“But wait until after I start the fire before you call,” Jimmy instructed. “I still have a missing police officer to find, and a voodoo sorcerer to chop up.”
Robert smiled and nodded. “I’ll wait until after I see the flames.”
Jimmy smiled back, shook Robert’s hand, and walked off into the night. Robert watched him go, knowing that he would never see him again. Jimmy Cypress would disappear into the Everglades, taking with him the evil that was Mansa Du Paul. Before he left, he would help a little girl one final time by destroying all evidence of a multiple homicide.
As for the Patterson family, Robert was hoping he would soon have a chance to take his wife and daughter to a different kind of jungle. He was taking Krissy to Disney World.
Epilogue
A fine spray of water drifted over Robert Patterson and his family as the boat drew close to the falls. He would have steered away to save himself a partial drenching, but he wasn’t steering the boat. As a matter of fact, nobody was steering the boat. It moved along under its own power, following a metal track that was hidden beneath a few feet of water.
Not that he really wanted to steer the boat away from the falls, because there was no danger from the jagged rocks, or from the herd of elephants that played beneath the cascading water. The rocks weren’t real rocks, and the elephants were mechanical, props and animated robots carefully created by the people at Walt Disney World to excite those brave enough to face the dangerous waters of The Jungle Cruise.
Krissy squealed with delight when she spotted the elephants, especially the cute baby elephant that played in the water with its mother. Robert smiled at his daughter, quickly snapping a photograph of the elephants as the boat continued down the river.
To look at his daughter, you would never suspect the terrible ordeal she had endured during the past few days. She was like all the other kids in the park: happy, wide-eyed, and full of endless energy. Even the scratches on her face and arms had healed and were starting to fade. A purplish bruise was still visible on her neck, but Janet had covered the bruise with a layer of makeup so it barely showed.
Krissy’s visible scars were fading, and it would seem that any mental scars she may have had were already gone. The little girl had no memory of the things that had transpired while she was under the control of Mansa Du Paul. She had been spared painful memories of murder and mutilations, images guaranteed to unhinge the mind of someone so young and innocent. Even the strange things she had seen upon waking from her trance were no longer a part of her memory. Krissy did not remember seeing the half-formed body of the voodoo sorcerer, nor did she remember hitting it in the head with Jimmy Cypress’s medicine staff. Robert was extremely grateful that that memory had also faded from his daughter’s mind, because he would have been hard pressed to explains such things to her. Lord knows, he had already done enough explaining during the past few days.
After defeating Mansa Du Paul, Robert and Janet had taken Krissy back to their cabin. They had cleaned her up and fed her, taking time to thoroughly wash her blood-soaked clothing. Several hours later, Robert had spotted flames leaping through the roof of the Blackwater Lounge. He had waited a few minutes after seeing the flames, then he had called 911 to report both the fire and the safe return of his daughter.
The lounge was a serious inferno by the time the fire department arrived at the fish camp, the flames fed by numerous bottles of alcohol and several storage rooms filled with flammable materials. Since the lounge and restaurant shared the same building, both businesses were a total loss. The flames were so intense that the fire department could do little more than stand back and watch the building burn to the ground, taking care to keep the flames from spreading to the other buildings or to the forest.
Jimmy Cypress must have found the missing sheriff’s department officer, because four bodies were found in the smoldering ruins of the lounge. All four bodies were little more than blackened skeletons and had to be identified by their dental records. The fourth body was identified as Captain James Williams of the Palmetto County Sheriff’s Department. The evidence indicated that the captain had given his life in a brave attempt to rescue three other people trapped in the burning building.
As the flames engulfing the Blackwater Restaurant and Lounge slowly died out, the authorities turned their attention to Krissy Patterson. They were delighted to see that the little girl was safely back with her parents, but they also wanted to know where she had been for the past few days. Unfortunately, Krissy could not answer any of their question, because she had no memories of the events. She was questioned by four different detectives, and by several child welfare officers--she was even questioned by a child psychologist--but no one was able to get any answers from her.
