Several individual photos caught his attention next. They were positioned closest to the poster. Many were of gruesome snapshots of Mary and Holly. Some images displayed them half onto their backs, bodies twisted, and arms tied behind them. From their facial features, they had died in great pain. Blood trailed from their mouths, and red, crisscrossed ligature marks ran across their necks. It was clear both were strangled by some specially designed rope.
The last photos of the two women were with their abdomens cut open. Seeing them brought bile to Rick’s mouth. One especially sickening photo in Mary’s folder showed a man’s hand holding a bloody fetus. Written in red marker were the words…Daughter of Satan.
“My God, Dawn.”
“I know.” His baby sister’s voice was thick with sobs as if she knew which one he referred to. Have you opened the third file?”
“Doing it now.” Rick double clicked the last file. It held only one relatively large jpg.
Increased in photo size Amanda and Dawn stood side by side, smiling wide, their arms linked together. It had been taken in Turtle Creek. Rick recognized his parents’ house behind them. Immediately he inhaled a deep, ragged breath through his nose. What he saw frightened him more than anything had done before.
Their expanded poster, much like the first one he’d seen, was pinned to a different wall. No shrine surrounded Dawn and her best friend. Instead, a missile dart stuck out from Amanda’s chest with a note which clearly read…Next to Die.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Amanda pulled up the satin quilt and smoothed out every wrinkle. Lately James wanted the bed to look showroom perfect. Everything had to be perfect. In the beginning, she didn’t mind dealing with his quirks, for in one sense, the house always looked immaculate. But now, his obsession was wearing her down, making her walk a fine line to keep him happy.
The shams and accent pillows looked crooked. Amanda quickly fluffed them and eyed the bed enviously. It had been a restless night. A multitude of questions kept rolling through her brain making it impossible to relax. Maybe it was hormones kicking in. The pregnancy test she’d taken last night had confirmed what she already knew. They were going to have a baby. She would tell James as soon as he returned from the hardware store in Cave Creek. As usual, he’d been up and gone before she even stirred. Saturday mornings were no different than work days for James. Only the weekends meant yard work and special projects.
Amanda glanced out the window. It was a cloudy morning, and by the looks of the mountains in the distance, it had rained slightly during the night. Preferring the chilly morning air over the stuffy bedroom, Amanda opened the sliding glass door leading to the balcony. A gentle breeze from the mountains drifted in, fresh and clean after last night shower.
The aroma of the desert lingered in the room. Amanda stepped out onto the patio and studied the mountains. How she loved the desert smell after it rained. Rain in Oregon brought the smell of pine trees, and the state was more than beautiful, but she’d come to love the Arizona mountains.
A sound coming from inside the bedroom caught her attention. Something like a snake hiss. Warily, she stepped back inside and froze. Coming down from the middle of the ceiling floated a smoky white haze. As it descended, it amassed into a human shape. With it the bedroom’s temperature dropped dramatically. Amanda’s breath turned vaporous, and Goosebumps exploded across the surface of her arms. Another hiss emitted from the shape, just like the one she heard on the balcony. To her horror, the partially transparent fog moved in her direction. A narrow appendix of it mass separated and began to form into another shape.
Amanda stood transfixed, watching. It developed into a thin snaky arm with a skeletal hand at the end. One finger, void all of flesh, lifted and pointed at her. A hiss left the center of the mass. “Next to Die.”
The horrifying hiss, claiming death, shot adrenaline into Amanda’s legs. She screamed and bolted for the door. Nor did she look back to see if the apparition followed. She didn’t care. All she wanted to do was flee. Leave the house. Anyway she could.
How she made it to the kitchen, she wasn’t sure. On the counter sat her car keys. She grabbed them and ran for the door leading to the garage.
Just as her hand touched the doorknob, the sound of the garage door lowering and the door opened. Amanda screamed again. This time, solid flesh-formed arms grabbed her, holding her tight.
“Amanda! For the love of God what’s wrong?”
