Graveyard Fields Read online

  “Where was Cordell found?” I said.

  Dale stopped and looked around, trying to get his bearings.

  “Shit, I don’t know,” he said. “It was dark. Tommy met me by them stone steps and took me to where everybody was. It was a good fifteen-minute walk. It still may be taped off.”

  Ten minutes passed, and we came to another fork in the trail. Dale took a bandanna out of his back pocket and dabbed a pint of sweat off his forehead.

  “This is fucking pointless,” he said. “There’s miles of these trails. If we do find something, it’ll be by accident.”

  I didn’t want to agree, but Dale was right. Looking for Diana at Graveyard Fields was as futile as looking for a set of keys in Floppy’s garage.

  The shot sounded like a clap of thunder. It came from the west and echoed over us like a sonic boom. Dale shoved the bandanna back in his pocket, then dropped down to one knee. I hopped on his back like a cowboy at a stunt show.

  Dale started to run back the way we’d come, but I yelled for him to stop. I’d studied an online map of Graveyard Fields and knew that the trail Floppy had followed looped around in a giant oval.

  “Take this fork,” I said. “If we’re lucky, it’ll be quicker than retracing our steps.”

  Dale grunted, and we took off toward the west.

  Every twenty or so yards, Dale grabbed his belt and jerked his pants back up under his belly while I squeezed my legs together to try to shimmy my way higher onto his back.

  We’d gone maybe a quarter of a mile when we heard another shot. It was louder than the first, and I knew we were heading in the right direction.

  “Motherfucker,” Dale yelled.

  He stopped and let go of my legs. I slid down onto the ground.

  “I can’t carry you no more,” Dale said. He was out of breath and looked like he might faint. “Stay here. I’ll find Floppy.”

  Before I could argue, Dale unsnapped his holster and drew his service weapon. He nodded at me and then continued on toward the sound of the shots.

  I stood still for a moment, then stepped off the trail into a thick stand of trees. I tried to recall the trail map I’d studied. If the main trail looped around in an oval, then maybe I could bisect it and come out near the bridge. If so, I would have a chance at cutting off the bikers if they were heading back toward the parking lot.

  I stepped gently through the woods, trying to avoid the roots and small boulders jutting out from piles of fallen leaves. At one point I was forced to backtrack a bit to work around a jumble of thorns that rose from the forest floor and up into the limbs of the surrounding trees.

  A few minutes later I stepped out onto the trail. I looked around and calculated I was probably five minutes or less from the bridge. I headed west at full speed, which was probably no more than two miles per hour. My leg felt like a hollow log full of fire ants.

  As I approached the fork near the bridge, I saw a glint of light flash through the trees, as if someone were holding a tiny mirror and angling it toward the sun to signal for help. A few seconds later I heard voices, and I jumped off the trail and ducked down into a thicket of brush.

  I pushed some of the limbs aside and saw Diana walking quickly down the trail. ZZ Top was next to her, holding her arm. The two other bikers followed closely behind. Both were carrying metal chests the size of sofa cushions.

  When I stepped out of the bushes, the entire group stopped in their tracks. ZZ Top grinned and pulled a handgun from the waist of his jeans. He jerked his head toward the bridge and his buddies headed in that direction, struggling with the weight of the chests.

  I raised my hands above my head and dragged myself a few steps toward Diana. ZZ Top stared at me coldly and turned his head slowly from side to side.

  “Right there’s good,” he said.

  I stopped but kept my hands held high.

  “Let her go,” I yelled.

  ZZ Top raised the gun, and a second later it jerked in his hand. The bullet flew past me with a whoosh, and I collapsed to the ground. A moment later another shot rang out. I glanced up and saw ZZ Top grab at his shoulder. He then spun to the left and aimed toward the trees. Dale stepped out of the woods with his gun raised. He fired. ZZ Top doubled over, then fell face first onto the trail.

  Diana began running in my direction, but Dale ordered her to stop. She froze at a spot twenty or so yards ahead of me.

  Dale kept his gun raised as he walked over to ZZ Top, whose arms flailed as if he were trying to swim through the dirt. Dale stepped on the man’s wrist, then bent down and pried the gun out of his hand. Dale ejected the magazine and cleared the chamber. He then shoved the gun into his belt, grabbed his radio, and spoke into it. I wondered how long it would take for an ambulance to arrive. I hoped that when it did show, there would be enough EMTs to carry me up all the steps.

