Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (65 page)

I called Mo a few times during my shift but she didn’t answer.

“Damn,” I said under my breath this time. “Damn.”

CHAPTER 37

Kate picked me up at four and we went over to Midas.

I saw the Jeep sitting in the parking lot.

“We did a front end alignment on her and replaced a broken tail light,” the man behind the counter said. “And you probably want to have those shocks replaced one of these days. You’ll have to take it to a body shop to get the door fixed.”

I paid the bill, handing over my credit card. The whole thing, including the tow truck, had cost just over $200. Not pretty, but it felt like I was getting off easy. It could have been a lot worse.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Be careful out there.”

It felt good to be sitting behind the wheel again.

“Pay attention this time,” Kate said, reaching in and rapping her knuckles on the top of my head.

“I will.”

I watched Kate drive off and got Mo’s voicemail again. Then I headed toward China Hat Road.

CHAPTER 38

China Hat was a long, two-lane road that shot out from the edge of Bend and wound through the Deschutes National Forest south of town. The houses were spread farther and farther apart as the ranches took over the landscape.

As I drove I couldn’t stop thinking about how Jesse and Spenser had both said that I was running out of time. I worried now that they might have been talking about Mo. I didn’t know what I was going to do when I got there. I just knew I had to look for her. I stepped on the gas, hoping she hadn’t crossed some line from which there was no coming back, praying that I wasn’t too late.

But I wasn’t just looking for Mo. I needed to talk to Spenser again too. I thought that I might find him along the road where he died.

I didn’t know exactly where that was or where I was going. But I had some clues to work with. I knew Mo lived somewhere near the Knott Landfill. I had heard her complaining once to David about how she could smell the trash when the wind blew the wrong way. I had been surprised she could smell anything with all the cigarettes she inhaled. I also remembered she had told me that Devin’s house was about three miles away and that her family had put up a cross marking the spot where Spenser had been killed.

The sky was heavy with dark clouds and the promise of rain. The Jeep bounced hard over the railroad tracks. I remembered what the mechanic had said about replacing the shock absorbers. I kept my eye on the odometer, making sure not to go too far. The cross, if it was still there, should be coming up. Large drops began to beat down on the windshield.

I suddenly realized I didn’t even know what type of car Mo drove. I didn’t even know if she had a car. She had mentioned that she had her parent’s car the night that Spenser died, but she hadn’t said what it was. I supposed she could have even walked over, taking the same route her brother did.

“C’mon,” I said, starting to lose hope. “C’mon.”

I slowed down, thinking I had gone too far, when I saw the cross. I pulled over, parked, and got out, walking over and touching it.

The white paint was faded and his name was written vertically in black. There were a few old, dead flowers under it, crumbling in the rain.

“Spenser,” I said. “I need to talk to you.”

I looked around, but he wasn’t there.

“Spenser.”

Nothing.

The rain started falling in sheets.

I squinted, looking around at the fields around the marker. I could only see one house nearby. It had to be Devin’s, I thought. But something was off. The cross, the spot where he had been killed, was on the wrong side of the house. If Spenser had been hit while he was heading back home, his body should have been found in the opposite direction, closer to town, not farther out toward the forest.

Of course it was all in line with what Spenser had told me. He had been running away from Devin, not even sure where he was going, not back home.

I wondered how the police had explained this, or if they had even noticed it. I would have to remember to ask Kate about it when I got back. It might be enough to reopen the case.

I stared back at the house again. It was rundown and almost looked abandoned. And then I saw it. The shed.

The little shack behind the house Spenser had talked about. The place where Devin played his sick games, cutting up cats and nailing their little heads up on a wall to display.

I started shaking uncontrollably in the pouring rain.

CHAPTER 39

I wasn’t sure what to do.

A faint whiff of smoke lingered in the air. I knew they were always burning things out in the country, but Mo flashed through my mind.

I had a bad feeling, a real bad feeling, that she was connected to this.

I left the Jeep by the cross and started walking, staying on the road. I stopped at the dirt driveway and studied the house, which wasn’t so far from the street. Dark sheets and foil covered most of the windows. Paint was peeling off the wood and the railing on the porch was broken in parts.

It didn’t look like anyone was around. There weren’t any cars parked out front. And except for the sounds of the storm and an occasional passing car, it was quiet.

From where I was, I could get a better look at the shed. Or what was left of it. I could see now that it was a burned-out shell, broad, black marks staining the wood that remained standing.

Half of it was gone.

I thought about getting closer, but the evil coming off the place kept me away. It wasn’t solid or liquid or gas, but was just as real, as if it had a chemical formula all its own like water or sulfur.

Suddenly my phone rang and I almost jumped back into the street. My hand was shaking so badly I could barely read the name on the screen.

“Mo?” I said.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“What?” she said, the anger coming through in her voice.

“Never mind. What’s up?”

“Seriously?” she said. “You called me like a thousand times today. What do
you
want?”

I laughed nervously.

“Oh, yeah. I… I just wanted to see if you need anything. David said you were sick.”

I could hear her sigh loudly.

“I swear, the mouth on that guy. One day someone’s going to show him what that hole is for,” she said right before sneezing. “No, I don’t
need
anything.”

The line went dead.

I slid the phone back in my pocket. And then I saw the sheets moving behind one of the front windows.

I ran back to the Jeep, the skin on my arms alive with fear.

CHAPTER 40

I got in and was about to start the engine when I saw him in the rearview mirror.

He was staring at me, those dark eyes looking even more troubled than the last time. There was an urgency in his expression that was building.

