by BJ Hyman
Sabrina nearly purred at him. “Nice to meet you. Do you dance? I’ve been dying to all night and these girls are just not in the mood.”
Kyle smiled at her. “Actually, I do. I’m ready to go, if you are.” He offered her his hand. She scooted around the table to reach for him and stood right up against his body.
“Thank you for saving me from the boredom. Maybe I can make it worth your while.”
“I’m sure you can.”
They practically slithered off together while the others at the table stared after them, slack jawed. Charlie looked over at Kellie who was holding a hand over her face trying to hide her laughter. “You’ve got to admit, she’s got balls bigger than most men.” At Kellie’s comment, they all laughed until they were nearly in tears while they looked out at Kyle and Sabrina dancing. She was using the floor as a seduction space and had her hands all over him. He didn’t seem to mind one bit.
They all struggled to bring the conversation back to something they could find to talk about but couldn’t. Sabrina’s boldness was just too much to handle. Kellie looked over at the bar where Dean was still eating. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked over at Charlie. She seemed totally unaware of her sister’s look. Her eyes were glued to the gyrating couple on the dance floor.
Charlie’s eyes drifted back to the bar and the back of Dean’s head. All the sudden, Megan burst out with, “Craig has a crush on Charlie.”
Every eye at the table slid back to look at Megan who looked like she had just finished a marathon. Her breath came in shallow pants. Charlie sputtered to life. “Wait. Now. What? What was that?”
Megan fiddled with her napkin in her lap. “There. I said it. Craig has a crush on Charlie.”
Kellie leaned her arms on the table, Dean all but forgotten. “Is that why you two aren’t a couple yet?”
Megan looked up quickly and her eyes darted between Kellie’s and Charlie’s and back to the dance floor where Sabrina was slow dancing with Kyle to Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart. Cheesy, but obviously effective. “No. I don’t think so. No. I mean…we’re just friends. At least, most of the time… I think.” She ruefully flittered her hands as if she didn’t know what to do with them. “I may have drunk too much tonight. I’m talking crazy.”
“Oh, no, you don’t. You can’t stop now. You haven’t said nearly enough.” Kellie pulled at Megan’s arm.
“Don’t make her say any more. I don’t want to know.” Charlie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Megan tried to look up at her but couldn’t quite meet her eyes.
“I just couldn’t hold it in any longer. It’s been bothering me for a long time and I thought that you should know, Charlie.” She picked at nonexistent lint on her sleeve.
Sabrina saved her any more talk by sweeping up to the table and grabbing her handbag out from her seat. Kyle was standing a few feet away looking around as if he were making sure the coast was clear. “We’re getting out of here. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Her face was flushed, and she flashed a radiant smile at the girls.
Charlie frowned at Sabrina, her lips flattening into a straight line. “You’re already going to go sleep with him? Really?”
Sabrina patted her on the head. “Not everyone is as much of a prude as you are, dear.” She breezed off with a laugh leaving them all with various looks of shock.
Kellie was the first to break the silence. “If you want tips on how to get Craig to lock in on you, Megan, just hit Sabrina up. She knows how to manipulate a man.”
Charlie took a deep breath and looked back for the familiar shape of Dean, but he had already gone. She slumped in her seat feeling a strange sensation of defeat.
◆◆◆
Sticky. Wet and sticky. These were the first sensations Charlie felt when she started to wake the next morning. She slowly began to open her eyes. Reaching over to turn off her alarm, she noticed even her clock was wet and sticky.
When she finally began to blink the sleep from her eyes, she saw red. Literal red. Opening her eyes wider, she took in the scene. There was red everywhere. It dripped from the ceiling and walls. She was covered in it. Her bed was heavy with the crimson liquid. It looked like the dance scene from the classic horror film, Carrie. Before she could stop herself, she began to scream and couldn’t quit. She realized it wasn’t the smartest thing to do while she didn’t know if she was alone or not, but she couldn’t help herself. It was automatic.
She hit her panic button and tried to calm herself. Clambering out of her bed, her feet landed in a puddle of the red wetness. She wiped her hands on her nightgown and smelled her fingers. It barely registered that it wasn’t blood. It was paint. It didn’t feel much better even as her heart rate began to slow a bit. The gore completely surrounded her.
When the police began to knock on her door, it seemed both like it took forever and that it was no time at all. Her feet slurped in and out of the thick paint as she went to open the door. She left red footprints all the way. As she got to the door, the officers heard her unlocking it and began asking questions. “Ma’am. This is the police. Are you in immediate danger?”
She called through the wood. “I don’t think so. I think the damage is already done.” She opened the door to find two policemen at the ready with guns drawn. “Oh, my!”
“We have to clear the apartment, Ma’am. Do you mind waiting in the hall with an officer?”
