Cades Cove: A Novel of Terror (Cades Cove Series #1)

by Aiden James

  “Well?”

  “Maybe it is her...her ghost.”

  Like when he first mentioned the idea to Norm earlier that day, it made him uncomfortable admitting this might be true.

  “How long have you known this?” Greater fury simmered within her reddened blue eyes.

  “Since Sunday,” he confessed, releasing a deep sigh. “In the middle of the night I heard a girl’s voice call out to some guy named ‘Billy Ray’ from the kitchen downstairs. I got up to investigate, and I never found anyone in our house. But before I came back to bed, I heard the same ringing sound you and I heard the night before in Gatlinburg. This time, it origin-ated from the crystal bowl on the dining room table.”

  “The antique your Aunt Ruth gave us for last year’s anniversary?”

  “Yeah, that one,” he confirmed. He sat down in the chair next to hers.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” she demanded, the wrath in her eyes gaining strength. “If you had told me Monday night, Jill’s experience that afternoon wouldn’t have been taken so lightly. Christ, David, if you’d mentioned this last night when you grilled everyone like Sherlock Holmes, Ty would’ve never gone inside our house alone!”

  She shook with rage while he tried to move closer to her, bringing his arms around her while whispering his regret, over and over until she allowed him to hold her tight. She buried her head in his shoulder and wept again. His own eyes filled with tears while he continued to hold her. Meanwhile, the doctor returned with the latest news on Tyler’s condition.

  “Mr. Hobbs? I’m Dr. Chadwick.”

  A comely man, tall and slender, he had blue eyes almost as bright as Miriam’s, and kept his graying hair trimmed close to the scalp. David stood up to shake his hand.

  “Your son is going to be fine, but he’ll be wearing a sling and a collarbone brace for a few weeks,” the doctor advised. “Fortunately, the fracture is slight. He’s a strong boy.”

  “What about the cuts and the scrape along his back?” asked Miriam.

  Dr. Chadwick hesitated, no doubt noting her present cond-ition.

  “The one on his back required the most attention, since sliding down the roof left him with a pretty good gash,” he advised. “It’ll heal up fine, but will likely leave a scar. As for the other cuts across his hands and the ones on his neck and beneath his chin, they should heal up completely, leaving slight scars if any.”

  “When will he be ready to go home?” David asked.

  “Within the hour, I believe,” said Dr. Chadwick. “We’re finishing the stitches on his back and left hand right now, and once those are in place he’ll be free to go. I have already arranged for a follow-up next week with Dr. Pierce, the bone specialist your wife prefers, to make sure the collarbone is healing correctly. You folks have a good night.”

  “Thanks, you too.” David watched him leave the waiting area and then turned his attention to Janice again. “Did you contact the police about this?”

  “At the time I called 911, I didn’t know for sure what happened, since Tyler was in too much pain to tell me,” she said. “I told them he fell out of his upstairs bedroom window and was hanging from the roof. For all I knew at the time, he might’ve jumped through the window from fright. I sure would have.”

  “Me too,” he agreed.

  “I didn’t think you’d want me contacting the police directly without talking to either of you first,” added Janice. “One of the guys who got him down mentioned the torn-up window frame to the other paramedics. If Ty hadn’t told them he got careless standing on his desk and fell through the window on accident, you both could expect a call from Child Services.”

  David nodded, thoughtful, hoping neither DCS nor the police dropped by. If they did, it would be better if that happened after he had a chance to examine the damage to the window frame and knew what to say to them. He also needed to get rid of Allie’s bag of treasures and the leaves that smelled like mouse shit before they were discovered. The items wouldn’t land him in jail, but they’d most certainly get him a permanent transfer to Miriam’s doghouse.

