Visions of Death

by B. T. Lord

  Destroy her.

  Ellis heard the hesitation in her voice and instinctually knew there was more. Something she wasn’t telling him. “Is there anything else?” He prompted.

  “No,” she whispered. “That’s it.”

  “And you have no idea who you saw.”

  “It was the same as before. The features were blurry, as if I wasn’t meant to see who it was.” She paused, then said, “Everyone on the island is talking about DeeDee and how she believes she’s next. I wish I could tell you that it was her I saw so you could do something. But I can’t. All I can tell you is that she’s female with dark hair.”

  “Have you considered that perhaps that’s what triggered your dream? All the talk about DeeDee becoming the next victim?”

  Dara caught her breath. “I – I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “If your dream was indeed a warning, I’ll personally take her and her mother to Portland on my own boat. That will prevent anything from happening to her on the ferry since she won’t be on it.”

  “You’d do that?”

  “My job is to keep the islanders safe. Now try and get some rest. I’ll reach out to the Reid family tomorrow and offer to take them to Portland. Listen, before you hang up, I need to ask you something. What is Richard Huntson’s relationships with women like?”

  “You mean, is he a ladies man?”

  “Something like that.”

  “He’s had a few girlfriends over the years. They didn’t last very long, but I heard it was more him being fickle than anything they did. I know he likes to think of himself as this really cool, handsome guy. But the truth is, he’s a fisherman with a chip on his shoulder. John told me he’d gotten into a bar fight last month in Portland. And I told you how he insulted me yesterday.”

  “Dara, did he threaten you?” She hesitated. “I need you to answer my question. It’s very important that you tell me.”

  “It’s just going to make it worse for me.”

  “I promise you, I will not allow that to happen.”

  She felt his concern for her over the phone, sending that funny little tingle coursing through her stomach.

  “I appreciate that. But you’re not here every day. I need to keep myself safe. All I’ll say is that he said some pretty nasty things about me being some kind of witch.”

  “Witch? This is the twenty-first century.”

  “You know that, and I know that. But apparently not Richard.”

  “If he ever threatens you again, or even looks sideways at you, you contact me immediately.”

  “I will,” she whispered.

  They hung up and Dara sat back against the headboard. Despite having just been frightened to death by the bad dream, she found herself smiling. No one had ever given any thought to her wellbeing. Deputy Ellis Martin was the first. Nestled in his concern over her, Dara laid back down and promptly fell asleep.

  He hung up and remained seated on the couch, his mind on Dara. He was angered that Richard had threatened her. Because she was different. History proved that whenever things went wrong, it was always the misfits who paid the price. Richard was lucky Ellis didn’t live on Eagla, or he’d be driving over to the cocky bastard’s house and having it out with him. Maybe even arresting him for harassment. That should throw some cold water on the arrogant SOB. He grabbed his computer and was soon researching the police files to find out about the fight at the bar Dara had mentioned. It didn’t take long before he found it.

  Richard had been involved in a drunken brawl with a mainlander who declined to press charges. Yet, as Ellis continued to search, he saw that wasn’t the first time Richard had been arrested for disorderly conduct.

  Before the hour was up, he’d found three other fights in the Portland area that Richard had been involved in. Curiously, in each instance, he’d walked away when the victim declined to press charges.

  It appeared Richard Huntson had a temper, made worse by alcohol. He recalled the participants at the bonfire admitting they’d all been drinking, John going so far as to disclose he’d gotten drunk. Now Chloe had uncovered what must have been a particularly frustrating and unsatisfying back and forth between Richard and Mallory that had lasted an entire year.

  John said they’d left the bonfire together around 11:15 pm, dropping Richard off at his home fifteen minutes later. Would he have had time to drive back to Pleasant Point Beach in time to see Mallory walking along a dark road?

  By all accounts, she’d been enjoying herself at the bonfire. Then something happened that turned her pensive and quiet, prompting her to turn down a ride home so she could think. Was that something Richard? Had he tried again to push past the flirting and bring their relationship to the next level? Did she refuse?

  Did that refusal seal her fate?

  He next turned his mind towards Dara’s dream. As he’d told her, it was impossible not to hear the gossip swirling around DeeDee, and her belief that she was about to be killed. Her description of the victim had been so vague, it could be anyone. At the same time, he couldn’t entirely dismiss Dara’s premonition either. Not only had her last dream been uncannily accurate, she’d told him information in his reading that no one could possibly know. As much as it went against his training and experience, he had to concede that, so far anyway, Dara appeared to be the real deal. He had no choice but to believe that her dream was a warning that he had to take seriously.

  He shut down the computer and stood up to prepare for bed. Before he went to sleep that night, he’d pack enough clothes to spend the next few days on Eagla. There was a hotel he’d stayed in during one of his first investigations that he was sure would put him up again.

  One way or another, he was going to do his damnedest to get to the bottom of all of this.

  “Mom, you look exhausted. Why don’t you go to bed?” DeeDee said as she watched, for the fifth time, her mother’s head jerk up as she tried to stay awake.

