by Patten, Sean
“Amy,” he said. “I get it. You came here to see your mother and you’re upset she’s gone. And I’m sure you’re worried about her, that’s totally understandable. But you’ve got to believe us when we tell that you know everything that we do. One minute she was here, the next she was gone.”
“But she wandered off?” asked Amy. “Without any of you knowing? Without a car?”
“Not too hard to imagine that she left and made her way to the highway all on her own,” David said lightly. “She’s always been in good health. Maybe she went there and caught a ride with someone who was headed in her direction.”
He took another sip of wine before continuing.
“And more than that,” he said. “While I care about the well-being of each and every member of this community, it’s simply impossible for me to know where everyone is at every moment. The day she left was total chaos. It took everything me and the rest of the fine folk here had to keep order and make sure we were ready for what was to come. And your mom chose to leave.”
He shrugged. “Some chose to stay and pitch in, but she chose differently. And that’s her call. Hell, if my little girls were that close I’d be moving heaven and earth to get to them. Lori might not have been thinking clearly and wanted to get to you. I for one can’t blame her one bit.”
“But—” Amy started.
David raised his hand, cutting her off.
“You know what was great about your mother?” he asked. “How—present circumstances excluded, of course—she always knew her place in the community. She knew to stay out of business that wasn’t hers, to not ask questions. To understand her place. Now, Amy, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you and I know that people change. But I’d be willing to bet dollars to donuts that more than a little bit of Laurie has rubbed off on you. What do you think?”
He wasn’t exactly being subtle. The man might as well have told her to shut up and mind her business.
And now it was my turn to hope Amy received the message.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice soft. “You’re right.”
David smiled and gave a sharp nod, clasping his hands together.
“Great,” he said. “Now, who’s ready for dessert?”
18 Amy
I let Ed know exactly what I thought as soon as the dinner was over and we were back home.
“That…was the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever seen in my life.”
I collapsed into one of the easy chairs in the living room as Ed set to candle duty.
“No kidding,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out if everyone there was deluded, or if they’re just not smart enough to understand what kind of danger they’re in.”
“I can’t believe it,” I said. “The world’s going to hell around them and they just…they just want to pretend that it’s not happening. Like life’s going to be exactly the same except without TV and hot water.”
“They’ll learn,” said Ed. “Can only keep reality at bay for so long.”
“And Mom,” I said. “Did you see how weird and hostile David got when I pressed the subject?”
“Of course I did,” he said. “I was sitting right next to you, remember?”
“How could I forget?” I asked. “You nearly got David to fly across the table and strangle you.”
I shook my head. “Something weird is going on. I know it.”
“I’m right there with you,” Ed said as he sat down next to me. “At first I was thinking it was a matter of David and the rest of them being delusional. But the more time I spend here, the more I’m thinking otherwise.”
“No kidding,” I said. “We have to figure out what it is.”
For a moment I worried that Ed might tell me to drop it, that it was too dangerous for me to be snooping around.
“Agreed,” he said.
I smiled, relieved and eager.
“Okay,” I said. “What do you think our next move should be?”
Ed didn’t need to stop and ponder his answer.
“Powell,” he said. “Earlier today when he told us to leave and not come back. At the time I was thinking he might’ve been trying to get rid of us, but…”
“He was worried,” I said. “He was warning us.”
“Right,” said Ed. “Telling us to get while the getting was good. And then David comes over to ‘chat’ with him, and then he’s not showing up at dinner.”
“It’s bad,” I said.
Ed nodded. “It is. And it gives us a good place to start looking.”
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked.
“Sure am,” said Ed. “We sneak into Powell’s place and see if he’s still there. If he’s not, we look around and try to find some answers.”
I got up and went over to the window, pulling back the curtains and looking down the street at all the houses, dim orange light flickering from within all of them.
“When those candles go out,” I said. “We make our move.”
Ed gave an affirmative grunt, and it was settled.
Luckily, with the community being comprised of old folks who liked to get to bed good and early, we didn’t have to wait long. After an hour of puttering around and waiting, I stepped outside to check out the situation and saw that all the houses were dark, Powell’s included.
“Okay,” I said when I was back inside. “It’s now or never.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Ed ducked into the kitchen, emerging seconds later with a small, black multi-tool in his hand.
“Same rules as always,” he said. “Stay close, and stay alert. God only knows what insanity we’re going to come across tonight.”
Nothing more to be said. Ed opened the front door and the two of us went out into the dark night, the moon in its waning state casting just a touch less light than the previous night.
“There,” I said, pointing across the street at the empty house. “We cut across the lawn and go through backyards. Powell’s place isn’t too far away.”
“Works for me,” said Ed. “Last thing we need is David spotting us sneaking around.”
“No kidding.”
We moved silently across the street, hurrying to cover on the side of the house on the other side of Mom’s. Once there, we ducked down below the windows.
