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"Breaking news that just came in a few moments ago. Penshaw authorities have located missing 15-year-old Paisley Rowe off of E-Highway early this morning. Unfortunately, she is showing signs of being another victim of the Penshaw Prowler, who has already claimed six other victims in the last three months. Our crew attempted to ask for more details on the case-”
I clicked the mute button quickly as my heart ached for the little girl’s family and the other victims, just the mention of the Penshaw Prowler was enough to give me a chill down my spine. Placing the remote softly on the arm of Mom’s faded maroon recliner, I walked away while wrapping my fraying cardigan around me. Flipping on the light switch and shuffling quietly through the freezing kitchen now bathed in warm light, I begin to make a large pot of coffee for the whole household to share. At the ripe age of 23, I occupied a small room at the back of the four-bedroom cabin we called home on a small 40-acre plot owned by my parents, accompanied by my big sister with her baby boy, and finally my little brother.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear as my mother always says," I snickered inwardly as Jake stumbled into the kitchen, holding his hands out with a sleepy whine as he motioned to pick him up. I cooed a soft good morning as I picked him up to cradle on my chest. His soft chubby four-year-old hands grasping a fist full of my cardigan as he shoved his thumb in his mouth to nurse on sleepily closing his eyes with a faint sigh. I swayed with him as I hummed a lullaby gently, grabbing four mugs out of the overhead cabinet I set them all out before shuffling to the back of the house and begin waking everyone after a glance at the coffee pot clock reading 5:23 A.M.
Rapping my fist on my parent’s door I opened the door softly and called their names as I flicked the overhead light on. Seeing my Mom give a hearty stretch and sit up lazily I tried not to chuckle at her crooked glasses and rat nest of her pixie-cut blonde hair. Leaving their door cracked I made my route to my sister’s room, lightly bouncing Jake as he snored softly in my arms. Knocking a little harder on her door to the point her little name tag which is over ten years old rattled against the door. Opening the old door as it creaked from years of use, I looked inside to see Arklee holding himself up by the bars of his crib. I grinned in greeting as he began to coo and huff through his nose excitedly while suckling on his pacifier and trying to kick his legs as he stood. Creeping in I grabbed him in my other arm with a groan and placed him on the bed where he curled up and began to try and roll over towards his mother before rolling my eyes fondly as my sister let out a loud snore. Shaking her shoulder I started calling out to her,
“Mel, Melody!” A short snort came out of her and I laughed when she groggily whined out an irritated muffled “What?” before snuggling back into her pillow. She jolted up and looked over at the crib in search of Arklee who cooed louder at the sound of Melody’s voice. She moaned in relief as she caught sight of him, looking at the clock on her nightstand she yawned out a thank you and began to baby talk to Arklee as I walked out the door and shut it softly. By the time I made it to the kitchen, Mom was covered in her favored blanket in her recliner and sipping at more milk than coffee as the news was unmuted and filled the house with a faint noise.
“Once again, Penshaw authorities believe the killer is a white male between the ages of 20-30, they do not have any physical leads but ensure that they are looking into the case and taking the necessary precautions. We hope everyone has a good day and we will see you at noon.” The salt and peppered anchorman said with a small smile to the camera before the TV began to play their jingle with a view of one of the nearby creeks even though the screen was completely black due to the early hour.
“Damned shame they haven’t caught the bastard yet,” My mother mumbled before taking a sip of coffee. Dad came walking into the living room already dressed in his thick denim jeans stained with oil, dirt, and who knows what else paired with a long-sleeved black thermal covered in a short sleeve to try and beat the cold. He gave my hair a soft ruffle before kissing Jake who slept soundly in my arms on the head, finally pouring himself a coffee with nothing to join it. Walking over to Mom I passed off Jake who she cuddled and bundled tightly in her blanket and slightly rocking in her recliner as she began to trace his little face with a small smile.
Placing a few cast iron skillets on the stove and turning the nobs on the propane stove they gave soft clicks before a blue flame began to form a steady ring below the metal grates with a short snap. Melody walked into the kitchen wide awake and dressed for the day Arklee strapped into his high chair and pulled up the long sleeves of her undershirt.
“So? What’s on the menu this morning chef?” She asked with a small smile as she put her hands on her hips and gestured to skillets that had slowly melted butter in them. I huffed an amused breath, “Scrambled eggs mixed with bacon bits and fried potatoes with tortillas’ okay?”
“Sound good, Char,” Dad grunted out from the living room as he slowly rocked in his army green recliner. Mom hummed in agreement and said a mumbled thank you, too distracted by the early morning show playing on the TV.
“Want some waffles with that? I’m craving something sweet,” Melody declared as she started grabbing the bacon and eggs from the fridge. “The boys would love that,” Mom chuckled as she stood up to join us in the kitchen. Everyone knew that if the boys had a choice they would eat Mel’s waffles for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even for dessert if they could. It was a miracle we didn’t eat them for breakfast every morning. Good thing Dad can’t cook to save his life unless it’s BBQ, small wins I guess.
