“What are you doing?” Jodi curiously asked.
“There’s something about that dirt road.”
Jodi saw that dirt road that gave her an overwhelming déjà vu feeling when she first drove down to Haneyville.
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Donovan turned right onto that dirt road.
Rock drove slowly down Stinson Road. He stopped just south of that entrance of that dirt road.
“What the fuck are they doing?” Rock asked himself, noticing the trail of dust from Donovan’s Buick.
Rock slowly drove his car down Stinson Road and turned left down that other dirt road.
Donovan continued to drive down the dirt road and headed to the clearing.
The “In the Summertime” song just ended on the radio.
Donovan turned off the radio once he drove up to the clearing. He parked his car and turned off the engine.
He and Jodi glanced at Lake Haney.
“Are you getting that feeling like what I’m getting?” she asked Donovan.
“Yeah. I got this weird feeling; I’ve been here before,” he replied.
“Me too.”
Donovan opened his door and got out of his car.
Jodi opened her door and stepped outside.
They both walked to the bank of the lake.
“This is a nice spot,” she said.
Donovan turned around the area. “Based on the number of car tracks in the dirt, I think this spot is used by the kids to hang out. You know, a make-out spot,” he said.
Jodi turned around and looked at the clearing. “I believe you’re right.”
Donovan and Jodi looked at each other. And for a split second, they both had the urge to kiss each other. But they shrugged off that feeling.
Donovan looked to his right. An eerie feeling shot throughout his whole body when he saw the woods. He suddenly felt threatened, and then a short and brief pain shot through his chest. Donovan 85
clutched his chest. “Ah,” he moaned out and buckled over a little.
“Are you okay?” Jodi asked and looked a little concerned.
“Yeah, must be the coffee from this morning,” he said after the pain disappeared.
Jody then cringed and rubbed her forehead, suddenly coming down with a sharp headache. “I think that coffee just gave me a headache. Must be from too much caffeine,” she said
“Let’s go. I need to get back to my motel room. I want to work on my article,” said Donovan.
“Sounds good. I think I’ll take a nap and get rid of this headache,” she replied.
Donovan and Jodi walked back to his Buick.
They got back inside his car.
Donovan started it up and then made a U-turn in the clearing.
He drove back down the dirt road and headed back to Stinson Road.
Donovan eventually arrived back at the Motel 6
parking lot.
Donovan and Jodi both went back inside their motel rooms.
Rock parked his car in the parking lot of the Perkins restaurant. He decided to spy on their rooms for a while, then head home.
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Donovan and Jodi did not see each other for the rest of the day.
That evening, Donovan ate a light dinner at a small café along Lake Haney. He enjoyed eating with a view of the lake. He began loving the peaceful life Haneyville had to offer.
“I sure had a great time with Jodi,” Donovan quietly said.
Donovan stared at the lake, not realizing that Rock had his eyes on Donovan.
Donovan’s iPhone rang from the top of his table.
He glanced and noticed Lindsey was the caller. “Hello, honey,” he answered the call.
“Where are you?” replied Lindsey from his iPhone, sounding pissed.
“I’m up in Haneyville, Tennessee,” he replied.
There were a few seconds of silence from his iPhone. “Haneyville, Tennessee, what the hell are you doing in podunk Haneyville, Tennessee?”
Donovan opened his mouth to reply then it dawned on him. He cringed, knowing he was in deep trouble with Lindsey, forgetting to tell her he headed up north. “Ah, I’m working on a story,” he said.
“What’s so important that you had to drive up to hillbilly Tennessee to work on a story?” she replied, and her voice was a little louder and more fire.
“It’s a story that’s really important to me.”
“More important than not showing up for dinner with mom and dad?” Lindsey snapped back a little louder.
Donovan cringed the second he realized that he was supposed to have dinner with her parents tonight.
“I’m sorry, honey. I just got so wrapped up with this 87
that I,” he said, but Lindsey suddenly disconnected her end of the call. “Forgot,” he said, completing his sentence.
Donovan placed his iPhone back on his table and thought about Lindsey. He started to think about Jodi, and for some strange reason, he began to feel that the opportunity to get to know Jodi was more important than Lindsey. This was way more important than dinner with Lindsey and her stuck-up parents.
Meanwhile, Jodi ate at the Perkins restaurant, as she did not feel like driving around Haneyville. While eating, she thought of her time spent with Donovan this morning. They were joyful thoughts.
Later that night, Donovan went to bed and was asleep in no time. He immediately started to dream.
In his dream, Donovan was on his back in the woods. The full moon peeked through the branches of the trees. Excruciating pain consumed his chest while he lay on the dirt.
Donovan was able to crane his neck. He saw that mysterious man in a ski mask and overalls down to his ankles, unzipping the bell-bottom blue jeans of the brunette girl.
“Please don’t!” the brunette girl cried out while that man lowered her blue jeans down to her ankles and slid them over her sandals.
Donovan tried to move to help the girl, but the pain in his chest was too excruciating. He stayed trapped in the dirt.
“Please don’t do this again,” the brunette girl cried out. The man slid her white cotton panties down and over her sandals.
Then the mysterious man slapped the brunette girl across her face a few times. “Shut the fuck up, or I’ll kill you now,” he threatened.
The brunette girl shut up and lay frozen with fear.
He ripped open her tee shirt.
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“Doesn’t surprise me,” the man said, noticing her bare C-cup breasts. “I remember these sweet puppies,”
the man said and squeezed her breasts hard, causing the girl to cringe in pain.
He spotted a gold chain around her neck with a gold heart attached to it. He looked at the back of the heart and saw it had something engraved on it. “How fucking sweet,” he said sarcastically, then yanked the chain hard. It broke off.
“Please don’t take that,” the brunette pleaded with him. “Fuck you, bitch,” the man chuckled while he shoved the chain, key and gold heart into one of the pockets of his overalls.
He opened up her legs and hopped on top. She squirmed to force him off her body, but he was too strong and heavy. He slapped her some more across her face.
She got scared to death and then went limp, giving in to his forced sex. She had a blank, lifeless stare knowing she had no choice.
The man began pleasuring himself with the girl’s limp body. “You feel so good fucking. Just the way I remembered,” the mysterious man said while he humped her.
Donovan lay on his back, still in extreme pain in the dirt. He heard the grunting and moans of the mysterious man and glanced over. The girl he loved was being raped, and he was pissed. But he could not move to help her.
Donovan craned his neck in the other direction.
The full moon provided enough light to where he saw a red 1962 Buick Special parked in the clearing with the driver’s door still open.
He glanced back at that man on top of the brunette girl having his way with her.
“Stop,” he cried out with the loudest voice he could muster.
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Back in his motel room, Donovan still had his dream.
“Stop,” he cried out in his sleep in pain.
Donovan bolted up from his dream, sweaty and shaking.
He frantically looked around the room for that brunette girl and that mysterious man raping her. The room was empty and quiet. It took a few seconds to dawn on him that he had another dream.
Donovan sat up, and this dream really bugged him. Then his curiosity started to nag at him, and he could not resist.
He looked at the digital clock on the bedside table.
It showed it was 4:00 a.m.
Donovan’s curiosity got more robust the more he thought about that dream. It felt so vivid and alive.
He rushed out of his bed and quickly got dressed.
He grabbed his car keys and iPhone off the small dresser. He shoved his iPhone into his left pants pocket and rushed out of his motel room.
Donovan got inside his Buick, started the car, then drove off through the dark parking lot.
He did not notice the white Impala parked in the parking lot.
Rock was inside, and he followed Donovan’s Buick but kept his headlights turned off.
Donovan drove his Buick west on Haneyville Road with Rock’s Impala following a safe distance behind. Donovan was clueless that he was being stalked by the sheriff.
Donovan quickly stopped at the stop sign at the end of Haneyville Road.
He turned his Buick right and headed north on Stinson Road.
He slowed down and then made a right turn down the dirt road.
He headed to the clearing down by the lake.
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Rock drove his Impala down Stinson Road and headed past the dirt road.
Rock then turned left onto that other dirt road.
Once his car was out of view from Stinson Road, he parked and turned off his engine.
Donovan parked his Buick in the clearing. He turned off his engine and got out of his car.
It was dark, and the sky was full of twinkling stars. There was a quarter moon tonight, so not much light was offered from the sky this morning.
Donovan removed his iPhone from his pants pocket. He pressed the flashlight application. A light came on from his iPhone and acted like a flashlight.
Donovan used the iPhone flashlight and looked around the area.
He looked to the left of the Buick with the flashlight area of the woods and started feeling spooky.
He looked to the right of the Buick with the flashlight, and that area of the woods felt safe.
Donovan used that flashlight and walked off into the woods to his left. Even though it was spooky, he felt drawn to that area.
Donovan gingerly walked through the woods with his flashlight iPhone. He was more concerned with some critter attacking him than anything else.
He walked between trees, and for some strange reason, this part of the woods started to give him intense déjà vu feelings. But these started to become a bit of a scary feeling while he walked deeper into the woods.
Donovan’s déjà vu feelings started getting stronger and stronger while he gingerly walked deeper into the woods.
A déjà vu feeling became overwhelming; the second Donovan walked upon a small clearing between the trees.
He scanned the area over and saw he was fifty feet from his parked Buick.
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His flashlight illuminated a dead black walnut tree. The tree looked like it had been dead for years and was about to crumble at any second.
Donovan kept on scanning the area with his flashlight.
He scanned the ground below, and his déjà vu feeling became powerful and scary when he saw two eight-inch rocks in the dirt.
Sudden pain in his chest appeared, and it was excruciating. Donovan clutched his chest and buckled over. Then the pain suddenly disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He felt better.
He heard a twig snap on the ground behind him.
The second Donovan turned around to check out that sound, a fist smacked him hard in his left eye. He flew back while he lost his grip on his iPhone, and it flew off in another direction.
Donovan landed on his back in pain.
It was dark. He saw his iPhone with the flashlight app pointing straight up at the sky.
Donovan looked up and saw a mysterious man wearing a black ski mask bearing down on him.
The man grabbed Donovan’s shirt and yanked him upward. The man immediately started punching Donovan repeatedly in his face.
After six punches, the man let go of Donovan and dropped to the dirt.
He lay in the dirt in pain and on the verge of passing out.
He looked and saw the man pick up his cell phone off the ground. Donovan passed out.
The mysterious man walked into the woods after shoving Donovan’s cell phone into his pants pocket.
Thursday morning arrived across Tennessee.
The woods started to fill up with birds singing at the arrival of another beautiful sunny day.
Donovan still lay passed out in the woods.
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He started to stir, as the singing birds began to wake him.
Donovan’s eyes opened, and all he could see was the morning blue sky peeking between tree branches and tree leaves.
He got dazed and confused as to where he was while he sat up.
He looked around the area. “What the hell happened,” he said, still looking around the area. His eyes widened. “Oh yeah, someone beat the crap out of me,” Donovan said. “Where’s my cell phone?”
Donovan got up and looked the area over. “Crap, that man stole my phone,” he said, slowly walking back through the woods and over to his car.
He got in his Buick. He looked in the rearview mirror, noticing the swollen black and blue marks on his face by his left eye. He touches one of the bruises.
“Ouch!”
He started up his Buick. Turned around and drove away from the clearing.
Donovan drove down the dirt road and then headed south on Stinson Road.
He made the left turn and headed back down Haneyville Road.
A little while later, Donovan pulled up and parked in front of the police station.
He got out of his Buick and rushed to the front doors of the building.
Donovan rushed inside the police station and went to the counter.
He saw Kent working behind a desk.
Kent looked up from his paperwork. “Can I help you?” “Whoa! What happened to you?” Kent asked, got up from his desk, and walked over to the counter.
“I was attacked in the woods last night,” replied Donovan.
“Attacked?” asked Kent, not sure he heard correctly.
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Rock heard the conservation from his office while he puffed on a cigar with a smirk.
He got out from behind his desk and walked out of his office. He stood by the doorway of his office, puffing on a cigar a foot from the “No Smoking” sign on the wall.
“What exactly happened?” Kent asked. He saw that Donovan’s left eye was a bit swollen.
“I was out by that clearing by Lake Haney early this morning,” Donovan said.
“Why were you out there so late?” asked Rock the second he arrived at the counter. He saw that Donovan’s eyes were a bit swollen.
“I’m Donovan Kirby. I’m a reporter from Tampa, Florida, for the Tampa Bay Times newspaper,” he replied; then, while he looked at Rock, something felt familiar about him. “Have we met before the sheriff?”
Rock looked at Donovan. “I don’t believe so,” he said, then thought for a few more seconds. “Unless you were at that police convention down in Orlando. I attended.”
