Jeremy's Bigfoot Tragedy Chapter Four
"Jeremy, I'm frightened by you pointing that gun at me." Jason said calmly as he held Jeremy's gaze.
"I know you are. That's why I'm doing it to scare you into letting me go search for Candy." Jeremy replied.
"No, I'm not afraid for myself, Jeremy. I'm afraid for you. I realize that you holding a gun on your own brother means that your pain over losing Candy is unbearable again. That frightens me because you could think again about ending your life. That would be a tragic loss for all of us. You give so much love to people, Jeremy. Love just pours out of you. Loving is so much a part of who you are that you don't even know that you are doing it. However, other people realize it and they need your love, Jeremy. I need your love, brother. Please put down the gun. Let me help you. I love you, Jeremy. I don't want to lose you." Jason pleaded.
"You're right, Jason. The pain of losing Candy is unbearable again and part of the reason is that I'm failing her again. That's why I'm so desperate to look for her that I'm pointing a gun at my brother. You said that I give a lot of love to people. If I sit back and don't at least try to save Candy, that's not loving her, is it, Jason? That's why I have to search for her. In spite of my injuries, I must look for Candy. You can understand that can't you, brother?" Jeremy begged.
The oldest brother and the youngest brother continued to gaze at each other for a few moments. Jeremy had tears streaming down his face. Jason had a lump in his throat.
"Yes, I understand, Jeremy. Please let Joshua and me go with you to look for Candy. The mountain is a huge area for one person to cover alone. You need help because of your injuries too. Please, Jeremy?" Jason held out his hand for his brother to give him the gun.
Jeremy took a ragged breath. "Okay, Jason." Jeremy slowly handed Jason the gun.
Jason took the gun from his brother. He unloaded it and laid the bullets and the gun on a nearby table.
Jason turned to face Jeremy again. He was looking down at his boots and weeping.
Jason moved toward the youngest Bolt. He clutched his brother close in a death grip. Jeremy wrapped his arms around Jason sobbing loud heart wrenching guttural sobs.
Jeremy suddenly cried out in pain. "My ribs, Jason!"
"I'm sorry, brother!" Jason exclaimed loosening his hold on him.
Joshua walked over to his brothers. He had watched their confrontation in disbelief. He was greatly relieved when it ended safely. Joshua put an arm around each of them.
"Let's go over here and sit down." Joshua guided them in the direction of the bed. The three of them sat down on the side of the bed with Jeremy between his brothers.
Jeremy continued to cry some. His body shuddered as he tried to get control of his emotions. Jason and Joshua had their arms around him. They leaned in so that the three faces were close.
"It's alright, Jeremy. We've got you, brother. We love you." Jason and Joshua whispered to their brother.
"I love both of you too, Jason, Joshua." Jeremy said as his tears began to subside. "I think I can sit up okay now."
The brothers moved apart a bit. Just then Raven and Lottie came in. Raven had gone to the saloon to get Jeremy and his brothers some coffee. Lottie insisted on bringing her boys some breakfast.
Jason and Joshua sat at a small table in Jeremy's room. They ate heartily of the food that Lottie brought. Jeremy sipped some coffee and ate a small strip of bacon.
Raven coaxed her husband to eat more. "Sweetheart, will you eat a few bites of eggs for me, please? You need food to help build your strength."
Jeremy looked at Raven sitting next to him on the bed. "Thank you, but I don't have much appetite. How about you? Raven, you need to eat for yourself and the baby."
"Let's make a deal. I will eat half of the eggs and drink half of the milk if you will eat and drink the rest. What do you say, Jeremy?" Raven smiled.
Jeremy smiled back. "Well, Raven, I say that you have a deal."
"And I say you two need more eggs. Plus, some bacon." Lottie said as she put more food on the plate.
While they were eating, Jeremy told Raven that he needed to talk to her about something important when he returned from searching for Candy. He said that he had been thinking about this for several weeks after he had begun counseling with Reverend Adams. Raven agreed to talk when he got home.
After everyone finished breakfast, Jason and Joshua made a pallet for Jeremy in the back of the buckboard. The three brothers agreed that Jeremy would sit up in the back of the wagon on the way up the mountain and lie down to rest in the back on the way home later.
