Wasp Canyon

by Danielle McCrory

  Moser’s shoulder ached where he had been bitten so many years ago, although teeth had not touched his flesh in over five decades. He expected much more aching before the night was through. He hoped that, come the morning of August 18th, he would still be able to say that teeth had not touched his flesh. It was full dark now, and he had waited long enough. Not just for tonight, but for his whole life. Forty-nine years was a long time to hold onto a childhood fear. And it was an even longer time for a grown man—one who had sworn to protect the people, no less—to cower in the corner when what those people needed protecting from had long claws and sharp teeth.

  Moser stood abruptly from the table. His chair scratched across the floor and nearly toppled over in the process. The clatter caused Lynette to look up from the sink, a soapy dish in one hand and a sponge in the other. Neither spoke, and the sound of running water filled the silence.

  “There’s somewhere I have to be tonight,” Moser said finally. “Someone from the case I’m working needs my help.”

  “Oh, yes, of course,” Lynette said, her voice sounding soft against the sound of the running faucet. “Will you be gone long?”

  “I sure as hell hope not,” Moser said as he strapped his holster onto his belt. “But you don’t need to wait up for me. I’m not sure how long this is going to take.”

  “You be careful now, Carl. You know how I worry.” Lynette gave him a light kiss on the cheek as he passed by her in the kitchen, on his way to the garage.

  “You got it, babe,” Moser said, and gave her a wink. A kiss and a wink—that was their goodbye tradition. Only this time when Moser looked at his wife, he didn’t see her usual parting smile as she bid him farewell. Moser recognized the look immediately—twenty-eight years of marriage could make you attuned to such things. And even though Lynnette’s expression was subtle and lasted only a moment—and she would deny it was ever noticeable in the first place—Moser saw the look of pride that touched his wife’s face as he walked out the door.

  Chapter 49

  “It’s dark as shit in here right now,” Claire said in a harsh whisper. She was breathing heavily, standing in the foyer next to Jessica.

  “Claire, we knew it was going to be dark in here,” Jessica said, sounding much calmer than her friend. “We just need to let our eyes adjust.”

  They stood in the foyer, the house silent as a tomb. Even in the darkness, Jessica could sense a large, open space beyond the foyer.

  “Claire, you need to stop hyperventilating. We’re gonna be fine.”

  “You sure that detective isn’t going to come and help us? Or arrest us?”

  “I doubt it. I hoped he would help us, but I guess not. He probably doesn’t even think we would actually go through with this.”

  “Yeah, I’m kinda surprised we got this far myself,” Claire said.

  Jessica felt along the front door, wanting to double check that it was locked. It was. She turned away from the door and looked at Claire, who was becoming clearer as Jessica’s eyes adapted to the dimness of the house. Claire looked worried.

  “We’re not burglars, Claire,” Jessica said. “We’re here to help people.”

  Claire looked at Jessica and chewed at one of her fingernails. Jessica could see a glimmer of moonlight reflected in her wide eyes. She looked up. A large skylight was cut into the vaulted ceiling above them. Cold, white moonlight splashed across the high walls of the foyer. A long, thin table went along one wall, with a large vase in the center. Wilted, white flowers were in the vase, a few still reaching up toward the skylight. The moon made the flowers appear blue.

  Beyond Claire, Jessica could now see that the foyer opened up to a very large room that made up the center of the house. A great room, that’s what they call them, she thought. The living room was sunken, with three steps leading down from the foyer into the sitting area. Low, modern-looking couches and chairs faced a gigantic square coffee table in the center of the room. A fireplace stood on the left-hand side, and the right side opened up to an equally impressive kitchen. A shimmering counter sat atop a kitchen island that was easily the size of a car. Shimmering? Jessica thought, and looked above her. Multiple skylights were cut into the vaulted ceiling of the great room as well, moonlight casting through them and causing the granite countertop to sparkle. Moonlight was also filtering in from the wall of windows that made up the entire northeastern-facing side of the great room. The sunrise must be spectacular in here, she thought.