Donovan looked at Rock then it dawned on him.
He snapped his fingers. “That’s right. I recall seeing you down in Orlando. What a coincidence meeting you here again. I hope you liked the conference.”
“It was good, but now let’s get back to your issue at hand,” said Rock. “Now, what were you doing in the woods early this morning?”
“I’m working on a story about those missing teenagers that went missing back in nineteen seventy.”
“Why?” Rock asked.
Donovan started to feel intimidated by Rock for some reason. “I don’t know. I became intrigued when I saw that story about that girl’s Buick Special being found in Lake Haney.”
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“Intrigued. That’s interesting,” Rock said, then glanced out the windows. “Is that why you own an old Buick Special?”
Donovan glanced back over his shoulders at the windows. “Yeah, that’s correct.”
“Okay, let’s get back to your story about being attacked. Did you get a good look at the individual that beat you?” asked Rock.
“No. He wore a ski mask.”
“A ski mask. Well, that’s not much to go on. Did you see him get into his vehicle?” asked Rock.
“No, I passed out, but I believe he took my iPhone. It has a GPS capability, so I can have it tracked to a location,” replied Donovan.
Rock looked a tad concerned. “GPS tracking.
That’s interesting.”
“Isn’t technology wonderful these days,” added Kent. Rock glanced at Kent, a disapproving look for his comment.
“Well, Mister Kirby, some people around these parts don’t take kindly to strangers roaming in our woods. Some of these woods are their backyards. So, maybe you might want to consider heading back down to Florida. As far as those two kids go, we still believe they’ve been living in Canada for the past forty years.
You see that Howie Anderson was a draft dodger. So he might be too ashamed of himself to come back to Haneyville,” said Rock, giving Donovan the eye that he should leave town.
Donovan looked at Rock. “Thanks, sheriff.”
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll go out to that clearing and see what evidence I can find on your attacker. Are you staying at motel six?”
“Yes.”
“Good. But I recommend you just forget this story, as it won’t be much of a story. And I can imagine you have more serious crimes to write about in 95
your neck of the woods. Again, you might want to consider leaving town,” said Rock, looking dead serious.
“I’ll think about your advice,” Donovan replied.
He felt he needed to stay here in Haneyville a bit longer.
“Okay, if you wish. I’ll be in touch if I find anything,” Rock said, then turned around and headed back to his office.
“I’m sorry about this, Mister Kirby. The folks around Haneyville are typically upstanding, law-abiding citizens. Maybe one of them was out drunk,” said Kent. “Thank you, deputy,” said Donovan. He turned around and headed back to the front doors.
Kent turned around and headed back to his desk.
“I’m heading out to check out that clearing,” Rock said, walking out of his office and putting on his cowboy sheriff ’s hat, leaving a trail of cigar smoke.
“Want me to tag along?” asked Kent.
“Naw, stay here and mind the office for other emergencies,” Rock said, then he headed to the front doors.
“Yeah, other emergencies,” Kent sarcastically said and returned to his paperwork.
Rock left the office.
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A little while later that morning, Donovan sat at a booth in the Perkins restaurant drinking coffee.
He got a few stares from the other customers while they looked at his black and blue eyes. They were curious about what happened, so they started whispering their own theories.
He had just got his cup of coffee and had placed his order a few minutes ago.
Jodi walked up to the booth. "Good morning Donovan," she said. Then she spotted his black and blue eyes were still a tad swollen. "What happened to you?" she said, concerned while sitting at his booth.
"Someone beat me last night," he said, then took a drink of coffee.
"Who?"
Julie, the waitress, walked over to the booth, and Donovan refrained from replying. She placed some silverware wrapped up in a napkin and a menu in front of Jodi. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Coffee, please," Jodi replied.
Julie smiled, then walked away from the booth.
Donovan glanced around the area to make sure other ears were not listening. He felt it was safe. "I don't know. He wore a ski mask."
Jodi thought about his comment for a few seconds. "I had a bad dream about a guy in a ski mask," she said, then got the chills.
Donovan thought about her reply for a few seconds. "What did he do?"
Jodi pondered if she should say anything about her dream. "Oh, I don't remember that much, but he was scary."
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Donovan opened his mouth to say something but didn't when someone approached the booth. He saw Julie with a cup of coffee in her left hand and a coffee pot in her right hand. He remained tight-lipped.
Jodi smiled while Julie placed the cup of coffee in front of her, then topped off Donovan's cup. "Would you like to order something for breakfast?"
Jodi looked at Julie. "Those French Toast were excellent. How about another order of that?"
Julie smiled at Jodi.
"You can bring my order when her order is ready,"
Donovan told Julie.
Julie smiled, acknowledged his request, and walked away.
"Where did you get attacked? At the motel,"
asked Jodi; then she took a sip of her coffee and wondered if Haneyville had crime like she has in Lexington.
"No, out by the clearing by the lake. I had this strange feeling about searching the woods. Then I came to a clearing and got an overwhelming déjà vu feeling. Suddenly, I got this pain in my chest that came and went away real quick," he told her, then he took a drink of his coffee.
Jodi looked at Donovan and knew there was something strange going on here. She took a drink of her coffee. "Did you tell the Sheriff of Haneyville what happened?"
"I did. He didn't appear overly concerned and strongly recommended I leave town."
"Leave town? Why?
"I don't know. But he did state that the belief is Tiffany and Howie left Haneyville back in nineteen seventy and ray away up to Canada. He said something about Howie being a draft dodger."
Jodi opened her mouth to reply. She closed it.
Julie walked up to the booth with two plates of French Toast in hand.
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Donovan and Jodi smiled at Julie while she placed their breakfast in front of them.
"Let me know if there's anything else you need,"
Julie said, then walked away from the booth.
"Howie was a draft dodger?" asked Jodi; then she thought about it for a few seconds. "I'm not buying that," she added.
"That's what the Sheriff told me."
Jodi looked concerned. "I wonder why someone would attack you out in the woods?"
"I don't know, but I have my suspicions that it has something to do with Tiffany and Howie going missing," he said.
It was quiet while Jodi and Donovan started munching down their French Toast breakfast.
"Oh yeah, I also lost my iPhone out in the woods when that guy beat me up."
"You can use mine if you need to make a call,"
Jodi offered.
"Thanks."
It got quiet again as they both pondered the recent events while they ate and drank coffee.
Twenty minutes passed, and Jodi and Donovan finished their breakfast and paid their bills.
Donovan and Jodi walked out of the Perkins restaurant's front doors.
They walked ten feet away from the front entrance of the restaurant.
Donovan stopped and looked at Jodi. "I'm thinking of going back and talking with Howie's father. Would you like to come along?"
"So, I take it you're not going to leave like the Sheriff recommended?"
Donovan thought about her question for a few seconds. "No. I must work on this story. I don't know why, but I must."
Jodi looked at Donovan, and it did not take long for her to think about her answer. "I would love to tag 99
along and see Howie's father," she said with a smile, but she was also curious about meeting George.
Donovan smiled, then motioned for her to follow him to his Buick.
When Donovan and Jodi arrived at his Buick, he played the gentleman and opened the passenger door.
She smiled and loved being treated like a lady. She sat in the passenger seat. Donovan closed the door and then rushed around to the driver's side.
He got inside his car, started it up, and then backed out of his parking spot.
Donovan pulled his car onto Haneyville Road and headed east toward the town.
He did not notice Rock in his Impala following his Buick a safe distance behind.
A little while later, Donovan pulled his Buick into the driveway of George and Betsy Anderson's home.
Rock parked his Impala down the street and kept an eye on Donovan and Jodi while they walked over to George's front door.
Donovan rang the doorbell. They waited.
Over in Rock's Impala, he began navigating through Donovan's iPhone.
The front door of George's house opened, and George appeared.
"Hello, you're back," he said, then saw Jodi. "And you brought a lovely guest," he added, then looked at Jodi for a few seconds. "Have we met before?" he asked her, as there was something really familiar with Jodi. "No, sir, I'm visiting from Lexington," she replied, but she also had a strange feeling she had met George before.
"What brings you back here?" George asked, then he saw Donovan's eyes. "What happened to you?"
"I got attacked early this morning out in the woods."
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"Attacked in the woods? Why were you out in the woods?"
"Researching my story, I have a question about Howie."
"Please come inside; Kathy went to Kroger's for some groceries, so we can talk for a few minutes,"
George said, then motioned for them to step inside his home.
George closed his front door; the second, Donovan and Jodi were in his living room.
"What's the question?"
"Did Howie get a draft notice from the Army just before he went missing?" asked Donovan.
George looked surprised that Donovan had dug up that information. "How did you find that out?"
"I don't reveal my sources."
George looked at Donovan and Jodi for a few seconds. "Yeah, he got his draft notice two months before he went missing."
"How did he feel about that?"
"Like many kids back then, he did not want to go to Vietnam. He felt that that war was all wrong," said George.
"So is that why the Sheriff believes they ran off to Canada?" asked Jodi.
George hesitated for a few seconds. "I know Howie and Tiffany talked about moving to Canada. We had a huge argument about that the week before they went missing. I served in the Navy in the South Pacific in the second war, so I was firmly against him running off to Canada. I tried to tell him to enlist in the Navy,"
George said, and he looked upset recalling that memory. "I still have his draft notice if you want to see it." "Sure," said Donovan.
George motioned for Donovan and Jodi to follow him.
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They followed George out of his living room, down the hallway, and into Howie's bedroom.
Once Donovan stepped inside the bedroom, that overwhelming déjà vu feeling returned. That strange déjà vu feeling also hit Jodi when she stepped inside Howie's bedroom.
Donovan's eyes widened the second he saw a silver trumpet on a stand in the corner of the room.
He got curious and walked over to it.
Donovan saw it was a Conn trumpet when he picked it up and checked it out. "I also play the trumpet and have a silver Conn," he said while looking the trumpet over. Donovan had another strange déjà vu feeling while he gripped Howie's silver trumpet in his right hand.
"Howie loved to play a Glenn Miller tune,"
George said, then paused while trying to recall from his memory. "I forgot the song."
Donovan's eyes lit up. "I love Glenn Miller. I play that In The Mood song."
George's eyes lit up, and he snapped his fingers.
"That's the song, In The Mood."
Donovan and Jodi looked surprised overhearing that from George.
He placed the trumpet back in the stand.
George walked over to Howie's old desk and opened the top drawer. He removed a folded piece of paper and then walked over to Donovan. He handed the paper over to Donovan.
Donovan unfolded the paper and saw Howie's official draft notice. Jodi glanced over at the paper.
While they both looked at the draft notice, another overwhelming déjà vu feeling hit them.
Donovan folded up the draft notice and handed it back to George.
George shoved it back into the desk drawer and closed it. "Do you have any more questions?"
"Not at the moment," replied Donovan.
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"I'm here if you have any," George said, then walked to the bedroom door.
It was quiet while George walked them through the living room and back to the front door.
George opened up the front door. "You shouldn't be running around in these woods around town when it's dark. Some folks get a little nervous with people snooping around," he told Donovan.
"I won't, and thanks for the information,"
Donovan said, then he shook George's hand.
George smiled while Donovan and Jodi left his house.
He closed his front door. "Why do I feel like I know those two young kids?" he asked. He shrugged that thought off, walked away, and headed into his kitchen for another cup of coffee.
Donovan and Jodi got inside his Buick.
He backed his car down the driveway and drove off down the street.
Rock was still in his Impala down the street and started to follow Donovan's car.
It was quiet inside Donovan's car while he drove down Forge Valley Avenue.
He made a right turn and drove down Addison Avenue.
Donovan's eyes widen with a thought. "Do you think that that guy that attacked me could have been Howie?"
"Howie? Why would you think it was Howie?"
asked Jodi.
"Well, maybe for some strange reason, he had been living in the woods as a hermit for all these years,"
Donovan replied. The more he thought about it, the more he thought it was a possibility.
"I doubt Howie has been hiding in the woods for the past forty years. Someone in Haneyville would have seen him by now and told his parents," said Jodi.
"Or turned him into the sheriff."
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Donovan thought about her reply. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I must be stretching things a bit," he said, then turned left onto Haneyville Road.
"Just a bit, but I'm thinking that that person that attacked you could have caused harm to Tiffany and Howie, or maybe that attacker is protecting someone else," Jodi said.
Donovan glanced over at Jodi, knowing her thoughts were heading in the right direction. "If nobody heard from them since that night in nineteen seventy, then someone probably ended their lives," he said. Donovan and Jodi looked at each other, and both had the same eerie feeling that that was what had happened that night. But who could have caused those two kids harm was the big question?
