Unhallowed Ground

by Kristen Gupton

  Henry frowned. “That was the first vehicle we ever bought new. First one we ever had with electronic locks and windows, you know. That was pretty fancy stuff back then.”

  Clara rolled her eyes. “We got that nearly a decade before Ryan was born! Kelly, seriously, burn it when you’re done with it, or we’ll never be rid of it.”

  “Hey, if it’s what you want,” Kelly said with a laugh. “I think I might head back to the house. Ryan, are you going back to Dani’s?”

  Ryan stared at the coffee cup in his hand. “Yeah, I think so. I’m gonna wash up first, though. Hopefully, things have calmed down.”

  “Well, let me know,” Kelly said, turning to set his empty cup in the sink. “If you do make up, and the two of you want to come over later, I’ll be around.”

  “Okay, maybe she’ll be all right with leaving Madgie’s side for a little while if I’m super diplomatic about it. I’d rather hang out at your place. I’ve found fewer bodies in the backyard, anyway,” Ryan said.

  Chapter

  51

  Ryan sat in his car before Dani’s house. He had a bucket of chicken sitting on the passenger seat. She’d at least responded to his text about bringing something over for dinner. While a chronic ache had settled into his ankle, he’d been able to drive.

  He picked up the bucket and the bag of sides before sliding out of the car. He trudged up to the front porch, walking gently on his injured ankle. The continued snow throughout the afternoon had started to cover up the tracks left all over the property from the activity that morning.

  The steps up to the porch groaned under his steps, and the front door opened.

  Dani stood there, holding the door open, so he could enter, though she didn’t say anything.

  He kept his gaze down on the floor as he moved past her, his steps uneven. He set the bag and bucket onto the kitchen counter and went to the cabinet to pull out three plates.

  She followed him, leaning in the doorway behind him, her arms crossed over her chest. “Did you hurt yourself?”

  He glanced back over his shoulder as he pulled the lid off the chicken bucket. “Sprained my ankle helping dad fix one of the machines. It’ll probably be fine by morning.”

  She dropped her arms to her sides and went closer, picking up one of the plates. “Sorry about it.”

  “There was ice on the frame rail, can’t blame you for it,” he said. He tugged up the side of his shirt for just a moment. “Scratched the hell out of my side as I went down, too.”

  “That looks pretty bad, Ryan,” Dani said, her eyes widening upon seeing the long cut, the area around it bruised purple.

  He went back to getting food on his plate. “I’ll live.”

  “But, I meant I was sorry about earlier,” she said. “I was really pissed off. I know being in this house is easier for me than it is for you. After not being allowed in here for a few days...it really sucked, and I didn’t want to risk setting her off.”

  He shook his head and took his loaded plate toward the kitchen table and sat. She’d cleaned up all the glass and gore while he’d been gone, leaving the kitchen looking as it always had.

  “I know,” he said. “And I suppose Kelly and I are coming off as crazy right now, but a lot of weird shit has been going on.”

  She finished loading her plate and came to sit down across from him. “Yeah. I mean, you did find Robert dead in the backyard this morning. It probably didn’t help your state of mind. Did you see Kel?”

  “Yeah, he was out there with my dad helping.” Ryan glanced toward the counter. “Where’s Madgie? I didn’t see her in her recliner.”

  “She went up to take a nap a while ago.” Dani ripped a biscuit in half. “She seemed tired, and with all that happened this morning, I can’t really blame her. She can eat when she gets up. Cold chicken doesn’t put her off.”

  Ryan nodded and tore into his chicken leg.

  The lighting in the kitchen wasn’t the best, the old fixture in the ceiling giving everything a yellow hue. Dani didn’t look like she felt all that great, her complexion sallow. Given the stress of the day, it wasn’t unexpected.

  She took a few bites before meeting his stare. “What?”

  “Are we okay?”

  Dani drew in a long breath. “Yeah. Like I said, I’m sorry.”

