Cades Cove 01 - Cades Cove: A Novel of Terror (23 page)

“
They can be with me,” he said. The sorrow lifted slightly at the mere prospect of being around his kids. “I’d like to be with them and you.”

“
Are you sure?” She looked up in his face again, her sad eyes hopeful.

“
Yeah.
Yes
, I do!” he assured her. “Now go on back inside and I’ll join you as soon as I’m done taking these bags over to the side of the garage.”

“
Yes, sir!” She saluted him, her smile seductive before moving back to the porch. “The yard looks great, by the way!”

He looked around him. He’d accomplished quite a bit in a short amount of time while pushing the heaviness in his heart as far away as he could manage.

“
It’s a start, babe!” he called to her as she stepped inside the house. “Hopefully, anyway,” he mumbled, after she shut the back door. He glanced again toward the corner of his yard. Everything now seemed peaceful. He grabbed the rake and a pair of full bags in each hand and headed toward the garage.

***

The detectives returned just after five o’clock as promised. The temperature outside had dropped into the low-thirties. David and the kids joined Miriam and Janice in the living room around four-thirty, where they awaited the detective’s arrival. As he had with his parents, Tyler offered very little information to Daniel Colby and Mike Kenyon, and only confirmed what David told them earlier. Unable to mask their growing frustration, the only thing that kept them from pushing Tyler harder for more information was Jillian’s antics, who desperately wanted to tell them about her experience on Monday.

Before long, Judith Krantz and her team of three forensic specialists arrived. The team spent twenty minutes on the main floor before moving upstairs. Meanwhile, Daniel and Mike interviewed Miriam and Janice, focusing on their relationship to Norman Sowell and what they knew about the girl Tyler had sketchily described. For the most part, they ignored David after their cordial greeting to him. But several times during their interviews with Janice and the family they glanced at him.

He sensed the weight of their suspicion. Yet it seemed in-appropriate to say anything, despite his seething indignation kept in check. He hoped to ease their distrust once they got around to interviewing him again that evening. But they avoided speaking to him directly. Instead, they revisited several questions with Tyler and Janice. Once the forensic team finished their work around seven o’clock, the detectives followed them out of the house.

“
I appreciate your family’s time, ma’am,” Daniel told Miriam. “We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions.”

He smiled at her before stepping out onto the porch, zipping his coat to avoid the night’s chill. Tiny snowflakes filled the air.

David noted both detectives’ gentle treatment of his wife, amused at how her charm enamored them. If nothing else, her presence made the second round of questions less accusatory and intrusive.

“
Well he seems nice,” she said, after closing the door.

“
I doubt he or Mike Kenyon care much for me,” said David, as they moved back into the living room. “Thank God you don’t look anything like Broomhilda, or this might’ve been unpleasant.”

His smile wry, she giggled, punching him on his arm. Janice chuckled as well, letting him know she noticed the same thing. Miriam looked up into his eyes as if gauging his present emotional state.

“
I think we should leave everything alone in here for now,” she said, once he stepped toward his cherished Lazy-Boy. “Just in case the police need anything else from us.”

“
They lifted that little shrine from our bedroom, including all of my hideous neckties. What more could they possibly want, unless they’re planning to take the doorframe from Ty’s room?” He inched closer to his recliner.

“
Just the same, we should stay with Jan,” she told him. “At least for tonight. Besides, Sara will be there around eight, and she’s looking forward to meeting you.”

“
The fortune-teller lady you mentioned last night?” He knew he sounded annoyed, but that’s the last thing he needed right now. Hell, the lady couldn’t even sense the ghost’s presence in their home, according to Miriam.

“
She’s not a fortune teller, David,” said Janice, her tone defensive. “She’s a psychic who also happens to be a paranormal investigator, one that’s
very
good at what she does. But, if you want me to cancel our plans to meet with her tonight, I’ll call her right now.”

