you?” A male voice replied “Get in.” She gave the driver a hard look, but his face was in the shadows. She inquired “Don’t you want to know how much?” He gave an impatient reply. “It doesn’t matter. Are you the only one here?” She laughed “No other girls would come out on a night like this. I’ve got the street to myself.” He said quietly “Then let’s have a go at it.”
He reached over to push the door open and the woman climbed in. She slid over the seat to get close to him. “Not here!” he snapped and the car drove off.
Kristen enjoyed the time with her friends and she was happy to get on one of their phones and was finally able to leave Anthony a message. In fact, she left several of them throughout the day. She was surprised that he did not return her calls. Maybe he needed time to forgive her.
Kristen returned late that evening to Karl’s instead of staying with her companions as planned. The house lights were not on and he probably had already retired to bed. She went through the front hall and into the kitchen to fix herself a small snack. She ate it standing up, thumbed through a newspaper for a while, and then put her dishes in the sink.
As she walked out she couldn’t help noticing the strong aroma of cheap perfume. She turned and looked at the basement door and was surprised to see a large key in the lock.
She heard rapid footsteps coming from outside in the yard. The back door flew open and Karl rushed into the kitchen apparently out of breath. His clothes and hair were disheveled. Kristen exclaimed “Well, what’s up with you? You look like a mess?” Karl explained “I heard some animals on the roof earlier and I was just in the shed looking for something to throw at them.” Kristen laughed “Did you succeed?” Karl half-smiled “Yes, they were a bit unruly at first, but I took care of them. They are gone for now. Guess I’ll call an exterminator in the morning.”
He walked up closer to Kristen. He smelled like sweat and his face had scratches on it. She stood back “You stink Karl! You need a bath. I am going to bed.” Karl looked at her and said “Did you have a nice time with your friends?” Kristen said “Yes, it has been such a long time and we had a lot of catching up to do. If you don’t mind, I was considering staying with them for the rest of my time here. We were thinking of taking a side trip to Ireland. I have not been there since I was a child.”
Karl looked hurt. “I don’t see why you want to do that. Aren’t you enjoying the estate?” Kristen did not want to upset him. “Karl, I thought things would be going differently by now. You really don’t seem to have much interest in me and it’s only my second day here, but I am already getting homesick for the beach and the sun. You understand? Don’t you?”
He said “I know I have been sending you mixed messages, but Kristen, I didn’t want to rush you. After all, you were just engaged. I am very attracted to you and I enjoy kissing you, but it just wouldn’t be proper to start up relations with you now.” Then he moved closer to her. “But I am more than willing to go forward with this if you give me a second chance and start showing some actual affection towards me again.”
She hesitated, “I don’t know Karl. I have a problem with liking people once they show no interest in me, even if it was just for a moment. It is a real buzz kill. I am very confused about my feelings about you, and especially regarding the ones I still have for Anthony.” Karl seemed upset “I told you not to mention his name around me. He is not for you. You don’t seem to realize that. I know that if we have a nice day tomorrow that I can change your mind. I know a beautiful spa in Switzerland we can fly to for a few days.”
Kristen acted like she was considering it. But in fact, she didn’t know why, but she had a panicky feeling that Karl was not going to willingly let her go home. She was now thinking that she might even have to escape him, and this would be the perfect opportunity. She looked at him, and with a planted smile still on her face, she started planning her exit. She figured she could ditch him once they arrived at the airport.
Karl’s voice brought her back from her thoughts. “Well, Kristen, are you going to answer me? Don’t you think a trip to the Alps would be nice?” She knew she needed more time and now quickly replied “Well, that might be nice. But I don’t want to go this soon. Can we wait a day?”
To change the subject, Kristen sniffed at the air. “Seriously Karl, what kind of cologne were you wearing earlier? It really smells in here.” Karl suspiciously looked towards the iron door and then back at her. “I guess we can postpone our foray, but if you are going to insult me Kristen I am going to bed. Good night.” He went to the sink to wash off his hands and left to go upstairs.
