Trouble Afoot (Shepard & Kelly Mysteries Book 2)

by Benjamin Bradley

  He held the phone in front of him and paced around his condo’s tiny kitchen as he debated his next move. The message was open. It was right there and waiting for him. It might as well have been dollar signs in place of the fox emoji, because that’s all it meant. But the thought made Andy’s heart race like when he’d first seen Regina in that crappy piano karaoke bar. Right before she went on stage and sang his favorite Billy Joel song. Right before a rushed wedding, two kids, and a quick divorce. So much for ‘The Longest Time,’ Billy.

  Andy tipped the glass up and the cool, smooth liquid coated his throat as he gulped it down. He put the phone in the other room while he looked over his savings account and poured another glass. The balance was healthy, something he’d worked hard for. Something he’d bent the law for. Broke his back for. Everything. All the small transfers added up. Still, there was an instinct inside that clamored for more. More safety. More security. More to prove Regina wrong.

  He swiped at the message, and a wave of relief washed over him. He read through the instructions. Phew, okay. Normal job. Different coordinates, but nothing out of the ordinary. Andy wrote the details on a notepad and responded as he always did with just two letters. “OK”.

  He tossed the phone and fixed his eyes back on the TV. Ted Mosby was moping about some girl that was definitely the one yet was sure to end up a disaster. The phone vibrated again. Andy’s stomach turned over. He glanced at the screen and his mouth went dry. It was The Fox. Again.

  The process, which was spelled out with no wasted words in the initial email, was that there would be one text with the instructions. The runner copies down the information, deletes the message, and the check hits the bank within twenty-four hours of a completed job. One message. Not two. Not in a row.

  He read the second message. “Leave the contents out. Hide it in plain view. Burn the bag.”

  Andy’s heart fluttered. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up like a dog frightened by a threat. He sorted through all the possibilities in his head that he could come up with. He called Kyle. Voicemail again. He left another.

  “Kyle, it’s me, man. Our friend just messaged. I’m feeling twisted about this, dude. After what you saw. After what you told me. Now, I’m getting two messages. I feel like it’s a trap. Like, like I’m the fall guy. Oh, dude, I’ve seen shit like this go down on CSI. I’ll be behind bars within an hour. But I also can’t say no! That check. That money. Plus, there’s more and—”

  The voicemail beeped and Andy tossed his phone. He combed through his memories and tried to remember if he had ever seen Kyle without his phone. The unusual circumstance put a shiver down his spine like a cold winter’s night. Something had changed in Kyle over the past few weeks. The once jovial, relaxed friend had become irritable, paranoid, and suspicious of everything. Andy wrote it off as girl trouble.

  Last school year and into this summer, Kyle would recount his dating woes and swipe-right problems in great detail. Then, he said he met an older woman and stopped opening up about that side of his life. Andy had seen the impact that a breakup can have on a man firsthand. He knew the fallout from his divorce took years to come back from. Maybe Kyle was living something similar.

  He checked the clock. The instructions provided a strict deadline. There was barely a half-hour left for Andy to get dressed and make his way towards the park.

  The familiar ten-minute drive was haunting. Shadows danced beneath street lights and revealed shapes that deceived his eyes. Everything was watching him. Passengers of other cars. Dogs on leashes. Stoplight cameras. A lump grew in his throat that ached for another shot of tequila. He swallowed the lump down and veered off the highway, onto the side road he’d parked countless times before. There wasn’t a single car in sight. The small turnoff was public knowledge and often used by evening runners that wanted to avoid getting a ticket on their car for staying after hours. For Andy, it was the launching point for many of his late-night side jobs.

  Outside of the car, he pulled on a black knit winter hat and jogged toward the trail. His muscles whined with every step, calves screeching for a proper warm-up routine. The overhead light on the distant street corner served as a spotlight as he bolted down the makeshift foot trail and entered the dark abyss that was Umstead State Park at night. A bare, moonless sky above provided little guidance, so Andy relied on his phone. The coordinates weren’t far from the side access road that he’d started from, and within minutes he’d found a small backpack. He put on a pair of cloth gloves and felt the contents through the bag but couldn’t discern what they were. The Fox was consistent in clever hiding spots that provided at least some level of assurance.

