© Copyright 2021

  Amazon Edition, License Notes

  This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited.

  Disclaimer:

  The persons, places, things, and otherwise animate or inanimate objects mentioned in this novel are figments of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to anything or anyone living (or dead) is unintentional. The author humbly begs your pardon. This is fiction, people.

  A DAVID FOX NOVELETTE # 2

  HIS RESTLESS SOUL

  SHAYNE HOUSE

  TABLE OF CONTENT

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  THE WORLD OF FOX

  AUTHOR NOTE

  BOOK # 3: THEY NEVER CAME BACK

  1

  It was four o'clock in the morning. The breeze of retiring winter was still harsh to breath in but not unbearable.

  Collins looked around as his friends rubbed their hands to make themselves warmer; they rocked in the fishing boat with the rhythm of ocean waves. Fishing was scheduled for night. Sometime they stayed up all night and slept in the morning. Sometime, it was the other way round.

  With Collins Hemsworth, it was always one way. He slept when he wanted and where he got the chance. He was quite excited with their vacation plan but then Fox told them they were not allowed to bring any food items on the hunt. They could only eat whatever prey they managed to get.

  Fox and his bloody rules! To make things worse, they hunted during the day and fished all night which left little time to sleep. He managed to sneak away from the party and took a nap in his tent. Tonight was going to be a tough one as they had not caught a single fish after many hours of fishing.

  They were camped in the RailCoast forest since last week. Inspector David Fox, along with his faithful subordinate-cum-roommate-cum-friend Collins, was taking some time off from the Precinct duties to vent out. He has solved the last case successfully but the criminal was far from prosecution till date.

  Whenever Collins tried to start the topic, Fox shrugged his shoulders, "I arrested the criminal-with the incriminating evidence and an eye witness. What else can I do?" Ursula Bates was still in the witness protection program. Collins often thought about her and her brave decision along with the modern day, Bentley driving Greek God, Dionysus, aka Richard. He tried to trace his whereabouts, but he was vanished from the face of the earth after the ominous Christmas party.

  Collins looked around to search for Fox but it was difficult to see his glimpse in this darkness with the flashing lights of boats. They were twelve in total. Some were lawyers, some were businessman, some were experienced hunters, but there was one thing common among all of them. They were all friends of Fox-which was nothing less than a shock for Collins.

  He could never imagine that an antisocial man like Fox could have so many friends. He seriously gave a thought to the idea that it was indeed not a vacation and Fox had brought all of them together here for some social experiment but when nothing unusual happened for few days, he gave up his theory.

  Collins was lost in thoughts when he felt something tiny and wet fell on him from above. He raised his head and took a deep breath. The rain had finally caught them. They were anchored a mile off the shore and any kind of disturbance in weather could turn into a serious problem. He watched his mates calmly as they were not in a hurry to retreat.

  Rainfall in open sea late at night; what can go wrong?

  But the weather was not in mood of complying with their plans. Lightning immediately followed the rain like a duet. It got worse and worse and, finally, the boat started to rock on water like a tennis ball on court.

  "Fox!" He yelled trying to balance himself but the boats were not together anymore. They sailed away from each other faster than a flock of scared chickens. He tried to maintain his equilibrium holding a rope with one hand and wiping his face with another hoping to see Fox once again. But now it was even difficult to see the rest of his mates.

  "Fox!" Saving himself from getting knocked down by the turbulence, he screamed again as loud as he could muster. For a second, he thought he heard Fox calling back but the next moment, the rope slipped from his hand, and he fell directly into the seamless depth of open water.

  ----------

  When he gained consciousness, he felt freezing. Thankfully, he was not in water anymore. He tried to get up, but he lacked the stamina to pull himself together. The sounds of rain falling on water and waves crashing on shore were distinct. The ground beneath him was rock hard and wet. Somewhere in darkness, he saw a glare of a microscopic fireball, felt the smoke of a cigarette and the silhouette on the other end of the fireball.

  "Fox!" It was not a call, rather an assurance to himself. The hoarse voice that came out of his mouth was unfamiliar to his own ears.

  "Yes, and you are half dead." Fox's sounded as lively as if they were back in their living room. "If you wanted to take diving lessons, you could have simply told me."

  "Where are we?"

  "Somewhere in the forest but if I had not been strong enough to pull you out of water, we both would have had in a cemetery."

  Collins smiled. "Why in a cemetery? Why not in the stomach of a shark?"

  "Not possible. My blood is full of nicotine and you look kinda pasty. A shark with a taste would reject both of us."

  Collins finally pulled himself to a sitting position. They were under an oak tree not far from the shore. There was no one else in sight.

  "Where is everyone?"

  Fox shrugged his shoulder, "maybe alive and kicking, maybe dead and drowning. I was too busy saving my roommate."

  "Any idea how to go back to the camp?" Walking back to the camp in the forest without knowing the direction was not a welcoming idea.

  "We can reach the road and find our way back from there."

