Depart the Darkness

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  That didn’t help any. Now Annette was doubled over, too.

  I gripped my aching side and tried to calm down. I glanced at Miles and was glad to once again see the happy light in his gorgeous hazel eyes. Right now, at this moment, laughter brought all of us a reprieve.

  “There’s something very satisfying about the thought of scaring the guy to death,” Xander declared, as his laughter began to die down along with the rest of ours.

  “Yeah there is,” John agreed wholeheartedly. “It would be even more fun scaring him, than it was scaring you.”

  “It would serve him right,” Jenny added.

  I glanced at Miles again as the rest of us laughed some more.

  But he was no longer laughing. He was lost in thought.

  Everyone saw the same thing I did, and the laughter faded away completely. Miles caught me watching him and looked back. I couldn’t read what he was thinking.

  “Anika, did… you arrange for the museum to collect the doll, yet?”

  “Huh?” I uttered in confusion.

  “The doll, the one with fangs,” Miles said.

  “No,” I replied.

  “Okay, good… hold off on that for now.”

  Then there was silence as he thought, and we watched him think, and wondered what he was thinking. He ran his hands through his hair as he weighed something over in his mind.

  I set my plate aside and rubbed his shoulder. He didn’t seem to notice. I wasn’t sure whether to be more curious or more concerned, so I was a lot of both.

  Then the conflict in his eyes evaporated. He laughed and hugged me hard, then kissed me. I had a feeling our friends were as confused as I was.

  “Dillon Graves is not going to get away with what he’s done,” Miles said firmly, his eyes bright with excitement. We all stared back at him, waiting to hear more. “We may have no evidence right now, but we’re going to get it.”

  “How?” asked John.

  “Xander’s right,” Miles replied. “We need a confession.”

  “How do we get one that’s legally admissible?” Jenny wondered.

  “It’ll be voluntary,” Miles smiled. “He’ll record it, put it in writing, and deliver it himself.”

  “How will you get him to do that?” Xander exclaimed. “You’re driving me crazy, man! How?”

  We were all in a fever pitch now, and on the edge of our seats.

  “I’ll need all of your help to do it,” Miles said, which only intensified our curiosity.

  “Miles, please,” I said. “If you love me, just tell us!”

  “I do love you,” he said, as if he couldn’t imagine why I’d say such a thing. “Of course I love you.”

  “NO!” Xander yelled. “Do not look at her like that! How do we get a confession out of Dillon Graves?”

  “We’re going to scare it out of him,” Miles smiled.

  There was a brief moment of silence, then pandemonium broke loose.

  Everyone talked at once, and if anyone cared to listen, it was too bad. It was too much, and too loud! There was also a lot of laughter, as the weight of Aaron’s and Phillip’s false accusations lifted from our shoulders.

  It was a relief to see Miles free of that burden. The joy that seldom left his eyes was no longer diminished. I smiled back at him, and he hugged me again.

  “We’re going to get this guy,” Miles said in my ear.

  “You’re telling the truth!” I replied, and he laughed again, then kissed me.

  “So—so how’re we gonna do this?” Xander asked excitedly, as our friends began to calm down. “You’ve got the tower all feminized. We’ve got to get all that stuff out and put the rest back…”

  I gasped.

  “We’re doing no such thing!”

  “Anika’s right, we won’t use the tearoom,” Miles assured me. “We want no further association between ourselves and Dillon Graves. What we’ll do, is bedazzle the doll with webcams, fit it with a microphone and speaker, then the doll will go to him.”

  “I won’t be able to keep from laughing,” I pointed out. “Although, a creepy doll with fangs, laughing its head off… that would be terrifying.”

  “It would, but you won’t be speaking for the doll,” Miles said.

  “Then who?” I asked in surprise. Jenny looked nervous, and so did Annette.

  “Xander will,” he replied.

  “Oh!” I practically shrieked, and Miles nodded. Everyone else looked confused. “Xander sounds like Elliott Reams!”

