Darkness in Appalachia

Robyn had made it back to the house just before lunch. She was in the kitchen fixing herself a quick sandwich while she waited for Walker when Puk popped up next to her.

“Walker stopped by a few minutes ago and then went back outside. Apparently, David is on the property with those feds that he mentioned on the phone and they’re heading this way. He said that you might want to deal with these guys and it would look strange if he was the only dog inside.”

Robyn shook her head. “I had planned to be gone when they showed up. Let me finish getting this made and I can eat it on the go while we head for the barrier. How far out are David and the agents?”

“They were nearly to the driveway when Walker stopped by so I don’t think that you will have time to make a clean getaway.”

“Fuck.” Robyn closed her eyes and sighed. She was feeling completely drained and didn’t think she was up to dealing with more strangers with questions. “At times like this, I wish that you could do magic that would allow you to look like me. I could hide in another room and let you deal with this.”

Puk grinned. “That could be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I don’t know that kind of magic. I can do an illusion but if I lose focus then it will slip and they will see that I’m not you.”

Robyn smiled at her as she took her sandwich to the table. “I know that. I’m just being lazy. It was rough practicing those spells and I don’t have a lot of energy left to put on the act that they are going to expect. I will need you to hang around though. See if you can get a moment alone with David and talk to him. If I can find out what these people are thinking, I will have a better idea of how to deal with them.”

“You think that they suspect you?” Puk sat down across from her and rested her chin in her hand.

Robyn shrugged and took a bite of her sandwich. “I would if I was them. From what David said on the phone, there aren’t any real suspects at this point. They could be keeping someone from him too so maybe I’m not.”

“How are you going to play it? It could be real bad if they decide that you’re a real suspect and try to arrest you. Do you think you’ll need to call your lawyer?”

Robyn finished off her sandwich before answering. “I don’t think so. I don’t believe that they would arrest me without some kind of evidence against me and there isn’t any. They can hang around and cramp my style a bit but that’s about it.”

“That could be pretty bad for us though, couldn’t it? Sometimes, on TV they show them using things like directional mics and placing bugs in a house. What would you do if they go that far?”

Robyn smiled reassuringly. “They would need evidence and a warrant to do either of those things. Besides, I don’t plan on letting them past the kitchen and it would be easy to do a check in here after they leave.”

Just then, they heard gravel crunching outside. Puk got up and hurried to the window. “That’s them. David came in his own car and they are right behind him.”

Robyn stayed at the table, she would let them knock and then wait a minute so that they would think she was in another part of the house instead of in the kitchen waiting for them. “Get away from the window, Puk. We don’t want them to see your bony face looking out. They need to believe that I am alone here.”

Puk disappeared but Robyn suspected she was still close to the window looking out. She seemed to be more nervous than the situation warranted and it made Robyn wonder if she knew something that she wasn’t telling.

It took longer than she expected for the knock to come and, when it did, she nearly jumped straight out of her seat. Forcing herself, to slow down, she waited until they knocked again before getting up and heading slowly to the door. David stood on her stoop, hand raised to knock again, with two other men behind him.

“Ms. Elmore, sorry to bother you again but these agents have some questions they’d like to ask you.”

She was temporarily surprised by his formal tone but quickly realized that it was because of the two men behind him. His eyes seemed to be telling her to play along, so she did. Keeping her tone cool but polite.

“Officer Michel, didn’t you ask enough questions the other day? I already told you everything that I know about the situation.”

One of the other men stepped forward, nudging David to one side. “Sorry, ma’am. That would be our fault. New information has come to light and we would just like to ask you a few questions about it.”

Robyn raised an eyebrow. “And you are?”

He gave her a big, sincere smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself first. I’m Agent McCormick and this is my partner Agent Howell. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause and appreciate any help that you may be able to give.”

She instinctively didn’t trust Agent McCormick. He was very polite and said all the right things, but there seemed to be something underneath that was just wrong. Agent Howell stood behind him, silent but with an unpleasant look on his face, as if he had just seen something that disgusted him.

“Badges?”

Both agents pulled out their badges and showed them to her. She looked them over carefully before pretending to relent. “What do you Agents need with me? I’ve already answered a lot of questions about that girl that was found on my property and I don’t have anything more to add.”

McCormick still sported his fake smile. “As I said, we’ve found some new information and would like to ask you a few questions about it. Cases like this are constantly evolving and sometimes we need to ask more questions when more evidence comes to light. I’m sure you understand and, as I said earlier, we really appreciate any help that you could give us.”

She leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms. “OK. What questions do you have for me?”

Agent McCormick and Howell exchanged glances. Some sort of silent communication passed between the two of them. “Would it be possible to do this inside, Ms. Elmore? We’ve been driving all day and would like to sit comfortably for just a few minutes.” His smile changed to become slightly pleading and Howell’s face relaxed into what she assumed was supposed to be a pleasant look but only served to make him look uncomfortable.

Robyn was silent while she considered. She had known that they would probably want to come inside and hadn’t thought she’d have a problem with it, but McCormick disturbed her. She just didn’t like him and didn’t want him in her house. She looked towards David, wondering if he would give her some sign that would let her know what to do, but he just looked at her blankly.

David wanted to tell her not to let them in but couldn’t think of a way to get the message to her without being seen. Howell had been watching him since they had arrived and he had had to watch himself to make sure he didn’t act too familiar with the house or Robyn. He saw her looking at him and tried to send a message with his eyes but he didn’t think that she got it and he didn’t know how to use the telepathic link that they shared. Robyn had forgotten to teach him how yesterday.

“Alright, agents. But just for a few minutes. I don’t have a lot of time today.” She turned to lead them into the house and could feel them following her, their eyes on her back like slimy fingers.

“Did we interrupt while you were in the middle of something?”

She motioned for them to sit at the kitchen table and took a seat herself. “Yes.”

Howell and McCormick sat down across from her and waited for her to elaborate but she left it at that. David took a seat at the head of the table. An awkward silence arose between them until they realized that she wasn’t going to say anything more. Howell muttered something under his breath that sounded like ‘So much for southern hospitality.’

McCormick recovered and began asking questions, starting by going back over what she had already answered with David. She didn’t bother to hide her impatience but McCormick ignored it and kept slogging through. He didn’t seem to be interested in her answers anyways. Howell leaned back in his seat watching her face for reactions to the questions and she thought that he was the real reason they were asking these questions. He wanted to see how her reactions changed when they asked questions that she wasn’t expecting and that she had to think to answer.

She knew when they had gotten to what they really wanted to ask when McCormick’s tone changed and Howell set up straighter. “When was the last time that you went to West Virginia?” It was a question but it was stated in such a way that it seemed they already knew the answer to the question.

“I haven’t left this area in the last three years. I don’t remember when I might have been there before that.”

“OK. Is that car outside the only one registered to you?”

Robyn leaned back and crossed her arms. “No. I have one or two that are used by agents of mine. I provide a vehicle to property managers for when they are doing their rounds and I do own property in West Virginia.”

“You provide vehicles for your property managers? That’s a little unusual, isn’t it?”

Robyn sighed. “Not really. I provide a work vehicle that can carry any supplies needed to maintain the properties that way my employees don’t have to use their own vehicles. It’s one of the perks of the jobs since I have such strict codes that they have to follow.”

“Strict codes?”

“All of my properties are maintained in the best possible condition. I provide plumbing, electrical, and structural maintenance on a routine basis and I expect the building to meet code and, depending on what the building is used for, to sometimes exceed the code. Sometimes, these properties can be quite some distance apart so I provide a vehicle that travels well and can carry materials.”

“How do you make sure that these buildings are being maintained to your standards? You said that you haven’t been to West Virginia in the past three years to you haven’t been there personally to inspect the properties.”

She nodded. “That’s true. Tenants have a way to contact me if the property isn’t being maintained correctly and I require pictures and video to be sent to me at irregular intervals. All the pictures and videos are time stamped so I know when they were taken and can verify that the building meets standards. I also hire someone periodically to inspect the buildings.”

“And you don’t have access to those vehicles?”

She knew where this was headed. “Not presently. I would have to go to the manager’s location to get the vehicle. But, I believe that you are asking if I could use them if I wanted and you already know the answer to that.”

He nodded and his eyes sharpened. “You’re right. And you know the next question, right?”

“Yeah, you want to know if I have recently borrowed any of those vehicles and used them in West Virginia and if it can be verified that I haven’t.” She shrugged. “I can tell you that I didn’t and give you the manager’s name and phone number so that he can verify. Would that be good enough?”

“That would be very helpful. I’m sure you understand. We need to cover all our bases on a case like this.”

She didn’t answer except to pull out her cell phone and retrieve the number for them. She slid the phone across the table so that they could copy it and leaned back in her chair. “Is that all you need from me?” Her tone had become cool.

“Not quite. We want to know if you know any of these people.” He slid a list of names across the table for her to look at.

