by Daya Daniels
“I want to apologize for today. I shouldn’t have taken you out hunting. When I killed that moose, I saw you freeze up and I—” Gabriel stopped in mid-thought. “I knew it wasn’t the best decision, you being there.”
“Gabriel, it’s fine really. I was fine.”
I wanted to sound convincing but I knew my voice sounded small. Gabriel stared at me without blinking for a few minutes and then took a swallow of his beer. He placed it down and shot up from the table, returning with a camera.
“This is the camera, Lily, that I want you to have,” Gabriel said, placing an old, black Nikon F2 in my hands.
“It’s nothing special, Lily, but Angus gave it to me when I was fifteen. I’ve had it ever since. It still works perfectly.”
“Thank you, Gabriel.”
“Where did you learn to do that? Earlier today I mean, cutting up that moose?”
Gabriel turned toward me. “Angus taught me,” he said slowly.
“Oh, it was interesting to watch.” I swatted Gabriel in the shoulder playfully. “Could you do the same with a body?” I joked.
He cocked his head to the side, giving me a relaxed look. “Maybe.”
I sat up in the bed. I’d been watching so much CSI: Miami since being in Helena, I was curious. “So, if you were going to get rid of my body, how would you do it then?” I asked playfully.
He shifted on his side, leaning his big body over me. Gabriel then slowly placed his open palm across my stomach pushing my tank top up slightly. His hand was warm against my skin and I felt my nipples begin to harden.
“It depends,” he said, tracing his fingers lightly down my arm.
“First, I’d wrap you in blue industrial plastic wrap to contain all the blood and fluids. Then I’d start with your fingertips.”
He touched each of my fingertips lightly, pressing on the ends of them with his fingers. “I’d skin each of them off with a potato peeler.” Warm fingers then trailed up to my face, caressing my lips and my chin softly. “Then, I’d take your teeth out one by one with a pair of long-nose pliers and a hammer,” he continued.
“Next, I’d take your hands and feet off with the bone saw, and separate them from your body.” Gabriel then moved his hand and opened it touching my thighs softly with his fingertips. He continued on. “After that, I’d take your arms and legs off with an axe. The bone saw would help at the joints—they can probably be tough. Then I would separate those from the rest of your body.”
He moved his hand up to my head grabbing a handful of my hair lightly and positioning it to fan out over my breasts.
“Then, I’d take your head from your neck using the bone saw.” Gabriel ran his hand along my collarbone and up behind my ear. “Lastly, I’d crush your skull with a sledgehammer, so it shatters in little tiny pieces and then grind the bones up to dust,” he whispered.
“Once all the body parts have been detached and buried or burned, I’d throw your torso to the wolves. Or to the bears. Doesn’t matter which.”
He gave me a shy look and then smiled. I giggled then rolled over onto my stomach admiring his bare chest. I wanted to touch him.
“You can touch me,” he said reading my thoughts.
“I was just curious, sorry.”
I raised my hand and ran it down the left side of his chest where a deep scar was. “How did you get this?” I asked him.
“From a sickle.”
“What is that?” Gabriel grasped my hand in his lightly and pressed it against his mouth.
“It’s a large tool with a sharp hook, used for cutting wheat.”
“An accident?”
“No,” he said slowly.
“And the scar on your face?”
“Jacob hit me in the face with a shovel.” He paused. “We were little boys.”
“Tell me more about Jacob.”
“There isn’t anything to tell. He’s my brother. He’s an asshole. That’s all you need to know.”
I laughed. “Gabriel, what was he like growing up?”
Gabriel sighed. “Jacob is two years older than me and he never lets me forget it.
“He’s a former fatty. Jacob was teased mercilessly for it when we were younger.
“As he got taller, he lost the weight. As he got older, he came out of his shell more. He made a lot of friends and was always well liked by everyone. He’s polite.”
“And now?” I asked him.
