Cemetery Club (16 page)

“Speculate this you sack of hot air,” the old man said, grabbing at his crotch. “I saw a damn alien take over the body of a young woman. And what about the cop I saw that same night, the one that killed the man?”

Members of the audience started calling out questions and more than a few stood up, pointing at the Mayor, demanding answers to the ‘alien sightings.’

A rotund woman in a red and yellow muumuu bellowed out a question in a deep voice that rose above the general clamor. “I live down in the Lowlands and I know for a fact Angie Negron is missing. She ain’t on no vacation neither. She was supposed to help me bake cookies for the church social and she never showed up. When I went to her house, all the front windows was broken and the door wide open. How come I ain’t seen no cops investigatin’
that
?”

“Aliens!” Henry Coleman called out. “That’s how they do it. Came for me too, but I hid!”

The noise factor rose another level as more people stood, some shouting, some talking on phones and some arguing with their neighbors.

“Things are getting out of hand,” Marisol said.

John nodded. “Maybe we—”

A Hispanic man with tribal tattoos running down both arms jumped to his feet. “It’s racial discrimination! They doan want to do nuthin’ about the shit that happens in our part of town.”

Jack Smith went to the microphone and stepped in front of Mayor Dawes. “Racial discrimination? How can you say that when more than half the Lowlands is white?” he asked. “Now, if you’ll all just sit down and listen, Sheriff Travers will tell you exactly what his department is doing to keep everyone in our town safe.”

The angry voices died down. Jack glared at the audience and in twos and threes they slowly complied. Only when everyone was seated again did he motion for Travers to approach the podium.

“You’ve gotta admit, he’s got stage presence,” Todd whispered to Marisol.

She shot him a dirty look and then turned her attention back to the stage.

Travers gave his mustache a nervous stroke and then began speaking. “Contrary to what some of you believe, the Sheriff’s department is out in full force and has been since the incident at Gates of Heaven. Not only have I got all my men pulling double shifts but I’ve called in several deputies from other substations to help us out. We have cars patrolling the entire town, including,” - he stared at the man who’d accused the mayor of racism - “the Lowlands and the factory district.”

“It’s not enough!” someone called out.

Travers glanced around the room, his face solemn. “You’re right, whoever said that. It’s not enough. I could put a hundred men on the street and it wouldn’t be enough. And do you know why?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Because I want to catch the bastards
yesterday!
”

“Bullshit!”

The Sheriff didn’t flinch. “No, it’s not bullshit. Someone has come into our town,
my
town, and murdered at least three people, maybe more. I want to stop it from happening again and I want to stop it right now!” He banged his hand on the podium and several people jumped as the sound of flesh striking wood echoed through the room.

In a quieter voice, he continued. “But I can’t do it without your help. Even with the extra men there’s a lot of ground to cover every night. There are too many places a person can hide, places where patrol cars can’t go. Parks, backyards, empty buildings. So we need you, all of you, to do two things. One, keep your eyes and ears open. If you see anything suspicious, call the police. I promise you won’t be ignored.”

“What’s the second thing?”

Marisol jerked as Todd yelled his question from right next to her.

“Stay inside at night. I don’t want to impose a curfew on the town but I will if I have to. The fewer people out at night, the better the chance that no one will get hurt.”

“Sheriff?” A woman in the middle of the room raised her hand, a sharp contrast to the free-for-all attitude of previous questions.

“Yes?” Travers nodded in her direction.

“What about the convenience store fire last night?”

“As of right now that fire is still under investigation. However, so far there’s no evidence it’s related in any way to the tragic events at the cemetery or Gus’s bar.”

More people called out questions but Travers shook his head. “I’m sorry, that’s the only statement I’m prepared to make at this time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.” He put on his trooper-style hat and headed for one of the side doors.

“He didn't say anything about the missing police officers.” Marisol started to raise her hand but Todd held her back.

“No, and maybe we shouldn’t bring it up either. First of all, it will probably get you fired, or at least suspended, and we need you at work. You’re our only source of inside information. And second, putting all these people in more of a panic might not be the best idea right now.”

