Jeremy's Bigfoot Tragedy Chapter Five J
Jason contacted Raven's father, Robert Thomas Rochester by telegram regarding Raven's death. A funeral was held two days later in Olympia. Jeremy and his brothers attended out of respect for Mr. Rochester and the fact that they did not want to tell him how cruel and manipulative Raven had been.
When the Bolts returned to Seattle, they again discussed Raven's last words to Jeremy. "This is a terrible thing to say even about Raven, but I don't believe that Candy is alive. Raven lied to me so much that I suspect that she only wanted to hurt me once more before she died. I mean if Candy isn't dead, why hasn't she contacted me? It's been seven months now. She could have sent a telegram or even a letter by this time." Jeremy said sadly. "I have to accept the fact that Candy is gone."
"I'm sorry, Jeremy." Jason told him somberly.
"I hurt for you, brother." Joshua said.
"Thanks." Jeremy replied.
Several weeks went by. Jeremy went to work and came home every day. He tried not to dwell on how sad he was, but that was hard to do. He continued his counseling with Reverend Adams which helped.
One morning, when the three brothers arrived at the logging camp, Mack and Mayo were waiting to see them.
"Good morning to all of you. May we speak to you, please? It's important." Mayo said.
"Sure, Mayo. What is going on?" Jason asked.
"You tell them, Mack." Mayo said.
"Okay. Jeremy, I know you've been trying really hard to accept the loss of your pretty little sweetheart. I wouldn't hurt you for nothing, I know you have been through hell. But you should know what me and Mayo found out last night." Mack explained.
Jeremy glanced at his brothers and turned his head to look at Mack again. "Alright, Mack, what did you and Mayo find out?"
"We got a message from one of our, uh, helpers in Port Angeles, that a man wanted to buy some of our moonshine. Last night, Mayo and me went there to meet this man and make the sale. We met him at a warehouse on the dock. We were there a while because this man bought a lot." Mack said.
"Yeah, we were going in and out of this warehouse and one time the guy buying from us opened a door on the other side of the warehouse. When he did, we heard what sounded like a young woman crying. Me and Mack looked toward that door and we saw some long red hair." Mayo explained.
Jeremy gasped. "Did you go in that room? Did you get a good look at the girl?"
"We tried Jeremy. I cussed that man about keeping a young lady in a place like that. I told him that she was leaving with us. Mayo and I went to that door and tried to break it down, but it was metal and we couldn't get through. We didn't have time to take the door off the hinges. That jackass ran us off." Mack told him. "We tried to get a deputy or a police officer to go back down to the dock to find out if it was Candy. None of them would go with us. They acted like they were scared to go. I guess that's part of the reason that part of town is so bad."
"When we were trying to see about getting in that room, we yelled through the door that we were from Seattle. The young woman hollered back saying tell Jeremy I'm here, tell Jeremy." Mayo said.
"That's got to be Candy! Are you supposed to go back anytime soon? Do you know where that man lives?" Jeremy asked.
"We don't know where he lives, but we haven't told you, he's the man we saw that night with Raven when she was wearing the red wig. That man looks like he is over seven feet tall. His right hand is missing. He has a hook in place of his hand. Oh, and his name is George." Mack answered.
Jeremy looked at the scar on his chest. "I guess George is Bigfoot. Do you know how to contact him?"
"Not directly. We have to get the word out that we are looking for him." Mayo answered.
"Please put the word out, Mayo. We need to find out if that was Candy as soon as we can. We appreciate your help." Jason said.
"We can't go back this soon or George will suspect something. I have two friends Jay Jay and Isaiah who will help us. I will talk to them." Mack explained.
"Thank you, Mack and Mayo. This means so much to me." Jeremy smiled.
"You're welcome, Jeremy. I will let you know when I make the arrangements with JayJay and Isaiah." Mack replied.
Jeremy felt hopeful again. He began eating and sleeping better. Jason and Joshua were very happy that their brother was improving.
Two weeks went by. Mack and Mayo were waiting for the Bolts at the office tent early on Wednesday morning. Jeremy was excited to see them.
"Good morning to you all." Mack said. "We heard from JayJay and Isaiah last night. They are meeting with George in the same warehouse this Friday night."
Jeremy thanked Mack and Mayo for their help. They said they would be there Friday night to help but they would stay out of George's sight until he was caught. It was agreed that they would meet at the warehouse three doors down from George's warehouse and all of them would approach him together.
