Warlock, page 13
And you know what? I hear nothing except of regular truck noise. Don’t even slightest crack or something. Just, there is a kitten – there is no kitten, just tail. Real death. With no special effects like stroke, gunshot or something like this. Pure death. Simple death. Just death.
I ride home, without any lookouts, or even eye drop…And I was exhausted like after three hours ride…
Fuck all. I wish that I don’t see that little tail in my dreams…”
Chapter 9
Alex pulls plate aside and sits still trying not to hiccup. When danger was off, he sits comfortably on a soft bench in “Nancy’s”. He looked to the street where Jim bathing in the rays of evening sun was trying to talk with Antony’s father. When Helper lowered his head for a second, Alex grasps that luck was not on their side.
Nancy came to their table and took plates.
Alex smiled at her:
“Nan, it was perfect! Just… Just perfect.”
A woman nodded and said:
“Thank you, honey. You can’t even imagine how I like when man eats with the appetite. What do you want for dessert?”
Alex grimaced:
“Oh… Nan, we’ll tell you a little bit later, ok? It’s hard to breath, not mention eating something more,”
She giggled and walks away. In the aisle, Jim met her and also said pleasure words about dinner. Helper sat in front of Alex:
“We have bad and good news.”
“Let me guess – today interview with a father canceled?”
Jim nodded and said seriously:
“You God damn right,” saying this he figuratively adjusts an invisible hat.
“Hey!” said Alex. “I’m a bald guy here – it’s my line.”
Instead of answer Jim show with his hand gesture that mean “bla-bla-blah.”
“Canceled forever?” clarified Alex.
Helper waved with his head:
“Nope. Just to Friday. They have some Force Majeure at his work, so he must be there. Usually, he works three days – after two, but not this time”
Barns looked on the table in front of him slightly waved and nodded after:
“Ok. Isn’t perfect situation, but Ok. He would summarize all info that we would got for that time. What did we get for tomorrow?”
Jim looked in his smartphone:
“Let’s see. Janine said that she got a mother of one of the victims.”
Alex’s brows jumped highly:
“Really? Remind me that she deserved a bonus for this month. What else?”
“Hm,” said Helper sliding display with his finger. “Yeees. Oh, here. Antony’s classmate seems like his close friend.”
Barns knocked tap on a table with his forefinger:
“Perfect! Closer and closer. And culmination – parents. Nice idea for structure for this episode” he looked to the ceiling. “Maybe. I need to think about this.”
Alex looked at his phone and said:
“We haave… A little more than an hour before meeting with Colonel Jr. Unfortunately, we haven’t anything good for telling him, so my proposition is: ordering coffee, some of the great pies, and thinking about what we got for this time”. He pointed at Jim. “Mr. Helper?”
“Yes?”-answered Jim, taking his shirt with his hands, and putting invisible monocle into his eye.
“Mr. Helper would you kindly approve your last name, and order us some local pies, and coffee?”
Jim theatrically nodded:
“With a great pleasure. And can I ask you sir, what will you do?”
Jim screwed up his eyes:
“It’s a nice question, my friend.”
Jim nodded, still holding his shirt:
“Thank you.”
“Your welcome. I’ll visit men’s room of this nice place and go to our cab for my papers. Then, I hope not longer than in fifteen minutes we’ll meet here again and will celebrate success of our little plan,”
“I agree with all your conditions,” said Helper, then released his right hand, and take an invisible cylinder:
“Sir”
“Sir,” said Alex, repeated gesture of his friend and left the table.
---
Sooner as they planned, in thirteen minutes, they met again. There were two pieces of banana pie with caramelized cinnamon and two cups of coffee. Friends drink a little, and then Alex put his notepad on a table and opened it on a blank page:
“So,” he said enthusiastically. “What do we have for this moment?”
Jim seriously answered:
“First: there are several episodes of Antony’s life here” Barns nodded, and write this down. “His life before crash, and after. Based on Reverend story, there are three of them, these parts. Third is after a crash, when he became… Not that Antony that they all knew”.
Alex sipped his coffee and put an exclamation mark near the word “crash”:
“Nobody tells us any detail about it.” He flipped over page and write there “what to ask”:
“Circumstances of the crash. Who saw it? What happened? What can say in hospital about it. Jim, tell Janine to ask questions in hospital – maybe someone can recall something there.”
“Uh-huh,” said Helper, writing this down into his smartphone. Unlike his friend, he prefers technological notes. Then he lifts his head. “Next. Honeycomb. Reverend something told about bees.”
“Yes, here two points. First – ask our professor about bees and honeycombs. Who knows, maybe there are some sects who worshipped this insects? Second – another question for the father. Maybe he knows something about.
Helper put a piece of cake to the mouth and pointed on a friend with empty spoon:
“Remember, Antony’s ex told that he went to the cemetery one time?”
Alex grimaced:
“I think that it’s a dead end.”
“Why? You heard Reverend – he had a hard time with a religion.”
“That’s why. Cultists do not doubt in their faith. But maybe you’re right. We shall ask this. Next?”
