Hunting Witches (9 page)

“Yeah, but it’s also used by Satanists and heavy metal kids as a symbol of pure evil, right?”

“An inverted pentagram is considered by some to by evil, yes. Not everyone considers it to be so. The usage of the symbol is up to the user, of course, but the truth of the symbol remains. Elders Keep, and the woods surrounding it, is a sacred spot. Now. Here’s what you can’t see. Do you know what a leyline is, Sheriff?”

“I’ve heard the term,” Graham said.

“Leylines,” Nance continued, “are places where energies meet and align. You can think of it as magnetism. A leyline is like a force field. They occur naturally, especially in an area like this, where we have the mountains all around us. As the mountains erupted from the earth, cracking tectonic plates, they set loose all sorts of energy, energy that still emanates to this day. And again, like a magnet, you would be surprised at what those leylines both attract and repel.”

“What do you mean?”

Nance’s eyes were wide and bright. Graham could imagine him practicing this whole discourse in the mirror before he showed up this morning.

“Think of this,” Nance said. “You’re in the woods. There’s a natural path you follow. You just know it’s the right way to go, and you follow it. Animals do it all the time. There’s an attraction. After a while, the paths became trails. As industry and technology marched through the South, the trails became roads. The roads became highways. Hell, Kemper Highway follows one of the biggest, longest leylines in the south! People think they planned these things, did studies and made conscious, informed decisions about where to build. Hell, no. Nature decided that, eons before a city planner ever looked at a map.”

“Okay, I’m following you so far,” Graham said. “And let me venture a guess. Out by The Store, where the town basically turns into the mountains, is another leyline.”

Nance clapped again, and pointed at Graham. “That’s right! The leyline out there is so fucked up and negative, nobody can build out past The Store. Oh, there are all kinds of excuses for not doing it. It’s not economically feasible, the soil won’t perk, whatever. As people, we follow our primal instincts and we allow ourselves to be fenced in, by nature itself, within our natural circle of protection. It’s instinct. And therein lies the problem.”

“What problem?”

“Nature gave Elders Keep all these opposing forces, but it did not give it a circle. There’s no natural boundary.”

“This matters?”

Nance sighed. “This town is like no other in the country. Maybe the world. There are so many conflicting energies here. Attraction and repulsion. Good and evil. Ancient collides with old, love and hate get all bungled up and there’s nothing to hold those things in, nothing to keep things in check. Nothing but you, Man of Law.”

“Okay, crazy guy,” Graham said. “I’m not sure I want to hear the rest of your spiel. Elders Keep is just a town, like any other town, and every town needs law enforcement because people do stupid and bad things.”

“That’s a half-truth, Man of Law,” Nance said, “and you know it. You do not want to believe. You want to stay asleep, and you can’t! Not with this position you hold. Haven’t you seen enough here? You’ve met a race of people thought extinct! The man who held this office before you carved a pentagram into your hand. He carved a circle around it. And in the center of the pentagram, he sliced three straight lines, to indicate balance.”

“How do you know this?” Graham was feeling hemmed in. “I’ve never shown anyone my hand since it happened.”

“That’s the mark!” Nance waved his hands in the air, excited. “I’ve talked to your predecessors, Sheriff! All the Men of Law have borne that symbol. I also know that it itches and burns. Sometimes, your skin swims. Different symbols rise up in the pentagram, and you don’t know what they mean, so you’ve been ignoring them. It’s never occurred to you that the mark is a living thing, and when it begins to bother you, it requires your attention. You need to do something. And you need to learn how to decode these things to know what needs to be done to keep the balance.
You
are the circle, Sheriff. Right now, and until you are no longer in this office, you are the only thing keeping this town from tearing itself apart.”

The door to Graham’s office burst open and Deputy Moon stumbled in with a white paper bag and a cardboard tray holding three cups of coffee. “Coffee and pie, guys!”

