The 45th Parallel Read online

John put his arm over Kat’s shoulder, and they watched the rest of the fireworks show. Kat allowed herself to rest her head against his chest, breathing in the intoxicating scent of his cologne.

  “Does this mean you will return my calls, Kat?” he asked.

  “Yes, God help me…I will return your calls.”

  John pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

  “Are y’all planning on staying on this boat?” Martine asked. They looked over to see Martine standing in the companionway.

  “We were planning on it,” Jason answered.

  “There’s supposed to be some bad thunderstorms tonight,” she warned.

  They all looked up at the sky and noticed the black clouds rolling in.

  “I wouldn’t want to be on a sailboat in a lightning storm,” Jerome said as he stepped out onto the deck.

  “Who invited the fun blockers?” Jason asked.

  “They’re right. That mast could act like a lightning rod,” John said.

  Then they heard the first rumblings of thunder. In the distance, they could see bright flashes of lightning.

  “All right,” Jason said, “I can take the ladies home.”

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Martine said. “Y’all have been drinking. Jerome and I will drive everyone home in John’s truck.”

  They all helped lock up the sailboat and carry the food and wine to Martine’s truck. The other party guests said their good-byes. John loaded the third row seat of the truck with three cases of wine. Kelly, Jennifer, Jason, and Will got in.

  “I only had one glass of wine, Martine. Since you don’t have room for us, I will drive Kat’s car home,” John said.

  “Yes, I noticed how you made sure we ran out of room,” Martine said with a raised eyebrow.

  “Good night,” John said as he leaned over and kissed Martine on the cheek.

  Before she could comment further, he grabbed Kat’s hand and pulled her to her car. Kat wondered if he would take her to Aunt Mary’s house or drive back to his house. The storm hit suddenly as they were driving home. The rain was coming down so hard John had to slow to twenty-five miles per hour.

  “I guess Martine was right,” Kat said.

  “Martine is usually right,” John replied.

  John turned off M22 toward Aunt Mary’s. He parked in front of the house and turned off the car. The rain was coming down in buckets.

  “I guess we will have to wait for Martine and Jerome to get here since they’re your ride home,” Kat said.

  John reached over and turned Kat’s face to his. “While we are waiting,” he said as he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. Kat felt the same burning passion she felt on the boat. John slid his left hand up her thigh then to her waist. He moved his lips down the side of Kat’s neck to her collar bone. She could feel her heart racing in her chest as his touch ignited her desire.

  There was a sudden explosive sound as a large tree in the back of Aunt Mary’s house was struck by lightning. Kat jumped at the noise and John pulled away.

  The light on Aunt Mary’s porch came on and Kat could see Mary standing at the door through the sheets of rain. “I think someone is trying to tell us something,” Kat sighed. “I’d better make a run for it.” John leaned over and kissed her again, and she forgot all about Aunt Mary. Another loud clap of thunder made them both pull away.

  They looked out the window to see headlights approaching. “That must be Martine. I’ll call you tomorrow. I’d like to get together after your friends leave,” John said as he handed her the car keys. Kat gave him a quick kiss and jumped out of the car and made a dash for the house.

  “Where are Kelly and Jennifer?” Aunt Mary asked as she reached the door.

  “Hopefully they are in that truck.”

  “Was that John?”

  “Yes,” Kat answered a bit sheepishly.

  “Just be careful, Kat,” she said warily as they watched him jump out of Kat’s car and get in the truck. “You two have an intensity that is not healthy.”

  Tell me about it.

  Kelly and Jennifer arrived slightly inebriated. Aunt Mary went upstairs shaking her head. They grilled Kat for an hour about John. It was almost two in the morning when Kat went over to the window to shut the curtains. There, sitting on the branch of a tree just outside the bedroom window was a large raccoon. It stared back at Kat with dull, black eyes. There was an unnatural intelligence behind its eyes. Kat immediately thought of the large animal that had chased her at the lighthouse and the dog that had followed her home from work. She quickly closed the curtains, shut out the lights, and they all went to sleep.

