The Return (Haunted Series Book 21)

by Alexie Aaron

  “I’m confused. It doesn’t say so on the caller ID.”

  “I’m at a payphone,” Rory said, trying to keep his voice steady. “Why are you speaking on Ms. Booker’s phone? Did you steal it?”

  “No, it came with Ms. Booker. Debs and her phone, quite a package. And no I didn’t steal her phone. I stole her.”

  “NO!” Rory exclaimed. “Why?” he asked quickly.

  “So, I got to thinking. Rory isn’t going to want to come play with me voluntarily, so I’m sweetening the pot. You come and play in the woods, and I’ll let Debs go.”

  “Put her on the phone,” Rory demanded.

  “Oh, you want proof of life. You’ve been watching too much television. Hang on.”

  Rory fed another quarter into the phone while he waited.

  “Rory?” Deb’s hoarse voice asked.

  “Yes, are you alright?”

  “Foggy. I don’t know…”

  “That’s enough,” Blair said. “Come to the woods. We’ll meet at the houses where we started our little game. Play with me, and I’ll let Debs go. No cops. I have a spy there. I’ll know.”

  “I don’t have a car.”

  “Walk. I’ll wait,” Blair said and hung up.

  Rory didn’t think twice. He pulled out the card where Ethan had penned his number.

  “Too early,” Ethan said, answering.

  “Blair has Ms. Booker. I can’t call the cops because he says he has someone there listening. Is Tom there?”

  “Slow down, I’m headed down the hall. Rory, you’re not alone,” Ethan said. “Where are you calling from?”

  “Payphone, so hurry,” Rory said, dropping another quarter in the slot. He could hear Ethan bang on a door, followed by a short explanation and the transfer of the phone.

  “Tell me everything,” Tom said.

  Rory did. “I’ve got to start walking. What if he’s watching…”

  “Go ahead, I’ll call PEEPs to help me out. I doubt Blair has anyone on the inside of my department, but there could be someone in the lobby or in the cells, so we won’t risk it.”

  “I’m not sure I can find the place.”

  “I think he’s counting on you starting off rattled. Rory, don’t do anything to put yourself in danger. We’ll be there. You just won’t see us,” Tom assured him. “Do you want me to call your parents?”

  “No, they’ll call the state cops. I really have to go,” Rory said and hung up.

  Tom looked at Ethan. “Since you know Blair, I need your best guess. Will he have Deb Booker with him?”

  “If he has no others to help him, no. He won’t be able to handle a hostage and torment Rory. She’s hidden somewhere. My money is on the mansion. I know that place. I’ll go there now,” Ethan said.

  “No. This isn’t your problem.”

  “Like hell it’s not. I’m an emancipated adult who is part of this unholy game of Blair’s, whether he’s planned it or not. You get to that woods and shadow Rory. I’ll search the house, but before I do, I’m going to reach out to a marine I just met. I’m thinking his experience is what’s needed right now.”

  Tom nodded and pressed three on his speed dial.

  Mia’s phone rang. She looked at the ID and excused herself before she walked out the back door. “Tom?”

  “Blair has started his game. I need your help. Murphy’s too if available.”

  “Go on,” Mia said.

  Tom brought her up to speed. Mia listened and waited until he was through before she said, “Head to the old hog farm. I’ll be there soon. I’ll drop you in unnoticed. I have to warn you; the creature is very active and very aware of every inch of that woods. You may have to face her. Water is the only way you’re going to save yourself.”

  “I’ll come prepared. Mia, Blair won’t be armed with paintballs this time.”

  “I assumed. Let me discuss it with the others. Maybe we can disrupt his little game with a PEEPs investigation, draw his attention away until Deb is found. And then I say, let the creature have him.”

  “That’s cold. I’m not sure I can do that,” Tom said.

  “I see, even you are conflicted. It must be the law-enforcement professional in you. Your mother is here.”

  “Don’t let her know. She’ll worry.”