  “Oh, no way,” Xander laughed, then laughed some more.

  “The night he died, Elliott said he would hold Dillon responsible for whatever happened,” Miles reminded our friends.

  “It sort of makes sense,” said Annette. “In a really creepy kind of way.”

  “That’s what we’re going for,” Miles said.

  “Why the doll, though?” Jenny wondered. “What does that have to do with any of this?”

  “It’s completely terrifying, that’s what!” Xander exclaimed in excitement. “Oh, man! I am so in! When are we doing this?”

  “Do an online search for Elliott,” I told him. “He liked attention, remember? There has to be footage of him on YouTube. You sound a lot like him, so listen to him talk, and practice until you sound exactly like him.”

  “We want him to believe he’s talking to Elliott from the start,” Miles added. “Speak in third person, and don’t come right out and identify yourself as such.”

  “Elliott doesn’t like getting hurled down the mountain to his death, man,” Xander said ominously.

  “Exactly,” Miles replied.

  “That’s even creepier,” Annette shuddered, but she looked more delighted than disturbed.

  “John, I need your help putting together the equipment we need,” Miles told him.

  “Where will you headquarter?” John wondered. “We can’t risk losing video feed. Or electricity.”

  “Right,” Miles agreed. “We’ll be stationed in the investigative center on the top floor of our office complex, which will give us access to the extensive range of equipment our investigative teams have amassed. We won’t have a problem with connectivity, or electrical outages.”

  “I can’t wait to see this place,” John said, his eyes bright with anticipation.

  “You won’t have to wait long,” Miles assured him. “We’ll give you a tour tomorrow morning, right after breakfast, and introduce you to our technology experts. All they need to know is that we’re setting up wireless communication and surveillance, and that it has to be encrypted.”

  “This isn’t something we want anyone else listening in on,” John agreed.

  “They’ll assist in every way they can,” Miles said. “There’ll be no need to tell them we intend to scare a guy into confessing.”

  “They’d have so many questions!” I laughed. “They’d probably want in on it, too. It’s not your everyday operation.”

  “I hope you kept your sister’s notes,” John said.

  “We don’t want to scare him to death though,” Annette reminded him. Everyone who was aware of my sister’s complete list of suggestions for scaring Xander, laughed.

  “Right, just into a confession,” I agreed.

  “How can Jenny and I help?” Annette wondered.

  “The doll needs to be fitted with a mic, speaker, and transmitter,” Miles replied. “Several webcams need to be attached also, front and back. I need the ability to see the doll’s surroundings, and I don’t want to chance relying on just one or two.”

  “Good,” John said approvingly. “If we lose feed, then Dillon will examine the doll and find the hardware. We won’t get a second chance.”

  “Can a signal be transmitted through one of your force fields?” I asked.

  “I’m sure it can be,” Miles replied. “Cell signals are. So… Dillon won’t examine the doll, regardless of whether we lose connection or not.”

  “Besides, if the thing froze, the first thing he’d do is run,�
� Xander pointed out.

  “The thought of bedazzling it makes me feel like running,” Jenny shuddered.

  “That’s why he’s not assigning you to do it alone,” I said.

  He loves me, that’s why he wasn’t assigning me to do it at all! But I didn’t point that out.

  “You’ll have a brightly lit room in the office complex in which to work,” Miles assured her and Annette. “The rest of us will be nearby.”

  “Scaring the guy’s going to be easy,” Xander said. “One look at that doll’s gonna do it. But what do I say to convince him to confess?”

  “Let’s get to work and come up with a script,” Miles replied. “There’ll be a lot of ad-libbing. That part, you won’t have any trouble with. But there are specific infractions Dillon must confess to. We’ll compile a list so nothing gets left out.”

  Miles reached for his phone and prepared to take notes. We all found that our appetites were no longer absent, so we reheated the pizza. As we ate, we came up with a plan.

  I almost felt sorry for Dillon Graves.

  Almost.

