With Strings Attached

by A. A. Vacco

  Kat’s phone rang a few minutes later, and Elle heard Kat say, “Well? Dammit. No, no, no, I’m sure it’s fine. Fuck. Um, just leave it where it is. I’ll stop by tomorrow and take a look, ok? Elle’s here. Yea, uh huh. White wine, come by if you need a night cap. K, buh-bye!”

  “You know," said Elle as Kat hung up, “If you want people not to worry? Try not to use phrases such as ‘dammit’ and ‘fuck’ right before you say there’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Shut up. I’m stressed and slightly buzzed.”

  “But you play it off so well.”

  Kat scoffed and said, “Listen Eleanor, you want in on this or not?”

  “It sounds like you’re not giving me much choice, but to be safe, I’ll say that I’m in.”

  Kat grabbed Elle by the arm so hard her fingernails dug into Elle’s skin. She pulled Elle to Genie’s room and opened the door. She turned on the light and they stood together just a few feet from the door frame. Kat pointed to the doll sitting on the shelf in the corner and hissed, “See it?”

  “Kind of hard not to.”

  Kat walked forward and grabbed the doll. She took hold of Elle’s arm again, and marched both of them back into the kitchen. She guided Elle to one of the chairs and took a seat across from her. She set the pale, blonde porcelain doll between them.

  “Lucy," read Elle, caressing the collar of the doll’s dress. “And this outfit is hand sewn. It’d probably disintegrate if you so much as blow on it. It’s so faded.”

  Kat rotated the doll and pointed to the backpack. “This is hand made as well. I’ll bet even the shoes and socks were hand stitched.”

  Familiar with the American Girl doll line, Elle asked Kat if it were possible this was one of them. The doll matched the size, at least. Kat shook her head. “Genie was into those when she was about nine, but even the historical ones appeared new.

  “Hm," mused Elle, removing the backpack from the doll. “Ever open this?”

  “Until today, I didn’t even know ‘this’ existed," Kat answered.

  Undeterred, Elle unbuttoned the small pack and pulled out a small notebook and a sapphire necklace. “Well, that’s unexpected," she said, checking the bag for anything else.

  Kat picked up the necklace and examined it. “This is real," she said, “Or if it’s a fake, it’s a really good one.” She moved the thin chain between her fingers, causing the dark stone to swing like a pendulum.

  More focused on the notebook, Elle thumbed through the pages. It was about the size of her hand, and had taken up the full length and width of the backpack. But since it was flat, the backpack too lay flat, and Elle figured this was how it went unnoticed for so long. “Kat," murmured Elle.

  “Hm?”

  “This isn’t just a school girl notebook.”

  “Then what the hell is it?”

  “It’s, it’s a diary.”

  “No shit," said Kat, reaching for it.

  “Careful! If that’s what it actually is and this isn’t some farce, it’s pretty old.”

  Flipping to the back, they began to read the faded writing on the last few yellowing pages.

  September 29, 1887

  Carnival Day. The dolls were lifelike and this frightened me. Frank says not to worry, but doesn’t know how much I hate it. I hate the city. I hate the nuances. I spend time on clothes and accessories for Lucy. My life succumbs to this banality. Hopefully the school year will be more fruitful.

  M.J.S.

  November 15, 1887

  Ever since the carnival, things aren’t the same. Feeling worse, actually. Hard to write about it because it makes me sad. Lucy feels different, too. She’s with me when I dream. It’s like always having a friend to visit. This I can live with. Frank would think me crazy if I ever told him. More later.

  M.J.S.

  November 23, 1887

  Failing to write here more and more, but I get lost in thought and forget to jot it down. The dreams are so real, I feel as if I could talk to her when I awake. Frank still works long hours. At least I see him on weekends. I have trouble making friends in town. It’s like they know I’m not from here. I miss Kansas. I miss my sisters, and I miss my home. Lucy seems to bring me back to that. More soon.

  M.J.S.

  December 12, 1887

  Finally, the dreams are a constant in my life. Lucy is there for me in my sleep and a doll-like reminder for me to know she’s there when I am awake. Frank would think I’m crazy for such a suggestion, but I know what comes to me in my sleep. Lucy is more a friend than a doll. She comes alive and night, and there we visit.

  M.J.S.

  December 30, 1887

  Lucy and I talk often in my dreams. She’s convinced me that leaving this place is my only source of happiness. I fear my existence, however, fuels hers, and would hate to rob her of it. Everything else seems so mundane. I long for sleep, I dream for dreams.

  M.J.S.

