Blue Macabre Page 17

  give me

  cant

  yes

  no

  you will

  Finally he touched her genitals. As he spread her lips apart with one hand he touched her rising clitoris and again a minute spark passed between them. Her breasts jiggled as a spasm rocked her.

  will have what I want

  He massaged her until she was wet. He placed his hand on her belly again, just over her uterus, and continued his manipulation. Her body began to tense with imminent orgasm. His fingers worked as her back arched, her vagina pulsating as she came. He grasped his penis and slid it wholly inside her.

  donna

  As they connected they were both electrified. He rose and fell within her, the fireworks becoming both pain and pleasure.

  baby

  They were magnetized to one another. As he thrust repeatedly he imagined her cervix opening for him, and faint blue tracings illuminated his veins and arteries.

  baby

  He moaned and cried out as his muscles seemed to cramp en masse.

  I will have my baby

  my baby

  give me my baby

  He groaned as he came, his pain intense. As he throbbed within her he propped himself up by one hand and placed his other over her womb.

  baby

  His hand glowed softly blue as he searched for the connection.

  donna

  baby

  Her body jerked as he delivered his final thrust.

  baby

  Exhausted, chest heaving, he withdrew from her. He quieted her by massaging her temples. He left her and went to the bathroom to bathe.

  In the faint glow of the oil lamp a trickle of blue oozed from her.

  An hour later he cleaned and cared for her and carried her to her bed in the loft, tucking her in.

  The cat had seen all from her hiding place beneath Jenny’s dresser. She laid her ears back and curled into a tight, trembling ball.

  Chapter Seventeen

  In the weeks after Dave’s death, Andy and Jenny were together constantly. The loss of his best friend created an enormous, unfillable void in Andy’s life; Jenny found his pain to be nearly unbearable at times. Many nights she held him in her arms as he cried himself to sleep. She went home now and then to pick up personal items and to stay connected to Karin. Andy had asked Jenny to marry him, and although of course she had accepted, she felt that more healing was necessary for Andy before they started a new life together. She was also reluctant to tell Chris of their plans for fear of exacerbating his own recent loss. Karin kept Jenny abreast of Chris’s healing process, as he and she were becoming quite good friends and enjoying each other’s company. Karin confided to Jenny that Chris still had good days and bad – but she felt he was making progress. Jenny looked forward to better days for all of them.

  Both women were pleased when Chris decided to extend his visit indefinitely. He’d called his firm in Atlanta and spoken with his partner, who was always anxious to please him. Chris’s contribution to the firm’s net worth had been immeasurable – in many ways the Midas Touch.

  The brilliance of the late spring morning failed to lift Andy’s spirits. He stood on the gravel of the county maintenance yard staring at the wreckage of Dave’s cruiser. The car was sheared in half. He looked at the stained car seat and carpeting, bloody edges blurred and exposed metal oxidized by rain.

  “Hi Andy – how you doing, man?” The yard attendant came over and stuck out his hand.

  “Good.” They shook hands. “Just back one last time to have a look.”

  The attendant adjusted the bill of his cap. “I been here fifteen years, Andy, and I swear I never seen anything like it. One for the record book, I guess.” He rearranged some gravel with the heel of his boot. “How you getting along these days?”

  “Okay – doing okay.” Andy blinked his eyes as he circled the remains of the vehicle. “I guess it’s time for the crusher – don’t think it has anything more to say.”

  “Yeah, I think they’re through with it.” He shrugged. “Nothing to salvage.” He glanced at Andy. “Sorry, man.”

  Not far from Dave’s car, up against a chain-link fence, he noticed a county pickup missing most of its front end. “What happened there?” Andy nodded toward the truck.

  “Aw, a few weeks ago a guy who works for the PUD tried to take out a brick wall with it. It’s headed for the crusher too.” He walked over and kicked a rear tire. “I think the guy had a heart attack comin’ off the hill east of Castle Rock. Don’t think he died, though.”

  “It’s a wonder.”

  “Funny thing about that, too – this here truck and Dave’s car were both kilt with the same problem.” Andy waited for the man to elaborate. The attendant paused, a blank look on his face as he stared at the truck’s crushed front end.

  “Yeah, well what?”

  “Oh! Well I meant to say, the wiring harness in both of em fried just alike.”

  “You mean they both had their accidents because of the same electrical problem?”

  “Yeah, pretty much. But that old pickup wasn’t in near a bad a shape as Dave’s car. Craziest thing I ever saw. Ere’ light on the thing bursted, the radio blew out from the dash, anything electrical went nuts. We checked ‘em out real careful. Kinda funny that you’d have two vehicles do the same thing that soon.”

  Andy was looking at the man but not seeing him. Finally he said “Guess I’d better run. Thanks for the help.” He headed for his cruiser.

  “Any time, Andy. Take it easy, man.”

