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Chapter 16

Glinn leaned forward to stare at the computer screen that had suddenly gone blank just seconds before. He knew what to expect, and was not surprised when the image appeared before his eyes. The picture of a mime spinning a globe disappeared, and a line of text crossed the screen.

G, my man! I have what you asked for. I’m beaming it to you now.

Would you summarize the information for me?

Hey, I just get the goodies, I don’t dig into them.

But surely your curiosity gets the better of you sometimes?

Yes, it does...And don’t call me Shirley!

Mime...

Oh, all right, all right! Here’s the skinny: seems like this Darrow was one crooked bastard. He was investigated by the feds a couple of times, but nothing stuck. His name was associated with a couple of big-wigs in that town, on some of their “sensitive projects”, IYKWIM.

Was?

The devil got his due. Darrow was killed early this morning. He’s now a Crispy Critter. They found him in his shed.

Was the fire set or was it an accident?

Are you kidding? With all the bad mojo this guy had, I’d bet someone whacked him, and I’m not a gambling man.

Glinn thought for a moment. The program had given a high probability that the killer would violently attack those who were observed connecting the two cases, but Darrow was low on the list of possible sources. This would certainly require further investigation. He leaned forward and resumed typing.

Have you finished compiling the other information I requested yesterday?

I’m good, but I’m not THAT good, my man. You’ll get it, don’t worry. I’ll have it all by tomorrow morning.

Very well, Mime. I will be expecting it.

TTFN

The screen went blank. Glinn retrieved the file on Darrow that Mime had sent, opened it, and began to read.



Amelia Harding was just gathering up her things to leave when the phone rang. She hesitated, almost afraid to answer. Officer Keckley, the state trooper who had been assigned to take over for her gave her a quizzical look and answered the phone. Amelia had just made it to the door when she heard the trooper call her name.

“Officer Harding? It’s for you.”

Amelia turned and walked back towards her desk. She took the receiver from the trooper’s outstretched hand, drew in a deep breath, and answered the call.

“This is Officer Harding speaking, how may I help you?”

“This is Deputy Sheriff Quinn from the Winstead Sheriff’s Office. You called earlier about Brian Cambry.”

Oh, no...

“Uh, yes, I did. How...how is he?”

“Still unconscious. He’s in pretty bad shape.”

Oh, Brian, what did you walk into? And why did I let you do it?

“Officer Harding?”

“I...I’m here. That is...just terrible. I hope he’s going to be all right.” She noticed that Officer Keckley was watching her out of the corner of his eye.

“That remains to be seen. Why were you trying to contact him this morning?”

“There’s a, uh, situation here where I thought he might be able to help.”

“Oh? What kind of a situation?”

“We’re, uh, a bit short handed, and I was hoping for his help. In an unofficial capacity, of course.” She darted her eyes nervously towards Keckley, but he appeared to be absorbed in a file open on his desk.

“Isn’t that something your sheriff would have to approve?”

“Not in this case. Anyway, it’s...been resolved. Please, if you hear anything else about his condition, let me know.”

“Officer Harding, is there something wrong there?”

Yes, and I’m the world’s worst liar.

“No, nothing. Thank you for calling.” She quickly hung up the phone.

“Is there a problem, Officer Harding?” Keckley asked with mild interest.

“No, it’s nothing. Good night.” She quickly opened the front door and walked out to her cruiser. She looked around nervously before she climbed in. She sat in the cruiser for a minute and when she was finally convinced that she wasn’t being watched, she started the car and headed home.

Two hundred miles away, Charlie Quinn sat at his desk, staring in surprise at the receiver. He placed it back on the hook and looked out the front window into the night.

Something has that woman rattled, he thought. And not just Cambry’s accident. He was about to call back when the phone rang.

“Winstead—”

“Charlie, this is Sherri. I was looking up stuff online when I came across something that I thought you might need to hear.”

“What is it?”

“You know that town where Cambry worked, Pine Mountain? Guess what? Their sheriff was murdered last night.”

“You’re kidding.” Charlie felt a knot growing in the pit of his stomach.

“Nope. Someone set fire to his shed with him in it.”

“Are they sure it was set?”

“The article said it was arson. Something happens to two members of the same department in one night. That’s one hell of a coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Sherri, don’t mention this to anyone else, do you understand? We can talk to Mathies’ about it tomorrow, but for right now, keep this to yourself. I’m starting to get a really bad feeling about this case.”

“You think that—?”

“I think that there’s more to this than just what’s happened here. Now, as soon as Arlene gets in, I’m going back to the hospital to keep an eye on Cambry. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He put the receiver back on the hook and leaned back in his chair.

Now I know why Amelia Harding was so desperate to talk to Cambry, and why she won’t talk now, he thought darkly. Someone has been busy...



