Chapter Fifteen

 

AS USHER enjoyed the meal with his friends, they all listened to the local radio station. Supper of baked chicken, salad, a cold noodle dish, and the best seasoned cooked carrots he’d ever tasted, filled Usher up regardless of the tension he still felt in the air. He sensed everyone’s ears were tuned to the first crackle or pop from the scanner.

Usher stabbed a fat noodle covered in spicy olive oil. How many townspeople are cowered together in their homes, afraid to go by a window or answer the door? He ate the noodle, chewing thoughtfully. Why does the werewolf seem like it has a vendetta with me, and why is it taking it out on others?

“I’ll fill the dishwasher if you all put things away and wipe stuff off,” said Jess as she stood with her plate and glass.

“Works for me,” said Jarreth.

Usher helped clean up. He placed the bowl of noodles covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator as Hanna and Jarreth covered the other items.

Minutes later, with a fresh drink in each of their hands, they retired to the living room.

Jarreth motioned to the corner shelf full of DVDs. “Ladies, decide on a movie and put it in the player.”

“Damn, Jarreth,” said Jess. She walked over to the shelf and ran one finger along one row. “How many movies do you have?”

“Between me and Mom, about six hundred. They range from old black and whites to recent releases.” He laughed. “I watch movies from the shelves more than I do anything on satellite.”

Usher sat down on the loveseat next to Jarreth. He sipped his drink and sighed. Despite the circumstances that put them all under the same roof, he was truly enjoying everybody’s company. The Schnauzers trotted into the living room. One sprawled out on the left side of the coffee table and the other lay down on the right side of it.

“What do you think of this one, Jess?” Hanna asked as she handed her a DVD.

“Oh, good one.” Jess turned and reached over to push the button on the player. “Ultra Violet coming right up, guys.”

The women flopped onto the couch, and Jarreth used a dimmer switch to lower the lights so they could focus on the fifty-five inch flat panel.

As the preview part of the disc ended, Usher’s cell jingled. “Hello?” he said.

“Usher, where are you?”

“Doc Evirgrew?” Panic settled in Usher’s stomach. “Is something wrong?”

Jarreth, Jess, and Hanna all looked at him, their eyes full of trepidation and expectancy.

“Where are you?” the doc asked again with emphasis.

“I’m sure you heard what happened at Hanna Tope’s farm, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, she and Jess are both staying with me at Una Malloray’s home. I’ve had some—” He searched for the right explanation, not wanting anything to be caught on the airwaves by another device. “Well… uh… some trouble at my farm again, and with the attacks happening in town, we decided to hole up with Jarreth at Una’s place.”

“Look, Usher, the sheriff just finished grilling me about you.”

Startled, Usher said, “What? Why?”

“Supposedly, the authorities found something that led from your farm to Hanna’s, so they think you might’ve had a hand in killing Denver.”

The shock that hit him felt as if it sliced through all his internal organs. The sensation momentarily stole his breath.

“Usher?”

“I’m—” He gulped. “Here, Doc.”

Hanna scooted to the edge of the sofa, her expression fearful. Sitting with her mouth ajar, Jess realized it was open and snapped it shut. She perched on the edge of her seat too. Next to him, Jarreth sent Usher a quizzical look.

Doc Evirgrew sighed and then said, “The sheriff and a couple of deputies are on their way into town. It won’t take long for them to find out where you are, so maybe you should scram.”

“If I run it’ll look like I’m guilty.”

A cry of dismay burst from Hanna.

“Usher, what’s—” Jarreth began, but Usher shot him a sharp look.

Movement caught Usher’s attention. In the doorway, Una stood looking around the living room, her eyes glassy, her face contorted with fear. “Who are you people?” she hollered.

Lunging up from the loveseat, Jarreth approached his mother.

“Well,” Doc continued, “it won’t be long before the sheriff finds you. I thought I should warn you.”

“I’ll just have to deal with it. Besides,” said Usher, his heart thrumming so hard he saw spots, “Hanna knows I didn’t kill Denver. She was there when it happened.”

“The authorities think she’s covering for you,” Doc answered.

“This is fucking ridiculous!” Usher snapped.

“Now see here, young man,” Una groused, shaking a finger at him, “I won’t have that kind of language under my roof!”

“Mom,” Jarreth said, “you should go back to your room.”

“No!” She pulled away from her son. “I keep telling you I see blood and fangs, but you won’t believe me. I see them, Jarreth, I do!”

“Mom, there isn’t any blood and fangs here.”

“I want these people out of my house now!” she screamed, her face darkening with anger.

“Doc, Una is having an episode.” Usher stood. “So I need to hang up, but thanks for warning me.”

“Call me when you find out what’s going on,” Doc said, and hung up.

A thump sounded on the front door. The sound boomed in the foyer, startling Jess and Hanna who clutched one another. The dogs leapt to their feet and began barking. Una let out a shriek of pure terror. Usher jumped and dropped his cell on the floor.

“It’s here!” Una shrieked even louder. “I told you, Jarreth, but you didn’t believe me!”

“That’s the wind, Mom,” he replied. “We’re due to get more nasty weather tonight.”

In her pink slippers, she shuffled over to the curio cabinets.

“Mom?” Jarreth followed her.

“There’s blood on my chapel!” his mother shrieked as she pointed at the wedding anniversary gift.

Jarreth put both his hands on her shoulders and looked over her tousled head. “No, Mom. There’s nothing on the chapel, really.”

“Yes, there is!” she insisted.

A feeling of doom slipped over Usher as he watched the exchange. Something’s different about this fit she’s having. He shivered, his gaze zipping from the bay window to Una and then to the hall.

“Darn it, Jarreth, can’t you see the blood on the steeple?” she asked, and stomped one foot. “It’s right there!” She tapped on the glass next to the statue of the church.

“Mom,” Jarreth soothed, “there isn’t any blood on the chapel Dad gave you.”

At the word Dad, she seemed to sober. She turned slightly and looked up at her son, her eyes more lucid. “I’m sorry, honey, what were we talking about?”

“You were just telling everyone about your pretty chapel.” A quiver resided in Jarreth’s voice.

The sound of it sent a piercing pain into Usher’s heart. God, help them both. I don’t know how the man can stand it.

“Oh?” Una realized there were guests in her living room and brightened. “My husband had that chapel made for my tenth anniversary present. We’d lost all our memorabilia in a house fire, including everything from our wedding.”

“It’s beautiful,” said Jess.

“Just lovely,” Hanna added.

Una crossed the room and then glanced at the bay window. “Jarreth, there’s blood everywhere, and I saw fangs in the window again.”

Hurrying to her, Jarreth drew his mother to his side. “There’s no blood or fangs, Mom. I keep telling you that.”

Shaking from head to toe, Usher started to say something to help calm the woman, but decided he should keep his mouth shut when Una looked up at Jarreth with hope.

“Really?” she asked.

Jarreth nodded adamantly. “Yes, Mom. The only thing happening this evening is bad weather. Stone Trail is supposed to get more snow and lots of wind.”

“I heard a loud thump a little while ago.”

“That was probably just someone’s trashcan hitting the side of the house, or maybe a tree limb on the roof.”

“Well… okay.” Jarreth’s mother ambled into the hall, her slippers making soft whispery noises on the carpet. “I want to finish my movie, honey.”

“I’ll be right back,” Jarreth said over his shoulder, and he escorted his mom to her room.

Jess and Hanna looked at one another with tears in their eyes.

“How sad,” Hanna stated.

The small dogs kept barking. The more agitated they became, the more Usher’s nerves shredded. “I’ll put Tip and Tap in the basement,” he called to the women as he hurried out of the room.

Footsteps behind him forced Usher to turn around in the hall. Hanna followed him into the kitchen where she strode straight to the freezer and removed the ice trays to freshen her drink.

“I’m so damn rattled,” she said, “that I feel like I’m going to burst into pieces.”

“Tip! Tap!” he said loudly. “Come on, boys.”

The Schnauzers raced into the corridor, over to where he stood at the door, and padded quickly down the wooden staircase. He watched as they curled up together in their big dog bed as if they were glad to be out of sight and out of mind. Usher shut the door to follow Hanna back into the living room.

“Okay,” Jarreth announced. “Mom’s back in bed watching a movie. She keeps babbling about blood and fangs.” He flopped on the sofa and let out a frustrated groan. “I don’t know if her meds are causing the hallucination or if it’s the dementia. For a moment there, she was totally lucid, then just as quickly, she slipped back into her dream world again.”

Sympathy for Jarreth filled Usher. He wished he could banish his friend’s stress.

“What was the earlier phone call about?” Jess asked as she peered across the end of the sofa at Usher.

Quickly, he told them what Doc Evirgrew had said.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Hanna exclaimed. Her brows knitted, and the corners of her mouth drew back into severe apostrophes. “I was there when Denver was killed, so how the hell can they think you might have something to do with it?”

