The Straight Crimes (11 page)

The moonlight desperately shined through the full clouds. It created shadows all along the Dark Woods, lining the desolate highway and playing tricks on Nik’s tired eyes.

He cautiously wandered into the ominous forest. While he was normally apprehensive to walk through it alone, especially at night, he’d get to Harper’s house in half the time.

Nik broke a dead limb off a tree and
used it to guide his way. He waved it like a walking-cane to sift through the brush on the ground; empty soda bottles, tattered newspapers, and a large gas can soaked with fresh gasoline.

Moving swiftly through the pitch black, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. The seething glare felt uncomfortably close.

The deeper he wandered, the stronger the inkling grew. In the stillness, he heard tree branches rustling and sticks breaking. With each tiny noise, he’d look over his shoulder, but no one was there.

He continued moving, one foot in front of the other, while a haunting chill breathed on the back of his neck.

Suddenly, the rustle of crunching leaves pounded against the forest floor. Nik held his breath and closed his eyes to pinpoint the direction of the sound. As soon as he stopped, so did the footsteps.

The forest grew unnervingly quiet.

Then the unmistakable sound of a human cough echoed across the woods. It scared the hell out of Nik—realizing he wasn’t alone.

“Who’s there?”

The frantic footsteps raced faster through the trees, moving towards Nik.

He tore through the broken tree limbs, squinting into the darkness and struggling to evade the stranger.

He looked back and caught a glimpse of the full silhouette. It was hard to say if it was man or woman, all he could hear were carnal grunts. He wasn’t even sure it was human.

Suddenly, his shoe caught under an uprooted tree. He fell facedown into the forest floor. The impact instantly knocked him out.

Through the pale moonlight, the dense fog lingered over Nik’s body…and so did the stranger, kneeling down beside him and running a cold, bloody hand over his face. After getting a good look, the wanderer continued the same direction Nik was headed—towards Harper’s house.

NINE

N
ik woke a short time later, lying on the forest floor in a total haze. His body was badly scraped, but he had no recollection of the chase that caused his blackout and injuries.

The night’s frigid air was unwelcoming, sending an irrefutable iciness through his body as he struggled to piece together the chain of events that lead to that moment. He cautiously sat up, trying to regain his wits.

Nik struggled to his feet and hobbled from one foot to the other, pulling overgrown ivy and dead branches away from his face while he cleared a path through the muck. As he walked, he pushed through the feelings of languish, desperate to escape the woods.

Once he made his way to the clearing, Nik set off down the dirt road, taking in a deep breath and noting the distinct smell of smoke, lingering in the nighttime air. It was thick, burning his nostrils with overwhelming intensity. The scent was reminiscent of the many autumn seasons that had come and gone before, but not usually present in August. Something wasn’t right.

A dreadful feeling overwhelmed him as the distant sounds of sirens blasted like rockets into the sky. The steady pace of his limping turned into a desperate sprint, rushing towards the sounds of the frightful raucous.

Nik couldn’t believe all the black smoke, blanketing the stars. He turned the corner and noticed a crowd gathered around the disaster. Harper’s house was violently engulfed in flames.

In that instance, everything grew to a deafening silence. Life seemed to suddenly halt as he approached the devastating scene. Although he was running, it felt like he was knee-deep in molasses.

Blue and red lights of police cars and fire trucks competed for attention with the roaring flames, demolishing the shack Harper called home. The flashes shadowed the silhouettes of shaken residents who had emerged from their quiet homes, witnessing the devastation unfold before their eyes.

Nik raced between warm bodies, studying each face with reckless scrutiny. He hunted desperately through the crowd for any sign of Harper, knocking people aside as if he were a bulldozer. “Harper, where are you?” he breathlessly shouted.

Anxiety attacked him as if it were a plague, overwhelming his body.

“Nik—”

“Pops!” He turned around and saw Harper’s neighbor, Old Man Winston, clinging onto his shoulder. “Where’s Harper?”

“Shoot, I don’t know.”

“Oh my God.” His heart sank. “Maybe someone else has seen her.”

“I ain’t too sure.”

“She’s gotta be okay.” He threw his hands in his air, unable to think straight or steady his heart rate. “Have any of you seen Harper?”

