Marissa groaned at the harshness of the light, pulling her sunglasses up on top of her head. The sun was only beginning to come up, the orange and pink hues of sunrise still in the sky. “What’s going on, Jackson?” It wasn’t like this was routine. Marissa was still technically benched from working at the moment. Still, on the phone, Jackson had explained that in all his years as sheriff, he had only seen three homicide cases, and none of his current staff had any experience.
Marissa glanced around the empty street. It was still too early for most of the shops to even be open. On the corner of the main road, stairs led to a candle shop and an insurance company. But more relevant to the moment, they also led Port Townsend’s questionable Shanghai tunnels.
“Come on. She’s down here.” Jackson led her down the stone stairs, waiting for her to follow. As she hit the last step, he sighed and stopped her. “When I called you in, I didn’t know.” The older man placed a hand on her shoulder, causing Marissa to pause before allowing her to move further. As she met his eyes, all the air left her lungs. Panic rose and lodged in her throat as every worst-case scenario ran through her mind.
“Who?” But she didn’t wait for him to answer, removing his hand from her shoulder and turning to the spot beneath the stairs. There, past the gate, was a woman’s body. She reached out for the wall to brace herself as she walked closer and then stopped, immediately identifying the lifeless body sprawled on the ground.
Allison.
She was on her back, her eyes still open and looking off to the right. She was still wearing the clothes Marissa had seen her in less than ten hours earlier.
Realizing Ellie was following right behind, she turned to the service dog. “Down. Stay.” Ellie immediately lay down, staying put, as Marissa approached the body.
Taking in a deep breath, she slowed her breathing and tried to focus. There was noticeable bruising around her neck and around her wrists. Based on the dark patches she could see, the blood had pooled on her back, but it was still blotchy. Meaning the time of death was somewhere between six and eight hours earlier.
Before she could say anything, Herbert came up alongside her, wiping the sweat off his forehead with one hand. “Mr. Davenport is on his way.”
Marissa nearly coughed at the mention of the medical examiner’s name. The man had been working on retiring for the past decade but could never bring himself to do it.
“She’s been here somewhere between six and eight hours, based on lividity. She’s still dressed in the same clothes I saw her in last night. She’s going to have alcohol in her bloodstream because we were out drinking for most of the night.” She came along the body and squatted down, looking over her friend. “Strangulation was most likely the cause of death.”
“You don’t need to do this. Not right now.”
Realistically, she shouldn’t have been there. But they had called her in. And it was Allison.
“It’s fine.” She managed in a strained voice. “All of this needs to be bagged up.” She pulled herself back up to her feet, looking around. “Where is her phone?”
Herbert shook his head. “We haven’t come across it yet.”
“And who called it in?”
Before he could answer, she was already making her way back to the stairs and up to street level. Thankfully, Herbert kept up with her.
“We received two calls: one from the ghost tour guide, Simon Adams, and second from Mr. Lawson, owner of the insurance company down here. I’ve got Stilinski taking their statements.”
Marissa nodded. “Okay. I need some air.”
She didn’t give him a chance to respond to her and all but ran up the rest of the stairs. Using the stone pillar at the top of the stairs, she took several deep breaths, trying to get something under control. Her thoughts, her breathing. Anything. Ellie yipped at her, trying to get her to sit down, but Marissa barely paid her any mind.
Looking down the street, she could see people were beginning to open up the town, just like any other Saturday morning.
“Oh my god,” she whispered to herself, her knees shaking.
She had seen her fewer than eight hours ago. Celebrated her big move. She was finally getting out of this stupid little town, ready to make a commitment she had been dangling in the wings for years. And now it was all gone. Marissa rushed over to the garbage can on the corner as bile forced its way out. She heaved over the can until she was sure she had dislodged a rib bone, dropping to the ground.
Marissa’s mind was racing. She needed to call Tyler, Allison’s brother. Their parents had died years ago, and now it was only the two of them. No, now it was only him. She would need to call Natalie. Natalie would be expecting Allie this afternoon.
Marissa forced herself to stand up and move back, sitting on that top step leading back down to the tunnel. She stared at her phone in her shaking hand. Marissa needed to call someone. She couldn’t go back down there. She couldn’t compartmentalize yet. That was Allison, not a body. Opening the contacts on her phone, she read through the same names for several minutes before finally pressing “Call” on a name.
“Mel?” her voice shook, quieter than she had intended.
“Marissa?” Melanie was immediately concerned.
“I need you. Main and Taylor Street. The Shanghai tunnels.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s Allison.” She lost any composure she had left, sobbing openly.
Veronica, who had been stationed by the stairs to make sure no one contaminated the crime scene, approached her, leaned down, put an arm around her shoulders, and assured Marissa she’d stay with her until Melanie got there.
