Puppy Kicker
First Post
Massacre at Nickels
6:00 AM, Tuesday, July 20th
Riverside Community Hospital, Newport News, Virginia
“Sammy needs to die.”
Armani slapped Devin on the shoulder and nodded. “Then let’s kill him.”
“We don’t know that Sammy had anything to do with it,” Rebecca pleaded.
“Don’t we?” Devin stared at Rebecca hard. There was no doubt in his eyes.
Rebecca looked at the floor of the hospital waiting room. “I don’t want anyone to die, that’s all.”
“Like my sister?”
“She’s not dead, Devin.”
“She’s alive because a machine is keeping her heart pumping. She hasn’t opened her eyes. She…” Devin’s shoulders slumped. “Sammy did this, Rebecca. And he needs to die.”
“If the motherf**kerer need to die then he need to die.” Armani interjected. “But you know damn well we need a plan.”
“Then let’s go make a plan on the way to Sammy’s hideout. Rebecca, stay here and watch Lisa.”
“YOU need to wait with Lisa,” Rebecca said. “Not me. I’m a stranger to her. You’re her brother. She needs you.”
“What, should I wait in the room while she dies?”
“Maybe it would be comforting to her, and to you. I just don’t think that driving over and killing Sammy is a good idea… right now.”
“I need to do something. I can’t just sit here and let Lisa die.” Devin slumped into a seat and held his head. The bandages hadn’t been changed in two days and were crusted with blood. He hadn’t really slept in days. He was a mess.
“Stay here.” Armani sat in the seat across from Devin. “I’ll go check out the bar. I’ll set that motherf**ker straight and find out what he did to her.”
“Yeah?” Rebecca asked. “And you think he’s just going to tell you everything? He’s a thug, even more than you, and he’s not going to help you. Who knows, he might even just kill you.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Meadow. “Armani, you should go investigate.”
“If that’s what you’re going to do then go.” Rebecca reached in her purse. “Here are the keys to my car. Don’t wreck it.” She rummaged around some more. “And here’s my cell phone in case you need to call us. If a cosmetics customer calls don’t tell them you’re a thug. Just take a message and tell them I’ll call them back.” She rummaged around some more. “And here, take a pepper spray.”
Armani lugged the armful of Rebecca-condiments out of the hospital and set off towards Sammy’s place.
Devin stood up. “I have to go see how Lisa’s doing.”
Rebecca and Meadow both gave Devin a hug before he left. “We’ll be here if you need us.”
Devin sat in the chair next to Lisa and held her cold hand. He fell asleep that way.
7:00 AM, Tuesday, July 20th
”Nickels”, Williamsburg, Virginia
Armani approached the bar carefully, staying to the shadows and keeping an eye out for any threat. It seemed quiet, unlit. The morning light sparkled off some pieces of glass on the sidewalk and Armani stopped. He looked at the boarded up windows. The glass in front of the boards was shattered and the boards had small holes in them. Bullet holes.
The door to the establishment was slightly open, but no sound came from inside. Contrary to everything he’d learned watching a lifetime of horror movies, Armani pushed it just enough to allow entry and stepped in. He stopped to allow his lights to adjust to the shadowy interior.
Broken glasses and shattered furniture littered the room. A couple of lights spread a sickly glow over the shattered room – just enough to allow Armani to see the two feet sticking out from behind the bar.
Armani dropped to a crouch and slowly approached the bar. The feet were sticking toes up, like their owner was lying on his back. They didn’t move. Armani pulled the pistol from his waistband and slid his brass knuckles on the other hand. He rounded the corner of the bar, where he saw the owner of the feet – the barkeep. Bullet holes riddled his body and a single hole directly between his eyes removed any doubt of his status. Armani had seen dead bodies before. The barkeep was not the reason he vomited.
The body behind the barkeep had been mutilated. It had once been a man (presumably) in an all black outfit and what might have been a ski mask. An ocean of blood surrounded his body. It oozed from the talon-slashes that had shredded both his clothing and his flesh. . The flesh had been stripped from his face, leaving a single lidless eye to stare unseeing at Armani as he emptied his stomach on the bar floor. A huge pistol lay on the floor next to the shredded body and several spent shell casings littered the bloody floor.
