The Girl in the Wych Elm (VIII)

 

VIII. Naayééʼ Neizghání (re-upload).

From behind a tree, Addy stealthy watched Hollis as he emerged from Lorenzo’s cellar. She had been trailing him since he left Juniper’s house, despite being cautioned not to a second time by the woman. Addy was too damn hard-headed; a characteristic that had persisted since childhood. Chills scurried up Hollis' spine. He felt someone watching him. Addy ducked low behind an overgrown bush, praying Hollis hadn't seen her. After a few moments, she peered around the bush and caught a brief glance of Hollis' jacket disappearing out of sight. Hollis hadn't made her, it appeared. Addy hurried to catch up, making sure she was extra cautious not to be seen.

"What...the hell?" Hollis, puzzled, scratched his head. Mercutio Bardolph's residence was above a condemned corner store. All external entryways into the apartments were barred by thick plywood boards. Hollis then looked up. His only way inside was through a second floor window. "Well fuck me-"

"Um, hi there." He was approached by a couple passing through the area on a walk. Hollis had noticed them spying on him for a while. “My name is Celeste, and this is Morgan, my husband.” She introduced themselves to Hollis.

Celeste was a petite, sun-kissed woman with an elvish appearance. Morgan was no more than an inch taller than her. The fair-skinned, red-haired man wore wide, green glasses. Almost immediately, Hollis didn't take a liking to Morgan. The man gave off hostile energy. He never said much to Hollis, only observing him cynically.

Wary of their presence, Hollis remained guarded as he spoke with the couple. He sensed their mistrust of him. "Um... do you two need something from me?" The words came out harsh, which Hollis didn't intend for them to be. He was informed by Celeste that the corner store was closed and had been so for over a month. The owner Luigi had failed multiple health and building code inspections. "Even the apartments above the store?" Hollis told the woman he had been looking around town for an apartment to lease.

Morgan's cynical expression morphed into an aggravated scowl. "If the corner store was shut down, then what makes you think the apartments wouldn't be either?" Morgan's sharp response cut through the air. Celeste berated her husband over his lack of decorum. The man rolled his eyes at Celeste.

Exactly the type of attitude expected from a man the height of a fifth grader. Hollis thought. Celeste apologized for her husband's crude response. She told Hollis, Morgan was working through some anger issues.

"But anyways... I don't-I don't mean to pry, but what brings you out here to Wych Elm?" Hollis seemed out of place in their town to Celeste. "I really hope my question didn't come off offensive. It's just... I can tell you aren't from this region." Someone who carried themselves like Hollis didn't belong in a place like Wych Elm. He belonged in the city or the suburbs.

Hollis rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm a little embarrassed to say this out loud, but I owe some very dangerous loan sharks a lot of money.” He said he needed to lie low for a few months and had heard about Wych Elm from a friend of a friend. "I was told this place was rather...isolated." Hollis told them the loan sharks wouldn’t ever find him in a place like Wych Elm. Morgan saw through the lie and scoffed at the “story.”

Hollis shot him a fierce glare. "Need to get something off your chest, Morgan?" Morgan gave no response. He was either intimidated or felt no need to verbalize his sentiments. He looked away, avoiding Hollis' eyes.

Celeste and Hollis resumed their conversation. "The apartments are condemned as well." It was fortunate they were, according to the woman. "Luigi wasn't picky when it came to the types of customers he served or the tenants he kept. A lot of seedy people lived above this store." Celeste pointed with her thumb. "Anyways, I hate to break it to you, but you'll need to live somewhere else." What Celeste really meant was outside of Wych Elm because no landlord was going to rent to an outsider. "The next bus arrives in about twenty minutes." She looked down at her watch. "If you leave now, you can make it before it departs." Hollis nodded and thanked the woman for the information. He bid the couple farewell and disappeared around the corner. 

Hollis never left the area, however. He dipped into the cramped alleyway behind the buildings. Celeste and Morgan lingered in front of the store for a few minutes before they walked off. Hollis suspected they were watchers. "I need a quick way inside." Just in case the couple doubled back or alerted the authorities to his sighting.

Scaling a second story building hadn't been on Hollis' to-do list for the day. The last time he climbed a building was a decade prior. Hollis was no longer the young, robust man who could run three blocks without breaking a sweat. The years of heavy alcoholism also added to his physical decline. The feat took a massive toll on Hollis’ body and his mind.  He collapsed on the floor, huffing and panting in a strained manner. “I’m too…damn old…to be doing…this shit.” The man said in between breaths. The day was over for him when he left Mercutio's apartment. “I wonder if I could ask Juniper for a massage.” Realizing how creepy that statement sounded, Hollis retracted what he said.

The old man pushed to his feet, only to be painfully reacquainted with the hardwood floor. Addy came through the window and fell on top of him. He released a loud, painful groan. "Oh shit! I'm-I’m s-sorry." She hurried off his back. “I didn’t mean-”

Hollis barked at the woman, interrupting her mid-sentence. "What is your fucking deal, woman? This isn't a game or some dumb ass thrill-seeking adventure." Lorenzo Wilson and his family were dead. Hollis suspected the other men and their families were too probably. He didn’t understand why Addy was skipping into a jungle she should have been steering clear of. "You need to go. Now! And don't make me tell you again." He aggressively pushed her towards the window. "This place isn't safe. You need to go back to Juniper's house. Matter of fact, you need to get out of Wych Elm." Hollis chastised Addy for almost interfering in his investigation.

The hot-tempered woman kicked him in the shin, forcing Hollis to release his hold on her. "You're not even a detective anymore so, how can I be interfering with your investigation?" His fists clenched at the ignorant question. She knew what he meant.

"I don't know whether to hate your parents for raising such an incredible pain-in-the-ass or feel sorry for them." He threw up his hands. The remark earned Hollis a sinister glare from Addy. "It's whatever. I'm not going back and forth with you." Hollis told her to stay out of his way. 

