WHO KILLED EMMALINE?

by Dani Matthews

  “Well, your room is definitely strange,” I agree.

  “C’mon, let’s grab something to drink, and we’ll go down by the lake,” he suggests.

  I’m definitely ready to go back upstairs, and I nod as he leads the way back through the basement and up to the kitchen. He snags a couple cans of soda from the refrigerator, and then we settle on the picnic table near the lake’s edge.

  Cord turns his head and gazes out over the water. “You asked why you.”

  When we’d arrived here, I’d assumed he’d forget all about my original question, so I am surprised that he’s diving straight in. I set aside my soda so I can fully focus on him. “Yes, I am a little curious,” I say tentatively.

  His eyes shift to me, and he gives me a half-shrug. “For one, you’re not scared of me. And second, you seem to actually see me. I’m not a freak, or someone you’re embarrassed to be seen with. You’re not into games, either. I like that.”

  So he does feel something for me. “Why did you act like the kiss at the warehouse didn’t matter?”

  He looks momentarily uncomfortable, his eyes sliding to the water. “Because it wasn’t supposed to.”

  “I see.”

  His eyes abruptly zero in on mine again. “But it did, Krista. I’ve been trying to figure out whether I want to act on this thing between us or not, because it’s distracting as hell. I’m going to be honest here, there’s a part of me that wants to walk away and not look back.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t want to grow to care for you, and then have you decide you can’t handle me. I’m fine with who I am, and I’m not going to change.” He leans forward slightly, his expression turning more intense. “I like horror, guts, and all that shit. I’ll spend hours designing a mask, and if you’re around me during that time, I’ll tune your ass out until I’m done working on it. I’m not a socializer, and if you’re looking for a guy to take you out on dates, I’m not him. I like one on one time, like this. I also saw the way you looked at the masks in my room, Krista. I have put hours into them, and you looked put off by them.” He rubs his face. “This entire conversation is pointless.”

  I watch him closely as I absently pick at a nail that’s been pounded into the wooden surface of the table. “Why is it pointless?” I ask quietly.

  “You don’t even like what I’m into, and it’s my life.” He grimaces, raking a hand through his hair as his mouth turns down in the corners. “This is why I don’t do this shit. It’s way too early to even be having a conversation like this.”

  “Then why are we?”

  He glares at me. “Because I’d rather cut you out of my life now before I actually really start to care.”

  I quit picking at the nail. “Sounds like you already have your mind made up.”

  I’m not sure what to think of this conversation. I never expected Cord to ever want anything more to do with me other than keeping an eye on me to spite Riley. This is unexpected, and I haven’t even decided if I want to know him outside of Cordane’s and school.

  Cord looks oddly disgruntled by my comment. “So it really was just sex to you?”

  His question cuts into my thoughts, catching me off guard. “Wasn’t it for you?” I quickly interject. Before I start sharing what I’m thinking, I want to get an idea as to where his own head is at.

  “Yes and no. You?” he asks, his eyes probing mine.

  “I don’t know,” I say honestly. “Cord, I don’t really want to get into this if you’ve already decided this isn’t worth trying to figure out.”

  “If I didn’t want to figure it out, we wouldn’t be here right now. Yeah, I want to walk away from it, but my ass is still planted here on the picnic table, right? So is yours. I need to know what you’re thinking or we might as well stop this conversation now before it goes any further.”

  “Okay, just give me a sec,” I murmur as I try to pull together my thoughts. I draw in a deep breath and then exhale as I meet his gaze. “Okay, you’re right. This conversation is happening too early, but it’s nice to get it out of the way instead of both of us wondering what the other is thinking.”

  “This is definitely not how I intended for the day to go,” Cord mutters.

  “How was it supposed to go?” I ask curiously.

  “Like it always does. Normal. Then I realized you were avoiding me, and it shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did. Pissed me off for a while there because I don’t want this complication in my life right now. I’ve finally got my life sorted, and I know where I’m heading and what I’m working towards. I don’t need to be sidetracked by another girl.”

