Touch of Shadow

by April Aasheim

  Gus made his way to the voter registration table, where he unceremoniously dumped his signs. “You pull these up and still have the nerve to be running this registration table here. And you’re bribing them with pie!”

  Pie?

  Sure enough, the sign on the table now read: Register and get a free slice of pie!

  “We’re not telling them who to vote for,” Nick said. “They’re obviously grown-ups. They can think for themselves.”

  Gus grunted, nudging his chin towards a very old woman having a conversation with a tall houseplant. I could only pray it was because of the woman’s age and not Alex’s pie.

  “Just because you suckered Elmer doesn’t mean you’ll sucker me,” Gus said, lowering his brow further and turning towards the exit. “He’d be rolling over in his grave right now if he had one yet. Don’t get too comfortable in your comfy job here,” he warned, opening the door. “There will be some reassignments once I’m elected.”

  With Gus gone, Nick exhaled. “I sure as hell hope I don’t get that angry and cynical when I’m his age. I’d much prefer to be the plant lady,” he joked.

  Through the window, I kept my eye on Gus. He walked to a tree and retrieved a pitchfork leaning against its trunk. Slinging it over his shoulder, he disappeared into the woods.

  I found myself haunted by his words: “Just because you suckered Elmer doesn’t mean you’ll sucker me.”

  Eighteen

  “You have a few more minutes, don’t you?” Nick asked, already over the encounter with Gus. “I’d like to show you our new computer center. Maybe I’m just being protective of my brother, but I want you to see why we need Garett as the next mayor.”

  As it appeared the pies had already been eaten, I thought, Why not? “Sure. I’d love to.”

  He searched his pocket for a set of keys, then led me to a room marked Technology Center. “A lot of our members have never logged on to the Internet before coming here. Never Skyped with their grandchildren. While Garett is working to preserve our natural areas, he’s also making sure we stay current with the times.”

  He handed me the clipboard as he unlocked the door. It was a list of names. Some had x’s next to the word Registered, while others were blank. Among them I saw several I recognized, including Clara Mills.

  Clara had just recently registered to vote?

  “Voila!” Nick exclaimed, flipping a switch on the inside wall. Several UV lights crackled on, one after the other, bathing the room in a jaundices yellow glow.

  The floor was deep shag carpet, and cozy cubicles were spaced throughout. Each was equipped with a desktop computer and a large monitor. To offset the sterility of the room, amateur paintings done by the members decorated the walls.

  “It’s nice,” I said, noting the computers were all state-of-the-art, far beyond my price range. “Though these seem rather extravagant for Skyping.”

  “Yeah, I agree,” Nick said, scratching his head. “But Garett wanted to invest in equipment that would last. Who knows when we’ll have the budget to upgrade again?”

  I took a moment to wander around, realizing this was the room where the mayor … met his fate. In fact, I could still feel his energy. It was strong, and it was clear to me that Elmer had a deep connection to this place. “Alex told me he tutored Elmer here. Were you on-site when he passed away?”

  Nick shook his head. “No. I saw him earlier that day, and honestly, he looked fine. He even brought his cat with him; he said it cheered everyone up. That was his unofficial spot, over there by the window.” Nick pointed to the one computer not in a cubicle.

  “It must have been a frightening day,” I said, making my way over. Even those who weren’t psychic could pick up on residual energy in a dark hallway or basement – the feeling of a soul still lingering behind.

  But this was one of the strongest impressions I had ever felt without directly touching something. I physically saw the outline of Elmer sitting in his chair, his head moving back and forth as his eyes followed something on the monitor. I blinked to dislodge the impression, but it was no use. Elmer looked up at me and I stared back. Was he seeing me, too?

  Nick stepped beside me and Elmer’s image faded. “Luckily there was no one else in the room when he died. Some of these people already consider technology the work of the devil.” He chewed on his lip. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Garett hinted the mayor might’ve been looking at some adult content. He cleaned the drive before he would let anyone use it.”

  “Was Audrey here at the time?”

