The onlookers stared as Mike passed and began whispering a slew of theories. Julie and her camera crew were filming right there at the door. Paul closed and locked the entrance as soon as everyone was out. Paul looked at Tony and old man Joe.
“Seems, Mike done hurt his self,” said old man Joe.
“Do you suppose it was the…well, whatever we saw in there?” asked Tony.
“I hope not,” replied Paul. “I just want to believe a wrench fell on his head and that’s it.”
“Reckon whatever done it, is what it was,” commented Joe.
“You don’t say?” joked Tony.
Paul looked at his subordinates with displeasure, indicating that he had heard enough of their bickering. He suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if someone were watching him. He looked over his left shoulder. Nothing. He looked over his right shoulder. Again, he saw nothing. His nerves began to get the better of him. Without delay, he ushered the other two men down the front steps and into the parking lot. He sent them home early and hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.
Paul did not feel at ease until he sat in his car driving out of the parking lot. The experience reminded him of when he had worked on the graveyard crew at the school, back when they’d sweep and mop the school floors late into the night. There’s something in there, he thought. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not good.
18th
Sheriff Richards walked beside Nick until they came to the interrogation room. Larry pushed a button on the intercom system and requested entrance into the secured area. The door buzzed and the two men walked inside. The room was empty with the exception of a small metal table and two folding chairs. Larry politely directed Nick to a chair as he walked around the table preparing his thoughts. Nick sat down and slouched in the chair.
“Tell me what you know, Nick.” He took off his hat and threw it on the table.
Nick sneered. “To begin with, I know about the kids who were playing at the school the other night. And I know that one of them was killed.”
Larry stopped walking. “How do you know that?”
Nick put his elbows on the table, clenched his hands together and leaned toward Larry. His eyes glared at the table as he imagined the scene. “I was there, Larry. Kate and I are having problems, so I was out walking around, just thinking. Sure enough, I hear you and your boys racing toward the school with your lights flashing. So, I decided to check things out. And that wasn’t the first time things have gone bad at the school. I’ve seen some other weird things happen there too.”
“Like what?”
“Well, let me see.” Nick had to think past his drunken memories. He scratched his messy hair and whiskers and looked directly at Larry. “The first time, it was just noises. You know, the creaks and squeaks that make your heart skip a beat. Then I started seeing subtle movements and shadows that didn’t belong there. Most of the time, I’d had a few too many drinks so I just laughed it off and walked home.” Nick paused and stared straight ahead, while his mind formulated a picture of his memories. “I walk around the school to just think and talk to my brother. But when the shadows started coming at me, I knew I wasn’t just paranoid. I knew there was something there…” He looked back at Larry. His eyes betrayed him, revealing his fear. “And lately, I’ve been hearing sounds…and voices. I’ve also felt some kind of force leading me to the school, egging me on. Whatever’s in there is getting worse…like it’s gaining strength. But why am I calling it, it? We both know what’s in there, don’t we?”
“That’s debatable. No one knows for sure what it is.”
Nick stood up and angrily slammed his fists down on the table. “Bullshit! Didn’t you see the glass, Larry?” He walked around the table, his arms flailing about. “For crying out loud, what kind of idiot are you playing me for? I know what I saw, and it was David Ray’s face! Trust me, I’ve been nose to nose with that little son of a bitch! I’d know his face anywhere.”
“All right, Nick, you win. Obviously, you’re aware of said events. But you have to understand, the fate of this town is dependent on keeping that under wraps until we figure out exactly what’s going on.”
“So in the meantime, you’re just going to let Kate and her friends spend an evening in there! Are you crazy? If that ghost, or whatever it is, was angry enough to kill that boy, what do you think he’ll do when Kate and the others walk in, huh? That’s a bunch of crap and you know it!”
Larry took a deep breath, sat on the edge of the table. “Listen, Nick. They planned the reunion on their own. Disrupting it now could cause enough of a ruckus that people might start asking questions. And that’s exactly what we’re trying to avoid. It’s not my decision. The town’s leadership has agreed on this policy.”
