by Jon Mills
The two cruisers tore away from the mouth of the road that led down to the garage. Aaron Gance sat in the front of the battered black Chevy truck. He’d been on his way back from Dories Diner when he spotted them in the distance. Riding shotgun was Billy and Dale.
“What do you think that’s about?”
“The fight, you dimwit.”
Aaron pulled into the road and floored it. The truck bounced around down the unfinished road and came to a grinding halt outside the RV. He pushed out of the truck and began shouting.
“Merle. Merle!”
He hurried over to the RV and let himself inside. There was a note on a pad of paper on the table, he picked it up and read it. It was short and straight to the point. Larson showed up. Get out of town.
“Fuck!” he yelled, scrunching it up and tossing it across the cramped quarters. Aaron went nuts and started smashing his fist into the cupboards. His fist punctured a hole in one. He kicked a chair and flipped the small table over. Billy and Dale entered to see what all the commotion was about.
“What’s up?”
“Larson that’s what. That sonofabitch has taken Merle in.”
They stood still with their mouths agape. His thoughts were a mess. If he’d only been here, things would have been different. He wouldn’t have gone in easy, or let him take Merle. Not again. Aaron shoved past both of them and headed out. He lit a cigarette and paced back and forth, one hand running over his head as he inhaled deeply. He had a good mind to head down to Larson’s home and set the entire house on fire with his wife inside. He’d been egging Larson on since getting out but he’d shown restraint. Merle had made it clear that they’d eventually get him for putting him away. He’d always envisioned rolling up beside his cruiser while he was doing paperwork and putting a bullet in his head. Every day that he was inside, he’d thought about that man. But it wasn’t just him. It was her — Bonnie. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for her.
“You think she told them?”
“Of course,” he spat back.
With the cigarette in the corner of his mouth, smoke curled up into his eye causing him to squint. He reached around and pulled out a Rossi snub-nose .357 revolver. He checked how many bullets were inside before he spun the cylinder and slapped it back into place. Aaron tucked it back into the small of his back and continued towards the truck. A clap of thunder threatened rain. He looked up momentarily before casting a glance over his shoulder.
“Well come on. Let’s go.”
“Where are we heading?” Dale asked.
“To deal with that bitch once and for all.”
He stormed over to the truck and swung the door open.
“But what about the guy?” Billy asked picking up the pace.
“That’s going to have to wait.”
“But.”
“Would you two idiots just get inside,” he said. He was fuming. Rage pushed out what control he had left. The only one that had kept him from blowing her brains out and going after Larson was Merle. Now they had him, he was done pussyfooting around. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to leave town. Tires squealed, and the truck kicked up grit as it sped away, leaving behind a plume of dust.
Chapter 16
Twenty minutes ago, the radio cut out as they crossed over into Green Bank. Jack adjusted it but Meghan told him not to bother. “You’re in the Quiet Zone, 13,000 square miles free of electromagnetic pollution. And Green Bank is where it all happens.” She brought the window down and breathed in the air. One road snaked its way through the Allegheny Mountains while on either side of them was an ocean of green rolling hills and dense emerald forest. On the way up they passed through several small towns, each one smaller than the last. Slowly but surely the forest parted and he could see the beginnings of the town in the distance. It was spread out in a valley full of cattle farms and old wooden barns. They passed a tiny post office, a library, a bank and Henry’s Quick Stop; which Meghan was quick to point out was the gas station, convenience store, décor shop and only sit-down restaurant. Beyond that, across the street was a Dollar General that had only been in business since 2011. Before that residents had to travel the forty-minute journey south to Marlinton or north to Elkins.
“Where what happens?” Jack asked.
She leaned back in her seat getting comfortable. “It’s where they listen to distant galaxies at the edge of the universe.” She said as if it was common knowledge. He’d never heard of it. She pointed to her left towards a megalithic dish that loomed over the tiny town with a population of 143. “It’s the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope. Did you know that sucker is as tall as the Washington Monument, weighs 17 million pounds and you can fit two acres of land inside the dish?”
“I did not know that,” he said, his lip curling up at the corner as they made their way toward Karl Fraser’s home.
“Yeah, out here there is a ban on cell phones, radios, Wi-Fi routers, microwaves, you name it, and it’s banned. At least within a ten-mile radius of the Astronomy Observatory.”
“Why?”
“It would wreak havoc on the sensitive equipment. That’s why they have someone who patrols the area in a white van. They’re called the RFI Police.”
“What do they do?” he said glancing out the window at the monstrosity of a telescope. It was one hell of an eyesore.
“They monitor frequency interference from cell phones, wireless devices and so forth. Every single one of these residents in the ten-mile radius has had to sign a waiver stating they will not use wireless devices. In fact, get this… many years ago they picked up some abnormal signals in the town. Turns out, when they managed to pinpoint where it was coming from, it was a dog’s heating pad. Seems the pad had worn down and cracks in the wiring were causing super tiny electrical arcs. It wasn’t enough to shock the dog but enough to cause issues. Anyway, they had to toss it and get a new one.”
“So no one has Wi-Fi out here?”
