The Deathtaker Read online

  “Not with you in charge of keeping things orderly.” Addy shook her head at him but a genuine smile appeared on her face before she turned to look at the woman her brother had brought in. It wasn’t often that a single young woman stopped in Cedar Creek seeking a room, especially not in the middle of the night. “I.D. and credit card.”

  Krista slid the cards across the counter and began to daydream as she tried to imagine the two as young siblings. She pictured a freckle-faced boy and a pig-tailed girl, joking and teasing each other in the same manner. She loved hearing their brother-sister banter and immediately decided that they’d been doing it their whole lives. She wished she could have had a brother; someone she grew up with, someone who knew her, someone to tease. But males would not grow in a Vita womb, or at least that’s what her grandmother had always told her.

  As she stared at the two of them, the loneliness that she spent hours upon hours trying to keep at bay began to set in. How many days could a person walk the Earth with no real, lasting connections? When would the practice finally break her? Krista’s grandmother was gone, her mother’s whereabouts unknown since her first birthday, and ever since she ended up on her own she’d refused to stay in one place for very long. She simply didn’t want to chance it.

  Addy stared at the license before handing the cards back to Krista. “Twenty-one. You just finish college?”

  “Now, Addy, don’t be so inquisitive.”

  “I’ll do as I please.”

  Krista shook her head. “I’m almost twenty-two. And, no, I didn’t just finish college. I’m a nursing assistant. I’ve been one for a few years now. I graduated from high school early, and the whole four years at college thing was never something that appealed to me, so I went for a specialized certificate instead.”

  Krista brought her hand up to her mouth, silently admonishing herself for the moment of verbal regurgitation. She needed sleep. There was no other explanation for the amount of personal information she had just allowed to spew from her mouth.

  “Me neither,” the sheriff winked at her. “Nothing I can’t learn from readin’ a book about it. Well, I’m off, ladies. I don’t like working this late. I need a bed myself. Richardson will be on duty in a few hours. We go unpatrolled for a bit in the middle of the night. You picked the wrong time to roll into town,” he told her with a smile.

  “How’s Marlene doing?” Addy asked her brother as he pushed open the door.

  “Not too bad, I think. Richardson seems hopeful,” he answered with a weak smile. Krista heard him start to whistle a tune as the door closed behind him.

  Addy frowned. “Albert has been working strange shifts so Ben Richardson can spend more time caring for his wife, Marlene. The two of them were planning on moving back to Charleston, South Carolina, this summer, which is where his family lives. They chose his family because Marlene is an orphan, poor thing. But Marlene has been suffering from some ailment, I can’t seem to remember the name of it at the moment. She put off the move, said the long road trip wouldn’t do her any good. That sweet woman is deathly afraid of airplanes – which is completely understandable, I know several people who feel the same way – so everything’s on hold. Anyway, Albert isn’t used to staying up so late. Come to think of it, neither am I. Here’s your key. Room one-fifteen, outside, turn left, five doors down. All my rooms have kitchenettes, an extra sink, a fridge, and a microwave oven, but they’re nice and clean. I expect it to stay that way. You break it you buy it, and all that good stuff.”

  Krista was only half listening, she’d glazed over early in the conversation. Adeline was obviously the kind of woman who knew everything about everyone and enjoyed sharing her knowledge with everyone else. She was just the kind of woman Krista tried to stay clear of. She smiled as she took the key. “Don’t worry. I’m a very careful and tidy girl. My grandmother taught me right.”

  “Good to know.” Adeline was happy to hear the young girl mention her grandmother. If the television shows and the news were any indication of life outside of Cedar Creek, the youth did not give their elders the respect they deserved. Actually she’d glimpsed it in town as well, but not from many. Without knowing it, Krista had said just the right thing. “Well goodnight, Miss Vita. And, just so you know, breakfast at the diner next door is always half price for guests.”

  “Goodnight, Adeline. And thank you,” Krista yawned. “Or is it Addy?”

  “I answer to both. Now, skedaddle. Off with you,” she added with a smile.

