Darkness Follows (5 page)

The
sun had set, and the orangey glow in the sky was quickly fading by the time
they all sat down to dinner. Aurina had found some plates, along with a spider
in the cupboards, which she captured humanely and released outside. After
rinsing off the dishes, she began setting the table. She noticed the quiet that
seemed to go on for miles in the surrounding area, with only the distant sound
of frogs croaking and crickets chirping.

"How
long has this house been empty?" Aurina asked as she squeezed a packet of ketchup
onto her plate.

"Blake's
parents moved to a retirement community down in Camden, the city you drove
through before you got here." Crawley told them before he took the first
big bite of his burger.

"They
moved out about two years ago I think." Max said. He seemed a little young
to be on this case, Aurina thought. She wondered how old he was, and when he
graduated school. She was sure he couldn’t have much experience.

Aurina
thought Jones had been around her age too, but he was so much more mature, and
confident. He was a leader, and so knowledgeable about the case. Daniels,
though twice Jones's age, seemed to answer to him."

"Good
folks, the Holloway's,” Crawley put his burger down, and sipped his cola.
"When I got my first car, John, Blake's dad, sold it to me cheap. We went
to the same high school, and I was a few years younger. First in my class to
get my license and John told me he had a sweet ride he and his dad were fixing
up. Something to take the birds out in he said." Crawley smiled. "Took
Sheila to the drive-in the night I bought it.
High School
sweethearts."

"That's
sweet." Aurina began to enjoy her meal as he continued to reminisce.

She
noticed Ryanne had eaten her fries, but had barely touched her burger. It was
something at least. Aurina had been so worried Ryanne was upset with her, for
unknowingly bringing her into the middle of a murder investigation, and for
potentially putting her in harm’s way. She hadn't spoken to her on the car ride
up, and as Aurina's thoughts drifted to their parents, she felt guilty for
taking Ryanne away from them. She had just finished her first year at university,
and she seemed to have been enjoying her summer at home. Aurina had been seeing
her more often, and she felt the distance that grew between them since she had
left for university shrink in the weeks Ryanne had been back at their parents’
home.

All
of this was because of David. He was so unstable, drifting in and out of
reality. Aurina wondered if he had changed, or if this was simply hindsight and
he'd always been like that underneath. She knew she was over tired, and the
trip must have taken a toll on Ryanne as well, but she felt like Ryanne was
punishing her with silence and distance for bringing her to Dersten.

"You
all right there?" Crawley asked as he moved on to his fries.

Aurina
forced a smile on her face.
"Yeah, just, you know,
worried."

"I'm
sorry for what all went on in Toronto. It's a terrible thing, those
murders." Crawley wiped his mouth with a napkin, "Terrible that
you've been involved."

"I'm
sorry it's under these circumstances," Max said, "But I really think
you'll like it here."

"I've
never been to a place like Dersten." Aurina pushed her plate away.

"Have
you ever lived in a small town?" Max asked, and the girls both shook their
heads.

"You'll
either love it, or hate it then." Crawley laughed. He cleaned his plate,
and after wiping his hands on his napkin, rested them on his stomach.

"I've
actually always wondered what it’s like… living in the country. It seems
nice." Ryanne said, and her statement drew her to the center of attention.

"I
didn't know that." Aurina was surprised, and Ryanne’s cheeks turned a bit
red.

There
was a knock on the door, and Aurina jumped for the second time. Max answered
the door, and a man in jeans and a green plaid flannel shirt entered.

"Crawley."
The man nodded,
and the Chief nodded back.

"Blake,
this is Aurina Patrick," Max gestured to her quickly, as Blake took off
his boots. He ran his fingers through his curly dark hair before looking up and
giving her a smile.
"And Ryanne Patrick."
Blake followed Max to the kitchen and shook Aurina's hand. She noticed a bit of
grease around his nails. He shook hands with Ryanne and then stood between her
and Crawley, looking around the house.

"Welcome
to my childhood home." He told them. His voice was calm and upbeat. He had
stubble growing in on his face, and his teeth were sparkling white when he
smiled.

"You
lived here?" Aurina asked.

"Yeah.
Grew up here
with my parents, and then my dad and I started building the house next door
while I was finishing High School." Blake's smile was contagious, and
everyone was smiling now. “Who got my room?
The one in the
back?”

“I
guess I did.” Aurina said.

"Thanks
for coming over.
Long day at the shop?"
Crawley
asked.

"You
know how it is, everybody wants a favour." Blake rested his hands on the
back of Ryanne’s chair, and she looked up quickly as he smiled down on her.
"Looks like I missed dinner?"

"Sorry
Blake. Won’t take long here and then you can go fix yourself something."
Crawley told him. Aurina found herself wondering if Blake had a Mrs., but that
answered her question, along with the bare ring finger on his left hand.
"Take a seat."

