Skeleton Key (11 page)

“
I don’t know what to say,” Luke said in disbelief.

“
Luke,” Erika continued, “you and I both know that you’ve said many times that you believe the breakins were done by a ghost. Well, now we know for sure.”

“
Yeah, I said it, but I didn’t really
believe
it. I mean, when there’s no explanation for something, why not make up an explanation? But to really believe it is a different thing.”

“
Listen,” Clay interjected. “Make a call to Dr. Zander Frauss. Maybe he can convince you that I can do what I claim.”

Clay gave Zander’s phone number to Luke, and the police chief finally agreed to make the call against his “better judgment.”

“
Excuse me,” Luke said. “I’ll make the call from another office.”

As soon as he left the room, Clay voiced a concern. “We weren’t going to tell him about your powers, Tanner. How can we keep Zander from saying something?”

“
I’ll take care of it,” Tanner said as he followed the police chief out of the office.

“
What’s he doing?” Erika asked.

“
I’m not exactly sure, but there’s something going on. I sensed it at the restaurant. I trust him, Erika, so all we can do is wait and see.”

***

Tanner followed Luke Hopper to a conference room where he stood outside an open door and listened. As soon as he heard Hopper introduce himself to Dr. Frauss, Tanner stepped into the room, and he sent a message to Zander through the phone. He told Zander to tell about his father only, and to leave Tanner’s talents out of the explanation. Then Tanner asked Chief Hopper where the restroom was and, for good measure, used mind-control to tell Hopper to believe Dr. Frauss. Tanner’s mind-control powers were at a completely different level than his father’s. Tanner was able to control groups if necessary, and he didn’t need eye contact like his father. He was going to have to wait to hear from Hopper to confirm his belief that he controlled Zander’s mind through the airwaves from the Durand end of the phone, but he was confident that he’d been successful. When Tanner returned to the office, he plopped down into a chair and started texting, as if nothing at all had happened.

No one spoke for several minutes, but everyone sat up when Hopper returned to the room. “Okay, Thomas. Just for fun, let’s say that I believe you. What do you suggest I do?”

“
Zander explained things?”

“
I don’t know what the heck a medulla oblongata is, but I guess yours is completely open and you get sensory messages that the rest of us don’t get. And you’re able to control the messages. Does that sum everything up?”

“
Pretty much.”

“
And what do you think I can do?”

“
You could start by taking us to the horse graveyard, and then we can dig up the body.”

“
Well, the first problem is that it’s private property, so Marshall Mortonson will have to give his permission. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to get a warrant, and the trouble with
that
is that we don’t have any proof there’s a body there. It’s my guess that a judge is going to be hesitant to issue a warrant based on a stranger’s story that Adrian’s ghost told him to look there. Oh, but if I tell him you have ‘mind powers,’ that ought to convince him, don’t you think?” he asked sarcastically. “Maybe you can
make
him believe, Clay. Let’s start with Morty. I’ll give him a call and see if he’s willing to help us out.”

Hopper asked Erika for the number to Marshall’s office and made the call.

“
Hi, Morty. This is Luke Hopper…I’m fine, thanks. Any new breakins to report?...Well, that’s good to hear…Listen, Morty. We’ve been given some information here at the office that suggests that maybe Adrian Payne might be buried with the horses along your railroad tracks….Yeah, I know, Morty, but what we’d really like is your permission to dig into the horse burial ground, so we can find out for sure…No, there isn’t a warrant, and no we don’t have any physical evidence. Just a tip…Well, Morty, I understand your concern, but Adrian Payne’s been missing a long time, and this is the first time we think we know something about his disappearance…Yeah, of course, Morty, we could be wrong, but if we’re right, we could finally give Erika and Logan some closure…I
know
it’s a historical landmark. I don’t know what to tell you, Morty. Can we dig or not?...Okay, if that’s what we need to do, we’ll try to get a warrant. I sure wish you’d be more reasonable…I understand. Have a good day, Morty.”

Luke Hopper got off the phone, and with more than a little disappointment in his voice, he said, “Morty says no.”

The hair on Tanner’s arms stood up. Those exact words were the second confirmation that his vision was legitimate. Clay looked Tanner in the eyes and sent him a message. “
Are you going to do something?
”

Tanner nodded back at his father, and then with as much concentration as he could gather, he sent a message to Chief Hopper. “
At 7:30 tonight, go check on the horse gravesite along the tracks.”

Clay, Tanner, and Erika left the police department with only a promise from the police chief that he would definitely call the local judge the next day and attempt to get a warrant to dig up the horse graves. As they walked to their cars, they were discussing taking a visit to the burial site. Clay suggested that they take a look before they headed to Erika’s house to meet Logan Payne and to eat dinner.

“
What I’ve heard while working at the railroad,” Erika explained, “is that the circus animals from the Wallace train wreck were buried about fifteen hundred feet west of the South Oak Street crossing, but there’s no way to confirm that anymore. There was no memorial placed at the site. The current memorial for the circus wreck is at Lovejoy Cemetery, about a half mile west of Durand Road on Prior Road. There’s like a five-foot tall granite monument explaining that the elephant, camels, and dog from the circus were killed and buried after the wreck. When the horses were killed seven years ago, they were legitimately buried approximately fifteen hundred feet west of the South Oak Street crossing. A similar monument to the one at Lovejoy was erected. If Adrian is buried with the horses, we can know right where to look.”

Without a seeming care in the world, Tanner said, “We can’t go there, Dad. We should just go back to Erika’s and make sure some people see us. I’m thinking that we’re gonna need an alibi later today.” When Clay and Erika gave him questioning looks, he said, “Trust me on this one, okay?”

