Prologue
She came through the door with distress on her face. As she sat down, she asked me, casually, as if to hide her true intentions,
"Are you Henry Parson?"
I took my hat off, and put my cigarette out. I sighed, perhaps knowing why she was here. She had that look about her, one not unlike all of the sorry faces that found their way to me. I said,
"I am. How can I help you?"
The woman had brown hair, green eyes, and it looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. Any signs of beauty were blotted out by her somber mood. As she set down what looked like a tear-stained page, she said,
"Read this."
I glanced at it, and realized it was a letter from her husband. It mentioned he was going to a mountain range not too far away, one named the Catskill Mountains. He also said something quite bizarre in his letter. It read,
"I've met someone who has changed my life. He has big plans for me. Please don't be angry at me. I've been asleep for way too long. I'm sorry, Alice."
I looked Alice in the eye, and said, in a confident tone,
"You want me to go after him."
The woman nodded, and attempted to hide her tears. After a brief moment, she regained her composure, and answered,
"Yes. I'll advance you 200 dollars and a train ticket. Please, bring Sam home."
Two-hundred dollars was a lot of money for an advance. I pulled out another cigarette, and offered her one. Not to my surprise, she took it, and lit it herself with my lighter. She's already my kind of gal. Bold and can light her own cigarette. Sam was a fool for leaving her. Maybe I can bring him to his senses when I find him, that is, if I find him. I said, confirming her proposal,
"I'll do what I can..."
She cut me off, placing the train ticket on my desk. The train was set to leave in the morning. I pulled out my Saturday night special, hoping to give the woman some hope. Upon seeing my gun, she then handed me the envelope that was filled with twenties. As I picked up the envelope, I wondered how long she had been saving. The letter had read October 30th, 1932. He has been gone for over a month. She must have been saving every penny. She's desperate. I inhaled deeply on my cigarette, and said,
"I'll be on that train."
She nodded, and said, as she remained in my office,
"You'll need that gun."
I stared at her, and asked, quite confused,
"Why's that?"
She laughed, showing signs of delirium. She answered, dryly,
"The mountain range is haunted."
She must be in some sort of shock. Clearly she's became mad after her husband disappeared. I looked at the train ticket again, and noticed it was a round-trip ticket. I'll have a month's worth of time to work with. I'll have to use her money for food, a blanket, and maybe some more cigarettes. I'll definitely need a lantern and some matches. The sun is setting already at 5:30 these days. I know there's no such thing as ghosts or monsters, but I might want to bring some extra bullets, too. I can't be too careful. I finally answered Alice, retreating from my thoughts,
"I'll keep that in mind."
As I look down at the letter she had produced, I realized that there is something rather disturbing about Sam's disappearance. The danger in this client's case is eminent. A man can't live long in such a place as the Catskill mountain range. As she stood up, she roughly put out her cigarette, and motioned towards the letter. She said,
"You keep it. I can't stand to look at it."
As I reclined at my desk, I sighed, knowing that I need the money. Before she left, I said,
"I'll find your husband."
Alice laughed again, much in the same manner as she did before, and said,
"If you don't die first."
Alice stormed out of my office, and I decided to stay here tonight. My home is a mess, and I realized that I couldn't be seen leaving my flat. There's just too many distractions that have been going on there as of late. I need to focus on this very odd assignment. I'll wire in my next month's rent when I return from the mountain range. For now, I need to look through my files and see if I can find out anything about these mountains. I rarely ever see the mountains mentioned because of the abandoned mine that rests within them. Needless to say, I'll see little rest tonight. I'll have to sleep on the train in the morning, which is a real nightmare. I never sleep well on trains, and I've been on them what seems an unhealthy amount of times.
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