Bad Places Read online

  Brady, still shaken, was leaning forward with his hands on his thighs. He looked over at Billy and Teddy. “Thank you!”

  “I swear, that truck swerved right into your car at the last second!’ Teddy exclaimed, heart still racing from the close encounter.

  Teddy, Brady, and Billy looked into the truck.

  “Nobody here,” Billy said. “How can a truck swerve on its own?”

  “Where’s Gary?” Teddy asked, looking around.

  The group walked slowly to the back of Gary’s car.

  Ashley screamed, looking upward.

  Gary had been thrown up against an old utility pole, the kind with iron footholds for when maintained. One of the iron footholds was rammed through the back of Gary’s head and was sticking out of his open mouth as he hung ten feet above the ground. As the girls continued to scream, Billy turned away from the horrible sight, and saw the Man in Black, up the street, smiling that too-wide smile.

  Police lights, a large crowd kept back, a black tarp hung over Gary’s still-suspended body. The girls were huddled together, away from Billy, Teddy, and Brady, cheap blankets pulled over the girls’ shoulders.

  “Can’t they at least take him down?” Teddy was keeping his eyes averted from the grisly sight.

  “Brady...” Billy motioned for him to follow, the two walking off a few steps.

  “What?”

  “I think we’re in big trouble.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This was no accident.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “I saw the creep in black.”

  “When?”

  “Just after it happened.”

  Brady appeared to think things over for a moment. “Coincidence?”

  “Please...”

  “So what is he? Some kind of terrorist? What’s Jenny mixed up with?”

  “We’re going to have to find out before there’s another... accident.”

  “What do we do next?”

  “Get the creep in black before he gets us!”

  Brady sighed and shook his head. “Okay...” he sounded resigned. “What do we do?”

  “You’re the quarterback.”

  “If the creep crashes through the front line and tries to sack me, I’d know what to do.”

  “We do need a game plan.”

  “What about Teddy?”

  “He and Gary were tight. If we mention the creep, Teddy might go after him.”

  “Really?” Brady sounded surprised.

  “I expect the caption under his senior picture to read: Most Likely to Go on a Tri-State Killing Spree.” Billy exhaled. “Teddy has... issues.”

  “I never would have expected that.”

  “Like Jenny, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Brady nodded. “You got that right.”

  “Let’s get together tomorrow and try to figure out what to do.”

  Billy walked into his bedroom, looking exhausted, both physically and mentally. Koko the dog looked up for a moment and then went back to sleep beside Billy’s bed. Billy crawled onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.

  The telephone woke Billy.

  It was still dark.

  “Hello?” Billy answered.

  “Where did you guys go?”

  Billy sat straight up. “Gary?”

  “I can’t believe you guys took off without me like that!”

  “Where are you?”

  “Where do you think? Come and get me!”

  “It might take me a while.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  Billy was walking slowly up the street. The area was quiet, not even cars out at that time of night. The only thing Billy heard was his own breathing. Then a sound came from his coat pocket and Billy pulled out Gary phone. Billy peered at the screen and saw the word HELL. No number, just the word HELL. Billy answered. “Hello?”

  “Such bravery, answering a call all alone in the dark,” a voice growled in Billy’s ear through the phone.

  “Who is this?”

  “An unnecessary detail at the moment.”

  “Are you the guy I’ve been seeing since Friday?”

  “The creep?” There was laughter. “No.”

  “What do you want?”

  “That is a loaded question!” A long pause. “Certain parties have requested that you be given one more chance to step away from this matter before things turn... interesting.”

  “No.”

  “Yes. Just as I expected. I look forward to meeting you!”

  The phone went dead.

  Billy pocketed the phone and continued walking.

  There was an angry determination on Billy’s face.

  At the scene of the accident, Billy found Brady standing on the sidewalk near the utility pole. “What are you doing here?”

  “Probably the same thing you are.” Brady held up his phone. “I got a call.”