As they were about to leave the clinic, Doctor Wright came into the room. She had been in a consultation regarding another patient. She had missed the confrontation between Jeremy and Jason.
"Jeremy! I haven't discharged you…." The doctor stopped speaking when Jason cut his eyes at her and frowned.
She was alarmed when Jason directed her gaze to the gun and bullets lying on the bedside table. Allyn studied Jason's face for a few moments. Jason flashed his dazzling smile.
"Well, Jeremy, I think it will be alright for you to leave for a few hours with your brothers. I know they will take good care of you. Please return here later so I can examine you." Doctor Wright said.
"Yes, Ma'am." Jeremy replied. "Thank you, Doctor Wright for letting me leave for a while. It's very important."
"You're welcome, Jeremy." She patted his shoulder.
Jason helped Jeremy get in the back of the wagon. Joshua sat in the back in case Jeremy needed help during the ride to the camp.
When the Bolts got to the camp, they went to the office tent. The three of them searched the tent to see if anything was missing. Everything appeared to be in place. Jeremy found the advertisements that he had been working on the night before. Corky had put them in the tent before he went back to bed last night.
"It doesn't look like any unauthorized person has been in the office tent." Joshua commented.
"Let's go start our search of the woods, brothers. Jeremy, how are you feeling? You tell us immediately if you need to stop, alright? If you push yourself until you collapse, I'm going to tell the doctor not to allow you to leave the clinic again." Jason advised.
"I'm okay except for my ribs hurting, Jason. I will let you know if I need to stop." Jeremy replied.
Joshua glanced at Jeremy like he didn't believe him. Jeremy smirked at Josh.
"Come on, Jeremy!" Joshua said smiling.
Jason crouched in front of the table where Jeremy had been working last night. The only prints he found were those made by the Bolts including Raven and the other loggers.
The three brothers went out into the woods following the path that Jeremy took the night before. They saw one huge boot print. It seemed odd to just see one, so Joshua kept searching closely. He found what could have been other huge boot prints, but it was hard to say for sure because someone had tried to cover these boot prints or destroy them.
When the Bolts got to the tree where Jeremy believed he saw Candy tied, Jeremy crouched at the base of the tree. "Ouch!" Jeremy nearly toppled over from the pain of his fractured ribs and the stitches in his chest.
Jason and Joshua immediately reached to help him up. As the youngest brother stood up, he shouted, "Look! What is that?" He was pointing at something shiny half buried in pine straw at the base of the tree.
Jason reached down to pick it up. "It's a gold bracelet." He turned so Joshua and Jeremy could get a good look at it.
"That belongs to C-C-Candy." Jeremy held out his hand.
Jason put the bracelet in his brother's hand. "Jeremy, are you sure it belongs to Candy?"
Jeremy squinted at the underside of the jewelry. "Yes, there's the inscription I had put on it when I bought for her. It says Jeremy loves Candy."
"I remember when you gave it to her for her birthday last year. You worked extra for months repairing roofs and furniture for people. You built lots of new furniture too so you could earn the money to buy it." Joshua said.
"Oh, yes, I remember too." Jason said.
"J-J-Jason, do you realize this means that it was Candy that I saw last night! She's alive, Jason! Joshua, she's alive!" Jeremy smiled for a minute.
Then his smile faded as he wondered, "If Candy is alive, where is she? Where is she, Jason? Joshua, where is Candy?"
"If she is on the mountain, we will find her today, Jeremy! Josh, go tell some of the men to go around to the crews and tell them that work is canceled for today. Ask them if they will help us search the mountain for Candy. Let them know that they will get paid double for today if they assist with the search." Jason told him.
"Okay, Jason!" Joshua ran to start telling the crews.
Jason and Jeremy continued to search that same area for a few more minutes. Jeremy found a piece of rope with a few strands of red hair and some little spots of blood on it.
"Jason, this has to be part of the rope that was used to tie Candy to the tree." Jeremy told him.
Jason took the rope from Jeremy and examined it. "We might be on to something this time, Jeremy. I'm going to ask you a question that's none of my business. If we find Candy, what does that mean for you and Raven?"
