Crimson Falls (The Depravity Chronicles) (6 page)

“Thanks,” Janet
said as she put her hand over her heart. “But I think I’m just going to have
them go into the city and stay with my mom.”

“Sounds like a
plan,” Anna said. “And Janet?”

“Yes, Anna?”

“Keep this quiet
until I figure out what to do next.”

“Sure thing.”

Anna walked to
her office and stood in the doorframe, watching her children.

“What’s up?”
Tommy asked as he looked up from his book.

“I need to go
into the other part of my office,” she said as she looked toward the door with
the triple deadbolt.

“Are we finally
going to get to see what’s in there?” Trevor asked, excited by the prospect.

“No, you’re not,” Anna
said. “But I’m leaving the door open. I trust you to stay put and not go
anywhere, or so help me God I will be angrier than you have ever seen me.” She
stared at them to drive home her point, then began unlocking the door leading
to the video surveillance

* * * * * *

4

When Sam
regained consciousness, his head throbbed and his ankles were on fire.

“What the hell?”
he mumbled as he tried to figure out what had happened.

“Sam!” his wife
exclaimed. “Thank God you’re okay.”

“Lisa,” he said
in a raspy voice. “What happened?”

“You were in an
accident. It wasn’t bad, but when they brought you in they said you were in
shock. You were a mess.”

“Really?” Sam
couldn’t clearly piece together the events. “How long have I been here?”

“Only about an
hour. They weren’t sure why you were in shock, or how you managed to keep your
eyes open. It was like you were catatonic.”

“Shit,” he said
with a sigh. He closed his eyes as a few memories and images came back to him
as if projected onto the back of his eyelids. “Trevor,” he said.

“Trevor is fine,
he’s with his mom,” Lisa reassured him.

“Something was
running beside the patroller,” he said as he tried to sit up. It was difficult.
What had happened? What the hell had been in the woods that was moving so fast?

“And why do my
ankles feel like someone crushed them?” he winced as he tried to move them.

“You have huge
bruises all around your ankles,” Lisa said. She pulled the covers down his body
to reveal his feet. “Luckily nothing is broken. Not even a sprain.”

“Goddamn,” he
said after whistling. “How did that happen?”

“You don’t
remember?”

“The last thing
I remember was watching that shadow,” he said.

“You drove off
the driveway and into a tree,” Lisa said as she looked at her own feet.

“That’s rich,”
he said with a gruff. “So, are you going to tell me about what happened or do I
need to call Sheriff Blackwood?”

Lisa paused
before telling him the story. As she relayed Trevor’s rendition of the events,
he began shaking his head. “The boy has a wild imagination.”

“Well, that may
be so, Sam, but Jake and a few others verified it.”

“Verified what?”

“That something
was dragging you away from the car and into the woods. Trevor said your eyes
were wide open. Then, when Anna and the others came running toward you, whoever
it was dropped your legs and ran into the woods.”

Sam whistled
again, this time with a bit more emphasis. “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit,”
Lisa repeated.

“Is everyone
else okay?” he asked.

“Everyone
meaning who?”

“I don’t know,”
he barked, frustrated. “Is everyone okay?”

“Well, I haven’t
heard anything if that’s what you mean. As far as I know, Alan is the only
person dead.”

Sam was quiet
for a moment. “That’s not as reassuring as I hoped it would be.”

“Yeah, tell me
about it,” Lisa smiled.

“I’m sorry if I
scared you,” he said as he took her hand.

“Darling, after
dealing with you being in the FBI for fifteen years, I’m used to it.” They
smiled at each other and she leaned in and gently kissed him.

“It’s gonna take
a lot more than some Olympic sprinter to take me out.”

“That’s what I’m
afraid of,” she warned. He tried to reassure her, but there wasn’t much he
could do or say to make her feel better about their current predicament. He
wanted badly to be in on the action.

“Where’s my
phone?” he asked.

“In my purse.
Why?”

“Give it to me.”

“Who are you
going…?”

