whither Willow?

by Peter Ponzo

  "Goddam cops," Colby grunted, finding it hard to hold back a smile. He went to Marg's bed and sat down. She put her head on his chest and he turned his head, slowly, regally, and surveyed the bodies on the floor. "Don't you worry none, baby. Daddy's here."

  "Holy Christ. What happened?" It was Bill Hendricks. He had just walked in, breathing hard.

  "Bill, where the hell were you?" cried Bryan, standing unsteadily.

  "A pile up of cars, down the road. Couldn't make it until just now. Just left the squad car there. Ran all the way." Hendricks looked at Sam Jaffre, bleeding and unconscious. "Who did that to Sam?"

  Colby raised his hand as though he were in school. Marg hugged him and Colby grinned.

  Cail Vinney pulled himself to his feet, leaned against a chair and stared at Michael Colby.

  "Kooky, do you want a job? Colby Clinic Bouncer. Don't pay much - but then money ain't everything."

 

  God of Evil

  Cail arranged for a nurse and Marg was sedated and put to bed.

  Bill Hendricks called the station. They sent a squad car, took away Jaffre and the nurse and left another officer to stand guard.

  Then they all went to the lounge at the end of the hall and had a coffee.

  "Okay," said Colby, "tell me more about this Brubacher dame."

  Bryan and Hendricks started to talk simultaneously then Bryan pointed to Bill and said, "You tell him. I'd just get it screwed up anyway."

  "Well, it's a long story but the short of it is that she's collecting babies - unborn babies. She's the leader of some weird cult and they feed these babies to a tree - a willow tree. Don't ask me why." Bryan opened his mouth, but shut it again. Hendricks continued. "This tree is really something. It's evil and can kill. Several murders have been traced to the tree. Maybe I should say that several murders only make sense it they are attributed to the tree."

  "Make sense?" asked Cail. "How can a murder make sense if attributed to a tree?"

  Colby put his hand on Cail's shoulder. "Let the man talk, Cail. Go ahead officer."

  "The first person to suspect that the tree was the cause of these deaths was Inspector Jaffre. That was some time ago. Old man Jaffre died recently but insisted to his dying day that the willow tree was responsible for the deaths at Willow Towers and -"

  "Willow Towers?" said Colby. "I used to own that dump - well, it weren't no dump then. You mean the New Year's Eve deaths were caused by that bloody old willow tree? I'll be damned. After that nobody wanted to move into that place and I just let it fall apart. Then it really got to be a dump. I was lucky to get rid of it. You know that bloody tree gave us trouble even when we pulled down the old Bourden house. Killed one of my men - two in fact. Didn't believe it at the time."

  "Well," continued Hendricks, "after Inspector Jaffre left the force his grandson took up the investigation - on his own. Nobody would believe him, you see. Nobody believed old man Jaffre and nobody believed his grandson either, but Sam Jaffre kept on with the investigation anyway and when -"

  "Did you say Sam Jaffre?" asked Cail.

  "Yeah. Sam Jaffre. Inspector Jaffre's grandson," answered Hendricks.

  Cail looked at Colby. Colby coughed up his coffee.

  "Wait a minute," said Colby. "That bloody cop I just put away. Wasn't his name Sam Jaffey?"

  "Yes," said Hendricks. "Sam Jaffre. That's right. This isn't a simple story. It seems that -"

  "Bill? Can I take it from here?" interrupted Bryan. "I'll try not to screw it up."

  Hendricks smiled and waved in Bryan's direction. Colby and Cail turned to look at Bryan. Bryan took a deep breath. He would make this explanation as clear as he could. He had repeated the explanation so many times, to himself …

  "It's like this," said Bryan. "Cassandra Brubacher had a twin sister who died at birth. The twin was buried under a willow tree and the tree inherited the soul of the twin - an evil soul which had not been baptized and cleansed of original sin. That was back in ... uh, 1895 I think. Since then, Cassandra Brubacher has been collecting unborn babies and feeding them to the God of Evil - can't remember his name. The tree is evil as is everything made from the tree. The New Year's Eve party at Willow Towers? Those deaths were caused by wicker chairs made from the willow. Anyway, Brubacher expects to get her sister back. I mean, back alive. She really expects that her sister will just come out of the ground and join her. Come right out from under the willow tree. Cassandra's tried many times but failed. She's got this club, the Friends of Willow, and they're all hypnotized or something - under her spell. The members of this club collect the babies and I think they also collect parts of the willow. Wicker baskets and wicker chairs, made from the remains of the tree at Willow Towers."

