Page 43 of Sins of the Fathers
“And the Bushwhackers? Do you think that’s Ophelia? Because both HDF and SPS supporters have turned up dead,” Grady asked.
“Still figuring that out,” Gibson said. “We haven’t found more bodies—but we also haven’t found the last five people they took aside from the bikers. None of the missing people had ties to either of the extremist groups. They were just hikers or tourists who disappeared. No one’s heard from them, and at this point, they’re presumed dead.”
“It’s more than five,” Tucker said. “Those are just the ones who were reported missing in the nearby towns. When we broadened the search for people who disappeared while traveling in Western North Carolina, we found twenty unresolved disappearances in the last two years.”
“Twenty?” Grady echoed.
“Afraid so,” Gibson answered. “We’re still looking into it. This has all the markings of a supernatural case—we’re just not sure how it all goes together. We aren’t finished—just wanted to give you an update and warn you to watch your back. Ophelia’s still out there—and she’s got a grudge against your family.”
Grady’s phone alarm reminded them it was time to leave for dinner. They promised to stay in touch with the two agents and headed for Denny’s house.
“What did you think of that?” Dawson asked as he drove away.
Grady closed his eyes and sagged against the seat. “I’m glad Gibson and Tucker are working the information from their end, but it feels like we’re all missing the point somehow. Twenty missing people—presumed dead—who aren’t HDF or SPS. So the bodies found were purposefully left to send a message—but was it a warning or a threat? The feds came looking for trafficking, but that doesn’t seem to be going on. So why were those hikers taken and killed? And does it have to do with Ophelia—or us?”
“I don’t know,” Dawson admitted. “But I don’t like how it seems to revolve around our family.”
“I think we need to tell Denny everything. Kings are good at figuring things out. We just have to put our minds to it,” Grady said with more optimism than he felt, for Dawson’s sake.
* * *
Denny and Angelgreeted them at the door, and Grady was pleased to see that Knox was out of bed, sitting in the living room with Colt. He looked a little too thin, and he had dark circles under his eyes, but he was upright and smiling at Colt, so Grady took that as a hopeful sign.
Conversation stayed light through dinner which included a hearty pot roast with carrots and potatoes, freshly baked bread, and apple pie for dessert. They talked about TV shows and movies, local gossip, and funny memories—everything except hunting. Angel wriggled under the table, forcing them all to shift their feet. Grady couldn’t help feeling like it was the calm before the storm.
After dinner, Dawson and Grady laid out everything they had learned, as well as their suspicions and the update from the agents.
“We need to see all the files,” Dawson told Denny. “If Gibson and Tucker are right, this witch took our families—and she’s coming after us next.”
Grady turned to look Knox in the eye. “I need the truth. Youknowthings that you have no way of knowing. And you always have.”
Knox didn’t say anything, and Colt took his hand. Finally, Knox nodded. “Yes. For a long while, I didn’t understand. I just thought I was weird. When I tried to tell people, it didn’t go well. Dad was afraid—never knew whether it wasforme orofme. So I just quit talking about it and tried to pretend it didn’t exist.”
“But that didn’t work, either,” Grady supplied. “And eventually, it caused problems.”
Knox nodded. “Yeah. Looking back, I should have known that would happen, but I was just a kid. When Mom left, I thought it was because I wasn’t normal.”
“That wasn’t—” Grady started, but Knox cut him off.
“I realize she left for her own reasons—now. But I was hurt and angry, and her leaving messed up you and Dad a lot, and that just made me even more sure that I needed to bury the weird stuff deep.” He sighed. “It didn’t work, of course. So I tried to knock myself out.”
“He’s clairvoyant,” Colt said with a hint of defiance in his voice. “Your cousin Max knows some people at this psychic place in New York, and they helped Knox figure out his talent.”
Knox looked like he might argue, but Colt silenced him with a look. “It’s atalent.Anability. Not a curse or a burden.” Colt looked back at them, shifting to put himself slightly in front of Knox. “Part of getting sober means learning to accept that part of himself. Don’t fuck this up for him.”
“I told Aaron he was making a mistake,” Denny spoke up. Everyone looked at him. “He was a mess when your mother left—and I’ll never forgive Camille for what she did to all of you because she couldn’t stand hunting. But Aaron had his own issues.”
Denny got up and poured a slug of whiskey into his coffee, standing at the counter with his back to them for so long Grady didn’t know if the older man was going to finish his story. Finally, Denny brought his cup back to the table.
“No one ever treated Aaron any different because he was adopted. But in Aaron’s mind, he had to prove he was ‘good enough’ to be a King. Not just as good as everyone else—better. I think that, to him, anything ‘unusual’ meant not fitting in.”
“But I’ve had visions since I was a kid,” Dawson countered. “No one made a big deal out of it.”
Denny shrugged. “You were a King by blood. You and your father didn’t have anything to prove. Neither did Aaron—but no one could ever convince him of that.”
So everything Knox has gone through was because Dad had an inferiority complex? I loved him, and I miss him, but right now, I’d like to take a swing at him for the damage he caused,Grady thought.Good thing I never mentioned hearing mountains sing.
“The people Max connected me with are teaching me how to use what I can do,” Knox said hesitantly as if he was still expecting rejection. “We’ve just gotten started, so don’t expect miracles. But someday, maybe my clairvoyance can help with hunts even though I can’t go out in the field anymore.” He rubbed absently at his bum leg.
