Red Snow (3 page)

Chapter Four

Kayla Burkheart had had enough of that job, anyway. After traveling across five states to deliver that Corvette Stingray, she was done with selling classic cars.

In all fairness, the seventy thousand dollar car that she was delivering had arrived in Texas with a nine inch scratch on the passenger side door. Her boss had warned her that even one tiny scratch would be her undoing. Even if you happened to be a size queen, nine inches was not tiny.

Of course, driving off-road through the desert while running from a fucking werewolf was not an excuse Mr. Groves had been prepared for. But, it was the truth after all. At least he was nice enough to give her the bonus and her overtime pay. She had left Groves Classic Custom Cars in Olympia, Washington with a check for ten thousand dollars, a bruised ego, an unbelievable story, and a big scratch on her right thigh.

Oh well, she thought to herself, and headed back to her mother's house. She never thought of it as home, it was always 'her mother's house'. That bitch had never been anything but horrible to her. Her Dad had run off with another woman when Kayla was twelve. Her mother told Kayla that it was all her fault that he left them. She knew better at thirty-one, but at twelve, had believed everything her mom said. She knew now that her mother, Carolyn, was an evil, demonic shrew that no one could ever love.

It's no wonder Kayla turned to alcohol and pills to numb herself from the constant barrage of abuse. Those days were behind her now. She had been sober for two years, and she had no intention of going back to that life. Besides, she had David now. At least she thought she did. She had not heard from him since the second day of her week long trek from Washington to Texas.

After she settled back in at Carolyn's house, she was going to his apartment to see what the hell was wrong. She knew it had better be a damn good reason, or there was going to be a problem.

When she tried to slip quietly into the house, Carolyn called out to her.

"Kayla? Is that you?"

"Yeah." She responded in a monotonous, drone-like voice.

"Get in here."

Kayla stomped into the living room where Carolyn sat every waking moment watching talk shows and soap operas.

"What?"

"Well, I thought that I would ask how your trip went, if that's alright with you."

"Fine."

"Just fine?"

"Yeah."

"Mr. Groves called. He said after he
fired
you, you forgot to take your jacket." Carolyn snarked with obvious self-satisfaction.

"Shit!"

"Watch it, Missy! This is still my home, and you will not be disrespectful! Can you tell me how you are planning on paying me the rent you owe?"

"Don't worry, you'll get paid."

"Really? How exactly does an unemployed, alcoholic, pill popper plan to pay rent? Are you going down to the corner to try and make some money?"

Kayla just looked at her with the resignation that came with years of putting up with this type of bullshit.

"Good luck with that!" Carolyn laughed at her own joke. A witch's cackle that grated on Kayla's nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

"Gee, thanks."

"Well, you might as well make yourself useful if you're gonna be an unemployed lay about. Make me a drink."

"
Seriously
?"

"Did I fucking stutter? Make me a damn drink. Vodka twist."

"Bitch." Kayla muttered under her breath as she walked into the kitchen.

"What?"

"Nothing."

The bottle of vodka was sitting on the counter, half empty. As she opened the lid, the smell that only a drunk could appreciate wafted up and filled her head with a craving that actually hurt in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to take a drink of that vodka so badly, but thought of what she would be losing, and just poured the old bitch a drink.

After the obligatory dealings with her horrible mother, Kayla couldn't wait to see David. She was pissed that he hadn't answered her fajillion texts, but was hopeful that he had a good reason. The shitty, dumpy studio apartment that he rented was just up ahead. She pulled into a parking spot in front of the tiny broken down building and got out of her Honda. She always worried about parking here, afraid that her car might be up on blocks when she came out. Even the hookers stayed away from this part of town. She buzzed to be let in, and David's voice on the intercom released the knot that had developed in the pit of her stomach.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Babe. Buzz me in."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? Buzz me in."

"Sure, why the hell not?"

She waited for the buzz so she could get upstairs and get the explanations needed for his behavior. She was greeted at the door by a David that was unfamiliar to her. He looked as though he had not showered or shaved for at least three or four days. It was the way he had looked upon his arrival at the rehab center where they met. He looked at Kayla and turned back into the single room, leaving the door open for her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked him, starting to get pissed off all over again.

"Well, Kayla, you tell me."

"Have you been drinking?"

"No." He lied. She couldn't smell it on him, so he hadn't been drinking that day at least.

"David, why?" She wanted to cry. How could he be so weak?

