Secrets of Redemption Box Set

by Michele Pariza Wacek

  I dropped my gaze and focused on getting to the checkout as fast as possible. I was being ridiculous. I had nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. Daniel was the one I wanted. In a moment of weakness, and lord knows I deserved a moment of weakness with the amount of stress I was under, I let JD get too close to me.

  That’s all.

  Assuming I would be able to beat my current legal woes, Daniel and I could go back to dating (or whatever it was we were doing).

  Just as long as Daniel was still interested.

  Oh God, I definitely didn’t want to go down that rabbit hole. One thing at a time. Right then, all I needed to focus on was getting out of the store, hopefully without seeing anyone else I knew, and driving home for a quick lunch before diving back into my basement challenge.

  I could worry about Daniel’s long-term intentions later.

  The first part of my plan played out beautifully. I made it out of the store and into my car in record time. Thank goodness, at least that went right.

  In fact, maybe this was the perfect time to turn over a new leaf. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to start expecting things to work out in my life, instead of waiting for everything to crumble around me.

  Once home, I realized how late it was as I unpacked the car. Maybe rather than eating a very late lunch, I’d just pop the lasagna into the oven and have an early dinner. I could always grab a snack to tide me over.

  I ate a couple handful of almonds while I slid the lasagna into the oven, and then, I carried all my new tools into the basement.

  I unpacked the concrete saw and studied it. Hardware store Ted had walked me through exactly what to do. I decided to stop questioning myself. I could do this—I didn’t need anyone’s help.

  But, just in case I accidentally cut off a limb, I made sure my phone was close at hand.

  I was just about to turn the saw on when I remembered what Ted had said about concrete dust. I looked bewilderedly around the basement. I still had no idea what was in half of the boxes. Did I really want to take the time to sort through them first, or carry them all up the stairs? Oh, and maybe I should put my phone in a plastic bag to protect it. I definitely didn’t want it covered in concrete dust.

  I decided to drag just the Christmas box up the stairs, to keep it safe. I made sure Oscar was still sleeping on the couch (he wasn’t; he had moved to the chair), put my phone in a plastic bag, and shut the basement door firmly behind me before heading back down.

  I pushed everything as far back as possible from the crack before putting my mask and plastic eye gear on and kneeling on the floor, saw in hand. I had planned to start digging in the middle of the crack, just to see what would happen. I didn’t want to run the risk of destroying the jade before I tested my plan.

  Taking a deep breath, I flipped the switch on and got started.

  It was loud. Very loud. Painfully loud. And heavy. Clouds of dust rose around me as I worked. It was hard to see through the thick, grey dust, so I quickly switched off the saw to check out my progress.

  It worked. I had managed to saw through chunks of concrete, but I could tell I still had a long way to go before I could actually uncover anything. Steadying myself, I switched the saw back on and continued.

  My progress was slow, mostly because the saw was heavy and difficult to control. I didn’t want to accidentally destroy anything, so I paused a lot. Sweat trickled across my forehead, down my back, and under my arms.

  Finally, I switched the saw off and put it down. My arms and wrists ached, so I took a moment to work through the kinks while letting the dust settle. I wiped the sweat off my brow, which I immediately realized was a mistake. The sweat mixed with the concrete dust, forming a muddy paste on my forehead. Ugh. I wondered if I would ever be able to scrub it off. I could only imagine the disaster my hair must be.

  I knelt back on the floor and started sifting through the rubble. I noticed a lump under the crack. Actually, as I brushed more of the broken pieces of concrete aside, I realized there were a few lumps, long and thin, and parallel to each other. They seemed to come together and join at a vertical lump. My breath started quickening. Was this what I was looking for?

  I brushed more of the concrete aside as my initial excitement started to seep into something darker. No. It couldn’t be.

  It couldn’t be.

  I continued clearing the concrete away, focusing on my breathing and trying to push away the cold, tight knot forming in my chest.

  I brushed a few big chunks aside, and suddenly found myself staring directly into an eye socket.

  I had uncovered a skull.

  Chapter 26

  I screamed, falling backwards and crab walking away from the crack as fast as I could, until I slammed into something behind me. I barely registered the pain as I pushed myself against whatever it was, my hands over the mask across my mouth, struggling to keep myself from hyperventilating.

  I had to be wrong. I had to be wrong.

  There was no way there could be an actual body buried in my basement.

  No, it had to be something else. Something that only looked like a skeleton.

  Really? Just what could look like a skeleton, that isn’t a skeleton, a cold, calm voice deep inside me asked. What else could possibly look like a skull?

  I don’t know, I silently screamed back to the voice. But there has to be something!

  Maybe it’s a plastic skeleton—you know, like what you’d see in a doctor’s office, the cold, calm voice answered.

  Yes, yes. My mind seized it, full of hope. That must be what it is. A plastic skeleton.

  Buried in my basement.

  Oh God.

  Suddenly, I was distinctly aware of how quiet it was. How still. The only sound was my hash, frantic breathing. I was alone in the house. Alone in the basement.

  With a skeleton.

