If you run, you best run far.
This was something Bowen Martin should have taken to heart.
But Bowen had never been the smartest of the Martin clan.
I found him less than thirty miles away, hunkered down on a lake, and going by the name of Martin Bowen.
For a short time, I watched him. He chatted with some folks at a local store, then, after an unsuccessful attempt to find work at a farm, he left for the lakefront.
The man whistled while he went, and I wondered if he had whistled when he helped kill Emily Anne.
I suspect he did. The damned idiot whistled at all hours of the day and night.
He didn’t hear me walk up behind him as he struggled to get his boat into the water, and his surprise was almost comical when he straightened up and saw me standing just a foot away. His face paled as he forced a smile and tried on the worst Southern accent I’ve ever heard as he asked, “What can I do for you?”
I answered by punching him in the mouth and knocking out both of his front teeth.
As he staggered back and fell into the boat, I climbed in behind him and used an oar to shove off. When he tried to sit up, I struck him over the head with the oar and sent him senseless to the bottom of the boat.
By the time I had brought us out to the center of the lake and dropped a light anchor, Bowen recovered some of his wits and sat up again. He saw, without any doubt, that I knew who he was and what he had done.
“Where are they?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Bowen,” I sighed, “you best answer me.”
Again, he shook his head.
I used my knife to pry out his kneecap, which happened to loosen his tongue. His brothers, he told me, were headed to see family in Maine. He didn’t know about the pastor.
I thanked him for the information; then, I pushed him over the side of the boat. I had a good grip on his hair and kept him under the water despite his best efforts to get away.
I held him there until he didn’t fight anymore. Then, I held him for a bit longer. Just to be sure.
I was whistling as I rowed back to shore.
#horror #monsters #supernatural #death
