Killer Unleashed

by Beth Prentice

  Lucy's service was held at a gravesite towards the back of the cemetery, and by the time we walked up, a large group of people was already there. I recognized a few people, all from the animal shelter, but had yet to spot Betty. As I looked at the faces, I did wonder if Lucy's murderer was amongst them. I mean, I'd never actually met a murderer, but from all the crime television I'd watched, I knew the killer often liked to stand in the crowd and observe.

  Brody, Isaac, and I stood at the back of the crowd as this gave us a better view. I noticed the pink coffin placed over the open grave, bright, cheerful flowers on top, and wondered which member of the crowd was close enough to Lucy to have done this for her. I noticed the girl from the animal refuge sitting in the first row and was about to comment about it to Brody, when the minister started the service.

  It was all very solemn and respectful, and I was proud of the fact I managed to keep my composure…until the coffin was lowered into the ground. I felt the tears sting and my throat close as the finality of it hit me..

  I bit my lip in an attempt to distract myself, but it was no good. The tears ran silently down my cheeks. Brody fidgeted next to me. I snuck a glance to my right and found him looking at me. Isaac passed me a tissue. So much for being discreet. Snatching it out of his hand I gave in to my sorrow, and by the time the coffin finished its descent, I was sobbing.

  A few onlookers turned my way and gave me sympathetic looks, obviously thinking I was a close friend or something. Brody leaned closer and put his arm around my shoulders. The heat from his body seeped into me as he pulled me under his arm and held on tight, kindness oozing out of him. I felt him smile and knew that when I stepped out of the safety of his hug, I would have to face the humiliation of both him and Isaac laughing at me.

  Then I may as well stay there as long as possible and enjoy it.

  * * *

  After the service people stood around, all with empty smiles, chatting, and hugging one another. A bowl of rose petals sat next to the grave, and the minister had announced we should feel free to throw them onto the coffin. Most people had already moved to the grave, bowed their heads, and said their final farewells, throwing the petals as they did so. Brody stood scanning the crowd, looking for a familiar face or anything that looked suspicious, so I took the opportunity to move to the grave and have a chat to Lucy. For some reason, I still felt I should pay my respects.

  A while ago, Isaac and I had had a few too many drinks, and somehow the conversation came around to our deaths. Isaac had informed me that when the time came, he wished to be cremated. I had burst into tears at that point, the thought of losing Isaac too much for my alcohol-soaked brain.

  He'd pointed out that it was a very important fact we needed to know about each other, so I'd wiped my tears and told him I would like to be buried. Something about returning to the earth felt right to me. But standing there, looking down into Lucy's grave, I questioned my choice.

  The smell of the dirt rose up to me as I stood and thought how once we had all left today, dirt would be thrown into the hole, and Lucy and all those beautiful flowers would be gone forever. A shiver ran up my spine as someone stepped up behind me. I didn't turn to look. I quietly bowed my head and said goodbye.

  As I was about to step away, I felt a hand on my back, and someone pushed me. My body fell forward, my arms acted as propellers trying to stop myself, but it was no good. I crashed right on top of the coffin, my face full of those flowers.

  * * *

  Shock was the first emotion to rear its ugly head, but it disappeared very quickly when I looked up and saw the bugs crawling out of the soil around me. I could hear someone screaming "Oh!" That was me. Well, you could hardly blame me, right?

  I attempted to scramble to my feet, but the surface of the coffin was very slippery against my sandals, and the more I struggled, the more the soil fell around me. I knew a lot of people were still at the graveside, so surely someone would rescue me? I wasn't really thinking clearly, my main thought only involved putting distance between myself and the coffin. This was way closer than I ever wanted to be to a dead body, and knowing Lucy was only inches away from me creeped me out so much panic took over. I heard a voice calling my name as a bug fell and landed on my arm.

  "Argh!" I screamed, scrambling to get up. My foot kicked out into the dirt as I swatted the bug away and somehow managed to get myself into a sitting position, my hands now covered in mud.

