“About 3000 people… But it’s not even that.” Nick stared out the window.
“What?”
“Emily isn’t the first.”
“What do you mean? Like not the first to disappear?”
“Yeah.” Nick nodded.
“Oh my God… how many?”
Nick pointed at the newspaper. “Six.”
“Six?!”
Nick nodded.“The first disappeared twelve years ago. The details seem to change from time to time, but the story goes that it was some hippy drifter and her boyfriend. They recovered her boyfriend’s backpack in the river. All full of soggy weed and camping gear, but they never found any bodies. At the time everyone just assumed that they drowned together...”
“This creepy,” Sarah muttered.
“Until the next girl disappeared. Jamie Billings.” Nick went on, “I did know her. We were both Homewood High Eagles. She was a freshman when I was a senior. Hell of a volleyball player.”
“I’m sorry. That’s horrible.”
“It is… but, I mean, everybody's lost somebody. It was a long time ago anyway.” Nick forced an awkward smile.
“How long ago?” Sarah asked.
“Summer of ‘02. But it’s not just here- girls have disappeared from some of the other small towns around here too. Derby lost a girl, Philmore lost two.”
“My God, Nick.”
“I mean... most of them were either new to town or just passing through. Here one day and gone the next, ya know. So, some people don’t consider them to be actually missing. There’s that chance that they just left or whatever... but it adds to the story I guess. And people like a story.”
“Well it’s a pretty big story for such a small town.”
“It is,” Nick replied, “It has a way of making people a little paranoid around here too. Most of the locals won’t even talk about it… though Walt was doing his best to kinda warn you about it last night.”
“Oh. Well, I guess it’s a good thing I met you then. You can protect me.”
Nick blushed. He turned the steering wheel and they bounced off one dirt road and onto another. “Almost there. Just down this hill and across the bridge.” They drove over an run-down, steel truss bridge which crossed the river at the bottom of the hill. “This is the Iktomi River.”
“Wow. It’s beautiful.”
“Yep.” Nick nodded and then soon the truck was turning off the dirt road and driving up the gravel driveway to an old, white, two-story house. Sarah stared through the windshield at the old, river house as Nick parked the truck. She didn’t notice him shut off the engine and get out. She just continued to stare, in a trance of sorts, as if the house was speaking to her. Nick suddenly tapped on the passenger side window and Sarah jumped in her seat.
“Oh God!” Sarah turned to the window with an embarrassed smile, shook off the cobwebs, and then opened the truck door.
“You alright?”
“Yeah... yeah, fine. I was just- let’s just go inside.”
Nick lead Sarah to the front door. They both stood there waiting for the other to unlock the door.
“Um, you have the keys.” Nick finally said.
“Oh, shit. That’s right.” The two laughed as Sarah dug in her purse for the keys. She found them and unlocked the door. The worn, wooden door creaked as Sarah opened it, welcoming them inside.
Nick lead Sarah into the house, flipping on light switches as he went. It was quite obvious that he’d been there before.
“It’s cold in here.” Sarah said as she folded her arms across her chest.
“Yeah. I’ll see if I can get it warmed up.” Nick walked over to the fireplace and began to start a fire.
Sarah left Nick to the fire making as she unconsciously decided to investigate the rest of the house. The house seemed to groan and creak “hello” to Sarah as she moved throughout the rooms. She was looking for photos of her aunt, or family, but all she found were empty picture frames and dusty furniture.
She headed up the tattered, wooden stairs to the second floor. At the top of the stairs there was a long hallway with four doors, two on each side. Three of the doors were opened, but there was one closed door at the end of the hallway. Sarah immediately knew that that was the one she wanted. She passed the opened doors of the bathroom, a closet, and what looked like a guest bedroom, before stopping to observe an empty picture frame hanging on the wall across from the one closed door. Sarah turned her attention back to the door and slowly began to turn the knob. A hand touched Sarah’s shoulder.
