Many Blessings

  He minimized his browser and pulled up a file he was working on for a client and tried to immerse himself in that. The cable—and Internet—didn’t come back on. By nine thirty he was contemplating leaving his jacket and shoes in the office and just making a run for it through the rain. He tried calling the shop but it went to voice mail. When he tried both Brad and Mandaline’s cells, theirs did as well.

  “Hmm.”

  He stared at his phone. The rain showed no signs of letting up anytime soon. If I don’t want to spend most of the night here I might have to suck it up and do it.

  He headed for the bathroom first, then upstairs to check and see if he or Brad didn’t still have a change of clothes, like for the gym or doing maintenance at the office or something, stashed in their private closet.

  No such luck. He let out a disgusted snort. “Nothing. I’m really running a Mickey Mouse outfit around…”

  He froze. A familiar, and completely unpleasant, feeling engulfed him. Chilling him.

  Like when he opened his front door that horrible night to find an FHP trooper standing there with Brad’s wallet in his hands.

  “Fuck!”

  He tore down the stairs to his office and clicked on the browser to maximize it again. As he reread the obituary for Sachi’s mom, that ice water completely froze his soul. “Fuck!”

  He ripped off his jacket and threw it on his chair. He barely took the time to lock the front door behind him as he ran through the rain toward the shop.

  * * * *

  The power still hadn’t come back on by the time they both grew too chilled to continue their skyclad rain dancing. Sachi waited in the doorway while a still-buzzed Mandaline staggered and fumbled around in the kitchen until her hand finally closed around the Maglite Ellis had brought her the night she’d discovered the mold. She clicked it on.

  “There.”

  Sachi shivered. “Great. Let’s get some towels.”

  Mandaline giggled. “Oops, sorry. I should have thought about that before we went out.”

  “Um, yeah, ya think?” Sachi smiled. “That’s okay. I think you’re a little over the limit to be remembering small details like not catching pneumonia.”

  Mandaline giggled again. “I’ll go find towels.”

  “Great. I’ll stand here while my tits freeze off.”

  Mandaline staggered for the stairs. As she crossed the living room, she thought she saw a shadow move out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked and trained the light there, she didn’t notice anything out of place.

  She made her way upstairs and tried one hall closet, which was full of linens and other stuff, but no towels. She tried another one, next to the bathroom. “Jackpot!” she called down.

  “Great!” Sachi said, her voice now near the base of the stairs. “I’m freezing.”

  Mandaline wrapped one around her, one around her hair, and grabbed two more for Sachi. She giggled as she had to lean against the wall when she reached the stairs. She accidentally hit Sachi in the face with the beam from the flashlight, making her squint. “Whoops, sorry.” She pointed it down the stairs.

  Sachi looked down, then her expression changed. She stared back up at Mandaline, terror on her face.

  Mandaline had seen her look like that before, but she wasn’t sure when.

  As she took a step down, Sachi bolted up the stairs, grabbing her and the flashlight. She turned off the flashlight and clapped a hand over Mandaline’s mouth when she tried to speak. She dragged Mandaline back down the hallway and into the bathroom, where she quietly closed and locked the door behind them.

  Mandaline struggled against her, confused and scared by her friend’s reaction.

  Sachi pressed her lips against Mandaline’s ear. Barely louder than a breath, she whispered, “There’s another set of fresh wet footprints on the floor downstairs. Shoes. Not us. Large ones. They came in, look like they went back out and then came in again.”

  Mandaline froze, fear washing through her. Unbidden, her mind flashed back to her private talk with Sami and Matt the day after Julie’s wake.

  “I ran outside and hid behind the house, next to the generator. It had run out of fuel. You could barely hear anything over the rain. Then I heard him coming. George. He came outside to refill it. I ran back inside to check on Julie, but she…”

  Mandaline closed her eyes and willed it away. Together they huddled close and listened.

  They couldn’t hear anything over the sound of the storm outside.

  Sachi once again pressed her lips to Mandaline’s ear. “My cell’s in my purse downstairs. Is yours down there, too?”

