Fool's Gold by Brenda Lyne

Author:Brenda Lyne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jennifer DeVries
Published: 2024-04-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Hendricks and I were on our way back to RJPD when his radio crackled. “You there, Jesse? Over.”

He handed the walkie to me.

I pressed the button and said, “Hi Dad, we’re here. What’s up?”

“The Fausts are packing up to leave Grotto Park.” The worry in my dad’s voice was unmistakable. I glanced at the clock in the dashboard of Hendricks’ squad; it was just past two o’clock. Not good.

Shades of green suddenly started pulsing around the edges of my vision. I keyed in and said, “Hang on, Dad, Mom’s calling. I’m giving you to Jesse.” I handed the walkie back to Hendricks and opened the connection.

*******

I was surprised to discover that my mother wasn’t back in Edison’s office. Instead she was in what appeared to be the Fortress’ master bedroom. It was much larger than her room, round, with big windows and vaulted ceilings. The furniture was heavy and ornate. The windows were covered with heavy drapes. It was clear that this room was not in regular use, and hadn’t been for some time. A thin layer of dust coated all the hard surfaces, and the bed was a little too perfectly made.

Wasting no time, she beelined to one of the bedside tables and started rummaging through drawers. The first drawer opened to reveal a smallish leather-bound book with a ribbon attached to its spine. A journal. My mother didn’t take the time to look through it; instead she stuck it in the waistband of her jeans at the small of her back and covered it with her t-shirt. The second drawer contained the kinds of things someone would want to keep near them when spending an extended period of time in bed: a thermometer, a box of tissues, various bottles of over-the-counter meds, syringes, alcohol swabs, several battered paperback novels, empty prescription bottles, single-use ice packs still in their packages.

She closed the last drawer, and then knelt to check under the bed. A large object covered with a dusty white sheet lay there among the dust bunnies. It took some effort, but eventually she was able to slide it enough so that one end stuck out about eighteen inches. She pulled the sheet off to get a better look.

The object turned out to be made of wood and it looked quite old; this was no fresh four-by-four recently purchased at the local home center. It was pitted and cracked and darkened with age. My mother instinctively reached out to touch it, and stopped herself when she realized there was something on it. She leaned in for a closer look. Half of the wooden beam was covered with some kind of dried, flaky substance. It looked a whole lot like blood to me.

Suddenly my mother stood up and turned to the door. I caught a glimpse of all three Faust men standing in the doorway –

*******

I blinked. “What the –”

“Everything all right?” Hendricks asked. We were sitting in his squad, parked behind RJPD.

“No.” My heart was doing strange things in my chest, causing my voice to tremble.

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