by CeeCee James
The porch was like a cave of black felt. It took a few tries to feel around and find it, but I finally slid the key into the lock with a click. It was unbelievable how dark it became out here in the country. Not even the moon was out, hidden behind a shroud of clouds.
I opened the door and braced myself for Jasper’s welcome.
The house was silent.
Something was wrong. A cold chill trickled down my spine, whether from the interior of the house or my own nerves, I couldn’t tell. I swallowed, scared to step in.
“Jasper?” I called in a hoarse whisper.
A thump came from the living room and then loud baying. Jasper must have been caught off guard by how stealthy I’d been, used to the noisy returns of Emma pounding up the porch steps and slamming open the front door. He raced around the corner to launch himself like a torpedo straight into my abdomen. I couldn’t see anything and grabbed onto him for balance while my purse went flying. His tongue seemed like it was everywhere, on my arms, my cheeks, a snootful in my mouth where he gave another happy bark.
“Did I sneak up on you, poor guy? I’m sorry. Poor boy.” I switched on the lamp and then shut and locked the door. Stooping, I gathered my purse items like I was on a ten-second scavenger hunt. “It’s so dark in here. Have you missed me?”
I flipped on more lights as I walked through the house and let Jasper out the back door for a break. He took off sniffing on the trail of something. I only hoped he’d come back when I called. This was not a night I wanted to be out searching for him.
Sighing, I started dinner—just some leftovers from the night before— and then found my phone. I’d been thinking more about that restaurant I’d seen under Corey’s profile. If a person puts something like that under their likes, it must mean they go there often, right?
Jasper scratched at the back door and I wandered over to let him in as I scrolled through social media. The restaurant had its own media page. The place didn’t seem like a huge establishment. Was it out of the question that someone down there might recognize him, and in the process know something about Nikki?
I closed my eyes for a minute as I formed my plan. Just rip off the bandaid and call them. How hard could it be? Ask about my sister, and maybe Corey. I don’t even need to mention he was deceased. Couldn’t be easier than that.
I found the number. Taking a deep breath, I pushed enter.
It rang, jangling my nerves to their very core. I had no idea what was about to happen, but the suspense was about to kill me. My mouth felt dry as I mentally rehearsed what I wanted to say.
“Hello, Rusty Rooster. We’re available for take out and yes, we’re still open.”
That was a weird way to answer the phone. I jumped in with my introduction. “Hi there. I’m looking for someone, and I was wondering—”
“You and everyone else. Look, we still have a cook, and we’re open. Can I take your order?” Her voice was definitely annoyed.
“I’m sorry? What do you mean you still have a cook?”
She sighed and I heard frustration bubbling. “I mean we’ve hired a replacement, and he’s just as good as the old one. Now what can I get you?”
The woman was throwing all sorts of information at me that I wasn’t expecting. I struggled to regain my train of thought. “I was wondering if you knew a couple of customers by the names of Corey Brickstone and Nikki Campbell?”
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“Huh?” I was starting to feel like I was being punked myself.
She sighed again before muttering, “I can’t deal with this right now. Not after the grease fire.” She yelled in my ear. “Frankie! It’s for you! It’s about Nikki!”
I was excited. She’d used Nikki’s name familiarly. There was a clop as the phone was dropped roughly and then silence. I was left wondering if anyone would be back or if I should hang up.
Moments later, a southern male voice answered, “Help you?”
“Hi there, I’m looking for Nikki Campbell. I was curious if she’d been into your restaurant recently.”
He breathed heavily. My hand sweated, waiting for his answer. Come on, just end the suspense for me already! Finally, he answered. “That’d be a yes from me, ma’am.”
Finally! There was some progress. I’ll take it.
Now, just how was I going to word this next little bit. Can you leave her a message for me? It’s her sister stalking her after her boyfriend was killed. Oh, did she know about that?
