Sometime Yesterday (25 page)

“God, I’m sorry. Did I sound that crass?”

“Yes, but being that you’re her best friend and you’re worried about her, I’ll forgive you.”

“Can I have your home number so I can try getting a hold of her there?”

Van rattled off her number. “But I’ve been trying all morning, and she isn’t answering there either.”

“I’ll try again. If she’s still not picking up, I’ll swing by her place and see if she’s there and let you know, okay?”

Van said that was fine and disconnected. As long as Natalie stayed at her house and didn’t go home alone, she wouldn’t worry. She looked forward to sharing what she learned today with her this evening and then they could get busy with the whole kissing cousins situation, she thought, amusing herself with the analogy. She looked back at the stack of bills and sighed before getting back to work.

*

The door to the bathroom opened and Richard threw Beth on the bed. His face was set in hard lines and his shirt splattered with bright red stains. He didn’t even look back before he left the bedroom. Natalie pulled herself off the floor, using the bed as an anchor. She peered at Beth and her hand flew to her mouth in horror. Beth lay unconscious, her blood soaking into the sheets that had so recently given her pleasure. Natalie could only stare at her helplessly for a moment until she felt her fear drain away. Red hot anger came in its place, until she felt it pulsating in her veins. Rage tasted like copper in her mouth.

Natalie turned from the bed and followed Richard’s path out the door. He was at the end of the hallway, heading for Sarah’s room. He didn’t appear to be in any hurry, just stepping heavy as if he were drawing out the terror that Sarah would be feeling as he approached. Natalie ran toward him so fast, she felt like she was flying.

Richard spun and grinned. His face began morphing between himself and the demon that he was. She was momentarily surprised he could actually see her, but Natalie didn’t even slow her approach. She came at him, screaming with fury. A split second before impact, Richard sidestepped to the right. Natalie ran straight into the wall and hit it full force, turning the world black.

*

Van was out in the greenhouse helping a customer when she saw Mary waving a hand above her head and heading toward her. She quickly excused herself and met her halfway. She was a little startled when Mary hugged her, but she returned the hug. Mary followed Van through the store. Van had to stop now and then to let her exclaim over the various lush plants and art pieces on the shelves.

“How come I didn’t know this beautiful yard stuff was here?” Mary stopped to look at a blown cobalt glass ball being held aloft by an exquisite fairy.

“Maybe because, I don’t know, I might be going out on a limb here. You’ve never been here?” Van laughed and continued to the office.

Mary stopped in front of a display that held several large wind chimes, and poked a finger to make them ring. “I want one of these!”

“We’ll grab one on the way out. Let’s talk back here.”

“Very nice,” Mary said as she looked around the room that held flowers and artfully arranged crystals and knick-knacks.

“Thank you. Please sit down.”

“I probably could have called, but I wanted to check the place out. The gallery Natalie works for called me trying to find her to let her know that her room reservations had been confirmed. Evidently, her phone is still out of order and they were looking forward to seeing her this evening.”

“Oh,” said Van. Natalie had never said a word to her about leaving. She didn’t know what to say.

“Maybe she tried, you know, phones out, and all. She probably left you a note or something.” Mary stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Do you hear that?”

Van’s nerves twitched. “What?”

“I thought I heard someone crying.” Mary put a finger to her lips to gesture for silence and listened for a few seconds. “I must have imagined it.”

After she walked with Mary to her car, Van found the wind chime that she had admired. She took it to the front counter, handed it to the clerk, and told her wrap it up so she could surprise Mary with it later.

Why hadn’t Natalie tried to get a hold of her to let her know she was leaving? The nursery was on the way out of town. She could have stopped by. Van felt a slap of insecurity. Natalie hadn’t told her she loved her back last night. Should she assume that the declaration had scared her off? Natalie didn’t owe her any explanations, yet Van still felt hurt that she wouldn’t say anything to her about where she was going. Should she give Natalie her space? Following a sixty second argument with herself, she dialed her number anyway.

Still no answer.

Natalie opened her eyes, shocked to find herself sitting on the basement stairs. Her thin shirt stuck to her perspiring skin, sending icy chills over her body. The last thing she remembered was running into the wall and blacking out. Her pounding heart signaled her fear; she could hear the pulse of it in her eardrums, shutting out all other sound. Why was she down here? She gradually became aware of another noise, and heard a faint voice muttering. She forced herself to look around. The clean concrete floor was missing as well as the bright fluorescent lighting. It was dark and gloomy; cobwebs scattered on the rafters like crazy spun sugar. Natalie realized she was going to have to play this nightmare through to its conclusion. She was aware of the cold but knew it had nothing to do with the chills she was experiencing. Every hair on her body stood up to signal danger. She moved in and through the shadows, trying to reach the source of the racket. Fear curled in her belly and prickled on her skin. When she got to the last stone pillar, she cautiously peeked around it.

Richard was busy raking the dirt floor in the west corner, giggling and talking to himself. Natalie was certain he was insane. She crouched by the pillar to watch and see if she could make out what he was saying. She froze when he turned around and looked directly at her. Natalie didn’t even blink; she let fear hold her immobile.

Richard shook his head and poured fresh dirt from an old bucket over the mound he’d already smoothed, stopping to check his work every few minutes and wipe the sweat that broke out on his forehead. “Fucking bitch tried to stab me. Who the hell does she think she is?”

Natalie noted the blood drying on his cheek. What had he done with Sarah? Then she realized he must be covering the entrance to the old root cellar. She had wondered when she did the first walk-through why her old house didn’t have one but figured the previous owners had filled it in. She gagged when she realized he might have buried Sarah in there. The horror of the situation hit her, but it was still anger that drove her to action. Natalie looked for a weapon she could use. If he could hurt her, she should be able to hurt him too, right?