As Mel and I set to working on breakfast, Mom entertained the boys at the table after she had woken Jake up again while Dad got his early morning hunting show in before work at 7:30. Lightly hitting Melody’s shoulder I rolled my eyes as she said a loud ow as I spoke, “I’m gonna go get dressed, watch the bacon please? No one wants your burnt bark today,” I poked at her as she scoffed as I left before she could retort and dodging the spatula she swatted at me with a light laugh. Closing the door to my room I sighed as I pulled out the black skin-tight thermal jumpsuit that I struggled to pull on before throwing on my favorite striped knit sweater and loose straight jeans. Pulling my waist-length hair into a high bun letting my bangs frame my face before slipping my slippers back on and continuing back to the kitchen.
“I’ve got a job down in south Panhandle today, so if any of you girls need me I’ll be a good two to three hours out,” Dad’s rough voice informed when he took a seat at the table with a grunt and cracking knees.
“Is it a new construction or just a renovation?” Mom inquired curiously as she leaned on the table comfortably. Listening in on their conversation idly I started heating a few tortillas on the stove before throwing them on a plate when nice and hot, Melody stirred the scrambled eggs as she kept an eye on the sizzling potatoes.
“New construction, guess they need a new grocery store built down there cause of the growing population and they requested us. Paid a hefty lump sum too with all the trekking me and the guys are gonna have to do,”
“Guess you’ll be super busy for the next few weeks then huh?” I chimed in as I started bringing dishes full of food over to the aged round table. Dad hummed with a nod as I started breaking up pieces of food for the little ones before taking a seat, everyone took that as their cue to begin piling their plates with warm food as I softly smiled at the content and warm atmosphere. The kitchen was no longer cold, but warm from the stove and savory smells of food, coffee, and family.
“We all got the usual hours today right?” Mom questioned Melody who hummed out confirmation, cutting in the conversation I asked,
“Will you guys be later than usual tonight or plan on getting home as soon as the clinic closes?” Mom and Melody chuckled at my joke before Melody grumbled out, ” If we don’t have crazy patients. From what I saw on the schedule before we left we don’t have any of our regulars that like to cause chaos. Hopefully, it stays that way,” I nodded and knocked on the wood table making Mom smile with an amused huff.
The minutes ticked by with light conversation and babble from the kids as they sloppy shoved food in their mouths, glancing at the clock I started gathering the plates and cups that littered the table as everyone began getting dressed for work and running around the house.
“Char, have you seen my compression socks anywhere?″ Dad hollered from the laundry room adjacent to the kitchen. Hearing the slam of the dryer door I replied loudly, “Nope, have you checked Mom’s sock drawer? You know she likes to wear them now and then,”
“Snitch,” Mom muttered playfully under her breath at me causing a chuckle under my breath. Dad walked by with an eye roll and shake of his head as he went to check Mom’s drawer. We moved smoothly as we all got ready for the day, working in tandem to get out the door as quickly as possible to beat the morning hardly considered traffic of Penshaw.
“What are you getting ready for?” Melody questioned offhandedly as I started to dress Jake in warmer clothes and put Arklee in a cozy jacket onesie. “Just down to the grocery store, I promised Jake a painting kit and we need some more milk, coffee, and some other stuff,”
" Can you pick up some diapers while you’re at it? Arklee only has a few left, I’ll pay you back when I come home if you’re okay with that?” I nodded as I quickly picked up my phone and added it to my grocery list. Once a few more items were added to the list, purses, and lunch boxes grabbed we all headed out the door to conquer the day to the best of our ability.
While Mom and Melody carpooled to the local clinic, Dad took his old truck that seemed to live forever, thus leaving me busy buckling the kids into their seats with swift kisses to their foreheads. Climbing into the driver’s seat of a small black sedan I cranked the heat up as far as it would go and waited for it to warm up inside as I scrapped ice off the windows with a busted-up credit card that was found in the junk drawer ages ago. The cold crept through my sweater quickly, making me give up scraping the ice and hop in the cool car, “Brrrrrrr, it’s cold isn’t it babies?” I asked offhandedly only hearing a hum of agreement around a suckled thumb from Jake.
The buzz from the car as I drove gently lulled Jake and Arklee back to a blissful sleep with the warmth of the car wrapping around them softly, prompting me to turn the radio down to a faint tone as the old country played through the car’s worn-out speakers. Humming along I perked up when the grocery store finally came into view, the old faded sign reading, ‘Jemma’s Grocery’
It didn’t take long to find a parking space, put the two now wide awake kiddos in a cart child seats, and finally start walking around the less-than-warm store.
“Morning Miss Charlotte, morning boys,” A familiar voice cooed from my right, smiling slightly I waved half-heartedly at Karley. She was a fierce woman who stood at 6′4 with crazy ginger hair that came past her waist, she was the current owner of the grocery store and ran it with an iron fist.
