Mirror in the Forest: Book One (18 page)

She wanted to be the star of the class now that Mandy Cooper would never come back to school.

This sudden realization came as a shock to her. She had always resisted these kinds of things, because of her parents and their attitudes towards high school, and what they were when they attended. They had always pushed her so hard to do other things besides bury her nose in a book, or spend Saturday nights studying, that she now had a chance to prove to them that she could be something more than the loser they thought she was.

She would get what she wanted, and it would be her guardian angel that would help her.

He promised her this was the last time that he would need something physical from her, and Jessica had no reason not to believe him. He had come through for her the first two times, so why would he not do the same now?

Jessica stood and went into the bathroom. She stared over her physical appearance again, and remembered when she was hitting puberty. She had been called all kinds of names, and fat had always been the worst one. It was, after all, because of the name calling she began to take the walks into the forests, and sometimes hikes into the mountains. She not only managed to lose a lot of her baby fat, but she found a love of nature that was now guiding her to her future.

She began to wonder if the basketball coach, Mr. Grayson, would even give her a second look, but if the spirit granted her wish, then he would have to. The Mountain Lions hadn’t won any awards in years, and if she could change that, then she would be considered a hero at school, and then her picture would replace her parents on the
“Memory Board.”

Right?

Jessica entered her bedroom, and flopped down on the bed staring at the ceiling for a while. A satisfied smile tugged at her lips. Boy, was everyone in for quite a shock.

Sheriff Mark McKenzie could not stand the Cooper family, but knew they didn’t deserve no one deserved what happened to Mandy.

Mark got off the phone with the hospital, as he and Bill Brown sat in his office playing cards before their shift started.

“Tetraplegia,” Mark said, while Bill waited patiently.

“What the hell is that?”

“She will have feelings in her arms, but not her fingers or the rest of her body,” Mark said shaking his head.

“So young,” Bill said, shaking his graying head.

Mark finished up his notes in the accident report. Then he would have Marge type it up, and file it away.

“The coach told me that they practiced it over and over again. He thought they had it down to a science before the game,” Mark said after a moment.

“I am sure Cooper will go after the school for negligence,” Bill answered.

"There's no doubt about that, but there was something weird,” Mark said thinking back to the game.

“What?” Bill asked, raising dark eyebrows.

“When she came to she kept talking about seeing something coming at her right before she fell," Mark answered, rubbing his whiskers.

He hadn’t been in the mood to shave that morning. The accident the night before was really bothering him and he didn’t know why. He had seen many accidents in his short career, but this was different somehow.

“It may have been the effects of the fall on her brain or something. A damaged or broken spinal cord is no joke,” Bill said.

“Could be, she described a figure coming at her from the stands with almost perfect clarity, and said it was like a mirror shaped as a person?” Mark worded that into a question, because he couldn’t believe it himself.

Bill gave him the same look of puzzlement. “Never heard that one before.”

“Me neither, and I have heard a lot from the junkies,” Mark said picking up his cards again.

Mark found he couldn’t concentrate on the card game they were playing.

“Thanks for coming in tonight,” Mark suddenly said, putting down a full house.

Bill cursed, and threw down his cards in frustration making Mark laugh. Bill never had a good “poker face.”

“Nothing else to do, house is empty, and basketball ain’t on tonight,” Bill said, gathering the cards and putting them into a pile again.

“I expect the dance to be quiet tonight with the homecoming queen out for the count,” Mark said, smiling at Bill’s response.

“My grandson told me that a lot of people cancelled because of it, so yeah, should be a quiet night,” Bill answered.

Bill dealt the cards again, and looked up at Mark amused.

“Who is she?” He suddenly asked.

Mark scoffed and said, “Who’s who?”

“When a man is bothered about a woman he tends to get quiet. I may have been married for forty years, but doesn’t mean I was dead,” Bill said still amused.

“It doesn’t matter,” Mark said, still trying to ignore Bill.

“Yes, it does,” Bill answered.

“Too young for me,” Mark answered.

“Yeah? How old?”

“Still seventeen, will be eighteen in a few months,” Mark said, trying not to look Bill straight in the eyes.

“Shit, man. She will be above age soon. Then you’re home free,” Bill said grinning.

“Has a boyfriend. Caught them behind the warehouse last night,” Mark said.

“Don’t mess with that then,” Bill suggested.

“She’s the one who I caught running out of the woods when the fire happened,” Mark said.

Bill’s eyebrows rose in curiosity.

“Oh, I see now,” Bill answered.

“Strange girl. Used to be really quiet, but then we had supper together at the diner….”

Bill started laughing loudly. “You had dinner with her?”

“Yes! Her friend had to cancel because she was sick. So, I filled in since she was sitting alone,” Mark tried to explain it, but it wasn’t working.

“Was that a coincidence?” Bill asked, still laughing.

Mark rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Yes, that was. She shows her emotions all over face, but she is difficult to read. I can’t explain it.”

“Women can’t be explained man,” Bill said still amused.

“Never,” Mark joked.  

Mark and Bill put on their hats, made sure their equipment was in order, and left for the night.

