UNWELCOME GUESTS: An atmospheric, suspenseful thriller

by Anna Willett

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Eli’s voice was almost a roar. He took a step and was on top of Jace, looking down on him. “Do you realise what you’ve done?” He grabbed the front of Jace’s t-shirt and tried to pull him to his feet.

  The sound of fabric tearing got Caitlin moving. She stood and took hold of Eli’s left arm, trying to pull him off his brother. At the same time Jace shoved Eli in the chest and he stumbled back, pulling her with him. The back of his legs hit the coffee table sending it sliding out from behind him and him careening onto the stone floor. Before she could get her balance, Caitlin fell with him, her right knee taking the impact as she hit the floor.

  She cried out in shock more than pain and rolled to the side clutching her injured knee. Eli, on the floor beside her reached out to her, but Jace beat him to it.

  “Sorry, Cat. Are you okay?” Jace took hold of her upper arm and helped her stand.

  “I’m fine, just bumped my knee.” There were tears in her eyes, both from the injury and because of the flare up between the brothers. She’d never seen them so aggressive with each other. It was as if everything was coming undone, including her marriage.

  “That’s why you got us here.” Eli scrambled to his feet. “Because of her.” He pointed an accusing finger in Caitlin’s direction, kept his gaze on his brother. “What? Did you think she’d realise what an asshole I am and fall into bed with you?”

  Caitlin couldn’t believe what she was hearing. One minute they were talking about Blyte and the mess they were in, and suddenly Eli was accusing Jace of trying to get her into bed. She opened her mouth to protest but couldn’t find the words.

  The colour drained out of Jace’s face. “How can you even think that?” His voice was hoarse as if the words stuck in his throat. “I did all this to try and give you two a chance to patch things up.”

  Still bare-chested and glistening with sweat, Eli tilted his head back and laughed. There was no humour in the sound. “Don’t worry, mate. You can have her.”

  Caitlin winced as if he slapped her. His words dripped with disgust. Does he really hate me that much? She flopped down onto the couch, the tears flowing. She didn’t bother to try and hide them. He’d been cold and distant for months. She knew he blamed her for losing the baby. God knows she blamed herself, but she had no idea his feelings were so dark. She only wished she knew where this level of hatred came from.

  No sooner than the question formed in her mind, Eli answer it. “I know all about the abortion.” He turned to her, making eye contact for the first time since the altercation between him and Jace began. His face was screwed up and tears glistened in his dark eyes. “I heard you at the hospital.”

  Caitlin covered her ears with her hands trying to block out what he was saying, but it was no good. She couldn’t hide from the truth by pushing the memories away. She’d spent a lifetime shoving the past into a dark hole but no matter what she did, they still kept crawling out.

  “Stop it.” Jace moved in front of her, blocking Eli.

  “No.” Eli’s voice bounced off the walls. “You were there.” He jabbed a finger into his brother’s chest. “You heard her telling the doctor. She had an abortion at fifteen. Fifteen.” He gave another hollow laugh. “I thought she was perfect. The perfect woman, but she’s just a slut. And that’s why the baby–”

  Jace struck out. His fist connected with Eli’s cheek, with a dull thud. The blow couldn’t have been hard, Eli barely moved, but the shock on his face was as clear as the red welt spreading across his skin. He pushed his younger brother without any real force and stormed towards the kitchen. But not before Caitlin caught a glimpse of his tortured expression.

  “Eli, I’m sorry,” Jace called after him, but Eli kept moving.

  She expected Jace to go after him but instead, he dropped down next to her on the sofa. She got a faint whiff of weed mingled with aftershave. He lowered his head into his hands, fingers laced through messy blond hair. He looked defeated.

  “How long have you known?” Even talking about the abortion made her feel naked—exposed in some way. It was as if all the pain and loathing were laid bare for everyone to see, yet she had to know.

