Chapter 3 - THE SHERIFF WHO NEVER LEFT
Raymond Calder had not been sheriff for almost twenty years.
People in Black Hollow still called him Sheriff.
He had held the position so long that the title had become part of his name.
His hair was white now.
His shoulders had narrowed.
His eyes had not changed.
They remained pale, patient, and impossible to read.
He stepped into the hospice room carrying a bouquet of yellow roses.
“My mother hates yellow roses,” I said.
Raymond smiled.
“Your mother used to love them.”
Jack moved between him and the bed.
Raymond examined the Iron Saints patch.
“You boys are a long way from your clubhouse.”
Boone appeared in the doorway behind him.
“Not as far as you’d like.”
Raymond glanced back.
The two younger bikers stood on either side of the hallway.
For the first time, his smile weakened.
“I came to visit an old friend.”
“My mother has not mentioned you in years,” I said.
“That does not mean I have forgotten her.”
Margaret pulled the blanket to her chest.
“Go away, Ray.”
His eyes shifted toward her.
“You called me this morning.”
“I made a mistake.”
“You sounded frightened.”
“I am frightened now.”
Raymond placed the flowers on the windowsill.
He looked at Jack again.
Something moved behind his eyes.
Recognition.
“Have we met?”
“No.”
“You look familiar.”
Jack touched the medal beneath his shirt.
Raymond noticed the movement.
“Thomas Mercer raised you.”
It was not a question.
Jack stepped closer.
“You knew my father?”
“I knew many people.”
“Did you know he was hiding a stolen baby?”
Raymond’s face remained calm.
“Be careful with words like stolen.”
I felt anger rising inside me.
“My mother admitted she gave him my child.”
“She is medicated.”
“She knew the medal.”
“Old people remember strange things.”
Margaret began to speak.
Raymond turned his head slightly.
She stopped.
I saw it happen.
A warning without words.
Jack saw it too.
He took one slow step toward Raymond.
“What is beneath Laura’s father’s headstone?”
Raymond’s expression finally broke.
Only for a second.
It was enough.
“Nothing,” he said.
Jack looked at Boone.
Boone nodded.
The younger bikers disappeared down the hallway.
Raymond followed them with his eyes.
“You have no right to disturb a grave.”
“It is my father’s grave,” I said.
“Then you should respect it.”
“You investigated his death.”
“A tragic accident.”
“My mother says there is evidence beneath his headstone.”
“Your mother has tumors affecting her memory.”
Margaret sat up.
“It was not an accident.”
Raymond’s entire body became still.
The monitor beeped faster.
My mother stared at him.
“You cut Henry’s brake line.”
Raymond walked toward the bed.
Jack blocked him.
“Take another step.”
Raymond stopped.
Margaret’s voice shook.
“Henry found the hospital records.”
I could hardly breathe.
“Dad knew about Luke?”
“He knew after I gave the baby away.”
“Why did you give him away?”
“To keep Ray from selling him.”
Raymond’s face hardened.
“You should stop talking.”
Jack grabbed the front of his suit.
Boone closed the door.
Nobody in the hallway could see us now.
Jack pulled Raymond close enough that their faces were inches apart.
“You sold babies?”
Raymond did not struggle.
His calmness frightened me more than anger would have.
“You think this is a story about good people and bad people.”
“It is a story about people who stole children.”
“It was a different time.”
Jack’s fist tightened.
“There has never been a time when stealing babies was acceptable.”
Margaret reached toward me.
“In the drawer.”
I opened the bedside cabinet.
A small brass key rested beneath a folded nightgown.
Raymond saw it.
His calm disappeared.
He shoved Jack backward and lunged toward me.
Boone caught him around the chest.
The younger biker named Cole entered and forced Raymond against the wall.
I closed my fingers around the key.
“What does this open?”
Margaret looked at Raymond.
“Henry’s box.”
Raymond struggled against Cole.
“That box belongs to the county.”
“It belongs to the families you destroyed,” Margaret said.
Raymond’s voice dropped.
“You think confession will save your daughter?”
“No.”
My mother looked at me.
“I know it will destroy her.”
The nurse began pounding on the locked door.
Jack released Raymond’s jacket.
Boone opened it before security could arrive.
Raymond straightened his suit.
He looked at me one final time.
“Do not go to Black Hollow Cemetery.”
I stepped closer.
“Or what?”
His eyes moved toward Jack.
“You already lost your son once.”
Then he walked out.
Jack watched him disappear down the hall.
Margaret’s breathing had become shallow.
I returned to the bed.
“Tell me everything.”
She closed her eyes.
“I cannot tell you here.”
“You may not have another chance.”
She reached for my hand.
“Then listen carefully.”
May you like
Her grip tightened.
“Your father was not the only person Raymond buried.”
