Polar (Book 1): Polar Night (6 page)

Chapter 12

Aleksei opened the door of his
cellar and peered inside, where he saw Maria curled up in the fetal position in the corner of the room. He was fairly certain she was awake, but he was curious to see if she would acknowledge him. He climbed down the stairs without speaking and set the tray he carried on the floor next to the now empty plate he had left earlier.

The room had been dark when he entered, as the batteries of the small lantern he had left for Maria had obviously died. She must have let them run on high. He'd have to teach her how to conserve her resources.

Aleksei sat on his haunches and balanced himself against the wall. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“I know you're awake,” he said. “I'm wondering how long you're going to ignore me.”

Maria made no response.

Aleksei clasped his hands together in front of him and cracked his knuckles. “I would think,” he said, “that you wouldn’t be so quick to forget our lesson on manners. Ignoring someone who is talking to you is most certainly bad manners.”

A shiver went down Maria’s spine and her muscles tensed. The throbbing pain in her face and neck was a constant reminder of her captor’s opinion of her manners. She knew he had no plans to leave her alone. She had to respond.

“What do you want?” she asked, her voice barely audible.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you.”

Maria froze.

“Sit up and look at me!”

Maria pushed herself into a sitting position and gently rested her aching head against the wall. She looked across the room at Aleksei and immediately began to shake.

“Why are you shaking? Are you afraid of me?”

“Yes.”

“There’s no need to be.” Aleksei gestured towards the tray he had placed on the floor. “I brought you food, and a pot of coffee. Also some more water.”

Maria glanced over at the tray of food. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

“You’re welcome. And, I’m so glad you’re remembering your manners.” He sat down on the floor and bent his knees in front of him. “Aren’t you wondering why I brought you a special tray?”

“Why did you?”

“It’s Christmas Eve. I thought you should have something to celebrate that. See, I even brought a red coffee mug and a green plate.” He smiled, as if proud of his thoughtfulness.

Maria felt tears streaming down her face again. She had forgotten it was Christmas. Forgotten all about the party she was planning for Christmas Eve.

She wondered what Nate was doing now. And her parents. Had they come to Alaska after she had gone missing? They must be worried sick..

“You could at least say thank you,” Aleksei said, interrupting her thoughts.

“I thought I did,” Maria said.

“Well, Merry Christmas to you.” Aleksei gestured towards the food. “Go ahead, help yourself.”

Maria slid over to the tray and grabbed a piece of bread. She steadied her hand and poured a small amount of coffee into the large red mug. She sat back against the wall and took a sip, savoring the warm liquid.

“Is it good?” Aleksei asked.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

He watched her eat and drink, remaining silent until she had finished the chunk of bread and reached for another piece.

Maria drank the last of her coffee and put down the mug. “So this is how you celebrate Christmas?” she asked. “Locking up women in your house?”

“Well, kind of,” Aleksei said. “It is a tradition for me. But this is Christmas for you, not for me. My Christmas is different.”

“What do you mean?”

“In my home country, Christmas is in January. That’s when the Orthodox Christmas is celebrated.”

“What’s your home country?”

“Russia.”

Maria nodded. So she had been right about the accent.

“We have a big celebration to bring in each New Year,” Aleksei said. “We give presents on December 31, and celebrate all through the night and the following day. Then, we have the Orthodox Christmas a week later.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you and I are going to celebrate next week. The Russian way.”

“What??”

“We’re going to celebrate. We’ll go upstairs and you’ll stay in my home. We’ll have it all to ourselves. And we’ll celebrate the New Year.”

“And what if I don’t feel like celebrating?”

“That will be a shame for you.”

“Why? Because I’ll have to stay down in this room if I don’t?”

“No. It’s more serious than that.”

Maria felt a chill run up her spine. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain it to you. See, this is a tradition for me, bringing a woman to my home for the holidays. Since New Year’s is our most important holiday in Russia, it’s important for me to celebrate it with my guest. It’s like having a touch of home. A Russian New Year, with my Russian princess.”

“I’m not Russian.”

“Not right now, because you haven’t listened to what I told you yet. But you will be. You’ll be my Natasha. We’ll celebrate.”

“And if I don’t?”

“If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”

Aleksei watched as Maria’s already pale face turned as white as an Arctic hare. He smiled. “I figured I might as well just give it to you straight.”

Maria opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

“If you were an actress,” Aleksei said, “I would tell you to consider the holiday as your audition. The most important audition you’ve ever gone on.”

Maria finally managed to find her voice. “What am I auditioning for?”

“To see whether you’re fit to stay here and share my winter with me. You see, I like to bring my guest here on the Solstice, with the intention of keeping her with me for the winter. But the winter is special for me, and I don’t want to have it ruined by an uncooperative guest. So, if you don’t pass your audition, I’ve still got plenty of time to find someone else.”

“You mean, kidnap someone else?”

“Well, if you want to look at it that way.”

Maria had never felt so cold. She clutched her knees to her chest and tried to keep from shaking. “So what am I supposed to do to pass your audition?”

“Just be Natasha. That’s all I want.”

“How can I be her when I have no idea who she even is?”

“I can guide you. And I chose you because you already resemble her. Once you get cleaned up and dressed appropriately, you’ll be beautiful, just like she was.”

