by L. L. Soares
“I’m leaving here. I’m going to sell this farm and get out. I’ve had enough. Go home, Robert. You can’t help me. No one can help me now.”
With the death of Lowell and the other identifications, Walter had grounds for search warrants for the Lewiston farm. He and a forensics team started the tedious task of checking every inch of the property, but they found nothing of any value.
The detective believed crucial evidence, needed to make his case, went up in smoke along with the barn. Its demise suddenly seemed very convenient. He wondered if his police car in Robert’s driveway that afternoon had instigated the fire.
Walter put a dozen men on surveillance. Young constables watched the scarecrows day and night, but they never moved. More officers watched Jimmy and the farm buildings, but had nothing to report.
Wednesday, September 21, 1966
Alexis had the ability to make the decision, but wanted a little time to think. She picked up the phone and called Robert. She explained her plan and he cried. She called Wendy to her office and explained her plan to her. They both went to tell Cathy.
“The arrangements are all made, and your father is expecting us two days from now for a weekend visit to your home.” She watched the young girl’s face light up and smiled.
Cathy’s excitement left her speechless. She ran over to Alexis and hugged her as hard as she could. Wendy stood behind her and grinned. Cathy found the nurse and they shared another hug.
“Well, lady, let’s get you ready to go. We leave first thing Friday morning.” Wendy smiled at the child and then turned to her boss. “Thank you.”
“That’s fine. You two enjoy packing.” Alexis turned in the doorway.
Wendy and Cathy were doing a weird dance and laughing. She laughed and closed the door on her way out.
“I can’t believe I get to go home for a weekend. I want to see my house and my room. We can go to the creek, catch frogs, and sit on the grass in the front yard under the big tree. Oh Wendy, it’s so nice there. It’s neat and there’s always a cool breeze on the front porch.”
“Slow down. We’ll make a list of everything you want to do when you get there. Then we won’t forget anything.” Wendy watched Cathy run to the desk and start writing. Wendy knew the next two days would be the longest of the child’s life.
Chapter Nine
September 27, 1964
“Joel, I need to go home. It’s getting late and I’m hungry.” Emily had the can in her hand. She tipped it and dumped the contents into the creek.
“Why did you do that?” Joel grabbed the can and looked in, but all the tiny frogs were gone. “You’re stupid. I was going to take them home.”
“I’m not stupid—you’re stupid.” Emily held back her tears. She climbed up the side of the creek, pulling on the grass and balancing her feet on the rocks to get away from the boy. Angry and insulted, she didn’t want to be anywhere near Joel. He jumped over the narrow water in the creek and made his way up the other side. When he got up to the road, he ignored her and headed toward home.
Emily ended up on the wrong side of the creek and had the cornfield behind her. She sat down on the ground and picked up a piece of straw. “I am not stupid!” she yelled in Joel’s direction. She pulled the straw through her fingers and started to get up when she heard a noise behind her. She turned to see Jimmy standing a few feet away.
“What do you want?” She got up and brushed off her pants.
“I heard you yelling.”
“Yeah, well, that’s none of your business. Go back and do whatever it is you stupid people do. I’m going home.” Emily waved her hand in dismissal as she spoke and then moved to the edge of the ditch.
“You’re the girl who’s always yelling at Cathy?” Jimmy stared at her.
“She’s a hick, just like you. Why would I be nice to her?” Emily turned away.
Before she could start down the side, Jimmy grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground.
“What are you doing? You let me down. Now!”
Jimmy started to walk with her into the corn. Emily pulled at his hands, trying to loosen his grip. He only held on tighter.
“This isn’t funny. You let me go. I have to go home. If my daddy finds out you did this to me, he’ll have you put in one of those places for stupid people like you. Maybe you should be there now.”
“Be quiet. You talk too much.” Jimmy spoke softly. After a few minutes of meandering through the tall stalks, listening to her berate him, he dropped her on the ground. Grabbing her by the hair, he dragged her around the field while she screamed at him. Jimmy finally stopped and lifted her to her feet. He punched her in the face and she dropped—an unconscious heap on the ground.
Emily awoke in one of the farm buildings. Her face hurt and one eye felt half-closed. A rag covered her mouth. The heavy smell of sweat under her nose, made her gag. A faint light glowed somewhere in the back of the room. In the dim light, she saw straw and fertilizer bags, and recognized the barn. With rope, he had tied her hands together and then tied her feet to a support beam. She sat on the floor and leaned against a partition wall. She wiggled and pulled, and realized she’d never get free unless someone untied her. Through the cracks in the barn walls, she could see the dark outside and started to cry.
“Shut up, ya fussy little bitch. Just sit there and be quiet.”
The little girl stopped whimpering and strained to see who spoke. She saw no one there. The voice sounded like a woman’s voice. Emily listened and heard nothing. Pulling up all the bravado she could, she tried to scream through the gag.
“Honey, we told you to shut up. Now do what you been told. Ain’t nobody gonna save ya now.” This time she heard a different voice, a man’s voice, and Emily started to shake. Then she heard Jimmy’s voice and listened. She heard a conversation going on somewhere in the barn.
