THE SECOND SIGHT
Chapter 63
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CHIEF INSPECTOR FROST
Mr. Yaw Boat. I recognize you. You killed the dog. We have the gun. Would you please step outside with me for a moment?
BOAT
Yeah, sure.
As we made our way toward the door Nicole and Bonner began to rise at the same time.
CHIEF INSPECTOR FROST
No, you stay here.
His li-ps ba-rely moved, and he didn’t break stride, but the authority was there in his voice. I un-derstood then why Bonner had been so apprehensive about him.
He was a ha-rd uncompromising man.
I noticed that their police sedan was huge and clean.
Black, powerful … a man’s car.
His deputy spoke behind me suddenly, startling me.
I had not seen him behind me.
SERGEANT ABBIW
Would you mind stating your name, address, age and purpose in Portville for the record, sir?
His voice was a screechy discord that I disliked immediately.
I reeled off the information.
Frost walked across the lawn, paused, and spoke with his back to me.
CHIEF INSPECTOR FROST
(softly)
Tell me what happened, Mr. Boat.
It was basic.
The dog had gone mad, probably rabid. Its bark had woken me up, I had rushed into the pastor’s room, and found Bruce Andoh about to shoot it.
His bullets had missed, and the dog had attacked him. It had then jumped out of the windows. I had taken Andoh’s gun, rushed outside and found the dog on the lawn. It had tried to attack me and I had shot it.
CHIEF INSPECTOR FROST
Where did you shoot it, Mr. Boat? Head, che-st, body?
As he spoke he was turning to face me, the shadows and the hat making his face almost invisible. He reminded me of one of the hit men in some of the old gangster cli-ps, the James Cagney kind of movies.
BOAT
I don’t really know. I think it took both bullets in the head. It was almost on me, see, and I had just a split second to react.
The words seemed to drag throu-ghmy teeth.
Suddenly some of my confidence seemed to erode, and I found myself somewhat on the defensive.
I guessed Frost was that kind of man; he wasn’t really huge, but he had an imposing presence.
CHIEF INSPECTOR FROST
What happened next?
His voice was still soft, but the in the semi-shadows his eyes seemed to glint.
BOAT
I buried it. The family loved him very much, especially Junior, and I figured it might be a good idea to bury it before they saw him the way he was.
SERGEANT ABBIW
(disdainfully)
A mad dog chews a man for dinner and you bury it? Boy, talk about the age of dumbness. Did it ever occur to you that there’s such a thing as police procedure in cases like these and that there’s such a thing as collecting evidence and ascertaining facts prior to writing reports? Did it even occur to you that in circu-mstances like these it is always necessary to find out what happened to the dog so that preventive measures could be taken, especially if it turns out that whatever happened to it could or have already affected other dogs, hmm?
It took all my self-control from swinging round and burying a fist into his gut.
Instead I shrugged in what I hoped was a self-deprecating way, and smiled nervously.
BOAT
Well, I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking right I guess. I didn’t think it was a crime, you know. Just thought it was an unfortunate affair. Sorry. The grave is right there on the edge of the trees. Maybe you would like to have it opened up again?
A STRANGE TOUCH
Frost took quick steps toward me and stopped within touching distance.
As tall as he was, he stood almost a whole head shorter than I was, and a lot leaner.
I could probably have taken him out if it ever came to that, but he still gave that impression of a man totally in control of himself, and I felt slightly at a disadvantage.
CHIEF INSPECTOR FROST
(coldly)
I hate smart-a$$ guys, Mr. Boat. Those Christian freaks in there are lying, and so are you. Bruno rabid? Horseshit! That dog’s probably the fittest and healthiest pet in the whole of Portville. And the friendliest too. Been known to take to every kid. Incidentally the Vet that takes care of our police dogs also attends to Bruno, and I called him before coming here. Turns out that Bruno had his shots only a month ago, and rabies vaccination was one of them. You’re all a bunch of f****ng liars, that’s what you are. Now, tell me what the fuc-k really happened.
I put my hands into my pocket.
Now he was on my home turf, playing hardball. He might be mean, but I had had run-ins with tougher cops.
Being in Portville, with all its delicate trimmings and washed outlook had floored me for a while, but now I welcomed his animosity and moved toward it.
It helped clear my head, and for that I was secretly grateful.
BOAT
(coldly)
Didn’t your Vet also tell you that those shots aren’t a guarantee that a dog can’t go bonkers? Maybe it wasn’t rabid. Maybe it had some tumors in the brain, or it got infected with something toxic. I don’t know; the possibilities are huge. All that I know is that it went crazy, attacked a man, tried to chew me up and I shot it.
SERGEANT ABBIW
(nastily)
And that’s why you should’ve left the body here and not buried it, as***ole.
There was so much a man could take, and I swirled on him so fast that he jumped back, his jowls shaking with alarm. I saw the sudden fear in his magnified eyes, and that was enough for me.
BOAT
(dangerously)
I won’t warn you a second time, Sergeant.
I had the satisfaction of seeing him swallow.
I saw him struggling to come out with a sharp retort, to reaffirm his authority, but he cast a quick look at Frost first, and suddenly I un-derstood it all.
Abbiw was the boy who had always been accused of lacking character. Working with the hard-hitting Frost might be a great challenge to him.
Frost was probably his hero, possessing the kind of quiet toughness that Abbiw so envied, and as a result he was what he was: a weak man trying desperately to ride the tides.
