The Devil's Road: A SERIAL NOVEL
The Devil's Road: A SERIAL NOVEL
CHAPTER 04: TALL IN THE SADDLE --- ISSUE 01: SHADOWS OF THE ROPE
Welcome to Issue #11 of The Devil’s Road, a serial novel following the exploits of Samantha Hart, a Sequoyah County Sheriff, full of vengeance and fury using her badge to hunt down her sister's killer as she uncovers a trail of bloodshed that coats the heartland. If you missed it, you can read last week’s Chapter 3: An Itch to be Scratched, Issue 3: The Organization.
If you are new to the series, I recommend you check out Chapter 1 which you can read or listen to for free here:
If you are enjoying this series, please consider sharing it with others, and don’t hoard all the good tales for yourself.
And now, please enjoy Chapter 4 Issue 1 of … The Devil’s Road.
In 2004 an Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations analyst discovered a crime pattern along the Interstate 40 corridor between Oklahoma and Mississippi. Subsequently, The Federal Bureau of Investigations (F.B.I.) started the Highway Serial Killings Initiative. They discovered over 500 bodies of women along the interstate highway system with more than 200 potential suspects, a trail of bloodshed that coats the heartland. The Devil’s Road is a serialized novel based on this horrific discovery.
Two of the most dangerous things in the world are secrets and promises. There are but a few actions you can take once you’ve gained secret knowledge or have committed to a promise. Most decisions are wrong, most options cause a checking of the moral compass. Adding to the complication of the current moment, Bandy has made a promise to keep a secret. Lieutenant Samantha Hart asked him a direct question and he made an attempt to ignore it, but he knew in that moment, he was caught in a difficult situation.
Below his feet, Sam’s still pilfering around in the dark cave they had discovered. Bandy finished his radio transmission from the seat of his cruiser, informing the station of their discovery: a cache of fully-automatic military-style AR-15s. They were successors to the most popular killing machine of the last major skirmish in American history, the M16. The perfect toy for grown men who like to dress up and play vigilante on the weekend, but in the cold light of day, Bandy is perhaps second guessing his weekend hobbies.
He hangs up his radio and walks back over to the entrance of the bunker. He doesn’t dare re-enter the darkness, but instead leans his head down towards the hole and hollers, “Still alright down there?”
There’s no response. Bandy huffs a bit at the prospect of having to go back down there. He reaches on his belt to where he would normally have his flashlight, but it’s gone. He must have left it in the car. So, he walks back to his cruiser where he can see it sitting on the dash. He reaches in to grab it, stretching through the window and fingering the barrel with the tips of his fingers, trying to pull it towards him so he can get a better grip.
“Where’s the locals? They leave already?” Samantha asks from behind him, making him bang his head on the roof of his cruiser and he jumps in surprise.
Bandy stands up, rubbing the back of head, still not holding the flashlight. “Jesus, Sam. You scared the shit out of me. Yeah, they already took Mac to the station.” he says.
“What’s the day of the rope?” Samantha asks.
“How the hell should I know?” Bandy cautiously replies.
Samantha measures him up a moment, trying to decide if he’s telling the truth or not before she says, “Follow me.”
Bandy and Sam sit in her cruiser. They watch the sun setting over the rolling prairie landscape. A tow truck has flipped the brown Caprice back upright and is pulling the shit-brown vehicle up onto the truck bed. The two sheriffs watch as the tow truck driver checks all of his connections before flipping the switch to lift the car.
“You saw that box I got in the back, yeah?” Sam asks. Bandy nods.
“Then you also saw what was written on the lid?” Sam continues, and Bandy again just nods.
“Say it.” Sam quietly demands.
Bandy gives her a long look before eventually giving in and says, “Lot lizards.”
“I’m guessing you know what that means?” Sam asks. Bandy nods again but the embarrassment of having the conversation is apparent as his pale cheeks begin to blossom with color.
“I took that box nearly a year ago, after my sister-” Sam starts, but Bandy cuts her off.
“Sam, you don’t have to tell me. I understand,” Bandy says trying to avoid the conversation.
“My sister’s file was in that box. Captain James wouldn’t let me assist after she was found. He sent me on leave.” Sam says as she pulls a Polaroid from her pocket.
“I remember,” Bandy agrees.