“That was your aunt’s-”
Sarah screamed and turned to face Nick, who was equally startled.
“Oh my God! You scared me!” She hit Nick in the shoulder.
“Ouch! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”
“It’s okay. Just don’t do it again.” Sarah gave Nick a wry smile and opened the door. She looked inside to find a room completely put together. The bed was tightly made and nothing looked to be out of place.
“They found her in her bed. She went peacefully in her sleep.”
Sarah looked at Nick.
“She had cancer. I’m sorry. This isn’t my place. I just wasn’t sure how much you knew about how she died. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, no, it’s okay.” Sarah’s eyes surveyed the rest of the bedroom. “I, I didn’t know. And I want to know about her.”
“It was a peaceful, quiet way to go. It’s how she wanted it... here in her house and not some cold hospital room.” Nick lead Sarah out of the bedroom.
“You were closer to her than you let on before.”
Nick nodded.
“What was she like, Nick?”
He paused for a moment, really thinking about what he wanted to say next, and then closed the bedroom door. “She was a good person. Smart and independent, strong... lonely, funny, sad, proud, creative... she was... we were friends, I guess… I was sad to see her go, but I’m glad I’ve met her niece.”
Sarah smiled as they walked back down the hallway. The empty picture frame on the wall again snatched her attention.
“Why the empty frame?”
“Not really sure. Never really noticed it before.”
“Strange. There doesn’t seem to be any photos anywhere. I was hoping to see a picture of her. I still don’t know what she looked like.”
“I don’t know if you’ll have much luck, actually. I know after she got sick, she didn’t really even want to look in the mirror anymore, let alone see old photos of herself.”
“Maybe an old photo album or something?”
“Can’t help you there. But maybe?”
“I guess I have some exploring to do. Ah, the guest bedroom. This’ll be a good jumping off point.” Sarah walked into the bedroom and dropped her bag on the bed. At the same time Nick’s phone beeped- a new text message.
“Sarah?”
“Yeah?”
“Would it be okay if I let you hang out here by yourself for a couple of hours? I just had this little job come up, and I could definitely use the money right now.”
“Yeah, no problem, it’ll give me time to explore.”
“Right on. Sorry. I can swing back out around lunch time and give ya a ride back to town if that works?”
“Sure. Don’t worry about it.”
Nick reached into his pocket and handed Sarah his business card.
“My card... If you need anything, just give me a call. I’ll see ya in a bit.” Nick waved as he left.
“Bye.” Sarah said, and then laughed as she read his business card. The Homewood Handyman.
Nick jumped in his truck and backed down the gravel driveway, away from the house and down the dirt road. As he drove across the bridge, he tapped his brakes and came to a complete stop in the middle of the bridge. He stared out over the river. The murky shadows of the deeper side of the river were quite visible from this height, he noticed. Nick cocked his head to the side. He looked as though he was list
ening for something. It was only a momentary look however, and then he found himself staring back at the Bayard House. He smiled. He was thinking of Sarah. It was hard not to. Nick let his foot off the brake and drove away, across the bridge and down the gravel road on the other side.
●
Sarah stood next to the bed in the guest bedroom, unpacking her one bag. She would need to get the rest of her things from the motel room later. It didn’t take her long to finish unpacking, as she was anxious to look around some more. She placed the last of her folded clothes in the dresser and walked around the bedroom taking everything in. She looked in the closet, opened up drawers, and even looked under the bed. Her thorough exploration of the bedroom, however, didn’t provide anything interesting. She walked out into the hallway, again looking up at the photo-less frame mounted on the wall, and then made her way down the stairs and into the living room. The fireplace was well stoked now, and she paused to warm her hands next to the fire. The house was very quiet. Almost too quiet for Sarah as she continued to look around each room. There wasn’t a lot to look at. Just a worn-out rocking chair and some dusty, wooden end tables. She paused in front of the south window, which looked out in the direction of the barn and the twisting river.
