Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2017 09:40:07 -0700
From: Samuel Roe <samuel.d.roe@gmail.com>
Subject: "The Navigator" Chapter 25

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     Chapter 25
     Adelaide was growling louder than she ever had before, but she seemed
to sense the danger that Silas was in and kept her distance from Pastor
Simms. Silas tried to meet her eyes and communicate with her silently, to
let her know that everything was all right, but she wasn't looking at him
at all. Pastor Simms was doing his best to ignore Adelaide, but Silas could
feel the tension in the pastor's arms and hands whenever Adelaide growled.
     "You've got to make a choice, boy," Pastor Simms said to Adam. "Are
you going to watch your friend die, or are you going to drop the gun?"
     "If I drop the gun, you could just shoot him anyway, and then me,"
Adam said steadily, keeping the rifle pointed at Pastor Simms' face. "I
think I'd rather take my chances and keep it, thanks."
     "Then this is going to take a while," Pastor Simms said with a dry
chuckle. "Don't worry, I've got plenty of time, and I have backup coming."
     "You mean your girlfriend, dad?" Chelsea said angrily as she stepped
into the shed. "You mean the woman that you cheated with for all of my
life? I can't believe you!"
     The pastor's eyes widened at the accusation, and he quickly shouted,
"How dare you!?"
     "I dare because of what you did to me," Chelsea said with fierce eyes
as she raised her broken arm. "I dare because of what you did to that boy,
Daniel. I dare because of what you're doing to Silas now. We've got
you. Give yourself up."
     "You're an abomination, Chelsea," Pastor Simms growled. "I should have
done much more than break your arm, and I don't have to listen to the
accusations of a queer like yourself."
     Adam's eyes flickered briefly to the television as the sound of Daniel
being raped overcame the volume of Adelaide's growling. When he turned back
to face the pastor his eyes were smoldering, and his finger trembled on the
trigger. "You're going to stand there and talk to your daughter like that
when you raped a teenaged boy? Are you really so delusional as to think
that you're not gay? What the fuck is wrong with you?"
     "I saved that boy," Pastor Simms insisted. "He was going down the
wrong path. He was going to hell, and I just followed god's light and
showed him how it feels to live that life. He had already damned himself,
and he needed to know how terrible it was?"  "What the fuck, dad?" Chelsea
asked. "You can't seriously believe all of that!"
     "I doubt he does, Chelsea," Adam said over his shoulder. "Look at him,
he's just trying to talk his way out of this. He's desperate because he
knows that we've got him."
     "You can believe what you want, boy, but I am a man of God. I speak
his Word and I follow his light," Pastor Simms proclaimed, "I do the lord's
work, and that means killing the queers, teaching them that they are
abominations in His sight!"
     "Pastor Gregory never taught that," Adam countered. "Many people are
able to look past that scripture as they have many others. Your argument
holds no water with me. Let Silas go, and I won't shoot you. Don't let
Silas go, and I promise that you're going to feel an awful lot of pain in a
minute, and trust me it won't be pretty."
     "You know what else Pastor Gregory did?" Pastor Simms counted, "He
stole . . ."
     "He stole money from the church," Adam replied with a quirk of a
frown. "Trust me, I heard the whole story straight from him, and you are
not going to convince me that he was wrong about you. I know how you
blackmailed him for an alibi on the night of Daniel's murder. You sick
bastard."
     While Pastor Simms was distracted by the dialogue, Silas managed to
get one of the pastor's fingers into his mouth and he bit down hard. The
pastor yelled in pain and pulled his hand away for a moment, long enough
for Silas to shout, "The gun isn't . . ."
     Pastor Simms covered Silas' mouth roughly and whipped his temple with
the pistol before returning to point it at the side of his head. "Enough
talk," Simms spat. "Drop your rifle or I'm going to kill him."
     "So you've said," Adam replied. "But I know you better than you think,
Pastor. I know that you've been hiding this for all these years, watching
the video of when you killed Danny so that you could relive it all. You're
not going to kill him now; you want us all to leave you alone so that you
can finish what you started. I should have seen it years ago in the way you
looked at Danny; the way you looked at all of us. Your lust-filled eyes are
insatiable."
     "You don't know anything about how the world works, boy," Pastor Simms
said with a nervous chuckle. "Do you really think they're going to take
your testimony over mine? Hell, I can pin this whole thing on you."
