Cold Death

by S. Y. Robins

  Callum kept Milly at his side as they stalked up to the bus shelter. There appeared to be nobody else around, the night quiet and still. They both looked around but saw no signs of activity. They dropped the book in the trash bin and went back to the shop, not knowing what else to do. Milly looked at her broken window, hoping the insurance would cover the replacement of this one so soon after replacing it only a few months ago, and started making mugs of tea for Callum and herself.

  Milly’s green eyes filled with tears looking back over at the cardboard Callum had taped to the window. She’d never be able to keep Edgar in, if she got him back, with that up there. Hopefully it would be repaired tomorrow. She put the mugs down in front of Callum and eased down into a chair, hoping he hadn’t noticed her hands shaking. Now they only had to wait.

  “How long do you think it will be?” Milly asked Callum. The poor man had no more idea than she did but she needed to fill the silence in the room or she’d run screaming out to the road, demanding Edgar back.

  “I really don’t know but I’d think it wouldn’t be too long. I hope anyway.” They waited for an hour with no word so they went back upstairs and went to bed, expecting the morning would bring news of Edgar. Milly didn’t really sleep, she just dozed as she ran through life with Edgar. She’d brought him home as a kitten, curious and playful, and he’d slowly grown into a curious and very stuffy cat. He thought a lot of himself, that cat, and spent hours just grooming himself. But he was always there, comforting her when she cried, doing something silly when she needed cheering up, and before Jake came along, always at her head or feet as she slept, watching over her in the night. Sure, she could always get another cat but she couldn’t get another Edgar.

  Milly finally dragged herself out of bed as the alarm went off, even the dogs Daisy and Mildred seeming subdued in the darkness of the early hour. They usually bounced around happily, eager to get outside but this morning they sniffed all over the flat, under the bed, in closets, under the couch, then they quietly went downstairs and sniffed all over down there, obviously looking for Edgar. Then Daisy perked up after sniffing around a cupboard then ran back up to Jake’s room, barking happily.

  Milly chased after Daisy, trying to keep her quiet so Callum and Jake could sleep, but she was too late. Jake was awake already and he came out of his room with a smile spreading across his face, Edgar cuddled up warm and safe in his arms!

  “Edgar!” Milly shrieked, and caught Edgar as he launched himself at her. He blinked up at her and rubbed his face against hers, purring loudly as if to say he was happy to be home. She didn’t even mind his sharp canines catching her nose, her kitty was home and in one piece!

  She held him close, something he usually didn’t tolerate for long, and just stroked his silky fur, happy to have her baby home at last. Callum came out of his room not long after Milly shrieked and smiled happily as he saw her in the hallway hugging Edgar close. The cat appeared to be happy to be home and Milly looked ecstatic. Knowing they were all home at last, Callum went down to prepare some breakfast for them all while Milly took them all for their morning walk, Edgar following along happily, twitching his tail.

  There was snow falling as Milly walked the dogs and she didn’t keep them out for long. Milly walked in through the backdoor and stopped as she heard Callum singing along to something she thought must be some kind of American country and western song, something about buying drinks on a plane, and he even wobbled around as he plated fried eggs and tomatoes. Milly tried not to laugh as he did a little dance back to the hob, even twirling around as he sang the song at the top of his scratchy, almost off-key but still somehow pleasant voice, his curly brown hair bouncing around his head as he came to a sudden stop upon seeing Milly. Instead of fumbling in embarrassment he just grinned right at Milly and sang more loudly, flicking his hand at her as if inviting her to join him.

  When she just stood planted to the floor he did something even more unexpected and waltzed up to Milly, took her in his arms, and danced her around the kitchen while Edgar, Daisy, and Mildred stared at them, confused about this new strange thing their humans were doing. Because they thought of Callum as theirs now, he’d been there often enough lately.

  Milly didn’t know the words to the song but she joined Callum in his dance around the kitchen, laughing with utter joy. Callum was home; Edgar was home; and all was well in the world. For now.

