Oblivion (26 page)

“I didn’t do it!” he grated and glared at her. “I can’t help what you think, Lindsay, but you accuse me one more time and you’re gonna piss me off!”

“What are you gonna do, Cam?” she jeered and pushed him harder. “Are you going to take me out in the woods and stab me to death too? Oh, I’m so scared!”

“I’m going to cut out your tongue first, you little bitch!” Cameron raged and was nearly frothing at the mouth now. “You just shut your mouth!”

“It must be hard being a little man without a knife in your hand, Cam,” she said and sneered at him. “I’m not real impressed with you without it.”

“I’ll kill you; you little snooty bitch!”

“Like I said; I’m not scared of you at all. I think you’re a wimp and a sicko!”

Cameron reached out and grabbed her then, his fingers digging into her arm, his eyes boring into hers. “I’m going to enjoy cutting you up, Lindsay. I’m going to take my time with you. You and Jace will be together soon; mark my words.”

Merriman returned to the floor and he let her go as if she burned him, backing away with a look of hatred in his gaze. Triumph flared in Lindsay’s eyes, knowing the wire had picked up every bit of his threats. He was close to losing it. She wished she had just a few minutes more and he probably would have bragged about killing Jace.

Cameron stared at her until he and his friends left. The feel of his cold eyes made her tense. She was eager to get off work and go find Sheriff Wilson. Without a confession she knew it was far from over. She was no expert in law enforcement, but Cam hardly confessed. The most she could get from this was a personal protection order, knowing that piece of paper would hardly protect her from Cam and his friends.   

~ ~ ~

Jace spent his time tweaking his powers and was amazed at how simple it was to move objects with his thoughts. Daphne was right. He had the concentration for this part of his ghostly powers. Throughout the day, Lance and Marnie came and went. He deduced the two were a couple after hearing them through the walls in the next room.

He hadn’t seen that coming. Secrets were not easily kept in Little Bend. The fact the two had kept their relationship unknown was remarkable. Lance seemed to accept the fact his girlfriend was having another guy’s baby pretty well. Jace felt a pang of regret as he saw Marnie was starting to show now.

Knowing it could be his baby she carried made him happy; despite the problems she would face raising it alone if things didn’t work out with Lance. Knowing a part of him may live on was a purely selfish thought, but one he clung to those hours they moved about the apartment. He listened to their conversations and frowned.

Learning Sheriff Wilson put Lindsay up to wearing a wire to entrap Cameron unnerved him to say the least. The fact she agreed to it surprised him. Lindsay was scared of everything. Facing Cameron had to be terrifying for her. Recalling the twisted pleasure he got out of killing him made him fear for Lindsay now.

She had no idea what she was dealing with. Remembering Cameron’s dead stare as he swung the blade made him shudder. He killed him merely for sport, getting a rush out of it.

While he lay dying, he saw Cameron rubbing his blood on himself, looking euphoric. The thought of him getting his hands on Lindsay made him anxious for her to get off work. A look at the clock told him it would be hours yet. Time seemed to pass slower for a ghost. He grinned as he sat at the kitchen table listening to Marnie and Lance talk about their plans once they got to Georgia.

Lance was a good guy. He had always looked up to Lindsay’s brother. Nobody ever messed with Lance. He was an icon to the lower classmen at the high school. Known to be as tough as nails; Jace was glad to have him on his side all those years back. Picked on in school because of his dad and his grungy clothes; Lance always stuck up for him. He recalled Lindsay telling him Lance and Margene had a thing going before he left. Somehow he couldn’t see Lance with the trampy barmaid.

Lindsay’s dad wouldn’t like knowing his young girlfriend and son were seeing each other behind his back. He respected Bill Morgan because he was Lindsay’s dad, but that was where it ended. Seeing what his daughter and wife went through the last year sapped away every bit of respect he had for the man.

Jace knew he was biased because of Lindsay. She was stronger than he gave her credit for. Hearing Lance speak of all she had done to help the police made him tense.

After they left, he wandered to the living room and sat on the couch, staring into space, thinking of Cameron. His friend had a rude one coming. He would protect the girl he loved. He was here for revenge and would have it before he returned to Oblivion. Only then could he rest easily.

