Lost

“Nope, sorry. We can play a game in the living room, or we can hang out in my room, watch a movie in my new bed,” I suggested.

  “Oh… can we play Trivial Pursuit in your room?” Jessie asked. “Please!”

  “Sure! But first we’re gonna clean up the kitchen,” I told them, standing up to take plates in.

  Chapter 56

  She’d been out most of the afternoon with some of the kids. She was finally home. He could see her through the windows, sitting at the kitchen table, talking to the kids. It was only the younger three and another boy. He figured the two big boys were not home.

  He caught something in the wind, and he immediately tensed up. The muscles in his shoulders and his powerful legs coiled, as if he was ready to strike. His head jerked up, as though he heard something that disturbed him.

  The Woman was close.

  He growled and let the change come. And then he took off in the direction of The Woman’s scent.

  Maybe he could finally finish this.

  Chapter 57

  The next two weeks flew by. No crazy dreams. No nightmares. No trees taking shape in the backyard.

  The older boys had all gotten their schedules for school, and we’d done the whole “Meet and Greet” for Carey and Jimmy.

  Carey had saved enough and bought a beat up truck. He was so excited. It was a mess, but it ran and passed inspection. Sam was helping him work on it. Since Carey had gotten the car and was paying half of his insurance, I said he could drive to school, and I bought him a parking permit.

  The girls had also met their teachers, separate classrooms—thank God!

  And we even went out and bought all the school supplies.

  Sam was busy looking over the course catalog. Between the AP classes he took in high school, what he was able to finish at Duke, and the classes he finished last semester, he only had a few more credits before he got his associate degree. We had talked briefly about his transferring to a local university to get his bachelor’s degree. He was still expressing an interest in becoming a vet, and I wanted to encourage that, so I tried to push, without being pushy. It was harder than I thought.

  My room was back to normal, or as normal as it could be. The new flooring had been laid in only a few hours, and it looked like a pretty good match to the rest of the house to me. My new bathroom mirror and shower doors were up, and they looked great.

  Detective Jeffries was very nice. He called me every week. Unfortunately, he never had anything to tell me. I was starting to think I had been right—it was a crime of opportunity. Some junkie or a bunch of stupid kids had seen an empty house and thought it would be a rush. With no further incidences, it was difficult to think otherwise.

  And now we were getting ready to head up to the lake house. The party was on the 10th, but we were going up a few days before to relax, do some swimming in the lake, and I wanted to get up there and give everything a good cleaning. We hadn’t been there in almost a year.

  Sam had gone up a few times to check on things, and so had Anthony. But I hadn’t stepped foot in the house since Brian died.

  Anthony and Sam had gone up the previous weekend to pour the concrete for the countertops, and they claimed that they looked great. I couldn’t wait to see.

  Ant and Karie were coming up with us. Ant could help Jimmy keep the girls busy, and Karie would be an extra set of hands. I had no problems asking for help cleaning. It was just something I hated to do.

  “Get UP!” I stuck my head in Carey’s room. It was 10:30. I had wanted to be on the road at 11. Didn’t look like that was going to happen.

  “WHY?” Carey mumbled from under the pillow I had thrown at him five minutes before. “Can’t I just come up later?”

  “No. I could use your help. Get up, or I’ll drag your ass out of bed.” I shut the door and heard him grumbling, but at least he was up.

  Karie and Ant showed up ready to go, so Karie was helping the girls, “Okay, girls. Have everything? Got your bathing suits? Toothbrushes? Underwear?”

  “We do!” The girls adored Karie, so they were being extra cooperative, which was a huge help to me.

  “Sneakers?” She reminded them.

  “Oh, no. I forgot mine.”

  I heard Jessie rummaging around in her closet.

  Satisfied that the girls were in good hands, I yelled for Jimmy.

  “Down here, Mom!” He called up. I ran down half the stairs and poked my head out.

  Jimmy was ready to go, and he and Ant were sitting with their bags and playing their PSPs.

  “You guys got your chargers for those things?”

  They nodded at me.

  “Got your cell phones? Chargers for them too?”

