Whisper Cape (9 page)

***

Addie ran through the darkness, her legs heavy, the forest floor littered with sticks and mottled with holes. She tripped and scrambled to her feet, wiping at the tears stinging her eyes. She could hear it breathing as it drew closer, then a faint groan and her body trembled as she realized the sound came from her throat. She needed to hide. Her legs had grown sluggish, and she couldn’t run much farther. Veering to the left, Addie jumped over a fallen tree trunk and tumbled down the short slope on the other side, landing on her back. She rolled over, exhausted. The smell of dirt and leaves filled her nostrils and, using every ounce of strength she could muster, she managed to crawl to a little alcove in the thicket.

Every bone in her body trembled. Branches dangled from above and sharp twigs stuck her from behind. Her heart pounded against her chest when her foot slipped and she froze, not daring to make a sound. A loud thump, perhaps the drum of her heart, but then the trees shook. Another thump, and another. Leaves scattered. The limp branches vibrated. Addie covered her ears as the sound became deafening. Then everything grew quiet. It stood outside just inches from her. It reached, its long bony fingers clawing at her; pulling her up by her throat, her dangling feet kicking violently. “Daddy, please help me!” Addie choked and woke with a start.

She sat up, gasping, drew her knees close to her chest, buried her face in her arms, and rocked. Her body shook and she wiped away the tears trickling down her cheeks. Tears weren’t going to help. Nothing could help. Her dad couldn’t come to her rescue. Not this time—not ever again.

“Why, Daddy, why is this happening? What do I need to be kept safe from?”

In the bathroom, Addie splashed water on her face, hoping to wash away the nightmare that always seemed so real. She studied herself in the mirror. Her brown eyes, puffy and laced with red lines, stung. She opened the medicine cabinet and saw the pills the doctor had given her. She picked up the container and stared at it, tapping her finger on the top.

No, I won’t take them. I refuse to live my life in a fog. Drugs only temporarily mask the pain. I need to face it. I need to find out why.

Placing the pills back in the cabinet, she left the bathroom.

“Coffee, I need coffee.”

Addie shuffled to the kitchen, squinted at the light coming in through the window, and rubbed her tired eyes. She made coffee—extra strong—and as she stood waiting for it to brew, she remembered her new, yet, freakish skill. She shook off the nightmare with a glimmer of excitement, glad her day off would allow her to experiment. She also wanted to take some time to explore the internet before she headed off to the cliffs.

Her feet felt wet and she looked down at the puddle of water around them.

“What is this?” She crouched down, opened the cupboard under the sink, and peeked inside. “Oh, this is just great, a leak.”

Sidestepping around the small pool at her feet, she walked to the table next to her bed where she'd left her cell phone, searched through her list of contacts, found the manager's funny picture, and pushed send.

“Hi, Ed. Um ... this is Addie.”

“Oh, Addie, hello. It’s kind of early for you, isn’t it? Is everything okay?”

“Yes. No. I mean, I’m fine, but there’s a leak under my kitchen sink and I was wondering if you could come up and see if you can fix it.”

“Is it a big leak or a little leak?”

She pondered that for a moment. Did it matter? “Well, there’s a puddle on my floor, so I’m guessing a big leak.”

“Ah, well, we can’t have that, now can we? I’ll be up in a jiff. Just give me a couple minutes to get dressed.”

“Okay, great, thanks.”

As she turned to hang up the phone, the doorbell rang. Startled, Addie jumped. It was too soon to be Ed. She glanced at the clock … eight-thirty … probably Darcy. She pulled on her robe and opened the door.

“Hey, Addie.” Darcy beamed. Not waiting for an invitation, she shoved her way in and sat on the unmade bed.

“Darcy, hi, what are you doing here so early?” Addie closed the door and joined her, pulling the blanket up in her lap to keep her legs warm.

“I just wanted to see how you were since I didn’t get a chance to talk to you last night. You went home so early and I wanted to know how things went with you and Jared.”

Addie rolled her eyes. “Jared and I are just friends. Besides, Darce, how could I go out with Jared knowing you and he used to date?”

“What Jared does is his business and what I do is mine. He can go out with anybody he wants. I don’t give a shit.”

