Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1) (38 page)

"MollyAnne, honey, it's your mother. Are you down here?" The silence created a mix
of annoyance and worry.

Light came from a room she didn't remember. She pushed open the door to the tiny space
and clutched her shirt in the middle of her chest. In it were dozens, no hundreds
of pictures of Brianna. Years of pictures, some of them personal. She felt light-headed
and set her hand on the short counter for balance. Her hand tapped a wooden bat, and
it rolled. Lucy gasped at the sight of the blood splatter on one side.

Panicked, she slammed back against the wall and inadvertently turned out the light
with her back. She screamed and cried and ran back up the stairs. Putting together
the pieces of what she'd seen, she fumbled with her keys, dropping them on the ground
by her car. "Why," she mumbled as she put the shaking key in the lock. "Why, why,
why." She drove straight to the police station.

* * *

"Lock the door."

Brie couldn't move. Please. She pleaded with her body to move and help Duncan.

"Lock the door, or I swear I'll blow his fucking brains all over your precious house."

Brie obeyed, walking backward while focusing on the floor. She shut the door behind
her and turned the lock. The dogs hit the door just as it clicked. They barked wildly,
then ran at the windows.

Molly stood at the top of the stairs next to her old bedroom door. She sounded different,
she thought. Crazed. Her hair was uncharacteristically tattered and her shirt untucked.
Lines of black makeup smeared under her eyes.

"All these years." Molly's hand shook the gun against Duncan's face. "All these fucking
long years and look at you, standing here in your perfect house with your perfect
life. You think you can do whatever you want. Dowhoever you want."

Brie inched closer to the stairs as she watched, terrified at the yellow smoke that
blew under the door next to them. A nearly empty bottle of whiskey lay on its side
on the floor. When she allowed her gaze to turn on Duncan, she blinked. His face was
twisted in a petrified grimace, and he was shaking, sweat starting to bead along his
brow.

The sight took her back to when she was the younger one scared stiff in this déjà
vu. The memory gave her strength. Strength and clarity. This time, she would make
it right.

"What do you want, Molly?"

"Hmm. What do I want? I want a life," she screamed. "One without you in it."

"What can I do for you
now
?" She held her arms out, palms down, creeping up the first stair.

"Don't take another step or I swear the next thing you'll see is the brat's head in
pieces down your hall!" Her hand shuddered. Her eyes were red with rage. "I want you
to listen to me. That's what I want."

"Okay. Okay, Molly. I can do that. See? I'm listening."

* * *

After his morning planning meeting with Detective Tanner, Dave organized his office.
His intercom buzzed. It was the receptionist from downstairs.

"A Mr. Brian McKinney to see you, sir."

Great way to start the morning, Dave thought sarcastically. "Send him up."

Professionally, he met him at the top of the stairs. He noted that Brian still had
on his work clothes and decided he must have gotten off his shift that morning. Holding
a hand out, he nodded at Brian. "McKinney. What can I do for you?"

"I think I need to do one of those... " He looked around. "... missing persons reports
or something."

"Why don't you come into my office and tell me who you think is missing." Dave turned
and led the way. He shut the door behind the two of them and gestured for Brian to
sit in one of the chairs opposite his desk.

"It's my friend, Rob. Robert Brusco," Brian said. "He didn't show up for work. He
did this once before a couple years ago. I thought he was just sick, but I looked
in his locker and it's empty. I talked to my boss and he never called. So, I went
by his house and no one answered. I looked in the windows and, and it's empty. No
furniture, no nothing."

"All right. Do you know if he has family in town? Anyone we could call to check up
on him?"

"Not in town, no. I think one of the guys at the station might know his mom's name
and where she lives, though."

"How about you get me what you have, and I'll do some digging. Sounds like he may
have just moved on. There are some forms you can fill out, but we'll need to wait
forty-eight hours to file since he's over the age of eighteen. I'll have the receptionist
at the front desk get those ready for you."

* * *

Molly's face distorted. "Do you know how many years of my life I've had to listen
to 'Brianna's so bright, Brianna's going to make something of herself. Brianna's got
such a great eye for men.' You were like the daughter she never had." Molly spit at
the floor.

Brie willed herself to stay calm. The smoke detectors pulsed their shrill scream.
The dogs hit the windows with their heads. Duncan squeezed his eyes shut and shook
violently from sobbing.

"Your mom wasn't fair, Molly. I see that now."

"Don't you talk about my mother! You think you're so smart. Always the one who gets
the bright boys, the good guys. I get the cheaters and your leftovers. Why can't they
see you for the fat girl who fucking teaches two plus two and how to read
Dick and Jane
?"

Brie looked Molly straight in the eyes and smiled softly. "You're right. It doesn't
take much." She tried to shake her head in shame as she placed her foot on the next
step. "Tell me what I can do."

"You can go to hell, that's what you can do. That's what you're going to do. Do you
know why my ex and I divorced?"

Brianna cringed at the sight of the barrel of the gun digging furiously into Duncan's
temple. "I don't know, Molly. I want to know, but can you release Duncan first? Then,
you'll have me all to yourself. Just you and me. You can tell me about it. Neither
of us liked him."

Her eyes loosened and she slowly smiled. "You're wrong. I loved him. I got tired of
hearing him call out your name when we were in bed. That's right.
I'm
the one he married.
I'm
the one fucking his brains out, and
you're
the name he calls out time after time after time after time."