  “Tom, she’s a big girl, and I need a babysitter. I’m taking every able male here into the woods. There is only one person who can handle my boys, and that’s your mother.”

  “Fine. We didn’t leave things good when we last talked.”

  “Do you want to talk to her?” Mia asked.

  “No, there’s no time. I’m heading for the hog farm.”

  Mia put her phone down and thought a moment. She felt him behind her. Mia turned around and said, “Murphy, I tried to keep you out of Sentinel Woods, but I fear that you’re needed.”

  “I’m not letting you go alone.”

  Mia grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  ~

  Ethan fitted the extra set of the Aldridge caretaker’s keys into the lock on the boathouse.

  “So, we’re breaking and entering?” Charlie asked.

  “Technically, I’m tossing away my future,” Ethan said.

  “Then why are you doing it?”

  “There’s a game that wasn’t finished. I’m determined to win it. The motor of the skiff is over there,” Ethan pointed out. “I’ll get this to the water.”

  “Need a hand?” Tub asked from the doorway.

  “Who invited you?” Ethan asked.

  “Charlie was in hydro when you called,” Tub said. “It took me a while to reschedule my patients.”

  Ethan reached out a hand. “I can’t ask you to break the law.”

  “But you could Charlie?” Tub asked. “What makes him so fucking special?”

  Charlie’s laugh echoed off the walls of the boathouse.

  “Why are you wasting your time here?” Tub asked.

  “The Summerfield mansion is a fortress to get into, and its only point of vulnerability is on the lakeside.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “I’m concerned that Blair has already taken into account that I would be stupid enough to try this,” Ethan worried.

  “I’m thinking that he thinks he cowed you into staying out of this,” Charlie pointed out as he walked by with the boat’s motor. “Common tactic is to intimidate your enemy. He made sure you knew how vulnerable you were. All he has to do is call the cops and tell them you approached him, and you’re back inside.”

  “That’s right.”

  Tub looked down at Ethan. “Then why are you doing this?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do,” Ethan said. “I’m young. I’ll survive.”

  Tub clasped his hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “It’s not to impress that married lady?”

  “Can’t I do things without alternative motives?” Ethan asked as they carried out the skiff.

  “As long as the motive isn’t a suicide mission,” Tub said. “Then I say you’re doing the right thing.”

  Vince Smithe handed Deb a bottle of water. “You need to keep yourself hydrated,” he said.

  “Why am I here?” Deb asked, knowing full well the answer.

  “Blair needed to get Rory into the woods. He analyzed where Rory was vulnerable, and it was you. The kid would do anything for you.”

  “Why are you doing this? Kidnapping is a federal crime.”

  “Blair has my brother with him. He’ll kill him. I may be a lot of things, but my vulnerability is that I’m my brother’s keeper. Blair read me like a comic book.”

  “Just let me go. I know the Acting Sheriff. He’ll listen to me.”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t risk it,” Vince said. He took a length of clothesline and bound Deb’s hands to the heavy sewer pipe. “I’ve got to go make rounds. If I don’t cross in front of the cameras every hour, Blair will shoot my brother in the head.”

  Blair pulled the car off the road. He was going to go around
the barrier and drive in, but he could see the PEEPs equipment van and command center truck parked just shy of the sinkhole that took Blair’s Humvee.

  He opened the trunk and tugged on the choke chain around the teen’s neck to rouse Sean. “Come on, asshole, wake up.”

  Sean sputtered. “Why the fuck are you doing this? I said I’d help you out, but Vince was going to take some convincing.”

  “I’m not taking any chances. Get out, and help me carry this stuff in.”

  Sean picked up the heavy backpacks, securing one over each shoulder, while Blair reached in and pulled out a very long, very expensive Pelican case.

  “What’s that?”

  “I call it insurance,” Blair said. He tucked the pistol he was carrying into his belt and tugged the leash. “Come on, it’s show time.”