A little while later, Donovan pulled his Buick into the parking lot of the Motel 6.
After he turned off his car engine, he glanced at Jodi. She glanced at him.
He had a strong desire to lean over and kiss her.
She had a strong urge to lean over and kiss him.
They both held back their desires.
"Well, I'm going to my room and jot down some thoughts and ideas about this story," said Jodi.
"Yeah, me too," he replied.
They both got out of his Buick.
"How about we meet for dinner?" he asked.
"Sounds great. What time?"
"How about six?"
"We can meet at Perkins."
"Naw, let's eat at this restaurant down by the lake.
It has a better atmosphere than Perkins," he said.
"That sounds nice. It's a date. I'm in room sixteen. You can pick me up there," she said.
"Okay," said Donovan, and he loved it when she said the date word.
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They both walked away and headed off to their rooms.
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Thirty minutes passed, and Donovan relaxed on his bed with his laptop on his lap. He conducted more searches on Tiffany Carlson and Howie Anderson to see what would appear on the Internet. He looked disappointed as all kinds of results appeared, but none looked like Tiffany and Howie from 1970.
Someone knocked on his motel room door from the outside.
His eyes widened, thinking Jodi had come to pay him a visit.
He got off his bed and rushed to the door.
“Hello,” he said the second he opened his door, then got nervous the second he saw Rock standing outside his room. “Sheriff,” he said, finishing his greeting.
Rock gave Donovan a stern look for a few seconds to intimidate him. “I searched that area by the clearing and found your iPhone in the dirt. That attacker must have dropped it after your beating. It was probably too complicated for him,” he said, then reached into his pants pocket and removed Donovan’s iPhone.
“Thanks,” Donovan said while Rock handed him his iPhone.
“And I could not find any evidence to help me identify your attacker. So, I would highly recommend that you leave town. I’m not ordering you to leave town, but it might be safer if you did. Like I said, we have some folk that doesn’t take kindly to strangers snooping around in our lives,” Rock said and looked dead serious.
While Donovan looked at Rock, that pain in his chest reappeared. He cringed in pain.
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“You okay?” asked Rock pretending to be concerned.
“I’m fine. It must be heartburn from breakfast.”
“Well, like I said, I would seriously consider heading back down to Florida.”
“Thank you, Sheriff, I’ll give it some serious thought,” Donovan said, then waited for Rock to leave, as he did not want to piss him off by slamming the door in his face.
“Okay, suit yourself,” Rock said, then he turned around and walked away.
Donovan closed his room door and stood by it.
He thought about Rock’s suggestion, and something about that made him distrust the Sheriff. He suddenly had a strange eerie feeling about Rock.
Then that pain in his chest came back but not as severe as a few minutes ago. He reached under his shirt and rubbed his chest. The pain quickly dissipated within seconds. Donovan got concerned, as this had never happened before he read that Internet article about finding Tiffany’s Buick Special in Lake Haney.
He walked over, sat on the bed, and thought about what had just happened.
He got off the bed, rushed to the door, and left his room.
Once Donovan left his room, he headed to Jodi’s room, down the other end of the motel.
He knocked on the door for Room 16 and waited.
After a few seconds, that door cracked open, and Jodi appeared sleepy.
“Is it six already? I dozed off. Give me a few minutes to get ready,” she said, then yawned.
“No, I’m early. I had Sheriff Riley drop my iPhone off in my room. He claims he found it out in the woods where I was attacked,” Donovan replied.
“Oh, then why are you here?” she asked and yawned again.
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“I was wondering if they had a library in this town. We could do some searches through some old newspaper articles.”
Jodi looked at Donovan for a few seconds. “Sure.
Staying in this room is starting to get boring. Give me a few minutes to freshen up,” she said, then closed her room door.
Donovan waited outside her room.
The door for Room 16 opened, and Jodi was ready to head out into town.
“I’m glad you got your iPhone back,” she said while she walked with Donovan to his Buick.
“Thanks, but you know something,” he said.
“What?” she replied while they walked up to his Buick.
“That Sheriff of this town makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. His name is Rock Riley,” he said, then unlocked the Buick passenger door, being a gentleman again.
Jodi remained quiet while she waited for Donovan to get in the car.
His driver’s door opened, and he sat behind the wheel.
“I haven’t met the Sheriff yet. Just his Deputy, and he’s young and appears nice,” she said while he started up his Buick.
“There’s something about the Sheriff that bothers me,” he replied while he placed the car into reverse.
Jodi thought about the comments about Rock while he backed out of the parking slot. Then she suddenly felt creepy about Rock even though she had never met him.
It was a quiet drive while Donovan drove his Buick east on Haneyville Road and headed into town.
Ten minutes had passed, and Donovan pulled his car into the parking of the Haneyville Library, located down from the police station at the eastern end of Wildwood Avenue.
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He parked, and they got out and headed to the library’s front doors.
Once Donovan and Jodi were inside the library, they headed to the counter where an old lady named Ester Yates worked.
Ester looked up from some books returned earlier in the day. She glanced at Donovan and Jodi. “You’re not from here, are you?”
“No, ma’am, I’m Donovan Kirby, a reporter from the Tampa Bay Times newspaper in Florida. My friend is Jodi Lauder, a reporter from the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper in Kentucky,” he replied.
Ester looked at Donovan and Jodi. “Oh, I thought you two were a married couple. As a matter of fact, you two do look familiar. Have we met before?”
Donovan and Jodi glanced at each other with a little smile.
“No, ma’am, we’re just up here to write an article about that car found in Lake Haney,” replied Jodi.
“Ah, I see. You’re the only reporters I heard are interested in Tiffany’s car,” Ester replied.
“Did you know her?” asked Donovan.
“Yep, her and Howie. He graduated high school with my son Wally,” replied Ester, then she looked sad.
“The Sheriff told me that he believed Howie and Tiffany ran to Canada back in nineteen seventy,” said Jodi. “Draft dodger. That’s what Howie was. A coward draft dodger,” replied Ester, and you could sense some anger in her voice while she recalled those old memories.
“That’s the theory, but why would they ditch their car in the lake before running up to Canada,” asked Donovan, then he paused for a few seconds. “How could they get up to Canada? It’s still far away,” he added.
“Hitchhike is my guess,” replied Ester sticking out her thumb like she was hitchhiking.
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“I wonder why they haven’t contacted their parents after all these years?” asked Donovan.
Ester looked at Donovan and then at Jodi. “I don’t care if we ever hear from that coward. My son Wally went into the Marines right after graduation. He was killed after being in Vietnam for only two months.
So, I’ll repeat it, I don’t care if we ever hear from that coward Howie again,” Ester said, and the anger in her voice was more noticeable. She looked at Donovan and Jodi. “So, what brings you to my library?”
Donovan looked at Ester and had this strange feeling he knew her and somehow knew something about Wally being killed in Vietnam.
“We were hoping to look at some old newspaper article from when they went missing?” said Jodi.
“We don’t have any here. You’ll have to go see Grant Scott. He owns the Haneyville Tribune located down off Haneyville Road,” Ester replied.
“Thank you,” said Jodi and motioned to Donovan that they should leave.
“Yes, thank you,” replied Donovan.
Ester returned to her books. “Coward!” she cursed under her breath.
Donovan and Jodi walked away from the counter and headed to the front doors.
Donovan opened one of the front doors for Jodi.
She smiled and loved it when a man acted like a gentleman. And this was something her ex-boyfriend would never do with her.
“Sounds like some of the people around here didn’t take kindly to Howie running up to Canada,” she said then they walked up to his Buick.
Donovan did not say a word while they got inside his Buick.
It was quiet in the Buick while Donovan drove out of the library parking lot.
He turned left on Wildwood, then turned right on Thorndale Avenue.
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He headed down Thorndale, then turned left on Haneyville Road.
He drove his Buick down Haneyville Road and saw the big indoor shopping mall to the left.
Donovan got this strange déjà vu feeling the second he saw the mall. “I bet there was a drive-in theater back in the day.”
Jodi looked at the mall and had the same déjà vu feeling. “I believe you could be right.”
He continued his drive down Haneyville Road and saw the Haneyville Tribune Newspaper building off to the right.
He turned his Buick right and pulled into the parking lot.
He parked his Buick next to a blue 1964 Rambler Classic, still in excellent shape.
After they got out of the car, they glanced across Haneyville Road and saw another parking lot. This was for patrons to park that wanted to frequent those numerous shops and restaurants down by the lake.
Donovan and Jodi headed to the front door of the Haneyville Tribune building.
They went inside the building.
They looked around the area and saw a counter for greeting customers. Four desks in the center, two offices off to the right side, and on the opposite wall saw two microfiches machines with about ten filing cabinets.
In the back room were printing presses for bringing the residents of Haneyville the local and national news.
The newspaper office looked deserted.
“Can I help you?” asked eighty-year-old Grant Scott while he stepped out of his office.
“I’m Donovan Kirby from the Tampa Bay Times newspaper in Florida, and this is Jodi Lauder, a reporter from the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper in 111
Kentucky,” he replied. At the same time, they walked up to the counter.
Grant looked at Donovan and Jodi while he walked up to the counter. “I heard about your papers.
So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?”
“We’re researching that sixty-two Buick found in Lake Haney. It belonged to Tiffany Carlson. The lady at the library told us to come to see you,” Donovan replied.
Grant looked surprised to hear Donovan’s reason.
“Why the interest in an old car dragged out of our lake?”
“We thought we’d do an article on the disappearance of Tiffany and Howie,” replied Jodi.
“Disappearance of Tiffany and Howie?” said Grant while he looked at Donovan and Jodi.
“Yes, sir,” said Donovan.
“Everybody believes they ran off to Canada that night,” Grant replied.
“We know that Howie received his draft notice before they went missing,” said Donovan.
“If they ran off to Canada, how come they haven’t contacted their parents by now. I can imagine they eventually would have gotten homesick,” said Jodi.
“Well, the Sheriff at the time, Sheriff Powers, and Deputy Riley conducted an investigation. They didn’t find any evidence of foul play. And Sheriff Powers also got an anonymous letter from someone stating they saw Howie and Tiffany hitchhiking later that night.
They were headed north on Stinson Road. So I don’t know how I can help you,” said Grant.
“I didn’t know of a letter,” said Donovan while he looked at Jodi.
“I didn’t,” she replied, then looked back at Grant.
“We were hoping we could look at some of the old articles from that time,” said Jodi.
“Does that letter exist today?” asked Donovan.
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“I don’t know. I guess Sheriff Riley might have it in the files.”
Grant looked at Donovan Jodi for a few seconds.
“But if you want to waste your time, come on inside.
Things are kinda slow anyway,” he said, then motioned for them to come around the counter.
“You can use any of those microfiches over there. The film is in the filing cabinets by date,” Grant said while they followed him to the microfiche machines.
“I just made a fresh pot of coffee, would you two like a cup?” Grant offered.
“Sure, that would be nice. Plain black, please,”
said Jodi.
“The same for me, and thanks,” said Donovan while he walked over and started scanning the filing cabinets.
Grant walked away and headed back to his office.
Donovan found a drawer of interest. He opened it and found a cartridge containing newspapers from August 1970.
He installed the cartridge in the microfiche in the center.
He and Jodi sat down on some chairs in front of the microfiche.
After a few seconds, Donovan and Jodi found the news article “Two Haneyville Teens Missing.” It was about the disappearance of Tiffany and Howie. It was dated Monday, August 24th, 1970, and written by Grant Scott. Donovan and Jodi silently read the article.
“There’s something about that letter,” said Jodi while she pointed at the screen.
Donovan read that line in the article.
Grant walked up with two cups of black coffee.
He placed them down in front of Donovan and Jodi.
“Thanks,” she said.
“You wrote this article,” said Donovan.
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“Yep. I’m a good friend of Howie’s father, George. It was not an easy article to write at the time.
His wife Betsy cried for about a week, fearing the worst would happen to her son,” Grant said while he pulled up a chair and sat next to Jodi.
Donovan looked at the picture of Howie from the old article.
“The lady at the library said something about her son dying in Vietnam,” said Donovan. He felt compelled to find something about her son for some strange reason.
“You’re talking about young Wally Yates. He joined the Marines and died in Vietnam shortly after getting there. I think I can try to find the article I wrote back in early seventy,” Grant said, getting up off his chair.
He walked over to the filing cabinet. He opened up a drawer for cartridges for the winter of 1970. He removed a cartridge for January 1970 and walked back over to the microfiche machine.
“I think the article is around the end of the month,” he said when he handed Donovan the cartridge.
Donovan stuck the cartridge in the machine. He turned a knob while the old newspapers whizzed by on the machine’s screen; Donovan and Jodi took a drink of their coffee.