  He didn’t answer right away. For a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to and then he spoke, his voice barely audible. “Since that day at the hospital. Eli was with me when he got the call.” He paused as if drawing enough breath to finish what he had to say. “I drove. I didn’t want him to have to go alone. When we got to your room, we could hear you talking to the doctor…”

  “Oh.” Caitlin drew her legs up under her, feeling the pain in her knee but not reacting. So now she knew why her husband blamed her for losing the baby. He was right to blame her. It was her fault. The doctor even confirmed that the complications after the abortion could make it difficult for her to carry a baby to term. Somehow, it was easier to accept her husband’s loathing in the face of what he knew about her.

  In spite of the heat, she felt a cold chill on her skin. The tears had dried up leaving a strained tautness in her throat. It was over, her marriage and any hopes of a happy family all at an end. There should have been more pain, but all she felt was empty.

  “I’m sorry, Cat.” Jace was looking at her now, she could see the pity in his eyes. “He didn’t mean it. You know what he’s like.”

  She was about to speak, tell him they both knew what Eli was like when the banging started again. Jace stood and grabbed the gun from the coffee table. As he passed the study, the door cracked open. She couldn’t see Felix from her position on the couch, but she saw Jace stop and heard him tell the man to get back in the room. The anger in his voice didn’t surprise her. She guessed his nerves were raw.

  Another thundering blow rang out from the door. The heavy, ominous sound made her skin prick with chills. She thought of a line from a poem she’d once read: Send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. She couldn’t remember the poet’s name, but the heavy repetitive boom made her think of a funeral bell.

  Jace approached the door and leaned over the hulking dark wood cabinet blocking the entrance, pressing the tips of his fingers against the wood. In his other hand, the gun hung, its barrel pointing at the floor.

  “Listen.” Jace raised his voice trying to be heard over the thumping from the other side of the door. “We don’t care what happened between you and Felix, it’s none of our business.”

  The pounding stopped. Caitlin rushed towards the door and stood behind Jace. They waited, the absence of sound almost more threatening than the banging.

  “You’re right.” Blyte’s voice came from outside. “It’s none of your business.” He sounded breathless. “Open the door. You and whoever’s in there can just get in your car and leave. No one has to get hurt.”

  Jace glanced at her, she wondered if he was looking for answers. If only she knew what to do, how to make it all stop, but there was no easy way out.

  “Ask about Felix.” She kept her voice low, barely above a whisper.

  Jace nodded. “What about Felix?”

  “Don’t trust him.” The three words hung in the air like dark clouds, unpredictable and threatening.

  Caitlin recalled her earlier doubts about barricading themselves in; she’d been worried about what Blyte might do.

  “Get Eli,” Jace kept his voice low and jerked his head towards the kitchen.

  For the three years they’d been married and the eighteen months they'd dated, Caitlin remembered feeling excited at the prospect of sharing some new nugget of information with her husband. She treasured the time they spent laughing about the strangeness of the world or chatting about something she’d seen on the news. Now, the thought of talking to him invoked dread.

  Without speaking, she turned and trotted to the kitchen. With each step anxiety built. By the time she walked through the arch, her stomach had clenched itself into a tight ball.

  Eli sat on the island bench, head in hands. She fleetingly wondered why he wasn’t
using one of the three black stools wedged under the bench. Caitlin knew he’d heard the banging at the front door, there was no way he could have missed it, even in the kitchen. Whatever he thought of her, how could he ignore what was happening around them? For the first time since she’d met him, it occurred to her that maybe he wasn’t as strong and capable as he seemed.

  He raised his head before she had the chance to speak. His eyes were red-rimmed as if he’d been crying. He turned away, studying something on the cellar door. The things he’d said hurt, made her feel dirty and worthless, but she couldn’t ignore the pain in his eyes. If only there was something she could say or do to put everything right.

  “You’d better come, we need your help.”

  “I’m sure you and Jace can manage.” He sounded bitter, almost childish.

  “Whatever you think of me doesn’t matter. For your brother’s sake and your own, stop crying and help us.” She was surprised at the strength in her voice and wondered where it came from. Desperation?

