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Chapter 15

Pendergast opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. The sun had just dipped behind the trees and much of the porch was cloaked in shadows. Tigg was gone and the darkening yard was silent. Pendergast walked over to the work area and stopped to look at several objects which had been left on the porch railing. The first was a stone knife blade similar to the one he had seen at Bridgier’s store. The others appeared to be rough forms for smaller blades and projectile points. He leaned forward to examine them more closely.

“You don’t want to walk any further over there. Debitage is rather rough on bare feet.”

Pendergast turned towards the voice. Tigg stood at the end of the porch, a thin bladed knife in one hand and a small skinned carcass in the other. She followed Pendergast’s gaze.

“Rabbit. Are you out for a breath of fresh air, or were you looking for me?”

“I have a few questions which thus far remain unanswered.”

“Fine. We can talk while I fix us dinner.” Tigg opened the cabin door and stepped inside. Pendergast followed.

“Will Mr. Ravenwood be joining us?”

Tigg froze, then walked to the kitchen area and dropped the carcass in the sink.

“No.”

“Pity. I am a great admirer of his artwork. I would have liked to meet him.”

Tigg turned and stared at Pendergast for a moment.

“I’ll take you to him later.” Tigg opened the door on the stove and started to add kindling for the fire. Pendergast sat down at the table and began leafing through one of the journals.

“You said you have some unanswered questions,” said Tigg without turning around. “What are they?”

“You made no mention in your journals of how you managed to leave the hospital undetected.”

“And that knowledge will help you with the profile?”

Pendergast thought for a moment. “Call it ‘professional curiosity’.”

“I call it ‘being nosy’. Let’s just say I had some outside help.”

“From Mr. Glinn, your ‘guardian’?”

“If you already knew, then why did you ask?”

“I merely speculated. I would like to hear the full version, as well as why you wanted to leave.”

Tigg turned and glared at Pendergast. “The fact that they were planning to send me to a nut house was not a good enough reason?”

Pendergast gazed at her impassively. Tigg sighed and continued.

“I had been fully aware of my surroundings for some time. I chose to play the part of the traumatized victim because if the real killer believed I was a viable witness, my life wouldn’t have been worth Jack Shit. I waited until I was able to function at a near normal level before I planned to leave and in the mean time I found out how lax the security was at that hospital. When I got to the point where I could walk without assistance, I took a short nighttime stroll. No one saw me. It was amazing how un-alert the night staff was at that place.” She gave a short derisive snort. “After that I made several more trips and got to know the layout of the hospital pretty well. Unfortunately, there was no real way for me to leave once I left the building. I was lucky that Eli came to visit when he did.”

“I’m surprised that Mr. Glinn would take part in such a risky project.”

“I was able to convince him it would be beneficial to both of us.”

Pendergast waited for further explanation, but Tigg was silent.

“Why did Glinn bring you to Black Mountain?”

Tigg sighed. “I was not as suited to a ‘normal’ life as we thought. I had difficult time adjusting to my new environment, I started having severe nightmares, and when I woke up I tended to be...destructive. It was a little too much for someone who likes order as much as Eli does, and I was too unpredictable for someone who expects everyone will follow a rational path. He had to come up with a contingency plan, and this was it. He brought me here to live with John Ravenwood, and old military associate, whom he knew well and trusted. I presume he expected John to be a stabilizing influence. He thought that given time, I would be able to return to the ‘real world’. He was only partially right.”

“You refused to leave.” Pendergast thought for a moment. “It still does not sound like a project Glinn would undertake. There must be another reason.”

“You can ask Eli that question yourself.” Tigg placed a cast iron skillet on the stove and added something from a large bottle. She returned to the sink and started to cut the carcass into small pieces. She took a small bowl and several canisters from the cabinet, added some of the contents of each to the bowl, and rolled the pieces of meat in the mixture. Pendergast watched with mild interest. After several minutes of silence, he spoke.

“Do you think you will ever leave this place?”

“Not without a damn good reason.”



Charlie Quinn drove into the visitor’s lot of Good Samaritan and parked his cruiser near the entrance. He had received a call minutes before from Cambry’s doctor and the man had indicated that he would like to meet with Quinn at his convenience. As Quinn walked towards the entrance, he thought about his brief meeting with Mathies that afternoon. He had reported that Cambry’s crash was apparently not an accident and had voiced his opinion of who might be responsible. Mathies had been taken aback by his speculation and stated that Quinn needed a lot more evidence before pursuing such a crazy theory. Quinn hoped to get more evidence by talking to Cambry as soon as he was coherent. After meeting with Mathies, Quinn had returned to his desk and started searching for more information in the online edition of the local newspaper in southern West Virginia. The online editions only went back 5 years, so his search turned up nothing. Frustrated, he headed towards the hospital and was almost there when Dr. Aubrey had called.

Quinn found the information desk and asked the nurse to page Cambry’s doctor. Dr. Aubrey arrived within a few minutes, and Quinn asked if they could speak in private.

They went to the doctor’s office and closed the door.

“What can you tell me?”

