Beyond Doubt (35 page)

Preparations

Preheat oven to 350°

Grease a casserole dish. Mix together all ingredients and pour into casserole dish. Top with shredded cheddar and bake for 45 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

3 lbs white potatoes (red potatoes work well too)

½ stick of butter

1 Garlic and Herb Rondele Spreadable Cheese

Splash of milk for desired consistency

Boil potatoes until just tender. Drain and lightly mash potatoes. Add the butter, garlic and herb cheese, and splash of milk. Continue to mix until desired consistency is reached.

Pecan Pumpkin Pie

Prepare one shell piecrust and bake according to recipe.

Preheat Oven to 350°

Pumpkin Filling:

1 egg

1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)

1/3 cup Sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp nutmeg

pinch of salt

Pecan Pie filling:

2 eggs

2/3 cup dark corn syrup

2 tbl butter (melted)

1 tbl vanilla

1 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

In a bowl, combine egg, pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Spread in already baked pie crust.

Next, prepare the pecan pie filling by lightly beating the two eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix lightly.

Carefully spoon the pecan pie mixture on top of the pumpkin pie mixture. Bake 55 minutes; once filling is set on edge.

Cool before serving.

(Click for list)

I want to say a simple thank you to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all of the other avenues available for the indie publishing world. It allows the art of storytelling to continue to flourish in unexpected ways!

Thank you also to:

Cover artist: Phatpuppy

Typography: BB Designs

Female model: Anya Kod

Male model: Steve Alario 

Makeup/Hair artist: Nadya Rutman 

Photography: Teresa Yeh

and Lauren D.

CHAPTER ONE

“Mom!” I hollered more for my benefit than hers.

I wasn’t in earshot yet, but I loved the way my voice carried into the wind off the sea. The constant sloshing of the waves guided me to the rocky beach where my mom was collecting her thoughts and anything else that might catch her fancy. It was a pleasant night with only the moon’s warm glow lighting my way on the very uneven path that weaved through the overgrown blackberries and tall beach grass. Doing my best to dodge the prick of the thorns, I carefully managed to stay on the trail. I didn’t need to be all scarred up for my upcoming celebrations.

This little stretch of beach was hard to get to and rarely frequented by anyone, which was why we loved it. The beach wasn’t what most people pictured when they thought of a beach. The beaches along Washington’s coast, more often than not, had tiny rocks and pebbles in place of sand and many boulders and downed logs that made for awfully fine seating, not places to spread out on a beach towel and soak up the rays.

The makeshift trail finally ended, allowing me to spot my mom’s pile of things. I hoped she was ready to leave. It was getting a little chilly, and I hadn’t prepared to be here long. We had a crockpot full of chili waiting for us both, but she wanted me to meet her here at our special spot, so she could tell me something. I had no idea what it was that she wanted to tell me, but since so much was going on in my life right now it could be about anything. I just graduated from high school. My eighteenth birthday was almost here. Our huge summer solstice celebration, Litha was fast approaching, along with the big event, my acceptance into the Witch Avenue Coven on the same day.

“Mom?” I yelled, as I trudged my way over to her bag, looking around the empty beach.

Only the crashing of waves answered.

I didn’t see her anywhere.

“Mom?” I tried again, batting down the worry that wanted to make its way into my consciousness.

Realizing my voice was no match for the roar of the waves, I started walking toward one of the larger boulders, in case she was sitting where I just couldn’t see her. The pebbles were loose, creating an extra treacherous journey since I was only in flip-flops. Poor planning on my part, but I didn’t think that I’d have to hunt her down. She could be sidetracked so easily.

Finally making it to the mammoth piece of black rock, I became annoyed when I saw she wasn’t there. I wasn’t in any way prepared to be marching up and down the beach looking for her. I grabbed my cellphone out of my pocket and dialed her number as I went back toward her pile of things to sit. Maybe I should stay put, and she’d return soon enough. As the phone rang on my end, I got closer to my mom’s pile and heard her bag ringing. Darn! She didn’t take it with her—odd. That was always a rule of hers when hiking or at the beach. We carried our phones with us at all times.

I squatted down to see what she brought with her, hoping an item might lead me in the right direction to find her. If she were gathering plants, then I’d know better where to go. I opened up her bag and panic set in immediately. The shirt she was wearing when she left our house was stuffed in her bag, wrapped around the shoes she was wearing. This made no sense. Her wallet and jewelry were in this bag. She wouldn’t just leave all this stuff for a stranger to steal. Something was wrong. Jumping up, the insides of the bag dispersed onto the beach, but I didn’t care.

“Mom!” I screamed, kicking off my flip-flops so that I could run up the hill closest to me.

Reaching the top of the hill, I scanned the grassy area quickly seeing nothing. Spinning around, I looked back toward the rocky beach. From this vantage point, I was able to see everything and nothing. My heart started pounding as I began dialing 9-1-1.

“911, what is your emergency?” The operator answered.

“My mom. She’s missing,” I cried into the phone, dread spreading everywhere.

“Calm down, ma’am. Where are you located?”

Calm down? I’m not hyper, just scared!

“I’m at the beach just off of Snoqualmie Avenue, down the trail,” I replied

“Is your mother in the water? How long has she been missing?”

“I don’t know!” I screamed into the phone. “Please just send help.”

Okay, now I’m panicking! I can’t calm down. My mom isn’t where she’s supposed to be.

“Ma’am, help is on the way. What is your name?”

“Triss,” I replied, as I ran back down the hill to search the beach or the water, or anywhere but where I was.

Could my mom be in the water? I didn’t even think of that. She wouldn’t be in the water, would she?

“And what is your mother’s name?” the operator asked blandly.

“Veronica Spires,” my voice panted with the exertion.

“Where are they? When will they get here? She needs help!”

I reached the edge of the water. The waves were lapping against my bare feet. Looking out toward the sea, I saw nothing but water and rocks illuminated by the moon’s light. There was no way she would be out there. She never went into the water without someone with her. Oh, my God, where could she be?

The police sirens, off in the distance, were becoming louder by the second. Help was on the way but not nearly soon enough.

“Veronica! Mom! Veronica!” I kept hollering. “Where are you?”

“Ma’am, help has arrived. They’re making their way down the trail. I’m going to stay on the phone until they reach you.”

My body crumpled. Falling on my knees, the tears began pouring down my face. This couldn’t be happening. I turned off my phone. The police were almost to the beach, and I didn’t need the operator to hear my cries. The police chatter of CB radios began rolling through the air mixed with the barks of the K-9 units.

This was a nightmare. There was no way this could be happening. My eyes darted back to the hilltop that I had just left. A man was standing on the hill, watching me, with the darkness working in his favor.

“Hey,” I yelled, looking at him, trying to see any sort of distinguishing features. He froze in place.

I jumped back to my feet, with my jeans soaked from where I had been sitting. I started running up to the hill, and the stranger took off.

“Miss!” a policeman yelled.

“Someone was watching me!” I cried, not stopping my run. “They might have my mom!”

I reached the top of the hill in a flash, and there was no one to be seen.

A policeman came up right behind me.

“Are you, Triss?” His voice was gentle, probably used to dealing with lunatics, not sure which way they were headed in any given situation. “I’m Officer White.”