Twisted (36 page)

E
veryone else was sleeping soundly, but Sue Langer was wide awake. Part of the problem was the daybed she'd chosen. It was very pretty with its white metal frame and blue and white flowered sheets and comforter, but it wasn't very comfortable. Sue smiled as she considered writing a warning and taping it to the frame.
If you want your guests to sleep all night, don't buy this bed!
Of course she'd never actually write a note like that, but there really ought to be some way to sleep on a bed before you bought it.

Sue plumped up her pillow and turned on her back, but that didn't help. Neither did rolling on her stomach, or on her side. She just wasn't sleepy, and when she closed her eyes, they popped right back open again.

They'd tried to shut off the Christmas music, but the door to the communications room had been locked. They couldn't even get in to change the tape, so they had to hear the same songs over and over. Sue didn't really mind. She loved Christmas carols. But they made her miss Ronnie terribly.

She'd tried to call Ronnie at work, but he'd been out on a delivery. Naturally, she'd left a message for him on his voice mail, but she missed him so much, she wanted to hear his voice. The lights in the store were dim, and she couldn't see her watch, but she'd heard the grandfather clock in the dining room section chime eleven times quite a while ago. It had to be close to eleven-thirty by now, and Ronnie got off work at eleven. Perhaps she should try to call him one last time. He'd be home by now.

Sue sat up on the daybed and slipped into her shoes, careful not to wake anyone else. Then she walked quietly through the furniture store and went out the door into the mall. As she passed the main entrance, she shivered a little. It was unlocked, and that gave her an uneasy feeling.

After Paul's experience, Jay had insisted they leave the main door unlocked, just in case some unlucky truck driver broke down on the road and made his way to the mall. That was also the reason they were leaving on the lights. A stranded motorist might see them from the road, and head for the mall to take shelter. It all made perfect sense, but Sue was nervous about that unlocked door. She was used to double-locking her apartment door at night.

Sue stopped as she came to the giant Christmas tree, and stood for a moment, enjoying the sight. There was something very romantic about a Christmas tree, and she wished that Ronnie were here to enjoy it with her. Getting snowbound at the mall would have been wonderful then.

“Silent Night” was playing over the loudspeaker, and Sue smiled as she walked on to the bank of pay phones just past the Crossroads Pub. She'd probably heard “Silent Night” about a hundred times today, but she loved it so much, she didn't mind. She'd met Ronnie at Christmastime, and she thought of “Silent Night” as “their” song. If they had a Christmas wedding, she might even ask the organist to play it when she walked down the aisle.

Sue put in her quarter and dialed Ronnie's number, but there was no dial tone. The phones had been working fine when they'd all called their parents, but the storm must have knocked down the lines. She tried another phone to be sure, but that one didn't work, either. They were cut off out here at the mall, with no way to talk to the outside world.

For a moment, Sue almost panicked, but then she realized that she was being ridiculous. They weren't going to be stuck here forever, and the Highway Patrol Officers had promised that the plows would be out, just as soon as the storm let up. They were perfectly all right, out here at the mall. They had plenty of food and water, and the building was well heated. They were really lucky they were here, where they had all the essentials to wait out the storm.

Dave had left the pub unlocked, and Sue went in to pour herself a chilled mug of beer. Perhaps it would relax her so she could sleep.

As Sue slid onto a bar stool and sipped her beer, she thought about how much Ronnie would like the Crossroads Pub. He loved to play darts and there were two boards mounted in wooden cabinets on the wall. Perhaps Ronnie would form a dart league, and they'd play out here a couple of nights a week. It would be a nice place to hang out.

Thinking about Ronnie began to make Sue feel sad. Although they had separate apartments, they spent most of their time together. Now Ronnie was in Prairie Falls, and she felt a little lonely, out here by herself. Diana had Jay, whether she realized it or not. And Cindy seemed to be fascinated by Paul. Heather had been flirting with Dave and Larry, attempting to make Jay jealous. She'd even tried to pick up on Hal Bremmer, but Hal had just smiled at her in that quiet way of his, and told her he wasn't interested. The other girls had someone to talk to, but she didn't have anyone. She was all alone and she missed Ronnie terribly.

Her beer mug was empty and Sue refilled it from the tap behind the bar. Then she sat back down on her stool and thought about what Ronnie would do when he got her message. One thing was for sure. He'd miss her as much as she missed him. He might even get in his car and try to drive out here.

