For the first time that day a sense of relief and happiness floods through me. It might only be finding a dog but at least it’s something positive.
That feeling is short-lived, when I get the phone call from Mike later that night.
ELEVEN
IT’S ABOUT EIGHT O’CLOCK WHEN I GET HOME to find my roommate perched in his usual spot in front of the TV. He gets up and comes over, his face more sour looking than I’ve ever seen it before.
“The police questioned me about you. They wanted me to verify that you were in your room all last night, Adam.” The hands on his hips are splayed while he rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet.
“Yeah. Well you told them I was, right?” I brush by him to get a soft drink from the fridge.
He follows right on my heels. “That’s just it. When I thought about all the banging on the walls, the headboard of the bed thumping like a jackhammer, it hit me that maybe you weren’t alone in there. And then I hear about this woman who was butchered last night.”
His eyes are narrow, sizing me up. He’s been waiting for me to see how I’ll react when he springs this. “I told them about that, how all the noise woke me up. But I couldn’t say that you were here all night. Maybe you brought her to your room and then went out again after, taking her home. Was she here last night, Adam?”
“No! I met her in the bar. I only had a drink with her, but I came home alone. I wasn’t feeling well. I must have fallen asleep and was thrashing from the bad cramps in my gut. Hell, I can’t say what I did in my sleep. I was in my bed last night, Doug. Sleeping and getting up to go to the bathroom. Alone.”
Great. He’s put me squarely in the cops’ crosshairs. I take a swig of the soda eyeing him over the rim of the can. I thought he’d back me up, but instead he’s muddied the waters even worse. “I didn’t kill that girl. I hope they catch whoever did.”
He’s still not buying it. Skepticism clouds his body in a red haze. And maybe there’s a bit of jealousy mixed in as well. He’s got no life but he thinks I do? Little does he know. I go by him on my way to the bedroom to lie down for a bit before I go out. Actually I might take a break from going to the bar after what happened last night.
Just as I’m settling onto the bed, my phone buzzes. Mike’s name comes up on the screen. “Hey Mike. Did you get the dog?”
“I’m outside your building, Adam. You need to come down. I’ve got to talk to you.”
My body slumps lower into the nest of pillows. What now? I know it can’t be good. But the dog is safe. That much came through when he spoke. “I’ll be right down.”
I finish my soda and then my feet fly down the two sets of stairs. The Caddie is parked near the door, and he’s sitting in the driver’s seat while the dog looks out at me from the backseat. I slip into the car and reach back to give the dog a rub behind his ear.
“What’s up?” When I turn to Mike my world tilts off its axis from the images flooding his head. Lisa’s body, the blood smears on the wall showing her struggles to fight back even as she’s being ripped open. Oh my God!
“Lisa’s dead, Adam. When I went out to her place to drop the dog off, the front door was wide open. I went in and found her in the kitchen. I’ve seen some mangled bodies but what was done to this woman…” Mike is white as a ghost as he tells me this.
I try to clear the horrifying images that flood from his head to mine. The soft drink curdles in my gut, threatening to explode from my throat. There’s even a coppery scent in my nose from all the blood on the floor and walls.
“I called the police and waited there until they came. I’ve made two statements regarding murdered women in one day, Adam. Hell, they may suspect me in all this.” Mike swallows hard. “My God, it was terrible what was done to that poor woman. It could have happened only a couple hours before I found her. Rigor mortis hadn’t even set in.”
All the while he’s talking, the feeling that this death and Cynthia’s are connected grows like a cancer. Both women were attracted to me and now they’re dead. I didn’t kill them, but I’ve got a pretty good idea who did. That voice in my head has been silent since this morning, but I feel its presence.
Why is this happening? What the hell does this thing want?
After a few moments, Mike continues, “The police are looking closely at the ex-husband. Especially after he hired those knuckleheads to snatch the dog. When the police brought them in, Chauncy’s microchip proved who the rightful owner is. Or rather was.”
“But you don’t believe that, do you? Stealing a dog is a wimpy-ass thing to do. That’s a far cry from cold-blooded murder.” I’m only echoing what I know he’s thinking. The real answer is a presence between us that neither one of us wants to acknowledge.
“No. He’s a schmuck, not a killer.” Mike turns when Chauncy puts his paw on the back of the seat. He pets the dog’s head a few times.
“You didn’t tell the police about me working with you on this case.” I know he hasn’t but it would be good to hear it from him.
“Kid, if I did that they’d probably arrest you. Probably the only thing that stopped them from looking twice at me is the fact I’m one of them. They know me. But you... they’d be all over you like white on rice.” He shakes his head.
“They questioned my roommate.”
“I figured they would. Did he back you up?”
“Yeah, sort of. But he also hinted that I had someone in my room last night and that he couldn’t vouch for my being there the whole time. What a jerk.” I look back at the dog. His tongue lolls out over loose jowls as he sits panting softly, oblivious to his owner’s fate. “What are you gonna do with Chauncy?”
Mike snorts. “I guess, I’ll keep him until someone in Lisa’s family comes to claim him. Hopefully she had a will and he’s mentioned in it. No way is that ex-husband getting Chauncy.”