"I made a decision about two weeks ago, but we had a scare with the baby, so I didn't talk to Raven then as I had planned. I am going to talk to her tonight and tell her I want a divorce. I love her in a way, but not like I love Candy. It's not fair to either one of us, Jason." Jeremy explained.
"It sounds like this is your plan even if we don't find Candy. Am I right?" asked Jason. "What about the baby?"
"Yes, you're right, Jason. That's my plan either way. I will help Raven raise the baby. Neither of them will ever lack anything they need." Jeremy answered.
"Well, Jeremy…" Jason said.
Joshua came running up to his brothers with two of the loggers, Mack and Mayo. "Jeremy, Jason, they have something important to tell you."
"First we have to confess, Jason. We have been running a still about three miles on back in the woods. We know it was wrong, but we were real careful not to let the fires get out of control. We wouldn't want your mountain to catch fire." Mack explained.
"What was the other thing you wanted to tell us? Does it have anything to do with Candy?" asked Jeremy.
"It sure does! You tell it, Mack." Mayo replied.
"Okay. Last night me and Mayo were out at the still and we heard some horses coming in our direction. When we looked behind us, we saw two horses. One had a huge man on him. The other horse was carrying a red headed young woman." Mack told them.
"Candy! Mack, you have seen Candy. Was it her?" Jeremy was excited.
"At first, I thought it was her, Jeremy. Then she looked in our direction and I could see that it wasn't Candy even though she had long red hair." Mack answered.
"Do you have any idea who she was, Mack?" Jason asked.
Mack looked at Mayo. "You gotta tell them, Mack." Mayo nodded.
"Jason, get ahold of Jeremy." Mack moved his head toward the youngest brother.
The three Bolt brothers were facing Mayo and Mack. Jason stepped behind Jeremy and placed his arm across Jeremy's chest being careful of his broken ribs and his stitches. Joshua held Jeremy's hand tightly.
Jeremy took a deep breath. "We're ready, Mack, tell us."
"Boy, I sure hate to tell you. It was your wife, Raven, wearing a red wig, riding on that horse." Mack shook his head.
Jeremy staggered backwards against Jason. The oldest brother held him tight. Joshua let go of Jeremy's hand and gripped his right arm firmly.
"J-J-Jason, why do you think Raven would try to make me think she is Candy?" Jeremy asked.
"I don't know, Jeremy. But there can't be any kind of a good reason for it." Jason answered.
"She's a witch to do that to you, Jeremy." Joshua said.
The search for Candy was called off since the sighting was a lie. This information wasn't given to the men by the Bolts. Jason made a deal with Mack and Mayo. He let them keep their jobs in exchange for their silence about Raven and the red wig. Of course, they had to shut down the still too.
The brothers returned to town. Jeremy was quiet on the way back. The one time he spoke was to tell Joshua that he had already been planning to divorce Raven.
Jason drove the wagon directly to the clinic. Doctor Wright examined Jeremy. She said he was doing well. He asked if he could go home briefly to talk to Raven. Doctor Wright told him that Raven was at Lottie's. She didn't want to go all the way home and then come back to the clinic to see him. Doctor Wright said it would be fine for Jeremy to go to Lottie's for a short time but then he must return to the clinic to rest. Jeremy agreed. Jason and Joshua accompanied their brother to Lottie's.
When they entered the saloon, they saw Raven behind the bar with Lottie. They were scrubbing the bar with soap and water.
"Raven, I need to talk to you in the back room right now. Lottie, would you come in with us, please? My brothers are going to be in there." Jeremy said.
"Jeremy, we don't need a crowd for a private discussion, do we?" Raven asked.
"We need witnesses because I know what a liar you are." Jeremy was eerily calm.
"Why, Jeremy, are you alright? I don't know what you are talking about." Raven said.
"Back room, now." Jeremy replied.
Jason and Joshua glanced at each other. Jeremy was too calm.
The Bolts and Lottie went into the back room. They sat down at the table. The brothers on one side and Lottie and Raven on the other.
Lottie looked at Raven. "You need to understand one thing, honey. I'm on their side." She nodded at the Bolt brothers.
