Suffer II
Authors: E.E. Borton
E.E. Borton
SUFFER
II
Legacy Road Publishing
(Kindle Edition)
© 2015 E.E. Borton. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
First Published by: Legacy Road Publishing. 9/11/2015
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this book are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Acknowledgements
This has been a year full of challenges and magic. I accept both with gratitude and humility because they have shown me what love and friendship looks like. Thank you Jennifer Reece, Z, Doug Braun, Mike Makinster, Ralph McDaniel, and my amazing sisters, Jennifer and Ashley.
Credits
Jennifer Ziegnefuss –
Editor
Natalie Elzinga
– Graphic Designer / Cover
Mallory Cullen
– Cover Model
For Kathy Thompson
I miss you, mom.
SUFFER
II
Table of Contents
North Star
(June 19th, 2014)
She didn’t move as he dragged the blade down her thigh. He wanted plenty of scent in the water. When he turned the flashlight towards the black, dozens of hellish red eyes were already waiting for the splash.
Two men were staring at Emily as the third continued to open her with shallow cuts. They both wanted it to be over, but the man with the knife didn’t. He was taking his time with her, knowing that the end was near.
“Oh man, I think she’s still alive,” said Eddie, squinting his eyes in the low light.
“She won’t be for long,” said Bullet, wiping the knife on his pants.
“Ain’t right throwing her in while she’s alive,” said Brad.
“Ain’t right what you been doing to her in the shack,” said Bullet. “But now you wanna go soft on this little bitch?”
“That was different,” said Brad.
“What, you wanna do her one more time before we toss her?”
“How about we just shoot her first?”
“And put a goddamned hole in this boat, you idiot?” said Bullet, shining the light across the water. “We’d all be gator shit by morning.”
“Grab her feet,” said Eddie, putting his hands under Emily’s shoulders. “Let’s get this over with.”
Emily was becoming more aware, but had no strength left to fight them. She lost that a few hours into the three-day nightmare she had endured inside the small, isolated cabin. Even if she could scream, the dark stillness of the bayou would swallow the sounds before they reached anyone who could help her.
Before they dragged her onboard the boat that would take them to the alligator-infested waters of Mud Lake, Brad filled a syringe with enough heroin to kill a room full of junkies, and handed it to Bullet as they pulled away from the dock. Bullet gave her only a fraction of the dose. As the drug was dissipating in her starved, dehydrated, and brutalized body, Emily turned her head to face Brad. When they hoisted her to the rail, she exhaled her last two words to him.
“Please don’t.”
He closed his eyes and lowered his head when he heard the splash. Eddie watched for a brief moment, but then moved to the other side of the boat. Bullet stayed glued to the rail. With the wide-eyed excitement of a kid anticipating the start of a Christmas parade, he waited for the show to begin.
“Here they come,” said Bullet, smiling and slapping the rail. “This is gonna be nasty.”
Emily became more conscious after the shock of hitting the water. She knew what was coming. She knew she couldn’t stop it. Instead of looking at them or yelling out in panic, she extended her arms, floated on her back, and looked for the familiar grouping of stars.
She didn’t want the three monsters that were safe in the boat to be her last thoughts. Using what little energy she had left, she transported herself to a different place and a different time when. She was twelve and floating in their pool at night with her dad next to her. She heard his calming voice in her ear. As death was closing in on her, she scanned the clear night sky for the Big Dipper.
“Do you see them, baby?” said Emily’s father. “It’s that group right there. Do you see them?”
“I do, daddy.”
“Okay, now follow those two over a little bit. Do you see that big, bright star?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s it, sweetheart. That’s the North Star.”
“And that’s where their mama is waiting for them?”
“Sure is, baby girl. Not just waiting, but watching over them. Look how high that is. She can see them wherever they are in the world.”
“If you die, is that where you’ll be?”
“Yes, ma’am, that’s where I’ll be,” said Emily’s father, taking her hand. “So if you’re ever feeling lonely or scared, no matter where you are, all you have to do is find that star and I’ll be with you.”
She was pulled back into the darkness of the swamp when she felt the large presence pass underneath her. Emily was terrified and shaking, but she could still feel her father’s hand holding hers. She didn’t notice the boat’s engine roar to life.
“What the fuck are you doing!” said Bullet. “You’re spooking the gators!”
“I ain’t watching this shit!”
“Turn it off!”
There wasn’t a second command. There was a blow to the back of Brad’s head and pain shooting down his spine. When his knees hit the floor, he heard the wrench drop beside him. Bullet pulled the key out of the ignition and returned to the rail without saying another word. Brad gripped the back of his head and slumped over against the bulkhead. He wouldn’t defy Bullet again.
She had drifted farther away from the boat during the brief scuffle. Bullet flipped the switch on the spotlight to get a better view. Red eyes were gliding in silence towards her. They submerged under the sheet of black glass a few seconds before all hell broke loose in the swamp.