***

Once they reached Erika’s house, Tanner and Clay spent some time raking leaves. For an early December day, the weather was fairly mild, but the cool temperatures were dropping as they worked. In case they needed an alibi, they intentionally waved at several neighbors and many passing cars. Tanner explained to his dad what happened in the restroom at the restaurant and then explained how he had manipulated Chief Hopper and the railroad workers. “I expect that sometime after 7:30, all hell’s gonna break loose, and Erika will get a call.”

“
You’re right about the alibi, Tanner. I think it’s best that we stay visible until that family comes with dinner. I don’t want to be accused of digging up that grave. By the way, seeing into the future is called precognition.”

Tanner smiled as a train roared from a nearby railroad track. “I could make a fortune betting on games,” he nearly yelled.

“
Great idea, Tanner,” Clay yelled back sarcastically. “That way you’ll never have to get a job and be responsible. You’ll make me so proud.”

At about 4:45, Logan arrived home from school and basketball practice. He was thin and about five feet ten inches tall. His dark hair hung over his eyes and he barely looked up when his mother introduced him to her new friends. When Tanner asked Logan about how practice was, he said, “Okay.” But he didn’t elaborate.

“
Tanner’s a freshman on U of M’s basketball team,” Erika said.

“
Cool” was all that Logan said in response. Then, because Tanner manipulated his mind, Logan said something he wouldn’t have said of his own free will. “Do ya wanna shoot some hoops?”

For the next fifteen to twenty minutes, Clay and Erika watched from the front window while Tanner and Logan shot baskets in the driveway. They seemed to actually be carrying on a conversation, and Clay remarked that Logan had a pretty nice shot. When he noticed that Erika looked a little sad, he asked what was wrong.

“
You know when I told you I was afraid of midgets?”

“
Yeah,” Clay laughed.

“
Well, I
am
kind of afraid of them, but that’s not what I’m
really
afraid of. I’m afraid that I’m failing him as a mom,” she said as she glanced Logan’s way. “He’s going to be eighteen on his next birthday, and I’m afraid I’m not doing my job. He’s so depressed and unhappy, and I can’t fix it. I take people like you out into a cave and teach them what it means to have faith, but in my
own
life, I have a hard time believing that I’m not failing
him. A
nd why can’t I get
him
to have faith in something? Why can’t
he
be happy? Why can’t I fix whatever it is that’s eating away at him? It scares me more than anything to think I might not be an adequate mother.”

“
I don’t have the answers,” Clay gently responded, “but I have a hunch that we may be able to help him if we can solve this mystery.”

“
I’ll be praying with all my heart that you’re right about that,” she said. Then she changed the subject and said, “Good. The Gomezes are here. The one thing that always seems to bring a smile to Logan’s face is their oldest girl, Anna. I’ve learned to treasure these moments. Come on.” She grabbed Clay’s hand and led him to the door.

***

When the Gomez pickup truck parked in the driveway, a side door flew open and little Anna jumped out, smiled a big dimpled smile, and yelled, “Logan!”

Logan brushed the hair from his eyes and smiled his own terrific dimpled smile. Erika elbowed Clay, and with tears in her eyes, said, “See what I’m talkin’ about? That girl brings joy to our lives.”

Tanner strolled over to the couple as Logan began lowering his basketball hoop so Anna could easily make some shots. “Hi, Anna. I’m Tanner. How old are you?”

“
Seven and a half,” she said. But she was more interested in playing with Logan than talking to Tanner, so as soon as the basket was low enough, she squealed and grabbed the basketball, not minding the cold whatsoever.

Logan spent a few minutes reviewing how to dribble with her fingertips. Then he made her dribble with her left hand too because “if you only dribble with one hand, you’re only a half a basketball player.” It sounded like something a coach probably said to him over the years.

The Thomases were introduced to Stacy Gomez, and Roberto said hello to them again. They all stepped into the house and Erika put the food in the oven to keep warm. She returned the dish from the previous week and spent a few minutes playing with the younger Gomez girls. When it finally got too dark for Logan and Anna to play anymore, they came inside. “Mom and Dad, Logan says I’m a good basketball player! And I’m gonna be a superstar!”

“
You’re already a superstar to me, Sweetheart,” said Roberto. “But if Logan says you’ll be a star, then I’m certain he’s right.”

“
A
super
star, Daddy!”

Everyone laughed and then Stacy suggested it was time to leave so everyone could eat dinner. During dinner, Erika broke an uncomfortable silence by telling Logan that the police were investigating information that might soon lead to the discovery of his father. “
Sooner than you think
,” thought Tanner. Logan shrugged his shoulders like he didn’t really care, but Clay caught a glimpse of one of his eyes and he heard the boy think, “…
hate him
.” Logan claimed he had homework, and he excused himself and went to his room.

Clay somewhat anxiously explained to Erika that he and Tanner would leave at 8:00 or so if they didn’t hear from Chief Hopper. But he also explained that Tanner was
very
sure they would hear from him. The next hour or so dragged as the friends waited, but time wasn’t dragging elsewhere.

The three railroad workers started digging as soon as it was dark. They were a bit drunk and quite confused as to why they were there, but everyone agreed it was something that they needed to do. Once they had dug close to six feet deep, they seemed to sense that they needed to be careful. The worker with the large pick went to his truck and returned with two flashlights. He kneeled at the hole and lowered the flashlights below the ground surface in an attempt to hide the beams. One of the men used his hands to clear dirt from one skeleton while the other man cleared dirt from a second skeleton. Eventually the bones became recognizable. “This one is the head of a horse, but these bones beside it are
definitely
human. Someone buried a human body in this grave!”