“What was its name again?” She asked the empty room. Sarah stood there in silence, waiting for an answer, but none was given. She turned and walked under the archway of the living room and into the kitchen. On the far wall next to the kitchen table was a deteriorated looking door with a small window. Sarah opened the door and then unlocked and opened the screen door on the other side. She stepped outside into the crisp, morning air. She enjoyed the fresh air as she walked away from the house. She found herself smiling as she passed an aged, wooden building with its doors opened. Inside, she could see what looked like a rusted tractor. The Machine Shop, she thought, and then she walked past the empty chicken coop, the sun-faded red barn, and down to the river bank. She stopped. The river twisted in front of her.
“It’s beautiful.” She pushed her legs through the tall grass and weeds along the riverbank, taking in the scenery, and whistling as she wandered. It was a familiar tune...the song… from her dreams. Perhaps something from the twenties, but who could be sure anymore. Sarah came to a spot close to the water and sat down cross-legged in the grass. She looked up at the clouds and took in the warmth of the sunlight on her face. Then her eyes closed and she inhaled the fresh country air and held it for a minute, before exhaling slowly.
“It’s okay... “ Her mouth moved only slightly as the words, barely audible, seemed to slip out involuntarily from between her lips. Sarah’s eyes opened suddenly. She was confused as to why she had just said that. She shivered. It was cold again. Sarah got to her feet and walked back towards the house. She stopped once along the way to look back at the river, then quickly continued on back to the house.
Sarah walked in the front door of the old house and immediately went to the fireplace to warm up. She hadn’t realized just how cold her hands had gotten outside, until she felt the tingling pain in the nerves as they warmed next to the flame. She rubbed her hands together. They were feeling better already, but Sarah realized that she had been sitting outside next to the river a lot longer than it had seemed. She looked at her phone. It was already 12:30 pm. How can that be? Her mind tried to quickly rationalize the time slip, but nothing was adding up. Did I fall asleep? She questioned herself, but that’s when her conversation with herself was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a loud crash from behind her. She screamed. The sound made her jump, but it didn’t take long for her to regain some composure. She decided to go check it out. The crash had come from upstairs. She spied the fireplace poker, and picked it up. Just in case.
As she walked up the stairs towards the bedrooms, she couldn’t help but laugh, if she were watching a horror movie, she would be screaming at the heroine to leave the house, and not go up the stairs! But this was real life, not a movie, and Sarah had to reign in her wild imagination. As she got closer to her aunt’s room, she saw the reason for the loud crash. The empty picture frame that had been hanging on the wall across from her aunt’s bedroom was now in pieces on the floor. Sarah was no longer scared, but relieved and maybe even a little embarrassed that she had been so skittish. She went downstairs to the kitchen to find a broom. While in the broom closet, she noticed her late aunt’s small wine collection, pulled out a bottle of Pinot Noir and looked at the label.
“Hello, hello. Looks like we have some things in common after all.” She said to her late aunt. She placed the bottle on the kitchen counter and walked upstairs to clean up the mess. While sweeping up the glass, she found herself looking at her aunt’s closed bedroom door. She was curious again. She walked to the door and began to turn the knob. Then her imagination got the better of her so she stopped. “You’re being ridiculous, Sarah, just open the door and stop scaring yourself! “ She turned the knob, ever so slowly, and opened the door.
Everything seemed to be in place. She walked around the room, taking it all in, and then began to finger through some of her aunt’s things. Nothing to note in her chest of drawers, just carefully folded clothes. Then she walked to the closet. The smell of mothballs filled the room as she opened the door. On the top shelf, among some shoe boxes, she found a box marked ‘Lizzy’s things’. Sarah took the box down, sat down on the bed, and opened the lid. Inside were some old birthday cards, a small cloth doll, an old dried out flower, or maybe it was a corsage, a pair of earrings, and a small scrapbook. Before Sarah could open the scrapbook, she was startled by the sound of someone knocking loudly on the front door. She jumped and accidentally dropped the box on the floor. She scrambled to pick up the contents of the box as the knocking continued.