  More nods.

  “Swimsuits? Sneakers?”

  “Mom, we’re cool. Got everything.” Jimmy smiled at me, and I ran back up the stairs.

  “Are you up?” I barged into Carey’s room, figuring if he wasn’t up that this would scare him enough to get out of bed.

  No dice. He was finally up.

  “I’m up, Mom!” He was standing in front of his closet looking for a T-shirt. “I packed last night. Yes, I have my cell phone and my charger. I have my bathing suit and my sneakers. I have plenty of underwear. I’m bringing my laptop, and I have the power cord for that too.”

  “Okay, smart ass,” I told him, smirking. “Be downstairs in 10 minutes.”

  I shut the door and walked over to Sam’s room. “Almost ready?”

  He was standing by his bed, zipping up his duffel bag. “Yep. I’m good to go. And yes, I have what I need.”

  I held up my hands. “I’m just making sure. Habit.”

  “You know we’re going to be less than an hour from home, right Mom? And Target’s what, like 10 minutes from the lake house?”

  “Hey, I’m trying to avoid trips to the store, okay? This is supposed to be a fun trip—not me going to the store cause y’all forget stuff.”

  The phone rang, and I yelled to Jimmy to grab it. Just as I was about to see if the girls needed help carrying down their bags, Jimmy yelled back to tell me I had a phone call.

  I ran down the stairs. “Okay. Coming, coming.” I took the phone from Jimmy. “Hello?”

  “Mrs. Klevan? This is Detective Jeffries. How are you?”

  “Morning, Detective. I’m good. Heading up to the lake for a long weekend.”

  He was silent.

  “Detective?” I said into the receiver.

  “What? Oh, sorry. The lake, huh? Family trip?” He sounded off, but I ignored it.

  “No, my husband used to throw a big party for the guys that worked for him, and I decided to continue the tradition. It’s gonna be a packed house.”

  I thought I heard him breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh… crowded then? Great. Umm… I’m just calling to tell you that unfortunately, we still don’t have any new leads.”

  I wasn’t surprised, and at this point, I had chalked the whole thing up to bad luck. “I understand. Thanks for trying so hard. From what I understand, most cases like this just aren’t solved.”

  “True, but I want you to know that we do give it our best,” he told me.

  “I have no doubt you do. Thank you again,” I told him, waiting to see if he had something else to tell me.

  “Ok… Umm… Well, you be safe out there. Oh, and have a good time.”

  I laughed. “We’ll do our best. Bye now.”

  I ended the call and handed the phone to Jimmy. “Okay. Put this up. Then go grab my keys, and you guys start lugging your stuff out to the van.”

  Sam was coming down the stairs, and he had his bag and the girls stuff. Karie was behind him with the girls. I just pointed to the door, and Sam nodded, taking the bags out.

  “Carey! Come on!” I yelled up at him.

  “I. Am. Coming.” He punctuated each word, and I could tell he was annoyed. But I enjoyed egging him on, so I kept it up. He walked slowly down the stairs, hair uncombed and eyes barely open.

  “Damn, y
ou’re slow. Everyone’s waiting for you. Come on.”

  “Mom! It isn’t like anyone’s waiting on us up there. Chill out.” Carey dropped his bag and gave me an exasperated look.

  “You’re too easy,” I told him. “Pick up your bag and let’s do this.”

  I had my bag in my hand, and I let him go out before me. “Here take my bag,” I told him, handing it to him.

  “Jimmy, I need my keys,” I called to him, and he ran them over to me.

  I took one look around, satisfied that everything was locked up tight. I locked the door and headed on over to the van.

  Chapter 58

  She was leaving. She was taking all the children and going somewhere. The lake house? He’d heard the little girls’ excited chatter. He heard them all mention “lake house” more than once.

  As he listened, he had brief flashes, memories—fishing, a dock, and a small boat with a lot of beer in it.

  He geared up to follow them. Somehow, he knew exactly where to go. He needed to be close.

  Because The Woman was getting closer.

  Chapter 59

  Ethan hung up the phone after talking to Julie Klevan and turned to Walt. “They’re going out of town.”