Something in Darcy’s voice suggested otherwise. “What’s with this Tim guy? You never mentioned him before.”

“Oh, he’s just a guy I sort of like. He works in construction and has the biceps to prove it.” Her expression became animated. “And, oh God, Addie, he owns a Harley and wants to take me out on it this weekend!”

“Wait, you’re not seriously going to ride on it, are you? You hardly know him. How do you know he can control it? What if you crash?” The guy was a sleaze and Addie had a difficult time understanding what it was Darcy saw in him.

“God, Addie, what are you, my mother? It’s just a ride on a motorcycle, not a trip to Las Vegas to get married or anything. Oooh, now there’s an idea.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“No, but the look on your face, God, you are so gullible. Don’t worry. Jeez, I’ll be fine. Hey, let’s get together tonight. We can eat dinner, rent a movie, or just talk. I have a great bottle of Cabernet we could share.”

“Sounds great. Let’s order a pizza,” Addie said.

Darcy wrinkled her nose. “My hips are going to require major squats but, what the hell—pepperoni?”

“Sure.” Addie considered telling Darcy about her new little power but wasn’t sure how to explain it. A knock on the door made them both jump.

Chapter 9

“That should be our good old dependable apartment manager. He’s here to fix a leak under my sink,” Addie said, calming herself.

Addie opened the door. Ed stood there, his dark wiry hair sticking out in all directions. Chances were it hadn’t seen a brush yet that morning. A huge smile lit his face, a utility belt hung from his waist, weighing down his baggy bright red pants, and his hand clutched a large toolbox. His once white T-shirt, now a dull gray, was only half tucked in.

“Hey, Addie. Darcy.” He sauntered over toward the kitchen, his tool belt clanking at his waist, his small dark eyes focused on the puddle in the middle of the floor.

“Hmmm.” He stood looking down at the floor rubbing his head. “This is quite a leak you have here, Addie. It might take a while. It must have been leaking all night. Good thing you called me first thing this morning before it went through the floor to the Richardson’s apartment.”

“Well, thanks for coming up so quickly.” Addie turned her attention back to Darcy and they exchanged grins at the site of the strange-looking little man.

Addie looked down at her robe and grimaced. “Darcy, will you stay while I get some clothes on?” she whispered, glancing toward Ed, indicating her discomfort at being alone with him while she changed.

“Sure, but hurry, I have things to do.”

Addie left Darcy sitting on the bed and grabbed a T-shirt from her closet, snatched up the jeans she’d left piled on the floor and went into the bathroom. Tugging on the pants, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror and frowned at the red lines still so heavy in her eyes. She pulled the shirt over her head, ran her fingers through her hair and splashed more water on her face.

“There. Not perfect, but okay for now.”

When she came out of the bathroom, Darcy was still on the bed, looking bored. She jumped up when she saw Addie, straightened her pants that had bunched halfway up her calves and headed toward the door.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tonight, then.”

“Yeah, tonight. Thanks.” Addie shut the door and turned to see how Ed was doing with the leak.

“If you’ve got things to do, I can lock up for you when I’m done.” Ed’s voice sounded muffled as he spoke from under the sink.

“Oh, no problem, I need to do some work on the computer anyway. You know, check my email and stuff.” Addie wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of leaving while there was someone in her apartment—even if it was just Ed. Besides, she could take this opportunity to check some websites on the subject of paranormal abilities.

She went into the kitchen, stepping over Ed and his tools to grab a cup of coffee before starting her internet search, but soon found herself engaged in a conversation with the funny little man whose head was stuck under her sink, the red pants covering his skinny legs stretched out over her floor.

“So, do you ever get lonely living on your own now? You know, away from your aunt?” Ed asked.

“Oh, now and again, but mostly I like being alone.”

“Seems to me a pretty young woman like yourself should have a man coming around more often than you do.”

“Not you, too? Why does everyone think I need a man?”

“I’m just sayin’ I haven’t noticed you bringing anybody home at all since you moved in, not that I’m nosy or anything. But, I do like to keep a watchful eye over my tenants, especially the young women, make sure no harm comes to them. You know?”

“Yeah, well, no need to worry about me. I’m not really interested in men right now.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you were one of those gays.”

