The Blame (12 page)

The sound of excited barking roused Laura from her stupor. It was time to feed the girls. Rising from the sofa, she rolled her shoulders in an effort to ease her tight muscles. She cast another anxious look at the cell phone lying on the coffee table, but it remained mute, as it had all afternoon. Nor had she had any luck in getting him to answer her calls; clearly he was still trying to get his head round what had happened.

While she changed into something more suitable, Laura thought about the scare she had given her daughter. Vanessa had picked up on her tearful voice and had expressed her alarm. Why on earth was her mommy crying? Moms never cried; they were the ones that kissed tears away. Laura had tried to put it down to a head cold and blocked nose, but Vanessa was no fool. She had clearly been anxious, and Laura hoped that her stupidity wouldn’t be the cause of an episode that night. Would Sara and Miguel cope? And it would certainly be very distressing for Mariana if she were to see her friend in that state.

Nerves fuelled the fire in her stomach as she went to feed the dogs. She filled the six bowls with kibble and headed for the dog run. It was such a nuisance having them locked up most of the time, but she certainly didn’t want to incur David’s wrath, especially not now.

The dogs finished off their food in next to no time and Laura decided to take them for a walk round the perimeter of the grounds. She headed for the gate as they ran on ahead excitedly, happy to be free to roam around and sniff every inch of the property.

Laura broke into a light jog in order to catch up with them. By the sound of things, they were already at the gate, barking furiously at something or someone. As she neared the entrance, she heard the sound of a car pulling away. The big dogs pranced around on their hind legs, jumping up against the fence as they expressed their indignation at the unknown vehicle that had stopped outside their gate.

“Come on, girls. Enough already, they’ve gone.” She shooed them on along the hedgerow as she picked her way over the uneven terrain. She realized that she’d have to pick up her pace if she wanted to walk all the way round the property. It would start to get dark soon and she hadn’t brought her torch.

She hoped that a brisk walk would put troublesome thoughts out of her mind for a while, but her body had gone into autopilot mode, leaving her recalcitrant mind free to run wild. She wondered where David was and what he was thinking. It saddened her to think that she had let him down so badly, but then again, so had he.

The girls ran back into the dog run, their energy levels lower, but nowhere near depleted. Laura, however, felt ready to drop. Both physically and mentally. It didn’t help that she hadn’t eaten anything since the ice cream cone that morning. She’d check if she had any broth in the fridge when she got back to the house.

“In you go! Come on, you too, Tara. Enough for today.” 

The dogs headed for the water bowls as Laura pressed the remote control to shut the gate. “See you tomorrow, girls.”

***

Back at the villa, Laura headed for the kitchen, feeling ravenous now. She heated up some leftover spinach soup and buttered a slice of brown bread. She sat down at the kitchen table and switched on the TV to watch the evening news as she ate. More dire news. She sighed and zapped for a while before switching the set off. She wasn’t really in the mood to watch anything at all.

After stacking the dishes in the dishwasher, Laura made herself a cup of tea and curled up on the living room sofa in the dark. The curtains were still open and she could see the solar powered garden lights shining dimly along the path that led to the pool. Beyond that it was pitch black. Rain clouds were undoubtedly gathering.

Feeling restless, Laura padded barefoot to the entrance hall, flicked on the flood light above the front door and stepped outside. Cupping her mug in her hands, she crossed the courtyard and stood staring down the dimly lit driveway, hoping to see David’s headlights coming towards her.

But all that greeted her was darkness and silence. If the moon and the stars had put up a fight, it hadn’t done them any good; they had clearly lost to the clouds that had come in from the coast. The world beyond seemed to have been swallowed up by Pac Man-like critters, she being the sole survivor. Like something from a Stephen King novel. 

She shivered. Normally she enjoyed the feeling of solitude and isolation, and the dark certainly didn’t scare her. But today it was a menacing shroud and not a tantalizing veil. She turned to go back to the house, which shone like a welcoming beacon.

The dogs suddenly raised a ruckus. Wondering what had upset them, Laura whistled and called out to them, hoping to calm them down. Instead, their barking just grew more frantic. She looked over towards the dog run but couldn’t see a thing; the path was in total darkness. The solar powered lights hadn’t been fitted there yet. Perhaps she should just take matters into her own hands, otherwise it would never get done.

The dogs’ earnestness was making Laura apprehensive. Contrary to her earlier resolution, she decided to let the dogs out, give them the run of the grounds so that they could do their jobs properly.

David was probably not coming home that night, anyway.

She went back inside the villa to get a torch to light the way to the dog run. In the kitchen, she checked her cell phone once more and, in disgust, tossed it onto the counter while she fished around in a drawer for a torch and the gate opener. Then she took out a pair of Timberland boots from the hallway cupboard, put them on and stepped outside.

