Gingerbread Man: A Marlow and Sage Mystery (A Nursery Rhyme Suspense Book 1)

by Lee Strauss

  She had to find a way to stay alive. For them.

  Teagan dried off and dressed in her new clothes. She turned the knob and had a fleeting thought that maybe she could escape, but the door was locked from the outside

  She sat on the toilet seat and waited.

  47

  

  Sage

  Wrapping Marlow’s ribs was strangely erotic. I felt my face flush and I had to look away. I pushed my chair farther from his to get some distance. “You want to investigate the other you?” I asked, working to keep my voice steady.

  “I know it’s weird, right?” he said, “but he did date the first victim and he kind of dropped off the social scene since her rape happened.”

  “That doesn’t say guilt to me. More like remorse. He couldn’t protect his girlfriend. And he’s also probably heartbroken because Vanessa dropped out of university. I heard she broke up with him.”

  “Well, put like that, I suppose it makes sense,” he said. “And I’m relieved, obviously. I’d hate to think any form of me could be capable of something as evil as that.”

  Marlow’s eyes darted around the room, at everything but me, and I wondered if my nursing efforts rattled him a little as well. He even forgot he wasn’t wearing glasses and jabbed the middle of his forehead with his index finger.

  “Ow,” he said.

  I laughed. “Do you make a habit of stabbing yourself in the head?”

  He stared at me with eyes that appeared slightly crossed. “I broke my glasses in the fight.”

  “You really can’t see, can you?”

  He bit his lip and shook his head.

  “Do you think you can get a shirt on?” I asked. I knew he was in a lot of pain.

  “You didn’t happen to bring me a button-down, did you?”

  “In fact, I did.” I pulled the flannel shirt from the pile on the bed. “Here.”

  He stood, and I helped him get it on. He pulled back when I tried to do the buttons up for him. “My fingers aren’t broken.”

  “Fine.”

  He took the other clothes into the bathroom and came out ten minutes later looking quite fab. Ryan’s clothes were a much better fit. I muttered, “You look… good.”

  His chin dropped like he was embarrassed. His bashfulness was really quite adorable.

  “While I was waiting, I put my hacking skills to work,” I said. I handed Marlow a piece of paper. “Your health insurance number. We’re going to get your eyes fixed.”

  “I guess I have no choice now, unless I concede to walking with a stick.” He hugged his wounded chest. “I hope it’s not far.”

  “A ten-minute bus ride just outside of campus. I know a walk-in place that’s open after hours.”

  I helped Marlow ease into the hoodie but left the zipper up to him.

  “Is it going to hurt?” he asked. “Because I’ve had enough pain for one day.”

  “Only a little.” I tapped him lightly on the arm.

  “Ow!”

  “Baby.”

  48

  

  Marlow

  sage gave me a couple of painkillers and they’d kicked in nicely while we were on the bus. The odd bump only made me yell out a little. I couldn’t believe I was preparing to go under the knife. Yeah, I was feeling melodramatic, but who wouldn’t in my shoes. These were my eyes we were talking about.

  “Maybe I should just see an optometrist and get new prescription lenses?”

  “Don’t tell me you’re chickening out already?”

  “I’m just being pragmatic.”

  “Well, I hate to break it to you,” Sage began. “Since most people get their eyes fixed, there’s not a lot of business for prescription lenses. You can get them, of course, but it takes a couple weeks. We could get you that stick and I’ll lead you around. Maybe a pair of dark sunglasses to complete the look?”

  “Ha, ha. You’re funny.”

  The bus took us out of the DU grounds and it was my first look at a Detroit not affected by a recession. Except I couldn’t really see it. The outlines of the skyscrapers in the distance poked the sky, but the edges were blurry. I couldn’t make out anything up close. I sighed and faced the facts. I needed this surgery.

  After several stops, Sage nudged me to get off. I was careful to hold onto the seat backs and the rail as I exited. Last thing my ribs needed was for me to fall on my face.

