Evil Whispers

by Goingback, Owl

  Janet watched her husband and Ross start in the direction of the footbridge before following Mary toward the restaurant/lounge, and bait and tackle shop. They looked around all of the buildings, even looked around the few vehicles parked in the parking lot, but didn’t find anything.

  They had just searched behind the bait and tackle shop when Mary turned and shone the flashlight at the wooden doghouse sitting beside the building. “That’s odd. Patch is also missing.”

  “Your dog’s gone?” Janet asked.

  Mary nodded. “That’s not like him. He doesn’t go out much at night, not since he lost his eye to that raccoon. He lost all of his wanderlust after the fight. He’s usually in his doghouse at night or sleeping on the front porch of our cabin. With all of this noise, I’m surprised we haven’t seen him. He’s the nosy sort, always comes around when he hears people.”

  “Maybe he’s with Krissy,” Janet suggested, hoping the dog was with her daughter to protect her. “She’s a dog lover, and she liked Patch an awful lot.”

  “Maybe.” Mary frowned, remembering how Patch had acted toward the little girl the other day. How he had growled at her, then backed away as if he were scared of her. He had acted funny, and Mary was suddenly worried that Patch might have something to do with Krissy’s disappearance. Come to think of it, she had not seen the dog all day. He was even absent at supper time, and Patch rarely missed a meal. The dog food she had put in his bowl earlier was still untouched.

  Mary turned away from the doghouse, the frown still upon her face. “I think we should search along the river.”

  They reached the river, searching around the boat ramp and canoe racks. Following the river south, they walked along its bank as far as possible before a thick growth of foliage stopped their progress. It was a bright night, a full moon hanging in the sky, so the river shown like a milky jewel. The full moon made it easier for them to search, illuminating areas that would have otherwise been dark.

  Not finding Krissy on the south side of the camp, they turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. Again, they followed the river as far as possible before being turned back by a thick growth of cypress trees that grew along the water’s edge.

  Janet was almost relieved that they had not found Krissy anywhere near the river. Though her daughter was still missing, Janet had been terrified that she would find her as part of an alligator’s dinner. Not only had she not found Krissy, she had not seen any alligators.

  They had just made it back to the boat ramp when they spotted Ross and Robert coming across the footbridge from the nature trail. “Did you have any luck?” Robert called.

  “No,” Janet answered, concerned that Krissy was not with her father. “How about you?”

  “No. Nothing,” He answered, approaching his wife. “We followed the trail all the way back to where the boardwalk is burned. I didn’t see much point in going any farther, because Krissy would have never gone that far.”

  Janet felt tears sting her eyes. She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t help it. The love of her life was missing, and they couldn’t find her. Krissy had to be somewhere, safe, but they just didn’t know where. Maybe the other men would find her. Maybe she had sneaked out to watch a baby raccoon, or something like that, and she was right behind the camp.

  Janet’s hopes that the other men would find her daughter were quickly dashed, however, when she spotted the two men walking their way. They were by themselves. No little girl was with them. No Krissy.

  “You find anything?” Ross called, already knowing the answer.

  One of the men shook his head. “No. Nothing. We looked all over, but didn’t see anything.”

  “Saw a raccoon, and two deer, but I guess that doesn’t help much,” said the other man. He was trying at levity in an attempt to lighten the mood, but his humor failed miserably.

  “Patch is also missing,” Janet said, remembering the empty doghouse. “Maybe they’re together.”

  “Patch is missing?” Ross asked.

  Mary nodded. “His doghouse is empty, and he hasn’t touched his food.”

  Ross rubbed his chin in thought. “Not like Patch to go off at night. Maybe he followed the girl.”

  “Maybe,” Mary repeated.

  Robert looked around at the others, then said, “Look, we’re not getting anywhere here. My daughter is still missing. I appreciate your help, but I think we need professional searchers out here. I think it’s time to call the police.”

  Ross nodded. “I think you’re right. We can call the Palmetto County Sheriff’s Department. They’ve got a helicopter that can search this area a lot better than we can, and a lot faster.” He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a set of keys. “There’s a phone in the bait and tackle shop. We can call from there.”

  Robert followed Ross, leaving the others to remain standing near the river. And though Janet was surrounded by other people, she suddenly felt alone and very frightened. She turned to face the river and the forest beyond. Somewhere in the darkness was her daughter.

  Krissy, where are you?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chaos descended upon Blackwater Fish Camp as two patrol cars from the Palmetto County Sheriff’s Department arrived in response to the emergency call placed by the Pattersons. They pulled into the parking lot with lights flashing, the brilliant blues bouncing off the surrounding buildings and trees.

  Robert stood in front of the bait and tackle shop, his arm around his wife’s shoulders. Mary stood with them, but Ross and the two fishermen had gone back into the forest to continue searching for Krissy. Two more men, anglers visiting from out of town, had gone with them, having been awakened from a sound sleep by all the shouting.

  From where he stood, Robert could hear the men calling his daughter’s name and suspected they were making their way down the nature trail. He wanted to join the search, but he knew that his wife needed his support. He also needed to be available to answer any questions the sheriff’s department might have to ask.

