“What made you think it was alright with me for you to bring this man into my home unannounced?” Alese Bricken scolded Bart like a five-year old. Bart lowered his head and shrugged his shoulders.
“Get yourself a cup of coffee and sit!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Bart looked to Josiah then Pastor Lucas. Josiah shot Bart a kid-silly smile and the pastor raised a disapproving eyebrow.
Bart used his left palm as a headrest and traced countless figure eights in the cup of coffee he’d been ordered to take to the table. A nerve-wracking clink sounded each time the spoon touched the edge. He studied the swirling liquid, looking for an answer like one does from a cup of tea leaves.
“Stop that noise, Bartholomew.”
Bart sighed and placed his spoon in the saucer.
Grandma Bricken’s green eyes focused on Ken. Ken held her gaze. The silent battle went on for an eternity.
“Nice of you to come out of hiding.”
“I wasn’t in hiding. I was working.”
“No phones in Anchorage?”
Ken dropped his head and stared at the patterned linoleum. He had been in hiding and now he had been called on it. He raised his eyes. “You look good, Mrs. Bricken.”
“Can’t say the same for you. Want something to drink or eat?”
“No. Can’t stay long. Just didn’t want to miss seeing you.” His soft voice resonated with warmth.
Well, you aren’t going to leave right this minute, Kenneth Melbourne. Sit down. I have a lot to say to you.”
Relief flooded Bart when his cell chirped. “Be right there.”
“What’s up?”
Deep lines were chiseled into Bart’s young face when he turned to Ken. “Seems there’s another body.”
Pastor Lucas echoed, “another?”
“Well, guess I’ll make it official. Gordy’s death looks suspicious and Gary was definitely murdered yesterday and found at Old Town. Cassie just called saying there’s another one.”
“Is it the reporter?”
“I don’t know but why would you ask, Paul?”
“A dream. A very troubling dream.”
The smile left Josiah’s face. “Are you sure it was a dream?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been having troubling dreams since last October. In the last week, I’ve been having them every night. I’ve been fighting the thought that something wicked has entered Ravens Cove again.”
Ken clicked a thumbnail across his forefinger. “That’s improbable.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling myself, too.”
A malicious laugh flooded Bart’s mind right before terror hit hard and a foul mental picture rocketed out of Bart’s subconscious. A very dead and hollow-eyed John Doe swam into view. He felt the fiery bite that shot up his arm and to his brain. He saw the barrel of a .357 Magnum inches from his face. Remember the terror and hopelessness. Trepaneer breathed the lies into Bart’s consciousness.
Bart waved a hand past his right ear, smacked the invisible demon in the stomach and sent it flying. “I can’t do this right now. Coming Melbourne?”
Ken almost jumped off the kitchen doorway he’d used for a back rest. “Definitely.”
“We’re not finished, Kenneth.” Grandma called after him.
Bart and Ken reached the front door before Ken exhaled.
“She’s a tough one. And you’ll be explaining yourself. She doesn’t let go.”
“I know. And I feel terrible that I am grateful for a body to break me free from Grandma’s interrogation.”
Bart smiled. “She’s tough, but she’s also fair.” He remembered the several talkings to he’d received from his great-aunt. The most recent of which had been about his love life—or lack thereof. “She’s the only woman who can meddle in my life and get away with it.”
“Let’s go see what Cassie found. Maybe it’s something else and just looks like a body to her. She was a bit traumatized from the last incident, too.”
“True.”
Grandma watched the taillights shrink to the size of confetti dots. A sense of dread had come over her since that last phone call to Bart.
“Dear God, please help our town. We are once again under siege. I prayed before they brought those awful buildings in, Lord. I prayed for Your will and Your protection. You do not fail those that rely on You. Please protect Kenneth and Bart as they go into that domain of evil. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
She returned to the kitchen, oddly silent.
“God is with them, Alese.”
