Stepford USA

by Lada Ray

  Thirty minutes later, having taken a brief shower and changed, I was ready to leave, when I remembered to try her home number. Nothing. I thought that was odd, but decided that I'd be there in a few minutes anyway. By the time I loaded up the goodies I bought for Adelaide into my Land Rover and drove to her house, the car clock showed five past nine.

  Her house was quiet. Perhaps, a bit too quiet. No lights anywhere. I rang the bell - no answer. I knocked – same result. I went to the familiar window and peered into the gloom of the sitting room where she usually sat knitting or taking a nap. The time wasn't right for that nap, but it was worth a try. I couldn't see anything through the closed window. The room was dark.

  I tapped on glass and called Adelaide's name. No answer. I was starting to get seriously worried. There seemed to be no one in the house, but where could she be? I could hardly believe she would go traveling, since she wasn't in her best health lately. Besides, she was supposed to be at the shelter at noon and she was known to be as good as her word. All this seemed very strange.

  At that moment, I heard scratching. I stood frozen, listening. Then, I heard it distinctly: scratch... scratch... meooow...., scratch... scratch... and again, meooow. Lily! She was inside. And her meows seemed awfully mournful. I didn't like the sound of it at all! I knew, I had to get in. But how? I remembered that Adelaide kept one of her back doors unlocked at all times. In Stepford's sheltered environment she didn't feel the need to keep all her doors locked and it made it more convenient to get in, if she forgot her keys or in case of an emergency. I walked around the perimeter of the house, trying to remember which door it was.

  The house was large and had at least five doors. The main door and the door into the veranda were the ones I knew very well. There was also the door that led to the basement, the one that went directly to the kitchen, and the one that led to the service room that also was used as a laundry room. It was between the kitchen and the service room door. I walked around the house, feeling my way in the dark and hoping I could find the right door soon. The one leading to the kitchen turned out to be locked.

  Next, I stumbled upon a hidden clothes line, which Adelaide used when she wanted her clothes to smell fresh. Behind it, was a door. It had to be the one! I pushed it and it opened easily. I found the light switch and blinked in the sudden brightness of the service room. I followed the corridor into the main house, turning on the lights as I went.

  “Adelaide?” I called. No answer.

  “Lily, where are you?” I tried again. “It's me, Jade.”

  Lily came out from under a table, where she seemed to be hiding and started rubbing herself against my leg, meowing pitifully.

  “Poor thing,” I said, picking her up. She felt very thin, and she was trembling.

  “Lily, has anyone fed you?” I said.

  “Mrrreow,” responded Lily plaintively. Obviously, not.

  “And where is Adelaide?” I continued, frowning.

  “Mreoooow,” said Lily, this time mournfully. Part of me understood the impossible thing Lily was trying to communicate, but another part refused to believe it.

  Feeling that I was starting to tremble myself, I quickly proceeded to the sitting room. Adelaide seemed to be asleep in her usual Queen Ann chair. I gently touched her on the shoulder.

  “Adelaide, are you all right?” I called, my teeth chattering. No answer. Just Lily's mournful meowing. I shook Adelaide lightly, then a little harder. Suddenly, her body shifted and she would have fallen over, if I didn't catch her, propping her back up in her chair. My last hope fading fast, I tried her pulse… and couldn't deny the horrible truth any more.

  Adelaide was dead.

  The rest of that evening was a blur. With shaking hands, I called an ambulance and the doctor pronounced that Adelaide died of strangulation. Police took my statement, and soon it became clear that they had a suspect, the only suspect: Jason. He seemed to be the last person to see his mother alive and a neighbor had heard them arguing late last night. I picked up Princess Lily and went home in a dull state of shock. I fed her some chicken and yogurt, which she barely touched, and made her a make shift bed out of one of my pillows, placing it in a chair next to my bed.

  For hours I lay awake, trying to make sense of what just happened, of how the whole world, the world that I now belonged to, came crushing down just like that, in one single day. And all night long, I heard tiny, pitiful sobs emanating from Lily's pillow.