Nik looked around, but no one seemed to know anything.

He continued pushing through them while Old Man Winston trailed behind.

“Wish I had more details for you. I’ve got a new farmhand, Gage, who saw the flames and woke me up.” He pulled off his glasses and rubbed them with his blue flannel nightshirt. “Holy cripe, look at that place. It's gonna burn to the ground before they're through with it."

After an exhausting search, Nik realized she wasn’t in the crowd. All he could do was wait for her to emerge from the wreckage.

“What’s taking them so long to put that damn thing out?” he asked.

The fire’s wrath was relentless. Much of the roof was annihilated while black smoke billowed from the house like an old fashioned steam train. Almost all of the windows had been broken by the heavy axes of the brave firewomen. They moved frantically to lay the violent fire to rest, before its evil grip demolished the entire house.

“They’re not doing shit.” Irritated with the situation, Nik sprinted towards the front door.

“Get back, Kid,” the fire
fighter warned. “It's too dangerous."

“Where’s Harper, is she inside?”

“Step away before you get hurt.”

“You’re moving too slow. Hurry up or she’ll die!”

Two police officers came to her aid and pulled Nik away.

“Let go!”

“C’mon, back it up,” Officer Leland Brown ordered.

“Get your God damn hands off me!” He fought and kicked as if he’d been possessed by some bloodthirsty demon.

“Easy son, it’s time to settle down.”

“She needs me!”

“You ain’t going inside. Getting loud about it ain’t gonna help no one. You’re just making things worse.”

“But they aren’t doing anything.”

“I assure you, they are.”

“Bull. They’ve got a minute before I go in there myself.”

Each passing second felt like an eternity while his fury mounted, shouting her name several more times. Nik wanted to dash into the flames, but couldn’t break free, feeling totally incapacitated.

“They’ve got someone!” a stranger yelled from the crowd.

The emergency crew instantly huddled around the doorway.

Nik’s eyes were glued to the entrance. His heartbeat skyrocketed and his mind raced in crazy circles, toying with every possible explanation. Each crash and tiny sound made his stomach grow weaker.

With the police officers distracted, he pulled free and raced towards the driveway.

“Get back!” The firewoman ordered.

Nik could only see the red hair as several personnel circled around the stretcher. “Harper!”

“Sir, I warned you to get back.”

He chased the paramedics. “Oh my God, Harper, can you hear me?”

The rescue crew briskly wheeled the stretcher down the sidewalk and into the ambulance. Between the darkness and the number of people surrounding the bed, it was hard to see the victim’s face.

A couple of guys, including Bill Winston and Gage, came to the aid of the police officers. They helped pull Nik aside while the ambulance crew swiftly loaded the victim into the back.

“Nik, settle down,” Old Man Winston said. “C’mon, take a deep breath.”

Officer Brown pushed him out of the way. “Kid, you gotta cool it. You’re outta control.”

“Harper!” he shouted, reaching out in desperation.

The men struggled to restrain him. I didn’t matter how many pairs of hands were on his body, Nik wasn’t going down without a fight. He violently swung his legs and arms in every direction.

“Shit, he just socked me in the jaw!” Gage yelled.

“No I didn’t.”

Brown pushed him back. “C’mon, give us a break!”

“Screw you, man. Get off!”

Gage scowled. “Damn, he did it again. Do something about this little punk.”

“You’re a liar. Let go of me!” Without any warning, Nik threw his fist into Officer Brown’s face.

Leland tackled Nik to the ground.

Everyone stood back and watched the scuffle unfold. The officer yanked Nik’s arms behind his back, pushed his face into the rough pavement, and slapped a pair of cuffs on his wrists.

“Please, Leland, don’t do that. He’s just upset,” Old Man Winston pleaded.

“I’ve got it covered, Bill.”

The paramedic sounded the startling siren and backed
down the driveway. As they did, Nik begged to be released.

“Who was that?” he asked the fire chief. “Please, just answer me.”

Leland lifted Nik off the ground and pushed him into the backseat of the squad car.

Through the cracked window, he shouted, “Don’t do this to me—please! C’mon, she needs me.”

“You should’ve thought about that before you tried being a tough guy,” Leland growled.

“I’m begging you. I have to know that she’s all right.”