She smiled and sat down at the table. “Josiah, I was against them bringing those old buildings here. You know Ravens Cove and my ancestors abound in legends. Well, those old buildings are another legend of the evil that has permeated this place since I can remember. I can’t shake the feeling that we are going into another battle. Worse than the one we fought in Ravens Ravine.”
“What is the story?” Paul asked.
“I don’t know it well. The buildings came from an old mining town, several miles north on the Inlet. That mining town has been called the Forgotten Place since the day a hunting party returned to the settlement and found everyone in it dead. It was declared cursed and no one, but no one, dared go there. My people are not from that area but heeded the warning just the same. I don’t know anymore about it, but there is someone in Ravens Cove who does. I just don’t know how we are going to get to see her. Too cold to walk. And too old to learn to drive.” She gave a quick smile.
“How about I see if Tanya’ll let me go just a little longer and I’ll take you where you need to go. And where is that anyway?”
“Mrs. Tellamoot. Her blood comes from the Forgotten Place.”
“Can I use your phone? Sometimes it’s best to give my other half a heads-up when plans are going to change.”
“Of course.”
Paul returned in a couple of minutes, a broad smile on his lips. “Tanya is thrilled. She’s almost finished with some new curtains to dress up the very old windows at our house. She’ll be busy for a couple of hours. I’ll get the car. Can you be ready in thirty minutes?”
“Sure can. Thanks so much.”
“Are you kidding? I should be thanking you. The culture and legends here are mesmerizing. It’s a privilege to take you. I’ll be back before you know it.” Paul headed out the door.
“I’m going to gather a few things to take with.” Alese walked into her ample pantry, came out with two paper bags full of food and set them by the front door.
“You are a thoughtful and generous woman, Alese Bricken.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
“Hello, Gram.” Kat called from the entry.
“In here.”
“What’s with the groceries in the front hall?”
“We’re on our way to Bernice Tellamoot’s. Want to come?”
“I just came from there. She’s doing fine so maybe you can go tomorrow.”
“We need to see her tonight. There’s been another murder in Old Town. Bernice knows about those old buildings.”
“I’m in.”
The honk of a horn announced Paul’s arrival.
“Right on time.”
Josiah scooped the bags up into his right arm and offered the left to Alese. “You hold on.”
“Always the gentleman, Josiah Williams.” She looped her arm through his.
Paul smiled at them both before jumping out of the car to open the trunk. Josiah deposited Grandma into the front seat, and ducked into the back alongside Kat. The quartet set off to talk to Mrs. Tellamoot.
Bart and Ken pulled onto Willowbend Circle. Cassie ran for the passenger side before Bart cut the engine. “Can I go home now—please?”
“Not just yet, but soon.” Bart stepped down from the truck.
“How exactly did you discover this body?” Ken asked as Cassie backed away from the passenger side and let him out.
Cassie shot Ken a cold glare before she turned to Bart. “I was on my way home when I he
ard a loud noise. I didn’t go past the sign but I peeked in and saw a dark shape blocking the light— it’s between the old house and that horrible rock-thing. I know I saw pants and the bottom of a shoe on one side. I just know it. Can I please go home now?”
“Did you see anyone else?”
“No. The place is as quiet as a tomb. Eerie quiet.” She shuddered. Caroline put her arm around Cassie. “If you have more questions, can’t you come see us at home?”
“Were you with her when she made this discovery?”
“No, she called me and I didn’t want her to be by herself. I came right over.” Caroline’s tone became defensive.
Bart closed his notebook and looked at Cassie. She was pale and shivering. “Take her on home. I’ll come over if I need anything more.”
Ken watched them disappear into the night. “Well, there goes all hope of keeping the rumors from flying. Main will be abuzz tomorrow.”
“You’ve learned the first lesson of small town living, Grasshopper.”
“And I was worried I’d never understand how you think.”
“You don’t but keep trying.”
Ken squinted toward the buildings. “Sure enough there’s something behind the rock and in front of the old house.”
