“Watch it!” Veronica shouted, tumbling to her right in the back of the rover as Alison took another turn too quickly. I saw Alison hide a smile while I continued fighting with the idiotic programming of the GPS. Every beep of complaint made me think of a new creative thing to do to the programmers. In the side mirror, I could see the three Sheriff’s department SUVs tailing us.
“Whose idea was it to get this one?” I shouted, as the GPS complained again.
“That would be you.” Alison glanced at me through her bangs. Our brief stop at the Sheriff’s station to drop off the confession hardly went as planned. The Sheriff’s department had logged more than forty incidents in the area over the last five months. They decided to use Boggs’ disappearance as an excuse to investigate under the guise of ‘search and rescue.’
“Could you slow it down a bit?” Veronica forced herself upright to lean forward between the seats. Her sunglasses were crooked, and she looked even more frazzled. She had met us at the station and decided to ride with us to give herself time to recover from her binge last night. Between her hangover and Alison’s driving, we had already stopped for her twice. I exchanged a glance with Alison that caused a stifled chuckle. Alison took another quick turn to slam Veronica into the side of the seat. “I hate you!”
“Are you wearing a seatbelt?” I dropped the GPS into my jacket pocket.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t help with her driving.” Veronica leaned forward again to glare at our chauffer. “Take it easy. You’re going to lose our guests.”
“They’re fine.” Alison looked in her mirror at the big gray truck trailing behind the Sheriff’s department on our bumper.
“What, you think it’s going to matter if we save a few minutes of drive-time and end up in a ditch?” Veronica grumbled. In retaliation, Alison aimed the rover at a deep pothole. The rover slammed into the crater and sent Veronica bouncing in the air. A hollow thump against the canvas roof signaled Veronica’s new headache. “Where did you learn to drive?” She rubbed her head.
“There it is.” Alison pointed at the blue house through the trees.
“Good.” Veronica let out a groan of relief. Alison spun the wheel turning the vehicle into the driveway. The rover whined to a stop in the driveway alongside the Sheriff’s truck. Two SUV’s continued toward Boggs, while the third revved its engine and crawled onto the lawn. The ancient gray truck followed suit. The vehicles came to a stop arranged in a rough fan.
I gave the girls a worried look, as the Sheriff sent a deputy over to the SUV to talk with the driver. I took a deep breath and climbed out with Alison. I held the seat forward to let Veronica out. She staggered over to lean on the truck. We had managed to change out of our suits and into t-shirts and jeans, thanks to Veronica’s delivery, but she still looked out of place in her pink tank-top and leather motorcycle jacket. I moved to stand by the front bumper and watch the police at work.
“Having fun yet?” I asked Veronica, but she was leaning against the rover with her eyes closed, and didn’t seem to hear me. Across from us, the new deputies were unloading the SUV on the lawn. The morning mist created a chill in the air. The sun was hidden among the clouds somewhere in the east.
A woman with long black hair and glasses climbed out of the gray truck, wearing jeans and a light coat. I glanced at Alison, and we started toward the woman as she opened the tailgate. She lifted her head from scrounging through a backpack when we stepped up.
“You’re still alive I see,” she commented to Alison, before facing us.
“Sarah.” I scanned the items in the truck. “So, how did you get roped into this?”
“Jason felt I could help out.” She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “He didn’t tell me that this was one of your messes.”
“It’s not a mess.” Alison frowned. “Not much of one at least.”
“Says you.”
“So why are you really out here?” I watched her eyes.
“Just helping. That’s all.” Her gaze switched from Alison to the road and back to me. She was a terrible liar.
“Bit of advice.” She crossed her arms at my tone. “Don’t play poker, you’re terrible.”
“Fine.” She let out a sigh. “The whole Bigfoot thing has me curious. I know that the prints you gave me are fake but the rumors and stories for this area go back to pre-colonial times. I thought it might be interesting.”
“The truth is revealed.” I smiled at her and Alison.
