My Brother's Keeper (22 page)

The man at the register was a local, but Ellis couldn’t remember his name.

“Can I help you?” The man said the question with a tone that suggested Ellis might be lost.

“Uh, yeah. I’m interested in buying a gun.”

“What make?”

There were dozens in the case in front of Ellis. “This kind. A handgun.” He pointed.

“Model?” The man said it with a slight tilt to his mouth.

“Uh, what do you suggest?”

“Depends on how you plan on using it.”

To kill a monster. “I need something for the house. You know, in case someone breaks in.”

The man picked one up. It filled his large hand, with metal to spare. “Well, in my opinion you can’t go wrong with a .44 Magnum Desert Eagle. I have one myself.” The man indicated the holster on his belt.

“You can do that?”

“What?”

“Carry a gun around like that.”

The man laughed. “If you have a permit.”

Ellis bit his lip. “Will I need one to buy a gun?”

“No, son. No permit needed to buy a gun.”

“Okay, then I guess I’ll get that one.”

“You haven’t looked at the others.”

He only planned to use it once. “It’s okay. I trust your judgment if you say that’s a good gun then I’ll buy it. Can you show me how to load it?”

The man looked at Ellis over the top of his glasses. “I hope you plan on going to a gun range to learn how to use this so you don’t wind up shooting yourself.”

“I’ll do that.”

“I’m guessing you need ammo too.”

“It doesn’t come with ammo?”

The man leaned forward. “Son, have you ever even held a gun before?”

Ellis shifted from one foot to the other. “No.”

“I didn’t think so.” He pulled a box off the shelf behind him. “Here’s a box of ammo.”

“I still need you to show me…” Ellis pointed.

The man shook his head. He picked up the gun and showed Ellis how to clear the chamber, take out the clip and load it. Then he showed him how to put the clip back in and chamber a round. “And this is the safety.” He held the gun up so Ellis could see it. “On.” He flipped the position. “Off”. And I strongly recommend you keep it at the on position.”

“Okay. I will.”

“And, for your own safety, don’t load it until you get to the gun range.”

Ellis nodded. “I’ll do that. Promise.”

“Good. I don’t want it on my conscience that you bought a gun from me and wound up hurting yourself.” He pulled out a form out from under the cash register. “Just fill this out.”

“I thought I didn’t need a license?”

“You don’t, this is a CRC form. I need a criminal background check before I can sell you a gun.”

“I’ve never been in jail.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He tapped a beefy finger against the paper. “State Law requires everyone has to have one done.”

“How long will it take?”

“Since I don’t have a computer?” He shrugged. “Anywhere from three to five days.”

“I can’t wait that long.” The statement was out of his mouth before he could stop it. “I mean, I’ve already had something stolen. They might come back.”

“Sheriff’s department can do one faster.” He threw a thumb over his shoulder. “If you’re in that big a hurry that’s where I suggest you go.”

And that wasn’t an option. They knew him there. They knew Rudy. If Ellis went through them George would know and then Jon would find out. Ellis couldn’t risk either one of them stopping him. The man pushed the form across the counter. Ellis pushed it back. “I’ve changed my mind. Thanks anyhow.”

Now what? Ellis yanked the door shut on the truck hard enough to make it rock. He needed the gun now. Tonight.

A fat raindrop splattered against the windshield. It was followed by a few more. A rumble echoed from overhead. People walking on the square dove for cover in the surrounding shops or clumped under overhangs.

Gilford showed its age in the form of off-square houses built in the twenties to handmade bricks used to build the shops. New stores had been added over the years, constructed to blend in with the old mining town. All the years Ellis had lived here, he’d rarely taken a moment to look around. His attention had always been on Rudy.

Large oak trees shaded several storefronts, growing up from open spaces in the walkways. They were bare now, but each had been edged with flower beds, sprouting mounds of pansies. The old jail was separated by a one way street, circling it in the center of the square. It wasn’t very big and couldn’t have held more than a dozen prisoners at a time. The narrow doors and bar-covered windows gave it an angry face.

Ellis was willing to bet when the jail had been built people like Lenny would have been given a suite with a view, via a rope on a tree limb. Now people like him were left wandering the streets to beat to death an innocent person who never hurt anyone.

