by J. S. Bailey
A knocking sound echoed through the house. The voices fell silent. “I’ll get it,” a man said. It sounded like Eric.
Seconds later, the dull thud of footsteps entered the living room. Rachel said something, and another voice spoke up. “Jessica isn’t here?” It was Wayne! How had he known to come here? His presence would complicate things.
“We found her car parked on another street,” said yet another voice. Sidney. “We figured she must have walked the rest of the way here.”
“Why wouldn’t she have parked out front?” asked Esteban. “There’s usually enough room.”
“She might not have wanted you to know she was coming.”
“And what, does she think she’s going to get in here without anyone noticing?”
The answer was drowned out by footsteps that passed by Jessica’s hiding place. “What are you two doing here?” Maria asked.
“Trying to find your daughter,” Wayne said. “She left her car down the street.”
“You mean she’s outside in the dark somewhere?”
“We don’t know. We were hoping she’d be here.”
“She hasn’t been here at all.”
“Then she should be here very soon.”
“Wouldn’t you have passed her if she were walking here?”
Silence.
“Then where in the world is she?” asked Stephen.
“We don’t know!” Sidney said. “Hiding?”
“Why would she be hiding?”
“Haven’t any of you been listening? She doesn’t want anyone to know she’s coming.”
“This is ridiculous. You make her sound like a criminal.”
Jessica grew restless while she listened. Judging from the sound of things, she would have to wait a very long time for everyone to go to bed so she could get to Maria alone.
In the meantime, though, she could rest. She pulled her hands inside of her sweatshirt sleeves, drew her knees to her chest, and closed her eyes. She was bound to have a long night ahead of her.
Even ghosts needed as much sleep as they could get.
WAYNE CONSIDERED calling the police. There was no reason for Jessica to have been gone this long. If she had decided to walk all the way from her car to her uncle’s house, there was no telling what could have happened to her. Someone could have nabbed her. She could have gotten lost. She could have returned to her car and driven back to Eleanor, in which case she wouldn’t truly be missing at all. Besides, it was far too soon to file a missing persons report. Calling the police now would accomplish nothing.
For dinner Sharon Reyes microwaved everyone leftovers from lunch, and they all picked over their food with little appetite.
Now everyone was in bed. Sidney was slouched over in a recliner, snoring lightly. Every once in a while she twitched as if being pursued by a phantom in a dream.
Wayne looked out the front window at the deserted street. Empty vehicles lined the road like a frozen funeral procession. Maybe Jessica really had gotten back to her car. She could be sitting on the couch at home watching television, wondering where in the blazes everyone had gone.
That was wishful thinking at its finest. It still wouldn’t hurt to check for Jessica’s car. It would take him five minutes to drive to the place where she had parked and five minutes to drive back if her car was indeed still there. He could return even sooner if he broke a few speed limits. Nothing wrong with leaving Sidney and the others alone for that length of time.
He removed the truck keys from his pocket and went outside.
JESSICA OPENED her eyes. She had fallen asleep, and since her cell phone still needed to be recharged, she had no way to determine how long her siesta had lasted unless she snuck out of the closet to find a clock. She didn’t know if it was midnight or three in the morning. Either way, she wasn’t going to be running into too many people at this time of night.
The sliver of light at the bottom of the door was gone. She listened, hearing nothing but the sounds of her own breathing and the muted hum of vehicles speeding along on some other road.
The house itself was quiet—not even the walls or floor creaked.
She rose and felt for the knob. Turned it. Stuck her head out into the hall. The silence continued without interruption, which meant that everyone was sound asleep. Good. Now she could get to Maria without anyone seeing her.
Esteban and Sharon’s twins, Tina and Henry, were freshmen at Ohio State University in Columbus. Neither of them had come to the family reunion, so their bedrooms had likely been allotted to the Roman-Dells and Rachel and Eric for the weekend.
She tiptoed out into the kitchen, where the glow of a night-light bulb provided minimal illumination. She set her purse on the table and withdrew a roll of duct tape from the larger compartment where she kept her wallet. She had no memory of purchasing the tape, and the more she strained to recall when and where she acquired it, the more the Presence convinced her that such questions were immaterial. Forget the past. Focus on now.
Seize the moment, and don’t look back.
She put the roll around her wrist like a bracelet and left her purse behind, having no further use for it. What she did need were the keys to the Lexus. Maria had probably left her purse around here somewhere unless she’d taken it to the bedroom. She should check for it downstairs first, just in case.
A fraction of light from the kitchen nightlight splayed across two of the living room walls. An inert form lay in one of the chairs. Sidney? Of course. She and Wayne would have no reason to leave until they found her. Wayne must have gone to bed in one of the guest bedrooms, because there was no sign of him here on the first floor.
She let her eyes adjust to the dimness for a few moments.
Sidney’s purse sat on its side next to the chair. Jessica could swipe Sidney’s Camry instead, if that’s the vehicle they had brought.
Just to be sure, she went over to the window and parted the drapes. A street lamp shined above the cars outside: a Jeep Cherokee, a Lexus, a Nissan Altima, and yes, the Camry.
