by Mac Flynn
"I was locked up in a cell for the rest of the trip, and they wouldn't even give me a tin cup to rap against the bars," I added.
The sheriff snorted. "No, but I heard your dad gave you a good talking-to when you got home."
I cringed and rubbed my posterior. "Maybe 'talking' isn't the right word."
"Well, what can I do for you today?"
"We wish to report a missing person. We visited Ebeneezer Scald at his cabin and found him missing," Adam told him.
Sheriff Wyman's smile dropped off his face faster than a bowling ball off a ten-story building. "Missing?"
"Or maybe eaten by that thing that got Old Greg's cows," I added.
Sheriff Wyman pulled out a notepad and started scribbling down notes. "When did you go see him?"
"Thirty minutes ago. We wanted to ask him about the wolf," Adam explained.
"And what did you find?"
"Blood on the walls inside the cabin, and large dog or wolf tracks around the cabin," Adam explained.
At the mention of blood Sheriff Wyman whipped his head up and his eyes narrowed. "So no sign of Eb anywhere?"
Adam shook his head. "No sign at all."
Sheriff Wyman pulled out a few statement papers and handed them to us. "I'm going to need statements from you two, along with your contact information."
I glanced over my paper, but looked over the top at the sheriff. "But aren't you going to try to find him? He might still be around there," I suggested.
The lawman stood and nodded out the front windows behind us. I half-turned and noticed large, fluffy flakes fell from the sky. "That there is the start of what's predicted to be the first snow storm of the season. If anybody goes up that bad road they'll just end up getting stuck, and then we'll have two missing persons on our hands. First chance I get I'll go up there with a snowmobile, but until the wind calms and the snow ain't so bad Eb's on his own."
"When do you wish these statements to be returned?" Adam spoke up.
"As soon as you can, but I don't recommend you stay here to fill them out. That snow's going to be thick soon, and if that's your car out there then I suggest you go home right now and wait it out," he suggested.
"We will. Thank you for your time," Adam replied. He took hold of one of my shoulders and herded me outside.
I shrugged his hand off and glared at him. "You and the sheriff are awful calm about a man being murdered."
"We can't be sure of that yet, and the sheriff is a reasonable man. He knows the risk of investigating during a storm would only lead to more trouble," Adam argued.
We slid into our seats inside the car and I shook my head. "I can't believe this is happening in my hometown," I muttered.
"Yes, very unbelievable, but we will have our answers to why this is happening when we find the beast that destroyed Greg's cattle and stole away with Eb," Adam comforted me.
I glanced down at the paperwork and cringed. "I don't know if my parents are going to take this too well," I commented.
"We could avoid telling them until more is found," he suggested.
I snorted and shook my head. "By then they would've learned about Eb's disappearance from half a dozen other people, and I'd be in big trouble. No, we'd better tell them when we get home." I sighed and started the car. The large snowflakes already covered the windshield. "First a werewolf, then a missing woodsman, and now a snowstorm. Could this vacation get any worse?"
Chapter 11
We reached home a long half hour later. I drove like a granny in the thickening snow storm. By the time we reached the old farmhouse visibility was nil. Mom rushed onto the porch, but Dad wasn't to be seen.
"Thank goodness you're back! We thought you were trapped in town or down the road or in a ditch," Mom told us
"No, but we have some bad news." I turned my head to and fro. "Where's Dad?"
She nodded her head towards the barn. "Out there with his tinkerings, but what news do you have?"
"We tired to visit old Eb about the wolf sighting, but we found the place a mess-well, worse than usual, and he wasn't there. We-well, we think something might have happened to him. Like what happened to the cattle," I informed her.
My mom's face blanched and she snatched our arms to drag us inside. "Well, you two just get inside and I'll call your father. If there is a mad dog or wolf or something running loose then we'd better get inside. There's some sandwich stuff on the table in the kitchen. I'll be right back." She left us in the hall, grabbed her coat and ear muffs, and hurried outside. The storm gained strength and the wind blew snowflakes into the house before my mom shut the door behind herself.