  The medical clinic looked like many others I’d been to, at least as far as the smell went. A tinge of cleaner mixed with the musk of air ventilation.

  Sage spoke to the receptionist on my behalf. “My friend is nervous, but he just broke his glasses, so now’s the time!”

  The receptionist smiled. “You’re a hold out, huh? Don’t worry, honey. It won’t hurt a bit, and you’ll be so glad you did it.”

  Since I couldn’t read the form, Sage filled it out for me with the other Marlow’s info.

  “Won’t he already be in the system?” I asked. “Since he’s already had this procedure?”

  Sage the hacker gave me a sly look. “He was.” She passed the forms over to me and I signed my consent. Next, I was led into a small examination room where one of the doctors ran me through an eye exam to establish my current prescription. She gave me a Valium to help me relax and drops to numb my eyes, then she sent me back to the waiting room to sit with Sage.

  “How are you doing?” she asked.

  “Okay. I’m on Valium so I’m no longer responsible for anything that comes out of my mouth.”

  She snorted before turning her attention back to her phone.

  “Any news?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Nothing new on the newsfeed, just that an investigation is ongoing. Nothing from Mrs. Lake. Not even anything from the Gingerbread Man.”

  I patted her arm, but didn’t say anything. I couldn’t tell her that everything would be all right, because I didn’t know. And with each passing day, a happy ending became less likely.

  “I just wish I could turn back the clock,” she said softly. “I wish I would’ve stayed home with her. I didn’t even have a good time. Had too much to drink and got sick.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I said.

  “You keep saying that, Mars, but I can’t help thinking I should’ve been there for her. She’s my best friend and I blew her off.”

  “You’re her friend, not her mother. You’re not her husband. You’re not her babysitter. There was no way for you to know, and I doubt there was a way you could’ve stopped this. If he hadn’t taken her that night, he would’ve done it another. No one could’ve known that Teagan was being hunted, not even you.”

  She leaned into me and rested her head on my arm. My heart rate rose a little as I breathed in the fresh scent of her shampoo. I liked the feeling of her body pressed up against mine. I loved that she felt comfortable enough with me to do it.

  I almost reached over and stroked her hair when my name was called.

  Sage straightened up, then asked, “Do you want me to come in and hold your hand?”

  “Yes,” I said without hesitation.

  “Seriously?”

  “Damn right.” She might’ve been joking, but I was dead serious. I hated needles, doctors and anything to do with poking out my eyes. Plus, I really wanted to hold her hand.

  The doctor directed me to a chair that looked very much like what you’d find at the dentist. I almost opened my mouth and said “ah.”

  She let me hold Sage’s hand but gave me a squeeze ball for the other so I wouldn’t reach for my eyes. She promised to tell me everything each step of the way but my stomach turned at “corneal flap,” and I asked her to stop. I focused all my attention on the red light I was meant to stare at. I tensed when my vision went totally black and fought the panic that I might now be completely blind. Sage stroked my arm and I was overwhelmed by all the sensory input. I could swear I smelled flesh burning.

  “Right side is done, Mr. Henry,” the doctor announced.

&
nbsp; “Already?” I let out a breath in relief. That only took a few minutes.

  I braced for the sensation of pressure on my left eye and breathed through all the digging around. The Valium had kicked in nicely and if it weren’t for all the activity happening around my face, I might’ve broken into a show tune.

  “All done,” the doctor said.

  I looked at Sage and frowned. “It’s still a blur.”

  The doctor gave me a pair of sunglasses. “Your vision will clear up gradually overnight. Wear these for the next three days, even to bed.” She handed me a bottle of drops. “Put a drop in each eye twice a day for the next week. No screen work or any kind of reading for twenty-four hours. Take a day to rest.”

  I put the sunglasses on my face and the bottle of drops into my pocket. We thanked her, and Sage helped me to my feet. My legs felt a little too relaxed and I buckled slightly against her.

