A Welcome Grave

44

Rain was falling again, drumming on the big window behind Brooks, keeping me company as I sat with two dead men. I stayed in that office watching Doran long after I knew he was dead. The only sound was the rain at first, and blood dripping off Brooks’s chair to the floor, but then I began to hear things from out in the main body of the house. It took me a minute to remember Gaglionci. Best not to leave him to his own devices.

I stood up and walked out of the office and down the dim hall, came around the corner, and found the front door open, Gaglionci gone, a trail of blood splatters leading out into the dark, rainy night.

Go after him, or stay here and call the police? It should have been an easy decision, but my brain was cloudy, unconcerned, as if none of this mattered anymore. Sit in a room with two corpses long enough, that’s the way it starts to feel.

I went through the door and stood on the porch, watching the rain splash into puddles in the driveway and pound off the roof of Doran’s rusted van, and then I heard footsteps from up by the road and a silhouette appeared, moving slowly. For a moment I thought of the guns back with Doran and Brooks and considered going for one of them. Then I saw it was Thor.

He had Gaglionci, now unconscious, draped over his arm, feet dragging along the wet pavement. Thor hauled him up onto the porch and dumped him at my feet.

“Thought you would want him back.”

“Yes. Yes, that’s good.”

Thor stood on the porch and peered in at the house, saw the blood on the polished floors and heard the silence.

“It is done,” he said. It was somewhere between a question and a statement of fact. He believed it to be true but was asking for verification.

“They’re dead,” I said.

He didn’t respond. I realized that it was exactly what he’d meant.

“I didn’t kill either one of them. They shot each other.”

Still silent. I supposed it really didn’t mean a damn thing to him one way or the other.

“Where are Amy and Joe?” I asked.

“Going for help. To the police. I thought it would be best if I went after you. It seems that was unnecessary. Your partner told me how to get here.”

“I’ll need to call the police now,” I said. “You probably shouldn’t be here when they come.”

“No.”

“I’ll try to keep you out of it, Thor. I’ll do my best.”

He didn’t say anything.

“You got her back,” I said. “It wouldn’t have happened if I’d been on my own. Thank you.”

He made a slight bow. It was the motion of a professional performer thanking the grateful audience that had appreciated his talents, and I thought it was damn appropriate.

“Do you need to go to a hospital?” I looked at his side, where the blood was still not dry.

“I know a man who can help with that.”

“I bet you do.”

“I will leave now,” he said. “You make your calls.”

“How are you getting back to the city?”

“That is not a problem,” he said, and then he turned and walked off the porch and into the woods.

______

I gave him five minutes before I called the police. By then, Gaglionci was conscious again. I passed on 911 and called Targent. He answered on the first ring, and he recognized the number.

“Perry, you are about twelve hours late with this call, you son of a bitch, and you’d better be ready to come in.”

“You want to close your investigation?”

“I doubt you say that because you’re offering to confess.”

“Good guess.”

“What do you have for me?”

“I’ve got two bodies in a house by Geneva,” I said. “I’ve got a woman who was abducted today and is now safe and ready to explain some things to you. I’ve got the man who killed Alex Jefferson and Donny Ward in handcuffs.”

“Tell me where you are,” was all he said.