The Midnight Club

by Love, Michelle

  She laughed then, but her eyes grew with the wonder of it. ‘We have forever?’

  ‘You bet your sweet we do.’

  And finally, Isa believed him.

  Two weeks before Christmas, on their way back from the city, Sam dropped Isa off at Zoe’s new place on his way to work. Isa waved him off then went in. She saw Zoe come out of the backroom and smiled at her friend. Then she saw her friend’s expression and felt fear shoot through her. ‘What is it?’

  Zoe, her usual bravura missing, was pale. ‘I don’t know; I don’t know how she got in. I turned around, and she was there. She won’t let me near her.’

  Isa frowned. ‘Who, honey? Who’s where?’

  Zoe nodded towards the back room. Isa opened the door and gasped. Casey was sitting on the floor, facing away from her. There was blood everywhere, smeared across the walls, the floor, the counters. Words written in the blood.

  You are next.

  Isa swallowed. Casey was swaying from side to side, singing softly to herself. As Isa moved to her side, she recognized the song.

  Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite…

  Isa crouched by Casey’s side and touched her hand to the other woman’s shoulder.

  ‘Casey?’

  The other woman turned and smiled, not really seeing her. With a lurch, Isa saw her wrists were cut; not deeply but enough to bleed heavily. For the first time, Isa felt real pity for the pathetic creature in front of her. She put her arms around Casey and pulled her up. She led her over to the couch and sat her down.

  ‘Zoe?’

  Zoe came to the door. Isa nodded at Casey.

  ‘Can you get me the first aid kit and some hot tea?’

  Zoe did as she asked, bringing her a bowl of warm water too. She grimaced when she saw Casey’s mangled arms.

  ‘I’ll call Sam,’ she said quietly. Isa nodded. Zoe squeezed her friend’s shoulder and disappeared.

  Isa cleaned Casey’s wrists gently. Casey was as malleable as a child. Isa worked in silence, examining the wounds on Casey’s wrists. She wouldn’t need stitches, so Isa dressed them and wound a bandage gently around them. She held the cup of tea to Casey’s lips and made her drink. Casey sipped the hot liquid then looked at Isa, her eyes watery and red as they watched her enemy tending to her.

  ‘Why are you being so nice to me?’ Her voice was a whisper. Isa, surprised by the question, felt her face go red. ‘I tried to have you killed.’

  ‘Honestly? Because I want to believe that you’re not all bad. I want to believe you were just taken in by that monster that he promised you something you needed. I don’t know what, I’ve never known. I don’t pretend to understand you, Casey, or understand why you hate me so much. But I won’t let him ruin anyone else’s life. Casey, look at me.’

  Casey looked up at her just as Sam appeared at the door. Isa shook her head at him as he opened his mouth to speak. She turned back to the other woman.

  ‘Casey, is Karl alive? Have you seen him?’

  Casey gazed back at her and smiled.

  Isa cleaned the last of the blood from the walls. Sam came back into the room as she was dumping the dirty water into the sink. She smiled at him.

  ‘Is she okay?’

  Sam shook his head. ‘I don’t know, darling. She’s pretty messed up, but she won’t let me call a doctor. Can’t force her. I took her home, called Halsey. He’ll question her in the morning.’

  ‘I don’t think she meant to kill herself.’

  ‘No.’

  She noticed his face was drawn. ‘Hey…’ She put her arms around him. ‘It’s okay, baby. After what’s been going on the last few months, this is nothing. It is a strange thing to say but a bit of blood on the walls…’

  She slid her arms around his waist and kissed him. He responded and she felt him relax in her arms. He sighed and buried his face in her hair.

  ‘Do you believe her?’ He muttered.

  ‘That Karl is dead? I don’t know; I really don’t. I hope, though. I hope, is all.’

  Sam nodded, glanced at his watch and smiled. ‘Well, would you look at that, managed to waste a whole day. C’mon bub, I’m taking you home.’

  Sam’s cell phone buzzed. ‘Levy.’

  Isa watched as his expression changed, brightened. He grinned at her. ‘Yeah, yeah, thanks. We’ll be right there. Tell him to rest, though, would you, I know him, he’ll be pacing the halls. Yeah, thanks.’

  He clicked his phone shut. ‘That was Halsey. He’s got something to tell us.’

