Death Waits in the Dark

by Julia Buckley

  “Is that Dr. Pendragon?”

  “Yes! What a great name.”

  “He’s our vet! He takes care of Camilla’s—my employer’s—two German shepherds, and of my cat, Lestrade. He’s excellent.”

  “He and I hit it off, which is why I took the job. I like it here! And how amazing that after all these years I’ll be in the same town as you and Allison!”

  I admired anew her tall form, her glossy black hair, her elegant clothing of white linen pants and yellow blouse. I saw Chip Johnson peering around the door frame, clearly enamored with her. “You didn’t answer my question, though. What are you doing here?”

  “I stopped by to see Allison, of course. She’s the one who badgered me to come to Blue Lake, so I had to come and see her.” She studied my face. “Then she gave me the very unexpected news that my poor little Elle had been in a car accident. And that it may well not have been an accident.”

  “No,” I said. “But I’ll let my police friends worry about that. Like Chip there.” I pointed at Chip Johnson, whose face quickly disappeared.

  Isabelle looked all around the room and the little bathroom and tucked everything of mine into the bag. “There you go. You’re all set.”

  “Great. I’m all ready for Sam. You don’t have to stay now, but you must come over and meet everyone soon. My friend Belinda is having a party tomorrow for the Fourth, and I’m betting we can snag you an invite.”

  “That will be fun, if I’m not working. I know Arnie said he likes to be open at least a half day on holidays, in case of emergencies. Pets and fireworks don’t mix.”

  “He’s great, and so is this town. You’ll love it here.”

  She sat down on the bed. “You said ‘Sam.’ Is that Sam West?”

  “Yes. He—we’re together.”

  “Wow! I read about him in the papers. I mean, everyone did. And about his wife.” She tucked a lock of dark hair behind her right ear and glanced at me.

  “They’re divorced now.”

  “Oh, right. Anyway, it’s pretty wild—you ending up here in the middle of that whole mystery. I can’t wait to meet him.”

  I looked down at my cast, attempting a casual tone. “Are you seeing anyone right now?”

  She groaned. “No! I’m done with men. But I did just fall in love with a Saint Bernard who was looking at me from a crate at the animal hospital. Arnie says he’s up for adoption, so I’m strongly considering . . . I don’t even have a place to stay yet, though. Allison is helping me work that out. She said there are beautiful apartments out by Green Glass Highway, so I’m headed there next. If not, of course I have an invitation to stay with her.”

  “She’ll make you fat.”

  “I know. The best plan is to find an apartment, but I need one that allows pets. She also told me the place across the street from her is for sale—”

  “Don’t you dare!”

  Isabelle held up her hands. “Just kidding. I know it’s a house of horrors. But I do want to hear about it anyway. I missed out on all the drama by not living here, but to hear Allison talk it’s been a nonstop adventure wagon for you two.”

  I shuddered at the thought of Nikon Lazos and his horrible sister, the people who had lived in that house. “Not an adventure at all. You’re better off coming to town now, when those people can’t come anywhere near you.”

  She jumped up and gave me another half hug. “I’m just so glad to see you, Little Lena. We’re going to have fun!” She glanced up at the clock. “I have to run, though. Can I drop you off at home? Or no—you said Sam is coming. Well, I hope to meet him soon.”

  “You will.”

  She kissed my cheek and walked toward the door, leaving some lovely and expensive-smelling scent in her wake. “I’ll be in touch, Elle!” she said.

  When she went into the hall, I heard Chip Johnson scramble to his feet. “You have a nice day now,” he said. I could almost hear him sucking in his stomach and smoothing down the perpetual cowlick on top of his head.

  * * *

  • • •

  SAM DROVE ME home; he said Camilla was busy making some lunch for us, and she had asked Doug to stop by and fill us in. “Camilla talked to Rusty,” he said. “She’s waiting until you’re home to tell us about that.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad to be going home. Oh, look! They got the paint off the Darrow statue. That’s good to see.”

  “Yeah. It seems like a long time ago that we were talking about that at Allison’s house. She’s great, by the way. I always knew it, but seeing her in action at the hospital . . .”

  “Yes. Thank God you were both there on that terrible day. Oh my God!”

  I stared out the window, frozen with shock, and I heard Sam swear. “Lena, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—I had no idea they brought it here.”

  We were passing the service station at the end of Sabre Street, and I saw my own car parked there, crumpled beyond recognition, except for the bumper sticker that said “Booklover,” in a little heart made of books. “Oh, my sweet little car. How—how did they get us out of there?”

  “Lena, don’t. Look away from it. I’m going to have that removed today. It’s ridiculous of them to leave it sitting there. It should be in a police impound lot.”

  “Maybe that is the police impound lot.”

  I did as Sam suggested and turned away, focusing instead on his handsome face. He said, “Do you know who missed you? That menagerie at Camilla’s house. They’ve been sitting in the window, all three of them, watching for you.”

