were hundreds in existence. Fortunately, Eve Flynn chose that moment to breeze in, allowing him to bow out gracefully.
“Nice meeting you, Sarah.” Quickly, he headed for the door with a passing nod to Eve. The necklace bothered him more than he wanted to admit, but he wasn’t ready to call Penelope. She’d blow the similarity out of proportion, insisting the sun and moon had aligned and it was some type of sign. Originally, he’d intended to grab something for lunch at the café, but now all he wanted to do was keep looking for a connection to his family’s curse. Tu Ende Wei State Park had been a bust but he still had Fort Randolph to investigate. With any luck he’d find something or be able to assure Penelope her fears were unfounded. It all came down to Madam Olga and Pen’s theory about twins.
His gaze dropped to the back of his ruined hand. The odor of blood and metal engulfed him. The sooner he could put this damn town behind him, the better. Point Pleasant was doing a bang-up job of resurrecting phantoms he’d thought he’d buried.
* * * *
“Hi.” Eve circled behind the registration desk and peeked into the carton. “Is this the stuff for Shawn?”
Sarah nodded, sensing her friend’s mind already diverting elsewhere. “Yes. And before you ask, I met Quentin Marsh. He carried that in for me.” She tipped her chin in the direction of the box.
Eve plastered a passably innocent look on her face. “What makes you think—”
“Don’t be coy. We grew up together, remember?”
Eve chuckled. “Ok, so kick me for being curious. What did you think of him?”
“We didn’t talk that much. He liked my necklace.” She plopped her purse on the registration counter and tried to steer the conversation back on track. She only had a short interlude of time, and the storm fermenting outside had her edgy. The sky had been overcast and threatening since the moment she crawled out of bed. “I’m on my lunch break, so I can’t stay long, but I wanted to make sure Shawn knows his stuff is here. If he doesn’t show up tonight, will you let me know?”
Eve regarded her steadily. “You could always come by the café. Quentin will probably grab dinner there. He did last night.”
Sarah rolled her eyes, mentally kicking herself for ever taking a Ouija board to Eve’s sleepover last fall. “I’m babysitting Sam for Katie tonight. Ryan’s taking her to Gallipolis for dinner.” Katie’s eight-year-old son was a delight, but she would have steered away from Eve’s suggestion regardless. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy the River Café as a spot to grab dinner, but she saw no reason to rub elbows with Quentin. Worse, she didn’t want to encounter Shawn. He’d likely badmouth Suzanne for giving her the stuff in the first place.
Eve heaved a sigh and nodded. “Another time maybe.” She dropped her hand on top of the carton. “So, what is all this stuff anyway, and when are you going to tell me what you found out about Obadiah?”
“It’s just papers and photos. Some old books and a few newspaper clippings.” She thought of the oblong box and her fingers strayed to her necklace, a reflex action that made her wet her lips. “I found this odd wooden case, too.”
Eve appeared intrigued. “What’s odd about it?”
She’d sound silly explaining how strange it made her feel when she touched it, so she went for something more concrete. “It’s locked, but I couldn’t find a key. Not that I’m sure I’d want to look inside. There’s an etching of a spider on top, and the whole thing is kind of creepy.”
“Wow.” Eve appeared poised to dig into the carton. “Maybe I should check it out.”
Sarah stayed her with a hand on her arm. “I packed it tight.” She’d taken extra care to bury the case on the bottom, as far away from her as possible. “Besides, I thought you wanted to hear about Obadiah.”
That did the trick. Eve quickly dismissed the box and refocused. “Shawn’s always bragging about him being at Fort Randolph. What did you find out?”
“It looks like he was telling the truth, but I didn’t get very far.” There was only so much digging you could do before you encountered a blank wall. “I found a lot of records you’d probably find boring. Deeded property, militia ranking, that sort of thing. The one interesting tidbit I discovered had to do with Obadiah’s wife. I came across a passage that I think someone must have transcribed from an older letter. Most of the original was missing.” She shot a quick glance at her watch, gauging the time when she had to be back at the courthouse. What she wouldn’t give for a longer lunch break. She hated to rush, but now that Eve had asked about Obadiah, she was determined to share her findings.
Rifling through her purse, she searched for a folded sheet of paper. “I made a photocopy. I think the passage must have been hand-copied in the mid-1800s, but the original letter would have predated the Revolution. It references Virginia as a colony.”
“Wow.”
Sarah smoothed the creases from the paper and passed it to Eve. “Take a look.” The writing was spidery and faint but legible. “I’m sure it was part of a longer letter, but this was all I found in the carton.”
Eve’s gaze dropped to the missive. Holding the paper with both hands, she read the words aloud.
“I would be grateful for your visit, Mama. Charlotte and Alton have been most kind to me, but I cannot impose upon my dear sister and her husband forever. I am undone since losing my beloved. Even this rugged colony of Virginia, with its towering mountains and majestic trees leaves me feeling empty without my intended.
“Mama, despite all I have said, I beg you not to worry about me and Charlotte. We are well protected by the soldiers of Fort Randolph. Charlotte’s brave husband, Alton, is a highly capable and respected Captain, and all the settlers are well guarded. Without Jonathan, I suffer bouts of homesickness, but I feel I must stay. For my beloved and the life we would have led together.
“Sometimes, I am taken aback by the strangeness of this new land.
“The other day I strolled by the river and saw a most unusual thing. I was a good distance away, so I question my vision, but it appeared to be a man with wings crouched upon the bank. I encountered Mr. Preech shortly thereafter. When I told him about what I saw, he grew very pale and said I must never speak of it again. He was so stricken by my tale, I continued to prod him until he confessed that he too had seen the winged man in the past. He said it was a fiend with glowing red eyes, an abomination conceived of the devil—forgive me, Mama—and that it had claimed the soul of his wife.”
Eve paused, clearly shocked. “Do you know what this means?”
“Finish reading it,” Sarah said.
Eve’s attention returned to the letter.
“I shudder to imagine such a thing. Can demons walk in flesh upon the land? Am I marked too, as Mr. Preech’s late wife, for having seen the creature? Oh, Mama, come quickly. Despite all the beauty of this place, I fear there is evil here.”
Eve’s voice dropped into silence. She wet her lips, her fingers white where they clutched the paper. “I’d like to share this with Caden.”
“Keep that copy.” Sarah nodded to the note in Eve’s hand. “I made several.”
“Are
