She parked the car and approached the gates. She noticed a security system that seemed to control the gates’ mechanism. It didn’t appear that the gates were designed to prevent entry, but merely suggested a borderline.
She slid through the side opening to the driveway, cautiously walked to the front door, and rang the doorbell. No answer. She stepped back and studied the house. Tucked into tall trees, the building had a splendid view of the serene lake, and stood nestled against the hill that slanted down from the main road. All the windows were closed with the curtains drawn.
“Andrew,” she called out. “Andrew! It’s me, Karla.”
She walked around toward the back of the house. “Andrew, if you’re here, please say so.” She shouted, “I saw you driving the Jeep last night—I’m sure you’re around here.”
From the back of the house she spotted an old boat tied to a small pier down the hill. “Andrew!” She yelled.
Her voice echoed through the forest. Only the birds answered. She examined the house one more time, returned to her car, and drove back into town.
15
The Disclosure
“James,” Sarah reached for his arm as they strolled along the lakeshore. “I can describe the house where the first woman—the older woman—died. It’s a plantation-style home.” She furrowed her brow. “Although, come to think if it, the house I just saw, looked way bigger than the first one.”
“Is that where you were?”
She nodded. “How long this time?”
“You were silent a minute or two. Not long.”
“And I continued walking with you?”
“Without hesitation. The fact that you’re detaching so often tells me that you’re getting closer and closer to the woman you’re supposed to help.”
She looked around the lake in search of the house, but to no avail.
“From here, I can’t find anything resembling what was shown to me.” She turned on her heels and took off. “C’mon, we need to drive around this lake and explore some of the small roads that lead down to it. Let’s go.”
James chased after her. “Listen, Sarah. I’m all for doing the gumshoe bit, but it’s nearly dusk, in case you hadn’t noticed. Not a good idea to go searching for this house in the dark. Clear Lake is very big and you’ve only seen a small—”
“How big?”
“It’s the biggest lake in California.”
“Bigger than Lake Tahoe?”
“Tahoe is bigger, of course, but technically, part of it is in Nevada. Clear Lake is huge and has many communities, coves, points, and—”
“That’s going to make the search very difficult. How in the name of God are we supposed to find it?”
“I’m sure you’ll be guided when it’s time, but we certainly can’t find it when it’s dark.”
“True. I hadn’t noticed it’s almost sunset for us. It was daytime in the vision I had.”
“Hmm. That’s interesting. If it’s daytime for the story and nearly night for us, you may be catching up. At least we may be within twenty-four hours of her, given what you’ve told me.”
“If that’s the case, it’s even more urgent that we find her.”
“I’ll tell you what, let’s get a quick bite and afterwards I’ll take you back to your cabin. Maybe when you’re alone tonight more information will come to you.”
Sarah took a deep breath. “I am hungry, now that you mention it. Bet you are, too.”
“You win that bet.” When they reached the car, he stopped. “She’s becoming more comfortable with me. I don’t sense that strong resistance any longer.”
Sarah raised her eyebrows. “She?”
He tilted his head and his brows arched as well. “How about that? It’s a woman. She’s allowed me that.”
“Can you feel her presence?”
“No. And I can’t hear or see her, either. C’mon, let’s hunt down some food and get you back to your cabin. I’ll connect with the chief and give him the latest developments. Maybe they’ll find the key given we’re now in search of a set of twins.”
Sarah grabbed his arm. “I’m not sure it’s the twins.”
“Maybe not, but we can take a look. At least it’s a possibility.”
She tightened her grip on his arm. “No, no! It’s not certain.”
He placed his hand over hers. “I’ll make sure to tell them it could be a red herring, but it’s worth looking into it.”
“I’m very uneasy about that.”
“You or she?”
Sarah paused. “Both of us.”
James gave her a conciliatory nod. “I’ll caution them, all right?”
She released his arm. “I’ll drive while you’re on the phone.”
“No need. I’ve got blue tooth in the car.”
She laughed. “You don’t trust me. You’re worried I’ll detach and lose myself in the story. Can’t say I blame you.”
“I trust you, but I don’t trust your entity, at least not yet.”
Allusion
Karla opened the door to the Pines Diner and stepped in.
Elisa and the elderly couple were in the exact same positions they’d occupied the night before. Several other tables and booths were occupied with patrons eating and chatting. The television played a cooking show.
Elisa greeted her with a grin. “Good afternoon, sweetie. You know the drill, sit anywhere you like.”
“Hello, Elisa.”
“Hungry?”
“A tuna salad and some iced tea please.”
“Tuna and tea coming right up.”
Karla picked a table and sat back as Elisa disappeared behind the counter. Moments later she reappeared with the iced tea, and stood by Karla’s table, waiting.
“Yes?” Karla asked.
“Thought maybe you’d like to ask me some questions for that story you’re writing.” She winked. “Always dreamed of seeing my name in the paper. Ned said I might make it into the paper if I opened up to you.” She grinned.
