Page 82 of Eldritch

She pocketed the tracker. “I’ll keep it safe for the police.”

He clasped her shoulders gently. “Keep the doors locked, okay? Let me know if there’s anything you need.”

“Will do.”

He climbed into the truck. He started the vehicle, and she waited in the snow as he drove away. She looked at the trees around the property. She wanted to walk in the quiet beauty of the storm. Was drawn to the cold, the white landscape. Yet fear lingered. She couldn’t go out there without walking deeper. Far into the forest and the trees, where they could eat her alive.

She heard them calling to her in her head.

Come here. Touch us. Listen to us. We have secrets for you. So many secrets.

She gasped and shook her head.

She hurried into the house.

Sybil stowed her winter gear in the large coat and boot room downstairs. She exited the room and noted the light down in the cellar. She also heard female voices nearby. Letisha and Maria’s.

“We shouldn’t move any of this until we run it by Sybil,” Letisha said.

“I agree,” Maria said, her voice a little petulant.

Letisha came around the far corner of the cellar just as Sybil reached the bottom of the steps. Sybil’s friend didn’t look too pleased.

“Hey, glad you’re here,” Letisha said. “There isn’t that much on the list that Clarice gave us that she wants to get rid of.” She handed Sybil the list. “I put aside a few of the things and the ladies were going to carry it upstairs, but I wanted to check with you first.”

The other women came around the corner looking dust-smudged and maybe not too pleased.

Sybil gave the list a quick look. “You’re right. This isn’t as much as I expected either.”

“Wonder if she’s reconsidering moving out? You’d think she’d want all of it sold or donated…hell, maybe some of these things are antiques,” Maria said.

Pauline wrinkled her nose. “She hasn’t lived here in a long time. She’s really moved out already.”

Maria pulled a face. “Yeah, I get that. I mean permanently. She’s old. My great-aunt couldn’t decide about moving out of her house in Pueblo for months. She kept changing her mind.”

“I dunno.” Sybil shook her head. “Clarice seems pretty decisive to me.” She heaved a sigh. “Let’s just put things aside in one corner where we can access it easily. I’ll double check with Clarice.”

“In the meantime, we can keep dusting.” Letisha lifted a duster and waved it around. “If Clarice changes her mind, we’ll be able to get to it fast and then put it back where we found it.”

Sybil called Clarice. To her surprise, the woman said, “Well, you’re right. I’m wondering if I need to reconsider moving out. What do you think of that list for the cellar?”

Sybil almost didn’t answer, caught up in surprise that maybe Clarice wouldn’t sell the big house after all, even though Sybil suspected the woman might’ve changed her mind.

“You can change your mind. It’s your house.”

Clarice chuckled. “And the list?”

“We’ll just clean up down there. Dust everything off. Put everything on your list in one area and that way, you know what you planned to have hauled out.”

“Thanks so much. If I decide to do a big move everything will be in order.”

Sybil smiled to herself. “Depending how long you wait, you can hire us to clean things again.”

Clarice laughed. “My dear, if I wait much longer, I’ll be dead. I’m sorry. My father used to say that I was scatter brained. Of course, he was a bit of an ass.” Clarice grunted. “Oh, sorry, my dear. I’ve got another call coming in that I must take. If that’s all for now...”

“Of course.”

They signed off, and Sybil rubbed her forehead. This entire day had already gone in too many directions.

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