  Bryan took another deep breath, saw that everyone was quiet, listening intently so he continued. "Sam Jaffre was a member of the club, the cult. He's under Cassandra Brubacher's spell - if that's what it is. Anyway, he works for her now. When I saw the article about your wife having twin girls I knew that Brubacher would be after them." Bryan was looking, and talking, to Michael Colby. "It was perfect, don't you see? Twin girls. Just like the witch and her sister. But I have a theory. The bones -"

  "This is crazy," interrupted Cail. "Getting her sister back from the God of Evil? Does anybody really believe this?" Cail looked about, staring in turn at each, expecting agreement.

  Colby put his hand on Cail's shoulder again and Cail stopped talking. Colby pointed to Bryan and nodded his head. Bryan continued.

  "The bones of the twin sister are under the tree. Somehow the bones hold the soul and if we could get rid of the bones - destroy them - then I believe that the tree would die and Sam would come back to normal and ... and ..." Bryan held his head, his bandaged hand obvious to all.

  Colby leaned forward, frowning. "Anything wrong Baker?" he said.

  "His wife," said Hendricks softly, "is in a coma. She was - or is - under this spell too."

  "Sorry," said Bryan. "Stupid. Sorry. My wife was coerced into being a Friend of Willow. My wife was expecting a baby and ... and ..." Bryan's eyes began to water and he lowered his head into his hands.

  "She lost her baby," explained Hendricks. "Lost it to Cassandra Brubacher."

  Colby stood up and banged on the table so hard that they all jumped in concert with the cups and saucers.

  "By Christ!" he shouted. "We can't have any more of this! I'll put an end to that whore! Friends of the Willow eh? We'll see how many friends she has! We'll see if she has more friends than I have!"

  They all leaped to attention and stared at Colby who was getting red in the face.

  Bryan thought he looked like a night in shining armor - black armor.

  Cail didn't remember Mikey being so tall.

  Bill thought Colby would make a good cop - maybe Chief.

  ***

  The following morning at precisely 10 a.m. Marg Colby had her twins without further incident. Michael Colby and Cail Vinney were both there. Colby had stayed the night, sleeping on a cot brought into Marg's room. Bryan phoned at 10:20 and was told that mother and daughters were all fine. Bill Hendricks phoned at 10:27, talked to Michael Colby and congratulated him. Three days later Marg went home. One day after that, Colby had Cail Vinney, Bryan Laker and Bill Hendricks over to his house for dinner.

  Michael Colby had a plan.

  CHAPTER 35

  the PLAN

  Shrimp cocktail, duck a l'orange, cauliflower with a white cheese sauce, baby carrots sauteed in butter, Caesar salad with croutons, creme caramel. It was a fine dinner.

  They had all toured the wine cellar in advance and picked a Chablis from the racks; three, in fact. After dinner Michael dismissed the servants and poured the Cointreau himself. Now they all sat in the huge living room around a crackling fire, the lights turned down, sipping the liqueur. Colby had a large, straight whiskey.

  "Okay," said Colby, "now we talk."

  He put down his glas
s and leaned back in the largest chair in the room.

  "Two weeks ago I sent Harry Welks to buy Brubacher's house on Dune Road. She won't sell. Then I talked to Madam Mayor Saunders. The property will be expropriated for a sports complex: the Colby Complex - double C. Brubacher will be given a good price, but she has to be out in three weeks. Then the bulldozers move in: Colby Construction - double C. The house will be demolished. The goddam tree goes with it."

  Colby leaned back and smiled and looked around. They were all smiling, except Bryan.

  "Well Baker ... uh, Bryan. What's wrong? Did I miss something?" said Colby.

  "It's just that there was a willow tree ... you know ... when the old Bourden house was torn down. The willow was torn down too - I guess you did that Mr. Colby."

  "Call me Michael."

  "Okay, Michael. Well, the murders continued and now there's another willow tree. I just don't think that doing it again - I mean, tearing down a house and a tree - I don't think it's going to solve the problem."

  "He's right Mr. Colby," said Hendricks. Cail nodded his head in agreement.

  "Okay Bryan. Tell me what to do and I'll do it," said Colby emphatically.

  "It's the bones. Somehow we have to get to the bones and destroy them. Cassandra, if she takes the bones away before the bulldozers come, then she can bury them under another tree and -"

  "Right!" said Colby loudly. "First we get the bones!" Then, more quietly, "How do we do that ... Bryan? Can we go in with a bunch of backhoes? A hundred men with shovels?"

