“What was she doing in the house?”
“Chasing a suspect.”
“That’s a little strange. Not that unusual, though.”
“Hold your horses. I’m getting there.”
Cora took a loud sip off of her coffee. “She came in raving about some sort of monster that attacked her. Over and over again. Wanted to know if the cops killed it.”
Jill dropped her lunch. A container of yogurt and an apple spilled out, rolled onto the floor. Cora’s statement left her feeling numb.
“You gonna catch your lunch, honey?”
A monster. The lady had to be delirious.
Jill bent down and gathered her lunch off the floor.
“You all right?”
“What room’s she in? They admitted her, right?” Jill asked.
“Yeah. Don’t know what room.”
Jill put the yogurt and the apple back in the bag and stuck it in the refrigerator. Cora tilted her cup back and shook it, as not to miss a drop of coffee. She got up, crushed the cup and tossed it in the trash can.
“Who told you the story?” Jill said.
“Renee Tutweiler. She was leaving when I came in.”
Matt Crowe might be telling the truth after all, Jill thought. She would have to hear the woman’s story herself to be certain.
Cora left the break room.
Jill realized she still held the handle of the open refrigerator door. Feeling foolish, she let go and the door closed.
Lunchtime. She would see the patient at lunchtime.
Jill stepped onto the elevator holding copies of
People
and
The National Enquirer
. She had stopped at the gift shop and bought them, hoping to use them as a peace offering.
Being stuck in the hospital could be about as exciting as watching grass grow. She hoped Donna Ricci would like them. Besides, if she showed up empty-handed to visit a sick person, she would feel guilty.
She pressed the button for the fifth floor. Maggie Clark at the admissions desk had given her Donna Ricci’s room number, five hundred two. The doors closed and the elevator shot up, her stomach lurching at the rapid ascent.
The elevator stopped and she stepped out. She swung by the nurses’ station and got an idea of Donna’s condition: arm laceration, minor burns on back, some bumps and bruises. Donna would be released in a day or two.
She thanked Donna’s nurse. Then she went to the end of the hallway and found Donna’s room, number five hundred two.
Jill entered and found the woman laying on her side, facing the door. She had spiky blond hair. A bandage covered her right forearm. Her arms were thin but corded with muscle.
She looked up at Jill as she entered the room.
Donna Ricci had a pouty mouth and brown eyes that radiated toughness without saying a word. Cora had said she was a cop; that toughness must’ve served her well on the force.
“Let me guess, more needles.”
“Not this time. Donna, right?”
“Yeah. Who are you?”
“Jill Adams. I’m an ER nurse.”
“What’re you doing up here?”
“I want to ask you some questions.”
She pointed to the magazines tucked under Jill’s arm. “What are those?”
This was going to be tough. “Thought they might help you pass the time.” Jill set the magazines on the hospital tray next to the bed.
Donna propped her head up on her hand. “Did the hospital send you up here?”
“No,” Jill said. “I want to know something for myself and you can help me.”
The room had one other bed, which was empty. Jill shut the door and pulled up a chair next to Donna’s bed. Donna looked at her as if she had just discovered a new species of insect.
“What did you see in that house?” Jill asked.
“None of your damn business.”
“Please, I need to know.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Donna winced as she spoke.
“Do you need more painkiller?”
“I’m fine.”
“Will you tell me what you saw?”
“Don’t waste my time. All I saw was a scumbag junkie. I chased him through the house.”
“The ER nurses told me you were raving about a monster.”
“I was delirious.”
“How did the fire start?”
“Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about. And you’re getting on my nerves. I want to get some rest, so why don’t you leave?”
“Okay,” Jill said. “Hope you feel better.” She paused at the door. “It smelled like rotten eggs, didn’t it?”
Donna’s brow creased, a slight frown. Perhaps she was trying to ignore Jill’s comment. Not show any chinks in the armor.
“All right, then. I’ll go.”
Jill turned the door handle.
“Wait.”
Jill returned to the chair and sat down.
“Tell me what
you
know. Maybe I saw something in that house and maybe I didn’t. I want to hear your story first,” Donna demanded.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Jill told Donna about the encounter in the warehouse, meeting Matt, her encounters with Rafferty, and the story of Matt’s family. As she spoke, she began to think that the stories sounded less absurd. The more she talked, the more she convinced herself that the nightmares were real.
When she finished, Donna scowled at her. Maybe she was wondering whether or not to believe Jill’s stories. After a moment, she took a cup off of her hospital tray and sipped out of it.
“What you’re telling me would be pretty hard to make up,” Donna said.
“I’ve had trouble dealing with the whole thing, but I’m becoming a believer. The worst part is I may have alienated someone because of it. Will you tell me what happened in the house?”