Armani stumbled out of the bar and sprinted to the car. He would be getting no information from Sammy or his cronies that day.
8:00 AM, Tuesday, July 20th
Riverside Community Hospital, Newport News, Virginia
Armani walked into the waiting room. “How’s the little girl?”
“The same,” Rebecca said. “What happened at Sammy’s?”
“You don’t wanna know… I’ve got to make a phone call.”
“Fine. Meet me up in Lisa’s room when you’re ready to talk.” Rebecca and Meadow went up to Lisa’s room while Armani wandered off to find a phone. He found one and called the cops. He told them about what he’d seen at Sammy’s place. He didn’t tell them his name.
Armani entered the hospital room to find Devin holding Lisa’s hand, Rebecca and Meadow both standing next to him looking concerned. Armani filled them in briefly on what he’d seen at Sammy’s, then waved towards Lisa. “So, how she doing?” Armani asked.
Devin looked up. “Same. Doctors don’t have any clue what’s wrong.”
“So her heart rate is nothin’. She’s cold as ice. She’s hurt when the sun shines on her.” He looked around at the others, who were all nodding. “So if we’re dealing with magic,” Armani ventured. “Maybe she’s a f**kin’ vampire.”
“We’re dealing with John Edwards or Harry Potter type of magic, not Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Dusk ‘Til Dawn magic.” Rebecca said. “She’s a little girl with a medical problem. Not a bloodsucking beast. Note the lack of bloodsucking around here.”
“Well if you would have seen what I saw at that bar you’d think something different.” Armani looked a little shaken.
“You’re freaking me out, Armani. Give me your gun before you get crazy.” Devin said.
“The way that man was torn to shreds…” Armani was pale. “Maybe we are dealing with something… something big and something bad.”
Devin smacked Armani. Some color came to the big man’s face. “Yeah, that’s a bit crazy.” He shrugged and coughed. “I was just joking anyway.”
The wave of tension that had flooded the room ebbed out. “F**king vampires.”
“Yeah, f**kin' vampires. Buffy’s hot though…”
“Yeah… I’d nail her.” Devin said.
“Me too,” Meadow concurred.
Rebecca shook her head. “Ok, so not vampires, but it’s not unreasonable that this could have something to do with magic.”
Meadow nodded. “Yeah, blood is often associated with powerful magic. What if Sammy was using Lisa’s blood in order to power some kind of magic? Should we call Wendy?”
“If something they use needs blood then that’s reasonable. I’ll make the call.” Rebecca left the room, pulling her cell phone out.
“I don’t think any f**kin' human did what I saw in the bar though…”
Rebecca returned a few minutes later. “She didn’t know anything specific about the bear needing blood. It’s used to talk to the dead. But blood is a powerful tool in magic, and it can be used to tie a person to magic. Like, to draw energy from a person. She really wasn’t much help. And she says she isn’t a vampire.”
9:00 AM, Tuesday, July 20th
Motel 6, Newport News, Virginia
Quin punched the digits into his cell phone as he pulled into the parking lot of the motel. Rebecca’s voice mail picked up. “Hey Becca. I’m gonna check out from the old motel here in a bit. Give me a call when you get the chance and let me know what’s happening.” He clicked off the phone as he pulled into a parking spot behind the motel.
Better check to make sure we didn’t leave anything there, he said to himself. He hopped out of the car and it beeped at him as the alarm armed itself. Five minutes later he was leaving the motel room. Thirty seconds after that he was gasping for air and fighting against the hooded man holding a foul-smelling cloth over his face. Twenty seconds after that he was unconscious.
1:00 PM, Tuesday, July 20th
Riverside Community Hospital, Newport News, Virginia
Rebecca entered the small hospital room having left to check her voice mail. “Quin called a bit ago, said he was checking out from the old hotel. Oh, and Professor Gallivan is on his way here. He wants to see how Lisa’s doing and he wanted to talk to us about some other stuff.”
