“You can’t watch the game. Go.”
Cassie puffed out her bottom lip and headed for the stairs. Daniel came into the house, carrying his own load of groceries. He kicked the door shut behind him.
“Why are you so upset?” he asked. “I’m sorry that I didn’t help you, but I didn’t know.”
“Of course you can say that now. You’ve been sitting on your butt for hours!” she accused.
“You weren’t even gone for half an hour!”
Mary sat down on the couch with a thud and turned the TV off. “What’d you eat for dinner? I didn’t make anything.”
“I don’t know? I don’t think I ate anything.”
“Did you go out?” She jumped up again. “I bet you went out with your friends! Drinking again? I thought you-”
“What are you talking about Mary? I would've told you if-”
“Don’t lie to me,” Mary sniffled. She sat down again and hugged herself on the couch. “I know you went somewhere. You had to-”
“Mary, please listen! I would never do that and lie to you. I was here the entire time, thinking about Hardy and all that and the case. I didn’t go anywhere. You can go look at the car, or get the keys, or do anything you can and it’ll prove I didn’t leave here. Ask the neighbors. Anything. You weren’t even gone long enough for me to get to town and back. I just wasn’t hungry.”
“What are you talking about?”
He shook his head. “Mary, it was only a half hour!”
She stared at him worriedly. “I… I’m sorry. But, Daniel, I wasn’t gone for half an hour.”
“Yeah, you were. You just left and-”
“No,” she interrupted. “I was gone for almost three.”
“I only remember the half hour after I turned the game on.”
Mary looked at him curiously. “The game was on when we left.”
There was silence around them as they each tried to register the scene. The darkness outside seemed to be creeping in.
“Have things seemed different since we talked about the case a couple weeks ago?” Mary asked him, her cheeks getting red. “Like… changed?”
“Yeah, they have. But I don’t know why. All we did was talk about her. We must… Mary, what’s wrong?”
She’d started shivering uncontrollably, and Daniel tentatively put an arm around her quickly. “What is it, Mary?”
“I… started looking into her. I searched on the internet about Hardy and the woman, and I started asking around town. I found a lot of stuff.”
He frowned at her. “And you freaked yourself out?”
She nodded, with tears in her eyes. “I haven’t slept at all, and I’m so scared. Just…”
For the next twenty minutes, Daniel sat comforting her on their living room couch. By the time he was done, they clambered up their stairs to bed. Mary laid down quietly, and Daniel held onto her hand and kissed her, then he went back downstairs to shut off the lights.
When he dismounted the final step, he felt a cold breeze in the air and looked over to see that the front door was standing ajar. He shut it, assuming he didn’t close it all the way earlier. He shut off the lights, one by one, until the entire house was pitch black.
Outside, there was only the streetlamp, and the dark figure slowly walking away from their house.
Daniel turned off the bedroom light. He checked on Cassie, and she was still asleep. But things were missing. Little things, small things, but things which said a lot and told a story. There were small items gone from their house. Some pictures, a coffee mug, school albums. Anything that could be useful to the lady outside.
Daniel didn't see it yet, but She had them in her grasp.
Chapter 2
Mania
(2013)
Eight years after that fearful few weeks, nothing had happened to Daniel or his family. Much had changed in their lives, but that month-long stretch of terror was forgotten. They lived in the same house, had a similar routine, and hardly ever talked about Daniel’s past in Hardy.
He and Mary were happy. As were their kids.
It was a normal day when big news struck the family. Daniel was in the living room once again, watching a basketball game this time with #5 Louisville against Virginia. He was sitting on the couch, more rigid with each passing day, wearing a look of indifference that fifty year old men sometimes do. Daniel’s hair was nearly all gray, but his eyes and smile were just as vibrant as the day Mary first met him.
“Honey…” she called from upstairs.
Daniel turned in his seat. “What is it?”
The wood stairs creaked, footsteps descended, and then Mary appeared, holding her hands behind her back. Mary’s hair was still a golden brown, and her eyes were more cheerful than ever on this occasion. She was clearly younger than her husband by a couple years, and hadn’t yet experienced the constant back pain or crumbling knees that he did.
“So you remember… New Year’s? Last month?” Her mouth twitched as she held back a smile, and her throat constricted as she tried not to show her tears.
“Yeah, I do.” He smirked at the memory of it. “But so what?”
“Well… I know we never talked about it, and I didn’t even think it was possible, but-”
“Mary, what is it?” he asked a little more forcefully.
“Daniel…” Her eyes filled with tears and she grinned like a giddy schoolgirl. “I’m pregnant!”
Half an hour later, they were curled up on the couch drinking from wine glasses. Mary’s tears were gone now, replaced by a feeling of overwhelming joy. Daniel was amazed, and a bit nervous.
As they sat talking on the couch, the sky outside grew slowly darker. Cars zoomed past on the road that seemed busier every day, and children passed their house on the sidewalk, staying as far away as possible. The birds avoided their roof and never nested in their trees; the insects scampered away from the dark presence hanging over the home. It had never left. It had only been ignored.