“Try now,” said Grant.
Donovan slowed down the microfiche, which stopped on the newspaper’s front page on January 22nd, 1970.
Grant took a look at the headlines and date. “Press forward.”
Donovan slowly moved the newspapers toward the end of the month. Then the newspaper’s front page for January 27th, 1970, appeared on the screen.
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Donovan and Jodi saw the “Local Killed in Vietnam” headline with the high school senior picture of Wally Yates.
While Donovan and Jodi looked at the picture of Wally, they both got overwhelming déjà vu feelings like they knew him.
Donovan and Jodi looked at each other and refrained from telling each other about their feelings.
“Howie and Wally were best friends,” said Grant.
“Since Kindergarten,” Donovan quietly said under his breath, then surprised he knew that.
Jodi heard Donovan, and somehow she also knew that information.
“I think Wally’s death might have scared Howie too scared to get drafted. I feel that’s why he wanted to run off to Canada,” said Grant.
“But after forty-three years, how come he never contacted his family? That’s the mystery question,”
said Donovan.
Jodi nodded in agreement.
“Too ashamed would be my guess,” said Grant.
“Maybe some lousy investigating techniques by your Sheriff at the time,” Donovan blurted out without thinking.
Grant looked at Donovan. “I won’t argue about that. Sheriff Powers was a tad lazy in doing his job back then. And his Deputy Rock Riley wasn’t something to write home about either.”
Donovan looked at Grant. “The guy that’s the Sheriff now?”
“The one and only,” Grant said, then hesitated while he pondered if he should continue. “What the hell, I plan on retiring in a few months and moving down to Florida,” he said, then paused for a few seconds. “Sheriff Riley started out as a Deputy when he came home from the Army. He married Melinda, but that didn’t stop him from fooling around with the 115
high school girls. Take them out to the clearing by the lake in his car and do nasty things with them.”
Jodi looked at Grant and got an eerie déjà vu feeling. “Isn’t that called statutory rape?”
“Now it is enforced, but back then, it was ignored,” Grant then paused. “I never trusted Sheriff Riley. But don’t quote me on that,” he added.
“Where in Florida are you moving?” curiously asked Donovan.
“I’m thinking of Tallahassee. I have a daughter that’s living down there. She’s been bugging me for years to move there. So, I’ll sell this newspaper business for a low price and my house, then move south to warmer weather,” said Grant.
Donovan turned the knob on the machine, and the newspapers whizzed back to the beginning of the cartridge. “Thanks for your assistance,” said Donovan.
“My pleasure, and if you need any more help, just come by the shop,” said Grant.
A little while later, Donovan and Jodi walked out of the newspaper building.
When Donovan and Jodi walked up to his Buick.
He glanced back at the newspaper building. For a split second, he had an interest in owning the place. He shrugged it off and then looked over at the lake.
“Let’s eat over by the lake,” he said.
Jodi looked at the lake. “That would be nice,”
Donovan and Jodi got inside his Buick.
Donovan started up his car and drove out of the parking lot.
He crossed Haneyville Avenue. He pulled into the parking lot for patrons frequenting the shops and restaurants along the lake.
A little while later, they had a table outside the Lake View Restaurant with a great view of the lake. It started to be a romantic atmosphere, with the sun beginning to drop below the horizon, providing a beautiful orange and purple sky.
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The sun started to sink below the horizon for the end of another day.
Donovan and Jodi had a wonderful dinner and drinks at the Lake View Restaurant.
They spent the time talking about their lives.
They really connected, and nothing was mentioned about their relationships back home.
After dinner, Donovan and Jodi left the restaurant and decided to walk down the lighted brick pathway.
This pathway went along the shore of the lake and provided access to other shops. Numerous other folks of Haneyville walked down the path. Everybody enjoyed the full moon visible in the sky.
“It’s beautiful out here in the evening,” said Donovan while they walked down the brick pathway.
“It sure is. I could get used to spending the summer nights out here,” Jodi replied.
They walked fifteen feet down the pathway and then stopped.
They looked at the lake and the bright moon in the sky. They looked back at each other. They did not think and leaned toward each other, and their lips touched. The kiss felt to the right and as if their lips had touched in the past.
Donovan’s iPhone rang from his pants front pocket. He continued to kiss Jodi. His iPhone continued ringing from his pants.
Jodi pulled her lips away from Donovan’s. “You better answer that,” she said.
Donovan was bothered that someone interrupted his kissing and removed his ringing iPhone. He saw Lindsey was calling, turned off his iPhone, and shoved it back in his pants pocket. “Just an irritating 117
telemarketer,” he said, wanting to get his lips back on Jodi’s. They went back to kissing.
“Is that your wife, or are you hitting on the Haneyville women?” Rock said, walking up behind Donovan and Jodi.
Donovan rolled his eyes and hated being bugged for the second time. He turned around and saw Rock standing behind him with his wife, Melinda. She was a chubby woman with white-styled hair and brown eyes behind a pair of glasses.
“Hello, Sheriff Riley,” said Donovan and felt uneasy with Rock standing near him.
Rock looked at Jodi. “Are you the misses?
Because you don’t look like one of the women of Haneyville.”
“No, I’m Jodi Lauder from Lexington,” she replied.
“Lexington, what brings you down to
Haneyville?” Rock said, then hesitated while his memory started to kick in his head. “Oh, yeah, my deputy told me about you. You’re a reporter? Right?
Doing a story on those two kids that ran away in nineteen seventy,” he asked and gave her a severe look.
“Yes, I am,” Jodi replied.
Rock looked at Jodi, and his eyes widened a little.
“Do I know you? I got this feeling that we’ve met before,” he said and suddenly started to feel Jodi was extraordinarily sexy and felt horny.
“No, sir. This is my first time down here in Haneyville,” Jodi replied. She spotted that the pinky finger on his right hand was chopped off at the knuckle. She started to feel uneasy with the presence of Rock.
Rock looked at Donovan. “I guess you’re staying here in Haneyville a little while longer?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Donovan.
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“I see. Well, I’ll do my best to protect you. I don’t want to see you attacked again,” said Rock with a smirk.
Melinda looked surprised to overhear that from Rock. “Someone attacked this young man?” she asked Rock. “Yeah, the other night down by the clearing at the lake where the kids like to make out at night,” replied Rock while staring at Donovan.
“Oh my, we don’t have our folks attacking visitors,” said Melinda, feeling sorry for Donovan.
“Well, enjoy your stay here in Haneyville, and like I stated before, those two kids ran off to Canada,” said Rock.
Melinda looked at Rock. “Are you talking about Tiffany Carlson and Howie Anderson?”
“Yeah.”
Melinda looked at Donovan and Jodi. “My husband and the sheriff back then did their best to locate those two kids. They could not find any evidence of foul play. We all believe they ran off to Canada, so Howie wouldn’t have gone into the Army and go to Vietnam,” she said and looked sincere with her belief.
Rock glared at Donovan, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
“Ah, we have to be heading out,” Donovan said.
“Yeah,” Jodi added and wanted to get away from Rock. “Be careful,” Rock said, then turned around and walked away with his wife.
Donovan and Jodi walked away down the pathway in the opposite direction.
“That guy gave me the creeps,” said Jodi.
“I know. There’s something about him I distrust,”
replied Donovan.
It was quiet while they walked away from the pathway and headed to the parking lot.
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When Donovan and Jodi got to his Buick, he opened the passenger door.
Donovan got in the car, started it up, and drove out of the parking lot.
While he drove back to the Motel 6, Donovan and Jodi held hands. He started to feel guilty since he was engaged. But there was something with Jodi he never felt with Lindsey. He began to wonder if he should stay with Lindsey or pursue Jodi while he drove down Haneyville Road.
Donovan parked his Buick in front of his Motel 6
room. They got out of his car.
They looked at each other, remembering their kiss a little while ago. There was silence between them while they each wondered who would say the next word. “You’re welcome to come to my room for a little while,” Jodi finally said, breaking the ice.
Donovan looked into Jodi’s eyes and could tell she wanted to get more romantically involved tonight. But then he felt his iPhone in his pocket and remembered Lindsey. “I would love to, but I’m a little tired. Maybe another night?” he said, then wondered if he blew it.
Jodi looked disappointed but realized that she had moved a little too fast. “Okay,” she said, then looked at Donovan, who looked back at her.
“Can we meet tomorrow morning for breakfast?”
asked Donovan.
“I would love that. How about eight?”
“Eight sounds good,” he said, smiled, walked around his car, and up to Jodi. He gave her a little goodnight kiss on her lips.
She smiled, then headed off to her room.
Donovan headed to his room and wondered if he would have another opportunity to spend the night with Jodi.
Hours had passed, and Donovan and Jodi were sound asleep in their motel beds.
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In Donovan’s dream, he was with that brunette girl in the backseat of a Buick Special. His hands were up, her tee shirt fondling her nipples.
“Are you sure?” he asked the girl.
“I’m sure it’s okay,” the brunette girl replied but looked worried about something.
Donovan removed his tee shirt.
The brunette girl removed her tee shirt.
Donovan removed his Levi bell-bottom blue jeans, and he was butt naked.
The brunette removed her Levi hip hugger bell-bottom blue jeans.
Donovan stared at the brunette while she removed her panties. She was now bare-ass naked.
The brunette straddled Donovan in the backseat.
He felt himself slide inside her.
Back to reality, Donovan woke up from his dream.
He looked dazed while he looked around his dark motel room. It took him a few seconds to realize he had a dream. But he had an erection. He was disappointed that he woke up the second he started to have sex with his dream girl. He closed his eyes and hoped that his dream would return.
Over in Jodi’s room, she started a dream.
In her dream, Jodi sat in the backseat of a car.
Her hands were handcuffed behind her back. She felt scared when she looked out the window and saw a parking lot and a factory.
Then a strange man rushed into the car and pushed Jodi on her back on the seat.
“No!” Jodi cried out while the man unzipped her bell-bottom blue jeans.
She tried to fight off the man while he started to lower her blue jeans. The man smacked her hard across her face. She was scared to death and froze with fear. The man lowered and removed them.
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Jodi felt sick when the man climbed on her butt naked. She cried out the second the man penetrated her. Back to reality, Jodi tossed and turned in her bed.
“No!” she screamed out and shot up from her bed. She looked scared to death. For some strange reason, she held onto her stomach. It took a few seconds for her to realize she had a bad dream. She was somewhat relieved, but something about that dream bugged her.
She lay down and stared at the ceiling, thinking about that horrible dream.
Over at Rock’s home, he sat in his den in his lazy boy chair. He had a glass of whiskey and water in his hand, staring at the blank TV across the room.
Melinda entered the den wearing her white nightgown. She walked over to Rock’s lazy boy chair.
“It’s getting late; when are you coming to bed?”
“In a while,” he said, then took another drink.
Melinda could sense something was bothering Rock. “What’s the matter, dear?”
“Oh, nothing. I guess finding that car in the lake has been on my mind recently,” he said, then took another drink.
Melinda sat down on the arm of the Laz Boy chair. She ran her hand through his hair. “Why don’t you use the Internet to try and locate Tiffany and Howie in Canada?”
Rock looked up at Melinda while he took another drink. “I don’t think that will work.”
“Of course, it would. There are all kinds of social media for getting the word out that you’re looking for their whereabouts. You could use it,” she said, then paused while she tried to remember the names of the popular social media sites. Her eyes widened when she remembered. “Facebook, or Twitter. That’s the popular ones. I bet those might turn up some 122
information,” she said and felt confident that would work. “I’ll think about it,” he said, then took another drink. Melinda looked at Rock, waiting for him to get up off the chair to go to bed. But after a few seconds of waiting, she realized he wanted to sit and drink in his chair. “I’m going to bed,” she said, then kissed him on his forehead.
Rock just stared at his blank TV while he pondered the situation with Tiffany’s car and Donovan and Jodi showing up in his town.
Rock spent the next hour in deep thought, drinking more whiskey and water. He swayed while he got up and staggered out of his den.
He staggered down the hallway, almost falling on his butt while making a crooked line to his bedroom.
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It was Friday morning.
Donovan woke up early, and after he shaved, he stripped and hopped in the shower.
After he stepped out of the shower, he walked out of the bathroom. His iPhone rang from the bedside table. He frowned, seeing the caller’s name. He picked up his iPhone. “Good morning, Lindsey,” he answered the call in a dull tone.
“Why can’t I reach you on your cell phone? I tried last night, and the call went suddenly dead,” she said from the iPhone, sounding pissed.
“I’m sorry, but this article keeps me busy. I forgot to recharge my battery, and it went dead yesterday,” he lied and felt guilty; this was the first time with her.
