The Watchers (21 page)

He rattled the paper at me and started
walking towards the interrogation room, waddling a bit due to his
excessive weight.

“When did she go missing?” I asked, skipping
a little to catch up. He was large, but he could move fast.

“She didn’t report in like normal yesterday
evening, and she always reports in. Then, one of the other Rangers
found her bag and blood nearby.”

“Do you know if she has any idea what’s
behind the attacks?” I asked.

“No,” he said sharply. I heard the
truth.
I still can’t see how that human
footprint she found relates to Ryan, or why she was so determined
to make us think a human had done this. The other print we found
was more convincing. I mean the man was literally torn apart! I’ve
seen plenty of people on drugs capable of killing, but nothing like
that.
“Here you go.”

He opened a wooden door and Alex and I filed
in. I sat down in the sterile room, on a rickety chair, and
immediately started writing so he would leave. He gave a cheerful
wave and disappeared to make his phone call and organize the
search.

“Can you believe that?” Alex asked as soon as
the door was shut.

I hesitated. “Yes.”

She sat down opposite me. “You can?”

“A man was torn apart. I would expect anyone
venturing out into those woods would be in danger.”

“But it’s just so weird! Everything is
just…weird. That poor woman! I hope she didn’t encounter whatever
is out there.”

I started writing at super-sonic speed as a
rash plan formed in my head. Where the woman had disappeared, where
she had tracked whatever was killing people, it was too close to
Daniel’s house. I knew what he was capable of. I knew if he felt
his family was being threatened he would do what it took to protect
them. I had to know if he was behind it, if the reason he hadn’t
shown up at my house this morning was because he was adding another
victim to his list.

“Clare?”

I turned my thoughts to the present. This
time, Alex wasn’t testing me. “Yeah?”

“Are you going to come back to school with
me, or should I drop you off at home?”

I thought about it. “Could you drop me off at
your dad’s office?”

“Sure, it’s not that far from here. Why?”

“I need to talk to Ellen,” I replied, having
no intention of involving Alex in my plan. It was too
dangerous.

She looked at my statement and my
increasingly messy handwriting. “Are you finished?”

With a flourish, I signed my name at the
bottom of the page. “Yep.”

Everyone was gathered around the sheriff when
we let ourselves out into the main office. Sheriff Cobb was an
older man, so thin and stooped he looked ready to blow away. His
silver hair was neatly combed, his uniform wrinkle-free, and I knew
he was fastidious about appearance. He was dividing the searchers
into groups based on talents. Despite his age, his eyes were sharp,
and I sensed a keen intellect. His voice was strong and certain as
he talked to the room; a contradiction to his weak appearance.
Chuck respectfully hovered at his side, listening in mute
support.

I went over to Chuck’s desk to set my
statement down for him to find later, my mind on what I was
planning and how I would get Ellen to let me borrow the car. As I
did, the door opened and a cool wind swirled through the office.
The sheriff stopped talking at the sight of the person who entered
the room.

Daniel’s friend, Margaret, walked in, a
serious smile on her perfect face. She was wearing a heavy leather
jacket and tight blue jeans. Under her arm, she carried a heavy
helmet with a face shield. She stepped through the room, parting
the crowd like they were the Red Sea. Her satisfied smile developed
into a smile I knew too well as the men moved out of her way. It
was the smile Daniel used when he was trying to charm people. She
stopped in front of Chuck. As she started speaking, I heard a crush
of thoughts from the male population I would have given anything
not to hear.

“Daniel had to go on an emergency trip out of
town with his parents and couldn’t come in to give his statement.”
She held up a piece of paper. “But he wrote everything down for
you, just as it happened, and signed it. Will that be okay?”

She turned the full force of her smile on
Chuck, and I almost felt sorry for the man. Her eyes flicked to
mine for an instant, but she didn’t say anything or draw attention
to me. I was grateful. I didn’t want any more attention from the
crowd. I was certain the added thoughts would kill me. Too, she was
intimidating. I shivered as her cold stare from yesterday rose in
my mind. It was so different from her expression now, but I
couldn’t forget.

