Hazy View: Souls of the Vanished (3 page)

The officer zipped the body bag and
removed it from the scene.

Martin stood for a moment then turned
to the lake deep in thought. ‘Something happened to Robert on the
lake this morning. Is it possible that she tried reaching out to
him? Was that what he saw that terrified him? It doesn’t even make
any sense. No, he felt the heart attack and felt he wasn't ready to
leave. That's what frightened him and that's why his face held a
moment of terror. Nothing else could've happened here.’

“
I think you need to
investigate events around the lake. I've heard rumors of strange
happenings here at night.” The coroner suggested and stepped closer
to Martin.

“
Rumors spread by
drunkards and attention seekers. There's nothing wrong here.
Probably kids playing pranks.”

The coroner collected the last items.
“Besides the witnesses and Robert, I believe no one else were
around the lake.”

Martin stepped away from the path to
give the coroner and officers space to leave.

Tom’s pick-up and trailer backed up
into the reeds while the coroner and officers left. Tom Livingston
got out and joined Martin.

Tom was slender, well-tanned and
always wore a baseball cap. He always dressed in baggy and sandals.
A golf shirt carried the words “Hazy View Lake Caretaker”. He
always walked with his head slightly downwards and often fidgeted
with his hands.

Tom greeted Martin and continued to
pull the boat straight.

“
Tom who was on the lake
last night, do you know?”

“
No, I only know of Robert
and the youngsters who rented my cruiser. I don’t know of anyone
else. Robert regularly went out at four in the morning. It's a
shame what happened and the poor child...” Tom's speech was a
little slow. Clearly he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the
drawer.

Martin gasped. “... What
child?”

“
One of the youngsters
said that they heard a child crying around midnight. They said a
child sounded lost and scared that’s why it was crying. What’s
worse, it might’ve been in the water. Can you imagine that
sheriff?” Tom added.

“
Where did they hear the
child crying, do you know?” Martin was weak and dazed.

“
Near the rock face I
believe.” Tom said and pointed in that direction.

Tom activated the winch and guided the
boat straight onto the trailer. Once the winch stopped he turned to
Martin fidgeting with his hands. “I'll have the boat at your office
soon sheriff.”

Tom got into his pick-up and pulled
the boat to shore leaving more flattened reeds behind. Martin
scanned the far side of the lake and glared at the rock
face.

‘
I'll leave you here. I
need to leave you behind for the sake of my sanity. Scream all you
want make waves, try to escape. It's all in vain because no one
believes that you're still here. Without me you'll never escape
this lake.’ Martin whispered again.

*~*~*

*
V*

At the base of the rock face small
waves broke against the rocks. The water was dark, murky and
disturbed. Ripples formed in the water. Small bubbles burst on the
surface. A strange dark patch formed underwater and took a human
form. It didn't break the water surface. A thin mist started to
form just above the water. The figure moved away from the rock face
across the lake. The mist followed closely. It moved faster towards
the reeds. A hissing moan echoed changing from a low to a
high-pitched cry was soft not to attract attention. Nearing the
reeds the sound faded, the water calmed, and the figure
disappeared.

Something moved underwater. Reeds
swayed slightly without the help from the wind. Little ripples
formed on the water and a soft moan filled the air. It was trying
to get the attention of one man.

Martin was facing the lake, still
mumbling. Little bubbles popped at his feet. He fell silent and
stared at the bubbles.

He crouched for a better look and
moved broken reeds aside. Something suddenly grabbed his feet and
pulled it out from under him. He fell onto his back, his head hit
hard into shallow water. With force it dragged him towards deeper
water.

He tried to use his arms to lift his
head but failed. He grabbed reeds passing close enough. Blood
started to drip into the water as the leaves cut into his
flesh.

Horrified by the sudden attack and all
his efforts to break loose failed. Fear paralyzed his mind and
thoughts. He released a scream as his head rose above the
water.

A crushing water sound echoed from
behind as Tom rushed forward. He grabbed Martins hands and pulled
him back to the shore. The force that had Martin's feet released
him with such force that Tom burst backward ending on his back in
knee-deep water. Something splashed and dove into deeper water then
vanished.

“
Sheriff, are you okay,
what happened?” Tom called out of breath.

“
Yes I'm fine. I just lost
my footing.” Martin assured coughing and spitting.

“
It's good I heard you
screaming or I might’ve fished you out of the lake.”

Martin got up slowly. “Don't worry.
The slip caught me by surprise. Thanks for coming back. I'm sure I
would've gotten up myself. Some reeds caught my foot that’s
all.”

“
It looked like something
was dragging you.”

“
Don't be ridiculous. What
on earth would’ve dragged me? I slipped that's all.” Martin
remarked and felt shook as he stomped to the bank. ‘The darkness
won’t catch me that easily. I better leave before…’ He
mumbled.

Martin dried his clothes and took the
wet cigarette pack out of his pocket and threw it down near the
reeds.

“
I hope you're going to
pick that up.”

“
Sue me.”

Martin found some dry clothes in the
trunk, among blankets and other items. Clearly he had slept in the
vehicle at times.

“
You can moor the boat at
the pier. I doubt that it'll give us any more clues. I don't want
it clogging up space.” Martin sounded angry.

“
Are you sure sheriff?”
Tom asked surprised.

“
Does it look like I'm
playing with you?”

“
Sure whatever you
say.”

Tom collected the wet cigarette pack,
got into the pick-up and pulled the boat to the pier. Martin got
into his vehicle and paused before starting the engine.

‘
What’s happening, I need
to stop this now and leave. Yesterday’s too late.’