“Why don’t you just have her here with you? Why do you need me or some other woman?”

“I wish I didn’t need you. But I can’t have Natasha without you. She’s gone.” Aleksei looked down at the floor. “She’s been gone for years. Decades.”

“Decades? How old are you?”

Aleksei stood up and brushed his black pants with his hands. “It doesn’t matter. I need to go.” He glanced towards the tray again. “I think I’ve spelled out the situation for you. You know your choices. For now, you might as well just enjoy your Christmas dinner.”

He climbed up the stairs and was gone without another word. Maria heard the door of the root cellar slam shut behind him.

She looked down at the food and felt her stomach convulsing. If she’d thought about it rationally, she would have known all along he planned to kill her. But now that he had spelled it out, he had left no doubt. She jumped up and ran to the chamber pot across the room. She barely made it to the pot before she vomited.

Chapter 13

Danny walked out of the bar
and stumbled down the empty street, trying to remember where he had left his car. He looked up and down the street, but found no car in sight. Puzzling. Hadn’t he driven here when he’d left the library?

He shrugged and decided he’d worry about it tomorrow. Home wasn’t that far away. And he was drunk enough that the cold didn’t bother him. He noticed flyers hanging on every telephone pole he passed, and saw Maria Treibel’s smiling face staring back at him. He remembered Nate Clancy mentioning a vigil, and assumed Maria’s friends had posted flyers around the town as part of the event. He wished he could say he thought they would do any good, but he knew the efforts were futile.

He walked past the Catholic church, where the bells were playing Christmas music once again. What time was it, anyway? Wasn’t it a little late for church bells?

He had his answer a few seconds later, when churchgoers began filing out of the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. They were all dressed in their best, in spite of the cold, and they held hands and clutched arms as they made their way to their cars and headed home for Christmas.

Danny had vague memories of going to Midnight Mass with his mother at St. Patrick’s church in Chicago. He loved when the mass was over and he could run to the car. He couldn’t wait to go home and go to bed, as he knew Christmas would be there when he woke up.

He pulled up the neck of his parka and trudged through the snow-covered sidewalks, wishing he had thought to wear his boots. He felt like the boy who couldn’t wait to get home again. But not because it was Christmas. Because the cold was sobering him up. He was glad he’d had the foresight to go to the liquor store and stock up before everything closed for the holiday.

Finally, he turned onto his street and walked up the sidewalk to his apartment. He fumbled with his keys and managed to unlock his door. He got inside and tossed his coat and gloves on the floor and kicked off his soaking wet boots.

He considered starting on one of the bottles in his cabinet but felt too light-headed to open the cabinet door. He just needed to lie down for a minute. He headed to his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. He was out before his head touched the pillow.

Chapter 14

Danny woke up to the sound of
more church bells. He groaned. Christmas morning church bells, now. He needed a drink.

He forced himself out of bed and stumbled to his kitchen, where he pulled a bottle of scotch from the cabinet. He didn’t bother to get a glass and took a long swig from the bottle. He padded to his living room and slumped onto the couch with the bottle in hand. He looked out the window at the heavy snow falling and blowing in the wind.

“Merry Christmas, Danny.”

He turned towards the sound of Caroline’s voice.

“You’re not here,” he said. “Leave me the hell alone.”

“What’s happened to you?”

Danny shook his head and took another drink. “Like you don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“Are you really going to act like you don’t know?” Danny yelled at the empty room. “Give me a fucking break, would you?”

He leaned his head back on the couch. What had happened to him? She really needed to ask? He scoffed and closed his eyes.

He could still hear the asshole taunting him. There in the bedroom he shared with Caroline. He could see him, his hand around her neck as she knelt on the floor next to the bed. The knife touching her throat…

“Leave her out of this, Jackson,” Danny said. “I’m the one you’re pissed at.”

“
You got that right. So why would I leave her out of it?”

“
She had nothing to do with this!”

“
Yeah, I’m aware of that. But she’s the way to get to you, isn’t she? To hit you where it hurts? Surely even you can figure that out.”

Danny’s hand started to shake as he stared at the knife at Caroline’s throat. He couldn’t have that. He needed a clear shot.

“
Just get the knife away from her. Please.”

Jackson chuckled. “Please? You’re seriously saying please to me? Oh, okay, well, now that you asked nicely, sure I’ll let her go.” He laughed again. “Give me a fucking break, Fitzpatrick.”

Caroline stared at Danny, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Danny…”

Danny tightened his grip on his gun. No shaking now. He could put a bullet right through Jackson’s head.

He squeezed the trigger just as the knife slid across Caroline’s neck, and her pale skin erupted in a sea of red. The champagne colored walls of their bedroom were instantly splattered with Caroline’s blood. Danny heard himself screaming as the sound of the gun echoed in his ears, and the blood pumped out of Caroline’s neck.

“
Caroline!”

Danny sat up straight on his couch, startled. He looked around him, at first not recognizing the sparse furnishings of his dreary Alaskan apartment.

There was no blood on the walls.

He grabbed for the bottle of scotch, finding it empty, and slowly forced himself to his feet. He needed another bottle in order to forget that he had been too late.

He had fired the gun too late.