by Blythe Baker
But not until I had the chance to talk to the man first.
10
I knew that Greg wanted answers. I knew that Becca and Megan, along with Tyler and Erin, wanted answers. I wanted answers, too. But I realized that poking my nose around in everything all in one day would do nothing but draw attention to myself and the situation. The police were handling it, investigating the whole thing. Aunt Candace told me that Sheriff Garland had stopped by that afternoon before I’d gotten back from work to check in on Annie’s friends, let them know that the autopsy for Annie was almost complete, and they’d know soon about her death, though it seemed drowning was the most likely answer.
To divert suspicious looks from other guests, I waited until the next morning to go and find Paul Chase.
Besides, I couldn’t exactly go and rent a bike or a canoe just as it was getting dark, could I?
It wasn’t unusual for me to spend my day off outside. Even if it was November, and the peaks of the mountains in the distance were already covered in snow, I was drawn to the forest and all it offered. Ever since I’d learned more about myself as a faery, as little as it was, I’d understood my reason for my lifelong love of the forest. My connection with the trees went deeper than a child’s fascination with nature. My heart and soul longed for it, the magic inside me revealing that to me, even at a young age.
“Hey, I’m going to go take a canoe out,” I said to Aunt Candace, who was serving breakfast in the dining room. I’d caught her just before she stepped inside.
She gave me a confused look, tilting her head. “Today? Isn’t it supposed to rain later?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s nice out now.”
“If you fall in, that water’s going to be freezing,” she said, shaking her head.
“I’ll be fine,” I said with a smile. “I’ll see you later.”
Athena agreed to come along with me, staying near the shadows along the base of the trees. She wanted to stay out of sight as much as possible.
Are you sure this is a good idea to question him by yourself? Athena asked. Shouldn’t we just have called Sheriff Garland like you said you were going to?
There’s something off about Annie’s death, I said as I walked down along the front of the Lodge toward where the small building near the lakeside sat, with racks of canoes stacked behind it. If any of the other deaths in Faerywood Falls have taught me anything, it’s that there’s always an aspect that Sheriff Garland can’t, or doesn’t, know about.
Something to do with the Gifted, you mean, Athena said.
Exactly, I said. If this guy’s Gifted, then maybe I can nab him now, and get this whole thing wrapped up. Those kids need to be able to go home so they can start to grieve the right way.
And you’re still thinking it wasn’t any of them? She asked.
I don’t know, I said. But they all mentioned this Paul guy. I need to see if he’s as much of a creep as they said he was.
I stepped up to the open window, chalkboard signs hanging on either side with prices of various activities for guests at the Lodge to partake in. Bikes cost twenty-five per hour, canoes fifteen, and snorkeling gear in the summer was a meager five dollars an hour.
I hoped that as Aunt Candace’s niece, I’d be able to get away with just taking one out. I’d forgotten my cash in my room.
“Hello?” I called, peering in through the window. There were more signs on the back wall with fun sayings like On Lake Time, and Time wasted at the lake is time well spent. My favorite one read; Last one in is a rotten egg! Old buoys were hung from the ceiling in one corner, and gave the small back room a bit of color. The back door was thrown open, the view of the lake beyond.
I’d seen a lot of people down here during the summer when guests were taking full advantage of the warm sun and water. It was a tremendously fun attraction for families who were looking to enjoy all that nature offered on their vacations.
I, however, had never come down here. I always wanted to let the guests have full pick. Bliss and Aunt Candace had their own bikes, their own kayaks…
But this was the only way I’d get a chance to talk to Mr. Chase.
“Hey, good morning,” came a voice.
Through another door, which appeared to be an office, stepped a tall, well-built man in his mid-forties. He was probably in better shape than most men half his age, with bulging biceps that stretched the hem of his shirt sleeves and protruding veins in his neck and forearms. He wore a big smile on his chiseled face, and kept a cleanly shaved face and short haircut.
“Oh, hey, Marianne, right?” he asked, his smile growing bigger as he stepped up to the counter.
“Yeah,” I said. “How’d you know that?”
“We haven’t been formally introduced yet,” he said, holding his hand out through the window. “Name’s Paul. Paul Chase.”
“Hi,” I said, taking his hand. His grip was incredibly strong, but he didn’t crush my knuckles like I feared he might. He just gave my hand a firm squeeze and dropped it. “Yeah, we haven’t met yet, have we?”
“We just keep missing each other is all,” he said with a wave of his hand. “No biggie, though. Your aunt pointed you out to me. It’s good to see that Candace still has family around. You know, since Bliss left and everything.”
My eyes narrowed somewhat. I didn’t think that was common knowledge yet…I thought.
Rumors spread easily among staff members like this, Athena said. You wouldn’t believe some of the things that Mrs. Warren and some of the other maids talk about.
“Yeah, I’m glad that I’m able to do that, too,” I said.
“So,” he said, leaning casually on the counter, his grin still firmly in place. “What brings you down here?”
“Well, I was hoping to take out a canoe,” I said.