“No, that’s fine.” She stepped into the hall and found two more officers waiting. One put a blanket around her shoulders. She leaned against the wall and looked down at her red feet on the hall carpet. They left outlines of paint. A loud alarm began to blare, scaring her and causing the officers out in the hall with her to pull their weapons. It took her a moment to realize what it was. “Oh! That’s my alarm system. Let me go turn it off.”
The one with the youthful face stepped forward. “I’ll have to go with you. They haven’t given the all clear.”
“That’s fine.” He led the way through the door, glancing around before giving Charlie a nod to follow. She tapped in her code and blessed silence followed.
“Let’s go back to the hall now, Ma’am.”
Charlie acquiesced and sat down on the floor. The wait seemed to take forever. She had answered a few questions from the officers while she sat. When they were done asking her the preliminary questions, she stared at the wall across from her with her mind whirring a mile a minute.
She wondered who could be doing this to her. She tried to list anyone that might have a reason. She thought about what life was like before all this had begun and was amazed that it was only a few weeks ago. With dread, she imagined how much trouble it was going to be to clean the mess up, including the hall outside her door now.
A man with old scars from bad skin and frazzled hair walked up. He reminded Charlie of Columbo, mainly because he was wearing a long coat and was unkempt. He reached a hand out in greeting when he got to her. “Miss Ray?” She nodded and struggled to stand. “Oh, stay where you are. I’m Detective Rick Brooks.” She showed him her paint covered hands before declining to shake his hand. He nodded in agreement. He pulled out a small notebook and pen. “I understand this isn’t the first incident.”
“No. This is the worst so far though. They keep getting in while I’m sleeping.”
“And you never hear a thing?”
“I’ve got a sleep issue. It’s a form of narcolepsy, from what I understand. Once I’m asleep, I might as well be in a coma. You can ask my landlord. I have to pay extra rent because of my alarms. No one wants to live in the apartment beside my bedroom.” She pushed her hair back. It was getting crusty because the paint was starting to dry a bit around the edges.
Detective Brooks scratched at his head. “I’ve never heard of such. Huh. Has it always been a problem?”
“Since I was a kid. My parents freaked out when I was a baby. Thought I had SIDS and rushed me to the hospital more than once. I’ve learned to live with it.”
“Are you taking a
ny kind of medication to help the problem?”
Charlie sighed. “No. It’s never been something that medicine can help. I’ve not checked into options lately, but I don’t think there have been any developments.” She shrugged. “It’s not life-threatening and it’s extremely rare. Low-priority on the research scale.”
He took some notes while nodding. Charlie looked at his shoes while she waited. They were scuffed and worn. The word gumshoe popped into her head and she gave a small smile. She started when he began to talk again. “I’m going to go check things out. I’ll be back in a minute.” She watched as his shoes shuffled around the door frame into the apartment.
Luckily, there weren’t many people who lived around her, so she didn’t have to worry about the spectacle she made sitting in the hall covered in red paint. There was one thing to be grateful for. She hadn’t had a chance to call anyone yet with what had happened. Her phone was still on her bedside table. She felt remarkably calm, but, then again, she was surrounded by policemen. She wondered what everyone would think of this one. This was the first destruction of property that her stalker…night visitor…crazy person (she didn’t know what to call them) had done.
Detective Brooks came around the corner and she craned her neck to look up at him. She was struck by his kind eyes. Instantly she felt confident that if anyone could help her, it would be him. “I’m glad to see you have a security system.”
“I just had it installed because of this problem. Never needed it before.” Charlie wondered at how she seemed to be talking like some teenager in the principal’s office.
“You need cameras. Especially in the bedroom. That’s the primary place all of the trouble has been, correct?”
“Yes…Um…cameras?” A lump slowly slid up the length of her throat.
“Motion sensor tripped ones would be best. It would add one more layer of security. As of right now, it’s like pranks. Nothing more than property damage is provable. It does seem to be escalating, but we really can’t do anything yet. Nothing’s been stolen and there’s no evidence that they’ve done physical damage to you. Right?”
He stopped and looked at her closely. Tears were brimming the edges of her lashes. “No.” She coughed to clear her voice. “No. A couple of bruises. I woke up naked one morning but no sign of…um…anything else. Does that make sense?”
His eyes were filled with compassion. “Yes.” In a soft voice, he asked, “Are you sure?” She swallowed hard and nodded. He seemed relieved. “Good.”
“I don’t want cameras in my bedroom and bathroom.” Her voice quivered. “I get undressed in there. I take showers. I wouldn’t feel like I had any privacy.”
“You can turn them on and off. Just don’t forget to set it when you go to bed or are absent from the apartment. I’ll be sure to increase the police presence in the neighborhood and to do more drive-by checks in the area. The boys are about done with taking evidence. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot we can do yet. Destruction of property isn’t considered a high priority. I’ll personally put time in on it since it’s your safety that’s at stake, okay?” He reached down and handed her a card. She dropped a fold of the blanket to take it from him. Her fingers left red fingerprints on the edge. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me. If you can’t get me, call the station. Hell, call 911. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think whoever is doing this is done with you.”
