Chapter 138
Despite the good night, Katelina was glad to be out of the Dunwick motel the next morning. She superstitiously expected history to repeat itself, especially with Hectia and Verchiel still alive. She had a strange feeling that they hadn't seen the last of them - or at least him.
She and Jorick stopped for dinner; for her fast food and for him, a lonely road where the wildlife didn't know to run. It was seven o'clock by the time they parked across the street from their "appointment with fate".
The house Katelina had grown up in was a small fifties suburban affair, painted a cross between neon and shamrock that was politely labeled "Spring Green". The color transformed the house into a beacon of absurdity, despite the shrubs that surrounded it. Though the poor evergreen bushes tried, they just couldn't grow tall enough to conceal the whole building.
The neighbors' houses, both a more traditional white, sat close by. Their snowy yards were neat and tidy and Christmas lights blinked cheerily in their windows. The street was quiet, lined with a few parked cars, and peacefully illuminated by the streetlights. If only her mother had better taste in paint, it could have been a picture on a Christmas card.
Jorick stared at the house as if hoping it would disappear. When it didn't he said, "I suppose we should get this over with."
She nodded, then climbed out of the car. The knot in her chest tightened. She was suddenly sure that everything was going to go hideously wrong.
Jorick took her arm. He noticed her expression and his eye slit with hope. "We don't have to go if you'd rather not. We could skip it, you know? Maybe you could just send her a letter?"
She straightened her coat uselessly and shook her head. "If we do that she will call the cops." She took a deep breath. "I'm sure it will be fine. It's not like she's going to recognize you for what you are."
"You mean a fantastic catch?"
She laughed and the tension lessened. "That's not what I meant, exactly, but I guess you are." She took his free hand in hers and squeezed it. "I do appreciate this, you know?"
"I know." He brushed his lips across her forehead. "If we're going, then let's go."
They crossed the dark street hand in hand and climbed the porch. The motion light stayed dark and Katelina sighed. The bulb blew out before she left, and it looked like her mother still hadn't changed it.
She pressed the doorbell. Her hand was barely back at her side before the door jerked open and a disheveled woman peered out. It wasn't that she was in disarray; her artificially blonde hair was in a neat ponytail and her heavy beige sweater and giant necklace, circa 1965, were presentable enough, but there was an air about her that said she'd only just remembered to find her shoes, and that you'd best not ask her where her glasses were.
The three blinked at each other, and then the woman squealed, "Katelina!" and launched herself out the door. She pulled Katelina into a too tight hug that, even as she returned, she tried to escape from.
As suddenly as her mother had grabbed her, she let her go and stepped back into the house. "Come in before you freeze to death!"
They stepped through and Jorick stopped just inside the door. Katelina caught his arm and tugged him further into the room. The d¨¦cor was just as hideous as she remembered. The couch and matching chairs were upholstered in bright orange pheasants, the carpet was olive drab, and the walls were so buried under pictures and shelves of knick knacks that they could have been any color. Cats, teddy bears, butterflies, and God knew what else covered every square inch. It was a hodgepodge of clich¨¦ items that gave the impression a garage sale had exploded.
Her mother was suddenly in front of her and, in the harsh electric light, she looked older than Katelina remembered. Her shiny eyes had shadows under them and crow's feet at the corners. She blinked the tears away and stared into Katelina's face as if she were checking it against a memory. "I'm so glad you're here!" She grabbed her up in a second suffocating embrace. "I was afraid I'd never see you again." Her voice broke, followed by a shower of tears.
Katelina absently patted her mother's back, and tried to pry herself loose. "I'm fine Mom." She looked at Jorick for help, though he offered none.
Her mother let her go, but only so she could smack her on the arm. "Fine! You're fine and I've been scared to death! They said you'd been kidnapped by a murderer! What in the hell did you think you were doing? No note, no phone call, nothing! You might have called, just once! Just to say you were all right!"
