Hazy View: Souls of the Vanished

by Ink Blood

  “It could possibly be, maybe he’s talking about the attacker.”

  “I don’t think so, maybe if she’s armed with something sharp and maybe metal. It takes a strong force to give someone a concussion or to break a bone. But the father has three broken bones, and by the bruises left behind, a single blow caused the damage. Once he fell over the side of the boat it left his head underwater. This might explain the water in his lungs, but now I’m just guessing. I’m hoping the boy might tell you something. I need to get him talking, so he can start to work through his ordeal.” Phillip added as he walked deep in thought.

  Phillip lifted his shoulder and turned right at the end of the long passage. He walked through doors with reinforced glass. Andrew followed and gave way to an empty wheelchair as an orderly pushed it past them.

  “You should’ve been a police officer. You’re eye for detail’s astonishing.” Andrew remarked.

  Phillip smiled, “I did several years in criminal psychology but prefer dealing with sane people rather than mentally disturbed psychopaths.”

  “Thank goodness we don’t have too many of those running around town.”

  “I don’t know there are a couple of strange characters that drifted through here.” Phillip laughed.

  “So I’ve heard.” Andrew admitted.

  They entered Edwin’s ward.

  There were six beds. Blue curtains that hung from the ceiling on railings surrounded two of the beds. Three beds were empty. Edwin curled up on the bed under a large window. He folded his hands in front of him so tightly that they’ve turned white. He was mumbling what sounded like a prayer. His eyes filled with tears and he was staring into nothing. Physically he appeared unharmed.

  “Here’s the son.” Phillip said picking up a chart and stepped back.

  Andrew steps closer to the bed. “Edwin, Edwin its Sheriff Foster. Can you hear me?”

  “You know him?” Phillip asked.

  “Yes.” Andrew said turning to Phillip.

  “Good luck, I need to see some of my other patients. I’ll speak to you later.” Phillip turned and left.

  Andrew pulled a chair closer. He reached and touched Edwin’s hands. Edwin stopped swaying. He looked at Andrew. A large window above the bed admitted bright sunlight and a view of the lake. Although the sun was warm Edwin’s hands remained icy cold.

  Edwin looked at Andrew with teary eyes and a whisper in his voice. “Did she come back?”

  Andrew leaned forward and whispered. “Did who come back Edwin?”

  “The woman who was in the lake last night, didn’t you hear her?”

  “Can you tell me who you are referring to, the woman who helped and brought you here?”

  Edwin looked around nervously. “No! I’m talking about the woman who was standing in the lights, who attacked us.” Edwin moved closer to Andrew. “The dead woman...”

  Andrew pulled back sharply. “There’s a dead woman in the lake?”

  Edwin turned his attention to the lake, for a moment he stared out the window. “Yes, she was like a ghost.” He added softly.

  Edwin, are you sure you saw a woman?”

  Edwin looked back at Andrew. “She was so angry. She wanted to know why we did it. What was she saying? We didn’t do anything, but she wouldn’t stop. She just wouldn’t stop.” He wept softly into his hands.

  “What did she look like?”

  Edwin relaxed. “Like a ghost. Did you find the child?”

  “There’s no child, it's a cry from a bird or something.”

  “There’s a child, a small child just like her.”

  “What do you mean, did you see the child?” Andrew asked shocked.

  “No, but she’s looking for him too. It's her child.” Edwin pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. “It's her child crying at the lake at night. Where’s my dad, is he okay?”

  “Yes, do you want to see him? He’s sleeping now, but I’m sure the nurse will take you to see him when he wakes up.”

  “Thanks.” Edwin said and dropped his head onto his knees.

  Andrew left the hospital confused. For a moment he sat in his vehicle. The sun was warming his chilled body. Thoughtfully he reviewed witness statements and Robert’s file. Clouds were darkening the sky from the South. The wind was a light breeze.

