Jack (Secret Revenge #1)

by Robin Edwards

  Chapter Five

  It was just a few days before Thanksgiving, and there was still no sign of Lydia’s mother or the killer. Lydia sat in Julie’s living room in a chair by the window. The snow had started to fall early this year, and Lydia stared as it flowed down in front of the street light. Her thoughts were wild and all over the place and the blanket wrapped around her wasn’t enough to warm the cold that had sunk into Lydia’s heart.

  Julie walked up behind Lydia and set a hot cup of tea on the table next to her. She softly stroked Lydia’s hair as she got lost in the trance of the snowy street light. Lydia hadn’t slept in days, and it was the first evening she had come home from work with enough time to eat dinner. Julie had cooked them lasagna, and they ate in silence in front of the fire. Though Lydia wasn’t being stand offish to Julie, she didn’t feel like talking anymore. There was nothing but talk, and her mother was still out there.

  Lydia sipped her tea and let the warmth flow through her. She looked up at Julie and smiled, putting her arm around her waist and pulling her close. Julie continued to stroke her hair as she broke herself from the snowy trance.

  “Let’s get drunk,” Julie stated.

  “What,” Lydia said laughing. “You want to get drunk?”

  “Yea,” Julie said walking over to the shelves that held the liquor. “Why not? Let’s let loose a little.”

  Lydia chuckled and stood up, tossing her blanket on the chair and walking away from the window. She watched Julie pour two fingers of scotch into two glasses and handed one to Lydia. She lifted the glass up, clinked it against Lydia’s, and tilted it back. She swallowed hard grabbing her chest and coughing. Lydia reached out and took the sloshing glass from her hand.

  “Hahaha,” Lydia laughed. “Okay James Dean, let’s maybe start with something a little less killer.”

  Lydia poured the scotch into the sink in the mini bar Julie had installed in the living room and mixed two rum and cokes together instead. The two plopped down on the couch in front of the warm fire and took in deep breaths trying to relax. Lydia leaned her head to the side watching Julie pull her hair back into a ponytail and sip on her drink. She was so beautiful and so kind, Lydia didn’t know what she would do without her right now.

  “Let’s talk about Thursday,” Julie said.

  “Ugh,” Lydia grimaced at the thought of sitting at the table with a bunch of strangers. “Why can’t we take a tropical vacation instead.”

  “Because you never booked a flight,” Julie said teasingly.

  “Oh,” Lydia pulled out her phone. “I mean if it's that easy I’ll do it right now.”

  “Ha,” Julie said as she pushed Lydia’s phone out of her hand. “Too late. My parents are already expecting us. Besides, there's a ton of food, Christmas music, wine, the whole nine yards. Plus you can get me tipsy and take advantage of me.”

  “What do you think I am trying to do right now,” Lydia said teasingly. “Alright, but I am now wearing a stupid holiday sweater.”

  “Deal,” Julie said sticking her empty glass out towards Lydia who took it and went over to make two more. “I am just happy to have you by my side, and because this year I don’t have to have my Aunt keep asking me about my love life.”

  Lydia laughed as she handed Julie her next drink and sat back down on the couch. She stretched her legs out over Julie’s lap and leaned against the sofa arm for support. They sat and talked and laughed about all kinds of things from sweet potato pie to the science of Climate Change. Two hours later and seven drinks each, the two girls weren’t making much sense at all, but the laughter echoed through the entire house, something that had been missing for weeks.

  Julie leaned forward and kissed Lydia on the lips while still laughing. The two girls calmed and Lydia’s eyes began to get heavy. She grabbed Julie by the back of the head and pulled her in vigorously and fierce, kissing her deeply. When she pulled back, Julie giggled, so Lydia stood up and took Julie by the hand, leading her out of the living room and up the stairs towards their bedroom. The windows were open, and the light of the moon was shining into the room while the snowflakes pounded down.

  Lydia slowly undressed Julie, kissing her shoulders, down her arms, and right below the collarbone as she took her shirt off. She moved downward as she removed the rest of the clothing and gripped Julie’s legs as she let out a moan from Lydia’s persistence of tongue. The two toppled over onto the bed, still giggling about nothing other than their drunken clumsiness. Their laughs slowed into heavy breathing which moved into screams of ecstasy and as the snow fell outside of their window, Lydia and Julie fell deeper and deeper in love, exploring every part of each other’s bodies.

