The Dark Hour by K.J. Young

Author:K.J. Young [Young, K.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NIGHTSKY PRESS
Published: 2021-04-28T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

By the time Mark rounds the corner to Alden Manor, the duffel bag hangs like dead weight off his shoulder and he is half dragging, half carrying the suitcase. He knows that he’s scuffing the bottom of the leather suitcase, but some part of him doesn’t care. The damn thing is heavy.

He’s not happy to catch sight of Doug, who stands with one leg bent, his back against the industrial building next door. As he gets closer, Doug calls out a greeting. “Good morning!”

“Morning,” Mark says, not meeting his eyes.

“Moving in, huh? Right on schedule. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” He throws his head back and laughs.

Mark chooses to ignore him. Climbing the steps to the porch, he spots another dead crow lying feet-up in front of the mat. With a swing of his leg, he kicks it off the porch and watches as it lands on the lawn. He is no longer shocked by the sight of a bird corpse, even this one, which appears to be disemboweled. If a predator doesn’t eat the rest of it, it will stay on the grass until the next scheduled visit by the gardener. He imagines it being sliced and diced by large lawn mower blades and winces only slightly at the mental image. Not his problem anymore.

Inside, he greets Nurse Darby, who is wiping down the woodwork in the front hall. For once she does not bark orders at him, but just says, “Morning,” and continues her work. Next, he drops his things off in what used to be Lisa’s room and takes a look around. The furniture— double bed, dresser, nightstand—is comprised of plain maple wood. The headboard is a solid rectangle. The room is small and cozy, with adequate storage space in the drawers and closets. He gives the bed a try, sitting down and giving it a bounce. It seems fairly comfortable, and the mirror above the dresser gives back a flattering reflection. Overall, the room is similar in size and shape to the bedroom he had as a child. In general, it’s fine, but he can’t shake the feeling it’s not really his room. He feels as if he’s stolen it from Lisa, which is ridiculous because she has no use for it anymore.

When he gets to the blue room, he finds Roy and Alma visiting with Dr. Cross. After he gives them the bad news about Monica, Dr. Cross nods and says, “Well, that’s it, then. I’ll get in touch with Beverly at the agency and have her send some female candidates. In the meantime, we still have Nurse Darby to cover the daytime, and Mark will be here at night.” He gestures to Mark. “Once we hire the new girl, we won’t need Nurse Darby anymore.”

They talk among themselves as if Mark isn’t there, with the men discussing how likely they are to find someone willing to move in right away.

“But we need a new Lisa,” Alma says, whimpering.

“Yes, my dear,” Roy says, putting a reassuring arm around his sister’s shoulders.

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