The Witch Box

by Laura Ellison

  Chapter Eight

  Joshua tried to find a place to hide the cassette tapes and the photo of him with his mother. He thought of the old house, in the ruins.

  Where is the house? he thought. Anna said Dad never had the ruins torn down. Instead, he bought and fixed up this place. Why didn’t he sell the property?

  Colbie mentioned that Joshua never took driver’s education, which meant he didn’t have a license, but he was sure he knew how to drive.

  If someone wanted to slow me down, he thought, keeping me from driving would be the easiest thing to do.

  Joshua was sitting at his bed. After seeing the news story about Cole, he hadn’t slept all night.

  He knew that whoever took his crystal would be the first person to creep into his room and take something else they didn’t want him to have; the little pieces, clues, that could help him remember.

  He had checked his computer last night, and the camera was disabled, along with all photographic or video software on his other devices, including his phone.

  No one wants me to get the upper hand, he thought. Unless I can think of a plan, all I can do is sit here.

  Joshua called Anna, asking her if she could give him a ride to the remains of the old house. She said she wasn’t sure where it was located, but would ask around at the plant.

  Anna was on her lunch break. Joshua had not come into work, Max explaining that Joshua felt tired, he still needed to rest. Anna finished her lunch and walked out of the building to the garage. The truck drivers had left to make the deliveries. The garage doors were shut but Anna knew the door on the side was usually unlocked. When she entered, she smelled motor oil in the cold air. She turned the light on, the floor neat, tools and equipment put away.

  Anna walked to the back. Anna had guessed what was underneath the plastic tarp weeks ago, but she wanted to be convinced before telling Joshua.

  She pulled on the tarp, which gave without much effort. She gathered the dusty cover towards her until it fell at her feet. She gazed at the smashed grille of the Jeep. The windshield was cracked, the doors buckled on each side. She wondered how fast Joshua had been going before he hit the tree.

  He may have been sneaky and arrogant, but he wasn’t stupid, she thought. He was grateful for whatever freedom—

  “Anna?”

  She was startled for a moment then turned around.

  Marilyn was standing there. She was close to sixty, but her close-cropped auburn hair wasn’t streaked with any gray. Marilyn had never married or had children, leading some to believe that her brother wasn’t the only homosexual in the family. Marilyn had a round face but was very thin everywhere else; however, she was stronger than she looked. Her work glasses rested around her neck. She was wearing a sweater over her work shirt.

  Anna tried to keep her voice calm. “Hi, Marilyn.”

  “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just wondering if you had heard from Ruth.”

  “No.”

  “The guy that caused the accident? He’s dead. Found in his garage.”

  “I heard.”

  Marilyn was a quiet woman who spent her lunch break eating a sandwich and reading a romance novel. She had spent years looking after her elderly parents, who almost lost their fruit orchards during the drought. She now lived alone in their old house, surrounded by acres of property.

  “Bonnie’s scared about Ruth and Leo,” Marilyn said. “What happened before the fire...”

  “Where is Max’s old house?”

  “About a mile from the church. Used to be a nice ranch house. Funny how no other houses have been built out that way. I heard Max bought all of the other lots.”

  “Max owns a lot of property.”

  “Including mine.” Marilyn nodded her head while looking at the Jeep. “Max should have known better than to give a teenager a new vehicle. Too expensive. Josh came away without a scratch, but ended up in the hospital, anyway.”

  “Viral meningitis.”

  “Viruses can be killers. And you never know when a virus can pop up again.”

  “Who do you think might replace Ruth?”

  Marilyn shrugged. “Max doesn’t care if we go to church and have our prayer chains and charities. He only starts to sweat when he sees things that remind him of Elizabeth. Like the smell of burning sage.”

  “I thought it would help. I heard the whispering and singing in my head. My mother’s voice.”

  “Someone doesn’t like you. Wear a pentagram at all times. Don’t be afraid to call on the Dark Mother, she’s active this time of the year.”

  Joshua was waiting outside when Anna picked him up.

  He left the cassette tapes and photo on his dresser. If these things were missing when he returned, he wouldn’t be surprised.

  Josh entered the car, slamming the passenger side door. “What’s that smell?”

  “Sage.”

  “In your car?”

  “I’m not taking any chances.”

  Anna took the main road, turning on to the dirt lane to the church.

  “Do you ever wonder why churches are abandoned?” Joshua asked.

  “I guess people stop going there,” Anna said. “Maybe something was wrong...”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. People start staying away. With no worshippers, a church is just a building.”

  Anna continued to drive, coming to a slight hill. A lone mailbox stood across the road to an overgrown lot.