  At the post, he sat at his desk and dragged out Dave’s file on Sally Todd’s murder. Thumbing through the black and white pages and photographs, he pulled out the Coroner’s report. He freed a couple of stapled pages from the rest and began reading, intent and focused.

  Twenty minutes passed quickly. He raised his eyes and regarded the office wall with unfocused eyes. Sally had suffered from extensive electrical contact. People get their kicks in some fucking strange ways,” he said aloud. He rested his head on his hand and studied the tiny scratches on the ancient slate desk top, filling a few of them in with the ink from his pen. He sat silent and alone, occasionally jotting notes on a legal pad. He picked up the phone and dialed the main number of the Longview hospital.

  “Hospital information. How may I direct your call?”

  “This is Washington State Trooper Andy Jackson. I’d like to find out if you still have a patient there, an accident victim brought in sometime within the last three weeks or so, a PUD worker.”

  “If I may put you on hold, I’ll try to find something out for you.”

  “Yes, thanks.”

  The large wall clock ticked off fifteen seconds. The voice reconnected. “Yes, we do have a patient that may fit your description. One moment while I transfer your call for more information.”

  “Critical Care nurses’ station,” a different, more brusque female voice said.

  “Hello, this is Washington State Trooper Andy Jackson. I’m trying to track down a man who was in a serious accident some time back – I believe within the past three weeks – but I’m not certain of the date. A man who works – or worked – for the PUD.”

  “Yes,” the voice returned. “His name is Delbert James and was originally brought in about three weeks ago. What may I help you with?”

  “Can you tell me if he’s in condition to have a visitor?”

  “Just a moment, let me check with his physician, he’s here right now.” The phone silenced with a click, and seconds later another click offered the voice. “Doctor Harper says that we can allow you visitation. Mr. James does suffer from heart problems but since he’s had no other visitors and has no family, you may come see him. Our next visiting hours start at three.”

  Andy thanked her and hung up. He glanced at his watch to keep track of time and reviewed the Coroner’s report once again.

  He checked in at the nurses’ station of the Critical Care wing shortly before three. A well-starched
RN was talking with an older man who wore hospital greens and white lab coat. As he noticed Andy’s uniform he extended his hand saying, “You must be Trooper Jackson. I’m Dr. Harper.”

  “Thanks for letting me come, doctor. I really appreciate it. Is Mr. James up to answering a few questions?”

  Dr. Harper paused. “I think it will be okay, he’s quite stable. Although I wouldn’t get him agitated about anything – he’s had quite a problem with his heart ever since the accident.”

  “Does he have a history of heart trouble?”

  The doctor scribbled on a chart. “Before the accident I was treating him for early heart disease, but after the accident his diagnosis changed rather abruptly.”

  “Are you saying his heart problem caused the accident, or perhaps the accident caused the new problem?”

  The doctor handed the chart to the nurse. “It’s my opinion that the accident changed Delbert’s condition – somehow. Where he had relatively simple problems – high cholesterol, minor hardening of the arteries – now we’re faced with a most unusual, and quite honestly, fascinating development. When the paramedics brought him in his heart had absolutely abnormal electrical rhythms, and – “

  Andy interrupted. “Electrical?”

  “Yes. In fact, the cardiologist who consults with me has never seen anything quite like it either.” He leaned toward Andy and added in a low voice, “Confidentially, we had some difficulty in getting him stabilized. His prognosis is good, although he’ll be monitored closely for some time. We’re scheduling him for a pacemaker as soon as he’s a little further along.”

  Andy had been listening to his own thoughts during most of the doctor’s last words. He frowned as the doctor finished speaking. “Just one more thing, please, before I go in to see him – has he had any other visitors at all?”

  Dr. Harper paused, and he and the nurse looked at each other. She shook her head. “Not that we know of.” He indicated his starched assistant. “Nurse Bromley will show you in.”

  The nurse eased the door of Delbert’s room open. The small room was occupied by the hospital bed, one chair, a bedside table, and a television suspended high on the wall. One wall was glass, with curtains that could be drawn across for privacy but provided a clear view of the nurses’ station.

  Andy’s stomach was tight with memories of his friend’s last moments.

  Nurse Bromley went to the bedside of the sleeping man. She gently shook his shoulder and said, “Delbert? Delbert, there’s someone here to see you.”

  The older man’s eyelids fluttered. “Huh?” Opening his eyes more fully, he recognized his caregiver and tried to sit up a little. “Oh, hi, Nurse Bromley.” The front of his hospital gown was stained with an assortment of foodstuffs.

  His heart monitor beeped steadily, increasing slightly as she said, “Yes, Delbert, it’s me,” in a tender voice belying her brusque manner. “There’s someone here to see you,” she repeated. She beckoned to Andy. “Do you know Andy Jackson?”

