99 Souls

by Thomas Malafarina

  But before Ferguson could finish his thoughts, Willie jumped and began waving his arms madly in the air, looking terrified and equally insane.

  Behind Ferguson’s seat, Jeanie could see the old man’s arms waving in the air. Jeanie and Ferguson were both shocked with the realization that they had been overheard. The attractive blonde woman at the corner booth looked on in amazement at the spectacle unfolding before her. The restaurant, formerly buzzing with conversation became virtually silent as everyone in the restaurant stopped to see what was happening.

  The old man began shouting like a lunatic, “It’s Devil Dan I tell you! He’s dug himself free! It’s got to be! It’s the time I tell you. Soon he will be out! Mark my words! My Daddy saw it all! He told me all about it! The Devil’s coming I tell you! He’ll be sucking the souls of our babies! Coogans beware! Coogans beware! He’s comin’! He’s comin’ I tell you!”

  The blonde woman watched intently as her associate stopped talking and looked around the booth to see what the commotion was about. The younger patrons looked disapprovingly at Willie, thinking him the crazy old man he was reputed to be, disgusted at the fact that his antics were disturbing their breakfast. Some of the older women looked very concerned, several of them genuflecting, murmuring and grabbing for their Rosary beads as he issued his menacing proclamations.

  Ferguson stood and worked his way around the booth to approach the agitated man, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph Willie! You crazy old bastard! Sit down and eat your breakfast. And stop spouting your nonsense! Everyone is upset enough over this whole situation without your crazy talk adding fuel to the fire.”

  Jeanie took the opportunity to ease out of Ferguson’s booth and work her way back toward the kitchen. The last thing she wanted was to be caught in the middle of the ensuing chaos. If Maggie found out she was a major contributing factor to the situation, she was certain to be looking for another job by the end of the day.

  Willie continued to rant shouting and crying, tears streaming down his wrinkled cheeks, “Crazy talk? It ain’t crazy talk, Davie, and you know it! Is it crazy to not want your very soul sucked from you? Is it crazy to want to keep the Hell-born beast in its pit? Is it? Is it? Is it?” He seemed to get louder with each utterance.

  There was a good deal of chaos in the restaurant by this time. People were milling about. Several had gotten up from their breakfast in a feeble attempt to try to calm the raving man.

  No sooner had Jeanie moved to a safe spot in the restaurant, far from the fray, than Maggie came flying out of the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about.

  She nudged her way through the crowd over to where Willie was screaming, joining the small group trying to calm him. Maggie attempted to pacify the man, “Willie! For the love of God, man! Please calm down!”

  Willie exclaimed, “Yes, Maggie! For the love of God! That’s all that might save us now, God help us. The Devil, his demon, his minion, his tool, might be coming out for us all sooner than we ever imagined!” Willie broke down weeping and practically collapsed in her arms.

  Maggie signaled with a nod of her head to Ferguson, “Davie, help me get Willie here outside for some fresh air.” Ferguson helped Maggie with Willie as they slowly walked him toward the front door.

  As they neared the door, a man approached the restaurant from the sidewalk. He was barely visible in the distance through the front window. Willie, who had finally begun to show some signs of accepting Maggie’s comforting tones, did not yet notice the man’s presence.

  Maggie helped Ferguson get Willie out the front door and calmly said to him, “Come, on Willie boy, let’s go outside now and get some fresh air….”

  Willie was much more manageable at this point, as they helped him through door. As they walked down the steps to the pavement, an overweight fifty-something red-haired man approached them.

  Chapter 5

  The sight of this man sent Willie into an entirely new frenzy. His arms began to twitch and there was fury in his reddened eyes.

  Willie screamed, “Coogan! Damn all you Coogans to Hell! You vile and evil bastards! You created him. You hogs of Hell! But you’ll pay! He’s coming soon! He’s coming for you and all of yours! And all the money in the world won’t be able to save your heathen Coogan asses then!”

