Chapter Four - It's That Time Of The Month

Helen pulled into a free parking bay along the edge of the town square. Hawcroft Town was a cute little place that had an ample amount of shops, despite being in such a small populated area. You could get a good view of Shade Lake from this side of the town. There was a picnic area along the water's edge, with an adventure playground for children. The harbour was bustling with families, all out enjoying the sunshine and feeding the ducks clumps of bread. I could imagine this place being great to raise a family. Helen and Sam certainly picked the nicest place to raise Ashlyn and Caleb.

"I'm going to take the kids to choose a gift for Sam. We could meet up for lunch later, if you don't fancy getting dragged from store to store," Helen suggested.

"I'll meet up later," I decided, wanting to go off and explore on my own for a while. "I fancy having a mooch around."

Helen nodded. "It's impossible to get lost around here. Whichever way you choose to walk around the stores, you'll end up right back here. It's laid out in one big circle. See that Café over there, the one called Rowen's," she pointed to a quaint little café with a black and purple striped canopy that matched the signage. "Meet me there at eleven-thirty. We can all grab lunch together."

"OK, see you later." I waved them off. Both children clutched Helen's hands tightly as they pulled her off towards the shops.

My eyes glanced from left to right, deciding on which route to take. Helen said it wouldn't matter as whichever way would bring me right back where I started. So I chose to go left. I passed a pharmacy, a fishing tackle shop, a dodgy looking shop that I could guarantee was a sex shop. That shocked me in a picturesque little town like this. The window display included scantily clad mannequins that had been arranged in compromising positions. I shook my head, giggling to myself after seeing the outraged expressions splashed across other shopper's faces.

One woman ushered her teenage son away after catching him stealing a glimpse through the window.

"Adam!" She swatted him with her shopping bag. "Don't stare. Especially at whatever that harlot sells in that filth store of hers. You'll find a nice feline of your own someday. You won't need to go looking at the likes of that trash," she chastised her son, who was now glowing a bright shade of red with embarrassment.

Her eyes flicked up to mine and I smiled politely.

"Boy's will be boys," I excused, seeing how flustered she was.

They scurried away, leaving the scene as if they'd perish on the spot. It reminded me of back home, how Ann Summers was located directly in front of my nanna's favourite café. My gran and all the little old dears in her knitting club usually congregated there on a Tuesday, casting disdainful glances at anyone who dared to enter.

"It's all that book's fault," my nan would say. "Ever since that book came out, everyone has gone sex-mad. There was none of that back in my day," she would say, crossing her arms. "That book should be burned." Her eyes blazed with fierce determination. "Don't ever let me catch you reading it," she would warn while wagging her finger at me.

After my eventful little shopping trip, I ended up back where I started. With my bags clutched in one hand, I waved to Helen and the kids with the other, seeing them standing outside waiting for me.

"Isobelle!" Both children rushed towards me.

"Are you hungry?" Ashlyn asked.

"I'm starving," I replied, hearing my stomach give a growl in agreement.

We had to wait a short while for a table but as soon as one became free, we were able to take a seat. The kids already knew the children's menu off by heart and rhymed off their order as the waitress approached.

"Hey, Helen, who's your new friend?" She asked, cheerfully, but in the same way, her voice had a subtle, prying edge to it. At a guess, I'd say she was around her mid to late twenties underneath the inches of makeup but I couldn't be certain. I smiled a humoured tight-lipped smile, knowing that she was likely the type to gossip. Her grey eyes raked over my appearance, analysing every tiny detail.

"Teresa, this is Isobelle. She's staying with us at the guest house for the next three months," Helen introduced. "She's an environmental scientist, here to study the wolves," she added.

Teresa's intrigued smile fell from her heavily made-up face. "What?" Her eyes rounded. "You're studying wolves?" There was a hint of hysteria in her voice.

She turned to Helen and whisper-shouted, "Is she crazy?"

