Red Ochre Falls

by Kristen Gibson

  Just then, an unmarked cop car pulled up and stopped near us. Cal got out and walked directly over to us. He looked mad—all crossed arms and anger—and I wondered if he was about to ticket us for kissing in public. Maybe not. After analyzing his expression, it looked nothing like I’d seen before, and I’d seen his serious cop face. You know, when we went in to discuss Chloe’s case and he gave me ‘the talk’ about domestic abuse—this was worse. He stared at us intently.

  “I gotta call about a threat made here last night.”

  My heart sank, my face flushed, and I stood there dumbfounded. I was brave enough to look Garrett in the eye, but only for a second.

  “Mattie?” Garrett and I both knew he wasn’t here last night, so he looked to me for an explanation.

  “What?” I shrugged, and tried to play it off, but then I huffed and got on with it. “Okay, I got a threatening call last night. Not totally unheard of in this business, right?”

  “I heard it was more than a call,” Cal retorted.

  Garrett’s eyes were still trained on me, indicating he wanted the whole explanation.

  Oh! You didn’t want me to skip over stuff; you wanted to hear about everything. Right. Silly me. The voice in my head could be pretty sarcastic every now and then.

  “A guy called. He told me to stop asking questions, or else. Then he left some dead roses on the porch.” I gave them the short version, but that along with my plastered on smile did nothing to fool the two men staring me down. I was in big trouble.

  “How come I gotta hear about something like this from those guys?” Cal said sternly, and he pointed to the Davis and Sons Funeral Home.

  “Look, I didn’t want to trouble anyone with it this morning. It would have come up, eventually.”

  Hurt and anger flashed across Garrett’s face. With his eyes still on me, he asked Cal about the call. “Who called it in?”

  Cal didn’t want to answer Garrett. I tried to wish myself out of this situation, but it didn’t work. I pushed my shoulders back and stood straighter.

  “Derek. Derek called it in because he was here.” Then I thought about how it sounded and corrected myself. “After it happened. And just long enough to make sure the place was secure.” And to have some ice cream, and try to kiss me, but there was no way I was telling that to Garrett right now, or maybe, ever.

  Dark clouds hovered above us—the sun had disappeared behind the mass. A wind swirl rattled the trees and carried Garrett’s scent my way. I inhaled his warm blend of masculinity and passion.

  A minute ago, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, but now seemed so far away from then. Now, I was in big trouble. I wanted to explain, but figured it might just make things worse. Instead, I waited for his response then anxiously waited some more.

  Garrett had me locked in his sights, but his eyes wouldn’t divulge his thoughts. I tried to look innocent, which I mostly was, except for the part about not saying anything. Guilty by omission, I suppose. Why hadn’t I told him about last night’s threat? Was I too preoccupied to bring it up, or was I afraid of what he’d do when he found out the scary Hulk-man was still after me? Or could it have something to do with Derek? The answer was all three.

  Just when Cal couldn’t take the silence any more, and started to speak, a sleek blue Cadillac screeched to a halt near us. Tess got out and bounced directly over to Garrett. She tried to lace her arm through his, but he shrugged her off.

  “What are you doing here, Tess?” Garrett asked brusquely.

  “I figured we could pick up where we left off last night,” she answered, all shmoozy standing right across from me in her barely there sundress and heels.

  “Last night?” I was the one in trouble, but I couldn’t help but sound accusatory.

  “Yeah. Didn’t Garrett tell you?” She acted like I should know something so obvious.

  My mood could change quickly, especially when people copped an attitude. This was one of those times. My mood wasn’t great, but Tess’s arrival was like pouring gas on a fire.

  “He’s been so busy, I guess it just slipped his mind.” I batted my lashes at her then eyed Garrett. Cal cleared his throat, and tried to hide a smile. We waited for an answer.

  Garrett put his hands up, like a perp. “It’s not at all what you think, Mattie.” He tried to reach for me, but I moved.

  “You have no idea what I’m thinking,” I fired back.

  “You haven’t told her what we talked about?” Tess saw our friction as an opportunity to sweeten her voice and inch closer to Garrett. If she got any closer they’d be conjoined. Seriously!