“Now, we argue every single day about one thing or the other.
“I can’t work with him, hence part of my decision to be done with the sawmill. I was the opposite growing up. I didn’t have a lot of friends. Before you go feeling sorry for me.” Gabriel smiled. “It didn’t bother me that I didn’t. I preferred it that way.”
“It must be nice to have a sibling,” I said. “I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up—moved around too much.”
He groaned. “I guess Jacob and I are close in our own unique way but most of the time he just annoys me.”
I smiled at his honesty.
“Where did your nickname come from? It suits you.”
I ran my hand along his forearm and he grabbed it softly in his palm, clutching me.
“It came from my mother, Akecheta, but it’s not a nickname,” he said in a low voice chuckling. “It’s my middle name.”
“Good morning, Liar.” Abigail stood outside on the porch with a cup of coffee in hand.
The moniker she tossed at me threw me off kilter.
“Is Gabriel here?” she asked looking around.
“No, he left early this morning. He always leaves early when he has to be at the sawmill,” I answered.
Abigail let herself in and plopped down into a seat at the kitchen table. I held the top of the pajama shirt I slipped on closed with my right hand while pouring some coffee in a cup with the other. I took a seat across the table from Abigail who eyed me curiously.
“So, Franca, our cleaning lady for this property, said she is now only charging Jacob and me for cleaning our house and a one-bedroom cottage on the property, not a two-bedroom.”
I was completely amiss as to where this conversation was going.
“Okayyy,” I said in response.
Abigail took a deep breath and continued to stare at me as though she was waiting for me to fill in the blanks of what she’d just told me.
“Franca said that it’s because one of the bedrooms in the cottage isn’t being used. Therefore, requires no cleaning.” She paused. “Lily, I thought you said you and Gabriel were just friends?”
“We are. We are just friends,” I stuttered out.
“Friends that sleep in the same bed?” Abigail’s green eyes flashed.
“Yes, friends. We do sleep together in the same bed but we are just friends, Abigail, honestly.”
I laughed to myself when I realized how ridiculous that sounded.
Abigail narrowed her eyes at me and a questioning look appeared on her bright face. “So, let me get this straight. You and Gabriel sleep together in the same bed every night but you’re just friends? Right?”
“Yes.”
Abigail went to the counter and grabbed the coffee pot, refilling her cup. “And that shirt. I mean, that’s a really big shirt, Lily, much too big for you. Would that happen to be Gabriel’s shirt?”
“Yes, it’s Gabriel’s shirt.”
“So you live together, you sleep in the same bed, and you wear his clothes, Lily?”
“Yes.”
“But you’re just friends?”
“Yesss,” I hissed out at her.
Abigail broke into hysterical laughter. “Lily, I’m sorry but you and Gabriel are in some serious denial,” she said heading out of the door.
I breathed a deep sigh as I leaned against the door, dismissing my frustration with her questions. I picked up the camera on the counter that Gabriel gave me. I planned to take pictures around the ranch for the day to keep myself busy.
Meridian, Idaho
“Boss,”
one of Dawson’s employees called out. “I think we might have a problem.”
Dawson sat up from the black leather chair in his office attentively. “What is it?”
“We still can’t find Nina. She has been seen in the area a few times but by some very unreliable sources, so we can’t say for certain it was her.”
“Okay,” Dawson drawled out. “This is the same information you gave me last time—nothing new. Give me something new.”
The man stood confidently but nervousness still seeped through his pores. “But there’s something else,” he said, bringing his hands together in front of him.
“Apparently, a girl the same height and build, same color eyes and same hair as Nina’s friend Lily has been spotted in Helena, Montana with a man.”
“Uh-huh,” Dawson grunted waving his hand to encourage the man to continue speaking. “Lily is dead, so let’s not worry about the shadows people think they see.”
“We aren’t sure it’s her, boss, but we are told it definitely looks like her.” The man swallowed hard.