  "How will we find that? I don't think you have a compass in your pants."

  "There is a compass called geography but you can only notice it if you are not too busy sleeping. Come, look at this." Fox went out from underneath the tree; Collins stumbled after him into the rain.

  It took him a moment to realize what he was seeing. The red and white edifice imposing above the trees going straight up to touch the sky. Soaked in the rain from centuries but still standing tall facing the thunderous winds, the legendary lighthouse of RailCoast was a sight to behold.

  2

  It took them nearly half an hour to reach the road leading to the lighthouse. The blinding rain and pushy winds were making it difficult to find a way through the thick woods in the dark but Fox turned it into a cakewalk. Collins just followed his footsteps.

  This was his simplification formula. Whenever he felt too exhausted, he stopped thinking and followed Fox. So far, the formula had not betrayed him. It took them hardly fifteen minutes to reach their destination. The lighthouse was covered from moss from top to bottom. Few lousy tumbled down stone arches were the only shelter available as the entry door inside was fastened from outside.

  "How will we go back to camp?" He asked Fox.

  "No idea." Fox shrugged his shoulders. "You must be tired by your water aerobics. I am going to get help."

  He watched as Fox got vanished walking down the mossy path which connected the primeval structure to the highway.

  Collins shivered in his wet clothes. There was still no sign of dawn. The road was drenched in equal parts darkness and rainwater. There was no escaping from the cold wind and drizzles coming his way.

  He turned to the lighthouse to find a better spot to spend the night but to his disappointment, it was completely barricaded from outside.

  At that moment to be exact, he heard a sound which he could not fathom at first. It felt like an animal's cry for help. He looked up at the lighthouse to check for any sign of life. There was no way an animal could live in it without access to food. He checked the lock and bolts on the main door for any signs of human activity. The bolts were strong and despite years of rust, they were firmly in place.

  He slightly pushed the door but got bathed in a fresh spray of rain water. As the wind raged faster, the voice got louder. Collins felt his hair standing up on the back of his neck. He did not believe in ghosts or any supernatural phenomenon. However, he was unable to explain why the animal cried louder and louder with the growing wind.

  It could have been the dark of the night. Another wind gust blew him over and the animal cried like never before.

  It was a dog. Good Lord!

  It was a bloody dog crying--more like mourning--and the voice was coming from the top of the lighthouse. There was still no sign of light inside the lighthouse. With every wind gust, Collins felt the tower might toppled over him along with its inhuman resident.

  He picked a stone from the ground, aimed and threw at the open part of the lantern room. He strolled around the lighthouse in a daze without realizing his panicked state of mind. The idea of someone watching him was enough to send shivers down his spine.

  Then he saw it-the shadow of a dog on the stony path hovering from above.

  The lightning struck one more time and the animal cried again, lifting his phantom head. Collins was frozen in his position, his e yes stuck on the ghostly shadow otherwise he would have had seen the stone arch falling over him from behind.

  For the second time that night, Collins Hemsworth got fainted.

  ----------

  When he woke up, the sun was sinking on the horizon. He was no longer on the ground. For a second, he thought he was floating in clouds but it was a bland fluffy duvet. It took him a while to open his eyes and look around. The room was lit only with the light coming through the west-open windows. Beside a queen-sized bed, there was a couch and a table with yellow chrysanthemum. There was a large mirror covering the eastern wall of the room. There must be a wardrobe behind it. The room was equipped with all the requirements of a cozy guest room but it did nothing to ease the throbbing pain in his head.

  He got up from the bed and felt slightly embarrassed to find out that he was no longer in his yesterday's clothes. Argh. It must be Fox. His search for a bathroom did not go in vain. After a quick trip to the loo, he took a peek out of the windows. He must be on third floor of a building. There were many small houses scattered outside of the courtyard which did not look as contemporary as the furnishing inside the room.

  The first person visited his room was Alyson Saxe-one of his camp mates. Collins learned that they were guests of the Lord of the RailCoast. Apparently, his people found him unconscious and brought him here. Alyson had come to check on him on Fox's request.

  He accompanied Alyson to a nearby lounge big enough to hold a feast for their entire hunting party. He found his fellows busy chattering about the latest events on comfy chairs. Some of them greeted him but his eyes were only searching for Fox.

  After a lot of waiting, Fox entered the room unscratched accompanied by another man who could have been considered dashing if he was not walking with Fox. Fox came straight to him.

  "You good?"

  Collins nodded. "Where did you find me?" His mind was still trying to solve the puzzle of last night.

  "Actually, I didn't. Some townsfolk found you in the jungle."

  "Are you sure?" He asked him. The man next to Fox was watching him with keen interest. Collins noticed his smug smile and felt annoyed. Before he could say anything, Fox guessed his mood and interrupted.

  "I think I didn't introduce you two. Collins, this is my friend Mance. His family looks after the townsfolk for centuries. People call him Lord Ryller." There was a hint of warning in his tone which only Collins could detect. The message was clear: Behave yourself.

