Seeking Deeply The End
flid:
I put the phone back quickly, knocking my coffee over as I did. “Crap.” I shouted at the cup as it fell to the floor and smashed. Coffee poured over the counter and dripped onto the floor. Shakily I crouched down to it and began picking up the pieces.
“Vanessa?” said Keller getting off his seat and coming round to me. “What's the matter?”
“The cups broke.”
“I’m not talking about the cup.”
“Just drop it will you.” I said through gritted teeth. Even Bexley knew something was wrong and he sank down into his basket out of my way as I clutched the jagged bits of porcelain in my hand.
Keller reached down to me. “You’re cutting yourself Nessa. “
“Just leave it Keller.”
He tried to move my hands out of the way to stop me picking up any more and hurting myself more. “Keller I said leave it!”
He took a step back and gave me room so that I could clean up. I threw the broken cup in the bin and wiped the coffee up with a towel out of the dirty washing basket all the time cursing under my breath.
I knelt down and scrubbed hard. Trying to wipe away coffee that was already gone. I could feel Keller watching me confused. I breathed in deeply trying to calm myself down, but it was hard. It would have been hard enough with just Keller being here, but with everything else I didn’t know what I should be feeling. All I know was that I wanted to run out of the house, go to the zoo and bring Robin home, but there was no way I could do that without alerting her or Ethan to a problem.
I stood up and threw the cloth back into the pile. I stood looking out the window and Keller came to stand beside me and I tried to walk away, but he reached out for my hands and I let him. I hadn’t seen him for so long, when I left it hadn’t been pretty, but I just needed that touch, someone to make it feel ok.
“What’s going on Nessa?”
“Nothing.”
He put his head down still holding onto me. “Please tell me the truth. This is unlike you.”
“Unlike me? Kel, you don’t know me anymore. I’m not the same girl you went to uni with.”
I wasn’t even the same girl he met last night. A lot had happened in so little time, but I knew I wouldn’t be the same person I was when I went to bed last night. How could I be?
“Does that mean you can’t talk to me? Just because you’re different now?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
God yes I wanted to tell him, I wanted him to help me. Was it a coincidence that he was in my life again? Did he know? I was being paranoid, but just what if. I had hurt him pretty bad. He wasn’t my boyfriend in uni, never had been, but he had always wanted to be. And one night drunk and angry with the guy I was seeing I had slept with him. It was a stupid thing to do, I know that now, but if I hadn’t, well Robin wouldn’t be here. Keller was Robin’s father. He just didn’t know, no-one did.
“Nessa. I didn’t come here today on police business. Well I did, but that was not the main reason.”
“I don’t understand.”
He pulled back and ran his hands through his hair. “When I saw you last night I couldn’t believe it. When the call came through for your gallery I thought it might be you. Hoped and it was, but when I saw you...”
“What are you saying?”
“I came here. God this sounds so stupid now. I came here to ask you on a date.”
“Oh Kel.”
“Please don’t.” he said. “When I moved away from uni down south all I thought of was you, and then a job came up here so I came back, but I never dared to find you and then last night your thrown right in front of me and its just…”
I couldn’t cope with this not now. Of all the timing, I didn’t know how to let him down gently.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean your working my case; wouldn’t you be removed from it or something like that?”
I could see the sadness in his face, he knew what I was saying, and he wasn’t stupid. All through uni he had known to hold back from me.
Keller sighed and looked out of the window. A million thoughts seemed to go over his face at once and I couldn’t read any of them. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.
“Macey took me all round your gallery last night.” He said changing the subject. “She couldn’t see anything else missing or touched, just those three paintings, but I need you to confirm it.”
“Kel.”
“Its ok Nessa, but I do have to get this done.”
“Ok.” I sighed. “I am sure what Macey said is right, she knows the gallery as much as I do.”
“Why do I feel like your avoiding all this?”
“I’m not. Its just I have other things on my mind at the moment.”
“Like?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Is it to do with the gallery? I heard you on the phone before, it didn’t sound nice.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and made me shiver. I wanted so much to tell him.
“What is it Nessa?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah right. The look on your face doesn’t say its nothing. Do you know who did this? Is that why you’re so reluctant to help me.”
“I am helping.”
“No. Your not.”
“What do you want me to say Keller? Someone broke in and wreaked some paintings. No big deal. Probably kids anyway.” And I wished I could believe what I was saying. I just hoped that Keller did.
“I thought you were better than that Vanessa. Those paintings used to mean to world to you and now you’re just dismissing them like there some picture torn out of a magazine. I don’t understand you. Your right you have changed Vanessa. And it’s not for the better.”