  Sean trudged forward under the weight of the packs, and the weight of his and his brother’s rapidly fading law careers. Sean, pretty much, was too fucked up to see he had a way out. “What about the PEEPers?” he asked, pointing at the trucks.

  “What about them?” Blair said. “They were here before, and still I walked away. I see them as an excellent way to draw attention away from me. The monster is going to be watching them.”

  “A bit too coincidental that they’re here. I bet Rory called the cops.”

  “Actually, I would bet that they’re just doing an investigation. Come on, let’s ask them.”

  “Take off this leash first,” Sean begged.

  “What, are you too embarrassed to be my bitch?” Blair asked. He pulled the choke chain over Sean’s head. He tossed it under the car. “Remember I have a gun at your back.”

  Mike listened to Cid’s warning of the approaching teens. He waited until Burt had the camera poised before he started speaking. “There is a rumor in these parts that these woods are haunted by the souls of the dead.”

  “Cut! There’s people in frame,” Burt said, lowering the camera. “Audrey, we have to get a guard on the road.”

  “Yes, and who would that be? We’re shorthanded as it is,” Audrey complained.

  “Hello, PEEPers,” Blair called out. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to walk into the frame. I’m curious, what brings you out on such a nice day?”

  “Just running intros. We were up all night investigating,” Burt lied.

  “Intriguing. Where’s Mia? I’d love to have a chance to speak with her again.”

  “I’m sorry, who are you?” Mike asked.

  “I think that’s Blair Summerfield,” Audrey said.

  “Really. Blair, would you mind if we interview you?” Mike asked. “You were attacked in these woods if memory serves me.”

  “Yes, that was me,” Blair said and explained. “But I’m late for a reunion. I’ll just say hello to Mia before we go.”

  “She’s not here,” Burt said. “Mia was on the night shift. I’ll let her know you stopped by.”

  “Oh, don’t bother, I’m sure she has enough on her plate.”

  “I imagine she does,” Burt said.

  Mia glided down quietly. She released Tom as soon as his feet touched the ground. He watched her shoot upwards and head back to where the others were waiting. Tom moved carefully to the houses. The woods still made communication near impossible, even with the advanced setup that Ted had in place. Tom sidestepped his way down the ravine and over to where the old houses still stood. He rounded the corner and walked right through a ghost. It took everything Tom had to not acknowledge the manic dead eyes and twisted body of what was once Jason Jones.

  Jason didn’t know why this man was invading his territory. He picked up his marker and shot at him. The spectral gun’s ammo never reached the target. Jason’s energy hadn’t yet returned. The beast had recently fed on him, leaving him just enough juice to survive, but not enough to leave Sentinel Woods.

  Mia landed and waited for Lazar to tie his boot.

  “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not your fight,” she reminded him.

  “If my parents are going to work the land north of here, it is. I can’t have a psychopath roaming these woods. What if he decides to take a potshot at my grandmother or the creature?”

  “Alright, I’m thinking of putting you in a tree out of harm’s way.”

  “You do that, and I’ll be very put out.”

  “K,” Mia said, smiling. “But I’m putting you in a tree. Here,” she said, handing him some climbing rope. “You’ll have to climb down. I can’t get you any closer than thirty feet up.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Ted watched as Lazar walked over to Mia. She turned Lazar around and picked him up. Lazar’s eyes were a bit fearful, but Mia would say that it was good he was afraid. Too much confidence could get you killed in the woods.

  Mia circled overhead, making sure the coast was clear before she landed on the large tree branch. Her new boots cut into the bark, securing both of them. Lazar carefully slid down and sat on the limb. He wrapped the rope around the branch and started downwards. Mia took off, leaving Murphy behind to make sure Lazar didn’t fall to his death.

  She returned to find Ted arguing with Babcia.

  “What’s going on?” Mia asked.

  “She wants you to take her into the woods,” Ted said.

  “No,” Mia said flatly. “I only took Lazar because of his military training.”

  “I can be of use,” Babcia said.