“She made some bad decisions in her life, but that was not something she deserved in her death. None of them did.” Sam says as she puts the Polaroid of her sister’s smiling face on the console so Bandy can also see it.
“I found that down there in that hole, just like I found her file in that dusty box in the archival room two weeks after her death,” Sam watches as Bandy stiffens sitting in the seat beside her. “Now, I’ve asked you twice what ‘the day of the rope’ means, and each time you have evaded my question. Maybe you can tell her,” Sam points to her sisters photo.
Bandy is trying to stop himself from physically shaking in his seat, but it is taking a good deal of effort. “Sam, I … I’m sorry. I can’t.” Sam takes the Polaroid back and puts it back in her pocket.
“Believe me, if I felt like-“ Sam stops Bandy short with a hand. She’s watching in the rear view as a black sedan pulls up behind them.
“That’ll be the fed. Come on, let’s go,” she says as she gets of out the the car.
“Sam. Sam…” Bandy calls after her as she walks away, but Sam is on to the next task. Moses meets her at the hood of his car.
“You’re Officer Bandy Williamson?” Moses asks.
“Nope, that’s me,” Bandy says as he jogs over to catch up to the other two.
“I’m Lieutenant Samantha Hart, you can call me Sam,” she says as the two greet with a handshake.
“We appreciate you coming out so quickly, lucky you were in the area I guess. The weapons are in a bunker behind that structure, Officer Williamson here will show you down there,” Sam concludes as she walks back to her car.
“And where are you going?” Moses asks.
“We had caught a dead body this morning, and got to get back to the station.” Moses phone rings and he holds up a finger stoping Sam from continuing.
“Excuse me,” Moses says as he steps away from the two sheriffs. He pulls his cell out of his pocket and flips it open. The number is no available, but he answers anyway.
“Agent Blackrock,” he says into the phone.
“So, you’re done, huh?” The voice on the other end says. Moses waves an apology towards the sheriffs and steps further away to have a more private conversation.
“What are you talking about?” Moses asks.
Standing in the men’s restroom of the Old 64 Truck Stop is the Driver. He holds Moses’ crumpled handwritten note. The lid of the toilet tank is off, but the only thing inside is water.
“You left me a note,” the Driver says.
“Oh yeah, you found that huh? Well, I guess that’s it then,” Moses says trying to hide the nerves in his voice.
“Problem is, it’s the only thing that I found,” the Driver tells him.
“The bag is in the tank. Same place it always is,” Moses tells him.
“Don’t see any bag, just your note, but do you know what I do see?” the Driver asks. Moses doesn’t answer. He knows that he must walk carefully here. A misstep could put him in even more danger than he might already be in with this guy.
“I see you,” the Driver says. “I see that you are not a man of honor. You are not a man to be trusted. You have broken a promise, and now I’m going to have to break you.” The Driver drops the phone in the toilet, sticks the crumpled note in his pocket and walks out of the restroom.
Moses stands on the side of the road with the sun setting behind him. He looks up at the two sheriffs waiting for him to finish his call so they can go on with their respective lives, while he deals with the aftermath of some doomsday pepper’s bunker. No. He doesn’t have time for this. Moses flips his phone closed and walks back over to the Sam and Bandy.
“Listen up. I’m sorry about this, but I just received a call I have to attend to. You two get everything cataloged, and I’ll have someone from the Tulsa office over in the next couple of hours to assist,” Moses tries to conclude the conversation by quickly getting in his car.
“Wait just a goddamn second. This is a federal issue, and you can’t just run off and leave us here in charge. I don’t know what you’ve got going, but I’ve got a body I have to tend to before the days out.” Sam protests.
“And I do apologize, but unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done about that.”How Moses closes his car door, starts the engine, and pulls away.
As Moses drives away, Sam glares at his retreating car and then turns her attention back to Bandy. “You owe me an answer, Bandy.”
Bandy looks at Sam with a mixture of guilt and fear before lowering his head so he doesn’t have to look her in the eye any longer. Sam pushes past him, disgusted with yet another lawman turning their back on justice.
“It’s the day when all the race traitors are publicly hanged in the town square,” Bandy finally let’s out. “I want you to know that I don’t associate with them anymore.”
“Them?” Sam asks. “There’s several of these guys?”
Bandy pulls a notebook from his breast pocket and starts walking back to the bunker. “It’s militia Sam. There’s a couple hundred,” he says as he walks back down into the darkness.
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