Chapter 2: Digging Deeper

That weekend, Thomas and Emily decided to do some investigating. Seeing that his grandmother Penny was shown to be related to Timothy in some way, they figured she would be a good place to start.

"Thanks for coming with me, Emily. I don't think I could do this on my own."

"Its no problem, Thomas. I want to get to the bottom of this myself."

After knocking on the door, Thomas's grandmother greeted them with a warm smile.

"Oh Thomas, what a surprise. And Emily, so good to see you again."

"Its great to see you too, grandma."

"Oh, do please come in. It has been so long since you've visited."

Penny made them some tea and they chatted about work and other pleasantries. At last, Thomas spoke up.

"I'm sorry, grandma, but I'm afraid this is more than just a social visit. Tell me, do you recognize the man in this photo?"

When she saw the photo, Penny dropped her teacup in shock.

"Oh my…Timothy."

"Yes, that's his name. Do you know him?"

"Know him? I should think I do. He was my husband. Your grandfather."

Now it was Thomas's turn to be shocked, nearly falling out of his seat in shock. Penny continued.

"Timothy was a kind man, never had a mean thing to say to anyone. And so romantic, too. We didn't get to spend many days together in our married years, but he made every day an adventure."

Her smile turned into a sad frown.

"Then came that faithful night. He was called in, said that someone got sick. I helped him get in uniform and kissed him at the door. He promised…he promised that tomorrow I'd have him to myself. By the next afternoon I was at the morgue identifying his body…what was left of it, at least."

By this point she began to cry.

"That day was our anniversary, 5 years together. I never got to tell him the good news. That he…that he was going to be a father."

At this she burst out into full blown sobs, Thomas patting her back reassuringly.

"There there, its alright. Let it all out."

"Thomas, I know what they say about him. That he was a monster, that he did it out of spite, but I promise you its not true, not a single bit. Timothy was a kind man; he wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Its alright, Grandma. We believe you."

"We're sorry to bring it up, ma'am."

"Oh, its alright Emily. It helps to cry sometimes, relieves emotional stress. Thank you so much for coming. Don't worry about the mess, I've got it. It was good to see you again, Thomas."

"You too, grandma."

After they were a good distance away from the house, Emily turned to Thomas.

"Why didn't you mention the sighting?"

"Did you see here? I couldn't bring myself to tell her, she's been through so much already. I couldn't break her heart."

Thomas and Emily decided to talk to Samuel Blunt next, since he was the only living witness. They found him outside his house, chopping firewood for the night. He sneered at them as they came down the path.

"What do you want? Whatever it is you're selling I don't want it."

"Are you Samuel Blunt?"

"Yeah, who's asking?"

"Well, we want to ask you a few questions about a former coworker of yours named Timothy."

Samuel Blunt's eyes narrowed, and his face turned into a scowl.

"Get out! Get out, both of you! I already told my story to the police; I don't need you two snooping around in my business as well."

"But-"

"Listen here, girly. That Timothy was no good and was always up to something. I shoulda known he would snap. Now GO!"

With that, he slammed the front door so hard the ground shook. Thomas and Emily glanced at each other.

"Well, that went nowhere."

"I don't like this. Why was he so defensive? I feel like there's something he's not telling us."

That night, Emily was getting ready bed when she heard a noise outside.

"Huh? Percy, is that you?"

She stepped outside to find nothing out of the ordinary.

"That's odd, I could of sworn I-"

Just then, she was grabbed from behind. She managed to let out a shrill scream before she felt the cold metal of a gun at the back of her head.

"Don't scream again. It won't do you any good.

Thomas woke to Emily's screaming.

"Emily! Hold on, I'm coming."

He, Percy, and Toby ran outside only to find no trace of her, save for a note that read:

If you want to see your girlfriend ever again, come to Maithwaite Forest. ALONE.

"You think its Timothy?"

"I don't know, but I do know Emily is in trouble. You guys call the police, I'm going after this madman."

"Be careful, Thomas. Even if we aren't dealing with the supernatural, We're dealing with a serious threat."

"I will, Toby."