“You’re sure you’re not a reporter or something?”
To ease her suspicions, Jill unclipped her hospital ID badge from her blouse and handed it to Donna, who took a good, hard look at it before handing it back.
“All right. This is what happened.”
She told Jill about her meeting with Rafferty, Rhonda Barbieri’s murder and the incident in Rhonda’s house where Dietrich changed from a man to a monster. She finished by telling Jill how she tried to off the creature by setting it on fire and nearly wound up a human barbecue herself.
“It took guts to fight it off like that. I probably would’ve had a heart attack,” Jill said.
“I’m not so sure about that. From the way you said you clubbed that guy with the pry bar in the warehouse, I’d say you got some piss and vinegar in you.”
“Thanks. What’ll you do when you get out of here?”
“Well, my days as police chief are probably numbered. I entered a crime scene out of my jurisdiction and burned it to the ground to boot. I don’t think the town council will be all too pleased,” Donna replied.
“What about your sister-in-law?”
“I’m going to have a talk with Rafferty. Tell him about the junkie.”
“He’s one of them, you know,” Jill said.
“Doesn’t matter. Someone I care about is dead, and he’s the one in charge. I want to see what kind of half-ass explanation he offers me about the investigation.”
“That guy I mentioned, Matt, wants to kill him.”
“Not a bad idea. Not a smart idea, but not a bad one.”
That led Jill to wondering what she should do about staying in Lincoln. The town was full of murderous creatures, the Chief of Police one of them. If she went back home, her mother would think she’d won. Jill would be little Jilly who couldn’t handle being a nurse. Her mother would all but hang an
I told you so
banner across the front of the house.
Going home was out of the question.
It would take months to find another apartment and another job, and who knew what could happen by then? What if Rafferty didn’t just harass her and go away the next time? What if he changed into a beast like the junkie had and chased after her?
Then there was the issue of Matt. She liked him and wondered where a relationship with him might take her.
She knew now that he wasn’t a flake, and Donna’s story confirmed that for her. But would she be risking her life staying here? It seemed like it. She didn’t think she could go out in public anymore without wondering who the creatures were and who the people were.
“You look like you’re in deep thought.”
“Just debating whether or not to pack it up and leave town.”
“Whatever you do, stay away from Rafferty. It sounds like he has more than a casual interest in you.”
“You’re going to see him,” Jill pointed out.
“He tries anything with me, I’ll blow his nuts off,” Donna said grimly.
Jill laughed. Somehow, she didn’t doubt Donna would hesitate to blow said testicles off of the Chief of Police.
“You own a gun, Jill?”
“I hate guns.”
“It might be a good idea to start unhating them. There’re classes that can teach you how to shoot. I can give you some numbers if you want.”
“I’ll pass for now.”
“Think about it.”
“You know, I’m supposed to have dinner with Matt and a guy he met who knows a lot about the townspeople here too. Maybe you should come.”
“I’ll think about it. Give me your phone number.”
Jill took a notepad and pen off of the nightstand and wrote the information down.
“Can I ask you something?” Donna said.
“Sure.”
“One of these things chased you, even had you around the neck. How come you needed my story to convince you they were real?”
“I guess I was fooling myself into thinking something like this couldn’t exist. I wanted things to go so smoothly for me that I pushed the idea of something so horrible away. I needed more proof, and your story gave me that extra push I needed.”
“Fair enough.”
Jill looked at her watch: ten minutes to one. Time to get back downstairs. She stood up and pushed the chair against the wall. “Can I get you anything before I go?”
“A free pass out of this place.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
Jill got her to smile. She wished Donna well and left the room. After work, she would call Matt Crowe and invite him over. She hoped that she could explain why she didn’t swallow his story at first and apologize to him.
If
he still wanted to see her. She wouldn’t blame him for not coming over after the way she’d given him the cold shoulder last night.
She almost wanted to call him right now, but she only had five more minutes to get downstairs and get back to work. It felt like she would burst until she could call him.
The rest of the day was sure to drag.
C
HAPTER
20
Matt’s heart did a steady jitterbug in his chest. Pulling out of the driveway in the truck, he’d almost hit a black Nissan coming down the street. His head felt fuzzy and unfocused. All he could think about was his destination.
Jill had called him just after four and told him she wanted him to come over. She wouldn’t say why, just that she had something important to tell him.
Then she hung up.
He pulled the truck into her driveway and parked. He had the air blasting in the truck, and when he stepped out, the heat leapt on him and hung on for dear life. He took a few steps up the walkway before he saw her.
“Over here,” she said.
He climbed the wooden steps, stumbling on a loose plank. Jill sat on a glider, swinging back and forth, legs crossed, one arm draped lazily over the side.
“Have a seat,” she said.
“To what do I owe this hospitality?”
