Outline #3 - NaNo 2021

I. Trent gets the message from Keith
a. He has to get time off of work
b. He’s not sure if he should trust his cousin, as Keith always gets him in trouble
II. Trent decided to go to Keith’s house
a. There’s call for a blizzard, but he goes anyway
III. They get stuck in some po-dunk town close to Diane’s
a. They get their Jeep stuck but there is a tow ban, so they can’t get out
b. They make friends with the bartender
c. She knows more about the homestead than she is telling, but she tells them its haunted
d. They talk about the “fortune,” and she tells them rumor has it Bryant buried a bunch of money there
e. They wind up staying almost two days
IV. They finally get to the homestead
V. They find out Bryan’t ghost is supposedly haunting the place
VI. At some point we have to find out Bernard, Bryant’s brother, owns the homestead far back behind Diane’s
VII. Bernard not only wants the land because he knows there is a lot of money buried there, but also because he is responsible for the bodies buried there – bodies of the people whose money they stole.
VIII. Bernard has already threatened to kill Diane, so she does not go to the police. He wants the land and he is going to take it any way he can. He wants Diane to deed the land back to him
IX. Diane is scared, so she calls in her to young, strapping nephews, but she makes it seem like it would be any normal visit.
X. OR – is Diane in on the whole thing now and wants Keith to be there so they can bribe his family? That would mean more money buried on the homestead – and one more body.
XI. BUT – if Diane is actually hoping the boys will help her, she will tell them everything immediately – or will she? She might want them to think she is just lonely and really wants them to take over the property because she is getting too old to take care of it. At that point, they would be Bernard’s targets. This one makes her bad but not horrible. Option 2 makes her a horrible person. Option 1 just makes her a scared old lady.
XII. THIS ONE - Diane actually thinks she is cursed. When Bryant was let out of whatever institution his wife had him put in, he find out Diane has bought his land that had become tax delinquent. (or maybe Bryant went to prison for one of the people he killed, whose body was never found) – maybe he was found not guilty by reason of insanity
XIII. Bryant’s wife Maybelle is long gone, so he has no choice but to stay with Bernard. He continually threatens Diane and her husband Dale. He finally tells the couple he is going to put a curses on them.
XIV. Shortly after this Dale dies of a heart attack while driving back from Madison on I-39 coming back from a work event.
XV. Diane fully believes in the curse and eventually calls Keith to come and take over the property. Because she is the target, she fully believes everything will be fine if Keith takes over the property and she just goes away.
XVI. Keith thinks the old woman is batty and his more than happy to take all of that land off her hands. He knows he can sell it for a good price. He brings Trent along in case he needs any work done. He is using Trent once again, but has already decided to give him part of the proceeds.
XVII. When Diane hears her nephews are stuck in Fencebrook, about 30 miles away, she thinks it’s all part of the curse. She is terrified Bryant will get her in her sleep. She begs the boys to be safe, but to get there as soon as they can.
XVIII. Keith and Trent make is a day and a half later. They arrive on the snowmachine they rented from Liam. They will have to go back and get Keith’s Jeep.
XIX. Diane welcomes them and tells them about the curse. They do not believe it and try to keep a straight face – just then, the power goes out.
XX. The storm subsides the next day and the boys head to the horse barn, on which a tree had fallen the night before. There is something creepy in the barn, but I am not sure what yet.
XXI. The boys are uneasy, but they still do not believe in the curse.
XXII. They will want to explore the homestead, but when they do an accident befalls one of them. Something like a broken leg – not life threatening, but it will incapacitate one of them.
XXIII. Things will continue to happen. Diane will have a nervous breakdown and be hospitalized, leaving Trent and Keith alone in the house.
XXIV. Eventually they will have to figure out that it’s Bernard who is responsible for all of these things.
XXV. Maybe they will eventually make it to the back corner of the property and see Bernard’s tracks or something.
Somehow they have to uncover the fact Bernard had killed several people – and buried them on Bryant’s land. This is probably part of how Bryant wound up in the mental hospital

Bryant was the one killing people, although Bernard was an unwitting assistant in the death of one client. Bryant had been burring bodies on Bernard’s land near the old slaughterhouse.
The slaughterhouse is on Bernard’s land, but Keith and Trent do not know that. They assume this is the last outbuilding on Diane’s land, which used to be Bryant’s.
Keith goes there one night after he and Trent have been out in Fencebrook. He heard more about money being buried on the property. And old timer at the end of the bar told Keith he saw some men digging by the old slaughterhouse. He figured that’s where the money was
Keith will wind up with a broken leg somehow out there. He will have seen a “ghost,” but he had also been drinking quite a bit, so maybe he is not sure what he saw, really.
Trent will come and find Keith the next day.
After this they will find out the slaughterhouses does not belong to Diane’s property. The “old timer” agreed when Keith asked him, “On the O’Leary property?” Keith, however, did not know there were two brothers. He only knew about Bryant.
Keith will start to trespass on Bernard’s property. Trent will tell him to stay out of there – he thinks its dangerous. They are hearing things about Bernard, now, in town – now that they know he exists.
But Keith will go to investigate anyway. Eventually he comes across Bernard. Bernard knows Keith knows about the murders. There will have been four or five of them by now. Bernard finds out Keith’s family has money – will he attempt to hold him hostage?
Yes. I believe he will.
What will the outcome be?
Trent will save Keith, which means he will ultimately be the hero to his older cousin who he has always idolized. They will also both become close to Diane, who is actually not the “crazy old lady” their family has told them she was. In fact, she is very well off and will leave the boys not only the land, but everything she owns. They will both be set well for life.