Professor Gallivan showed up at the hospital at 2 PM. Rebecca, Meadow and Armani met him in the waiting room. “How’s the little girl.”
“No change. We think Sammy Nickels had something to do with it, but when Armani went to talk to him…” Rebecca filled the professor in on what Armani had seen. “Armani thinks it’s vampires. I think maybe Sammy was using Lisa’s blood in some kind of magic ceremony with the bear.”
“I don’t think vampires are likely. And since Lisa wasn’t with Sammy when he got the bear I don’t think the two are related – at least not that directly.” He shrugged. “I do have some information about what might have happened at the bar though.”
Martin told them that some of the more militant member’s of Wendy’s coven had gone to recover the Messenger of the Dead from Sammy the night before. They haven’t been heard from since.
“Same motherf**kers that was at the McDonalds? Same outfits?” Armani asked.
“Yes. I think they were clothed the same.”
“Then that’s what I saw. I’ve seen a lot of dead bodies. I’ve seen a lot of weird sh*t. I ain’t never seen nothing like I saw there.”
“It sounds like the job went foul. Miss Johnson has not been very forthcoming about what she knows about it.”
“It doesn’t sound like she’s been forthcoming about much, Martin,” Rebecca said. “Do you really thing you want to be working with her?”
“I don’t think I want to… but I think I need to.” Martin Gallivan looked stern. “I don’t want you to question my decisions.”
Rebecca bristled. “Well your DECISIONS have gotten my friends shot, maybe this little girl hurt, maybe others dead.” Rebecca’s voice was getting louder. “So I think I have EVERY right to question them. Why are you working with this woman?”
Gallivan’s shoulders slumped under Rebecca’s tirade. “Wendy didn’t do this. And she didn’t want anyone to get hurt that night at McDonalds. But she isn’t the only power in their coven. The other power, Rain, is more militant. She’s the one that shot Armani and Devin that night. She’s more certain that recovering the bear is worth any cost.” Martin was holding his head in his hands. “I don’t know who is right. I just know that the bear is the only chance I have to find out what happened to my daughter, and I will get it back.” He looked up again. “Rain went after Sammy last night with her group. It sounds like she failed. Sammy has the bear then.”
“Maybe. But there were two bodies in the front, and who knows where else. It’s impossible to tell who came out ahead,” Meadow said.
“F**k it. She may have failed, but she ain’t me. I say let’s go get the motherf**ker.” Armani was standing again and looking anything but shaken. “We’ll get the damn bear. We’ll beat an answer out of Sammy. Maybe we’ll even pull down some cash.”
“Well I think the scene bears further investigation anyway,” Meadow said.
“I agreed,” agreed Rebecca. “Let’s head over there and see what we can find out. Even if Sammy's gone we might be able to find out something from the scene.”
Rebecca went up to Lisa’s room to fill Devin in on what they had planned.
“Find out what you can. I ought to stay here with Lisa.” Devin squeezed Lisa’s limp hand. “I need to be here if she wakes up… or doesn’t.”
“I’m so sorry Devin." Rebecca wiped her eyes. "Have a pepper spray.”
5:00 PM, Tuesday, July 20th
”Nickels”, Williamsburg, Virginia
Armani, Meadow, and Professor Gallivan stayed in the parked car a block away from the remains of Sammy’s bar. Several police cars were parked in front of the building and the area was roped off. A couple of cops were outside, talking.
Rebecca crouched under a strip of CRIME SCENE tape and approached the cuter of the two policemen – no wedding ring. “Do you know what happened here?” The other policeman quickly scuttled off to avoid getting wrapped up in dealing with the pesky civilian.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave, miss. This is a crime scene and we are currently in the middle of an investigation.”
“I might know people who were involved and I’m just trying to find out what happened to them.”
The young policeman pulled out a notepad and pen. “May I have your name please?”
“Susan Smith,” said Rebecca Michaels.
“And who do you know that might be involved in this?”
“I know some people who MAY have been here last night. I’m worried because I haven’t heard from them.”
He scribbled some notes on his pad. “And who is it you are concerned with, Miss Smith?”
