Dead and Gone

by Tina Glasneck

  13

  Saturday, Oct. 14

  Quinn was startled by a loud pounding on his door. He glanced at the clock. It was barely past 5:30 a.m. The pounding became more insistent.

  He got up and moved cautiously to the door, wearing only his boxers. He was not sure what to expect. Maybe it was Janus or Bill with some story.

  He had no peephole at the door and briefly wondered what to do.

  “Who is it?” he called out.

  The pounding stopped.

  “It’s Kate,” a voice came back.

  Quinn opened the door and she walked in.

  “Get dressed,” she said, practically ordering him. She breezed past him and went into the kitchen. “You have any coffee?”

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Something bad,” she replied. “Throw on some clothes. We need to get moving before time runs out.”

  “Should I call Janus?” he asked.

  She thought briefly about it for a moment.

  “You might want to,” she said.

  “Do I have time to shower?” he asked.

  “No,” she said simply and opened the refrigerator. “Can I have this Mountain Dew?”

  Quinn waved at her to do what she wanted. He was so tired he forgot to be embarrassed about his lack of clothes. Instead he stumbled back into his room and pulled on jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. He brushed his teeth, but didn’t even take the time to comb his hair.

  He came back out to the kitchen.

  “Where are we going? Jesus, have you already had the whole thing?”

  Kate appeared to be holding a nearly empty bottle of soda.

  “Anxiety makes me thirsty,” she said.

  “Yeah, and all that caffeine should really calm you down.”

  Quinn picked up the phone and dialed Janus, who answered like he had been awake the whole time.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  Kate gave Quinn directions, who relayed them to Janus. Then the two of them were out the door.

  “I got a call from my source,” she said as they walked to his car.

  “Who is?” he asked.

  She didn’t answer.

  “Jesus, Kate,” Quinn said. “Are we on the same side or not? It can’t be a state secret.”

  “Johnny Redacker,” she said.

  Quinn whistled.

  “He’s pretty high up in the department,” Quinn said. “He might have even been sheriff if it hadn’t been for that incident in Stone’s Creek.”

  “I know,” she said.

  He started driving.

  “Before I get there, can you tell me what is going on?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure,” she said. “But we had a talk yesterday. He admitted the Kilgore murder wasn’t done by her husband.”

  “Shit,” Quinn said. “I’m not shocked, but still. Is it something we can use?”

  “You know, I didn’t even think about the paper,” she said. “I was more worried about me.”

  “Okay,” he said. “But that still doesn’t tell me why we are heading out before 6 in the morning to a house in Leesburg. Who lives there?”

  “A woman named Mary Louise Fanton,” she said. “Evidently she disappeared Thursday night.”

  “A victim of the Horseman?” Quinn asked.

  “The who?” Kate said and looked at him funny. “The Horseman?”

  Quinn shook his head.

  “Sorry, never mind,” he said and wiped his face with his hands. “It’s early. I meant Lord Halloween.”

  Kate continued to stare at him for a moment.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “All I know is I got a call this morning from Redacker. He told me I needed to be out at the house as soon as possible.”

  “But why is he helping you now, if he lied to you before?”

  “He promised he would,” Kate replied. “He is a man of his word.”

  “People who keep their word don’t lie in the first place,” Quinn said.

  “Well, I don’t think he is lying now. Something in my gut,” she said.

  “If the woman is missing, what are we going to find at her house?” he asked.

  But by that time they were nearing the neighborhood. Quinn pulled onto the street and then pulled the car over alongside the curb.

  “We aren’t there yet,” she said.

  “I know, but we can’t exactly drive up if the cops are all around it, can we?” he asked.

  A second later, Quinn saw Janus pull up behind him.

  The three of them cut between two houses and ducked into the woods, approaching the house slowly. Kate seemed to be chomping at the bit to go faster, but both Quinn and Janus persuaded her not to rush ahead.

  As they approached, they could see numerous cop cars out front. Janus pulled out his camera and started shooting, stopping every few feet to take a photo. Quinn counted six cars near the front.

  “Hell of a missing persons case,” he said.

  “Is that what this is?” Janus asked.

  “A lady disappeared from here Thursday night,” Kate said. “Her friend said a cop showed up and asked to use her phone. And the friend hasn’t heard from her since.”

  “But this is a lot of people to have crawling around here, isn’t it?” Janus asked.

  They quickly counted. Quinn saw at least 12 cops around the house and also saw some movement over in the woods. The police had put up ropes in front of the house marking it as a police scene.

  “They found something in there,” Kate said. “It’s the only way to explain all this.”

  “A body?” Quinn asked.

  “Maybe,” she said. “But I would think they’d be more subtle.”

  “How did you know about this?” Janus asked while Quinn was on the phone.

  “It’s a long story,” Kate said.

  “You seem to know an awful lot about this place for someone who is new to it,” Janus said between drags.

  “Haven’t we covered this already?” Kate asked.

  Janus held up his left hand.