  After Julie had fallen asleep Lydia threw on a robe and slippers and crept back down to the living room where all that was left of the fire were the crackling, glowing embers. She stood in front of the opening staring down at the sparkling coals wondering why the killer had chosen her to pinpoint. They probably wanted to get to Julie since she was the one finding clues around every corner. As Lydia turned away from the fire and began to walk towards the stairway, she heard a loud thump outside, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

  In the light of the porch through the window, she could see the shadow of a man standing on the porch steps. She couldn’t see the person since the porch curved around and the wall obstructed her view. Lydia decided the time had come for her to be brave and brazen instead of hiding in the shadows of the Sheriff. She grabbed the baseball bat by the door and put her hand on the door knob. She stood there for a moment almost frozen in fear but finally breathed in and yanked the door open, simultaneously raising the bat over her head.

  “Whoa,” a man said as he stepped out of the way and let the momentum of Lydia’s swing bring the bat down onto the porch. “Lydia it’s me, Lieutenant Ballwell. Remember there are watches here whenever either of you are here?”

  Lydia stood looking at the man in relief but still gripped the bat as if she were afraid it would run away. She slid the end back towards her feet in embarrassment and nodded at the officer. She shut the front door and leaned her head against it, telling herself how she had finally lost her mind. There was a cough on the other side of the door followed by a big thump, and Lydia knew the officer was just messing with her now. She laughed and flung the door open.

  “I am not that easily…..fooled,” Lydia said as she looked around at the empty porch. Where did the officer go? She looked down at the snow and saw several drops of blood leading to around the corner. Lydia’s hands began to shake as she stepped out onto the snow covered porch and walked towards the edge. As she rounded the corner, she dropped her bat and rushed towards the guard who was lying on the ground outside of the house. He was unconscious, but breathing and Lydia grabbed the intercom from his shoulder and called the incident in.

  After hours of conversation, it was determined that the guard had done nothing more than slipped, hit his head, tried to get up and ended up sliding down the porch ramp. Either way, the last thing they needed was another incident to draw attention to them. After the ambulance had left Lydia closed and locked the door and went back up to bed with Julie. They snuggled in to keep warm, and Lydia stared out the window as the snowflakes fell in front of the streetlight. It was Thanksgiving in just a couple days, and her mom was still out there somewhere, and she had no doubt in her mind that the killer was watching them too.

  Lydia was at a loss for what to do, and after another day of complete silence from the detectives, Lydia decided to take the day before Thanksgiving off from work and focus on her mental acuity. This whole thing had taken a toll on her, and as she lay in bed on the eve of Thanksgiving, she was silenced by the lack of information or clues they had found.

  Thanksgiving was going to be a day of stress for her because while she had to fake her way through meeting Julie's family she also had to go through the day knowing everyone was looking at her with pity. Either way, when tomorrow was over, Lydia was going to immerse herself in this
case, and she was determined to catch this killer before they hurt another living soul.

  Chapter Six

  When Lydia opened her eyes on Thanksgiving, she could smell the pies Julie had been up all night baking. They were in charge of dessert for the gathering at Julie’s parents and even though they smelled delicious, Lydia was so nervous about meeting Julie’s family she had absolutely zero appetite. This was going to be the first Thanksgiving Lydia ever had celebrated except for the one or two times her mother had left her microwavable turkey dinners in the freezer before she went out on her search for more alcohol.

  Julie tapped on the door frame, and Lydia turned over and smiled. Julie was already ready to go; her hair pulled back in a clip and large curls cascading over her shoulder that was covered in a red cardigan with a white flowing blouse underneath. Her makeup was subtle, but Lydia couldn’t help but think that she looked like an angel standing in the doorway. She shuffled out of bed and over to the closet where she had hung some of her things knowing she couldn’t go back into her house.

  “We have to leave in an hour,” Julie said as she sprayed floral body spray on her wrists and neck. “I will be downstairs packing everything up.”

  Julie kissed Lydia’s cheek and pranced out of the room, a pep in her step Lydia hadn’t seen in years from her. She got dressed and straightened her hair, pinning some of it back in an attempt to not look so gothic when she was going to her girlfriend’s family’s house for the first time. She wore black wide leg dress pants, heels, a red blouse, and a suit jacket and looked pretty normal compared to her usual combat boot style. Lydia sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror, grabbed her bag and went downstairs to help carry everything to the car.

  Julie had made enough food for seven family dinners, and it all barely fit in Julie’s eco-friendly hatchback. Luckily, however, the trip to her parents was pretty short, so Lydia figured she’d get there without a pumpkin pie ending up in her lap. As they rounded the corner, Lydia looked out at her mother’s house sitting quietly in the shadows, no sign of life inside or outside. Julie put her hand on Lydia’s leg and smiled.