  Nearly an hour passed before Tyler’s official release from the emergency room. By then the sun had already dipped be-low the foothills. Jillian and Christopher voiced new comp-laints about being hungry, which two more candy bars from the vending machines did little to appease. Once the family and Janice left the hospital, the inherent grogginess from the painkilling shot Tyler received for his fractured collarbone and the lingering soreness in his back made stopping at a restaurant impractical.

  They ordered pizzas upon their return to Janice’s place. After David picked up Tyler’s prescriptions at a local pharm-acy, he and Janice helped Miriam get the kids settled in for the night. Then it was time for him and Miriam to pick up more clothes and other supplies from their beleaguered house. David brought along a few trash bags and some thumbtacks to cover the broken window in Tyler’s bedroom.

  Driving the BMW through their upscale neighborhood almost seemed like any other autumn evening until they reached the curved driveway to their home. The once warm and cozy Cape Cod seemed foreboding next to its neighbors. Both floors were immersed in darkness, including the front floodlights that normally came on automatically each evening. The house wished to be left alone.

  “Why don’t you wait here and I’ll go get whatever we need,” he suggested, and started to get out of the car.

  “What, so I can possibly lose you, too?” she replied. “I’m coming inside.”

  Before he could stop her, she had stepped out of the passenger side of the car and led the way up the steps to the front porch. The security lights came on. David paused to study the lights before joining her on the porch, since they hadn’t worked earlier. Miriam inserted her key into the front door and they stepped inside the house together.

  Moving upstairs right away, Miriam straightened several tilted portraits lining the wall opposite the banister. The chilled air on the second floor enhanced the house’s creepiness, prompting David to turn on both hall lights on the second floor. Miriam entered Jillian’s bedroom to grab a few things, which gave him the opportunity to view the damage in Tyler’s room. She reminded him to grab some clothes from his dresser and closet.

  Tyler’s door nearly fell off its hinges when David opened it. He couldn’t believe the deep cracks and fissures that lined the door’s length on either side. It made him worry more about the volatile nature and strength of the thing that crashed into it.

  He turned on the light. Jagged glass shards from the window along with broken plantation blind slats covered the desk. Splintered wood protruded out of the hole where the window used to be. He split the seams of the trash bags and then tacked them around the hole, which took a double layer and the entire box of thumbtacks.

  Miriam screamed while he gathered some jeans and sweatshirts for Tyler.

  “Where are you?!”

  In a panic he ran to Jillian’s bedroom since he last saw her there.

  “I’m in here, David!” she shrieked from their bedroom. “Get in here right now, damn it!!”

  He dropped Tyler’s clothes in a pile by Jillian’s door and moved to the master bedroom. The door slightly ajar, he pushed it open. Miriam huddled over something on the floor near the dresser. His heart skipped a beat once he saw his empty necktie drawer. He moved over to where she knelt, tentative, peering over her shoulder.

  “What the hell is this doing in here?”

  She turned her head, snarling the words while pointing to a circle made of leaves, twigs, cufflinks, handkerchiefs, and the most colorful of his horrid neckties. Roughly three feet in diameter, the circle’s items were interwoven in an intricate pattern. But the vilest item lay in the center.

  “You never gave it to the ranger that night did you?!” she accused him, snatching the little bag with “Allie Mae’s Treasures” stitched upon it from the bedroom carpet. She shook it hard enough in his face for the bag’s musty smell to fill his nostrils. Repulsed
, he drew back.

  “I tried to give it back—God knows I did!” he replied, indignant. “I couldn’t do it. Something stopped me!”

  “What?? That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard you tell me!” She stood up, still clutching the bag. “I can’t believe you did this, David! You mean to tell me you had absolutely no control of giving it back to the lady at the visitors’ center in Cades Cove?”

  She trembled, and David knew he had just seconds to fix this before she really lost it.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” He took a step closer, intent on gathering her in his arms to comfort and calm her down again.

  “Don’t even think about it—stay right where you are!!” she warned, pointing the bag at him.

  He stopped, unsure what to do next.

