Christian smiled ruefully. ‘Shapiro. He couldn’t stand my father.’
‘I didn’t know.’
‘Vanessa, you took a helluva beating, and I’m not talking about just your hand. Do you think Brody would have beaten you?’
‘He could have. He’s tall and strong.’ She hesitated. ‘But he was always gentle.’
‘And what do you think about the possibility of him going off his medication and being in Everly Cliffs at the same time your sister returned?’
‘I don’t know, Christian. I wish I could say it must be a coincidence, but my God, what a coincidence. Of course, we don’t know that he’s here.’
Christian still held her left hand. He raised it and kissed it gently. ‘He’s made no attempt to get to Roxanne.’
‘She’s in the hospital.’
‘Would that make a difference if he’s irrational?’
‘How would I know? I’m not a psychiatrist. I don’t know how he would or wouldn’t behave without his medication.’
‘At least you’re not acting like he’s a monster coming after your sister like you did at the hospital when Zane told us he’s missing.’
‘But I did, didn’t I? Zane gave me hell for that tonight, too. And rightly so. To say I overreacted is an understatement. Which is really why I’m here. Or partly.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Christian, I’m sorry for the way I’ve behaved to you for the last eight years. I was close to your family, to you, to Brody. I saw how all of you suffered when you found out Brody was schizophrenic and I saw how your father made certain he got the very best of care. I suffered for him, too, and it made no difference in my feelings for you. Yet when Roxy was kidnapped, I simply went off the rails, making accusations—’
‘You never directly accused Brody.’
‘I didn’t defend him, either.’
‘How could you have? You didn’t see who took Roxanne.’
‘That’s true. How could I say “It definitely wasn’t Brody Montgomery although I didn’t see who it was”? But I hammered you with questions. You and your father. I all but accused your father of being a liar when he said Brody was under his supervision when Roxy was taken. I was as bad as my parents—’
‘No, you weren’t.’
‘Well, almost. That was unforgiveable because I loved you. And you loved me.’ Christian remained silent, still holding her hand. ‘And that’s the other part of why I had to see you tonight.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Zane said that you were still in pain over losing me. That you’re still in love with me. When I heard that, I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. Worse. Chris, is it true?’
He stared at her with his beautiful eyes, the planes of his face soft and filled with tenderness. ‘Would it make a difference?’
‘Yes,’ Vanessa said shakily. ‘Yes, it would, because I’ve realized I’m still in love with you.’
‘You’re going to get your dress wrinkled,’ Christian murmured in her ear as they lay side-by-side on the wide couch.
‘Is that a hint for me to take it off?’
‘Not if you don’t want to.’
‘I don’t want to turn this into one of those scenes when people say they love each other and three minutes later start ripping off their clothes and violently make love.’
‘It’s been twenty minutes but all I want is to savor this time to just hold you and hear that you still love me.’
‘Good. You feel so warm and familiar – just like I remember. And I don’t care about the dress.’
‘By the way, it was great to hear that realizing you still love me was like being punched in the stomach.’
Vanessa giggled. ‘No one has ever accused me of being a poet.’
‘It may not have been lovely, but it was effective. I don’t think I’ve ever been as surprised in my life. I thought you hated me.’
Vanessa lifted her face to his. ‘Never, Chris. Never. Not even in the worst of times. I think I was furious that things weren’t working out for us. I’d led a privileged life. I wasn’t used to hard times. I certainly didn’t take them gracefully or even sensibly.’
‘So if we have hard times again, I don’t have to look forward to eight more years of silence from you?’
She nudged him gently and laughed. ‘No, you dope. I’ve grown up a lot.’ She paused. ‘But we’re talking as if everything’s the way it was, like we’re a couple again. After all these years …’
‘After all these years you have someone else in your life?’
‘No. I’ve dated of course but I’ve never been serious about anyone. You?’
‘The same. Well, I have to confess I went out with Jane Drake a couple of times and she decided we were getting married.’
