Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Wednesday in Iron Falls
“Sheriff,” Deputy Britney McBride said as she opened the office door. “Rick Lehman is on line two.”
Ralph crushed out the remains of a cigarette and fanned the smoke.
Smoking within the station was prohibited, but he was fucking sheriff and the one in charge.
If anyone complained, it would fall on deaf ears.
He’d given up the disgusting habit about ten years ago.
The last few days his nerves were so tight he was ready to jump out of his own skin. The nicotine was welcome.
“Sheriff?”
“Yeah, yeah. I heard you.”
“He said it was urgent.”
“Rick Lehman, right.” Ralph gritted his teeth and mumbled under his breath. He confessed to Rick about Shelly late last night. Ralph knew this call was coming. He just hoped Wilcox’s call would come first. “Thanks, Britney. Close the door, will you?”
Ralph’s tie was suddenly too tight around his neck. Tugging on his collar, he felt the too-familiar rage boiling in his stomach. It wasn’t only focused on the congressman but on his own inability. The scene at Dennis Holdcraft’s unraveled. He was fucking sure he’d seen Shelly Holdcraft that night.
The manhunt came up empty. The only possible incident that could possibly be connected was a report from Old Man Evans.
He called the station midday on Monday, when most of the town’s sheriff and fire personnel were still out at Holdcraft’s place.
Evans reported his snowmobile was stolen from beside his fishing hut while he was inside.
According to the report Skiles took later that day, Evans admitted to leaving the key in the ignition.
He also claimed to have shot at the thief.
He couldn’t give any details about the perpetrator due to the blizzard conditions.
There were multiple other fishing huts close to Old Man Evans’s.
The deputies conducted searches of the huts Monday.
The snowmobile incident gnawed at Ralph.
Despite his knee acting up, on Tuesday morning, he went out on Iron Reservoir himself and personally checked each of the nearby huts.
Nothing was out of the ordinary other than a half pot of cold coffee and two unwashed mugs found in one belonging to a local resident.
Ralph had a call out to the owner to find out if he’d been out there recently. The owner hadn’t returned the call.
Strangely enough, Tuesday afternoon, Old Man Evans called again to say his snowmobile had been returned—no worse for wear.
Definitely a head scratcher. Ralph didn’t know if Shelly knew how to drive a snowmobile or if or how she made it to Iron Reservoir.
Hell, he didn’t know if she was the snowmobile thief.
More likely, the thieves were some punk kids having fun on a day off school due to snow.
If he was right about seeing Shelly, she likely saw Denny.
She saw him shot. Until Ralph had Shelly quieted, she was a loose end.
With each passing minute, Ralph was losing his patience.
He never thought she’d make it away from the fire.
After all, it was a fucking blizzard. Yet, somehow, she made it from Iron Falls to Indianapolis.
He received confirmation via a call from IMPD officer Darla McCoy late last night.
The officer verified that she and her partner contacted Ms. Holdcraft.
Shelly claimed to have been working and hadn’t checked her phone or heard the doorbell.
Officer McCoy said Shelly’s reaction to the news of her father was normal under the circumstances.
Officer McCoy said she prompted Shelly to call Sheriff Perkins.
She hadn’t.
Ralph’s problem was with Shelly’s alibi.
He was certain she wasn’t working in Indianapolis.
She was here in Iron Falls, where she wasn’t supposed to be.
He knew in his gut that he caught a glimpse of a woman running from Denny’s house and lost her in the trees.
The damn fire burned bright, making everything around the perimeter too dark to see.
Taking a deep breath, he lifted the receiver and pushed the button. “Rick, Sheriff Perkins here.”
“Tell me it’s done.”
Ralph’s eyes scanned his cramped office. Thirty-five years in this department, twenty-two as sheriff, and this was all Iron Falls could do for him—a ten by twelve box with a window facing the courthouse. He lifted his third cup of coffee to his lips and had a drink. “This line. It’s not—”
“I’m not saying specifics, Ralph. You know what I’m talking about. Give me a fucking yes or no.”
“I’m waiting for word. I sent the best.”
“Waiting? Jesus Christ, it’s after nine in the morning.
I’ve called you twenty times and you’re not answering.
You told me it would happen during the night.
Why haven’t you heard from your man?” Rick’s voice lowered.
“You know this isn’t just about me. These are people we don’t want pissed off.
You fucked up, and you need to make it right. ”
Ralph’s tone was more of a growl. “You told me to get rid of a problem. I got rid of it.” Denny Holdcraft was a him not an it. At this moment, Ralph wished he’d never accepted the assignment.
“Sloppy. We can’t afford to have a possible witness.”
It was Ralph’s career and reputation on the line. The possibility of Denny’s death being tied to Rick was slim, unless Ralph told.
With each passing second, Ralph was aware that he was becoming more expendable.