Nick looked angry and paced the small room again.
“Do you think I care about that? I don’t give a grey-rat’s ass what the town thinks. If you let Kate and the others in there, someone’s going to get killed! And I swear to you, if anything happens to Kate…” Nick stood there shaking his head and grinding his teeth, staring intently at Larry, making the point with his eyes.
“So what would you suggest we do?” asked Larry.
“If it were up to me, I’d burn the place down.”
Larry openly scoffed. “Okay. That’s one suggestion. What else have you got?”
“Kill David.”
Larry’s eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped.
“What? What are you talking about, Nick?”
“There’s more.” Nick looked away, embarrassed by what he planned to say next.
Mockingly, Larry said, “Go ahead, Nick. I’m all ears.”
Nick took a deep breath and reluctantly revealed his thoughts. “What I mean to say is…I think he’s still alive.”
“Go on,” insisted Larry.
Nick rested his head in his hands, staring at the table. Without looking directly at Larry, he continued. “I had a dream while I was sleeping. But…it was more than a dream. It was like a…vision.”
“Okay. What did you see?” asked Larry, choking on the pessimism in his voice.
“I saw David Ray. I saw his life. I saw his death. It was extremely vivid, or maybe frightening would be a better word. It was as if he was trying to tell me what he went through. And I’m telling you, it was too real to be a dream. I never dream like that.”
“All right. So you had a spooky dream about Mr. Ray. What makes you think he’s alive?”
“Please, do not give him that kind of respect. I mean, don’t call him mister, not around me anyway.”
“Sure. I understand.”
“Okay. Well, I know this might sound weird, but in my vision David died just like we were all told he did. He shot himself. He felt the pain and lost consciousness. But in my dream, he came back. He says he’s not dead. And like I said, this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill dream. This was the most powerful and realistic vision I’ve ever had.”
Silence.
• • •
Larry wasn’t convinced. What a waste of time, he thought. Nothing Nick’s said proves anything. He chuckled and responded with a smirk on his face.
“Now who’s pulling whose leg, Nick? That’s a pretty fascinating story. You don’t suppose the town and the authorities would have said something if David was still alive? I’m sure we would have all known if he had lived, because someone would’ve tried to kill him!” Larry rolled his eyes. “Come on, Nick. Don’t you think there might have been a trial or a hanging if he’d lived?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but what if something had happened? What if—”
Larry interrupted.
“What if what, Nick? What if he rose from the dead? Or, what if he just faked his death? Please… explain to me how that’s even possible.”
Nick threw his hands in the air and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, shaking his head. Larry noticed that, although he looked frustrated, his voice tone came across as absolutely confident.
Nick turned his gaze back to Larry and his hands flopped on the table.
“I guess you’re right, Larry. It’s not possible, is it?” Nick followed Larry with his eyes as the sheriff walked around the table. “Then again, it’s not possible for a ghost to skewer a boy on top of a flagpole and burn an image of its face into glass either, right?” Nick looked away and said, “Can I go now?”
Larry knew that Nick had made a good point, but he didn’t pursue any more questions. He struggled, balancing the paranormal with reality. He wasn’t sure what he believed. After what he had seen at the school, he thought anything was possible; that is, anything but Nick’s assertion. He realized that Nick and his information had to remain incarcerated to keep the story out of the media.
Larry called the attendant to open the door. It buzzed open and he took Nick back to his cage, telling him that he could not release him that night but that he would look into it the following morning. Nick grumbled and protested but had to give in. In fact, he remained in jail indefinitely without bond. Larry felt secure in knowing that his one and only loose end sat safely behind bars. Yet he remained troubled. Nick’s final point continued to haunt him.
He thought to himself, Nick’s right. After what I’ve seen, anything’s possible.