Jason sent a wire to the Territorial Marshall Leonard Trueaxe. The Marshall answered soon saying he would be at the meeting point at the appropriate time.
On Friday night, the three brothers arrived a few minutes early. Jason and Jeremy brought pistols. Joshua had his shotgun. JayJay and Isaiah got there soon. Marshall Trueaxe came with a Deputy Marshall, Jeff Brown. Mack and Mayo arrived last.
Everyone except Mack and Mayo went to George's warehouse. They listened outside the door. There was a faint sound inside. Marshall Trueaxe advised the men as to where they should go so that the warehouse would be secured. The men proceeded to their spots. The Bolts went to the back entrance since Mack and Mayo had told them that the room was at the far end of the warehouse. Marshall Trueaxe was with the brothers. Deputy Marshall Brown was at the front.
At the signal of the territorial officers, the men entered the building from the front and the back. There was no one in the main part of the warehouse. However, there was talking in the other room and lantern light.
"Candy!" Jeremy whispered loudly and he ran toward the room.
Jason and Joshua ran hard after their brother. "Jeremy!" Jason caught him by the arm just before he was going to enter the room. "Let me and Josh go in first."
"Okay, Jason." Jeremy agreed.
Jason and Joshua entered the room. They found two teenage boys standing over a body. The body was covered with a sheet.
"What are you two doing in here?" Joshua demanded.
"We heard that there was a dead girl in here. We only wanted to see her. We have never seen a dead person before." The frightened boy replied.
"Who did you hear it from?" Jason asked.
"Some guys talking on the dock earlier tonight. Some of the crew from one of those ships. We don't know them. We didn't have nothing to do with killing her. We just wanted to see her like Eddie said." The other boy told them.
"What's your name?" Jason growled.
"My name is Hugh. I promise we didn't hurt this girl." Hugh began to cry.
"He is telling the truth, mister." Eddie said.
"Go home to your mamas and stay away from the dock. Or else you will wind up on one of those ships." Jason told them.
Eddie and Hugh ran like their pants were on fire out of the room and the warehouse.
Jason and Joshua bent down next to the body. They exchanged a frightened glance.
Jason removed the sheet very slowly from the girl's face. He let out a yelp.
Joshua looked at her face. "Oh, my gawd!" Jason started to cover her face with the sheet. "Wait, Jason!" Joshua removed a locket from around her neck. After Jason covered her face with the sheet, the brothers went out of the room and closed the door behind them.
"Is Candy in there? What were those kids doing in there?" Jeremy asked.
Jason looked around for a place for them to sit down. He saw some small crates.
"Let's go over here and sit down, Jeremy." He took Jeremy by the arm. Joshua followed them.
The other men stepped outside so the Bolts could talk privately. The Marshall and the Deputy started talking to some of the crew on the ship docked closest to the warehouse.
The three brothers sat on the crates. "Jeremy, Joshua and I love you very much. Dear gawd, I hate to tell you this, brother." Jason pulled Jeremy close to him in a tight embrace. Then, Jason stepped back and looked Jeremy in the eye. "Jeremy, Candy is gone. She's dead."
"Are you sure it's her, J-J-Jason?" Jeremy asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. It is Candy." Jason said sadly.
"She was wearing this, Jeremy." Joshua showed him the locket.
Jeremy took the locket from his brother. He opened it.
"This was Candy's. She wore it all the time. It had belonged to her mother. There's a tintype of her father and one of her mother inside." Jeremy told them. "I want to see Candy. I need to see her."
"Alright, Jeremy. We are going in with you. I don't want you in there alone and neither does Joshua." Jason hugged him before they started walking back toward the room.
Jeremy went into that room followed by his brothers. The three of them got on their knees next to Candy's body. Jeremy started to remove the sheet from her face.
"Jeremy! Stop! I wouldn't look at her face, brother." Joshua cautioned.
"I have to, Joshua. Why don't you want me to see Candy's face?" asked Jeremy.
"Because George, uh, his hook…." Joshua winced.
Jeremy turned pale. "That bastard used his hook on her beautiful face? I'm going to kill him! If it takes me the rest of my life, I'm going to kill him!"
Jason put his arm around his grieving brother. "I'm sorry, Jeremy." He sobbed.
Jeremy looked at his brothers with angry bitter tears streaming down his face. "She's gone. Candy's really gone."
The youngest brother took a deep breath and slowly pulled back the sheet. When he saw his fiancé's face marred by a metal hook, he screamed, "W-W-Why? W-W-Why?"
