by John Grit
Brian decided he was thirsty after all. He took a canteen out of his pack. “You’re afraid I’m going to make a mistake.”
Nate looked at him. “No. I’m afraid I already have. I can’t save everyone in this town, not even lost little girls. But I just might be able to keep you alive a few more years and help you make it through the worst of what’s to come. As much as I want to help these people, you come first.”
Brian’s eyes lit up. “You sure don’t like this house-clearing stuff, do you?”
“We’re kicking at rattlesnakes.”
“Yeah, that’s one of your favorite sayings.” Brian looked at his father. “I know you’re not going to quit now, so let’s get back to work. We’ll go slower, take our time.”
Three gunshots from the house behind the one they were in cut their conversation short. In seconds, they had their packs on.
Brian crawled to a back bedroom window on his elbows to keep pressure off his arm and slowly stood, raising his head just enough to see. “Something’s wrong with Renee!”
Nate yelled, “Stay down!”
Brian ignored his father. He ran down the hall and out the backdoor.
“Damn it, Brian!” Nate chased after him. Outside, he immediately saw that Renee was between two homes, bent over throwing up.
A four-foot-tall chain link fence stood between Brian and the next yard over. Forgetting his broken arm and ribs, he was over it so fast he would never even remember the fence at all. He hit the ground running, reaching her in seconds. Ready for trouble, he shouldered his carbine and scanned the area, looking over his sights.
Austin emerged from around the front of the house Renee was next to and rushed to console his daughter.
“Who shot?” Brian demanded. “Did someone shoot at you?”
Austin kept his eyes on Renee as he held her. “She fired to signal that we found the lost girl.”
A crowd of searchers was already running toward them, cutting across yards, coming from other streets. Austin’s ashen face and Renee’s emotional state answered Brian’s next question before he asked.
Nate ran up huffing. “Brian, the next time I tell you to stay down, do it!”
“I thought Renee had been shot.”
Nate’s heavy breathing was more from anger than the short sprint. “I’ve told you many times to never leave cover when bullets are flying.”
Brian was astonished at his father’s words. “Renee is our friend.”
“Damn it, Brian, use your head. We could’ve covered her from where we were. If she was being shot at, you running up to her would’ve just resulted in you getting shot, too.”
They went around to the front of the house just in time to meet Kendell as he emerged from the door. He pulled his T-shirt up and mopped his face on it. Then he lifted his face to the sky, his eyes focusing inward.
All anger fled from Nate’s mind. “Damn it.”
Chapter 17
Chesty emerged from the bedroom, his face taut, holding back emotion. “She’s in there.”
Nate blocked the dusty hallway, standing there, not wanting to go into the room.
For several seconds, they stood there in silence. Then Chesty said, “Looks like she was strangled like the last one – after he was through with her.” He closed his eyes for a second. “Or before, who knows?”
Brian glanced at Kendell and turned to walk through the living room, past the disused, dusty furniture, out the front door, and onto the porch. Speaking to Kendell, he said, “Keep your eyes open. He might still be around.”
Kendell followed. Standing beside Brian, he looked down the street. “Ain’t no surprise. But it still makes me sick. This world ain’t fit for little kids.”
Brian looked away. “Damn it.”
Nate and Chesty heard them. They stood in the hallway looking at each other. Without a word, Nate walked outside and joined the boys. “Brian, maybe you should stay with Renee.”
Brian blinked and looked up at the sky. “Her dad’s with her. We need to find this bastard.”
It appeared to Nate that he was carrying the world on his shoulders. “Well, don’t go running off. Stay right here. You wanted to be with her a few minutes ago; you might as well be with her now.”
Word spread, and more people were gathering around the house. Nate heard people down the street yelling, “No!” A few openly cried and held onto a loved one. In less than a minute, the yard in front of the home Trisha’s body was found in filled with people. Some combination of grief, shock, and anger could be seen on everyone’s face.