  Isa felt as if she were moving through syrup – slow, confused and yet…

  ‘You’re sure?’

  John Halsey grinned at Sam, who was smiling and shaking his head. ‘Yes, Isa, we’re sure. Karl Dudek is dead. The DNA, what we found of it, checks out. We think he murdered Paul Carter and set the fire but messed it up, got caught in the blast himself. He’s dead.’

  Isa was quiet for one more second then burst into tears. ‘It’s over? It’s really over?’

  Sam pulled her into his arms. ‘It really is, darling. You’re safe – at last.’ He sounded as if he didn’t quite believe it himself. All the months of tension, of grief, poured out of Isa then. Behind them, she heard Zoe start to cry to. Det. Halsey patted Sam’s shoulder. ‘I’ll give you some space.’

  Isa beckoned Zoe into their little huddle, and the three of them hugged until finally, Isa’s sobs stopped. She wiped her face with the back of her hand.

  ‘I’m sorry, it’s just…’

  ‘No need to explain or apologize. We know,’ Sam said softly.

  Zoe smoothed her daughter’s hair back behind her ear. ‘We can start rebuilding now. All of us,’ she said pointedly, glaring at the two of them and making them laugh. Sam took Isa’s hand, and from his pocket, he pulled the wedding ring she’d left him with. ‘May I?’

  She nodded, and he slipped it back onto her finger. Sam held her gaze. ‘I love you, Isa, from now on, I promise, no secrets, no lies.’

  Isa leaned over to kiss him. ‘Sounds good to me.’

  Isa slid the tray of cookies into the oven and set the timer. The kitchen counters were full of the efforts of the morning, cakes, and cookies. The kitchen smelled gloriously of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Isa put the mixing bowl into the sink and squeezed soap into it. As she cleaned, she looked out over the snow-covered garden. She was beginning to feel like herself again.

  In the three months since Karl Dudek’s body had been found, their lives had changed again. Sam had found them the perfect new home, out on one of the islands. Knowing Isa’s taste for the homely rather than high-end, for a family home rather than a billionaire’s mansion, he found the perfect – if very large – Cape Cod style home on the waterfront, with plenty of gardens and a little boathouse at the corner of the property. Isa had fallen in love with on site, and within two weeks, they had moved in. Zoe and Cal both stayed in the city but were frequent visitors.

  And there was another reason she loved this house. Behind their large property stood the private high school where Seb had gone to school and both Zoe and Isa had become friends with the principal Bill. Isa had felt guilty about not seeing him for so long and now she was planning to take over some home-baked cookies for him.

  Isa was reveling in her new life. Every time she saw Sam, realized she had him forever, her heart felt like it would burst. During the day, they would talk and laugh, and when they weren’t working, they would spend every minute together. At night, they would spend hours making love: all over the house, sometimes outside: against a tree in the wood, on the jetty in the cove, in the middle of the football field. Isa smiled to herself. That had been two nights ago, a full moon, bitter cold but they were both sweating by the time they broke apart. They lay next to each other, admiring the other’s body in the surreal pale moonlight. So still, so quiet. Isa, at that moment, believed that the world had gone away.

  She made herself some tea and wandered into the living room. She grinned to herself
as she looked at the Christmas decorations they’d put up yesterday. Sam had rolled his eyes as he pulled string after string of twinkle lights from the groaning cardboard box she’d brought from the city. She’d insisted – mostly to torture him – on using every single decoration she had. It wouldn’t win any interior design awards, but she loved it. It was just such a pure, happy thing to do and the fact she was able to do it with Sam… living with him was so effortless, so natural. She twirled a glittery bauble around on the tree, letting the light sparkle around the room. They should get a dog, she decided. They’d go to the pound after Christmas. Start building their family, at last.

  The phone rang. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Hey, darling.’

  She smiled into the phone. ‘Hey baby, you okay?’

  Sam laughed. ‘Yeah, honey, I’m good. Just about to go to the ferry. You going to the school soon?’

  ‘Uh-huh, soon as this batch of cookies is ready.’

  Sam hesitated. ‘Keep your gun in your purse, okay?’