Brie shook her head fast and pleading at Duncan. She could tell he was about to snap.
The tears poured down his face and his gasps for air came in hitches.

"I worked on Brian for years. He finally gave up on you and once again, I got your
leftovers. I'm sure you just happen to miss the fact that he and I had started seeing
each other before you finally decided to accept his offer. He could hardly spare me
two minutes to explain. He couldn't wait to get in your crotch.

"Now you have two choices. You can either get up here and open this frigging door...
" She held Duncan by the hair, gesturing toward the smoldering bedroom door using
his head with one hand and the gun to his skull with the other. "... or I can let
you watch while I have the brat do it. Either way, today you burn."

"Noooo!" Duncan exploded and pushed backward against Molly, knocking her into the
wall behind them. The gun fell down the hall, and they both dropped from the impact.

Brie flew up the stairs.

The gun. The gun, she feared. Duncan scrambled on his hands and knees toward it before
claws clamped on his ankle and dragged him back. He kicked furiously as he slid. He
used the heel from his free leg to dig into her fingers.

She wailed and let go only to grab hold with her other hand.

"I'll kill you, you little shit. I'll kill the both of you."

Brie landed on Molly's boney body, swinging madly. "Run, Duncan! Go," she screamed
as she punched and kicked anything and everything.

He crawled to the gun first and then ran past the two of them. Fists wailed and legs
kicked. At the bottom of the stairs, Nathan tore through the front door, tossing his
keys aside. He looked to Brie, to Duncan, then yanked the gun and Duncan away to the
front yard before plunging back through the open door.

"It's going to blow!" Brie warned as she and Molly tumbled down the long line of stairs.

Nathan caught her near the bottom, shielding her as he carried her outside.

Molly stood up and scrambled for the door, screaming, "No!" when the explosion hit.

* * *

They stood outside watching the firemen douse the flames. Nathan rested a hand on
Brie's back as she felt a sense of closure she didn't know was missing. Her hand sat
on the back of Duncan's head as he wrapped his arms and legs around her, clinging
like a small child. He was silent as he fisted the back of her shirt with both of
his hands and laid his head on her shoulder. She rocked and swayed with him and rubbed
the back of his head, whispering reassurances in his ear.

"You saved us, honey. You saved our lives."

Andy wrapped an arm around Nathan's leg with Rose on the other side of him. She reached
for him and they stood holding hands together, watching the fire with Amanda on the
other side of them.

Memories flipped through Brie's mind. She never knew. Molly was right, she was dumb.
They watched as the EMTs finished prepping the burn across the side of Molly's head
and then wheeled her into the ambulance. It passed Dave's unmarked car on the way
down the cul-de-sac.

Lucy was with Dave. She stepped out slowly as Dave hustled to Amanda and Rose. Duncan
slipped from Brie's embrace and locked his arms around her waist. Lucy's eyes met
Brie's as she walked toward her. She was overcome with emotion for her favorite lifelong
neighbor and had no idea what her reaction to this could possibly be.

Lucy stood with her arms straight at her sides in front of her. "I'm so very sorry."

Brie felt her heart sink out of her chest. "Me, too." They hugged there on the sidewalk.
"The ambulance just left. She's going to be all right, Lucy. You could catch up to
her."

Clifford stepped next to Lucy.

"I will, honey. Thank you." And they walked numbly to Clifford's car.

Brie felt like a pro at the routine. She, Nathan and Duncan answered the same questions
over and over again as they watched the flames burn out, then smolder. Next came the
black shine from the moisture. Nathan convinced the authorities to let them have peace
for the rest of the day and finish the paperwork the next afternoon. They walked to
Nathan's house, to home and tucked in for the evening. As a family.

Andy slept in Duncan's bed for the first time in weeks. It was Duncan's idea. Nathan
knew it would be a long time before Duncan could get past this and was already planning
options in his head as how to help him through it.

"Are you seriously going to sleep in here?" Nathan stood in the doorway of the guestroom.

"I thought I was done in here, but tonight it's for a good reason."

"You seem okay with this. You've already rebuilt that house once."

"I'm actually more okay than I can ever remember. I have some ideas for the house,
and I'm not sleeping with you in the same house as the boys until we're married."

He sat next to her and pulled her on his lap. "Married. I like the sound of that."

This time, she welcomed the dream. She crossed her legs up on the seat in the back
of the yellow cab. When she passed Molly, the blonde had that same unhinged look she
had at the top of her stairs. So sad, she remembered. She felt a pang that she couldn't
see the man she was with, but turned her head quickly to her parents' home.

It was sunny and the dianthus were blooming. She ran in without paying the imaginary
cab driver. As soon as she walked through the unlocked door, the sound of the smoke
detectors stopped. The house looked the same, but different. She could see the back
of her sage couch from this angle and the kitchen table where Liz and Nathan sat.
Macey came from around the mudroom wagging her tail in her happy dance.

Her parents stood at the top of the stairs with their arms around each other. Tears
of joy fell freely around Brie's cheeks as they nodded their heads warmly to her in
silent understanding. She watched comfortably as they became translucent and then
vanished altogether.

Brie woke in Nathan's guestroom. Their guestroom. She closed her eyes and smiled before
whispering goodbye into her pillow.

Epilogue