  After Adeline locked Krista out of the office, she disappeared through the door behind the counter. Krista, thinking about nothing more than her wish for a long, undisturbed sleep, retrieved a small bag from the front seat of her truck and then went to find room one-fifteen.

  Sleep.

  Waking up in an unfamiliar hotel could go several ways; the temperature could be freezing cold or sweaty hot, the bed could be lumpy or hard and uncomfortable, and the room could be a bit sketchy. Krista woke up with none of those worries, because she was pleasantly aware that she had not spent the night tossing and turning. When her eyes first opened, she felt as if she’d finally gained some much needed rest. Her head had sunk deep into the soft pillow, her body was splayed out on a comfortable bed, the blankets had kept her at the perfect temperature all night, and her feet were still poking out from beneath the covers, just as she liked them to be. She pushed the hair from her face and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. She’d slept all night and through most of the day, it seemed. It was two o’clock in the afternoon.

  Her stomach grumbled in angry protest that she hadn’t supplied it with more than the small bag of honey roasted cashews she’d consumed somewhere around eleven o’clock the night before. “I guess half-price breakfast is no longer an option,” she said as she rubbed at her face. “Full-price lunch it is.”

  Hunger pulled her away from the comfortable bed and helped speed her through what should have been her morning routine. She took a much-needed shower, which included a good scrub of her face and a quick wash of her hair. After drying off, brushing her teeth, and arranging her damp hair into a simple topknot, she was out the door and walking toward the diner adjacent to the motel.

  Chapter Two

  Downtown Diner was a square, brick building with a converted train car attached to its front. The silver trim of the train car glinted in the sun, and the bright red letters of the sign announced it was “Open for Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner,” with a note to, “remember to save room for pie!” From the outside, it was a picture perfect, modern-retro, small hometown diner. Her stomach growled again, and she hoped the food inside tasted as good as the outside décor looked.

  There was only one car in the parking lot, and a few bicycles rested against a rack near the front entrance. None of them were chained down or locked up. Krista smiled; she didn’t often see such trust in the honesty of other people. She pushed open the door and was surprised by the sound of clanging bells against glass. A group of the noise-making, gold, shiny metal balls were tied together with multi-colored yarn and hung from the inside handle of the door; ringing out a startling announcement of her presence. She reached a hand toward the bells, wanting to silence them, but the door swung closed behind her and the bells crashed once again. She stood stiffly, not quite sure why the sudden noise made her nervous.

  “Room one-fifteen! Miss Veee-ta! Good afternoon.”

  Krista turned to survey the room, trying to locate the source of the greeting. There were a couple of older gentlemen sitting at a table in the corner playing chess, two women reading books across from each other at a window booth, a woman wearing a pink apron, and then there was Adeline. She was sitting on a padded stool in front of the diner’s main counter, a huge smile lighting up her face.

  Addy patted the top of the stool next to her. “Have a seat, Miss Vita,” she ordered with a smile. “You look like you slept well. I’ll take some of the credit for that – it’s my pillows. I have the same ones on my own bed. First time
I slept on one, had the best sleep of my life. Not too soft, not too firm.”

  “Goodness, Addy, you should write a letter to the company that makes those pillows, extolling your words of praise,” the woman in the apron said with a laugh. “I swear you have nearly half of Cedar Creek using them, or at least seriously considering a purchase. You should get some kind of reward… free pillows for life or something.”

  “I should!” Adeline exclaimed. “Don’t know why I never thought of that on my own. Might just start composing one later tonight, after I dust all the rooms down. I’ve got Dan Parker’s family coming in tonight. And by night, I don’t mean nearly morning,” Adeline stressed her words and glanced back at Krista.

  Krista paused, just before reaching the seat, and her face flushed hot.

  The other woman noted her embarrassment and gave Krista a reassuring smile before she continued talking to Adeline. “Oh, that’s right, to see the new baby. How many of ‘em are coming?”

  “Not sure. He told me that they’d need four rooms.”

  “Doubles or singles?”

  “Two of each.”

  “That could mean as many as twelve people.”

