A New Game

by Linda L Barton

  “Mac is there something wrong? You’ve never slept over before,” Rebecca asked.

  “I wondered that myself; not that we mind you being here because we all love you and are always thrilled when you come for a visit,” Sharon asked. She let a wiggling Mandy go so that she could sit on Mac’s lap.

  With everything Mac had done today she forgot one thing, she forgot to think of an excuse why she needed to stay with Rick and Sharon for a couple of days. “Well, I, ah….”

  “She couldn’t stay at her apartment because they’re having some problems with the water in her building, so I told her she could stay here until they get it fixed,” Rick interrupted.

  “Can you believe some idiot was digging and hit the water line causing it to flood in front of Mac’s apartment? They had to turn the water off to her building, so she’ll be without water for a couple of days.”

  “Oh my, how terrible, of course, you can stay here. You’re welcome here anytime you want to come. I know, why don’t I pop some popcorn and Daddy can pick out a movie then we can all have a relaxing evening together, okay?” Sharon said.

  “Mommy, can I help? I want to help make the popcorn!” Rebecca jumped up and followed her mother to the kitchen.

  “So, what movie should we watch tonight?” Rick asked as he stood and walked over to the entertainment center.

  “I want to watch the dragon movie!” Mandy cried out while running after to her father.

  “The dragon movie, you know we’ve seen this movie about a dozen times, right?” Rick laughed at the excited look on Mandy’s face. He smiled and then put the DVD in the player.

  “Daddy, I’m going to tell Santa I want a dragon for Christmas so that I can fly around the backyard.” Mandy held out her arms and growled while running in circles as though she was a dragon flying high into the clouds.

  “You want a dragon for Christmas? Where will it sleep at night?” Rick laughed.

  “He’ll sleep in bed with me,” she grinned, and she spun one last time before she fell to the floor giggling.

  “You can’t have a dragon inside the house. Mommy won’t let you,” Ashley protested, pointing to her sister on the floor.

  “Yes, she will. I will feed him lots of fish, and we will play together all the time. He will be my dragon, and you will never get to ride him!” Mandy giggled.

  “Mommy, Mandy says I won’t get to ride her dragon! She has to share him, right?” Ashley put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot on the floor.

  “Girls, I want you to stop this arguing, now! Rebecca, will you bring the popcorn and the small bowls for everyone. I’ll bring the drinks. Now let’s all sit and have an enjoyable evening with no more arguing!” Sharon picked up the tray with the glasses of soda and followed Rebecca back into the living room.

  “I’ve never seen this movie.” Mac took a sip of her soda and a small bowl of popcorn from Rebecca.

  “You’ll like it. I know you will.” Mandy squeezed in between Mac and the arm of the sofa.

  “Well, if you say it’s good then I know it must be,” Mac put her arm around Mandy and waited for the movie to begin.

  Once the movie was over, and the girls were off to bed, Mac decided to do the same. “I want to thank you both for letting me stay here. It has been a long day, and I’m tired, so I think I’ll head to bed as well. Goodnight.”

  ***

  The room was dark and quiet, with only the sound of her heartbeat filling the emptiness. Mac had no idea where she was, or how she had gotten there, but she knew this was a dangerous place for her to be. She turned to a sound from far off in the distance when she noticed the warm glow of what appeared to be a fire.

  She walked toward the glow unsure of what she would find, and as she got closer, she heard the soft cries of children coming from deep within the glow. She stepped closer and realized it was a pit filled with fire and suspended over the pit were two small children. They held on to ropes, as the flames from the fire below licked at the bottoms of their feet, causing the children to cry out in pain.

  She leaned forward to see who they were and to her horror, she realized they were Joey Afton and Mandy. “Oh, my God, no! He cannot have you!” she cried out, as she reached for the ropes, but she lost her footing and fell into the pit.

  Her descent seemed to last forever as she waited for her death in the fiery flames below. Suddenly, she heard the cries of the children from above her saying, “You promised you would save us! You promised, but you failed, and now we will die!”