Chuck stammered an answer, “T-t-this is fine,
thank you.” He paused. “I just tried to call his parents actually,
but no one picked up. You say they’re out of town?

“Yes. They left yesterday to go to Boston.
What did you need Deputy? Maybe I can help.”

He puffed his chest out, liking how she had
called him ‘Deputy’. Most people just called him ‘Chuck’. “We just
wanted to ask if it was okay to come onto their property and search
for a missing Forest Ranger. The last time she was seen was near
Route Seven in the area of the old well house.”

“Oh, goodness! I know they won’t care if you
search their property, not if it meant saving someone’s life.”

“Thank you. Tell the Adamses I said, ‘hi,’
when you talk to them.”

“Of course.”

“It’s good to see you back in town,” he
stammered.

Her eyes played havoc on his senses as her
smile turned coy. I crossed my arms, annoyed. Daniel’s tactics
weren’t just his. But had she learned such tactics from him or vice
versa?

Her violet gaze turned to me, and I knew all
at once that she wanted me to follow her outside. She nodded once
and walked towards the door, parting the crowd again, before
disappearing with another blast of chilly mountain air.

Chapter 10

“Come on,” I told Alex.

“Where are we going?” Alex asked dreamily.
Even Alex looked a little frazzled.

“Outside,” I answered.

I shoved the door open with more force than
necessary, questioning everything. Margaret stood next to that same
black motorcycle of the day prior. It was parked so it blocked
Alex’s Jeep, an obvious attempt to make me talk to her. Not that I
would have left without speaking to her – I wanted answers. She
didn’t smile when she saw me nor did she frown. She simply looked.
It was like looking at a lioness who was trying to decide if it was
hungry enough to eat you. I tried to mimic her stare, my irritation
making me fearless. We stared at each other for a moment,
assessing.

“Where’s Daniel at?” I asked.

She raised her hand to me and didn’t reply. I
hesitated, not willing to look into her past like I had with
Daniel. It was too personal. Her violet eyes were insistent,
though. I pressed my palm against hers, cringing at the electricity
she was generating.

Her thoughts were immediate.
Daniel cares about you very much, but if you hurt
him, I will break every bone in your body
.
Then I’ll make you really suffer.

I have no intention of
hurting him,
I replied.

Intention! Do you know how much trouble
you’ve brought?

The pressure of her thoughts was unbearable.
It took all my willpower to stay on my feet under the power of her
mind and her irrepressible anger.

What trouble?

The only kind there is. He wants to explain.
I’ll let him, because the two of you shared the joining, but don’t
think that won’t stop me from hurting you if dies because of
you.

I ignored the threat
. Joining?

Why did I suddenly feel uneasy?

It is how we find the people we are destined
to share our days with. It only happens once.

I don’t understand! Please, can you tell me
anything? At least, where Daniel is.

Her eyes moved to the sheriff’s
office.
He’s dealing with a problem.
Remember what I said.

Yeah, yeah. Break every bone in my body. I
got it

Margaret dropped her hand and turned away.
The crush of her thoughts lifted, but her words lingered. She got
on her bike, and it roared to life. I didn’t know which noise was
worse; the bike or the thoughts surging out of the building. In
seconds, she was gone.

“That was weird,” Alex said, opening her door
with a forceful jerk.

“Yep,” I agreed walking around to the other
side.

“You’re not going to explain why you just
played ‘whose hand is longer and paler?’ You’re just going to leave
it like that?”

“Yep,” I said calmly. I buckled my seat belt
and waited for her to do the same.

“And I’m supposed to be okay with that?” She
buckled her own belt with a snap.

“Yep. Are you still willing to drive me over
to the office? I really do need to talk to Ellen.”

“I ought to leave you here,” she fumed.

“I’m okay with walking.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. She backed
out of the too-small parking space before I could get out.