  Adeline nodded her head. “That would be at full occupancy for the rooms. If they have more than that, I’ll have to make them get another. I understand trying to save a buck, but there are fire codes to adhere to.”

  “Twelve would be a lot of visitors for them to deal with so soon after bringing the baby home; she’s not even two weeks old yet. But Dan does have a large family.”

  “That he does.”

  The other woman frowned. “I hope Sherine is ready to deal with a big group like that. Hopefully they’ll be smart enough to offer to take care of the baby and let her get some rest.”

  “You know they will. Who can resist holding a new baby?”

  Krista stood beside the stool and watched the two women. Adeline was punctuating each of her sentences with a shake of her head. Her thick, silver-frosted blonde hair brushed the tops of her shoulders with each movement. Her pajamas from the night before had been replaced with dark, slim-fit, capri jeans, rolled up at the hem, and a crisp white button-down shirt. The sleeves of the shirt were folded at the cuffs. She wore a thick, silver and bronze, multi-strand necklace and there were small diamond in her ears. Her classic easy style was a sharp contrast to the woman who stood behind the counter of the diner.

  “Sit down, Miss Vita,” Adeline repeated her order. “Opal, get this girl a cup of coffee.”

  “Maybe this girl doesn’t want coffee. Maybe this girl is more a tea person,” Opal countered.

  “Coffee would actually be great, thank you. Iced, though, with cream and sugar, please.” Krista smiled at the colorfully dressed woman.

  Opal wore a brightly printed fifties’ style dress, adorned with a cherry pattern… all pinks, reds, and greens. It was loud – but a cute retro-loud – with a fitted top, rounded collar, and a fuller skirt. Tied at her waist was a cotton-candy pink apron. But the part of Opal that stood out the most was her matching pink hair. It was expertly styled; with a large barrel curl at the front and the sides pinned back.

  When Opal turned to pour the coffee over ice, Krista smiled at the perfectly formed large bow, which had been tied from the wide band of the apron, at her back. She was a picture-perfect pin-up girl, with expertly applied make-up to exaggerate the look. Opal was definitely comfortable in her playful, colorful, personal style. She was probably in her early thirties, but her eyes held the wisdom of someone much older; they spoke of experiences forced upon someone much too young. Krista was quite sure tragedy had struck Opal at an early age.

  Opal placed the glass on the counter and retrieved a container full of various sweetener packets and added a carafe of creamer next to that. “You can fix it up the way you like. I left plenty of room at the top. So, Miss Vita, is it?”

  “Thank you. Yes, although I think Miss Vita is too formal…”

  “Wasn’t it Kristie or something?” Adeline interrupted to ask. “Oh wait, I remember. Kristanta.”

  “My grandma called me Krista. No one calls me Kristanta.”

  “Of course they don’t! You don’t look like a Kristanta at all, and definitely not a Kristie. Honestly, I don’t one hundred percent see you as a Krista either. I’ll stick with Miss Vee-ta, if that’s okay with you?” Opal asked, exaggerating the vowel sound. “Vita means life. I like that. You look like you’ve got some life in you. I’m Opal. Opal Stone.”

  Adeline laughed. “Precious Opal Stone, to be exact.”

  Opal winked at her friend and then held out her wrists for inspection. Each arm displayed a tattooed word scrolled across its pale skin. In black swirly script, underlined with a chain of tiny, delicate, red roses, the word Precious adorned her left wrist, while Opal decorated her right. “Don’t quite know what Momma was thinking when she named me, but it’s what she picked out, and with her gone, I wear it proud. I never quite felt like a Precious, though. I started going by Opal in the fifth grade.”

  “She is precious. Just look at her. Nobody else could pull off that look so well. And that is not a work outfit or a costume, Miss Vita.” Adeline reached out her arm to tap her finger on the counter. “That’s just our Opal. She showed up with her father five years ago, looking just as she does now, except the hair was lavender back then. They bought the diner, did this fabulous remodel, and we were damn lucky they did. Opal’s pies are perfection, and Jim’s not so bad either. Best Monte Cristo I’ve ever had.” Adeline nodded toward the wall opening into the kitchen, where a man in a white apron had appeared. He saluted her with his spatula.