  I sit back, thinking. So we’re both reluctant to explore this thing between us. We’re obviously very much attracted to each other, but besides that, we don’t really have anything in common except for our interest in the store. And of course Riley and the fact that we both hate living in Ambler Ridge. Then again, it’s not like either of us have worked to get to know the other. What if there can be more to our relationship if we just allow each other in?

  I gaze out at the lake, deliberating. There are so many reasons to stay away from Cord. He’s a murder suspect, for one. Second, he’s into creepy things that would scare any girl off. Well, most girls, I amend as I think of Emmaline. Third, he’s temperamental. Wait, he wears masks during sex. Yeah, that is probably on the very top of my ‘not to do’ list.

  We are polar opposites.

  I should really just leave, but I can’t seem to move. My attention shifts to Cord, and he’s not even looking at me anymore. His eyes are focused on the water, and he looks like he’s clenching his jaw. I can tell that he’s waiting for me to agree that I can’t handle him or his lifestyle. He’s waiting for me to reject him.

  It’s that realization that has me hesitating. It dawns on me that it doesn’t matter how good-looking he is, Cord is rejected on a daily basis at school, in town, by girls... I mean, it doesn’t help that his older brother drives around in a hearse, or that they live in a weird house by the lake. No one wants to get to know him since they are either frightened of him, or they are worried about the backlash of dating someone like him. Look at Emmaline. She’d snuck around behind everyone’s back because she didn’t want to be seen with him.

  “Just go,” Cord says lightly, his voice interrupting my thoughts.

  I can’t do it to him. It’s not because I feel sorry for him, it’s because I do feel something for him. Something that has me curious, somewhat mystified, and definitely interested in exploring. I just don’t want to dive in head first, and then come to find out later that I should have dipped a toe in to test the waters so that I could avoid being sucked down into a drowning vortex.

  Go slow, I warn myself.

  “I like Halloween just fine. I’m not put off by it or the things you and your brother make and sell. Yes, some of it scares me, but you’re going to find that reaction in a lot of girls. I also understand why Cordane’s is so important to you, and you already ignore me when you sketch, so you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know,” I say cautiously.

  The second I’d started speaking, Cord had turned his attention back on me. He blinks as my words set in as his lip quirks up in the corner.

  “As for the masks… I’ve heard how things were between you and Emmaline,” I say tactfully.

  Cord’s expression shuts down immediately, his eyes cooling. “That shit should have stayed private.”

  “I agree,” I say levelly. I can’t imagine how he feels knowing the whole town—and probably all of Manchester—knows about his kinky sex life. “You need to know that I am beyond turned off at the idea of masks during sex. I don’t want that. At all,” I clarify.

  Cord stares at me, looking briefly bewildered. “You think…” He scowls darkly. “That was for Emmaline, not me,” he says flatly.

  “You mean you aren’t into that kind of thing?” I ask cautiously.

  He sighs, rubbing his eyebrow. “It was fine in the beginning,�
�� he admits. “I didn’t mind it the first few times. It was just something to try, something she liked. It’s not anything I ever want to repeat, Krista. I’d rather the person I am with want to be with me, not some twisted fucked-up fantasy. I can admit my fascination for masks and gore can come off as bizarre and weird, but masks during sex just isn’t my thing. I don’t have that many screws loose in my head,” he says dryly.

  I breathe a sigh of relief over his aversion to repeating the masked sexual encounters that he’d had with Emmaline. “She…really liked that stuff?” I ask, knowing I probably shouldn’t be asking, but there’s a very nosy part of me that wants to know everything before I get involved with him.

  “She was really messed up, Krista. The things she wanted…” He shakes his head. “That’s why I recorded everything to show that it was consensual. Emmaline was notorious for blackmailing people and making their lives miserable. I wanted to make sure that nothing we did could turn around and bite me on my ass.” He makes a disgusted sound. “That plan sure as hell backfired.”

