by J P Barnett
“Name it.”
“You stay here. Not at Steve’s. We can get an air mattress or something. I can sleep out here with Macy. It’s not fair for us to kick you out of your house.”
“Deal.”
Shandi nodded thoughtfully and sipped her coffee some more. “Hey, baby.”
Macy looked up. “Yeah?”
“Is that okay with you? Would you rather stay with your dad?”
Shandi pushed Macy’s hair back behind one of her ears as her daughter thought for a moment. “I think I should stay here. Dad’s away from the house a lot, and I don’t want to be alone—especially at night. Can we get my cell phone, though?”
“Of course. We’ll need more than our cell phones. We should go to the house and pack some bags. And pick up Macy’s car so she can drive herself to school tomorrow.” Shandi glanced up at Jake. “Mind accompanying us?”
“Yeah. No problem. I can drive. We can take the truck.” He set about grabbing his keys and slipping on his shoes.
“Woah. Slow down there, Maurice. We gotta wait for our clothes to dry.”
Jake laughed at her reference to one of their favorite childhood movies. “Oh. Right. Guess you don’t want to go out like that.”
“Hey now. We look fabulous!” Shandi teased. “I just don’t think the outside world could handle all this beauty.”
“You’re probably right. The house can barely contain it.”
Shandi nodded defiantly. “Exactly.”
It felt right to slip back into the old banter with Shandi, helping to wash away the guilt of Deirdre and the horror of Shandi’s encounter with the beast. Jake then considered that out of courtesy he should let Steve know about the situation.
“I’m going to hop over real quick and tell Steve about all this. You girls relax, have some more coffee. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Shandi forced a smile, but Jake could still see the fatigue of the previous night behind it. She nodded. “Ok. See if he has an air mattress.”
Chapter 21
Saturday had been a mad rush of conflicting information, but Monday was eerily quiet. The videos had all made it out into the internet over the weekend, and all the wild hearsay naturally died down. Most of the video had been blurry, but it was enough to solidify the picture of the beast in the public consciousness. The opinions of exactly what the beast was varied, but now they all circled around what Shandi had already known—the beast was a man. Or at least, something very closely related to a man. Some said crazy. Others, feral. A few cried Bigfoot. Even with the data collated together to put him in sharp focus, confusion still swirled.
Shandi felt energized to tackle the world’s problems again. Sunday had been a slog, and Dan had picked up most of the slack. Both had agreed that he should write the article about the beast attacking her house.
It felt good to be back in her office. Macy had returned to school, which seemed like it would provide maximum protection for her with the increased police presence. She actually felt calm. Serene. Almost convinced that the insanity that had descended on Rose Valley came only from a fleeting nightmare. She knew the reality of the situation, but now she could believe that the beast would eventually be caught. And perhaps, there would even be an upside...
Her mind drifted to Jake. She felt silly for even thinking about him with a monster roaming the town, but Jake kept prying his way in, vying for the attention she couldn’t really afford. She liked the distraction that he provided her right now, though. The Beast had become so overwhelming. In between the fear and the worry, she welcomed the image of Jake that night -- alone, in an adorably sleepy stupor, with no Deirdre in sight.
Cam had been furious, of course, that she hadn’t gone to him. He’d hidden the anger under the guise of his superior ability to protect them from danger, but Shandi could see through that. She suspected that jealousy might surface whenever she started dating again. Cam didn’t want her anymore, but he didn’t want anyone else to have her, either.
The one good thing about Cam being upset: he’d used his considerable clout to make sure Shandi’s door got replaced as quickly as possible. By the time they’d finished, her door would be indestructible. She thought it a bit overkill considering the beast could just smash any other window. Or door. Or wall. But she knew better than to fight him on it. It made Cam feel better to know that he could do something to protect his little girl. And maybe a little bit because he knew it would get them out of Jake’s house.