  “Hon, I thought you didn’t want to sleep alone,” she yawned.

  “I’m okay, really I am. With Dad’s friends patrolling outside, I feel completely safe. I’m just going to watch some more TV, then turn in.”

  Her mother gathered up the scarf, yarn and knitting needles and put them inside her knitting basket. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to have another nightmare.”

  “With the sleeping pills you gave me, I’ll be so zonked out, I doubt I’ll dream much of anything.”

  “Alright, darling.” Aggie leaned over and kissed DeeDee on the forehead. “Pleasant dreams.”

  “You too, Mom.”

  She listened while her mother went upstairs, washed up, changed into her pajamas and went into her bedroom. She then waited an additional ten minutes until she was sure Aggie had fallen asleep. Once she was sure her parents were asleep, she turned the lights off, grabbed her jacket and bag from the coat rack near the front door, and peeked through the window that faced out to the backyard. Her father had started up the fire pit to keep the men warm as they did their patrol. She watched as they met and stood before the fire, warming themselves while speaking in quiet murmurs. This was her chance. She quickly dashed through the house and quietly let herself out the front door.

  She kept to the shadows as she ran the two blocks to where Richard was sitting in his darkened truck. As soon as he saw her, he started up the vehicle, barely giving her enough time to jump inside before he drove off.

  “What the hell took you so long?” he growled.

  “I couldn’t just walk out the front door,” she exclaimed, angry at his tone. “I had to wait until the coast was clear.”

  “Oh that’s right. You’re being guarded as if you were royalty,” he sneered.

  “Go screw yourself,” she muttered under her breath as she slunk down in her seat.

  He glanced at DeeDee and grinned. Her phone call to him had been a miracle – there was no other way to describe it. Here he’d been, racking his brain for most of the day, trying to figure out a way to get to her without bei
ng seen when suddenly his phone rang and there she was. He would have preferred she not call him, but he’d made the phone call as short as he possibly could. A lengthy conversation would raise suspicions, but he could make up something believable to explain a call that lasted less than a minute.

  He was good at making up lies.

  “Why did you call me?” he asked. When she told him, he gave her an incredulous look. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “You’re crazy, you know that? Why don’t you ask your boyfriend?”

  “I’m asking you.”

  He felt her eyes glaring at him. Challenging him to make another snide remark. Instead, he gave a loud guffaw.

  “Whatever. But first, there’s something you’re going to need to do for me.” Reaching behind him, he grabbed a thermos and handed it to her. “Drink this.”

  “What is it?”

  “Something that’s going to get you through this night. So drink it, or else you can get out of my truck.”

  DeeDee went still. She’d heard about his temper, about the fights he’d gotten into. Thankfully, she’d never seen that side of him. But now, she realized what a dangerous position she’d put herself in. She’d snuck out of the house with no one knowing where she’d gone. And she was alone with him. In his truck. At his mercy.

  With his eyes boring into her, DeeDee had no choice but to undo the top of the thermos. As she tilted her head back to drink the contents, a terrifying thought occurred to her.

  Had she been afraid all this time of the wrong monster?

  Ellis arose early and called The Paradise Cove Hotel on Eagla to secure himself a room. After telling Chandra he would be away for a few days, he grabbed his bag and was soon chugging along towards the island.

  Just as he was nearing Eagla, he received a phone call from Chloe.

  “Mallory’s phone records just came in. I thought you’d want to know that several days up to and including the day she died, she made several phone calls to Richard. The longest lasted fifteen minutes. On the day of the bonfire, she phoned him in the afternoon, and they spoke for about five minutes.”

  “That must be the phone call DeeDee overheard. I’m on my way out to Eagla now. Can you send that info to me? I intend on sitting down with Richard and getting to the bottom of a few things.”

  “I’m forwarding it to you now. On another note, Ana had to rush off on a homicide - a man found stabbed to death in his bedroom. She asked me to let you know there was no DNA found on the boat you discovered. They also came up empty in and around the crime scene at the pond, the beach and in the victim’s room.”

  “Really? They found nothing?”

  “Complete zero. She’s as baffled as you are. Usually they find something, but this time there’s absolutely nothing tying Mallory to anyone outside of her immediate family. Of course, after reading what a terrible person she was, maybe her parents killed her so she wouldn’t reproduce.”

  “Unless they’re excellent actors, I got the sense they were very proud of their daughter and are grief stricken she’s dead. Mrs. Angleton is still too distraught to speak with me.”

  “I was just kidding. Not a great joke, but it’s early. I’m sure I’ll do better later.”

  “Thanks, Chloe.”

  Hanging up, he wondered just how this case was going to end up. No DNA, no clues, nothing to tell him yet what had happened to Mallory. All he had to go on was instinct. And unfortunately, instinct was pointing in a direction he didn’t want to go in and would have a helluva time proving. A direction that was leading towards a mysterious shadow man with red eyes that was somehow involved in all of this.

  The question was how?

  The Paradise Cove Hotel stood atop a hill, giving it a panoramic view of the town and harbor, and the sea beyond.

