The Suicide Forest (The River Book 5)

by Michael Richan

“She rides horses,” Jason said, pulling the phone back. “Her father is a rancher.”

  “What’s she studying?” Steven asked.

  “Biology,” Jason said. “Wants to find the cure for cancer.”

  “I hope she does,” Steven said, and a waitress showed up at the table to take their orders. She returned quickly with their drinks.

  “There’s something I wanted to ask you,” Jason said.

  “No,” Steven said reflexively. “No more money. I’m jobless at the moment.”

  “I don’t need any money,” Jason said. “Mom gives me plenty.”

  Steven felt his irritation rising. Sheryl, his ex-wife, had agreed to keep Jason on a tight budget while he was in school, but he was always a momma’s boy, and Steven knew she was a pushover whenever Jason begged.

  “How much has she given you?” Steven asked, careful not to let his irritation show.

  “Well, she gave me a thousand for my birthday last month.”

  Steven gulped his drink and resolved to call Sheryl to discuss the agreement they’d made and find out why she was breaking it. Somehow Jason saw this on Steven’s face.

  “You always do this,” Jason said.

  “Do what?” Steven said.

  “Turn everything into an issue with Mom,” Jason said. “All I wanted to do was talk to you about something which has nothing to do with money or with her, but you’ve turned the whole thing that direction.”

  “Sorry,” Steven said. “Old habits die hard. What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “This is going to sound a little weird,” Jason said, stirring his iced tea with a straw, “so please hear me out before you say anything.”

  “Alright,” Steven said, sitting back in his booth seat a little.

  “I’ve told you before about the dream I’ve had with you and Grandpa Roy in it,” Jason said. “The one with the book.”

  “Yes?” Steven said. He remembered Jason mentioning the dream once or twice in his teen years. Steven had dismissed the dream previously, but now that he’d learned about the River, and Roy had shown him the family book, he knew what Jason’s dreams must have been about.

  “Well, I had the dream again,” Jason said, “but this time you and Roy fought about it. And you killed him.”

  Not what I was expecting, Steven thought.

  “Not what you were expecting?” Jason said, studying Steven’s reaction.

  “No,” Steven said, “but then, crazy things happen in dreams.”

  “This one was different,” Jason said. “It was more vivid than the other dreams. More real. I woke up really jarred by it. It still bothers me.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Steven said, not sure what exactly he should say about it.

  “So,” Jason said, “I was wondering, do you have dreams like that? Really vivid ones, where people die?”

  “No,” Steven said, “I don’t.”

  “So it’s not inherited?” Jason said. “Maybe I should ask Grandpa Roy.”

  “Why would you think it’s inherited?” Steven asked. “Dreams are weird. Lots of things are inherited, but everybody has strange dreams now and again.”

  “Because every time I’ve had the dream,” Jason said, “I knew that you and Grandpa Roy were keeping something from me, something important. And during this last dream I realized I needed to tell you that I knew. It was something you were waiting for.” Jason took a sip of his drink and set it back down on the table. “So that’s why I asked to meet you. To tell you.”

  “To tell me what?” Steven said, doing his best to pretend he didn’t know what Jason was talking about.

  “That I know,” Jason said.

  “Know what?” Steven said, still acting baffled.

  “I don’t know exactly,” Jason said. “I just had the impression that I had to tell you that I knew. But I don’t know what I knew. See, I told you it was weird. And I know how you are, so I know you probably think I need to see a psychiatrist or something.”

  “No, I don’t think that,” Steven said. He knew at some point he’d have to talk to Jason about the gift, but he wanted to wait until he was better versed in it, not still a novice working with Roy. If he was going to tutor Jason on how to use the gift, there was a lot more he needed to know before he felt ready to do it. And he wasn’t even sure Jason had the gift in the first place.

  “When did you first start having this dream?” Steven asked.

  “When I was ten, or eleven,” Jason said. “Somewhere around there.”

  Hits at puberty, Steven thought, thinking of Roy talking about June’s grandson.