“To the fact that I acted like an idiot.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Can I tempt you with a drink? A peace offering?”
A pitcher of lemonade and two glasses sat on a table in front of the glider.
“Ah, bribery. Very persuasive.”
He sat down next to her and immediately he noticed her fresh, clean scent. Roses and soap, maybe the yellow bar of Dial.
Jill poured a glass of lemonade for Matt and one for herself. He took a sip. It was a little tart for his taste, but still pretty damn good on a hot day.
She turned around to face him and sat Indian-style.
“You’ll get splinters with bare feet on this porch.”
“I don’t care. I’ve been dying to sit on this glider since I moved in.”
“So why did you call me here?”
“To apologize.”
“For?”
“Well, for one, kicking you out last night. And two, for not believing your story. You poured your guts out to me and I treated you like you were a flake.”
“Apology accepted on the first count. But why do you believe me all of a sudden?”
“Because of a patient that came into the hospital.”
She told him about her conversation with Donna Ricci.
“This woman actually saw one of them?”
“Saw it and tried to kill it.”
“Did she say what happened to it?”
“No. It was on fire, and then she passed out.”
He needed to talk to this mystery woman. Maybe he could gain an ally, or at least some insights into how the creature reacted to the fire. That could be a way to take them down. “Things are getting worse. They’re showing themselves more.”
“How’s that?”
He told her about the body in the park, and how the young girl who discovered it said there were bite marks on it.
“I wish I never moved here. Except for one reason.”
He gave her a puzzled look.
“You, silly.”
“Aw, shucks, ma’am.”
“Are you still mad?”
“No. I don’t blame you for thinking I was weird.”
“I really am sorry, Matt. Even though I know one of those things chased us through that warehouse, I just couldn’t admit to myself that it existed.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I must’ve sounded like a lunatic.”
“Well, at first,” Jill said. “I believed something traumatic happened to you, but I wasn’t convinced it was an attack by these things. And after my last relationship, I was afraid of someone unstable.”
“I thought I dropped the ball with you. I was kicking myself for telling you the story.”
“I’m glad you felt comfortable enough with me to tell it.”
She gripped his forearm and gave it a small squeeze.
“So you think we can be an item?” he said.
“My sources say yes.”
He leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. As he finished the kiss and pulled away, she caressed his cheek.
“What do you say to dinner. Pizza maybe?” Matt asked.
“Bring it on.”
They sat in silence, sipped lemonade and held hands.
After three pieces of pizza and two glasses of lemonade, Matt’s stomach was stretched to the limit. The Pizza Hut box and the empty pitcher sat on Jill’s coffee table.
They sat next to each other on the couch. Their legs touched, and he placed his hand on her bare thigh. The skin was warm and smooth. She didn’t seem to mind his hand.
“That beat cooking,” she said.
“I’ll clean this up.”
He picked up the pizza box, pitcher, glasses and empty paper plates and took them to the kitchen. When he returned, she was fiddling with the stereo.
“Any preferences?” she said.
“How about ninety-seven?”
“Format?”
“Classic rock.”
“Good enough.”
She pressed a button and Ronnie Van Zandt’s voice came out of the speakers, singing about an aged blues singer.
“Did that cop—what was her name?” Matt said.
“Donna.”
“Did she describe it to you?”
“No. She mentioned the smell, though.”
“She saw the man change?”
“Right in front of her.”
Matt had never seen one change, but he suspected it was an awesome, if repulsive, sight. “I’m anxious to meet with Harry.”
“I told Donna about the meeting at Harry’s. I hope you don’t mind.”
“The more the merrier.”
“Do you still want to kill Rafferty?”
“Yes. But I’m not going to. Yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“Killing him won’t solve the problems in Lincoln. There’s probably hundreds of Them living here. They’ll keep taking victims. Besides, if I kill Rafferty, I’ll never get out of here alive.”
“So what are you thinking?”
I don’t know. Nukes?
“I’m hoping for a way to get a lot of Them at once.”
“Then what?”
“Skip town. Hopefully with you.”
“It’ll look like you murdered innocent people.”
“That’s the thing. I need a way to get Them to change into their true form. Then do it.”
She paused for a moment. Matt thought for a moment that he might be pushing her away again with talk of murdering hundreds of residents of Lincoln. “Think of it, Jill. We’re in danger just by being here. There’s already been killings. Donna’s sister-in-law, the girl in the park. I can’t let this go on. Not after what happened to my family.”
“I guess you wouldn’t be hurting actual people.”
“Exactly. And Rafferty’s targeted you, the scumbag.”
He saw goose bumps raise the hairs on her forearms.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
She crossed her arms. “It’s not your fault. Just when I think of his tongue in my ear, like a snake. Yuck.”
