Authors: Marianne Spitzer
***
While she sat worrying about Daniel and what was going on in town, the phone rang in the small apartment behind the auto shop where Garret lived. After several rings, Sheriff Richardson hung up and dialed Bulk’s number. There was no answer there either. The sheriff knew with the cabin roped off there were not many places those two would be. He had a feeling they wouldn’t be dumb enough to get drunk, but he had Steve drive out to the Tangledbranch Saloon to be sure. Back in about thirty minutes he said no one there had seen them.
Then the sheriff called Daniel.
Annamarie answered on the first ring. “Hello.”
Listening to the sheriff’s questions, she said, “Daniel is asleep, and we haven’t seen Garret or Bulk since earlier this morning at the lake.”
She asked the sheriff, “Do you have any news about the cabin or the body?”
The sheriff said the coroner and Chief Cornett were at the cabin, and he would call later when they knew more.
***
Bulk was pacing up and down in Garret’s living room. “We can’t hide from the sheriff forever. Between the sheriff, the fire chief and that coroner, they’re going to figure out something weird went on last night, and when they can’t find an answer they’ll blame us.”
“Shut up and let me think,” snapped Garret.
Bulk rambled on, “What if they say Ben was killed? We’ll be charged with murder.”
“Murder,” Garret yelled. “Have you lost your mind? There were three of us there who saw Ben dead, and we all know we didn’t do it. We’re each other’s alibis.”
“What good does that do?” moaned Bulk. He sat down with a thud. “Someone burned the body. That someone probably killed Ben and will blame us or kill us, too.”
Bulk was beginning to get on Garret’s nerves. “Listen, let me drive you to your brother’s house in Oaklin, and you can lay low for a while until this all blows over.”
“Great idea, maybe they won’t be able to find me there.”
“Knock it off,” Garret ordered. “Forget about them, I’ll take care of it.”
“Let’s go,” Bulk said. Jumping up to open the door, he looked straight into the face of Sheriff Richardson, “too late.”
“Too late for what?” asked the sheriff and Bulk turned pale. “Come on, you two. We’re going to my office.”
“I’m gonna be sick,” groaned Bulk.
“Shut up,” yelled Garret. “You’re driving me crazy.”
***
The sheriff knew he would get answers from these two one way or another, even if it took all night. They arrived at the sheriff’s station right behind the coroner and Chief Cornett. Garret
was placed in a small room at the back of the sheriff’s station across from the single jail cell. Bulk was told to sit by the front desk and not leave while the sheriff went outside to talk to the chief and the coroner.
Dr. Webster had been the county coroner for as long as most people remember and must’ve been close to seventy years old. A short man with a small pot belly, he was smart and analytical. When the sheriff walked out, Dr. Webster held up his index finger. “I believe the missing young man is most likely your dead body.”
The sheriff had that figured out, but didn’t say anything.
Dr. Webster went on, “I’m having the body taken to the morgue in Oaklin to be sure we have the missing man, but one thing I can tell you is something mighty strange went on up there last night.”
The sheriff asked, “Strange?”
“Extremely, I believe the young man
died outside the cabin. There was a large area of blood on the ground. There are a few traces on the porch. The body was obviously moved inside the cabin after he died. Then it was set afire.”
“Okay, maybe he was hit on the head and there wasn’t much blood.”
“No,” responded the coroner, “there is evidence there was a lot of blood outside, and possibly it burned, too.”
“Possibly?” asked the sheriff.
“Yes, possibly and possibly the blood was removed before the fire,” quipped Dr. Webster.
“Removed?” A shocked Sheriff Richardson almost yelled. “Just send me a report when you
’re done, please.”
“Okay,” the coroner nodded as he got in his car and headed out of town.
“What the hell is he talking about?” the sheriff asked the chief.
“I don’t know. He said this was one of the biggest mysteries the county’s seen in years. He took soil samples, soot samp
les and dug a hole where the boy was supposedly killed so he can check for the amount of blood that soaked into the earth. I think he believes in Daniel Logan’s ‘spirits.'”
“Spirits or not,” replied the sheriff, “I’m going to find out from those three boys what went on up there and I’m going to start with Garret.”
“Good luck,” said the chief as he headed towards his car.
Sheriff Richardson simply smiled and waved.
Chapter Seven: Madness
Sheriff Richardson entered the station, and Bulk jumped to his feet.
“Not so fast, fella,” said the sheriff. He glanced in Bulk’s direction, “I’m talking to Garret first.”
The sheriff knew Garret would stick to whatever story the boys had cooked up, and once he had all those details he could change them enough to scare Bulk into telling the truth. He smiled to himself while he walked down the hall to where Garret was waiting. Bulk watched the sheriff walk away, wishing he was anywhere else. He repeated the story Garret forced him to memorize over and over in his mind. Garret told Bulk he was the loose link in their chain, and he better remember everything the way they discussed. Even though they’d been friends for years, Bulk was afraid of Garret. He sat quietly, his panic increased with each breath.
When the sheriff opened the door, Garret snarled, “It’s about damn time. Where’ve you been?”
“Knock it off, Garret, or you’ll spend the night in our cell,” the sheriff snapped back.
Examining the barren room with its peeling pale green paint and painted black cement floor Garret knew the cell wasn’t much better or worse. He’d spent some time there, and aside from hearing the sheriff snore, Garret figured it wasn’t as bad as some places he’d slept. The cell wasn’t much of a threat, but he had no intention of letting the sheriff know how he felt. Garret sat down. He knew he could beat the sheriff at his own game.
“Let’s start at the beginning about last night,” said the sheriff as he sat down with an old wooden table between them.