Raven stared at the older woman not knowing what to say. She turned her head toward Jeremy. "What do you want to talk about?"
"When we were at the camp earlier today, I was told that you were seen in the woods up there last night. You were on a horse, and you were wearing a red wig. Last night, before I was attacked, I saw a woman with long red hair tied to a tree. She had been calling to me to save her. She said she was Candy. That was you, wasn't it, Raven?"
"Yes, it was me." She replied coldly. "The reason I did it was because I wanted you to think you are losing your mind. When you are frightened or sick or injured you are much easier to manipulate, Jeremy. As I have told you before, I love you. I want you to belong to me and I will use any means necessary to make that happen."
Jeremy stared angrily at her for a few seconds. He reached in his pocket to pull out Candy's gold bracelet. He held it out where Raven could see it.
"This is Candy's bracelet. Where did you get it? Where is Candy?" He demanded.
"I took it off Candy's wrist the first night you were attacked by Bigfoot. Now to answer your second question, big brothers get ready. Baby brother is about to need you very badly, Candy is dead. I had her killed. She stood between me and you, so I got rid of her."
"H-H-How was she k-k-killed?" Jeremy's voice quivered.
"A bullet to the head. Your Miss Candy Pruitt did not suffer. She was gone before she knew what hit her. Oh, she did leave a message for you. She said tell Jeremy that I love him." Raven smiled an icy smile.
Jeremy jumped up from his seat. He tried to lunge across the table at Raven. He cried out in pain from his fractured ribs. Jason and Joshua helped him sit down in his chair. Jeremy sat there clutching his ribs and gasping while he glared at Raven.
"I'm getting a divorce. I had made the decision two weeks ago. I will talk to my attorney tomorrow." He gasped still holding his ribs.
Raven laughed. 'No, you won't get a divorce, Jeremy. Did you forget about the baby? If you leave me, I will kill your child. And that goes for after this Bolt brat is born too. Unless you want a dead son or daughter at some point in your life, I suggest that you learn to love me."
'Why, you….!" Joshua tried to dive at her. Jason pulled him back.
'Easy, Joshua, easy." Jason spoke calmly. "Raven, you obviously don't love Jeremy as you claim too. Why are you so determined to hold on to him?"
"Oh, he's very handsome and as I mentioned earlier, when he is injured, sick, or upset, Jeremy is easy to manipulate. And he always seems to be sick, upset or injured." Raven laughed.
"So, my brother is just shall we say a plaything to you and the baby is a pawn for you to use against him. Is that how things are going to be?" Jason asked.
"Yes, Jason, that's how things are going to be. You catch on fast. Too bad baby brother isn't as smart as you." Raven answered.
Jeremy continued to glare at his wife. Lottie had moved to the brothers' side of the table.
"Our parents raised us to be gentlemen. However, I think Mom and Dad will forgive me for this. You're a wench, lady!" Joshua shouted furiously.
Raven smiled. "You're right, Joshua. That's exactly what I am. I'm good at it and I enjoy it very much."
"Lottie, will you do me a favor, please? Will you allow Raven to stay in one of your rooms until the baby is born? I'll pay for it." Jeremy asked.
"Yes, I will do that for you, Jeremy." Lottie answered.
"Thanks, Lottie. Raven, we will stay married until the baby is born. After that, I'm divorcing you. My attorney will make sure that I get custody of the baby." Jeremy said.
"Whatever you say, Jeremy. You remember what I said about the baby." Raven replied.
"You won't hurt my child before he or she is born. You would have to hurt yourself too and you won't do that. You enjoy being mean and cruel too much." Jeremy told her.
"Jeremy, you look tired. Are you ready to go back to the clinic?" Joshua asked.
"Yeah, Josh." Jeremy gasped due to the pain from his broken ribs.
"Let us help you, brother." Jason said as he and Joshua each took an arm to help Jeremy from his chair.
Lottie kissed Jeremy on the cheek. "Take a nap, sweetheart and I will bring you and your brothers supper later."
"Thank you, Lottie. I will pay for the room later." Jeremy said.
"That's fine, Sugar britches. Come on, Raven, I'll show you your room." Lottie replied.
