Page 28 of Lake Hollow Curses

I still find holes in all the possible reasons he’d have something to do with the drownings. He was only thirteen when they started, no one has ever mentioned a problem with any of the victims, including his sister. Could Carlotta’s suspicion be misplaced? But then what about the freaking picture?

My mind is wrapped up with thoughts of Cal, when I stop short in front of the Marlow's neighbor’s home. On one side is the Funpark property and the other is a beige tri-level home, the yard is spotted with rock gardens filled with decorative shrubs. The sign pushed into their yard near the roadway stops me in my tracks. Sponsored by the sheriff’s office the heading says, ‘Do you have information regarding these investigations?’ Below it are six pictures: Mark Tullery, Mia Kelley, Tera Hersch, Jeremy Eiler, Susanna Ross, and Sara Truitt. I step closer, bending to look at the wording below… if you have any information, contact Detective Julia Hemminger followed by a number.

All those cases are reopened.

Except Katie Gibson?

The flush of heat in my face, the tightness in my chest, and the sudden panic all cause me to freeze in front of the Tullery residence. Hemminger doesn’t have enough… just circumstantial evidence for an arrest. But the Sheriff’s officehas a ‘person of interest’. The cases are open again. I know something I’ve tried to deny to myself. What the hell am I doing?

The rest of my walk back to the cabin, I notice the double-sided corrugated plastic yard signs placed by the Sheriff’s office in several more places. Even on the boulevard near the Funpark and the entrance to The Bends. It feels like a desperate last-ditch effort on behalf of the Sheriff’s office.

It’s several more unneeded reminders of all that I’m keeping to myself.

Hugging my knees to my chest, I sit at the end of the dock watching the sunset. Droolius nudges under my arm. “Oh, buddy… go fetch your stick up, go get it. Go on,” I urge him in a high-pitched sing songy voice. The enthusiasm is completely faked for my furry friend.

I turn when I hear someone step onto the dock to see Uncle Skip approaching. “You claim to hate being attacked by the mosquitos, but I find you out here under a cloud of them.”

“I’m complicated.”

He sits next to me, dipping his feet into the water. “Everything all set for Florida?” We haven’t had a talk of any kind for weeks. I suppose he’s feeling the pressure to do it because I’m leaving. “On my way home, I checked the mural out. Impressive. I knew it would be, but you’ve really outdone yourself, Rem.” He grabs my hand giving it a bit of a shake. We’ve never been a family that hugs one another, or, I’m learning, shares emotions in healthy ways.

“Thanks?” The last thing I need or want right now is a forced conversation with Skip. “Before I forget, Wilder is takingDroolius home with him to Hancock, the Hops are going to Keenan and Ceily’s, and Squiggles is going with Taj.” Leaving my little posse behind is another hurdle, but they’ll be safe with their new caretakers. Plus, it won’t be forever.

“Imagine my shock when I heard you’re flying.” He shakes his head with a sigh. “It wasn’t long ago you refused to get on a plane…” His words drifts off.

Yeah, wonder why. Now, it’s the only option that gives me just a bit more time with my guys. I don’t bother to acknowledge his comment. Especially since we’ve never addressed what happened between Aunt Bo and mom.

“Rem, you know I care about you, don’t you?” There’s a catch in his voice. My head swivels his way, but he keeps staring at the water. “I had a talk with Wilder. He had a few things he wanted me to… consider. It was mentioned that you think I didn’t want you to come live with us.”

Oh, for the love of self-expression…

“And you’re saying now that you did?”

In an indignant tone he replies, “Of course.”

But I remember…“Well, she doesn’t have anyone else, I have to take her, right?”

“Oh, Remi. I was terrified of you.”

What?! That’s rich, I was a twelve-year-old girl. “What did it for you? Was it my Kool aid-stained hair? The alligator I drew up my leg, or I know, must have been the black eye I had from beach driftwood that hit me during a storm. I was pretty scary.” I know I sound like a bitch. Right now, I’m tired of listening to his lame excuses. Looking back, I know I acted with a bravado I didn’t really have, but he was the damn adult. I felt unwanted before I even left with him.

“You might not remember, but you didn’t want to go with me. In fact, you told the CPS worker that I was an unfit carnival clown. That wasn’t what worried or scared me. It was the wayyou’d stare everyone down. Here was this scrawny kid that came across like a battle-scarred adult. I wasn’t sure how I could help you.”

I didn’t know my uncle then, and he didn’t know me. The sporadic times through the years that I’d seen him were only memorable because I’d hear about his misadventures: the clown go-carts, chainsaw juggling, themed carwashes, one business idea after another that fell apart.

The silence between us is full of unspoken inadequacies. I never knew how to be vulnerable; he didn’t know how to nurture. He finally continues, “I don’t talk about my sister. There isn’t a good way to explain why…”

“You could try,” I say softly. “Did you hate her?”

I don’t turn to look at him when I hear a sniffle. “I wish I could. When your mom was a teenager, she ran away… not once but four times. Each time the police returned her, it got worse for her at home. The last time she was leaving… the time that stuck, I begged to go with her. She told me she’d come back for me. She never did. I didn’t hear from her for almost two years. But I got it. I really did, our parents saw us as money makers not as people.” He wipes his eyes. “I thought I was better than that with you and Natalie, but Wilder has me wondering about that now. Did I pick up bad traits from your grandparents?”

My resolve weakens when I consider the upbringing that my uncle and mom had. The pieces my mom would divulge through the years sounded horrific. Con artist scams they were forced to play a role in, being locked in small rooms with no food and other harsh punishments, when they didn’t perform well enough. There was no love, no affection.

“Don’t be that hard on yourself. Sometimes, I think… I don’t know, I think you’ve been conditioned to manipulate people, like Relia was.” That is the most forward thing I’ve ever uttered to myuncle. It’s the truth behind my feelings towards him that I could never say. I brace myself for his reaction.

“Oh. That hurts.” He puts a hand over his heart, hanging his head. “Your boyfriend said pretty much the same thing… that I manipulate people into doing things. He’s about as opinionated as you are.”

That’s Wilder. Just one of the reasons I’ve fallen for him. “Some of the best people aren’t afraid to voice their opinions even when they know it won’t be popular.”

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