Graham and Nance both glared at Moon like he had just crashed into their restroom stall during a private moment.

“Did I interrupt something?” he asked.

“No, Deputy, that’s fine,” Graham said. “Mr. Nance was just leaving.”

“Oh! Well, here let’s get you situated so you can take some coffee and pie with you.” He set the food and drinks down on top of Joseph Nance’s photo, and removed a white foam box from the bag. He handed it to Nance, who was standing. Moon also gave him his cup of coffee.

The big man thanked Moon politely, and then turned to Graham. “I’m not your enemy, Sheriff. Far from it. And we’ll talk again soon.” He stuck out his hand, and Graham took it.

“That remains to be determined, Mr. Nance,” Graham said, “but this has certainly made for an interesting afternoon. Don’t forget your picture.”

Nance picked up the print with one hand, tucked it up under his arm and left the office.

“What did I miss, Sheriff?” Moon asked.

Graham took the lid off his cup of coffee and took a tenuous sip. “I’m not sure, Deputy. I’m really not sure.”

***

The road was beginning to boil and the tall black man was screaming while the drums from the woods grew louder until they filled his head with binaural rhythms that made his eyes blur and the little girl had a tornado in her hand and his cell phone rang and rang until finally…

Graham answered the phone. “It is ten o’clock at night, and I am asleep, so this better be really good or really bad.”

“Sorry, Sheriff,” Deputy Moon said. “I was on my way out of the station when we got a vandalism call. Out in Vanishing Pointe.”

“You called me for spray paint?”

“No, somebody busted in the front window of a house and the people called it in.”

“Somebody lives in Vanishing Pointe? That’s new.”

“Figured you might want to head out there with me.”

Graham cleared his throat. “Well, ‘want to’ is a bit strong, but I’ll do it. Give me ten minutes. I’ll swing by and pick you up. Was it their living room window?”

“Yes, sir,” Kevin replied. “How did you know?”

“All those damned houses look the same to me. Well, call the people or person back and tell them we’ll come in through the back door and not to mess with anything in the front room. Get the white suits rolling, too.”

“Yes, sir, I’m on it. See you in a few.” The deputy clicked off.

Goddammit
, Graham thought.
We need more officers. Got to talk to the Mayor about the budget around here.

It had been discussed before, but overall, the crime rate in Elders Keep was pretty low. They couldn’t justify hiring another officer, especially so soon after bringing Tamara on. It would be another six months before the council would even consider another expenditure. That meant half a year of little sleep, few days off and lots of general grumpiness.

Graham took off his comfortable Tennessee Titans sleep pants and pulled on his work uniform. He checked himself in the mirror when he was finished. Yep, his name badge was still shiny and he had everything attached to his belt.

“You look like a sheriff to me, kid,” he said to his reflection. He flipped off the bathroom light, grabbed the keys to his cruiser off a hook by the door and headed out into the night.

Elders Keep seemed abandoned. Not many lights on in the windows, no signs glaring except the one at The Meal Worm. He thought about Shelly, working at the Nine Forward, the only other place open in town. He hoped she was having a good night at work.

Deputy Moon was waiting outside when Graham pulled up outside the station. He waved, and the other officer ran down the steps and got into the cruiser.

“Sorry to call you so late, Sheriff,” he said.

Graham shrugged. “Perks of the job,” he muttered, as he turned the car around and headed to Vanishing Pointe. “What’s the address?”

“262 Kimberley Way,” Deputy Moon said.

Graham shook his head. “Stupid sub-divisions, with their stupid extra ‘e’ at the end of their names and their stupid street names. Who wants to live on a ‘Way?’ What’s wrong with a simple road?”

“We’re not exactly victims of urban sprawl around here, Sheriff,” the deputy said.

“I like my apartment, Kevin,” Graham said. “Everyone should live in apartments.”

“Apartments are small and cramped,” Kevin said. “I like my house. I can paint the walls whenever I want and not worry about breaking a lease agreement.”