“If you don’t want to get involved, I’ll understand. But I like you. A lot.”
Jesus, that sounded like it came from the mouth of a virgin on prom night,
he thought.
“Really? You must have had some girlfriends along the line.”
“There were a few here and there.”
“Well, I can’t go home. And it’ll take me time to move. If I’m going to be here, I might as well help. Besides, I don’t want to miss out on you either. Just no guns for me. My dad and all.”
It was frightening that someone could walk into a store to buy milk or bread, and get killed for no reason. You could walk out of your house and be shot, stabbed, robbed or raped. And Jill’s father had been one of the unfortunate ones to experience this.
“I won’t bring it up again. You don’t have to get within ten feet of a gun if you don’t want to. I know how hard it is to lose family.”
“The worst part about the whole thing was that when I got the news, my mother pushed me away. I went to her expecting hugs and kisses. She told me we both needed to be alone and sent me to my room. I cried all night. Alone.”
“That’s pretty damn lousy.”
Matt gave her credit for pursuing her own life and forging ahead, away from her mother. From what Jill had told him, the woman sounded like a domineering control freak. “Your mom sounds like a cold person.”
“Like a Fridgedair. Every year for my birthday, you know what I got? A card.”
“Money in the card?”
“Nope. No presents and no parties. Mother always said that was a sure way to spoil a child.”
“That’s lousy too. No, that’s beyond lousy, that’s shitty.”
Matt couldn’t have imagined going without birthday parties as a child. If Christmas was the Holy Grail of childhood, then birthday parties were a close second, perhaps the Ark of the Covenant.
“What was your family like?” she said.
“Well, my brother was a typical pain in the ass little brother. Scratched my records, pulled the wheels off my trucks, ripped my baseball cards. But I wouldn’t have traded him for anything. My mom and dad couldn’t do enough for us. They took us everywhere. Darien Lake in the summer, the circus, which I never liked but Mikey loved. The beach, picnics, movies. My dad worked a lot of hours, but he always had time for us when he was home, no matter how tired he was. I miss all three of them.”
“They sound great. But we’re survivors, right?”
“I guess we are.”
She smiled at him. She had her hair drawn back in a ponytail, and strands hung down over her forehead, down the side of her face. He reached over and brushed it away. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a woman look prettier than she did now.
She moved closer to him, reaching for him and running her hand over his cheek, through his hair and to the back of his head. Tiny jolts of electricity pricked his neck and crackled down his spine.
She drew him close and kissed him, her tongue slipping past his lips. He kissed her back hard.
Drawing back, she offered him a wry smile. “That wasn’t too forward, was it?”
“I’m not complaining.”
She kissed him again, this time pushing him back so that she was on top of him. His heart sped up and he ran his hands up her back to her hair and untied her ponytail.
Her hair spilled down in tight curls.
She straddled him. Then she pulled off her shirt. He slid his hands up her belly, over her rib cage, cupped her breasts over the bra. She moaned and leaned forward.
Jill whispered in his ear, “This couch could use a good workout.”
After making love on the couch, and again on the floor, they went to the bedroom and fell asleep on top of the covers. Now, Jill lay with her head on Matt’s chest. He smelled pleasantly of perspiration, and the hairs from his chest tickled her cheek.
The clock-radio alarm whined like a hungry baby and Jill flicked it off. Taking Matt’s arm by the wrist, she gently lifted it and slipped out of his embrace. Then she kissed him on the chest, just above the nipple. He stirred.
“Morning,” he mumbled, half asleep.
“Morning. I’ve got to get ready for work.”
She tossed the covers aside, got out of bed and stretched, feeling Matt’s gaze on her naked body. With Jerry, she was always self-conscious about her nudity, preferring to throw on a robe, but Matt watching her didn’t bother her at all.
The room was still in shadows, as the sun hadn’t risen yet. She took her silk robe off the hook on the bedroom door. As she slipped it on, she remembered that it had been a Valentine’s present from Jerry. It was the only gift of his that she kept. The stuffed animals, earrings, cards and letters were all taking up space in a landfill right about now.
But the robe was comfortable, so why not keep it? She loved the feel of the cool silk against her skin.
A breeze blew in the open window, rattling the shade and sneaking under her robe, tickling her butt. The breeze could be a good sign, for it might mean an end to the brutal heat that had plagued Lincoln and the entire northeast all August.
She turned and looked at Matt before leaving the room. He was on his side snoring softly, his right arm bent, hand tucked under his head. The outline of his bicep was clearly visible. She smiled as she remembered how she kissed
all
of his muscles last night.
It would be nice to wake up next to someone like him every morning. She realized that was the giddiness that came with a new boyfriend and good sex. But she felt good and wished she had time for a run. She could go two extra miles today.