The Midnight Club

by Love, Michelle

  She was almost at the end when he caught her

  They’d settled in the little bar on 2nd Avenue. The bar was full, but they’d managed to get a couch in the window. It had started to rain hard outside, a typical Seattle autumn. Inside, the bar buzzed with a low hum, people chatting, laughing. Sarah had directed Isaac rather bossily to the couch then went to the bar to get them some drinks.

  Thanking the barman, Sarah sashayed back to a grinning Isaac.

  “What you got behind your back there, sexy?”

  She winked at him and handed him the bottle. Tiffin. He started to snigger.

  “I don’t believe you. “

  “My friend Josh over there is gonna make you that cocktail.” She swung away and took the bottle back to the bar.

  Finn shook his head, laughing. He couldn’t believe she’d remember his joke from the day they had met. When she returned, he grinned at her.

  “How would you remember what was it in?”

  Sarah flopped into the couch next to him. “I looked it up.”

  Isaac bugged at her. “You looked it up? Why?”

  She flushed and grinned. “Because…”

  “Ah. Some of that mushy stuff.”

  “Yep.”

  He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. “Anyone tell you you’re totally adorable?”

  Josh, a tall, gangly man with long blonde hair and a goatee, grinned at them as he brought over two glasses and set them down in front of Sarah and Isaac.

  “Good luck with that,” he shook his head, amused. “There’s a lot of alcohol there.”

  Sarah and Isaac picked up their glasses and cast doubtful glances at each other.

  “I don’t know, it looks…”

  “Gross?”

  “Yeah. After three. One, two, three.”

  They both took a swig – and both made the same face.

  “Jeez,” Isaac swallowed and stuck his tongue out. “That’s fucking disgusting.”

  Sarah nodded. “Yeah, where did you get this recipe?”

  “Google.”

  “Do me a favor? Next time just stick to porn.”

  Josh brought them some beers, snickering at the half-full cocktail glasses as he bore them away. Sarah snuggled into Isaac’s arms as they sat on the couch, watching the rain. She felt a peace she hadn’t felt since George’s death…not, scratch that, since Dan had gone. It was him, Isaac, his presence in her life was steadying, comforting, and more than that, she trusted him. She stroked her hand over the hard plain of his chest and he turned to smile down at her.

  “I want to know more about you,” she told him. “I feel like all the drama that’s been going on has over-shadowed my getting to know you.”

  He tugged a strand of her hair gently, smiling. “What would you like to know?”

  “Anything. How did you start your business? What did you want to be when you were a kid? Your dating history.” She grinned at this last as his eyebrows shot up.

  “Oh it’s that stage of our relationship, is it – the “Sex Files”?”

  “Like Mulder and Scully but dirtier. Come on, gimme deets, gimme, gimme.”

  Isaac tweaked her nose fondly. “Okay but quid pro quo. Who was your first boyfriend?”

  She pretended to think. “Jiminy Billy-Bob.”

  “No.”

  “No.”

  “Wise-ass. Okay, to sweeten the deal, my first girlfriend was Becky Mayberg. We went to junior prom together then she left me for a mathlete.”

  “Burn.”

  “Yup. Your turn.”

  Sarah grinned. “My first boyfriend was Simon Le Bon. No, really. Not the famous one of course. This one was seven. We went out for a whole afternoon.”

  “True love.”

  “The truest. After that – and feel free to mock – my next boyfriend was Dan.”

  Isaac stared at her. “No way. Have you seen you?”

  Sarah shrugged good-naturedly. “Dating just didn’t interest me. I mean I went out on dates before Dan but nothing ever came of them.”

  “Why was Dan different?”

  Sarah was quiet for a while. “You know what? I don’t think I know, it just was.”

  He didn’t press the subject. “I was engaged for a while.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Really? What happened?”

  Isaac smiled. “She married my brother.” Sarah, who had been sipping her beer, had to cover her mouth as she choked on her drink.

