“To anyone with a brain,” I fired back. “It’s probably nocturnal. That means it only comes out at night, so that will make it easier for us to see it.”
“I know what nocturnal means,” Jack said dryly. “I’m mildly curious why you think the Chupacabra is nocturnal.”
“Because people have seen it only at night.”
“Mercedes said her father saw it during the day, that he at least started out there when it was daylight, and some of the other stories we’ve heard happened during the day, too.”
“Yes, but Mercedes’ father also said it had an alligator tail, which is ridiculous.”
“Yes, of all the conversations we’ve had about the Chupacabra, the alligator tail is the ridiculous part.”
I cast him a sidelong look. “Nobody needs the sarcasm.”
“If we didn’t have sarcasm we would have absolutely nothing to talk about,” Jack muttered, tilting his head to the side as the road turned to gravel. “It’s pretty open out here,” he noted after a beat. “If the Chupacabra does live in these parts, where do you think it burrows when it sleeps?”
“You’re assuming it sleeps,” I pointed out. “How do you know it sleeps?”
“Everything sleeps.”
“Sharks don’t.”
“Are you saying the Chupacabra is a land shark?”
“No, I’m saying … you know what? I’m done talking about this. I’ll just bring up my suggestion to spend the night to Chris. He’ll be more open to it.”
“You go right ahead. I’m head of security. When it comes to the safety of the group, I overrule him.”
I swiveled to face him full on. “Is that true?”
“It is,” Jack confirmed, folding his arms across his chest. “Myron is the true head of the Legacy Foundation. He generally steps back and allows Chris to make all the decisions. However, Chris is his nephew and he would never forgive himself if something happened to him. That’s why he put me in charge of security. My orders stand when we’re talking about the safety of this group.”
Huh. You learn something new every day. “I’m glad to know Myron cares about Chris. The day I met him all he seemed to care about were my boobs.”
Jack shot me an interested look. “Did he say something to you?”
“Not exactly. He was more a lecherous gazer than verbal sexual harasser.”
“You’re not the first person I’ve heard that from,” Jack noted. “I don’t think it’s acceptable. I’ll have a talk with him.”
“You’ll have a talk with him?” I was doubly surprised. “How can you do that? Isn’t he your boss?”
“Kind of.”
That was an evasive answer. “Kind of?”
“Don’t worry about how my contract is arranged,” Jack ordered. “It’s under control. If he makes you feel uncomfortable, I’ll talk to him.”
I considered the offer for a moment and then shook my head. “Don’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Because I haven’t seen him since that first day and I don’t want to be considered the problem employee,” I answered honestly. “It’s not as if I have to put up with constant sexual harassment or anything. He just … stared, which I don’t get, because I’m not exactly well-endowed.”
“No, but you’re young and pretty,” Jack said. “You’ve got that hipster thing going for you that a lot of people find attractive.” The way he said it left no room for doubt whether he did. That was a definite no. “You shouldn’t have to put up with a bunch of crap simply because you’re young and this is your first real job.”
“I know we had this argument yesterday, but I’m only four years younger than you,” I reminded him. “You might think you’ve lived more than me, but … .”
“Not more,” Jack clarified. “Differently. I’ve lived differently than you. I didn’t mean to upset you when I said that yesterday. You’ve been through more than most people should have to go through at your age.”
He had no idea. If he knew about the magic, about the flash I had a few hours ago, he would probably blow a gasket … and then proceed to call the men in white coats and have me locked up. He wasn’t a believer. I had to keep reminding myself of that.
“I get the feeling that you think I talk down to you,” he continued. “It’s not on purpose. I have to keep this group safe. You’re part of the group. I take my job seriously.”
I’d never really considered things from his point of view, and the plaintive way he spoke made me realize I was doing him a disservice. That hardly seemed fair, especially given the fact that he’d come to my rescue a few times – mostly when I did something stupid and needed to cover my tracks.
“I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated. “I’m not being very nice to you. Sometimes my heart gets ahead of my mind and I act before I think.”
“That seems to happen fairly often.”
He wasn’t wrong. “I still think staying out here is the smart way to go.”
“No, you think staying out here sounds like an adventure,” Jack corrected. “I get it. I’m not ruling it out, Charlie. But we have procedures to follow. That means we need to set up cameras and watch the area before we put ourselves at risk. There’s a reason we follow rules. You might not understand them, but you do have to follow them.”
“I get it.” I did. “When I wear you down and you allow an overnight stay, you’ll include me in the group, won’t you?”
Jack rubbed his forehead as he made a hissing sound. “You are … something else.”
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“It was in my head.”
“Just … be quiet for the rest of the trip. Can you do that?”
It would be tough, but I was gung-ho to try. “Sure.”
“Great.”
“Um … Jack?”
“Oh, who did I tick off in the universe to deserve you?” Jack lamented.
“I’ll start in twenty seconds,” I promised. “I just have one more question.”
“I’ve been rendered temporarily deaf. I won’t be able to answer.”
“Let’s just see if that’s true.”