  Kat dreamed she saw Barb Gillen, the girl who recently died, lying naked on the ground. There was a man on top of her. He did not look like a normal man. He had shoulder length dark hair streaked with strands of shimmering silver. His skin was as white as the moon overhead and stretched tight across his protruding bones. His sunken eyes glowed, just like the man she had seen in the bar. Barb let out a moan of pleasure and the man leaned over her and put his mouth over hers. Barb struggled underneath him, her eyes wide with panic. Kat awoke with her heart pounding and looked over at the clock. It was three in the morning.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  It was three o’clock in the morning. The storm had passed and the clouds were beginning to disperse, allowing the moon to illuminate the white grave markers at the Township Cemetery. Under the shadow cast by a large weeping willow, five wolves were digging feverishly, the earth flying past their hind legs in large clumps.

  Once the casket was uncovered, the wolves, in unison, jumped out of the hole and stood panting, their front paws and legs caked with mud. They stared down at the defiled grave with dull black eyes.

  One of the wolves twisted its head up toward the sky. Its paws began to elongate and its entire body began to stretch and change. After no more than two minutes, it was in the shape of a man. His white, luminescent skin stretched tight across his emaciated frame, giving him a wraith like appearance. He had shoulder-length, white hair with strands of silver that shimmered unnaturally in the moonlight. His cheekbones protruded and his eyes were sunken into his skull, no longer a dull black, but yellow and glowing like a nocturnal animal.

  The other four wolves followed suit, changing into three female and one male wraith. The three females had long, tangled wild hair: one had black hair, one brown, and one red. All had the same shimmering streaks of silver. The other male wraith had black and silver hair that hung several inches past his shoulders. With their pale naked bodies and protruding bones, they looked like the walking dead.

  “She is a seer, like her mother but much stronger. They must not break through the blocking spell before the Reaping Moon,” the female with black hair said.

  “Let’s see just how strong she is,” the male wraith with white hair said. The wraith with red hair took out a black candle and long hunting knife from a cloth bag underneath the willow. She placed the candle upright on the ground and blew on it, igniting the wick.

  The five wraiths stood over the grave and began to chant in an old forgotten language.

  The red haired wraith held the blade of the knife over the candle flame then she sliced the palm of her hand and let her dark blood drip onto the top of the casket below.

  There was a high pitched screech of an owl as it took off in flight from a nearby oak tree. The chanting stopped and the lid of the coffin flew open. Etched on the small tombstone marking the grave was the name William Crowley.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Kelly and Jennifer left after breakfast that morning, and Aunt Mary went to visit a friend in Detroit. Kat spent a lot of time alone after her mother died. Her father worked long hours and traveled frequently. It never bothered her to be alone…until now.

  “I’ll be back in a few days. I have too much to do to get ready for the Full Moon Celebration,” Mary said as she tossed her bag into the back of her car.

  Kat had a sinking feeling as she watched her
aunt drive off on Monday morning. When she went back in the house, she saw there was a text message from John on her phone. It said to meet him at Crowley’s house at eight p.m.

  Why would he want to meet there? Maybe Monica Harding was showing him the property. He did mention he had not seen the inside of the house. Kat tried to call him back but got his voicemail.

  Kat worked the noon to seven p.m. shift, went home, showered, and tried to call John again…voicemail. Maybe his phone battery died. Somehow, it didn’t seem likely John would let that happen. This may be the opportunity I was looking for. If John is with me, maybe I can look in the barn to see if the woman with the long dark hair is still there. I will know if it was my childhood imagination, or something more. Kat locked up Mary’s house and drove over to see John.