Addy wasn't ready to end the discussion there. She would make Hollis listen to her. "It would do you well to be nicer to me." She stamped her foot, shouting at Hollis as he made his way down the hall.

A short, bitter laugh escaped the man's lips. “Honestly, I should be meaner to you.” He spun around on his heels and marched up to Addy intimidatingly. Hollis hemmed her up in the corner like a wolf preying on a lamb. "You refuse to understand, and I don't know how else I can get my point across this thick skull of yours." He delivered a powerful thump to her forehead.

“Hollis-” She was immediately silenced. Addy wasn't allowed to speak to him anymore.

“Every time you open your mouth, my migraines worsen.” Hollis continued belittling Addy, unaware of the secret taser she had removed. The young woman had had enough of the way Hollis spoke down to her. And that would be the last time. Addy brought a swift end to the problem.

Hollis tumbled backwards, knocking his head against the wall. Addy violently kneed him in the rib which made him wince in pain. "That kick...wasn't necessary..." He groaned.

She flipped her hair. "Honestly, I should have kicked you harder." She responded mockingly, echoing the words Hollis said to her prior. "Now shut up and listen to what I have to say," or Addy would knee him again but in a more sensitive spot. Hollis took her threat seriously. He had already put his body through enough that day.

The injured Hollis positioned himself up against the wall. "Go ahead and say what you need to say." He said on another painful groan.

“Theo McNeil." The name rang a bell. No. Hollis knew that name. He was one of the men Jonah told him about. Theo McNeil was a co-worker of Lorenzo Wilson and Mercutio Bardolph.

Hollis straightened. He mentally blocked out the pain in his ribs. "Did you-did you speak with Jonah too?" A bewildered expression appeared on Addy's face. She had no idea who that man was. Their paths had never crossed.

Addy craned her neck, confused. "Who's Jonah?" 

Hollis waved his hand through the air. "Don't worry about it." He grilled her about knowing Theo's name.

Addy reached into her pocket and removed a tape recorder. "Theo McNeil used to date my college roommate, Harmony." She elaborated on their relationship. Theo and Addy weren't friends and had never been. They were simply acquaintances from their undergraduate years. "Theo spent a lot of time in our dorm room during their relationship. After we graduated, he broke off his relationship with Harmony and returned home to this place." Addy teased the device in front of Hollis. "Harmony discovered this little guy in a puzzle box Theo mailed to her about a month ago." The recorder came with strict instructions. It was supposed to go to Addy and her only. Hollis squinted at her with confusion. "Harmony loves puzzle boxes." She shrugged innocently.

“That’s not what-” He decided mid-sentence to abandon his thought. “Anyways, you gonna’ press play on that thing or keep holding out?” Addy frowned at the question. Her expression reminded Hollis of an angry cat.

"I have some terms and conditions." She told him, twirling the device in her fingers. Addy would play the recording as long as Hollis agreed to her demands. If not, she would snap the recorder in two. “Moving forward, we’re working this investigation…together.” She said emphatically. Hollis groaned loudly at the condition. But the man was unable to refuse her demand. He begrudgingly agreed. "Fantastic! The second condition: you need to start taking me seriously." That meant Hollis couldn’t talk down to Addy anymore or demean her.

Hollis agreed to the second condition without issue. However, he decided to add in a condition of his own. "You need to do what I tell you moving forward." He told her sternly. “And before you argue back with me, hear what I have to say.” She nodded and listened. “These so-called High Families aren’t your typical, run of the mill villains.” They were much worse from what Hollis was told about them. There was no room for underestimation. “You can’t act thoughtlessly, or you will be killed.” Hollis couldn't stomach another innocent death on his conscience. He knew it would destroy the remaining shred of sanity he had left. Addy's safety was more important than his personal investigation and their combined one. If the situation became too dangerous, he wanted Addy to get out of Wych Elm. "After all, you're the one who has to tell the story." He told Addy, stroking her ego a little. The statement brought a colorful smile to the woman's face.

Addy gave Hollis her word. "I agree to your condition." She would leave Wych Elm if told to by Hollis. The old detective smiled. An action he hadn't done in almost fifteen years. She handed over the recorder. "Here," allowing Hollis the honor of playing it. The audio message was from Theo.

"After we reported the body to Phillipe, he notified the authorities." A week after the body's discovery, the five men were terminated from their positions without reason or notice. Mercutio suspected Alexander Hightower was behind their firing. "Addy... I hope-I hope this message reaches your ears. I'm afraid. I'm really afraid." Hollis felt the man's unease and his rising fear through the recording. Theo's words gave him chills and made the hair all over his body stand up. "I think people are watching our house, but then again, maybe I'm just paranoid. I don't know... I don't understand what we did wrong." The poor man gave into his emotions and broke down. He worried for his and Sophie's safety. Theo expressed wanting to leave but feared the powers of Wych Elm wouldn't allow that to happen.  

In the second half of the recording, Theo revealed Lorenzo and Jameson had “gone silent.” He hadn’t heard from them in days. “No one answers when I knock.” Theo’s audio message concluded with him expressing regret over having discovered the body. “The Red Hound will come for us next,” were the doomed man’s frightening last words.

Addy wondered what Theo meant by the last statement. "The Red Hound?" The ominous Black Dogs from folklore came to her mind. They were demonic hell hounds that brought bad luck and disaster to the people whose paths they wandered across. "The Red Hound must be a code name or a metaphor for something else." She squished her cheeks with both hands.

The sound of the moniker alarmed Hollis. “The Red Hound…is Ishmael DeSanguis. He's Wych Elm's head sheriff and Alexander’s personal enforcer." The metaphor was a painfully accurate description of Ishmael. Hollis scratched his chin. "Be it a Black Dog from Hell or a Red Hound of Hightower, it's all the same." The color didn't matter. "Ishmael serves the mayor like a dutiful hound. That's how he earned his infamous nickname, according to Juniper." Addy raised her eyebrows in surprise in reaction to the new information.

