“I’ll keep you updated. Bye.” I hit the red icon to end the call, then gather my wits for a moment before facing Eugene again.
“Can I expect the whole town to be out here any minute or was that your dad?” he calls loudly. His posture is stiff, as is his jaw.
“Not my dad,” I answer. “I spoke to Deloris from the station, she’s aware there have been incidents in the past, as are the other officers.”
Eugene shoves his hands into his front pockets and lets out a harrumph. “Surprised the entire town’s not talking about it then.”
“Where else should we look? Where has Dad found her?” Something about this entire thing still feels off, but I figure the sooner we find her, the sooner we can make sure she’s okay and be done with the Dobys.
Eugene looks to the right, and his brow furrows deeply. “I found her near the strip once.”
“The strip?” I question.
Eugene shakes his head and amends, “The creek.”
That’s an odd slipup, but it’s not as if I’ve never thought one thing and said another. “Is that on your property?”
“Yeah, out that way.” He points toward the tall grass field.
I look over at Remy. “Please tell me your SUV is a 4x4?” I really don’t want to walk through that.
He scoffs. “Do you know what that shit would do to the paint?” It’s more of a rhetorical question. Looks like we’ll be hoofing it.
FAILURE MIGHT BE YOUR ONLY OPTION.
Once we get into the grass, it’s not as bad as I had imagined. Sure, it’s tall, but it’s kind of sparse too so it’s easy to find places to walk, which means Aisling might have come this way. I haven’t seen Percy since we were in the barn. He’s still hunting for treasures, otherwise I would ask him if he’s picked up on anything.
“Not much farther,” Eugene calls, but it’s not the first time he’s uttered those words. For being as old as he is, I’d think he’d be huffing or at least look winded, but he doesn’t. He is, however, still leaking magic, so that might have something to do with it.
“Feels like we’re zigzagging back and forth. Are you sure you know where the creek is?” Remy questions.
“I know where it is,” Eugene snarls and stomps ahead a few more paces.
“He doesn’t have a fucking clue,” Remy mumbles under his breath. “There’s no way aconfusedolder lady could make this trek unless she had good reason to.” I agree with his statement, but I don’t voice it while Eugene might be able to overhear me.
“See!” Eugene snaps victoriously. I go up on my toes, but I have no clue what he’s talking about. After about fifty feet, the ground slopes down a little and gets soggier. I can’t see any creek yet, but it must be close.
Remy lets out a grunt when we finally reach the edge of the grass. There’s a heavy line of trees on the other side of the bank, making it seem improbable that someone would have crossed over the water, and this side is too marshy to do much but focus on your footing so you don’t slide into the creek.
I look to the left and right just to make sure I’m not missing an area that might be more habitable. “There isn’t anyone out here,” Remy observes, voicing my thoughts.
“Maybe it was earlier in the spring last time,” Eugene replies as if that would explain how it would be reasonable to think she was out here.
“Should we walk down the bank?” I offer.
“I don’t see any point.” Remy crosses his arms over his chest and glares at the side of Eugene’s head.
Without any further explanation, Eugene turns around and heads back the way we came, leaving us to trail after him. He doesn’t seem bothered by the wasted trip. Maybe it’s because he was hopeful she was here and we eliminated that possibility, so he doesn’t feel as if it was wasted time at all.
By the time we reach the barn and the house comes into view, dusk is upon us. My feet ache a bit, and I have mosquito bites in more places than I want to discuss.
Finally, I thought I might have to walk out and rescue you, Percy remarks from nearby.Find anything interesting?
“No, how about you?” I keep my voice low so as not to be overheard by Eugene. He’s well ahead of us anyway.
A light came on in the house.I catch sight of Percy as he hops across the ground, coming closer to me before scaling my pants.Well, it flickered a few times.
“That’s very interesting.” I reward him with a little scratch between the ears.