  I nod in agreement, because if he hadn’t recorded everything, the investigation into his relationship with Emmaline wouldn’t have gotten quite so messy. “You once told me that you didn’t even like her. Why would you be with her then if she was such a terrible person?” I ask quietly.

  Cord turns wary as he regards me. “You don’t have to like someone to have sex with them.”

  “I know that. But it sounds like she was terrible to you before she started sneaking around with you. Why even give her the time of day?”

  He shrugs. “I wasn’t a nice guy when I was with her. I knew what she was after, and I gave it to her, but that didn’t mean I didn’t take in return.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Are you sure you want to hear this, Krista?”

  “I need to know if we’re ever going to build anything between us.”

  He nods in agreement. “She was a bitch, but when she was with me, I could control her, bend her to my will. So I did. I enjoyed making her beg, making her scream. Scream in a good way that is,” he quickly adds, then his lips tighten. “The only kind of torture I’m into is the kind that involves good sex.”

  His admission tells me that he’s got a darker side to him that I have yet to witness. He might not be into masks, but there’s other things that turn him on that I may not be willing to do if we manage to build a relationship. I guess at this point, it’s not worth worrying over until we have no choice but to revisit the topic.

  Cord leans forward, his eyes glinting devilishly, and I know he’s going to tease me with whatever he’s going to say next. “By the way, I’m all for experimenting, but I’d prefer to leave my masks out of it. I’m game for anything else, though.”

  “I bet,” I say dryly.

  We both fall silent for a moment.

  “There’s a lot we don’t know about each other,” he finally says, breaking the silence.

  I nod. “We’re both uneasy with whatever we’re starting. Where do we go from here?”

  He looks at me cautiously. “Get to know each other without any expectations?” he suggests.

  “I can handle that.”

  “Really?” He studies me intently.

  “We can be strictly just friends, or we can be a little more than that, but not as serious as an actual boyfriend/girlfriend type of relationship. I think we’d have to go slow if we’re going to navigate anything that’s more than friendship,” I tell him.

  Cord looks relieved. “That sounds good. The more than friends part without it being so serious,” he clarifies.

  Ten

  It’s Saturday evening, and I am working at the store with Owen tonight. So far, Dane hasn’t pulled me aside to fire me, so I’m hoping that means I’m in the clear. Maybe Dane will never bring it up, and we’ll just forget it ever happened.

  I hide a smile as I ring up a costume for a young girl. I don’t think I’ll ever forget having sex with Cord in the fitting room, and now that we’re kind of seeing each other, I don’t feel so bad about my momentary lapse in judgement.

  “You seem to be in a good mood,” Owen comments a few minutes later when the line at the register has dwindled.

  I glance at him. “Am I ever not in a good mood?” I ask with a laugh. I don’t think I’ve ever come into Cordane’s acting grumpy. Today, I might have come in a little apprehensive, but when Dane didn’t make it a point to corner me, I’d begun to relax.

  Owen shrugs as he bends down behind the counter and retrieves more of the store’s bags from a box. “You seemed preoccupied earlier.”

  “Oh, I just have a lot on my mind. School work and stuff.”

  He sets the bags down and gives me his full attention. “Yeah, I remember those days of balancing school with a part-time job. Dane giving you enough time off to keep up on homework?”

  “I’m keeping up just fine,” I assure.

  We look up as Dane walks over, and his dark lined eyes focus on me. “Krista, stop in my office before you leave tonight.”

  Oh shit. I smile the best that I can. “Yeah, sure.”

  He nods and glances at Owen. “I’m headed to the warehouse later to grab some stuff. Want to help?”

  “Count me in,” Owen agrees.

  Dane leaves us to continue managing the store, and I fall silent as I pick up a couple items that a few customers had changed their minds on once they’d gotten in line. I hold onto the severed arm and bottle of fake blood as I make my way to the back, smiling warmly at customers as I pass by them.