  "Mance! This is Collins but you already know everything about him."

  3

  Lord Mance Ryller was hardly a day over forty but looked oddly venerable. There was a hint of royalty in his mannerisms-the king who did not need any introduction-except for his smug smile.

  "Call me Mance." Collins grasped his outstretched hand for a shake. "I need to talk to you two alone." Lord Ryller whispered looking around.

  They stepped into the corridor running around the lush green central courtyard. The sun was ready to go to bed any moment. Calling this enormous construction a house would be a gross understatement.

  "I heard you wanted to go inside the lighthouse." Lord Ryller said as Fox lit a smoke. "Last year three hunters got the buzz about the haunting and went there for an overnight stay. We are still waiting for their comeback."

  "Lord Ryller! Pardon me if I am wrong but it feels like you believe in ghosts." Collins said dryly.

  "I don't believe in ghosts but I believe in facts. Every year the dog cries and the town get flooded with the rain. It is happening for centuries. My grandfather told this to my father and my father passed it to me. Every year when the dog cries, get ready for the flood. How would you explain this phenomenon?" Lord Ryller looked at them questioningly.

  Collins looked at Fox who was busy watching servants carrying their luggage to their rooms. They stood in silence waiting for each other to say something. Collins wanted to dissent with the young lord but the events of last night were still fresh in his mind, the inevitable shadow of the dog on the mossy path and the haunting sound of his cries.

  "We have few days left in our vacations." Fox was the first one to break the silence. "I think I would like to get a new pet."

  ------

  "It is a case." Fox said with a naughty smile on his face.

  Collins took a deep breath and fell on his bed. Fox adjusted himself on the couch. The night had fallen outside and it was quite a peaceful view from the windows. There was no big building in sight. They could see as far as the sea outline from where they were seated.

  "But why?" Collins was not in a mood of doing mental gymnastics.

  "Because it was planned all along."

  Collins sighed. "I suspected that something is wrong. Why else would you plan a hunting trip all of a sudden?"

  "I wanted to take a look of this place from inside. I didn't have a plan from the beginning but I had thought of stopping by after the hunt."

  "You wanted to look inside this place? This mansion? But why? I thought you would be investigating about the lighthouse."

  "Well, that dog is not going anywhere. Let him rest for few more centuries." Fox took his mobile out of his jacket. "Take a look."

  He unlocked it with a sweep, tapped it few times and showed it to a grouchy Collins. The mobile screen displayed the picture of a young man with freckles.

  "Zayn Escanes. Missing since September. Last seen boarding a bus with his college friends to the RailCoast."

  "And why are we investigating it after six months?"

  "Because his father just contacted me few weeks ago. I am sending you the case files." Fox started tapping on his mobile busily.

  "You remember the seventy-two hours rule in case of missing person? We are way passed seventy-two days." Collins opened his arms and stretched his back.

  "I need to find him even if he is dead." Fox locked the mobile and put it back inside his jacket. His face turned grave as he watched Collins preparing his words in his mind.

  "Don't. Just don't. I know this face." Collins knew a big speech was coming his way. "I exactly know what you are going to say. His family needs closure. Right? See. I knew that."

  Fox grinned. "Just few hours ago you were lying helplessly in the forest and now your wits are running at full throttle."

  "Have you told your friend about this?"

  Fox got up from his place and started pacing in the room. "Tell what? That I am visiting you after ten years for a case?"

  Collins smirked. "Poor Fox! Have to pretend to be an ordinary socializing extrovert to solve a case-tch tch."

  "That's why I don't tell you everything from the start."

  "But since when you started taking cases of missing people? Isn't this for police?"

  Fox sat down on the couch again stretching his legs on the bed. He smiled with eyes shimmering with excitement. "Police has already finished the investigation. They found out the boy has runaway. His friends denied the statement that they were ever been to RailCoast. There is no eye witness, no tickets booking, and nobody who saw them boarding the bus. His father is the only person with the knowledge about the trip. Police thinks his father is trying to pin the runaway on his son's wealthy friends to extort some money."

  Collins was still feeling not interested. A regular runaway teenager vs a haunted lighthouse with a phantom dog. There was no match.

  "Fine. You solve your case and I will solve mine."

  Fox looked at him questioningly.

  "The mystery of the haunted lighthouse." Collins moved his hands as if he was performing on stage. "Finally, a worthy case."

  Fox made a face. "There is a soul of a teenager trapped in your overgrown body."

  Suddenly the door opened and they found a pretty girl standing in the doorway in a white lace gown. She had a dreamy look which was usually found on the faces of sleepwalkers. Her curly hair were not made for quite some days. Despite the fact that the corridor was well lit with pendant lights, she was holding a torch in her hands as if she was going through a dark tunnel. She threw the torch on their faces, muttered under her breath, turned and walked away.

  Fox and Collins exchanged a glance.

 

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