  "Chloe!" I looked up to see Brody reaching down to me. "Take my hand," he instructed, his voice very calm and commanding.

  I wiped my tears and tried to get my thoughts together enough so I could do as he asked. I placed a hand on either side of the grave and got unsteadily to my feet, my shoes slipping. Grabbing my hand, Brody pulled me to the surface, my shoes scratching at the walls as he did so. It amazed me how strong he was. I was very grateful for all the exercise I had done lately and the three pounds I had lost. Still, I was a bit embarrassed when Brody sat back on his ass and rubbed his arm. Maybe I should lose another three.

  Isaac ran over to me and pulled me to my feet.

  "What the hell do you think you were doing?" he yelled.

  "What?" I asked, confused and shaken.

  "Did you think you needed a close up view?" Isaac's voice was so high he sounded like Mickey Mouse's brother.

  I looked at him dumbfounded. "I didn't jump in, Isaac! I was pushed!" I yelled back, getting up into his face.

  Brody got to his feet and stepped over to us, grabbing my elbow and pulling me away from Isaac.

  "You've got a bug on your arm," huffed Isaac, crossing his arms over his chest.

  I looked down and squealed, swatting it away. I felt the shaking take over my body, as Brody turned me to face him. As he stood picking leaves and flowers out of my hair, I saw a look of relief in his eyes. I crossed my arms and hugged myself, noticing the crowd that had gathered around us and how dirty I was. I could only imagine what I looked like.

  Hobbling back to the car with a broken heel on one shoe, we passed a group of teenage girls standing around, phones in hand, giggling. Great. I'd probably be a YouTube hit in about an hour.

  "What happened?" asked Brody, walking slowly beside me.

  "I was pushed."

  "Did you see who pushed you?" asked Isaac.

  "Oh sure, while falling approximately six feet, I managed to complete a full, three-sixty degree spin, saw who pushed me, and then landed face first in the flowers," I snapped.

  "I only asked," huffed Isaac.

  "Did either of you see who pushed me?" I asked them both. They both shook their heads.

  I sighed, knowing I had decades of nightmares ahead of me.

  * * *

  Later that night, sitting curled up on the couch, pajamas on, and Theo on my lap, I thought over the day's events. They say everything happens for a reason. There's always a positive side. I was yet to determine what the positive side to being pushed into someone's grave was, but I guess I just needed to look a bit harder. Surely I'd figure it out eventually. However, I would endeavor to do my very best to forget about it until then because every time I thought about being in that cold, damp hole in the ground, my chest tightened, my throat closed, and the darkness rolled in.

  Not one to dwell on unpleasantries, I put it out of my mind, never to be revisited again, and if I did ever find my mind wandering down that path, I would just think of happy things. Like Theo's kisses. Or better yet, Brody's kisses. Yep, that would take my mind off anything.

  As I tortured myself with that particular thought, I heard the knock on my front door. Pulling the blinds back, I saw it was Isaac.

  "Can I come in?" he called through the closed door. I got up and opened it.

  "Of course you can come in." I smiled, noticing he had changed into his jeans and a T-shirt. I know he snapped at me today in my hour of need, but he was my friend, and I loved him.

  "What's up?" I asked, stepping back so he could walk in the front door. He was carrying his
iPad.

  "I've got something to show you." He smiled as he walked to the couch and moved Theo aside so he could sit down. I sighed.

  "You're not going to show me one of those videos of people doing stupid things are you? You know how much I hate them," I sulked as I closed the door then moved to sit next to him.

  "Yes, as a matter-of-fact I am, but this one is very interesting," he said, swiping at the screen. Finding what he was looking for, he passed the pad to me. As he did so, I noticed the black scroll writing on his wrist. An exact match to mine.

  "Isaac, what is that?" I asked, pointing towards his wrist. I absently took the iPad from him.

  "My tattoo," he replied, his brow furrowing. "You have one too, sweetie."

  "Yes, I know I do, but I didn't know you had one!"