     "Likely not, considering the fact that we made sure that Officer
Higgins wasn't informed of the situation," Adam sneered. "I know you think
she'll be here to cover up this awful mess you made for yourself, but she's
not the one coming. It'll be Sheriff Donaldson himself, and last I checked
he didn't like you much."
     "Doesn't change the situation as it stands," Pastor Simms said with a
shrug. "Last chance to put the rifle down."
 "I'm not worried," Adam replied, "I finally figured out what Silas was
trying to say when you silenced him. You're done, Simms. Adelaide, get
him!"
     Adelaide didn't need a second order, and she dashed around Silas to
snap her jaws down on Pastor Simms' leg. Simms tried to shake her off as he
screamed in pain, but fell backward, initially pulling Silas with him but
then he fell to the ground, punching at Adelaide's face. Adelaide kept up
her attack as Adam moved in, putting his rifle against the pastor's chest
until he stopped squirming, though Adelaide kept her grip on his leg.
     "Get it off of me!" Pastor Simms shouted. "Get it off!"
     "And why would I do that?" Adam asked? "Drop your gun. If it had any
bullets you would have used them already. I have an urge to shoot you
anyway, but I'm nicer than that."
     "Addy," Silas whistled, "Let go. Let go, Addy." Adelaide released her
grip on the pastor and barked at him one more time before running over to
stand by Silas and look up at him with concern. Chelsea was already in the
process of moving to the back of the shed and letting the rope down gently
before she picked up a saw from the worktable and walked back toward
him. She cut the ropes that held his wrists bound and then looked away,
blushing.
     "Thanks, Chelsea," Silas said as he rubbed his wrists and then leaned
down to pull his pants and boxers back up his legs. "I'm glad you guys got
here when you did. Has anyone contacted Ian yet?"
     "I had a message typed and ready and sent it as soon as Adelaide
started running," Chelsea said as she glanced back to see that Silas was
back to being half-clothed. She looked up at his face and smiled. "I'm glad
that he didn't get any further with you. Why did you wait so long to
whistle?"
     "I wanted to make sure that he got caught with his pants down so that
he'd have a harder time escaping," Silas replied as he glanced back at the
pastor who was nearly crying from the pain of the bleeding bite in his
naked shin. His pants were still wrapped around his ankles, and his briefs
showed a bit of wetness. Silas wasn't sure if the wetness was from the
pastor's earlier excitement or his more recent fear, but he was glad that
those briefs had stayed on. "I realized that I was walking a fine line, but
I knew that the more involved he was the more distracted he'd be."
     "You set me up," Pastor Simms mumbled, "You're not going to get away
with this."
     "Are you still trying to fight?" Adam asked. "Well, I think I know how
to take some of the fight out of you." He raised his foot over the pastor's
briefs and then stepped down, resting his boot on the pastor's crotch and
making his eyes snap open. As soon as Simms was watching Adam pressed down
hard with his foot, making Pastor Simms howl in pain. "There, now be
quiet," Adam said as he let up some of the pressure, though he kept his
foot in position to do it all over again.
     "I think that Simms knows his place, Adam," Silas said with a shake of
his head. "He just got beaten by a group of gay teenagers, and he's going
to have to deal with that. Give him some time to let that sink in and he'll
feel plenty bad."
     "Silas, how did you know that the gun wasn't loaded?" Adam asked.
     "Well, it was still a guess, but there weren't any bullets with it in
the desk, and the way he shoved it in the front of his pants I was pretty
sure he wouldn't do that with a loaded gun," Silas explained. "He values
his family jewels too much."
     "Wish he had valued his family that much," Chelsea muttered.
     Silas glanced at her and then wrapped an arm around her from the side
and pulled her close, crushing her against his naked chest. She tentatively
wrapped an arm around his back and returned the embrace, and then she
looked up at him in surprise. "You're suddenly more affectionate than
normal."
     "Near death experiences will do that to you," Silas said with a
chuckle. "Where are the police, anyway? Didn't Tara call them like we
planned?"
     "She's on the phone with them still," Chelsea said, nodding toward the
front of the shed where Tara was watching everything unfold with her phone
up next to her ear. "We called Sheriff Donaldson directly, like Jenny
suggested. Officer Higgins shouldn't even know that we're here, at least
not yet."
     "He says that he's turning up the driveway now," Tara reported. "He
has two of his deputies with him, and they've all been informed of the
situation." She ended the call and slid her phone into her pocket. "Just so
you're aware, I'm sticking with the story from before."