  The man, Bill Coogan, looked at Willie with a mix of contempt, pity and disgust. Knowing that if Crazy Willie was having one of his outbursts, it was most likely tied to the unfortunate events of the previous evening. Bill Coogan was the owner of the mine and a grandson of the mine’s original owner, “Big Bill” Coogan.

  “Crazy Willie,” he said with a sneer accentuating the word crazy. “It’s unfortunate to see that you don’t allow a little thing like nine in the morning stand in the way of your drinking. Tell me, are you still seeing soul sucking demons along with your pink elephants now, Willie boy? Or are the demons maybe riding the elephants?” He snickered with derision as if repulsed by the site of the old man.

  Willie spat his reply, “We’ll see who’s drunk or crazy when your guts are being served up as a main course for Satan, Coogan. But he won’t be able to get your soul will he, you heathen bastard? He’ll never be able to find it! Never in a million years. Not in a soul-less swine from Hell, like you. I’m telling you, Coogan; your days are numbered. You’re a walking corpse, Coogan.”

  Coogan became visibly angry, his already red face getting several shades redder. Yet with a skill coming from years of intense business dealings, he was able to maintain his nonchalant attitude. “If I didn’t know better, I might consider that a threat... but who in his right mind could feel threatened by the likes of someone as pathetic as you?”

  “I ain’t no threat to you, Coogan,” Willie shouted. “Never was and never will be. Not me, Billy boy. But Devil Dan is. And he’s going to be coming for you, Coogan.”

  Coogan jeered, “…. That again? You can’t seem to let go of those ridiculous old wives’ tales can you Willie? Yes. Well in that case, anything you say, Willie old boy, is fine with me. Far be it from me to rob you of your delusions. I can only hope that somewhere in that twisted brain of yours, you might be aware that you are as crazy and useless as your worthless, drunken, suicidal father was.”

  Hearing the reference to his late father, Willie stopped in his tracks and broke down sobbing again. Maggie looked at Coogan with disdain but said nothing.

  Coogan turned to Maggie and made a dismissive gesture with his manicured hand, “Maggie, if you will be so kind as to get this drunken filth out of my sight, I would like to go into your fine eating establishment and have myself a nice relaxing breakfast.”

  Maggie turned on him angrily scolding, “You won’t find any relaxation in there today, Bill Coogan; not after what happened at your mine last night. Folks are pretty riled up in this town this morning.”

  Coogan looked at the front window of the restaurant. There were many people lined up at the window watching the conflict. Coogan looked angrily at the crowd in the window, and they scattered like rats, heading back to their booths: all of them except for the blonde and her associate.

  Coogan continued, “Well now, Maggie. I wouldn’t concern your pretty little self about that now. You see, unless all these fine folks want to find themselves out of work they will just shut their ignorant mouths and leave me to eat in peace. Won’t they now? After all, they all work for me don’t they?”

  He waved his arm like a king addressing his peasants, “You all work for me.” Then he snickered again.

  Ferguson stepped forward and angrily shouted, “I don’t work for you, Coogan… Never have and I never will.”

  Coogan looked at Ferguson as one would look at the bottom of his shoe after stepping in something unpleasant. “Well, at last. We hear some words of wisdom from our esteem councilman, David Ferguson. Yes, you’re absolutely right Mr. Ferguson. You do not work for me; at least not directly anyway. You see, you actually work for them.”

  Coogan again waved his arms at the restaur
ant and then gestured toward the rest of the town. “And, by my estimation, that makes you lower on the food chain than even those morons. So remember, Davie boy, they pay you for your services, and if they don’t work, you don’t work either. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a delicious breakfast to eat.” Coogan pushed by the three and started up the stairs to enter the restaurant.

  Ferguson shouted angrily, “Where’s young Billy today, Coogan? Or better yet, where was he last night? It was his best friend that got killed last night and at your mine. I can’t imagine him being up there without Billy. ”

  Coogan’s face reddened once again as he looked contemptuously at Ferguson. “Billy is at home sleeping. And that is exactly where he was last evening, not that it is any of your damned business.” He turned angrily and stormed into the restaurant.

