Tanya swore as she slipped on a rut in the parking lot and icy slush soaked into her tennis shoes. It hadn’t been snowing when she’d left for the game, and she’d left her boots at home. Now she’d have to drive home with wet shoes, and the heater in her little red Miata wasn’t working right. Her father would pay to have it fixed. Daddy always came through with money. But that meant her Miata would be in the garage for several days, and there was no way Tanya wanted to be stuck in this hick little town without her car.
Winter was a royal pain. Tanya unlocked the driver’s door and reached inside to pull out her scraper, a foot-long wooden pole, slightly thinner than a broom handle, with a wedge-shaped piece of plastic at one end and a brush at the other. The name stamped on the handle had worn partially off with use, but Tanya could still read it. It said, Ice Begone, Compliments of Ford’s Hardware, serving the Clearwater community since 1932. Jessica’s father owned a hardware store, and he’d let her give them out as Christmas presents this year.
Tanya thought about Jessica as she brushed the snow from her windshield. Jessica’s grandfather had built the hardware store, and he’d raised his family in a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor. When he’d died, Jessica’s father had taken over the store, and that’s where Jessica had lived all her life. Jessica helped out in the store on weekends and during the summer, and her father had promised that the business would be hers, someday. It seemed like a fate worse than death to Tanya. Jessica would be staying in Clearwater, running the family hardware store, and living in the second-floor apartment for the rest of her life.
“Why didn’t we stay in California?” Tanya grumbled as she brushed the snow from her car. Her hands felt like they were frozen, and she rubbed them together to warm them before she tackled the ice on her windshield. She should have worn her fur-lined gloves; but it hadn’t been this cold when she’d left the condo, and she’d left them behind with her boots.
It took some muscle, but Tanya finally managed to scrape all the ice from her windshield. At least she wouldn’t have to scrape her windows again tonight. When she got to the underground condo garage, the rest of the ice would melt while she was getting dressed. And Brett would be very sweet about scraping her windshield for her when she left the Hungry Burger to go home.
She pulled her jacket down carefully before she slid behind the wheel, but the seat was still icy cold. Tanya shivered as she started the engine, and waited for it to warm. There was no heat, but at least the tape deck was working.
Tanya slipped a jazz tape into the deck and smiled. She loved jazz, but no one else in Clearwater was sophisticated enough to enjoy it. Brett liked Country Western, and that’s all they listened to when they were together. Tanya hated it, but she pretended to like it when she was with him.
Brett was on her mind as Tanya put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. He wasn’t the man of her dreams; but he was the best there was in Clearwater, and that meant he’d just have to do, for now. When spring came and the roads were clear, she’d drive up to Madison and check out the college guys. They were bound to be more interesting, especially since the university attracted students from all over the country. Guys from New York or California would be much more cosmopolitan, and she wouldn’t have to listen to conversations about cows, or corn, or cheese making. In the meantime there was Brett, and it was a status symbol to date the best jock at Hamilton High.
As she turned down Elm Street, Tanya glanced at her watch in the light from the dash. It was already nine forty-five, and she’d promised to meet Brett at the Hungry Burger in less than an hour. She had to hurry, or she’d be late.
Tanya pumped her brakes cautiously when she came to the stop sign on Fourth Avenue. The first time she’d driven on the icy winter streets, she’d locked her brakes and gone into a skid, almost hitting a parked car. Since that frightening moment, Brett had given her some winter driving lessons, and she’d learned to be very careful when she drove around corners or stopped for stop signs.
It was only after she rounded the corner that she saw it, a car with its hood raised, stalled at the side of the street. Brett had told her about the unwritten law for motorists in the winter. If you saw someone stalled by the side of the road, you were supposed to stop and offer assistance. People had been known to freeze to death in stalled cars in the winter. But that happened out on the highway, not in town. This driver only had to walk for a couple of blocks to get help.
There was a frown on Tanya’s face as she approached the stalled car, and recognized it. Should she stop, or not? It would be a major inconvenience, and she’d waste a lot of time. It would make her so late, she wouldn’t have time to do her hair, and she wanted to look her best tonight.
Tanya averted her eyes and stared straight ahead as she passed the car. She felt slightly guilty, but it just couldn’t be helped. She was on a tight time schedule, and this was a busy street. Someone else would drive by and stop.
It was almost ten by the time Tanya pulled into the underground condo garage. She parked in her spot and rang for the elevator, tapping her foot impatiently while she waited for it to arrive. It didn’t take long, and moments later, Tanya was inside her family’s fourth-floor condo.