“And, if I’m not mistaken, I see the sole of a shoe. I was really hoping Cassie was wrong.” Bart took off at a fast clip toward the boulder.
Ken came alongside and looked at the corpse. He followed an imaginary line to the top floor of the old house. “I think it’s safe to assume he exited the old house through that.” He pointed at the broken attic window.
Bart nodded and then turned his attention back to the corpse. “Take a look at this.”
Ken scrutinized the sticky-looking puddle that used to be a human being. The legs bent away from each other at the knee. The effect was an unnatural L shape. “Okay, let me in on your secret.”
“Legs are broken. So were Gary’s. But that’s different.” Bart pointed to the torso. A deep red stain surrounded an oval-shaped chest wound. Flesh lay on either side of a gaping hole that had once been a throat.
Ken looked at the face. Purple and black oozed from the eyes. “Iconoclast is back.”
“Or someone wants us to think he is! The legend says he was defeated and can’t return.”
“He can’t return to Ravens Ravine. Nothing says he couldn’t return to the area. But the question is why here and how?”
“I’m going with a copycat.”
“I should follow your lead. My reputation, not to mention career, is already on shaky ground. If this is Iconoclast, I don’t see Agent in my title much longer.”
Doc Billings drove up and the funeral home hearse came up right behind him.
“We’re going to have to hire a regular CSI unit, this keeps up.” Billings knelt down beside the corpse. He slipped his right hand into a latex glove and probed the pockets.
He held up a wallet. “Jonathan Campo.” He turned the ID photo toward Bart and Ken.
“Body’s too degraded to confirm that by a visual ID. But we’ll get what we can and have the M.E. in Anchorage confirm the identity.”
“I saw Campo earlier today. In fact, he was smiling, which is unusual for him.”
“You mean that newspaper guy from this morning?” Ken asked.
“Newspaper and town council, don’t forget.”
“Well, if he weren’t in such a state of decomp, I’d say we need to look at a few people—he has to have made enemies. Wouldn’t that be a great find!” Hope laced Ken’s words.
Bart gave Ken a disbelieving look then turned. “Thanks, Doc. Let me know when you finish your initial autopsy.” Bart started for the front door. Ken followed.
“Locked up tight.”
“Then, how’d he get in at all?”
“Don’t know but I’m going to ask the only one with keys to this place.”
The heavy sound of boots echoed through Old Town five minutes later. “Who is it?” Mayor Orthell reached into his pocket with a shaky hand.
“Haven’t got a positive ID.” Bart put his hand out for the key.
“Can’t let you go in without me, Bart. I’m liable.”
“Can’t let you go in at all. It’s a crime scene.”
“I’m the mayor.”
“I’m the police chief unless you want to fire me right now. Then you can go on in and I’ll go home to a nice warm house and cozy bed.”
Orthell slapped the keys into Bart’s hand.
“I want them back tonight.”
“Will do.” Bart gave a mock salute to the Tommy Orthell’s back and turned on his heel.
“That didn’t sound too good.”
“It wasn’t. Sure I’ll hear more about it at the next council meeting. For now, let’s get inside.”
The front door gave a begrudging creak. Bart, then Ken, stepped onto a polished wood floor. A large staircase dwarfed the entry hall.
“Spared no expense on this one.”
Ken walked up beside Bart while taking in the grandiosity of the main floor. “Seems out of place for small-town Alaska.”
Imported wool runners in a cream background with red and blue designs, led the way to the second floor. They climbed the three steps that led to a left wing. That floor ended at one bedroom adjacent to a nursery. They backtracked to the upstairs landing and took another set of three steps to the right wing. They investigated the four smaller bedrooms and an ornate washroom—complete with a tub, sink, and toilet. At the end of the hall a narrow set of dull and well-used steps led to the third floor.