  As she pulled up in front of old man Crowley’s house, she didn’t see John’s car anywhere. Kat figured the electricity had been shut off in the house and the sunlight was already starting to fade. She studied the front of the house, trying to determine if anyone was inside. The front porch rail was lying in the overgrown bushes and the large picture window was broken. The jagged shards of glass stuck out of the frame like sharks’ teeth. Kat heard a car driving along the road and turned to see if it was John. The FOR SALE sign up by the road was partially obscured by the long grass. The car sped past without slowing. Kat dialed John’s cell phone and left a voicemail that she got his message and was at Crowley’s house, and to call and let her know if he was here. Maybe John parked around back. She walked around the house toward the barn.

  A sudden breeze shook the branches of the trees that lined the perimeter of the property. “Kat…” she heard someone whisper. She turned sharply and looked in the direction of the barn. The barn doors were shut tight. That was just the wind, she told herself. She could feel goose bumps rising on her arms. Kat stared at the window on the side of the barn. The window was dark and void of life. Would the woman with the long dark hair be waiting for her in the barn?

  Kat took a step toward the barn window but a loud slam behind her made her turn toward the house, startled. The wooden screen door was creaking open in the wind, and slamming shut. Kat’s phone beeped and she looked down to see she had received a text from John. “I’m in the house,” it said.

  She noticed the door lock put on by the realty company was lying on the porch. Kat walked up on to the back porch and tried the door. It was unlocked. She stepped inside the kitchen and looked around. The dim light from the setting sun cast shadows throughout the room.

  “John?” she called softly. “Are you here?” No answer.

  The house was eerily quiet. Kat tried not to think about the paramedic’s description of Crowley’s corpse, but she couldn’t push the image from her head. Kat heard several footsteps upstairs. He must have gone up to look around.

  Kat walked through the kitchen to the front hall. The air in the house had a stagnant sour smell despite the fact the front window was broken. Kat grabbed the banister and went up the first few steps. Then she froze. She heard the footsteps again, but this time they sounded different. Thunk…step, step. Thunk…step, step. Someone was coming from the far end of the hall.

  “John?” Kat called up the stairs. Her voice strained. She felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket and pulled it out. “Hello,” she answered.

  “Kat, it’s John. I just got your message. I am a little confused. I didn’t tell you to meet me at Crowley’s house. That must have been someone else. Where are you?”

  Kat stared up to the top of the stairs. “If you’re not here, then who is upstairs?” The footsteps started to move faster, thunk, step, step, thunk, step, step. Kat’s heart started thundering in her chest. She began backing down the steps.

  “Kat, you need to get out of there.”

  A dark shadowy figure appeared at the top of the stairs. It was bent over and clutching a cane. As it moved forward to the top step, the dim light from the window upstairs illuminated the face. It was old man Crowley. I’m not seeing this. This can’t be real! His eyes were a coppery brown color as if every blood vessel in them had burst. His skin was a putrid green. He looked right at Kat as his black lips stretched into a gruesome grin.

  “Here Kitty, Kitty,” he hissed. “So nice of you to drop by.”

  “No,” Kat heard herself moan. She fell backward down the last two steps, dropped the cell phone, and ran for the front door. She heard him coming down the stairs much faster than she remembered him moving in life. She grabbed for the handle of the door but it would not budge. She slammed her shoulder into it to no avail. She closed her eyes. “This can’t be real. This can’t be real,” she said.

  She could hear Crowley’s high pitched laugh as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Kat opened her eyes and turned to look. He was standing on the last step, smiling at her, and clutching his cane. She would not be able to get past him to make it to the back door. Kat looked around frantically and saw the broken window. The adrenaline kicked in. She began running to the picture window. As she reached the window, she could feel the handle of Crowley’s cane wrap around her ankle.

  She fell forward through the window. One of the jagged pieces of glass raked along her thigh causing a deep gash. Kat rolled off the front porch, into the bushes, and tumbled out on the long grass. She could feel warm sticky blood flowing out of her wound and onto her torn jeans. She looked to the window to see Crowley looking at her with wide horrible eyes. The glass and window frame were dripping with her blood. Crowley opened his mouth and let his long black tongue fall out. Without taking his eyes off Kat, he began to lick the blood from the glass.