  “Any other strange dreams?” Steven asked.

  “Like what?”

  “You know, like this one with me and Roy in it?”

  “Well,” Jason said, “I have dreams all the time. I usually don’t remember them for very long.”

  “Nothing that stands out?” Steven asked.

  “No,” Jason said, “other than this dream, the one with the book. So, is there something you and Grandpa Roy aren’t telling me?”

  What do I do? Steven thought. I can’t lie to him. But I’m not prepared to go down this path just yet, either.

  “There are some things I want to share with you later, when you’re older,” Steven said. “Family things you should know. But I’d rather you concentrate on your studies for now. There will be plenty of time to discuss them when you’re older.”

  “I’m twenty,” Jason said. “I am older. I’m not a little kid anymore. I’d like to know.”

  “Well, I’m not ready to tell you,” Steven said. The waitress arrived with their food and set a plate in front of each of them. Normally Jason would have dived into his food, but he just stared at the plate.

  “You’re upset,” Steven said.

  “Yes,” Jason said. “So the dream is right, there is something.”

  “Later, when you’re older.”

  “What is it, some deep dark family secret?” Jason asked, still not touching his food. “I’m not a child, Dad, I can handle whatever it is.”

  “Well,” Steven said, “I’m not going to tell you until I’m ready to tell you. Finish up school, and when you’re older we’ll have a big sit-down and I’ll tell you the whole thing, alright?”

  Jason wasn’t looking at him. Steven could tell he was still pissed.

  “Do you know how humiliating it is to be told that?” Jason asked. “I imagine if Grandpa Roy had said that to you, it would drive you crazy.”

  He’s right, Steven thought. It would have driven me crazy to be told that by Roy. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons Roy just kept his distance all these years. Distance meant he didn’t have to say anything.

  “It might have,” Steven said. “Your grandfather drove me crazy about a lot of things. But I dealt with it, and you must deal with this.”

  Jason looked up at Steven, and their eyes met.

  He knows it’s something big, Steven thought. It’s growing in him, he senses it, and he senses it in me. He’s looking for answers. I will have to supply them soon.

  “I need you to trust me on this,” Steven said. “I have good reasons. For one, I’m not ready to tell you. There’s things I need to do first. Second, as I’ve said, you’re in school. What I’m going to tell you is a huge thing, and it’ll impact the rest of your life. I couldn’t bear to see you drop out of school because of it.”

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Jason said.

  “You might,” Steven said. Hell, I might have, if Roy had shown it to me when I was a kid, he thought. “I’m only asking for a year. You keep up the studies, get your degree, and in the meantime I’ll get my end of it in order. Then I promise I’ll let you in on it.”

  “Alright,” Jason said, and picked up his fork. “I’ll wait.”

  They ate in silence for a moment, until Steven raised a new subject and their conversation turned. Steven could tell Jason was still angry, giving him short answers to his questions and not really opening up abo
ut anything. At the end of the meal, Steven gave Jason a big hug that was tepidly returned, and they parted cordially.

  As Steven drove to pick up Roy, he considered telling Roy about Jason’s dream, but he decided not to. Roy would just push him to tell Jason now, and Steven wasn’t ready. Roy might even go around him, and talk to Jason directly. No, Jason is my child, Steven thought. He’ll find out from me, and he’ll learn from me. That’s my right as a father. I’ll have to figure something out soon, though. He won’t be patient forever.

  ◊

  Steven and Roy arrived at June Williamson’s house an hour later. They drank some of Roy’s protection in the car before approaching the house. June invited them inside.

  “Do you have the token?” Steven asked June. She held her hands up to show him – palms pressed tightly together.

  “Good,” Steven said. “Unfortunately, you’ll need to keep doing that while we’re here. It’s to protect you.”

  “Whatever you say,” she said, giving him a weak smile.

  “How have things been?” Steven asked.

  “Worse,” she said, sitting in a large overstuffed chair. “Robbie spent the night with me. He said he felt hands in his bed.”

