Chapter Thirteen
The rest of the party went off without a hitch. Jase's costume turned out to be a tuxedo he had worn as a groomsman in his sister's wedding. Adhered to the lapel was a 'My Name Is' sticker with the numbers 007 written in marker underneath. Hey, it worked.
The cake Pia had ordered was as extravagant as the party and by far the largest birthday cake I had ever seen, let alone been the recipient of. My favorite part of the party was when Pia exclaimed it was time for the gifts- something I hadn't anticipated- and I suddenly found myself opening a mound of brightly wrapped packages topped with elaborate bows. At first I had been embarrassed. I hadn't expected anyone to buy me anything, however, it soon became evident that the elaborate wrappings were the only thing sincere about these gifts. Each present was more interesting than the one before. Let me explain.
Maya got me an ice pack. Robert got me a crutch- a left-sided crutch he insisted, while Dane got me the right. Giorgio got me a package of multi-colored markers for people to write inscriptions on my next cast. Jaques even got in on the act, gifting me with a bottle of aspirin.
On the other hand, there were gifts of an entirely different inspiration as well. From Bernard I received a beret and a paint by number kit. From my parents (who were not to be outdone) came a four pack of Play-Doh so that I might increase by sculpting ability.
The pièce de résistance (which, coincidentally, did not come from the Frenchman) was from Olivia, who surprised me with an empty box. When I looked at her in confusion, she simply said, "What do you give to a person who has everything?"
I looked at the box and then back at her, still confused.
"You give them the only thing they don't have."
"Nothing?" I said.
"Precisely."
I was touched. Not only because Olivia had done something so inherently sweet, but also because in her view I had everything. And as I looked around the room at all my friends and family, I realized she wasn't far off.
"Thank you, Olivia." I hugged her.
The gift opening marked the end of the party and people began to gather their things and say their goodnights. My parents and Pia and Bernard had retired to their respective rooms, allowing Jase and I some alone time, which we put to very good use. His passionate kisses curled my toes as always and there was at least a small part of me that wished they would hurry up the remodel so that I might be able to return to my own home soon.
We finally said goodnight and I headed upstairs to change into my pajamas. I had removed my make-up and was just getting ready to start on my hair when an idea hit me. It was no wonder I felt as if I had lived a fairytale existence. I looked like a princess, I had just attended a gala event meant entirely for me. Today at least, it was all about me. And so it was that I padded downstairs and headed down the drive to the guesthouse, clad only in my pajamas, a pair of sneakers, and my elaborate hair-do.
I was so eager, I couldn't wait to get started. I had an idea about a new abstract, something that reflected the gift that Olivia had given me. A painting about nothing. It was going to be hard to pull it off, but already millions of ideas floated around in my head. I wanted another sketch book (the one I had at the main house was already full from so many days of bed rest) and I needed several more canvases. Plus, I still had to attempt to recreate the abstracts that Gloria had ruined.
I was practically skipping by the time I reached the house, not to mention humming to myself like a lunatic, so I almost didn't hear the noise.
Almost.
It was a grating sound, like metal against rock. I waited silently in the darkness near the front door, and sure enough, the sound came to me again.
Curiosity got the best of me and I began to make my way around the back towards the construction zone. Everything might have gone differently if it hadn't been for the fact that it was very dark and I was very clumsy. I was just nearing the site when the toe of my shoe caught on something and I tripped and fell face first onto the ground. Until that point, my ribs had been healing nicely. Now, not so much.
"Damn!" I cursed aloud. "Damn! Damn! Damn! Son of a-"
Pulling myself from the ground, I cradled my ribs and considered returning to the main house. After all, whatever the noise had come from, it had stopped. If someone had been there, my stealth had served to chase them off.
"Hey!" Alex suddenly popped up beside me, nearly scaring me to death.
"Geez, Alex! Don't do that!"
"Shhh!" He admonished. "You heard him right?"
"Heard him who?" I whispered.