“Just give it to
me, please,” he interrupted. She fumbled through her purse.

“Here.”

He quickly
dialed Anna’s direct line in her office. It forwarded to Janet.

“Sam?” she said.

“Yeah, hi
Janet.”

“Thank God
you’re okay.”

“Is the sheriff
around?”

“Yes, but she’s
preoccupied at the moment. Is it urgent?”

Sam had to think
about whether it was urgent. He couldn’t remember anything, but thought it
might be important to hear Trevor’s take on things and make sure everyone knew
that there was indeed someone in the woods.

“Tell her that
Trevor and I saw a shadow running pretty fast alongside us in the trees by the
driveway. And make sure to tell the kid that I’m okay. Probably shook him up a
bit.”

“I’ll do that
right now,” Janet assured him. “Anything else?”

“Yes, do
whatever you need to do to get me the hell out of this damned hospital. I need
to be at the station helping to coordinate.”

“Copy that. See
you soon, Sam.”

He laid his
phone on the table.

“How do you
figure Janet can get you out of the hospital sooner, Sam?” Lisa asked,
chuckling. “You’re not in the FBI anymore, dear.”

Sam laughed.
“True enough. Get the doctor. We’re getting out of here.”

“Okay.” She knew
better than to argue with him. He would be back at the station and hard at work
within the hour. Lisa looked at the clock: 6:12pm. It was going to be a long
night.

1

Father Matthew
had read these books at least a dozen times. He wasn’t quite sure how to
proceed. Books could only take him so far, so he put the book in his lap and
closed his eyes.

“I need a sign,”
he said aloud to himself, God, and any other presence that might be in the
room. Suddenly the phone rang, startling him out of his chair.

“Well that was
fast,” he said to the air around him. He picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Matthew?”

“Hi, Amy! How
are you?” He genuinely liked the Lutheran pastor, often meeting her for lunch
at the diner down the street.

“Well, I’m not
sure if you’ve heard, but Alan Brickton died today.”

“I did hear
that,” Matthew said. “I apologize, Amy. I should have called you right away.”

“Oh, that’s
okay,” she said. “But I’m thinking that perhaps you and I should meet.”

“What’s on your
mind?” he asked, curious about what she might be thinking.

“Well, I don’t
really want to talk about it over the phone. Can I come over?”

“Sure. I’m in my
study. Just use your keys.”

“Be right
there.”

A few minutes
later Amy was standing in the doorway of his study. He walked over and hugged
her tightly.

“I’m so sorry
for your loss. I know you visited with Alan and knew his family when they were
alive.”

“It is a sad day
indeed.” She looked at him, then looked at the book on demonology that was
lying on his chair, then back to him again. “Interesting reading, Father,” she said.

“Yes, indeed.”
He wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

“Have you heard
any of the details surrounding Alan’s death?” she asked.

“Jake O’Reilly
stopped by to see me earlier today.”

“What did he
have to say?”

“Have you spoken
with him?” Matthew asked.

“No.”

“How did you
find out about Alan?” he asked.

“Michael Mullins
called to inform me.”

“Ah, I see.”

“So, what do you
know?” she repeated.

“Jake asked me
where I had been all day.”

“He what?” Amy
asked, shocked. A petite woman of only five feet, with dark rimmed glasses
resting on her nose, she gave the impression of intellect, with a hint of
spunk.

“That’s what I
thought,” he said.

“Well he never
really was the most intelligent man,” she laughed. “Or the most tactful.”

Matthew smiled.
“I am not really at liberty to discuss the details,” he said with regret.

“Understood,” Amy
said with a raised hand.

“But I can tell
you this much,” Matthew began.

“Are you sure
you’re able to divulge anything?”

“Whatever is
going on here, I think it has something to do with what happened here more than
twenty years ago.”

“Is that what
Jake said?”

“No, that’s my
gut talking.”

Amy paused,
pushing up her glasses. Matthew knew she trusted him, and he admired her
knowledge of the rich heritage of Christian history, including the darker side.