“
No, Jan,” Miriam cut in before David could tell Janice to do it. “We planned this with her last night, and as booked as you said she usually is, I’d hate to cancel on her last minute. If David doesn’t want to meet her, you and I can visit with her for awhile.” Her smile loving, she moved over to him and placed her arm around his waist.

“
I guess I can hang out with the kids while you do that,” he said, returning her smile with a weak one. He welcomed any distraction that kept his mind off Norm, and he looked forward to when he and Miriam had intimate time alone later on. “Are you sure Jan doesn’t mind having us all crammed into her townhouse?”

“
Not at all,” said Janice. “You guys can stay as long as you like.”

Christopher chased Jillian with her cane through the kitchen and into the dining room, nearly knocking a ceramic serving bowl from the antique hutch to the floor. While David got after them, Janice and Miriam gathered more clothes and anything else needed. Once Miriam helped Tyler with his coat and the younger kids zipped up in their parkas, Jillian picked up Sadie. David set the alarm and they all walked outside, shivering from the cold night air.

The rumble of the minivan, Z4, and Janice’s Subaru soon faded away, just before a gust of wind swept a flurry of snowflakes across the backyard up to the deck. The backdoor’s brass handle rattled and the slightly parted curtains lifted into the air. Something cold and unfriendly drifted into the house.

Chapter Twenty-three

A few minutes before eight o’clock, Sara Palmer arrived at Janice Andrew’s townhouse. Unlike the colorful smock she wore when Miriam met her yesterday, Sara dressed more conservative this time, clad in a thick wool sweater, blue jeans, and boots. Other than the crystal necklace and amulet she wore around her neck, no one would have any inkling she had a connection to the paranormal.

After Miriam introduced her to David and the children, Sara sat down near the end of the sofa, setting her duffel bag and coat at her feet. Sadie jumped up into her lap, which surprised David since the dog had never taken so readily to a stranger.

Janice had prepared a marvelous chocolate torte, and when he got up for a second slice, Sara stopped him as he went by, taking his hands in hers while telling him how sorry she was for the recent loss of Norm. He thanked her and then moved into the kitchen, where Miriam caught up with him.

“
What was that all about just now?” he asked. “She wasn’t just offering me sympathy for losing Norm, was she?”

“
You’re right, hon,” she told him. “Please don’t freak out. It’s important for her to become familiar with your energy. She did that to me, too, yesterday afternoon. She said it helps her ‘better define the scope and cause of a haunting’.”

Despite her optimism, it still sounded like a load of new age bullshit. But he kept his latest misgivings to himself, for Miriam’s sake. She believed in Sara, so he’d cut her a break…for now.

When they returned to the living room, it surprised him that Tyler had struck up a lively conversation with Sara. The two discussed her son’s present pursuits as a software consultant to noteworthy computer companies like Dell and IBM. Tyler seemed to soak up every bit of advice she gave him as to what courses to choose in high school and the best colleges and Universities in the Rocky Mountain region for computer programming and graphic design.

Satisfied for the moment she wasn’t a complete flake, David relaxed a little, observing from a distance this woman who seemed full of energy and life. By the time nine o’clock arrived, the kids finally left the adults alone. Tyler and Jillian did so reluctantly, perhaps drawn as much by the mysterious contents inside Sara’s duffel bag as her vibrant personality.

The children out of earshot, she looked directly at David. Her stare made him uncomfortable. The vivacious smile faded from her face.

“
You’re the one,” she said. “The bond is to you.”

“
What do you mean?” he replied, his brow furrowed.

She looked away for a moment, as if studying the various features of the living room, settling on the large dream catcher Janice had hung upon the wall next to her front door. Sara stood up and set Sadie on the floor, returning her gaze to David as she walked over to him.

