Four

Chloe pulled into a free parking bay along the edge of the town square. Lakewell was a cute little place that had an ample number of shops, despite being in such a small, populated area. I had an excellent view of White Lake from this side of the town. There was a picnic park along the water’s edge with an adventure playground for children. The harbor was bustling with families all out enjoying the sunshine and feeding the ducks clumps of bread. I could imagine this place being great to raise a family. Chloe and Lincoln certainly picked the nicest place to raise Angelica and Cameron.

“I’m going to take the kids to choose a gift for Lincoln. We could meet up for lunch later if you don’t want to be dragged from store to store by the kids,” Chloe suggested.

“I’ll meet up with you later,” I decided, wanting to go off and explore on my own for a while. “I need to pick up a few essentials.”

Chloe nodded, chuckling at the unusual term I used for browsing. “It’s impossible to get lost around here. Whichever way you choose to walk around the stores, you’ll end up right back here. It’s laid out in one big circle. See that Café over there, the one called Muffins,” she pointed to a quaint little café with a black and purple striped canopy that matched the signage. “Meet me there at eleven-thirty. We can all grab lunch together.”

“Okay, see you later.” I waved them off. Both children grabbed Chloe’s hands as they pulled her off towards the shops.

My eyes glanced from left to right, deciding on which route to take. Chloe said it wouldn’t matter as whichever way would bring me right back where I started. So, I went left and passed a pharmacy, a fishing tackle shop, a suspicious-looking shop that I guessed was a sex store. That shocked me in a quaint little town like this. The window display included scantily clad mannequins that had been arranged in compromising positions – which was rather amusing, but still quite scandalous. I shook my head, giggling to myself after seeing the outraged expressions splashed across other shoppers’ faces.

One woman ushered her teenage son away after catching him stealing a glimpse through the window.

“Adam!” She swatted him with her shopping bag. “Don’t stare. Especially at whatever that harlot sells in that filth store of hers. You’ll find a nice feline of your own someday. You won’t need to go looking at the likes of that trash,” she chastised her son, who was now glowing a bright shade of red with embarrassment.

Feline?

Her eyes flicked up to mine, and I smiled politely.

“That's the curious youth of today,” I excused, seeing how flustered she was. “I think you’re onto a winner by distracting him with a kitten.”

She huffed with outrage, then scurried away. There was nothing to be ashamed about. Sex was natural, but some people were so prudish, they made others feel embarrassed about it. It reminded me of back home, how Ann Summers was located directly in front of my nana's favorite café. My nan and all the little old dears in her knitting club congregated there on a Tuesday morning, casting disdainful glances at anyone who dared to enter the Den of Sin as they liked to call it.

“It’s all that book’s fault,” my nan would claim. “Ever since that novel came out, everyone has gone sex-mad. There was none of that back in my day,” she would add, crossing her arms. “That book should be burned.” Her eyes blazed with fierce determination. “Don’t ever let me catch you reading it,” she would warn while wagging her finger at me. “I’ll disinherit you.”

After my eventful shopping trip, I ended up back where I started. With my bags clutched in one hand, I waved to Chloe and the kids with the other, seeing them standing outside waiting for me.

“Isobelle!” Both children rushed towards me.

“Are you hungry?” Angelica asked.

“I’m starving,” I replied, hearing my stomach give a growl in agreement.

We had to wait a short while for a table, but as soon as one became free, we grabbed a seat. The kids already knew the children’s menu by heart and rhymed off their order as the server approached.

“Hey, Chloe, who’s your new friend? She’s not from around here, is she?” she asked cheerfully, but in the same way, her voice had a subtle, prying edge to it. At a guess, I’d say she was around her mid-to-late sixties underneath the inches of makeup, but I couldn’t be certain. I smiled a humored tight-lipped smile, knowing that she was likely the type to gossip. Her grey eyes raked over my appearance, analyzing every tiny detail.

“Teresa, this is Isobelle. She’ll be staying with us at the guest house for the next three months,” Chloe introduced. “Isobelle is an environmental scientist. She came here to study the wolves,” she added.

Teresa’s intrigued smile fell from her heavily made-up face. “What?” Her eyes rounded with shock. “You’re studying wolves?” There was a hint of hysteria in her voice.

She turned to Chloe and whisper-shouted, “Are you crazy?”

Chloe shook her head in confusion. “What? The university sent her with Alec White’s consent. You’ve met Professor Peter Munroe, the guy who keeps visiting these parts. He’s conducting a study on wolves in their natural habitat. It could help us get government backing to protect the forest.” She turned to her children. “Kids, why don’t you go fetch some crayons from the drawer. Go on, you know where they keep them.” She smiled, waiting until they were clearly out of earshot before continuing the conversation. “Lincoln said more hunters have been encroaching onto the land. The Rangers have been going nuts over it,” she finished, exchanging a worried look with Teresa.

