The Reservoir (16 page)

“Where is everybody?” Holly wondered aloud. 

Zack shrugged.  “Who knows?”

They approached the bridge, noting the water level hadn’t changed in the short time they’d been away.  Zack easily steered the dinghy under the bridge and headed toward the eastern shore, in order to stay out of the way of any bigger boats that might come their way.  This was a popular area with skiers.

He had almost reached the shore and intended to straighten his course north, when suddenly, a fluid arm snaked out of the water and over the side of the boat.  The hand appeared to have a mind of its own, reading the shape and feel of the interior of the boat like a blind person reading Braille.

Zack’s throat tightened, and he barely managed to choke out a warning to Holly.  “Holly, it’s…”

Holly turned back his him, her bewildered eyes fastened on his face. 

“Holly, hold on!” he screamed.

“Wha—!” she cried, but didn’t have time to act.  She never saw the hand coming, even as it clamped onto her forearm and pulled her into the murky depths below.

Aaron shifted the shed door to the side and propped it against the face of the building.  The door was heavier than he’d expected, and it took some exertion on his part.  He knew Zack had done his best to put the door back on its hinges, but they were just too broken, and acquiring new hinges for the door was a low priority on his friend’s To-do list.    

“It’s bigger than it looks,” Aaron commented of the interior of the shed, and then turned to Niqui.  “Did you go inside before?”

She shook her head.  “Zack didn’t think it was safe.  He told the rest of us to stay outside.”

After a second visual appraisal of the building, Aaron conceded, “He’s probably right. It isn’t safe.”

That said, he cautiously stepped inside.   He gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, and then remarked aloud that someone should have thought to bring a flashlight.  He hesitated to go farther in, but Thomas strode blithely past him and into the dark building.  He flashed a tiny pen light in Aaron’s eyes as he passed.

“Come on!” Thomas said impatiently.  “I don’t want to stand around here all day.”

Aaron glanced at Niqui, who had yet to enter the shed.  He extended a hand to her, which she accepted.  She crossed the threshold, unable to prevent the shudder that rolled through her body. 

She and Aaron stood side by side, unsure what to do next.  Niqui suspected the place was filled with spiders, and other creepy, crawly things.  She couldn’t abide anything of the six or eight-legged variety.  Aaron felt the same way, but refrained from mentioning the fact to Niqui, for fear she might think he was a wimp.   

Both teens were immediately struck by the oppressive feel and smell of the building.  Had Zack noticed the horrible stench? Niqui wondered aloud.

Aaron shrugged.  “Don’t think he could have missed it,” he said, covering his nose briefly but realizing the effort would do no good.  “It smells like something died in here.”

Niqui gave him a startled glance.  “Don’t even think that…”  She glanced around, searching for the window.  She remembered Thomas mentioning that he had entered the shed through a window before, but that Holly’s stepdad had boarded it up.  Perhaps the subsequent lack of air flow accounted for the horrible smells. 

She spotted the window, near the back of the building.  It was tiny.  How had Thomas managed to squeeze through?  She became claustrophobic just thinking about it.

Niqui’s eyes panned the room.  She immediately spied the posters on the wall, depicting scantily clad women on cars.  She gave a snort of disgust.  “Why is it men always hang those nasty things on their walls?”  She turned to Aaron.  “Do you have those things hanging in your garage?”

He gave a sheepish smile.  “Uh, no.”

“Right,” Thomas muttered doubtfully.  “Come on, guys,” Thomas urged.  “Who cares about those stupid posters?”

“I give him a year-and-a-half…” Aaron muttered, and Niqui actually chuckled.

“No time for laughing,” Thomas declared.  “Aaron, come check out these anchors and chains in the back.  I bet if he’s trying to hide something, it’ll be back here somewhere.”

“If you say so,” Aaron muttered, high stepping his way to the back.  Before getting there, he paused to check out the tread on a tire about mid-way high in a stack that reached the ceiling.  “I could use this tire,” he said.  “Think anybody would mind if I took it?”

“Aaron!” Niqui scolded.  “Get on task, please.”

“Yeah, come on,” Thomas said tiredly.

Aaron finally reached Thomas in the back and stopped to peruse the anchors and chains.  He tried to lift one of the chains and could barely manage it.  “What the heck are these things for?” he wondered aloud.  “They’re like chains on steroids,” he muttered.