  Inside the restaurant, everyone was quiet. All of the friendly conversation had ended. Coogan looked to the left as he entered the front door at the couple standing near the front window. He seemed to recognize her for a second, but gave them both a dismissive look and headed to the back of the restaurant. The crowd gave side-glances at Coogan as he walked by, but would not make direct eye contact with him. They simply sat quietly with their heads down.

  He continued to the back restaurant area where he took a seat at a table in the far rear corner away from everyone, sitting with his back to the wall facing out into the main dining room. The murmurs of conversations started up once again, quietly at first, then before too long, everything out in the main dining room was back to normal.

  The woman and man stood at the window looking at each other in amazement as if trying to comprehend what had just happened. The pair turned following Coogan’s steps entering the back room of the restaurant.

  The woman was, in fact, a reporter for a television station in Philadelphia. She and her cameraman, Jason, had been awakened in the middle of the night by a call from their boss, the station manager. He found out from a friend within the Pennsylvania State Police ranks about the mine incident and ordered them to get to the area and find out what happened. They arrived about six in the morning and it didn’t take them long to learn that Maggie’s was one of the favorite local gathering places. Their news truck, a 1965 Chevy step van full of a variety of recording equipment stood parked in the restaurant lot in preparation for their story. They hoped to get comments from locals about the incident, which they planned to film that morning. She approached Coogan.

  “Mr. Coogan isn’t it? From Coogan Oil and Petroleum?” she inquired, “You also own that mine where the attack occurred, isn’t that correct?” She knew who Bill Coogan was and that he not only owned the mine and Coogan Oil and Petroleum, but that he also owned the land rights to most of the county. She also heard through the grapevine that he also controlled the local police department and was owed favors by most of the judges in the county courthouse.

  Coogan showed no expression and did not reply, as he looked into his steaming cup of coffee.

  She continued, “Mr. Coogan? …… My name is Elizabeth Matthews. I’m from…”

  Coogan interrupted her, “I know who you are Miss Matthews. I’m not as ignorant and uninformed as most of those chimpanzees out there.” He motioned to the outer booth area.

  “Now if you will please be so kind as to go away, and allow me to enjoy my breakfast in peace.”

  Elizabeth persisted, “But Mr. Coogan, I am here to do a story on what happened at your mine last night. I only have a limited amount of time and I am trying to understand…”

  Again Coogan interrupted, “I know why you are here, Miss Matthews, you and the rest of your lot. Moreover, it is of little consequence to me. So please, go out there and do your job. Join the others, radio, newspaper and television all gathering at my mine on this beautiful morning. Go say what you must, spin your tails and tell your lies. But please just leave me alone.”

  She tried again, “But Mr. Coogan, this is your chance to set the record straight and…”

  Again he interrupted, “Just go now and do what you must do, and I will stay here and do what I must. Good day now, Miss Matthews.”

  “But Mr. Coogan….” She pleaded.

  Just then Maggie entered the room and inquired of Elizabeth, “Excuse me. Is there a problem here? Is there anything I can do for you?”

  Coogan smiled a serpent-like smile and addressed Maggie as one might address a servant, “Maggie my dear, will you be an angel and see that these two people no longer disturb me?”

  Maggie looked at Coogan with a degree of contempt for a moment then remembering her situation, turned to Elizabeth, her words sounding like they were painful to utter, “The show’s over here now, ma’am. I would appreciate it if you would finish up with your breakfast, pay your tab and be on your way. You have no call to be bothering Mr. Coogan during his breakfast time.”

  She exclaimed, “But I’m Elizabe…”

  This proved to be another opportunity for Coogan to interrupt her, “Very good, Maggie darling. Now if you two will just be on your way…” Coogan motioned them away with his favorite dismissive gesture.

  Once again, Maggie glared angrily at Coogan, frustrated. Then she gently led Elizabeth by the arm out into the main restaurant.

  From the rear of the restaurant, Coogan chuckled saying “Very good, Maggie old girl. I thank you. And more importantly, my bank that holds your mortgage thanks you. Ha. Ha.”

