Descend, page 15
“We’re going to, Tessa,” Warren assures. “The club is working their angle and I’m working mine. Chopper and Gary are filtering information for both and seeing what fits. We’re going to get this guy, it’s just a matter of time. And that time would go faster if we didn’t have to chase you all over the countryside. Stay where you’re told to stay.”
I leave the table and grab a pen from a drawer, coming back and sliding the list from in front of Chopper. I print Warren’s name at the very top and then slide the list back to Chopper. “He confesses to being the last person to see the bat, he’s inserting himself into the investigation, going so far as to break into the evidence room, and he came up with the theory that these murders have something to do with me, giving all sorts of fanciful reasons for that theory.” I press my palms on the table and look at Warren. “If there’s one person in my life who would know all the tiny connections I have to these women, it’s you.”
He tilts his chair up on two legs. “This is why you shouldn’t drink. Your mouth takes big enough dumps when it’s sober, you’re a hole in the ground when drunk.”
I slam my foot into a lifted chair leg, sending him bouncing off the hardwood. I fake shock, placing a hand over my heart. “Did I do that? Sorry, I must be drunk.”
He picks himself up off the floor, rubbing his elbow and sliding the bottle of Jack across the table. “Here. My wench of a mother liked this stuff, too. I always knew you two didn’t get along because you were just alike.”
Chopper slams a hand on the table to shut us up and answers his ringing phone. “Yeah.” His eyes snap to mine and he clicks the phone off. “Chief is downstairs. Wants to talk to you.”
Warren makes an oinking sound. “The piggies sure do love you, or is it the other way around?”
Chopper looks between us, questioning. I walk toward the door. “Tell Gary I’m back in with Chief and that I’m coming to the jail again if he won’t get on the phone with me. I need to talk to him. Today.”
~37~
Chief is waiting for me just inside the door to the Grille. He’s watching the crowd, nodding to any townsfolk who pass by either on their way to eat or to leave after having had their fill. He swallows when he sees me and my gut pinches—whatever he’s here for, it isn’t going to be good.
I’d invite Chief into my office for this private conversation but with the club on high alert, it’s best we go outside. “Follow me.” I walk by him, out the door and past Brian, taking Chief around the side of the building opposite where the alleyway to the parking lot is. The rhododendrons are thick here, and the only windows are on the second story where the apartments are. I stop beside the outside unit for one of the heat pumps. “Sorry for the cloak-and-dagger but the guys are fidgety.”
He hooks his thumbs behind his belt. “I felt that when I walked in. They treating you alright?”
“About as good as I’m treating them.”
He nods. “And Beth? How’s she after the other night? Deputy Cornwell said she was in a bad way.”
I lean on the exposed cinderblock the building was made from. “She and Matt both are bound to have nightmares for a long while. They didn’t have to see what you and yours saw, though. How are all of you holding up?”
He looks at the ground, head shaking as his eyes come back to mine. “In all my years, I never thought I’d have to face anything like this. That’s why what I’m getting ready to tell you is so hard, but I need you to back me.”
The bottom drops out of my stomach. I remain silent, watching the sweat bead on his brow and roll down the side of his face. His collar is already soaked, and it isn’t from the heat of the day, humid as it is. He clears his throat and starts slow. “This last murder, it doesn’t clear Gary of the others so I can’t let him out. The evidence still points to him, especially on Cheryl, and half the town has already tried and convicted him. They’d riot if I release him.”
I jerk a thumb to the wall I’m leaning on. “What do you think they’re going to do if you don’t?”
His face reddens. “I’m hoping you’ll talk sense into them. This town has enough problems without them running around here acting like every man walking his dog down the street is a murderer.”
“How do you know they’re not?”
His teeth clench. “You know I don’t believe Gary is capable of this any more than you do, but the evidence is saying something else and I have to follow it because someone is out there dropping dead women all over my town.”
