“Across the U.S.,” another woman corrected her.
“What do you mean?” the woman in the blue dress asked.
“I mean, you should be watching more than the local news. You should be watching the world news. Bob watches it every evening. Normally, I tune it out while I knit, but lately it’s been harder with talk of everything that’s going on. This killer, this Midnight Reaper, hasn’t been only terrorizing the city; he’s also done so across the U.S. They’ve linked cases to him from all over now.”
“Why haven’t they mentioned any of this on the local news?”
“Because it’s not something they want broadcasted yet. There’s still investigating to do. At least that’s what Bob says. It doesn’t make sense to me, though.”
“Maybe they are worried about causing hysteria in the public,” I suggested without realizing I’d opened my mouth.
The three women looked at me as though I was the rudest person they’d ever encountered.
“It wouldn’t cause hysteria,” the woman in the blue dress snapped. Clearly, she wasn’t a fan of eavesdroppers, even though she most likely was one herself. “Shouldn’t you be doing something else besides listening to others’ conversations?”
I blinked at her harshness and then walked away, heading toward the kitchen without uttering an apology.
Jane Hawker.
I didn’t know her, but it seemed as though I should. Maybe I could persuade Eli into paying her a visit with me. He had to suspect something more sinister at play.
This wasn’t a human we were dealing with. It was a supernatural monster, and it seemed as though Jane Hawker knew something about him, something that scared me more than I cared to admit.
He could get inside people’s minds.
If that didn’t scream supernatural, I don’t know what did.
I placed the coffee pot back on its warmer and glanced at Leon. He wasn’t looking at me, so I pulled out my cell and browsed the internet looking for mentions of the Midnight Reaper. It didn’t take me long to realize the woman in the blue dress had been right. The killings had happened across the U.S. I faintly remembered the news anchor this morning mentioning something to that effect as well. Also, if you looked closely at the pattern, it seemed he’d been heading straight for Mirror Lake the entire time.
3
After my shift ended I placed an order for two sandwiches, deciding I’d pay Eli at visit at his work. His shift at the bar had most likely just begun, but I knew Eli was always hungry. He wouldn’t turn down food, which meant I’d have time to discuss Jane Hawker and the things I’d overheard with him before the place got too busy.
Eli would want to visit her. He would see things my way and would understand the importance of talking with her. He believed in my gut feelings.
I parked in front of Eddie’s bar and cut the engine of my car. The place had just opened, but there were already three vehicles in the parking lot. Regulars. They’d be sitting at one end of the bar with a beer in hand, chatting about old times while smoking a cigarette.
I gathered our sandwiches and drinks before heading toward the entrance of Eddie’s. The stale scent of cigarette smoke hung in the air. It grew stronger the closer to the screen door I got. It was a familiar scent, one I’d grown accustomed to long ago. Something I wasn’t used to was not coming here daily to pick up my dad after he’d had a few too many.
Since Mom had come home, Dad’s drinking had drastically decreased. Actually, he’d gone from getting shit-faced daily to not having a drop in weeks. I didn’t know how; alcohol had been the way he dealt with his pain from the accident he was involved in years ago, his version of pain management.
Dad was doing amazing though. Especially considering the medication he was on didn’t work as well as it should due to his werewolf healing abilities. They made him metabolize the medication too fast.
The screen door creaked as I pushed it open and slipped inside the dimly lit bar. Cigarette smoke hung suspended in the air like white snakes, and low music played from a speaker in the ceiling.
“Mina Ryan, aren’t you ever a sight for sore eyes,” Eddie, the owner of the bar, said as the door slammed shut behind me. “Did you bring me lunch?”
“No, sorry, Eddie. I should have. Next time.” I smiled as I glanced around the place. “Eli around?” I asked when I didn’t see him.
“Sure is,” Eddie said. He motioned to the door behind him with his thumb. “He’s in the back, washing glasses.”
“Care if I take this to him? I know he’s supposed to be on the clock, but I promise I won’t be in his hair for long.”
“It’s fine. The boy needs to eat. Besides, it ain’t like I got anything more than pork rinds and peanuts sitting around anyway.”
“Thanks.” I made my way behind the bar to the back door of the place.
“How’s that dad of yours doin’?” Eddie asked when I reached the door.
“Yeah. We haven’t seen him ’round here in a while,” an older man whose name was Jimbo said. His voice was rough from smoking too many cigarettes in his life.
I glanced at him. He wiped white foam from his upper lip. “He’s good,” I said, meaning it.
Every time I said the words, pride swelled in me. There weren’t many people who could go cold turkey the way he had and not become a complete asshole to everyone close to them.
Dad wasn’t perfect, but he was pleasant to be around.
Maybe not every day. Maybe not every second. But he was still in good spirits, and it had everything to do with Mom being back.
He’d been lost without her.
“Still sober?” Eddie asked. A skeptical gleam entered his eyes.
“Still sober,” I said.
Eddie broke into a smile. “Damn. I sure am proud of him.”
“We all are,” I said.
“Never would have thought someone like him would’ve gone cold turkey,” Jimbo said as he puffed on a cigarette. “Shoot, I figured he would’ve drunk till the day he died.”
