Chasing Shadows

by Lila Bruce

  “Huh? Oh yes,” Mildred said, trying to hide the relief in her voice. Another minute and he would have caught her rifling through the box of gadgets. “The diary that Cam’s friend Jennifer found. Avery and her brought it to use in the séance, since it had the goods on that Bishop character in it.”

  Ramsey frowned. “The uh…goods?”

  “Yes, well, I guess it will all come out now, seeing as how Bishop tipped his hand.”

  “Mrs. Smith,” Ramsey said softly. “I’m not following. Can you explain, please?”

  She knew that Avery was keeping mum on the diary until they had all the evidence they needed, but what the hell. If Avery got mad at her, it wouldn’t be the first time. After all, Mildred mused, how often did she get to relay what was more or less juicy gossip. “So, Jennifer—Cam’s friend? The one who was murdered? She found an old diary that belonged to the girl who used to live here.”

  Looking thoughtful, Ramsey scratched at the stubble on his cheek. “Really?”

  “That’s right,” Mildred nodded. “Turns out the book belonged to this Roxanne that Cam kept calling after tonight. And it’s got a murder in it.”

  “A murder?”

  “Yep, an old murder that happened back a while ago, I guess. This Roxanne says in her diary that she was going to meet a boy named Buddy. She was going to ask him to leave his wife and run away with her. Can you imagine?” Mildred shook her head. “These young girls are all crazy. Anyway, that was the night the girl disappeared and was never seen again. So, obviously he killed her. That’s how it always happens, you know.”

  “It is?”

  Some cop he is. “You don’t watch much TV, do you?”

  He tilted his head to one side, a confused expression on his face. “Mrs. Smith, I’m afraid you lost me somewhere along the way, but I think I’m going to need to collect this diary you’re talking about and get it entered into evidence.”

  She hadn’t expected that one. Avery would certainly be pissed. “Well, I better ask my granddaughter about that first.”

  “Your granddaughter is officially on leave, Mrs. Smith, and, as you say, that diary is evidence in a murder investigation. I’m going to need to take it.”

  Mildred angled a look up at him. “You know, about that—it was pretty shitty of you to take her off the case. She’s the best investigator in that department, and you know it. Hell, she could run rings around that asshole Bishop.”

  “Detective Smith knows why she was removed from the investigation. She was injured at the time with a possible concussion. Plus, there was the issue of her involvement with a potential witness.”

  “Bull,” Mildred grumbled. “I heard about that cockamamie excuse. Give me a break.” She sniffed and crossed her arms, sizing him up. She’d seen enough of his kind over the years. He struck her as the type that would be threatened by the notion of a strong, independent woman like Avery. “It was you that took her off the case. And I’m sure we both know why.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her and loomed closer. “What is it you’re saying, Mrs. Smith?”

  Mildred was suddenly very aware that the house was really quiet around her, and the two of them were alone in the shadowy room. What in the world was the matter with her talking to this man—Avery’s boss—in such a way? And in this eerie old house? She supposed she’d become accustomed in recent years to just speaking her mind, and Avery was always telling her that would get her in trouble someday.

  And where in the hell is everybody, anyway? Nervously, she began to edge toward the door.

  “I-uh-I don’t know. Did I say something? What did I say? I’m an old woman, you know. Forgetful. I do tend to ramble on.” She forced a laugh and quick-stepped around him to go toward the door. His hand shot out and grabbed her forcefully, his fingers biting into her skin. She looked down at it and gasped in surprise.

  “Well, that’s that!” Jane said loudly, coming into the room and dusting her hands together. “Those two crew people just left, going back to their hotel, so we’re the last to leave. Those boys didn’t fool me. They were going to get drunk, more than likely, which doesn’t sound like a bad plan to me. What do you say, Millie, why don’t we….” She stopped and looked at both Mildred and Ramsey curiously. “What in the world’s going on? Millie, why do you look like that?”

  “Uh…like what?” Mildred said, surprised at how weak and tiny her voice suddenly sounded. She glanced up at the man holding her arm so tightly and winced at the expression she saw there. He quickly took a few wide steps toward Jane and grabbed her arm in his other hand. Jane let out a little shriek and tried to pull away.

