“Nah, Nah. Just hold on a minute there.” Harry grooms his beard into place,
speaking slowly, “Now you’ve been with me for a long time and to my way of thinking, you’ve earned yourself some paid vacation time you haven’t used.”
“Harry, you don’t—” This time I am the one who’s interrupted.
“Honey, you’ve lost your sister. You need some time to process things. You’ve got three weeks to do whatever you need to do to come to terms with this. After that, I’m going need you be back here focused one-hundred-percent.”
“Thank you. You are a terrific boss.”
I stand, moving to the door, already compiling a list of what I need to take with me.
“Just remember, Liz. Curiosity killed the cat. This old man couldn’t handle it if you end up dead.”
My mouth perks. If I had a dime for every time I heard that proverb growing up, Harry would be working for me. Even back then, I had a proclivity for finding myself in less-than-desirable circumstances and in need of rescue by my sister. My inquisitiveness still steers me into dangerous situations. This time, though, I don’t care.
I’m prepared to not to come back from this, not just for the sake of the truth. There are only two ways this ends. I’ll rescue my sister or I will avenge her.
I don’t bother correcting him. The saying was originally meant as ‘care or worry killed the cat.’ I am worried. I am curious. But the cat…part. I grin. If Harry only knew.
128
Lizzie
If I’m going to get to the bottom of things, I need to start at the beginning. Linda still lived in our childhood home, a place I haven’t been since I was eighteen. After bringing in my suitcase I set it aside. I glance back down the hallway to the first door on the right. Familiar smells from my childhood fill the air. Inside the space time has stood still; everything remains just as it was the day I packed up and headed off to college. I clean off the surface of the desk and dressers. As I unpack the boxes, each item is organized and I use my old bulletin board to create my timeline.
Shit! The old grandfather clock chimes three times, letting me know it is soon time to leave for my date with destiny. There is still something else I need to do first.
I make my way downstairs to Dad’s office, the room had always been off-limits to us as kids, the room I hate. Fear pokes at me as I turn the brass knob, remembering the constant threat of punishment for entering his sanctuary without permission. If I’m honest with myself, it’s more than just fear. It’s betrayal. I’m betraying my family, even coming back here.
Survivor’s guilt. That’s what the experts call it when you are left behind after someone you love has gone. That’s how it felt when Dad passed, but at least I wasn’t alone. I still had Linda, but part of me couldn’t handle things the way she did. We switched roles. After the loss of our mother, I always took responsibility for things in our family. When our father died, it was Linda, not me, who took charge of everything. I began to drink to ease the pain. By the second year after our father's death, Linda took charge of the repairs to keep up the house, and was more like a mother than a sister. Sadly, part of me resented it. If I could only take it all back now.
I pick up the snow globe that always sat on his desk. It’s funny how nothing in this room has changed since he went away. Holding it makes me smile, remembering the memory associated with it. He wasn’t all bad. There was that fun day we had at the amusement park. I wasn’t expecting it when he bought the snow globe. Just getting into the park drained his wallet, but Beauty and the Beast was always our favorite. When he got the matching set, I thought it was for my sister and me, but he kept the other, memories for just the two of us.
We shared so many memories here, and there sadly are hundreds of moments during my day when I forget we’re orphans. Dad will never again pick up the phone to ask about my day. Mom will never remind me my biological clock is ticking and it’s important for me to find my mate and settle down.
I wish there was a way for me to forget the day my mother died, so I could lessen the daily ache. Then I feel guilty, because why would I ever want to forget the person who raised me and showed me so much love? Only she truly understood what it meant to be different like me.
Sorrow comes in many shapes. The hardest, maybe, is when it comes in the form of the place you call home. I guess pulling away from Linda helped me to distance myself from what I had lost. Seeing her, coming back to this house, makes me think of my parents and how things will never be the same again.
I make my way around the desk and pull out the drawer. Dad always stashed his weapons in strategic locations. One can never be too careful when meeting a strange man. Thanks to the unnerving phone call, I’ve got a blind date with the man who possibly stole my sister.
Dad always taught me the phrase, ‘Watch Harvey,’ which meant to keep your eyes open, you never know what dangers are out there. Stay alert.
I grab the Ruger LC 380 and tuck it into my inside jacket pocket, just to be safe. I can’t be the savior if I become another victim. With that thought in mind, I return to my car. As I drive down the road, my eyes are distracted by the bold red numbers on the clock. First it read