  “The less people in those woods the better,” Mia argued. “Blair is on high alert. He’s got to know something is up with the PEEPs hanging out on the southside.”

  “Then why are they there?”

  “Actually, to draw his attention away from here,” Ted said.

  “So, do you think when he sees a little old woman picking mushrooms, he’s going to see me as a threat?” Babcia asked, lifting her covered basket.

  “She’s got a point,” Ted said.

  “K. I’m taking you because you have to watch the creature, and watch out for the creature. Blair intends to rile her up by abusing the boy she imprinted on. She’s not going to be the docile thing you had a conversation with,” Mia warned her.

  “I’m not going in because, last time, I stopped her from stoning Blair,” Ted said. “She remembers me. I don’t want to distract her or have her coming after me.”

  “You people confuse me. Are you Team Creature or what?”

  “We’re trying to save a boy who, for some reason, has attracted the attention of a very evil soul,” Mia said. “I’m on Team Rory. I will kill the creature if she loses it and starts harming the innocent.”

  “Can you kill her?” Babcia asked.

  “I hope I don’t have to find out,” Mia said.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  The skiff, running at full speed, bounced over the waves. Charles turned course and headed the boat into shore. Ethan and Tub hung on as Charles cut the engine and pulled the propeller up. The boat glided up and over the sandy shore and landed in the manicured lawn of the yellow mansion.

  Charles stayed with the boat as Tub and Ethan walked boldly to the back patio.

  “The key is to walk around like you belong here,” Ethan said to Tub. “You’d be surprised the places you can just walk into as long as you have your attitude intact.”

  “You said the security system is on. Can’t they see us approach?”

  “Blair’s stepmother would never allow any cameras facing the swimming area. For a beautiful trophy wife, she had a lot body issues, and all the drugs she took made her paranoid that someone would hack the system and post pictures of her on social media.”

  “Rich people problems,” Tub said. “But I imagine the inside is wired.”

  “All except for Keith’s room. He disabled the camera and the security sensors as soon as they went in. He liked to sneak in and out at night. I don’t imagine anyone has bothered to deal with that since he died.”

  “How did he die?” Tub asked.

  “It depends who you talk to. I didn’t see it happen, bu
t they found him hanging from a cocoon-like pod made up of old, wild grape vines. The Summerfields maintained that I killed him. I did not.”

  “What killed him?”

  “I imagine he died from fright. There is something in those woods that will scare a baby back up the birth canal. I think he was hung there as a statement.”

  “What about the other boy?” Tub asked.

  “I think he died as a result of disrespect. Jason was a wild guy and destructive. He was a one-man wrecking crew. His last assault was on some old gravestones. Someone took offense.”

  The pair climbed the wooden stairs to the second-story deck. Ethan looked back and saw that Charlie had the skiff turned around, ready for a quick getaway.

  “Let me get this straight, you took the fall for the other boys,” Tub clarified.

  “They would have pinned the deaths on me if they could. But I think the responsibility of Keith and Jason dying was their own. Stupid teenage shit.” Ethan put his hands on the glass and pushed up. He lifted the patio door off the rails and set it aside. He walked into the house.

  Tub followed him.

  Ethan looked around. The room was cleaner than he remembered it. Gone were the pizza boxes and drink cans. It did smell faintly of weed. Ethan always thought that Keith smelled like a combination of AXE body wash and pot, one odor not quite in tune with the other. Maybe that was the essence of Keith, the hyperactive kid trying to fit into a slacker world.

  “I think if we can avoid the main doors and living areas and work our way down into the basement, we’ll, for the most part, avoid the cameras,” Ethan said quietly. He was just about to open the door when he heard footsteps.

  He and Tub flattened themselves against the wall on either side of the door. The footsteps passed.

  “I was afraid of this,” Ethan said. “Blair has enlisted help.”

  “It also means that he’s got a reason for leaving someone behind,” Tub pointed out.

  Ethan opened the door and peered out. “Come on,” he said, moving into the hallway.