Chapter 18
Silas breathed a sigh of relief once the coroner left with the body. Bridges, along with the rest of the deputies then gathered up everything and packed it away. He was glad to have Bridges in on this, as he did not want anyone to be able to accuse him of any impropriety in the investigation. He knew it was going to be enough of a mess without anyone saying he was not handling the case fairly, or crying racism.
Bridges walked up to Silas and Frank, who had been waiting next to Frank’s truck. “Well, gents, it looks like that’s all we have to do here. Silas, I’ll contact you once the coroner has the results of the autopsy,” Bridges smiled as he held out his hand.
Silas took the offered hand and returned the handshake. “Thank you; I appreciate your help on his one.”
Bridges could see the worry on Silas’ face, and he wondered what was going to come of this case. “Hey; no problem; we’re all on the same team, right?”
“Yeah, we are,” Silas forced a grin while trying to hide the growing sense of dread, building up inside of him.
Frank offered his hand to Bridges and with a forced smile said, “It was a pleasure to meet you Deputy Bridges. You seem to have an excellent group of men working with you.”
Taking the offered hand, Bridges looked Frank directly in the eyes. “Yes, all of the men here are professional and do their best to serve the community.”
Bridges was not quite sure of what to think of Frank, but he could sense that he was sincere in his respect for fellow law enforcement officers.
Glancing toward Silas, Bridges gave him a wink. “Well, I better get going. We’ll book those other two on Felony Theft charges, trespassing, and whatever else comes to mind.”
“Thanks again, I’ll check with you later. Hey, would you mind giving Chuck a ride back to the house? Frank and I have a little business to discuss,” Silas said, as he watched Bridges walk toward his cruiser.
“Sure, not a problem, come on, Mr. Wilson.” Bridges climbed in the driver’s seat and started the engine. He waited as Chuck got into the passenger side and motioned for the other cruiser to follow him.
Once they disappeared over the hill, Silas turned to Frank, “How can our government allow thugs like that to cross the border and stay here? Those aren’t harmless kids. You and I both know who and what there are.”
Frank knew Silas was right, but he was helpless to do anything about it. In all his years in law enforcement, he had never seen such a blatant corruption of the law. When the first influx of illegal aliens began a few months earlier, he had believed that his superiors would clamp down on the border and stop them. However, the opposite happened. It seemed that as the weeks passed, the numbers only grew until it looked like a tsunami crashing down on our southern border and spreading across the entire country. The sheer number of them was bad enough, but there were several that no one would want living in their towns.
Hundreds of young men covered in tattoos, and flashing gang signs, crossed the border along with some that Frank knew were more than likely from the Middle East. Children forced to leave their parents and homes, only to travel the hundreds of miles with coyotes with the hope of a reunion with their families once here. Frank had heard the stories of rape and children left to die in the vast desert. It was all too horrible to contemplate how any parent could send their children away like that. However, with the promise of a better life in the United States, Frank knew why people would do such irrational things.
“I wish I had an answer for you, but I don’t. None of this makes any sense to me either,” Frank said with sadness in his eyes. “Well, I guess I better get back and get busy with all the paperwork I need to fill out. Silas, I’m not sure what is going to happen, but I bet it won’t be pleasant for you or Sandley. I’ll do everything possible to help, but we both know this is going to ignite a powder-keg that none of us is ready to face.”
Silas knew he was right, and he had to admit that he was not looking forward to it either. “Frank, I trust that you will do your best to shield us from what is coming our way, but this is something that we will have to face on our own. Sandley and its people have come through some difficult times over the last few years, so I’m sure we will come through this as well.”
Frank held out his hand and said, “I’m sure you will. Call me if there is anything I can do, and I’ll get with you if I hear anything.”
Both men looked into each other’s eyes, trying to read the other thoughts. They both knew things were going to change for them, and they each said a silent prayer for the strength they would need to weather the coming storm.
Silas’ mind was reeling on the drive back to the office. In all his years as Chief of Police, he had never felt so inadequate. What was he going to do? How would he protect the people of Sandley from what he knew was before them?
Silas knew once the media caught wind of the death of one of the residents out at the mill by a local; all hell was going to break out. His head pounded furiously, as he searched his mind of what to do first when it suddenly came to him. “Andrew; you and I need to have a little talk.”
Andrew had just hung up the telephone when Silas barged in the door. “Andrew, we need to talk,” Silas said as he closed the door to Andrew’s office behind him.
“You’re right; I was just about to call you, Silas. What the hell happened out at Chuck’s place?” Andrew’s eyes furrowed as the gravity of the situation sunk into his mind.
Silas sat in the chair across from Andrew and exhaled a deep breath before he spoke. “I guess you’ve already heard about the shooting?”
“You’re damn right I’ve heard! How could something like that happen, Silas? Please tell me that Chuck didn’t shoot that kid for being on his land.” Andrew did not enjoy a reporter taking him by surprise with questions about one of the residents of Sandley killing a teenager for being on his land.
Silas could not believe what he was hearing. “That’s not what happened, Andrew. That ‘kid’ and his friends were the ones who attacked me and stole my gun. He used that gun to kill one of Chuck’s dogs, and he damn neared killed Chuck. Those were no harmless teenagers; those were hardcore gang members covered in gang tattoos.”
