Snakes Among Sweet Flowers (25 page)

A police cruiser pulled up behind him and Walter and Jackson got out. Cam joined them in front of the house and they all stared at the silent residence, unsure of how to proceed. Walter finally stepped forward, turning on his flashlight and aiming it at the ground, then headed around the side of the house where the bedrooms were located. Jackson pulled his gun and went in the opposite direction. Cam followed after Jackson, sensing a need to protect the wounded man.

They met up with Walter at the back of the house, where he was examining the sliced screen of an open window. “I don’t think he’s still in there, but I reckon we need to be sure,” Walter commented softly.

“Who’s there?” came Ida’s voice from inside the room. “I’ve got a gun and I know how to use it.”

“It’s Walter, Ida. Don’t shoot. Is anyone in there with you?”

“Well, of course, there is. Charles is here. What are you doing at his bedroom window?” She pulled back the curtain, still holding a shotgun that looked too big for her to even lift, much less fire. After squinting out at the three standing on the other side of the window, she put the gun down. “You boys planning on climbing in, or should I go open the front door?” Charles stood behind her, his hair standing on end from where he had pulled off the oxygen mask he’d worn for sleep.

“I’m not sure I want you walking through the house to open the front door,” Walter responded. “Mind if I climb through and check the house first?”

Ida’s eyes grew large, and she reached over and grabbed the shotgun again. “Come on through.” She kept hold of the curtain as Walter pulled himself into the house.

“Meet you in the front, boys,” he said and turned away.

Jackson and Cam hurried back to the front door and waited for what seemed way too long before it was finally pulled open by Ida. “Come on in. I want to know what is going on, and it looks like you all could use some coffee.”

While Ida made coffee, Walter called a paramedic from the local fire department to come by, to everyone’s protest. “If nothing else, I want a record of the damage done by this man. Charles, this is stressful. Let them look you over. Cam, you too. He got you good. And, son, you aren’t even cleared to be working. I need to be sure you’re okay.”

Walter wasn’t accepting arguments, so instead, they took their coffee and went to sit in the living room and wait for the paramedic. Cam tried to explain what was going on during that time, apologizing profusely for the trouble he had caused.

“This isn’t your fault,” Ida reassured him, patting his shoulder. “You did the right thing, getting away from someone like that.”

While the paramedic crew checked everyone out, Cam noticed that Jackson looked worse and worse for wear. “Hey, Sheriff. About time to call it a night?”

Jackson looked up, dark circles under his eyes, and simply nodded.

“Take him home, Cam. I’ll stay here and hit the hardware store when it opens for a new screen,” Walter said. Then he walked the paramedics to the door. They’d decided everyone was okay for the time being, but left a list of symptoms for each to watch for.

Cam nodded, surprised that Walter would suggest it. “Come on,” he encouraged, offering his hand to help Jackson up. “Time to hit the hay.” Cam wondered how long it had been since Jackson took his pain meds and decided to make a point to be sure he did once Cam got him home.

Jackson looked as if he was going to refuse the help to stand but then thought better of it and accepted Cam’s hand. He grunted and groaned as he stood, and Cam had to hold back a few of his own as his stomach muscles contracted when he pulled.

After saying their good-byes, Cam helped Jackson out to his truck and into the passenger seat. He was sure Jackson was going to collapse at any moment, but as they drove through town, Jackson surprised him by pointing to the diner, which looked to already be open for the morning.

“Let’s stop. I need to eat something before I take my pills.”

Cam nodded and pulled into a parking place. He could definitely eat. It had been way too long since he’d put even a bite into his mouth, and he was sure it was the same for Jackson. When they got out of the car, Cam took a minute to scan the parking lot and area for Harold, but he had a feeling Harold was going to go silent for a while. At least, he hoped so.

Jackson entered ahead of him, but Cam didn’t miss the way all eyes came up and everyone in the restaurant stopped what they were doing. The only noise that didn’t stop was the jukebox in the corner.

“Looks like we are the talk of the town, Sheriff,” Cam whispered to the back of his head.

“Yup,” Jackson answered over his shoulder, then slid onto a stool at the counter. “I think maybe we should order to go. We can eat over at my place if you don’t mind.”