  Oh God. I had to get out of there. I clumsily lurched to my feet, my knees trembling so much, I nearly collapsed. I stumbled across the floor and toward the stairs, a part of me convinced I was no longer alone. I was sure there was something else in the basement with me, watching me, just waiting for the right moment to leap out and grab me with a long, bony claw of a hand ...

  I tripped and fell hard on the stairs, the impact jarring my bones, nearly screaming again, sure something HAD seized my ankle so it could drag me into the depths of the basement, to toss me into the skeleton’s cement grave ...

  I scrambled up the stairs on all fours, too terrified to take the time to stand up. I could hear a little mewling noise and wondered where it was coming from … until I realized it was me.

  The basement door loomed at the top of the stairs, shut tightly. Oh God. Was it locked? Would I be able to open it? Why did I close it, anyway? I reached up to clutch the doorknob, sure it wouldn’t turn, and for a moment it didn’t—my sweaty palm slid right off. But I tightened my grip and, almost to my amazement, it opened easily. So easily, in fact, that I tumbled through, landing in a heap in the hallway. I rolled onto my side, kicking the door closed.

  I was safe.

  For a moment, I was motionless on the ground, the air rasping out of my lungs, my heart pounding.

  What just happened? Did I really just uncover a body? In my basement?

  Who buries bodies in concrete, anyway? Isn’t that like, a mob thing?

  No, it couldn’t be a body. It just couldn’t.

  Because if it was … who was it?

  And who put him or her there?

  The Jessica from my dream flashed through my mind. Where is my body?

  No, it couldn’t be Jessica. It just couldn’t.

  There had to be another explanation.

  I needed to call someone. Daniel. Yes, Daniel could help. He could look at ... whatever it was I had uncovered, and tell me for sure what it was.

  Yes. I closed my eyes,
relief filling me. I could just picture the smirk on his face. “Honestly Becca, you really thought this was a body? No, if you look at it, you’ll see it’s clearly not.”

  That’s what I needed to do. Call Daniel.

  Except ... my phone was in the basement.

  Why oh why couldn’t I have grabbed it before running up the stairs?

  And, for that matter, why did I ever think it was a good idea to get rid of the landline? If I hadn’t, I could be on my way to the kitchen, maybe even taking a moment to pour myself a cup of coffee while I dialed Daniel. Easy peasy.

  Instead …

  Oh God. Would this day of one bad decision after another ever end?

  I pushed myself up to a seated position, studying the closed door and pondering my options. I could sit right there until Mia came home, and have her call Daniel. I pictured her coming through the door, seeing me sitting there on the floor in front of the basement, covered with sweat and concrete dust, still wearing my eye and mouth masks, telling her what happened. “Well, I had an interesting day. I learned how to saw concrete. It’s actually easier than you might think. And, hey, you know that crack in the basement floor? Well, underneath it, it looks like there’s a body hidden. Fascinating, isn’t it? So how was your day?”

  Yeah, maybe not.

  No, I had to go back down to get my phone. Period.

  I slowly got myself to my feet and paused for a moment, before flinging the door open.

  Nothing. The stairs were empty. All the lights were still on.

  I tottered forward a few steps. Okay, there was nothing to it. I was going to go down the steps, get my phone, and come back up.

  Easy as that.

  Despite my pep talk, it was far from easy. I could feel myself sweating, nearly hyperventilating the deeper I went.

  When I got to the bottom, I peered around the corner. Everything looked precisely how I had left it. The concrete rubble. The saw tipped over on its side. The hole where I had dug.

  My phone? Where was my phone?

  After a few heart-stopping moments that took all of my self-control to not run screaming back up the stairs, convinced whatever it was in the floor had managed to slither over and take my phone, I finally found it, peeking out from behind the saw, still in its plastic bag.

  I was losing it.

  I hurried over, snatched it up, and immediately broke into a run back up the stairs.

  As soon as I was safe in the kitchen, I dialed Daniel’s number.

  He picked up on the first ring. “That was fast.”

  I blinked. “What was fast?”

  “You calling me. I didn’t think he would move that fast.”

  Oh, that didn’t sound good at all. In fact, if there wasn’t a corpse in my basement, I would likely be really worried. But, as it was, I seemed to have hit my panic limit. “Who’s ‘he’? What are you talking about?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I ...” I closed my eyes. I dug up something that looks like a skeleton in my basement, and I was hoping you could come here and tell me what it actually is?

  Instead, I said, “How soon can you get here?”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “I ... I found something.”

  “What did you find?”

  I glanced toward the basement door. “It’s difficult to explain. It’s easier if I showed you. How soon can you get here?”

  He paused. “On my way.”

  ***

  Daniel’s eyes widened when he saw me. “Jesus Becca, what happened to you?”

  I glanced down at myself. I had forgotten I was still covered in concrete dust. “I was digging in the basement.”

  “You were what?”

  “Digging in the basement.”

  “Wait.” Daniel shook his head vigorously. “How? Why? “

  I sighed, holding the door open wider so he could come in. “It’s a long story.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  I led him through the house and toward the basement. “It’s probably easier if I show you first,” I said.

  Daniel opened his mouth, then shut it. He nodded tightly at me as I opened the basement door.

