The Reservoir (22 page)

“Yeah,” she said, and coughed again.  “I couldn’t see very well, and was trying to feel around the shelf of rocks, when suddenly, a big rock was coming at my face.” 

“You must have been…”  Zack sighed.  “You must have been close to the body.”

Holly felt chills erupt on her wet skin.  “But we weren’t very deep,” she said.  “The girls were dumped in much deeper water.”

Zack shrugged.  “Maybe the killer changed his m.o.”

“Maybe,” Holly mused, and then nearly leapt out of her skin when Cassie appeared beside her.  Once again, Cassie’s face remained inches below the water.  And once again, Holly was struck by the girl’s beauty.  Bright sunlight sparkled on the water’s surface, illuminating Cassie’s eyes and perfect features.

“I’m sorry about Erick,” she signed.  “He saw you were getting close to his body and he got frightened.  He tried to scare you off with the rock.”

“Doesn’t he want to be found?” Zack asked.

She nodded.  “Yes, but like the rest of us, he doesn’t know who actually murdered him.  He never saw a face either.  He was simply … protecting himself.”

“We understand,” Holly assured her.  “Cassie, we were wondering why the killer would have changed his way of … doing things.  Why would he bury … Erick … in such shallow water, and the others in deeper water?”

She shook her head and shrugged.  “There was a mud slide here.”  She gestured toward the hillside, where an old logging road had given way.  Many of the upended trees were pointing toward the water.  “The slide created this shallow shelf,” she signed, “when the mud, rock, and other debris came down.  Maybe the killer expected the slide to worsen, and the bodies would eventually be covered up.  I … just don’t know.”

“So … you said there are two bodies here?” Zack reminded her.

She nodded.  “Lucy is here too.  She’s eight.”  Cassie looked down into the water and gestured.  Two little faces appeared beside her, one a boy with jet black hair, the other, a tiny girl with strawberry blond hair.  The boy held out a hand toward Holly, just breaching the surface.  The little hand suddenly began to disintegrate, falling back into the water like a rain shower.  The boy frowned and yanked what remained of his hand below the surface again, where it immediately took shape again.   

“Erick is sorry for trying to hit you,” Cassie told Holly.  “He wanted to shake your hand, only he hasn’t learned how to retain his form out of water yet.”

Holly felt a lump rise in her throat.  She felt like crying for the children.  She turned to Zack, who also looked at the children with a sympathetic frown.  “I want to hug them,” she murmured.

“I know,” he said sadly, watching the frightened, little faces beside Cassie.

“Cassie,” Holly said, “will they let us … bring their bodies up?”

Cassie looked to her left, and then to her right.  She nodded.  “I think so, well, as long as the others are found too,” she said.

“But what about you, Cassie?” Holly signed.  “Is your body under the bridge too?”

The girl shook her head.  “No.”

“Well, you have to tell us where to find you,” Holly said.  “So that you can leave this lake too.”

She shook her head and began signing.  “You don’t understand.  We can leave anytime—our spirits, that is.” 

Holly translated for Zack, who frowned.  “We
don’t
understand.  Why do you stay then?” Zack inquired.

“We made a pact,” Cassie told him.  “You see, the girls who were murdered before me, they were terrified of the water before I came, and are, frankly, still terrified of the water.  They can leave, but like me, don’t.”

“I’m really confused,” Holly said. 

Cassie began signing, and Holly translated for Zack again.  “The girls had decided that no one would leave until their killer was identified.  When I came along, I agreed with them that our murderer had to be found before any of us should leave this lake.  The difference between me and the others is—I love the water.  I assured them I would find a way to find our killer, so that they can finally leave.  Many of the girls have been here a very long time.”

“But you won’t leave?” Holly said, still confused.

“I’m not ready to go,” Cassie told her, and once again, Holly translated for Zack.  “My family comes up to this lake each summer.  I want to see them—be with them—as long as they continue coming.  When they stop, only then will I leave.”

“You’ll go into the light?” Zack said.

She nodded.  “Yes.  When my family stops coming, I’ll leave.  But…”

“Yes?” Holly prompted.

“If my body is found, they’ll never come back here again, and then…”

“You won’t be able to see them,” Zack said, understanding dawning.

