Over dinner that night, Reece tells us he spent the day mapping his way around town on his Intrepid Traveler phone app. He said there wasn’t much to see but he did find a rental car place and he suggests that we take a drive in the country tomorrow. I’m about to say no, we can’t do that because the fields and farms out there are zombie lands, but I decide to keep my thoughts to myself for now. Who knows, maybe I’ll discover something important. I haven’t yet revealed to my family all that I’ve learned about the curse and the Sacral Decree but that’s only because I haven’t worked out the right way to broach the subject. I know Reece will accept whatever I have to say and Organza will either make a smart remark or ignore it, but I’m not sure how well Mom will deal with the fact we’re back in zombie country. She was lucky enough to avoid the horrors of Pannier Street but she’s sure to be carrying old wounds from losing her parents and husband to the zombies of Cemetery Hill. I’m feeling strangely protective of her although I know I’m going to have to opt for full disclosure at some stage.
“A drive in the country will be lovely,” Mom agrees, oblivious as to what she’s setting herself up for. “It will get us away from that terrible business of the murder.”
“Yeah, let’s go driving. Euthanasia is boring.” Organza heaps a pile of lettuce and tomato onto her plate, her vegan tastes forcing her to make ample use of the salad bowl.
“Poor Miss Oxley,” Reece says as he helps himself to another serving of spaghetti bolognaise. “I bet she wasn’t too happy when she discovered she was about to add her own spine to the bookshelves in her library.”
Organza snorts laughter, her mirth almost causing her to choke on her lettuce leaf. “Reece made a funny.”
Reece is on a roll now. “I guess all that spilled blood made everything slippery. They should’ve stashed her body in the non-friction section.”
Organza cackles.
“I wonder if the killer suffocated her with a book before he cut her head off? That’d make it literary murder.”
He’s gone too far with that one and the punch line sails right over Organza’s oblivious head. I remember the invitation I made to Jack. “Oh, I have something to tell you. I’m bringing one of my dates along to Reece’s birthday dinner on Friday.”
Everyone puts down their forks and stares at me. I stare back, unsure why they’re looking at me like that. “What?”
Mom does one of her heavy, put-upon sighs. “It’s supposed to be a family event, Ellie.”
“You didn’t mention him when we were talking about boyfriends earlier,” says Organza.
“I’d love for your new friend to come to my birthday.” Reece gives me a shy smile. “You can invite whoever you want, Ellie. Parties are supposed to be about people.”
“Thank you, Reece.”
A sudden bright flash of lightning followed by a roof-shaking crack of thunder makes us all jump and we turn to stare at the windows. The witch trees are playing Smoke on the Water against the glass as another lightning flash illuminates their twiggy, branchy fingers.
“I didn’t know a storm was coming.” Mom gets up to close the curtains, shutting out the eerie sight of the finger-tapping Birch sisters.
“Jane Oakleigh said it was going to be a wild night.” Reece punctuates his comment with a long slurp on a blood red spaghetti noodle.
I whirl around so quickly that I almost give myself whiplash. “When did you talk to Jane Oakleigh?”
“I was talking to her before I went for my walk.” He says it so casually, as if it’s barely worth mentioning.
“Who’s Jane Oakleigh?” Organza is admiring her reflection in her water glass as she asks.
I don’t want to be distracted with explanations but I can see that Mom is also looking quizzical. “She’s a woman who has deep historical significance in this part of the country. What else did she say, Reece?” I can’t believe he’s waited until now to tell me.
“She said a long-held grudge is about to reach a crashing finale.”
As if in empathy with his words, another crash of thunder skitters across the roof.
“The rift?”
“Dunno. She didn’t say much after that. Does anyone want that last piece of garlic bread?”
“Is it legal to smoke cannabis in this state?” Organza asks irrelevantly, setting Mom off on a rant about drugs. I make use of the loud disagreement that rapidly develops to ask Reece a few more questions. “Did she appear to you as a woman or was she basically a talking tree?”