‘Jane Drake! Christian, how could you? Was this after she had her nose and boob jobs?’
He burst into laughter. ‘I did not check out her boobs.’
‘How could you miss them?’
‘I meant I didn’t check them physically. And yes, she had them. And the new nose. And the ton of blonde hair. She’d had all the work done over the course of a year yet I heard no one asked her to the hospital Christmas party, so I did.’
‘You saint.’
‘Yes. I didn’t have a good time but somehow I was roped into having lunch the next Saturday afternoon. Within two days I think she’d told everyone at Everly Cliffs Hospital we were a “thing”. I backed away – I hope I wasn’t cruel because I’ve always felt kind of sorry for her – but she’s tenacious. She pursued me for weeks but finally she left me alone. I was shocked when six months later, I found out she was engaged to Wade Baylor. He’s a smart all-round great guy. She’s a good nurse and I get the feeling she’s basically a hurt little girl, but her demand for constant attention drives people away.’
‘Jane adores her father although he’s never been particularly nice to her. Maybe all she needs is a strong, kind, supportive man like Wade.’ Vanessa paused then exclaimed, ‘Oh my God! When you mentioned Jane being a nurse, I thought about Audrey. She’ll be wondering where I am.’
‘Is she your warden now?’
‘She worries.’
Vanessa grabbed her cellphone and called Audrey. ‘I’ll be a little later getting home than I expected but I’m fine.’
‘Where are you?’
‘With … Christian.’
‘Christian!’
‘Yes. Everything is OK. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.’
‘Nessa—’
‘You didn’t even wait for her to say goodbye before you clicked off.’ Christian grinned.
‘I didn’t want any more questions. You should have heard her when I said I was with you.’
‘I did.’
‘You can’t blame her for being shocked. We’ve only seen each other twice before tonight since I got back.’
‘It feels like more than twice.’
She relaxed again and Christian hugged her.
‘And before that, in one way it feels like it’s only been weeks.’
‘And in another?’
‘Eight years. Every single day of eight years.’ His beautiful, soft lips brushed hers. ‘Dear God, don’t let it be another eight years.’ He paused. ‘Vanessa, you’ve been totally honest with me tonight but I haven’t been with you about Brody. At least I don’t think I have. Something’s happened tonight. Well, I can’t be sure but I think someone was in here in the house.’
‘Brody?’
A mechanical ping interrupted him. ‘Damn, a text,’ Christian muttered as he reached for his cellphone. He looked at the small screen and frowned.
‘What is it?’ Vanessa took his phone. ‘It’s from Zane.’ She read the message: Chris, come to Diamond Rose now. ‘Diamond Rose?’
‘The Diamond Rose – the nightclub downtown.’
‘I don’t remember a nightclub.’
‘It’s on the outskirts of town. It was built in the early Seventies and caught fire twenty years later. The owner of the property refused to have
the remains torn down and the town council turned a blind eye.’
Vanessa frowned. ‘I do remember that place. I forgot the name was the Diamond Rose. We called it “the ruin”.’
‘My grandparents told me it was elegant and a great draw for tourists. They went there a lot. They loved to dance.’
‘Why would Zane want you to come to the wreckage of an old nightclub at one in the morning?’
‘It has to be something to do with Brody.’
‘Why doesn’t he say what it is?’
‘It’s a text. He’s being as brief as possible. I have to go.’
‘Oh, no, Chris. Not now. It’s late – or early – and dark and Zane is so cryptic. You don’t know what’s going on.’
‘You think he’s luring me into a trap?’ Christian gently pushed her aside and got off the couch, stretching as he stood. ‘You know how determined Zane is to find Brody. This has to be serious.’
‘You’re not even certain the text is from Zane.’
‘Who else knows I’m waiting to hear from him?’
‘Then call Wade before you go.’
‘I don’t have time for Wade to pull himself together and drive to the Diamond Rose. The text says now and I’m only ten minutes away.’
