A few minutes later Dex appeared, slamming the front door behind him and carrying a black duffle bag. I would never understand how guys managed to pack so lightly. Especially when here in Alaska we had to wear like a hundred layers just to keep from freezing.
He tossed the bag into the trunk and then hurried to get into the car.
I smiled at him, but he didn’t even look my way. Instead, he threw the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway suddenly.
“Is everything okay?” I asked him, concerned.
He barely glanced at me. “Everything’s fine.”
He put the car into drive and as we drove away I looked back at the house. There was someone standing in the window again, closer this time. I could see the looming shape of the man as he watched us drive away.
I shivered a little.
There was something creepy about the person standing there. Something ominous.
Dex must’ve noticed my shiver because he turned up the heat and when we turned the corner and headed off his street, he finally looked at me.
“This guy”—he hitched his thumb at himself—“is ready for a vacation.”
I smiled and nodded.
Who was that person in the window? Maybe this wasn’t a sudden vacation. Maybe Dex was running from something. Or someone. But whom?
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Alone - Being apart from others; solitary.”
Dex
I rented a small one-bedroom cabin with promises I would take the couch. It seemed even colder here, if that were possible, probably because there were no tall city buildings to buffer the frigid, whipping wind. When I rented the cabin, the man at the desk went on and on about the hot springs, the northern lights, and the many activities available to us here. I just looked at all this as my opportunity to finish my job.
True, I’d thought about maybe just going into the void for all eternity (the unprogrammed side of me), but that idea really wasn’t that appealing so it was back to plan A.
I let us into the small wooden cabin and shut the door against the cold, looking for a light switch. The small room flooded with light when I found it, and Piper went around pulling open the heavy drapes to reveal wide views of bare landscape and snow. Off in the distance was some water that looked icy even from here.
There was a very large couch in some kind of Navaho print in red and blue with two large leather chairs off to the side. A wood-burning stove sat directly adjacent from the couch and across the room was a pine table with seating for four. There was also a small kitchen in the main room with a fridge, stove, and a row of cabinets above the sink. Basically, the cabin was all one room, with the exception of the bedroom over to the right and the bathroom beside it.
“I heard, of course, how nice it was here, but I never really gave it much thought. It really is nice,” Piper said, standing in the center of the room.
I set down our bags and went over to the woodstove to build a fire.
“You probably need more pain medication. Is your head bothering you?” she said, coming to stand next to me.
“It’s fine,” I said, glad there was already a fire set up. I lit a match and got the kindling burning. I sat there and watched it burn for a while, long after I was sure the fire would stay lit. The truth was, I wasn’t really sure what to do now. I managed to get her alone. I managed to get her away from her friend and coworkers. Now all I had to do was kill her. Something I hadn’t been very good at up to this point.
I was also realizing I didn’t really know how to be alone with her.
Yes, we’d been alone before, but not completely alone, like it seemed now. Before, we were a door away from other people, just passengers in a car on a road full of other drivers, people in the diner who talked with others in earshot…
But now, now we were shut up in a small cabin at a resort with vacationing couples and families. No one would come walking through the cabin door.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, feeling claustrophobic.
She laughed. “We just got here.”
“Yeah, but this is just a boring cabin. Let’s go do something.” I brushed my hands together and stood.
“Sure, why not? That’s why we’re here.”
As soon as the cabin door was behind us, I felt lighter; some of the tension inside me eased.
“Are you okay?” Piper asked, eyeing me.
“Of course. We’re on vacation.” I shot her a grin and she giggled.
“Let’s go to the Ice Museum,” she said, looking down at one of the pamphlets in her hand.
It advertised a museum completely made of ice. People could go there for tours and a martini at the ice bar.
“Okay, but you do realize we’re underage. That means no sitting at the bar for us. I can’t have you getting me drunk and then trying to take advantage of me,”
She hit me in the ribs with her pamphlet. “Oh, please. Like that would happen.”
“Right,” I muttered. “I forgot you’re still hung up on the dead guy.”
She gasped and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t talk about him that way! If it weren’t for him I’d be dead.”
Great. Now I’d gone and made her mad. Good going, Dex. With my luck she’d leave and never want to speak to me again. That would only make things harder.
I shook my head, not even knowing where that comment came from. It seemed that suddenly I had a shot of jealousy. I felt the need to compete. Against myself.
What an idiot.
“Look, I’m sorry. That was really crappy of me to say.” I apologized, trying to inject all the meaning I could behind my words.
