Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel) (27 page)

This doesn't feel right. I wonder if she called out sick? It’s Tuesday. No one uses a sick day on a Tuesday. Of course, if she is preggo, there's a damn good chance she's sick as hell. Wait, I got an idea.

Alexis had her purse in one hand and she snatched up her phone with the other. She dialed Matty's number again, but when she had the chance, she dialed 0 repeatedly to get to the operator. After a few second's pause, someone picked up.

A young woman's voice spoke, "Thank you for calling Fitzgerald Industries. How may I direct your call?"

"Hey, this is Alexis Banks from the Boston office. I've been dialing Matty Rindahl's office all day, and she hasn't called me back. Can you tell me if she's in the office today?"

The operator answered immediately, "Miss Rindahl is listed as out today, Miss Banks. Would you like her voice mail?"

"No thanks, dear. I've already left her a message. I'll try her cell phone. Thank you. Have a great night."

"Same to you, Miss Banks," the operator said back as the call ended.

Okay, that's good. I'll call her when I get out of the parking garage.

*****

The Fitzgerald Industries parking garage was shared with several other businesses in the area. Part of several colleges shared space in the eight-story concrete structure as well as many private companies. Alexis had the dubious honor of an eighth-level parking spot. It meant she had a commanding view of the Charles River and the city as she arrived at and left from work, and it gave her a much shorter elevator ride to her office. However, it meant she had to fight through all the traffic in the garage on the way in and out each day. When her coworkers were being ignorant twats (a surprisingly common feat for a bunch of people who were all graduate school educated), it took her upwards of twenty minutes just to reach street level.
 
Worst of all, once she left the uppermost level of the garage, there was no cell service until she emerged on the street far below. Not even text messages.

Cunts. Jesus. Get out of my way. I gotta take care of my girl.

Alexis pulled out onto the street in her Acura and immediately did a brake stand. Traffic was already piled up. It'd take her at least another twenty minutes to even get on to Storrow Drive and start heading home.
 

I'll kill the time talking to Matty. Bitch better answer.
Alexis pored through her contacts and dialed Matty with nothing but her thumb. The car edged forward ten feet, and the call went directly to Matty's voicemail.

Well shit on a shingle dammit. She must be on the phone.
Alexis sat her phone in her lap and fought the urge to call down God's judgment on the idiots in the road in front of her. She was surrounded by tools. A few minutes later, she dialed Matty's number again. The voice mail greeted her.

You know, Matty lives in Beacon Hill. That's not that far, and the traffic is fierce. Maybe I'll just sneak a lane or two over and shoot down the city streets to her place. I'll see what she wants for dinner, and we'll get takeout. I'd like to see her; plus, if she's not feeling well, she could use some company.

Alexis put her blinker on and waited a minute for the truck beside her to let her merge. He inched closer to the car in front of him, blocking any access to his lane. Alexis waved at the man in the truck and made her best effort to look sultry. The aging man in the needlessly large Cadillac truck (clearly compensating for a boring lifestyle, a loveless marriage, and shitty kids) looked at her with a mix of irritation and disgust.
 

Motherfucker.
Alexis powered her window down and leaned out. She put on her crazy bitch face. "Hey asshole! Let me in! I'm on my period, I got good insurance, and I don’t care about your damn truck!"

The older man's eyes went wide with shock. A nut job redhead was a powerful force for change. The man stopped his truck and once the vehicle in front of his had moved, Alexis fit her smaller car into the gap. She waved and smiled like she'd never cursed like a sailor. She escaped down the main city street, avoiding the throngs of cars all funneling towards Storrow Drive.

To Matty's place.

*****

Matty had a beautiful apartment in a brown brick building that was at least a hundred and fifty years old. Alexis knew Matty had the third floor all to herself and was probably paying out the nose for rent. Matty's parents had some money, but for her to afford a place like this, she must have zero college debt and a second job. That or she had negotiated one hell of a starting salary out of graduate school.

Alexis parked on the street in the single open space and ran up the steps to the ornate door. It was amazingly wide, almost twice the width of a normal front door, and had a beautiful beveled glass window. Through it she saw a wide staircase and a suited man well into his fifties sitting at a desk. He looked bored as he flipped through a
Fish & Game
magazine, and with his head down, Alexis could see a ring of white hair framing a large bald spot on the back of the man’s head. She opened the door with a grunt.

"Hey there. Can you ring Matty Rindahl's for me? I'm Alexis, her old boss and dancing buddy." Matty flashed that killer smile.

This time, it worked. The old man sat the magazine down immediately. "Of course, miss." The old man picked up a phone from the desk and dialed Matty's number from memory. He probably dialed these apartment numbers ten times a week as the residents needed cabs, or dry cleaning, or delivery food. He let it ring until it went to voicemail.

"No answer?" Alexis asked.

"No, miss. Perhaps she's on the phone? It's going straight to her messages." The old man had a voice that reminded her of a cartoon character.
Come to think of it, he looks like a cartoon character too.

"Would you mind if I just went to her place and knocked? Her office said she called out today and I want to make sure she's okay." Alexis hit him up with the smile.

The old security guard made a showing of it being no big deal, "Of course! Head right on up these stairs until there aren’t any more to go up. Her door is on the left. Only one on the floor."

"Thank you. You're a fine young man," Alexis said with a wink as she scooted by his desk and up the stairs.

I bet he's looking at my butt.
 

She was right.

*****

Alexis crested the top step of the building's stairs and started down the hardwood hall. She could see the door that belonged to Matty. Apartment 301.

Alexis reached the broad, white door and gave it a solid triple-whack with her knuckle. She waited patiently, excited to see Matty.