She felt like she was watching the scene unfold, an out-of-body experience. With her knees pulled to her chest, she was trying to take up as little physical space as she could. By the time Melanie arrived, she was in a full-blown panic. Her hands were frozen, and her whole body shook violently, her breathing rapid and unsteady. Veronica filled Melanie in, as Marissa was unable to form words.
Melanie tried to ask her things, but Marissa could hear the blood pumping in her ears, unable to focus on any words around her. Ellie all but curled into her lap, resting her nose against Marissa’s neck.
They sat there on the curb for a long time like that. The corner was cordoned off as a crime scene as the street started to get busy, the tourist town beginning to wake up. Marissa hadn’t noticed Mel calling Brian, but he arrived nonetheless just as she started pulling herself together.
She stood, though her hands were still frozen in tight fists. “I want updates. Right away.” She had to spit the words out to Jackson, who solemnly nodded. “I’m on this case. I just need a minute.” No one argued.
The truth was if she had still been with the SPD, she wouldn’t have been allowed to be on this case. It was a conflict of interest. But the small town had limited resources, and they wouldn’t ignore the advantage of having her on the team. The entire reason she had been called in was because of her homicide experience.
Her sister and brother-in-law helped her home, and Melanie stayed with her, sitting at her kitchen island and making them tea.
What Marissa really wanted was a Xanax, but for some reason, she felt a sense of shame at the idea of Melanie seeing how many meds filled her medicine box.
“Someone needs to call Tyler. And Natalie.”
“Of course. I will call them both,” Melanie volunteered, passing her a mug of hot tea. “What can I do for you?”
“Nothing. I just—” Marissa paused, staring at the liquid in her cup. “I just need a minute to compartmentalize.”
“You know you don’t have to work on this case.” It was a half-hearted statement because Melanie knew her better than that.
“Yes. I do,” her sister said quietly.
“Have you eaten anything?” Marissa just shook her head as Melanie opened her fridge. If Marissa had been more alert, she would have stopped her to avoid the lecture she knew would follow. “Have you been eating at all?” Melanie sounded horrified.
“Of course. I just haven’t gone shopping yet,” she said casually, hoping Mel would believe her. Whether she did or not, she let it go, but not before giving Marissa a disapproving mom look.
“I need to lie down,” Marissa said after drinking most of her tea. She wasn’t even sure she had tasted it. All of her just felt numb.
“Okay, let’s get you upstairs then.”
“No, I know you’ve got to get to work. And I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” Sometimes she wondered if Melanie remembered who the big sister and the baby sister were in this relationship.
“Nonsense.” Mel hooked her arm in Marissa’s and started leading her up the stairs. “I already had Brian run down and close up for me today on his way to the paper.” She turned to Marissa when they got to the top of the stairs. “I’m not staying because you can’t take care of yourself; I’m staying because you shouldn’t have to be alone right now.”
With a sigh, Marissa nodded. “Okay.” She patted her leg for Ellie to come to join them. “My room is a disaster, though. Don’t judge me.”
Melanie waved her off, tossing Marissa’s clothes from the night before off her bed, and pulled the covers down. “Come on.” She got her into bed before climbing up beside her, apparently unable to resist her mothering tendencies. Ellie hopped up once they were both settled and whined as she put her head on Marissa’s legs. Melanie started scrolling through Netflix, looking for something to keep in the background.
Marissa fell asleep almost immediately. She was in and out all day. She heard the TV on occasion, although she had no idea what her sister was watching. She heard Melanie on the phone, too.
“Natalie, I’m so sorry—”
Marissa rolled over and tuned her out. She couldn’t listen. It was so hard to comprehend. Last night, they had been laughing and drinking together. Things Allison would never do again. She drifted back off to sleep.
Marissa felt Melanie shaking her once, trying to wake her up. She must have had a nightmare. Her sister wanted to assure her she was okay. She just rolled over the other way.
A few hours later, Marissa woke up to her sister sounding stern. She noted the room already getting dark and Melanie had turned on the lights.
“Look, I thought you would want to know,” she paused. “Well, how do you think she’s doing?”
There was a long stretch of silence.
“She’s asleep right now. I’m staying with her tonight.”
Another period of silence. She assumed it must have been Jared. Marissa stayed perfectly still, feigning sleep, but she was aware of her sister standing in front of the window, looking out at the darkening sky, occasionally glancing back in Marissa’s direction.
Melanie lowered her voice, “You know, Jared, it would probably mean a lot to her to hear from you.”
Marissa could only imagine the things he was saying on the other end of the phone. Regardless, the last thing he was going to want to do was to talk to her.
Allison and Jared: Marissa’s two best friends in the entire world. Despite her sister’s presence, she had never felt so alone. Rolling back over, she pulled the blankets up close and tried to block out everything as she prayed to find sleep again.