“CLANCY! SIT THE FUCK DOWN!” I screamed through the window. I heard a loud metallic tapping coming from the other side of the truck and when I looked through to the other side, saw Steph tapping her revolver against the glass of the window, holding it in front of her torch so that only the gun was visible. It was a smart move and Clancy immediately sat still, the jacket held in his lap, his hands visibly shaking. He stared at me with one good eye so wide that I thought it may just pop out if he didn’t relax a bit.
“Clancy? Do you remember me?” I asked, trying to sound calm. He didn’t respond, just continuing to stare at me with his good eye. I remembered something I had picked up from the shop earlier in the day and now took out a packet of Juicy Fruit from my pocket. I held one out to him through the small vent window. He didn’t move at first, just stared at it, then back at me. I shook it slightly and after a few seconds, he finally reached for it, snatching it from my fingers and pulling it back to safety. He never took his eye off me as he tore the silver foil off and popped the strip of gum into his mouth. As the taste filled his mouth, his eyes closed and a small grin dawned across his face, as if the familiar taste somehow soothed him. He chewed a few times, then remembering his audience, resumed staring at me.
“I need to ask you some questions, Clancy. Is that OK?” At first, he didn’t seem to hear, just chewing and staring, staring and chewing. But then his head began to nod ever so slightly. “Do you remember the Chief, Clancy? Chief Rademeyer?” He nodded. Chew, chew, chew. “Do you know where he is now, Clancy?” He paused a little, then nodded again, his eye locked on me. Steph kept the torch on him from the other side, never letting it dip. The torches lit the interior of the truck like a search light in full blaze. “Clancy, can you tell me where the Chief is?” He nodded again, his mouth contracting and relaxing as his teeth continued working the gum. I didn’t think he was going to answer but then his jaw relaxed as I saw him move the gum into the hollow of his cheek. I waited patiently, anxious for him to respond, to begin the dialogue that I so needed him to help me with; to answer all the unanswered questions that he held the answers to. After a couple of minutes, his mouth opened slightly and a low, trembling voice began to talk.
“The Chief is dead. And his wife, Mrs. Chief. She’s also dead.” He began chewing again, chomp, chomp, chomp.
“That’s right, Clancy, Mrs. Chief is dead too. Do you know who killed the Chief and his wife? Do you know who hurt them?” His expression suddenly changed, his face turning pale and grim, his eyes turning into his lap as his lips pursed tight. “Clancy, it’s OK, buddy. No one will hurt you now. We will protect you.”
“YOU CAN’T PROTECT ME!” he suddenly screamed at me, bits of spittle hitting the window and slowly dripping down, leaving a sparkly trail as it sank. He looked into his lap again, tears spilling down his cheeks. “You can’t protect me from the Devil,” he whispered.
“The Devil? You mean Harry Lightman?” I asked, trying to sound calm again. But he shook his head.
“Not Harry, the other one.” Chew, chew, chew. I looked across at Steph, her eyes wide with hope.
“Which other one? There’s another Devil?” I was hoping for a name from him, something we could use, someone we could track and arrest.
“No, there’s only one Devil,” he said, his voice still quiet and frightened, “only one Devil and I don’t want to say his name. He comes out when you say his name.”
“When who comes out, Clancy? Who is the Devil?” Chew, chew, chew, his eye fixed on mine. “I need to know, Clancy. So that I can stop him hurting more people. Clancy? Can I ask you something else?” He nodded, as if happy that we were no longer talking about the Devil. “Do you remember Tami? Tami Kennedy?” His face suddenly contorted, twisting itself into a mass of agony. He put his hands to either side of his head, covered his ears and began to scream. I took a step back, the scream catching me off guard. I began banging on the window, trying to get his attention again. The scream went on and on and on as his fingers grabbed his hair in large clumps, pulling it from side to side. “CLANCY!” I screamed, banging the window again. The scream began to fade, low sobs now coming from the broken man sitting before me.
“The Devil will kill us all,” he said, then as if trying to soothe himself, began to chew vigorously as he stared at his lap. I was about to ask him another question when another loud clap of thunder rolled across the sky, the flash of the lightning striking something a split second before. When the thunder had rolled away, I tried again.
“Clancy, I need to know who the Devil is. I need to know so I can stop him hurting people. Is he the one that hurt Tami?” I was hoping he wouldn’t begin screaming again at the mention of her name and to my relief, he just turned his eye at me. “Clancy?” He lent forward toward the vent window and beckoned me to come closer. I went in, ready to listen. His words came out a little louder than silent, the whisper barely registering to me. But