He throws me a you-weirdo frown. “Trees don’t talk, Ellie. She was talking to me just the same as you and I are now.”
“Did she look real? Or was she a bit fuzzy around the edges like Bedeliah Farnsworth was when Mr. Devall called her up at Pannier Street?”
He screws up his nose and puts some effort into thinking it through. “Kind of in between.”
“And the grudge she spoke about - do you think she meant the Sacral Decree?”
“I already told you she didn’t say much more than that. Her voice was rusty, as if she hadn’t used it for a long time.”
I look over at the curtained windows, listening to the sound of the rain as it hits against the pane. If it wasn’t so stormy outside, I’d go out there now and see if I could get Jane to talk to me.
“What do you think, Ellie?” Mom is looking at me enquiringly from the other side of the table but I haven’t a clue what she’s just asked me.
“What do I think about what?”
“Organza said she might date a few local boys with that app you’re using while she’s here in town. I know you’re meeting men because it’s part of your job but do you think it’s safe for her to use it? There has just been a murder committed a few blocks from here.”
“It’s no more dangerous than any other dating app. I’m sure Miss Oxley’s death had nothing to do with the librarian looking for dates online.” I give my sister a skeptical look while she pastes on a Miss Innocent face for Mom’s benefit. “I’m also sure Organza has used her share of dating apps in the past. As long as she meets her dates in a public place there’s no harm in it.”
“Well then,” says Mom, looking a mite too pleased with herself, “I guess this means all the Friedlander ladies will soon be dating local men.”
“What do you mean? You can’t include yourself in that comment. Mom, you can’t date anyone! What about Morris?”
Mom looks pained. “Morris and I are taking a break. I’m free to see whomever I please, just as he is.”
“You’ve broken up?” Funny, she hasn’t mentioned this before now. I thought she was practically joined at the hip with the dull and drab Morris. It sure looked that way the last time I visited.
“We’re taking a break,” she insists. “We both need some time to clear our heads and decide if we want to stay together. That’s part of the reason I took some vacation time and came out here.” She reaches across the table and fondly squeezes Reece’s hand. “Along with wanting to see my boy on his birthday, of course.”
Another thought creeps up on me like a rat in a sewer. “You said all the Friedlander ladies will be dating local men, as if it’s already signed and sealed. Sheriff Dixie didn’t ask you out on a date when he was here earlier, did he?”
“He might have done.” She smiles smugly and gets up to clear the dishes, leaving me making retching faces at my brother and sister.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I walk over to the rental place the next morning and hire a shiny black SUV, stopping for a breakfast date with Mike Darwin on the way. Mike doesn’t read the newspaper and, just like the other men of Euthanasia, he is happy to talk to me about what it’s like to live in a town that has a shortage of women. He’s personable and charming, with boyish, red-haired good looks and he answers my questions without hesitation. I don’t mention the country boys and I certainly don’t tell him that we’re planning a jaunt past the city limits. He talks about the murder and says how awful it is that something like that happened in
his town. We finish the date as friends, so I guess that’s one up on most of my other dates.
After collecting the car, I drop by the house to collect my family but we end up waiting around while Organza finishes her hair and makeup routine. I sneak out to check on the witch trees and I admire the way the last of the raindrops left from last night’s storm catch the sun on the leaves. I chat to the trees for a few minutes, feeling like an idiot, but there’s no response. A small bird, a chickadee or something, hops onto one of the higher branches and cocks its head at me curiously. If there are any witches hanging around here today they definitely aren’t the type of fiends to scare small critters away.
“Ellie? Are you there?” Mom calls for me as she leaves the house and I go over to join my family at the car. Mom opts for the front passenger seat while Organza and Reece pile into the back. “Where are we going?” asks Organza. “Do you have a map?”
“The car has GPS but I thought I’d just follow the highway and see where we end up. Everyone buckled in?”