  January 3, 1888

  I’ve decided to heed Lucy’s advice. Soon I’ll be with her as friends are with each other. Tonight, I return home.

  M.J.S.

  Kat glanced at Elle. “Think this is related to anything or are we just wasting time?”

  Shrugging, Elle answered, “So far we are wasting time. Who knows what any of it means.” She yawned. “But it’s getting late. Maybe we ought to...,” She flipped the page, “That’s odd.”

  “What? What now?”

  “Well, the diary ends with that last entry.” Elle checked again. “I mean, it’s small, so these few entries take up most of the notebook, but still, that is all she, I am guessing it was a she, wrote. Not a consistent journalist, either.”

  A soft series of taps on the front door interrupted Elle. Kat rose and headed to see who in their right mind would show up close to midnight. “Oh, Maggie!” Elle heard her say. Elle stayed at the kitchen table and took another swig of her wine. She heard, “No, no, not a problem. Thanks. Yes, of course, I will." Then the door closed and Elle heard a car pulling away from the driveway. Kat’s phone started to buzz before she returned to the kitchen. ‘Alex Kingman’ flashed across the screen. Elle reached over and answered it.

  “Alex?”

  “Uh, Elle? Did I dial the right--?”

  “No, no you did. I’m at Kat’s and her phone’s by me.”

  “She doing ok?”

  “What you’d expect. Why the late night phone call?”

  Alex sighed. “Would’ve called you too, if I thought you’d be awake at this hour.”

  “Turns out I am. What’s going on?”

  Alex explained the fire, the explosion, and seeing the face of the doll at the end of it all. Kat since returned to the kitchen and sat down. Elle had the phone set to ‘speaker’ so they could both hear. When he finished, Kat reported she too found a doll in Genie’s room, and to raise further suspicions, she set down a second doll on the table next to Lucy.

  “What the hell is that?” asked Elle.

  “What’s what?” Alex’s voice echoed over the speakerphone.

  “Kat just set another doll down on the table. Where she got it, I’m not entirely sure.”

  “Maggie dropped it off. Aubrey’s mother," Kat explained. “She found it in the bathroom sitting on the countertop after the paramedics came and took Aubrey to the hospital. Guess she didn’t notice it at first.”

  “Who would?” said Alex.

  “Anyways. I’m not going to sleep with both of these things in my house," continued Kat.

  Elle rubbed her eyes. “It’s after midnight, Kat. You gonna stick em in the backyard?”

  “I’ll come get them," offered Alex. “I won’t be sleeping worth a damn tonight anyways.”

  Elle and Kat both offered their homes to the Kingman family for the time being, but Alex said they’d be fine staying at Cara’s mother’s house for the next few days. “If homicidal thoughts occur, we’ll make our way north," he assured them. “Anyways, you two hang tight. I’ll make my way up and be there in a couple of
hours.”

  After hanging up Kat’s phone and handing it back to her, Elle said, “Well, if both of you are going to stay awake, then you don’t need my help.”

  “Crash on the couch.”

  “I’ll crash on your couch," agreed Elle.

  Situated at opposite ends of the couch with their feet on the middle cushion, Elle and Kat fell asleep in minutes. They woke up a bit later to the sound of Alex’s spare key unlocking the Muller’s front door.

  Elle sat up and brushed her hair from her face. Kat was already standing and making her way to hug Alex. "Hey, wow, you made good time," Elle heard her say.

  Elle rose and greeted him too. Then, the three made their way into the kitchen. As Kat crossed the threshold, both dolls turned to face her. She jumped back, almost knocking Alex over.

  "Worst Deja vu ever," muttered Elle.

  Both dolls blinked, returned their heads back to the original poses and stayed motionless after that. Slightly shaken, Alex leaned against the counter, saying, "Yea, it's been awhile since I've seen them do that. Can't say I miss it."

  Kat shook her head. "No, and I hope it'll be one of the last times we ever deal with it."

  Elle went to put on some coffee. It was closing in on four o'clock in the morning, and she had a hunch that Kat had no plans to go back to sleep. Kat pulled some mugs from the cabinet and added them to the collection of empty wine glasses that still sat from several hours earlier. Once the coffee brewed and Elle filled up their mugs, the three sipped in silence for a few minutes.

  "You think the dolls have anything to do with, well, anything over the past month?" asked Kat.

  "What I do know," said Alex, "Is that each teen that ran into harm's way had one of these things in their possession, whether they knew it or not."

  Kat glanced up at him. "What do you mean 'if they knew it or not’?"