  Adelaide was dead. Jason was on the run and a prime suspect in a killing of his own mother. It was inconceivable and absolutely surreal, and for the first time in my life I didn't know what to do next.

  Chapter 24

  Apparently, some time during my sleepless night vigil I did fall asleep, because when I woke up with a start, it was already past noon. I felt disoriented and decided that a nice cup of tea would help me wake up completely. So, I went to the kitchen to make it. I was pouring water into a pot over my favorite, lemon green tea, thinking that I should invite Adelaide some time and see how she would like it, when it hit me with a force of a building crushing on my head. Adelaide won't be coming. She is dead.

  I gasped, and the pot with hot liquid fell with a loud thud to the floor. Thank God for my reflexes. I avoided being burned by a split second, jumping away just in time. Another moment, and I would've landed in a hospital. I mopped up the floor with trembling hands and threw away the broken pieces of the pot. So much for tea. But what do I do about my thirst? What else do I have to drink, something that's safer? I gave my kitchen a sweeping glance and that's when I noticed two dishes I left on the floor last night. One with chicken, another with yogurt, both barely touched.

  Lily! I totally forgot about Lily! She was awfully quiet and suddenly, a chill of fear touched my heart. Forgetting my thirst, I dashed to the bedroom and sighed with relief. Lily was asleep on her pillow. I got closer and started worrying again. She was awfully still. I touched her, but she didn't move.

  “Lily,” I said to her softly, feeling my eyes welling up with tears. “Darling, please wake up.”

  I petted and kissed her little body, as grief overwhelmed me anew.

  “Meow,” said Lily almost inaudibly and lifted her head slightly from the pillow. Her fur and the pillow were both wet, as tears of sorrow made two deep tracks down her little furry face. I took her up in my arms and held her closely. She was very thin and weak, and as I hugged her, I felt the dam of her grief bursting inside of me.

  Oh, my God! How this poor little kitty was suffering! If I felt that my world came crushing down, just imagine how she must've felt! Adelaide, who was her everything, was brutally murdered right before her very eyes and Jason, whom she also loved with her whole little kitty heart, was nowhere to be found. Her pain felt almost unbearable and I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Lily wouldn't be able to survive it.

  NO! I said to myself. NO! I won't let that happen! I couldn't let Lily, my beautiful, precious Lily, die of grief. Enough! Enough deaths, enough broken lives, enough sorrow! Now I knew what I had to do.

  I took Lily to the kitchen, all the while whispering to her gently how much I loved her, how wonderful our life would be together and how everything would be better very, very soon. Then I fed her fresh cream from a teaspoon, all the while petting her tenderly and telling her how much I needed her in my life. At first, she refused to eat, averting her head from the spoon.

  “Please, Lily, please,” I begged her, feeling tears again starting to well up in my eyes. “You must! Please don't die. I need you. I don't know what would happen to me if you died, too!”

  Lily's turquoise eyes, normally so bright and shiny, but now, dulled with grief, looked at me seriously. She gave a little meow and started eating from the spoon. I laughed and cried, all at the same time, but now they were tears of relief. I continued petting and feeding Lily from the spoon, then gave her some fresh water to drink. After that, when she finally made herself comfortable on the living room couch, full and content, I made
myself a fresh pot of tea.

  I took a tray of tea and biscuits into the living room and placed it on the coffee table next to the sofa. As I drank and ate, I kept petting Lily, who was now looking almost like her normal self.

  After tea, I felt better, too. Well enough to start thinking again. I went over the events of yesterday, trying to make sense of a persistent feeling that I overlooked something. For the life of me, I didn't know what it was, but the nagging feeling didn't subside.

  “What d'you think, Lily?” I said. “I feel like I've missed something. I've no idea why, but I have this feeling that I need to go back to Adelaide's house and that's where I'll find it. What's your opinion?”

  “Meow, meow, meow!” said Lily emphatically, and her whole body tensed. That meant, “I totally agree, need to go back, and I'm coming with you!”

  “All right,” I said. “I'm glad you agree, but you are not coming with me. You are too weak. You must stay here and get better.”

  “Meow, meow,” disagreed Lily. Which meant, “I must come and help you.”