The dogs hadn’t let up. They sounded beside themselves with anger, and she could picture them jumping up against the gate, demanding to be let out. The proverbial shiver of fear ran down her back; suddenly she felt defenceless and alone. She needed the dogs with her, but the thought of walking all the way to the dog run in the darkness made her queasy. She resolved to walk only as far as it was necessary for the zapper to work. She took a deep breath, steeled herself and walked out of the circle of light and into the darkness.

***

Afterwards, she would never really know what alerted her to his presence. Perhaps it was the rustling of the jasmine vines that were trained along the garage wall, or perhaps it was simply intuition. Either way, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle, but before she was able to turn around, strong arms grabbed her roughly from behind and pinned her arms to her side. Laura let out a terrified scream, but there was no one to hear her except for the dogs who barked even louder, enraged that their mistress was in distress and that they were powerless to act.

Her assailant clamped a rough hand over her mouth and ordered her to shut up. Laura started to struggle, trying to break free from his hold but she was no match for him. In desperation, she stomped down as hard as she could on his foot. The man cursed in a foreign tongue, whipped her round and slapped her hard across the face. Laura dropped the torch and fell to the ground with a cry. She held her hand against her stinging face and cowered as he stood over her. He was a burly blonde man with lifeless blue eyes and the telltale red face of alcohol abuse. Laura guessed he was from eastern Europe.

“Get up!” he ordered in accented Portuguese. “Now!” He grabbed her by the hair and drew her to her feet.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she pleaded, “just take what you want.”

“I intend to,” he laughed, ripping her shirt open.

“No!” she wailed. “No, please!” She shuddered as she felt his hands groping her breasts. Her knee-jerk reaction was to punch him in the jaw and quickly twist away from him, pulling her shirt back over her breasts.

The man cursed loudly again and grabbed her by the neck from behind. His large hands encircled her throat easily and squeezed until Laura started to gag, her eyes bulging; she couldn’t breathe. 

That’s it
, thought Laura desperately.
He’s going to kill me. I’m going to die!
But then the thought of what the shock of her death would do to her daughter turned her fear into outrage. Adrenalin surged through her blood and the instinct to survive kicked in. She feigned unconsciousness and let her body go limp, supporting her weight on her left leg. When she felt the pressure round her throat ease slightly, she lifted her right knee high and thrust backwards as hard as she could so that her buttocks crashed into the man’s groin and her foot cracked down on his shin. Taken by surprise, he let out a cry and doubled up in pain. Taking advantage of his momentary vulnerability, Laura brought the heel of her hand up as hard as she could under his nose. Blood promptly spurted everywhere and he howled in agony, clutching his face with his hands. Blood flowed freely between his fingers and into his mouth as he hurled what must have been obscenities at her. Instinctively, Laura adopted a fighting stance; left foot forward, knees bent, fists up.  She twisted slightly at the waist, bringing her right knee up and then shooting out her leg with all her might and striking him between the legs. He groaned and crumpled to the ground.

Laura’s first thought was to run and lock herself in the villa. But then she realized just how easy it would be for him to break in and catch her. Even if the police were quick to respond, they’d never make it in time to save her. She hesitated, panic-stricken. Perhaps she could escape in her car. No, she’d have to get the keys from the villa first, wait for the garage door to open...

Seeing the man struggling to his feet, she made a snap decision. She’d take refuge in the dog run. Surely he wouldn’t try to jump over the fence when three large dogs were baring their teeth at him? She turned and made a run for the kennels, cursing the electrician for not having fitted the motion sensor lighting yet. She could barely see where she was going every time the moon hid behind a cloud. When she got to the fork in the path, she looked back over her shoulder and, to her horror, saw that the intruder was gaining on her. 
  Breathing hard, she hurtled forwards in the dark and then, as if in a low-budget horror movie, she tripped and went sprawling along the path. The sharp gravel cut into her hands and face but she barely registered the pain in her haste to scramble to her feet. Before she could run any further, a hand grabbed the back of her shirt and threw her back down on the ground. Laura let out a shrill scream of terror and frustration. She had almost made it.

By now, her assailant’s face and shirt were covered in blood and his expression clearly mirrored what he was feeling—fury that a woman had inflicted these injuries upon him. A woman! Well, he’d show her who the boss was. As she lay sobbing on the ground, he straddled her, pinning her arms to her side. Again he placed his powerful hands round her throat. She bucked and kicked out but to no avail, he just squeezed harder.