  Maggie looked at Elizabeth with some degree of concern asking, “Look, ma’am. There’s no need for you to be making any more trouble today. I’m trying to run a business here. You will be gone back to Philadelphia by the end of the day, but I have to live here and earn a living. Please now be on your way. Just leave us alone.”

  Elizabeth replied, “I can tell that you are as revolted by that man as I am sure everyone else in this town must be. I can see it on their faces. Why is that? What is going on around here?”

  Maggie pleaded, “Please, Miss Matthews, just be on your way now……” she then addressed Jason the cameraman, “Sir. Good day to you now as well.”

  Maggie stood firmly blocking entrance to the rear of the rear of the restaurant. She was a head shorter than Elizabeth, but her posture and personality was one that commanded obedience.

  Elizabeth looked indignantly at Jason, almost speechless. She knew there was a story in this quiet little town. She did not know what it was, but she knew it was here somewhere. They turned and headed for their booth.

  “Jason. What the Hell just happened here? Let’s get out of here and go to work. Let's get over to that mine. I am going to find out what is really going on around this place, and no one can stop me.”

  She grabbed her check from the table, skipping the tip and headed to the cash register at the front of the restaurant. A few moments later, they were out the door and heading for their news van.

  Back in the rear dining room, William Coogan no longer wore the smug mask of confidence that he so often wore. Instead, he sat staring into his coffee cup with a very troubled look; his fingers shook as he attempted to hold his cup.

  Chapter 6

  Coogan sat stirring his coffee, recalling the events of the night before, slowly going over every detail to make sure that he did not miss anything. How could his son Billy and his friends have been so stupid? One thing that he certainly did not need was this type of publicity, especially when he was so close… so close.

  Last evening, Billy had come running up the sidewalk crying uncontrollably. Those two friends of his, Peter and Tony were with him and in just as bad of shape, ranting and raving about Jimmy McKinley being attacked at the mine.

  “Dad, Daddy! ……..Help us! ……The blood!” young Billy cried.

  “…..He’s dead! ….Something ate him alive!.... A bear… something… monster….” the other two chimed in.

  Coogan had tried to make sense of what they were saying; “Now boys calm down and tell me exactly what this is all about.” Coogan was surprised to see tears streamin
g down all of the boys faces as they sobbed, their breath hitching in their chests. He knew the last thing his son or his friends would want was have someone see them crying, but they were unable to control themselves.

  Billy spoke first. “We was up at the mine….”

  “What the Hell were you doing up at the mine!” Coogan interrupted. “I have told you boys time and time again to stay away from that mine. It’s unsafe!”

  “I know, Dad… I’m sorry,” Billy said tearfully, “but we were goofing around …..and talking about … the mine and the legend…..”

  “That damned legend again!” Coogan interjected, “When are you boys going to learn that the legend is utter nonsense!”

  “We know … Mr. Coogan,” Peter said, “But we like to pretend… and that stupid little kid Johnny Carter… he said that he was …. not afraid to go into the mine. So we dared him… and then went to the mine to see if he would do it.”

  Then Tony added, “And then that retarded Tommy Marchinsky started trying to pick a fight with Billy and Jimmy about it.. …. and he called Jimmy a pussy and said Jimmy was afraid to go in.”

  “What happened then?” Coogan asked, knowing deep inside that he was about to become involved in a major mess that would likely cause him a great deal of consternation.

  “Well,” Billy said, “Jimmy went up to the mine by the broken door and stuck his leg and hand inside. He was waving and acting stupid. Then something grabbed him ….and …. and….pulled him in…. there was blood everywhere, Daddy.”

  Then the three started tearing up again. Coogan inquired, “What about the other two boys? What happened to them?”

  Billy said, “Before I ran, I saw them sitting in front of the mine looking in at whatever was in there. They looked like statues, not moving.”

  “What a Goddamn disaster!” Coogan thought. He knew what this would mean to his company: bad press, and lots of it. Now that the boys had calmed down a bit, Coogan tried to explain to the boys how obviously some wild animal must have taken refuge in the mine, and the boys must have disturbed its sleep. He told the boys that he would go get help for the other boys right away and that they should just relax.