Page 7 of Whisper Through the Pines

Jenna blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Yeah, Rowley, I do understand the term—make-out spots.” She sighed. “Did you get a list? It might come in useful if this maniac strikes again.”

“I didn’t make a list, but I can if you want me to.” Rowley bit back a yawn and went to work. “I’ll upload it in a short while.”

Turning her attention to Rio, Jenna rubbed at the ache in the back of her neck. “Did they come into contact with anyone unusual over the last two weeks or so?”

“One thing that came to the parents’ attention was last weekend after a hockey match: Avril complained about a guy hitting on her when she was watching the game.” Rio scratched his head and then smoothed down his hair. “She told Hank about it and there was a heated argument between him and the guy in the parking lot after the game. Apparently, the man, who Avril described as a creep in his thirties, pestered her during the game and then followed her out to the parking lot, where Hank was waiting for her.”

Jenna chewed on her pen thinking. “Hmm, rejection can trigger psychopaths. Did Avril have any of her friends with her? They might be able to identify the guy who was hitting on her.”

“Unfortunately, no.” Rio’s mouth turned down. “Her friends were all at a bridal shower. Most times they’d be with her along with their boyfriends. As you would expect, the boys were at the bachelor party.” He sighed. “That’s about all I could find. They went to school and hung out together most times. They didn’t notice anyone unusual, and their parents haven’t had anyone visiting the house either. We’ve got zip.”

After checking her watch, Jenna nodded. “Okay. I’m heading over to the autopsy at six-thirty. I need to talk to my boys and explain why I’m going to be home late. You should head home. Maggie will lock up when I leave.”

She headed back to her office and spent ten minutes chatting with Jackson and Tauri. She had a short conversation with Raya, saying she’d be home as soon as Emily had completed the autopsies. The moment she disconnected, the desk phone rang. She picked it up. “Sheriff Alton.” Heavy breathing and the sound of an engine revving came through the earpiece. “Hello?”

“My name is Jasmin Web and I’m with my friend Diane Dell’Aquila. We were driving along Maple, coming home from Bison Ridge, and we saw a young girl wearing a long white nightgown covered in blood. We stopped to follow her, but then she vanished into the mist. We got scared and took off, but I thought we should report it.”

Rubbing her jaw muscle after grinding her teeth all day, Jenna stared into space. She’d read about the phenomenon where many people saw a young girl walking along the road covered in blood, and when they went to investigate, she vanished. It was a local Halloween ghost story. “Do you have a dashcam or did anyone take a photograph with their phone?”

“No, we were too busy getting away from there.” Jasmin sounded shaken. “We did see her. We both saw her as clear as day. I figure she was trying to lure us into the forest, you know, like the story of the girl who leads people to their deaths over Halloween. I’ve never believed it was true—but now I’m not so sure. You see, one second she was there as plain as day and the next second she vanished. There was no way I was going there after dark.”

Jenna checked her watch again. “So, you’ll be close to town now?”

“Yeah, we’re just turning onto Main now.”

Standing, Jenna slid her things into the desk drawer. “I’d like you to come into my office and give your statement to Maggie at the counter. It won’t take very long. In the meantime, I’ll drive down and have a look. Just exactly where did you see this apparition?”

“On the west side of the third bridge over Maple. Maybe three hundred yards from the bridge, heading east.” Jasmin took a deep breath. “Is that right, Diane?”

“No, I think it was farther back.” Diane cleared her throat. “She was walking along the edge of the forest, but we didn’t get close enough to see her properly. She kind of glowed and you could see she had red marks all over her nightgown. She looked right at us, but then she turned and walked into the forest. We stopped to see if she needed a ride but she just walked away. We could see her between the trees for a little while and then she just vanished. We were too frightened to get out and take a look.”

Nodding to herself, Jenna sighed. “Okay, come in and give as much information as you can. Maggie will help you.” She disconnected, picked up her phone, and called Emily. “I’m not going to be able to make it. I need to go out on a call. It’s likely a hoax.” She explained. “Raven can act as my proxy. If you could upload the findings when you can, I’ll take a look at them.” She disconnected.

After pulling on her coat, checking her weapon, and explaining to Maggie about the call, she headed to her patrol vehicle. Mist had already crept onto Main and water vapor covered her vehicle, fogging the windows. The Beast, Kane’s tricked-out black truck, was in the garage at home. It would be the safer ride, but she didn’t enjoy driving it very much. She went to the truck and took out a microfiber cloth and wiped the windows. If there was something out there, she wanted to get a good look at it. A vehicle pulled into a space outside her office and two women climbed out, gave her a wave, and hurried inside. Jenna shook her head. Had the women told the truth or was there a ghost haunting Stanton Forest? She shrugged and slid behind the wheel. “Maybe I need to call in ghost hunters.”