“I’m coming... I’m coming!” She yelled.
She put the box back on the bed and headed to the front door. As she left her aunt’s room, she stopped, paused for a moment to look behind her, and then closed the bedroom door. When she opened the front door, she was pleasantly surprised to find the handsome handyman, Nick, standing on the doorstep.
“Hey. I was starting to think you weren’t home.”
“Well considering I’m with a car at the moment, where do think I would’ve gone?”
“Good question”, Nick chuckled.
“How’d the job go?” She asked.
“Good. Finished it pretty quick. Some exciting plumbing stuff...which I’m sure you’d love to hear about.”
“Sounds like the beginnings of a great conversation.” Sarah said as she giggled politely.
“I’ll spare you this one. You want a ride into town?”
“Yes. Let me just grab my purse.” As Sarah turned to gather her things, she found herself grinning like a schoolgirl. It was impossible to hide.
Chapter 7
There's No Place Like Homewood
Nick pulled into the dilapidated parking lot of the Wagon Wheel Motel and swung into an open spot close to the main lobby- there were a lot of them. Only five other cars were carefully, and not so carefully parked between the faded white lines of the many parking stalls. Not a busy time of year in old Homewood.
“Thanks for everything.” Sarah said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
“You’re welcome.” Nick shifted into park. “Sarah, is it alright if I call you later?”
“I’d like that.” Sarah reached into her pocket and handed Nick her business card this time around.
“Senior DIrector- Search Engine Optimization… wow.” He smiled and let out a short laugh.
“Don’t be fooled. It’s just a fancy term for website marketing, Nick. My cell is on there” Sarah said.
“Got it.”
“Talk to you later.” Sarah said and hopped out of the truck.
“Yes, you will. Bye, Sarah.”
“Bye.” Sarah waved, and shut the door.
Nick left her with a short wave from behind his dirt-streaked windshield, as he backed out and drove away. Sarah stood there f
or a minute, thinking about Nick and then Emma, and then her Aunt Elizabeth. It’s so strange being here, she thought, and then she pointed herself in the direction of her hotel room and got her feet to start moving. Once she’d repacked the rest of her things, she took one last look at the lone odd painting on the wall, waved goodbye to the little room, and went to check out.
The door to the lobby creaked loudly as Sarah made her way inside. The old man that had greeted her so kindly the night before, was no longer behind the hotel clerk’s desk. Instead a young, blonde girl with thick, black-rimmed glasses sat in his place. The girl seemed to be lost in a book and didn’t bother looking up as the creak signaled Sarah’s entrance.
“Hello. I’m just checking out.” Sarah announced.
“Ok, what room?” The clerk asked, her eyes still looking down at her book.
“312.” Sarah set the keys on the counter in front of the clerk, and once again had to fight the urge of tapping her hand down on the little bell she had noticed the night before. “Hey, do you know where there’s a grocery store around here?”
Now the girl looked up from her book. She gave Sarah a partially hidden, but obviously annoyed look. “There’s only one.”
“Okay?” Sarah responded. She was trying not to let the surprisingly rude attitude of the girl get to her, but it was almost impossible. It had caught her off guard. “So can you give me directions or…?” Sarah asked with a forced smile. She tried to hide the passive aggressive tinge to it, but it was an unsuccessful attempt.
The girl let out a long, annoyed exhale from her nose, closed her book and pointed at the window to her right. She spoke quickly. “Just hop back on Highway 22, make a left at the stop light, and then you’ll see it, The Corner Market. It’s on the corner.”
Sarah bit down on her tongue hard. It took everything in her to stop from telling this girl to fuck off or smashing her in the face with that tiny bell. I thought everyone is supposed to be nice in towns like this? Her thought was interrupted by the loud creak of the opening front door. Sarah turned toward the door and saw the friendly face of the old man that had checked her in the night before. The man’s smile disappeared.
Peripheral Vision: A Supernatural Thriller Page 5