The Wildman (21 page)

“
Uhh … Yeah … All right, then,” Tyler said as he rubbed his hands together. “Look, guys, we can’t let something like this ruin the whole weekend. Can we?”

Jeff glared at him, genuinely confused what to say or do. Once again, he cursed himself for agreeing to come out here in the first place. He should have left well enough alone. He had all the good memories he needed about being a kid here, and that’s where it should have stopped. He and Evan and the rest of them were fools to think they could recapture any of the innocence and freedom they had felt back then.

All of that was over … done … dead.

As dead as Jimmy Foster.

“
I didn’t mean to upset him,” Evan said. “I didn’t know.” He moved over to the cooler and grabbed a beer. Before opening it, he glanced around at the others and said weakly, “Anyone want one?”

After a moment, Mike raised his hand and said, “Sure. Why not?”

Jeff couldn’t see how they could ignore what had just happened. Then again, they shouldn’t let Fred’s problems—as bad as they were—ruin their time here. Without saying anything, he stood up and pulled on his raincoat.

“
Where are you going?” Evan asked.

“
For a walk,” he said as he grabbed his small flashlight and slipped it into his pocket. “I need some fresh air.”

He started for the door, knowing what everyone else was thinking. All of them—maybe even Evan—assumed he intended to find Fred and talk to him to calm him down. And he knew they’d be content, at least for a while, to leave them alone.

He shivered as he opened the screen door and stepped out onto the porch. He clicked on his flashlight and stared at the cold lines of falling rain. He was content to let them all think whatever they wanted to because he had other plans.

He was going to use this distraction to go out to the old infirmary and have another look around.

Of course, what had happened with Fred still bothered him, but he had his own things to deal with. All evening, the feeling that something was wrong had gotten steadily worse, and now he was going to do something about it.

CHAPTER NINE

Grim Discovery

Roiling clouds whisked by overhead, casting wavering shadows across the land with a disorienting strobe light effect. The rain had stopped, at least for the time being, but Jeff could tell by how fast the weather front was moving that there was more—and probably worse weather—on the way. As he made his way along the winding path leading out to the old infirmary, he had his flashlight in hand, but he kept it turned off. He didn’t want anyone—especially Evan—to know where he was headed.

The going was sloppy. There were puddles everywhere, and much of the trail had turned to mud. He made his way around or through ankle-deep streams of runoff. Thick mud clung like paste to his sneakers, threatening to pull them off his feet with every few steps. It wasn’t long before Jeff’s pants were saturated from the knees down. Water clinging to the overhanging branches dropped, snapping and popping on his hood like tiny bullets.

As he made his way deeper into the woods, Jeff felt tension rising inside him. Overhead, the pine trees swayed in the wind, their branches clacking like old
bones with every powerful gust. An ozone-tinged freshness filled in the night, making him feel heady, like he’d had more than a few shots of rum.

This is absolutely crazy,
he told himself time and again.

He had no business snooping around like this. It didn’t matter what kind of creepy feelings he got about Evan or anyone else. If he had any smarts, he’d turn back now and get back inside where he could have a shot or two of rum, warm up, and dry off.

Why was he chasing around in the woods at night like this?

He had no idea, but something was spurring him on. Even if it was just to satisfy his curiosity, he had to do this. He couldn’t deny there had been something strange about Evan’s reactions when they were out here earlier today.

And that sound from inside the building—twice. He’d heard the same sound twice.

Things simply didn’t add up.

Besides, what harm would there be in having one last look around before they all left on Sunday?

When the clouds obscured the moon, the woods got so dark Jeff was concerned he might lose his way, so once he was out of sight of the dining hall, he snapped on his flashlight. The tiny oval of light wasn’t much help, darting and weaving back and forth as he looked for the driest parts of the trail.

There weren’t many.

He wasn’t worried, though. Even after all these years, the campgrounds felt so familiar to him he was sure he could find his way around blindfolded. Following instinct as much as the indistinct trail, he moved quickly until, up ahead, he saw the hulking shape of the infirmary. It loomed in the night.

“
Okay … Now what?” he whispered as he shined his flashlight onto the closed and locked door. Shivering, he blew on his hands for warmth. He wished he’d brought some rum with him as a warmer.

Of course, he didn’t have the key for the lock, and he was sure it wouldn’t have been smart to ask Evan for it. That left him no choice but to do a little B&E.

Bending low, he swept the ground with his flashlight beam, looking a rock or something big enough to break the padlock. It wasn’t the brightest idea, smashing someone’s brand new lock, but if Evan was telling the truth and had no idea what was in the building, he wouldn’t even notice the vandalism before they left the island tomorrow. An
d if he
did
know what was in there … well then, it would be better if Jeff knew what it was
, too.

After a bit of a search, Jeff found a fist-shaped rock that would do. It was slippery in his grip, but he squeezed it tightly in his right hand while positioning the padlock so he would have a good clean shot at it. When he was ready, he trained the flashlight on the lock with his left hand and swung the rock with the might.

The first hit rang out like a shotgun blast in the night, rattling the door. Jeff hoped the wind would mask any noise he made from the people in the dining hall. Still, he cringed.

What if someone isn’t back at the dining hall?

What if someone followed me out here?

The blow left a long scratch on the shiny metal hasp and put a good-sized ding in the rotting wood, but the lock held. The hinges were probably rotted, and it would no doubt be easier to kick the door in, he thought, but talk about vandalism.

