by Jeff D Ellis
Abby cleared her throat. “I made some bad decisions that not only put the team in danger but ended in the death of Detective Hammer. I shouldn’t have accepted the responsibility.”
“I’ve read the initial after-action report, and it seemed to me that if Hammer hadn’t acted with courage in defending the exit, you and Ash could have been killed. It seemed to be his decision.”
“But I should have forced Ash and him to wait for David. With a full team, we might have prevented his death.”
“You were right to regroup in the lit room than to try and fight a Windigo in the dark. David being there wouldn’t have changed that decision. To stay would have gotten you all killed. I don’t believe your decision to go down the passage without David changed anything. I do agree the smart decision would have been to wait. If we had had a larger team, the smart decision would have been going in with many more people, but this is the team we had and you didn’t know David wouldn’t have been able to follow behind you or that Willow wasn’t escaping out a different exit putting the public at risk. I would rather have had you stay together, but I know when I was in the field working with David’s father, we did the same thing. Connor would go ahead, and I would hang back as to not spook what we were tracking. In a small team, you can’t always play it safe.”
Abby nodded but shuffled her feet. “Please leave David in charge in the future. I’m better suited for supporting roles.”
“Abby, I will take that under advisement, but it’s not for you to question my orders. David, what do you have to add?”
“I support the decisions we had to make in the moment, but I do wish they had waited for me. I understand your orders related to the other Windigos, but it didn’t make it easier to put them down in cold blood.”
“After what happened with Willow, there was no way I could risk anyone else coming in contact with them alive. We had to cleanse the areas with fire while they wore hazmat suits to make sure no one could be infected as it was. The entrance to the underground is being sealed off as well as the chute you found.”
“What about Hammer’s body?”
“He has been cremated and his ashes will be given a proper burial. He didn’t have any family to notify. I have told his commanding officer he died in service to his community and we have dealt with Cora Prescott’s killer. They are going to leave her on the books as missing presumed dead. We have to determine what to do with her real killer, Otis Thorn, and Ashleigh Mackie.”
Abby looked the Chief in the eyes. “Chief, if I may, is there any way we can go easy on Ash? I don’t believe she had anything to do with the deaths or with the creation of more Windigos. She was as much a victim of Otis as Hammer was. I talked with Hammer and he forgave her involvement with what was done to him.”
“Abby, would you trust her to be your doctor?”
“I know she betrayed our trust, but I believe we can trust her going forward. She thought it was the only way to save her mother and couldn’t risk trusting us with her real situation.”
“David, what is your opinion on the matter?”
“I didn’t have close interaction with Ash on the mission like Abby did, but I’m willing to let her earn back our trust.”
“Again, I will take it under advisement. Is there anything else? Abby?”
“Don’t trust Otis Thorn. I believe he has been lying from the start and is not a Dryad anymore. He also had the ability to control Willow which Ash wasn’t actually able to do.”
“David?”
“His aura doesn’t match anything I’ve seen. He’s not the same as Ash, the Windigos, or what Hammer became.”
“Otis Thorn may be out of my hands, but I can still have some power in Ash’s fate. We won’t be having a team debrief on the mission. Your written report will have to stand for the archive for now. I believe we haven’t come to the ending yet.”
***
The Chief had Ash brought to the interview room. He hardly recognized her.
“Are you feeling any better, Ash?”
“Thank you, Chief. I’m ready to accept judgment for what I’ve done. I also feel responsible for Frank’s death. I really thought I could control Mom and bring her in safely. I shouldn’t have pushed to go after her when Frank got the door open. I should have been willing to wait for David. I was worried Mom could disappear and we wouldn’t find her again until more people died.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
“It’s our judgment that you won’t be held accountable for the abductions and deaths committed by Otis Thorn. But you did steal evidence and leak information related to ongoing investigations. You are to be sentenced to a period of twenty years with a chance of early release in ten.”
“Chief, what about access to my tree? If I can’t join with it on a regular basis, I will die.”
“I didn’t finish. Your sentence is to be carried out under a type of house arrest. You will continue your work here and will be allowed to live at home under constant surveillance. We will be installing cameras throughout your home and yard. You can join with your tree as needed. You will be brought here under escort to work your shifts in the office as a doctor and carry on your Veiled research. You will have to resign your position at UW until you have served your time.”
Abby nodded, her head bowed. “Thank you, Sir.”
“One last thing. If you violate these terms, for any reason, your tree will be destroyed.”
“I fully understand and won’t give you a reason to do so.”
“Until we have your house wired up, you will have to stay here at the office, but it will only be a few days. Jeff will provide you with a new key card that will give you access to areas you are authorized to be in. You will have to be escorted in and out of the building.”
“I appreciate the mercy being shown to me. You won’t be given reason to regret it.”
