He sits her down and begins to relate to her his suspicions concerning Deputy Tyler Malloy. Slowly at first he draws her close with his theory that the white hat that Jennifer had made reference to could very well have been his. He hesitates for a moment to let Angela Watson gather her thoughts. Finally as though in complete acceptance she raises her eyes to meet his.
“There’s more that you not telling me isn’t there Daniel?”
He sits on the floor in front of her, and softly folds her hand into his own.
“Miss Watson- Angela. I saw her get into that truck. His truck. I know deep down inside of me, where I live and breath. Somehow he is responsible for this. And Jennifer is leading us to the truth. Is there anything odd that you may recall about any of his visits in the months following her disappearance?”
She rises from the sofa, her eyes slowly welling with tears. She walks to the window and stares out into the cold air. The rain is falling again. It always seems to rain here.
“There. There was one time. He came by and seemed to be strangely out of sorts. Its was particularly hot that day as I recall. I wasn’t feeling well but he insisted that he come inside to get a drink of cold water, and to visit with me for awhile. I went into the kitchen to get us some fresh lemonade, it was. Hot that day. As I recall.”
He comes up from behind her and puts his hand on her shoulder, he can see from the frosty reflection on the window pane in front of her, her tears were releasing.
“Miss Watson.”
“Funny. I never thought it all that odd until now. But when I came from the kitchen with our cold drinks he was standing in Jenny’s bedroom looking around the room, her bedding was messed up as well. Funny. No- Strange that I never recalled that until now.”
He puts his arm around her and slowly walks her back to the sofa and sits her down beside of Sharon Milner. He sits once again directly in front of her never releasing her hand.
“Angela Watson. I want you to listen to me. I am going to get to the bottom of this. And I WILL find out what happened to your daughter. Cherry Creek.Tyler Malloy.. The truck. The book. all of it is related Miss Watson. And we will find out how, all we have to do is follow Jennifer’s lead. And she’ll take us right to him.”
Angela Watson forces a smile to her face, as they try to console her tears.
“How can you be so sure Daniel? How do you know that she can lead you to the man that is responsible for this terrible thing?”
Now it is his turn to smile.
“Because Miss Watson. She was smart enough to bring me to you wasn’t she?”
Can You See Me Now?
Although according to her memories of that hot afternoon when Tyler Malloy came to visit, she hadn’t recalled seeing him carrying anything out when he left the Watson house that day. But even still they discuss the very real possibility that he may have already gotten his hands on the incriminating diary of Jennifer Watson and may have even destroyed it. Daniel Vickers on the other hand is not so convinced.
“No.” he tells them. “While its true I don’t know much about her. But from what I do know about your daughter is she wasn’t stupid.”
“So what are you thinking?”
“Well lets put things into perspective. Lets say she told him that she knew something bad about him, and that she wrote about it in the book. Well . Lets say for the sake of argument, that it was something that could get the good Deputy into some seriously hot water. So now that makes the book valuable. She wouldn’t put it someplace where just anyone could get their hands on it. She would put it someplace safe, someplace that only she would know about. Where she could get to it if need be.”
Angela Watson and Sharon Milner both now look confused at the prospect of a treasure hunt.
“So where do we look?”
He stands and begins to stretch. Angela Watson and Sharon Milner return to the coffee pot, where Sharon passes him a fresh cup.
“Well.” He tells them. “Lets look at the girl. The biggest clue has to be Jennifer herself.”
The two women are shaking their heads.
“Well think about it. What were her interests? Where did she like to go? What were some of her favorite hangouts? What did she like to do there? It Has to be somewhere outside of the house, someplace. The last place that anyone would think of looking.”
He leaves them to their own imaginations once again returning to the bedroom of his sister. It seemed he thought, that he’d come to most of his conclusions since he first entered the house in that very room. He stands once again in front of the book shelf slowly running his fingers across the face of each individual book.
“C’mon Jen.. Talk to me sweetie.. Where did you hide the book?”
He pulls the first book from the shelf and opens it to find nothing out of the ordinary. He closes the cover and returns it to the shelf, and pulls down another and opens it to the very same conclusion.
“Damnit. They’re just books.. No common thread. Just books. So what am I missing? What is the link?”
It is then that he notices something similar about the first book and the last. He leave the last book open and once again pulls the first from the shelf and opens the cover to the table of contents. There in the right hand corner he sees a light blue stamp that reads: Property Of The Pleasantville. Public Library.”