  Eli’s head snapped around so he was finally facing her. He blinked as if not sure of what he saw, then rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and jumped off the bench. Grateful her words had at least penetrated his temper, she turned and walked back to the front of the house. Behind her, Eli’s bare feet smacked the floor.

  Jace was still holding the gun facing the door. When they approached, he turned and glanced at his brother.

  “You okay?” He sounded calm.

  “Yep.” Eli’s response, although curt, no longer carried any threat of anger.

  Jace turned his attention back to Blyte. “We just want to take Felix to the hospital. That’s all. No one’s talking about the police, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  Blyte gave a scoffing laugh. “Yes, the police. They’d want to know what you were doing in my house.” His voice was deep, almost raspy. Caitlin wished she could see the man because in her mind, he was a giant. A big dark man with burning eyes.

  Blyte continued, “Was it Felix’s idea to go to the hospital instead of the police?”

  It had been Felix’s idea. Caitlin remembered he suggested they drop him off at the hospital and he would have the doctors contact the police. A strange suggestion now she came to think of it. But then again, he’d been abducted and tortured, was it any surprise that he might say or do something odd?

  “We should just open the door and go out,” Eli spoke in a whisper, he jerked his chin towards his brother. “You’ve got the gun. There’s two of us and one of him, what’s he going to do?”

  “What if he has a gun?” Caitlin pointed at the weapon in Jace’s hand. “He had that one hidden upstairs, what if he has more?”

  She could see by the looks on Jace and Eli’s faces, it hadn’t occurred to them that Blyte might be carrying a gun. If the windows weren’t so high up in the walls, she could take a look. At least then they’d know what they were dealing with.

  She made a rolling motion with her hand. Keep him talking, she mouthed the words.

  Jace frowned but nodded. “What is it with you and Felix? Drugs?”

  Caitlin knew she’d probably have a better chance of seeing Blyte from one of the upstairs windows, but the thought of venturing off into the cavernous house alone made her nervous. Besides, she wanted to hear what was being said.

  Turning in a circle, she settled on the coffee table but quickly changed her mind and headed for the kitchen. A stool would offer height and be easier to lift, not nearly as noisy as dragging the small table.

  In the seconds it took to dash through to the kitchen and return with the stool, she could see something had happened. There was a change in the two brothers’ demeanour, subtle but nonetheless disturbing.

  Instead of asking what had happened, she carried the stool to the window on the far right of the door and set it down. Whatever was going on, she still wanted to get a look at Blyte.

  “What do you mean, Felix is a murderer? If that’s true, why did you bring him here? Why not go to the cops?”

  Eli’s words took her by surprise. One knee on the stool, Caitlin froze and turned back to the brothers. The two men leaned closer to the door, waiting for answers. She snatched a look over her shoulder and was relieved to see the study door remained closed. Can he hear us? She wondered if Felix was listening to the conversation, maybe pressed up against the door.

  Still half on the stool, she checked her watch. Almost ten o’clock, it had been less than half an hour since Blyte arrived, yet it seemed like they’d been living out this nightmare for hours.

  “The police had their chance to put him away and did nothing.” Blyte stopped. For a moment, she thought he was finished. “Now it’s my turn.”

  “So you brought him here.” Now it was Jace asking the questions. “To do what? Beat him to death?”

  Caitlin pushed herself up onto the stool, crouching at first to get her balance. Then, using the wall for support, she straightened up. Standing at full height, her head and shoulders were above the window ledge. The world beyond the house was a black expanse cut through by shadowy treetops that danced against the night sky.

  She cupped her hands and pressed them to the window. The glass felt like ice against her skin. Caitlin shivered and leaned closer so her nose almost touched the pane. To the left, she could make out a shape. With no outside light, it was difficult to tell if the dark outline belonged to a bush or a human. The shape moved and what looked like the outline of an arm appeared.

  “No.” Blyte was either a good actor or he was shocked by the suggestion. “I’m not a killer. I brought him here for answers.”

  She shuffled sideways, the stool tipped slightly. Caitlin let out a gasp and clutched the window ledge. Eli and Jace turned in her direction. From her vantage point on the stool, their upturned faces looked pale and anxious. She held up a hand to let them know she was okay and pressed her face back to the window.

