Chapter 40
Howie’s memories of the period immediately after his surgery were
vague and hazy. He recalled Nick being
in the room for a brief period of time, though he was so disoriented he didn’t
carry on much of a conversation. He
wondered if anyone else was there – Kevin, Brian, AJ? No, not AJ.
AJ was dead. Sometimes, at times
like these when he was tired and groggy, Howie had to remind himself of that,
and then the pain of losing his best friend would come back in full force.
Sometime that evening, hours after the surgery, a police officer
dropped by. Howie had met Officer Newton
before, just a week earlier, when they had all been told that AJ’s death was
not a serial killing. But now Officer
Newton was not here to discuss AJ, but Krystle.
“Good evening, Mr. Dorough,” he said grimly, shaking Howie’s hand. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but I need to
ask you some questions about what happened today.”
Howie nodded. “H-have you
found Krystle?” This was the first thing
he had asked when he was able to talk. A
nurse informed him that the police had already been notified of the attack and
were looking for Krystle… dead or alive.
She’s dead, Howie thought sadly, remembering how limp and
lifeless she had been, picturing the bleeding knife wound in her chest. But maybe there was a chance, just a glimmer
of hope, that she was still alive somewhere, that the police could get to her
in time and save her.
“No, we haven’t found her yet.
We have men out still looking, but as I’m sure you realize, the chances
of finding her alive are slim.”
Howie nodded glumly. “I
know.”
“Now, could you describe the attacker for me? Was it male or female?”
“Um… well, I think it was a man.
He never said anything, but he was tall.”
“Tall, okay. And what was
he wearing?”
“All black and a black ski mask.
I couldn’t see his face.”
And it went on like this, for over half an hour, until Howie grew
weary of the questioning. Officer Newton
then told him he had enough information for the time being and would notify
Howie of any progress they made in the case.
Then he left. “So you can get
your rest,” he told Howie.
But Howie did not get much rest.
He could not sleep on his own, not knowing what had become of his
girlfriend. He would not rest until she
had been found… one way or another.
***
That evening, after much debate, Bianca called the hospital and
asked if Howie was able to receive phone calls.
She had a nurse check with him and then was given the extension to his
room. He answered on the first ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Howie, it’s Bianca,” she said. She felt guilty about disrupting him, but she
knew she’d feel worse going to stay at his house without even asking
first. “I’m sorry to bother you. How are you feeling?”
“Hey, Bianca!” Howie replied.
His voice sounded tired, but not annoyed. “I’ve been better, you know, but I’m not
doing too bad.” He sounded overly
cheerful, and she knew he was lying.
After all, she had done the same thing many times since AJ’s death. She realized Howie was going through the same
thing she had, only worse, for Krystle’s body hadn’t even been found yet.
“Good,” she said, pretending to believe him. “Well, I don’t want to keep you for long, but
I wanted to ask you a favor.”
“Oh, sure, what?”
“Well…” Bianca paused, wondering how to phrase this. Finally, she decided to just tell him the
whole story – well, part of the whole story anyway. Before she could stop herself, she blurted,
“Howie, I’m scared. I think whoever
attacked you and Krystle is the same person who killed AJ, and he’s coming
after me next!”
Howie was silent a moment.
Then he asked, “Why do you think that?”
Bianca explained about the pictures with the stickers she had been
getting and how AJ had been wearing her sweatshirt that night and how a car had
run her off the road on AJ’s birthday.
The only things she left out were that the car had been green and rented
like Kevin’s, that AJ was an angel, and the fact that they knew Nick was the
killer. She couldn’t bear to let him
know that his own “brother” had done this.
“So anyway,” she finished, “here’s where the favor part comes
in. I’m afraid to stay at home. This person knows where I live; I’m afraid
he’ll come and attack me. I was wondering
if… if I could stay at your place for awhile.”
“Oh…” said Howie, “well, sure, I guess so.”
“You don’t have to let me,” Bianca said quickly. “It was just an idea.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Howie assured her. “The only thing is, I’m sure the police have
the kitchen all signed off. Crime scene,
you know. But you could use the kitchen
in the basement.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fine,” Howie said again. “When are you going to go over there?”
“Um… how about tomorrow morning?”
“Sounds good. I’ll talk to
Officer Newton tomorrow and let him know you’ll be staying there.”
“Okay. Thanks, Howie,”
Bianca said in gratitude.
“No problem.”
“Oh, Howie – one thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t tell anyone where I am, okay? Not even the guys. If they ask where I am, just say you don’t
know. Okay?”
“Okay…” Howie said slowly.
“But why?”
“I’m just… afraid. I… I
don’t know who’s doing this, and… just in case…” She trailed off. Howie seemed to understand though.
“Okay,” he said. “I won’t
tell a soul. Talk to you later, Bean.”
“Bye,” said Bianca, and they hung up.
***
