Spooked on the Gulf Coast (Gulf Coast Paranormal Trilogy Book 3)

by M. L. Bullock

  “Midas, I don’t think we should stay here. Nina was right. This place is not safe. The sooner we get everyone home, the better.” Aaron had a point, but I did not think I was in any position to propose such a mission. There was an aggressive creature out there—and I had seen it clearly with my own two eyes. Leaving the lodge now would mean exposing my entire team to this animal. If it was an animal. But I did not have a chance to argue that point with Aaron. Next thing I knew, Pete was grabbing the keys off the table and headed out the side door toward the van. I called after him, but it did not do any good.

  “He’s not going to leave us, is he?” Aaron asked, acting like he was going to chase him down. I wanted to say no, he would never do that, he was not that kind of guy—but the truth was, I wasn’t sure what kind of guy Pete was anymore. All I could do was wait and watch. I had already put the whole team in jeopardy by rescuing him, and now he wanted to run back out there?

  “He is going to leave us. I can’t believe this!” I watched in shock as the van circled around and eased down the drive. I reached for my walkie-talkie and yelled Pete’s name, but that did not achieve anything except draw Cassidy and Jocelyn’s attention.

  “What’s going on?” Cassidy asked as she came back in the room, pressed her face against the window and stared in the direction of the van. “What is he doing?”

  “I’d say he’s leaving us here,” Jocelyn answered.

  Then the van backed up; the red lights illuminated the pine straw on the ground, and the van was turning, the headlights shining into the darkened lodge. Whatever thought Pete had about leaving us, he apparently changed his mind. The van drew as close to the lodge as possible, and then he laid on the horn. I did not hear anything or see anything of the creature.

  “Let’s go!” I said to the team as we raced down the lodge and climbed into the van.

  Nobody spoke the entire ride home.

  Chapter Fourteen—Cassidy

  We had a lot to think about on our ride home. That’s why no one was talking. It wasn’t because we thought that Pete was a coward or that he was going to leave us all behind to fight the creature by ourselves. No, actually, we were thinking that. When I got back to my place, I tossed the fake mouse to Domino and tried to tempt him to play with me, but he was in a napping mood. We curled up on the couch together, and I stroked his black fur as I thought about last night’s events. It had taken me a while to get to sleep. So long, in fact, that I’d nearly given up hope when I sank into nothingness.

  The first thing I did when I got home from the investigation was pick up my cat and check my dresser drawers. Apparently, Uncle Derek had agreed to my wishes because there wasn’t a sock out of place. Or more to the truth, all of my socks were out of place. I liked it that way. If memory served me right, my mom had been a laundry slob too. It was kind of our inside joke, our little secret. Don’t get me wrong, my mom could iron pleats like nobody’s business, but not many of us wore pleats. We were always a blue jeans and t-shirt type family.

  What would Mom think about my new career as a paranormal investigator? What would she think about me getting chased out of the woods by the Dogman?

  After changing my clothes and eating a quick bite, I hurried off to my studio and hovered in front of the canvas on and off for about two hours. I managed only the barest sketch of a man. It wasn’t much beyond what I had initially drawn. And it was so frustrating, as if my creative flow, my spiritual connection had been interrupted. No, make that intercepted by something I couldn’t discern. Yes, there were powers at work here that I didn’t fully understand. I moved the canvas off the easel and reached for my large sketchpad. I put the oils away and decided to try my charcoals. I had a little more luck with this particular medium. I rubbed and rubbed until eyes were staring back at me. They weren’t the eyes of a madman—he had been a good man, but he was full of fear. One eyebrow was raised high, but his chin was tucked down, evidence of his determination. His clothes were sweaty and grimy; I could tell he wasn’t a wealthy man. His hair, shoulder-length and dark brown, was equally dirty. And he held the gun like a man who knew how to hold a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it.

  A full moon was above him, and a familiar tree line was behind him. And there was something else. Something more. Much more. My fingers shook until the charcoal fell out of my hand. I was tired, too tired to continue. It wasn’t safe. Even drawing this creature wasn’t safe. And I realized that what I’d been thinking the whole time had been correct.

  We were on dangerous ground.

  I tidied up my mess, examined my work once more and then left the studio behind, yawning all the way into the house. I was tired now, and as my mind unwound, I remembered the picture that Jocelyn shared with me.

  “Kylie? I’m glad you’re here, but I’m okay.”

  I heard nothing, but I felt comforted just speaking aloud in my quiet house. In some strange way, a way I didn’t expect, I missed my noisy apartment building. At least my nosy neighbor had been some company. Here at Casa Cassidy, it was just me and my cat. Well, that would have to be enough. Domino yawned and cuddled up to me, and I finally drifted off to sleep. I woke about 10 o’clock and checked my phone for messages from Midas, but there was nothing. Maybe he was still crashed out, although knowing him, he was working feverishly behind the scenes trying to figure out what the next step should be. What was he going to do about Pete?

  “Cassidy?” I heard knocking on the front door and a familiar voice.

  “Jocelyn?” I called as I went to check it out. “What are you doing here?” I did not mean to sound rude, but I had no idea how she had found my home.

  “I asked Midas for your address. He was so busy with everything at the office that I don’t think he needed me around, so I figured I’d come by and… Well, here I am.” Jocelyn looked like she hadn’t had a wink of sleep. I did not mind her being here; despite my initial reaction, I actually liked her.

  “Come inside and meet the family. This little guy is Domino.”

  Immediately, Jocelyn was on her knees, and Domino surprisingly did not put up a fight. “Aren’t you the sweetest little thing? I love him, Cassidy. Is it just you two here?”

  How to answer that? Do I tell her that Uncle Derek is lurking around? That sometimes I smell my mother’s perfume or feel my sister close to me?

  “What you see is what you get.” Gee, that sounded mysterious. “I’m thinking about ordering some lunch. Are you hungry?”

  “Yes. I woke up too late for the continental breakfast, and I was in such a hurry to be at the GCP office that I did not ask the cabbie to stop anywhere. What do you got around here?”

  “Just about anything you can think of. What are you in the mood for?”

  After some going back and forth, we decided on lunch. I made the call, and then we sat back at the kitchen table and talked about last night. Jocelyn sighed and said, “I can’t believe Peter. I mean, I always knew that deep down he was a jerk, but that just takes the cake.” She tugged at the corner of my tablecloth looking angry and sad.

  “People do dumb things when they get in nerve-racking situations, and I think we can both agree that last night was nothing if not nerve-racking. What I cannot understand is why the sudden change? In the past, Peter has always been a great teammate. I have never seen him run from a fight; in fact, he took a bullet for Midas. It’s just so strange.”

  Jocelyn shrugged, looking unconvinced by my description of her ex-boyfriend. “He told Midas that he got confused and was trying to turn the van around; his plan was to shine lights on us because he assumed the animal did not like the lights. I think that’s kind of convenient.”

  “Maybe he is telling the truth? I guess we will never know. I haven’t heard from Midas this morning.” I did not mean for that to sound bitter; I was just wondering why I hadn’t heard from him. Again, it was not that I didn’t trust him. It was just…

  “He mentioned that you were probably painting last night, and he didn’t want to wake you up t
oo early. Is he right? Were you painting? I’m dying to see your studio. Do you ever let people in?” Instantly, Jocelyn eradicated all my fears. I was being ridiculous and insecure and all those things I hated about my ex, Mike.

  “I’ll be glad to show you. My friend Helen was kind of the inspiration for the studio. She is the one who thought of it to begin with. It is right off the kitchen here. We have a few minutes before the food arrives, and then I guess we should eat and mosey over to the office.”

  Jocelyn was on her feet smiling and ready to check it out. I noticed she was wearing the same clothes that she had on last night. Didn’t she have other clothes with her? From her comment about the continental breakfast, I gathered she was staying at a hotel. Would it be stupid to ask if she wanted to stay with me? Maybe so, but I had done dumb things before…so why stop now?