  "We got them together the night we went out. Don't you remember?" He actually looked hurt.

  "No, I don't," I replied, confused. "Why did we both have these initials tattooed on our wrists?" I asked, rubbing mine as I did so.

  I was interested to find out the answer to this one. I knew I was developing real feelings for Brody, but I thought having his initials tattooed on my wrist forever was a bit presumptuous. And why did Isaac have one?

  "Because we're best friends. To be honest, I'm a little hurt you don't remember."

  Best friends. BF. Oh thank you, God! I sunk back into the soft cushions, closed my eyes, and allowed the giggling to start.

  "What's so funny?" huffed Isaac. "You thought it was a great idea at the time."

  "Oh, I'm not laughing at that. I'm just relieved," I said, sitting back up. "Best friends!" I smiled, once again rubbing my wrist. "Of course that's what it is."

  "What else would it be?"

  "Oh, never mind. Now what did you want to show me?" I asked, holding the iPad and swiping at the screen.

  Before he had the chance to respond though, someone else knocked on my door. I peeked through the blinds again and saw this time it was Brody. My night just kept getting better.

  "Hello." I opened the door wide and welcomed him inside.

  "I thought I'd see how you are after your fall today," he said, stepping inside. "Oh hi, Isaac."

  "Hi, Brody." Isaac smiled.

  "I'm great," I replied, answering Brody's query to my state of mind. "Not sure how I'll be around midnight though."

  "Brody Foster!" yelled Isaac. We both turned to look at him.

  "Yes?" queried Brody, but Isaac was staring at me, a smile playing on his lips. Heat started at my ears and didn't stop spreading until my whole face glowed. I tugged at the neckline of my T-shirt. Boy, it was hot in here.

  Isaac said no more, and after a very bewildered Brody took a seat, he swiped at his iPad once again and patted the cushion next to him. I mouthed a silent thank you and moved to take the seat, which squashed me between Brody and Isaac.

  My good mood didn't last long though, once I started to watch the scene unfolding on the iPad. I was right about the teenage girls. They had been videoing the funeral. This particular video was a short clip of me falling into Lucy's grave, and I was right about being pushed. The girls had been standing to the right of me at the time, and even though they had a very good shot of my propeller arm action and my horrified face, the person standing behind me was a lot more obscure. She wore a very large hat and sunglasses, but the purple pants once again told me who it was. Betty.

  "Look, you're famous," said Isaac. "You've already had a hundred thousand hits, and it's only been up for a few hours."

  I glared at him. "What the hell did I ever do to Betty to make her push me into a grave?" I asked, my voice getting higher by the syllable.

  "How do you know it's Betty?" asked Brody, leaning across me to take the iPad and get a closer look at the image paused on the screen.

  "The purple pants," replied Isaac. "Someone needs to tell her they went out of fashion in 1970."

  I didn't care what decade her fashion was from. As Brody reached across me, his arm touched my breast and sucked all the breath out of me. I heard voices around me, but my whole world had suddenly become focused on the hormones racing around my body, causing inappropriate tingling and turning my brain to jelly. As my breathing started back up in short, sharp breaths, I turned to look at Brody and found he was unaware of what he'd done. He was studying the screen and completely ignorant of my condition. Thank God!

  "Chloe!" yelled Isaac.

  I jumped. "What?" I asked, confused.

  "Your phone's ringing."

  It was? "Oh…sorry," I squeaked, my ears getting hotter.

  Getting up and looking at the display, I saw it was my brother Sam. Pushing the answer button, I smiled, feeling slightly cooler with some distance between Brody and myself.

  "Hi, Sam."

  "First off, I want to know if you're okay." I gave a contented sigh. That was why Sam was my favorite brother.

  "Yes. I'm fine, thanks."

  "Good. Then I just wanted to ask if I can get your autograph?" he laughed. "I have to ask now because if I wait until the morning your head will be so big from all this fame, you won't want to know your poor, old brother."

