I wasn’t sure if Lindsey would be safe at Rex’s place. At the same time, I couldn’t warn her about the spider cult in front of Brett. Even if I did privately, she might feel compelled to tell the police. More lives would be lost and she would be in danger. “It’s a long ways out. Maybe you’d rather stay in town?”
I gave her a minute to think about it, hoping she’d decide not to go.
A brief smile creased her lips. “Well, it would be nice to catch up.”
I smiled back reluctantly. I didn’t want her to think I didn’t like being with her.
She turned toward Brett and fidgeted with her bracelet. “Are you sure your friend won’t mind me staying there?”
“My friend is out of town. He’s given me the complete use of his house while he’s gone.” He glimpsed around her. “Where’s your luggage?”
“Oh, I left it at the hotel.”
“It’s almost five,” I commented. “I need to go to my office and clear off my desk.”
“I’ll put this in the car,” Brett said, taking my package. “Lindsey and I will go and get her luggage and be right back.”
As I entered the accounting firm, the receptionist handed me three phone messages. Two were from Brett, and one was from Conner. Since it was Friday, I decided to return Conner’s call. I didn’t think I’d get a chance to call him over the weekend. He answered on the first ring.
“Sara, please let me come and get you.”
“No. It isn’t safe for you to come here.”
“But Sara....”
“No! Stay away from Billings. I’m working on a plan to leave.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Not right now. I’ll let you know if I need your help.”
“Can you call me tomorrow just so I know you’re okay?”
“It might be difficult, but I’ll try.”
“Then promise me you’ll call on Monday.”
“I promise. I need to go.”
“Be careful. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I said, feeling guilty since I didn’t plan on even attempting to call him again. As much as I wanted to see him, I wasn’t prepared for more heartache. It was better if I stayed away from him.
After I disconnected, I took my replacement driver’s license out of my purse, put it in my desk drawer, and filed away my work papers. On the way to the elevator, I ran into Brett.
“What took you so long?” He held my hand as we walked down the hall.
“I had to call a client.”
Lindsey sat in the back seat of Brett’s car. I climbed into the front passenger seat, and he drove out of Billings. On the way to Rex’s place, he glanced over his shoulder and asked, “How did you like Portland?”
“I hated it,” she said. “I only saw the sun a few times. I couldn’t find a job. Have you been there?”
“Yes. I lived there for a couple of years. I think it’s a great city. I’d still be there if it wasn’t for the job. It rained often, I just didn’t mind it. Did you tour the city and see any of the attractions—Japanese gardens, the haunted Shangai tunnels, the rivers?”
“No. I walked around downtown in the rain. That was all the sightseeing I did.”
Brett pulled down the driveway, stopped next to Rex’s house, and unlocked the door. “I’ll get some take-out. There’s a Chinese restaurant about two miles away. Are you both up for Chinese?”
“No way. Let me make dinner,” Lindsey said. “Cooking is my passion and it’s the least I can do to repay your hospitality.”
In the kitchen, Lindsey searched through the refrigerator and cabinets; Brett and I sat at the granite counter and watched.
She pulled out various cans of food. “The selection is a little limited.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go and get take-out?” Brett asked.
“No. I’ve got it.” She made a pie crust and filled it with a mixture of ingredients including chopped-up spam.
After she put the pie in the oven, we went and sat in the living room.
“Would you ladies like a glass of wine?” Brett asked.
“I’d never turn down an offer of vino,” Lindsey said.
“Me, either.” I stretched my body, already feeling relaxed.
Brett opened a bottle and poured each of us a glass. Then he went into the den to make some calls. Lindsey and I chatted and enjoyed the wine.
The timer buzzed. Lindsey hurried to the kitchen to check on her concocted pie. “Dinner’s ready.” She lifted it out of the oven.
“That smells wonderful,” I said, setting the table.
We chitchatted about Billings and the hotel spider incidents as we ate.
I stabbed the last piece of crust on my plate. “I don’t know what kind of ingredients you found, but you managed to make a delicious dish.”
“Indeed. I’m impressed you put such a great meal together given the shortage of supplies,” Brett said as he filled our wine glasses.
“Glad you both enjoyed it.” Lindsey accepted our compliments with a small curtsy.
“Did you learn to cook like that from working in restaurants?” I asked.
“I always pick up a few more tricks from other chefs.”
“You’re a chef?” Lindsey told me on the bus she had worked at a restaurant. Based on the matter-of-fact way she had mentioned it, I had assumed she was a waitress.
“Yes. I love to cook.” She took a sip of wine. “For my first night here, I would’ve liked to have made something more exciting. Is there a grocery store close by?”
“The closest is five miles away,” Brett said. “I’ll take you shopping tomorrow.”
“Great. The kitchen isn’t well stocked with spices.”
“Rex doesn’t cook very often.”
“It shows,” Lindsey said. “I already know a few things I want to cook for you two. I’ll put together a menu for the weekend tonight.”
“You don’t want to cook after the weekend?” Brett chuckled.