  “Yep. She’s been volunteering here a while now. She’s the one who convinced Elmer to join the Senior Center in the first place. She went into shock when it happened – wouldn’t even leave the office when the ambulance came. Ever since, she’s been a bit of a robot.”

  Interesting. Though Audrey seemed less than friendly here, she seemed plenty at ease when I saw her with Rachel and Garett. “I’m sure she’ll be right as rain soon,” I said.

  “Yes,” Nick agreed.

  I turned my attention to the mayor’s old work station. As much as I dreaded touching it, this could be my one opportunity to set my brother’s mind at ease, once and for all. “Can I try this out?” I asked. “I’m thinking of buying a new computer for the tea house.”

  “Be my guest. I need to get you those bay leaves I promised anyway.”

  Once alone, I readied myself for what was to come. I slid uneasily into the chair. I tapped on the keyboard and the screen came to life.

  There were two-log in options Elmer and Guest Interesting that they cleaned out the mayor’s browser, but not his ID. I clicked on Elmer’s name. As I suspected, it was password protected.

  I tapped the Guest button instead. My body twitched, as if I had put a live wire into an electrical outlet. Mercifully, the memory was brief.

  Elmer sat in the chair, his hand over the mouse. His brow was beaded with sweat and his heart pounded like a war drum.

  He typed in a website. A colorful swirl of photographs appeared on the Switch screen, arranged in five neat rows. They were all pictures of young single women, Audrey among them.

  The memory faded just as abruptly.

  I pushed myself out of the chair and stared down at the monitor. The mouse cursor was still hovering over the log-in screen. What was Audrey doing on a dating site? And what was he doing on a dating site?

  Nick returned, handing me a plastic baggie filled with deep green leaves. “These are real. Now, I’ve been hogging your time all afternoon. I’ll drive you home.”

  I agreed, still shaken. As we made our way back into the communal room, I spotted my mother among a trio of living women who were singing by the piano. She saw me and I glowered back. If Alex went to prison, it was all her fault. We were just lucky that no one seemed hurt by the effects. Yet.

  Audrey walked into the room, followed closely by Garett. She seethed, heading for the coat rack. “Yes, I do blame you,” she said, not bothering to lower her voice. “If you had been honest about things, none of this would have happened.”

  “If I…If I had been honest?” Garett put a hand on his heart, stumbling backwards, as if wounded. “Do you really want to talk about honesty?”

  “I wish Elmer was still here.”

  “Do you? Do you think he’d be able to save you?”

  “Uh, guys…” Nick waved his hand. They turned, and froze. Audrey stormed out the front door, while Garett headed for the kitchen. Surprisingly, only Nick and I seemed to have noticed. Again, I wondered if it was the effects of the pie.

  “They’ve had a few power struggles since Elmer died,” Nick explained. “He was technically Garett’s boss, but he was also Audrey’s husband. They can’t seem to agree on anything now. I’ll be glad when this election is settled, one way or another.”

  Nick and I sat in The Fun Bus, aka the Senior Center shuttle. We were pulled up in front of The Aunt-Tea-Query. By now, the lights inside were dimmed, since Kela and Alex were closing up. We had bee
n sitting several minutes, neither speaking.

  Finally, Nick unbuckled his seat belt and turned down the radio.

  “I’d love to see you again, outside of work and campaigning and speed dating events.”

  “I think I’d like that, too,” I said.

  “You think?”

  He leaned in, his face close to mine. His breath smelled like brandy, jerky and chewing gum. He brushed a stray hair away from my eyes. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, closing in.

  I couldn’t think of a single reason this wasn’t a good idea, letting myself get pulled in. Our lips met briefly, long enough to send a jolt through me of a pleasant kind.

  “I like you,” I confessed, smiling.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then show me.”

  I took his face in my hands. I was done being demure. Barbara Stanwick and Katherine Hepburn were never demure, and you never saw them alone. They were women who knew what they wanted and took it.

  I kissed him so hard I wondered if I bit him. Our lips mashed together, clumsily at first, and then, like two halves of a whole, they finally united.