  Chapter Four

  Milly took the phone off the cradle and hit the ‘on’ button twice to hang up on the caller and then leave the line open. For the last week she’d been getting these calls, one after the other, every day at noon. They either screamed incessantly, the caller’s voice distorted somehow so Milly couldn’t tell who it was, or just breathed. It was doing her head in.

  The police couldn’t do anything about it either; apparently the caller was using some anonymous internet service that was also hiding the user’s information. They promised they’d crack it eventually and find out who it was, but nothing so far. As if this wasn’t bad enough she was getting letters in the mail, warning her to stay quiet, which she wasn’t of course. Every call, every letter was being handed over to Detective Barnes, who finally had some sympathy for Callum and Milly.

  The villagers were even gathering around the pair. In a tiny village like this, everyone knew Callum and Jake had been staying at Milly’s place but none of them thought anything of it. For once, wagging tongues were still as they rallied around the pair, keeping watch to make sure both of the adults and Jake were always safe. Wives were even sending their husbands out to walk with Milly in the morning to make sure she was safe as she walked her animals. The villagers were not going to allow anything to happen to any of their own.

  That evening, despite the harassment and the stress of the first weeks of December, Milly put her tree up and decorated the shop with the help of several of the village wives, Callum and Jake. She allowed Callum to light her tree as he’d missed out on lighting the village tree and everyone cheered as the lights finally came on in the dark. The multi-coloured fairy lights turned the room into a festive disco as they blinked and dimmed and several of the ladies started to dance to the Christmas songs playing over Milly’s stereo system. Callum once again took Milly in his arms and danced slowly around boxes and tissue paper that had held wrapped decorations, and sang softly in her ear.

  Milly let herself go, dancing around the shop with the giggling ladies who were all dancing with each other now, and laughed as she truly felt a part of village life. She’d always lived here and she knew she was respected in the village but as her friends paired off and married, she’d become the lone hold-out. She didn’t have children to talk up, or husbands to complain about, she’d put her efforts into building her business, and over time she’d come to feel like she was living outside of the village. She was no longer a part of the village, she was just living here. But tonight, as the women gathered around her and Callum held her in his arms she realized she was partly to blame for that. She’d stopped talking, stopped asking about the things that mattered to her friends because she’d felt rejected but now she knew, they’d always been there for her.

  She went to bed that night knowing she was loved and knowing she’d be safe. She still wasn’t sure what was happening between Callum and herself but she knew she had to give it time. Six months ago she would have never dreamed she’d be dancing in her shop with Callum and the village ladies but she had. They’d danced for two hours and enjoyed themselves, every single one, and had enjoyed every moment of it. She might have to leave her phone off of the hook until the latest mystery was solved but she would deal with it if it meant she could have nights like this one.

  The harassment continued, the letters and now cards coming every single day. Milly was beginning to wonder if she’d ever get any peace and Callum was starting to talk about hiring a private detective. She had no idea what to do; she was at the end of her tether and willing to try anything.

  Christmas was quickly
coming and Milly, for all the stress, was having the best Christmas season of her life. Callum and Jake, along with Edgar, Mildred, and Daisy filled every single day with laughs and companionship. She just couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling she had knowing there was someone out there that wanted to harm her. Scare the life out of her at the very least. She hadn’t asked to be involved in all of the drama but yet she’d been drawn into it. She wasn’t even sure why she’d become the focus of the nutcase harassing her.

  “You know whoever this is has to be related to Maria’s death, somehow, don’t you? They may even be the person responsible for her death.” Milly said to Callum as they closed up the shop for the night, flicking the lights off as she did so. Milly walked over to the now repaired window at the front of the store and looked out into the darkness. Callum came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, just letting her know he was there. They’d not been any more intimate than the odd hug but somehow that simple touch was enough to let her know that Callum cared. She took comfort from it and stocked it away with all of the memories she’d been collecting. She knew it all had to end at some point.