  Mandaline nodded.

  “Shit. Do they have a working phone line here?”

  She couldn’t remember. Did they? She fumbled for and found Sachi’s ear. She hoped in her drunkenness she was being as quiet as she thought she was. “I don’t know.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  He’s going to kill me. He’s going to fucking kill me. Then Sachi’s going to kill me. Then he’s going to make the state revoke my license.

  Brad nervously drove through downtown, more cautiously than he had ever driven in his life. Between the storm and his nerves, his fear, and being out of practice driving a stick shift, he prayed he didn’t get in an accident and hurt someone. It had been years since he’d driven. The adrenaline pouring through his system didn’t help matters any.

  At a whopping twenty-five miles an hour, he carefully negotiated streets, some partially flooded in places from the deluge, until he reached US 41. Even there he only pushed his speed up to thirty-five despite the speed limit of fifty-five.

  Please be okay! Please, let me be wrong!

  If he was wrong he’d gladly take whatever ass chewing Ellis and Mandaline—and Sachi, since it was her car he’d stolen—wanted to give him.

  The storm worsened, forcing him to slow even further. With the wipers on high they still couldn’t keep up with the sheets of rain pounding the little car’s roof. He crept along the road, his attention torn between not running off the highway or missing the turnoff. It wasn’t until he spotted the bright Shell sign of a convenience store about a mile north of the turnoff that he realized he’d gone too far.

  “Dammit!”

  He pulled off the road into the parking lot and promptly stalled the little Toyota out in a deep puddle.

  “Shit!”

  He took a deep breath.

  Julie’s voice came to his mind. He didn’t know if it was really her or his imagination. “Calm down. You can do this. You can do it for them. You have to.”

  He tried to crank the car, almost in tears when it didn’t want to start. He was afraid he’d flooded it out in the puddle when it finally caught and jerked forward as he let off the clutch too fast. It stalled out again, but had moved forward far enough to be clear of the water.

  With trembling hands he tried starting it again, careful to keep his foot firmly on the clutch this time.

  It cranked over.

  “Thank you, Goddess!”

  Slowly, he circled the parking lot until he got himself back onto the highway and pointed in the right direction. This time he didn’t miss the turnoff. He slowly drove through the wind-driven rain toward their road.

  When he reached the driveway, he breathed a sigh of relief. About thirty yards down, around the first bend, he had to slam on the brakes and stalled out as he came upon a beat-up Chevy sedan parked in the middle of the drive and blocking his way.

  No way around it in Sachi’s little car.

  He stared at it for a moment.

  “Look at the license plate!” Julie screamed in his head.

  He had to squint through the rain, even with the headlights turned on high, to make out the white lettering on the dark blue background.

  Montana.

  “What do I do?” he screamed out loud.

  Julie didn’t answer.

  He ripped off his seat belt and shut off the car and headlights. He fumbled for the do
or handle. When he opened it, the dome light came on and he looked down.

  He spotted the truck latch lever.

  * * * *

  Ellis was soaked through to the skin by the time he pounded through the dark to the store. He beat on the front door, but Brad didn’t come let him in.

  “Shit!” He only had a key for the back door.

  He ran around the building and realized something wasn’t right but not understanding what. He fumbled for and finally got his key in the lock. Inside, Pers met him at the door. He finally got the alarm turned off and ran for the stairs, the little dog on his heels.

  “Brad!” he yelled. He thundered up the stairs but didn’t find him.

  He yanked off sodden clothes as he ran for the bedroom. Not bothering with fresh briefs, he pulled on a pair of jeans, slipped on sneakers without socks, and grabbed a dirty T-shirt from the chair by the bed. He ripped a raincoat off a hanger out of the closet and pulled it on.

  He also pulled the lock box for his .38 out of the closet. He grabbed the gun, started to close the box, then also took the spare clip for it, which was fully loaded, and a box of ammo.

  As he ran down the stairs, Pers tried to follow him but he closed the stairwell door, locking him in the apartment.

