The House Guest

by Rosa Sophia

  “The murder.” Corry nervously blurted it out. “What happened?”

  “Oh, you want details.” She said it as though she were talking about the plot of a movie. But if she told this story, she wouldn’t be giving away a spoiler. Instead, it was the truth she was telling.

  Or was it the truth? Maybe she was the schizophrenic murderer of Jonathan Stark, nothing but a crazy woman who thought she knew something. Just like all those people who convinced themselves they were Jesus.

  “Kat, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, fine,” she lied. “Why?”

  “You didn’t say anything. I said yes, after you mentioned details.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” Kat looked out her window and saw a sign that told her she was on route 113. It was getting cloudy. Was rain on the way? She thought of the storm on the night John Maslin had died. “I’ll tell you everything,” she said.

  “They say that talking helps.”

  “They say a lot of things. Mind if I have some of your water?” There was an old bottle sitting in the front cup holder, and Corry nodded. “Anyway,” Katherine continued as she took a sip of warm water, “he did it with an axe.” It wasn’t the best way to jump into a conversation about murder, but it would do. She heard her friend groan. “You still want to hear about it?”

  “Yes. I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay. I was sitting with Phillip, reading Shakespeare, when he went to check on the boys. His kids. I followed him out there.”

  “And that’s when you saw it?”

  “Yes. He…” Kat hesitated. Did she really want to say this? “He broke open John’s head with an axe. Two swipes, I think.”

  “Jesus Christ.” Corry slammed on the brakes just as she realized she had almost run a red light. Someone behind them yelled out their window.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, it was just the red light,” Corry said worriedly. “I should be asking you that, you know.”

  “The psychiatrist can ask it next week.”

  “So, you are going to talk to Janis? Thank the Goddess.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t know who to thank or even why. Why should I? I’m starting to wish Phillip had killed me. He chased me after I saw it. With the axe. Then I landed face down, just like I had when I first got there and—”

  “Kat, don’t say that.” The light turned green and the black Chevy continued down the road.

  “Don’t say what? That I fell?”

  “No, that you wish he’d killed you. Because I don’t know what the hell I would do without you. Or what Jake would do without you. Did he tell you that after you went missing, he invited me over because he didn’t want to be alone? We drank an entire bottle of vodka between the two of us and I slept in your art studio.” She glanced over at Kat, as though she were making sure she wasn’t imagining her. “I felt as though you were there, with all those paintings around me. Your self-portrait was right by the window. I didn’t feel so alone then.”

  “I’m sorry, Cor,” Kat muttered.

  “For what?”

  “Disappearing on you like that. You’re my best friend. I’m sorry I put you through that torture.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. If I had at least been able to know that you weren’t…” Her lip quivered and her eyes grew wet. “That you weren’t…stuck in some asshole’s house, getting raped or something. If I had known that you weren’t, for sure, that you were safe…I wouldn’t have worried as much.”

  “I know.”

  “All I could think about was someone killing you, Katherine. It’s a horrible thing to live with, you know.” She laughed out of morbid amusement and wiped a few tears off her face.

  “Corry, stop crying, you’re not going to be able to see where you’re going,” Kat advised. Her tone was compassionate. She put her hand on Corry’s shoulder.

  “Okay, I will. But don’t expect me to keep it together once I stop the car.”

  “I’m surprised you’ve held together for this long, Cor. Just remember I’ll be fine. I’m doing all right.”

  “You’re not a good liar, you know.”

  Kat let her hand fall away from Corry’s shoulder. She adjusted her seat belt and watched the trees fly by. “I know,” she said.

  ***

  Kat could tell Frank Ruth wasn’t happy when he opened his apartment door and scowled. He must have heard Corry shuffling her purse around. He adjusted the scratched sunglasses he was wearing, which looked ancient. Kat wondered how long he’d had them.

  “I thought you were coming alone?”

  “I didn’t know you wanted me to,” Kat replied.

  “I’ll wait downstairs in the lobby.” Corry didn’t seem all that irritated as she headed back for the elevator.

  Frank turned around and headed back for his armchair while Kat closed the door.

  In the living room, Frank gestured vaguely to the other side of the room, where one of the metal chairs from the recreation room was leaning against the wall. “I found you a chair this time. I asked someone to bring it up for me, just to borrow it for your visit.”

  “Thanks.” She wanted to tell him she appreciated his kindness, but the words were too awkward for her. She unfolded the metal chair, then took off her jacket and laid it across her legs when she sat down. “I’m sorry I was so harsh to you when we last met. This has been very stressful.”

  “It’s all forgiven,” Frank said with a wave of his hand. “I know you just want to get all of this over with.”

  “I do. Which brings me to this—what was it you wanted to tell me?”

  “There were a few things. I also wanted to ask you something, but I’ll hold off on that for a while. The reason I decided to tell you is because I doubt anyone will care about me anymore. What could I do? I’m just an old man.”

  “Mmm-hmm.” Kat thought of Jonathan Stark and how paranoid he had been. She couldn’t figure out why. He had a right to be scared, yes, but it wasn’t like someone had watched him day in and day out—right?