Garret told the sheriff the same story he’d heard from Daniel, almost word for word. He knew the boys had come up with the story after they left the cabin. They were misguided troublemakers who drank too much and drove too fast, but murder didn’t fit. He couldn’t imagine any of them killing Ben. Starring at Garret, he told him to stay put for a while, he’d be back.
About to complain, Garret thought better of it. The door closed behind the sheriff leaving Garret to wonder what Bulk would say. He and Bulk had gone over the story so often Bulk knew it by heart. What worried Garret was Bulk’s idea “they” might be responsible. Garret knew Bulk only had an inkling of his dealings in Oaklin, but even a little knowledge can be dangerous in Bulk’s mind. If he begins to ramble again about how “they” might be responsible, the sheriff could get more information out of Bulk than Garret wanted anyone to know.
Bulk followed the sheriff into his office and settled in a chair across from the desk.
“Okay. Let’s hear your story, what happened at the cabin?”
Bulk began to ramble and told his story in one long sentence. “We decided to go to the cabin to drink and play cards and after Ben had a couple of drinks he began to get upset with Daniel and told him he should treat Annamarie better because Annamarie was a nice girl and we had the idea Ben liked her too much and Daniel got that idea, too so they got in a fight and Ben tried to punch Daniel and Daniel said he was going home and Ben could stay at the cabin and get over his problem and me and Garret didn’t want to be left there with Ben so we left with Daniel and the last time I saw Ben he was standing in the doorway of the cabin and I think it was the spirits that killed Ben or them.” Bulk finished his statement with a deep sigh.
“Aha, then which one of you killed Ben?”
“What?” Bulk sounded nearly hysterical.
“Who killed Ben and who is ‘them’?” the sheriff yelled hitting the desk.
“No one, because we don’t even know if Ben is dead, and if he is then its the spirits like Daniel said. No one else could do that to Ben. It was awful,” Bulk mumbled through tears.
“Do what?”
Bulk sobbed, “I didn’t do anything. Ask Garret. He knows more. He knows I didn’t do anything.”
Nothing Sheriff Richardson said helped. Walking over to Bulk, he patted him on the shoulder.
“Take a deep breath. I’ll be back in a minute, and bring you some water.”
The sheriff hoped if Bulk calmed down, he would talk more. The sheriff was curious who “them” were, and why Bulk thought they could be responsible. When he came back with the water, Bulk was rocking back and forth in his chair moaning, “I didn’t do it. Ask Garret he knows I didn’t do it.”
***
Sheriff Richardson realized he wasn’t going to get any more answers out of Bulk. He picked up the phone and called Dr. Norse. Timmus Woods was fortunate to have one doctor living in
the town, in case of emergencies. This was an emergency, and the sheriff was relieved when the doctor answered. Dr. Norse had seen Bulk several times when his anger had gotten out of control. However, this was the first time Bulk seemed to be having a breakdown.
“I’m on my way,” Dr. Norse said.
Bulk was still crying, and Garret could be heard shouting, “What’s going on?”
As the minutes passed, Garret sounded more frantic. When the doctor arrived, the sheriff helped him get Bulk in the car. Dr. Norse was taking Bulk to the hospital. The sheriff said he’d stop by later to check on him.
***
Back in the station, Sheriff Richardson could hear Garret shouting from the back room. He ignored him. Picking up the phone again, he called Steve. He asked him to go to
the Logan’s, pick up Daniel, and bring him to the station. Watching the clock, he mulled over the facts he knew. Hopefully, he was about to add to those facts.
After five minutes, he picked up the phone a third time and dialed
the Logan’s number. Daniel hurried to answer the phone. He expected a call from Garret or Bulk.
“Hello.” Daniel heard the sheriff’s voice.
“I’m sending Steve to pick you up for some questioning and to get a formal statement about last night. He should be there any minute. I’ll see you soon,” the sheriff hung up leaving Daniel staring at his phone.
Daniel heard Steve’s vehicle pull in the drive, and he screamed, “Annamarie, they’re coming for me.”
For the first time, she thought she saw Daniel’s fear turn into madness. Shaking, he looked like another person standing in front of her.
The doorbell rang, and Daniel jumped whispering, “It’s Steve. He’s supposed to take me to talk with the sheriff, and I have to go. Call my father and tell him the spirits must have gotten to the sheriff because there’s no way I should have to go back to the station. Please Annamarie
help me.”
When Daniel left with Steve, she stood there scared and confused. Reaching for the phone, she dialed George’s number.
When he answered, Annamarie explained the situation. George said, “I’ll head over to the sheriff’s station at once.”
She could hear the worry in his voice. He continued, “The sheriff is trying to intimidate Daniel. I knew this wouldn’t be over quickly.”
Steve drove back to the station slowly, hoping he could talk to Daniel.
Steve began. “Daniel, you and I used to be great friends, and I’d still like to be friends. Because I became a deputy sheriff, shouldn’t make a difference in our friendship. I’m not out to get you. I only want to help. Don’t forget Ben was my friend, too, and I remember we all hung out together since grade school. I’ll be honest with you. If you had anything to do with Ben’s death,
I’ll do everything I can to make you pay for it. However, if you didn’t, I’ll also work just as hard to help you prove your innocence.”
Daniel began to feel the friendship he used to have with Steve rekindling.
“I know you’re not my enemy, Steve. It’s hard for us to have a friendship and for me to still stay friends with Garret and Bulk. Bulk wouldn’t be much of a problem. He still likes you. Garret is another story though. I know people say I shouldn’t hang out with Garret, but he’s never done anything to me.”
“What if he’s responsible for what happened to Ben?” countered Steve.
“I know Garret didn’t do anything. Ben was okay when the three of us left. Garret went home with Bulk, and I went home to Annamarie.”
“If none of you had anything to do with what happened at the cabin, do you have any idea what might have occurred?”