EPPINGTON: THE GUARDED SECRET by Tanya Taylor (red queen free ebook TXT) 📗

to introduce their so-called generals, commanders and deputies. There were two Great Danes, one Boston Terrier, three German Shepherds and one Pit Bull, but none of the other dogs appeared to be as fierce as their leader. I guess Dolly-Ann was the spokesperson for the clan.

A couple of restrooms with blue signage were along the portion of the building we were standing in front of and I decided to slip away to the men’s room for a minute. I assumed people still had to relieve themselves from time to time regardless of the obvious spell they were under, so I shouldn’t have appeared out of place. I hinted to the guys that I’d be right back.

The restroom was less than ten feet away from where we were standing and I managed to ease away from the crowd and into the back toward the large white overhang. That particular block painted a teal color was stretched to about one hundred and fifty feet with the men’s room roughly fifty feet in from the entrance gate.

I twisted the handle of the door and entered the rather spacious, and from what I could see, empty restroom. I opted for a cubicle instead of one of several urinals available. And after about a minute or so, as I was about to exit, I heard the door of the restroom swing open.

I wasn’t concerned since I knew whomever it was likely wasn’t a talker and just needed to relieve himself too. When I walked out, I found none other than my neighbor Mr. Mark Jeffreys in front of the basin washing his hands. I must admit, I felt kind of awkward sharing that space with him since the guys and I had gotten into a whole lot of trouble over the years for egging his house. I was glad though that he wasn’t in his right mind, and that helped to ease the awkwardness a bit.

I simply walked up to a basin and proceeded to wash my hands. At that time, he’d snatched a paper towel from the wall dispenser and was drying his hands.

“Mr. Spader,” he said, looking at me through the large rectangular mirror in front of us.

I was nearly frozen where I stood. The guy actually seemed like himself.

I turned and looked at him. “Aren’t you…”

“No.” He shook his head, knowing fully well what I was getting at. “But I was.”

“So, how come you’re not like that anymore?” I suddenly forgot the water was running and he gestured for me to turn it off.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, turning off the faucet, then without looking at the dispenser, pulled off a hand-towel.

“I have to talk to you, but not here. It’s just too dangerous. Any of them can walk in at any minute and I might not be lucky a second time.”

“Okay. Where can we meet?” I asked.

“You can come to my house tomorrow morning. But then again, that might be too risky.”

“Then come to where I’m staying. You know where the old distillery is, right?”

“You mean the one up the road there?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Okay.”

“Can you come tonight after the meeting?”

“I don’t think it would be safe. Dogs see well in the dark, but once we go about our usual business in the daytime, we’d look less suspicious,” he explained.

“I see what you mean.”

“Listen to me…” he spoke very softly. “I’m sure you heard them say they’re planning some sort of exodus tomorrow of certain families out of this neighborhood. I’m telling you, Spader, it’s just the beginning. They have a lot more in store for us.”

I saw the confidence in his eyes as he spoke. “How do you know this?”

“That I’ll explain later, but I need to tell you... you must be more careful. I was standing right behind you and your friends and noticed the slight interaction between you and the girl. If I noticed, there’s a possibility that someone else might have too. Let’s just hope they didn’t.”

I was aware of what he meant—that finger thing Sam did at one point.

“Thanks for telling me that,” I said.

He nodded and started toward the door.

“Mr. Jeffreys…”

He stopped and turned.

“Come through the distillery’s back door in the morning. If you tell me what time you’ll be there, I’ll unlock it before you arrive.”

“I probably won’t get there until tenish,” he said, then walked out.

I waited a minute or two before leaving, and met him standing with his dog when I rejoined the guys. Jeffreys’ dog was a brown Doberman Pinscher who looked like he was guarding him instead of being his companion. That, of course, was expected since humans in Eppington were suddenly at the mercy of their dogs.

The leader didn’t address the crowd, but one of his deputies did. Basically, he reiterated some of what Dolly-Ann had mentioned and announced that buses would arrive at nine o’clock the following morning. By the lack of expression on those faces in the crowd, it was impossible to tell how anyone felt about what was revealed. I wasn’t even sure they understood any of it, despite what Dolly-Ann had said. They almost looked soulless to me and I seriously wondered when it came to my loved ones if it was best they knew what was happening to them or not. If they knew and couldn’t express themselves, I imagined the silent hell they were likely experiencing. I tried my best not to think about it.

The meeting ended approximately fifteen minutes after I returned from the restroom and the guys and I cautiously walked back to the distillery.

11

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We had settled upstairs with a search light on.

“You think telling Jeffreys where we hide out was a good idea?” Rob had a look of concern on his face. “You think he can be trusted?”

“He’s one of us,” I replied. “Not under that crazy spell like everyone else is which means we can probably work together to fix this thing.”

Sam sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Hewey. Based on what I heard