by Elle Casey
“I’m Agnes. Why don’t you come sit down inside for a few minutes and have a cup of coffee with me while we work out the arrangements?”
Candi nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was feeling very shaky about this whole thing. She had never been good at lying to adults and could probably count on one hand the attempts she’d made in her lifetime. She opened the door and stepped out. The duffel bag was over her shoulder, now empty except for the money; all she could think about was getting attacked and having all that cash taken in a mugging. The stress of being responsible for it felt like it was going to give her a heart attack.
“Did you have very far to travel?” asked Agnes, walking up to the door of a diner.
“Oh, yes. I came from … California.” She had tried to think of a place as far away from the truth as possible, but the second it was out of her mouth, she realized her mistake.
Agnes looked at her and frowned. “I thought you said you were from Colorado.”
Candi grimaced, not even sure at this point what she’d said in that copy shop but knowing it was critical that Agnes trust her. Recovery! Quick! “I guess it’s possible I said that. I spent a month in Colorado with my friend on my way, but I started out in California. Where I was going to school. As a journalism student.”
Agnes smiled, apparently happy with Candi’s explanation. “Oh, isn’t that nice. What a beautiful place, Colorado. What town were you in?”
Candi only knew the names of two cities in the state, so she picked the one that she’d memorized as the capitol in geography class. “Denver.”
“The mile-high city. Don’t you find it difficult in the winter?”
“Uh … yeah. It’s cold there.”
“And dry too. I went when I was younger; and boy, oh boy, did I have trouble with my breathing. I prefer the lower altitudes myself.” Agnes opened the door and gestured for Candi to go in front of her. “Let’s sit just over there by the window, shall we? I like to watch the people walking by. I’m a busybody, or so my husband likes to say. Old coot never did appreciate a good people-watching exercise.”
Candi smiled, despite her stress over the whole situation. “I used to do that at the mall all the time with my brother.” She stopped talking immediately, realizing she could really get into a lot of trouble by telling this woman too much about herself. What if she asks me the name of the mall? Just shut up, Candi. Be polite, but don’t make friends.
They sat down and the waitress came immediately to take their order for coffee. Candi wasn’t much of a coffee person, but she ordered one anyway so she wouldn’t give her new landlord any reason to think she wasn’t just your average college girl in need of a vacation cabin.
“So, you said you’re a journalism major, eh? That sounds exciting. What are you going to write at the cabin? A novel?”
“Uhhh … yeah, that’s my plan. I have an outline, but you know … it’s hard to do anything serious in a dormitory with other college students around. They’re always noisy and having parties …” Candi had quickly tried to imagine what a dorm would be like, and that was the best description she could come up with.
“And you had a fire in the dormitories? That’s terrible!”
“Oh, no, the fire wasn’t at the school. It was at my friend’s house … where I had a lot of my stuff … where I was trying to stay and do my writing. So I figured that was an omen that I just needed to get away, far away from school.” Candi started to sweat, the lameness of her lies freaking her out.
“Well, you sure managed to do that. You went to the other side of the country! Seems like you could have found something closer to home.” Agnes was studying her closely, taking a sip of the coffee that had just been poured by the waitress.
Candi nodded, putting two creamers and three teaspoons of sugar into her cup. “Yes, well, my story takes places on the East Coast, so I thought maybe it would seem more genuine if I was here writing it.” She shrugged, knowing her reasoning sounded lame. Who drives across the country just to rent a cabin in the woods for writing?
“I think it’s romantic,” said Agnes, a faraway look in her eyes. “I always wanted to write a novel.” Her gaze came back to Candi. “What’s the book about? Or am I not allowed to know?” Her eyes sparkled and she winked, wrapping her hands around her cup as she waited for Candi’s answer.
“It’s a secret,” said Candi, praying the woman wouldn’t press for more details. The only story she could think about right now was a horror story that involved killers chasing teenagers across the country to stop them from testifying in a murder and drug trial.
“Well, when it’s published, you need to let me know so I can purchase a copy and read it.”