  “I’ll get to the point,” Frank continued. “You’re going to have obstacles. The more you try to find out, the more someone will try to stop you.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do you mean Phillip?” Kat couldn’t think of anyone else. When Frank shook his head, she was almost discouraged. If the answer had been Phillip, then at least she would have been closer to stopping him.

  “Phillip lost his mind, remember? He spends all his time in a nursing home. He doesn’t have the physical or mental capacity to go after someone.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “Yes, I do,” Frank said, nodding. “Phillip was a very unhappy man, mostly due to his mother’s influence. Regardless of any sins he may have committed, he was bound to go nuts eventually. He was cruel to me at his mother’s behest, because she believed I was a mistake.” He picked up a glass of water that had been sitting on the floor and sipped it. “She was a Christian Scientist,” he added. “She was extremely strict and didn’t believe in medicine of any sort. She thought that if something happened to you, it was a punishment by God’s hand. I was born without sight. She viewed that as the ultimate punishment.”

  “She must have made you miserable.”

  “She did. My friend was the only person who ever tried to make me happy.” He gestured to his glasses. “He got me these. I’ve taken good care of them.”

  “Jacob Haisley?” Now Kat knew how old the glasses were.

  “Yes.”

  “Is he—?”

  “He passed away a few years ago,” Frank said solemnly.

  “Oh. I’m sorry.” Kat really meant it. It was hard for her to have compassion for someone when she was so busy trying to keep herself together. Maybe that was what made people lose their minds; they were too compassionate and didn’t think enough about themselves. Perhaps egotism could actually be an asset.

  “It’s all right. I have Pearl, after all,” Frank conceded. Kat coul
d tell by the tone of his voice that he didn’t really enjoy the woman’s company. As if to enunciate Kat’s hypothesis, Frank swiped his tongue over his lips and said, “I can’t stand all these old people!”

  Katherine laughed until she realized that he had been serious.

  “I—uh, I guess I know what you mean,” she said.

  “Look, you won’t understand until you get to be my age,” Frank said. “It’s really horrible. I hate living here, but I can’t afford anything else. All the people who work here treat us like old farts, as if we can’t hear a damn thing and we were only born yesterday. I don’t have much money. Julie left me some savings in her will.” He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t have any family left, so Jacob’s grandkids help me pay for things. They’re good people, but they don’t come by much. I have to spend most of my free time with all these old folks. No kids and no pets—just kids who work here and think they know everything. They even seem to think they’re smarter than I am. Just because I’m blind doesn’t mean I’m incompetent or mentally ill.”

  “You’re absolutely right,” Kat agreed. She didn’t know what else to say.

  Did he really have something to tell me? She wondered. Or did he just call me over here so he would have someone to talk to? She pitied Frank Ruth.

  Kat spoke before she even realized the consequences of what she was saying.

  “If you like, I can come by more often. We could play cards. Maybe I could find you a deck that has Braille on it.”

  “That would be wonderful.” His face had lit up. Kat had never seen him so happy. She never thought he could be this gleeful. Her impression of him had been one of deep sorrow. But it was true that inside of everyone, there was a need to be happy. “And you wouldn’t cheat like Pearl does?” Frank inquired.

  “Of course not,” Kat said, smiling. When was the last time she had smiled? She caught herself doing it as though it were some sort of felony.

  “What was it we were talking about?”

  “Um, you still had something to tell me, right?” Kat said.

  “Oh, yes.” His expression became less bright. Frank slumped back and frowned. “My disability and my sister were not the only things that kept me at Phillip’s house,” he admitted.

  “I knew.”

  “I assumed you did. You seem like a very intelligent person. And you were there for a time, after all. I remembered your voice.”

  “So, what kept you at that house?” Katherine asked impatiently.

  If Frank had eyes in his skull, they would have reflected memories of pain and fear. Instead, his nearly empty sockets, hidden behind the dark sunglasses, merely stared blankly ahead. His upper lip twitched.

  “I heard something,” he said. “Something Phillip hadn’t wanted me to hear.” Kat didn’t know what to say. She had expected this answer, but she hadn’t been ready for it. She stared at him, dumbfounded, as he continued. “Do you know the name Simon Collins?”

  “Yes, He was…he was someone Julie mentioned to me.”

  “I heard him die,” Frank conceded, his body trembling slightly. “I heard the struggle. I had been in my bedroom when I heard scuffling behind the door, so I went to find out what was happening. I heard something being dragged past my door, very quickly, and I heard a man whimpering. Then I heard something hit the ground. There was nothing else. Julie had been out shopping that day and Phillip’s mother had been napping, I think.”

  “How did Phillip…how did he know that…t-that you had heard?” Kat stammered. All she could think of was blood—everywhere.

  “He saw that the door was ajar. When he came in my bedroom, I was standing there and he threatened me. He said that if I ever tried to leave, I would be next.” He paused. “Katherine, I have to admit I’m frightened now. I know he can’t hurt me when he’s in that nursing home, but—”

  “Don’t worry,” Kat assured him, though she herself was terrified. “If anyone gets killed, it would be…well, you get the idea.” She didn’t want to say that she could be next. She didn’t want to die. “What made you stay in that house before Simon was killed?”