  “What? You were engaged to Maika?”

  Isaac laughed at her and she scowled at him. “Oh, you’re just teasing me again.”

  Isaac shook his head, still grinning. “No, really. I dated Maika in college, got engaged but then we went home for the holidays, to my parents and Saul was there. It was obvious to everyone they were meant for each other.”

  Sarah was gaping at him. “And you just…”

  Isaac shrugged. “Can you imagine being married to someone who is in love with someone else? Who were so destined for each other? I loved Maika, yes, but until I met you, I didn’t realize what in love meant. Totally different.”

  Sarah sighed. “Damn.”

  “What?”

  “You are perfect. So annoying.”

  Isaac laughed out loud at that. “Believe me, I’m not. But I think I’m perfect for you, I want to be perfect for you.”

  Sarah pressed her lips to his, hard, fierce, her eyes filled with tears. “I love you.”

  He caught her head in his hands and held it, kissing her deeply, totally oblivious to the amused stares of the other people in the bar.

  Her feet slid out from beneath her and they tumbled to the cold ground. Molly flipped herself around and used her fists, her feet, to pummel her attacker’s body as he tried to grab her wrists. She saw the glint of metal in his hand and her stomach constricted. She caught him squarely in the mouth, felt his teeth grate along her skin of her knuckles and he jerked his head back. She slammed the blade of her hand into his nose and he tumbled away from her. She scrambled to her feet and skidded back along the alley, hearing his roar. As she got to the door of the Varsity, she felt a sharp sting across her back and she cried out in pain. She threw herself into the door as he grabbed at her, pulling at her sweater. She put all her weight against the door as he tried to break it down, throwing his immense bulk against it. Molly gasped with the effort but inside knew it was hopeless. He was far too strong. She yelped in terror as the knife was slammed through the wood of the door, narrowly missing her head.

  Then the shots rang out. Shouting. The pressure against the door ceased. Molly stepped back, not lowering her guard, waiting for the attack to recommence.

  Then a pounding and to her relief a voice she recognized. Steve, one of the island’s police deputies, a friend of Finn.

  “Molly? Hey, Molly, it’s Steve, are you okay?”

  She pulled open the door and the mere sight of his gentle face made her break down. She fell into his arms.

  “He was going to kill me…” her words were barely audible amidst her sobs. Steve patted her back and then exclaimed as his hand met a warm dampness.

  “You’re bleeding! Looks, let’s get inside, in the warm. He’s gone now, I promise.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Finn wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. He sat up from his prone position on the couch and looked at Caroline. He hadn’t even heard her return from wherever she had gone. After leaving work, he’d come straight home, relieved to be alone.

  She was standing in the doorway, the light behind her casting her in shadow. He stared at her blankly. She moved into the room, sat in the armchair across from him, her face serious. She leaned forward, searching his face.

  “I mean it, I’m sorry. You’ve been having a hard time lately and my… dislike… of Sarah doesn’t help. I’m sorry I ruined our evening with your sister and Mike.”

  Finn was taken aback. Caroline, her face free of make-up, her red hair pulled back in a ponytail, seemed genuine in her contritio
n but Finn knew her too well. His eyes narrowed.

  “Thank you,” he said cautiously. She saw his reticence and smiled sheepishly.

  “I get it, Finn. Things between us haven’t been good for a while.” Even she had to laugh at her understatement. Finn smiled thinly.

  “Caroline, I just…I don’t know. How are we going to make this work? We can barely stand to be in the same room.”

  Caroline got up and sat next to him. “We weren’t always like this. Not always. In the beginning, we had so much fun, we enjoyed being around each other.”

  “You mean we enjoyed screwing each other.”

  She winced and he was immediately sorry for his words. Caroline shook herself, took a deep breath in.