     "Adam, do you have everything under control in here?" Silas called
over his shoulder. Adam nodded and Silas turned his attention to
Adelaide. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
     Adelaide barked her agreement and sat as she sat facing Pastor
Simms. Adam was keeping his stance firm and his eyes remained locked on
Pastor Simms' face as he watched for any sign that he was going to start
struggling again. Silas gave a satisfied nod and walked toward the front of
the tool shed with Chelsea and Tara.
     "So, just to recap," Tara began, "the story is that we were walking in
the woods when we heard a dog barking and came to see what was
happening. Adam was carrying his rifle just for protection, and . . ."
     "I think we should tell them the truth," Silas interrupted with a
sigh. "There are too many variables to cover up our intention in
this. Think about it; we're asking not only the four of us to remember the
story, but also asking Ian, Amy, and Jenny to back up the lie? No, I don't
think we can get away with that, and I'd rather we told the truth from the
beginning then have our story lose credibility because someone screws up."
     "You have a point," Chelsea said. "But that means we're all going to
be in trouble. The other way it looks like we're all victims, but this way
. . . never mind, I know you're right."
     "Okay, so who is going to take the lead then?" Tara asked.
     Silas had just enough time to volunteer as flashing red and blue
lights appeared at the top of the hill and three patrol cars all came to a
stop in the church parking lot. Three men got out of the cars and started
toward them at a run, drawing their guns from their holsters as they
moved. When they saw that the situation appeared to be under control the
three officers relaxed slightly but kept their weapons at the ready.
     "What's going on here?" Sheriff Donaldson asked as he came to a stop
in front of them. He was a tall and broad-shouldered man with a graying
hair and bushy gray moustache. "We had reports of a rape in progress that
turned into a fight?"
     "You'll find the rapist inside the shed," Silas said with a
smirk. "Our friend Adam is watching over him and making sure he doesn't go
anywhere." He whistled for Adelaide and she came trotting out of the
shed. "I'm the one that was getting raped, and I'm a bit shaken up, but I'm
happy to answer any questions you have."
     The sheriff nodded to his two men and they moved into the shed. There
was a brief conversation with Adam as they asked him to step back and let
them handle it, and then Pastor Simms was being led from the shed in
handcuffs, limping on his wounded leg. As they passed by the sheriff said,
"If it isn't Arnold Simms. I'm looking forward to spending the night with
you in my jail again. First your daughter and now this boy? You sicken me."
     "You bastard . . ." Pastor Simms started but one of the deputies shook
him hard and the pastor stopped talking.
     "You have the right to remain silent," the deputy started as he
dragged Simms away, continuing to read the man his rights as they walked
toward the waiting patrol cars. The sheriff turned his full attention back
to Silas and the others and smiled at them warmly.
     "Before I ask any other questions, are you all right?" Sheriff
Donaldson asked Silas. Silas nodded and the sheriff sighed and said, "I get
the feeling that there is more going on here than meets the eye. Your story
on the phone about just walking through the woods wasn't quite the truth,
was it?"
     "No, it wasn't," Silas replied. "Though we chose to do it that way for
a reason. We had to make sure that Sheryl Higgins wasn't the one to receive
the dispatch."
     "Why is that?" Sheriff Donaldson asked, his eyes narrowing.
     "She's having an affair with my father," Chelsea spat. "We know that
she might have tried to protect him."
     "You've been digging into this for a while," Sheriff Donaldson
observed. "Why didn't you come to the police if you thought something was
suspicious? I need to know what this is all about."
     "Come into the shed and we'll show you," Silas said with a
grimace. "It's not pretty, but we didn't have any proof until tonight."
     The sheriff nodded and followed Silas and the others inside where he
saw Adam standing in front of the television set and crying as he watched
Daniel continue to get raped on the screen. "Adam!" Silas shouted, "Adam,
stop watching! You can't do that to yourself! Chelsea, Tara, get him out of
here!"
     The two girls nodded and walked toward Adam, each taking one of his
arms as they tried to drag him away from the scene. He resisted at first
but then his knees gave way beneath him and he collapsed into Chelsea's
shoulder, crying his eyes out. The sheriff watched the unfolding scene with
confusion until he too looked at the screen and gasped as he recognized the
two people in the recording.
     "Oh my God!" Sheriff Donaldson shouted, "This is unthinkable! I always
suspected that there was something fishy about Daniel Winter's death but
this . . . This is outrageous!"
