Chapter31 Forging of an Alliance

The next day, Sheriff Faulkner returned…not only with his deputies; but, also with several members of the Rhode Island State Police…to continue the search. He didn't mention who; only that they're looking for a body that may have been buried in the area. The sheriff notices that…with the exception of Deputy Hopkins…his deputies don't appear to be putting forth much of an effort. Four hours have passed, and Rhode Island State Police Corporal William Nyce approaches the sheriff. "Excuse me, Sheriff Faulkner, we've pretty much covered the area that you've wanted us to search; and, we haven't come up with anything. We could probably stay a couple of hours longer if you want us to search other areas; but, then we'd have to take off." "No, that's okay; thanks anyway, Corporal Nyce. I appreciate all the help yawl boys gave today." "No problem; you're welcome. Sheriff Faulkner, can I ask you something?" "Go right ahead." "If you don't mind me asking; what's the story here?" "Meaning?" "Well, for starters; you never did tell us who it was we were looking for. You must have an idea of who it is; after all, you called us to help with the search…so you have a suspicion that something happened; right?" The sheriff nods. The corporal continues, "And, the area needing to be searched really isn't that big; so, I wasn't sure…at least at first…why you even called us for help. Look; I'm not a hundred percent sure, but, I've gotten my suspicions since being here the past few hours. I didn't understand why you didn't even tell your own deputies who we were looking for; but, then I noticed a lack of involvement on their part, and it got me wondering. Sheriff Faulkner, just between the two of us; do you think some of your men had anything to do with it? And, if you do…if you like…I could have the homicide unit with our division come in and assist you with this investigation." "Well now, I appreciate your offer, Corporal Nyce; and, I may take you up on it a little later down the line if it turns out what I think happened did in fact happen. And, between the two of us…yes, I do believe some of them may be involved; however, until I can get some hard evidence that the crime actually occurred, I'd prefer not to drag the State Police any further into this…at least for now. But again, I do appreciate your offer." "You're welcome, Sheriff. And listen; anytime you change your mind and decide to have us help, just give me a call, and I'll make the arrangements for you. You still have my card; right?" "I've got it in my wallet; thanks." The two shake hands. The corporal calls for his men; and, within ten minutes, the State Police leave. Not long after Corporal Nyce and his men leave, Sheriff Faulkner decides it's time to stop the search. "All right everyone, let's pack it in and call it a day. Yawl could go back to your regular assignments now." Sheriff Faulkner calls out, "Deputy Hopkins; I'd like to have a word with you." When the deputy reaches the sheriff's car, he leans against the front passenger side door, crossing his arms across his chest, and asks, "So; what do you want, Lloyd?" "Mike, I was just wondering;" the sheriff looks up at the tree line, adjusts his Stetson, then returns to looking at the deputy, "are you sure this was the old Johnston farm? We spent half the afternoon here and turned up nothing." "Well, Lloyd; maybe there's nothing here to be turned up. Are you sure a body was buried here? Are you sure this person was even killed? And, who's the victim anyway?" "Well, Mike, to answer your first two questions; the answer is possibly so. To answer the last one; I'm not ready to let that one out of the bag just yet. Now, back to my question; is this the old Johnston farm? You still haven't given me an answer." "Gee, I kinda figured you believed me that this was the place; being how you called in the State Police to help with the search and all. Don't tell me you're having second thoughts on the accuracy of my information; are you, Lloyd?" The sheriff looks down at the ground and shakes his head as he laughs. "Mike, Mike, Mike…I ain't gonna get a straight answer from you; am I?" "Oh, I'm sorry, Lloyd; you prefer the straight-answer approach, as opposed to being vague…sort of like the way you've been with us about this search. Okay…straight answer…Yes, Lloyd, this was the old Johnston farm." "Okay; that should do it then. Oh, by the way, thanks for all your help today, Mike." The deputy laughs. "Sure; anytime, Lloyd." He starts to walk away. "Mike!" The sheriff walks up to him. "Seriously…thanks for the help today." "Yeah well, no problem; just doing my job, Lloyd." He starts walking away again. "Deputy Hopkins, get back over here!" The sheriff turns and walks back to his patrol car; waving for the deputy to follow him. When they reach the sheriff's car, the deputy assumes the same stance he had taken previously. The sheriff paces back and forth, alternating between staring at the ground and the deputy. Neither one speaks a word for at first; until the sheriff breaks his silence. "Hopkins; I couldn't give an armadillo's ass if you're the senior deputy or not…and, for your twenty years with the department…well, shit on them. So help me, if you go running off telling any one of them side-winding rattlesnakes, I swear I'll bust you down to meter…no…make that crossing guard! Am I making myself clear, Deputy?" "Not yet. Why don't you make things a bit clearer for me." The sheriff looks down to the ground shaking his head laughing. "You're a piece of work, Hopkins; you really are. Okay, here it is. You know Delilah; right?" "The waitress at the diner?" "Yup…that's whose body we're out here looking for." The deputy laughs. "Well shit, Lloyd, I guess this is another one of those times you should've come to me first. See, I could've saved