“It’s not just that, Chloe, you know what it is tomorrow, don’t you?” Teresa mentioned in a whispered tone.

Chloe made a face as if to say, “huh?”

Teresa huffed and rolled her eyes. “It’s that time of the month,” she spoke quietly, eye signaling to her again and adding in a few winks.

I automatically thought of a woman’s menstrual cycle when she said that and wondered what relevance it had regarding me conducting my investigation.

Chloe’s eyes darted between the two of us as she must have interpreted the same thing as I did. Then her expression flooded with realization. “Oh . . . the full moon.” Chloe chuckled.

I scrunched my face with sheer incomprehension, not having the slightest idea what they were talking about.

Teresa huffed, placing a hand on her hip. “It’s the wrong time of the month to go searching for certain wolves in the woods.” She turned towards me. “If you knew what was good for you, honey, you would go back to where you came from,” she cautioned. “Nothing good ever comes from snooping around.”

Chloe snapped back, appalled. “Don’t go scaring away my guests, Teresa.” She placed a palm on top of my wrist. “It’s stupid urban folklore. Ignore her,” she muttered.

“It's not bullshit when it's a fact,” Teresa interjected, raising her finger in the air. Her fingernails were curved like cat claws. “Our sheriff warns visitors not to go into the woods during a full moon, and for their own darn good, too.” She began telling the story using expressions, just to give it that chilling campfire-tale effect. “There’s a hut, deep in the thickest part of the forest that’s home to four men who like to keep to themselves. They come out once every full moon to hunt for a woman to sate their pleasures upon, if you know what I mean,” she uttered in a lowered tone. “Not a woman for each of them. No. One they would share,” Teresa finished, sounding horrified as if she disapproved of any such habits.

“Oh, come on, Teresa. Maybe if people weren’t so judgmental about polygamy, certain people wouldn’t need to go into the woods to fuck,” Chloe raised a valid point. “It’s no different than the naturist reserve up on The Hills. People go there for one thing, and they tend to share the love if you know what I’m saying.”  

“Seriously?” I was shocked, then I glanced over my shoulders to make sure no little kids were in earshot. Angelica and Cameron were still ambushing the drawers, filling their pockets with crayons.

“Yup,” Teresa answered as a matter of fact. “You can ask anybody from Whitehaven. It’s a free-for-all fuck-a-thon up on the summit of Forest Hills, but it’s even worse in the forest with those horndogs running loose. You've got to lock up your daughters during the full moon. Especially if you hear the call of the wolf outside your door on the eve of one. That’s a bad omen. So, you keep out of those trees for the next four nights, honey.” She raised an over-plucked eyebrow. “If you know what’s good for you.”

“Oh, Teresa, that’s ridiculous.” Chloe rolled her eyes.

The thought of four big mountain men swam into my mind’s eye, ravishing a poor defenseless woman, taking all their pleasures out on her helpless fragile body. I shuddered, but not with fear. I suppressed a smirk. That sounded like a dirty sexual fantasy from one of my romance novels.

“What happens to all the women they take?” I asked, forgetting how to breathe for a second as my laughter stuck in my throat. I wasn’t sure I could contain myself for much longer.

Chloe waved her hand to catch my attention. “Nothing because it’s a load of baloney. According to the stories, they returned them to the edge of the woods, untouched. They said they weren’t the ones they were looking for. I don’t believe in it, personally. It’s nothing more than a scare tactic to deter tourists from roaming around the forest. If girls were getting snatched, the authorities would be all over it.”

“Do you get many tourists?” I asked, wondering how people knew to come here if it wasn’t on the map. 

Chloe and Teresa shared a puzzled glance then both blurted mixed answers. “Occasionally,” Chloe replied. 

“Are you kidding?” Teresa spluttered, then rubbed her elbow gingerly. “I mean, not really. This is a nature reserve. We want to keep it that way.”

I thought for a moment. “And this legend . . . about the men in the woods. Can you tell me anything more about that? If I’m going to be working in the woods, I want to know what to look out for.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “It’s horse shit.”

Teresa made a face as if to say, “Nah, not really. I’ve told you everything I know.”

“Oh.” My shoulders dropped with disappointment after such an anti-climax. “That’s not much of a legend, even if it is bollocks. I would have thought there would be more to it than that.” And there I was, hoping for a bit of smut.