The dog perks up at the mention of his name and nuzzles Mike’s shoulder, leaving a large drool on his jacket. In a way, the two of them kind of resemble each other with the jowls and wrinkles.
“I’d better get going. I’ve got to hit the grocery store to get him something to eat.” He pushes the dog back and then turns to start the car.
“Hang on.” I fish my phone from my pocket and then snap a pic of the dog. A feeling of sadness washes through me when I think of sending this to my sister. It’s maybe the first time I regret leaving my family. If I hadn’t come to this town, maybe those two women would be alive.
TWELVE
AS MIKE DRIVES AWAY I stand outside the building deliberating on whether to go to the bar. God knows after hearing about Lisa, I could use a drink. But instead I go back in the building and trudge up the stairs. I need to keep a clear head to figure all of this out, especially with the police nosing around.
I stop short with my hand on the doorknob before going into the apartment. Something is wrong, terribly wrong. My heart skips a beat while a bead of sweat rolls down my spine. I’m afraid to go in there. Whatever waits inside is going to finish me for once and for all. The demon is so close to me now that I can smell its rotten stench.
The handle in my hand twists and the door creaks open all by itself. The air is heavy when I step inside. All of the lights are off but even so I know that I’m not alone. The mayhem that played out five minutes ago lingers in a room that is now freezing cold.
Doug is the latest victim. Even before I flick the lights on, a picture of his broken body flashes in my head. I feel his terror, see the glint on the stainless steel of the knife as it rises above him. A blinding hot pain rips through my chest and I stand frozen with fear. This was Doug’s final moment.
He’s splayed out on the kitchen floor next to the stove. Blood seeps from the multiple wounds in his chest coating his flannel shirt. The knife lays next to him, still dripping with his blood. Oh my God.
The sight of the blood and gore is horrifying and I back away slowly. Even so I almost slip in the pool of blood, barely grasping the frame of the doorway to keep
from falling.
It’s happened again! That demon did this, but why? People around me are being butchered. Who’s next? Mike? My gut tightens. Amy? Oh no, not Amy!
Why hasn’t it come after me? I’ve obviously pissed it off enough that it’s on some kind of psycho killing spree. Seeing Doug’s body sliced in a pool of blood brings home what Cynthia and Lisa faced. They didn’t have a chance.
Oh my God! Poor guy. Doug wasn’t a bad fella. He was quiet, going through a rough time after his divorce, but he never nagged me when I was a day short in covering my part of the rent. We weren’t best buddies but still... He didn’t deserve this. His only fault was knowing me.
“What do you want from me? Why are you doing this?” My screams reverberate in the still apartment. It’s faint at first or maybe because my racing pulse pounds in my ears that I almost miss it entirely. But there’s a chilling cackle and then silence.
Tears run down my face as I run to my room. I’m totally done for. It might just as well be me lying on that kitchen floor instead of Doug. This evil entity is surrounding me with death! Who would ever believe I didn’t have anything to do with it? No one. I think even Mike would be hard-pressed to believe me now.
I grab my duffel bag from the closet and shove my clothes inside. I’ve got to get out of here before anyone else gets killed. Somewhere far, far away. Somewhere I can drop under the radar to avoid being picked up by the police. I’ll rot in a jail cell for the rest of my miserable life if they find me. Somewhere that I’ll be alone, not putting people in this demon’s sights.
I’m in a daze running from the apartment out of the building. This is a nightmare, and there’s no waking up from it!
The bus station! I’ll catch the first bus out of here but... money. There’s only sixty-eight dollars in my bank account. I have to use cash, leave no trace of where I’m going. The bank is only a block or two out of my way, but I have no choice even though I’m desperate to get off the street and away.
I gulp air and have to slow to a fast walk to catch my breath. It makes me wish I went to the gym on a regular basis, like Phil. Oh my God! I’m so scared I’m not even thinking straight. Got to get control before I screw up.
A police cruiser with the lights flashing approaches from down the street, and my heart almost stops. But they pass by, sirens wailing, racing to some accident or crime. But it won’t be my apartment. Doug’s body probably won’t be found until someone misses him at work. Or maybe Hilda will miss me and send Phil over. Shit.
No. It’s probably going to be Mike who checks it out and finds Doug.
I wish I could talk to Mike. Get his advice but it’s too risky. He might become the next victim. He’d probably try to talk me out of running away too, but that’s not an option. Not with Doug being murdered as well.
Darting over to the main street where my bank is, I clean out my account. Well, sixty dollars since it only spits out twenties. That ought to get me far enough away by bus.
In another twenty minutes, I pause long enough to take a few calming breaths and then go into the bus station. The arrival and departure schedule displayed on a large monitor above the ticket counter shows a bus leaving in ten minutes to the Big Apple and another going to Saranac Lake in fifteen. The sooner I get out of town the better, so New York City it is. Plus I could really disappear in New York.
When I walk over to the ticket counter, the old man behind it casts a world-weary glance at me, “Where to?”
My heart is still pounding hard from the run and it’s difficult to get the words out. “New York City. How much is the fare?”