  Somehow, it didn’t feel nearly as terrifying with Daniel next to me. I was so relieved, I convinced myself that he would surely tell me it wasn’t a skeleton, after all ...

  His mouth dropped open as soon as he got a look around. “Christ, you weren’t kidding about digging,” he said. “What is that, a concrete saw?” He walked over to take a closer look. “Charlie owned a concrete saw?”

  “Are you kidding? I bought it.”

  He turned to stare at me. “You bought it. You went out and bought equipment to saw into your basement floor? Why?”

  “I ...” It suddenly occurred to me I hadn’t thought any of this through. How was I going to answer that? Well, Daniel, I had a dream about Aunt Charlie telling me to find the jade. Oh crap. The jade. I had forgotten about it completely. Was it even in the floor, or had I just imagined the green flash of light?

  “Let me show you what I found,” I said instead. I gingerly crept my way over to the hole in the ground, gesturing for Daniel to look.

  He raised an eyebrow skeptically before moving to stand next to me. He peered into the hole. “Oh my God,” he gasped. “Why is there a skeleton in your basement?”

  My heart sunk. So low, it just about joined the skeleton in its concrete grave. “Are you sure it’s a skeleton?”

  “Well, I’m no expert, but that sure looks like a skeleton to me. Becca, we have to call the police. You have a dead body in your basement.”

  I gazed down sadly at the pile of bones, the empty eye socket, the ribs that were sticking up. “I was hoping maybe it was plastic.”

  “Plastic? You thought that was a plastic skeleton? Like a Halloween costume? That doesn’t even make sense.”

  “Well, a dead body doesn’t either,” I countered.

  “Who is it?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Who put it there?”

  “I don’t know that either,” I said.

  Daniel ran his hand through his hair. “Christ, Becca. Why in God’s name were you digging up your basement, anyway? Aren’t you in enough trouble as it is?”

  “Well there was a crack,” I said.

  “A crack?”

  “In the floor.”

  “Okay,” he said, dragging out the word. “There was a crack in the floor.”

  “That’s why I was digging,” I said, trying to explain. “I was digging in the crack.”

  Daniel looked completely bewildered. “You understand you may be facing murder charges, right? While you’re starting a new home repair project?”

  “Well, Ted thought it was suspicious ...”

  “Ted? Who is Ted?”

  “He was the nice man at the hardware store who helped me buy the concrete saw.”

  “How does he know about the crack?”

  “I told him.”

  “When?”

  “When I went to buy the concrete saw.”

  “But ...” Daniel put both hands up by his forehead and started shaking his head. “How did you get the idea to start digging in the floor in the first place? That couldn’t have been Ted, right?”

  This wasn’t going well. But more than that, I was tired of the lies, the half-truths. As ridiculous as the truth sounded, it couldn’t sound more idiotic than me jumping into a DIY home improvement project at the worst possible time.

  “You’re not going to believe me,” I said.

  “Try me.”

  “I ... it was a dream.”

  “A dream?” Daniel turned away, shaking his head. “Becca, I need the truth.”

  “It was a dream about Charlie,” I said quickly,
seeing how I was losing him. Hastily, my words tumbling over each other, I told him about how Aunt Charlie told me to look for the jade—that it would help prove my innocence.

  “Where is this jade?” he asked.

  “Here,” I said, getting on my hands and knees to brush off the dust and cement from the crack in the floor. For a moment, I started to panic, not seeing anything. “Honestly, it’s here,” I said. “I know I saw it.”

  Daniel got on his knees as well. “Here, blow the dust away,” he said. “Maybe it’s just covered.”

  We both gently blew until finally, a dull glimmer of green flashed in the basement light.

  Daniel sat back on his heels. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said softly.

  “See,” I said, triumphantly. “I told you.”

  He let out a deep sigh, blowing the air out his cheeks. “Okay, so for argument’s sake, let’s say you really did get a message from Charlie to dig down here, to find the jade that would somehow help prove your innocence. How can finding a dead body possibly help you? Especially if it’s been down here for years. Other than a distraction, I don’t see what other good it could do you.”

  I gazed down at the empty eye sockets, my initial excitement melting into discouragement. “I don’t know either,” I said.

  “Did Charlie give you any indication of who this is? Or how he or she got here?”

  I shook my head.

  Daniel sighed, before getting to his feet and brushing off his jeans. “Okay, we better call the police. Why don’t you go upstairs? I’ll stay down here.” He looked around the basement.

  “What should I tell Detective Timmons?” I asked, feeling a little panicked. If Daniel was a tough sell, I didn’t even want to go there with Detective Timmons.

  His eyes narrowed. “What do you think? The truth.” He turned away, adding under his breath, “No matter how crazy it sounds.”

  Chapter 27

  Detective Timmons was not impressed.

  “So, you’re saying you decided to dig up your basement floor based on a dream?”

  We were sitting in my kitchen that smelled of coffee and burnt lasagna, trying to talk over the commotion in my basement. Police officers and technicians continually tromped past us, a steady, back-and-forth stream between the basement and front door. Below us, I could hear the sounds of demolition as my basement was broken to bits.