  “I’m fine,” I said, straightening. I gathered all my dignity and pushed my sunglasses up tight to my face.

  We headed back toward the bus stop. The wind had picked up and suddenly we were in the center of a leaf-ridden vortex. The air was dry, but lightning flashed in the swirl around us.

  Everything happened so fast. I pushed Sage with as much strength as I could muster with my wounded ribs, thrusting her outside of the vortex, just as I felt the shock of jumping riddle through my body.

  I screamed as the leaves settled around my feet.

  “Sage!”

  I pressed the sunglasses against my face and searched for her. She wasn’t with me. I had jumped again. My heart sunk three floors when I took in the landscape around me. I had jumped, but I wasn’t home.

  Detroit City lay in complete ruins around me, all dust and decay, like an atomic bomb had gone off.

  49

  Part Three

  Marlow

  I had to be hallucinating. My knees gave out and I crumbled to the broken earth, bits of rock and debris poking through the denim into my skin. What I stared at through my darkened lenses completely distracted me from those minor points of pain. Detroit City, my city, was in ruins.

  Ahead of me, in the near distance, were the tall office buildings of the city center—windows shattered, paint erased, the top floors missing. The whistling wind was the only sound. Gone was the constant rumbling of motor vehicles and the beehive of pedestrian activity. The clinic I’d just left moments before with Sage by my side, the euphoria I felt over facing a lifelong fear of getting my eyes lasered—all gone. I was surrounded by dusty rubble.

  “What the hell happened here?”

  The words escaped my mouth as my brain refused to conclude the obvious. A bomb had gone off. A major one. Probably more than one.

  I swallowed dryly with a thick throat and choked on the dusty air.

  I grabbed my head and panted. I wasn’t home. I wasn’t with Sage. I was in another, hellish universe. It took every ounce of my will, to rise to my feet. As far as the eye could see was lifeless destruction. I blinked, hoping I was hallucinating, dreaming. That maybe I was about to wake up in a hospital bed with Sage at my side, holding my hand, imploring me to hold on. Had I been struck by a car?

  I crumbled to the ground. It felt real enough. Ash and dust sifted through my trembling fingers. If this were a dream, it was nothing like any dream I’d ever had before.

  I must’ve jumped. Into the freaking end of the world. How long until the mysterious storm would come to sweep me up and take me away again? Would I ever find my way home?

  If I wanted to live, I had to move. Find shelter. Water and food.

  I headed in the direction of the campus, though I had no reason to believe I’d find anything intact there. The only other place I was tempted to go was my house, to check on my mother. My old neighborhood was on the other side of the city, a much farther walk, and any woman I might find there wouldn’t be my real mother anyway. I was thankful she was safely at home in my own world, probably chewing sunflower seeds and drinking diet Pepsi while watching Wheel of Fortune.

  The atmosphere in this world was orange. Smoke particles filled the sky blocking the rays of the descending sun, effectively removing natural shadows. I glanced around for my shadow, and not seeing it, I felt a bit like Peter Pan. The effect was unnerving.

  All the landmarks were gone or destroyed. Fires dotted the darkening horizon. Plumes of smoke washed the tangerine sky. I covered my mouth with the cuff of my shirt and tried to swallow my spit. The street lamps lay in rows of twisted metal. Burned out cars, buses and a variety of SUVs were scattered in the ditches and crumpled into buildings. I skirted around fallen golden arches and broken Texaco signs. Approaching a Dodge minivan that looked not too worse for wear from my vantage point, I wondered if there was any way to jump-start it. I should’ve paid more attention to those cop shows. Driving would beat walking. I peered inside when I got close to it, but hopped back with a screech when I saw a body in the driver’s seat. Dark singed hair concealed the face of a woman. Her skin was puckered, red and gray. Two smaller bodies were strapped into car seats in the back.

  The smell of decay hit me like a wall, and I bent over toward the ditch and hurled.

