Makinsley was dancing in the front seat of Addison's official Callahan County Fish and Game truck. The county had replaced his wrecked Ford with a 4-door 4x4 Dodge 2500 diesel. Mak approved of wholeheartedly of the new purchase. It had a kick-ass sound system. She held her hands in the air and bounced along with the beat of some pop song that had been set to a faster beat by a late night club D.J. She was laughing and singing along with the lyrics, missing roughly a third of them.
“And I will always want you!” She sang as the brand new Dodge bounced over the curb in front of the Sheriff's department and pulled into the parking lot. Makinsley collapsed in giggles against the door as the song ended. She pulled a half-empty liquor bottle out of her purse and held it up. “Who wants one last shot before we go in?”
Addison grinned as he turned the radio down slightly and cut the engine of the truck. “Not me, babe. I gotta act sober. I'm a cop, remember?”
“Ah, what the hell.” David gestured for Mak to pass him the bottle. He twisted off the lid and took a healthy swig of the pale gold liquid, only to come up coughing a minute later. “Damn, that's rough.”
He held it out to Cal, who waved it away. “I'm good.”
“You ain't hardly drank nothing tonight,” David slurred his words slightly.
“And you've had way too much. Between the two of us, our alcohol consumption will average out.” Cal pushed his door open and climbed out of the backseat of the four door truck. Truth be told, he felt too old to be getting drunk on tequila and riding around giggling and singing in Addison's truck. He didn't necessarily blame his friends, or Makinsley, for wanting to blow off some stress. God knew, it had been a bad summer. Still, Cal just couldn't seem to make himself feel young and free. The sillier everyone else acted, the older he felt.
Makinsley hopped out of the truck. She swished her hips and spun a tight ballerina's twirl on her spiked high heels. “It's a beautiful night. Kerry is in jail!” She let out a giddy little squeal.
David slid out the door on his own side of the truck and stumbled. He had to grab the side of the truck to stay on his feet. He still had the tequila bottle in his hand. “Fuck. I'm lit.”
Addison took the liquor away from him. “Been awhile since you drank?”
“I've been trying to be a better person,” David slurred. “You know, 'cause Trish. Trish is a good girl. She deserves better.”
“Trish is solid and she loves you. God only knows why, but she does.” Addison shook his head at David. He was grinning from ear to ear. “Can you pull yourself together and pretend to be sober inside the station or do I have to leave you in the truck?”
“I'm not about to miss seeing Kerry locked in a jail cell. Give me a minute.” David closed his eyes and leaned against the truck, taking several deep breaths. When he opened his hooded green eyes, his expression was clear.
“You good?” Addison asked him.
David grinned, looking every bit like a rattlesnake that was preparing to strike. “Never been better.”
“Why are the lights out?” Cal asked as he headed towards the front doors of the sheriff's department. “I thought the front office was always supposed to be manned.”
Addison frowned. “Are the lights out?”
Cal gestured to the sides of the building, which were normally lit with floodlights. The floodlights were dark and the building was being illuminated solely by the streetlights that ran all the way down Main Street. The space beyond the glass front door was also dark.
“Power's not out, is it?”
“The streetlights would be out if the power were out,” Makinsley said. She walked up to the front door of the building and pushed open the door. It was unlocked and opened easily. “Is anyone supposed to be here besides Kerry?”
“Meg should be here,” Addison said. He opened the toolbox of his truck and pulled out a huge black metal flashlight. He pointed to a small red sedan parked in the far left corner of the parking lot.
“You got another flashlight?” Cal asked.
Addison dug deeper into the toolbox and found a smaller blue metal light. He tossed it to Cal. “Still afraid of the dark, Walker?”
Cal let out an uneasy laugh as he turned the light on to make sure it worked. He didn't like how still and dark the sheriff's department building was. If Meg was on the clock and inside, why didn't she have any lights on.
“Hello?” Makinsley leaned through the open front door. “Meg? Are you here? It's me. Mak.”
No one answered. Makinsley stepped into the dark front office. “Hello! Meg! Meggy? We brought you a present. Where are you?”