"Well, that didn't go as well as I'd hoped," I muttered.
"She took it rather calmly," Adam argued.
I snorted and shook my head. "For my mom, that's not calm, that's panicked. In a minute you're going to see my dad come in with her and tell her-"
"I'm sure everything's all right, Annie. He's probably gone off again hunting somewhere," I heard my dad console my mom as they stepped onto the porch.
"But I think this is serious, Ralph," Mom insisted.
"What's serious is my missing sandwich. You sure I didn't leave it inside?" he asked her.
They walked inside and looked like two snow-people covered as they were in a thin sheet of snow. "You took it out to the barn with you, plate and all, Ralph, but I really think this business about Eb is serious."
My dad turned his attention to Adam and me. "What exactly is this business with Eb?"
"He's missing, and we found evidence that whatever attacked Greg's cattle attacked him," Adam told him.
Dad paused in removing an arm from his coat and raised an eyebrow. "Evidence? You make this sound like it's a murder case."
"Something serious may have happened to him," Adam confirmed.
"Did you tell the sheriff about it?" Dad asked him.
"Yeah, but he can't go up there until after the storm," I spoke up.
"It's a good thing he's not trying. This is going to be a real mean one, especially for this early in the season," my dad agreed as he nodded at the windows.
Outside the comfortable, warm farmhouse the storm raged. The wind whipped the gentle flakes so they barraged building and plant with their cold, wet bodies. Visibility was limited to what lay between your eyes and the tip of your nose, and the temperature tumbled to the low twenties. Not cold enough to throw water outside and watch it freeze midair, but cold enough to make me want to scuttle to the fireplace in the living room.
"But what if there really is a wild animal prowling around?" my mom fretted.
"Then it's taken to hiding some place where it'll be safe and won't bother anyone," Dad pointed out. He took my mom's arm and led all of us towards the kitchen. "Now let's go make another sandwich so I don't starve to death, and save some for my lunch tomorrow."
"Must you go to work? The roads will be awful," she pointed out.
"You know Tilly can't spell worth a darn in her columns, and nobody else is as thorough as I am at catching them. If I let anybody else be editor for even a day there'd be articles about people finding religion and dog, and tikes being stolen off the racks at the schools," he argued.
"Can't you just close shop for one day?" she pleaded.
The pair of them stood in the middle of the kitchen with Adam and me in the doorway. Dad wrapped Mom in his arms and smiled at her. "I'll be fine, Annie. I'm sure the roads will be plowed before then, and the old wagon's never failed me yet."
I looked up at Adam and saw envy and kindness in his eyes as he watched my loving parents comfort one another. I longed for the same companionship with him, but like him I never forgot that species barrier. If only he'd trust himself and me enough to make the choice I so desperately wanted. I slipped my hand into his, and he looked into my eyes.
"Jealous much?" I teased in a whispering voice.
He smiled. "Perhaps."
"What are you two plotting over there?" my dad spoke up.
I pu
lled my hand from Adam's grip and glared at him. "We weren't doing anything," I argued.
He gestured to the kitchen island that held the sandwich ingredients. "Then how about you come over here and make yourself a sandwich before the mayo gets warm," he scolded us.
Lunch was served and we had nothing better to do for the remainder of the day then to play games. Card games was the preferred entertainment, but strip poker was ruled out on account of my not wanting to be traumatized seeing my parents in any state of undress. It was nearing dinner when I left the game for a while to go to the bathroom.
I came back down the stairs and heard whisperings from the living room where the others sat around the table. Their voices were too low to catch anything definite, but that made me even more suspicious. I tiptoed to the doorway and slid my back against the wall.
"Quiet," I heard Adam hiss to the others.
"What-oh," my mom replied.
"Chris, you can come out," Adam called to me.