  “That was part of it, yes. But we also had plans, Finn, we planned our family, our future. It was only when she…when Sarah came back to the island with Danny that we started to grow apart.” She put a hand on his arm. “I understand she was your best friend and I know you’ve said over and over that you and she are just friends. Family. But she’s so beautiful and, I hate to admit this, a good, kind person. And I think you think I went with you to spite her.”

  She stroked her hand down his face. “I didn’t,” she said softly, “that wasn’t the reason. I wanted you.”

  Finn didn’t move as she kissed him lightly, closing his eyes as her lips moved against his. He tried to do what he always did when he was intimate with his wife – conjure up the pretense it was Sarah he was kissing – but this time was different. The images would not come. He opened his eyes. Caroline smiled at him.

  “Please Finn. Let’s try and get back to what we had. Please, for us, for our child,” she breathed as she kissed him again and this time he kissed her back. She took his hand and pulled him to his feet, leading him to their bedroom. Finn realized how long it had been since he’d sleep in here.

  Caroline dropped her robe, slid her hands under his t-shirt. He opened his mouth to speak but she shook her head.

  “No. Don’t. Not tonight. Tonight is just you and me, Finn, just you and me.”

  Someone began banging on the front door just as Finn started to relax.

  “Leave it,” Caroline snapped as he pulled his t-shirt back down but he moved away.

  “Can’t.”

  Finn pulled open the door to see his brother-in-law, pale-faced and shaking. Finn’s stomach dropped. God, no.

  “Please come,” said Mike, his voice breaking, “Please come. God, Finn, it’s Molly…it’s Molly.” And he began to sob.

  Finn burst into the police station to see Molly, shaken, pale, and shivering although she was wrapped in a blanket. Steve was handing her a steaming hot mug of tea. Mike went to her side, wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Molly smiled weakly at her brother, who felt his heart pounding out of his chest. Steve explained he’d heard her scream in the quiet night and had come running from the police station. He’d come around the corner and seen the hooded attacker trying to batter down the door. Steve had shouted, fired warning shots but the guy disappeared into the blackness of the forest behind the Varsity. Steve had hesitated but decided to stay with Molly. He couldn’t risk getting lost in the forest and possibly letting her attacker double back and kill her.

  Finn raked a hand through his hair, staring at his sister. “Jeez…did you recognize him, Mols?”

  Molly shook her head. “I don’t think so…except…”

  “What?”

  “His build, the way he sounded…” She stared at her brother and he suddenly realized who she was thinking of.

  “Dan Bailey.” His voice was flat, dead. Mike and Steve looked shocked.

  “What the hell? What are you talking about?”

  Molly pulled the blanket tighter around her. “A few weeks ago…I thought I saw Dan Bailey in the street. It was less than a second but I could have sworn it was him. Then tonight…” she sighed, slumping down in her chair. “I don’t know, maybe I’m reading too much into this. It could have just been someone breaking into the Varsity.”

  She rubbed a hand across her eyes. “I’d really like to go home.” She stood and Mike too her hand. He looked at Finn.

  “We’ll talk about this in the morning.” His eyes were fierce, angry and Finn nodded.

  “Of course, look, sis…” He went to her, hugged her tightly. “You’re right, it probably was just an intruder. Leave me the keys and I’ll get the crime scenes people out. You can come make a statement tomorrow when you’ve had some rest.”

  After Mike and Molly had left, Finn sat down at his desk, Steve leaning against it.

  “You okay, boss?” At thirty-two, Steve Hannigan had been Finn’s deputy for just over two years, had transferred to the island from the city. He and Finn had gotten along from the first day, enjoyed working together. Steve had never been a man to socialize particularly, and so their friendship was confined to work. Lately, though, he’d watched as his boss had become increasingly depressed. He seemed like a broken man, Steve thought. On an island like this, everyone knew everyone else’s business…with George’s murder and now this, their usually quiet island had become a hub for gossip, for nosey journalists and the island’s police – really just Finn and his two deputies – had become stretched to the limit. And then there was Finn’s wife, Caroline. He’d always disliked the spiteful redhead. He’d not warmed to her the first time Finn had introduced them, her spoiled princess petulance, her inept flirting with him, seemingly designed to humiliate Finn.

