When The Tik-Tik Sings

OneYou hold in your hand the record of a nightmare. It began as many nightmares do, in the deceptive tranquility of the dark. It began with an early morning jog. Since her college days, when she was known on campus as 'that runnin' broad', every day of Erin's life started with a pre-dawn jog, to work the muscles, and get the blood flowing. A workout to ready the body for work with just enough pain to feel alive. She puffed her way up from the lower tier, her fourth and last time around, three miles, climbing back to the famous point of Eagle Point Park. Every morning without fail, summer, autumn, winter (more a slog; the point was never plowed), and spring. Especially spring when the cool forties of night ushered in glorious days in the mid-sixties. This was a spring morning in late April just before Easter. Tik-tik. Tik-tik. Erin reached the top of the upper circle, left the poorly-lit drive for the unlit footpath and, in gloom, headed for the bluff peak. Tik-tik. Tik-tik. She halved the distance and was passing the Julian Duncan Memorial, a twenty-five-foot-high tower crowned with cornices like a medieval castle; burial site of the city's founder. Tik-tik, Tik-tik, tik, tik, tik… When the dark thing jumped – out and up, Erin darted left, lost her balance, landed on her backside on the wet grass. Gasping, from the run or the fright she wasn't sure, she brought her hands up in defense. But from what? Whatever it was, a big bird, or a bat – she didn't know – burst from the top of the tower flapping like billowing canvas, with a high-pitched ticking sound, eerily musical like bird song from Hell. Did they have birds in Hell? Erin wondered. It didn't matter; the sound had gone. The dark thing, whatever it was, had gone too and without her getting a look at it. She stared into a sky the poets' (or Churchill, or someone) had said was darker just before the dawn. Dark but empty. It had been there, hadn't it? Something had leaped out – well, up, at least – from the top of the tower. Maybe a kite, lodged in the stone parapet, had come loose and flapped away? But it hadn't flapped or flitted like an aimless moth. It had launched itself like an owl from the barn rafters, taken to the air with speed and force, with size and the sound of powerful wings, and an awful ticking noise. It frightened her out of a year's growth and Erin wasn't easily frightened. But where was it? She stared, searching the skies overhead, but there was nothing. She laughed nervously, then spoke aloud. “Enough.” Erin forced her thoughts back to the here and now. She caught her breath, rose to her runners, and dusted her rear. She groaned and pulled a face. Her sweats were soaked and stuck to her tush. It had rained the night before (and would probably rain again that night). But she'd gone for a run, not a sit, and not a soak. The breeze came up, the clammy cold set in, and her sweat turned to a chill. On a normal morning, she'd have reached the point and would be cooling down, gauging her pulse and respirations. Thanks to darting shadows, there was little point in checking them now. Still, she had her other tradition and even flying phantoms couldn't stop it. She followed the path to the peak, leaned on the retaining fence, and took in the view. For Erin, her breathing evening out, it was the one great moment of the day when the city of Duncan and all the river valley below came awake. The night sky had begun its change to deep blue with pink, crowning the Mississippi River to the north. Across the river, southwestern Wisconsin remained in country dark and East Duncan, Illinois was aglitter with pinpoints of light. Barges slept in line from the lock and dam below, past the island, the bridge, and the Port District to the south. A first glance made Duncan look shabby with its rusting barges and dusty industrial plants hugging the river north of the port. But a look beyond, to the glitz of the greyhound race track, the convention center, water park and river museum or, on this side of the port and into the city, to the nineteenth century charm of carriage rides, Bed and Breakfast houses, and the quaint beauty (if not the historical importance) of the river town, showed so much more. Erin turned to the west end of Fourth Street where the cars of the funicular rail elevator rested on steep tracks. The sight would vanish in three weeks when the budding trees shrouded the bluff. She looked east to the town clock at the old city center, two blocks further to the golden dome of the City Hall, and back again to the port. The water was quiet. The steam dredger rested in her moorings, awaiting museum guests. The casino bided its time for tourists as well. Despite dark things, real or imagined, that burst into her life, created chaos, then vanished, all appeared right with the city she'd sworn to protect. There was nowhere else on earth Erin would rather be. She made her way back to the path and past the tower. Free of leaping shadows, it looked harmless. She entered the upper lot where her cruiser sat alone. Erin Vanderjagt was a cop, a sergeant, and the city's Police Training Officer. Her run was finished and her day about to begin. She had no idea it would be the first day of a week she would remember with fear for the rest of her life. She pulled from the lot and followed the twisting Memorial Lane along the bluff, into the dense trees and out again where the lane became a 'Y'. Southern Gate Road forked back into the park on her left. It passed under the log cabin, available to rent for family gatherings beside the playground, then the wading pool. Erin eased the squad car to the right, starting down Eagle Point Drive between the tennis courts and the rock-tiered (and currently empty) koi fish ponds, and out of the park. She passed the private residences bordering the bluff and the river above Mississippi Pool 11, then switch backed onto Shiras Avenue looking down into town. Erin had her mind on a million things. The job, yes, and the day ahead. There were always those and they were important. Law enforcement was her passion but