  “It’s been so long since I’ve kissed anyone,” I whispered, pulling back a little.

  “Well then, I’m glad it’s me.”

  I rested my head on his shoulder, feeling sensations I hadn’t experienced in ages. I could really like him, I thought, running my fingers through his hair.

  Suddenly, a large black cat leapt from The Aunt-Tea-Query porch. “Is that Mr. B?” I said out loud.

  “Mr. Who?” Nick asked, swiveling his head to look.

  It was Mr. B! With fangs bared and hair raised. He was charging towards the maple tree on the side of our house. He clawed his way up, with speed and purpose.

  “I’d better go,” I said. “Call me!” I gave Nick a quick kiss on the cheek before scrambling out the passenger door.

  “Uh, okay… I’ll text you later?”

  Nick waited a moment before driving off, and I hoped I hadn’t scared him away for good. I headed straight for the tree. The maple’s red leaves danced on the shaking branches above. I caught sight of Mr. B scurrying along a high limb, before losing him in the foliage again. There was snarling and hissing and the most horrendous yowls I’d ever heard.

  “Mr. B!” I called through cupped hands. “Get down here this instant! Don’t you dare kill a bird!”

  The branches bobbed a moment more, and then went still. I held my breath, wondering if I should get Alex, when I finally spotted Mr. B again. He was working his way slowly down, carefully moving from one branch to another. He was hauling something enormous in his mouth, like a leopard hauling a deer.

  Something much larger than a bird.

  His prey was limp but twitching, caught in the strong jaws of a very feral feline. Mr. B eventually dropped to the ground. The creature had red eyes, folded ears, and spindly arms. A hobgoblin!

  The proud cat strolled over, dropping his catch at my feet. Then, after a quick lick of his paws, he calmly returned to the porch, as if to say I should take it from here.

  Up close, it was different from the drawing in the goblin book. Its head was more bloated and its snout less pronounced. Its gray and hairless body quivered near my feet, yet I was frozen, fearful of moving either forward or back. I imagined it lunging for my legs at even the slightest provocation, sinking its claws into my bare flesh.

  The hobgoblin was in pain, opening and closing its eyes rapidly. It caught me looking, and its fierce glare spooked me to the core. It knew I was afraid. And it liked that. If it had more energy and strength, there was no doubt it would have taken that advantage.

  Slowly, carefully, cautiously, I pulled my phone from my purse and texted Alex. Come to the maple tree immediately! And try to be stealthy.

  Alex would think I’ve lost my marbles, but I didn’t want to risk either a physical attack or startling it away.

  The thing rolled onto its back and pulled its appendages in tight, cocooning itself like an infant. It squiggled on the ground, its mouth opening and closing, as if looking for nourishment. It was losing color by the moment, becoming almost translucent as the seconds ticked by.

  “Baylee?” Alex called from the front door.

  I raised my hand and he jogged over. Drawing close, he froze, just as I was, his eyes wide with horror and surprise.

  “What in the hell…”

  “Shh…” I warned.

  Alex slowly made his way to me. The creature was in a slumber now, not seeming to notice us anymore.

  “Mr. B captured it,” I whispered. “I think its dying.”

  My brother nudged it with his foot. “It’s solid,” he said. “But gooey. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s unnatural.”

  “Can you, uh, communicate with it?” I asked.

  “Oh, now you want me to talk to animals, huh?”

  “Please? I don’t want to touch it. I’m afraid of what I’ll see.”

  Alex squeezed his eyes shut, trying to form a link. After a few seconds, the slumbering creature chortled out a few strange sounds.

  “He can’t breathe. He needs air. He was promised … find the seed.” The goblin suddenly trembled violently, shaking from tiny hoof to tiny ear. The ground around him trembled, too.

  “What’s happening?” I asked, backing away.

  “How should I know,” Alex replied, holding out a protective arm.