"I did call." Katelina took a careful step backwards. "The other day, remember?"
"Two months too late!" Her mother closed the distance and smacked her again. Her eyes jumped to an uncomfortable Jorick. "So this is the guy?" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "The one who was so great he was worth disappearing for?"
Katelina deftly stepped out of her mother's reach. "Yes, Mom, this is Jorick -" she nodded from one to the other, " - and Jorick, Mom."
"It's a pleasure," Jorick responded politely, his full lips concealing his vampire teeth. "I've heard a great deal about you."
Her mother surveyed him critically. "I wish I could say the same for you." She moved towards him, her expression hostile. "I suppose you're one of Patrick's friends?"
Jorick offered her a tight, fake smile. "I did know him, yes, but I wouldn't say he was my friend."
"They say you killed him. Why would the police say that? What are you mixed up in? Exactly why did you have to haul my daughter off in the middle of the night without so much as a warning?"
Katelina's face went crimson at the barrage and she interrupted with a horrified, "Mom! He didn't haul me anywhere, I went on my own and he just went along."
"He can speak," her mother snapped. "I'd like to hear what he has to say for himself! And don't worry, I'll be getting back to you later!"
Jorick's pained smile remained, though his eyes narrowed. "I assure you, I did not kill Patrick, nor did I kidnap your daughter."
"The police seem to have a different opinion!" She took another step towards him. "You may be good looking, mister, but that only takes you so far. What kind of intentions do you have? Are you like he was, and just looking for a bit of fun, or are you looking for something more serious? Katelina isn't getting any younger! And why don't you open your mouth all the way when you talk? It makes you look like a criminal." She eyeballed him suspiciously. "Where have you been?"
Jorick answered tartly, "In Maine."
"Yes, I know that, or at least that's where you called from. Just who is Ashton Drake and why were you calling from his phone?"
Katelina's surprise was evident on her face, and her mother's scowl deepened. On reflection, she supposed that Ashton must have been Loren's brother.
"He's a friend of mine," Jorick answered.
Her mother made to press further, but Katelina had had enough of the pseudo attack. "Would you stop harassing Jorick? He didn't do anything wrong!"
Her mother snapped around to face her. "Then why did you end up in a hospital in Pennsylvania?"
"I was attacked by a dog," Katelina answered vaguely, using the story they'd given at the ER. She changed her tactics quickly and dropped her voice to a soft, pleading tone. "Mom, please stop. Can't you just be happy to see me?"
Her mother's shoulders sagged perceptibly, and Katelina knew she was winning. Her mother did a good guilt trip because she was susceptible to the same tactics. "I am happy to see you, but I've been worried sick. I just want to know what's going on."
"Nothing is going on." Katelina tugged Jorick to the ugly couch and switched topics. "But I want to know what happened to my apartment! You said it was trashed?"
Her mother surrendered and sat in one of the pheasant bedecked chairs. "I don't know. I found it in shambles. The front door was kicked in and your stuff was just everywhere." She waved her arms in illustration. "We found Sarah's purse among the rubble when Brad and I cleaned it out."
Brad. Sarah's boyfriend. The bartender. When she'd last seen Sarah, her friend had offered to cancel her date with him. The memories slammed Katelina in the chest, replaced by the one where Jorick told her Sarah was dead. But this wasn't the place for them. How could she tell them what she knew?
She grasped at conversational straws. "You, uh, cleaned it out?"
"We had to. The landlord wasn't going to let you leave your stuff there for free, Katelina! We had to wait until the police let us, of course, but then we packed up what was salvageable and brought it here. Poor Brad has just worked himself nearly to death. Between his job and trying to find you two. He's spent hours contacting people all over the country and working on the website."
Katelina's eyes went wide with horror. "A website? Surely that wasn't necessary?"
"Then you tell me what we were supposed to do! Your apartment was ruined, you were both missing!" Her voice took on a desperate tone. "You do know where she is, don't you?"
