The Fount of Dragon Fire

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Beside the landline, a small list of important numbers had been left in case she needed them. One of them was the number for the police station. She had to call three times before Officer Higgens, sounding out of breath and annoyed, finally answered. She could still hear, in the background, the crying of the warning siren. She had to practically scream into the phone what she had found.

The ashen gray body in the basement was shrunken and disgusting. She hadn't gotten very close or even looked for very long, but the short glance had already burned itself into her mind. The thickening stench of rot and decay in the cottage didn't help.

When he had understood, she heard Higgens begin cursing colorfully. He asked if she was safe then ordered her to get out of the cottage and wait for him to get there.

Camry was all too happy to evacuate out to her truck. She sat in the front seat, frowning at the cottage in fear and revulsion. Fifteen minutes after calling, wondering why it was taking so long for Higgens to arrive, Camry remembered a bit late that she was an hour and a half up the mountain.

Groaning, she rested her head down against the steering wheel. Now, she finally understood why her mother had been so worried about her being far from any other people. An hour and a half alone up here with the dead body sounded like torture.

All that time alone gave her plenty of chances to think. To her great consternation, she couldn't turn off her traitorous mind. Each new thought she had seemed more and more determined to make her lose her own sanity.

It was simple, but horrifying, at first. Just, 'there's a dead body' on endless loop in her head. But it quickly became, 'I've been sharing a house with a dead body'.

Camry didn't know much about death or decomposition, but she was rather certain that dead bodies didn't start stinking immediately. It could have been in there since she arrived yesterday. Meaning she had eaten, slept, and showered with a dead man right beneath her feet.

She wanted to throw up. She wanted to cry. What was she supposed to do about a dead body being in the cottage?

Her last torturous thought before Higgens finally arrived, was that Mr. Norcross was still missing and he was supposed to have met her up here.

Higgens wasn't alone. There was a black hearse with him. Camry stepped from her truck as he exited his car, frowning.

"I thought I told you to stay in town," he chastised immediately.

Camry was holding tight to her belly, she didn't answer the ill-concealed accusation. "I-It's... I mean, he's... I mean.... The basement..."

Higgens frowned at her. He just shook his head and made a head gesture to the man in the hearse. They walked together into the cottage, leaving Camry alone. She shifted her weight against the snow, feeling far colder than she normally would.

A few minutes later, Higgens returned alone. His face was drawn and serious.

"Do you recognize him, miss?"

She shook her head.

"That's old Yarrow Norcross. Don't look much like himself anymore." Higgens adjusted his belt, giving her a serious look. "Didn't you say he was meeting you up here yesterday?"

Camry drew back in surprise. "Yes, but he never showed!"

"How'd you get into the cottage then?"

"The window. In the kitchen. The latch is broken. I climbed inside."

Higgens made a simple, non-committal sound in his throat. It didn't sound quite disbelieving, but the suspicion was clear in his eyes. "Well, Jonsey is gonna load him up."