Hazy View: Souls of the Vanished (12 page)

“
If his guilty I’ll proof
it beyond a shadow of a doubt.” Andrew admitted
insistently.

“
I believe you’re a
capable man, better than many. Even you need to admit that you’re
not in his league for instance, with great effort you can build a
strong case with everything in the correct way to convict him. You
might even be able to convince people outside this town of his
guild. The moment you put your feet here and rumors start to build,
you should brace yourself for more than a war. It could cost you
more than you’d like to offer up.”

“
Regardless of that, if
he’s guilty I’ll seal his fate, even if it costs me everything. I
owe it to Janet and Christopher.”

“
Now, you didn’t forget
about the festival next week, we need the lake open by
then.”

Andrew opened the door and swung one
leg out then paused. He turned to the mayor. “It’s in the best
interest of all involved that I wrap this up long before
then.”

Andrew left the sedan and heads to his
own vehicle. Tom’s walked over to the driver’s side
door.

“
You can put up your signs
to close the lake. If you find anything call me on the radio. I
need to follow up a lead.”

Andrew got into his vehicle and
followed the shoreline slowly to the Northern side of the lake. His
mind raced with thought as he looks out for anything unusual.
Silently he hoped to catch a glimpse of who he now believed to be
Janet.

*~*~*

*VI*

The door to Helen’s kitchen was
standing wide open. Laughter came from next to the house where a
little girl played with a large dollhouse and an assortment of
furniture and dolls to fit the house. Now and then she poured tea
from her set. She shared the tea with an imaginary friend. Someone
was fiddling in the kitchen.

Andrew parked under the large tree in
front of the house and walked to the kitchen door. Helen moved back
and forth in the kitchen. She noticed Andrew and invited him in
before he had a chance to knock. He entered and stood next to a
small table set against one of the walls. Helen finished the coffee
she was busy with and invited Andrew to sit at the table. Helen
called Olivia through the kitchen window to eat lunch. Olivia came
skipping in, climbed onto one of the chairs and started eating. She
didn’t pay attention to the conversation between Andrew and
Helen.

“
Sweetie, why don’t you
tell the sheriff about your friend?”

“
Are you going to help
him? He’s so sad, but he’s scared to come to anyone. He says people
will hurt him.” Olivia started.

“
Why’s he so sad. What’s
his name?”

“
Christopher doesn’t want
to talk about it much.”

Andrew’s heart skipped a beat. “That’s
a pretty name. We have to make him happy again. Will you tell him
that I’ll do anything to make him happy again?”

“
Sure. I think he’d be
glad to hear that.” Olivia said smiling.

“
Will you tell him that
Uncle Andrew said so?”

“
Sure.” Olivia
assured.

After eating, Olivia ran outside to
the dollhouse. Andrew turned his attention to Helen.

“
Sheriff, I asked to see
you because you see, I don’t exactly know how to explain this
without thrown into the mental institute, but I feel something’s
wrong.” Helen said softly, her voice was trembling. She played with
the cup of coffee in her hands. She didn’t look at
Andrew.

“
Try me, after the last
few days I’ve had, I can believe just about anything.” Andrew
invited.

“
I don’t want to waste
your time or mine.” She paused.

“
What do you
mean?”

Helen stood up and walked toward the
window “If you feel I’m wasting your time, tell me, and then we can
consider this conversation as never happened and go on with our
lives.”

Andrew joined Helen at the window.
“Currently there’s a search underway at the lake. Nothing of the
last couple of days had been making sense until this morning. And
this house could offer more to the investigation then you’re aware.
So let me put you at ease, whatever you’ve got to share with me,
I’m sure it’s important enough for me to waste some
time.”

“
She’s so happy to be
playing with someone.”

Andrew turned away from the window.
“Even if he’s a five-year-old brutally murdered boy murdered by the
one person he had trusted, and I could do nothing to help
him.”

“
He’s murdered?” Helen
asked shocked.

Andrew tried to hold back the tears.
“Yes.”

“
That might explain the
strange events.”

“
Like what?”

“
Olivia’s friend and his
mother I think need help.”

Helen looked out the window again.
Olivia ran circles around her tea set, laughing and calling out for
her friend to catch her. Her long blond locks bounced and flew
gently through the light breeze.

Helen turned to Andrew. “She’ll be
fine there. I need to show you something.”

“
Lead the way.”

“
Do you know what happened
to them?”

“
Not exactly, all we know
is that they‘ve left town and suddenly they appear in the lake
attacking anyone in reach.”

Helen walked upstairs. “I just don’t
understand why they insist on me helping them.”

“
Probably because the boy
has attached himself to your daughter, because they shy away from
men.”

“
Maybe, but I think
there’s more to it.”

“
Whatever it is, we need
to work it out and fast.”

Helen climbed the stairs quickly. “The
woman spoke to me.”

Andrew got the feeling she didn’t want
to feel trapped on the stairs.

“
She spoke to
you?”

Helen stopped in the passage and
turned to Andrew.

“
Yes, she was in my room
and she blocked me in the passage, right here.”

“
What did she
say?”

“
She wants me to find them
and him and make him pay. Do you make any sense of this, because I
don’t have a clue what this means.”

Andrew felt weak and dizzy. “She
didn’t say anything else?”

“
No, but she’s insistent
that I help her.”