  “I shared my notes with Garrett.”

  Really? Is that all you shared with Garrett last night?

  “I told her—” Garrett started.

  “Did you tell her my theory?” Tess sounded enthusiastic.

  “I hadn’t gotten to that part yet.”

  My fury simmered, but a new theory could be good news. No telling what it might be, but anything was better than nothing. Right? I forced myself to suck it up and listen to what Tess had to say. Cal crossed his arms. Maybe he was skeptical too.

  “Chloe didn’t do it,” Tess said.

  Hallelujah! Finally, she believed it wasn’t suicide! Now let’s get the report changed and tell Chloe’s mom!

  “At least not on her own,” Tess added.

  I stood silent. Okay, thought that part was obvious, but the way she said ‘not on her own’ sounded wrong.

  “Tess thinks she had help,” Garrett said.

  “Wait? What?!” I stammered. The ‘help’ meant something other than murder. Garrett stood still even as my fists clenched. Cal stepped back.

  “I read the notes. Tess thinks someone helped Chloe kill herself. But, she has no evidence to prove it.”

  Unbelievable! The hope bubble burst, and I was back to thinking Tess wasn’t being totally honest with us.

  “Ridiculous!” I shouted. I didn’t care how badly we wanted each other, or even that he was the boss, Garrett and everyone here was going to get a piece of my mind.

  “This is absolutely crazy! First, Tess tries to convince us Chloe was doing drugs, and now, Chloe had help to end her life?” I had no patience, and no reason not to lunge at Tess and do some damage, except I didn’t need to fight that way—and there were still so many questions that needed answered. “Why?” I asked Tess. “Chloe’s ascent to stardom in the legal world stressed her out too much?”

  “C’mon,” Tess spoke up. “It makes perfect sense. She had a demanding job, relationship troubles, and she’d been on pills. She might have wanted a way out. Maybe she turned to someone for help.”

  Standing still was impossible. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other. My hands automatically moved to my temples. I closed my eyes and tried to rub out the nonsense for a few long seconds.

  “Easy, Mattie,” Garrett tried to calm me down. “This is what Tess thinks.”

  I may have missed the part where he emphasized what Tess thinks. Either way, I took exception to the fact he hadn’t come right out and told me earlier. I also got mad that Tess stood there so plain as day, after having spent some, or all, of last night “discussing” ideas about my friend’s death with Garrett. Why not include me? Didn’t I have a right to be involved? Or was something more personal going on between them?

  “It might be easy for you to believe your ex-, but I don’t.” I was far from calm. “This feels like a big cover-up, Garrett. You noticed a needle mark. Tess came back with an answer that backed up her decision to rule Chloe’s death a suicide. When questioned about the likelihood an “inexperienced druggie,” as Tess has wrongfully labeled my friend, could inject her neck so precisely, Tess’s answer is “someone helped poor Chloe do it.” I was over the top dramatic and whiny when I said the last part.

  “Mattie, you’ve got it all wrong,” Garrett argued. “Tess was just making observations based on the things she saw. If you had evidence of multiple prescriptions for treating anxiety,
saw the pills, and the needle mark, you might come to the same conclusion.”

  Was he really sticking up for Tess? Of course he was. Why didn’t I see that coming?

  “Listen, Garrett. I respect your position, and your knowledge. You and Tess both have impressive backgrounds, but you also have a history. Do you think, maybe, it’s clouding your judgment?” I was angry, but tried to sound calm. Cal kept his eyes on us, like watching a train wreck.

  “That’s not fair,” Garrett fired back. “There is nothing between Tess and me, and my judgment is just fine. You need to listen.”

  Tess shifted uncomfortably at Garrett’s comments, but stayed close to him. I didn’t wait for her to respond, even though she looked like she wanted to say something.

  “Listen here,” I waved my finger at the three of them. “Do you guys know why I’m so confident my friend didn’t commit suicide? The same way I knew she wasn’t injecting drugs into her neck. Because she wouldn’t!” I was agitated—shifting back and forth waving my hands to make my point.

