Emma’s mind raced. Okay, so Stinson wasn’t any Mouth Jammer and couldn’t have changed her client’s husband into a Sasquatch, but he passed the check to someone who could, maybe.
“Alright, Stinson. I think I’m done here. Sorry for a… the rough business with your a…” Emma said, waving her finger at ‘Jessica’ and feeling that the best course of action was to leave. She hurried toward the mine shaft, stopping just at the exit of the break-off room. She looked back at the old man, who had moved from his chair and stooped down to pick up his cutout, the movements careful and loving. She thought of telling the old man she knew a little about how he felt. Thinking better of it, she headed back down the tunnel to the world above.
8
The stake-out. It was Emma’s least favorite part of the job. She liked the chase, the hunt. Sitting and waiting, not so much. She had been sitting and waiting outside the Hemisphere Forest Preservation Society office for several hours now. She planned on confronting the witch, or whatever she was, but situations like these sometimes demanded prudence.
Still, it was her least favorite part of the job.
Next to her in the car, Barrett sat snoozing on the headrest. Emma sighed and looked in the rear-view mirror. The street was empty. Everybody but her seemed to have something better to do. Even the whatever witch. Emma heaved a sigh and slammed her weight against the car door three times and got out. Barrett came awake with a squawk and a ruffle of feathers.
“No more crackers!” he said, shaking his head and looking around.
Emma leaned in the car and stuck out her arm.
“Come on. I’m bored. We’re going in,” she said, letting Barrett walk up her arm and perch on her shoulder.
Barrett hung on tightly as three slams later, the car door was closed. Emma smoothed down her shirt and jacket and turned around. With a final look up and down the street, she was satisfied she didn’t have any attention.
At the front door of the preservation society, she did a final check of her surroundings. A large oak tree at the front of the property kept her partly shielded from view. Pulling a leather wallet from her back pocket, she stooped quickly and went to work picking the lock. A few seconds later, the door clicked open and Emma slipped inside.
She was surprised by what she didn’t see. She had expected there to be desks, phones, computers, maybe literature about the need for the forest to be preserved. She expected to see a progress board showing how much money had been raised and how much there was left to go. Instead the building was empty. None of that stuff was in here. Well, there was a progress chart on the floor, leaning up against the wall. It looked like a thermometer. Shaded red marker rose all the way to the top, but three quarters of that had been marked out by black marker in a series of angry looking swirls.
The only other thing was a ledger. It lay open, across from the progress chart. A mark on the wall and a bent place on the spine told Emma that the anger did not restrict itself to swirls of black ink. She picked the ledger up. Most of the pages were blank. In fact the only page that had any writing was the first. There had been precious few donors. Just a couple of them, really. All of them for five and ten dollars. The list was only six entries, the last one being for the twenty-five grand. That of course had bounced.
Emma dropped the ledger and stood up. She looked around. There was literally nothing else to investigate. It occurred to her that the place seemed more like a front than anything. She had heard of charities trying to keep overhead low to maximize donations, but even charities needed the barest of essentials. But if this was a front, for what? Shadows swept across the walls and she looked to her right. A large window opened out onto a small enclosed space in the back. Emma saw a large Walnut tree, its branches undulating in the gentle breeze, dappling the walls with light and shadow.
The tree was beautiful. A solid trunk rose from the ground and branches of lush green foliage reached for the sky, filling the little courtyard. Hanging from the branches were bright green clusters of walnuts.
She threatened to turn me into a walnut when I told her my balloon weren’t no gravy train.
As the words of the old man came back to her, a new thought occurred to Emma.
“Not a Witch, a Hamadryad. A walnut tree Hamadryad.” She said.
Emma unclipped the cell phone from her belt, flipped open her note pad, and punched in the number.
“Mrs. Tidwell? Yeah, Emma here… No, I haven’t found your Harry—Harry yet, but I’ve got some good leads. Tell me, do you have a walnut tree on your property? No? Okay, could you do me a favor. Go outside and look around your house, around windows especially. See if there are any walnuts lying around on the ground. Do it now. I’ll wait,” she said.