She smiled. “If you ask people they will say no, but you can be sure there are some that are using it. I’ve heard from a couple of johns in the area that the RFI crew has shown up at certain neighbor’s doors and had to get them to shut it down to prevent interference. It wasn’t too bad back in 1956 when they created the site. Back then they only had issues with radio noise, spark plugs, and power lines. The problem is technology is so prevalent today; it’s kind of hard to monitor everyone. Now having said that, for the most part residents abide by the rules in the Quiet Zone which of course includes Marlinton and the surrounding towns. Unlike Green Bank, we can have Wi-Fi in Marlinton, cell phones and so on but it gets real spotty when you start traveling in the county. There are even some folks who won’t use a phone.”
“For someone who doesn’t work at the observatory, you sure know a lot about this.”
“You have to, otherwise people are quick to remind you.” She gazed out the window. Several cars shot by. “There you go…” She pointed off to the left. On the side of the road, there was an old-style telephone booth. A rusted-out box that looked out of place. “That’s the pay phone that folks would have to use if they broke down out here. Or they can use a landline. Folks who live around here are pretty good people. I guess that’s why the girls who went missing never worried about coming out here. This used to be a safe place.”
She shook her head and frowned. Jack eased off the gas a little as they rolled by it.
“So no one has Internet out here?”
“No, they have dial-up Internet, landline phones, and ham radio. It’s just wireless that is restricted. But the Internet out here is painfully slow.”
Jack pulled out his cell phone and switched it on. Sure enough, no bars.
Meghan laughed. “It’s strange, right? It’s like living in the 1950s. I’m not sure how folks do it.”
Jack mulled over the information and then it dawned on him. “So if you were seeing a client out here and you ran into trouble, you wouldn’t be able to use your cell phone, right?�
��
“Exactly.”
It was beginning to make sense why someone would kill women from Marlinton in Green Bank. All the homes were spread far apart. The chances of anyone being able to run to a neighbor’s home were slim. Phoning emergency services would only be possible if the home they were in had a landline, or they were near a phone booth.
Jack slammed his brakes on and the tires squealed. Meghan jerked forward in her seat and put her hands out to brace herself. “What the hell?”
He shifted into reverse and spun the Shelby around and drove the short distance back to the phone booth. “How many pay phones are in Green Bank?”
“Um. I’m not sure. This is the only one I’ve seen.”
He veered off to the hard shoulder and pushed out. Jack took out a scrap of paper that he’d jotted down a phone number on.
“What are you doing?” Meghan said getting out and walking behind him.
“Checking the number. On the night Jenna went missing, I got a phone call. It was incoherent for the most part but that’s how I got your name.”
He headed over to the rusted old box. With the rise of cellphones, they weren’t required as much as they had been. Of course in the city, pay phones could still be found in Greyhound stations.
A cold wind blew against them as he stepped inside.
“But she could have phoned from anywhere.”
“I heard a vehicle in the background when she was on the line. And the operator said it came from Green Bank, West Virginia.”
He checked the phone number against the booth, but it was scratched out. He couldn’t tell if that was it. Had she phoned from there? He stepped out and scanned the landscape. There was a store across the road and two homes farther up. Had she come from one of those? Was she followed and forced off the road? Jack gazed at the gravel nearby and looked for any signs of tire tracks or anything to indicate that a vehicle had been there. But there was nothing.
“Do you recognize any of those homes?” Jack asked.
“You mean have I been there for clients?”
“Yeah.”
“No.”
Frustration was setting in even though he felt like he was making some progress. If she had made it to the phone that night in the state that she was in, it meant she couldn’t have gone far. As they both hopped back in, Jack showed Meghan the address for Karl Fraser. “You recognize that?”
“I think so.”
“Is it nearby?”
“Yeah, not far from here.”
The Shelby pulled away, and he glanced back at the lonely phone booth in the middle of nowhere. In the day it seemed desolate but at night, for a young woman being pursued by a killer, it must have been terrifying.
Chapter 17
Aaron watched her drop off the kid with the babysitter. He thought back to when he first came across Bonnie. She was nothing until he picked up her sorry ass and gave her a reason to live. Had it not been for him, she would be lying in some gutter with a needle in her arm. Now, here she was acting like she was a good mother, holding down a regular job, turning her back on being a whore. Did she really think she was going to rat him out, get to play the doting mother and spend the remainder of her days flaunting her new lifestyle in front of him with no consequences? Since getting out of jail, he’d thought long and hard about how he was going to punish her. But all his talk had been shot down by Merle. Merle wanted to play it safe and look where it had got him. No, this was her fault.
Merle didn’t understand. At one time he wouldn’t have questioned him. Anyone that crossed them was tossed into the back of a car, taken out into the forest and either was beaten or ended up with a bullet in their skull. But that was before, back when Merle had balls. Now he was all about flying under the radar, playing by the rules. Meanwhile, he had to suffer the humiliation of watching the two people who had put him inside move on in their lives as though nothing mattered.
