Chapter63 The Agenda

The sheriff laughs, "Yup; I reckon they don't build them like this anymore." Cindy joins the sheriff and her uncle. "So, Kiddo;" the deputy asks, "what's this I hear we're back to one ghost, now?" "Probably." "Great; so, who are we looking at as being killer? I'm guessing it could be any of the Steinman kids." "Well, this here Texas boy's gonna put his bet on Tommy; he's the only one so far that we know of that has actually killed." "Not to mention the fact that it was his own sister that he killed; so, Chelsea couldn't have been the killer." Deputy Hopkins then asks, "But; what about Charles?" The sheriff replies, "The obituary found on Ms. Delilah said Charles died at age three from pneumonia. I repeat; Tommy was your killer." "I think you're right, Lloyd." The deputy looks at his niece for her input. Cindy places her hands behind her neck, tilting her head back to look up; then, goes back to looking at her uncle and the sheriff. "Maybe he was; maybe he wasn't. At this point, it doesn't really matter who the killer was. We need to figure out which one of them this presence is…it may not necessarily be the killer." "Ms. Cindy; if this presence has multiple personalities…and, one of them there personalities is the killer…don't you think it would be to our advantage to know who the killer was?" "Not exactly, Sheriff. To resolve this issue…and, to get Anna back safely…we need to know what needs to be resolved; and, what's the presence's agenda." "And, just how in the tar nations are we supposed to figure that out?" The deputy suggests, "I guess we should just keep focusing on trying to determine which persona is the true presence then." "But; where do we start, Mike? I sure as hell don't know. Any ideas Ms. Cindy?" "Not yet." "Well, we know Mary's out of the picture; the real Mary Howell's still alive, so…" "That's it, Uncle Mike!" Cindy exclaims. Deputy Hopkins is puzzled. "What's it, Kiddo?" "Oh my God!" Cindy puts both hands over her mouth as she gasps. She starts pacing back and forth. "Cindy, Kiddo, what's the matter?" Cindy doesn't hear her uncle; she just walks back and forth, talking aloud to herself, "Shit! Why didn't I see this before?! Damn it! Oh God…what's today?" The sheriff answers, "Thursday." Cindy frantically snaps, "No! The date…what's today's date?" "August 30th; Kiddo." "Shit! Okay, calm it down Cindy girl; there's still time." "Time for what, Ms. Cindy?" Cindy calls out, "Professor Rhyies! Beth! Martin! Get out here!" They come rushing out of the house; with Beth leading the three. "What is it, Cindy…did you find Anna?!" Cindy's fluttering her hands in front of her as she vigorously shakes her head. "No! Not yet, Beth." "Then; what is it, Ms. Lidestrom?" Professor Rhyies inquires. Cindy's worked up; becoming short of breath while talking. "I think I figured it out." "Take it easy, Kiddo; slow down, catch your breath, and let us know what you got." Her uncle tries to calm her down by taking her hand in his; while gently patting her back with his other hand. "Ms. Cindy, do you think you know who the presence is?" "No, Sheriff; but, I think I've figured out the agenda." "Which is what; Ms. Lidestrom." The professor removes his glasses, getting ready to wipe them down. "Okay, first of all; like I said before, the barn's the epicenter of all this activity. Forget about the house; forget about the institute…the barn; that's the focal point of this haunting. And, it's safe to say we're talking about the night when Mary Howell killed the serial killer. Uncle Mike; it dawned on me when you were talking about how we don't need to consider Mary, because she was still alive. Mary's the one we should've been looking at all this time. She survived that night. She killed the killer that night right in that barn over there! Mary's the agenda!" "Mary?" Beth's lost, "What do you mean Mary's the agenda, Cindy? And, what does Anna have to do with it?" Cindy walks over to Beth…taking one of Beth's hands in hers; while stroking Beth's hair with her other hand…and speaks in a soft, soothing manner, "Beth, this isn't going to be an easy thing for you to hear; but please, try to hold on and listen to what I'm about to tell you. And please, don't panic; we've got some time to resolve this. But, if you upset yourself too much, you won't be much help to Anna. Okay?" "Okay; but, you know what, Cindy…to be totally honest with you…you kind of got me a little upset already. What's going on? Tell me please." Beth wipes away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Beth, you're right; I didn't help much by telling you that before." Cindy nervously laughs. "Okay then, here it goes. I think the ‘killer' persona's planning on using Anna to stand in for Mary the night of September 18, 1961. I think…" Cindy gently squeezes Beth's hand as she continues, "the killer's angry that he was foiled that night by a six-year-old little girl, and is looking to redeem himself by recreating that night; changing the series of events in his favor." Beth drops to one knee while grabbing her chest, "Oh my God; Anna!" Cindy tries to hold onto Beth to keep her from falling over completely; as the others rush over to help stabilize the semi-traumatized Beth. Cindy shouts, "Beth! Beth! Listen to me! There's still time! We've got time! The eighteenth is still two and a half weeks away! We can figure this thing out and stop it! Beth!"