  Isa smiled to herself. Even though the danger was passed, Sam still worried and insisted she’d learn to shoot. She’d balked then surrendered. What did it hurt and if it made Sam feel better… ‘Honey, not sure taking a gun into a school is the best idea. Even when school’s out. Bill might think I’ve gone postal.’

  He laughed. ‘Yeah. Right, sorry.’

  ‘Baby, it’s across the football field. Open space. I can see what’s coming. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.’

  He sighed. ‘Okay yeah. Well, I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love you.’

  ‘Love you too. There’s something warm and spicy waiting for you here.’

  ‘Cookies?’

  ‘Nope.’

  He laughed and said goodbye.

  Louisa knew Cal was hiding something from her the second she saw him. He stood aside to let her into the apartment, and she stepped in – and stopped. ‘What? What is this?’

  He shook his head. ‘Nothing. There’s just somewhere I have to be, is all.’

  She looked around the apartment. ‘Are you moving out?’

  There were boxes of his stuff everywhere, things shoved haphazardly in, scrawled addresses. She recognized the address of a storage company. ’Cal, what’s going on?’

  Cal’s lips tightened. ‘I’m just going away for a while is all.’

  Louisa stared at him. ‘You haven’t mentioned this before.’

  ‘No.’

  Louisa shook her head. ‘Well, okay. It just seems a strange time to be taking off, with Christmas coming up. I thought we were going to spend Christmas with Zoe and Sam and Isa.’

  For a second, she saw something else in his eyes when she mentioned Isa’s name. ‘Oh, Cal. You’re not over her.’

  Cal laughed awkwardly. ‘Who? There’s no-one to be over, Louisa; I keep telling you that.’

  Louisa put a hand on his arm. ‘Cal. Look, stay until after Christmas.’

  ‘That’s not going to work, Lou.’ He turned away from her. ‘Just leave it, please.’

  ‘Look, this family has practically been my own for the past few months, and I’m selfish, I want us all together.’

  Cal laughed again, and she could see the tension in his back. ‘Lou, just because you fucked Seb a few times, doesn’t mean you’re a part of this family. Their family. Let’s be real – you and I are both excess to requirements.’ He looked up, his eyes cold. ‘I should know. I’ve been here many, many times before.’

  The bitterness and malice in his voice shook her to the core. Surely, he couldn’t have had any hope that Isa would shift her love from Sam to Cal. That was just crazy. She knew Cal had been supportive when Sam and Isa were separated but…

  ‘Cal, you can’t have thought that…’

  ‘What?’ His eyes were alive with anger. ‘That I wasn’t being used? Of course, I was. I always am. By Isa, by Sam, by you. That’s all I’m good for, isn’t it? I’m always the consolation prize, expected to be there for everyone but no-one asks if I’m okay.’

  He sounded like a spoiled toddler, Louisa thought, a spoiled psychotically jealous toddler. ‘Cal, look, let’s go talk with Zoe, I’m sure…’

  ‘No!’ His roar silenced her. Cal breathed deeply. ‘I’m sorry. Look, Lou, please, just go.’

  She nodded and turned to go. Her coat caught the edge of a box on the table and sent it skittering across the floor. ‘God, I’m sorry.’

  Cal practically pushed her out of the way to get to the spilled contacts. ‘Just go.’

  Louisa bent down to pick up a wallet that had fallen from the box. It had fallen open and just as she held it out to Cal, she saw the photo, the name on the driver’s license inside it.

  Karl Dudek.

  Her entire body went cold. She looked up at Cal, who was staring at her with anger, and resignation.

  ‘Why didn’t you just go?’ He said softly. Louisa felt raw terror when she saw the knife in his hand.

  ‘My god. It was you, all the time, it was you.’ She backed away, but Cal was between her and the only door out. She screamed and then Cal was on her, hand clamped over her mouth and the knife plunging deep into her stomach. Oh no, no, god, no…

  Cal was smiling as he stabbed her, as she collapsed to the floor. The pain was unbearable.

  ‘Yes, Lou, it was me. I killed Seb, and Paul Cater and Karl Dudek. And now I’m killing you and later today; I’ll stab Isa to death. You can’t stop me, now, Lou.’