  Kat forced herself to her feet and started limping to the car. She could hear the front door of the house open. Thunk, step, step onto the front porch.

  “I thought we were going to have dinner together, Kitty!” Crowley cackled.

  Kat reached in her pocket and grabbed her car keys. Just a few more steps and she would be there. She could hear Crowley getting closer. She yanked open the car door, swung her legs in, and fumbled with the keys to get them in the ignition. When the car engine roared to life, Kat threw it in reverse and flew out the driveway. She did not even check for oncoming traffic when she backed out onto the main road.

  She looked down at her leg. Her jeans were soaked in blood. Kat’s hands were shaking so badly it was difficult to steer. She pressed the gas pedal to the floor and sped down the road. As Crowley’s house dropped out of sight, she could see a black Porsche speeding in the opposite direction. Kat pulled over and the Porsche spun around and pulled up behind her. Kat watched John get out of the car and run to her door.

  “Kat!” John opened her door and looked down at her leg. “What happened? We have to get you to a doctor.”

  “There is an urgent care in Suttons Bay,” Kat said as she felt herself begin to shake uncontrollably. “I’m cold, John.” John slid his arm under Kat’s legs and lifted her out of the seat.

  “We are taking my car. It’s faster.”

  “I’ll get blood all over you seats.”

  John ignored Kat’s protest and put her in the passenger seat and drove to the urgent care.

  “Who did this to you? What happened?”

  “Crowley was in the house. I dove out a window to get away from him and sliced my leg on the broken glass.”

  “Crowley is dead, Kat.”

  “Yes, he is dead. He looked like he has been dead a while, yet he still managed to chase me to my car. It is so cold in here.”

  “You are in shock.”

  “Why would someone tell me to go there? Why would anyone want to hurt me?”

  John’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the wheel tighter. “Try to relax, we are almost there.”

  Kat closed her eyes and leaned back into the dark gray leather seat. When they got to the urgent care, John carried Kat inside and told the doctor Kat had sliced her leg on glass and left it at that.

  “That’s a nice one,” the doctor comm
ented, “should take quite a few stitches to sew that up.” The doctor looked at John. “You want to step outside and we’ll let you know when we’re done.”

  Kat reached out and clutched John’s arm. “No,” she said a little too loudly. “I’d like him to stay.”

  “All right,” the doctor said as he left the room.

  “I can’t be alone. Please don’t leave me alone,” Kat begged. “Aunt Mary is out of town and I am afraid to stay by myself.”

  “I’m not letting you out of my sight,” John said as he wrapped his arms around her. The doctor and a nurse came back in and sewed up Kat’s leg. The numbing shots into the wound were the worst of it.

  “That’s going to be sore for a while but it was a clean cut so the scar won’t be very noticeable. Try to stay away from sharp objects,” the doctor said as he handed John a bag of bandages and gave him some instructions. John’s shirt and pants were stained with Kat’s blood.

  John slipped his arms under Kat’s legs to lift her up again.

  “I can walk,” she said. “I have already ruined your clothes.”

  “Then it won’t matter if I carry you, will it?”

  Kat allowed him to carry her to the car. He went to the trunk and came back with a blanket to put over her.

  She drifted in and out of sleep on the way back to John’s house. She could hear him talking on the cell phone in a hushed voice but couldn’t focus long enough to figure out who he was talking to. She woke when John lifted her out of the car to carry her inside his house.

  “Kat, your jeans are trashed. I’ll bring you some gym shorts and a T-shirt to put on,” he said as he laid her on the couch. The nurse had cut off one leg of her jeans so they could stitch her up.

  “Thank you,” she said weakly.

  John came back in a minute with shorts and a T-shirt and held them out to Kat. Without thinking, Kat pulled her blood stained shirt off and started to take off her pants, when she realized John was sitting on the couch looking at her.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”