Soul Eater (5 page)

"Well you better take care. I think you know from experience that this isn't your average case."

"What are you getting at?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Simple police work isn't going to solve this one I'm afraid."

"Continue—tell me what you know Brody."

"The Eerie Mountain Killer isn't your typical case of serial homicide Jenna. In fact, it isn't even human."

A smile touched her lips. “Brody, what the hell are you talking about? You aren't trying to read some kind of superstitious nonsense into this are you?” She couldn't bring herself to believe in phantoms and such, but John Hessler's words were there, clouding her thoughts with doubt.

"Woman, you would be foolish to discount superstition. There is always some truth to legends."

"Okay, tell me what you think it is then.” Jenna decided to humor him. Funny, she didn't remember him as being particularly superstitious.

"I believe that it is the
Be’ ni Bíitéí na
behind this. The Soul Eater."

"What? I'm not fallowing you,” she told him, confused.

"The Soul Eater is an evil spirit, a demon that has dwelled within the mountain since the beginning of the earth. Legend says that during the creation, the Soul Eater became jealous of the Creator and tried to sabotage his work. On discovering the Soul Eater's evil, the Creator cursed him to dwell within the mountain for all time."

"Okay, what does this have to do with the here and now?” Jenna was amused by the story, but losing patience.

"It is told by our elders that many years ago the valley was plagued by this demon, but a brave medicine man by the name of Spotted Eagle chased the spirit back into the earth through a cave, sealing his fate along with the demon's when the earth trembled, sending tons of stone down from the mountain to close off the entrance to the cave."

"I'm sorry Brody,” she told him shaking her head. “But I just don't see what this has to do with this case."

"What else was going on around here when these murders first began?"

Jenna shrugged her shoulders.

"The Rocky Mountain Mining Company began working up there, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. They quickly shut down because of several accidents which they attributed to the local Indians and you in particular,” Jenna pointed out.

"It wasn't me Jenna, and as far as I know no one else on the res had anything to do with it. Though most people felt they were a bunch of fools."

"Okay, so what do you think happened?"

"What if they let it out before the operation shut down?"

"Oh, come on Brody, this all fine and dandy if you're trying to spook people from mining the mountain, but I don't for a minute believe it has a thing to do with these murders. Whoever is responsible for these deaths is very real.” Jenna turned away from him to look out the kitchen window.

She noticed that the wind had picked up, and it played with the branches of a huge oak tree that sat in the backyard. Her old tire swing still hung from the tree, and it, too, moved with the wind as if a phantom child were at play.

"You must understand, that
Be’ ni Bíitéí na
feeds off of fear and evil, and it feeds off of blood. It can possess those who open themselves up to it."

No longer listening, Jenna headed for the backdoor and left the house.

"What are you doing?” he asked.

Jenna ran to the tire swing, grasping the thick rope that suspended the tire from the branch above. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the tire and the rope.

Brody had followed her out and now stood looking at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"What's wrong with this picture?” she asked him.

He shook his head, unable to see what she was getting at.

"My father hung this tire here when I was five years old, and at the end of every summer he would take it down until the following year. For some reason he was still hanging it when we were teenagers."

"Okay.” Brody chuckled.

"Don't you get it?” she asked in exasperation. “He took it down in the winter so that it wouldn't rot. It's hung here through ten years of rain, snow, sun, and it still looks as if it hasn't aged a moment."

"Maybe it is just good quality,” he offered.

Jenna couldn't shake the feeling that finding the swing in exactly the same condition, as it was when she left was significant. She began to wonder if someone wasn't playing head games with her.

Her gaze scanned the yard. There was her father's lawnmower resting next to the rose bushes where he'd left it the weekend before this all began. Leaving the swing, Jenna walked to the lawnmower, examining it as if it were a piece of evidence.

"There's not an ounce of rust on this thing,” she said as she opened the gas cap and peered into the reservoir. Replacing the cap, she tried to start it. On the second try it fired up.

Killing the engine, her gaze rested on Brody's handsome features and she wondered if it could possibly be him playing games with her, perhaps trying to drive her away from the case.

Could he be the killer?

He certainly had motive. He'd been one of the most outspoken against the mining on Eerie Mountain, and as far as her family's disappearance ... well she knew there had been no love lost between Officer Claremont and Brody Silver Wolf.

"Don't even start Jenna,” he said, guessing the directions her thoughts had taken. “You know I have an alibi for the night your family vanished. I was with you, remember?"

Though her heart truly wanted to believe him, she had to keep in mind that she really had no idea how long she'd been unconscious in the woods. Would he have had enough time to go to her house, kill her family and then hide the bodies before returning to where she was in the woods? But if it was Body why hadn't he killed her, too. It wasn't as if he hadn't had the opportunity.

You would have been the perfect alibi.

The unbidden thought crept into her head. He couldn't kill her. Too many people had seen him talking to her, but he could have done away with her father and used her for an alibi.

On that night she'd been too heartsick to even think about it, but now, as she looked back at it over the distance of time, she could see where things could have been overlooked. Now there was this crazy story of a demon.

"Brody, were you aware I was coming back here?” she asked, wondering if maybe the neighbor, whom she'd called and asked to open the house had mentioned it around town.

"I'd no idea, but I'm glad that you did ... in a way,” he added.

"Why,
in a way
?” Jenna peered into his eyes, looking for the slightest hint of deception.

"I would feel better if you weren't involved in this.” Brody's voice had grown serious, but his mood lightened suddenly. “Besides, I have a feeling my showers are going to get much colder now."

The loss of her family and Brody's rejection was still as fresh in her mind as it had been ten years ago and her heart ached with grief. “Brody, it would be best if you left now,” she told him, blinking back tears. She knew beyond doubt that even if she wanted to succumb to his seduction, she never could as long as there was even a seed of doubt about him.

