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Todd’s death continued to hang over me like a shroud of sadness, but finding out how he’d been killed started a fire of rage in my belly. I was bent on finding the black car with red paint scratches. I rode through our neighborhood, scouring vehicles for signs of the crash, but I came up empty. I went to Lester’s house, but his car was gone. I was disappointed because his car was black. I rode to the mortuary with high hopes, but the parking lot was empty except for an old Ford truck.
I rode my bike slowly back to our neighborhood. I turned in the direction of the Moguls, where my friends were, and stopped at the head of Dawn’s street. I looked at her house. No one was outside. I wanted to ask her—and Morgan—to join us, but I was afraid of upsetting my friends. I needed to make sure we were okay before I tried bringing the girls along, so I went to see my friends first. I continued to ride until the pavement gave way to a dirt road and opened up into the wide field of rolling dirt hills that stretched for two miles. My friends were at the tail end of a line of hills, which was next to the dirt road and the entrance to the neighborhood, working on our fort.
When I got there, Rosco, Gary, and Jax were already digging.
“Hey, Ret, come see what we’ve done!” Jax called out.
“We’ve got a bona fide fort right here.” Rosco’s smile spread up to his ears.
“Wow!” I said, genuinely impressed. The entrance was double the size I remembered it being. I still had to duck my head to get in, but that wasn’t bad. I sensed the excitement from the others as I crawled in.
“Look how deep it goes,” Gary said.
“We done dug a bunch out since last time. Dug deeper into the ground too, so we can sit in here without bumpin’ our heads,” Rosco explained.
I sat down, and the ceiling was two or three inches above my head. They’d built two support beams with some old two-by-fours my dad had lying around. It looked solid, but probably wasn’t up to the state’s building code. The dirt was moist and cool to the touch, and the fort smelled of freshly dug earth. I was amazed.
“This is really awesome,” I said.
“Dig any further, and we’ll find gold or China!” Rosco laughed.
All four of us crawled into the cave and scooted into a crude circle.
“We can all fit in here!” Gary exclaimed.
“With room to spare,” Rosco added.
“We’re gonna get some dates and bring girls here,” Jax stated with confidence.
“Speaking of girls,” Gary said, eyeballing me. “How is Dawn?”
“Yeah, heard you got a girlfriend.” Rosco elbowed my side, chuckling. “You kiss her yet?”
“No.” I shook my head, and my face got hot. “Honestly, we’re just friends.”
“You gotta kiss her!” Rosco bellowed. “With tongue.” He wiggled his tongue in a repulsive manner which caused us all to twist our faces in disgust.
“Gross,” Gary said.
“I’m not going to do that,” I stated.
“That’s what she’d want,” Rosco went on. “I had me a girlfriend back in Texas, and we went out behind her shed one day, and she grabbed my shirt and planted one right square on my lips! So I kissed her back, and then she stuck her tongue in my—”
“Okay, okay.” I stopped him. “That’s enough. I’m getting too many images in my head I can’t erase.”
We all had a good laugh, then I heard footsteps outside.
“Ret?” It was Dawn’s voice, and my friends made funny faces at me.
I crawled out of the cave and stood up to see that Morgan was next to her. “Hey, Dawn. Hey, Morg. Whatcha guys doing?”
The rest of my friends shuffled out of the cave.
“You guys building a fort?” Dawn asked.
“Yeah,” Rosco said.
“Looks more like a cave,” Morgan snarked.
“It’s our man cave,” Jax said proudly.
“Looks more like a kiddie cave,” Morgan remarked, and Jax frowned.
Dawn bent to her knees and crawled inside it, nodding. She gripped the support beams and gave them a firm shake. “You got good supports in here. Could use a couple more in the back before this roof caves in.”
Rosco gave me a surprised look.
Dawn stood up, smacking the dirt off her hands. “If you guys would like some help, I have some more two-by-fours at my house.”
“What do you know ’bout buildin’?” Rosco asked.