  “It’s the cranberry relish,” he replied. “My own special twist on the Monte Cristo.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those,” Krista said aloud, directing the statement to no one in particular.

  “Daddy, make this girl a sandwich,” Opal said over her shoulder. “You’re gonna love it, Miss Vita. I promise.”

  Adeline smacked her hand on the counter. “And if she doesn’t like it, I’ll finish it for her.”

  Opal laughed loudly. “Make two, Daddy.”

  “No, no. Just make one for her. I’m really not that hungry.”

  “What’s a Monte Cristo?” Krista whispered.

  Adeline licked her lips. “It’s like sliced, tender meat, and gooey, melty cheesiness, all inside some crispy buttery French toast. But in sandwich form. It is heaven on a plate.”

  “Flattery will get you everywhere,” Jim called out from the kitchen.

  A playful smile spread across Adeline’s face as she stared through the kitchen opening for a quiet moment, before turning her attention back to the visitor sitting next to her; a girl she had taken an unexpected interest in. “So, how many nights are you planning on staying in Cedar Creek?”

  Krista pulled the cup of iced coffee away from her mouth and swallowed. “At least one more night,” she answered. “I’m in no hurry. I stopped here because it seemed like a good point. It’s smaller than I’m used to; I’m usually in crowded cities. Cedar Creek just sounded like a nice resting point between where I came from and where I’ll end up.”

  Opal, who had begun folding a pile of white cloth napkins, paused in her task. “Where are you heading? Somewhere exciting?”

  Krista shrugged. “I was just going to play it by ear. See where the road takes me. I hadn’t really planned anything for after this stop, yet. I’ll probably try to map something out tonight.”

  “How many places have you lived?” Adeline asked.

  “Several.”

  “You need some roots!”

  “That’s what I keep hearing.”

  “Maybe you should start listening.”

  “Maybe,” Krista said with a laugh.

  Adeline gave her a pat on the back. “I like you. Not sure why, yet. But I know I do. Stay a few days, heck, stay a week. I want to figure you out.”

  “Not much to figure out.”

  Opal pl
aced a folded napkin on top of the pile. “Honey, there is always something to figure out. But don’t worry, Addy won’t dig too far. We all know certain things are private. Don’t we, Adeline.”

  “What. Are. You. Implying?” Adeline shook her head with each word. The small smile on her face let everyone know she wasn’t exactly shocked by Opal’s words.

  “Nothin’ you don’t already know, my friend. Nothin’ I haven’t told you before.”

  Adeline breathed out a sigh. “What can I say? I’m a curious woman who likes to know things.” She paused when she saw the look on Opal’s face. “I know what they say about the cat, and all that garbage. Asking questions is not going to kill me. Or you. Or anybody, for that matter. So just hush.”

  “Never said it would,” Opal answered in a sing-songy voice. “That’s your conscience talkin’, that’s what that is.”

  Jim appeared in the window, placed a plate on the ledge, and then dinged a small bell with the handle of his spatula. “Monte Cristo up.”

  “Saved by the bell,” Addy mumbled to Krista as Opal retrieved the plate of food.

  “You can ask me as many questions as you’d like,” Krista told her. “But I don’t promise to answer all of them. A girl’s gotta have some secrets.”

  Opal set the white oval plate on the counter. “Ain’t that the truth?”

  “I don’t even want to know what I don’t know,” Jim said with the shake of his head. “You keep those secrets.”

  Opal laughed quite loudly. “You’re right, Daddy, you don’t want to know. I’ll let you keep your perfect image of me.”

  “That’s a good man, Jim. In this case, enjoy the bliss of your ignorance.”

  Krista grabbed a triangular slice of the sandwich, dipped it into the cranberry relish, and took a big bite from the corner. “Oh my goodness,” she mumbled through a mouthful. “This is so good!”

  “I told you so.” Adeline tapped at the counter, punctuating each word.

  “You boys need a refill?” Opal called to the men who had been quietly playing chess in the corner.