Page 135 of Them Bones

For the first time, Shane felt something almost resembling gratitude towards Cary as they watched him pummel his former employee into paste.

“Dusty! Don’t!” Jerry said urgently, but Dustin had slipped into the room, his mouth open in horror as he watched Cary bring that shovel down on the body over, and over, and over.

When Cary finally stopped, his chest heaving, he tossed the shovel down on Nick’s mutilated body and spat on him.

Dustin picked up the cordless phone, wiped the blood off the receiver with his shirt, and dialed.

911 CALL LOG

24 DECEMBER 1999

23:49pm

OPERATOR:911 - WHAT IS YOUR EMERGENCY?

CALLER:WE NEED THE POLICE. AT 14 FORSYTH ROAD.

OPERATOR:WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE INCIDENT?

CALLER:SOMEONE'S DEAD.

OPERATOR:CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR NAME AND -

[CALL HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED]

KIM

“Werner and Orson, you still on-duty? Over,” came Sherry’s voice over the CB.

They glanced at the clock. It was 11:50 and their shift was technically over in ten minutes, but with the roads like this it was likely to take anyone else twice as long to respond. Susan shrugged at Kim.

“Yes, over,” Kim said.

“Call just came in for a possible 10-54. Should be right near you. 14 Forsyth Road. Over.”

“We’re on it, over,” Kim said.

Susan flipped on the sirens as they passed a black-and-white on Bristol. She figured the officer would be right behind them, given the proximity.

As they turned onto Forsyth, Kim’s heart sank.

“This looks familiar…” Susan said.

“We were here last Christmas,” Kim said. “OD.”

“Crap… Maybe it got the better of her, this time…” Susan said sadly.

They unloaded a stretcher from the back and went in through the garage to save themselves climbing up the snow-covered stairs. The door to the basement was open.

“Hello?” Susan called. “Paramedics!”

“In here!” someone yelled from around the corner. Kim was leading, Susan trailing behind, as they maneuvered the stretcher between a set of French doors.

A man with a thick beard who looked vaguely familiar was standing in the hallway, ashen, his hands shaking. He looked up at her.

“Kim?” he said. He sounded confused, his voice hoarse, eyes glazed.

She fought to place him.Mechanic…“Jerry?” she asked. This guy worked with Cary, sometimes. He was a nice old man, and she’d liked him from the start, one of the few of Cary’s people who didn’t seem skittish around her.

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