David was starting to frown. He began walking towards the front door as Makinsley turned back towards them. Her broad, drunken smile had begun to fade. “Addy, she's not answering me and I don't see her.”
“Well, she's not outside and her car's still here. She's got to be in there. Maybe she went back into the jail to babysit Kerry.” Addison turned on his own flashlight and joined them at the door. He played the light over the familiar room. Nothing looked out of place. The huge oak desk that sat in the center of the office was undisturbed. Everything on it was still neatly it its place. The computer screen had gone dark. The heavy black landline phone was still sitting in its cradle.
Addison walked into the building with Makinsley on his heels. “Meggy?” she called out. “Where are you?”
David cast one look back at Cal and then followed them into the building. Cal had just let the door shut behind him when Makinsley screamed.
“Shit!” Addison cursed. “Dammit.”
“Meg! Oh god!”
Cal turned his flashlight in Makinsley's direction. She had run through the doorway that separated the waiting room and office from the main working area of the Sheriff's department. A familiar girl with shaggy brown hair was collapsed in a heap next to Addison's desk. There was blood pooling in the carpeting underneath her as Makinsley knelt down beside her. “Meg! Meg can you hear me?”
David pushed past Addison and knelt down beside the injured girl. “Is she breathing?”
Makinsley reached for Meg's neck. “I can feel her pulse but her breathing is raspy. Call an ambulance, one of you. Quick.”
“Shit.” Addison grabbed for the cell phone that was hooked to his belt. He punched in the private number for the EMT and fire station on the other side of town and then tossed the phone at David. “Tell them what's happened. Get an ambulance down here and then call Uncle Frank.”
“Where are you going?” David asked.
“To see what's happened to Kerry,” Addison replied.
“Hang on, baby. Help is coming.” Makinsley was whispering to the girl on the ground. She had taken Meg's limp hand into hers. “Help is coming. Just keep breathing. Stay with us.”
Cal hesitated and then he handed his flashlight to Mak. “Keep this. I'm going with Addy.”
She nodded as David began talking into the phone. “Hey. No, this isn't Addy. It's David. We've got an emergency down here at the sheriff's department. I don't know what happened, but Meg is unconscious on the floor. She's bleeding pretty good. I can't really tell where the wound us. Y'all need to hurry.”
Cal didn't hang around to hear what else David told them. Addison had made it halfway across the dark room. He had to hurry to catch up with Addison as he reached the door at the very back of the building that separated the main operating area of the sheriff's station from the old jail.
“Jesus Christ.” Addison played his flashlight over the broken door.
“What the hell?” Cal reached out and brushed his fingertips across the dented sheet metal. “Who would want to break this door down?”
“Why break the door down is a better question,” Addy said as he walked through the doorway. “No one ever locks the door that separates the main office and the jail. Ever.”
“Hey Kerry, you still in here?” Addison called out.
There was a whimper from inside Kerry's cell. Addison shone the flashlight in his direction. “Holy shit.”
The floor of the cell was covered in blood and so was Kerry. His cream colored polo shirt was splotched with red and brown. His pants were wet and the smell of urine was heavy in the air. He had both of his arms clasped over his head and he was whimpering. He screamed as the light hit his face.
“Woah. Is that an arm?” Cal pointed at a dark lump laying just outside the jail cell. Addison moved the light onto it to reveal a graying, rotting severed limb.
He nodded.
“Help me,” Kerry whispered. “Help me, please.” He still wasn't looking at them. He kept his head hidden under his arms.
“The cell's still locked,” Cal said. He studied the old-fashioned locking mechanism that held the cells closed. “It doesn't even look like it's been tampered with.” It was more than he could say for the back wall of the jail, which looked like someone had driven a truck through it. He could see the night sky clearly through a massive hole in the brick wall.
“Kerry. Hey Kerry.”
“Help me. Help me. Help me.”
“Kerry!”
Kerry finally looked up. “Who's there?”
“It's me. Addy.” Addison re-angled the flashlight so that Kerry could see his face.
“Addison.” Kerry let out a slow breath and lowered his arms. “Oh thank God. I was attacked.”
“By who?” Cal asked.
“A ghost,” Kerry said as tears streamed down his blood spattered face. “He was a ghost.”