  Mac sat up in the bed with the sweat pouring down her body, and unable to stop shaking. Why would I dream about Mandy being in trouble? She doesn’t have anything to do with the case, unless…

  The thought was too horrible to contemplate. “I have to be careful and find Erebus before he harms anyone else.”

  ***

  The alarm on her cell phone went off and brought her out of a restless sleep. It had taken her nearly an hour to get back to sleep after the terrible dream, so the sound of her alarm filling the room was unwelcome.

  She noticed the sounds of laughter coming from the kitchen, so she knew everyone was up and ready to have their breakfast.

  Well, I need to get out of bed before I miss breakfast. Besides, Rick and I need to figure out how to get into my house without Erebus knowing I am there.

  She climbed out of bed and got herself dressed. “Okay, let’s go see what delicious things Sharon has made for breakfast.”

  “Good morning, sleepy head. We thought you might sleep the whole day away,” Rick laughed while he put another pancake on his plate.

  “Yeah, I’ve already had two pancakes!” Rebecca proudly announced while pouring syrup on another pancake.

  Mac walked to the table and sat in the empty chair. “Boy, everything looks delicious; I can’t wait to dig in.” She picked up the platter with the pancakes and put three of them on her plate.

  “Do you want some sausage too,” Ashley handed Mac the plate with the sausage links.

  “Mac, would you like orange juice or coffee this morning?” Sharon asked then she filled Mandy’s cup with more orange juice.

  “I’d love a cup of coffee,” Mac sighed.

  “Okay, here you go. It’s fresh because Rick already finished the first pot I made,” Sharon laughed.

  Mac quietly watched as everyone enjoyed their breakfast, and she wondered what it would be like to have a family of her own again.

  She had been alone for so many years that she had forgotten what it was like to have people in your life every day other than co-workers. While she sipped the last of her coffee, she listened to Rebecca and Ashley discussing their plans for the day.

  The girls were excited to be going to their grandmother’s house to make Christmas goodies and now that they were older; they could do more. Last year they were only able to decorate the cookies, but this year their grandmother had promised them they would also get to bake the cookies as well. However, Mandy was still too young, so she would have to wait as the cookies cooled before she could frost and put the sprinkles on them.

  “What time are you girls supposed to be at your mother’s?” Rick asked.

  “I told her we’d be over there around 11 o’clock. Why, are you trying to get rid of us?” Sharon smiled.

  “No, I just know how your mother likes to get started early, so I didn’t want you to be late. We both know how she gets if she has to wait,” Rick rolled his eyes, made a crazy looking face, and then laughed at the look on Sharon’s face.

  “Mac told me yesterday she needed to go over to her apartment today and check on things, so I thought I’d tag along since I don’t have anything to do around here.”

  “Now shush, you know we have little ears here who love to tell secrets,” Sharon laughed.

  “Yeah, I better be careful. I don’t want your mother to get angry with me right before Christmas. I don’t want another one of those special sweaters she got me two years ago,” Rick smiled, and then winked.<
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  Sharon looked at Mac and smiled. “Can you believe this man repaired my car at the crack of dawn this morning? If I didn’t know better, I’d think he wanted us gone for the day. Come on girls, you need to finish eating and get dressed so we can go to your grandmother’s.” Sharon began to gather the dirty dishes to put them in the dishwasher until Mac stopped her.

  “Don’t worry about doing those Sharon, I’ll take care of them for you,” Mac smiled then she stood to gather her plate and silverware.

  “Are you sure? You’re a guest here.” Sharon took a handful of dishes to the sink to rinse them off before putting them in the dishwasher.

  “I thought you told me I was family, so family is supposed to help with the dishes. Don’t worry, I’ll get them in the dishwasher and make sure everything is clean before I leave. Now you girls go and have fun, and make lots of goodies for Christmas.”

  Mac licked her lips and patted her stomach. She then leaned over to Rebecca and whispered, “Would you sneak some of those goodies home with you?”