She didn’t look at me. She looked everywhere but at me.
“Piper?” I asked. “I really am sorry.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know.” She uncrossed her arms. “Look, I’m not hung up on him, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” I agreed even though I thought she was totally hung up on him. I saw it in her eyes every time she mentioned him. And sometimes when she got this far away look in her eyes I knew she was thinking about him—me—and wondering what would’ve been if they met in a different place and time.
I kind of wondered that too.
I cleared my throat and held out my arm. “To the Ice Museum?”
She slid her arm into mine, her gloved fingers resting on my forearm. “Let’s go.”
We didn’t say anything until the house came into view.
“Huh,” I said, “it really is made completely of ice.”
“It’s so beautiful,” she said as we made our way inside, where it was just as cold as it was outside.
The place was pretty awesome and it featured a ton of life-sized ice sculptures like jousters on horseback and an animal-themed chess set. There was also a two story observation tower and a spiral staircase all made completely of crystal-clear ice.
“I love the lights,” Piper said as we made our way through some of the rooms. It was almost like a light show, with the lights all in neon colors like green, blue, and pink. Some changed periodically and others stayed the same. Some of them seemed to light the ice from within and I marveled that they found lights that wouldn’t produce enough heat to melt the sculptures.
There were four bedrooms here—all made of ice—and of course the bar with carved barstools and martini glasses made of ice.
“Dex, look!” Piper said, pulling me toward a carved vase full of ice flowers. “This one looks like that daisy you gave me.”
Inside the vase was a yellow light giving all the flowers a cheerful cast.
“You want this one too?” I asked, raising an eyebrow and wiggling my gloved fingers, and I reached toward the ice flower.
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Sure, and the minute we get back to the cabin it would turn into a melted mess.”
“Well, I’m not cleaning up any messes.” I scoffed.
“I think it’s best left here, where it belongs.”
Something overhead caught my attention a
nd I looked up. It was a very large ice crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. An idea began to form in my head…
Nearby, there was a man on a very tall ladder, leaning against one of the ice walls, using some tools to carve out what looked like the makings of a window. He had a tool belt on and some kind of pick in his hand. There was another tool, something electric that had a very long cord that dangled all the way down and went behind the bar, where it was likely plugged in.
I left Piper still admiring the ice flowers and casually wandered over toward the ladder. There was another ice display nearby with a few people admiring it. As I walked closer to get a good look at the sculpture, my foot “lost” its holding on the very slick ice and I began to slip and slide, flailing my arms.
I called out a warning, but it was too late. I bumped into the people near the sculpture and sent one of them careening toward the ladder. I watched as the man plowed into the bottom and sent the ladder falling back, away from the icy walls.
The man above gave a startled shout and jumped as it fell over and landed on the upper story of the observation deck. But the ladder continued to fall and it crashed into the crystal chandelier, causing it to crack and a big section of it went hurtling toward the ground… right where Piper stood.
“Piper,” I shouted, the sound ripping from my throat. It startled me at the amount of fear I heard as I watched the unfolding scene before me.
My feet began moving, rushing to get to her—for what I didn’t know. But the floor was slick and I didn’t move as fast as I wanted. I watched, actually horrified, as the big chunk of ice fell, effectively cutting off my view of Piper.
People were shouting, a few were crying, and the sound of ice splintering echoed along the walls, bouncing around, creating a deafening roar. I scrambled around, trying to get to the other side, shoving people out of my way as I tried to see if Piper had been crushed.
Crushing her had been my intent, but now, faced with the aftermath, I felt a little mournful and panicked.
Finally I made it around to the opposite side and heard a crunching sound beneath my feet. I looked down and my stomach twisted uncomfortably. There was a broken piece of the ice daisy beneath my boot. Piper’s flower was crushed. I bent and picked it up, turning it over in my hand. The crystal-clear ice was still beautiful even though it was broken. What had I done?
I looked up. There was a man lying on the ground, his body limp, and it was draped over something, someone I couldn’t see.
I looked a little closer and saw a foot, a boot, sticking out from beneath him. It was white with fur trim and purple laces. Piper.
Piper was the something that was underneath the unmoving man. Her foot was slightly askew and she didn’t move at all.
I swallowed.
My plan had clearly worked.
She was crushed.
Job complete.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Marshmallow - spongy confection made of gelatin and sugar and corn syrup and dusted with powdered sugar.”
