Darkness Falls

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

“No wonder, then,” said Miles. “I guess our lives just aren’t suspenseful enough for you, is that it?”

  That made me laugh.

  “So are you ready to engage the dog in conversation?” I asked.

  “Yes. Trix, could you come here a minute?” asked Miles.

  Trixie got up from the rug where she was lying, and sat down in front of Miles.

  “Trix, today when Anika and I were out, we were in a large group. Anika’s ability is getting stronger, and she could hear so many lies. We had to leave. What we’re wondering, is this. If I wasn’t there, would she have felt dizzy? Is there any chance she could have gotten lost? None of the lies were about murder, violence, or crime.”

  Trixie shook her head.

  “That’s good to know,” I said, and Miles and I both breathed a sigh of relief. Miles looked at Trixie again.

  “Is there a way for Anika to block out or be shielded from hearing the truth? Today there was too much at once.”

  “It nearly drove me crazy,” I said. “I couldn’t think, there was so much.”

  Trixie looked at Miles.

  “Yes, she says you need to practice. Practice focus. Focus short and long.” Miles watched her for a minute more, then turned to me. “If you practice at it, you’ll be able to sort of rein in your ability to focus on one person instead of an entire mall full of people. If I understand what she’s saying, then when you’re in a crowd like that, focus on just one person. The rest will fade away. It’ll get easier the more you do it, and you won’t have to think about it.”

  “Okay, good,” I said, as Trixie nodded. “Trixie, are there other people like Miles? And me?”

  Trixie looked confused, and looked at Miles. He started to laugh.

  “Yes, dear, Trixie says there are many other people in the world. Our friends are people. She says stay away from crowds for a while.”

  I started to laugh too.

  “That’s not what I meant!” I said. “I mean, are there other people with abilities like we have?”

  Trixie looked back at Miles, and he smiled.

  “She’s relieved you know there are other people. She also said that we are her only concern. She doesn’t know about anyone else.”

  “Okay…” I said. “I can’t think of any other questions right now, can you?”

  “No, I think that’s it for now. Thanks, Trixie.”

  Miles knelt on the floor so he could hug her. She smiled and put her paw on his shoulder. I got teary-eyed again, thinking of how much these two had been through together.

  We said goodnight to the kids then, and headed straight to bed. Tomorrow was Thursday, and we’d be in class from morning ‘til night. I felt like Annette did. I was going to need a three-day weekend to recover from my Tuesdays and Thursdays!

  Before we could fold back the covers, Miles’ cell phone vibrated. I slowly removed throw pillows and put them on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed, while Miles picked up his phone and looked at the screen.

  “It’s Jackson!” he said.

  I threw the rest of the throw pillows on the floor, folded back the sheet and comforter, and scooted close to Miles as he sat down and answered.

  “Hi, Jackson. What do you have?”

  I was as close as I could get without getting in between Miles and his phone, so I could hear most of what our PI had to say.

  “Hello, Mr. Bannerman. Here’s what I’ve learned so far. Rob Westin and Ryan Mead were best friends. About all Mead was known for was being a quiet kid who stayed out of trouble. Westin was the opposite, but well-liked by just about everyone. He didn’t have any close friends other than Mead. There are rumors that Westin got involved in drugs and started drinking heavily after high school. Westin came from a home where that was considered normal. His father was in prison off and on for possession and tried pulling a con on the wrong person, based on rumors which I’ve yet to validate. He disappeared. Either he was killed, or he went into hiding to escape his mark. After Westin and Mead graduated, Westin had no job and free-loaded off of Mead. That’s as far as anyone I’ve talked to in their hometown, knows about either one of them.”

  “Okay, thanks Jackson. Mead and Westin went on a camping trip after graduating from high school, around August first. Find out if anyone knows where they camped out, either then, or at any other time. If anyone remembers them talking about camping, hiking, any location they were particularly interested in going, it could be critical in finding the evidence we’re looking for.”

  “I’ll see what I can find,” said Jackson.

