He let out a long sigh. Well, one way or another Jesse’s gonna be out of the picture. That should sure sweeten things up with Linda.
LINDA HEARD THE front door open, sat down her coffee, and peered out from the kitchen. Dillard came in carrying Abigail in one arm. She was wrapped in her blanket, still in her pajamas, fast asleep against his chest.
Linda started to ask what on earth he was doing with Abigail at this hour in the morning, when another question hit her: had something happened to her mother?
Dillard put a finger to his lips, handed Abigail off to Linda. Abigail mumbled irritably, clutched her doll, and fell back asleep.
“Dillard,” Linda whispered. “What?”
“Put her to bed. I’ll explain.”
Linda didn’t care at all for the look on Dillard’s face. She took Abigail to her room, tucked her in, and returned quickly. She found Dillard sitting at the table, warming his hands around a steaming cup of coffee.
“What’s happened?”
Dillard tapped the chair next to him. “Have a seat, Linda. We need to talk.”
The sternness of his voice caught her off guard. “Okay . . . sure.” She sat down, braced herself, then noticed that he had her keys.
“Dillard, honey, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
“It’s Jesse.”
“Jesse?” This threw her for a moment. “Oh . . . oh, no. What’s he gone and done now?”
“He threatened to kill you and Abigail.”
“What?” She stood back up. “What are you talking about?”
Dillard took a sip of his coffee. “Jesse went on a rampage last night.”
“Jesse? No. Is he all right? What happened? Dillard, is he okay?”
“It’s not him you should be so worried about,” Dillard said, a bite to his voice. “Seen this too many times before. Bitter split-ups leading to folks doing the worst sort of things to one another.”
“Dillard, just tell me what happened.”
“Jesse didn’t take the news real good.”
“What news? Dillard, what are—”
“About us getting married and all.”
Linda sat back down. “Wait. How did he find out . . . you told him?”
Dillard looked at her as though she were a child, she hated that look. “Dillard . . . no! You weren’t supposed to do that.” She struggled to keep her temper in check. “You had no right. That was just between us.” She glared at him. “Why, we haven’t even firmed anything up. It wasn’t your place to—”
He clamped a hand over her wrist. His eyes grew hard, his mouth tight. “It needed to be done, so I done it.”
She started to respond then caught the look in his eye: a deep coldness, it scared her. His grip tightened. “Dillard, let go. You’re hurting me.” She pried his fingers loose and pulled her arm away. “Now, please tell me what happened.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, inhaled deeply; when he reopened them he seemed back to himself. “Jesse met up with Chet and Lynyrd last night looking to do some work for the General. They said he seemed desperate and agitated, thought he might be jacked up on something. They told him the General was done with him and to go look for work someplace else. Well, Jesse didn’t take that so well. Got on a rant cussing the General, cussing me, you, Jesus, and everyone else in Creation. When Chet and Lynyrd tried to calm him down he pulled out his gun, threatened to shoot them. Said he’d see you and Abigail dead before he’d let another man have you. Fired a few shots into the air, got in his truck, and drove off.”
Linda covered her mouth.
“Chet called me last night and warned me. I’ve been up all night trying to track Jesse down.”
“Oh, God.” Linda planted both hands on the table to steady herself.
“Linda, this ain’t the Jesse you once knew. He’s upset, unstable. There’s just no telling what he might do.”
Linda shook her head, couldn’t make herself believe any of it. Jesse had done a lot of crazy things, but he’d never raised so much as a finger to her or Abigail—or to anyone that she could recall, for that matter.
“Linda, I need you to help me out here. Need to know I can count on you.”
She nodded quickly. “Of course, I’ll do whatever I can. What—”
“I need you to stay in the house until I tell you otherwise. Can you do that?”
No, she thought. I need to find Jesse. Need to talk to him.
“I need to find Jesse before someone gets hurt,” Dillard continued. “Before Jesse hurts himself, hurts you or the little girl of yours. Right now, I’m betting Jesse’s in his truck somewhere sleeping off a bad drunk. I’d like to catch him before he gets his blood up again. Bring him in and let him cool off in a cell for a few days. Maybe that way no one will get hurt. Be a lot easier on me if I know you and Abigail are right here.”
“Dillard, there’s no need to worry about us. Jesse was just upset. I promise you he’s full of talk, that’s all. Jesse would never hurt Abi. Never.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But can you tell me he wouldn’t grab Abigail and run off if he had the chance? Are you absolutely sure on that?”
Linda started to answer, then didn’t, because she couldn’t say for sure. “Just don’t see why—”
Dillard was looking at her that way again, like she didn’t know how to tie her own shoes. “Here, let me spell it out. I can’t do my job if I’m worrying and wondering where you and Abigail might be.” She could hear the growing aggravation in his voice. “You can’t stay at your mother’s, because she’s too far out of town. Need you right here, where I can keep a close eye on you. Okay? You think you can do me that one little favor?”
She took a deep breath and tried to let it go. He’s upset, been up all night. Just worried about Abi and me. That’s all, just let it go for now. “Okay,” Linda said. “Okay.”
“Good.” Dillard stood, tugged on his jacket, and headed for the door. “Just sit tight. Noel’s casing the neighborhood, he’ll have his eye on things till I’m back. So long as you stay put, all will be just fine.”
He left the house, locking the door behind him. It wasn’t until he’d driven off that Linda realized he’d taken her keys with him. She rubbed her wrist where he’d grabbed her, couldn’t stop thinking about the way his eyes had gone so cold. She found herself wondering if maybe she’d rushed into things, if his nice house and new car had made it too easy to ignore the rumors about his first wife.
JESSE CAUGHT SIGHT of a short steeple peeking up above a thicket of trees and brush, and slowed down. He found a driveway—all but swallowed by bushes—and turned off the gravel road. Brambles and saplings scraped the side of the truck as he drove down a long drive to a small church. The structure had a slight lean to it, as though one more hard wind would see it over. The boards and siding were stripped of paint and weathered pale gray. A large wooden cross lay splintered upon the front steps, apparently having tumbled from its perch atop the steeple. The door and windows were boarded up, and Jesse found no sign that anyone had visited the place in ages.
They were well clear of the road, but Jesse didn’t want to take any chances, so he pulled all the way behind the church, parking beneath a sprawling oak. He cut off the engine and got out. Isabel did the same and they came around as the Belsnickels helped Krampus from the camper. Krampus slung the sack over his shoulder and slid out. His skin and hair were even darker now, a true deep black, almost pitch, and his horns appeared to be growing back. He still had a slight hobble to his walk, but Jesse found it hard to believe that this was the same wretched creature he’d first seen in the cave.