The Ghosts of Summerleigh Collection by M.L. Bullock

Author:M.L. Bullock [Bullock, M.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2018-08-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven—Jerica

John Jeffrey Belle had been right. The pond was nothing more than a glorified mud hole except for a few ducks that called it home. I walked farther, deciding that I would go down to Dog River and look at the water there. Jeopardy Belle used to love going down to Dog River. I remembered Troy Harvester’s description of her rising out of the water “like some kind of siren.” I wanted to see it for myself again. I’d been down there once before and had seen my daughter briefly. She’d been playing with Loxley Belle. In retrospect, I think Marisol wanted me to know that she was happy here at Summerleigh. She liked that I was here, but now I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t feel her like I used to. I didn’t see her, and I couldn’t understand why she was being so elusive.

And then it dawned on me. Maybe the boy with the black eyes forced her to leave Summerleigh. Maybe he was keeping her away from me. Maybe he wanted to keep me all to himself. Yes, that could be it. Marisol was scared and hiding from him. All the more reason to get rid of him.

“Marisol, honey,” I said with my eyes closed and my face turned up to the sun, “I’ll never let anything happen to you. Never again. I failed you once before, my baby, but I’ll never do it again. Trust Momma, please. Can you hear me?”

Then as clear as a bell I heard a splash in the water. Not a fish jumping or a pebble plunking into the water but a splash as if someone had jumped in. I twisted around on the rock and looked over in the water just in time to see a spray of bubbles appear. I waited and waited, but nobody emerged from the murky water. I looked around and stood up on the rock to see if I could locate anyone near me. I searched for any evidence that someone was down here on this part of Dog River besides me but couldn’t see a soul. Scanning the banks again, I checked for clothing or a boat but saw no one. And then the water stopped bubbling, the ripples ceased to move, and it was as if it never happened.

I know that just happened. I know someone dived in. I heard it with my own two ears. Oh, God! What if he was in trouble?

Without taking off my shoes or emptying my pockets, I dived in. Fear and urgency overwhelmed me. I swam with all my might, and when I got to the spot that I believed I’d seen the splash, I dived down in a panic.

Beneath the surface, the water wasn’t as murky as I expected, but it was much deeper than I had believed. Under the top layer of brown water, the bottom part of the river was clean and crystal-clear and fast moving. I swam about, looking for someone, anyone to rescue.

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