by L A Moore
“Well, I’m thinking something small, since neither of us have a lot of friends.” Poppy replied as she finished putting away the food that had been kept cold, thanks to the icepacks.
“That’s a good idea. What about colors, or theme, have you thought about those?” Avianna asked. It was true she had come over to tell Ari about the strange truck, which she suspected was hunters, but she was also itching to get started planning the wedding too.
“Well, I’m not real sure when we might get married, so I don’t know about either of those things.” Poppy said, coming to sit down and bringing herself and Avianna a steaming cup of coffee.
“Thank you dear.” Avianna replied, taking the cup. “You know Ari is ready to say his I do’s just as soon as you are. What sort of wedding did you always dream of?” Avianna prompted.
“Oh I don’t know Mom, I never really allowed myself to dream that far ahead. To be honest, this is new territory to me, all this commitment, and it scares me a bit to think on it too much. I’m afraid I will lose him if I plan too far ahead.” Poppy admitted.
“Yes, I’m so sorry you had such a hard upcoming but, you know, I think it made you who you are today, and that person is pretty special.” Avianna said, and patted Poppy’s hand gently with a smile on her face. “What say we just take a look and see what sorts of weddings people are having these days, and see if something sort of jumps out at ya.” Avianna suggested.
“Ok, that sounds like a good a place as any to start. I’ll go get my laptop.” Poppy said and got up to climb the steps into the little office Ari had set up for her. It was perfect, everything she had wanted back at her rental, but now she had it. There was a large window that over looked the field out back, and her bookshelves were placed on either side of it, opposite of the door, and her desk was set in front of the window, and all her inspirational pictures were hung on the same wall as the door. It wasn’t a large space, but it was big enough for what she wanted and needed, and that was all that mattered. Crossing the room, she took up her laptop and headed back down stairs.
Poppy sat her laptop on the coffee table and typed in weddings into the search engine. After a lot of laughing and giggling, and a few oohs and ahhs, they finally had a small list of ideas that Poppy liked. Mostly, they knew what she didn’t like, and didn’t want. They even had a list of things that Poppy had liked, but were too impractical for a small wedding that they were going to see about scaling down.
Chapter 42
Ari just made it to the police station before it closed for the night. “Sheriff Barnes, I’ve had another incident up at my place I need to report on.” Ari stated, just catching the Sheriff as he was about to lock the doors and go home.
“This better be good; you’re holding me up for a nice prime rib dinner.” Sheriff Barnes replies.
“I was out with my fiancé; we were about to photograph a fox that I had saw yesterday when I was putting out those signs and, when we got to its den, we found it had been shot.” Ari explained as the Sheriff wrote up the report.
“Is there any chance the animal was shot off your property and just limped back to its den?” Sheriff Barnes asked.
“It was shot close range in the chest. From the damage I’d say it was shot some place close by and just made it back to its den.” Ari explained, then added. “His den was near the middle of my property, so there was no way he could have traveled that far with a chest wound.”
“Looks like we have more than one problem, as fox’s are not on the hunting menu. What did you do with the carcass?” Sheriff Barnes asked.
“I buried it in its hole for safe keeping. If you don’t mind, Sheriff I’m trying not to alarm my fiancé as we work in those woods nearly every day, but I can’t have a hunter on my land.” Ari stated.
“I’ll increase the rounds by your place; see if we can’t catch this guy before thing’s get out of hand.” Sheriff Barnes said, not saying ‘before someone gets shot’, but thinking it. He had been just a deputy when Ari’s Father had been shot, and he recalled the case all too well. It had been the last murder his town had seen, and he planned to make sure it was the last as long he was on the job.
“Thank you Sheriff, I’m sorry to have kept you from dinner.” Ari said and left the building.
Ari came into the house carrying two large pizzas; one cheese, and one pepperoni, and a pack of beers.
“Hello stranger!” Poppy said as he came through the door.