“Miss Watson?”
Books.
All in all, they pull twenty or so books off of Jennifer’s book shelf and out of the twenty, ten have the public library stamp on the inside near the table of contents.
“So where did she get these books if they belonged to the public library?”
Angela Watson recalls that one afternoon her daughter did show up with a pile of books but never said where she had gotten them. Only that she had been out all afternoon. Sharon Milner now raises her own deduction.
“Well obviously she got them from the library, so maybe we should pay them a visit in the morning.”
They discuss many different possibilities, the most likely being that she checked them out and never had the chance to return them, the theory being quickly squashed by the discovery of the word obsolete on the inside back cover of each book.
“Ok.” Sharon begins. “So we know that she at least spent some time at the library, which means someone there may have known her pretty well. So lets see if they can tell us how she happened upon these books.”
They all agree in conclusion that it’s the best place to start so they tell her that they will return to the Watson residence in the morning and together the three of them would go to the library. As they enter the Chevy she seems almost sad to Sharon Milner, and as Daniel puts the car into gear Angela Watson appears at the drivers side window, he rolls it down to see what she wants.
“Please Daniel.. I know this will seem odd to you. But I don’t think that I want to be alone now. See. It’s just that. When the two of you were here with me. I can almost feel. I. I. I don’t know.. Close to her I think. Could you possibly get your things from that dirty old motel and stay here with me tonight ? I really could use the company, and it wouldn’t be any bother.”
She gets into the car and accompanies them to the motel where Sharon Milner happily returns the keys to the creepy old desk clerk. Once safely back inside of the Chevy, she relates the story of their arrival to the ‘No Tell Motel.’ and the two new friends share a lighthearted laugh that is until a slightly agitated Daniel Vickers shows up at the drivers door.
“Danny what’s wrong?”
“My room got ransacked, they didn’t take anything, they just went through everything. I dunno its weird, nothing got destroyed either.”
“Maybe we should call the police?”
He enters the drivers side door of the Chevy and looks at both women.
“No. that isn’t an option. We would have to explain too much about why we are here. And deputy Fife already saw us with Miss Watson. Cops are naturally nosey anyways. No reason to raise suspicions. Besides how do we know that deputy Fife isn‘t the one that broke in trying to figure out who I was?. No. no police. Not yet. Not until we know for certain the good guys from the bad guys.”
Minutes later they are approaching the Watson residence and Daniel is pulling the Chevy into the driveway. They all return to the living room to resume their discussion of the missing diary. And as Angela Watson closes and locks her front door none of the three even notices as the black pick up truck slowly rolls to a stop across the street from the Watson residence and turns off its headlights.
~Scratch. A.B.T. copyright © 2008.~
Shadow Face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although he is close enough this time to see the frost of her breath as it weaves its way through the cold damp air, he feels no immediate danger here. She stands with both arms at her side, her head slightly crooked to one side. she almost seems as if smiling at him. He smiles back.
“I now know why it was me Jen. And I think that I know who is responsible for this. But there is more that I need to know. The book Jen, why can’t you just tell me-”
Before he can get his answer, the image of his beautiful young sister begins to slowly fade into the night.
“No wait! Not yet you can’t go yet There’s so much more-”
“Daniel?”
At first it comes to him like a whisper.
“Daniel. Wake up sweetie. Your dreaming again.”
He opens his eyes to see the face of Sharon Milner staring down at him. He is lying on Angela Watson’s sofa.
“Danny. There is someone here to see you.”
Daniel Vickers rises from the sofa and moves to the front door where outside he sees the figure of a mans back, and when he turns around to face him he sees that it is not Tyler Malloy, but an older man whom he guesses to be Sheriff Leonard Davis, and when he introduces himself the suspicion becomes confirmed.
“Son. Your Name is Daniel Vickers?”
“Yes sir sheriff that’s me, what can I do for you?”
Sheriff Leonard Davis looks cautiously up and down the street before answering.
“Son.. You and I need to talk.”
Sheriff Leonard Davis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He tells him that earlier in the day, Angela Watson had confided in him as to who Daniel Vickers was and what he was doing in Pleasantville, and much to the delight of Miss Watson, Leonard Davis seemed genuinely relieved to learn that he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t given up on Jennifer’s disappearance. He and Daniel sit on Angela’s back porch and speak in careful tones.
