Chapter 3 - THE SECRET OF THE BLACKWOOD LEDGER
The echo of the gunshot died slowly in the damp night air.
Sheriff Cobb stepped toward Thomas, his rifle held loosely in his right hand. His face was a mask of grief and duty, but the sweat pouring down his temples told a different story.
"It's over, Tom," Cobb said softly, gesturing toward the river where Mayor Vance’s body had vanished into the foaming rapids. "The bastard got what he deserved. We'll get a search team down river tomorrow to recover his body. Come on. Let's get you and little Leo back to town."
Thomas didn't move.
His gaze was glued to the mud between his feet. The leather-bound notebook Mayor Vance had dropped was open. The pages were soaked with rain, but the ink remained legible.
It wasn't a mayor's diary. It was a transaction ledger.
October 14, 2024 – Subject T.M. – Delivered to St. Jude’s Sanatorium. Payment Received: $45,000. Broker: Officer C.
Thomas felt the world tilt on its axis.
Officer C.
Slowly, Thomas tilted his head up. His eyes locked onto the shiny brass badge pinned to Sheriff Cobb’s chest.
Cobb.
"Tom?" Cobb took another step forward, his eyes narrowing as he noticed the small black book on the ground. His posture stiffened instantly. The sorrow on his face melted away, replaced by something cold, sharp, and terrifyingly calculated. "What are you looking at, Tom?"
Goliath growled. The massive black dog placed himself directly between Thomas and the Sheriff, his hackles raised, his teeth bared in a silent promise of violence.
"You shot him," Thomas whispered, the realization hitting him like a freight train. "You didn't shoot Vance to save me. You shot him to shut him up."
Cobb didn't deny it. He slowly raised the rifle, leveling the barrel straight at Thomas’s chest.
"You always were too soft for this town, Thomas," Cobb said, his voice dropping all pretense of warmth. "Oakhaven is broke. The timber industry died ten years ago. How do you think this town survived? How do you think we built the new school? How do you think your farm stayed out of foreclosure after your wife died?"
"By selling children?!" Thomas screamed, his voice tearing through the trees.
"By providing 'specimens' to people who pay very good money to study broken minds!" Cobb spat. "Old man Silas wasn't crazy when we locked him up. He found out what Vance and I were doing. So we framed him, threw him in the asylum, and used his root cellar to hold the boy until the buyers were ready!"
"Toby is alive," Thomas said, a sudden, blinding ray of hope cutting through his rage. "He’s at St. Jude’s."
"St. Jude’s isn't a hospital, Tom," Cobb sneered, taking a slow step forward, thumbing back the hammer of his rifle. "It’s a black-market research facility hidden deep in the state mountains. Nobody comes out of there. And nobody is going to find out about it—because you’re about to have a tragic accident. Local father, overcome with grief, attacks the Sheriff and falls off the cliff..."
"You forgot one thing, Cobb," Thomas said quietly.
"Yeah? What's that?"
"I'm not alone."
Goliath lunged.
The black hound didn't aim for the Sheriff's torso—he aimed for the rifle. Goliath’s massive jaws snapped shut around the wooden stock of the gun just as Cobb pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
The shot fired wild, shattering the branches above. The sheer force of Goliath’s impact threw Cobb off balance. The 200-pound dog slammed the Sheriff into the dirt, tearing at his sleeves.
"Get off me! GET OFF!" Cobb shrieked, swinging his heavy steel flashlight at the dog's head.
CRACK!
The light struck Goliath across the snout. Blood sprayed from the dog's nose, but the beast didn't retreat. He bit deep into Cobb's shoulder, ripping through flesh and uniform.
Thomas didn't hesitate. He grabbed the heavy ax from the ground and swung the blunt side into Cobb's ribs.
THWACK!
Cobb let out a sickening gasp as his ribs shattered. The rifle fell from his bloodied fingers and slid down the muddy slope, disappearing over the edge into the raging river below.
Cobb lay on his back, gasping for air, clutching his crushed chest. "Tom... please..." he wheezed.
Thomas stood over him, the ax raised high. His chest heaved. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to execute the man who had stolen his son.
Goliath stood over Cobb, panting heavily, blood dripping from his jaws, waiting for Thomas's command to tear the Sheriff’s throat out.
From the distance, flashlight beams flickered through the forest. The voices of the villagers were getting closer.
"Tom! Sheriff! Where are you?!" Mayor Vance’s deputy was calling out.
Thomas looked down at Cobb. "If I kill you now, I go to prison," Thomas said, his voice trembling with fury. "And if I go to prison, nobody saves Toby."
Thomas slammed the heavy wooden handle of the ax into the side of Cobb's jaw, knocking the Sheriff instantly unconscious.
Thomas quickly ripped the Sheriff’s belt off, tying Cobb's wrists and ankles securely to a nearby pine tree. He snatched the leather ledger off the ground and stuffed it inside his jacket.
He turned to Goliath. The dog was bleeding from his snout, but his dark eyes were clear, fixed entirely on Thomas.
"We have to go," Thomas whispered to the beast. "Before the rest of the deputies get here. They're all in on it."
Goliath gave a single, quiet nod, turning his body toward the northern trail—the road leading out of Oakhaven toward the jagged peaks of the Blackwood Mountains.
Thomas sprinted back toward the edge of the forest where he had left his youngest son, Leo. He scooped the little boy into his arms from the terrified neighbor who was guarding him.
"Daddy?" Leo whimpered, rubbing his tired eyes. "Where is Toby?"
Thomas kissed his small son's forehead, holding him so tight he could feel the boy's tiny heart beating.
"We're going to get him, baby," Thomas whispered, tears blurring his vision as he looked out into the pitch-black highway ahead. "We're going to bring your brother home."
May you like
Goliath trotted out of the shadows, taking his place at Thomas’s side.
Behind them, in the distance, sirens began to wail across the village of Oakhaven. The hunt was on.