Kristen waited until she heard his bedroom door close. She looked towards the iron door and put her hand on the key. It was hard to turn and when it clicked she had to pry the heavy door open with her fingers. There was a light switch on the wall. She turned it on and looked down the long staircase. The flowery scent was even stronger now.
She took an uneasy step down and felt very scared. Then she heard Karl from above. “Kristen, are you coming up yet? Do you need something?” Kristen meekly let out “I’ll be there in a second Karl. Thanks. I don’t need anything.” She stepped back up and leaned on the door to quietly close it. It was even more difficult to turn the key back to its position.
She hurried up the staircase and scuttled into her room. Once she closed the door she breathed a sigh of relief and locked it. She began to put her final plans in place. She picked up her phone and was able to text a friend in Palm Beach. She told her that she might need her help by coming to the airport to pick her up.
The next morning Kristen found it very hard to get herself out of bed. She felt very faint, like energy was being drawn from her. She managed to stand up and walked to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and gasped. Her eyes had dark circles and sallow bags under them. She looked as if she had aged several years. She returned to bed and weakly called for Karl. He did not answer.
Kristen went back to sleep for several hours. She had horrifying nightmares where she was continuously being chased by men in dark robes. She tried hard to get away and could not awake to escape them. It was late afternoon by the time she was able to get up again.
She slowly walked downstairs. Karl was still absent. She made a large pot of strong coffee and carried it carefully as she sat down at the television. She flipped the channels back and forth between talk shows and then turned it off to get dressed.
As the screen faded to black, Kristen was startled when she saw a dark silhouette showing a large man from his shoulders up. She clicked on the remote again, but it stayed displayed on the screen. She started to get scared and rushed over to the wall and pulled out the cord. She cried “This place is getting too spooky for me. I have got to get out of here!”
She decided she was definitely going to ditch Karl tomorrow while they were at the airport. She ran upstairs to her closet and noticed her suitcases were no longer there. Karl must have moved them somewhere. It was obvious to her that she was only going to be able to pack a few things for the Switzerland trip or he would know she was planning on leaving him. She didn’t want to call him to ask where her luggage was in case he should he try to ask her any questions. She just wanted to keep her distance from him as much as she could or she was afraid he would catch on. He had an eerie way of knowing most everything that was going on in her mind.
She walked down the hallway. There were so many rooms to choose from. She hoped that her luggage was not being kept in the ones that were locked. She was now feeling gutsy and much more alert as she walked into Karl’s room. She was pretty sure they were not in there, but was curious, nonetheless. He had an area adjoining the bedroom that contained his closets.
Kristen opened the first door. It was filled with all his dark imported suits. “Boy, he has as many outfits as I do! What a Fashion Ho!” She then looked over to a line of cabinets that were much larger and probably used for storage.
?
?She slowly opened one of them. The door stuck a little bit, but she pushed it with her foot. She saw a set of boxes. At the end of the closet a sole black veil was draped on a hangar. Kristen’s heart took a leap! It was just like the veil she saw on that woman hanging on the metal cross at the party back in Chicago. She also thought about the three men who had watched her that day. She wondered if they were British and were Karl’s friends from here. Maybe they went to the parties that Millicent was talking about.
All she knew was that she had very ominous feelings about remaining even a minute more in this house. She quickly closed the closet and rushed back to her room. She didn’t know what to think. She scribbled Karl a note and explained she went back to London to shop with her friends and that she would return tomorrow in time for their trip. She looked for the keys to his Mercedes and then went out to the car and started it up. As she backed down the driveway she saw a car pull in. Her heart skipped a beat. Then it backed out and went the other direction.
An hour later when Karl returned, he read her note and was surprised that she had gone back to London. He suspiciously walked throughout the house to get a clue of why she might have left. Nothing seemed out of