OLD MAN MALONE RETURNS

by Marianne Spitzer

  Kellie had one last class on Monday before the holiday break. Skipping a January class gave her nearly a month to be at home and relax.

  She kissed Drew goodbye in the morning and waved at Hunter and Taylor as they left for work. After enjoying one last cup of coffee, she left for class.

  The exam was a breeze; she finished before noon, and headed for the mall. Kellie shopped a little, ate lunch in the food court, and shopped more. Heading home, she knew she’d arrive first and have time to stash her Christmas surprises before the others arrived home.

  Kellie pulled into the garage after a busy day of school and shopping. Glad to be home, she turned off the car, hurried out, and pushed the remote button to close the garage door. She grabbed her back pack, slung it over her shoulder, and headed for the side door. The shopping bags could stay in the car until later. She spun around when she heard her SUV start again. The engine was racing, and exhaust was pouring out of the tail pipe. Carbon monoxide quickly filled the large garage. She ran to the side door, turned the nob and yanked hard, but it wouldn’t open. The nob twisted back and forth in her hand, but it wouldn’t budge. Panicked, she hit the large garage door opener with both of her fists. The door didn’t open. A large wrench lying on the work table caught her eye. In seconds, it was in her hand for her to throw at the window. It bounced off the window without leaving a mark.

  Kellie tried to scream, but the fumes made her cough. She pounded with all her strength on the small door. The gardener’s voice yelled to her to get away from the door. She heard him kick the door twice before it flew open. Kellie was choking, but breathing in the clean air. The gardener helped her outside. She fell to her knees. Austern ran from the house and insisted she be seen at the hospital.

  “No, I’m fine. I need a little air.” She sputtered as she gasped for air.

  “You may need more than that. I can drive you or call 911 again.” He took her arm, raised his eyebrows, smiled, and nodded. “C’mon.”

  “No, please.” She shook her hands in the air. “They have been here so often. I’m afraid the neighbors will begin a new rumor about the house. Don’t call, I’ll go with you.”

  Mrs. Decker promised to let Drew and the others know where Kellie was when they arrived home. She watched them drive away twisting her kitchen towel in her hands.

  ########

  The doctors advised Kellie it was always a smart thing to come in after an exposure to carbon monoxide such as she had. They made her lie down and breathe oxygen for an hour. Her oxygen levels were okay when she arrived, but they wanted to be sure all traces of the carbon monoxide were out of her system. After an hour, they took more blood to be analyzed. Drew arrived in a near panic; breathing a sigh of relief when he saw her talking to Austern. “I can’t thank you enough for taking care of her,” Drew gripped Austern’s hand and shook it vigorously.

  “It was my pleasure to help, Mr. Drew. Kellie has become someone quite special in my life.” He glanced at Kellie and smiled.

  “Mine, too, Austern. Mine, too.” Drew nodded.

  “I’ll be going home now and check on the staff. I am sure everyone is worried.” He patted Kellie’s hand and left the room.

  “We’ll be home soon, Austern,” Kellie called after him.

  Drew paced back and forth in the small cubicle, wringing his hands.

  “What’s wrong, Drew?” She asked quietly.

  “The gardener told me what happened.” He barked and glared at her.

  “I don’t understand it. I was trapped.” Tears filled her eyes.

  “What do you mean trapped?” His brow tightened.

  She explained everything that happened. He rolled his eyes and gripped the bed rails. Turning on his heel he strode out into the hall. When he returned his hands were balled into fists and his brow furrowed.

  “You breathed in too much carbon monoxide. You’re confused.”

  Feeling her anger intensify, she raised her voice and snapped, “What are you talking about?”

  “The gardener told me how he had to kick in the locked door and open the garage door. Never, ever close that door before you turn off your vehicle. It was idling, and your rear hatch was open.” He dropped into a chair and stood immediately. Rubbing his forehead with his hands, he exhaled loudly. “Whatever you were looking for had you standing too close to the exhaust. You also should get gas more often. Your SUV ran out and shut down before the gardener could take the keys out.”

  “Keys? What keys? Are you losing it?” She threw her hands up.

  “Your car keys, the ones you left in the ignition to keep the car idling.”

