by BJ Hyman
After she took a few deep breaths, she pulled her shoulders back and started walking to the checkout counter at the front of the store. She took a quick look toward where she saw the figure disappear. Of course, there was no one there. She chuckled and kept walking.
The clip clip clip of her own shoes echoed against the shelving units around her. But then she noticed there was another set of foot falls that was very nearly matching her own just a few steps behind her in the next row. She slowed her steps and the sound of the other shoes slowed as well. She stopped to pretend to look at an item on the shelf unit between them and the other sounds stopped too.
Now she was sure someone was watching…and following her. She dropped the brushes in the floor and took off at a quick pace toward the doors. Peeking over her shoulder, she saw someone in a dark sweater duck behind a display of storage pieces. She could barely keep herself from running. With an eye behind her she hurried to get out of the store. As she chanced another look behind her, arms caught her in a tight squeeze as she barreled straight into a body. The dark material of a sweater covered her face momentarily and she screamed.
“Charlie! What is wrong with you?” Hands pushed her away to arm’s length and it took a moment for her fear to subside enough for her to recognize a familiar face. Charlie had never been so glad to see Sabrina in her entire life. She collapsed into her friend’s arms with grateful sobbing. “Hey! What’s wrong? You need me to call someone?”
Charlie shook her head. “No, but could you walk with me back to the store? I’m afraid to be alone. I think I’m being followed.” She turned eyes tight with fear back into the main part of the store but there was no sign of anyone who might have been stalking her.
Sabrina tucked her dark hair over her shoulder, put an arm around Charlie, and led her to the street. “Sure. Anything. Come on. Tell me everything on the way.”
◆◆◆
The day had progressed quietly after her near break down in the craft store. Sabrina was suitably appalled at what had been going on at Charlie’s apartment and stayed with her and Craig for a couple of hours to discuss all the ins and outs until Charlie was sick of it. According to Sabrina and Craig, they agreed that Dean was still not above suspicion. If he had been ready for her questions, he could have used their old feelings to manipulate her just enough to keep her off the scent.
Charlie felt it was nonsense and found herself perhaps a bit too ready to defend him. It was a familiar position to be in. The whole last four months of their relationship it was the place she found herself in with everyone until she finally agreed with the majority rule that it needed to come to an end. The peer pressure combined with the deep depression that had taken over their relationship proved to be too great a burden for her to bear.
And here she was again. Unable to prove that he was worth the benefit of the doubt but feeling it nonetheless.
Craig started to go out on a delivery and grabbed Charlie’s keys. She called out to him as he started toward the back door. “Hey! Make sure you don’t use up all my gas like you did yesterday and watch it with the music! You nearly busted my eardrums out with that crazy death metal crap you left playing so loud. You’re going to be deaf by the age of 40, I swear.”
Craig stopped in the doorway. “I didn’t use your car yesterday. At all. What are you talking about?”
“You had to have! My seat was moved to your monstrous height, my gas was all used up, and my music was cranked to eleven.”
He slowly walked back into the store. “Charlie, I’m not kidding. I didn’t use the car.”
She quietly said, “Well, someone did.”
◆◆◆
At the end of the day, she went back to her apartment with an unease in the pit of her stomach. Sabrina had already been there to clean up her clothes so there was nothing out of place when she returned. Nothing was quite where she had it either though. As she ran her hands over her clothes in the closet, she resisted putting them back in the order she tried to keep them.
She closed the door and put her back to it. Looking over her room, it seemed innocent enough but there was now a presence that she couldn’t shake. It was as if there were a shadow that had moved into her home and refused to be swept away.
Rushing to the window, she checked all the locks and tested the strength of the resistance. Moving methodically, she went from room to room doing the same to each and every window and door until she felt she was completely cocooned and locked in. Even then, there was an unease that sat like a rock in her chest.
After taking a hot bath, she went to put some pajamas on. As she padded into the bedroom she noticed something different. Her closet door was open just a crack and the blackness within seemed to taunt her with some malevolent presence within its shadows. She knew she had closed it earlier.
Grabbing a heavy cast iron candlestick from a display of five brightly painted ones on her dresser, she crept toward the barely open door and the darkness within. With a deep breath, she flung it open fully and a large dark something came flying out and struck her on the head. Squeezing her eyes shut, she swung the candlestick with all her might and felt it connect with a hollow crack. What felt like paper feathers floated all around her. She opened her eyes to see that she had attacked a large shoe box full of loose photographs that were now swinging like leaves on the wind as they drifted to the floor. She had cracked it like a piñata.
Something about the image struck her as funny and she fell to the floor in a heap, laughing hysterically. She cleaned up the photographs without giving them much of a look. Too many contained memories that would ruin the relaxed moment she had just enjoyed.