I have to admit it’s kinda nice to trek through the highways and byways of outer Euthanasia with my family. Everyone is in a good mood, the sun is shining, my assignment is going well, and I’m seeing Jack tomorrow night. The countryside is also remarkably pleasant, save for the constant stream of livestock trucks, and I’m finding it hard to imagine that it’s supposedly filled with rampaging zombies.
Organza soon has us laughing as she reads out some of the responses she’s received through the dating app. As I’ve said before, my sister is gorgeous. She is also very photogenic and while I’m not exactly Hilda the Horrible myself, she looks like a super model in her profile pic. Add to that the dire shortage of women in town and Organza is currently top of the dating hit parade. Some of the men who’ve responded to her profile have opted for the creative route, perhaps in the hopes of grabbing her attention and standing out from the crowd with their wit, and there are some seriously funny replies.
“Oooh look,” says Mom, interrupting Organza’s relaying of a message from a man who told her she has eyes that ‘bulge and enthrall’. Mom peers out the front windscreen at a sign on the side of the road. “Fresh berries. You should stop here, Ellie. I could make a blueberry pie for dinner tonight with a peck of fresh berries.”
I veer off onto the grass verge without thinking too much about it and it’s not until I cut the engine that I look at the sign. Kenworth Farm – Fresh Berries. “Hey, this is Sid Kenworth’s farm. He was the old guy who gave me a lift from the airport. I had coffee with his son Ronnie the other day.” According to Belle, this family are all zombies. I can certainly attest to the strangeness of Sid and Ronnie, but I wouldn’t go so far as to compare them to the zombies I’ve encountered in the past.
“Kenworth?” Organza mutters. “I think a Kenworth messaged me on the dating app. Hang on, I’ll see if I can find him.” Seconds later, she thrusts her phone over my shoulder. “There he is. Matt Kenworth.”
I stare down at the photo of a man who looks so much like his brother that they could be twins. In fact, for a moment or two I think it is Ronnie that I’m looking at. “Are you sure his name is Matt? He looks a lot like the guy I dated.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely Matt.”
“Their father told me that he and his wife had three sons. He also warned me against dating them, for reasons unknown at the time.” I think about my bizarre conversation with Sid Kenworth. Was he protecting me or was he protecting his family?
Organza stares out the window at the rough-hewn log fence that surrounds the farm. “Are we going in or not? I wouldn’t mind evaluating my potential date in the flesh before I agree to meet him.”
Flesh. The word puts me on edge given the current circumstances. I shake off my uneasiness but I open the door anyway. He who hesitates is lost, or something like that. “Sure! Let’s all go in.”
It’s strangely silent as we trudge up the track to the farmhouse. There are no dogs barking, no roosters crowing, no cows mooing, and no birds singing. The only sound is our own footsteps on the gravelly dirt of the sod track. I can see Sid’s old pickup parked next to the barn but otherwise, there’s no sign that anyone is about. A peculiar mist hangs across the yard, although just moments ago we were walking in bright sunlight. The smell of death and decay permeates the air.
“Maybe it’s closed,” Reece suggests. “They might be in town.”
“We should leave,” says Organza. “I don’t like this. Something’s not right.”
At that moment, an apparition steps out from behind the barn and we all let out a collective gasp. Mom grabs my arm. “What’s that?”
We stare at whatever it is and it stares back at us before letting out a growl that sounds a lot like my name. It gallops unsteadily away and disappears through the open barn doors.
“Ugh, it’s got a face on it like a dropped pie,” Organza says eloquently. “Ellie, it said your name. Was that one of your dates?”
I’m about to say no, I’ve never seen it before in my life when I catch my words on my tongue. I have seen something like that before – I saw plenty of them lurching around outside the house on Cemetery Hill. “Organza’s right. We should leave. I’m sure you can buy some frozen blueberries from the grocery store in town, Mom.”
But before we can do anything, Ronnie Kay steps out of the barn wearing a big grin. “Ellie! What are you doing here?” He lumbers toward me and again I get the clear impression that he’s wearing a character that doesn’t fit too well. “Is this your family?”