Enough daydreaming, Shandi! Before the world went crazy on Friday night, the plan had been to go through the archives to see how many times the beast had stalked Rose Valley over the years. With no new reports other than her own from Saturday night, it still seemed like a good place to go next. Maybe the old papers hid information that could be the key to discovering the beast’s identity—where he came from. How to stop him.
Shandi stood up from her desk, slipped her cell phone into her back pocket and stepped out into the hallway. She could hear Geneva talking. Then a man’s voice that she didn’t recognize. He sounded upset. Shandi decided to change course to the front desk in case Geneva needed some back up dealing with an unruly customer.
As she walked into the reception area, she saw a caricature of a man, dressed all in khaki. Behind him stood three young adults—one girl, two boys—none of whom looked particularly happy to be there. They looked tired and frightened. The young girl gave Shandi a pleading, embarrassed look. Shandi took it as an attempt at an apology.
“Do you know who I am?” said the man, his handlebar mustache bouncing up and down like some angry muppet’s. “I am Skylar Brooks. World-renowned cryptozoologist. I am here to help. And to do that, I need access to everything you have on this beast!”
“You have mentioned your name already, sir. Unfortunately, it is our policy not to release information to private citizens outside of what we publish in the paper.” Geneva remained remarkably calm. Shandi had been there for mere seconds and already she felt her blood pressure rising.
Skylar Brooks harrumphed. “I am not a private citizen. I am Skylar Brooks. I am a credentialed cryptozoologist.”
Geneva would not give up the fight. “I have no doubt, sir. Were you hired by the county? Or the city? Or the Sheriff’s Department?”
Skylar did not have an immediate answer. He looked towards Shandi, as if he had noticed her for the first time. His bluster dissolved. He flashed her a slimy and unwelcoming smile. Shandi had taken a long, hot shower before coming into work that morning, but she suddenly felt like she could use another. Skylar snapped his fingers, and the mousy girl handed him a book that Shandi hadn’t even noticed that she had been holding.
He addressed Shandi. “Hello! I am Skylar Brooks. World-renowned cryptozoologist. Have a signed copy of my book.”
Shandi took it without thought, immediately regretting the obvious boost to his ego. She looked down at it. Large block letters screamed the title, Adventures in Cryptozoology, but the cover failed to mirror the contents, having only a picture of the very same man standing before her. The photo showed him with a smarmy smile, not unlike the one he’d flashed her moments earlier. She briefly wondered whether Jake owned this book.
“Your colleague here doesn’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation. I am not trying to be difficult. I just want to help. You have a cryptid running amok in your town and that is my specialty.” He said the last word with too many vowels and syllables.
Shandi considered the possible replies. She would have liked nothing more than to turn him away. Geneva spoke accurately when she said that they couldn’t release unpublished information, but the archives existed to serve the public and provide outreach for the paper. Shandi found herself torn. On the one hand, she instinctively hated this man with every fiber of her being. On the other, she needed to go through the archives herself, and it would go much faster with more people looking for the same information.
She opted to be diplomatic, a wholly unfamiliar
tone for her. “I appreciate your concern for our town, Mr. Brooks. Unfortunately, Geneva is correct. It is our policy not to release unpublished information to the public. We do, however, have our archives. They stretch back for over a hundred years. Perhaps you can find something useful there?”
Skylar Brooks harrumphed yet again. He remained quiet for a few seconds, looking back at his colleagues. Assistants? Slaves? Their relationship to Skylar seemed ambiguous. None of them spoke, or even met his gaze. They all looked at the ground and fidgeted with their fingers. All except the third assistant, who held a copy of the book. Shandi hadn’t noticed, but she assumed Geneva had already received a copy.
“Very well. My assistants will stay behind and look through the archives. I will find someone who will appreciate what I’m trying to do here. The mayor? Or the sheriff? Is that who holds the power in these parts?”
Perhaps Shandi felt particularly mean on this day, but unleashing this boor on Cam thrilled her. “Yes, sir. You should go down to the Sheriff’s Department and ask for Sheriff Cam Donner. I’m sure he would be happy to hear what you have to say.”