Helper looked to the down left side of a table:
“I think that we need to ask about killings.”
Chewing Alex makes a face that depicts interest.
“Description. We have not any. Everyone told us some mash, but nothing for sure.”
“Ok,” said Alex. “One thing that may have connection with all this dance night – his expulsion. Remember, like Alice said that he was rotten then?”
“I wouldn’t wonder, if this thing would be connected with that Rays mention about “Another Antony””
Alex writes this mention down, and take a piece of cake and looked at his own words on previous pages. He began with full mouth:
“Offu”. Then he swallows and drunk coffee, and continues. “I almost forgot. Hobo guy, that Reverend mention. What is his story? Aa-and interest about religion. There is something here – he wasn’t too religious, but wants to know more about its setup.”
Jim tried to recall something more, and shined in one moment:
“Reverend said that there were problems in their family.”
Alex nodded chewing another piece of cake:
“Yes, I wrote this down then, but it’s a weak chance, buddy.”
“But why?”
“Look, if you’d have some misunderstanding in your family, and there is a chance that your child was affected with this – how do you think – you’d want to talk about it?”
Jim understood, but insisted:
“We can ask.”
“We will, be sure.”
They eat dessert ant drunk their coffee trying to recall something else, but it occurs that except things that they already mentioned nothing else matters too much. When Nancy came to them, asking do they want something more, car of Colonel Jr. drove in to the parking. White police car reflects first rays of evening sun, that pain vehicle in orange colors.
“Three coffees, Nan, we’ll sit here for a while more with a friend.”
A woman earnestly smiled and said:
“All the time that you want, honey!”
She met a son of the chief at the doors with her hospitable smile. He pointed on the group of “ABnormal”, and she asked him something. After answer, that she received Nancy smiled even nicer then before and goes to a kitchen. Colonel Jr comes to table where Jim and Alex sit and shake their hands.
“Good evening, friends. Nan told me that you already order coffee for me. Thank you.”
“Your welcome,” said Barns, looking after policeman that took his place near Jim. “How’s your day?”
Rick shrugged:
“As usual. Nothing happens here in summer. It’s a dead time.” He saw sarcastic smile of Alex, and add. “Except of you case, of course. But believe me – such things take place here one in a million years. I thing last homicide was at the Jurassic era with tyrannosaur and triceratops.”
Jim burst out laughing, but in a moment take control on himself.
Colonel looked at him:
“What?”
“Nothing”, answered Alex. “You placed several mistakes in one sentence. First, dinosaurs do not live at Jurassic era, second – nowadays scientists say that tyrannosaurus was a scavenger. So, homicide… No. He can eat exhibits”
Rick nodded:
“I see. But, I think you understood that I mean”
Friends nodded. At this time Nancy bring them three pieces of pies with cranberries. Alex looked at them, and then lift his eyes to host:
“Nan, I think that Rick must arrest you soon”
Her eyes opened widely:
“Why?”
“You’ll kill us with your delicious pies. As for me I sure that I’ll blown out right here,”
She giggled, says something about jokes, and went to service other visitors. Rick adds sugar to his coffee, takes the spoon, bit a piece of cake, and asked:
“So, Jim, Alex. What do you find out about this case?”
“To be honest, not too much”, answered Alex, and copied actions of their interlocutor.
He tells to the Colonel Jr all that they know for this moment, what Alice told them, girl from Antony’s former country, and what questions they had distilled from all this case. Rick listened with interest, sometimes he nodded, pointed that he knows this details, sometimes he said something like “Huh”, “Hmm” or even “That’s weird.” Some details Alex intentionally concealed. Jim know how it work – if story would be enough for Rick, Alex will hold these facts to the episode. But if they would need to bargain – they will have something to give.
“Not bad! Alex, Jim, if you want to live here I will get you job at the department. Even now, without special knowledge you’re better than half of my man.” He bit another piece of pie about which he managed to forget. “It would be a great episode, for sure. You find some… emotional aspects, I think that I can call them like this.”
Alex smiled a little and nodded with appreciation:
“Thank you, Rick. Can you answer for some of our questions?”
“Without telling you a details of the investigation that are confidential?”
Alex nodded once again, and give him page of his notepad. Colonel Jr looked at paper and run through the rows of text:
“Hm…” he said after a couple of moments. “Crash. That case is closed, so I can tell you some things.” He turned a notepad to Barns, so he can write down information. “That event was occurred near the home of one Antony’s classmate. Actually, that was one of the killed girls. He argued with one of the guys there and in the heat of fight, they turn up near the road. It was dark time then, and nobody can tell us what car it was. Some said that it was Cadillac, or even van. Anyway, both guys went to the hospital. Both of them were on the edge. Antony gets out.”
Alex lifts his head from the notepad:
“Other one?” Rich waved with his head. “Driver?”
Another denial gesture.
“But I can tell you something interesting. A doctor said me then that other guy had better chances and rapidly died.”
