Whispers in the Night

by James Hunt

  Lindsy didn’t think she had ever come up against anyone that was so resolute in their mission to bring order to the world. “I don’t know who shoved that stick so far up your ass that you can’t find it anymore, but I’m sure you’re still a little sore about it, so I understand.”

  The playfulness vanished, and Torrence shot up out of his chair and walked over to Lindsy, grabbing her arm and yanking her up from her seat, squeezing hard enough to leave a bruise. He smelled of body odor, and his breath stank of coffee and old creamer.

  “There isn’t a scenario here where you walk away,” Torrence said. “Not in this town. This is my domain, everyone does exactly as I say.”

  “Except for the mayor, right?” Lindsy couldn’t help but smile herself as the sheriff’s grin vanished. “From what I saw, it looks like he’s running the show.”

  “What did you take from the evidence locker?” Torrence asked, his voice vibrating with anger.

  Lindsy realized that the image quality of the video must have been so low that they couldn’t tell, which made sense why they didn’t scour the place looking for the key she stole; they didn’t know what they were looking for.

  “I guess you’ll have to put those impressive detective skills to work,” Lindsy said.

  Torrence tightened his grip, and Lindsy was certain the sheriff could snap her arm bone in half if he concentrated hard enough. “Now isn’t the time to play games. Make this easier on yourself.”

  “No,” Lindsy said.

  The sheriff must have outweighed Lindsy by at least one hundred pounds and had about a foot of height on her, so when he flung her to the side with a quick flick of his arm, it didn’t take much force to send her flying into the nearby wall, her shoulder cracking hard against the drywall, leaving a small dent in the paint.

  “You’ll have to buff that out,” Lindsy said, her body ringing with pain, but refusing to back down. If her mouth was to be the only weapon left to her to strike back, then that’s what she was going to use.

  Torrence charged again, and this time he grabbed her throat and slammed her back over the dent in the wall she had just made.

  “You think that you’re so smart,” Torrence said. “So clever that no one would be able to get anything on you, is that it?”

  “If this is how you handle questioning suspects, then I’d hate to see what a case of police brutality might get you,” Lindsy said.

  “Oh, you want brutality?” Torrence asked, forming a fist and cocking his arm back.

  Lindsy knew one hit from him and it would be lights out, but she kept her eyes open, refusing to flinch as she braced herself for the blow, but luckily it never came.

  “Sheriff!”

  Both Lindsy and Torrence looked to the front of the hallway where the deputy stood. He wore an expression that equal parts anger and surprise.

  Torrence looked at his raised fist, and then quickly lowered it as he let go of Lindsy’s neck.

  The moment Lindsy was free, the strength ran out of her legs, and she slid to the floor, coughing and struggling to catch her breath.

  “Put her in a cell,” Torrence said, catching his breath and wiping away a bead of sweat. “We’ll deal with her in the morning.”

  The sheriff bent over and leaned close to Lindsy’s ear and dropped his voice to a whisper.

  “Daniel isn’t the only one helping her,” Torrence said.

  Lindsy turned to look up at the sheriff in horror and disgust. He smiled down at her one last time and then strolled down the hallway.

  Lindsy watched the sheriff leave as the deputy helped her up off the floor.

  “Are you all right?” the deputy asked.

  “I’m fine,” Lindsy answered, getting her wind back. “It wasn’t the worst choking I’ve had today.”

  The deputy frowned and escorted her back to the cells. Carla perked up when she saw Lindsy get thrown into the cell next to her.

  “Looks like you’ve got a new neighbor,” Lindsy said.

  “What happened?” Carla asked.

  Lindsy remained quiet until she was in the cell and the cuffs were off. She turned back to the deputy and looked the young cop in the eye. “Does the sheriff treat everyone like that, or am I just special?”

  Lindsy didn’t need to try and read his thoughts to know the deputy was ashamed and embarrassed about what he had seen.