“Sorry it took so long, they were backed up.” He said as he sat down the pizzas and beer. “Any luck in the wedding department?” Ari asked.
“Well, as it turns out, there are some very nice wedding ideas, and then there are some really ugly wedding ideas.” Avianna said, laughing.
“Yeah, we made a list of the ones we liked, though, if you want to see.” Poppy said, trying to contain her laughter.
Ari grabbed plates and handed his Mom and Poppy a slice of their favorite pizza, and then grabbed some for himself. “I’d love to see what you liked” he said as he grabbed the beers and brought them over, handing them out. He sat down between Avianna and Poppy and tucked a beer between his legs, resting his pizza on his belly. “Ok ,now that were all settled, let’s see what you found.” He said, sitting back and getting comfortable.
Avianna and Poppy began sifting through the websites and notes, getting Ari’s opinion on which things he liked.
Chapter 43
He sat in the field, watching them laughing and talking like they had no care in the world. Apparently his little gift hadn’t been enough to shake them up like he had planned. He was going to have to go bigger this time. He walked back into the wood; the darkness concealing him.
“Goodnight Mom.” Ari called, as he watched his mother walk into her home. He knew it was probably nothing, but he had felt like he was being watched earlier, and he wanted to ensure she got to her house without incident. He stood watching, just to make sure his Mom was alright, then shut the door and locked it. He had whispered to his Mom to lock her doors when he hugged her, and he hoped she had.
“Everything ok?” Poppy asked.
“Yeah, why do you ask?” Ari asked.
“Because you just locked the door, and you never lock the door.” Poppy replied.
“I guess I am just feeling a bit vulnerable tonight.” Ari replied.
“Well, in that case, come one over here and let me protect you.” Poppy said, holding out her arms.
Ari grinned and gave chase, sending Poppy into a screeching laugh and running for the bedroom door.
Chapter 44
The next morning they awoke entangled into one another, naked, as the sun warmed their bodies.
“Morning” Poppy said and kissed Ari.
“Morning, my heart” Ari replied, and kissed her back.
Poppy sat up and walked over to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her, leaving Ari to stare at her bare behind as she did.
“I hope you’re up for another hike today.” Ari called out.
Poppy came out of the bathroom, covered by her thick cotton robe and slippers. “Another hike? But I thought it would take you some time to find another fox den” she said.
“I know where there is another; it just isn’t a red fox like I had hoped for, but a gray fox. It’s not as striking as the red fox, but it will work. I have faith you can make anything beautiful.” Ari complimented.
“All animals are striking; you just have to find their good side.” Poppy insisted, and left the room to make coffee.
Ari got up slowly and stretched, then went over to the bathroom. By the time he got out and had on his own robe and slippers, Poppy had the coffee done and was just setting his cup down at the table.
“We’re out of creamer. I’m going to go see if Mom has any.” Poppy stated, heading for the door. She had just opened the door when a blood curdling scream ripped out of her mouth and into the chilly morning air.
Ari ran to her side to see what was wrong, when he spotted the de
capitated deer head on his door step.
“That is not funny, Ari! Why would you do such a thing?” Poppy said, smacking him and crying now.
There was no hiding it any longer; he was going to have to tell her. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t do this. I would never do this. It was a hunter. I ran into one on our property a few days ago and we had a few words. Apparently, he’s pissed that I went to the Sheriff and is leaving me a message.” Ari explained.
“Why did you not tell me this when it happened?” Poppy asked, angrily.
“Because I didn’t want to upset you. You had just agreed to marry me, and I didn’t want anything to ruin that.” Ari explained, shutting the door.
“You should have told me Ari! Remember, nothing between us- that means nothing, not just what you want to tell me!” Poppy stated, still angry.
“Ok, you’re right, I should have told you, and I promise not to withhold things from you in the future but, right now, I need to call the Sheriff” Ari said, annoyed that she was reaming him out over trying to protect her.