“Mr. Cambry sustained a compound fracture of the left humerus, three broken ribs, a severe concussion, and multiple abrasions and contusions. He had some internal bleeding from a lacerated lung which was caused by one of the broken ribs. We will need to keep him for a few days to monitor his injuries and ensure he doesn’t develop pneumonia, which can occur in cases of rib and lung trauma.”

Damn, thought Quinn, I’d hate to think what would have happened if he hadn’t made it out of the truck.



“When can I talk to him?”

“He is not ready for visitors just yet. Why are you so desperate to speak with him?”

“The crash was not an accident. I’m hoping he might be able to tell me something that will help us catch the person who sabotaged his truck.”

Dr. Aubrey looked shocked. “Do you think that person might come after him again?”

“It’s possible. It would be a good idea to give the impression that he’s unable to talk. He’s safe as long as he’s not perceived as a threat.”

“I see. I’ll make sure that the staff knows he is not allowed to have visitors, and we’ll tell anyone who asks that we are waiting to hear from next of kin before releasing any information. Will that do?”

“For now. I still need to talk to him.”

“He is on fairly strong pain medication. I doubt he will be very coherent, but you may try to get the information you need. Follow me.” Dr. Aubrey led Quinn to the elevator and they ascended to the 5th floor. Dr. Aubrey stopped at the desk and informed the nurses of Cambry’s “special situation”. He then led Quinn down the hall to room 535. Quinn peered into the room at the figure on the bed, and was unnerved by Cambry’s appearance. His formerly tanned and healthy face was pale and bruised. The side of his head was bandaged, and his left arm was in a thick cast. Quinn and Dr. Aubrey approached the bed, and Cambry’s eyes slowly opened. He looked at Quinn, smiled slightly and spoke in a weak voice.

“I guess I missed the meeting...”

Quinn looked at the floor. He had always been uncomfortable talking to people in hospital beds. Finally he looked back at Cambry, who was watching him with a slightly glazed expression.

“What happened, Brian?”

Cambry closed his eyes for a moment, and then spoke.

“No brakes...no steering...couldn’t stop...I ...jumped.”

“Did you notice anything strange last night? Was anyone following you?”

“I don’t remember...I wasn’t really...paying attention.”

“Did you tell anyone that you were coming to Winstead?”

“Just Amelia...we talked about...the case.” Cambry’s responses were becoming slower and his voice was getting weaker.

“Amelia Harding?”

“That’s right. We used to...work together.”

“Would she have told anyone else?”

Cambry didn’t respond. Quinn was about to ask the question again when Dr. Aubrey put a restraining hand on his arm.

“Mr. Cambry needs rest. You can try again tomorrow.”

“But I—”

“Please. I have to think of the patient’s welfare. Your questions can wait. I assure you, he’s not going anywhere for awhile.” Dr. Aubrey turned and headed for the door.

Damn it, thought Quinn, and with a sigh followed the doctor back out into the hallway.



Rick Mathies sat at his desk, leafing through the quarterly budget reports, and wishing he could be somewhere else. After almost an hour, he finished perusing the reports, wrote up a list of changes, and set the whole stack in his out box. He would take them to Sherri on his way out, but for the time being he just wanted a few moments of peace. He thought back to Quinn’s theory of who was behind the murders as well as Cambry’s accident. Quinn’s losing it,he thought. Too much stress for a guy who wanted a quiet semi-retirement. I’ll have to talk to him about taking some time off as soon as Glinn’s associate shows up to help us out. Mathies leaned back in his chair and stared out the office window. I just wish the guy would get here.

He heard a knock and then Sherri opened the office door and stuck her head in.

“Bonnie is here to see you.”

Mathies’ mood brightened. “Send her in.”

Sherri opened the door wider and a young woman with curly brown hair and deep green eyes walked into the office. Mathies rose from his desk and greeted her with a warm embrace. She returned the greeting and stepped back to gaze at Mathies.

“Mom was right, you do look like Hell.”

“Is that any way to talk to your dear old Dad?”

“Hey, I’m just calling things the way I see them. She said you’d been really overworked lately. I thought the boss gets to call the shots and makes everyone else do the dirty work.” She gave him a lopsided grin.

“Not a chance. Now, to what do I owe this visit?”

“Mom wanted to make sure you didn’t miss our monthly get-together. She sent me down to drag you away from your case files.”

“Ah, I see, it’s a conspiracy. Not to worry, I was done for the day anyway. Let’s go.” He grabbed the stack of reports from the out box and walked to the outer office. Bonnie followed and shut the door behind them.

“Here you are Sherri, the budget reports, reviewed and a list of corrections added. I’m heading out now.” Sherri took the reports and walked back to her desk. Bonnie looked around the outer office and paused at Quinn’s desk.

“Where is your new deputy sheriff?”

“He’s out following up on an auto accident.”

“Too bad. I wanted to meet him.”

“I’m sure you’ll have the opportunity. Let’s go, your mother will be waiting for us.”



From across the street, the killer watched as Mathies and his daughter climbed into their respective cars and drove away. Ah, the dutiful child, paying a monthly visit to her beloved parents, just like clockwork. How convenient. The killer gave a low dry chuckle. The Sheriff’s department is having such a busy time lately, but they appear to be slacking off. It’s time they had something else to keep them occupied...

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