The Raven Mocker: Evil Returns (Cades Cove Series #2)

by Aiden James

  Peter paused again, a dreamy look on his face.

  “As soon as Bobby discovered this ‘surprise’ birthday gift waiting for him in the backyard, he immediately went nuts, thrusting his fists in the air as he ran screaming and dancing over to the Tower Den,” he resumed, a wan smile on his lips. “All the other kids converged with him and remained there until each one’s parents arrived later that afternoon to pick them up from the party.

  “Around four o’clock the temperature started to drop. Once Bobby’s aunts, uncles, and cousins had also left, he and his older sister, Jenny Northrop, went back into the house. Jenny decided to remain inside and visit with her grandparents for a while, who were in from New Orleans. Before long, she went upstairs to play Bobby’s Playstation with her eighteen-year old uncle, who came up from New Orleans with her grandpa and grandma. Meanwhile, Bobby grabbed a jacket and ran back outside. Along the way out, he picked up the Raven Wolff mask, cape, and glove-claws that his sister gave him for his birthday to go along with the Tower Den….”

  Unable to finish, Agent McNamee lowered his head and began to weep.

  Jack didn’t know how to properly respond. Why was he so upset? Fighting his own weariness and a growing sense of dread, he wondered how this incident connected to him. He started to say something, but Peter abruptly looked up, causing him to recoil. Peter’s face was red with fury, and his eyes were now blurred by grief. Jack prepared to hear something horrible.

  “That was the last time anyone ever saw him!” he nearly shouted. “At least on record the last time. But, you know what? Bobby’s uncle saw something! ‘Damned right he did!!”

  Peter now openly sobbed. Deeply alarmed, Jack looked toward the door, expecting the agent’s colleagues to bust into the room at any moment. Yet, the door remained shut.

  Hey, dudes, in case you haven’t noticed, your partner here has blown a gasket upstairs! ‘Time to get me the fuck out of here!!

  Undeterred, Peter continued to sob. “And, you know what else?? Some kid in Carlsdale, Alabama saw the exact same type of thing just two months earlier!”

  Jack felt the words hit him physically, since obviously the kid he referred to was him.

  “Yes, Jack! I am talking about you!!” he declared. “Bobby’s uncle just happened to look outside into the backyard from an upstairs window the same instant the little boy jumped down off the deck. Dressed in his Raven Wolff outfit with arms stretched out in front of him, as soon as he landed on the grass he stopped in his tracks. Do you have any idea why?”

  Jack quietly shook his head from side to side, knowing why, but wishing he didn’t.

  “A goddamned golden mist started pouring out of the Tower Den’s clubhouse. It headed right for him, and then the thing took him!”

  Peter drew closer to Jack, his rage and pain radiating heat fervent enough for Jack to feel it from where he sat.

  “The uncle and his niece screamed through the window for him to get away from the mist, but this innocent little kid walked right into it!” His voice trembled, the tempest within gaining strength. “All of a sudden, the mist began to shimmer, growing brighter until the entire backyard seemed immersed in an ethereal fire. The intense energy from this thing became so unbearable that Jenny and her uncle were forced to turn away.

  “They ran downstairs crying, and alerted the adults about what had happened. As it turned out, Robert noticed the strange glow and passed it off as the setting sun enhanced by the security lights that had just come on. Once Jenny and her uncle explained what they witnessed from upstairs, he recognized his discernment error. The golden light emanated from the east—not the west, as it should have.

  “Bobby’s parents sprinted for the door and threw it open. But when they stepped out onto the patio, the strange mist and its incredible intensity had already vanished, along with any trace of Bobby….”

  Peter looked away from Jack and sat down on the concrete floor.

  “Carrying on like this must look pathetic, I’m sure.”

  He dabbed at his eyes with his suit coat’s sleeve, looking back up into the younger man’s bewildered face.

  “If you can bear with me for just while longer, I’ll tie everything together,” he said, his voice hushed. “I believe you can guess that Bobby was never seen or heard from again. When his mom and dad ran out onto the patio, Eileen fell to her knees and cried uncontrollably. She kept saying, ‘They came to take my baby, and he’s never coming back!’ Robert couldn’t console her, nor could anyone else.