Tyrone drove up in the dirty sheriff’s cruiser that he always drove. He uncoiled his large frame from behind the wheel and ran to the front door. A few minutes later he emerged with Chesty.
Sick with a feeling of helplessness, Tyrone looked out over the crowd. “The diseased freak is probably not far away. But we don’t even have a decent description. Hell, he could be right out there in front of us and we wouldn’t know it.”
Nate started to say something about how losing their cool wouldn’t help anyone, but he looked to his right and saw Brian trying to console Renee. She spilled out her grief on his shoulder. He rushed over and held them both. “I’m sorry these things happen,” he said, his own voice cracking a little.
“Why?” Renee asked, looking up at him.
Nate stepped back. “There is no why. Because there is no sane reason. All we can do is find him.”
A man standing fifteen feet away heard. “Find him and kill him. That’s all you can do. Kill the bastard before he does it again. He won’t stop, you know. Not until someone puts a bullet in his head.”
Austin walked up on them. “We have a sheriff and deputies. Let them do their job.” He held Renee. “I’m sorry. They say she was a sweet little girl.”
Renee’s face turned hard. “The coward only goes after little children; they can’t fight back.”
Austin shook his head. “Don’t count on it. You never know with crazies like this one.” He lifted a warning finger. “Stay close from now on.”
As word spread, the crowd grew larger. It wasn’t long before anger began to overpower shock and grief, and the crowd grew ugly. Someone shouted, “How many more little girls have to die before someone stops this animal?”
Chesty faced the man who spoke. “If everyone keeps an eye on their children, this won’t happen again.” He sighed in frustration. “Stay calm and keep your eyes open. See anyone suspicious, keep an eye on him. But for god’s sake, don’t go shooting everybody that looks suspicious. We’ll be killing each other the next thing you know. Just keep your children close and watch them. If you have any information, let me know about it.”
The man who had spoken up before angrily asked, “And what’re you going to be doing in the meantime?”
Chesty held his temper. “Tyrone’s going to work the crime scene as best he can. Remember, we don’t have the tools we would normally have, and there’s no support from state police or federal agencies. Just as an example, we can collect fingerprints and DNA, but what can we do with it? Neither one of us is a fingerprint expert, and there’s no crime lab to send the DNA to for testing.”
“And what’re you going to be doing while Tyrone’s working the scene?” the same man in the crowd asked.
Chesty hitched up his pistol belt, his patience growing thin. “I have to tell the little girl’s mother.” He looked the man in the eye. “Unless you want to take that job off my hands.”
The man looked down, suddenly taking great interest in the top of his boots. “Sorry. We’re all keyed up and nervous as hell about this, Chesty.”
After looking out over the crowd again, Chesty said, “The way to prevent you going through the hell other parents have is to keep an eye on your children. This person isn’t likely to have the spine to take on armed parents and steal your children away from you by force. He doesn’t operate like that. What he does is find a child alone that’s not being watched by an adult. Keep your childre
n inside for a while. Don’t let them out of your sight. We’ll catch this animal. But when we do, there’ll always be more of them, so parents will always have to keep close watch on their smaller children.” Before he left, he finished with, “It’s always been that way. Unfortunately some parents learn too late.”
Nate walked along with Chesty. “Do you want me to go with you?”
Chesty shook his head. “See if you can help Tyrone. It’s going to be bad enough without someone watching me break down.” He got in his truck and drove off.
Brian, Renee, and Austin joined Nate on the sidewalk. They all seemed to be looking to Nate for answers, and he had none. “Chesty’s right,” Nate said. “Everyone must watch their children.” His words sounded hollow in his ears.
Austin spoke low, so others couldn’t hear. “They tell me it’s been days since anyone with small children did much work on the irrigation ditches. No one’s getting any sleep, and progress on the farm has been slowed considerably. On top of that, people are wound up tight and ready to explode. I wouldn’t be surprised if some poor innocent bastard gets lynched within a week.”