  “What’s with these ghost stories? Are they just rumors to boost trade? Is someone trying to hide something? Two witnesses claimed ghosts? What connection do a new resident and a teenage boy have to the trade? What would they stand to gain…? Nothing, absolutely nothing…”

  Andrew studied the autopsy report. “What did Robert see on the lake, ghosts? Was that what caused his heart attack? Several people heard the child crying, yet no one has seen it. I did hear it… it was a child. Who’d do this, killing a woman it happens, but killing a child? It might’ve been a camping accident or murder? Where did they come from, the city, local? Maybe they’re not missing yet, that’s why it's not reported.” Andrew took a deep breath, starts the engine and drove to the lake.

  *~*~*

  *VI*

  Andrew found Tom walking back from the pier. Tom walked up to the passenger window and leaned into the open window.

  “Good morning deputy, sorry I mean sheriff.” Tom extended his hand in greeting.

  “It's okay Tom, I’m getting used to it. Do you have anything to do with what’s wrong in the lake?”

  “What do you mean Sheriff? I’m just doing my job. You can’t blame this on me I’ve got nothing to do with this. There’s something else making this fuss.” Tom defended, getting a little upset.

  Andrew left the vehicle. “Relax Tom. I’m only joking, but feel free to fill me in on what’s happening. What’s bugging you about the lake?” Andrew asked and lit a cigarette.

  “It all started some time ago, I’d say three weeks now. It wasn’t until Robert died that I started to notice these events. It's been around earlier, but I guess I wasn’t paying any attention.”

  Tom walked to the pier, Andrew followed.

  “Which incidents or events don’t I know of?”

  Tom was slightly upset and took a moment to think. “It's nothing worth mentioning at the time until I had a chance to think about it. There were small incidences that didn’t make sense. I’d hate to lose my job over this, you know. People might think I’m too incapable to take care of the lake and grounds.”

  “You won’t lose your job, you didn’t do anything wrong, did you?” Andrew assured.

  “There’s so many things wrong. In the last two weeks I’ve lost four boats and my cruiser’s damaged. It’ll be some time before it's repaired. Don’t even talk about the smaller boats. At least Roberts’ boat didn’t sink. This crisis is putting me out of business.” Tom explained worried.

  “There are four boats so far? I only know of the one the men took to search for the missing child.”

  Andrew stopped at the trash can and dumped his cigarette bud.

  “Some kids came here early one morning and hired a small rowboat. I thought they wanted to catch fish, because they had all their gear. They weren’t out too far from the pier when I saw them swimming back. I didn’t think too much of it because I didn’t see what happened. I thought they were just cooling off, strange.”

  “Why did you think it's strange?”

  “I didn’t see the boat and all the kids swam back. They looked frightened and shaken up the minute they left the water. They were breathless and scared more than the swim tired them out.” Tom explained.

  “What happened to them, did they say?” Andrew asked holding his breath.

  “I first had to calm them down, couldn’t understand a word they were saying. They told me the boat tipped over and they didn’t even bother to safe their gear. They just needed to get out of the water fast. While they were swimming back they felt like something was chasing them.”

  “And the other two boats you mentioned?”

  “That’s the strangest. I lost the two m
oored boats because the one sank some distance away and I couldn’t recover it. The other one, well I don’t know what happened, when I found it, let’s just say it’s destroyed. This happened about three weeks ago. I reported it to Sheriff Parker, but I never heard anything about it again. I thought it might’ve been the strong winds we had around that time, or kids messing around. Well I had to write them off as lost.”

  “How’s the cruiser damaged?” Andrew asked.

  Tom seemed distant in thought. “What do you mean?”

  “You said the youngsters brought it back damaged.”

  “I normally check all my boats when they come back. When I checked the cruiser water filtered through the hull, not much about three inches. I took it out of the water and saw large scratch marks and a few dents in the keel. I can’t imagine the boat rammed a sandbank or rocks under the water. The scratches’ deep and long enough that water filters through.”

  “Do we have a sandbank in the lake? I’m under the impression the lake’s deep.”