  “Jenny, her uncle, and her grandparents were outside with them by this point, searching for Bobby throughout the area. All efforts to find him proved in vain, as if he vanished into thin air! The last thing ever found of him was the Raven Wolff outfit, which Jenny discovered lying on the floor of the Tower Den’s clubhouse.

  “The entire neighborhood soon joined in the search, and later the police. Eileen’s father had recently retired from the FBI, and obtained the agency’s assistance.

  “A small breakthrough came the very next day…. A police canine unit picked up Bobby’s scent and followed it for nearly three miles into the forest, until it abruptly disappeared near a small bubbling hot spring. For much of the distance tracked by the dogs and their trainers, a strange set of markings lined up next to Bobby’s scent. At first, the only thing determined from the markings was that they were some kind of footprint. No one could tell what kind of creature had made them, but they weren’t human. Near the end of that week, a prominent zoologist flown in from Memphis identified them, though only generally. The tracks were reptilian.”

  Peter’s eyes danced, intently studying Jack’s reaction to this last statement, as if fully expecting some important revelation to come forth. When it didn’t, he looked away and shook his head, frustrated.

  “Goddamn it, Jack! What’s it going to fucking take??” he implored, wearily. “You’ve got to help me out here! I mean, you’ve got strange reptilian footprints in Carlsdale, Alabama. Then, there are smaller, but nearly identical ones found near Jackson, Mississippi…. You’ve got a strange golden mist outside your home in Carlsdale, that your next-door neighbors, the Palmers, confirmed they witnessed. Then another one is witnessed by Bobby Northrop’s sister and uncle just three months later.”

  Jack silently met Peter’s expectant gaze head-on, unwilling to concede anything just yet.

  “All right ...that’s fine,” Peter acknowledged, nodding as if he just read his thoughts. “Let’s move forward, then. Apparently it’s not enough that I’ve humiliated myself before you and my colleagues. Or, is it?”

  Jack remained stoic. He needed more time to absorb this story before responding.

  “Very well. Follow me deeper into my personal hell.” The agent sighed, forcing a pained smile that almost broke Jack’s steadfast refusal to validate the account.

  “I’ll bet you’re wondering why this means so much to me...right? Did you know Eileen Northrop told her husband, Robert, that she felt like they were being watched by an unseen presence located somewhere in the woods, which started soon after they moved into the house?”

  Jack raised an eyebrow at hearing this. Encouraged, Peter continued.

  “Did you ever see a photograph of this amazingly beautiful woman, Jack?” he asked. “Here, check this one out...taken the day before Bobby’s disappearance.”

  Peter pulled out several photographs from the inside breast pocket of his jacket. He placed one of the pictures directly in front of Jack on the table, who recognized the image of the woman standing in the middle of the photograph. The last time he saw this person’s likeness was on a tabloid cover years ago. Over time he forgot the names involved, but always knew the Northrop’s tragedy was connected to his own.

  “I thought so,” Peter whispered, after seeing Jack’s subtle nod.

  His tone completely void of any triumph, he stood up and brushed his suit off. He moved back to his side of the table. Jack’s blurry eyes followed him.

  “Eileen never r
ecovered,” he resumed, his voice hollow and barely audible. “She died the very next spring, leaving her grief stricken husband to care for their only remaining child. Shortly after that, in June, Eileen’s mother passed away suddenly from a stroke. The doctors told her husband and Eileen’s younger brother, who had just turned nineteen and was finishing his first semester at Lehigh University, that her health was likely impaired by the stress and sorrow she’d endured over the previous eight months.”

  Jack sniffed and Peter abruptly stopped. The younger man’s façade was crumbling.

  “This only gets worse, my friend,” said Peter. “Remember I told you we share the same hell? I’m quite serious about that.”

  He slipped back into his chair, his shoulders trembling as if he might start bawling again at any moment.

  “You see...Eileen Northrop was my sister. I was the nineteen-year old uncle at Bobby’s birthday celebration, and the only one to watch him disappear into that goddamned mist!! I’m still the one who routinely checks up on my niece to make sure she doesn’t take her life when she enters one of her many deep depressions. And it’s up to me to make sure her grandpa, my dad, the former FBI agent Merten McNamee, doesn’t do the same thing by swallowing the barrel of his service revolver!”