“What reason would Alexander have to send his Red Hound after those men?” The people of Wych Elm were terrified of the High Families. From her point of view, the murders didn’t seem necessary. “They could have blackmailed the men into silence, paid them off, or pushed them out of town.” Addy made excellent points. "But then again, trying to understand the behavior of psychopaths is like trying to smell the color purple.” It just didn’t make sense.

“Those men must have uncovered something else about the body. Or maybe one of them was a little too chatty about their discovery.” There were a lot of plausible motives for the murders. Even so, something about the entire situation still felt off to Hollis. "They found the body in a tree on the other side of the mayor's property after it fell."  Hollis leaned his head against the wall.

Addy closed the distance between them. “OK? Where are you going with this?” She eyed him.

“Ishmael killed those men and their families on behalf of Alexander. Here's the thing though. It only incriminates Alexander more." Hollis reiterated Addy's previous statement about the killings seeming unnecessary. It made Alexander look guiltier and more like a possible suspect. 

Addy thought the disposal method of the body was sloppy work. "There’s absolutely no way someone as powerful as Alexander would allow evidence of his crime dumped so close to his home."

“Unless someone is setting him up to take the blame.” Hollis began to wonder if the mayor was truly the victim rather than the perpetrator. 

Addy, however, wasn't completely sold on that point. She had doubts. "Alexander Hightower is the most important person in Wych Elm’s hierarchy of power. Depending on how recent the girl’s murder was, I doubt it’s a set up. A man like him should have security tighter than Fort Knox around here.”

Hollis also agreed. "You're right about that, Addy." He shifted to his left side. “I'm certain people like the High Families have bodies littered all around this town. A dead body with a possible connection to one of the Families shouldn't be an unusual occurrence around here. It's probably normal." Which meant something about the body in the tree was different. "If someone as powerful as the mayor has to go to this extreme to keep a scandal buried, then the motive for this murder may be more complex than we think."

"Do you think we'll find some answers in Mercutio's apartment?" Addy inquired. “I mean, there weren’t any at Lorenzo’s, were they?" Addy didn't believe Mercutio's apartment wouldn't be any different.

Hollis looked down at the recorder in his hand. “We can only hope old Mercutio has some answers tucked away for us.” He stashed the recorder in a secret pocket of his jacket. Hollis stood and offered Addy his hand, pulling her to her feet.

"There's about what, twenty units on this floor, you think?" Addy suggested they split up. "We've wasted enough time as is. We need to cover as much of this building as we can in the limited time we have left." Addy had seen Hollis talking with the couple. She confirmed his suspicions of them loitering around the front of the store after Hollis walked away. "None of this is a coincidence." Addy commented to Hollis. She recanted her earlier statement about finding clues in Mercutio's apartment. "Now that I'm thinking about it, the building was condemned a month after the body was found. That means Mercutio was more than likely killed here to cover up his murder."

Hollis quickly realized how wrong he had previously been about Addy. He gave her a sincere apology. "You might have missed your calling as a detective." He laughed, patting her shoulder. Addy's face lit up with happiness over the compliment. Hollis would search Mercutio's apartment while Addy searched the other units. "We'll meet back up in thirty minutes." 

"Sounds good to me. Be careful, Hollis!” She told him with a smile.

He replied, "You too, Addy." The duo then parted ways.

 

Hollis was relieved when he stepped into Mercutio's apartment. He smelled mildew and must rather than harsh, cleaning products. It was somewhat of a good sign (at least he hoped). The missing man's apartment was quite a dingy sight. The floor was dangerously uneven. There was a crack in the northeastern wall that started at the baseboard and ran the length of the wall up to the ceiling. The bathroom was missing its door. There were black mold spots all around the apartment. The window unit knocked and rattled like it was on its last leg. The green carpet had nearly turned brown from years of dirt build up. The appliances were dated and held together by duct tape.

"And I thought my shack of a house was appalling." Hollis spied a mouse peeping at him through a slightly open cabinet. "I guess you get what you can afford. Not that it excuses being dirty." He looked down at the green and brown carpet.

Hollis' search started in the bedroom. He nearly tripped over the assortment of shoes scattered around the floor. The open dresser drawers, lock box, and a shelf of four taxidermied pigeons above the bed were the first things that caught his eye. To Hollis, it appeared Mercutio had left in a panic. "God, I really hope you made it out of this hell of a jungle." He ran his hand over the dresser's top. They would never cross each other's paths, but Hollis was okay with that outcome so long as Mercutio was safe. He continued searching the bedroom. "Awfully fond of pigeons, I see." Hollis commented. He picked up the bird Tulip and examined her more thoroughly. "Hmm... I wonder...?" He thought about the puzzle box and the tape recorder. Hollis searched for a secret compartment on all the birds, but there weren't any. "Well, dammit..." He returned Iris to her spot beside Lilly.

Frustrated, Hollis leaned against the windowsill and sighed heavily. The light gray clouds from earlier had darkened significantly. A foul storm was afoot. He theorized they had about another thirty to forty minutes before the rain came down. "This is another dead end." The old detective had nothing. Three days had gone by with little progress. "It's not looking good so far, Wysteria." He wondered how Wysteria would react if he returned the same way he left: empty-handed. 

"Mercutio I was seriously hoping you would have some clues for me." He said in a dejected tone while looking down at the tape recorder in his hand. "Wysteria, I'm so sorry. It seems I may not-" Something collided with the window. It was a pigeon with the name Dahlia embroidered on her collar. The impact left the bird with a broken left wing.

Hollis opened the window and gently picked up the bird. "I'm afraid your owner isn't coming back, my dear." He told the bird, delicately stroking her head. Hollis suspected she had returned home due to the storm. "He must have been torn apart with guilt over having to leave you behind." Sorrow washed over Hollis as he thought about it. He decided to take the injured bird with him. "I hope Juniper doesn't mind." Hollis would take Dahlia home with him once his task in Wych Elm was completed. "What's this on your leg?" There was a dirty, white strip of paper tied to her. Hollis removed the paper and unraveled it.

