A loud knock sounded on the wooden green room door, pulling him from his memories. Chase opened his eyes to find himself sitting in a totally dark room. The door swung open and Tully stepped inside, the only light source coming from a window down the hall. His assistant looked more than a little frazzled as he stated the obvious.
“We have a problem.”
Chapter Two
Pulling up to the rundown house on Crescent Drive, Krista decided to once again approach the subject of painting the exterior with Abby. She hadn’t been open to it in the past, but since Krista’s persistence was almost at legendary status, she wasn’t giving up. Not only was the paint chipping on the sides and front of the house, it was almost nonexistent on the trim. Krista also noticed that the roof seemed to be in disrepair.
As she made her way up the walkway, she typed a reminder into her phone to ask her dad, who was an appraiser, which roofing company she should call. Sure, it was almost a hundred degrees outside at seven in the evening, but they were smack dab in the middle of August. Illinois winters were unforgiving, to say the least. She was no roofing expert, but from the looks of those split and missing shingles, one good hard rain or snow and Mother Nature would be visiting Abby in the living room and kitchen.
Last year, Abby had finally allowed Krista to get some plumbing that the eighty-year-old house had desperately needed done after the pipes had frozen over a dozen times between October and February. Abby hadn’t been happy about it, but Krista had convinced her. It was strange how stubborn and strong-willed Chase’s mom could be on one hand and then how fragile and scared she was on the other.
Krista had observed the same type of behavior in some of the women who were at the shelter. It broke her heart. She wished she could do more, that she knew a better way to help, but so far, all she had come up with was showing up and being there.
As she got closer to the door, loud barking sounded from inside the house.
“Hey, Bear,” Krista called through the front door as she knocked.
She heard desperate scratching on the wooden surface as the barking continued. Reaching up, she ran her fingers along the edge of the door’s frame. She felt metal below her fingertips and pulled out the key. Ringing the doorbell, she continued speaking to Bear while she waited to see if Abby was going to come to the door.
After several minutes of ringing and knocking, Krista decided to use the spare key and go in. There had been a handful of times over the past few years that this same scenario had played out. Every time it had, she’d found Abby huddled under the covers in her bed, sometimes crying, other times awake but nonresponsive.
A worried feeling washed over Krista as she turned the key in the lock. Abby had been doing so much better since she’d started on her antidepressants. If she’d had another episode, maybe it just meant that she needed to adjust her medication.
“Hey, Abby. It’s Krista!” she called out as she pushed the front door open.
Bear jumped on her excitedly in greeting. She rubbed the dog under his ears as a smell that almost made her gag hit her like a brick wall.
“Oh my God.” Krista pulled a tissue out of her purse and covered her face as she shut the door behind her.
Stepping into the living room, she saw the source of the vile smell. It looked like Bear had had a wicked case of upset stomach and the evidence was spread out across the carpeting.
“Poor baby.” Krista reached down to pet his head. “Do you need to go out?”
Bear barked agreement, but instead of running to the back door to go outside, he galloped into the hall that led to Abby’s room. Krista felt like she was on the show Lassie.
She felt like she should ask, “What is it, boy? Is Timmy in the well?” but she didn’t think that Bear would appreciate it.
Following Bear’s lead down the dark hallway, Krista found him sitting at the end of Abby’s bed, whining as he stared straight ahead.
As she came around the corner, she saw Abby’s lifeless body sprawled across her bed.
“Abby!” Fear gripped Krista as she ran to her side. “Abby!”
As she leaned over Abby, she noticed that her skin looked almost gray in color.
Krista shook her shoulders slightly to see if she could wake her up. “Abby!”
When there was no response, Krista felt for a pulse as she put her cheek close to her mouth to feel any air exchange. It was faint, but she did feel a pulse and also shallow breathing against her cheek.
“I’m calling 911,” Krista said to Abby, to Bear, to herself. She wasn’t exactly sure who she’d been telling when she’d announced her plans as she pulled her phone from her purse.