  Peter buried his face in his hands, the burden of sorrow far too big for him to carry any further. He broke down and sobbed, seemingly oblivious to how he looked to anyone, either inside or outside the room. He could’ve remained like this for quite a while, but a pair of strong hands grasped his shoulders from behind.

  “Agent McNamee,” said Jack, just inches above him. “I’ll tell you what you want to know. I’ll tell you everything.”

  Also available now on Amazon Kindle:

  DEADLY NIGHT

  by

  Aiden James

  (read on for a sample)

  Chapter One

  I’d never seen a fresh corpse before. At least not human.

  Blood dripped below her face, spreading across the chipped linoleum kitchen floor of our host, Johnny Rush. Candi Starr stared back at me, a red grotesque halo framing her tussled golden hair, still wrapped in foil strips. Her stone gaze facing us all as we stood in shocked silence.

  Her head barely attached at the neck, a deep jagged wound traversed from ear to ear beneath her chin. Sprawled upon the floor, the expression in Candi’s lifeless steel blue eyes was one of sudden surprise.

  Johnny sat at the kitchen table, across from Brenda Wright. Rope-bound to a pair of high back vinyl chairs, one olive green, and the other merlot. Both wore matching black t-shirts and jeans. Intense terror visible in their eyes, both mouths lay open, slack-jawed, and emotionless in contradiction. Their single fatal shots to the forehead announced assassination. Not intended victims, but here just the same. In all likelihood the pair not only witnessed the murder of their famous companion, but also had plenty of time to anticipate their own demise.

  So...correction: I’d never seen three dead human beings before.

  When I was finally able to tear my eyes away from the scene, my attention was drawn to Fiona. The loveliest, smartest and bravest woman I’ve ever known didn’t seem so at the moment. Being grilled by a pair of cops in the dining room, one dressed in uniform and the other plainclothes. Her gorgeous hazel eyes which often morphed to amber and pure gold depending on her attire and mood were now swollen. Red puffiness from a deluge of tears. Her grief genuine, as these were real friends, she struggled to answer their questions—despite the pained looks each man wore, nodding quietly in response to her clipped answers.

  What questions did they ask? I could only imagine, but I managed to hear a few. Basic things like ‘how long have you known the victims?’ and ‘can you think of anyone who might hold a grudge, one bad enough to do something like this?’ No doubt they also want to know what she and the rest of us are doing here, anyway.

  Meanwhile, two forensic techs just brushed past me and the others on their way to begin the painstaking task of moving from the stiffening corpses in the kitchen to the living room to look for more evidence. It makes me feel awkward, standing here near the entrance to the living room. I fidget, unsure of what to do…or where to go, half horror movie, half feeling five years old and told to stand in the corner.

  The plainclothes cop keeps eyeing the rest of us. He glares a bit while the other continues questioning Fiona. I’m sure my face is turning red, thinking of what I’m about to have to explain.

  My name is Jimmy Alea, and I’m a paranormal investigator. Spook chaser, ghost hunter, or a supernatural whack-job, whatever euphemism makes normal folks feel any better. Hell, that’s what my pop thinks back in Denver, my hometown. I came to Nashville, or as we serious musicians like to refer to it—‘Nash-Vegas’, nine years ago. But like 99.99% of the more than 80,000 music hopefuls who call this place home, I haven’t made it yet. Maybe I never will, but I try not to think about that.

  Yeah, the cop will probably pass judgment just the same. I can already picture him saying something smartass like, “Did Casper call and tell you there are three brand new ones?”, and then laugh at his own lame joke. But this is what I do. I don’t try to see dead people. Rather, I attempt to catch evidence of their spiritual essence, whether ethereal or physically tangible. It’s somewhat like TAPS and the other ‘hauntings’ shit on TV.

  But that ain’t the story here…not exactly. Me and my gang were just stopping by to drop something off at Johnny’s. A little something to welcome him and Brenda to their new digs. Fiona planned a quick psychic reading for Candi before she set off on her first international tour. Afterward, the plan was to investigate another home where supposedly a lot of weird shit’s happening. A ‘paranormal event’ is what we call this sort of thing. Apparently stuff’s been going on for several years in that particular locale along the Cumberland, but getting worse…more aggressive lately.

