Page 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

C ody stepped over a small fallen tree, then turned to hold Demmy’s hand and help him across. He paused with his hands on Demmy’s hips and looked down into his eyes. “People have written a lot of poetry about the woods, but all I hear in my head when we’re out here is ‘Run like hell!’”

Demmy smiled and stepped in close, sliding his arms around him. He pressed the side of his head against Cody’s chest and sighed. “I love you.”

Cody closed his arms around him. Tipping his head down, he placed a kiss on the soft cotton beanie Demmy wore. It was orange and one of six in different colors he had stored in either truck and around the house. With his thinning hair, he complained about being cold often, so Cody had bought him a black beanie he’d found at a shop in Harriettville. Demmy had gone back and bought one in each available color. They were adorable, and Cody loved seeing him wear them.

“I love you, too.”

“Robert Frost has a poem about stopping by woods on a snowy day.” Demmy’s voice was slightly muffled by Cody’s jacket. “He called them lovely.”

“Seems kind of a stretch.”

Demmy looked up, arms still around him, and smiled. “Where’s my big strong linebacker hiding?”

Cody smirked. “Deep inside this tired and sad guy in his mid-thirties.”

Demmy put a hand against his cheek. “I’m sorry it’s been so hard lately.”

“Lately?” Cody was trying for levity, but it fell short.

“Okay, maybe the last five or more years.” He studied him. “You doing all right?”

Cody hesitated. He trusted Demmy more than anyone, so why couldn’t he talk about losing his grandmother? Why hadn’t he been able to cry about it? Deep inside he knew the reason, but knowing didn’t make it any less frustrating.

It was too big, and it cut too deep. And he was afraid if he let it start, he wouldn’t be able to shut if off again.

So he smiled, even though it felt a little shaky, and said, “I’m not quite all right, but I’m finding my way back.” Because that was as close to the truth as he could get at that time.

He leaned down for a kiss. Demmy’s lips and tongue were familiar and comforting.

“Family can be so intrusive, can’t they?”

Startled, Cody whirled and instinctively put himself in front of Demmy. He slid one arm back, hand on Demmy’s hip to keep him in place. To maintain a touch.

A short distance off, Oliver Berridge smirked as he stepped out from behind a tree, zipping his pants. Daylight flashed off the lenses of his glasses.

“What the fuck, Ollie?” Cody snapped. “You out here turning tricks for money?”

Oliver frowned and looked around. “With who? And, no, you sasquatch, I’m out here looking for the spot the body was found last night. The coffee caught up with me.”

“Marking his territory,” Demmy said, stepping out from behind Cody, “like any good investigative reporter.”

“Oh my God, I’m not a reporter anymore. Do you guys even listen to me?”

Cody looked down at Demmy. “Did you hear something?”

“You’re childish.” Ollie flipped him off. Maybe he would fit into the Bower family dynamic after all once he married Dave. “What are you two lovebirds doing out here? Looking for a private spot to have sex since the Bower Bunch has been all over town the past week?” He fixed Cody with a look. “Dave said you got called into work and had to leave the storage unit. Is this what you consider work now? Traipsing around the woods in the general area of a crime scene and hooking up?”

“We’re not traipsing,” Cody said, not even addressing the hooking up part, because, to be honest, if Demmy had been willing, he’d have been open to exchanging blow jobs out among the trees. They’d done it before.

“We’re investigating, like you,” Demmy said. “Which, yes, does involve some form of traipsing. But there’s more to it than that.”

Ollie crossed his arms. “Like?”

“Like if it was any of your business, we would have called you specifically and told you to meet us out here,” Cody said.

“Call me? Okay, Boomer. How about send me a text?”

Cody turned to head back the way they’d come. He lifted a hand and said over his shoulder, “Bye, Ollie. Nice walking up on you peeing in the woods. See you when you marry my brother in three months.”

“Hold on. Peace!” Demmy said. “Cody, please come back.”

Cody reluctantly returned to stand beside him. “He started it.”

“Oh my God,” Ollie said. “All of you Bower boys. I swear to God.” He looked at Demmy. “This was my morning: Dave and Brady had to get their mom on the phone because Dave had, and I quote, ‘hah’d’ the cereal.”