  “Thanks, Jackson. I look forward to hearing what you learn.”

  “I’ll let you know as soon as I do, Mr. Bannerman.”

  Miles pressed the end button on his phone, and set it aside.

  “I wonder if those people who knew both guys would know that Pretend-Mead isn’t Ryan Mead, but that instead he’s Rob Westin,” I said.

  “You’d think so,” said Miles. “We can go that route… let’s find our evidence first. We’re so close. The authorities don’t have the secret weapon we do, which is you. They might never find the body, and that wouldn’t help their case any. I don’t want to be investigating once the police are involved, either, I want us completely out of it by then.”

  “I agree,” I said. “I need to carefully go over the truth I gathered today too, and see if I can figure out where Mead and Westin were when he killed Mead. It’s pretty horrible though, and encompasses several hours. I can’t do it tonight, I just can’t.”

  “Then let’s wait,” said Miles. “We’ll be at the estate this weekend. So Friday or Saturday we’ll choose a time, and do it then. I’ll be right there with you the whole time.”

  “Thank you,” I said, and smiled. “I knew you would be. There isn’t a minute you haven’t been, since the morning I first saw you after you returned. I know you’ll be there for me.”

  “I will be. Always,” said Miles, as he hugged me.

  “I don’t need my ability to know this, but…you’re telling the truth,” I said. Miles laughed, and I smiled.

  Chapter 14

  “This is too hard,” I said, refraining with difficulty from holding my head in my hands. “I can only focus for so long.”

  “Okay, we’ll go somewhere else then,” Miles quickly replied, guiding me out of the line we were in. “We’ll do what we did Tuesday, and go to O’Brien’s.”

  I heard him, but barely. There were so many truths trying to replace the lies, and oh my goodness some of it was stuff I seriously did not want to know! I was thankful it would all get locked away. I couldn’t imagine ever needing this stuff, which meant I’d never have to deal with the information again.

  Miles hurried me along, and as soon as we crossed the threshold into O’Brien’s, the voices faded to nothing. I sighed in relief.

  “You okay?” Miles asked with concern. “You’re kind of pale.”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m not looking forward to going back out there, though,” I said, concerning Miles even more. I quickly added, “But after having a break, I’ll be able to focus long enough to get through it.”

  The door behind us opened, and Jenny, Xander, John, and Annette joined us.

  “Is everything okay?” asked Jenny quietly, almost as concerned as Miles was a minute ago.

  “Yeah,” I nodded.

  “She needed a break, there were too many people,” said Miles. “We’re going to eat here, instead of the food court. Do you want to join us?”

  “Sure, let’s do that,” said Xander, and everyone nodded in agreement.

  “Who wants to sit in the crowded food court anyway,” said Annette.

  “The food’s better here, and we don’t have to yell to be heard,” John agreed.

  “Thank you, guys,” I said.

  “Of course,” Jenny replied.

  I smiled at all of our friends, and Miles led the way to the hostess station. We only had to wait a few seconds before the hostess came hurrying up.

>   “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting!” she said.

  “It’s no problem,” said Miles. “We’ve been here less than a minute.”

  “Good,” she said a little breathlessly. “Party of six?”

  “That’s right,” said Miles. “A corner booth, if you have it.”

  “We ought to make a standing reservation for Tuesdays and Thursdays,” said Xander, as we followed after her. “Does that work for everyone else?”

  “Works for us,” said John, after glancing at Annette.

  “Absolutely,” said Miles, as I smiled.

  We all had a seat, and began to look over the menu as a server filled glasses with ice water.

  “I love this idea,” I said, closing my menu and setting it aside. “We’re always free on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we’re all here on campus having lunch. What a great time to get together. It isn’t so bad this year, much as you all enjoy giving us a hard time,” I said, giving Xander a pointed look which made him laugh, and Miles smile. “Next year it’s going to take more effort to stay connected, because you’ll be as bad as we are about wanting to be alone. Let’s try to work our schedules so we can do this then, too.”