  It’s probably best to stop thinking about the cop and my imagined exchange, and instead focus again on Fiona. She’s still talking to both him and the uniform right now. Wish I could take her and wrap my arms around her, to somehow ease her profound pain. She is my wife, and I always feel the need to protect her. I won’t be able to erase this from her memory and I can’t make the cops shut up.

  The uniformed cop is really trying to flirt with her. Granted, Fiona’s a tall, gorgeous blond with a smile that lights up any room, and a statuesque build that spells trouble for any male with a pulse. She’s the only thing that’s ever distracted me long enough to make me reconsider my life’s direction. Fiona literally saved me from the destructive course I once was on. I truly pity the dudes who wish they’re me.

  But right now I could use a new diversion—anything to take my attention away from the bodies and some dude smiling at my wife at such an inappropriate time. There’s a female uniform staring at me from near Johnny’s bedroom. I’ve often wondered about homicide cops and how they deal with it. As I look at her again she’s now smiling. Maybe for some cops...the aggressive ones...it’s a type of foreplay. Kind of like people who go home with a complete stranger and screw their brains out.

  As she looks at me her smile is getting wider. I’m pretty sure I know what she sees.... My wife, among others, tells me it’s a six foot two, one-ninety pound man, with very little body fat. Hard and lean, with chiseled features inherited from a handsome Cuban/Italian line, I possess an easy smile, and piercing blue eyes that become deep cobalt pools if I’m pissed. And, I’m lucky to have a full head of dark wavy hair hanging down to my shoulders.

  Nobody will ever find me wearing a suit—not unless somebody’s getting married or buried. T-shirts, jeans, and boots—I’m either biker or cowboy, depending on my mood and the weather. Thank God the dudes I roll with share my taste in threads, and my daytime employer can hang with the way I am too. As long as I occasionally wear a polo shirt and slacks. It sucks, but I’ve gotta have something steady to pay the bills.

  Fiona’s now motioning to me, and to be polite t
he two cops nodded. I wonder if they’ve heard of her, since she’s helped Metro’s finest solve nearly a dozen crimes over the past few years. Clairvoyant, clairaudient, and clairsentient. They are valued commodities among a few detectives these days, though most won’t admit it. Regardless, I can tell these guys don’t think much of the thirtyish biker-looking dude and his cronies blocking the doorway to the living room. At least they like her…certainly looks like her tear-streaked face hasn’t diminished her charm. Not in the least.

  “Do you want me to call ahead to Charlain and tell her we’re going to be late?” said Jackie Holland to Fiona from behind me. “Or, should we try and reschedule?”

  One of Fiona’s best friends since childhood, Jackie’s usual gruffness was muted. They grew up together in east Nashville. Her dark brown hair is almost kinky, but it fits well with her eyes. Almond shaped and light blue in color. And her athletic build is heavier than Fiona’s.

  A little on the short side, Jackie makes up for it with her commanding, almost abrasive presence. A no-nonsense girl with a dry sense of humor, she has a keen passion about all things paranormal. In fact, she’s the reason Fiona became interested in exploring haunted locales back when they were in high school.

  “I’m not sure if I’ll be up for it,” Fiona told her, and then looked back at me. “Unless ya’ll want to still do this. Jimmy knows how to get there.”

  The plainclothes policeman says he’s only got a few more questions for Fiona and then we can all leave. That sounds like a great idea, as the coroner just arrived and the red flashing lights from an ambulance has announced the dead will soon be leaving Johnny’s house. I can see a “News Channel Five” van pulling up beside the ambulance. I’m sure they sped over here recklessly once they heard about Candi.

  Shit!

  I’ve always dreamed of being on TV someday, but this ain’t exactly what I had in mind. If Fiona didn’t need me, I’d find a way to sneak out of here. I briefly glanced back at the carnage in the kitchen. Poor Johnny and Brenda. They barely got settled in their latest pad, and their dream, before friends could even throw them a nice house-warming party. And they have, or had I suppose, an eclectic set of friends. Gay, straight, democrat, republican, and then...there’s us.