“No. That’s not it. I’ll cook as long as I’m here. I love your friend’s stove with the char broiler and the double oven. What a great kitchen. It’s going to be more fun to cook here than at the restaurants where I’ve worked.”
The way she talked, I knew she wasn’t anxious to leave Rex’s place. After the weekend, I needed to find a way to convince her she would be better off staying in town without telling her everything.
“Lindsey, do you want the bedroom on the main floor or one upstairs?” Brett asked.
I didn’t want her to stay by herself on this floor. “You’ll have a better view of the mountains upstairs.”
“I have a bad knee. The bedroom on the main floor will work better for me.”
Brett picked up her luggage and put it into that bedroom. “I need to get back to work.”
“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” I asked.
“A few hours.” He kissed me and whispered, “Keep the bed warm for me.”
“I will,” my voice tinged with an amorous purr. On top of everything I suspected about him, I still felt a little sad as he left.
“How do you do it?” Lindsey asked. “You’ve only been in Billings for two months. You got a job the first week. You have a boyfriend. He’s gorgeous and a lot of fun. Where did you meet him?”
“At the hotel. His room was next to mine.”
“How did you manage that?”
“I didn’t. It just turned out that way.”
“How long have you two been together?”
“Well ...” I hesitated.
“Come on, tell me everything.”
“When we were living at the hotel, we went out. Nothing serious. It wasn’t until after the spider situation and we came here that things changed.”
“He wasn’t your boyfriend while you were staying there?”
“No. We were good friends, but that was all.”
She leaned closer. “He was playing hard to get?”
Not wanting to
tell her the real reason, I said, “I guess he was. What happened to the guy you were going to see in Portland? Simon something.”
“Simon Ellis…he didn’t turn out to be what I thought he was. We went out a couple of times. Then it was over.” She looked down as a sad expression crept across her face.
I stroked her arm. “Oh, I’m sorry. You were so anxious to meet him.” To lighten the mood, I said, “That guy on the bus would have been more than happy to take Simon’s place.”
“Do you know he originally only had a ticket to someplace in Idaho? When I changed buses there, he got on my bus. He sat next to me all the way to Portland. I ended up giving him my cell number. He went back to Idaho. We talked on the phone a lot. Then he came back to Portland for a weekend and we went out. I ended it when I learned he was in the potato business, developing pesticides. The thought of being around chemicals just made my skin crawl. You know, they just don’t know all the side effects.”
“I couldn’t agree more. My parents never allowed any pesticides around. Our house was in the middle of five acres just to make sure that pesticides wouldn’t interfere with their research.”
“That’s right. You mentioned your parents were arachnologists.”
“Yes. They never permitted a spider to be killed, or for that matter, any insect.”
Lindsey shuffled through the newspaper and pulled out the classified section. “It would be great if I could find a job in your building.”
“There isn’t a restaurant in my building.”
“I’m going to look for an office job. I searched all over Portland for a chef position, came up empty-handed. Maybe after I start making some money, I’ll check at the larger restaurants to see if they have any openings for a chef. Do you know of any jobs available in your building?”
“I know there aren’t any in the accounting firm where I work. There might be something in one of the other companies.” We both started looking through the want ads, circling possibilities as we finished off the bottle of wine.
It was just past 11 p.m. when we said goodnight and headed to our bedrooms.
Someone moved me around in the bed. I opened my eyes to see who it was; everything around me looked hazy. I thought I saw the dark-eyed man holding onto me. My body felt weightless and serene. I swirled my hands in the air, wanting to gracefully glide away.
A woman held tightly onto my arm, keeping me from floating out the window. She slipped a robe onto my body. I tried to see her face. She turned, leaving a muddled blur before my eyes.
The dark-eyed man carried me down the stairs and out the door. He stood me on the ground leaving me to sway back and forth, drifting from him. He grabbed my arm. My feet hovered above the ground as he took me through the woods.
My free arm swung with the breeze. I touched the wind. It felt warm and soft between my fingers. Hearing voices, I suddenly had the desire to sing. I breathlessly opened my mouth. No sound would come out.
The dark-eyed man sat me down in a chair and continued holding onto my arm. White feathers floated in the air around me; I limply reached out to catch one. The dark-eyed man tightened his grip and pulled me back into the chair. There was something in the tree in front of me. I squinted, hoping to see more clearly.
A man, surrounded by a sparkling spider web, was resting on a branch in the tree. It was beautiful. I wanted to float to him and feel the soft web. The dark-eyed man wouldn’t let go of me.
A glass was put to my mouth. I looked up the slender arm holding the glass to see it was attached to the black-haired woman. I drank without putting up any resistance. It was completely flavorless. She put something in my mouth. I chewed and swallowed without knowing what it was or tasting it.
The dark-eyed man released my arm. Free from his grip, I began to drift toward the man in the tree. Before I reached him, the dark-eyed man picked me up. I tried again to speak. No sound escaped. If he wasn’t holding me so tight, I could fly away.
The man carried me back to bed. He kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes and floated back to the man in the tree.