Larry returned to his office and sat down in his worn-out chair. His eyes roamed the four walls that surrounded him, scouring every square inch of the memories and awards that decorated the room. In a matter of minutes he relived his star-studded career in Crescent Falls law enforcement. He looked at the pictures on the wall, which spanned the course of his twenty years of service. His eyes studied old photographs of the city softball league, award ceremonies, and fund-raisers, fishing trips, newspaper clippings, and his time in the academy. He sat there at his desk and chuckled to himself.
Twenty years is a long time, he thought. Twenty years of work, family, and my children had vanished in what seemed like a flash. Then something in that thought struck him as odd. His mind raced back through time and the snapshots of his life. He realized that this wasn’t just a twentieth reunion for the group of survivors; it was his twentieth as well.
Suddenly, he felt as if something had punched him in the stomach. He remembered how it had all started. A single memory instantaneously brought him back to Nick’s last comment. Twenty years ago Sheriff Harold Flynn had retired from the force. Harold had also encouraged Larry to run for sheriff in his place. He had, and he’d won. Larry remembered being so caught up in the excitement of it all that he didn’t question his predecessor’s reason for early retirement. Why had he retired so young, he wondered? What was his hurry? Harold hadn’t been a day over fifty-five.
It all began to make sense when Larry realized that Harold had retired several weeks after the massacre. He looked at a picture on his wall where Larry and other deputies surrounded Harold at his retirement party. Harold didn’t look very happy. In fact, he looked distressed. Larry stood up and walked toward the picture. He removed the frame from the wall and held it close to his eyes. The men in the picture were holding beer bottles high into the air as they brushed streamers and confetti out of the way, waving their final goodbyes and singing, “He’s a jolly good fellow.” Casually dressed in Dockers and a sweater, Harold looked out into the crowd as if he were contemplating something far more worrisome than his retirement.
After that, Harold and his wife had moved to Florida. Of course he’d called to congratulate Larry when he won the election, but he’d never heard from him since. Harold then passed away four years later. Larry stood for several minutes holding the picture, wondering what had weighed so heavily on Harold’s mind? What had caused him such grief that he had to leave so suddenly?
Larry hated unresolved questions and took pride in finding answers. He set his mind to discovering what had troubled Harold that night. For days, he struggled with Nick’s revelation regarding David Ray and Harold’s mysterious retirement, trying to fit all the pieces into some sort of pattern that made sense.
• • •
Tanner and the two women waited at the school entrance to see what all the commotion was about. An ambulance pulled up to the front entrance of the school and two paramedics rushed in with their medical gear. The lights and siren acted like a magnet, pulling the old classmates away from their work. Paul opened the door and the paramedics rushed out of the building.
Tanner watched the paramedics roll Mike away on the gurney. He turned away to avoid seeing the blood smeared across Mike’s face. The scene reminded him of the incident with the sickle and David Ray’s head.
“Tanner? You okay?” asked Lana.
Tanner took a deep breath of fresh air to avoid passing out.
“I don’t know. I’ve…not been feeling very good since the thing over there with the sickle.” He closed his eyes and thought, this is what I was afraid of. But I can do this—I can beat it. I just have to hang in there.
“What thing?” asked Maria.
Lana quickly told Maria what had happened, while Tanner walked out of earshot to stretch and breathe.
Maria gasped when Lana told her about David Ray and the head. She looked at Tanner with concern and said, “Wow, Tanner. That’s rough,” as he came back to join them.
Tanner raised one hand and said, “Thanks! I appreciate the show of support.” He was still struggling. His knees were on the verge of buckling. The girls grabbed him as he swayed and helped him to sit down.
“Thanks. I’m feeling pretty dizzy.”
Lana put her hand on his forehead. “And you’re getting a fever. Maybe that’s where the vision came from. You’re probably coming down with something and your mind is just playing tricks on you.”
Maria agreed. “Yeah. You’re probably right, Lana.”