Blake
pulled a chair up next to Aurina, and plunked himself down. An intriguing
fragrance of musk and oil wafted her way.

"So,
what else did I miss?" Blake leaned back in his chair.

"Crawley
filled them in earlier." Max told him.

"That
was it?" Ryanne asked. “Nothing else we should know?”

"That’s
all." Crawley said, sticking a fresh toothpick into his mouth from his
pocket.
“For now.”

"So
stay inside, don't tell anyone who we are, and hope Jeremy doesn't find
us?" Ryanne said. Aurina shot her a sharp look.

"You
don't have to stay inside, right Crawley?" Blake said." You can go
out with me or Max here."

"It's
only for a little while." Aurina told Ryanne, but she knew not much more
could be settled tonight. Ryanne shrugged, and pursed her lips. Aurina wished
Ryanne would come out and say she was upset with her.

"I'll
show you a few of the fun places around here." Blake told them.
"There's the lake just fifteen minutes north of here where I like to go
fishing. Ever been fishing?" Both the girls shook their heads again, and
Blake laughed. Aurina looked to the other men who were smiling.

"We've
got two city girls here Blake." Max told him as he pushed his chair back
from the table. Crawley stood up from the table as well.

"Time
I get home. Sheila'll be wondering where I am." Crawley made his way to
the door and Max followed. "Max'll be outside keeping watch." Max
nodded and as Crawley said goodnight, Max told them it was nice to meet them.

"Thank
you again, nice to meet you both as well." Aurina said, and saw them out.

"So,
I guess I should be going as well." Blake stood beside Aurina after
Crawley and Max had left.

"Will
you be over tomorrow?" Ryanne asked.

"Yep.
Why, ya wanna
go exploring?" Blake asked and Ryanne gave him a small smile.
"Jackie's going to be jealous."

"
Whose
Jackie?"Aurina asked.

"My little brother.
I was going to
spend time with him tomorrow. Take him fishing or something."

"Oh
nice, how old is he?"

"Twelve."

Aurina
snuck a look at Ryanne, whose eyes had widened as well.

"Oh
he's not my real brother" Blake grinned."I'm his Big Brother, from
Big Brothers Big Sisters, it's a mentorship program."

"Oh.Yeah,
we have that in Toronto too." Aurina smiled. "Well don't leave him
hanging."

"He
didn't even know I planned it. He would just be jealous because I'll be
spending time with some pretty girls.
Uh ladies."

"So tomorrow?"
Ryanne glazed
over the compliment.

"Sounds good kid.
I’ll be over
after work. I'll take a half day. That's one of the few perks of being your own
boss." Blake smiled as he slipped his boots back on.

“Sounds good, as long as you don’t call
me kid.”
Ryanne gave him a big fake smile, which softened into a real one when he turned
back to her and she saw him shrug. "See you tomorrow." He nodded at
her as he went through the door. "Lock up!" Blake called before the
door shut behind him, and Aurina slid the chain across the door, and turned the
lock by the knob. When she turned around, Ryanne had already left to bed.

Aurina
wished they had also brought some overnight things, or been allowed to pack
anything of their own. A big bottle of red wine would be a comfort to her, but
the tea and instant coffee in the cupboards would have to do.

On
the way to her room, Aurina saw Ryanne’s door was closed, but noticed a light
from the crack at the bottom. She thought about knocking, and trying to talk
with her, but exhaustion made the decision easy, and after she undressed, she
fell asleep as her head hit the pillow.

It
was three in the afternoon, and Blake had not called or been by the house yet. The
girls had both slept-in past noon, and since then, had sat in the living room
together drinking tea. Aurina was making a shopping list with a pen and scrap
piece of paper from her day planner when Ryanne had finally spoke.

"I'm
sorry." Aurina put down the paper and pen in her hands.

"I'm
sorry too." Aurina told her. "I'm sorry I brought you into this. I
shouldn't have gotten you involved."

Aurina
had been thinking about David since she woke that morning, and she still
couldn’t find any signs that should have alerted her to what David
was
a part of.

"You
didn't have much of a choice. Based on David’s reaction to me I think I was
involved already, if only a small part. I'm not sorry I was there for you. I
just think this has been blown out of proportion, don't you? I mean how hard
can it be to find this guy?"

Aurina
had to admit being under house arrest was not what she had in mind when they
found out Jeremy might mean them harm.

"I
guess. I think Jeremy should be treated as a real threat though Rye. You heard
how those girls were murdered, right?” Aurina tried not to think about it, and
shrugged as Ryanne nodded, “I know what you mean though. This is definitely
extreme. I wish they hadn’t taken our cell phones. I want to talk to Mom and
Dad."

"They
brought us out to the boonies with no real means of communication."

"Yeah, which apparently you've
always wanted to live in."
Aurina smirked, and picked up the paper
and pen.

"Well...I've
thought about it sometimes. It was out of my mouth before I knew it. I was
tired." She moved to sit on the sofa with her sister. "What are you
doing?"