  “You should stay with me while you are in town, Jocelyn.” We walked out the kitchen door together, and she carefully considered my proposal. “You seem to have a way with my cat. And to be honest, I could use the company.”

  “Don’t tell me you think you’re alone.”

  “I know too much about paranormal investigation to believe that I’m ever completely alone, but it is nice to have a living person around occasionally.”

  Jocelyn hugged me for some reason. I appreciated the spontaneous nature of her personality. “The key word is occasionally, and you should know I never stay around for very long so don’t get attached to me. People do. Get attached to other people. I would love to crash on your couch if that would be okay. I loathe hotels, but I guess Midas told you that.”

  “No, the subject never came up. But I am glad that you are going to be here, for however long that is. Now, this is my studio.”

  I swung the door open, but Jocelyn did not move. She stood outside the studio, her eyes fixed on the drawing I had left on my easel. Her stillness made me uncomfortable.

  “Jocelyn? What is it?”

  “I know that face.”

  “Really? From where?” Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer. I was not exactly sure who he was, but I knew that creature was familiar to me. That was the elusive monster that lurked in the tree line at the lodge. But this man, I couldn’t be sure.

  “Tobias. That is Tobias Arthur.”

  Chapter Fifteen—Midas

  Pete bowed out of the investigation, and I couldn’t say I was sorry. I never expected that bringing Jocelyn back into the team dynamic would rattle him so much. But Pete had always been the guy who did the unpredictable thing. Just when you thought you knew him and could depend on him, he took his mask off and showed you who he really was. I’d known this guy all my life—and until Sara, I never had any inclination that he wasn’t trustworthy—but last night put the nail in the coffin. In his defense and if he was telling the truth, some might think what he did was brave, even selfless, but I’d rescued the guy earlier that evening. Did he think what he did would make up for that? I shook my head just thinking about him.

  Whatever, man.

  At least Hardy was going to join us at the lodge. Joe Hardy was the number one Bigfoot guy in the area. I didn’t really know him very well, but he had a good reputation for being an honest investigator, so I’d taken a chance and called him. He was a busy man, but I barely got the words “Crenshaw Road” out of my mouth before Joe said, “Yes!”

  Whatever investigation I was doing, he wanted to be a part of it. Joe wanted to bring his whole team in, but I did not believe that Nina would ever go for that. And frankly, the fewer people I put in harm’s way, the better I would feel. I insisted that Joe limit his team to just one other person and assured him that everyone at Gulf Coast Paranormal would be at his disposal. We would all chip in, and whatever plans he had to capture this creature, we wanted to help.

  “That’s just it, Midas. I do not believe that you can capture this thing. You might be able to capture evidence of it, but the Dogman is from another world.”

  I chuckled into the phone even though I did not find this line of conversation funny in the least. I knew he was talking not about aliens but about the spirit world. Another dimension.

  “There is a guy missing, Joe, a friend of the lodge owner’s family, and they are taking this pretty hard. If we can find him and bring him home, that is enough. But I’d really like to help the owner get rid of this thing too so no one else gets hurt. Any ideas on how to do that?”

  It was Hardy’s turn to get quiet. “I have a few. The Dogman is a rare breed of cryptid. He is highly aggressive, believes himself to be the alpha and thrives on human anger and fear. If there is any dissension in your group, any disunity, he will feed on that. Any fear, any anger…that is a power source for him.”

  “We won’t have any problems with that. I am glad we’re going up early. I know that the local law enforcement have spent a lot of time combing the woods around the lodge, but I’d like us to take a shot at it too.”

  “I’ll see you there about noontime,” he said.

  That had been earlier this morning, and now we were driving down Highway 98 preparing to turn onto Crenshaw Road. The team got quiet as we made the turn. There would be just the four of us tonight, Cassidy, Jocelyn, Aaron and me. Well, six with Joe and his partner, Larry. We left all of our camera equipment running; we would review it all tomorrow when we returned to Mobile, and our focus tonight would be on the Dogman.

