Evelyn West

Chapter Two

After traveling for hours from the capital of São Paulo to the interior and a few more hours in a minibus on a small dirt road, Mitchel finally arrived in Nova Andalucia, his hometown. It was a village lost in the middle of nowhere, which practically stopped in time. Aside from a few paved and lighted streets and some more modern businesses, such as cybercafés, it seems that progress hasn't been showing much there.

The city had about a thousand inhabitants, most of whom were rural workers and was surrounded by various plantations, orchards and farms. The oldest was Fazenda Andaluz, which also works as a stud farm and belongs to Colonel Vivar, his father's former boss.

The Andalusian horse breed originated in the Andalusian region of Spain. Spanish colonists founded the region for the creation of the race, which gave the city its name.

And according to information from delegate friend Mathias, it was there that the whole mystery began...

As he disembarked at the final stop on the edge of the village and close to the shopping center, Mitchel realized that the city was deserted. Okay, it's a small village in the countryside and it was very common for local residents, especially the older ones, to fear spooks.

But to the point of locking themselves inside, that was too much.

After a good walk, he finally arrived at his parents' house. He was the youngest son of former rural workers and was one of the few who managed to leave that city to study abroad. Mitchel left Nova Andaluzia to attend the Faculty of Journalism of São Paulo. Her older sister, Lívia Junqueira, was a primary school teacher and taught at the only school in the region.

And that's why when he went to town, even for a few days, it was always a party. He and his friends agreed to bathe in a nearby waterfall, fish in the river or have a chat around the campfire. On these occasions, the mother insisted on preparing a beautiful feast, with the most varied typical foods of the countryside, especially the son's favorites, and called all her friends to gather in the backyard. And because she cooked so well, no one wanted to be left out.

Along with them came her mother's friends, each with a sweet dessert or a homemade cake or bread for their famous afternoon coffee.

Some of her mother's friends would take their unmarried daughters, nieces, goddaughters, and granddaughters in the hope that one of them would catch her attention. As he studied in the big city, Mitchel was considered a good partner for the Maria Matchmakers on duty in the city, even with his red eye and his entire body marked. And he always dodged those situations. Nothing against the beautiful girls of New Andaluzia, but because of his profession, he avoided compromise. Mitchel takes many risks investigating around the world and for that, he prized his freedom. But maybe one day...

And, of course, when night fell, his father would gather everyone for the barbecue.

Mitchel was that good guy, friend and companion of all. He was always willing to help others and had a strong sense of fairness, even if he had to get his hands dirty... or get another scar on his body, as usual.

He clapped his hands at the gate. No one answered. He did the same thing at the neighbors' houses, but no one came to see him either. A shiver ran down her spine. "What if they ran away because of the story that's running around here?"

And worst of all, there was no one to ask.

In order not to travel through life with his suitcase, he opted to leave it at his parents' house. As he had the key to the house, he went in and left his belongings on the sofa in the living room, taking with him only his wallet and cell phone. Still, he called his parents and sister to see if anyone was home.

_ Dad? Mom? Livia? is there anyone there

Nothing.

He decided to wander around the city aimlessly in hopes of finding someone. Practically everything was closed, even the stores. Which was really weird, since it was a weekday and business hours. On the way, he found a broken broomstick, in case a vandal or some "thing" came along and attacked him.

That silence was really scaring him... it was as if New Andaluzia had turned into a ghost town. He thought about calling one of them to find out where they were, but gave up. He had to be careful, just in case something happened. Suddenly, he heard the ringing of the local church bell, which was in the center of town. He could hear the bell ringing and see the tower from miles away. He ran as fast as possible to get there.

Finally, he saw a group of people leaving the church. He managed to recognize some people, mainly the police. Some of them were your childhood and teenage friends. He was running towards them.

_ Friends see! It's Mitchel! _ He said one of them.

Everyone there greeted him. At the time, he noticed a certain atmosphere between them, they were very sad and many even cried...

Of course, he was in the middle of a funeral procession. Another shiver ran down his spine. "Did something happen to anyone in my family?"

Thank God it wasn't.

_ Glad you came, old friend. Too bad you arrived at a very sad time.

_ What happened here? _ Mitchel asked afraid of the answer.

_ Sheriff Mathias... he died!

_ Like this? I spoke to him the day before yesterday! How did he die?

When he asked about the sheriff's death, they all fell silent and looked at each other. It even seemed taboo to bring up the subject. But one of them commented that it was the second death in forty-eight hours and the same thing.

_ Who died before him?

_ The veterinarian of the Andaluz Farm!

"Was it the same guy who dated Lívia? If it was him, poor thing!"

_ And how did he die? Any illness or accident?

_ No, before it was one of those options... they were murdered.

"Great, a serial killer out there!" He thought.

He had more questions to ask, but since he was at a funeral, he thought it best to ask them later. Halfway through the procession, he finally found his family and thank God they were fine, but like everyone else in town they were too sad and too scared to comment on anything.

At the time of burial, the citizens prayed with fervor and despair, asking God that their souls would be saved. Mitchel was surprised by all the fuss. A few people started whispering among themselves and he tried to understand what they were talking about, but the fear that reigned at the time wouldn't let him.

A pastor who was there began to deliver a sermon, saying that if everyone didn't accept Jesus into their lives, the "beast" that galloped around spreading terror would lead everyone to hell. In other words, he was actually taking advantage of the people's fear to bring the faithful to his church. It's always like that ...

And for Mitchel, the pastor was his first suspect in the mystery that gripped the city, whatever it might be.

It began to get dark when the cemetery employees finished closing the tomb of Chief Mathias. Everyone present has barely finished their prayers and has already rushed back to their homes, including their family. Even without understanding anything, Mitchel left with them. But he couldn't help but notice that, even with everyone there scared, the pastor remained calm, steadfast, and strong.

He was pretty much the last to leave the cemetery.