  He managed a smile at that, his shoulders rounding. “Just wanted to make sure. It’s been a shitty day. Kel invited us over if we want. You look pretty burned out, though. We can stay in, or if you want me to go home later, that’s cool, too.”

  She glanced back toward the doorway to the kitchen and sighed. “I doubt she’ll notice one way or another. She seemed like she was going to be out for the count, to be honest. We can go over to Kelly’s for a while after we eat. I can’t feel all that guilty about leaving her here alone if she’s not going to be awake to appreciate it. Besides, I still feel bad for hurting him this morning. Maybe we can drag him out for that ice cream I promised.”

  Ryan nodded. “That’d probably be better than bringing him over here. Knowing what happened here this morning would just get him all jacked up.”

  “Fair enough,” she said, offering a fleeting smile.

  A brief silence passed between them as they ate. Ryan occasionally glanced toward the living room, trying to listen for any hint of Madgie moving around, but it was dead silent.

  Dani slowly quirked a brow as he kept looking past her. “Is something out there bothering you?”

  He leveled his gaze at her and gave a small shake of his head. “I know you won’t believe this, but I’m hoping Madgie is all right after all that happened. I know she’s a tough old bird, but...”

  Dani’s eyes narrowed, and she shrugged. “I promise she’s completely fine. She’s just sprawled out across her bed right now. She did agree to not work tomorrow, though, so I don’t have to worry about getting to bed particularly early myself.”

  “Good, you both could use a break,” Ryan replied.

  Chapter

  52

  Kelly sat on the couch, staring at the television. Nothing of any particular interest was on, and his mind was adrift as he did his best not to focus on what had taken place. He moved to pull his phone out of his back pocket, but it wasn’t there. After scanning over the coffee table to see if he’d set it out earlier, he realized it was lost.

  He started to turn to look out the window behind the couch, but the back of his neck crawled, and he stopped. He’d closed the curtain before night had fallen. Missing phone or not, he wasn’t going to look.

  There was a knock on the front door, and he snapped his head forward, staring at it. “Please not this again...”

  “Kel! It’s us!” Ryan said from the other side.

  Kelly grunted and stood up, his legs unsteady. He looked out the peephole, seeing Ryan and Dani on the porch. He quickly unlocked it and ushered them in.

  Ryan stepped around him and quirked a brow. “Are we interrupting something?”

  “Not at all. Just startled me. I got absorbed in what I was watching on TV,” he replied, going back into the living room.

  “Oh, what is it?” Dani asked, moving to stand before the television.

  Kelly’s eyes widened. He had absolutely no idea what was on. “Just some stupid show?”

  Ryan stopped beside Dani. “Sounds like it really had your attention.”

  “Well, you know.” Kelly gave a weak shrug.

  She offered Kelly a smile. “Well, we came by to see if you still wanted that ice cream I promised earlier?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “Nice, I’d forgotten about that. I wouldn’t mind heading out for a little to do that.”

  She waved a hand toward him. “I need to go to the bathroom, then we can go, okay?”

  Kelly waited for her to vanish down the hallway and then offered Ryan a smile. “Thanks for coming over.”

  “She really wanted to make this morning up to you,” he said. “Given everything that happened, we probably won
’t be able to stay out too long. I know she’s anxious about leaving Madgie alone under the circumstances.”

  “I don’t blame her.” Kelly turned and moved to retrieve his coat. “How is Madgie acting? She was being pretty weird earlier.”

  “I dunno. She actually went upstairs to go to bed a while ago,” Ryan replied. “Maybe she’s just off from hitting her head when she smacked the tree. Speaking of head injuries, how are you doing?”

  Kelly shrugged. “It’s fine. More itchy than anything else. You want me to drive? I need to check and see if my phone is in the van, anyway. I was looking for it before you guys got here.”

  “That’ll work,” Ryan motioned for the door. “We can go out and start looking. She’ll figure it out quick enough.”

  Kelly started the van, and they turned the dim interior lights on. They both looked under the seats and groped around, but his phone was nowhere to be found.

  Dani emerged from the house. “What are you guys doing?”