There were a few seconds of silence from his iPhone. “Are you up there with another woman?” she said and sounded serious.
Donovan immediately thought about kissing Jodi last night and felt caught. “No. I’m really up here working on an article,” he lied for the second time and waited for her response.
“Okay. Now listen, you’ve been up there long enough. Drive back home tomorrow. I’m having my parents over for dinner on Sunday night,” she replied with her usual tone of control.
Donovan hesitated to reply for a few seconds, as he hated it when she bossed him around. “Yeah, I’ll be there,” he said, then paused for a few seconds. “I gotta go,” he said, then disconnected their call.
Donovan looked a little depressed while he placed his iPhone back on the bedside table. Then the motel 124
phone on the table rang. He picked up the receiver.
“Hello.”
“It’s Jodi. I’m running about ten minutes late,”
she replied.
Donovan suddenly realized he was bare-ass naked while Jodi was on the phone. That suddenly made him feel better while he thought about her. “That’s alright.
I’ll see you at eight-ten,” he said.
“See you then,” Jodi replied, then disconnected her end of the call.
Donovan walked over to the dresser with a smile and already forgot about Lindsey’s Sunday dinner plans.
He got dressed for the day.
A little while later, Donovan waited by the front entrance of the Perkins restaurant. His thoughts flip-flopped between Lindsey and Jodi. When he thought about Lindsey, he got depressed. Then when he thought about Jodi, he cheered up. He knew he could not spend the rest of his life with Lindsey. But how could he break off his engagement without facing her fury? He pondered this question for a little while and got depressed.
“Good morning,” Jodi’s voice came out from his right, and he immediately smiled.
“Good morning,” he replied.
“I’m starving,” she replied.
“Me too,” Donovan said, then he opened up one of the front doors to the restaurant.
A little while later, Donovan and Jodi were seated at a booth having their first cup of coffee. They were waiting for their breakfast order.
“I’m starting to believe that we’re wasting our time up here,” said Donovan recalling his phone call with Lindsey this morning.
Jodi took a drink of coffee, thinking about Donovan’s comment. But something in her gut made her feel that there was something wrong with the disappearance of the two teens. “I don’t know.
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Something tells me there’s someone here in town that knows what really happened to Tiffany and Howie.
But who?” she said, looking serious.
Donovan looked into Jodi’s eyes and then thought about Lindsey’s order to return home tomorrow. “If you can excuse me for a minute, I need to call my boss,” he said.
“Sure,” Jodi said and gave him a warm smile.
Donovan got out of the booth and removed his iPhone from his pants pocket while walking to the front doors.
He stepped outside the restaurant.
Once he got outside, he made a phone call. He paced while the call went through.
“Lindsey,” he immediately said.
“What?” Lindsey replied and sounded groggy as Donovan woke her up, and she took the call from her bed. “I’m not coming home tomorrow. I’m staying up here in Haneyville a little while longer,” he blurted out before he chickened out.
“What?” Lindsey snapped back, and hearing that woke her up.
“I’m staying up here in Haneyville a little longer.”
“What are you talking about? I told you to head home tomorrow,” she said, raising her voice.
“You heard me. I’m not coming home. I just might stay up here another week or two or three,” he said, loving the feeling of finally bossing her around.
“What about your job? You’ll get fired.”
“Oh, that, I quit the day I left for Tennessee.”
There were a few seconds of silence from his iPhone. “You quit? Why the hell would you quit?” she yelled from his iPhone. An older couple walking to the front entrance heard her voice.
“Because I felt like it. And another thing, we’re through. I decided that I can’t want to marry you. The wedding is off. I can’t spend the rest of my life with 126
you controlling every minute of my life,” he said, and that really felt good.
There were a few seconds of silence while Lindsey stewed in her bed. “What is wrong with you? You can’t call off our wedding,” Lindsey screamed from his iPhone.
“I can and just did,” he snapped back, then immediately disconnected their call.
Donovan had a massive grin while he turned off his iPhone. He headed back to the front doors of the restaurant.
Donovan went back inside the restaurant.
He had a spring in his step and a huge smile while he headed back to the booth.
Jodi noticed Donovan’s smile and the spring in his step while he walked up to the booth.
“It looks like you had a good conservation with your boss,” she said while Donovan returned to the booth.
Donovan noticed the waitress brought their breakfast while he was outside. “Oh yeah, I quit, and I’m now a free man,” he said, then took a drink of his coffee.
Jodi looked a little surprised. “You quit your job?
Why?”
“I hated being a reporter down in Florida. I want to spend some time working on my eBook novels.
Now I can, and I can do it anywhere I want,” he said, looking happy while he removed his knife and fork from his rolled napkins.
Jodi looked happy, hoping her time with Donovan would not end here in Haneyville.
“Anyway, back to our discussion, maybe there was foul play. But over forty-three years had passed,” he said and paused. “Time will be our worst enemy.”
“That’s the challenging part,” she said.
Donovan took another drink of coffee while thinking about her comment for a few seconds. “Well, 127
I guess we’ll have to learn how to become investigative reporters,” he said.
Jodi smiled. “After breakfast, I’ll show you the notes I have on my laptop,” she said, then took a bite of her French toast.
“That sounds good,” he replied, then took a bite of his omelet.
It was quiet between Donovan and Jodi while they ate their breakfast and drank their coffee.
After finishing their breakfast, Donovan and Jodi headed to her motel room.
Once they got inside her room, she immediately walked over to the small desk.
She grabbed her laptop and walked over to the bed. She sat on the bed, and Donovan sat next to her.
She placed the laptop on her lap, then turned it on. “I’m still having these dreams about that blonde-haired boy,” she said while she waited for her laptop to power up.
“I’m still having these dreams about that brunette girl,” he replied.
“I’m starting to believe that maybe these dreams are trying to tell us something,” she said, believing her theory.
“They could be,” he replied while they looked at each other.
“My dream last night had some guy raping me in the backseat of a car with my hands handcuffed behind my back,” she said.
“Rape?”
“Yeah, some creep raped me,” said Jodi, and she got chills recalling that dream.
“I dreamt last night that that brunette girl and I had sex in the car. But it wasn’t rape,” he said.
“It wasn’t you in the dream,” said Jodi; then she thought about Donovan’s dream. Suddenly the thought 128
of having sex in a car became a massive turn-on for her. Donovan could not resist.
He leaned over and gave Jodi a kiss on her lips.
She did not resist.
The kissing turned passionate.
“What a minute,” she said after she pulled away from his lips.
Donovan thought he had overstepped his bounds and felt foolish.
“I better put the laptop away before it smashes to the floor,” she said while she got up.
Donovan felt better while he watched her walk over to the desk and set the laptop down.
The second Jodi sat back down on the bed, they returned to their kissing.
The kissing turned into each of them removing each other’s clothes.
They were naked within seconds, and Donovan was on top of Jodi.
After fifteen minutes of sweaty sex, Donovan and Jodi cuddled on the bed. They were exhausted, so they drifted off to sleep.
It was not long before Jodi had another dream.
In this dream, she lay in the dirt in the middle of the night. The full moon was visible in the sky through the dead branches of a tree.
She had her clothes ripped off, and she was scared to death. She could not move and was paralyzed for some reason.
She felt herself being lifted up by some guy.
The guy dumped Jodi naked into a hole in the ground.
She saw a shovel dumping dirt on her naked, lifeless body.
She opened her mouth to scream.
Back in reality, Donovan was sound asleep on his back.
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“Ahhhh!” Jodi screamed out from her dream and frantically wailed her arms around like she was trying to get something off her.
Donovan bolted up, scared to death.
Jodi woke up dazed and confused.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.
Jodi glanced around the room. It took a few seconds for her to realize she was back in her motel room, not in a hole in the ground. “I had a horrible dream.”
“About what?’”
Jodi looked at Donovan. “It was night, and I was in the woods. There was a full moon in the sky. I could see it through the dead branches of a tree.
Someone ripped off my clothes, and I was in the dirt.
Then some stranger picked me up and dumped me into a hole in the ground. Then a shovel started dumping dirt on top of my naked body,” she said. “That dream felt so real!” she said, looking scared.
Donovan thought about her dream. “One of my dreams, some guy raped then killed that brunette girl.
There was also a full moon outside and a dead tree,” he said. Donovan and Jodi stared at each other, thinking about their dreams.
“I believe that maybe Tiffany and Howie are trying to tell us something from the grave,” he said.
Jodi thought about Donovan’s theory for a few seconds. “I think you’re right,” she said. The more she thought about it, the more she believed that to be true.
“Let’s head out somewhere,” he said.
“Okay,” she replied. “Where?”
“You’ll see.”
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Thirty minutes had passed, and Donovan and Jodi drove down the dirt road in his Buick. They headed out to the clearing.
Donovan parked his car, and the clearing was void of visitors this afternoon.
They got out of his car and checked out the area.
They looked to the left, and both had the same exact feeling at the same moment.
"Over there," he said while he pointed to the woods off to the right.
Jodi nodded in agreement.
Donovan and Jodi walked off and headed into the woods in the direction he pointed.
They scanned the area over while they walked through the woods.
They both stopped simultaneously as they came upon a small clearing. It was the same spot Donovan received his beating.
They both looked around the small clearing as if there was something about this place.
"There's something about his spot," said Donovan.
Jodi nodded in agreement. "It gives me the creeps," she said.
"I know," Donovan replied while he looked around the area.
He spotted an old tree that had been dead for years. It looked like any small gust of wind would tumble it down to the ground any second. He walked closer to the tree.
Then it hit Donovan like a ton of bricks. "That's the tree from my dream," he said, and the more he 131
looked at the dead pieces of wood, the more he believed it.
Jodi looked down at the ground and saw the two small rocks stuck out six inches above the dirt. The rocks were in the soil and did not give the appearance they were placed there by someone. Nor did they look like potential headstones.
An eerie chill ran through her body.
A sharp, piercing pain shot through her forehead, weakening her knees. She dropped to her knees in the dirt. "You alright?" Donovan said while he rushed over to her.
"A sudden pain shot through my forehead," she said while he helped her to her feet.
Jodi looked down at the ground and moved away as if she found herself stepping into an ant pile.
"What's wrong?" Donovan asked, getting concerned.
"I don't like this place," she replied while her eyes welled up. "It gives me the creeps," she said, shivering.
"Let's leave."
Jodi rushed away and headed back to the clearing.
Donovan was right behind her, and she wondered what spooked her.
Jodi rushed to the car and quickly got in the passenger seat before Donovan could be a gentleman.
Donovan got behind the wheel and started up the car. "I don't care if I ever come back to this place,"
Jodi said, visibly upset.
Donovan turned his Buick around in the clearing.
"Sorry about that," Jodi said while Donovan drove his Buick down the dirt road.
"That's alright."
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"That spot in the woods felt like the same in the dream I had earlier," she said, and her eyes welled up a little. Donovan looked at Jodi. He knew these dreams were telling them something about the demise of Tiffany and Howie. "They were killed that night," he said. Jodi looked over at Donovan and nodded in agreement.
"But who killed them?" he said, stopping his car at the end of the dirt road by Stinson Road.
"I can imagine that the killer is long gone by now,"
she said while Donovan turned his Buick left on Stinson Road.
"That's a strong possibility," he said while he drove down the road.
It remained quiet in his car while Donovan drove back to the Motel 6.
Once he got back at the Motel 6, Donovan parked his Buick, and they got out of the car.
"Let's go to my room," said Jodi.
Donovan nodded in agreement and then followed her to her room door.
Once they got back inside Jodi's motel room, they sat on her bed.
"Now what?" he asked.
Jodi stared at the bed covers still ruffled from their earlier sex session. "I don't know. Maybe some more dreams will provide some clues."
Donovan looked at Jodi. "Maybe they will," he said. They sat on the bed and pondered their next move. Were Tiffany and Howie actually killed in the woods that night in 1970?
Jodi's eyes lit up. "Why don't we try to find Howie up in Canada?"
"How?"
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"The Internet," she replied and got up from the bed and rushed over to the small desk. She grabbed her laptop and rushed back to her bed.
She sat back down and powered up her laptop.
She immediately did a search and found the Canada411 site. She typed Howie Anderson in the Who search block and Canada in the Where block.
They waited for the results, and soon fifteen pages with five hundred and thirty-five possible Anderson candidates appeared.
"It will take another week of calling all these people," said Donovan while he looked at the results.
"Let's only call the Howie Andersons and not the other ones. Maybe we'll get lucky," Jodi replied while she looked at the search results.
She got up with the laptop and walked to the small desk. She picked up her Smartphone from the desk and called the first phone number for Howie Anderson.
