Cold Hollow (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 1) (14 page)

They watched as Nazar slowly blew up like a twisted human balloon again. The size of his eyelids and lips was astonishing. The body was an amazing machine. They commented back and forth about the elasticity of the integument system while watching him transform into a human blowfish.

Tom shook his head and muttered, “Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much epinephrine you inject. When it’s too late, it’s just too damn late.”

He watched Nazar’s chest slowly rise and fall for the final time. Both doctors took out their stethoscopes and listened long and hard. They looked at each other, shook their heads, and noted the time of death in Nazar’s chart.

Jack commented, “Poor guy, he must have gotten his hands on something that contained penicillin. He was deathly allergic to the stuff.”

Tom agreed, “Yep, that’s probably what happened.”

Jack added, “I’m surprised he didn’t carry an epinephrine pen.”

Tom’s mouth screwed up to the side of his face. “Yep, I’m surprised too.” He knew Nazar did. He just didn’t know what had happened to it and could not have cared less.

The other physician asked, “Tom, do you want me to call Myrna while you make arrangements for Nazar’s body?”

Tom smiled. “Yes, please do.” He checked Nazar’s chart to see his emergency contact was Ranger Bullock. He grinned and picked up the phone in the room.

***

Steve, the mortician, knew things were going down today, and he paced in the basement of his funeral parlor. This was his territory. This was where people went to be prepared for their final presentation to the world and their loved ones. Steve did his utmost best to please all of his customers and so far, he’d received no complaints.

The phone ringing startled him from his thoughts. He answered politely, “Cold Hollow Funeral Parlor. How may I help you?”

He heard Doctor Tom’s voice on the other end. “Put a hold on the cremation of the Barner family, like Myrna told you. However, I have a fresh one that needs cremating immediately. No next of kin.”

Steve asked, “Is it him?”

Doctor Tom answered, “Yes.”

The mortician responded, “I’m getting things good and hot right now.”

When the mortician turned from hanging up the phone, he stared at the four-drawer morgue refrigerator he had in the basement where he did his work. The Barners occupied three of them, and he’d be damned before he put Nazar’s corpse anywhere near them. He went to the other end of the basement and flipped a switch that instantly ignited the cremation chamber. He paced before it and swore he could not get the bastard’s corpse in there fast enough.

***

Artie and the locksmith drove to the Barners’ home. They parked in the driveway and took the rest of the way by foot. They heard a chainsaw buzzing in the distance and yanked two shotguns out of the back of Artie’s truck. They each had a handgun tucked into the waistbands of their pants as backup. They stashed ammunition into the pockets of their down parkas. They headed toward the running trails where the park ranger was.

Dom, the locksmith, asked as they walked, “Did you check out the trails last night?”

Artie pushed his thick glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Yes. There is a big drop-off, like a cliff at one point. I found so much stuff dumped down there. I think I know what happened to some of our town residents that just up and disappeared because they couldn’t make the till.”

“Bodies?”

“Hell, no. Nazar was evil, but he wasn’t stupid. If I know him, he probably enlisted Bullock to take care of the remains in some disgusting way.”

“So you want me to follow your lead?”

“Yes, you may as well. I just hope we can push him in the right direction. We have to make sure the big lummox doesn’t see us coming. However, your eyesight is ten times better than mine is, so if you have a chance to scare him, do it.”

They followed the sounds of the chainsaw and Artie cringed. He knew more about Sophia Barner’s death than Myrna did, and he wanted to keep it that way. Doctor Tom had asked him to keep it quiet, and he had done just that. What Artie wanted more than anything was for Ranger Bullock to suffer. He had never killed anyone before and did not want to now, but if the situation arose where it was self-defense, then he had no issues.

Dom nudged him. “You think Myrna’s plan will work?”

Artie nodded. “Yes. She is one determined woman.”

The locksmith chuckled as they walked the trail, and the noise became louder. “I’m glad the old Myrna is back. Maybe the town will straighten out now.” He reminisced how she had taken over some of the trade shops in prison and made sure the inmates stayed in line every blessed day.

The chainsaw was only humming now. That meant the ranger either was taking a break or had finished what he was working on. The men stopped moving and listened. When the buzzing increased again, they walked toward the sound. They spotted him about twenty yards ahead, clearing a new trail. Artie nudged the locksmith and hunched down behind some deadfall. The locksmith followed his lead and crouched down beside him. Artie pointed a bit to the left and said, “Push him in that direction and upward.”

The locksmith took aim and fired at the ranger’s feet. They watched as he jumped back and looked at the ground around his feet. The locksmith let another round fly and watched as the ranger turned in circles, trying to find out who was shooting at him. His face twisted in rage.

Artie raised his gun, fired, and saw that he had grazed Bullock’s right hand. The chainsaw fell to the ground, its engine sputtered, and it finally shut down. The ranger started moving at a quick pace out of the woods and toward the trail.

The gunfire continued at the ranger’s feet until he began running. Artie and the locksmith jumped to their feet and followed him with their weapons raised. The ranger was running slowly because his steel-toed boots and mesh chaps were weighing him down, not to mention the fact that he was a big man, loaded with mostly muscle.

The men stopped to reload and did so quickly. They were huffing and puffing, and it became apparent to Artie that they were out of shape. Artie was the quickest on his feet, so he took the lead and continued firing at the ranger. Artie watched him run up the incline of the slope, just where he wanted him to go. He let loose another round and watched the ranger’s shoulders stiffen as he kept moving.

***

Hugo Morrissey had just finished applying the last of his ointment to his back and buttocks. He noticed that his wounds had scabbed over and they were healing nicely. He’d never be able to go without a shirt again, but he didn’t mind. The injury had given him plenty of time to plan his revenge. When he heard gunfire, his motions stopped. He put on his shirt and coat, and slid into his boots. He grabbed his old rifle, from when he was the ranger, and stormed from his cabin. He knew these woods and swiftly made his way to the source of the sound.