  From my position with my head between my knees, I could see the half-circle sun blushing along the horizon. I had to find shelter for the night. It would be cold and who knew what kind of wild, hungry post-apocalyptic creatures were on the hunt for their next meal.

  I forced myself to keep walking. It was like I’d landed in the middle of a massive graveyard, one that hadn’t been tended to in a couple hundred years. Green regrowth had poked through the cracks and concrete, vines crawling up the blown-out structures.

  There were several abandoned cars parked in lots and on the side of the road, empty. I tugged on a few handles, but the doors were locked. I came to an old Ford Escort, tugged on the handle and it clicked open. The interior was lined with a film of dust and ash. I scooted into the driver’s seat and searched for a key. In movies, there was always a spare under the floor mat or in the visor, but this was real life and I had nothing. The dash was blank. I reached underneath, looking for wires, but whatever was there was encased in hard plastic. Even if I could get inside, I had no idea what to do. I had no choice but to keep walking.

  I finally reached the campus grounds and my first stop was Sage and Teagan’s dorm. It was damaged and empty, but the stairwell and all the rooms up to the third floor were intact. Despite the odds against finding anyone, I climbed through the debris and called Sage’s name.

  Next, I went to my own dorm. I actually found myself hoping I’d see a third Marlow Henry and a third Zed. Our building was even worse off. There were no staircases intact at all. It smelled like an old, sooty fireplace. No one could’ve survived if they were here when the bombs fell. My third self and best friend were likely dead. I felt a strange detached form of grief, like holding onto a helium balloon. I had to keep my emotions at a safe distance in order to keep moving on, but they were still there, tied to my wrist with a long string.

  Sage’s dorm, at least, would provide some shelter from the elements, but wouldn’t keep wild dogs out. I had a little time before nightfall to find something better. It was spectacularly creepy to be the only person on the whole campus in the aftermath of an incredibly terrifying event.

  All the trees were burned black and leafless. Some lay prostrate on the earth with exposed broken trunks. I broke a branch off one of them and swung it through the air like a sword, a weapon of minimal efficiency, in hopes of fighting off potential night creatures.

  My sunglasses made everything appear dark and eerie. I removed them and slipped them into my pocket. I took a moment to put the drops in my eyes and blinked back at the dusty atmosphere. My vision had cleared, and I could see better than I ever could before. I wanted to keep it that way.

  I headed for the science labs. If I was going to find anything of value to me, it would be there. I breathed out in relief when I saw the building was still standing.
The upper windows were all blown out, and the brick exterior was darkened by soot, but the three-story building was in one piece.

  I sniffed the air. Smoke? Dusk had descended in a murky gray glow. The smoke smelled fresh, like a fireplace, but I couldn’t see it. I didn’t see flames either. The world here had a stench of death and soot. It was entirely possible that my mind was playing tricks on me. After everything that happened in the last couple days, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was all part of a mental breakdown, a trauma induced psychosis.

  I bit my lip until I tasted blood. Real blood. I wasn’t imagining things. Squinting, I continued on. Was that light coming through one of the basement windows?

  A click. The unmistakable sound of the cocking of a gun. My nerves flushed with cold fear. I wasn’t alone.

  “Stay where you are.”

  My head jerked to the side. I knew that voice.

  A girl with wild, dark hair came into view. A gas mask covered her nose and mouth. She wore what looked like hospital scrubs over thicker winter clothes. She narrowed her dusky eyes and lowered her weapon. “Henry?”

  “Sage?”

  Her arm snapped back up and she held her pistol firmly with both hands.

  “Get down on the ground!”

  “Sage? It’s me.”

  “I don’t know who you are but I know who you’re not. Now get down or I’ll shoot you. Don’t think I won’t!”

  I believed her. I got down.

  50

  

  Marlow

  Sage stomped on my back with an army boot and I cried out. This Sage didn’t know about my damaged ribs.

  “Who are you?” she demanded.

  I snorted dust. “Marlow!”