Chapter 13: Living Hell

The night was a living hell for Luis. He couldn't sleep, and tossed and turned in his bed with the images of the previous day. Mixed with them were sights and sounds from past cases. They swirled together into a soup that kept his mind revving uncomfortably high.

He saw flashes of severed limbs, and snippets of words spoken from some long forgotten cult member. They came to him as if carried on the wind, and then were whisked away, leaving only an unpleasant after-odor that grew stronger with every transient memory.

Every sound and movement made his body twitch and cringe in terror. The excitement he had originally felt at what had happened at the cemetery had turned into fear. He was positive something was out there following him, and lying in bed only made him feel more vulnerable.

The clock read four-thirty when he finally decided to rise and pace around the house. His pistol was still strapped firmly to his side, and Luis told himself he should have stayed at the office. It was more secure.

He had never been this scared. Then again, he had never experienced anything like what he had seen. He drank a cup of coffee and listened to the wind rustle the leaves on the trees next to his house. He walked over to the window and sat down in a lazy-boy he had purchased years ago at a garage sale. The worn leather attested to the use he had given it over the years. He sat and watched the passing of time outside.

It was a slow, gradual process and the shadows began to emerge as some of the sun's rays begin to poke over the horizon. The darkness of the night was slowly replaced by a reddish light that grew, and as the wavelengths of the light increased, so did the whiteness and brightness. The streetlights began to look like just what they were, pale imitations of the bright star that had fueled everything on earth for billions of years.

The lights silenced the solemn quiet of the night and replaced it with the hum of day. He didn't see more activity, but Luis could sense it. There was a sense of bustle, as if thousands of insects and animals were awakening and moving about under the earth. A few at a time, cars appeared on the streets, and a neighbor emerged to walk down the driveway and return with the paper.

Luis welcomed the day and light, although his exhausted body felt like climbing into bed and attempting another go at sleep. He ignored his body's physical cravings and sipped another cup of coffee.

He showered and dressed, wolfed down a bagel and then drove to the office.

He pulled into the driveway knowing that something had changed. The humming of the day had been different day, somehow less complete. There was also a hardly perceptible change in the appearance of the town. At the intersection of Broad and Happy St., there seemed to be one less car, and the traffic in other areas seemed just a little too light. Several of the stores that were normally open at this time still displayed "Closed" signs. At the local coffee shop, there were only three police cars parked out front instead of the usual four.

These were the subtle differences he had been trained to notice as an investigative journalist, and he pulled into the office more apprehensive and worried than ever.

Evelyn the receptionist was seated at the front desk when he walked in. He smiled at her and she grunted as usual. At least some things were the same.

"Where is everyone?" she asked in her annoying whine.

"What do you mean?" Luis stopped walking and his interest threw her off guard.

"Oh, I mean a few people are just later than usual. I thought maybe they were taking an early holiday."

"Who isn't here yet?"

"Tom Kettle and Valerie Smizola." Tom had a propensity for being late, but Virginia Smizola was almost always on time. Of course, people had conflicts, and Luis tried to tell himself she was probably doing some research or at the doctors.

"Did either of them fill out the board?"

"No."

"Well, I'm sure they will show up." He said reassuringly, although he felt anything but confident.

The editor was waiting for him when he walked into his office. Talking with James O' Grady was the last thing in the world he wanted to do. O' Grady was a man of medium stature, with a wisp of gray hair on his head that stood straight up on particularly humid days. Today was one of those days. Luis walked in and O' Grady immediately jumped up and began to pace the room.

"Morning."

"Morning." Neither man said anything more and then O' Grady started.

"What have you found out about the Hanson murders?"

"I'm still working on it, although I think there is more to the case than I initially suspected."

"Well, I agree, and I think that may even be an understatement. There is something damn weird going on in this town." Luis raised his eyebrows.