“Angie tells me that your room at the motel was ransacked?”
“Yeah.” Daniel tells him. “But nothing was taken, they just rummaged through my belongings.”
“Son.. Can I trust you?”
“Implicitly.” Daniel answers.
Leonard Davis hangs his head slightly, and begins to rub his palms together slowly.
“I’ve been trying to give that girl justice for that past five years Mr. Vickers. And though I didn’t want to have to face it, I’ve always suspected in the back of my mind that my son-in law Tyler Malloy was involved in her disappearance.”
“Can I trust YOU sheriff Davis?”
He nods.
“I think you are absolutely right about the good deputy. And I’m not certain of it but I think that he has been following me.”
Sheriff Leonard Davis nods to the affirmative.
“He has. We tailed him to the front of this house last night. He was parked across the street for three hours.”
Daniel studies him for any signs of deceit. But detects nothing.
“Of course you realize sheriff that all I have are the clues left to me by Jennifer in my dreams. I can’t prove anything yet with any certainty.”
Leonard Davis leans forward.
“Forget what you can prove son, tell me what you feel in your gut.”
“I think that Jennifer Watson and Tyler Malloy were involved intimately. I think that something happened that made Jennifer feel as though she needed to defend herself. So she wrote intimate details about the affair in a book, and then tried to use it as leverage in some way against Tyler Malloy. And I think he killed her over it.”
Leonard Davis raises his eyes in surprise.
“Do you think that he has the book?”
“No. She hid it. I think that he’s been keeping tabs on Angela Watson in the hopes that she would lead him to it somehow. He wouldn’t have the interest that he does now if he’d already found the book, he would have destroyed it already. We were getting ready to go to the library today to see if there may be any leads there. Maybe someone would remember her many visits there.”
“Annie Clark.” Sheriff Davis tells him. “She’s been the librarian there for years, she may very well remember Jennifer visiting.”
They both rise to their feet, and shake hands before parting.
“Mr. Vickers.. You do what you have to do at the library, get a picture from Angela, she has a lot of head shots of Jennifer. Show Annie Clark. She’ll remember.”
“What are you Going to do Sheriff Davis?”
“I’m going to keep an eye on Tyler. I have an idea that may keep him away from you for awhile anyways.”
Unsettled.
It isn’t until 10:30 am that Daniel Vickers and Sharon Milner arrive at the Pleasantville public library. It is a rather unpleasant looking structure that is made of red brick, and has small square windows on either side of the large old oak door that serves as the main entrance. As they open the door it feels as cold and dreary inside as it does on the outside. They approach the front desk where a slightly faded blond haired woman sits writing in a ledger. The stereo typical looking forty- something looking librarian Daniel thinks, until her warm and bright smile seems to light up the room as she greets them.
“OOHHH.. People!” She squeals. “How may I help you?”
Daniel and Sharon both smile before introducing themselves.
“Ma’am? Are you Annie Clark?”
She nods. Daniel slides the picture of Jennifer Watson across the face of the desk. And when Annie Clark sees the photo, the lines of her near perfect smile slowly sink to the sides of her face, giving her a suddenly sad appearance.
“Miss Clark.. Do you know this young lady?”
She nods again. This time more slowly.
“That’s Jennifer Watson.”
She tells them that she remembers the lovely teenager quite well, she would come to the library several times a week to visit with Annie Clark to talk about books and just engage in all around girl talk. She told them that Jennifer had helped her organize a used obsolete book sale just before she had disappeared and in return Annie Clark gave her the books in question for her help.
“Miss Clark.. Did Jennifer just come here to visit with you and talk, or did she spend any time reading the books here?”
“She would come in mostly on Tuesdays after school and sometimes on Thursday’s when she didn’t have soccer practice. But she always came on Saturdays. And yes she loved to read. In fact she would always sit in the same section every time. I would always try to get her interested in the classics like Melville and Twain and such. but she was more interested it seems in the metaphysical books, like the ones on reincarnation, life after death.. Strange stuff like that.”
The lights were becoming brighter for Daniel Vickers. it suddenly became clear to him. Annie Clark directed them to the metaphysical section. And Daniel told her that he was looking for a particular book that wasn’t in her registry. And he would be taking it with them. She nervously agreed. Both she and Sharon Milner curiously watched as he slowly moved along the isle patiently going over each book. Finally he looked at the two women.