  “It's deep enough. We don’t even have large enough rocks under the water to cause that damage. There are large rocks at the rock face, but they’re too deep. I don’t think even if the youngsters were that close, they wouldn’t be able to do damage to that extent. There was nothing wrong when it left, yet the cruiser came back with knocks and scratches that I don’t know how it could’ve happened. The damage’s impossible on this lake.” Tom assured.

  “What did the scratches look like? Can you describe them?”

  “It looks like someone took an ice claw and a sledgehammer to do some bodywork to the keel.” Tom sounded a little angry.

  Andrew looked at him hard. “A claw…?”

  It looked like something metal or hard scratched in one stroke, making them even in length and in-depth. It's too strange to understand.” Tom turned to the water. “I’m telling you sheriff, there is something here and I don’t think it’s going away soon. It's something that wants no one else in the lake. Something’s defending its territory.”

  “Claw’s used on the cruiser and Dillon. What weapon could possibly make these scratches?” Andrew whispered softly. “Thanks Tom.”

  Andrew felt his skin crawled. He remained at the edge of the pier while Tom started back to his office. A few steps away Tom stopped and turned back to Andrew.

  “I just remembered something else.” Tom started.

  Andrew turned to Tom. “Is there some damage you forgot to mention?”

  “No, yesterday after everyone left the reeds, Sheriff Parker was standing between the reeds. He was looking at the lake like he knew there’s something wrong. I was busy hooking up the boat and pulling it out when I heard Sheriff Parker screaming. It sounded like he was so scared that he could hardly breathe. I’ve never seen or heard him like that. It took me by surprise. I dropped everything and ran into the reeds to help him?” Tom recalled.

  “What was he screaming at?” Andrew asked.

  “It looked like someone was dragging him into the lake. I grabbed him and pulled him back to the bank before he reached deeper water. Whatever had him let go and disappeared into the lake. I couldn’t see what it was, it moved too quickly.”

  “What did Sheriff Parker say?”

  “He said it's nothing. He tried to convince me that he only slipped and lost his balance, but I know it was more than that.”

  “Thanks Tom.”

  Andrew turned back to the lake for a brief moment and followed Tom back to the parking lot. Passing Andrew’s vehicle ahead of him, Tom turned to Andrew.

  “Someone’s looking for you. Your radio’s screaming.” Tom called loudly.

  Andrew lifted his hand and ran to the driver side. He unlocked the door and grabbed the radio. “Go ahead.”

  Yvonne’s voice cracked to life. “Sheriff could you go to the hospital, we had a report that Dillon Adams woke up.”

  *~*~*

  *VII*

  Andrew arrived at the nurses’ station. A nurse was sitting at the computer completing paperwork.

  “I believe Dillon Adams’s awake.”

  “I’ll page Dr. Scotts. He’d like to talk to you before you speak to Mr. Adams.” The nurse said and called over the intercom. “He’ll be with you shortly.”

  Andrew thanked the nurse and walked to the vending machine and got a packet of skillets. He leaned against the wall waiting. Nothing happened in the corridors.

  Phillip came from the nurses’ station. “Thanks for coming. I don’t know how long he’ll be awake. He’s slightly delirious and was mumbling about ghosts. His injuries have taken a turn for the worse. We’re trying to battle an infection, probably caused by the water from the lake or the weapon used was dirty. His fever’s slightly high, but you wanted to speak to him as soon as he woke up.”

  “Thank you. I won’t be too long, I promise. I just need to clear up a point or two.”

  “I wouldn’t like you to put too much pressure on him.”

  “I won’t. Can I go in alone?” Andrew agreed.

  “Sure. I’ve got rounds to do.”

  Phillip walked away and tapped a chart against his leg.

  Andrew walked into a single room. A nurse was attending to Dillon, injecting medication into his drip and reading his temperature and blood pressure.