us a whole lot of time from being wasted out here by letting you know she's been working at the diner today…you want to go see?" "Well now, what if I was to tell you that's not Delilah, but, actually her twin sister, Delores; who's pretending to be Delilah, so we won't realize that she was murdered?" "Well, Lloyd; I'd probably tell you to lay off the peyote." "Yeah; well I guess you'll really have to open your mind for what I'm about to tell you next." "Lay it on me, Wyatt Earp." "That's a good one…Deputy Dawg…Anyhow; the way I found out about this was by what Mary told Beth Lazinski." "Now, I know Mrs. Lazinski; but, who's Mary?" "Ah; now's the time to open up that small town mind of yours. Mary, Deputy Hopkins, is Mary Elizabeth Howell; one of the last victims of the murder spree which occurred in Woodland Falls…aka Beaver Ridge…from 1947 until 1961. Her spirit's haunting that house; and, she's been talking with Beth and her daughter; filling them in on some of the town's dirty laundry. Now, as far as Ms. Delilah's concerned; Mary told Beth that she saw some of the town's people bury Ms. Delilah's body out at the old Johnston farm." "You don't say." "Yup…and there's more." "Do tell." "The reason why I didn't tell anyone who the victim we were looking for was because Mary told Beth that the body of the late Ms. Delilah was brought out here by a deputy; in the trunk of his patrol car." Deputy Hopkins removes his sunglasses, tucks his thumbs behind his gun belt and stares at the sheriff while sucking on his teeth. After a moment of silence, he looks down to the ground, laughs and asks the sheriff… "Tell me something, Lloyd…if you believe that there's a spirit of a murdered girl in that house talking to Mrs. Lazinski and her daughter; why in the hell are you bringing in that charlatan, Madame Chybovsky?" "Unfortunately, you weren't the only one who heard about the Ramira Gomez case…and, Madame Chybovsky's role in it. Bringing her to the Lazinski's place was the mayor's idea. Now, how about you tell me something, Mike?" "What?" "How come when I told you that there's a spirit of a murdered girl in that house speaking with Beth and her daughter; your only criticism was that I was bringing Madame Chybovsky there? Mike, do you know what's going on?" "Straight answer, Lloyd?" "Straight answer." "No. But, something's definitely going on over there." "Okay, I'll bite; how do you know that, Mike?" "Lloyd, I'm willing to bet that neither the mayor nor town council told you that starting back in the seventies, nearly a dozen and a half families mysteriously disappeared without a trace after moving in that house." The sheriff shakes his head in total disbelief. "Hold on there, Mike; how in the Sam Hill do a dozen and a half families just disappear from a house without a trace? Weren't investigations done?" The deputy scoffs, "Investigations? You saw the kind of investigative work you got from these guys today. Face it, Lloyd, if you haven't realized it by now, they don't work for you; they work for the mayor and town council." "Come on, Mike; you can't possibly expect me to believe that a group of local town elected yokels could cover up the disappearance of so many families?" "The town yokels…no. A few congressmen and a state senator…yes." "A state senator?" "Senator Jack Steinman." "Did you say Steinman?" "Yeah; why?" "Any relations to a Chelsea Dolores Steinman?" "It's possible I suppose; the Steinman's been around practically forever in these parts. They were one of the first families to settle in the area. Why; who is she?" "She's another spirit hanging around that house. Beth discovered that she was the daughter of one Phillip Montgomery Steinman; who was the mayor of Woodland Falls back in the late 1920s. Supposedly, she committed suicide; but, some of the newspapers articles alluded that there may have been foul play involved. Then again, it's also possible that Chelsea did kill herself; out of guilt after murdering her younger brother, Tommy. Apparently she killed him by smacking him in the head with a hammer. Of course, the papers didn't mention anything about Tommy." "So how did she find out about this? Wait a minute, let me guess; Mary?" "Mary and Tommy." "Tommy? Lloyd, just how many spirits are running around out here?" "Three that we know of." "Three…that you know of." "We still don't know if the serial killer who slaughtered those families is a ghost or not. All Mary told Beth and Anna was that he comes back if he gets mad." "And again; why are you using Madame Chybovsky?" "Because our fat, blowhard of a mayor requests her services." "Getting back to a more serious issue; what murders? What serial killer?" "From 1947 until 1961, thirty-two families were killed in this area. You never heard about any of this?" "No; this is the first I'm hearing of this…they don't exactly keep me in the loop. Look, Lloyd; about the Steinman children…I never heard of a Chelsea or Tommy Steinman…but, I do know that Senator Jack Steinman's the oldest son of the late Phillip Montgomery Steinman, who besides being mayor, was once governor." "Interesting." The sheriff removes his hat, wipes the sweat from his forehead, and then, puts it back on. "Sure is a hot one today; huh, Mike?" "Yeah. Sure is, Lloyd." "How about we get us a nice cold glass of lemonade?" Deputy Hopkins puts his sunglasses back on. "Any place in particular you're thinking of?" "Well now, I reckon there are plenty of places we could get us a glass…but, I do recall the last time he called me in for a little get together, the mayor had a nice big, cold pitcher of lemonade sitting on his desk. Care to venture to see if he has another one ready?" "Sure, why not. After all, I haven't stopped in and said ‘hi' in the longest." "Well then, I reckon it's about time you did. We could talk about the good ol' days."