As if on cue, the other officers began filing out of the apartment with their equipment. She watched as they all tipped their heads to her. “Thank you.” She found herself feeling more and more anxious as each passed by and she thanked each one. Detective Brooks stayed while they all left.
After the last officer passed, Detective Brooks nodded at Charlie. “You have someone to call? I know this is a scary thing.”
“I do. Thank you. I appreciate your help. It’s good to not feel like I’m alone.”
He shifted from one foot to the other and looked down the hall. “Well, you aren’t. It might feel like it, but you’re not now that it’s in my case files. I’ll wait here until you’re in and have reset the alarm.”
She went into her apartment and turned back. “Thank you again.” She closed the door and set the system. That’s when she realized the system was set when they broke in and sprayed the paint. Whoever it was knew her codes or a trick to bypass them. She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and checked her locks.
◆◆◆
After talking to Kellie and Eli, she got in the shower. Letting the water flow over her, she watched the paint make the water red around her feet. Chunks of hardened red, like clots, dropped off her and became part of the churning water. It looked like blood swirling around the bottom of the shower. Images flooded her brain as she watched the red tainted whirlpool.
She remembered the water swirling the drain in Psycho and Janet Leigh staring blindly at her murderer. A chill ran through her and she turned up the hot tap to warm her. She realized it wasn’t healthy to freak herself out like she was and tried to focus just on washing the paint away. But just then, she saw a shadow pass outside of the curtain. She was screaming before she knew it. The shadow came closer and the curtain ripped open. Her hands slapped at the figure. She barely registered a male voice shouting at her.
“Charlie! It’s me! It’s me!” She opened her eyes to see Eli trying to fend off her blows. Her knees buckled, and he stepped into the shower to catch her. She leaned into him sobbing and wet while he soothed her. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just was worried. It’s okay. I’m here to take care of you.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Repair and Damage
Charlie went to work and found that she couldn’t concentrate. Every sound and movement made her jump. Craig called Megan to come stay with her while he ran errands. He didn’t want Charlie to be alone. Megan sat and chattered to Charlie while she hand lettered some invitations which helped more than Megan could know.
The whole while, Charlie was texting with Kellie who was at the apartment with Kyle. He was installing her motion detectors and cameras. She was having him install them in all the rooms just to be safe. She wanted to make sure to catch whoever was doing this before something truly bad happened. Enough damage had been done. What was to stop them from killing her? She had a feeling that it was on the horizon and she didn’t know how to protect herself, if they weren’t stopped. How can you combat an intruder while you sleep like the dead?
Fear had settled into her bones like a cancer and the only thing that would rid her of it was to have this person behind bars.
Charlie remembered a bag of supplies that she had left in the trunk of her car. “Megan, do you mind sitting here a minute while I go get something? I’ll be right back.”
“That’s fine. I’ll check Vintage Rebel’s Facebook and see if you’ve gotten any messages.”
Charlie smiled and pushed lock of hair behind her ear. “Thank you. That would be great.”
She walked to the back and reached for her keys in their usual spot only to find they were gone. She looked all around the peg and under the nearby table. The keys were nowhere to be found.
Feeling that familiar unease that seemed to be a part of her new every day, she searched everywhere she could think of. Finally, she settled on her purse that she kept in a small group of vintage high school lockers she’d bought for the back.
There they were in the side pocket. While she felt better, it left an ugly greasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She clutched them in her hand until they left deep impressions in her palm.
◆◆◆
While Charlie was at work, trying to keep busy away from the carnage, Eli and Sabrina were working on repainting her bedroom and cleaning up the mess. Eli looked around and said, “We’re going to have to move this furniture out first and get it cleaned up. Grab a drawer.”
Sabrina opened one of the dresser drawers to find the paint had seeped into it and ruined all of Charlie’s clothes inside. She wiped the
paint off of her fingers onto an old towel that she was holding. “Oh, no. Her clothes in the closet aren’t the only ones she’s lost. Look.”
Eli walked over and made a disgusted sound beneath his breath. Opening other drawers revealed the same mess in each. He walked down the hall to where Kellie and Kyle were. “Hey. I’m gonna let you break the next bad news to your sister. The paint dripped in every drawer and ruined all the clothes.”
Kellie turned with a jerk. “You’ve got to be kidding me! I thought it was bad enough that her closet was open and got sprayed.” She leaned against the wall while pulling out her cell. She took several breaths to prepare before she made the call.
While she dialed, she walked away from Kyle and Eli. Kyle climbed up on a ladder and continued his installation of a camera in the living room. Eli called up to him, “How long do you think it’ll take to put all the cameras in?”
