Authors: Adrienne Wilder
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Ellis took the drawing back from George and returned it to the folder. “Honestly, I think I forgot.” Pain drew lines around Ellis’s mouth. “Or maybe I just didn’t want to know.”
Their waitress walked up with their order. “Here ya go, gentlemen. Three all American burgers with fries.” She passed around the plates. “If you need anything else just holler.”
George dressed his burger. “I still don’t understand how all this has led you to the conclusion that evil is a disease.”
“I don’t have any other explanation as to why else all this is happening,” Jon said.
“I’ll tell you why.” George took a bite of his burger. Chewed. Swallowed. “Because bad things happen. And while it may seem impossible, those bad things are done by ordinary men.”
“Not a man,” Ellis said.
“What?” Jon looked at him.
“It might look like a man, but it’s not. It burrows into the ground…That’s what you said.”
“When?”
“The other night when you…” Ellis glanced at George. “You know, sleepwalked.”
“Burrows into the ground?”
“Yeah.”
“What else did I say?”
Ellis rubbed his forehead. “Burrows into the ground…something like that.” He slumped in the booth. “I can’t remember exactly. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“Doesn’t feel like it.”
“It is, promise.” Jon drummed his fingers on the table while he stared out the window. An empty paper cup skipped across the parking lot and landed in the swaying blades of grass. Other debris had been caught up in the dense fescue, creating imperfections among the green. Normal green. Not the kind of color that looked painted.
The ghost of tender grass blades caressed Jon’s cheek. And normal grass did not crawl.
That day in the Grove when he was sure Lenny was going to kill him Jon had dismissed what he’d seen as a trick of the mind. But now? It took up a place on his list of strange events.
“George? What do you know about the Grove?”
“Well.” George thumbed a glob of ketchup off his lip. “Used to be a plantation ’til it burned.”
“What did they grow?”
“Peaches, apples, even grapes. But the pecans were the big money maker.”
“Have you ever heard anything weird about the place?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Something out of the ordinary that people might have seen over the years. Or even heard about.”
“Like what?” He made a face. “Ghosts? Little green men?”
“You tell me.”
George put down his burger. “No. It’s just a big patch of land.”
“When did it burn?”
“Sometime in the late1800’s thereabouts.”
“Did they say how the fire started?”
“I heard it had something to do with smallpox,” Ellis said.
George nodded. “It did. Had an outbreak so they set fire to the field houses. But there been a really bad drought that year and it spread. Burned up the main house, the fields, even half the town.”
“How come they didn’t rebuild?”
“Orchard takes a long time to mature.” George said. “Some of those pecan trees were close to a hundred years old when they burned. That’s not something you can rebuild from.”
“They could have used the land for something else, like cattle.”
“Folks tried. But the coyotes are bad up in that area. Joseph Collins can’t even run a herd on the adjacent property. They get picked off faster than they can have baby cows. Amazing the damage a pack of those varmints can do in a night.”
The ground here’s real hungry, Mr. Marshal. It don’t even leave anything left for the coyotes.
“You sure it was coyotes?”
George paused mid bite. “What else could it be?”
“Did they find any carcasses?” Jon rested his elbows on the table. “Or just bones stripped clean? Like that Carter girl? Out of curiosity, how many people who’ve had a run in with Lenny have wound up in that field?”
“Lenny’s family was never tied to Beth Carter’s disappearance. And those remains were never verified as hers. The original land owners buried their dead out there, the trail of tears runs right across that field, not to mention the bodies put there during the prohibition. So those bones could have belonged to anyone.”
“Did you check her dental records?”
George barked a laugh. “Lot’a folks in Gilford can barely afford to put food on the table. They’re not going to spend money on their teeth. Hell, I’d say there are locals under the age of twenty who were born at home, delivered by an aunt or sister. For the ones up in the mountains plumbing’s a luxury.”
“But you still think it was her.”
“Like I said—”
“No proof. But what does your gut tell you?” The expression on George’s face said it all. “Does Lenny have any connection to the property?”
“Not really.” George shrugged. “The house he rents bumps up to the back side.”
