The Jar of Nephren-Ka

BESONWA

Quitman, Georgia: 7:34 PM, Sunday, June 10th, 1984

Near the edge of the cluster of outbuildings, nestled between two decaying barns, was an ancient graveyard, monuments leaning chaotically like the bottom of a snaggle-toothed smile.

The graveyard was hidden from the house by the ruin of a structure, so I spent a moment to examine it, more out of morbid curiosity than anything else.

The nearest four graves to the house were disturbed, earth looking freshly turned on the nearest one, each subsequent grave less disturbed than the last. A chill went down my spine as I wondered if Kinsey/Calhoun was in one of these.

I moved back over towards the barn, leaning out to spy on the house again. There was still the occasional shadow that flitted across the curtains in the top floor, but otherwise, I saw no signs of life.

I saw no exterior lights, but the night was not yet dark enough that I was willing to risk rushing the house. I decided to wait until the lights were extinguished and I felt sure whoever was inside was asleep. There was a good chance this man had killed Kinsey, and I sure as shit wasn't looking forward to becoming victim number two.

'Or was it five?' I thought, looking back towards the graves.

I began studying what I could see of the house through the windows with the binocs, trying to get a feel for the layout of the house.

On the first floor, I could see a long central hall, lit by an enormous chandelier. A staircase on the right side led to the second floor. All the windows to the other rooms were dark.

I moved up behind the small, whitewashed shed, watched, and waited.

***

Just before ten thirty, I caught some movement on the bottom floor. I trained the binocs on it, and saw a very tall, thin man, dressed in a neat black suit, walking down the long first-floor hall to the staircase.

He disappeared from view for a few moments, then reappeared on the top floor, which looked like it might also have one long central hall.

He walked out of sight once again, and the shadows flitted over the curtains in the rightmost room.

A few moments later, the tall man reappeared, reversing his path back downstairs. Not long after, the light in the rightmost room was extinguished, and another man stepped out into the hall.

I didn't get a good view of him, but my initial impression was of an older man, a shock of wispy white hair combed straight back from his forehead, skin so bright and white it resembled the full moon. He looked to be of average height and thin, dressed in a conservative fitted suit.

He seemed to fiddle with the door to the room a moment, perhaps locking it, before turning and following the tall man down the staircase. Both men walked down the long first-floor hall, opened a door to the left side of the far end, and entered that room, closing the door behind them.

I watched for half an hour, but no more movement was observed. The lights in both the upper and lower halls were still shining brightly, but I could not tell if the light in the room the two men entered was on. I decided to get a better angle.

I watched the house for a few more moments, then took off at a sprint towards the house, my bad knee voicing its displeasure the whole way. I reached the rear veranda and hunkered by the overhang, rubbing my knee.

I scooted around to the left side of the building and poked my head around the corner. The light was on in the far room, the room the two men had entered, but the light shining on the yard was uninterrupted; solid. It didn't seem as if anyone was moving around inside, or at least, they weren't casting any shadows that I could see.