Drawn to the Sea

Chapter 12: Back to Town

Nathaniel

As I paced the floor in front of where I previously sat, Douglass looked at me worriedly. "Do you think your uncle lied?"

I ran my hand through my hair. "No. Yes? I don't know! He practically raised me, and he has taken care of me for my entire life. He treats me like a son!"

Douglass pursed his lips. "He also experiments in inhumane ways on animals and had people shoot at you, which they did shoot you, when you were dragging me into the ocean."

I let out a frustrated yell. "This doesn't make any sense! Why would he have any reason to lie about how they died?"

"Did you ever talk to the police about what happened?"

"My uncle told me everything the police told him after it happened."

"So you never heard it from them directly?"

He hesitated, then groaned. "No."

"Is it possible your uncle lied and made you believe a story that wasn't true so you wouldn't start asking questions?"

"Why would he be worried about me asking questions? They were my parents! I was bound to ask why they weren't around at some point, right? Do you think he did something to them and is covering it up?"

Douglass stood up, putting his hands on my shoulders to stop my pacing. "We don't need to jump to conclusions just yet. How about we go to the police station and ask for any information they have on your parents' deaths?"

I nodded, taking a shaky breath in an attempt to calm down. "Yeah, okay. That's a good idea."

Douglass nodded back. "Okay. Let's get into some presentable clothes and then we can leave."

I nodded again, walking over to where I'd thrown my backpack the night before. I pulled out a clean shirt for myself, then a shirt and a pair of pants for Douglass. He didn't question why I'd brought any clothes for him, only grabbing them from my hands and turning so he could get dressed. Once I had my black shirt and boots on, I picked up my jacket and tugged it on.

Douglass frowned at his bare feet. "I don't have any shoes."

I pulled a pair of sneakers and some socks out of my bag. "Here, I brought these. Unless you want your shoes from yesterday? I have them too."

He grabbed the sneakers. "These are fine. Probably more comfortable than those old boots anyway."

Once he finished typing up the sneakers, he straightened up and walked over to one of his shelves. He grabbed his satchel off its hook and threw its strap over his shoulder. I watched over his shoulder as he started carefully selecting things from his many shelves and putting them in the bag, occasionally opening a pouch to put something in.

The last thing he grabbed was a thing piece of redwood that was carved expertly with curves and ridges to make a handle. There was some sort of gem being held by thin vines carved out of the wood on the bottom, it's red-orange surface seeming to move with the light. He slipped it into a compartment on the side of the bag and clicked the strap shut, then turned to look at me.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"What was all that you just put in there?"

"Well, if I'm right and there is something fishy--pun not intended--going on, I'd rather be prepared."

I glanced at the compartment he slid the carved wood into. "Magic?"

He patted his bag. "Magic."

"Okay. If you think it's necessary." I grabbed my own bag and slung it over my shoulder, then started walking towards the tunnel that led out to the mainland. "Come on."

When we exited the long tunnel, Douglass rose a brow at my jeep. In a fail attempt to hide it the night before, I'd thrown some large palm leaves over it. He glanced at me. "Really? You drove your car in the middle of the jungle?"

"Hey, I was worried about you! Besides, did you really want to walk all the way to town?"

He thought for a moment, then walked to the passenger side. "Nope."

I unlocked it, then got in and started it up. I threw my bag into the back seat, thankful I'd left the one I used daily with all of my things there the night I'd saved Douglass. Once Douglass was settled, I peeled away from the tunnel, careful as I drove so I wouldn't do any damage to my jeep.

Once we made it to the closest road, I accelerated so we could make it to town faster.

As soon as I saw the one and only police station in town, I felt anxiety rise up in my chest. I didn't know what to expect, and it scared me what I could find out. When I parked, I made no move to get out of the car. My hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles were white.

Douglass put his hand on my arm, drawing me out of my whirlwind thoughts. "It'll be okay. No matter what they tell us, we'll figure out what to do."

I nodded wordlessly, getting out, grabbing my phone from the counsel, and my everyday backpack from the back and closing the door. Douglass got out too, and I locked the doors. When we got to the main entrance, I stared at the handle for a second longer than needed before I opened it.

There were a few people sitting in the chairs of the reception room, but no one I recognized. I lived in a small enough town to have one police station, but not small enough to know everybody that lived there. Every person had their own community where they knew everybody, and that was pretty much it.

I walked up to the front desk, Douglass following close behind. The lady at the desk held up one finger to let them know she'd be a minute, then went back to talking on the phone.

When she finally hung up, she offered him a tight-lipped smile. "What can I do for you boys?"

I wiped my hands on my jeans. "I'm here to ask about a married couple. They died about twenty-five years ago."

She nodded, looking at her computer screen. "Names?"

"Mathew and Jane Pegusues."

She started typing something into her computer. "Relation to the deceased?"

"I'm their son."

She looked at me with sad eyes. "Sorry for your loss. What do you want to know about them?"

"How they died." I must've been clenching my hands because Douglass slid his own into one of mine. It was comforting, but not enough. "I just want to be sure what I was told is correct."

"Of course, just give me one moment to find the officer who took care of the case..." She typed something else into her computer. "Ah, here it is. Looks like officer Cal. I'll call into his office to see if he can take you, and if he can't we can make an appointment to discuss the case."

I nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

"Just take a seat and I'll be right back with you."

Douglass and I sat next to each other in the chairs closest to the desk. My leg was bouncing nervously against the floor, and my hand was squeezing Douglass's. He didn't say anything about anything, probably knowing it wouldn't help me be any less nervous. The only thing that would make me feel any better would be knowing that my uncle didn't lie and Douglass was mistaken about the night my parents died.

"Nathaniel?" My head snapped up when someone said my name. I found an old officer with greying hair standing a few feet away in the doorway that I assumed led to offices. "Let's talk in my office."