When a young girl vanishes, a haunted cop burdened by a past mistake finds himself entangled in the dark secrets lurking beneath Westville’s quiet facade. As the missing girl’s best friends embark on their own search, they uncover something malevolent and hungry stirring in the shadows of the woods. New installments of this serial by Lowell author Ryder Jones will be published each Friday, and you can find past episodes on the Westville Substack. Parent discretion is advised.
Except from Episode 5: The Girl in the River
A swarm of police and federal vehicles gathered around Erin and Joe Thompson’s place that night, their flashing lights carving through the dark like beacons of despair.
The official assumption, following the exhumation of the Thompson family graves, was that someone was targeting the entire family—and that the same parties had also taken Millie.
For Casey, it seemed open-and-shut. He’d seen Ethan Crawley. Crawley had knocked him out cold. Crawley had been at the graveyard. It should have been the simplest arrest of his career.
But it wasn’t. Crawley had an alibi—an airtight one. He’d been working the late shift at the mill, and none other than Jack Thompson Sr. was able to corroborate.
“Been working late, just trying to keep myself busy,” Jack said, sitting stiffly in the interview room, his silver hair catching the fluorescent light. He wore a look of grim control, but Casey caught the subtle twitch of his fingers, the smallest sign of strain.
Chief Hart leaned back in his chair. “And you’re sure Ethan was there from nine p.m. to five a.m.?”
“That’s right. My shift manager confirmed it as well.”
“Thank you, Jack. I think that’s all we need from you for now.”
Jack rose with a nod, but as he passed Casey, he stopped. “You put yourself in harm’s way for us,” he said softly. “For my family. I won’t forget that.”
Casey didn’t respond. He couldn’t. His eyes were glued to the holding room door, where Crawley was being released. Crawley’s mud-caked boots shuffled as he stepped out, his face unreadable under the harsh lights. He didn’t even look at Casey as he left.
Casey turned to the Chief. “You’re just letting him go?”
Hart sighed, rubbing his temples. “Casey—”
“I know what I saw,” Casey interrupted, his voice rising. “He was there, Chief. He hit me. He was digging up those graves.”
Read for the rest of this episode on the Westville Substack.
Ryder Jones is the author of the ongoing paranormal mystery thriller serial, Westville, as well as the forthcoming Remnant Divine series of fantasy novels. He was born and raised in Lowell, MI, where he still lives with his wife Jessica, two daughters and son.
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