When I was working on a wedding shoot, I toned my makeup down and stuck to classic black slacks, simple blouses and blazers. It made me look more professional, even though I was more likely to be schlepping around equipment and getting folks into position for group shots as the ‘assistant’.
If I was lucky, sometimes I got the chance to take candid photos of the wedding party on my own. But still, every time I went with Jillian, I learned something new. She was a hell of a photographer, and I was lucky to have the opportunity to work with her.
However, today I’d volunteered to cover for Terry, our store manager, which had given her the night off. The weekends were typically crazy busy on Main Street between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so she appreciated the down time.
Drumming my fingertips on the counter, I considered what I could do with myself when I returned home. I could always rent a movie, or work on finishing up my new apartment in the attic of the manor. I could go crazy and shop for the perfect accessories for my black and white bathroom…
Yes, my life had truly become that freaking exciting. It was a Wednesday night, in early December, and there wasn’t a lot happening in William’s Ford.
With a sigh I looked out the front window and told myself to enjoy the quiet. “Otherwise,” I muttered., “I’ll end up like the old biddies in town.” Determinedly, I went to the Yule tree in the front window to make a few adjustments to the ornaments.
The shop door opened. “Ivy!” Sharon Waterman greeted me. “How are you, dear?”
Sharon Waterman was in her sixties. She was the head of the Chamber of Commerce, a cheerful busy-body, and a hell of a lot of fun. “Hello, Mrs. Waterman.”
She headed straight for the candle display and picked up a few scented pillar candles. “Have you heard the latest news, dear?” and…she was off.
The hot gossip around town since Thanksgiving weekend had been about the wild animal attack on a boy, I was informed. He’d been on a camping trip in the local woods, and speculation on what sort of animal had attacked him was running rampant.
“Oh,” I said. “I hope he’ll recover.”
Mrs. Waterman continued to fill me in as I rang her up. “I heard he’s expected to make a full recovery,” she said. “However, the boys involved were all claiming that it had been a monster that attacked them.”
“Really?” I’d said with a little laugh, handing her the shopping receipt. The woman had a nose for news, but there wasn’t a mean bone in her body.
Sharon Waterman straightened her red scarf. “Yes. A Monster. Not since ’79 has there been a sighting of that creature in the woods. My father was never taken seriously, you know. And he’d even managed to get a photograph of the beast after his own narrow escape!”
“Beast?” I grinned at her enthusiasm. “A local version of Bigfoot, no doubt?”
“There will always be skeptics, dear.” Sharon sniffed. “My father always swore it was no Bigfoot. He’d always told me what he’d seen was not of this world.”
It was everything I had not to giggle. She was just so damn much fun.
“But unfortunately,” she continued, “Since those young men had all been drinking beer, most folks ‘round here assume they were drunk, and figure it’s all a teenage prank.”
“Teenage boys drinking beer in the woods?” I raised an eyebrow. “What are the odds?”
“I hope this doesn’t all start up again,” she said, tucking her wallet back in her purse. “Those poor boys. You take care, now.” Mrs. Waterman gave me a wave and left.
I went to go straighten the candles she’d rifled through, thinking back over what I’d heard. It made me wonder what had really happened to those kids. According to Mrs. Waterman, the authorities were claiming it was a mountain lion or perhaps a bear, but both were rare in this part of Missouri, and an attack on a human was practically unheard of.
The bells over the shop door jingled, jolting me out of my thoughts. I turned and saw Eddie O’Connell. “Hey, Eddie!”
“Ivy.” He lifted a hand in greeting. “I was wondering if I could talk to you.”
“Sure,” I gestured to one of the chairs in front of the bookshelves. “Step into my office.”
Eddie O’Connell was the younger brother of our family friend Violet O’Connell. I’d known him for years, and if memory served, he was now a Junior at the local high school. A year ago, when I’d been working with his sister Violet, he’d had a bit of a crush on me. While I was happy to see him, I sincerely hoped he wasn’t here to ask me out.
Eddie sat, and licked his lips nervously. “Listen, I wasn’t sure who else I could ask about this.”
“What’s up?” Intrigued, I sat across from him.
“I know a couple of years ago you dealt with that evil spirit on campus. Violet told me about it.”
“Yes, the ghosts haunting Crowly Hall.” I nodded.
He was trying to psych himself up to talk to me. There was a very real anxiety rolling off him. While I didn’t consider myself an empath like my sister Holly, I could almost taste the fear that Eddie was battling. Finally he spoke. “I guess you heard about my friend, Hunter Roland, who was attacked in the woods last week.”
“Yes. Mrs. Waterman was in a bit ago and told me about it. They think it was an animal attack?”
“The cops are trying to tell us that it was a bear that got him. But I was there and…” He blew out a long breath, trying to compose himself. “Ivy, trust me. It wasn’t a bear. I saw it.”
“You were one of the boys in the woods?” I reached out to him and put