Her phone gave a happy little chirp and she crawled to it on the edge of the bed still chuckling. She rubbed her side as it was becoming sore from her mirth. It was Kellie just checking in. She texted back that all was well and she was about to go to bed. The laughter was good for her. It eased much of the tension from her shoulders. Still, she checked all the locks once more before slipping between the covers and allowing herself to sleep.
CHAPTER NINE
Marked
Charlie stretched in the daylight and reached over to turn off her alarm. She quickly looked at her wrists and her ankles but there were no new bruises. Sitting up, she cautiously looked around her bedroom. Everything seemed in its place and nothing extra was added. With a sigh of relief, she felt calmer than she had in days. After getting up, she inspected the whole apartment, but found nothing different in any of the rooms. It was an uneventful night.
When she got to Vintage Rebel Designs, she was feeling lighthearted. It pained her to think that it might actually have been Dean messing with her, but the fact that nothing happened last night after she had confronted him did cast more doubt his way.
Megan sat on the edge of the counter while Craig did his usual beginning work of the day. They were chatting comfortably until Charlie came in. They both looked up at her expectantly. She made them wait while she put her things down and took off her jacket. The fall had only just begun to feel the unmistakable chill of a season change. She walked over to them and gave a shrug. “Quiet night. Nothing happened. So, I either got the night off from my prankster or it was Dean and our visit scared him off.”
Craig leaned back in his chair while loudly letting out the breath he had been holding. Putting his hands behind his head, he gave her a sympathetic twist of his lips. “Sorry that it ended up being him. I know you really didn’t think that he’d do that kind of thing.”
“It’s not for sure that it was. But I’m not above saying it could be now. That’s as far as I’m willing to go.” She scuffed her shoe on the floor. “I’m just glad I woke up to normal this morning. Fear is not fun.” Megan patted her on the arm. Charlie looked at her with a small smile. “Either way, I’m going to put some paint on some furniture today and do a little art therapy.”
She left them to their low chatter to go turn on some music. She chose an instrumental Michael Hedges CD beca
use his guitar never failed to soothe her. The same regret always filled her when she heard his playing: that she had only seen him in concert on video. He died in a tragic one car accident when she was a child. He had so much more music in his soul to share.
She put a new drop cloth down on the floor before setting an old wooden chair in the center. She had decided to do a similar design to Vera Bradley blended with cartoons in multiple colors. Once she had the base color of deep blue down, she began a paisley motif in greens, yellows, and oranges that swirled across the wood. Soon she was accenting with multicolored polka dot lines of varying sizes across the edges of the chair.
While she was working, Eli came into the shop and stood watching her for several moments before she realized he was there. Putting her paintbrush down, she walked to him and kissed him. “You should have let me know you were there.”
“I didn’t want to disturb your genius.” He tilted his head toward the chair. “I love to watch you work.”
She took a hair elastic from around her wrist and fashioned her hair up into a messy bun. “Pull up a chair and talk to me while I work.”
When she turned from him, he made a choking sound that caused her to turn back to him. “What? Are you okay?”
The look in his eyes alarmed her as he gently took her arm to turn her away from him. He brushed his fingers against the back of her neck with a sigh. “You’re not going to like this.”
“What?”
“You have…I don’t even know how to tell you.” She turned to look at him. Running a hand over his face, he sucked in a deep breath before the plunge. “You have a tattoo on the back of your neck.”
“What?” She ran to a mirror over an antique dresser to try to see. Craig wandered over to see what was going on and gasped. Charlie got desperate. “I can’t see. Help me!”
Craig picked up a small antique hand mirror and gave it to Charlie. She tested one way then the other as she sought to find the best way to get a look at what was on her neck. With her back to the larger mirror and holding the smaller mirror aloft, she could finally get the best view of what had become the spectacle of the store. Along the back of her neck, just under her hair, was a realistic serrated knife that appeared to be piercing her skin. Blood trickled from the blade in crimson drops. She nearly dropped the mirror in her haste to scratch at the tattoo. Her fingernails rasped and tore at the skin in a frenzy until her own blood mingled with the offending unwanted ink. Eli pulled her frantic hands from her activities to keep her from doing more damage. “Craig, you got a first aid kit around here?”
With gentle hands, he ushered her to the chair he had pulled for himself. She allowed him to push her down into it. Her hair fell in a tangled mess that was half up and half down reflecting the shattered state of her emotions. “I thought I was safe this morning. I thought I was safe.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked up at Eli. “He still got to me. I’m not safe. I’m not safe.”
Craig handed Eli a bottle of alcohol and cotton gauze as Eli made soothing noises to Charlie. “Shhhh. It’s going to be okay. Now let me see your neck.” He lifted the frazzled strands to better see the abrasions on her skin. “This might sting a bit.” He tipped the open alcohol bottle until a small amount dampened some gauze folded over. Dabbing softly, he treated her self-inflicted wounds as she hissed with air sucked through her teeth. As he wiped, some of the ink began to come off onto the cloth. “It’s not real. It’s not permanent.”