  The room was small. A single bed was next to a large window fitted with blinds. A TV mounted in the corner facing the bed. A lone chair stood against a lightly decorated wall. A table stretched over the bed holding untouched supper. Mash potatoes, vegetables and a small portion of grilled chicken. The plate covered with cling wrap collected little droplets of water on the inside. A side dish of jelly and custard completed the meal.

  Andrew turned to the nurse. “How’s he doing nurse?”

  “He’s doing fine.”

  Clearly her shift was too long and the patients difficult. She collected her items and left.

  Dillon looked up at Andrew, but it seemed he didn’t recognize him. Andrew pulled the chair closer and dumped the empty skillet packet into the bin. For a moment silence remained between the two men. After a short meaningless conversation Andrew steered the conversation to the night before.

  Dillon’s face drained color and he became jittery as fear gripped him. He was about as skinny as his son. Stubble dotted his boney face.

  Dillon spoke in a hoarse, cracking voice. “It’s difficult to explain. I wish I can tell you the reason, but I don’t know. Christ, if I don’t know better I’ve thought my time had come. I’ve thought I had done something unimaginable.” Dillon started.

  “What happened, I spoke to Edwin but he didn’t say much, except that a ghost attacked you.”

  “Six boats left the pier last night. We were heading for the rock face but soon we’re separated from the others, something isolated us.” Dillon fell silent.

  Andrew wrote down every word. “Did you see anything unusual?”

  “No, it was more like currents that held us back. We tried to catch up to the other boats, but the harder we rowed the further we fell behind.”

  “Why didn’t you call out or shine your flashlights?” Andrew asked.

  “We did. With the rain and wind I guess they just didn’t hear us. It didn’t take long before the other boats were too far ahead.”

  “What happened next?”

  “The first blow came suddenly and unexpected, knocking the oars out of my hands. The boat started to rock from side to side. There’s a hard knock under the boat that caused water to seep through.”

  “Didn’t you see another boat or something? I mean whoever attacked you had to cross the water somehow.” Andrew asked confused.

  “Sheriff, no one else was on the water, it's more someone’s in the water. I’ve never felt as scared as this before, even more so I might lose my son. I was more trying to shield him because I couldn’t fight off the attack.”

  “What happened then, I mean could you remember a weapon if any?’

  “I’m thrown around like a
n old rag and beaten that I can no longer defend myself or my son. Edwin was screaming and used his oars to defend me. I’m pushed down into the bottom of the boat hard that I lost consciousness. I don’t know what happened next. The next thing I knew I woke up here.” Dillon fell silent again.

  “Do you remember anything else?”

  “It's so uncalled for. I did nothing to her. I was under the impression she had left town. What happened to her?”

  Andrew felt frustrated. “Who are you talking about, the person who attacked you?”

  “Yes, Janet left town didn’t she?” He asked and looked at Andrew confused.

  “What does this have to do with Janet? What are you telling me?”

  “Well I think it was Janet. She looked like her, sounded like her. She has a child the same age as Janet’s, there’s something different?” Dillon yawned.

  “You think that it's Janet who attacked you?”

  Andrew looked up at Dillon. He seemed tired but he still recalled the events.

  “Yes.” Dillon admitted softly.

  “There’s no way Janet could’ve done this. The last I heard she’s left town, what could’ve been different?”

  “She was dead. She was so angry, I mean her ghost was. She kept asking why we did it. Because we did it, she would take us to the bottom of the lake.”

  Andrew whispered. “What makes you so sure it’s Janet?”

  “I know, or at least knew Janet well. I’m telling you, something happened to her and her son. They never left town, they’re in the lake.”

  “What did she accuse you of doing?”

  “For killing her and her son I suppose.” Dillon fell quiet and yawned again.

  “It's insane. If they’re in the lake why did Sheriff Parker think they left town? It couldn’t be Janet. She spoke to him on the phone this morning. I heard him saying he’ll be with them shortly.” Andrew admitted.

  “I’m so sure it's Janet. I can stake my son’s and my life on it.”