
“There is no sense within this chaotic world of ours. Arrest me today, and I’ll be dead tomorrow. Those men, the Magnus brothers, are the last agents of hell disguised as human. My only regret is that I didn’t have the time to finish my mission,” Victor sighed. He reached his hand down, shoving it in his pocket.
I rose my pistol. “Hands where I can see them.”
He just laughed. Instead of pulling out a weapon of any sort, it was the same trinket we found on the bodies of Lynne and Dominic. The eagle flapping its wings, with gemstones all around.
“Protection,” he said, reaching out to me. He could barely lift his arm higher than a few inches. “It will be your only line of defense if they ever approach you.”
I took it, though I didn’t believe a word he spoke.
I stayed at Victor’s side, but neither of us really said anything. There wasn’t much for either of us to say. After the ambulance arrived, paramedics got Victor sedated and took him off to whichever hospital allowed inmates in the area.
Freddy and I spent the rest of the afternoon answering questions and setting the town’s mind at ease from what happened.
All I could really think about was how much influence Buster Scott had on these people and what that meant for the future. That much power was a dangerous thing to wield, and I hope after all this, the sheriff would be able to keep Priest River in check.
But we were done.
I felt the weight lifted off my shoulders, and I could breathe again.
Another successful case.
Chapter 24
Jack
A week in Priest River—something I never thought would happen once I left the place all those years before. I’d put so little thought into my hometown over the decades that it was easy to forget where I came from.
But all the fears I had entering the town melted away over my time being there. I found peace with my family, the town, and the people I once held such disdain for. Though this wasn’t, and never would be, my home – or a place I cared much for – I’d leave without the same resentment I arrived with.
That night, once Freddy and I finished any paperwork needed for the case, we went out and celebrated with a drink. It wasn’t much, but freedom from this case was incredible. Unlike my usual routine of applying a name to this mission, I saw little thrill in it for Victor Dinwiddie.
Without Lauren and Aaron to celebrate with, there wasn’t much point. Our tradition wouldn’t form part of some one-off job a million miles from home. And damn, I couldn’t wait to get back.
After our celebratory drink, I went back to my lodging at the Eagle’s Nest. I slept like a baby that night, exhausted from the day’s events. It was finally over. No more burden on my mind—no more fear or hatred, either. I came into Priest River with the notion that I’d be trapped in a hellish wasteland until I left, but as time passed, so too did those feelings.
A change of perception and outlook can leave a man with an incredibly comforting peace. One that would carry on with me for months to come.
The following day, I packed my bags. I wasn’t rushing off back to New York, and I’d spend one more day in town. First, to speak with Rodney Stern one last time, fill him in with the details, and well, the man took a stabbing in the line of duty. That’s probably the biggest thing that would happen to him in his career, and he deserved to feel honored because of it.
And after spending time with Rodney, I’d go back to the family. I’d see my parents, brothers, and sister one last time before venturing back to my life in New York. I had it all planned out, but when I do any planning, things never go accordingly.
The hospital room in which Rodney Stern lay reminded me of the one I was in with Johnny Ortega. Low, dim lights burned twenty-four hours a day. Nurses and doctors ran up and down in a fuss outside, getting from one place to the next, always busy but never present.
I found Rodney with the help of an older nurse, that pointed me in the right direction. He wasn’t in any critical state. The cut was bad but didn’t hit anything vital, and they told me he’d be out before the weekend was up. I was happy to hear it. Though not the best sheriff in the world, Rodney was a good ma
n with a pure heart. This wasn’t the life for him, but I knew after getting some grit in his eye, he’d have a new understanding of what it meant to enforce the law in Priest River.
I entered his room, where a few others lay in their hospital beds, all sleeping or watching tv. Rodney looked over at me, a smile on his face.
“Freddy came by this morning and told me the good news,” he said.
“That old man can’t hold his tongue for a minute, can he?” I laughed. Rodney joined.
