Page 35 of Fanged Interest

The old man eyed me with a wicked grin. “It looks like you’re having a bit of trouble, Miss Vincent.”

“Nope.” I climbed to my feet, wiping my muddy hands on my equally grimy jeans. “No trouble, just getting the geyser up and running again.”

I wasn’t sure why the old man made me so uncomfortable, but I was hesitant to stand out in the rain with him around, especially with Jordan so far from home. “What are you doing here? It’s late. I thought your shift ended at four?”

Elijah shrugged, his wizened features cracking as he smiled. “I did a bit of overtime today. Some hedges needed trimming.”

From what I had seen of the manor, the hedges looked like they hadn’t been trimmed in months, so his story made sense. But even so, something told me to get back into the house as soon as possible.

“Oh, Okay. Well, I should be getting back…” I scuffed the waterlogged dirt, inching backward towards the front door.

“If you need help fixing that geyser, there are some spare parts down in the shed.” Elijah jerked his chin towards the back of the house. “I could show you where they are.”

“I don’t think–” I hesitated. On the one hand I didn’t want to spend more time with this guy than I had to. But fixing the geyser would have to happen eventually.

The weather outside was frosty, and my aching limbs yearned for a decent hot bath. The twins would also be waking from their nap right about then, and heaven help us all if they found their bottles empty.

“Uh, sure. That would be great.”

Elijah hiked up his dungarees. “Right, follow me. It’s just around the back.”

Tentatively, I followed after him, making a note to leave heavy footprints in the mud. I doubted Sigrid would notice nor care if I were to go missing, but I at least wanted to leave some trace for Jordan to follow if I happened to be overpowered by a little old man.

Elijah led me around the back of the house, gesturing to a crumbling old shed that stood a little way off, nearly hidden between the dense trees. Every horror movie I’d ever watched came back to me as we walked, and I eyed the discarded garden tools that lay strewn about the path.

As we walked, the still, dreary atmosphere transformed into one of impending danger. A chilling breeze whispered through the leaves, and my chest heaved with an inexplicable sense of unease.

I considered turning tail and running then and there, but Elijah paused, and turned to face me. “Before I forget, I found this locket out in the flower garden. I do believe it belongs to the lady of the house.”

He pulled a golden chain from his pocket, dangling it in front of my nose. “Would you mind returning it to darling Jordan for me?”

“Sure.” I was hesitant to touch the necklace, but Elijah dropped it into my open palm before I could retract my hand.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jordan wear this,” I murmured, pocketing the necklace anyway. “Are you sure it’s hers?”

Elijah shrugged and carried on shuffling toward the cabin. “It could be Sigrid’s, who knows. It’s amazing the things you find out in that garden. You can tell a lot about the residents from what you find there.”

A brief image of Hazel rooting around in Sigrid’s plant bed came to mind, and my suspicion grew tenfold. “I’m sure you can.”

Elijah pressed on ahead like he hadn’t heard my cautious tone. “Anyway, where is Jordan these days? I haven’t seen her around lately.”

“She’s not–” I swallowed the truth and instead presented what I hoped was a believable lie. “She’s not feeling well. She’s back at the house trying to break a… fever.”

“I see.” Elijah nodded gravely. “Well, that’s too bad. You must be feeling pretty lonely with her being bedridden.”

“Uh-huh.” The canopy of trees cast a deep shadow over the path, like the forest beyond was a slumbering beast, the two of us wandering into its open maw. At least we weren’t getting rained on anymore.

“Here we are.” Elijah hauled open the door of the shed. It creaked on its hinges, squealing like it hadn’t been used in months.

The interior of the drooping building was dusty, and through the entrance I spotted a fine layer of grime and spiderwebs covering the equipment inside. I spotted a toolbox in the corner and sighed with relief. “That’ll be helpful. Thanks, Elijah.”

I was about to step past him into the shed when something occurred to me.

I backed up a few steps, dread curdling in my stomach like sour milk. My chest tightened as I took in the unused tools, hedge clippers, rakes and shovels. “These haven’t been touched in months…”

The quiet voice of caution in my head grew louder, a fog horn blaring an urgent warning. I narrowed my eyes at the old man, who suddenly looked far stranger than he had a moment ago.

“You’re supposed to be the gardener.” I lifted a quivering hand to point at the hedge clippers inside, a shimmering spiderweb erected between the blades. “How did you trim the hedges without these?”

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