Jack Smith returned to the mic. “You now have as much information as we do. If any of you would like to stay for the remainder of the Board’s business tonight please feel free, but we won’t be entertaining any more discussion about deaths or disappearances.”

The murmuring chant of hundreds of voices all talking at once grew in volume again as people stood and headed for the exits.

“That’s our cue,” Cory said to his companions. “Let’s go grab some coffee across the street before the diner gets too crowded. We can talk everything out over there.”

Todd glanced at his watch. “I’d love to but I’ve got to get home and get my mother’s evening medicine ready. It’s Abigail’s night off.”

“I’ll go with you,” John said. “I want to get on the computer again.”

Cory looked at Marisol. “Guess it’s just you and me. You up for some coffee?”

She smiled. “Up for it? If I don’t get some caffeine in me I’ll fall asleep right where I’m standing.”

“Have fun kids.” Todd shot Marisol a wink when Cory wasn’t looking. In return, she flipped her middle finger at him.

“Let’s go.” Taking Marisol’s arm, Cory led her towards the stairwell.

John and Todd watched them exit the building into the warm, muggy evening.

“Sometimes it seems like nothing’s changed since high school,” John said. “Do you think he’s ever gonna have a clue?”

Remembering the kiss outside his house, Todd smiled. “Oh, I think he’s got a clue. The question is when is he finally going to make his move?”

Nancy Harmon was putting the dinner dishes away when she caught a glimpse of movement outside her kitchen window. Normally she would’ve ignored it - after all, it was probably just neighborhood kids playing or maybe a dog searching for a garbage can to knock over. Or a deer. God knew there were plenty of deer wandering around; they liked to come down from the woods, drink from the stream at the town park, and then peruse the neighborhood for gardens or flower beds to eat.

But after attending the town meeting earlier, the idea there might be someone - or more than one someone - roaming the town and attacking people, made her nervous. On the other hand she didn’t want to appear hysterical, calling the police because of a hungry deer. Better to be sure than look stupid.

“Hank? I think someone’s outside in the yard.”

Her husband, who’d just finished his shift at the ME’s office, didn’t look up from his newspaper. “Probably just a deer,” he mumbled.

“No really. I saw something. Can you go look? And while you’re at it, take out the garbage?”

Hank rolled his eyes and put the paper down. “Fine. I’ll check it out.” He pulled the garbage bag from the canister and tied it off, then opened the back door. Before stepping outside, he turned to his wife. “Try not to see any—”

Two men emerged from the darkness and charged into the kitchen, knocking Hank to the floor in the process. They stopped just inside the threshold, glancing around the kitchen with wild eyes.

Nancy opened her mouth to scream but the words died in her throat. She dropped the dish she’d been holding and when it struck the floor, both men turned towards her.

Time seemed to freeze as she and the intruders stared at each other. Both of them wore clothes stained with dirt and something darker. Their hair stood out in clumps and strange white marks marred their faces and necks. Pieces of bluish-gray flesh hung from their cheeks and foreheads, giving them the look of lizards shedding their skins. Their rank, heavy odor filled the kitchen, overwhelming the lingering scents of dinner.

Then time kicked into motion again as Hank rolled over and grabbed one of the men by the leg. The stranger fell to his knees but instead of trying to get up he turned and plunged his thumbs into Frank’s eyes. There was a wet, splattering sound and Frank started screaming, a high, panicked cry unlike anything Nancy had ever heard.

That’s when she found her own voice.

“Help! Help!” She took a step backwards, intending on running into the living room and out the front door, but the sight of Frank lying on the floor, bloody pieces of flesh hanging from the holes where his eyes used to be, stopped her. How could she leave him behind?

Her indecision gave the second attacker all the time he needed to grab her and slam her against the refrigerator. Her head hit the door and for a moment there were three men in front of her. By the time her vision returned to normal she was on her ass, her back against the cold metal of the icebox.

Then the third figure entered the kitchen.