“Nah, he’s old, and they don’t think the same way we do. Their filters are gone because what’s the consequence. They won’t be around to regret it in a couple of years,” Rodney said. I suppose truer words have never been spoken.
“Well, Jack, it ain’t much, but I wanted to say thanks for the help you’ve given us here on this thing. I don’t know if we’d have been able to solve it without you,” Rodney said.
“I’m sure if I wasn’t around, you boys would’ve done just fine,” I gave Rodney a gentle pat on the shoulder. He gave me a nod, but the look on his face let me know he didn’t believe what I said. He wasn’t wrong to either. For all the good Rodney and Freddy did on this case, they were bloody useless.
My gentle nudging turned to a full-on takeover at some point, and I don’t even really remember when.
“So, what’re your plans now? Heading back to New York?” he asked.
I pulled up a chair, dropping into it.
“Sure am. Priest River took a lot out of me,” I smiled. “Let’s just say it’s been a terrible vacation.”
We both laughed again.
“Well, if you’re ever back in town, you come by and say hi, alright?”
“Of course. It’s not every day I get to work side by side with a real-life sheriff,” I said.
It couldn’t have been easy for Rodney. He took a knife to the belly and wasn’t even around to enforce the law in his town. I didn’t want to make him feel any worse, and throwing around a few compliments was easy enough.
“You don’t believe nothing Victor was going on about, do you?” Rodney asked suddenly. “About demons walking the world? You know, I’m a God-fearing man, Jack. I don’t want to get caught up if anything’s on its way to get us.”
“Don’t let the ramblings of a mad man get to you,” I shrugged it off. “You’ll just follow in the same footsteps if you do.”
And though I didn’t believe a thing of it, Marceline Tremaine crossed my mind. Her leather-bound book promising answers to secrets I’d been questioning since Firefly’s case. My face flushed red at the thought, feeling silly to even consider any of it for a second. There was still reason and logic behind all that was going on, and I wasn’t going to delude myself otherwise.
Whatever she was planning had to rear itself eventually. When that day came, I’d be ready.
“You’re right,” Rodney replied, a smug look on his face.
Before I spoke again, I felt the vibration in my pocket. It quickly turned to the ringing of my cell phone. I checked it, only to see Ruby’s name displayed on the caller ID.
“Mind if I take this?”
“Not at all,” Rodney said.
“Hey, Ruby,” I answered. “Freddy run his mouth again and tell you I’m leaving town tomorrow?”
I chuckled, but there wasn’t much in the way of a joyous response. I heard her sniffling and crying on the other end.
“Hey, no need for tears. I’m going to stop by after I finish at the hospital with Rodney. You don’t need to think I’m running away anymore.” I tried setting her nerves at ease. “It’s different now.”
“It’s not that, Jack,” Ruby’s voice was weak. “It’s Pa. He…he…”
Ruby fought to get the words out, but I didn’t need her to. There was only one reason for my dad to inspire such grief in Ruby.
“He passed away this morning while Momma and I were out shopping,” she finally got it out.
“Oh…” Had I heard this news a week ago, I wouldn’t have cared for it. But now? I didn’t know what swirling emotion of sadness and disappointment took hold of me. There was even a sting of betrayal. We’d only just made any sort of connection, and now he was gone. Years of agony weren’t fixed in a single night of conversation and sharing a cigarette, but Christ, it felt good to drop my resentment. I barely knew him, and now I never would. “I’ll come right over.”
“Thank you, Jack,” Ruby said, hanging up the phone.
I told Rodney what happened, and we said goodbye.
By the time I arrived back home, a mortician already took my father’s body away. Ruby and my mom were a mess of tears and depression. I stayed strong, holding fast and giving them a shoulder to cry on.
I spent the night there with them, allowing time to grieve and share stories of my father, be they good or bad. And once more, a sensation of normalcy engulfed me. As though this was the way life was supposed to be.
I was a son, a brother, and a shoulder to lean on in trying times. If only it all came, just a little bit sooner.