Piper
It all happened so fast. One minute I was standing in the Ice Museum admiring the ice daisy and then the next there was this sound and I was being pushed onto the ground and something heavy was coming down on top of me.
I couldn’t see what was happening, but from my position on the floor I heard the commotion and worried yells. It was hard to breathe; the weight pressing in on me was suffocating and I felt panic begin to build within my chest.
I tried to push myself up, but my arms were shaking and I couldn’t. I wiggled my foot, trying to find a place to dig my toes into the floor, to help push me up.
A low groan filled my ears and I stilled. The mass on top of me was a person. Most likely a man. And he sounded hurt.
Dex! “Dex,” I said, my voice muffled and I lifted my head to try to say his name louder.
I heard some crunching ice behind me and then blissfully, the weight was lifted and I could draw in a deep breath.
“Piper, oh my God, are you all right?” Dex said as he grabbed me by the elbow and hauled me to my feet.
I swayed a little, trying to get my bearings.
“Yes, I think so. What happened?”
“You didn’t see?” he asked, studying my face.
I shook my head. “It happened so fast.”
“The chandelier on the ceiling… it fell. The sculptor over there had an accident with his ladder.” His face was a mix of emotions ranging from relief to fear. And maybe something else I couldn’t quite identify. Before I could think more about it, he continued. “That man must’ve fallen on top of you. Probably saved your life.”
I looked down at the man still unconscious on the floor and gasped. I bent beside him and felt for his pulse. It was strong and I let out a relieved breath. I couldn’t take it if anyone else died for me.
“Sir!” I yelled, shaking his shoulder. “Sir, please wake up.”
A few moments later his eyes fluttered open and he looked at me.
I smiled. “There was an accident, but you’re okay,” I told him.
He sat up and put a hand to his head. “Damn chandelier almost crushed us! I pushed you out of the way. Are you hurt?”
“No. I’m fine, thanks to you.”
He grunted. “That’s good.” Then he pushed himself to his feet. He was dressed in a heavy flannel shirt and snow pants with boots. He had a knit hat pulled low over his eyes and thick gloves covering his fingers.
“Oh, please be careful. You might have a concussion.” I reached out to steady his arm.
“I’ve been through worse,” he said, then looked at Dex, who was watching us. “This your boyfriend?”
“Uh, no,” I replied, glancing at Dex. “We’re just friends.”
The man snorted. “Well, where were you when the giant piece of ice almost crushed your friend?”
Dex cleared his throat and looked at me. “I wandered over there.” He gestured to the other side of the room. “To look at another sculpture a few feet away. I never should have walked away.”
“You couldn’t have known that thing was going to fall!” I insisted.
Dex didn’t say anything; he just looked around at the mess of shattered ice.
Movement at the door caused me to look and I saw a few EMTs coming in the door.
“You should go get your head looked at. Just to be sure you’re okay,” I told the man.
He nodded.
“I can come with you,” I offered.
“No, that’s not necessary. I’ll be fine.”
I hesitated, not really wanting to leave him, but then a small woman in a heavy coat came rushing over and took the man’s arm.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you! I heard the sound from the other room and then I couldn’t find you…” Her voice faded away as she looked him over.
He smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. “Now you know ain’t nothing going to hurt this hard head of mine.”
The woman looked at Dex and me standing so close beside them.
I smiled at her. “He pushed me out of the way of the chandelier when it fell. He’s a hero.”
She smiled. “I’m glad no one was hurt.”
“Well, he needs to have his head looked at,” I told her.
She nodded knowingly. “I’ll make sure he does.”
He began to refuse, but she wasn’t having any of it and dragged him off toward the EMTs.
Dex grabbed my shoulders and spun me to look at him. “Are you really okay?” he asked.
“Yes, really.”
He nodded and then put his arm around my shoulder and turned us toward the exit that was being flooded with people. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Once outside, we didn’t stop walking; we just kept walking until we arrived back at the little cabin. I was taking my coat off when Dex spoke behind me.
“I’m really sorry.” His voice sounded heavy.
I turned, coat in my hands. “It’s okay. You cou
ldn’t have known that was going to happen.”
He frowned at my words and I realized he was more upset about the accident than I thought. I hesitated, not knowing what to do. I thought about hugging him, but I wasn’t sure if he’d like that—or if pressing my body against his would trigger another vision. I had enough of my visions lately to last me a long time. I decided against hugging him, instead setting down my coat and heading toward the kitchen.
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