"Hello," Howie Anderson answered her call.
"Mister Anderson, I'm Jodi Lauder from Lexington, Kentucky. I'm looking for a Howie Anderson and Tiffany Carlson that once lived in Haneyville, Tennessee," she said into her Smartphone.
"I'm sorry, but I've never lived in the United States," Howie Anderson said from her Smartphone.
"Tiffany's Buick was dragged out of Lake Haney recently," Jodi added, hoping that would help.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not that Howie Anderson. I was born and raised in Canada. I have proof," he replied and sounded serious.
"Thank you, and I'm sorry for bothering you," she said, then disconnected that call. "Strike one," she said while she looked at Donovan.
Donovan reached into his pants pocket and removed his iPhone. At the same time, Jodi looked up the phone number for the next Howie Anderson.
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He got up off the bed and walked over to her laptop.
He looked at another phone number for the third candidate.
He called that number while Jodi called the other number.
Donovan walked away and headed to the room door. "Hello," another Howie Anderson answered the call from Donovan's iPhone.
"Mister Anderson, I'm Donovan Kirby from Tampa, Florida. I'm looking for a Howie Anderson, that was once from Haneyville, Tennessee. He's not in any trouble. I'm calling about the car from his old girlfriend Tiffany Carlson recently found in Lake Haney," he said into his iPhone.
"I'm sorry, Mister Kirby, I'm Howie Anderson, but I've been born and raised in Canada my whole life.
Why are you looking for him?" the other Howie Anderson asked from the iPhone.
"He and his girlfriend Tiffany went missing in nineteen seventy. We're just trying to verify that there was no foul play back then during that night. We're not trying to bring him back to the United States," said Donovan hoping that would make it easier for this Howie to confess.
"I'm still sorry, but I'm not that Howie Anderson, and I can prove it," he said from the iPhone.
"Thank you, Mister Anderson, and I'm sorry for bothering you," Donovan said then he disconnected the call. He looked over at Jodi while she just disconnected her call. She gave him a thumbs-down sign. Jodi and Donovan each called the following two Howie Anderson's on the list.
After three exhausting hours of calling one Howie Anderson after another Howie Anderson, they came up empty-handed. None of the guys they called confessed 135
to being the Howie Anderson from Haneyville, Tennessee, and each stated they could provide proof.
This added more fuel to the fire that maybe something horrible happened to Tiffany and Howie during that night in 1970.
Jodi looked disappointed while she glanced at her laptop. "We hit a dead end."
Donovan's stomach growled while he glanced at her laptop.
"That sounds good. Want to go back to the Lake View Restaurant?" she said.
"That sounds nice," he replied, remembering their kiss out by the lake last night.
Jodi powered down her laptop, and then they left her room.
Donovan and Jodi walked to his parked Buick in the Motel 6 lot.
The second Donovan opened the passenger door for Jodi, something caught their attention.
They looked at Haneyville Road and saw a flatbed truck with Tiffany's car on the bed of it while it drove past the Motel 6.
The truck headed west out of town.
Donovan and Jodi stared at the car.
Jodi's eyes welled up for some strange reason.
Donovan looked over and noticed Jodi's eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know, but the sight of that car made me feel so sad for some strange reason," she said, then wiped away some tears that ran down her cheek.
"I wonder where it's going?"
"Probably to the scrap yard to be destroyed," said Jodi; then she got inside Donovan's car.
He closed the door and headed to the driver's side of his car.
A little while later, Donovan and Jodi had a table in the Lake View Restaurant.
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They had just ordered dinner when Kent Riley walked up to their table.
"I see you're still in town," said Kent while he stood by the table.
"Yeah, I decided to stay for a while," replied Donovan.
"I take it you haven't had any more troubles?"
"No."
"Good," Kent replied and looked at Jodi. "I see you two are connecting. Both working on the story about that car found in the lake?"
"Yes," Jodi replied.
"Speaking of that car, we saw it being trucked out of town; where's it going?" Donovan curiously asked.
"Dad, I mean the sheriff, decided we no longer needed it. So, he sent it off to an auto salvage place in Knoxville," he said, then he looked at Donovan and Jodi. "Well, you're probably wasting your time trying to write a story. The sheriff has always said those two ran off to spend the rest of their lives in Canada.
Howie wanted to avoid being drafted into the Army and Vietnam."
"We tried finding a Howie Anderson in Canada that lived here in Haneyville and came up empty-handed. So, maybe your father's right," replied Donovan; then something Kent said finally dawned on him. "Did you say, dad?"
"I did. The sheriff's my dad," replied Kent.
Donovan and Jodi took a quick glance at each other. Donovan looked back at Kent. "We'll probably leave here in a couple of days," he said.
"Well, sorry you wasted your time and enjoy our peaceful town while you're here," Kent said, walking away. While Kent exited through the door, he glanced back at Donovan and Jodi. Something about them being here started to bug him. He left the restaurant.
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The waitress walked up to Donovan and Jodi's booth with their dinner plates.
"Are you planning on leaving soon?" asked Jodi the second the waitress left their table.
"I'm thinking about it. I mean, we've been coming up empty-handed. Maybe those two kids are really up in Canada. They changed their names wanting to forget about Haneyville," he said, then took a bite of his steak.
Jodi looked at Donovan. Her gut still told her that something had happened to them here. And besides, she was not ready to leave this quaint town. She really enjoyed her company with Donovan. "I'm not giving up that easily," she said, then took a bite of her Lasagna.
Donovan thought about her comment and did not want to end his time with Jodi. But part of him felt they were wasting their time. But on the other hand, he was having a great time with a beautiful woman and loving every second he spent with her.
Donovan's iPhone buzzed in his pants pocket the second the waitress dropped off their checks. He reached inside and removed his iPhone.
He looked and saw, "We need to talk," a text message from Lindsey. He continued to look at her text message for a few seconds. He tucked his iPhone back into his pants pocket.
While he glanced at Jodi, he could not help but think how he was not looking forward to going home to Lindsey. Lindsey was no longer the relevant girl in his life. Jodi now took her place this week. And while he looked at her, he could not understand why he felt smitten by being with her.
Donovan and Jodi had some idle chat during the rest of their dinner at the Lake View Restaurant. They did not bring up the topic of Tiffany or Howie during the rest of their conservation.
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After dinner, Donovan and Jodi decided to drive around Haneyville.
While they drove down the street, they both kept it quiet. But again had an intense déjà vu feeling with numerous sights of the town.
These feelings were again strong when they drove by the homes of George and Betsy Anderson and Ernie Carlson.
After their drive through Haneyville, Donovan drove back to the Motel 6 and parked in front of his room.
They got out of his car and looked at each other for a second. They both knew each other had the same idea. “Why don’t you spend the night in my room?” he offered.
“I’ll go get some of my things,” she replied, then gave him a warm smile and walked off to her room.
Donovan went to his room and went inside.
The second he stepped inside his room, he rushed around, picking up items scattered on the floor, like boxer shorts and socks.
The second he got everything tucked away, there was a knock. He rushed over and opened the door.
He smiled when he saw Jodi outside with her toiletry bag and some extra clothes.
“Enter, my dear,”
“Why thank you,” Jodi said while she entered his room.
The second Donovan closed his room door, Jodi’s cell phone rang inside her pants pocket.
“Excuse me,” she said while reaching inside her pocket and removing her cell phone.
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She frowned when she saw the text message.
“Let’s talk,” was Robert’s text message. She turned off her cell phone and shoved it back into her pocket.
She walked over and placed her toiletry bag in the bathroom.
She walked over and placed her clothes in the opened drawer Donovan had ready.
“What do we do now?” she asked Donovan, who stood by her.
He smiled and walked closer, and planted a kiss on her lips.
“I was asking about finding Tiffany and Howie.
But this might be better,” she said with a warm smile.
“I think we should forget about Tiffany and Howie and work on us,” he said.
Jodi thought about his comment for a few seconds. She smiled. “Agreed,” she said, then gave Donovan a kiss.
Donovan and Jodi moved while kissing over to the bed, almost tripping over their feet several times. They plopped down on the bed with her on top of him.
It did not take long for their clothes to be scattered all over the floor. They were naked in bed and started their second sex session.
Twenty minutes of sex had passed, and Donovan and Jodi cuddled naked under the covers.
“Mind if I turn on the TV?” he asked.
“Oh, no, I always watch it in bed. It helps me relax,” she replied.
“Me too,” he said, then reached over and grabbed the remote off the bedside table. He clicked on the TV
and then immediately flipped through the channels.
The Bullet to the Head movie with Sylvester Stallone had just started.
Donovan and Jodi cuddled under the covers and started watching the movie.
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Ten minutes into the movie, Donovan and Jodi’s eyes drifted closed. They were both sound asleep in minutes.
A few minutes passed, and Donovan and Jodi started dreaming simultaneously.
In Jodi’s dream, she was in a bedroom at night. The room was dark. The house was quiet.
She lay in bed and waited. She looked at her bedroom window, where the full moon was visible outside.
There was a tap on her bedroom window.
Jodi’s eyes lit up over that sound, and she rushed off the bed.
She rushed to the window and slid it open. She looked back at her closed bedroom door.
In Donovan’s dream, he snuck through the backyard of a home in the middle of the night. The full moon illuminated his path.
All the lights in the house were off. The house was dark and quiet.
Donovan walked over to a window.
He tapped on the glass of the window. He anxiously waited.
In Jodi’s dream, she looked out the window and saw that blonde-haired boy waiting outside.
“Quietly come inside,” she softly told the boy.
Jodi moved away from the window.
The blonde-haired boy quietly climbed through the window.
“Are they asleep?” the blonde-haired boy asked her. “For the past two hours. It should be safe,” Jodi replied.
Jodi and the boy kissed.
In Donovan’s dream, the window opened up.
That brunette-haired girl poked her head out and motioned for him to enter.
He climbed through the window.
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“Are they asleep?” Donovan asked the brunette, haired girl.
“For the past two hours,” the brunette-haired girl replied.
Donovan rushed over to the brunette girl and kissed her.
In Jodi’s dream, the blonde-haired boy kissed him.
They walked and kissed over to her bed and plopped down on top of the covers.
Jodi and the blonde-haired boy start a passionate kiss. In Donovan’s dream, he’s on the bed with the brunette girl. They start a passionate kiss.
Donovan and the brunette-haired girl start removing each other’s pieces of clothing. They toss their clothes on the floor.
In Jodi’s dream, she and the blonde-haired boy start removing each other’s pieces of clothes. They toss their clothes on the floor.
In Donovan’s dream, he and the brunette-haired girl was bare-ass naked.
“Did you bring it?” the girl asked.
Donovan got off the bed and reached for his blue jeans. In Jodi’s dream, the blonde hair boy removed a condom from a packet. He flashed it up at Jodi.
Jodi motioned for the boy to return back to her bed. In Donovan’s dream, he slipped on the condom and was on top of the brunette girl in seconds. He started humping her and was in heaven.
In Jodi’s dream, the blonde-haired boy was on top, humping her. She was in heaven.
In Donovan’s dream, he was finished in minutes.
He rolled off of the brunette-haired girl and got on his back.
“Are we going to get married one day?” the brunette-haired girl asked Donovan.
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In Jodi’s dream, the blonde-haired was finished and on his back next to her.
“We will get married one day,” said the blonde-haired boy.
The blonde-haired girl smiled over that possibility.
Then an older man’s voice was heard coughing in the hallway.
Jodi looked panicked when she heard that sound.
Jodi and the blonde-haired boy cautiously got off her bed.
In Donovan’s dream, he and the brunette-haired girl quickly got dressed when the sound of an older man coughing was heard down the hall. The coughing was getting closer.
In Jodi’s dream, she watched while the blonde-haired boy rushed over to the opened window.
The blonde-haired turned and saw herself in the mirror on top of the dresser. Her eyes widened in shock.
She saw Tiffany Carlson in the mirror and not Jodi Lauder.
She saw a small mole on Tiffany’s right upper lip.
In Donovan’s dream, he glanced at the mirror on top of the dresser while heading to the opened window. He stopped dead in his tracks, and his eyes widened in shock. He saw Howie Anderson in the mirror and not Donovan Kirby.
Back to reality, Donovan and Jodi simultaneously shot up in bed from their dreams.
They both looked confused at each other and then looked around the dark motel room.
“I had the weirdest dream,” said Jodi.
“Me too,” replied Donovan, and he paused, trying to comprehend what he had just dreamt. “Why was your dream weird?”