  “That was Julie. I really was afraid for her. I didn’t like Phillip when I first met him and after living with him for a while, I knew that my first impression had been right. He would hit Julie. Not a lot, but too much. And he beat up the boys too. Mostly John—he never liked him very much.”

  “Have you ever told anyone about John?”

  “No. I figured it was better just to keep myself in one piece.”

  “I know. That’s why you’re afraid now, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. I only hope you can set things right, Katherine, because of what you saw. Not many people knew John and those who did were told he moved away. Since people barely ever saw him, they believed Phillip when he said John was a nephew of his who only stayed for a short time. Maybe Phillip threatened his own son. Maybe that was another reason the boy rarely went outside.”

  “I would bet on it,” Kat agreed sorrowfully.

  “But one of the things I wanted to ask you concerned that,” Frank went on. “What did you see, Katherine? What happened? On the morning after the thirty-first, I woke up and was told that you’d gone. Phillip never said where. He only said you left that night. What happened?”

  “I saw everything, Frank. I saw the murder. I walked in just as Phillip just as he killed John. With an axe.” Kat shuddered. All that blood.

  “Oh, my God.” Frank shook his head sadly. “I only heard a few yells. Phillip was smart about it. He silenced him beforehand.”

  “John didn’t talk much anyway. I’m thinking his father just told him to shut up and he must have obeyed, thinking it would prolong his life.” A moment later, Kat realized that she was crying. “What the hell!” Then she was sobbing. “Why the fuck do people kill people…just for being different?” Frank said nothing. Her outburst had not surprised him. “I just don’t understand it,” she muttered, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. “Just because he was…”

  “Because of what?”

  “He was gay. He killed him because he was a little too close to his brother.” Now she was more furious than sad. “You don’t seem surprised.”

  “I had suspected it. But it had never really dawned on me that might be the reason. I suppose I had thought they’d just gotten in a fight and it was an accident.”

  “Nothing can be an accident if an axe is involved,” Katherine said bitterly.

  Frank nodded. “I suppose I was holding out hope. Just as I had hoped that Jonathan Stark would be found innocent. Then again, part of me wished Phillip would have been taken away. We would have all been safe. And Julie could have left, started a new life in the city with…” He paused and pursed his lips. “Did you speak with Jonathan?”

  Kat almost forgot Frank was blind. She nodded. When she realized her mistake, she followed it with words. “I found his phone number on the same day I got yours. I went to his house. I guess I should tell you what happened. They’re probably trying to keep it away from the media.”

  Frank quivered. “What are you talking about?” His voice was shaky, as though he already knew.

  “Jonathan’s dead,” Kat choked. “And they think I did it.”

  “What?”

  “When I spoke with him, he said he was worried he would be killed. I said he shouldn’t worry, but I thought it would be safest if he came and stayed with Jake and I—that’s my fiancé—for a while. He seemed eager to get away from his house, but when we got to mine, I hadn’t mentioned that I lived in…well, I was my grandparents’ heir, so to speak, and they gave me their house. It frightened him and he hadn’t gotten out much, so he reacted as though Phillip still lived there.

  “We had dinner together and he relaxed about it, but he was still freaked out. Then I had a dream about Julie and she pointed toward the guestroom that Jonathan was staying in and told me that I should check on him. I woke up in the middle of the night and went in there. When I turned
on the light, he was dead.”

  “How?”

  “Jake had thought that it was alcohol poisoning. Jonathan drank almost an entire bottle of scotch before falling asleep, and he was a heavy drinker anyway. But I didn’t think that was the reason.”

  “What happened then?”

  “They took away the body. Then I found out Jonathan had been suffocated. And because I live there, I’m the prime suspect.”

  “Why? What about your fiancé?”

  “Well.” Kat sighed heavily. “I’m an idiot, really. The thing with Jake is that he wasn’t the one who lied to the cops and told them that…What I said was….” Kat paused. “I told them Jonathan drank all the time, he and I were good friends. I told them this when they came to get him. I also said that we fought when I tried to get him to stop drinking.”

  “And since Jake probably said he hadn’t really known him…”

  “Exactly. I have this fake history with Jonathan, so I’m the main suspect now. And if I tell the cops I was lying, they’ll probably suspect me even more. If they knew I was lying, that would raise even more questions. Why was he there? How did I really know Jonathan?”

  “I see what you mean. I just can’t get over the fact he’s dead. You know what this means, don’t you?” Frank clasped his hands in front of his stomach and frowned, his brow furrowing.

  “What?” Kat really didn’t want to know, but she asked anyway. Curiosity killed the cat, she reminded herself. In that case, I’m probably close to my ninth life by now.

  “This means that someone is trying to make sure you don’t find out the truth. Someone’s going to try to kill you. And it also means that someone was watching Jonathan. What if—”

  “What if someone’s watching you? And me?” Kat shivered. “I would ask you if you wanted to come stay with us, but that was a bad idea the first time,” she added. “Frank, you’re shaking like crazy.”

  “I know. I’m scared.”

  “I have to find these people out before they get to you.”