“The guy from the motel. His name is Will. He told Elijah he lived in Greenview, Indiana. His page is gone now, though. You think you could find out who he is?”
There was a pause. “You want me to try to hack into a deleted hookup account with that little bit of info?”
“I mean, you love me, right?”
He chuckled. “I wish you’d come back home so we could hang out again and put that place in your past for good.”
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “Can’t do that right now. Elijah’s life is on the line.”
“Well, bringElijahwith you.”
“For starters, he’s not really supposed to leave town, and I have a feeling his problems would follow him even if he did leave. Someone is out for him, and they’re serious about it. Can you see what you can find?”
“This is seriously an ask. I mean, how common is the name Will? I’m supposed to find this guy with no last name, a first name that’s probably fake, and a town that he probably doesn’t even live in? What’s your friend’s whole name?”
“Elijah Stallard.”
“When were they messaging?”
“It’s been a while. Over a year, I guess.”
Another deep sigh. “You said they hooked up in a roach motel in Greenview, Indiana? Was your friend even concerned about his safety? Are you sure you’re okay, Mason?”
“I’m fine. It’s complicated. There’s a lot in our history. I just need him to be okay, Miller. I need this. Badly.”
“Yeah, alright. I’ll see what I can dig up. This one’s probably going to take longer, though.”
“Just knowing you’re on the case makes me feel better. I’m going to keep nosing around here.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that. You take care of yourself, Mason.”
“Will do.” We hung up, and I felt a little better. Jodie brought my food, Jaron and Tanner finished theirs and left, and I ate my lunch in peace.
Chapter 18
Elijah
“Hey, Elijah, can you take the paperwork downstairs for the euthanasia? Rory just got it all filled out.”
My heart dropped, but I took the paperwork from my boss and mumbled an affirmative. I’d really had about all I could take after the shadow in my house in the middle of the night, and then the guy standing stock still in the woods this morning. I knew he wasn’t real, at least notalivereal, but I’d needed Mason to confirm it. The fact that he’d been looking away, but standing where I could see him, was almost worse than if he’d been looking at my house. If he’d moved even a little bit it would have been less unnerving.What the fuck could he possibly have been looking at out there?And was it the same entity that had been in the house? I couldn’t tell. It wasn’t as though I never saw things like that, but not at my house. I’d done everything I could think of to protect my house and my property. I’d saged it, and the amount of salt I’d used when I moved in was frankly embarrassing. I’d even had a priest come out and bless it. I had holy water in my possession and I’d used it more than once. Maybe I needed to again.
I kind of wished I had some with me at work. I hated going into the basement, but it wasn’t because we kept our freezers down there. That part of the job always hurt, and it took a lot out of me every time someone had to let their pet go, but having one of those sweet patients come and visit me wouldn’t have bothered me. No, it was the building. The knowledge that it had been a medical office so long ago, with a room down there that we weren’t allowed to question, pretty much did me in. Rory had tried the door to the room once, wanting to explore and maybe ghost hunt, but it was securely locked. I wasn’t sure my boss even had the key to it, and we didn’t ask. If he knew what it was, he wasn’t telling us. And I didn’t want to ghost hunt anyway. I didn’t have to hunt for them; they found me when I didn’t want them to.
I wasn’t normally a coward. I let a lot of weird things slide, and I could usually suck it up and ignore my fear. I’d just had a lot going on in the past twelve hours, and I was starting to feel like more than just living people were out to get me, so the basement wasn’t on the list of places I really wanted to go. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice.
I glanced up front hoping Rory could go with me. I didn’t even care if she made fun of me for asking, but I heard her on the phone, so I knew she was busy. I sighed and flipped the light switch. The basement was unfinished, which made that locked room even weirder. There was a door that led outside on the wall opposite the stairs, which ran across the length of the building. There were a few high windows, but they were always in shadow and didn’t let much light in. The sparse, hanging fluorescent lights hummed as they made it possible to see where you were going, but not much more.
I made it to the bottom of the stairs, pausing to make sure the door was still open. Seeing that it was, I walked across the room to the freezers, pulling a folder out of the file rack hanging above them. I took a breath and tried to ignore the instinct that was slowly letting me know I was being watched. The lights above me flickered. “Fuck this,” I whispered, shoving the paperinto the folder and replacing it as I hurried to leave.
No sooner had I turned around but the door creaked closed at the top of the stairs. It didn’t slam, the click was quiet, but it was ominous. The lights flickered again. I looked at the stairs, then at the outside door on the wall to my right, weighing my options. They were both equally far from me. “Rory?” I croaked out, hoping she was somehow messing with me.
Almost as soon as I spoke, the lights went out.Fuck.There were two thin beams of light coming from the windows, but they weren’t enough to light the way. I knew the path to the stairs was clear, so I moved that way even though the door had just shut on its own. I put my hands out in front of me in case I veered off the path without realizing it.
I suddenly heard footsteps behind me, soft but distinct, coming from the direction of the locked room. They were barely audible and yet I was hyperaware of them, since the softness made it feel like they were trying to sneak up on me.
They were gaining on me. I sped up and reached the stairs, tripping up the first few since I couldn’t see. I caught myself with my hands and clambered up them, hearing the footsteps start up at the bottom. I prayed the door wouldn’t be stuck like in a horror movie. To my relief, the handle turned and the door creaked open.
My joy was short-lived, because it was dark on the main floor as well. I could see light coming from the front room, where there were windows, but the electricity must have gone out everywhere. I shut the door behind me, hoping to slow whatever was following, and took a few steps toward the front, because there were no windows in the back and I didn’t want to be in complete darkness.