Sue took another drink, and began to smile. She was sure Ronnie would try to get through. He'd do his best to convince the Highway Patrol that his full-size Blazer would make it through the snow. Of course they wouldn't let him try. Part of their job was to protect people from themselves.

What would Ronnie do when they told him he couldn't go through the road block? Sue took another sip of her beer, and noticed that her mug was almost empty. The beer was making her slightly woozy, but that didn't matter. If she got a little tipsy, she could always sleep on one of the red leather booths in the pub. It was bound to be more comfortable than the daybed.

Sue refilled her beer mug, and moved to the booth. She was feeling nice and mellow, but her thoughts about Ronnie kept her awake. If Ronnie really wanted to get to her, he might try to borrow her uncle's snowplow. When Ronnie was determined to do something, nothing could stop him.

There was a smile on Sue's face as she thought about Ronnie and her uncle. Uncle Nate would think up all sorts of perfectly legitimate reasons why Ronnie shouldn't use one of his big snowplows, but he'd eventually give in. After all, Ronnie worked for him all last winter, plowing the county roads.

Sue was so convinced that Ronnie was on his way, she decided to go out to the double-glass doors by the entrance and watch for him. Wouldn't Ronnie be surprised when he drove up in the snowplow and saw her standing there? She'd tell him she couldn't sleep because she'd missed him so much. Then they'd come back here so he could warm up, and she'd fix him something to eat.

It took quite a while for Sue to walk to the employees' lounge to get her parka out of the locker. By the time she'd slipped it on and headed for the front entrance, “Silent Night” was playing on the loudspeakers again. She smiled as she pulled open the doors and stepped outside, into the frozen air. The wind wasn't blowing as hard as it had been, and only an occasional flurry of snow skittered across the parking lot. She could hear the loudspeakers from out here, and this time the song was “Oh, Little Town Of Bethlehem.” The reflection of the Christmas lights on the snow was so beautiful, Sue felt her spirits soar. Glistening spots of color were everywhere. Red, blue, orange, green, yellow, and white. They flashed on and off, sparkling against the snow, until Sue began to feel dizzy from watching them. Then a big gust of wind whipped up, and she stepped back under the overhang where she was partially sheltered from the blowing snow.

Sue stood under the overhang and stamped her feet. She was beginning to get very cold, and she wondered if she was being silly. Perhaps Ronnie wasn't coming, after all. Uncle Nate might have convinced him to wait until morning so that he could make the trip in the daylight.

The tips of her toes felt numb, and Sue wished she'd worn her boots. Her tennis shoes provided no warmth at all, and her feet felt like blocks of ice. Sue stamped her feet again, and peered out at the road. There were no lights. Nothing was moving out there on the highway. Was it possible that not even a snowplow could get through?

Sue turned toward the door, feeling foolish. She'd wanted Ronnie to come out here so much, she'd talked herself into believing that he was on the way. The cold had sobered her thinking, and brought her to her senses. Ronnie was probably in bed right now, sleeping after his long day's work. He wouldn't be foolish enough to start out here at midnight. He'd come tomorrow, in the middle of the day, when it was warmer.

She was about to pull open the door and go back inside, when she thought she heard the sound of sleigh bells. Sue stopped and listened. Was her imagination working overtime? But then she heard them again. They were loud and distinctive, and she couldn't help hearing them over the sound of the wind. But where were they coming from?

Sue stepped out a few feet from the door, to stare up at the overhang. There were six heavy planters on top of the narrow balcony. Larry's father had designed the building, and he'd told her all about the planters. In the spring, they'd hold flowering apple trees, and they'd be replaced in the summer with gardenias. When autumn came, they'd be filled with chrysanthemums, but right now, in honor of the Christmas season, they held miniature pines which were decorated for Christmas.

As Sue stared up at the planters, she heard the sleigh bells again. It wasn't a figment of her imagination. Someone was up on the overhang . . . but who? And why?

Just then a shadowy figure stepped into her line of sight. Sue gasped, and then she started to laugh. It was Santa, wearing his full costume, and he held a set of sleigh bells in his hand. It was very clear that she wasn't the only one who'd had too much to drink. One of the guys had dressed up in his Santa costume and come out here to put on a show!

“Hi, Santa.” Sue walked a little closer, a smile spreading over her face.

