Descend, page 6
I shrug again. “He couldn’t hear me over his own shouting.”
Gary drops his arms and sighs. “I know Chief has a soft spot for you, most of the town does, but you’ve got to leave this alone. We’ll have your town hall, and then you’re not going to get into screaming matches with the chief of police in front of the bar anymore. Got it?”
I’ve never really felt the love from many townsfolk, and the only reason Chief treats me special is because of a certain four-year-old boy. Erin never told anyone who the father was and when she worked here, everyone gossiped that she wasn’t telling because she didn’t know which Leidolf member knocked her up. But the night I stumbled across Chief’s cruiser out by the dump, Erin was serving him the kind of cocktail that leads to babies. Now she lives over in MacArthur doing telemarketing, and I imagine Chief had a hand in her relocation because that boy is the spitting image of him. One he doesn’t need seen in the town where his wife and two other daddy-look-alike sons live. “I’ll do my best, Gary. But sometimes you men need a woman to yell at you.”
~
Erin was an adult when I was fourteen and first stumbled upon her and Chief, but she was barely an adult. I always wondered if they kept seeing each other and her later pregnancy confirmed they did. What her pregnancy didn’t tell me was if Chief might be taking others for a ride on a hot summer night. I never saw him with anyone else and nighttime was my favorite part of the day. I’d roam all over the town, trek through the woods and go for a midnight swim. No matter where I went, Warren always found me. And I wanted nothing more than to spend my life having those kinds of nights.
Being part of Riverside Grille gives me a nightlife without me having to roam through the darkness on my own. And I would be on my own now, because there’s no more Warren to stalk me through the woods. No more Warren hiding just under the water’s surface so he can grab me and drag me out into the river where he can kiss me under the stars. All those nights I wasted on him, thinking my future was out there in his arms when all along the place I belonged just hadn’t rode into town yet. As much as I regret every second I spent with Warren, I’m glad Gary was back when my dreamworld exploded. Without him, and without Chopper, I wouldn’t have survived the heartbreak. I did though, and I’m going to survive this serial killer. So is every other woman in this town.
People start arriving at the bar just after five even though the meeting is set for seven. Women with children left their kids with husbands, boyfriends or grandpas and started trickling in as soon as their childcare was provided for. The women who can’t make it have called to ask that they be kept in the loop. Due to the Leidolf rules, there’s no recording allowed in the Grille, so Gary said no, even though I did ask for an exception. He said Beth could take handwritten notes and share them, a task he’s giving her in hopes that the official job will persuade her to report actual facts instead of gossip. I just hope she doesn’t decide to pull out a cellphone and attempt an audio recording. The guys are good at sniffing out things like that, and they’ll smash her phone before she can blink three times in a row.
“Tess,” Gary’s voice is measured with sorrow. “Chopper’s staying out here with you but I’m taking the others into the sanctuary for a few minutes. If Beth shows up, make sure she understands her place. The Leidolf are not participants in this meeting. Our words and actions don’t need to be repeated.”
“I understand.” I place a hand along his jaw. “Thank you for letting me do this here.”
He presses his lips to my forehead. “Stay where Chopper can see you.”
~14~
Gary and the other Leidolf members fan out around the Grille. None of them are interacting with anyone. They’re statues. Watchmen. Hunters. And I know they have their reasons, and me bringing this many people into the bar at once is not only an invasion of their home but puts them at a severe disadvantage as far as sheer numbers are concerned, but the women in this room are not enemies. And they’re not prey. So the stone-cut faces of the club are grating on my already frazzled nerves.
“Can you guys tone down the assassin vibe?” I whisper from beside Gary’s shoulder. He doesn’t respond. “Great,” I mutter. “If our esteemed mayor or dignified chief don’t show up, I was hoping you’d step in?”
“You’re the one who called this meeting.”
I slump against the wall. “Yeah, but I’m not a public speaker, and you keep telling me to stay away from this whole murder situation so…”
He looks down at me. “Sounds like you need to go prepare a speech.”
