Crowley's Window (Novella)

by Gord Rollo

  “I saw Trisha’s killers.”

  “Killers? Plural?”

  “Yeah…two of them. The man with the knife from my first vision but he’s not the leader. I think he just collected the girl for the man in black. He’s the guy most responsible for what happened.”

  “The man in black?”

  “I know…sounds a bit cartoonish but you wouldn’t think that if you’d seen him. I didn’t get a look at anything except the back of the guy who abducted Trisha from the carnival, but I got a close up on the other bastard. He walked right through me on his way to the dumpster with the girl’s body. He’s probably six feet two or three and scarecrow thin but he’s super strong. He was dressed in a long black coat with a black fedora hat and his skin and hair are white as can be.”

  “An albino?”

  “Not sure. Maybe. Maybe just really pale.”

  “Anything else? Even the small details can be important. You get a name for either of them?”

  “No. Sorry. I was scared and having trouble staying focused but I never heard either of them speak. The dark man smells like Lavender, though. Reeks of it, actually. And something else. Something sweet but rotten at the same time, like bad meat or week old road kill drenched in honey.” Abby came within a heartbeat of blurting out that this was the same man that had taken her eyes six years ago but she bit her lip and kept that revelation to herself. She wasn’t even sure why but knew she wasn’t ready to deal with that information yet. She needed time to process what it all meant and why her parents had lied to her about her childhood illness. Did they know this evil man somehow? That wasn’t possible, was it?

  Questions best saved for later, when she was alone and could think clearer.

  “That’s great work. Truly amazing. Come on, let me take you home.”

  “No…wait!” she said, wanting to do exactly that but still trying to piece together her fragmented memories and knowing she might never get a better chance than this to learn about her hidden past. “I think I want to try again. Other than being frightened, nothing bad can happen to me during my visions and I wanna see if I can connect to the man in black and get more information on him. Maybe his name or where he lives.”

  “No Abby. You’ve done enough. Seriously. I don’t want—”

  “I don’t want to either, David, but this is something I need to do. Just five more minutes, then we can go.”

  David clearly wasn’t happy about her idea and Abby caught a quick mental flash if him stoking his chin thinking of some way to talk her out of this.”

  “I’m doing it, David. Please. For the investigation as well as for myself. I can’t explain it but trust me; I need this more than you know. I’ll be careful…promise.”

  …Abby slipped back into the vision easily, more mentally prepared this time, the joy of perfect sight an extra special thrill to her now that she realized her real eyesight had been taken from her by the hand of the wicked man she now hunted. She had no idea if she could actually do what she was attempting but all of her life she’d been told how extraordinary her gift was and that it would continue to grow as she matured. Now was the time to stretch her wings and push her psychic powers to their limits. If the man in black was still around, she’d find him. She had a connection to him now, a mental tether clinging to his dark aura since he’d passed directly through her ethereal form earlier. All Abby had to do was follow her highly-tuned senses to lead her to him. Besides, she knew his filthy-sweet scent now and no matter where he tried to hide, she was confident she could follow.

  Abby found her mind’s eye rising from the ground, drifting quickly away from the garbage dumpster at Walgreens and flying over the city streets of downtown Gainsville. Faster and faster her spirit flew, exiting the town limits and crossing fields and forests at an alarming rate. Roads and highways flashed by, rivers and streams, the rolling landscape of Pennsylvania blurring together until Abby had no idea where her senses were taking her or how far she traveled. She was just along for the ride.

  Eventually she felt her ghost body slowing down and floating back down to the ground out front of an old, dilapidated church. Once it had been painted white, its shutters and roof a dark brown, but now many of the windows were cracked or broken, the roof shingles lost to the wind and its bright coat of paint cracked and withered in the hot sun of too many neglected years. Abby looked around but she was on the edge of a dense forest with only one dirt road leading away from the church to a desolate two lane road about half a mile away. No other buildings or homes were visible in any direction and there were no signposts or landmarks close by that might help her locate where she was.

  This is his place, she thought, certain she was right. I’ve found him!”

  Like the wraith she essentially was, Abby passed through the heavy oak doors of the run down church and floated down the center aisle of the garbage-strewn assembly hall. Inside, it smelled strongly of lavender and it only took a moment to realize why. Where the old pews had been, row after row of flowerboxes were lined up in the large room, every one of which was overflowing with wild lavender bushes. Abby followed her nose past the fragrant purple plants and forward through the wall behind the desecrated pulpit and found herself in a dark, candlelit room with no windows or electric lights. The sweet odor of honey assaulted her senses but Abby could find no source to account for it. It was hard to see much of anything in the dimly lit room, but Abby could just make out the tall shape of the man in black on the far side of the room. He had his back to her, lighting more candles and happily whistling an off-key tune Abby didn’t recognize but thought might have been an old religious hymn.

  Who the hell are you? Abby thought, and was surprised to see the dark man flinch and spin around to face her direction as if she’d startled him and he’d actually heard her thoughts. The man picked up a lit candle and squinted in her direction, even going so far as to take a few steps closer to try get a better look at what surely must have been an empty room. He started smiling, staring directly at her. It was unnerving, to say the least, and Abby felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

  Can he see me? she wondered.