“When’s the last time you painted, Deputy?” Graham asked.

“Never,” Kevin said. “But if I took a mind to it, I could buy some hot pink paint from The Store tomorrow morning and slap-dash it on the walls however I wanted.”

“Yeah, you could,” Graham said. “But why?”

“I like pink,” Kevin said. “Oh, turn here. This is it.”

“I’ve never had a single call out here, Kevin,” Graham said. “Not one.”

“Nobody lived out here,” Kevin said. “These folks have the whole neighborhood to themselves. That’s why I called you in on it. Somebody had to do some traveling to bust out this window. It’s not some property dispute with the guy next door. Nobody lives next door. Take the next left.”

They were on Kimberley Way, and the house was the only one with lights on. Graham pulled into the driveway. He left the cherries on, and red and blue light rotated through the Pendleton’s living room. Mark and Nika had gotten dressed, and per his request, they let the sheriff in through the back door.

Graham took off his hat and nodded towards the couple. “I’m Sheriff Strahan. I understand y’all are new to town. Sorry I didn’t get to meet you earlier, and I hate that we end up making your acquaintance like this.”

“You got here fast,” Mark said. “We appreciate it.”

“We tried not to step on anything or touch anything,” Nika said.

“Well, that’s greatly appreciated. My deputy is outside right now, looking around, so don’t worry if you see someone poking around.”

Nika huddled next to Mark, and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

“So, what happened?” Graham asked.

Mark said, “We were watching TV in the living room, having, um…”

“…a late dinner,” Nika said.

Graham cocked an eyebrow.

“ Right,” Mark said. “Dinner. Then we heard a noise, and I got up and there was a hole in the window, glass everywhere, and there’s a brick on the floor.”

“Did you hear or see anything else? Like a vehicle of any kind?”

Both Mark and Nika shook their heads. “I was almost asleep,” Nika said. “I didn’t hear anything but the shattering.”

“Have you touched the brick?” Graham asked.

“No, sir,” Mark said. “We went down the hall to the bedroom to put some clothes on, then came right back in here to the kitchen to wait for you.”

“Good deal,” Graham said. He unhooked his radio and depressed the button. “Deputy, anything outside?”

“Negative, Sheriff,” Deputy Moon replied. “No footprints, no tire marks, nothing.”

“Understood,” he radioed back. “How long until the white suits get here?”

“Any minute, Sheriff,” Moon answered.

“Ten-four. Out.”

Nika was puzzled. “Who are the ‘white suits?’” she asked.

“Forensics. Hair and fiber guys. I’m not really expecting to find any hairs or fibers except yours, but you never know. But until they come in and vacuum the carpet to collect the glass as evidence, I can’t get to that brick. And that’s what I’m after.”

“Can I make you some coffee, Sheriff?” Nika asked. “I don’t see Mark and I doing a lot of sleeping tonight.”

Graham smiled. “That would be greatly appreciated, ma’am.”

“Call me Nika,” she said, and Graham nodded in acknowledgement.

“How long have y’all lived here? Not long, I gather.”

“Two whole weeks, Sheriff,” Mark said. “Tell me, is this normal Elders Keep behavior? Bricks through windows?”

Graham shook his head. “It’s not our traditional method of greeting newcomers to the area, no. It’s usually pretty quiet around here.”

“Is The Store open twenty-four hours?” Mark asked. “I’ve got to get some plastic or something to cover up that hole. I’ve got some we used as a drop cloth when we were painting, but I don’t think its heavy duty enough.”

Graham got on his radio. “Hey, Kevin, do you still have that roll of plastic at your house?”

“Sure do,” the deputy replied.

“Do me a favor,” Graham said. “When Forensics gets here, run and get that for me, would you? No sense giving these people more hassle than need be.”

“Ten-four, Sheriff,” the deputy said. “I can do that, no problem.”

“That was good of you, Sheriff,” Mark said.