Cindy hung up on him, cutting him off in mid-sentence. She was trembling as she stepped back from the phone. Fearful of leaving behind fingerprints, she quickly wiped the receiver with her jacket sleeve and then, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone had seen her using the telephone, walked quickly back to the car.
“Come on! Move over,” she commanded, shooing Billy out from behind the steering wheel. As she slid the keys into the ignition and started up the car, she glanced at Krissy, who was sitting in the back seat with her legs drawn up in front of her. The little girl’s pale, blank stare unnerved her, so she reached into the back seat and placed her hand reassuringly on her shoulder.
“Hey, Squirt, don’t worry, all right?” she said softly.
She could see that Krissy’s eyes were tearing up, and she felt close to crying herself.
“Everything’s going to be just fine, so don’t you worry, all right?”
Biting her lower lip, Krissy regarded her with a steady, unblinking stare as she slowly shook her head from side to side.
“No… No, it isn’t,” she said in a voice that sounded paper-thin and ready to rip.
The transmission made a loud clunk as Cindy shifted the car into gear. She stared back at Krissy, feeling a sudden surge of anger which she knew was nothing more than a product of her own frustration and worry.
“Why would you say something like that?” she asked, biting back the angry, hurtful words that threatened to explode out of her. “Why?”
“Because… because she… told me… about it.” Krissy said, swallowing noisily between every other word.
Cindy’s anger rippled like a wall of fire inside her. “Who told you? About what? What the hell are you talking about?”
“The… the blue lady,” Krissy said haltingly through clenched teeth. Her lower lip was trembling horribly as she stared straight into Cindy’s eyes. “Last night I think I saw her again, and she talked to me.” She took a whistling breath. “She said…” she began, but then her voice faded away to nothing as she shook her head from side to side as though confused. “I can’t really remember, but she told me that something’s wrong… something’s really wrong!”
Cindy sat back, stunned to silence, hearing Krissy use the exact same words she had been repeating to herself all day.
Something’s wrong… something’s really wrong!
2
The afternoon was passing slowly for Alex.
A brisk, chilly breeze was blowing steadily in off the water. It stirred the yellowing beech leaves overhead, making them rustle like a crackling fire, but there was no sense of warmth in the sound. As the sun gradually lowered in the west, sunlight angled across the water and the reflections hurt Alex’s eyes. Except for a few times when he had to get up and urinate, he stayed right where he was, hidden behind a thick clump of beech trees and brush. He had positioned himself so he could stay hidden while still keeping a clear view of the dirt road and the camp’s front door at the same time.
Now all she has to do is show up, he kept thinking, but over the next two hours, the only vehicle that went by was a pickup truck that spewed a billowing cloud of dust in its wake. Probably another bow hunter, Alex thought, but as the truck moved past his hiding place, he caught a glimpse of the driver, just enough to see that he was an old man wearing a heavy overcoat. As soon as he saw him, Alex wondered if it might be one of the old farts from the convenience store, driving out here to check up on him. He tensed, listening to the receding sound of the truck’s engine, suddenly fearful that the driver might be curious enough to stop and check out the white van, which he had left parked a hundred yards or so down the road. Finally, he decided that he didn’t give a shit. Right now, he had one thing and one thing only on his mind.
All she has to do is show up, and we’ll take it from there!
The woods were filled with bird song and the noisy chatter of chipmunks and squirrels as they scurried about, collecting winter food and jumping from branch to branch. Behind him, in the thicker brush, Alex kept hearing dull plopping sounds that sounded like heavy footsteps. He squeezed the handle of his bow and wondered if it might be a deer, browsing in the woods. Or maybe it was that old man who had driven by, trying to sneak up on him from behind. He kept checking over his shoulder and, after a while, realized the sound was nothing more than acorns or beech nuts falling through the dried leaves. That must be what was keeping the squirrels and chipmunks so damned happy.
But this waiting game was getting to be a real pain in the ass. The ground beneath his butt felt colder and harder with every passing minute. Whenever his legs went numb with pins-and-needles, he would shift his legs forward and shake his feet until the circulation started to come back. Still, he stayed where he was because he was betting everything that this was where Cindy had taken his kids, and that she’d be back here sometime today, hopefully before it got dark.
And by Jesus, sooner rather than later, Alex was going to get his kids back!
The sun was setting slowly, touching the distant tree line across the water with a fiery red edge as deep purple clouds reached up from below the horizon like flat fingers, stretching across the sky. Deepening shadows of twilight seeped into the woods like slow spreading ink stains. The temperature seemed to be dropping steadily. Alex huddled deep inside his thin jacket, wishing to hell he had thought ahead enough to put on something warmer underneath it.
“Come on… come on! Hurry up, you bitch!” he whispered, surprised by the sudden intrusion of his voice in the eerie stillness of the twilight.
He knew he couldn’t last much longer out here. His fingers already felt numb and stiff, and the cold was penetrating his clothes like sharp knife blades. His bones ached from sitting in one spot so long, and all he could think about was taking a long, hot shower and drinking several cold beers before, during, and after supper. His attention had started to drift when he suddenly became aware that something was coming down the road. Tensing and leaning forward, his bow gripped tightly in his hand, he stared down the darkening road and saw two yellow pools of light approaching.