Helen stepped into the room, Andrew
trended carefully fearing an attack from Janet. The room was empty.
The curtains are wide open and the bed neatly made. The room’s
neatly kept.

“
How many times had she
spoken to you?”

Helen turned into the passage. “Only
once, but her voice was strong she didn’t need to repeat herself. I
also sensed something in the basement although I think it was
her.”

Andrew followed.

“
And the boy, did he speak
to you.”

“
No, just showed me
something.”

“
What did he show
you?”

Helen walked to Olivia’s room. “Follow
me and I’ll show you. Yesterday afternoon Olivia and I were in the
lounge watching TV. Olivia was playing on the carpet alone when I
heard something upstairs. I came up here and found the room in a
total mess. Someone pulled the clothes from the closet and
scattered it around the room. The curtains hung off the rail and
the toys stacked into two piles, toys that appeal to boys and the
rest. The carpet had wet marks and the bedding pulled off the bad.
I turned around and saw the boy.” She stopped just outside the
door.

Andrew hung on her every word. “He
showed himself to you?”

“
He stretched his hands
out to me as if he wanted me to comfort him and then he showed
me.”

Andrew swallowed hard. “Showed you
what?”

Helen pointed to the room. “Please,
after you.”

Andrew walked into the room. Olivia’s
room was a typical little girl’s room. He turned his attention to
the wall, where colorful markings were out of place.

“
Olivia didn’t do this
herself?”

“
No.” Helen
replied.

“
Children do strange
things.”

Helen entered the room. “Do you think
she could’ve reached? Besides last night after her bath, that
wasn’t there and she was with me downstairs. After all, the boy
showed it to me, and I believe he messed up the room to get
attention.”

“
Then only he could’ve
done this.”

“
Why they’re insisting I
should help them is beyond me. I never knew them. Plus I just moved
here.”

“
This was his room.”
Andrew admitted in a soft voice.

Helen stepped back in shock. “You must
be joking?”

Andrew walked out of the room choking
on the words. “You bought the house from Martin Parker, Janet and
Christopher was his wife and son.”

Helen struggled to catch her breath.
“What on earth would push a man to do something like this, he
seemed so decent. That explains why he wanted to leave so quickly.
He probably knew she was haunting and wanted to get away before
someone figures out what he had done. It seems like you knew them
better than I did. You know a lot about them. Where you close to
them?”

Helen and Andrew returned to the
kitchen.

“
Too close.” Andrew
admitted sadly.

Walking towards the kitchen they
noticed Olivia was playing in the lounge with her friend. The heat
had finally gotten to her. Distracted by her friend they continued
their conversation in the kitchen.

Andrew sat at the table again his legs
weakened by the thought that Christopher was so close by. Helen
stood at the counter again. He remembered the counter. It was the
same one Martin had burned when he came home late one night from
the pub. Janet refused to make him dinner so he did it himself on a
small two plate stove. He passed out before the meal cooked and
burned a ring into the counter. After he got rid of the smoke he
had to replace the entire counter. Janet appeared more amused than
angry. That was just the person she was, she didn’t get angry much.
What could he possibly do to them, why to them?

Andrew fell silent, trying to calm
himself before he spoke.

“
I never believed in
ghosts or the supernatural.”

“
Neither did I, but I
believe we’re forced into something so a revealed hideous crime
that would otherwise could’ve gone unnoticed. Please let me help
release them, and find whoever did this. I can't help feeling that
I made a promise. That’s all I ask.”

“
This is a police matter
that I can’t involve civilians in.”

“
I understand. Then make
me your deputy for a while. It’s not just me but it’s also my
daughter and the entities. They didn’t reach out to you but to us.
I feel if I don’t help they might get desperate and harm Olivia or
worse.”

“
I don’t know. An
investigation like this could be too tiresome or dangerous for a
small child.”

“
So far it’s easy on her,
but if needed she can spend time with her father. It’ll distract
her from her friend and do her and her father the world of
good.”

“
Would you allow a
paranormal investigator to investigate the house?”

“
Yes, by all
means.”

Andrew fell silent again, his mind
mapped out the tasks he needed to complete. ‘Good. I’ll track down
Martin’s whereabouts, and then I need to go and see him and find
out what he’s hiding.’

Andrew swallowed hard, tears started
to collect in the corner of his eyes. His hands and voice were
trembling. He cleared his throat but it worsened and took more
effort to hold back the tears. His stomach twisted and knotted. He
seemed pale and weak.

“
Do you remember the last
time you saw them, what they said, what they looked
like?”

Andrew searched his mind for the most
soothing memory. “They were kind and gentle, never did harm to
anyone, they were willing to help where they could…”

Helen interrupted. “...Hold that
memory no matter what. You can’t think of them in any other way. If
you do, just for even a second, grief will take everything that’s
good about them and turn it into something dark and sinister that
will haunt you for the rest of your life.”

Andrew stood up slowly. “Can I make a
few calls?”

Helen pointed to the phone on the
wall.

“
Sure, you can use this
one I need to check on Olivia.”

“
Andrew waited a moment
before dialing the office. The phone rang a few times before Yvonne
answered.

Yvonne was standing at her desk.
Deputy Davis was struggles with a drunken man, swept items fell off
a desk and a chair knocked over. Cursing and screaming echoed
through the phone.

“
Sheriff, we could use you
help at the office. We’re struggling with a fender bender that
turned into a brawl ending in a smashed shop window.” Yvonne said
trying to catch her breath.