Call of the Void by J.T. Siemens

Author:J.T. Siemens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: NeWest Press
Published: 2024-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 34

The next morning, I woke up at five, clear-headed, having spent a solid four hours in a dreamless void. No screams. No dead girls. While making my bed, I felt such an uncharacteristic peace that it made me feel almost guilty. Eclipse followed me to the kitchen, meowing to be fed. I smiled when I saw no empty bottles left out from the night before. Zero damage done. When I saw the blue sky out the window, I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t, in fact, dreaming. For good measure, I also took my pulse to make sure I was still alive.

After removing the collage of missing young girls and suspects from the wall, I went for a run on the seawall, floating past the marina at Coal Harbour, then picking up speed as I passed the totem poles and continued counter-clockwise around Stanley Park. By the time I reached Prospect Point Lighthouse, I got sick of dodging tourists and veered up past the restaurant and into the trails. From there it was a clean sprint down Bridle Path, and I finished with a quick loop around Lost Lagoon before heading home to shower.

I’d just finished dressing in a white jean skirt and a blue-and-white sleeveless top when the downstairs buzzer sounded. Jim and Sadie.

Experience has shown me that when things begin to look up, that’s when I really ought to worry. In all likelihood, it means that I am ascending toward a manic phase, meaning that my wellbeing is nothing more than an illusion caused by a poorly-wired brain. Even so, when I opened the door and Jim gave me a kiss and Sadie wrapped her arms around my waist, it felt different. It felt real. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

After becoming fast friends with Eclipse, Sadie carried him into the living room. As I brewed coffee in the kitchen, Jim came from behind me, placed his hands on my hips and kissed my neck. I felt him become aroused the same time I did. “You look great,” he whispered. “Smell great, feel great.”

I turned my head to kiss him. “Your kid’s in the next room.”

“I’m one quiet sonofagun,” he said. “You’ll never hear me coming.”

I laughed and slapped his shoulder.

“What’s so funny in there?” Sadie called out.

The day was spent at Playland. We screamed ourselves hoarse on the ancient and rickety wooden roller coaster, got soaked on the log flume, jarred our bones in the bumper cars, and nearly lost our lunches (hot dogs and cotton candy) on the pendulum-like Pirate Ship. As the day buzzed into late afternoon, a sudden summer rain forced us to duck into the shooting range, where we discovered that Jim had shit aim with the air rifle, leaving it up to my marksmanship to win Sadie the gigantic stuffed elephant she would happily tote around the rest of the day. She clapped and giggled as each of my shots pinged the bullseye of the evil clown’s gaping mouth each time his jaw lowered.

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