I push off the wall. “I’m sorry that’s such a problem for you, but I’m sorrier for the women being killed left and right while you do nothing but keep an innocent man locked up because it looks good for your public relations.”
He paces away from me, catching sight of Brian leaning on the corner of the building before pacing back again. “My hands are tied when it comes to your cousin. The DA is all over him and if they don’t nail him for murder, it’ll be something else.”
“Unless he rolls on someone bigger.”
He shrugs. “That’s how they like to play the game, but it’s Gary’s choice to go along with it or not. And it’s your choice on how this town handles the situation we’re in.”
My eyes widen. “So you lock up an innocent man to save face and it blows back in your face when the murders don’t stop, and now I’m the one who is supposed to keep peace in your town?”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “People around here respect you. You’ve always been a straight shooter, and even with the deck stacked against you, you land on your feet. That kind of grit is hard to come by, but we all know it when we see it.”
I shake my head. “Fluffing me up like that means you’re getting ready to ask for something big, and unless part of that deal includes Gary walking free, it’s a heck no, Chief.”
A vein bulges at his temple. “I was hoping you’d see the sense in what the mayor is announcing at a press conference in an hour.”
“You got me curious. Spill.”
His jaw works, as if pumping itself up to utter whatever words he came here to say. “We’re imposing a curfew. Eight p.m. to six a.m. no women are allowed out.”
The curse above me registers before Chief’s words do. I look up. The window in the spare apartment behind Gary’s is open. Warren. The little eavesdropping rat. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Chief grabs my arm. “I don’t have a minute. Just tell me I can count on your support. I’d like to take you with me, have you stand with Mayor and me on the courthouse steps when the announcement is made.”
His syllables slowly filter through the sieve of my mind, past the anger and grief, slipping below the sorrow and heartache to rest upon untamed rage. I rip my flesh from his touch. “Are you kidding me?”
“Do you see me laughing?”
“Women,” I snap. “You’re putting a curfew on women. The victims! Put a curfew on men! They’re the ones who can’t be trusted. They’re the ones murdering people!”
It’s no secret that I have a tendency to raise my voice and I know Matt’s keeping a close eye on the Grille, watching for me to step out of the building, but I’m still marginally surprised that he’s popping around the corner, shouldering past Chief to fall into place at my side. “What’s going on, Chief Dunbar? You can’t harass Tessa, and this is hardly an appropriate place to question someone.”
Chief jabs a finger at him. “I’m not harassing anyone and a punk like you will never have enough starched white shirts to run this town, so you drop the attitude when you speak to me.”
I shove Matt behind me, wondering why Brian let him pass. “Maybe it’s a punk like Matt who should be running this town because all you and the mayor have managed to do is let a killer run free through the streets. No, Chief, I will not stand on the steps with you. I’ll be at the bottom of them, with every woman in this town, calling for your head.”
~38~
Brian’s behavior toward Matt is tickling a suspicion but I don’t have time to contemplate the actions of the wolves right now. And even if they are genuinely giving Matt a pass on my behalf, I can’t let Matt back into the bar yet so I send him to his office and go to the sanctuary with Brian to fill the club in on what Chief is up to. As my words spill, a tension builds that makes the hair on my arms stand up and the back of my neck prick.
“I’m not going to let this stand.” I finish. “We’re not turning back time and oppressing women simply because men are idiots.”
Chopper nods. “Go do what you’ve got to do.”
I turn on my heel and leave the sanctuary. None of the guys follow me so I text Matt and ask him if he can drive me to city hall. He responds that he’ll be waiting out front and I make my way into the Grille, eyes landing on Warren. He’s hunched over a table in a dark corner with his phone pressed to his ear. I step behind the bar, pour a beer, stride over to him and dump the foaming mug straight over his head.
While he bellyaches, I walk out the front door and get into Matt’s waiting car. As we pull away, Warren races outside, beer dripping from his nose. And now Matt’s upset with me. Somehow he thinks any attention I give Warren diminishes Matt’s place in my life. I maintain that my interactions with Warren have nothing to do with Matt. “I want Warren out of my life, and I’m going to mistreat him until he is. Simple as that.”