“Boss, there is another problem.”
Dawson held the man’s gaze, waiting for him to speak.
“The man she’s been seen with is Bear. Gabriel Bear Preston.”
Dawson visibly stiffened.
“The city of Helena is the official capital of the state of Montana.
“It has a population of around eighty thousand people,” Abigail went on as she drove me through town, pointing out the various landmarks.
I brought my camera along and took as many pictures as I could. We passed by the state capitol building, St. Helena’s Cathedral, and the Helena Civic Center. Abigail also gave me a short blurb of their history. The fun fact was that the building had almost been destroyed long before them in 1935, by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake.
“I hope you like Madison.” Abigail gave me a weak smile when she pulled on the parking brake in the lot outside.
Abigail had invited me out for the day with her friend Madison. Madison had grown up in Helena and spent time with Jacob and Gabriel during the summers. Madison had also gone to college with Abigail in Billings.
We met outside at Salon Pink, one of the local beauty salons. My wavy black hair was halfway down my back. I desperately needed a trim.
“Hello, Lily. I’m Madison,” Madison said introducing herself.
Madison was older than me by the looks of it, with curly blond hair and brown eyes. She had the mouth of a smoker, with fine creases that edged her lips which were stained bright red with lipstick. I reached my arm out to shake her hand and she boldly eyed me up and down with a smile before accepting it.
“Aren’t you a pretty little thing,” she said with a thick Midwestern accent.
Abigail stood to the side and began running her fingers through my hair.
“Lily, this needs to be trimmed,” she said.
I grabbed my long ponytail and nodded slowly. “Yes, I know.” I laughed.
We entered the salon and sat side by side in three high pink leather stools. My guess is that the name for the salon was for all the hot pink inside the place. The floors were hot pink as well as the walls. It was blinding. The décor was right out of the 1980s.
I decided on a trim for my hair and had my fingernails and toes painted a soft ivory.
“Lily, I have some really wonderful news,” Abigail said taking the elastic out of her hair and letting it fall loose around her shoulders. “Winnie is with foal.”
“That’s great. Have you told Gabriel yet?” I asked.
“No,” Abigail said. “I figured you would want to tell him,” she continued. “And guess what else, Lily.”
I looked at her searching her face.
“I’m pregnant,” Abigail said with the brightest smile.
I lightly touched her hand. “Congratulations, Abigail. That’s wonderful news. I’m really happy for you and Jacob.” Madison jumped up and gave Abigail a hug congratulating her.
The stylists got to work on each of us. I grabbed a small Home & Gardens recipe book from one of the shelves and started to skim through it.
“So how long have you and Gabriel been dating?” Madison asked while the hairstylist started to maneuver a highlighting cap over her hair.
“They’re just friends, Madison,” Abigail interjected quickly before I could respond.
“Oh, sorry, I guess I misunderstood then,” Madison said, brushing some of the lint off her denim jeans and looked directly at me in the wide mirror in front of us. “I mean, Gabriel is a very handsome guy,” she said while she stared at me.
“In the years that I’ve known him, I could never get close to him. He can be so quiet sometimes and kind of scary. I don’t know. Plus, he lives up in the fucking mountains now!” She laughed.
“I wonder how much action a man could possibly get living up there. Gabriel probably hasn’t gotten laid in years!” Madison joked.
Madison’s insults were starting to get under my skin. I didn’t want to hear Gabriel being talked badly about or being made fun of.
“My sister, Cynthia, and Gabriel used to date like fifteen years ago. I know she’s still smitten with him.” Madison smiled mischievously. “Cynthia would be thrilled to know he’s in Helena for a while. Gabriel might be interested in seeing her, especially if he hasn’t been getting any all these years living up in the fucking wilderness.” Madison paused in thought. “Cynthia said he has a huge cock.”
I squirmed in my seat as Madison glared at me in the mirror ahead. Abigail gasped loudly and snorted a laugh in reaction to what Madison had just said.
