Dead Sure?: A Paranormal Mystery (16 page)

Staring at the end table where he had left the journal, he noticed it was gone. Sam began looking around the room frantically before walking back into the kitchen in an attempt to retrace his steps. He was trying to convince himself that he must have carried the journal into another room. He didn’t believe that, but it was the only thing that made sense. Of course, when he got to the kitchen, the journal was nowhere to be seen. He just stood there stunned.

*    *    *

Knocking on Rene’s door, Jack felt a tingling feeling of anticipation. This was going to be a great evening, he felt sure of it. Rene answered the door quickly. She was dressed in a short jean skirt, and low cut black halter top. It was all Jack could do to make eye contact, and not be too obvious. Rene smiled to herself. Her outfit had definitely gotten his attention.

“So what is on the agenda tonight?” she said.

“I thought we would get some dinner first, and then head out for some dancing.”

“That sounds great, come in while I grab my purse.”

Jack stepped in looking around curiously, while Rene disappeared towards the back of the apartment. Not to his surprise, the apartment was filled with many antiques. What did surprise him was that they were not overwhelming, they were tastefully mixed with newer things as well.

Returning quickly with a bounce in her step, she ushered him out the door and locked up.

“How would you like Mexican food for dinner? I know a great place down by the university that has killer chips and salsa. The margaritas aren’t bad either. ”

“Do you now? Well, you are quickly becoming quite the aficionado of this town,” she said smiling, “and yes, I do like Mexican food.”

“Would it be cheating not to mention that I know about this place from way back, when I used to live here?” he beamed back at her.

“Yes, it would,” and with that she grabbed his arm playfully as they headed for the car.

*    *    *

The waiter came to the table carrying two jumbo margaritas. He had insisted the couple order the jumbo size, because they were on special tonight for only a dollar more than the regular ones.

“Are you and the lady ready to order?”

Rene spoke up quickly, “Yes, I would like the chicken burrito enchilada style.”

Jack chimed in with, “I’ll have the steak fajitas,” as soon as Rene had finished placing her order.

The waiter smiled, asking if they wanted extra sour cream on the side, before he turned, darting off for the kitchen.

Rene was feeling like her old carefree self again. Here she was having dinner with this intriguing guy, her recent troubles seemed a million miles away. “So, Jack, you mentioned that you used to live in Minneapolis.”

“Yes, I have to admit that this is the area I grew up in. I know it’s not as exciting as New York, but the place has its merits.”

“I think it’s a great place to live. I grew up in this area as well, and have no desire to leave. What made you move to New York?”

“I don’t know, it’s hard to say exactly. There is something about the big city excitement, New York never sleeps, you can do anything anytime.” He said this last comment with a gleam in his eye. “What makes you like the twin cities so much; do your parents or siblings still live nearby?”

Rene’s speech changed from more of a smooth flow to a rushed pitch. “My dad walked out on me when I was young. My mother passed away a few years before that, and I’m an only child.”

“I’m sorry, that all sounds very hard.”

Before Jack could say more, the waiter had reappeared with more chips and salsa. “Do you need a refill on those drinks yet?” he said cheerfully.

Jack glanced at their jumbo glasses, which where still about half full. “Not quite yet, thanks.”

“So Jack, how about you, do you have family in the area?”

“Well, my parents moved to Florida a few years back. I use to have an uncle that lived around here. I am not really sure if he’s still in this area, or even still around. The guy would be getting pretty old at this point. I keep meaning to look him up, but life seems to be full of distractions lately.”

“I could help you look him up. It would be fun for you two to see each other again. Maybe he has some antiques he would like to sell at Liam’s store.”

“How long have you worked at that place? You seem like you have a passion for that job.”

“I do really love antiques. I am particularly fascinated with the nineteen twenties. So much in that era set the stage for today. Did you know that your favorite thing, cars, were just becoming mainstream at the time, and that the whole idea of credit spending was just beginning to take shape, or that the first vending machines where being installed. Once you get me going on this topic, look out,” her face shown with a genuine enthusiasm.

“I can certainly see that. It’s good to have things you’re passionate about, and you’re right, one of my favorite things is cars. I’d like to have a whole collection of them, assuming I had the money, and a place to put them all. It’s probably a topic I shouldn’t get started on,” he said with a chuckle.

The waiter reappeared again with two more margaritas. “I saw that yours, and the lovely lady’s glasses were empty. Your food should be out shortly.”

“Wow, that waiter is really attentive. I guess he is bucking for a big tip.”

Rene picked up her glass, “Cheers to a great dinner, and a wonderful evening ahead of us.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Jack said, before taking a big gulp from his fresh drink. A moment later, Rene had a pained look on her face. “What’s the matter are you feeling okay?”

She held her head for a second, and fluffed her right hand at him. Looking up she said, “Yeah, wow, I had a major case of brain freeze. This new margarita seems extra cold.”

“Have some more chips, that spicy salsa will thaw you out.”

*    *    *

The rest of the evening was fantastic; dinner was great, followed by dancing at multiple clubs down by the university. Jack thought things couldn’t be going better. It was almost midnight by the time they arrived back at Rene’s apartment. Rene began to dig her keys out of her purse. Feeling the moment was right; Jack embraced her, giving her a very passionate kiss. She responded immediately, and the couple became enamored with each other, groping and kissing excitedly. This went on for some time before Rene breathlessly invited Jack in.

A similar scene played out again on the living room couch, only with more frantic touching, and somewhat less clothing. Stopping for a breather, Rene smoothed down her skirt, and put her top back on. “Jack, I’ll get us some wine. Feel free to turn on some music, and if you need it, the bathroom is down the hall and to the right.”