Nate agreed, but said nothing.
“His luck’s going to run out,” Brian said. “If he keeps going after kids, some parent’s going to catch him and blow his head off. There won’t be a chance for any lynching.”
Nate regarded his son, and for the thousandth time, found himself realizing that Brian had aged ten years in the last twelve months. “Either that or he’ll leave town to look for easier victims. Once he learns people are watching their children so closely he has no chance to grab another one, he may leave the area.”
“And go where?” Austin asked. “He’ll have to travel a long way to find so many children in one place.”
Brian furrowed his brow. “Mrs. MacKay’s farm. It’s the closest place where there are a lot of kids. It won’t be so easy for him, though. They’re not spread out like the people are here, and they guard that place well.”
Renee looked sick. “How much hurting does it take to satisfy this freak?”
Austin put his arm over her shoulder. “None of us can answer that. I doubt if a psychiatrist could.”
~~~
The days came and went, and no more children had been taken. Even non parents were keeping close guard over every child in town. It was thought the killer just hadn’t been able to find a child alone that he could grab. Tyrone said he thought the killer was just staying low and might strike again anytime. Chesty agreed with most people’s assessment of the killer’s lack of courage and that he would never summon the nerve to take on a parent to get at a child.
Whatever the reason for the days of peace, everyone was grateful no more children had been murdered and agreed to keep up the vigilance, as it seemed to be working. They still had nothing to go on other than little Samantha’s description of the man who killed her father and took her. Few thought it could possibly be the same man, though. After all, he had faced an adult, and an armed one at that. The child killer always avoided adults and preyed only on vulnerable little girls he caught alone, and he didn’t wait long before killing them. Samantha had been held a lot longer than a few hours. Few really thought the two crimes were connected.
~~~
Austin, Renee, Nate, Brian, and Kendell were having breakfast on the front porch of a house near the clinic when Chesty and Tyron drove up.
Seeing the concerned looks on their faces, Chesty raised a hand. “No little girl’s missing. At least none I know of. Relax. Finish your meal.” He took his hat off and held it by the rim with both hands. “Word about town is you’re leaving soon. Some people have asked if you might stop by the lake first and see if you can show them ways they can improve on the irrigation system they’re putting in. They also are trying to rig some kind of a power generating capability with dammed water.”
Nate put down his cup. “I thought they had an engineer helping them design their irrigation system.”
“They do. But he’s not a farmer. He’s been a real help with the hydropower system they’re working on, but says he needs some advice on the irrigation ditches.”
Nate reluctantly acquiesced. “Well, Brian and I planned to catch a ride out of town with Austin. Caroline wants to come with us, but doesn’t want to leave Samantha behind. She’s been trying to get her to open up and talk about her surviving relatives, if any. If everyone’s willing to stop at the lake, I’ll take a look and see if I can help, but don’t expect much. I’m no expert, just a dirt farmer.”
“I’m sure they’ll appreciate any help you can give.” Chesty hesitated. “And Tyrone and I wish you’d stay in town… and… uh… maybe help us build a viable sheriff department.”
Though not finished with his meal, Nate seemed to have lost his appetite. He stood and faced Chesty. “The answer is no. Besides the fact I don’t know a thing about law enforcement, every time I postpone going home, Brian is the one who pays for my decisions. I’ve helped you as much as I can. There will always be more murders and other problems for you and Tyrone to deal with. It’ll never end. Well, my responsibility as a father never ends, and that responsibility comes first. The fact is Brian almost dying was my fault. I turned Slim into an enemy when I broke his jaw and then left Brian alone so Slim could get at him.” He finished with, “I’m taking Brian home where I can keep him as safe as possible.”
“Bravo Sierra!” Brian stood. “Bad things happen to people, and it’s not your fault.”
