Monster Lake: A Thriller by J. D. Crayne

Author:J. D. Crayne [Crayne, J. D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Horror, Renaissance E Books
Amazon: B000FC2PQU
Publisher: PageTurner
Published: 2005-01-06T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 5

The next day Steve emerged from his house around noon and saw Uncle Hank, turning up the walkway to the bookstore. The shaman whipped a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and presented it to him with a broad smile.

"I was hoping I'd see you here."

"What's this?" Steve demanded.

"A request for reimbursement."

Steve ran quickly over the list, which included two deer skin drummer's costumes, one Sacred Virgin costume, two propane tanks, and two drums."

"Costumes?" he asked dubiously.

"Water damage. They're stiff as a board."

"Okay, but those propane tanks drifted ashore with the rest of the raft. Paul Berquem called me this morning and said that he talked to the guy who found them!"

"Yes, but the fellow who found them sold the tanks to a scrap metal yard in Santa Rosa," Uncle Hank said smoothly, "so we didn't get them back."

"And the drums? We only owe you for one. That other drummer was hanging onto his with a death grip and brought it aboard when we pulled him out of the water."

"Have you ever tried to play a water-soaked drum head? It's as limp as a ninety-year-old contortionist's lizard."

"How come the the leather drum head is limp and the leather costumes are stiff?" Steve asked suspiciously.

"One was doe skin and the others were buckskin."

"Oh."

Steve looked helplessly at the list. "I'll send you a check," he said, folding the list into his pocket. "How is Ernie doing?"

"He suffers from a sickness of the spirit. I have sent him to the Huchnom sweat lodge up in the wilderness, to purge his soul and open the eye of his perception to spiritual awakening."

"Meaning?"

Uncle Hank shrugged. "After you pulled him out of the water he went home and drank most of a fifth of Old Coltsfoot and two six packs of Dos Equis. I've got him up at the lodge sweating it out."

"Did he say anything about what he saw, what got Zed?"

"He keeps muttering things about large, white, teeth and bad breath but I think that's the Old Coltsfoot talking." He turned away with a casual wave and started up the walkway.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To the bookstore, of course," Uncle Hank said with mild surprise. "Surely you don't have any objection?"

"I'm not sure," Steve mumbled, as he watched the jaunty little figure walk up the front steps and into the shop. He stared blankly at the door for a moment, and then shook his head and continued down the street, over to Main, and then up Madrone Avenue, where Sancy Pitt, her mother, and brother, lived in a small, yellow house with white trim.

Her mother, a round, normally good-tempered, woman with graying hair, opened the door, and looked at him without favor. "What did you get my girl into? She's a nervous wreck and jumps at every little sound!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Pitt," Steve said. "Things just sort of went wrong. Could I see her for a moment?"

"I suppose so, but only for a little while. That nurse said she was to

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