Mattie. Too bad about her. But she was Joshua's fault all the way, from sperm to burn victim.
The moon was out, the clouds like violet sheep counting down to a restless sleep. He wondered if blood would spatter onto the bridge railing. He'd have to strike her at an angle, so the pattern would fly out and into the water.
"Smash her up," Joshua urged. "Just like you did the chickens."
The wrench grew heavy in Jacob's hand. "I didn't do the chickens."
Joshua, holding Renee's arms behind her back, his crotch pressed against her rear, gave a thrust of his hips, causing the wooden railing to squeak with their combined weight. "Hell, yeah. You went donkeyshit, brother. Chopping their heads off, licking blood from the hatchet--"
"Stop it."
Red. The night had gone from purple to red.
"You're one sick fuck, all right."
"Shut up. That wasn't me. It was never me."
"Tell it to the judge. I got a date with two million bucks."
"I was only doing what you'd do, if you had the brains." Jacob gripped the wrench so tight his hand hurt. The metal was slick with his sweat. He thought of the fingerprints he would leave behind. And the DNA, which he shared with Joshua. The DNA one of them had passed to Mattie.
And maybe Christine. He didn't know how often Joshua had slipped into his bed over the years.
The blood in the Chevy would be Joshua's. The cops would figure it out. Even though Jacob had the same blood.
"Do it, Jakie," Renee wheezed from constricted lungs. "Just like we talked about."
Joshua turned toward him, his face as twisted as the rubberized troll heads hanging from the rearview mirror. Confusion. The dumb bastard had been late out of the womb, and had always been two steps behind his entire life.
Jacob swung the wrench.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
"Blood everywhere," Jacob said, mopping at the stains on the railing.
"No murder is perfect."
"And you should know."
"Live and learn. I guess you should go get Carlita. Think you guys will be happy together?"
"What do you care? You're getting what you want."
"Sure." With Joshua dead, Jacob would inherit the house. As Jacob's wife, no one would question her receiving it in the divorce settlement.
Jacob leaned over the railing. "He's downriver now. As drunk as he was, nobody will question a fall."
Renee glanced at her husband's exposed neck, alabaster in the moon's warm glow. The wrench lay on the seat of the Chevy. She could have it out and bring it down in a matter of seconds.
No. She loved him. And because she loved him, he owed her plenty.
Besides, another "fall" would be too coincidental. Divorce would be much cleaner.
Jacob didn't know it yet, but Renee planned on taking the two million, too. It wasn't blackmail. It was simply the price of pain and suffering.
"Go to Carlita," she said.
Jacob came to her, took her hands. He almost kissed her. Then he glanced up at the hill, where the Wells house stood dark and brooding, as if remembering some memory tucked in a far, dusty closet. The first flickers teased the windows, and smoke drifted on the air. Davidson and her crew would be on the way soon, late as always, left to sift through the ashes of the Wells family secrets.
"See you in court," Jacob said. He walked around the Chevy and slid behind the steering wheel. He looked at home there.
He grabbed the wrinkled pack of cigarettes and stuffed one in his mouth. He lit it, then reached under the seat and pulled out a beer. Warm, it sprayed foam all over his pants when he pulled the tab. He reached up and tapped the twin rubber heads, sending them swinging.
Jacob would never be Joshua, but he would enjoy trying.
He reached for the ignition and the engine burst to angry life. He shifted and backed the car off the bridge, waving before turning off the dome light.
Renee watched the headlight beams bouncing up the road.
She patted her belly.
She'd never mentioned it to Jacob. Three months along.
Of course, on one of those dark nights, it could have been Joshua who entered her bed and rode her into pregnancy. Stranger things had happened.
Not that it mattered.
A Wells was a Wells, after all. One was as good as the other.
And, if things didn't turn out as planned, there was always life insurance for the child.
A woman lived and loved, and a woman often lost. But, no matter what, a woman always learned.
THE END
About the Author
I have written 12 novels, including The Red Church, Speed Dating with the Dead, Disintegration, and The Skull Ring.