This time, Skylar gave her a genuine smile. Geneva tried to hide a snicker. He mistook Shandi’s deviousness for helpfulness, no doubt elated to discover that Shandi finally recognized his greatness. She hoped that she did not regret that decision, because she in no way wanted him to think of her as an ally. She wanted to apprehend the beast as much as the next person, but dealing with the mass hysteria of the beast sounded preferable to dealing with this guy.
He walked out of the building without talking to his assistants. Yet they remained. Neatly lined up, as if Skylar meant to auction them off to the highest bidder. Shandi supposed that she had inherited these kids now. Hopefully they proved more useful than they seemed.
“Right this way,” she said, motioning towards the archives.
The three assistants followed her, no longer frightened little field mice. Now they walked like normal people. Eyes up. Shoulders back. One of them even smiled. The boy with the book sat it down on the reception desk as he walked by. Shandi wondered if leaving such a valuable commodity behind constituted a punishable offense in the Skylar Brooks organization.
When they entered the archives, the three looked around with excitement.
“So, these are the archives,” Shandi said. “I can tell you right now that the first sighting that we know of was in 1942. October. It’s possible that there were earlier. No one has had the time to check. Local lore suggests there were certainly later sightings, though, so going forward from 1942 probably makes the most sense. You can take pictures, but try not to rip any of the pages.”
The mousy girl looked at her, started to speak, thought better of it, then found the courage again. “I’m so sorry for my father. He’s not all bad. He is a really good cryptozoologist and a great man. He just...”
The girl trailed off with no clear intention to finish her sentence. Shandi supposed calling one’s own father a boorish asshat would prove difficult, even if objectively true.
“Don’t worry about it. In this business, we’ve seen it all. I’m Shandi.” She extended her hand while considering that she had lied. Shandi’s vast experience covered a lot, but Skylar Brooks was a special snowflake of a man.
The girl took her hand and gave it a limp, awkward shake. “Miriam. This is my brother, Cornelius. And my cousin, Tanner.”
Shandi looked at each as the girl introduced them, noticing the youth of their faces, older than Macy, but surely not college graduates. No matter. They would expedite her research quite nicely. She originally intended to go through the archives with them, but decided that letting them do the work for her might provide the better option. As much as her inner control freak wanted to direct the entire operation, she reluctantly admitted to herself that she needed a break. She would just need to butter them up first to make sure they’d go it alone.
“It’s very nice to meet all of you,” she said. “I really do hope you find what you’re looking for. Is there anything I can get you? I can have Geneva order takeout if you’d like. My treat.”
For delivery in Rose Valley, Mikey’s Burger Shack cornered the market. They didn’t have a dedicated delivery person, instead opting to send one of the waiters or cooks, even if that meant delaying other orders in the process. None of the customers seemed to mind. Most of the regulars at Mikey’s only drank coffee, played games, and swapped tall tales.
The boys lit up at her offer. Miriam looked at them for a few moments without exchanging any words or nods, then answered for them all. “That would be great! We’re not picky. We’ll eat anything.”
The grins on the boys’ faces lit up the room with mouth-watering excitement. It had been a very long time since Shandi had been that enthused about Mikey’s burgers. She wondered whether anyone had ever been nice to them before. She also wondered whether they possessed psychic abilities, because the boys hadn’t said a word. Only Miriam appeared to have a voice.
“Okay. I’ll let Geneva know,” Shandi said as she thought of another olive branch she could offer. “We can get you some more chairs. Probably some folding tables. That should make it easier.”
Miriam shook her head. “Oh no. That’s not necessary, Ms. Shandi. We can sit on the floor. We don’t mind at all. We prefer it.”
Shandi didn’t know what to say to that. These people might carry the label of research assistants, but they were only trained monkeys. She bristled at the thought of what Skylar Brooks must have done to these kids.