  Finn nodded. “Look. Go home. I’ll tape off the Varsity until the morning.”

  Steve hesitated. “You think it could be Dan Bailey?”

  Finn shook his head. “I doubt it. I”m beat, I’m going home.”

  After Steve had left, Finn pulled out his phone, quickly shooting off a text. He laid the phone down on the table and waited.

  Call me. Don’t tell Sarah. Finn.

  Isaac squinted at his phone, bemused. He looked up to see Sarah weaving her way back to him from the bathroom. She looked decidedly drunk and as she reached him, she stumbled and almost fell onto him.

  “Oops,” she grinned up at him. He laughed and kissed her.

  “I think I had better get you home, come on.”

  Outside, it was still pouring rain, great big drops hitting the asphalt. Isaac parked Sarah under an awning and tugged the collar of his coat up. “Stay there,” he ordered with a grin, “I’ll go get us a cab.”

  Sarah leaned back against the wall, letting the pleasant feeling of being drunk wash over her. It felt good to let go, kick back….with my boo, she grinned to herself. She saw Isaac, soaked to the skin, trying to hail a cab, his phone pressed to his ear. A wave of dizziness hit her and she closed her eyes for a long moment. She felt people passing by her then, as in slow motion, she felt someone move too close, too near and a finger being trailed lightly across her stomach. A familiar smell of pine soap. She opened her eyes to see a man, the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head. His face was in shadow, half turned away but her heart dropped into her feet.

  Dan

  It was the briefest glance and the man turned away, was gone, and was at the end of the block before she could form the word, say his name out loud. Then Isaac was grabbing her hand, pulling her into the warmth of a cab. Sarah blinked twice. Did that just happen? She twisted around in the cab as it began to pull away from the curb. She could see the guy standing at the end of the block, staring at the cab. From this distance, she couldn’t see his face, just felt the intensity as he stared at the car. Isaac touched her face, his eyes concerned.

  “Hey…you okay?”

  She turned back to him, her mind a whirlwind of emotions, of confusion…of fear. She didn’t want it to be Dan. She truly didn’t. You’re just drunk, woman, seeing ghosts. She smiled at Isaac, a falsely bright smile that she knew he would see through.

  “Fine. Just a bit woozy.”

  Isaac leaned his forehead against hers. His hair was wet from the rain and the cool wa
ter felt good against her skin. “We can get some food when we get home, sober you up. Then something to make your blood pump harder, get the alcohol burned off….wonder what we could do?”

  Sarah smiled at him. “I wonder.” But she felt cold inside. The shock of seeing that face, the walk, even, she thought now, the smell of the pine soap, of his skin.

  No. She pushed the idea away and burrowed into the warmth of Isaac’s arms. This was what was real, not some drunken projection. She didn’t have to look far to guess the reason for it; ever since she had been with Isaac, she had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for something to spoil her happiness. She hated feeling like this. Forget it, just enjoy this wonderful man in your arms. Pushing every other thought away, she tightened her grip on Isaac and thought of nothing else the whole ride home.

  Later, when Sarah had fallen asleep, Isaac slipped quietly from the bed and went to the living room, grabbing his cell phone from his jacket, discarded earlier with the rest of his clothes as they had stumbled, laughing and kissing, to the bedroom. He checked the time: just after midnight. He sent a text.

  You still up?

  His cell phone buzzed and he pressed the accept button. “Hey, Finn, what’s up?”

  “Hey, man…look I’m sorry to disturb you but I figured you’d want to know this. Molly was attacked tonight, in the Varsity.”

  Isaac was shocked. “Oh shit, no – is she okay?”

  Finn sighed. “Yeah, yeah, she says she’s fine but I figured you should know.”