15

When the doorbell rang, Kayla jumped out of her seat. David had finished packing and had his bags stacked up at the foot of the stairs. He would only be gone for one day, she kept telling herself as she answered the door.

"Gus!" Kayla beamed as the little man walked in through the front door. Normally, she would have leaned down to hug him, but because of the basketball she was hauling around, she put out her hand instead.

Gus took her hand and let a small grin melt his grumpy countenance.

"Hi Kayla. Is David still here?" The grouchy look had reclaimed its rightful spot.

"Yeah, he's leaving in a few minutes. Do you want some coffee?"

"No." He hoisted himself up on one of the dining room chairs. "Tell me what's happening."

David joined her at the table and gave Gus a nod. Kayla began recounting the events of the last few days. She knew Joy had told him some of the events, but he needed her to fill in the blanks. Gus sat there and listened intently to her story. When Kayla finished telling all about the blood-soaked message and the general creepiness of the last few days, Gus just looked at her blankly. After a few seconds, he decided on his response to the story.

"No magic?" he asked, disappointed.

"No magic."

"Okay, then. We need to get this house in order." He pulled a notebook and pen out of the back pocket of his jeans and began taking notes.

"All of the windows need to be sealed, doors need extra deadbolts. Do you have an alarm system?"

"Yeah, I had it installed before we moved in," David answered.

"Who installed it?" Gus asked, ready to make a note of the answer.

"Something Greek… Niolikos Security." He pronounced it nee-all-ick-us, pulling a business card out of his wallet and handing it over to Gus, who looked at it and then tucked it away in his pocket.

"I'll have a look at the system myself," he said gruffly, jumping out of the tall chair and looking around.

"I have to get going, Kayla," David said, picking up his two duffle bags. "Are you sure that you'll be good here?"

"Yes, honey. Go and impress the masses with your knowledge of eggplants and tomatoes." She kissed him on the lips and gave him a strong hug that was difficult to end. She did eventually let him go when the cab pulled up to take him to the airport.

They said more goodbyes and she watched out the window pensively while he got into the cab and headed for California.

Gus was already hard at work with the toolbox he had brought with him, sealing windows and beefing up the security in Kayla's little brick fortress. She hoped like hell that it was going to be enough.

After all the extra locks had been installed on the doors and bars were set across every window, Gus boarded the outside entrance to the garage and sealed almost every crack, crevice, and hole into the house.

Kayla had started cooking a dinner of spinach salad and eggplant parmigiana for the two of them while he worked. Gus loved Italian food, and since he had refused payment for his work on the house, she wanted to do something nice for him.

Gus made his way into the kitchen and sat down at the table, obviously tired. Kayla brought a cold beer and put it in front of him. She sat down and sipped a cup of tea as he opened the beer and took a long drink.

"Belgian ale, huh? Classy." He smiled one of his rarely seen smiles at her.

"Someone left it here after a party." She returned the grin. "Dinner is almost ready."

"Great! I am starving!"

"Good. I made plenty. You can take some of it with you when you go home."

"I am not leaving here until David gets back. Stop trying to play tough."

"I just feel bad about making you stay here."

"Listen, woman, get me my dinner." He gave her a serious look, but was unable to hold it for long. Gus burst out in a donkey bray of a laugh that Kayla couldn't remember ever hearing before. It was definitely contagious. Kayla's laughter mingled with his, and they both laughed until Kayla had tears running down her cheeks.

"All right, I'm going." She patted Gus on the shoulder then went to the kitchen to prepare their plates.

The two friends ate their meal and talked about life.

"This is great," Gus praised. He seemed to be in an uncharacteristically good mood. Kayla liked seeing him in such high spirits, but wondered what was behind it.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why are you so cheerful today?"

Gus ate a big mouthful of eggplant and took a swig of his second ale. He breathed in deeply as if working up to something important. Finally, he let it out and began.

"I'm gonna ask Violet to marry me," he blurted so quickly Kayla almost didn't understand.

"Oh my God! That's great, Gus!" she shouted in excitement.

"I'm gonna ask her tomorrow night." His look of elation turned to uncertainty. "You do think she'll say yes, right?"

"Oh, Gus, of course she will. Violet loves you!"

"I love her, too. Even more than I thought I did. When Jess…" He began to choke up a little as he looked at Kayla. "When Mooney lost Jess, I thought about how I'd feel if I lost Vi. I couldn't even stand the thought. It took a while, but I figured out how much I need her."

Kayla leaned over in her chair and gave Gus a hug. It was partly congratulatory and partly sympathetic. She needed that hug as much or more than he did.

As she pulled away, a crash came from the front porch. Both of them scrambled out of their chairs, assuming defensive postures. Kayla's heart was beating at least a thousand beats per minute, and seemed to have relocated itself to her throat. She swallowed hard, waiting for something else to happen. After a few seconds of nothing, she began walking to the front window. Gus took hold of her hand and held her back. She was always surprised at the strength that the little man possessed.

"I'll check it out, Kayla. You stay back away from the windows." The commanding tone of his voice told her not to argue with him. Gus walked up to the window and pulled the curtains aside. He looked out at the front porch and the areas of shadows surrounding the front yard.

"Son of a bitch!" the dwarf exclaimed.

"What is it?" Kayla asked, frightened of the answer that might come.

"Don't look," he replied grimly.

Being herself, that was an invitation to, in fact, look. She silently cursed herself.

Someone had thrown what looked like a bucket full of blood at the front porch. The red liquid dripped from the wooden frame and the rafters. The overhead light was completely obscured by the viscous fluid. Sitting in the center of the porch, a severed pig's head sat staring directly at her. The dead, black eyes had been decorated with blue eye shadow smeared above them. Just below the snout, red lipstick had been applied in an exaggerated pout.

While she took in the details of the scene, a rush of sour bile and stomach acid began looking for the easiest route out of her body. The violent heaves took hold of her, but she looked away, able to stop the flow before vomiting all over the foyer floor.

She involuntarily looked again, and this time, there was no holding it back. She ran to the bathroom and vomited repeatedly. After her body was empty and her stomach muscles ached from the intense heaving, she sat down on the bathroom floor.

Gus poked his head in the doorway.

"You, ok?"

"Yeah, weak stomach, one of the perks of pregnancy."

"I went outside to check it out. See if I could see anybody running away."

"Did you?"

"No. I did find this, though, tied around the pig's neck… well, what was left of its neck." Gus handed her a card, like one you would find used as a tag at a morgue. Kayla read the blood spattered words out loud.

"Let me come in." A look of realization and horror washed out her features.

"What?" Gus asked, worried.

She looked up at him from the cold bathroom floor. The color completely drained from her face as she spoke the next line of the nursery rhyme.

"Not by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin."