OPHELIA: Chapter 19
Blurb
Elizabeth Lockwick wants one thing… to ensure Ophelia remains dead.
For years she’s weaved a life seen through rose-coloured glasses in idyllic Vermont with her husband Sebastian Lockwick, an alluring man with a broken moral compass, whose intent lies in protecting his wife. However, apart from her unorthodox understanding of Sebastian’s dark and gritty hidden nature, she finds herself slipping away from her sanity in maintaining this picturesque life.
After receiving a gruesome gift from an unknown sender threatening to expose her, she finds herself haunted and possibly hunted by her buried past.
In order to make things right for herself and ensure that her secret is hidden, she reluctantly travels back to her sleepy small hometown in Wisconsin. A town where young girls seem to be mysteriously disappearing. There, she reunites with the dysfunctional Pierre-Louis’, a French-American family who sheltered her in their manor in her time of need.
With time slipping away, she struggles with her guilt and a dangerous affair and realizes that perhaps Ophelia wasn’t dead after all these years.
Elizabeth suddenly finds herself caught in a game of cat and mouse, unsure of which she really is this time and who she can trust.
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Chapter 19
Charlie gave her a small wave at the entrance of the food court. “Stay safe girls.” She stood and gathered her belongings on the table into her bag and threw the empty cup into the bin as she walked towards Charlie.
“You seem to be a favourite with those girls,” he observed while holding the door open for her.
“You didn’t tell me there was a new girl missing.”
“We not too long received the report. Madeline Wilson. Sheriff’s handling it right now. The station is in a bad state with the protest going on,” he stated as they walked towards his car and unlocked the door.
“A protest?”
Charlie smiled at her across the roof of the car, “The townswomen are protesting against the police authority for the lack of safety. I don’t blame them, things need to change around here.”
Ophelia hadn’t said a word as they drove towards the station, so he broke the silence. “Everything alright between you and Stef?”
“Why do you ask that?” She asked, keeping her head pressed against the car’s window and eyes glued to the streets outside.
“He seems aloof today. Down about something. And well, you basically avoided him this morning at the station.”
She kept her head pressed against the window and frowned deeply. Worry clutched onto her lungs and swung upon them like vines. “It’s my fault,” she brought herself to admit. “I’ve been selfish. I haven’t been thinking about his feelings. Since we got here not once did I ask him about his seven years away from everyone. He has a right to be upset with me.”
Charlie turned into the crowded street and parked away from the protesters. He unlocked their doors and turned to her, giving her his most sincere advice, “I know right now you think avoiding him and avoiding it is the best thing to do but what if it isn’t? What if it just makes things worse? Running away never helped you, Lily. It only got you right back where you started.”
Ophelia was about to speak when Charlie interrupted her, “You still love him, I can see that.”
“It’s not-” she tried to protest but he stopped her again. “It isn’t selfish if your mind runs on other things that matter. Plus, finding Claire is my responsibility as well. I haven’t stopped looking for her. Just give yourself the chance to repair other relationships as well. You deserve that at least. You both do.”
Ophelia followed him through the honeycomb of persons gathered outside the station. Inside was rather orderly than the outside. “Here,” he said while giving her a bottled of chilled water, “Take the back door and follow the sloped track. Search group #5 just left. I’ll catch up with you as soon as I speak to the sheriff.”
She nodded and was guided by a female officer through the back door. The previous group wasn’t that far ahead so she began tracking towards them. The forest wickedly chuckled at her as she entered into the vast green blanket. Many groups dispersed itself through the area calling out to Claire and Maddy in the hopes that they’d answer. It was a heartwarming thing to see that the women of the town were a part of this. They had every right to be. Charlie, not too long after, caught back up with her and she could see Stefan from a distance whom he went up to. Time was toying with them as it quickened and the sun threatening to set.
Ophelia kept to herself with the groups in safe view. Now was the time to focus on the missing girls so she continued to avoid Stefan. Walking along a narrow path, she slipped while climbing over the large rock before her and fell, grazing her elbow into a gentle sloped hill. The contents of her bag scattered as she felt the sharp burn of the impact upon her skin.
“Need a hand?” A woman placed her hand out to her as she knelt on the rock.
“Thanks,” Ophelia said while grabbing her hand as she pulled her up. She was a tall, slender, blonde woman with sharp striking features that were hard to miss. Her sleek ponytail complimented her put-together style. She was the same woman whom she had seen sitting with Sebastian at Café Magnolia back in Vermont.
“Vivian.”
“Ophelia.”
She smiled. It was a dry yet textured sort of smile. One that Ophelia learnt very well over the years. The woman somehow reminded her of herself. Vivian looked down at Ophelia’s scattered items on the dirt and her eyes remained fixed on her opened notepad with her drawing of the symbol from earlier. A flush of recognition washed across her face but she quickly concealed it to what seemed like its normalized neutrality. Ophelia, taking note of the woman’s sudden expression, felt determined to get her answers at this point.
“You know what this is,” she said in a matter-of-fact manner while picking up her notepad and other belongings.
Vivian, who stood calmly alongside her, gave a soft scoff and looked around them. “It’s brave of you to ask around about that. Dangerous. And stupid.”
“I’ve been told worse.”
“There are ears everywhere,” Vivian stated as she walked forward towards the lonely stream in the near distance. “This is Rose Gap, darling. Even the wind carries secrets.” Ophelia followed and watched as Vivian sat on the large rock near the stream and exhaled tiredly.
“What is this about?” Ophelia asked, weary of the situation.
“Don’t ask around about this. The brotherhood doesn’t like women knowing. You can’t trust any of these men in this town,” she frowned, “Or even anyone outside of it.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the new information she was receiving. “You’re wondering how I know so much about it,” Vivian continued and chuckled softly. “It’s simple. My father was a part of it. When I was young girl I was aware of letters he used to receive about rituals and strange transactions taken out of my father’s bank account. My parents argued often about it. Money was scarce at that time. I loved my father, but he was rarely home. My mother worked as a maid for a wealthy family to support us, but it was hard. I would overhear him speaking to the other men who visited whilst my mother wasn’t home. He wanted out. And then one day he went to one of their meetings and never came back.”
“I’m sorry.”
Vivian reflected at herself in the shallow water besides her. “One night I followed a young man I assumed to be in that cult to a riverbank. They kidnapped, raped and sacrificed an orphan girl and set her on fire when they were done. They all had that symbol tattooed on some part of their bodies.”
Ophelia found herself unable to speak. So many thoughts ran across her mind and Vivian took note of that. “Rose Gap’s no place for women like you and I, Ophelia. It’s a nasty little town.”
“Why do you stay then?” Ophelia asked as Vivian stood and picked up her bag. She smiled at the girl’s question, “We all have our reasons, don’t we?”
A sudden scream echoed through the forest air followed by a flock of screeching birds ahead. Both women tracked towards the sound which led to the groups all huddled around another stream. A woman sobbing painfully on her knees at the image of a dead little naked girl faced down in the shallow stream before her. Her face decomposed and tiny hands and legs taped together. Her body was blue and red and wounded, her legs stretched open, almost as if it was ripped apart at one point, her nipples had been cut off and her once flowing blonde hair had been shaved. Madeline Wilson’s lifeless body now began its decomposition stage. Charlie and the other officers tried to retain order to the groups surrounding and the sobbing mother refused to move from her dead daughter’s side. Stefan stood across the narrow stream and looked at the body and back at Ophelia. His expression, cryptic.
**
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