there were other things in life. Her mother, lately feeling ill, had been a nagging monster. Why do you have to be a police officer? Why must you carry a gun? (The cyclical argument.) When will you find a man? When will I be a grandma? (The sickening argument.) Why can't you be like Phyllis' daughter? Her favorite straw man! Then there was Tony, her brother, with business trouble again. Poor Tony, at twenty-three, two years her junior but always the baby of the family. Who didn't have trouble keeping afloat nowadays? But none of it mattered, not her mother, not Tony, not really. What mattered at that moment was… him. Outside of policing there was another passion. So far, to govern stress, a secret passion. He was on her mind again. But only for a fleeting, bittersweet second. One second later, she saw a black Lexus tearing down Orchard Drive. Erin hit her brakes, controlling a slide on the wet pavement and bringing her squad to a stop, fortunately, as the Lexus crossed into the empty oncoming lane at the Orchard – Shiras merge. The Lexus clipped the 'Stop' sign in front of her and the sign cracked his windshield, cartwheeled over her squad (yes, she ducked), and disappeared into the weeds on the road shoulder. The car, with a maniac driver and a spidered windshield, kept going, careening across the lanes, headed for town. Erin's day had truly begun. She took a deep breath, flipped a switch lighting the bluff in blue and red, and squashed the accelerator. On the move, she grabbed her radio mic, and using enough 10-codes to give scanner geeks orgasms, told dispatch she'd witnessed a hit and run by a possibly drunk driver. “In pursuit, south on Shiras; a black Lexus missing its rear license plate.” Her quarry was all over the road past the front entrance to the park. From there it was a race and the Lexus had a lead. Shiras had only two bends the whole way to Ham House at the edge of downtown. At that speed, they were there in no time and, of course, the runaway driver blew the light. He shot across Lincoln without slowing and crossed Rhomberg as if neither existed. Then, to Erin's disbelieving eyes and ears, he laid a patch of rubber with a cringe-inducing screech. The luxury car fishtailed, somehow avoided flipping, and when the driver regained control (with a turn signal, no less), eased onto Garfield Street. Erin hit her brakes, without his slide, and turned after him. Amazingly the car sat parked at the right-hand curb, the lone occupant quietly waiting behind the wheel. She pulled up behind, told dispatch the vehicle was stopped, and studied the situation. It had gone from a high-speed chase to a peaceful traffic stop in seconds; it was too odd. Without a plate, no progress would be made until she discovered the operator's main malfunction, checked his registration, insurance, and for wants and warrants. Then she'd see. Without taking her eyes off the driver, Erin lifted the mic to tell dispatch she'd be out of her vehicle. Of course, that would have been too easy. The driver's door was opened. Erin swore. She flipped the squad's Public Address on and said, “Stay in your vehicle.” Ignoring her, the driver stuck out a leg. Erin was out of the car quickly, hand to her hip, only to realize she was still in sweats and not wearing her service belt. Her gun, her uniform, and probably her brain was in the trunk. “Sir,” she shouted, “Stay in the vehicle.” It took a moment but the leg was retracted and the door closed. Erin breathed a sigh of relief, and would have thanked a lucky star but the sky-full had vanished with the rising sun. Her luck vanished too. The driver, who for a moment seemed co-operative, lowered his window, poked out a bad toupee and, unable to turn a full 180 degrees, demanded of the sky, “Who the hell do you think y'are?” Great. Erin wasn't on the clock, wasn't in uniform, hadn't even had coffee. But she had her first loudmouth of the day, giving the world a hard time. She slipped her flak jacket on. She doubted she'd need it, but the vest would identify her as an officer once she stepped away from her car. It was forbidden, and darned stupid, to approach a vehicle without your side-arm. But Erin wasn't about to embarrass herself by digging it out of the trunk and strapping it over her jogging outfit. She already looked the fool. Luckily, this guy had proven himself the bigger fool by far. She approached the Lexus down the blind alley behind his left shoulder, hearing him mumble abuse as she neared. She reached his window and interrupted his tirade to ask for documents. He demanded she repeat herself. But Erin wasn't listening anymore. Her attention had been diverted. Tik-tik. Tik-tik. Though farther away, it was the same sound she'd heard on her jog. Erin was certain. She listened, and though she had no idea what it was, knew what it wasn't. It wasn't wood or metal scraping. It was not mechanical. It was a natural sound; unnaturally natural, if that made any sense. It was a song from some living creature, eerie as cricket song or the call of a Mourning Dove. It came from nothingness, a chilling Tik-tik. Tik-tik. Tik. Tik. Tik… Then Erin heard the unmistakable shatter of glass and afterwards, from somewhere nearby, an all-too-familiar sound in her line of work… somebody screamed in terror. Whether the screamer was male or female, Erin couldn't tell. She shushed the drunk, but by the time he quieted, found the scream had stopped. She studied the houses in gloom, looking for movement or light, listening for anything. A chill ran up her back. The driver mumbled something. Erin shushed him again and grabbed the keys from his ignition. “Hey! Give those back! This is 'merica, sugar t**s. You can't—” “Shut up!” Silence. Then, from the right, came another scream. The drunk froze. Standing over him Erin saw the hairs rise on the back of his neck. She was paralyzed too, but from frustration, not fear. Erin wanted to get her gun. She wanted to run to the screams. She was trying to pick which one to act on first, when a two-story house, yellow with black trim, three houses down on the right, suddenly exploded.