Chapter Thirty-Five: Fugue
DANIEL and Nicolette listened to the faint susurration of wind soughing through the upper branches of the trees that lined the trail. They had taken the afternoon ostensibly to go hiking, but both Daniel and Nicolette knew that was really just an excuse to head for their favorite spot. They walked in silence, as though the sound of their voices would break the spell that had settled over them. It was a risky adventure -- the memory of their previous visit was still fresh, perhaps contributing to the subtle awkward shyness they shared.
He was aware of her surreptitious glances, her subtle scrutiny as they walked. He was surprised that his apology seemed to have been accepted out of hand, as though events of their previous visit were little more than a minor argument. While he felt relieved -- and completely believed the sincerity of her acceptance -- he nevertheless felt as though something had shifted.
He frowned as Rose's words came back to him, thoughts of seeking other fish seeming disjointed and irrelevant when he thought about his feelings for Nicolette pacing along at his side...and yet oddly compelling.
Am I like her brother -- holding onto something as a matter of habit?
He glanced at her, a familiar nameless worry stirring in his mind. The forest surrounding them seemed to change with his mood; the trail that had seemed open and airy a moment before became shadowy and foreboding, his feelings lending the scenery a dark, brooding aspect. He sighed, struggling with his sorrow and worry.
Daniel's head came up as he heard something, Nicolette jumping when she felt his hand on her back -- the first time he’d touched her without invitation for days. He felt her shudder -- not unpleasantly, perhaps -- as his pinkie touched her skin, finding that little space between her shirt and her jeans. She turned, peering at him quizzically when he came to a stop. She stopped with him, loathe to lose his touch, however fleeting the contact was.
His head slowly moved as he scanned the forest surrounding them, brows drawn together. They listened to the harsh, raucous call of a scrub jay, the susurration of the breeze through the pine boughs overhead, then nothing. She started ask him what he was hearing when she heard it herself. She unconsciously took half a step forward as she focused on the sound, cupping her hands over her ears, trying to locate the source. She began walking briskly when she heard it again, Daniel following in her wake. They were nearly jogging when she found the small deer trail angling though the larger gravel path they’d been following, heading toward a rocky outcropping that was nearly vertical.
As they approached, she ducked under a low hanging tree branch, then paused at the scree pile along the base of the rocky cliff, looking upward, scanning the grey, broken rock above them. Daniel stood beside her, waiting. After a moment, she pointed, quietly murmuring, “There he is.”
Daniel followed her pointed finger to a small indentation nearly two thirds of the way up. He saw a flicker of movement, then heard the high pitched distressed whining. A moment later, he saw the black nose and pale fur of a golden retriever pup against the broken yellowish grey shale.
“How did he...?”
He hesitated as Nikki stepped up to the cliff face, eyes quickly scanning the rock. His heart accelerated as he realized what Nikki intended.
“We should call animal control to get...” his voice faltered as he watched the puppy scurry to the edge, then immediately pull back, a small scattering of grit showering down. His heart sank as he realized the puppy probably would fall long before anyone came to help. He doubted it would survive a tumble down the rocky cliff.
“He keeps coming to the edge; he could fall any second,” she murmured, studying the rock face. The first ten feet of the climb looked like crumbly shale. Higher up, the climb looked possible, but he doubted any of the holds he saw would hold his weight. Nikki, on the other hand...
He glanced at her, taking in her determined expression, her other worries momentarily forgotten. She stepped to the rock face, searching for a good place to start climbing.
“Nikki, that’s really crumbly stuff.”
She turned as he stepped up beside her, hesitantly stepping aside to give him room. He glanced up, wincing as the puppy barked loudly in excitement, scurried to the edge then pulled back, scattering more grit from his small nook. She frowned as Daniel shuffled to one side, then knelt abruptly.
"Here," he said, forming a stirrup with his hands, shaking his head when raised her foot. "El otro," he said nodding toward her right foot. When she stared at him quizzically he smiled, "So you can step the other onto my shoulder. I'll stand, then we'll see if I can press you up. I think we can get you most of the way past the bad stuff. Then you can start with that little ledge -- you see it? -- by that patch of thistle."
Nikki smiled, bending to kiss him lightly on the lips, "Okay." She hesitated before adding, "Thank you.”
He made a show of making a put-upon sigh. She chuckled, patting his shoulder gently as she kissed him again, the day seeming to lighten for both of them; here was something she -- they -- could do. She glanced at him, smiling, her dark eyes sparkling in the subdued sunlight.
For a brief instant, their love bridged the gulf that had been silently opening between them.
Then she turned her face toward the cliff, crooning at the frightened pup, “Stay where you are, my lovely, help is coming. Whoever your family is, we’ll get you back to them.”
With a grunt of effort, he stood with her perched on his shoulder. She shifted her weight onto his hands, then gasped in surprise when he managed to lift her up, his arms almost fully extended upward while she leaned into the rock face for balance.
She glanced down at him, eye brows raised in surprise, "Wow." He smirked at her sudden breathlessness, acutely aware of the warmth in her gaze, feeling an answering warmth as their gazes met.
He watched as she stepped off his hands, then climbed. He had no doubt she could do it, but nevertheless watched with his heart in his throat, feeling ill every time the shale broke or her foot slipped. Half way up, she paused on a stable outcropping of some other kind of stone, sweat glistening on her brow as she looked down at him, grinning happily, completely indifferent to her danger.
As their eyes met, she blew him a kiss, laughing at his concerned expression. The moment was burned into his memory, her fierce joy at doing something meaningful giving her face a heightened beauty, her face filled with fierce vitality as
his vision blurred as he stared down into her slack expression, the cold breeze ruffling her hair. He struggled desperately to find even the smallest hint of the girl on the cliff. He blinked rapidly as her head continued to jounce in time with his stride, her arm slipping free to dangle bonelessly as he walked.
