Itsy Bitsy Spider (Emma Frost #1) (15 page)

I put the
poster
back up to cover the number, while a million
thoughts ran through my mind. I walked downstairs while thinking about what
Victor had said that night when he had the bad dream.

Someone was killed in here
.

How did he know? There was so much I didn't
understand about him, so much that I couldn't explain. Could he have dreamt
about it?

I walked into the living room and found him
still with his nose flat on the glass. I approached him and stood next to him.
I wondered about my grandmother. Was it her? Had she been killed up there in
Victor's bedroom? Was she this killer's first victim? Why? Why was she killed?
Probably because she was part of the church. But did that mean she had been one
of those women in the parish council? One of those who had done what they did
to Jack's sister? And to Irene Justesen's daughter whatever that was? Had she
been a part of all that? And what about my father? Was that why he loathed her
so much, why her never spoke of her?

I smiled at Victor then went back to my laptop.
I searched the police archives and found a report with my grandmother's name on
it. I opened it with a beating heart. As it opened and I watched the pictures I
had to close my eyes. I felt sick to my stomach. The pictures were the exact same
as the earlier ones I had looked at. The same as Mrs. Heinrichsen, Irene
Justesen and the Pastor's. So my grandmother had been the first victim. Number
five. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that the killer was counting
downwards. The question remaining was who was going to be number one?

"What's going on?" the voice behind me
startled me and I turned with a gasp just to see my daughter standing in the
doorway with messy hair and sleepy eyes. I closed the lid of the computer and
smiled.

"Nothing sweetie. Did you sleep well?"

She nodded and stretched.

"Come sit down. I have breakfast for
you."

"I'll just have some fruit," she said.
She never was much of a breakfast person. I found some apples and bananas and
gave them to her. She cut it all up and put it in a bowl. Then she poured some
yoghurt on top of it and began to eat.

"So where is Vic?" she asked.

"In the living room." I poured myself
another cup of coffee from the pot. I made one for Maya as well and poured lots
of milk in it. She had just started drinking coffee a year ago and wasn't sure
if she liked it or not, but it made her feel grown-up I guess. I put it on the
table in front of her. She smiled. "Thanks."

"He's sad that he can't go into the yard
today," I continued. "Don't know if he intends to stand like that all
day."

Maya chuckled. "Probably."

"I guess you're right. It would be
something Victor would do."

Maya ate another spoonful. I enjoyed looking at
her. I didn't get to see her much anymore. She had made some good friends at
her new school and they seemed to monopolize her a lot. I missed her.

"By the way, Grandpa called."

"Did he? I'm sorry I missed him. Typical
him to call on the landline and not on my cell. What did he say?"

"Nothing much. But he did say he was
looking forward to seeing us all tonight."

Coffee spurted out of my mouth. "He said
what?"

"That he is coming out here tonight. Why?
Didn't you invite him?"

"I sure did. I have been inviting him out
here every weekend since we moved here. I didn't think he would actually come.
Wow. That is great news. I have so badly wanted him to see the place. But why
tonight?"

Maya shrugged. "What do I know? He did say
something about him going to Esbjerg to look at an old boat that he might want
to buy anyway and then he thought he might stop by."

"Well I'll be ... we need to clean the
place up then. I want him to see it at the best it can be."

Maya rolled her eyes at me. "That goes for
you too. I want your room cleaned up when he gets here."

"Mom. Grandpa doesn't care about those
things. Have you seen how he lives? I don't think he has cleaned it even once
since grandma left."

I exhaled with a smile. "That's true. He
doesn't care about those things, but I do. I want him to feel good here. I want
him to like it and want to come back. I'll have to prepare one of the
guestrooms too."

"Pick one far away from me. Grandpa snores
really loud. I want to be able to sleep, thank you very much."

I chuckled, then froze. "Oh God I
completely forgot."

"What?"

"I am supposed to have dinner at Sophia's tonight.
I'm meeting her new boyfriend, he's cooking for us. Oh no. She has been looking
forward to this so much. I can't cancel, can I? But I have to. I haven't seen
my dad in months. I can't just leave him alone when he just got here."

"Why not? I'll be here. Vic will be here.
You worry too much. He'll be fine with the two of us. Besides he has been
driving all day. He'll be tired."

I looked at my daughter while biting my lip not
knowing what to do. Maya got up from the chair and started walking towards the
door.

"Don't forget to clean your room," I
repeated.

Maya turned and looked at me, ignoring my last
remark. "By the way, he said he was going to stay for the entire
week."

Then she left.

I was busy al
l
day cleaning up the house and preparing a guestroom for my dad. He called again
when he was halfway and I finally got to talk to him myself.

"I can't wait to show you the house,
Dad," I said.

"I know the house," he grunted.
"Grew up there, remember?"

"I know. But still. Now we live here and we
have come to like the place a lot."

"I’m not coming to look at the house. Just
to clarify. I am not happy about coming to that place again."

"Then why are you coming at all?"

My dad grunted in the other end. "Because I
miss you, goddammit. I miss you and the kids like crazy."

I smiled and held the phone tighter. "We're
looking forward to seeing you. Drive carefully."

I hung up feeling excited. I had missed him too.
Ever since my mother left him completely unexpected four years ago, he had
become a bigger part of my life and we had become closer, even if he wasn't one
to share much about himself or his emotions. As I recall it it was the first
time he ever told me he had missed me. Guess he was going soft on his old days.

My mom however I had hardly seen the last couple
of years since she moved to Spain where she was now living with this younger
guy named Pedro. Well to be fair he was only ten years younger than her, but
still. I never understood her choice, even if I knew she had a blast down there
and had become a lot more lively since she left the old house in Ballerup with
my dad baffled inside of it. Her door was always open for all of us, she kept
saying the one time every month when she called, but we had only been down
there twice in the four years she had lived there.