  "Just that, well, do we think any of them tried to leave with a few dolls in hand? When I picked up Aubrey and Cassie, they were terrified and both swore they didn't go beyond the front counter."

  "The dolls aren't even visible until the mirror room," mused Elle. "Unless one found its own way out, but that isn't typical."

  "Nothing is typical when it comes to that place," said Kat, taking another sip from her steaming mug.

  "No," said Elle, shaking her head, "But we have to establish some known constants and work under those assumptions or anything is fair game and we'll get nowhere."

  "Ok, ok, ok," Kat waved a hand at Elle, "Let’s say Aubrey and Cassie did not see or take a doll. They left without much of a fight from the place, right?"

  Alex nodded. "From what Cassie told me, yes."

  "Alright. And what about Genie and Billy? Sounds like you’ve held a lot of information back, Alex, and I'm thinking now would be a great time to let me in." Kat's voice remained steady, but her body was trembling. Elle reached over and took her mug from her hands and placed it back on the counter.

  Alex sighed. "Kat, listen, sorry doesn't even begin to start this off."

  Kat put up a hand to cut him off. "Look, just tell me what happened. I know you didn't do anything to hurt her, so skip it and just...just tell me what the hell happened."

  Alex started from the beginning and told her what he saw, what Cassie told him, and when he finished, none of them could conclude how the three dolls found their way out of the mansion.

  "Billy," said Elle. "Our missing link. He went in with Genie. He knows the rest."

  "Think he'll tell the truth?" asked Alex.

  "Only one way to find out," said Elle, dialing his number on her phone. "He'll still be up. He isn't sleeping a whole ton either."

  Billy sounded borderline delirious from sleep deprivation and grief. Fortunately, it was a great formula to extract the whole, unadulterated version of their little Doll House visit. Billy explained the whole thing as Kat and Alex leaned in to listen. Elle had Billy on speakerphone, but kept the volume low so she wouldn't wake up Walt. They didn't need another volatile temper added to the mix.

  When Elle hung up her phone, a dazed Kat sat down at the kitchen table. Alex took several steps toward the stove and fridge with his hands clasped behind his head, and then turned and walked back. Elle just stared at the phone with her arms crossed over her chest.

  "They kept the dolls," whispered Kat. "They took them out of the house...that's probably why they had such a hard time getting out."

  Alex rubbed his face with his hands and continued pacing between where Elle stood and the stove. "It's a long shot, but, Ellbea, you wouldn't happen to have those old articles and notes from when we visited Byron Easton back in high school, would you?"

  Looking up, Elle said, "Not sure. That was forever ago. If I did, it'd be in a box in our attic. I dwindled down all paperwork and folders to one box over the years."

  "No," said Kat.

  "No?" Elle raised her eyes to her.

  "No. You don't have it," said Kat, standing.

  She walked over to the hall closet, opened it, and pulled out a step stool, and rummaged around the top shelf until she produced a faded shoe box covered in a layer of dust. Turning back, she blew the dust off, causing Elle and Alex to cough. "I don't know how, anymore, but I wound up keeping it with my stuff," she told them.

  Returning to the kitchen, Kat dumped out the contents of the box. Before them, they found Elle's old notebook, copies of the newspaper articles about the deaths of the interns, and a bunch of sticky notes.

  Alex picked up a few of the sticky notes. "What's this?"

  Elle took them and glanced over the writing. "Oh, quotes, mainly. I couldn't hear a lot of what you guys talked about that day, but I wrote down what I did hear, and some stuff we discussed on the car ride home." She passed the notes back to Alex.

  "House's revenge from plotting to expose it," Alex read. He flipped it over and read, "He the weapon equals rifle?"

  Elle and Kat exchanged looks and shrugged. "Keep going," said Kat.

  "Ok, uh, 'interns planned to film the house, sell for $$$," He said dollar sign, dollar sign, dollar sign as he read it, “The back says, 'Valors' involvement and knowledge of events?' Lot of question marks on these things, Elle."

  Elle pushed back a strand of dark hair and reached for another sticky note. “They were to take what wasn’t theirs...home and see the events unfold," she read, then said, “I think this was something Byron actually said.”

  “Sounds like it," said Kat. “He spoke in third person and riddles the whole time, remember?”

  Elle flipped the note over and continued, “The man ran from all the red...None were saved or survived, except the protection of the house.”

  Kat nodded. “I remember that part. He started saying everyone saw red and red sprayed all over the house. I think he meant after he shot the interns. Think the house made him crazy enough to do it?”

  Alex shook his head. “Couldn’t say. Remember when we talked on our way back, Elle said something about when you guys were attacked?"