“I know.” Alison smiled. “The accounts of monsters, abandoned townships, and the legends of the Wendigo are fascinating.” I rolled my eyes and spotted Veronica ducking behind the rover.
“And, oh look…” I held out my hand and rubbed my fingertips together like I was letting sand escape. Alison frowned at me. “Care just slipped away. Excuse me.” I walked away from them and their supernatural nonsense.
Moving between the Sheriff’s truck and the rover, I spotted Veronica bent over the back bumper of the truck with one hand on the tailgate. She pulled herself upright and wiped her mouth a moment before she repeated the motion. She may have been happy last night, but she was certainly paying for it this morning. I shook my head and opened the door of the rover to retrieve a bottle of water. I closed the door and leaned on the corner of the car across from her. She surfaced again with a groan.
“It’s like high school all over again,” I snickered, and held the water out for her. She snatched the bottle and downed half of it. “Are you going to make it?”
“If you really cared about me, you’d kill me.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back again.
“You see, I would, but I think there are a few people around here who might frown on that sort of thing.” She spun and leaned over the bumper again. After a couple of coughs, she surfaced and shakily collapsed to sit on the ground.
“Please kill me.”
“As much fun as that sounds, I’ve got enough problems trying to keep you alive without adding to the list.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her up. “Come on, V.”
I opened the tailgate of the rover and set her down. Brushing her hair aside, I watched her green bloodshot eyes for a moment. I felt a sharp pang of guilt, and moved away to pull several black canvas equipment bags onto the edge of the bumper. I took the GPS from my coat pocket, to place it on top of the larger bag.
“What’s on your mind?” I sat on the bumper next to her.
“Nothing.” She took another drink of water and gave me look. “Seriously, it’s nothing.” She let out a sigh and dropped her eyes to the ground.
“And the truth?”
“A month ago, I was homeless, you were dead, and Jess and I were fighting. If someone told me a cult would kill her and I would be working with you to help save a family from a demon, I would’ve had them committed.”
“Still might be the best thing to do.” I playfully poked at her side to get a smile.
“Don’t tempt me.” She hesitated. “It hasn’t really set in until now.”
“How so?”
“I guess you don’t notice when you’re focused on what’s going on, but it’s all so, big.”
“A little.” A loud metal clang snatched everyone’s attention to the SUV. Sarah had dropped the tailgate of the truck with Jason’s help. “Many want to be a part of something larger, something that shapes their lives. When you are, you only want that smaller life back.” I tucked my hands in the pockets of my gray twill coat.
“Especially when it’s constant misery.” She watched Alison chatting with the Sheriff. “I just want all of this madness to stop. Too many people I care about are dead.”
“Sometimes it takes all of the strength we have just to keep going.” I watched the clouds, remembering Jessica’s laugh on the wind.
“Is that what it’s about?” Veronica flipped her jacket, rattling the zippers and letting the wind carry her hair between us. “Move on?” I gave a shrug. A dog bark jarred us back into the world.
“The masses await.” I pushed off the bumper and headed for the Sheriff, with Veronica by my side. Jason’s girlfriend, Sarah, was petting a big German Shepherd sitting near the SUV. The Sheriff and Jason were talking near the house as the deputies scurried about. Alison was listening to what the Sheriff had to tell Jason, while reassuring him that we weren’t going to cause trouble. A tiny red car pulled into the driveway behind the rover. “When it rains…”
“What?” I nodded back at the recent arrivals. An average blonde with dark-rimmed glasses stepped out of the driver’s door while a skinny blonde climbed out to the passenger side. Ellie and Cassie headed over to Sarah. Veronica made a face as I walked over to Alison to speak with the Sheriff. She was still discussing events with the heavy-set man in uniform until I stepped up next to him.
“Sheriff Brooks.” I nodded at him.
“I’ll tell you what I’ve told your associate here. You are here to help with the search, if you cause any trouble, I will toss the lot of you in holding.” More blackmail. At the station, the Sheriff had mentioned receiving a report about the biker incident and our ‘help’ was required to keep the report ‘lost.’ If we showed up on any public incidents, it would be like waving a flag saying “here I am,” at the cult.