  I picked myself up and looked toward the bridge. ZZ Top’s buddies were standing in the middle of the structure, obviously wondering what to do now that their boss was facedown in the dirt. They looked at Dale for a moment, then at each other. An agreement seemed to pass between them, and they hightailed it toward the parking lot.

  They were almost out of sight when a cannon fired. I turned and saw Floppy step out of woods near the spot where Dale had appeared. The barrel of the shotgun was still smoking.

  Dale looked at Floppy, then raised a finger and twirled it in a circle like he was ordering another round at a bar. Floppy nodded. Then, simultaneously, they tossed their guns in the air toward one another. The shotgun and the handgun almost collided at the peak of the graceful arc. Dale snatched the shotgun with one hand and Floppy caught the handgun the way a receiver catches a punt.

  As Floppy held the gun on ZZ Top, Dale ran across the bridge with the shotgun raised, then disappeared around a curve in the trail.

  I felt like an innocent bystander, watching the action safely from the sidelines.

  When Dale was out of sight, Diana ran up to me and threw her arms around my neck. She pressed her lips against mine and kissed me passionately. I didn’t reciprocate.

  “I’m so happy to see you,” she said. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I just didn’t know what to do.”

  The devils and the angel all smirked.

  A moment later I saw the bikers walking back across the bridge in our direction. They were still carrying the metal chests, but their enthusiasm was greatly diminished. I knew Dale was slow, but even he could catch up to two guys lugging such a heavy load up a steep trail with dozens of steps. Dale appeared a few seconds after the bikers, but something was off. He wasn’t carrying the shotgun and his hands were clasped behind his neck. Then Skeeter came into view. He was in uniform, walking a few feet behind Dale, his gun aimed at Dale’s back.

  I looked at Diana.

  “Did you send him your location too?”

  When she didn’t answer, I limped over to Floppy. He had a gun, but even factoring that out, I felt safer in his presence now that I knew his martial arts skills were legit.

  I looked down at ZZ Top. He was no longer moving, and a large pool of blood had collected in the dirt near his midsection. I doubted he would last much longer.

  The bikers walked over to us, then stood motionless, holding the chests like valets at a fancy hotel. Floppy glanced at me, and I noticed a sparkle in his eye. I shook my head. Floppy had some impressive moves, but I didn’t yet understand the whole situation. The bikers could be armed; Diana could be armed; Skeeter was definitely armed and, like me, was known to have a short fuse.

  “Floppy, give her the gun,” Skeeter yelled.

  Diana strolled up to us and held out her hand.

  “I ain’t gonna do that,” Floppy yelled. “You let Dale go; then we’ll talk about all this. Hey, what’s in them chests, anyway? You know, I can cut those open with my acetylene setup; it’ll cut through just about anything.”

  Skeeter raised the butt of his gun and brought it down hard on the back of Dale’s head. Dale dropped to both kne
es.

  “I’m gonna break your fucking neck,” Dale yelled.

  Skeeter hovered over Dale and pointed the gun down at his skull.

  “Now, Floppy,” Skeeter yelled.

  I looked at Floppy. “Do what he says.”

  Floppy hesitated for a moment, then flipped the gun over and held it out. Diana grabbed it and pointed it in our general direction.

  “Put down those crates,” Skeeter yelled.

  The bikers bent down and placed the chests on the ground near ZZ Top. I could now see that the chests were identical. Each was secured with two large padlocks that dangled from thick metal hasps.

  “Okay,” Skeeter said. “Facedown, hands behind your backs.”

  The bikers followed the order.

  Skeeter yelled for Dale to stand up. When Dale was upright, Skeeter told him to cuff the bikers.

  Dale rubbed the back of his head and waddled over to them. He removed a set of cuffs from his duty belt, got down on his knees, and attached the cuffs to one of the biker’s wrists. Skeeter walked over and tossed his own cuffs to the ground. Dale picked them up and cuffed the other biker.

  Skeeter walked behind Dale and kicked him in the back. Dale grunted and fell onto the dirt.

