The Girl In The Cabin

Chapter Four: The Shed

    When Wally showed up with Maria L and the others, I thought they'd just help me clean the cabin. I had no idea I'd also learn so much about it. The news that Sheriff Dan's daughter, previous owner of the doll I'm holding and room I'm in, was murdered in the cabin sends chills down my spine. "Who would hurt such a young girl?" I ask. Maria L looks at me sadly. "That's just it. They–" She stops abruptly as Chuck appears in the doorway, looking angry. "Maria, let's go." He says firmly, then looks to me, "Wally's staying behind to help with the movers. Sorry, but we've got to get back into town." I nod, "Of course. Thank you all so much for your help. I wouldn't have been able to get everything down without it." I hug Maria L and smile at Chuck, who's already making his way downstairs. "Don't mind him." Maria L sighs, "He didn't even want to come out here. I bet he's spooked about all the rumors that go on about this place." I raise a brow. "Rumors?" I ask. Maria L opens her mouth to speak, but CHuck's voice calls back up the stairs. With a sigh and a wave, Maria L reluctantly trudges back down the wooden steps. I stand at the top, mouth agape, thirsting for more information. I can't believe she just dropped a bomb like that and walked away, knowing I'm staying here alone! And the rumors... I wonder if they're related to all the freaky things that have been going on.

    After everyone has left, it's only me and Wally, who's busy working his way through the storage shed. "Hi, Miss Stacey." He says as I take a step inside, "I think if we angle everything just right, we should be able to get the items Mr. Carter wanted saved in here. The rest will go to the dump or charity." I pause, "Mr. Carter told you everything he wanted saved?" Why didn't he tell me? I'm his assistant, not Wally. Wally nods, "Yup. Well, he wrote it." Wally passes me a clipboard with a spreadsheet of the items Mr. Carter wants saved. It's oddly specific. Why would Alex Carter want to save all these belongings from the cabin? "Wow, it seems as though he already made an inventory of everything." I say, handing the list back to Wally. "Yeah, he'd been out here a while back before purchasing the cabin." Wally nods, "No one else had ever offered to buy this place before, so we were all surprised when we heard Sheriff Dan sold it." Strange. "Why do you think Mr. Carter asked you to keep all this stuff?" I ask, looking around at the random items scattered around. Wally shrugs, "I figured he wanted to save the sheriff's belongings in case he wanted them. It'd be a shame to toss 'em out."
"That's surprising. Mr. Carter didn't seem like the empathic type when I met him." I laugh. Wally smiles, "Just goes to show you can't judge a person after meeting 'em just once or twice..." I think of my stepdad, Bryce. He had been all smiles and sweetness when I first met him. It wasn't until after mom started leaving for her meetings and speeches that his true nature was revealed. "You're right about that, Wally." I agree. "And after hearing Sheriff Dan's story, it's hard not to sympathize." Wally adds, looking down at the floor sadly. "What exactly happened?" I ask slowly. Wally steps outside with me and shuts the door to the large shed. "I don't know everything, but it was running. The roads around here tend to get flooded." Wally sighs, "If they're not flooded, they get slick with rain and it's easy to lose control at the wheel. The Sheriff had been working late that night on account of some teens and some underage drinking." I nod, listening to Wally's every word as he tells the story. "Well, long story short, he ended up hauling the whole lot down to the station. Got stuck doing paperwork. He couldn't get through to his wife by phone, so he asked Zachary to let her know he'd be home late. Well, on his way to see Mrs. Caldwell, Zachary's truck ended up swerving off the road– got wrapped around a tree." I let out a small gasp, "Oh no..." Wally nods, "Charlotte and Mrs. Caldwell were alone with a madman...while Zachary was in a ditch and Dan was processing teens." "Who was the mad–" I'm cut off by the sound of a large moving-truck pulling up the driveway. "I'm sorry, Stacey, but I need to make sure they know which items to take to charity. It's a job Mr. Carter hired me to do." Wally sighs. I want to ask more questions about the night of the storm. I want to ask why Mr. Carter didn't have me organize the belongings in the cabin. Was my position created just to placate his mother? To hire a needy woman from Pathways? The thought makes me boil before I take a deep breath and follow Wally back into the cabin. I'm going to try and be helpful, in any way I can.