Free Hazy View: Souls of the Vanished by Ink Blood Page B

pier as Mr.
Craft walked from the edge towards him. He was tall, dark hair with
gray lines just above the ears. His face long and sharpened at the
chin. His sunglasses were dark and he’s well-dressed.
    “ You are the Sheriff? May
I please have a word?” He started as he reached Andrew.
    “ Good day Sir, what’s this
about? Can’t it wait? I need to start a search for two missing
men.”
    The man looked at Andrew hard and
urgent. His eyes filled with a deep sadness. He swallowed hard and
his voice was hoarse.
    “ Sheriff, I’m just as
concerned about finding the boys, but I fear it’s already too late
for them.” He paused. “I promise if you need to get the search
under way I’ll help you any way I can. It seems like there’s some
time before you’ve got enough searchers gathered. Tom will spread
the word while we talk.”
    Tom nodded and started back to his
office. He only greeted politely by lifting his cap, he was clearly
upset and bothered by this disappearance that he would rather not
speak.
    “ If I may ask who are you
exactly?” Andrew asked confused.
    “ Let’s go into the coffee
shop. I’m a little tired. I’ve been here the whole morning. I can
do with coffee.” The man offered and headed to the coffee
shop.
    Andrew followed. The tall man entered
the coffee shop first and sat at a table at the window overlooking
the lake. The air-conditioner hummed from the back and music played
softly. Eight tables each with three chairs stood spaced in the
center of the room. A wooden counter with stone tops cordoned off
the service area from the kitchen. Bar stools offered seating at
the counter.
    A waiter appeared from the kitchen
with freshly brewed coffee and a tray with cups, sugar and creamer.
She greeted friendly left the tray and walked back to the
counter.
    Andrew poured creamer into his coffee.
“What can I do for you Mr...?”
    “ Mr. Craft, just a short
conversation I believe would help.” He added creamer and sugar to
his own coffee.
    “ What’s on your mind?
Clearly you’re not a reporter. What’s so important that you drag me
from a search to find two missing men to have a chat? Why couldn’t
this wait and why’s it too late for the missing men?” Andrew asked
sipping his coffee.
    Mr. Craft looked out of the window for
a moment. He searched for something, or expecting something to
happen shortly. Andrew was weary of him. He didn’t know whether to
trust the man or to arrest him for wasting his time. Somehow he
felt like a hamster in a wheel. He needed to start the search, but
something was holding him back. He decided to wait and hear the man
out.
    “ You don’t have to worry,
I won’t waste too much of your time. I’m aware that you need to be
out there, but I thought it would be worthwhile if we should talk
first.” Mr. Craft said and it made Andrew felt like his reading his
mind. This put Andrew more on edge and he has started to suspect
the man of foul play.
    “ What’ll be worthwhile,
Mr. Craft?”
    “ I’ve stumbled on
something that’ll be worthwhile for us both. You’ll have an answer
in your case, and I’ll have the proof that there’s truth to the
supernatural.”
    “ How do you figure that
and what do you know about my case?” Andrew asked
suspicious.
    “ Sheriff Foster, I drove
all the way from the city to speak to you. I’d like to speak to my
sons, but they missing. They’re supposed to call me at the crack of
dawn so I could meet with them. When they didn’t call I contacted
Tom.”
    “ You know Tom?” Andrew
asked not surprised.
    “ I was a teacher in his
school.” Mr. Craft admitted.
    Mr. Craft sat silently for a moment
looking out the window at the group of people who had started to
gather outside. His hands trembled slightly as he poured creamer
and sugar into his second cup of coffee.
    “ Why were you supposed to
meet them here?”
    “I couldn’t get here last night, so
they left ahead of me. They were going to call me to let me know