When Darkness Falls(13)

Devon stared at the telephone. At the very least, he needed to tell Lydia he was getting married.

? ? ?

Kari Jablonsky taped the last box of dishes and hefted it onto the stack by the door. She was in her early thirties and pixyish looking, with red-gold hair pulled back into a ponytail and faint freckles sprinkled across her upturned nose. She and Haley had met at the Lamplighter, a local lighting store, where both had worked as part-time salespeople for years. Kari was still there as she pursued her Master’s degree. Haley had left for her full-time job.

It was ten to six in the evening. Haley, who sat cross-legged in her postage-stamp-sized living/bedroom area packing her books, had been sneaking looks at her phone. Devon had said he’d be there at five to help move Haley’s things to his place. The wedding was only two days away.

Kari didn’t know what to think of Devon’s lateness. She’d only met him once, on Christmas Eve at Haley’s mother’s house. He’d seemed nice enough. He barely took his eyes off Haley the entire evening, and he held her hand the whole time, which Kari thought was kind of sweet. He responded with unfailing politeness to Haley’s mom, including when Mrs. Black said that she couldn’t understand why Haley would get involved with another musician, given how the last one turned out. When he accepted a second glass of wine, she speculated that he might be an alcoholic like his father. Devon said, “I hope not.”

But something about Devon made Kari uneasy. She couldn’t put her finger on it, so she hadn’t said anything to Haley, who seemed happier now than she’d ever been. Since she’d decided to scale down the wedding, she’d also relaxed. Even now, with Devon AWOL, Haley wasn’t completely losing it.

Footsteps sounded in the stairwell outside the open door to Haley’s apartment. Kari leaned forward, but it was only Jacinda Chaff, from Haley’s new job. She and her boyfriend, Reginald, had come over with Reginald’s Explorer.

“It’s gorgeous out there.” Jacinda pulled her gloves off and set them on the counter that divided the kitchenette from the rest of the apartment. “Don’t need these.” It was only late February, but the sun had melted the last of the snow that afternoon, uncovering brown lawns. The air smelled of damp earth and springtime.

Jacinda raised her eyebrows at Kari. Kari shook her head slightly to indicate they hadn’t heard from Devon.

“Maybe I should try The Underground,” Haley said, after Reginald and Jacinda squeezed Haley’s desk out to the hallway.

“You haven’t yet?”

Haley shook her head. “Only his cell. I didn’t want to worry Al.”

The phone call took only a few minutes.

“Al talked to him about three-thirty.” Haley leaned back against the windowsill, shoulders sagging. The light from the overhead bulb slanted across her face, making half of it look pale. The other half was shadowed. “He said he needed to run some errands before he headed over here.”

Alarm bells rang in Kari’s head. She imagined Devon driving aimlessly, trying to figure out a way to tell Haley he’d changed his mind. Or worse. Kari pushed away the mental picture that flashed through her head of Devon’s small SUV flipping over a guardrail.

Jacinda put her hand on Haley’s shoulder. “Baby, he probably got delayed somewhere.”

“Al’s sending someone to see if Devon’s car’s in the parking spot. And he’s going to check the apartment. He’s got a key,” Haley said.

Haley had already cleaned the enamel kitchen sink, but she dusted it with cleanser again and started scrubbing. All that was left in the kitchen area were paper plates, paper cups, and paper towels for the next couple days. Plus a bottle of Chardonnay, sweating from condensation, that Kari had brought over with a corkscrew. To celebrate.

Haley’s phone buzzed. Haley grabbed it, scattering Comet on the floor. She held the receiver so Kari could hear, too.

“It’s the strangest thing,” Al said. “His car’s in the lot. But I went into the apartment and his coat and keys are gone. I can’t figure out where he could be.”

“At least he wasn’t in an accident,” Haley said, after she hung up. “Not in his own car anyway.”

“Why would he be in someone else’s?” Kari said.

“Maybe his wouldn’t start,” Haley said. “And he had to borrow one. But he’d ask Al.”

They packed the last of Haley’s clothes except what she needed for the next couple days. The wedding dress hung alone in the tiny closet wedged next to the door. Kari had been with Haley when she’d bought it. It was antique lace, tea length, and had an old fashioned look that complimented Haley’s pale skin and dark hair. Kari got a lump in her throat looking at it. She shut the closet door, not wanting to think about how Haley would feel if she never got to wear it.





Chapter Six


The day Devon was supposed to help Haley move, he’d gotten out of bed at eleven, worked on lyrics for a new song, eaten a late lunch, and headed out. He made it down the stairs inside the building fine. He opened the door and stepped onto the sidewalk.

His body grew warm, then searing. Sweat coated his forehead, and pain jolted through his chest, up his neck, and down his right arm. He doubled over. His heart rattled through his body like a machine gun. He fell to his knees, not registering the feel of the damp, cold concrete through his jeans. His chest muscles pulsed outward.