“The Lord is working on him,” Reverend Powell said. “May He protect Clint in His loving grace.”
“He’s afraid to run into these characters again,” Frank said.
Tom Hoffman nodded. “That’s what I think.”
“Did the behavior get worse with the news of Maggie Walter’s death?” Mike asked.
“I asked Mr. Jackson that a few days after Maggie’s body was found,” Tom Hoffman said. “Don’t ask me why, but I had a hunch. Ben Jackson said that when Clint heard about Maggie’s death he went straight to his room and closed the door. He said he heard his son in there talking to himself, like he was crying or pleading with somebody. He said he tried knocking on Clint’s door to see what the trouble was but Clint wouldn’t come out. Said he was too scared. When Ben asked what he was scared of, Clint mumbled something. Ben thought what Clint mumbled was, ‘all my fault.’ ”
“Would Ben Jackson be the type of man to think this to mean that his son was implicating himself in Maggie Walter’s murder?” Mike Peterson asked.
“That’s what I thought,” Tom Hoffman said. “But I didn’t ask him that. I asked Ben what he thought this meant and he just shrugged and said, ‘aw, you know kids. He’s probably thinking I’m bugging him for something and he just snapped. He’ll get over it.’ ”
“Did he?” Mike asked.
“I don’t know.” Tom Hoffman looked at all four men gathered around the table. “I headed over there the next day and Ben told me that his son had suddenly packed a few days worth of clothes, took all the money in the house, and skipped town. He and his wife were just debating whether they should phone the police and report a theft when Mrs. Jackson realized it was probably their son that had taken the money.”
“Has Clint been in contact with his parents since he left?” Frank asked.
“No.” Tom Hoffman looked grave again. “He hasn’t. But get this.” He leaned forward. “Clint’s girlfriend comes up to me later that day. She tracked me down at the station actually, and told me she had some information she wanted to share. She said she was worried about Clint. I asked her if she knew where Clint was, and apparently she didn’t even know he’d skipped town.”
“He was still seeing her the whole time he was taking a sabbatical from his friends?” Frank asked.
“Yes,” Tom Hoffman nodded. “Apparently she used to sneak into his room through the window. I asked her about Clint’s sudden change in behavior and she told me everything I just told you. And what she told me was pretty much what I was suspecting. Clint was scared to death of Mark and Glenn, and felt his life was in danger. He said that these guys, whoever they were, had been the real deal when it comes to this devil stuff. Clint and David and Mary Ann and these other kids, they weren’t really cult members or anything. They were just a bunch of stupid kids looking for something to offend their parents and the community with. And the occult and satanic trappings are the way to do it. They knew this, and they flaunted it. It made them feel important and powerful, like they were apart from society. They didn’t really believe in it.”
“But Mark Lancaster and Glenn Wilson did,” Mike said.
“Exactly! And Clint could tell the minute they held the ritual that these guys weren’t fooling around. They were serious about it, and that scared Clint and David. And I think what scared them even more is that Mark displayed his powers to them. Hell, the guy knew Clint was lying when he rattled off that fake phone number. Clint said there was no way for the guy to know his phone number—his parents’ number is unlisted. And they’d never been by his house, he hadn’t even told Mark where he lived. They always met on neutral ground. There would have been no way for Mark to know anything that personal about him. But when he recited Clint’s phone number and address in that smug way of his, Clint knew he was up against something. And it scared the hell out of him.
“So he told Mary Ann everything. He told her not to tell anybody, that he was afraid of what might happen to her. Mary Ann, she knew that Clint was from a troubled background, knew he was moody—”
Mike Peterson interrupted. “What kind of troubled background did he have?”
“Ben Jackson is an abusive tyrant,” Tom Hoffman said. “Man has a rap sheet a mile long for various offences in that house. He’s been knocking Clint around since he was three years old. Helen stays with him, though. Says it’s her Christian duty to stay married to him.”
“Lord,” Reverend Powell rolled his eyes.
“That’s what I say,” Tom Hoffman said. “Mary Ann didn’t want to believe what Clint was telling her at first, but when he disappeared she knew it had to be true. She’s scared. They’re all scared.”
“Are the kids they hung out with afraid?” Frank asked.
Tom nodded. “Yeah.” Tom gripped his empty coffee cup. “Mary Ann says that she thinks these guys not only had something to do with those skinned dogs, she thinks they may have had something to do with Maggie Walters’ death.”
“How so?” Mike Peterson asked.
“Mary Ann doesn’t know,” Tom says. “She just feels they had something to do with it. She says Clint wouldn’t have run off like that so soon after Maggie turned up dead.”
Mike Peterson and Frank Black appeared to think about this. Vince’s mind was racing. He had the feeling Tom Hoffman wasn’t telling them everything. “So… you’re saying Clint’s girlfriend was spreading rumors of cult involvement just based on… their own fears?”
Tom Hoffman sighed. He looked shifty, his eyes flicking back and forth. “Listen, Mary Ann told me more, but…”
“For God’s sake, spit it out, man!” Reverend Powell hissed.
“Okay, look,” Tom Hoffman leaned forward, his voice lowered to a whisper. “I can’t tell you anymore here. We’ll have to go somewhere else, more private. Mary Ann did tell me more, and I checked it out and… and this shit is big. Real big, okay? Mary Ann doesn’t know how big it is, and I’m not going to tell her. Ignorance is bliss, right? The less she knows, the safer she is. When she told me certain things, though, I got curious and did some checking and found out shit that will blow your mind.”
“Tom,” Mike said, his voice just as low, his tone gentle and understanding. “We understand. We’re working on the same thing and we know how big this is. We understand the need for secrecy. Our plan is to gather and verify as much information as we can and take it to a trusted law enforcement official who has the power and authority to stop it. Why don’t we resume this discussion at Reverend Powell’s when your shift is over? We’ll show you some of the documents we have that will support what you’ve probably found out, and you can tell us more of what you came up with. Okay?”
Tom Hoffman nodded. He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. He still looked nervous but he was trying very hard to rein it in. “Yeah. I’d really feel better if I knew more about what was going on.”
Reverend Powell leaned forward. “Tom, trust in the Lord and you will be safe. Nothing can hurt you if you put on the armor of God.”
“Yeah, I know.” Tom Hoffman said. He glanced at his watch. “Listen, I gotta go. My shift ends at two. I’ll meet you at Reverend Powell’s.”