Cody hid his smile behind his hand. He noticed Demmy shaking his head, and wondered if he remembered the specifics. It had been something Roman had started, of course. He’d open a fresh box of cereal, usually the one with the best prize inside or highest sugar content. Putting his mouth over the open bag, he’d blow into it with a loud “Hah!” He said it marked the cereal as his and no one else could eat it. They’d called it ‘hah-ing’ the cereal, and after that, whenever their parents returned from grocery shopping, all five boys would race to get to the cereal first. It was outlawed the day Brady ended up with five stitches because Grant hip-checked him into the counter.

“Brady and Dave do fight a lot,” Cody said.

Demmy and Ollie both stared at him.

“What?” Cody said.

“Out of the five of you, you think Dave and Brady are the ones who fight a lot?” Demmy crossed his arms. “Really?”

“Fine. All right. They bicker. Roman and I fight.”

“There we go, much better,” Ollie said.

“This is what you’re marrying into,” Cody said. “Think you can handle it?”

“I’m ready.”

Demmy put his hands out, one toward each of them. “Okay, if the posturing and insults are completed for the morning, can we share information and work together? That would, after all, be in the best interest of everyone we love and the town itself.”

Cody exchanged a look with Ollie.

“He’s acting kind of righteous, isn’t he?” Ollie said to him.

Cody shrugged. “He’s earned it. Grant and Mac and their kids have taken over our house.”

“I’m standing right here, listening to the both of you, and I know you’re doing that to get a rise out of me.” Demmy gave Cody a raised eyebrows look. That was about the sixth or seventh one he’d received from different people this week. He might have to start keeping track. “It’s not going to work.” Demmy looked back at Oliver. “Why don’t you tell us what you know, and then we’ll tell you what we know?”

“I don’t know much other than what my grandmother told me this morning,” Ollie said. “A woman’s body was found out here in the woods last night under mysterious circumstances. Word is it was Rita Haines, who worked as a mechanic at Drives Rite.”

Demmy glanced at Cody. “Name matches.”

“Yep.”

“Matches what?” Ollie said. “Your turn to share.”

They took turns explaining about the hex bags and Cody’s encounter with Tracey and Heath the night before. Cody then related what Clarabell had told him while sitting in his truck in the library parking lot.

“A witch,” Ollie said. “Holy shit.”

“Yep, pretty much what we’ve been saying,” Demmy said.

“Why now?” Ollie said.

“What?” Cody asked.

“I mean, there’s been some crazy and dangerous stuff going on all year. Why would a witch start making big moves now?”

“Maybe she just got to town,” Demmy said. “She heard about the vampires and the zombies and the shape shifting water sprite and decided to check things out for herself.”

“Goddamn Sandals resort for monsters,” Cody muttered.

“Do we know much else?”

“Clarabell told me a little bit about what they’ve found in their research,” Cody said. “A coven of witches settled in these parts back in the late 1600s. They escaped the witch trials in Salem and decided to call this area home.”

“I never heard about that part of the town’s history,” Ollie said.

“Does that surprise you?” Demmy said. “No one’s going to want to claim their town was founded by a coven of witches.”

“That would make a hell of a TV series,” Cody said. “And they weren’t the official founders.”

“Right,” Demmy said. “The town was officially founded by Parson Abbott Stone. He built a cabin and a church out here in the woods somewhere next to a hollow, which was how the town got its name. Other people soon settled around him and the town grew from there.”

“I wonder which came first, the coven or the parson?” Ollie said. “What do you know about this Parson Stone guy?”

Cody shrugged when Demmy looked at him, and said, “Clarabell didn’t have time to go into detail about all that.”

“Do you know where this original church and cabin were built?” Ollie asked.

Demmy shook his head. “Not specifically. Somewhere in the woods outside of town, but I don’t know that it’s ever been marked as a historical site or anything.”

“The logging company most likely demolished all traces of it,” Cody said.

“I’m going to assume the good parson didn’t appreciate having a coven of witches in his brand new, carved-fresh-from-the-tree town,” Ollie said.

“Would have been quite the face-off if they’d been happening around the same time,” Cody said. “Not sure I would have wanted to be ringside for that showdown.” He looked at Ollie. “Did Eileen know where Rita’s body was found?”

