Night Terror by Chandler McGrew Read Free Book Online Page B

he did of people running séances. He figured neither one of them had any real idea what they were doing.
    “What do you think happened to the Bock boy?” asked Marg.
    Virgil stared out through the kitchen window into the neighbor’s yard. Coincidentally, the Coglins’ five-year-old was riding his toy tractor across the lawn. Virgil wonderedwhy the Coglin boy was safe and sound at home and the Bocks’ child was… somewhere else.
    “Virgil?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “You have an idea.”
    “And so do you. Do I need to spell it out?”
    “There’s never been anything at all come up? Nothing?”
    “Zilch. All I know for sure is that that boy didn’t wander off into the woods.”
    “Neither did the Merrills’ boy.”
    “You don’t think Audrey Bock is going to do something to herself like Rosie Merrill, do you?”
    “If Doctor Burton thought she was suicidal, she’d still be under observation.”
    “Rosie was never under observation.”
    “Rosie climbed in her car and drove off the bridge into the Androscoggin. She didn’t even take the time to write a note.”
    “I don’t want something like that to happen to Zach Bock’s mother.”
    “You can’t solve them all, Virg.”
    “Those are two that I’d really like to.”
    “I know. Maybe something will come up one of these days. You never know.”
    “What do you know about séances?”
    “Are you serious?”
    “Do you know anything about them?”
    “I know you aren’t about to find out what happened to the Bock or the Merrill boy at a séance.”
    “Doris is having one tomorrow night.”
    “Is Babs doing it?”
    “How did you know that?”
    “Come on. Babs St. Clair is the town weirdo, Virgil. Who the hell else would it be?”
    “We have other weirdos,” he said, thinking of Cooder.
    “Not like Babs.”
    “You think it will be all right?”
    “You mean, am I afraid that she might awaken a demon that will possess you or Doris? Or am I nervous that word will get around that my cousin is consorting with nuts?”
    “Either,” said Virgil, smiling.
    “No to number one. Two, I don’t care. But what about you? A sheriff holding séances might not be considered a good thing by a number of the locals. Have you consulted Pastor Donnelly?”
    “No.”
    “Might not be a good way to get reelected.”
    “I’m not worried about that.”
    “No worries, then.”
    “I’ll stop by for coffee.”
    “Do.”
    He started to hang up.
    “Marg?” he said, at the last moment.
    “Yeah?”
    “Has Cooder been back in the hospital?”
    “Not that I’m aware of. Why?”
    “I almost ran over him this morning, on the back side of South Eden. He was walking in the middle of the road.”
    “That’s nothing new for Cooder.”
    “I know. But he said something really strange. He said, ‘I seen bad things.’ It was more the way he said it than what he said. You know what I mean?”
    “He wouldn’t tell you what it was he saw?”
    “You know how Cooder is.”
    “It’s probably nothing, Virg. Between the psychedelics he fed himself, the tranks and antidepressants the doctors feasted him on, and a little electroshock for good measure, there’s really no telling what goes on inside his head anymore.”
    “I know. It was just kind of eerie, the way he said it.”
    “Sounds to me like you need some time off, cuz.”
    “I’ll let you go, Marg.”
    “Don’t forget the coffee.”
    He hung up, still watching the Coglin boy.

9
    AUDREY STOOD ON THE BACK PORCH staring out across the garden. Richard was taking an afternoon nap. She had halfheartedly tried to talk him into going to work, but he didn’t want to leave her alone yet, and, to tell the truth, she wasn’t ready to be.
    Doctor Burton seemed certain the pain that had assaulted Audrey hadn’t been caused by anything physical, but the memory of the unbearable agony frightened her, and in her mind the pain was tied to her garden. The memory of it was as powerful a deterrent as the grief it had