She headed straight for her room, shedding her clothes and hopping in the shower immediately. Her parents weren’t home, so she didn’t bother to shut the door. They’d gone to a party at the condo recreation room, and they wouldn’t be home until late.
It didn’t take long for Tanya to shower and dress in her favorite outfit, a white knit dress that hugged her figure and made her look like a queen. She was sitting at her dressing table, styling her hair, when she thought she heard someone walking down the hallway, outside the condo door. But that was impossible. Everyone who lived in the building was supposed to be at the party. She must be imagining things.
When she was finished with her hair, Tanya added just a touch more blush to her cheeks, and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She looked totally gorgeous, just the way the future Valentine’s Day Queen of Hamilton High was supposed to look.
Tanya walked out to the foyer and opened the door to the closet. She had two winter coats, but both of them were parkas. Too bad she didn’t have anything dressier. Queens were supposed to wear furs, weren’t they?
The moment Tanya thought of it, she started to smile. Her mother had an ermine jacket that would look incredible with her white knit dress. Of course, she really shouldn’t wear it without permission, but she couldn’t ask since her mother wasn’t here. Should she? Or shouldn’t she? Tanya wavered for a brief moment, and then she pulled the coat from its padded hanger, and slipped it over her shoulders. The soft fur felt luxurious against her neck, and she smiled as she glanced in the mirror on the back of the closet door. The coat was perfect. Absolutely perfect. She looked every inch a queen.
A glance at the grandfather clock standing in the entryway, and Tanya grabbed her purse and car keys. If she didn’t hurry, she’d be late. She was in such a rush as she opened the door and stepped out into the hall, she almost tripped over a giftwrapped package that someone had left in front of the door.
Tanya began to grin as she picked up the package. It was wrapped in glossy pink paper and topped with a bow printed with pink and white hearts. She hadn’t been imagining those footsteps in the hallway. Brett had been here, and he’d left her this present.
She ripped off the bow, slit the paper with the edge of one long pink fingernail, and lifted the lid of the small white jeweler’s box. And when she saw what was inside, she gasped with pure pleasure.
It was a pendant, a lovely gold heart on a thin gold chain. Except half of the heart was missing, and there was a jagged edge where it should be. The pendant was like a jigsaw puzzle with only two pieces, and Brett had the other half of the heart. If they put them together, they’d fit perfectly to make a whole heart.
Tanya smiled happily. Brett was probably down at the Hungry Burger right now, wearing the other half of the heart. She slipped the chain around her neck, stuffed the box and the paper in the potted plant that stood outside her parents’ door, and headed for the elevator to go down to the condo garage. After she pressed the button to summon the elevator, she glanced at the ornately framed mirror on the wall. The pendant looked absolutely gorgeous around her neck.
After a long moment of waiting, Tanya pressed the button again. The elevator was very slow tonight. She waited another few moments and then she began to frown. Someone must have stopped the elevator on one of the other floors. If she wanted to get down to the Hungry Burger on time, she’d have to use the stairs.
Tanya’s face was a study in irritation as she headed for the stairwell. Her parents’ condo was on the fourth floor, and she was wearing high-heeled boots.
When she pulled open the door to the stairwell, Tanya’s frown deepened to an angry scowl. The light was burned out. Usually the maintenance man was very prompt about replacing burned-out light bulbs, but he must have missed this one.
As she stared into the dark stairwell, Tanya hesitated. She really didn’t want to go into that dark, closed space. But Brett was down at the Hungry Burger, and it wasn’t wise to leave him alone for too long. There were other girls who would love to date him, and they wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of Tanya’s absence.
Tanya took a deep breath and started down the stairs, gripping the rail tightly. It gave her an uneasy feeling to walk down into the darkness. Her knees were shaking and her steps were unsteady and she moved deeper and deeper into the darkness until she reached the third-floor landing.
“That wasn’t so bad.” Tanya spoke aloud, just to reassure herself, and then she started down the second set of steps. She’d almost reached the next landing when she heard the sound of heavy breathing. Someone was in the stairwell with her! And that someone was right behind her!
Every bad horror movie Tanya had ever seen on late-night television flashed through her mind. She whirled around, her face a study in terror; and then her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she recognized who was behind her. “Oh, my God! Why didn’t you say something? You scared me half to death!”
Tanya’s knees sagged and she felt almost giddy with relief. But that relief didn’t last for more than an instant. He was wearing a half-heart pendant, the same as hers. Was this some kind of joke? But before she had time to ask him about it, strong arms reached out to push her down the stairs, her neck snapping in the fall.