Holly didn’t have the heart to tell her that once all the other bodies were found, Cassie’s parents would likely conclude Cassie had been murdered to, and might stop returning to the lake anyway.  She sighed loudly.  “Cassie, we believe your killer is the man who lived in the cabin before my stepfather bought it, but he’s…”

Cassie watched her, her pale eyes fixed on Holly’s face.  “Yes?”

“He’s dead.”

Cassie’s hands dropped into the water, their translucence taking on the greenish hue of the reservoir.  She met Holly’s eyes and raised a defeated hand.  “I…”

“Yes?” Holly prompted.

“I admit, I … wanted revenge.”

“What did she say?” Zack asked, and she told him.

“I can understand that,” he said, raking a hand through his hair.  “I can certainly understand that.”

“Zack, what do we do now?” Holly asked.

He turned to Cassie.  “Where is Lucy’s body?  Can we bring it up?”

“Give me a minute or two to talk to them, and then yes, we’ll bring the bodies up,” she signed.

***

Holly stood at the edge of the shelf, staring intently into the water, while Zack paced nearby.  It was a surreal experience, she decided, waiting for a ghost to appear to give the all-clear to bring the bodies of two small children to the surface. 

Cassie had asked for a moment to speak with the children, in order to assure them that Holly and Zack truly wanted to help them.  Before submerging into the water, Cassie had told them that like her, Erick had loved water and had adapted to his afterlife in the lake.  The little girl, Lucy, however, was petrified of water and had been before her death, as well.

“Do you think they’ll let us bring them up?” Zack asked.

Holly shrugged.  She suspected that if Erick was as stubborn as her own brother, they could be waiting for awhile.

“What’s taking so long?” Zack wondered aloud, breaking from his pacing.

Holly crossed the distance to him and took his hand.  She could understand his impatience.  What if they began pulling up the bodies and a boat showed up?  How were they going to explain the discovery of bodies to a boatload of people if they should suddenly appear, intent on doing some rock hunting along the shelf?  

Holly was as eager as Zack to contact the authorities, but wondered, whom should they call?  Kendall had told her about Deputy Donner taking a heavy-looking chain from John, the Search and Rescue guy.  And apparently the two men were currently patrolling the reservoir together.  If they made a call for help, it was likely these two men would be the first responders.  “This is awful,” Holly said aloud, the frustration evident in her voice.

“I know,” Zack said, and pulled her into an embrace.  They stood together for a long moment, Holly’s cheek pressed against his rock hard chest.  She pulled back slightly and attempted a smile.  “When this is over, I hope I still love the water as much as I used to.”

“You and me both,” he said, smiling into her eyes.

Their tender moment was interrupted by Cassie, breaking the water’s surface.  She hurriedly began signing.  “Erick agrees you can remove his body.  Lucy too, of course.”  She paused for several seconds.  “Lucy wants her mother to know where she is. She desperately misses her mom.”

Holly bit back a sob, forcing herself to hold steady.  Zack gave her a quick, shoring squeeze, and then strode to the water’s edge.  “Cassie,” he said, “if I need help, will you be able to give me a hand?  I know how strong you are.”

She nodded and began signing.  “Both bodies are wrapped in chains, and anchored, too.  Since it’s fairly shallow, the killer wasn’t taking any chances that the bodies might rise to the surface and be found.”

Zack turned to Holly for a translation, and then considered the information.  “Cassie, if you could get the bodies close to the surface, Holly and I can pull them onto the rock shelf.”

Holly gave him a quick, startled look, but didn’t object.  Of course, she had to help him.  In spite of the fact that the prospect of touching a dead body sent shivers up her arms, and made her quake with fear, she would do what needed to be done.  She glanced heavenward, hoping for strength.

“Are we good, Holly?” Zack asked, noticing the sickly expression on her face.

“I’m … good,” she assured him.  “You?”

He nodded in response.

Cassie nodded as well, and then dove into the water.  Soon, she appeared with a tiny body, which was clearly Lucy’s.  The little girl ghost hovered nearby, watching her body from a distance of several feet away.  Erick had a hold of it, as did Cassie.  They brought it close to the rock shelf. 

Zack bent down, grabbed a hold of a chain, and began pulling.  “Holly!”