  Jessica took a few steps forward, passing Claire to get a better look at the fireplace. Her eyes struggled to make out the dark shape hanging on the bricks high above the hearth. It was narrow and roughly three feet long. “Geez, is that a gun? Hanging over the fireplace?”

  Claire was still behind her, her voice coming from somewhere in the foyer. Jessica assumed she was also checking to make sure the front door was locked. “Of course he had a gun,” she said, preoccupied with the door. “He’s from Texas, remember?”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  “You think it’s loaded?” Claire called.

  Jessica thought of Cameron, smiling in the sunshine as he told her to always be prepared. For anything life might throw at’cha, he had said. “Yeah,” Jessica said, “I’m pretty sure it is.”

  “You think we might need it?” Claire asked.

  “I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that,” Jessica murmured, staring at the dark shape mounted over the fireplace. She turned her gaze to the wall of windows which stretched two-stories high thanks to the vaulted ceiling. Beyond the wall of glass, Jessica could make out a large patio surrounded by a low, stucco wall. Beyond the wall, the Santa Catalinas were visible in the moonlight. She felt a lump form in her throat at the sight of the mountains. It must be running through the desert at this very moment, she thought. Heading right for us.

  Claire came up beside her, startling Jessica when their shoulders brushed against each other. They stood side by side in the dark and took in the expanse of the great room. “Holy begeezus,” Claire whispered, “your friend Cameron must have been a gazillionaire. Look at this place. Even the ceiling is made out of glass.”

  Jessica looked to either side of them. A long, wide hallway went in both directions, leading to two different wings of the house. The floors were white marble. He really was a gazillionaire, she thought. Jessica pictured Cameron in the great room, enjoying one glorious sunrise after the other. He’ll never get to experience another sunrise, she thought. And if we aren’t careful, we might not get to see another one either.

  Jessica looked back at the mountains and her stomach fluttered. She wanted to still be around when the sun rose—Claire and her both. “We need to get set up. I don’t know when it is going to show up and I want to be ready.”

  “You sure it’s going to come tonight?” Claire asked.

  “I hope so. Out of all the attacks I researched, they always seemed to come five or six days apart. So that means tonight or tomorrow.”

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hope it comes tonight. I don’t want to do this again tomorrow,” Claire said.

  “Amen, sister friend.”

  Jessica’s CAM boot clunked on the marble floor of the foyer. When she reached the steps going down into the great room the marble switched to carpeting and her footsteps softened on the plush carpet. They made their way down the few steps into the living room. As if on cue, the patio lights turned on. Claire jumped and clamped her hand on Jessica’s shoulder. The great room was flooded with warm, golden light.

  “What the—is it the cops?” Claire asked.

  “No, it’s just the landscape lights. I’m sure he has them on a timer or something,” Jessica whispered.

  Ground lights spanned the perimeter of the yard, each one made of beautifully crackled glass. The warm glow lit the low wall and surrounding yard. A large cobblestone patio was on the opposite side of the wall of glass, with a metal fire pit in the center and comfortable-looking patio couches and chairs surrou
nding it. Jessica could see the valley lights of the city off to the right. Present situation aside, this must be a wonderful place to sit out and enjoy the fire and a glass of wine, she thought. She felt a pang of jealousy, quickly followed by guilt when she remembered what happened to Cameron.

  “And explain to me again how we know your mythical beast won’t know we’re here,” Claire said.

  “It’s not a mythical beast, Claire. It’s a chupacabra.”

  “Right. So explain to me again how this chupacabra will think that nobody is home.”

  “Because the lights are off.”

  Claire stiffened under the warm glow. “Because the lights are off?” She threw a hand toward the wall of windows. “Do those look off to you?”

  “I mean the indoor lights. All the other houses had the lights on inside.”

