Moore Hollow by JD Byrne

Author:JD Byrne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JD Byrne
Published: 2024-05-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The next morning Ben got in the tank and drove. He decided there wasn’t anything else to be gained in the county commission archives, and going back to the historical society was out of the question. He had a few hours to kill before he picked up Gabe, so Ben explored some areas of the nearby hills and hollows he’d only seen at night.

Something in Ben’s gut told him that any secret here, anything hidden away, would be off in the nooks and crannies that bled away from the main road to the south. That was where he had seen his mystery pedestrian there the other night. It was also when he met Sheriff Rhodes, Ben thought not altogether coincidentally. But he had seen that area, so he headed the other direction, just to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

He drove north, back along the main road he had traveled when he arrived a few days ago. It was a different experience during the daytime, not nearly as unsettling on his stomach. The northern side of town was more developed with its clean residential neighborhoods blending into downtown. Side roads rambled off into the hills at regular intervals, but they seemed more civilized than their southern cousins, wider and more recently paved. To the south there were more goat paths than real roads, at least to Ben’s eyes. He couldn’t be certain but, after having driven up and down the highway for an hour and a half, Ben concluded that he wasn’t missing anything lurking in the area.

One other road that he hadn’t noticed on his way into town in the dark led off to the east. It was much narrower than the main road and the deep green forested hills on either side made it feel even more claustrophobic than the road to the south. Traffic was light and Ben could spot several slender paths that branched off from the road, but something about them didn’t seem right. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but Ben was certain there was nothing interesting out this direction. The lay of the land was right, but something else wasn’t.

He arrived at the courthouse fifteen minutes early only to find Gabe out front waiting for him. “Sorry,” Ben said. “I thought I was early.”

“You are,” Gabe said, climbing into the tank. “Mr. Wylbert’s staying in for lunch, so I was able to slip out a few minutes early.” He paused and looked around the interior of the tank as he fastened his seat belt. “Sweet truck!”

“Is it?” Ben asked. “Seems like a bloody behemoth to me. It’s like I’m in here at the wheel, and the road is somewhere out there in another county.”

“Great, ain’t it?” Gabe said with enthusiasm and without any hint of irony. “That way,” he said, pointing straight ahead.

“If you say so,” Ben said, pulling away from the curb. “It’s just too much for me.”

“How come?” Gabe asked, confused by Ben’s lack of appreciation. “What kind of

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