"WITCH! WITCH! WITCH! WITCH!" The crowd chanted.
The minister held up his hand and they obeyed with silence.
"Anna Stevens, you have been accused of witchcraft----"
"No! I'm not a witch!" She denied.
"You have no husband yet are with child." He replied.
"A spawn of the devil!" A woman accused.
"BURN HER! BURN HER! BURN HER!" The crowd chanted.
"No! Fill the vat with water. If she survives the drowning, she will burn." The minister ordered.
"Can we get some coffee?" A couple requested and the crowd at the bar groaned when Molly grabbed the pot and went to their table.
"What happened next?!?" Kevin asked before she even made it back behind the bar.
"Well...."
The crowd drug the protesting woman to the water vat and forced her to her knees when the minister stopped there.
"Anna Stevens...if you are a witch may you burn in the depths of Hades." He said and shoved her head into the water. Her arms flailed a moment then she went limp. He laid the still woman on the ground and covered her face with a black cloth. "She...was not a witch. I will bury her on the hill while you all return home and pray for her soul."
The crowd dispersed silently and the minister lifted her body up and carried her away to the cemetary by the small church.
"Why did they drown her?" Nub asked.
"During the Salem Witch Trials if someone was found guilty of being a witch they would be drowned. If the person survived they were a witch, if not they were buried and life went on." Daniel explained shaking his head.
"I'm surprised anyone survived the way the accusations flew." Alex replied getting a beer for another customer.
"Luckily it only went on a short time." Daniel added.
"You said a small church on the hill...Daniel's church?" Lily asked.
"Same hill, different church. Hope Community is only forty years old." Molly answered.
"Is there more to the story?" Kevin asked.
Molly nodded and smiled at him.
The minister gently placed the body on the ground and began to dig. He looked up at the full moon on this 31st of October, 1693 then turned and touched the woman's face....and she sat up.
"So she was a witch." Brian said thoughtfully plotting how to use it to lure tourists.
Everyone but Daniel, who looked on amused, shushed the mayor.
"The grave appears fresh so everyone will think I buried you. When it is almost midnight we'll go by boat across the sea where my friend will take you," he touched her stomach, "and our child, to another city to live safely."
"When will you come?" She asked taking the hand of the man she loved.
"Soon my sweet Anna." He answered kissing her deeply.
"They faked her death." Nub pointed to his head.
Molly nodded.
"So they ended up in a new city and lived happily ever after." Callie frowned.
"Not exactly." Alex replied heading into the kitchen.
"How exactly does the story end?" Lily inquired.
The minister took her to the mainland where his friend was waiting.
The minister....Daniel Cummings....
"Daniel?!?" Kevin gaped at his friend.
"Biblical names were pretty common back then." Daniel shrugged non-plussed.
Kissed Anna deeply.
"I love you, be strong, I will join you soon."
"I'll try, for our child, I love you too."
They kissed again and he helped her into his friend's wagon and bade her a safe journey.
It was the last time she ever saw him.
"He didn't join her?" Callie asked curiosity piqued.
"No....he was never seen again...by anyone. It's recorded that the islanders believed he was taken by evil spirits in the graveyard. There have actually been reported sightings of a woman in Puritanical clothing walking the mainland pier each Halloween."
"Ghosts don't exist and he probably drowned on his way back." Daniel said standing.
"Heading home?" Alex asked.
"Yeah."
"How did Anna get accused of witchcraft?" Lily asked.
"Seems a woman's husband was seen touching the widow Stevens...told the wife and she brought the accusation to the minister."
"And he had no choice but to do what he did..." Callie nodded thoughtfully.
"Glad we don't live back then." Kevin shook his head and rose. "Time to patrol and keep the Halloween Eve pranks to a minimum. Want a ride Daniel?"
"Thanks. See you all tomorrow." He smiled at Alex and followed Kevin to the truck.
"So what did you think of that story?" the cop asked as they drove.
"In the last 300 + years it's probably been embellished a little." Daniel smirked.
