Hidden in Shadow Pines (10 page)

The room had four shelves of books, each row with about twenty books. I started on the top shelf, pulling each book off the shelf to read the title.
House Plans. Electrical Engineering. Proper Entertaining. Town Bylaws.

I sat at the table and started reading the bylaws.

The town of Shadow Pines is hereby formed on this twentieth day of January Eighteen-Hundred-Fifty-Four.

The outside world will have no impact on how we raise our families or influence our decisions.

These bylaws will help ensure personal safety and educate and guide us how to comply with the rules of living in Shadow Pines. Following these rules contributes to making Shadow Pines a safe and beautiful town to live in.

Shadow Pines shall consist of two-thousand-eight-hundred-eighty-eight acres purchased by Isaac Stovall. The town council shall oversee all activities of Shadow Pines. The town council shall have one member from each of the five families: Stovall, Blair, Gillen, Larson, Luster.

Upon the death of a town council member, the firstborn son shall fill the position upon his twenty-fifth birthday. If the firstborn son is deceased, the second son shall fill the position, etcetera.

If a bloodline shall cease to exist, the town council shall be allowed to add a new member from another family only if the man is as least the age of thirty-five and has one son.

No member of the town council shall vacate his position prior to death.

In accordance with the rules herein set forth, any person in violation of any rule shall be subject to quarantine for a minimum of three months to a maximum of three years.

The next few pages contained the same rules that Jaime had given me on my first day in Shadow Pines.

Hereby dated this twentieth day of January, Eighteen-Hundred-Fifty-Four, the five member town council accepts the above written statements are true and acknowledges them as signed below.

Five signatures were affixed, those of Isaac Stovall, Herschel Luster, Ezra Blair, Benjamin Gillen, and Jonas Larson. I wondered how many generations Herschel Luster went back in my lineage. These rules hadn’t changed in one-hundred-fifty-nine years.

Moving onto the second shelf, I found a book of poems. I scanned the book and found a poem written by Ina Luster. She was likely a distant relative.

Wildflower

You are a positive power,

Overcoming obstacles on every hand,

Adding beauty to our ravaged land.

Wars have not destroyed you.

You come forth each season with strength,

Making spots of beauty to encourage

With inspiration, so the weak

Find help, as we humans, our Maker seek.

Lovely wildflower, you have no race nor creed

As you emerge from bulb or seed,

Stems thick or thin, short or tall,

Thank you, dear Lord, who makes you all.

I put the book back and continued looking.
Town Accounts 1935, Student Driving 101, Town Council Members Handbook.

Nicholas Luster wrote the handbook in 1885. A chill went down my back. A family member had penned this book. A family member whom my dad was named after.

I, Nicholas Archadia Luster, do hereby write these words down to keep my family members, and the family members of the town council, safe in the event the stone wall should be destroyed.

This book is intended to be read only by Stovall, Blair, Gillen, Larson, and Luster family members. Any other resident caught reading these words shall be convicted of disobeying Rule 3—no stealing—and quarantined for three years.

The symbols below have been designated to represent the following:

Deer – money

Diamond – safety

Square within Circle – food supply

Circle within Square – firearms

Two locations have been assigned for each symbol. Each town council member has a map with the locations. It is within their discretion which family member shall bear the responsibility of keeping the secret of the symbols.

Two tunnels have been built to save the above-mentioned family members. I shall not write the locations in this book, should it fall into enemy hands.

Remember the order. Find the star, right four, down two, in goes the ring, and turn it twice. The bronze skeleton will open the door to freedom.

I gasped. That was the saying Ed made me repeat every time we met. Ed really was my grandfather. All those times of saying the phrase, I finally understood its meaning.

I put the book in my purse, turned off the light, and closed the door. I’d disobeyed Rule 3—no stealing.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Monday, August 12, 2013, 3:30 p.m.
(day 7 in Shadow Pines—later in the afternoon)

I decided to take a chance and see if Thomas was still at the bank. I had to trust him one more time, even though a small part of me questioned his sincerity. I peered in through the glass doors and could see Thomas at his desk. I knocked, but he didn’t move. I knocked louder. He raised his head and waved, then got up and unlocked the door.

“Come on in. I’m the only person here.”

Knowing we were alone, I told him, “I need your help.”

Without hesitation, Thomas said, “Sure. Did you figure something out?”

“I think so. But…I need you to drive me to the Stovalls this evening.” My breathing intensified just considering getting in a car.

He gave me a serious look. “What’s wrong?”

I blew out a big breath of air. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a car. Long story, but I’m starting to hyperventilate just thinking about it. Still, it may mean my freedom.” My hands started to tremble.