“When a person wants to get lost.. Where is the first place they head?”
They both shrug.
“They Find a crowd.. Of other people. So. Where would be the best place to hide a book Sharon?”
“Amongst other books.”
They tell Annie Clark what exactly it is that they are looking for and she anxiously begins to aide in the search painstakingly looking for anything out of place. Sharon Milner’s cell phone rings and she pauses to answer. It is Angela Watson.
“Something has happened to Sheriff Leonard Davis, an unknown Vehicle forced him off of the road. He is in the hospital with minor injuries.” she tells them. Annie Clark will continue to search for the book that doesn’t belong, Daniel and Sharon must temporarily abort their search efforts to see to the safety of Angela Watson.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although he is close enough this time to see the frost of her breath as it weaves its way through the cold damp air, he feels no immediate danger here. She stands with both arms at her side, her head slightly crooked to one side. she almost seems as if smiling at him. He smiles back.
“I now know why it was me Jen. And I think that I know who is responsible for this. But there is more that I need to know. The book Jen, why can’t you just tell me-”
Before he can get his answer, the image of his beautiful young sister begins to slowly fade into the night.
“No wait! Not yet you can’t go yet There’s so much more-”
“Daniel?”
At first it comes to him like a whisper.
“Daniel. Wake up sweetie. Your dreaming again.”
He opens his eyes to see the face of Sharon Milner staring down at him. He is lying on Angela Watson’s sofa.
“Danny. There is someone here to see you.”
Daniel Vickers rises from the sofa and moves to the front door where outside he sees the figure of a mans back, and when he turns around to face him he sees that it is not Tyler Malloy, but an older man whom he guesses to be Sheriff Leonard Davis, and when he introduces himself the suspicion becomes confirmed.
“Son. Your Name is Daniel Vickers?”
“Yes sir sheriff that’s me, what can I do for you?”
Sheriff Leonard Davis looks cautiously up and down the street before answering.
“Son.. You and I need to talk.”
Sheriff Leonard Davis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He tells him that earlier in the day, Angela Watson had confided in him as to who Daniel Vickers was and what he was doing in Pleasantville, and much to the delight of Miss Watson, Leonard Davis seemed genuinely relieved to learn that he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t given up on Jennifer’s disappearance. He and Daniel sit on Angela’s back porch and speak in careful tones.
“Angie tells me that your room at the motel was ransacked?”
“Yeah.” Daniel tells him. “But nothing was taken, they just rummaged through my belongings.”
“Son.. Can I trust you?”
“Implicitly.” Daniel answers.
Leonard Davis hangs his head slightly, and begins to rub his palms together slowly.
“I’ve been trying to give that girl justice for that past five years Mr. Vickers. And though I didn’t want to have to face it, I’ve always suspected in the back of my mind that my son-in law Tyler Malloy was involved in her disappearance.”
“Can I trust YOU sheriff Davis?”
He nods.
“I think you are absolutely right about the good deputy. And I’m not certain of it but I think that he has been following me.”
Sheriff Leonard Davis nods to the affirmative.
“He has. We tailed him to the front of this house last night. He was parked across the street for three hours.”
Daniel studies him for any signs of deceit. But detects nothing.
“Of course you realize sheriff that all I have are the clues left to me by Jennifer in my dreams. I can’t prove anything yet with any certainty.”
Leonard Davis leans forward.
“Forget what you can prove son, tell me what you feel in your gut.”
“I think that Jennifer Watson and Tyler Malloy were involved intimately. I think that something happened that made Jennifer feel as though she needed to defend herself. So she wrote intimate details about the affair in a book, and then tried to use it as leverage in some way against Tyler Malloy. And I think he killed her over it.”
Leonard Davis raises his eyes in surprise.
“Do you think that he has the book?”
“No. She hid it. I think that he’s been keeping tabs on Angela Watson in the hopes that she would lead him to it somehow. He wouldn’t have the interest that he does now if he’d already found the book, he would have destroyed it already. We were getting ready to go to the library today to see if there may be any leads there. Maybe someone would remember her many visits there.”
“Annie Clark.” Sheriff Davis tells him. “She’s been the librarian there for years, she may very well remember Jennifer visiting.”
They both rise to their feet, and shake hands before parting.
“Mr. Vickers.. You do what you have to do at the library, get a picture from Angela, she has a lot of head shots of Jennifer. Show Annie Clark. She’ll remember.”