She turned and saw a two-by-four leaning against the pillar. She quietly picked it up and pulled it behind her head. She advanced to Richard’s back while her pulse increased double-time. She felt she would only get one good shot. When she was directly behind him, she swung with all her strength, only to find herself on the floor, having spun a three-sixty, right through his visage.

She ran that around in her mind for a second, even while her hip hurt from the landing, she hadn’t even touched him. The only conclusion she could come to was it must be that she couldn’t change the past. These events had already happened, and no matter what she did or what she attempted to do, it could have no bearing on history.

From her position on the floor, Natalie could see blood running down the side of his neck soaking into the collar of his white shirt to mix with the sweat from his exertion.

Natalie’s heart broke for Sarah, but she couldn’t help or save her, not even while she was seemingly trapped here in this loop of the past.

*

Van kept busy after the rain stopped trying to keep her uneasy feelings at bay. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to shake the sensation that she was being watched.

She finished stocking some new inventory and then spent some time pacing her office, willing Natalie to call. Hell with it, she thought. There was no sense in forcing herself to stay until the nursery closed.

In fifteen minutes, she was on the road home. Natalie’s car wasn’t in the driveway and the anticipation and hope she carefully built over her nervous stomach plummeted.

There was no note. Van searched the house twice, feeling the emptiness of the rooms increase with each pass through them. Natalie’s unique scent lingered in the air, almost mocking her. She couldn’t think of a single reason why Natalie would have left without saying good-bye. She sat at the kitchen table and her gaze wandered over to the trash can in the corner. Inside it was a swatch of blue that made her curious enough to investigate. She found one of her shirts hanging half in and half out of the garbage. Van was certain it was the shirt Natalie had been wearing that morning.

*

Richard finished raking the dirt and stepped through Natalie. Still curled on the floor, she watched him go to the stairs and waited for the door to slam. It felt like she’d been stuck in this dream forever. It certainly seemed like she was awake. The cement floor was cold under her body and her palm stung where a wood splinter pierced her flesh. She wondered how long she had been out. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore; she crawled over to the fresh dirt she knew Sarah was imprisoned under. She hesitantly stretched out a hand and touched the mound. Her heart skipped when her hand passed right through it. Did she dare?

She had a weird flash of Alice falling through the rabbit hole, but she had to find out. Natalie took a deep breath and fell…into the small cellar where by the light of a stubby candle she saw a bedraggled figure huddled against the dirt wall. Natalie crossed to her on her hands and knees. Please no, she thought. Please. Dark, matted hair covered her face, but Natalie knew who it was. She pulled Sarah’s head into her lap to look at her, only momentarily surprised she could make physical contact. She was aware of wetness seeping into her jeans, and her stomach heaved when she realized it was Sarah’s blood. Natalie’s heart cracked and she felt grief start to bloom in the fissure. Small at first, it grew with each tear that fell; until she was sobbing and rocking Sarah’s body as if to comfort them both. Natalie wasn’t sure if it was her grief or Beth’s or maybe a combination of both. The sound of her keening filled the small dirt space with sorrow.

Natalie gently pulled Sarah’s hair away from her battered face, placing a soft kiss on her forehead to say good-bye. It wasn’t until she turned her lifeless body over that she saw the broken tines of a silver fork sticking out of Sarah’s chest. Oh, baby, he killed you with your own weapon? Natalie was fiercely glad that Sarah stabbed him first. Hate bubbled in her veins and continued to heat her blood until it reached the top of her head, where she felt it become almost palpable in the small space.

She crawled a few feet away from Sarah and stood, taking note of the blood she wore. Natalie was enraged, threw her head back, and screamed. “Richard! I’m coming for you, you son of a bitch!”

*

Van’s head was resting on her folded arms when the phone on the counter rang causing her to jump. “Sweet Jesus!”

She rapped her shin against the barstool, fumbling the receiver. “Ouch! What?” She snapped into the phone then realized it could be Natalie and softened her tone. “Natalie?” There was a pause on the line then what sounded like a sigh of resignation.

Van held the receiver tighter to her ear while she tried to rub her bruised shin. “Honey?”

“You used to call me that.”

Crap.
“Candy.” The night they were all out at Miss Apples, Van had tried to ignore her blatant advances. She was pretty sure she had made herself clear that she wasn’t interested, so why was she calling? “What’s going on?”

“Is the redhead still there? Or is it safe to come over now?”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean is the redhead
still
here?”

“The one you apparently dumped me for.”

“What? I didn’t
dump
you, Candy. We weren’t in a relationship, and you know it.” Van knew her well enough to know it was simply her pride that was hurt. She had probably soothed that injured ego with at least three others since Van.

“True.” Candy laughed. “But I
miss
you, baby. Get rid of the old lady and I’ll come back.”

Puzzle pieces came together for Van.
Back
. No note saying she was going anywhere, no answer to any of her calls, shirt in the garbage. “Did you come over earlier?”
Oh, poor Natalie.
She could just imagine how Candy acted; the girl was so full of herself. Panic started simmering in her belly. “Candy, what did you say to her?”

“Oh, come on, does it matter? Whatever. What time should I be there? Got some bubbly and a new red negligee.”

“Goddamn it, Candy.” Van pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to rein in her temper. Had she really spent time with someone so shallow?

“Well, you don’t have to be rude about it. You know what? Keep her, Van. Yours isn’t the only phone number I have. It isn’t even at the top of my list. Just don’t expect me to come running the next time you’re crying in your beer.”

Candy hung up on her. Van waited for the dial tone and dialed Natalie’s house then cell phone to listen to the now familiar never-ending ringing. “Damn it!” She only needed to talk to her, to explain. She hadn’t done anything wrong, but she felt guilty anyway.