“Understood. We’re just here to help. Now what were you saying about the Fergusons?” Alison waved at a mosquito.
“They’re not here, and no one has been able to reach them. Now, I wouldn’t be concerned with that if it wasn’t for the other reports that have come in over the last week.”
“What do you mean missing?” Cassie asked, joining the group. I felt like strangling her, but settled for a glare. “They’re my family.” Cassie looked genuinely concerned. Alison and Veronica glared at her for a moment before she noticed.
“Now they could simply have left on a trip, but I’m taking this very seriously. I’ve got half-a-dozen deputies out here today to see if we can figure this out.” His even tone reflected his solid stature.
“What are you going to do about it?” Cassie demanded.
“Now, there is no need to be alarmed. We still don’t know if there is anything wrong.” The Sheriff’s tone said he was already tired of the situation.
“Is there something we can do?” Cassie asked with a bit less attitude. I knew she wasn’t likely to be of any help. It was far more likely that she would to try and tell everyone else what to do.
“Excellent idea.” The Sheriff let out an ear-piercing whistle to gain everyone’s attention, before waving them over. I glanced at the girls to my right, both looked anxious. Three deputies, Sarah, and the dog joined our gathering. The Sheriff waved to a deputy to go after something. “We are still uncertain of what’s happening around this region, but we’re going to treat it like a Search and Rescue with evidence collection.”
“Sir.” The cookie-cutter deputy returned from the front of the Sheriff’s truck with a rolled up map that the Sheriff took without a word.
“We have nine people unaccounted for in the last month, the old man and the family bring it to fourteen.” The Sheriff unrolled the map on the down tailgate. “We’re running a search trap with string-lines. I’ve got units barricading the surrounding roads, no one in or out without identification. That leaves us a twenty-square mile area to search. Fortunately, we have a few seasonal access roads that traverse the search area.” The Sheriff looked over the crowd. “Collins, I want you and Morgan running patrols down those roads.”
“Yes, sir,” the deputy responded.
“Rogers.” The Sheriff looked at our disgruntled friend and officer behind his sports sunglasses. “I want you and that K-9 unit to search the Boggs property.”
“Yes, sir,” Jason responded. His posture said he was still angry with us for the case from last week. Nearly being beaten to death by Rostern could certainly alter one’s attitude.
“The Ferguson residence and the Boggs residence represent the south eastern and south western corners of our search grid.” Brooks tapped the two spots on the map. “After a sweep of the property, I want Maitland and your team to set out for the northwestern corner running a string line. Rogers, you head for the northeastern corner. Am I clear?”
“Crystal.” I tried not to sound too irritated.
“Good. Then grab a radio and get moving. I want status updates on the hour every hour.” The Sheriff started to make marks on the map with a red marker. “Remember to keep an eye out for anything suspicious that might count as evidence.” Veronica followed me back to the rover with Alison in the lead.
“On the plus side, we won’t have to worry about our sniper,” Alison stated, with a strong tone of sarcasm. I gave a snort. She wasn’t wrong.
“Now who’s the optimist?” Veronica retorted. I opened the passenger door with a hearty tug.
“The chances of dying from exposure are much higher,” Alison stated, while moving to the driver’s side of the rover.
“Oh, stop.” I reached into the car. Alison was leaning in from the other side, searching through the small black travel bag. I pulled out a rolled map from between the seats. “You…” I tapped her on the head with the thin rolled map which made her flinch. “You need to be more positive.” I walked around Veronica to the front of the rover.
“Me?” She raised her voice. “I am positive. It’s the situation that’s negative.”
“Funny.” Veronica turned back to me.
“We are surrounded by police,” I offered. Veronica rolled her eyes at me, and pushed past to the back of the rover.
“And armed,” Veronica added, with the familiar sound of her revolver being loaded.