Ellis needed a gun. Not in a week, but now. It wasn’t like there were any just laying around.

Only…

Jon would never forgive him. But this had to be done. The monster had to be stopped.

Jon stood in the canned goods aisle, trying to remember if he was supposed to get corn or peas. It was one or the other. He decided to play it safe and get both. Now which was the right kind of green beans? Jon never really cared, but Ellis was picky.

Another shopper stopped near his cart. Jon started to back up, but a hand gripped the edge of his buggy.

Lenny grinned. “I’m surprised to see you here. I always figured Queer Boy as the Betty Crocker type.”

Jon shoved the buggy past him. He followed close enough that the smell of cigarettes and beer preceded every step.

“I suggest you get the hell away from me,” Jon said.

“Why’s that, Mr. Marshal? I’m just another patron enjoying the benefits of a free country. Which includes the right to shop in the same store as you, drive on the same street. Like it or not, as a free man, I can go anywhere I choose.”

Jon stopped at the canned fruits. He picked up a can of peaches. How many times would he have to smash it into Lenny’s skull to kill the fucker?

Lenny picked up a can too and rolled it over in his hands. “Says here these make great pie filling. Are you the pie type, Mr. Marshal?”

Jon put the can in the buggy and kept going. Lenny stayed on his heels. “News going around town about the retard. Apparently, someone ran him over while he was riding his bike at night. Not a very smart thing to do, riding a bike. In the dark. Alone. But then, he was a little short on smarts.” He tossed up the can in his hand and caught it. “Hope Queer Boy doesn’t do something that stupid.”

Jon turned. “You won’t get away with this.”

Lenny’s expression went arctic. “I already have and I always will.”

“Takes a big man to beat a defenseless person to death. But that should be expected, without your redneck posse to back you up, you’re nothing but a coward. Tell me, do they hold your dick for you when you take a piss?”

“Think you’ll be talking big after I fuck you up?” Lenny spoke through his teeth. “I don’t think you’ll be talking at all. At least, yours will be a quick death. I plan on keeping Queer Boy around for a while. It’s amazing the kind of damage a human body can take. I’m willing to bet I could get at least a week out of him.”

Jon did know. He’d seen more than a few interrogation victims left behind by a dissatisfied customer. “Stay away from him.”

“Yeah, you already sang that song once. I’ve yet to see you dance.” Lenny bounced on his toes like a man ready to fight.

If only the bastard would try and punch him. Jon’s fists itched to crack Lenny’s bones. “Do not test me. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

“And what are you going to do? Arrest me?”

A tick jumped in Jon’s jaw “No. I’m going to kill you.”

Lenny held his hands up. “Ooh, big talk from the faggot ex-marshal.”

“Keep it up and you’ll find out how serious I am.”

Lenny grabbed the handle on the buggy. “Leaving so soon?” His sour breath brushed the shell of Jon’s ear. “Don’t you want to know how the retard begged? How he cried?”

Jon squeezed the handle on the buggy until his knuckles popped.

“He told me all about how his friend, Jon, was gonna come and protect him. He was still looking for you when I kicked his skull in. Guess you’re not much of a friend, after all.”

Jon ached with the need for violence. He decided then killing was too good for Lenny. Too clean. No. Jon would make sure the man never walked or talked again and spent the rest of his life eating through a tube.

And Jon would send him a card on every holiday to remind him of the occasion.

Lenny sucked in a breath. “All that anger feels
good
doesn’t it, Mr. Marshal?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh yes, you do.” Lenny hummed. “Deep down, you know exactly what I mean because everyone has a seed inside them begging to be fed. And feeding it feels…” He hissed. “Sooo— fucking good.”

Jon struggled to swallow.

“You have to feed it, Mr. Marshal, because if you don’t, it will eat you instead.” Lenny cocked his head. “Do you think it’s true that suicide runs in families? Because you’ve been looking awfully depressed lately. You wouldn’t happen to be hearing a voice telling you how worthless you are, are you? Maybe it tells you how you deserve to die.”

Might as well end it Jon. Gonna happen sooner or later.
Jon’s hands went cold.

An ugly grin spread on Lenny’s face and the gray of his eyes darkened. “So what’s it telling you right now, Mr. Marshal?”

