So-Called Occurrence
The scruffy orange tabby crouched low in the bushes, listening to the birds calling to each other in the darkness. He'd been waiting there for an hour, silent, watching with his one good eye for the flap of a wing or a skinny tail. Suddenly, his ears perked up as the leaves above him rustled ever so slightly. His midnight snack was nearby now, and he licked his chops in anticipation.
Slowly, slowly he turned, craning his neck this way and that to see where the tiny shadow would appear...there. Just to the left, a few feet up. On his haunches, he crept closer...closer...squared his shoulders...and leapt.
~~~
Hazel Hosea had lived in the same house in Old Dime Box for well over 60 years. Married at 18, a war widow by 22, she'd raised a daughter and made her own way alone. She knew which way was up, which way was wrong, and that Something was wrong when her tough-as-nails alley cat refused to leave the back porch, as he had for going on two weeks.
"Now she's no slouch, Ranger Reynolds," the county sheriff - not so much a Good Ol' Boy as an actual nice country man - had advised in his call. "I'll be honest with you, I think she's seeing things, but I'll be damned if I'd tell her so. She's a real peach and a battle-ax, all in one."
Lily chuckled. "I know the type, Sheriff," she said. "They make good witnesses."
"Yes ma'am, they do," he replied, and at her end, Lily felt the warmth of a quilt, smelled blackberry cobbler fresh from the oven, even though she sat in her downtown office. This lady was beloved, she could feel. "Miss Hazel is also everybody's grandma, so I'd ask that you treat her as such."
Lily smiled to herself, sending waves of assurance in the sheriff's direction. "Wouldn't dream of anything else."
"Good to hear. I'll let her know you'll be by the house Wednesday."
Now, as Charlie turned the Tahoe into the gravel driveway, Lily was seized by nostalgia. High summer, sultry air, the sound of cicadas singing in the ancient pecan tree that shaded the wooden house. She could taste sugar toast on her tongue, feel her Nanny's good-night kiss on her forehead...
"Reynolds?" Charlie asked, already standing next to the truck, a quizzical look on his face.
Lily shook off the memory. "Yeah, sorry," she said, hopping out to stride ahead to the door. As befitted the setting, the latched screen was all that stood between the Rangers and the indoors. Lily knocked anyway.
"Just a minute, just a minute." Hazel appeared around the corner, clad sensibly in slacks and a cotton blouse, curly silver hair still streaked through with black. She slid a pair of hot pink reading glasses off her nose to take in her visitors, with gray eyes that shone with intelligence and humor. "Help you folks? I'm expecting some Texas Rangers to come by today, but you..."
"Yes ma'am, that's us," Lily said, nodding as Hazel's bright eyes widened.
The elderly woman broke into a grin. "Well, I'll be damned. A lady Ranger. Good on you, honey. Bet you're the best one they've got."
Before Lily could respond, Charlie blurted, "Ma'am, we're here to speak to you about your so-called 'supernatural occurrence'."
Lily sucked in a silent breath, casting a glare his way; if she could hear the air quotes, she knew Miss Hazel would too. Dammit, rookie.
Hazel turned her intense gaze on Charlie, sweeping him up and down with undisguised annoyance. "'So-called'? Son, it's mighty rude to dismiss someone's story before you've even heard it." She looked back to Lily, who couldn't help but chuckle as Charlie blushed bright red. "Can I invite you folks in for some iced tea, Ranger…"
She smiled. "Lily Reynolds, Miss Hazel. Please call me Lily. This is my colleague Charles Harrelson, and we'd both love some tea." She looked at him pointedly, and he sheepishly removed his hat as Hazel guided them in the door.
~~~
"So," Hazel said, settling into a well-worn armchair with a Waterford glass full of Lipton and fixing Charlie with a raised-eyebrow stare. "What would you like to know about my so-called supernatural experience?"
Charlie blanched, gulping from his glass like he'd been on a desert stroll. Lily just shook her head. "I assure you, Miss Hazel," she said earnestly, looking meaningfully at her colleague, "no one is here to judge you. We're here to help."
"Well, in all fairness to Charlie here, I'm not sure why an old lady and her cat seeing things merits a visit from the Cowboy Cops, all the way from Fort Worth."
Lily grinned. No slouch indeed. "That's fair, ma'am. And chances are, had it been just you, this might not have come our way. But the sheriff mentioned something in Bastrop?"
