Population Zero (7 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Stephanie paced the floor from the kitchen to the front door to the window overlooking the street, wringing her hands and rubbing her belly and sighing deeply. Her girlfriend, Cathy, watched her angrily, fighting to remain silent. When Stephanie looked out the window for the tenth time in less than two minutes Cathy could no longer remain silent.

"Why did you even invite him over if it's freaking you out so much?"

"He needed the car."

"So? Tell him to get his own damn car. What does he need a car for anyway?"

"I don't know. He said he needed to move some boxes or something."

"I hope he's not doing anything illegal."

"Todd? Please. He wouldn't hurt a fly. And I mean he literally would not hurt a fl y."

Stephanie rubbed her belly again and then glanced out the window once more.

"You never told him huh?"

"How could I, knowing how he feels about it?"

"I can hand him the keys for you if you'd like? You don't have to see him. He doesn't have to see you." "What will you tell him?""I don't have to tell him shit. He's the one who fucked up. You're my woman now. I'll just tell him you don't want to see him.""You sound like a male chauvinist when you say I'm your woman." "You are my woman and there's no goddamn reason for him to see you."

"It is his child."

"He's just a sperm donor. I'm that baby's father. He doesn't want kids remember?"

Stephanie nodded solemnly and looked down at her belly again. She was not at all certain that she didn't want to see Todd again. A part of her was curious to see if he would change his mind about kids if he knew that she was carrying his child. Another part of her didn't want to find out the answer.

When the doorbell rang she handed the keys to Cathy, threw herself down onto the couch and covered her head with the pillow.

"It'll be all right, baby. I'll handle it."

Chapter Fourteen

"Where's Steph?"

"She doesn't want to see you."

"She didn't say that on the phone."

"She didn't say she did want to see you did she? Here's the keys."

Todd took the keys and stared at them.

"Is she still out on a job?"

"A what?"

"She said she had to pick up a bail jumper tonight."

"No, she doesn't do that anymore. I take care of her now."

Cathy was a large woman. At six feet tall she was two inches taller than Todd and she was muscled like a middleweight boxer. She had thighs like a power lifter and Todd wondered what it would feel like to be kicked by legs that muscular. Her foot would probably go right through his chest and explode out of his back. Cathy's bleached blond hair was cut short in a buzz-cut like Annie Lennox. Her breasts were huge, like two large cantaloupes and, unlike Stephanie's, hers appeared to be natural. She was wearing a nine-millimeter Gloch in a shoulder holster and Todd knew that she was into that Ultimate fighting shit. There were scars on her knuckles and what looked like the faded shadow of a black eye. She had a missing tooth that she'd never bothered to have replaced and a faint scar on her right cheek. She'd probably gotten the black eye fighting with a bail jumper. She was an intimidating woman. Todd could barely make eye contact with her. Cathy would have killed him in a fair fight.

"Is she upstairs?"

"Go away, Todd. Make sure you bring the car back before midnight."

Cathy turned her back and shut the door. Todd stood on the porch trying to decide if he should ring the doorbell again.

He decided against it.

As he strapped his bike onto the bike rack of Stephanie's Toyota Prius hybrid, Todd could not help but wonder why she'd lied to him about doing a job tonight. Something wasn't right but he didn't have time to think about it for very long. He wondered why she still had the bike rack on the car. Was she still thinking about him? Did she miss him? He needed to move Terrence's body or else he might have stuck around to find out. He'd be back.

Todd started the engine and backed slowly out of the driveway. He looked up and saw a silhouette in the window staring down at him. He was certain that it was Stephanie. After he was done with Terrence, he had to see her.

Chapter Fifteen

The old lady across the street with the house full of cats, watched as Todd carried out an armload of plastic wrapped parcels. She'd come out onto the porch when he'd pulled up with Stephanie's car and watched him like a vulture as he unhooked the bike and bike rack and carried them both upstairs. He didn't know what her name was. Todd didn't know any of his neighbors and didn't want to. But he knew her face. It was fat with huge dimpled cheeks, squinty piggish eyes, and a roadmap of wrinkles. The woman was morbidly obese and needed a walker to get around. Her rotund face with the wrinkles and dimples giving her the look of an ancient cherub, seemed to always be there, peering from beyond the screen door or between her Venetian blinds or, as now, staring blatantly from her front porch.

What the fuck is that old woman doing up so late? Did she stay up just to spy on me?

