Creepers (15 page)

“I know he hung around with the Ungers and Yancy Clower,” Jack said, “was there anyone else?  Was there anyone of them you think could have done this?”

“Those are the only ones I know about Jack, Toby, Tom, and Yancy.  Given those choices, I can only think of Toby.  He’s just not right in the head, never has been.  Tom, well he just follows his brother around like a puppy, but I couldn’t imagine him doing anything to anyone.  And Yancy, bless his heart, well Yancy just isn’t the type.”

“That’s pretty much how I saw things too,” Jack said. 

Jesse only looked down at his plate, half ashamed he’d said anything after he’d promised that he wouldn’t.  “You can’t say anything,” he pleaded.

“I won’t Jesse,” Jack agreed.  “Not unless it can’t be tied back to Precious.”

“I won’t,” Terri promised.  Although she knew that she would never be able to look at the Ungers or Precious again without thinking about it.

Feeling better having shared his burden with his family and knowing that Jack was the friend he always thought he would be, Jesse changed the subject.  “Is that spaghetti ready yet?  I’m starving.”

“It sure smells like the bread is.” Jack offered, taking a cue from Jesse.

“I’ll check it,” Terri said as she stood.

“I’ll refill the drinks,” Jack said and stood as well.  He refilled Jesse’s tea and then emptied the bottle of wine into his and Terri’s glasses. 

As he sat the wine glasses down on the table, Terri arrived with a bowl of steaming hot spaghetti.  “Can you get the bread?” she asked Jack as she retrieved the saucepan of sauce and placed it on the table as well.

“You got it,” Jack replied.  Jesse only sat and watched the two perform a sort of duet in the kitchen.  It was as if they had been doing this together for some time, and it made the old man smile.  With everything finally on the table, they began to eat the dinner that Terri had prepared.  It was good, and they were hungry, so there was little talk while they ate.  Some of the silence was appetite, but more of it was the awkwardness over what they had just spoken about.  It seemed that none of them really wanted to discuss that any further.

The dinner was finished, and the dishes had been washed, rinsed, and were standing in the rack drying on the counter.  Jesse excused himself; he said he had some praying to do.  While that was partially true, he also wanted to give Terri and Jack some privacy.  He remembered what it was like; he wasn’t that old.  Jesse smiled at the memory it evoked, and then he thought about this afternoon at the hospital and his smile faded.  He really did need to pray.

Jack and Terri sat back down at the kitchen table with their now half empty wine glasses.  Jack offered up his glass in a toast.  “To a wonderful dinner and a wonderful cook.” He said.

“Why Jack,” Terri teased, “are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?”

Jack blushed and said “You bought the wine.  I should be asking you that question.”

Terri smiled and said “can’t get anything past your super cop instinct can I.”  She gave Jack a wink and took a sip of her wine.

Jack returned the smile and then took a drink of his wine.  He sat the glass down on the table and said, “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about today.  Some weird stuff happened, and I wanted your opinion on some things.”  Then he added, “You being my resident plant expert and all.”

Curious, Terri asked, “what about plants?”

“Well, I saw some stuff I just don’t understand and wanted to run it by you.  It might be easier if I just brought you out there to look at it.  Are you up for a little hike in the woods tomorrow?”

Intrigued, Terri said “of course, it sounds like fun.  But don’t keep me in suspense Jack.

Jack collected his thoughts for a moment then began.  “This thing with your brother and Sheila, it is part of something larger.  Today I found out that Isaiah Jones is missing.  Do you know him?

“No, I don’t.” Terri admitted.

“Oh, well he lives pretty close to your brother’s place.  I’ve also found that a large number of people have gone missing in this area, all around the Homochitto that is.”

“Really, all around this area?” Terri asked.

“Yes.” Jack continued, “Over the past year there have been close to fifty people reported missing in and around the forest.”

“Fifty…Why haven’t we heard anything about it?” Terri asked, surprised.

“Most of the reports are throughout different jurisdictions and some from other states.  No one has put it together until now, well, not that I could find.  Sheriff Donnelly is checking on that for me.”

“It's all so incredible Jack, how did you find out?”

“I sort of put it together this afternoon.  But there’s more than that.” Jack admitted.

“Isn’t that enough?”

“There have also been a lot of animal disappearances.”

“Animals, what animals have disappeared?”

“Well,” Jack explained, “several folks with property in and around the forest have all had livestock and pets go missing overnight.  From chickens, to dogs, to a bull, there doesn’t seem to be any connection except for the forest.  Even the animal populations in the Homochitto seem to be way down, or non-existent.”