"Oh, yes, Bastrop," Hazel nodded. "Eddie - Sheriff Powell - said some folks from Houston were visiting, out walking the river, and their little dog ran off after something. Next thing they know, poor little bastard's floating three feet off the ground, can't move. 'I wouldn't have bought it if it had been some of them kooks from Austin,' Eddie told me. 'But Houston folks, they're not liable to make things up.' 'Well, neither am I,' I said to him." She nodded emphatically.
Charlie was trying to recover. "S-so...you say you saw your cat..."
"No, son, I didn't say. I didn't see. I just know that old SOB won't even cross a step now. Pumpkin?" she called, and within moments, a clean but mangy orange tabby, one eye half-shut and scars criss-crossing his nose, appeared next to the chair.
"Pumpkin?" Charlie said incredulously.
"Yes. Pumpkin. I call him that because it pisses him off."
Lily managed to swallow a guffaw.
"As you can see, this cat ain't scared of a damn thing. We're a couple of tough old bags. He prowls this land like it's his job - which it is - and keeps the damn mice and roaches out of here. He loves a good hunt. But for two weeks now, he just sits on the porch, watching."
"For what?"
Hazel fixed Charlie with a bemused stare. "Well now, honey, if I knew that, you wouldn't be here." She turned back to Lily, assessing, then nodding. "But you." She pointed. "You'll figure it out. You know things."
Lily was unfazed; sharp old ladies could always tell. "Yes ma'am," she said simply.
More nodding. "Yes. That's why he recruited you. He needed someone with your talents."
That, Lily hadn't been expecting. She swallowed hard against a mouth gone dry. Charlie stared at Hazel, then at Lily, mouth hanging open.
"Yes ma'am," Lily repeated, in a whisper.
Still more nodding. "He picked well. You remind me of my mama. She had the Gift too." Hazel smiled wistfully, eyes glassy. "She sure did. I got a little portion, enough to keep the grandkids in line when they act up. But Mama. And you."
"Yes ma'am." Lily smiled, then without looking at Charlie, added, "Close your mouth, Ranger." Charlie obliged, then took a great interest in drinking his tea.
"Well now. Would you like to talk to Pumpkin about this?"
Tea sprayed across the coffee table and onto Lily's crisp white shirt.
"Oh, jeez, Reynolds, I'm sorry...pardon me, Miss Hazel, I..."
"Harrelson?" Lily snapped as Hazel rose, chuckling, to fetch a towel. "Why don't you...head back to the truck...and give Bastrop PD a call. Let's find out how to get a hold of those folks from Houston."
"Right. Bastrop...OK. I'm sorry, Reynolds. I just..."
"We'll talk about it later, rookie," she said, more gently. "The Weird Shit Brigade takes some getting used to. Go on, now." Charlie nodded, stammering apologies and all but skittering out the door as Hazel returned.
"Weird Shit Brigade," the older lady repeated. "I like that. Sounds like something my granddaughter would say. I imagine you're about her age?"
"37, ma'am."
"A little older. She's a sweetheart. A bit more like you and Mama," she added matter-of-factly. "Now. Pumpkin. Can you..."
"I sure can. If he'd like to show me what happened, I can see it."
"Well, good. That's something I'd sure like to have myself. They know more than they let on."
"They sure do," Lily chuckled.
"Come on, Pumpkin," Hazel called cheerfully, and he appeared on the couch next to Lily, who rested a hand gently on his back. His purr was loud, rattling. Lily closed her eyes.
Down in the bushes. Very dark. Long sitting. Birds singing. Wings? Tail? So hungry now. Wait! Leaves! Look up!
Lily saw thick leaves covered in shadows, rustling gently.
There! That way! Quiet...quiet...JUMP!
She was frozen in mid-air, paralyzed. There was a fog, a mist...a face. Twisted, fanged. A voice. Or not a voice. Piercing, wrenching. Lily gasped, swallowed air.
TAKE THEM ALL, it screeched. I WILL TAKE THEM ALL.
With a yelp, Lily came back to herself, heart pounding. The cat whined and dashed away.
"Good Lord, honey," Hazel said, patting Lily's shoulder. "You saw it, didn't you. There really is Something out there. I'm not going senile."
She took a deep breath. "No ma'am, you're certainly not."
Hazel pressed a hand to her chest, clucking. "I knew it. I just knew it."
"Do you have any other pets, Miss Hazel?"
"No, honey, not for years."
"Good. Listen, keep Pumpkin inside, OK? We'll let you know what we find out. Call me if you see anything else. I'm so sorry, but we have to run."
"That might be a problem," Charlie called from the front porch.
Lily and Hazel rounded the corner into the kitchen to see him standing there, staring at the Tahoe, which now had four flat tires.
And a foggy window.