  “Somewhere safe?” Walt asked, looking concerned.

  “She said they’re going to a lake house.” Ethan shuffled through papers. “I already pulled records. She owns a house up by Lake Chickahominy. I’m guessing we could get there in about 45 minutes, maybe an hour.”

  Walt nodded. “But is she going to be safe up there? I’m trusting you here, E. If your gut tells you this woman and her kids are in the middle of this mess, it isn’t just our job to take care of… well… you know.”

  Walt was silent for a moment, but Ethan knew he was figuring out how to say what he needed to say.

  Walt found the words. “We need to protect them as well, you know?”

  Ethan looked at his friend and ran his hands through his thinning hair. “You’re right. I know. I just don’t think we should split up. We can’t watch their house and watch them at the lake. It’s just too far.”

  Walt shrugged and looked determined. “I think we’re gonna have to, E. Leaving them alone up there… It’s just wrong.”

  Ethan nodded, trying to conceal the bad feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. “Okay. We’ll do it your way.”

  Chapter 60

  “Turn it up, Mom!” Carey yelled from the back seat. He’d finally woken up.

  “I got it!” Sam said, leaning forward to turn up the radio. Sam usually sat up front with me, but he had relinquished “shotgun” to Karie so she could be more comfortable.

  “You better have your seat belt on!” I told him, not taking my eyes off the road.

  “I do now.” He laughed, and the kids laughed along with him.

  I just shook my head. “Alright. I’m going to stop by the grocery store on our way to the house. It’ll save us a trip later.”

  “What’s for dinner?” Jimmy asked.

  “We haven’t even had lunch yet,” Carey told him. “Sheesh. It’s a wonder you aren’t as big as a house.”

  “Hey, I’m a growing boy,” Jimmy came back.

  The kids were all in good moods, and the party was set. I had rented a bounce house for all the kids, and it was coming out first thing Saturday morning. We had stocked up on burgers, hot dogs, and buns at Costco, and they were in the back of the van in coolers. We had a deep freeze up at the house, so we had plenty of storage for everything. I figured we would just keep it simple. I would stop and get milk, cereal, bread, and cold cuts to last us the weekend—though I did need to think about dinner.

  “Mommy?” Maggie asked.

  “What, baby?” I answered, looking at her briefly in my rearview mirror.

  “Can we get some fried chicken at the grocery store?”

  Hmm… that could work. Grab some chicken, get some chips and potato salad. Done!

  “Good idea!” I told her. “We’re gonna have fried chicken for dinner tonight.”

  The kids all nodded, and for a few minutes everyone was quiet.

  “NO WAY!” Ant said loudly.

  Karie and Sam turned around, worried something had happened.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, fighting the urge not to turn around too.

  “There’s a carnival this weekend, Mom,” Jimmy answered.

  “Ohh.” I said with feigned interest. I’m not a fan of carnivals. “I thought something was wrong.”

  “Oh! Can we go, Mommy?” Jessie was practically jumping up and down in her seat belt. “Please? Pretty please?”

  “We live like 10 minutes from Busch Gardens, and you want to go to a carnival? Really?”

  “Sam and Karie can take us. Right?” Jessie looked at them with such hope in her eyes, that I already knew the answer. “Please?”

  “If Mom says it’s okay, I guess so.” Sam shrugged.

  If Sam and Karie took everyone to the carnival, it would give me a few hours to prep for the party on Saturday, and I could do it without kids running around and screaming.

  “If Sam and Karie are okay with it, then it’s cool with me,” I told them.

  The younger kids all cheered, and Karie laughed. Sam was used to getting roped into things like this. The kids chattered about their plans, and there was some talk about corn dogs and funnel cakes. I pulled into the grocery store that was about 10 minutes from the house and parked.

  “You guys can chill out here, but it’s gonna get hot,” I told them.

  Karie was already getting out, as was Sam.

  “I’m not sitting out here in this heat,” Carey said, and Jimmy and Ant followed him out.

  “Come on, girlies,” I told Jessie and Maggie.