"When I hadn't gotten a message from you in like three days, I went to your mom's house. Carolyn told me all about your trip, and the guy you met on the road. How could you do that to me, Kayla?" He sat down in the one chair he owned, looking totally lost.

"You believed her? You really believed that I would cheat on you with some random guy? How could you do that to
me
, David?" She was trying not to cry herself. "The actual truth is that I was attacked. Some crazy bastard basically kidnapped me and tied me up in the fucking desert and was going to kill me."

"Oh my God, Babe, are you alright?"

"Oh, now you're concerned? Just a minute ago, I was a cheating slut, now I'm 'Babe'? You really drank because you thought I was cheating?"

"I didn't drink. Your mom poured me some fruit juice. I felt shitty after I drank it, but I didn't drink any alcohol. I swear."

"You
trusted
her? That could have had Drano in it, or it could have been some kind of fucking magic potion. I'm pretty sure that's where the vodka went."

"I'm so sorry, Kayla. I should have known not to listen to her. I was fine when I got there, then she gave me that apple juice and started talking to me. It all seemed so logical. I don't know what the fuck happened. Please forgive me. It's like I was under some spell or something. I'm so sorry." He placed his head in his hands and started to cry for real.

"I just need some time to cool down, David. I'll call you in a day or two. I love you, but this is too much for me to deal with right now." She summoned up the last of her strength and walked out the door. She didn't know that she wouldn't be seeing David again for a long time.

Chapter Five

Kayla returned to her mother's house, planning to give that bitch a piece of her mind. She was so sick of her trying to ruin everything good in Kayla's life. She was her daughter, for Christ's sake! Moms should be nice, bake cookies and give advice. This cow never baked a cookie in her life, and her only advice to Kayla was to tell her that she was worthless. Well, no more.

Kayla strutted up the path and opened the front door. She expected Carolyn to be sitting in her recliner watching Maury or Oprah, but she wasn't there. The television was actually turned off for the first time, ever. There was a peculiar smell coming from down the hall. As Kayla sniffed to assess the source of the sweet, thick scent, she heard a voice, chanting. Yes, it was definitely chanting.

The smell got stronger as she tiptoed down the hall, trying not to make a sound. As she approached the door, she realized that the smell was incense. Not the pleasant smell that she associated with head shops, or pot smoking parties, but a cloying, spicy scent that almost made her cough and gasp for clean air. The smell was familiar, like a nutty, mocha smell. Chicory! That's what it was! But, there was something else, a peppery, sulfur smell. The chanting sounded like it was in Latin or something similar.

Kayla heard movement inside the back room. She bolted to the bathroom across the hall. Peeking through the tiny crack between the door and the frame, she saw Carolyn emerge from the room farthest down the hall. She was dressed in a black robe with a high stiff collar. The spicy sulfur smell followed Carolyn down the hall in a wave as she made her way towards the bathroom door. Kayla audibly gasped, and prayed that Carolyn would not open the door.

In a panic, Kayla unbuttoned her jeans and dropped them to the floor. She almost fell into the bowl as she flopped onto the toilet seat. She knew that she was going to have a big bruise on her butt cheek from this little stunt. The door handle began to turn, and Kayla sat perfectly still. As the door began to open, she shouted a warning to Carolyn, who quickly closed the door.

"Occupied!"

"When did you get home?" Carolyn asked, suspiciously.

"Just a few seconds ago. You didn't hear me fly in the house and say I had to pee like a racehorse?" Kayla listened closely to try and decide if Carolyn was buying her story.

"I didn't hear you at all. I was napping." Carolyn lied, sounding artificially sweet.

Kayla pulled up her jeans and flushed the toilet for effect. She came out of the bathroom, but Carolyn had disappeared to the master bedroom. Kayla jogged into her own room and shut the door behind her. She caught her breath as she pressed her back against the closed door.

Come to think of it, she had never been in that third bedroom. Ever. What was the bitch doing in there? Was it something so secret that Kayla was not allowed to see?

"I'm going out to see some friends." Carolyn yelled as she gathered her keys and left the house.

Kayla decided that Carolyn would probably be gone for a while, so she was going to investigate that smell and the secret room.

She went to the front door, made sure it was locked and then watched as Carolyn's dark blue Cadillac pulled out of the drive and sped away.

Kayla tried the third bedroom door. Locked.

"Fuck!"