  With the drop spot plugged into the app, he was off and running. Two miles as the crow flies became further as he cut through switchbacks and twists of the trail inclines. About halfway, a distant sound brought him to a halt.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The footstep was big. Not the delicate hop of a chipmunk foraging past their bedtime. Something with weight. A monstrous crunch of branches and leaves that sat undisturbed on the forest floor.

  Casper’s fingertips moistened. Throat dried up. Muscles tensed. Goosebumps spread across his forearms despite the warm autumn temperature. Such a strange phenomenon. Goosebumps. For some reason, it made him think of Gil.

  If Delaney’s source was right, Gil was inside the park. Somewhere. He could be hunting for evidence too. On his own. Oh, no. Gil.

  He could stumble into their trap. Casper considered his options. He racked his brain for a way to communicate in the thick darkness of nighttime. A way to let the team know it could be Zoe’s fiancé romping around with his lab coat on. Not Bigfoot. How the hell did I not think of this sooner? Gil.

  Casper saw Zoe sit up straight from her post but saw no movement from Delaney. His heart thumped in his chest like a kick drum. It pulsed in his ears. Anticipation soaked through his skin. Sweat beaded on his brow. A wave of his arms got Zoe’s attention, but she just nodded and pointed towards the sound. Casper cupped his ear in that direction.

  CRUNCH. Another step. Followed by another. Something was walking. Two feet. What was the term Gil used? Bi-pedal? Two feet. Like a human. CRUNCH. The creature was getting closer. Walking towards them. An owl hooted in a far-off tree. Casper took it as a warning. His heart rate skyrocketed. He forced himself to breathe, but the breaths were shallow. Guarded. Anticipatory.

  Casper counted each step. After the tenth, the movement stopped. It had sounded close. Within a few yards. Spitting distance. He waited for an eleventh. Nothing came. From his vantage point, there was no visual evidence yet. Nothing that would spark action. They needed the beast to make a move. A shadow flickered off to his left. He figured Delaney was shuffling in her post, gripping her pistol and getting into position. He saw no movement from Zoe’s corner.

  Casper glanced back toward his left and saw the flicker again. It wasn’t Delaney. It was something else. Something big. Breathe. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale.

  Another step. This one was closer. Now it was moving faster. Running. Running towards them. The shape towered in the shadows, but it was too dark to make out anything besides its outline. Behind the figure, Casper saw another silhouette. Delaney was in position. Wait, is that Delaney?

  The beast stepped with care. Lifting each leg like an infant still learning how to walk as he sprinted. Clumsy and uncomfortable. The clamorous snap of twigs beneath its feet was the only sound echoing through the forest canopies. Casper held his breath and willed the beast to come a few feet closer. Just another yard. It took another step. It was so close now. Whatever it was, it paused and looked around, craning its neck with hesitation.

  “FREEZE!” Zoe’s voice boomed from the north. The creature shot a look in that direction and froze before finding its bearings and taking off like a bullet from a gun. The creature sprinted out of the clearing. Leaves thrashed in its wake. Casper steadied his arm but lowered his pepper spray as the creature sped a
way.

  He watched the beast pass through a thicket of trees. A silhouette dove out of the shadows and speared the creature to the ground.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The sound didn’t return. Andy pushed on. His breath clouded in front of him like when he let out a puff of cigarette smoke. His body craved it. Anything. Something to numb the sensation of reality. With each mile that he covered, he cursed himself for not quitting that junk years ago. Swearing it all off. Going straight and sober. The phone lit his way through the abandoned trails and within minutes, the path beneath his feet changed from gravel to concrete. He was on a road.