“
She chose you when she saw you and Miriam in Tenn-essee,” she said once she reached him, seated next to Miriam on the loveseat. “There’s some deep connection between the spirit and you. It could be she has mistaken you for someone else she was well acquainted with in her lifetime. Miriam told me that you said the spirit whispered the name ‘Billy Ray’. Does that name mean anything to you?”

He shook his head ‘no’. The first thing that popped into his mind was Billy Ray Cyrus, the country singer. Pretty damn sure that wasn’t the right connection, he waited for another clue.

“
I can see why you’d think that,” said Sara, sounding amused, as if she discerned his thoughts. “Well, it’s not so important why the spirit thinks this, as well as her reasons for thinking Ty is another boy named Zachariah. What is important is we find a way to stop her before she becomes violent again.”

“
I thought sending all that stuff back to Gatlinburg would take care of everything,” said David, echoing Miriam’s fears from yesterday and hoping he didn’t sound curt.

She moved back to the sofa, picking up her coat and putting it on.

“
It should still work,” she said. “But, I can say this for certain. When I first met Miriam yesterday, I didn’t feel the entity’s presence. Only your wife’s overwhelming sadness about what has befallen your family. When I visited your home I didn’t feel anything unusual either, despite the physical evidence that clearly indicated something supernatural had visited the house. But tonight that’s no longer the case. I feel the entity’s presence, and it’s strong.”

“
You’re talking about the girl, Allie Mae, right?” asked Janice from her reading chair, next to the fireplace. “How’s that still possible, since whatever belonged to her is no longer here?”

“
Yes, it’s Allie Mae,” confirmed Sara. “Honestly, I don’t know why her presence is stronger. I do know she isn’t here with us right now. She’s somewhere else, maybe even far away, watching…watching and waiting.”

“
Waiting for what?” David wondered aloud.

“
Get your coats and come with me,” said Sara. “I wish to visit your house once more.”

Janice volunteered to stay behind with the kids, who eagerly agreed to accompany her to Walgreen’s to pick up the ingredients for some ‘smores’ and the pictures she and Miriam had dropped off earlier that evening. Meanwhile, Sara joined David and Miriam in the minivan, and they soon pulled up into the driveway of their home. At first glance everything appeared as they last left it.

Sara followed Miriam and David onto the porch, looking warily around herself and breathing deep, as if trying to catch the very essence of their home. She motioned for David to lead the way in with Miriam following behind him. After another cautious glance over her shoulder, she followed them inside the house. David closed the front door and together they moved into the living room. Sara set her duffel bag on the coffee table, but this time pulled out a Nikon camera equipped with a flash, an EMF detector, and a small digital recorder with an external microphone.

“
I’m not here to bless the place this time,” she said, perhaps noting Miriam’s perplexed look. “This is more a fact gathering mission, so we can work toward ensuring the entity’s presence doesn’t remain in your lives.”

Sara handed the EMF detector to Miriam, explaining how she wanted her to watch for energy spikes that appeared in the device’s digital readout. She gave the recorder to David after turning it on and making sure it worked. She advised him to be careful not to let the slim vinyl strap or anything else brush up against either the external or internal microphones of the recorder while they moved through both floors.

“
Are you sure you want us to help you with this?” asked Miriam.

“
Absolutely,” she said. “This is different from what I hoped to accomplish yesterday. Having yours and David’s senses and observations to go along with my own should only prove helpful.”

She motioned for them to follow her, and they explored the darkened den, kitchen, and dining room on the first floor. Every now and then she’d stop and snap a picture or two, which prompted David to ask if having the lights on would be helpful. She replied it wouldn’t, since anomalies often appear in photographs taken in darkness. After checking the garage the group moved upstairs.

Another portrait had fallen on the stairway. Careful in setting it aside, they continued to the second floor, moving through each bedroom and bathroom. Sara snapped more pictures while Miriam and David followed close behind. The exercise proved uneventful, since the house felt as normal as it had earlier that night. No noticeable cold pockets or creaking floors, or anything else to draw their attention.