Scarecrow of 1889
Chapter 51: Repentance

Chapter 51: Repentance

One night, Mayor Andrew Martin sat in his reading chair, enjoying the music from the gramophone with a pipe in hand. His wife, seated on the edge of the bed, was rubbing cream on her hands. A knock on the door interrupted the tranquil scene.

"Come in," his wife called out. But the knocking persisted, unanswered. She repeated, louder this time, "Come in!"

Turning slightly annoyed as the servant didn’t enter the room, Mayor Andrew got up from his comfortable chair and walked to the door. However, upon opening it, there was no one standing there or in the long corridor.

"Are the servants playing a prank?" he asked no one in particular. He closed the door and turned when another knock was heard on the door. This time, he turned irritated and opened the door swiftly.

The soft, receding sound of footsteps echoed from the right side of the corridor. Mayor Andrew turned to his wife and said, "It’s time we replaced our house staff." He picked up a lantern and followed the footsteps to his study room.

"How dare you disturb us at this hour and enter my study without permission? It seems you are seeking punishment," he said with disdain.

Entering the room, he looked around but saw no one. Believing someone was hiding, he placed the lantern on a table and began to search. Suddenly, the door he had walked through slammed shut.

"This isn’t funny!" Mayor Andrew remarked, but an air of fear began to gather around him.

"It isn’t meant to be, Mayor Andrew," a slightly husky voice said from the shadows.

"Who said that?! Come out, or you will face dire consequences for your actions!" Mayor Andrew turned, trying to locate the source of the voice. As he waited, he noticed a shadow moving against the wall, approaching him.

As the shadow moved closer to him, it took the shape of a person with arms and legs, but the physical body remained unseen. The mayor’s face paled, unable to discern who the shadow belonged to.

He brought the cross that hung around his neck, raising it before him while taking a couple of steps backwards until his back hit the book shelf behind him. He demanded, "Show yourself!"

"Many years ago... an injustice had been served. But injustice has been around for so long, that people who are meant to help don’t do what is needed. Instead, they do things to serve their own purposes," spoke the shadow in a monotonous tone, while the mayor’s eyes were on the shadow on the wall, watching it get closer to where he was, before it stopped, as if it now stood right before him. The voice then said, "I think it is time we rectified it."

"What do you want from me? Threatening me is of no use! GUARDS! GUARDS!" the mayor shouted.

"Mayor Andrew, did you forget that your study is sound proof? No one is going to come and help you. You are on your own, just like your victims," said the shadow on the wall.

Turning worried, the mayor did what he knew was best for him, which was to run towards the door. But before he could get to the doorknob, woody-like fingers came to curl around it and the mayor stumbled back, only to end up falling on his bottom.

"How dare you try to threaten me with your theatrics?! A ghost?!" Mayor Andrew finally became terrified.

"Maybe," Ricardo finally came into appearance from the hidden shadows and the mayor’s face contorted in anger seeing the murderer.

"You!" Mayor Andrew’s eyes widened in shock and anger.

"I wonder how many people you have killed before me, mayor. I thought you were a respectful man, but you just turned out to be a conniving bastard, cloaked in goodness," Ricardo stated as he walked closer and the mayor noticed his woody hands.

"W—what are you...?!" Mayor Andrew questioned.

"What you should be asking is how painful your death is going to be," Ricardo raised his hand, as if he didn’t need a dagger to rip the man’s heart out. "Of how shameful your steps have been."

"L —look Sylvester, I—I was only doing my duty, protecting the people. You killed men and women!" The mayor stammered, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. "Did you think you could get away with it? Do you think what you did was right?? It is my duty to protect people!"

Ricardo smiled at the man’s words, finding them hollow. The scarecrow’s voice echoed through the room, loud enough for both of them to hear, "He’s a liar. He must be punished like the others. Start by removing his tongue."

"NO!" Mayor Andrew shouted, looking livid and terrified, realising that Sylvester Crowley might be even more deranged than the rumours suggested. "You can’t do that! Please!" he pleaded quickly, as he was locked in the room with this crazy person. He just had to get out alive from here! He proposed, "How about I clear your name from the town? No one will question you again, and you can go back to the asylum if you want. No one will question you."

"So that you can strap me to the electric chair and kill me?" Ricardo asked in a calm voice.

"I won’t! You’ll be a free man! No charges, no more news!" Mayor Andrew pleaded desperately.

"And what about the false allegations you made?" Ricardo continued, walking towards the nearby desk. "How do I know you’re truly sorry and won’t repeat your actions?"

"I’ll make a public statement! First thing in the morning, I’ll gather reporters and journalists to hear me out," Mayor Andrew proposed, his eyes filled with hope.

Ricardo stayed quiet, listening to the scarecrow’s voice in his head. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to the mayor and said, "Take your seat here, Mayor Andrew."

Mayor Andrew looked unnerved, and as he stood up, his eyes briefly darted towards the bedroom where his gun was kept. He couldn’t believe his misfortune, being dragged out here by this killer. Slowly, he made his way towards the desk and sat down, his heart pounding in his chest.

Ricardo then pulled a book, flipping the page to a blank one and placing the ink pen next to it. He said, "I would like you to write an apology letter, Mayor. One that is heartfelt and reflects what you truly did. Si?"

"Si?" Mayor Andrew repeated, and then saw the woody fingers tap on the surface of the desk.

"Now you will write what I will tell you. Word for word," Ricardo said, before adding, "But before that, your signature, don’t need you turning back on your agreement. Go on. It is nothing but the confession of truth."

Mayor Andrew’s hand trembled as he picked up the pen.

"Here goes," Ricardo said, watching the pen hover above the blank page. "To the people of Riddleford, whom I have been serving. I would like to confess that I have done horrible things in my career as a mayor. I have broken the law, setting people to execution even when they were declared not guilty. Today, I realise that I have disappointed and let you all down. I would like to apologise to you all, because you deserve a better mayor, someone who will uphold integrity."

Mayor Andrew glanced at Ricardo, who stood beside him, and asked apprehensively, "I didn’t mention you being not guilty here. To free you..."

"We’ll get to that bit soon. There are still some more lines you need to add. Let’s get to that," Ricardo murmured, then asked, "What’s your wife’s name?"

"Ava..."

Ricardo then began to dictate again, "I love you, Ava, but I am ashamed of what I have become. And I need to... repent for it."

As silence fell in the room again, the mayor turned extremely nervous and asked, "What are you planning to do to me?"

"There’s no reason to wait anymore," Ricardo replied, pulling out a dagger and driving it into the mayor’s chest, pushing it deeper while the mayor struggled to keep it away. He murmured, "We all repent in our own ways, mayor."

The mayor continued to move like a fish out of the water, blood coming out of his mouth, before he finally went still. When the man’s dead body was discovered, they also found the suicide note he had written.