Whispers in the Dark (7 page)

“Kylie Hafford.”

She beamed. “The archaeologist. I wasn’t expecting such a cute young thing.”

She obviously meant well, so I just smiled and said, “I’m older than I look.”

“Stay to dinner.” She took my arm to lead me to the table, as if the matter were settled. When I hesitated, she said, “We always have plenty.”

I glanced at the grill and gaped at the huge number of hot dogs, probably two dozen. I never ate hot dogs at home, but they smelled heavenly and my stomach demanded food now. “All right. Thank you.”

I tried to think of something else to say, but Lily didn’t need much help. “We like this job because we get to meet people. We travel around the country, staying for a month or a few at different sites. It’s a great way to see places and meet new people. And it’s cheap! Some of the popular sites are booked up years in advance, but we like the small ones anyway, don’t we, Robert?”

He didn’t bother to answer, and she didn’t wait. “We’ve been here six weeks. It’s getting a little warm now, but—” She broke off and waved. “Come on in! Don’t be afraid, this is just our new friend, Kylie.”

More company? I turned to see two children, maybe ages three and six, hovering at the edge of the trees. I thought they were both boys, though with their shaggy hair and dirty faces it was hard to tell. Lily pulled out hot dog buns and squirted them with ketchup and mustard, then jumped up and hurried to the grill. Robert placed hot dogs in the buns without glancing in the direction of the children.

Lily carried the hot dogs to the kids, who hadn’t moved. “You want to take some to your folks?” she asked. The older boy shook his head, his suspicious gaze still on me. He took the hot dogs and led his little brother back into the trees. They hadn’t said a word.

Lily sat down with a sigh. “Poor little mites. At least we know they’re getting fed.”

“Who are they?”

“Their parents have the last campsite back in that corner. Out of work—I got that much from the mother, though she’s a mousy little thing and almost as quiet as her boys. They haven’t paid their campground fee in a couple of weeks, but we haven’t had the heart to say anything.”

“But why are they here?”

Lily shrugged. “Too proud to go to a shelter, I suppose. It’s quiet here this time of year.”

I guessed that was the man I’d seen the morning before, but Lily changed the subject, talking about the other people in the campground. Some she barely knew, if they’d just arrived, though it sounded like she did her best to get a full family history of everyone. I had assumed the campground would be impersonal, a group of strangers only loosely tied by proximity, like an apartment building where you nodded to your neighbors in passing but didn’t know their names. Instead I’d stumbled into an odd little community.

Of course, it didn’t take long for Lily’s curiosity to turn on me.

I answered her questions about school and my research without hesitation. She surprised me into admitting that I had been engaged, but that it’d ended six months ago.

“So you don’t have a young man waiting for you back in Boston?” she asked.

“No, no one is waiting for me. Anywhere.”

Lily gave me a significant look. “So you’re free, if a nice young man should happen to come along out here.”

I was trying to think how to answer when her husband spoke for almost the first time. “Don’t mind her. She likes to meddle. It’s, what do you call it, living vicariously.”

Lily burst into low guffaws worthy of Santa Claus.

I smiled and decided that was a good time to take my leave. “I don’t mind. But I’d better head back to my own campsite. Thanks for dinner.” I slid off the bench.

“Oh, don’t run away,” Lily said. “You must get bored and lonely over there by yourself, and you can’t tell me it’s bedtime yet.”

It didn’t feel like bedtime, and I already knew how challenging it was trying to read in the light of a small battery-powered lantern while lying in my sleeping bag. But I’d had all the company I could take for one day. “I’m going to go to the visitors center and do some work. I got a late start today. But thanks again!”

Once I’d had the idea, I liked it. I could fill my evening and make up for slacking off earlier. I’d have light and a comfortable chair. I could take a look at the slides I’d prepared at the storehouses and see whether I was getting anything of interest. That would help me target the next day’s work.

Darkness had fallen by the time I gathered my microscope and slides plus the paperwork I needed to finish. I held the box of equipment awkwardly in one arm so I could carry a flashlight in my other hand and took the path through the woods. When I got to the parking lot, I glanced up. Stars seemed to be blinking on, more every few seconds. I turned off my flashlight and watched until a kind of vertigo made me sway. Our planet really was just a speck in the universe. But what a universe it was!

The night breeze caressed my face. The wind shook the trees, making the forest sound alive. But the sound didn’t frighten me the way a single rustling in a bush did. The trees were not my enemies. An owl hooted, a lonely sound that sent a thrill rippling up my spine. I could almost hear the canyon calling me, whispering of mystery and romance. This wasn’t an opportunity to pass up.

I left the box by the door and walked to the canyon, entranced by the night. I wouldn’t be foolish enough to go exploring, but I wanted to stand on the rim and let the atmosphere soak in. I paused several feet back from the rim and let the night air wash over me as I listened to the breeze whisper in the trees.

Or was it the breeze? It sounded like human voices, faint and ghostly. But I didn’t believe in ghosts. It had to be something else.

I studied the darkness, straining my ears to locate the sound. A light flicked on a hundred yards away. It moved briefly and I could see the outline of a crumbled wall. Somebody was in one of the ruins.

I took a few steps forward and then stopped. I should do something, but what? If I really was hearing voices, that suggested at least two people. It was probably just some kids exploring or one of those crystal worshipers Danesh had mentioned. But what if it wasn’t someone so harmless? I couldn’t imagine what thieves would be doing here, where everything valuable and portable had already been removed, but I knew some sites attracted bandits and they could be armed and dangerous.

I didn’t want to confront strangers alone. Danesh and Jerry were long gone and miles away. The old couple at the host site was supposed to keep an eye on things at night, but I didn’t want to drag them into something potentially dangerous. I didn’t know anyone else in the campground.