“I never understood why Gabriel and Cynthia didn’t work out,” she continued on.
“Maybe your sister, Cynthia, just isn’t his type,” I said flatly.
Abigail smirked and looked up from the magazine she was reading. Madison pasted a smile on her face.
“Gabriel was a strange guy from what I could remember. He didn’t talk much at all. When we were teenagers, he once beat up this kid that was picking on Jacob.
“Gabriel broke both of his arms and pissed on him after he knocked him out. They could never prove he did it and the kid was too scared to talk but we all knew Gabriel did it.” Madison tilted her head towards Abigail.
“Madison, that’s just a story. No one knows who actually did it. That kid probably made the whole thing up for all we know,” Abigail said.
“Well, they say Gabriel never had an issue with violence.” Madison continued. “So, Lily, how did you and Gabriel become friends then?”
“We met while he was out hunting.” It was the truth.
“Oh, that’s interesting,” Madison said nodding a few times.
The nail technician moved a small table with rickety wheels to the left side of me and began to paint my nails while the hair stylist began to dry trim my long hair.
“You know a lot about Gabriel then, I’m guessing?” Madison asked.
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“I guess good friends always do, right?” Madison laughed.
“I guess,” I said in response.
“So, has Gabriel told you about his time in the penitentiary, Lily? I don’t think they ever found the other two bodies, did they, Abigail?” she spat out, giving Abigail a glare.
I felt my pulse speed up. I didn’t have a clue about what she was talking about.
“That’s enough, Madison!” Abigail shouted, slamming down her magazine. “We are here to have a nice relaxing day and I’ll not let you ruin it.”
If this was Abigail’s friend, she needed to reconsider how she picked them. I’d only just met this Madison woman and she was already throwing barbs at me, attempting to cause trouble.
Welcome to Helena.
I puttered around the cottage most of the morning bored. I couldn’t push the remark Madison had made about Gabriel and the penitentiary out of my head.
Franca had shown up to vacuum, clean the bathrooms, and change the linens. Franca was a godsend. Franca also
delivered the groceries, stocked the fridge and pantry, and washed the dogs if we needed her to.
I decided to take a walk over to the stables to get out of her way and to check on Winnie. I pushed open the big wooden door to the paddock. It always smelled of hay and the faint scent of horse manure. I walked to the end where Winnie and Jack were kept. Winnie slowly walked over to me hanging her head over the gate of the stall.
I snapped some pictures of Winnie before I fed her some apples I grabbed from the kitchen table before I left. I talked to her for a while. Winnie would be pregnant for at least eleven months, so there was a long time to go.
“Hello, Lily,” Miles said, walking over towards me.
He took the brush from my hand and began brushing Winnie gently. Miles towered over me by a good five inches.
“Did I do something to offend you the last time you were here?” Miles asked without looking at me. “You rushed out of here like I bit you.”
I smiled and blew a breath out, taken aback by the direct question. “No, I was just tired and ready to go,” I lied.
Outside of seeing Miles at the paddock, I seemed to be bumping into him everywhere lately.
“You and Gabriel are just friends, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Yes, just friends.”
“I really like you. I think you’re a sweet person and an attractive woman. I’d like to spend some time with you.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed me around a lot since we first met. I’ve been trying to get the courage to ask you something.”
“What is it?” I inhaled.
“I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner with me?” he asked flashing his bright blue eyes at me.
“Thank you, really, but no,” I said with a smile, trying to ease the rejection as much as I could.
“Well, why not, Lily? I’m attractive. You’re attractive. I’m single and so are you. You don’t like me?”
Miles was attractive. I hadn’t had much experience with men and relationships and I definitely wasn’t prepared to date anyone, especially him. His gazes towards me were always sexual in nature. I questioned what he honestly wanted from me but I was sure me rolling around naked with him was a large part of the plan.