Emma could hear Audri Tidwell moving through the house, heard the door open and the wind in the background as she moved outside. A couple of minutes later, Audri was back on the line.
“Why yes, yes there are. Right here outside the bedroom window. That’s strange. Do you think it means something, Detective?”
Emma sighed.
“I think it means you were being watched. Maybe she went there first and when you weren’t home tracked you to the motel, I don’t know… Who? The one that changed your husband from Harry to hairy. I think a Hamadryad did this Mrs. Tidwell, to get revenge… No, it was nothing you did. I’ll tell you all about it later. Right now, I have some more legwork to do. Oh, and Mrs. Tidwell, hold onto those nuts. Keep them in a safe place, they’re evidence… Yes, on top of your chest in the bedroom should be fine,” Emma said and then hung up.
Emma bit her lower lip and tried to think. Another thought occurred to her. She swiped the screen on her phone. A few keystrokes later, she found what she was looking for.
“Well, okay,” she said, swiping the screen and pocketing her phone.
Just outside, Emma’s phone squelched. Pulling it out, she swiped the screen again. An alert from her police-band scanner app popped up.
“Yeah, roger that, Delta-One. We’re up here at Four Points. Looks like an animal attack. Hard to say, Over.”
“Roger, Echo-Three. What kind of tracks are they? Over.”
“Well, if I didn’t know better, I would say they were human, Delta-One. But if they’re human, whoever made them wears a size fifty, Over.”
“Roger Echo-Three. Forestry is en route, Over.”
Emma locked the door behind her and was about to hurry to her car when she remembered Barrett. Looking to her left, she saw the oak tree. One of the branches hung down and swayed by a window. She went over and let Barrett onto her hand, then deposited him on the tree branch.
“Okay, partner, time to pull your weight here. Keep an eye out. I’ll be back later, Emma said.
“Abandonment issues!” Barrett squawked and then moved down the branch closer to the window.
Emma gave him a smirk and then ran across the street. Three pulls and three slams later, she was in her car and gone in a cloud of emissions.
* * * * *
When Emma was gone, Barrett fluttered off his branch and walked around to the back. In the small courtyard, he stood under the Walnut tree.
“Wake up, ya nut job! She’s onto ya about the Sasquatch!” he said.
9
Emma’s subcompact trundled up and over a hill. As she crested the top in a cloud of noxious fumes, she was surprised by the scene before her. Hemisphere’s finest were there, but they weren’t doing much, just leaning against their squad cars mostly. Any authority they had over the scene was washed away by the other branches of enforcement milling about.
As Emma climbed out of her tin can on wheels, she recognized men in suits. She didn’t know exactly which branch of government they were, but she could smell ‘Fed’ on them even over the lingering exhaust cloud. She approached one of the Hemisphere cops positioned by the entrance to the Four Points camping area. She was half way to him, when he held up his hands, stopping her.
“Whoa, there, ma’am. That’s far enough. T
his area is restricted,” the cop said.
Emma kept coming, pulling out her P.I. license and flashing it. She looked at the officer’s name tag.
“It’s okay, Corporal Dobbs, I’m a detective. What gives?” she said, pocketing her license before Dobbs could get a good look at it.
The cop looked back at the scene and sighed.
“Well, animal attack, I think. Campsite was all torn to hell. Couple of college kids tossed around by… something. Nobody killed, but they’ll be laid up at Hemisphere General a week or two,” he said.
Emma took a step past Dobbs and surveyed the scene.
“Those Suits over there are Department of Interior, I think. Those other Suits are Land Management. Seems like a lot of heavy hitters for an animal attack, if you ask me,” Dobbs said.
Emma furrowed her brow.
“I heard something on the scanner about the… whatever, having big feet?” she said.
Emma looked over her shoulder at Dobbs, who seemed just about to answer her when a look of recognition crossed his face.