"That guy. He was messing around by the construction site."
"Who was messing around?"
"I don't know who it was. If I knew who, I would tell you who!"
"What are you? Dr. Seuss?"
"Ssshhhh!"
I shook my head and began heading for the main house with Alex bobbing along behind me.
"Where are you going? The site's the other way!"
I stopped so quickly Alex rushed through me. For half a second I was colder than I had ever been in my life. Colder than I had ever thought possible. It was a horrible feeling. Like the feeling of death. A brush with death, so to speak. It was awful. "Don't do that!"
"I'm sorry! You're the one who stopped short. Now are you gonna check out the site or not?"
"Not." I started to head forward once more.
"But Mike may be in trouble!"
I whirled on him. "Mike? I thought you didn't know who it was?"
"I didn't know who the other guy was. I knew who Mike was." He was frowning now, clearly agitated with my failure to comprehend. "Mike came out here right after the party was over. I saw him pull back the tarp and he was looking down in the hole. I didn't think anything of it, 'cause, hey, that's what he does for a living right? So I went about my business."
"The business of eluding Cecilia no doubt."
His frown deepened. "Could we have one conversation that does not include her?"
"Go on."
"Anyway, so right about the time you showed up I was coming out to greet you and I heard this noise, so I popped back there instead. And I saw this guy. It was too dark to tell who he was and besides, he was all kind of crouched over or something. Anyway, it looked like he had a shovel. So then I heard you start screaming and the dude took off."
"So if he's gone, why would I need to go back there?"
"'Cause I never saw Mike leave, dummy."
He had a point. Damn!
With a sigh I followed Alex back to the site and found things just as he had explained. There was the hole and the tarp was pulled back. Nearby, all the excavation machinery sat silent, their yellow surfaces gleaming in the moonlight.
But Mike was nowhere to be seen. For that matter, neither was a shovel.
I cautiously moved closer to the hole. The last thing I needed was a fall of that magnitude.
"I don't see anything. Do you see anything?" I was asking Alex even as I peered over the edge.
Then something slammed me in the back with the force of a sledgehammer and I toppled forward, plummeting directly into the pit. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.
I landed face first with a thud and the excruciating pain in the region of my ribs very nearly sent me spinning into unconsciousness. Somehow I kept my wits about me and slowly began to push myself up with my hands.
Alex was there saying, "Oh, my God! Are you okay?"
"Do I look like I'm okay?" I said, spitting out a wad of my hair that had lodged itself into my mouth.
"Better than him, anyway," he said.
I followed Alex's gaze and looked directly beneath me, where I was lying, on top of another body. Quickly, I scrambled off and crab crawled backward away from it, sputtering, "Who the- what the-"
"I believe you've found Mike."
I stumbled over something which turned out to be Mike's hardhat. The hat was wet and smeared with something that I was certain was blood and I nearly vomited. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, m
y God." I was whimpering.
"Pull yourself together!"
I cast a glare at Alex. "You're not the one who fell into a pit on top of somebody who I'm fairly certain is a corpse."
Even in the low light I could see the back of Mike's head had been smashed in. Unless, of course, his head had always been that flat from behind. Which I doubted.
I chucked the hardhat aside and began wiping my hands in the dirt in an attempt to clean them off. That's when I came up with something even more disturbing than before. The object was hard and smooth and curved into a tight semi-circle. It was also riddled with teeth. Even before I made the full connection that I was holding onto a jaw bone, I was screaming like a heroine in my own horror film.
My shrill cries rent the air and from up above I suddenly saw light. For a minute I thought wildly that someone had come to rescue me. Somehow, someone knew I was out here and came out with a flashlight to look for me.
Except only one person knew I was out here.
And the beam of light was far stronger than any a flashlight could cast.
The sound of an engine roaring to life reached my ears. "Is that a car?" I asked Alex stupidly, but he was already rising out of the pit.