The man eyes me with suspicion, the thought that I’m some kind of criminal or terrorist resonates in his mind. “Fifty-two dollars. I need to see some ID first.”
I scoop my wallet out and plop my driver’s license on the counter, trying all the while to keep my hand from shaking.
The old guy peers down at my license and then clicks a keyboard. His head rises as he stares at the computer screen. “Sorry. The last seat just sold from an online purchase.”
It’s never easy. “Fine. Saranac Lake will do.”
He pushes my driver’s license back to me. “That’s in the opposite direction from New York City. You know that, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve got family in both places. Either one’s good. I mean, I’ll go to New York City after my visit in Saranac.” Shit. I’m babbling, making me look even more flaky. And there’s no way I want this guy to remember me. At. All.
“That’ll be thirty-three fifty.”
Well, that’s one good thing. At least it leaves me with a little cash. God knows how long that will last, though. But first things first. Get out of town. I hand him the money and then take the ticket. A mechanical voice announces that the bus to Lake Placid and Saranac Lake is boarding at gate three.
I finish at the counter and drop my cell phone into a garbage bin on my way by. If the police track it down they’ll find it in a landfill far from where I’m going to be.
Tears sting the backs of my eyes. This evil entity has wreaked death and destruction of innocent people. Why? Why Cynthia, Lisa, and even stranger, why Doug? If I knew the answer I might have a chance of stopping it. Instead I’m fleeing like a fugitive, and I’ll probably never see my family ever again.
This demon is happy doing this to me. It may not be speaking in my head, but I know it’s watching, lurking just out of reach, hidden from my perception. So help me God, I’d give anything to kill this thing! I’ve never known rage before this asshole decided to screw up my life.
The attendant at the bus takes my ticket and I climb the steps into the bus. I spy a couple of empty seats halfway back and make my way there. I slip into the one at the window, and put my bag on the seat next to me. With any luck there won’t be stops along the way picking up more passengers. There’s no way I want to talk to anyone right now. Besides which my best chance of surviving this nightmare is becoming a nonperson, someone people don’t even notice.
***
For the next couple hours it’s a running replay of every interaction I’ve had with this demon from when I was twelve right up to hearing its evil cackle in the apartment earlier. It said it wants to use me to experience life. A night with Cynthia looked promising with all its coaching but I derailed that pretty fast. So it killed her for revenge on me. And it made sure I knew it. Why else would it visit me during the night and mark me with scratches? The thing had probably killed her by that time.
And if it wanted me to take advantage of Lisa, I’d side-stepped it once again. Surely, this isn’t just about this spirit or whatever wanting to experience sex through me. But it had said that it waited for me since I was twelve. Waited till I was a young man obsessed—like most guys—with getting laid. Turns out I wasn’t as weak and able to be manipulated as it had thought. So it got angry. Actually enraged is more accurate. Enough to slaughter two women.
But Doug? Doug doesn’t fit this theory. Why did it kill him?
It’s enough to make my head explode trying to figure this thing out. I stare out at the night sky, no closer to figuring out what this thing is up to than before.
Another curious aspect is how silent this demon has become. No more conversation. The last time it was in my head, it goaded me about my father having the perfect son, Seth, and of course the perfect daughter, Amy. Pretty weak stuff considering I’d lived my life already accepting that I was a disappointment to my folks. What was the point of it doing that?
Lights in the distance signal that my destination isn’t that far away. To confirm it, the driver’s voice fills the coach giving passengers departing at Saranac Lake a ten-minute warning. It’s only when my ears pop that I realize that since we left Watertown the bus has been steadily climbing the landscape, making its way to the Adirondack Mountains.
The bus slows, and I notice the road sign announcing that we’re entering the town of Saranac Lake, population 5,528. That’s even smaller than where I left. Maybe I should h
ave waited for another bus going to New York City, to become lost in a sea of people. But nothing is forever. I’ll get some mindless job to get enough money to leave as soon as possible.
It’s after midnight when I hoist my bag over my shoulder and leave the bus. There’s only one other passenger, a middle-aged woman who is met by what looks to be her husband. Walking along the sidewalk beside stores and buildings no higher than three stories, it has the feel of a place that’s been frozen in time. It appears like little has changed from when it was built.
A tall church spire a block away and off the main drag catches my eye. Even if I am lucky enough to find a cheap motel, I’d still come up short in cash. Considering the demon that’s probably somehow hitchhiked along with me, spending the night on church property isn’t the worst idea I’ve ever had.
THIRTEEN
I WALK ALONG THE SHORES OF A LAKE, ENJOYING THE WARM SUMMER DAY. Seagulls squawk and swoop down to the water to catch their lunch from the sparkling waves. I become aware of a girl walking about ten feet in front of me. Long, honey-blond hair streams over her bare shoulders, cascading down to the top of a pink sundress. Her bare feet are soundless when she jumps from stone to stone on an outcrop lining the shore, but her laugh at each smooth landing rings in the air. She knows I’m following, trying to catch up but just as I start to close the gap, she darts ahead.
Haunted By The Succubus Page 7