“No. But Dieter said something about a lot of police activity out by a place called ‘the wiggle’ last night.”

“Where the hell is that?” Cody said.

“No idea.”

“I’ve never heard of a place called the wiggle,” Demmy said.

“We could always stop by the sheriff’s station and ask our favorite deputy,” Cody said. “I haven’t been in handcuffs for a while. I’m starting to feel ignored.”

“You guys need to up your sex games,” Ollie said.

Cody refused to mentally picture anything Ollie and Cody’s brother Dave might get up to in the bedroom. Nope, not even a bit. Closed door, locked tight. From the smirk on Ollie’s face, he’d said that on purpose just to give Cody a case of the icks. Bastard future brother-in-law.

“Anyway,” Demmy said. “Let’s look around and see if we can find this crime scene.” He pulled a red shop towel from his pocket and tied it around a tree branch.

“What’s that for?” Ollie asked.

“I’ve learned the hard way to mark the path back,” Demmy said. “Here we go.”

Demmy set off between some trees and Cody gestured for Ollie to go ahead of him.

“Don’t look at my ass,” Ollie said.

“The shine from your bald spot is way more pronounced.”

That earned him an over-the-shoulder glare, and he gave a tight smile in return.

They tromped through the woods for an hour but found nothing that resembled a crime scene. Cody was tired and hungry, bordering on all-out cranky.

“Let’s call it a day,” he said, stopping in his tracks. “We’re just walking through the woods now. Whatever happened out here, we’re not going to find it this way.”

Demmy stopped and faced him, forcing Ollie to stop and turn as well.

“Yeah, I agree,” Demmy said. “Maybe Lucia will be open to sharing some information.”

“We could always check back in with my grandma,” Ollie said. “Or we could pay a visit to Clarabell.”

Cody’s brain nearly shut down. “I can’t handle Clarabell for a second time today. I need to figure out how to avoid my family and get some food, then I need to get to work. I’ve got another late shift tonight.”

“Don’t you mean you need to take your lunch break because you’ve been at work all this time?” Ollie said with a smirk.

Cody took a step forward and pointed at him. “Don’t rat me out, Ollie.”

Ollie held up his hands in mock surrender. “All right, all right. Your secret is safe with me.”

“I mean it.”

Demmy walked past Ollie and stood beside Cody. He slid a hand between Cody’s jacket and shirt and rubbed his back. “He’s not going to say anything. Right, Oliver?”

“I promise.”

“This little excursion is off the record,” Cody said.

“Oh my God, I’m not a reporter anymore!”

“Come on, let’s head back,” Demmy said.

They started back the way they’d come, Demmy leading the way. When he reached the first red shop rag, he paused as he was untying it from the branch, looking off into the woods.

“What is it?” Ollie asked, his voice low.

“Do you hear something?” Demmy looked back at Cody. “I hear a voice.”

Cody cocked his head and focused his hearing. At first all he could hear was the breeze in the trees and the blood pounding in his ears. Then he heard it. A quiet but steady chant coming from deeper in the woods.

He looked back at Demmy and nodded. Holding a finger in front of his lips, he gestured in the direction of the sound. With slow, careful movements, the three of them stepped between trees and around fallen branches.

A flickering light between the trees drew them forward. Cody was even more careful where he stepped, and he could see Demmy and Ollie doing the same. They made very little noise as they eased up behind a line of trees and looked into a clearing. Firelight danced, and a figure knelt before it, hands outstretched. It looked like a man wearing black jeans and a black hoodie with the hood up. His quiet, persistent chanting made the hair on the back of Cody’s neck stand up.

Before any of them could made a move, Cody’s phone buzzed in his pocket. A shock of cold fear went through him. He stuffed his hand in his pocket and silenced it. But it was too late. The chanting stopped abruptly, and the hooded figure stopped chanting and jumped to his feet. The hood was low and the shadows within hid his face.

“Show yourselves!”

The voice was deep, but not as terrifying as he’d expected.

“Lower your hood first,” Demmy called back. Cody didn’t really think it was a good idea to have any kind of verbal exchange with someone they’d found alone in the woods chanting by a fire, but it was too late.