“Matthew, what
are you trying to say?” Although he knew Amy was well aware of what he was
thinking, she was forcing him to say it out loud.

“I believe the
demon has returned.”

“And you need my
help.”

“If you are
willing to provide it, yes,” Matthew said.

“You once told
me that the first thing you do if you suspect demonic activity is to try to
disprove it. How do we go about doing that?”

“We go to the
Brickton Estate.”

“I knew you were
going to say that,” Amy said with a nervous smile. “And what do we take with
us?”

“We take our
knowledge of the supernatural, my rosary, and our God.”

“And what will
we be looking for exactly?” Amy asked.

“Anything that
might point to unholy practices and presences.”

“For example?”

Matthew sighed.
“The house itself is a good place to start.”

* * * * * *

2

Dr. David Styles
led the stretcher into the county morgue. The morgue was on the lower level of
Crimson Falls’ modest hospital. It had its own back entrance, guarded by an
electric gate. The only way into the morgue from the hospital was through a
special elevator accessed by a special key. David liked having his own special
domain where he could work without being interrupted.

Although he
would never openly admit it to anyone, even to himself, he was thrilled to have
the opportunity to study a corpse that had been murdered. He hadn’t
investigated a violent crime since the mock training he received at Harvard. He
tried to hide his jubilation though because he did feel somewhat sorry for
Acorn Alan.

“Here, put him
on this table,” David instructed the three EMTs.

“On three, let’s
lift him,” said Jason Styles, David’s only son. “One, two, three.” Together
they moved the body onto the cold, metal slab.

“Dad, do you
need me to stick around?” Jason asked.

“Yes, I think
you might learn something here.” David wanted Jason to take over after he
retired, keeping the business in the family. Aside from being the local
coroner, he also ran the only mortuary within twenty miles. David looked to the
remaining public servants in the room. “If you’ll please excuse us.”

Aaron was the
first to respond. “I have orders from Sheriff Blackwood to stay here with you.”

Since David
liked Anna and trusted her judgment, he decided to honor it. It wasn’t like he
had much choice.

“Right. You can
stay. Everyone else – please see yourselves out.” Although David had a somewhat
rude demeanor, people had become used to it and didn’t take it personally. Once
everyone left the room, David and Jason carefully removed the body from the bag
and stood over it, staring. Aaron walked up to join them.

“Take a look at
this, son,” David said as he lifted the head to reveal the long, yellow object
protruding from the back of the neck.

“What the hell
is that?” Jason asked.

“An excellent
question. Quickly, stabilize the head while I attempt to remove it.” Jason did
as he was told. David placed his fingers around the object and lightly pulled
on it.

“It’s in there
good,” he observed. He stuck out his tongue as he worked, trying not to do too
much damage to the neck.

“It looks like
it went in just under the brainstem,” Jason said.

“Good eye,”
David replied. After a few pulls, the object was freed. The three men stood in
silence as they surveyed it. David noted that it was approximately four inches
long. If he didn’t know better, he could have sworn it was a tooth.

“That’s damned
sharp,” Aaron said. “We may have the murder weapon.”

“That may be
true, but we cannot yet be sure,” David said. “From the looks of it, and I’m
just taking an educated guess here, it was inserted into the neck prior to
death.”

“This would have
killed him, right?” Jason asked.

David frowned.
“Well it probably wouldn’t have helped him much.”

Aaron stifled a
laugh.

“A strange
specimen,” David continued. “From the looks of it, I would say it’s a tooth.”

“Are you
shitting me?” Aaron cried. David ignored him.

“Perhaps an
animal tooth that has been sharpened. Maybe even a small claw that has been
stained.” David laughed at himself for thinking that someone would paint a claw
yellow.

“Dad?” Jason
asked, excited.

“Yes, you need
to drive this to the university and give it to Dr. Bearson. He should be able
to tell us what animal this comes from.”

“Are you sure
it’s an animal?” Aaron asked.

“As sure as I
can be at this point.”