“I–I–James…” She buried her face into his chest and took in a shuddering breath. “James, I saw the ghost again.” And then she fainted into his arms.
Amanda drifted awake. To her shock, she lay on the great room couch with a blanket draped across her. A cold, wet cloth covered her forehead. The moment she fully opened her eyes, a blinding flash of pain shot across her entire body. A moan escaped from her.
“You’re awake!” James rushed across the room. He bent over her and placed his hand on her arm. “Are you okay? You gave me a scare.”
Amanda took a deep, shuddering breath. Her throat sandpaper rough. She licked her lips and removed the cloth from her head. “What happened to me?” She tried to focus on her memory but some things blurred. She struggled to sit up.
“No, lie back down. Just rest.” He gently stroked her hair. “I see you’re thirsty. I’m going to get you something to drink.”
“Just water.”
He nodded.
Amanda shivered and tried extra hard to remember what happened, but her brain seemed foggy.
“Here drink this.”
She pushed herself into a sitting position, took the glass he held out to her and greedily drained the entire contents. The liquid felt good on her dry throat. It carried a sweet, tangy flavor as it passed over her tongue. Almost instantly, her body relaxed.
“Better?”
“Much. Thank you.”
He gave her a lazy grin. “You’ll never guess what I found in the trash can upstairs?”
Amanda frowned, trying to remember. “I don’t know.”
“A pregnancy kit. Are we pregnant?”
That part of her memory came with a bang. “Yes, we are.” She smiled nervously, recalling how volatile his emotions had become lately. “Are you pleased?”
A muscle worked in his jaw and an expression she couldn’t read passed over his features.
“Are you nuts?” His face lit up. “We discussed this. I’m thrilled.”
“I’m glad. For a moment there I thought you were unhappy about it?”
“Unhappy? Of course, I’m happy.” He stood abruptly. “What to do. What to do?” He mumbled, barely audible, as he paced back and forth across the room.
“What to do about what?”
“Nothing. Just talking to myself.” He came over and kissed her forehead. “You get some rest. While you’re doing it, I’m going to get some things from the trunk of my car.” He kissed her again. “I picked up some flowering plants for you at the store. The clerk assured me they would grow fine in a desert environment.”
With a gentle hand, he caressed her hair. “Go on. Close your eyes. Rest.”
Always thinking of her. Always so sweet. Amanda smiled. Maybe her perfect husband was finally back. She released a contented sigh and closed her eyes. An unusual cloudy form of sleep claimed her...but with it came a nagging question…she had forgotten something she wanted to tell him. What was it?”
The sun was already setting outside the picture window in the great room when Amanda awoke. This time, she was semi-curled on the overstuffed couch with the blanket still covering her. She ran her hand over the smooth, luxurious leather. She did like this sofa.
In the kitchen, she heard him puttering. “James?”
From around the dividing wall, James walked toward her. “Well, hello, sleepy head.” In his hand was a glass. He smiled. “Here, drink this. I called mom to tell her we were pregnant. She’s delighted by the way. She told me about this drink.” He held up the glass. In it was a yellow liquid. “I
t helps with early morning sickness and unusual mood swings. She read the ingredients and instructions to me. I made it myself.”
“Your mother?”
“Uh-huh. James smiled. “I told her I was worried about you fainting, and she said it’s not unusual to have fainting spells when one is first pregnant.”
He handed her the glass. “Mother says it will also help get your equilibrium back.”
Amanda struggled to sit. It surprised her she seemed still a bit groggy and disorientated. Speaking of your mother. When am I going to meet your family?”
“Soon, I promise. Here drink.” He pressed the glass closer to her mouth.
Amanda sniffed the ingredients. Instantly her stomach roiled. “No, James. I can’t.”
“Drink it, Amanda!”
His weighty, demanding tone stunned her. She stared at him with her mouth half open.
“Sorry about that.” His tone softened. “I just want you to feel better.”
He truly meant what he said. Amanda drank the entire glass of liquid and promptly gagged.