“My dad’s an engineer. He’s built a thing a two, and I’ve always helped him out.”
Rosco was hesitant at first, then grinned widely. “All right then. Let’s do it.”
Dawn flashed me a smile. “Do you wanna help me get the wood?”
“Uh, yeah, of course.”
I heard the boys oohing and ahhing under their breaths as I followed Dawn away from the cave.
Morgan stayed with the boys and the cave. As Dawn and I walked away, she asked them, “It’s hot out here. How do you stand it?”
“It’s cool here in the cave. At least by twenty degrees. Try it out,” Jax said.
“I hope this is okay,” Dawn said to me.
“Are you kidding? I’m glad you showed up. I want you to get to know my friends, and this will be fun.”
Dawn and I collected the boards, and we all went to work. Both Dawn and Morgan helped dig, carry dirt, and plant the support beams, and we increased the size of the cave by at least two more feet, including a few more inches of head clearance.
Dawn and Morgan left for a few minutes and returned with cold Shastas, then we all sat inside our cave and drank our sodas.
“Well? What do you think?” Jax asked Morgan.
She nodded. “Okay, this is cool.”
“So, is it still a man cave?” Dawn asked.
“I think we can rename it.” I looked at the boys for agreement. Gary and Rosco nodded, and Jax shrugged.
“What should we call it?” Gary asked Morgan.
“How about Cueva?” Morgan’s face lit up.
“Cueva? What in the hell is that?” Rosco asked.
“It’s ‘cave’ in Spanish. My mom knows Spanish, and I’ve learned a little.” Her tone lifted with pride.
“I like it,” Jax said, and we all agreed the fort’s new name was Cueva.
My hands were caked with dirt, soil lined my fingernails, and my whole body was pouring sweat. Dirt smeared Dawn’s forehead where she’d wiped sweat away with her soiled hand.
“That about does it for today, boys,” Rosco said as the sun dipped behind the mountains. “At least we got new support beams in thanks to Dawn.”
As we crawled out of Cueva, Mr. Tally, whom I recognized from church, walked toward us from the dirt road. I didn’t know his first name, but I thought he was in his late fifties. His eyes turned down in a sorrowful way, and his lips quivered when he talked.
“You kids know Andrea Johnson? She’d be not much older than you. Thirteen, I ’spect.” He handed me a wallet-sized picture of her—a school headshot. Her long blond hair draped over her shoulders, and brown eyes sparkled over a radiant smile. She was wearing a peach dress, and I recognized her immediately. I knew of her, but not directly. She was in different classes.
The others nodded, and I answered, “Yes.”
“She’s gone missing—” He choked on his words. “Last seen with her mother at the gas station just across the street from our neighborhood. She went in to pay for gas, and when she come out, Andrea was gone. No one saw what happened. She been by here? She was wearin’ a blue dress. Silk, I think, and black shiny shoes.”
“No, we haven’t seen her,” Dawn responded.
All the color drained from Morgan’s face.
“Best you boys and girls run on home to your families. There’ll be a meetin’ tonight at the church. We’re putting together a search party.”
“You don’t know what happened?” Gary asked. “Who took her?”
“We don’t know she’s been taken,” he answered quickly. “Just missin’ at this point. I don’t know what’s goin’ on, but light’s about out, and you kids need to be at home with your families. Understand?”
We all nodded. I saw in his eyes the same question I had. What is happening in this town?
The mountains had completely doused the light of the sun by the time I arrived home. A rustling uneasiness was already spreading through the neighborhood; parents shuffled their children into their homes, sweeping a wary eye around. A few of those stares had been directed at me because it was dark, my features were hard to decipher, and people were on the lookout for not only Andrea, but anyone suspicious.
