Audrey stood along the sidewalk, waiting in the dark. The night air wasn't all that cold, but she felt almost chilled. She crossed her arms in front of her and rubbed her bare arms for warmth. "I must be crazy," she thought to herself with a sigh. She just hoped the person she was meeting would show up soon.
"Audrey."
When she heard a familiar voice call out he name, Audrey turned and saw a man standing underneath the street light. "It's about time you got here."
"What's wrong?" the man asked with a laugh. "Afraid of the dark."
"No, just of what might be lurking in the dark," she said with a pointed look at her companion.
"Then let's go inside," he said, motioning to the building behind them.
Audrey wasn't sure she liked the look of the place any better, but she nodded and followed the man to the bar upstairs.
They took a seat at a quiet table in the corner. A waitress came over almost immediately to ask if they wanted anything. The man ordered a drink, but Audrey declined.
After the waitress brought over the drink and went back to the bar, Audrey asked. "So why did you want to see me?"
The man smirked, "Just because you messed up once and didn't get the job, doesn't mean you're out for good."
"I already told you what happened," Audrey defended herself. "If those references you gave me had checked out, I would have gotten the job."
"It doesn't matter now. You would have been fired anyway. The other girl was. The point is, I've got another task for you."
"What is it?" Audrey asked warily.
"I want you to get as much information as you can about the Stuarts. That should be easy enough for you, since your brother works in the late Clifford Stuart's household."
Audrey frowned. She didn't like the idea of involving her brother in this. "Why should I?"
The man stared at her sharply from across the table. "Don't be like that, Audrey. You already know why you should go along. But it's up to you," he said with a shrug as he rose from his chair. "Get the information or don't. You'll find out what happens either way."
Audrey watched as the man dropped the money for the table and walked out of the bar.
As Eileen rang the doorbell, she turned and looked over her shoulder. The last few days she had been having an unsettling feeling, like she was being watched or followed. But, as usual, when she looked around no one was in sight. It was starting to get really annoying.
When she heard the door open, Eileen turned back to the house.
"Hey, Eileen," Cassandra greeted her. "I'm glad you could make it. Come in. The books are up in my room."
Eileen followed Cassandra inside and upstairs to her bedroom. Cassie motioned towards a stack of books on her desk. "They're right there. You can borrow any of them you want."
As Eileen sorted through the books, Cassandra made comments about each one. Eileen was impressed with the collection.
"Where did you get all of this?" Eileen asked.
"They're my mom's. She had more, but my dad got rid of most of them. He'd have a fit if he knew I'd saved these."
Eileen nodded. She and Cassandra had more in common than she had expected. "How long has it been since your mom was sent away?" she asked carefully.
"I was ten when everything happened, so eight years, almost nine," Cassie replied. "You lost your mother too when you were young. It's the reason you got interested this, isn't it?"
Eileen looked stunned, "How did you know that?"
Cassandra shrugged, "I just pick up on things sometimes. . . Did you decide which books you want to take with you?"
"Yeah," Eileen said, startled by the sudden change of subject. "I want to read about interpreting dreams and past lives."
"Oh," Cassie said, reaching for one of the books and handing it to Eileen. "Then you'll want this one." As Eileen took the book Cassandra had another insight, "Does this have something to do with that guy you were talking to after class last time?"
Eileen looked confused. "Who? Lawrence? No . . .I don't think so."
"Hmm," Cassandra frowned. "I wonder what made me think of him."
"I'm meeting him at the library later to study," Eileen suggested. "Maybe that's it?"
"I don't know," Cassie said, mostly to herself, then changing the subject she said to Eileen. "Let me know when you're finished with the books. Then we can get together and talk about them."
"Sure."
When Cassandra walked her to the door, Eileen thanked her again for lending her the books.
"No problem. Take as long as you want with them. And have fun on your study date with Lawrence."
Eileen laughed as she walked outside. "I will. I'll see you later."
As soon as the door shut behind Eileen, Cassandra heard her father's voice behind her. "Who was that?"
"Eileen. She's a friend from school."
Her father nodded, "The person you mentioned, Lawrence, his last name wouldn't be Arrendale, would it?"
Cassandra shrugged. "Eileen didn't say. Why?"
"No reason. I just knew someone with that name once," he said with a thoughtful frown as he turned and walked back out of the room.
Andrew was sitting in front of the television, watching daytime game shows and feeling sorry for himself when the phone rang. He pulled himself up from the couch and walked into the next room to answer it.
"Hello?"
"May I speak to Andrew Martin, please?"
"This is him."
"Hello, Mr. Martin. This is Alex Hanson from Bay Pointe Community College. We had a position open up recently and I was wondering if you would be interested in coming in for an interview."
"Of course," Andrew said eagerly.
The man on the phone asked Andrew a few questions about his professional background before asking him to come to the college for an interview. He was in a hurry to fill the position, so he asked Andrew to come in that afternoon and Andrew agreed without hesitation.
"Who was that on the phone?"
Andrew could have smacked himself in the head, he felt so stupid. How could he have forgotten all about his mother-in-law. Amanda and Alma wouldn't be home in time for his interview and there was no one else to stay with Mona.
"Someone offered me a job," he replied.
"Well, you don't sound very happy about it. I guess you like sitting around the house all day like a bum, mooching off my daughters."
"You're the reason I'm not happy," Andrew snapped at the older woman. "If it wasn't for you, I could go to this interview."
"So go. I'm not standing in your way."
Andrew sighed and calmly explained. "If I leave there's not going to be anyone here with you."
"So? I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for years. I don't need a babysitter."
Andrew thought it over. He knew Amanda would be furious with him if she found out he left her mother alone, but he couldn't skip this interview. It could be his only chance to find a decent job.
Maybe Amanda and Alma were just over protective of their mother. In the entire time he lived there, Mona seemed to be fine to him. "She'll probably be napping or watching TV while I'm gone," Andrew told himself. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Andrew got cleaned up and dressed for his interview. On the way out, he checked with Mona to make sure she would be alright and she urged him to go. So he did.
Ten minutes later he was walking into Mr. Hanson's office.
"Thank you for coming in on such short notice, Mr. Martin," he said as they shook hands. "The instructor for our evening business courses had to be dismissed unexpectedly."
"What for?" Andrew asked.
"We received a complaint that he acted inappropriately towards one of his female students," Mr. Hanson said as he shuffled the papers on the desk. He quickly changed the subject and began questioning Andrew to find out if he would be qualified for the job.
Andrew felt that the interview went very well, but at the end, Mr. Hanson didn't give him a hint as to whether he had the job or not. He shook Andrew's hand again and promised to call him as soon as he had made his decision. "As I said, we're looking for someone to fill this vacancy as soon as possible. So expect a call within the next few days."
Andrew walked home, feeling more optimistic than he had in a long time. Things were really starting to look up for him. As he unlocked the front door, he sniffed at the air. He thought he smelled something burning. As soon as he opened the front door a gust of smoky air blew into his face.
Panicked, Andrew rushed into the house. "Mona?" he called out for his mother-in-law, but he didn't wait for her answer. Instead he followed the source of the smoke to the kitchen. Nothing appeared to be on fire, but thick black smoke was wafting out of the toaster oven. And passed out on the kitchen floor, was his mother-in-law.
Andrew stared in disbelief, his heart racing. "What have I done?"
No comments:
Post a Comment