Leseprobe

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1.

 

The risk of detection was high, even at this time of night. Nervously she pressed herself against the cold planks of the old shed. The darkness gave her cover, but at the same time made her presence suspicious. She wasn’t supposed to be out of the house at this hour. She was aware of the danger she placed herself and the young man opposite her in. But she couldn’t resist. He was different from all the other men she knew. He was a stranger in their community: a foreigner and outsider. He would never understand their ways. He was so much younger than her, but that didn’t concern her. It gave her hope that he would have the strength and determination to keep his promise to her.

“I shouldn’t have come -” her voice was tense.

“I am glad you came, Claire. You are doing the right thing,” his voice was so calm and soft.

She could have listened to him for hours. She had listened to him for hours. He had told her about his world. A world so very different for the one she knew. The pressure she felt herself under, started to show. Tears filled her eyes.

“Chas, I can’t keep this up anymore. We have to do it as soon as possible. My husband is starting to get suspicious. If he ever finds out…” her voice failed and she started to cry. He gave her the time to compose herself. “I just want her to have a better life than I ever had. It can’t be wrong for a mother to wish that for her daughter. Promise me to take her away from all this and from all these men. She is so precious to me. I have to let her go!”

The young man took her in his arms. It was easy for her to let go of all the suppressed emotions. She knew that it was too late for herself, but not for her daughter. She was young, beautiful and so gifted. To see her growing up in this two faced society was the last thing she wanted. Chas promised to take Eliza away from here, to hide her from them. The girl was supposed to start a new life in England: so far away from Utah and their reach. This man was her only hope for escape.

Chas was aware of this responsibility and the danger he placed himself in. He knew how vicious these men were, hidden behind their inner circles and white picket-fence facades. The whole town gave the impression of being the ideal place to live and to raise children. Everything appeared to be so clean and well organized. Stuartville seemed to be the perfect town with good people. This was true, if you are in the right circle and gender. The power lay with the men. Here was the father still the head of the household. He was the law, the judge and jury. His word had to be obeyed. His authority was undeniable and so was his right to punish those who failed him.

Claire was about to do something unforgivable. She not only disobeyed her husband, she also betrayed her society. Her rebellious act would have serious consequences. If he ever found out, he would kill her. The years of abuse she had suffered were proof. She was strong enough to endure his moods and receive his beatings. But she was too weak to see her daughter suffer under his tyrannical behaviour. Claire was unable to tell how many times he had beaten her beautiful daughter for minor infractions. Every single blow with the belt broke her heart even more. The knowledge that she couldn’t report him, made it much harder to witness. Everybody does it – everybody always did. That was the way it was. This was what the society was built on: obedience and oppression.

Chas seemed to be heaven sent. He was the answer to all her silent prayers in all these long and uncertain years. She had never met a man like him before. He was kind, well-spoken and calm. His presence comforted her. He believed everything she told him. Chas was the kind of person tormented souls open up to. He gave her the strength she needed simply by holding her. It was unnecessary to persuade him to help her getting Eliza out of this misery. He had spent long enough in this community to notice what was going on behind closed doors. That abuse was disguised as discipline. Chas was disgusted by his findings. He had travelled to the land of the free and the brave to experience the freedom he always had dreamt of, only to discover that this little town was stuck in a time warp: where women are treated as property. This was not the USA he had hoped for.

Time was running out for Claire.

“I need to go back. Please tell me, will everything be like we arranged it?”

Chas nodded. Stroked her hair and looked her in the eyes.

“Don’t worry. I will leave Stuartville tomorrow and will take your daughter with me. Everything is prepared. She’ll have a perfect life in England.”

Claire smiled. She trusted him.

“If that isn’t the English guy,” said a voice in a provoking tone at the other end of the shed.

Chas urged Claire behind the shed and hoped that the intruder hadn’t noticed her. He gave her a secret sign to leave. The figure came closer. Chas recognised him and moved towards him. Not to confront him. He wanted to make sure that Claire stayed undetected.

“What are you doing here all alone in the dark?”

“None of your business!” Chas replied and said it like he meant it.

He disliked the guy for many reasons. Joseph was exactly like his father. He was the next generation of abusers. Chas saw him as a mindless dog obedient to his father’s wishes.

“You are trespassing on our property.”

The intention to threaten Chas was indisputable.

Chas kept calm. He wasn’t afraid of this thug. Like all bullies his strength came from his admirers; people who were unable to see him for what he was: a coward. Chas had waited for an opportunity like this for a long time. Finally he was alone with him and could show him what he thought of him and his behaviour towards women. It was time that somebody taught him a lesson and gave him a bit of his own medicine.

“What are you going to do about it?” Chas touched his chest with his finger and turned around. ”Shoot me?!” 

Joseph was furious.