  “Relax,” he said. “I’m no fucking rat. I just enjoy shaking people up a little.”

  “I had noticed that,” she said.

  “My mum said it’s my mission in life,” he said.

  “What is?”

  “To annoy people to death,” he replied and grinned. Janus pointed over in the woods directly behind the house.

  “There are a bunch of guys out there,” he said. “What the bloody hell is going on?”

  “They are looking for something,” Kate replied.

  “But if they are looking for a person, how come they aren’t calling out?” Quinn asked.

  “Because they know that person isn’t alive,” Kate said.

  “What would make them so sure?” Janus asked.

  “If they are looking for a person in pieces,” Kate said.

  “Oh, I like her,” Janus said. “She’s just brimming with positive thinking.”

  They moved closer to the house. Janus took shots of cops in the woods and more of them roping off the house. So far, no one had noticed them.

  “Let’s see if we can get a look inside,” Kate said.

  “We’ll get caught,” Janus said.

  Kate shrugged.

  “So?” she said. “I’m not exactly intimidated by them.”

  They approached the house slowly, but the cops’ attention still seemed focused elsewhere. They came at it from the side, hoping to get a look in the den window.

  They had nearly reached the window when cops started shouting. All at once, five officers stood around the three of them.

  “Hiya blokes,” Janus said. “Do you have any donuts? I’m really famished and this seemed like the best place to grab a bite.”

  The cops started throwing questions at them. Who were they? How did they get here? What was with the camera?

  Then a voice cut through the rest.

  “Janus, I should have known,” he said and the group parted to
let an officer come through.

  “Stu, how are you?” Quinn asked.

  Stu looked at him warily.

  “Let me see your camera, Janus,” he said, turning away from Quinn.

  “I really don’t think that is a good idea,” Quinn said.

  “Why not?” Stu asked. “I wouldn’t want to have to call you guys in for questioning. But if I were to have the camera for a minute…”

  Janus busted out laughing.

  “Oh, that’s a great threat,” he said. “I’m fucking quaking, aren’t I?”

  The cops around them seemed to be growing angrier.

  “Give me the camera, Janus,” Stu said.

  “You’ll have to pry it out of my cold dead hand,” he responded.

  “What do you say, Kate?” Quinn asked. He pulled out a notebook and pen from his jacket and started writing. “Let’s see… ‘When reporters approached the house, the officers became extremely anxious and threatened to take away a photographer’s camera.’”

  “Now hold on,” Stu said.

  “Honestly, Stu, do we look stupid?” Quinn asked.

  “Well, we might actually look stupid,” Janus said. “We just aren’t.”

  “There is no way you can force that camera out of his hands,” Quinn said. “Are you going to accidentally break it or something? I would think you would know by now how to treat the press. But if not, let me give you a tip: Stop being an asshole.”

  “That’s it,” Stu said. “You three are all coming with me.”

  “Right, throwing us in jail will improve the sheriff’s reputation in town?” Kate asked.

  “Let me put it this way,” Stu said. “You guys are at a crime scene. You are interfering with police business. You’ve been taking unauthorized photos.”

  “Unauthorized?” Janus asked. “Since when is a newspaper photographer taking photos of a crime scene unauthorized? Give me a fucking break.”

  “Look, you little English shit,” Stu said. “I’ve had it with you. All of you. You’re coming down to the station.”

  Kate pulled out her own notebook and started writing everything down.

  “First of all, I’m not fucking English,” Janus said. “I’m Welsh. There is a huge difference. For example, you are probably English by blood. It’s the only way to explain your looks. And blind stupidity.”

  Stu crossed over to him.

  “Gentlemen,” Quinn said. “This is getting a bit ridiculous, don’t you think?”

  “Another time, Janus,” Stu said. “You and I should have a man-to-man talk.”

  “Cut the macho bullshit,” Kate said. “If you want to have us down at the station, we are happy to go.”

  “We are?” Janus asked.

  “Sure,” Kate said. “But we want a meeting with Sheriff Brown.”

  “It’s just past six in the morning…” Stu said.

  “I’m sure he is in,” Kate said. “You just tell him we want to talk.”

  “Lady, whoever you are, there is no way he will talk to you,” he said. “If you think you can trespass onto a crime scene and then win yourself an exclusive interview, you’ve been drinking from the same water as these two.”

  “Just tell him we want to talk about the message found inside the house,” Kate said and pointed.

  Stu looked at the cops around him. He paused for a moment and licked his lips.

  “What message?” he asked. “We don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “Did you think I would stay away forever?” she said.

  Stu’s jaw practically came unhinged and he stood there for a moment with his mouth open. Janus grinned at Quinn.

  Stu stood still, until finally he sent the other cops away.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said finally.

  “Sure you don’t,” Kate said. “Now how about that meeting?”

  Stu pushed his tongue out to his cheek and considered.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

  Brown was waiting for them in his office.

  “This is ridiculous,” he said, before any of them sat down. “I will not have members of the press interfering in police business.”