  “The sheriff’s been under a lot of stress lately,” the deputy said, eyes still on the floor. “Do you need to get looked at?” the deputy asked, trying to be helpful. “I can radio the hospital, and they can send over an ambulance if you think—”

  “No, I’m fine,” Lindsy said, checking the name on the deputy’s uniform. “Thank you, Deputy Williams.”

  The deputy played with the keys, and he nodded. “Well, all right. I’ll be up front if anything changes. Just holler for me.” He turned and walked away quickly, the sound of his keys and their freedom disappearing down the hall.

  Carla walked over to the cell wall that connected the two units. “Lindsy, what happened? What’s going on out there?”

  A million thoughts were running through Lindsy’s mind, but there was only one that made it to the forefront as she realized that the midwife had more control over the town than she had anticipated. She only wondered if the mayor was under the midwife’s influence too.

  17

  It took all of Mike’s strength not to chase after Lindsy when the sheriff came and whisked her away. But he knew that it was essential to stick to the plan. And it wasn’t like going to the sheriff’s office tonight would yield any positive results. They were on their own out here, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

  Mike followed Daniel back out into the woods, both of them armed with shovels. It made Mike uneasy that Daniel still had the key, but he understood why Lindsy had given it to him. If there was something Lindsy had stolen and the police were looking to find it, Mike would be one of the people to be patted down.

  But neither the sheriff nor the deputy so much as gave Mike a passing glance. He found it odd, but then again, there wasn’t anything ordinary about this place.

  “Do you remember where you buried it?” Mike asked after they had been walking for a while.

  “It’s a little hazy, but I’m pretty sure we’re heading in the right direction,” Daniel answered.

  Mike rolled his eyes because he knew ‘pretty sure’ didn’t mean they were close to finding the trunk at all.

  They continued to walk for a little while longer, but Daniel slowed when they entered a clearing, and Mike perked up with the hope that they had found the spot.

  “Is this it?” Mike asked.

  Daniel remained quiet, staring at the ground, and Mike suddenly grew uneasy. He knew that if the midwife had gotten to the man before, she could do it again. Mike gripped his shovel, ready to swing at a moment’s notice, his entire body tensed in preparation for a fight.

  But the fight never came.

  “What I did to your wife,” Daniel said, still keeping his head down. “It was unforgivable.”

  Mike relaxed, realizing the man was only trying to apologize. And while he was still upset about Daniel’s attack, Mike knew the man wasn’t in full control of his faculties. He was being controlled by one of the strongest ghosts Mike and Lindsy had ever seen.

  Daniel finally straightened up and looked Mike in the eye. “If you want revenge… I understand.”

  Mike frowned. “You want me to hit you?”

  Daniel shrugged. “If you think that’ll make you feel better.”

  Mike shook his head. “The only thing that’s going to make me feel better is getting my wife out of jail. And hitting you won’t help accomplish that goal.”

  The answer wasn’t what Daniel expected, and Mike could tell the situation was still bothering the man, so he decided to try and put it to rest here and now.

  Mike placed his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Whatever you’re feeling will pass. But you need to forgive yourself
now, or you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else. And your wife still needs you to concentrate on getting her out.”

  “How?” Daniel asked, looking to Mike for answers. “How do I concentrate when all I keep thinking about is what I did? How do I stop replaying all of those memories in my head? How do I forget that I am the one who gave my daughter away?” Daniel’s voice caught, and he quickly covered his mouth, stifling a whimper as he stepped away from Mike, walking a few paces into the woods where he stopped, head down, and silently cried.

  Mike gave the man a moment to himself, but then he walked over and joined him. He knew it was important for Daniel to get his head right. The last thing either of them needed was for him to break down again.

  “I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now,” Mike said. “I’ve never experienced what happened to you. But I do know that there will be a time to reckon with those feelings. But now is not the time.”

  Daniel lifted his head and looked at Mike with rheumy eyes.

