"Sheriff Don's daughter?" Abby repeated.

Maria nodded. "Over twenty-five years at least. It kind of gives me goosebumps knowing that I'm standing in the home that sweet little girl was murdered in."

"Who would do such a thing?" Abby asked.

"That's just it. They--"

"Maria, time to go," Chuck said before looking at Abby. "Wally's staying behind to help with the furniture people."

"Chuck, why are you always so rude?" Maria chastised.

He turned to Abby. "Sorry, but we've got to get back into town."

Joanie and Yvonne were standing behind him.

"Of course. Thank you all so much for your help. I wouldn't have been able to get everything done without you all." Abby hugged Maria and smiled at Chuck who was already making his way downstairs.

"Don't mind him. He didn't even want to come out here. I bet he's spooked about all the rumors that go on about this place," Maria confided in a low voice.

"Rumors?"

Chuck's voice called out for Maria again and she sighed before waving at Abby and trudging down the wooden steps that led to the first floor of the cabin. Joanie and Yvonne were right behind her. Abby wished she would have been able to get more information out of the gossiping women. It might have shed some light on the strange things that had been happening at the cabin. She touched her bracelet.

I can leave this creepy place soon as Mr. Carter arrives.

After everyone had left, Abby found herself alone with Wally who was in the storage shed, making sure everything would fit. He turned to Abby and smiled. "Hi Abby. I think if we angle everything just right, we should be able to get the items Mr. Carter wanted to be saved in here. The rest will go to the dump or charity."

"He told you what he wanted to be saved?" Abby asked, a little confused as to why he didn't give her the list. She was his assistant, not Wally.

Wally passed her a clipboard with a spreadsheet of the items Mr. Carter wanted to be saved. It was very specific which was unusual. Why would Alex Carter want to save the belongings of the cabin?

"Wow," Abby said as she handed the list back. "It seems as though he already made an inventory of everything."

"Yes. He had been out here for a while before he actually purchased the cabin. No one else had ever offered to buy this place before so we were all surprised when we heard Sheriff Don sold it," Wally admitted.

"So this cabin was Sheriff Don's?" Abby asked, hoping Wally would elaborate. She wasn't disappointed.

"It was. I figured he wanted to save the Sheriff's belongings in case he wanted them. It'd be a shame to toss em' out."

"That's surprising," Abby noted. "Mr. Carter didn't seem like the empathetic type when I met him."

"I guess that just goes to show you can't judge a person based on one or two times after meeting them." Wally chuckled. "Mr. Carter seems to be a bit cold but I think maybe he's just a little lonely."

"You think he's lonely?" Abby asked.

Wally's smile faltered before he turned away. "Aren't we all? Anyway, I just meant it take a while to get to know someone properly."

Abby thought of her previous boyfriend Bryce. He had been all smiles and sweetness when she first met him. It wasn't until after she had fallen in love with him that his abusive side was revealed. Wally was staring at her as if waiting for a response so she smiled and said, "You're right about that, Wally."

"Well, after hearing Sheriff Don's story, it's hard not to understand why he'd want to get rid of the place and it's pretty nice of Mr. Carter to store these things in case Sheriff Don ever wants them."

Abby could help but ask, "What exactly happened?"

Wally shut the door to the large shed. "I don't know everything but it was raining. The roads around here tend to get flooded. If they're not flooded, they get slick with rain and it's easy to lose control of your car. The Sheriff had been working late that night on account of some teens that thought it would be funny to try and have a party with beer involved. Well, long story short, he ended up hauling a ton of them to the station and was going to work late. He couldn't get through to his wife by phone so he asked his brother Zachary to let her know he'd be home late. On his way to see Don's wife, Zachary's truck ended up swerving off the road and into a tree."

Abby didn't realize her mouth was agape. "Oh no."

"That's not the worst of it. Mrs. Caldwell and Crystal were here at the cabin, alone being visited by a madman while Zachary was in an accident, fighting for his life, and Don was processing teens. It was a cursed night for Sheriff Don. Not a member of his family was safe. Not one."

"Who was the mad--"

Abby was cut off by the sound of a large truck filled with furniture pulling up to the driveway.

"Sorry Abby, I need to make sure they know which items to take back with them to charity. It's a job Mr. Carter hired me to do," Wally explained.

She wanted to ask more questions about the night of the storm. She wanted to know why Mr. Carter didn't have her organize the belongings in the cabin. She wondered if her position was created just to placate his mother that he had hired a needy woman from Pathways. Well, he basically said that during the interview, didn't he? The thought didn't sit well with her and she took a deep breath before following Wally into the cabin. She was going to try and be helpful in any way she could.

It was almost nightfall when Wally was finally checking the last of the items in the shed before he warned Abby, "Be careful not to come in here. It's like a row of dominoes. Move one item and the rest come tumbling down."

"You sure did pack a lot in such a small space, Wally." She walked him to his car. "So about Sheriff Don's daughter..."

"I'm sorry, Abby. I should never have mentioned it. Do you feel weird staying here by yourself now? Chuck told me to keep my mouth shut. I won't say another word, I promise."

"No, it's not that--"

"No. This is all just gossip anyway. No one knows what really happened that night. I'll not say another word on it." Wally was getting into his car when he said, "I swear it. Not another word."

Disappointment rumbled in her belly and Abby thanked Wally before waving him off. She turned around to face the cabin and frowned. "What secrets are you hiding?" Instead of an answer, she only heard the rustling of the trees around her. She looked up at the lit windows and wondered whether Alex Carter really cared about the history of the cabin. She couldn't imagine why he would.

Abby's stomach growled, motivating her to head inside and eat dinner. She was putting away her dishes when she heard it again. A child's laughter.

I'm imagining things.

Maria had told her perhaps it was a bird that she had mistaken for a child's laughter. Impossible. She was definitely hearing the laughter of a little girl.

"Crystal?" Abby called out warily. She tapped a wooden bead on her bracelet.

I'm brave. I'm not afraid to explore all possibilities. I'm not afraid of ghosts...I don't think I am anyway.

The laughter became louder, drowning out any other thoughts. Abby decided to follow it. "Crystal is that you? Crystal Caldwell are you here with me?"

Abby felt her legs traveling up the stairs to the pink room. She opened the door. "Crystal, it's not nice to scare people. You know that, right?" She hesitated before entering the room that was almost empty with the exception of the new bed that had been delivered. Abby looked at the white sheets on the bed and gasped.

On the bed was the redheaded rag doll.

"Aww...heck no," Abby muttered. She could've sworn the doll had been placed in the shed earlier that day. She slowly stepped closer to the bed, her hand outstretched. The laughter stopped and Abby jumped when the door behind her slammed shut.

The room was dark except for the moonlight which was peeking its way inside. Abby quickly grabbed the doll and ran out of the room. She went outside through the backdoor and made her way to the shed. She was ignoring everything around her. All she wanted to do was get rid of the doll. She tossed the doll inside, hoping never to see it again. The shed was precariously loaded and Abby wanted to leave. She was about to bid a final farewell to the redheaded rag doll when she felt a hand touch her shoulder from behind.

Abby jumped forward, a strangled cry escaping her throat. She bumped into a thin shelf that was holding some large picture frames and a statue of a blindfolded woman. She felt the hard rock of the statue hit her head before she fell to the ground and everything went dark.