A look of chagrin crossed his face as if berating himself. “Oh, oh, sorry again, sweetheart. I should have warned you. Mom mentioned it would taste horrible.” He took the empty glass from her and smiled, “At least, you’ll get better.” He turned and walked away.
From the kitchen, she heard him washing the glass. Burping the nasty tasting concoction, Amanda buried herself under the blanket again. From the fog of her inner self, an inkling nagged she’d forgotten something again.
Amanda belched rather loudly and closed her eyes. Maybe it would come to her later. She yawned then smiled. Maybe they could start picking out names later…together.
The sound of the microwave door closing and buttons pressed woke her from her dreamless sleep. Before long the smell of food drifted into the room. James was speaking to someone. His words were hard to make out.
The discussion suddenly stopped. A second later James walked into the great room. “Awesome you’re awake. I thought you might be. I made dinner.” He lifted the plates he carried. “See?”
Two trays were positioned, one before her, and the other before the recliner next to the couch. James set the first plate on Amanda’s tray, the second one on the tray by the recliner. “You need any help sitting up?”
“No, I got it.” Amanda’s stomach rumbled. She wiggled herself into a sitting position and pulled the tray closer to her. “Who were you talking to?”
“What?” James hesitated, then sat in the recliner.
“I heard you talking to someone in the kitchen.”
“Nobody, really.” He picked up his fork. “Talking to myself mostly.”
Curiously she watched him eat. Funny, she’d never known he had a habit of talking to himself. Had the news of her getting pregnant triggered anxiety in him?
Amanda picked up her fork and concentrated on the mixed vegetables first. They tasted delicious. The minute they hit her stomach another one of those strange burps raced upward. She allowed it to release softly.
Next to her James ate. His knife and fork flashed in the corner table’s lamp light. He appeared to notice nothing, just kept devouring his meal. In the background, the surround sound stereo played. Funny, she hadn’t heard it playing before. Amanda cut a small slice of her hamburger steak and turned her head slightly while she chewed. What was the name of that song? It had a more of a hypnotic rhythm than normal.
Like waves rolling upon the ocean’s shoreline, the melody sang to her. Weird music to play in the desert. She smiled at her illogical thought.
Soon she weaved to the sound of the waves. Even the overhead lights dimmed making the great room soft and appealing.
A dark movement caught her attention. It moved at the open patio door leading to the backyard. Accompanying it whirred a hissing sound.
A rattlesnake? A man? No…something else…not human.
The hairs on her neck rose. It jolted the nagging feeling she had all day. Clarity sharpened. The ghost had visited her this morning! It was back again. Amanda looked at James. He sat eating as if unaware of everything but his food.
Was the ghost only visible to her? Amanda opened her mouth to call for James’s attention, but her throat tightened with paralysis.
Unlike the ghost she remembered seeing this morning, this one had more mass. It wore an odd, ugly looking buckskin outfit. It didn’t float from the ceiling. It glided toward her, his moccasin-clad feet floating inches above the floor. Long, stringy, brown hair hung down over his shoulders, and a ragged band of red cloth was wrapped around his forehead as if to keep the long strands from falling into his eyes.
The moment he reached the end of the couch, he bent, his big hands reaching for her. A single digit pointed. “Next to Die,” it hissed.
Amanda collapsed on the back of the couch and screamed.
“Wake up! Amanda. Wake up.” James was shaking her shoulders. On his fork sat a piece of meat as if he thrown down his food in a rush to get to her.
Dumbly Amanda stared at him. Then she remembered. She grabbed his arms and pulled him close. “James, I saw a ghost. It came at me.”
His strong arms tightened around her. “Ssh…It’s okay, baby. There’s no ghost. I’ve been here all the time. Look. There’s no one.”
“There was, James. I saw him.” She glanced frantically around. “He was here.”
James’s eyes narrowed. “What did the ghost look like?”
“Like a man. He…he resembled an Indian.”
