The Circuit Rider Read Free Page B

think so, either,” Bird said. “I think
it’s a message.”
    Tower joined them.
    “What do you think it is?” the doctor asked Tower.
“I don’t have any idea. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
    “I know what it is,” Tower said.
    He paused, studying it again.
    “It’s called a pentagram.”
    “What is it?” the doctor said.
     “It’s a symbol that’s been used for hundreds of
years by various groups for various reasons,” Tower explained. “Some good, some
bad.”
    “It looks like a religious sign,” the doctor said.
    Tower nodded. “That too.  When a single point is at the
top, like a star, it typically stands for good.  When it’s drawn with two
points up and the single point down, so it looks like an upside-down star, it’s
associated with evil.”
    There was silence as the three of them stared at
the symbol etched into the girl’s flesh.
    Finally, Tower spoke.
    “You mentioned her family lives nearby?” he said to
the doctor.
    Anderson nodded. “Not far from here.”
    Tower let out a long breath.
    “I should tell them first, before we go to the
sheriff,” the doctor said.
    “I’ll go with you,” Tower said. He looked at Bird. She
shook her head.
    “We need to find a hotel, as we’re looking to spend
the night,” she said. “I’ll get a room and stow our gear.”
    The doctor went to the sink and began washing up.
    Tower again looked at the girl, then glanced up at
Bird.
    “We need to find out who did this,” he said.
    “Oh, I’m going to find him,” Bird said, and left,
slamming the door behind her.

Seven

    T he Hockings house was a small clapboard structure with
one window in front and a large stone chimney on the opposite side. The porch
had been painted at one point, but most of the paint was peeled away, exposing the
original pine boards.
    Tower could smell dinner cooking inside.
    He and Anderson arrived to find the sheriff already
waiting for them.
     “Sheriff Dundee, this is Mike Tower, a circuit
rider,” Anderson said. “He brought her in.”
    Tower shook hands with the sheriff, a tall, lanky
man who moved slowly and seemed distracted.
    “So you’re the one who found her?” the sheriff
said. His voice was matter-of-fact.
    Tower nodded. “A couple hours ago on the main
trail, about a mile from town.”
    Dundee looked as if he was about to ask another
question but was interrupted by the sound of someone inside the house.
    The front door opened. A woman stepped out onto the
porch.
    Tower was immediately struck by the woman’s beauty.
Raven hair, blue eyes, and a confident demeanor.
    “Ma’am,” Tower said, tipping his hat.
    Anderson nodded.
    “Evenin’ Gretchen,” Sheriff Dundee said. There was
a long pause before he said, “’Fraid we’ve got some bad news.”
    “Is it Nancy?” she said, and sagged back against
the door frame, a hand to her chest.
    “I did everything I could to save her, but she had
lost too much blood,” Anderson said. “I’m afraid she passed.”
    The woman’s eyes widened and her mouth struggled to
form a word. Then she fell forward. Tower got there just in time to catch
her. He laid her down and Anderson joined him.
    Footsteps sounded inside and a young girl about
eight years old came out on the porch. She had on a faded white dress, with a
purple ribbon in her hair. Tower couldn’t help but recognize how much she looked
like her sister Nancy.
    “What’s wrong Mama?” she said. Tower could hear the
panic in her voice.
    “She just needs a little air,” Anderson said to the
girl. “Everything’s fine.”
    Dundee, who showed no interest in the woman who had
just collapsed, Tower noticed, now peered through the front window of the
house. He glanced at the girl.
    “Honey, do you know where your father is?” he said.
    The girl looked down at her mother, then up at the
men.
    “He left. About an hour ago.”

Eight

    J ust outside the hotel, a rooster crowed. Bird opened
her eyes, felt the butt of the gun in her