Sarah Benadine is Dead

Chapter XXII, Part V

***Warning: This chapter contains mentions of racism and language some may find offensive.***

"We went to Jackie Gordon's house today," Clifford Dent said.

"And?" Patience Lea asked.

"It's not good," Cliff replied. "Jesus, this is way out of my depth. I should've gone into carpentry or something. I can't keep dealing with this."

"What did you find?" Lea prompted.

"What didn't we find?" Cliff asked. "The sister—Norberta—showed up at the station this morning with a note from him. Or so we think. It was only signed 'J'. Some kind of love note. Just a short little thing. We figure they must have been seeing each other—Jackie and Sarah, that is."

"And what did you find at Mr. Gordon's house?" Lea asked.

"A locket," Cliff said. "The sister confirmed it was Sarah's. A note from Sarah instructing him to meet her at the library at seven. Could be from the night she was killed. Don't know why the hell he would hang on to it, though. And we found some book in his closet—a book on dark magic. All the other cops think it's just some mumbo-jumbo, of course, but I knew I had to tell you. We didn't find Sarah's diary, though. Still don't know where that's gone."

"So we've got him then?" Howard Nesbitt said confidently. Lea looked over at him in disdain; she hadn't even wanted him here, but she figured he needed to know what the normal police had found. "It was him who summoned the Follower. Probably learned how to in that book. Lord, I weep for our youth."

"There's something else, ma'am," Cliff said. Lea raised an eyebrow. "We did some digging into his next of kin...he's got an uncle who went here. To Briargate."

"Does he really?" Lea asked in surprise. "Where is he now?"

"Well, that's the thing," Cliff said. "We don't really know. All mention of him just sort of disappears after 1923, the year he would've graduated."

"1923?" Lea asked sharply. "Do you have a name?"

"Sure. Lloyd Pincher."

Lea sucked a breath in harshly through her teeth. Even Howard seemed at a loss for words.

"Are you sure?" Lea asked.

Cliff nodded. "What's the problem?"

"Officer Dent, Lloyd Pincher...he died in 1923. Here at the school," Lea said. "It was the reason the school was closed for years. Two students were killed. He was one of them."

"Oh, Jesus," Cliff said, dissatisfied. "I hate this case."

"Do you have a motive?" Lea asked.

"It's a little murky," Cliff said apologetically. "There were some scribbles in that magic book of his. He seems...pretty angry. You know, that sort of teenage melodrama—hating everyone and everything. Strickland thinks maybe something went wrong between him and Sarah and he...didn't take it well."

"And what do you think?" Lea asked.

"To tell you the truth, ma'am, I really have no idea what to think about the whole thing. A year ago I probably would've said that there was no way some kid would have enough anger in him to summon some sort of monster to kill a girl, but after everything that's happened this year...well, I just don't know."

"I wouldn't doubt it's him," Howard Nesbitt said in assurance. "It's probably like you said, sir: he's got that teen drama in him and just snapped. Who even can understand kids these days? He probably just wanted to hurt as many people as he could. Maybe he used a Follower because he thought he could keep attention away from himself. Who knows? Maybe he found out what happened to his uncle, and that set him off as well. Figured he'd dabble in some magic to honor him or something. It's impossible to tell with kids these days."

"And what about the vampires, Howard?" Lea asked quietly. This conversation was giving her a headache.

"I don't see how those two things are related," Howard said stubbornly.

"I think you know they are," Lea said.

"No, I don't," Howard insisted. "As far as I'm concerned, it's just an unfortunate coincidence that these vampires showed up as soon as this Gordon kid went on his killing spree. It's not impossible."

"Oh, Howard," Lea said, shaking her head.

"Well, how do I know he didn't set them lose? I wouldn't be the least bit surprised after everything that's happened this year."

Lea looked at him wearily, not bothering to say a word. She knew his mind was made up.

"Oh, come on, Lea. How can we even be sure that this thing between him and Sarah went both ways? Maybe he was just obsessed with her, and she was trying to put a stop to it. Not right in the head, he could be. You know how those Negroes are."

"I'd thank you to keep that kind of talk out of my office, Howard," Lea said sharply. Nesbitt recoiled, and then shook his head.

"We've got an answer right here, Patience. Don't make this more difficult than it has to be. Where is Gordon now, Officer Dent?"

"We've got a warrant out for him, but right now, he's in the wind," Cliff replied.

"Well, you let me know when you've caught him. I don't want to see him do any more damage."

"Sure." Cliff looked doubtful. Without another word, Howard rose and left Lea's office. Cliff looked at Lea. "Look, I know we don't know each other all that well, but, ma'am, tell me honestly: what do you think about all this?"

Lea sighed. More than anything, she didn't want to have to think about all this at all. "Honestly, sir? Honestly, I don't understand how or why a normal boy would summon a monster to kill innocent people by himself. But if your station is going to make a case against Mr. Gordon, I don't think it matters what I think at all."

Cliff Dent didn't say anything, but she thought he might have felt the same way.

***That one was a little short but I'm hoping the next chapter will come out pretty soon. As it looks right now, I will have either one or two more chapters (depending on if I decide to split the last one up) and a final excerpt and then this book will be complete. (Then comes the sequel at...some point.) Thank you to everyone who made it this far, I hope the ending will satisfy you :)***