At this point, Frank stood up. “Do I need to detain you for a few hours so you can clear your head?”
“Can we just stop this?” Pete tried to act as mediator.
In response, Rick stood up as well. “Forget this. Just like I thought. You can’t trust the police to do anything right. I’m going out to look for my daughter by myself.”
“Rick, please,” Trina begged again.
“No, goodbye,” he said, stomping out of the farm house’s door.
“Aren’t you going to stop him?” Jay asked the sheriff.
“No, let him go. If he wants to go out looking on his own, that’s fine. If he isn’t harassing anyone, I’m happy to let him feel like he’s doing something productive.”
“He’s just very worried and upset about Amanda. Getting angry is how he handles these things,” Trina admitted in her timid voice. The sobbing and tears had mostly stopped for the moment.
“You know, Frank. He may be right. The only people I’ve had any kind of real encounter with lately is those scientists.”
Sonja had to admit, at least Pete was recognizing them as scientists now and not hippies or freaks.
Frank sighed, putting his elbow on one knee. “I’m willing to ask them if they’ve seen anything, but only after we get the ball rolling on the search party. Now, I’ve put out a message that any able-bodied men and women who want to help in the search should meet me at the diner parking lot. We should head over there soon. I will also be contacting the forest rangers in this area, and they will search by helicopter.”
“And what about the note?” Jay asked.
“Whoever left this note wasn’t expecting you to find it for a few days at least, thinking you wouldn’t go looking for the kids at the cabin until then. Unfortunately, they also didn’t leave any kind of name or contact info besides this picture of a moon. It’s very unusual in a case like this. Most of the time they make some sort of demands.”
“So, what are we supposed to do?” Pete exclaimed.
“What I already said. We search.”
Chapter 8
* * *
Where a wedding ceremony had only been an hour earlier, there was a group of men and women. The Waffle Diner and Eatery parking lot was filled to the brim with volunteers decked out in hiking and hunting gear, ready to help the sheriff in the search for the missing couple.
Sonja, too, was eager to a lend a hand. The memory of the night before became more and more chilling each time she thought of it. She had on her leather jacket and sat on the concrete step outside the diner entrance lacing up her hiking boots when Frank walked over to her.
“I’m about ready to go,” she told him, finishing off the knot on the first boot.
Frank took a seat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I want you to stay here, Sonj’.”
She could feel the surprise on her face, tightening her features as her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. “Wait, what? Why?”
“Look, this is going to be a long day. I’m organizing multiple groups of volunteers to search out a radius of areas around Pete’s hunting cabin and other spots near Haunted Falls.”
“You’re not answering my question. I want to be a part of one of the groups, too,” she insisted, leaning down to start lacing up her second boot.
“Stop, please, Sonja,” he asked, bringing her back up to face him. “We’ll be arriving back here at various intervals to check in, and I know folks are going to be tired.”
“What are you saying?” she demanded, willing him to get to the point.
“I want you to stay back here and get something warm ready for the volunteers when they get back. Waffles, pancakes, even just some coffee if need be. These people will deserve it after helping out.”
Sonja raised an eyebrow. Somehow, she felt like this wasn’t the only reason he wanted her to stay behind. “Frank?”
Letting out a long breath, he knew he was caught.
“What is the real reason you want me to stay here at the diner?”
Taking a quick look around to make sure no one was in earshot, he clasped his hands and leaned close to his bride-to-be and spoke in a hushed tone. “Look, I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, and I don’t want to put a damper on this search.”
Sonja could see where he was going with this. “Amanda’s ghost.”
“That’s right. If it really was Amanda’s ghost, that means she really is dead.”
Sonja shook her head. “I don’t want to believe it yet. She was one of my waitresses, remember? I’d feel somehow personally responsible if she really ended up dead somewhere.”
“It wouldn’t be your fault, but I don’t want to discount what you saw. Your supernatural premonitions and visions have been spot on more than once.”
“Believe me, I wish they weren’t,” she sighed.
“The point is, if the ghost is Amanda, she might return here. If she does, I want you to be around to see her . . . make contact or whatever you call it.”
“Look, Frank. The spirit world is complicated. I’m not even sure if seeing her here is a fluke, or if she’ll come back. There is no telling how a spirit will act or what kind of otherworldly constraints might be on them. We just don’t know enough about how things work.”
Frank squeezed her shoulders. “Still, it is one of our best bets.”
Sonja hesitated but agreed. “Okay.”
“Good. At the very least, you didn’t see Chance out there in the woods as well. That means he might still be alive.”
“Amanda might still be alive as well,” she pointed out, trying to keep a positive outlook.
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Frank agreed, kissing her on the forehead before standing up.
* * *
Once a representative from the forest rangers showed up, things got underway. Frank stood up on the stage which had been set up for the wedding and used it to make announcements about the day’s proceedings. He split everyone into groups and then they were quickly on their way to cover the specified area they were assigned to.
Sonja, feeling like she was being left out, headed to the diner to start preparing drinks and snacks for the volunteers as they came back to the restaurant. Even her father and mother had ended up as part of the search party. They’d both given Sonja her comforting hugs and reassurance before leaving, but understood the situation required immediate action.