She's under the high tower. 

The vague message made Hollis scratch his head. "What does this mean, Mercutio?" As thankful as he was for the tip, Hollis only wished the message was a little more transparent. "This is better than nothing, I guess." He chuckled. Hollis wondered which Hightower was the culprit. "Crimson or Silver?" He asked the bird who stared at him with dull, beady eyes. "Let's see what Addy thinks." He stuck the paper in the same pocket with the recorder.

Addy's name rolled off Hollis' tongue more times than he wanted it to. Every time he called her name, he was met with silence. "Wow..." He stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Seriously?" Hollis threw up his hands. Once again, he yelled Addy's name. "Where the hell did she go?" He peered inside every open door he passed by. Addy was nowhere to be seen or heard. He instantly became agitated. "All that damn badgering she did-"

Addy replied, finally. "Um, Hollis..." She called from downstairs. A location she wasn't supposed to be at without Hollis. "I-I fell through the floor. I scraped my leg really badly."

Hollis paused as he approached the staircase. He closed his eyes, releasing a soft, frustrated groan. "The regrets are starting early, I see." He told the pigeon stuffed inside his outer jacket pocket. He wished Addy was more like Dahlia: quiet and not annoying. Hollis told Addy to hold on; he was headed down. Once he reached the first level, Hollis found himself in an awful predicament. "Shit..." His eyes fell on Addy, who was being held at knife point. The burly man had a scar from the corner of his mouth and up his cheek. The blade’s tip was dangerously close to her carotid. There was also a large bruise on Addy's face. She kept her composure despite the fear that coursed through her.

A second man was leaned against the counter beside them. He had Addy’s taser dangling by the strap between his fingers. He was more on the handsome side unlike his partner. Although, he gave off malicious energy. Hollis locked eyes with the Counter Man. “I guess you owe me $50 and three rounds of drinks at Sam’s pub, Ulrich.” He looked over at the man who held Addy hostage. Ulrich's stoic expression never changed. He didn’t seem bothered by the loss over his bet.

"A deal is a deal." Ulrich addressed the other man as Lawrence.

Lawrence wagged his finger at Ulrich. “I just knew he wasn’t leaving without this woman.” He looked back at Hollis with a smug grin across his face. "You’re an honorable man, your controversial past aside.” He popped his tongue after the sentence.

Hollis never dropped his composure. In fact, he proceeded to engage in casual conversation with the men as if he were familiar with them. "Whoo! You boys took me for a scare. Almost thought Diego’s men had finally caught up to me.” Lawrence frowned with disappointment at Hollis’ statement.

"You're a lot of ways out of your jurisdiction, Det. Hollis Alexander." Lawrence ran his serpentine tongue over his teeth. "This isn't the big city. The rules you're familiar with don't apply here." He demanded to know why a disgraced and former detective was wandering around their town. 

Hollis gave Lawrence the same answer he gave Celeste and Morgan. "I owe some nasty men a lot of money." The man looked at Ulrich who pressed the knife’s tip into Addy’s neck. She squealed.

Stay calm. Stay calm. Hollis chanted in head. "Look, I'm telling the truth. I fell on hard times after I resigned as a detective. Couldn't even find another job with my experience and skills, not even as an unarmed security guard. I was about to lose my house." Hollis did his best to sell the lie. Deep down, he had a feeling the men were keener than they looked. "Just...just let her go. You can take me in her place and do whatever." No one would miss Hollis. His parents and sister were long dead. He had no wife, children, or friends that would look for him. "She'll leave Wych Elm the second you let her go." He tried convincing them that Addy was no threat. 

Lawrence cut his eyes. "No wife? No children? No friends? Huh? Then who is she to you?" His eyes turned into slits.

"Just an annoying one-night stand I can't seem to get rid of." Hollis waved his hand dismissively. "You probably deal with this problem a lot." Hollis said to Lawrence casually. "Don’t think I can say the same about your scarred up friend over there." Lawrence popped his tongue again. His eyes fell skeptically onto Addy.

"She's rather young, no?" He didn't take Hollis for the cradle-robbing type. 

Hollis shrugged unapologetically. "They're a little easier to manipulate and mold to my liking." A smirk formed at the corner of Lawrence's mouth. He found himself in agreement with Hollis.

"Is that really what you think of me, Hollis?" Addy began hysterically weeping. "You told me... You said you wanted to be with me. You said you would marry me!" Hollis wanted to snicker so badly, but he couldn't risk breaking character. Addy had picked up on the ruse and played her part accordingly.

"Look what happened to my last partner. I promised him I wouldn't get him killed and look where he’s at? I’m not someone you should easily put your faith into.” Hollis almost break character that time. Hearing those harsh, disgusting words from his own mouth made him want to break down. Nicolai… I don’t mean those words. I hope you know that. He was certain Nicolai wouldn’t fault him for the statement. Hollis was in a dire situation. He did what he had in order to save Addy’s life.

Amused, Lawrence shook his head. "Ouch... That hurt me and I don't even know the guy. They made the right decision forcing your resignation.” He tsked at Hollis. The amusement on his face remained.

"Anyways, just let her go and she'll be on the next bus out of town." 

Lawrence raised his hand. "Yeah...no..." There more questions that needed answering. "Why is she here to begin with?"

Addy answered for Hollis. “Because I’m pregnant with his child!” She immediately blurted out. Hollis acted surprised by the news. “I followed him here hoping we could talk again. If I told him about my pregnancy, then maybe he would re-think his decision about being with me.” Addy clutched her stomach, selling the lie as if she were truly pregnant. “My baby deserves to have a father in their life.” She upped the water works some more. "I-I wasn't anticipating any of this happening." Hollis silently encouraged her to keep up the act, believing they had a chance. He prayed the men bought their ruse.