The figure cocked its head, and in the shadows gathered inside the hood, he saw the white flash of teeth as the man grinned.

“Ah, the Critter Catchers.” The man turned his head slightly toward the tree behind which Ollie was hiding. “And guest.”

A shock of icy fear went through Cody. But then he grabbed the last shreds of his courage and said, “You know us, but we don’t know you. Show us your face.”

“Not quite yet. Soon.”

The figure raised his arms, and a flash of light made them all duck and turn away. When they slowly looked around again, they discovered the clearing was empty, and the fire extinguished.

“He’s gone,” Cody said.

They stepped out from their hiding places. Cody kept one hand on the tree, the bark rough and gritty. He stood on his toes and looked ahead, squinting to see through the lingering smoke from the fire. No sign of the hooded figure. Or a source for the fire.

“There was a fire burning there, right?” Ollie said.

“Yeah.” Demmy took a step forward. “I saw it.” He looked at Cody. “Did you recognize the voice?”

Cody shook his head. “You?”

“He seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place him.”

Ollie had crept closer to the clearing and leaned in past the trees. “What is this place?”

Demmy started forward. Cody reached out to stop him, losing touch with the tree. He missed grabbing Demmy’s arm, and, feeling vulnerable and exposed, he followed. Turning his head side to side, he tried to see everywhere at once to head off any potential surprise attacks.

“I’ve never been out to this part of the woods before.” Demmy’s voice was quiet, and Cody could understand why. As he moved up beside them, he felt the power that lingered within the clearing. It was like something big hid just out of view, watching. Waiting.

“What are these stones?” Ollie stepped out from the trees, and Cody nearly shouted in frustration.

“Is it a good idea for us to be walking around a place in the woods where some guy was just chanting by a fire that mysteriously vanished when he did?” Cody saw Demmy start to follow Ollie and took him by the arm. “I don’t know about this.”

Demmy looked up at him, eyes so big and blue beneath the orange beanie. “We need to understand what’s happening.”

“I know, but… “ Cody looked past the trees where Ollie crouched by a stone on the other side of the clearing. “There’s something off about this place.”

“Yeah, I feel it, too. But I don’t think it’s dangerous.”

“There was a guy out there with a fire burning just a couple of minutes ago, and now there’s no sign of him or the fire. It’s weird.”

“And it’s why we need to figure out who he is and what he was doing.” Demmy put a hand on Cody’s chest, over his heart. His palm felt warm against the damp chill of the day. “We need to do this. You know that.”

He couldn’t argue that point. Cody released a long, heavy sigh and followed as Demmy moved carefully into the clearing.

Nothing happened, at least nothing he could feel. For all Cody knew, his internal organs were slowly turning into stone. As he moved toward the center of the clearing, he kept an eye on Demmy. He even kept an eye on Ollie, thinking in the back of his mind he should charge Dave for babysitting.

He didn’t see any smoldering ashes or charred logs, nothing that indicated a fire had been burning there just a few minutes before. Maybe the lingering scent of wood smoke, but that could have been Cody’s imagination. There was, however, the sense that something had happened here, that something might still be happening just out of sight.

A stone similar to the one Ollie and Demmy were inspecting caught his eye, and he approached, crouching down with a quiet grunt.

“I heard that,” Ollie said.

Cody held up his middle finger without looking around. “Can you hear this?”

“These stones look as if they were set here,” Demmy said. “Like markers or something.”

“There’s several of them.”

Cody stood and looked to where Ollie was pointing. He saw another and pointed it out. “There, too.”

“Some kind of stones over here,” Demmy said from a place closer to the trees. “But they look different.”

Cody looked at the line of weathered stones, all in a row. The dead and blackened trunk of a tree stood close by, and he figured it had been struck by lightning or something.

“I’m going to get some pictures.”

Ollie pulled his phone from his pocket, reminding Cody about the call he’d received that had given them away. It had been from Shanice at Bulk & Beyond, and he winced when he saw she’d left a voicemail.

“Uh oh, I know that expression,” Demmy said. “Is it Shanice?”

“Yeah.”

“Guess your fib about going into work early is coming true,” Ollie said, a little too high and mighty for Cody’s liking.