It was over in less than a minute.
End of the Earth
Karla Pierce took a deep breath as she sat in the passenger seat of Tyler McKenzie’s truck. She clutched her purse which was resting on a stack of folders on her lap. It had grown taller since she started making the weekly trip to the sheriff’s office.
Tyler opened her door, took the folders, and helped her out of his truck. She was fifty-nine and in poor health, but nothing was going to stop her from applying pressure on those she believed could find her daughter. With one hand on her cane and the other holding onto Tyler, she made her way inside to the duty officer’s desk.
“Good morning, Ms. Karla,” said Deputy Anderson. “How are we feeling today?”
“We’re feeling a little tired, but doing well. Sure is hot out today.”
“Yes, ma’am, it is. Take a seat and I’ll bring you something cool to drink after I let him know you’re here.”
Everyone in the office knew her. They also knew it was Monday and she’d be patiently waiting for Sheriff James Lewis to see her. She never made an appointment, but had shown up at nine a.m. every week for the past two months. As the weeks passed, she’d find herself waiting a little longer for his time.
“I wonder how long he’s going to make us sit out here today,” said Tyler, trying to get comfortable in the plastic chair.
“Sheriff’s a busy man,” said Karla. “He knows we’re here. I’ll wait all day if I have to.”
“He’s not that busy,” said Tyler. “He’s just going to tell you the same thing he tells you every week. He’s going to say they’re still looking and that you don’t need to make this trip because of your health. He’ll say he’ll call you if anything new develops and send us on our way with a smile.”
“But he’ll know I’m never going to give up looking for her,” said Karla. “He’ll know I’ll be here next week, and the week after, and the week after that.”
“I’m sorry,” said Tyler, putting his arm around her. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I just get frustrated and I know that you do too. You just hide it much better than I do.”
“I can’t waste what little energy I have getting frustrated. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to make it through the day. I’ve gotta stay strong for my baby. Wherever she is, she needs me to be strong right now. She needs both of us.”
Tyler had known Karla since he was ten. He grew up on the same street and had been best friends with her daughter when they were kids. When his mother died of cancer and his father dove into a bottle, Tyler and his older brother spent more time at her house than their own.
After an hour of waiting, the deputy told her the sheriff was between meetings and could spare a few minutes. As always, she preferred to walk to his office by herself. The folders were getting harder to carry, so the deputy offered his help. She politely declined.
Before Tyler was finished flipping through a magazine, Karla returned with Sheriff Lewis by her side. The wait in the lobby was getting longer, but the time the sheriff gave her was getting shorter. He was surprised when the sheriff asked to speak with him in private.
“Close the door, son,” said Sheriff Lewis, walking to his desk. “Then take a seat.”
Tyler complied and sat in the more comfortable chair. He looked around the office as the sheriff settled in behind the desk. His chair was much bigger.
“This has got to stop now,” said Lewis, folding his arms and leaning back.
“What does?” asked Tyler, leaning forward.
“You can’t keep bringing her up here like this,” said Lewis. “I know you think you’re helping her, but you’re not. You’re hurting her more by giving her false hope. This needs to end and you know why.”
“I can’t just stop bringing her, Sheriff. I made a promise that I need to keep.”
“A promise to who?”
“That doesn’t matter. It just matters that I keep it. It gives Ms. Karla a purpose and a reason to keep going.”
“Do I have to remind you that –”
“Remind me of what?” said Tyler, cutting him off. “That Emily was a junkie and a whore? That you think she’s lying dead in a puddle of puke with a needle hanging out of her arm? Or that she’s selling herself in the French Quarter? Is that what you were going to remind me of? Is that what you told Ms. Karla?”
“Tyler, you need to calm down,” said Lewis. “No, I didn’t tell her that. I told her that we’re all still looking for her daughter and we won’t stop until we find her. I also told her we’d call her the minute anything new came up, but she needed to stop making this trip every week. I told her the truth.”
“But that isn’t the truth, is it?”
“Come on now, son,” said Lewis. “You need to get a grip on this situation and take care of that woman sitting in my lobby. That’s the most important thing here. It would kill her if she found out Emily had been arrested for drug possession, prostitution, disorderly conduct, and a laundry list of other charges. Everybody in this town knows what Emily became, and we’ve all tried our best to keep her troubles from her mother. That woman has been through hell and back.”
“What are you telling me?” asked Tyler. “Jesus Christ, you’re not even looking for her, are you?”
“Every cop in this parish knows who Emily is,” said Lewis. “If they hear or see anything, we’re going to investigate. I promise you that. But no, we’re not actively searching for her anymore.”
Sheriff Lewis stood and walked around to the front of his desk when Tyler lowered his head. He sat on the edge and put his hand on his shoulder. “We did search for the first few weeks, but we didn’t find anything, son. Nothing. Not a shred of clothing. Nobody had seen her for weeks. We even called the state police and used their boats to scour the bayou. Again, nothing.”