Candi smiled nervously. “I will.” She felt really bad for lying. This lady seemed really nice.
“Forgive me for saying so,” said Agnes, leaning in a little, “but you seem so young to be in college.”
“Well, I am. I mean, I’m eighteen, but I started when I was … younger.”
“Ah,” she said nodding, “you’re ahead in your classes. I knew you were intelligent. I could tell even over the phone.”
Candi blushed. “Thank you.”
“I suppose you want to get this business taken care of so you can settle in, eh?” Agnes pulled a sheaf of papers out of her large handbag. “I have a little contract right here that I found on the Internet, and a receipt I can write out for you. Oh, and the keys.” She slid a small keyring across the counter. “There are two keys there; both of them open the front and back doors. And I’ll keep a set for myself, but you don’t need to worry. I won’t be bothering you while you’re there.” She laid the papers down on the table and put on a pair of reading glasses. “Here we are,” she said, pushing one towards Candi. “One copy of the rental contract for you and one for me. We’ll sign both of them, and then that’ll be that.”
Candi lifted the paper up from the table, pretending to read it. She caught most of what it said but had no idea what a lot of it meant legally. She just prayed she wasn’t getting ripped off. Agnes seemed like such a nice person, Candi didn’t feel like she should worry. There were other things more important to stress about.
Agnes sat with a pen poised above the rental contract. “Are you going to be staying in the cabin alone?”
Candi’s mind raced. Should I be honest? Lie? Half-lie? “To start, yes. My brother might come visit.” Oh, crap! Why did I say brother? “I mean my cousin.” Oh, crap! That sounded so stupid! Why did I do that?
Agnes looked up over her glasses, an eyebrow raised. “Is he your brother, your cousin … or maybe your boyfriend?”
Candi frowned. “What? Oh, no! Ew, gross. I mean, no. We’re related, so that would be … yuck. No. He’s like a brother but a cousin, you know? Like, we’re really close.” Candi so wanted to slap her own face right now.
Agnes smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Oh, yes, I understand. Sorry. I was confused for a moment there.” She waved her hand carelessly as she looked back at the papers. “You’ll be out in the middle of nowhere, so having guests is not a problem. I just want to be sure the property isn’t damaged. You understand.” She looked up and after receiving a furious nodding from Candi, before turning her attention back to writing. “Cathy … what did you say your last name was?”
“Cathy Redwood. Redwood is my last name.” Candi wanted to shrivel up and die. Redwood? What the hell is wrong with me? Where did that come from? Candi’s eyes strayed over to the red-stained wood of the chairs just next to their table. Real slick, Candi. Smooth.
“Oh, what a lovely name! You must adore it.” She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “I married into mine.” She grimaced before putting her hand up to her mouth to shield it from others who might be listening, and whispered, “Guckenberger.”
Candi smiled and then laughed, realizing the woman was serious. “Guckenberger?” she whispered back. “For real?”
Agnes nodded sadly. “Yes. And I’ve spawned all m
anner of other Guckenbergers - four sons, and each of them have two sons apiece.” She waved her hand out in front of her slowly. “Guckenbergers as far as the eye can see.”
Candi had to cover her mouth to keep the laughter from getting away from her. She was so stressed out, this little bit of light-hearted banter was threatening to turn her into a raving loon.
Agnes turned the document around that she’d been writing on. “Here. You fill in the rest. I’ll sign the one you have, and then we’ll trade.” She drummed her fingers on the table lightly. “Oh, and there’s TV out there - cable - but I have to turn it back on. I’ll try and get that done today.”
Candi nodded, taking the form and trying not to laugh at the name Cathy Redwood staring up at her. She filled in a fake address in California, using the zip code Jonathan had forced her to memorize when they were on the computer in the copy shop. Thank goodness he’d thought of that detail, otherwise, she’d be sitting here right now trying to think what number to start with. The idea of being busted by such a small, seemingly inconsequential detail instantly sobered her up. One wrong move and they could all be dead. And maybe nice people like Agnes would end up as collateral damage, too. She swallowed hard, the coffee burning in her stomach like acid. I’ve got to get out of here before I blow it.
