Tainted Crimson (5 page)

I swallow hard.

The lady glances up at me. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, please proceed.” Truth is, I’m not. For the first time in a long time, I’m not okay. There is no shoving this moment behind some wall. This moment will stay with me forever.

She then unzips the bag and although its contents are unbelievably burnt, it’s not hard to tell that yes, my father is in fact this man. I burst into tears as all the emotion from the last 24 hours gets let loose.

Once I’ve pulled myself together a little, I escape the morgue and find Mindy playing some game on her phone right where we left her.

“Let’s go,” I beg her.

“Ariella? Are you okay?” she asks seeing my tear streaked face and shoving her phone away.

“He’s dead,” I muster, shaking my head as if in disbelief. The pain I feel is unbelievable.

“Oh, Ariella, god, I’m so sorry,” she sympathizes, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as her own eyes fill with tears.

Mindy drives home as I sob in the passenger seat.

When I get home, I call Jacob and let him know about my father’s death through sobs. He has to have me repeat what I've said four times before he understands my words.

“Ariella, if the body was burnt, how do you know it was him for sure?” he asks finally, after a long silence.

“I just know, Jacob. It was quite obviously him. I know my father. I know what he looks like.”

“Okay, I’m so sorry Ariella. Your father was a good man. Do you need any help planning the funeral?” he asks. Do we have to discuss this now? I mean I only just found out about his death!

“I…I don’t know. I was thinking maybe we could just do it graveside. Like just some of his colleagues and myself. I don’t know who else I would even call. I think that basically sums it up. I don’t really know where to start though, like who do I even call to dig the hole? How do I even pay for a headstone? Where do you order one? I have like thirty-two dollars,” I rant nearly going into panic mode again.

“Your father, I’m sure, had life insurance. He also wasn’t a poor guy. You’ll likely inherit the house and his money and everything. It’ll be fine. Would you like me to come stay with you for a few days while we get all this worked out? I can help you get it all figured out and take a few days off of work,” he offers.

I think about it and decide that even though I just want to be alone right now, I have no idea what I’m doing. “Yes, if you could, I mean I don’t want to be a hassle.”

“You’re not, I’ll be over in an hour,” Jacob says before I hang up the phone.

Mindy leaves when I tell her that I just need some alone time. I do, I need time to think and sort through my thoughts. After she’s gone, I head downstairs to my father and my training room to blow off some steam.

I set up one of our punching bags and begin beating on it as if it’s the fire that killed my father. If the fire was in fact started on purpose, if there was in fact a bomb, I will kill whoever set it up.

I’m so into beating the punching bag that I don’t hear my phone ringing in my bra until the fourth ring. I whip it out, sweating like something else and put the speaker to my ear.

“Hello?” I say breathlessly.

“Ariella? Oh thank god you’re okay!”  a male voice says on the other end.

“Who is this…?” I ask confused.

“Nathan, Nathan Walters. I just er…got out of the hospital.”

After getting the news about my father, I somehow forgot about Nathan. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” I tell him through gasps.

“Well, that’s the thing. I don’t know if I am. Can I come over?” he asks nearly begging.

“Uh…er…it’s not really a good time.” I admit.

“Please, it’s important, Ariella,” he tries again.

“I just found out my father passed away last night,” I blurt.

“That’s what I need to talk to you about. I watched it happen, I watched your father die and you’re never going to believe this,” he says in a strange tone that I can’t place.

“What!? You knew? Why didn’t you call me?! I’d have rather heard it from you than the hospital employee who told me!” I demand, my heart races, this time not from my workout.

“Because I couldn’t. I was knocked out from the painkillers they gave me. The fire didn’t kill him. He was murdered, Ariella.”

“What?!” I shout. “No, I saw his body, it was
burned
. Who would want to kill my father? My dad doesn’t…didn’t have any enemies.”