  “Of course I can, Abigail. Wouldn’t be fair if you were the only one allowed to have such fun, now would it?”

  A scream built in Abby’s throat but she swallowed it down in several small gulps, still not convinced this was entirely real, but not wanting to let him know her fear. She stood ramrod still, just in case, trying not to think, to not give her position away anymore than she already had.

  “My my, but you’ve grown strong, girl. Just like I always knew you would. I’m seriously impressed. Unfortunately I have a lot of preparations to make before I’m ready for you so run along now and mind your business. We’ll meet again soon; I promise.”

  Abby wasn’t sure what to do, wasn’t even sure there was anything she could do, but since her ruse was apparently over and the man in black somehow already knew who she was, there was no sense hiding any longer. She ignored her fear and came straight to the point. “Who are you? And why did you kill that little girl.”

  The dark man laughed. “You know me, child, but you’re not thinking straight. Go away and think things though. Search your heart. The answers are inside you, if you’re brave enough to face them. You and I can talk later…face to face.”

  He clapped his hands together and every candle in the room extinguished simultaneously, plunging Abby into a world she was all too familiar with. Abby reached out trying to get her bearings and…

  …and fell into the strong embrace of David in the morgue’s viewing room back in Gainsville. Not being able to see, she fought against him for a moment, convinced she was in the grasp of the dark man still inside his decrepit lair.

  “Relax. It’s only me,” David said. “Calm down. You’re okay.”

  Abby fell into his arms for a second time that afternoon, only this time didn’t feel like a fool for being there. This time it was exactly where she wanted to be. �
��Just hold me for a minute, okay? I’m so scared.”

  “Of course. What happened? Did you find him?”

  “Yes. He’s holed up in an abandoned country church. It’s white and badly in need of a new paint job but I don’t know where it is. Not close, but it can’t be too far either. A few hours away, I think.”

  “Any idea who he is?”

  “No. Not a clue.” Abby was exhausted, physically as well and mentally and felt the onset of a killer migraine coming on. All she wanted to do was lie down, go to sleep, and try forgetting all this madness for a while. “I’m tired. Can you take me home now?”

  “Absolutely. You’ve done great, Abby. Be proud of yourself. I’ll have men start making some calls, see if we can work up a list of all the abandoned churches in this part of the state. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  The drive home was a quiet one, with Abby dozing in the passenger seat and David trying to make heads or tails of the things she’d seen in her visions. He believed every word she said, but didn’t have a clue how he was going to convince his partner and the other policemen. Abby half slept, half daydreamed about the man in black, who he might be, and how she was connected to him somewhere in her mysterious past. If only she could remember what his name was, David and the rest of the police might actually be able to catch him before any more innocent people were harmed. First the girl, then the teenage ruffian; how many more lives would be lost if Abby couldn’t remember. The memory just wasn’t there, though, and the harder she tried to pull it free from her subconscious the deeper it seemed to hide. All she was doing was making her throbbing headache worse so she stopped thinking about it and tried to relax.

  Back at the carnival, David pulled the squad car up to the main entrance and seemed ready but reluctant to say goodbye. Abby wasn’t looking at him, though. She was staring up at the large plastic banner with the name TOWNSEND written in block letters spanning the entryway. She stared at it for a long time.

  “You okay?” David asked.

  “Crowley. The son of a bitch’s name is Crowley.”

  * * *

  Officer Beck had set off to see if he could dig up a hit using the police databases on any men named Crowley and although he was physically gone, the lingering shadow of David’s aura remained with Abby for a long time, providing her with at least a small measure of comfort in the troubling hours ahead. She’d never felt so confused and so alone since leaving home three years ago to join the Townsend Traveling Show. Everything she thought she’d known about her illness and the way she’d been blinded was obviously a lie but for the life of her Abby couldn’t figure why her family had lied to her or worse still, how they were somehow tied up with this maniac Crowley? And how did any of it connect with the recent murders here at the carnival? None of it made any sense. Was she the connecting factor? That was crazy talk, wasn’t it? After all, she didn’t know any of these people, so what could this possibly have to do with her?

  There was a knock on the trailer door, but Abby ignored it. A few seconds later, a familiar voice called out to her from the doorstep. “Excuse me, Princess,” Mister Chollo said, the little man waiting for a response before barging in uninvited.

  “Go away,” Abby said, her voice a bit harsher than she’d intended. “Sorry, my friend. I just need a little time alone today. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

  “Sorry to disturb, my lady, but this very important I’m afraid. Don’t think it can vait…wait. Please, I come in and speak to you now, yes?”

  Abby sighed but agreed to see him. She was hoping her old friend could perhaps cheer her up but Mister Chollo came in looking smaller than ever, his head down, shoulders hunched, carrying a dark blue baseball cap in his tiny trembling hands.

  “What’s the matter? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, Chollo fine, but I bring you bad news.”

  “Bad news? What happened?”

  “While you were gone with the policeman there was a phone call for you. Mr. Townsend sent for me to answer it, to tell them you not here. It was your mother.”