  “And what, exactly, did we do?” Janus asked.

  “You were trampling all over a crime scene,” he said. “You were attempting to enter a residence…”

  “We attempted to look inside,” Quinn said. “There is a difference, you know.”

  “Is there?” Brown said. Stu shut the door behind them. “I want you three to know I’m lodging a complaint with your editor.”

  “Go ahead,” Quinn said.

  He picked up his notebook and started writing in it.

  “What are you writing down?” Brown demanded.

  “This conversation,” Quinn replied. “I need to record it for my article.”

  “You are not going to write an article about any of this,” Brown said.

  “So you’re the editor now?” Janus asked.

  “This is ridiculous,” Brown said.

  “Call it whatever you like,” Kate said. “The return of Lord Halloween is big news.”

  Brown appeared more flustered than ever.

  “That is patently absurd,” he said.

  “Is it?” Kate asked. “You lied to us about Mary Kilgore. Her husband was off with another woman at the time of her death. And he didn’t stick a knife through her chest with a note on it.”

  “You’re talking nonsense,” he said.

  “It ought to be pretty apparent I’m not, Sheriff,” she said. “I know a lot more than you think I do. We knew about Fanton, didn’t we? We know about the note on Kilgore’s body and I know about the note in the house today.”

  “How could you possibly know that?” Brown demanded.

  “You covered up Mary Kilgore’s murder and I bet he didn’t like that one bit, did he?” Kate continued as if she had not been interrupted. “So he’s going to make damn sure nobody misses the point now. The man likes his publicity…”

  “He’s dead,” Brown said. “Holober’s dead.”

  “Come on, Sheriff,” she said. “Do you think people will still believe that when news of Mary Louise Fanton’s death is released? Do you think you can just hide in denial, watch the bodies pile up and hope no one will notice?”

  “There is nothing to deny,” he said.

  “Do you really believe that?” she asked. She stared at him for a moment. “My God, you really do, don’t you? Then what? This guy is just a copycat?”

  “It’s possible,” Brown said and then shut his mouth. “Never mind. The point is we don’t know Ms. Fanton has been murdered.”

  “But I’m right about the note, aren’t I?” Kate asked. “It referenced the earlier one. We’ve done our research. What he wants is publicity. If you deny it to him, it makes him madder. And people will be walking around unprotected.”

  “What you are suggesting would start a panic, mass hysteria,” Brown replied.

  “Sheriff, people have the right to know,” Kate said. “If you tell the truth, panic may come, but at least people will have a fighting chance to defend themselves.”

  “By locking themselves away again?” he asked. “By instilling a curfew? I’m not going to let this happen again.”

  “If that is what it takes,” she said. “But you can’t just bury your head in the sand. It will only get worse.”

  “How in the hell could it get worse?” Brown asked.

  “Your family, Sheriff, how safe are they?”

  “How dare you?” Brown yelled. “That sounds like a threat.”

  “He’s killed cops’ families before—remember?” Kate said quietly.

  Brown paused for a moment.

  “My family is perfectly safe,” he said, but he paused for a moment. “This is absurd. Just go. Get out. If you print any of this, you’ll regret it. It would be irresponsible to cause this kind of panic.

  “And I’m going to call your editor,” Brown added as a
n after-thought.

  “Call away,” Kate said. “At the very least, we have a missing persons case. And how much longer is your story on Kilgore going to keep? How much longer before someone finds out that you faked documents?”

  “You’re crazy, you know that,” he said. “You come in here with a lot of guesses and no facts. You make false accusations so you can get a headline. I don’t play that game. This is a police investigation. I have nothing more to say.”

  “Did you think he would stay away forever, Sheriff Brown?” Kate said as she turned to leave.

  “Get out. Now.”

  And the three of them walked out.

  When they got outside the building, Quinn and Janus both stared at Kate.

  “That was amazing,” Janus said. “I thought I would be the one to piss him off, but good Christ…”

  “Are you okay?” Quinn asked and started to touch her shoulder.

  She shook her head.

  “Far from it,” she said and stepped away from him. “Because of Brown, that bastard got away. And now he is living in some dream world while the body count is increasing. It’s just two now, but there will be more. There may already be more. Each second we waste…”

  “I know,” Quinn said. “I know. But what if it isn’t the same guy? What if it is some kind of copycat?”

  “It’s not,” Kate said. “I feel it. I just have an instinct about this.”

  Quinn thought about telling her Dee’s story, but dropped it. He would sound crazy. They had a real demon to pursue. He couldn’t focus on phantoms. But Dee saw it…

  Quinn pushed the thought away.

  “I believe you,” he said.

  “Good,” she said. “Let’s get in touch with Kyle and find out what he can get from the police. By Tuesday, Brown will be having a press conference.”

  “How do you know?” Janus asked.

  “Because Lord Halloween is not subtle,” she said. “Fanton is probably dead and if they haven’t discovered her body yet, they soon will. And it won’t be in an obscure place. It will be out in the open. He will make sure no one can miss it this time.”