The Chief nodded. He gestured to the door. “You are free to go. See Jeff for that key card and visit your lab and the team.”
Ash stood. “Thank you, Sir.”
“It’s Chief, just like before.”
Ash nodded and left.
He pulled out his phone and made a call to have Otis Thorn brought in.
Otis took a seat at the table. He gave the Chief a steely gaze and sneer. “Did they finally come to their senses?”
“Dr. Thorn, Willow, and the two other Windigos held under Thorn Technologies are dead.”
“I can still carry on without them. I just need access to my lab and know which of your bosses wants to stay young and healthy first.”
“They don’t want to take you up on your offer.”
His sneer only faltered for a moment. His lip curled slightly. “I can’t believe that. Did you even present the offer?”
“Don’t worry, you’re not going to the gallows. They still have a use for you.”
“I do have my demands.”
“You can save them. You’re not in a position to make any demands. You will do as you’re told, or you will pay with your life for your crimes.”
His lips flattened into a tight grimace. “Just what is it they want?”
“You’ll be working on government projects. The first of which will be a super soldier project. It should be right up your alley.”
His sneer returned. “That shouldn’t require many changes to what I’ve already developed. I will need some concessions.”
“You’ll be held in a maximum-security area so you have no distractions, where you will work on assigned projects starting with this one.”
“I will need Ash as my assistant.”
“She will not be available.”
Thorn shrugged. “No matter. Can I have her body? Also, I would like access to the dead Windigos.”
“The Windigos have been cremated and the below-ground areas have been sealed. Anything else you want to get out of your system?”
“I request Frank Hammer be assigned as one of my guards. I feel like I can trust him.”
“I’m sorry but he was killed by
your Windigos and has also been cremated.”
“I need my research and the equipment from my lab. When can I start?”
“You will start right away at Thorn Technologies while a new lab out of state is being set up.”
“That will be acceptable.”
“You will be escorted back to your cell while we make the arrangements.”
Thorn seemed too happy about his situation. It was strange he thought Ash must be dead and didn’t seem very upset about it. Did she really mean so little to him? Thorn seemed to think he was winning.
***
Chief Knight walked in. “Thank you all for waiting. We have a lot of work to do to make arrangements for Ash and Otis Thorn. Jeff, most of the work will fall on you. First off, we need full coverage video surveillance at Ash’s house. You may have already seen my memo for Ash’s key card.”
“Yes, Chief. I set it up as per your specs, but I don’t understand why.”
“I should have started with that. Ash will be serving a sort of house arrest while working in her old position here fulltime. We need to keep her under twenty-four-hour surveillance when she’s at home. Will that be a problem for anyone?”
Abby shook her head. “I trust Ash to do her job and be her patient if needed. I’m happy to have her back.”
“Gwen and Perry?”
“We’re fine. We’ve known her for many years and are willing to give her another chance.”
“You’re all being very understanding to someone that stole information and tipped off a killer.”
“But she did it to save her mother.”
“Thank you, Gwen. Back to business. A lab is being set up in a high security prison for Otis Thorn, but we need to get him started working in the meantime. Jeff, there is going to be a lot of work for you. We need to arrange for a secure area at Thorn Technologies, the computers we seized backed up and returned, and additional surveillance installed.”
Jeff nodded. “Chief, I can’t do both at once. Is Ash or Thorn the priority? One of the two will have to wait a few days.”
“Thorn is the top priority. Ash will have to be held here until we can work on her place.”
“If David doesn’t mind, we can watch over Ash at night at our place.”
“That would be acceptable, and I will hold you accountable while she is under your watch.”
“We can handle a house guest for a few days, Chief.”
“Very good, David. Keep me informed on your progress, Jeff. I will let you get back to work.”
“Abby, let’s go talk with Ash.”
“I think it would be best if I talk to her. I’ll meet you back at your desk afterwards.”
David smiled and nodded. “I’ll leave it in your hands.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Investigation
ABBY FOUND ASH down in the medical office.
“Hi, Ash! How are you holding up?”
“It’s all still a shock to me. I expected to be on death row right now.”
“It’ll be a few days before you can go home, but you can spend those days with David and me as our guest. It might be good for you to not be alone while processing what happened.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I can handle spending that much time with David at the moment. I don’t blame him for killing the monster that my mother became and saving all of our lives in the process, but it’s still hard. I’m still grateful he saved my life when I was close to death, but it’s too soon to be your house guest.”
That was stupid! She should have realized Ash wouldn’t want to be doing sleepovers with the people that killed her mother.
“I understand. I only want to help.”
“Please don’t take this as a slight against David. It’s just too soon.”
“I understand, Ash, and I’m sure David will as well. I do have another question if you don’t mind.”
“Ask away.”
