Cade read the snippet of typeface printed beneath the photograph aloud, so everyone could hear.
“We’ve spent most of our savings on this legal battle,” Mr. John Shriver told reporters, adding he was concerned his family has been rendered effectively homeless after the court’s decision. “I don’t know how we’ll live. I don’t know where we’ll go. My family has been on this land since they came over on the Mayflower. We don’t intend to just walk away from it.”
His wife added the couple is especially concerned about their young daughter, if they have to start over somewhere new. “Our Marcie was born mute. She has a hard enough time communicating with us, with the people she knows around here,” Mrs. Samara Shriver stated. “What will she do in an unfamiliar place? How will she get along in a big city? This is the only home she’s ever known. This is the only place she feels comfortable. And you want us to take that away from her?”
When Cade fell silent, we all looked at one another. For a long moment, no one said a word.
“Couldn’t find any records on the Shriver family after that,” Welles said finally. “None of their daughter going to school. Nothing in the form of an address, a work history… Nothing. No death certificates for either of the parents, either. It’s like they just vanished into the marsh.”
We all contemplated that for a moment.
“Is it possible they never left?” Gwen finally asked, looking from Graham to Welles. “That’s what you’re saying here, isn’t it? That this family stayed on their land, even after the state effectively cut off their resources?”
“Not saying that. But…” Graham sighed. “Notnotsaying it, either.”
“There were signs of life in the cabin beyond just a transient shacking up for a few days,” Welles said. “Camping equipment. Fishing rods. Casting nets and lobster traps. Some of it new, most of it old. All of it an eclectic mix of brands and styles.” He paused. “My guess? Stolen, not purchased.”
“It explains why the whispers started, that there was something in those woods,” I murmured. “All those campers and hikers who claimed their packs were pilfered, their supplies picked over…”
“There was food in the cupboards,” Cade added. “Good chunk of it was labeled SALEM PANTRY. Whoever lives there – orlivedthere – made free use of city resources.”
“Volunteers often leave shipments at the encampment on the edge of town. Non-perishables, medical supplies…” Gwen nodded. “I’ve done it myself, on occasion. There are a lot of people in need.”
Another short silenced descended over the room.
Flo, as usual, was the one who shattered it. “So, her parents die and she, just… what? Stays out there alone, all this time? In the wild?” She scowled. “I don’t buy it. How could someone just slip through the cracks of society, without anyone ever noticing? We live in the age of technology! Constant surveillance!” She shook her head vigorously. “It’s not possible. There’s got to be another explanation.”
I stared again at the little girl in the picture. I wasn’t sure I was fully sold on her being the source of Salem’s most infamous ghost story, but Iwassure I disagreed with Florence.
It was absolutely possible to slip through the cracks in society.
People did it all the time.
I’d very nearly done it myself.
Just...
Disappeared.
No one to care. No one to look for me. No one to even know I was missing in the first place.
Before I came to Salem, I moved through life without making much of an impression. More ghost than girl. If my car hadn’t broken down… if I’d never walked through the doors of The Gallows… if I’d never stepped foot in The Sea Witch…
I didn’t even want to think about where I’d have ended up.
Certainly not in love with a strong, caring, selfless man. Certainly not with a group of crazy, funny, amazing friends. Certainly not with a steady job in a cool-as-hell coffee-slash-book-slash-occult store. Certainly not with a puppy who was growing so fast, I could hardly keep up. Certainly not in a fixer-upper house in an adorable neighborhood that, with a little bit of TLC, would turn into a home.
“We’ll keep digging,” Welles said, calling me back to the present. “Not sure we’ll find much of anything. But if there’s more to find, we’ll find it.”
“It’s a hard pill to swallow,” Cade muttered. “All those days of searching, all that effort to catch the fucker who did this… and we’ve got nothing. No answers. Just a legend. And a forty-year-old paper trail that ends in a puff of smoke.” His voice tightened. “The Feds are gone. Left town this morning and took their remaining interest in this case along with them. SPD will continue to search. But if our suspect has really lived out there in the backwoods for her whole life… I have a feeling it’s going to be tough to find her. Not if she doesn’t want to be found.”
“Would it be so bad if you didn’t?” I asked.
Everyone looked at me.
I fought the urge to cower under the weight of so many intense stares. “I just mean… She didn’t really do anything criminal, or even bad. She was trying to help Rory when he hurt his ankle. Her actions weren’t malicious.”
“Tell that to Annie Thurman,” Flo muttered.