  The two patrol cars pulled to a stop not more than ten feet from where they stood, their lights still flashing, and three men climbed out. Anxious to find their daughter, Robert and Janet approached the officers as soon as they got out of their vehicles.

  “Good evening officers,” Robert said. “I’m Robert Patterson. This is my wife, Janet. We made the nine-one-one call. Our daughter is missing. Her name is Krissy. She’s ten.”

  One of the three men stepped forward and nodded. “I’m Sergeant Chris Andrews.” He opened a notebook and jotted down their names. “How long has your daughter been missing?”

  “I’m not sure,” Janet answered. “I tucked her into bed around eight-thirty. She doesn’t usually go to bed that early, but she said she was tired. And when I went to check on her she was gone.”

  “What time was that?” Sergeant Andrews asked.

  “It was a little after one.”

  The sergeant glanced at his watch. “You didn’t call right away?”

  “No, sir,” Robert answered. “We didn’t want to call until we looked around first. We found her bedroom window open, and the screen pushed out, and thought maybe she might have sneaked out.”

  “Does your daughter have a habit of sneaking out?”

  “No. Never,” Janet said. “Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

  The sergeant jotted down what she said. “Mrs. Patterson, what was your daughter wearing the last time you saw her?”

  “She was wearing her pajamas.”

  “Do you know if she’s still wearing them, or did she change clothes?”

  Janet paused for a moment. “I’m not sure. I never thought to look.”

  “If she changed clothes, then she probably wasn’t abducted,” Sergeant Andrews said. “It’s doubtful that a kidnapper would risk being caught by letting your daughter change clothes, knowing her parents were in the next room. I want to look around your cabin. We’ll also check to see if any of Krissy’s clot
hes are missing.”

  Grabbing a flashlight from his vehicle, the sergeant called the sheriff’s office to report his findings. He also instructed the two men with him to begin searching the forest immediately behind the cabins. He had just given instructions to the two deputies when a fire truck and a paramedic unit pulled into the parking lot.

  Though there was no fire, the emergency vehicles had been dispatched in case paramedics were needed on the scene. A missing child was taken seriously, especially in such a rural area. Even though the weather was warm, there was still a danger of exposure or injury. With a river in the area, drowning was also a serious consideration.

  No sooner had the two emergency vehicles pulled into the parking lot, than a white van also showed up. Painted on the side of the van were the words CHANNEL 6 NEWS.

  “A news crew?” Robert said out loud. “We didn’t call the media.”

  Sergeant Andrews turned to look at him. “Most of the news vans have police scanners. They probably heard the report and followed the fire truck out here. Must be a slow night for the media.” He smiled. “I’ll keep them away from you. Heck, I’ll give them a flashlight and make them help search. Don’t worry, we’ll find your daughter.”

  The sergeant left the Patterson’s to speak to the firemen who had just arrived. He also took time to speak to the reporter and cameraman who had climbed out of the news van. The reporter, a young woman, looked toward the Patterson’s and frowned, apparently unhappy that she was being told to stay away. Robert wanted to smile and wave, but didn’t, knowing that such actions would be considered an invitation to the press.

  The firemen and paramedics listened to what the sergeant had to say. Leaving one man behind to monitor the radio, they grabbed flashlights and started toward the forest. They obviously thought joining in the search was a better use of their time than standing around and waiting for someone else to find Krissy. Perhaps some of the men were fathers; maybe they even had children Krissy’s age.

  The reporter and cameraman didn’t offer to join in the search. Instead, they stood by their vehicle and watched everyone else. Perhaps they were worried that they might be in the wrong section of forest when the girl was found. Better to stay where they were so they could keep an eye on the comings and goings of the search crew, hoping to catch a tearful reunion between missing child and worried parents.

  Robert frowned when he saw the cameraman remove his video camera from the van and am it at the reporter. The woman reporter grabbed a microphone and stepped into the spotlight of the camera, taking a moment to straighten her clothes and fluff her hair. She was apparently about to do a live broadcast from the scene of the search.

  Robert wondered if what he saw around him was normal procedures, because everyone appeared to be jumping the gun. Police, firemen, paramedics, and a television crew for a girl who had only been missing a few hours. What if Krissy was only sleeping somewhere? What if she had been chasing a raccoon and would reappear any moment? Not much of a story in that. He was happy to have so much help so quickly, but he wondered if they did this for every missing child.

  Finished speaking with the emergency crews, Sergeant Andrews walked back over to where Robert and Janet stood. “The firemen are going to join in on the search, so it won’t be long before we find your daughter. The sheriff’s department is also sending a helicopter out this way to help search.

  “In the meantime, I would like to take a look at your daughter’s bedroom.”

  Robert and Janet led the sergeant back to their cabin, showing him Krissy’s bedroom. Sergeant Andrews examined the open window, then turned to look at the room. The covers on Krissy’s bed were made, as if she had not gone to bed.

  Approaching the bed, the sergeant asked, “Mrs. Patterson, you said that you tucked your daughter into bed earlier this evening?”

  “Yes, sir. Around eight o’clock.”

  “So, I’m assuming she was under the covers?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Does your daughter make her own bed in the morning?”