“Which is what you plan on doin’, ain’t it?” Eddie asked him with a chuckle.
“Damn straight,” Jimbo replied. He flashed a toothless grin and lifted his frothy beer as though he were saluting Eddie’s words.
“You weren’t the only one who thought he’d drink until the day he died,” I admitted. My voice was flat as old emotions flooded me.
“I’m sure his new take on life has everything to do with your mama comin’ back to town. I don’t know the whole story, but I sure am glad her and the rest of them who seemed to have been gone for so long returned the way they did,” Eddie said. More skepticism pooled through his eyes, and I was forced to look away.
Most in town didn’t comment on the few more residents living in the trailer park now. Maybe it was because they weren’t sure what to say, or maybe it was because they knew there was something more to their return.
Something supernatural.
This wasn’t the first time I’d thought Eddie might know what those of us living in the trailer park were. Still, I didn’t give him any inkling.
“It does. It has everything to do with my mom’s appearance in our lives again,” I said as I let myself into the back where Eli was supposed to be washing glasses. I could feel Eddie’s gaze on me through the solid door.
I pulled in a deep breath and exhaled as I stepped around boxes, searching for Eli. He was near the far wall, standing at the sink. Oldies music played from a speaker. It wasn’t Eli’s choice of music, but he still whistled along.
“I didn’t know you were an Aretha Franklin kind of guy,” I said as I started toward him. He shifted to face me, a wide grin on his face.
“What are you doing here?” Eli’s green eyes lit up at the sight of me.
“Well, hello to you too,” I teased.
“Hey.” He set the shot glass he’d been washing on the counter and dried his hands on a nearby dishtowel. “Sorry. I’m glad you’re here. I’m just surprised is all. And, what�
�s this?” He pointed to the Rosemary’s Diner bag in my hand.
“Lunch.” I held it out to him. “I got you a turkey club with extra bacon.”
“Chips?”
“Of course.”
Eli rummaged through the bag until he found his chips. He loved Doritos. “Want to step outside and eat with me? I don’t think Eddie will mind.”
“He won’t,” I said as I followed him to the back door of the place. “I talked to him when I came in.”
“Awesome, then let’s eat.”
Eli pushed the back door open and stepped out onto a tiny strip of gravel that butted up against the woods. Warm sunshine beamed down on us as he handed me my sandwich.
“So, what made you think to bring me lunch?” He passed me my chips. “Everything okay?”
It was no surprise he could tell something was bothering me. It was part of our connection, our imprinting. Eli was more in tune with me than I was with myself sometimes.
My mind circled back to what I overheard the older women talking about at the diner.
“Jane Hawker,” I said, deciding to get straight to the point. “Do you know her?”
Eli took a bite of his sandwich before answering. “I don’t think so. Should I?”
“She’s a couple of years younger than me.”
“Then, I probably don’t know her. Unless she’s someone Tate dated.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think he did.”
“What about her?”
I tore a piece of bread from my sandwich and placed it in my mouth without meeting his gaze. “I think she knows something about the killings that happened in the city the other night.”
“Why do you think that?” His eyes were fixed on me. I knew he was picking apart my words and focusing on my expression.
“I heard a group of older women talking in the diner this morning about her. They said she was a witness. Apparently, she saw everything and is in shock.”
“That’s awful.”
“It is awful. She said she saw a monster. The police questioned her,” I said, keeping my eyes glued to Eli, waiting for him to understand where I was going with this. “Supposedly, she locked herself in her bedroom and is refusing to come out. She said the Midnight Reaper is a monster who saw into her soul and claims it will be coming for her next.”
Eli stared at me. He understood now. It was clear from the expression twisting his face.
“It’s normal for anyone who saw someone murdered to think they saw a monster performing the act.”
“What if it was a vampire? Or a rogue werewolf? What if it’s something even worse?” I couldn’t downplay the sharp edge of my tone.
“If it is, we’ll take care of it if it steps inside the boundaries of Mirror Lake. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
Okay, maybe he didn’t understand.
“I’m not afraid. I think there’s more to this than what you obviously do. I think there’s something supernatural at play here, and I think it’s headed for Mirror Lake. We should talk to Jane. See if we can figure out what she saw. We might be able to make more sense of it than the police.”
Eli frowned as his eyes narrowed on a strip of gravel between us. When he glanced at me again, I could still see the gears turning in his head.
“I’m supposed to meet my dad and some of the others tonight. I’ll be sure I run this by them. I’ll let you know what they say,” he said.
Not the answer I was hoping for. Hopefully, someone decided I was on to something and spoke with Jane. I had a feeling there was more to what she saw than the police were giving her credit for.
4
After I left the bar, I headed back home to let Moonshine out. She licked the top of my hand as I put her harness on and hooked her up to her leash. It sucked we had to keep her locked in a cage while we were gone, but she still chewed stuff up. We couldn’t leave her unsupervised for hours while we worked.
“Ready to go outside?” I asked as I started toward the front door. She darted around, tugging at the leash as though she knew what I was asking.