  She reached into her jeans pocket. “Do you mean these keys?”

  “What the hell?”

  “I told you, I was trapped. The small door wouldn’t open, the door opener wouldn’t open the large door, and the wrench I threw against the window bounced off. It was him. He’s trying to kill me.” Tears filled her eyes as she began to hyperventilate.

  Drew held her tight. “I’m sorry for not believing you.” He dropped his eyes, furrowed his brow, and chewed his lip.

  She dried her tears as her breathing returned to normal. “As long as you believe me now, it’s okay. We have to stick together.”

  The doctor said Kellie could leave, but should relax the rest of the night.

  Chapter Twelve

  Christmas was a delightful event in the Malone mansion. The six friends spent Christmas Eve together. Each couple had separate plans for Christmas Day. Mrs. Decker put on a lovely Christmas Eve feast, and they indulged in her spiked eggnog. Drew, knowing he didn’t have to drive, drank quite a bit as did Hunter. Cole was a little laid back even though Andrea promised to drive.

  They were laughing and joking on their way to the parlor where a huge pile of gifts waited for them. Each of the six friends had gone overboard and spoiled each other. After approximately an hour, they were halfway through the pile of gifts when the doorbell chimed. Drew popped up quickly, “I’ll get it.”

  He walked back into the parlor with a full-size golden retriever on a leash. A huge red and green bow was tied around his neck. “Merry Christmas, Kel. Meet Rufus, your special gift and new friend.”

  “What? You got me a dog named Rufus?” Her eyes sparkled, and she couldn’t hide her grin.

  Rufus reacted to his name. He galloped over to Kellie, sat in front of her, and licked her face. “Okay, okay, you can stay.” She beamed at him while she ruffled his ears. Rufus lay down at her feet.

  “There’s a story here. I’d like to hear it,” Kelly said.

  “I read an article in the paper about people who have money troubles or find they need to move close to the holidays and take their animals to the shelter. Quite often they have to be put down. That really got to me,” Drew explained as he shook his head.

  “I called the “no kill” shelter in the next county. I asked them if I paid for all the county shelter dogs and cats and paid them for their care of the shelter animals would they take them. They agreed.” Drew’s grin spread across his face. “I offered the same deal to the county shelter. They had nine dogs, two puppies, four cats and one kitten. I paid the fee for all of them plus gave them a generous check to care for animals in the New Year.”

  “That sounds like something you would do, but how did you get Rufus?” She looked up at him.

  “The “no kill” shelter said they would come and get them with their van, but it would take about an hour. I wanted to be sure the shelter received their check so I waited for them and visited with the animals. They told me Rufus’ story. He was never abused, but the family had a hard time affording food for him, and he had to sleep outside. It’s been cold. They brought him to the shelter.”

  “Aww, poor Rufus.” Kellie hugged him and Rufus loved her back. Jumping up his big front paws plopping on her lap, she hugged his neck again.

  “I arranged to have him brought here tonight. Merry Christmas!” Drew beamed from ear to ear.

  Kellie pushed Ru
fus from her lap, stood, and hugged Drew. “Thanks, I love him.” Rufus letting out a low growl pushed between Kellie and Drew.

  Taylor giggled. “Looks like you have a jealous dog.”

  Kellie patted Rufus’ head. “It’s okay, boy. Drew’s a friend.” She hugged him again, and Rufus growled again.

  Hunter rolled on the floor laughing. Rufus took this as an invitation to play and leaped over gifts and wrapping paper to land on top of Hunter. Paper and ribbon flew as they wrestled until Rufus began to growl again, but he wasn’t growling at Drew. Rufus padded slowly toward the library, but stopped before entering. Continuing to growl, he barked twice at the empty room.

  Drew raised his eye brows and said, “Maybe he sees what we can’t. That could be helpful.”

  “Maybe, but I’m not sure.” Hunter’s jaw tightened.

  Rufus settled down, walked back to the parlor, dropped down in front of the fireplace, and fell asleep. Whatever bothered him in the library didn’t interfere with his rest. The friends returned to opening gifts and drinking eggnog.