“I’m coming over,” he says, not asking, telling me. “There’s stuff that you don’t know about, that you need to.” Then he hangs up the phone before I can demand any more answers.

I wait by the front door for Nathan to arrive and as soon as there’s a knock on the door I swing it open like a crazy woman. Only, it’s not Nathan standing on my porch, it’s a black-haired, tan-skinned man, with a five o’clock shadow. I figure that the man is about my age of eighteen, maybe a little older but no older than twenty-five. I’ve never seen him before in my life and have no idea why he’s at my house, standing in my porch. I gawk at him for a moment, shocked by his beauty and then quickly shake off my stares. God, Ariella, your dad just died and you’re checking out strangers?

“Hello…” I greet him, sad that it’s not Nathan.

“Uh…hello. Is Theenis here?” The boy asks in an accent that I can’t place. British, maybe? Or is it Australian? Irish? I don’t have a clue. I’m terrible with accents.

“No…uh he’s not actually. Who are you?” I wonder out loud.

He doesn’t respond. Instead, he stares at me and then a creepy smile lights up his face. Awkward. I begin to close the door, not sure if I should be scared, annoyed, or creeped out. Who the heck is this guy? Some kind of solicitor?

Right as I’m about to shut the door, his hand flashes up and stops it from latching.

“Are you a solicitor? Are you going to try and sell me a vacuum?...Security system?...Something? Whatever it is you’re selling, I don’t want it,” I say angrily and begin to close the door again. I’m
so
not in the mood for this.

“Do I know you?” he asks pushing the door open again. “You look familiar.”

“Uh… no? You showed up on
my
doorstep, looking for
my
father, shouldn’t you know if you know me?” I answer him confused.

He shrugs almost nonchalantly but I see his eyes widen a bit when I say ‘my father’. Probably surprised that my father looks so young yet has a full grown daughter. I’m so used to that look that it’s not even funny anymore.

“I’ll come back later. I’m not selling anything. I’m just a friend of your
dads
,” he says strangely as if he still can’t fathom my dad has a daughter.

“How come I’ve never seen you before then?” I quiz him. If he’s truly a friend of my father’s shouldn’t he know that my father has a daughter? I mean, come on. Shouldn’t I have at least seen this guy before?

He doesn’t answer. He just continues to stare creepily at me and I cringe.

“Ariella?” a new voice says. It’s Nathan. He’s running across the yard as if there’s some kind of emergency, hands flying in the air as if there’s a zombie apocalypse and he’s running from a whole herd of them. Okay. I’ve had enough excitement for the rest of my life.

“Get away from her!” Nathan calls to the man on my doorstep.

Wow, one date and he’s already possessive. Nathan reaches up to the boy and pushes him into the wall of the house.

“What the hell, Nathan?” I scold.

“This is the guy that killed your father!” Nathan cries, but before I can respond, the stranger flips Nathan around and throws him onto his back.

Nathan makes an
oof
sound.

“Don’t touch me, you'lol get your ass handed to you,” the solicitor man says smoothly as Nathan groans in pain.

Holy shit, apparently I’m not the only one here who can throw someone on their ass. This observation makes fear spike in my chest. If this man wants to hurt me, it’s possible that he might be able to. I’m not used to feeling physically
weak
.

“Nathan? Are you okay?” I ask him and scowl at the idiot on my porch.

“This guy is
looking
for my father. Why would he
kill
him and then go looking for him?” I question Nathan as if he’s stupid. If my father
was
murdered it
could
have
maybe
been by a guy that looked a little like this guy but let’s be real, why would my father’s murderer show up at my house after he killed him, to talk to him? It doesn’t make sense.

Nathan doesn’t answer. Instead he stands up and I see something shiny glint in his right hand. It’s a knife. Why is Nathan carrying around a knife? Is he nuts and I’m only realizing it now? Did I go to prom with a psycho?