  “My mother?” Abby said, shocked. She barely had any contact with her family anymore and it seemed strange to get a call from them today of all days. “What did she want? Did she leave a message?”

  “Yes. I…I not know how to tell you though.”

  “Just tell me. What is it?”

  “I’m so sorry, Abby. Your father is dead.”

  * * *

  The following afternoon Abby found herself once again in the passenger seat of Officer Beck’s car, only this time it was David’s day off and they were driving in his personal vehicle, a silver Buick Century. Abby had called him to ask for permission to attend her father’s funeral and not only had he immediately agreed, but insisted he be the one to drive her. Deep down, even in her grief, Abby had been hoping he’d do exactly that. From Westchester, Pennsylvania, it was a five and a half or six hour journey to Millbridge, the small town in Western New York where Abby had lived in relative obscurity until she’d turned sixteen and her growing talents had caught the eye of Mr. Townsend. Since joining the carnival, she’d only been home a handful of times and even then it was only when the traveling show made its yearly visit to her neighboring state. She missed her parents of course; especially her mom, but things had changed around her house after she’d lost her sight. Her mother had suffered a mental breakdown from all the stress and her father had become increasingly cold and distant. Abby was only beginning to understand that there was more to it that just her phantom illness, but maybe now with her father’s passing, she could finally talk to her mother and get her to open up about what was really going on in their lives. She might not get any answers, but she could at least try.

  “Were you close to your dad?” David asked.

  “Not really. When I was small, sure, but we kind of drifted apart as I grew up. He worked at the local steel company making chain link fences and he put in a lot of overtime. I loved him but just kind of got used to not seeing him around much. It was mostly just me and my mom.”

  “I know how that feels. My mother raised me, with the help of the grandmother I told you about. Once mom died, grandma was all I had. I never even knew my father. He was long gone before I was out of diapers.”

  “Dead?”

  “Nope, just gone. Mom told me he went out for a jug of milk and a pack of cigarettes one night and never came home. I have no idea where he went or whether he’s still alive. He must have just decided to walk away and start his life new without us.”

  “That’s terrible. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I can’t miss someone I’ve never known. Be thankful you at least have memories of your father. There must have been some good times to hold onto, right?”

  “For sure. Lots of them.” Abby smiled, thinking back on better days. “Thanks for cheering me up. Seems you do that a lot when you’re around.”

  “That’s what I’m here for, little lady. At your service anytime you need me.”

  “Anytime?” Abby brazenly asked, heat rushing to her cheeks.

  “If you’ll have me,” David said in a whisper.

  “What about your wife?”

  “Believe it or not, she’s already talking about moving in with her boyfriend. Seems she was fooling around behind my back too. She’s a decent person too. We just weren’t right for each other. Never were. We were just too young to realize it.”

  “And we are?”

  “I think there’s a good chance, yeah. I’m up for trying if you are?”

  “You don’t want me, David. I’m…I’m damaged goods.”

  David reached over and gently held her hand. “So am I, beautiful. So am I.”

  Abby didn’t need to be psychic to know David was telling the truth about his feelings for her, or eyes to know that he was smiling.

  * * *

  It was suppertime when they finally made it to Millbridge. Abby was still on cloud nine that the mutual attraction she’d thought simmered between David a
nd her hadn’t been imagined. It was real and for once in her life she might actually have a chance for a relationship with someone who truly understood her special powers and could see past her disabilities. She couldn’t wait to tell her mother about him.

  That thought brought Abby crashing back to reality and it hit her hard that she was acting like a silly schoolgirl infatuated with the high school quarterback, when what she should really be thinking about was her poor dead father. It was hard though. She’d been around too much death lately and a big part of her wanted to just drive by the funeral home and start celebrating life again with David. Sure she’d loved her father and would miss him, but in truth he’d died to her several years ago when he’d no longer taken any interest in her life and urged her to move out to join the carnival. Since that day, she’d hardly spoken a word to him. Still, her mother would be sick with grief and would need some help getting through this loss. For her, Abby would be strong and do the right thing. And when the time was right, she fully intended to ask her mother about their family’s possible involvement with the man named Crowley. Grieving or not, Abby wasn’t leaving here without some answers.

  David pulled up out front of the Halderson Funeral Home and put the Buick in park. They’d already agreed he wasn’t coming with her tonight. It just didn’t seem like the right thing to do, having Abby show up with her new man for her father’s funeral. No, David would get a hotel room and let Abby spend the night alone with her mother. Although unspoken, both of them wanted to spend the night together but it was best to let Abby take care of her mother tonight and wait until after her father was decently buried before they worried about their own needs.

  “Okay, this is Bank Street, the main drag in town,” Abby said. “Just keep going down Bank for about three stop lights and there’s a Red Roof Inn on the left side. You can’t miss it.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll find it. When do I pick you up?”

  “The funeral is tomorrow at noon, so maybe give me until about three o’clock and drop by my mom’s place so I can properly introduce you. She’ll be having a bit of a wake there, I’m sure, but I promise not to embarrass you too much. You remember the directions?”