Part 40 (2/2)
”No, that a.s.shole was saving his energy for you,” Mama said. ”Pardon my French. He's an evil man. I wish you'd shot him, G.o.d help me ””
”The police will get him,” Nia said, though she doubted that capturing Morgan would be a priority, in light of everything else going on.
Nia found a knife in the kitchen-she did not want to touch the blade Morgan had handled-and sliced through the tape that bound her mother.
”Mama, where's Princess? I would've expected her to protect you”
”Princess ran off when I let her out to pee. Some mangylooking mutt walked by, and Princess chased after it. Matter of fact, I was out front calling for her when that evil man pulled up ””
”Oh, no” Princess had never run away before. She was an obedient, sweet-tempered dog.
Nia wanted to look for Princess, but time was short. Night was coming. She hoped her dog would turn up, but she had her doubts. The streets weren't safe for dogs anymore. The streets weren't safe for anyone, anymore Her face must have given away her troubled emotions, because Mama said, ”Nia, what's going on in our town?”
”Mama, I want you to stay with Aunt Loretta for a few days,” Nia said. Her aunt lived in Southaven, a safe distance from Dark Corner. ”I promise I'll tell you what's going on, soon, but you have to leave right away. Will you please do that for me?”
”Okay.” Fear brightened Mama's eyes. ”Are you coming with me?”
”I have to stay here and help David and some other people. I'll be okay, don't worry.”
”David ... I'm sorry I was mean to that boy. You seem so happy since you've met him.”
”He's a good man, Mama, and he has to do something very important. He needs my help.”
Mama hugged herself. ”I'm scared, baby. I don't know what's going on, but I'm scared”
Nia wrapped her mother in her arms.
”So am I”
Jackson thought they had done a pretty fair job of educating the townsfolk about what was going on in Dark Corner, and what the people should do, without them giving away the frightening truth that surely would have driven the crowd into a panic of disbelief, fear, and superst.i.tion. But twentyplus years of working with the public had taught him that even if you explained something as clear as gla.s.s, people would have questions. When he opened up the floor to the audience, he gripped the edges of the pulpit and braced himself for the worst.
Out of the hundreds of people in the church, his cousin, Elmer, was the first to get to a microphone. Hitching up his pants, his sleeves rolled up around his chubby forearms, Elmer hurried to the mic positioned in the middle of the sanctuary. His bald head glistened in the fluorescent light.
Jackson dreaded giving his cousin a chance to speak in public, but he had to be fair. He pointed toward Elmer and said, ”Go ahead, Elmer.”
Elmer cleared his throat. ”I don't know what the other folks in here think, but I think y'all got it all wrong. You say a virus is in our town and you don't know where it came from. I know where it came from the federal government. They're using our town for experiments-”
Christ, Jackson thought. Leave it up to Elmer to open up the government conspiracy box.
Members of the crowd nodded in agreement.
”-we ain't nothing but guinea pigs for them,” Elmer said. ”They don't care about the welfare of a town full of black folks. Bet it's some kinda biological weapon they're testing out. Far as they're concerned, we're expendable. A black life ain't never meant s.h.i.+t to Uncle Sam”
”Like Tuskegee, Alabama,” a man said. ”Remember those syphilis experiments they did on the brothers, back in the day.”
”AIDS started off as a government experiment over in Africa,” another man said. ”They don't care about us”
Murmurs of agreement swept through the group. Elmer cracked a smug grin and folded his arms as if to say, What you gonna say to that, cuz?
Jackson clenched his teeth.
”All right,” Jackson said. ”Say it is an experiment by some government outfit. What you think we should do about it, Elmer?”
Elmer cleared his throat. ”Well ... umm ... well ... maybe call up the NAACP.”
”And stage a march, huh?” Jackson said. ”Meanwhile, folks getting bit and falling down sick.”
”The chief got a point,” a woman said.
For once, Elmer didn't have a comeback. Jackson hurried to move past him. He pointed to a young woman on the right. ”Next question. Your turn, miss.”
She stepped to the microphone. She was a cute girl, maybe no older than twenty, and wore a plain blue dress and thick gla.s.ses.
”I'll be frank,” the girl said. ”I'm scared. I've been having nightmares for the past week, and my own dog, Pete, has become like one of these infected dogs that you've mentioned. He isn't a normal dog anymore, and he ran away from home. I don't think it's a virus or a government plot. I think it's evil. Something evil and supernatural is in our town, and I know I can't be the only one in here who's felt it. Be honest with yourselves.”
Silence fell over the crowd. Coolness tapped Jackson's spine. Had he underestimated what the people were willing to believe?
Be honest with yourselves.
He felt exposed as a liar. What good was he doing these people by hiding the truth? The young lady was right. Anyone with a pulse could feel that something evil and unnatural had taken root in the town. Be honest.
”The devil's walking in Dark Corner!” a man shouted.
”We got to call on the Lord!” a woman cried. ”Only He can deliver us!”
An outburst of clapping and shouts of Amen followed.
Jackson drummed the pulpit.
What the h.e.l.l have I got to lose by telling the truth? he thought. By nightfall, they're gonna see proof themselves.
He saw Jahlil in the back of the church. His son was nodding. So was David. As if they understood his dilemma and encouraged him to lay the full story on the audience.
To h.e.l.l with it. I'm gonna unload.
”Okay, gonna be straight with you, folks,” he said. ”It is evil, to the core. I've seen proof myself. What we dealing with is something you might not wanna believe, but I owe it to you to be honest. We've got vampires here in Dark Corner”
Gasps and exclamations of shock erupted from the audience. But surprisingly, a lot of folks nodded, as though pleased that Jackson had put their nameless fear into words.
Jackson checked behind him. The members of the leaders.h.i.+p team gaped at him as if he had gone crazy. He might be jeopardizing his job by telling the people about vampires, but so be it. Besides, no one tried to stop him. Maybe, in their secret thoughts, they perceived the chilling truth, too.
He continued to speak.
”Took me some time to swallow the truth,” he said. ”But I saw one of 'em myself, and I bet some of you in here seen 'em, too. We don't think too many of our people have turned into the vampires, yet, but a lot of the dogs have. Yep, you heard me right. Some of the hounds are working for the vampires. Understand, they ain't normal dogs. They're smart, vicious, and tough. I shot three of 'em with a twelve-gauge shotgun, and those mutts got up five minutes later and came after me again.”
Curses of surprise and frightened looks came from the crowd.
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