I walk away from him, looking over the amassing crowd once more. It doesn’t only consist of women. Men are peppered throughout, everyone in this room equally as terrified as the next person. I severely underestimated the level of unease already existing in town and from the way they’re looking at me like I have some magical answer that will wipe away all their fears, I can only hope Chief shows up. Or that the next person through the door brings tidings of an arrest.
I glance to the entrance and spot Beth coming in with her hand tucked into Arnold’s. I make eye contact with her and she mouths “I’m sorry.”
I cross the room and open my arms, hugging her tight. “I’m sorry, too. I’ve been snappy lately, taking all my fears and anxieties out on you.”
She runs her fingers through my hair, straightening the strands like a big sister is apt to do. “I know you’re under a lot of stress. I imagine Gary is torn up, and that’s tearing you up.” I nod and she frowns. “Any word yet on when Samantha’s body is going to be released?”
I shake my head. “We’re hoping the medical examiner will be finished soon so we can lay her to rest, but no word on when that’s going to happen as of yet.”
She takes in the buzzing room. “You amassed a crowd on short notice. I should have been here to help. Anything I can do now?”
“Gary said you can take notes. He’ll have to approve them, but we’ll post them in the social media group I set up once he does. Go get a pen and pad from my office because you know the rules––no audio. Or video.”
Her eyes are patronizing but she nods. I place a hand on her shoulder. “Take good notes. Maybe what happens here tonight will result in someone coming forward with information.”
Her nose crinkles. “You don’t think they would have already?”
Arnold slips his hand from hers and rests his palm against her back. “We were talking… Do you think Samantha might have met this person somewhere and invited them to town?”
Beth looks up at him and then back at me. “He’s saying if she was out buying drugs, and you know, met some dealer and had them bring her some pills here.”
“We’ve considered that angle.” I look past them to where Sally Jane just waltzed in and is making her way right to the front of the bar. “You two go get what you need and settle in somewhere. We plan to start right at seven.”
Heading for Sally Jane’s perch, which just happens to be near where I plan to stand when I start this meeting fifteen minutes from now, I maneuver into her line of sight and give her a polite smile. “Hello, Sally Jane.”
“Hi, Tessa,” she mutters, averting her eyes and scribbling unnecessarily on her notepad.
A commotion kicks up behind us in the packed room. I turn just as Mayor Smith walks through the door, Chief beside him and two deputies behind him. There’s also a camera crew and what looks to be a real-life reporter. I glance at Sally Jane. She’s shooting daggers at the newcomer. “Friend of yours?”
“That’s a reporter from two counties over, they think they’re big-time just because they have a larger population.”
I nudge her. “If you didn’t rat us out, you’d be getting the exclusive.”
Her shoulders lift, eyes still fixed on the door. “Huh, would you look at that. It’s been a while since Warren’s been on this side of town. Rumor has it, he’s real selective about who he keeps company with these days.”
There’s a full second when I almost laugh, but then her smug eyes turn to mine and I know it’s true. Warren is in the bar. I give her back a nice hard pat. “Sally Jane, why don’t you go on and venture out of here to where it’s less safe? Maybe play in the street or hitch a ride with a serial killer.”
Feet feeling like they’re stuck in cement, I let my fury push them forward, toward a figure I haven’t set eyes on in years. Warren is skulking along the front wall, past the row of one-way windows. His head turns and the stubble along his jaw makes my heart do those little hiccups it started doing when I was thirteen and he kissed me for the first time. I’d just shoved a spider down the back of his shirt and when he caught me, he held me against him with one hand and tugged my mouth to his with the other.
Teeth grinding, I block his path. “Walk back out the way you came or I’ll have the Leidolf carry you out piece by pathetic piece.”
He doesn’t make eye contact, scanning the crowd around us as if I’m not about to explode. “This is a public meeting. I have as much of a right to be here as anyone else.”