  “Thanks, darling, but I think I can manage by myself,” I said with a smile. “Besides, I'll have to go late at night and sneak into the house carefully, when no one can see me.”

  “Meow, meow, meow,” said Lily. Translation: “You are being illogical. I am much better than you at sneaking in and I am also better at seeing at night. See, you do need me!”

  “All right,” I said, deciding to stop this pointless argument. “We'll see. Meanwhile, why don't you try resting and a little later, I'll make something special for you.”

  “Meow – good idea,” said Lily, making herself comfortable on the sofa.

  I waited till it got dark and all signs of traffic died down. Then, I put on some black stretchy pants, black tee shirt and my comfortable Merrell walkers. I dug out a flash light and prepared for my expedition.

  My house was dark and I was pretty sure that Lily, her tummy full of tuna and cream, was peacefully asleep on the sofa. I decided not to turn on the lights to avoid waking her up. I got my equipment, took out the keys and unlocked the door. It took me a moment or two to find the lock in the dark and when I was fiddling with it, I had a feeling that something brushed past my leg.

  “Lily,” I whispered, in case I was mistaken and she indeed was asleep, “is that you?”

  There was no answer, so thinking that I just imagined it, I locked the door and started walking in the direction of Adelaide's house. The town seemed deserted. There was a light rustle of leaves next to me and I directed my flashlight at the spot. A quick movement, something furry, then nothing. Probably a squirrel or a raccoon, I thought, resuming my walk.

  Adelaide's house was deathly quiet and the crime tape enveloped its front door. I hoped the service room door was still unlocked and headed straight for it. I opened the door very quietly and tiptoed into the still house. As I was closing the door, I, again felt a delicate brush against my leg. Either I was imagining it, or there was a ghost in this house. Or else... I turned on my flashlight and proceeded into the living room, where the mystery of rustling leaves and light brushes against my leg was explained immediately. Lily sat in her trademark white pedestal statue pose in the middle of the room and her whole look was saying, “Will you hurry up? How long do you expect me to sit here and wait?”

  “Lily, you little rascal,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

  “Meow, meow,” said Lily. Translation: “I beg to differ, I certainly am anything but a rascal. You need my help, trust me!”

  “We'll see about that,” I murmured, getting down on my knees and examining the floor.

  “I have no idea what we are looking for,” I said to Lily. “Do you?”

  As if she was waiting for these words, Lily meowed and ran to a corner where a sideboard stood against the wall. She started clawing by the left front leg, periodically turning to me as if to say, “That's where you need to look!”

  I approached the spot and shone the light into the shadow. Something in that little hidden space, where the carpet indented toward the sideboard's leg, sparkled like a diamond. I blinked at the blindingly sharp ray of light and reached into the small crevice with my hand. What could it be? I wondered. After some groping, I emerged with a dark stone in my hand. When I shone my flashlight on it again, I gasped. It was a large piece of brilliantly polished, faceted onyx... the same onyx I saw in Marc Catcham's tie pin during the Rotary Club meeting. I jumped back to my feet triumphantly.

  “Do you know what this means, Lily?” I said. “We got him, we really got him!”

  “I don't think so,” said a mockingly sarcastic voice behind me. I spun around. The menacing figure of Marc Catcham blocked the doorway into the living room.

  “Hand it to me,” he said in a dangerous voice. Then, he made a step in my direction and extended his large, meaty hand.

  Chapter 25

  I desperately turned left, then right, trying to decide which way to run.

  “I don't think so, sweetheart,” said Marc Catcham, advancing on me slowly. I made a step back, then another and hit the sideboard. Beyond that, there was the wall... I was trapped.

  He advanced resolutely with a crooked scowl disfiguring his face, the face that was a mask, with hardly anything human in it. A terrible sense of foreboding washed over me. I was panicked, more than just for the outcome of my long and treacherous investigation, more than just for my well being. I was suddenly petrified for that precious someone who grew inside of me.

  “Please, please,” I pleaded with him, somewhat irrationally hugging my stomach, as tears ran down my face. “Please, don't hurt my baby.”