  A lack of signage and miles of split-post fencing mirrored every other stretch of park interior he’d seen to date. The park’s system of roads led to different parking lots and structures around the land, some of which Andy had navigated during daylight hour trips with Ava and Andrew. The location flashed on the screen and he tiptoed towards it. There was no sound besides his breath and the pitter-patter of his feet on the pavement. He looked up. A starless night. He tried to decide if that was good luck or bad but before he could land on a decision, the phone zoomed in. He was close.

  Sirens blared. The noise was sudden and foreign in such a thick forest. Even the oaks and yellow poplars stood still in the night sky. The sound grew louder but remained at a distance. Andy breathed easy.

  A far-off light flickered between the trees, and Andy dove to the side of the road. When nothing followed, he got back to his feet, wiped the dirt from his pants, and checked the signal again. It was directing him towards the light. Andy squinted in the inky night sky to determine if the structure in the distance was a house, a shack, or some sort of trap set by the local police. He crept closer.

  His breath was louder now. Like a cricket in the quiet of a summer night. In and out. He poked his head around the trunk and could see better. It was a house. A small one. Off in the distance. The light was coming from the kitchen where there appeared to be people milling about. Chatting and laughing like a tailgate outside of a football game. Andy cursed under his breath. He pressed on.

  He stayed within the cover of the trees and approached step by step. He rounded the entire house without crossing into view of the window where he’d seen people inside. The map zoomed in again. The beacon flashed in the backyard. He ducked behind a stack of chopped wood and caught his breath. The air felt icy in his lungs. He unzipped the bag, reached inside and pulled out the contents. Under the faint light from his phone screen, he glanced at them. What the hell?

  Andy thought back to the second message. ‘Leave the contents out. Hide it in plain view.’ He took a breath and lifted a log from the top of the woodpile. He dropped the backpack’s contents underneath, and the log fell back into place without a sound. Andy let out a deep exhale and crawled back into the thick forest behind him. A door swung open as he stepped into the darkness, and he crouched down behind a thick stump ten yards into the brush. He looked up at the person who stepped out of the house.

  The person wore a tan uniform with green pants. A badge reflected under the overhead light and looked bronze. Police? He pushed himself into a ball and willed himself to get smaller. Smaller. The light shut off; the door clanked shut and voices started back up inside the house. Andy waited twenty long minutes until the coast was clear. Then he made the long trek back to his car. All the while, he fought with his inner demons and asked himself repeatedly.

  Why would The Fox send me to a cop’s house?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Casper sprinted over. His feet moved like a dancer that knew every step. He hurdled root beds and fallen branches. The rotting trunk of a downed oak was his biggest hurdle, but he was up and over it like a gymnast. The thrash of Delaney hurrying his way sounded as she sprinted. An explosion of sounds and movement in the calm of the dusky woods. From the corner of his eye, he couldn’t see Zoe. Casper figured she had to be the shadow that took out the beast. But it was the wrong direction. What the hell was that?

  He closed in on the scene and stared at the ground. Out of breath, he stood with his hands on his knees and surveyed the forest floor. His eyes grew wide as he took in the hulking mass below. Limbs laid motionless. Zoe caught up and paused next to him. The group gasped for breath like runners at the end of a half marathon. Nobody took their eyes off the beast on the ground.

  Beneath them, a tall creature in a furry costume lay face down on the soil. At first motionless, it now began moaning in agony, holding its arm and wailing. The cry was human. Distinctly human. Casper’s goosebumps faded away as he took his eyes off the creature and looked at the shadowy figure who had taken it down. Gil.

  Gil winced and held his ribs as he rolled around in the dirt. His left arm hung low. Zoe hurried to him. She held her hand on his face. “What the hell, Gil? I thought it was you in the suit!”

  “I’m sorry, I’m—” Gil nodded towards the creature’s body. “Go. Tell me what it is.”

  Zoe joined Casper and Delaney, who were standing over the large, hairy figure that was motionless on the ground. Casper watched as Delaney’s eyes registered the scene before her and her jaw fall open. He shook his head and furrowed his brow. “I’ll call the police.”