“What are you Going to do Sheriff Davis?”
“I’m going to keep an eye on Tyler. I have an idea that may keep him away from you for awhile anyways.”
Unsettled.
It isn’t until 10:30 am that Daniel Vickers and Sharon Milner arrive at the Pleasantville public library. It is a rather unpleasant looking structure that is made of red brick, and has small square windows on either side of the large old oak door that serves as the main entrance. As they open the door it feels as cold and dreary inside as it does on the outside. They approach the front desk where a slightly faded blond haired woman sits writing in a ledger. The stereo typical looking forty- something looking librarian Daniel thinks, until her warm and bright smile seems to light up the room as she greets them.
“OOHHH.. People!” She squeals. “How may I help you?”
Daniel and Sharon both smile before introducing themselves.
“Ma’am? Are you Annie Clark?”
She nods. Daniel slides the picture of Jennifer Watson across the face of the desk. And when Annie Clark sees the photo, the lines of her near perfect smile slowly sink to the sides of her face, giving her a suddenly sad appearance.
“Miss Clark.. Do you know this young lady?”
She nods again. This time more slowly.
“That’s Jennifer Watson.”
She tells them that she remembers the lovely teenager quite well, she would come to the library several times a week to visit with Annie Clark to talk about books and just engage in all around girl talk. She told them that Jennifer had helped her organize a used obsolete book sale just before she had disappeared and in return Annie Clark gave her the books in question for her help.
“Miss Clark.. Did Jennifer just come here to visit with you and talk, or did she spend any time reading the books here?”
“She would come in mostly on Tuesdays after school and sometimes on Thursday’s when she didn’t have soccer practice. But she always came on Saturdays. And yes she loved to read. In fact she would always sit in the same section every time. I would always try to get her interested in the classics like Melville and Twain and such. but she was more interested it seems in the metaphysical books, like the ones on reincarnation, life after death.. Strange stuff like that.”
The lights were becoming brighter for Daniel Vickers. it suddenly became clear to him. Annie Clark directed them to the metaphysical section. And Daniel told her that he was looking for a particular book that wasn’t in her registry. And he would be taking it with them. She nervously agreed. Both she and Sharon Milner curiously watched as he slowly moved along the isle patiently going over each book. Finally he looked at the two women.
“When a person wants to get lost.. Where is the first place they head?”
They both shrug.
“They Find a crowd.. Of other people. So. Where would be the best place to hide a book Sharon?”
“Amongst other books.”
They tell Annie Clark what exactly it is that they are looking for and she anxiously begins to aide in the search painstakingly looking for anything out of place. Sharon Milner’s cell phone rings and she pauses to answer. It is Angela Watson.
“Something has happened to Sheriff Leonard Davis, an unknown Vehicle forced him off of the road. He is in the hospital with minor injuries.” she tells them. Annie Clark will continue to search for the book that doesn’t belong, Daniel and Sharon must temporarily abort their search efforts to see to the safety of Angela Watson.
Past Sense.
He pauses slightly to lean forward before knocking a second time on Sheriff Leonard Davis’s door. He pulls his collar up around his neck and looks out into the early morning skyline before lighting up another cigarette. The faded peeling white paint on the front door seems to fall off as it swings open to reveal the tired figure of Leonard Davis.
“Daniel? Come in please. Tell me you’ve found the book.”
He looks down at the decaying floor boards of the front porch swinging his head from side to side. Leonard Davis bows his head at the notion. Letting Daniel Vickers step into his home.
“Coffee?”
He nods.
He disappears into the kitchen to retrieve the coffee leaving Daniel Vickers eyes alone to scan the room . There are pictures scattered along the far wall of the living room, snapshots, glimpse’s into the life of a career lawman. There are pictures of him and Tyler Malloy standing side by side smiling for the camera. Happier times he guesses. A strange feeling tugs at the back of his thoughts and for a brief instant he considers the trust issue that he has toyed with since meeting the sheriff.
Leonard Davis appears in the living room and hands him the cup of hot coffee. He gestures for a cigarette which Daniel responds to. They both light up.
“So what exactly are you thinking son?”
He stares out the window at the gray skyline exhaling smoke almost as he answers.
“I’m thinking that there are a few things out of place with this whole mess, things that I haven’t been able to put a finger to. I know where Jennifer is. The problem there is if we find a body your boy may run Sheriff Davis. And if we can get a hold of the book, then we may be able to piece together why she ended up the way she did.”