Jodi paused for a second. “I was having sex with that blonde-haired boy in my bedroom. It was late at night, and there was a full moon outside. After we 143
were done, I heard some man coughing down the hallway. We both got off my bed and quickly got dressed. Then while he ran back to climb out my window, I glanced at a mirror,” she said, then paused while she thought about the dream. “I saw Tiffany Carlson in the mirror,” she added and tried to understand what that meant.
Donovan’s mouth dropped in disbelief. “You won’t believe this, but that sounds like my dream. It was also late at night with a full moon outside. I had sex with that brunette-haired girl and heard some man coughing in the bathroom. After I got dressed, I saw Howie Anderson in the mirror above the dresser while I headed to an opened window,” he said.
Jodi and Donovan stared at each other in disbelief.
“What do you think that means? Why would we see Tiffany and Howie in our dreams when we looked in the mirror?” asked Jodi.
Donovan looked at Jodi, and after a few seconds, the only possible answer hit him like a ton of bricks.
“We’re Howie and Tiffany.”
Jodi thought about his comment for a few seconds. “What?” she said as his answer did not make sense. “I believe we’re actually Tiffany and Howie.”
“I’m not following you,” said Jodi, still confused.
“I’m talking reincarnation,” he said, and the more he thought about that, the more he believed it to be true. “Reincarnation?” she said and pondered that idea for a few seconds.
“It makes perfect sense and explains all those overwhelming déjà vu feelings I’ve been having around Haneyville. Especially when I was in Howie’s home and bedroom.”
Jodi looked at Donovan while she thought about his comment on those déjà vu feelings. “You’re 144
right. That sure explains all those déjà vu feelings I’ve been having around town,” she said, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt she was Tiffany from a previous life. “What do we do now?”
“We find out what happened to us. I know in my gut that we never made it up to Canada,” he replied.
Jodi thought about his response for a few seconds. “Something makes me believe we weren’t planning on heading to Canada that night,” she said.
“We weren’t?”
“No.”
“Then, were we planning on going somewhere else?” “I don’t know where, but I strongly feel Canada wasn’t our destination,” she said confidently.
“Then, where?”
Jodi thought hard for a few seconds. “Maybe we’ll find out.”
“Well, then we need to stay here until we find out what really happened that night,” he said.
Jodi shook her head in agreement then she rested her head on Donovan’s shoulder.
“Now I know why I started to fall for you the second I first laid eyes on you,” he said while he placed his arm around her shoulder.
“Me too,” she replied with a warm smile.
They passionately kissed.
The kissing turned passionate; ten minutes later, they were naked with their third round of sex.
Afterward, Donovan and Jodi cuddled naked under the covers. They both fell asleep within minutes.
Donovan started to dream.
In his dream, it was in the middle of the day. He sat in the clearing near Lake Haney with Charlie, who was tall, lanky, with blue eyes, and had long black hair down below his shoulders. Charlie was the same age as Howie and had been friends since the first grade.
Charlie had a joint in his mouth and took a drag.
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“What time are you leaving in the morning?”
Donovan asked the guy with black hair.
Charlie exhaled smoke. “Eight, Howie,” he said, then handed the joint over to Donovan.
“Okay. I’ll come along,” Donovan said, then he took a drag on the joint. Then he looked like there was something he wanted to tell Charlie. He decided he should. “Listen, Charlie, there’s something I need to tell you, but you can’t tell a soul,” said Donovan.
“I promise Howie that I’ll keep it to myself,” said Charlie, and he looked sincere.
Donovan started to tell Charlie a secret.
Back to reality.
Donovan woke up and looked around the room.
It took a few seconds to dawn on him that he had a dream. He thought about his dream for a few seconds, then drifted back to sleep.
Jodi had a dream.
In Jodi’s dream, it’s sunset time, and she and Howie sit in her Buick along the street of his house.
“Charlie and I are leaving at eight in the morning,”
said Howie.
Jodi felt sad. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I believe that it’s best for the both of us if I do,”
Howie replied, then leaned over and gave Jodi a kiss on her lips. “I’ll see you later, Tiffany,” he said, then opened the passenger door.
Tiffany cried while she watched Howie get out of the car and rush to his front door.
Back to reality, Jodi woke up from her dream. She looked around the room in a bit of a daze. Then realized she had another one of those dreams. She looked over and saw Donovan was sound asleep.
She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
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After dinner, Donovan and Jodi decided to drive around Haneyville.
While they drove down the street, they both kept it quiet. But again had an intense déjà vu feeling with numerous sights of the town.
These feelings were again strong when they drove by the homes of George and Betsy Anderson and Ernie Carlson.
After their drive through Haneyville, Donovan drove back to the Motel 6 and parked in front of his room.
They got out of his car and looked at each other for a second. They both knew each other had the same idea. “Why don’t you spend the night in my room?” he offered.
“I’ll go get some of my things,” she replied, then gave him a warm smile and walked off to her room.
Donovan went to his room and went inside.
The second he stepped inside his room, he rushed around, picking up items scattered on the floor, like boxer shorts and socks.
The second he got everything tucked away, there was a knock. He rushed over and opened the door.
He smiled when he saw Jodi outside with her toiletry bag and some extra clothes.
“Enter, my dear,”
“Why thank you,” Jodi said while she entered his room.
The second Donovan closed his room door, Jodi’s cell phone rang inside her pants pocket.
“Excuse me,” she said while reaching inside her pocket and removing her cell phone.
She frowned when she saw the text message.
“Let’s talk,” was Robert’s text message. She turned off her cell phone and shoved it back into her pocket.
She walked over and placed her toiletry bag in the bathroom.
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She walked over and placed her clothes in the opened drawer Donovan had ready.
“What do we do now?” she asked Donovan, who stood by her.
He smiled and walked closer, and planted a kiss on her lips.
“I was asking about finding Tiffany and Howie.
But this might be better,” she said with a warm smile.
“I think we should forget about Tiffany and Howie and work on us,” he said.
Jodi thought about his comment for a few seconds. She smiled. “Agreed,” she said, then gave Donovan a kiss.
Donovan and Jodi moved while kissing over to the bed, almost tripping over their feet several times. They plopped down on the bed with her on top of him.
It did not take long for their clothes to be scattered all over the floor. They were naked in bed and started their second sex session.
Twenty minutes of sex had passed, and Donovan and Jodi cuddled naked under the covers.
“Mind if I turn on the TV?” he asked.
“Oh, no, I always watch it in bed. It helps me relax,” she replied.
“Me too,” he said, then reached over and grabbed the remote off the bedside table. He clicked on the TV
and then immediately flipped through the channels.
The Bullet to the Head movie with Sylvester Stallone had just started.
Donovan and Jodi cuddled under the covers and started watching the movie.
Ten minutes into the movie, Donovan and Jodi’s eyes drifted closed. They were both sound asleep in minutes.
A few minutes passed, and Donovan and Jodi started dreaming simultaneously.
In Jodi’s dream, she was in a bedroom at night. The room was dark. The house was quiet.
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She lay in bed and waited. She looked at her bedroom window, where the full moon was visible outside.
There was a tap on her bedroom window.
Jodi’s eyes lit up over that sound, and she rushed off the bed.
She rushed to the window and slid it open. She looked back at her closed bedroom door.
In Donovan’s dream, he snuck through the backyard of a home in the middle of the night. The full moon illuminated his path.
All the lights in the house were off. The house was dark and quiet.
Donovan walked over to a window.
He tapped on the glass of the window. He anxiously waited.
In Jodi’s dream, she looked out the window and saw that blonde-haired boy waiting outside.
“Quietly come inside,” she softly told the boy.
Jodi moved away from the window.
The blonde-haired boy quietly climbed through the window.
“Are they asleep?” the blonde-haired boy asked her. “For the past two hours. It should be safe,” Jodi replied.
Jodi and the boy kissed.
In Donovan’s dream, the window opened up.
That brunette-haired girl poked her head out and motioned for him to enter.
He climbed through the window.
“Are they asleep?” Donovan asked the brunette, haired girl.
“For the past two hours,” the brunette-haired girl replied.
Donovan rushed over to the brunette girl and kissed her.
In Jodi’s dream, the blonde-haired boy kissed him.
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They walked and kissed over to her bed and plopped down on top of the covers.
Jodi and the blonde-haired boy start a passionate kiss. In Donovan’s dream, he’s on the bed with the brunette girl. They start a passionate kiss.
Donovan and the brunette-haired girl start removing each other’s pieces of clothing. They toss their clothes on the floor.
In Jodi’s dream, she and the blonde-haired boy start removing each other’s pieces of clothes. They toss their clothes on the floor.
In Donovan’s dream, he and the brunette-haired girl was bare-ass naked.
“Did you bring it?” the girl asked.
Donovan got off the bed and reached for his blue jeans. In Jodi’s dream, the blonde hair boy removed a condom from a packet. He flashed it up at Jodi.
Jodi motioned for the boy to return back to her bed. In Donovan’s dream, he slipped on the condom and was on top of the brunette girl in seconds. He started humping her and was in heaven.
In Jodi’s dream, the blonde-haired boy was on top, humping her. She was in heaven.
In Donovan’s dream, he was finished in minutes.
He rolled off of the brunette-haired girl and got on his back.
“Are we going to get married one day?” the brunette-haired girl asked Donovan.
In Jodi’s dream, the blonde-haired was finished and on his back next to her.
“We will get married one day,” said the blonde-haired boy.
The blonde-haired girl smiled over that possibility.
Then an older man’s voice was heard coughing in the hallway.
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Jodi looked panicked when she heard that sound.
Jodi and the blonde-haired boy cautiously got off her bed.
In Donovan’s dream, he and the brunette-haired girl quickly got dressed when the sound of an older man coughing was heard down the hall. The coughing was getting closer.
In Jodi’s dream, she watched while the blonde-haired boy rushed over to the opened window.
The blonde-haired turned and saw herself in the mirror on top of the dresser. Her eyes widened in shock.
She saw Tiffany Carlson in the mirror and not Jodi Lauder.
She saw a small mole on Tiffany’s right upper lip.
In Donovan’s dream, he glanced at the mirror on top of the dresser while heading to the opened window. He stopped dead in his tracks, and his eyes widened in shock. He saw Howie Anderson in the mirror and not Donovan Kirby.
Back to reality, Donovan and Jodi simultaneously shot up in bed from their dreams.
They both looked confused at each other and then looked around the dark motel room.
“I had the weirdest dream,” said Jodi.
“Me too,” replied Donovan, and he paused, trying to comprehend what he had just dreamt. “Why was your dream weird?”
Jodi paused for a second. “I was having sex with that blonde-haired boy in my bedroom. It was late at night, and there was a full moon outside. After we were done, I heard some man coughing down the hallway. We both got off my bed and quickly got dressed. Then while he ran back to climb out my window, I glanced at a mirror,” she said, then paused while she thought about the dream. “I saw Tiffany Carlson in the mirror,” she added and tried to understand what that meant.
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Donovan’s mouth dropped in disbelief. “You won’t believe this, but that sounds like my dream. It was also late at night with a full moon outside. I had sex with that brunette-haired girl and heard some man coughing in the bathroom. After I got dressed, I saw Howie Anderson in the mirror above the dresser while I headed to an opened window,” he said.
Jodi and Donovan stared at each other in disbelief.
“What do you think that means? Why would we see Tiffany and Howie in our dreams when we looked in the mirror?” asked Jodi.
Donovan looked at Jodi, and after a few seconds, the only possible answer hit him like a ton of bricks.
“We’re Howie and Tiffany.”
Jodi thought about his comment for a few seconds. “What?” she said as his answer did not make sense. “I believe we’re actually Tiffany and Howie.”
“I’m not following you,” said Jodi, still confused.
“I’m talking reincarnation,” he said, and the more he thought about that, the more he believed it to be true. “Reincarnation?” she said and pondered that idea for a few seconds.
“It makes perfect sense and explains all those overwhelming déjà vu feelings I’ve been having around Haneyville. Especially when I was in Howie’s home and bedroom.”
Jodi looked at Donovan while she thought about his comment on those déjà vu feelings. “You’re right. That sure explains all those déjà vu feelings I’ve been having around town,” she said, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt she was Tiffany from a previous life. “What do we do now?”
“We find out what happened to us. I know in my gut that we never made it up to Canada,” he replied.
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Jodi thought about his response for a few seconds. “Something makes me believe we weren’t planning on heading to Canada that night,” she said.
“We weren’t?”
“No.”
“Then, were we planning on going somewhere else?” “I don’t know where, but I strongly feel Canada wasn’t our destination,” she said confidently.
“Then, where?”
Jodi thought hard for a few seconds. “Maybe we’ll find out.”
“Well, then we need to stay here until we find out what really happened that night,” he said.
