Secrets of Thunder Valley- The Locket

by Shelly Von West

  “Seems to be the thing these days.”

  “What does?” Ben asks while tilting his head to the side. His hair cascading across his forehead which he is quick to run his hand through to move the renegade strands back into place.

  Distracted by him, Ellen fails to respond right away. Instead, she takes a moment to enjoy his unassuming nature. It’s so refreshing Ellen wants to soak up and store it for later. The plastic people she must endure back home is one of the many reasons she needed to find an escape… however short-lived that is likely to be.

  “Ellie?” Kathy interrupts her musings.

  “Sorry, I find the altitude gives me a fuzzy head. I have noticed many of the old homes along here are being updated or often remodeled top to bottom.”

  “Right well I think it’s a sign of the times. Since we’ve had an increase in tourist activity in the last couple of years, a lot of the town old-timers have sold out to developers and investors. It depends which side of the argument you are on.” Kathy shakes her head, “True, we cashed in on the tourism but didn’t have to sell out.” She shrugs, “But who am I to judge? Besides, I rather like the changes, it feels like a scene right out of a movie and the best part is that we get to live here.” She says more to herself than anyone else.

  Ben glances at the worn watch on his wrist which Ellen recognizes as having belonged to his father. It was distinctive with all the extra dials. He was in the Coast Guard until he suffered a knee injury on the job and forced to pursue a different life. That was when his family moved to Thunder Valley, Ben must have been just an infant.

  “Ladies, I would love to continue this conversation, but I have to get over to the school to pick up Franny. They let out early today.” He offers. “Tell Tim I left the tools I borrowed by the shop door. I would have put them inside, but it’s locked.”

  “Not to worry, I’ll tell him.”

  “I appreciate the loan. My mother will be much more comfortable back in her own home.”

  “I think it’s brave of you to take on her care. I don’t know if I would have it in me. From everything I’ve heard it’s not an easy illness. Not to mention your new career pursuit. You have your hands full.” Kathy laments.

  “I know it will be tough, but she deserves to be in her own home living out her last days. Also, with her living in her home, I can better oversee her care.” He turns his attention to Ellen who is trying to determine what illness his mother must have.

  As if he read her mind, “My mother is at the late stage of Parkinson’s disease. It’s gradually debilitating. Some live with Parkinson’s for years yet some seem to succumb to the illness quick. She’s the former. She’s had the illness for eight and has been living in a nursing home for the past two years. I returned to take care of her and give my mother what she deserves…. peace in her own home.” He pauses for a moment, choked up he takes a quick but a deep breath, then continues, “I’ve hired a private nurse and made modifications to the house to accommodate a hospital bed and wheel chair. She just has a short time left and though she can’t communicate much, she can still see the lake and that will give her plenty of joy.”

  “I’m sure that seeing Franny gives her great joy too.” Kathy offers.

  “Yes, she does.” He agrees.

  He directs his attention back to Ellen, “It was nice to see you again, maybe we’ll bump into each other around town. Will you be here for the holidays?”

  “I’m uncertain of my plans. I have to be on-set…”

  Kathy interrupts, “Yes but that’s not until after New Year’s. You are staying for the holidays.”

  “Well there you have it.” Ellen says with a giggle at how insistent Kathy has been about her staying through the season. She reaches her hand out to shake Benjamin’s then watches as he takes long but swift strides toward his old beater of a pickup truck.

  Once the truck is out of sight Kathy turns her enthusiasm back to Ellen. “Since we won’t have guests this year, I thought we would change how we decorate. It’s hard because I had to do the same thing year after year because our regular holiday guests came to expect it.” She pauses, “Now we are no longer running a Country Inn, I want to do something more sophisticated. Do you think I can enlist your big city sensibilities and help me?”