“Well son. I’m flying blind here, I have to follow your lead on this. Where exactly do you think her body is?”
“I think that he took her out to Cherry Creek and murdered and then buried her there.”
He eyes the sheriff cautiously.
“By the way, Did you happen to get a look at who ran you off of the road ?”
He shakes his head no.
“It all happened too fast and it was way too dark to see, I could barely maintain control over the vehicle, son of a bitch ran me right into a ditch.”
He leans forward slowly smashing the cigarette butt into the ash tray his eyes never leaving the sheriff.
“Look. I want this girl.. I want her mother to have some peace. You lay low sheriff, I’m going to Cherry Creek to find her body if I can. I’ll call you as soon as I have anything to tell you. Then you move. Deal?”
“No son I can’t let you do that. If he gets wind of what your doing or where you’re going or why, he may follow you. You alone with him?? He’s armed Your not. I’m coming with you.”
Cherry Creek.
They slowly pull away from the curb with Daniel Vickers watching the rear view mirror for any signs of Tyler Malloy. He pulls out onto main street and heads west towards Cherry Creek stopping at a gas station just at the edge of Pleasantville.
“I gotta go to the bathroom can you fill it up for me?”
Leonard Davis nods getting out of the car. Daniel stops briefly when out of sight to call Sharon Milner on her cell. He quickly tells her the plan and that he’d left an envelope with instructions for her in her purse for her to follow, and she should open it and read it as soon as possible. He returns to the vehicle without ever using the rest room. He pays the clerk in cash for the gas and returns to the drivers seat. With a tug of the gear shift, the Chevy slowly moves out onto the road and he turns towards Cherry Creek leaving Pleasantville behind them. There is a strange silence for a time leaving each man to his thoughts. Daniel thinks about the past twenty four hours and all of the surreal scenes that had played out in his head. He thought about Sheriff Leonard Davis, he thought about Jennifer Watson, and of course his attention never strayed far from the thought of Tyler Malloy. But it was his traveling companions voice that finally broke the silence.
“Tyler was a good man once, I respected him Mr. Vickers. At least enough for him to marry my daughter. Hell, I never expected it to turn out the way it did, He changed somehow, became a different person. I always felt it in my gut that he’d had something to do with that girls disappearance. I just never found any proof to it.”
He listens intently all while watching the road signs. He turns onto Crows Crossing Road and ten miles out they cross over the Jasper county line into Freemont County. Daniel slows the speed of the Chevy as they turn onto the dirt road that will take them down to the very edge of Cherry Creek. He stops fifty yards in.
“Its foot trails from here mostly, we’ll have to walk in to where he buried her.”
He retrieves a shovel from the trunk and leads the way to where he thinks that the body of Jennifer Watson may be buried. Daniel Vickers isn’t stupid and he isn’t surprised in the least when the figure of Tyler Malloy appears at the edge of the tree line of Cherry Creek. He is even less surprised when he turns to find himself staring down the barrel of Sheriff Leonard Davis’s Gun.
“Son. I really got to hand it to you. I don’t know how you figured this whole thing out but you’re going to wish you hadn’t. now real easy like take your hand out of your pocket and put that shovel down nice and easy like next to that tree right there. This is as far as your going.”
Daniels stares down Sheriff Leonard Davis.
“So let me guess. Tyler Makes a mess so you clean it up by killing his sixteen year old lover. Is that how it works?”
Tyler steps forward.
“What’s he talking about Len?”
“Shut up Ty.”
He cocks the pistol .
“I cleaned up your last mess, and now I’ll clean up this one.”
~Scratch A.B.T. copyright © 2008.~
He pauses slightly to lean forward before knocking a second time on Sheriff Leonard Davis’s door. He pulls his collar up around his neck and looks out into the early morning skyline before lighting up another cigarette. The faded peeling white paint on the front door seems to fall off as it swings open to reveal the tired figure of Leonard Davis.
“Daniel? Come in please. Tell me you’ve found the book.”
He looks down at the decaying floor boards of the front porch swinging his head from side to side. Leonard Davis bows his head at the notion. Letting Daniel Vickers step into his home.
“Coffee?”
He nods.