“You’re a man, so you have a zero percent chance of being killed by this murderer but a one hundred percent chance of dying if you don’t get out of my sight right now.”
He breaks and looks, eyes slamming into mine. “I have a mom, sisters, and all kinds of women I care about spread all over this state, so I’m staying.”
Heat rises through my body, and not because he excites me anymore. “Get. Out.”
“Darn it, Tessa!” He runs a hand through his hair. “When are you going to get over this childish grudge?”
“When you’re dead,” I growl.
My words hang thick between us. His chest heaves, anger rushing through him the same as me. I know it because I know him as well as I know my own flesh.
“Warren!” Marcie’s shrill voice breaks the heat of his glare. He turns to look for her face in the crowd.
My words come out in a rumbled snarl. “Take your girlfriend and get out of this bar.”
His head snaps back around. “Jealousy isn’t pretty on you.”
I step into him, bumping him off-kilter with the unexpected contact. He takes a step back. I advance. This time he doesn’t move. I stretch myself into his face. “There’s not a bit of jealousy in me. All I feel for Marcie is pity. I only have one sister, she has two.” His throat works, an attempt to swallow the unease of my words. My lips tug up over my teeth. “That’s right, Warren. I know you screwed my sister. Beth told me everything.”
His eyes narrow. “Your sister is a compulsive liar. Not to mention a b––” My palm across his face shuts him up, and hushes the crowd. Blood draws to the corner of his mouth. He wipes it and stares at his fingers.
“Get. Out,” I order, heart beating once, twice, and then he’s gone, busting out the front door with Marcie on his heels.
~15~
Warren used to say my brain was a Ferrari while everyone else was driving Volvos. But Warren never liked anyone that much, especially Beth. So when it came to people picking out all the differences between her and me, Warren skewed heavily in my favor. Especially if doing so demoralized my sister. I always defended her to him but as it turns out, he was only picking on her because he liked her. Because he wanted her and not me. All those years of me watching her back when what I should have been doing was watching my own.
At least I don’t have to worry about public speaking tonight. I’ve done enough by way of public displays so it was a relief when Mayor took my spot behind the bar and began to relay information to the gathered men and women. The details he and Chief are giving aren’t as vague as I’d hoped, though. Chief brought notes from the autopsies of the older murders. All four females were beaten badly before they died. And they didn’t die until after they were cut open. “You mean…” Beth’s voice trails off, her eyes not the only ones in the room wet with tears. “He’s cutting them up when they’re still able to feel it?”
Chief’s voice is soft. Despite his extramarital affairs that say otherwise, I’ve known him to be a genuinely caring man. “At this stage in the investigation, we’re unclear on how alert the women may have been. All we can tell you is what I’ve already disclosed.” His eyes lift to where I’m sitting in the back of the room, shaken by his words and the altercation with Warren. Chopper is on my left and Gary on my right. “A lot of you have been calling the station and we’re happy to take reports on any leads you think you might have. But the more bogged down we are listening to you think the postman looked at you sideways, the less time we have for the investigation.”
I get his message. I created more work for him, and I don’t even have to notice his glance in Gena’s direction to know she’s called and reported her nephews. A leaf could fall off a tree and she’d accuse one of those sweet boys of stealing it. Two sets of twins, and for some reason she got it in her head that her brother’s spawn are unnatural.
Standing so my voice can be heard above the buzz of loud whispers, I address part of Chief’s concerns. “If you need volunteers to answer phones, we can arrange that. I’m even happy to let people call in here with leads.” His narrowed eyes tell me he’s getting my message. The offer I just made will spread and if the people think the Leidolf are more capable of finding the murderer than he is, they’ll call us. It’s a power play, one I know Gary would approve had I asked him, but most importantly, my offer is real. Despite being told to stay out of things, I want to help find the killer.
