A Deep and Dark December(81)

“We’re guardians of this town…and everything it stands for. Without us…well, you’ve seen what happens. Lawlessness, immorality, greed…they grow and fester, rotting away our very souls. We’re the soldiers who stand guard. We’re the shield between good and evil. Do you understand?”

Did he understand? Graham had only heard this speech a thousand times growing up. It had been drilled into him from the cradle. He could recite it by heart the way school kids could recite the Pledge of Allegiance. But until today, when he’d stood on the porch of the station and looked out on the town he’d been born to protect, the words had rung hollow. Today, suddenly, they filled up, and he felt each one of them as though they’d been carved into his DNA. He was the guardian of this town. He was the one chosen to protect it. And he’d do everything in his power to fulfill his duty.

“Yes, Pop,” he answered quietly. “I understand.”

Ham studied him. Looked right into his eyes, right into the center of his chest. And tears welled in Ham’s eyes. “Yes. You do. You finally do.”

He’d never seen his father cry, had hardly ever seen him touched by softer emotions. Graham held his father’s gaze, ignoring the lump that had formed in his throat and the burning at the backs of his own eyes.

“I’m proud of you, son,” Ham said and that lump turned into a boulder. “You’ll do fine. You’ll do us proud.”

“Thank you.”

Ham gave a firm nod and cleared his throat. “There’s just one thing left.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to get rid of that December girl.”

*

Erin sat at her aunt’s bedside, the steady blips on the monitor the only movement in the room. She’d come here seeking solace, but holding her aunt’s hand, she felt everything but relief. Even if her plan eventually worked and she managed to draw out the killer, her life in San Rey was over. She’d only been kidding herself thinking she could belong. She was the square peg that would never fit. None of them had, not her aunt nor her father. She saw that now. They’d only pretended, all the while she’d been looking in from the outside.

Where would she go? What would she do? She supposed she could get a job somewhere else, sell her house and move. She’d never considered living anywhere else but San Rey and now that the world was opened to her, it was all so overwhelming, the vastness of it a black yawning gap laid out before her.

Maybe she could move to Los Angeles with Graham. They’d get an apartment together, build a life. He could get his job back with the LAPD. She could get a job at another property management company. Maybe they’d get married, have kids. The world outside didn’t seem so scary, imagining Graham at her side.

But that would mean leaving her aunt and dad. Although after everything they’ve been through, they might not want to stay in San Rey either.

She searched her aunt’s face for some kind of change. Nothing. The doctors were still stumped about what to do for her, other than keep her sedated. She’d lost weight. Her skin hung a little looser and she was so pale. Fine lines that hadn’t been there a few weeks ago added years Cerie didn’t get to live. Erin ran her thumb across the back of her aunt’s hand. The veins stood proud, like the blue roots of a water-starved tree.

“Please come back to me,” she begged, holding Cerie’s hand to her face. “I need you. You always know what to say, what I need to hear. I feel so lost without you.”

Her plea met a silence that roared in her ears. Seeing her aunt this way was like losing her mother all over again. What would she do if Cerie never recovered? The vibrant woman who’d taught Erin how to use and control her ability was now imprisoned within her own. She reached out to Cerie with her mind, searching for that metaphysical link they’d always shared. But it was like reaching out blindly in a dark room, swiping at air over and over again. The link was gone. Cut by unseen hands.

She pushed to her feet. That was it. She wasn’t going to let some chickenshit invisible * do this to her family. She was going to fight back and fight back hard.

“I’ll find out who he is. I’ll find him and stop him.” She gave her aunt’s papery cheek a quick kiss. “Hang in there for me.”

She left without looking back. There was only one direction to move in now.





Graham had been called away to handle three more incidents since his father left. He was neck deep in paperwork that would take weeks to dig through, but at least Jessica had finally cooled off enough in her cell that he felt confident enough to let her loose and send her home. She’d seemed genuinely embarrassed and bewildered at her own behavior. He’d accepted every single one of her twenty red-faced apologies before he finally shoved her out the door and told her he’d see her tomorrow.

This was after going thirty rounds with his father over Erin. No matter how many times his father had come at him, threatened him, cajoled him, he’d held firm. The only way he’d give Erin up was if she called things off. And Graham hoped to God that would never happen.

His old man had finally given up the fight and left, refusing a ride home from him out of spite. He wasn’t sure if Ham would ever speak to him again. Well, he just wouldn’t give him a choice. Whether his father liked it or not, he and his mother needed him. Ham could be as angry as he wanted. Graham wasn’t going to budge on this. He hated to think it, but Ham was too sick to do much about it anyway. And with his brother Adam away, Graham was all they had.