~ ~ ~

Sheriff Wilson was cleaning out his desk when Lindsay arrived. Dan was submerged in paperwork and oblivious. He wanted to keep it that way. He more than suspected his former deputy and predecessor was doing nothing to solve the Turner murder these days.

“Cam came in the store,” she announced as she shut the door and reached under her shirt to disengage the wire. “It’s all here. He threatened to cut me up too.”

“Did he confess?” Gary asked and could tell by her angry expression he hadn’t.

“I’m getting to him,” Lindsay assured him. “He was about to brag about it when we got interrupted.”

“This is my last week, Lindsay,” he told her. “After Friday we have to meet at your place. I don’t want Dan knowing I’m on this case.”

Lindsay perked up at his words. “You don’t trust him, do you?”

Gary scratched his head and sighed. “Dan went to school with his older brother Greg. I don’t see him pushing this case; no. That’s why we keep it to ourselves. You get a confession on that wire and we go to the FBI. I can issue a warrant for the threats but we both know that would be a waste of time. You have to get close to him to get a confession. He’s not about to violate a protection order so close to his court date.”

“You think the charges are going to get dropped, don’t you?”

Gary saw Lindsay’s pretty face fill with anguish. He wished he could tell her something positive. Word was his lawyer got the ring suppressed as evidence because of the way it was retrieved by Lindsay. It was no longer evidence. Reaching into his front desk drawer he pulled it out and handed it to her.

“Here, I might as well give this to you now. They threw it out.”

She looked outraged. “What do you mean? He had it! He took it from Jace! How could they throw it out?”

Gary knew she wouldn’t accept this. He had not looked forward to this confrontation. “There is a very clear way evidence is gathered, Lindsay. We can’t prove anything by taking your word you got that ring in his room. It’s just going to help him walk faster if the prosecutor tries to push it. I just wanted reasonable cause to search his room, hoping to find something to tie him to the murder, blood evidence…something other than this.”

“So it was all for nothing?” she demanded, her blue eyes filled with fury.

“No, we got an indictment, Lindsay. He’s going to face charges. In the meantime, you need to get him to confess. That just bought us time. I know you feel like I set you up, but this is how the law works.”

“He’s too smart! He won’t admit it to me unless I push his buttons. What if he comes after me?”

“Then we need to hook you up with the means to protect yourself,” Gary said coolly as he withdrew a small .38 caliber pistol from the drawer. “You go out in the woods and practice with that. I’ll show you how to load it and use it. If he comes after you just shoot the little shit. I don’t expect you to chance his killing you too.”

Lindsay’s hand shook as she accepted the gun from him. It felt cold and alien in her hand. The thought of shooting Cameron if it became necessary shook her up. She set the gun down, not wanting to think about it.

“What if he has someone else come after me? He has a lot of friends, between here and Helena. I am going to have to look over my shoulder every minute I’m here.”

“I have a fishing trip this weekend with my son and grandkids,” he told her. “After that I’m going to be watching you every minute I can. Just don’t confront him outside of me being there. We got a month or better before the case goes to court. You just do what I say and hopefully he cracks.”

Lindsay looked nervous. “What if he doesn’t crack?”

Gary looked sad. “Lindsay, he’ll get his. Just know you did all you could.”

He could see she was not convinced. He watched her pick up the gun and went over the basics of loading it and engaging the safety and firing. She put it in her purse with a box of bullets. He admired her courage. From the start he had doubts she would make it this far. That only told him how much she loved the Turner kid.

Gary watched her put on the ring and wished he could reassure her they would get Cameron. He didn’t tell her, but he wasn’t so sure anymore. She left his office without another word.

Just then Dan walked in and looked down the hall to Lindsay’s retreating back. “What did she want?”

Gary shuffled papers around his desk. “I gave her back her ring. No point in holding onto it now.”

Dan looked relieved. “I could have told you Cam was innocent, Gary.”

“You did as I recall,” the older man said sarcastically. “That doesn’t mean he is Dan, just that you want him to be.”

“You still think he did it?” Dan asked in disbelief.