They were always both so willing to help.
Alison had taken her daughter, Cynthia, home. Meanwhile, Alex, her husband, had joined the search. Alison had agreed to come back to the diner to help Sonja with the cooking once her mother-in-law came over to watch Cynthia.
After such a crazy day with wedding guests rushing in and out of the diner, followed by search party volunteers, the restaurant felt eerily quiet. The unused dining area, still decorated to the hilt with wedding decorations for the lunch that was set to take place after the ceremony, hardly helped.
For the first time since everything had happened Sonja felt a wave of sadness wash over her. While she was upset about Amanda and Chance, the realization that her wedding day had been interrupted by another potential murder was truly upsetting.
She and Frank and all their beloved guests should have been sitting and eating the delicious lunch that had been prepared. Heading into the kitchen, Sonja opened the freezer and checked the dishes there. Ham, cream cheese, and raspberry sauce sat in their respective containers—meant to be turned into waffle finger sandwiches. Waffle cut French fries waited for the chance to be set into the deep fryer. Extra waffle batter sat in a covered bowl, just waiting to be cooked up into mini waffle bites to be dipped into the chocolate fountain that had yet to be turned on.
Then, of course, there was the beautiful cake she and Alison had worked so hard on the evening before. Sonja could imagine herself and Frank cutting into it.
Alison had offered to take charge of the catering on the day of the wedding. She would have melted down the choco
late, cooked the waffles, made the sandwiches, and served everything with the help of a few of the girls who were waitresses.
Sonja swallowed hard, forcing back any tears and telling herself that she would still have her wedding day—it was just pushed back a little.
Quickly composing herself, she got right to work grinding fresh coffee beans and mixing up a fresh batch of waffle mix. There was still some leftover frosting and she planned to make some mini four-inch waffles for anyone who was hungry when they got back.
The deeper she got into her cooking, the less she thought about the postponed wedding, the missing couple, or Amanda’s ghost. She always appreciated how cooking was like a therapy in and of itself. Something about the feel of flour on her hands, the scent of waffle makers heating up, and even the trickle of coffee into the pot soothed her nerves.
As waffles finished cooking, she placed them in the warmer. She could spread the frosting on once the first group of volunteers returned.
Realizing the trash can was full, thanks to the fact that she and Alison forgot to empty it the night before, she tied up the ends and headed out the back door. It was beginning to feel almost like a normal day.
Lifting the lid on the dumpster, she threw the bag in. Dusting off her hands, she was about to head back inside when a familiar bluish color came from between the trees. Even in the warmth of the spring daylight, there was no mistaking it.
That blue wisp was the ethereal material of the netherworld.
Just to be one hundred percent sure, Sonja determinedly walked toward the trees. If Amanda’s ghost was back there, she was going to find out for sure this time.
Nearing the tree line, the blurry figure moved away, further into the thick forest. Sonja picked up her pace, running up the incline and in between two large aspen trunks. It was as she breached the space between the dirt lot and the trees that she felt the chill run the course of her body. The sky instantly seemed darker, as if a gray, oppressive cloud cover had suddenly consumed the sun.
Clear as day, she saw the transparent woman walking among the trees. Pausing, it faced into the woods. Taking a glance over its shoulder, it silently beckoned for Sonja to follow.
Without a doubt, the woman looking at Sonja from those dead pale eyes was Amanda Williams.
“Frank was right,” Sonja whispered.
Chapter 9
* * *
Wandering on foot through the uneven stretches of the mountain forest, Sonja felt as if she’d been walking for hours. She secretly gave thanks that she had left her hiking boots and leather jacket on the entire time she was cooking. She’d been so preoccupied thinking about the day’s events, and about her own botched wedding ceremony, she hadn’t even thought to take them off.
Something about the weight on her shoulders and back was comforting. Now, as she treaded deeper into the trees and the air grew chillier, she was grateful for the warmth. It was spring, but that didn’t stop a surprise cold front from rolling in.
On the other hand, Sonja speculated that the cold air could be a supernatural occurrence. The presence of ghosts often had that effect on an environment.
Amanda, or the spirit that at least looked like Amanda, kept a good distance between them the entire time—changing her pace to match Sonja’s, while also keeping far enough ahead that Sonja had to keep her eyes peeled.
A few times she’d tried to talk to Amanda, call out to her. “Where are we going?” she’d ask. The specter never responded.
It wasn’t a surprise, really. Many ghosts she’d encountered didn’t talk, while others never appeared in a corporeal form and chose to communicate through knocks and whispers. Sonja wondered if the dead were shy. Either that, or there was some unspoken rule that only allowed them enough energy to do certain activities.
Checking her phone, Sonja saw that it was nearly one in the afternoon. Two hours since the wedding had been interrupted, and at least a half hour since she’d entered the forest.
Just as she slipped her phone back into her jacket pocket, she looked up and realized she couldn’t see the spirit any longer. “Amanda?” she called out, looking in all directions for the pale woman. The trees went on infinitely around her and she wondered if she would be able to find her way back to town. “Amanda, are you out there?” she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth.
