Chapter 16
Dawn was breaking over the clearing, casting a pale gray light.
The dark-robed figure walked slowly toward the hollowed-out tree, a large canning jar in its hands.
Light filtered through the glass, highlighting its grisly contents—folds of human flesh looped in a pile and floating in a pool of fluid.
Thin tendrils of mist rippled across the floor of the clearing.
The figure moved purposefully, circling the tree, and a faint, sooty orange glow appeared through the fog.
The light began to grow brighter, pulsing as it coalesced into the shape of a circular seal.
Within its circumference were two interlocking serpents.
The dark figure ignored it and then continued past a second seal burning upon the frozen ground a few steps from the first. It finally stopped a couple of paces on from the second one and dropped to its knees on the hard, packed dirt.
The dirt rumbled and began to churn. Soil coiled upward, spilling over itself until it revealed a deep hole.
The figure placed the jar into the hole and watched as it sank into the ground.
The dark earth began to fold inwards, following the path of the jar until the ground was flat once again.
No sign remained that it had ever been disturbed except for a bright orange symbol that now burned alongside its two counterparts.
The figure watched as the three symbols pulsed and then began to dim.
The figure turned as its hand was suddenly nudged by a ball of matted fur.
The dead-looking creature peered up through red eyes.
Mangy fur hung from its skull in clumps, its ears were ragged, although upright and pointed, giving a vague Egyptian feel to the creature.
It sat on its skeletal haunches and looked up at its master.
The creature whined, a disturbing sound of pain and anger and loss.
“You will avenge your mate when the time is right.” The voice was an unearthly hiss upon the air. “Until then, protect the circle.”
The creature growled and stood; its mangy form undulated and began to fade, disappearing from view. Although it could no longer be seen by the naked eye, the ground sank as if pressed down by huge paws.
Seemingly satisfied, the figure turned and disappeared into the woods.
* * *
Olivia turned the crackling page carefully as she lay back against the sofa, her ankle propped on a pile of cushions.
Although the swelling had gone down over the past few days, it still ached.
Thanks to her Aunt Evie’s salve, the cuts and scrapes on her hands and feet had all but disappeared.
There remained only faint silvery lines that could barely be seen.
Theo wandered into the room, slowly sipping his coffee. He watched Olivia’s brow furrow as she pored over an ancient-looking leather-bound volume. Several other similar books were stacked on the floor next to the couch, some closed and some open at random pages.
He dropped down on the floor next to her, his gaze snagging on her sparkly pink-colored toenails in fascination.
“What are you reading?” he asked.
“A book on folklore,” she murmured.
He leaned over the page and frowned when he didn’t recognize any of the words. “What language is that?”
“Scandinavian,” she replied absentmindedly.
“You can read Scandinavian?” he asked.
“Enough to get by.” She frowned. “I’m better with Latin though.”
“Why are you reading a book on Scandinavian folklore?”
“This is why.” She smiled in triumph as she passed him the book. “Do you recognize it?”
He looked down at an illustration of a great black dog with a skeletal frame, matted mangy fur, and white eyes. “That’s the creature that attacked us the other night!” His eyes widened. “What is it?”
“It has many names. There are literally hundreds of references to it in English, Scandinavian, Norse, European, and American folklore. It’s known as a Grim, a black dog, a dip, a black shuck, even a bearer of death, but the most common translation is Hell hound.”
“A Hell hound?” Theo repeated slowly.
“Yeah,” she murmured as she stared at the picture.
“What would a Hell hound be doing in the woods?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” She shook her head. “There could be a dozen different reasons it was in the woods. Most of the mythologies say they are assigned to guard the entrances to the world of the dead, such as graveyards and burial grounds.”
“There were two bodies found in the woods. Could that have been enough to attract one?” Theo wondered aloud.
“I don’t see how.” Olivia frowned. “I mean, it was only two bodies. If that was enough to attract a hell hound, most graveyards and burial grounds would be crawling with them.”
“Yes, but didn’t Jake say both the bodies had been branded with some sort of seal?” Theo argued.
“You think it might be some sort of supernatural seal?” she mused.
“It’s a possibility.” Theo nodded toward the book she held. “What else does the lore say?”
