Chapter 6 Claire
1568 Words
I was walking in my scrubs to the clinic. When the woman walked up to me.
“You look very familiar,” she said.
“Me?”
“Yes you look like my daughter.”
“Really?”
“Yes but she didn’t have all those garish tattoos.”
“I see. What’s your name?”
“Oh I’m Emma.”
“Ah yes my fiance told me about you. You and your husband came to file a missing persons report.”
“Yes. Who is your fiance?”
“Oh, his name is Carter. He’s the mayor.”
“He looks awfully young to be the mayor.”
“Oh well he’s very good at his job and he is very ambitious.”
“I see and what is it that you do?”
“Oh I volunteer at the clinic, and I’m the priestess.”
“Priestess?”
“Yes. Our church is very lovely. However we rarely have services there only when the weather is bad.”
“Oh really”
“Yes, we are a very tight knit community.”
“So you would know if anyone new came to town?”
“Yes, almost immediately.”
“So has anyone new come to town?”
“Just you and your husband.”
“Well, anyone before us?”
“No, not that I can't think of.”
“Oh by the way dear what’s your name?”
“People call me Ms Redding. Only my fiance and best friend use my first name.”
“Well what’s your first name?”
“Clairissa but due to my position I’d rather you just call me Ms. Redding please. I’ve done a lot of work to get to my position and I’d like you to respect that. Please.”
“Ok well thank you Ms Redding.”
“You’re welcome. I have to get to work. However, if you get hungry you should try Doreen’s. The food there is fantastic.”
“Well thank you.”
“You’re welcome, have a nice day,” I said as I walked through the doors.
I went to my office and locked the door and had a mini panic attack. I called Carter. He calmed me down and told me he would pick me up and we would go for lunch. I left my office and everything went smoothly. In no time it was lunch. I met Carter at the door and we walked over to Doreen’s. Tara sat us at our usual table.
“We should get a plaque with your names on it for this table,” Tara joked as we sat down. “Do you want your usual?”
“Not for me,” I told her. “Today I would like your grilled chicken salad with catalina dressing please.”
“OK and for you Carter?”
“I would like a cheeseburger and a plate of fries for the table.”
“And what to drink for you guys?”
“I would like a strawberry lemonade,” I told Tara.
“And I would like a coke please.”
“Alright, I’ll be out in a few with your drinks.”
Shortly after Tara walked away. Derrick and Emily walked through the door. They looked around and Emily pointed us out to Derrick. They walked over to us.
“Mind if we join you,” Derrick asked.
“Well I guess,” Carter replied. “Honey why don’t you come next to me so they can sit together.”
I quickly moved next to Carter. Tara came over with our drinks.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you had more in your party, “ she said, setting down our drinks.”
“Oh well your priestess recommended this place to my wife. So we thought we would pop in for lunch and saw your mayor and priestess and thought we would join them.” Derrick answered.
“Oh okay well what can I get you guys to drink?”
“I’ll have a coke and my wife will have water with lemon,” Derrick answered.
“Okay,” Tara said.
Tara took about two minutes before she was back. “What can I get you two to eat,” Tara asked.
“I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger and a side of fries, and she will have a side salad with lite dressing.”
“Ok I'll put that in for you.
“Well-“ Derrick started.
“Have you heard any news about your daughter,” Carter asked interrupting.
“No,” Derrick answered gruffly.
“Well, that’s too bad.”
“May I ask why you think she’s here?”
“She likes secluded places, she is a bit of a loner.”
“I see,”
“My wife told me Ms Redding said there’s been no one new in town. Is that true?”
“Yes it is.”
“Well, how long has she lived here?”
“I returned from college about a year ago. But I’ve lived here my whole life.”
Derrick scowled.
“Here’s your burger Carter and a salad for you Isa,” Tara said, handing us our food. “I’m sorry your food will be out in just a minute,” she said to Derrick and Emma.
“How long have you known Isa,” Derrick asked Tara.
“Oh well our mother’s were friends so… We’ve known each other our whole lives.”
“I heard what you told them,” Tara told me in the mink link.
I smiled at her before she walked away. After a few minutes Tara brought out Derrick and Emma’s food and quickly excused herself. Carter and I ate our food quickly trying to keep conversation to a minimum. As soon as we were done eating we excuse ourselves to pay and left in a hurry.
“I’ve got to talk to Lauren,” Carter said once we were outside.
“For what?”
“I want to see how long they booked a room.”
“Ok, I guess I’ll see you later?”
“Of course baby.”
“Okay…”
“Hey, I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said.
I watched as he walked towards the B&B, and decided I needed to go to the temple.
I entered the temple and it was silent. I lit some candles on the altar and sat behind it. I focused my soul and slowly I saw a moon-lit lake and a gazebo decorated with light purple hanging flowers. I walked to the gazebo and found Selene dressed in a flowing silvery gown.
“Hello child,” she greeted me.
“Hello,” I replied hesitantly.
“What’s wrong?”
“The couple who tried to hurt me are in town and everyone is lying to protect me.”
“Yes, and?”
“I feel like it’s more trouble than I am worth,” I said sadly.
“When you leave, go to Rebecca’s family and ask them if they feel the same.”
“Well, I know I helped them but-“
“Helped them,” Selene cut me off asking. “If you hadn’t come when you did, their son would have died. You saved him. And just because you don’t see your worth right now doesn’t mean you are worthless. Do you understand child?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Now go, your mate is trying to call you.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you. Goodbye.”
“You’re welcome. Goodbye.”
The place faded and I slowly came back. I heard my phone ringing.
“Hello?”
“Claire, we have a problem. Meet in my office in thirty minutes,” Carter demanded before hanging up.
I blew out the candles, shut the temple, and rushed over to his office.
When I got there I found Tara and John. Carter quickly called us into his office.
“We have a problem,” Carter started. “I talked to Lauren. She told me that Derrick and his wife are planning to stay for at least two months.”
“So what are we going to do, Sir?”
“I will text you a place to meet up and a time. When we meet next we will discuss.”
Carter ended up telling us to meet at the dock where he proposed and 11 pm. When we were all there, Carter told us that Lauren had overheard Derrick telling Emily that something was fishy in this town and they weren’t leaving until they found out what it was. Derrick had also told Emily to sneak around and try to eavesdrop on anyone she could. That they were going to find the girl they were looking for.
“We need to find a way to get rid of them for good,” John said.
“What if we tell them that a made up friend of yours had seen the girl they described in a town a ways from here,” I offered.
“No I don’t think that will work,” Carter said. “I’m afraid we might have to stage an accident for them.”
“I have another idea but let me confer with the Goddess,” I spoke up again.
“Ok,” Carter agreed.
- Writer