  “While in college, Chloe took a few of us to her older cousin Patrick’s lake house one summer. He’d inherited property near Whitefish Point in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen.

  Patrick and I spent time partying and flirting. Things got a little crazy one night when everyone was hanging out around the campfire. When I saw Patrick head into the house, I waited a few minutes then followed him inside thinking we’d have some private time.”

  I eyed Garrett for a second. He had a past and so did I, but it didn’t matter. Things needed to be said so they’d understand; I continued.

  “My stomach did flips when he wasn’t in the living room. I proceeded toward the bedrooms. I knocked and tried the handle of one door. Someone shouted ‘occupied’, so I moved down the hall and opened the next door.

  Instead of finding Patrick, I found Tab. He was sitting on a bed with a needle in his hand. He had just injected himself with what I later found out was heroin. Tab downplayed the whole thing, told me things were cool, like it was no big deal. He even asked me if I wanted to join him.

  I told him ‘no thanks,’ it wasn’t a good idea, and that he should get help—Chloe had told us his brother was an addict—Tab didn’t seem phased. He got up, walked over to where I was and tried to kiss me.” I had flashbacks from that night and shivered involuntarily.

  Garrett stared with his jaw locked tight. Cal and Tess even watched intently. Everyone was listening, so I kept going.

  “I pushed at Tab, but he grabbed me and kissed me anyway. When I asked him to stop, he just laughed. He said I should loosen up and have a good time. We exchanged words, but he kept coming.

  He backed me up until I tripped and we fell onto the bed. I wriggled and flailed, and screamed to get him off me, but he wouldn’t move. I felt claustrophobic and sick as his hands wandered. We struggled until Chloe came into the room.

  Tab got up. I backed away. He and Chloe argued. The next thing I knew, he swayed and passed out.

  We tried to wake him, but he wouldn’t budge. Pretty soon he went pale. We thought he was dying. Chloe rushed to check his pulse. I went to get help while she gave him CPR.

  When I came back, I watched as Chloe breathed and pushed until she could barley move. Exhausted, she slumped over him and started to cry. I was torn between anger and fear. She knew what had happened, but Chloe pulled herself back up and did the breath and chest compressions harder until Tab finally breathed again. He was back, just barely. Chloe saved us both that night.” If only it had lasted.

  “I’m sorry,” Tess interjected. “How does it relate to Chloe’s death?”

  Tess may have been a witch with a capital B, but I wasn’t going to let her stop me.

  “After several months trying to get clean,” I sighed. “Tab decided he couldn’t do it. He left a note and shot himself up with enough heroin to stop his heart.” My energy drained until I looked at Tess standing there. She didn’t know Chloe was the one carting Tab to rehab, and back home. She didn’t even know about the nightmares, or how the situation with Tab brought him closer to Chloe. My anger resurfaced.

  “Chloe saved Tab only to watch him turn around and try to kill himself. Chloe loved Tab. She found him nearly dead, again. And she saved him, again. She checked him into rehab, over and over trying to get him clean, and stuck by his side to show him his life meant something—but for every time she picked him up, he fell harder, and got meaner.”

  I got worked up, but made sure everyone heard the next part. “Chloe did everything she could, but it wasn’t enough as long as he didn’t care. She broke up to force him to get help. She vowed never to do drugs, and she meant it. She threw herself into her studies, and became a lawyer to put dealers behind bars. So she could save people like Tab. She wouldn’t have done this!”

  “Mattie.” Garrett reached for my arm. “I believe you, but—”

  “But what? You still believe Tess’s drug addict story?” I shook him off. “Look, I should have been there for her, only I was too involved in my own problems. Whether you want to call it intuition or stubbornness, I don’t believe Tess. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to bury a friend.” My voice was acidic. All the happiness I’d felt earlier with Garrett evaporated. My heart fractured. I barely looked at them as I turned and left.

  When I got to the door, I heard Cal mumble something. He sounded concerned, but I didn’t bother to ask him to repeat it. The door clicked closed behind me.

  I shuffled my way through the house. About the time I reached the spot outside the viewing room, Millie startled me. She just appeared there and started talking. “You got to stop being so tough on that boy,” she scolded.