“Hey, I recognize you. You’re that Detective that was kicked off the force. Yeah, police brutality or something, right? Had a hard-on for roughin’ up Super-nats,” Dobbs said, smiling.
Emma narrowed her eyes at the Corporal.
“I went into the private sector,” she said, her words sounding none too friendly, even to her ears.
Dobbs seemed about to respond when Emma noticed him look past her.
Emma turned around and was confronted by the Chief of the Hemisphere Police. Chief Adlar Hammel had a build like Frankenstein’s monster. He was gray at the temples and had distinguished features. He appeared pleasant enough until he opened his mouth. Hammel did not like Emma, and Emma did not like him. She had Hammel pegged as a bureaucrat, preferring politics over police work, from day one and that had established the nature of their relationship early.
“Emma Spaulding. My God, what are you doing here?” the Chief said.
Emma sneered and shifted her weight onto one hip.
“Adlar Hammel. I might ask you the same thing,” Emma said.
Chief Hammel gave a gentle tug on the lapels of his suit jacket and cleared his throat.
“That’s Chief Hammel, Spaulding, or have you forgotten?” he said.
Emma huffed.
“You’re not Chief to me, not anymore. I’m a private citizen, now. Thanks to you. That means my taxes pay your salary. Practically puts us on a first name basis,” she said, enjoying her former boss’s thinly veiled annoyance.
“Still blaming everybody but yourself for your situation, Spaulding? Anyway, you being a… private citizen, as you say, gives you even less right to be here. Officer Dobbs, please escort this… lady to her car and make sure she leaves the area,” Hammel said, turning and walking back to the scene.
Corporal Dobbs extended his arm, corralling Emma and directing her away.
“I know what’s going on here, Adlar! It’s why you have the Feds! That wasn’t any animal attack!” Emma said, as Corporal Dobbs ushered her back to her car.
“Goodbye, citizen. Rest assured, Hemisphere’s finest have the situation well in hand!” Hammel said, not looking back.
Corporal Dobbs stood in front of her, his arms crossed, as Emma scanned the area one more time. Seeing the tree-line, another idea came to her.
Three strenuous tugs on her door and a humiliating chuckle from Dobbs later, Emma was in her car, venting exhaust back to town.
10
The tall trees of Hemisphere forest rose out of the ground and seemed to touch the sky. Sun dappled leaves swayed and moved in the gentle breeze and created flickering shadows. The sound of the wind through the branches created a lullaby effect on Emma, slowing her pace. She did not intend to go far. Truth was, she didn’t know how far she had to go. Looking over her shoulder, she tried to spot landmarks to better assist her when she had to find her way back. Her steps were quiet on the pine needle carpet under her feet as she stepped over a rotted fallen log.
“This is far enough,” she said.
She had gone to Hemisphere’s Magic district, Conjurer’s Row. It was in the old part of Hemisphere, near the courthouse. The way she felt about Mouth Jammers and other practitioners of the supernatural arts, she avoided the place as a general rule. Purveyors of every magical variety could be found there. It was a good place for sweating leads for cases, but the reason that drew her there the most was the immediate availability of the tools of her trade. All the things a supernaturalist could want or need were there. Ironically, everything a paranormal detective would need to stop super-nats could be found there as well. One shop in particular was her favorite. The customer service was always excellent and they did special orders, free shipping in two days or less. Adelaide had to consult some of her more ancient tomes to find the spell, but in the end she hadn’t let Emma down. The spell and all the ingredients were on hand. Emma hoped that Audri Tidwell wouldn’t balk too much at the exotic list, but they were ‘expenses’ after all. A gray hair from an old man’s beard. Three dead wood beetles. A chipmunk’s tail, removed with precision so as not to harm the chipmunk. Three ounces of morning dew. The last ingredient was Eye of Newt. When Emma asked about the Eye of Newt, Adelaide had looked at her like she was crazy. Any spell worth its salt had Eye of Newt in it, Adelaide had said, and that seemed to settle the matter.