“Put that away!” I cry and the stranger looks to see what I’m talking about. He rolls his eyes then grabs the knife from Nathan’s hand and once again flips him onto his back. Then the stranger tosses the knife into the flower bed as if the situation is completely in control and he wasn’t just about to get hacked at with a knife.

“Enough, boy,” the stranger says harshly. “I don’t have time for you. I didn’t kill Theenis.”

Then a third voice is in the yard. “
D?
Is that you? What are you doing here?” It’s Jacob. Great. Maybe he can settle this bull crap. After all,
apparently
he knows the stranger on my porch.

The stranger, whose name or more likely nickname is apparently ‘D’, turns to look at Jacob. “I’m looking for Theenis. Have you seen him?”

Jacob looks torn as he looks from me, to Nathan, and then to D.

“May we speak in private?” Jacob asks D.

“Of course, though this find of mine is rather interesting, no?” D says with a sly smile and points to me with his thumb. I have no idea what he’s talking about. Is that some creepy way of hitting on me, saying I’m an interesting
find
? Yuck. I hope not. “Mind explaining, dear friend?”

“Ella no sabe nada. No digas nada,” Jacob says and I look at him like he’s just spoken another language which a moment later I realize he has. I never took any of the language options in school and have no idea what he’s just said.

“Ah…” D looks to me. “She doesn’t even know?”

“Silencioso!” Jacob shouts.

“Your Spanish is improving, my friend, but do keep to English will you? At least until you have perfected the language so you’re understandable,” D mocks with a cocky smile.

I look to Nathan who is still lying on the ground, I jump off of the porch and begin helping him up.

“Are you okay?” I ask him, concerned. D threw him down pretty good that time.

“I’m fine,” he answers while glaring at D who is paying him absolutely no attention. I seem to be getting most of this stranger’s stares and I don't like it.

“Well…can someone please explain what is going on? My father just died and I’m not in the mood for this bullshit,” I demand, using my best menacing voice.

“Sí,” D replies, another cocky smile at his lips. Apparently I wasn’t menacing enough.

“In English!” I demand angrily. I feel like my head's about to explode. God, boys are stupid.

D smirks. “Yes, I suppose we could stick to English.” He continues to smirk.  “Your father is not dead, child.”

“I saw his body today at the
morgue
and let me tell you, he is most definitely
dead
.” I feel absolutely disgusted.

“Before we go any further with this conversation, let’s get rid of the boy. He shouldn’t hear this.” Jacob nods towards Nathan. “Go home, kid.”

“No. I’m not leaving her with you two freaks,” Nathan rebuts.

“Jacob is practically family and this other guy didn’t show up pulling knives on people,” I snort.

Nathan winces at my words. “I’m not going anywhere,” he answers after a short moment of silence.

“Oh, fine then, don’t leave willingly, we’ll just make you leave.” D steps towards Nathan and then places his hand on top of Nathan’s head. Nathan immediately drops to the ground for a third time today.

I nearly scream. Oh my god. How did he do that?
Did
he just do that? “Nathan!” I cry. I have a flashback of my mother in the park. I suddenly come to the realization that my four-year-old imagination had not made a tall tale of what had become of my mother all those years ago, this ‘magic trick’ that D just pulled, was nearly the exact same one that the old man in the park performed on my mother all those years ago which led to her demise. I am unable to write this off as coincidence. Suddenly I’m wondering
what
this man named D is, instead of wondering
who
he is. Before I can stop myself I scream and shuffle backwards into my front step, tripping on it and falling onto my butt. I let out a gasp and then another uncontrollable scream escapes me.

“
Shh!
You’re making a scene, Ariella!” Jacob mutters in a hushed tone and walks towards me. Did he not just see what the stranger in my yard did to my prom date? “Everyone in the house. NOW,” Jacob demands while picking up an unconscious Nathan and carrying him past me and into my house. I’m too shocked to say anything so I watch as D also walks past me and into the house. I’m left wondering whether or not Nathan was in fact telling me the truth when he said that this man named D killed my father.