Albert jumped up and went down the hall. He came back with the bottle and shook it.
“What were you doing with it in there?” Glenna pointed back towards his office.
“I wasn’t sleeping well while you were gone so I took some liberties.”
“It’s dangerous to take other people’s medications, you know?”
“Oh, I get it. I just couldn’t get any rest.” His eyes softened, “I just missed you so much.” He bent down and planted a kiss on her forehead.
Glenna took the bottle. “The label’s off?”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t even want to see your name while you weren’t here.” He shrugged and walked towards the kitchen.
Makes sense. I didn’t want to see his name either.
“What are you up to?”
“I’m not tired so I’m going to watch something. Why don’t you go to the bedroom?”
“I’d like to but I have to head back this afternoon. Jody is probably waiting on me.” Glenna opened the bottle and took one of the pills. She only had one left. She needed to call the pharmacy and refill her prescription. She got up and walked to her purse. She checked the pockets.
“Babe, have you seen my phone?”
“No. Maybe you left it at the restaurant?”
“Well, that sucks. Can we go back and get it?”
“I can go back while you take your nap.”
“Thanks, babe.” Glenna walked herself and the blanket to the room.
Albert stayed in the living room. He waited to hear the bedroom door close before he pulled her phone out of his pocket. He used his fingerprint to open her phone.
Of course she hasn’t changed it.
The first thing he sees is a message from Jody:
Hey, can you call me?
He deleted the message and put the phone back in his pocket. He turned the volume up on the television and smirked.
The Money
Jody sat alone in Mr. Rob’s house.
She was looking at pictures of her and Glenna on her phone. The past two months with Glenna had been the best time she’d had in her adult life. She hated that they had an argument last night. She planned on apologizing just as soon as Glenna returned.
A creak in the hallway made Jody uneasy. She knew that she was alone in the house, but she always felt like someone was watching her. It was that eerie feeling you get when someone is staring at you at a red light. They either want to wave at you or put a gun to your ahead.
Jody heard a light knocking come from the front of the house. She scrambled to welcome Glenna back home. When she made it to the living room, she pulled back the curtain. Guthrie standing at the door.
Crap.
She opened the door and let Guthrie in. She was holding Merlin in her arms.
“I told you I would be back!”
“You did. She’s going to be so excited.” Jody reached for Merlin. He jumped down from Guthrie’s arms and went straight to the bedroom to find Glenna.
Jody looked up at Guthrie and noticed that she was just standing there, smiling. “So, you want to stay for some coffee?”
“I don’t drink coffee but I do like tea.”
Guthrie sat with Jody at the kitchen table.
“So, who are you?”
“What? I’m Jody Schubert?”
Guthrie took a sip of her tea, “No, I mean, who are you? What makes Jody unique?”
“Not a damned thing. I mean, I own a few blogs that make decent money. That’s about it. I’m pretty normal.”
“What are your blogs about?”
“Uh. Bread. I like bread. And cats.”
“Interesting.”
Jody nodded slowly, “Uh huh. So, who are you?”
“Well, I’m Guthrie Banach. Currently the only veterinarian in a podunk town. Formerly a disgraced scientist in stem cell research.”
“Stem cells, no way.”
“Yes way.”
This woman has lost it.
“What kind of research did you do?”
Guthrie’s eyes widened. “I’m glad you asked. What if you could live forever? Now, don’t answer that because I want to talk.” Guthrie chuckled to herself. “Oh, me. Our cells are so small. Our DNA contains so much information. It’s like a world of endless possibilities.
“Right out of university, I landed a job for a big-name research center. My crew and I would research ways to grow cells rapidly. As a matter of fact, it was part of my thesis. Anyway, the only thing we needed was a little bit of DNA. There’s already plenty of advances on the subject and I wanted to take things a little further. I wanted to know how fast I could grow a copy of a dead organism from just a few cells.
“That deviated some from what we were working on, so I had to run some tests of my own. Being friends with other less-than-ethical scientists in different departments made it easy for me to hang around and grab samples. Everyone wasn’t as careful as I was, so they started getting caught and stripped of their credentials.
“That led me to fewer savory methods of collection. Are you still with me?”
“Sure, yeah.” Jody nodded.
“Good, good. Over years of study, I managed to use DNA from saliva to make humans in record speed. They could walk, talk. The only area I failed in was consciousness. They were just as smart, but they were nothing like the original specimen, if you will. But I figured it out!