Though her husband’s posture relaxed, he still acted concerned. “You must have been dreaming.”
“No...No…I wasn’t asleep. I was awake. Look…I’ve eaten all my vegetables and a piece of meat.”
James glanced at Amanda’s plate and frowned. A pile of mixed vegetables lay untouched. And, not a single piece of meat was missing from her plate. “You’re going to see a doctor tomorrow.”
“I don’t need to see a doctor. I saw the Indian just as plain as I see you. He floated through the door there. Right up to the couch. He stood right there.” Her hand shook as she pointed toward the end of the couch.
“Honey. Calm down.” Confusion joined his frown. “I’ve been here the entire time. No one walked across the patio or came into the room.”
Just then a cell phone rang…
Amanda. Get up!
“Go away.” Groggily Amanda shoved the hand roughly shaking her shoulder.
“Damnit. Get up, Amanda. It’s time.”
Amanda yawned. “Time for what?”
“Time for you to die.”
“That’s nice.” She snuggled deeper into the blanket she was wrapped in like a cocoon. What a strange dream she was having. It was a mixture of odd floating ghosts, mothers, husbands, and now a howling dog, an outraged loud dog.
In fact the dogs bark was quite annoying. Its continuous yapping grated on her ears. “Tell that dog to go away.”
All of a sudden the blanket around her was yanked violently. She tumbled and tumbled until she came to a hard thump and a sharp bang to her left hip. “Ow! That hurt.”
The lethargic sleep she’d been trapped in vanished. Horrified she discovered she lay in the middle of the desert. At a distance, she could see the lights of her house. “Where am I?”
The dark shape which dropped her stepped slightly away.
“Who are you? Where is James?”
A sinister laugh followed. “I’m right here.”
A flashlight clicked on, and the figure before her illuminated. “James?”
His laugh turned ugly. “In the flesh.”
Not only did he have a high beam flashlight, but he also carried an elaborately double braided rope which he’d fastened one end into a loop. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
“Because, darling, you have to die now.”
Amanda crab-walked backward, the rough desert stones digging into the palms of her hands. Somehow she had to keep him talking until she could find a way to escape. �
��Why do I have to die, James?”
“Because your lover is coming to protect you.”
“What lover?”
“Don’t play coy with me, Amanda.” James snickered. “Your P. I., painting freak, lover that’s who. Did you know he’s also a bodyguard? Well, little good it will do you, by the time he gets here, you will have disappeared.”
“Like hell I will.” James may be her husband but she mentally divorced him the instance he threatened her life. And her baby’s. She had it to protect besides herself. If Rick was truly on his way, then all she had to do was to keep James talking until he arrived. “I’m going nowhere. You may think I’m weak but I assure you, I am not. And, for your information Rick DeLuca is not my lover. He’s Dawn’s big brother. That’s all.”
Amanda recalled how she used to fight off her mother’s drunken boyfriends. She lifted her nose in disdain at him and sneered, “Lay one finger on me James and you’ll regret it.”
Her defiance surprised him. “Well, I’ll be. Neither Mary nor Holly was this cocky when I killed them. I guess I was right. You are different.”
“Mary and Holly?”
“Yes. Your friends from high school.”
Amanda’s disdain vanished. Confused horror took its place. “My friends?”
“None other.”
“My God! You are insane.” Tears ran down her cheeks remembering how much she liked both girls.
“If you say so. However I believe I’m quite sane.” He centered the flashlight beam on her face. “You know, I really did come to like you. I was even thinking of letting you live. You see, I wanted a portion of your trust fund and the only way I could get it was to have a child by you. That’s why I was so thrilled to hear you were pregnant.”
She displayed her hands across her abdomen. “You’ll never get your hands on this baby. I swear to you.”
“Sadly, I’m afraid you’re right. I’ve run out of time. Both you and the baby will have to go. Bodyguard Ricky is on his way from Tucson.
Amanda blanched. “How do you know this?”
BodyGuard (Butterscotch Martini Shots Book 2) Page 42