"I'm sure." Kevin chuckled. "Why didn't Daniel admit to being the father though?"
"It was out of wedlock. A major scandal would have occured and Daniel could have gone to prison for life."
"Now I'm definitely glad we live in the present." Kevin declared as they reached the parish house.
The minister chuckled and bade him goodnight then went inside and retired to
bed.Daniel retied his boat and headed home in the shadows of darkness. As he passed the cemetary he was hit from behind and fell to the ground.
"She was mine!" A voice hissed and Daniel was hit again and again and again. He drifted in and out of consciousness as he was drug through the woods. "She gave herself to you once and spawned that bastard child.... but you'll never have her again!" The man raged.
"Tho...mas...De...nt..." Daniel wheezed looking at the odd stones around him then at the man.
Dent had no pity and hit him with the shovel then dug up the grave, dumped the minister into it and buried him alive.
"No one will ever find you now." Dent said and walked away.
Daniel Cooper sat up, heart pounding, a glance at the clock told him it was midnight and he tried to get back to sleep but the dream wouldn't let go.
I must be crazy, he thought as he walked through the woods with a shovel and flashlight. A raccoon hissed at him as the beam fell upon it making him jump back startled.
Okay, I think this can wait until morning, he decided and started back the way he'd come...and tripped over a boulder that sent him sprawling and the flashlight on a crazy dance as it rolled down a small slope when he hit the ground.
An owl hooted nearby and he scrambled to his feet panting.
"Get a grip! There are a few wild animal's around here and they are more afraid of you than the other way around!" He admonished himself as he retrieved the shovel then went after the flashlight....and saw the stones reflected in its beam.
Daniel swallowed and began to dig.
"Hello?" Lily answered the phone around a yawn.
"It's Daniel...I need you to come up to the house."
"Are you all right?" She asked hearing the strain in his voice.
"I can't explain over the phone..."
"I'll be there soon."
"Thanks." He replied and she heard the dial tone.
As she dressed and drove up to the house she was worried, not much could shake Daniel Cooper.
"Come with me." Daniel said before she'd even closed her car door.
"What's going on?" She asked as he led her into the woods and held onto her firmly to keep her from falling.
"You'll understand in a minute." He sighed and led her to his discovery.
"Oh..." She breathed seeing the skeleton.
"I think it's Daniel Cummings."
"Okay...you can tell Kevin and I why you suspect that when he arrives."
Daniel nodded and walked her back to the house.
Kevin and Lily listened to the explanation without comment then Lily got to work notifying the coroner.
"I know it sounds crazy." Daniel sighed.
"You were meant to find him Daniel." Kevin replied as he wrote. "I wonder who killed him?"
"Thomas Dent."
"Thomas----! He was the one chasing after Anna! Molly told me." Lily said wide-eyed.
"He found out about she and Daniel, beat him several times...then buried him alive." Daniel answered quietly.
"Anna must have been devasted when he never showed up." Kevin added sadly.
"All of this is still speculation until it's determined how old the bones are and that could take months." Lily replied.
"The reporters will latch onto this though..." Daniel said warily.
"The press will be told two hikers found a partially exposed bone and the body was dug up. You'll never be mentioned."
"Thanks Kevin." Daniel nodded relieved.
"I will have to tell Mol...she knew I was coming up here." He apologized.
Which means Alex will know...I can live with that,the minister thought and gave him a nod.
"If it is him, he should be buried with Anna." He said aloud.
"I'll put Callie on her trail." Kevin smiled and closed his notebook.
As the clock struck 12 on All Soul's Night, a lone woman, red hair, blue eyes, dressed in puritanical clothing walked back and forth on the mainland pier. She turned as a boat bumped into the dock and rushed over as the tall, brown haired, brown-eyed man climbed out.
"I've been waiting so long." She cried and kissed him.
"I'm so sorry Anna." Daniel held her tightly.
"Let's go home." She smiled at him.
Hand-in-hand they walked away....and vanished.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! ;-D