  “I’ll try, but grandma watches us. She says we’re not supposed to eat any of it until Christmas,” Rebecca whispered with a look of disappointment on her face.

  “Well, I won’t tell if you don’t,” Mac teased.

  “Come on, let’s get going. You all need to go brush her teeth and hair and be sure to put on some old play clothes. I don’t want to have to get food coloring out of your good blouses again this year,” Sharon said as she followed the girls out of the kitchen.

  Mac took her dishes over to the sink and rinsed them before she put them in the dishwasher.

  “Here, let me help,” Rick said as he brought the rest of the dishes from the table, and set them on the counter next to the sink. He grabbed the extra sponge in the basket by the faucet and some kitchen cleaner then walked over to the table, and wiped it off.

  “I didn’t know you were so domesticated,” Mac laughed. She put the last of the plates in the dishwasher and poured the detergent in the soap dispenser.

  “Yeah, I’m a man of many talents,” Rick grinned.

  Rick and Mac had just sat down to drink another cup of coffee when Sharon and the girls came back to the kitchen. “I think I’m going to like having you here,” Sharon chuckled. “I could get used to someone else doing the dishes for a change. Come on girls; let’s get going. I don’t want to be late.”

  “What time do you girls plan on coming home?” Rick asked. Then he bent down to give each girl a kiss goodbye.

  “We ought to be done around five o’clock. How does pizza sound for dinner tonight? I’m getting sick of leftovers, and I know I won’t feel like cooking,” Sharon grinned.

  “Sounds great, we’ll see you then,” Rick smiled then took another sip of coffee.

  “What do you two have planned for today? Oh, that’s right; you’re going to go check on the water situation at Mac’s apartment.” Sharon held the door open so the girls could go out to the car. “Good luck, I hope they’ve gotten it taken care of, but if not, you can stay here for as long as you need.”

  “Thank you. You girls have a lot of fun and remember to sneak me back some goodies!” Mac gave them a playful wink.

  Rick and Mac waited until they knew Sharon and the girls had left before they spoke. They both knew they had to learn if Erebus had put cameras in Mac’s apartment, but they were not sure how to go about it without alerting him.

  “Rick, do you think cutting the power to the apartment will work? You know he’ll realize the cameras aren’t working.” She nervously ran her finger around the top of her coffee cup with a sense of dread growing deep inside of her.

  “I thought about that last night, and I believe this would be the best way to go about it. I’m sure he would wire his cameras straight into your electric wiring to ensure they would stay on, and working. Come on, let’s get going and see what we can do, okay?” He put their coffee cups in the dishwasher then started it.

  ***

  They drove in complete silence to Mac’s apartment. Both of them knew by doing this they were taking a big chance, and they worried what response they would get from Erebus should he discover their plans. Mac knew she had upset Erebus, and she prayed that it would not cause him to do something rash.

  Not sure if the complex office was open since it was a holiday weekend, Mac was relieved to see the open sign on the door. She took a deep breath and then looked at Rick, “Well, here goes nothing.”

  “Yeah, good luck. I’ll wait here for you,” he smiled then turned off the truck.

  Mac opened the door of the truck and got out then paused a moment before she closed the door. I hope we’re doing the right thing, she thought to herself.

  “Don’t worry, Mac, you’re doing the right thing.” Rick knew what she thought because he had the same concern himself. They had to be extremely careful not to force his hand.

  Mac took another deep breath, closed the truck door, and walked toward the office. She was about to reach for the doorknob when the door opened, and one of the residents stepped out, “Good morning, Detective Mackey. Did you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving?”

  “Yes, I did. I hope you did as well,” Mac tried to remember the man’s name.

  “That’s nice. We’re having ours today,” he smiled. “Well, I need to get going. Rhonda is waiting in the car, and if I don’t hurry up, she’ll have a fit. We’re supposed to be at her sister’s house in Beaumont by one o’clock for another tasteless Thanksgiving dinner. My lord, but the woman is a lousy cook. Hell, she ought to just serve shredded cardboard and save herself hours in the kitchen because at least the cardboard would taste better,” he rolled his eyes and scrunched his nose.

