Watched (ONC 2021)

Chapter 11 - The Accusation

Image by Ivana Cajina from Unsplash

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Mike stood behind the SUV, peering inside without approaching. He must have been watching me. Was it better to gamble he was unaware I suspected him and walk into the forest together or to race off and reveal I didn't trust him? Who knew if the spirit could give him super speed or help him leap onto moving vehicles?

I undid my seatbelt before pressing the journal and Milo to my chest, careful to conceal the book behind the animal. Mrs. Crawford had been building the sundial to ward off spirits that led to her death before anyone else, or so it appeared by the state of the other fresh body, so she must have known enough about the spiritual world to be targeted.

I swung the door open and smiled at my husband or whatever was leeching off him. He stiffened.

"Sorry, our call got cut off. Afterward, Milo was antsy, so I came to let him roam the park."

"The park along the restricted woods?" Mike drew closer.

"I-uh- it seemed close. I wanted some air too. Today has been stressful." I met his gaze to sell my lie.

"Is there something you aren't telling me?" He was almost at my side.

"I love your eyes when the moonlight hits them just right?" I fought a grimace as I took a step toward the park. Why was I so bad at this? My life depended on it.

Real Mike would have chuckled, shook his head, and called me a deflecting cornball. This one studied me like he'd been doing most of the night.

Keep it together, Winston. You've been suspicious as hell all day, and he didn't crack this. These spirits aren't that bright. You've got this, my inner voice coached.

He tilted his head. "I doubt it's that. First, you discover Mrs. Crawford, next you run into the woods alone for that cat, then you disappear in our backyard with a knife where the police later find a body." His eyes locked with mine, and the creases in his forehead deepened like cracks in arid soil.

"What are you saying?"

Mike shrugged and tucked his hands in his pockets. "I'm making sense of these facts. At the doctor's office, Dr. Fisher questioned your mental health. I assured her you were in shock, but I'm beginning to doubt myself."

My palms grew warmer, and beats of sweat formed. "You think I was connected to those murders?"

A pinecone crunched like shattering bone as Mike stepped closer. "You've been quieter than usual. You're hiding something."

I gripped Milo tighter as he shifted in my arms. "I've never murdered anyone."

Instead of agreeing or arguing with me, his eyes grew sympathetic and a forced smile materialized on his dry lips. "It's understandable your brain is protecting you from your actions."

"Excuse me?"

"It's a coping mechanism, one you've probably used for a long time."

As he continued to advance toward me, I retreated toward the trailhead in the park with small steps, keeping my gaze on him. Crows cawed above us.

"It's okay if you're scared. You're a powerful man in strong physical shape. Who else has the strength to cut the arms clean off a person?"

The corpse in the woods flashed before my eyes, and I swallowed the vomit that rose in my throat. The acid burned. "How do you—?"

"Potts showed me a picture of what they found behind our cabin. Three dismembered bodies, including a boy from your soccer team." His eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with his hand.