Lawrence began pacing back and forth. His nails scraped against the countertop as he went. He remarked to Hollis how wrong his initial impression of the man had been. "There's one last thing I want to address." Hollis became anxious as Lawrence eerily turned his head towards him. "We're not as stupid as you take us for."

Hollis felt the sharp, restricting pressure of a garrote around his neck. A third man had taken him by surprise. He had never encountered a man who possessed such an insane level of strength. Hollis struggled against the new man. “Asshole!” Addy cursed Lawrence. She shrieked and screamed Hollis’ name. "You're going to kill him! Tell him to stop it!”

Lawrence leaned into Addy’s face, cackling unrepentantly in her ear. "That's the point, you dumb broad." He squeezed her cheeks. She jerked from his grip, still cursing him, Ulrich, and the man strangling Hollis. Lawrence hopped up on the counter and swung his legs giddily. His eyes were bright with excitement watching his other acquaintance strangle the life from Hollis.

The man whispered in Hollis’ ear, "You better hope you end up in the same place as your partner." He pulled tighter on the garrote.

I’ll be damned if I go out like this. Addy needs me. I-I’ve got to think of something. I’ve got to save her! Hollis dug around his pocket and found the pen to his notebook. He stabbed the object into the man’s eyes using the convex mirror above the counter. His attacker howled with anguish and released Hollis who then jammed the pen into his carotid several times over. Hollis was bathed in the man’s blood. "When you see him, tell Nicolai I said ‘Hi.’” Hollis told the man before he snapped his neck.

"Well...fuck..." Lawrence commented. He was annoyed by the killing rather than sorrowful or fearful. "Our boss man won't be happy about this." He whistled.

"Make sure you tell your boss I said, 'Fuck him.'" Hollis told Lawrence, glaring at him. 

Addy's eyes darted back and forth between the dead man and the blood-soaked Hollis. She was shocked and mildly disturbed by the level of savagery he had exhibited before her. My grandmother was right. Villains will always make monsters of men. She thought. Addy noticed Hollis never once met her gaze. She wondered if he was ashamed of what he did. He's shaking too but I doubt it's out of fear.

Hollis hung his jacket on a nearby snack rack. He then wiped his blood-stained hands on his shirt. “Let her go.” Hollis demanded authoritatively at the men. Neither one was intimidated, however. Hollis clawed at his thighs out of frustration. Had Addy not been in the equation, he could have incapacitated both men. The moment he tried something she would become collateral damage. Hollis was conflicted over how to proceed.

Lawrence made a gun with his hand and pointed at Hollis. "Bang!” The first bullet grazed Hollis’ shoulder from behind.

“Dammit! I missed.” The new arrival complimented Hollis on his sharp reflexes. "You must be the detective." The gruff voice addressed Hollis. "You City People are very audacious, that much I can say. It's probably not common practice where you hail from, but here, you check in with me before sticking your nose in our town’s affairs." He followed up by telling Hollis how much he hated people from the city. "Now, what business do you have here in my town?"

Hollis couldn’t help but smirk when he saw the man who shot him. “Ishmael DeSanguis." The Red Hound had come for him as he had done the others. Hollis studied Ishmael from head to toe. A rugged, dark-eyed man with shaggy hair, a beard, and sideburns, Ishmael looked exactly how Hollis imagined he would: rough and bear-like with the temperament to match. "I'm honored. I didn't think we'd ever get the chance to meet face-to-face." He assumed Ishmael’s cronies would deal with him. The sheriff flashed a cheeky grin.

"I trust my men, but they're not always perfect." Ishmael stepped forward. "And when you address me…" A sharp, burning sensation tore through Hollis' side. He had been shot from behind, again. That time it was by Lawrence, "...make sure you put sheriff in front of my name." Hollis could barely register Ishmael’s words or Addy’s screams over the deafening ringing in his ears. Ishmael kicked Hollis in his injured side when he fell to the ground. "By the way, detective, welcome to Wych Elm." The sheriff hovered over Hollis with a villainous smile decorated on his face. He informed Hollis his temporary stay in town would soon become permanent.

But Hollis showed no fear in the presence of the Red Hound. He laughed and taunted Ishmael despite his disadvantage. “Did your master sic you after me Red Hound?” Ishmael gritted his teeth at the man. He bent down into a squat and dug two fingers into the side bullet wound. Hollis stifled his anguished screams, refusing to allow Ishmael the pleasure of basking in his suffering.

"Don't...call...me...that." He said threateningly through clenched teeth. "You won’t be laughing and making jokes after I get done with you.” Ishmael was in a very unstable mood. He told Hollis he would show him some mercy as long as he and Addy cooperated. “Now… why are you here? And who sent you? A disgraced detective from the city doesn’t just wander into a place like Wych Elm by chance.” Ishmael demanded their name and gave his word Addy wouldn’t be harmed as a consequence.

"Unfortunately… I don’t have a name to give you.” Hollis winced under pain. Ishmael still had his fingers deep inside his bullet wound.

Ishmael backhanded Hollis in the mouth. "Wrong answer, detective." The sheriff demanded a name one final time. “Just give me the fucking name you asshole!” Some of Ishmael’s spit splashed Hollis in the face. The injured man repeated his answer. "You don't want to play these reindeer games with me, detective. I have painful methods to deal with stubborn assholes." Ishmael snapped his fingers twice, calling on two more men who had been ducked off waiting.

Addy was forced to watch Hollis’ violent beating at the hands of Ishmael’s men. She was warned not to look away or close her eyes, or Ishmael would prolong Hollis' assault until he was dead. "Hollis! Just give them the fucking name!" She blurted out, unable to stomach his torment any longer. Addy's face and appearance was disheveled. She begged Hollis to cooperate. "Please... I can't keep watching them do this to you..." 