I stepped into the doorway and looked over the scene in front of me. There sat the three conspirators. Adam had his back to me so I couldn't see his face, but my parents showed their guilt in their actions. My mom looked intently at her cards like her life depended on it, and the corners of my dad's lips twitched up until he suppressed the smile.
I folded my arms across my chest and glared at them. "All right, 'fess up, what's going on?"
"Confess to what, Chrissy?" my mom asked without looking up from her cards.
"To whatever you were just plotting. Nobody whispers around this house unless they're plotting," I replied.
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," she argued.
"I think she's talking about our trip to town tomorrow," Adam spoke up.
I took my place at the table, leaned one elbow on the top and raised an eyebrow. "What trip to town?"
"Your mom insists on replacing my clothes that were destroyed by the skunk," he explained.
I turned to her. "Is this true?"
"Well-um, yes. Yes it is," she hastily agreed.
"I thought you didn't want anybody going to town tomorrow," I reminded her.
"Well, I'm sure your father is right about the roads being just fine, and the snow is supposed to stop during the night," she told me.
I flitted my eyes to Dad. "Are you agreeing with this flimsy excuse?"
"I am staying out of this," he replied.
I swiped my cards from the table and glanced from one to the other of the conspirators. "I'll find out what you were talking about. As God is my witness, I will know what you were talking about."
"That's nice, dear. Now who's turn was it?" Mom asked us.
Chapter 12
At nine o'clock all the card games were spent and we hit the hay early. My parents lingered downstairs while Adam and I went to our rooms. I led the way, and at our doors I grabbed his arm and pulled him into my room. I dropped him onto the end of my bed, and stood over him with my arms crossed over my chest and my eyes narrowed.
"All right, what's going on?" I demanded to know.
"With what?" he wondered.
"With you and my parents. What were you talking about while I was in the bathroom?" I insisted.
He shrugged. "About our trip to town tomorrow."
"And am I allowed to go on this little trip to town?"
"Your mom wishes for you to remain here to watch the house," he informed me.
"Uh-huh, and what else are you going to do in town?" I questioned him.
He tilted his head to one side like an adorable, innocent puppy. "'Else?'" he repeated.
"Yeah, besides the new clothes. You two are sneaky and thorough enough to bring back them, but I want to know what you're really doing."
Adam smiled and stood so that I was forced to retreat two feet. "Chris, whatever evil plot you believe your parents and I have concocted is pure fabrication. We are merely going into town for a short shopping trip, and will return within an hour."
I stepped up to him and poked my finger in his chest. "Aha! That's where you slipped up! No self-respecting man would want to go on a shopping trip unless he's doing something special! Now what is it?"
Adam grabbed my hand and gallantly kissed the back of my fingers. In my momentary infatuation he changed our positions so I was farthest away from the door. He released me, stepped back and opened the door, and gave me a dazzling, mischievous smile. "I will see you tomorrow morning." With that farewell he shut the door behind himself.
It took me a few seconds to realize he'd charmed himself out of the room, and out of my finding out what they were up to. I growled, but vowed vengeance and a satisfaction to my curiosity tomorrow. As I prepared for bed I heard the wind moan and groan outside my window. I walked over to the glass and peered out. My window allowed a view of the road and just a smidge of the barnyard. The snow came down in thick bunches of flakes, and the wind battered them against the side of the house. The night was so miserable that I hoped even the murderous werewolf was somewhere warm. After that I lay down to sleep.
The next morning I again awoke to a soft, quick rap on my bedroom door. "We're leaving, Chrissy. There's a warm plate of eggs and bacon in the kitchen, and if you need anything you can call Adam," my mom called to me.
I sat up in a groggy gaze and heard Mom's footsteps hurry away. My eyes widened. Leaving? Oh hell no, they weren't doing what I thought they were doing. I flung my sheets aside, jumped from the bed and raced to my door. The front door shut when I opened mine. Too late. I rushed to the window, flung open the glass, and hung over the sill. The wind and snow had stopped some time in the night and the glistening whiteness lay all around the fields and house.