  The animatronic reaper no longer scares me as it jumps out at me as I walk past. I replace the bottle of blood, and as I’m headed over to the severed body parts, I see a kid wearing a mask chasing around a squealing girl. I quickly put a halt to it before either one of them can break anything.

  I’m in the men’s section re-organizing the hoodies when Owen ambles up to me, his gray eyes curious. “So what was that about earlier?”

  I glance at him with confusion. “What was what about?”

  “Dane said he wanted to see you in his office, and your face went tomato red.”

  I groan and pull out another hanger that has a hoodie hanging halfway off it. “Try asking me something I actually want to answer.”

  Owen’s head turns, and his eyes follow a group of guys headed for the fitting rooms. “That bad, eh?”

  “No, not bad,” I murmur. “Just awkward.”

  Owen turns his attention back on me and frowns. “Awkward? Did Dane do something to make you feel that way?”

  It dawns on me that Owen is getting the wrong idea about why Dane wants to talk to me. I step closer to him so I can lower my voice. “He caught me and Cord fooling around the other night.”

  Owen immediately grins. “He caught you here?”

  I nod.

  “You guys used one of the fitting rooms, I’m guessing,” he laughs. “I’ll have to go back over the security footage from earlier in the week.”

  Horror flickers over my face. “There are security cameras back there?” I ask with alarm.

  Owen laughs even harder as he tries to control himself. “I’m just shittin’ you. No cameras, promise.”

  “Damn it, Owen!” I smack him across the shoulder. “That wasn’t funny.”

  “Yeah, it was. Go put yourself out of your misery and go talk with Dane. I can handle the store on my own until you come back,” he offers.

  “Really? You don’t mind?”

  “You’re just going to be distracted until you get it over with.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  I make my way to the back of the store and then slip through the employee door. Cord had assured me that Dane wouldn’t fire me over the fitting room incident, but I’m not so sure. Dane owns more than half of the store. If he wants to fire me, he can do so without Cord really having a say in the matter.

  I find Dane in the prep room cursing as he tries to fix a talking head that someone had accidentally
broken earlier in the day. When he spies me in the doorway, he looks up.

  “Owen said to see you now if you don’t mind,” I explain lightly.

  Dane straightens. “Works for me. I need a break from working on that thing. Let’s go to my office.”

  We walk down the hall to Dane’s small office. It’s cluttered with anything and everything that is Halloween related. Dane looks around, frowning when he realizes there isn’t anywhere for me to sit. He shakes his head and walks over to his office chair, pulling it out. “Sorry, everything is always a chaotic mess during the month of October. You sit, I’ll stand.”

  “Thank you.” I sit down in the chair and ignore the full-sized zombie lying across the desk beside me.

  Dane leans his hip against the desk and folds his arms over his chest as he studies me. “I apologize for the awkwardness of this discussion, but I feel that the situation needs to be addressed.”

  I nod, flushing.

  “I went through the security footage from the warehouse.”

  I look at him blankly. This has to do with the warehouse and not me and Cord?

  Dane smiles slightly as he takes in my expression. “We have surveillance cameras inside the warehouse. They turn on as soon as the doors are opened,” he says tactfully.

  It sinks in that he must have seen the incident between me and Cord, the one where he’d restrained me and kissed me. My heart drops when I realize this conversation does indeed have to do with me and Cord after all.

  “You and Cord seem to be developing something between the two of you. I would prefer it if you kept things strictly professional when you are working.”

  “Yes, sir. I am so sorry, it won’t happen again,” I say in a respectful, hurried rush. I really don’t want to get fired.

  Dane grimaces. “Dane, Krista. Not sir.”

  “Okay. Uh, sorry.”

  He just gazes down at me, his eyes searching mine before he reaches up and rubs his face. “May I be upfront with you?”

  Uh oh. “Sure.”

  “I would slow things down with Cord if I were you,” he advises.