“Is there any part
of the autopsy that will help to reveal what may have happened to Mr.
Brickton?” Aaron asked. It seemed obvious he was not very comfortable with his
surroundings.

“Outside of the
wounds to the neck, I doubt anything I find will have been inflicted by the
killer. But then again, one can never be sure. I need to let the body tell me
the story.”

“Okay, then,”
Aaron said. “I need to get to the station and let Sheriff Blackwood know what’s
going on.”

“Then I suppose
you should be on your way,” David urged. “Give Anna my regards.” Aaron walked
through the door. Once David heard the cruiser start up and drive away, he
turned to his son.

“So what do you
think, Dad?” Jason asked.

“I think it’s
too early to think anything,” he said. “We are scientists, Jason. We don’t
speculate. But I do know two things.”

“And they are?”

“First, whatever
this might be is what killed Mr. Brickton.”

“And second?”

“No animal could
have done this.” David resumed his work on the body. Jason stood motionless,
his jaw slightly open in shock.

“Don’t you have
a trip to take?” David asked his son.

“But it’s over
an hour away,” Jason said.

“Stop whining.
Call Dr. Bearson on your way and let him know you will see him first thing in
the morning. Or better yet, if he isn’t busy, have him meet you halfway so we
can talk to him tonight.”

“That seems like
an imposition.”

“Well, I’m sure
Mr. Brickton would disagree. As would the next victim.”

“The next
victim?” Jason asked, worried.

“I doubt this is
the last we’ll see of this,” he said as he pointed to the makeshift tooth/claw.

“Shit,” Jason
said. He turned around and headed for the door and a long drive.

* * * * * *

3

Anna sat down in
the swivel chair in front of the switchboard that accessed the various cameras
throughout Crimson Falls. A few of the deputies who were off duty were arriving
at the station. Damien Gross and Rick Stanley walked into the office.

“Hey guys,”
Damien said to the kids.

“Hey Damien,”
they said disjointedly.

“I’m in here
guys,” Anna called.

“Hey boss.
What…” but his voice trailed off as he saw the cameras.

“Yes, welcome to
my secret lair,” Anna laughed.

“Sheriff? What
is this?” Rick asked.

“These are our
eyes that will help us nail this bastard.”

“I had no idea this
was even here,” Rick said, in awe of the technology in the room.

“Sheriff Kelly
passed this down to me,” she said. “I’ve used it a few times to help locate
lost hikers, pets, and a few other things. But aside from that, we haven’t
needed it.”

“But why did
they build it in the first place?” Rick asked.

“That’s a long
story, and not one that needs to be told now. What matters is that we see if we
can find our killer.” She flipped master switch that turned on all cameras.
Three dozen televisions lit up the room, each with a panoramic view of its
surroundings.

“Whoa,” Damien
said.

“Cool,” Trevor
shouted from behind.

“Trevor, for
Christ sake!” she hollered.

“Language,
mother,” he retorted.

“Would you
please just leave? Have some respect.” Trevor huffed and turned around, heading
back to the table.

“Okay. Damien,
you take this group of ten. Rick, you take this group. I’ll take this one.”
They nodded in agreement.

For several
minutes they watched the screens without speaking. Sounds of the forest filled
the room, with occasional car horns and loud mufflers.

“Anything,
guys?” Anna asked while still watching her group of screens.

“Nothing boss,”
they said one after the other.

“Okay. What I’m
going to do now is go group by group and play back the footage from the past
few days.”

“Won’t that take
hours?” Damien asked.

“No, they’re on
a trigger. So we may see a lot of animals, but it’s what we have to do.” Anna
got up to leave.

“Where are you
going?” Rick asked.

“I’m sending
John back here to help you. The camera only stays on for one minute once it’s
triggered. Let me know if you find anything.”

“Where will you
be?”

“I’ll be making
some calls.” Anna walked out of the room, smiling at the kids as she made her
way to the main lobby of the station. She sent John Felber into her office to
help the others. Less than a minute later Aaron Peterson came through the back
corridor.