“Fred Michaels,” Rebecca said, beginning the process of throwing off the entire investigation.
“And could you describe Fred Michaels for me please?” Scribble scribble scribble.
“About 6 feet tall. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Caucasian.”
“And why do you believe he would have been here last night?”
Rebecca looked at the young policeman like he was a puppy who just peed on the couch. “…It’s a… bar…”
The policeman looked a little embarrassed. “Ahem. Um… did he say he was coming to this bar in particular?”
“Yes.”
“Oh… ok. And…”
“And he didn’t come home this morning. I’m concerned.”
“So this is a CLOSE friend of yours?”
“Yes.”
“Are you living with Mr. Michaels?”
“No.”
“Ooooh… um… were you staying at Mr. Michaels’ house last night?”
“No.”
“Umm… ok… um… please wait here for a minute, Miss Smith.” The policeman turned to walk into the bar. Rebecca followed him. He spun. “Miss! Please wait here. This is a crime scene!”
“Well, there’s no sense in you walking in and out. I’ll just come along.” Rebecca smiled innocently.
“It’s a CRIME SCENE! You might… leave footprints.. or something.” The cop looked flustered, torn between duty to police force and duty to hot chick. “Please Miss, just stay here.”
“Ok, I’ll wait right here.” As the cop entered the bar Rebecca peered through the doorway into the bar. She saw several other policemen investigating the area. A couple stood behind the bar taking pictures. The chalk outline of a couple feet poked out from behind the bar. Two doors stood open at the back of the bar. The young policeman she’d been conversing with talked to one of the men behind the bar. He shook his head, said something, then returned to investigating the scene. The young cop returned.
“There was no Fred Michaels here.”
“Well… he doesn’t always go by that name…” Rebecca paused. “…when he’s been drinking I mean.”
“Miss Smith. Let me get your phone number and I’ll call you if we find anything else or have any other questions.”
Rebecca’s saleswoman brain flurried. “I’m afraid my purse was stolen. It.. it had my cell phone in it.”
“Do you have any way we can get ahold of you? Home address? Home phone?”
“Uh… sure. Here’s the phone number to the hotel I’m staying in.” The policeman wrote down the digits.
“Is that where you were planning to meet Fred Michaels at?”
“Yes.” Rebecca paused. “What about… John Richards?... There was a bachelor party last night. They were all going. There would have been a group of them.” Rebecca was on a roll. “None of them came home. I called all the wives and girlfriends. None of them came home.”
“Just between the two of us, Miss Smith, I don’t think it was a bachelor party.”
“What makes you say that?”
“It does not look like a bachelor party in there.”
“Well NOW it doesn’t!” Rebecca smacked the cop with a ‘duh’ look. “That’s why I’m concerned!”
“The people in there weren’t dressed like people dress for a bachelor party.”
Oh yeah, Rebecca thought. The burglar outfits. “Well they were all dressed in costumes for the bachelor party.”
“What kind of costumes?”
“Zorro.”
The cop looked a little shocked. “Umm…” He looked down at his notebook to avoid eye contact with the soon to be grieving widow. “Miss… I’ll have to contact you when I have more information.”
Rebecca let a tear fall down her cheek. “Can you…” She let one more fall. “Can you just tell me how many…” Two more tears. Don’t overdo it, Becca. “… how many there were?”
The cop looked around, nervous. “There were three men in this bar… dressed like your friends might have been. They didn’t make it through the night.” Rebecca sobbed. “There were some others, miss. Please, just return home and we’ll call you when we know more.”
Rebecca returned to the car and filled the others in.
“I’d like to talk to Wendy about this. She needs to know what happened,” Professor Gallivan said.
7:00 PM, Tuesday, July 20th
Riverside Community Hospital, Newport News, Virginia
“Any change?” Meadow was sitting next to Devin in the hospital room.
Devin looked downtrodden. “They cranked up the heat on her electric blanket to keep her temperature from dropping even more. Does that count?” Devin punched the chair arm. “Other than that, not a goddamn thing has changed.”
“Things will get better, Devin.” Meadow put her hand on Devin’s shoulder. “They have to.”