  “Who was in the house last night?” Roy asked.

  “Just the three of us,” June said.

  “Might your daughter have had someone over?” Steven asked.

  “No,” June said. “No one was over.”

  “Your daughter has her own room?” Roy asked.

  “Yes,” June said. “We each have our own room. Robbie came into my room around 2. He was crying. Of course it didn’t wake Evie up, nothing ever does. I let him sleep in my bed for the night. When I went into his room in the morning, it was trashed.”

  “Can we see the room?” Steven asked.

  “Sure,” June said, rising from her chair. “Come with me.”

  They followed her down a short hallway and turned at the first door on the right. Inside, the floor of the room was covered with toys and clothes. There were posters that had fallen from the walls.

  “I started putting things back,” June said. “Got the mattress back on the bed, and made it. Put some things back on his desk. But you can see there’s still a lot more cleaning to do.”

  “Boys’ rooms are often a mess,” Steven said.

  “No,” June said, “not like this. And not Robbie. It’s normally very clean. I know when he went to bed it was in perfect shape. Something happened.”

  “Alright,” Roy said, leaving the room and walking back to the living room. “There’s a couple of things we need to do while we’re here today. Then we’re coming back tomorrow.”

  “What do you need?” she asked, following them back.

  “First there’s this,” Steven said, producing the small lantern Judith Duke had given to them. “I need you to leave this somewhere in the house overnight. We’ll come back and get it tomorrow.”

  “Should I put it in Robbie’s room?” June asked.

  “No, anywhere in the house will do,” Steven said.

  “I’ll leave it in my room, then,” June said. “Best if Evie and Robbie don’t see it.”

  “They’re unaware that we’re helping you?” Roy asked.

  “Yes,” June said, “and I think it’s best that way. Evie becomes quite upset whenever anything about the gift is discussed, and even more so if Robbie is around. So I’d just as soon keep her out of it, if we can.”

  “Alright,” Steven said. “The other thing we’ll need is some privacy. My father needs to conduct another trance, but this time he’ll need to do it in private.”

  “Oh,” June said. “Would my bedroom work?” She rose, and led them down the same hallway to the second door on the left. “Here it is, is there enough room for you?”

  “We’re going to need a chair,” Steven said. “Can we use one from your kitchen?”

  “Yes, I’ll get one,” June said, turning to leave.

  “Can you manage it without dropping the token?” Steven asked.

  “Yes I think so,” June said, already going down the hallway.

  “I’m still not sure I’m going to do this,” Roy said. “Feels creepy to get naked in a strange woman’s bedroom.”

  “Many people might consider it a turn on,” Steven said.

  “I do not,” Roy said. “Do you think there’s enough room here to draw the circle at the foot of the bed?”

  “I think so,” Steven said. “We’ll put the chair in the middle, draw the circle around it, and then I’ll leave you to it.”

  “Oh no,” Roy said. “You’re staying in the room to watch me.”

  “No, I’m not,” Steven said. “Judith specifically said I have to leave you alone for this to work. The circle will protect you.”

  June returned with the chair, and Steven took it from her and sat it at the base of the bed.

  “We’re going to pour some charcoal over the carpet here,” Steven told her. “I think it will just vacuum up after we’re gone. Is that alright?”

  “Yes,” June said. “Whatever you need to do.”

  “Would you excuse us?” Steven asked June. “I’ll join you in the living room in just a minute.”

  “Alright,” she said. Steven followed her to the bedroom door, shutting it behind her.

  “You strip down, I’ll start the charcoal,” Steven said.

  “Hmmpf,” Roy said, and began removing his shirt.

  Steven removed a lunch-size brown bag from his backpack, and began lightly pouring the mixture in a circle around the chair. When he was done, a naked Roy stepped into the circle and sat in the chair.

  “You remember what to do?” Steven asked.

  “Yes,” Roy said. “Let’s hurry this up. It’s cold in here. Put on the blindfold.”