  “Even if that were true, what about everything else that’s happened since? You didn’t think it might help matters by letting me know this damned thing was in the house? Hmmm??”

  Again he could muster no reply, knowing it was futile to defend the logic behind his actions since Saturday afternoon. Regret washed over him while he relived every moment, seeing the folly in each decision. Everything that went wrong wouldn’t have happened…or would it have?

  “I can tell what you’re thinking, David. You can forget about coming up with some bullshit excuse!” The blueness of her eyes deepened as her rage bubbled over. “You could’ve prevented all that’s happened!!”

  She moved up to him with the bag still in her trembling hands, the bell clinking softly against the torn locket and broken tooth.

  “And to play us all like fools last night in the van…God I could frigging strangle you right now, I’m so angry!!”

  “Miriam, please—”

  “Please, what!!” she shouted, and brushed past him, carelessly tossing the bag onto the top of the dresser.

  She picked up two suitcases fully packed with the kids’ and her things. Without looking back, she walked out into the hallway and moved toward the stairs.

  “Come get Ty’s stuff and I’ll meet you in the car!”

  David looked at the bag, picturing a number of ways to destroy it. He preferred the image of it burning in the fireplace downstairs, the pale blue “Allie Mae’s Treasures” smoldering before turning black. Flicking the light switch off angrily, he walked over to his son’s pile of clothes. The sound of a girl giggling came from the master bedroom’s darkness. He almost responded with the most vicious tirade he could muster, but then heard Miriam slam the sport car’s passenger door outside. He picked up Tyler’s belongings and headed downstairs, ignoring the prickly feeling along the back of his neck that didn’t stop until he joined her in the car.

  Things remained tense between Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs on the way back to Janice’s place. Once they reached the townhouse, Miriam left everything in the car for him to haul inside. When Janice asked what had happened, Miriam shook her head and motioned for her to go back inside.

  “I suppose it might be best if I get a hotel room or stay with Norm tonight,” David offered, when all other attempts to get her to speak to him failed.

  “Whatever you wish to do,” she replied tersely. “I need time to think.”

  “You know I love you and the kids very much!” he called after her as she disappeared inside the townhouse with the last of Tyler’s clothes in her arms.

  She didn’t turn around to acknowledge what he said. But he thought he heard her say ‘I love you too’ before she closed the front door. He remained parked in the driveway for nearly fifteen minutes, hoping she would emerge one last time. When she didn’t, he pulled back onto the street and drove away, intent on leaving the neighborhood until he could come up with a remedy to repair the damage he’d brought upon his family.

  Heading north on I-25 he placed several calls to Norm, frustrated but not surprised to hear his voicemail message each time. He drove to Norm’s upscale condo near downtown Denver and waited almost two hours for him. Around eleven o’clock he realized Norm might not be coming home tonight.

  Getting a hotel room didn’t appeal to David. Instead, something compelled him to return to Littleton. He traveled down near-deserted streets and watched laughing people tumble out of the bars and clubs Norm frequented along the way. For the first time ever he envied them and their seemingly uncomplicated lives.

  Near midnight he pulled into the driveway of his deserted house. When he and Miriam had left in haste, the house was completely dark. But now...all of the lights were on. It seemed his unwanted guest knew he’d return and wanted him to feel more welcome this time.

  David parked the car. Rather than get out immediately, he kept the stereo on and stared at the dashboard while again reliving the events that brought him to this lonely place. The easiest way to sort through his thoughts had always been to write them down. He picked up a small steno pad and pen from the Z4’s glove box, intent on making his own chronological list from the past Saturday until now, when he heard a noise coming from the porch. The front door’s handle jiggled, and the door creaked open. Without removing his gaze from the doorway, he quietly closed the pen and returned it with the pad to the glove box. He turned off the car stereo. Whether an invitation or a dare, he accepted.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Miriam peered in through the driver’s side of the BMW. The sky had grown lighter on the eastern horizon, and a glance at the dashboard’s clock confirmed the time as 5:56 a.m. Thursday morning.

