Jeremiah by Kris Michaels
Chapter 16
Ken Zorn blinked at him and then looked away. Jeremiah could see the wheels turning in his mind. “Dude, we don’t have the manpower.” His gaze went down the small main street of Hollister. “The people here are tougher than nails and if need be we’ll alert them, but I don’t want word of this to leak before it needs to. Every one of these people has a slew of weapons. Hell, some of them order the parts from the internet and build the weapons themselves.” Ken rubbed his hand on his chin for a minute. “We got to keep this quiet.”
Eden squeezed his hand and Jeremiah agreed. “Eden and I are the only ones who know that his escape could have consequences for me. We aren’t talking. Although Guardian Security is going to be staging some men close by. They didn’t say where.”
Zorn snapped his gaze back to him. “I don’t know what Guardian is, but let me tell you, if they can help, we’ll let them.” He sighed and put his cowboy hat back on. “I’ll take this back to the sheriff. If he needs any more information he’ll call.” Zorn extended his hand, shaking Jeremiah’s before he nodded to Eden and walked out of the clinic’s small office.
“What’s next?” Eden asked.
His phone rang and he looked at the number. It wasn’t one he recognized, but it had a South Dakota area code. Tank’s kid. He winked at Eden and smiled. “We work and live our lives.”
* * *
Jeremiah sat on the back porch he’d built, holding a beer. He propped his feet up on the rail and relaxed in the coolness of the shade cast by the building’s roofline. Even in the heat of the summer, the little porch was an escape. He closed his eyes and relaxed in the quiet.
Eden had a patient downstairs and two more slated, but he’d finished for the day. Three weeks had passed with morning updates coming from Jamison or, when he was busy, from one of the staff members of Guardian. They’d found the warden’s car abandoned. The authorities tested the blood on the seat and the DNA matched Cyrus’. According to Jamison, the amount was substantial. There had been no sight of the man since that point. The state placed Guardian in charge of the investigation. With what the security agency found at the supermax, the federal government oversight agencies directed a transfer of a third of the inmates to other facilities. The feds had authorized additional manning based on the antiquated systems which were now scheduled for updates.
He sipped his beer and closed his eyes. A damn shame good people had to die to get the political machine to pay attention. There had been no word on Cyrus, which was something of a Schrodinger’s cat scenario. It could be good, or it could be bad; there was no way of knowing unless you opened the box. He didn’t have a box, and the waiting––that was a bitch.
His phone vibrated and he lifted it off the small bistro table he’d bought Eden for the porch. He swiped the face and dropped his legs off the rail. Jamison’s number. Fuck. “What do you have?”
“They found agent Docker this morning, dead.”
“How?”
“We believe it was Cyrus. Docker was home alone. His family, thank God, were visiting her parents for two weeks while the kids were on summer vacation. When he didn’t come into work this morning and they weren’t able to reach him, his partner went out to his house.”
He set the beer down on the table. “Where does Docker live?”
“Santa Maria, California, so he’s still in the state. He used ropes. Our profiler believes that’s because he’s still weak. He’d never used ropes before, but the MO has enough markers that the FBI is pinning it on him. They are working with Guardian to pull any camera surveillance in the area.”
“Docker’s family?”
“In protective custody until he’s caught.”
“If only it were that simple.” He couldn’t put a whole damn town in protective custody.
“Not an option in your case,” Jamison sighed. “We still don’t know he’s heading your way. Docker was low-hanging fruit. And yeah, it sounds like absolute rubbish to say that because we’re talking about a man who had his life ahead of him. That bastard.” He finished his rant with a snarl.
Jeremiah rubbed the back of his neck and asked, “Has your team arrived in the area?”
“They will be there in two days. My boss pulled them in from overseas and they’re being briefed now. He also wanted me to reassure you that no one will see them if there isn’t a threat.”
“All right.” He stared at the wood under his feet and absorbed the information.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m as jumpy as a herd of goats on a trampoline right now.”
Jamison belted out a belly laugh. “You better watch it, Remi, you’re sounding like a local.”
He chuckled and leaned back into the shade again. “I’m staying here. I’ve told you that.”
“Ah, yes, the lovely Eden. How is your lady?”
“She’s worried. She tries hard not to show it, but the stress is evident.” He drank the last of his beer.
“And you? Keeping busy?”
He grunted. “I now have three patients. Ms. Marshall, a young man with PTSD and addiction problems, and the guy I saved my first night here. He’s having problems dealing with the incident.”
“Not enough to pay the bills or stay busy,” Jamison mused.
“I have enough money so that I’d never have to work another day in my life. However, my sister is turning me into a farmer, whether or not I want to be one. We just tilled four acres and planted veggies that can produce in the growing time left. And when I say veggies, we’re talking bulk wholesale quantities of veg.”
“What’s she going to do with it all?”
“What she can’t serve at the cafe she’ll can or freeze to use throughout the winter. She can squeeze a penny until it begs for air.” That, and he’d figured out she was hell-bent on proving to their mother that she could be her own woman. That spun Celest off in episodes of dramatic dismay, at least according to his father.
“Sounds like an admirable trait. Is Eden within earshot?” Jamison asked.
“No, she has a couple more patients.” He placed his empty on the little table. The low sound of thunder in the distance made him look up.
“The boss did a background check on you, your sister, and Eden. He doesn’t work for or near people who have questionable backgrounds. Plus, he’s been told you’re making huge strides with Ms. Marshall. He liked what he heard and saw, and he wanted you to know there will always be a position here for you.”
“I’m not leaving Hollister unless it’s in a pine box. If he has people who want to come out here for treatment, I’m game.”
“Ha, well, if I know him, he’s thought about it. Guardian could keep you better protected here in D.C.”