  “I doubt it,” I said, smiling. We turned onto Wentworth Street and then onto the rocky bluff road that led to Graham House. Something with honey-colored fur caught my attention on the side of the road, but then scuttled into the summer grasses. Sam turned into Camilla’s driveway and, much to my surprise and pleasure, I saw two silhouettes in Camilla’s living room window, with four alert ears perked up at the sound of the car. A burst of love fluttered in my chest. “Okay, two of them are there,” I said. “I don’t see Lestrade, though.”

  Sam parked the car and ran around to my side to open the door. “Let me help you. I’ll run back down to get your purse and your discharge papers.” I gave him my right hand and he pulled gently, helping me out of my seat and putting his arm around my waist as I climbed the stairs.

  “Thank you. I’m fine, though. I’m getting the hang of it. It feels a little awkward, but I’m catching on.”

  Camilla opened the door and the dogs rushed forward. Camilla said, “Down,” to them and they were appropriately polite, but they did some sniffing of me and my cast, and I scratched at their ears with one hand. I knelt to greet them and Lestrade appeared. He stalked toward us, moving in front of the dogs as though they weren’t there, and he too examined my cast with interest.

  “This is the reason I was gone, guys. But I’m back now. Hello, my little fuzzy friend,” I said to my cat. He purred in response and stropped against my legs for a while.

  “You see?” Sam said. “They missed you.” He helped me back up; I felt lopsided and unbalanced.

  Camilla said, “Lena, I have some lunch ready. Do you want to go upstairs, or wash up, or lie down?”

  I shook my head. “I’m fine. Let’s have our lunch meeting so I can hear what’s happening.”

  “Good. I think Doug will be here any moment. There have been some—developments.”

  I looked at Sam. He had picked up Lestrade, who was purring madly now, and they were exchanging devoted looks. The unexpected love affair between my boyfriend and my cat had been sudden and surprising, but it was also very cute. “Good developments?” Sam asked of Lestrade’s fuzzy face.

  Camilla had turned and was already walking toward the kitchen. “Developments that might give us a way forward,” she said.

  * * *

  • • •

  WE SAT AT
Camilla’s table in the sunroom, cooled by air-conditioning but warmed by bright sunbeams. Camilla had made a big pitcher of lemonade and Adam had brought a sandwich tray from Wheat Grass. I took a hearty gulp from my glass and watched Doug and Sam eat as though they’d both gone without for a while. There were five of us at the table: Doug, Sam, Adam, Camilla, and me. Doug finished a sandwich, glanced at his watch, and cleared his throat.

  “I guess I’d better get started. We went to the homes of every person on Camilla’s list, including our police chief,” he said. “We asked to see their cars, all of which were intact. No sign of an impact to the front end of any of the vehicles.”

  “What about the people who live out of town?” I asked.

  Doug nodded. “We sent Chip to Bluefield to look at the Fieldses’ vehicles. That’s Karina’s married name—Fields. They have several cars, and they all passed the test. Ken actually enjoyed showing Chip around. A guy who knows his cars, Chip says.”

  I poked at my sandwich with one hand. “That’s disappointing, sort of. I mean, I’m glad none of them did it, but—”

  “No one is off the hook yet,” Camilla said crisply.

  Sam leaned toward Doug. “What about the child? Carrie’s child?”

  “Yes.” Doug took out a folder and consulted a form. “As Jane’s old friends suggested, Carrie Wyland moved to Chicago in August of 1971. We found her name in an old phone directory and then traced other documents to her address. From there we were able to get some more information, including the fact that she did give birth to a child, a boy named William, in April of 1972.”

  “So she got pregnant in July,” I said. “In Blue Lake.”

  “It would seem so,” said Doug, avoiding Camilla’s gaze.

  “Can we contact this William?” Camilla asked.

  Doug took a sip of his lemonade, then met her clear eyes. “We are looking for him. His last known address was the one he shared with his mother, but neighbors we tracked down said that William moved out long ago, in the ’90s. They weren’t sure where he went. It looks like Carrie supported them both by working as a secretary to a local businessman. It’s possible she ended up dating him, perhaps even marrying him. We’re looking for a record of that, and we’re trying to find the boy, as well. He’s forty-seven years old, if he’s alive.”

  “This is a good start,” Camilla said, nodding. “I spoke to Rusty Baxter, who told me much of what Doug just told us. And the fact that he had liked Carrie Wyland—a tidbit which we already knew. He said she was the one girl he had never flirted with because he thought there was something sweet and vulnerable about her. He claims he was a bit brokenhearted when she left town.”

  It was quiet for a moment; a cardinal pipped on Camilla’s bird feeder as we contemplated the lost life of a woman who, as a girl, had for a brief time lived in this house. I wondered if someone could tap into the spirit, the energy, not of a soul who had died, but of one that remained in the past.

  Adam held up a leather-bound book. “I’ve brought photos. Who knows if they’ll be any good to us, but they might spark some questions in you, or some memories in me.”

  “Wonderful, Adam,” Camilla said, touching his hand. “We’ll do that right after Doug leaves, if you don’t mind staying.”

  “Of course not.” Adam reddened slightly; he always looked pleased when he had Camilla’s approval. To Camilla’s credit, I don’t think she realized how much power she had over Adam’s emotions.