  It was becoming far too hard to maintain a positive attitude and stay cheery when someone out there wanted to cause her so much trouble. Milly tried hard, very hard, to keep from falling into a depression, and most of the time she could maintain an air of happiness but in the dark now, with Callum, she let the worry out that ate at her when she was alone in her room at night. Was she even going to be here for Christmas? Was this person spiralling out of control, on the verge of taking her life as well?

  “I’m almost positive of that Milly but you’re safe, everyone in this village is keeping an eye on you. You know the old men that can’t sleep at night have started a watch group? They have a schedule and each one goes out every half hour, checking everything is alright. They watch the doors and windows of your shop, making sure nobody approaches.” Callum said, a smile in his voice from the sweetness of the men.

  “Do they?” Milly said, turning to Callum. “That’s so sweet. I hope they aren’t wearing themselves out doing that.”

  “No, I’m sure they aren’t. From what I hear they spend most of their ‘shifts’ sleeping, then keeping an eye on each other for the rest of the night making sure the other one doesn’t go to sleep. It’s incredibly funny when you think about it.” Callum laughed, taking Milly’s arm as they walked up the stairs to her flat. Jake was staying with a friend tonight, a trip to the city on their agenda, so Callum and Milly had planned to watch a movie before going to bed.

  “I’m so glad you came to stay for a while. I don’t think I could stay here on my own, not with this psycho loose.” She said quietly. She hated to admit weakness but she wanted him to know she was grateful for him and his friendship.

  “It’s no problem at…” Callum’s voice trailed off as they reached the sitting room and found a rather tall black-haired woman sitting on Milly’s couch stroking Edgar, the room lit only by the streetlamp. Edgar apparently wasn’t happy about the intrusion either as he was trying to get away from the woman. Milly recognized the woman instantly as the woman from the picture.

  “Hello.” Milly said uncertain of what she should be doing, but she stuck her hand in her pocket quickly hoping the woman wouldn’t notice the movement as she clicked a button on her phone.

  “Hello, Milly. It’s nice to finally meet you. Edgar here seems to remember me. I’d suggest you sit down if you want your two dogs back. They’re fine, don’t panic, they’re just not here at the moment.” The woman’s voice was dark, smoky, and obviously American, from the southern part of the country, according to her accent. A long way from home then, Milly thought.

  Milly sat on a footstool, not wanting to get too close to the woman, Callum settled in the chair behind her. Neither said anything, only stared at the woman, unsure of what further threats she might make, or what she may actually do. Callum had slipped his own hand into a pocket, hitting his own buttons on his phone then hitting send. The police would be here soon, he hoped.

  “Now, you two are going to tell me what you know.” The woman spoke.

  “We don’t know much of anything, really. We don’t even know your name.” Milly spoke first, hoping she’d keep the woman calm.

  “My name is Allison. Maria and I were lovers, though I wouldn’t allow her to broadcast that. She was a lesbian did you know that? That’s why she started using drugs, in fact. She dated you Callum, hoping such a fine specimen of a man could fix her, could fix the cravings she’d had for other women since she was in school. She never admitted it to anyone, didn’t want to until she met me, but she couldn’t stand being touched by men. She started to hide her pain in the drugs but after a while she needed more and more. Her need grew out of control and it killed her.”

  “What do you mean?” Callum spoke, his shock apparent. The words the woman spoke must have hurt him, as well, Milly thought. He had loved Maria, after all.

  “She wasn’t murdered. We were arguing yes, but that’s because I wanted to leave this tiny little Podunk town before anyone saw us. I believe your nephew saw us one time, Callum. We were leaving town and almost hit him in Maria’s car. I didn’t want that happening again. My husband is a very possessive man, a very rich man; I can’t afford to lose him so I had to keep our affair quiet. Being here was a threat for me.”