  Billy nodded. “Things are turning weird, Brady.”

  “Gee, you think?”

  “I think we need to call in some help.”

  “Like who?”

  “Do you know Melvin Patterson?”

  Brady rolled his eyes. “Oh, please!”

  “I know, but the guy knows about weird.”

  “Melvin Patterson defines weird, Billy!”

  “If you can think of someone else...”

  Brady took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right.”

  “I’ll call and leave him a message.”

  “This late?”

  “Melvin has a dedicated cell phone number just for this sort of call.” Billy took out the phone and frowned when he looked at the screen. “There’s a text.” Billy opened the text and then held the phone up for Brady to see. BE CAREFUL! -Gary.

  Brady pointed to a sign placed in the front yard of Melvin Patterson’s house that read: MELVIN PATTERSON - Paranormal Investigations (please enter from the back). “This guy has got to be kidding!”

  Just wait,” Billy said. “You haven’t heard anything yet!”

  The two walked around to the back of the house, where another sign pointed to the basement door, and Billy knocked on the door, both hearing a voice from inside.

  “Please, enter!”

  Melvin Patterson looked like a Melvin. Skinny, wearing a black t-shirt with his name emblazoned across the chest, and close-cropped dark hair, Melvin stood up from his cluttered computer desk. The basement walls were covered with posters from horror movies, mostly of the supernatural genre. “Billy?”

  “That’s me. This is-”

  “Brady Quinn. Football star. Melvin knows him already.”

  Hearing Melvin’s use of the third-person, Brady stepped back and shook his head. ‘Oh, hell no!”

  “I’ll handle this,” Billy said quickly.

  “Do you have a problem with Melvin, Brady?”

  “Brady just isn’t used to dealing with someone in your... field, Melvin.”

  “Ah, yes. The supernatural can definitely bother certain individuals. Melvin understands. Especially after what happened last night.”

  “You know what happened?” Billy asked.

  “Melvin read about it online this morning. A tragedy. Melvin is sorry.” Melvin looked down for a second and then snapped his head back up and clapped his hands together loudly. “All right, then! Melvin looked into the property where one Jennifer Sterling lives.”

  Melvin sat down at the computer desk and his fingers flew over the keyboard, bringing up a map of Jennifer’s house.

  “And?” Billy asked, looking over Melvin’s shoulder.

  “No ancient Indian burial ground within twenty miles, not a place where satanic rituals were practiced, and definitely not the site of an old murder scene as the house was brand new when the Sterlings moved in eighteen years ago.” Melvin’s hands were moving wildly as he spoke and Brady obviously found the young man obnoxious.

  “So, what good are you, Melvin?”

  “Melvin thought you would say that, Mr. Q
uinn!” He turned and winked at Brady. “While across the pond, the Sterlings spent a full week at Castle Wickershire, which has quite the colorful past, to say the least. It was the site of numerous iniquities-”

  “Numerous whats!?”

  “Oh, yes,” Melvin said, with a slight sniff. “A football player...” Melvin smiled at Brady. “Iniquity. A grossly immoral act.”

  Brady shook his head. “Whatever.”

  “What happened there, Melvin?”

  “Name it.”

  “Give us details,” Brady demanded.

  “How about rape, murder, cannibalism, satanic rituals-”

  “All right, all right,” Brady said, raising a hand.

  “But the million dollar question is did the evil acts draw evil to the castle or was it there to begin with?”

  “Are you saying the Sterlings brought something back with them?”

  “Melvin doesn’t want to speculate until some first-hand observation.”

  “Are you going to take your ghost detector to the Sterling’s place?” Brady asked, not bothering to hide his sarcasm.

  “This isn’t television, Mr. Quinn. Someone has already died. This is way beyond a haunting.”

  “What is it, then?”

  “That is what we have to find out.”

  “How?” Billy asked.

  “Melvin needs to gather proof before it can be taken to the next level.”

  “Proof of what?”