I introduce the others, noticing the way Organza is gawping at him. “Is your brother Matt here?” she asks boldly.
“Uh, Matt?” He looks at her dully. “No, he’s busy.”
Mom steps up, her purse at the ready. “We want to buy some berries. We saw your sign at the gate.”
“Uh.” This statement seems to dumbfound Ronnie. “Pa isn’t here.”
“Can’t you help us?” Mom persists.
He holds his large palms out helplessly. “Pa does the berries.”
I look past him, attempting to peer into the gloom of the barn to see if I can spot the apparition. “What about that person who was outside the barn when we walked up? Can he help us?”
“Uh.” Ronnie licks his lips. “Pa will be home soon.”
“What about your other brother?” Organza seems determined to get her manicured talons into one of the Kenworth boys. “Is he here?”
Ronnie shakes his head, darting a glance at the barn behind him before replying. “Phil isn’t here. He’s sorting out dinner.”
I’m about done here. If Ronnie wants to play his silly hide and seek games that’s his business. “We should go. Good to see you again, Ronnie.” I look around but I can only see Organza and Mom. “Where’s Reece?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
I jog on ahead, running back to the car to check if Reece is there waiting but he’s nowhere. I retrace my steps up the farm track to where Mom and Organza are slowly walking back. “He’s not there. He must be back at the farm.”
“I didn’t see him.” Mom stops walking and looks back at the weathered sides of the barn. “He was a very odd man. Did you say you dated him?”
“Not dated, exactly. We spent half an hour together in a coffee shop before his oddness warned me off. We have to find Reece.” I raise my voice and shout out his name but it only echoes back at me, sounding lonely and lost in the unusual quiet of the surrounding farmlands.
Organza hugs herself and rubs her hands up and down her arms. “This is creepy. And it stinks. I might go wait in the car.”
“No!”
Mom and Organza look at me in surprise and I hastily quantify my remark. “We should stay together. No sense in anyone else getting lost.”
“I don’t plan on getting lost,” she pouts. I can see she’s building up to a death stare and honestly, I can’t be assed. Not at a time like this.
“Organza,” Mom cautions, apparently on my side for once. “We
need to find your brother.”
Organza yawns widely. “I saw a movie like this once. The kid died.”
Mom and I exchange a glance. I know what she’s thinking because I’m thinking the same thing. Organza, or Megan as she was known back then, was too young to remember much of the horrors of Cemetery Hill. She has no concept of the pure terror of knowing one of your loved ones is missing while understanding there’s not much you can do about it.
“We have to go back and ask Ronnie. If Reece didn’t go out to the car he must still be back in the farmyard. He can’t have just disappeared.” Mom’s concern is obvious now and she’s already walking back up the track.
“Mom, wait.” I have to tell her – I should’ve told her before we drove out here today. We shouldn’t have come. I should’ve told them what I know and as a family we could’ve made the sensible decision to stay within the city limits. “There are zombies out here.”
“What?” Organza looks around eagerly. “Kid zombies? They were so cute! Remember the ones with the football?”
“Ellie…” Mom trails off but her expression says everything. She hasn’t even allowed herself to be distracted by Organza’s comment about the kid zombies. The thing is that none of us ever told her what really went on at Pannier Street. We figured there are some things that Moms just don’t need to know.
“Okay, it’s probably something I should’ve mentioned before we drove out here today. I’ve spoken to a couple of people around town, including the librarian before she died. Apparently, four women were condemned as witches by the Town Council of Euthanasia. In turn, they placed a curse on the town. The lack of females made up part of the curse and a long-standing divide between the country dwellers and townspeople made up the rest of it. Zombies were thrown in for good measure and I haven’t fully worked that part out yet. Jane Oakleigh was nothing if not thorough.”
Mom looks doubtful. “A curse? And you believe that?”
“The four women were burned to death on the land where Windfell now stands. From what I can gather, they were burned on the spot where those four silver birch trees now grow.”
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