6:00 AM, Tuesday, July 20th
Riverside Community Hospital, Newport News, Virginia
“Sammy needs to die.”
Armani slapped Devin on the shoulder and nodded. “Then let’s kill him.”
“We don’t know that Sammy had anything to do with it,” Rebecca pleaded.
“Don’t we?” Devin stared at Rebecca hard. There was no doubt in his eyes.
Rebecca looked at the floor of the hospital waiting room. “I don’t want anyone to die, that’s all.”
“Like my sister?”
“She’s not dead, Devin.”
“She’s alive because a machine is keeping her heart pumping. She hasn’t opened her eyes. She…” Devin’s shoulders slumped. “Sammy did this, Rebecca. And he needs to die.”
“If the motherf**kerer need to die then he need to die.” Armani interjected. “But you know damn well we need a plan.”
“Then let’s go make a plan on the way to Sammy’s hideout. Rebecca, stay here and watch Lisa.”
“YOU need to wait with Lisa,” Rebecca said. “Not me. I’m a stranger to her. You’re her brother. She needs you.”
“What, should I wait in the room while she dies?”
“Maybe it would be comforting to her, and to you. I just don’t think that driving over and killing Sammy is a good idea… right now.”
“I need to do something. I can’t just sit here and let Lisa die.” Devin slumped into a seat and held his head. The bandages hadn’t been changed in two days and were crusted with blood. He hadn’t really slept in days. He was a mess.
“Stay here.” Armani sat in the seat across from Devin. “I’ll go check out the bar. I’ll set that motherf**ker straight and find out what he did to her.”
“Yeah?” Rebecca asked. “And you think he’s just going to tell you everything? He’s a thug, even more than you, and he’s not going to help you. Who knows, he might even just kill you.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Meadow. “Armani, you should go investigate.”
“If that’s what you’re going to do then go.” Rebecca reached in her purse. “Here are the keys to my car. Don’t wreck it.” She rummaged around some more. “And here’s my cell phone in case you need to call us. If a cosmetics customer calls don’t tell them you’re a thug. Just take a message and tell them I’ll call them back.” She rummaged around some more. “And here, take a pepper spray.”
Armani lugged the armful of Rebecca-condiments out of the hospital and set off towards Sammy’s place.
Devin stood up. “I have to go see how Lisa’s doing.”
Rebecca and Meadow both gave Devin a hug before he left. “We’ll be here if you need us.”
Devin sat in the chair next to Lisa and held her cold hand. He fell asleep that way.
●
7:00 AM, Tuesday, July 20th
”Nickels”, Williamsburg, Virginia
Armani approached the bar carefully, staying to the shadows and keeping an eye out for any threat. It seemed quiet, unlit. The morning light sparkled off some pieces of glass on the sidewalk and Armani stopped. He looked at the boarded up windows. The glass in front of the boards was shattered and the boards had small holes in them. Bullet holes.
The door to the establishment was slightly open, but no sound came from inside. Contrary to everything he’d learned watching a lifetime of horror movies, Armani pushed it just enough to allow entry and stepped in. He stopped to allow his lights to adjust to the shadowy interior.
Broken glasses and shattered furniture littered the room. A couple of lights spread a sickly glow over the shattered room – just enough to allow Armani to see the two feet sticking out from behind the bar.
Armani dropped to a crouch and slowly approached the bar. The feet were sticking toes up, like their owner was lying on his back. They didn’t move. Armani pulled the pistol from his waistband and slid his brass knuckles on the other hand. He rounded the corner of the bar, where he saw the owner of the feet – the barkeep. Bullet holes riddled his body and a single hole directly between his eyes removed any doubt of his status. Armani had seen dead bodies before. The barkeep was not the reason he vomited.
The body behind the barkeep had been mutilated. It had once been a man (presumably) in an all black outfit and what might have been a ski mask. An ocean of blood surrounded his body. It oozed from the talon-slashes that had shredded both his clothing and his flesh. . The flesh had been stripped from his face, leaving a single lidless eye to stare unseeing at Armani as he emptied his stomach on the bar floor. A huge pistol lay on the floor next to the shredded body and several spent shell casings littered the bloody floor.