When he walked upstairs to collect more of Terrence's body parts, she was still sitting on her porch watching him with undisguised curiosity. As he piled the parts into the trunk she craned her neck to get a better look. Cats walked in and out of her house, crowding around her ankles, purring and rubbing up against her. One would disappear back into her house only to be replaced by another.

How many damn cats does that woman have?

By the time he made his last trip up to the apartment to gather up the four individually wrapped quarters of Terrence Mohammed's torso, the woman across the street was on her cell phone and now she was standing up and leaning over her porch railing, petting one of her infinite number of kittens and straining to see what Todd was loading into his trunk. Todd wondered what she thought he was carrying. She probably assumed that they were kilos of coke or meth or marijuana. He wasn't the type of person anyone would have suspected of chopping up a body and stuffing it into a trunk. Unless she'd seen Terrence enter his apartment and not come back out, which was entirely possible. The bitch was always watching.

Todd smiled and waved at her as he hopped into the car. He considered giving her the finger, seriously considered it, but he didn't want to give her anything else to remember about him or piss her off and give her a reason to call the cops if she hadn't already. Todd strapped on his seatbelt and started the engine of Stephanie's black Toyota Prius, wincing as he thought about the carbon footprint he was leaving every time his foot hit the accelerator.

As he turned the corner, Todd realized that he had no idea where he was going.

Where the hell do you go to dump a body?

Todd turned the car toward the Bay. There had to be a deserted section of waterfront where he could toss Terrence's body into the water.

He drove past the souvenir shops, restaurants, boat rentals, the aquarium, and all the other tourist traps, all closed for the night. A policeman on a mountain bike whizzed down the boardwalk as if chasing some unseen suspect. A woman jogged in the opposite direction accompanied by a man on in-line skates. Couples strolled along the waterfront arm-in-arm.

Further down the boardwalk, prostitutes stopped cars in the street and drove off with them to earn their money behind the many warehouses that lined the waterfront. Todd continued to drive until finally he came to an area where there were no more tourists or shops and restaurants or lovers out for moonlit strolls. He stopped in front of an old warehouse with three fishing boats anchored in the water beside it. There were no other buildings for more than a mile except for a condominium project that was still under construction and some sort of shopping mall project that was, so far, no more than a concrete foundation.

Todd drove around to the side of the fish factory and parked next to the trash dumpsters. The smell of dead and decaying fish was overpowering. Todd had to cover his mouth and nose to fend off nausea.

No one's going to notice Terrence with this smell.

The trash dumpsters had locks on them. To keep out pigeons and seagulls, probably. Todd popped the trunk and fished around in the back for the tire iron. It was right underneath Terrence's head. A few swings of the tire iron and the lock gave way. As quickly as he could, Todd began piling the dismembered body parts into the dumpster, burying them deep beneath the rotting fish guts and carcasses.

A huge weight lifted from Terrence's shoulders once he'd emptied the car. A big smile of relief spread across Todd's face and he began to hum. It was all over now. Nicolene was taken care of and now so was Terrence. All that remained was for him to return the car to Stephanie and find some way of seeing her.

The drive from the waterfront was long and lonely. The streets were full of late nightclub goers, couples out for a night of dinner and dancing, friends bar-hopping, and singles on the prowl for a bed-mate for the evening. Todd felt disconnected from all of them. He could not understand why anyone would drive a car. He felt alienated enough from humanity without this extra barrier between them. At least if he was walking or riding his bike he could pretend that he was somehow a part of the festivities. Now, riding by watching it through the car window, he felt completely alone.

When Todd turned off the main streets into the more residential neighborhoods, it was as if the world was suddenly deserted. Despite the streetlights, the blocks seemed darker without the neon signs from the bars and storefronts. The sidewalks were empty and the houses were dark except for the flickering blue light from the occasional television shining from a living room or bedroom window or a kitchen light left on in anticipation of a midnight snack.

Surprisingly, Todd felt less alone here than he had on Market Street.

Todd pulled up in front of Stephanie's apartment building. All the lights were on in her apartment. The shades had not been drawn and he could see right into her living room. Stephanie and Cathy were sitting on the couch watching a movie. Todd parked across the street so he could watch for a moment before they noticed he'd arrived. He killed the engine and sat there for a while watching. Stephanie's face looked rounder than he remembered it and even sitting down he could tell that her breasts had gotten bigger. Had she increased the size of her implants?

