The Unseemly

Chapter 14 - Partnership

Chapter Fourteen - Partnership

Detective Harrison

It was silent, that car ride to the Ford's home; neither of them had any words to say. Nicholas has been tracking this Kludde for years, almost a decade now, since his first case. Ended up being filed as a cold case; what Nicholas remembered explicitly about this case was the White Raven that witnesses claimed to mention. He didn't want to tell the Sheriff this was his first real encounter with the creature. He's already gained the poor guy's trust, and he believed that he wouldn't be amongst the living by the end of this case. Once you're on this beast's radar, it's hard to lose him-especially if one is wary of the supernatural. Sheriff Jenkins fit that description to Nicholas.

The journal his father had left behind mentioned unusual occurrences throughout the years in Granite Bay and Shady Creek. His father believed every thirty-three years in Granite Bay, the supernatural awoken and would feed. Once satisfied, return to wherever the hell monsters lived. Drawings of what looked like childhood monsters and other strange creatures flooded the pages like graffiti. With each beast were phrases describing a particular trait about it. More journal entries articulating about his hunts and his run-ins with people he met along his travels. In the end, a list of names with cities and addresses. Nicholas assumed those were the men or women that helped his father track down these creatures. He believed that one of them might have known what happened to his father.

Before his father's disappearance, he remembered that Shady Creek had its first bizarre case in over fifty years. His father's journal's last entry was about him tracking a creature that could change its appearance; he had seen it with his own two eyes. It was The White Raven. That was the last case his father had taken; this might be his first real lead to what really happened.

The car engine silent as they pull into the front of the small home of the Ford family. "Let me do the talking; I've known these people for years." The sheriff says before he exits the vehicle.

"Whatever you say, captain," Nicholas says sarcastically. "My job is to observe anyway. I'm not really a people person, if you didn't already notice."

Sheriff Jenkins knocks on the old door. Mrs. Ford answers the door with a wide grin and welcomes them with open arms.

"Welcome, Sheriff Jenkins, it's such a pleasure to have you in our home," she began saying.

"Please, Joanne, call me Peter. I'm off the clock, just here to ask a quick question or two." Sheriff Jenkins says.

"No problem, who's your handsome friend you have here, Peter?" she says, gazing at Nicholas.

"I'm detective Nicholas Harrison from Shady Creek, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you." Nicholas offers his hand. She didn't reach out to shake in return.

"Is Jim home? I'd like to share this information with him." Sheriff Jenkins asks.

"He's out back in the barn, working on some project of his. You know Jimmy always getting his hands dirty." She replies.

"I'll go fetch him; you fill Mrs. Ford in on our discovery and go get Mr. Ford." Nicholas offers.

Before hiking around to the back, he figured this was the time to pry. Which looked like more of a shed than a barn. He began sneaking gently down a narrow hallway and opened the first door on his left; it was the bathroom. He closes the door lightly and advances to the next one across the hall. It was a small boy's room and, it must have been their son Douglas, penny loafer owner. He dashes into the tiny room swiftly and shuts the door behind him softly. He finds a lamp on a nightstand by a small tarnished bed and turns it on, looking around. He's unsure exactly what he's looking for but knows whatever it is, it will be in here. He finds a massive book on the edge of the bed and opens it with caution. It seemed to be a book about the history of the Ford family and their connection with Granite Bay.

"Can I help you?" A voice says briskly.

"Sorry, I was looking for the bathroom," Nicholas says, stuffing the book underneath his shirt behind his back.

"First door, you just missed it," the man says, pointing down the hallway.

He leaves the room and walks past who he believes to be Jim Ford, goes to the bathroom, and sets the book on the counter. Browsing through it, he saw Wendigo appearing throughout the pages. Seems the Ford family was cursed. He put the reader into his bag that he carried his evidence and other gadgets he used when on a case.

"And this is Detective Harrison, from Shady Lake." Sheriff Jenkins says. "I was just telling them about the shoe. You want to show them."

He takes the shoe out of his bag and hands it to Joanne.

"Is this your sons?" Nicholas asks.

"Sure is. We've been looking all over for this. That son of mine can't keep anything worth a value. These shoes cost us a month's rent." Joanne says, putting the shoe on a table beside them.

"This is missing evidence from the case of when your boy went missing." Sheriff Jenkins assures her.

"Missing?" She says, confused. "Douglas isn't missing; he's just hanging out with his new friends. Thank you for returning his shoe. Now it's time for laundry, so I must ask you to leave."

"I have one more question if you don't mind, Mrs. Ford," Nicholas says before leaving the small home. "How many kids live here with you right now?"

"Two, of course. Have a great day." She closes the door.

They get back into the police cruiser, and Sheriff Jenkins is confused by the last statement made by Joanne Ford.

"The Ford's only have one child, Douglas. What did she mean by two? And why the hell did you even ask that question?" The sheriff asked, still confused.

"I found a book in the boy's room; it might explain why she said what she said. Let's go back to your place and look through it more thoroughly." Nicholas says casually.

"You stole the kids' book? I'm a cop, you dumbass," Jenkins says, turning on the engine.

"You said yourself, your off duty today. Looks like your part of the crime being my partner and all." Nicholas says.

Evidence

Barbie leads her friends down the stairs and into the kitchen. Within seconds her father and a strange man entered, and suddenly, the room fell quiet. Barbie walks to the table and places the book of her family lineage on the table, displaying it to her father and stranger. The stranger then digs into his bag, pulls out a similar book, and places it on the table next to Barbie's.

"Where did you get that?" Douglas snaps at the stranger.

"I found it in, I'm assuming your bedroom. Sorry kid, I was kind of interrupted and had to think quickly. You can have it back. I got what I needed from it. I'm Nicholas Harrison, by the way, maybe we can help each other out."

"What were you doing at his house, dad?" Barbie asks.

"We found his missing shoe in a shack out in the woods. Whoever took the shoe is very dangerous, and you kids need to stay out of those woods." Peter Jenkins says to his daughter. " What do you have there, sweety?" Pointing to the book on the table.

"It's the book about our family lineage; it has a lot of crazy but true things. I think you need to see it. We have a lot to catch up on."