  “Right now, you put all of that stuff in a little box, and then you set it aside,” Mike said. “And then you take all of the pain you’re feeling, and you use it as fuel to get this job done. Because what we’re doing is the only way that you’re going to have a chance at recovering your daughter.”

  Daniel held onto Mike’s words, and he nodded. “Right.”

  Already Mike sensed the shift in Daniel’s demeanor. He sensed the doubt and grief vanish, replaced with the grit and determination needed for them to see this through.

  “You ready?” Mike asked once Daniel had taken a few moments to compose himself.

  “I’m ready.” Daniel restarted their journey into the forest, more sure-footed.

  Mike followed Daniel even deeper into the woods, their flashlights cutting through the darkness, highlighting random trees and rocks. Because the midwife reigned over the area, Mike was aware the woman could show herself at any time. They weren’t safe just because they were out of the house. And that made him incredibly nervous.

  “There,” Daniel said, shining his light on a fresh mound of dirt near a thick oak tree. “That’s the spot. I recognize the tree.”

  Mike walked over to the section of overturned earth. He glanced around to make sure they were alone, not wanting to have anything sneak up on them. “All right then. Let’s get this thing out of the ground.”

  The pair of men planted their shovels into the dirt and then started digging. The ground was still relatively soft because Daniel had just buried the trunk, but the deeper they went, the more Mike began to wonder if they had the right spot.

  “You’re sure this is it?” Mike asked, growing winded.

  “I buried it deep,” Daniel answered, shoveling another scoop of dirt off to the side. “But, yeah, this is it.”

  Daniel raised his shovel and then smacked it into the dirt, striking something that had a metallic thud to it. The two men immediately locked eyes and started to find the edges of the trunk.

  Once they exposed the top of the trunk, they got to work digging out the sides until they could reach the handles.

  Mike took one side, and Daniel took the other. Once the pair had a good solid grip on the two sides, they lifted in unison.

  “One, two, three!” Daniel said, pulling the trunk up with relative ease.

  Mike struggled with his end, but he managed to muscle it out of the hole, and it took every ounce of his strength to do it.

  Daniel was first out of the hole, and then he extended a hand to Mike, helping him out.

  “Thanks,” Mike said, dusting the dirt from his hand onto his pant leg, which didn’t do much good because his pant legs were covered in the dirt too.

  Daniel reached into his pocket and then fished out the silver key Lindsy had given him before the police showed up. “What do you think we’ll find in there?”

  Mike shook his head. “Could be anything, but there’s only one way for us to find out.” He gestured to the trunk. “Open it.”

  Nervous energy filled the air around them as Daniel crouched to a knee and inserted the key into the lock. Daniel paused as he placed his hand beneath the trunk’s top, looking up to Mike for confirmation to proceed.

  “Do it,” Mike said.

  Daniel pushed the trunk open, and both men braced for whatever was inside. But there was no monster, no evil creatures, no grotesque items. The box was filled with nothing but children’s clothing.

  Mike stood next to Daniel, the pair of men staring down at the trunk’s contents.

  “What is all of this?” Daniel asked. “Is this all she was trying to hide? Clothes?”

  Mike knew there had to be more to the story here. “Let’s take a closer look.” They sifted through the clothes, which turned out only to be the top layer. Beneath all of that were more toys and a small bag. When Mike opened it, he saw it contained medical items.

  A pocket scale, measuring tape, old shots of morphine and codeine to help with the pain of childbirth. There were oils and other mixtures in glass bottles, the labels worn off by time. There were also several sets of scissors, a thermometer, cord ties, gauze, and an old blood pressure cuff.

  “The midwife must have used these when she helped deliver children,” Mike said.

  “You think some of these clothes were of the children she…” Daniel trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

  “Yeah,” Mike said, refusing to speak the words aloud. “I think so.”

  Mike didn’t know what he was supposed to be looking for because Lindsy didn’t tell him.