Headlights!
With the bright light shining at him, he couldn’t make out the color of the car. It looked like dull battleship gray, but as it got closer, he ducked down behind the brush after catching a glimpse of the light blue Toyota.
Cindy’s car!
“Bingo,” Alex whispered, grinning to himself as he peered through the screen of brush and tracked the car. It was too dark to make out anyone in the car, but he saw one large silhouette and two smaller ones, one in the front seat and one in the back.
Cindy, Billy, and Krissy!
“It’s gotta be them. It’s gotta be them,” Alex chanted softly.
He watched, scarcely daring to breathe when the brake lights came on, washing the area with a harsh red glow as the car slowed for the turn into the driveway. Once the car had started down the steep embankment; he broke out of his cover, ran down to the edge of the road, and dropped onto his belly. He army-crawled up to the edge of the embankment and looked down just in time to see Cindy and the two kids getting out of the car. Once they had all exited the car and gone into the camp, the outside floodlight above the door came on, washing the yard with harsh yellow light. Alex flattened himself on the ground, then peeked up just as Cindy came back outside to get something from the car trunk. Inside the camp, the blue glow of the TV came on, its flickering light shining through the living room windows.
Knowing that the black backdrop of trees would hide him, Alex shifted up into a crouch and notched an arrow on the bowstring. Smiling grimly to himself, he pulled it back and held it at his ear as he drew a bead on Cindy and followed her every step. No more than a hundred feet separated them, and in the harsh glare of the outdoor light she was an easy target, another fish in the barrel.
“So fuckin’ easy,” Alex whispered to himself.
Sighting down the pointed tip of the arrow, he tracked her as she opened the car trunk and bent over to
pick up two bags of groceries. His pulse was racing, a high, tinny beat in his ears. A sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead and his hand started to tremble as he considered that this was it!
Now! Do it now! he thought, feeling a cold rush of adrenalin.
After weeks… months of searching and planning, this was it! He had her at his mercy, and she didn’t even know it!
Several times he started to let his grip slip, almost letting the arrow fly, but every time he checked himself and pulled back, telling himself that he might want to get even closer before he shot so he could be absolutely sure to hit a vital spot. Easing the arrow down and lowering the bow, he watched as Cindy carried the load of groceries into the camp. A sense of opportunity missed filled him, but then he realized that she had left the trunk open, so she would have to come back outside again if only to close the trunk.
Maybe then! he thought, tensing the bow. Maybe I should do it then!
About halfway down the slope, he noticed a rather large pine tree behind which he could hide. Looking back and forth between the tree and the open camp door, he tried to estimate his chances of getting down there without her seeing him. He had just started to tense his leg muscles, about to make a run for it, when Cindy came outside again and walked over to the car. He heard her call out something over her shoulders to the kids but couldn’t quite make it out.
Crouching low, he narrowed his eyes and raised the bow and arrow again.
Yeah, come on, do it! Do it now! he commanded himself. It’d be so fuckin’ easy—the quickest and easiest way to take care of her—just drop her right there in her tracks!
He stretched the bow string back and sighted in on her, but after a moment he eased the bow back down again.
No, no fucking way! he thought, stifling a frustrated sigh. It’d be too goddamned merciful!
More than anything else, he still wanted to make sure Cindy suffered for everything she had done to him and his family. She had a lot of debts to pay, starting years ago, when she had first encouraged Debbie to leave him. Well, Alex certainly had taken care of that situation, and if there was one thing he had learned from life up to this point, especially from his own father, it was that paybacks were a bitch. Killing Debbie and then getting rid of Harry had been just the beginning of how much Cindy was going to have to pay for what she had done. Before he killed her, he was going to make damned sure she understood that he had won, that no matter how hard or how far she had tried to run away from him, he had found her and—goddamnit!—he was going to take back the kids… his own goddamned kids!
“They’re not yours and they never will be!” he whispered to himself.
Letting the bow drop to his side, he watched as Cindy picked up another armload of groceries, slammed the trunk shut with her elbow, and carried them into the camp. A moment later, the outdoor floodlight winked off, plunging the yard into darkness. Rage seethed like molten lava inside Alex as he stared down at the warm, yellow glow of light shining out from the windows, pushing back the surrounding darkness and making everything inside the cabin look so cozy and warm.
“Yeah, go ahead. Enjoy it while you can, you bitch,” he hissed between clenched teeth. “But not for long. You may think you’re safe and secure down there, but not for long!”
He stayed where he was for another five or ten minutes, watching the few glimpses of activity he could see through the cabin windows, then he stood up and stretched his cramped legs. Thinking about the long drive back to Portland depressed him, so he decided that he would try to find a motel nearby so he could be back out here first thing tomorrow morning. Before he turned to leave, though, he drew the arrow back, sighted on the dark bulk of the camp, and let it fly. The arrow whisked through the darkness, sounding like a knife slicing the fabric of the night and ended its flight with a vibrating hum as the point dug into the side of the camp.