Poppy didn’t say another word; she just turned and walked back into their bedroom, taking her coffee with her to get dressed. If the Sheriff was coming, she sure didn’t want to meet him in nothing but her robe. Poppy pulled a pair of stone washed blue jeans, her baby soft pale pink sweater with the v neck, her pale pink tank top that just matched her sweater, and matching pink bra, panties, and socks from the dresser and closet. She needed to feel like she had her shit together, today of all days, to deal with all the shit going forward, so having matching underwear was an essential part of getting dressed. She dressed quickly, then stalked through the house, ignoring Ari, who was on the phone with the Sheriff, to the hall bathroom so she could finish getting ready. After brushing her teeth, washing her face, and applying a liberal amount of perfume and deodorant, she began her hair. She split her hair on the side then pulled it up high and formed a bun, securing it loosely with bobby pins and admired the effect in the mirror. With a few tugs and pulls here and there she finally got the loose up do look she was going for. Then she applied her make up using pinks, burgundy’s, and creams and her favorite red lipstick. Checking her appearance in the mirror, she left the bathroom to make breakfast.
Ari called the Sheriff and told him what they had discovered. The Sheriff told him not move the evidence until he got there. Then he went into his bedroom to get dressed, tossing on a pair of jeans, a t shirt, a dark blue hoodie, and socks and underwear. Then he quickly bushed his hair and teeth and sprayed on some deodorant. When he got back into the kitchen, Poppy had scrambled eggs and toast on the table for him.
“Have some breakfast before the Sheriff gets here.” Poppy said, holding the phone away from her ear.
“Who are you talking to?” Ari asked curiously.
“Your Mom. I didn’t want to freak her out if she got up and saw the Sheriff here, or the deer head.” Poppy replied. “No Mom, I was just talking to Ari. I’m going to go and eat before he gets here; I got a feeling I won’t want to if I wait” she said and hung up the phone. “Your Mom says to be careful, this guys a lunatic” she told Ari.
“I agree, which is why I don’t want either of you going out of the houses without either one of you escorting the other, or me with you.” Ari stated.
“Agreed.” Poppy said.
They ate in silence, wanting to finish their breakfast before the Sheriff arrived and, just as Poppy was putting the plates in the sink, he buzzed to be let in the gate. Ari let him in and then put his shoes on.
Chapter 45
Sheriff Barnes pulled up to Ari’s house and immediately saw the offending deer head. ‘Just what I need, an armed fruitcake running around, chopping the heads off stuff! ‘thought the Sheriff to himself. “Morning Ari, I see you have had a visitor.” Sheriff Barnes said as he got out of his truck and walked up to the front stoop where Ari stood with the door open.
“Yeah it looks like. I had hoped this would all be cleared up by now, but this guy’s persistent.” Ari stated.
“Just let me get a few pictures and look for footprints and I’ll be out of your hair.” Sheriff Barnes said.
“Alright Sheriff.” Ari said and moved so that the Sheriff could get his pictures.
Sheriff Barnes took pictures of the deer head, and then looked around for tracks but couldn’t find anything in the front of the house, so he looked around the sides of the house and finally got lucky with the left side. It was a partial boot print, but it was evidence. He took pictures of that as well, and then tracked it back to the woods. When he was done, he came back to the house and knocked on the door; now that the deer head was removed and the front stoop rinsed clean.
Ari answered the door and motioned for the Sheriff to come on in.
“I found some tracks; looks like our perp came out of the woods and brought the head straight to your door.” Sheriff Barnes explained. “Seems like he’s trying to send you a message. Might be about those signs you put up, or could be he doesn’t like you talking to me. Either way, I’d be real careful for a while until we see if this joker is done or not.” He added. “Which one of you found the head this morning?” he asked.
“Um, I did. I found it when I opened the door. I was going to borrow some cream from Mom, I mean Avianna, when I found it.” Poppy said nervously.
“And you are?” Sheriff Barnes asked, taking out his pen to fill out the report to go along with the evidence.