  A crack formed in the ground under the creature, widening as the earth continued to shake. Roots crawled up from below, wrapping the hobgoblin like a mummy before pulling it down into the small chasm. Then the earth resealed itself, as if nothing had happened at all.

  Nineteen

  “I have a confession,” I said to Alex, as we both stared down at where the hobgoblin had been swallowed up by the earth. There was no sign it had ever existed. Mother Nature had wiped the slate clean.

  “This wouldn’t be about our ‘rat problem,’ would it?” Alex asked, digging his heels into the dirt.

  “Maybe.” I chewed on my lip as I looked around, wondering if anyone else had seen the amazing event that had just transpired in our yard. “Alex, I’ve been seeing that thing all over town. The first time was in Fat Sam’s memory, but you know how unreliable a cat’s account can be.”

  All of Alex’s features mashed in towards his nose “You saw that thing in Fat Sam’s memory, and you didn’t think to tell me about it?”

  “It was just a brief flash, and I wasn’t certain then…”

  “I’ll bet you’re certain now, huh?” Alex kicked the tree. “That thing must have killed the mayor! Bit him, or probably just scared the hell out of him. Gave him a heart attack. Thank god it died before it did someone else in!”

  I wonder if it had anything to do with Clara’s death, too?

  Alex paced, wringing his hands like a nervous banker. I dreaded telling him the rest.

  “I’m not sure we’ve got closure just yet,” I said. “It looks similar to the one I saw in the cat’s memory, but there are differences.”

  “What are you saying?” Alex turned to stare at me.

  “There may be more of them. I’m not sure how many more, or what they are doing here, but I intend to find out.”

  “Quiet,” Alex hushed me, putting a finger to his lips. “Do you hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  He turned very slowly towards the edge of the forest behind our house. I did hear something in the distance, deep in the trees – gruff, incoherent shouting.

  Alex ran towards the woods, and I chased after. By the time we reached the tree line, all was quiet again.

  “Damn!” Alex said.

  “What would you have done if you found one?” I asked. “Wrestle it with your bare hands?”

  “If I had to.” Alex stood tall, turning back towards the house. Halfway to the door he stopped, stooping to inspect a patch of hard-packed earth.

  I drew up behind him, and he pointed. In the even
ing shadow, I was able to make out three thin lines scraped into the dirt. They ran in close parallel, trailing off towards the woods.

  Like a bear’s claw.

  But I knew the marks weren’t made by a bear. They were made by a pitchfork.

  Twenty

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Dave and Jax were here!” I chastised Alex as we entered the cafe. I spotted Dave and his grandfather, sitting at the counter. Dave was staring into the stroller, while Jax was staring at Kela.

  “Here she is!” Kela exclaimed, with a clap. “The birthday girl! Now if you gentlemen will excuse me…” Kela unloosened herself from Jax’s gaze and slipped into the kitchen.

  There was a brightly wrapped package with a pink bow sitting on the counter. My mood suddenly brightened.

  I hurried to the gift, tearing through the ribbon before anyone could stop me. I marveled at the prize within. “An official Nancy Drew magnifying glass!” I said, lifting the oversized tool from the box with care and reverence. “Dave, I can’t believe you remembered I wanted one of these, once upon a time.”

  “Yes,” he said, looking up from the baby stroller. “It wasn’t easy to find, either. I combed the seven seas searching for that.”

  “Liar!” Jax said, fire in his eyes. “Baylee, don’t let this boy fool you. That things been sitting around his dad’s house for years. He just never had the courage to give it to you.”

  “Thanks, Grandpa,” Dave said, blushing. “He’s right. I bought it for your twelfth birthday, only to be informed by your brother that you were over your Nancy Drew phase.”

  I glowered at Alex.

  “Maybe I meant that I was over it,” Alex said. “Sorry, Bay.”

  It was the best apology I’d ever get from my brother, so I accepted it, and turned back to Dave and examined my gift. “I’d never outgrow Nancy Drew.” The lens was the size of my head. I twirled the sleek wooden stem between my fingers. In spite of its heft, it was perfectly balanced.