  “Shut up!” Ramsey said, his voice soft and yet chilling as he leaned down in Jane’s face. “Shut your damn mouth, both of you, and get in here.” He dragged them over to the little old-fashioned sofa in the den and pushed them down. Hard. Jane actually bounced on the seat, her mouth forming a big O, and she glanced over at Mildred in horror.

  Seeing the look on Jane’s face sent a wave of anger through Mildred. “Listen here, you rat bastard,” she growled and then snapped her mouth shut as he pulled out a gun.

  “I said, shut up,” he barked, jamming the barrel of the weapon under her chin. “Now you’re going to tell me what you know! Where’s that fucking diary?”

  “Mildred, Jane!” Cam said brightly from the doorway behind them. “Are you two about ready to go? I’m so tired I swear I could sleep for a week!”

  Ramsey whirled around, his gun pointed straight at Cam. “And you! Coming into town with all your foolishness and starting all this shit up again! If it weren’t for you, none of this would be happening. It’s all your fault.”

  There was a shocked silence as Cam drew in a startled breath and took a step backward, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, Mildred saw Jane reach into her voluminous purse and come out with her little pink taser. Quick as a striking snake, Jane jumped to her feet, held the taser to Ramsey’s back, and pulled the trigger.

  His whole body froze and went completely rigid, his muscles locking down. He fell forward with an agonized cry of pain, face down on the floor, his body already jerking as his muscles spasmed.

  Cam screamed, and they both ran toward her, sidestepping Ramsey’s body as they moved.

  Mildred had seen enough episodes of Cops over the years to know that the taser wouldn’t have him down for very long. Pushing Jane out in front of her, Mildred grabbed Cam by the arm and cried out, “Haul ass, ladies!”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Cam wondered if she were in shock as she stumbled across the back porch and down the steps at the back of the Johnston house. Maybe that was why she was so cold and shaking so hard.

  Chief Ramsey? Of all the people in the world that Cam would have imagined to be the murderer, he was the last on the list. Walking in to see him holding a gun on Mildred, and then pointing that same gun at her? Cam bit down on her lip and tried to control herself. There was a lot to work out about all this, and now wasn’t the time to do it.

  Beside her, Jane tripped over a tree root and would have fallen if Cam hadn’t shot out her arm to break the fall. Mildred took Jane’s other arm and steadied her from her side as they shot off again, running flat out for the woods behind the house. Cam never would have thought to take the back exit and would have blindly run down the driveway, making a perfect target for that gun Ramsey had brandished at her. That decision had been made by Jane, who had sprinted out in front of them and led them both to the back door. They crashed through it, the three of them almost getting stuck like the three stooges before breaking free and careening across the porch.

  “The woods!” Jane shouted back to them, and they ran that way, Cam immediately regretting the high heels she was wearing. A crashing sound behind them gave her wings though, and they scurried into the darkness. The woods had a thick undergrowth, and it was hard to make their way through it. The crashing sounds were getting louder behind them, and Cam had to admit to feeling fu
ll blown panic as she struggled along, vines grabbing at her ankles and tree limbs poking her hair.

  She’d thought she’d had moments of fear before. Even times she’d been so nervous she thought she’d pass out, like the time she’d been nominated for an Emmy for the show they did at Dracula’s castle in Transylvania. But that had only been nerves—not the sheer, unadulterated terror she felt now. And it wasn’t only for herself, but for Jane and Mildred, these two scrappy little old ladies who had shown more guts in the last few minutes than Cam had thought possible. Jane was still clutching her taser, and Mildred had even had the presence of mind to grab an old broom handle as they ran past it on the porch. She wasn’t quite sure what they’d do with a broom handle, but by God they had one, just in case.

  In case of what? An unforeseen sweeping emergency?

  As clear as if she’d been beside her, Cam suddenly heard Avery’s voice in her head. Even though she knew it was only in her imagination, it comforted her somewhat, because it was exactly what Avery would have said in her quiet, dry way.