She had some experience at picking locks, but wasn't exactly confident in her skills. She wasn't a criminal, but she had weaseled her way into a few abandoned houses to squat or party for a night. A few of her former "friends" had taught her some valuable skills. It was time to dig into her memory bank and see how well those skills had stood the test of time.

Fumbling with the bobby pin fashioned into a key, it took six tries to get the tumblers to click. When they did, Kayla resisted the urge to do her happy dance. That urge abruptly vanished when she saw the contents of the hidden room.

On the far side of the room, there was a table filled with candles, incense burners and all sorts of paraphernalia. Carolyn is a witch? No way! Kayla had known quite a few Wiccans in her life, and they were usually sweet, nice nature lovers that were kind to most everyone. That did not describe Carolyn in any way, shape or form. She didn't even recycle, or give two shits about nature, or other people for that matter.

As Kayla looked more closely at the contents of the table, she sensed that something was wrong. There were items on the table that Kayla had never seen on any other Wiccan altar before. In the center of the table, there was a pentagram drawn in red ink. At least she
hoped
it was ink. The pentagram was inverted, and surrounded by other strange symbols that she could not decipher. In the center of the pentagram, there was a black skull shaped candle that had been sprinkled with some type of bark or herb. A picture of Kayla sat to the left of the candle with more symbols drawn on it.

Kayla took out her phone and snapped a picture of the table. Even though the phone was useless since the big bad wolf had hijacked it, she could still use it to take pictures. Maybe she could find someone to interpret the writing. On the floor at the foot of the small table, there was a folder filled with papers. Kayla was trying to keep an ear out to hear if Carolyn came home. Nothing yet, so she continued her investigation.

As she opened the folder, a photograph fell out onto the floor. She bent down to pick it up and saw that it was a picture of her father. He was older, but Kayla still knew his face.  The folder was comprised of different pieces of information on him. He lived in California. His second wife had died, and they had no children together. There were medical reports as well. One of them stated that he had been diagnosed a month ago with stage four pancreatic cancer and that he had less than six months to live.

Reading this news, Kayla felt a lump develop in her throat. This man had left her alone with a horrible, vicious beast. He had run away to California to be with another woman and deserted his only daughter, but she still felt grief upon hearing of his impending death. She choked back the urge to cry tears for her lost father and continued her search. The next piece of paper was very telling. It was her father's life insurance policy. One million dollars payable upon his death. The lump in her throat returned for a very different reason. The policy was payable in full to
Kayla Burkheart
.

She read over the fine print of the document as quickly as possible. In the event of suicide, policy is void. In case of accidental death, an additional benefit was to be paid. In the case that the primary beneficiary was deceased or otherwise unavailable to receive payment, the secondary beneficiary, or next of kin would receive the entire benefit. Carolyn was listed as the secondary/alternate beneficiary.

Kayla took photos of every document and then carefully placed them back into the folder, and placed the folder back where she found it on the floor. She looked at the altar, trying to decide what Carolyn had been doing exactly. The athame sitting on the right of the pentagram had something on the blade. Kayla leaned down to look closer, not wanting to touch anything on the table. The blade of the knife had a red liquid on it.

"Please be red ink." She said out loud.

Only, it wasn't ink. It was blood. The same blood that had been used to draw the upside down pentagram and the symbols on Kayla's picture. The same blood that filled the large silver goblet at the top of the table. But, whose blood was it? Kayla got her answer when she looked under the table. In a large bowl, there was the savaged body of a black cat. The small animal's gut had been slit open and its neck was broken. Kayla hoped that the latter had happened first. Poor little guy, she thought.

"Bitch ruined my life, too." Kayla said to the murdered feline.

She got up and left the dark temple that Carolyn had hidden from her for her entire life. She needed some time to think. Kayla thought that she might just disappear for a day or two. A quick stop at the bank to cash her check and then a day or two holed up in a nice hotel would do her good. She could do some research on the things she found in that horrible death room and also reflect on why she was so pissed off at David.

She packed a couple days' worth of clothes, her laptop and a few other necessities. She didn't really care what the bitch thought, so she didn't bother to leave a note. At least two days of room service, relaxing, not doing a damn thing except enjoying her unemployment to the fullest extent possible was all she had planned.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she walked out the door to begin her miniature vacation. The world would have to go on turning for a few days without Kayla Burkheart to keep it in order. She wished the world luck and got into her car.