“Don’t accidentally step in poison ivy or a witch’s curse or something, Ollie,” Cody said, then listened to the voicemail. Like he’d thought, Shanice asked him to come in as soon as possible.

“For as often as she’s been having you to come in early, she could have hired another couple of people,” Demmy said.

“Companies are asking fewer employees to do more,” Ollie said as he continued to take pictures of the stones, the trees, the clearing itself, and, for all Cody knew, the fucking blades of grass and the flat gray clouds overhead. “It’s cheaper than hiring, training, and providing benefits for the right number of employees.”

“Thank you, Captain Economy,” Cody said. “Are you done with the photo shoot? Can we leave now?”

Ollie looked over with a grin. “Getting scared, big guy?”

Cody turned his back and lifted a hand. “Bye, Ollie. Good luck finding your way back.”

He started to leave the clearing, then stopped short. A flash of yellow had caught his eye. Stepping closer, he crouched and picked the object up. It was crime scene tape, all wadded up into a large, sticky ball.

“Looks like we’ve found the spot,” Demmy said from over his shoulder.

“Yeah, but someone else didn’t want it messing up the place,” Ollie said. “Maybe it messed up the esoteric Wiccan theme he was going for.”

Cody stood. “Okay, we’re definitely getting the hell out of here now.” He dropped the ball of tape, and it rolled across the leaf litter, picking up pine needles and leaves until it came to a rest against the trunk of a tree.

They followed the red shop towels back toward the road, Cody untying and handing them back to Demmy. When they stepped out of the trees, Cody shook his head at the sight of Ollie’s bright blue Ford parked behind his truck.

“What’s the head shake for?” Ollie asked.

“You might as well put up a sign telling everyone we’re looking for a crime scene,” Cody said as he stepped over the swale. Dried leaves and brown pine needles blanketed the stagnant water. Reaching back, he helped Demmy cross, then begrudgingly extended a hand to Ollie. He glared and jumped across without accepting help.

“So?” Ollie challenged, hands on hips.

“So, you’ve obviously never spent any time inside a Parson’s Hollow jail cell,” Cody said. “It’s not fun.”

“You’re even crankier than usual with your family in town,” Ollie said then looked at Demmy. “I’ll send you these pictures. Let me know if you come up with anything.”

“Thanks, I will,” Demmy said.

They watched Ollie get into his EcoSport and pull out onto the road, coming dangerously close to hitting Cody’s back bumper.

“Sassy little elf,” Cody muttered. “He did that on purpose.”

“No idea why,” Demmy said with a grin.

“Come on, I’ll drop you back at your truck.”

They got in the cab, and Cody had a thought as he pulled out on the road. “You said Amelia let you know about a body in the woods?”

“Yeah, last night.”

“Want to give her a call and put it on speakerphone?”

“Oh, sure. Hold on.” A moment later, Demmy held the phone between them, and they listened to the line ringing.

“Hi, Demetrius,” Amelia said. “Everything all right?”

“Yep, all good. I’m here with Cody, and we had a couple of questions about the police cars someone saw last night.”

“Also, I’m on my way to work, in case my family members ask,” Cody said.

“With Demetrius in the truck?” Amelia asked, and Cody could hear the humor in her voice.

“You’re too quick for me, Amelia,” Cody said.

“Otis was the one who talked with Isaac, hold on.” They heard her call for Otis, and a moment later his deep voice came on the line.

“Hey fellas,” Otis said. Demmy repeated their question, and he grunted. “I didn’t hear it from Isaac at first. I heard it from Douglas. He said there were a couple of sheriff’s cars out this way. Just east of the wiggle.”

Demetrius exchanged a puzzled look with Cody. “That’s the second time we’ve heard that phrase today. What is it?”

“The wiggle,” Otis said, as if that was explanation enough. “You boys haven’t heard it called that?”

“Is this something I’m going to wish I hadn’t learned today?” Cody said. He glanced at the clock on his dash. “I’m heading to work after this. Please don’t add any more layers of trauma on top.”

“Oh, hemlock trees,” Amelia said in the background. “You’re so dramatic.”

“Traumatic,” Cody said slowly, as if correcting her. “Trau-ma-tic.”

“The wiggle is the part of road out by the county line that curves back and forth. Like a wiggle.”