Do you think someone is doing something out in the forest, hiding there or something?” Terri asked, concerned.

“I don’t know,” Jack admitted.  “But it’s the only common denominator I can find.  That’s why I want your help.  Maybe you can think of something, especially after you see what I have to show you tomorrow.”

“Of course Jack, I’ll do whatever I can.” Terri offered.  She was confused and scared and reeling all at the same time.  It was so much to take in it had her mind spinning.  Okay, she thought, part of that was the wine, but not all of it.  The implications were tremendous.  Something bad on a massive scale was happening in Lusaoka.  It was all just so fantastic.

Jack paused while Terri dealt with all he had just said.  It was a lot to take in, and he knew it.  “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes Jack, I’m okay.  It’s just all so much.”

“Let’s forget about it for tonight, there isn’t anything more we can do until morning,” Jack said.  He was eager to change the subject now and get on with what he hoped would be a very good evening.

“I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to forget it Jack, but I do think I can push it aside for a while,” Terri said with a grin.  “Let’s finish our wine in the living room, shall we?”

Yancy turned off route 33 onto the lane that wound its way past the White Apple Baptist Church and Jesse John’s house.  The fading sun bathed the world in a dusky glow and Yancy flipped on his lights.  As he came up on the house and began to slow, he noticed a police cruiser sitting in the yard.  It didn’t take him long to jump to the conclusion that it belonged to Jack Fisher.  Jealousy flashed across Yancy’s face. 

“What the fuck?” he said to himself as he continued slowly past the house.  Yancy pulled into the next driveway and turned his old Dodge Dart around.  He came back past the house, slowly, peering into the windows.  Yancy couldn’t see much of anything and decided he wanted a closer look.  He wanted to know what was going on and what that fuck-head Jack was doing there.  Yancy turned off his lights and eased into the parking lot of the church, parking on the far side of the building.

As quietly as he could, Yancy exited his vehicle and crept around to the nearest side of the house.  The church cast a large shadow from the fading sun, and the side of the house was blanketed in a dim fog of darkness.  Yancy slid into that darkness and nearly disappeared.  He melded with the vines that clung to the side of the house and became a nondescript blob.  Slowly, he moved further down alongside the house until he came to a window that looked into the living room.

Yancy peeked in through the living room window and saw Terri and Jack sitting on the couch.  He pulled his head away quickly for fear of being seen.  The vines rustled with his movement, and he bit his lip, praying they wouldn’t hear him.  Yancy held his breath, expectantly.  However, nothing happened.  There were no shouts of alarm, no heavy footfalls on the floorboards, nothing.  Yancy exhaled a sigh of relief.

Yancy got down on all fours and crawled to the other side of the window.  The leaves and vines poked and stabbed at his hands and knees.  He reached the other side of the window and got up so that he was standing on his knees.  From this vantage point, he could peer in the window and hear what was being said.  Like a peeping Tom, Yancy knelt just outside the living room window listening.

***

Terri and Jack took their half empty wine glasses into the living room and sat on the couch.  Jack sat close to Terri, and she took his hand and pulled his arm up around her shoulders.  Jack smiled sheepishly but allowed her to do it.  He took a final sip of his wine and then placed the empty glass on the coffee table.  Terri did the same and got back into her position with Jack’s arm around her shoulders.

“You know Officer Jack Fisher,” Terri said, “This could be the start of something very dangerous.”

“I’m trained to deal with danger,” Jack teased.  He leaned in just then and kissed Terri on the lips.  They were soft and pouty, and Jack kissed her again, harder this time.  Terri returned Jack’s kisses and bit his upper lip playfully.

Between kisses Terri said “I mean dangerous for me.”

Jack paused and looked into her eyes.  “I would never hurt you Terri.” He said, “And I would never ask you to do anything you didn’t want to do.”

With a devious smile, she said “that’s not what I’m talking about silly.  I meant that this could so change the direction I thought my life was going to take.”

“In a good way or bad way?” Jack asked.

“So far this is pretty good,” Terri admitted.  “I just never thought about moving back here after graduation.”  Terri paused then added, “Until now.”

“Listen Terri,” Jack said, “I’m not tied to Lusaoka.  I could be happy anywhere.  If I were with the right person, that is.”  He pushed back her hair over one ear and brushed the side of her neck gently.  “Besides,” he added, “aren’t you here the rest of the summer?”

“Why yes I am,” Terri admitted.   “Why do you ask?”