  It wasn’t until he bolted through the back door, not bothering to set the alarm before he locked it, that he realized Sachi’s car was missing.

  “What the fuck?” He got into his car and, praying he was wrong and paranoid and really jumping to conclusions, he pulled out of the parking lot and sped toward the house.

  * * * *

  Mandaline didn’t fight Sachi as she kept her hand over Mandaline’s mouth. They both listened at the bathroom door, but they couldn’t hear anything over the rain pounding against the roof. Now she regretted the damn beers.

  That’ll teach me to drink. You’d think I’d learn.

  Sachi whispered into her ear again. “I’m going to sneak down and get my phone.”

  Mandaline shook her head.

  “Go up to the attic. It locks, right?”

  Mandaline nodded.

  “I’ll run back up and join you there. We’ll shove the couch in front of the door. It’ll buy us some time. Maybe whoever it is will just leave.”

  That didn’t feel right to Mandaline. In fact, it felt like the most wrong idea in the history of the world. She peeled Sachi’s hand back so she could whisper in her ear. “What if they don’t?”

  “911 will get here in a few minutes after we call them. We’ll be okay.” Sachi released her. Mandaline heard sounds like she was wrapping a towel around her.

  Mandaline fumbled around in the dark until she located Sachi again and found her ear. “Find my keys and we’ll run out to the car.”

  “You can’t run. You’re so drunk you can barely stand, much less walk.”

  She felt heat fill her face. Sachi’s tone wasn’t hateful, but the truth in her words still made Mandaline feel ashamed.

  They both froze, clutching at each other, as they heard footsteps on the stairs. Under the door, they saw a flash of red light sweep past. The footsteps paused.

  Mandaline knew exactly what that was. They had several in their investigation kit. It was a night-vision flashlight.

  She heard Sachi breathing in her ear as they both listened and waited. The footsteps moved on, toward the attic stairs. They heard the intruder slowly ascend them, then they heard the sound of him walking around the attic.

  “Run,” Mandaline said. “Get my keys and run. I’ll lock myself in here.”

  “I’m not leaving without you!”

  “Run! This might be your only chance!”

  “Fuck that noise!” They clutched at each other, freezing in place as the footsteps stopped directly overhead. When the footsteps moved again, Sachi grabbed Mandaline’s hand. “We both run. He can’t catch us both in the woods. You can hide and I’ll draw him away from you. We won’t have time to get to the car.”

  Before Mandaline could object, Sachi shoved the Maglite back into her hand. Then she heard the sound of the door lock unlocking and Sachi pulled it open. With her eyes adjusted to the dark, in the dim light from the window at the end of the hallway she could make things out.

  They started out the door but then the steps upstairs quickened. Caught in the middle of the hallway, Sachi pushed her back into the bathroom and quietly pulled the door shut before running across the hall and loudly slamming Ellis’ bedroom door.

  Mandaline choked back a sob as she locked the knob. She knew what her friend had done, on purpose.

  Heavy footsteps pounded down the attic stairs and stopped in the hallway. A loud, gruff man’s voice screamed, “Miki! I know you’re in here with your friend. I don’t want her. My beef’s with you, you fucking Jew-Jap bitch! I know yer both here because I followed y’all from that witch store.”

  Mandaline’s eyes widened in the dark. She bit down on her hand to keep from screaming as she heard Sachi’s muffled voice yelling at him through the walls.

  “Fuck you, you assfucking fuckface! I hope some big, black bubba made you his fuck bitch in prison! Come and get me, you fucking pussy! You don’t have the fucking balls to take me out!”

  Across the hallway, she heard pounding on Ellis’ bedroom door, accompanied by wordless, enraged screams. All the while, Sachi kept up the taunts. “Bet you learned to love sucking cocks in prison, huh? Bet you loved bending over and spreading your cheeks for them to slide it right up your pooper, didn’t ya? Bet some gang spit-roasted your bubba ass every night and you begged for it!”