  “I know this is hard for you,” Julie said. “But let’s just try to let all of that go for today and focus on being with your new family and eating fifteen pounds of food.”

  “Yes mam,” Lydia said chuckling. “I think I can handle that.”

  When they pulled up in the driveway the front door opened and Lydia recognized Julie’s mom almost immediately. She was one of those people who was always smiling, gave hugs to everyone, and never gave in to any other emotion but happy. Lydia got out of the car and before she could look up Julie’s mom had thrown her arms around Lydia and was squeezing her so hard she lost her breath.

  “I am so glad you are here,” Julie’s mom whispered. “I want you to think of us as your family.”

  “Mom,” Julie said laughing. “Let the woman breath for God’s sake.”

  “Sorry,” Julie’s mom said realizing she had squeezed the life out of Lydia. “We just are so happy the two of you could make it.”

  Though Lydia could tell Julie’s mom had pity writing in her heart, she felt rather comfortable and didn’t mind the attention at all. The rest of the family treated Lydia the same way, and before she knew it, she was sitting around the kitchen with everyone talking about work and how Julie and her met. The Sheriff and his family showed up about an hour later, and Lydia was excited to have someone so familiar by her side for this holiday.

  As always Thanksgiving dinner took twice as long as usual and by the time they were all seated at the table Lydia was absolutely starving, which was good considering Julie was just like them in that there was enough to feed the entire South during the revolution. Everyone was clamoring and laughing, and Lydia looked around the room and thought about Thanksgivings when she was a child and how she wished she had a place to go just like this. Julie’s dad cleared his throat and stood up, raising his glass in the air.

  “First,” he began. “I want to say how blessed we are to have all of your here with us today. So this is to loved ones near and far, forgetting our troubles for just one day, and hoping for a beautiful tomorrow for everyone.”

  “Here, here,” everyone said in unison as they clinked glasses and Julie leaned over, kissing Lydia on the cheek.

  As Julie’s father sat back down in his seat, there was a loud bang against the front door followed by squealing tires. Julie looked at Lydia, and they both jumped from their seat and raced towards the front door. Julie swung open the door and looked down at the romance novel that was lying in the snow at their feet. Lydia studied it but didn’t pick it up and then snapped her attention to Julie as she gasped and covered her mouth. Lydia followed Julie’s gaze outward into the front yard. There she was, lying facedown in the snow, a pool of blood melting the ice around her; the killer had delivered Lydia’s mom.

  Julie ran out and put her hand against the naked woman’s neck but looked down sadly realizing she was long gone. Lydia stood there looking out at the scene as the Sheriff ushered the others back into the house and pulled out his cell phone to call the station. He walked out to Julie and stood over the body. Lydia felt like everything was in slow motion from the snowflakes to the movement of the trees in the wind until the snap of branch broke Lydia’s concentration. She looked to her left and saw the shadow of a person run towards the woods behind the houses.

  Lydia looked up at the Sheriff who was busy with the body and then took off after the figure. She ran into the woods, stopping for a moment to find the figure ahead slipping into the backyard of another house. Lydia ran up to the opening in the fence and stood quietly watching the hooded figure look around, not realizing Lydia had followed them. They slipped into an old metal shed and closed the door behind them. Lydia slowly crept towards the shed, wanting to get close enough to grab the person before they realized she was there.

  Lydia walked slowly in the captivity of the snow and reached for the door handle of the shed. She paused for just a moment and then swung the door open. The figure turned quickly around and stood very still, a knife falling from their hand and clanging against the cold cement floor. Lydia brought her hands up to her mouth in disbelief.

  “You!” Lydia shouted looking around. “What have you done?”

  To be continued….

  Reunion

  A Lesbian, Holiday Romance

  By Elle Crosby

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  Chapter 1

  Kezia was not having a good day. She’d been called in at the last minute to cover a sick co-worker’s shift and, instead of going for dinner and a play with her new girlfriend, she’d put on her bartender’s uniform and gone to work. Things had only gone downhill from there.

  While McGuire & Sons, the Irish pub where she worked, was usually pretty relaxed, it seemed that tonight all the assholes in Vancouver had congregated at the bar with no other purpose but to piss her off. And it was working. Not to mention, her manager had neglected to mention that she’d be training not one but two new hires. New hires whom, if Kezia had to guess, had been hired for their looks - because it was painfully obvious that they had absolutely no bartending experience.