  “Anything sticking out?” Daniel asked.

  “No, you see anything?” Mike asked.

  “Nope.” Daniel dropped back on his heels and then sat on the dirt. “Why the hell was this stuff so important to her?”

  Mike continued to search the contents near the bottom of the trunk. “I don’t know.”

  “I mean you think since she’s been going to so much trouble to keep this out of our hands, we’d find some kind of smoking gun,” Daniel said, growing frustrated. “I mean, what the hell are we supposed to do with all of this crap?”

  Mike shifted aside a blanket and paused when he saw an old photo album. He picked it up and ran his fingers over the old leather cover.

  Daniel noticed what Mike had pulled out and leaned forward to investigate for himself. “What the hell is that?”

  “Not sure,” Mike answered, almost afraid to open the front page. “But it looks old.” He reached for the corner and slowly opened it, finding a series of photographs of Evelyn Carter.

  Daniel studied the pictures. “She looks so young.”

  Mike nodded, and found the inscription at the bottom of the photo. “This was her wedding day when she married the major.”

  Both men continued to study the photograph, neither of them able to take their eyes off of her.

  “She doesn’t look like a monster there,” Daniel said. “She doesn’t look like someone who could have done all of those terrible things to children.”

  “That’s what makes monsters so scary,” Mike said. “Sometimes, you don’t know what they are until after you’re in their jaws.”

  Mike turned the page, and there were more photographs of both her and the major, both looking very regal and proper as they posed for their picture. The first three pages were nothing but photos of the two of them, but when Mike reached the fourth page, he paused.

  “That’s a baby’s room,” Daniel said.

  Evelyn Carter was pictured in a nursery, sitting in a rocking chair, smiling as she placed her hand on the crib.

  Mike frowned. “She wasn’t able to have children. Why would they have built her a nursery?”

  “Maybe it was before they knew,” Daniel answered. “It wasn’t like they had fertility tests back then.”

  Mike nodded. There were two full pages of Evelyn in the nursery, and while it wasn’t customary to smile in these old pictures, Mike could see the happiness on the woman’s face. She was lo
oking forward to becoming a mother, but it would never happen.

  Finally, Mike reached the end of the album, and on the very last page, there were no photographs or pictures; instead, there was only one item taped to the page.

  It was a pink beaded bracelet. It was tiny, barely big enough to fit around Mike’s thumb. And on the beads was a name.

  “Addy,” Mike said.

  Daniel shook his head. “Who’s that?”

  Mike continued to study the small token, trying to connect the dots in his head. “The major originally commissioned the house to be built to house a large family. He wanted lots of children. Evelyn Carter wanted children as well. Neither of them could have known Evelyn was barren at the beginning of their marriage, so they decided to get everything ready for a baby beforehand while they were eagerly trying. But the baby never came.”

  “You think they went through all of the trouble of getting a nursery ready before they even got pregnant?” Daniel asked. “Seems like they were putting the cart before the horse.”

  “They were,” Mike answered. “But, they were excited.” He thought back to the pictures of Evelyn in the nursery. The coy smile on her face as she showed off the new space. She was eager to have children, anxious to please her husband. She wanted to fill this place with as many kids as she could bear.

  Addy, a name Evelyn had most likely picked out herself, would never exist, and the massive three-story home the major had commissioned would remain empty and vacant, repurposed to fit the midwife’s needs.

  Mike didn’t have the same kind of abilities that Lindsy possessed when it came to the supernatural world, but he was usually able to put enough pieces of the puzzle together on his own. And everything he had learned about Evelyn Carter told him that this little pink bracelet was what the midwife didn’t want them to find.

  18

  Lindsy couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so exhausted but couldn’t sleep. And the fight to stay awake only triggered more fatigue. But she wanted to figure a way out of her predicament. Spending the night in the jail cell wasn’t going to help stop the midwife.