I swallowed hard. “Do you have any idea when you expect her to see again? I have a family message that I need to give to her personally. She’s been out of touch.”
“That girl seems like she has a lot of personal problems lately.” the voice drawled. “She was in here last week singing karaoke.”
“Really? Does the restaurant have karaoke every night?”
“Only on Saturdays.” There was a paused, and then the added tidbit, “She’s a real good singer.” With that, he clicked off.
A good singer. I frowned. Had anyone ever said that about me? I tested a few bars, making Jasper howl.
“Not an easy crowd, I tell ya.” I scowled at him.
So, tomorrow was Saturday. Interesting. Sounded like I needed to make a trip over to Franklin. I stated it so calmly in my mind, that it took me a second. Wait. This wasn’t just about a murder. This was about meeting a long lost sister I never knew I had. I was talking about meeting her, barging in while she was in the middle of a rendition of the Love Shack. Was I ready for that?
I probed my inner feelings like a kid sticking their tongue in an empty tooth socket. It felt strange. Didn’t really hurt. I guess I was ready.
I wondered what the man on the phone meant when he said there was a lot of drama going on with Nikki. It collaborated with what William had said. Poor girl. Did she have anyone in her corner?
I lifted my chin. Of course she did. Me. And I was about to let her know.
Chapter 13
Saturday evening found me rushing home from work to change into my denim skirt and put on some lipstick. Then, after a chicken sandwich from my favorite fast food restaurant, I headed to Franklin. It wasn’t dark yet and I wondered if I would be too early to see her. I took a big bite from the dry sandwich. The clouds opened up then and dumped rain. It pounded against the windshield. I chewed and stared at the sheet of water. It was a welcome distraction. What I was about to do was so crazy, I didn’t want to think about it too deeply.
What was she going to think of me—?
I cut the thought off with another hefty bite that nearly caused my jaw to crack. I spent the rest of the drive trying to punch the anxious thoughts away like a drunk man swatting at mosquitoes. Didn’t really work.
At any rate, I finally arrived at the restaurant. The parking lot was fairly empty and shining with oil-slicked puddles. As I walked into the building, a heavy scent of hops and stale fries hit me like a punch to the nose. My eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark interior. Rock music played, but at a soft decibel rarely heard for that kind of beat. A billboard at the front advertised today’s specials; one singing bird and fries, and one crooners fried cheese, obviously a nod to their karaoke night. The restaurant was dimly lit by champagne-colored lights that hung from the ceiling by chains. A quick glance convinced me that they were that color from years of nicotine and fly tracks.
Sitting at the bar was a woman. My chest clenched when I saw her hair… the same color as Nikki’s social media photo. A bartender, wearing a blue company shirt, brought her a drink. I saw from the glasses lined before her that it was far from her first. The woman lifted her glass as a salute and took a sip. She was attractive but with hard lines creasing in her face as if she lived through too many life disappointments. She turned her head and her gaze hit me then quickly slid off. I meant nothing to her. I also realized she was too old to be Nikki. I was both relieved and disappointed that it hadn’t been that easy to find her. The woman laughed, her vocal cords sounded rusty and in ne
ed of oil.
Could vocal cords rust? What the heck was I thinking? It was then I realized I had been staring hard enough to be creepy. I bit my lip, hoping the pain would make me focus. Now was not the time to float off into Lala land.
I walked up to the bar. The bartender glanced up from where she was polishing the bar’s surface. She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Help you?”
I glanced at the woman at the end, but she ignored me, having taken her glass and wandered off to go watch a dart game.
“Hi there.” I smiled in return, hoping that mine would infuse confidence and camaraderie. I sat on one of the stools and leaned forward, giving my best, ‘ girl code in need of help’ vibe. “I’m here looking for someone.”
“You and everyone else. Don’t even bother asking me if your fella was in here with some bird. I doubt I can find what you need. Men in here come and go. I serve so many I usually can’t tell one from the other.”