At the top and to the left of the steps was an austere-looking bedroom. A one-by-two-foot window adorned the middle of a dormer. It overlooked the forest. On the right side of the hallway was a closed door. It opened into the rest of the attic. Odds and ends greeted them behind the entry. A rusty iron headboard was still attached to a dirt-covered mattress.
Ken and Bart followed a cold draft to the front of the attic. Pieces of wood dangled from a broken window frame. Red-tinged shards of glass jutted out of the splintered wood and glinted ominously each time the breeze moved them. Blood trails ended at the windowsill.
“I don’t see any large stains. With those wounds, there should be something around here.”
Ken turned from the window and walked to Bart who stood in the middle of the attic. Dust, the color of sand, filtered through the flashlight beam. The smudged light illuminated an area in transition.
Unopened boxes were stacked in neat columns, while others gaped open with their insides discarded in a pile. Farther in, several had toppled onto their lids and sides. A dark liquid stained the back wall and floor. A trail of blood smeared a path to the window.
“Well, we know where he was before he went out the window,” Ken said as he walked toward the wall. “But, how did he get in here? The place was locked up tight.”
“Must have been in here before it got locked. There’s still not enough blood to account for the wounds, though.”
“Look at this.”
A larger puddle of blood lay in a half circle against the wall. It crept farther into the room as it continued to seep through the wall.
“There must be another room behind this wall.” Bart put his ear close to the wall, knocked and listened for any tonal differences.
“I’m heading outside to look for any sign of one.”
Bart gave a quick nod, then turned back to pound the wall again.
Ken came back in shaking his head. “That wall is the outside of the house. I could hear you knocking, plain as day.”
“Well, then how’d it get behind the wall?”
Ken rubbed a thumb on his chin, studying the dark pool. “You know, if the body was facing the wall when the heart was torn out, the force of the arterial blood may have been just enough to force it under the floorboards.”
“Seems unlikely.”
“Got a better idea as to how blood is seeping out of a one-foot thick wall?”
“Can’t say as I do,” Bart conceded. “So, until I do, we’ll go with your scenario. Let’s get this wound up. I want to return this key to the mayor.”
“You really are going to return it tonight?”
“Sure.” Bart smiled. “Then I’ll have a good reason to talk to him about how Campo got locked up here in the first place.”
When they walked back outside, the night sky had stooped so close Ken felt he could reach out and touch each fiery white star. A small green curtain shimmered in the distance.
“I’ve never seen the northern lights. They’re almost magical.”
“That’s a small show. Stick around, Melbourne; you can see something much more amazing.” They disappeared toward Main.
A piercing screech summoned four small beings to the courtyard. Venenose materialized at the broken window overlooking skull-rock. The four bowed.
“Dacoit needs.” He pointed a knobby black finger at the skull. “You let two get away.”
“Iconoclast ordered stealth. We took one tonight.” Nihilist answered.
“You fool! Iconoclast ordered you to take a victim unseen— not to limit the number.” He pointed again and Dacoit growled, then moved. “If you fail again, you are his next meal. Go!”
The four bowed in unison before scampering for the safety of the forest.
Nihilist stopped at the edge. “I swear by the dirt you live under that you are the fool, Venenose. When the time comes, I will destroy you and take this town for my people.”
Ken and Bart veered to a walkway between the town hall and the library. They made their way to the leaded glass door of a large house. A plain, clear glass storm door with a brass kickplate covered the ornate one. Bart opened the storm and knocked.
A petite woman with curly brown hair greeted them.
“Hi Bart.”
“Hi, Maureen. Tommy here?”
“He’s down in the basement. Come on in.”
Maureen disappeared through a door under the stairs.
Ken took the opportunity to get some insight into the mayor of Ravens Cove. The house was modest and yet screamed elegance. There was a cold-looking seascape to the left of the entry. A large rock protruded from the ocean and angry waves broke over it. Almost invisible seabirds flew low over the water. Ken leaned in. It was an original oil painting. He couldn’t make out the name.
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