  “You are a dead man,” Dale yelled.

  Skeeter motioned for Diana. When she walked over to him, he pulled a set of plastic riot cuffs off his duty belt. He handed them to Diana, who nodded and bent down beside Dale.

  While Diana secured Dale, Skeeter strolled over. His aviators glistened in the bright sunlight.

  Skeeter pointed the gun at Floppy, obviously considering him the greater threat. He was right.

  “What’s going on, Skeeter?” Floppy asked. “This all don’t make no sense.”

  I wanted Floppy to jerk the gun out of Skeeter’s hand the same as he’d done to Perry, but Skeeter was smart enough to stand just out of reach.

  Diana walked up and stood next to Skeeter. Behind them Dale and the two bikers lay motionless in the dirt.

  Skeeter looked at me and grinned. “It makes perfect sense. I’ve just stopped a drug deal and caught a man guilty of three murders. Byrd’s gonna be impressed.”

  Floppy scratched his head and looked down at ZZ Top.

  “Is he the man killed them three people?”

  Skeeter laughed. “Floppy, you are as stupid as you are ugly.”

  Floppy frowned. “I ain’t that stupid. I bet you don’t know the capital of Kansas. I know it, but I bet you don’t. You probably think it’s Kansas City, but that’s in Missouri and that’s a whole ’nother state altogether. Missouri’s capital is Jefferson City. I bet you didn’t know that either. But what gets me is why Missouri puts city after so many town’s names. It’s like they’s tryin’ to convince people that their towns are more than just towns. I mean, we don’t do that. They ain’t a Waynesville City or a Canton City or a Cruso City or a …”

  While Floppy babbled, I heard sirens in the distance and wondered who would show up first, the EMTs or a group of deputies who just might believe Skeeter’s bullshit story. Of course I was the killer; the evidence was stacked against me. And Dale was obviously my accomplice. He’d been with me that night at Cordell’s and he’d been trying all along to throw Byrd off my scent. I wondered if Skeeter would try to throw Floppy under the bus as well.

  Floppy droned on about state capitals and geography, but his voice was louder than usual. I was afraid he was going to try to make a move on Skeeter, but then I saw Dale push himself up and creep over behind Skeeter and Diana.

  Dale moved faster than I thought he could. He threw a beefy arm around Skeeter’s neck and jerked him off the ground. Floppy grabbed Skeeter’s arm and pulled the gun from his hand. He then grabbed Diana’s wrist and aimed her gun at the sky.

  “That’s not necessary,” she said.

  Skeeter’s legs jerked wildly as Dale held him a good foot off the dirt. I stepped forward and punched Skeeter’s face. The aviators shattered and I finally got a look at his eyes. They were full of fear. A moment later Skeeter went limp. Dale held him for a few more seconds, then dropped him to the ground.

  Floppy took the gun from Diana, then danced a little one-legged jig in the dirt.

  “Whoooeeeey,” he said. “We’ve had us a busy day.”

  43

  The EMTs arrived first. They worked on ZZ Top for a while, but it was a lost cause. Looked like Dale now had a second justified killing to his name. I doubted he would lose any sleep over this one either.

  Deputies Mike and Earl arrived next, followed by Tommy and a couple of other deputies I recognized from my visits to the sheriff’s department. I guessed Byrd was going to be fashionably late.

  Since ZZ Top was DOA, the EMTs left him in the dirt for the coroner. They checked Skeeter, who was fine but groggy. He sat with his back against a tree, his wrists and ankles shackled together. A deputy stood close by.

  Since there were no lives to save, one of the EMTs took the time to tweeze a few pieces of mirrored glass from my knuckles and wrap my hand in a couple of yards of gauze. I appreciated the attention.

  Mike and Earl talked to Floppy and Dale while Tommy and another deputy questioned the two bikers. I wanted to know their story, but Dale had ordered me to stay away from them.

  Diana sat on a small boulder near the bridge. I hadn’t been ordered to stay away from her, but I wasn’t ready to speak to her. I still couldn’t figure her out and wasn’t in any mood for her bullshit.

  Dale had said Diana hadn’t attached the riot cuffs to his wrists, that she’d just fiddled with them for a minute and then placed them over his hands.

