Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers

by JeanNicole Rivers

  She had to go. Destiny was setting in motion a chain of events that would lead her back to the place she came from and either free her forever from the chains of the history in Black Water…or bury her there.

  3

  Murky raindrops spattered down from the charcoal sky and Regina could feel the chill of the liquid on her forehead through the thick glass of her mother’s car window.

  “How you doing, angel?” her father broke the silence that was beginning to thicken in the car.

  “As good as can be, considering the circumstances.” Regina explained never moving her forehead from the backseat window or taking her eyes off the landscape of trees, their leaves the color of far-off desert sands, a brilliant harbinger of the glacial months that were sure to soon follow. All of the farmlands appeared forsaken under the leaden light of the sky. The scenes whirred by her as the sedan sped down Culliver Parkway, dragging her back to Black Water. Regina looked solemnly down at her hands that were dry and beginning to crack and she wished that she had worn gloves. Somehow, she had forgotten how cold Black Water was in the fall.

  “Of course, we hate the circumstances, but we are so glad that you are home. It’s been so long.” Her mother added to the conversation. Three times in the past six years Regina’s parents had been to Texas to visit her, but she had never, not once, returned to the delicate rolling hills of the Midwest that her parents and their parents before them and so on and so on had called home for as long as anyone could remember.

  “Yeah,” Regina responded to her mother with the involuntary eye roll that had become an automatic response to her mother’s guilt trips. “Did you hear anything new this morning?” Regina inquired.

  “We left town pretty early to head to the airport so we didn’t get a chance to talk to anyone before we left. If you’re hungry we can stop by the diner to get lunch, if there is anything new to know, we will hear it there.” Mrs. Dean told her daughter.

  “Especially if Michelle is working.” Mr. Dean added with an eye roll identical to the one that he had passed down to his only daughter. Charles Dean allowed most things to slide inconsequently off his back with a nonchalant eye roll or shoulder shrug and Regina had always wished that she could have been more like her father who was always easygoing. If there were ever an instance of bad restaurant service or being overcharged at the store it would be Regina’s father who would have to calmly point out the incident and bring it to resolution because her mother was usually too quick to irritation to handle the situations with much finesse. Her mother never failed to get the job done, but whether she had a friend after always remained to be seen. Regina ended up with a temperament somewhere in the middle.

  “Yeah…I guess I could go for a burger or something.” Regina answered her father after thinking. In her stomach, the rumblings consisted of dread as much as they did of hunger pains.

  Old Country Diner or the OC as she and her friends had referred to it in high school was still her favorite. All the way to Texas and back, and Regina had to admit that the OC still had the best burgers, fries, and shakes of any place on the map. The burgers were always a little drippy with grease and the cheese perfectly melted down the side of the patty, caramelized onions, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, mayonnaise and mustard—just thinking about it made her mouth water. Black Water was not a place where people worried too much over their weight; besides, country living consisted of several outdoor activities that easily burned a burger off in a couple of hours. Regina would pass on the shake since she was not the same effortlessly light-weight that she had been in high school and she no longer took much to country living. The young woman remained thin in her early twenties, but what had been simple before, now took a concentrated effort.

  Regina was so focused on the anticipated lunch that she took no notice of the deer crossing sign with the bullet-hole as the car sped past.

  Dreaming of the burger and sugared fries while listening to the euphoric classical music that played on the radio took Regina away. She closed her eyes and did her best to forget where she was and why she was there. When she opened her eyes, she could see the old Waterford factory. Once bright and promising, the building was long ago abandoned and now covered in a layer of smut that reflected the fact that no one loved the place anymore. Most of the windows were broken out and graffiti tattooed the walls. She sat up straight and moved closer to the window to get a better look at the landmark on Culliver Parkway that told her, no matter how much she despised the idea, she was home. Seeing the old place meant that she was now only a few minutes outside of Black Water, minutes away from Oakley High School where she had once laughed uproariously in the hallways, minutes from the Fairview two-screen movie theatre, where she and her friends had spent several Saturday nights eating popcorn and watching movies, minutes away from Klein park where she and the girls would sneak away to conduct secret girls club meetings.

  “Such a shame,” her father interrupted. With his words, Regina looked up to see that they were now passing the DeFrank estate. Wheezing for air, Regina withdrew from the window as if she had seen a ghost. Yellow tape was strung around the gates and trees that served as the perimeter of the property. The sight hit her like a brick wall.

  “You OK, honey?” Regina’s mother was watching her closely in the rearview mirror as she drove; her father unbuckled his seatbelt and turned completely around in the passenger seat to ensure that Regina was not too disturbed by the surprisingly tranquil scene.

  No longer were there trucks, police officers, or a dead body, just an empty shell of a home that sat far back in the distance across a massive field of browning grass and tall stretching trees on the verge of shedding their leaves.

