by C. L. Brees
He hung up the phone and walked into the hallway. Gently, he knocked on the guestroom door. A voice behind the door yelled, “Just a minute Alex.” After about a minute passed, she quickly flung the door open.
“That was Mrs. Burgess on the phone just now. Heather didn’t come home last night, and no one has been able to get ahold of her.”
“You don’t think something happened to her, do you?”
“God, Amy, I hate to think like that. Maybe she just spent the night out trying to deal with what has been going on,” Alex said.
“Well let’s hope that’s all it is. Have you called Mike to let him know?”
“I was just about to get on the phone to him. I wanted to make sure you were the first to hear the news.”
“I appreciate that. Now, get on the phone with Mike and let him know what’s going on. The quicker we involve the police in this, the sooner they can locate her.”
Alex nodded his head and dashed back across the hallway to grab his cell phone. Amy followed behind him. Just as he entered the room, his cell phone began to ring. He quickly answered it.
“Hello.”
“Alex, how the hell are ya?”
“Oh my goodness, is that you, Brandy? I could be better, but enough about me. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing great, thanks. Hey, I’m going to be up in Denver all day for a class I have to take for work. Think it might be alright if I drop by later and catch up? You’re going to be around this evening, right?”
“Yeah, I should be here all day. It would be great to see you tonight. Just come by when you’re done with your class. Give me a heads up when you’re leaving Denver, just in case Amy and I are out shopping or something.”
“Not a problem. I’ll probably make it your way around six o’clock or so. I’d love to take you to dinner, my treat.”
“You know I never turn down free food. I guess I’ll see you later today.”
“Ok, bye for now, Alex.”
Alex hung up the phone and looked at Amy, who stood in the doorway.
“Who was that?”
“That was Brandy. You remember, I’ve told you about Brandy. We met in seventh grade when I went to orchestra camp.”
“Oh yeah---that’s right, you did tell me about her,” Amy said as she smiled.
“So, she’s coming to town tonight. She said she was going back to Colorado Springs tonight, but knowing her she’ll probably stay the whole night. It’s a long drive back, and I hate when she drives in the middle of the night. I’d just feel more comfortable if she stayed here.”
“True, I hate driving late at night. Even when I’m using the freeway, I still hate it.”
“Well, this is a change of pace for us. We’re going to have an amazing time; I just know it. Besides, maybe she’ll provide us with enough distraction to take our minds off of all the craziness.”
“Wow, you’re really excited about this, aren’t you?” Amy asked.
“Of course! I haven’t seen her in about a year or so now. You have to come to dinner with us,” Alex said as he grabbed Amy by the arm and pulled her out into the hallway.
“Sure, it sounds like it’ll be a nice evening. Where are you taking me, Alex?” she asked as she was lead down the stairs.
“We’re going to the kitchen, of course! I’m starving.”
“Alex, if you weren’t hungry, I’d be worried about you.”
“But enough about our evening ahead. We need to take care of the crisis at hand right now. We still have to figure out what’s going on with Heather, you know,” he said as he set out two bowls on the table.
“Didn’t you say you were going to call Mike? I think the call from Brandy threw you off your game a little. Maybe Heather just took off for the night to think things through. Come on, can you see Heather running away or being kidnapped? She’d kill someone if they even attempted to take her against her will.”
“Yeah, but let’s not forget that there are two crazed lunatics running around town, whom both of you came in contact with. Who’s to say they didn’t kidnap her to shut her up? Maybe she saw too much in that store?”
“Alex, you have quite a vivid imagination. Please don’t ever change.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. Oh shit, let me call Mike really quick so he can get the ball rolling on this missing person’s report.”
Alex disappeared around the corner to reach out to Mike about Heather while Amy sat at the table staring aimlessly into her bowl of cereal. She wondered to herself if filing a missing person’s report was really necessary at all. Maybe Heather really did just take off for the night. She did have her own credit card, and it wouldn’t have taken her long to find someone to rent the room in another name. Of course she could be staying with a friend, but who? Amy didn’t recall her ever speaking about anyone else except the three of them. She speculated aloud, “Maybe something really did happen to her after all and I’m just as naïve as everyone says I am.”
She immediately brushed off the notion that someone could have kidnapped or murdered her and began eating her food. As she sat there the sound of a creaking door echoed down the stairs. The stomping sound of heavy footsteps walking down the hall caught her attention. She figured it was either Alex or Carol coming downstairs. More than likely, she thought, it’s got to be Carol. She’s probably about to head out for work.
Alex turned the corner back into the dining room, causing Amy to jump in her seat. As she sat there with her hand upon her chest, Alex looked at her with an odd stare. “What’s the matter? Did I scare you or something?”
“You know you did. That’s not funny at all. Did you get ahold of Mike?”
“I did. He’s pretty worried about Heather. He already gave his sergeant an update last night before bed, so they already had the police on the lookout for her last night, even.”
