Harry, somehow in the business of always knowing when Boo needs him most, calls just as she reaches Tabitha. Boo fumbles to answer the phone through trembling hands.

"Harry," she cries breathlessly, pulling her car door shut.

"Hey, I'm sorry I've been M.I.A. since this morning," he begins bashfully.

"Never mind that," Boo says hurriedly, keeping her gaze to the window, where she can still see the stranger pacing angstily in front of the mausoleum as he shouts down the phone. "Remember the tape we found at Nana's?"

"Y-Yeah, of course," he answers, sounding confused. "Why?"

"I think I just found out who her other visitor was," she pants. "How fast can you get to the cemetery?"

« • »

"You're sure that's the man we heard?"

Boo bites another jagged piece of nail away from her thumb and flashes Harry a worrisome glance. "Never been more certain of anything."

Harry sighs heavily and turns his attention back to the mausoleum, where the stranger is still pacing out front. His phone call has since ended but his eyes are still glued to the phone in his hands; he hadn't noticed Harry park his car or sneak into Boo's, hadn't noticed the two of them sitting and spying for the last five minutes.

"Who is he?" Harry asks.

Boo shrugs. "No idea."

Harry turns to meet her eyes once more. "We should call Ashton. He needs to know."

She nods, not seeing any reason to argue. Ashton picks up after just two short rings of the phone.

"Miss Taylor, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he greets pleasantly.

"H-Hi, Ashton, I have a favor to ask," she stammers out, her words rushing out over one another due to the adrenaline spiking her blood. "You remember the tape I gave you?"

"Course I do," he answers, his voice going serious. "What about it?"

"Harry and I are at the Brookwood Cemetery, we think we just found the other person from the tape. Is there any way you can get over here?"

"Really?" Ashton hums, sounding intrigued. "As much as I'd love to, I'm afraid I won't be able to do anything except speak to whoever it is. But if you can get me a name, or even a license plate, I promise I'll look into it."

Boo knows he's right but she can't help the frustration that mounts inside. "Ashton, please, this guy was on a secret tape my nana recorded two weeks before she died, I know he had something to do with it. Or at least he knows something!"

"I'm sorry, Boo, but I have no evidence he's committed a crime. If you're right and he does have something to do with your grandmother's death, we want to make sure we nail him with something solid. If I arrest him now, he'll just be released and then he might skip town or do something worse."

A heavy sigh leaves her lips. "I'll find something then, just give me time."

As if he could read her mind, Ashton's tone changes dramatically. "No," he barks sharply. "You are not to follow him, not to engage, not to even so much as glance at him, do you understand? He could be dangerous and the last thing you need to do is put yourself in harm's way."

The rise in his voice is enough to attract Harry's attention. He gently pulls the phone from Boo's hands before she can rebut. "I'll make sure nothing happens, Officer Reynolds." Boo squirms under his watchful gaze, feeling her lip slide out in a forceful pout. The two men exchange a few more words while Boo sulks silently before Harry hangs up and returns Boo's phone to her.

"Harry, we can't—"

"Relax, love," he interrupts gently. "I said nothing would happen. I didn't say I wouldn't let you go."

A grin of realization slowly stretches across her face. "Thank you, Harry," she whispers after a moment. Her gaze darts back to the window as she catches movement in her peripheral vision; the stranger is leaving, angrily strutting towards an awaiting black car that looks far too expensive for anyone in Jack Creek to own. "Look."

Harry's gaze follows hers. "Should we follow him?"

Boo can barely breathe from excitement. "Yes," she sputters, starting the engine as the stranger starts his own vehicle. Reverse lights dot her rearview mirror as the black car pulls a U-turn and sets off in the opposite direction, speeding away quickly.

Boo pulls the harshest three-point turn of her life before barreling down the road, gunning to catch up to the unknown car. They wind through the narrow streets of Jack Creek, passing dozens of residential homes and all of downtown before ending up on a backroad heading toward Harrisford. Neighboring traffic is becoming fewer and far between, and Boo is getting worried that they'll be made before too much longer.

"Maybe we should give up for now," Harry suggests quietly.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Boo sighs in frustration. With one last withering glance thrown off to the black car, she pulls off into a nearby gas station and waits until the car is out of sight before turning back around and heading toward Jack Creek. "Sorry that was useless."

"Not your fault, love," he smiles, reaching over to gently squeeze her thigh. "Do you want to see whose grave he was visiting? Maybe that will be helpful."

"Good idea," Boo muses, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. "Can we get some dinner after this? I'm starving."

"As long as you get to be dessert," Harry simpers. Boo's cheeks flush red-hot and she lets out an inhuman squeak in response.

"As you wish."

« • »

"Minnie Everhart." Boo runs a finger over the mossy bronze plaque outside the mausoleum's door, brushing away some of the grime to reveal more of the lettering punched into the metal. "Died nineteen-sixty-nine."

"Same year as Damien," Harry muses, eyeing Boo carefully.

"Wonder if Minnie had any sons," Boo continues, already cognizant of the fact Harry's just voiced. "Wonder if any of them knew Damien. Or Nana. Or Nathaniel."

Harry sighs deeply, tucks his hands into his pockets as they turn away from the grave. A quiet moment passes as they traipse down the marble steps and over the grass, beginning the short walk back to Tabitha. "In a town like this, I'd say it's safe to say they do. Or did, at least."

"Guess we have a little more yearbook-combing to do," Boo mutters, before immediately groaning in realization. "Fuck. I forgot I gave it to Ashton already."

Harry flashes her a wry grin before gently knocking on the top of her head. "Little one, what century are we in? Does Google exist?"

Boo playfully swats his hand away from her and sticks her tongue out at him. "Don't patronize me. It's your turn to drive now."

She goes to toss him the keys but stops when she spots something she hadn't seen earlier; off in a secluded corner of the cemetery, construction lights are aimed onto a cordoned-off section of land. Orange marker flags are sunk into the ground and a small pile of freshly-dug dirt is nearby. "What's that?"

They walk over, Boo leading the charge as her curiosity begins to mount. Upon reaching the dirt, her hopes are dashed; the hole is only a foot or two deep, and there seems to be little else done in the way of progress. There isn't even a posted sign as to what company is responsible for the digging.

"Just a stupid hole then," Boo mutters, her mind immediately flashing to Lori, for some odd reason.

"Let's go, love," Harry says, gently pulling Boo back towards the parking lot. "It's getting a little cool out and I fancy a cuddle."

sorry not sorry for all the frequent updates! quarantine has been mighty productive x