Keller seemed to fight with himself as if he was mentally arguing and going over what he had just said. Yes my paintings did mean the world to me, but right now I didn’t care less. Robin was my concern and if a few paintings got damaged so I could save her then so be it. I had no doubt that the break in was linked to all of this. It had to be. Their way of getting me out the house I guess.
“I have to go.” Said Keller getting up from his seat. “I thought I knew you once, but now after today I am not so sure.”
I didn’t say anything as he walked towards my door. I didn’t even get up to follow him. There was nothing I could say to him that would make it right again. I watched as he walked away. He paused, his hand on the open door and he looked at me. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but he quickly closed it again. He just raised his hand, waved and then he was gone.
I stared at the closed door as I heard the engine of his car spring into life and pull away. My mind was trying to go through so many thoughts at once that it just stopped as if there was a blockage and whatever I was meant to feel just wouldn’t come out.
At least this time it was him walking away not me. I couldn’t be accused this time of being the coward, but then Keller wasn’t a coward not really. I knew what he felt and what he wanted I just didn’t want to admit it to my self.
The phone rang and I raced over to it. “Hello?”
“Hello again,” said the voice and the words were slow like he had poured them out of his mouth.
“All alone I see, that is a shame.”
I stood up then and looked around. I looked out the window, but I couldn’t see anyone, the only building that could see into my kitchen window was my shed, but I had locked that before.
I took the phone over to the front window, but still no one. The house over the road looked empty. I could see right into the lounge and there was no one there. The voice on the phone laughed.
“What do you want?” I asked.
I heard a click. “hello.” I said thinking the phone had gone dead. My ears filled with a hiss, like the sound you get when you have left the television on and it isn’t tuned into any channel.
There was another click and then I heard Keller’s voice.
“What’s going on Nessa?”
“Nothing.”
“Please tell me the truth. This is unlike you.”
“Unlike me? Kel, you don’t know me anymore. I’m not the same girl you went to uni with.”
“Does that mean you can’t talk to me? Just because you’re different now?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Nessa. I didn’t come here today on police business. Well I did, but that was not the main reason.”
“I don’t understand.”
“When I saw you last night I couldn’t believe it. When the call came through for your gallery I thought it might be you. Hoped and it was, but when I saw you...”
“What are you saying?”
“I came here. God this sounds so stupid now. I came here to ask you on a date.”
“Oh Kel.”
“Please don’t. When I moved away from uni down south all I thought of was you, and then a job came up here so I came back, but I never dared to find you and then last night your thrown right in front of me and its just…”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean your working my case; wouldn’t you be removed from it or something like that?”
“Macey took me al round your gallery last night. She couldn’t see anything else missing or touched, just those three paintings, but I need you to confirm it.”
“Kel.”
“Its ok Nessa, but I do have to get this done.”
“Ok. I am sure what Macey said is right, she knows the gallery as much as I do.”
“Why do I feel like your avoiding all this?”
“I’m not. Its just I have other things on my mind at the moment.”
“Like?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Is it to do with the gallery? I heard you on the phone before, it didn’t sound nice. What is it Nessa?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah right. The look on your face doesn’t say its nothing. Do you know who did this? Is that why your so reluctant to help me.”
“I am helping.”
“No. Your not.”
“What do you want me to say Keller? Someone broke in and wreaked some paintings. No big deal. Probably kids anyway.”
“I thought you were better than that Vanessa. Those paintings use to mean to world to you and now you’re just dismissing them like there some picture torn out of a magazine. I don’t understand you. Your right you have changed Vanessa. And it’s not for the better.”
“I have to go. I thought I knew you once, but now after today I am not so sure.”
Cold fear ran up along my back. They had heard? Or was it Keller? Was he the one responsible? No he had been here when I got the other two calls. But maybe he had help. Damn I didn’t have a clue what was going on.
“Sounds to me like you broke the poor boys heart again.”
“Who are you?”
“Oh you don’t need to know that, just a friend that’s all.”
“I hope you weren’t going to tell him about our little chats I would hate for anything bad to happen to such a pretty boy like him.”
“I wasn’t. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Well it certainly sounds like you were going to tell him. Or do you not trust him enough?” there was a pause and they waited for me to reply, but I didn’t they had hit the nail right on the head. I didn’t trust him and it was bad to admit it. “I have a present for you Vanessa.”
“I don’t need a present.”
“Oh, you do. You need to learn how to play this game properly. Don’t go out anywhere. Ten minutes then answer the door.”
“Answer the door?”
The phone went dead.