Addie choked out a laugh. “No, Ed. I’m not gay. I just haven’t met anyone I’d like to get to know that way, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh yeah, sure, I know what you mean. Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply ... well, you don’t look masculine or anything.”

Addie laughed again and was sure his face under the sink was bright red. “Thanks, I think.” Having a conversation about her sexual orientation with her sweet little landlord was the last thing she thought she’d be doing this morning. “Well I guess there is a bit of comfort knowing you’re looking out for me.”

“I try to keep a lookout. Young women like you and Darcy need to be careful these days.”

“Yeah, did you hear about the woman they found Saturday morning? A bit scary, don’t you think? Those things usually don’t happen around here.”

“Yeah, I heard about it. Young women shouldn’t be out by themselves no matter where they live.”

“You’re right, of course,” she agreed. “What about you, Ed? I don’t see you bringing any women home.”

“Me?” He laughed and Addie watched his stomach jiggle. “My courtin’ days are long gone. Nobody’s gonna be interested in a scrawny little old guy like me.”

“You’re not old and you’re not scrawny.”
Much
. “I’m sure there’s a very nice woman out there just waiting for someone like you.”

“That’ll be the day. Well, I think she’s fixed,” he said as he shimmied his way out from under the sink.

“You’re done? Wow, you’re quick, a regular miracle worker. Thanks.”

He averted his crimson face from hers as he picked up his tools, placing them meticulously in their respective slots on his belt.

“Well, I’ll be off then. Appreciate you letting me know about this right away. Better to nip these things in the bud before they escalate to bigger problems.”

“Yeah, no problem,” she said, walking him to the door. “I appreciate you coming up so fast.”

“You take care, now.”

With Ed finished with the leak under the sink and out of her hair, Addie grabbed another cup of coffee, took out her laptop, and began her search. A dozen different sites popped up for paranormal ability; people possessing psychic powers, telekinetic and telepathic experiences, and people claiming to have clairvoyant abilities, but not one of them was remotely close to what was happening to her. She scrolled down the page, clicking on another article and paused.

“Wait a minute, wait a freaking minute. What’s this?” She tapped her fingers on the side of her cup as she read the article about a girl who could emit electrical sparks from her fingertips strong enough to knock people down.

After reading the whole article, she found there was nothing to substantiate the girl’s claim. “It’s nothing but a hoax. Well, shit.” Every article she read proved to be much the same. Frustrated, she gave up her search and went back to experimenting with her ability again.

Placing another slice of bread in the sink, Addie concentrated on heat and fire again, only to be disappointed. After about an hour and several slices of burnt bread in the trash, she finally managed to toast a piece without burning it. “Well, now, this is more like it. I think I’m getting the hang of this, whatever
this
is.” Feeling rejuvenated, she decided it was time to head off to the cliffs.

***

Darcy kept telling herself she didn’t care what Jared thought. Back in her own apartment, she drew a hot bubble bath. The scent of lavender and ginger filled the small room and she tried not to think about Jared as she leaned back in the tub and closed her eyes. But, it was impossible not to see his face. Why after all these months did visions of him have to start popping into her head again? As a couple, they were over. He made his choice when he slept with that slut, Hannah. So what if he didn’t remember anything about it. So what if he was drunk beyond standing. Come on, did he really expect her to believe him? He had begged and pleaded with her to forgive him, but all she could picture in her head was the two of them, naked and tangled in bed. And yet ...
Face it, Darcy; you know the man can still make your knees go limp
.

In spite of everything, she never stopped loving him and was glad Addie respected her feelings even though Darcy never told her how she really felt about him. Her passion for Jared was becoming a problem. Was it love or hate? Darcy wasn’t sure anymore. Better to continue playing the field and try to forget him. Maybe someday she’d find the perfect man who could make her legs wobble the way Jared could.

***

The sun peeked out from behind the clouds as Addie steered into the tiny turnout off the highway. She stopped the truck, got out, and shut the door. Realizing her hands were empty, the camera still on the passenger seat, she tugged at the handle to open the door. Locked. She reached in her pockets for her keys, but they were empty. She looked in the window—her keys dangled from the ignition.