  “I would love to help.” Ellen chuckles at her stepmother’s sly way of getting her to commit to being involved in the approaching holidays. Studying her face, she can’t help but to feel immense warmth for the woman who raised Ellen as if she’d given birth to her. They couldn’t look less alike though so most knew straight away there was no biological connection between them. Kathy, with her raven black hair streaked with threads of grey especially around the temples falling around her shoulders in soft natural waves. The crinkles around her dancing green eyes are evidence of a life full of happiness and plenty of laughter. Living in the mountains running the Inn all these years has afforded both of her parents a good life but for Tim’s heart attack, they have enjoyed good health.

  “Since you closed the Inn, what do you plan to do? Are you set for retirement? I can help if you need…”

  Surprised at the question Kathy whips her head toward Ellen just in time to see Tim approaching, “Tim and I prepared for retirement and beyond. Don’t you worry about us.” She says smiling but her body language suggests the questions puts her off.

  Looking past Ellen, she says in a sweet voice, “There’s my handsome man, you missed Ben, he dropped by to return the tools you loaned him. He said he’s left them by the workshop.”

  Nodding Tim replies, “Yes, I know, I was coming up the drive just as he was leaving, he told me where to find the tools.”

  Wrapping his arm around his wife his attention turns to the lake glistening under the late fall sun, sitting lower in the sky with each passing day. “I think we will have early snowfall this year. Something about the crispness and spicy smell in the air tells me I should check on my snow removal equipment. I want to make certain I can dig us out should we get a blizzard up here.”

  Kathy giggles, “Well, it sure wouldn’t be the end of the world being snowed-in together would it?”

  Ellen chimes in, “For you two lovebirds being snowed in might be a good thing but for me it would mean I’d get nasty calls from Vincent. He’d send someone on snowmobiles to fetch me to ensure I reported to the set on time. I mean his biggest worry is keeping the money flowing so he can keep the mortgages paid on his houses in Miami and Pacific Palisades.” She laughs.

  “I feel he doesn’t rep other talent.” Tim replies with a furrow of his brow.

  “No not true, he has several clients, but I am his primary meal ticket. His other talent pays for his fleet of cars and other unnecessary toys.” She scoffs.

  “He sounds like a scumbag. I don’t know why you don’t…”

  Ellen interrupts, “Change agents? I am under contract with him so for the time being I’m stuck.” She sighs, “He earns his keep though. I have multiple deals he has orchestrated that will keep me booked for the next two years. There is no room to complain. It is a pleasant surprise the bad press has not hurt me. In fact, it has made me more sought after. I’ll admit that Vincent is a pain to deal with, but he and my P.R. Rep have not only kept my career intact but moving in a forward direction. Under recent circumstances, I am glad for the work.”

  “In that case I suppose we should keep our opinions to ourselves. No need to fix something that doesn’t need it though the guy sounds sleazy.”

  “I never said I liked him in particular and yes you are correct, he is the sleaze ball that always makes a person feel the need for a shower after spending much time in his presence.” Ellen laughs which causes her parents to join in.

  “Fair enough. It’s a lovely day, we ought to get out of the house. What sounds like fun to you Ellie?” Tim asks.

  “I don’t know.” She shrugs then moves forward toward the end of the dock to look at something floating in the water that caught her eye. Kneeling, she r
eaches for the shiny object but hesitates for a moment as it appears to be moving. Squinting her eyes against the sun’s reflection off the water she determines it will not bite her. She shoves her hand into the chilly water wrapping her fingers around the slithery object. Standing up her parents join her at the end of the dock.

  “What is it?” Kathy asks as she reaches Ellen.

  Picking the lake slime away then flicking it on the dock, the object takes form, “It appears to be an old necklace with a locket.” Ellen exclaims with excitement.

  “Let me see this!” Tim says while yanking the necklace right out of Ellen’s hands.

  “Wow, that’s rude how you snatched that out of my hands!” Ellen snaps.

  Tim ignores her as he turns and starts down the dock toward the house leaving Kathy and Ellen staring after him in his wake.

  “What was that all about?” Kathy shouts toward Tim’s retreating figure, but he ignores her and continues into the house.