  “Why? What did you hear?” My cheeks flushed.

  “Enough to know he didn’t deserve ‘dat. He only got your best interests at heart.”

  “If he did, then he’d believe me.”

  “He does believe ya girl. You just need to stop talking long enough to hear it,” Millie pointed and chided me like a child.

  “He took her side,” I protested.

  “From what I heard, he didn’t get a chance to take nobody’s side. Ya talked all over, but did ya listen? Did ya?” Millie may have been right. My emotions may have got the better of me, but it wasn’t just jealousy over Tess. Something else didn’t add up.

  “Look, ya been working hard, and your mama’s been gone. Ya aren’t thinking clear right now. I can tell it from the muddy aura surrounding ya. What ya need is some time to rest and think. I got just the thing.” Millie dug deep into her purse, which could have fit a side of beef. She pulled out two small vials and handed them to me. I half expected the bottles to start glowing and levitate, but they didn’t. They clinked together in my hand.

  “What are these?” I jiggled the colored liquids inside.

  “Special herbal remedies,” Millie said with a sly smile. She pointed to a blue one. “Take a drop a this one later tonight, when ya get tucked in and are ready for sleep. It’ll help ya calm down and dream, which is important for the mind and body. Take one dose every night for the next week.”

  “Okay.”

  “This one,” She pointed to the green bottle. “Will help ya with balance and clarity. Take it after the first bottle is empty, but not before.”

  “Why?” I was worried it might turn me into a frog or something.

  “Because I said so, that’s why!” Millie eyed me hard for a moment. She laughed a hearty laugh. “Ha-ha-ha! It won’t turn ya into a frog, oh no! It’s because ya shouldn’t mix them or else ya might get sick.” She smiled at me.

  Could she read my mind? I didn’t know, but I liked Millie even though her intuition scared me. My first experience with one of her lab experiments had been good—I hardly felt like a human accordion after taking her first potion—a little extra help in the clarity department wouldn’t hurt either, so I kept the bottles.

  “Thanks,” I said, gently tipping them up and d
own.

  “Get some rest and feel better. I gotta leave now. But remember, Garrett is only looking out for ya. Keep that in mind before ya open your mouth next time.”

  I slowly nodded in agreement. She left and the house was quiet. I figured Garrett, Cal and Tess were probably outside discussing my mental health, so I inched my way up the stairs and locked the door behind me.

  Jos would be here in a couple hours. My overloaded brain screamed for me to rest. I walked through the apartment and crashed on the bed. But sleep just wouldn’t come.

  I checked my phone. No new messages. I wrote about the crap day I was having in my journal, got a drink of water, and ended up back on the bed. I tried to read, but couldn’t concentrate, so I sorted laundry. It was piling up, but I was in no hurry to descend into the dank basement two floors below for a few clean t-shirts.

  About halfway through the mound, I glanced at the bed. Suddenly, I didn’t like the clothes I had picked out for the funeral, so I immediately tore through my closet.

  Three dresses, a pep talk in my bathrobe, and two pantsuits later my phone buzzed. It was Jos. Crap! She was less than an hour away, and I still needed to get ready. My body ached. My head hurt. I went to the kitchen, grabbed some Tylenol and rushed back to the bedroom to get dressed.

  I slipped on a deep plum dress, decorated it with the tasteful fake pearls Chloe always liked, and pulled my hair up. Something was missing. Shoes! I slipped on a pair of dark grey pumps and stood a couple inches taller than usual. I fussed in front of the mirror for a while covering a small blemish, and the circles darkening under my eyes. I added a touch of tinted moisturizer then powder, blush and lipstick. I stopped mid-mascara stroke when my reflection startled me. It was a grown-up I didn’t recognize. A lovely woman full of strength and sorrow.

  A text from Jos snapped me out of my trance: ‘Almost there.’

  I moved back to the bedroom and scrambled to stuff everything from my regular purse into a smaller one that matched my outfit.

  When everything felt put together, and there was nothing else to do, I locked up and headed downstairs.