Raising my eyelids, I saw I was lying in Brett’s arms.
“Did you have a nightmare last night?” he asked. “You were tossing and turning all over the bed when I got home.”
“I don’t know. I can’t remember what I dreamt about.”
“You’ve seemed a little edgy. It’s probably because of the police investigation. I need to finish up some things over the weekend, but I won’t work tonight. We can relax in the Jacuzzi.”
“That sounds great.” Since I was still in Billings, I might as well enjoy it and I had to admit I liked being in his arms. Also, I wasn’t sure if Lindsey was safe with the spider cult possibility hanging out in the woods. I didn’t want to leave town while she was staying at Rex’s place. I hoped it wouldn’t be for long.
Last night continued to haunt me as we ate breakfast. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I needed to find a way to explore the woods during daylight.
“What time are we going grocery shopping?” Lindsey asked.
“Let’s go right after breakfast,” Brett said. “I need to go to the office this afternoon.”
“I think I’ll stay here and get some laundry done.”
Brett poured another cup of coffee. He didn’t say anything about me being here alone.
I waited patiently for them to leave. They were taking their time reading the newspaper. To kill some time, I started a load of clothes in the washing machine. After they left, I planned on driving around the neighborhood to find out where I was before I went exploring.
“Are you ready to go?” Lindsey asked, putting down the newspaper.
“I just need to make a quick call first.” Brett headed to the den.
Ten minutes later, they were finally set to leave. Brett kissed me goodbye. I stood by the door and watched them drive away.
8
The Neighbor
I jumped into my car, put the key into ignition, and gave it a turn. Nothing. It couldn’t possibly be a dead battery since mine wasn’t that old and I am almost anal about turning off interior and exterior lights. Suspicious, I slipped fingers under the latch, flipped open the hood and discovered an empty slot where the battery should have been. I lifted one of the hanging cables and noticed it wasn’t damaged. Whoever had taken my battery did it carefully. Precise extraction was not typical theft perpetrated by strangers in need of car parts. I snapped the hood shut.
I put my purse back in the house and headed out to the woods. After going about fifty feet down the path, the trees and shrubbery became so thick they formed a canopy blocking out the sun. It was almost as dark as a moonless night. I heard twigs snapping and movement through the foliage in front of me. It sounded like someone was going along the trail. I slipped between the trees.
Talking came from the direction of the path. I ducked behind a shrub. The voices got louder and louder. I remained close to the ground and waited. Several minutes later, the voices began fading away as if they were leaving the woods. I stood and moved slowly toward the clearing, keeping the trail in view in case I needed to immediately retreat to the house. The sunlight broke through the trees ahead of me as I inched around some overgrown bushes. Then I spotted the clearing and fear struck my mind as the memories of what occurred there became vivid. I hid behind a large boulder and listened. Everything was still, no swaying of the trees or shrubs. I rose to my feet and crept into the open space.
Cobwebs filled the clearing. I continuously swung my hands back and forth to clear a path. My eyes swept over the area as I tried to scan the surrounding trees. With so many cobwebs, I couldn’t see through them, everything looked cloudy. I stumbled on a protruding rock and fell to the ground. Leaning on my elbows, I looked around. A few feet away from me stood the altar. Next to it was a round, black container. I stayed low and inched closer. I sat up, grabbed the container and glanced inside. It was covered with a dark crust. Dry blood? I licked two fingers and ran them along the bot
tom of the container. The tips of my fingers were a deep red color. I held them next to my nose to smell the substance. It smelled sweet. Strange. Then I heard the rustling of leaves and voices.
I stayed close to the ground and crawled out of the clearing. At the edge, I hunkered down between some bushes with cobwebs covering my face and hair. I started pulling them off when someone gripped my hand. I froze.
“Stand up,” a man ordered.
I couldn’t move.
With his other hand, he took hold of my arm. “Stand up,” he hissed again.
I still didn’t move.
His grip tightened, pinching my fingers and sending a sharp pain through my hand. I briefly closed my eyes and pursed my lips. Then he yanked me up. The dark-eyed man stood in front of me. A furious expression covered his face. His penetrating eyes became hot with rage as he stared at me. I felt his cold breath against my face.
He clenched his jaw while his eyes inched down my body, like he was studying me. My spine stiffened and I waited motionless, wondering about his next move.
A branch cracked and my eyes drifted in that direction. I watched a short, muscular man with blond hair enter the clearing. As they both glared at me, the hair on the back of my neck rose and a chill swept through me. I controlled my breathing to keep from showing any signs of fear.
The dark-eyed man released his hold.
I stretched my fingers and rubbed them, feeling relieved that my hand was free without any permanent damage. “Do I know you?” I asked him, keeping my tone even.
“No.”
“Weren’t you at my parents’ funeral, Martin and Samantha Jones?”
“Why would I have gone to your parents’ funeral?” he asked with a solemn expression on his face.
“You look familiar, that’s all.” I started to move around him so I could walk back on the trail and escape.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.
“To finish my hike.”
“You can’t hike around out here.”
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