  Sam was still looking at Doug. “Hang on. What about Lena? Someone out there almost killed her and Camilla, and they’re walking free. Can’t you check how many of these people have two cars listed to them? Is there something else you can hunt down besides cars?”

  Doug looked pleased. “You should be a cop, Sam. Yes, we’re still looking into the titles in the name of every individual involved. That takes longer than you’d expect. We’re running into some red tape, but we’re persistent. And in regard to Lena and Camilla, I’ll need to make a schedule of protection. We probably don’t need anyone while you or Adam can be here, but obviously I’ll want someone watching overnight and occasionally in the day.”

  Sam sat up straight. “I am offering myself as twenty-four-hour protection until this is resolved. But we go back and forth between two homes . . .” He looked uncertainly at Camilla.

  Adam raised a finger. “I can move into Graham House for the foreseeable future. If you don’t mind, Camilla.”

  Camilla covered Adam’s hand with her own and sent a mischievous glance to me. “Our knights,” she said. “I suppose this should offend our feminist sensibilities, but since I don’t feel capable of wrangling with an intruder and Lena has only one arm, I think we would both be glad of any protection offered. To be honest with you, I still haven’t emotionally recovered. It was such an overwhelming impact. To think that someone flew up behind us in that—death machine—and intentionally ran us off the road—it’s just unbelievable.”

  “I saw him,” I said suddenly.

  “What?” Doug and Sam yelled together.

  “I mean, I think I did. It keeps coming back and going away. I think I saw the driver, but I don’t know who it was.”

  Doug looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  “I had a vague memory, in the hospital, but I kept falling asleep. The nurse in recovery said that I called out a name, but it wasn’t Sam or Camilla. She said it was a strange name, but she couldn’t recall what it was.”

  Doug’s computer was in his hand. “What’s this nurse’s name?”

  “Uh—Amy, or—no, Annie! Her name was Annie.”

  “I’ll talk to her,” he said.

  “Okay. Then Sam said I talked in my sleep and said something about an evil spirit.”

  Sam nodded. “But not a name.”

  “No, but I have this vague memory, from when I was lying next to the church. I could see the stained glass windows glimmering in the weird light, and I was thinking of saints and angels, and another face was there, and I thought, Demon.”

  “What do you mean, a face was there? As in, with the crowd of people at the wreck?” Camilla asked urgently.

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. I just mean, crowding into my thoughts. Trying to rise to the top of my consciousness. It’s been toying with my brain ever since. When Doug asked me if I’d seen the driver, for a second it was there, but then it was gone. It’s very frustrating.” Inexplicably, I was on the verge of tears.

  Doug waved a hand in front of me, as if to erase my sadness. “No big deal, kid. It will come back, and when it does we will be on that guy so fast he won’t know what hit him.”

  Sam leaned closer to my chair. “It’s okay, Lena. You’ve been through a trauma. You can’t be expected to have everything intact yet, including your memory. When you relax, it will come.”

  Everyone nodded at this, and I laughed a watery laugh. “Okay, thanks. I just have one worry.”

  “What is it, dear?” asked Camilla. Adam pushed a plate of cookies toward me.

  “Let’s say I did see him. That we locked eyes in that millisecond before the crash. If so, then he knows I saw him, right? Because we looked at each other.”

  Because we five had been through a great deal together, and because the people around me respected me, they didn’t pretend that this wasn’t a concern. Doug pursed his lips and tapped his fingers on the table. “Which is why we’ll make sure that you always have security. Sam? Adam? When’s the last time either of you shot a gun?”

  * * *

  • • •

  DOUG LEFT WITH a list of things to pursue, along with the docket of tasks he and Cliff had already assigned themselves. Camilla had thanked him warmly for coming to see us personally—a privilege Doug had afforded us since I had come to Blue Lake.

  Camilla, Adam, Sam, and I had remained at the table so that Adam could share so
me photographs. We sat together and he held up a loose pile of slightly yellowed pictures. “These were just lying around in boxes and books and things. Pictures people gave me or I took myself but never bothered to catalog. I just grabbed the ones that were from around that time.”

  The first one he handed to me was a picture of Adam and James standing in front of a brick wall and a well-tended flower bed. “That’s us in school. Seniors at Blue Lake High.”

  “Oh my gosh, you are both so handsome!” I said. Adam was tall and dark with rather wide-set eyes and pleasing, symmetrical features. James was about an inch shorter, with lighter hair but similar handsomeness.

  “You could have been brothers,” Sam said, perhaps thinking of himself and Cliff.

  “We were, in one sense,” Adam said. “We were—devoted to each other. I don’t suppose young men think in those terms today, but we had a lasting friendship because of it. Because of our loyalty.”

  “When did you first meet?” I asked, still studying their faces.

  “In grade school. Third or fourth year, we were seated together at the same table. Never really separated after that.” Adam’s smile was bright, but there was a touch of sadness in his eyes.

  Camilla held up another photo. “This one has all of the boys. Adam, here you are with James, and who is this? Rusty?”

  “Yes. And that’s Travis, and Horace in the background.”

  I leaned in to look. The young men were seated on a fence in front of a field I recognized. “That’s Blue Lake! Right by the old Schuler’s barn,” I said.