Wow, Rene is so hot. That woman has a lot of fire in her. This is going to be one fantastic night.
Getting up, he headed down the hall for the bathroom. Before he got there, a strange smell assaulted him as he passed by one of the bedrooms. It was a unique smell, which he recognized but couldn’t connect with anything in particular. He felt compelled to wander into the room it was coming from. Flipping on the light switch, he was greeted by what appeared to be a small cloud of smoke. Squinting to adjust his eyes, he found that the smoke had vanished, and he felt it must just have been his imagination. The room had a desk off to the side, and hanging above it was the painting from the office building, the very same painting that Elsa had described to him earlier that day. Except the little girl Elsa had mentioned was not in the painting. He felt a chill slowly move up from the base of his spine to the top of his head. It was hard to believe what he was seeing. How did this crazy painting get from the office building to here? Before he could think about it further, Rene walked up behind him.

“What are you doing in here?” The words came out of her mouth, but they didn’t sound like they belonged to her.

“Ah, well, I smelled smoke and stopped to check it out.” As soon as he said this, he realized how lame it sounded. It was the truth, but it sounded lame.

“Get out now!”

“Okay, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said, flustered by her terrible tone.

“I want you out of my house now!”

“What, come on? I’m sorry about walking into this room. I don’t think I did anything worth getting this upset about.”

She simply replied with a one word answer, “NOW!” This time the voice was booming like it was inside his head.

“Fine, I’m leaving, I don’t know what’s with you!” and with that he stormed back into the living room. Speedily, he slipped his shirt back on, and pulled his shoes on without taking the time to put on his socks. “Maybe I’ll see you again,” he said, slamming the door on his way out. Hesitating in the hall for a moment, it felt as if her eyes could see him through the door, like they where piercing into the back of his head. The feeling was so bizarre; he couldn’t resist turning rapidly, in the hope of seeing he didn’t know what. All that met his gaze was an ordinary apartment door, and nothing more.

*    *    *

Steve was basking in his success, this Saturday evening. He had a glass of top notch champagne in his hand, and Shelby snuggled up next to him on his leather couch. They had just gotten back to the penthouse from a small celebration with friends, and both still had on their finery. Steve was dressed in a jet-black tuxedo, and Shelby was wearing a short ebony dress. She had discarded her high heel shoes casually off to one side of the couch. Her normally straight-black hair was curled and teased up into a wild looking style. Both of them had been drinking like fish, and were feeling pretty mellow.

My building project is back on, thanks to my brilliant plan of having Jack recant his story. I love employees that are desperate to keep their jobs. They’ll do anything I tell them to, so will everyone else for that matter. My new building will be the biggest, grandest building to grace the Minneapolis skyline yet. The cost and splendor will even outshine that stupid Foshay building that people are always talking about. Instead of my name in ten-foot letters on the side of the building like Foshay, I’ll use twenty-foot letters, and with some color instead of just plain-white lights, perhaps a deep red color? What a legacy for the Yates name, standing proud and tall, unlike that dope Foshay, I won’t lose my fortune upon completing it.  

Shelby finished her glass of champagne. Glancing momentarily at Steve, and noticing that he was lost in thought, she picked up the remote off the glass top coffee table, clicking on the sixty-inch plasma television. The beautifully-crisp picture sprang to life with the nightly ten o’clock news. Attempting to refill her tall-stemmed champagne glass, she found the bottle to be empty. She clunked it awkwardly back down on the table.

“Steve, do you want to share another bottle?” she asked. He hardly seemed to notice her there. Not one that liked to be ignored, Shelby leaned over and kissed his neck finishing with a playful nip.
That got his attention.
His mind came spinning back from some distant place; his focus was all on her, just the way she liked it. It was fine if she ignored him, but not the other way around, at least from her perspective.

Turning his body to face her, he reached over and began kissing her aggressively, stopping, he tapped the cute little dimple on the center of her chin with his pointer finger.

“Yes, another bottle of champagne sounds delightful.”

Who says delightful? Sometimes he sounds so quaint. Then again, my slight Greek accent probably sounds…Oh whatever, time for more champagne,
and with that thought, she rose from the couch, tottering slightly, heading for the kitchen, a place she only visited to mix drinks. Food preparation was way too mundane for her. There was always someone that could be paid to do menial work.

Steve started watching the news, waiting for her return. He had enjoyed staring at her trim little ass before it exited the room. Shelby was a fantastic looking woman, very lean and angular with sharp edgy curves just where they should be.

Abruptly, he felt a chill travel up the nape of his neck. The sensation was as if, someone had just opened a window behind him on a cold winter’s night. Only there was no window behind him, and none of the windows in the high-rise apartment could be opened. Turning instinctively to look behind him, nothing out of the ordinary greeted his steel grey eyes. He continued to stare across the room menacingly, but all he saw was the sofa table that divided the room, and two art deco sitting chairs against the far wall. The chairs were in front of a massive built-in bookshelf; spanning the entire wall. Charles living room was palatial and filled with many beautiful possessions, but at the moment it seemed cavernous and empty.

The chill, nipping at the back of his neck, still persisted even with his body facing backwards. He sensed that something was all around him, now. Frantically, he turned back towards the television, realizing the room had gone eerily silent. There was no evening news crew or cheerful TV ad filling the screen. Instead the display had gone black, and dark red letters scrawled across the monitor:

Payback Time

Terror was gripping Steve, now, like a vice, and the only emotion he could use to bury it was anger. Reaching rapidly for the end table, he pulled open the drawer. There was a forty-five automatic waiting for action. Grabbing the cold-grey steel; he squeezed off several rounds into the TV. Pieces of the television exploded into the air, scattering in every direction.