“Really?” he asked, his smile widening. “You’re braver than most.”
I shrugged. “It’s a beautiful morning, and I thought I might as well take advantage of the fact that the lake hasn’t frozen over yet.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Well, you’re right about that. Probably within the next few weeks, we’ll start seeing some patches of ice forming. Just in time for the polar bear plunge!”
Those words tripped something in my mind. “Is that a popular thing this time of year?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, picking up a clipboard and scribbling something down on it. “Lots of people come and do it. Sometimes we have charity events for it, you know, make it a little more worthwhile.”
“What about folk coming in from out of town?” I asked. “Do you see a lot of people cliff jumping this time of year for the thrill of it?”
“Definitely,” he said. “Especially with younger crowds. They think it’s a riot. Well, come on, we’ll get you suited and booted. If you’re serious, that is.”
“Yeah,” I said.
He waved me around the back of the shack, and fell into step beside me as we walked toward the canoe racks.
“So, did you see any of those college students cliff jumping?” I asked.
Paul looked sideways at me, and I was surprised to see no glint of fear or guilt in his gaze. Either he was really good, or nothing had actually happened. There was, however, sadness. “Oh, you mean the group with the girl that drowned? It’s such a shame, isn’t it?” He shook his head as he reached up and grabbed onto an old, forest green canoe and yanked it seemingly effortlessly toward himself, the metal of the bottom of the boat scraping against the steel rack it rested on. “My daughter’s about her age. I can’t even imagine what her folks are going through right now.”
I watched the muscles in his arm bulge as he set the canoe down as gently as he could. “Did you get a chance to talk to any of them?” I asked.
He rested his hands on his hips and looked back up at me, sniffing through his nose, and shrugged. “A few times. Boy, that girl that died…she really looked like my Peggy. My daughter. It was uncanny, really.” He laughe
d nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. “She probably thought I was some weird old guy, telling her how much like my daughter she was. I mean, they have the same color hair, they’re the same height…from the back, I almost mistook her for Peggy.”
He turned and wandered back to the shack.
So was it possible that the girls just overreacted? I asked Athena. Because this guy seems totally harmless.
You think maybe they read his attention the wrong way? Athena asked.
Greg said that Annie had a tendency to attract the wrong kind of attention…but what if she just misinterpreted this guy? I asked.
Paul reappeared a moment later, lifting a long, worn oar out toward me. “Won’t get very far without this.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking it from him.
He stopped beside me, hands on his hips again. “That girl’s death really has you shaken up, doesn’t it?” he asked, looking down at me, his brow furrowed.
“Yeah…” I said. “I just wish they all knew what happened to her. That way they could have some peace about the whole thing.”
“Well, what’re you gonna do?” he asked, walking to the canoe, bending down and giving it a good shove toward the shoreline. “What’s done is done. And worrying for those kids isn’t going to bring her back, you know?”
That seems awfully heartless…I thought.
Is it, though? Athena asked. He’s right. Worrying isn’t going to bring her back.
Yeah, but is he just trying to throw me off the trail? I thought.
The tip of the canoe splashed into the lake, and Paul stood up straight, looking back at me. “You know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I know,” I said.
“Best thing you can do is just hug your loved ones a little tighter, you know? We just never know when something like that could happen. We should take advantage of the time we have with them,” he said.
I looked up at him, and he smiled at me. A genuine smile.
“You’re right,” I said.
“Alright, I won’t take up any more of your time,” he said, grabbing onto the back of the canoe. “Go ahead and hop in. I’ll keep it steady for you.”
I climbed into the canoe, the boat wobbling a little as I did. My heart fluttering, I grabbed onto the edge, and slowly lowered myself onto the seat.
“You good?” he asked as I tried to find my center of balance.
“I think so,” I said, dipping the oar draped across my lap into the water.
“Alright,” he said, giving the canoe a good shove.
It rocked a little as it floated further out into the water, and my heart jumped into my throat as I grasped onto the sides, waiting for it to steady itself.
“Have fun!” he said, waving to me from shore.
“Thanks,” I said, waving back. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Take all the time you want,” he said. “You’re probably the only person who’s going to take out a canoe today anyways!”
He probably wasn’t wrong about that.
The air was cool, but it wasn’t unpleasant. If anything, it helped to clear my mind.
I’d felt so bogged down by everything lately that just taking a moment to get away from it all felt like heaven. Like I could breathe again.
I can’t remember the last time I did this, I said to Athena, looking around at the beautiful trees around the wide expanse of the lake. Those closest to me had already begun to change from their deep, rich greens to shades of gold, crimson, and amber. They seemed to almost shimmer in the sun, almost as if they’d pulled in the very color of its warm light. At the far side of the lake, miles away from me, they all blended into one, beautiful color that seemed to go on forever, stretching all the way up to the sky, which was so brilliantly, clear blue today.
Try not to get too distracted, she reminded me. We still have a killer to find.
You’re right…I said, slowing my paddling, looking back over my shoulder.
