Return to Red Creek by Nathan Hystad (free ebooks romance novels .txt) 📕

night of legend in these parts. They were the epicenter of the Smiths’ eventual downfall, and Tom couldn’t believe it. They were tied to this orchard business, and he knew they had to work together. “I hate to bring you in on this, but maybe what Cliff did so long ago was the right move. I might need to deputize you two.” Tom pointed at the two men, and Darrel grimaced as if he found the idea unpalatable.

“We’re not done,” Taylor said, sitting. “Let’s have a seat. We’re going to need to save our energy.”

The others started for the floor, some sitting with feet out front, others cross-legged. Tom was the last person standing in the barn, and he opted for knees up, wrapping his arms around them for balance as he leaned forward. “Tell me the rest. What do you think is happening now? I mean, if you guys torched the orchard, ruining its ‘nest,’ and Darrel says there was nothing left underground during construction, then why’s this going on again?”

"That’s a great question. I wasn’t sure at first. When Isabelle called me to tell me about Brittany going missing, I freaked out. I was so scared it was back, and that it was going to come for me. Then, when the initial shock wore off, I wanted to help.” Taylor was rocking side to side as she sat, refraining from eye contact with anyone. Tom could tell she had some issues, and he didn’t blame her. If he’d been through that at her young age, he’d be messed up too.

“How did you expect to help?” Tom asked.

“I don’t know,” Taylor said. “I assumed no one would think about the Schattenmann any longer. This town has a short memory, or at least they’re good at pushing mysterious things from their minds and pretending they didn’t happen. I knew that would be the case again, and that Brittany and any more children it preyed on deserved better than that.”

“Wait… what are you talking about?” Tom asked. “Schatanmon?”

“It’s German,” Taylor replied, as if this explained everything.

Rich looked away, as if embarrassed for the town, and of representing it. Tom sat somberly, considering all they’d told him. The story was ridiculous, but somehow real enough that he was almost buying in to it. Almost. One thing was clear. They believed it, and they were onto something. The Smiths’ connection. They were now thinking a Smith was back in town, doing what their family used to do: steal kids, kill them, eat them – hell, he didn’t know what exactly, but it was appalling.

“I’ve noticed that about this place,” Tom said, agreeing with her about the town’s ability to forget things. “It’s almost as if there’s a disturbance around Red Creek.”

Paul’s head snapped up, meeting his gaze with hard eyes. “We have to stop it.”

Tom nodded. “You were going to tell me your new hypothesis about what’s happening now, and why,” he urged.

Taylor’s lips were sealed, but after a barely noticeable nod from her dad, she spoke again. “I went to see Trevor Hayes.” She waited for Tom to respond as if the name would be familiar. It wasn’t.

“Who’s that?” Tom asked.

“He was a kid who lived in my dad’s childhood home. The one on Wood Street. It’s all boarded up, and only a block away from Brittany Tremblay’s house. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.” Taylor fidgeted with her hair, pulling it away from her face. Her boyfriend moved over to her side and held her hand. Tom noticed Paul glancing at the contact.

“You grew up in that house?” Tom asked. He’d just seen it, windows boarded up. It looked like hell.

“I did,” Paul answered. “I was helping my sister move my mom’s stuff out the last time I was here.”

“She was moving?” Tom asked.

Paul shook his head. “In a way, I guess. She had severe dementia and had already been admitted to Greenbriar. She was rarely lucid even in those days.”

Tom didn’t have to ask if she was alive. The man’s face said it all.

“What did this Trevor Hayes have to divulge?” Tom tried to get on topic. They were wasting valuable time here, but he needed any information he could get if he was going to solve this thing.

“He was scared. His room was full of lights all around the edges, so there weren’t any shadows,” Taylor said.

“So he was scared of the dark.” Tom could understand that fear, especially in a young kid.

“Not exactly,” Taylor answered. “He was scared of seeing shadows, one in particular. He was haunted by our friend for months. It watched him from the field, it watched him from the back yard. It stalked him as he rode his bike home from friends’ houses. He grew increasingly erratic, and one night, the shadow thing tried to grab him. To take him, but it couldn’t.”

“Why?” Tom was trying to get the full picture but wasn’t able to see it quite yet. There was something about the name that drew his attention. “Wait. You said Trevor Hayes, right? What was his mother’s name?”

“His mother? I don’t see how that’s relevant,” Paul said.

“Pamela, I think,” Isabelle answered for them. “Yes. It was Pamela Hayes.”

“Pamela Hayes.” Tom tapped his chin with a finger, trying to remember why the name was familiar. “The Gilden car dealership. Hot damn, another one!”

“What does the car dealership have to do with anything? Yeah, Trevor said his mom worked there. It was the only job she could get,” Taylor said.

“I’m not sure how or why, but all signs are pointing there.” Tom decided to walk them through his findings. The added brain power might help him. “The perp, Carl Peters, is a security guard there. Abigail Prescott’s parents own the dealership, and she lured Brittany out to the forest that night. She also has friends who dabble in the occult.” Tom nodded to the pentagram five feet beside them. “And now, Trevor Hayes is stalked by the thing, and his mother works there too.