Jeremy stroked her hair as he whispered, "My sweet girl, my sweet girl. I love you, M-M-Miss C-C-Candy P-P-Pruitt."
Jeremy hugged her close to him as he squalled his heart out. When his squalling slowed down, he began humming in her ear. Then he began singing softly an old sea shanty he and Joshua learned from Clancy.
Clancy loved the old tune. He told Joshua and Jeremy that he wanted them to sing it for him so he could hear it sung by boys that knew how to sing. Jeremy and Joshua had sung it a lot for Clancy. Sometimes they would be on his ship and sing it while playing their guitars. Other times they would sing it at Lottie's while Jeremy played the piano.
When Candy heard them sing the song at Lottie's, she had loved it. Sometimes she would ask Jeremy to sing it acapella when they went for a walk or on a picnic.
This is what Jeremy sang.
Shenandoah
Oh Shenandoah I long to see you
Away you rolling river
Oh Shenandoah I long to see you
Away I'm bound away
cross the wide Missouri
Oh Shenandoah I love your daughter
Away you rolling river
For her I'd cross your roaming water
Away I'm bound away
Cross the wide Missouri
Tis seven years since Last I've seen you
And hear your rolling river
Tis seven years since last I've seen you
Away we're bound away
cross the wide Missouri
Oh Shenandoah I long to see you
And hear your rolling river
Oh Shenandoah I long to see you
Away we're bound away cross the wide Missouri
As Jeremy sang, his voice quivered and faltered at times. The first time he faltered, Joshua sat down next to him and took up the song singing softly. When Jeremy was able to sing again, Joshua stopped singing. The blond brother stayed seated by him with his hand on his shoulder. Each time Jeremy couldn't get the words out, Joshua sang until he was able to do it again. Jason was on his knees behind Jeremy keeping his hand on his back.
When Jeremy finished the song, he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, C-C-Candy. I should have saved you. I hate myself for f-f-failing you."
Jeremy sat there quietly holding Candy for a few minutes. Then he started to stand up and pick up her body as he did so.
"Wait, Jeremy, why are you going to pick up Candy?" Jason asked.
"To take her home for her f-f-funeral." Jeremy answered.
"We can't do that, brother. Her body has been here too long. We will have to bury her in the sea." Jason sighed.
"No! We aren't going to dump her like garbage, Jason! George already did t-t-that to h-h-her!" Jeremy was furious.
"Jeremy, what if we have a funeral service here on a ship and then use a coffin to bury her in the sea?" Joshua asked.
"Well, that would be better than just using a sack." Jeremy answered.
"I will find the undertaker and a preacher. Jeremy, the undertaker might not have a coffin available. We might have no choice but to use a sack. But, what if we got some blankets and a pretty nightgown? I'm sure the preacher's wife or sister would help us. And I will try to find some flowers. Candy liked daisies and roses, didn't she?" Joshua asked.
"Yes, she did. Hell, I hate talking about her in past tense." Jeremy answered.
"You have some good ideas, Joshua. See if Deputy Brown will go with you and perhaps JayJay. I will stay here with Jeremy." Jason said.
"Okay, Jason. We will be back as soon as we can." Joshua told him.
Joshua left with Deputy Marshall Brown and JayJay. Isaiah went along to help as well.
After they left, Mack and Mayo talked to some of the captains of some of the fishing vessels. Captain Jacob Harwell said he would be glad to help them.
Marshall Trueaxe told Jeremy and Jason that he had to see Candy. The two brothers went with him into the room. The Marshall looked at her and looked around the room. He didn't find any evidence except the severe injuries to her face. The Marshall said she most likely died from blood loss. Trueaxe told them he would do all he could to find George and arrest him.
Joshua and the other men returned in an hour. They brought Reverend Rob Reese and his wife, Laney Reese with them. They were very kind. Mrs. Reese brought a lovely nightgown, some blankets, some roses and some daisies with her.
The undertaker had a coffin available. He said an elderly man had ordered the coffin for himself. Then he went to visit his daughter in Pennsylvania. The man died during the visit and his daughter decided to bury him in the town where she lived.
Mrs. Reese took care of Candy changing her clothes and placing some of the flowers in her hair. The coffin was going to be closed during the service, but Jeremy appreciated the flowers as a gesture of love and kindness for Candy.
Joshua and the other men except for Jason and of course, Jeremy, acted as pall bearers carrying the coffin on to Captain Harwell's fishing vessel. Reverend and Mrs. Reese boarded the ship too.