“It just gives us some time to explore this relationship,” Jack replied, “that’s all.”

“Is that all?” Terri asked as she moved in closer to Jack. 

He could feel her breasts pressing up against his chest, heat radiating from them.  He let his hand find the nape of her neck and then he pulled her face toward his and kissed her again.  Terri responded immediately, probing his mouth with her tongue.  Passion flared inside both of them, and Jack had to push himself away for fear of getting lost in it.  He turned and looked toward the stairs that led to the second floor, to the bedrooms.

“He won’t come back down tonight Jack,” Terri whispered as she turned his face back towards hers.   Then she pulled Jack toward her and kissed him again.

***

Yancy had seen enough.  He pulled back from the window, his eyes filling with tears and his hands clenched in fists of rage.  How could she, he thought.  That bitch really was a nigger lover, and Toby had been right all along.  He had never given Jack Fisher a second thought before, but suddenly Yancy hated him.  He hated Terri too.  How could she betray him like that? 

Yancy felt like running to Toby right now and telling him what he had seen.  He wanted to get Toby to help him deal with Jack.  Yancy’s thoughts were running rampant with all of the things he would like to do to that half-breed.  His fists were clenched so hard that his fingernails dug into the palms of his hands, and blood began to trickle from the wounds.  Yancy could taste the hatred welling up inside him.  It was acidic and sour.

He nearly screamed out his rage, but then the tears overflowed his lids and ran down his cheeks.  Every tear seemed to dilute his anger.  He tried to blink them away and hold onto his mad, but they were free flowing now.  It was then that Yancy realized he was just angry with himself.  He had let this happen.  It had nothing to do with either Jack or Terri, but everything to do with Yancy.  It was his failings and nothing more.

Yancy’s hands relaxed, and his fists slowly unclenched.  He swallowed down the sadness that was trying to overcome him and fell onto all fours.  He felt the gouges in his hands burn as they touched the leaves of the vines that blanketed the area.  The pain was good he decided.  It helped him to quell the urge to vomit that had come over him.  He wiped his hands on the leaves to remove the blood then reached up to dry his eyes.

Immediately he regretted that action.  Yancy had picked up some dirt or something and had just wiped it in his eyes.  Now they were burning.  He blinked several times to clear them, and that’s when he heard a rustling in the leaves behind him.  Yancy froze.  Yes, was sure he could  hear movement in the brush behind him.  Someone was sneaking up on him.

Panic filled Yancy’s mind.  They must have seen him, or heard him; he thought.  Oh, fucking great, now Terri would know just what a loser he really was.  Yancy started to turn to explain himself, and found that he was unable to move.  He tried to speak and found that his mouth wouldn’t quite work.  However, he did discover the acidic taste was back in his mouth and stronger than before.  It filled his nostrils this time and made him want to gag, but he couldn’t.

Confused and scared, Yancy screamed out in his mind.  “Help me!” 

***

Toby pulled another beer from the old cooler and handed it to his brother.  They sat in silence for a long time, drinking beer in the back of Toby’s truck.  The night was quiet and hot, and the air was thick.  Both men had sweat stains on their shirts and their exposed flesh glistened with beads of perspiration.  Tom took a sip of the beer Toby had handed him and then looked around at the old targets and shell casing on the ground.

Suddenly, Tom longed for last Friday night.  That was the last time he could remember that he was actually happy.  Although it was only a few days ago, to Tom it felt like a lifetime.  He wished that he could go back, that they could go back, to the way they were.  Tom didn’t like the new Toby very much.  He didn’t like the new Tom either.  He took another sip of his beer and noticed his brother staring at him.  It made Tom uncomfortable, so he looked away.

Toby studied his brother.  He hadn’t been the same since last night, and Toby was worried.  He wondered then if he had pushed Tom too far.  Toby honestly didn’t like seeing his brother like this and it hurt him to think he was the cause.  For all his faults, Toby did love his brother.  Toby wished that he could take it all back, for Tom’s sake.  He wished that he hadn’t made Tom go with last night.  He wished that Tom didn’t know anything about last night.

Wish as he might, Toby knew that he couldn’t take it all back.  All he could do was move forward.  He reached out and placed a hand on Tom’s knee, and Tom jerked it away.  Toby pulled back his hand and finished off the last of his beer.  He belched out an expletive and tossed the can over his shoulder onto the ground.  His belching made Tom smile; it always did.  Toby took advantage and finally spoke up.

“Hey Bro,” Toby said at last, “I don’t like you like this man.”