Sidney murmured something in her sleep and changed positions.
Jessica reached for the purse. Picked it up.
Sidney remained asleep.
The keys were in an outer pocket. Jessica transferred them to the pocket of her jeans and returned the purse to where she had found it.
She crossed back through the kitchen to the staircase that led to the second floor, where the house’s three bedrooms were located. Some of the steps creaked as she climbed. She couldn’t help that. She had faith that the Presence would keep everyone asleep for as long as was necessary.
The knob on the first bedroom door did not turn. Locked, from the inside. The occupants must have been paranoid. Poor things. Jessica felt herself grin.
Help me, she prayed.
The knob emitted a soft click. She turned it again and pulled the door open with ease.
Like fish in a barrel.
Darkness cloaked the room so well that she could not see who slept there. However, the exhalations of the pair huddled in the bed did not sound like Maria or Stephen.
She ducked out of the room but left the door ajar in case she was mistaken and needed to return. She continued to the next room where, surprisingly, the door had not been locked. The atmosphere in this room was markedly different than that of the room preceding it. The faint smells of tears and sweat passed through Jessica’s sinuses for a moment and were gone almost as soon as she detected them.
She pulled the roll of duct tape off of her wrist and crept closer to the bed with the silence of a feline stalking a rodent. One of the figures on the bed let out a brief high-pitched squeal that made her tense and nearly drop the tape before she realized it was only a half-formed syllable uttered in the obliviousness of slumber. She inhaled deeply, held her breath for a count of three, and exhaled slowly through her nose. Calm. She was calm and would remain that way.
Stephen Roman-Dell was sleeping on the side of the bed closest to the door. She kne
w it was him, because her eyes had adjusted so well to the dark that for a second she forgot that it was night. One of his hands reached up and scratched at his right sideburn before lowering itself back to the blanket.
She hadn’t thought about how difficult it would be to deal with the two of them at once. Stephen was bigger than Jessica and could easily pin her to the ground if he woke up while she was taking care of Maria. She could not permit him to spoil her entire task, because this was the only chance she would ever have to bestow on Maria what the woman deserved. Vindictam told her so.
Jessica’s heart began to flutter. She had an idea. A very, very good idea.
JESSICA’S CAR was still in front of the dilapidated house on Brookstone Street. Not good. Wayne executed a perfect three-point turn in the middle of the road and zipped toward 223 Martin Court once more, begging all of the angels and saints to pray with him for Jessica’s safety, and begging God to please listen.
JESSICA HAD to immobilize Stephen so he wouldn’t try to stop her from extracting Maria from the room. The trick was to do it without awakening the rest of the household.
She tore a strip of tape off the roll. The sound of that alone could have awakened the dead, but neither Roman-Dell stirred.
The floor creaked as she leaned over Stephen’s side of the bed. Please don’t wake up.
She secured the tape over his mouth, tore another piece from the roll, and walked to Maria’s side of the bed. And the same goes for you.
Now neither of them would be able to speak, though nothing would stop them from screaming wordlessly into the tape.
To execute the next step of the plan, she needed something heavy. The lamp on the bedside table would make too much noise if the bulb or base shattered on impact. A suitcase, perhaps? Perfect.
She lifted a boxy piece of luggage from the floor. It might have weighed ten pounds—probably not enough to kill.
She held it high above her so it would hit her target with maximum force, and smashed the suitcase down on the sleeping man’s head.
MARIA WAS jolted awake when something slammed into the bed beside her. She leapt up and stumbled. Her legs caught in the blanket as if it were a snare.
Whumpf. The entire bed shook. In the dimness she could see a figure hefting a large object over her husband’s head.
She tried to scream, but her mouth would not open. She slapped her hand to her face and felt something smooth and rectangular where her lips should have been.
Whumpf. Moaning as loudly as she could, she lunged toward the attacker and only succeeded in getting knocked backward by a blow to the head. Stars danced before her eyes, and for a fraction of a second she couldn’t remember where she was and wondered if this might be a bad dream.
Cold fingers clamped around her arm suddenly. She was yanked to her feet, and she almost fell again as she was pulled toward the door. “We’re going on a little trip,” the attacker said.
Maria’s blood turned to ice. The voice belonged to Jessica, but the person who had the death grip on her arm had to have been ten times stronger. Maria tried to pry the fingers off of her with her free hand. They wouldn’t budge.
The pair started down the stairs when one of the other bedroom doors banged open.
“What’s going on?” Esteban.
Rachel’s voice joined in. “Who’s that?”
“It looked like Jessica and your mom!”
“Mom! Dad! Where are you?”
“Someone stop them!”
“Where’s Stephen? Wayne?”
Maria hooked her foot around a chair as Jessica pulled her through the kitchen. She managed to drag it for a few feet until it caught the side of the refrigerator and jolted the unit so hard that some of the cereal boxes sitting on it toppled over. She had to let go or her ankle would have snapped as Jessica dragged her along.
Now they were in the living room heading for the door. A form leapt out of the chair. Sidney. “Holy crap! Hey! Stop!”
Someone upstairs let out a horrific scream.