These kids had fought their way to adulthood, though, and worrying about their upbringing wouldn’t help them now. “Okay. If you say so. Um. Listen. If you don’t mind. Could you give me a copy of whatever you find?”
Miriam looked back at the boys. Shandi hoped that it would be an easy decision, but it required a meeting of the hive mind, likely hinging on how willing Skylar might be on sharing his data.
Miriam’s face twisted up in consternation when she turned back to Shandi, but she gave a curt nod. “Yes, ma’am, Ms. Shandi. We will make sure you get our findings. Just, uh...”
Shandi knew the question without Miriam having to verbalize it. “I won’t tell Mr. Brooks. Don’t worry.”
Miriam looked relieved.
Chapter 22
Jake sat at his small kitchen table when Shandi dropped the book down in front of him. From the cover, Skylar Brooks’ remarkably punchable face stared back at him. He read the title. Opened it. Studied the inky black signature.
Had Shandi gotten him a gift? He did like cryptozoology, so it wouldn’t be terribly out of line for her to think that he might like this. He warmed inside at the thought of her carefully choosing it from a giant shelf of volumes. He pictured her lovingly picking up each book and reading the back, trying to find something that would endear her to him.
“So, this jerk showed up at the paper today,” Shandi said sharply, gesturing to the book in front of Jake.
Okay. So not a gift. Good to know.
Having received no correspondence from Skylar Brooks, he was shocked the man had shown up in Rose Valley. “Really? That’s crazy. I guess he got my email.”
Shandi helped herself to a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sat across from him. She took a swig, then gave Jake a disappointed look. “Oh... my... God. Did you invite this guy to Rose Valley, Jake?”
She didn’t look angry, exactly. More like exasperated. He took it from her earlier description of him that the man lacked certain social charms. At that moment, Jake regretted that he had mentioned the email, and he certainly didn’t want to admit culpability in the potential invitation of Skyler Brooks to Rose Valley.
“Um. I... No, of course not.” Jake tried to sound confident, but failed miserably. “I mean. I didn’t invite him, no. I did email him. At the beginning of all this. After the sheep, here. I thought he might be able to help.”
“Well. I don’t know if he’ll be able to help, but he certainly thinks he can
,” Shandi said, taking another swallow of water.
“That bad, huh?”
“Yeah. He’s got these three... assistants, I guess. They claim to be family, but they act like work horses. Like literally. Trained horses. They’re scared to death of him. This is not a good man.”
“So, what did you do?”
Shandi turned her lips up in a huge devious smile. Her eyes glimmered as she laughed. “I sent him to find Cam.”
Jake burst out laughing. It took him a few beats to find his voice. “Oh boy. I hope Cam doesn’t shoot him.”
“I dunno. I kinda hope he does.”
Jake hadn’t met Skylar Brooks yet, and he trusted Shandi that Skylar’s personality might not have been on point, but he couldn’t help wondering whether he might still be useful. Skylar’s experience and knowledge stretched far beyond what they knew. If he could bring the beast down, surely it would be worth tolerating him.
Jake wanted to bring it up. Suggest that they should work with Skylar. But he also valued where he was with Shandi. It felt right. The subtle shift in their relationship felt genuine and real. And new. He didn’t want to jeopardize it in that moment. She wouldn’t stay at his place forever. Probably just another night or two.
“Anyway. The hive mind—" Shandi started.
“Wait. What? What’s the ‘hive mind’?”
Shandi chuckled. “Oh right. So, his assistants. There’s two boys. One girl. Um... Miriam’s the girl and the boys are Tanner and... I can’t remember. It’s a weird name. The name of the prospector guy in Rudolph.”
“Yukon Cornelius?” Jake said, without even having to think about it.
“Yeah. That’s it. Cornelius. Not the Yukon part. Your recall with movie facts is scary.” There was a teasing glint in her eye.
“What can I say? The skills of a misspent youth.”
He rattled off another movie reference, but Shandi didn’t get that one.
“Yes,” she said. “You were quite the rebel.”