Chapter Seven
Sebastian had heard the sound of the police car pull up outside of the barn where he was sleeping. He had spent the previous evening working around the ranch, mostly feeding the animals. Sometimes he was invited into the house to work but only when Deacon Hill was busy in his lab.
Young Sebastian was almost a year older then and much stronger than the boy who had been picked up off of the basketball court. He was still sleeping in the barn but Hill felt there was no longer any need to lock him in the pen. When he need to Hill tied him to twenty foot leash that allowed him to do some chores in the barn, although most of the time he roamed freely and he slept in the rafters now where he had built a small sleeping area. At night time he wore the leash.
He had managed to collect some little treasures, a pen and paper, old magazines, even a few novels, that made this little corner of the barn his own. He treasured whatever books Hill would loan him from his library there and would read them by star light.
That morning he heard a car pull up and the door close. One of the dogs barked. It was menacing but the other animals ignored it and continued sleeping.
Sebastian knew the car had to be close to the barn and he heard voices, one was Deacon Hill but the other one was unrecognizable. This was the first visitor to the ranch that he was aware of since he had arrived and he was unbearably curious. He walked towards the door and although he could only see the back end of the car it was clearly a police vehicle.
This was unbelievable. He wondered was his incarceration going to end this suddenly. Was it possible that somehow Hill had been discovered and after a year now it would end?
Somehow it was anti-climactic. There should be police sirens and guns drawn. Shouldn't there be helicopters and news camera? It was too quiet. It couldn't end this way.
They sat at the picnic table and talked. Maybe the cops were closing in. They must have a reason to come all the way out here and talk to Hill. For the first time Sebastian allowed himself to be excited.
Sebastian considered calling out but decided on second thought that he should wait and watch. Discretion was still needed at least for a few moments longer. He was sure that Deacon Hill would not come down there to meet with the police without a weapon. If given a reason, Hill would kill the policeman and then he would deal with Sebastian.
He had warned Sebastian that he had enough money so that when things got awkward he would leave town quickly and get away with a fortune. Calling out would only hasten his escape and cause the death of both the policeman and himself.
The car was covered in dust from the lonely roads that led out to the desert ranch. There must have been a reason for this policeman to drive all the way out to see Hill. They must have had a reason to suspect Hill and they would soon be back even if Sebastian couldn't get a warning to this cop.
He strained against the leash to see the two men sitting at the table and chatting. Hill must be scared. He would react quickly. If this policeman scared him enough Hill might feel the need to get rid of Sebastian and escape. Sebastian's job now would be to convince Hill to keep him alive long enough for the police to do their work.
There was something else he might be able to do to help them.
He stretched the leash and it choked him as he pulled on it but he could get just a few steps outside of the barn and within a few feet of the police car. Hill had his back to the barn and he couldn't see Sebastian from the table unless he turned towards the barn. The officer could clearly see the barn and his own car but he also didn't seem to see Sebastian who struggled to signal to him.
Sebastian watched as the two men talked. He wished he could see the look on Hill's face. Hill thought he was smarter than the police. He held them in disdain and often said that they would never catch him. He was sure he was too smart and he liked to remind Sebastian regularly that there was no hope of him ever being rescued.
The policeman pulled off his hat. He wore sunglasses against the bright desert sun. His hair was short and curly and a sort of rusty orange color. There was a confidence to him and he looked to Sebastian like someone who might just be able to deal with the maniac who sat in front of him.
Sebastian could see from the look on the red headed policeman's face that he was angry and he seemed to be admonishing Hill. Hill must have been trying unsuccessfully to explain his way out of this. Sebastian considered again whether he should shout a warning to the policeman before Hill got angry with the policeman and reacted violently.
It was a bright dry day and the police car was covered in a layer of brown dust and it gave Sebastian an idea. He lay down on his back so that he was no longer visible to the two men. Then he removed his shoe and stretched his leg and with his toe he began writing a message in the dust on the back of the vehicle.
It would have to be short and concise. If Hill was able to cover up, Sebastian would leave a message that the policeman would find later that day. He prayed that the policeman would drive away before Sebastian's message would be noticed by Hill. Hill would walk with policeman back to the car and watch him climb in. There would be no reason to go to the back of the vehicle. The policeman would climb into the driver's side and drive away while Hill watched.
Hill would be frightened now but he would be pleased with himself that he had dealt with the cop. He would make a point of saying how prepared he was for this incident. He would show Sebastian the gun in his pocket and tell him how he would have killed the red headed cop if he needed to.
The policeman would get back to the station or maybe stop for gas and then he would see it written in the dust on the trunk of his car:
"I AM IN HILLS BARN."
Then he would return with more police and get Hill. It would be sirens and guns blazing the next time and Sebastian would be safe.
He put his shoe back on and climbed onto a bale of hay. He watched Hill talking with the red headed policeman from inside his perch in the barn. It seemed from their body language that the man was berating Hill who seemed to be squirming at the conversation. There was something odd here, something in the body language that didn't ring true. Then they stopped talking.
The red headed cop walked to his car but he didn't stop at the driver's door he continued to walk with Hill in tow, to the back of the car.
Sebastian was terrified. If Hill saw the warning written on the car he would kill the cop in seconds and then it would be even worse for Sebastian. He considered calling out but he waited still.
Both men stood by the car chatting momentarily and then the red headed cop leaned to open the trunk. He paused. Sebastian knew he was reading the warning written in dust.
Sebastian watched without making a sound and then he was pleased by what he saw. The policeman calmly wiped away the words that Sebastian had written. Sebastian relaxed. The cop had read the warning and had not dealt with it yet. He removed it before Hill had seen it.
Hill turned and walked into the barn. The red headed cop began to haul bags from the trunk of the car. Hill approached Sebastian, pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the chain from around Sebastian's neck.
"Come boy. We need you," Was all that he said, as he walked Sebastian over to the red headed police officer.
"This is him."
Sebastian stood in front of the cop. He was stunned.
"Help me load this money into those bins and then you can help me get the stuff from the lab," the red headed cop said to Sebastian.
Sebastian said nothing. He still wondered if somehow this would work. He was a policeman. He had to help.
The bags were filled with money. Sebastian and the red headed cop dumped it into the bins which Sebastian was later ordered to bury in the holes he had been digging. As Sebastian watched both men left him and walked to the house. They returned a short minute later and the policeman brought a large quantity of the crystal meth in two plastic bags out to the police car where he put it into the back seat of the police car.
As he drove away the red headed cop leaned out of his window and said, "Kill that little bastard and bury him deep on the ranch."
After that day, Sebastian heard him give this advice constantly to Deacon Hill on all of his regular visits to the ranch.