Dexter: St. Bernard part 4
************ Haunted By Deb **************
Dexter spent the following few days milling around town trying to discover what he could about the Stiles family. Of course doing this meant that it had to be done covertly. He didn't want anyone to become suspicious.
(In a town where gossip was about as informational as reading a newspaper…..anyone prying into someone else's business was just as interesting and noticeable as front page news. Still, Dexter was able to get what he needed without drawing any attention to himself)
It seems that the Stiles family was a family of four which consisted of….one, Mr. Lin Stiles, husband & father. Two, Nancy Stiles, wife & mother. Three, Gale Stiles eighteen, daughter & oldest child. And then four, Kenneth Stiles sixteen, younger son.
Nothing outstand-ish about the brood. Just an average foursome with regular family habits, right? Yeah right. That's how things can look from the outside. Nothing wrong, nothing different, nothing to be consider as suspicious or weird….
"You should know of course. That's how you've lived your life right brother?"
"Ah Deb, I was wondering when you were going to show up," Dexter spoke sitting in his cabin alone.
"Well wonder no longer, I'm here. And I'm not happy."
His sister wasn't one for cushioning her feelings.
"Of course you've cleaned up your new life. Make a little adjustment here, a few tweaks there. A name change and a whole backstory that isn't yours. The perfect deceit right bro? Living in a hole in the wall town out in the middle of nowhere. You've got nothing to gripe about."
"Hey, you like it here too. Don't forget that."
"Yes, it is a quaint little retirement village, isn't it. And that's my point. You're retired. Let the Iron Lake authorities handle this. Chop your wood. Go to work. Feed your animals. Not a bad existence, it's peaceful.
How was he going to argue with that? The thing of it was…it seems that he and his sister were cut from the same cloth. Maybe it was their father's doing, their upbringing? Harry had raised them to be staunchly competitive.
Anyway, Deb was the "Ying to Dexter's Yang". The left to his right. The north to his south. Opposite, but always working with and feeding off of each other. Like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. They were good together.
"Yep again, you are right Deb. But the last time we had this little conversation was the night before I was supposed to travel to Argentina, remember? And we know how that turned out."
The essence of his sister fell quiet. Odd how even the dead can be silenced.
"Yeah, bring that shit up again. You always do whenever I've got the edge on you."
"Yep, can't argue with that. You're right a lot. But not always."
"Fine, come and join me then, or end up in prison. Your choice. Maybe the afterlife is not all that it's cracked up to be big brother. I'm done for now."
In that moment Dex found himself alone again.
"I've pissed-off my sister. Wasn't the first time and I'd bet my knives that it isn't the last," he said.
He sat on his couch in his cabin with a cup of hot coffee…..his own brew this time. He took a sip.
"Ahhhhhhh, just the right flavor," he said. "I do know how to make a great cup of coffee. And, I know what I'm doing. Now it's time to consider my next move," he spoke softly.
Dex took another sip of his coffee. He gazed at the sweet smelling fire he had blazing in his fireplace. He also knew how to make an excellent fire.
************** Game Trails **************
In the coming days Dexter learned a little more about the Stiles family. However, his main focus was on the patriarch, Lin Stiles.
Lin, it seems, was a master craftsman. He did a little of this and a little of that. A bit of everything. Carpentry, plumbing, electrical, the list goes on. Perfect kind of handyman skills for someone in his position to enter into people's homes. Scope out new territory. Maybe even find his next victim. And then make his plans.
Could be that Iron Lake had become a little heated for him. With Angela posting pictures of disappeared people on her missing-board. Could be that it was time to move on. Find a new game trail. That's what predators do. When the "well begins to run dry", or one feels like the walls are closing in too much…. Pack up and leave town. Find a new hunting ground.
The Stiles family had moved to a new area. A small place about ninety miles away from Iron Lake. A little village named Redfield. Redfield, New York. A sleepy little place, almost like Iron Lake….but a little less populated. And Mr. Stiles, like Dexter, was an avid hunter (although Dexter reframed from pulling the trigger). Being a hunter would allow Stiles plenty of time alone in woods (with his prey), or maybe other places. He fit the mold.
Of course Dexter couldn't just show up in Redfield and begin casing the guy. Especially in a place so devoid of people. There was no mixing-in or blending with a crowd. No, things would have to be different. Things had to flow in accordance of the situation. He would have to come up with an idea, a solid plan. Maybe it was time to begin a little renovation around his place. Could be that he needed a storage building or venison shed. And, Mr. Stiles was a good handyman at building things. Maybe he should give him a call. See if Lin would give him a bid on how much something like that would cost. Time to get a look at this guy.
End Part 4