Tanner grunted as he sat in the grass.
“Do we need to have the paramedics take you to the hospital too?” asked Lana, half joking.
Lying on his back, Tanner answered, “No. Just—” He caught his breath. “Just give me a second. I’ll be okay. I think it was just too much to take in at once, that’s all.” He knew there was more to it than that. He could feel a dark presence all around him—reminding him of his feeling on the day of the shooting.
“All right, buddy, just take it easy,” insisted Maria. She gently took Lana’s arm and led her away for a private conversation and to give Tanner some space. The two women walked side by side toward the big oak tree.
• • •
“Listen, Lana, I think he’s going to be all right. He’s probably suffering an emotional overload by being here. I mean, the school, the sickle and the ambulance, it’s probably just too much for him. In fact, we’re all at risk of a relapse under these conditions. Makes you wonder if it’s worth it.”
“It was a little unnerving seeing that man carried out of there like that. But why am I okay, while Tanner’s battling his emotions?”
“I don’t know. No one knows for sure what causes one person to react to a traumatic experience in a different way from someone else who experiences the exact same thing. There are way too many variables to consider. But I do know that Tanner’s strong. He’ll bounce back. He’s a fighter. I wouldn’t shut the reunion down over one little relapse. We should expect more of them. We should all expect them.”
Lana whipped her head in Maria’s direction, in shock over her statement.
“We should?”
Maria laughed. “Lana, obviously, you’ve managed to slip through the cracks. A reaction like Tanner’s is cued by a combination of what he saw, his upbringing and God knows what else. I’m a trained professional in dealing with PTSD, and I still have vivid memories that come out of nowhere sometimes. And, I have to follow a mental checklist on how to live out my interpersonal relationships without coming across as too dull or not empathetic. It’s like the only people I really understand…are people like me.”
“I…I’m so sorry, Maria. I didn’t know. I thought you had it all together. I thought you we
re healed somehow.”
“No, I’ll never be fully healed. I’m just better equipped to deal with it.”
There was a brief pause. Lana cleared her throat.
“Well, what about Tanner? What can we do to help him?”
Maria looked in Tanner’s direction. He had wobbled to his feet.
“Let’s just get him to his hotel. He could use some rest.”
Lana smiled. “Okay.”
The two women watched Tanner in silence. Then Lana cleared her throat and looked directly at Maria.
“Have you heard from Noah?”
“I’m sorry…not a word.”
• • •
Kate stood next to Bryan, the worried look back on face again. She watched the paramedics load the maintenance man into the back of the ambulance. Bryan crossed his arms defensively.
“Come on, Kate. He just fell from his ladder. Guys do that sometimes when they’re working.”
“But what if he didn’t, Bryan?”
Embarrassed, Bryan said, “Shhh.”
“Don’t shush me!” she protested. “What if David Ray is in there like Nick said?” Bryan looked around to be sure no one was looking. He grabbed Kate’s arm and ushered her away from the ambulance.
“Listen, Kate. You’ve got to forget about Nick. He’s a drunk and he’s a loser. He’s been playing you for twenty years. Besides, he’s going to be in jail for quite a while. Is that who you want to believe? Is that who you want to trust?”
“I don’t know!” Kate looked away.
Bryan took hold of her shoulders, demanding her attention.
“Kate, you’ve got to understand, old buildings like this always invoke a sense of fear in people, especially because of the history of our school. Like any abandoned building, there have been rumors and ghost stories about this place for years, but its all just a bunch of old wives’ tales and hocus-pocus. Don’t get me wrong, the building makes noises, creaks and moans from time to time, but it’s not what you think. It’s not David! That’s just Nick spouting off because he’s pissed at the world and he’s pissed at David for taking away his brother. And he’ll never be right unless he can somehow bring him back. But he can’t, Kate! None of us can go back. We can only move forward.”
Reunion (A Psychological Suspense with Murder, Mystery and the Paranormal) Page 17
