Willow in the Woods: Guarding the Willow

Chapter 23

Willow

Drew drove into town with Willow riding, shotgun and Mr. Hank Nerple taking up the back seat. Every once in a while Hank would make a comment or two about how that empty lot across from the pizza place used to be the best place in town to buy ice cream and look at the history of Camron in pictures they had plastered all over the walls. Or how that new storage place and car wash used to be the old Piggly Wiggly.

Mr. Nerple did have to explain that the Piggly Wiggly was in fact, a grocery store with a fantastic bakery, not a slaughter house in the center of town. That made Willow feel a lot better.

Willow listened as they made their way to the back part of the town near the court square. Drew stopped at a cute little cafe with blue interior and a lively atmosphere. He went in and bought a couple sandwiches and two iced chocolate coffees. They then continued down a little side road for a few feet until they came to a little red office building with a small parking lot set to the side. There was no sign on the door or in front of the building to indicate what it was, but Willow had already put it together the moment they had turned onto Elm St.

This was it. It was the new office. It didn't look too bad. Not too big, not too small. Just a single story, red brick, with little white pillars out front. It even had a side door entrance. Which Willow figured was what they would be taking since the front, double glass doors, were still boarded up.

Willow had gotten out of the car with iced coffee in hand, and was making her way to the little side stairs, as Drew stepped up behind her. "Now, keep an open mind. I'm still getting everything cleaned up but there is a couple of offices that I've already gone through and it should allow us some privacy."

Willow stopped and smiled at Drew. "Don't worry. I've got an opened mind. And so far it's actually not bad. I think some flower beds on that little patch near the front doors would look nice, though." Willow looked over Drew's shoulder as they made it to the stairs to see that Hank was indeed following.

Once she got to the big metal door, Drew used his keys to open it up. Then quickly reach his hand inside and flip on the lights. Willow stepped inside as the lights overhead buzzed to life.

Willow felt she was safe to assume that this was the reception area, but she couldn't see any chairs. Though they could have been under the mounds of boxes and she would never know. There was a pathway through the boxes that Willow had guessed she was meant to follow back.

It was like walking through a cardboard hedge maze. Once Willow made it into the hallway Drew flipped another switch lighting this area up. All the boxes in here were set up against one wall. The other wall was a nice pearly white with mahogany wood molding around the doors, ceiling, and down close to the dark stained, wooden floors.

Willow started to walk into the first office room that was still quite dark. She couldn't see much inside, only feint outlines she couldn't quite make out. There was a strong odor of bleach and cleaning agents coming from that room. Well, that was a little unnerving.

Drew tapped her shoulder and closed that door. "Sorry, Willow, next office. Willow kept going but she felt there was something in there Drew didn't want her to see and now she was curious about it.

After stepping into the second room, she found it to be spacious with a beautiful oblong office meeting table, and plenty of dark wooden chairs with black leather cushioning.