Ralph knew damn well what was at stake. He stood, pacing as far as possible while tethered to the telephone cord. His jaw ached from the pressure of his clenched teeth. “We’re working on leads. Just let me do my job and get off my ass.”
“Like I said, I’m not taking the fall for your incompetence. Listen to me.”
Ralph clenched his teeth. He felt his circulation heat as crimson filled his neck and cheeks. “Rick, I’ll call you when I have news. Until then, shut the fuck up.”
“Do you know what I could do to your department or more specifically, take away from it? Federal funding goes through the appropriations committee. And that’s a light punishment. If you upset those above me, it could be worse.”
Ralph’s knuckles blanched as he gripped the receiver tighter. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just threaten me. You’re going to pretend everything is going as planned.” With that he slammed the receiver on the base.
Hanging up on someone was more satisfying with a good old-fashioned landline. Hitting a red button wasn’t near as fulfilling.
Ralph pulled his private phone from his pocket and brought the screen to life.
Three missed calls from Rick Lehman—not twenty.
No calls or text messages from Deputy Wilcox.
Matt Wilcox had been with the Iron Falls Sheriff’s Department for nearly ten years.
He understood the way things worked. Ralph trusted him with special duties—those off the books.
He sent Wilcox to Indianapolis Monday morning on a plane out of Boston, even before the report of the stolen snowmobile.
The assignment Wilcox was on wouldn’t appear in any official documentation.
Lehman was a hot-headed asshole. Calling Ralph on his office phone was reckless. Of course, it would have been avoided if Ralph had simply answered his earlier calls.
Pouring himself another cup of Britney’s coffee, Ralph went to the window in his office and stared down the three stories to the courthouse lawn.
The bright sunshine combined with the snow was blinding.
The snowstorm the night in question left over fourteen new inches of accumulation.
The sidewalks and streets were clear and wet.
The last seventy-two hours ran through his brain.
Rick was right that Ralph fucked up. If he’d known Shelly was with her father, executing the plan could have waited.
It couldn’t have waited long. Denny was up to something.
According to Lehman’s contact, the IP geolocator or whatever was never wrong.
This side gig was too lucrative to lose, after Ralph’s financial woes. It was the answer to his problems. What concerned Ralph the most was that the people above Rick didn’t give a fuck who they eliminated. If he didn’t get Shelly, he could end up like Denny.
Denny was a retired cop with too much time on his hands. He shouldn’t have stuck his nose where it didn’t belong.
A knock on the door brought Ralph back to the present. “Who is it?”
Deputy Tom Skiles appeared as the door opened, his forehead wrinkled, and eyes opened wide. “Have you seen the news out of Indianapolis?”
“Come in, Deputy.” Ralph narrowed his eyes. “What news?”
Tom lifted his phone, showing Ralph the screen. “House explosion.”
“What?” Ralph grabbed the phone. “What the hell?” He quickly scrolled through the news article.
Massive explosion rocks Indianapolis, Indiana, suburb.
At 5:18 a.m., residents in this neighborhood on Indianapolis’s South Side were awakened by a loud blast. One home was destroyed.
Witnesses say it sounded as if a bomb went off.
Two nearby homes were damaged by debris.
No injuries in the neighboring homes. At this time, it isn’t known if the resident was present at the time of the explosion.
No names will be released until family members are contacted.
This is an active investigation and ongoing story.
WTHR will update the story when more facts become available.
“Tell me it’s not Shelly’s house.”
Tom nodded soberly. “I confirmed the address with IMPD.” He lowered his tone. “What the hell was Matt thinking? He was supposed to go in and get her. Nothing to bring attention to her disappearance.” He grasped Ralph’s arm. “This is getting out of hand.”
Ralph looked down at Tom’s hand and back up, sending a wordless threat from his dark orbs.
Slowly, Tom released the sheriff.
“Rick has already chewed my ass this morning. I haven’t heard from Wilcox and now this shit.” Ralph threw Tom’s phone onto the worn leather couch piled high with case files.
“When did you last speak with Matt?” Tom asked.
Ralph found his phone where he’d left it on his desk and scrolled his recent calls and text messages.
“I spoke to him at one this morning, after I got the call from IMPD. He said he’d staked out her house all day and didn’t see anyone.
He said he’d go over to see if things changed.
” Ralph inhaled and met Tom’s gaze. “I told him to make an extraction. Not to set off any alarms.”
“He fucking blew up her house,” Tom said in an angry whisper. “That’s a mighty loud alarm.”
“At 3:47 a.m.,” Ralph said, “he sent a text saying he was going in.”
Tom shook his head. “Why blow up the house an hour and a half later? He should have been on his way back here.”
Ralph’s cell phone vibrated. “It’s Matt.” He hit the green button. “What the fuck happened?”
“I don’t know…”