“Well, that makes me feel a little better,” Amy said just as Carol rushed down the stairs frantically.
“Mom, what’s the rush? You have plenty of time to get to work.”
“Oh I know; I’m not running late or anything, sweetie. I just want to make sure I have enough time to grab a quick bite to eat. You just never know what traffic is going to be like these days on the freeway into the city. Are you two staying home from school today?”
“Yeah, neither of us slept very good last night and with Heather now considered a missing person…well, you see where I am going with this, don’t you?”
“I can’t believe she still hasn’t turned up. But thank you for reminding me…”
“I’m confused, what did I remind you of?”
“I have to call Wendy and check on her. I promised her I would call before I left for work today.”
“Ah, well don’t stress too much about calling her, mom. She and I have already spoken this morning. I told her I would have Mike issue a missing person report as soon as he arrived at work. Surprisingly, he had already alerted his boss last night. They’ve been looking for her all night. Still no sign of her anywhere.”
“I just don’t get it. Of course, I don’t ever understand why people commit crimes in the first place,” Carol pontificated as Amy nodded her head in agreement.
Carol raced into the kitchen to retrieve a cup of coffee from the freshly brewed pot while Alex and Amy stood up from the table and walked towards the living room. Amy began to speak, but stopped after the first word. “I’m…”
“You’re what?”
“I’m just really worried is all, Alex. And are you even going to tell your mother about the person outside the window last night?”
“What’s to tell her? Besides, we can’t even be really sure it was a person. You have to admit that we’ve both been under an enormous amount of pressure and stress lately. Don’t you think it’s possible our minds are just playing tricks on us?”
“Eh, I’m not so sure about that. I think at the very least you should talk to Mike about it.”
“I will. He wants to meet us for lunch lat
er. I’ll tell him then.”
She nodded at him as they sat down on the couch. Alex reached for the remote and turned the TV on.
“Change it to channel nine,” Amy insisted.
“Ok, but it’s still pretty early. I think the only thing were going to find on right now is going to be the news.”
“I know, silly. You told me to pay more attention to the news and be more worldly. I just want to see if they have any new leads on Kelli or the guys from the store robbery.”
“Oh right, I did say that. Well, not a problem,” Alex said as changed the channel.
Alex searched through the channels, finally finding channel nine. The two became entranced by the vivid images that were being displayed on the screen. The clock loudly chimed in the foyer: six o’clock in the morning, and the rain which had become a mist overnight now began pounding harder against the large picturesque window.
Alex could hear his mother’s faint voice on the telephone coming from the kitchen. From what she was saying, it seemed that she was speaking with work and letting them know she would possibly be a few minutes late. She had an important surgery that morning at eight and really needed to be in by six forty-five. Alex looked at the clock across the room; it was five after six. He chuckled to himself, “she’s definitely not going to be there on time.” He turned his head away from the television and glanced outside the window. The rain fell hard and steadily, and Alex thought back thirteen years earlier to the day that changed his life forever. Crime was nothing new to the Jones family.
When Alex was five years old his father, an FBI agent based in a Colorado Springs field office, was gunned down on the walkway of their home in Colorado Springs. Alex remembered this day in early May very well.
The day his father was murdered was a rainy afternoon in Colorado Springs. The sky was grey and ominous, and the clouds hung very low. They were so low that the tops of the mountains which painted the landscape disappeared. Alex did as he usually did on a rainy day: he sat in his bedroom window looking out and wishing he could be outside. As he saw his father park in the driveway and walk towards the house, his eyes lit up with joy. The joy quickly turned to horror as out of nowhere a tall man ran up behind his father. Everything happened so quickly, and, in an instant, Alex watched as the man reached into his waistband and pull out a handgun. The man pointed it at the back of his father’s head, giving no warning. There was a vivid flash when the gunpowder exploded as it was expelled from the barrel of the gun. The sight was something that no amount of therapy would ever make him forget. He sat there in the window and watched as his father dropped to the ground. It all seemed to be happening in slow motion. Once he saw the man cower away from the house, he quickly jumped to his feet. He ran faster than he ever had run from his bedroom and down the stairs.
At that exact moment, Carol was standing in the kitchen preparing dinner. The loud gunshot startled her, and she dropped the knife in her hand and ran towards the front door. Disregarding her own safety, she quickly flung open the door with such a force that it crashed into the wall. The force was so great that it knocked her favorite vase off of the table. It fell, shattering into a million pieces as they scattered across the floor. She ran to her husband’s side. She knelt there on the cobblestone walkway, embracing the man that she loved. As the blood gurgled from his mouth, he whispered to her with all of the energy he had left, “I love you.” The gunman stood across the street looking at her as she sobbed with her husband in her arms. She looked up at him just in time to see him mouth and point to her, “You’re next.”
Alex was abruptly interrupted from his flashback by Amy shaking his arm. He shook his head, trying to shake the memory.