“Now what do I do? She says her daddy will put me away in one of those stupid places. I can’t let her go now.”
“You’re correct, my dear boy. We need to solve this problem.” Another new voice, and this one sounded louder and very clear, like the reporters on TV.
“I say let’s throw the little bitch in the pond. Then our troubles are over.” The woman spoke again.
“Take it easy. Maybe we can solve our problem, and have a little fun at the same time.” The last voice talked that time.
“I like that idea. I always like to have fun,” Jimmy chimed in.
“It’ll be morning soon. We’ll keep her today, and tonight when it’s dark, we’ll let her go. We’ll put her in the middle of the cornfield and see if she can find her way.” The last voice laughed. “She won’t be able to. It’ll be dark out, the corn is high and the field is big. It will be confusing to her tiny brain. She’ll probably run in circles for hours.” The voice laughed louder. Jimmy laughed too. The woman’s voice giggled and snorted, and the other man chuckled. Emily didn’t see the humor. She closed her eyes tight.
When she opened them, Jimmy stood in front of her. “You stay quiet now or I’ll have to hit you again.” She nodded and he turned and left. Emily started to cry quietly, and with her head against the wall, she cried herself to sleep.
She heard scuffling and looked around her. She couldn’t see anything. The child felt hungry and thirsty. Her breathing got faster and harder as panic set in. She heard footsteps moving toward her. She held her breath and listened.
“…then after watching her run around for a while, we catch her, and then we can throw her into the pond.” They were right in front of her. She felt hands grab at her and pull her away from the stall. Someone yanked off the gag. Before she could get enough breath to scream, someone hit Emily hard, and everything went black.
Saturday, September 24, 1966
It happened two years ago, and Walter couldn’t find the solution. He decided to review the case one more t
ime. He talked to Steven and Robert. He dragged the pond. Maybe this time something would jump out at him. He opened the case files. Lucas came in with a giant smile on his face, waving another file around.
“Walter, we got a confession in the Brian Cole case. A kid came in this morning with his parents and told us what happened.”
“Are you kidding? I thought that case dead-ended.”
“He said he couldn’t eat or sleep and he had to tell someone the truth. He told his parents what happened and they brought him in.”
“What’s the story? Does it work with what we know?”
“Yes, it works. He and three friends went to the racetrack with Brian. They were wrestling around on the grandstands and Brian fell from the top of the concrete. He landed on his head and there was blood everywhere. When they realized he died, they panicked. They found an old hammer somewhere, hit him with it a couple times, and then carried him to the cornfield. They left the bloody hammer and the body, hoping we would think someone mugged him. This kid and his friends are all fourteen and fifteen. I’m picking them up now.”
“Need help?”
“I’ll take a couple uniforms with me. What are you working on?”
“I’m reviewing the Preston file. It’s that time of year. Now I have a bunch of other cases to go with it.”
“That case ended two years ago. I’ll wait for the confessions. It’s much easier that way.” Lucas smiled on his way out.
Walter had been over the Preston file numerous times. He sat back and thought about Steven’s explanation. Cathy saw what happened, and, completely terrified, she used the scarecrows to deal with her trauma. What could have scared her that badly? With no evidence of anyone else being there, it didn’t make sense. The whole thing had Walter stumped. Now he had nine more files and no human suspects other than a brain-damaged teenager and he couldn’t get permission to even talk to him.
Just before noon, Alexis pulled into the driveway with Cathy and Wendy. Robert met his daughter at the car. The child flew into his arms, and after a huge hug, they walked together up the steps and into the house. Steven sat on the porch and watched the reunion. Robert visited her last month, but this felt different. Steven got up and walked down the steps. He greeted the women and helped pull their bags out of the trunk of the car.
“Dr. Webster, I didn’t know you would be here.”
“Name is Steven, and I live here. I’m glad to see you again Alexis. As you know, I’ve spent a lot of time with Cathy lately. I’m hoping this trip might initiate a breakthrough for her. We can always hope.” Steven winked and smiled.
“It could do more harm than good, but I believe it’s worth a try.” Alexis replied.
“Tell me, firing Diane, how did that go? I never got a chance to ask you about that.”
“That proved to be the nastiest thing I’ve ever done and definitely a very satisfying experience. I’ll fill you in on the details later.” Alexis smiled. “I brought Wendy Marshall, Cathy’s nurse with us.”
“Hi Wendy, it’s nice to see you again. I hope everyone had a good trip?” Steven picked up the two suitcases. “If you beautiful ladies will follow me, I’ll show you to your rooms.”
Alexis hesitated. “You understand that Wendy will have to be with Cathy constantly. They will need to sleep in the same room.”
“Robert explained, and I think you’ll find the accommodations perfect.”
He led the way. Wendy hesitated and looked all around. Every detail matched Cathy’s description perfectly. As she turned to follow Steven and Alexis into the house, she noticed the tall young man standing on the edge of the cornfield, watching them. She put her bag down and faced him.
“Are you Jimmy?”
“Is Cathy home?”
“Yes.”
“Can I talk to her?”
“Maybe later you can talk to her.”
“Okay.”
Jimmy turned and walked into the cornfield.
