The Druid

Chapter 8

Alan awoke to sirens.

Sometime during the night, while he was sleeping against the Oak, Mr. Aalberts woke him, and proceeded to take them all home. Marcus was too afraid to walk home in the dead of night, so he slept on the floor beside Alan.

Alan blinked, his eyes crusty and heavy. The sunlight shone high on his face. He checked his phone and found it dead. The sheets Marcus slept on were folded, with the pillow stacked on top. A series of vehicle doors abruptly shut outside and Alan rushed to his window. He gaped.

The police. An entire squad of them, including the K-9 unit. Last night's real-life nightmare stomped to the forefront of his mind at the sight of the leashed German shepherds.

Outside of Mr. Aalberts's house was a procession of police vehicles. At least a dozen police officers were scattered across Mr. Aalberts's lawn. Alan sprinted to the other window and found two officers camped in Savannah's backyard. Alan's heart raced. This was not a routine checkup. This was not a response to some type of emergency. The police were here for something else, and there was only one obvious answer.

Alan threw his clothes on, plugged in his phone and then rushed out the door. Alan found Mrs. Bethros standing in her driveway with her hand clasped to her mouth. The neighbors across the street were huddled in groups, Mrs. Carlita leading the gossiping and pointing. Alan grew angry. This was so unfair to Mr. Aalberts. He did nothing wrong.

Alan jogged to Mrs. Bethros's side. "What's going on?" he asked.

The look of aimed detestation that she gave him was an image he was confident he would never forget. She made a pompous throat nose and turned away. Her and Savannah were practically twins, the main difference being that Mrs. Bethros had a darker complexion and thicker hair. "He's getting what he deserves." Her voice dropped. "I always knew there was something off about him."

Alan was used to Mrs. Bethros's passive aggressiveness, so he was shocked to hear her be outright disdainful. "What do you mean?" he asked. "What happened?"

"He kidnapped Erin Minten," she sneered. "A monster, in my own neighborhood. Teaching my daughter!" She turned to face him. "Alan, how did you not know about him? He was a family friend, wasn't he?" She eyed him with pity, but not sympathy. "I'd be careful if I were you. I definitely wouldn't show my face in public for a while, until this blows over." She paused to judge all of Alan. "Don't get my daughter involved in all of this, Alan. You're a good boy, but she doesn't deserve to be brought into all of this." She disappeared inside her house.

Kidnapped Erin Minten? Alan thought. That's outrageous. Who would accuse him of such a thing. Plus, he had an alibi, didn't he? He was in Houston, working with NASA.

Alan desperately wanted to get a closer look, but the police vehicles were blocking the road. And he had a feeling, if he were to get closer, the police would send him away. He didn't want to attract their attention, either. So he waited, reasoning that if they already had Mr. Aalberts in custody, they wouldn't be stalking his house like predators.

Kidnapped Erin Minten? Alan shook his head. Simply put, that was the most absurd claim he had ever heard. You couldn't accuse someone of a crime without proof. So what was there proof? How does an alabai get any better, when you're over a thousand miles away? Alan knew this was too unjust to be explainable. A nefarious hand was to blame for this fingering and there was only one likely suspect. The kelpie.

But how?

He rushed back inside to grab his phone. He expected to be bombarded with texts, but there was nothing. His phone wasn't registering any data or cellular connection. What in the world did he do now? He paced because movement got the creative juices flowing. He immediately decided that he needed to contact Maggie. She might be able to explain what was happening. But to do that, he needed to get inside Mr. Aalberts's house. He looked out his front window, saw the procession of police vehicles, and realized that was not happening anytime soon.