Jackal

by Jackal in the Mirror (retail) (epub)

  She stepped into the store.

  “It’s at the back of the store to the left of the office.”

  Sarah couldn’t help but smile. “It’s exactly like she showed me.”

  “What is? Who showed you?” a bewildered Oscar asked.

  “Oh, don’t mind me. Be right back.” She headed toward the back of the store. “I’m an acquaintance of the McKenzies.”

  “Do you mean the McKinneys?”

  “Yes, of course. Sorry, with the excitement of finding you—” she disappeared into the restroom.

  Moments later she emerged to find him waiting. “Thanks so much.”

  “That’s how come you know about me, the McKinneys?”

  “Yes.”

  He frowned. “How—”

  “May I bother you for a telephone?” she interrupted him. “I’ve had no reception on my cell phone and my husband must be worried sick.”

  “Sure thing. Better use the one in the office.” Sarah followed Oscar into the cluttered room. “Sorry about the mess.”

  “Please, don’t mention it.”

  Oscar pointed to an old-fashioned rotary phone. “It’s old, but in good working order.”

  “Thank you. This town is called, uh, ‘something wood’, right?”

  “Alderwood. Anyway, I’ll leave you to it.” He stepped out, leaving the door ajar.

  Sarah dialed. “Hello there, handsome,” she said when Conrad answered.

  “Where the hell are you? Are you okay? Why haven’t you called?”

  “Whoa, one at a time.”

  “Do you realize how worried we’ve been? Please, answer me. Where are you?”

  “I’m all right, I’m in a town called Alderwood somewhere in the middle of a mountain range, by a lake. Hard to describe. Sorry but I’ve had no reception on the cell phone. I’m calling you from a General Store that belongs to a guy named Oscar.”

  He exhaled. “Couldn’t you have waited for me? Why did you leave?”

  “I tried to, but Martha urged me to go. I really had no choice.”

  “At least you’re fine. I’ve been going out of my mind.”

  “I’m sorry, darling. I tried several times to call you, but couldn’t.”

  “Are you coming back?”

  “No. I’m getting closer to Karla. She’s only a couple of hours or less ahead of me. And she’s in real danger. I need to get to her.”

  “We’re coming to you. How do we find you?”

  “We?”

  “James is here.”

  “Great, he’ll tell you how to find Alderwood. Martha’s real last name, is Mc—”

  The line went dead and the familiar static took over. She hung up and dialed again, but the static was so strong the connection couldn’t go through. Frustrated, she hung up and walked back to the store.

  “All done?” asked Oscar.

  “Got cut off. Lots of static interference.”

  “Give it another go in a few. Hope you like chocolate.”

  “I love it, and I haven’t had anything to eat all day. What could be better than chocolate?”

  “Have a seat, my dear.”

  Sarah slid onto one of the stools by the counter.

  Oscar set two chocolate ice cream sodas down with spoons and straws. He came around the counter and took a stool next to Sarah. “A nice pick-me-up after a long day.”

  Sarah sipped on her straw. “It’s delicious, Oscar, thank you.”

  He scooped a spoonful of chocolate ice cream into his mouth. “This is the reason my figure is so stunning. I can’t go without it. So, Mrs. Thompson, how—”

  “Please call me Sarah.”

  “Fair enough, but if you don’t mind me asking, Sarah, how are you acquainted with the McKinneys?”

  “Through Martha.”

  Oscar shook his head. “Sad story.”

  “Indeed.”

  “You’re on your way to visit with Daryl?”

  “Yes. And Karla, whom you just met.”

  Oscar gazed keenly at Sarah. “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Oscar, I hope I won’t freak you out, but I’m going to tell you some unusual stuff that might alarm you.”

  “It’s hard to scare me. Go ahead.”

  “I’m a psychic and a medium.”

  He laughed. “Well, if that doesn’t top it all. You’re going to tell me you met me in a dream, aren’t you?”

  “You could say that. I watched you, Daryl, and Karla right here, in this store.”

  “Get out of here.”

  “I’ll prove it.” She took a quick sip of her soda and a bite of the ice cream. “Yum, this is fantastic. Anyway, they came in here and you hugged Daryl like you’ve always done. You tried to lift him, only he’s too heavy and you got out of breath, and—”

  He eyed Sarah suspiciously. “C’mon. I don’t buy it. You were watching from outside.”

  “Okay—you took Karla to your basement and told her all about Anastasia and your grandparents. You also told her about the rivalry between the twins, and you chose two steaks.”

  He dropped his spoon into the soda and leaned back as if needing to focus on her from a distance. After a hard swallow, he managed to find his voice. “Dear God, you’re for real.”

  She raised her eyebrows and nodded.

  He gulped the remaining soda down, wiped his mouth with his apron, shook his head, and sighed. “You saw and heard all of that without being here?”

  Sarah nodded. “And here’s something that’s going to surprise you even more. Martha is the one—”

  “Martha’s dead.”

  “Yes, that’s true. But she’s worried about Karla and needs me to help her.”

  He slid off the stool and paced nervously up and down the length of the counter. “Let me get this straight.” He approached her one step at a time to emphasize his words. “You’re telling me that you, that you talk to—dead people?”