“I’m Poppy, Poppy Wilde.” Poppy replied, still nervous. She didn’t like what the Sheriff was saying about this guy, and it made her nervous.
“She’s my fiancée, I was telling you about.” Ari interjected.
“Well, how about that, congratulations. Now, did either of you touch or move the head before I got here?” Sheriff Barnes asked.
“No sir, we just shut the door and called you right away.” Ari replied seriously.
“And have either of you been outside this morning?” Sheriff Barnes asked, just to be sure the prints were from last night.
“No sir, we have not.” Ari replied again.
“Well, I’ve done all I can Ari. I’ll take this down to the police station and I’ll let the boys know what happened but, other than the patrols, I’m afraid there just ain’t much I can do without more evidence. Have you thought about setting up trail cams along the path to the house, maybe a few coming from the road up to your property?” Sheriff Barnes asked.
“I had not, but I will move them today.” Ari said.
“Well then, I’ll leave you to it. In the meantime, anything else comes up, you just call. It was nice meeting you ma’am.” Sheriff Barnes said, and left.
Chapter 46
He watched from a safe distance in the woods as the Sheriff left. He had been watching all morning, and had got to see that purdy little woman scream her dang head off when she opened the door and saw his gift. That had sure rattled ‘em. He smiled to himself for a job well done. They hadn’t believed him, none of them had; instead they had locked him up and called him crazy. His mind flashed to his first days spent there. Scared and alone, locked away, and terrorized by the crazies. Soon, he promised himself, soon he would have his revenge.
Chapter 47
Ari walked over to his Mothers and knocked on her door once the Sheriff was gone. He wanted her to come over to be with Poppy while he placed the trail cameras, but didn’t want to ask her with the Sheriff still there. She was still uneasy around any police after his Father’s death. “Mom, could you come stay with Poppy? She’s feeling a bit nervous with all this business going on, and I need to move the trail cameras while I got the light” he asked.
“Sure thing Honey, just let me get dressed and I’ll be right over.” Avianna said, standing in her flannel nightgown with her pale blue robe over it and pink bunny slippers on.
“Thanks Mom, I appreciate it. You know where the gun is if you need it. I’m taking one along just in case, but I hid some around the woods also, so I’ll be fine.” Ari said,
reassuringly.
“Just be careful all the same. I don’t think it’s safe with that maniac out there.” Avianna said and kissed her sons cheek before shutting the door.
Ari walked back to the house and went into his bedroom to retrieve his gun. He strapped one to his ankle and a knife to his belt. It was all he needed with the other hidden guns.
Poppy stood washing up the dishes, unable to be still and watched as Ari went past her to their room. She knew he would be getting his guns ready, and that made her even more nervous. She had just finished the dishes and was starting on the counters when he came out of their room.
“I’m going to head out and get those trail cams moved while I still have light. You stay close to the house. Mom’s coming over once she gets dressed and if I run into any problems, I’ll fire the gun three times in a row. You should hear it from the house if you listen.” Ari stated, then kissed her long and slow, and headed out the door with a determined look on his face.
“Ok Honey, just be careful” Poppy plead as he left. No sooner had he left than a knock came at the front door that had Poppy’s heart jumping into her throat. She walked over to the window and peeked out, seeing that it was his Mother, she relaxed and opened the door for her. “I’m so glad it’s you, come on in.” Poppy said, hurrying her inside.
“Has he left yet?” Avianna asked. Avianna had dressed in jeans and sneakers and a red cable knit sweater and had left her hair down, not wanting to take time with anything else when her Son was going out alone into the woods.
“Yes, he just did.” Poppy replied.
“Well, you better brew up some coffee because it’s going to be a long day.” Avianna said, coming in and sitting down at the kitchen table.
“Have you had breakfast?” Poppy asked.
“I can’t eat while he’s out there, my nerves are too bad.” Avianna said.
“Mine too. I hate that he’s going out there all alone, but he wouldn’t hear of me coming with him.” Poppy said.