‘Then I’m going with you.’
Christian was already shrugging into his jacket and gave her a stern look. ‘No, you aren’t. You’ll stay right here and wait for me. I promise to call as soon as I know something.’
‘I’m going.’ Vanessa slipped into her shoes, put on her coat and picked up her purse. ‘I’ll wait in the car.’
‘Vanessa—’
‘I’m going, dammit.’
Christian closed his eyes and sighed. ‘You were always the most stubborn woman I’ve ever known.’
Five minutes later they pulled out of the Montgomery driveway in his red Buick Regal GS. ‘I never thought you’d drive a red sporty car,’ Vanessa said, trying to take the edge off her nerves.
‘Dad thought doctors should drive oatmeal-colored sedans. Don’t ask me why. After he died, I bought what I wanted. Do you like it?’
‘Very much.’ Vanessa still wished they were in her sturdy SUV. ‘Aren’t you driving too fast?’
‘Yes, but there’s no snow or rain or much traffic, and I’m in a hurry.’
The main street of Everly Cliffs looked completely different during the Christmas season with red, green, white, and navy-blue lights blending into a bright, magical glow that transformed even drab buildings like the dry cleaners into seemingly beautiful, fairy-tale structures. She had the bizarre feeling of being in the middle of a deserted amusement park and she clasped her hands together so Christian wouldn’t notice they weren’t quite steady.
They drove past Nia’s. The party was over and only tiny Christmas lights glowed on the shrubbery and around the windows. All the merriment had died at the stroke of midnight, Vanessa thought.
‘There’s the Rose and Zane’s car in the lot.’ Chris turned into the large parking lot of the only dark building in town. What once had been a glittering, opulent nightclub was now a blackened, charred skeleton hulking in the night. He reached across her, opened the glove box and withdrew a large flashlight.
‘That’s all you have? A flashlight?’
‘What were you expecting? A Glock 21? It’s a twelve-hundred lumen tactical flashlight – very bright. Don’t worry.’
‘I don’t see any other lights in the building.’
‘There’s no electricity.’
‘I know that. I meant a flashlight, Chris. Zane isn’t sitting in there in the dark.’
‘Maybe he is. I’ll be careful. Stay here.’
Christian closed the door quietly and began walking slowly toward the west end of the building, which was the most badly burned. Vanessa thought of the first time she’d seen the Diamond Rose. She’d been eight, and it was a rainy autumn night. They’d been driving home from a wedding in Portland and all the way home, Vanessa’s father had been pouring liquid from a thermos and sipping it, drawing angry looks from his wife. Suddenly he slowed the car down to a crawl. ‘Look at that place, Nessa, Roxy.’ He’d nodded to the burned building. ‘It used to be like a magnificent palace full of light and happiness and good times. My mother and father came here dressed like a queen and king to drink champagne and dance. Then an evil spirit from the blazing depths of the Earth crawled up and set the whole place on fire – the biggest fire this town has ever seen – a fire that lasted for hours and hours. A hundred people burned to death, screaming in agony, while the evil spirit huddled nearby and laughed and laughed.’
‘Frederick!’ Ellen’s voice lashed at him. ‘What a terrible story to tell the girls! They’ll have nightmares for weeks!’
Roxanne giggled, ‘I won’t!’
Vanessa had asked, ‘What kind of evil spirit was it?’
‘An ugly, creeping, twisted, horrendous mosgrum that was a thousand years old.’
‘Stop it right now, Fred!’ Ellen was furious. She turned toward the back seat. ‘Girls, there is no such thing as a mosgrum. Your father drank too much at the wedding reception and he’s been drinking ever since we left. You’re a drunk, Frederick! A low-down drunk!’
‘It takes one to know one!’
‘Did a hundred people really die in the fire, Dad?’
‘Certainly not, Vanessa,’ Ellen stated. ‘Your father is making up stories. He’s ridiculous!’