  “It’s more like they talk to me. If they wish to. In Martha’s case, she shows me what she thinks is useful.”

  Oscar threw up his arms and blew out a breath. “That’s something else.” He climbed back onto the edge of the stool, shook his head, and stared at her. “Doesn’t it frighten you?”

  “The dead?”

  He grimaced and nodded.

  “No.”

  “Why did Martha…?”

  “Why did she approach me?”

  He shrugged.

  “There are restless spirits that are looking for…let’s say closure. So they hang around in this realm, and—”

  “What realm?”

  “The dimension you and I occupy. This world, the one we’re all aware of.”

  “You mean this here moment, right now, you and me having our ice cream sodas?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you, what, go to other realities, other dimensions?”

  “I witness them.”

  “How come?”

  “I was born with the ability to do so.”

  “You saw dead people when you were a kid?”

  She shook her head. “No, but I knew things that I had not personally witnessed, and I could tell what was going to happen before it happened, like premonitions. It wasn’t till I was much older that I finally understood the science behind it.”

  “Science?”

  “Yes. Basically I can perceive multiple dimensions beyond these four dimensions,” she said, and gestured around them. “In alternate dimensions time and space have no barriers.”

  “Wow. Were you born with that?”

  “In some people it’s hereditary, generational even. Not in my family, though. I’m pretty much it, although my Nana was very intuitive.”

  Eyes wide, eyebrows raised, Oscar said, “I’ll
be darned. Are there others like you?”

  “My husband’s grandmother and her twin daughters were like me, as well as one of his cousins. Now that I am more open to sharing my ability—if we can call it that—I’ve come to meet others who tell me that they can perceive things or sense spirits and the like. A few days ago I met a marvelous man who lives in Eureka. He lives in both realms, this one and the spirit one, all the time. For me it comes and goes.”

  “That’s quite the story. Unusual, for sure.” He laughed. “I’ve watched psychics on television, but—”

  “You didn’t believe it was real.”

  He shrugged. “How does it happen?”

  “Apparently we all can do it when we’re first born, but for some reason, as we grow up, we lose that ability. Yet for some, like me and others like me, it’s part of our makeup and we can’t shake it.”

  “So Martha is anxious about something and tells you what to do?”

  Sarah rolled her head from side to side. “Sort of. She’s been very, and I mean very, secretive and difficult to deal with. I’m amazed that she’s letting me share all this with you.”

  “Well, that’s good to hear. I loved that woman. Many of us did.”

  “She’s comfortable with you. That’s why she’s letting me tell you all this. May I ask when she died?”

  Oscar tilted his head in disbelief. “You don’t know that?”

  “No,” Sarah answered matter-of-factly. “Like I said, time and space don’t—”

  “About six months ago,” he interrupted.

  “That long ago? Hm.”

  “Drowned, so they said.”

  “But all of you knew better.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, you were right.”

  “Then—how did she die?

  Sarah finished her ice cream soda. “An accident, a fall down the stairs…” she paused. When Martha didn’t protest, Sarah told him in a few words what had happened to her.

  Oscar squeezed his eyes shut and tears trickled down his cheeks.

  Sarah stepped close and embraced him. “I’m sorry, Oscar. I didn’t mean to shock you.”

  “Not shock, sadness. She loved that ‘silly old cabin,’ as she called it. But it’s a beautiful house.” He used his apron to wipe his tears. “We told her time and time again not to come on her own, but she couldn’t help herself. Andrew used to come by and visit with her. Daryl too, once in a while. But mostly she came by herself. She never cared for the hoity-toity feel of the big house.”

  “I have to get to the cabin. She needs me to save Karla.”

  “From what? She’s with Daryl.”

  “I’m not sure from what. I may need to help both her and Daryl. Martha’s signals are a bit muddled on that subject.”

  “Karla said she was looking for Andrew. For all we know the twins are both there. She’ll be well cared for by them.”

  Sarah sighed and forced a smile. “I’m sure you’re right. But, I need to get there. Can you give me directions?”

  “Yeah, I’ll write them down for you. It’s not far from here, but hard to find in the dark.”

  “May I try to place the call again?”

  “Yeah, go right ahead.”

  Sarah returned to the office and picked up the receiver only to find the same static interference in place of a dial tone. She hung up and rejoined Oscar.

  “No connection. I did manage to tell my husband, Conrad, about you and the store. He and our friend James may call you or come by. Will you please wait and tell them where to find me? They’re coming from Upper Lake.”

  “Sure thing, Sarah. I’ll stick around till they get here. Here are the directions. Drive carefully. That road can be treacherous. The house is the only structure on the left bank of the lake.” He escorted her out of the store, shook hands, and watched her drive away.

  20

  The Arrival

  With renewed energy, and Oscar’s instructions, Sarah hit the road with confidence. “Okay, Martha, we’re about to find them.”

  A few miles later she spotted the fork in the road and veered right. When she caught the glow of house lights, she killed the headlights. Parking the car behind some tall bushes beside the driveway, she got out, closed the car door quietly, and walked to the cabin.