As she drove, I faced new questions. Who was
Margaret to threaten me? How did Daniel know her? Where was Daniel?
Why would she lie for him? What the heck was happening?

After a moment of fighting against the
questions, I asked Alex the question I could ask aloud, “Do you
know Margaret?”

Alex glared at me before answering, but she
still answered. “Not really. I just know she knows Daniel’s parents
somehow. Her and Jackson don’t come into town very often. I think
they live somewhere else…New York or something. Everyone knows of
them, but nobody really knows them. The gossip still floats around
town sometimes. When there’s nothing else to talk about.”

“What does the gossip say?”

“Nothing good. You know how gossip is,” she
replied.

“Yes, I do.”

I studied the passing farmhouses and wondered
why he wouldn’t tell me about his friends. Why the secrecy? Were
they like us? Did they know about me? To get the frustrating
repetition of unanswered questions out of my head, I changed the
subject. “I wanted to ask you about something else…if you’re not
too mad,” I said over the hum of the tires.

“What?”

“How would you feel about asking Amanda to do
something with us?”

Alex’s glare faded and she bit her lip. “I
don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” she answered uneasily.

“Why?”

Because I don’t want to make
her situation worse
. “Her dad gets mad when she goes
out with people. He gets mad when she does anything really. Their
neighbors can hear him screaming from a mile away
sometimes.”

“If people know he acts like that, why hasn’t
child services, or someone, been called in?” I asked
indignantly.

“You really don’t get the mentality of a
small town, do you?”

“No. I don’t.”

“People around here let family sort things
out. They might ask how everything is, and make you a million
casseroles, or apple pies, but they don’t call in the authority
types unless it’s absolutely necessary. If they do call in someone,
it’s usually the sheriff, because people trust him. And he usually
just talks people into resolving their differences. We all have to
get along around here and calling in outsiders for everything is no
way to do that.”

“But gossip, back stabbing, and otherwise
being catty is okay?”

Alex shrugged. “Those are all accepted
mores.”

“Ugh! I hate psychology. It tries to explain
the unexplainable. People can’t be quantified or broken down.
They’re too messy for that.”

“You’re saying that to the person in the car
who wants to be the psychologist,” she pointed out. “You do realize
that, right?”

“Oh. Sorry. Well, I want to do something to
help Amanda out. I don’t really know if talking to her is going to
do any good…not that she really talks to me.”

Alex turned onto a different road then said,
“I’ll see what we can do. But if she doesn’t want our friendship,
there’s not a lot that can be done. You can only help people who
want to be helped.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

She pumped the brakes, causing the Jeep to
careen to a stop next to Sam’s silver Mercedes. I threw my hand out
to stop from hitting the dashboard.

“Tell Dad, ‘hi.’”

“Aren’t you coming in?” I asked, wondering
what had happened to skipping school.

“Nah. I only had the okay to miss my first
two classes. If I miss history again, Mrs. Dunn will probably give
me detention…or something worse, like having to brush her hair for
her.” Mrs. Dunn had a hairdo that could only be considered a curly
afro.

I laughed. “All right. Thanks for the
ride.”

“Sure.”

I got out and shut the door, contemplating my
plan of attack for getting Ellen to agree to what I was about to
ask her. Alex peeled out of the spot without looking back. The
music, which she had turned up, lingered for a few seconds more. I
shook my head at her musical taste and let myself into the office.
Before I could get down the short hall that was the entrance, I
heard a phone ring and Ellen answer in her cheerful voice. Pausing
in the hallway, I listened in.

“Lawson Law, how can I help you? No, Mrs.
Gudger. Yes, I’m pretty certain that poisoning your husband with
eye drops is illegal. It doesn’t matter if it only makes him sick.
Yes, it’s still illegal. No, Mrs. Gudger. You, too. All right.
Bye.”

“One of these days, she’s really going to
poison that poor man. I think we should schedule an intervention,”
Sam said from somewhere in the office.

Ellen laughed. “My money is that he gets her
first. He may seem like a doddering old fool, but I bet he’s
crafty.”