He flew back faster than I'd ever seen him move, shouting, "Get down! Get back! Get somewhere! Hide!"
"What?"
And suddenly there was an earthquake. At least that's what it felt like. The ground shook and mounds of dirt began cascading into the hole. I was choking on the stuff it was so thick.
I backed into the corner as far as I could go and still, that wasn't far enough. Another giant shovelful of dirt followed the first, and after a few more, the hole was filling up fast. I was running out of options. Either I got out of the hole and faced whoever was at the top, or I stayed down here and got buried with Mike. Neither sounded like a very good option.
"Isn't there something you can do to help me?" I pleaded with Alex even as I was attempting to scramble up the far side of the hole, ignoring the shrieking pain in my ribs each time I fell back.
"He's coming! Cover yourself in dirt and play dead!"
"What?"
"Damn it! Do what I tell you!"
So I did exactly that, I lay down in the hole, near where Mike had been, scooped some of the dirt over me and played dead. How this was going to work was anyone's guess, but I was praying the whole time.
I was unable to see anything, playing dead as I was, and when the loud 'Thunk!' reached my ears from somewhere beside me, it was everything I could do not to leap up or even jerk.
Apparently my stillness convinced him, because according to Alex the man was moving away from the hole and heading back to the digger.
"Okay, he's gonna send down another shovelful of dirt. I need you to hold still. Cup your hands over your mouth and nose and hold your breath. He ain't gonna leave until he thinks he's buried you."
"Oh, my God," I whimpered again and then did as Alex told me. Sure enough, another pile of dirt cascaded down partially burying me. It was like getting hit with a thousand snow balls at once. Not pleasant. Two more piles hit me before the noise stopped and I was very nearly out of breath when Alex thankfully said, "Okay, he's leaving. You can come out now."
"Reid? I said you can come out now."
"Reid?"
"Reid!"
I broke through the dirt and pulled myself upwards, inhaling a huge gasping breath at the same time. After a few rounds of coughing and choking, I managed to equalize my breathing.
"Did you see who it was?" I asked Alex.
He shook his head. "No, the dude was covered from head to toe. Other than that funny crouched position, there wasn't really anything distinctive about him."
Great. I had just been buried alive by Igor. "Was he dragging one leg behind him?" I couldn't help but to ask.
Alex just cast me a funny look, but said nothing.
I began to survey the sides of the hole, trying to determine where the best possible escape route was. Of course, there wasn't one. Because that would be too easy.
Now what?
The question was answered for me, as Gloria suddenly arrived on the scene.
"What on earth are you doing down here?" Her shrill voice reached me from the top of the hole. "Playing sand box?"
"I'm not playing anything!" I retorted. "If you must know, I got shoved down here, and I'm not alone."
"Well, the whole house is out looking for you. Apparently, your mother couldn't sleep and went to your room to check on you. When she saw you were gone, she got concerned. After checking the whole house by herself, she woke the others. Wait until they see you! What a sight! I mean, talk about from rags to riches. Tonight you went from riches to rags in a heartbeat-"
"Gloria!" I interrupted her. "Are they close enough to hear me if I call?"
She cast a glance over her shoulder. "Someone is. I don't know who though. All I can see is the flashlight. It looks like they're coming down the driveway."
And so it was that I spent the next several minutes calling for help and directing them all to the hole. Four faces were peering down at me registering varying expressions. Pia was in shock. Bernard was concerned. My father seemed resigned. My mother was angry.
"Dear girl, how did you end up down there of all places?" This from Pia.
"Are you all right?" from Bernard.
"These things always seem to happen to you," my father said.
"You seem to have knocked off your hair," my mother said through clenched teeth.
Ah, the jig was up. No doubt it was already up and that was what had sent her to my room in the middle of the night.
I would deal with that later.
"Um, could you guys please get me out of here? And maybe you should call the police too."
"Whatever are you talking about, dear?"
"I'm not alone. Mike's down here too. And he's quite dead."