  “That night Maria was feeling especially guilty over her treatment of you, Callum. She wanted to take me to you, to apologize for what she’d done to you, but I wouldn’t let her. I gave her more heroin to shut her up about it and the greedy little cow took too much. I was trying to walk her back to her car and she fell and hit her head. It was as simple as that, we were walking then she fell and hit her head. I knew instantly she was dead but I couldn’t be seen there, I couldn’t report it. My husband was growing suspicious because we spent so much time together and I told him I’d broke my friendship off with her. He couldn’t know I’d been here so I left her there, in the cold and the snow and…” the woman broke off as tears clouded her eyes and her voice tightened. Neither Callum nor Milly interrupted her, wanting to know what she had to tell them.

  “I left her there, I’m guilty of not reporting a death, but that’s all. I started this other crap, hoping you’d let it go, that the medical people would figure out it was an accident or that they’d charge you Callum. I know it’s the coward’s way out but you don’t know my husband. The man is terrifying; he’ll kill me if he ever finds any of this out.”

  For a moment Callum regretted the steps he’d taken when first walking into the room but soon realized he could have lost his freedom, the life he loved, because of her selfishness so dismissed the feeling.

  “You do realize she was going to die anyway, don’t you? That night?” He asked, anger apparent in his voice.

  “Oh, she’d only taken a little too much, it wouldn’t have killed her! Walking it off would have fixed her right up.” The woman declared, as if she were an expert on overdoses.

  “No, her organs were failing, that’s why she fell. She’d overdosed and it was a massive overdose. At least we know now she didn’t do it on purpose. Maria’s own greed killed her, her own selfish stupidity, not her depression.” He said, melancholy marring his face.

  “What are you saying?” The woman asked, horror dawning on her face as she realized that all of this may have been for naught.

  “They were going to rule it a suicide last week. We copied the diary and handed it over to the police the day after you snatched Edgar. They saw the depression there, the way she was spiralling out of control and changed their ruling. The examiner also said it was possible she’d fallen and hit her head because there were no defence wounds on her body. That’s why they let me go, they’d already determined that she’d likely killed herself and that the fall was an accident. You did all of this for nothing. Absolutely nothing.” Milly spoke this time, anger and hurt the emotions she spoke with. “You’ve given me weeks of hell b
ecause of your own selfishness and stupidity. If you’d simply spoken to the police, or to me even I could have told you all of this! But no, you go on a campaign to destroy me, to drive me crazy instead. How very typical of your kind.”

  “My kind? Do you mean lesbians or Americans because I’ve heard it all before?” The woman said, snippy.

  “Neither. I mean the selfish, self-indulgent kind that care little for how their actions impact others. That kind. The kind that starts an affair while married and slowly destroys their lover’s life, the kind that can take the lives of innocent people and throw them under the bus to save their own skin. That kind is the kind I refer to, Allison. You deserve whatever you have coming to you, dearie, that’s for certain.” Milly said as she watched the woman rise, Edgar still in her arms.

  Fear made Milly’s heart clench in her throat as she watched the woman’s hands close around Edgar’s throat but then she let him go. “I suppose you’re right, Milly. Maria always did think you were smarter than the average bear, I see you are. She thought you and Callum would make a nice pair, though she was jealous of you. I never quite understood that. She didn’t really want Callum but she didn’t want you having him either. I suppose that’s more of that selfishness showing through, though, isn’t it?”

  “I suppose it is, yes. What are you going to do?” Milly asked, ignoring the rest of Allison’s comments.

  “I suppose I’ll go home and pack my things and hire the best lawyer I can find. My husband is a violent man but I’ve got enough hidden away now, enough on him as well, that I should be alright. That is, if the police downstairs ever let me out of jail for harassing you and whatever else I’ve done.” The woman said as she looked downstairs at the road. “Your dogs are in my car by the way. They should be fine; I’ve given them blankets to keep them warm. Well, I wish you both the best. I’m sure that’s odd coming from me, but I do. And I am sorry. If I’d only used my head for once none of this would have happened.” Allison then disappeared, meeting Detective Barnes and other police officers coming up the stairs of Milly’s flat.