With the words I WILL TAKE THEM ALL scrawled across it.
"Well, Charlie," Lily said slowly. "Guess you can take those scare quotes off the 'supernatural occurrence'."
Slowly, slowly he turned, craning his neck this way and that to see where the tiny shadow would appear...there. Just to the left, a few feet up. On his haunches, he crept closer...closer...squared his shoulders...and leapt.
~~~
Hazel Hosea had lived in the same house in Old Dime Box for well over 60 years. Married at 18, a war widow by 22, she'd raised a daughter and made her own way alone. She knew which way was up, which way was wrong, and that Something was wrong when her tough-as-nails alley cat refused to leave the back porch, as he had for going on two weeks.
"Now she's no slouch, Ranger Reynolds," the county sheriff - not so much a Good Ol' Boy as an actual nice country man - had advised in his call. "I'll be honest with you, I think she's seeing things, but I'll be damned if I'd tell her so. She's a real peach and a battle-ax, all in one."
Lily chuckled. "I know the type, Sheriff," she said. "They make good witnesses."
"Yes ma'am, they do," he replied, and at her end, Lily felt the warmth of a quilt, smelled blackberry cobbler fresh from the oven, even though she sat in her downtown office. This lady was beloved, she could feel. "Miss Hazel is also everybody's grandma, so I'd ask that you treat her as such."
Lily smiled to herself, sending waves of assurance in the sheriff's direction. "Wouldn't dream of anything else."
"Good to hear. I'll let her know you'll be by the house Wednesday."
Now, as Charlie turned the Tahoe into the gravel driveway, Lily was seized by nostalgia. High summer, sultry air, the sound of cicadas singing in the ancient pecan tree that shaded the wooden house. She could taste sugar toast on her tongue, feel her Nanny's good-night kiss on her forehead...
"Reynolds?" Charlie asked, already standing next to the truck, a quizzical look on his face.
Lily shook off the memory. "Yeah, sorry," she said, hopping out to stride ahead to the door. As befitted the setting, the latched screen was all that stood between the Rangers and the indoors. Lily knocked anyway.
"Just a minute, just a minute." Hazel appeared around the corner, clad sensibly in slacks and a cotton blouse, curly silver hair still streaked through with black. She slid a pair of hot pink reading glasses off her nose to take in her visitors, with gray eyes that shone with intelligence and humor. "Help you folks? I'm expecting some Texas Rangers to come by today, but you..."
"Yes ma'am, that's us," Lily said, nodding as Hazel's bright eyes widened.
The elderly woman broke into a grin. "Well, I'll be damned. A lady Ranger. Good on you, honey. Bet you're the best one they've got."
Before Lily could respond, Charlie blurted, "Ma'am, we're here to speak to you about your so-called 'supernatural occurrence'."
Lily sucked in a silent breath, casting a glare his way; if she could hear the air quotes, she knew Miss Hazel would too. Dammit, rookie.
Hazel turned her intense gaze on Charlie, sweeping him up and down with undisguised annoyance. "'So-called'? Son, it's mighty rude to dismiss someone's story before you've even heard it." She looked back to Lily, who couldn't help but chuckle as Charlie blushed bright red. "Can I invite you folks in for some iced tea, Ranger…"
She smiled. "Lily Reynolds, Miss Hazel. Please call me Lily. This is my colleague Charles Harrelson, and we'd both love some tea." She looked at him pointedly, and he sheepishly removed his hat as Hazel guided them in the door.
~~~
"So," Hazel said, settling into a well-worn armchair with a Waterford glass full of Lipton and fixing Charlie with a raised-eyebrow stare. "What would you like to know about my so-called supernatural experience?"
Charlie blanched, gulping from his glass like he'd been on a desert stroll. Lily just shook her head. "I assure you, Miss Hazel," she said earnestly, looking meaningfully at her colleague, "no one is here to judge you. We're here to help."
"Well, in all fairness to Charlie here, I'm not sure why an old lady and her cat seeing things merits a visit from the Cowboy Cops, all the way from Fort Worth."
Lily grinned. No slouch indeed. "That's fair, ma'am. And chances are, had it been just you, this might not have come our way. But the sheriff mentioned something in Bastrop?"
"Oh, yes, Bastrop," Hazel nodded. "Eddie - Sheriff Powell - said some folks from Houston were visiting, out walking the river, and their little dog ran off after something. Next thing they know, poor little bastard's floating three feet off the ground, can't move. 'I wouldn't have bought it if it had been some of them kooks from Austin,' Eddie told me. 'But Houston folks, they're not liable to make things up.' 'Well, neither am I,' I said to him." She nodded emphatically.