I could get closer and start waving my light around and calling out to try to scare them, but that might backfire. If they were kids, they might try to escape down the canyon, where they could get hurt. I could wait and try to get a look at them when they left, but the wind was already raising goosebumps on my skin, and I’d foolishly neglected to bring a sweater. I’d be fine when moving, but standing around in the cold night air did not appeal. And if I went back to my campsite for another layer, chances were they’d have moved on before I returned.

I watched for another minute and then reluctantly decided it might be better to do nothing. A confrontation could lead to injury, and I didn’t have the authority to do more than scold them anyway. I sighed and turned back toward the visitors center.

I let myself in and flicked on the lights, then carried my box of equipment to the counter. The two small windows here were black squares. No need for heavy curtains to keep out the glare of streetlights. But if someone looked in, they’d be able to see me and I probably wouldn’t be able to see them. A gust of wind rattled the windows. The floor creaked when I shifted my weight. And yet the building seemed too quiet. I was still more at home with the rumble of traffic and voices outside my window.

“There’s no need to get jumpy.” My voice sounded strange, but I kept speaking aloud. “Your anxiety is just a reaction to triggers. It’s all right to be afraid, but that doesn’t mean you are really in danger.” The now-familiar calming technique helped settle me. I couldn’t always control my emotions or my body’s sensations, but I could control my behavior. The old “mind over matter” worked—sometimes—once you’d had training.

I could more easily convince myself I was safe if I made sure I was protected, so I crossed the room and locked the front door. Then I went into the back room and fixed a cup of tea, trying to clear my mind by focusing closely on that mundane task. Finally I settled down to work.

As always, the work helped. I quickly got so caught up that I forgot everything except what I saw through the microscope.

Something jolted me back to awareness. I lifted my head and listened. What had I heard?

Probably nothing. Normal night sounds. They just weren’t normal to me.

Or maybe whoever had been in the ruin was leaving. A glance at the clock showed me that over an hour had passed, which seemed a long time for anyone to be poking around in ruins, but if it was them, maybe I could get a look. I went to one of the small windows and looked out, but with the glare from the inside light and the darkness outside, I couldn’t see much. I crossed to the door and hesitated. Should I stick my head out and check? Or stay safely inside?

My hand hovered over the door handle. I couldn’t hide away forever. Sometimes you have to face your fears.

Pounding rattled the door. I jumped back with a gasp.

A voice outside yelled, “Help! Let us in!”

Chapter 8

“Damn it! Kylie!” The voice was low and rough, that of a man—or Lily West.

I fumbled for the door handle and pulled open the door. Lily pushed past me, dragging someone behind her. “Close the door,” she said between gasping breaths.

I closed and locked it, then turned to stare at the little group huddled in the center of the room—Lily, holding the younger boy from dinner, and a thin woman clutching the hand of the older child. The children stared with enormous eyes but didn’t move or make a sound. Soft sobbing came from the woman.

“The phone,” Lily said. “Call 911.”

I crossed to the counter. “What’s happened? Is someone hurt?”

“Not yet,” Lily said. “We need the police.”

My hand shook as I dialed, and I clutched the receiver so hard my fingers hurt. I heard myself give my name and our location as if listening to someone else from a distance.

Someone pounded on the door. We all jumped, and the woman screamed.

Outside, a man yelled and swore, demanding to be let in.

“Robert was trying to slow him down,” Lily said. “Oh God, Robert—” She looked gray, and I hoped she wasn’t going to faint with the child still in her arms.

“You’d better send an ambulance, too,” I said into the phone. “Yes, I’ll stay on the line.” I put my hand over the receiver. “Lily. Lily!”

She slowly turned her head to look at me.

“Take them into the back room. Make some tea. There might be cocoa for the children.”

She took a deep breath and gave a little shake, then nodded briskly and headed for the back room. “Come on.” The other woman trailed after her, dragging the older boy. He glared at me as he passed, as if this were somehow my fault, or maybe he just didn’t like a stranger seeing his family’s problems.

The pounding on the door stopped. I waited, darting glances between the windows. Would he try them next?

Something slammed against the door with an astounding crash. I gasped and dropped the phone. He must have either thrown himself against the door or tried to kick it down. It held, but for how long?

I looked around for anything to brace the door. I grabbed a rack of brochures and wedged it under the door handle, but I didn’t think the flimsy wire would do much good. I needed a weapon. I ran back to the counter and searched the shelves underneath. Brochures, papers, office supplies, T-shirts. I got down on hands and knees and ducked my head under the bottom shelf to check the back corners. Nothing more dangerous than a heavy book or a ballpoint pen.

The man crashed against the door again. I jerked back, cracking my head on the underside of the counter.

I rubbed my head as I stood and darted to the back room. The thin woman and the children were huddled on the couch. Lily stood solidly in the middle of the room, holding a toilet plunger like a baseball bat. I let out a half hysterical gasp.

“It’s the best thing I could find,” Lily said.

Another crash was followed by the tinkle of shattered glass hitting the floor. I whipped around and looked into the front room. A face loomed at one of the windows and I shied back. “How big is this guy?” I asked.

Lily stepped up beside me. “Too big to get through one of those windows.”

I nodded but closed the door between the rooms, just in case.

“You got the police?” Lily asked.

“Yes. Damn! The phone.” It still lay on the counter, and I didn’t want to go back to the other room. “It doesn’t matter. They know we’re here and we’re in trouble. And they’re probably listening to that.” I bobbed my head toward the door and the sounds of the man’s curses.

“It’ll take time,” Lily murmured, too soft for the others to hear.