Alex grimaced a little, but Colonel Jr continued:
“I know, that such things happen too frequently to think that they are some unique. But next thing is more interesting. The next day after Antony returned to school one of friends of that guy was killed by another car. Some kids told us that it was the same car, but I think that it’s a bullshit because then nobody can tell us nothing.”
Barns write down something and underline this.
“Grim coincidence,” Alex said. “Do you think that here is some connection?”
Rick shrugged, then eat last piece of pie, sipped a coffee, and said:
“I think that there a lot of strange things – car crash after a car, rapid recovery, etc. And if my information is right that two boys were bullies and gives Antony a lot of troubles.” He shrugged again and adds “But maybe as you said it just a coincidence. Big grim coincidence”
“Maybe”, said Alex to nobody, but Jim saw face of his friend and know that they have one thought for two of them – all this case full of such coincidences. Too many of them. “Something about other questions?”
Rick grimaced:
“No. I do not know anything about the inner situation in their family… And last one, about killings… I can tell you one thing: my father did his best to make sure that no one found out anything. Nothing else, sorry, guys”
“Nothing to apologize for,” said Alex. “You gave us a great hint.”
“Hope that I help you”, smiled Colonel Jr. “And if you think that I’m forgot about our deal – no, it isn’t”
Barns become serious:
“Knife”
Rick nodded:
“Knife. But this case is not close, so you must say it by yourself. Place yourself on the place of some great detectives – Holmes, Poirot, etc.”
“Marple”, smiled Jim.
Colonel smiled a little:
“She was a bright character too. So. You stand at the murder place. You see a lot of glass from windows. You see stab wounds, but there no knife there. And you know that nobody took it. What can you say about knife?”
Alex frowned and looked in front of himself.
“It was a nice evening, gentleman,” said Rick, and stand up.
Alex wanted to guess, to find answer, and it was a really important to him to found it here and now. His thought was like a swarm, where electric discharge was traveling, lightning on then something, then another points. Thoughts – insects. One lighted – knife was melted, and in the same moment thought dead – wrong. Another – it was not knife – another dead insect in his head. His thoughts rolled so quickly that out world become slower. He saw Rick saying “good bye” to them, and he saw him coming through dinner, he saw him open a door – and all this at half speed. Another mind – a lot of glass – charge hit it, but thought survive. Glass. One more charge in the same place, like a little lightning. The swarm become bigger and chaotic, it feels right direction. Another charge and swarm become one fireball with a one thought inside.
Alex gets his smartphone out and feverishly dials Colonel Jr.
“Hello,” Rick said staying near his car with opened doors.
“Glass,” Alex said. “It was a glass knife.”
Jim’s eyes opened widely, and he looked at the Rick too. Son of the chef answers nothing, but he touches his nose with a forefinger. He put down the phone, smiled, and sat in the car. After a second he rolled out from parking lot. Now his car seemed red because of evening sun, and two shocked men looked through the dinner glass after him.
---
Next morning Alex wakes up with a strange feeling. His dream clung to him and despite all his tries, he can’t shake him off.
Everywhere he saw parts of it dream, feed it with his skin. Such an impression has people who didn’t sleep for a long time. Everything seems on a large distance no matter how far it is, or even in your own hands – you see all thing like from other, parallel world. And sounds – you hear them like from underwater. But when you feel a lack of a dream this effects cause emptiness in your brains that left after sleepless night. Barns felt everything vice versa – his dream permeate everything.
Jim noticed state of his friend before breakfast, but knows Alex perfectly and knew, that before coffee his friend rather zombie than human person. But when Helper saw, that even breakfast doesn’t fix his friend, he asks Alex what happened?
At that moment they sat down at the van and were going to go to first interview for today. Alex signed and answered:
“It’s all about my dream that I saw this night.”
“Dream?” wondered Jim. “What was a dream about, that it was able to dislodge you?”
Alex smiled with one of those dreamy smiles that Jim saw a lot for this morning, and said:
“It hasn’t any… It was without any story or action at all. It was about the place.”
Helper leave alone keys that he holds in his hand meaning to start engine:
“Tell me. It’s the best way to get it off.”
Alex exhaled and looks on the street for a minute. Then, he said:
“It was a strange feeling, like… like I had woken up as another person. I saw everything through eyes of someone else. But I haven’t seen or recognize myself.”
Jim nodded:
“I heard somewhere that this is one of things that can you help to recognize is there are dream around you – you must look to your hands. If you don’t see them – it’s a dream.”
Alex shrugged:
“I don’t need such details then. I walked by a muddy lawn. A little hill was in the left of me, and I walk to it. It was not far from me, and I was there pretty fast, or it is just a wrong dreamtime…So, when I come on that hill, I saw a place of worship. It was not like in a cinema – no candles, pentagrams or blood. No. It was just a couple of stairs, portal and two huge rocks on a both sides of stairs. It looks like a ruin of some church, then a cult place, but I knew … that thing, that I was in a dream knew what place is it.
And I feel power of its place. I feel that it weakens. Ones it was a powerful, strong place, and now it’s losing its strength. Like a bubbles in soda – one by one, but in a large scale – become weaker.