  Anna pulled over. She and Joshua exited the car, both looking out for the ruins of the old house. Joshua looked up at the gray sky. Rain was expected. They walked through the thick carpet of leaves, weeds, and grass until they came upon the house’s old foundation. Joshua walked around the gray brick, Anna staying put, her hands in the pockets of her blue pea coat. She noticed bits of wood and charred ground around the foundation, where the grass did not grow back. She wondered why Max had left this property behind.

  “Anna! Come here!”

  She walked over to the back, her gaze following Joshua’s pointing finger.

  The outside basement door was boarded up and padlocked. Covered with mud, bird droppings, and other debris, it stood like a box waiting to be opened.

  “That’s a big lock,” Anna said.

  “I’ll bet my dad has the key.”

  “And where do you think he’s hiding it?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Any memories coming back?”

  He looked around at the dirt road and the trees, gold and red leaves falling like his mood. “No. I lived here until I was almost four years old. Who remembers being four?”

  “I remember a few things.”

  “The window is boarded. I can break it open with some effort.” Joshua took the cement steps down to the door, looking for a weakness in the wood, nailed tight. He picked up the padlock. When he did, something cold brushed against his wrist.

  The crystal was swinging on its chain, wrapped around the padlock. Joshua pulled it away, the rock icy against the skin of his palm. He held it over his head. “Look what I found. I wonder who brought it out here?”

  “And why?”

  “Good question. Why would anyone care about a healing crystal an old lady gave me?”

  “Who was the old lady?”

  “I think she knew my mom. Why else would this have been stolen from my room and brought here? I mean, who would care?”

  “Someone who cares about you.”

  “I hope so. Everyone loves me, right? I’m the favorite son.”

  Anna didn’t miss the sarcasm. “Now what?”

  “I’m coming back to break down the door. Not today, but soon.”

  A few drops of rain had started to fall, almost a downpour by the time Anna and Joshua reached the car.

  Joshua stared at the old rusted mailbox. He walked away, wanting to check for an address. He opened the little door as soon as he approached, knowing nothing would be inside but some kind of rodent or spider.

/>   He thought he was seeing a nest, but he realized he was looking at the legs and feet of a small blue ragdoll, something a baby would play with. He pulled it out part of the way, hearing the rattle sound. He grasped the doll at the belly. Something sharp stabbed his index finger. He took the doll by his other hand and examined his finger. The rain was getting heavy, and he didn’t respond to Anna’s calls. She rolled up her window and got out of the car.

  She approached Joshua from behind, noticing the toy in his left hand and bloody finger on the right. She took a closer look at the doll.

  “You might need a tetanus shot,” she said.

  “I wonder how long this had been in the mailbox.”

  The ragdoll, with its tiny button eyes, looked startled. The crown of rusty nails encircling its head in a half circle only added to the distressed expression.

  “Joshua, this is sick.”

  “I get headaches...”

  “Oh, come on.”

  “Do you think this is bullshit?”

  “No. But these are women you’ve known your whole life. Why would any of them want to harm you?”

  “Dad and Brenda want to control me.” Joshua dropped the doll to the ground. “I’m eighteen years old. I don’t drive or go to college. I work for my dad sweeping the floors and doing assembly upstairs. He won’t let me operate the hi-lo, even before the accident with Nick and Cole. He isn’t teaching me anything about how he runs the business. I’m just...some pet.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t want to put any pressure on you because—“

  “Did he treat me like this before I got sick?”

  “Sort of.”

  “What?”

  “You weren’t very responsible, Josh. You would come in and work a few hours a day, then go home and do what you wanted.”

  “Where did I go?”

  “I don’t know. But if you had a witch box, you would need help. Another witch.”

  “Ruth?”

  “Let’s get in the car.”

  Thunder was rolling by the time they got inside. Anna turned the ignition.

  “Were you helping me?” Joshua asked.

  “You didn’t need my help.”

  Joshua ran his hand through his wet hair, the curls becoming frizzy from the damp. “I need it now.”

  Anna felt her cheeks grow warm. “I’ll do what I can, Josh.”

  “I could talk to Bonnie or Marilyn.”

  “They’re all working overtime tonight.”

  A hard, tiny object tapped the windshield. In seconds, the downpour turned into hailstones. Anna eased her car up the dirt road, the windshield wipers pushing the dime-sized hail away. She made a slow turn, heading for the plant, when the glass cracked in front of them, the hailstones now plum-sized.

  “I’m pulling over,” Anna said.

  “The traffic lights are out.”

  “I hate that intersection, but it’s the only way to the plant. I’ll just get off the road.”

  A gas station was close by. Anna pulled into the parking lot, packed with several other vehicles. She couldn’t see much of anything through the broken glass and hailstones.

  “With no power, no overtime,” Joshua said. “Bonnie and the others will go home.”

  “They can’t drive in this storm, either. They’ll stick around until it passes.”