Candi hurriedly scrawled her fake signature across the paper, almost choking when the t in Cathy looked more like a d.
Agnes didn’t seem to notice anything was amiss. She signed her name with a flourish, her penmanship reminding Candi of her grandmother’s. Each letter was so easy to read, perfectly slanted and uniform in size. Her own was a mess of directions and hardly legible.
“And now for the fun part … the money,” said Agnes, putting her copy of the contract back into her purse.
Candi reached into the duffle bag and found the envelope. She kept it inside the bag as she extracted the small pile of bills that Jonathan had counted four different times. “Here you go,” she said, placing it on the table between them. “I’d like the cabin for one month to start, but maybe I could extend it a month if necessary? I don’t need to be back to school until September, so …” she shrugged, not knowing what else to say.
“Sure. I have the listing up on that Internet site, but I haven’t received any calls for July or August yet. If I do, I’ll call you, and you can let me know if you want to stay. I’ll give you first right of refusal, how’s that?” She picked up the money and carefully counted it on the seat next to her, using her purse to screen it from the view of anyone standing out on the sidewalk who might be looking in the window at them.
“That’s fine,” said Candi, hoping they wouldn’t need to stay much longer than the rest of May and June.
“Oh, and I forgot to ask you,” said Agnes, putting the money in her purse. “Do you have any pets? I didn’t see any in your car, but I thought I’d ask just to be sure. Maybe you have a cat or something in a carrier I didn’t notice.”
“Ummm … yes?”
Agnes smiled. “Are you asking me or telling me?”
“Telling you. I actually have dogs. Two.”
Agnes frowned. “Where are they? Surely I didn’t miss two dogs in your car.”
Candi panicked. Her cover was blown. She’d gone and ruined everything right at the end of the deal, and the lady already had her money! Think, Candi, think! Where are the dogs?!
“The dogs are at the groomers.”
“Oh, really? We have a groomer in town?”
“It’s just a lady I found online,” said Candi in a rush. “She’s not a professional or anything. I just wanted to be sure they were clean and sparkling for the cabin so they didn’t mess anything up. They’re very well-behaved, I promise; I just feel more comfortable having some watchdogs around. Especially out in the woods.” Candi’s face was burning red, and she was less than a minute away from vomiting out of fear and panic. She wondered if it would be possible to race from the dining area to the bathroom without looking mentally unbalanced.
Agnes stood, waving her hand nonchalantly. “Don’t worry about it. We Guckenbergers are huge dog lovers. That cabin just wouldn’t be the same without a mutt running around in it and diving into the lake. Just make sure you keep them in at night. There are some small bears and mountain lions that like to wander around the area, and dogs get them treed sometimes. That just upsets them and causes a ruckus - not to mention it’ll scare the living daylights out of you to hear one of them being unhappy.”
Candi’s mouth fell open as she watched Agnes hitch her bag up onto her shoulder.
“You’ve got the keys and your copy of the contract and your receipt.” She smiled, huffing out a satisfied breath. “So! Is there anything else you need?”
“Directions?” Candi said, barely above a whisper, still fixated on the bears and mountain lions thing.
“Oh, silly me! Of course you do!” She reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper covered in perfect, script handwriting. “Here you go, dear. Just follow these directions carefully, and you’ll be there in no time. Twenty minutes, tops.” She patted Candi on the shoulder. “It was nice meeting you, Cathy. You have my phone number on the paper there. I have yours on the contract. Just call me if you have any trouble at all. I’m going to be late for bridge club, so I have to go now. Toodle-loo!”
Candi’s eyes followed her disappearing form as Agnes weaved through the tables and then out the front door. “Toodle-loo,” she said weakly. Bears? Wildcats? What have we gotten ourselves into?