Robyn didn’t take it. “You have my phone. Why don’t you just look through my contacts to see if any of them are on there? It would make this a lot quicker, wouldn’t it?”

McCormick smiled and picked up her phone. He would check her contact list and her call log to see if any of the phone numbers matched up. Then, he would check to see if she had social media linked to her phone and check those contacts as well. Most people had their passwords saved so that they didn’t have to enter it every time they opened an app so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Howell spoke up. “Is there any way that I can get a drink while he’s doing that? It was a long drive up here and we didn’t bring anything with us.” He tried for a pleasant one but wasn’t quite able to pull it off.

Robyn looked in his direction but only for a moment. “I can get you a glass of water. In fact, I will get all three of you a glass of water.” She didn’t want to give them any excuse to linger longer than necessary.

When she stood, she met David’s eyes and thought she saw an apology in them. He had obviously known that these two suspected her of something but hadn’t been able to warn her. She wanted to smile so that he would know she wasn’t angry but didn’t want to risk in being seen by the ever watchful Howell. She pulled down three disposable cups and filled them with ice water. She would normally give guests her nice glasses but she planned to kick them out as soon as he finished going through her contacts. This way, they wouldn’t be able to use finishing their drinks as a reason to hang around.

As she sat down, a clattering sound from beyond the doorway made them all jump and turn towards it. Howell stood. “Ms. Elmore, is there anyone else in the house right now?”

She waved her hand, trying for a dismissive atmosphere but not sure if she pulled it off. “There’s no one else here. It was probably just one of the dogs. They come in through the doggie door sometimes.”

He studied her and whatever he saw seemed to deepen his suspicion. “Maybe, I should take a look. It would be bad if someone broke in and we left you alone with them.” He started to head through the doorway but Robyn stopped him.

“That’s not necessary.” Her voice had turned to ice.

He turned to look at her, feigning surprise. “You don’t want me to make sure that someone hasn’t broken into your house? Are you sure about that?” He didn’t say it but it was obvious that what he really meant was ‘Do you have something to hide?’

“I don’t want you or anyone else that I don’t know wandering through my home. If someone else had come here, my dogs would have barked just like they did when you showed up. No one was here before you arrived and the dogs haven’t barked since then either. That means, no one else is here.” She raised her chin and stared him down. “As I told Officer Michel, I value my privacy.”

Howell looked to McCormick for direction. “You do realize that we could just look anyways. Suspicious circumstances and all that.”

“Try it and I’ll have my lawyer down here within the hour. You don’t have a warrant and the only ‘suspicious circumstances’ that you can claim I have already explained.” She pushed back from the table and stood. “Now, if you are finished looking through my phone, I would like you to leave. You’ve wasted enough of my time.” She had seen her mother pull a regal attitude before and tried to copy it now, knowing that it would often cause others to back down.

McCormick remained sitting. “There’s actually a few more questions that we’d like to ask.”

“Then you can ask through my lawyer. He’s listed in my contacts so take his number and leave.”

McCormick stood slowly. “Ms. Elmore, I’m not sure what we might have done to upset you but we really do only have a few questions left. I’m sure that a woman such as yourself who donates so much to the local police wouldn’t want to hold up an active investigation.”

She faced them as Howell moved back to McCormick’s side, seeing David stand up from the corner of her eye. “I have no problem helping the police with an investigation but you seem to suspect me of something and I don’t know what it is. A body was found on my property but you are asking me about West Virginia and about people who aren’t local to his area. Which means, you are no longer asking me about the case that I know about. I don’t appreciate you coming into my home under false pretenses and questioning me about something unrelated to the current events.”

“I assure you that these questions are related to the current situation. I’m just not at liberty to explain how. If you would...”

Robyn cut him off. “I wouldn’t. I have already answered all the questions that I am going to about this matter and have asked you to leave.” She turned to David. “Will it be necessary for me to call the station and request that these men be removed from my home by other officers?”

David hid a smile. “No, ma’am. We will be leaving now. Agents...” He motioned for them to precede him to the door.

It looked like Howell was going to protest but McCormick shot him a look. They went outside without another word, followed closely by David. Robyn watched them from the kitchen menu until they left before breathing a sigh of relief and letting her shoulders slump.

“I’m sorry, Robyn.” Puk popped up next to her, wringing her hands and creating a grating sound that frayed Robyn’s nerves.

“What the hell, Puk?”

“I was trying to get David’s attention and bumped something on accident.”

