Amicia had just arrived in Pocatello Regional Airport after a grueling 15 hour flight, stopping once in Salt Lake City. She was tired, grumpy, and out of $1200 from her account. She was nearly destitute at this point. Thankfully, her cheap apartment in Serenity city was paid up until next month. She had poured over the accounts Araña had left for her. The legal ones were still being puttered through the legal system. She wouldn’t have access to them for some time. Perhaps they thought it strange that Joseph Stinger, a man with seemingly no connections to Amicia would leave her money. Perhaps Joseph Stinger had left quite a few people money and the lawyers were having a field day. However, she doubted that Araña would tie all his accounts together through one identity. The man certainly knew how to lay low when he wanted to.
She stood in the airport with its mud colored floors and walls. The few people that were on the same flight as her slowly drifted towards the conveyor belts. Their slowly luggage spun around the carousel. The whole place seemed so bland and boring. She walked with the crowd to retrieve her luggage when her phone pinged. She opened it to see a message that read “3960 South Second Ave - Araña”. The old man had found a way to give her a leg up even after his passing. She’d have been impressed and amused, but she still felt heartbroken at the old man's passing.
Amicia retrieved her luggage and stood outside the airport. She'd orderede a car from a ride-share app. When it came, a young man in his late teenage years got out of the car. He was driving an old Honda. He seemed like he should’ve been in class instead of working as a driver. She handed him her luggage which he stowed in the trunk. She got in the front seat and strapped in for the ride.
“So just to confirm, you want to head to the storage place right? Next to the old golf course?”
“Yes. Is it very far from here?”
“Oh, not far. I’d say about 20 minutes. So, uh. What’s a lovely lady like yourself doing in Idaho?”
She smirked at the kid. He tried to deliver the line smoothly, but his voice cracked towards the end. It was terribly embarrassing for him. Suddenly his eyes were laser focused on the road instead of leering over her curves. He prayed that she'd let the awkward moment pass and she obliged.
“Oh just visiting I guess. I’m meeting an old friend. They wanted to visit the Massacre Rocks State Park.”
“Oh the park, huh. Yeah I guess it’s pretty nice. Not much else to see out here in Pocatello. I kind of hate to tell you this, but I think they might’ve closed the place to camping. Some folks ended up drowned out there.”
“Drowned? Really? Those poor people. Does that happen often?”
“Well not usually. I mean sometimes some folks would get lost when they come in to visit. The police would get some search teams. Usually they’d find them no problem. Yeah, it’s been a while since someone's drowned out here. I hadn’t heard of any since I was in middle school. Even then the guy was like 90.”
Whatever was out there in the state park, it must’ve only just gotten here. If it had been here a while, it must've been very good at hiding its tracks. If the boy was right, nothing like this happened before in Pocatello. Now there were at least 4 bodies with strange marks. 3 of them were local. Maybe the kid knew them if they were locals. In a small town like this, people were close.
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“I’m sorry, what was your name again? I think I saw it on the app but I’m pretty tired from the long flight. I’m Amelia,” Amicia lied.
“It’s Landon Miss. Landon Rowlton.”
“I’m so sorry to hear about the drownings Landon. Did you know any of them?” Amicia asked. Her tone became soothing, emanating a feeling of calm as her words lilted up and down. There was little chance the boy actually knew them, but it couldn't hurt to try to get some information. She effused sympathy and compassion in her voice and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to charm him into opening up to her. He blushed as she stroked his shoulder. Sometimes just a little physical affection could get people to open up. In her experience, a kind hand on the shoulder would be more convincing than money or threats.
“Well, I - uh - I didn’t know them, know them. I kind of knew Emily. She was a senior in high school when I was a freshman. She was on the swim team actually. It’s so weird she died from drowning when I really think about it. She went to swim meets all the time. I mean I think I heard some of the girls say that Emily was gonna get into the Olympics.” he stammered out.
Emily Jacobson, young woman that was supposedly an excellent swimmer. She shouldn’t have drowned out there. Amicia had researched the Massacre Rocks State Park while on her plane ride. The pictures showed campsites near the river. The length across should’ve been short enough that an accomplished swimmer like Emily Jacobson could swim back to shore safely. It was odd. The marks themselves could’ve been explained away as the odd fauna or flora in the river. Some kind of bacteria could make the marks or maybe the bodies had simply hit certain rock formations. Amicia would likely have to check out the other bodies Araña had mentioned. Then she'd need to see if she could search the campgrounds to get any more clues.
They were nearing the storage units given to her by Araña. The ride went by fast. The road was open, spacious, and there was barely anyone else driving. It was a stark contrast from the traffic jams Amicia was used to. Her hometown of Serenity was beautiful but crowded. The car slowed to a stop in front of a few buildings surrounded by a tall wire fence. She could see the storage units just past it. As she stepped out of the car, Landon spoke to her again.
“Hey you know, if you and your friend can’t go camping no more, I know a few places in town. I’d be happy to show you around a few places. Maybe we could all go for a drink?” He offered. The boy was trying his luck. She thought it was cute, but he was much too young for her. Amicia gave him a sly smile. She tilted her head and put a finger to her lips. She put on a thoughtful face as if she was actually considering his proposal.
“Are you even old enough to drink Landon?” she asked. His face went bright red at the question. In response, he puffed out his chest and tried to make his voice sound deeper.
“O-of course I am!” he proclaimed. She was tempted to laugh, but she didn’t want to hurt the boy’s feelings. She remembered what it was like to be that young. She remembered her younger, dumber self. The girl who thought that romance would solve all of life's problems. As she matured, she realized that what she really wanted was friendship. More often that not, friendship was what people needed. Even if they didn't know it yet.
“Well, I’ll probably be here going through the storage unit all day. My friend will pick me up later. How about you text me the place where you like to get a drink? Maybe we’ll stop by sometime,” she said with zero intent of ever taking Landon up on his offer.
Landon gave her the address and the name of the bar. It was called The Odyssey. He got back in his car and drove off with a smile on his face. He waved to her as he left and she gave a little wave back. Amicia made her way into the office of the storage company, wondering what surprises Araña had left for her here.