Paul was tidying up some of the canoes on the racks near the shore, probably keeping an eye on me in case I tipped over like I felt like I was going to before.
He seems nice enough, I said, turning my canoe again and continuing on along through the water. I can’t make up my mind if there’s anything suspicious about him.
He claimed that Annie reminded him of his daughter, right? Athena asked. That might be enough for her to go off of, thinking he was just covering up his attraction.
That’s true, but he told me about it so easily…I thought. If he was involved in the murder, wouldn’t he have done everything to try and cover that up by not mentioning it at all in the first place?
Unless he is trying to divert suspicion by talking about it openly, she said.
Good point, I thought.
I paddled along toward the cliffs, which towered over me in the distance. They were wide and tall, and looked so much more menacing from down here than they had when I was standing up on top of them.
The steep slope upward from the lake shore was jarring, and even from down on the water, I could clearly see where the safer jumping place was; it was much more open, without any rocks in the water. It looked like a short jump from here.
But the cliffs overhead, the ones I’d fallen from…
I wonder if she hit her head on one of those rocks over there, I thought, paddling toward some of the boulders at the bottom of the cliffs.
A gust of wind slammed into me, making me gasp and latch onto the sides of the canoe for dear life, the oar clattering out of my hands and onto the floor of the boat.
Panting, I forced myself to remain still as the wind died down again, and the canoe stopped rocking back and forth so fiercely.
You okay? Athena asked.
Just a little nervous about my balance is all…I thought.
As I reached down for the oar again, the boat rocked again.
Except this time, it wasn’t the wind…and the whole thing tipped over.
The trepidation of falling gripped my insides as I slammed into the water. It was colder than I’d remembered it being. It clawed at me, stole the breath from my lungs as my head plunged beneath the waves.
I opened my eyes, panic filling me.
Marianne! Athena called in my mind, but it was like she was really far away, as if she yelled at me down a distant tunnel.
I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t focus enough.
All I wanted to do was get to the surface.
I spread out my arms and pushed myself up through the water, the glittering sunlight not all that far from me.
I broke through to the surface, my lips parting, and a gasping breath filled my lungs.
Just as I was about to sweep the water from my eyes, something closed around my ankle and dragged me down below the surface again.
The panic returned, causing me to expel that precious breath I’d just taken back out into the water, bubbles scattering away from me.
I scrambled at the water, my fingers slashing, trying in vain to find something to grab onto. I found nothing.
The grasping grip around my ankles squeezed harder, and tugged me downward again.
The light above me began to dim.
Help! Was all I could think.
Athena’s voice bounced around inside my mind, but it made no sense.
I looked down, my lungs screaming for a breath, but saw nothing but darkness.
I kicked out with my free leg, stomping on the thing wrapped around my ankle with as much force as I could muster.
The grip disappeared, and I would’ve cried out with relief if I’d been able to.
I kicked as hard as I could, paddling my arms upward, my veins singing for oxygen.
I surfaced once again, taking in gulps of air, drinking it in. Sputtering, I coughed so hard it felt like my lungs would come up.
I had to move. Whatever was down there likely wouldn’t want me to get away.
I saw my canoe, belly up, a short distance away. I needed to reach it.
I swam
as fast as I could, water dripping in my eyes, into my mouth, as I tried to reach the boat, panic gripping my heart with each stroke I made.
It was still down there. I had no idea what it was, but I didn’t really want to linger and find out.
I grabbed onto the slippery surface of the canoe, my hands sliding around as I tried to find something to grab onto. Nothing was there.
With a cry of fear, I tried as hard as I could to flip the canoe over. But it was too heavy, I couldn’t get it to budge.
“Hey!”
I whipped my head around, fear surging through me in a fresh wave, making my hands tremble as I gripped onto the boat as best I could.
The voice belonged to Paul Chase, who was paddling out in another canoe toward me.
I cried, “Please, hurry – there’s something down there – ”
“It’s alright,” he said, pushing his ore against the tide to slow himself. “Come on, get in here.”
He reached down into the water and grabbed onto my hand. He helped hoist me out of the water, and I collapsed into the bottom of his canoe, wheezing and sopping wet.
“What happened?” he asked, reaching out into the water and grabbing the end of my canoe, flipping it easily. “You look terrified.”
“I was just – sitting there – and – something tipped me over – ” I said between gasps of air. I’d never known air could feel so good.
“That doesn’t make sense,” he said. “You must’ve hit a rock or something – ”
“No,” I said fearfully, lifting my head up off the bottom of the boat. “Something grabbed me when I was in the water – pulled me down toward the bottom – ”
“Well, let’s get you back to shore,” Paul said, worry creasing his brow. “Don’t want you catching your death out here.”
We made it back to shore in just a few minutes. He helped me out, my legs so shaky I could barely stand upright.
Twice. That was twice now that I’d nearly been drowned in that lake.
“Here,” Paul said, throwing a towel he’d retrieved from the boat rental shack over my shoulders. “Let’s get you back up to the Lodge. You’ll need to get out of those wet clothes. Have your aunt make you some tea.”