“Oh, no. It’s not about a man. It’s a woman.”
“A woman.” That caught her attention. “That’s new. Who you looking for?”
“Her name is Nikki Campbell. Do you know her? I’ve heard she comes in here on karaoke night. That’s tonight, right? It’s kind of urgent I reach her.”
Her spine stiffened, and she gave me a look. I swear the air around me dropped twenty degrees. I immediately knew that any camaraderie I’d hope to form was irrevocably broken.
“Why are you asking?”
“I called last night and the guy said—”
“I asked you why are you asking.”
I swallowed. “Uh, I have a family emergency I need to discuss with her.”
“You okay, Sue?” called a huge burly man with biceps twice the size of my thighs, but with a proportionate potbelly. I hadn’t seen him come in, but there he was, on the other end of the bar. He glared at me like he was thinking of chopping kindling, and I looked like I would do.
“Fine so far, Jessie,” she answered him. “But maybe not in a minute.”
The threat was duly noted.
After staring at me again, she went back to wiping her glass. “Like I told you, I don’t keep tabs on anyone.”
I cleared my throat and tried again. I wasn’t going to give up after coming all this way. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to bother you. Are you sure you don’t know a Nikki? I’ve heard she comes in here occasionally.”
“How do you know Nikki?” the woman asked. She continued to wipe the counter. I felt by the loaded pause that any wrong answer was going to get me tossed out on my ear. What had her so defensive?
“I’m not trying to get her into trouble,” might not have been the best way to respond but her reaction was making me nervous. I wanted to make sure I had all my bases covered. “I’m worried about her.”
“Lots of people are worried about people. What makes you so special?”
There it was. The ace in the hole. Should I tell her before I even had a chance to talk to Nikki myself? “I’m… a relative.”
This time she stopped wiping. “Well, isn’t that a coincidence. Seems like she has a lot of relatives and a lot of people worried about her. And one of those people is Harry. You don’t want to mess with him. I think you should get out of here, now.”
The first singer had taken the stage and the music amped up. I yelled to make myself heard over the booming base. This could not be going worse. “Please. I have to speak to her. Or give her a message. Anything.”
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m telling you right now, that poor girl is like my sister. I’d guard her with my life. I suggest you get out of here before I have Jessie throw you out. She doesn’t need any more stalkers.”
“I have some news about her boyfriend.” I was sweating.
“Her boyfriend? Wrong word, missy. That’s all I need to hear. Go.” She pointed to the door.
Did she know the man had died? “Can I at least leave my name and number?” I asked. Everything was slipping away.
Her eyes narrowed. “You want to leave your phone number?”
I jumped at the lifeline. “Yes! Please. I have some information she needs to know. I swear on everything that I only want the very best for her.”
As she watched me, I could practically see the scales shifting as she weighed my words. Finally, she pushed over a pad of paper and a pencil. “Here you go, cowgirl. Have at it.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. I scribbled my name and number, pressing so hard the tip of the pencil snapped off. I stared at her in panic. She rolled her eyes and slid another stubby pencil across the nicked counter.
“We keep these for bingo,” she said as an explanation. “Seventy and older night. You have colored hair, you get in for free.”
I was thankful for her more conversational tone. “They color their hair?”
She shrugged. “Some do. I’ve seen every color in the rainbow in those puffy curls.”
I finished writing out my contact information. She accepted the paper and read it over. I would be forever grateful to those bingo players and their stubby pencils.
“If I hear from her, I’ll consider letting you know,” she said. “Depends on what her response is to your name.”
I flushed. I had no idea how she would respond when she discovered I was looking for her.
The bartender noticed my reaction. “You know what, you better get out of here. I’ve used enough of my good nature on you. Something about you don’t feel right.” With that, she looked over at the bouncer.
She didn’t need to tell me twice. I slid off the stool and scuttled to the door, feeling like a dog caught piddling on the carpet.