  They all looked at Bryan who looked into his lap, then sipped from his glass, then looked at each of them in turn, ending with Colby.

  "It has to be done secretly. She musn't know we're coming for the bones, else she'll just take them away." He paused, rolling his hand, still lightly bandaged, on his lap. "Does she know that her property is being expropriated?"

  "She'll know by noon tomorrow," said Colby with a satisfied smile.

  "Jesus," whispered Hendricks. "Then we have to do it tonight."

  "What?" cried Colby. "Do what tonight?"

  "Get the bones," groaned Cail.

  Colby leaned forward and stared at Bryan.

  "Is that what you're saying? That we oughta go there and dig out them bloody bones - tonight?"

  "Looks like it," whispered Bryan past his glass, which he held shaking at his lips.

  "Christ. I could hire a hundred men and a dozen front-end loaders and -"

  "No good, Mikey," said Cail. "All your money won't do any good." Cail seemed almost pleased to say it. "Like Bryan said, it has to be done with stealth, secretly, tonight."

  They stared at each other for a long time without saying a word, then Colby coughed lightly and they all stared at him.

  "Well, what are we waiting for. Let's go," he said. "Sounds like it could be fun. Ain't had so much excitement in years."

  "The tree is dangerous. How do we take the bones from the tree?" said Bryan, holding up his gauze-wrapped hand.

  "I been meaning to ask you about that," said Colby, staring uncomfortably at Bryan's hand.

  "I tried to cut down the tree, with a chain saw. It took the saw - I don't know how - and cut off my finger."

  "Christ!" said Colby. "You're a real fighter ain't yuh?" He looked around at Cail. "See that? What a fighter."

  Colby paused, scratched his chin, then said, "Okay, we spray the tree and kill it. Don't have to come close even. I'll get my plane to fly over and drop the stuff - herbicide. Colby Crop Cover - triple C. We wait and go in when the goddam tree is dead. How's that Bryan?" He leaned forward, waiting for approval.

  "Hey! That sounds good!" said Hendricks with enthusiasm. "Then you can send in your hundred men with shovels - your bulldozers or whatever."

  "No good," said Bryan. "It'll take time for the herbicide to kill the tree. In the meantime -"

  "Yeah, yeah, I know," said Colby. "Old lady Brubacher takes the bones."

  "I've got a better idea," said Cail, looking directly at Colby. "Brubacher might beat us to the bones if the tree is sprayed, but if we ... uh, if you burn it to the ground -"

  "Yes, that's better," said Hendricks. "I doubt if lighting a match to the tree will work, but if we spray it with gasoline and -"

  "Okay, said Colby, "I send in a plane and it drops gasoline then ... what's wrong Bryan? You're frowning again."

  "The tree may very well burn to the ground and the bones, buried beneath the tree, may remain intact. Somehow, we have to get at the bones." Bryan was rubbing his bad hand with his good hand. They all watched, silently.

  "Okay," said Colby with an air of finality, "we send in an army helicopter and it drops bombs and blows the goddam tree to smithereens - and everything that's buried under it goes with it!"

  They looked at each other then at Colby. Bryan was the first to speak.

  "How can we get the army to -" Bryan began.

  "Leave that to me," said Colby. "Okay. It's settled. The army goes in - tonight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do."

  A small voice came from across the room. "What about Miss Brubacher?"

  It was Marg. She was standing by the door. Colby and Cail both jumped up, followed by Bryan and Laker.

  "Marg, baby," said Colby sweetly. "You're supposed to be resting. Were we talking too loud, baby?"

  "No. I can't sleep. Marion is looking after the twins so I thought I'd come down and say hello to our friends. Hello Dr. Vinney ... and Professor Laker. I can't say how much I appreciate your trying to help when - when -"

  "Marg," said Cail softly. "I really think you should rest, as Michael suggests. I see the sedative has worn off, but you still look tired."

  "I'm all right. Constable Hendricks, good evening. Thank you for your concern."

  "Baby, please go back to bed," said Colby. "We're working on something - it doesn't concern you and -"

  "Yes, I heard what you're working on - bomb Miss Brubacher's house. Michael, that's barbaric. She lives in that house. It's her house for another - what did you say? Three weeks? You can't just drop a bomb on her house - her house."

  Marg looked faint and Cail Vinney rushed to her side and caught her just as she fell. He carried her gently to a sofa.

  "Good," said Colby. "She can rest. Cail, call the nurse. She's probably upstairs, in her room. She can look after Marg. Now - to work. I think we can all go to Dune Road and watch the fireworks within the hour. Wait here."