  The clock chimed midnight. They gathered up their gifts and said goodnight promising to get together for New Year’s Eve after their family gatherings. Taylor and Hunter retreated to their apartment, and Drew and Kellie went up to bed. Rufus growled at Drew when he climbed in bed with Kellie. Kellie folded a blanket, made a bed for Rufus, and petted him for a few minutes. The big lovable dog finally settled down.

  Kellie laughed, “This is going to make our love life interesting. We’ll have to find a place for him to sleep besides here.”

  Drew groaned, but agreed. “You do love him though, right?”

  “Yes, I love him a lot. Thanks, sweetie.” She kissed him quietly not to disrupt Rufus’ slumber.

  ########

  Kellie woke early Christmas morning. The house was quiet, and she decided to enjoy a bit of it before the day became hectic. Rufus followed her into the parlor. Rubbing her eyes, gazing at the tree, and believing it was a dream, she opened her eyes wider. The multi-colored lights they had used to decorate the tree were now a brilliant red. The tree took on an ominous glow. Kellie’s breath caught in her throat as she stepped slowly toward the tree. Reaching out, she touched one of the red bulbs. Blood immediately began running from her fingertip down her arm. Pulling her hand back she saw she wasn’t cut, but blood flowed from her finger as if she was. Kellie reached out and touched a second bulb. Blood dripped to the floor. Rufus began to growl. Kellie screamed as she shook the tree.

  “Leave us alone, you horrid old man.” Every wall in the house rattled in answer to her anger. The figure in black laughed. Blood was splattered over the walls and ceiling. The floor where Kellie stood was a puddle of blood. Blood dripped from her hair and robe. “This is my home, leave!” Kellie could hear his evil laugh. She wiped blood from her eyes. The blood puddle grew larger as she walked backward to get away from it. Rufus was howling.

  Hunter, the first to respond to her scream, stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. Taylor’s knees buckled when she saw Kellie, and she dropped to the floor. Taylor screamed, and Rufus began to howl again. Drew, missing the first scream while in the shower, heard Taylor and Rufus. He rushed down the stairs to the parlor. He stopped frozen in place when he saw the horrendous scene.

  “Don’t worry, it’s not me. I’m fine. The tree is bleeding.” She put up her hands to stop them. The terror in her eyes was apparent through all the blood.

  Drew listened, his eyes scanning the horror in front of him. His feet felt like lead when he tried to move. Holding his hands to his chest to try and slow his heart, he breathed deeply. Finally, he rushed to her side. The moment he touched her arm, the blood disappeared. Every bulb immediately returned to its original color. No trace of blood could be found on Kellie, the tree, walls, ceiling, or floor.

  “What the hell happened?”

  “I’m not sure. I walked in here to look at the tree, and the bulbs had changed. They were all blood red. When I touched one, it began to bleed. I shook the tree, and blood flew everywhere. Now it’s back to the way it was last night.”

  Kellie sat on the sofa crossing her legs, “If this is the best he can do, we’ll win.” The walls rattled again.

  ########

  Kellie and Drew were invited to Drew’s parents for Christmas dinner. Mrs. Adamson set a beautiful table and served ham with all the trimmings. As they were enjoying dinner, Kellie noticed a cat outside the dining room patio door. The cat shivered in the cold.

  Kellie walked to the door and squatted down. She touched the glass and the cat brushed up against the door. “May I bring the cat in and give it some warm milk?”

  “Of course,” Mrs. Adamson replied. She frowned at the small cat and hurried to heat some milk.

  After the cat cleaned the bowl, it circled around Kellie’s legs before settling at her feet. Kellie giggled when she gazed at the cat.

  “This cat is so sweet. We should take it home. It’s not wearing a collar. I bet someone tossed it out when they were unable to feed it.”

  Drew said, “I don’t know, Kel, it’s a black cat. Aren’t you worried Rufus will eat it? Maybe we should let him sniff her before we open his kennel door when we get home.”

  “Drew Adamson, superstitious? Who would’ve guessed? Besides it has white on the tip of his tail and around his face. I think Rufus will be fine with it. If not, we’ll take it to the shelter. At least it’ll live.”

  “It looks more like a gray beard.” He ruffled the hair under its chin.

  “It’s not that old.” Kellie rolled her eyes.