“Ho, ho, ho!”

Santa's voice was deep and merry, and Sue laughed out loud. He walked over to lean against a planter, and grinned down at her as he rang the sleigh bells again.

“Come on, Santa.” Sue began to get a little worried. She could tell that Santa was bombed by the way he'd lurched against the planter. “You'd better come down from there. You might fall.”

“Ho, ho, ho!”

Sue moved closer, and stared up into his face. She couldn't tell who it was. The beard and mustache covered too much of his face.

“Come on, Santa. The show's over. You have to come down now. How did you get up there, anyway?”

“Ho, ho,
ho!”

Santa gestured toward a door at the other end of the overhang, and Sue nodded. Of course. The gardeners had to get out on the ledge to take care of the planters, and Santa had found the access door.

“Come down, Santa. Right now!”

Sue frowned as Santa shook his head. He was being very stubborn. She hoped he wouldn't topple off the overhang, but he probably wouldn't hurt himself, even if he did. There was a deep drift of snow beneath the overhang, and it was at least three feet deep. But it was cold out here, and she had to get him down before he passed out and froze to death.

How could she get him down, when he didn't want to cooperate? Sue decided to try flattery and trickery. Since he thought he was Santa, she'd appeal to his best Santa instincts.

Sue took a deep breath, and waded into the icy snowbank. The cold seeped through her legs and feet, but she gritted her teeth and kept on going until she was almost directly beneath him. She'd have to change shoes when she got back inside, but it would be worth it if she could get him to come down.

“Come down, Santa.” Sue grinned at him. “I've been a good girl all year. I want to sit on your lap so I can tell you what I want for Christmas.”

Santa laughed, and Sue gave a sigh of relief as he got to his feet. She hoped he knew how to get down by himself. She certainly wasn't going up there to help him! But instead of walking toward the door, Santa turned to grin at her.

It was the strangest grin that Sue had ever seen, and she drew in her breath, sharply. Santa was supposed to be kind and benevolent, but this Santa's grin looked evil. His eyes seemed to bore into her as if they could read the fear that was beginning to grow inside her, and the twinkle lights reflecting off his face made him look almost demonic.

She stepped back instinctively, but she stumbled in the deep snow and fell to her knees. Then Santa gave a horrible, demented laugh, and pushed against the heavy planter with both arms.

Sue opened her mouth to scream as the planter started to move. She scrambled frantically to her feet, but it was too late. She was trapped, immobile, in the waist-deep snow. All she could do was stare up in horrible fascination as the heavy planter toppled from the edge of the overhang, Christmas lights winking on and off, directly toward her head. It struck in a grand burst of Christmas color, but all Sue saw was eternal darkness as her lifeless body crumpled, and her blood stained the pristine white snow with bright red poinsettia-colored splotches.

H
e was still laughing as he entered the mall again, and locked the service door behind him. There was no need to check to make sure she was dead. The heavy pot had crushed her skull. No one could live through trauma like that.

The costume room was at the opposite end of the mall, but he was very cautious as he hurried down the walkway, ducking into store doorways whenever he thought he heard a sound. There could be someone else with insomnia, and he didn't want to run into anyone while he was wearing his costume.

He breathed a deep sigh of relief as he reached the costume area, and slipped inside. He locked the door behind him, and changed to street clothes as fast as he could. Then he hung up the costume and brushed the snow from the red velvet material. It would dry before morning and no one would be the wiser.

In less than ten minutes, he was back at the furniture store. He tiptoed past the living room section where two of them were sleeping on sofa beds, and took a detour to glance at the grandfather clock in the dining room section. It was one-twenty in the morning. His night's work had taken almost two hours, but it had been very productive. One had been punished. And Santa would punish another, tomorrow night.

When he reached the bedroom section, he moved stealthily past the sleepers and got into bed again. He'd prepared a story in case someone had missed him, an excuse about having to get up to use the restroom. But there was no need to utter the lie. From the even breathing of the other sleepers, he was certain no one had noticed that he'd been gone.

He gave a satisfied sigh as he found a comfortable position and snuggled down under the blankets. He was going to rest well tonight. He had begun to take his revenge, and the feeling it had given him was sweet. As he closed his eyes, “Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town” began to play on the speaker system, and he drifted off to sleep with a contented smile on his face.