“What about his dad?”
“His place is on the main stretch. About a quarter mile down that gravel road running in front of the Grove.”
Why didn’t it surprise him that someone like Lenny wouldn’t think twice about dirtying their own nest with a body? It was like a big fuck-you because he knew he could get away with it.
“Who owns the grove?”
“Some investors I think. They bought it some time ago.”
“And they didn’t develop it?”
“Nope.”
“Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”
“Not really. Lot’a rich folk buy land just to have it as an investment.”
There could have been another reason they didn’t develop it. Evil wasn’t a man and it burrowed in the ground.
Jon ate while he mulled over the thought. Ellis picked at his French fries. When he caught Jon looking he ate one. Then two.
Jon wanted Ellis to eat the whole damn plate but he didn’t want to push him.
“You boys ready for desert?” The waitress stopped by with a coffee pot in one hand and a pitcher of iced tea in the other. She refilled their drinks.
“I’d like to have some of that chocolate cake I’ve been hearing so much about.”
She looked at Jon and Ellis. “And what about you two?”
“No thanks,” Ellis said.
“Sure, I’ll take a slice, but make sure to bring two spoons.”
“Coming right up.”
Ellis cut Jon a look.
“What?”
“I don’t want any cake.”
“Who says I’m gonna share?”
“Two spoons?”
“I have two hands, don’t I?”
Ellis laughed. It was soft but it was real, and it reassured Jon that they really were going to be okay.
After the waitress brought their dessert the conversation turned to small talk. Jon even managed to get Ellis to eat a few bites of cake. While getting him to eat was good, the smiles Ellis gave him around the spoon were better.
George put his empty dish on top of the other empty plates. The waitress came by and refilled his coffee.
When she left he said, “I know you two are hurting, and I know you want answers to all your questions. But getting those answers by twisting reality to suit your needs is not going to help you heal.” He looked at Ellis. “And you need to heal. You need to grieve. Don’t clog everything up with…” He waved a hand. “I’m sorry, Ellis. I’m sorry for you and Rudy. What happened was wrong and I’ll do everything I can to help make sure they put Lenny away.”
“You’ll fail,” Ellis said.
“I know it seems that way now—”
“No. You’ll fail. You play by the rules, Lenny doesn’t. He is persuasive and people give him what he wants. Because of that, you’ll lose.”
George sat back. To Jon, he said, “I know you mean well. And I don’t think you’re doing this out of cruelty, but I think you need to take a good long look at what you’re doing.” He nodded at Ellis. “Especially to him.” George slid out of the booth and picked up his jacket. “I’m going to head home. You two be careful. It’s supposed to get cold tonight. If it rains it’ll probably snow.” He took some money out of his wallet and laid it on the table. “I know the snow here is nothing like what they have in DC, but that’s why people underestimate how dangerous it can be. So drive safe, you hear?”
“Yes, sir, “Ellis said.
Jon held George’s gaze for a moment. Disappointment shadowed his eyes along with unspoken words. “If you love this man don’t hurt him like this.” Jon nodded and George left.
Ellis pulled apart the remnants of his burger and ate the pickles stuck to the bun. Jon rubbed his forehead. What if all this was nothing more than his fucked up PTSD brain creating excuses? George was right. Evil was an act, not an entity, and the dead did not come back to visit the living. Dreams were nothing more than what they were, indigestion in the human mind as it tried to process the day.
Being wrong didn’t frighten Jon. Hell, being crazy didn’t even bother him. The idea that he might hurt Ellis, however, left him frozen.
But if he was right, then getting rid of Lenny wasn’t going to end this.
And for Ellis’s sake, and maybe for a lot of other innocent lives, he needed to find out what was happening in Gilford.
It was, after all, rule number six.
********
Just as Jon cranked up the car, Ellis said, “Would you mind if we got a hotel?” He stared out the window. The dash lights highlighted his profile in green.
Jon found Ellis’s hand and held it.
“I need to think and I can’t think when I’m at home.”
“We can do that.”
