“The Doom Statues” — Chapter 47

It’s funny how your mind can wander even at a time like this. The thought strikes Jeremy as he stands outside this gift shop, staring at the side of the police car. Then again, it’s not as though you can shut these thoughts down, not without a bunch of conscious willpower — which would itself represent a deflection from the trouble at hand.

Three identical cruisers arrived on the scene, just before daylight on this nightmarish Sunday morning. They’ve since closed down that section of the main house, conducted a thorough sweep of the property and interviewed everyone on premise, as they continue to, for so long that the sun is nearly overhead, in this slightly hazy October sky. An otherwise bright morning, if chilly, with an occasional whipping wind, where the officers are just about to wrap up everything they can at this moment. Jeremy stands in the driveway, examining the police cars, and thinking they look unexpectedly cool.

“I like these,” Jeremy tells Emily, nodding at the nearest car’s side panel. Unlike seemingly every other county in the state, they haven’t gone for boxy looking speed cars, rather more dependable, solid sedans. And somewhat of a throwback, too, in appearance, for the cars are painted brown, but with tan doors, the words STOKELY POLICE DEPARTMENT in black block letters upon those doors, surrounding some sort of shield.