  Chapter 25

  The light grew dim as the sun sank slowly behind the mountains.

  Quick footsteps drew closer, then just as quickly, passed by.

  With a buzz, electric lights flickered on, then grew steady, revealing the second floor of the parking garage in all its dingy lack of glory.

  Miles and I sat, silent, watching the screens that surrounded us in one of the surveillance rooms in our investigative headquarters. Video feed from a second surveillance room was displayed on one of the screens. There, we saw Xander sitting, waiting in his chair like we were, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. The remaining screens displayed the backseat of a car.

  There was a knock, and the door opened. John hurried in, and slid into the seat on Miles’ other side.

  “All good?” he asked, slightly out of breath.

  “All good,” Miles confirmed. “Don’t worry about Trix. I’m sure she went straight back to the Lodge after planting the doll.”

  “I hope so, that worried us when she didn’t reappear in the van,” John replied.

  “Are Jenny and Annette in the observation room?” I asked.

  “Yes, they’re watching from there,” John said.

  Xander got his own room to minimize distraction. A lot was riding on him staying focused and rolling with whatever opportunities presented themselves. The rest of us could see Xander on screen, but Miles was the only one in audio contact. If John had a technical point to make, or if I had relevant truth to impart, Miles would relay that information for us.

  The minutes dragged past. If the clock didn’t have a second hand, I’d think it wasn’t working. Ever so slowly, the hands moved toward five o’ clock.

  As agonizing as it was to wait, being caught unprepared would be even worse. So we sat and watched the backseat of Dillon’s car on the large screens in front of us, and listened for sound.

  The video image shifted as the doll rose in the air, allowing the webcams to give us a view outside the vehicle.

  “Good thing the windows are tinted,” I said, making Miles smile.

  “I wouldn’t do this if they weren’t,” he replied, as a group of people passed by. “Imagine the ensuing stampede.”

  I held in the laughter brought on by that thought. I was determined to stay right where I was, rather than join Jenny and Annette in the observation room. If I couldn’t contain my laughter, that’s what I’d have to do.

  Several vehicles passed by on their way out of the garage, then all was still again.

  “Fifteen minutes until five,” I pointed out. As if I was the only one watching the clock.

  “There,” Miles said softly. He pointed to the screen in front of us.

  Dillon Graves stepped out of the elevator and into the parking garage. My heart beat faster, and we all leaned forward in our seats.

  “Ready, Xander?” Miles asked.

  “Ready,” Xander replied.

  Let the show begin.

  The sickly fluorescent light wavered and flickered, then shone steady once more.

  I saw enough truth involving this guy to know he was lacking in the bravery department. Dillon looked around nervously, and walked faster.

  The light flickered again as Dillon’s phone rang. He jumped and nearly dropped it.

  We watched him answer. We wouldn’t be able to hear him until he got closer.

  “Dillon has a girlfriend?” we heard Xander say.

  “No,” I said.

  “No,” Miles relayed for me.

  “He does now. Or something,” Xander said. “Maybe a date.”

  I watched Dillon’s expression and body language, and came to the same conclusion.

  “What do you say, Xander?” Miles asked. “Can you use that, or do you want the call to end before he gets to the car?”

  “Let the guy talk,” he replied cheerfully. “If he doesn’t hang up after he gets in, then hang up on him.”

  “Will do,” Miles said.

  It wasn’t necessary, after all. The call was brief, and ended before Dillon pressed the unlock button on his key fob.

  The doll sank out of sight behind the backseat, costing us our video feed. We listened as the driver’s side door opened. We watched the car shift with Dillon’s weight, as he had a seat. We heard the key slide into the ignition. We watched as the doll rose and placed a hand on Dillon’s shoulder.

  We listened as Dillon screamed at the top of his lungs, watched his expression when he saw the fanged doll in the rearview mirror, and observed him scream some more.

  “YO! DUDE!” Xander yelled. “Elliott doesn’t like having his eardrums burst!”

  That didn’t help.