*~*~*

*VI*

Beyond the far side of the lake, to
the North was a large untamed forest bursting with large trees and
thick vegetation. Moss and creepers grew wildly, large rock
formations peaked out of the water, making a stretch inaccessible
by vehicle and difficult on foot. Beyond the rock face pine, oak
and yellow wood trees grew.

Andrew reached the edge of the forest,
where a large group of volunteers had gathered. They checked
climbing gear and ropes, issuing fresh Flashlight batteries,
raincoats and flare guns.

Andrew put on a heavy jacket and
checked his own gear. He noticed drag marks not too far from where
he was standing. On closer inspection he noticed spots and stripes
from an unusual liquid stained on roots and rocks.

Andrew whispered in thought. ‘Is this
blood, maybe human blood? If it's old enough, maybe it’ll explain
events around the lake.’

Andrew pulled a cylinder out of his
backpack and filled it with scrapings. He marked the label before
replacing it. He photographed the drag marks with his cell phone. A
few feet from him an object, halve buried under leaves and dirt
drew his attention. He carefully lifted a child's shoe and placed
it into a large bag. He completed the label and placed it in his
backpack.

“
What's that, evidence?”
Someone asked and stepped out of the crowd.

Andrew slipped his backpack onto his
back. “I don’t know. It's too old to be evidence of the child we're
looking for. It's possibly a lost shoe from a camper, hunting
party, anything really.”

The unconvinced bystander looked hard
at Andrew. “You’re collecting it for some reason, something we
should know?”

“
Of course not, I'm only
collecting odd stuff for my personal collection. I'm studying
forensics. It's just a hobby.”

“
Should you be tampering
with it just in case it's evidence?” Another bystander
asked.

“
I'm not. I assure you
it's collected properly and if it's needed for evidence, then it's
well-preserved. I know what I'm doing.” Andrew insured defending
himself.

Tiffany Rose noticed Andrew's tension
and walked out of the crowd. She dressed in a warm tracksuit,
jacket and comfortable walking shoes. Her curly blond hair neatly
tied back into a ponytail. Her blue eyes peeped out from under her
jackets headpiece and her complexion was fair. She was tall and
slender a body that would put some Goddesses to shame.

“
People let's concentrate
on the task.” She turned to Andrew and smiled. “I agree you
shouldn't be messing with that.”

“
You're just saying that
because you want to collect more than me. What have you collected?”
Andrew asked, relieved the mob had dispersed before it
started.

“
These few items still
keep me in the lead. You have a few months collecting to catch up.
Just because I love you, I'll give you tonight's head start. Are
you ready to go?”

“
I bet you can't wait to
see what I dig up next.”

“
Thrill me.”

“
How about we have our
usual race, let's see who finds the most items, child included. You
did bring your evidence bags?”

“
And the looser makes
dinner and breakfast. It's about time we haven't done this for a
while. Since your boss lost his mind, it's been playing on you, old
grumpy.” Tiffany said and pulled a childish face.

“
He's just going through a
tough time. It's not easy when your wife walks out on you and takes
your son with.” Andrew said defending Martin.

He still believed that Martin could
snap out of his depression he was in and they would go back to
being best friends.

“
For some reason he's
taking it too hard. He's carrying more guilt than heartbreak. I
wonder what happened.”

“
I don't know he won't
talk to me.” Andrew's voice faded into sadness.

“
Well it's true what they
say. Behind every good man’s a great woman and in his case you can
see that she's gone.”

“
You're just mean. I hope
you're not planning to leave me like that.”

“
Now where will I find
another good man, and you're so cute.” Tiffany said before hugging
and kissing him. She paused. “Unlike all of these soppy people in
this little town, I’m not and have never been one of his fan club
members. Thanks for dinner and breakfast, you're so
sweet.”

“
Not yet, we better start
the search, the poor child's priority and the sooner we find it the
sooner you can make dinner. I'm starving.”

“
As if you’re going to win
tonight, dream on.”

Andrew and Tiffany joined the
volunteers. A line of people walked shoulder to shoulder and
entered the forest.

Birds settled in the treetops and
echoed through the forest, flashlights started to light up sections
of vegetation. Calls and chatter rose and fell in the
wind.

Two hours into the search Andrew
stopped and listened hard. He scanned the area and noticed
searchers nearby.

“
Did anyone found or seen
something?”

Calls echoed through the forest. Rain
started to pour making visibility difficult.

“
Maybe there aren't enough
searchers. We're not covering enough ground. I hope we're close to
finding something. The rain will make hearing the child difficult,
seeing any hidden traces will be impossible. It’ll be inconceivable
to end the search because of weather. How does someone abandon a
child and not say something?”

“
Keep faith, we'll find
something soon. The search’s going fine. Stop calling up ghosts.”
Tiffany assured.

Hours into the search they’ve cleared
the forest and were approaching the top of the rock
face.

Around the top of the rock face wet
and slippery rocks jotted out everywhere. Mud puddles covered most
of the footing around large rocks and trees which were fewer and
further apart. Moss coated most rocks offering little holding. At
the edge of the rocks a four-hundred foot drop offered ledges and
razor sharp rocks down to the lake below.

Tiffany tightened her raincoat. “You
know I've been wondering. Maybe the witness misjudged the sound of
the nightlife for a child crying. It sounds like a child crying
throughout the forest.”

“
I’ve been thinking about
it too, but just to be sure let's search the rock face. If we don't
find anything soon, I'll have to call off the search. The rain,
darkness and slippery ground are getting dangerous.”