“Check out the anchors,” Thomas told him.  “They’re rusty and old, but really heavy too.”

“Don’t try to lift them, Thomas,” Niqui warned in a distracted voice.  “You could hurt yourself.”

Aaron glanced back at her.  She had moved closer to one of the posters and was studying it with a critical eye. 

“If that poster is so offensive, why are you staring at it?” Aaron called to her.

Niqui didn’t immediately respond.  She appeared mesmerized by that poster.

“Niqui!”

“Uh, yes, what?”

“Are you coming?” Aaron asked.

“Aaron, could you come here for a moment?”   

“Niqui, I’ve seen the stupid poster.  I’m over it, okay.”

“Aaron, please,” she persisted.

Aaron heard something in her voice.  He rose with a sigh.  “Thomas, keep looking around, okay?” 

“I’m coming too!” Thomas called to Niqui.       

“No!” Niqui said abruptly, and then her voice softened.  “Thomas, I need you to keep looking.  Like Zack said, you know this shed better than anyone.  If there’s something in here worth finding, you’ll be the one to do it.  We’re counting on you, buddy.”

Thomas beamed at the compliment.  “Okay, I’ll keep looking.”

Aaron made his way back to Niqui, arching his brows questioningly when he reached her.  “What’s up, Niq?” he asked, searching her face.

“Look at this poster.  Carefully,” she enunciated softly.

“Niq, I’ve seen it.”

“Look closely at her, um, chest and uh, private parts…”

He gave her a quizzical glance and called to Thomas.  “Hey, bud, can you toss me your light for just a minute?”

“Sure.”  He threw him the tiny flashlight, which Aaron managed to snatch out of the air.  He aimed it at the poster, to the specific regions Niqui had identified. 

Aaron’s eyes widened in surprise.  He turned to Niqui, nodding to indicate he’d seen what she was trying to show him.  Someone had taken a knife and made strategic slices on the poster.  The cuts were precisely located and there was no mistaking the evil intentions of whomever had done this.

Aaron gestured for Niqui to follow him and together they made their way to the other posters on the wall.  The women in all the posters were similarly mutilated. 

Aaron swallowed hard and reached for Niqui’s hand.  Suddenly, he didn’t want her near this poster.  He didn’t want her near this shed.  He didn’t want her on the bank of the reservoir.  Whoever had mutilated that poster was clearly a sick individual.    

He ventured another hesitant glance around him and spied another poster lying haphazardly on the floor.  He picked it up by the edge, holding it between two fingers.  It sickened him to think that whomever had killed Cassie might very well have touched this poster.  He studied it intently, as did Niqui beside him. 

“What is it, Aaron?” 

“Look at her throat,” he whispered.  “If Holly’s stepdad did this, he’s one sick puppy.” 

Niqui reached a trembling hand toward the image.  The girls’ throat had been slashed.  She gasped, reaching a shaky hand to her own throat in terror.  “Is that what he does to his victims?”

Aaron ran a hand through his hair and emitted a long, haggard sigh.  He shrugged helplessly, glancing off toward a wall, his brows furrowed in a frown.  Finally, he roused himself.  “Niq,” he said softly, in measured tones.  “I’ve seen this poster before.” 

She gave him a startled glance.  “You have?”

He clarified.  “Not
this
poster, but one exactly like it.  I remember it, because my older brother got it at a stock car race over in Portland.  It’s a limited edition—see, you can see it’s signed…”

Niqui watched him intently, as he in turn, continued to study the poster.  Some inner voice told him it was relevant, but he had no idea how or why. 

“Niqui,” he said softly, “maybe you should wait outside.”

She searched his eyes.  “Are you sure?”

He nodded, but as she stepped away, he grabbed her hand.  “No, wait.  Stay with us.” 

Suddenly, in his mind’s eye, he envisioned her alone outside.  What if the killer spotted her?  At this point, they could only speculate who the killer was.  Maybe it was David, but…  Maybe some psycho lived around here, and had broken into his shed.  Maybe David wasn’t even aware of the horrifying handiwork on the posters.  One had to be looking intently to notice the damage.  Maybe Cassie returned to the dock in front of this particular cabin because she was trying to point them to leads.  Maybe she was simply confused.

No, Aaron didn’t want Niqui out there without him.  The killer could easily snatch her up and he wouldn’t be the wiser.  Of course, he’d probably kill him and Thomas too, finding them rummaging around in the shed.  But alone, they were easing pickings.  Together, they might have a fighting chance.