  “Jessica!” Claire exclaimed. “You are basing our lives on the assumption that it will think the house is empty because the inside lights are off?”

  “Claire, what—”

  “Do you know what assuming does? With the asses and you and me.” Claire gestured rapidly at the two of them.

  Jessica sighed. “What are you getting at?”

  “That assuming makes you and me an ass! We don’t know if it will think we are home or not just based on the inside lights being off. What about the people back in 1987? Some of them were woken up in the middle of the night when they heard it banging around. They were asleep. I’m sure all of their house lights were off when they first heard it.”

  “But they probably turned the lights on when they got up,” Jessica argued. “Those houses were also really close together. Some of them even shared backyards. I’m sure some of the houses had lights on inside, and when it started banging around, whoever went outside first, that’s who it attacked.” She shrugged. “From what I read, it bangs around until someone turns on a light and comes outside. If no one turns on a light or goes outside, it moves on to the next house.”

  “What about the final house—the family of four? No one went outside then.”

  “That doesn’t mean they didn’t turn on a light inside when they heard it banging around. They probably turned on the lights to go check on the children.”

  “You’re assuming again.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. If you don’t want to stay, I underst—”

  “Hell no!” Claire exclaimed. “It’s completely dark outside now. There’s no fucking way I’m going back out there until morning,” she said, gesturing toward the front door. “Let’s just hope you’re right about the damn lights.”

  “If it attacked every house it came across there wouldn’t have been anyone left in that entire neighborhood,” Jessica said. “That’s why it attacked those certain houses. Someone came outside to check, or they turned lights on inside. And we aren’t going to do that.”

  “What about those lights?” Claire asked, pointing to the crackled glass twinkling outside near the stucco wall.

  “A lot of houses have outdoor lighting. That other neighborhood even had street lights.” Jessica grabbed Claire’s shoulders to get her to stop gaping out at the patio. “Claire, we will not turn on any inside lights. And we will absolutely not go outside. After banging around with no results it will give up and move on. And this actually works in our favor,” Jessica pointed to the lit patio, “because now I will get much better video of the thing.”

  Claire sighed, defeated. “So now what?”

  “We get into position. Let's get behind that couch there.” Jessica pointed to the couch that was closest to the glass wall, facing the foyer. They made their way around the other furniture and got down to their knees in front of the couch. Jessica peered around the right side, making sure she had a good view of the patio. Claire did the same on the left side. They returned to the center of the couch and sat down, legs crossed and facing each other.

  “Ok, here we go,” Jessica said. “I’m going to take the video; you’re going to take pictures. Make sure your flash is off.”

  Claire pulled out her phone, pressed a couple buttons, then nodded. “No flash.”

  “Ok, good. So you will peek around from that side, and I’ll do this side. When it shows up, do not get up and do not make any noise. We will film and take pictures until it moves on. Then I will call Moser and say we have the proof he needs. And you will call 911 and tell them the McElroy’s are in danger and they need to get the hell over there.”

  “Jessica?” Claire asked. Neither had realized it but they were holding hands. “What if it goes straight to the McElroy’s?”

  Jessica didn’t respond, although her grip on Claire’s hands tightened. Finally she said, “Let’s pray that doesn’t happen.”

  They squeezed each other’s hands once more and let go. They got onto their hands and knees and crawled to their designated sides of the white sofa. The white carpet felt plush and velvety on Jessica’s healing palms as she crawled into place. She lowered herself to her stomach and peered around the side of the sofa at the wall of glass, camera phone at the ready. The patio was empty, the only movement coming from a palo verde tree that occasionally rustled with the breeze.

  “Jessica?” Claire whispered from the opposite side of the sofa.

  “Yeah?”

  “What do you think the monsoons have to do with it? I mean, why does it only come out during monsoon season? And not just any monsoon season, but only a crazy El Niño one like this one.”