Gritting his teeth to stop them from chattering, Jeff gripped the rock tightly and gave the lock half a dozen quick, solid blows. Each hit rang out, but when he stepped back and looked at his progress—or lack thereof—he was filled with frustration. Other than a few more dings and divots in the wood, the lock looked like it had barely been touched.

“
Son
of a fucking
bitch,
” Jeff muttered as he turned the lock over and gave it another six or seven sharp blows on the backside.

Still nothing.

Sniffing with grim laughter, Jeff wondered why breaking into someplace always looked so easy in the movies. Locks always gave after only one or two quick hits. He was about to give it a few more whacks when, from inside the building, he heard a faint sound.

A
thump
.

He was so nerved u
p he couldn’t tell if it was the same sound he had heard before. Turning to one side, he pressed his ear against the cold door and listened, but raindrops dripping from the trees onto the roof created a steady pattering sound th
at drowned out anything else he might have heard.

“Come
on
you
lousy
son of a
bitch
!” he whispered heatedly as he pounded the rock repeatedly on the door hard enough to make his teeth a
che. He was making so much noise he was sure everyone back at the dining hall could hear, but he no longer cared. Hell, they could probably hear him a mile away on the mainland.

Frustration and rage filled Jeff as he slammed the rock repeatedly against the lock. It jangled and bounced, and Jeff was so caught up in his fury that he barely noticed when the hasp finally popped. He continued to rain half a dozen more blows against it. Finally, though, he saw that he had succeeded.

Inhaling sharply, he straightened up so he could catch his breath. He let the rock drop from his hand, and it landed in a puddle close to the infirmary’s foundation. Sweat mingled with rainwater ran down his face. A rising surge of apprehension filled him when he pushed the door open slowly and directed his flashlight beam inside.

The place obviously had not been used in a long time. The nurse’s desk, exam table, file cabinets, and all of the paper-thin partitions and small, metal-framed beds had been removed. As he swept the perimeter of the room with his flashlight beam, he saw definite signs that animals had been nesting in here. Shredded leaves and paper were piled up in the corners, and overhead in the rafters, black clots of cobwebs swirled in the breeze.

Jeff cringed as he took a few step into the building. The rotten stench he’d smelled outside earlier was stronger in here … So strong it made his eyes start to water.

“
All right … all right,” he whispered to bolster his courage. He should be satisfied. He could see that there was nothing untoward here. The interior was in such disrepair it didn’t match up with his memory of what it had been like years ago. Like the rest of the campground, it appeared so much smaller than he remembered. A thick layer of dust and dirt mixed with what looked like bird and animal feces coated the floor. At the back of the building was the door to a supply closet, but he hesitated to walk over to it. If any critters were nesting in here for the winter, that’s probably where they’d be.

He was about to leave when the heavy thump he’d heard before sounded again. And this time, he had no doubt where it was coming from.

The supply closet.

Jesus gasped and froze as a tingle of excitement ran through him. He trained his flashlight on the door, his heart beating so fast it made a clicking sound in his throat.

Something’s in there … Maybe it’s trapped it there.

Again, the thought that a raccoon or skunk was nesting in the closet urged him to back out of the infirmary now and leave well enough alone. It was foolish to intrude on the wild like this, but he couldn’t help himself. Without
thinking it through, he stomped down hard on the floorboards and shouted, “
Hey!
”

The floor shook, and for a second or two, the only sound was the splattering of rain on the roof and his own labored breathing, but then, faintly, the thump sounded again.

“
Go on!” Jeff shouted, clapping his hands loudly. “Get the hell out of here!”

He took a few steps closer to the storage room door, bringing his feet down heavily with each step. He paused and cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure no one—especially Evan—had realized what he was up to and come out here to stop him, but the doorway was empty. He was alone.

After waiting in silence for a count of ten, trying hard to convince himself there was nothing to this, he was about to leave when the thump sounded again.

This time there was no doubt.

The sound had come from behind the storage closet door. If it was an animal, it should have been scared off by now … unless it was trapped in there … but the sound seemed to be a response to the noise he was making.

Tension gripped Jeff like cold hands on the throat as he moved slowly, cautiously toward the closet door. His hand holding the flashlight was shaking, making the light jiggle around. He sucked in his breath and held it once he was close enough to touch the doorknob. A chill raced through him as he gripped the cold metal doorknob and prepared to turn it. He was coiled up, ready to react if, when he opened it, a raccoon or something leaped out at
him.

So … don’t open it,
a rational-sounding voice in his head said.

But he knew he was going to.

How could he not?

His fingers tightened around the doorknob, squeezing until his knuckles throbbed. He was still holding his breath, and he listened to the rapid thunder of his pulse in his ears. When he yanked the door open, he was prepared to step behind it, using it as a shield if something charged him.

“
Okay … okay,” he whispered to keep his courage from flagging. And then, with a sudden, savage grunt, he twisted the doorknob and flung the door open.

Nothing came rushing out at him.

Jeff’s body was trembling almost out of control as he shined his flashlight into the tiny closet, but no matter how much he had prepared himself for something terrible, he wasn’t ready for what he saw.

The beam of light reflected from a pair of wide-open eyes that glistened as they stared up at him from down on the floor.

It took Jeff several heartbeats to realize he was staring at a person’s face.

* * *

A sudden gust of wind slammed the infirmary door shut with a bang that split the night like a gunshot.

“
Jesus!
” Jeff shouted as he jumped and turned around. He almost dropped his flashlight as
he swung it around and trained it on the door, fully expecting to see Evan standing there with a gun aimed at him.