However, that wasn't important. What was important was that my car-MY CAR-was headed down the driveway with Adam at the wheel.
I shook my fist at the thieves. "Get back here! That's my car!" I yelled at them.
They didn't even slow down, and in a moment they turned onto the main road and disappeared from sight. I growled and pulled my head back inside. They would pay for ditching me, but first I would deal with that bacon and eggs.
I dressed and walked downstairs. The house was eerily quiet without the sound of Mom in the kitchen and Dad talking with her. I even missed Adam, curse his soul for abandoning me. I walked into the kitchen, grabbed the warm plate of food, and strode into the dining room. Normally I abstained from my mom's seat at the foot of the table, but I felt jilted and took her chair just to spite her.
That meant I faced the front of the house, and the living room windows looked out on the barnyard and barn. I lifted a fork-full of food to my mouth when something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was movement from the barn. The barn door was slightly ajar. Dad never left it open. Ever.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I forgot my food and raced to my phone that I kept in my room. Adam's number was dutifully dialed, and I placed the phone to my ear. It went straight to voice mail. In all the excitement he'd either shut it off or forgot to charge it. That meant I was alone with a mystery, and I was going to solve it.
I slunk to the closet beneath the stairs. There I found an old rifle, no longer usable but kept around to scare people. I was plenty scared myself as I pulled on my coat, and crept outside and across the snow to the barn. Dad's car was gone hours ago, off to appease his editorial obsession with perfection. I crept quietly over to the opening between the door and the wall. It was only a foot wide, but a foot wider than what it was supposed to be. I craned my neck and peered into the darkness. The barn smelled of hay and oil, and the few windows along the sides didn't allow much light to penetrate the semi-night that existed in the building. There was another pair of double doors on the opposite side of the barn, but those were chained shut by a rusted lock.
I'd have to go inside.
I tightened my grip on the gun and slipped inside. Nothing stirred but a few strands of straw and dust beneath my feet. I crept along the left side, careful to watch for l
oose tools, nails, and flitting shadows of homicidal werewolves. My journey brought me to the end of the barn where, on each side, lay a ladder that led into the hay lofts. Old hay was stacked one to two bales high up there.
I was just about to give up when I noticed a few slivers of hay fall from the cracks in the hay loft above me. Someone, or something, was up there. I retraced my steps to the spot and peered upward between the cracks. A small shadow the size of a human swayed to and fro. I pointed the end of the barrel at the shadow and jumped out from beneath the loft.
"Hands in the air or I'll shoot!" I yelled at the intruder.
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" shouted a feeble old voice. A small man with whitish mousy hair jumped up and held his hands over his head. "It's just me, Eb Scald!"
My heartbeat lessened, and I lowered the barrel and glared at him. "Eb, what the hell are you doing up there?"
His eyes flitted around the barn and he lowered himself back down into his hiding spot so I could only see his head. "Hiding."
"Well, you're hiding's gotten you into trouble because I thought something got you. The sheriff's probably out looking for you right now," I told him.
"He can keep looking for me," Eb snapped.
I put a hand on my hip and glared at him. "Eb, get out of my dad's barn before I call the cops myself."
He shook his head. "No, I have to stay here. I-I don't know why, but I have to. That something's chasing me, and I feel safe here."
My heartbeat renewed its tango lessons. "What's chasing you?"
Eb slunk lower so I could barely see the top of his head. "Something horrible."
"Is it a werewolf?" I asked him.
He popped his head up and blinked at me. "You. . .would you believe me if I said yes?"
I felt sorry for the frail little man who stared down at me. In past times I remembered Eb as being a stubborn mule of a man, and here he was quivering like a leaf at mortal danger. "Of course I'll believe you. Old Greg and half the county will probably believe you."