“I can't do it anymore Toby,” Tom said as his smile faded.  “I can’t do this, and I can’t be a part of any killing.”

“Don’t worry Tom,” Toby replied reassuringly, “we’re not going to kill anybody.”

Tom’s eyes lit up immediately.  “Really, do you mean that Toby?  What about what old man Dixon said?  What about the cops?”

“I don’t give a fuck what old man Dixon said,” Toby lied.  “And if she knew who done it, and if she told someone, then why haven’t the cops come looking for us already?  It ain’t like we’ve been hiding.”

“That’s right,” Tom agreed, “that’s right.”

“Damn straight.  No cops came because nobody knows anything.  We don’t need to hurt her Tom.  We’ll just stay as far away from her and her mother as we can.”  Besides, Toby thought, she’s in the hospital, and we can’t get near her anyway.

“Thank you, Toby.  I couldn’t stand doing what old man Dixon said; I couldn’t.”

“You won’t have to Tom; I promise,” Toby replied.  “And you don’t have to hurt anyone else either.  If that needs to be done, I’ll take care of it.  You’re my brother Tom, and I love you.  You know that, don’t you?”

Tom swallowed hard.  With his eyes full of tears, he said, “I love you too Toby.”  Then he broke down crying.  Between the alcohol and everything else, Tom couldn’t take anymore, and he let his emotions go.  He leaned over and rested his head on his brother’s shoulder and Toby hugged it to his chest.

“Don’t worry Tom,” Toby consoled him, “You won’t have to do anything like that again.  I swear it to you.”

“What about you Toby?” Tom asked between sniffles.  “I don’t want you doing anything like that again either.”

“Don’t worry Tom,” Toby lied, “I won’t do anything like that again either.  I promise.  Let’s just forget it ever happened.”

Tom stopped crying and looked up at his brother.  “You promise Toby?  Do you really?” he asked hopefully.

“I swear it Tom, you’ll never hear of me doing anything like that again,” Toby reassured him.  Now all Toby had to do was make sure nothing ever got back to his brother.  As secretive as the Silver Dollar Group had been, Toby figured that would be an easy thing to promise.  However, Toby also knew that he was going to need some involvement from Tom, or it could ruin things between Toby and old man Dixon.  He gave Tom a final hug and then pushed him away.  “You’re getting snot on my shirt,” he said playfully.

Tom wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said “sorry.”  He smiled at his brother and then took a sip of his beer.  He felt better.  Not entirely himself, but much better than he had since…Tom shuddered and took another sip of beer.  He so wanted to forget about last night, but he couldn’t.  Every time he closed his eyes he saw Precious lying naked in the back of the truck.  It made his stomach turn.  “I just wish we could go back,” Tom mumbled.

“What?” Toby asked, not quite hearing what Tom had said.

“I said I wished we could just go back to Friday night,” Tom replied.  “I miss Yancy.  I wish Ricky were here.  I wish we’d never…” his voice trailed off.

Toby regarded his brother.  “I wish Ricky was here too.” He admitted.  “But fuck Yancy, and the horse he rode in on.  He made his choice, and it wasn’t us brother.  Forget Yancy.  You and me got our own stuff to worry about.  We still need to find Ricky, find out what happened to him.  Are you up for that Tom?”

“Just trying to find him, right Toby?”

“That’s all Tom.  We still got some digging around to do.  And the longer Ricky’s missing, the more worried I am that he ain’t never coming back.”

“Me too Toby, I’m real worried.”

“Well then,” Tom said, “Let’s start looking tonight.  I have a few places I want to check out, and you could go and check out White Apple Baptist Church.”  Almost as an afterthought he said, “And maybe see if Yancy is out there nosing around Terri.”

“I could do that,” Tom said with a little too much enthusiasm.  “But why don’t we both go?” he asked suspiciously.

“I told you, I have some other places I want to go check out tonight.  Don’t worry Tom, it will be okay.  I just want to check out a couple of other places, and then I can meet you back at the house.  You can take your dirt bike and check out the church, and then go home.  Nothing bad, I promise.”  Toby gave Tom his best, disarming smile and then patted him on the shoulder.

Tom smiled back and said, “Ok Toby that sounds good.”  Tom was eager for any chance to see Yancy; he really did miss him.  Part of him was suspicious of his brother wanting to separate, but part of him was also glad he would be alone if he did come across Yancy.  Tom wasn’t mad at him the way his brother was, he still thought of Yancy as a friend.  A better friend than Ricky ever was too.