She pulled the piece of paper and started to read. Feeling like she had a grasp of what she had to do, she pocketed the spell. From a white plastic shopping bag, she withdrew the bronze chalice and set it on the ground. Pulling out other items, she put them into the chalice. The last to come out was the small vile containing the three ounces of morning dew. This, she poured into the chalice. That done, she stood back up.
“Walk in a circle seven times,” she said, going from memory.
She stepped out and began walking around the chalice.
“Spirit of the forest, I summon you,” she said, completing one rotation.
Six more times she did this, repeating the incantation each time and then she stopped. Here she faltered and pulled the spell paper back out.
“Take your wand or your sword and make a pentagram in the circle, encompassing the chalice, then stir vigorously, light on fire, and say…” she said, reading the words silently to herself.
Emma pulled out her silver spoon and held it up to look at it.
“Well, it ain’t a sword, but I suppose it will have to do,” she said, stooping down and drawing the pentagram in the pine needles on the forest floor.
“Spirit over matter and matter over spirit,” she said.
Standing back up, she read the final line on the paper.
“Light the items on fire and say the following: ‘Use the energy I give you to do my bidding. Spirit of the forest, I summon you!’ then point your sword at the center of the circle,” she said.
She didn’t smoke, so she had to buy a lighter when she purchased the other items. Looking in the shopping bag, she took out a cheap plastic disposable. Emma stooped down and lit the ingredients on fire. They went up in a flash. She stood and pointed her spoon at the center of the circle.
Nothing happened. Emma stood there, feeling more silly by the second.
“Well this was a complete waste of—”
A horrendous cracking of wood split the serenity of the forest. The wind picked up and the trees swayed furiously, their trunks seeming to bend, their branches bowing to the ground, as if in worship. Emma turned in a tight circle where she stood, looking for any sign of what might be happening. A final deafening crack and she spun around quickly. Her mouth fell open as standing before her was the most ancient looking thing she had ever seen. It looked humanoid, but only if the humanoid was a tree. Her eyes rose as she sought to take in the vision before her. It was as tall as any tree in the forest. It had two legs resembling massive trunks, a body that looked the same. Its arms were branches that stretched much farther than arms should. The head was ano
ther trunk, but with two eyes, a nose and a mouth. Its skin was rough and gnarled, more bark than skin, she thought. It stood before her with eyes closed. A great rasping breath escaped its mouth and then the eyes opened and it looked around, not seeing her right away, down on the ground as she was.
“Who has awakened me?” the Spirit of the Forest said, its words coming slow and breathy.
Speech escaped Emma for a moment. Raising her hand tentatively in the air, she looked up into the face of the ancient tree.
“Um… I have. It was me. Emma Spaulding. I… uh have a few questions I would like to ask you…” she said.
The Spirit of the Forest looked around, then down at her, bending at the waist for a closer inspection, the sound of creaking wood rattling Emma’s teeth.
“Questions? You summon me for questions, in my domain?” the Spirit of the Forest said.
Emma offered up a weak smile.
“Yes? You see, I’m working a case and—”
The massive tree stood back up. The thunder of creaking wood reached a crescendo that was only diminished by the booming peels of laughter that burst forth from its mouth. Emma couldn’t tell if this was going well or not. She decided it wasn’t when the Spirit of the Forest immediately stopped laughing and reached down with his massive limb of an arm and seized her. Before she knew what was happening, she was off the ground. Her feet dangled in the air. Her arms were held securely by her side in the tight grip of the living tree.
“Arrogance! I am ancient. I am Arkanelder, Spirit of the Forest, Protector of the Wood and all that dwell beneath my branches! All the trees on all the hills are mine to nurture!” Arkanelder said, his voice ringing in the wind like thunder.
Emma Spaulding Paranormal Detective: Sasquatch (A Hemisphere Story Book 1) Page 4