“Oh, we were just out that way,” Cody said. “And that’s also called an S-curve by the rest of the population.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Otis asked.

Cody looked at Demmy and they both nodded. “Point taken.”

“So, someone—” Demmy started.

“Douglas,” Otis said. “Douglas Cooper. Lives two streets over.”

“Fine. Okay. Douglas was out just past the trail for Parson’s Pond when he saw the sheriff’s cars?”

“Right. He was coming back from over in Creighton. His daughter lives out that way, teaches at that fancy new private school they’ve got there.” He paused. “Come to think of it, though, she doesn’t live in Creighton. I think she lives a town or so over.”

“Clock’s ticking, Otis,” Cody said. “How far past the turn off to Parson’s Pond did he see the sheriff’s cars?”

“I told you, it was just east of the wiggle.”

“Oh, for the love of…”

Demmy put a hand on Cody’s thigh and smiled. “That’s good information, Otis. Thank you for letting us know.”

“You’re welcome.” Otis cleared his throat. “You’ve gotten a lot more impatient as you’ve gotten older, Cody.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m hearing that a lot lately,” Cody said. “Get off my lawn.”

“That’s supposed to be my line.”

“Oh, for the love of elm trees, both of you hush,” Amelia said. “Any other questions, boys?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Demmy looked at Cody. “Thank you both. That helped.”

“How could you live here all your lives and not know about the wiggle?” Otis called from the background.

“Because we’ve always called it what it is, an S-curve!” Cody said loudly.

“Heavens to poplars, you just about blew out my eardrum!” Amelia lowered her voice and continued. “You boys be careful. Let me know if you find anything and if I need to gather the troops out here.”

“We’ll keep you updated, Aunt Amelia. Love you.”

“I love you, too. Both of you.”

They said their goodbyes and Demmy ended the call. “Well, that filled in a few things.”

“The crime scene tape was pretty much a giveaway, but since I parked in the middle of…” He used one hand to make air quotes. “The wiggle, I’d say we found the spot.”

“I’ve never heard it called that.”

“I never want to hear it called that again.”

They rode in silence for a bit, Cody heading for downtown.

“What are you going to do this evening?” Cody asked.

Demmy slouched a bit and looked at him. The overcast sky had broken apart in spots, and the sun was shining bright as if trying to make up for time lost. A sudden empty ache opened up within him at the thought of being away from Demmy until late that night. Again. They’d spent so much time together the last ten years, it felt strange to not be going to work together.

“I don’t know,” Demmy said. “I might go by the library and check to see if Tracey is there. Maybe do some research in the main area if she’s not and see what else I can find out about witches in this area. And I’ll miss you.”

Cody glanced at him, smiled, then reached over to take his hand. “You mean my brother and his family aren’t a good replacement for me?”

“No one could possibly replace you. Your wiggle is unique.”

“Fucking Otis. He isn’t even from here, is he?”

“I think he’s from somewhere in Missouri.”

“Fucking Missouri. All those people coming here and thinking they can tell us what to call our roads.”

“Exactly.”

Not long after that, Cody pulled up behind Demmy’s truck. He leaned over and kissed him softly. “Be careful.”

“I’m just going to the library,” Demmy said. “Maybe.”

“I know how fast things change. If you end up going back out to the fucking wiggle, take someone with you. I’d prefer it to be me, but I can’t.”

“I know.” He made a face and looked away. “I’m sorry. I’m still looking for a job, I promise.”

“Hey, hey, I know that.” Cody rested a hand on the back of his head and looked him in the eye. He still wore the beanie, and the material was soft underneath Cody’s palm, Demmy’s scalp warm beneath it. “I have never, and will never, think you are slacking off and not doing your part. Is that clear?”

Demmy smiled. “Yeah.”

Cody tightened his grip slightly, and he pulled Demmy into a longer kiss. When they parted, Cody caught his eye again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Drive safe. Tell Jugs I said hi.”

“I will. Stay out of trouble.”

Demmy laughed and got out of the truck. Cody waved, then drove off, watching in the rearview mirror as Demmy got smaller and smaller, the sunlight making the orange beanie shine like a flame. It felt as if he left a part of his heart behind. In a way, Cody figured he had.