  Jessica lay in the dark, feeling the luxurious carpet against her stomach. She watched the patio for signs of movement. After a pause, she whispered, “I don’t really know. I couldn’t find anything about that in my research. Hell, I didn’t even make the connection about the monsoons until Howie told me about the attacks in ‘87.” They lay in silence for a while. “I guess it has something to do with the water. I mean, that has to be it, right? All the water in the canyon brings it out of hibernation?”

  “I guess so,” Claire whispered from her side of the couch. “I just find it hard to believe it can hibernate for years without food.”

  “There were never any animals around the canyon when I went running. Maybe it ate those first.”

  “Yeah, maybe. It still doesn’t explain why only a heavy monsoon season brings it out of the canyon, though.” Silence took over the great room, then Claire added, “You’d think it would want to stay in the dark where it was safe.”

  “That’s why it only attacks neighborhoods near the mountains. It has to get back to the canyon before sunrise.”

  Claire sighed. “I know. I just wish I knew what it was about the monsoons. If it hadn’t rained so much this summer, would we even be here right now?”

  Jessica laughed quietly. “We would probably be at Lindy’s working on our third beer.”

  Claire groaned. “Oh don’t tease me.”

  Time crawled by. Jessica started to feel drowsy as the adrenaline gave way to fatigue. She glanced at her QuikFit, the screen saying it was 8:42. Right around the time Cuthbertson and Arlington were attacked, if the newspapers were correct. So where was it?

  Jessica was beginning to fear that Claire was right—that the chupacabra wasn’t coming at all tonight or it might already be at the McElroy house. Then she heard a thud as something on the left side of the patio fell over.

  Chapter 50

  Moser didn’t live nearly as close to Wasp Canyon as the Cleary’s did. He cursed himself for not leaving sooner, pressing his foot down on the gas pedal as he sped down Carson Avenue. How long had it been dark now? An hour? Stupid old man with stupid childish fears. I should have been there at sundown. I should have helped her break in, for Christ’s sake. If she’s even there at all.

  He blasted through an intersection, looking at the signal as he shot underneath. There was no denying that one—he had just run a red light. He scanned his rearview mirror, looking for headlights to peel out behind him and turn on their top lights. And here he was, being scared of the damn cops, when he was a damn
cop. He slowed his speed, thought better of it, and then pressed his foot down again. He had to get there, and fast.

  Maybe it won’t come tonight. Maybe it hasn’t been long enough since the last attack. It did get two people last time, it might still be full. Full from what, Moser didn’t know. It’s not like it ate the bodies. Chupacabra does mean goat-sucker—they named it that because it sucked the blood of those farm animals. Moser’s stomach dropped. That’s it! That’s what it does. It drinks the victim’s blood and moves on. We thought the victims were low on blood because of their wounds. But it drank it all. That’s where the blood went—it drank it. All of it.

  Moser moaned, feeling his insides clench down into a cramp of nausea and fear. He thought of the congealing butter on his dinner plate, grateful he had not eaten much of anything. He was queasy enough as it was.

  Maybe it won’t come tonight, he thought again. He’ll get to the Jasper house in fifteen minutes—maybe less. He’ll stake out the place with Jessica for a little while longer, and then they will throw in the towel and go home. And he can pat himself on the back for trying.

  That’s right, maybe it won’t come tonight. The pit in Moser’s stomach did not abate despite his wishful thinking. Instead, it continued to worsen, growing heavier and harder to ignore with each passing moment. Perhaps it was because, deep down, he knew it was already there.

  Chapter 51

  Jessica felt an icy chill slide down her back, vertebra by vertebra. She held her breath, afraid that even breathing would give away her position. Jessica heard a small gasp on the other side of the couch, then nothing but silence. She tightened her grip on her phone, the camera app loaded and ready to record.

  The silence stretched out, seeming to go on endlessly on the other side of the glass. She strained to hear movement out there—to hear anything. The plush carpet now felt rough under her stomach and her shoulders ached from her hunched position, but she didn’t dare move.