  “Demonic possession.”

  Brady slowly turned to Billy. “What did he just say?”

  Billy just sighed.

  “Melvin isn’t talking spinning heads, levitation, or pea soup. But the danger is real. You saw that last night.”

  Brady looked unconvinced. “What if it’s all just coincidence and bad luck?”

  “Then there’s nothing to worry about,” Melvin replied simply.

  “What is it isn’t just coincidence and bad luck?” Billy countered.

  “Then, there’s a lot to worry about!”

  Billy, Brady, and Melvin stood in front of Jennifer’s house.

  “Sure seems more than a bit stupid in the light of day,” Billy admitted.

  “Just wait a few hours.”

  “By the way, when was the last time anyone saw Mr. or Mrs. Sterling?” Melvin asked.

  “Now you’re saying that Jenny went all Amityville and offed her family?” Brady sneered.

  “Melvin said no such thing, Mr. Quinn. Their participation would be an asset, especially to find out if anything out of the ordinary did occur in Europe.”

  Brady found Melvin’s calm and logical demeanor annoying.

  “I think I just saw the curtain move in that front window!” Billy whispered.

  “Which window?” Melvin whispered back.

  “Left win-” Billy pointed. “There! It moved again!”

  “Yes. Melvin saw it that time.”

  “Why the hell are you two whispering out here in broad daylight?” Brady asked.

  Melvin walked up to the front door and knocked.

  Billy and Brady moved up beside Melvin, just as the door opened partially.

  A woman in her late 30’s peered out.

  “Hi, Mrs. Sterling,” Brady said, trying to sound oblivious.

  Mary Sterling looked relieved at seeing Brady and opened the door wider. “Brady, am I glad to see you!” She smiled. “Billy... please, come in.”

  Brady was sitting next to Mary Sterling on the sofa, while Billy was sitting on a nearby chair, and Melvin was standing, looking at all the religious icons in the room.

  “You look tired, Mrs. Sterling,” Brady said, sounding genuinely concerned.

  “You don’t know what it’s been like here the past two weeks.”

  “Melvin has an idea.”

  Mary looked at Melvin. “Who’s Melvin?”

  Brady tilted his head toward Melvin. “He’s Melvin.”

  “Oh.” Mary frowned. “You have no idea, Melvin.”

  “Strange sounds in the middle of the night, smells you couldn’t track down, things moving on their own or simply disappearing altogether, not to mention the change in your daughter’s personality. Should I continue, Mrs. Sterling?”

  Mary shook her head. “No. You covered most of it.”

  “Why didn’t you call me?” Brady asked.

  “We didn’t want to involve you, Brady. In case it was... contagious.”

  “Where’s Mr. Sterling?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Brady blinked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

  “He walked out the door three days ago.”

  “You mean he just left you!? That doesn’t sound like Mr. Sterling at all!”

  “Brady, you know how Mr. Sterling always needed everything just right, all the time. He had his day planned out down to the minute. He just couldn’t handle it when everything started going crazy around here.”

  “What about you?”

  “I couldn’t leave my daughter, no matter what she’s changed into!”

  “What happened in Europe, Mrs. Sterling?” Melvin asked.

  “Europe. I’m the one who insisted we go. It was going to be our last family trip before Jennifer graduated. Now, it looks like it really was our last family trip.”

  Brady took Mary’s hand and gripped it tightly. “What happened?”

  “Everything was going nicely, until we stayed at that castle. It all changed after that.” Mary could see, in her mind’s eye, when they entered the castle, the place looking exactly like something from an old black and white horror movie from when she was a kid. “I didn’t like the place at all, from the very beginning. It was cold, dark, and just didn’t feel right. But Alan had spent quite a bit of money to lease the entire castle for the weekend.”

  Melvin walked up to the sofa, hands clasped behind his back. “You were there all alone?”

  “Yes. Just the three of us, and the castle’s ghosts.”

  “Ghosts?” Brady frowned.