“Alex, are you with me?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I just got lost in my train of thought there for a moment. What were we talking about?”
“Um, we weren’t talking about anything. We were sitting here quietly watching the news. I thought you fell asleep on me or something,” she joked with him.
“No, no, I’m awake. I was just thinking about something that happened a long time ago. Brandy’s visit brought up a distant memory for me. Don’t worry, it’s nothing to be alarmed about.”
Amy could sense that Alex was keeping something from her. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she was disappointed that he wouldn’t talk to her about whatever was on his mind. She shrugged his odd behavior off and continued watching the news as if nothing had happened.
Alex heard his mother’s footsteps as they clacked across the hardwood of the foyer. She suddenly appeared in the living room.
“Alex, I called work and I also spoke with Wendy. She wanted me to remind you that if Heather shows up here or you hear from her to call Mike right away. I have to get going. As usual I’m running late for work, and I have surgery at eight this morning,” Carol said as she approached him, giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek.
“I love you too, Mom. I’ll see you tonight. And don’t worry, if I see or hear from her, Mike will be the first to know. The second will be Mrs. Burgess.”
By now Amy had changed the channel. Alex looked up and saw that she was watching another one of those old television shows. This was her usual method of operation each and every morning.
“Amy, I know this is going to sound rude, but what’s your fascination with these old shows?”
“I don’t know. Life back then just seemed so simple. It was, like, no matter what anyone did, it could always be fixed,” she said as she chuckled. “It’s too bad that doesn’t work in real life.”
“Yeah, not like life today. Everything is so complicated. It makes me sad to think about it.”
“So, since we’re just going to be chilling out today, is there anything in particular you want to do today?”
“Actually, there is something I think I need to do. What would you say if I told you I need to go into Denver today?”
“Denver? What in the world do we need to go there for,” she inquisitively asked?
“It was something that Mike said last night. I need to research something important. All I want to say is that it has to do with my father, his death, and—not to startle you—but a possible link to what’s going on around town.”
“Wait. Your father was murdered thirteen years ago. How could there possibly be a connection to that?”
“I just have a feeling. You trust me, right?” Alex asked.
“Of course I trust you, Alex. While none of this is making any sense to me, I have no problem driving down to Denver with you today. I mean, especially if you think this is going to help us figure out what is going on.”
“Amy, I just don’t know what to believe anymore. Not to mention I have no clue who I can trust. Remember what we just said: life isn’t as simple as it was in the era of these ridiculous shows.”
Amy sat back as Alex stood up and walked towards the stairs. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of his coded ramblings about his father. She understood that his father’s death was extremely hard on him. And it was quite possible that the thirteen-year anniversary which had recently passed was causing his anxiety to shoot through the roof. However, she trusted his intuition and judgement. She glanced up again from her show and watched as he disappeared into the dark stairwell towards the second floor.
Worried about Alex, she made her way up the darkened staircase. The steps beneath her feet creaked as she ascended up the stairs. The rain outside was growing heavier than it was just thirty minutes earlier. As she walked up the stairs, the sound of the wind blowing outside howled through the hallway. As she reached the landing, a slight scratching sound upon the window stopped her dead in her tracks. She walked towards the window and pulled the curtains back. A tree branch slowly scraped against it. Letting out an audible sigh, she shook her head and continued up the stairs towards the second floor. Reaching the top of the stairs, she hunted for the light switch. She complained aloud, “why doesn’t anyone in this house like turning on lights?” With the
flick of a switch the hallway filled with light. She crept down the hallway, reaching the second door on the left. She stood there for a moment, listening. She lightly knocked on the door.
“Alex, you in there?”
“Yeah, come in if you’d like,” he said from the other side of the closed door.
She reached for the doorknob and pushed inward on the door. It opened and she once again found herself in a dim room.
“Why don’t any of you in this house like light? Is everything alright?”
“Of course. I just wanted to grab my cell phone. And to answer your question, no, we don’t like light in this house. Save the planet, you know. So what are you doing?”
“Nothing. My show got sort of boring and I just wanted to come check on you is all.”
He smiled at her just as his cell phone began ringing.
“Hello?”
“Alex, it’s Mom. Is everything alright? You were acting very peculiar this morning, even more so than usual.”
“Everything’s fine. We’re just about to get ready to start our day. We’re heading down to Denver today to do some research at the library.
“What kind of research requires you to drive to Denver?
“I’m having some second thoughts regarding dad’s murder. It’s just a hunch, and I could be totally wrong, but it’s something that I have to look into. You ever just get a gut feeling? Well, that’s all I have been feeling for the past twenty-four hours now.”
“Alex, I love you dearly, but some things are better left in the past. I don’t think it’s in your best interest to open up old wounds and go probing around into something like that. Promise me that you’ll just let the past stay where it belongs—in the past.”
“Mom, why are you so against this? What are you afraid I’ll find while I’m digging into the past? I think it’s important, and I want to find out the truth about what really happened once and for all.”