I pushed the heavy door open and walked out. Sunlight broke through the rain clouds and made me squint. I began to shuffle through my purse for my sunglasses and then slid them on.
A trucker walked up to the front stoop so I moved to one side. He walked in after a quick one-over at me. I couldn’t help a peek back inside as the door slowly swung shut. The bartender was watching with her hands on her hips. When she caught me staring, she quickly reached for something under the bar. I hurried and ran for the car. I didn’t want to find out what it was.
Chapter 14
There was no phone call that night, and when I checked the first thing in the morning, no new messages from William either. Either the bartender hadn’t given Nikki my message, or Nikki hadn’t wanted to call me. Who knows where William went.
My morning chores saved me from sinking into a pit of despair. The distraction of hard work helped me ignore the fact that I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I spent the rest of the morning moping around the kitchen in my torn stretch pants because my good ones were in the wash. That was how I knew I was feeling depressed, when I pulled the torn ones out of the drawer to use. I never felt good in them, but they were too comfortable to throw away. I flopped down on the couch and stared at the blank TV screen.
Nikki was lost to me. A sister I’d never met. I would have questioned if any of it was even real, had there not been a corpse in the pond and my picture. I took the photo out of my wallet now.
There she was, sitting across from me. We both wore similar outfits, and I’d always thought she was my mirror reflection until recently. What was I supposed to do if I couldn’t find her?
I picked at the hole in my knee, feeling worse by the second. Well, this was no good. Maybe I should go out to the barn. Maybe that would make me feel better.
I slid on my shoes and walked outside. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten anything yet today. The sun was a welcome sight. I breathed out a deep gust and turned my face upward, soaking in the sun’s rays as if they could burn the stench of failure off of me.
My phone rang. I glanced at it, turning it slightly as the sun’s glare made the screen impossible to read. It was Officer Orville. I walked over to the fence and, carefully, sat on the top rail. The wooden fence was splintery and bit through my yoga pants with just enough forc
e to warn me I’d better be careful.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Miss Chelsea Lawson?”
“Hi, Officer Orville, it’s me.”
“I wanted to get back to you with what I’ve learned this morning. We were able to track down a security camera from the store across the street that had your backpack in the corner of the scene. What we saw will interest you.”
“You saw who left the flower?” I straightened.
“We did.” He paused. “It was a boy, who looked to be around the age of seven or eight. His mother was also in the scene. Did you say the backpack belonged to your friend’s daughter?”
I closed my eyes, my shoulders slumping. “Yes.”
“It looks like she might have a little secret admirer. Anyway, I wanted to get back to you quickly before you went on a wild rampage searching for a stalker.”
“Thank you so much. I appreciate it.”
We hung up and I continued to sit there with my eyes closed. Wow, I was so wrong. Could this day get any worse? My cheeks heated and not from the sun. I was embarrassed. What did Officer Orville think of me putting him on a wild goose chase for a childhood crush?
Before I could go too far down that track, there was a little nudge on my back. I let out a tiny scream and turned wild-eyed to see what it was.
Rosy stared at me, a clump of clover hanging from her moving jaws.
“Hi, beautiful,” I whispered. Carefully, I stretched my arm out. Rosy didn’t move. I stroked her forehead, feeling her fur spring crisply under my hand. She allowed a few strokes before she moseyed off in search for some more clover.
She came over to say hello all on her own! I did it! I was making friends with her! I couldn’t help my smile as the sun’s rays beat down on my shoulders. I breathed in and relaxed them a bit, allowing the heat to penetrate and massage my muscles. It felt so good.
Okay, time to pick myself up. I still had plenty of questions I needed answers to. Like who was Harry? The bartender had really made him seem like a threat. Was that the guy the lawyer had been referring too? And, despite the coincidence of the flower in the backpack, Emma had found one as well and put it in the daisy chain she’d left in the food bin. Where had that flower come from?