  “You can’t have the blindfold,” Steven said. “You have to do it without it. She said you could not be wearing any kind of clothing.”

  “Goddamnit,” Roy said. “Fine then — yes, I remember what to do. Let’s start.”

  “Alright,” Steven said. “Yell if you need me. I’ll be listening.”

  Roy nodded, and Steven walked out of the room. He went back down the hallway and joined June in the living room.

  “Everything OK?” June asked.

  “Yes,” Steven said, sitting on the sofa. “He’s about to try another trance. I’ll need to listen for him in case there’s any trouble, so we’ll need to be quiet out here while we wait.”

  “Alright,” June said, sitting back in her chair.

  They waited in silence, June twisting the token back and forth between her tightly pressed palms. More than once while he was sitting in the sofa, Steven wondered what was happening with Roy, and he felt the hair go up on the back of his neck. He was trying to think of a blank wall, per the instructions from Judith, but he’d never been good at clearing his mind or meditating. His mind always ran a million miles an hour.

  After twenty minutes, they heard the bedroom door open. A fully clothed Roy emerged carrying the kitchen chair, which he walked into the kitchen to replace before joining them in the living room.

  “How’d it go?” Steven asked.

  “June,” Roy said, “we’ll be back tomorrow to pick up that lantern. I will need to speak with your daughter. Can we come at a time when she’ll be here?”

  June looked worried. “Well, she’s here in the mornings until 10. If you come before then, you should run into her. Should I tell her you’re coming?”

  “No,” Roy said. “I’ll explain everything to her when we arrive. Let’s go, Steven.”

  “Are you sure you need to involve her?” June asked. “I was hoping we could keep her out of this.”

  “I’m sure,” Roy said.

  He must not want to explain in front of June, Steven thought. He rose from the sofa and followed Roy as they made their way out the front door, said their goodbyes to June, and got in Steven’s car.

  “So?” Steven asked. “Did you find
it?”

  “The only thing I saw,” Roy said. “Was the daughter. And I have a hard time believing I needed to be naked to see that.”

  “She’s the opening?” Steven asked. “She’s the Ouija board?”

  “Don’t know,” Roy said. “But I can tell you I don’t care for the vibe I got. The trance was very uncomfortable, just like the last one.”

  “Now you know how I feel,” Steven said. “That’s the vibe I get whenever we’re in there. So I’m guessing the token worked – no threat to June’s life this time?”

  “None,” Roy said. “But this trance Judith had me do was very specific. I might have seen more had I just conducted a regular trance. I would have tried one, after I was done with hers, but like I said, the vibe was very bad. I just wanted to get out.”

  “What now?” Steven asked. “Go back tomorrow and pick up that lantern, then back out to Gig Harbor?”

  “And meet with her daughter tomorrow,” Roy said. “See what she knows.”

  ◊

  “I’d like to talk to you, but I’m in a hurry,” Evelyn Williamson said after shaking both Roy and Steven’s hands. She turned to go into the kitchen.

  “We need a moment of your time,” Roy said. “In the interest of the safety of your mother and your son.”

  Evie walked back from the kitchen. “What is this?” she asked. “Some kind of threat?”

  “We’re not the threat,” Steven said. “Something in the house is.”

  Evie rolled her eyes and walked back into the kitchen. “You’re both wasting your time, and I have to be somewhere in ten minutes.”

  “Evie,” June said, following her back into the kitchen, “please listen to them. They know what they’re doing.”

  “Why are you holding your hands like that?” Edie asked her mother.

  Steven and Roy followed June into the kitchen. Edie was pulling leftovers from the refrigerator and placing them in a padded lunch bag. She saw them enter the room and stopped.

  “Really?” she asked them. “Now?”

  “It’s important,” Steven said. “People have already been hurt.”

  “Whatever,” she said, resuming her packing, “Talk while I get ready. I’m going to be late.”

  “You don’t work until 10,” June said. “Why are you packing up so early?”