“I know it’s a lot. I know I wanted to go home before…I still want to now, but…”
“You don’t have to explain.” Jon understood the need to return to what was familiar and, at the same time, the need to run away from it to save your sanity. If only there was a way to get answers. But that would take finding someone who had them. Someone who knew some history on the land and was willing to talk.
“Do you know if there’s a way we can find out information on those investors who own the property?”
“Why?”
Jon backed out of the parking spot and headed to the street. He’d seen a hotel on their way to the restaurant, now it was just a matter of remembering where. Or maybe he’d imagined it like everything else.
“Jon?”
“It was just an idea. I thought maybe if we could talk to someone who owned it, we might get some insight. If nothing else, they could confirm whether or not we’re just bat-shit crazy.”
“You could probably find out from the tax assessor’s office. George would know who to ask.”
“I think if I bring this up again, he’ll punch me.” Jon stopped at the red light and waited for traffic to clear so he could take a right.
“No, he wouldn’t.”
“I don’t know, Ellis, he’s pretty protective of you.”
“There’s no reason for him to protect me from you.”
“There is if he thinks I’m feeding you a fantasy and making the situation with losing Rudy worse.” Jon stopped at another red light. About a block away the motel sign glowed above the other stores.
Ellis twisted his hands in his lap. “You’d never do something like that. Besides I’m an adult. I can make my own choices.” He swallowed and his throat clicked. “For right now, I choose this.”
The light turned green. “Why?”
“Huh?”
“Why do you choose to try out my insane theory?”
Ellis still hadn’t answered him when he turned into the hotel parking lot. Jon found a spot and cut the engine. He put his hand on Ellis’s thigh.
He took a breath. “I guess it’s because it gives me something to do for Rudy. It’s… It was my job to take care of him. Since I failed, I feel like I owe him at least to try and figure out why all this has happened.”
“You didn’t fail, Ellis.”
“I know you believe that, but I did. I don’t expect you to understand. Honestly, I don’t think anyone could. But I did fail him and I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
The chill of the night before turned into a slice of the Arctic Circle by morning. Even the heat going full blast in the car couldn’t beat it back.
Ellis huddled in the passenger seat, waiting for Jon to come out of the city hall. The building was a shade of gray darker than the promising snow clouds churning overhead.
Jon appeared from the front of the building. Even from a distance, the frown on his face was deep. A blast of frigid air followed him into the car.
“Bad news?” Ellis said.
“Yes and no. I got the names of the people who own the property.” He pulled out a piece of paper from his coat pocket and handed it over. “They’re brothers. Last name Nelson.”
“So what’s the bad news?”
“According to the clerk, they both fell off the face of the earth. No one has heard from them in several years.”
“How would she know that?”
“Her daughter dated the older one. Apparently it was pretty serious, then one day he just disappeared.”
Ellis folded the piece of paper and put it in his pocket. “So what do we do, now?”
“I’ll contact some people I know in the Washington office. If they’re feeling generous, they might be able to locate them.”
“Is that legal?”
Jon flexed his hands around the steering wheel. “Technically, no. But I’m owed a few favors and it’s time I collected on them.”
Ellis leaned against the window and his breath left a circle of fog on the glass. What if this was a wild goose chase? He wasn’t sure he could handle the disappointment; and yet, what if Jon was right? What if the impossible was possible? If so, the world would change for Ellis. Shadows would become festering crevices for inhuman things laying in wait.
“You sure you want to go home?” Jon cranked up the car. “We can go back to the hotel.”
“Yeah. I need to change my clothes.”
“I can pack you a bag.”
Ellis smiled. “That’s okay. If I’m going to face this…whatever it is, I need to quit running away from what scares me.”
“If going home scares you, then we should find some other arrangements.”
“It’s not going home that scares me. It’s the emptiness.”
“Just remember you’re not alone.”
Ellis nodded.
“How about I make pizza, tonight?” He pulled onto the county road running behind a ball field and public pool.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Yes you are and you’ll eat it because I made it, because if you don’t, you’ll hurt my feelings and I know you love me too much to do that.”