  Rushing after him, Kathy follows him into the house with Ellen still standing on the dock with her arms crossed over her chest. “Well the nerve…” She says to herself then follows her parents back to the house.

  As she arrives to the wrap-around porch, she overhears her father talking in a loud voice, “I’m calling the Sherriff, he needs to know what Ellen found.”

  “If you do just know you will be re-opening a lot of healed wounds.” Kathy whispers.

  “I realize that, but I have no choice, they cannot ignore this discovery.”

  “Then brace yourself Tim.” Kathy’s voice drops as she leaves Tim standing alone on the porch.

  “Sherriff, it’s Tim, can you come up to the house?”

  Chapter Three

  As small towns go, word travels fast about the ominous discovery found at Thunder Lake by the Jackson’s dock.

  Ellen is accustomed to being the subject of public scrutiny, so this latest installment of scandal should not faze her, but it does. The relentless onslaught of locals poking their noses around has been exhausting even for someone who’s seasoned. Tim and Kathy are putting on a brave front, but the discovery of the locket unlocks so many questions, dredging up a past that has been long forgotten.

  The locket belonged to Ellen’s mother Melody, who went missing almost twenty-three years ago, she was the same age as Ellen is now, twenty-six.

  When Ellen was just three years old, her mother put her to bed then told her father she was going for a walk around the shore and was never heard from again. She always wore the locket around her neck, she never took it off. The chain and locket had belonged to Melody’s great grandmother and when she gave birth to Ellen, her grandmother gave it to her then passed away soon after. It was a prized possession of Melody’s. She planned to give the necklace to her daughter someday when the time was right.

  The night she went missing Tim had an airtight alibi, five other men were at the lake house that evening with him, one of which was the Sherriff himself. Despite it being Christmas, they were playing poker all night.

  They had not noticed melody’s absence until Sheriff Warren was leaving when he asked to say goodbye to his sister—Melody. It was then they organized a massive search. Over half the town volunteered to look for her. There was no way she would survive too many nights out in the elements. It was Christmastime and in late December; the snowpack is always deep. It might have been odd for a person to take a walk that time of the year, with temperatures plummeting to the teens after nightfall, but Melody found an evening walk around the lakefront property to be invigorating. She claimed it helped her to sleep.

  After days of searching, the efforts of the town folk dwindled down to a few men persistent in their pursuit of locating the lost young mother. The days turned into weeks which then turned into months, when eventually, Sherriff Warren and the rest of the town gave up hope.

  While Tim never gave up hope, over time, he agreed to move on. The disappearance became a cold case, and they charged no one, nor did anyone stick out as a suspect. They classified the file as a missing persons case. There was no foul play detected and with no person of interest or evidence suggesting anything otherwise, Tim had to accept that his wife had gone missing, presumed dead.

  Now this locket washing up will bring nothing but misery upon the Jackson family.

  “Ellie Jackson?” A woman hollers from across the street out the door of a boutique.

  Startled, Ellen jumps a little recovering quickly she shields her eyes from the sun to get a better look at the woman. “Yes?” She responds as she squints against the glare trying to place the familiar face. “Amber Ray is that you?” She shouts while jaywalking across the middle of the quaint Main street.

  “Yes! Well, you need to call me Amber Conner now. Get yourself over here!” She shouts as Ellen steps onto the sidewalk.

  Grabbing a hold of her arm Amber drags Ellen into the little storefront.

  “As I live and breathe, the Ellie Jackson is standing in my humble shop!”

  “Oh, would you stop!” Ellen chuckles, then grabs Amber into a hug. “It’s so good to see you. I had not heard you were back to living here in Thunder…”

  Unable to contain herself, she interrupts, “Same to you! When I came back after college I heard you were splitting your time between New York and Los Angeles.”

  “Yes, I am but due to recent events, I have dropped out of the limelight, so I can lick my wounds in peace.”