Ishmael called off his men for a moment, to Addy's relief. Hollis was splayed across the ground, motionless. "He's still alive." The Red Hound told the trembling Addy. "But he won't be for much longer." The sheriff called Hollis a stupid fool. Between him and Orion, he wondered who was the stupidest. "Dig the deepest hole you can and dump him in it.” He commanded his men. 

"What about her, Ishmael?" Lawrence combed his hands through Addy's hair. She tried to kick him, but he was quick. "Are we going to let her go?"

Ulrich, who had been mostly silent for the duration, livened up. "Let me take her home." He said to Ishmael while he groped at her breasts. "I'll have good use for her." Addy replied that she would rather have her throat slit open. "You're a feisty broad." He spun Addy around, forcing her to face him. "Breaking you will be an enjoyable experience." Ulrich purred in her ear. 

"She's an outsider anyways.  Let's make use of her while she’s in our custody." Another man smirked sinisterly.

The Red Hound fired several rounds into the ceiling, startling his men. His face contorted until he resembled somewhat of a demon. "I don't ever want to hear either of you make those foul suggestions again." Or he would put a bullet in their skulls. The response had the men trembling before Ishmael.

Hollis mustered the resolve to speak, despite the agony and pain that tore through every part of his body. "Good boy. You’re such a noble hound drawing the line at rape, but not at killing innocent people. Your moral code is astounding, Sheriff DeSanguis." Hollis called it comical too, insulting Ishmael further. He wanted to laugh so badly at the cognitive dissonance despite the fire in his lungs. Ishmael's eye twitched at the man’s remarks.

A sad smile appeared on Addy's face. Hollis was alive, though she worried about his physical state. He was badly injured and had lost a significant amount of blood. She feared he would die soon without aid.

Ishmael was rather impressed by Hollis. The severely injured man still drew enough breath to fire off some quips. “My men are going soft, it seems.” He tsked, pacing around Hollis. "It doesn't matter though. You're going to die in this place." Hollis would soon succumb to his injuries. Ishmael was certain of that. "I can say this much about dead men: they stop telling jokes once they’re dead." He advised Hollis not to waste his last breaths. 

"Should we go ahead and kill him now?" One of the unnamed men asked. The sheriff told them not to bother. 

"We’re going to let him die suffering," was Ishmael’s reply to his subordinate. He shifted his focus to Addy. "I'll let you go." But she had to leave Wych Elm immediately and never return. He would have two of his female deputies escort her to the bus depot. Ishmael didn’t trust his men to get her there safely and without incident. "This is your one and only opportunity, sweetheart." The Red Hound never showed leniency to his victims or enemies, no matter the age or gender. For some unknown reason (that would never be revealed), he decided to let Addy go. "Tell me thank you." He demanded in a degrading tone. Addy didn't say anything. Ishmael cupped her face roughly. "I said, tell me 'Thank you.'" Addy spat in the Red Hound's face.

She wasn’t grateful and refused to express gratitude to Ishmael. Addy was enraged. She burned inside like a raging furnace. "You can all burn in Hell!" She screamed as loud as she could in Ishmael's face. "You're a disgrace, Ishmael DeSanguis. You're a disgrace to law enforcement. To all the men and women who took the oath to protect and serve.” She grinned at him. “Riddle me this, sheriff, how does one look themselves in the mirror every morning knowing all you do is harm and kill?" Addy unleashed all her angry criticisms upon Ishmael. She showed no fear or caution before the Red Hound.

Hollis snapped at Addy, telling her to shut up. “That's enough... Addy..." He began coughing up blood. In between the fits, he continued pleading for her to stop. "He's...going to...kill...you..." Hollis was furious with Addy for squandering her freedom. The pain that ravaged his body was nothing compared to the rage he felt for her idiotic stunt.

"You don't deserve to be sheriff." She laughed while maintaining eye contact with him. "Did you even earn that position fairly or work for it? How many bodies did you have to bury for your master Alexander before he gave it to you?" Ishmael popped his jaw. He backhanded her like he did Hollis earlier. The violent reaction made Ishmael’s men wince.

"God dammit, Addy..." He painfully struggled to roll over to his stomach. "He was going to let you go! Why? Why?" 

Addy told Hollis it wasn’t right and apologized for breaking the term of his condition in their agreement. “You didn’t give in so, why should I?” She said with a weak smile. Addy didn't want to die. She was frightened by the thought terribly, but Hollis being killed while she got to live on didn’t sit right with her. Unlike Ishmael, Addy wouldn’t have been able to look herself in the mirror for the rest of her life. "I am afraid…Hollis. I really am." She cried. "But I won’t be a coward, and I won’t run away like one!” I’m not going to leave you here to die alone.

Ishmael ran his tongue over his teeth. "I’ll happily grant your wish then." He fired one round into Addy's stomach. "This little soap opera has reached its finale." He stepped away, letting her body hit the floor. 

Hollis clawed at the floor, trying to pull himself towards Addy. "No. No. No. No. No. No." He couldn’t feel the physical pain anymore. Hollis became numb. He needed to reach Addy. He had to save her. Hollis didn't give a damn if he didn't have the energy or his body gave out, he would reach Addy by any means necessary. "Addy... Oh God! Addy, I'm coming. I'm coming to get you. You're all right Addy. I'm coming." I'm going to save you. Hollis had said those exact same words fifteen years ago.

The pitiful scene was humorous to Ishmael. “Well…this is cute…” For several minutes, he watched as Hollis fruitlessly struggled to reach Addy. The sadistic sheriff even went so far as to drag Hollis away when he got close to her.

"Ishmael, you son of a bitch!" Hollis screamed he would kill Ishmael. The Red Hound scoffed at the weak threat. "Addy, I’m coming. I'll get you help. I promise." The injured woman only groaned in agony. She had never experienced that intensity of physical pain in her life.