“Anything.” Thomas took my hands in his. “It’ll be okay. Just calm down.”

I dropped my head, embarrassed I was having the jitters about riding in a car. “I don’t want you to get in any trouble with the town council.”

Thomas tried to reassure me. “Don’t worry about them.”

Raising my head, I swallowed hard. “Can you pick me up at the park by Jaime’s at eleven o’clock?”

“Why so late?” Thomas asked.

“Jaime needs to be asleep, and so do most of the people in town. I don’t want prying eyes.”

Thomas nodded. “Okay. I’ll pick you up at eleven.”

I walked back to Jaime’s and retrieved the plastic bag I’d buried in the backyard. Jaime wouldn’t be home from work for another hour. I had one hour to make sure my plan to get out of Shadow Pines would work.

I rolled out the drawing on my typing table. Thinking back to the short time I’d spent in front of the real fireplace at the Stovall residence, I knew this drawing was identical. I found the star, then right four and down two. A circle had been drawn on the map. This must be where the garnet ring would fit. But I saw no door for the skeleton key to open. I had a slim chance, but my plan had to work. I didn’t want to spend another day in Shadow Pines.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Monday, August 12, 2013, 11 p.m.
(day 7 in Shadow Pines—hoping to go home)

I waited on the park bench, trying to remain calm. I kept telling myself,
You can do this, you can get in a car, you can conquer your fear
.

I stood and paced, then sat back down.
I’m not going to be able to do this
, I thought.

Thomas pulled to the curb in front of the bench five minutes after eleven. He left the car running while he got out and walked over to the bench.

“Take my hand. You can do it,” he said.

I pulled my hand away. “I don’t think I can.”

Thomas sat next to me. “Tell me why you have such a fear.”

I couldn’t look him in the face. I turned and lowered my head. “The last time I drove a car was on my eighteenth birthday. There was rain and lightning. I ran a red light. I didn’t find out until weeks later that the vehicle that almost hit me was a log truck. The driver slammed on his brakes and the force of the stop broke a few belts. Logs fell off onto the top of a car, killing two people. Those two people were my parents.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “I’ve never told anyone that story. The truck driver couldn’t identify the car…my car. It’s been in my garage ever since that night. The last car I was in, consciously, was the black limousine at my parents’ funeral. I’ve learned to cope with walking everywhere I need to go.”

“Isabella. I’m so sorry.” Thomas wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.

Wiping away tears, I said, “Amaxophobia. That’s what I have. The fear of being in or riding in a vehicle.”

“I’m here with you. Everything will be fine.”

Thomas took my hand and helped me into the passenger seat. “Close your eyes. Deep breaths. I’m going to buckle you in.”

I heard a click, then the door closed. My whole body shook. I tightly grabbed my purse sitting in my lap.

I heard Thomas get in the car and shift gears. In a calm, steady voice he said, “I’m going to pull away from the curb now. Just keep breathing. You’re doing great.”

Since it was helping me stay relatively relaxed, I kept my eyes closed. “Drive to the Stovalls’. Park on the west side of Stovall Street, a few hundred feet away from the driveway. I don’t want Francine or Devlin to know we’re on their property.”

“Got it.” I could feel the car turning left on Third Avenue. Thomas continued, “Now, I’m going to tell you the story of how I broke Rule 3—no stealing—when I was in fourth grade.”

Confused, I asked, “Why are you telling me a story?”

“Just focus on my voice and nothing else until we get there.”

“Okay. Sounds good.” Actually the tranquil tone of his voice was keeping me calm.

“I was ten and wanted my dad to buy me a horn for my bike. All the kids in the neighborhood had one, except me. He told me I didn’t need one and I should be happy that I had a bike to ride to school. One morning, I took two dollars from my dad’s wallet. On my way home from school I stopped at the grocery store and bought a horn. I was the happiest kid, until I got home. I made a big mistake and lied to my father about where I got the money. I got a whooping for stealing his money. The next day I had to take the horn back to the grocery store.”

I could now feel the car turn on Fifth Street. Two more turns, then we’d be stopping. Thomas slowed as he took the next turn. The car ride was almost over. My breathing was almost back to normal.

As we took the last turn, I heard a loud bang. I screamed when the car swerved, then rolled down an embankment, landing on its side.

Thomas sputtered, “Isabella, are you okay?”

I felt the back of my head. “I think I bumped my head. You okay?”

Thomas’ voice was shallow. “Shot fired…get out…before they…”

“Before they what?” I looked over at Thomas. His head had slumped against the driver’s side door. I turned on the overhead light. A piece of metal fencing had pierced his chest. I felt for a pulse. Nothing. My lower lip quivered.