  “Hold on, I told Russo we’d call her first,” Zoe said and reached for her phone.

  She stepped into the clearing. Casper and Delaney met eyes and shook their heads. Delaney grinned. “Some vacation, huh?”

  Nobody else spoke until Zoe returned. The creature on the ground wailed in agony, but nobody paid him any mind. “They have a unit stationed down the road so they’ll be here within minutes. They can meet us at the gate.”

  “What about animal control?” Gil asked from the side.

  “No reason to call them,” Zoe said and kicked at the beast’s long, skinny legs. The human inside wailed louder.

  “Well, we can eliminate one option at least,” Casper said.

  Gil’s pained voice whispered from the ground. “Is it… is it… somebody take a photo. We’ll need proof. Evidence. We—”

  “Gil, we won’t need evidence of squat,” Delaney said.

  “It’s human, Gil. It’s somebody in a Bigfoot costume,” Zoe said with a sigh.

  “A rather large someone…” Casper said.

  “Is it alive?” Gil asked.

  “Seems to be,” Casper said. “Zoe?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I believe this is the moment where you pull off the mask.”

  “You can do the honors. I’m afraid my temper will lead to our second assault in the park if I get too close.”

  Casper edged towards the body with one hand on the borrowed pepper spray in his pocket. Zoe held her breath. Delaney did the same. Gil propped himself up on his elbows but fell back to the ground with a thump that echoed through the tree trunks. Zoe helped him up with one hand. He stood hunched over, still panting, with his eyes fixed on Casper.

  In one swift movement, Casper tugged the creature’s mask off and tossed it to the side. Zoe’s eyes grew wide. Nobody spoke a word. They just stared.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  As the flashing lights of the police cruisers faded into the dark, Casper and Gil stared up at the pink sky signaling the approach of a new day. Delaney jogged over toward them and nodded.

  “Gil. One quick question,” Casper said.

  “I would anticipate that you have significantly more than one question but please, proceed.”

  “I’ll leave the full interrogation to your fiancé. For now, I’d just like to ask about your past. Did you play football in high school?”

  Gil laughed. “Do I appear as if I played football in high school?”

  “No, but I wanted to make sure. If there’s a coach out there teaching that type of god-awful tackling technique, I’d like to wring his neck before the end of the week,” Casper said.

  Delaney chuckled. “I could barely see it from where I was. You were invisible out there.”

  “Yeah, about that.
How did you know where we’d be?” Casper asked.

  “Despite your frequency in the environment, you Park Rangers are not so stealth in the woods. You travel like a herd of elephants in a mud field. I have tracked many creatures in past research. It was not remotely challenging to identify your path and follow behind while keeping a distance.”

  “But why not just come join us?” Delaney asked with her arms crossed.

  “To be blunt, I was scared that Zoe would yell so loud that the, er, visitor would be scared off. Or perhaps she would cause an avalanche in a far-off mountain. Regardless, I did not enjoy the thought of dealing with my enraged fiancé. A coward’s approach, I am aware.”

  Delaney nodded. “Her bad side is not someplace I’d reckon anybody wants to be.”

  The roar of an approaching truck caught everybody’s attention. Mathias stormed out of his driver’s seat like his feet were on fire. He stood in front of the group, one hand on his hip with the other tugging on his mustache. “Where’s Watts?”

  Casper stepped forward. “She went with Detective Russo back to the station.”

  Mathias turned to Gil. “Gilbert. I know what you did.”

  Gil gulped and looked at the ground. Mathias chuckled. “Looks like we have a much bigger problem on our hand. What can you all tell me?”

  “It was a human in a Bigfoot costume. He said nothing to us. Just cried from Gil’s tackle.”

  Mathias eyed Gil. “And to think, they all just thought you were this slouch of a researcher living like a leech off Zoe’s teat.”

  “Hey now,” Delaney interrupted. “Enough of that. That won’t help anybody clean up this mess.”