  “That’s a great idea,” said Miles, and everyone else agreed.

  We placed our orders, and a server soon arrived with our appetizers and sodas.

  “These are so good,” I said, biting into a piece of fried mozzarella.

  “They are, but I like the fried zucchini better,” said Jenny.

  I slowly reached out and pulled the tray of mozzarella closer to me, and shoved the zucchini closer to her. She laughed.

  “Xander, John, do either of you know Pete, Delia’s boyfriend?” asked Miles, reaching for a fried jalapeño. Those were good, too.

  “Not well,” said Xander, thinking about that.

  “Only from some of the study group movie nights at Anika and Jenny’s place last year,” said John, dipping a fried mushroom in ranch dressing.

  John was welcome to those. Even the thought of mushrooms made me feel sick.

  “I wonder if he plays basketball,” said Miles. “Our next class is with Pete and Delia. We’ll ask.”

  “That’ll be great if he does,” said John. “Maybe we can have a real game.”

  “Yeah, let us know what you find out,” said Xander. “If he does, convince them to join us.”

  “I wonder if Delia knows how to play,” said Jenny.

  “We’ll find that out too,” I said.

  Probably not. She wasn’t much taller than me, if at all. She’d fit right in with me and Annette!

  I bit into one of the fried jalapeños. I decided to call Chef Antonio, and ask him to add chile rellenos to the menu for this weekend. Miles hadn’t built up a tolerance to chile like I had, since he didn’t grow up where I did. I’d make sure to remind Chef that Miles had worked his way up to medium, but not to go hotter than that. Chef would tell me he’d do his best, but remind me that he couldn’t be held responsible for acts of God. I would laugh, and say understood. I really like our Chef.

  Our food arrived, with a side of bounce. As the server began to place our orders in front of each of us, Cheryl came to a landing beside Xander.

  “Hi, everyone!” she said.

  “Hi,” I said, and so did Miles, Annette, and John.

  “Cheryl, I didn’t expect to see you here,” said Xander.

  The server hesitated, possibly wondering if he forgot her order.

  “Oh, no thanks,” she waved him away. “I’ve had lunch already.”

  “With who?” I asked bluntly.

  “One of my friends, Adrienne,” said Cheryl.

  “Oh, okay,” I said. She was telling the truth.

  “So what brings you here, Cheryl?” asked Xander.

  “I thought maybe you guys would be here,” she said. Even her blond hair was bouncy. Was that natural, or did she use a special hair care product?

  “How are you enjoying college, Cheryl?” asked Jenny.

  “It’s great!” she said, smiling. “I took a couple of classes over the summer and I’ve been working in the Sociology Department since then, so I’m used to it. There’s a lot more people now, though!”

  I turned my attention to the baked potato soup in front of me.

  Cheryl leaned forward and said quietly, “How’s the investigation?”

  I looked up and hesitated, glancing at Jenny and Xander. His eyes were closed, and I think he was counting.

  “Great,” I said. “We’ve got what we were looking for, so it’s all good.”

  “Oh,” she said, losing a little bounce. Then she perked back up. “Well, I found out all kinds of things about his best friend. You wanted information on him, right? The Soc professors that were here when he was in college had a lot to say.”

  “Cheryl, please,” I said. “You have no idea how dangerous this guy is. If he gets any hint that you’re looking into him, your life will be in danger.”

  “But… you’re investigating him,” said Cheryl, her big blue eyes confused.

  “No,” said Miles seriously. “Anika dropped the class she was in. This guy is dangerous, and she knows better than to risk her safety.”

  “You can’t underestimate this guy,” said Annette.

  “You have no idea what you’re dealing with,” said Jenny.

  Xander turned to face her.

  “Yesterday in class, Mead hurled scalding coffee at Anika. It was a miracle she wasn’t burned. This guy is unstable, and so help me, if you don’t back off from this I’m calling your mother, your father, and your brother!”

  “I just wanted to help,” Cheryl said, her bounciness dropping several levels.