JACK SEEMED ONLY TOO happy to dump me on Millie when we landed in Hooper’s Mill. He grabbed my shoulders and shoved me in her direction as she sat under an eave by the saloon, drinking a bottle of water.
“Watch this,” he barked before stomping down the street in search of Chris.
Millie, her eyes lit with amusement as she used the back of her hand to wipe her brow, chuckled as she turned her full attention to me. “What did you do to him?”
“I didn’t do anything to him.” I sat next to Millie and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler to her right. “I think he’s naturally sensitive or something.”
“He’s the mellowest person I know,” Millie countered. “You’re the only one who seems to get to him.”
“I guess that must be my little gift.”
“I guess so,” Millie agreed, leaning back so she could stretch out her legs. “What did you guys do today?”
I related our morning, including the information we found on the documents from the clerk’s office. When I was done, Millie was nowhere near as excited as I felt.
“That sounds like a boring day.”
“Did you miss the part where I got to pet a horse?”
Millie snorted. “I keep forgetting you lived in the city … and that city was in the Midwest. There probably weren’t a lot of horses running around where you were, huh?”
“Only at parades and carnivals.”
“That’s kind of a bummer. When we get back to the office and have a break I’ll take you to the big house and we can go riding.”
The offer caught me off guard. “What big house?”
“The Biggs house,” Millie explained. “It’s where I used to live when Myron and I were married. I still come and go as I please. It was part of our divorce decree.”
“So … you still go to the house you used to live in?” That was flabbergasting. “Myron doesn’t care?”
“Myron likes to whine about everything, but I don’t care to listen,” Millie replied. “It’s fine. He won’t put up a stink, and there are plenty of horses there for you to ride. It will be fun.”
It sounded fun – and a bit daunting. “Okay.”
“Sounds good.” Millie licked her lips as she shifted her eyes to Chris. He was animated as he walked out of what used to be a hotel of some sort. Jack tailed behind, the duo in deep conversation. “What do you think that’s about?”
“Probably me. I suggested we spend the night here and Jack acted like I wanted to spend the night in shark-infested waters with a pork chop tied around my neck. He’s such a mother sometimes.”
“He’s not a mother,” Millie corrected. “He’s good at his job. We’re his responsibility and he’s very serious about shouldering his responsibilities the right way.”
“You sound just like him.”
“And you sound a bit petulant,” Millie fired back. “Have you ever considered that Jack spent years of his life overseas risking his own life to save others and losing quite a few of them in the process?”
Millie’s tone caused me to shrink back. “I didn’t mean to … .”
“What?” Millie quirked an eyebrow.
“I wasn’t talking bad about him,” I started. “I just … he’s bossy.”
“Oh, Charlie, so are you,” Millie said. “Kid, I know you don’t mean to sound like a spoiled brat. That’s honestly not your intent. Your age makes it impossible for you to sound any other way sometimes.
“Jack is good at what he does,” she continued. “You might not like how protective he is, but there are times the man has the weight of the world on those broad shoulders. If something were to happen to you – to any of us, really – he’d carry that the rest of his life.
“Now, I know that you’ve seen death because of your parents, but you’re young and the young often think of themselves as immortal,” she said. “You’re not immortal, and while your death would be a tragedy for all of us, Jack would never recover.”
“We’re honestly not that close,” I argued.
“Not because of that.” Millie made a face. “Because he’s in charge. It’s easy for you to sacrifice yourself, because you wouldn’t be around to take the blame. Jack constantly lives with the knowledge that he’s the be all and end all when it comes to security.”
“I … um … huh.” I pressed my lips together as I absorbed Millie’s words. “I never thought of that.”
“That’s another thing that comes with age.” Millie’s expression softened. “I like you, Charlie. You make me laugh. I like your enthusiasm … and how you’re kind of a prude … and how you’re always ready for an adventure. You simply need to remember that not everything is about you.”
“I know that.”
“Good.” Millie scratched at the back of her neck as she stood and stretched. “We’ve almost finished the camera grid. Hannah and Laura are around the back of the saloon making casts of some prints we saw. Chris was excited by them, but they looked like coyote tracks to me. I don’t think it will be long before we call it an afternoon.”
“So … we definitely won’t get to stay here tonight?” I couldn’t help being disappointed.
“Definitely not,” Millie agreed. “We’ll set up the cameras and check the feeds. If we see something, we’ll come up with a plan. If we don’t, we’ll come up with a different plan. That’s how we operate.”
“Okay, well … .” Since Millie was angry with me – or at least that’s how it felt – I decided to give her some space. “I’m going to look around the saloon again before we go. There’s more light today.”
“Don’t wander too far.” Millie smiled. “If Jack has to go looking for you, he won’t be a happy man when he finds you.”
“Yeah, I think I figured that out myself.”
I left Millie to do … whatever it was she was doing and shuffled across the rotting wood that made up the front porch. The fact that the wood remained intact at all was something of a mystery to me, and I dropped to my knees to run my hands over it.