Blood oozed over the seat and onto the floorboards. Next to Thomas’s foot lay a flip phone. It looked just like the one at Francine’s and the one in Lincoln’s van.

Since I was precariously hanging in my seat, I situated my feet carefully on the dashboard and driver’s seat. I managed to unbuckle my seat belt without falling, then reached down and grabbed the phone.

I tried opening the passenger door, but it wouldn’t budge. Throwing my purse strap around my neck, I took one last look at Thomas, then climbed into the back seat and tried the back door. Thankfully, it opened. I threw the door wide and climbed out. Fearing the shooter might be close, I crouched down, making my way around to the front of the vehicle.

I opened the phone and pressed the call button. No dial tone. I pressed the message button and realized Thomas had been texting three people identified as 1, 2, and 5. Fearing I might be tracked, I turned off the phone and threw it in my purse.

Do I run or do I wait?
This was an isolated piece of road with trees on both sides. I decided I couldn’t wait any longer and crawled up the ditch, then ran through the woods to the west, not even looking behind to see if anyone was following me. I determined my best chance of survival was to climb an oak tree. Get to higher ground. Stay hidden.

For a moment I felt as if I were ten and climbing trees in Gibson Park. I climbed higher than I probably should have, but the extra coating of leaves provided additional protection. I sat in a crook of the tree and listened for anyone who might have followed me.

A few minutes later, I heard footsteps coming from behind. Soon I heard the steps of someone running toward me. Both people were getting closer. I looked down through the branches and caught a glimpse of someone standing under the tree.
Couldn’t be
. It was Devlin.

“Why did you shoot at them? You idiot. We were going to grab her when they headed toward the house. That was the plan. We’d bury her in the woods and Thomas would take the money out of the bank. It’d look as if Isabella skipped town just like her dad.” He talked in a normal fashion, no hint of his usual childlike voice.

“It wasn’t me.” The second person wore a hoodie so I couldn’t see his face. However, I caught a whiff of Stetson cologne. I assumed the second person was Lincoln.

“What was all the noise about?”

“The car rolled into the ditch. Thomas is dead.”

“Where’s Isabella?” Devlin asked.

“She wasn’t in the car. Thomas must have lied to you.”

“He wouldn’t lie to me. It makes no sense.”

“Doesn’t really matter now. You think your mom heard anything?”

Devlin chuckled. “No. I gave her an extra dose of Benadryl in her nighttime coffee. It’d take a cannon to go off in the house for her to wake up.”

“Don’t you worry your mom will die from all the drugs you give her?”

“So long as she keeps doing everything for me, I don’t care.”

“Devlin, you’ve been playing the disabled son for seven years now.”

“One more year. After your dad dies of cancer, you get on the town council when you turn twenty-five. I recover. Hudson has a heart attack, just like Gloria. We add young blood to the council. You and me, Lincoln, we’ll change this town—and the stupid rules.”

“Still can’t believe you killed Gloria.”

Devlin grunted. “I had to. She knew too much. Plus she was becoming friendly with Isabella.”

“So you going to kill Isabella, too?”

Devlin let out a devilish laugh that chilled me to the bone. “It’ll be a little trickier now that we need her to get the money. I’ll make it look like a suicide. She’s fragile to begin with. Add that to two people she knew dying within a few days of each other, it’ll be easy to fake.”

“You’re having fun with this, aren’t you?”

“Her grandfather killed my dad. It’s called payback.”

A siren sounded in the distance.

“Somebody called the fire department.” Devlin grabbed the front of Lincoln’s hoodie and pulled him close. “You go home. You know nothing. Got it?”

Lincoln broke free from Devlin’s grasp. “Yeah. Got it.” Both men took off to the north, then I lost sight of them.

I sat stunned. No one would believe me if I told them about the conversation I’d just overheard. And I couldn’t trust anyone else. I’d thought I could trust Thomas, but from what I’d just heard, our friendship was a lie. I wondered if he knew all along that Ed was alive and that he’d duped me to get close to me so he could get the Luster family fortune.

I’d gladly give Devlin and Lincoln all the money if they’d let me live and leave Shadow Pines. However, I didn’t think that was the scenario Devlin had in mind.

I wrapped my arms around my knees, hiding my head. I thought of everything that had happened in the last eight days. A wave of anger passed over me, and I clenched my jaw.

A twig snapped. I held my breath as I looked down. I recognized the overalls—Hudson. It was getting a tad bit creepy how he always knew where I was. Did the cell phone have a tracking device in it? Did he even know about the cell phone? Either way, I’d have to ditch it once I reviewed the messages.

“Wanna come down?” Hudson said as he peered up through the branches. “You’re trespassing in my tree.”