He had stayed out of town for a while, but with all of that gunfire going on, it could only mean one thing. That bastard Nazar was up to no good. Well, Hugo had had enough of that man and was about to stand up and fight. His parole had been over two years ago and he had decided to keep the gun and stay on as the town ranger, but after a year, Nazar had decided otherwise and tried every means to force him out of the town.

He hated Hugo because he was not compliant with Nazar’s crooked tactics. Nazar only cared about Nazar’s wealth, and he often lined his pockets with the till money that supposedly went right back into the town funding, when the exact opposite was true. This made Hugo furious and he knew of a few people in town that would agree with him. Hugo was so lost in anger that he tripped over a rock, wobbled a bit, and stomped his foot. He heard another gunshot and began running in the direction of the sound.

***

The locksmith caught up with Artie and fired a few rounds as Artie reloaded again. They continued up the incline, released all their rounds simultaneously around the feet of the ranger, and watched as he panicked and ran to the right. Artie pumped a fist in the air in triumph, just as the locksmith let the last round go that did the trick.

They heard the ranger’s scream when he fell downward off the cliff and into the pit below. They reloaded their weapons and approached the site. They stood tall upon a big flat rock and looked downward. They heard noise across the way of the pit and Artie looked up and shouted, “Hey Hugo! Where the hell have you been?” He noticed that Hugo’s gun barrel was smoking. He nearly chuckled out of his boots again. Artie thought it had only been them firing, when the exact opposite was true. Hugo had entered the battle at the last minute.

Artie pointed down into the pit and smiled at Hugo. “There’s a job opening in town that I think you would be perfect for!”

Hugo was grinning and went to the other side of the pit and looked down. Ranger Bullock had landed headfirst atop an old sofa, and judging by the angle of his body, he had broken his neck. His mouth was open wide in surprise, as were his eyes.

Blood oozed from his mouth, and amazingly enough he began talking. His eyes locked on Artie and Dom. “Help me! You assholes can’t leave me here! There are wild animals out here!”

Dominick leaned over the edge of the pit and spit on him. “You are a
filthy
animal. You should feel right at home.”

Artie leaned over and asked, “Hey, Bullock, what did you do with the remains of all of the inmates that just up and disappeared? We would like to know.”

Ranger Bullock spit back, “Fuck you!”

Hugo yelled from across the pit, “I can tell you what he did, cuz I refused to do it for Nazar.” Hugo pointed downward as he stared at Artie and Dom. “He cut up the dead bodies with his handy-dandy chainsaw and brought the remains deep into the woods for the wildlife to feast upon, the rotten prick!” He shook his head and continued, “The lazy asshole, just left me in the pit to die.” He shrugged his shoulders. “He probably forgot his chainsaw that day.”

Artie’s face twisted in hatred, and he edged closer to the pit. Dom and Hugo did the same. They all spit on Ranger Bullock at the same time.

They turned and walked down the path again. Hugo Morrissey followed them and eventually caught up with them farther down the trails. With great gusto, Artie filled him in on what had been happening in town. He watched Hugo smile through the entire story.

Dom looked up at the sky through the trees and commented, “Gonna be a cold one tonight. I hear we have another storm set to blast us this week. The wild animals are sure going to be hungry.”

Artie shrugged. “They won’t be hungry for long.” The three men looked at each other and laughed hard as they made their way to the Barners’ home. Artie and Dom had to clean their guns and return them to the police station gun locker before reporting to Myrna.

***

Myrna jumped up and down in happiness in the kitchen of the bakery. She had just heard from Artie and the hospital. She’d received the best news of her life. Nazar was dead, the two police officers were locked in cells, and the forest ranger had been taken care of. Yes, he’d had a terrible accident. Donnie watched her and started applauding. They had already served the lunch crowd, and things had slowed down to a crawl. He approached her and yanked on her arm. “I think you better go to the town hall, mayor.”

She staggered backwards and gawked at him. He smiled and held up a mason jar filled with folded slips. “I looked it up, cuz I’m smart like that, and it turns out you
can
be mayor. Mama made the ballots for voting, so…” He handed the jar to her, and she read each slip. She found out that Donnie had the entire town vote her in as the new mayor. Tears ran down her face as she pulled Donnie to her.

He mumbled into her chest, “Afraid you’re going to have to give up your seamstress duties. You got the majority vote! So do us proud, Mayor Myrna.”

She pulled away, nodding. “I will.” She wasn’t worried about her seamstress duties. She knew of another woman in town who was just as talented. She would send all of her business her way.

After she released Donnie, she crouched down before Liam. “Do you want to go and see the inside of the town hall?”

“You bet!”

They donned their coats and boots as Daryl and Donnie promised to keep the bakery running until she returned.

As they walked across the street to the town hall, Myrna told Liam, “Tomorrow we are moving back to your house.”

“We are? Can you take me to feed the deer? They are probably hungry and miss me.”

“You bet, and then I think that we can start decorating for Christmas. What do you think?”

Liam became sullen and whispered, “It won’t be the same.”

Myrna looked ahead at the town hall. “No, it won’t, but we’ll devise new traditions and blend them with the old. Sometimes new things are fun. You’ll have to tell me what your family traditions were, and then we’ll mix them with others, okay?”

“That sounds good to me.”

They entered the town hall, and Myrna’s first order of business was completed within seconds. She stopped at May Belle’s office and stuck her head in the window. “Hey, May Belle? Nazar just passed away at the hospital. The populace has voted and I am the new mayor. You are fired. Pack up your stuff. I have a new staff member coming on board.”