.
When they had traveled three nautical miles, Captain Harwell anchored the ship. They began the funeral service on the deck. There were many lanterns lining the deck and it was a bright moonlit night.
Reverend Reese read the passage of scripture where Jesus said In My house there are many mansions. He talked about Candy being at home and happy with Jesus in Heaven. Mrs. Reese sang Rock of Ages.
Jason gave the eulogy. He spoke of the first time he and his brothers met Candy in New Bedford. Jason talked about her being the unofficial leader of the Brides and how she took her unofficial position very seriously always looking out for the best interests of all the young women. The eldest Bolt said that Miss Pruitt's numerous petitions were sometimes a headache to him but now sadly they would be a headache that he missed very much. Jason said that the loss of Candy would leave a terrible wound in their lives but none so terrible as the wound in the heart of his youngest brother, Jeremy who loved her so dearly.
Jason stepped to the coffin, placed a rose on it and said, "Godspeed Miss Pruitt. I will miss you."
Jeremy was standing between Joshua and Reverend Reese. He had tears streaming down his face. He and Jason hugged. "Thank you, J-J-Jason."
Joshua gave Jeremy a hug. Reverend Reese patted his shoulder.
Jeremy stepped up in front of the group. He sang Amazing Grace.
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days, to sing God's Praise, than when we first begun."
"Would you mind if I sang a song that isn't a hymn. It's an old sea shanty called Shenandoah. Joshua and I learned it from Captain Clancy. He likes for us to sing it for him sometimes. C-C-Candy heard us sing it at Lottie's and she loved it. She used to ask me to sing it for her when we took a walk or after choir practice." Jeremy explained.
"That's fine, Jeremy, whatever you want to do is just fine." Mack told him.
"I know that song, Jeremy. Rob used to sing it to me when we were courting. I think it would be a lovely thing to do." Mrs. Reese said.
"Joshua, will you help me if I can't make it through?" Jeremy asked.
"Sure, I will, Jeremy." Joshua answered.
"Thank you, J-J-Joshua." Jeremy said.
Jeremy took a deep breath. He looked at the coffin.
"This is for you, Candy. I love you." He spoke.
Jeremy sang Shenandoah, the song he had sung as he held Candy in the room in the warehouse. His voice quivered two or three times. Other than that, his voice was strong and full of love for Candy.
When Jeremy finished singing, he stepped to the coffin. He laid a rose and a daisy on top of it.
"Rest well, my sweet girl. We will be together again one day. I love you, C-C-Candy."
Jeremy went to stand between Jason and Joshua. They each put an arm around him.
When the others had paid their respects and placed a flower on the coffin, Reverend Reese said a closing prayer. When he came to the word, Amen, Jeremy didn't try to say it. He said it in his mind.
Jason and Joshua realized their brother didn't say Amen. They squeezed him tightly between them. Jeremy sighed deeply.
Captain Harwell and some of his crew positioned a long board over the side of the vessel to slide the coffin into the sea. Mack, Mayo, JayJay, and Isaiah walked up to the coffin, and they were about to help lift it on to the board.
Jeremy cried out, "No! No! You can't take her away from me! C-C-Candy!"
He rushed forward and dropped to his knees by the coffin. Jeremy laid across the coffin sobbing heartbroken.
"Come back, C-C-Candy! Come b-b-back." Jeremy cried.
Jason and Joshua persuaded Jeremy to let go of the coffin. The three brothers sat on the floor of the deck with Jeremy in the middle.
"Jeremy, Candy is in Heaven with Jesus. She is also with Mom and Dad." Jason said softly.
"She is also with her mother and her father. Candy is alright, Jeremy." Joshua whispered.
"I want her to be okay here with me! She was supposed to spend a lifetime with me! Two years is not long enough!" Jeremy was angry.
"I know, Jeremy, I'm sorry." Jason said. "Joshua and I would change things for you if we could."
"I wish there was something I could say to make it better for you, brother. There's just not anything I can say." Joshua told him.
Captain Harwell walked over to the Bolts. "Jeremy, we need to go ahead with the burial. Do I have your permission?"
Jeremy glanced at the coffin for a long moment. "Yes, Captain Harwell, you have my permission."
The Bolt brothers stood up from the floor of the deck. They watched as the men lifted the coffin on to the board and gave it a shove toward the ocean.
As he watched Candy's remains sink into the deep moonlit water, anger, bitterness, and hate filled his broken heart. Jeremy had a new purpose in life, revenge.