  I wasn’t sure if she couldn’t figure out how to work them or if she was giving Dale a chance. I figured it was pointless to ask her—she had lied to me too many times.

  Dale walked over to Diana and spoke to her for fifteen or so minutes. As they talked, she pulled something out of her jacket pocket that looked like a giant orange cell phone. She held it in front of Dale and pressed some buttons on its face. Dale nodded, then waddled over to the bikers.

  Floppy walked over to me.

  “Did you see that thing that woman gave Dale?” he said. “Man, I wish I had one of them. I could do all kinds of stuff with that.”

  “What is it?” I asked. “A GPS?”

  “Yessir. Looks like a Garmin Explorer Plus. Them things is accurate as all get-out. It’s got topo maps, and you can mark all kinds of way points and places you find that you wanna go back to. That’d be real handy for me. I could use it with my metal detector when I’m out looking for things, then mark where I’d found stuff so I could keep track of where I’d been.”

  Dale came over to us. He held the GPS up to my face.

  “According to Diana, this was what was in her safe. Cordell was dealing, I mean big-time dealing. And he hid his supply in metal chests all around here. He used this to mark the locations.”

  That connected some dots. But it still didn’t explain Diana’s involvement.

  I jerked my head in her direction. “So what’s her part in all this?”

  Dale huffed. “She says she was going out with that Cordell dude. And when he found out about her safe, he asked if he could store some of his valuables in it. Gave her some story about his aunt dying and leaving him some jewelry or some such. She wasn’t using the safe, so she said okay and gave him the key. Then she says she caught him dealing at the brewery, selling pills to some dudes out back of the kitchen. She claims she had no idea he was into that shit and she dumped him. Then she remembered he’d put some shit in her safe. She started to get real worried about what it was, but he wouldn’t come get it or give her the key. She thought it might be drugs and didn’t want that shit on her property.”

  “What about Jeff and Becky?”

  Dale nodded. “She says they were Cordell’s suppliers, bringing pills over from Banner Elk. When she caught Cordell dealing, he told her the whole story, and he also told her she was tied up in it since they’d a
ll been hanging out together. A threat to keep her mouth shut, I reckon.”

  I thought of the picture I’d seen of Diana sitting between Cordell and Jeff on the hood of the BMW. I wondered how she could not have known what her friends were up to.

  Dale continued the story. Diana had befriended Skeeter at the brewery and asked him to try to get her key back. She couldn’t tell him about Cordell’s dealing because her safe was probably full of pills. She just told Skeeter that an ex-boyfriend was being an asshole and wouldn’t give back her safe key.

  “She says she told Skeeter that Cordell could probably be found up here,” Dale said. “That he’d gotten into treasure hunting and was looking for gold up near Cold Mountain.”

  Floppy started to speak, but Dale barked a loud “Hush!”

  “So Diana did tell Cordell about the gold Daiquiri had seen,” I said. “That’s why he went to Floppy’s, to snoop around, and that’s what eventually led him up here. Then he decides if he can’t find treasure, he might as well bury some.”

  Dale bobbed his head.

  “Good a place as any,” he said. “Lot safer than hiding it at a house owned by the sheriff.”

  I pictured Skeeter confronting Cordell at Black Balsam. He had the hots for Diana, and seeing her ex-boyfriend had probably raised his temperature. When Cordell saw a deputy approaching, he most likely had tossed the keys into the bushes. He wouldn’t want to be caught with keys that opened chests full of pills. Then Cordell takes off down the trail toward Graveyard Fields. Skeeter finally catches up with him, shoots him, and takes his cell phone.

  “She says Skeeter agreed to help but then later told her he couldn’t find Cordell,” Dale said. “So she told him where he lived and that some buddies of his were staying there with him and that maybe they could help find her key. You know what happened next.”

  Of course I did. With Cordell missing, Jeff and Becky started searching for the keys and the chests of pills. Then Skeeter went to Cordell’s house, confronted Jeff and Becky, and realized the whole thing revolved around drugs. He lost his temper and killed them both. Then I show up snooping around, and he takes a few shots at me for good measure. Then he searches the house, finds a small bag of pills, and decides that since I’m there that night, I’d be the perfect fall guy.