  Cassidy found some information and read it to us as we began to make the turn onto Crenshaw. “The Dogman is a cryptid creature known to local Native American tribes by many names. Sightings of the creature have been reported throughout the South and Midwest. The Dogman is sometimes mistaken for a werewolf, but there are many differences between the two cryptids. Werewolf-type creatures are humans in their true forms and are transformed under specific lunar cycles whereas the Dogman is not capable of transformation and remains the same throughout the lunar cycle. The first sightings of the Dogman amongst American colonists occurred in 1704 in Northern Louisiana. According to those early reports, the Dogman terrorized the small community of Trumbull so much that the place became a ghost town in just a few weeks. The colonists believed that if you stood face to face with the Dogman, you were doomed to die. It reportedly had glowing red eyes and bloodied, dripping teeth, and it growled like a vicious dog. It was tall, taller than any man, with powerful upper-body strength. Locals attributed the appearance of the Dogman to the Native American tribes who had been ousted from their land. Colonists believed that the Dogman had been under the control of the Creek Indians and was dispatched for revenge. There were rumors of skinwalkers amongst the natives at the time. Skinwalkers are malevolent shamans who can take on the appearance of forest animals including dogs and wolves. The Creeks, led by Sparrow’s Brother, a respected chief, denied all such allegations and reported that the Dogman had caused the death of many of their own animals and a few small children. According to legend, Sparrow’s Brother and his leaders performed a ritual that weakened the Dogman. Soon after, the creature vanished.”

  Aaron asked, “What rituals? Does it say?” He was leaning forward in his seat and looking over Cassidy’s shoulder.

  She flipped through the papers and shook her head. “I’m sorry to say no, it doesn’t. That would be too convenient, right? What about Nina? Can she ask her people what they know about this ritual?” Cassidy fumbled around with the research and shoved it back into her satchel.

  “I think if she knew what to do, she would’ve already done it, but it can’t hurt to ask her.”

  I pointed to the truck parked up ahead. “We are here, guys. Looks like Joe and Larry are here too. And with a truckload of equipment.”

  “I’m glad to see it. I hope they know what they’re doing,” Jocelyn said as she snapped photo after photo and eased out of the van. She paused every now and then to scan through her library but apparently did not find anything significant. “Cassidy! Come walk with me.” She snapped away at the tree line and walked toward it. I did not
think that was such a great idea, but she was a grown woman and would not appreciate me babying her. Cassidy gave me a look that said, I’ll be okay, so I didn’t fuss at her either. These two women were diehard investigators. If they felt danger or sensed it in any way, I knew they would get out of there quickly. I really did not have to worry about them. They were professionals.

  But what if they didn’t sense anything? What if it came up on them and they never even knew it?

  I didn’t like that thought at all and shook my head as Aaron and I headed over to help Joe and Larry.

  Larry was walking around the property, pausing every few minutes. “Have you seen this? Look at these tracks. I think we should cast them. This thing is huge. Did either one of you get a good look at it?”

  “Not face to face,” I confessed.

  Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God for that. You do not want to look this thing in the face. What did you see, though?”

  “I saw the back of it as it was running into the woods.”

  Joe paused his work and asked, “Can you describe it? What did it look like?”

  “Sure, I could describe it. I am never going to forget it. It was tall, taller than any man—probably about seven feet, maybe more. The ears on it made it look even taller; they were huge and pointed. It had black fur, and it was muscular. No way was that someone in a costume. The muscle definition was too…it just could not be copied. It moved with a strange grace, as if it willed you not to hear it. It was there and gone before any of us really understood it. And I agree with you about the alpha thing. I think it wanted us to know who was in charge.”

  Joe sat on the bed of the truck and removed his ball cap. “Before we set anything up, I think we should do a perimeter search. We will walk around the property in ever-widening circles. As you can see, I brought Boy with me. If there’s someone lost out there, this dog will find him or her. We will do that for however long it takes and then come back here and set some traps up. This thing is smart, so obvious traps will not work. But I’ve got some special camera traps that might just do the trick. In addition, we will use a laser grid that will probably surprise the hell out of it. It will not hurt it, just give it a little zap if it walks past. I can’t tell you how hard it was to pick just one team member to come on this investigation.”