“Nothing is ever that simple, Tessa.”
I shrug. “Just you watch and see.”
An odd feeling sweeps through me as Matt drives us to pick up Beth. No Leidolf are following us. I look at the phone Chopper gave me. It’s probably being tracked but it still doesn’t make sense that I’m suddenly allowed to just walk away from the club. “You expecting a call?” Matt asks. “Maybe a simple text from an ex you claim to not have feelings for?”
I open a social media app. “Nope, just contemplating how best to blow up Mayor’s announcement.”
Beth bounds our way and gets in the backseat, announcing she’s already called Marla and some of her other friends. “Word about the curfew is spreading as we speak.”
Matt groans. “You two are the perfect pair.”
“We’re sisters.” I wink at Beth and give Matt a smile. “Next stop is city hall.”
Fights with Matt are benign. He doesn’t say another word about my attention giving while Beth and I burn up the phone lines, asking everyone, not only women, to march on city hall. By the time we enter Main Street it already looks like parade day. People line both sides of the street waving anything they have in their hands. Some even have signs that read Thou Shall Not, a true mark of being in the Bible Belt. We’ll fill in the rest of the sentence with any old thing we like: kill, steal, imprison women…as long as it’s doused by the Old Testament tongue it’s bound to be blessed and presumed to be right.
Finding a metered parking spot in front of one of the two law offices in this town, Matt pulls to a stop and begins searching for change. “Leave it.” I laugh. “They don’t have the manpower to bother with tickets today. They’re going to be too busy keeping us off their precious steps.”
The assembled crowd isn’t proof that Chief has it right about me. I don’t hold any kind of power of persuasion over this town. I’d argue I have the opposite. But the people around me are here today because despite our backward reputation, common sense is common any way you spin it. To force women from the routine of their lives, telling them they can’t leave their homes after dark or drop their children off at a sitter’s early enough to be on time for work is akin to telling a dog it can’t bark because someone might kick it. If a dog gets kicked, it’s the owner of the foot who is at fault.
I march to the front of the crowd gathered at the bottom of the courthouse steps, where a red velvet rope from the theater down the street is being used to block off the concrete stairs. Chief and I lock eyes. I delivered on my promise and he’s livid. His hand moves to the shoulder of the officer next to him, mouth pressing close to the man’s ear. Brady’s eyes bounce over the crowd, landing on me. I wave at him. He waves back, earning himself an unfriendly backslap from Chief. Brady is a few years older than Beth. She used to have a huge crush on him, then he asked out her former best friend and well, that’s how they became former friends.
Beth tugs my sleeve. “Did Brady just wave at me? Oh no, please tell me he isn’t flirting at a time like this! Who does that? And his wife is prego, the size of two houses glued together with bowling balls!”
“I think he was telling me he’s meant to keep an eye on me, but it isn’t me he has to worry about.” Satisfaction wells up inside me as the thunderous roar of motorcycles vibrates the ground we stand on. I watch Chief turn his attention to the noise, bike after bike parading past us, encircling the buildings of city hall. The club isn’t abandoning me. They’ve been waiting for me to get here.
Murmurings stir the crowd. Some people think the club is here to keep the peace, others believe there will be a shoot-out, police against bikers and innocent casualties caught in the crossfire. I stand my ground as the people begin to inch away, clearing space for a brawl if one does break out.
Mayor takes his place behind the podium. A hush settles over the square as his words begin to waft from the scratchy speakers sitting off-center on either side of him. “Our town is facing unprecedented times. Our lives, namely the lives of the women and young ladies we hold so dear, are being threatened by a predator we’ve never encountered before. While our own police force, led by Chief Dunbar, works around the clock, utilizing resources from the state police, FBI, and multiple law enforcement agencies in neighboring towns and cities, there can be no mistake made about the necessity of having each and every citizen of Hinton involved in bringing the murderer, or murderers, to justice.”