As the moon rose over Black Mountain, Pendergast followed Tigg along a well worn path through the forest. He used his flashlight to illuminate the trail in front of him, but Tigg appeared to know the way well and moved quickly ahead without the benefit of a light source. Over the past hour, Pendergast had attempted to gain more information from Tigg about her journal entries but she had grown increasingly cryptic and had only given him the barest of details. He was convinced that she knew more, but she had evaded his questions and after several attempts to change the subject, she had abruptly announced that it was time to go see Ravenwood. Pendergast had tried to question her as they set out through the forest, but she had remained silent.

They had been walking for about twenty minutes when they arrived at a small clearing at the edge of a deep ravine. The valley below was illuminated by the rising moon, and Pendergast surmised that during the day the view would have been breathtaking. Tigg walked over to a large boulder near the edge of the ravine and sat down as Pendergast waited where the trail emerged from the woods. Tigg gazed out into the valley for a few moments, and gave a short rueful laugh. She turned back to Pendergast.

“Best view in Black Mountain, and peaceful, too. John’s favorite place.”

Pendergast looked around the clearing. “I was under the impression we were going to meet Mr. Ravenwood.”

“I said I would take you to him. I have.” She pointed to a spot behind Pendergast. He turned and raised his flashlight. The light illuminated an elongated pile of rocks at the base of a larger boulder, and as he moved forward, he could see words chipped into the flat surface of the stone. He bent down towards the inscription.

Just think! Some night the stars will gleam upon a cold, grey stone,

And trace a name with silver beam, and lo! ‘twill be your own.

That night is speeding on to greet your epitaphic rhyme.

Your life is but a little beat within the heart of Time.

A little gain, a little pain, a laugh, lest you may moan;

A little blame, a little fame, a star-glean on a stone.

Pendergast turned to Tigg, who remained seated on her rock. Her head was bowed and in the darkness he could not see her face.

“John was always partial to Robert Service. He always said some of his poems would make good epitaphs.” She sighed. “He knew he was going to die, you see. He brought me here to tell me. He said that warning me well ahead of time was better than a sudden shock, especially after what happened to my family. He wanted to make sure I was prepared.” She paused and raised her head. Her voice was shaky. “I told him he could get help, that he didn’t need to die up here, but he said he preferred to die as he had lived. He was a difficult man to dissuade once he had his mind set.”

“How long has he been gone?”

“Almost a year. One day he didn’t come back from his usual morning walk. I found him up here. It was...what he wanted all along.”

Pendergast watched Tigg in silence for a minute and then he spoke in a low voice.

“What about you? What is it that you want?”

Tigg raised her head and glared at Pendergast.

“What do I want?” Her voice shook with anger. “What does it matter? Anything I actually care about gets taken from me. I lost my family, not once, but twice. I lost my friends. I lost the future I had planned. I don’t get what I want, not even when I just want to be left alone!”

“Is that what you want now? To be left alone?”

“Yes, I do.”

Pendergast thought for a moment. “I don’t believe you.”

“I really don’t care what you believe. I’m fine here, or as fine as I’ll ever be. You can tell Eli that as well. Tell him his plan to persuade me to leave here failed. Tell him he’s on his own with this case. I can’t help him. I gave you what I had, there’s nothing else to give.”

She stood up and walked across the clearing to the edge of the woods, where she turned to Pendergast and said,

“Now, I think it time for you to leave. I have a lot of work to do.”

Tigg turned and headed back down the trail. Pendergast followed her to the cabin and tried to speak to her again but she ran up the steps, stomped across the porch and slammed the door. He walked up to the front door, knocked, and listened. After several minutes, he turned and headed back towards the trail to the campsite. At the edge of the forest, he turned and gave the cabin one last glance. The windows were dark and he could not see any movement. Finally he turned and made his way back down the mountain.

Tigg stood just out of sight by the window, waiting, he heart pounding in her chest. She had almost expected Pendergast to try harder to change her mind, but was relieved when he didn’t. It made her job so much easier. Yes, she thought, I certainly do have a lot of work to do...

Two hours later, Tigg surveyed the items she had gathered from various places in the cabin, some of which had been well hidden. She had checked and re-checked the condition of several items to ensure that they were in perfect working order. As she placed everything into a battered but sturdy knapsack, she made a mental note of the locations of each. After she had finished packing, she made one last check of the cabin itself. When she was sure everything was secure, she grabbed the knapsack and her coat and hat, opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. She stood on the porch for a long time, breathing in the chill night air, her mind on what she had been contemplating since that day in June twelve years ago. I’m breaking one promise to keep another. Please forgive me, John, but this is something I have to do. She gave her home one last look, turned and headed for a hidden trail that led to where she knew she needed to go.

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