Helen shook her head in confusion. "What? The university sent her. You know, professor Peter Munroe, the guy who keeps visiting these parts. He's conducting a study on wolves in their natural habitat. It could really help us with the preservation of the forest by getting more government backing." She turned to her children. "Kids, why don't you go fetch some crayons from the drawer. Go on, you know where they keep them." She smiled, waiting until they were clear out of earshot before continuing the conversation. "Sam said there have been a lot more hunters encroaching onto the land recently. The Rangers have been going nuts over it," she finished, exchanging a knowing look with Teresa.

"It's not just that, Helen, you know what it is tomorrow, don't you?" Teresa bent down to her with a whispered tone.

Helen made a face as if to say 'huh?'

Teresa huffed and rolled her eyes. "It's that time of the month," she spoke in a hushed tone, eye signalling to her again and adding in a few winks.

I automatically thought of a woman's menstrual cycle when she said that and wondered what relevance it had with regard to me conducting my investigation.

Helen's eyes darted between the two of us as she must've interpreted the exact same thing as me. Then she gave a look of realization as soon as it dawned on her what Teresa had meant. "Oh... the full moon," Helen chuckled.

My face must've displayed the look of sheer incomprehension, not having the slightest idea what they were talking about.

Teresa huffed, placing a hand on her hip.

"It's the wrong time of the month to go searching out certain wolves in the woods." She turned towards me. "If I were you, honey, I'd wait a few days before stepping foot amongst those trees," she warned.

Helen snapped back, appalled. "Don't go scaring my guests, Teresa." She placed a hand on top of mine. "That stupid urban legend, ignore her," she muttered.

"Not an urban legend," Teresa interjected, raising her finger in the air. "Fact! Some folk that weren't raised around here were warned not to go into the woods during a full moon, and for their own darn good too." She began telling the story using expressions, just to give it that chilling campfire-tale effect. "There's a hut, deep in the thickest part of the forest that's home to four men who like to keep to themselves. They come out once every full moon to hunt for a woman to sate their pleasures upon, if you know what I mean," she muttered in a lowered tone. "Not a woman for each of them, no, one they would share between them," Teresa finished, sounding horrified as if she highly disapproved of any such habits.

"Oh, come on, Teresa. The forest has rangers, you know that. Sam even said there's been no sign of any funny business in almost a decade," Helen argued, trying to make her see reason.

I found myself speaking out of interest and curiosity. "Seriously? There were men living in the woods who really did take women to share?" I couldn't help but sound shocked. I gave a quick glance over both shoulders, making sure no little kids were in earshot. Ashlyn and Caleb were still ambushing the wooden drawers, filling their pockets with crayons.

"Yup," Teresa answered as a matter of fact. "You ask anybody from around here in Forest Lake. You got to lock up your daughters during the full moon cycle. Especially if you hear the call of the wolf outside your door on the eve of a full moon. That's the sign they've found the one they plan on taking away. So you keep out of those trees for the next four nights, honey." She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "If you know what's good for you."

"Oh, Teresa, that's ridiculous." Helen rolled her eyes.

The thought of four big mountain men swam into my mind's eye, ravishing a poor defenceless woman, taking all their pleasures out on her helpless fragile body, in turn. I shuddered, but not through fear. I suppressed a smirk. That sounded way too much like a dirty-minded sexual fantasy, that someone had concocted themselves.

That's how rumours usually started, by people with far too much free time on their hands.

"What happens to the women?" I asked, forgetting how to breathe for a second as my laughter caught in my throat. I wasn't sure I could contain myself for much longer.

Helen waved her hand to catch my attention. "Nothing, apparently. According to old stories, they returned to the edge of the forest, untouched. Rumour has it, they weren't the ones they were looking for. I don't believe in it personally. It's nothing more than a scare tactic to deter tourists from roaming the forest, freely."

I contemplated what Teresa said, trying to make sense of the story. "None were the right one?" I asked, unsure of what that could mean. Teresa shook her head from side to side. "Nope, not the one."

"Oh." My shoulders dropped with disappointment, after hearing the anti-climax. "That's not much of a story."