Black spots started to dance in front of Laura’s eyes; nothing quite registered anymore, not even the dogs’ furious growling. The dogs. It was becoming difficult to think, but through her haze, she remembered the gate remote control in her pocket. In a last desperate attempt to save herself, her fingers inched inside her trouser leg pocket and, feeling the cool touch of the metal, they groped about until they found the rubber button that would open the gate to the dog run. She managed to press it with her thumb just as everything went black.

Laura’s eyes fluttered open, but she immediately closed them again as a wave of pain and nausea overcame her. She waited a moment for it to pass and then, with what seemed to require a superhuman effort, brought her hands up to her face. She touched it gingerly with her fingertips; it felt bruised and swollen and she could taste blood in her mouth.

She heard the dogs whimpering beside her and one of them licked her face with a hot, wet tongue. This made her realize how cold she was. She moved her hands down to her chest and stomach and felt her naked flesh. It was wet and sticky. Puzzled, she tried to draw her shirt together but it, too, felt wet. Slowly, she brought her hands back up to her face and opened her eyes. She gasped when she saw that they were covered in blood.
Oh, my God. The man must have stabbed me or something
, she thought wildly.
He...Jesus! The man? Where was he?

Panicking, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, the dogs nuzzling her and licking her face and hands. Ignoring the dizziness, she looked herself up and down and saw that she was covered in blood. Frightened, she patted herself to feel for wounds, but other than cuts and bruises, she found none. Where had all this blood come from? she wondered.

She looked about her; it was still dark and all she could hear were the crickets and frogs. Using Bruna for support, she managed to stand up, taking comfort in the presence of the dogs, but still extremely wary lest her attacker still be about.

It was when the moon came out that she saw it. A few meters away, a dark shape lay on the ground, right next to the oleander shrubs. She drew her breath in sharply. Surely, it couldn’t be.....?

Mia ran up to the shadow and sniffed at it. It didn’t move. Cautiously, Laura tiptoed closer, Bruna at her side. Then her suspicions were confirmed. It was him! She covered her face in horror and stifled a scream. Bruna left her side and went to inspect the inert figure. Trembling, Laura stepped forward and saw that he was undoubtedly dead, judging by the unnatural angle of his bloody neck. Deep bite wounds were clearly visible on his arms and neck. The dogs had killed him!

She fell to the ground, too weak to stand, and was immediately surrounded by her girls who were intent on comforting her. She held on to their furry necks, sobbing loudly for a long while. Lilly licked her salty tears away while Lola pawed her gently and nudged her with her nose. After the initial shock had worn off, she dragged herself to her feet and tried to think clearly.

What should she do? Call the police, of course. She had been attacked in her own home. She’d almost been raped and killed. And a man was dead. It was definitely a police matter. Her hand reached into her pocket for her cell phone. It wasn’t there. She frowned. Where was it? Then it came to her. She’d left it on the kitchen countertop when she’d taken the torch out of the draw. Damn! And where was David when she needed him most?

***

Answer the phone! Answer the phone
! Laura urged David silently as tears of frustration coursed down her cheeks. But it was no use; he obviously wasn’t ready to talk to her. And she wanted him there when the police came; she didn’t want to have to go through this ordeal alone. She glanced anxiously at the door, half expecting to see a shadow looming in the hallway.

She’d double-locked the door and brought Bruna in with her, but still she felt vulnerable. She cursed herself for not having closed the shutters; the glass panes looked so fragile, so accessible. Better still, they should have installed electric roller shutters that would have closed at a click of a button, and traditional architecture be damned.

OK, OK, thought Laura, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Calm down. You can text him and let him know what’s happened. And then as soon as he gets back to you, you can call the police. She fumbled with her phone; texting had never been so difficult. Finally, she managed to tap out the words, hoping that he would see the message and get back to her straight away.

A man attacked me! He’s dead and I need your help
!

Sliding down against the kitchen wall, she crouched on the floor, gripping the phone and staring at the screen, willing it to light up and ring. Bruna sat down in front of her, their heads the same height and almost touching. C’mon! C’mon! Why didn’t he answer her? She pressed the dial button again and rested her head against the dog’s neck, taking some comfort from her presence. If it hadn’t been for the dogs, I’d probably be dead now.

My poor little girl
. Tears poured down her face again as she imagined her daughter’s heartbreak.  And then it dawned on her. She wasn’t out of the woods yet. What would happen to her when the police came? Would they arrest her? Would Vanessa lose her mother after all, albeit in a different fashion? They would probably charge her with manslaughter, or excessive use of force, at the very least.