Cam nodded, then noticed the waitress who had overheard Jackson’s proposition, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

He turned all his attention to her, a grin spreading across his face. “Good morning, Susan. We need a to-go order. For refuelin’, if you know what I mean.”

“Cam….”

“It’s okay, Sheriff. I’ll be civil,” Cam reassured him. “I’ll take a sausage biscuit and another biscuit plain with lots of jellies.”

Jackson nodded. “Same for me. Thank you, Susan.” He seemed completely drained, and hung his head.

“Y’all need some coffee while you wait?” Susan asked after she put the order in.

Cam was looking around the restaurant, making sure all the people staring at him knew he’d noticed them. “I’ll have a water.”

Jackson didn’t look up, but answered, “Yeah, water is good.”

“So you sure it was Grant?” Cam asked.

“Pretty sure, after what you said to him that night.”

“One way to find out,” Cam said.

“What do you mean?”

Susan came back and slid two waters in front of them and was about to move on down the counter, but Cam reached out and took hold of her wrist.

“Hey, Susan. Who told you?”

Jackson finally found the energy to lift his head and stared at Cam in disbelief.

“I don’t know what—”

“Oh come on, Susan. Don’t be coy. Who told you about”—Cam waved his hand back and forth between himself and Jackson—“us.”

Susan’s mouth opened, but nothing came out as she seemed to try to work out how to answer. “Well, I—” she finally got out.

“Yeah?” Cam encouraged.

“It was Regina, okay?” She sounded a little mad that Cam had asked.

Cam turned to Jackson. “Regina?”

“Grant’s assistant,” Jackson filled in.

Cam turned back to Susan. “She told all these people?” Cam pointed to the others in the restaurant.

“Well, I think that’s more been by word of mouth.” Susan gave that
duh
look.

“Ah! The old Christian way.” Cam nodded.

“Cam…,” Jackson said warningly.

“Well, I think what you guys are doing is against the Bible, right?” Susan sounded very unsure of her conviction.

Cam shrugged. “I think it says you shouldn’t gossip too. So we’re both up shit creek, Susan.”

“Oh.” About that time, the bell dinged for an order up and Susan hurried off. She seemed happy to have a reason to get away.

“So you think Grant told Regina to tell people about us?” Cam asked.

Jackson shrugged. “Does it really matter, Cam?”

Cam considered that for a moment. “Yeah, it does.”

Susan appeared in front of them again with a plastic bag full of their breakfast. She sat a ticket down in front of them, and Cam scooped it up.

“I got it, Sheriff.” Cam doled out the total due and a nice-sized tip on top of it, then slapped it down on the counter and grabbed the bag.

Susan seemed pleased and smiled to show it as she collected the money. “Thanks, guys, come back any time.”

Cam waved as they headed out the door. “You can count on it.”

ONCE THEY
were back in the truck, Cam floored the gas and got them both out of there. It pissed him off that people were making his life their business and especially that they had upset Jackson so much because of it.

With a few mumbled instructions from Jackson, Cam pulled up in front of Jackson’s small home. It wasn’t as big as what Cam lived in, but it was nice, clean, and looked like it was built in the last millennium. Cam bet everything in the house was organized and nothing was out of place. The sheriff had that kind of vibe about him. Jackson had his life compartmentalized completely. There were no items or people that crossed over in the highly restricted sectors of Jackson’s life.
But then there’s me
, Cam thought. Cam had to admit he kinda fit in more than one of Jackson’s boxes. Huh….

After putting the truck in park, Cam turned to Jackson. “Still want me to come in? I can take mine home with me if you would rather be alone.”

Jackson looked down at his lap and took a moment before answering. “Come in and eat with me. I still feel a little strung out by all this. I was hoping you could tell me what’s going on.”

Cam shut off the engine. “Yeah, okay. I don’t really know either, but we can eat together, maybe make sense of it all.” They both climbed out and headed for the door.

