by Joshua Grove
“I should have known that,” Amy said, frustrated with herself.
“It’s not like you’ve done this before,” he laughed. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“And I suppose you’ve done this?” she asked.
“I’ve been down this road a few times,” he replied quietly.
“Well that’s a good thing,” she said. “At least we’re not walking into this completely unprepared. So what now, Indie?” She let out a small laugh, feeling a little more comfortable.
“We see what’s on the other side,” he said, knowing full well the multiple meanings of his statement.
* * * * * *
4
Sam and Lisa arrived at the station just as Pizza Hut was delivering the seven large pizzas.
“What the hell?” Sam bitched as he watched the teenager stumbling toward the doors with the food.
“I imagine Anna is trying to make sure everything is running smoothly and that people eat as they are able,” Lisa said soothingly.
“I suppose,” he said. He often felt grateful that he had left the bureau, but sometimes being in a small town and in a small precinct was foreign to him. In his previous life in a big Crimson Falls, these kinds of things were taken care of by people who weren’t in charge. They had more important things to worry about. The sheriff would not have even though about such things, let alone give orders to someone to get food. In his slight distaste for limited budgets and small town politics, he felt a bit more respect for Anna Blackwood.
“She must have to deal with such bullshit,” he said to his wife.
“I can only imagine,” Lisa agreed. They climbed out of the car and walked toward the doors. The teenager returned to his car and hurriedly carried four two-liter bottles of soda back toward them.
“Can I help you?” Sam offered.
“I got it, thanks,” the young kid said appreciatively. Sam had to admit that people tended to be a bit nicer and more hospitable in small towns, especially in the Midwest and the South.
“Sam!” Janet cried as she spotted him through the glass doors. She trotted around her desk to greet them as they held the door open for the pizza boy.
“Hi, Janet,” he said as he greeted her with a wide smile.
“It’s so good to see you in one piece,” she laughed. She nodded to Lisa. Sam had always liked Janet. Although at times she was a bit slow, she was one of the kindest people he had ever known.
“It’s good to be in one piece,” Sam laughed. “Where’s the boss?”
“She’s in her office,” Janet said. Then she put her hand up for a moment, a telltale sign that she had some gossip to share with Sam.
“What’s been going on here, Janet?” he said, feeding her excitement to share her side of the story. “After all, you are the heart of this place. Nothing happens here without you knowing about it,” he pushed.
“Well, I consider it part of my job to know the scoop,” Janet said as if she were a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Within a minute-and-a-half, Janet had brought him up to speed. Sam shook his head at the sheer speed of her mouth.
Some muscle mouth, he thought to himself with a chuckle.
“What’s so funny, Sam?” Janet asked, feigning offense. He laughed again.
“You’re amazing, Janet,” he coddled her. “Could you take Lisa here and get her a few slices of pizza? She’s been sitting by my side since this shit went down and I’m sure she’s hungry.”
Used to being pushed aside so he could work, Lisa walked with Janet as she continued to share gossip about the people in town. He watched his wife walk away and admired her form. After almost two decades of marriage, he still felt warm inside when he watched her. He turned toward the sheriff’s office, but was bombarded by Geraldine and Aaron.
“Sam!” Aaron shouted while slapping him hard on the shoulder. Sam winced. “Oh, shit,” Aaron said as he stepped back. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Aaron,” Sam said as he absorbed the frightened looks on his friends’ faces. “What’s up, guys?”
“We’re on our way to the Laundromat,” Geraldine said.
“Why the hell are you going there?” he asked.
“Michael has been there for almost an hour,” Aaron offered. “Sheriff sent him to dust for prints to see who called in the murder of Ole Brickton.”
“An hour? He’s been gone an hour?” Sam said. “And no one has heard from him?”
“No,” Geraldine said. “And Janet has been trying to reach him. But so far we’ve heard nothing.”
“Does the sheriff need me to go with you?” Sam asked, surprised that Crimson Falls was actually seeing a share of the madness he had seen for so long in Chicago.
“I don’t know, but we need to move quickly,” Aaron said. “So if you don’t mind,” he said as he pushed past Sam.
“Of course, of course,” Sam answered, impressed by their sense of urgency. “Stay safe and call us if you need us.”
“Will do, Sam,” Geraldine said. And in a flash they were out the door. Sam looked over at Lisa, who was standing by the table watching. She smiled a weak smile, and returned to nodding at Janet, who was still talking incessantly.
Having a moment to himself, Sam shook his head. In all the years of tracking serial killers, attempting to understand the minds of sociopaths and kidnappers, he had never encountered the strange occurrences he had experienced today. It had an almost supernatural feel to it, though he would never say that out loud. He was having difficulty acknowledging it to himself. Just then Rick and John walked toward him, leaving the sheriff’s office.
“And where are you guys headed?” he asked.
“We’re on our way to the Brickton estate to help Jake and the guys,” Rick replied flatly.
“Hold on, guys,” Sam said with an authoritative tone. He jogged into Anna’s office, hoping she had plans for him. She was on the phone, so he waited patiently. He nodded to Anna’s children who were sitting at the table talking excitedly, but quietly. He looked out the door at Rick and John, waving them to go ahead without him.