Once outside, we walked to her designated potty area. After she’d done her business, we started around the trailer park like usual. Moonshine enjoyed taking walks, especially when we made it to Gran’s and she was able to see Winston. They were best friends.
A car crept up behind me. I stepped out of the way so they could pass.
“Hey, Mina,” Taryn shouted out her rolled down window. “That puppy is still the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Thanks. How have you been?” I asked as she crept along beside me.
“I’m doin’ okay.”
“How’s the baby?”
She had to be zeroing in on five months by now. Her face was plump, and the last time I saw her, she was beginning to show.
“Perfect.” She grinned. “Another two weeks until we’re able to find out what it is.”
“Still hoping for a girl?” I asked.
“Definitely.”
“Have you thought of names?”
Taryn held up a finger, asking me to give her a minute. She pulled into the driveway of her tiny trailer, cut the engine of her car, and climbed out. I walked toward her, eager to hear the names she’d come up with.
“Well, I’m still partial to Keelie,” Taryn said as she popped the trunk of her car. She reached inside for a couple of plastic grocery bags. “Glenn doesn’t care for it, but then again, he isn’t the one growing this baby inside him. I think I should at least get to name the kid since I’m doin’ all the damn work.”
“Makes sense.” I reached inside her trunk and grabbed the remainder of the grocery bags.
I followed her into her trailer, dragging Moonshine along with me.
“I also like Fiona and Tinley,” Taryn said as she set the bags she carried inside on the tiny kitchen counter.
“At least you have a little while before you need to decide.” I placed the bags I carried on the counter beside hers and glanced around her trailer.
I’d always thought of it as a silver bullet. It was small and cute from the outside, but the inside had never seemed as homey as it did now. Taryn had spent a lot of time redecorating the inside. Glenn had landed a job at the hardware store and forced her to quit her job. He wanted her to stay home and take care of their kid. It was something she’d told me she would only agree to if she was able to redecorate.
He’d obviously stuck to her terms, and she’d done a fantastic job.
“Wow. The place looks great,” I said as I picked up Moonshine and squeezed her to my chest. I didn’t want her going to the bathroom on anything or chewing something up.
“Thanks. It’s come a long way, but I still have a lot left to do before the baby comes.” Her hand went to her belly as a wide smile graced her lips making her glow.
I didn’t ask where they planned on letting the baby sleep, but I thought about it. While the place was nice, it wasn’t big enough. Not for a family.
It wasn’t my problem, though. They’d figure it out.
Moonshine wiggled in my arms wanting down.
“I should get going.” I moved to the door. “It was nice chatting with you. And, out of the three names, I think I like Keelie best, for what it’s worth.”
“Thanks. Oh, did I tell you what the middle name is going to be if it’s a girl?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Mina.” Her eyes glistened when she spoke. “Glenn insisted, and I love the idea.”
I didn’t know what to say. No one had ever wanted to name their kid after me before. “Wow, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Tell Glenn I said thank you too.” I opened the door and started down the metal steps of her trailer.
“I will.” Taryn beamed. “Thanks for helping with the groceries, and don’t be a stranger. Glenn would love if you stopped by. Eli, too. Anytime.”
“I’ll let him know, thanks.”
I plac
ed Moonshine in the gravel and resumed our walk. Sunshine beat down on my face and the tops of my shoulders, but it felt good. There was a cool breeze in the air that signaled fall weather was on its way, and I was sort of sad to see the summer go.
My mind continued to circle back to Glenn and Taryn using my name as the middle name for their daughter. It was an honor, but it still left me feeling strange. I didn’t understand why everyone thought me going up against Regina and her goons had been so heroic. I hadn’t done anything more than the others with me that night had. Yet everyone thought I was a hero.
Truthfully, I was nothing more than a stubborn girl with an incessant need to push limits and boundaries.
“Mina!” a familiar voice called out, pulling me from my thoughts.
Mom stood in the garden with Gran. I couldn’t believe Moonshine and I had already made it around the trailer park. It had taken no time at all. Usually, we were stopping every two seconds so she could sniff something. Instead, she seemed content to walk beside me and take in the scenery. She was going to be an excellent puppy to take hiking.
“Hey,” I said as I stopped at the garden fence. “What are you two up to?”
“Oh, you know, just harvesting what we can and pruning off what we can’t,” Mom said with a smirk.
“No one is twisting your arm when it comes to helping,” Gran insisted. She snipped off a few stalks of rosemary. “If you don’t want to be in the garden, by all means, head back inside.”
“Want to help?” Mom asked, ignoring Gran’s snippy words.
I glanced at Moonshine. “No. I think I’m going to finish Moonshine’s walk. She seems to be enjoying it today.”
“Of course she is. It’s a beautiful day,” Mom said. “I wish Winston enjoyed his walks as much as she does. He only ever wants to pee on everything.”
“I remember.” I chuckled.
“Oh, before I forget,” Gran called out. “There’s a few things on the kitchen counter for you.”
“Gran’s been cooking.” Mom wiggled her eyebrows. “She made you a couple of different herb blends and some teas.”
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