Niqui gave him an assessing glance, apparently understanding his fears.  She nodded.   

“Stay close, Niq,” he said, and squeezed her hand.

“No worries there,” she assured him.    

He rejoined Thomas in the back of the shed.  The younger boy glanced up.  “What was up with the posters?” he asked.

“Nothing for you to worry about,” Aaron told him, smiling reassuringly. 

Suddenly, Niqui, who had made her way to the back, began to rub her arms briskly, as if she was cold.  It was hot in the shed.  Why did she feel so cold?  If she didn’t know better, she would have thought a ghost had entered the building.

Aaron noticed her rubbing her arms.  He could see she was spooked.  “Is it a … ghost?” he asked, glancing around.  He began to rub his arms too.

Thomas scoffed at the suggestion.  “The ghosts hang out in the water,” he said impatiently.  “There aren’t any ghosts in here.  What self-respecting ghost would hang out in here?”  He cocked his head to the side and continued.  “Have you seen some of the cabins on this lake?  They’re like mansions.  If I were a ghost, I’d be moving into one of
those
.”

Niqui laughed.  “You make a good point, Thomas.”

She moved around a bit, uncomfortable with the oppressive feeling that had settled over her shoulders like a wet, woolen blanket.  Suddenly, she said, “There are bad things in here.  Really bad.  I can feel it.”

Aaron, who had dropped to his knees to check out the weathered floor boards, glanced her way.  Had she seen something else she needed to show him.  “What do you feel, Niqui?”

She met his gaze head on.  “I feel darkness…”

“Makes sense,” he muttered with chagrin, “since it’s dark in here.”

“Are you making fun of me?” she asked, and he didn’t miss the hurt note in her voice.

He pinned her with a look, nodding almost imperceptibly toward Thomas.  Niqui understood.  He didn’t want her scaring the little boy. 

Thomas glanced first at Aaron, then Niqui, perceptibly discerning he was the reason Aaron wanted Niqui to guard her words.  “There’s nothing we’re going to see in here, or find in here, that’s going to shake me up,” he assured them.  “My big sister is a ghost, remember?”

Aaron conceded the point with a nod, and said for Niqui’s benefit, “Think happy thoughts and we’ll be out of here before you know it.”

“Yeah, sure,” she muttered, and then rejoined the search.

“Find anything, Tommy?” Aaron asked, turning his attention back to the boy.

Thomas’ head jerked up.  “Cassie always called me Tommy.” 

Aaron winced apologetically.  “Sorry, dude, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.”

“They weren’t bad,” he said quickly.  “I liked it when Cassie called me Tommy.  Mom and Dad always call me Thomas.  Not Tom, not Tommy, but Thomas.”  He swallowed hard.  “I like being called Tommy.”

Aaron reached over and clutched his shoulder, giving him a squeeze.  “Tommy it is then.  Have you found anything yet?”

The boy was attempting to lift a board that felt loose in one corner.  “I … can’t … get this board out,” he said from between clenched teeth.  “But it feels kind of loose.”

“Let me try,” Aaron offered, scooting closer and dropping to his knees.  He pulled a small knife from his front jean pocket and passed Thomas his light.  “Will you aim the light on it for me…?”    

Thomas shined the light where Aaron directed, as he stuck the knife blade between the two pieces of wood.  He wriggled it a bit and the board popped out.  Thomas shone the light into the resulting space, but they saw nothing inside. 

Thomas glanced up at Aaron, making a face.  “Should I stick my hand in and move it around and under the other boards?”

He shook his head.  “I’ll do it,” he murmured resignedly.

“Did you find anything?” Thomas asked eagerly, as Aaron felt around.

Aaron’s face crunched up in both fear and disgust as he groped around in the space.  “I feel something!” he said finally, and bent closer to the gap, trying to discern what his hand was touching.  Suddenly, he screamed!

“What is it?” Niqui and Thomas cried, in unison.  “Did something bite you?”

He yanked his hand out, his fingers deftly holding the withered body of a rat.  He tossed it away, not bothering to try to stop the shudder that rocked through him. 

“Why’d you touch that?” Thomas asked, his voice filled with disgust.

“I had to get it out of the way,” Aaron told him, swiping his hands against his jeans, his lips contorted in repulsion.  “Okay, shine the light in there again.”