“I shared my findings. My crew was a little freaked out but mostly supportive. And then it all came crashing down. The secret people came and took most of my research. It’s all up here, though.” Guthrie tapped her forehead. “My credentials were taken away and I was forced to agree to never work in the scientific field again.”
“But, you’re a vet...?”
“I am. After that sweep, I was picked up by ZI. They’re this medical research company. They dabble, though. And they wanted what I had. That’s where I met Albert.”
“You work with Albert?”
“Albert? I meant Robert. Sorry. Bert-Bert. Their names are just so similar.”
“Uh huh.”
“So, what do you think of your old Aunty Guthrie?”
“I used to think you were nuts. Now I’m sure of it.”
Guthrie chuckled.
“Speaking of Albert, can I tell you a secret?”
Guthrie nodded, “Of course.”
Jody looked down at her shoes. “Glenna and Albert used to be engaged.”
Guthrie’s lips tightened and she placed the tea cup on the table. “You don’t say?”
“Yeah, he called it off, though. It was totally out of the blue. Then, yesterday, he came back and asked her to lunch. He came back just as quickly as he left.”
“I see.”
“I have no idea how they would have paid for it.”
“Probably all that money that Robert used to send.”
“What money?”
Guthrie cleared her throat, “He told me he used to send her little care packages. She never responded to him.”
“Why didn’t Glenna tell me? She said she hadn’t heard from him in years.”
“Robert wasn’t all bad, you know. He and I were engaged at some point.”
“I remember her complaining about you being here all the time but I never knew why.”
“Yes, Glenna didn’t want us to get married because she thought I was replacing her mother. You can’t replace someone that’s not truly gone.”
“What do you mean?”
Guthrie took a sip of tea, “You know what they say. People stay in your heart forever. That your loved ones are always there and watching over you.”
Jody nodded. Guthrie was lost in thought and touched the pendant on her necklace.
“Did he give that to you?”
“What? Oh, this? Yes, kind of. It’s what I have left of him. It makes it feel like he’s still here with me. Technically, we’re still engaged. We couldn’t get married, though. Not legally. Or contractually, for that matter. Same thing; dif
ferent entities.” She laughed awkwardly. “I probably spent more time here while you were away than I’d care to admit.”
“I don’t need to know the details.”
Guthrie smirked, “What’s wrong with a little advanced age love?”
“Can we change the subject?”
The floorboards creaked down the hall. Jody and Guthrie turned to see. When Jody turned back, Guthrie was staring at her. Chills ran down her spine.
“Actually, I should go. I have a zoo to attend to. You should come visit me some time. I miss our chats. You two were like daughters to me.”
“Of course.”
“Let me know when Glenna makes it back safely.”
“I will. Goodnight.”
Jody closed the door behind Guthrie. She noticed that it was getting dark outside.
Glenna should have been back a few hours ago.
She tried to call Glenna but the connection dropped. She decided to send a text instead.
The Bath
Glenna was back in Woods County. She and Jody were outside, running between the trees. Jody took off and jumped into the water. Glenna paused at the edge of the bank and looked out.
“You coming or do I have to drag you in?”
“Oh, come on. You know that’s not funny.”
“You're right. I’m sorry.” Jody lay on her back, floating on the water. The sun glistened on her top. She was so beautiful. Glenna looked away when she saw that Jody was staring at her.
Glenna took a step into the water. It was warm and comforting. Jody slowly waded to Glenna. She smiled up at her. She grabbed Glenna’s ankles and pulled her under.
“What’s going on?”
She could only see bubbles and hear the water rushing past.
She saw her dad jump in the water. He pulled her out. Glenna gave him a big hug and asked, “Where’s Jody?”
“Don’t worry about her.”
Glenna looked up and saw that she was holding onto Albert. “What?”
“Yeah?”
The room filled in around Albert’s face. He was standing in the bedroom doorway and looking at Glenna.
“What are you doing?”
“Running you some bath water. I came to wake you up.”
“A bath. You know how I feel about -”
“It’ll help you relax. You've been so stressed lately and I want to give you a good welcome.”
“But I-”
“No buts. I’ll even scrub your back.” Albert smiled. "I’ll wait for you in the bathroom.”
“Okay.”
She instinctively reached over for her phone.
Oh, right. I left it at the restaurant.
