In that moment, Jake thought about turning around, getting the hell out of Harrington Falls altogether, and running for the other side of the country just as fast as he could, but his reasoning of a few moments ago quickly rose up and cast the idea back into the depths from which his mind had dredged it.
I am going in there, I am going to do what has to be done, and that is that.
Do your best,Jake thought in defiance, and stepped onto the first riser of the veranda.
In the silence after Jake’s departure, Sam and Katelynn stared at each other, uncertain of what to do next.
Katelynn broke the silence first, “Do something, Sam!”
He just looked at her, saying nothing.
“Come on, Sam! Don’t just sit there. You’ve got to stop him. He’s going to get himself killed!”
Sam knew it was useless, that once Jake made up his mind about something, nothing short of a bullet to the back of his head was going to stop him from doing it. The panic-stricken look on Katelynn’s face made him realize that he had to at least make an effort.
But he was already too late.
Even as he turned toward the door, the sudden roar of the Jeep’s engine could be heard outside. Opening the door, Sam was in time to witness Jake’s brake lights disappearing around the corner at the far end of the street.
He felt a hand on his good shoulder and turned to see Katelynn behind him, the anguish plain on her face. They had no idea where Jake was headed, and neither of them could summon the courage to meet him at Riverwatch.
Katelynn spoke softly, “Oh, Sam, what are we going to do?”
He didn’t know. Unless they did something, however, there was a very good chance that Jake was going to become the Nightshade’s next victim.
An idea suddenly reared its head.
“Stay here,” Sam told her, and disappeared back inside the house. A few minutes later he reappeared, carrying his backpack.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Sam tossed the backpack onto the rear seat of his car and climbed in behind the wheel. Katelynn quickly followed. When Sam pulled out and headed down the street, she said, “Riverwatch is the other way, Sam. Where are you going?”
“We’re not following Jake,” he replied. “We’ve got an appointment with someone else.” He handed her a piece of paper.
In the light from a passing streetlamp, Katelynn recognized it as a page torn from the phone book. A name and address about halfway down the page was circled in red ink.
The name was Damon Wilson.
At that moment, Damon was seated in his study, staring at the pages of the reports in front of him without really seeing them. He didn’t need to; he’d read through them so many times over the last few weeks that he practically had them memorized, even down to McClowski’s spelling errors.
Nothing in them told him what he so desperately needed to know.
What was killing the citizens of Harrington Falls?
After three frustrating days of relentless investigation, he was no closer to the truth than when he’d started. It was wearing on him. By day he was short-tempered and mean, taking out his frustrations on his staff in one fashion or another. By night he was an insomniac, words and phrases from the investigation scrolling through his mind. On the rare occasions he did sleep, he was tormented by nightmarish visions of the victims themselves, torn and mangled. He’d taken to downing several shots of Scotch before heading to bed, hoping the liquor would deaden the memories enough so that he could get some rest.
It was a vicious cycle with no end in sight, and Damon knew that unless he found some answers soon, something, somewhere, was bound to break, and it would probably be him.
Damon turned, glancing out the sliding glass door behind him. Through the glass he could see that it was well past dawn.
He breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.
For days, the dark had been bothering him.
It had gotten to the point that he couldn’t look out the window at night without growing uncomfortable. It sat there on the other side of the glass, black and thick, watching, waiting, looking for the smallest opportunity to break into the light and snatch another life out from under his very nose.
Damon turned away from the door, intending to return to the papers in front of him, when the sound of car doors slamming reached his ears.
He glanced at the digital clock on the other side of the room—7:30A.M .
Who the hell?
Maybe there’s a break in the case,he thought suddenly.Maybe they didn’t want the information to go out over the radio for fear of the press catching wind of it. While he knew it was wishful thinking, Damon’s steps grew lighter, a sense of heady anticipation welling inside him.
The bell sounded, and its echoes hadn’t even faded before he slipped the lock and opened the door.
“Mind if we come in?” Sam asked the sheriff. “We really need to talk to you.”
Without a word Damon stepped back, allowing Sam and Katelynn room to step inside. After Sam introduced Katelynn, Damon indicated the hall that led to the living room and they all headed in that direction.
Katelynn took a seat on the sofa, Sam beside her, and, without thinking, Damon chose the seat across from them, the coffee table like an unconscious dividing line between them. It was only after he sat down that Damon felt the first traces of the adversarial nature of their choice of seating, a feeling that grew as his police instincts recognized he’d been right; Sam and his friends did know something about what was happening in Harrington Falls.
Damon spoke first. “I know I suggested you make an appointment to see me this morning, Mr. Travers, but I didn’t expect to see you this early,” he said lightly, hoping to dispel some of the tension he could feel slowly enveloping them. “What can I do for you two?”
He watched as they glanced at each other, saw Katelynn nod to Sam, and so wasn’t surprised when it was the latter who addressed him in reply. The ball had quite clearly been dropped into Sam’s court.
“Sorry it’s so early, but we needed to speak to you.”
Damon nodded for him to continue.
“I, we, need to tell you a few things, but before we do, we need to get your promise that telling you won’t cause us further trouble. If we don’t get your word on that, I’m afraid we can’t continue.”
Puzzled, Damon stared at the two of them for a moment without answering.Just what have they gotten themselves into?
Cautiously, Damon said, “As long as whatever it is doesn’t break the law and would therefore violate my oath as an officer, I guess I can agree to that.”
Sam hesitated, and glanced at Katelynn.
“I think that’s the best we’re going to get, Sam. Tell him,” Katelynn replied, and Damon was surprised to hear the pain and resignation in her tone.
Turning to the sheriff, Sam said bluntly, “We know what has been committing the murders.”
So shocked was he at the announcement that Damon didn’t pick up on Sam’s choice of words. He leaned forward eagerly in his chair. “Who?”
Taking a deep breath, Sam told him.
About the statue.
About Gabriel and his tale of the Age of Creation.
About the Nightshade and the attack at Riverwatch.
He told him everything they knew. When he was through it all, Sam told the sheriff where Jake was headed and what his friend intended to do.