  “We don’t wanna go in,” they whined. “Can’t we just stay here?”

  “Nope, not sitting out here by yourself. Let’s go.”

  “Look? Baskin-Robbins.” Karie pointed out to the girls. “Let’s go get a scoop. My treat.”

  The girls scrambled out, sure that Karie was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I told them it was fine, and if we weren’t done when they finished, to just come find us. Karie took the girls, and Jimmy and Ant tagged along. That left Sam and Carey with me. And away we went.

  Sam grabbed a shopping cart. “Okay. What’s on the list?”

  “How about you guys go to the deli? Get enough chicken for dinner tonight. Order cold cuts for sandwiches, and grab some potato salad. I’ll get the rest.”

  “Chicken, cold cuts, and potato salad. Got it,” Carey said, and the two of them trotted off toward the deli.

  I went up and down the aisles grabbing things we needed—some fruit, milk, cheese, cereal.

  Oh, can’t forget the toilet paper!

  We probably had some, but I wasn’t going to get stuck without any.

  Might as well go ahead and get some soda while the boys are here.

  Bee and Anthony were bringing up soda, and Ben and Amy were getting two kegs. I grabbed some apple juice for the kids and some OJ for breakfast. I had picked up a bunch of juice boxes for the younger kids at Costco, and I had stuff in the car to make coleslaw. Some of the guys were bringing up chips and things for dessert, so I think we were good to go.

  I wandered over to the deli to see how the boys were doing.

  “What’s taking you so long?” I said as I walked up to them.

  “There was a line at the counter. They’re cutting our stuff now,” Sam answered.

  We just stood around chatting until our stuff was ready.

  “We got two pounds of turkey. Is that cool?” Carey asked.

  “That isn’t all you got, is it?” I asked.

  “Nope,” Sam noted. “Pound of Black Forest ham too, but everyone seems to like turkey the best.”

  “That works for me. You guys ready?”

  Sam had already put the fried chicken and potato salad in the cart. After grabbing the cold cuts, we were ready to head up to pay.

&
nbsp; Chapter 61

  “This is such bullshit!” Ethan Jeffries was ready to throw his computer out the window. “All of this is stupid Stephen King, Hollywood bullshit.”

  Walt had brought his laptop over and was busy reading something he’d found. “Hold on. Maybe I found something.”

  Ethan pushed away from the kitchen table they were using as a desk and walked over to Walt. “What’s up?”

  “Okay. This author… umm… Jonathan Maberry wrote three books—the Pine Deep Trilogy. And the villain is a Ubel Griswold…”

  “So more Hollywood crap—” Frustration was evident in Ethan’s tone.

  “Hold on. This Griswold character is based on a real person, a… Where was it? Oh, here it is… Peter Stumpp. This Stumpp was a real person, back in the late 1500’s. Legend has it he was a... Get this! He was a werewolf.”

  Ethan clapped Walt on the back. “Okay! Now this is something we can work with.”

  “Back in 1933, an occultist named Montague Summers wrote a book, The Werewolf. He printed an entire pamphlet talking about this Stumpp guy in the book.”

  “So... can we get a copy of this book?” Ethan asked.

  “Already ordered it. Found it on Amazon last night. Should be here today.”

  “Man, you’re on the ball. All I keep reading about is silver bullets.”

  “I don’t know if Hollywood’s too far off. Sounds like there’s been a few werewolf trials over the years. And everything I’ve read says they used a sword cast of silver to behead the supposed werewolf.”

  “So... silver? What about silver bullets?”

  Walt blew out a breath. “This is crazy, right? Are we crazy? A werewolf?”

  Ethan sat down next to his best friend, the man that had been by his side through training, his time in uniform, his marriage, and his divorce. “Walt? Look at me?”

  Walt looked up, and Ethan saw the fear on his face.

  “Walter, we aren’t crazy. Can’t you feel it? There’s something out there. Something’s hunting that woman and her kids. It’s on the wind, man, and we know what it is. We saw it.”

  Walter gave an involuntary shudder. “Okay. Okay. Yeah. You’re right, E. I do feel it.”