Jessica acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. She threw open the door, pulled Maria toward a Camry parked outside, and grabbed out a set of keys.
“Jessica!” Esteban was right on their heels. “Let go of her!”
Jessica suddenly put herself between him and Maria, unfortunately without loosening her viselike grip on Maria’s arm.
Esteban stepped toward her with his arms at his sides. “Jess. Snap out of this. Please.”
Jessica brought her fist back and punched him squarely in the nose. He staggered backward, swearing, covering his face with his hands.
She shoved Maria into the car with the strength of a bodybuilder and dashed around to the driver’s side. Maria hastily tried the handle but for some reason couldn’t get the door to open. Esteban made a move to assist her, but Jessica was already starting the engine. They tore off down the road so fast that Maria was thrown backward into the upholstery from the force of acceleration.
Tears blurred her vision as houses swept by them. It looked like the mother/daughter bonding that Maria had been putting off for so many years was going to happen at last.
Sidney’s car squealed past him the moment Wayne turned onto Martin Court, only Sidney wasn’t the one driving.
His heart plummeted. He had been a fool to leave, and now it was too late.
Up ahead, people poured out of the Reyes house into the street. Two ran in his direction—Sidney and Eric.
He slammed on the brakes and lowered the window when he pulled up beside them.
Sidney started talking at him before he had the chance to open his mouth. “Where in the blazes were you? She just dragged Maria out of here like she was a rag doll and took off in my car!”
Esteban jogged up to the truck. Blood trickled from his swelling nose. “Stephen’s in bad shape. We’ve got to get him to the hospital.”
Wayne’s heart sank a few more notches. None of this might have happened if he’d stayed behind like he was supposed to.
“Did anyone call an ambulance?”
“Not yet. It just happened a minute ago.”
Sidney and Eric clambered into the truck cab, squashing him in tighter than a vacuum-packed hunk of meat.
“Let’s get out of here,” Sidney said.
Wayne nodded. “Do what you have to do,” he said to Esteban. “Just don’t call the police.”
Esteban gave a humorless laugh. “You think the neighbors haven’t heard the commotion out here? This place is going to be crawling with cops in no time.”
He prayed that Jessica’s uncle was mistaken in his premonitions. “We’ll find them,” Wayne said, certain there was only one place where the pair could be headed. He lifted a hand in a farewell wave and turned the truck around.
“Do you know where they’re going?” Eric asked as they left Martin Court behind. He was wearing plaid pajama pants, a white muscle shirt, and no shoes. Wayne wished the younger man had stayed behind, because he’d be more of a hindrance than help without anything on his feet.
“I think so,” he said, focusing all of his attention on the road.
“What are we going to do when we catch them?”
“Get Maria away from Jessica.”
“And then?”
Wayne gritted his teeth. Thinking ahead that far wasn’t going to help curb his anxiety. “Use your imagination.”
“Already did. I didn’t like what I imagined.”
“Are you going to keep on like this,” Wayne said in a controlled tone, “or are you going to be quiet so I can think?”
Eric shifted in his seat. “Sorry. I just wanted to help. I mean, she’s my mother-in-law.”
“How are you going to help without any shoes on? The ground’s going to be a little rough where we’re headed.”
“Where’s that?”
“The graveyard!” Sidney exclaimed. Then her face fell. “Eric, Jessica’s probably taking Maria into the woods where Jerry died. You’ll cut your feet to ribbons.”
>
Eric swore. “Do we have a flashlight?”
“There’s one in the glove box,” Wayne said, keeping his eyes on the cars in front of him. He hung a right onto Alexandria Pike, which would meet up with the AA Highway in just a few miles. “Check and see if it works.”
Eric did as he was told. “The beam’s kind of weak. Maybe we should stop somewhere and get batteries.”
Wayne shook his head. “Not enough time.” The Camry was little more than a speck on the road ahead of them and was growing smaller by the second.
Sidney craned her neck to see over the sparse traffic. “I think I see them. Dang, she’s going fast. I’ll kill her if she wrecks my car.”
A police cruiser with lights flashing turned out of a parking lot and sped down Alexandria Pike in the direction from which they had just come. That couldn’t be good.
“What if they send Jessica to jail?” Sidney asked in a small voice. “Isn’t kidnapping a felony?”
“Not to mention assault,” said Eric.
“Well,” Wayne said as he changed lanes to get around a slow-moving semi, “she could plead not guilty by reason of insanity. She can’t know what she’s doing, and if she does, there probably isn’t a way for her to stop it.”
“But she isn’t insane,” Sidney said. “She’s possessed.”
“Tell that to a jury, and they’ll think you’re the one who’s insane.”
“This sucks.”
“Tell me about it.”
“What if she pleads guilty?”
“Then she might get a lesser sentence.”
Sidney’s voice thickened from her tears. “Then there’s no way this can end well. The only way she won’t end up going to jail is if—”
“She dies,” Wayne said. “Don’t remind me.”
MARIA CONSIDERED jumping from the car if they came to a stop. Since the door handle obviously didn’t work from the inside, she could try smashing the window with something, reaching her arm through the hole, and opening the door with the outer handle.