“I don’t know.” Usher let his head loll on the back of the couch. Uncertainty jabbed its claws into his heart, forcing it into a faster gallop. “I have a bad feeling about this and—”

Another, louder thump, hit the front door.

Jarreth jerked and sloshed his drink on his jeans.

“What the hell was that?” said Usher as anxiety sluiced through him.

Jess and Hanna squealed and scooted closer to one another, their eyes wild and glassy with fear.

“Calm down,” said Jarreth. “I don’t want Mom coming out of her room again. If she freaks out, it takes a long time to get her calmed down again.”

A cry ripped from Hanna’s throat, and she grabbed Jess so tightly that Jess hollered too. Hanna pointed at the bay window. “There was a huge, black shadow at the window!”

“I think everyone is suffering a bad case of nerves.” Usher got up and walked to the window. Cupping his hands around his eyes, he peered through the glass and saw nothing but snow swirling in the streetlights. “I don’t see anything out there, Hanna.”

“I’m telling you there was something outside the window,” she insisted.

“I’ll go check the front door,” he said. “It’s probably just some sort of debris the wind is tossing around.”

Jarreth stood. “I’ll go with you.” He pointed at the women. “You two stay here.”

“Don’t worry,” Jess quipped. “My ass is sucking the springs out of the loveseat.”

Despite the tension, Usher burst out laughing as he made his way into the foyer. Behind him, Jarreth chuckled too.

At the door, Usher paused and looked at his friend. “You ready?”

He nodded.

“Here goes—” Usher gripped the doorknob and opened the door to a blast of icy air and a barrage of snowflakes. Something lay on the stoop. He took one step out and knelt, only to let out a startled cry and topple backward onto his butt.

“What is that?” asked Jarreth. He looked over Usher’s head. “I see a big rock on the step and a—wait. Is that a—”

“A human hand with a note tied to it,” Usher finished. “Make sure the girls don’t come out to the foyer.” He tugged the piece of paper out from the wire wrapped around the fingers, holding the note in place. Standing, he backed through the door and shut it.

“What’s it say?”

Lowering his voice, Usher read the message aloud. “I’m coming for you tonight. I’ll kill you first and then I’ll rip your friends apart.” He held it up for Jarreth to see. “It’s in letters cut from magazines and pasted on the paper.”

“Who the hell did you piss off?” Jarreth asked, his eyes grave.

“I don’t know,” Usher said, “but I need to leave so the rest of you aren’t in danger too.”

“No.” His friend shook his head, his mouth flattening into a thin line. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Jarreth, I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you, the girls, or your mom.”

“Where the hell are you going to go? Home where you’re alone?” he countered, his eyes lighting up with determination. “And what difference does it make anyway? That thing is killing people in Stone Trail too.”

“Guys?” Jess called out into the corridor. “Everything okay out there?”

“We’ll be right there,” Jarreth called back. He focused on Usher again. “You’re staying, and I bet the girls will agree with me.”

“Do we tell them about this note and the hand?”

“The note, yes. The hand, no. But we’ll say it was tied to the rock.” He glanced at the door. “That was probably the first thud we heard. It was a method of getting our attention and shaking us up.”

The furnace kicked on, and toasty air blew out of the floor vent, warming Usher’s feet. He used the warmth to help settle his nerves. “We can’t leave the hand on the stoop, especially with the sheriff coming.”

“I wouldn’t touch it. If the authorities don’t show up then we should leave it there until morning. Otherwise, the deputies can find it and then we’ll act shocked.”

Usher raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

“It’ll prove something is after us and that you had no part in Denver’s death.”

“What could the cops have that points a finger at me?”

“Who knows?” said Jarreth. “We just have to play the victims.”

Usher nodded and walked back to the women waiting for them. He explained what they’d found and then he offered to leave.

“No way,” said Hanna. “We stick together. There’s safety in numbers.”

“I agree with Hanna.” Jess stared hard at Usher. “You’ve been my friend for a long time. I’m not letting you put your life in danger.”

“Besides, isn’t everyone in Stone Trail in danger now?” Hanna stated.

Jarreth chuckled. “That’s more or less what I told Usher too.”

“Then I guess it’s settled.” Usher picked up his drink and took a healthy swallow. “We should let Brock out of the laundry room. He seems to pick up on when the werewolf is nearby, so we can use him as our alarm system.”

“That’s a good idea,” Jarreth said. “I’ll let him out.”

I hope we’re safe tonight. I couldn’t stand it if any of my friends get hurt. Shaking, Usher sat and sipped from his glass.