  Then he walked to an adjoining study, sat at the large desk, picked up the phone and dialled.

  "This is Michael Colby of Colby Enterprises. Get me Major Forster - and hurry." Colby paused, then, "I don't give a damn if he is in bed! Tell him it's Michael Colby!"

  Colby waited and the others walked into the study and stood by the door and waited.

  "Hello? Derek? Is that you? Look, I want you to do something for me - tonight. Have you got a pencil and paper? Take this down. Okay. Yes, I know it's late, but it has to be done tonight. Listen, you owe me and now I'm collecting, hear? Okay. Take this down. There's a house on Dune Road. It's going to be torn down to build a sports complex, the Colby Complex, double-C. It's located about ..." Colby looked to Bryan. "Bryan? How far is it outside the city limits?" Colby held the phone at an angle so Bryan could be heard.

  "About 5 miles."

  "Hear that? Five miles outta town, along Dune Road. You can't miss it. It's got a bloody big willow tree growin' right beside it. Here's what I want you to do. Get a helicopter out there and ... listen to me ... I'm tellin' you what I want you to do and you bloody well better do it! I can get you off the army payroll just as easily as I got you on. Okay. Take this down. Get a helicopter out there and drop a bomb on the goddam house and don't miss the tree - in fact, drop a whole mess of bombs and -"

  Colby stopped talking and his face grew red. He got up from his chair and began to shout into the phone.

  "Listen you asshole! The property is mine! I
own it! I can do whatever I bloody well want to do with it! If I want to bomb the goddam place then - listen - I'm telling you it belongs to me. What citizens? The goddam house is 10 miles outta town. There ain't nobody living within miles of the goddam place! The bloody house is empty! Don't tell me your goddam choppers can't hit a bloody house that's standing all by itself. Okay - go ahead, call Mayor Saunders. But after that I want you to have choppers out there with plenty of bombs at ... when?"

  Colby looked at the others, holding the phone in their direction. Hendricks looked quickly at his watch. It was almost 11 o'clock in the evening.

  "At 2 o'clock," said Hendricks.

  "Hear that? Have the choppers out there at 2 a.m., sharp. Drop a whole mess of bombs, maybe some of that napalm too - so it burns real good. Don't miss the bloody tree. Yeah, go ahead and call the Mayor. But don't waste time, hear? 2 o'clock sharp!"

  Colby banged the phone on the hook. "Bloody asshole," he muttered. "Don't know where his bread is buttered."

  Colby sat back and dialled again.

  "This is Michael Colby. Give me Mayor Saunders ... oh, Sue, is that you? Sorry for callin' so late ... yeah, I know. I'm looking forward to it myself. Should be quite a showplace for the area. I was thinking that the name Colby Complex doesn't really tell what it is. Maybe Saunders Sports Center. How does that sound to you? Like it? Good. Then that's what we'll call it. I'm eager to get started and I've convinced the good Miss Cassandra Brubacher to leave the premises early. In fact she left yesterday and the place is now empty. Yeah, yeah, completely empty. I want to move the machinery in tomorrow morning. I was also thinking that we should start the project with a bang. Reporters everywhere in the country will come by to take pictures and interview you and ... sure, of course they will. They'll surely want to talk to you. Why? Well, that's the bang I was talking about. The army will bomb the old house."

  Colby leaned back and grinned.

  "That should bring the reporters out, don't you think? Hurt? Don't worry about hurting anybody - I've looked after that. It's 15 miles outta town. If we advertise the bombing then the place will be crowded with gawkers - they'll all drive out to Dune Road to watch, and somebody's bound to get hurt. You can't have that - too dangerous you know. I know you wouldn't want anybody to get hurt. So first you do it, the bombing I mean, then you tell everybody. Let them come out to see the place after you've arranged the bombing. Can't you just see the front page in the Gazette? Mayor Saunders starts the Saunders Sports Center with a bang. The bombing? I can certainly arrange for that if that's what you want. Are you sure now? You don't think it's too dangerous? Okay, I'll phone Major Derek Forster and say that that's what you want. I'm sure he won't believe me and will want the go-ahead directly from you - and that's as it should be. If I'm not mistaken he'll phone you immediately - for your OK. First thing in the morning I'll get my machines out there. Your office can get in touch with the papers in the area so they come out to see the ruins. Wear something nice - that red dress I saw you in last week was terrific. You'll be in every paper in the country you know. Sure, okay. And regards to Bernie."