“It says they often undertake other duties related to the afterlife, such as hunting lost souls. In European legends, seeing a Hell hound, or even hearing it, is supposed to be an omen or even a cause of death. But seeing as neither of us is dead yet, I’m going to guess it’s more likely some sort of protector of the supernatural. ”
The doorbell suddenly rang.
“I’ll get it.” Theo climbed to his feet and headed out of the room as Olivia turned back to the book.
She found herself wondering what might have enough power to summon a Hell hound. The trouble was, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.
“You have a package.” Theo wandered back into the room and dropped a thick rectangular parcel in her lap.
Placing the book down on the floor, she sat up and tore the parcel open.
“What is it?” Theo asked.
“It’s some sort of file.” She checked inside but there was no note, just a shabby folder browned with age and filled with paperwork. Her mouth fell open as she scanned through the first several sheets of notes. “Oh my God.”
“What is it?”
“It’s the case notes from the original murders,” she picked up the packaging and studied the markings on it. “Who the hell would send me this?”
“You should call Jake.” Theo frowned.
“Yeah,” she muttered as she continued to flick through the untidy notes and gruesome photos.
She scanned through the victims. There appeared to be four in total.
The first two matched Adam’s and Brody’s injuries, but it was the third one that really turned her stomach inside out, making her gag.
The victim appeared to have had his flesh peeled from his body, flayed like some sort of grim medieval torture.
But it was a note stuck to the top of a page with an arrow pointing down to the last victim’s details that caught her attention. His name was James Talbot. He had only been in his twenties when he was killed, and it appeared from the notes that his head had been cut open and his brain removed.
Fighting down the bile forcing itself up her throat, she grimly read on.
James seemed to be the only one of the four victims who hadn’t lived in Mercy; he’d lived in Salem according to his case file.
Further down the page, Olivia noticed his mother’s name and address had been circled in thick red pen with another arrow pointing toward it.
“What is it?” Theo asked.
“The fourth victim from the original murders,” she murmured. “He’s the only one who didn’t live in Mercy.”
“Is that important?”
“I don’t know.” Olivia frowned. “Maybe. I mean, I’m no cop, but I guess it could mean that the victims weren’t preselected by the killer. It could have just been a crime of opportunity.”
“What are you thinking?” He watched her closely.
“I was just wondering…” She trailed off.
“Wondering what?”
“He lived with his mother, and it gives their address.” She looked up at Theo. “I was just wondering if she still lives there.”
“You want to go and speak with her?”
“Yes, I do.” Olivia turned her attention to Theo.
“Whoever sent me this file went out of their way to make sure I had this information without the cops knowing, and they seem to be very insistent that I look at this victim in particular. He’s the odd one out, and he’s important somehow. I just know it.”
“Olivia.” Theo frowned. “It could just as easily be some kind of trap. Have you thought that maybe this was the file that was stolen from Wallace Grady’s house?”
“Yes, I have,” she admitted. “It seems the most likely explanation at this point.”
“Then have you also considered that the pale-haired man working with your father was the one who probably sent you the file? It looks as if he’s the one who stole it. I’m sorry, but I just don’t trust his motives.”
“You might be right, but I have to know the truth. I can’t ignore it any longer.”
He studied her face for a moment before nodding grudgingly. “Alright, but you’re not going alone.”
“I didn’t intend to.” She stood and wandered back in the direction of the kitchen toward the laundry room.
Theo followed her. “You should call Jake.”
“I will.” She re-emerged from the laundry room with a clean pair of socks and grabbed her sneakers.
“You will?”
“Yes, of course.” She shrugged as she sat down and slipped her socks and sneakers on. “Just not yet.”
“Olivia.” Theo’s voice held a note of warning.
“Theo, I’ve caused him enough trouble, and his work’s become a nightmare because of Chief Walcott’s fixation on me.
It will be too difficult for him to slip out unnoticed to speak with Mrs. Talbot.
The second Walcott figures out we want to speak with James Talbot’s mother, he’ll know we have access to the original case files.
It will raise too many questions and make me look guiltier than I already do.
I also wouldn’t put it past the chief to suspend Jake, and right now we need him on the inside. ”