Eldritch

Chapter 27

Marissa pounds on the door to Annie's shack. A feeling of dread lurches through her and like a venomous snake, it slithers its way around her body. All she wants is her son back; the answers to lead her to him, even if they aren't truths she wants to confront or believe.

'Mrs Caulfield?' she calls, rapping on the door once more. Nothing. No response.

'She must be out,' Louis says. He places a hand to Marissa's shoulder and tries to guide her back down the path, to which she flinches and jerks away from him. 'Why don't we come back later?'

Marissa eyes him incredulously, a look of disgust spreading to her face. 'Because later is not good enough. I want my son back now. I need him now. My Danny, my baby, he--' she cries.

Louis takes her in his arms and rocks her gently as she sobs. 'Shhhhhh, Marissa, shhhhhh,' he says. 'It's okay, we're going to find him, I'll make sure of it. But, right now, Annie's not home, so we have to come back later. Let me take you for a coffee, yeah?'

Marissa clutches Louis' jumper for support. She keeps her face buried in his chest. 'Okay,' she mumbles. 'Just a minute.'

He nods and his eyes widen in surprise as she wraps her arms around his waist and pushes herself further into his body. He doesn't resist though; he just continues to hold her and sway her from side to side, comforting her with the warmth of his body pressed against her.

After what seems like an eternity, she pulls away and nods, having composed herself. 'Okay, I'm ready to go.'

Once seated in a local coffee shop, a waitress approaches the table.

'A cappuccino for me, please,' he says, and as she turns to Marissa, he cuts over her. 'And an Americano with a splash of cream and one sugar.'

She nods and heads back to the counter. Louis brings his gaze back to Marissa who's smiling at him. 'You remembered how I like my coffee.'

'Of course I did,' he says. 'It's hard to forget those kind of things about the person you love.'

As he allows the last word to slip out, he straightens up, lets out a nervous cough and cuts eye contact with Marissa, rigid in his seat, as she watches him, her eyes wide in shock. But, she can't do anything other than stare; she's too shocked at his revelation. She can't find it to speak. Nor does she know how to even address it.

Both of the two breathe a sigh of relief as the waitress returns, two steaming cups of coffee balanced on a tray. Louis is glad of the chance to turn away from Marissa to pay the bill. He digs into his wallet and pays the waitress and looks down as he turns back to the table.

'So,' she says. 'Why don't we just drink these and head back to Annie's?'

'Good idea,' he states, lifting his mug and bringing the coffee to his mouth. The pair start drinking, still avoiding eye contact with each other, stewing in the awkwardness of the situation.

----

Sheriff Ryan rolls his eyes and lightly knocks his head against the wall of his office in frustration as he listens to the voice at the other end of the phone. 'No, ma'am,' he says. 'I can assure you, that the Sheriff's department are doing their best to make sure that the animal is caught. Once you're safely inside your home, you need not worry.'

Ken walks in as he continues to converse with the concerned resident on the other end of the phone. 'Okay, ma'am,' he says, his expression counteracting his friendly tone of voice. 'No, don't you worry. And if you have any other worries, please don't hesitate to contact us again.'

The Sheriff sighs as he places the phone down. He runs his hands through his face and looks back to his deputy. 'Hey Ken, you got something for me there?' he asks, gesturing to the folder in his hand. 'Good news, I hope.'

The deputy hands him the file and keeps his face in a neutral expression. 'That depends, sir. Here's the case file about the disappearance of three children in the town in August of 1915. It was the only file I could find on record.'

Filled with a sudden burst of the energy, he straightens up in his seat, jumps up and makes a grab for the file. As he flicks it open. 'Great, Ken, thank you.'

He gestures for him to be seated, which he accepts. The Sheriff reads over the notes on the old pieces of paper. 'There were animal attacks taking place at the time of these disappearances, which makes me think there's a correlation between this and what's happening now.'

The deputy nods. 'Well, if it was in 1915, how can we be sure there's a link? The victims are likely dead now.'

The Sheriff shakes his head, lifts a page and shoves it in front of his deputy. 'I did consider that as being a possibility. But, lucky for me, that's not the case.'

The deputy squints at the messy scrawled handwritten notes, and Sheriff Ryan places his finger above a name. 'Annie Caulfield,' he says.

The Sheriff nods intently. 'She's an old lady living on the edge of town. I want you to stop by with me at her house right now.'

Together, the two officers leave the station, the Sheriff clutching the folder of notes in his hand.