“Sam!” Trevor shouted, jumping up from his chair. “Are you okay?”
“I’m a little bruised, but otherwise fine,” Sam said.
“What do you think that was? I think it wasn’t human!” Trevor shared.
Anna hung up the phone and walked around her desk. “Sam!” she said with a smile. She hugged him. “Good to see you in one piece.”
Trevor slumped back into his chair.
“So I’ve heard,” Sam joked. “Sheriff, where do you need me?” He could tell she appreciated his willingness not only to help, but to do as she asked.
“I want you to stay with me,” she said without hesitation. “Turns out that Mr. Brickton had a heart attack.”
“Really?” Sam asked, thinking that whoever had been running through the woods must have given the old man quite a scare. Although somewhat rare, “heart terrors,” as they called it in Chicago, did happen from time to time.
“A professor is coming from the university to tell us what kind of animal the murder weapon came from,” Anna continued. This was news to Sam.
“Okay,” he said slowly, remembering the large yellowish object sticking out of the back of Alan Brickton’s neck.
“I would like you to be here when he arrives,” she said. “I need your background and experience.”
“Whatever you need, Sheriff,” he said. “When are we expecting him?”
“In the next hour or so,” she said. “I know that’s a while, but I want to bring you up to speed and have Damien show you what’s been going on in the video room.”
“Sounds good, boss,” Sam said. He was the only person who had seen the video room. He appreciated Anna’s trust and respect. She had come to Chicago to interview him after he had called her, asking about any open positions. He knew she would be curious about why he would want to move to Crimson Falls after his background in – and love for – Chicago.
“My fa
mily comes from Crimson Falls, way back,” he said to her when she visited Chicago. “It is my intention to return there with my wife and leave all this behind.”
“Consider yourself hired,” Anna promised. “Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“How about now?” he answered quickly. Having reached his saturation level, he was ready to get out of Chicago. He had seen all the dead people and murdered children he could handle. He laughed to himself as he remembered looking forward to a relaxing retirement as a member of the Crimson Falls Police Department.
“What’s so funny?” Anna asked, bringing him back to the present.
“I was just remembering how different I thought this would be from Chicago,” Sam said as he smiled.
“Well let’s just hope it stays that way,” Anna said. “But I think that may have been shot to hell a few hours ago.”
“Then let’s shoot the hell out of this bastard,” Sam said. He saw Damien sitting in the video room and walked toward him to watch a whole new version of reality television.
Janet suddenly ran into the room with a piece of paper in her hand. “This fax just came to you. It’s from Dr. Styles.” Janet handed it to Anna, then stood in front of her, waiting impatiently to see Anna’s reaction.
“I think Lisa needs you,” Sam said. Janet frowned, then turned and left the office. He looked at Anna’s expression, which was inscrutable.
“Just as I thought,” she said as she handed the fax to Sam.
“What’s that?” he asked. The fax was a copy of an autopsy report from over twenty years ago. Highlighted in the middle of the page were the words, Cause of Death: Several puncture wounds in posterior neck. Animal attack.
“That’s the report from Matthew McMillan’s autopsy,” Anna said softly as she led Sam into the video room.
“McMillan?” Sam said, thinking of Father Matthew.
“Yes, Father Matthew’s father.”
Sam remembered what Anna had told him when she first showed him the video room. Three people had been killed, and Matthew McMillan, Sr., had been the most prominent of the three.
“He died the same way as Alan Brickton,” Sam said.
“It’s happening again,” Anna whispered as she glared at the still photo of the ghost of Matthew McMillan, Senior, on the screen.
CHAPTER SIX
Comings and Goings
1
Jake and the others continued searching the Brickton house for the priests. After walking through the kitchen, they paused in the living room and stared at the large windows.
“Jesus Christ,” he groaned to George. “Where the hell are these people? Call Tim to see if they found anything.” George reached for his radio, was about to speak into it, and abruptly froze.
“Jake, look,” he said as he pointed out the window. Jake followed his finger and looked into the yard. There, illuminated by the light from the spotlight behind the house, was a large man standing about twenty yards from the tree line.
“Shit!” Jake yelled. He grabbed George’s radio out of his hand. “Tim, get to a window in the rear of the house! Someone’s in the backyard!”
“Copy that,” Tim responded immediately. They heard the heavy footsteps of Tim, Lionel, and Ralph running above them.
“We see him,” Lionel answered.
Everyone stood in silence as they watched the figure in the yard. Jake wondered who it could be, but gauging the size he figured it was a man. Suddenly someone else appeared in the yard, running toward the other person.
“Oh Jesus, he doesn’t see him!” George yelled. Jake sprinted toward the large windows and began pounding on them. The man in the yard quickly turned around, as if startled by the sound. Then he saw the other person running toward him. Rather than trying to make a break for it, he held his hands out as if to defend himself.
“What do we do?” Tim asked through the radio.
“I’m not going out there,” George whispered to Jake, who held up his hand to make him stop talking.
“Jake? Come in, Jake,” the radio screamed, making both Jake and George jump.