  Drumming out of the radio, a robust classical piece of music continued rising frantically in her ears. Through the breaks in the tall trees that were scattered throughout the football field that the DeFranks had once called a front yard, Regina eyed the forlorn monolithic mansion, two vast stories of cold, unmoving panel and brick. The music drove full speed toward a climactic finish as the dormant domicile sat across from Regina, challenging her. It laughed at her. Lola was trapped there, on that unholy ground and it would not release her. Regina’s ears were pounded with the beats of the abusive music grappling toward crescendo. She pressed her fingertips against the cool window and suddenly she heard her own voice shrieking.

  “TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! PLEASE STOP!” Regina barely realized that she was now banging her fists against the thick glass. Charles Dean reached into the backseat trying to pacify his little girl as her mother pushed the radio station buttons hysterically hoping to relieve her daughter of the sounds that tormented her.

  “I’m so sorry, honey,” her mother was chanting loudly, trying to drown out the sorrowful cries of her daughter. Regina’s father joined her mother in the soothing.

  “We never thought that you would react this way to seeing the house,” her father assured her and with good reason. Regina Dean had always been one to push her emotions deep down inside, her stoic manner masking her true sentiment.

  Minutes later, Regina found herself breathing steadily in the back of the car, listening to the remnants of her parents bickering, her mother restating her theory that it would have been best to go all the way around and come into town directly on I-48, rather than taking the most common route on Culliver Parkway. Her father apologized profusely but loyal to his reasoning that it would have taken them an hour out of the way.

  Regina shrunk deeper in the soft leather of the seat trying to tame the embarrassment that she felt at the episode that had just taken place. Somehow, she had lost all control and became only a helpless onlooker as the mental deterioration unfolded. Showing her emotions was something that she hated to do because emotions were a sign of weakness and once people knew your weakness you were at their mercy; a position in which she never wanted to find herself. Being at the mercy of another was the gate to a mind hell.

  Regina was relieved when they finally pulled
up in the gravel drive in front of the oblong building that was the town diner. Her muscles were cramped and stiff from the long ride from the airport. The brisk fall day released a salvo of wind upon Regina’s smooth skin as she stepped out of the car in front of the OC diner. She squinted her eyes against the October wind that was drying her face. Main Street was nothing like it had been when she left, but almost the same way it had been when she was child. Peering up and down the street, Regina stretched while trying to familiarize herself with a past that she knew all too well.

  She pulled her cellular phone from her jeans pocket to make sure that the hospital had not tried to contact her. Disappointment racked her when she saw that she had no missed calls.

  Her eyes swept up and down the clean sidewalk until they hung on a strange man. A tall, anomalous creature with his black pinpoint pupils trained on her. Even as she took notice of his stare, he never blinked, wanting her to know that she was the object of his full attention. The shadows of the shade under the store awnings made it difficult to definitively document the details of his face, but there was no doubt that he was set on Regina Dean. His mouth twisted in an ominous sneer and his eyes seared through her with electrifying exactitude. Regina’s first thought was to be angry with the shameless derelict scrutinizing her, but the sensation of the hairs raising on her body gave her a second thought and she began backing away. Regina stumbled upon her father’s feet as he came up behind her, she was jolted, and then watched in slow motion as her $400 phone fell into a foul puddle of leftover rainwater. She quickly retrieved the phone from the water and shook it rapidly while cursing herself.

  “What is it, Regina?” her father asked. Regina returned her eyes to the bold stranger, who still studied her. She tried, but failed to break the trance that the glowing eyes cast upon her.

  “That man!” her voice quivered.

  “What man?” her father demanded, stepping closer and leaning forward for a better look into the inconspicuous crowd of people that paraded up and down the sidewalk.

  “Right there …” She pointed a shaking finger. “… He is staring at me!” she insisted.

  Charlie Dean peered down the street ready to set straight any man who was making his daughter feel uneasy. Any other day Mr. Dean would have allowed the incident to pass without much thought and instructed his daughter to follow his lead, but considering the fragile state of his little girl the least he could do was ensure that she felt safe. Mr. Dean laid eyes on the shady character, but quickly returned the focus back to his daughter with a soft smirk.

  “Are you joking with me, little girl?” he asked as he began to laugh.

  “What?” she asked, annoyed by the fact that her father was questioning her when some freak was stalking her like jungle prey.

  Regina looked back and forth between the creepy man and her father several times, growing more aggravated with each glance by the fact that her father seemed unmoved.

  Regina took a few steps toward the man only to reveal that the grotesque character was not a man at all but a life-size figure of some gory horror movie villain. Seeing the statue with new eyes, Regina scolded herself for being so silly since the monster did not even look human to her anymore. Regina and her father broke into laughter.

  “I’m sorry, Dad. This whole thing has just got me so wound up that I feel crazy.” Regina’s words were muffled through the hand that she had thrown up to cover her mortified face.

  “I understand. It’s just good to see you smiling at least,” Mr. Dean told his daughter.

  How could I have forgotten? Regina wondered. Halloween was due in three days. With everything happening so rapidly and all of the thoughts racing through her mind, Regina forgot that a major holiday was just around the corner, a holiday that had been one of her favorites. Halloween, like most holidays were of great significance in the country, frankly, because it’s difficult to get excited about cows, chickens, corn and a two-screen movie theatre all year around. Holidays were important and people from towns like Black Water tended to do them big.