According to the medical experts that also examined Krissy, the little girl was suffering from an acute case of amnesia due to her ordeal. While it was suggested that she be kept in a hospital under observation until her memory returned, it was finally decided that she would be much better off in the custody of her parents.
In addition to the questions, and the mental evaluation, Krissy had undergone a series of physical examinations. She had spent two days in the hospital, being poked, prodded, and studied under a microscope. Except for being a little malnourished, she appeared to be in excellent health. She had not raped, or sexually abused, as many of the examining doctors had first feared. Nor did she have any injuries, other than a few scratches and bruises.
Robert and Janet had also spent their time under a microscope. They had been questioned at great length about their daughter’s return, explaining that they had found Krissy in the parking lot a few minutes after they had seen flames leaping from the roof of the lounge. They had no idea why their daughter had shown up at that time, but suspected that she had been guided back to camp by the flames, or by the smell of smoke.
While the Palmetto County Sheriff’s Department was suspicious of the situation, they did not suspect Robert and Janet of any wrongdoing. On the contrary, the person they suspected of being involved in Krissy’s unexplained disappearance, and her mysterious reappearance, had vanished from the area, leaving behind a collection of used books and little else. They also suspected the same person of starting a fire that claimed the lives of four people.
Though still under investigation, several official statements had already been made suggesting it was arson that destroyed the restaurant and lounge. It was also openly speculated that Jimmy Cypress was the person who started the fire, and that his sudden disappearance was an admission of his guilt. A warrant had been issued for Jimmy’s arrest, but it seemed the Seminole was nowhere to be found. He had vanished without a trace, leaving no clues to his whereabouts.
The authorities were not wrong, because Jimmy Cypress had started the fire. But they were mistaken in labeling him as a murderer. Jimmy had not killed anyone. Instead, he had gone to great lengths in protecting an innocent little girl from what would have been another bad situation. He had destroyed all evidence connecting her to a crime scene, protecting her from the police, and the press, and ensuring that she would once again have a normal childhood.
Robert lowered the camera and turned to look at his daughter. Krissy’s eyes were again shining, but they did not glow with a strange bluish-green light--as they had glowed when she was possessed by the evil spirit of Mansa Du Paul. Instead, they sparkled with happiness, as she waited to see what kind of animal lurked around the next bend in the river. Would it be another elephant? A Hippopotamus? Or a hungry crocodile? Whatever mechanical creature appeared next, it was certain to bring a smile to her lips.
Raising the camera to his eye, Robert snapped a picture of his daughter as that smile unfolded. And as he took the photograph, he quietly whispered, “Thank you, Jimmy Cypress. Wherever you are.”
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Having served in the Air Force, and the former owner of a restaurant and lounge, Owl Goingback became a full time writer in 1987. He
has written numerous novels, children's books, short stories, screenplays, and magazine articles.
His novel Crota won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel, and was one of four finalists in the Best Novel category. His novel Darker Than Night was also a Stoker Nominee for best novel of the year. The Bram Stoker Awards are given annually by the Horror Writers Association, and are considered the highest honor a writer can receive in the horror genre. Both books draw upon his Native American heritage to tell a story of supernatural suspense, as do his other novels Evil Whispers, Breed and Shaman Moon.
Owl's children's books, Eagle Feathers and The Gift have received critical acclaim from parents and teachers, and are currently used in numerous reading programs. Eagle Feathers is a Storytelling World Awards Honor Recipient.
In addition to his writing, Owl has also lectured throughout the country on the customs and folklore of the American Indians. He is currently working on a new novel and several screenplays.
Connect With Owl Goingback Online
Official Website
http://www.OwlGoingback.com
Twitter
http://twitter.com/OGoingback
OTHER WORKS BY OWL GOINGBACK
Darker Than Night
Breed
Crota
WANT MORE
OWL GOINGBACK?
VISIT HIM AT:
http://www.OwlGoingback.com
Evil Whispers Page 27