“Mary!” an elderly, male voice called out from inside. “You remember to plug in all the phones?”
“Sam, the damn power’s out, remember?”
I poked my head above the windowsill just enough to make out two figures shuffling through the dark. It was Sam and Mary Parks, the couple who’d lived across from me and Mom since before I was born.
“Amy,” said Ed quietly but sharply. “We need to move.”
For some reason I couldn’t take my eyes off the Parks. Something about seeing those two, helpless and confused, totally unequipped for the world that was to come…it almost made me wish that David was right and that he’d be able to keep the outside world at bay, if only for a little while longer.
Ed’s hand on my shoulder snapped me out of it.
“Come on,” he said.
I tore my eyes away and followed Ed around the house and to the back. Once there, we hopped over the white fence and across the lawn. We did it again at the next house, and again and again until we were finally in Mr. Powell’s backyard.
“Wait,” I said as Ed approached the backdoor, multi-tool in hand. “Let me see something.”
I stepped up to the door and gave it a quick rap.
“Hey!” said Ed under his breath. “What are you doing?”
“Just want to see if he’s still here,” I said.
Part of me hoped that the door would open and Mr. Powell would step out, confused as to why we were there at such an hour. But there was no reply.
“He’s not here,” said Ed. “Let’s do this.”
I nodded, and Ed didn’t waste any time going to work on the door. Using the multi-tool he quickly had the knob removed, the door swingin
g open slowly once it was done.
“You ever been in here before?” Ed asked.
“Just once,” I said. “When my parents finally managed to talk him into having coffee.”
We stepped inside, entering a clean, modern-looking kitchen. From there we went into the living room, another attractive room decked out in all the latest electronic toys, from speakers to video games to massage chairs.
“Nice place,” said Ed.
“Yeah,” I said. “Total bachelor pad.”
I glanced around the room, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
“I’m going to check upstairs,” he said. “Make sure he’s not here keeled over in the bathtub or something. You stay on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.”
“What happened to us staying close?” I asked.
“I’m making an exception,” he said. “If Powell’s up there with a shotgun wondering who the hell broke into his house, no sense in us both getting blasted.”
Ed hurried up the stairs before I had a chance to argue, leaving me alone in the living room. I listened to Ed’s feet through the ceiling, hearing his steps move quickly, then stop, then quickly again. It was a relief each time I heard them again. It meant that Ed was still safe.
As Ed checked out the upstairs, I decided to take a look around the rest of the first floor. At first I saw nothing. I wasn’t even sure what to look for. But as I laid eyes on the basement door, I noticed something.
It was open, just a little bit.
I moved closer to the door, and as I drew nearer I saw that not only was the door open, but the wood under the knob was cracked, split as if struck with something hard.
Ed’s footsteps down the stairs snapped me out of my investigation.
“Nothing upstairs,” he said. “The place is so clean and neat that it’s almost kind of creepy.”
“Look,” I said, pointing at the door.
Ed did, cocking his head to the side as he took in the sight.
“Shit,” he said. “Looks like someone beat us to it.”
My gut tensed as I realized what broken door meant. Someone could very well be here, waiting down below. And if I was able to hear Ed loud and clear as he moved around upstairs, whoever might’ve been in the basement could, without a doubt, hear that there were people on the first floor.
“You have the gun?” I asked, fear creeping into my voice.
“Of course,” he said, taking it out of his waistband and holding it at the ready.
He narrowed his eyes, as if something had occurred to him. Then, with his free hand, he took out the multi-tool and flicked out one of the blades.
“You know how to shoot someone,” he said lowly. “Now I’m going to tell you how to stab them.”
The idea of jabbing a blade into someone’s flesh was enough to make my skin crawl. But I knew he was right; I needed to know how to defend myself in as many ways as possible.
“Don’t do one of these,” he said, holding the tool knife-down in his hand, raising it above his head. “That’s how they stab in the movies, and it’s a good way for someone to have an open shot at your midsection. Instead, do a quick jab, like this—”
He held the blade out away from his chest and deftly poked the air in front of him.
“That’s enough to break the skin with a blade as sharp as this. And once you’ve got it in, give it a twist to the side. That’ll make sure they’re in enough pain to not think about chasing after you.”
So many lessons, nearly all of them having to do with how to kill. That was the world we lived in now.
Ed drew the blade back into the multi-tool and handed it over. I took it, the thing cool and heavy in my hand.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Keep that thing close,” he said. “It might save your life.”
I nodded, and we both turned our attention back the door.
“Same deal: me first,” Ed said. “You come down when I give the all-clear.”
“Got it.”
Ed opened the door slowly, revealing a set of wooden stairs, cool, stale air rushing up to greet us.
“Here goes nothing,” he said.
His gun drawn, Ed started down the stairs and disappeared into the dark. I held the multi-tool in my hands, practicing flicking out the blade and jabbing it forward just like Ed had taught me.