He couldn’t let the impudent English man get away with this. Joseph’s hand closed itself to a fist and before he knew it he swung it at Chas. The young man expected the attack. He ducked to one side and the punch went into the emptiness, throwing Joseph out off balance. It was easy for Chas to land his counter blow in the opponent’s stomach. Joseph crumpled and dropped straight to his knees. He could hardly breathe. Chas felt satisfied. The guy got what he deserved. How many times did he beat young girls, who didn’t have the power to stop him? Chas felt sorry that he let him off so easily. Joseph deserved so much more.

“Oh, my God! Brothers, Chas had beaten up Joseph!”

The shrieking voice came from behind him. The English man spun around and saw them in a pick-up truck. It was “the Brotherhood of Idiocy”, as Chas called them. Joseph’s four best and most devoted friends. The male offspring of the elite of the town. Each of them as morally corrupted as their elders and as bone idle.

“Don’t just stand there,” Joseph gasped, “Get him!”

Chas didn’t take any chances, turned around and ran into the darkness. Individually each of them wouldn’t have been a match for him. He knew that he would be victorious in a single fight but as a pack it was different. Chas ran as fast as he could over the field. It wasn’t easy for him to make haste on the frozen and uneven ground. The only light source was the moon. Unfortunately it wasn’t full either. The young fugitive needed to be careful, if he wanted to avoid falling.

His pursuers used the car to follow him. They swiftly caught up with him. The headlights caught the running man. Chas speeded up. He needed to reach the fence and climb over it. This would hopefully stop their chase. He knew how lazy they were. While running Chas looked over his shoulder and saw the car quickly catching up. He was breathing heavily. Adrenaline was pumping through his body. He knew that this time he wouldn’t have the upper hand. Together they would beat him badly. Teach him a lesson not to interfere with their affairs. He was an outsider, who didn’t belong here.

In desperation he tried to change direction. The driver attempted the same. Chas got hit by the fender. The impact threw him to the ground. The car stopped immediately. While he tried to get up again, he could hear them leaping from the truck. He was approached quickly. Chas knew that nobody would come to his rescue. He was alone and had to face the angry mob. Even in this poor light, he was able to see their hatred for him in their eyes.

“Not so brave now, Englishman!”

The approaching men taunted him as they surrounded him. He wasn’t really a fighter and knew that his chances were slim. A beating was inevitable. He promised himself not to give in easily. He wanted to fight back as effectively as he could. With a bit of luck they would leave him alone after a few blows. Chas didn’t wait for them to attack. He thrust himself forward and caught Jacob around the waist. Both fell to the ground and Chas smashed his fist on Jacob’s chin. The blow knocked him out. One down four to go. Before Chas had a chance to get up one of the others jumped on his back and pushed him down. The foreigner was unable to fight back. He lay face down on his first victim.

Joseph stepped next to him. Enjoying his superiority and mocked him.

“That is exactly the place you belong: in the dirt. I curse the day you came to our quiet town to seduce our women. You are not one of us. I order you to leave.”

It wasn’t easy to answer. The weight on his back was pressing him down and he was in pain. But he felt the urge to reply, to give Joseph a piece of his mind. To provoke him even more, he started to laugh. It was difficult for him to raise his head, but he didn’t want to miss his reaction.

“Of course I am not one of you. I am not inbreed like you.”

The insult was obvious. Joseph’s jaw dropped. He was speechless. How dare he? Joseph’s face lit up with rage. He wanted to demonstrate what it meant to insult him and the whole community. This outsider was ripe for a serious lesson in behaviour. Joseph stared at him and lifted his leg. The kick seemed to come out from nowhere. Joseph kicked with full force against Chas’s head. His head span round and a long stream of blood ran down his face. His body was limp and lifeless.

Their howls stopped. Everyone looked in disbelief at the body by their feet. The young man, who had held Chas down, jumped up and stepped away. Nobody dared to speak. The group was just standing there in the light of the trucks headlights. Their breath formed a white cloud.

“Hey, stop messing around,” Joseph kicked cautiously against Chas shoulder. “Get up!”

No reaction. He tried again and started to realise what he had done.

“You killed him!” A thin voice cut through the silence and got stronger. “Joseph, you killed him! What will you do?”

Finally Joseph lifted his head and turned to the speaker.

“What do you mean by that? We are all in it. We killed him together.”

The speaker felt intimidated and stepped back, shaking his head.

“No! No! No! You killed him. I saw it. You kicked him so hard in the head that his skull cracked. It was not our fault. We have to inform the Sheriff.”

Joseph felt betrayed. He was their leader. How did he dare to turn against him? He knew that he had to prove his position to the group. It was still his gang. Joseph lashed out, grabbed hold of the top of his jacket and pulled the speaker closer to him. They were about the same height. They were standing face to face in the field.

“My father doesn’t need to know about this. The Englishman is a foreigner, nobody will miss him. I’ll tell you what we are going to do. We will bury him and with him the whole damn story. We will never speak of it again. Is that clear?”

