Jeff was laughing his odd maniacal laugh
as he turned and hurried down the other
side of the dune.
Bev was busy licking the butter off of
her fingers while she listened to
Felicia telling Mike and Olivia another
of her hilarious adventures that had
happened during spring break while she
was at UCWS (How could anyone be so
foolish as to take a "dare" that ended
with them sitting on the bumper of a
garbage truck, anyway?), and trying not
to notice the strange banging that could
be heard from outside.
Sidney caught her eye, and then stood
and walked over to the window, looking
out with a worried frown creasing his
forehead.
Seeing that her kids were engrossed in
Felicia's story, she walked over and
joined Sidney at the window. She thought
she saw a movement over by the boat shed
and, coming to a quick decision, turned
and headed for the front door.
When Felicia looked up at her, a quick
shake of her hand conveyed her wish to
be alone. Sidney, not understanding the
hand signal, or else being bullheaded,
followed right upon her heels.
"Sidney, it's all right. It is only a
short walk, and I will be fine," she
told her cousin.
Sidney shrugged, smiling, and said, "I
needed a bit of air anyway." Then,
laughing loudly, "And if I had to listen
to Felicia tell that same story one more
time, I would have shot myself!"
Turning and looking at him, she laughed
also, thinking about how he had always
been her favorite cousin.
Reaching the shed, they were just about
to walk around the corner when, from
behind them, they heard screams and
glass breaking.
Turning in unison, they both sprinted
back towards the cottage. Throwing the
door open so violently that it banged
against the wall, Sidney and Bev burst
into the cottage, only to find it
empty.
With a terrible trembling in the pit of
her stomach, Bev tried not to panic and
began to look in all of the rooms in the
front, while Sidney looked in the back
rooms. After a few minutes of hurried
searching, in their haste, they nearly
ran into each other in the hallway.
"No luck, huh?" Bev queried. Looking
around and seeing the broken dishes and
the overturned coffee table, she knew
that her sister and kids had not gone
voluntarily.
"Come on," Sidney said. "I think that I
know where we will find them." Without
waiting for a reply, he hurried through
the cottage and out into the cool night
air.
Rushing, nearly tripping in her haste,
Bev follows and, grabbing Sidney's arm,
comes to a dead stop, pulling him around
so that he has to look at her. "What is
it? What is going on? Tell me what you
know!" she demands.
Sidney places his hand over her hand
that is still shakily grasping his
sleeve, and giving her hand a gentle
squeeze, pulls it off and holds it
between both of his large warm hands. "I
am not entirely sure, and until I am, I
don't want to say anything.
But I truly believe that there is no
time to waste right now."
Seeing the sincerity in her cousins
eyes, Bev nods and begins to walk, and
then run, in the direction that Sidney
had been headed.
Reaching a cove, Sidney grabs her hand
again, and crouching down, makes for
some bushes off to the side of a cave
opening. Trying to still the panting of
their breath, both listen carefully, but
canot hear any sounds coming from
within.
Creeping up to the opening, they look
in. Bev has to fight down an urge to
rush in when she spots her kids, huddled
together on the ground beside a small
smoking fire. Her sister is just to the
side of them, and lying in a motionless
heap.
Signaling for silence, Sidney starts
forward into the cave. Not seeing anyone
else other than her kids and Felicia,
Bev drops all caution and runs towards
the fire and her kids.
Suddenly a dark shadow rises from the
ground and Bev feels a sharp burning
sensation in her side. A body hurtles
itself against her, knocking her to the
ground. Reaching to her side, her
fingers getting wet, she feels a cut,
though it seems to be very shallow.
Looking up, she can see Sidney and
someone else scuffling on the ground,
and, with a loud grunt, one of them is
now laying still. Not sure as to who is
the victor, she watches worriedly as one
of the dark shapes rises and starts
towards her.
"Are you ok, Bev?" Sidney's familiar
voice asks.
Nodding, giddy with relief, she says,
"Yes, but I'm not so sure about my
sister." As she walks over towards her
kids and Felicia, she continues, "Will
you tell me now if this is what you had
been suspecting?"
With a long sigh that seems to come from
the bottom of his soul, roughly running
his hand through his tousled hair,
Sidney begins his story.
"The reason that I was never quite
"loved" like the rest of my brothers was
because I was adopted." At Bev's
surprised look, Sidney nods and
continues. "My dad was Tracy and
Spencer's first-born son." He looked
over at the heaped body on the ground,
"Jeff is their youngest son."
Discovering that Felicia is already
awake and listening just as intently as
she is, Bev nods and motions for Sidney
to continue.
"My parents died in a car crash when I
was 3. The brake lines had been cut."
Giving another deep sigh, he says, "I
had been influencing my adoptive parents
to bring me here every summer so that I
could investigate into my parents, and
also my grand-parents, deaths."
Walking over and nudging the inert body
of his uncle with his toe, he continues.
"I learned that Uncle Jeff had been
committed by the courts, but that my
grandparents had run off before he could
be locked up. I think that he has been
haunting the cottage to run off anyone
who thinks to stay there, and then lives
there when no one is around."
"I think that he also killed my
grand-parents and parents, though
perhaps no one will ever be able to
prove it. But at least now he can be
placed behind locks and not cause any
more grief for anyone."
Looking at his cousins, he stands there,
with hands half raised and a defeated
look upon his face. Both Bev and Felicia
run over to Spencer, and wrapping their
arms around his shaking body, they
reassure him of the rightness of taking
his uncle to the proper authorities.
With a loud banging noise, I slap the
last chapter of the manuscript onto the
large oak conference table. Wearing a
most satisfied grin, and with a gleam in
my eyes, I look over at Von and say,
"The Galley is going to make us
all rich!"
To the sounds of cheering and happy
laughter, we begin our grueling weekend
of proofing, editing, more proofing,
then more editing, and on and on. But
hey, that's what it takes to put out a
masterful book for the masses to enjoy.
Someone has to do the dirty work!