More than anything, I was trying to distract myself from what was happening. If someone was downstairs, they were most certainly waiting for us to come down so they could get the drop on us.
“Hey!” Ed called out after several long moments. “Come down here!”
I hurried down the stairs without thinking about it. Once in the basement I scanned through the low light from the moon through the window and spotted Ed standing with his back to me, looking at something in the corner.
“Come here,” he said. “And take a look at this.”
I moved to his side, curious as to what he was looking at.
“Boxes?” I asked.
Sure enough, in front of us was a stack of brown cardboard boxes, sealed up with tape.
“Look closer,” he said.
I did, spotting a small label, one that was very familiar.
“What the—” I started. “Why the hell would Mr. Powell have boxes for Dead Air in his basement?”
Right as I asked the question, the answer hit me. I thought back to the conversation I’d overheard back at the festival, when Dante had mentioned Sandy Vista. I’d hoped it was just a coincidence at the time, that maybe I’d misheard, but—
“Think about it,” said Ed. “I bet you can guess.”
But I wasn’t about to stand around and puzzle it over. I flicked out the knife of the multi-tool and jabbed into the tape, cutting through it and opening the flaps of the box.
White. Nothing but white. White powder wrapped up in tight little bundles. I picked one of them up, holding it in front of my face in total disbelief.
“This…this means that they’re in with the Black Mountain guys?” I said.
“That’s exactly what it means,” said Ed. “And if there’s one thing we know about Black Mountain, it’s that they’ll do anything to protect their product—including killing anyone who stands in their way of it.”
19 Ed
The two of us packed the drugs back up and hurried out of Powell’s house as quickly as we could. Relief took hold of me the second we passed through the front door of Lori’s house, and I didn’t waste any time dropping into the nearest seat and catching my breath.
“I…I can’t believe it,” Amy said, still in something of a daze. “They’ve been moving drugs through this place.”
I lit a few candles and took a seat across from Amy on the sofa, setting the gun down on the coffee table.
“How long do you think?” she asked. “How long has this been going on?”
“No way to know,” I said. “And it doesn’t matter. Only thing we need to worry about now is getting the hell out of here.”
Amy shook her head.
“We can’t,” she said. “We can’t leave my mom here with these…these fucking drug runners!”
She was worried, and I didn’t blame her one bit. I took a moment to consider her question of for how long this drug-running had been happening.
“You said the plant closed down about ten years ago, right?” I asked.
“Right,” said. “My junior year. Took about a year for the rest of the town to turn to shit and everyone to leave. Everyone but my mom and our neighbors.”
“I bet without the rest of the town here to support this place with tax money things dried up pretty quickly,” I said. “Not cheap to keep a community like this up and running. Bet it took only a few years before David and the rest of the HOA realized that they were going to have to go to some desperate measures if they wanted to keep their little oasis going.”
“And what about Mom?” asked Amy. “Do you think…do you think she
knew about this?”
“You’d have to ask her,” I said. “Was she part of the HOA?”
Amy shook her head. “No, she never liked all the politics that went along with it.”
“Then…I don’t know,” I said, sitting back. “But without her to tell us what’s really going on we’re just grasping in the dark. But I can guarantee you that those drugs, somehow, had to do with Powell’s warning. And his disappearance.”
“And David probably wouldn’t be too thrilled to find out that we’d been poking around,” Amy added.
“You’re right about that.”
There was silence as the two of us processed everything we’d learned.
“We need a plan,” Amy said finally.
“You know what the best plan is,” I said. “We grab whatever supplies we can, get in that car, and haul ass out of this place. It’s the only way we can be safe for sure.”
“No,” said Amy. “I’m not leaving until I know the truth about what happened to Mom. If David did anything to her…”
“If David did anything to her,” I said. “Then what? You want to have a shootout with him and the rest of the old-timers here? They might be old, Amy, but there’s only two of us.”
I could sense that she was conflicted. And she had every right to be. We’d found out some serious information, but it didn’t bring us any closer to finding out what had happened to Lori. This whole situation had gotten a hell of a lot more dangerous.
“What if we looked around some more?” Amy asked, a trace of desperation creeping into her voice. “Maybe break into David’s place?”
“We break into David’s place and there’s a good chance we don’t come out alive,” I said. “If he knew what we knew…it’d be bad.”
“But we have to try,” I said. “If we go there now I bet we can break in without him knowing. He’s probably asleep and—”
“Amy,” I said. “I get it. I know what’s at stake here. But we just found out some serious shit and the worst thing we could do would be to run out without a clear plan. We need to play this smart. Got it?”
She said nothing, so I continued.
“You want to find out what happened to your mom, then I’m with you all the way. But this has been a hell of a long day. You and I both need some rest. So here’s what I’m thinking: we go to bed, we try to get some decent sack time, and in the morning we figure out the best way to handle this.”