 

Diana woke up as someone whispered her name. She rolled over, opened her eyes, and blinked in confusion as she saw Jay standing by her bed. For a moment, she didn't know where she was, but then she remembered. They were all snowbound at the mall.

“It's almost eight,” Jay whispered so he wouldn't wake the others. “How about a cup of coffee?”

Diana gave a quick nod, and got out of bed. She slipped into her shoes and followed Jay past the other sleepers to the mall outside. She waited until they were three doors down from the furniture store, and then she spoke. “Coffee sounds wonderful, but where do we get it?”

“We make it. Let's brew a big pot so there's plenty when everybody else wakes up.”

Jay motioned toward the escalator, and they got on to ride up to the second floor. Jay had stepped on behind her, and he was standing so close, Diana could feel the warmth of his body. She had the urge to lean back and enjoy the comfort of his arms, but she didn't. She just smiled and rode up, watching their reflection in the mirrors that lined the escalator walls.

“Where are we going?” Diana stepped off the escalator, and waited for Jay to catch up to her.

“To the restaurant. I checked it out, and it's open. I was going to make the coffee myself, but I wasn't sure how to use their coffee machine.”

“So you woke up a female to do it for you?” Diana tried to look stern, but her eyes were twinkling.

Jay nodded. “Yeah. But I wasn't being sexist or anything like that. I just figured you might know more about coffee machines than I do.”

“Why did you pick me?” Diana couldn't hide her grin as Jay led her into the main part of the restaurant.

“Because . . . oh, I don't know.” Jay grinned back, but he looked a little embarrassed. “I guess I just wanted you with me. It was lonesome, being the only one awake.”

Diana's grin grew wider. He'd wanted her, not just any female. “Okay. Show me that coffee machine and we'll see if we can figure it out.”

“Right this way.” Jay led Diana into the restaurant kitchen, and motioned toward the coffee machine. “Do you know how to work one of these?”

“Sure. The reservoir's always filled with hot water. All you have to do is put coffee in the basket and pour cold water through the hole in the top. The water you pour in forces the hot water out, and it drips down through the grounds.”

“You figured that out just by looking at it?”

There was an expression of awe on Jay's face, and Diana laughed. “Not really. It's just like the one my dad has in his office.”

In less than five minutes, they both had steaming cups of coffee, and Diana had put on another pot. They wandered out into the main part of the restaurant, and peered out the huge plate glass windows at the snow.

“I think it's letting up a little.” Jay looked hopeful. “What do you think, Di?”

Diana shook her head. Everything outside the window was completely obscured by a swirling wall of white. “I think you're just trying to cheer me up. I can't even see where the highway's supposed to be.”

“Then I guess we're stuck here.” Jay didn't look at all upset. “Did you have plans for the weekend?”

“I was supposed to go to my cousin's baby shower tonight. I'd better call and tell her I'm not going to make it.”

“But we all called our parents last night. Wouldn't your folks have told your cousin that you were snowbound out here?”

Diana frowned slightly. “I don't think so. They were invited to the shower next weekend for the relatives. I'm not sure they even know about this one.”

“There's a phone over there.” Jay pointed toward the reservations desk. “Go ahead, Di. I don't think anyone's going to be upset if you make a local call.”

Diana walked over to the phone and lifted the receiver. Then she turned to Jay with a frown. “There's no dial tone.”

“Maybe you have to dial nine to get an outside line.”

Diana dialed nine, but nothing happened. “It's not working. Do you think the phones are out?”

Jay nodded. “That's certainly possible. The storm dumped a lot of heavy snow, and one of the lines might have snapped. Let's try the pay phones. They might be on another line.”

Diana and Jay carried their coffee cups along as they tried several banks of pay phones. None of them worked.

Finally, Diana turned to Jay in frustration. “What am I going to do? I promised I'd be there early. I was supposed to help with the refreshments.”

“Don't worry, Di.” Jay slipped his arm around her shoulders. “If your cousin was watching television last night, she'll know you're stuck out here.”

“I know that. But maybe she wasn't watching. I'd feel a lot better if I could talk to her and explain.”

Jay nodded. “I understand. If it'll make you feel better, we'll try the pay phones outside. One of them might be working.”

It didn't take long to get into their parkas and boots. Diana shivered as Jay pulled open the door and they stepped out into the blowing snow. It was a lot colder than it had been yesterday, and little bits of ice blew against her cheeks, stinging and turning them red.