"There you go making promises you don't intend to keep." Ishmael stepped on Hollis' hand. "You let your partner die. Now, she's going to die too. There seems to be a common denominator between the two events." He continued antagonizing Hollis further. Hollis cursed at Ishmael again. "Get the gas cans." The Red Hound decided to burn Hollis and Addy alive in the building. 

"What about Sawyer’s body?" One of the men asked. He appeared reluctant to leave his deceased acquaintance behind. 

Ishmael became offended by the question. "You can leave his body where it lays. He’s an orphan anyways.” He quickly corrected his statement. "He was an orphan." The sheriff told them no one would miss Sawyer or even know that he was gone. "Hurry up! I don’t have all afternoon." The Red Hound barked at the men.

"Go ahead and put a bullet in my head while you're here." Hollis reiterated his promise to kill the Red Hound. "I will kill you, Ishmael. Even if I die in this fire, I'll still find a way." 

Ishmael mocked Hollis' foolish bravado. He bent down and met Hollis at eye level one last time. The hot barrel of Ishmael's gun was pressed against Hollis' forehead. A sinister grin as wide as the Cheshire Cat stretched across the Red Hound's face. "There's no excitement or pleasure in killing you quickly. I want to leave here knowing you and that stupid broad suffered until the very end." Ishmael told Hollis he was dying that day. "We'll do this another time...in Hell more than likely." He then struck Hollis in the head with his gun. With all the gasoline dispersed, Ishmael lit a cigarette. He inhaled a puff, then tossed it into a puddle of gas, igniting the store.  

The fire spread rapidly, engulfing the entire building in flames in seconds. Hollis fought valiantly to remain conscious. "...get up. You have to get up, Hollis." A man’s voice called out to him. "Hollis Alexander, I'm speaking to you! Get up! You need to get up! This isn't the time to lay down and die. Get your ass up now, Hashkeh Naabah!" The voice yelled louder.

Hollis couldn’t believe his ears. "How-how do you know that name?" Hashkeh Naabah (Angry Warrior) was his Navajo name. The name Hollis Alexander was his American birth name. No one knew his Indigenous name outside of his family. No one but, “Nicolai? Nicolai...is that-is that really you?" His eyes opened. It really was Nicolai who had spoken to him. His long deceased partner knelt beside Addy’s motionless body. She had lost too much blood already. "Nico? What are you-? How are you-?" The Nicolai he saw looked very much alive. He also looked exactly as he did fifteen years ago. "Am I... Am I dead? Are you here to guide me to the Other Side?" He asked dejectedly.

Nicolai frowned at the question. "You need to get up, now." He repeated once again, but in a sterner tone. "You're not dead and you're not going to die, at least not today." Nicolai told Hollis with a tone of certainty. "Your time on this Earth is nowhere near its end." Broken and despondent, Hollis told Nicolai he couldn't move. He couldn't get to Addy. His body was too old, beaten, and exhausted. It wouldn't listen to him. Nicolai's disappointment of Hollis deepened. He shook his head and told Hollis his words were nothing more than an excuse. "So, you plan to let her die here?" Nicolai delicately stroked her back.

Hollis told Nicolai he had tried his best to save Addy. Despair overcame him. "I really, really tried. She would have been on the next bus out of here if she hadn't opened her damn mouth." He told Nicolai how Addy refused to leave him behind. There's nothing cowardly about running away from death. "She didn't listen to me." Hollis wept before his dead partner. 

"And neither did I." Nicolai responded somberly. He continued shaking his head and chastising Hollis. “Did my death mean nothing then?" Hollis was distraught by Nicolai's question. It cut deeply.

"How dare you look me in the eyes and ask that." Hollis snapped at the man. "Why would you even say that to me, let alone think that?" It was Nicolai's turn to be chastised. "I never moved on from your death, Nicolai! I-I'm still grieving your loss fifteen years after the fact. I blamed myself for that decision!" Dead or not, Hollis wouldn't allow Nicolai to trivialize the sacrifice he had made or the guilt he continued to feel.

Nicolai rose quietly to his feet and backed away into the roaring flames behind him, slowly vanishing away. "Then get up! Stand on your feet and save her, Hollis Alexander." Nicolai told him with a smile. "Show me that my death meant something..." The apparition disappeared completely.

Hollis took in several deep breaths. He demanded his body cooperate with him. “We need to get out of here.” He said, easing to his feet. Hollis struggled but managed in the end. It seemed the anger he felt over Nicolai’s question gave him the strength he needed to push forward. He warned his dead partner he would come to regret those words. "And you better not look away, you jackass.” He chuckled, cradling Addy’s limp body in his arms. Hollis then limped over to his burning jacket and retrieved three things: the tape recorder, the note, and the frantic Dahlia. "Let's get the hell out of this place."

Hollis scanned the burning edifice for a way out. The main exit out was blocked by a wall of fire. He couldn’t double back upstairs either because he was still far too weak. Not that it would have been the safest route out even if Hollis wasn’t so injured as he was. "Dammit! Think, Hollis! You need to think!" The smoke inhalation started to affect him as well. "Let's see... Let's see... Bathroom, possibly?" There was at least a fifty percent chance the bathroom had a window. "But there's also the possibility it won't open so easily." Hollis didn't believe the risk was worth it. "There may be a way out in the back of the store."

As burning debris rained down upon Hollis, he tried navigating around the flaming obstacles as best he could in his state. He and Addy were almost crushed by one of the structural support beams. "This place won't hold up much longer." He said aloud. They didn't have long until the structure caved in on them. When Hollis finally reached the back door, he was disappointed to find it reinforced, which should have been expected. He, Addy, and Dahlia were trapped inside the burning building. "God dammit all!" Hollis screamed to the ceiling. "Nicolai... I don't know what else to do... We're out of time." The way they came was consumed by fire. Nicolai had lied, it seemed. Hollis was going to die. 

