Ezekiel’s tale of the exorcism matched fairly closely with what Danni’s research had revealed, but there were additional details that had apparently been left out of the official account.
According to his story, the creature known as the Jersey Devil had rampaged the area in the years leading up to the exorcism, but the number of those affected appeared higher than that officially reported.
Whether it was true or the man was simply exaggerating to make the story seem more dramatic, though, Derek didn’t ask.
The creature had struck some of the other towns bordering the forest, enough so that outside police help began to arrive in Shilough, something the small, close-knit community apparently did not appreciate. To Derek it sounded like something out of a cliché drifter story, in which a luckless hitchhiker wandered into a town that didn’t care much for strangers.
Aside from that, it appeared the two stories matched fairly closely. The exorcism itself was more of a day-long party of religious fervor by the townsfolk. When it was over, the sightings and disappearances died down.
Definitely a case of power of suggestion if ever he’d heard one, albeit it was a temporary balm, as devil sightings began to rise again in the decades that followed.
As for the missing persons, there was no way of knowing what had actually happened to them. But the preacher’s warning to stay away from the more dangerous sections of the Pine Barrens almost certainly contributed to a decline in such mysterious disappearances.
In short, there wasn’t anything to convince him the devil was any more real than when they’d first arrived. Still, Derek couldn’t shake a strange feeling in the back of his mind as he and Francis excused themselves from the museum and turned to leave. They walked out the door, thanking Ezekiel for his time and letting it close behind them.
“What do you think, Frank?”
“I would’ve handed over that twenty just to get away from that guy.”
“Not going to argue with you there.”
“You can’t tell me,” the bigger man joked, “that he doesn’t have a van parked around back with a sign on it reading ‘Free Candy.’”
“Be nice. I can’t imagine business is brisk even on the best of...”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Huh?” Derek turned to find his cameraman pointing.
“Looks like we have company.”
Derek glanced toward the direction of their SUV. He’d been expecting to find that their security detail had finally caught up to them. Instead, he saw a somewhat familiar-looking woman leaning against the side of their vehicle, apparently waiting for their return. “Is that...?”
“The reporter who gave you shit earlier. Looks like it.”
“Well, isn’t that just grand?”
Francis laughed. “Maybe the governor should hire her as our babysitter instead. She did a hell of a better job tracking us down than Zeist’s guys.”
♦ ♦ ♦
There was no way to avoid the confrontation, so the two men simply walked toward their vehicle. This wouldn’t be the first time, Derek noted, that they’d had to give someone the runaround. Albeit people in the press could be a lot harder to shake loose once they set their minds to something.
As they approached, the woman stood away from their SUV and smiled in their direction. “Dr. Jenner, Mr. LaCroix.”
Derek returned the smile. At least she’d gotten his title right this time. “Ms...”
“Wilhelm. Julia, please.” She held out a hand which both men shook in turn.
“A pleasure to see you again,” Derek replied neutrally. “Although I have to admit, I am a bit surprised.”
“Let me guess. You thought I just popped by your press conference to harass you so I could return home and write a story about conspiracies and cover-ups?”
Francis snorted laughter. “If I was a betting man, that’s where my money would be.”
Derek glanced sidelong at him before turning toward Julia again. “I’m forced to agree. No offense, but usually the only people who bother stalking us are overeager fans. I mean, if this is all for an autograph...”
“I can stop you right there, Dr. Jenner.”
“Derek.”
“Thank you, Derek. But up until a few months ago, I’d never even heard of your show. I mostly stick to network television.”
“Mind-numbing sitcoms and teen angst, quite the combo,” Francis said.
Derek folded his arms in front of him. “And yet you had some wild claims back there at the press conference. Pretty damning for someone who has no idea who we are.”
“Had,” she corrected. “I did my research, brought myself up to speed ... particularly about the rumors surrounding your show. Then, when I heard you were coming here at Governor Yarlberg’s request, I had to wonder whether it was just a coincidence.”
“Rumors?” Derek asked, despite being well aware they existed. Even with all the threats and signed affidavits in the world, some people just couldn’t keep their mouths shut. Fortunately for them, chatter like this was mostly confined to half-baked websites run by conspiracy nuts.
“Yes. Taken by themselves, they’re easily dismissed. But when you begin to look at the bigger picture, it fits together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.”
“I hear they sell those at Target,” Francis replied. “Although theirs tend to come with a lot less crazy.”
“Be that as it may,” Derek said, ignoring his teammate’s barb, “such ridiculous hearsay doesn’t strike me as something that would make for a front page story, even on a slow news day. Except for maybe the tabloids. And I wouldn’t expect one of their reporters to bother stalking us.”
“I’m not stalking you.”
“Oh, so you just happened to turn up here in the middle of nowhere, same as us?”
“It’s called research. That, and this truck ... not the most inconspicuous thing on the road.”
“She has a point there, Derek.”
“Next time,” she said with a smile, “consider renting something a bit more low key, or just call Uber.”