Other than that, she looked exactly the same. It had only been five months since he'd seen her last so he hadn't really expected her to change much. Part of him was expecting her to have become some butch lesbian with a mullet and a flannel shirt. She was living up to one stereotype though. She had definitely gained weight. Todd stepped out of the car and walked across the street. He stood outside of Stephanie's apartment, not knocking or ringing the doorbell, just staring through the window. Stephanie had gained even more weight than he'd thought. They were eating popcorn and she had the popcorn bowl sitting on top of an enormous belly. Suddenly, she stood up and walked to the kitchen. A chill raced down his spine and he cried out. Stephanie turned toward the window and she saw him just as he saw her...all of her. Stephanie was pregnant.

She gasped and covered her mouth. Cathy bolted from the couch and ran to the window. Todd just stood there, staring.

Seconds later, the front door opened and Cathy walked out looking pissed. Stephanie was behind her. Todd just stared at her with his mouth still hanging open.

"I wanted to tell you." Her eyes were full of tears. So were Todd's.

"You don't have to say shit to him. What the fuck are you doing peepin' in our windows?" Cathy pushed him and Todd fell down hard on his ass. He was still just staring at Stephanie's belly with his mouth hanging open. Mute.

Stephanie grabbed Cathy and pulled her away from Todd just as the big woman was balling up her fists looking like she was preparing to pound Todd into the concrete.

"Let me talk to him. Just go in the house. I'll be in, in a minute. Just let me talk to him."

Cathy looked worried, angry, but she turned slowly, still glaring murderously at Todd, and walked back into the apartment.

Stephanie held out a hand for Todd. Todd just stared at it and then back at her stomach.

"I'm pregnant, Todd. Nine months pregnant. I was pregnant the night we broke up. It's your baby."

Todd shook his head slowly as the tears began to race down his face. He looked down at his messenger bag. The stun gun was still in there and so was the scalpel and the clamps and the cat gut. He was out of duct tape but he still had the handcuff s.

"It's your baby. You're going to be a father whether you like it or not." Stephanie was crying too but her voice was strong and she stuck out her jaw defiantly while at the same time searching Todd's face for some sign of joy, some indication that he might have been pleased by the idea of parenthood. What she saw instead was terror and anger and sadness.

Todd stood up and reached out for her belly. She let him touch it, still watching his expression, hoping it would change. His hands trembled as he touched Stephanie's stomach. He rubbed his palms over it, thinking about the fetus he'd ripped out of Nicolene and strangled with its own umbilical cord, wondering if he could do that to his own child.

He balled up his fists and Stephanie flinched and pulled away from him. He looked up into her eyes, brow furrowed, eyebrows knitted together, nose wrinkled, lip pulled up into a scowl, jaw tight, teeth gritting together, fists still clenched. The look on his face told Stephanie everything without saying a word.

How could you?

He reached into his bag and Stephanie took two more steps back. He grabbed the stun gun and gripped it tight. Then he let it go. He fished around some more until he found the scalpel. He thought about punching the knife into her gut and carving the baby out of her right there in front of her apartment. But he couldn't. He loved Stephanie. He looked down at her belly. He didn't know what to do.

His hand was still in the bag, still gripping the scalpel. His face was a riot of ticks and twitches as he sobbed louder, his entire body hitching and jerking as the force of his tears racked his body. He looked like he was in agony.

Stephanie took a step toward him. He stepped back and his face twisted into a scowl then he began to laugh. His laughter rose louder and louder. It was the sound of a mind that had lost all connection with sanity. Tears continued to rain from his eyes as he doubled over with laughter. He turned abruptly and walked off down the street, still laughing.

The absurd irony of Stephanie carrying his baby while he was on a campaign to stop everyone in the world from having more kids was just further proof that no one had a more fucked up sense of humor than God. Todd had gotten his vasectomy too late.

Todd could feel Stephanie's eyes on his back, watching him walk off into the night. He could hear her painful sobs. He heard the door to their apartment open and Cathy storm out.

"It's your baby, Todd! It's your baby!" Stephanie's voice sounded hysterical. He had hurt her. It was the last thing he'd wanted to do when he'd decided to call her, the last thing he'd wanted to do when he'd pulled up in front of her apartment just minutes ago. But everything had gone wrong. She was pregnant.

Todd wanted to go back. He wanted to hug her and tell her that everything would be alright, that they would raise the baby together, and that they would be a family. But he didn't because he knew that if he went back there...he would kill her.

"Fuck you, Todd! You'd better never come back here again! I'd better never see you again, do you hear me?" It was Cathy and he knew she meant it. She'd try to kill him if he came back again. Unless he killed her first.