Terri Austin - Diners, Dives & Dead Ends

Roxy arrived at seven with a duffle bag in one hand and a black backpack slung over her shoulder. I could tell by the goofy grin on her face how excited she was. I, on the other hand, had spent the past several hours chewing my nails ragged.

“You ready?” she asked, chomping her gum fast.

“No.”

“Sure you are. This’ll be fun.” She reached into the duffle bag and pulled out black stocking caps, sweats, leather gloves, and canvas utility belts.

“Where did you get all this stuff?”

“Sometimes it’s better not to ask.”

“You didn’t steal these, did you?”

She looked at me with wide blue eyes. “That would be wrong.”

She was right. I didn’t want to know.

We took turns in the bathroom getting ready. I looked like a dork with the black sweats and white tennis shoes.

She frowned at my feet. “Don’t you have any black shoes?”

“Everything was destroyed, remember?”

“Maybe we can rub dirt on them.”

“I am not rubbing dirt on them.”

“Fine, okay, whatever.”

Ma arrived just before nine dressed in polyester black pants and an orange Halloween sweatshirt covered with bats. Basically, what she wore every day.

Ma held up two Ziploc bags. “I made chocolate chip cookies and more Chex mix.” She shook the bags and her bootie at the same time.

We headed off to Eric’s early. I guess I was the only one who was nervous. In fact, I was shivering, despite having the heater cranked as high as it would go. Ma and Roxy seemed to be free from the case of nerves that gripped me, as they talked about the zombie game they played at Eric’s place. I tuned them out as I drove and mentally ran through the plan one more time.

Eric and Steve were waiting for us with a pile of computer bags by the front door. We each grabbed a bag and headed out to Steve’s Explorer. I helped Ma into the front seat and slipped into the back, wedged in between Eric and Roxy.

As Eric gave Steve directions, Ma passed out cookies, and I put my head between my knees so I wouldn’t pass out.

Eric bent down and whispered in my ear. “You’re doing this for Axton. If I were in trouble, I’d want you in my corner.”

“Thanks,” I whispered back.

Steve made a sharp turn and I lurched against Roxy.

“Sorry,” Steve said. “Now, where do I turn once I get off the highway?”

“Take a left,” Eric said.

We pulled onto the side of the road and into a shallow ditch next to the woods that surrounded Sullivan’s house. Or what I hoped was his house. Eric jumped out of the car and stepped around to the back. With Roxy’s help he began unloading equipment.

Steve and Eric opened up their laptops and plugged in their wireless drives. Roxy and I stood next to the car, while Ma sat in the passenger seat with the window rolled down.

The night was cold and I could see my breath as I danced from one foot to the other, my pulse racing so fast I thought I might faint. “Okay, are we even sure this is the right house?”

“Rose, shut up and stop hopping around. You’re starting to make me nervous,” Roxy snapped.

Steve pulled out the headsets. Eric helped Roxy while Steve handed me the wire so I could feed it down the back of my sweatshirt, then he plugged it into the receiver. He duct-taped the receiver to my lower back.

“I’ll be here if you need anything, okay?” he whispered in my ear.

“Okay, but I feel ridiculous.” I stepped away from Steve and tugged on the hem of my sweatshirt.

Eric squeezed my arm. “Hopefully, Axton is in there.” He slipped a black backpack over my shoulders. There might be evidence I needed to take out of the house.

I tucked Sparky, my pepper spray, and a small flashlight into the utility belt, and adjusted the headset. Taking a deep breath, I looked at Roxy. “I’m ready.”

“Follow me,” she said.

We’d seen the path that led to the house on the aerial map. We would have to climb a small wooded hill before reaching the house.

The night was clear. Stars seemed brighter out in the country. The harvest moon hung low in the sky and I took a deep breath, getting a smoky whiff of someone’s fireplace.

Old dead leaves crunched under our feet. It seemed unnaturally loud. I fleetingly thought about ticks and snakes and poison ivy and squelched the urge to run back to the car.

Although the moon was bright, very little light penetrated the thick forest of trees. I tried to keep my eyes on Roxy, but found myself tripping over branches and roots jutting out of the ground.

Roxy didn’t seem to have that problem. She navigated the terrain like an expert on one of those wilderness shows. If she started drinking her own urine, I was out of there.

Finally we reached the edge of the clearing. Crouching behind a tree to assess our next move, we faced the house, which stood about two hundred feet from the woods. Large and traditional in style, it was comprised of wood shingles and smooth stones. The windows on this side of the house were dark.

Despite the cold night air, sweat trickled down my back. Getting through the woods was the easy part. Now we had to get into the house.

“Okay,” Roxy whispered, “we’re going to make a run for it.” She pointed at the side corner leading to the back. “Ready?”

“No—”

She took off and I scrambled after her as fast as I could. My left side cramped. I made a silent vow to start exercising and tried to control my need to gasp for air.

Roxy must have triggered the motion-activated security lights on the side of the house because they flashed on brighter than the sun. I froze. My gaze met Roxy’s and since no one came storming outside with weapons raised, I ran the rest of the way.

Roxy peeked around to the back yard. She reached in her utility belt and pulled out a little pick and an Allen wrench. “Here we go.”

We edged around the corner and across the lawn to the back door. There were no interior lights on, and as I scanned the back of the house, I didn’t notice any cameras either. Not to say they weren’t there, just that I didn’t see any.

Roxy, tools in hand, bent down and examined the doorknob.

“You might see if it’s unlocked.” I twisted the handle and the door opened.

“Damn it, Rose, I was really looking forward to that.”

She stood and pushed the door open farther, and we walked into the kitchen. From what I could see in the dark, it had granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. No dishes, no towels, no clutter.

We stood still by the kitchen door and listened. I heard a television from another room, probably the living room, down the hall.

“I’ll take the upstairs and you take down,” she whispered.

I grabbed her elbow. “That was not the plan. Splitting up was not the plan. Every time they split up in a movie, someone gets hacked to pieces,” I whispered.

She shook her elbow free. “Calm down. We’ll meet back here in five minutes.”

“I don’t have a watch,” I mouthed silently. I stood in the kitchen and fought the overwhelming need to get the hell out of the house. I gave myself a little pep talk. Get it together, Rose. You are already here and you can do this. You have to do this. For Axton.

I pulled the mini pink flashlight out of my utility belt and crept out of the kitchen, hugging the walls as I went. Outside the kitchen door was a hallway hub. One dark hall led to the left, one to the right, and the short hallway in the middle led to the foyer. I craned my head and looked into a darkened dining room to my left. Empty. The stairs took up one side of the foyer. The room on the other side of the foyer next to the staircase, was obviously the living room. It was brightly lit and whoever was in there watched a Seinfeld repeat. I tried to imagine Sullivan sitting on the sofa, watching Seinfeld. Nope, couldn’t quite picture it.