Armani stumbled out of the bar and sprinted to the car. He would be getting no information from Sammy or his cronies that day.
●
8:00 AM, Tuesday, July 20th
Riverside Community Hospital, Newport News, Virginia
Armani walked into the waiting room. “How’s the little girl?”
“The same,” Rebecca said. “What happened at Sammy’s?”
“You don’t wanna know… I’ve got to make a phone call.”
“Fine. Meet me up in Lisa’s room when you’re ready to talk.” Rebecca and Meadow went up to Lisa’s room while Armani wandered off to find a phone. He found one and called the cops. He told them about what he’d seen at Sammy’s place. He didn’t tell them his name.
Armani entered the hospital room to find Devin holding Lisa’s hand, Rebecca and Meadow both standing next to him looking concerned. Armani filled them in briefly on what he’d seen at Sammy’s, then waved towards Lisa. “So, how she doing?” Armani asked.
Devin looked up. “Same. Doctors don’t have any clue what’s wrong.”
“So her heart rate is nothin’. She’s cold as ice. She’s hurt when the sun shines on her.” He looked around at the others, who were all nodding. “So if we’re dealing with magic,” Armani ventured. “Maybe she’s a f**kin’ vampire.”
“We’re dealing with John Edwards or Harry Potter type of magic, not Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Dusk ‘Til Dawn magic.” Rebecca said. “She’s a little girl with a medical problem. Not a bloodsucking beast. Note the lack of bloodsucking around here.”
“Well if you would have seen what I saw at that bar you’d think something different.” Armani looked a little shaken.
“You’re freaking me out, Armani. Give me your gun before you get crazy.” Devin said.
“The way that man was torn to shreds…” Armani was pale. “Maybe we are dealing with something… something big and something bad.”
Devin smacked Armani. Some color came to the big man’s face. “Yeah, that’s a bit crazy.” He shrugged and coughed. “I was just joking anyway.”
The wave of tension that had flooded the room ebbed out. “F**king vampires.”
“Yeah, f**kin' vampires. Buffy’s hot though…”
“Yeah… I’d nail her.” Devin said.
“Me too,” Meadow concurred.
Rebecca shook her head. “Ok, so not vampires, but it’s not unreasonable that this could have something to do with magic.”
Meadow nodded. “Yeah, blood is often associated with powerful magic. What if Sammy was using Lisa’s blood in order to power some kind of magic? Should we call Wendy?”
“If something they use needs blood then that’s reasonable. I’ll make the call.” Rebecca left the room, pulling her cell phone out.
“I don’t think any f**kin' human did what I saw in the bar though…”
Rebecca returned a few minutes later. “She didn’t know anything specific about the bear needing blood. It’s used to talk to the dead. But blood is a powerful tool in magic, and it can be used to tie a person to magic. Like, to draw energy from a person. She really wasn’t much help. And she says she isn’t a vampire.”
●
9:00 AM, Tuesday, July 20th
Motel 6, Newport News, Virginia
Quin punched the digits into his cell phone as he pulled into the parking lot of the motel. Rebecca’s voice mail picked up. “Hey Becca. I’m gonna check out from the old motel here in a bit. Give me a call when you get the chance and let me know what’s happening.” He clicked off the phone as he pulled into a parking spot behind the motel.
Better check to make sure we didn’t leave anything there, he said to himself. He hopped out of the car and it beeped at him as the alarm armed itself. Five minutes later he was leaving the motel room. Thirty seconds after that he was gasping for air and fighting against the hooded man holding a foul-smelling cloth over his face. Twenty seconds after that he was unconscious.
●
1:00 PM, Tuesday, July 20th
Riverside Community Hospital, Newport News, Virginia
Rebecca entered the small hospital room having left to check her voice mail. “Quin called a bit ago, said he was checking out from the old hotel. Oh, and Professor Gallivan is on his way here. He wants to see how Lisa’s doing and he wanted to talk to us about some other stuff.”