     Silas glanced at the screen momentarily and saw that Pastor Simms had
just finished the rape and was letting Daniel down to the ground. Daniel
was crying, and he seemed completely weak as Pastor Simms consoled him and
tossed him his tee shirt. "Put that on," Pastor Simms ordered, and Daniel
slowly slid the shirt over his head as the Pastor moved around behind him,
pulling the noose that had held Daniel's hands down from the rafters. As
Daniel slid his arms into the sleeves of his shirt, Pastor Simms slid the
noose around Daniel's neck and then jumped up and pulled hard on the rope.
     "I can't keep watching this," Silas said as his stomach lurched. He
walked out the door of the shed and vomited at the side of the door. The
sheriff came out a moment later, his face nearly as pale as Silas' as he
shook his head in bewilderment.
     "I can promise you one thing," the sheriff said with a snarl, "That
man is going away for a long time, and not even the best lawyer is going to
be able to help him. How did you all become involved in this?"
     "Daniel was Adam's boyfriend," Silas said confidently, glancing at
Adam who was still inconsolable. "I met Adam when I came to town, and I
also came to know Chelsea. When the situation between Chelsea and her dad
happened, and then I learned about what happened to Daniel . . . I started
putting pieces together."
     "So you're the one that spear-headed this?" Sheriff Donaldson
asked. "I don't even know who you are. This is a fairly small town, and you
aren't even vaguely familiar."
     "My name is Silas Drake," Silas said with a nod. "I'm Ian Drake's
brother; he's the owner of Mom's Diner. I moved into town about a month
ago."
     "And you're already in the business of catching murderers and
rapists?" the sheriff said with a chuckle of disbelief. "What in the world
were you doing up here?"
     "We figured that we had to get Pastor Simms to try it again if we
wanted to catch him," Silas explained. "I had no idea that he had the
video, but now . . . there's a camera up in the rafters of the shed. I'm
sure if you find what it's feeding to then you'll find a recording of what
he said and did to me as well. You have my full cooperation to use that
video for evidence."
     "You're very calm for someone who was almost raped," Sheriff Donaldson
observed. "I have to say that I'm a bit surprised."
     "I've been in this sort of situation before, but Adelaide has always
been there for me," Silas said with a smile, reaching down to scratch
Adelaide behind the ears. "These are my friends, Sheriff, and I wanted to
protect them the way that Adelaide has always looked out for me. You can't
hold that against me, right?"
     "What you did was a very brave but very stupid thing to do," Sheriff
Donaldson scolded, "But it did all work out, so at least there's that. Now
that we've officially met, Silas Drake, I hope that you'll be more keen on
trusting us in the future. I'm not a bad guy."
     "No, the preacher is," Silas replied with a smirk.
     "The other preachers in town seem to do just fine," Sheriff Donaldson
said with a chuckle. "It's always those who seem to think that they can
abuse their authority over others that end up being the crazies. I do have
one more thing to say to you, Silas."
     "What's that?" Silas asked.
     "Your dog should be on a leash."
     Silas flashed the sheriff an odd grin and then started walking away
with Adelaide on his heels. "If you say so, sheriff, but it seems like she
does just fine without having someone else controlling her. It's no wonder
she and I get along so well."
     "Sure seems that way," Sheriff Donaldson replied with a laugh. "Do you
think that you and your friends are up to coming down to the station and
giving official statements?"
     "Yes," Silas said, looking to Chelsea and Tara who nodded in
response. Adam's sobbing seemed to have subsided somewhat and he managed to
give a nod as well.
     "Very good," Sheriff Donaldson replied. "I've got a few more officers
coming down here to make sure we handle this scene properly, but you can
ride back to the station with Deputy Harris. He'll make sure you're all
properly taken care of. I'm going to stay here myself just to make sure
everything goes smoothly."
     Another car pulled into the parking lot, drawing the attention of
everyone. One of the deputies approached the car cautiously and Ian rolled
down the window of his car and started talking. "That's my brother," Silas
said quickly, "He's here for us."
     Sheriff Donaldson held his radio up to his mouth and said, "It's okay,
Jeff, you can let them through." The deputy looked over and Sheriff
Donaldson waved and Ian was allowed to get out of the car along with Amy
and Jenny.
     "Now we have to face the other negative consequences of our decision,"
Silas mused. "If you thought that facing a murderer was bad, wait until you
see what a responsible adult does when you completely disregarded the trust
they placed in you."
     "The night has only just begun," Chelsea muttered. "Come on, let's go
face the music."


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