  The angle was a little better. She could see more of Blyte’s shape, but without light, it was almost impossible to tell if he had a weapon.

  “So you abducted a man and locked him in the cellar because you wanted answers?” This time Eli spoke. It was as if the brothers were taking turns.

  She pulled back from the window. There had to be outside lights, if they turned them on, she’d be able to get a clear look at Blyte and then they’d have a better picture of what they were dealing with.

  To her surprise, Jace had left the door and was standing below her. “Can you tell where he’s parked his car?” he spoke in a whisper. “See if he’s blocked Eli in.”

  “We should turn on the lights,” she matched his whisper.

  “Not yet.”

  She nodded. It might be better to leave them off until they decided what to do. The darkness was more of a disadvantage to Blyte. With her hands back on the pane, she squinted into the blackness. Beyond the front of the house, lay dark shapes, some large, others smaller. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darkness and for the hulking shapes of the two vehicles to come into focus.

  On the left, a smaller shape that had to be Eli’s compact Mazda. Parked off to the right, a larger vehicle. Only it’s outline visible under the moonless sky, but it was clearly parked alongside Eli’s car.

  Caitlin pulled back from the window. “No. Eli’s car’s clear.”

  Jace offered her his hand. She hesitated for a second, remembering what Eli said about his brother wanting to get her into bed. Her husband’s words stung, but if she were truthful with herself, she’d always been attracted to Jace. He was good looking and athletic, but more importantly kind and easy-going. It was a vague attraction, nothing she’d ever dream of acting on. How could she when all her energy went into pleasing Eli? Besides, Jace had never been anything but brotherly with her.

  She took his hand and leaped down from the stool. Jace let go of her fingers and motioned for Eli to join them in the kitchen. Eli held up his hand, a sign he wanted them to wait.

  �
��What answers?” he turned his attention back to the door.

  “Ask him about Amy.”

  Chapter Six

  “We should have tried to find out more about the woman, Amy,” Eli’s voice was low. “If this is over a woman, it might be better to just let them sort it out.”

  The three of them had retreated to the kitchen and stood around the island bench. It had been Jace’s idea to talk where they could be sure neither Felix nor Blyte could hear them.

  “So you think we should leave Felix and go?” Jace sounded surprised. “You saw what Blyte did to him.”

  Eli dragged his forearm over his face, wiping away a layer of sweat. “Whatever’s going on between Blyte and Felix, it’s none of our business.” He looked at Caitlin, only making eye contact for the briefest of seconds before turning back to his brother. “I say we go and let the cops come back and sort it out.”

  “I don’t know.” Caitlin didn’t want to make the problem worse by provoking another outburst from Eli, but she couldn’t stay silent. “Blyte could have a gun. Once we’re outside the house anything could happen.”

  Eli tipped his head back, eyes on the ceiling as if searching for patience from above. Usually, her husband’s obvious annoyance would be enough to silence her. But not this time. She’d been tearing herself for months trying to figure out what she’d done to drive him away. Now the secret was out; both hers and his. He knew about the abortion but instead of talking to her about it, he’d punished her for months with cold disdain. Maybe she was guilty, but so was he.

  “The three of us trying to get to the car is a bad idea.” The words were out. Like it or not, she’d spoken her mind.

  “I agree.” Jace didn’t give Eli time to argue. “I’ll go alone. I can get out through the back door and sneak around to the car while you keep him talking.” He nodded to his brother then turned to Caitlin. “You keep an eye on him from the window.”

  “And if he has a gun?” Caitlin didn’t want to think what might happen, but she had to ask.

  “We’ll make sure we distract Blyte long enough for me to get in the car and get going.” He sounded confident, sure of what he was saying. They listened to Jace’s plan, but as he spoke, Caitlin found herself staring at the fridge. The huge appliance was wedged against the back door. Wrenched from the socket, its long power cable lay on the floor. Dragging the fridge had left gouge marks in the stone floor.