Her hopeful eyes raised to meet his. “Really?”
He showed her the blood and ink streaked gauze and she folded forward limply in relief. She allowed him full control as he cleaned her skin.
The phone rang. Craig jumped as if just animated. “I’ll go get that.” He seemed grateful to have an excuse to leave them.
“We’re going to make this stop. Okay? You aren’t going to be harmed. I promise.” Eli kneeled in front of Charlie and took her face in his hands. “I’ll protect you.”
“Why now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why is this happening now? Nothing happened until we all talked about my sleep issues the other night. I think we should all meet again. I think it may be someone in our group doing this.”
He hesitated. He knew she needed his support, but his doubts hung heavy. “Whatever you want. I’m behind you. But, are you sure it’s not Dean? I don’t know anything about him, but Kellie and Craig seemed pretty convinced.”
She shook her head hard. “I have my reasons. It’s not him.” She watched as twisted her fingers in her lap. “At least…I don’t think it is.”
Craig came back with the phone in his hand. His shoulders were rounded in as if he wanted to hide instead of bringing the phone to her. “Uh, Charlie? Dean is on hold. I was going to take a message, but after everything…” He started to drift back toward the front of the store. He waved a hand in dismissal. “I’ll just take a message. I know you’re upset.”
Eli spoke up. “Wait.” He turned back to Charlie. “If you think you can, I think you should talk to him. See if he sounds different. See if it sounds like he knows something. As long as you can handle it, what could it hurt?”
After a few breaths, she reached out her hand for the phone. Craig handed it to her and she bore a hole through it with her eyes for a second before taking the call. “Hey, Dean. I’m surprised to hear from you. I kind of thought that you wouldn’t call me after how our Strange Brew visit ended.” Her voice sounded surprisingly calm despite her having to hold the phone with both hands because they were shaking so violently.
Dean hesitated. His voice was steady. “I was worried after what you told me. I just wanted to know if something new had happened.”
“Nope. It was the first quiet night so far.” Her jaw clenched, and she nearly jumped out of her skin as Eli touched the back of her neck to wipe an errant spot of blood.
Relief filled Dean’s voice. “Good. Maybe whoever it was is finished with this mess.”
“Yes.”
The silence stretched. Charlie looked up at Eli and Craig and shook her head. Dean spoke up. “Like I said, I just wanted to check on you. I’ll drop the key by soon. Make sure to take care of yourself.”
“Thank you. You too.”
Part of her yearned to prolong the conversation but she couldn’t think of anything to say. Nothing in his voice or what he said made her feel as if he were the one tormenting her. But even she had to admit that her viewpoint might be tainted. She had loved him beyond reason and ending their relationship was one of the most difficult things she had ever experienced.
The sound of his breath on the line filled her ear and she realized he might be waiting to somehow keep the call going as well. He cleared his throat. “Okay. Well. Bye.”
“Bye.” But he had already hung up.
She pushed the call end button and looked at the handset in her lap. “Well?” She jumped guiltily. She had forgotten that Eli and Craig were standing over her.
“It’s not him. I could tell he was relieved that nothing else had happened. It’s not him.”
Eli took the phone and passed it to Craig. “Okay, so there’s that. You still want to get everyone together at the bar?”
“Yes. I’m even more convinced that it’s someone in our group. It’s just pranks. Scary pranks, but pranks.”
“Do you think anyone of us would want to scare you or would let it go this long knowing how it’s tearing you up?” Eli gestured with his hands as he talked. It usually endeared him to her. Today, it irritated her. She felt ashamed at her ire. It came from a place that she didn’t want to look at too closely.
Charlie pushed up from the chair. “I’m not sure. But I’ve got to know. I’ve seen everyone since then but not everyone together. I can’t think of anything else.”
“You want me to contact anyone?” Eli held out his phone and jangled it in the air.
She picked up a drying paintbrush and started wiping it vigorously with a rag covered with mu
ltiple colors of old paint. “No. I’ll text everyone and get Craig to contact Megan.”
With a touch on the shoulder, he turned her toward him and took the brush and rag from her hand. After putting them down, he pulled Charlie into his arms and just hugged her. Something about the move made her want to cry. She laid her head on his chest just over his heart, closed her eyes, and let the steady sound fill her with calm.
CHAPTER TEN
Suspects and Lovers
At the Arctic Circle Bar, they sat at their usual table in their usual seats. What was unusual was that Charlie was silent. She watched the rest of them as they ate their food and drank from the crazy colored drinks. Examining each one in turn, she considered if they sneaked looks at her or appeared to be trying too hard to not peek at her. But it wasn’t working. They all flicked glances in her direction to presumably check on her. Every look was uneasy and wary. It didn’t matter who it was from.