Chapter 25
Jack
There is only a single certainty in life, and that is death. No matter how far you run or how far you come, death’s claws will always catch you in the end.
I went to Priest River with a single goal in mind, helping a woman I once knew find her son. In return, I was given a new outlook on life as a whole. I had no bitterness left in me, no hatred for my hometown. Somehow, through my time in Priest River, I saw a rebirth—be it through Freddy, Rodney, my family, or anything else.
These once nightmarish streets washed away and returned to purity. The smiling faces I saw, the jolly people going about their day, a testament to how poorly I believed the place. They were not all bad; there was no evil here. There were people living their lives and fighting against times of eternal march.
I delayed my flight one last time to spend a few more days with my family. Whatever resentment I once had dissipated now into nothingness. They were people who lived their lives and toiled on, unaware of their own misdoings—as we all are. There was no harm or hate left in my heart, only love and hurt from the suffering they endured.
And I’d see it through, right to the end.
That day, my family and I found ourselves silent in the cemetery, with a crowd of people who all came to wish my father well into his afterlife. Men, women, high-ranking officials, and lowly folk, all together, mourning the loss of James Mercer.
The priest, a man I didn’t know beyond seeing him speaking with Rodney on my first day of arrival, stood before the coffin at an altar. He spoke with conviction and passion, praying for my father’s safe arrival at the gates of heaven.
“Death is not a time to mourn. The passing of a loved one or friend is a time to reflect, a time to celebrate their lives and see that their legacy continues on through our ready and loving hearts,” the priest said. He looked at me, the oldest Mercer boy, standing beside my sister, mother, and brothers. “James Mercer was a good man, a pillar of our community, a fighting force in the name of all that is good.”
I’ve never heard those words spoken about my father, but with all the sorrowful faces surrounding me, I had to believe them true.
“James Mercer will be sorely missed, but I know he’d not want us to weep. So instead, let us honor him in a celebration of his life and give prayer to those who need it most; his wife and children. Let’s have a moment of silence for the deceased.” the priest fell silent, dipping his head low. I never was a religious man and found it hard to get involved in the praying. No matter how I tried, dipping my head and closing my eyes proved difficult.
“Thank you,” the priest said, once a minute or so elapsed, and relief washed away the awkwardness. “Jack, would you like to say a few words?”
I wanted to say no, but all eyes were on me. I scanned left then right at family and people, all waiting for me to step forward and give a speech. But there wasn’t much to give. I had no actual relationship with the man apart from scorn an
d strife. If my father was the man they said he was, no one would want to hear any of that.
Still, I stepped forward, shook hands, thanked the priest, and took front and center beside the open coffin. I looked inside and saw him there. My memory served him to be an angry man, always red-faced and ready to strike. But there, I saw a difference. He was peaceful, calm, and serene. I’d seen death before, but never once had it looked so… inviting.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming out,” I started. “As many of you know, I never had the best relationship with my dad. I guess we were both just strong-willed, butting heads at every opportunity.”
I chuckled, but looking over at Ruby, I saw the puppy dog eyes and a smile on her face. I guess being up there was a big step for me, and she had my back every step of the way. I bit down and spoke from the heart.
“I never had much of a relationship with my old man, and after the brief time we shared this week, I wish it was different. You know, I always lived my life on the belief that people are who they are. The idea of change seemed alien to me. But when I met with my father, saw him on that bed, he was a stranger. He wasn’t perfect, asking for a ciggy even with his collapsing lungs—but that was the best goddamn smoke I’ve ever smoked,” the crowd chuckled, but I couldn’t find it in me to do the same. “If there’s one regret I have, it's leaving the night I went to visit. Not because of going. We ended up putting a bad person in jail, but because it was the last time I’d ever see him. I guess that just stings.”
I paused, looking back down at the coffin. Were the words I spoke true or not, I wondered and ultimately decided that they were. He’d changed, and I never got to see the better side of him. I’d only know the angry man that gave me a whipping on the daily, and not whatever he became.