Professor Gallivan showed up at the hospital at 2 PM. Rebecca, Meadow and Armani met him in the waiting room. “How’s the little girl.”
“No change. We think Sammy Nickels had something to do with it, but when Armani went to talk to him…” Rebecca filled the professor in on what Armani had seen. “Armani thinks it’s vampires. I think maybe Sammy was using Lisa’s blood in some kind of magic ceremony with the bear.”
“I don’t think vampires are likely. And since Lisa wasn’t with Sammy when he got the bear I don’t think the two are related – at least not that directly.” He shrugged. “I do have some information about what might have happened at the bar though.”
Martin told them that some of the more militant member’s of Wendy’s coven had gone to recover the Messenger of the Dead from Sammy the night before. They haven’t been heard from since.
“Same motherf**kers that was at the McDonalds? Same outfits?” Armani asked.
“Yes. I think they were clothed the same.”
“Then that’s what I saw. I’ve seen a lot of dead bodies. I’ve seen a lot of weird sh*t. I ain’t never seen nothing like I saw there.”
“It sounds like the job went foul. Miss Johnson has not been very forthcoming about what she knows about it.”
“It doesn’t sound like she’s been forthcoming about much, Martin,” Rebecca said. “Do you really thing you want to be working with her?”
“I don’t think I want to… but I think I need to.” Martin Gallivan looked stern. “I don’t want you to question my decisions.”
Rebecca bristled. “Well your DECISIONS have gotten my friends shot, maybe this little girl hurt, maybe others dead.” Rebecca’s voice was getting louder. “So I think I have EVERY right to question them. Why are you working with this woman?”
Gallivan’s shoulders slumped under Rebecca’s tirade. “Wendy didn’t do this. And she didn’t want anyone to get hurt that night at McDonalds. But she isn’t the only power in their coven. The other power, Rain, is more militant. She’s the one that shot Armani and Devin that night. She’s more certain that recovering the bear is worth any cost.” Martin was holding his head in his hands. “I don’t know who is right. I just know that the bear is the only chance I have to find out what happened to my daughter, and I will get it back.” He looked up again. “Rain went after Sammy last night with her group. It sounds like she failed. Sammy has the bear then.”
“Maybe. But there were two bodies in the front, and who knows where else. It’s impossible to tell who came out ahead,” Meadow said.
“F**k it. She may have failed, but she ain’t me. I say let’s go get the motherf**ker.” Armani was standing again and looking anything but shaken. “We’ll get the damn bear. We’ll beat an answer out of Sammy. Maybe we’ll even pull down some cash.”
“Well I think the scene bears further investigation anyway,” Meadow said.
“I agreed,” agreed Rebecca. “Let’s head over there and see what we can find out. Even if Sammy's gone we might be able to find out something from the scene.”
Rebecca went up to Lisa’s room to fill Devin in on what they had planned.
“Find out what you can. I ought to stay here with Lisa.” Devin squeezed Lisa’s limp hand. “I need to be here if she wakes up… or doesn’t.”
“I’m so sorry Devin." Rebecca wiped her eyes. "Have a pepper spray.”
●
5:00 PM, Tuesday, July 20th
”Nickels”, Williamsburg, Virginia
Armani, Meadow, and Professor Gallivan stayed in the parked car a block away from the remains of Sammy’s bar. Several police cars were parked in front of the building and the area was roped off. A couple of cops were outside, talking.
Rebecca crouched under a strip of CRIME SCENE tape and approached the cuter of the two policemen – no wedding ring. “Do you know what happened here?” The other policeman quickly scuttled off to avoid getting wrapped up in dealing with the pesky civilian.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave, miss. This is a crime scene and we are currently in the middle of an investigation.”
“I might know people who were involved and I’m just trying to find out what happened to them.”
The young policeman pulled out a notepad and pen. “May I have your name please?”
“Susan Smith,” said Rebecca Michaels.
“And who do you know that might be involved in this?”
“I know some people who MAY have been here last night. I’m worried because I haven’t heard from them.”
He scribbled some notes on his pad. “And who is it you are concerned with, Miss Smith?”