  Delbert smiled as best he could, a thick bandage restricting the right side of his face. “Hey there, Andy, I’d shake your hand but as you can see I’m kinda tied up.” He raised his hands, one arm with IV and the other with blood pressure cuff and oxygen monitor.

  “That’s okay, Delbert.”

  “How’s Miss Jenny?”

  “She’s great – in fact one of these days soon we’ll be getting married.”

  “Hey now! That’s the best news I’ve had in a while! Here – I just gotta shake your hand now. Let’s try this one.” Andy avoided the lines and they clasped hands.

  “Thanks. I’ll tell Jenny I saw you and that you’re doing fine. I don’t want to bother you, but I’d like to ask you a few questions and see if you might be able to help me out. That is, if you’re up to it.”

  Delbert looked down and folded his hands over his shrinking belly, careful to not tangle his trappings. “I’m always happy to help the law. What can I do for you?”

  “I’d like to know more about your accident, if you can remember. I was at the county maintenance yard today and saw your pickup.”

  “Not much left of her, I bet. Me and her go way back – kind of like a cowboy and his old paint horse. I guess maybe she did me a favor, since they already told me I can take early retirement.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. Got to say I’m lookin’ forward to getting’ outa here and enjoyin’ it.”

  “I know you’ve been here for some time, but do you happen to remember any details, or maybe the last place you were right before the wreck?”

  The older man’s eyes wandered across the ceiling. “Well – I know I stopped at the station up top of the hill – I remember I wasn’t feelin’ too good and I went in to get a pop.”

  “See anyone?” asked Andy.

  “Just the owner. Just said hi, and paid for the pop.”

  “What about before then?”

  Delbert scrutinized the front of the blank television. His puzzled expression then brightened and he exclaimed, “Oh yeah! How could I forget that!” The monitor beeps increased slightly. “I’d just come from Jenny’s place!”

  Andy frowned just a little. “Why?”

  Delbert sucked in the side of his cheek that was free and clear. “If mem’ry serves, I believe I went out there to see if I could figure out why in thunder she’d gotten such a big electric bill.” He lowered his voice.

  “I gotta tell you too – that brother of hers gives me the creeps.”

  As Chris spent the latter half of his first month back in the Pacific Northwest, he’d decided – with the epiphany of his newly acquired abilities – it was in his best interest to keep careful track of Andy’s movements. He was captivated and entertained by the ongoing investigation of Sally’s murder – and Dave’s accidental demise. He found it easy and expedient to keep close contact by means of interaction with his sister, who kept him abreast of the very latest fact, rumor, and speculation.

  you’re my little tattler, aren’t you dear

  He supplemented Jenny’s information with his own thought processes, enjoying his newfound ability and thinking of it as ‘natural radar’. He was able to contend with his frequent headaches – sex with Karin and large doses of ibuprofen were ready and available tonics. He’d even learned to adapt to the white spots that frequently danced before his eyes.

  Most of his time was occupied with his new friend Karin. He enjoyed seeing her off to work, cooking for her, and helping her with anything else she might require. Occasionally he implemented ideas she might not normally have required. He discovered her to be pleasantly pliable and comfortably controllable.

  The same afternoon Andy visited Delbert, by no coincidence Chris and Karin strolled through the mall in Longview. He’d been lucky in having a conversation with his sister right after Andy had called her to tell her he was on his way to see Delbert.

  see you soon man

  He led Karin to a trendy clothing shop he’d noticed the last time he was in the mall, asking her if she’d like some new things, he’d pay, explaining that he had some errands to run and didn’t want her to be bored. He persuaded a clerk to help her until he came back, indicating kinds and styles he thought he and she would both like – leaving the clerk a hundred-dollar tip. He watched as the delighted salesgirl guided Karin toward the rear of the shop and the fitting rooms. Satisfied she’d be secure, he headed for the mall exit, clearing the glass doors and jogging out to her car.

  He merged onto the freeway. Two exits south he veered off, heading back into Longview. As he drove he regrouped and visualized the path to the hospital he’d gleaned from his sister’s thoughts, her memories of the day Dave had passed. They proved to be expedient guides. He drove directly to his objective, delighted to be making what he considered good time. He glanced at his watch, and paused still and silent. He sensed Karin was happily immersed in the feminine art of trying on new clothes. He got out of her car and pocketed the keys, noting he was par
ked in B-3.

  b for bingo

  At the information desk in the lobby, a young woman tapped on a keyboard. “Excuse me, miss,” he said with a smile.

  She glanced up, her annoyed expression quickly transformed as she looked at him. “May I help you?”

  Charm was one of his best attributes. He leaned over the counter, just enough to be deferential, and said quietly, “I hope so. I’m looking for my father-in-law, and I’m so embarrassed, I’ve forgotten his room number.”

  She gave him the ammunition he needed; as he headed for the elevator he thought about the type of gun he would use.