“Sure thing. Please join me.”
Elisa squeezed into a chair across from Karla.
“What can you tell me about the McKenzies?” Karla asked.
“They’re good people. Real hard working, church going, and all that, except that boy Andrew. He was always different.”
A bell rang by the kitchen counter. “That’s your salad. Give me a moment.” She sashayed all the way to the kitchen counter and picked up the salad. On her way back she grabbed a basket with crackers and a holder with four plastic bottles.
“Here you go, hon.” She resumed her seat across from Karla. “These are our salad dressings, made right here and with no preservatives.”
“Thanks. But if it’s not too much trouble, could I have some lemon wedges?”
“Sure, no bother. In a sec.” She turned toward the kitchen, and called out, “Jimmy, cut me some lemon wedges she can squeeze.” She returned her gaze to Karla. “Watch, he’ll plop the dish on the counter in no time.”
Moments later, Jimmy placed a little bowl with lemon wedges on the kitchen counter.
“Didn’t I tell you? He’s quick. Be right back.” Elisa pushed her chair back, and strutted toward the kitchen counter, grabbed the bowl, and zigzagged back to the table. She set the lemon wedges down, and plopped onto a different chair next to Karla.
“Anyways, them McKenzies kept pretty much to themselves, on account of having so much money.” She leaned back, making herself at home.
Karla squeezed the lemon wedges over her salad. “Did they have any special friends in the town?”
“Sure. Lots. We all used to go over to the mansion all the time, the one by the lake.”
Karla nodded.
“They invited us common folks for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas parties. They were something
else, I’ll tell you.”
“Didn’t you say they kept to themselves?”
“That, too.”
“I’m afraid I don’t get your meaning.”
“Well, it was like this. You knew who they were and where they lived, and of course what they did, and how rich they were, and all that stuff, but that was all you knew. Get it?”
“I guess so. What about the two boys, didn’t they go to school here?”
“You mean Robert Junior and Gabriel?”
Karla chewed and swallowed before answering. “No, I meant Martha’s children.”
“Oh, I get it.” She leaned close. “Well, that’s a story. After Jennifer died things went bad. No more parties at the mansion and the kids were kept far away from us townsfolk. Them boys were what they call home-schooled. They had a bunch of tutoring. Yeah, that’s what they called it.”
“Why do you suppose things changed?”
“Well, Jenny’s death. Awful business that was. Martha was real shook up. The boys were little but it’s clear that they were—well, disturbed, I’d say.”
“Yes, I can only imagine. What did you mean when you said that Andrew was different?”
“Them boys were like mirrors of each other. You couldn’t tell them apart when they were little. They dressed them the same, cut their hair the same, it was something to behold. Yes sir, the spittin’ image of each other. But after the accident, and as they grew up, Andrew, he—well he let his hair grow and went all hippie-like, he was moody, and took to roaming the woods. Mostly at night.”
“When he was that little?”
“God, yes. Many a time they formed search parties ‘cause he’d gone missing out there.” She leaned closer to Karla. “Not once did he get found.”
“Really?”
Pleased with herself at having aroused Karla’s attention, Elisa leaned back and crossed her arms. “He came back on his own every time.”
“So, he wasn’t actually lost.”
“Not as far as he was concerned. I tell you that boy was different. He sort of knew how to talk to the wild. Like one of them beasts out there instead of a boy.”
“Really?”
Elisa beamed with satisfaction. “A wild one he was.”
“And Daryl?”
“A papa’s boy all the way,” she said dismissively. So prim, so proper, and always glued to his daddy.”
Karla finished her salad and sipped her iced tea while she mulled over this new information.
Elisa, unable to withstand Karla’s silence, finally spoke up. “They all went away for a long while—at least Martha and the boys.” She tilted her head back as she searched her memory banks. “I suppose Mary Ellen went, too. She has loads of foreign stuff in that cabin of hers.”
“Where did they go?”
“Some other country is what I was told. France, I think. Where Gabriel lived.”
“They went to stay with him?”
Elisa shrugged. “Dunno. They could’ve—after all, they were family.”
“And Robert McKenzie, their father? What happened with him?”
“He stayed behind. He came here often, and when he wasn’t here, I imagine he’d go to their place in the city or over to Napa. He kept an eye on the business. Good thing he did, too. Folks around here needed the work from his tree farms and wineries. Still do.”
“Did the boys ever come back?”
“Yeah, early in their teens. They looked different from one another by then, mind ya’. Andrew with the long hair, gypsy-like all the way, and Daryl all proper and fancy, a carbon copy of his daddy. One day we got wind that Andrew had been shipped off to some fancy school. Later Daryl went off to school, too, or something like that.”
“Does either of them come here anymore?”
“We saw them here and there over the years, mostly Andrew, but Daryl too, sometimes.” She leaned forward. “Some folks say they’ve seen him recently. I haven’t.”