“You’re telling me she just vanished into thin air?” said Tyler, raising his head.
“Sometimes that’s exactly what happens,” said Lewis. “I’ve seen it time and time again. She could’ve come across the wrong people and bit off more than she could chew. I think she got into some trouble and decided to start over somewhere new. That’s the best we can hope for right now.”
“She’d never leave her mother,” said Tyler. “I can promise you that. Even during the worst of it, she stood by her side.”
“Then that leaves only one other outcome,” said Lewis. “It’s the one you don’t want to think about, but you know in your heart it’s probably true. Eventually she’ll turn up, but that could take months or years.”
“How do I tell her that?” asked Tyler. “How do I tell a mother that her only child is lying dead somewhere?”
“Look, I admire you for taking care of her since all this started,” said Lewis, “but this has to stop. I wish I could tell you how to do that, son. I really do.”
“So do I, Sheriff.”
After shaking hands, Tyler walked out of the office. Before he turned the corner that would take him back to the lobby, he stopped and put his back to the wall. He rubbed his face and took a deep breath. The weight was growing heavy on his shoulders.
“Are you ready to go?” asked Tyler, returning to the lobby.
“Are you okay, honey?” asked Karla. “You look upset.”
“He told me the same things he told you,” said Tyler, looking at the floor. “Let’s head over to the courthouse before they go to lunch.”
As they did every week, they waited to be seen by the Clerk of Courts and anyone who would talk to them. Tyler would then drive her to the state patrol post before making the long trip back home.
Boudreaux had a small population of five thousand. The number of people rose dramatically in the small fishing town during the end of summer and early fall. Tourists and sportsmen filled the three tiny motels, and many of the locals would rent out rooms in their homes. It was located at the southern tip of Route 315. The residents of Boudreaux called it the end of the earth. Karla called it home.
Tyler would have dinner with her every Monday after they made their rounds. He took a few bites and then excused himself to the back porch of the small, single-story house. He was trying to figure out how to tell her as he looked past the short fence in the backyard. It was the only thing separating them from the bayou. On the other side of the fence was twenty-five miles of swamp and marsh.
“What did he say to you?” asked Karla, bringing him a glass of iced tea.
“Is it that obvious?” asked Tyler, helping her sit down in her rocking chair.
“It is.”
“Ms. Karla,” said Tyler, setting down his tea and taking her hand, “there are some things you need to know about Emily. Things that are going to be hard for you to hear. Things you –”
“I know she’s gone.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“Tyler, sweetie, I know everything. I know the kind of trouble she was in, and I know she’s been arrested many times. I’ve been seeing the stares and hearing the whispers behind my back for years. I’m old and frail, but I’m not stupid.”
“No, ma’am, you’re not. But if you think she’s gone, then why are we going up there every week trying to get them to look for her?”
“Because my baby still needs to be found,” said Karla, turning her head and staring out into the darkness. “She’s out there right now alone and waiting for someone to find her. I can’t go looking for her, but they can.”
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but they’re not looking anymore. The sheriff told me they tried for weeks. He said they brought in boats and searched the swamps. They didn’t find anything, so they called it off.”
“Well, they can call it back on, and you and I will be there every Monday until they do.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work.”
She cut her eyes back to his. “I know something terrible has happened to her. Call it a mother’s intuition or whatever you want, but something terrible has happened. My child was alone and scared when it did, and there was nothing I could do.”
“This isn’t your fault,” said Tyler, taking her hand. “None of this is your fault.”
“It’s not yours either, honey. I know you tried to help her. I know how you tried to get her into another program to get her clean. I know it all because she told me everything.”
“She told you everything?”
“As much as she could without trying to upset me. I tried to help her as much as I could, but I was in a bad place of my own. We talked about it often. She’d just tell me it was all going to be okay. I should’ve done more, but I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t there when she needed me the most. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself and taking those damn pills they gave me. I was weak. I won’t be weak anymore.”
“Harassing the sheriff isn’t going to work,” said Tyler. “Driving up there isn’t going to change a thing. You can’t keep doing this to yourself. There are hundreds of square miles of wetland out there. They’re not going to waste their time or resources looking for her anymore.”
“I know that,” said Karla, raising her voice. “But there’s somebody out there who can tell us exactly where she is because they put her there.”
“You think someone killed her?”
“I know they did,” said Karla. “It’s the reason I’m on the sheriff’s doorstep every week. I’m not just trying to get the police to find her. I’m trying to get them to find whoever did this to her. When they do, they’ll know where she is and we can go get her.”
“What if we never find her, Ms. Karla?” asked Tyler, fighting back tears. “We can’t keep going up there forever.”
“I’ll be back on their doorstep on Monday. If you’re not going to help me get there, I’ll find someone who will.”