  “I know,” I said, feeling sympathy for her. “We appreciate your intentions, and you did help at lunch on Tuesday. The best thing you can do now, is to stay out of this guy’s sights.”

  “I just really wanted to help,” said Cheryl, her disappointment evident.

  “You did,” I said again. “We just really want you to stay safe.”

  Cheryl collapsed on the table, her bouncy blond hair spilling out on each side of her.

  Xander mouthed the words “Drama Queen,” but I thought I understood her.

  Cheryl wanted excitement. She wanted the opportunity to do something great. She probably wouldn’t mind the attention that would come with it, but mostly she wanted to feel important. She was naïve, so much so, that she actually envied Miles and me because we’d almost been killed! All she saw was the excitement, something that she hadn’t had in her life. Yet. If she didn’t back off, she would end up with an unhealthy dose of the wrong kind.

  “You know, our lives may look glamorous and exciting,” I said, and Cheryl looked up at me. “The excitement isn’t something we’ve chosen, though. Do you know what we want more than anything?”

  She shook her head.

  “To be normal,” said Miles. “To have a normal life. You crave excitement, and you think that’s what we’ve had, and that we still have it. What we still have, are nightmares from those so-called exciting experiences.”

  “Believe me, neither one of us wanted this professor to direct his attention toward me. This isn’t exciting, it’s insulting. And now we know he’s dangerous, and that’s not exciting either.”

  “It’s more like ‘oh great, here we go again,’” said Miles.

  Maybe we were getting through to her just a tiny bit.

  “Imagine being woke in the middle of the night by a psychopath who isn’t even related to your fiancé, but thinks that by murdering you and the man you love more than your own life, he’ll inherit your fiancé’s fortune. He fires his gun, and your fiancé, terrified you’ve been injured or killed, puts his own safety aside and comes to you. And now this psycho has you both. A word hasn’t even been invented to describe how scared you are. You can do nothing to save each other. You are going to die. The man you love is going to die. He’s going to be framed for your murder. You look at each other, and
what you’re going to lose because of this sick jerk washes over you with so much grief and pain, and— Tell me something Cheryl, does that sound like the kind of excitement that anyone in their right mind would want to have?”

  My voice was intense, and my eyes were locked on hers. Miles rubbed my back to remind me he was here, and it was okay, we weren’t back in that horrible moment.

  Cheryl shook her head.

  “Good,” said Miles. “We survived only by a miracle, and we’re beyond grateful for that. But we aren’t the same. We were affected. We’d gladly give up those memories if we had that option.”

  “We would so gladly give up the nightmares,” I said, and Miles nodded in agreement.

  Cheryl nodded too.

  Xander gave her a one-armed hug.

  “You did help us Cheryl, so feel good about that,” I said, and a little bit of her bounce returned. “And now stay completely away from this guy, and we’ll all breathe easier.”

  I benevolently pushed the tray of fried cheese closer to her, and she smiled. I turned my attention back to my soup then, mindful that Miles and I had a class to get to right after lunch.

  “Do you… want to know what I learned, anyway?” Cheryl asked hesitantly.

  “Sure, Cheryl,” I said. “As long as you’re done with intel, for good.”

  Everyone got back to eating as she talked.

  Cheryl leaned forward, and spoke quietly.

  “The professors in the department who were here when Mead was a student, practically think he walks on water. I said I was thinking about doing a story for the college paper about him because he’d been here as a student. Of course I’d have to join the paper and all that to really do it, but still, I was thinking about it. I wasn’t lying.”

  Oh my goodness, this girl! Miles squeezed my knee, and I knew without looking at him that he was thinking she sounded like me. The old me! Now I’m scared to death to get anywhere near deception, because that’s awfully close to lying. I have this ability for a reason, and if I damage it, I won’t be able to use it to help people. Or help Miles find the right accountant. Or get the purse I want, although I already did that.

  “So I asked a bunch of questions and got them talking. I asked about friends, and they had a lot to say about a guy that used to be his best friend, Rob Westin.”