“Do you see that? I think whoever is out there is using a radio,” George said.
“You think so, genius?” Jake mocked, pushing him away.
“Jake, this is Rick. I have John with me. We are securing the yard.”
“Get your dumbasses in here!” Jake hollered into the radio as he simultaneously punched the window.
“Jake!” George yelled, pointing toward the woods behind Rick and John.
“RUN!” Jake yelled into his radio as he ran toward the backdoor, gun in hand.
“I hope you reloaded that shit,” George screamed behind him, trying to keep up. Jake heard the thunderous sound of the others running down the stairs. He figured they must have seen the shadows moving in the trees behind Rick and John as well.
Jake prayed as he ran. He prayed that Rick and John would be at the backdoor when he unlocked it. He prayed that he wouldn’t have to see anymore dead bodies. He already felt sick that Sheriff Kelly’s corpse was somewhere in the woods and he wasn’t able to bring the body back to give him a proper burial.
Suddenly the sound of gunshots rang through the yard. Jake continued running toward the door while George doubled back. “I’ll shoot through the goddamn window if I have to!” he yelled to Jake.
When Jake arrived at the backdoor he quickly unlocked and opened it. He half expected a monster to be standing on the other side of it. Holding his breath, he walked through the door and onto the small deck. Rick and John were almost to the foot of the stairs leading up to where Jake was standing. He held the door open with his foot, and stood facing in their direction with his gun pointed behind them.
“Something was coming out of the woods!” Rick yelled as he took the stairs two at a time. John was close on his heels.
“Quick, get inside!” Jake ordered. He followed them in and locked the door behind him, fumbling with the bolt. “Jesus,” he moaned through his heavy breathing. George and Tim jogged into the kitchen from the living room with wide smiles on their faces.
“What’s so goddamn funny?” Jake demanded.
“It was a deer,” Tim said. “A freaking deer.”
“You’re shitting me,” Jake said. He stood for a moment as they all looked at each other. He then walked into the living room. There, plain as day, was the carcass of a deer in the yard.
“That was insane,” Rick said.
“Why were you even outside?” Lionel asked. “Why would you think that it would be safe to be out there in the dark?”
“Did you not see the shit that went on in the woods?” George asked, remembering the cameras and Anna speaking to them as if she was right there.
“We were close to the house,” John offered. “Nothing was going to happen.”
“Tell that to the deer,” George laughed.
Everyone grinned, except Jake. He had a look of concern on his face.
“Why the long face?” Rick asked.
“Am I the only hunter here?” Jake asked, almost angrily.
“No, why would you ask that?” Lionel said.
“Am I the only person who thinks it’s strange that a deer would just walk into somebody’s backyard when two grown men were standing not a hundred feet from it?”
Everyone stood and looked at Jake. He shrugged, waiting for a response. “Because I think that’s a little suspicious,” he finished.
“Who knows what Acorn Alan did with the wildlife around here,” George huffed. “I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if he fed them or some weird shit.”
“No, that ain’t it,” Jake insisted. “Sheriff Kelly and I used to hunt on this land. Alan may have been batshit crazy, but he was a damn fine hunter. No way in hell any animal in its right mind would come anywhere near that guy. Or this house.”
“So why do you think it came at us?” Rick asked.
“Because whatever was in those woods scared it more than you did,” Jake suggested. Again
, everyone stood and stared at him. George was the first to look back toward the window.
“Oh, Hell no!” he howled. Again, he pointed toward the window.
No one said a word, but everyone was thinking the same thing. Where did the body of the deer go?
“I’ve about had my fill of this shit,” Jake said forcefully. “We need to find those priests and get outta of this damn place.”
“Copy that,” John and Rick said at the same time.
Jake looked at Tim, Lionel, and Ralph. “You guys find anything up there?”
“Negative,” Tim said. “Just seven large bedrooms and four gigantic bathrooms. No sign of anyone anywhere. And it looks like Alan hadn’t gone up there much either.”
“Rick, John, go upstairs and see if you find anything. Tim, take Lionel and Ralph and see if this shithole has a basement. If you find one, then call us on the radio and we’ll see what’s down there as a group. George and I will go back down this hall and see what we can find.”
The three groups split up and began searching for Matthew and Amy.
“I swear to God I’m gonna knock the shit out of these guys,” George said in frustration as they made their way toward the rooms that Jake had already searched.
“It makes no sense,” Jake said. “I don’t think this place has a basement, but if there is one then Tim will find it.”
After searching the four rooms again, Jake and George stood in the library in silence. George leaned against the large table. “This table doesn’t even shake,” he said with a laugh. “And I’m not exactly a small man.”
“Move,” Jake said. “Grab that corner and pull the table out.”
“What for?”
“Just do it,” Jake growled. Together they attempted to move the table, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Why would a table be bolted against the wall?” George asked. Jake took a small flashlight he had grabbed from the mudroom since he lost his in the woods.
“Let’s find out.”
* * * * * *
2
Jason Styles was waiting at the designated meeting spot, McDonalds, eating a double cheeseburger and fries. Suddenly someone walked up to his car and knocked on the window.