He carefully placed Addy in the corner furthest away from the encroaching fire. Hollis checked her pulse.  Addy was still alive but also dangerously close to Death's Door. Hollis cursed Ishmael's name. He would happily decline entry into Heaven just to torment the Red Hound for the rest of his crooked life. In a fit of rage, Hollis flung a chair at the wall, using the last of his strength. The object went straight through, to Hollis' shock. "Huh?" He looked inside the hole and discovered another room. "Wait, no, this isn't a room." Hollis quickly searched the back room for a flashlight. "Well, I'll be damned, Nicolai!" He exclaimed happily. The space on the other side of the hole led into the adjacent building.

Hollis knocked down the rest of the wall. He scooped Addy into his arms, reassuring her that she was finally safe. Hollis apologized to Nicolai for doubting his words. "You always get the last laugh, don't you?" He addressed Nicolai as if the man was right beside him. Hollis could almost hear the faint chuckle of his partner in his ear.

Outside, the storm rained down, drenching Wych Elm in a curtain of heavy rain. The perfect cover for Hollis to slip out of the area without being noticed. As he hurried back to Juniper's house, Hollis held Addy tighter and closer to his heart. Memories of the day where Hollis cradled Nicolai's mangled body as he took his last breath resurfaced in the tormented detective's mind. After Nicolai's traumatic death, Hollis prayed he would never find himself in that predicament again. Unfortunately, the cursed man had yet again.

Hollis called out to God, asking Him what offense he committed to be punished so terribly. He feared his pleas and prayers would once again go unheard as Juniper's house came into view.

 

The pounding at the door startled a napping Juniper awake. She looked around and realized she had fallen asleep at the dining table while waiting on her guests' return. "Juniper! Juniper open the door! Hurry! Please! It's Addy! She's been shot. She’s lost a lot of blood." Juniper hurried to the door and flung it open. Wind, rain, and a frantic Hollis blew into her home. "She's shot..." He told a confused Juniper, struggling to catch his breath. "Bleeding out... Her stomach... We need... We need... We need a doctor... Hurry!" Hollis delicately laid Addy down on the sofa; he placed the injured Dahlia on the coffee table. Finally, Hollis collapsed from exhaustion next to the sofa on the floor. His adrenaline had finally run out. Hollis was done. There was nothing more he could do until he recovered. And that was if he recovered.

Juniper looked down at Hollis and Addy with overwhelming sadness. "It's a terrible day for rain." She whispered under her breath. The young woman loathed the gloomy weather because it always made her depressed. Juniper wanted to move somewhere it seldom rained when she left Wych Elm. She hurried into the kitchen where the phone was and called on a doctor. Once that was done, Juniper retrieved the First Aid kit from the cupboard and returned to Addy.

Hollis could no longer see clearly as his vision began to distort and blur. Juniper soon became unrecognizable, just a blurry form that resembled a person. "Stay awake, Hollis. You need to stay awake. Stay awake. You have to stay awake." It didn't matter how many times Hollis recited those words over and over. The dark canopy of sleep crept ever closer. Hollis feared that moment would have been the last time either of them saw the other. He was okay with dying. In all honesty, Hollis stopped "living" after his parents, his sister, Karlee and Nicolai died.

"Hollis, my nephew, were you ever told the myth of Nayenezgani and his twin brother, Tobadzistsini?" Hollis heard his great-uncle calling him as he slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

"No, great-uncle. Who were they?" Matthias chuckled at the young Hollis. Curious to hear the story, Hollis gleefully bounced over to his great-uncle and flung himself into the man's lap. Matthias tickled Hollis who squealed with laughter. Of all his nephews and nieces (great and not), the one-eyed man was fond of Hollis the most. 

"When I see my niece, your mother, I'm going to fuss her head off. This is what happens when Diné children aren't educated or involved in their culture." Hollis' mother had moved away from the Navajo Nation when she turned eighteen. Hollis was born and raised thousands of miles away from his mother's reservation. She never exposed him to her culture when he was growing up either. Hollis often felt like an outcast among his family when his mother brought him to visit. He felt the safest around his great-uncle Matthias with whom he became close with over the years. "They were the sons of Changing Woman, born to rid the Earth of monsters." 

 "Nayenezgani..." Monster Slayer or Killer of Enemies. The phrase reminded Hollis of a quote he often heard his mentor recite during his (Hollis') first year as a new detective. 

The senseless cruelty of humans Hollis had seen took a substantial toll on his psyche. He nearly quit being a detective after three years. The final straw was a case that involved a father who unremorsefully butchered his wife and daughter with an axe. The crime scene looked like a literal slaughterhouse when he arrived on scene. Hollis was consumed by an indescribable rage when he looked upon the blood-stained teddy bear that belonged to the child. The scene left him a broken man.

"These cases. These victims. These monsters. You can't let them corrupt you Hollis, or they'll turn you into a monster too, possibly something worse." Leonard had warned him. His mentor had seen it happen with his own mentor and some of his peers over the years. Leonard saw a lot of promise in Hollis as a detective and didn’t want him spiraling down the same path either. “Promise me, you won’t ever become a monster. Don’t let them turn you into one.” A young Hollis gave Leonard his word. 

He would not become a monster, but he would rid Wych Elm of the monsters that were the High Families.

 

Author's Note: I was really appalled and mortified by the amount of errors I found while editing this chapter again. I do apologize. I'm trying to keep typos, changes in tense, grammatical errors, and continuity issues to a minimum. Again, I do the editing myself. I think when you've read a chapter over and over again, you become so familiar with the details that your brain skips over some things. This chapter, other than the errors I came across, didn't have much changed. It's still pretty much the same as the initial upload. 

The quote Hollis references is by the German philosopher,  Friedrich Nietzsche. "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you" 

I've never read or delved into his works or background. I believe I originally heard this quote from a Criminal Minds episode and really liked it. It's one of my favorite quotes. Thought I'd share it in case no one was familiar with it (and also to give better context).