A low and painful groan echoed on the wind. Sonja couldn’t quite pinpoint from where. “Amanda, where are you?” she shouted.
Another groan, as if someone were trying to call out but didn’t have the energy, came from deeper in the woods. Sonja trudged forward quickly, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Amanda or Chance. “Hello? Is anyone out there?”
Another muffled echo drew her closer. Coming around a particularly large tree trunk, Sonja gasped. “Chance! Oh, my goodness,” she exclaimed, rushing to his side and squatting down next to him.
The young man was sitting against a tree. His hands and feet were tied, and he seemed to be hoarse, probably from calling for help.
Squatting down next to him. Sonja lifted his head, looking into his eyes. “Chance. Can you hear me?”
“Oh. Oh, Sonja?” he grunted, recognizing her. That was a good sign. It meant he was coherent.
“Yes, yes. It’s me.”
“T-Thank goodness you found me,” he said weakly. “I tried to get out myself, but just couldn’t.”
The ropes on his hands looked somewhat loose like he’d been struggling against his bonds but had grown too weak to finish the job. Luckily, there wasn’t many rope burns on his skin from the exertion. In fact, he seemed to be in decent shape for having been tied up and left in the woods. Besides a few minor bruises and scratches, he would likely come out of it okay.
“I thought no one was ever going to find me out here.”
Sonja got to work on the ropes, easily undoing them the rest of the way. “What happened, Chance? Where is Amanda?”
The man’s eyes reddened with tears. “H-He took her away,” he whispered.
“Where? Where did he take her?”
“He said he was going to kill her and then come back for me.”
“Where? Where?” she demanded, putting both hands on his shoulders.
This time, he burst into tears. Sonja felt terrible for him. He’d obviously been through a horrible ordeal—but with who? Was it some sort of big company construction deal gone wrong with Chance’s father? Was it worse, like involvement in some sort of organized crime? Or was it just some deranged man with a grudge?
Sonja just didn’t know what to think.
“Okay, I’m sorry, Chance. Just take a deep breath and start at the beginning.”
The young man hesitated, trying to figure out how to start recounting such a horrible string of events. “I-I pulled the car over to look at an animal in the woods.”
“On your way to the hunting cabin?”
“Y-Yeah. Amanda stayed in the car. I went down into the trees a little way. That’s when I felt someone hit me, hard, on the back of the head.” He leaned forward to show her the bump.
“That looks like a nasty hit.”
“I blacked out immediately, I think. I don’t remember anything until I woke up, with my hands and legs tied, in a clearing.”
“Where?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. Every time he moved me, he would blindfold me.”
“Who was it? Who did this to you?”
His lower lip quivered. “I-I don’t know. He wore all black, had on a ski mask or something.”
This wasn’t good. Whoever the assailant was had kept their identity a secret, even from the victims.
“What did the clearing look like?”
“It was weird. All the brush had been cut back. There was this strange circle drawn into the dirt with chalk or something. A stack of stones all stood in some sort of . . . pillar or altar. Then there was this weird knife.”
Sonja didn’t like the sound of that, not one bit. She’d dealt with murderers using black ma
gic before, and it was some very dangerous and scary stuff.
He swallowed hard. “Worst of all, there was a hole dug, the size of a grave.”
Sonja could feel her heart beating at an accelerated rate. “Maybe we should get moving.”
Chance didn’t hear her and continued his morbid tale. “The guy hung around for a little while, fiddling with stuff. Then, he walked off. After what seemed like forever, he hadn’t come back. I took a chance and called out for help. I heard Amanda.”
“She was alive?”
“Y-Yeah. She was. And she wasn’t even hurt or anything, just tied up. Even though my arms and legs were tied, too, I managed to move over to where she was. She was in the pit he’d dug.”
“But she was okay?”
“Just scared like I was. I used that weird knife to cut my own ropes and then cut her free.” He glanced around the forest as if almost expecting someone to come leaping out. “We wandered around for the good part of a day before he tracked us down again. That’s when he tied me up and left me here.” A sob escaped his throat. “Then he took Amanda with him back to the clearing.”
“Chance, we need to find that clearing again, and Amanda.” Digging into her pocket, she retrieved her phone. Much to her surprise, she had at least one bar of service.
“Sonja, I was going to ask her to marry me this weekend, but he even took the ring.”
Shoving the phone into his hand, she looked him directly in the eye. “Call nine-one-one. They should be able to track my phone’s GPS system. I’m going to look for Amanda.”
Sonja knew she should wait for the police to arrive, but if there was even the slimmest chance she was still alive, she knew the clock was ticking.
Breaking off branches as she went, just to make sure she didn’t lose Chance, she delved deeper into the forest.
Much to her surprise, it only took a few short minutes before she stepped into a clearing—exactly as Chance had described it. It seemed they’d been closer than Chance had anticipated. She wondered if the couple had accidentally wandered in a circle around the forest. The little stone altar has the same moon symbol drawn in with some sort of paint or marker on it.
Wedding Waffle Murder Page 5