  “Sometimes she does, but not always. I usually have to help her.”

  “Well, it looks like she tried to make her own bed this time.” He pulled back the covers. Krissy’s pajamas were beneath the blankets.

  “Those are Krissy’s,” Robert said.

  Sergeant Andrews nodded. “It looks like she changed clothes, and made her bed, before leaving. That probably rules out an abduction.”

  Janet breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. But why would she sneak out? She’s never done anything like this before.”

  The sergeant turned to look at her. “You said your daughter went to bed early, around eight o’clock, and that was not her normal bedtime?”

  Janet shook her head. “No. We usually let her say up until nine. Later on weekends, holidays, and during the summer. This is our vacation, so she could have stayed up to midnight if she wanted. She went to bed early tonight because she didn’t want to be tired for the fishing trip tomorrow.”

  “Outside of going to bed early, was she acting odd in any way?”

  “How so?” Janet asked.

  The sergeant rubbed his chin. “Was she sad, or depressed, or upset?”

  “No. She was just tired,” answered Robert.

  “There is one thing,” Janet glanced quickly at her husband. “The other day Krissy told us that she had made a new friend: an invisible friend named Mansa.”

  Robert cleared his throat. “What my wife is trying to say is that Krissy now has herself a make-believe playmate. It’s worth mentioning, because it’s not at all like our daughter to have such a friend. Truthfully, I think it’s just a phase she’s going through, but you did ask if there was anything odd. And having an invisible friend named Mansa is definitely odd.”

  The sergeant nodded and wrote the name down in his notebook. “Invisible playmate named Mansa. Got it.”

  Sergeant Andrews looked around the room. “Okay. Listen. There’s not much else I can do in here. Not now anyway. I’m going to go back outside and help look for your daughter.”

  “We would like to help too,” Robert said. “I mean, if that’s okay.”

  The sergeant smiled. “Of course it’s okay. If it was my little girl, I would be out looking too. No way anyone could stop me.”

  Walking back across the fish camp, Robert saw that another patrol car had arrived on the scene. “I’m glad to see everyone’s taking this seriously.”

  Sergeant Andrews turned to him as they walked. “Missing children are taken very seriously around here.”

  “Why is that?” Robert asked, suddenly suspecting the sergeant wasn’t telling him everything.

  The sergeant stopped walking. “Because we lost a couple of kids in these woods over the years.”

  Janet stopped dead in her tracks. “What?”

  Sergeant Andrews looked at them a moment before speaking.” I didn’t want to mention this, because I didn’t want you any more upset than you already are, but a couple of kids have gotten lost in this forest and were never found.”

  “Lost?” Janet asked. “Are you sure?”

  The sergeant nodded. “Yes, ma’am. They wandered off at night, and we never found them. Not that we didn’t look. We turned these woods upside down, but never found anything. Not a trace.”

  “No wonder Ross told us not to let Krissy wander around in the woods by herself,” Robert said. “How many children were never found?”

  “Three that I know of: two boys and a girl.”

  “Were they local children, or tourists?”

  “The two boys were locals. They were on a overnight canoe trip and disappeared. We found the canoe, but not the boys.”

  “And the third?” Janet asked.

  “The little girl was a tourist. She was staying in one of the cabins with her parents.”

  “Like Krissy....”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Like your daughter.” Sergeant Andrews nodded. “Now, do you see why I didn’t want to
say anything?”

  “How long ago did this happen?” Robert asked.

  “The boys disappeared about fifteen years ago. The little girl about seven. I wasn’t living in this area when the two boys disappeared, but I helped search for the girl.”

  He nodded toward the rescue vehicles. “Some of these guys also helped look for the little girl, and they weren’t too happy about not finding her. It really got to them. That’s why so many are showing up now to help search. I can promise you that they will look behind every rock and tree to find your daughter. And they will find her.”

  He switched on his flashlight. “So, let’s say we give them a hand looking.”

  Robert and Janet chose a section of the forest to look for Krissy that wasn’t already being searched. They walked north of the camp until they were far enough away that they could barely hear the shouts of the men.

  He wondered if all the shouting was actually a good thing. Krissy could hear the men if she was anywhere close, but could they hear her? What if she had stepped in a hole and sprained her ankle and was now laying hurt somewhere? Would they be able to hear her if she cried out for help? With this thought in mind, Robert and Janet would call out their daughter’s name, and then stand quietly for a minute or two listening for a reply.

  They walked perhaps a mile north of the camp before turning east toward the river. Just to the south of them a helicopter circled low over the treetops, sweeping a spotlight slowly back and forth. The helicopter had flown over them a few minutes earlier, the spotlight bathing them and the surrounding trees in its white brilliance. Robert thought it might turn back to take another look at them, but it never did. Obviously the pilot could tell the difference between two grown adults and a little girl.

  Reaching the river, they reluctantly turned back toward the camp. They both wanted to keep going in the opposite direction, but knew that it would be foolish to do so by themselves. The forest was far too large for two people to search it effectively. Better to rejoin the others and search as a group, because then there would be less chance of walking past Krissy without seeing her.