  Don’t just stand there being sarcastic, she answered Avery in her mind. Tell me what to do!

  Clear as a bell, the answer came. Hide.

  Of course! They needed to hide. It was pitch-black dark in these woods, and with even a little bit of luck, Ramsey might not be able to find them. She stopped running so fast that Mildred crashed into her with a little “Oof!”

  Cam turned to steady her and whispered in her ear. “Find a place to hide until he passes by. He’s right behind us.” Mildred nodded and stumbled off to find Jane in the dark. Cam could hear a hurriedly hushed-up whisper and then nothing.

  She turned around in a circle, frantic to find a place to hide, and spotted a big bush, just a few feet away. She ran over and crouched down behind it, and just in time, too, because in another minute, Ramsey himself came crashing through the little clearing she’d stopped in. He stood still for a moment, catching his breath and listening for them. He was no more than two feet away from where Cam was hiding. She held her breath, wondering if he could possibly hear her heart thumping loudly in her chest. Probably not, but he stood for a long time, not moving and just waiting, his breathing harsh and labored. Finally, finally, he started creeping forward again. And that’s when something large and squishy fell down her blouse. She clapped a hand over it so it couldn’t fall any farther and fished it out with one trembling finger. Whatever it was fell down on her lap, and she squinted in the dim light to make out what it might be. It was the largest goddamned spider she’d ever seen in her life, long and black with a yellow streak running up its back. It picked up one of its slender legs and began to crawl slowly up her thigh. Cam couldn’t help the gasp that escaped from her lips as she jumped up and started swiping wildly at the spider.

  Ramsey turned at the sound and fired, the bullet striking the tree beside her head. Splinters of wood exploded from the old pine, biting into Cam’s arm and neck. “Don’t shoot!” she screamed as he advanced on her, the gun outstretched in front of him.

  “Don’t run again, you bitch,” he growled. And then he suddenly reared back, his body going rigid as he gritted his teeth and made a sound like “Aaahhhgggggg!” before falling to the ground. Jane stepped out from behind him, the taser still crackling in her hand.

  Mildred was right behind her. She drew back the broom handle and brought it down over Ramsey’s head with a loud cracking sound. “Take that, you murdering old fart!” She looked up at Cam. “Come on, girl. Let’s run for the car!”

  Remind me never to get on her bad side. Cam followed after Mildred, pausing just long enough to throw a quick glance down at Ramsey, who lay twitching on the ground.

  “He won’t be out long,” Mildred called back at her. “Get a move on, we need to get to the car.”

  Deciding that the high heels were holding her back, Cam kicked them off and ran after Mildred in just her pantyhose. She quickly discovered that the only thing worse than running through the backwoods of Alabama in the dead of night being chased by a crazed killer while wearing high heeled shoes, was doing so barefoot. Finally catching up to Mildred and Jane, who had stopped to wait on her in a small clearing, Cam, out of breath, and with a stitch in her side, stumbled to a stop. “Where are you going? The cars are all back at the house.”

  “Not ours. The cops had already blocked off the driveway when we got here, so we had to park off to the side of the road and walk to the house.” Mildred pointed one arthritic finger. “It’s just over that way.”

  Cam leaned down and winced as she pulled something small and thorny out of the bottom of her foot. “You do have the keys, right?”

  “Right here.” Jane tapped on the side of her purse, which was miraculously still hanging on her shoulder. She reached inside and pulled out the keys. Holding them up in the air, she clicked the key fob and Cam saw a flash of headlights a few yards ahead. Her eyes having finally adjusted to the dark, Cam could see the main road they’d traveled on to get to the house, and beside it, a gravel cutoff. She noticed, then, moonlight shining off a small lake just beyond where Mildred’s car was parked.

  Cam wiped her hand on the front of her dress and shook her head. Here I am half dead and barefoot and Jane looks like she’s just back from a trip to Walmart.

  “Cam, I was just thinking,” Mildred took a step forward and placed an arthritic hand on Cam’s arm, “just in case something were to happen to, uh, one of us, maybe you’d better tell us where you put Loralyn’s peach cobbler recipe.”