Taken aback, Andrew sat there unable to believe what he had just heard. “You’ve got to be kidding me? I can’t believe they brought those types to live in our town. Damn, this just gets better and better.”
Silas did not know what he could say to improve things. He knew Andrew was upset, but so was he. Somehow, they were going to have to think of how to prepare the townsfolk for what was about to happen, once all the media descended upon them.
“I heard the Fletcher’s little girl is in the hospital, and she’s not doing too well,” Andrew said attempting to change the subject.
Silas looked down at his hands, folded together on his lap, and felt tears form in the corners of his eyes. “Yes; they took her in earlier today. It wasn’t looking too good the last time I spoke with Craig.”
“I heard that they believe it’s a virus. I sure hope it isn’t serious. She’s a sweet, little girl.” Andrew had always liked Shelby. He clearly remembered the time at the Fourth of July picnic when she and her father won the three-legged race. She had laughed so hard during the race that Craig ended up dragging her across the finish line.
“I’ve never heard of a virus attacking someone that way.” Silas looked at the clock hanging on the wall and realized how late it was getting.
“I didn’t either, but I guess this one is something they’ve never seen before.” Andrew tapped his fingertips on his desk, unsure if he should say what was on his mind.
Silas could see the expression on Andrew’s face. He understood his concern, but it seemed as though he had something else he wanted to say. “What? What else is bothering you?”
Andrew fiddled with some papers on his desk, unsure if he should voice his fear. He looked at Silas and could see the impa
tience on his face, so he decided to throw caution to the wind and just say it. “What if the people at the mill brought the virus here? The timing is rather suspect, is it not?”
Silas looked at Andrew, his eyes narrowing. “What did you say?”
Andrew knew there was no going back now, so he swallowed and repeated his statement. “What if this virus is something the people at the mill brought with them?”
Silas sat in stunned silence for several moments, trying to comprehend what Andrew had said. He had worried about the children going to the school, but he had believed they would only have problems with truancy or the language barrier. He never believed it would be because of unusual illnesses.
Silas stared at Andrew, wondering if Andrew was on to something. “You know, Jen did mention that several children have been coming down sick. Do you think it’s the same thing Selby has, and why didn’t the authorities make an announcement about it?”
“I don’t know, but I am going to check into it.” Andrew reached for his telephone and dialed.
Silas decided to check his cell phone and see if he had missed any messages. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and sure enough, he had missed a call from Craig. Not wanting to interrupt Andrew, he motioned that he was going to step out of the office to make a call since Maggie was out of the office, running errands.
Silas dialed Craig’s number and waited.
“Silas; thank you for returning my call,” Craig said breathlessly.
“I’m sorry it took so long, something came up after I left the hospital.” Silas could hear the fear in Craig’s voice, so he prepared himself for the worst.
“I heard about the problem out at Chuck’s place. Damn, what the hell is next?”
Silas knew that Craig was angry, and honestly, so was he. “Has anything changed with Shelby? I was just talking with Andrew, and he said they think it’s a virus of some sort. Is that right?”
Silence filled Silas’ ears as he waited for an answer. Finally, after several tense-filled moments, Craig had the strength to say the dreaded words. “They are saying it’s something called Enterovirus D68. The doctor says there are thousands of these cases popping up across the country in the last few weeks, forcing the children into intensive care with acute respiratory distress. Not only does there appear to be no end in sight to this current and extremely rare outbreak, but also a disturbing new symptom is presenting itself in some of the children infected - paralysis.”
Silas felt his knees buckle, causing him to grab the corner of Maggie’s desk to steady himself. “Oh, dear Lord, I don’t know what to say.”
“Silas, this is bad; real bad. There were two more children brought in since you left.”
“I’ll come back to the hospital once I finish with Andrew. Craig, please tell Shelby that I love her.”
“I will. I’m scared, Silas. She looks so weak. I don’t know how much longer she can hang on.” Craig’s voice quivered as the image of Shelby lying motionless with numerous IV’s protruding from her body played out in his mind.
Realizing there was nothing more either of them could say, they hung up their cell phones. Silas took a moment to gather his strength before returning to Andrew’s office.
The pained look on Silas’ face let Andrew know it was not good news. He waited as Silas sat before he spoke.
“How is she?”
Silas looked at Andrew, as the reality of the situation began to form in his mind. How can this be? How can something so horrible be in Sandley? It’s bad enough to have the new jobs snatched from the residents by these invaders, but now they’ve brought a dangerous sickness with them. How do you stop a disease that’s attacking our children?
“Silas, are you okay? What’s wrong?” Andrew held his breath and waited.
Silas drew in a deep breath and steadied his nerves the best he could before he repeated what Craig had told him. Just saying the words caused Silas’ heart to ache, and he wondered how many more of the town’s children would become ill.
“I’m going back to the hospital once we finish here. Andrew, I’m worried. We are sitting on a powder keg about to erupt, and I’m concerned that once the news of this leaks out that things are going to get ugly. People are already worked up, but with the shooting and now this. I’m afraid that things could get out of hand.”