Water ran down my face as I tried to catch my breath.

“Spenser,” I said.

Our eyes met again in the mirror.

“Did you see it? The shack? Did you see what he did?”

“I saw it,” I said, confused. “Wait, you mean Devin did that? He burned it down?”

But he didn’t answer, just grabbed his head with his hands.

“Spenser, I’m trying to figure out a way to prove that Devin is responsible for your—”

“NO!” he screamed, looking at me again. “Don’t you understand? You’re running out of time!”

My blood ran cold through my veins at the desperation in his voice.

“It doesn’t matter what he did to me now. It’s what he’s going to do.”

“Okay, but—” I said.

But before I could finish he faded away, those dark, worried eyes the last part of him to disappear into nothingness.

CHAPTER 41

I drove home, hot and cold at the same time, thinking about Spenser and what he said. Understanding now.

Devin was planning something, something terrible, and somehow I had to stop him. But I had no idea what it was or how I could prevent it.

When I got home, Kate wasn’t there. I found a note on the table. She was working late but would call later. Just as I finished reading it, my phone rang.

I picked up without seeing who it was.

“Abby, it’s Dr. Krowe.”

Great
, I thought.

“Oh, hello.”

“I wanted to see how you were doing,” he said. “I don’t make a habit of calling patients, but I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m doing fine,” I said.

“Oh, okay then. Good. How are those pills working out?”

I wasn’t going to lie.

“I haven’t taken any yet.”

“So you’re sleeping better now?”

“No.”

He paused for a moment.

“I have some openings tomorrow. Do you want to come in?”

“Tomorrow?” I said. “I’m working.”

“Well, I have a few openings at different times of the day.”

I heard pages turning in the background.

“Let’s see, I have an eight, a one, and a four o’clock.”

I knew he meant well, but my sleeping problems were the least of my worries now. There were too many things going on and they were all starting to spin out of control, close to colliding and shattering to pieces.

I thought about Spenser telling me that the past didn’t matter and that time was running out and about how Jesse had said the same thing. About Mo wanting to confront her brother’s killer. I thought about that evil old house and how the sheets in the window had moved. I thought about Devin and what he might be planning.

And about how I couldn’t put things together fast enough and how I didn’t know if I could stop what was coming.

“Sorry,” I finally said. “I can’t. It’s a busy time.”

He cleared his throat.

“Well, you call me then when you’re ready, Abby. I hope to hear from you soon.”

We said goodbye and hung up.

I thought about Nathaniel and Devin and about how in some ways they were the same. Neither of them cared about other people. They took what they needed and left the rest, leaving behind broken lives. The image was strong in my mind of Devin taking pictures of Spenser while he lay there dying. It was the same thing. It was like Nathaniel and his research team taking those notes as they watched me drown.

On second thought, maybe Dr. Krowe could help me.

“I can come in tomorrow at one,” I said, calling him back. “There’s something important I have to talk to you about.”

CHAPTER 42

I talked to Kate when she finally got home. It almost felt like old times, her working these long hours. I told her what Spenser had said, but not about going over to Devin’s house. 

“I don’t know what he’s up to, what he’s planning,” I said.

“I suppose it wouldn’t do any good to confront him,” she said. “It would be dangerous too.”

“No, I don’t think we want him to know we’re on to him. But on the other hand... I don’t know, maybe he would stop if he knew he was being watched. Oh, I’m seeing Dr. Krowe tomorrow. I think I’ll ask him what he thinks I should do.”

“Good,” she said. “That’s a good idea.”

The rain wasn’t letting up. I crawled into bed with my computer and checked my mail. Someone wrote asking if I had signed up for the summer soccer league yet. David invited me out for another beer, claiming I still owed him. I saved Claire for last.

Hi Abby,

I would agree that helping this spirit is a good idea. I can’t see him, sorry to say, so I can’t offer any particular advice. Do what you can, but keep in mind that sometimes we can’t always help them in the way they would want us to.

Just do your best.

Cheers,

Claire

I turned out the light, leaving Florence+ the Machine on low, sleep carrying me down.

***

I swam through the darkness, pushing my arms through the black, heavy water until I got to the other side, the side where I could walk and breathe again.

I staggered through shadows, the light somewhere up ahead, coming from the door. My hand trembled as I pushed on it. To my surprise, it opened easily this time. I was able to walk inside. Finally.

He stood at the far end of the room, looking in a mirror, music pounding loudly against the walls. Guitars, like weapons of mass destruction, raining down.

Hell-black night has come today…

He was dressed in black and again had his back to me, screeching along with the song.

In the moon your blood looks gray…

He walked over to a mirror and stared at his reflection, running his fingers down over his hair. He whispered something I couldn’t hear. I moved closer, trying to get a look at his face. He pulled his hood over his head, a few strands of hair falling down on his forehead, the sweatshirt tight over his bulky chest.

As he pulled on his belt, he turned suddenly. I jerked back. He was standing right in front of me. My heart pounded like the drummer in the song. I saw his face, the coldness in his dead eyes.

I was right there in front of him, but he didn’t see me.

Devin didn’t see me.

He danced back over to the mirror, singing.

Welcome to your death ballet…

The train rumbled by again, blowing its whistle.

When the song ended, he went over to the desk, to a black box with wires and a clock attached. I watched as he set the clock to 9:15, the digital numbers lighting up brightly in the room. Then he placed it carefully in his backpack and zipped it up.

He smiled and whispered again, but this time I heard the words.

“Today you die,” he said.
“Today you all die.”

CHAPTER 43