"Weird?" O' Grady blushed. When he had first been assigned to the Wellow Falls Tribune by the parent company, O' Grady had fought vociferously against the appointment. He claimed that Wellow Falls was a good wholesome American town, and it didn't need some weird crackpot poking around looking for UFOs in townspeople's ovens. O' Grady had lost, but he hadn't exactly made life easy for Luis. He had assigned him to some of the more boring stories around town, like covering the annual Memorial and Labor Day parties at the lake. O' Grady knew he hated celebrity gossip.

"Yes, weird. I know, I admit that it has to be a cold day in hell before I'd say that word, especially to you, but you've heard it. Last night, the Hanson parent's bodies were stolen from the grave." O' Grady scowled while searching for the appropriate words to express what was on his mind. "Sergeant Bulima claims that the evidence seems to suggest that the coffins were pried open from inside. In addition, a large area of the graveyard has been burned. They think it was arson, gasoline."

"So someone had a vendetta against the Hanson's and killed them. We thought they were dead, they weren't, they popped out of their caskets and burned the cemetery in retaliation for being buried alive." O' Grady turned red and his cheeks puffed out like a blow fish preparing for battle.

"Very smart Luis, very smart. I deserve to have the situation reversed on me but remember, I'm still your boss. Besides, there is more. This morning, Selectman Roony's body was found by his wife. She had been away on a trip and Roony was supposed to pick her up this morning at the airport. When he didn't show up, she took a taxi home and found him lying in his bed." Luis was afraid to ask the next logical question and he could see the advantage had quickly shifted back to O' Grady. The man was very tactfully adept.

"Cause of death?" he whispered. O' Grady knew he had him.

"You little smart-ass, he was stabbed up the chin, just like all three of the Hanson's."

"Is that it?"

"No. The housekeeper of the Jacob's called the police at exactly 7:35 this morning. She goes over to help the kids get ready for school and make breakfast for the family." The smile left O' Grady and he had trouble saying the words. Luis did it for him.

"Dead?" O' Grady nodded. "Same as the others?" O' Grady nodded again. Luis tapped his pencil against the table and looked around the room. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Well, that's where the problem comes in. We've got two problems?"

"We?" Luis said sarcastically.

"Do you work for this paper. Does it pay your bills?" He nodded. "As long as that is happening, it's we, got it? The first problem is that while we have a story, we don't have much back-up information. We know people were killed, but we don't know why, and we don't even have the foggiest clue of by whom?"

"It looks to me like some kind of cult." Normally, O' Grady would have flipped at the suggestion. Today he didn't.

"It could be, the problem is that these murders have fallen at a very delicate time in the town's cycle, and certain people want to keep it quiet for a little while."

"Keep it quiet, you've got to be kidding!" Luis roared, knowing what was going to come next.

"It's right before Labor Day, before the big lake festival. The town is very worried that any negative publicity will hurt the event."

"You're not going to let them muzzle you, are you? Besides, the townspeople and potential visitors have a right to know that there's something strange going on in Wellow Falls."

"I don't plan to be muzzled Luis. They have simply requested that we delay a release of the information pending further investigation. I've agreed to do that. As far as everyone's safety is concerned, the Selectman have assured me that there will be extra security to ensure that whatever is happening in this town does not affect the weekend. They are working very hard to crack the case."

"So why are you talking to me?" O' Grady smiled and Luis realized he simply did not like the man. He had his own agenda and Luis could only imagine the favors the town had bestowed upon him to hold the story for awhile.

"Because I know you Luis, and I know you're probably onto the story. I don't want to discourage you, it's right up your seedy alley. I've even given you some extra information. Go out, investigate, solve the riddle. But don't you dare break this story before the end of the weekend. Because if you do, I promise you that I will personally tan your ass with the rusty razor blades my wife uses to shave her legs." O' Grady could make a point when he wanted to and Luis realized the town had paid him off very well to keep the story quiet.

"Got it?" He had been in this situation before. It was best to agree and than follow whatever direction fate moved him in.

"Sure boss, whatever you say."