“It’s not my fault little girls are being murdered, and it’s not my fault the people of this town are facing hardships.” Nate kept his eyes on his son. “But it is my fault Slim nearly killed you.”
Brian thought for a moment. “Slim stopped breathing when you hit him. Maybe we should’ve let him die, but then you would’ve felt bad about killing a man just for insulting Kendell. See? There’s no way you can win as long as you keep being so hard on yourself.”
Nate and Brian stood looking at each other, neither one knowing what to say next.
Chesty ended the silence. “I guess I shouldn’t butt in, but Brian has a point. It’s impossible to protect your family from every danger.”
“I’m taking Brian home before something worse happens.” Nate stormed off the porch, stopping only long enough to snatch up his pack and rifle.
Austin tried to help Brian understand. “Being a parent has never been easy, but it’s extra hard nowadays. In a short span of time, he’s been shot and you were beaten nearly to death. None of those things would’ve happened if he hadn’t taken you to this town. I can see why he thinks you’ll both be safer in the woods. People are the source of most dangers.”
“I know that,” Brian said. “There’s also the plague. It might come back. And with all these people living close together, it’ll spread fast.”
Everyone in the room exchanged worried glances.
Renee crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “I don’t think we can survive as a society if we all live as hermits. We have to have communities, no matter how small.”
Brian nodded. “Living alone also leaves you more vulnerable to attack. One of the reasons we left the farm was because we didn’t have enough people to protect it from a large gang of raiders. When everyone was killed at Mel’s place, it left just Dad and me to keep watch 24/7. That leaves no time to farm or anything else, so you either starve when you run out of food or take a chance on being murdered.”
Kendell chimed in. “The fact is your father has kept you alive all this time, and that ain’t no little thing. And the fact is it doesn’t matter which path a man chooses, there ain’t no safe way to go. Not with things like they are.” He spoke directly to Brian. “Slim’s doings were his own. He was a gutless bastard, almost as gutless as the child killer. He tried to kill you, but you were too tough, so you’re here and he’s in hell. It’s best for your father to forget him.”
“I wish he would,” Brian said. “But he’s never going to stop worrying. Los
ing Mom and Beth caused him to swear he wasn’t going to lose me, too.”
~~~
Out in the driveway, Nate had the tailgate down on Austin’s truck, using it as a table while he rearranged the contents of his backpack. Austin planned to head for Mrs. MacKay’s farm after eating, and he wanted to be ready to go with him. He still didn’t know if Austin and the others were willing to stop off at the lake so he could check out the irrigation system the townspeople were building. Either way, he was ready to leave town. There were only two things he wanted to do first: Say good-bye to Deni and ask Caroline if she wanted to come with them. He knew that depended on what she had decided to do about Samantha. Saying bye to Deni was something he didn’t relish.
Chapter 18
Nate stopped repacking his backpack long enough to look down the street and saw Deni driving up in a HUMVEE. He was glad to see Caroline and Samantha with her, since he had talk to Caroline.
Deni stepped out onto the asphalt. “I hear you’re leaving town today.”
Nate started to help Caroline out of the HUMVEE when he saw her having trouble with her artificial leg, but decided against it. She had her pride, and he wasn’t about to run afoul of her temper. “Well Deni, it was no secret that I was only waiting for Brian to get better. I planned to look you up and say good-bye first.”
Caroline ambled up with Samantha not far behind. “What about me? Were you going to ask if I wanted to go with you?”
“Sure was,” Nate answered. “I’m glad you’re both here so I can do all of that right now. We all really would like for you to come with us. And if you decide to take your little friend, she’s welcome, too.” He smiled at Deni. “You’re welcome also, of course. But I doubt you want to go AWOL again. And you’re a lot less likely to starve in the Army than with us.”
“It seems Samantha has no relatives left,” Caroline said. “At least that’s what Samantha tells us. Deni and I have agreed it’s best if she stays with me. Her being a soldier makes things too complicated for her to suddenly become a mother.”