  “Kelly can’t find his phone,” Ryan said, pulling himself out from under the center bench seat of the van.

  Dani rolled her eyes and pulled out her own phone. “Did you try calling it?”

  Ryan shrugged. “Uh, no...”

  She rolled her eyes and hit Kelly’s number. The three of them stood there in silence, waiting for any signs.

  Kelly shook his head after a few moments. “Either the battery’s dead, or it isn’t in here. Probably in the house or something.”

  “You want us to go find it first?” Dani asked, ending her attempted call as Kelly’s voice mail finally picked up.

  Kelly shook his head. “Naw, I’ll look for it later. With you both with me, who the hell would be left to call?”

  Chapter

  53

  An hour later, Kelly stood on his porch as Ryan’s car disappeared down the street. Their trip to get ice cream hadn’t taken long. It was obvious Ryan and Dani were both tired. Not wanting to risk setting anything off between the two of them again, he hadn’t pushed them to stay with him afterward. They all needed to rest.

  He turned and went inside, but froze in place with his coat halfway off. Headlights washed through the living room, accompanied by the crunch of tires coming up his icy driveway.

  He shrugged his coat back onto his shoulders and turned to look, seeing Deputy Bryant’s vehicle coming to a stop.

  Dennis got out of the Expedition and made his way carefully toward the porch. Kelly closed the door behind him and shoved his hands into his pockets.

  “I’d say I’m happy to see you, but I’m not with all the bad news you’ve been bringing lately,” Kelly said.

  He remained on the walkway at the bottom of the stairs. “I know, and I’m more than ready for some time off. The guy they brought in to relieve me today is already gone. I know I got some sleep before coming back on tonight, but damn it doesn’t feel like it was anywhere near enough. I went over to Dani’s house to check up on things, but there wasn’t anyone home.”

  “You just missed Dani and Ryan,” Kelly replied. “They were over for a while, but they literally just pulled down the street before you came up the other way.”

  “You guys weren’t here a little while ago. I saw his car on the street earlier, but the house was dark and that ugly-ass van wasn’t here,” he replied, little humor in his expression.

  Kelly felt an unpleasant cold run through his hands. Though Dennis was a friend, he was still law enforcement. “Well, we left for a while to get some ice cream.”

  “You went for ice cream in this cold?” Dennis asked.

  Kelly frowned and shrugged, something twisting in his gut. “Come on, Dennis. Don’t you think I’m down with ice cream whenever it’s offered, weather be damned?”

  Deputy Bryant’s expression cracked, and he managed an exhausted smile. “Fair enough. Any other plans tonight?”

  Kelly shrugged. “Go inside and try to find my phone. I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to go down to Wal-Mart and get another crappy thirty-buck burner phone to replace it.”

  “Burner phone for all your nefarious dealings?” Dennis asked.

  Kelly’s eyes widened. “I’m just cheap.”

  Dennis laughed and shook his head. “I’m just fucking with you. I suppose if they just left here, they’ll be back at Madgie’s soon enough. Everything seem okay with them?”

  Kelly moved down the three stairs to the walkway below. “Well, yeah, they seemed okay. Dani wasn’t in the best mood for most of the day. Ryan thought she was going to break up with him after things this morning, but they’re okay now.”

  Dennis glanced toward the street as a car slowly cruised past before stopping in a neighbor’s driveway. “Finding Robert this morning like that was something else. Kel, I think you’re the only one who won’t laugh at me for what I’m about to say...”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, the unpleasant rush of adrenaline swirling within him. “What is it?”

  Dennis met his gaze. “I was there and saw what Grace did to herself in the MRI. Robert tore himself open the same exact way. I can accept one person snapping and doing something like that, but two? What are the odds? I know I was willing to brush off what you might have thought earlier, but all day long, it’s been bothering me. I have a compulsion to go around asking to see everyone’s stomach to make sure they don’t have wounds.”

  Kelly offered a single nod. “I honestly don’t think you’d be wrong to do so.”

  Dennis didn’t allow his gaze to waver, and his jaw set. “Well?”

