Ollie cruised up the winding cemetery road. The driver side window was down, his elbow hanging out as he searched the grounds for anything that might show goblin activity in a cemetery – chipped headstones, leftover junk or food, trampled flowers. To be fair, those could also be signs of poorly behaved teenagers, but Ollie couldn’t do much about the fact that teens and goblins were nearly indistinguishable. The only thing he saw, however, was a long, annoyed stare from the old groundskeeper, who was busy tending to a row of plants on the far side. Ollie gave him a friendly wave and a quick smile, then tapped the gas pedal, quickening his pace to the top of the hill.
He got a definite weird vibe from this place but couldn’t put his finger on what exactly weirded him out. It was possible that Kimmie’s goblin was the same one wandering out this way, making occasional forays into town, via the cemetery, to get food or steal trinkets. Although it would be a little underwhelming if that’s all this Ferndale trip turned out to be.
Once at the top of the hill, the cemetery ended and the road continued south, swerving around the edge of the forest. Ollie followed it for a minute and discovered that it passed a gravel lot that cut into the woods about a quarter mile south of the hilltop. After that, the road stretched on for several miles, eventually reaching a wide valley, and then more hills beyond. He turned around and kept his eye on the forest to the west. Prime goblin land, based on what maps of the area showed.
Secretly, Ollie hoped he was on to much more than a simple roving goblin sneaking peeks through back windows. He’d always craved a good hunt, and the bigger the target, the more satisfied he felt afterward. Like he’d made the world a better place. But the only evidence so far that his simple theory was wrong was the fact that the cemetery and Kimmie’s house weren’t exactly close to each other. A few miles apart, at least. That’s quite a hike for a goblin to be making on a regular basis. But not unheard of.
He’d eventually bring Grika out here and spend the day hiking until he found something concrete. A trail, a totem, a lair. He had his suspicions about what killed Kimmie’s aunt and uncle, and this goblin wasn’t high on that list. Catching it, however, might give him some hard answers and get him closer to the real culprit. That’s where his focus needed to be. On Kimmie’s goblin. And on Kimmie herself, he thought idly. He’d given up quite a bit of himself last night already, and if he was going to take her into his confidence even more, he needed to know more about her. And to do that, he needed to talk to people. He sighed as he drove back to Ferndale. He really wished he had more than one source in this town.
*
The Chief rolled down Ferndale’s Main Street as Ollie searched for a place to park. He found a spot on the side of the road about a block past where he wanted to go, in between a green hatchback and a large white sedan. He backed into it with the finesse of a figure skater. Driving this beast of a vehicle forced him to hone certain skills far beyond that of regular people, and that came in handy on crowded, small-town streets.
He hopped out of the truck and backtracked down the sidewalk until he stood in front of the Fickle Nickel. Rosie seemed to be the type of woman who liked to talk, and he needed a little more information about what he was getting into. And who he was getting into it with. This was the cost of doing business. Luckily for him, Kimmie had already offered to pay for it.
He took a deep breath then walked inside, determined to find the cheapest part of the store. Rosie was at the counter, helping a few other customers, so Ollie used the opportunity to move as far away from the figurines as possible. Unfortunately, he found himself standing next to an assortment of old clocks with price tags starting at $140. He stepped away, looking around frantically for price tags in the single digits.
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“You’re back!”
Rosie appeared from behind the corner, and Ollie flashed a self-effacing smile.
“Couldn’t stay away.”
She waved a finger at the figurines on the far side of the store. “Looking for more of those for your collection?”
Ollie’s smile faltered. “I might be,” he said unconvincingly. She took his arm and led him over to the shelf, as Ollie tried to hide his disdain for the ridiculous ceramic animals. “No more bears, I’m afraid.”
“Well, it’s a good thing we have plenty of other animals for your little menagerie.” She grabbed an elephant from the shelf, easily the largest, and likely the most expensive, figurine she had. “Maybe this one?”
Ollie felt a twinge of anxiety. “Not sure that fits what I’m going for.”
“Oh.” She placed it back on the shelf. Before she could grab another, he cut in.
“Can I ask you a couple quick touristy questions?”
“Certainly, hon.” She squeezed his arm. “And I am so flattered you decided to come back to me get those questions answered.”
He forced all of his charm into his smile. “Well, you definitely seem like someone who’s in the know. My cousin is coming into town with her husband, and they were looking for a bed and breakfast. Any good ones you can recommend?’
“Oh, well, that’s like asking which child is your favorite, when you have three dozen of them.” She laughed.
“I was looking into them and I found one over by the coast, down Hillside Lane. Run by a woman with the name Blanco?”
“Oh yes! Kimmie Blanco.” Rosie gasped and covered her mouth. “She’s the niece of the Harons, who you asked about last time.”
Ollie feigned surprise. “Really? That’s an odd coincidence.”
“That’s an understatement.” She shook her head. “I’ve known Kimmie since she was little. Wonderful young woman. I haven’t been to her house since her aunt passed, but I hear wonderful things about what she’s done to that place.”
“So, she’s an upright citizen and all that?”
“Oh, of course. She’s done really well for herself, considering everything she’s been through. Poor girl.”
“You mean her aunt and uncle?”
“That’s only part of it.” Rosie waved her hand and made a tsking sound. “I shouldn’t gossip, but I think it’s fairly well-known here in town. Her mother had a difficult time with drugs. That’s why she lived with her aunt for so long. Mom disappeared to parts unknown when Kimmie was in elementary school. Just abandoned her own daughter. Can you imagine that? I think I heard she finally tracked her down while she was in college, somewhere in Denver, maybe? I couldn’t tell you what came of that.” She lowered her voice. “You didn’t hear any of that from me, though.”
Ollie smiled. “Who would I tell?”
A parent caught up in drugs seemed like an obvious reason to not want to talk about them. No big mystery there. And if Kimmie had any serious issues, the kind of issues he needed to know about before teaching her how to hunt goblins, he suspected Rosie would have started with those. With that out of the way, he could poke into the lore of the town a bit more.
“So, when they get here, my cousin and her husband, I’d like to be able to tell them a little bit more about the town than what’s on the brochures. They’re definitely interested in seeing the graveyard. Are there any good stories you can tell me about it? Something that would impress them?”
“The Ferndale Historic Cemetery, you mean?” She smiled, jesting with him. “Like I was telling you last time, it’s a really good place to go if you like history. All the old city founders are buried up there, and dozens of prominent families. And it’s beautifully tended. Oh, and of course the view is amazing. You can see for miles up there. Other than that, though, not much happens. It is a graveyard, you know.”
“You don’t have any good stories about ghosts or goblins? Seeing as how it’s getting close to Halloween?”
“Oh. You mean something scary?” She thought about it for a moment. “I can’t recall anything too outrageous. Every once in a while, we get teenagers goofing around up there, but they’ve never done anything to write home about. I remember a couple ghost stories from when I was a kid, but that was only my grandfather trying to get us kids all worked up.”
“No recent craziness, though?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Unless I just missed out on the gossip, which is not likely.” She gave him a wide grin. “I’d tell you right away if there was something worth knowing about, but I don’t have your number, now that I think about it.”
She winked at him, and Ollie laughed to cover up his discomfort.
“You are quite the flirt, Rosie.” In desperation to change the subject, Ollie grabbed another figurine. A giant baboon with a $99 price tag. Just his luck that he couldn’t accidentally grab a cheaper one. “And let’s go ahead and ring this one up. I feel like doing a Jungle Book theme this time.”