trigger when
faced with life and death. On the flip side, a large portion of the town
suddenly feared the man they most respected. Although he’d only drawn his
weapon on a few occasions since that night, most were chilled when they saw
Sheriff Holt holding his gun.
“What are you doing here,
Rory?” Vaughn asked with the bewilderment clearly on his authoritative face. “How did you even
get here?”
“The wife dropped me off.
I’m waiting for the electrician,” Rory explained.
Vaughn appeared immediately
curious while staring at the realtor. “Electrician? For what?”
“Didn’t you hear? I guess
some guy is renting the old place,” Rory said proudly.
The sheriff appeared
surprised then said eagerly, “You spoke to Casey or Grey?”
“No, their uncle called and
asked us to get the power turned back on and hire someone to clean and cut the
weeds around the house,” he replied. “Usually that means they’re looking to
rent or sell. He didn’t ask for a sign, so I’m guessing they have an
interested renter. Guess those kids went through their inheritance and need to
recoup some losses. I expect the place to go up for sale in the near future.
Be nice to get someone into that old antique shop too. I’m tired of looking at
the place all boarded up.” Rory made a face and appeared squeamish. “Such a
grim reminder of what happened, you know.”
“It’s been two years,”
Vaughn said with a gentle sigh. “No one expects them to ever come back.” He
casually looked around and seemed to have trouble looking past the island
counter. Vaughn was almost certainly off reliving bad memories. He finally
looked back at Rory and appeared casual. “Looks like they left almost
everything behind.”
“Pretty much,” Rory
replied. “Although they did empty out the gun cabinet.” He fidgeted but
managed a weak smile. “I’ll admit I was concerned about what I might find.
I’d heard Dina had the place cleaned after, you know, but I still wasn’t sure
what I’d find. I can honestly say I didn’t want to see any grisly reminders of
what happened here. I heard it was pretty gruesome.”
“Yeah,” Vaughn said under
his breath.
Rory immediately fidgeted
with a strange realization. “Oh, I’m sorry, Sheriff,” he said gently. “I
almost forgot you were here that night.”
“I never have,” Vaughn
scoffed and uncertainly ran his fingers through his hair. He again looked at
the island counter, subconsciously wiped his hands on his pants, then looked at
his clean hands and frowned.
†
O ne week later. The
fairgrounds appeared deserted in the early evening setting. Storm clouds had
rolled in and thunder rumbled in the distance as flashes of lightning lit up the
clouds. The annual fair was growing near and would soon be flooded with locals
and visitors alike. On the opposite end of the fairgrounds from the horse barn
and arena was the stage used for the talent show and bachelor auction. The
faint sounds of hammering and shouting voices were heard from near the stage.
Mayor Lance and his wife, Abby, rode in a stylish golf cart toward the distant
stage. Lance was dressed casual for his fairgrounds inspection, but Abby was
dressed to impress, even though there would be few to impress. As Lance
stopped the golf cart near the stage, Ernest appeared on stage with former
sheriff Wiley. Although a little older and a little rounder, Wiley appeared
more relaxed now in his retirement.
“I thought we’d add a few
more lights to the stage this year,” Wiley informed Ernest and casually
indicated their locations. “Last year it was getting close to dark before we
finished.”
“I know an electrician who
will give us a deal,” Ernest informed him.
Lance and Abby disembarked
their luxury golf cart and approached the large stage. Both walked up the
steps leading up to the stage. Abby’s high heels clunked across the stage.
She
faced with life and death. On the flip side, a large portion of the town
suddenly feared the man they most respected. Although he’d only drawn his
weapon on a few occasions since that night, most were chilled when they saw
Sheriff Holt holding his gun.
“What are you doing here,
Rory?” Vaughn asked with the bewilderment clearly on his authoritative face. “How did you even
get here?”
“The wife dropped me off.
I’m waiting for the electrician,” Rory explained.
Vaughn appeared immediately
curious while staring at the realtor. “Electrician? For what?”
“Didn’t you hear? I guess
some guy is renting the old place,” Rory said proudly.
The sheriff appeared
surprised then said eagerly, “You spoke to Casey or Grey?”
“No, their uncle called and
asked us to get the power turned back on and hire someone to clean and cut the
weeds around the house,” he replied. “Usually that means they’re looking to
rent or sell. He didn’t ask for a sign, so I’m guessing they have an
interested renter. Guess those kids went through their inheritance and need to
recoup some losses. I expect the place to go up for sale in the near future.
Be nice to get someone into that old antique shop too. I’m tired of looking at
the place all boarded up.” Rory made a face and appeared squeamish. “Such a
grim reminder of what happened, you know.”
“It’s been two years,”
Vaughn said with a gentle sigh. “No one expects them to ever come back.” He
casually looked around and seemed to have trouble looking past the island
counter. Vaughn was almost certainly off reliving bad memories. He finally
looked back at Rory and appeared casual. “Looks like they left almost
everything behind.”
“Pretty much,” Rory
replied. “Although they did empty out the gun cabinet.” He fidgeted but
managed a weak smile. “I’ll admit I was concerned about what I might find.
I’d heard Dina had the place cleaned after, you know, but I still wasn’t sure
what I’d find. I can honestly say I didn’t want to see any grisly reminders of
what happened here. I heard it was pretty gruesome.”
“Yeah,” Vaughn said under
his breath.
Rory immediately fidgeted
with a strange realization. “Oh, I’m sorry, Sheriff,” he said gently. “I
almost forgot you were here that night.”
“I never have,” Vaughn
scoffed and uncertainly ran his fingers through his hair. He again looked at
the island counter, subconsciously wiped his hands on his pants, then looked at
his clean hands and frowned.
†
O ne week later. The
fairgrounds appeared deserted in the early evening setting. Storm clouds had
rolled in and thunder rumbled in the distance as flashes of lightning lit up the
clouds. The annual fair was growing near and would soon be flooded with locals
and visitors alike. On the opposite end of the fairgrounds from the horse barn
and arena was the stage used for the talent show and bachelor auction. The
faint sounds of hammering and shouting voices were heard from near the stage.
Mayor Lance and his wife, Abby, rode in a stylish golf cart toward the distant
stage. Lance was dressed casual for his fairgrounds inspection, but Abby was
dressed to impress, even though there would be few to impress. As Lance
stopped the golf cart near the stage, Ernest appeared on stage with former
sheriff Wiley. Although a little older and a little rounder, Wiley appeared
more relaxed now in his retirement.
“I thought we’d add a few
more lights to the stage this year,” Wiley informed Ernest and casually
indicated their locations. “Last year it was getting close to dark before we
finished.”
“I know an electrician who
will give us a deal,” Ernest informed him.
Lance and Abby disembarked
their luxury golf cart and approached the large stage. Both walked up the
steps leading up to the stage. Abby’s high heels clunked across the stage.
She
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