  As if a veil had been lifted, Regina quickly took to admiring the holiday spirit that infected the town. Her creepy stalker served as decoration that had been placed outside of 24/7 Dry Cleaners. Regina jumped back as a string of children sped past her yipping and laughing on their bikes, the leader of the bikers wearing a cartoon mask. Eerie-faced pumpkins loomed in several of the store windows, while the bread store had a poster in their window marketing their “killer” sale on all Halloween cakes and candies. Clark’s Antiques and Sculptures needed no decoration, for the melancholy stone angels and ornamented crucifixes that regularly dressed the windows served to be creepy enough all on their own. Maybe Black Water wasn’t going to be as awful as she had imagined. She smiled as her father placed his arm around her and she snuggled into his shoulder.

  “Are you guys coming?” Regina’s mother had returned to the door of the diner to look for her husband and daughter.

  “Yes, dear,” her father answered in a mocking tone.

  “My phone is ruined,” Regina told her father as she held up the dripping device.

  “Trick or treat,” Charlie Dean teased.

  Regina and her father made their way up the cement stairs still cuddled together.

  Full of oil, loaded with everything and a side of those sugar seasoned fries, Regina’s burger came just as she ordered it and she felt her jeans tightening just looking at the gluttonous meal. Exaggerated ecstasy costumed Regina’s face as she chewed one of the ketchup-dipped fries.

  “This is my one food treat while I am here,” she declared to her parents before she tore into her burger like a ravenous animal.

  “You trying to convince us or yourself?” her father joked. Regina tried to laugh, but her mouth was stuffed and she didn’t want to risk a mound of fresh flesh going down the wrong tube so she settled for a mocking facial expression.

  “You look thin. You don’t need to be on a diet.” Her mother instructed. “I can see your collarbone. You’re not supposed to be able to see that on a person,” her mother lectured with a raised eyebrow.

  “It’s not a diet, Mom; it’s a way of life,” Regina responded.

  “Fine, I’m just saying a burger every once in a while never hurt anyone.”

  “Nah, never hurt anyone to have a burger, but I understand where Regina’s coming from.” Her father refereed the situation with his usual charm. He patted the protrusion that fell slightly over his belt. “I need to get a new way of life so that I can get rid of this. Come Christmas time, I may be able to get some part-time work playing Santa Claus.” Charlie winked at his daughter.

  “So do you want to talk about it?” her mother cut the silence, skillfully regaining control of the conversation. Her father looked at his wife wondering if he should encourage or discourage the conversation at this time.

  Regina sighed through the chewed pieces of burger.

  “Not really, but I guess we kind of have to at some point.” Regina responded.

  “Doesn’t look like Michelle is working today so I guess we just have to work with the information we have.” Her father commented.

  “We were just devastated when we heard and the worst part was having to call and tell you the news,” her mother said.

  That fateful night came streaming back, Regina’s parents had called her several times after her surprise call from Nikki Valentine, but Regina lacked the strength to pick up the phone and hear the devastating words all over again. Regina had just laid in bed, curled up like a child, crying until her tears dried under the rising sun. When she was finally able to pick up one of her parents’ calls her response was robotic.

  “Hello?” …

  “Yes.” To the first question.

  “No.” To the second question.

  “There was a storm; there was trouble with the phones.” Regina fabricated the weather.

  When her mother got to the reason for her call, Regina gave a weak, but truthful reply.

&n
bsp; “I can’t believe this.” Her eyes had been dry for some time at that moment and she managed to numb her emotion just enough to make it through the day. Regina withheld the fact that she had known for hours now that the body of her long lost friend was found buried in the dirt that belonged to Glen DeFrank.

  Regina forced down another bite of the burger that was now dripping oil down the corner of her mouth, she wiped her face with one of the white cloth napkins.

  “Yeah it’s pretty terrible.” Regina admitted.

  “We didn’t want to tell you all of the details, but hell we’re in Black Water, you can’t flush before everyone knows you took a crap around here so we thought you better hear it from us,” her mother explained.

  “She was dismembered,” her mother blurted out causing that inevitable lump to catch in Regina’s throat. She struggled to cough the piece of flesh into a place where it could go down the proper tube. Fortunately, it resituated itself in a safe place with the first forceful gag. Of course, Nikki had given her this information over the phone, but the hideous detail mowed Regina down again as if she was hearing it for the first time. Regina placed down the less than half of a burger that remained on the blue ceramic plate. Scanning the room, Regina noticed that people were staring at her and she sunk back into her seat holding her hand up to her head to cover her face, hoping that would keep people from realizing that they were discussing what everyone in Black Water was discussing.

  Regina took several swallows of her water before speaking.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, wanting to find out if her parents had any more facts than Nikki had been able to supply. But her parents’ horrified expressions made her speak again to relieve them of the anxiety that she could see was crawling up inside them at the thought of having to explain that sentence in any more detail.

  “Never mind, I know what you mean. I…I…just don’t understand why someone would want to do that to Lola,” she said as an expression of deep thought spread across her face.