At first she thought her eyes were still playing tricks on her. Then she remembered the old man at the meeting, shouting about aliens.

Oh my God. He was right! It’s an invasion from space!

The short, charcoal-gray creature floated across the floor, its stubby feet never touching the ground. It reached out to her with tiny hands, ignoring her screams.

The last thing she saw was the two men bending over Hank and tearing his clothes away.

Then her whole world turned gray.

Nancy Harmon ceased to exist.

*  *  *

Cory and Marisol were on their second cup of coffee when the Medical Examiner entered the diner. As soon as he saw them, he hurried over to their table.

“Marisol! I’m glad I found you.”

“Oh, hi Ed. This is my friend, Cory Miles,” Marisol said. “Cory, this is my boss, Dr. Ed Corish.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Cory held out his hand.

“Likewise.” The ME gave it a perfunctory shake and turned back to Marisol. “I hate to interrupt but the forensic team at the gas station just found some remnants of human bodies. They’re down in the lab right now. I need you to run the DNA tests.”

“Right now? Can’t the night shift handle it?”

Corish shook his head. “Nope. They’re all tied up running tox screens. I tried calling Hank Harmon but no one answered at his house.”

Marisol sighed. “All right. Sorry Cory.”

Smiling, Cory stood up and tossed five dollars on the table. “That’s okay. I’ve got files to go through back at the hotel. I’ll walk out with you.”

Outside, the ME headed back across the street to the town offices. Marisol and Cory hung back.

“I had fun tonight, considering the circumstances,” Cory said as he took her hands in his.

“Me too.” She closed her eyes and leaned forward.

This time Cory was ready and the tender kiss lasted much longer than the one at Todd’s house. When they finally separated, Marisol opened her eyes to find Cory staring down at her.

“I’ll be up late tonight. If you finish at the lab early, come by my room.”

She shook her head. “I’ve got a better idea. There’s a spare key under the mat on my front porch. Why don’t you just wait for me at my place?”

Cory’s smile grew wider. “Sounds like a plan.”

She kissed him again and then hurried across the street.

From the window of his second floor office, Jack Smith felt his anger rise as he watched his ex-wife kissing Cory Miles, right out on the street for all the world to see.

That bitch. The ink’s barely dry on the divorce papers and she’s already sucking face with her old high school sweetheart.

Jack knew all about Cory Miles and his relationship with Marisol. Over the years she’d mentioned him on occasion, how he’d been her first crush. He’d never really worried about Miles, especially since Cory’s family had moved away before senior year, but Jack was a big believer in doing his homework and since he’d found out Miles was in town, he’d put his staff to work digging up everything they could on the hotshot lawyer.

He hadn’t known Cory very well in high school; Cory hadn’t played any sports or been a member of any school clubs. When he and Marisol had started dating, she’d still been bitter about Cory moving away and never staying in touch, been bitter as well about losing her only other friends, Todd Randolph and John Boyd. Jack had filed all the names away in his memory, a habit that served him well as time went on and he developed political aspirations.

And then, all these years later, he’d seen Cory’s name in the paper as the lawyer representing Randolph. He’d known it was only a matter of time before Miles and Marisol met up, either accidentally or on purpose. So he’d made sure he was prepared.

Watching Marisol walk across the street while Miles headed for a mint-condition Cadillac parked nearby, Jack mentally reviewed what he’d learned about his unexpected rival.

Cory Andrew Miles. Born and raised in Rocky Point. His parents, both from fairly well-off families - although nowhere near as well off as the Smiths - had moved to Connecticut right before Cory’s senior year. Supposedly that was because the senior Miles had gotten a promotion and transfer, but Jack was fairly certain the whole mess with Todd Randolph killing all those people had more than a little to do with it. Get the kid out of town and away from bad influences.

Miles’s parents had died in a car accident while he was in college and he’d inherited a nice sum of money - more than enough to pay for college and law school and still have some left over.

No arrests, no record of drug or alcohol abuse. No divorces. No suspicions of homosexuality or perverted sexual habits despite his lack of any long-term relationships.