Her Eyes

Chapter 25: REMEDIES

Alex sped down the highway, his thoughts focused on Norma. That was until a figure popped out of the tall grass—he slammed on the breaks recognizing the figure to be Dylan. Norma's sons were always up to something. Alex put the car in reverse and backed up to meet the kid. He stared at him for a moment—afraid to say anything.

            "Nick Ford's dead. I just killed him," the kid confessed. He waited for Alex to reply, but he didn't know what to say. "He's got Norman, but I don't know where."

            The sheriff squinted at him. He'd just eliminated their only possible chance of finding Norman. "Get in the car," he sighed, setting his eyes back to the road ahead. He waited for the kid to climb in before speeding off to Ford's house. Luckily they weren't too far and they wouldn't have to suffer the awkward silence for too long. When they reached the house, Alex got out of the car with Dylan a step behind. "Stay out here," he growled at him. He didn't need him getting in the way of things. Or even worse getting shot and having Norma hate him for allowing her son to get hurt.

            "We gotta find Norman." There was a saddened look on his face.

Alex could tell how much his brother meant to him. He didn't know what it was like to have a sibling—to have someone to care about unconditionally like that. "You're following instructions here. You're doing what I tell you. Is that clear?"

"Yeah. It's clear," Dylan mumbled, staring back at him a bit dumbfounded.

Alex gave him a reassuring look before entering the house alone gun in hand. He stumbled through a couple of rooms before spotting Ford's dead body. He winced at the sight of it. It hurt him to see the people he had known so well dead—murdered. As he bent down and checked his pulse, a shuffling sound drew his attention. He followed the noise up the stairs and into an office. There was a man filtering through Ford's safe. "No respect for the dead, huh?" Alex greeted pointing the gun at him. He watched as the man attempted to get up. "No. Stay down. Hands up." He reached over and took the man's gun off of the desk, placing it in his pants. The sight of jewelry and other valuables caught his eye. "You're a nice security guy, aren't you? What's your name?"

The man stared at him, a confused look on his face. No one had called the police. "Ben," he stated, hands up beside his head.

 "Ben, you wanna help yourself? Tell me where Norman Bates is." His voice was stern. He loved playing the tough guy.

The man shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know where Norman—"

Alex socked him in the face, shutting him up. "Don't do that shit, man. Come on, it's over. All of this is over. You get that right?" It was like the world was coming to an end for White Pine Bay. Everything they had known was in shambles. His whole childhood was falling to pieces. "I know you do cause you're looting your boss's safe. So don't piss me off and force me to shoot you." He pointed his gun at the man's leg. He was serious. He needed to find the boy. "Where's Norman Bates?"

The man fell apart before him. "He's locked in a box out in the woods by the trailer on highway 96."

"All right." Alex left the man in the room, rushing down the steps back to the SUV. Dylan was already in the car waiting for him by the time he climbed in. They sped down highway 96 towards the woods. They got out and approached the trailer. Alex took his gun out and motioned for Dylan to stay back, before opening the door and jumping inside. It smelled like fresh dog shit—it looked like dog shit. Alex exited the trailer quickly. "They must know Nick Ford was killed...they all cleared out," he told Dylan, approaching him.

He was too focused on finding his brother to notice the sheriff. "Norman!"

They started walking deeper into the woods. Then it came—the faint sound of Norman calling back. The two men looked at each other before dashing off through the woods after the sound. They stopped for a moment to look around, when Alex spotted the box. Dylan rushed over and began fumbling with the lock.