Once I got home, my parents gathered me and my brothers in the station wagon, and we drove to the church. The meeting was held in the gymnasium of the church, and just about everyone I knew was there. The feeling of kinship, loyalty, and love was strong as everyone rallied to help out one of our own. We began the meeting with a prayer, and our bishop finished the meeting with a prayer. Choked by emotion, he struggled halfway through the prayer, and several people cried and sniffled.
Feeling empowered by the bishop’s prayer, I left the church. Nothing was going to stop me or anyone else from finding Andrea. Unfortunately, daylight was already gone, and we were urged to wait until first light to start the search, but several men, including my dad, gathered on their own with flashlights and started combing Riverton and all its fields.
The morning came, and looking out over the sea of volunteers gathered at the gas station where she’d last been seen, I couldn’t imagine how we wouldn’t be able to find her. It wasn’t only in my heart. I saw it in others’ eyes too: the fear of finding Andrea dead. I didn’t want to think about it, though.
Jax’s and Gary’s families were there, along with Rosco’s. Sheriff Packard split everyone in groups and designated areas for each group to search.
The entire search party started at the gas station and headed west past some houses, around Dead Man’s Hill, and into the field behind my house.
Once in the field, we formed a front line like soldiers in the Civil War and walked slowly through the weeds and brush. Sheriff Packard stood north of us, talking to Farmer Joe, who carried his usual scowl and a shotgun. Farmer Joe was loud enough for everyone to hear him, and he was so resistant to the sheriff that I thought he was going to start trouble.
“I can’t have you carrying a gun.” Packard pointed to the shotgun in his hands.
“What?” Farmer Joe exclaimed, his eyes wide. “I’m not going to hurt no one. This is just filled with rock salt. That’s all.” He shook his head.
“We have women and children out here.” He glanced at me then nodded to a family behind me who had two children around five and seven years old.
“I ain’t goin’ no further without it. I tell ya that much. I got a right, and you can pry it from my dead hands.”
Packard sighed and rested his hand on the pistol on his hip and locked his jaw as he stared Joe down. “Don’t start anything. I asked nicely, but I won’t ask again. Take your weapon back to your house.”
Realizing Packard was serious and not backing down, Farmer Joe huffed and marched back to his house, cursing under his breath.
Toward the end of my row, Dawn was walking next to her dad, looking fervently behind every bush and small hill.
I tried several times to catch her eye, and finally on the fifth time, she looked my way. A smile tugged at her mouth. It was grim due to the circumstances, and I returned the expression, nodding my reassurance that everything would be okay. She appeared to read my signal correctly and nodded back.
As we continued, we flushed out a few pheasants and rabbits, but nothing else.
The Crooked House loomed in the distance, watching us, laughing at us. It knew where Andrea was. It probably had Andrea. I couldn’t help but think of the irony of all the volunteers searching behind every rock and in every crevice, while Andrea sat just inside that house—tied up and gagged, probably.
We finished combing the field and continued up the trail that led to the Crooked House. I turned to my dad. “Dad, we need to check that house.”
His face scrunched with thought. “Well, it’s not abandoned anymore. If it was, I’m sure it would be the first place to look, but someone lives there now.”
“All the more reason to look. Obviously, the man who lives there isn’t here helping us. He’s practically the only one in Riverton who’s not.”
“There’s a lot of people who aren’t here. We can’t just accuse someone of a crime because they didn’t show up or they live in a creepy house.”
“Dad, this is a search. We need to look everywhere, right?”
He nodded.
“It’s just a knock on the door. We’ll ask him if he’s seen her or anything suspicious.”
Nodding, he said, “You’re right. We have to check houses too. I’ll get Jerry and Ross to go with me. You stay here.”
“Why?” I demanded.
“Just stay back.”
My dad gathered a couple of guys, and two more volunteered, including Dawn’s dad, then five men marched down the trail to the house.
It looked as abandoned as it had the day before Lester moved in. It held secrets and history within its foundation and wood, and I couldn’t help but think of Mathilda Stockholm, her hair in a tight bun, wearing her stiff pioneer dress. An image of her drowning her six-year-old daughter sent more than chills through my system. I felt my stomach churn, and in my head, I saw her crazy white eyes shadowed by dark rings.