The wood was weathered but nowhere near to the point of the saloon floor. I crawled through the open doorway, staring hard at the spot where they intersected. Someone had built new porch walkways. That much was clear. How old they were was anyone’s guess, but there was no way the outdoor porches were original.
I continued crawling until I hit the bar area, peering around the corner to see if the wood matched the internal or external look of Hooper’s Mill. The spot behind the bar was clearly original, but the hallway looked newer and stronger.
I crawled in that direction, doing my best to ignore the bug carcasses scattered about. I was almost to the junction when an image invaded my mind and caused me to rear back on my haunches. It was me. I saw me. I saw myself exactly as I was, crouched on the floor in the murky darkness. Only … I didn’t see myself from my vantage point. I saw myself from the end of the hallway, as if something crouched in the darkness waiting for me, something I couldn’t see but somehow felt.
My heart skipped a beat and I let loose a gasp as my mind brushed against something. I had no idea what, thanks to the murky gloom. I screamed at myself to get away, to scramble back, but as before, I was frozen in place. I couldn’t make myself move. Thankfully, nothing else seemed to be moving in the darkness, at least there was no sound to signify movement. Whatever was down there remained unmoving … and watchful.
“What are you doing?” Jack’s agitation was evident when he stepped through the doorway.
“I … .”
“Are you hurt?” Jack strode to my side, grabbing me under the armpits and hauling me to my feet. “Did you fall?”
I swallowed hard. “No. I was looking at the floor.”
“Why?”
“I … the outdoor wood is newer than the indoor wood.”
“Okay.” Jack brushed off the knees of my jeans and looked me over before meeting my gaze. “Why are you so white? You look like a ghost.”
“I thought I heard something.” That was a safe answer, right? I couldn’t tell him I hopped into someone – or something – else’s head and looked at myself. He’d think I was crazy.
“Where?” Jack was instantly alert.
I hated the way my finger shook as I pointed toward the hallway. Jack pulled a flashlight from his belt and flicked it on, pointing it in that direction. The hallway, of course, was empty.
“What do you think you heard?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know. Shuffling, I guess.”
“Well, there’s nothing down there now.” Jack put his hand to the small of my back and directed me toward the door. “You’re okay.”
His words were gentle, and I felt a bit like an idiot when I realized how I probably looked in his eyes. “I know. I just freaked out a second. I thought the Chupacabra might be down there.”
“I thought it only came out at night,” Jack teased.
“It’s dark enough that it might’ve been fooled into thinking it’s night. Plus, well, it does need a den. Maybe the saloon is its den.”
“That’s exactly where I would make my den if I was the Chupacabra,” Jack said. “Come on. Chris wants to show everyone the grid and test the cameras. Then we’re heading back to town for dinner.”
“Okay.” I was thankful to walk into the bright and airy outdoors, shaking off the last strains of dread as the sun hit my face. “I still think we should spend the night here.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Because you’re a smart guy.”
“I am, and you’re not spending the night here, so let it go.”
“Okay, I’ll let it go for tonight, but I’m going to start bugging you first thing tomorrow morning.”
“I can’t wait.”
13
Thirteen
“Everything outside is gridded.”
Chris was rarely boastful, but that’s how he acted when Jack and I joined him in front of what used to be the hotel.
“Are you sure you got every angle?” Jack asked.
Chris nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Do you care if I walk the perimeter to check?” Jack didn’t sound like a man trying to protect his fellow co-worker’s feelings. He didn’t sound like a guy worried about what the boss’s nephew would say. He was very matter of fact.
“I think that’s probably a good idea,” Chris replied. “You have good ideas and you might see something I missed.”
“Okay.” Jack smiled. “I’ll walk through once on my own and drop flags where I think cameras are necessary. Then we’ll take your camera locations and compare them to mine and make some adjustments.”
Chris beamed, not bothered in the least. He was all about the science, after all. That’s all he cared about. “That sounds like a plan.”
Jack flicked his eyes to me, uncertain. “If you want to come with us … .”
“I’m fine.” I shot him a pointed look. I didn’t want Chris to think I was some sort of panicky weakling. “I want to check out the hotel. I haven’t been inside yet.”
Jack shot me a sidelong look. “Maybe … .” He didn’t finish what he set out to say. I had an idea what it was – some variation of me not being alone – but he kept it to himself. “Be careful.”
He didn’t let his gaze linger, instead clapping Chris on the back to prod him into motion. “Let’s take a look at the cameras. It shouldn’t take us more than an hour to get them exactly right. Then we can head back to town and get dinner.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Chris hedged.
“That’s always a dangerous proposition,” Jack drawled.
Chris plowed forward, ignoring the teasing. “I think we should spend the night and monitor the cameras ourselves.”
I was in the middle of sneaking away to the hotel when I swiveled and landed on the other side of Chris. Now we were getting somewhere. “I agree with Chris,” I volunteered immediately.
Jack scowled, annoyance evident. “We’ve talked about this, Chris.” The security guru’s tone was calm but I could see the fire kindling in his eyes. “We need to follow procedure.”
The Chupacabra Catastrophe Page 11