A Very Simple Crime by Grant Jerkins Read Free Book Online Page A

Multicolored stalactites and stalagmites hang and grow everywhere. Impressive rock shelves fan out in intricately curved shapes. And everywhere, lurking in every corner, is the darkness. We pass through magnificent archways of colorful, wet stone. Our tour guide, a pale teenage girl given to snapping her gum, leads us deeper and deeper into the cavern. She is informative if not somewhat bored by nature.
    “The caverns were first discovered in 1822 and were later used by deserters of both the Union and Confederate armies. On the rock shelf to your left, you can see the remains of a campfire the deserters built to ward off the constant cold and dark.”
    We all turn to look. The combined breath of our group hovers above us in a ghostly condensation.
    “If you’ll walk over here, you can see our underground stream. The trout that swim in this water are unlike any other freshwater fish on earth.”
    She shines her flashlight into the stream.
    “They’re blind. Thousands of generations of living without light has caused them to no longer rely on eyesight to hunt.”
    I peer over into the stream. A fine sweat, despite the cold, has formed on my forehead and under my arms. The fish I see are cumbersome and preternaturally pale. Bulbous, opaque tumors grow in the place of eyes.
    “Right now we are standing under a mile of solid rock. This cavern exists in total darkness—a darkness so pure, they say a human being would go blind if subjected to it for any length of time.”
    I look uncertainly at the surrounding rock walls. They seem to be crouching imperceptibly inward, wanting to consume me with their dark secrets. The tour guide reaches out and places her hand on a toggle switch bolted into the rock. Heavy-gauge electrical wiring runs to the switch. Inwardly, I flinch.
    “Okay, this is the part of the tour where we turn off the lights. If anybody has any small children who are afraid of the dark, or for whatever reason, we can skip this part. Anybody?”
    Her words chill me. They echo my wedding ceremony to Rachel. Should anyone here have cause why this man and woman should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace. But no one spoke up. I was given to the dark. Oh, please, please let some small child cry out in fear. Don’t let them plunge me into the darkness. I’ve only just escaped the dark. Don’t let it take me again. I may not come back.
    “Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to experience something few humans ever experience in their lifetimes.”
    Sweat trickles from my armpits and slides icily down my sides. I reach out for Violet’s hand, but she pulls away from me. I am alone.
    “You are going to experience absolute darkness. The total absence of light.”
    The tour guide throws the light switch, plunges the cavern into blackness. And I am transported. I am the boy once again. The boy stumbling in the dark who grew into the man stumbling in the dark. The lost boy who grew into the lost man. And I wait and I pray. I pray, yes, but for whom? Who else? Who have I always prayed for? Prayed to? I pray to Monty. I pray for Monty to save me yet again. To set me free of the dark. But I am free. I set myself free. Yes, I set myself free. I know this. I cannot be here again. I cannot. I will not. I will not. I am free.
    The lights come on. And yes, it is true. I am free.

NINETEEN
    I put my key in the lock. It clicks along the familiar path and opens the door. The sun is setting behind me. I walk through the front door of my house.
    Albert sits in a corner, alone. He rocks methodically back and forth. He chants to himself.
    “Albert did bad wrong. Albert did bad wrong. Albert did bad wrong.”
    The smell affronts my nostrils. I know immediately what it is. Excrement and urine, dried and days old, but also something underneath these smells. The smell of death.
    Rachel’s body lies prone on the living room carpet. The ornate crystal ashtray lies beside her. A bit of her scalp, the hairs still