Why did she return my pillow? I had a feeling she was calling out to me for help. Help? She’s a murderer! She was evil. Right?
The search party gathered on Beck Street, and people compared notes, coming up with ideas of where to search next.
I wandered over to Dawn, who stood alone and was staring at the Crooked House.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi.” She turned to me. “It’s just awful.”
“I know. I can’t believe it.”
“Vanished. Like that. Her mother turned away for a few seconds, and poof, she was gone.” She shook her head. “Do you think it was them?”
“I do. They took Joanna, and now Andrea. I just can’t prove it.”
“Maybe they’ll find something out.” She nodded to the group of men approaching the house.
“That would be such a relief,” I said.
“You know...” She perked with confidence. “I think they will. My dad is with them, and your dad. They’ll see how suspicious he is and how he’s hiding something. Sheriff Packard is here too.”
I looked at Packard, who watched the five men approach the house.
“Let’s go talk to him.” Dawn marched toward him.
I had no choice but to follow.
“Sheriff?” she asked.
Keeping an eye on the house, he barely turned. “Hi. Dawn, wasn’t it? Still needing sponsors?”
“I put that on hold for now. More important things going on, wouldn’t you think?”
“Yes.” He nodded and looked at me. “Hey, Ret.”
I waved.
We all turned our attention back to the house and the five men knocking at the door. Lester was in the entrance with the door half open and a hand ready to close it. He appeared agitated as they talked to him.
“I wonder what he’s saying,” she said.
“I don’t know.” I turned to Packard. “What do you think, Sheriff?”
“They just got there. Let’s see what happens.” He looked down at both of us. “I know you think Lester and Beaumont are up to something. You might even think they’re responsible for Andrea’s disappearance.”
“You have to admit it’s pretty strange that shortly after Lester moved in, Beaumont went missing, then Joanna, and now Andrea. Not to mention the suspicious activity around Mrs. Beaumont’s murder.”
“I didn’t mention there were any suspicions around Mrs. Beaumont’s mur—I mean death.”
“Why don’t you at least search their house? Then you can be sure.”
“Police have to have reasonable cause or a search warrant to do that. I can’t just walk into someone’s house and search it because you or anybody else thinks they’re weird. There are laws and rules we need to follow. In other words, leave it up to me and my deputies. We’re doing everything we can, and the best thing you two can do is continue to search. Understand?”
We nodded agreement, and Packard left us. Dawn and I watched as he walked up to the five men leaving the house and talked to them. Without saying a word, Dawn and I went back to searching.
***
THAT NIGHT, MATHILDA visited my room again. I woke up to her throwing things around. She swept both arms across the top of my dresser and knocked over my piggy bank, cologne, a pinewood derby trophy, a couple of Star Wars figures, and some papers.
I sat up straight in bed. She turned and growled at me, teeth bared in all their griminess, eyes two times larger and whiter than before. She was an enraged poltergeist. She threw something down on the top of my dresser, and like a whiff of smoke, she was gone.
Shaking, I stood up and walked over to the dresser to look down at everything.
“What’s going on?” Scott rolled over, blinking at me. “What are you doing?”
“I... I just was going to the bathroom. Bumped into the dresser.”
He scowled. “The dresser’s nowhere near the door.”
“Sleepwalking, I guess?”
I turned to our dresser to look for the item she dropped. It was a small, torn piece of blue silk. Like the dress Andrea was last seen in!
Hearing footsteps in the hall, I snatched up the cloth, stuffed it into my sock drawer, and closed the drawer just as my mom opened the bedroom door.
“Ret? Is everything okay? What happened?”
Words caught in my throat.
“He was sleepwalking again,” Scott answered. “Ran into the dresser.” He chuckled.
I shrugged sheepishly.
“You okay?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “I’m fine.”