  “Okay, we’ll take it home. I can’t say no to you.” Drew handed the cat back to Kellie.

  The Adamsons enjoyed watching their son give in to his love for Kellie.

  The cat fit into the family. Taylor was thrilled to have a cat to play with. They decided to call him “Jolly” because he was a very friendly cat, and they found him on Christmas Day. Rufus sniffed Jolly, barked once, and backed up. Jolly never moved. Rufus kept his distance from the cat. He would leave a room if the cat walked in.

  Jolly had worked his way into everyone’s heart except Hunter’s. He shuddered whenever the cat came close. Jolly was sleeping at the foot of Kellie’s bed each night. Rufus stayed in his bed, and stopped trying to climb on Kellie’s bed.

  It was a quiet night two days before their New Year’s Eve party. Everyone had gone to bed, and Kellie stayed up a bit longer to work on what she would serve. Jolly was at her feet.

  She looked down at the cat and said, “What’d do you think, time for bed?”

  She picked up the cat and walked up stairs. The cat snuggled onto the foot of the bed. Crawling in bed, Kellie was asleep in minutes.

  ########

  Something woke Taylor in the middle of the night. Her skin crawled and she was breathing heavily. She turned on the bedside lamp. Jolly was sitting on their dresser staring at her.

  She sighed in relief, it was only the cat. “How did you get in here? You belong in the main house with Kellie and Drew. You know Hunter doesn’t care for cats.”

  Getting out of bed, she reached for the cat. Its eyes turned red and hissed at her. The hiss was guttural and threatening.

  Taylor screamed, waking Hunter as she ran out of the room. She unlocked the double doors that opened into the main house and headed for Kellie and Drew’s room. Taylor ran through the library and turned the corner in the library to head for the foyer and the stairs. She ran straight into the figure in black. He grabbed her by the shoulders. Taylor broke loose and turned to run away and he was there in front of her, and grabbed her shoulders again.

  He was laughing at her. A deep, menacing laugh permeated the very air surrounding her. It grew louder filling the house with its evil tone.

  Hunter ran around the corner and saw the figure in black holding Taylor, “Let go of my wife!” The figure in black stared straight into Hunter’s eyes, grinned at him, and vanished in a cloud of black dust.

&nb
sp; Drew and Kellie heard the commotion and appeared at the top of the stairs. Kellie was holding the cat in her arms.

  When she glanced up the stairs and saw the cat, Taylor screamed again.

  The cat leaped from Kellie’s arms leaving three deep scratches. One was bleeding badly. “Oh my, God. I’m bleeding. I’ll wash off the cuts. You get that cat, Drew.”

  She rushed past Rufus on her way to the bathroom and he was sleeping soundly. Odd, she thought. Taylor’s scream should have woken him. She called his name, and he woke instantly. She shuddered, something weird was going on.

  Kellie washed the scratches with antiseptic soap and tried to apply antibiotic cream, but one scratch was bleeding badly enough that the blood only mixed with the cream. She wrapped her arm in several layers of gauze bandage and joined the others.

  When Taylor settled down, she explained what happened. “Something woke me. I felt scared, weird. I was afraid it was the old man, but it was the cat. That cat is evil. Its eyes glowed red. It chased me out of my room and into the arms of the figure in black. You have to get rid of it.”

  “I saw the figure, too and it disappeared into thin air. Something odd is going on, and if the cat is involved, it should go,” Hunter insisted.

  Kellie held Taylor and stroked her hair. “When you were young you wanted a cat, but couldn’t because of your dad’s allergies. Now that we have one, you want me to get rid of it?”

  “Yes, if you don’t get rid of the cat, I’m leaving. I’ll pack my bag right now, sleep in a hotel, and never set foot in this house again.” Taylor sat in a chair, pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them.

  “I’m not losing you. We have Rufus. You’re my only best friend, but what do we do with the cat tonight?”

  “I’ll put it in its cat carrier and in the garage. The garage is heated, it’ll be fine. Tomorrow, we’ll take it to the shelter” in the next county. We’ll be sure it’s well taken care of.” Drew suggested.

  Taylor mumbled, “It’s evil, we should drown it. I think it’s possessed by the man in black. They were both there.”