  I could hear his laughter over the phone. I didn't bother to respond. I just hit the off button. Humph. Tossing my phone onto the couch next to Isaac, I headed toward the kitchen. A drink was exactly what I needed. Funny, before Brody had entered my life I'd never drunk this much.

  I didn't get very far before my phone rang again. I ignored it and continued on my mission. Sam could get his laughs from someone else. Flipping the light switch on, I moved toward the cupboard and grabbed the biggest glass I could find. Brody walked in behind me.

  "Are you okay?" he asked, closing the gap between us.

  "No! I'm not," I sniffed, as tears stung my eyes.

  "Can I do anything to help?"

  Crossing the kitchen, he moved behind me and stood so close I could feel the heat coming off his body, but he never touched me. All I had to do was lean back slightly and I would be in his arms.

  "Just say the word, Chloe, and I'll do whatever you need," he whispered.

  I had to put my glass down and grab hold of the counter as his warm breath touched my neck. "Just ask."

  It almost sounded like he was pleading. Stubbornness told me I had to fight my feelings, but instead I turned around to face him. My heart missed a beat as I saw the need in his eyes. I gulped.

  I opened my mouth to speak, not really knowing what I was going to say to him, when Isaac came running into the room, my phone in his hand.

  "Chloe, your phone's ringing. It's Betty!"

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  I shook my head to clear any lingering emotions. Brody dropped his head to his chest as I pushed past him, and I'm sure even Isaac heard his sigh. My hand shook as I reached out and took the phone, refusing to look Isaac in the eye. Instead, I looked at the display, and sure enough, there in big letters was the word Betty accompanied by a photo of her holding Theo. I'd taken the photo about six months ago, back when I thought she was a lovely, old lady. I touched the answer button and put the phone on loudspeaker.

  "Hello," I said. Both Isaac and Brody moved closer to hear what she had to say.

  "I thought I could trust you, Chloe," she said, getting straight to the point. Well, I guess we were skipping the niceties.

  "What do you want, Betty?" I asked. "And what have I ever done to you?"

  Remembering the whole grave incident, I wanted to say a whole lot more, but I guess my mother brought me up correctly, as I was having a hard time being rude to her.

  "I asked you to do one simple thing for me, and you couldn't do it! You're useless. I tell you, your generation is hopeless. In my day, if you asked someone to do something, they did it!"

  Why did I feel like I was being told off by my grandmother? "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Wait. What are you talking about? What did you ask me to do?"

  "Oh my goodness, Chloe. You can't even remember? I'm the old one. I'm the one wh
o is supposed to be going senile, not you!" Betty's voice got louder as her agitation increased. "I guess I can't really blame you though. They always say if you want something done right, do it yourself."

  Tension dragged at my shoulders. "Why did you push me into Lucy's grave, and why did you try to run me over?"

  "To teach you a lesson. You really shouldn't put your nose into other people's business, you know." I heard her click her tongue in disgust.

  "What lesson are you talking about?" I asked, anger washing over me.

  "Just mind your own business, and I want Theo back. I'll be there tomorrow at three. Have him ready." With that, she ended the call.

  I dropped my hand to my side and looked up at Isaac and Brody.

  "There is no way in hell I'm giving him back to her," I said, turning to look for Theo. "Theo! Theo! Come here, munchkin," I called, hurrying to find him.

  To lose Theo would be unbearable. A pain started in my chest and got tighter the more I thought about not seeing him again. Finding him upstairs, sleeping on my pillow, I felt myself tremble and my anger kicked up a notch.

  "Who the hell does she think she is?" I yelled, as Isaac and Brody followed me into the room. "She thinks she can demand to come in and take him back! She was the one who gave him away. I mean, what would have happened if I'd handed him in to the animal refuge and someone else had adopted him? She couldn't get him back then, could she?" I sank down onto the bed and pulled Theo in for a hug.

  "She's going to an awful lot of trouble for that dog," commented Isaac.

  Brody moved towards me and sat down on the bed. I ignored the palpitations as he reached over and gave Theo a pat.