Mayor holds up his hands, stopping the shouts of others who are all eager to get involved. “We appreciate the outpouring of support. It’s what makes our town the wonderful place to live that we all love so much. Rest assured that we’re doing everything within our power to find the person responsible and bring them to justice. In the meantime, what’s most helpful is for everyone to remain calm.” He waves his hands again as the crowd murmurs about the impossibility of remaining anything remotely close to calm. “I know, I know. I might as well ask you to thread a camel through a needle’s eye. Just be careful, pay attention to your surroundings, and don’t talk to strangers.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, ladies, let’s us stay away from the serial killers. I’m sure they all wear badges to identify themselves, so it should be easy to avoid them.”
Chief frowns. “What he’s saying is be vigilant. Not so afraid that we call and report a rafter who happened to take a break on our banks when he floated down the river, but vigilant enough to report a man on the riverbank who doesn’t have a pole and who isn’t dressed for water activities. We need good leads, not those born of fear.”
Gary places a hand on my shoulder before I can open my mouth again and breaks his silence. “This town means a lot to us. Tessa and I were born and raised here, and it’s where I brought my brothers home.” He acknowledges the Leidolf around us. “We’re here to help. If any woman ever feels threatened and she sees one of my brothers, I give my word that she can trust them to protect her. We’ll be making patrols, so you’ll be seeing us in your neighborhoods.”
Chief’s jaw works and I realize Gary did a much better job with his power play. He just circumvented the entire purpose of the police force. He’s telling the people that if they want to be safe, they should rely on the Leidolf.
~
It’s late and the bar hasn’t wound down. People are too afraid or too happy to have something to gossip about to go home. I slip out the back and into my vehicle, sitting in the silence of the Highlander with Randy and Rick watching me. I lean the seat back and stare at the sky through the moonroof. The club has never really been at odds with the police in this town. For the most part, we all get along and Chief always makes a point of stopping in to say hello even if he isn’t doing any drinking. A few times he’s even brought his family in for a meal. Tonight felt like we severed those ties. Whatever information Gary was given access to when we went in to give our statements might very well be the last bit of information Chief decides to share with us.
Sitting up, I put one foot on the brake and hover my other foot over the gas. Randy is facing away from me but Zeno is watching. I start my engine and throw the vehicle into gear, glad I parked facing out of the space because if I had to back up, I would never make it out of this lot alone.
Zeno gets a hand on my rear passenger door but it’s locked. I hit the gas, glancing through the rearview at the end of the alley just before I peel onto the street. Randy’s on his phone. I’m sure he’s talking to Gary but there’s someplace I need to go, and I’m going there alone.
I drive to the patch of river where Samantha’s body was found and park along the roadside. Crime scene tape flaps in the breeze in front of the path that leads over the embankment. This is where I was the day I found Samantha’s necklace. The one she always wore as a teen, a gold chain with a diamond-encrusted unicorn pendant. All fake, of course. But fancy to a seventh-grader like me. I’d found that chain buried in the sand underneath a log I’d sat on to watch the older kids swimming in the river. I knew where they were because Beth had snuck out of the house to go with them. I followed her. She yelled at me, though, so I didn’t swim, just sat and watched them splashing in the water until that old log rolled and I found myself with a skinned knee and a sprained wrist. Samantha took one look at me and chained that necklace she didn’t know she’d lost around my neck.
How bizarre that this is where she’d take her last breath all these years later. If, in fact, this is where she was murdered. From the road, the beach below is hidden. And from up here on top, the hillside looks too steep and dense to reach the river. But if you know just where to go, the old path will take you to one of the nicest holes along this stretch of river. Most of the time it’s claimed by teenagers in town, generations of us having had some of our first kisses here. But whether you’re young or old, to know where this path is, you have to be a local.
Contemplating whether or not an outsider could stumble upon this trail, or the possibility of someone floating along the river happening upon the seemingly secluded beach and learning its secret path, I duck under the tape and make my way along the trail, using my phone for light. I pick my way to the beach and shine my light along the river’s edge, looking for the drop-off where I imagine Sam was floating when Duncan hooked her.
