| PART SIX --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We emerged from the darkness of the Circus into the brightness of the day, and started towards my Jeep. There was a flyer tucked under the windshield. I snatched it up and was about to discard it when I noticed there was just one line written on it. HE CANNOT SAVE YOU “He knows I’m here.” Edward said. I threw my hands up. “Well thank you Captain Obvious.” Ranger and Stephanie burst out laughing. Edward just glared at me with his cold blank stare. He finally gave a faint smile and cocked his head sideways, “Captain Obvious?” He shook his head and reached for the door handle. “Shouldn’t we check the car for incendiary devices?” Ranger asked. “There’s no need,” Edward replied. “Olaf would never bomb the car of the person he’s hunting, he’ll want to be up close and personal, looking into their eyes as they take their last breathe.” Edward and I got into the car. Ranger and Stephanie hesitated but finally followed our lead. “Here’s hoping I don’t jinx you,” Stephanie said. “What?” I questioned, my hand poised to turn the ignition. “I um…. Have bad luck with cars.” “That’s putting it mildly,” Ranger said laughing. “How many cars have met their demise in your care?” She got quiet. “10” she said softly. “In only a matter of a few years,” Ranger added. “Well, everybody keep their fingers crossed,” I said and turned the key. The Jeep started without a glitch and everyone sighed in relief. ********************************** Ten minutes later we pulled up in front of my house. I stopped before turning into the driveway. “Looks like it did last night,” I said. I pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. We all got out and walked cautiously to the front door. Edward reached the door first. “This doesn’t look like Olaf’s work,” he said pointing at the broken doorjamb. “No, that’s Jason’s work. The door was locked last night and I wasn’t going to move from the kitchen to open it so I told him to break it in.” “We’ll call and have it replaced while we’re here.” “Ok,” I said. We walked into the living room. “Everything seems to be in place – at least no one broke in after I left.” I went into the kitchen and turned on the light. I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at the door to the garage. Edward came up behind me. “Oh shit!” “What the……” Ranger trailed off. There was a message written on the door in what looked suspiciously like blood. AREN’T YOU GLAD YOU DIDN’T OPEN THE GARAGE? It was then that I caught the sent, and it got stronger as I approached the door: the smell of death in summer. I was afraid to open the door – afraid of what I would find. Edward stopped me and pulled me back. He had his gun drawn. “Let me go first,” he said. “By all means,” I replied. “I’m in no rush to find out what’s behind the door.” “Can we take what’s behind curtain number two instead?” Stephanie joked. I could tell she was afraid by the shakiness of her voice. People deal with fear in different ways – I get defensive, she obviously tells jokes. Ranger tried to get in front of me. “My house. My death threat. I get to go second.” Men! Always trying to be macho. “Hard ass,” Edward snorted. “Damn straight,” I retorted. I had the Browning drawn and I saw Ranger draw his gun out of the corner of my eye. “Stephanie, please tell me you didn’t leave your gun at home in the cookie jar,” Ranger said. Edward and I turned around to see her digging through her purse. “Found it,” she said. Now that everyone was armed, Edward reached for the doorknob. He pulled the door open and I didn’t have to guess what lie beyond. I pushed Edward out of the way and was presented with the carnage in my garage. A large portion of the concrete floor was covered in blood. The remains of a woman lie in the middle of it. The smell was overpowering. I tried not to take a deep breath. I heard the sound of vomiting from the kitchen and turned to find both guys standing behind me. Guess she wasn’t used to this kind of thing. I really had seen too much of this too often. Someone turned on the garage light and the scene came to life with vivid colors – certain realizations making my head spin. The woman had been small. I was willing to bet a month’s pay she was my height. She was pale and had dark hair. As I walked around the blood I noticed what she was wearing: blue jeans, a blue polo shirt, and what were once white Nikes. Coincidence? I think not. There was something tucked in the crook of her arm, hopelessly covered in blood. I leaned in for a slightly closer look. “Sigmund!” I said frantically, then remembered he was tucked away safely at the Circus. “What is it, Anita?” Edward asked as he came around to where I was standing. “Shit! One of your penguins?” “Yes,” I said, running for the door, pushing past Ranger. I caught a glimpse of Stephanie sitting at the kitchen table with her head between her knees as I ran towards the bedroom. “Keep up with her,” I heard Edward yell to Ranger, then the sound of heavy footfalls catching up to me. When I got to the bedroom I went straight for the closet and threw open the doors. There was a note attached to an empty hanger. THANK YOU FOR THE CLOTHES. THEY FIT HER PERFECTLY. “DAMN IT!” I yelled, along with a few other choice cuss words. I was afraid to look at my penguins. I wanted to deny the fact that he had been in my bedroom, looked at all of my most personal things. I took a deep breath and turned around. There, in front of all of the others, was a new penguin with a red bow tied around his neck. A note was hanging from the bow. “What does that note say?” I asked Ranger, who had been quietly standing in the doorway. He walked over to the loveseat that held all of my penguins. “’A REPLACEMENT’” he read. “That’s all?” “That’s all.” “Get it out of here.” “Where do you want me to put it?” he asked. “I don’t care but I want it out of this house.” He picked up the offending stuffed animal and walked out the room. It was then that the tears started rolling down my cheeks. I rushed over to check in the rest f the penguins, falling to my knees in front of them. It was stupid really; that I should be so worried about my stuffed penguins at a time like this, but what Olaf had done was terrifying. In his own way he was telling me that he wanted to kill me. That he was fantasizing that it was me when he killed that poor woman. I was shaking with silent sobs when I felt Edward’s hand on my shoulder. He pulled me to him, hugging me the way you would comfort a child. He was showing me his softer side – the side that Donna and her kids had brought out in him. It was unnerving but it was what I needed at the moment. I got my near-hysterics under control and pulled away from Edward. “You do that too often and I’ll begin to think you aren’t as tough as you’d like everyone to believe.” “Let’s just keep that between me and you. I have a reputation to protect.” He gave a small laugh, “You keep crying over penguins and I’ll begin to think that you aren’t such a hard ass.” “I’m always a hard ass,” I said getting to my feet. Edward was still kneeling when Stephanie walked in. “Everything ok back here?” she asked. “Yeah just fine,” he replied as he stood up. “Edward,” I said, staring at my bed. “Yeah?” “My bed was perfectly made when I left for work yesterday.” He turned to see the rumpled bed. It looked as though the covers had just been thrown back into place. “What’s going on?” Ranger asked as he came back into the room. “Anita says the bed was made yesterday,” Stephanie explained. “”How sick can Olaf be?” I questioned no one in particular. “It wouldn’t surprise me,” Edward said. Obviously we were on the same wavelength. Chances were good that Olaf had raped the woman in my bed. “Please God, no more surprises,” I prayed aloud as I reached for the top corner of the comforter and sheet. I took a deep breath and snatched the covers back, revealing a large bloodstain in the center of my bed. Edward caught me as my knees gave out. I caught my breath and screamed every cuss word that I could think on in relation to the sick, twisted psycho who had done this. Stephanie went into the bathroom and emerged with a wet cloth. She handed it to me and I pressed it against my face for a minute. “Thank you,” I said after I regained my composure. “Hopefully, that’s the end of the surprised for now,” Edward said. “We need to call the police now and let them clean this mess up.” He handed me the phone from the bedside table and I dialed Dolph’s number. It wasn’t a preternatural crime, but I always called him when I found a dead body. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART SEVEN |