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“Oh, my goodness,” Katherine said, throwing back her head and laughing.
It sounded so good and clear and needed, Oliver couldn’t help joining in, ignoring the dirty look he was getting from Cody and the protests from Dave and Demetrius that they weren’t being freed fast enough.
* * *
Once Dave and Demetrius were untied, Oliver and Cody took turns explaining the events of the last day or more as they picked up the bits of trash scattered around the site. They gathered the duct tape into a large, sticky wad, along with the cardboard roll that had been at the center, then they collected the gas can, the iron pokers, the empty salt containers, and the box of wooden matches, also picking up any stray bits of material from their clothing. While they talked and worked, the fire burned lower and lower as it broke down Rebecca Hawkins’s body.
They decided to leave it where it lay, in the place she’d brought all her victims, the bones of whom Oliver assumed were scattered throughout the surrounding woods. When they finally set off for the motel, the clouds were breaking up and the sky was starting to lighten. Katherine led the way with Cody and Demetrius behind her, then Dave and Oliver. Before he stepped into the woods, Oliver took one last look around the clearing, fixing details in his mind for his story. He let his gaze rest on the pile of bones near the well, the flames now barely visible.
“Be at peace, Rebecca,” Oliver whispered, then he turned away to follow Dave into the trees.
At the motel, Dave ravenously attacked the meal Oliver had bought for him, discovering as he sat on the lid of the cooler that the keys to the car were still in his pocket.
Katherine lingered, silent and deep in thought as she moved about the room, picking up pieces of her latex mask and the hideous wig. Oliver and Cody explained a bit more about what had happened as Dave and Demetrius asked multiple questions. The two of them had no memory of being bewitched by Rebecca Hawkins. Demetrius remembered feeling cold, and then a bright light, but that was it. He and Dave both felt guilty and apologized repeatedly when they heard they’d attacked them.
Once everything had been packed into the vehicles, they looked each other over and made faces.
“If we drive four hours this dirty, we’ll never get the smell out of the truck,” Cody said.
“There’s no working shower here,” Oliver said. “And we only have half a jug left of water.”
Katherine blew out a long breath and hung her head. When she spoke, she kept her head down as if speaking to the floor instead of them.
“I don’t live far from here. It’s a short drive, and my car is parked down the road. You can all use my shower to clean up.”
“Are you serious?” Oliver said. “You don’t have to do this. You’ve done enough for us already.”
She lifted her head and looked at him, tears in her eyes. “You’ve all done more than you’ll know for me. I finally feel at peace. This is the least I can do. And I’ll need help coming up with a story for the police.”
“We’ve come up with some pretty good cover stories over the years,” Cody said, he and Demetrius exchanging loving looks. “We can definitely help with that. How about the least dirty of us drives the truck and the rest of us sit in the back?”
“That works,” Demetrius said.
They decided Demetrius was the least offensive in dirt coverage and smell. To keep the interior as clean as possible, he folded the tarp Dave had stretched over the mattress and used it to cover the driver’s seat. Demetrius followed Katherine’s instructions called through the open back window to where her car was parked just off the asphalt road, and she climbed out of the truck bed.
As Demetrius followed Katherine’s car along the two-lane blacktop, Oliver sat between Cody and Dave, all of them with their backs against the wall of the truck cab. He pulled his knees up close to his chest and wrapped his arms around his shins.
“Doing okay?” Dave asked. The wind ruffled his hair, making him look years younger. Bug bites covered his face, neck, and arms, and he’d already been scratching at them. They were going to need to stop at Parson’s Pharmacy when they got home for a bottle of calamine lotion. Maybe two, or half a dozen.
“I’m tired,” Oliver said. “But okay otherwise.”
“I’m going to sleep for a week,” Cody said. He caught the looks Oliver and Dave directed at him and held up a hand in apology. “Private conversation. I get it. My apologies. Carry on.”
They didn’t talk any more, but Dave put his arm around Oliver and pulled him in close.
Katherine’s house was small and tidy, with just one bathroom. Before they entered, she had them stand in a line and sprayed them off with a garden hose, all of them gasping and hollering at the cold blast of water. After that, they removed their shoes and socks and, since Cody was the dirtiest, he showered first. Katherine entered a back bedroom, and through the open door Oliver caught a glimpse of a number of latex masks and distressed wigs. When she returned to the kitchen where they all sat on newspapers around the table with cups of steaming coffee, she’d changed into sweats and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
“How long have you lived here?” Oliver asked.
She smiled as she pulled a carton of eggs from the refrigerator. “Why don’t you ask the real question?”
“I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“You want to know how long I’ve been pretending to be the ghost.” She started cracking eggs into a large mixing bowl.
“It would be nice to know some more details,” Oliver said.
“For your story.”