His emphasis on murderers is directed at me, his way of letting me know that they have no intention of letting Gary off the hook. Mayor’s jab backfires, though. The thought of multiple killers has crossed everyone’s mind but hearing it from the mayor’s mouth makes it real. He puts his hands in the air to deflect the shouted questions, the accusations, the necessary panic that he’s trying to play off as uncalled for. “As all of you well know, we have someone in custody––” More shouts, this time accompanied by the roar of bikes. The club is making its statement, and Mayor is backpedaling.
Chief trains his eyes on me and I return the favor, the two of us stuck in a staring match as Mayor continues his speech. “As I was saying, we are working tirelessly to bring the murderer to justice.” His voice echoes across the pavement and concrete, over the decorative shrubs wilting in the heat of a hot July sun. The crowd settles down and Chief’s lip ticks up. I narrow my eyes. The club won that battle, publicly taking Gary off the suspect list.
“Today,” Mayor continues, “I stand before you with a heavy heart for those we’ve lost. I stand before you mourning with their families, folks who, like me, will never understand why their loved one was taken from them, and in such a brutal way. I stand before you as one man, and I ask the good people who made this one man your mayor to please help us. We can’t lose another girl. The Bible tells us to love and protect our women, for her price is far above rubies. As the one man that I am, with a mother, a wife, daughters, daughters-in-law and granddaughters, I can affirm that the Bible is correct in that there is no greater treasure in my life than the very existence of the women who surround me day in and day out.”
He reaches a hand toward his wife, who dutifully steps forward, slipping her palm into his while simultaneously lifting a tissue to her eye with the other. “I’ve had to make a tough call today. One that many of you may not like. But as my God-given directive to keep the women around me safe, and because of the duties I embrace as they were placed upon me by the hardworking citizens of this town, I will not cower from my responsibilities or take a single day off from doing what the good Lord placed upon me as a man to do. Effective immediately, the town of Hinton is under curfew for all women, of any age, between the hours of eight p.m. and six a.m.” He waits for the crowd's response, a mix of shouting and cheers.
Cheers. Applause. Celebration. It all grows, building slowly around me until the lambs in the group fall in line and cheer with their peers. Chief hooks his thumbs through his belt, victorious in his coaching of Mayor. Chief knows how to pull this town onto his side and he does it with the Bible. “Thou shall not punish women for the sins of men!” I shout, ducking under the rope and climbing the stairs. “Thou shall not victimize the victims!”
~39~
Matt
Tessa’s fast. Warren sidles up behind me halfway through the mayor’s semi-pastoral speech, telling me I better get her. I tell him to leave her alone, that she has a right to be angry. He starts cursing and by the time I realize it isn’t aimed at me, Tessa’s halfway to the mayor, surrounded by police but still shouting.
The rope in front of me disappears beneath a sea of feet as motorcycles roar to life, four of them peeling up the stairs to where police have formed a wall to protect the mayor. The air fills with a mixture of shrieks and shouts, some for the club and many against. Rocks begin to fly and police draw their weapons. In the middle of everything is my Tessa, hair flying in all directions as she shouts, “Thou shall not! Thou shall not!” working the parts of the crowd not already shouting into a frenzy.
Shoving Beth’s hand off my arm, I head up the stairs. I need to get to Tessa before she gets shot. If one of these scared cops pulls a trigger, the club will open fire. I have no doubt they’re armed.
Beth catches up to me, dragging me into her clutches once more. “Don’t. The club will get her out.”
I glare at her. “Or they’ll get her killed.”
Fury flashes across her face. “Chief loves her almost as much as that stupid biker gang does. No one is going to kill her. She’s the only one safe out of all the women who are out here today!”
I push my keys into her hands. “Go. I’ll get Tessa and meet you at the car.”