Billy and Dale sat quietly not saying a word as they waited for her to come out of the house. They knew better. These were two men he’d known since he was a kid. They were as loyal as they came. Some might have said they would have walked over hot coals and taken a bullet for him. Aaron puffed away on a cigarette with one arm leaning out the window. His fingers tapped the side of the truck, growing more impatient.
“Aaron, what are we going to do?”
“Teach her a few lessons.”
“You aren’t going to kill her, are you?”
He turned his head. “It wouldn’t be the first.” He smirked thinking of those that he’d disposed of. Some were buried so they could never be found, others; well… he didn’t discuss those. But they all had it coming to them. Every fucking one of them.
And now Bonnie was going to get crossed off his list too.
As they waited for her to emerge, he wondered how he could take his business to the next level. Marlinton had been profitable but with the recent discoveries of the Green Bank Five it meant more attention. In his line of work, he didn’t want that, especially not from Larson. He vehemently hated his cocky demeanor. He thought he was so big in that uniform, with that badge and gun, but behind it all, he was nothing, a nobody, and he was going to make an example out of him.
Hours. He’d spent hours mulling over the best way to hurt Larson. At first, it was just simple stuff — walking up to his cruiser and shooting him. But that was too easy. He deserved so much more than that. Next, he thought about pinning him in his cruiser and using lighter fluid and gasoline to burn him alive. At least that way he would suffer. But was that really punishment? He’d be turned into a martyr. Newspapers and media around the nation would be full of articles about how this man had given his life in service to others. No. He wanted him to suffer the way he had, something that was long and drawn out. He needed to strip him of the very thing that he hid behind — his reputation and family. He wanted him to lose everything and know what it felt like to be imprisoned. He thought about the Green Bank Five and smiled. Oh, Larson, I’ve had plenty of time to think about how to get you back. You are going to wish you had killed me by the time I’m done with you.
“Aaron,” Billy said tapping him on the leg. Lost in thought, he snapped back into the present in time to see Bonnie exiting the home and getting into her rusted-out Ford. The engine spluttered to life, and she pulled out. Good. She hadn’t noticed his truck as he’d made sure to hide it as best as he could down at the corner of 13th Avenue and Parrish Street. He figured he would tail her and wait until the window of opportunity opened. The last thing he needed now was to have anyone witness what was about to go down. Besides, he was still chewing over what he was going to do with her. All he knew was it was going to be a real bad day for her — the worst yet. That window he’d thrown her through was nothing compared to what was coming.
He gave the truck some gas and made sure that they remained a good distance behind her. He allowed a few vehicles to get ahead of them. Aaron could feel his revolver pressing into his back. His pulse began to race at the thought of pressing it against her skull and hearing her beg for her life. That’s it. That’s what he was going to do. Take her deep into the state park. Somewhere where no one would hear her scream. He’d toy with her. Make her think that he was going to let her go. Tease her into thinking that they were even, and then he’d take the shot, dump the body in a shallow grave and leave her for the animals. But what about her vehicle? He’d leave it. They didn’t need it. Then again, it might raise some eyebrows if it was found abandoned in a parking lot. Screw it. He’d take it with them, scratch off the VIN and set it ablaze until it was nothing more than charred steel bones. He’d done it before. The cops didn’t have the manpower or will to find a whore. That’s why he was confident that he’d get away with it. Sure a few people might have seen him argue with her but that wasn’t uncommon. All manner of guys got in trouble for slapping waitresses’ asses. Anyone could have done it. And for all they knew, she might have walked away leaving her kid behind. Others had done it. He’d
seen the news of some mother who had fled to Florida to start a new life, leaving behind her three children. Years later she showed up with some sob story. She was too young. Under too much stress. Addicted to drugs. He smiled. God, it was easy to make them disappear. The police could suspect him all they wanted, but they needed proof and that was one thing they had a hard job finding. Sure, he might come under scrutiny but by then, with Ethan about to retire, and Larson buried in some shallow grave, it would soon pass. The department would hand it to State Police and that would be the last they would hear about it. After that, he’d go back to doing what he was good at, Merle would probably be out on bail and life would go on as usual.
Aaron eyed Bonnie’s vehicle pull into a parking lot on the northeast side of town. This was it. Time to make his move.
Chapter 18
The final stretch of the drive ended at a small clapboard home, on a dirt road just off Wesley Chapel Road. It was a weathered structure that had chipped paint and shingles that looked as if they were in desperate need of repair.
“Have you been here before?” Jack asked.
“Nope.”
The driveway that wound its way up to the house was full of potholes. Out front were two rusted-out vehicles from the ’80s and a child’s swing set. The yard was overgrown and full of wildflowers. It was packed with weeds and the grass looked as if it hadn’t been cut for several months as it was almost knee high. A hard sun emerged from the belly of dark clouds, then vanished almost immediately. After parking near the house, they climbed out and continued to take in the sight of the cabin-style abode. A cool wind brushed against his face. The smell of fresh-cut summer grass lingered in the air and a nearby stream could be heard babbling.
“Hello,” Jack called out but got no response.
Crouched down behind the front porch was a man painting one of the columns. He was slightly out of sight but Jack could tell he hadn’t heard them as he was wearing headphones.