Her heart hammered as she mentally ran through some of the highly-publicized cases where victims of burglaries had been sued or arrested for trying to defend themselves. A couple of weeks ago, a junkie had shot a café owner in the leg during a botched burglary, only to sue him and two clients who had forcefully detained him until the police arrived.  Even worse, multiple cases of homeowners receiving heavy sentences for killing or injuring armed attackers. Just like the Tony Martin case in England.

And then another chilling thought came to her: what if the intruder belonged to one of those Eastern European gangs that had been terrorizing the area the last couple of years? These guys didn’t pussyfoot around when it came to pursuing their objectives. Just a few months ago, shotgun-wielding robbers, who were still at large, had bashed a jeweller, and his daughter, over the head with a hammer.

If she called the police, his death would become public knowledge. Her identity would be revealed to the press, and they’d know where to find her—and her family. What if they wanted payback? She’d never be able to stop looking over her shoulder again, never be able to let Vanessa out of her sight for fear of reprisals.

She rose slowly to her feet, pressing her fingertips against her temples.
Oh, my God. What am I going to do? What’s going to happen to us? Why did that man have to invade our home?
Despair washed over her. Their life as they knew it was probably over; certainly in the foreseeable future there would be major upheaval. She shuddered to think of the impact it would have on her overly-sensitive daughter.

Unless... unless, she could make it all go away.
Dare I even think about it,
she wondered, trembling.
Do I have the nerve
?

But even as these thoughts ricocheted wildly round her head, she knew what she had to do. She slipped her cell phone into her trouser pocket, selected a key from the key cabinet and headed for the front door, Bruna close on her heels. 

***

Laura peered out of the door, straining her eyes and ears for any signs of movement. But everything was still. The moon had finally given in to the clouds that promised rain shortly, and the world beyond the circle of light that bathed the courtyard seemed to have been sucked into a black hole. The dogs milled around the doorway and Laura willed herself to step through it.

Silently, she crept to the garage and looked around for the torch that she had dropped. Spotting it shining out from beneath the jasmine vines, she picked it up with a trembling hand and waved it in an arc in the direction of the path. What if he had an accomplice? Maybe she should just turn around and go back in. Call the police and hope for the best.

But she knew there was no one else around—the dogs would have alerted her to their presence. She stood rooted to the spot, unwilling to put into practice the plan that was taking shape in her head.

Shit! Where was David? He probably didn’t believe her, thought it was a ruse to get him to talk to her. What would it take to convince him? Then it hit her. Of course! That would do the trick all right. Feeling encouraged, she bolted down the path, using the torch to light the way. When she reached the body, she paused cautiously, half afraid that, in the fashion of horror movies, the man’s hand would shoot out and grab her ankle. Bile rose up in her throat at the unreal scenario before her.
This can’t be happening to me
! a voice screamed inside her head.
But it is
, said another,
so get a grip and deal with it before it’s too late.

Using her cell phone, she took a picture of the dead man and sent it to David. Maybe now he’d believe her.  She pocketed the phone and, not allowing herself time to waiver, grabbed the man’s ankles and began to drag him back towards the house. It was heavier going than she thought and she began to doubt whether she would be able to go through with her plan. The dogs came sniffing round again and she shouted at them to keep away, her voice cracking under the mounting pressure. She dragged him along the path until the garage was in sight, and then she dropped his legs and ran for the Bobcat that was parked in the driveway.

Taking the key from her pocket, she unlocked the door and started up the engine. It seemed obscenely loud in the still night, and she hoped that no one would hear it. Not being as familiar with the controls as David was, she struggled to manoeuvre it efficiently, but eventually managed to steer it in the right direction. She pulled up to the body, lowered the bucket and jumped down. Gritting her teeth and trying to keep her eyes averted, she rolled the body into the bucket and climbed back into the cab. Just as she had turned on the ignition again, her cell phone rang. She grabbed it and to her relief saw that it was David. Finally!

“Laura, what’s going on?” His voice was sharp.

“David, where are you? Please come home at once.  I need your help. He’s dead and we ....”

“Laura! Slow down! Who’s dead? Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m all right, but a man attacked me in the garden and the dogs killed him, and now I’m...”

“Jesus! Have you called the police? What is that noise I hear?”

“No, I can’t call the police. Just come home? Where are you?”

“I’m at the office. I’ll be there in half an hour. Do you want me to call the police and an ambulance?”

“No! Don’t call anybody! Just come home and meet me by the frog pond.”

“Laura! What the hell are you talking about? Have you taken leave of your senses? And what is that noise?” he asked in bewilderment.

“It’s the Bobcat. I have to go now. It’s starting to rain and I can’t afford to wait. Please hurry!” she pleaded, cutting off his protests. “And for God’s sake don’t call anyone, especially not the police!”