Derek let out a sigh and turned to Francis. “Mind stowing the equipment? We need to get back on the road.”
“You got it, boss.” He walked to the other side of the SUV where he opened the rear passenger door to put his camera away.
“Got something in there you don’t want me to see?” Julia asked.
Derek smirked at her. “Just a couple of bigfoot corpses. At least, according to your sources.”
The assuredness dropped off Julia’s face after a moment. Derek assumed her next move would be to walk off angrily, shouting back at them that they couldn’t hide forever from the free press or some other such bullshit.
Instead, she took a deep breath and said, “My apologies. This isn’t going how I envisioned it.”
“I’m not really sure what you envisioned. Some tearful confession that we’re part of a global conspiracy, perhaps?”
“No. That’s not what I meant. When I first heard about you guys, what some people say you do, I thought it was crazy, too. But the more I dug, the more it started to make sense. Then, when I heard you were coming here, after what’s happened, I thought it had to be related. But the truth is, it was probably more wishful thinking on my part than anything.”
Derek found himself intrigued. Though his better judgment told him they should get in the car and drive off without any further comment, he found himself asking, “So why the sudden interest in us? What happened to turn me and my crew from non-entities to this?” He waved his hand to indicate the area. “Off the record, of course.”
She appeared to consider this for a moment before looking around, as if making sure nobody else was within earshot. “Fine. I guess if the rumors aren’t true, then the worst I’ll be doing is making a fool of myself.”
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
“You’ve heard of the disappearances?”
Derek wasn’t about to take the bait so easily. “It might have been mentioned in talks with our producer. Makes for good drama.”
“Not for all of us. My sister Sophie and her husband John, they disappeared a couple of months back. No trace of them. John worked for the AEP. That’s the Agency of...”
“I know who they are,” Derek replied, indicating she go on.
“They were supposed to be heading down to Atlantic City for the weekend, but John had to make a stop in those damned woods first.”
“And you know this how?”
“My sister. She and I talked the day before. It was all she could complain about, how his boss was taking advantage of him. Well, they never arrived. I called the hotel. They never checked in.”
Derek raised an eyebrow, but was careful not to say anything. This had to be the same John that Donald Krychech had told them about, the one whose body had been found and whose wife was still missing. He couldn’t tip his hand, though, as much as he wanted to. Julia was the missing woman’s sister, but she was also a reporter. There was no way he could confide in her and feel confident she wouldn’t try to blow things wide open. All the signed affidavits in the world wouldn’t mean shit if she was on a mission.
He considered this for the briefest of moments. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing in this case. The cover-up by Yarlberg left a bad taste in his mouth. Seeing the governor dragged out in front of the press to explain not only the environmental issues, but also why he’d taken the law into his own hands, would be immensely satisfying. But there would be ramifications for his team. Though he sometimes hated the secrecy that their dealings with the government required, there was one major aspect that kept him focused: they helped people, saved lives. He wasn’t about to jeopardize that for something as petty as shoving Yarlberg’s crap back in his own face.
He forced his voice to maintain a careful measure of neutrality as he asked, “Have you tried the police?”
She narrowed her eyes as if she wanted to scream at him, but remained calm. “Of course I did. I filed a missing person’s report as soon as I could.”
“And?”
“And nothing! It’s like they couldn’t have cared less. All they do is keep giving me the runaround.”
Francis had stowed the camera and was looking over the top of the SUV toward Derek. He saw the anger in the big man’s eyes and felt it himself. The AEP’s people had found John. Krychech had said so himself. And yet this poor woman had apparently been told nothing.
He was well aware that certain facts surrounding a death sometimes needed to be kept under wraps – had been forced to do so himself more than he wanted to admit. The truth wouldn’t bring the dead back, but that didn’t mean families didn’t deserve a body to bury or a memory to mourn. That was one line he refused to cross – leaving people with the torture of never knowing.
That Yarlberg and his lackeys were doing so, and all for something so petty as political gain, was almost impossible to believe.
“And I don’t think it stops there,” Julia continued, caught up in her tale. “I have friends in this business. Hell, my editor and I went to school together. At first, they were all happy to help spread the story. Promised me that Sophie and John’s pictures would be plastered everywhere. But then something changed. They all went from supporting me to nothing but excuses. Whenever I ask anyone about it, they’re quick to change the subject. Someone doesn’t want this getting out and I don’t know why.” She looked at the two men. “I know how I sound – probably like some crazed conspiracy nut – but all I want is to find my sister. She’s a good person. She doesn’t deserve this.”
Derek placed a hand on her shoulder. “Believe me, I understand. I really do. Listen, we’re going to be conducting our night investigation in the woods. Despite what you might think of our show, my people are well-trained and know what they’re doing. I can’t promise you that we’ll find anything, but I will promise that if we do, we’ll tell you. You have my word on that.”
Julia’s expression softened. “Thank you. And, sorry if I came across as a nut.”
Derek smiled at her. “In this business we run into a lot of them. Believe me, you really don’t fit the mold.”