Snow Creek(60)

“How so?”

“She just got mean-eyed and told me that I didn’t see anything. I lied, and asked her what did she mean I didn’t see anything. Then Joshua looked at her and said something like, there’s nothing to see here. I took a few steps backwards and told them that I was just checking on them and was going to be leaving. And did they need anything? I could make a run to the store. I got out of there and hurried to the road. I didn’t even go get my car because I’d have to pass by the door of the barn.”

Sheriff looks at me, then back at Bernie.

“What is it that you think they were doing?”

“Sex,” she whispers. “That’s what I think was going on. They were having sex.”

I don’t tell her what I know. I just keep my poker face.

“I don’t know what I was thinking, approving those two. I just… I just thought they should be together, brother and sister.”

I pretend to care about her. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t suspect anything wrong. You did a thorough evaluation, right?”

Bernie knows what I’m doing. I’m not always as clever as I think. Or maybe I am? I want her to know that like the rest of Jefferson County law enforcement, I’m onto her. She’s been milking this job for years. Everyone knows it.

She wraps her arms around her body and mimics a shudder.

“I know you have a good heart,” Sheriff says.

She sniffs as though she’s been crying. “I do. I really do.”

“Do you have your phone on you?” I ask her.

She shakes her head.

“Take mine. I want you to take my car and drive where you can get service, a couple miles. Patrol is in the area. Tell them we need some backup here.”

Sheriff nods.

He knows what I know.





Forty





I reach for my gun, but Sheriff motions for me to put it away.

“We don’t want to incite something we can’t handle here,” his voice is quiet, almost a whisper. “We want to bring this to a calm conclusion.”

I say I agree. At the same time, I know what we’re dealing with. I know that Ellie is the master here. I’ve seen her kind more than a time or two. She’s got Joshua wrapped around her little finger. His family is dead because she wanted them gone.

Just like she wanted her mother and father gone.

Gravel on the road crunches. Backup is here.

Sheriff motions to the deputies to stand back, out of direct view.

We make our way to the barn.

The lawn is green, and I can make out footprints where the blades have been crushed. The scene is a Hallmark card at its surface. The house. The workshop. The barn. The orchard where Mrs. Wheaton’s memorial was held. Apples are ready for picking. Goldfinches have started to lose their bright yellow plumage in favor of fall brown and winter gray.

Joshua appears in the doorway of the barn. His shoulder is bleeding, turning his white T-shirt into a Rorschach of blood.

He staggers toward us. His eyes are wild, full of fear. Confusion too.

“She stabbed me,” he says. “She tried to kill me.”

He falls to his knees onto the dust-and straw-strewn ground.

“Where is she?” I ask, bending down and giving him my jacket.

“Gone. She’s gone.”

I press the jacket against his wound.

“Hold this. You’ll be okay,” I say, though I know that is far from the truth. He’ll be in prison for the rest of his life.

Sheriff speaks up. “What happened?”

Joshua looks lost, bereft. I see tears in his eyes. It’s a trick, I think. She’s in charge of everything. When they talk, what they say, Ellie rules it all. She has more power over her lover than Delilah had over Samson. When we find her, she’ll point the finger directly at him.

He’s in love enough that he’ll let her.

Sheriff lets me take the ball. He doesn’t owe me that, but he respects me enough to give me my moment.

My words are simple and brimming with what I think he needs to hear. They are aimed at getting the truth.

“Joshua, we know what happened to your family. We know that Ellie isn’t Sarah.”

“That’s a lie. She is.”

“What about your parents, Josh? You know what happened to them. We do too. Your father didn’t kill your mom, did he?”

Sheriff indicates for the backup officers to come forward. He tells the younger of the two to radio for an ambulance.

He looks at me.

“Cuff him. We’ll clear the barn and then work as a team over the property.”

I nod.

“Son, you need to tell us what you know about Ellie’s whereabouts, Sheriff says. “You won’t have much to help you when you go through the process, but this is one chance to make things go a little smoother.”

As if a triple homicide could be smooth.

“Let’s clear the barn,” Sheriff orders. “We’re looking for the girl.”

Joshua’s eyes flutter as I secure the handcuffs. His pupils are filling his iris. He’s going into shock. He needs medical attention. The officer in the car heads toward me. I wave for him to hurry and he yells at me.

“Look out, Detective!”

I see Sheriff lunging in my direction, but it’s too late.