I peered out of my front window again, looking for who ever it was that was calling. They could see me and hear me they had to be close. They weren’t in the house I knew that I had checked every where, but they had to be somewhere. The attic.
mieley:
this is godly.
bungee_rope:
great update. i'm already pulled in. :D
Elven_Song:
I'm on the edge of my seat! This story is awesome! More suspense than the last 2 of Vanessa's family! ^^
flid:
I stared up at the square opening in my ceiling. The board looked just as it always did, but then how would I know if it had been moved. I ran out the house to the shed. It was still locked. I undid the dead bolt and reached in for my step ladders.
Bexley watched me curiously. I was glad he was just a dog, at least he wouldn’t think I had gone totally nuts, which I am sure everyone else did. Even me for that matter.
I opened the steps and positioned them under the board. I didn’t waste any time in climbing them and opening up the attic hatch. If I had thought about it I probably would have backed out, but right now all I wanted to do was find this guy down and hurt him.
The board moved easily in a cloud of dust. I pocked my head though the gap, which I really shouldn’t have done. If there was any one up there I was putting a vital part of my body in a very vulnerable position. Nothing hit me though when I went up, but I couldn’t see a thing. My roof had no sky light and the attic was in complete darkness.
Cursing I climbed back down and ran back to the shed for my flashlight. I kept all my tools in an old chest of draws. I opened the top one and rummaged though, something soft tickled my skin and I gave a yelp, a spider had climbed onto the back of my hand and I flicked it off and swore at it.
The torch was wedged at the back, buried under various different sized screw drivers. I pulled it out and turned it on, but it didn’t work. For god sake.
Searching deeply through each draw I finally managed to locate a couple of batteries and inserted them. I tried the torch again and this time it worked. Its beam was weak and probably wouldn’t reach very far, but it was better than nothing.
I stomped angrily back into the house and up the ladders. My temper was at boiling point and I was ready to unleash my anger at the first person I saw, so god help who ever was up there, because I was in no mood for this crap.
I shone the light into the darkness. Dust floated carelessly through the weak yellow beam. It clung to cob webs in the corners. The attic smelt damp and musty. “Hello?” I called, but no one answered or moved.
Putting the torch down on the attic floor I used my arms and hoisted myself up through the hole. The attic wasn’t very high, so I had to duck and bend to keep myself from hitting my head on the beams of the roof.
I could just make out a dark shape at the back. I couldn’t tell if it was a person though, bit it looked big. I shone the torch directly at it, but the pathetic beams didn’t even touch it let alone illuminate it.
The attic should have been empty. I never put anything up there for storage, purely on the basis that I can guarantee the minute I put it away in somewhere hard to get to I will need it again, so most of my stuff is just stacked in various corners around my attic. Miss organised I am not.
The loud banging on the door downstairs made me jump so bad that I fell backwards, catching the side of my face on a nail in one of the supports. The pain on my skin was instant and sharp, I touched the cut with me fingers and they came away wet. I reached for my torch so that I could shine it on my hand and see how much blood there was, but I couldn’t find it, it had gone out and fallen somewhere when I fell. Great.
Who ever it was knocked at my door again, bringing a torrent of words out of my mouth, I just hoped they couldn’t hear me.
“What!” I yelled as I yanked the door open. “Cant you just be patient.”
I let the anger pour out of me and over him. I didn’t care who was at the other side of that door, it would have been kids collecting for charity, and they would have still got the same greeting. Keller stared at me shocked by what I had said. I couldn’t blame him really. If it had been me I’d have walked away, but this was Keller so he didn’t.
“Oh its you.” I said and my tone wasn’t much better. “Didn’t you say everything last time you were here?”
“Whoa. Don’t start on me just because you’re in one of your crappy moods. Quite frankly Vanessa you’re lucky I am still stood here.” He was angry, that was new.
“Well don’t let me keep you.” I turned and flung the door shut in his face, but he caught it with his boot and the door bounced back into the wall making an almighty thud. “Don’t you know when to give up?”
I stormed back into my house, I was being rude, but sod it I could feel guilty about that later. Now I just wanted to feel angry.
“Vanessa.” He shouted.
“What?”
“I came here to tell you that your grandmother is in hospital. Their house burnt down.” He said and he yelled it at me. “Do you know I wish I hadn’t bothered now? It’s only because I…”
“Burned down? There was a fire.” Talk about giving me a verbal slap round the face.
Ice cold fear settled into the bottom of my stomach. “Their dead aren’t they.” I said making it more of a statement than a question.
“I don’t know Nessa.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” I shouted. “You’re a police officer for god sake, they would tell you.”
He shook his head. “No, they didn’t say.”
“You’re lying.”
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