"Making a grocery list.
We need food in
this house. We also need more than one change of clothes."

"True.
It was nice of them to leave us some things here though. Soap, shampoo, tooth
brushes, and tooth paste." Aurina remembered seeing the no name brand
shampoo in the shower when she brushed her teeth that morning.

"I
wonder who got them for
us?
"

"I
bet it was Blake." As Ryanne suggested the idea, Aurina blushed. “He’s hot
right?”

"My
bet's on Max. I think he's a rookie cop looking to impress Crawley."
Aurina looked out the bay window, where Max sat in his car.

"How
would providing us with toiletries impress Crawley?"

Aurina
shrugged. "I wish we had a car."

"Why,
we can’t go anywhere on our own. What's the point?"

"I'd
just feel more secure."

They
both heard the sound of a car door slam shut out the front, and when Aurina
looked back out the window, she saw Max walking slowly up the driveway.

"Speak
of the devil." Aurina pointed him out.

Max
jogged up the front porch steps to their door, and knocked twice. Ryanne went
to unlock it.

"Hi."
Max said as he came in and decided to take his shoes off this time. "I
thought Blake was supposed to be home by now? How was your sleep?"

"We
over-slept." Ryanne told him as they entered the living room.

"Hi Aurina."

"Hi
Max, have a seat." Aurina noticed Max was in plain clothes, jeans and a
button up black shirt. "I'd offer you a drink, but all we have is tea and
instant coffee, no milk or sugar."

"Yeah,
I’m sorry about that. We only found out about you coming the night before last,
it didn’t give us much time to prepare. I thought Blake would have taken you
guys out by now." Max sat down on the love seat, and crossed his ankle
over his knee.

"He
said he would, but we haven't heard from him yet." Ryanne told him, and
curled up on the couch.

"Well,
I'd be happy to take you guys out if you want? You must be starving, I know I
am."

Rain
began to patter softly against the front bay window, and they could hear it
harder on the roof.

"I
guess it's a crappy day to go out anyway." Ryanne grumbled looking out the
window.

“People
around here would disagree,” Max smiled, “Lots of my friends like to go
muddin’.”

“
Mudding
?”
Aurina asked.

“Yeah,
you take your truck through muddy back roads, and off roading.”

Aurina
looked from Ryanne back to Max.
“Never heard of it.”
Aurina thought it probably wasn’t an activity that a police officer should be
advocating. She looked to Ryanne, who looked out the front window. "I was
just making a list of..."

"Look,
Blake's here!' Ryanne pointed out the window as Blake flew down the dirt road,
coming to a quick stop in his driveway. He got out of his blue pick-up with
bags in his hands, and ran across the lawns through the rain to their house. He
forwent knocking and came right in.

"Hey
guys! Sorry I'm late, but I brought some food to make up for it!" Blake
handed them the white bags, and Aurina and Max brought them to the kitchen
table. “Shouldn’t that door have been locked?”

"Thanks."
Aurina opened the fridge to put in the cold items. “Max was the last one in.”

"I
meant to get you some more supplies before, but the convenience store was the
only thing open, so the hygiene items had to do." Blake smiled, and Ryanne
smirked at Aurina. She was right about Blake stocking their bathroom.

"There
are still a few things on the list I made. Max would you mind still
going?" Aurina asked.

"Sure
thing, what's left?"

Aurina
pointed to her list on the coffee table, and continued putting the food away.

“I
also wanted to get some new clothes today, but I really need to be there to try
them on, so I think I should go with you.” Aurina said.

“Okay,
sure, but folks will be closing up shop soon. If you want to go shopping and
get everything you just told me about it might be better if we split up. I got
the groceries. Blake, did you wanna go shopping with Aurina and Ryanne?”

“Sure.
I’d ask you girls where you want to go, but the only shopping centre is in
Camden. Looks like that’s where we’re heading. We'd better hurry.”

"Could
I go with Max for the food?" Ryanne asked.

“I
guess, but don’t you want to pick out your own clothes?” Aurina shrugged and
she set her hands on her hips.

“I’ve
always ended up wearing your clothes anyway. I trust you.” Ryanne smiled, and
when Aurina nodded, Ryanne scrambled to the door, and threw her sneakers on.

“See
ya when we get back!" Ryanne called as she went out the door, and Max
waved before shutting it behind them.

“
It’s
gunna be a long ride.” Blake told her as she started
putting her heels on. “You’ll probably want a more comfortable pair of shoes
too?”

Aurina
smiled as she opened the door. Heels were almost as comfortable as bare feet to
her, and she felt more confident in heels anyway.

“Want
an umbrella?” Blake asked.

“I’m
not as much of a prissy city girl as you think!” Aurina called as she ran out the
front door to Blake’s truck through the heavy rain. Blake shook his head,
watching her with a smile, and then quickly locked the door behind them.