Other electronic works include Burial to Follow and the story collections Ashes, The First, Murdermouth, Gateway Drug, and Flowers. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where I write for a newspaper, play guitar, raise an organic garden, and work as a freelance fiction editor.
Come to the Haunted Computer, become a Spooky Microchip, and help me build my next book. You'll also find writing tips, free fiction, and survival tips.
Talk to me [email protected], "hauntedcomputer" on Twitter, or hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com. If you enjoyed this book, please tell your friends and give another Nicholson title a try. If you hated it, why not try another one anyway? What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, and what does kill you is probably lurking in my next book. Read on for more.
More thrillers you should buy because they are good and cheap:
THE RED CHURCH
Book I in the Sheriff Littlefield Series
By Scott Nicholson
Stoker Award finalist and alternate selection of the Mystery Guild
For 13-year-old Ronnie Day, life is full of problems: Mom and Dad have separated, his brother Tim is a constant pest, Melanie Ward either loves him or hates him, and Jesus Christ won't stay in his heart. Plus he has to walk past the red church every day, where the Bell Monster hides with its wings and claws and livers for eyes. But the biggest problem is that Archer McFall is the new preacher at the church, and Mom wants Ronnie to attend midnight services with her.
Sheriff Frank Littlefield hates the red church for a different reason. His little brother died in a freak accident at the church twenty years ago, and now Frank is starting to see his brother's ghost. And the ghost keeps demanding, "Free me." People are dying in Whispering Pines, and the murders coincide with McFall's return.
The Days, the Littlefields, and the McFalls are descendants of the original families that settled the rural Appalachian community. Those old families share a secret of betrayal and guilt, and McFall wants his congregation to prove its faith. Because he believes he is the Second Son of God, and that the cleansing of sin must be done in blood.
"Sacrifice is the currency of God," McFall preaches, and unless Frank and Ronnie stop him, everybody pays.
Learn more about The Red Church and the real Appalachian church that inspired the novel www.hauntedcomputer.com/redchurch.htm
***
DRUMMER BOY
Book II in the Sheriff Littlefield Series
By Scott Nicholson
On an Appalachian Mountain ridge, three boys hear the rattling of a snare drum deep inside a cave known as "The Jangling Hole," and the wind carries a whispered name.
An old man who grew up at the foot of the mountain believes something inside the Hole has been disturbed by a developer's bulldozers. Sheriff Frank Littlefield, haunted by his own past failures, must stand against a public enemy that has no fear of bullets, bars, or mortal justice. A local reporter believes the supernatural mysteries are more than just mountain folk tales.
On the eve of a Civil War reenactment, the town of Titusville prepares to host a staged battle. The weekend warriors aren't aware they will soon be fighting an elusive army. A troop of Civil War deserters, trapped in the Hole by a long-ago avalanche, is rising from a long slumber, and the war is far from
over.
And one misfit kid is all that stands between the town and the cold mouth of hell...
Learn more about Drummer Boy and the Appalachian legend that inspired the novel: www.hauntedcomputer.com/drummerboy.htm
***
THE SKULL RING
By Scott Nicholson
Julia Stone will remember, even if it kills her.
With the help of a therapist, Julia is piecing together childhood memories of the night her father vanished. When Julia finds a silver ring that bears the name "Judas Stone," the past comes creeping back. Someone is leaving strange messages inside her house, even though the door is locked. The local handyman offers help, but he has his own shadowy past. And the cop who investigated her father's disappearance has followed her to the small mountain town of Elkwood.
Now Julia has a head full of memories, but she doesn't know which are real. Julia's therapist is playing games. The handyman is trying to save her, in more ways than one. And a sinister cult is closing in, claiming ownership of Julia's body and soul...
Learn more about The Skull Ring and False Recovered Memory Syndrome: www.hauntedcomputer.com/skullring.htm
***
SPEED DATING WITH THE DEAD
By Scott Nicholson
A paranormal conference at the most haunted hotel in the Southern Appalachian mountains... a man's promise to his late wife that he'd summon her spirit... a daughter whose imagination goes to dark places... and demonic evil lurking in the remote hotel's basement, just waiting to be awoken.