***
Jonathan was the navigator and Kevin was the driver. After making only one wrong turn, they ended up on a dirt road full of potholes that Jonathan was sure was the right one. “Just keep going; follow this road. The directions say it goes on for a mile back into the woods.”
“Ugh, I feel sick,” said Sarah from the back seat. “Can I get out and walk?”
Kevin stopped. “I don’t mind if you do. I can drive slow while you come behind us.”
“I’ll go with you,” said Candi, opening her door.
The two girls and the dogs tumbled out, all of them seeming very relieved to be out in the fresh air. Jonathan was glad they were getting a chance to exercise. Being stuffed up in the car with the two somewhat odiferous dogs couldn’t be good for the health of a pregnant girl. He glanced back at Sarah and was relieved to see a smile on her face for a change. She’d been really grouchy the last fifteen miles.
“Thank God,” said Kevin, grinning. “Those dogs stink, and if I had to be stuck in the car with Sarah another five minutes I might have just thrown her out myself.”
“You don’t mean that,” said Jonathan, back to staring out the front windshield again, his eyes scanning back and forth for signs of the wildlife Candi had warned them about.
“If you’re looking for bears and mountain lions, you can forget it.”
“I know. I just thought maybe I’d see some signs of them being there.”
“Like bear shit? I hear they do shit in the woods.” Kevin chuckled at his own lame humor.
“No, I’m not looking for bear scat. I was thinking more like scratch marks on trees or the smell of cat urine.” He sniffed the air coming in from the window experimentally.
Kevin laughed loudly, until tears came to his eyes, and he kept at it for the rest of the bumpy ride to the cabin. It was only when he caught the first glimpse of its dark wood exterior that he sobered up and got serious. “Is that it?” he asked.
“It must be,” said Jonathan. “But it doesn’t look exactly like the photos, does it?”
“No. It looks … older.”
“Yes … but definitely serviceable. It’ll be perfect. Park over there, in front of that shed thing. Maybe it’ll be big enough to put the car in. I’d like to try to hide it if we can, just in case the police come out here.”
Jonathan was out of the front seat as soon as the car was safely stopped. He jogged over to meet the girls, taking Xena’s leash from Sarah so she could walk unen
cumbered. Her earlier enthusiasm about being out of the car seemed to have been replaced by a general feeling of malaise. “You okay? You look a little … green.”
She reached out and took his hand, one second before leaning over and vomiting into the weeds at her feet.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
Candi came over and took the dog from Jonathan, which he was really grateful for since Xena seemed a little too interested in possibly cleaning up Sarah’s mess. He put his arm around Sarah and helped her stand upright, walking her carefully towards the house.
“This Peanut better be really cute, that’s all I have to say,” said Sarah, wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand.
“How can she not be? She’s going to look exactly like you,” said Jonathan.
Sarah sighed shakily. “If I didn’t have barf breath, I’d totally make out with you right now, babe.”
Jonathan tried to smile. “I’ll take a raincheck on that if you don’t mind.”
She reached over and patted his cheek, a little harder than he would have liked. “You got it.”
They got to the front porch just behind Candi. She had the keys out and was trying to prop open the rickety screen door, hold onto the dogs, and fit the key into the lock. The keys dropped twice before Jonathan rescued them from the porch floor and took care of it himself. He pushed the door open and stepped back so the girls could go in first. He knew Sarah would want to lie down on a couch as soon as possible.
“Holy crud balls,” said Sarah, “this place hasn’t been cleaned in …”
“… Ten years,” finished Candi. She waved her hand in front of her face. “What is that smell?”
“It’s musty something,” said Sarah, sneezing twice before stepping back out onto the porch. “Someone needs to dust this place before I go in. It’s not good for the baby.”
Candi put her hands on her hips. “What? Dust?”
“Yeah,” said Sarah, waving her hand in her face. “Dust, smells, bacteria. The place is probably full of it. I’ll just rest out here while you guys clean it up.” She turned. “Oh, look! There’s a hammock. Wake me when you’re done.” She stepped off the porch and headed out to the two trees with the ropes slung between them.