Jodi shook her head in agreement then she rested her head on Donovan’s shoulder.
“Now I know why I started to fall for you the second I first laid eyes on you,” he said while he placed his arm around her shoulder.
“Me too,” she replied with a warm smile.
They passionately kissed.
The kissing turned passionate; ten minutes later, they were naked with their third round of sex.
Afterward, Donovan and Jodi cuddled naked under the covers. They both fell asleep within minutes.
Donovan started to dream.
In his dream, it was in the middle of the day. He sat in the clearing near Lake Haney with Charlie, who was tall, lanky, with blue eyes, and had long black hair down below his shoulders. Charlie was the same age as Howie and had been friends since the first grade.
Charlie had a joint in his mouth and took a drag.
“What time are you leaving in the morning?”
Donovan asked the guy with black hair.
Charlie exhaled smoke. “Eight, Howie,” he said, then handed the joint over to Donovan.
“Okay. I’ll come along,” Donovan said, then he took a drag on the joint. Then he looked like there was 153
something he wanted to tell Charlie. He decided he should. “Listen, Charlie, there’s something I need to tell you, but you can’t tell a soul,” said Donovan.
“I promise Howie that I’ll keep it to myself,” said Charlie, and he looked sincere.
Donovan started to tell Charlie a secret.
Back to reality.
Donovan woke up and looked around the room.
It took a few seconds to dawn on him that he had a dream. He thought about his dream for a few seconds, then drifted back to sleep.
Jodi had a dream.
In Jodi’s dream, it’s sunset time, and she and Howie sit in her Buick along the street of his house.
“Charlie and I are leaving at eight in the morning,”
said Howie.
Jodi felt sad. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I believe that it’s best for the both of us if I do,”
Howie replied, then leaned over and gave Jodi a kiss on her lips. “I’ll see you later, Tiffany,” he said, then opened the passenger door.
Tiffany cried while she watched Howie get out of the car and rush to his front door.
Back to reality, Jodi woke up from her dream. She looked around the room in a bit of a daze. Then realized she had another one of those dreams. She looked over and saw Donovan was sound asleep.
She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
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It was now Saturday morning.
Donovan woke up and noticed Jodi was still asleep.
He carefully got out of bed, so he would not disturb her sleep.
He walked naked into the bathroom.
While he brushed his teeth, Jodi woke up. Jodi noticed Donovan was not in bed and heard the running water from the bathroom. She smiled at the sight of Donovan standing naked at the bathroom sink.
Donovan finished brushing his teeth and then saw Jodi looking at him. “Good morning,” he said while he put his toothbrush away.
“Good morning,” Jodi replied, then she got out of bed and headed naked to the bathroom.
When she entered the bathroom, Donovan gave her a quick kiss, then left to give her privacy.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Donovan and Jodi sat in a booth at the Perkins restaurant for breakfast.
They drank their coffee while they waited for their order to arrive.
“I had another dream last night,” Donovan said, then took a drink of his coffee.
Jodi took a drink of her coffee and looked forward to hearing about his dream.
“I was with some guy named Charlie who had long black hair. We were smoking a joint along the bank of the lake. We talked about leaving at eight the next morning.”
“Where were you going?”
“I don’t know. I woke up,” he said, then took another drink of coffee.
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“I had another dream also. I dreamt I was with Howie, and he said something about leaving with some guy named Charlie at eight in the morning,” she said, then took a drink of her coffee.
“Your dream had Howie in it and some guy named Charlie?”
“Yeah.”
“In my dream, that Charlie guy called me Howie,”
Donovan said; then he and Jodi looked at the waitress who brought their pancake breakfast.
They remained quiet while the waitress placed their meals in front of them.
The waitress smiled, then walked away.
“Do you think there’s some guy named Charlie involved in all this?” she asked.
Donovan thought about her question for a few seconds. “I think so.”
“We need to find out how he’s involved?” asked Jodi. Donovan thought about her question for a few seconds. “We’ll have to see Howie’s father,” he said.
Jodi nodded in agreement.
Donovan’s eyes widened when he remembered something. “Oh yeah, there was something else with my dream; I was just about to tell Charlie a secret when I woke up,” he said.
“I wonder what?”
“I don’t have a clue,” replied Donovan.
While Donovan and Jodi ate breakfast. Charlie Abbott, a chubby blue-eyed sixty-two-year-old with thinning black hair now sprinkled with more gray than black hairs, entered the restaurant.
The hostess seated Charlie three booths down from Donovan and Jodi.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Donovan and Jodi finished their breakfast.
They got up from their booth.
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While they walked to the front doors, they passed Charlie’s booth. They did not notice Charlie.
Charlie saw Donovan and Jodi while he drank his coffee. His eyes widened as something about Donovan, and Jodi gave him a déjà vu feeling. He turned around and looked back at Donovan and Jodi while they headed off to the front doors.
The waitress brought Charlie his breakfast order and placed the plate in front of him. He shrugged off that feeling about Donovan and Jodi as he started to eat his bacon and cheese omelet.
After Donovan and Jodi exited the Perkins restaurant, they walked to the Motel 6 and got in his Buick.
Donovan drove from the Motel 6 parking lot and headed into Haneyville for George’s home.
A little while later, Donovan parked his Buick in the driveway of Howie’s old home.
He and Jodi got out of his car and headed to the front door. He knocked.
After a few seconds of waiting, the door opened, and Betsy appeared. “May I help you?” she asked the two strangers outside.
“Hi, mom,” Donovan said without thinking.
Jodi looked at Donovan in disbelief at his greeting.
Betsy looked at Donovan and wondered if she had correctly heard him. “Did you call me mom?” she asked.
Donovan cringed when he realized what he had said. “Ah, I guess you remind me of my real mom,” he said. Jodi looked at Donovan again in disbelief at his greeting.
“Anyway, how can I help you?” Betsy asked.
“Who’s at the door?” George’s voice called out from the kitchen.
“Two young people,” replied Betsy.
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“It’s us, Mister Anderson, Donovan Kirby, and Jodi Lauder. We have another question,” Donovan called out.
A few seconds passed, and George appeared behind Betsy. “Hello, you’re back,” he said.
“We have a quick question,” said Donovan.
“Please come inside,” said George, looking at Betsy. “These are two reporters doing a story on Tiffany’s car being found in the lake.”
“Ah, Betsy said, then moved aside to allow them to enter their home.
Donovan and Jodi went inside the house.
“What’s the question?” asked George, the second Betsy, who closed the front door.
“We’re trying to find out if Howie had a good friend named Charlie,” asked Donovan.
“Charlie?” George said while he tried to recall those days. “Please have a seat,” he offered to Donovan and Jodi while motioning for them to sit on the couch.
“Charlie?” George said again while Donovan and Jodi sat down.
“Would that be Charlie Abbott?” asked Betsy while George sat in his lazy boy chair and Betsy sat down on the couch next to Jodi.
“He had long black hair,” added Jodi.
“That would be Charlie Abbott,” said Betsy.
“How did you run across his name?” George curiously asked.
Donovan and Jodi looked at each other and did not anticipate that question would pop up.
“Ah, we did some research at the newspaper office,” said Jodi.
George and Betsy looked at each other.
“What do you want to know about Charlie?”
asked George.
“Whatever you can tell us,” replied Donovan.
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“Well, not much to tell; he and Howie were best friends ever since the first grade,” said George.
“His parents were killed in a car accident in Knoxville back in sixty-four, so his grandmother raised him. She lived over on Elm Avenue,” said Betsy.
“Does he still live here in Haneyville?” asked Jodi.
“Oh no, he left for the Navy the day after Howie and Tiffany went missing,” said Betsy.
“He never returned to Haneyville after that,”
added George.
“Except for his grandmother’s funeral after he got out of boot camp,” added Betsy.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” said George, then he looked at Donovan and Jodi. “She often helps with my fading memory,” he said lightly.
Donovan and Jodi both looked at each other and started to have their suspicions about Charlie.
Betsy’s eyes lit up when she remembered something. “I have a photo of Charlie,” she said, then got up from the couch.
“Would you two like something to drink?” asked George while Betsy walked out of the living room.
“No, thank you, I’m fine,” said Donovan.
“I’m fine too, thanks,” added Jodi.
The living room got quiet while they waited for Betsy to return.
Betsy returned with an old photo album in hand.
She walked over, sat next to Jodi, and immediately opened the album.
While she flipped through the album’s pages, Donovan saw pictures of Howie growing up. The sight of those pictures gave him additional intense déjà vu feelings.
Betsy turned the page, and Donovan’s mouth dropped open the second he saw a picture of Howie as a lad wearing a Little League uniform for the Hawks.
He glanced at Jodi, who also stared at the picture in disbelief. They both kept quiet about that picture.
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Betsy stopped on a page. “There’s Howie and Charlie right after they graduated high school,” she said and pointed at a picture.
Donovan and Jodi saw an old, faded photograph of Howie and Charlie in their blue cap and gowns.
After graduating high school, the two boys both had huge grins.
Donovan’s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the photo of that guy from his dream last night. He continued to stare at the photo for a few seconds in disbelief.
“That’s Charlie, but like we said, we hadn’t seen him since he left for the Navy and was here for his grandmother’s funeral,” said Betsy, then she closed the album.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” asked George.
“No, that about does it,” said Donovan, then he stood up.
Jodi stood up, then George and Betsy stood.
“Well, you’re welcome to come back anytime you have any questions,” said George.
“We will,” replied Donovan, then he motioned for Jodi; they should leave.
George and Betsy escorted Donovan and Jodi to their front door.
“Thank you,” said Donovan while Betsy opened the door.
After Donovan and Jodi left the house, Betsy closed the door. She looked at George and looked a tad confused. “Now, I know I’ve met that young couple before,” she said.
“I don’t think so, honey; they just arrived in town earlier in the week,” George said, then he walked off and headed to the kitchen for a Budweiser.
Betsy shrugged off that feeling and followed George into the kitchen.
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Outside the Anderson home, Donovan and Jodi drove off in his Buick.
Donovan looked at Jodi. “That was so weird seeing that picture of Charlie in that album. He was that guy in my dream last night,” he said.
And in one of my dreams, I wore a Little League uniform for the Hawks,” added Donovan.
“And that blonde hair guy wore a Hawks uniform in my dream,” added Jodi while they drove down Forge Valley Avenue.
They were in awe over the recent events in Haneyville.
Over at the Haneyville Police Station, Charlie Abbott parked his rental Ford Explorer SUV in an open spot.
He got out of the SUV and headed inside the station.
The inside of the Haneyville Police Station was quiet. Rock and Kent were out on patrol. Deputy Andrew Barker sat behind his desk, looking at the Internet on his desk computer. Andrew was on his cell phone.
“Okay, mom, you and dad have a great time on your cruise. And don’t worry, I’ll stop by periodically and check up on the house,” he said into his cell phone. Then he noticed Charlie standing behind the counter. “I gotta go, mom; I have someone at the counter. Love you,” he said, then disconnected his end of the call.
He stood up at his desk and looked at Charlie.
“May I help you, sir?” said Andrew while he walked over to the counter.
“Yes, I was Charlie Abbott once a resident of Haneyville a long time ago,” he said.
“Oh, what brings you back to Haneyville?” asked Andrew.
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“I saw on the news that you found the car that belonged to Tiffany Carlson. I was hoping I could see it,” said Charlie.
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir, it was just shipped out to a salvage yard in Knoxville,” Andrew replied.
“I was old friends with Howie Anderson and Tiffany Carlson in the seventies. I heard they went missing.”
“Yes, sir. We believe they ran off to Canada back in nineteen seventy,” replied Andrew.
“Yes, Canada. Well, thank you for the information,” Charlie said then turned around and headed to the door.
Andrew returned to his desk to continue reading news about crimes around the country.
Outside the police station, Charlie looked disappointed while getting inside his SUV.
He started it up, backed out of the parking spot, and drove off.
While Donovan and Jodi headed west on Haneyville Road, Charlie drove his SUV east on Haneyville Road.
They passed by each other, not knowing they would eventually meet and things would take a turn for the worst.
A little while later, Charlie drove his SUV down Appleton Avenue.
Charlie pulled his car into the driveway of Lynn and Paul Donahue. He parked, got out, and headed to the front door.
He knocked on the front door and waited a few seconds. Nobody answered. He knocked on the front door again. Nobody answered.
Charlie walked away and headed back to his SUV.
A little while later, Charlie drove down Forge Valley Avenue.
He pulled his SUV into the driveway of the Anderson home.
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Charlie parked his Explorer in the driveway and got out of his SUV.
He paused for a few seconds while staring at the old home that brought back numerous fond memories of the 1960s.