  “Well, good luck. I hope she did better this time,” Mac laughed, seeing the look of disgust on his face.

  “Only if she had somebody else cook it for her,” he smiled and walked away.

  Mac opened the door to the office and stepped inside.

  “Good morning, Miss Mackey, what may I help you with today?” Bill Summers, the manager of the apartment complex was a handsome man in his mid-sixties with thick, wavy, gray hair and warm, brown eyes.

  Mac walked to his desk and sat in one of the chairs before she spoke, “Good morning, Mr. Summers. I know this is a strange request, but I need the power to my apartment turned off for a little while.”

  “Is there a problem?” He had to agree that it was a strange request.

  “Well, yes and no. I cannot explain why, but I need the power turned off for about two hours, and you need to do it from the outside of my apartment. Is that possible?” Mac held her breath, unsure of his response.

  The look on Bill’s face was one of confusion and concern. “Yes, it can be done, but are you sure there’s no problem with your apartment? There’s an emergency shutoff switch for the units on the outside of each building, so all I need to do is unlock the box for you.”

  “That’s wonderful. Thank you so much for your help. Would you mind doing it now?”

  “No, that’s not a problem at all, I just need to lock-up the office, and I’ll meet you over there.”

  They both walked outside then Mr. Summers locked the door and flipped the open sign over to read closed.

  Mac got into Ricks truck, and they pulled around to the drive-through gate, “What’s the security code?” Rick asked.

  “It’s 6234,” Mac felt both excitement and dread growing inside her at what they might find.

  Rick keyed in the numbers and waited as the gate opened. He pulled through and drove to Mac’s parking space. They both looked at each other for a moment and could see the fear in each other’s eyes. Then without saying a word, they got out of the truck and walked to Mr. Summers, who was walking up the sidewalk toward Mac’s building.

  “It’s over here,” Mr. Summers pointed to the side of the building, as he walked past them.

  They followed him to the side of the building behind some tall bushes where there was an electrical box attached
to the wall. He took out a large key ring and searched the keys until he found the one he needed. He unlocked the box and opened the door then reached for the cutoff switch for Mac’s apartment.

  “Okay, your power’s off now. Just let me know when you’re finished, and I’ll come back to lock the box.” He turned to face Mac, “Are you sure there isn’t more I can do to help you? I can’t help but feel you may be in trouble.”

  “No, this is all I need for now. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m finished and thank you for your time,” Mac forced a smile.

  “Okay, I’ll be in the office. Please don’t forget to let me know, so that I can lock the box.” He reached up and closed the door on the electrical box without locking it.

  “I will, and thank you again,” Mac said.

  Mac and Rick both waited for Mr. Summers to leave before either of them spoke.

  “Well, let’s go see what we find,” Rick exhaled with dread clearly in his voice.

  ***

  The alert sounded as the security code was entered on the keypad on the gate to Mac’s apartment complex. “I thought you said you would be staying with friends, Lucinda. What would bring you home today?” He had to admit he was pleased to see her return home. To have her gone for the two days had been stressful. He didn’t enjoy the idea of his opponent out of touch, and not knowing their every move.

  ***

  Mac stood at her front door, unsure if she wanted to go inside for fear of what they would find. She had placed the key in the lock, but for some strange reason, she couldn’t find the will to turn it.

  I need to pull myself together. The power is off, so if he has cameras in there he won’t be able to see me, she thought with her hand quivering over the doorknob.

  “Are you okay? Everything will be just fine; he won’t be able to see you.” Rick could see the look of fear in Mac’s eyes, and he had to admit that he felt the same.

  “I know. I just hate the way I’ve felt every time I’ve come home lately. Then to find out he’s probably put cameras in there like he did in John’s house, has made me feel so violated.” She looked at Rick with tears in her eyes.