The Gatekeeper's Sons

Chapter 9B

It was dusk when the lieutenant arrived with another officer in tow. They came inside, accepted glasses of iced tea, and listened to Therese's account of what happened earlier in the woods.

The lieutenant said, "To be on the safe side, I'll post an officer on guard for a week or so to keep an eye on the place. Officer Morgan here will stay tonight. I'll see you both in the morning for the line up. Let Officer Morgan know if you hear or see anything the least bit suspicious to you, okay?"

"We will," Carol said, following the lieutenant to the door. "Thank you so much."

Officer Morgan slept on a cot on the back deck, so Therese felt a little more at ease, even though she couldn't take Clifford out to pee without him barking up a storm.

At night, when it was time to go to sleep, she was glad the officer was there below her on the deck outside. She lay there with Clifford and first thought of the fear. The woman had looked so strange. Even her voice was strange. Then Therese thought of the despair, and she fought off the panicky feeling until it won and she sobbed and sobbed until she finally fell asleep.

Therese was riding on a carousel at a carnival on a painted horse rising up and down to accordion music when Hip appeared and said, "My brother is coming for you."

"But he said he'd kill me if he came to me," Therese said.

"Only when he's acting as the guide for the dead. He's getting our father to make me take over that loathsome job. I'm not looking forward to it, and I guess I have you to thank for it."

"I don't get it. You're going to be the new guide for the dead?"

"Just temporarily, so Than can come for you."

"And then what?"

Hip shrugged. "I think he wants you to become his queen of the dead." Then he said, "Why don't you become my queen instead?"

Therese laughed. "You're not the marrying kind, Hip. I can see that."

The next morning after breakfast, Carol drove Therese to the Durango Police Department. Lieutenant Hobson met them at the front desk and escorted them into a dimly lit room that smelled like her father's cigars. Through a window on one wall, they could see six men being led into an adjacent room. Each wore a number around his neck. Two of the men were tall and the others closer to average size. One had a big belly. All six men had dark skin and beards, though the beards were of varying lengths and tidiness. Therese recognized the face she had seen the day of the shooting. Seeing him sent shivers all down her spine and made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She could barely breathe. There was no question in her mind. He was there the night of the shooting.

Had he killed her parents? She looked at him with hatred and fear as tears slid down her cheeks. Had he been responsible for ruining her life forever? She wanted to break through the glass and strangle him. "Number four," she finally said with confidence. "Definitely number four."

"You're sure?" the lieutenant asked.

"Positive."

The lieutenant spoke into a machine and said, "Thanks. You can lead them out now."

As the men turned to follow the officer out of the small chamber, Therese saw a reflection in the window of a woman standing behind her. The reflection appeared out of nowhere and looked exactly like the woman in the woods from the day before—the woman who called her name and may or may not have been carrying a snake. There was definitely a large bird perched on the shoulder of the woman in the reflection, and the woman was smiling and nodding, apparently at Therese. Therese quickly turned, gasping, but there was no one behind her.

"What's wrong?" Carol asked, standing beside her.

"What? Oh, nothing. Can we go home now?"