Frederick had speeded up, snickering in a way that made Vanessa deeply uneasy, while Ellen glared at him. Roxy sat in a corner of the backseat, laughing, but the story had frightened Vanessa. If Grace had been home, she might have asked her about the mosgrum. Grace had just left for France after Grandfather’s death, though. Vanessa hadn’t wanted to ask anyone else about the fire and the mosgrum – she was too afraid it was true – so she tucked it away in the corner of her mind where she hid the things that scared her.
As she watched Christian enter the Diamond Rose, all she could think of was the mosgrum. She’d never known what caused her father to uncharacteristically invent a ghastly story with an imaginary monster to tell two little girls, even if he’d had too much to drink – but the mosgrum had lurked in her subconscious for twenty years and now she knew it was inside the building. Not an actual twisted and ugly thousand-year-old creature, but something creeping and horrendous embodied in the idea of the mosgrum. Vanessa shuddered. It was waiting for Christian.
Vanessa reached in her clutch purse and pulled out the small flashlight she always carried at night since her attack on the beach. She climbed out of the car and started toward the burned building, wishing she wasn’t wearing high heels as she hurried carefully over the scattered trash, twigs, and moldering leaves that littered the parking lot. The concrete walkway to the wide front entrance was riddled with cracks full of moss and dead weeds. Once she caught sight of a flash of light inside but it disappeared quickly as if someone had turned it off.
She reached the concrete steps leading up to the entrance and stood for a moment, telling herself not to be afraid. She slowly climbed the steps and passed through what had once been the doorway to a beautiful, glittering club full of elegantly dressed people, a live band, and a dozen waiters serving drinks and delicious gourmet appetizers. She stopped and gazed around, noticing that the fire had destroyed most of the west side and a huge chunk of the back where she knew there had been a terrace used in the summer. When it was whole, it had been twice the size of Nia’s. What a shame it had burned, she thought.
Vanessa pulled herself from her thoughts, knowing she was stalling and that was the last thing she wanted to do, although she was frightened to her bones. She’d come to help Christian.
‘Chris?’ she called. ‘Christian, where are you?’
‘I’m over here but I told you to stay in the car. Go back!’
She turned her flashlight in his direction. ‘Turn on your flashlight. I can’t locate you.’
‘Go back—’
> ‘No! Now where are you?’
He turned on his flashlight and they walked toward each other, the lights drawing closer until they met. Christian immediately put his left arm around her shoulder. ‘You shouldn’t be in here.’
‘Neither should you. Where’s Zane?’
‘I called for him but he didn’t answer.’
‘Maybe he left.’
‘Without his car? He’s here, Vanessa. I can feel it.’
‘But if he’s here, why doesn’t he answer?’ Because something’s happened to him, she answered herself silently.
They each swept their flashlight beams around what had been the central room of the Diamond Rose. All that remained were singed walls, crumbling railings around the stage where bands used to play, the tall windows – most of them broken – and bedraggled cobweb-festooned chandeliers, and at least sixteen cracked and broken floor-to-ceiling arched mirrors. Vanessa had a brief flash of images she’d seen of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. The floor – partly covered with ragged carpet, partly with scratched and scorched hardwood – was littered with debris, some cracking beneath their feet although they tried to turn a flashlight beam on their path before they took each step. Vanessa shivered. Someone was watching them – she could feel the gaze as if it were touching her.
‘Christian?’ He didn’t answer. ‘Christian, let’s leave.’
Finally, he stopped. ‘I don’t see him. Maybe something scared him off.’
‘What scared him off? Another person? He asked you to come. He wouldn’t run if he heard footsteps. I don’t think he’s here. We shouldn’t be here.’
‘I can’t leave until I’m absolutely sure—’
‘Wait!’ Vanessa’s flashlight was focused on the dais where a band had once infused life into the room. The beam danced over some sagging music stands and a ramshackle piano. Suddenly the breath went out of her as her stomach clenched. ‘The piano bench,’ she said in a tiny voice.
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