“Sorry Chad. I can’t say I do.”
“They’re my brothers and they can’t stay still for two seconds. They were supposed to wait with dad until I came back with takeout.”
Ann looked at Chad’s face. It was handsome, she thought. More lines than should go with the voice, but that was the price you paid for being a crabber. He’d always been nice to her, even though she hadn’t invited him into the freezer. And now he acts like he’s waited all this time.
“We’ll have to see what’s going on then. But most likely I can” Ann said. “And I hope you’re not embarrassed if I wear earplugs.”
They watched Janet return with several bags of food. The two men took them and the biggest nodded at Chad to follow.
“Wear whatever you like, Ann. I’ll let you know when I score some tickets. It’s going to be fun. Anyway, I should get going.” Chad slid out of the booth and stretched.
“Thanks for stopping by,” Ann said.
Chad leaned over and brushed the top of her hand with his. It was coarse like sandpaper and reddened her skin. He turned and hurried to catch up with his brothers.
Chapter 6
Mitch and Tammy lived in a rustic log cabin that his grandmother had given to Mitch in her will. Mitch’s grandfather had been a well-known lumberman back in the fifties, and he’d built many cabins along the coast. Theirs sat back behind a wall of tall cedars and seemed to be in perpetual shade, yet the house was always cozy with its large fireplace made of smoothed beach cobble and flickering candles set next to the windows. Ann had been inside many times when her mother had stopped to pay the old woman a visit and bring her some blackberry jam. She remembered going inside on hot August afternoons and feeling instantly cooled by the sweet smelling cedar. She often thought about the old woman when she drove by the house, sometimes forgetting that she was now buried next to her husband, thinking for a moment that she needed to stop in and say hello.
When she pulled off the road, she noticed that someone had left the wooden gate open beneath the dripping cedars. She grabbed the sack of cinnamon rolls and got out. The grass was slick underfoot, and she was careful to avoid trampling the crimson toadstools that had sprung up after recent rains. The gate squealed as she swung it aside and headed up the path toward the porch where she heard a steady knocking. She was surprised not to smell smoke coming from the chimney, thinking to herself that a night like this would be perfect for reading a good book next to a blazing fire. Then she saw that the front door was open and swinging back and forth in the wind.
“Tammy?”
As she walked up the porch her pulse began to hum in her throat. This doesn’t feel right, she thought. Mitch and Tammy wouldn’t have been this careless. Some lights were on inside the cabin, but she saw no signs of Tammy. Ann stuck her head through the doorway and called again.
“Tammy?”
She waited to see if she might hear a shower running or someone coming down the stairs. Nothing happened, and after a few minutes she tried to decide what she should do. If she’d had a cell phone, she might have called Mitch and waited until he showed up. Then again, Tammy could be somewhere inside the house. She could be hurt and in need help.
Ann took a couple of steps inside. She set the bag of cinnamon rolls on a table next to the door and bunched up her keys in a fist. Scanning the room on overdrive, she had no idea what signs to be looking for-until she saw the overturned chair lying against the cold hearth of the fireplace, far from its vacant spot next to the redwood dining table Mitch’s grandfather had once carved as a wedding gift. She imagined the chair had been thrown or kicked across the room-unless somebody had carried it over to use as firewood, which made no sense at all.
She checked the kitchen last. There was a pot on the stove with burnt soup in it. Ann touched the pot and it was still warm. She heard water and glanced at the sink. The faucet was still running a thin stream and she instinctively reached out to turn it off when her hand froze just before touching the handle. A large sponge rested on the edge of the white ceramic sink; shiny threads of red had crept out from under it and stretched down to the drain below in a root-like pattern.
Blood…
Chapter 7
“Where are you?” Aunt Kate asked. “I pulled the potatoes out of the oven already. Did Mrs. Notham keep you again?”
“I’m having car trouble,” Ann lied. “And I don’t know if I’ll be able to get home until late.”
“Good lord child. What a night for this to happen.”
“I’ll be fine. Gary’s on his way with his tow truck. He said he’d take a quick look. If he can’t fix it tonight he’ll give me a lift home. Are you going to be okay? Are the cats inside?”
“They all came in when it started to rain. I fed them dinner and now they’re sleeping next to the stove. What a lazy bunch they are.”
“Do you have a flashlight in case we lose power?”
“Yes. I’ve got that little one in my pocket. Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”
“I’ve got help on the way auntie. Don’t worry about me.”
“Well be sure to call if something else comes up. Promise me you won’t go out if the wind gets bad. Just stay where you are until it passes over.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t go out. I love you.”
“Love you too dear.”
Ann hung up and dialed 911. She’d talked to the dispatcher at the sheriff’s office. The dispatcher seemed unimpressed by Ann’s story. After making her wait for close to ten minutes in the cold booth, she finally cut in and told Ann that Mitch and the sheriff had their hands full with a jackknifed log truck on the highway near Buoy City. It would be some time before they headed back.
“Who did you talk to?” Ann asked.
“Excuse me?” said dispatcher. Her voice came across surly and cigarette-cured.
“Did you talk to Mitch? Did you tell him about what happened at his house?”
“No, I talked to the sheriff. He said that Mitch was busy. Said he’d pass along the message though.”
“I don’t think you understand how important this is. I asked you to talk to Mitch. I think his wife might be in trouble.”
“Honey I did what I could. Now I’ve got other people to take of. It’s a crazy night out there if you haven’t noticed.”
Ann hung up and returned to her car. The back of her jacket was soaked through and her teeth were chattering by the time the heat came on. She couldn’t go home, not now. If her aunt found out what had happened the strain might be too much on her heart. Ann started the car and headed in the direction of Buoy. Rain was coming down so hard that it no longer seemed like rain but heavy wet fists falling from the sky. The wipers fought to keep the highway from being obliterated. It was stupid of her to be out on the road during a storm like this. A rock slide or a downed tree could take her out in a flash, not to mention a tourist unfamiliar with the road.