He disappears into the kitchen to retrieve the coffee leaving Daniel Vickers eyes alone to scan the room . There are pictures scattered along the far wall of the living room, snapshots, glimpse’s into the life of a career lawman. There are pictures of him and Tyler Malloy standing side by side smiling for the camera. Happier times he guesses. A strange feeling tugs at the back of his thoughts and for a brief instant he considers the trust issue that he has toyed with since meeting the sheriff.
Leonard Davis appears in the living room and hands him the cup of hot coffee. He gestures for a cigarette which Daniel responds to. They both light up.
“So what exactly are you thinking son?”
He stares out the window at the gray skyline exhaling smoke almost as he answers.
“I’m thinking that there are a few things out of place with this whole mess, things that I haven’t been able to put a finger to. I know where Jennifer is. The problem there is if we find a body your boy may run Sheriff Davis. And if we can get a hold of the book, then we may be able to piece together why she ended up the way she did.”
“Well son. I’m flying blind here, I have to follow your lead on this. Where exactly do you think her body is?”
“I think that he took her out to Cherry Creek and murdered and then buried her there.”
He eyes the sheriff cautiously.
“By the way, Did you happen to get a look at who ran you off of the road ?”
He shakes his head no.
“It all happened too fast and it was way too dark to see, I could barely maintain control over the vehicle, son of a bitch ran me right into a ditch.”
He leans forward slowly smashing the cigarette butt into the ash tray his eyes never leaving the sheriff.
“Look. I want this girl.. I want her mother to have some peace. You lay low sheriff, I’m going to Cherry Creek to find her body if I can. I’ll call you as soon as I have anything to tell you. Then you move. Deal?”
“No son I can’t let you do that. If he gets wind of what your doing or where you’re going or why, he may follow you. You alone with him?? He’s armed Your not. I’m coming with you.”
Cherry Creek.
They slowly pull away from the curb with Daniel Vickers watching the rear view mirror for any signs of Tyler Malloy. He pulls out onto main street and heads west towards Cherry Creek stopping at a gas station just at the edge of Pleasantville.
“I gotta go to the bathroom can you fill it up for me?”
Leonard Davis nods getting out of the car. Daniel stops briefly when out of sight to call Sharon Milner on her cell. He quickly tells her the plan and that he’d left an envelope with instructions for her in her purse for her to follow, and she should open it and read it as soon as possible. He returns to the vehicle without ever using the rest room. He pays the clerk in cash for the gas and returns to the drivers seat. With a tug of the gear shift, the Chevy slowly moves out onto the road and he turns towards Cherry Creek leaving Pleasantville behind them. There is a strange silence for a time leaving each man to his thoughts. Daniel thinks about the past twenty four hours and all of the surreal scenes that had played out in his head. He thought about Sheriff Leonard Davis, he thought about Jennifer Watson, and of course his attention never strayed far from the thought of Tyler Malloy. But it was his traveling companions voice that finally broke the silence.
“Tyler was a good man once, I respected him Mr. Vickers. At least enough for him to marry my daughter. Hell, I never expected it to turn out the way it did, He changed somehow, became a different person. I always felt it in my gut that he’d had something to do with that girls disappearance. I just never found any proof to it.”
He listens intently all while watching the road signs. He turns onto Crows Crossing Road and ten miles out they cross over the Jasper county line into Freemont County. Daniel slows the speed of the Chevy as they turn onto the dirt road that will take them down to the very edge of Cherry Creek. He stops fifty yards in.
“Its foot trails from here mostly, we’ll have to walk in to where he buried her.”
He retrieves a shovel from the trunk and leads the way to where he thinks that the body of Jennifer Watson may be buried. Daniel Vickers isn’t stupid and he isn’t surprised in the least when the figure of Tyler Malloy appears at the edge of the tree line of Cherry Creek. He is even less surprised when he turns to find himself staring down the barrel of Sheriff Leonard Davis’s Gun.
“Son. I really got to hand it to you. I don’t know how you figured this whole thing out but you’re going to wish you hadn’t. now real easy like take your hand out of your pocket and put that shovel down nice and easy like next to that tree right there. This is as far as your going.”
Daniels stares down Sheriff Leonard Davis.
“So let me guess. Tyler Makes a mess so you clean it up by killing his sixteen year old lover. Is that how it works?”
Tyler steps forward.
“What’s he talking about Len?”
“Shut up Ty.”
He cocks the pistol .
“I cleaned up your last mess, and now I’ll clean up this one.”
~Scratch A.B.T. copyright © 2008.~
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