Page 11 of Eldritch

She whispered as she made quick work of her pants and lowered them. “Sorry, forest.”

Thank God no one could hear her mutterings.

She took care of her business, stuffed the tissue in a plastic zip bag to dispose of later. She hurried to exit the trees, but then an impulse came. She looked up. Way up. The trees went on forever, and even in this spot, it was murky. The world seemed to sway slightly.

“Shit.” She reached out, and her palm touched the bark of the tree to her left. She could barely detect the van in front of her. “Okay. What do you want to say to me, trees?”

She dared to close her eyes and allowed the trees to speak. Emotions came, and she reached deep into the tree, wanting to understand what they needed.

The house is dark. You know it. You know it already. What about that mirror? What about what you witnessed?

She snatched her hand back. She shivered, unsure for the moment if the trees had spoken to her, or it was her own mind afraid of the house.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “We’re going to do this job. We need the money.”

It was true. They needed the damn money. Operating expenses over the last few months had outpaced money coming into their account. The last job, also at a large mansion in Denver, had brought in a good chunk of cash. Finish this job and they were golden.

You never should’ve allowed Letisha to take that money out for her medical expenses, Sybil.

Shut up mother. Just shut up. Sybil wanted to scream at the voice in her head to shut up. She doubted it would. It never listened to her.

In this case, though, her mother had told her she shouldn’t have let Letisha take the money from the business account. Sybil had told her mother to butt out. Of course, the older woman had sighed and spoken in an imperious tone. Nothing more. Nothing less. Oh, Sybil. Laced with that low-grade but unmistakable condescension and disapproval.

Sybil hurried out of the forest and tapped on the driver’s seat window. Pauline’s startled gaze staring out at Sybil made her smile. Scaring Pauline was a plus. Passive aggressive much? Yep, it was. It didn’t matter. She understood her own pathology, quirks, and foibles. And as much as she hated the saying it is what it is, she had to admit nothing else seemed to fit better.

The van door unlocked, and Maria opened it.

“Jesus,” Pauline said. “We were about to call out the Marines.”

A huge flash overhead made Sybil flinch. Lightning followed. Sybil got inside just as the rain became a downpour again.

“God, I hate lightning,” Maria said as Sybil entered the van and slammed the door.

“All a part of nature.” Pauline’s words could’ve sounded nothing more than conversational, but somehow she made them sound like a lecture.

Flashing lights of a different kind filled the van's back window. Maria and Sybil looked around. Blue and red lights swirled.

“That is the cop or a UFO with interesting lights,” Letisha said.

* * *

Sybil liked quiet, but to use another cliche, the van was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Outside, the rain had stopped. They sat in their parking spot, waiting for Deputy Alyssa Annapolis to return from the house.

“She’s probably dead,” Pauline said.

Letisha threw a look at Pauline. “What?”

Pauline shrugged. “She’s been in there a long time.”

Sybil leaned her head back on the seat. “If she’s checking the basement and attic and everywhere, she’s going to take a while. It’s a big house.”

Less than a minute later, the tall, skinny blonde deputy walked out of the front door.

“Huzzah, there she is.” Sybil threw up her arms, not even caring if she had stated the obvious.

Even from this distance, the woman had an air of confidence and a smile that didn’t go with her face. At one time, she might have been a beautiful woman, but wrinkles on her face made her look used up. Her long hair was in a bun, and she wore a brown Smokey The Bear hat that matched her brown long-sleeved uniform. Sybil guessed the deputy was anywhere from forty to sixty. There was something familiar about her.

The deputy arrived at the van door as Sybil opened it.

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