Cam felt guilty for taking this time, like he should be out beating the bushes for Harold, but as worn to the bone as both of them were, Cam wasn’t sure what they would do once they found him. Maybe collapse on top of him and smother the asshole to death? The fucker was playing with him, Cam knew that, but he was also playing with the innocent lives of the people who lived in Hog Mountain. Maybe it was time for Cam to give up and go back to Atlanta with Harold. It could put an end to all this. Cam was about to make the suggestion to Jackson when he noticed he’d become surprisingly alert. Cam froze as Jackson drew his gun and pulled them both against the side of the house.

“The screen on the farthest window is cut,” Jackson whispered.

The other intrusions had upset Cam, made his blood boil, but Cam was tired and he knew Jackson was in even worse shape. “Goddammit!” Cam yelled and pushed away from the wall. “You stupid son of a bitch! You want me? Here I am, you one-eyed asshole!”

Jackson’s eyes widened, and he tried to pull Cam back against the side of the house, but Cam shrugged away and marched up to the front door, where he began yanking on the knob once he realized he couldn’t go in.

“Let me in, you motherfucker!” Beyond the pounding blood in his ears, Cam made out the squawk of Jackson’s radio and knew he was calling it in. But Cam felt crazed, wanted to pull Harold apart piece by piece. He was still screaming, most likely incoherently, and tugging at the door when a uniformed man pushed him aside and used Jackson’s key to open the door.

Jackson pulled Cam out of the way as other policemen entered the house. They both stood silent as they waited for the house to be searched, shoulder to shoulder and breathing hard. Cam had used the last of his strength in his rail against the door. He had no doubt he and Jackson were on the verge of falling over right where they stood.

Walter walked up, frowning, as one of the officers stepped out onto the front porch. “Sir, I think you need to see this.” Walter walked up the stairs to the porch and Cam and Jackson followed him. Inside, the house was ransacked, but the officer led them all to the back bedroom, which appeared to be the one used by Jackson.

Walter stopped in the doorway, blocking Cam and Jackson from entering, but from over his shoulder, it was still obvious that the room had been trashed and covered in what appeared to be blood. Cam pushed his head past the doorframe to read what had been scrawled on the walls.

DIE FAG PIG!

Cam’s heart pounded at the thought. Could Harold be planning to kill Jackson? Cam couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t let Harold kill anyone. This had to stop. Cam pulled out the cell and found the text message from Harold, then started typing.

“What are you doing, Cam?” Jackson asked.

“I’m ending this,” Cam answered.

“It’s not blood,” one of the officers told Walter. “It’s paint.”

Walter took a step into the room. “Ida Evans said some of her painting supplies were gone from the garage.”

“Cam…,” Jackson said. “What are you doing?”

Just as Cam hit Send, Jackson pulled the phone from his hands and read. Cam had sent:

I’m ready to go home, Harold. Let’s go.

“No!” Jackson yelled. “No. You aren’t going with him!”

Walter turned around and glanced between the two of them, then grabbed the phone and read the text. While he still held the phone, it announced an incoming answer.

I already decided to take one of these kids instead.

Cam swore under his breath. He was pretty sure Harold was baiting him, but how could he not take the message seriously?

Walter pulled his own phone from his pocket and tapped at the screen. When he put the phone to his ear, he said, “Junior, this is Walter. We have reason to believe our suspect may be on his way or already at your location. We are sending officers. You need to get your family somewhere safe.”

Walter hung up and called for the officers, telling them all where they were headed. Cam and Jackson both hurried to accompany them. They climbed into Cam’s truck and Cam took off ahead of all the police cars, determined to get to Harold first.

Cam no longer felt the lethargy he had only minutes ago. Adrenaline was now pushing him to his limits. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, a deep need to strangle Harold bubbling up inside of him, causing his fingers to turn white with the pressure he was exerting.

Beside him, Jackson was quiet, his jaw set firmly as he stared out the window. The back of the truck slid as they turned onto the dirt road leading to Junior and Ruby Mae’s house, but Cam didn’t slow down. He had to make sure that Harold didn’t hurt anyone. He had to stop this once and for all. Harold was capable of just about anything. The asshole had proved that when he killed Detra. Detra…. And didn’t thinking of her just make him that much angrier.

Cam slammed on the brakes as he pulled up in front of the house, then jumped out of the truck and ran toward where Junior and Ruby were trying to get their mess of kids into the old beat-up station wagon they owned.