“Morning Miss Karley, has it been busy this morning?” Arklee busied himself with the sleeve of my sweater and Jake reached for the red sucker Karley pulled from her station’s candy jar.
“Oh no dear, it’s been quite dead. Besides me and another lady you are one of the only ones here,” I titled my head at the mention of the mystery lady.
“Other lady?” I asked.
“Yeah, she came in all bright and cheery just a few minutes before you pulled in. Never seen her before,” We didn’t get a lot of travelers through Penshaw. The only way we even had a news company is because no one used radios anymore for the news, so it was very odd to have someone new in town whether it be someone passing by or even more rare if they are moving here.
I hummed before Arklee gave an irritated huff that we were no longer moving. Karley and I giggled in amusement as he stared at us with furrowed eyebrows,
“Sounds like someone is getting antsy. I’ll leave you to it then, if you need anything just holler. I’ll be in the office,” Giving a quick nod I turned before heading to the grocery aisle. I made a quiet idle conversation with Jake who was busy telling me all about the paint colors he wanted, I pushed my cart around the corner and came to a sudden stop.
“Oh sorry! I didn’t see you there,” A woman with shoulder-length brown hair who had been lost in thought turned her steel grey eyes to me,
“You’re fine, I was just lost in thought,” I nodded slowly at the awkward silence. I said a quiet “Excuse me, ” As I passed her, putting my arm closer to Arklee and Jake as my anxiety spiked at the odd contact. I made sure to memorize her face, just to be safe.
I glanced behind me when I got farther down the aisle just to startle as I made eye contact with her once again. Her steely gaze trained on me without moving, I hadn’t noticed before but she had awful eye bags and her face was a sickly shade of grey with gaunt cheeks. Snapping my head forward and cutting our gazes I sped up my pace, listening closely for any footsteps behind me. When I didn’t hear anything or see the strange woman anymore I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to steady my heart rate. Looking to my left I noted I was in the aisle for kids toys and crafts.
" Charchar! Paint! Please! Please!” I gently shushed Jake as he got excited and tried to reach for the paint.
“Okay, okay honey one second. What colors do you want?” Jake reached over and quickly grabbed the neon yellow and green before I interrupted him.
“Why don’t you get three? How many more do you need?” Jake looked down at hands that had a paint container in each hand. It took a few seconds before he answered.
“One!” I nodded with a proud smile as he grinned back grabbed the purple paint container and dropped them in his lap. I reached up for a small white canvas,
“Excuse me?” I jumped and whipped my head around with a startled gasp. The woman from earlier stood there, a small pleasant smile on her face and her dull eyes wide with mock interest. I slowly brought my arm back down from where I was about to grab the canvas. Clearing my throat quickly I responded shakily,
“Y-yes?” She made eye contact with me and I felt a cool chill flow down my spine. Suppressing a shudder I waited for her to speak, there was something wrong with this woman. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Would you mind telling me where the farming equipment is?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s near the front of the store. Aisle Two I think?” I said quickly. She nodded silently and watched me for a few more seconds her eyes seemed to shine a little more, putting me farther on edge. Maybe I was judging too harshly? Before I could think it over she spoke once more eerily,
“Thank you, your very sweet.” She turned and slowly shuffled away, not giving another glance my way, and leaving with a permanent smile on her face. I was broken out of my trance by Jake who tugged on my sleeve.
“Char, Arklee smells stinky” I looked back over and groaned inwardly. Grabbing the canvas quickly I pushed the cart to the back of the store towards the bathroom to change Arklee’s diaper and let Jake go to the bathroom in privacy. Once finished and the kids were buckled back into the little chairs in the grocery cart, I went down my list of things to buy and slowly checked them off. What was meant to be a calm grocery day turned sour with the thought of the strange lady, as I stood at the check out I glanced out the front windows. Looking for any sign of an unfamiliar car or the strange woman herself.
“You alright, dear?”
“Oh, yeah sorry. Just...” She tilted her head a little before stating lowly.
“The woman with brown hair?” she supplied. I nodded discreetly. “She’s gone dear, left with a shovel and some garden dirt a few minutes ago. Something happened?”
“Not really, just...Well did she give you any bad feelings?” I asked hesitantly. Karley hummed before sighing as she scanned the last item.
“A little, she seemed a little ‘disturbed’ if anything,”
“That’s what I felt too, she came and asked me where something was but it seemed off. Maybe I’m just being paranoid...” I trailed off as I put the grocery bags into the cart after handing her two twenties, she quickly gave me back my change without so much as a glance at the register.
“It’s better to be paranoid than ignorant of what’s around you. Get home safe you hear?” Karley stated with authority. I nodded with a worried frown. Giving her one last wave I packed the car with groceries and kids before hopping into the car and turning it on, not bothering to mess with the radio or heating system as I pulled out. I was all too eager to get home where it was at least a little safer, I openly shuddered as I thought about the woman again and the dead look paired with a forced smile she had.
On the way home I was grateful when she finally left my mind.