When Digger Wilson brings his paranormal team to the White Horse Inn, he is skeptical that his dead wife will keep her half of the bargain. He doesn't believe in ghosts. But when one of the conference guests channels a mysterious presence and an Ouija board spells out a pet phrase known only to Digger and his wife, his convictions are challenged. And when people start to disappear, Digger and his daughter Kendra must face the circle of demons that view the hotel as their personal playground. Because soon the inn will be closing for good, angels, can't be trusted, and demons don't like to play alone...
Learn more about Speed Dating with the Dead and the 2008 paranormal conference and inn that inspired the novel: www.hauntedcomputer.com/speeddating.htm
***
AS I DIE LYING
By Scott Nicholson
Richard Coldiron's first and last novel follows his metafictional journey through a troubled childhood, where he meets his invisible friend, his other invisible friend...and then some who aren't so friendly.
There's Mister Milktoast, the protective punster; Little Hitler, who leers from the shadows; Loverboy, the lusty bastard; and Bookworm, who is thoughtful, introspective, and determined to solve the riddle of Richard's disintegration into either madness or genius, and of course only makes things worse. They reside in the various rooms of his skull, a place known as the Bone House, and take turns rearranging the furniture. As Richard works on his autobiography, his minor characters struggle with their various redemptive arcs.
Richard keeps his cool despite the voices in his head, but he's about to get a new tenant: the Insider, a malevolent soul-hopping spirit that may or may not be born from Richard's nightmares and demands a co-writing credit and a little bit of foot-kissing dark worship.
Now Richard doesn't know which voice to trust. The book's been rejected 117 times. The people he loves keep turning up dead. And here comes the woman of his dreams.
Learn more about As I Die Lying and the six people in Richard Coldiron's head: http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/dielying.htm
***
BURIAL TO FOLLOW
By Scott Nicholson
When Jacob Ridgehorn dies, it's up to Roby Snow to make sure his soul goes on to the eternal reward. The only way Roby can do that is convince the Ridgehorn family to eat a special pie, but a mysterious figure named Johnny Divine is guarding the crossroads. When peculiar Appalachian Mountain funeral customs get stirred into the mix, Roby has to perform miracles... or else.
Novella originally published in the Cemetery Dance anthology "Brimstone Turnpike."
Learn more about Burial to Follow at the Haunted Computer: www.hauntedcomputer.com/burialtofollow.htm
***
FLOWERS
By Scott Nicholson
Features the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Award grand-prize winner "The Vampire Shortstop" and other tales of fantasy for young adult readers, such as "When You Wear These Shoes" and "In the Heart of November." Includes the Makers series where children control the elements, as well as more tales of magic, romance, and the paranormal.
Learn more about the young-adult collection Flowers and the award-winning "The Vampire Shortstop": www.hauntedcomputer.com/flowers.htm
***
ASHES
By Scott Nicholson
A collection of supernatural and paranormal stories by award-winning author Scott Nicholson, including "Homecoming," "The Night is an Ally" and "Last Writes." From the author of THE RED CHURCH, THE SKULL RING, and the story collections FLOWERS and THE FIRST, these stories visit haunted islands, disturbed families, and a lighthouse occupied by Edgar Allan Poe. Exclusive introduction by Jonathan Maberry, author of THE DRAGON FACTORY and GHOST ROAD BLUES, as well as an afterword.
Learn more about the supernatural stories in Ashes: www.hauntedcomputer.com/ashes.htm
***
THE FIRST
By Scott Nicholson
A collection of dark fantasy and futuristic stories from award-winning author Scott Nicholson. Dystopia, cyberpunk, and science fiction flavor these stories that visit undiscovered countries and distant times. Includes two bonus essays and Nicholson's first-ever published story, in addition to the four-story Aeropagan cycle.