“Shut up. You’re lucky I didn’t knock your ass out for hitting me.” Leland wiped the blood from his double-chin and sniffled. “Cool off a minute before I take you down to the station. I suggest you get it together.” He walked away.

Through his despair, Nik’s sight was glued to the fire, hoping that Harper would miraculously emerge.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nik spotted Detective Tonya Harris deliberating with Leland and the other officials.

“Why are you getting so loud?” a sweet voice whispered, emerging from a small crowd gathered beside the police car.
             

“Excuse me?”

“Causing a scene’s not gonna get you anywhere, especially with these guys.”

Nik ignored her.

“In case you didn’t notice, they think they’re hotshots.” She carelessly tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“They’re frickin’ idiots.”

The woman lit a cigarette and agreed. “You know, he probably wouldn’t have cuffed you if there weren’t people around. I bet he didn’t want to look like a coward.”

“Exactly, his reputation is more important than doing his job properly.”

“So why’d you hit him?”

“’Cause he deserved it. I’m just trying to find my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend,” she repeated the word, uncomfortably. “It looked to me like you were just out of control.”

“Yeah, but what the hell do you know? This is a nightmare. I just want some answers.”

“I wish there was something I could do for you.”

Nik stared at her profile as she stood with her arms folded, cradling her pronounced bosom.

“You could help by opening the car door and letting me out.”

“Even if I could, that’s not happening. See that heavy cop over there, the one you punched? His eyes are glued on us. He’s probably trying to see if I’m talking to you.”

“So? What’s he gonna do? Just open the door and let me out. I don’t have time for this.”

“How are you gonna do anything with handcuffs on?”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m completely useless here. Please, you’ve gotta help me.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Then get the hell outta here. I don’t need you.”

“You’re probably right.”

He looked away. “I’m sorry, Harper, I let you down again,” he muttered, feeling defeated.

She fluttered her eyelashes and put her hand to her chest. “Wait—did you say Harper?”

“Yeah, what’s it to you?”

“I didn’t know that’s who you were looking for.”

“You didn’t hear me screaming her name a minute ago?”

“Sorry, I guess not.”

“Well, have you seen her?”

“Yes,” she confessed.

“When, tonight?”

“Yes, just a little while ago.”

“Oh my God, then she’s safe. That’s why I couldn’t find her. Where is she?”

The woman frowned. “No, she’s not safe.”

“What happened, is she hurt? Was she on the stretcher?”

“No, that was her aunt.”

“What the hell’s going on?”

She lowered her voice into a hushed whisper. “They pulled her out of the house about twenty minutes ago.”

“Where is she?”

“An ambulance took her to the Silver Shores Trauma Center on the corner of—”

“I know where the hell it is. I’ve gotta get there. Please, c’mon, let me out of here right now—”

“Listen to me—”

“I don’t have time. I need to be with her.”

“You’re getting too excited, please, let me finish—”

“You don’t understand—”

“No,
 
you
 don’t understand. That’s why you need to calm down and listen. It’s too late.”

“No it’s not. I know I screwed up with that cop, but if you could just open the door or go explain the situation, they’d let me go.”

“I’m not talking about the police.” She took a deep breath. “I meant that it’s too late for Harper.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, but she’s gone. Your friend died in the fire.”

Nik couldn’t process her words. “No, that’s not possible.” His expressionless face grew pale and his heartbeat raced. “She’s just hurt. She needs me to be there with her, but I’m stuck here—”

“No, sweetie, she’s gone. I overheard the EMTs and firewomen speaking before they lifted her onto the stretcher. She was already dead when they pulled her out of the flames.”

“God, no…” he broke down in tears.

“I can’t even imagine how you feel right now.”

Nik could barely speak.

“I’ve lost someone close, recently. I know how you feel—it’s incredibly painful.”

“No, she’s not gone.” He gritted his teeth, fighting back the tears. “No…no…no…” He pounded his head against the front seat.

The stranger stepped back. “I can’t believe they wouldn’t even tell you what happened.”

Between the choking tears, Nik was inconsolable. His heart was broken. Having lost his uncle and his girlfriend, he didn’t know how much more pain he could endure.

The blonde-haired woman watched him carry on another moment before racing over to Leland.