  “David? What in the hell are you doing out here??”

  “I guess I fell asleep,” he replied groggily, after rolling down the window. At first he couldn’t recall what happened since parting ways last night. His throbbing neck affirmed the fact he slept in this cramped car. “Why are you here?”

  “Looking for you, obviously!” she scolded him. “Norm tried to call you back after he got your messages around midnight, and when he couldn’t get a hold of you, he tried my cell phone, which was on since I wasn’t in bed yet. I tried to call you and couldn’t reach you either.… I’ve been worried sick!”

  The glow from the nearby floodlights revealed circles under her eyes. The first time in years she looked her age. It upset him that he caused her such worry, but at the same time he felt reassured. Worry meant caring. He still had an opportunity to fix the damage. It wasn’t too late to salvage his place in her heart.

  Just can’t frigging blow it this time!

  “Well, are you going to tell me what’s going on or not?”

  Just as surprised to find himself out here as she, David tried to remember what took place after he came back to the house last night. The images fleeting and difficult to focus on, he did recall being chased through the house by a dark phantom brandishing a long, sharp scepter of gold with a white tip dripping blood. The cloaked apparition’s size and shape constantly changed, like a misshapen shadow growing taller or shorter depending on a light source’s proximity. The shadow absorbed everything it touched while pursuing him.

  He stepped out of the car, where at first his cramped legs objected. Disheveled, his dress shirt had been ripped near the neck with the top two buttons missing.

  What in the hell did happen??

  For a moment he studied his roughed-up reflection in the windshield before limping to the front of the car where Miriam waited. It appeared he had a bruise above his right eye, but he couldn’t be sure due to the distorted view in the windshield’s curve.

  “I came back here after I couldn’t get in touch with Norm,” he told her. “I didn’t know if I’d stay here or not, but obviously I did. I remember the front door opened on its own…it was almost midnight. The next thing I know, you’re pounding on the car window to wake me.”

  “Someone smacked you pretty hard,” she said, studying his face. She took his arm to help him navigate the steps. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Yeah...I’ll live.” He forced a wry smile.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up. Then I’ll tell you about the pro
ject you have this morning.”

  “What about the kids?”

  “Jan is taking Jill and Chris to school, and then she’s staying home with Ty today,” she said. “She finished her latest editing assignment last night, a few days ahead of schedule. Her next one doesn’t begin until after she meets with her boss next week.”

  David nodded. Miriam unlocked the front door and they stepped inside. The recliner lay on its side and the coffee table had been kicked over. Loose papers and magazines were scattered across the living room floor.

  “It looks like a small war zone in here,” she whispered, sounding more worried than before.

  The kitchen table was shoved up against the bay window that faced the backyard. One chair broken, two others leaned up against the dishwasher and oven. Several copper pans from the rack above the kitchen island were missing.

  The dining room’s table, chairs, and hutch had been spared. Only one of the chairs pushed aside, the crystal bowl hung precariously over one end of the table. A slight breeze would send it crashing to the floor. She pushed it back to the table’s center.

  “You don’t recall any of this?” she asked when they reached the staircase.

  Two of the portraits from the stairway’s wall had fallen. She gasped and ran up the stairs to retrieve the prized oil paintings of their youngest children from three summers ago. Fortunately, only the protective glass panes were broken.

  David now recalled running down the stairs, knocking the portraits down.

  “I remember being chased, but only caught a glimpse of who or what pursued me,” he said after he joined her on the staircase.

  The images sparse and incoherent, he hoped to get a clearer picture in his mind. But no clarity came to him, only an apprehensive feeling. He looked nervously toward the landing, and she followed his gaze.

  “Come with me, hon’.”

  She took his hand in hers. He returned her forgiving smile with a weak grimace and squeezed her hand tight. Together, they moved up to the second floor.