Page 87 of Eldritch

He laughed again, saying, “Okay, well, I’ll be flattered then.”

She smiled, enjoying the banter.

Five miles passed quickly even though he took the snowy road with caution and respect. They turned south down another road. They traveled about a mile, and he made a left turn down a narrower road.

“This is my driveway,” he said.

She took in the trees alongside the driveway. “Is it my imagination or are the trees here closer to normal size? They’re still large, but not as insane as the mansion.”

“I noticed that, too. I think I like it better. Those immense trees east of here are just weird.”

The truck headlights illuminated the cabin a moment later.

She leaned forward a little as he parked the truck in the driveway. Warm light illuminated the tall windows at the front of the cabin. She took in what she could see of the two-story structure.

“This is more than a cabin. It is bigger and more modern-looking than I expected,” she said.

He shut off the truck. “My uncle bought the original cabin back in the nineteen seventies when it was new. He added square feet and modernized it about fifteen years ago.”

They piled out and entered the house from a side door that led into a sizeable, tidy mudroom.

“I thought I’d build a garage for this place at one point, but that seems like too much effort right now,” he said as she followed him into the large, well-appointed kitchen.

“I love it.” She was gaga over the kitchen. “It’s rustic without really being rustic, if you know what I mean.”

He smiled. “Exactly.”

The living room wasn’t entirely open to the kitchen, and a big, dark wood dining table sat to one side of the extensive area. A two-story ceiling hung over the living room. A stone fireplace took up part of the south wall. Two loveseats and a large couch grouped in front of the fireplace and around an equally impressive square wood coffee table. The color palette consisted of earthy dark brown shades, with hints of rich red and green. Curtains lay open over the tall windows.

She did a three sixty turn in the middle of the living room. “I’m impressed.”

“I think my uncle had great taste. Want something to drink? I’ve got merlot to go with the spaghetti.”

“I’d love some.”

He poured a glass for each of them, and they took it to the living room. She sat on the loveseat facing the tall windows at the front of the house, and he took the couch facing the fireplace.

“Clinton should be here soon. When I told him about Taggert, he was all in to help.”

“By the way, I talked to a Sergeant Curtis Holberger at the Sheriff’s department.” She explained what the law enforcement officer had said.

“Curtis is a good guy. He didn’t say where Annapolis was?”

“No. He just said she wasn’t available.”

Clinton arrived less than five minutes later. Clinton and Sybil sat in the cozy breakfast nook while Doug insisted on doing all the cooking.

“Did you find anything out?” Doug asked Clinton.

Clinton took a swig of his non-alcoholic beer, his expression serious and maybe a little worried. “Yeah. Some of it is strange.”

Her stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”

“I researched this Taggert clown, and the house you’re cleaning. I didn’t bring the paperwork with me. Figured I’d email it to you. The guy is a real piece of work. Since the time you broke it off with him, he’s been acting out. Including getting a restraining order put on him by another woman.”

She stuffed her hands in her hair for a moment and let out a sound of disgust. “Oh, my God.”

Clinton nodded. “Get this. She’s nineteen years old. Barely legal. Huge age gap between him and this girl. She’s the daughter of a rich dude in Texas...I forgot to mention Taggert moved back to Texas after you broke it off with him six months ago. He’s been working as a construction manager. Anyway, he started stalking this rich dude’s daughter right away. Fortunately, she was smart and realized what was happening right away, and so did her family. They got a restraining order.”

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