"I cleaned my room," Maya said.

"Great. Could you do Victor's as
well?" I asked looking at the big windows in the kitchen and exhaling
deeply. They needed a good cleaning as well.

"Really Mom? Can't he do it himself?"

"I have tried to tell him to several times,
but I can't get his attention. He keeps looking out that stupid window at the
yard. I wonder what's going on in that little head of his. He hasn't talked
since this morning."

"Maybe he's just really smart and knows how
to get out of cleaning his own room," Maya said before she went back
upstairs.

I yelled after her. "Don't forget the
bathroom! The toilet needs cleaning up there."

I received a deep moan in return.

In the middle of the afternoon the car drove up
into our street. "He's here!" I yelled. Seconds later I heard Maya's
fast feet run down the stairs. "Grandpa!!"

"Victor!" I called. "Grandpa is
here!"

I straightened my dress and opened the door. Dad
smiled widely when he saw me. "Sweetheart! You look beautiful."

I walked towards him and kissed his cheek.

"Island living certainly becomes you."

I laughed. I knew Dad was just being nice. I had
gained at least six pounds since we moved into the house.

"Must be all that fresh air," he
continued.

"Maybe I'm just happy for the first time in
many years. The change of scenery really helped. I needed it," I said.

"I can tell. How are the kids?"

"Grandpa!!!" Maya forgot all about
being a teenager again and ran towards her granddad like a toddler. She had
tears in her eyes when she threw herself around his neck. "I've missed you
so much, Grandpa. How are you?"

Dad chuckled. "I'm good as always dear. But
more importantly how are you? Let me look at you. Hm. Seems like island living
becomes you well too. You are absolutely stunning child. What is your mother
feeding you?"

Maya giggled. I was surprised to see her
reaction. I didn't know the two of them had gotten this close. But I knew they
used to enjoy sitting in our old kitchen and chat when we still lived in the
apartment. A pinch of guilt hit me in the stomach. Had I deprived the two of
them a relationship by moving here?

"Victor, my boy!" Dad yelled. I turned
and watched Victor come walking out the front door. He was looking down at the
ground as he walked.

"Victor. It's Grandpa. He has come to visit
us," I said, thinking I wasn't sure Victor even knew what was going on.

"Come here my boy," my dad said and
Victor approached him.

My dad leaned down and picked him up before I
could manage to tell him that Victor didn't like being touched much lately
depending on his mood. To my relief Victor just laughed and Dad placed him on
the shoulder and carried him inside with Maya laughing in his tail.

"Watch your back Dad," I yelled after
them but knew they wouldn't hear me.

I picked up his suitcase and trotted inside
after them.

Astrid woke up
when
Sebastian was pulling her arm.

"Mom. I'm so hungry."

She tried to smile, but couldn't find the
energy. She reached over and drank a sip of water. It had been her only food
for weeks now and she was feeling the effect of it by now.

"Not now, sweetie. I'm so tired. I need to
sleep."

"But Mom. You're sleeping all the time. I
am hungry. Can't you find any food anywhere?"

She had checked everywhere. In all the boxes, on
every shelf, under the beds even, but found nothing. It was all gone and had
been for almost two weeks now. And there was no sign of the woman who usually
brought them supplies. Astrid was beginning to lose hope and was starting to
think that maybe it was for the better. Maybe it was best for the both of them
if they died now instead of spending more time in this hell hole. Eight years
had gone by and enough was enough. Astrid had started to read the bible again.
In her every waking hour, that became fewer and fewer, she would try and read
what her God told her, read his words of encouragement and little by little she
was beginning to think that she would be better off up there, than down here,
that her time here on this forsaken earth was up and she needed to move on.

She spoke to Sebastian about it. Told him about
God and about Heaven that waited for the both of them, about Jesus who would
take good care of them and that they would never lack anything again.

"Up there you'll see beaches as long as the
eye can see. You'll see forests and even mountains, rivers and lakes. You'll
get to see all that you've missed out on while wasting your life in this
hole," she said.

"But ... but," Sebastian said with
tears in his eyes. "But I haven't even seen this world."

"True. But up there ... oh gosh. You won't
believe it. Up there you'll see splendor beyond anything you'll ever see down
here. This world is evil. It's not worth spending your time on. You're lucky,
in fact. You're very lucky, Sebastian, that you never have to be a part of this
world. It's simply not worth it."

"But I want to," he argued with thick
voice. "I dream about what is out there behind that door. I dream of one
day seeing it."

Astrid sighed and closed her eyes. They had been
open for too long. She was getting exhausted just from the effort of keeping
her eyes open.

"Maybe you will, Sebastian," she said
while drifting away shortly, then returning.

"Mom. I don't want to die in here. I
don't!" Sebastian screamed hysterically.

"Not now, sweetie. I'm so tired. Mommy is
so ... so ... so tired."

"Mom!! Don't fall asleep, Mommy. Don't fall
asleep again."

"Mmm ... Sure. I won't. Don't worry. Mommy
will take care of it. Don't you worry, sweetie. Mommy's got it."

Astrid dozed off again, then felt someone
pulling her arm hard and woke up again. It was hard to breathe. Like it was too
much effort, like she didn't have the strength anymore.

"Mommy!!! You're not breathing. Please
don't die," Sebastian was crying in the distance, but Astrid couldn't find
the strength to open her eyes anymore, she didn't want to anymore, she didn't
care about anything anymore as she drifted off into that sea of light in front
of her.

She could still hear Sebastian scream behind her
as she stepped towards that wonderful bright light and the voices calling her
name.

See you there, Sebastian. See
you when we get there.