Raven followed her out of the back room and upstairs. Jason and Joshua took Jeremy back to the clinic.
Doctor Wright examined Jeremy and changed the bandaging around his ribs. She gave him some Laudanum for the pain from his fractured ribs.
Jeremy slept for a few hours. When he woke up, Lottie had just brought supper. Jeremy ate a drumstick and drank some coffee.
Later when Jeremy was getting ready to go to sleep for the night, his brothers came in to talk to him.
"Jeremy, Josh and I are worried about you. The reason for our concern is that you haven't cried about Candy. We don't want you to try to suppress your feelings because they will come out in harmful way if you do that." Jason explained.
"I'm not holding my feelings in, Jason. I remember when I was up at the old family cabin that day. Believe me, I don't want to ever feel like that again. Talking to Reverend Adam's has helped me. And I think I knew in my heart the other night that it wasn't Candy out in the woods. I had no idea that it was Raven, but I knew it wasn't Candy. Still, I had to search just in case. Do you understand what I mean?" Jeremy looked at his brothers.
"Yes, we understand, Jeremy. Remember you can talk to us anytime. We love you." Jason replied.
Joshua patted Jeremy on the shoulder. "Talk to us, brother, anytime."
"I will, I promise, I love you both." Jeremy told them.
Jason and Joshua stayed at the clinic that night to be close to Jeremy. They slept in other rooms.
Later that night, Jeremy was sleeping well when Jason woke him. "Jeremy, I'm sorry to wake you, but it's urgent. I need to take you to Lottie's…."
"Did something happen to Lottie?" Jeremy was frightened.
"No, Lottie is fine. Jeremy, I hate to tell you this. Raven is losing the baby. Allyn is there. She says that since Raven isn't quite seven months along, the baby can't live." Jason explained.
"J-J-Jason! Does the doctor think that Raven did something to cause this? You know she threatened to kill the baby." Jeremy worried.
"No, Raven didn't cause this, Jeremy. I told Allyn about Raven's threats. Allyn said she was certain that some type of problem with the afterbirth." Jason replied. "Jeremy, I need to tell you something else. Raven isn't going to survive. She's dying, Jeremy. I know the information you got today destroyed any love that you had for her. But at one time you loved her enough to conceive this child with her. I'm sorry, brother."
Jeremy got a lump in his throat. He got dressed quickly. He and Jason hurried to Lottie's. Joshua had gone to get Reverend Adam's.
The two brothers went upstairs when they arrived at the saloon. They sat in chairs outside Raven's room. They could hear Raven screaming in pain.
"Jason, my son or my daughter….." Jeremy sobbed.
Jason put his arm around Jeremy's shoulders and gently placed his brother's head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Jeremy. You would have been father."
In a few minutes, Doctor Wright came out of the room. "The baby is gone, I'm sorry." She reached down and gave Jeremy a hug.
"Thank you, Doctor. How is Raven?" He choked up.
"She doesn't have long. She's asking to speak to you." Doctor Wright answered.
Jeremy took a deep breath. "I will speak to her." He got up from the chair and stepped into the room.
Jeremy walked across the room and knelt by the bed. "I'm here, Raven. The doctor told me about the baby." He whispered.
Raven looked at him. "I'm sorry about the baby, Jeremy," she said weakly.
Jeremy sighed. He did not say anything.
"You don't believe me. Well, I can't blame you for that. I hope you believe me about this. I lied when I told you, Candy is dead. She's not dead, I promise, Jeremy." Raven gasped.
Jeremy gazed at Raven. How could he know whether to believe her or not?
"Raven, if Candy is not dead, where is she?" He whispered.
"Candy is in…she is with…to find her go to…" Raven struggled to speak.
"Raven, please tell me. If you are telling me the truth, tell me where I can find her. Where is Candy?" Jeremy asked.
Raven struggled to sit up. Jeremy took hold of her arms. "You don't have to try to sit up. Lie back down." He said softly.
"No, I want to tell you, Jeremy, Candy is…." Raven collapsed in his arms. She was gone.
"Raven! Raven! Where is Candy?" Jeremy cried.