  She snuck up to an open side window and peeked in. A man she took to be Daryl sat alone on the couch facing the fireplace. In the silence, Sarah could hear the fire crackling. He sipped his martini while his eyes roamed the cabin. His gaze focused on a photograph of two little boys and two women that sat on a shelf across the room. Sarah recognized a young Martha and assumed the other woman to be Jennifer.

  Daryl walked toward the photograph, and picked it up. Tears welled in his eyes, and Sarah heard him whisper, “Mother.”

  Karla came down the stairs in a white silk nightgown and matching robe. He glanced up from the photo. “Your martini is on the bar.”

  “C’mon, let’s get dinner. I’m starving.” En route to the kitchen, she plucked up her drink.

  The silhouette of her body, profiled by the light, shone through the robe. Daryl placed the photograph back on the shelf and followed her into the kitchen.

  She noticed the tears glistening in his eyes. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” he lied. “I happened to catch a glimpse of an old picture of Mother and Aunt Jenny.”

  Karla reached out to gently pat his arm. “C’mon, fix the faucet so I can wash veggies.”

  He bent down and kissed her gently on the mouth. Before she could react, he straightened up. “Thank you. You’re a good woman. Andrew is a lucky guy.”

  He walked to the stove. “I already fixed the faucet. You’re good to go. Just needed a couple of turns.” He reached for a grilling pan, placed it on the stove and lit the burner.

  Karla got the strainer and cautiously tried the faucet. Satisfied, she stood at the sink and washed the potatoes and rinsed the lettuce and tomatoes.

  Daryl seasoned the steaks and placed them in the grilling pan. “I’ll pop the potatoes in the microwave while the steaks rest. Would you like a mustard sauce on your steak?”

  “Yes, that would be nice.”

  Sarah stepped away from the window and examined the cabin as she cautiously walked around it. Noticing the pier and rowboat on the lakeshore, she made her way down the hill toward them. Cautiously, she approached the rowboat. She held on to one of the pylons of the pier to get a better look. She recognized it, remembering with shock the role it played in the gruesome disposal of bodies.

  “I’m so sorry, Martha,” she murmured.

  She climbed back up the hill and made her way around the cabin toward the shed that housed the generator. Cautiously, she opened the door, but could distinguish almost nothing in the darkness. She shut the door and returned to the window by the living room.

  Daryl had placed the grilled steaks on a large plate and was preparing the mustard sauce. Karla opened and closed cupboards and drawers as she searched for what she needed. The dinner plates, salad, and baked potatoes were already on the table.

  “If you must know, it’s hard. I don’t trust women,” Daryl answered.

  “Oh, c’mon. We’re not that bad.”

  “No, but since I took over for my dad, I became eligible. Women pop out of the woodwork.”

  She stopped her search and turned to him. “That didn’t occur to me. I can imagine it must be difficult to figure out if someone loves you and not your money. I understand your mistrust.”

  He laughed. “It does have some advantages. There are plenty of women to pick from, so companionship is not an issue. But, love…well, that’s another story. How about you, why aren’t you married?”

  “I haven’t found the right guy, yet.” Karla resumed her search through the drawers.

  “How a
bout Andrew?”

  “Maybe, if we’d had more time.”

  “What are you looking for? You’re driving me crazy.”

  “Candles and candle holders, but not those churchy-looking things.”

  “Are you expecting a romance, or another power failure?”

  “A fine dinner with perfect steaks and good wine should be eaten by candlelight. What kind of a connoisseur are you?”

  “Obviously a very bad one. They’re in the cabinet by the front door.”

  Karla walked through the dining room toward the living room. She reached the cabinet and opened the drawer. “There are hundreds of those churchy candles and holders in here!”

  “Don’t exaggerate. There’s a couple of dozen.”

  Karla returned with two crystal candleholders and two tall white candles. “Why so many?” she asked. “You some kind of religious fanatic?”

  “The lights go out a lot.”

  “I can understand regular candles, but all those creepy votive—”

  “Drop it. Let’s eat.”

  A sudden noise startled Sarah. She pulled away from the window and glanced around. She tiptoed toward the right side of the cabin in search of the source.

  A muffled sporadic thumping came from beneath a small window along the bottom of the cabin. She crouched down and peeked through the window. Total darkness prevented her from seeing anything within, but she confirmed that this was the source of the dim thumping.

  Sarah stood and looked for a way to enter what she assumed to be a basement. She cautiously inspected the cabin in search of an exterior door.

  Finally, she found one on the opposite side of the house. A padlock that hung from a rusty old latch held it securely shut. Sarah pulled on the padlock and noticed that the screws on the latch were loose. She pulled again, but they held firm.

  She slipped away to her car, silently opened the door, got her cell phone from her purse and turned it on, then popped the trunk. She found the crowbar, opened her suitcase and removed a sweater, cautiously closed the trunk, and snuck back to the side door.

  She jimmied the crowbar between the fastener and the door, placed her sweater over it to avoid noise, and pulled.

  When the screws gave way, she fell backward over an empty pail, causing a clatter that echoed through the forest. Scrambling to her feet, she retrieved the crowbar as the front door to the cabin swung open.