“Here. You'd better take this.” Jay leaned close so she could hear him over the howl of the wind, and handed her a long, green woolen scarf. As Diana wrapped it around her face, she caught the faint scent of perfume, and she wondered if Heather had made it for him. That didn't seem likely. Heather wasn't the type to knit. But there was only one way to find out for sure, and that was to ask.

“Nice scarf.” Diana smiled, even though the scarf was wrapped around her mouth and he couldn't possibly see her smile. “Did someone make it for you?”

Jay nodded. “My grandmother knits. She gave it to me for Christmas last year, along with a pair of mittens. I've got those, too, if you want to wear them.”

“No, thanks. I've got these pink ones my grandmother made.” Diana slipped them on and grinned. “I guess we'd freeze if our grandmas didn't spend hours on these things. My grandma used to even knit a rope to hold my mittens together, so I wouldn't lose them.”

“You mean that long piece of yarn that went up one of your sleeves and down the other? With a mitten attached to each end?”

“That's it!” Diana giggled. “My grandma made my mittens like that until I was in junior high.”

Jay nodded, and reached into his pocket to pull out his mittens. “Consider yourself lucky. My grandma still does it.”

“Oh, no!” Diana cracked up as Jay separated his mittens and showed her the braided rope of yarn that held the left to the right. Then he motioned toward the side of the building, and they waded through the snow to get to the phones.

Diana dropped in a quarter and held the receiver to her ear. But even through the thick scarf she could hear that there was no dial tone.

“It doesn't work?”

Diana shook her head and moved to the next phone, but she couldn't get a dial tone there, either. These phones were just as dead as the ones inside.

“At least we got some fresh air.” Jay took her arm and they started back toward the entrance. But then he stopped and let out a muttered exclamation.

“What is it?” Diana stopped, too, and looked where Jay was pointing. It was impossible to see very far because the wind was whipping up flurries of loose snow, but she did catch sight of a Christmas tree, half-buried in a deep snowbank.

“You stay here.” Jay pushed her under the shelter of the overhang. “I'll check it out.”

“No. I'm coming with you. If I stop moving, I'll freeze to death.”

Diana tucked her hand under his arm and they started off together, wading through a huge pile of snow to get to the tree. When they arrived at the half-buried Christmas tree, both of them were puffing.

“One of the planters must have fallen off the overhang.” Jay pointed to the tree. “That tree came from up there . . . see?”

Diana turned around to look. When she'd walked through the entrance, yesterday, she'd noticed that there were six trees in the planters. Now there were only five.

“The winds must've been really bad last night. It's just lucky that no one was walking underneath when . . . oh, my God!”

There was panic in Jay's voice, and Diana started to turn around. But Jay blocked her view, and gave her a little push toward the entrance. “Don't look. Just go get the guys . . . quick!”

“But . . . what is it?” Diana tried to turn again, but Jay wouldn't let her.

“Please, Diana. Just do what I say. Keep the girls inside, and send out the guys on the double. Tell them it's an emergency. And have them bring some blankets.”

Diana shivered, but it wasn't from the biting wind. There was something terribly wrong. She opened her mouth to ask what the emergency was, but she knew Jay wouldn't tell her. He was determined to get her away from here, but she was so frightened by the desperate tone in his voice, she couldn't seem to move.

“Diana . . . go! Go now!”

Jay gave her another little shove, and Diana took a shaky step. That seemed to break the spell, and she stumbled awkwardly toward the entrance.

Her fear seemed to evaporate, once she got inside the door. The mall was familiar and warm, a safe haven from the storm. Diana turned to glance out the plate glass door. And at that exact moment, the wind stopped blowing.

Diana could see Jay clearly, standing by the huge mound of snow. He was staring down at something sticking up from the snowbank, and he looked horrified. Then the wind picked up again, obscuring Diana's view, but not before she'd seen exactly what was protruding from the mound of snow. And the sight made her run for the furniture store as fast as her shaking legs would carry her.

As she delivered Jay's message and urged the guys to hurry, the image Diana had seen floated on the very edge of her consciousness, too horrible to be real. But it was there, nonetheless, etched permanently into her brain. Jay had been standing there motionless, looking down at something half-buried in the snow, something frightening and dreadfully gruesome.

He'd been staring at a human arm!