There was no answer. Alexis knocked on the door again, this time adding two extra knocks to show her excitement.

A minute passed and still no answer.

"Hey, Matty baby, it's Alexis. Can you open up for me?" Alexis hollered into the jam of the door. Her eye caught something small.
 

What the hell is that warp in the wood?
Alexis saw a crack in the wood that marked the edge of a bulge. It was right about at eye level where the door met the jam. Right about where the chain would be on the other side.
Is that bulge there because the door was forced open?
Without thinking, Alexis grabbed and turned the knob, suddenly in a mild panic. The large brass knob held firm. It was locked.

She's gotta have a key here somewhere. Matty's like that.
Alexis lifted the small, oval rug at the base of the door but there was nothing below it. She got up on the tips of her toes and felt along the top of the door jam, hoping there was a key hidden there, but like the rug, there was nothing. She looked up and down the hallway. There was a small round table at the end of the hall below a large window. On the table was a potted plant.

There. It's there.
Alexis left the door with the strange bump on it and trotted down to the table. She lifted the potted plant and sitting below it, like Bilbo's ring at the bottom of the river, was the key to Matty's apartment. Alexis snapped it up off the dusty white doily and went back to the door. The key went into the lock effortlessly, and she turned the knob. The door swung in with an ominous creak.

This is how horror scenes start. Or how horror movies end for dumb characters. Shit.

The door opened up and revealed a kitchen that was updated to look modern, despite the antiquated feel of the high ceiling building. A small kitchen table just inside the door had a bottle of prenatal vitamins on it, not too far from a bottle of vodka. Between the two was an empty glass.

Oh, God. What have you done, Matty?
"Matty?!" Alexis hollered into the apartment. Her voice bounced off the cold walls and came back at her. Her echo sounded lonely. Alexis left the kitchen and walked down the lone hallway. Immediately, she passed an empty bathroom. It was dominated by the presence of a massive claw foot tub. Alexis let herself into the bedroom after announcing herself once more, and that room too was empty.

"What the fuck?" Alexis spun and walked back into the kitchen, turning into the adjoined living room with its three huge paned windows. She could see the fire escape through the glass, and almost laughed at how bad the view was.
That'll cut down on the rent a bit.
One of the windows to the fire escape was open, and Alexis went over to investigate.
Maybe she's sitting out there thinking about life?
Alexis stopped short of the windowsill. Despite the setting sun, her eyes saw tiny flecks of red on white, and she froze. There was blood on the sill.

Alexis backed up, nearly falling on the couch. She turned towards the door and her entire body stiffened. The back of the thick door was indeed damaged. Where the chain had been was a crack in the wood and on the floor behind the door lay the broken security device. More alarming than that were the blood streaks. Long, jagged finger marks of raw, coagulated blood were on the door, as well as a clear pattern of spatter where digits had been severed.

With shaking hands, Alexis reached into her tiny purse and began to dial 911. Somehow instead, she called Abe.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Abe

"Hey, Alexis," Abe said casually into his phone.

"Abe? What the? I was trying to dial…" Alexis said in a voice that was obviously cracked with fear and tension.

What the fuck?
"Alexis, are you okay? You sound scared; is something wrong?"
 

"Yeah, uh Abe, I'm at Matty's place and something is wrong. Something is like, really very wrong. I was trying to dial 911 but I guess I dialed you by accident instead."

"911? Is Matty hurt?" Abe got up from the couch and started towards the massive staircase. Tesser's room was up the stairs, and the dragon would want to know.

"I don't know. I just let myself in using her spare key. She didn't go in to work today, and she hadn't answered her phone, and I was stuck in traffic, so I came over."

Abe waited for her to continue but she didn't. "Alexis?"

"Sorry. I... Abe there's blood all over the inside of her door. It's finger streaks. Like someone had some fingers cut off. I can't tell if they were hers or not. And Abe, there's vodka on the table, and an empty glass. I think she might've been drinking."

Abe stopped at the top of the stairs.
Tesser won't like that at all. Shit. I don't want to be the one who pisses off the dragon.
"But no body? Signs of a larger fight?"

"There are specks of blood on the windowsill too. I have no idea what happened Abe. I think I need to get out of here. I need to call the police. Do you think Tesser had anything to do with this?" Alexis sounded near to panic. Abe could hear her short breaths and felt like he could hear the pounding of her heart through the phone.

"Lord no. Tesser wants that woman safer than all the gold in Fort Knox. Plus, he's been here the whole time. Leave the apartment. Go downstairs. Does the building have security?"

"Yes. Some old fart."

"Okay. Tell the old fart you found blood and let him deal with it. You'll need to hang around and sign some kind of witness statement. I'm going to tell Tesser, and we'll be right over, okay? Just text me her address when I let you go." Abe took a few more steps towards Tesser's closed bedroom door.

"Okay. Abe?"
 

"Yeah?"

"If something bad happens, I know this is like, weird to say, but I'm like, really into you. I know there's an age difference, but… you know. Abe, I've got a real bad feeling about this."

Abe smiled and felt a tickle inside his chest. "I'm really into you too, Alexis. Stay calm. I'm going to get Tesser."

"Okay. I'll text you in a minute."

"Okay. Bye." Abe hung up the call and took a deep breath. He rapped his knuckles on Tesser's bedroom door.
I'm not sure what to say here, but I hope to God Tesser isn't one of those kill the messenger types.

Tesser opened the door. He was in one of Abe's Deadmau5 shirts. It was a smidge tight on him, but it looked good. "Yeah?" The man said with a hint of sadness.