Charlie was trying to recover. "S-so...you say you saw your cat..."
"No, son, I didn't say. I didn't see. I just know that old SOB won't even cross a step now. Pumpkin?" she called, and within moments, a clean but mangy orange tabby, one eye half-shut and scars criss-crossing his nose, appeared next to the chair.
"Pumpkin?" Charlie said incredulously.
"Yes. Pumpkin. I call him that because it pisses him off."
Lily managed to swallow a guffaw.
"As you can see, this cat ain't scared of a damn thing. We're a couple of tough old bags. He prowls this land like it's his job - which it is - and keeps the damn mice and roaches out of here. He loves a good hunt. But for two weeks now, he just sits on the porch, watching."
"For what?"
Hazel fixed Charlie with a bemused stare. "Well now, honey, if I knew that, you wouldn't be here." She turned back to Lily, assessing, then nodding. "But you." She pointed. "You'll figure it out. You know things."
Lily was unfazed; sharp old ladies could always tell. "Yes ma'am," she said simply.
More nodding. "Yes. That's why he recruited you. He needed someone with your talents."
That, Lily hadn't been expecting. She swallowed hard against a mouth gone dry. Charlie stared at Hazel, then at Lily, mouth hanging open.
"Yes ma'am," Lily repeated, in a whisper.
Still more nodding. "He picked well. You remind me of my mama. She had the Gift too." Hazel smiled wistfully, eyes glassy. "She sure did. I got a little portion, enough to keep the grandkids in line when they act up. But Mama. And you."
"Yes ma'am." Lily smiled, then without looking at Charlie, added, "Close your mouth, Ranger." Charlie obliged, then took a great interest in drinking his tea.
"Well now. Would you like to talk to Pumpkin about this?"
Tea sprayed across the coffee table and onto Lily's crisp white shirt.
"Oh, jeez, Reynolds, I'm sorry...pardon me, Miss Hazel, I..."
"Harrelson?" Lily snapped as Hazel rose, chuckling, to fetch a towel. "Why don't you...head back to the truck...and give Bastrop PD a call. Let's find out how to get a hold of those folks from Houston."
"Right. Bastrop...OK. I'm sorry, Reynolds. I just..."
"We'll talk about it later, rookie," she said, more gently. "The Weird Shit Brigade takes some getting used to. Go on, now." Charlie nodded, stammering apologies and all but skittering out the door as Hazel returned.
"Weird Shit Brigade," the older lady repeated. "I like that. Sounds like something my granddaughter would say. I imagine you're about her age?"
"37, ma'am."
"A little older. She's a sweetheart. A bit more like you and Mama," she added matter-of-factly. "Now. Pumpkin. Can you..."
"I sure can. If he'd like to show me what happened, I can see it."
"Well, good. That's something I'd sure like to have myself. They know more than they let on."
"They sure do," Lily chuckled.
"Come on, Pumpkin," Hazel called cheerfully, and he appeared on the couch next to Lily, who rested a hand gently on his back. His purr was loud, rattling. Lily closed her eyes.
Down in the bushes. Very dark. Long sitting. Birds singing. Wings? Tail? So hungry now. Wait! Leaves! Look up!
Lily saw thick leaves covered in shadows, rustling gently.
There! That way! Quiet...quiet...JUMP!
She was frozen in mid-air, paralyzed. There was a fog, a mist...a face. Twisted, fanged. A voice. Or not a voice. Piercing, wrenching. Lily gasped, swallowed air.
TAKE THEM ALL, it screeched. I WILL TAKE THEM ALL.
With a yelp, Lily came back to herself, heart pounding. The cat whined and dashed away.
"Good Lord, honey," Hazel said, patting Lily's shoulder. "You saw it, didn't you. There really is Something out there. I'm not going senile."
She took a deep breath. "No ma'am, you're certainly not."
Hazel pressed a hand to her chest, clucking. "I knew it. I just knew it."
"Do you have any other pets, Miss Hazel?"
"No, honey, not for years."
"Good. Listen, keep Pumpkin inside, OK? We'll let you know what we find out. Call me if you see anything else. I'm so sorry, but we have to run."
"That might be a problem," Charlie called from the front porch.
Lily and Hazel rounded the corner into the kitchen to see him standing there, staring at the Tahoe, which now had four flat tires.
And a foggy window.
With the words I WILL TAKE THEM ALL scrawled across it.
"Well, Charlie," Lily said slowly. "Guess you can take those scare quotes off the 'supernatural occurrence'."