CHIEF INSPECTOR FROST
(calmly)
The dog indeed attacked Andoh, which I don’t dispute. What I don’t un-derstand is why a gentle docile dog would suddenly go berserk. But that’s all for now, Mr. Boat. But do stick around ‘cause you’ll hear from me again. C’mon, Abdul.
Also read – The Second Sight – Episode 25
Abbiw was searching for a parting jab, and I glared at him. He tried to hold my gaze with a tough one of his own, but after a moment he turned round and followed Frost, his fat a$$ jiggling.
Only when the lights of their sedan vanished around the curve in the path did I breathe easy.
CHARLES BONNER
He didn’t buy it, did he?
I almost jumped at the sound of Bonner’s voice.
I turned round quickly, a little disconcerted.
My nerves were drawn taut, and the incident with Andoh and Bruno was still playing havoc with my senses.
CHARLES BONNER
(contrite)
Sorry, son, didn’t mean to startle you.
He gave a mighty sneeze.
He fumbled a huge handkerchief out of his brea$t pocket and blew his nose.
CHARLES BONNER
Coming down with a cold, I think. Nasty weather. Beware of Jack Frost – he’s a tough one.
BOAT
(thoughtfully)
I know. He didn’t buy our story. You know what, I had the strange feeling that he knew exactly what happened.
The old man nodded.
CHARLES BONNER
Maybe he did, but I doubt it. He’s aware that something heavy went down, but he’s also convinced that there was no evil motive behind it, or that any of us had anything to do with it. In his own way he respects the secrets of the church.
There was a little silence between us.
BOAT
(quietly)
So what now?
I shuddered in the sudden chill.
He sneezed again, discharging a thin trail of phlegm down his right nostril.
He took out his hankie and carefully wiped it off.
CHARLES BONNER
We wait, son. Paul and his wife are un-derstandably freaked out, and I want you to keep a keener eye on them. We want you to have an upstairs room next to theirs. He’s afraid to step out, but he can’t hide forever. The congregation needs him. The Legion will be back, of course, and that’s why you have to be with them all the time. I better get inside now; the weather ain’t helping my cold none.
We walked toward the door together.
CHARLES BONNER
The Legion is not a priority, son. You failed your call today.
He spoke suddenly, for a moment disorienting me with his sudden change of topic.
I stopped and looked at him, and I was alarmed at the quick anger that flooded me. It was anger born out of secret guilt, I knew, because ever since Andoh died I had been having troubled thoughts.
I felt as if there was something I could’ve done – something really important – but I had missed it.
BOAT
Now wait a moment, Pastor Bonner! What are you talking about?
He faced me.
ANDERSON JUNIOR
You’re in the battle zone now, son, never forget that. A man was down, dying, and you went after the Legion which was fleeing. Your fight with the Legion is secondary. Next time stay with the victim; you could’ve done a lot for him.
BOAT
(explosively)
What’re you talking about? The man’s stomach had been chewed away, and he was bleeding badly. What possibly could I have done about it?
Without a word he held up his hand, and I saw a razor blade glinting in his left hand. Without warning his hand dove down, and he sliced the razor blade on the back of his right hand which was holding unto the cane.
BOAT
Hey, sh*t! What did you do that for?
I shouted with horror, taking a step back, sick to my stomach.
Blood spouted across the back of his hand, pouring down the sides. He transferred the cane to his left hand and held out his bleeding hand, thr-usting it at me.
CHARLES BONNER
(voice like a whiplash)
Take my hand! Now!
I took his bleeding hand, covering it with my right hand. I felt a tingle in the palm of my hand, something like a slight burning, like the pain you feel when steam from the kettle flashed across your skin briefly.
He drew his hand away and ru-bbed the back of his hand – the bleeding one, the one he had cut with the razor – vigorously down the front of his gown, and then he held it out again.
The skin had closed. It was old and gnarled, puckered with age, yes … but there was no wound, no razor cut, and certainly no more blood.
BOAT
(shaken)
Oh, sh*t!
I looked down at my hand.
My palm was still covered with his blood.
BOAT
(shocked)
Jesus!
It was a staggering moment, and I felt very faint and sick. I took faltering steps backward, sudden sweat forming on my face.
CHARLES BONNER
(ti-ghtly)
You un-derestimate the power God has given you, boy. Your gift is unique. You’ve been given so much power, more than any Unblind I have ever met! You even have the gift of healing!
BOAT
(fiercely, dazed)
Stay away from me! Just stay the fuc-k away from me!
I turned and walked quickly away from him. I faintly heard the door closing, and figured he had gone inside.
I sank to my knees slowly to the gra-ss, feeling the dawn dew soaking into the knees of my trousers. I took great wheezing breaths. I was choking, and my head was bursting. I felt the stickiness in my clenched fist.
His blood.
Broken skin, somehow healed again!
Suddenly, overcome with a blinding ache, I brushed my hands on the we-t gra-ss furiously, wanting – needing – to have his blood off me, every little trace of it!
Dear Lord, what’re you doing to me … what the hell is happening to me?
Cool fingers suddenly tou-ched the nape of my ne-ck. Soft sweet feminine perfume flooded me – jasmine, yes, jasmine.
Nicole. Yes, it is her behind me.
… a man was down, dying, and you went after the Legion which was fleeing. Your fight with the Legion is secondary. Next time stay with the victim; you could’ve done a lot for him…
Oh God, no!
To be continued…