Robyn turned towards her and leaned against the counter. “Well, you did get his attention. His and everyone else’s.”

“Yeah, but it was great to see you turn on bitch mode to get rid of them. I wouldn’t have believed you could pull it off until I saw it myself.” Puk pretended to prostrate herself causing Robyn to laugh.

“I’m surprised I could pull it off, too. I’m just glad that it worked.” She pushed away from the counter and went to clean up the cups that they had left behind. “By the way, why were you so nervous before they got here? It’s not like you.”

Puk appeared in front of her. “Well, on TV the feds are always roughing up suspects and getting in their faces. Sometimes, they will even bug and harass them if they strongly believe that the person is hiding something.”

Robyn’s jaw dropped. “That’s why you were nervous. You know that’s fiction, right? If an officer or agent did that in real life, his case would be thrown out and he wouldn’t get a conviction. You’ve been watching way too much TV.”

“Well, what else am I supposed to do during the day? You and Walker wander off and leave me all alone here with nothing to do. What else can a poor, lonely pukwudgie do but watch daytime TV to ease her boredom?”

A gruff voice spoke from behind her. “How about anything at all that’s useful. TV is a great waste of brain power. Not that it makes much difference with you.”

Puk glared at him while Robyn smiled. She had always loved the way these two fought but still got along. They had been the ones to teach her that it was OK to show affection by picking on someone. At the school she had gone to, she had never gotten close enough to anyone to be able to pick on them and have them know it was just for fun. She had gotten picked on quite a bit but it had never felt like it did with these two.

But, she couldn’t let them continue too long. She had wasted too much time with the agents and really needed to get out to the barrier so that she could do any repairs and be back home before dinner. Who knew what Puk would do to David if she was alone when he showed up.

“OK, you two, stop flirting. We have things to do today.”

Both looked at her in outrage, causing her to laugh out loud. “I wouldn’t flirt with that bony hussy. She might give me something.”

“Better than the fleas I would get from you, wolfie. And you’re just mad that I won’t give you a bone.”

“Enough.” Robyn spoke through a giggle. “Walker, are you ready to head out to the barrier? How far are we going today?”

He grumbled at Puk before turning his head to Robyn. “I found two spots on the barrier that are questionable and both of them are fairly close by.” He looked hard at her, so serious that she quit smiling and became serious. “They are much closer to us than I would prefer and I can’t help but feel that there’s a reason for it. We need to be careful when we head out.”

She nodded. “OK. I had planned on that anyways and I made some headway on those spells that I was practicing this morning so we won’t be completely defenseless. I’m just hoping that it doesn’t attack until I’ve had a little time to recover some of my energy.” She turned to Puk. “Were you able to get in contact with the other entities about setting up a safe place?”

Puk nodded. “Yeah, Isonade volunteered her area. She said that she can add her strength to creating a barrier that will provide more protection. She’s one of the strongest that we have on the reserve and wants to help wherever she can. She also said that she would be willing to perform a life link with you if you can find time to make it out there.”

Robyn shook her head. “No, I want her to just focus on maintaining a strong barrier. If I do a life link with her and I go down, it will leave all of them with less defenses. Tell her thanks from me though.”

Puk shrugged. “I’ll tell her but she will say that it’s not necessary. She sees it as protecting her home and nothing would make her willingly give up what you helped her to create out there.” There was a slight pause before Puk continued. “There were also about three other stronger entities that said they would be willing to go into a life link with you. Their habitats aren’t able to act as a meeting spot so they said that this is the least they can do.”

“OK. Write them down and I will go see them tomorrow.”

She started to push away so that she and Walker could leave when she was stopped by Walker. “I understand the need to get this done but I want you to do something before we leave. Let Beryl make you one of her teas that restore energy. I know that it will take a bit of time but we can’t have you at half power when you go out. Not until this is over with.”

Puk clapped her hands together. “That’s a really good idea. But to make sure that Robyn listens, you should tell her that you won’t take her out to the weakened areas unless she drinks the tea. Otherwise, she’ll just rush off in a hurry and not think about herself.”

Walker grumbled assent. Robyn looked at them and knew she was outvoted. “OK, but make it quick. I really do want to get this done before dark.”

“You mean, you want to be back here in time to fix dinner for David, don’t you?”

Puk disappeared on a laugh as Robyn blushed. Walker shook his head and stalked over to the table. Climbing into his seat and sitting patiently until Robyn put his cup in front of him. Then, she sat down across from him and waited for Beryl to make her tea.