She hurried forward and grabbed hold of a chain near the feet and began tugging with all her might.  The killer had done his best to assure the body would never be found, since he’d weighted it down with several rolls of chains.  A heavy anchor dangled from the mid-section, making it cumbersome and difficult to hold onto.  Zack realized that if the body hadn’t been so well wrapped in some sort of tarp, the skeleton would likely have broken into a million pieces.

“It’s too … heavy!” he groaned, and then fell back, simultaneously releasing his hold with a startled cry. 

Holly couldn’t sustain the weight alone and tumbled face first into the water, along with the chain-wrapped body.  Thankfully, Cassie grabbed a hold of her, preventing her from injuring herself.  Cassie pulled her to the surface, where Zack had risen and was about to jump into the water.  He grabbed a hold of Holly’s arms and pulled her out of the water and then against him in a hard hug.  “I’m so sorry,” he cried.  “Holly, I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay,” she told him, coughing.  “Zack, it’s okay.  I’m fine.”

The couple was so intent on the job at hand, they missed the sound of the boat motoring slowly toward them.  “What are you kids up to?” a man’s voice called out to them.

They turned at once, to the source of the voice.  It was Deputy Donner, along with the man they figured had to be John, the Search and Rescue guy Kendall had told Holly about.

“We need to get out of here,” Zack said beneath his breath.  “If they’re involved…”

“But what about Cassie?  What about the kids?”

“We’ll come back,” he said, moving toward the dinghy that was tied to a log.  “Let’s go.”

“Hey, hold up there!” the deputy called out.

“Let’s just get into the boat,” Zack said softly, and then loudly to the deputy called out, “We were just leaving!”

“Hold up there,” the deputy repeated.

“We have to go,” Holly called this time, trying to keep her voice neutral and normal.  “Our friends are waiting for us…  Um, have a nice day.”

 The couple jumped into the boat and Zack quickly started the motor.  They attempted to back away from the washout, but suddenly, they were stopped by the marine patrol boat blocking their escape.

Zack made eye contact with Deputy Donner, who was driving.  “Did you need something?”

“Yeah, I need you to park that boat again, and then I need you kids to get out and tell us what you just dumped into this reservoir.  And I need you to comply right now.”

The deputy had told Aaron to start from the beginning.  How could he do that? he wondered.  The
beginning
involved a ghost, and he knew he couldn’t very well attribute his indirect knowledge of the items to a spirit.  He glanced around the table at his friends. 

“Hey, son, look over here,” Deputy Hudson said.  “You need to start talking and you need to start right now.  You have items in your possession belonging to a missing girl.”  His eyes passed over the other items.  “And I can’t help wondering about the other items as well.”

The older cop picked up several of the items, studying each one with intensity, and then passing them to the younger cop.  Handbury seemed to hesitate to receive each item. 

Aaron took a deep breath and swallowed.  “Look,” he began, “David Gray, her stepdad, had apparently warned Holly about going near a shed he has out back, because it’s about ready to fall down…”

“I know the shed,” Hudson said.  “David mentioned to me he intends to demolish the thing, for fear it’s going to fall on someone’s head.  I’m surprised he hasn’t done it already.”

Aaron glanced at his friends with alarm.  The fact that Hudson had knowledge of that shed worried him.  “Yeah, well, my friends heard a loud noise coming from the shed earlier.  Someone had broken into it, so…”

“Who?”

Aaron sighed heavily.  He refused to tell the deputy that Thomas had broken into the shed.  It could have serious repercussions for the boy.  The last thing Thomas needed was a breaking and entering conviction on his record at the age of twelve.  “I don’t know who broke in,” he said finally.

The deputy gave a dismissive way.  “Okay, go on,” he prompted.

“Okay, well, we went inside to check it out.  We looked around, you know, and found…”

“What’d you find exactly?” the younger cop, Handbury, asked.

Aaron glanced at Niqui, remembering the strategically mutilated posters.  He pulled his eyes away from her and back to the cop.  “Look, we found posters of girls on cars…”

Hudson shrugged.  “Okay…?”

Aaron raked a hand through his hair and emitted a haggard sigh.

“Go on,” the younger cop prompted this time, his brows furrowed into a frown.

“The posters…  I mean, the women in the posters had been, well…”