Tommy and Daniel hurried through the darkness and noise of the city street beneath the freeway. The adrenaline dump from the terror of seeing the corpse reanimate had abated, leaving him exhausted and shaky. He struggling to make sense of what he’d seen: cadaver was actually an actor in good makeup; it wasn’t a cadaver but papier-mâché; it was a real corpse used in an elaborate prank -- a horrifying thought all by itself. All these possibilities ran through his mind as he followed Tommy, carrying Nicolette in his arms, trying to ignore the boneless quality of her body, her head lolling as he moved, her eyes frozen open as wide as they would go, the rest of her muscles slack.
But subconsciously, an understanding fluttered around the edges of his thoughts, waiting to be acknowledged -- the understanding that it hadn’t been a trick, that a dead man had reanimated and spoken to them, then died a second time. Had it not been for the strangeness of the preceding weeks, the admission that he had just seen a corpse reanimate might not have been possible. He realized that he and Nikki had never gotten around to comparing notes. He wondered if this whole situation might have been rendered unnecessary if they had.
He shook the thought off as they reached his truck. There would be time for blame and self-recrimination later. He tried to stand Nicolette up against the side of the cab so he could
fish the keys out of his pocket, but her knees did nothing to support her weight, collapsing almost as soon as he let any of her weight go. Then Tommy was there, helping to support her from the other side as Daniel got the passenger door open. They lifted her gently into the bucket seat.
“Nikki!”
He gently pulled her head around, the skin of her face feeling clammy under his palms. He felt a shiver of fear race down his spine, sending cold prickles to his extremities when she remained unresponsive. After snapping in front of her eyes produced no results, he glanced over to Tommy, hoping that Tommy might suggest some helpful course of action, but Tommy was staring back the way they came, watching the ME's office, presumably checking to see if any of the building’s security was looking for them. With a snarl of frustration, Daniel fastened Nikki’s seatbelt then gently closed the door.
“C’mon, Tommy-T, we need to get out of here. I think she’s in shock and I don’t have the gear to help her.”
“You don’t have first-aid in your truck?”
Daniel shook his head as he rounded the front, then pulled himself into the driver’s seat, “No -- I can keep her from bleeding out or dress minor burns, but I don’t have anything that will help her in this state. We need to get her to a hospital.”
Tommy pulled himself into the back seat, “We’d have to explain what happened,” he hesitated, then reluctantly added, “at least in part. Small trouble for me or thee, Dan, but for a parolee...?”
Daniel glanced at Tommy in the rearview mirror, then turned to take a quick glance at him with his own eyes. Tommy’s calm indifference was pissing him off, in part because it highlighted his own panic, but also because he suspected Tommy was at least partly right; questions could put Nicolette in serious jeopardy of going to back to jail. He realized he had to make a choice where all the available options had potentially severe consequences. He snarled wordlessly as he navigated the city streets, momentarily at a loss how to proceed. He glanced at Nikki as they approached the freeway onramp, heading south toward Half Moon Bay; he could only see her profile -- she had slumped over as soon as he had closed the door, her head almost leaning against the glass. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached across and lightly touched her elbow, unconsciously hoping the touch would elicit some response... any response.
He was disappointed, his disappointment highlighting his fear and desperation. Dimly he was aware of the panicky idea circling vulturelike at the edge of his thoughts: What if she doesn’t come back?
He pushed the thought away as he raced south along the 101, trying to gather his thoughts.
Maybe cutting across to the 280 would be easier, he thought, trying to find a route that would get them back to Half Moon Bay and assistance more quickly.
On impulse, he rolled down her window, hoping the blast of cold night air might shock her back to some semblance of wakefulness.
He watched Tommy in the rearview mirror as he sat with his head turned toward the window; Daniel almost counted five before Tommy so much as blinked.
“What the hell was that, Tommy? Start explaining or start walking!”
Tommy’s head swiveled forward, his face an unreadable mask half hidden in shadow. He was silent, unmoving. Daniel felt his frustration rising, eliding with his fear. He struggled not to start raving, hands tightening on the wheel of his truck until he could almost hear his knuckles creak in the windblown interior. Daniel opened his mouth, feeling the snarl turning to a growl in his throat. Tommy replied before Daniel could get more than an inarticulate sound of anger out, “Heard Nikki had strangeness at the animal shelter. Reminded me of something...”
He lapsed into momentary silence before continuing, “A friend knows about occult stuff; after hearing about all the weirdness, something my friend said...”
He trailed off again, momentarily lost in thought.
“Tom...”
Tommy shook himself, “She said something about psychometry. Thought it was bullshit, but since so much weirdness....seemed worth a shot. Didn’t want to bias the experiment. Didn’t expect, well, much of anything. Didn’t expect...that. That was madness.”
Daniel drove in silence, digesting this. He glanced over at Nicolette, noting that she’d slumped further, but that her eyes were closed. He wondered what that signified.
He shook his head, “You’re full of shit, Tommy.”
He watched as Tommy’s eyes narrowed, “I haven’t lied.”
Daniel snorted, “No...but you’re not telling the truth either. You’re holding back.”
Tommy shrugged, his momentary annoyance quickly subsiding beneath his surface calm. He turned back to the window, muttering “F’believing that helps...”
After knowing Tommy for almost fourteen years, he couldn’t have said how he knew -- maybe it was the set of his shoulders, or some subtlety of his expression -- but Daniel suspected Tommy wasn’t going to say anything further on the subject. He swore, slamming his fist into the steering wheel, “This conversation isn’t over, Tom.”
Tommy just shrugged but offered no other comment.