  In the seconds before she passed out from the pain, Louisa tried to speak, tried to reason with him, but then the darkness came…

  Isa heard the oven timer ping and went to retrieve her cookies. Half an hour later, she walked over to the school. Crunching the snow under her boots, she scanned around the field, over to the tree line. Despite her bravado earlier with Sam, she felt jumpy, paranoid. A movement in the trees made her stop, a painful shot of adrenalin. She stared into the wood. A clump of snow fell from one of the long branches of a fir. Isa let her breath out in a long rush. She glanced back towards home, contemplating darting back into its warm security. She was closer to the school now. She started walking faster, feeling stupid but she was grateful when she saw the open gate of the school.

  The school had shut down for the holidays, but Isa knew of old that the head, who lived in the small cottage on the campus, would still be working, even on Christmas Eve. She knocked on his office door.

  ‘Isa! Well, that’s a face I’m very glad to see, come in.’ Bill Patrick, a tall man in his sixties, smiled at his visitor. Isa smiled, a little shy, and offered him the tin she was holding.

  ‘Ambrosia of the Gods.’ Bill gestured for her to take a seat. ‘Thank you. You have been much missed, my dear.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Bill, I should have been over before.’

  The headmaster smiled at her. ‘I understand, Isa. Seb left a huge hole here so I can only imagine…and I’m sorry to hear what happened to you a few weeks ago. Terrible, terrible business.’

  His kindness made tears spring into Isa’s eyes, and she blinked them away, looking out of the window. She cleared her throat.

  ‘It’s Christmas Eve, Bill, and you’re still working. You’ll get into trouble with Marilyn.’

  He laughed. ‘She’s used to it. And besides, I was planning to leave shortly.’

  Isa got up. ‘Then I won’t keep you.’

  He waved her back down. ‘Nonsense. Have some tea with me; I’m trying to be polite, but the smell of these cookies is driving me mad.’

  She laughed and took her seat, opening the tin. ‘I remembered you always preferred oatmeal raisin to chocolate.’

  Bill took a cookie then moved over to the small kettle he kept in his office. ‘Tea. Then you can tell me everything that’s been happening.’

  Sam ducked out work early, grateful that some of his meetings had been pushed back until after the holidays. He hated being away from home now, away from Isa. No longer was he scared for her safety – although he still thought about it c
onstantly – he just wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.

  He went to a local bookstore to buy some of her Christmas gifts then caught the next ferry home. He stood on the desk, bitterly cold as it was, and looked out towards the island, remembering the time all those months ago, when he’d chosen to catch the ferry to Zoe’s gallery instead of going to work and had met Isa. The first time he saw her in that gallery. God, his entire body, had reacted to her, those dark eyes and that smile. The obvious instant animal attraction between them. Then, going up to her tiny apartment above the garage and screwing each other senseless. Sam cleared his throat and had to pull his coat around himself to hide his hard-on just thinking about her.

  He caught a cab from the harbor to the house. Isa was still out, and he could see her footprints in the snow over to the school. He smiled. The proximity of the school to the house would come in handy when they started their own family.

  He found some still warm cookies that Isa had left for him and went into his study, carrying the cookies and a tall glass of milk.

  He flicked on the radio. The weather was closing in, and he glanced out of the window at the darkening sky.

  The slight movement behind him caught his eye the second before something heavy crashed down on his head and Sam dropped to the floor, unconscious.

  Cal stood above his brother, breathing heavily. He would take Sam out to the boathouse like he planned and wait for Isa to find him. Then, slowly, and painfully, he would kill her.

  Isa felt like she had spent the past hour with Santa Claus. Bill was so warm, so empathetic. She didn’t know what having a father was, but she thought Bill was a wonderful role model and protector. She knew Bill and his wife Marilyn hadn’t been able to have kids of their own and felt sad for them. She waved at him as she set back over the snowy field.

  The temperature had dropped, the sky overcast and dark, made worse by a freezing fog that settled low over the fields. She trudged back in her own footprints, eager to get back to the warmth of the house. She checked her watch and sighed. Sam would be gone for a few hours yet. She decided she would pack up some more of her cakes and cookies and drive into town, spend time with Zoe, planning Christmas. She reached the gate and was about to push it open when she saw the tracks. Footprints in the snow leading around the house. She frowned and looked around. Only her truck stood outside, covered in a thick blanket of snow. She looked down at the tracks and started to follow them.