She slowly got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. She watched as Albert put his fingertips into the bathwater. He then bent over to turn the spigot off.
Albert looked over her. “You can’t get in with your robe on.”
“I guess not.” Glenna glanced at the water and then at Albert.
“Don’t worry. I won’t leave you in here by yourself.”
Glenna nodded and took off her robe. She could feel his eyes on her as she took off her underwear. Normally, it was fine. But, tonight, he was making her uneasy. He collected her clothes and put them in a dirty hamper.
She lowered herself into the warm water. There were soap bubbles up to her chin and candles lit.
Albert sat on the edge of the tub, “You comfortable?”
“Yeah, this is actually really nice. Thanks.”
“Anything for wifey.”
Glenna chuckeld.
Maybe I’m just being a weirdo?
Albert scrubbed her back and then massaged her neck, “You just rest. I’ll be right back. Going to start the kettle.”
Glenna leaned her head back against the edge of the tub. The water danced just below her chin. She felt like all of her problems were washing off into the water. For just a moment, everything was calm.
Albert stepped back into the room. “See, I wasn’t gone too long.” He sat on the tub’s edge.
“Thanks, again.”
Albert didn’t respond. He just stared at his feet.
“You okay, babe? Is the kettle still acting up?”
Albert straightened his back. “Before you left, I know you were snooping. And I know you saw some things.”
Glenna sat up, “What do you mean?”
“Don’t do that. I’m not an idiot.”
“I never said you were.”
“What were you looking for?”
“Nothing.”
Albert sighed, “Did it ever occur to you to ask how someone like me - a glorified receptionist - could afford what we have?”
“You said that your clients gave you tips. And I trusted that.”
“Yeah, my clients. I only ever had one client.”
Glenna’s heart sank. “Is that where you got all this money.”
“Oh yes. Every time.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You wouldn’t understand. Besides, you would probably just have returned it anyway. You don’t like handouts.”
Albert looked over at Glenna. Her anger turned to fear. There was something in the way he was looking at her.
“Why are you telling me this now?”
Albert’s pocket buzzed. He kept looking at her but reached into his pocket and pulled out her cellphone.
“Why do you-”
Albert held up his finger with one hand and answered with the other. Glenna screamed as loudly as she could. Albert tossed the phone onto the floor and grabbed Glenna’s hair.
“I’m telling you now because you won’t tell anyone else.”
He pushed her head under the bath water.
Glenna couldn’t believe what was happening. She strained to see Albert past the water but the bubbles stung her eyes. She wanted to scream but didn’t want to swallow the water. She kicked around and scratched at his arms.
Suddenly, he let go of her hair.
Glenna quickly stood and brushed the water from her face. She saw Albert’s body on the floor, slumped over.
“You need to run. The car is on.”
Glenna looked up to see Jody in the doorway with a rolling pin.
“Glenna, move!”
Glenna stepped over Albert’s body and managed to escape the bathroom just as he was waking back up. She ran to her room and threw on a hoodie and pair of jeans. She grabbed her wallet.
I need to call the police.
She went back to the hallway. Albert was staggering and holding his head. “You’re gonna regret that.”
“Shut up, bitch. Glenna, get in the car.”
“I need to call the police.” Glenna looked over and saw her phone at Albert’s feet. He followed her gaze. Then, he bent over and held the phone out to her.
“Call them.”
Glenna reached forward. Jody, without breaking her gaze with Albert, smacked Glenna’s hand away. She reached into her pocket and put her phone in Glenna’s hand.
“Use my phone. Go to the car. I’m right behind you.”
Glenna turned to leave. When she got to the front door, she turned to see Jody backing out of the hallway. The rolling pin was held high.
Glenna climbed into the front seat of Jody’s car. She rolled down the window and looked back at the door.
“Come on, Jody.”
She heard something inside. Fear took over her whole body. Just before she got out of the car, she saw Jody walking out the front door.
“Oh, thank goodness.”
She leaned her head back on the rest and watched Jody come down the steps. Then she saw a shadow in the doorway.
“Jody!”
Jody paused and looked at the car. Albert swung his fist and hit Jody in the back. Her body feel hard.
“No!”
Glenna stared in disbelief. Albert started towards the car. Glenna rolled up the windows and put the car in gear. In the rearview, she saw Albert turn and pick up Jody’s body.
He carried her inside.
Whitman River Page 8