The Claw

Chapter 6. Claw Marks

Two days had passed since the window had been broken twice. Clare got up from the breakfast table and went outside. The old neighbor cat was perched on the fense in his usual place. Clare could not get over how friendly old rags could be.

As he walked around the backside of the home he felt like he was being watched. He looked toward the beach behind the house, then along the row of evergreens. No one was in view but He could sense a presence. The thought made the hair stand up on the back of his neck.

He walked along the side of his home. There it was. He had not noticed it until today. A large claw mark on the window sill, four nails wide. It seemed to be about six inches long. What could it be, he thought? Then he heard it. A loud growl like the growl of a large cat. Rags jumped down and ran for cover.

Clare realized that he was in an open spot. He too may consider a little cover. But there was nowhere for him to go. Unlike the homely cat that always perched on the fense, he could be vulnerable.

Several scenarios started to run through his mind. In all of them something big and scary was about to attack him. Jane had depended on him for protection all these years and in the end he was just one big coward, He thought. "I'm a tough guy. I can take care of myself," he declared in his own mind.

Then suddenly the noise occurred again. This time he walked around the back of the house to the family entry way. Though he was walking on the outside he was running like crazy on the inside. In some far reaches of his mind he was even screaming like a little girl. Clare looked around one last time and then reentered the home.

Jane noticed the look on his face. Her big man looked slightly scared and yet somewhat puzzled. "Penny for your thoughts," she said to him.

He was standing at the kitchen sink looking out the window. "Did you hear anything?" He asked.

"Like what?" she responded.

"I was outback just now and thought I heard..." his voice trailed off as he went back into thought.

"Clare, honey, what did you hear?" Jane was now feeling an uneasiness coming over her. He was always the brave one and he was now wilting like morning glories.

He never responded. But the picture of Rags running all hunkered down, he could not get out of his mind.

Moments later two patrol cars with four police officers pulled up to the curb. They began searching for something out near the wooded area of the small town. Clare walked out to where they were searching. "Hi, gentlemen," he called.

"Hi, Clare," Sergeant Culp, replied.

"Are you guys looking for something big?"

"Yes," Culp answered. "Did you hear it, Clare?"

"Yes I did hear it. I was behind the house," Clare said, pointing in the General direction of where He was. "The old cat that sits on the fense over there made a run for it. He looked scared out of his wits. When I heard it, my wits were scared too."

Culp grinned. "Did you run, Clare?" he asked, smiling.

"On the inside, at least. Oh, also, I found claw marks on the window sill."

Sergeant Culp followed Clare to the window sill and looked at the marks. "They appear to be from a large cat. When we were inside your parlor I saw those marks, as well. I don't know what it is but it must be big."

Clare and Jed Culp entered the house from the public front entrance and walked through the entry room, past the coat racks and sign in registry. They entered the parlor or sanctuary and headed toward the first window. The same claw marks appeared on the inside of the window, as well.

"We saw these marks here before. On the outer window and here on the inside," the sergeant stated. Let's search your work area and see what we find?"

Clare led the way into the embalming room and the casket room. As they looked around they could see claw marks on the fronts of every casket. "They are all ruined," Clare gasped.

"They are all uniform in nature. Notice that each mark is in the exact same place. They look to be manufactured and not random."

Clare just stared. "Everyone of these are now junk. I have a lot of money into these. Some are samples from various companies and some I bought." Clare was mad and very sick at the same time. "How could someone or something get into here?"

One of the officers entered the room. "Jed! We found a van near the back of the VFW Hall. It has sound equipment in the back. The owner claims He works on sound system for the bingo games."

Culp took some pictures of the caskets and then headed out to the van. "What's your name?" he asked the man.

"Terry Smith."

"Where are you from?"

"I live on Rosa Lake."

"What are you doing here?"

"The speaker system was cutting out during the bingo game the other night. I promised to fix it."

"Did you hear any noises outside? Any strange cat growls or screams?"

"No. I was in here testing the equipment," Terry replied. He was small and thin, possibly wirey. His hair was slightly unkept and his clothes messy.

"Can we look inside your van?"

"Go ahead. Please don't move my stuff around. I have two piles for my next two stops."

One of the deputies opened the side door. There were stacks of wire and sealed boxes on two stacks. "What's in the boxes, Terry?" Sergeant Culp asked.

"Those are microphones and circuit board parts. I go into places like this and install sound systems. These circuit boards are the control central for the entire system. I buy them in Grand Rapids. Some of them are shipped from New York and other places. Some of these parts are hard to replace."

Culp nodded. "Where are you headed today?"

Terry grabbed his clip board. I'm going to the skating rink in Greenville and then the Hospital in Fremont.

The officer shut the van door. The other two officers were somewhere in the wooded area. They had made several rounds. Their only finds were some claw marks on two trees and a large pile of stinky cat dung. It had been covered up but Officer Steve Miles had stepped his foot right into it.

His partner Barry Sims exclaimed, "You stepped into it this time Steve!"

"HaHa, Barry," Steve replied. "You are a funny guy!"

Steve cleaned off his shoe, took pictures and then joined the other officers.

"Did you get pictures of your shoe, too?" Barry asked. "I hope you didn't clean the evidence off first," he chided.

The day was just beginning but Clare was tired enough for two days. He was sick over the casket damage. After speaking with the police he returned to his office to call his insurance agent. Before the day was out he would be seeing Mr. Trimore, his across the street agent, from the former Schultz Agency.