“I appreciate the thought, my friend.” The town wouldn’t be protected. His sister and Eden lived alone. No, it wouldn’t happen.
Jamison sighed, “But you’re not going to bite.”
“Not even a nibble.” He heard Phil’s garage door go down and glanced at his watch. The man was punctual. Every night at five Phil closed that shop and went to the Bit and Spur for a cold beer before he walked home to his family. You could set your watch by the man. Routines that Cyrus would know and identify in an instant and use against the people who lived and loved in this small town. “There are so many lives here that he’d mess with just to get to me. I won’t be responsible for any more—” A loud rumble of thunder vibrated the ground under him.
“Storming there?” Jamison asked.
“Yeah, the front’s moving in. The storms are massive.” The vast horizons filled with dark clouds and he could see lightning popping as the fronts advanced. He’d seen nothing quite like it. Not wanting to get caught in a sudden downpour, he picked up his bottle and went into the apartment.
“Do I need to address the fact that you were not responsible for their deaths?”
“No. Logically, I understand it. Emotionally, it will take time before I believe it.” He went through the apartment and dropped his empty into the waste bin. Looking out the kitchen window, he saw another lightning strike. The thunder rolled from a distance about six seconds later, still powerful enough to vibrate the apartment.
“I’ll call as soon as we know more. Until then.”
“Thanks, bye.” He hung up the phone and closed his eyes. Thank God Docker’s family had been gone. He opened his eyes and stared at his hands. There were things he could do. He’d go to the pasture Ken Zorn had shown him and keep practicing his aim with his handgun. He was proficient, but he needed to be better.
Another rumble of thunder vibrated the foundations of the building. He turned on the oven and grabbed a take-out casserole courtesy of Gen. He put it on a sheet pan and shoved it in the oven, deciding not to keep tonight’s information from Eden. Yes, it would do nothing but cause her more stress, and there was no indication Cyrus was heading his way, but she needed to know about the situation. He leaned against the door and stared sightlessly into the small living room. Dread slithered up and down his spine. Cyrus would come. It was only a matter of when. The next time Jamison called he was going to get contact information for the Guardians that were coming to South Dakota. He wouldn’t be a victim this time. He’d be prepared.
Lightning flashed and thunder exploded nearly instantaneously, shaking the building. The power flickered and then died.
“Remi!” Eden’s voice calling up the stairs sounded panicked. He jogged to the door and opened it.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, but we need to go to the root cellar, there is a tornado heading this way.” She waved at him and he raced down the stairs. They were out the door seconds later and she locked it behind them. He grabbed her hand and they dashed across the street behind the cafe. Rain pelted them, stinging with the force of the wind. He glanced down the street. A funnel cloud at least a mile wide was heading right toward them. They dashed behind the cafe, soaked by the slashing rain. He bent down and opened the door for her. “Gen!” There was no response. “I’ll be right back.”
Eden’s eyes said the words the wind whipped away. He nodded, shut the door, and raced to the cafe. He threw open the back door just as Gen moved to open it. “Get in the cellar!” she screamed at him as she fought the wind to close her back door. He pushed with her and she locked it before they both bolted toward the root cellar. He braced the door against the wind and Gen ducked in.
Moving his hands so he wouldn’t lose hold of the heavy plank door, he fisted the handle and used all his strength and weight to fight the screaming wind shears, closing the door. Gen slid the bolt securing the middle of the door. He hit the other two bolts and sagged, gasping for breath.
Gen dropped her hands to her knees and looked up at him. “I wouldn’t have been able to shut that door.”
“It was a close one. What were you doing still in the cafe?”
“I didn’t have my phone with me. I was washing pots and pans. When I finished, I grabbed my phone, read the text, and I bolted out the door, running into you.”
Eden had the battery-powered lamps lit and was sitting at the back corner of the cellar. Gen moved to the far side of the cellar and pulled a crank-operated radio out of a small plastic box. She cranked the handle and turned on the radio. Through the static, a tinny, robotic voice told the residents of the county to take cover.
He sat down by Eden and grabbed her hand. “How did you know there was a tornado coming?” Gen walked over and sat down right beside him.
“It touched down on the Marshall ranch and was heading this way. They called Phil, who started the phone tree.”
“Where is your patient?”
“My last one canceled because of nasty weather where they live. Deloris was heading home, the other direction, so she should be fine.”
A loud, trundling rumble vibrated the ground under them. “Man, I hate this part.” Eden scooted closer to him and so did Gen. He wrapped an arm around both of them.
The rumble grew louder, almost a percussive thrum, and the ground continued to shake. “Was anyone hurt at the Marshall ranch?” Gen leaned against his chest and almost shouted the words to Eden.
“Fence lines and an outbuilding, nothing else,” Eden shouted back.
The rumbling lessened and then stopped, although the wind continued to howl. “The twister lifted.” Eden took a deep breath just before the rumbling started again. She dropped her head onto his chest, and he tightened his hug on both of the women. The sound ended and then started again, but the rumbling was further away. The wind subsided, and rain fell gently on the door.
Eden sat up. “Let’s go see what’s left or if there are any injuries.” Standing, she straightened her soaking wet scrub top and headed to the door.
“Hold up.” He hurried to get to the door first. “Be careful of any downed lines.”
She nodded. “Not my first twister, but it is my first one in a new root cellar.” She smiled back at Gen. “Thank you for having him build this.”
Gen brushed off her jeans and smiled. “He’s good for the grunt work. Not much on brains, though. Good thing he’s pretty, huh?”
Eden laughed. “Right?”
“Hey!” He glanced back at them. “I’m right here.”
Gen chortled and motioned to the door. “Open the door so we can get to work.”