“Fred Michaels,” Rebecca said, beginning the process of throwing off the entire investigation.
“And could you describe Fred Michaels for me please?” Scribble scribble scribble.
“About 6 feet tall. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Caucasian.”
“And why do you believe he would have been here last night?”
Rebecca looked at the young policeman like he was a puppy who just peed on the couch. “…It’s a… bar…”
The policeman looked a little embarrassed. “Ahem. Um… did he say he was coming to this bar in particular?”
“Yes.”
“Oh… ok. And…”
“And he didn’t come home this morning. I’m concerned.”
“So this is a CLOSE friend of yours?”
“Yes.”
“Are you living with Mr. Michaels?”
“No.”
“Ooooh… um… were you staying at Mr. Michaels’ house last night?”
“No.”
“Umm… ok… um… please wait here for a minute, Miss Smith.” The policeman turned to walk into the bar. Rebecca followed him. He spun. “Miss! Please wait here. This is a crime scene!”
“Well, there’s no sense in you walking in and out. I’ll just come along.” Rebecca smiled innocently.
“It’s a CRIME SCENE! You might… leave footprints.. or something.” The cop looked flustered, torn between duty to police force and duty to hot chick. “Please Miss, just stay here.”
“Ok, I’ll wait right here.” As the cop entered the bar Rebecca peered through the doorway into the bar. She saw several other policemen investigating the area. A couple stood behind the bar taking pictures. The chalk outline of a couple feet poked out from behind the bar. Two doors stood open at the back of the bar. The young policeman she’d been conversing with talked to one of the men behind the bar. He shook his head, said something, then returned to investigating the scene. The young cop returned.
“There was no Fred Michaels here.”
“Well… he doesn’t always go by that name…” Rebecca paused. “…when he’s been drinking I mean.”
“Miss Smith. Let me get your phone number and I’ll call you if we find anything else or have any other questions.”
Rebecca’s saleswoman brain flurried. “I’m afraid my purse was stolen. It.. it had my cell phone in it.”
“Do you have any way we can get ahold of you? Home address? Home phone?”
“Uh… sure. Here’s the phone number to the hotel I’m staying in.” The policeman wrote down the digits.
“Is that where you were planning to meet Fred Michaels at?”
“Yes.” Rebecca paused. “What about… John Richards?... There was a bachelor party last night. They were all going. There would have been a group of them.” Rebecca was on a roll. “None of them came home. I called all the wives and girlfriends. None of them came home.”
“Just between the two of us, Miss Smith, I don’t think it was a bachelor party.”
“What makes you say that?”
“It does not look like a bachelor party in there.”
“Well NOW it doesn’t!” Rebecca smacked the cop with a ‘duh’ look. “That’s why I’m concerned!”
“The people in there weren’t dressed like people dress for a bachelor party.”
Oh yeah, Rebecca thought. The burglar outfits. “Well they were all dressed in costumes for the bachelor party.”
“What kind of costumes?”
“Zorro.”
The cop looked a little shocked. “Umm…” He looked down at his notebook to avoid eye contact with the soon to be grieving widow. “Miss… I’ll have to contact you when I have more information.”
Rebecca let a tear fall down her cheek. “Can you…” She let one more fall. “Can you just tell me how many…” Two more tears. Don’t overdo it, Becca. “… how many there were?”
The cop looked around, nervous. “There were three men in this bar… dressed like your friends might have been. They didn’t make it through the night.” Rebecca sobbed. “There were some others, miss. Please, just return home and we’ll call you when we know more.”
Rebecca returned to the car and filled the others in.
“I’d like to talk to Wendy about this. She needs to know what happened,” Professor Gallivan said.
●
7:00 PM, Tuesday, July 20th
Riverside Community Hospital, Newport News, Virginia
“Any change?” Meadow was sitting next to Devin in the hospital room.
Devin looked downtrodden. “They cranked up the heat on her electric blanket to keep her temperature from dropping even more. Does that count?” Devin punched the chair arm. “Other than that, not a goddamn thing has changed.”
“Things will get better, Devin.” Meadow put her hand on Devin’s shoulder. “They have to.”
oops