“How do I raise another kid?” Daniel asked, his speech slurred a bit. “I’m… almost 50 years old. I can’t be a dad again.”
“You’ll do exactly like you did with the other two,” Mary assured him. “You’ll be great. You always have been.”
“This is a good thing, isn’t it?”
Mary nodded. “Of course it is.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Daniel grinned. “What could be bad about having a baby?”
“We did always want three kids,” Mary reminded him. “We agreed on that as soon as we got married.”
“Speaking of kids, where are the other two?” Daniel asked. “Lucy-”
“Is spending the night at a friend’s house. And Cassie is out with her friends for the evening.” Mary sighed. “You really should listen better.”
“Sorry, sorry. My mind’s been getting worse and worse the last couple years.”
She hugged him quickly, wrapping both arms around Daniel and holding him fast. “I love you so much. I’m so happy we’re having another one.”
He hugged her back just as tightly. “Me too.”
“This is your last chance to raise the next Peyton Manning.” Mary hit him in the shoulder playfully.
“And if it’s a girl?”
She shrugged, holding his hand. “Even better for me. You’ll be stuck with all girls still.”
They stayed on the couch for another hour, until both of them were woozy and the wine bottle was almost gone. Daniel stored everything back in the kitchen while Mary climbed the stairs to their bed.
As Daniel walked back into the living room, he saw a car pull up in the driveway. Cassie got out of it, dressed in clothes that no 17-year-old girl could ever wear when he was that age. She hopped out, a big smile on her face, and was followed by not another teenage girl but a boy. They hugged, she kissed him on the cheek, and then she headed for the house.
Daniel’s mind was too blurry to feel any solid emotion, but he came the closest to anger. He mounted the stairs wit
hout turning the lights off. Just as he reached his bedroom, he heard the door open from below.
“Did you know Cassie has been hanging out with and kissing on some boy?” Daniel asked his wife when he got into bed, lying on his back as stiff as a board.
“Who? Cassie? No, I don’t know.”
“She never even told us.” Daniel folded his arms. “Never-”
“Daniel, shhh.” Mary grabbed the back of his head and kissed him. “Just come to bed. It’ll be alright.”
He sighed and focused on her. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Mary wrapped herself around him. “So much.”
<><><> <><> <>
“Dad, I need to tell you something…”
Cassie looked across the table at her father, twisting her hair nervously. Mom and Lucy were upstairs, picking out clothes for church. Cassie was already dressed and ready, eating breakfast at the table opposite her dad.
“Yeah?” Daniel grunted.
“Well, um, Sharon has this cousin- You know Sharon, right? Yeah, well, she has this cousin and he’s a guy named Tyler. And he’s been staying at her house for a while, because he’s looking for a job and all that. So when me and her hung out a week ago, he came with her and I got to talking to him and a couple days ago-”
“You wanna go out with him?” Daniel asked.
She nodded quickly. “Very much. He’s just-”
“I wanna meet him first,” he said. “And then I’ll decide how he is.”
“So… so that’s a maybe, though?” Cassie asked tentatively. “Like, really a maybe?”
“Really a maybe,” he said, his mouth a shadow of a smile. “But I don’t want you going anywhere with Tyler until I decide. If you’re with Sharon and he’s there, then okay. But not by yourselves.”
“Thank you!” she said gleefully. “I really… thank you.”
He nodded without a word, and focused on his bagel.
“I was thinking maybe… if you get to know him well enough… maybe he could go on a vacation with us sometime? I mean we won’t sleep in the same room or anything, but like he could stay somewhere with us? Or he could stay in a hotel.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Go on vacation with us?”
“Just if you like him, and you get to know him enough. I’m sure you’ll trust him.”
He stared at her. “Don’t push it, Cassie.”
“Okay, okay. Sorry.” She stood up and headed for the sink. Turning her back on the table, she grinned. That was a maybe.
<><><> <><> <>
“Such sad stories on the news,” Mary commented, leaning her head on Daniel’s shoulder. “A murder and a shooting back-to-back.”
“Makes me glad I’m not a policeman anymore,” Daniel sighed. “I’d hate to have to deal with all that. The sheer scrutiny they’re under nowadays.”
The living room around them was dark as they watched the last commercial flick on the TV. Cassie was upstairs, probably on the phone, and Lucy was in bed. So now they cuddled on the couch, holding each other before they retired for the night.
“Maybe the next story will be more positive.” Mary yawned. “And if not, maybe I’ll go to bed.”
Daniel leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
The male news anchor sat at his desk, beside a tanned, blonde woman. He had dark, cropped hair and an emotionless face. Despite the tone of voice he used -the chauvinistic, dramatic kind- he came across as plain.
“Tonight,” he began in a bold tone, “we have yet another missing child’s case in Florida. Over the past three months, there have been nearly a dozen children gone missing. Police are baffled by an odd pattern: every child has gone missing on their fifth birthday. While they can’t say whether or not it’s the work of a serial kidnapper, they are asking anybody with any information to please call the number at the bottom of your screen.”
Mary frowned at the television. “They’re asking people way up here to call? We’re nowhere close to Florida!”