  Amber looks down while shaking her head, “Not that you asked my opinion but for what it’s worth, you got the raw end of the deal. You should have taken that bastard down. I’m just so glad you didn’t end up marrying him, he’d have taken every penny you worked so hard to earn. You know it’s an archaic thing to say but my Mom always warned me against dating beneath my gene pool and that guy was a few puddles south… if you get my meaning.”

  Ellen giggles, “My gosh Amber, how have we not talked for so long? You have always been the one person who could put a smile on my face even when things were grim.”

  “Yeah, I heard about all the craziness up at the lake. I think the universe has grabbed you by the shoulders and is shaking you.”

  “I know sometimes I feel like I should have been born with a warning sign that says caution drama approaching.”

  She winces, “I heard you were the one to find the chain…”

  “Yes, I was standing on the dock and saw something shiny. I didn’t get to look at it too closely because no sooner had I grabbed it out of the water my dad snatched it from my hands and then called uncle Bill. Next thing I know, three police cars pull up to the house. They set up their equipment down at the dock and stayed there until late in the day taking samples of everything imaginable.”

  “I also heard they re-opened the case.” She pretends to organize a bowl of random silver rings on the counter, “It is odd it would wash up suddenly.”

  “It is and what’s creepy is that it washed up at the Inn. I suppose that’s why they made it an active case again… we lived in that little cottage across the lake when mom went missing.”

  Amber looks at her with her eyebrows furrowed.

  Ellen continues, “Remember, we didn’t move to the Inn until I was in first grade. It was Kathy’s dream to turn that old lodge into a country inn, not Melody’s.”

  Amber snaps her finger, “Wow! I forgot about that. When I think about my childhood, I only remember the inn, the cottage had skipped out of my memory banks. Wait, when did your dad marry Kathy?”

  “It was before my fifth birthday. I was three when mom went missing.” She says with a raise of her right eyebrow.

  “Hm. He didn’t wait much time to move on, did he?”

  “I don’t know… how long is the acceptable time to wait? She had been officially missing for a while.”

  She rushes behind the check stand to answer the ringing phone. Holding her finger up to motion Ellen to wait a minute, “Tres Chic Boutique”, she answers. “Why yes, she is standing right here as we sp
eak, may I tell her who is calling?”

  Her face twists into a look of confusion then gasping, she drops the phone.

  “What is it?” Ellen rushes to join Amber behind the check stand. Leaning down to pick the phone up off the floor, she hits the off button. After placing it back on the charger, she looks at Amber expecting an answer.

  “That was the creepiest call I have ever received!” She pants, “That man said for me to tell you to have your family call off the search, that your mother is deceased, and you need to leave the dead to rest.” Her eyes wide, she looks shaken.

  Ellen follows Amber as she moves over to a small seating area. After taking a seat, she thinks about the call.

  “Did the man sound young or old?”

  Shaking her head, “I don’t have the slightest idea… if I were to guess I’d say older like our parents’ ages but not elderly.” She pauses, “Now I think about it, he kind of had a speech impediment, like a lisp maybe but it wasn’t pronounced, just slightly.”

  “Can you think of anything else?”

  She looks puzzled, “Like what?”

  “I don’t know, like was there any background noise?”

  She says “no,” but then stops herself, “Actually, there might have been a dog barking… a smaller dog but not the nippy kind, but it wasn’t a big one like a German Shepard.”

  “Okay… see you know more about the caller than what you think.” Ellen encourages.

  Amber straightens her body then her face falls, “But Ellie, how did he know you were here? That’s creepy point number one and creepy point number two is what he said. I mean come on, we all assume your mom isn’t alive… right?” She winces slightly.

  “Correct. The whole town gave up on finding her alive over two decades ago. I mean if I were being honest I would confess that I’ve always hoped that someone clobbered her over the head and she had amnesia all these years.” She chuckles.

  “I would have hoped the same thing if it were me.”

  Ellen smiles at Amber. “I’m sorry it involves you now. The last thing I would want for you is to have a dark cloud follow you around on my behalf.”