“Him?”
“Andrew.”
“Tell me more about him. What did he do when he was younger?”
“Not much more to say, really. He painted strange things on walls and pavements and scared his poor mama to death by disappearing into the woods all the time. Bet he didn’t amount to much.”
Karla finished her iced tea and reached for her purse.
“Oh, that’s okay. This one’s on the house,” Elisa said with a wink.
“Thank you, but it’s not necessary.”
“Sure it is, honey. Shall I tell you more?”
“Thank you Elisa, you’re most generous. I’d like that, but I need to get to the registrar’s office and check something out.”
Elisa leaned over and whispered conspiratorially to Karla. “Bet you Andrew is the one who killed all those women.”
Karla felt her mouth go dry. “What women?”
Elisa made a face to shush Karla and glanced around to make sure no one had heard her. She motioned for Karla to lean closer. “Just my opinion, mind you, but there were these women found in the lake over in Rosewood—”
“Rosewood?”
“A town by the lake, several miles from here. Anyway, these women, the kind that men pick up in bars, well, they kept disappearing left and right. Poor souls.”
“When?”
“This is some years back, mind you.” Elisa got even closer to Karla, practically tilting her over. “Anyways, two of these old good-for-nothing women turned up dead and washed ashore on the lake.” She shook her head in disgust. “The sheriffs made a big thing of it. They came through the town asking questions, stirring everything up. They couldn’t find a thing.” She leaned back in the chair for a dramatic pause, tilted forward, then whispered, “And, what do those fools say now? Martha McKenzie drowns herself? Please.” She leaned back and grinned, satisfied that she had presented conclusive evidence of something incontrovertible.
Karla could only stare at her.
Disappointed, Elisa frowned. “Don’t you get it?” Karla shook her head. “Martha’s been coming to Clear Lake with her family to swim since she was a little girl. Her folk’s vacation home down in the eastern south lake was a beauty, right by the water. That girl knew how to swim before she learned to walk. It’s as plain as day.”
“So?”
Elisa rolled her eyes, leaned forward, and drew Karla toward her. “Martha figured out who had killed all them women. So, he had to kill her, too.” Satisfied, she sat back, folded her arms, and smirked. “Newspapers said feared drowned. But, I know better. No way in hell Martha could drown. No way.”
“You can’t mean to say that Andrew killed his own mother?”
“I sure do.”
Karla bolted up, pushing her chair back. “Thank you, Elisa.” Without looking back she hastened out of the diner, desperate for fresh air.
16
The Exposure
“The gossip is that that one of the twins killed his own mother,” Sarah whispered.
James half smiled at her from across the booth in the roadside coffee shop where they had stopped for a quick meal. “There you are,” he said with mock recognition. “Welcome back.”
Sarah realized she held a hamburger in one hand and a French-fry in the other. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, suddenly aware of how silly she looked. “How long was I suspended like this?” She bit into the fry.
“A minute or so. You got out of the car and came in here perfectly fine, although I knew your mind was clearly elsewhere. It’s truly amazing.”
“Did I order my food?”
“No, I did. You don’t speak, but you look like you’re here in the moment. You’re completely aware of your surroundings while your mind is occupied elsewhere.”
“Oh, boy. That’s got to be freaky.”
“I find it remarkable. It’s a bit like
when one is driving and our mind is deciphering a problem or some such thing. We function perfectly behind the wheel, but we may overshoot our destination. That certainly has happened to me.”
“James, any of the spirits around here recognize where I went, or witness it?”
“No, it doesn’t work that way, Sarah. This woman that’s guiding you is communicating with you and you alone. What’s this news you just gave me?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you returned to me, you said something about killing the mother.”
Sarah reflected for a moment. “Oh,” she said at last, “the woman I’m supposed to help is seeking one of the twins. He’s disappeared. She continues to dig up information, and obviously I’m being shown what she’s learning. She was told that one of the twins killed his mother.”
“I take it the mother you’re referring to is your entity?”
Sarah nodded.
“The same older woman you saw falling down the stairs?”
“Yes.”
“Did this new tidbit come from a reliable witness?”
Sarah grimaced. “Far from it, a gossipy waitress. Unreliable, but disturbing nonetheless.”
“I’d say. The one blamed for killing his mother is the twin she’s looking for?”
“Yes.”
“But you’re uncomfortable with that.”
“I am.”
James simply shook his head and went back to his burger.
They ate in silence for a while.
“Let’s try to dissect the situation you’re in,” James said at last. “Why do you suppose she offers up untraceable locations, forbids you to say the names, encircles you with secrecy, and yet spoon-feeds you information?”
Sarah swallowed a bite and leaned back. “She’s unwilling to divulge her own secret.”
“That’s one reason. But, she could guide you directly to this woman you’re supposed to help, and give you the real location.”
Sarah shrugged. “Could it be she doesn’t know?”
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