  “Me?” Kelly’s head cocked to the side.

  “You’ve been around whatever’s been happening. I don’t think you’re intentionally involved in anything, for what it’s worth, but...” Deputy Bryant waved a hand.

  Kelly wasn’t particularly comfortable with it, generally happy to keep his body wrapped beneath a few layers, especially in the cold, but Dennis wasn’t joking.

  He reached down and untucked his shirt before pulling it and his coat upward to expose his stomach.

  Dennis quickly snagged his flashlight from his belt and clicked it on. There were no cuts, bruises, or any other obvious marks to be seen, and he lowered his flashlight in short order.

  Kelly tugged down his shirt and coat with a shiver, though he wasn’t certain it was from the cold. “Happy?”

  “Yeah, you’re good.” Dennis glanced toward the glaring streetlight. “You’re good.”

  “Are you going to go over to check Madgie and them?” Kelly asked, following his gaze.

  “I know it’s an asshole thing to do, and I’m sorry for it, Kelly, but I think you might be the only one around to not think I’m crazy for doing it,” Dennis said. “I might hold off on bothering them until morning if they seemed all right to you.”

  He nodded again. “Well, yeah. Like I said, Dani was a little freaky earlier, but given all that took place, I don’t think it was out of line. As for Madgie, I haven’t seen her. She stayed home when Ryan and Dani were with me.”

  “No one answered the door when I went over there,” Dennis replied. “She might have been asleep, though. With the action this morning, I wouldn’t be particularly surprised, though I’d feel a lot better had I seen her. Hell, maybe I ought to go over there now since Ryan and Dani will be there to open the door.”

  Kelly bit the inside of his cheek for a moment. “They probably went straight home from here, I’d imagine.”

  Deputy Bryant considered him. “Just tell me I’m batshit crazy, so I can go do some routine patrols. Maybe help someone get a raccoon out of their garage or something.”

  “I can’t do that because I don’t think you are,” Kelly admitted. “I think you’ve noticed some of the same things I have. You’ve looked at that street light a few times.”

  “Electricity went out at Madgie’s and at the MRI,” Dennis said before sighing. “The streetlight near Madgie’s house was out this morning, too, and the house breakers certainly had nothing to do with it
.”

  “The one in my front yard went off when I thought I saw Grace here the night William died, and it went out again this morning when Madgie was out there on her way to work,” Kelly said.

  Dennis slipped his flashlight back into the ring on his belt. “This is nuts, you know that? What are we saying?”

  “That something was in Grace, and it got into Robert, and now we don’t know where it is?” Kelly asked, his voice cracking. “While I’m glad to hear someone else thinking about it... I mean, I’ve brought it up with Ryan, but he’s pretty skeptical. I know it’s not possible, but while we were in Hays, I read some old articles about the weird stuff that happened at St. Francis back in the eighteen-hundreds, and it didn’t help my anxiety.”

  Dennis stepped closer. “What did you read?”

  Kelly cocked his head toward the house. “Come in and I’ll show you. I printed a bunch of it off.”

  Chapter

  54

  The sound of a car slowing down and breaking the ice in the gutter caught Ryan’s attention. He got up from the couch in Madgie’s living room and tugged back the curtain from the large picture window.

  “Who’s out there?” Dani asked, still on the couch.

  “Your cousin just pulled up.” He let the curtain fall back into place and turned to open the front door.

  Dani rose from the couch and moved toward him. “Doesn’t he ever go home to sleep anymore?”

  Ryan shrugged and unlocked the door as Deputy Bryant stepped up onto the porch. “Social call, or did something else horrible happen?”

  Dennis pulled off his hat and stepped inside, quickly scanning the room. “Just thought I should check up on everyone before heading home. Where’s Madgie?”

  “She’s upstairs in bed. She turned in late this afternoon. I think all this finally caught up with her, too,” Dani replied.

  “But she’s all right?”

  “She was before going up there. Haven’t seen her since.” Dani waved a hand toward the kitchen. “You want anything?”