There was a glimpse of madness in Joseph’s eyes. Nobody in the group had the courage to disagree. Not complying would only result in retaliations. Joseph’s father was one of the most powerful people in Stuartville. If they decided not to play by his rules, it could have a devastating effect on their families’ lives. The price was much too high. Besides it was an accident. Joseph didn’t mean to kill the foreigner. He deserved what he got. Nobody disturbs the peace of the community. Joseph was right, he was a stranger and nobody will be suspicious when he disappears. In fact the male population will be grateful when the trouble maker was gone. He got some of the women confused with his sweet talk. It had been their duty to get the females back in line. Everybody agreed to Joseph’s conditions.

“OK, let’s get the body on the truck and take it to Beaver Cove to bury it there,” ordered Joseph.

Two of his friends picked the body up from the ground and chucked it on the back of the Pick Up. The Sheriff’s son swiftly scoured the area with his eyes before they drove off. He wanted to make sure that nobody had seen what had happened.

Form the distance and hidden in the dark Claire witnessed what her own son did to Chas. She pressed her hands against her mouth to supress her screams. She breathed heavily. With wide open eyes she stared on the scene. She couldn’t believe it. She was in deep shock unable to process the facts. She felt numb. Not from the brutality that her own flesh and blood was capable of. Joseph already proved himself equal to his father. Both men disliked the disturbance of the usual order. It was the realisation of being trapped here. Without the help of someone like Chas, her daughter was lost. By killing Chas her son also killed Claire’s only hope of freedom for his sister. The mother knew that she couldn’t tell anyone of this incident. Too many uncomfortable questions would be asked, why was she there in the first place. Questions she hadn’t answers to. Telling the truth or even part of the truth would have sealed her fate and that of her daughter. Their lives were bad enough as it was, but by admitting to a conspiracy with the foreigner it would become a living hell.

She had no other choice than to keep quiet and pray for Chas’s soul. She hoped that he would forgive her for putting her safety first. She saw the Pick Up leaving. Claire had no idea where the young men would take the body, but she was sure that they will find a way of disposing of it. A heavy sadness filled her heart as she watched the red tail lights vanishing in the darkness. Her feet moved automatically. Every step brought her closer to her home, to her husband and to hell.

Claire had been unnoticed by the men. None of them thought there had been a witness. If they had known, it would have stirred up their emotions even more. The initial feeling of having their revenge against the Englishman was replaced by anxiety. Nobody talked. Nobody dared to ask Joseph about his plans. He was the leader of their little group. He always told them what to do and how to do it. Usually it was easy to follow him. He was passionate about his role in the community. He was the natural leader of the next generation. There was no doubt that he would fill his father’s shoes when the time to replace him finally came. But this time it was different. He had killed a man in cold blood. Everybody saw that Chas was unable to defend his actions in that position. It was one thing to teach somebody a lesson and another to use unnecessary force. The blow to the head had been brutal, even for Joseph’s temper. Now they were forced to drive through the night with a dead body in the truck.

It was no surprise that there was no traffic. Joseph took the wheel and chose the back roads to reach his destination. He wanted to use the remoteness of Beaver Cove to bury the body. This shouldn’t be a problem. On the bed of the Pick Up Truck were a couple of shovels and pick axes amongst the load of rocks. The vehicle belonged to Daniel’s Dad, who was a builder.

Joe drove the vehicle deep into the woods, deeper than necessary. The area was so big, that nobody would ever find Chas. Joseph wanted to make sure that what was buried stayed buried. The car stopped abruptly and confused the men. Joe stayed in charge. He ordered them around and gave precise instructions. He made sure that every one of the companions knew their part in his plan. Dan and Jacob were to carry the dead body, while Matthew, Nathan and himself would take the tools. He led them into the woods towards the caves. Joe was sure that nobody would visit this place in the near future. It was so difficult to walk here.

Dan and Jacob soon were out of breath due to the weight of their burden. They pleaded with Joseph to stop. It was too dark and too dangerous to carry on. They looked nervously form one to another. Luckily Joseph accepted their argument and ordered the others to dig the grave. It was nearly impossible to penetrate the ground. The nights were extremely cold and the ground was frozen solid. With a lot of effort they managed to dig a shallow grave in which they could dispose of the body. After the soil was replaced, Joseph wasn’t satisfied. He feared that foraging animals would dig it up. The only way to prevent this was to place rocks on the grave. Joseph told them all to collect larger stones to cover up the spot. Due to the darkness and the limited light of the torches it was impossible to find enough of them for the task. Joseph had an idea and ordered everybody back to the truck. He remembered that Dan’s Dad had a couple of rocks in this truck they could use. Joe ignored Dan’s attempted explanation that those were needed for a building contract his father had to fulfil. They were specially ordered and needed for a well feature in the Mayor garden. Dan’s father would be suspicious that they had vanished and hold him responsible for the loss, because he had the truck. Joseph didn’t care about this. He reminded him of his part in this murder conspiracy and that it was in his own interest to make this sacrifice.

Dan obeyed.