“That means the police suspect something more,” Daniel said. “And it must be something big, if they’re asking up here.”
“Kind of like that Hardy case you had.”
“Let’s not go back over that,” he asked. “I still don’t like thinking about the last time we did.”
“Okay, okay. Sorry.”
The news story flashed off the screen, and Daniel turned it off with the remote. “Ready for bed?”
“Yeah.”
He led her up the stairs, watching anxiously for any sign that she was scared again. They got to the top of the landing without any incident.
“Do you ever feel like you’re being watched?” she asked him.
“Don’t say things like that, Mary. It’s all okay. I promise.”
“Okay,” she said.
They went into the bedroom. Daniel plopped onto the bed, sighing. She hunched over and closed the curtains, keeping her eyes shut as she did. Whatever was outside, it was not meant to be seen.
Chapter 3
Home
(2015)
Their minivan bumbled along the highway, a state road full of potholes that led them into no-man’s land. All around them, the trees and fields seemed like a desert of their own kind, with the occasional house placed to have dominion over the land. There were crops for every home, and almost always a barn to boot.
Daniel kept his eyes on the road, trying to avoid the holes. Mary was gazing out at the land, wondering about what life in the country would be like as opposed to their city home hours away.
“Mom, Emma’s waking up,” Cassie said from behind them. “She might be hungry.”
“Okay,” Mary said. She reached into her bag full of the baby supplies and pulled out a baby bottle, full of water. Grabbing the can of formula, she scooped some out and mixed it in. “Give her this for now. I’ll feed her when we get there.”
“Are we there yet?” Lucy called from the backseat.
“No, not yet,” Daniel answered. He sighed. “Just half an hour more, maybe. I don’t remember exactly.”
“Now I can see why you left this place,” Cassie mumbled. “It’s a total dump.”
She looked to her side, where Tyler was asleep with his head leaning back. Cassie got butterflies every time she glanced at him, a feeling that built up inside. If not for the baby seat between them, she would lay on his shoulder and sleep too. Just the fact that he was coming with them on vacation sent her over the moon.
“Did he not sleep last night?” Daniel asked with a touch of annoyance.
“We were texting until one. I don’t know when he went to bed. He said he was too excited to sleep,” Cassie added proudly.
Daniel rolled his eyes and his wife smiled at him. From the mirror overhead, they saw Cassie put her earbuds back in and turn the music up on her phone.
“What’cha listening to?” Daniel called back to her.
“Stuff’” was the reply.
Shaking his head, Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but shut it. Inaudible mumbles, and then he clinched his jaw tight.
“It’s nice that they’re excited,” Mary said to her husband. “Don’t you think?”
“I don’t know why anybody would be excited to go to Hardy.”
“Aren’t you excited?” she asked. “To help the department on a case again? I mean they specifically asked for your expertise. Don’t be so grumpy.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” He tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel, turning it slightly to avoid a deep, jagged hole. “Thing is, I don’t remember there being any consultants called in to Hardy or Marcy. The police station in Hardy was just a small room where cops sat around with donuts. The real work was done in Marcy, but even then we weren’t big. So unless the town’s boomed in the last 20 years, I don’t know what all this is about. Seems sketchy to me.”
“A lot can happen in 20 years.”
He nodded with a half-mocking smile. “We’re a shining example of that.”
�
��Even if this is some prank, we can still make a vacation out of it,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to go to a small river town.”
“In a little bit, you’ll get your wish. If it is a stupid prank, don’t you wanna go somewhere a bit nicer, though? Even if we’re talking river towns, Hardy isn’t very nice. Nor is Marcy.”
“What’s up with all these -ee names?”
They rode in silence for the next ten minutes, Mary commenting every so often on the trees or the houses. Daniel would either answer her question, agree, or keep silent. At last, they made a sharp turn and the country highway merged with a much nicer, freshly paved road.
To their left, there was a sprawling, massive cornfield that was all too familiar. To their right, Daniel could see the forest that had haunted his dreams. Behind them was safety, ahead of them was bad memories. And still he drove forwards, keeping silent as everything washed over his brain like trash from the ocean.
Ahead of them, a sign read “Welcome to Hardy!” with a flattering picture of the Ohio River view from somewhere in town. A little farther up the road, he passed the street where Michael had lived, and to the right was the main part of town. The road continued up ahead to Marcy, but he turned right, towards the center of Hardy.
“Are we there yet?” Lucy asked from the back seat.
“Yes, honey,” Mary answered.
Daniel mumbled to himself, “Maybe we never left.”
Emma began to cry.
<><><> <><> <>
“I’m sorry, Mr. Daniel, but we never placed a call to your home, nor did we ask for your services here.” The secretary peered at him from over the top of her glasses. Her fingers were drumming on the desk, impatient to get rid of him.
“You have to give me something,” he pleaded. “Me and my family just drove six hours to get here! With a baby!”
Her lips curved at the edges. “I don’t know, sir. All I know is we never called you for your expertise on anything.” She shrugged, still holding that grin. “If you’re interested in helping the police department, perhaps you could leave a donation-”
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