Nine

Main turned into a different place after dark. The Halloween decorations she hadn’t really noticed on the way to work this morning had suddenly come alive. The townsfolk had really thrown themselves into the festival and had started a week or so before the actual celebration. Already, pumpkin lights adorned the fronts of the stores and some of them had gruesome automatons along the sidewalk. The cold misty weather hadn’t deterred people from heading to the local eateries in town. Cars lined the sidewalk and people bundled up for the cold hurried along, blowing out great puffs of steam. Jenna drove to Maple. The road circled the entire town and then wove its way through Stanton Forest to Bison Ridge. There were many rivers with bridges running from the falls, through the lowlands, and on to Blackwater. Once she crossed the first bridge, the street lights ceased to exist. In a matter of seconds, blackness surrounded her and she had only headlight beams for company.

It was no wonder that people believed they saw ghosts wandering across the roads at night. The moment the headlights hit the swirling mist, her imagination took flight and she could actually make out women with long flowing ballgowns drifting across the road in front of her. A shiver went down her spine as she crossed to the second bridge and drove a mile along the road before turning around and driving back toward town. In the short time she’d been away, mist billowed like giant waves rising up from the river, crashing onto the road. It was an incredible phenomenon and she’d seen it many times, but being alone made it very spooky. She slowed, scanning alongside the road for anything unusual, and then she saw it.

Jenna blinked, trying desperately to rationalize the sight before her. Just ahead she made out the image of a young girl with long blonde hair wearing a bloodstained white nightgown. She slammed her foot down on the brakes so hard the truck skidded on the loose gravel, coming to a halt sideways across the highway and stalling. Heart racing, she stared in disbelief as the young girl turned to look at her and then headed slowly into the forest. Her mouth went dry as her brain tried to rationalize what she’d seen. It was exactly how the two women had described it. Realization slammed into her as she scanned the thick white mist. It’s a trap. Terror shivered through her. The Axman was close by and she needed to get away now! With trembling fingers, she pressed the ignition button and stepped on the gas, but the truck refused to start. She slammed her fists against the steering wheel. “No, no, no. Not now.”

All around her the mist closed in and the temperature inside the truck dropped dramatically. Her headlights flickered and just inside the perimeter of the forest, the girl turned again to stare at her with huge black eyes. The next second, a bump on the roof startled her. She looked all around, seeing nothing but thick mist, and then came the scrape of metal, like something sharp being dragged along the blacktop. Terrified, she pressed the ignition button again and the truck burst into life. She thrust the stick into drive and hit the gas, fishtailing along the road. Out of control, she hit the bridge fast, scraping the side of her truck along the brick wall. Checking her rearview mirror, all she could see was swirling mist behind her and blackness.

She drove hard, turning left when she reached Main. She slowed and pulled to the curb outside Aunt Betty’s Café. Looking behind her, she rushed through the door pulling out her phone. The restaurant was crowded as usual and she hurried to the reserved table in the back and in quick succession called her deputies. That done, she leaned back in her chair trying to get her breath.

“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” Susie Hartwig filled a cup with coffee and stared at her. “Is everything okay?”

Glad of the company, Jenna nodded. “Yeah, I just had a possible sighting of a suspect. The team will be here soon and we’ll go and check it out.”

“Okay.” Susie narrowed her gaze. “You skipping meals again? The last time Dave went fishing, you almost faded away.”

Still trembling from the ghostly encounter, Jenna took a deep breath to settle her nerves. She hadn’t eaten since lunch and shrugged. “I’ve been too busy to eat. I’ll grab a bite when I get home. The coffee will be fine—really.”

She checked her watch. It was getting late and she added cream and sugar to her coffee and took a long drink. The heat from the cup warmed her frozen fingers. Moments later, Susie returned and placed two savory turnovers in front of her. Jenna stared at them and then lifted her gaze to her. “Thank you but⁠—”

“I need an honest opinion. They’re fresh from the oven and filled with ground beef, vegetables, potatoes, and Aunt Betty’s secret herbs and spices. Our chef is creating a number of new dishes from Aunt Betty’s original recipes.” She frowned at her. “You know I value your opinion, Jenna.”