Jon pushed the buggy, but Lenny wouldn’t let go. “A man can only take so much before the urge begins to wear on them.” He leaned closer. “Eventually, everyone gives in.”

Jon followed Lenny’s gaze. A man stood at the end of the aisle with a young girl. There was a bruise on her right cheek.

“That’s Earl Downy and his daughter. His pride and joy. He raped her for the first time last night. And he’ll do it again, and again. When he gets bored he’ll kill her, then start on the neighbor’s kid.” Lenny jerked his chin and Jon turned around. An elderly woman stood with a man about the same age. His blue veins showed under his pale skin. “Seems she couldn’t forgive him for that affair he had thirty years ago, after all. So she’s been putting arsenic in his prune juice every morning. I give him three days, four at best.”

A man and woman argued on the other side of the aisle.

“Oops, seems like the newly weds are having another fight.” Lenny laughed. “What do you suppose it could be about?” He clicked his tongue. “Doesn’t really matter, does it? Cause I’m pretty sure he’ll push her down the basement steps tonight.”

The darkness in Lenny’s eyes churned, sliding across the gray until nothing was left but a bottomless pit.

Jon couldn’t shake the feeling that something watched him from the void of nothing.

Something Big and Terrible.

Bile crawled up Jon’s throat.

“What about you, Mr. Marshal? How long do you think it will take until that voice picks apart your will and you suck off your .38? When you do, Queer Boy is going be devastated. Course you could satisfy that seed another way.” Lenny plucked at the front of Jon’s shirt. “Ever wonder what it would feel like to have complete control? To hold someone down. Drink the screams from their lips? Own them. Destroy them? Fuck them raw?” Lenny patted Jon on the arm as he walked away. “Enjoy your shopping, Mr. Marshal, and don’t eat too much pie.”

Jon shoved the buggy through the store, grabbing what he needed from the shelves.

Control. Real control, Jon. C’mon, it’ll be fun. And you know Ellis would never tell.

He pressed the palm of his hand against his head.

Bet you could get years out him before he breaks.

A kid, sitting in the buggy beside Jon, watched him. His shirt was dirty and his hair unkempt. The woman with him didn’t look much better. She reached for a box of cereal and her shirtsleeve rode up. Scabs and bruises marked the crook of her arm. She caught Jon staring and wheeled her buggy away.

Feeling thirsty, Jon?

He turned his buggy around. “Not going to happen.”

Awww—bet it would only take a drink or two to get your courage up.

“No.” Jon cut off a family of three to get to register. He loved Ellis. He would not hurt him.

You sure about that, Jon?

He was.

A bullet to the head is your only guarantee.

“No.”

“I’m sorry did you say something?” The cashier gave Jon an uneasy look.

“No. Uh. No, I was just…”

One way or another. You can’t have both.

“Paper or plastic?” The smile on the bag boy’s face withered. “Sir?”

“Plastic. Plastic’s fine.” Jon threw the rest of the groceries on the conveyor belt.

The cashier and bag boy exchanged wide-eyed glances. Did they know? Could they see? Jon paid his bill and fled.

Outside, Jon leaned against the brick column at the edge of the walkway. Moisture in the air cooled the fire in his cheeks. Overhead, thunder rippled the air and steady rain turned into a mist.

Ellis’s truck was only a few cars up. Jon couldn’t let him see him like this. He counted down, easing each breath in and out with every number.

The man and his daughter with the bruised cheek walked past him. She met Jon’s gaze with haunted eyes.

Lenny was just fucking with him.

Jon didn’t want to hurt Ellis. And he never would.

“Get it together, Jon. Now is not the time to lose your shit. That asshole has no idea what he’s talking about.”

Then how did Lenny know about the self hate, the anger, the guilt?

Because he didn’t. Something else did. Something Big and Terrible.

Jon darted across the parking lot to the truck and unloaded the bags into the passenger side. He left the buggy in a corral and counted his steps back. He climbed in. Groceries crowded his feet and took up the space between him and Ellis.

He stared out the windshield.

“Have you been waiting long?” Jon hoped he sounded normal.

Ellis blinked a few times really fast. “No. Uh, five or ten minutes, I think.” He cranked up the truck. The expression on his face worried Jon, but he was afraid to ask any questions because Ellis might do the same to him.