“He’s as guilty as sin, Dan. And, he’s gonna kill again; mark my words. In a perfect world he’d be in jail right now, not threatening Lindsay Morgan as he is.”

Dan leaned against the doorframe. “We got nothing on Cam, Gary. Your hunch is just that; a hunch. He’s got an alibi for the explosion and everybody says the Morgan girl is losing it after her boyfriend got killed. Why do you continue to drag this out? You should be loving life now that you’re retiring.”

“I’ll be loving life when we solve this case,” was his reply.

“We cost the kid his scholarship with the bust, Gary,” Dan fumed. “Why can’t she be satisfied she got payback for his stealing from the Turner kid?”

“Cause I don’t believe he just ripped Jason Turner off that day before he dropped him at Marnie’s trailer, Dan. Common sense tells me Jace wouldn’t have let that ring and his last three hundred dollars out of his sight.”

Dan appeared angry but said nothing. His former deputy held his tongue now, waiting for the last minute he walked out of here on Friday, Gary knew. For that he was determined to investigate this on his own.

Dan was good as a traffic cop and writing up reports, but he hadn’t the nose for an investigation like this. He accepted what he was shown, not what his gut should have told him.

Cameron Chase was a cold blooded killer. He killed his best friend for the sheer enjoyment of it that day, Gary was sure. He looked into the kid’s eyes and saw death. If it was the last thing he did; he would seek justice for Jason Turner, even if the system he loved wouldn’t.

~ ~ ~

Lindsay stopped at their storage unit on her way home. It took her an hour to locate the box with the item she sought. Seeing the Ouija board game gave her a shiver. Hopefully this would allow Jace to tell her what happened to him and give her some clue how to get to Cameron before he went to court.

Her nerves were stretched after the explosion. Lance handled their mother, telling her it was a leaky gas tank and a stray cigarette that caused her car to explode. She knew her brother hated all the lying but she didn’t need their mother finding out Cameron and his friends were coming after her. Jack was in their office three days a week and Sheriff Wilson kept him from finding out so far. She just needed more time.

Lindsay walked the six blocks back to Merriman’s with the Ouija board in her arms, ignoring the honks and slurs from the kids who drove past her, calling her names outside their car windows. She kept her head down, determined she wouldn’t cry.

This was harder than she could have ever known. The kids she went to school with all her life turned on her on a dime, more ticked off their drug supplier was shut down than that he might have killed their star quarterback.

Her eyes filled with anger. Jace deserved better than this from his peers. They should be just as outraged as she was. Jace went out of his way for anybody; kindest to the most bullied kids in school. He used his popularity to influence his friends in that way while he was alive. He was gone now. Cameron slid into the role of king of the school with remarkable ease, as if born to it.

Their crowd went with Cameron. Rosemarie Barber launched an all out campaign against Lindsay now. She heard from Marnie everyone was supposed to boo when she went across the stage to pick up her diploma at graduation commencements. She didn’t care. There was life after Little Bend. She had her whole life ahead of her if she could survive these next weeks.

She entered her apartment and was grateful Marnie and Lance weren’t home. She didn’t need them thinking her crazy for talking to her dead boyfriend. She felt exhilarated as she entered, just knowing Jace was there. The connection they shared was not severed just because he was dead. It helped console her as she faced life without him now.

She removed everything from the coffee table and put the Ouija board down, taking the plastic pointer and setting it down. She got up and retrieved a notebook and pen from her room.

~ ~ ~

Jace smiled as he hovered next to the Ouija board, remembering when Lindsay got it in the ninth grade, determined to contact the soul of her dead cat. He sobered to know she used it to communicate with him now.

She settled herself on the couch and looked around. “Are you here, Jace?”

He focused on the pointer and pushed it to the yes box. He saw her stiffen with excitement.

“Who killed you, Jace?” she asked in a hollow voice.

He painstakingly pushed the pointer to spell Cam’s name. She wrote as he went to each letter. She looked around.

“Why did he do it? He was your friend. Can you tell me why?”

Jace wished he knew the answer to that. He moved the pointer to the ‘no’ box.

She sighed depressively. “Then you know about as much as we do.”