Mark knew Bill was lonely, and never turned down overtime. Until he was ready to retire, Mark could count on him to be there when needed.

Bill had been through a lot in his time as deputy. When he became deputy over forty years ago, he was almost run out by the racists who would not see a black deputy in their town.

People said it was a political stunt by the governor to gain more votes, because he was doing similar things across the state at the time.

However, Bill overcame pranks, attacks, vandalism, racial slurs, and many other obstacles to become a respected and decorated deputy. He never wanted Sheriff; he was just fine where he was.

His wife had been developing heart problems at the time that Dale Cooper had taken control of the county, and could not afford all of her medical treatments.

Mark understood why he took bribes; it was always for his sick wife. Mark never claimed to agree with it, but he understood why.

Then Dale made a deal with a drug dealer who murdered one of Bill’s nephews, and Bill broke all ties after that.

Now a widower, he fought to put three kids through college, and now had grandchildren who kept him as occupied as possible.

“Want me to take the school for a while?” Bill asked as they headed out to their cruisers.

“Yeah, call me if you need me,” Mark said.

Mark got into his cruiser and waved as Bill drove off.

Mark sat there and thought for a moment as the cruiser warmed up from the chill in the air.

It was really bothering him about what Mandy Cooper had said to him the night before, but for right now he would just brush it off as some kind of brain damage.

He had never seen such fear in someone’s eyes, and he had held many dying people including his mother. She kept mumbling something about the devil when she was taken away. He had not been a sheriff long, but he thought he had heard it all already.

Now he knew he didn’t.

He put the cruiser into gear, and began to patrol. The town of Leon’s Crossing was small, but growing as more businesses moved into the area with the hopes of the ski resort opening again, attracting even more tourism to the area.  

The mayor, Ronald Baker, was talking about bringing in an actual police force now that things were moving in the town again.

Ronald had campaigned the state, relentlessly wooing companies to come back, and Mark had to admit that he was good at it.

Businesses began to listen, and Mark heard there might be an investor who could have the ski resort up and running again in a year. They would also put in theme parks to attract summer tourists.

On a good day, Mark could see Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, or what was left of Mt. St. Helens.

The ash of Mount St. Helens had done so much damage to the town when it blew a few years ago, that many businesses either closed up or had to move to other places to stay in business. Now, that it was safe in the area once more, people were coming back to Leon’s Crossing.

The downtown area now bustled with people, and many shops were opening their doors to cater to tourists and locals alike. Now, that the holidays were here, it was important that the town was ready for the onslaught of holiday shoppers.

Leon’s Crossing had a long way to go economically, but it’s future was brighter than ever.

Halloween decorations were now replacing the high school ones as Mark drove through downtown.

Mayor Baker was talking about starting an Oktoberfest next year to attract more people. Mark thought it would be good for the town, and fun for them.

Mark thought about the diner again for supper, but cringed at the thought. The meatloaf he had with Jessica the other night did not sit well with him, so he would have to seek something else.

He knew he should really start cooking again. His mom had taught him how to cook his meals when he was old enough to be alone, and she had to work late. He knew he wasn’t that good, but she always ate what he made no matter how bad it tasted. She never told him how bad his cooking was. He would ask, and she would have this twinkle in her eyes, although she would reassure him she enjoyed every last bite.

Mark smiled slightly, and tried to blink back tears as he thought of his mom and the last the breath she took in his arms.

“Sheriff?” Bill said coming through the radio almost making Mark jump.

“Go ahead,” he answered.

“Man, it’s like a funeral over here,” Bill answered, talking about the school dance.

“I figured that,” Mark answered.

“I’ll hang out for a while, and see what happens,” Bill said.

“Good idea. It might get rowdy later.”

“Ten-four.”

Mark set the microphone for the radio back in its hook, and looked around.

He thought he would go hide, and catch some speeders for a while.

He drove past a new restaurant that just opened, and thought of stopping there to see if they had takeout. It was a little Italian place, and Mark had not checked them out yet. The owners were from New York, so apparently it was supposed to be really good food.

It was still light enough that he could see the parking lot was full, which told him the restaurant was a hit in town.

He stopped at the red light for the intersection, thinking he would skip Italian food for right now.

He looked to his left, and caught a glimpse of an older Dodge Magnum turning the corner.

He peered into the car, and spotted Jessica Winters and her boyfriend drive past him and turn into the parking lot.

Mark could only shake his head. He wondered what was punishing him and what he did wrong that he kept meeting up this girl in strange ways.

He was not surprised that she wasn’t at the homecoming dance tonight, and couldn’t blame her there.

He admitted to himself last night how disappointed he was catching Jessica kissing her boyfriend, and tried to deny that he felt a twinge of jealousy.

He then thought about the conversations they had at the diner, and was amazed at how intelligent she was, and how mature she was at just seventeen.

He should’ve been pleased that this girl was finally finding happiness after her ordeal, but he thought once she turned eighteen he could see them getting to know one another better.

He cursed his inner thoughts, because she was just a kid, and he shouldn’t be thinking this way.

Marge was right; he was treading into dangerous waters.