  “I’m gonna get you, you fucking cunt!” More pounding, like he was trying to beat the door down. “I’m gonna kill you like I should have killed you that day! Soon as I saw you on TV I knew that was you!” More pounding. “Been watching you for days. You ain’t as smart as you think you are, and you ain’t leaving here ’til yer dead as my boy!”

  “You’re already eager to get back in prison, aren’t you? Bet you miss those nightly gang rapes, huh?”

  “I don’t fuckin’ care about prison, you cunt! I’m dead in a few months anyway, and I’m takin’ you with me!”

  Mandaline’s hands clenched into tight fists. Except that the right one wouldn’t.

  She realized she still held the Maglite.

  Before she could reconsider, she quietly unlocked the bathroom door.

  The man had dropped his night vision light on the floor. It had rolled away, the beam shining down the hallway away from Mandaline. He wasn’t much taller than her, his body looking thin and wasted, and he was now slamming his left shoulder into the door.

  In his right hand, he held a gun.

  Astarte, Hecate, Nokomis, Cerridwen, Nodens! she chanted in her brain as she rushed up behind him, her arm upraised. She swung, hard, catching him squarely in the back of the head, the shock driving up her arm and hurting like crazy. He let out a startled grunt, but before he could turn she quickly hit him three more times, driving him to the floor.

  “Sachi! Come on! Run!” As the bedroom door unlocked and flew open, Mandaline grabbed the gun with her left hand from where he’d dropped it.

  “What the…Mandaline, run!” Sachi shoved her toward the stairs. Now the beer won out, her legs tangling under her. They both went sprawling, the gun flying from her hand into the darkness.

  The man groaned, followed by the sound of him rolling over. “Fucking bitch! Yer gonna get it!”

  Mandaline screamed as his hand closed on her ankle. Her towel fell free as she kicked and struggled and blindly struck out at him with the flashlight. She managed to connect with him again, but he got another hand on her leg.

  She didn’t know where Sachi had ended up, but she prayed her friend got free and ran for help. A sudden calm engulfed her as she struggled. She kicked out again with her free foot, this time hitting him squarely in the nose.

  He let out a roar of pain as she felt hands grabbing her under the arms and pulling her toward the stairs. Sachi won the
tug-of-war when he lost his grip on her. The women once again went tumbling backward. This time, Mandaline lost her grip on the flashlight. She heard it bounce down the stairs and into the darkness of the living room below.

  “Gonna kill you both now!” he roared.

  Mandaline flipped over and got her feet beneath her. She made out Sachi’s lithe and also naked body in the darkness.

  Sachi grabbed her, shoved her toward the stair railing, and whispered, “Run!”

  Mandaline caught her arm and pulled at her. “Not without you!” she screamed, no longer caring if the guy heard.

  They would get out of this. She knew it.

  She didn’t know how she knew it, but the calm and peace flooding her system wouldn’t let go of her. It felt like the light in the room grew brighter. She glanced back and saw the guy reaching for the gun.

  Time slowed as he raised it, pointing it straight at her. Sachi screamed and threw herself in front of Mandaline.

  They both let out a shriek as he fired.

  * * * *

  Brad ran through the rain and the darkness down the driveway. He struggled to ignore phantom images now clouding his mind, imaginary Taliban fighters behind every tree pointing weapons at him.

  They’re not real! They’re not real! He kept silently chanting this even as the shotgun shells stuffed into his pockets uncomfortably jammed into his hips. He kept his hands tightly clenched around the shotgun. With the dim light mounted in the trunk lid, he’d broke the gun open, removed the snap caps, and jammed two shells into the barrels.

  He just prayed he’d picked right when he flipped the safety switch.

  The side door stood open as he took the steps two at a time. Just as he ran through the kitchen, he heard the explosion of a gunshot, a brief muzzle flash illuminating the living room as Mandaline screamed and Sachi let out a bloodcurdling cry.

  His wet feet slid on the floor as he skidded through the doorway to the stairs. Mounting the gun to his shoulder, he aimed up the stairs where he made out three figures struggling near the top.