  “It was actually in their brochure. Can you believe that? Alan said it was just a gimmick, but it worked, because Jennifer couldn’t wait to see the ghosts.”

  “Did you see the ghosts?” Melvin asked.

  “No. The place was a quiet as a tomb. Jennifer was very disappointed. Everything seemed fine afterward, until we got back home.”

  Mary recalled being in her bedroom after they had gotten home, looking under the bed when Jennifer entered the room.

  “What are you looking for, Mom?”

  “I can’t find my wedding ring.”

  In the kitchen, Mary turned on the lights, but they did not come on, even after flicking the switch numerous times.

  “It started off with small things. Car keys would go missing, the TV wouldn’t work, but by the third day, the noises started.”

  “Like what?”

  “First, just creaks, like someone walking around, either downstairs when you were upstairs or upstairs when you were downstairs. Alan said it was just the house settling, but I could tell it was starting to upset him.”

  “When did the sound start? During the day, I mean.”

  “Just after sunset, and often all the way through the night, until just before dawn.”

  Melvin nodded to himself and turned around, walking off a few steps.

  “Well, Melvin?” Billy asked.

  “Who is this guy?” Mary whispered to Brady.

  “A guy who had watched one too many ghost chasing TV shows.”

  Melvin spun around. “Melvin can understand how someone can become jaded after seeing the subject matter turned into television entertainment, but Melvin knows his stuff, and you won’t see Melvin with an RMP detector in one hand and a video camera in the other!”

  “All right, Melvin. Calm down. I didn’t mean anything.”

  Melvin nodded at Brady and appeared lost in thought for a moment. “Mrs. Sterling, did you bring anything back from that castle?”

  “No. Not that I’m aware o
f.”

  “Why were there no lights on after dark, Mrs. Sterling?” Billy asked.

  “They wouldn’t come on.”

  “Could Melvin take a look around, Mrs. Sterling?”

  “Yes. But be careful.”

  Melvin nodded and walked out of the room.

  “You shouldn’t be here by yourself, Mrs. Sterling.”

  “I can’t leave Jennifer.”

  “Does she even come home?” Billy asked.

  “I hear her late at night. At least, I think it’s her.”

  “Then we’ll stay here with you,” Brady said, still holding Mary’s hand.

  “We?” Billy quickly said.

  “We’ll stay down here and stand guard.”

  “You keep saying we...” Billy said.

  “Brady, that isn’t necessary.”

  “A few sleeping bags and we’re set.”

  “Maybe just for tonight,” Mary Sterling conceded. “We do have a few sleeping bags in the garage. I’ll go get them.” Mary stood and left the room.

  “I notice you volunteered me pretty quick there, Brady.”

  “I’m a quarterback. I’m used to calling an audible.”

  “When does it get dark?”

  “In a couple of hours. You really don’t think anything is going to happen, do you?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “How do we stop it?”

  “Melvin is the expert, not me.”

  Brady rolled his eyes. “Oh, man! We are in trouble!”

  Upstairs, Melvin was sitting on the floor with his back against Jennifer’s bedroom door, talking on his phone. “No, we only have second-hand observations so far, but it sounds convincing enough.” Melvin nodded. “Understood. Goodbye.” Melvin looked frustrated as he pocketed the phone. He stood and faced the bedroom door, reaching out for the knob. “No,” he said to himself. “Not yet.”

  Melvin entered the living room and saw three sleeping bags unrolled out on the floor. “We’re spending the night?”

  Billy nodded. “Looks that way, doesn’t it?”

  “Melvin was going to suggest it, eventually.”

  Billy glanced at Brady. “Great minds think alike.”

  “Did you find anything?” Brady asked Melvin.

  “No.”

  “Let’s just say something weird does happen tonight... what do we actually do? Besides run away?”

  Melvin looked at Billy. “We observe, but do not interact! That only leads to potential danger.”

  “I think we should go get stuff we might need for later tonight.”