  “This is ridiculous, man!” Xander declared. “Is this how you treat all your old friends?”

  Dillon’s feverish eyes were locked on the rearview mirror.

  “No, no, no!” he shrieked.

  “Yes, yes, yes,” Xander replied. “Move over, I’m driving.”

  With that, Dillon was unceremoniously hoisted over to the passenger side of the vehicle, temporarily shocking him into silence. The doll hopped into the driver’s seat.

  “Automatic, nice,” Xander said approvingly. “Not sure how I’d manage a gear shift.”

  The doll raised its right arm and demonstrated its inability to steer and reach a gear shift simultaneously. In spite of the need to stand up in the seat to see over the steering wheel, it voiced no concerns about operating the gas pedal.

  Dillon breathed hard as he stared wild-eyed at the doll.

  “What, I’ve got something stuck between my teeth?” Xander said, and the doll turned to look at him, its chin tilting back and forth.

  Dillon’s eyes rolled back in his head for a moment, then locked on the doll again. He gasped and made strange sounds, but said nothing.

  The doll shrugged, and turned back to the wheel. The key turned in the ignition, and the car started. Dillon gasped in alarm as the doll backed his car out of the parking space as if it were a bullet fired from a gun.

  He screamed again as the car sped through the parking garage at a supernatural rate of speed. Miraculously—Miles’ abilities and his quick reflexes being miraculous—the car didn’t actually hit anything. Although it came awfully close.

  “Aw, man! I hate lines!” Xander exclaimed. “Forget this!”

  The car shot backward, leaving the exit and the ground level behind. It ascended to the second floor again, then on to the third. I hoped Dillon had a strong stomach.

  He continued to scream as the car flew around corners and on up to the top level, which was open to the sky.

  “NO, no, NO!” Dillon screamed.

  “Yes, yes, yes!” Xander replied giddily. “Elliott always dreamed of doing this!”

  “NO!” Dillon screamed, grappling with the handle as the car came to a screeching halt. The door refused to budge.

  “Yes,” Xander replie
d, as the engine revved.

  “You’re going to get us both killed!” Dillon exclaimed, glancing through the front window, then back to the doll.

  “Killed? No way, man,” Xander disagreed. “Elliott’s already dead. The most I’ll get is a chipped nail. Or tooth. Maybe shatter an arm or leg. Nothing a little glue can’t fix.”

  “Yeah well I’m not made of china! Glue won’t do me any good!” Dillon spouted hysterically.

  The doll whipped its head around to face him.

  “Are you complaining? Do I detect envy, Dillon? Because at the rate you’re going, you’ll come back as Malibu Barbie! That’ll suit you just fine though, won’t it. No cracking for you, all you’ll ever do is bounce! It’s all you’ve ever done! You set up everyone else, and they fall, but you… you get away with it. You bounce without a scratch. Elliott doesn’t like that!”

  Suddenly the car shot forward, and right over the edge of the building.

  Dillon screamed some more.

  “Wahoo!” Xander hollered, as the car sped through the air. It came to rest none too gently on a road leading from the city, to farmland.

  “What a rush!” Xander exclaimed, and whooped some more, as the car skidded to a stop. The doll turned its head to look at Dillon. “You’re kind of pale, man. You’re not feverish, are you?”

  The doll stretched out an arm, determined to feel for a temperature. With a shriek, Dillon bolted from the car.

  He ran as if his life depended on it.

  He didn’t run alone.

  “Where we going?” Xander asked.

  Dillon made a strangled sound and tried to run faster.

  “Seriously, you got a destination in mind, or you just out to catch some subzero night air?”

  Dillon was gasping frantically for breath now. If he tried to plead insanity after this was all over… it would probably be the truth.

  “I can do this all night,” Xander said matter-of-factly. “We going to Canada, or Mexico? I kind of lost direction back there.”

  “Why! Why are you doing this!” Dillon said shrilly, as he plowed to a stop and glared at the doll, his eyes crazed.