Learn more about the fantasy and science fiction stories in The First: www.hauntedcomputer.com/the first.htm
***
MURDERMOUTH: ZOMBIE BITS
By Scott Nicholson
A collection of zombie stories, from the zombie point-of-view to the shoot-'em-up survival brand of apocalyptic horror. Proof that even zombies have a heart...Based on the comic book currently in development by Scott Nicholson and Derlis Santacruz. With a bonus story by Jack Kilborn, a comic script, and Jonathan Maberry's "Zombie Apocalypse Survival Scorecard."
Learn more about Murdermouth: Zombie Bits and see zombie art: www.hauntedcomputer.com/murdermouth.htm
***
CURTAINS: MYSTERY STORIES
By Scott Nicholson
A collection of crime and mystery tales from the vaults of Scott Nicholson. Includes "How to Build Your Own Coffin" and Year's Best Fantasy & Horror selection "Dog Person," as well as the psychological thrillers "Letters and Lies," "Sewing Circle," and more stories that appeared in magazines such as Crimewave, Cemetery Dance, and Blue Murder. Includes and afterword and a bonus story from bestselling authors J.A. Konrath and Simon Wood.
Learn more about Gateway Drug: Mystery Stories: http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/curtains.htm
***
FOREVER NEVER ENDS
By Scott Nicholson
It falls from the heavens and crashes to earth in the remote southern Appalachian Mountains.
The alien roots creep into the forest, drawn by the intoxicating cellular activity of the humus and loam. The creature feeds on the surrounding organisms, exploring, assimilating, and altering the life forms it encounters. Plants wilt from the contact, trees wither, animals become deformed monstrosities, and people become something both more and less than human.
A telepathic psychology professor, a moonshine-swilling dirt farmer, a wealthy developer, and a bitter recluse team up to take on the otherwordly force that is infecting their town. The author's preferred edition of the 2003 paperback release The Harvest.
Learn more about the science fiction thriller Forever Never Ends: www.hauntedcomputer.com/foreverneverends.htm
***
TROUBLED
By Scott Nicholson
When twelve-year-old Freeman Mil
ls arrives at Wendover, a group home for troubled children, it's a chance for a fresh start. But second chances aren't easy for Freeman, the victim of painful childhood experiments that gave him the ability to read other people's minds.
Little does Freeman know that his transfer was made at the request of Dr. Richard Kracowski, whose research into the brain's electrical properties is revealing new powers of the human mind. Kracowski is working for a secret society called the Trust, but also has his own agenda in exploring the nature of the soul. His experiments have an unexpected side effect, though. The electromagnetic fields used in his experiments are summoning the ghosts of the patients who died at Wendover back when it was a psychiatric ward.
Freeman simply wants to survive, take his medicine for manic depression, and deceive his counselors into believing he is happy. When he meets the anorexic Vicky, who may also be telepathic, he's afraid some of his darkest secrets will be uncovered. But when the other children develop their own clairvoyant abilities, and insane spirits begin haunting the halls of Wendover, he can't safely hide inside his own head anymore.
Meanwhile, the Trust is installing sophisticated equipment in the home's basement, aggressively probing the threshold between life and death. And they've brought in another scientist who doesn't share Dr. Kracowski's reluctance to push the limits.
This scientist is a pioneer in ESP induction, and he performed most of his work on a very special subject: his son, Freeman Mills. The author's preferred edition of the 2005 U.S. paperback release The Home, in development as a feature film.
Learn more about the paranormal thriller Forever Never Ends: www.hauntedcomputer.com/troubled.htm
***
CREATIVE SPIRIT
By Scott Nicholson
After parapsychologist Anna Galloway is diagnosed with metastatic cancer, she has a recurring dream in which she sees her own ghost. The setting of her dream is the historic Korban Manor, which is now an artist's retreat in the remote Appalachian Mountains. Drawn both by the ghost stories surrounding the manor and her own sense of destiny, Anna signs up for the retreat.
Disintegration Page 25