  Owned by Glenn and Maud Northcott, it only stayed open during the off season because of the few scientists and artists who came to the islands to study the wildlife, or paint the hauntingly beautiful winterscapes.

  After arriving and checking in, he took a moment to consider how best to proceed.

  His first priority was speaking with Richard. Now that he had in hand the information regarding the young man’s personality, and the up and down relationship with Mallory, it was imperative he pinpoint an exact timeline for Richard’s movements both before and after the bonfire. All he knew was what the two friends had told him – Richard had spent the day getting the wood and beer and preparing for the bonfire. He’d driven with John to the beach, then was dropped off at his house afterwards. Ellis had a feeling he’d need to lean on the young man to break through his wall of arrogance and get at the truth, not only about his whereabouts, but about the five- minute conversation he’d had with Mallory that afternoon.

  If DeeDee’s recollection of what she’d overheard was correct, it appeared that Mallory regretted her decision to see Rhys and was sharing that regret with Richard. On the surface it looked harmless. One friend reaching out to another friend. Yet several hours after making the call, Mallory was dead.

  Was the phone call and her death connected?

  Ellis had no doubt he could get John to either verify or deny Richard’s version of events. After that, he planned to go to the Reids where he would question DeeDee once more about Mallory’s behavior and who exactly she had recently vented her anger on.

  It promised to be a full day and he was glad he’d decided to stay on Eagla.

  His first stop was the house Richard shared with his parents. The small saltbox was located on a small peninsula that jutted out into the bay.

  Getting out of his vehicle, he was surprised to find the fishing trawler still moored at the dock that lay behind the house. Although the temperatures were cold, the sun was out with no storms forecast. As an independent fisherman, if Zack Huntson didn’t go out to fish, he didn’t get paid.

  Curious to know why the trawler was still at the dock, he rang the doorbell. A moment later the door was opened by June Huntson. She was a short woman with flushed cheeks and a perpetually worried furrow in her brow.

  “Hello, Mrs. Huntson. I was hoping I could speak with Richard. I have some follow-up questions I need to ask him.”

  “I’m sorry, Deputy, but Richard isn’t here.”

  “Oh? Do you know where he is?”

  She shook her head and the furrow deepened. From behind her a voice boomed out, “Who is it, Junie?”

  “It’s the Deputy. He’s looking for Richard.”

  Zack Huntson immediately appeared behind his wife. He was taller than she was by several inches, with a barrel shaped chest and a grey freckled beard that made him look a little like the pirate Blackbeard.

  “What do you want with Richard?” he growled angrily.

  “Just some additional questions I need to ask, that’s all.”

  “You should be out looking for that girl’s murderer instead of bothering hardworking folk.”

  Ellis let the jibe go. “Your wife says Richard isn’t home. Do you know where he is?”

  The man’s dark eyes glared at the deputy. “He’s out.”

  “Where?”

  “I’ll tell him to call you when he gets in.”

  “I also have a few questions to ask both of you.”

  “We haven’t got anything to say,” Zack snapped.

  He was in the process of closing the door when Ellis asked, “Why aren’t you out fishing? I can’t imagine why you’d waste a good fishing day. Especially when you need the money to pay off the victims of your son’s hot temper.”

  His question earned him the door slammed loudly in his face.

  Well, that answers my question regarding Richard’s lack of jail time for assault.

  Zack’s presence at home also answered another question. Not knowing where their son was had the couple worried. Too worried in fact for Zack to risk being out to sea for the day.

  Were they afraid their son had gotten into another fight? Was that why the
y refused to be interviewed?

  He dialed Chloe and asked her to put in a request for Richard’s cell phone records. He then headed over to John’s house. There, he was informed John was working at the gas station until five pm. However, when he arrived, he was told John was out running errands for the owner and wouldn’t be back for at least another hour.

  With his plans already awry, he decided to go to the Reids.

  After nodding to the two men who were patrolling the Reid property, he was let in by Frank and Aggie, suspicion over his visit written on both their faces. He immediately tried to put them at ease.

  “I’ve heard you’re taking DeeDee off the island on the Thursday ferry,”

  Aggie nodded. “DeeDee’s been so insistent,” she explained. “It just seems easier to get her away for a little while so she can stop turning herself inside out.”

  “You don’t believe she has anything to fear?” he asked.

  Both parents exchanged an unreadable look. Finally, Frank said, “Don’t get me wrong, deputy. We love our daughter. Very much. Of course we want to keep her safe. But she’s always been…well…”

  “She’s always loved being the center of attention,” Aggie broke in. “She’s been that way ever since she was a child. We tried to break her of it, but unfortunately, we haven’t succeeded.”

  “I see.”

  Mrs. Reid gave him a concerned look. “You don’t think she’s right to be afraid, do you? All she talks about is being killed like Mallory and having these awful nightmares that have her so upset, she’s afraid to go to sleep at night.”

  “Can you tell me what these nightmares are about?”

  “They don’t seem to make any sense. At least to me. She keeps mentioning a shadow man with red eyes that appears in her room. I’m sure it’s her grief over what happened to Mallory that are causing these dreams.”