  His scowl deepened. “No, my dear,” he said in a sweet voice, which was in total discord with the murderous look on his face. “This isn't going to work. You should have thought of that earlier. It's too late. Now, you are going to tell me everything I need to know.”

  I slowly edged away along the sideboard, until I hit the corner. There was nowhere else to go.

  “So, how did you know…” His large frame towered over me, his breathing heavy. “How did you know to come here looking for it?”

  “I suspected you for a while,” I said slowly, deciding that a conversation was better than the alternative. The longer we talked, the more of a chance I had to distract him and escape. “But I only became sure yesterday.”

  “And what gave me away?” he said, and there was something hiding behind the obvious offhandedness of his question. Threat? Fear?

  “I...I just knew,” I said, my mind frantically searching for a way out. Front door? Locked and sealed, I'll never be able to break through that seal in time. Service room door? Too far. Cell phone? Damn, I forgot it at home! Window? Won't work – he's blocking the way. What do I do? What do I do? If only I could distract him long enough to reach the kitchen door...

  “You just knew,” his voice was dripping with sarcasm. “How very psychic of you. Enough playing games, you little meddling witch! Hand it over. NOW!”

  The dangerous voice rose to a growl, as the meaty hand extended towards me, in order to take away my only proof.

  I was torn. Should I hand it to him? But in that case, it will be my word against his. And then, another thought hit. You are not thinking clearly, Jade! If you don't hand it to him, there will be no story to tell, because you'll follow Adelaide's example to the grave - both you and your baby. Is that what you want?

  Slowly, I extended my hand and handed him my hard won proof. My plan B was to try and make my escape while he was busy, examining the faceted stone. He stretched his hand to receive it and at that very moment I heard a distinctive meow next to me.

  Lily's voice reverberated in my brain, “I'll distract him - you ruuuuuun!!!!!!

  I gasped, more surprised than anything else, because I forgot all about her. The very next moment, Marc Catcham gave a howl of pain. His flashlight revealed Lily hanging on his trouser, her claws embedded deeply into his leg.

  “You witch, yo
u menace,” he howled like a banshee. “You'll pay for this!”

  With the wall behind me, I couldn't get enough swing to kick him in the balls, so I just pushed him away from me as hard as I could; yelled, “Run Lily, run!” at the top of my lungs and dashed to the kitchen door. If only I could reach and unlock it before he recovered his wits. In a split second, I was there. Frantically, I fumbled in the dark for the lock. Where... where is it... Found it! With a huge sigh of relief, I turned it and almost succeed in opening the door. My last thought was that, hopefully, Lily was safe and sound. Then, without any warning, everything went black.

  Chapter 26

  I woke up from excruciating pain. My head felt like it was about to split into a million pieces, and there was something sharp digging into my hip. I tried to move, but couldn't, I tried to scream, but no scream came out. And what was that dizzying, nauseating rocking? Rocking? What rocking? Where was I? What happened to me? Why can't I move? And then I remembered – the baby! My baby! With difficulty, I raised my head a little and looked down – I was on my back and my stomach was bulging like a tiny mountain. The baby seemed okay. But where was I? Outside, for sure. I could see the huge, full moon and stars above.

  I tried to wiggle my toes. They moved, but my feet seemed to be tied. I attempted to move my hands. They were tied, too. Now, that sensations started returning to my body, I felt all bruised, my whole body aching. At least the baby was all right, but for how long? I better not waste any time and scream for help. I inhaled deeply and almost choked on some dusty cloth filling my mouth, instead of the fresh air I expected. I was gagged.

  What has happened to me? I recalled my desperate dash for freedom, followed by the blackness. Marc Catcham must have hit me on the head. That explains the headache. But what is digging into my hip? I tried to shift my body away from whatever was causing me such discomfort, but couldn't. The space I was in wasn't big enough for me to move. And the more I moved, the more it rocked. And a new sound was added to it. It was some kind of splashing. Splashing? That means water. And then, the realization dawned. That's why I could see nothing but the moon and stars. And that's why I couldn't shift my body. I was in a boat - a very small boat - and I was floating in the middle of the lake.