  “What?”

  “You know, for perpetuity’s sake.”

  “For perpetuity’s sake?” Cam frowned in disbelief. Surely to God the old woman was not bringing up that damned peach cobbler recipe now of all times.

  “That’s right,” Mildred said, exchanging glances with Jane—who smiled as she nodded her agreement.

  “Mrs. Smith, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m about three seconds from taking that recipe and sticking it—”

  Cam’s words were cut short by the sound of boots crunching on underbrush. Mildred gave her a wide-eyed look that said she’d heard the sound, too.

  Damn it. “Come on, run!” Cam said in a whispered yell. Mildred and Jane didn’t have to be told twice and took off in a sprint. Cam trailed after them, half-limping / half-running, wondering at the stamina of the two older women, though to be fair to herself, they weren’t barefoot. To her utter relief, as they approached the car, she saw headlights heading down the gravel road toward them, and she stopped for a moment to wait for them to get closer. As she did, another shot rang out over their heads.

  “Oh my God!” Cam cried out in horror as she saw Jane fall. She raced ahead and fell to her knees beside the prone woman. Ignoring the bite of gravel into her skin, she said, “Jane, are you okay? Where are you hurt?”

  “I’m okay, honey,” the elderly woman said, rising up from the ground. “I was just taking evasive action.”

  Cam blew out a sigh of relief. “You scared me to death. Get up, Jane, please. He’s right behind us!”

  “Stop running!” came a loud shout behind them. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”

  “He’s shooting anyway,” Mildred yelled back at them. “Run.”

  Mildred suddenly ran directly toward the little dock at the lake, and after a moment, Cam saw why as a little puff of dirt flew up beside the car. Another one came on its heels, and there was a loud pop as one of the bullets hit the tire. He was blocking their path. Cam pulled Jane along with her as she followed Mildred to the dock.

  Once there, Cam realized their mistake. Now on the dock, they had nowhere left to run. Beyond was the lake, murky and still in the moonlight. In the dim light she could see a dark scum growing on top of it. In fact, she could smell it—a damp, green smell, an almost evil odor, like what was coming for them, bearing down on them now with no escape possible. The only thing they could do was turn around and face it.

  ****

  Avery ordered Hobbs to turn the I
mpala off the paved road and onto the gravel cutoff as soon as their headlights had caught sight of her grandmother running through the open field that lay beside it. She didn’t see them, but assumed Jane and Cam were out there with her. Avery frowned at the thought of who would be chasing them and why.

  She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to Hobbs. “Stay here by the car until the others get here.”

  Hobbs, his lips tight, cut the engine. “I know what you think, Avery, but you’ve got to be wrong. I’ve known him my whole life. Uncle Steve may be a lot of things, but he’s not a killer.”

  Shaking her head, she gave a terse sigh. “Hobbs, we don’t have a lot of time right now. What you do here tonight will mold your career and the rest of your life. For now, I’m asking that you just do your job and don’t think about who’s involved.”

  Looking like he was holding back tears, he nodded. “I-I’ll try.”

  His words were echoed by the sound of gunshots.

  Avery’s breath caught in her throat and all conscious thought was lost as she fumbled with the door handle and almost fell out of the car. She raced in the darkness toward the sound, hearing Hobbs’s boots slipping on the gravel behind her. Fear gripped her hard, but she shook it off. Her grandmother and Jane and Cam were all counting on her. She was all they had standing between them and a killer.

  As she neared the lake, running in a crouch to the ground, she could hear her grandmother’s voice.

  “What’s your plan here, dumb ass?” Mildred screamed at Ramsey, who was walking slowly forward on the dock where they all stood. Avery could see Cam standing in front of Mildred and Jane, holding Mildred back with an outstretched arm. “To shoot us? Do you really think anyone will believe you didn’t murder us? You’ll never get away with it!”

  Avery knelt beside a “No Fishing” sign that stood at the edge of the dock. If Ramsey saw her now, there’d be no hope for any of them.