Wendy picked up her bag, shrugged, and continued into the house.
Everyone ate lunch, and Cathy insisted they all go for a walk. She wanted to see what had changed. The child held her father’s hand and refused to let go. She gave everyone a running commentary as the group strolled along. They walked up the dirt road to the highway, and watched and listened as the trains whistled and shunted. The big engines dragged freight cars of all descriptions in and out of the yard. “I used to stand right here to watch the trains. They’re really neat.” Cathy grinned and bounced with excitement.
They checked out the creek. Wendy and Steven climbed down the side to see if there were any frogs around. Once they got back up to the road, the group continued their slow pace. Cathy pointed out the huge sunflowers at the Cutforth farm and told everyone about the bees. Robert looked surprised when she said Gladys had let her taste fresh honey. He had no idea the child spent any time there. When they reached the Lewiston lane, Cathy’s bright smile turned into a loud gasp.
“Where’s the barn? What happened to it?” She stared at the rubble. She could see the cruisers parked along the lane and the constables walking the fields.
“Daddy, why are there police everywhere?”
Robert crouched down and turned her to face him. “The police checked the pond at the racetrack and found a lot of dead bodies. They all died because someone killed them, and the police are looking for evidence of who murdered these people. They’re looking here and at the raceway.”
Cathy frowned and breathed very fast. “What about the barn?”
“It burned down. Someone set the barn on fire.” She noticed Jimmy sitting on the front lawn under the tree.
“Dad, I need to talk to him for a minute.” Robert nodded and she ran over. He stood as Cathy approached and said nothing. She hugged him and told him she would come back in the morning. Jimmy nodded and she slowly walked back to her father.
“I want to go home now.” The excitement lost, she held his hand as they walked back to the house.
The day went by quickly and after supper, just as it started to get dark, Cathy seemed to get nervous. She paced and watched outside until all daylight disappeared.
“It’s nice being home, Dad. I want to go to bed now in my own bed. Good night and I love you, Daddy.” Robert kissed her forehead. They held each other for a few minutes and then she ran up the stairs.
“I guess that means I’m off to bed too.” Wendy headed upstairs.
Cathy slipped out of bed after Wendy went to sleep and looked out her window. With the moon full, she could see the cornfield and the scarecrows. She could also see the police watching everything. She needed a plan.
Cathy walked up the road and into the Lewiston farm lane. She sat down beside Jimmy on the grass. Wendy stayed out on the lane and chatted with the police. She decided she should let the two friends talk.
“Hi, Jimmy. How are you?”
“I don’t know. The barn is gone and Lowell is dead. My dad won’t talk anymore. They told him someone set the fire in the barn and my dad thinks I did it. They told him someone murdered Lowell and Jesse, and my dad thinks I did that too.”
“Did you set the fire, Jimmy?”
“No. I didn’t do it. They set the fire. They told me to get out; they were gonna burn down the barn.”
“Did you murder Lowell and Jesse?”
“I didn’t do that either. They hit Lowell over the head and then they pulled a rope around Jesse’s neck. I didn’t kill them. I only put them into the pond.”
“We have to stop this. I think I know a way to get rid of the scarecrows.” Jimmy sat up and looked at Cathy.
“What? How can we get rid of them?”
“I think we have to put them back into the pond.”
“How are we gonna do that? They won’t go near the water.”
“We’ll trick them.” Cathy didn’t s
ay anything for a few minutes.
“How do we trick them?” Jimmy looked over at Wendy. She wasn’t paying any attention to the two friends.
“I’m thinking you should take them down now and stuff each one into a bag. Tell them you have to do it that way, because the barn is gone and they have to stay in the silo for the winter.”
“That might work. What do I do with the bags?” Jimmy looked at Cathy.
“We’ll take them to the pond, and drop them into the water and let them sink.”
“Do you really think it’ll work?”
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t know either.” Jimmy just kept shaking his head.
“You know we have to stop them. I heard about the pond. All those bodies you dropped into the water—the police pulled them all out.”
“I went over to the track and saw police everywhere. They scared me. I came back and stayed in my room.”
“I’ll help you. I’ll come back after lunch. You get them ready and we’ll take them to the pond.”
Jimmy went into the cornfield and approached the first scarecrow. He took it off the peg and began to put everything into a large burlap bag. The voice sounded female.
“Hey stupid, what are you doing? The corn is still here.”
“I have to pack you in a bag this time. The barn is gone now and I’ll have to keep you in the silo for the winter. I don’t know about the corn.”
“The silo sounds awful. Guess it turned out to be a bad idea to burn the barn.”
“You’ll be fine.” Jimmy kept stuffing the bag and then moved to the next scarecrow. Each made some comments, but accepted his explanation.
Laying all three bags under the tree in the front yard, he waited.
When he saw Cathy coming back with Wendy, he stood and put the three bags over one shoulder.
“Are they ready?”
Jimmy nodded.
They walked together to the pond. Wendy followed close behind. Cathy told her they had to put the ghosts back into the water. Wendy assumed this symbolic ritual had great importance to them and went along with it. When they arrived at the pond, Jimmy dropped the bags near the water, and sat down with Cathy under a tree.