He looked at her with uneasiness in his eyes. “No matter what you say about old Indian superstitions, there's something not right with this case, and you know it."

She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. “What would be the purpose of all this?’ She motioned to the lawnmower.

Brody was at a loss to explain it. Time appeared to be reversing itself for some reason, or was it the Soul Eater using her grief to drive her insane? It would possess her if she let her defenses down.

"I'm sorry, but you really should go,” she told him, keeping her eyes averted from his pleading gaze.

Brody let out a sigh of defeat. “Okay, I'll go Jenna, but be careful and don't trust anyone! Do you understand?"

Jenna nodded but still refused to look at him. She knew if she did she wouldn't be able to keep herself from begging him to stay. There was no possible way that could happen. After all, he was the prime suspect.

Brody walked away, but stopped and looked back at her. “Change all the locks to this house if you plan on staying here."

[Back to Table of Contents]

Golden sunlight streamed in through the pink, chiffon curtains. Jenna blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. The house was alive with sound. There was the sounds of her mother in the kitchen, her father in the shower. The bedroom door flew open and Tina stood there with one hand on her hip.

"Get up if you want a ride into town today.” Tina spoke in her usual
everything annoys me
, voice.

For a moment, Jenna found she couldn't breathe.
This can't be real
, she told herself over and over.

The alarm clock next to her bed began to ring insistently, but Jenna couldn't take her eyes from Tina.

"What's wrong with you? Are you just going to sit there and let the alarm go off?

Jenna was frozen, unable to utter a word.

Tina rolled her eyes and leaned against the doorframe. “You should never have come back here, Jenna, but as long as you're here you might as well make yourself useful.” Tina's voice had taken on an unearthly quality, echoing as if she spoke from the other end of a tunnel.

Trembling, Jenna could do little else but shake her head in confusion.

"Evil takes on many forms little sis, remember that.” The skin on Tina's face began peeling away and her eyes had taken on a strange, pulsating red glow.

A scream ripped from Jenna's throat as she sat up abruptly. The ringing had followed her from her nightmare and it took a moment for her to realize it was her cell phone.

Reaching to the nightstand, she grabbed the phone. “Hello."

"Agent Claremont?” It was a male voice.

"Yes, it's me, Banks,” she told her partner. The nightmare was still fresh in her mind, making it impossible to still her shaking hands.

"Hey, I'll be there in a couple of days. I just have a few things to wrap up here in D.C.. Will you be okay?"

"I can handle it solo for a day or two,’ she assured him. Jenna was just about to fill him in on the bizarre way the police were handling the investigation when someone rang the doorbell.

"Did you get the computer I'd the Denver office send over?” he asked.

"I think that's what's at the door. Can I call you right back?"

"Yeah, sure, talk to you later,” he told her before hanging up.

Throwing her robe on, Jenna rushed to the door and swung it open. Outside, a uniformed deliveryman stood with a clipboard in his hand.

"Delivery for Jenna Claremont."

"That's me,” she told him as he was handing her the clipboard.

"I just need a signature, please."

Jenna signed quickly and pointed to the room that had been her father's study. “Just put the boxes in there, please."

A police car up the street caught her attention. Brody had been right. They were watching her house.

Why?

Don't trust anyone.
Both Brody and old man Hessler had warned her of this same thing.

What was going on in Sinister?

After bringing in two big boxes, the man stepped past her back onto the porch. “Good day,” he told her as he was heading to his truck.

"Wait!” she called to him. “What about this box?” Jenna pointed to a big box that sat on the porch.

"Don't know ma'am. I didn't deliver that box.” With that he got into his truck and drove away.

Jenna examined the box, wondering where it had come from. It had her name on it but there was no return address nor the name of a shipping company. Picking the box up, she was surprised at how light it was. Curiosity getting the best of her, she immediately took it into the kitchen to open it.

On closer examination, she became sure that this box hadn't been shipped. There was barely any tape on it to keep it closed. Ripping the tape off, she opened the box. Choking back a scream, Jenna jumped back as if a rattlesnake had bitten her. Inside was her father's uniform, neatly folded. Lying on top was his badge. On closer inspection she could make out traces of blood on the shiny metal.

Without touching the contents, she closed the box back up and ran toward the bedroom to dress. She didn't trust the local police, so she would have to take this into Riverton and have it shipped to the DCI crime lab in Cheyenne.

Jenna knew that the contents of the box were meant to be a warning, but she wasn't the least bit intimidated. After the first initial shock, all she could feel was anger. She was furious at the fiend who had stolen her family and angry at the Sinister Police Department for allowing the crime to go unpunished. Just maybe the killer had slipped up this time.

Jenna examined the files that sat in front of her at Detective Jordan's desk. The detective's dark, hawk-like eyes watched her curiously. She had to admit that the Tribal Police in Riverton had been a great deal more helpful than the police in Sinister.

"Is this every report of a missing person?” she asked him.

"Yes, for the past 15 years. These are the cases we could never solve,” he told her.

"What about unsolved homicides that could have taken place in the vicinity of Eerie Mountain? Have you included copies of those, too?” she asked, flashing the young detective a smile.

"Yes, I figured you'd want them, as well, but I have to tell you Agent Claremont, we've been over these cases hundreds of time.” He lifted his hands in a gesture of helplessness.

"I know, and I'm sure your department has done a thorough job, but you never know what a new set of eyes might come up with."

Just then a uniformed officer walked in with a file, handing it to Jenna. It was the preliminary autopsy report on the Brodrick girl. When she'd called to inform them of the evidence she was shipping, she'd asked them to fax the report to Riverton.

"Thank you,” she told the officer before turning her attention back to Detective Jordan.

"And thank you for all your cooperation,” Jenna said as she was standing to leave.