“I listened in to a discussion with Otis Thorn and something seems off. When he was told he couldn’t have you as his assistant, he wanted your body to study. It was like he didn’t care about you or his tree. That doesn’t seem like much of a father or a Dryad. Also, how could he control Willow when you couldn’t and why did he hide it from you?”
Ash couldn’t help the tears coming again. Abby handed her a tissue. Ash wiped her tears away and shook her head. “He doesn’t seem to be the same man as before Mom got infected. I had written it off over the years as being focused on curing her, but it always seemed like he cared more about finding power than a cure. I’m not sure he’s a Dryad anymore, but unless you show me his tree, I can’t say that for sure.”
“I think that can be arranged. Okay if David comes along?”
Ash thought a moment and nodded. “I know he can see things others can’t and he might be able to confirm what I expect to find.”
***
It had only been a couple of days since they searched the house with Hammer, but it seemed like a lifetime ago to David.
He opened the SUV’s door for Ash. “When was the last time you came here?”
“I had already moved away by the time Mom was infected. Sometime in the 1960s, I guess. It’s not like I remembered it.”
“In what way?”
“It’s so run down and overgrown. Can we look inside after looking at the tree? I would especially like to see the basement.”
Abby turned. “What basement? We never found that.”
“I’ll show you when we are done in the backyard.”
David held his arm out. “Lead the way.”
Ash walked back to the tree David had identified as Thorn’s tree and put her hands on it. She shook her head. “This tree is almost dead. Its link seems to have been severed for many years.”
“Could a Dryad have survived with the link this way?”
“I have to believe that my father, Otis Blackthorn, is dead, one way or another. The Windigo that was Willow had slightly more of a link to her tree than this.”
“Any idea who or what Otis Thorn is?”
Ash shook her head. “All I know is that he’s not a Dryad. Can we go inside now? I can’t stand to be out here anymore.”
David nodded. “After you.”
Abby watched Ash’s expression when she looked around the first floor of the house. “Is this how you remember things?”
“It’s had a few updates from what I can tell but we never lived in these upper levels. We spent most of our time in the basement where we had a dirt floor and could be closer to the earth.”
“How do we get there?”
“Follow me.”
Ash walked to the closet under the stairs. She opened the closet door and tilted her head. “This used to be where the stairs to the basement were. It’s been covered over or something. David, can you take a look?”
David started tapping around on the floorboards and found one that could be removed. Pulling it up, a trap door appeared, revealing stairs down into the darkness.
Ash pointed. “There should be a light switch on the right side.”
David felt around and flipped a switch. The area was flooded with light. “Let me go down first.”
The basement was about like Ash had described. Dirt floors. It looked more lived in than the areas above. In some ways, it mirrored the upper floors with living areas, dining areas, and common areas. But the furniture was all made of tree roots, tangled and knotted into places to sit.
“It seems fine to come down.”
Ash descended the stairs, followed by Abby.
“It looks about the same as I left it when I moved out.”
“Could you take a look around and see if anything is out of place and do you mind if we do as well?”
“Help yourself. I’m going back to my old room, at the far right.”
Abby took the other bedroom while David searched the common areas. There wasn’t anything that gave clues to Thorn’s nature.
Abby came back with a leather-bound
book. “I found Willow’s journal. One of the last entries talked about Otis getting sick and then acting strange. There were entries that Ash was doing well in school and had moved into her own place around the time. The entries seem to end shortly after that.”
“You should show it to Ash.”
Ash came back from her room. “It feels so small and empty now. There isn’t anything of my childhood left.”
Abby showed her the journal. “I found this in a drawer in the room over there. Do you remember anything more related to this entry?”
“Hmmm … I do remember him getting sick now. I had forgotten all about it. It was only a few weeks before Mom got infected by a Windigo. You don’t think they are related, do you?”
“It’s hard to tell, but it does explain why she stopped making entries. Did Otis keep a journal as well?”
“Only Mom did. She wrote in it before bed and said it helped her sleep at night.”
David nodded. “I’ve done the same thing in the past. I think we’re done here and should get back to the office.”
***
Abby went to the Chief’s office to report their findings.
“Chief, David and I have bad feelings about Otis Thorn.”
“Such as?”
“We believe he isn’t a Dryad anymore. We’re not sure what he is but we think he’s been dishonest and hiding things.”
“He never said he was a Dryad. You assumed he was since Ash and Willow had been.”
“Ash said he was, but now she thinks it’s no longer the case and doesn’t really know who he is anymore.”
“As long as he does as he’s told and produces results, the powers that be don’t care what he is. They don’t trust The Veiled no matter what they are.”
“Including David?”
“I fully trust you both. That’s all that matters.”
“Thank you, Chief.”
Abby found David and they went home for the night.
Later that night, she noticed David was acting a little odd. Instead of being his usual busy self, working out or tinkering with something, he was just sitting on the couch staring out the window. She came up behind him and rubbed his shoulders. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”