“Sleep well, darlin’,” he said, snorting with laughter. “I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning.”
All the way back to his van, he chuckled softly to himself, satisfied with the day’s events. He got into the van, started it up, and drove away.
Tomorrow was another day; and by Jesus, as far as he was concerned, it was going to be one hell of a good one!
3
“What the heck was that?” Cindy shouted, startled. The sound of—something—hitting the side of the camp had made all three of them jump. Billy, looking round-eyed and frightened, leaned forward and turned down the volume on the TV; then he looked around at Krissy, who was sitting on the couch. She didn’t move or even shift her blank gaze away from the TV as Cindy, who had been in the kitchen putting away the groceries, walked into the living room.
“Gee, I don’t know,” Billy said, frowning. “It sounded sorta like something hit against the side of the house.”
Cindy scowled as she went to the nearest window and looked outside, but she couldn’t see much because of the light reflecting from inside the camp. Up over the ridge, she thought she saw headlights move past, but she couldn’t be sure. A sudden, nameless panic seized her and she dashed quickly to the camp door to make sure it was locked. Even then, though, she didn’t feel at all secure.
“Probably just a branch falling off a tree of something, huh?” Billy offered.
Cindy shook her head and frowned. “Umm. I don’t know. It sounded more like whatever it was hit the side of the camp, not the roof.”
A cold tingling gripped her as she shifted her eyes from window to window. She had no idea what she expected to see, but her mind was filled with dozens of horrible images.
“Yeah,” she said, “probably just that or—or.” She shook her head. “I don’t know, maybe a squirrel or something, trying to get inside. Come on. Isn’t anyone hungry? Let’s get something to eat.”
Casting a nervous glance around the room, Billy got up and wandered over to the dining room table, but Krissy stayed where she was, sitting as though entranced. Her eyes looked totally devoid of expression as she stared at the TV. Cindy walked over to her and coaxed her off the couch and over to the table.
“Hey, come on, Squirt,” she said softly. “I’ll make you a tuna fish sandwich, okay? Your favorite.”
“Yeah … sure,” Krissy said in a lifeless, mechanical voice.
Five minutes later they were all sitting down at the table, but throughout most of their supper, a hush, expectant tension filled the room as though all three of them were just waiting for something to happen.
The rest of the evening passed quietly, with no other unusual sounds, and around nine o’clock all three of them went off to bed.
4
“Hey, Krissy… Krissy, honey… Can you hear me?”
“Of course I can hear you.”
“Are you sure of that? I’ve been trying to get through to you, to talk to you, to make you understand something, but it… sometimes it’s so hard to know if I’m reaching you. Did you hear what I told you last night? Do you remember?”
“I’m not sure. What do you mean?”
“I was talking to you, telling you something, but I wasn’t sure you could hear me.”
“Well, I can hear you real good now.”
“I have something important to say, but first, do you know who I am?”
“Sure I do. You’re the blue lady. I’ve seen you around a whole bunch of times. You’re the one who helped me out that day that man in the van was chasing after me.”
“That’s right, I think I remember that. Do you know who that man was? Did you recognize him?”
“Not really. I never saw his face or anything. Do you know him? Tell me if you know him.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“I already told you that. You’re the blue lady.”
“No, I mean do you know who I really am?… Krissy?… Are… are you sure you can hear me? It’s so dark in here. I… I can’t see you at all, although I can feel your presence.”
“I can’t see you, either. That’s because all the lights ar
e turned off, silly. But don’t worry, I’m right here in my bed.”
“I can hear someone breathing. Is that Billy sleeping there beside you?”
“A course it is. Hey, how come he never sees you like I do?”
“I … I’m not sure. Like I said, I have trouble finding you sometimes. It’s so cold and… and lonely where I am, and sometimes it’s so dark I can’t always find my way.”
“But you still haven’t told me who you are.”
“Do you ever… miss me, honey?… Krissy? Can you hear me? Tell me! Do you ever miss me?”
“Well, you scare me sometimes, but I don’t like to talk about you very much to Aunt Cindy or Billy or anyone else. I don’t want them to worry.”
“Worry?… Your Aunt Cindy… that’s what I… I have to tell you… you have to tell her… for me… tell your Aunt Cindy something… for me.”
“I don’t know if she’d even believe me.”
“She has to. At least you have to try… you’re in danger… all of you… in very great danger… he’s finally found you…”
“What? Who has? You’ll have to speak louder. Your voice keeps going funny on me. What did you say?”
“I’m slipping away… I can feel it… but you have to tell her… tell your Aunt Cindy that he… he’s found you and you have to… have to get away… get away… please… go far, far away…”
“But who are you? If you tell me who you are, maybe she’ll believe me.”
Don’t… you… know… me?… I’m… your … mother …”
“What? What did you say? Don’t talk so low like that. Your voice is getting all funny again. I can’t hear you.”
“Tell… Aunt… Cindy… that… your… mother… told … you … you… have… to… leave this… place… right… now! … tonight…”
“Wait! Don’t go away! I didn’t hear you! Tell me what you want me to know! I can’t hear you anymore! Tell me!”
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